AFC West Roundup

[iknowftbll]

Every season the teams besides the Broncos I'm most interesting in knowing about are the other AFC West teams. On this thread I'll AFC West teams and news as it relates to the Broncos. For, some opening thoughts on each AFC West team following week 1's action:

Broncos: What more is there to say? From the performance of our offense to the defense clamping down and putting the wood on Cam and the Panthers, that 21-20 win made for arguably one of the best week 1 games. I remain optimistic about the season after seeing the offense perform the way it did against a very good defense. Plus the Panthers wanted that win badly, so for the Broncos to come back from a 10 point deficit and win it is huge. Next up is the Colts, and while I have a cautious optimism the Broncos win again, there is something about the Colts that gives the Broncos fits.

Chiefs: There are a few ways to look at their 33-27 OT win. First you can say good teams don't get down the way the Chiefs did, but then again we all remember that 24-0 start on MNF a few years ago between the Broncos and Chargers. You can also give the Chiefs some serious props for their defense clamping down and their offense storming back into the game. Or you can shrug and say you have no idea what kind of team the Chiefs will be. After all, their defense didn't really shut down the Chargers until Allen's departure, and their offense got stymied by what appears to be a bottom-third defense for much of the game. And toss in it was week 1 where just about anything can happen, and it's anyone's guess what kind of team the Chiefs will be.

Raiders: I'll give them a lot of props for putting up 35 points, even against a bad defense like the Saints. That was another come from behind win by an AFC West team and that's hard to do in that dome. I'll not even hold it against them they gave up 34 points. The Saints offense is pretty good and that defense has a lot of new faces. The 2-point try for the win was a ballsy call, the likes of which we never saw in Denver. I guess he's taking his job with the Raiders more seriously than he ever took his job with the Broncos. With that said, the Raiders are going to have to get a lot better on defense if they are going to be taken seriously this year. And they won't be able to put up 35 every week, too. A good start for them, but it's still too early to pencil them in for the playoffs.

Chargers: You can make the debate about the team that wins a big comeback game against a lesser opponent, but you can't make an intelligent debate about the team that gives up the big lead and loses the game. The Chargers look like early favorites to finish last in the division. And it's not just because Allen is lost for the season again. That defense needs to close. Until they do, comebacks like that are going to happen. And that offense, while it had its moments, is going to have a lot of pressure to keep that team's head above the water. With that said, Gordon actually looked like an NFL RB at times in that game, and Rivers is Rivers. The Chargers will have their moments in 2016, and while I think they are a last place team at the end, I think they will be the best last place team in the league.

Going forward, there is a lot of hype on the three AFC West winners after close wins in week 1. While the Broncos win is by far the most impressive (considering quality of opponent) it's just one win in a 16 game season and it doesn't count in the standings any more than the others. The early goings on in the season are really exciting though because we still don't know much about these teams. As we learn more and shape our expectations for the season, I'll update this thread with thoughts and observations on these teams. I welcome your thoughts as well.

 

[cdumler7]

Always love when you do this throughout the season.

And I'm with you that I don't know if we can really draw many conclusions from week 1. The 3 teams that won were losing going into the 4th quarter and the 1 team that was winning lost. All 4 teams were in very close games that could have gone the other way easily.

Right now I am still on the Chiefs and Broncos as being the two that make the playoffs from this division. The Chiefs have some guys coming back from injury as the season progresses to help out that defense and honestly I think the Chiefs have the best offense in the division. They are the most balanced between run and pass.

The Raiders I just need to see more to believe. I said a while ago that all those FA additions to that defense would struggle especially early on. When you add that many new moving parts to a young group of guys it leads to a lot of miscommunications. I also said that Sean Smith would struggle in Del Rio's style of defense. He is a press-man corner. He is big and physical and does well when he can throw a WR's route off. Playing off-man he just doesn't have the turn and burn ability to stay with WR's in this league. So I think that defense is going to continue to get beaten up. Julio Jones if you have him on your fantasy team I would be starting him this week. Going to have a big week in my opinion. We also saw in preseason them struggle against the run and while they were beat through the air in this last one I think the run game will be the bigger concern as the year goes on. Now given they have a dynamic offense that will keep them in most games but dynamic offenses are hard to trust to stay consistent week in and week out. Especially as the weather gets colder.

