AFC West 
Denver Broncos – When the Denver Broncos isolate
a weakness on their team, they enter Draft Day with a targeted goal.
They draft multiple players at the same position and hope camp will
sort them out. Last year, it was defensive line. A few years ago, it
was cornerback. This year, it appeared to be both offensive line and
running back. An injury robbed them of their most promising back, but
the O-line seems to be right on track for repair.
RB Ryan Torain came into camp the Broncos fifth-round selection, but
near the end of camp, he was on his way to becoming the Broncos number-one
running back. That is… until Torain injured his elbow. Coach Mike
Shanahan holds the kid in such high regard that he refused to put Torain
on the IR or the PUP lists. Instead, he will take up a valuable spot
on the 53-man roster until he can regain his prior form (or, until the
Broncos get desperate for that roster spot). For now, the job is Selvin
Young’s. Undrafted out of Texas last year, Young displayed some
ability last year, but he didn’t find the end zone more than once.
Expect RBs Andre Hall and Michael Pittman to help the Broncos once they’re
inside the 20. Of the rookie offensive linemen still on the roster,
only OT Ryan Clady will start initially. Clady is custom-made for the
Broncos’ zone-blocking scheme. The protection of QB Jay Cutler
is paramount of importance. His rhythm with WR Brandon Marshall last
year was sublime. And if pass-catching TE Tony Scheffler can stay on
the field, they have a great rapport as well. Cutler, however, will
have to leave his comfort zone, at least for the first week. While Marshall
serves out a 1-game suspension and Scheffler nurses a tender foot, Cutler
will have to choose from unsavory options: the slow and unreliable Darrell
Jackson and the green rookie Eddie Royal, who never eclipsed 500 yards
receiving in a single season at Virginia Tech.
After years of sub par play, the Broncos’ defensive line seems
to be evolving into one of the team’s strong suits. With the off-season
acquisition of DT Dewayne Robertson, the middle is set. At end, to complement
sack-master Elvis Dumervil, there will be a rotating cast of characters
featuring John Engleberger, Jarvis Moss, Ebenezer Ekuban and Tim Crowder.
There is enough quality depth here to get the team through exhaustion
and injury throughout 2008. Linebacker Nate Webster takes over at MLB,
giving D.J. Williams the opportunity to move back to his natural position
on the weak side. The starting corners are still Champ Bailey and Dre
Bly, an aged but stellar duo. The trade of Domonique Foxworth frees
the team up to promote Karl Paymah to the nickel role and rookie Jack
Williams should get some valuable playing time as well. The safeties
are a potential weakness here: Marquand Manuel hasn’t been able
to stick with plenty of other teams, despite the opportunities he’s
been given. And Marlon McCree was never able to shine in sunny San Diego.
The Broncos may attempt to upgrade this position as the season goes
on through a trade or free agent acquisition.
Last year seemed like an aberration in the Broncos usually-reliable
success in the AFC West. It was their first losing season since 1999
(and only their second under Mike Shanahan). The Broncs should right
the ship and get back into the playoffs this year, despite a lack of
outstanding talent at many positions.
Strength: defensive line
Weakness: wide receiver
2008 MVP’s: Brandon Marshall & D.J. Williams
Unsung hero: Jarvis Moss
Record last year: 7-9
Record this year: 10-6 (playoffs)
Kansas City Chiefs – For years and years and
years, the Kansas City Chiefs were synonymous with great offensive line
play. Willie Roaf, Will Shields, John Alt, Dave Szott, Tim Grunhard…
nasty, mean, bad-ass and impenetrable! My, how things have changed.
The Chiefs had the worst O-line in the NFL last year. That’s
hard to imagine. The lone Pro Bowler is guard Brian Waters, but he needs
help desperately. Enter first-round draft pick Branden Albert. Once
he’s healthy, Albert will be asked to do something unusual –
play a tougher position than the one he played in college. Now, I’m
not sure why the Chiefs think Albert can play left tackle when his college
coaches didn’t… but in desperate times, men turn to desperate
measures. I predict failure for this experiment, and Albert will eventually
become a strong guard in the NFL. For 2008, it’s more of the same
for the KC O-line. That doesn’t bode well for RB Larry Johnson,
who keeps taking unhealthy poundings on legs that are starting to wear
out. And it’s bad for QB Brodie Croyle, who has never had enough
strength to make it through a full season as a starter. Even worse for
Croyle is the wide receiving corps he’s forced to work with. WR
Devard Darling wasn’t good enough to win the #3 job in Baltimore
(not exactly a hotbed of wide receiving talent).. but he’s good
enough to become a starter in Kansas City! At least Dwayne Bowe flashed
enough talent last year to give some hope to Chiefs fans. Rookie Will
Franklin will have a chance to see some quality playing time too. Tight
end Tony Gonzalez once again hit the ‘snooz’ button on Father
Time and turned in a fantastic season. However, his best days came with
Damon Huard at quarterback, not Croyle.
