How the West was won
As the preseason starts and the sounds and sights of FOOTBALL!!!! are in the air again, it’s time to break down this years’ thrilling installment of the AFC West by their rank and record this year.
4th Place: Oakland Raiders (7-9)
Does anyone think they have a real shot at the division? First of all, Aaron Brooks is their quarterback. Apparently no one in Oakland ever watched a Saint’s game, because as Steven A would say, ‘That guy is TERRIBLE.’ Here’s an intriguing stat for you: Last year, Brooks threw 16 interceptions and only 13 TDs. Yeah, he was on a bad team, but it’s not like he has a lot more going for him in Oakland. The point is, when he has people around him, Brooks is a decent QB, but he’s not a guy who can come in and turn a team around by himself, which is what he’s being asked to do in Oakland, and basically what he’s gonna have to do if they have a shot at the division. And that’s just not a roll Brooks will ever play.
3rd Place: Kansas City Chiefs (9-7)
The Chiefs do have Larry Johnson, but if we’ve learned anything from the Broncos, a good back is a nice thing to have, but he’s never going to be very effective without a good offensive line blocking for him. The Chiefs will not have a good offensive line this season. First, they’re old. The entire Chiefs line is over 27, with three guys over 30. Second, Willy Rove retiring means the anchor of the line is gone, and his replacement is not going to be the leader or talent that Rove was. The upshot of this is that the line in front of Johnson is going to be suspect at best, and will probably fall apart by the end of the season. Plus, if for any reason some of you chief fans are still getting excited about the season, here’s a reason not to: one of your big defensive acquisitions in the off-season was Lenny Walls, the Broncos’ 4th corner last year…you STILL don’t have a defense.
2nd Place: San Diego Chargers (10-6)
Two words: Phillip Rivers. Even though he has LT in the backfield, Rivers is an un-tested quarterback and starting one is always very risky. Plus, the Chargers made little defensive improvement in the offseason and without Drew Brees leading the team, I just don’t think they’ll go very far. Any time you come off a 9-7 season and then change QBs from a hot veteran to an untested, basically a rookie, you know you’re gambling and unless Rivers is just amazing, it’s going to be a development year for the Chargers, not a winning year. And that’s not even getting to that mess they call a secondary.
1st Place: Denver Broncos (13-3)
We made a couple of key acquisitions in the off-season in picking up pro-bowler Javon Walker and another member of that Cleveland D-line that we started grabbing a year ago. Walker should be a marked improvement over Ashley Lelie, who despite having enormous potential never showed up in a big game and appears to have been a nut case all along. Even though we lost Mike Anderson, we know by now that any running back can work in the Shannahan system, and all the two-bit analysts are saying the o-line might be as good as its ever been, even dating back to the Terrel years. Plus, we have some pretty good backs in camp: Ron Dayne showed a lot of promise last year and Tatum Bell was extremely motivated this offseason to get a little bigger and move up to a 25-30 carry back as opposed to just 15-20, attending 100% of the Broncos’ offseason conditioning program. Additionally, in drafting Cutler, we’re the west’s team of the future, too. We do have a very tough schedule this year - but we had one last year and overcame that just fine. Now we’re a much improved team and should do just fine.
The one thing all of us need to worry about in Denver is overconfidence. I know that making it to the AFC Championship game has gotten us all excited and everyone’s motto seems to be ‘Super Bowl or Bust!’ But we all have to remember that there are 16 regular season games before the playoffs start, and at least two games in the post-season before the Super Bowl. Everyone, the fans and the team needs to concentrate on each game instead of getting caught up in placing bets on the score of the big game. I don’t want to hear ANYONE trash-talking about winning the Super Bowl on any media outlet, pedastal, or even private conversation. Okay, good practice and I’ll see you tomorrow. Oh and Moncrief…good hands out there.
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1. Max - August 9, 2006 @ 1:46 pm
That you can be so wrong on so many points is astounding.
Randy Moss in OAK vs. Donte’ Stallworth in NO
Jerry Porter vs. Joe Horn
Lamont Jordan vs. Aaron Stecker
The line for NO was a little better than that of OAK, but OAK was and is better at every single skill position. Brooks won’t be the second coming of Johnny U, but he’s only two years removed from a season in which he threw for 24 touchdowns versus 8 interceptions.
Here’s a number for you - 30.2. That’s the average age of the Broncos’ five starting linemen. The average age of the Kansas City starting five is 30.4. So please explain to me why a team with an 11-time Pro Bowler, a top-10 center, and one of the top-3 guards in the league on their line will suddenly fall apart. Yes, both of their starting tackles retired this past season, and it’s impossible to replace one of the top offensive tackles of all time in Willie Roaf, but to call a line like that suspect is asinine.
And their other big defensive acquisition was five-time Pro Bowl cornerback Ty Law, who tied for the league lead with 10 interceptions last season.
The secondary that finished one spot ahead of the Broncos in pass defense last year? Besides, a statement like that completely ignores the fact that they have one of the strongest front-7s in the league.
Honestly, in the future, run anything you write about football past Sam first so he can infuse it with some sort of actual insight.
2. Gabe Stein - August 9, 2006 @ 1:54 pm
Uh…
1. Aaron Brooks is awful and Oakland’s team really isn’t that much better. If it was, last years’ offense should have rocked because NOTHING HAS CHANGED. Randy Moss wasn’t very effective with Cary Collins, and I doubt he’ll be better with Aaron Brooks.
2. The experts agree with me that Roaf is a huge loss and that the offensive line will fail. Read a damn sports column.
3. Ty Law is one guy - and when Lenny Walls is your other, you have problems in the secondary.
4. Last year is last year. We’re talking one of the worst secondary’s in the league this year. Again, the experts agree with me that the secondary will be San Diego’s shortcoming, especially if they make it to the post season. And I never said they don’t have a good front seven. They do. I’m just pointing out that they have major problems farther back.
Honestly, every time you comment, you bring up Sam. What, are you fucking that guy?
3. Sam - August 9, 2006 @ 10:41 pm
Max, we’ve been found out. We can make the trip to Vermont in peace.