AFC WEST 2016
Oakland Raiders (11-5)
This is, admittedly, a borderline absurdly bold prediction. One of the worst teams in the NFL two years ago overtaking the reigning Super Bowl champs for the division? But, there’s just so much to love about this Oakland Raiders team and so much to hate about the rest of the teams in this division.
First, Derek Carr is more than an acceptable quarterback. He has grown into a dominant force and leader. Last year’s additions of wideouts Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree really let Carr shine. Speaking of Michael Crabtree, he put up HUGE numbers for a so-called “mediocre” receiver. I expect to see even more of Cooper who had a solid rookie year but failed to perform at the utterly dominant level he did in college- and to that note the level a lot of folks expected from him. I think we see a similar rise in production from the already outstanding Latavius Murray. Murray had a great start to last year’s season but his production fell off in the second half. All indications point to Murray being the workhorse back in Oakland and we expect big things from him.
Oakland has all the makings of a powerful offense but struggled defensively last year. If Oakland can tighten up it’s defense then it will be a surefire playoff contender. For that matter, the Broncos showed three years ago that you don’t need a defense to get to the super bowl.
Kansas City Chiefs (10-6)
The Chiefs are probably the smarter pick to win this division. They’ve got an experienced and talented quarterback, a legendary running back, a stud tight end, a newly-explosive wideout and a brick-wall for a defense. That sounds like all the makings of a Super Bowl contender, right? Wrong. Here’s why I don’t like the Chiefs.
Aside from the brick wall of a defense, which I will admit is an asset that is worth its weight in super bowl trophies these days, the Chiefs offense is not as darling as it seems on paper. First of all, their experienced and talented quarterback is more experienced than talented. Their legendary running back is older than Stephen Jackson and coming off a torn ACL. Admittedly there’s nothing wrong with Travis Kelce except that Alex Smith never wants to throw him the ball. And if you want to put your entire receiving game in the hands of Jeremy Maclin you’re insane- I don’t care what his numbers were last year.
I think the Chiefs have a lot of good things going on, but I’m not going to bet the farm on them. I have them at 10 and 6 but I think we’ll either see them go 12 and 4 or 4 and 12.
Denver Broncos (9-7)
The reigning Super Bowl champs going third in their division? What? Yes, because that’s what happens when you lose your hall of fame quarterback and his talented understudy in the same offseason and now you have Mark the king of commanding bad teams Sanchez under center because there was nobody left in free agency. But they’re a running team right? Two mediocre backs don’t equal one good one. CJ Anderson and Ronnie Hillman are not going to win any superbowls for Denver.
But what about their defense? The Chiefs have a good defense and a bad quarterback- expect similar results. I’m not saying there’s no way the Broncos make the playoffs because I can see their defense easily winning 5 games for them. But I am saying that Mark Sanchez can’t throw the ball far enough to reach Emmanuel Sanders and opposing defenses are going to shut down Demarius Thomas once they realize he’s the Bronco’s only passing option.
Who knows though? Maybe Paxton Lynch emerges as a rookie sensation- thats kind of what the Broncos are banking on right? And maybe CJ Anderson starts playing the way he did in 2014 that was so fun to watch. I would LOVE for that to happen. But I don’t think it will.
San Diego Chargers (5-11)
Compared to last year, 5 wins is an improvement. The Chargers need to do a few things before they can be anything but an afterthought in the AFC west. First they need to keep Keenan Allen healthy and find a receiver to compliment him. They may have done this with the acquisition of speedster and deep threat Travis Benjamin. Johnny Manziel loved throwing him 70 yard touchdown passes in the 3 or 4 games he was an NFL quarterback. The point is, Benjamin is an asset if Rivers is willing to use him. Second, Melvin Gordon needs to stop being so bad. I’m not really sure what it is about him that is so bad, but he really is terrible. The point is that you can’t rely on a 5’5, 120 lb man that looks like an actual leprechaun as your workhorse back in the NFL. With that said, if Rivers can find ways to get the ball into Antonio Gates’s hands more often and the Chargers’ defense can step up to the plate a little bit, this team might be able to find its way to .500. I just don’t see all of that happening this year.
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