The Broncos are the best in west, but can anyone catch them?
“Let’s start out in Oakland, where the black hole seems to have sucked in all remnants of playing winning football. Their likely signal caller is someone named Matt Flynn”
Read More …
If the Broncos aren’t the best in the AFC West when this season is all said and done, it’ll be because Peyton Manning was injured.
At almost every other position, Denver is stacked a mile high with talent; it’s Super Bowl or Bust even more than a usual season.
Manning is the man – as long as he can find a way to win in the cold during the postseason – and he’s got the most talented wide receiver trio in the NFL to throw the ball to. Not to mention three tight ends that could likely start on other teams, and a running back group chock full of youthful exuberance.
On defense, Denver’s secondary will be tough to beat, with Champ Bailey, Dominique Rogers-Cromartie, Tony Carter, Chris Harris and developing youngster Duke Ihenacho. Even if Von Miller is suspended, their linebacking corps should be decent, while new additions Terrance Knighton and Sylvester Williams need to step up to get a put on the d-line.
Special teams-wise, Matt Prater and Britton Colquitt are two of the best to put their foot to the football, and all the depth should mean coverage and return teams are improved as well.
If the Broncos don’t win at least 11 games and take home the AFC West for the third straight season, it’ll come as a surprise to many.
Here’s why; the Chiefs will be good, not great, the Chargers continue on the decline and the Raiders are, well, the Rai-duhs.
Let’s start out in Oakland, where the black hole seems to have sucked in all remnants of playing winning football. Their likely signal caller is someone named Matt Flynn (he backed up Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson), who’s thrown for 1,083 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions over his six year career. Lining up behind him is the talented but almost always injured Darren McFadden and the Raiders will probably look to the running game more this season than last year with Carson Palmer at QB.
Defensively, they were middle of the pack or worse in most categories last season, and they should see a drop off in production. That’s because leading tackler Philip Wheeler and third-best tackler Miles Burris, two key linebackers, have left awful Oakland for greener pastures. Of course, the Rai-duhs brought back Charles Woodson, but at age 36, the game has passed him by.
In San Diego, things aren’t much better. Philip Rivers has gone from one of the most efficient quarterbacks to average at best recently. “Cry Me a Rivers” has thrown 35 interceptions the last two seasons combined, seeing his passer rating fall to 88.6 last year. That’s not elite, it’s not even top-10 worthy.
It’s not that the Chargers don’t have receiving weapons – Malcom Floyd and Antonio Gates are top-tier talents – but they’re running game is what’s really lacking. Ryan Matthews and Ronnie Brown combined for 927 yards and one touchdown on the ground last season – their four total rushing scores were second-last in the league. They must improve in the ground game, yet Matthews and Brown are set to be the go-to guys again. That spells trouble in San Diego. To make matters worse, Floyd sprained his knee in practice and could be held out until Week One, if not longer.
Their defense is going through a similar amount of turnover as Oakland’s, as four of their top six tacklers have departed. One, in veteran Takeo Spikes, has been replaced by rookie Manti Te’o, who has tons to prove both on and off the playing field this season. Dwight Freeney, who the Broncos coveted, decided to suit up for the Chargers and it’s unclear how much gas the 12-year pro has left in the tank. For a unit that excelled against the run last year, too many players have left and it’s almost certain they’ll see a drop-off there.
Really, the one contender to the Broncos’ throne will be Kansas City, who’s seen the most positive change in the division outside of Denver.
First, they hired highly successful head coach Andy Reid, who took the Philadelphia Eagles to five NFC Championships and one Super Bowl over 12 years with the team. Reid went out and found the Chiefs a quarterback in Alex Smith, and traded the San Francisco 49ers a first round pick for him. Smith had gone through a tumultuous seven years in the NFL, with his best coming last season before he was benched because of a concussion and the great play of Colin Kaepernick. Smith’s got to prove he’s still improving, all while taking a leadership role with a new team in a new town; it could be a recipe for success.
He’s got Pro Bowler Dwayne Bowe and newly acquired tight end Anthony Fasano to sling the pigskin to, or he can dump it off to skilled playmakers Jamaal Charles or Shaun Draughn. But, like McFadden in Oakland, Charles seems to always have an injury and he strained a foot in practice Monday. He’ll be kept out of action as a precautionary measure, and it’s a sure sign he won’t be up to full speed when the season kicks off.
On the defensive side of the ball, KC is loaded with talent and the entire unit is primed to be better than any time in recent memory. Derrick Johnson, Eric Berry and Tamba Hali all made the Pro Bowl last year, and Brandon Flowers could join them all in Hawaii this January.
But, can the Chiefs really go from a league-worst 2-14 to competing with the Broncos, who finished 13-3 last season?
In the sorry AFC West, the Chiefs will be second-best, but for Kansas City to go over .500 will be a miracle, while the Raiders and Chargers will battle to see who’s the worst team in football.