 

[Broncos6482]

The Chiefs are pretty much what I expected: that offense can be really good, but they have serious issues on defense. Even if Justin Houston comes back just as good as he was, they still have major issues in the secondary and their run defense is not very good. They'll compete for a playoff spot, but I don't think they're a Super Bowl contender like many Chiefs' fans hoped.

The Raiders took a big step by winning a tough game on the road. They get the Falcons at home this week and a good chance to go 2-0. Like the Chiefs, I think they're a playoff contender, but not good enough to win the Super Bowl.

The Chargers are the same Chargers. Even without Allen, they had no business losing that game, yet they did. I don't see how McCoy lasts much longer as I think it will be another long year in San Diego.

 

[cdumler7]

The Chiefs are pretty much what I expected: that offense can be really good, but they have serious issues on defense. Even if Justin Houston comes back just as good as he was, they still have major issues in the secondary and their run defense is not very good. They'll compete for a playoff spot, but I don't think they're a Super Bowl contender like many Chiefs' fans hoped.

The Raiders took a big step by winning a tough game on the road. They get the Falcons at home this week and a good chance to go 2-0. Like the Chiefs, I think they're a playoff contender, but not good enough to win the Super Bowl.

The Chargers are the same Chargers. Even without Allen, they had no business losing that game, yet they did. I don't see how McCoy lasts much longer as I think it will be another long year in San Diego.

I was watching the NFL Network on Monday and one of the media guys said that he tweeted out asking Chargers fans how they felt with their team winning big? He said his first response was "well here comes another crushing loss." Second tweet was "I'm confident that my team will find a way to lose this game." Feel for Chargers fans. For us Bronco fans we have been spoiled by a team that just seems to find a way to win the close ones. Somebody makes a play.

Chiefs for me I feel like one of their biggest assets is also one of their greatest weaknesses. Andy Reid. He is a great coach in this league that seems to build good/great teams. At the same time what we see is a coach that consistently struggles to make the right calls when the lights are brightest. His in game management is just not good enough when it matters most. He always seems to have his teams win the games they should but then are completely inconsistent in the closer matched games.

And yes the Raiders took a nice step winning a close game. I'm just not sure the Saints are a good measuring stick quite yet. They have been a bottom tier team the last couple of years and have been historically bad on defense. So putting up 35 points on them when close to half the teams last year put up 30 or more on them I'm just left wanting to see more. Especially when that Raiders defense got torn apart. Saints have a good offense so I expected them to put up some points but with all the FA additions that shouldn't have happened.

 

[iknowftbll]

I was watching the NFL Network on Monday and one of the media guys said that he tweeted out asking Chargers fans how they felt with their team winning big? He said his first response was "well here comes another crushing loss." Second tweet was "I'm confident that my team will find a way to lose this game." Feel for Chargers fans. For us Bronco fans we have been spoiled by a team that just seems to find a way to win the close ones. Somebody makes a play.

Having lived in San Diego for part of their "run" and while the Broncos were a perennial 8-8 at best team, I can honestly say I haven't an ounce of sympathy for Chargers fans. The only thing I didn't like about their meltdown in that game was it led to a Chiefs win.

Chiefs for me I feel like one of their biggest assets is also one of their greatest weaknesses. Andy Reid. He is a great coach in this league that seems to build good/great teams. At the same time what we see is a coach that consistently struggles to make the right calls when the lights are brightest. His in game management is just not good enough when it matters most. He always seems to have his teams win the games they should but then are completely inconsistent in the closer matched games.

I agree with this. Reid was one of the best things that ever happened to the Chiefs, along with Alex Smith. The key is this: will that combo be enough to get them over the hump? Or will Reid be to the Chiefs what Fox was to the Broncos: The right guy at the right time to take the team from dismal to playoff caliber, but not good enough to take them all the way.

And yes the Raiders took a nice step winning a close game. I'm just not sure the Saints are a good measuring stick quite yet. They have been a bottom tier team the last couple of years and have been historically bad on defense. So putting up 35 points on them when close to half the teams last year put up 30 or more on them I'm just left wanting to see more. Especially when that Raiders defense got torn apart. Saints have a good offense so I expected them to put up some points but with all the FA additions that shouldn't have happened.

