Wednesday, August 18, 2010

2010 NFL Preview Part 1: AFC West

Greetings all... The NFL preview commences with a breakdown of the AFC West... Just as an FYI.. it'll be a 9-part series with all 8 divisions, followed by an awards/playoffs/Super Bowl prediction wrap-up... Just one man's opinion...
  1. San Diego Chargers (11-5) - Gone is Tomlinson.. and Vincent Jackson is a question mark with a holdout/looming suspension cast over him... but they have a top-8 QB in Rivers, a highly-touted rookie RB in Mathews (to team with electric Darren Sproles), and the best pass-catching tight end alive in Antonio Gates... the questions are on defense without Jamal Williams and Antonio Cromartie... but with a clean bill of health for Shawne Merriman, another year from Larry English, and continued improvement from the secondary's young pieces... I like San Diego to run away with an admittedly bad division....
  2. Kansas City Chiefs (8-8) - Giving KC the nod... playoff team? No, but I love the Charles/Jones 2-man attack in the backfield, I think Cassel is better than what he showed last year (plus a new coordinator, and a rebuilt O-line), and Dwayne Bowe is back and healthy... I really think KC will score... I think the D will be improved, but they are still very, very young... Tyson Jackson/Dorsey/Hali/Eric Berry/Javier Arenas, etc. form a nice young nucleus... but they are a year or 2 away from the playoffs
  3. Denver Broncos (6-10) - Injuries are the story... franchise DE Elvis Dumervil looks to be out for the season and that's a crushing blow... he's the main pass-rusher from an already hole-filled defense... Offensive issues? We have those too... both Buckhalter and Moreno are banged up... the QB situation is unsettled with the addition of Tebow and Quinn to battle Orton... and the receivers are flat-out bad from an NFL standpoint (even if I like Royal and Thomas)... there are positives... I'm high on Moreno's talent, Royal is a solid possession WR, and the O-line (anchored by all-pro Ryan Clady) is pretty good.. but too many questions of age (on both sides of the spectrum) and talent on defense to pick them with all of the offensive woes...
  4. Oakland Raiders (6-10) - I'm so very tempted to go higher... but 6 wins is an improvement... I'm high on Jason Campbell, and he's a leaps-and-bounds upgrade (even if it's just to league average) over the QB carousel from last year... McFadden and Bush are "meh" but capable at RB, and there is legit talent on defense with top-2 CB Nnamdi Asomugha, Richard Seymour, the violently overpaid but still good DT Tommy Kelly, and rookie LB Rolando McClain... Oh... the reasons I can't pick them are still aplenty... huge question marks at receiver with Heyward-Bay, Murphy, and Schilens... flat-out bad safety play on the back-end and a lackluster pass-rush on the edge... coupled with a bad offensive line, and the fact that Al Davis still runs the Raiders? pass...

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