AFC West Roundup

[CEH]

SD is the 2nd best team in the AFCW right now . 2 last second defeats. They still looked better in their loss than both the Raiders and Chiefs in their wins.
Not really concerned about the Chiefs and Raiders.
7 turnovers by the Chiefs and 24 points. 10 on offense at home?
Raiders won but Tenn O Lineman had a brain fart late in the game .

 

[iknowftbll]

I love reading comments like the ones in this article:

AFC West standings update

 

[cdumler7]

I love reading comments like the ones in this article:

AFC West standings update

"Wait till they play a good defense." While I will agree the Colts defense with all their injuries was not a good one both the Bengals and Panthers were top-10 defenses last year. Maybe they are not quite as good as last year but not like we have been playing the Raiders defense every week. And right now we are ranked 4th in scoring offense in the NFL. When you combine that with our defense I would say that is a pretty good combination in the NFL for success.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

The AFC West is the only division where every team has a positive point differential.

 

[cdumler7]

The AFC West is the only division where every team has a positive point differential.

Wouldn't shock me for the AFC West to end up being the best division in the NFL this season. Unfortunately that also means they end up beating up on each other some and costing the division leader possibly a playoff bye week.

 

[randymon]

Still not ready to jump on Raiders, Chargers and Chiefs as being anything special yet. Chiefs should have given Fitz game ball yesterday. Think 5 of his 6 picks were in red zone. Raiders D showed up vs a pretty anemic Titan offense and SD is dropping key players right and left. Like I predicted earlier, Denver wins division by 3 + games.

 

[cdumler7]

Chargers have officially lost Manti T'eo for the year. Tore his Achilles. Man if I were the Chargers I would fire their entire strength and conditioning staff. This has become quite the pattern. Cannot just be a coincidence that all these injuries keep happening.

Also the Raiders let go of one of their longest tenured players today in Marcel Reece. He was suspended for 4-games to start the season and the Raiders decided they already have a decent replacement for him on the team.

 

[iknowftbll]

Broncos roundup: Perhaps the most exciting thing about Siemian's performance against the Bengals is the dilemma it creates for opposing defenses going forward. The Bengals went all in against the run and the Broncos light them up through the air. They've sent a clear message: we can do it either way so pick your poison. I was a little disappointed the defense let the Bengals ground game break out. I realize the Bengals have a good run game that had just not opened up yet, so they were certainly due. At the same time, it's a little unnerving that the Broncos were the team they got it going against. The defensive performance overall was great: 17 points on the road against a frequent playoff team in recent years is a good day. That run defense bears watching in the coming weeks.

Next up: the Broncos travel to Tampa to take on the Buccaneers. While an early season trip to Florida is usually a disaster for the Broncos, there's a lot about this game to be excited about. The start time is 4:05, for one thing. Another reason to be confident is that Bucs defense is nothing special. Any time you give up 37 points to the Rams (read that again: the RAMS SCORED 37 ON THEM!) your defense sucks. Bad. So having said that, all signs indicate the Broncos should go down there and push them around. Which is exactly why I think the game will be closer than many of us expect. While there's a lot to be excited about, and many of us will be tempted to predict a blowout, the Bucs do have the feel of a capable team that is often just a first down here or a turnover there away from being a solid. They're definitely not a team you can sleep on. Thankfully the Broncos under Kubiak don't seem to take any opponent lightly.

Chiefs roundup: Going into the contest with the Jets, Chiefs fans at AA and AP alike called it a "must win" against a solid team. On the heals of a 24-3 win over the Jets in which the Chiefs forced 8 turnovers, they are celebrating after some iffy performances in weeks 1 and 2. And no team will ever apologize for how they win, but lost in the excitement of the win are some truths that may rear their ugly heads and bite the Chiefs on the posterior at some point this year. For starters, 14 of those 24 points were scored by the defense. (Chiefs fans: don't look now but isn't this "unsustainable?" Isn't that the word you used to argue why the Broncos would be worse this year?) The Chiefs offense has been lackluster this season, managing a comeback against a Chargers defense that has shown an inability to close, and 12 and 10 points respectively against the Texans and Jets. To top it off, Reid once again demonstrated is utter contempt for good clock management, allowing precious time to run off the clock before calling a TO just before halftime. The Chiefs were in a position to at least attempt a FG as the first half expired, then get first possession in the 2nd half. This is a situation a lot of teams literally game plan to get themselves into. It didn't bite the Chiefs in the rear this week, but that kind of coaching will cost them a win sooner or later this season.

