AFC West preview
The AFC West has become one of the National Football League’s perennial underperformers. The division has lacked depth in recent years and has been dominated almost entirely by the San Diego Chargers, who have won the division title annually since 2006. This off-season has seem some interesting moves by AFC West teams, but is it enough to shake up the current distribution of success? Here is a preview of the AFC West for the 2010 season:
San Diego Chargers: The Chargers followed their standard operating procedure during their 2009 13-3 regular season campaign. San Diego starts out painfully weak every single season before gaining momentum and finishing out the year as one of the NFL’s strongest teams. They then underperform once again in the play-offs.
The Chargers are always strong contenders and have a top ten quarterback in Philip Rivers and one of the NFL’s most athletic receiving corps as targets for the North Carolina State alum.
San Diego’s talent and abilities are at this point a given, their only problem is the inability to perform when it truly counts. The division seems to be theirs for the taking once more, but the Chargers must overcome their post-season woes to be considered a truly good team.
Denver Broncos: Last season, the arrival of new head coach Josh McDaniels and his roster moves seemed to revitalise the stagnant Broncos franchise. The team started off the 2009 season at 6-0 with new quarterback Kyle Orton, but then proceeded to implode entirely and finish off the season with an 8-8 overall record.
The Broncos are perhaps the most mysterious team in this division. Is Orton capable of being the tight game managing quarterback he was in those first six games? Will the departure of All-Pro wide receiver, and locker room cancer, Brandon Marshall dampen Denver’s offence?
All in all, this is the year the Broncos really show their true colours under McDaniels. They can either be the team from the first half of last season or the second half, and if they underperform with Orton at the helm rookie Tim Tebow will most likely be given a chance. At best, the Broncos will take a wildcard qualification into the post-season, but they are unlikely to affect the Chargers’ division supremacy just yet.
Oakland Raiders: The Raiders have finally smartened up and gotten rid of troubled quarterback JaMarcus Russell. They’ve added a pretty solid quarterback in Jason Campbell and hope that under Campbell, receiver Darius Heyward-Bay can become the dominant force that the Raiders expected when they used their top pick on him last season.
The Raiders had a smart draft, but they still have a long way to go. Oakland will definitely be a more entertaining and competitive team than the 5-11 team of last season, but they won’t actually be good until this year’s draft class matures.
Kansas City Chiefs: Last season the Chiefs were one of the most disappointing teams in the NFL. The 4-12 club was ranked 23rd in the NFL when it came to offensive production and newly acquired quarterback Matt Cassel did not live up to expectations, though he didn’t have many targets or any protection. The Chiefs’ defence also struggled, but that could have been more so the result of being on the field all the time after poor offence.
Kansas City got rid of troublesome running back Larry Johnson but they haven’t made any drastic moves to deal with their other glaring issues. Cassel will be unable to recreate his successful year with the New England Patriots since he doesn’t really have anyone to throw to still and current running back Jamaal Charles is not exactly the type of player to build an offence around.
At best, the Chiefs will fighting with Oakland for the third ranking in the division, and that’s a rather optimistic outlook.
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