The Chiefs have a pair of fine linebackers in veteran Donnie Edwards
and 3rd-year man Derrick Johnson. In the middle, however, they promoted
Pat Thomas, a sixth-round choice of Jacksonville last year. The disappointing
Napoleon Harris will back him up initially. The Chiefs may want to think
about playing Johnson in the middle to get their best three linebackers
on the field (Demorrio Williams being the third). With the off-season
departure of DE Jared Allen, there is a gaping hole on the defensive
line. DE Tamba Hali should see a remarkable increase in his tackle and
sack totals – he may even make his way to the NFL’s top
5 in the latter category. On the other side, however, the team may have
settled on Alfonso Boone, a career backup with Detroit and Chicago.
Can we go ahead and call that a downgrade? The Chiefs are hoping that
first-round pick DT Glenn Dorsey can give them the inside pass-rush
they’ve been lacking for years. If Dorsey can turn in 5 sacks
or more, KC should be okay. The defensive backfield has signs of life
though. Bernard Pollard appears to be a keeper at safety. Jarrad Page,
Jon McGraw and rookie DaJuan Morgan complete this strong group. At corner,
it’s a tale of the old and the new. Patrick Surtain enters his
11th season alongside fellow starter Brandon Flowers, a rookie. With
almost no depth behind them, Surtain and Flowers will need to stay healthy
for this team to thrive.
There will be no thriving in Kansas City. They just don’t have
enough pieces to make a great team. They are below par at QB, LT, RG,
C, WR, DE, DT, and MLB. There are so many ways to beat this team! It
won’t be tough for offensive and defensive coordinators to expose
those weaknesses. It will take a Herculean effort on the part of Larry
Johnson to pull off four wins.
Strength: punting
Weakness: quarterback
2008 MVP’s: Larry Johnson & Tamba Hali
Unsung hero: Will Franklin
Record last year: 4-12
Record this year: 4-12
Oakland Raiders – The Raiders led the league
in only one category last year: crazy owners. Head Coach Lane Kiffin’s
first year was filled with disappointment, frustration and eventually,
an offer to leave the team. He declined. Kiffin is now faced with a
hostile ownership – but intriguing acquisitions on the offensive
and defensive sides of the ball.
Offensively in 2007, this team seemed more inept than Al Davis’s
barber. The Raiders tied the Ravens for the worst scoring offense in
the NFL. The passing game was atrocious. A host of ineffective quarterbacks
subbed in and subbed out. Receivers were barely noticed. The only thing
the Raiders could boast was a decent running game. That stands a good
chance of improving this year. Although RB Justin Fargas, with his breakout
performance in 2007, will enter the year as the starter, he will soon
make way for can’t-miss rookie Darren McFadden. Also in the mix
at running back is huge load Michael Bush. At wide receiver, the Raiders
add Javon Walker, who seems to have been slowed by leg injuries. Also,
his heart might not be in the game anymore after offering to return
his signing bonus to Al Davis and retire. Oakland signed WR-bust Ashley
Lelie as a sign of their desperation at the position. At least starting
QB JaMarcus Russell has shown some rapport with WR Ronald Curry and
TE Zach Miller, so the passing game does have some hope of revival.
Another career being revived is Robert Gallery’s. For years, he
was showing signs of ‘bust’ at left tackle, but once he
was moved to guard, Gallery started to display some of the acuity the
team expected.
Defensively, Oakland got immediately younger upon the retirement of
DT Warren Sapp, whose gut was almost as thick as Al Davis’s glasses
(oh, I got a million of ‘em!). Gerard Warren, Terdell Sands and
Tommy Kelly will attempt to hold down the middle while DE Derrick Burgess
racks up the sacks on the outside. Linebackers Kirk Morrison and Thomas
Howard are a great team, but the other linebacker position is up for
grabs. Ricky Brown and Sam Williams have been scrapping for the spot.