Next up: The Chiefs head to Pittsburgh to take on a Steelers team coming of a 34-3 railing by the Eagles. This is actually a really good matchup. The Steelers offense is as good as any in the league (yesterday's debacle notwithstanding) and their defense isn't horrible. And given the performance against the Eagles, a good team like the Steelers isn't going to sleep walk through preparations this week. Combine this with the Chiefs lackluster offense and defense that, while good, can be had and this game has the makings of a Chiefs loss.

Raiders roundup: Like the Chiefs, the Raiders won and a win is a win and nobody is going to apologize for it. Plus the Raiders deserve some credit for getting their defense going, despite the Titans offense being a bottom feeder. After all, some of us (me) predicted it would be the Titans offense that got it together, not the Raiders defense. Still, a 10 point performance against the Titans is only marginally impressive. The Raiders should be a bit concerned that high flying offense was held to 17 by a mid-tier defense, too. There are some pretty stout opponents on the schedule for the Raiders. Teams that can both score and keep scoring under control. It's a win for now, but this is still a greatly flawed Raiders team.

Next up: The Raiders make the trip east to take on the 3-0 Ravens. The Ravens are off to a nice 3-0 start but they've barely edged by some bottom shelf talent. Suffice to say the Raiders are by far the best offense the Ravens have faced thus far. With that said, win or lose, Joe Flacco will probably send that Raiders defense back to the drawing board.

Chargers roundup: What can you say? Every week it's a season ending injury for this team. This week it's Teo. The Chargers are 1-2 but could easily be 3-0 if they could just finish. And even with the injuries piling up, I expect this team to be a tough win for any opponent. I agree with CEH when he says the Chargers are the 2nd best team in the division right now. There may be something to it if they could just close. One thing about it: they are definitely good enough to beat the Raiders and Chiefs at least once apiece. They may even be able to give the Broncos a game.

Next up: The Chargers are back home to take on the Saints. We'll see the Saints in action tonight, but even before we do I'm willing to say if you're a betting man take the over in this one.

Predictions for the AFC West games coming later this week.

 

[Clayton]

(Chiefs fans: don't look now but isn't this "unsustainable?" Isn't that the word you used to argue why the Broncos would be worse this year?) The Chiefs offense has been lackluster this season, managing a comeback against a Chargers defense that has shown an inability to close, and 12 and 10 points respectively against the Texans and Jets. To top it off, Reid once again demonstrated is utter contempt for good clock management, allowing precious time to run off the clock before calling a TO just before halftime. The Chiefs were in a position to at least attempt a FG as the first half expired, then get first possession in the 2nd half. This is a situation a lot of teams literally game plan to get themselves into. It didn't bite the Chiefs in the rear this week, but that kind of coaching will cost them a win sooner or later this season.

Its obviously unsustainable as was what Denver did in the playoffs last year. And what the Vikings are doing right now.

Chiefs have been all over the map this year. I think if the Chiefs score the TD with Ware instead of it being ruled a fumble then 17pts against the Jets looks a bit more adequate.

KC is only scoring TDs on 50% of their red zone trips this year which is down about 7% which is noticeable. Chargers are down 13% and Oakland is up 27%. Denver is pretty much a push.

After all of their hype, I wouldn't be too shocked if Oakland was actually the worst team in the division. They're basically playing at their peak right now as far as I can tell.

 

[Clayton]

Chargers have officially lost Manti T'eo for the year. Tore his Achilles. Man if I were the Chargers I would fire their entire strength and conditioning staff. This has become quite the pattern. Cannot just be a coincidence that all these injuries keep happening.

Keenan Allen was injury prone coming into the league and Woodhead is 5'8". Te'o should be sturdier than most, though, but health is a skill along with some luck. I also feel like I could add the words 'if healthy' to Jamaal Charles and Justin Houston at this point, too.

 

[cdumler7]

Keenan Allen was injury prone coming into the league and Woodhead is 5'8". Te'o should be sturdier than most, though, but health is a skill along with some luck. I also feel like I could add the words 'if healthy' to Jamaal Charles and Justin Houston at this point, too.

Oh I get that but we are seeing a team that for a while seems to be pretty injury prone. In 2015 they were 27th in games lost by starters. The year before that they were 31st. Yes injuries can just show up but when we start seeing a trend that a team continues to be at the bottom of the league then we have to start thinking there is something going on beyond just bad luck.

