It could be a year of change in the AFC West. On the way out are two perennial playoff contenders and rising is a team who has been at the bottom the past few years. One thing is for sure, the west is not the place to be a football fan right now. Both the NFC and the AFC West are arguably the two weakest divisions in football. Wait a minute... no argument. So how is the AFC West gonna turn out, well maybe a little like this.
1. San Diego Chargers 10-6
2. Kansas City Chiefs 7-9
3. Denver Broncos 5-11
4. Oakland Raiders 3-13
The Chargers may be able to keep themselves above water a little while longer before they start losing their grip. LT is out and a new running back has a lot on his shoulders. The Chargers drafted Ryan Mathews out of Fresno State to replace Tomlinson and they better hope he succeeds, especially for the first few games. Dealing with a suspension to Vincent Jackson, Philip Rivers is at a loss for his prime receiver. Floyd will hopefully step up and catch some balls, but there is definitely gonna be a need for some decent runs. After all, by beefing up their offense in the draft they forgot to address their blaring problem at defense. I still see the Chargers making the playoffs in a weak West division.
The Chiefs have a good problem, they have a veteran running back with over 1000 yards rushed the past five years competing with a young running back who broke 1000 yards for the first time last year... Not a bad predicament. Throw in a declining Chargers team and you have a Kansas team poised to make some moves in the West. Another good sign was the signing of Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis during the offseason. He should work nicely with Matt Cassel the same way he worked with Jimmy Clausen with the Irish and we may see some improvement in the scoring department. Finally, the drafting of safety Eric Berry with the number 5 overall pick was a smart move, bolstering their secondary. We all saw what a difference a good safety makes when Pittsburgh lost Polomalu last year. Well, it might be that much of a drastic change, but altogether it could spell success for the Chiefs.
Denver has a bunch of problems this year, and that's not something you want as an 88 team, especially when you're already on the decline. I'm not sure drafting Tim Tebow was a good idea and losing their star youngster, Brandon Marshall, was crippling to an offense with not many people to throw to. LenDale White has also been lost to a season ending injury and Moreno is going to have to improve on his disappointing rookie season. The problem is I don't know if much improvement is going to happen, and this team could end up taking a tumble at the hands of the Chiefs.
Oakland also has a lot of problems, but admitting that Jamarcus Russel was a mistake was step one in getting back on track. That and Al Davis not completely screwing up at the draft. I doubt the picks they drafted, Rolando McClain and Bruce Campbell, will pay off much in 2010, but it's definitely a step in the right direction. Give them a few years and a few more top draft picks and they could be a contender again. Right now they're just a doormat in one of the worst divisions in the National Football League. Sorry Raiders fans...
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