When you win 35-34 on the road and in week 1 (anything can happen) it's hard to get a feel for what they really are. 35 points is nothing to sneeze at, but then again neither is that Saints defense. Also, allowing 34 points to the Saints on their turf...I'll withhold judgment on that Raiders defense for the time being. Let's see how they do against the Falcons this week.

 

[cdumler7]

Having lived in San Diego for part of their "run" and while the Broncos were a perennial 8-8 at best team, I can honestly say I haven't an ounce of sympathy for Chargers fans. The only thing I didn't like about their meltdown in that game was it led to a Chiefs win.



I agree with this. Reid was one of the best things that ever happened to the Chiefs, along with Alex Smith. The key is this: will that combo be enough to get them over the hump? Or will Reid be to the Chiefs what Fox was to the Broncos: The right guy at the right time to take the team from dismal to playoff caliber, but not good enough to take them all the way.



When you win 35-34 on the road and in week 1 (anything can happen) it's hard to get a feel for what they really are. 35 points is nothing to sneeze at, but then again neither is that Saints defense. Also, allowing 34 points to the Saints on their turf...I'll withhold judgment on that Raiders defense for the time being. Let's see how they do against the Falcons this week.

All of this is again why I agree that week 1 honestly didn't tell us much about any of our teams other than I do think 3 of the teams in this division stand a good chance of winning the division or at least making the playoffs. I guess with the Raiders part of it is I like that they have been bad for so long. Just seemed like for so long their fans held over the rest of the division how great they were for so long. Now with us having same number of Super Bowl wins plus plenty more actual Super Bowl appearances we finally have become king of the division. The other part though is I saw the same problems they had against the Saints show up in the preseason. They were losing individual battles left and right and teams were easily moving the football. Now yes it was only preseason but seeing it carry over into the season I think this will be an issue for especially the first 8 weeks. They will be leaning on that offense pretty heavy. Maybe I am wrong and it was a one week fluke.

 

[Broncos6482]

I was watching the NFL Network on Monday and one of the media guys said that he tweeted out asking Chargers fans how they felt with their team winning big? He said his first response was "well here comes another crushing loss." Second tweet was "I'm confident that my team will find a way to lose this game." Feel for Chargers fans. For us Bronco fans we have been spoiled by a team that just seems to find a way to win the close ones. Somebody makes a play.

Chiefs for me I feel like one of their biggest assets is also one of their greatest weaknesses. Andy Reid. He is a great coach in this league that seems to build good/great teams. At the same time what we see is a coach that consistently struggles to make the right calls when the lights are brightest. His in game management is just not good enough when it matters most. He always seems to have his teams win the games they should but then are completely inconsistent in the closer matched games.

And yes the Raiders took a nice step winning a close game. I'm just not sure the Saints are a good measuring stick quite yet. They have been a bottom tier team the last couple of years and have been historically bad on defense. So putting up 35 points on them when close to half the teams last year put up 30 or more on them I'm just left wanting to see more. Especially when that Raiders defense got torn apart. Saints have a good offense so I expected them to put up some points but with all the FA additions that shouldn't have happened.

Andy Reid is an interesting case. He's probably the best (or at least, one of the best) coaches in the NFL during the week. He always seems to get more out of middling quarterbacks or offenses than what he should. He's a great game planner, and he designs plays to maximize his teams strengths and attack his opponents weaknesses better than maybe anyone.

Then when it comes to coaching during the game, he's got to be one of the worst in the league. He has no idea how to manage a clock. He too frequently abandons the run to throw it 50 times. And I think that's why he's so often failed on the big stage. In playoff games, every little advantage matters. Every mistake is magnified. Reid will always field competitive teams, but he'll often lose against the elite because his in game decisions are so bad.

What's mystifying is he can't even seem to learn. A 12 year old who's played Madden for an hour could manage a clock better than Reid did against the Patriots, yet after the game he actually DEFENDED his clock management. It's not that he gets lost in the heat of the moment, he actually thinks he's doing it right! That blows my mind.

