cdumler7
Well-Known Member
I still think it's ludicrous that Denver falls on its face and the Kansas Diego Raiders win the division.....
San Diego is the only one I see having a chance. Offensively they should be a top-10 team. I actually think Melvin Gordon will be the OROY this year. Defensively though their front-7 is just not up to par. Teams are going to be able to run on them and then with little to no pass rush should be able to sit back and pick apart the secondary. Essentially the Chargers are going to have to win games with playing keep away by running the football over and over again with timely throws by Rivers then hope the defense can make a few stops.
As for the Chiefs I just don't see how they have improved. OL wise they lost their two best OL players from a year ago in Hudson and now Ryan Harris just signed with the Broncos. They both received the two best PFF grades for the OL that was already terrible to begin with. So Alex Smith is going to be running for his life and Charles just isn't going to have the holes. WR wise have they actually improved. I mean they cut Bowe to then spend all of that money to sign Maclin. Their biggest issue last year was not having a receiver that could make a play in the Red Zone. Maclin's greatest weakness is that of in the Red Zone. He makes his plays between the 20's by beating defenses over the top. Alex Smith was actually I think the worst QB in the league last year of throws over 20 yards so then getting a receiver that makes a living making plays beyond 20 yards down the field just doesn't make sense. Smith refuses to even try to make those throws.
Essentially the Chiefs are going to have to depend on their defense being top-5 to make the playoffs this year. They have a great pass rush and what could be a pretty good secondary. I do think though on defense they will struggle with run defense. They lucked into being in one of the worst rushing divisions in football. All 3 teams have worked hard to improve in that area and the Chiefs last year were ranked 21st in yards per carry. Not sure they have done much to improve in that area.