AFC West Preview

Part five of an eight part series examining each of the NFL's divisions as we approach the start of the regular season; now just four days away. Today we look at the AFC West.

San Diego Chargers
Another AFC division and another clear front runner. The Chargers may have the most talented lineup in the NFL, so anything less than a championship will be a failure for this team. Obviously, L.T. is the engine of this team, but don't forget Phillip Rivers. Rivers has quietly had a very good start to his career, and look for him to continue his development this year with Norv Turner taking over as head coach. Whether you think Turner is a quality head coach or not, he definitely has done good work with developing QBs; Alex Smith most recently in San Francisco. And with a strong aggressive defense led by Shawn Merriman, the Chargers don't really have any holes or weaknesses that would hold them back from accomplishing their goals. Really, the only thing they lack from teams such as New England and Indianapolis, is playoff experience. Last season was their first foray into the playoffs with Super Bowl expectations, and they bowed out in their opening game. If L.T. can come anywhere close to duplicating his performance from last season - which he most certainly can - and Rivers can continue making strides in just his second full season as starting QB, then there is no reason why the Chargers can't win a Super Bowl. That is, as long as they wear those powder blues.
Prediction: 13-3

Denver Broncos
The Broncos started last season with arguably the best defense in the league. Then they ran into Peyton Manning and the Colts, who shredded them for 34 points. The Broncos' defense never seemed to recover after that. Denver plays a very basic defensive scheme, relying on discipline and sure tackling. Having a true shut down corner in Champ Bailey really allows them to do that. And after adding Dre Bly to the other corner, the Broncos should continue the same defensive scheme to a relatively high level of success. But the questions start to arise, like with so many teams these days, with the offense; specifically the quarterback. The Jay Cutler era began in week 13 last season, and the Broncos went 2-3 the rest of the way. The jury is still out on Cutler, as there are those who love his rocket arm, and there are those who criticize his rash decision making. 9 TDs in his first five games is good, but you worry about him trying to do too much; especially on a team with a good defense and a good running game. And that running game was upgraded in the offseason with the addition of Travis Henry; a one cut runner who fits the Denver zone blocking scheme perfectly. If Cutler can stay within himself, and the defense can maintain its level of play throughout the course of the season, the Broncos could be a playoff team in a stacked AFC.
Prediction: 10-6

Oakland Raiders
The Raiders currently have nothing to show for their league worst record last season, and the ensuing number one overall pick, as JaMarcus Russell still has not signed with the team. No one was expecting Russell to start right away and lead this team back to respectability, but this kid has to get in with the team and starting learning the NFL game. The Raiders have picked up Dante Culpepper, and he looks to have the starting job locked up. Oakland had a shockingly good defense last year, but it remains to be seen whether that was all a result of skill or more a result of teams generally having control of the game and scaling back their offense. It's probably somewhere in between, so don't expect a Ravenesque defense to win them games on its own. Culpepper is indefinitely an upgrade at QB, but the supporting offensive cast is still a joke. Expect more of the same from last year.
Prediction: 5-11

Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs are on the way down. Quickly. Yes, they just signed Larry Johnson to a contract extension, but the rest of the defense is either aging rapidly or extremely inexperienced or simply not very good. And Herm Edwards has not been able to turn the defense into a top unit like he wanted to when taking the job. At QB, it's a choice between career backup, Damon Huard, or the second year man with zero starts under his belt, Brodie Croyle. As far as the immediate season goes, that's lose lose. L.J. will get his yards and TDs, but the offense as a whole will sputter. And with a defense that is middle of the road, the team as a whole will sputter as well. The Chiefs look like a team that is doing nothing but preparing for 2008.
Prediction: 5-11