 

[cdumler7]

Broncos roundup: Perhaps the most exciting thing about Siemian's performance against the Bengals is the dilemma it creates for opposing defenses going forward. The Bengals went all in against the run and the Broncos light them up through the air. They've sent a clear message: we can do it either way so pick your poison. I was a little disappointed the defense let the Bengals ground game break out. I realize the Bengals have a good run game that had just not opened up yet, so they were certainly due. At the same time, it's a little unnerving that the Broncos were the team they got it going against. The defensive performance overall was great: 17 points on the road against a frequent playoff team in recent years is a good day. That run defense bears watching in the coming weeks.

Next up: the Broncos travel to Tampa to take on the Buccaneers. While an early season trip to Florida is usually a disaster for the Broncos, there's a lot about this game to be excited about. The start time is 4:05, for one thing. Another reason to be confident is that Bucs defense is nothing special. Any time you give up 37 points to the Rams (read that again: the RAMS SCORED 37 ON THEM!) your defense sucks. Bad. So having said that, all signs indicate the Broncos should go down there and push them around. Which is exactly why I think the game will be closer than many of us expect. While there's a lot to be excited about, and many of us will be tempted to predict a blowout, the Bucs do have the feel of a capable team that is often just a first down here or a turnover there away from being a solid. They're definitely not a team you can sleep on. Thankfully the Broncos under Kubiak don't seem to take any opponent lightly.

Chiefs roundup: Going into the contest with the Jets, Chiefs fans at AA and AP alike called it a "must win" against a solid team. On the heals of a 24-3 win over the Jets in which the Chiefs forced 8 turnovers, they are celebrating after some iffy performances in weeks 1 and 2. And no team will ever apologize for how they win, but lost in the excitement of the win are some truths that may rear their ugly heads and bite the Chiefs on the posterior at some point this year. For starters, 14 of those 24 points were scored by the defense. (Chiefs fans: don't look now but isn't this "unsustainable?" Isn't that the word you used to argue why the Broncos would be worse this year?) The Chiefs offense has been lackluster this season, managing a comeback against a Chargers defense that has shown an inability to close, and 12 and 10 points respectively against the Texans and Jets. To top it off, Reid once again demonstrated is utter contempt for good clock management, allowing precious time to run off the clock before calling a TO just before halftime. The Chiefs were in a position to at least attempt a FG as the first half expired, then get first possession in the 2nd half. This is a situation a lot of teams literally game plan to get themselves into. It didn't bite the Chiefs in the rear this week, but that kind of coaching will cost them a win sooner or later this season.

Next up: The Chiefs head to Pittsburgh to take on a Steelers team coming of a 34-3 railing by the Eagles. This is actually a really good matchup. The Steelers offense is as good as any in the league (yesterday's debacle notwithstanding) and their defense isn't horrible. And given the performance against the Eagles, a good team like the Steelers isn't going to sleep walk through preparations this week. Combine this with the Chiefs lackluster offense and defense that, while good, can be had and this game has the makings of a Chiefs loss.

Raiders roundup: Like the Chiefs, the Raiders won and a win is a win and nobody is going to apologize for it. Plus the Raiders deserve some credit for getting their defense going, despite the Titans offense being a bottom feeder. After all, some of us (me) predicted it would be the Titans offense that got it together, not the Raiders defense. Still, a 10 point performance against the Titans is only marginally impressive. The Raiders should be a bit concerned that high flying offense was held to 17 by a mid-tier defense, too. There are some pretty stout opponents on the schedule for the Raiders. Teams that can both score and keep scoring under control. It's a win for now, but this is still a greatly flawed Raiders team.

Next up: The Raiders make the trip east to take on the 3-0 Ravens. The Ravens are off to a nice 3-0 start but they've barely edged by some bottom shelf talent. Suffice to say the Raiders are by far the best offense the Ravens have faced thus far. With that said, win or lose, Joe Flacco will probably send that Raiders defense back to the drawing board.

Chargers roundup: What can you say? Every week it's a season ending injury for this team. This week it's Teo. The Chargers are 1-2 but could easily be 3-0 if they could just finish. And even with the injuries piling up, I expect this team to be a tough win for any opponent. I agree with CEH when he says the Chargers are the 2nd best team in the division right now. There may be something to it if they could just close. One thing about it: they are definitely good enough to beat the Raiders and Chiefs at least once apiece. They may even be able to give the Broncos a game.

Next up: The Chargers are back home to take on the Saints. We'll see the Saints in action tonight, but even before we do I'm willing to say if you're a betting man take the over in this one.

Predictions for the AFC West games coming later this week.

I love these weekly breakdowns. The Broncos definitely have a great chance this week to open a 2 game lead in the division a quarter of the way through the season. Both the Raiders and Chiefs look to have one of their tougher games up to this point and the Chargers well we just never know what to expect from them week to week.

