By Sascha Bartels
Published: August 13, 2008
Updated: August 20, 2008 PrintEmail
Welcome to the 5th edition of the weekly NFL previews. As always, the preview gets debuted and talked about on the PSH radio show, and will then be posted on the site later on Tuesday evening. Don’t forget to tune in every Tuesday at 8pm eastern, as Chris “Raiden” Grewe and Rob “Crunked” Freet review and preview the week in football.
Alright, so today we have the AFC West. Other than the Patriots in the AFC East, is there any team in the league expected to win the division as much as San Diego will be this season? And for good reason. This team is solid from top to bottom on offense and defense, and with a favorable schedule that includes the Patriots coming to town; the Chargers have a great chance to enter the post-season with the top seed.
Offensively, they’re led by a good quarterback, and a pair of the biggest playmakers in the game, Tomlinson and Antonio Gates. The offensive line is very solid, led by Marcus McNeill and Nick Hardwick. I expected that a team with no glaring need or weakness would find a way to draft a first round tackle to take over the side vacated by Shane Olivea, but the team decided to draft defense instead. Last year, with the help of the acquired Chris Chambers, receiver Vincent Jackson became a weapon late in the year. The one thing the Chargers have lacked offensively in recent years is stead play by the wide receivers, but that no longer seems to be an issue with Chambers and Jackson. The Chargers do lose backup runner Michael Turner, but still feature the speedster Darren Sproles and have added extra bulk to the backfield by drafting Marcus Thomas and Jacob Hester.
On defense, they are perhaps even more stacked. Led by arguably the best defensive player in football, the Chargers front seven is possible the best in football. Charger lifer Jamal Williams still heads up the middle of the line, and he’s flanked by the perfect 3-4 ends in Luis Castillo and Igor Olshansky. Behind those three, in addition to the free roaming Merriman, the Chargers boast Shaun Cooper and Stephen Cooper with the emerging Matt Wilhelm. If that weren’t enough, the starting cornerback duo is among the best in the league already, and the team just added first rounder Antoine Cason to that group. Both Eric Weddle and Clinton Hart became solid, contributing safeties last year. The Chargers should find their way into the top five in the NFL on both offense and defense, they will walk away with the AFC West, and I believe they will beat New England en route to the AFC’s best record. The Chiefs did more this season to make themselves a good team in 2010 than anybody else, and it was a very smart move. They lost one of the best defensive ends in football, but Jared Allen’s talents were going to be wasted in Kansas City for the next season or two, his contract was not worth it for the Chiefs, and they got a great return from the Vikings. The Chiefs did a better job drafting for the future than any other team in the league this year, as Glenn Dorsey, Brandon Albert and DaJuan Morgan could all contribute this season, while Brandon Flowers and Brandon Carr look to become their future at corner and Brad Cottam should be ready once Tony Gonzales decides to call it quits. On top of that, they’re starting new quarterback Brodie Croyle, and they look to have a better insurance policy in place in case Larry Johnson goes down again. On top of all that they have a head coach who wants to coach young talent and is not hung up on preferring veterans. This team will not be overly good in 2008, but as all the young and new additions mesh, the Chiefs are a prime candidate for division supremacy in about two years. For 2008 however, they will only win about 5 games, which will only allow them to add yet another high end piece to the puzzle in next year’s draft.
That leaves us with the battle for second place, and it comes down to the Broncos and the Raiders. Let’s do a quick comparison of the two teams. Denver has to be given the current edge at quarterback due to Cutler’s experience edge, but Russell will have to start proving himself early. While the Broncos generally run a very good rushing scheme, personnel wise they would have to be considered inferior to Fargas, McFadden and the Raiders. Javon Walker left the Broncos. Javon Walker joined the Raiders. If he is healthy and has a mindset for football, that will be a good addition for Oakland. And with Brandon Marshall’s troubles in Denver, the receivers even out a bit, but an edge still has to be given to Denver. But defensively is where the Raiders currently make their money, and their edge at all positions should push Oakland over the top. Burgess and Kelly anchor a good line for the Raiders, where the Broncos answer with younger talents Thomas, Moss and Dumerville. Morrison is a good linebacker flanked by talent on each end, and the same can be said for D.J. Williams and company in Denver. Champ Bailey is the best corner in the game, but the combo of Asomoghu, Hall, and now Branch will offset Bailey and Bly. Michael Huff and Gibril Wilson have a small edge over Hamza Abdullah and whoever wins Lynch’s spot, probably Manuel. While the overall product of the Broncos is currently suffering a bit of a decline and the Raiders are enjoying an upswing, neither team is currently good enough to make a serious run at the playoffs. I give the Raiders a small advantage overall though, meaning they will win seven games, and one more than the Broncos. Both of these team may be passed, and soon, by the Chiefs.
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