 

[iknowftbll]

That is a really good point about the Raiders defense, CD. A general rule in the preseason is if your team looks great you can't get too excited. But if they look like butt crack, you may have cause for concern. The Raiders defense is not executing well and you're right: that's a carry over from the preseason. The Raiders likely win on Sunday. I don't think the Falcons are very good, and a high spirited team in its home opener...Raiders should take it. But I think it'll be a 31-27 type game. Raiders offense thrives against a bottom tier defense but their defense continues to show it's not that great. We'll see.

 

[cdumler7]

Andy Reid is an interesting case. He's probably the best (or at least, one of the best) coaches in the NFL during the week. He always seems to get more out of middling quarterbacks or offenses than what he should. He's a great game planner, and he designs plays to maximize his teams strengths and attack his opponents weaknesses better than maybe anyone.

Then when it comes to coaching during the game, he's got to be one of the worst in the league. He has no idea how to manage a clock. He too frequently abandons the run to throw it 50 times. And I think that's why he's so often failed on the big stage. In playoff games, every little advantage matters. Every mistake is magnified. Reid will always field competitive teams, but he'll often lose against the elite because his in game decisions are so bad.

What's mystifying is he can't even seem to learn. A 12 year old who's played Madden for an hour could manage a clock better than Reid did against the Patriots, yet after the game he actually DEFENDED his clock management. It's not that he gets lost in the heat of the moment, he actually thinks he's doing it right! That blows my mind.

Not sure if anybody else read the article about Elway and just why he is the way that he is. One of the quotes in there was about John Fox (not said by Elway but by the writer who heard it from Fox) in which Fox said "Isn't winning the division enough?"

Honestly I would love Reid as my coach but because he has never gotten over the hump there will always be that reputation hanging over his head of being a good coach but never good enough. So teams will keep hiring him with the notion that just maybe they can get over the hump and watch those 10-6 or 11-5 season pile up and say "man it is great we made the playoffs but just couldn't get it done."

I still can't believe that Elway had the guts to fire a coach that had won the division all 4 years he was here and had just gotten us to the Super Bowl 2 seasons earlier. He knew though that Fox just wasn't the guy that was going to get us over the hump. Such an underrated decision that caught a ton of flack. Yet somehow this guy doesn't win GM of the year ever.

 

[cdumler7]

That is a really good point about the Raiders defense, CD. A general rule in the preseason is if your team looks great you can't get too excited. But if they look like butt crack, you may have cause for concern. The Raiders defense is not executing well and you're right: that's a carry over from the preseason. The Raiders likely win on Sunday. I don't think the Falcons are very good, and a high spirited team in its home opener...Raiders should take it. But I think it'll be a 31-27 type game. Raiders offense thrives against a bottom tier defense but their defense continues to show it's not that great. We'll see.

Honestly the 3rd preseason game can be a decent test to show what a team will look like in the regular season. 2015 our defense looked great flying all over the field while our offense struggled against the 49ers in the 3rd preseason game. 2014 defense look good not great while our offense did the same. 2013 our offense looked great while our defense struggled to stop the Rams.

So it can be an indication. Depends what the team is working to accomplish. I know Peyton always enjoyed running plays that they rarely worked on just to see how they would do in a game setting. So many times not always the best indicator of how the offense might do.

I guess for me I just look for the individual match ups and how do guys do. On defense does the DL get pushed backwards? How do the Corners do in one-on-one match ups? What I saw from the Raiders is them get burned some on the outside and especially get pushed around up the middle of their defense.

 

[iknowftbll]

I guess for me I just look for the individual match ups and how do guys do. On defense does the DL get pushed backwards? How do the Corners do in one-on-one match ups? What I saw from the Raiders is them get burned some on the outside and especially get pushed around up the middle of their defense.

And this is really encouraging news. A team built like the Raiders is a recipe for an 8-8 season. We've seen a couple Broncos teams like that. If that defense continues to get pushed around we'll find ourselves talking about the Raiders less and less on this thread. But right now it's too early to dismiss them. Even a bottom tier defense has its moments throughout the year.

 

[iknowftbll]

Here's a fun fact. The Broncos allowed 157 rushing yards on 32 attempts against the Panthers. The Chiefs allowed 155 on 32 attempts. At a glance they look strikingly similar, right? But let's not forget the quality of opponent here. The Chargers were 4-12 and didn't have a good rushing attack in 2015. The Panthers...totally different story. While Broncos fans can expect to see that run defense clamp down in future weeks I think the Chiefs are going to be susceptible to the run all season long.