Right now as I sit here I would probably go Broncos and Chargers winning their games with the Chiefs and Raiders losing theirs. I would honestly give the Chiefs a better chance if the Steelers had won this past Sunday but getting embarrassed like that my guess is this week the coaches don't hold back on the players and they come to play. Raiders do seem to do better on the road but the Ravens also have one of the best home records in football and look to have their defense back on track. Offensively they are still a work in progress but no better solution to get things figured out on offense than to play the Raiders.

 

[cdumler7]

Its obviously unsustainable as was what Denver did in the playoffs last year. And what the Vikings are doing right now.

Chiefs have been all over the map this year. I think if the Chiefs score the TD with Ware instead of it being ruled a fumble then 17pts against the Jets looks a bit more adequate.

KC is only scoring TDs on 50% of their red zone trips this year which is down about 7% which is noticeable. Chargers are down 13% and Oakland is up 27%. Denver is pretty much a push.

After all of their hype, I wouldn't be too shocked if Oakland was actually the worst team in the division. They're basically playing at their peak right now as far as I can tell.

That would leave so many of the media folks out there scratching their heads of how they could get the Raiders so wrong. To me they are limited by their coaching and honestly locker room atmosphere. Coaching wise I would put Del Rio at the bottom of the AFC West when it comes to coaches. He is a guy that looks like an 8-8 type coach most years of his career. And as we have talked about a lot it is not just about having talent on the field but actually using that talent to have success. Right now especially on the defensive side of the ball they are not using that talent to their potential. Atmosphere/chemistry wise when teams bring in a lot of new players it takes time to build the type of chemistry needed to really win consistently.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

That would leave so many of the media folks out there scratching their heads of how they could get the Raiders so wrong. To me they are limited by their coaching and honestly locker room atmosphere. Coaching wise I would put Del Rio at the bottom of the AFC West when it comes to coaches. He is a guy that looks like an 8-8 type coach most years of his career. And as we have talked about a lot it is not just about having talent on the field but actually using that talent to have success. Right now especially on the defensive side of the ball they are not using that talent to their potential. Atmosphere/chemistry wise when teams bring in a lot of new players it takes time to build the type of chemistry needed to really win consistently.

Starting to think Del Rio would be better off just running his own defense instead of letting Norton hybridize his defense in Oakland; I think Norton will be fired this year. It's a pretty busy defense to operate correctly with so many concepts. Seems unwise to have a scheme like that, makes it very difficult to improve year to year within it. Chiefs are starting to use a little more off man, zone, and combo coverages (Marcus Peters mostly, but relevant nonetheless) than before and the last one I really thought created a lot of confusion in the defense against San Diego; contributed greatly to the hole they were in that 1st half. Football Outsiders actually had the Raiders last behind the Chiefs, Chargers, and Broncos respectively prior to camp and honestly they actually do look like the worst team in the divsion so far records aside. Mike McCoy just doesn't understand strategy or tactics at all from I can tell within football games. He passes on chokepoints to go for it on 4th down, infrequently has good gameplans, playcalls, etc. Kubiak and Reid seem like the only competent (both are more than competent so far) coaches that are currently within the division. San Diego for about 170 minutes has looked like the best team in the AFC West, but they're 1-2 with 2 AFC losses + a division loss.

 

[cdumler7]

Starting to think Del Rio would be better off just running his own defense instead of letting Norton hybridize his defense in Oakland; I think Norton will be fired this year. It's a pretty busy defense to operate correctly with so many concepts. Seems unwise to have a scheme like that, makes it very difficult to improve year to year within it. Chiefs are starting to use a little more off man, zone, and combo coverages (Marcus Peters mostly, but relevant nonetheless) than before and the last one I really thought created a lot of confusion in the defense against San Diego; contributed greatly to the hole they were in that 1st half. Football Outsiders actually had the Raiders last behind the Chiefs, Chargers, and Broncos respectively prior to camp and honestly they actually do look like the worst team in the divsion so far records aside. Mike McCoy just doesn't understand strategy or tactics at all from I can tell within football games. He passes on chokepoints to go for it on 4th down, infrequently has good gameplans, playcalls, etc. Kubiak and Reid seem like the only competent (both are more than competent so far) coaches that are currently within the division. San Diego for about 170 minutes has looked like the best team in the AFC West, but they're 1-2 with 2 AFC losses + a division loss.

