AFC West Stock Watch:

[iknowftbll]

This will be a fun thread. For now we compare the teams to expectations prior to the season beginning. As the season progresses we adjust accordingly.

Quick one liner on pre-season expectations:

Broncos: Many expected the team to struggle on offense but the defense to keep them in games.

Chiefs: Very popular pick to win the AFC West on the back of an efficient offense and stout defense.

Chargers: A few picked them to win the Division but most off season discussion on the Chargers focussed on relocation.

Raiders: A team many expected to take significant steps forward under JDR and with a talented young roster.

After three weeks:

Broncos: They're right where we expected. The offense has struggled perhaps a little more than I expected but honestly the defense has been better than I expected as well. That defense is ferocious. The turnovers, the pressure. Overall they're about where we thought they'd be. And to be fair, they're probably a little ahead of where the general NFL fandom thought they'd be. Not a lot of people gave them a chance to go into Kansas City under the circumstances surrounding that game and come away with a win. 3-0 is better than 2-1, that's for sure.

Chiefs: Given the pre-season hubris we saw from this team's fans on places like Arrowhead Addict or Arrowhead Pride, this team has taken a nosedive. Now if you read those sites they are heading for the life rafts. Some of the writers are trying to spin a positive narrative but the fans have been dealt a serious blow of confidence. Their 1-2 start is a colossal letdown and a tough out this weekend @ Cincy means 1-3 is a very real possibility. They've claimed their schedule softens up toward the end but they are making those projections based on 2014 finishes. If you haven't sold your Chiefs stock yet you probably won't recover.

Chargers: Honestly they are about where I guessed they'd be after 3. This isn't a team you can count on to win week in and week out. They are wildly inconsistent. One week they can rip an opponent a new one and then the following week step on their own cranks and embarrass themselves. I always consider them a threat any given week, but this isn't a team I'd expect to win 10+ games. They just aren't consistent enough nor do they have the juice on defense to complement a potentially top-flight offense.

Raiders: Perhaps the most intriguing team in the division is the Raiders. We have a few really good Raiders fans around these parts (I almost threw up in my mouth a little saying that but let's give some credit where due) and I know a 2-1 one start has them up late looking for 8+ more potential wins and playoff spot even this early in the season. And why not? That team showed some serious fight in these last two wins. The defense isn't great, but it has its moments and makes enough plays to keep them in it. Offensively they are a time bomb I have a feeling is about to unload on the league. I'm not sure how this will end, but one thing I think is true about them: They're not push over anymore.

The AFC West action this week:

Broncos vs Vikings: Broncos should take it. 4-0.

Raiders @ Bears: I think the Raiders keep it going here. 3-1.

Chargers vs Browns: Chargers at home against a toothless offense. 2-2.

Chiefs @ Bengals: Bengals early season wave too much for a reeling Chiefs team. 1-3.

 

[Orange Crush77]

Raiders are actually a bit scary. Their young guys are starting to get it

 

[cdumler7]

I haven't read much on Arrowhead Addict or anything as of late but following some of their writers has been pretty funny on Twitter. Some of them are even shaking their heads at some of the fan reaction. I guess quite a few of them with their starting Corner going down with injury have been saying that the FO needs to go make a trade for Revis from the Jets and if they don't then they are an idiot FO. This is where the Madden video game has really made fans idiots. You can't just trade for all-stars with high price tags as if it is nothing. At least when we are talking trades with the Bears we are keeping the Salary Cap in as part of the equation of whether a trade would work or not. And at least we are not trying to sign players with a $16 million cap hit on a trade that makes sense for neither team as the Jets get a huge cap hit because of the signing bonus and the Chiefs would have to cut probably 8-9 players just to fit him under the cap for this year alone. Throw in then all the players they can't sign next year because of Revis' cap hit.

 

[58crash]

OC the problem the Raiders are going to have is simple JDR .. He seems to be a good HC ...Just that Good .. Not great

 

[iknowftbll]

Raiders go down and the Chiefs got their asses kicked in Cincy. Good day for the Broncos so far!

 

[SpringStein]

Da Bears overcome Cutler's late INT and beat the Raiders.

Chiefs fall to 1-3 with their loss to Cincy. That was a big L. If they had won, 2-2 wouldn't be hard to overcome.

 

[iknowftbll]

The Broncos are 5-0 and realistically that's where they should be. Still I see a lot of fans on MHR are very concerned and near panicking about Manning's play. He's thrown a lot of picks and just doesn't seem to adjusted to the new offense. I'm not ready to ship him off to the glue factories though. I've maintained the offense would be a grind through the bye week. And yesterday was the first game where the offense failed to come through when they absolutely needed to.

The Chiefs...well at 1-4 following that loss to the Bears this team's drop-off has now become catastrophic. Sadly it appears they've lost Jamaal Charles now for the season due to an ACL tear. Charles is a quality man and I hate to see him lost, but I don't have an ounce of sympathy for the Chiefs or their fans, many of whom were hoping to see the Chiefs end Manning's career week 2. I maintain that loss to the Broncos did some serious damage to that team's psyche and it's clear they've not recovered.