 

[xBxtxDx]

I don't think the Falcons are very good, and a high spirited team in its home opener...Raiders should take it. But I think it'll be a 31-27 type game. Raiders offense thrives against a bottom tier defense but their defense continues to show it's not that great. We'll see.

Maybe not, but if you sleep on them at all, you will lose. The Falcons are good enough to do that, but bad enough to lose games they have no business losing.

 

[randymon]

I said it once, I'll say it again. Denver is still the class of the AFC West and they'll win div by 3 + games. Losing Allen cost SD that game. Emotionally especially. Once Allen was lost, it took the air out of them. Raiders D is young and will improve but Mack is the best they got right now. The O will score plenty of points for awhile, but the D will keep most teams in every game. The Chiefs, are still the Chiefs and as long as Smith and Coach Reid are there, they will always be a one and done if they make playoffs. SD, the Rivers era is almost over and so is any winning record for a long time. Denver will continue to dominate as long as Elway is in control. You got three teams overrated because every non Bronco fan is tired of their dominance and just wants them to finally succumb to their predictions of failure for them. Sorry folks, but Denver will dominate and win AFC West once again.

 

[iknowftbll]

Maybe not, but if you sleep on them at all, you will lose. The Falcons are good enough to do that, but bad enough to lose games they have no business losing.

I certainly hope you are right. It wouldn't bother me at all to see the Falcons knock off the Raiders, some of whose fans have already started route planning their Super Bowl victory parade.

 

[iknowftbll]

I said it once, I'll say it again. Denver is still the class of the AFC West and they'll win div by 3 + games. Losing Allen cost SD that game. Emotionally especially. Once Allen was lost, it took the air out of them. Raiders D is young and will improve but Mack is the best they got right now. The O will score plenty of points for awhile, but the D will keep most teams in every game. The Chiefs, are still the Chiefs and as long as Smith and Coach Reid are there, they will always be a one and done if they make playoffs. SD, the Rivers era is almost over and so is any winning record for a long time. Denver will continue to dominate as long as Elway is in control. You got three teams overrated because every non Bronco fan is tired of their dominance and just wants them to finally succumb to their predictions of failure for them. Sorry folks, but Denver will dominate and win AFC West once again.

I am inclined to agree, simply on the argument that the Broncos defense is far better than the Chiefs and Raiders, and their offense will be improved over last year's unit. I really am hoping they can pull off another AFC West title and make it 6 in a row. That's never happened in the west. The Raiders have won if 5 times in a row (1972-1976) and 4 years in a row (1967-1970) with the Chiefs breaking up that run with their 1971 AFC West title. While that run for the Raiders is impressive, let's not forget the Raiders since 2002 have been a worse team than the Cleveland Browns. The Broncos officially surpassed the Raiders as the premier franchise in the AFC West with their third Super Bowl win, and now it's time to continue that dominance with an unprecedented 6-straight AFC West titles.

 

[xBxtxDx]

I certainly hope you are right. It wouldn't bother me at all to see the Falcons knock off the Raiders, some of whose fans have already started route planning their Super Bowl victory parade.

Some plan on winning multiple Super Bowls in the coming years. Which was one of the most laughable threads I have seen on this site.

 

[iknowftbll]

Some plan on winning multiple Super Bowls in the coming years. Which was one of the most laughable threads I have seen on this site.

I remember that one. One 7-9 season and the Raiders were going to win 3 Super Bowls in the next 7 years!

 

[nflbronco]

Maybe not, but if you sleep on them at all, you will lose. The Falcons are good enough to do that, but bad enough to lose games they have no business losing.

Falcons have driven me nuts I pick them they lose I don't pick them they win.

 

[xBxtxDx]

Falcons have driven me nuts I pick them they lose I don't pick them they win.

This very much. You pick them against a team you know they can dominate, they get their ass handed to them. Then they go against a team you know will clobber them and they pull out an epic win. At that point I usually print out a picture of Matt Ryan from the internet and take it somewhere private and take a dump on it out of spite. I hate you Matt Ryan!!!