Agree with a lot of this. Del Rio has taken over the defensive play calling and it does sound like a rift is developing between Del Rio and KNJ. I'm not sure Del Rio though is the best defensive caller of the game either. He does well calling games against weaker opponents. He struggles to ever game plan though to actually beat the better QB's/Teams in the NFL. We saw it here in Denver in that we rarely lost to a lesser team but anybody that was considered even remotely an equal match our defense just fell apart. And part of it is that Del Rio has the philosophy of my 11 will beat your 11. He will stick with his base defensive calls and can just get picked apart. Here in Denver he would always comment that the players just need to execute his system better. Well sometimes changing things up is actually needed. Broncos did this every game of the playoffs where they had a specific game plan depending on who they were playing.

So again why I think the Raiders are destined for that 8-8 type season this year. They will beat the weaker teams like a Tennessee or a New Orleans but I think they will struggle when they face the rest of the division. Heck their toughest match up might be the Chargers because of Rivers and all he can do with the football. He can take advantage of their weaknesses probably better than the rest of the QB's. Alex Smith should be able to do something similar and my guess is Travis Kelce has a big day when they play the Raiders as they are weak up the middle of that defense.

Still going to be a tough division for sure but I do think over the next few weeks a couple of teams will separate themselves from the pack a bit.

 

[Clayton]

Still going to be a tough division for sure but I do think over the next few weeks a couple of teams will separate themselves from the pack a bit.

I feel like Denver is in complete control to be honest. They got through Carolina, Cinci and Indy unblemished. Denver probably has a 80% chance at the playoffs.

I also feel like San Diego had a real shot and everything went the wrong way. Melvin Gordon is a complete bust.

Chiefs and Raiders are somewhere in the middle but maybe its the homer in me but I think the Chiefs have a better team and are more dangerous if they're healthy at the end of the season. Chiefs unfortunately get the Steelers after they had their yearly game they don't show up for so thats tougher than the Raiders getting the Ravens. I'd say the Chiefs have about a 50% chance at the playoffs and the Raiders maybe a 25% chance.

 

[cdumler7]

I feel like Denver is in complete control to be honest. They got through Carolina, Cinci and Indy unblemished. Denver probably has a 80% chance at the playoffs.

I also feel like San Diego had a real shot and everything went the wrong way. Melvin Gordon is a complete bust.

Chiefs and Raiders are somewhere in the middle but maybe its the homer in me but I think the Chiefs have a better team and are more dangerous if they're healthy at the end of the season. Chiefs unfortunately get the Steelers after they had their yearly game they don't show up for so thats tougher than the Raiders getting the Ravens. I'd say the Chiefs have about a 50% chance at the playoffs and the Raiders maybe a 25% chance.

I do feel like Denver is in control and I think this weekend could separate the gap even more with the rest of the teams in the division maybe having a tougher match up than the Broncos. Still though I think this will be one of the toughest divisions in football.

And for me I give the Chiefs a much bigger chance than the Raiders. I trust Andy Reid to get this offense figured out much more than I do Del Rio to get that Raiders defense playing with any consistency. And the Chiefs have already shown they know how to win where the Raiders I need to actually see them when they start playing these tougher games actually figure out how to beat a quality opponent. The other thing is the Chiefs have a much better home advantage than that of the Raiders. In fact the Raiders have been a better road team than home team and I think that will be a big deal as usually how a team does at home decides a lot for the season.

 

[CEH]

We need Pitts to beat KC this Sunday Night. It allows Denver with a win over NE later on in the year to kill two birds with one stone. Head to Head with NE and beat KC on conference opponents having gone 2-0 on the two non common conference opponents while KC will be 1-1 plus KC will still have to play the two hardest common opponents in Indy and Car .

I assume the AFCW opponents will all be around 3-2,2-3 within the division.

Shaping up rather nicely for Denver if they can take care of business this Sunday in Tampa.

 

[MileHigh64]

We need Pitts to beat KC this Sunday Night. It allows Denver with a win over NE later on in the year to kill two birds with one stone. Head to Head with NE and beat KC on conference opponents having gone 2-0 on the two non common conference opponents while KC will be 1-1 plus KC will still have to play the two hardest common opponents in Indy and Car .

I assume the AFCW opponents will all be around 3-2,2-3 within the division.

Shaping up rather nicely for Denver if they can take care of business this Sunday in Tampa.

Can't underestimate a desperate Bucs team at their place!

 

[cdumler7]

Can't underestimate a desperate Bucs team at their place!

I've been watching a couple of the Bucs games today. Plan on watching the other one here in just a bit. I'll have to give my break down of what I see. Definitely not an easy win on the road but there are weaknesses to take advantage of.