The defensive backfield is loaded with talent now that the Raiders have
pried DeAngelo Hall away from the Falcons. Together with Nnamdi Asomugha,
this could be the best duo in the AFC. The safeties improved a lot too
with the addition of Gibril Wilson from the Giants. He and Michael Huff
will do some thumpin’ with Oakland’s lockdown corners sealing
off the edges. If defensive coordinator Rob Ryan has a creative bone
in his body, he will figure out ways to wreak havoc with opposing offenses
simply by taking away the deep part of the field.
There is hope for Oakland yet. With some real playmakers on defense
and an offense on a steep learning curve, we may see the Raiders back
in the playoffs within two years. Surely, Al Davis will start searching
for a new coach again soon. This time, he’d be wise to get an
earlier start. By the time Davis is ready to hire, all the best candidates
are long gone.
Strength: defensive backs
Weakness: quarterback
2008 MVP’s: Darren McFadden & Nnamdi Asomugha
Unsung hero: Michael Bush
Record last year: 4-12
Record this year: 6-10
San Diego Chargers – The Chargers started off
the 2007 season looking like every other Norv Turner coached team: lacking
enthusiasm and accepting defeat easily. But something happened on the
way to the AFC South title. The team rallied without Turner. Never before
has a self-coached team done so well.
RB LaDanian Tomlinson led the league in rushing last year, but this
guy has taken a pounding in his seven years in the NFL. Only Edgerrin
James and Fred Taylor have advanced the ball more often than LT. To
make matters worse, the team let his backup, Michael Turner, go to Atlanta.
Expected to help LT with the carries are the diminutive Darren Sproles
and fullback/halfback hybrid rookie Jacob Hester. Hester’s ability
reminds me of the famous quotation by RB Leroy Hoard: "Coach, if
you need one yard, I'll get you three yards. If you need five yards,
I'll get you three yards." QB Phillip Rivers has grown quite a
bit as an NFL passer, but his delivery is still deeply flawed. He’s
lucky to have so many tall receivers at his disposal to minimize Rivers's
mistakes. Chris Chambers is the only WR on the squad under 6’1”.
Vincent Jackson, Buster Davis and the promising yet silly-named Legedu
Naanee will need to be worked into the offense to take the pressure
off LT. And then there’s Antonio Gates. When healthy, he’s
the best pass-catching TE in the league. But he’s not healthy.
He’s barely practiced this off-season. His toe will likely cause
him great pain all season, and he may miss some time if the aches worsen
or render him useless.
The San Diego defense learned a few shocking items this year: stand-out
LB Shawne Merriman has significant knee damage, and… he’s
willing to play with it! Not for long, I suspect. Even if the team doesn’t
shut him down (as they should), Merriman will succumb to a career-threatening
injury to that knee within a few weeks. Jyles Tucker – who wowed
the team with a Week 17 three-sack performance – made some serious
coin off that one day. He went from the practice squad to a $14.6 million
dollar contract within a few months. Tucker is likely to replace Merriman
soon. OLB Shaun Phillips will be the team’s new lead pass rusher.
At least there is some stability along the defensive line. DE Luis Castillo
signed a new contract, and NT Jamal Williams is still strong after 10
NFL seasons. CB Antonio Cromartie surprised everyone by shaking the
“workout warrior” tag and leading the league in interceptions
(and starting only half the season!). The rest of the NFL will have
to learn the lesson that Peyton Manning learned the hard way: throw
to the other side of the field! That’s where Quentin Jammer lives.
And he’s almost as dangerous. If those two guys can shut down
the wide receivers, then safeties Eric Weddle and Clinton Hart can have
a field day. Also look for rookie CB Antoine Cason to be used to blanket
the field.
Don’t get me wrong: the Chargers have some great, great players
grinding it out every Sunday. But this team just doesn’t stand
up to the best in the NFL. Norv Turner is not inspiring. And with Merriman
and Gates hurting… and Michael Turner gone… I can’t
help but think that San Diego got weaker in 2008. Still, with only the
Broncos mounting a challenge to the division crown, the Chargers should
still be able to eke out a playoff spot.
Strength: defensive line
Weakness: wide receiver
2008 MVP’s: LaDanian Tomlinson & Shaun Phillips
Unsung hero: Brandon Siler
Record last year: 11-5 (playoffs)
Record this year: 11-5 (playoffs)
- Uncle Scurvy - RotoKingdom Staff Writer