The Raiders definitely seem to be a better team. I thought that before they played the Broncos tight for the first time in 3 years. Prior to yesterday, a 26-13 final in 2012's matchup in Oakland was the Broncos most narrow margin of victory over the Raiders. So for the Raiders to have played the Broncos so tight is a testament to their improvement and the Broncos O's decline as well. But let's give them credit. They're 2-3 because they got edged by a better team this week and one got away last week. I don't think they're a playoff caliber team this year, but I doubt we've heard the last of them. They're good enough to hang with the Chargers and at this point maybe even sweep the Chiefs.

As for the Chargers, the jury is still out. They get the Steelers tonight sans Ben R. but Vick can still get it done. I'll follow up with some thoughts on them after their game tonight. I'm pulling for the Steelers.

 

[58crash]

SD lost ....

 

[iknowftbll]

SD lost ....

Yes they did! And in a most heartbreaking manner, too! Having lived in San Diego during a period in which the Chargers were a better team than the Broncos, I can't think of a better way for a MNF game to end. For them to literally be up until the last second of the game and still lose? PRICELESS! And it's not like it was a last second FG or something like that. It was a play the Chargers had a high percentage chance of stopping. And it took a long time to develop. Had Bell not gotten in the Steelers lose because they would have been unable to take that last time out and attempt a FG.

That's a heartbreaking loss and it couldn't have happened to a more deserving audience.

Broncos: 5-0
Raiders: 2-3
Chargers: 2-3
Chiefs: 1-4

The Chargers and Chiefs are at the Packers and Vikings respectively next week. The Raiders have their bye and the Broncos are @ Browns. I don't see the Chargers going into Green Bay and beating the Packers, and the Chiefs are looking awful this year while the Vikings are pretty solid. If the Broncos do their part against the Browns there will be a lot of real estate between them and their AFC West brethren.

 

[SpringStein]

And they travel to Green Bay on Sunday. 2-4 seems very likely.

 

[GeekSportsFan]

The Chargers cannot run the ball nor protect Rivers adequately. Our O line has been our demise for years and this year will be no different. Until the O line steps up, we will be lucky to reach 8 wins this season. The division is the Broncos to lose at this point in time.

 

[iknowftbll]

^ Going into the season I figured it would be the Chargers defense that was their undoing. I wasn't paying close attention but did I hear them say Fluker was the only OL they've drafted in the first round in 29 years? Despite this, that offense can be really explosive. I've felt it would be the defense that failed them this season. They didn't play badly last night, but they gave up the huge bomb and couldn't protect a hard-earned 17-10 lead. Then of course they couldn't seal the win with the game on the line.

The inconsistencies on both sides of the ball make the Chargers a tough team to figure out. You just never know what they're going to do any given week. Either way, I don't believe they have enough on either side to hang with the Packers.

 

[iknowftbll]

Is it wrong that I am so giddy over how bad the Chiefs are?

All off season it was, "This is our year!" and "The Broncos will struggle to be .500!" and "Manning's career ends week 2!"

I think it would be just usual enjoyment of a rival's futility if it weren't for the comments like that last one. They genuinely weren't satisfied with a win, they wanted a blood letting and a lot of Chiefs fans hoping to see Manning knocked out for the season, effectively ending his career. That loss devastated the team and fans alike. Now they're 1-5 and would do well to finish 6-10 on the season! What a joke!

 

[Mingo]

Is it wrong that I am so giddy over how bad the Chiefs are?/QUOTE]

It's called freudenschade. Taking delight in an other's misfortune.

 

[iknowftbll]

I'm familiar with the term, Mingo. Props to you for bringing it to the forum. We should all make it a goal to use it in casual conversation tomorrow!

 

[Mingo]

I'm familiar with the term, Mingo. Props to you for bringing it to the forum. We should all make it a goal to use it in casual conversation tomorrow!

I've used it in public many times -mostly to faces expressing back the notion that I have perhaps gone Nazi.

 

[WalkerBoh]

Isn't it "Schadenfreude"?

 

[Mingo]

Isn't it "Schadenfreude"?

That is the English use of the word. The original term is from the old German.

 

[iknowftbll]

What are everyone's thoughts on the Raiders @ Chargers matchup this weekend? That game has a lot of appeal to me. The Raiders believe they're better than they've been in a long time and the Chargers despite being 2-4 believe they're on the brink of a run. Their schedule looks pretty soft until their first game with the Broncos so they have good reason to hope. But they could be surprised by how improved this Raiders team is. After seeing the way the Chargers held their own @ Packers I am inclined to believe they'll win this one. But it won't surprise me to see the Raiders pull it and that would be a huge setback for the Chargers.

 

[iknowftbll]

Here you go. Just in case you're board over this bye week like I am:

The CHARGERS can WIN OUT