AFC West Stock Watch:

[Mingo]

I was just thinking the other day that the Raiders will be the 2nd best team in the division by the end of the season.

 

[SpringStein]

Sure they can.

Anything is possible. The Rockies could win the NL West for the first time ever. I could win the lottery.

All highly unlikely.

 

[Mingo]

Now - I can finally see why DC finds you so annoying.

 

[iknowftbll]

Sure they can.

Anything is possible. The Rockies could win the NL West for the first time ever. I could win the lottery.

All highly unlikely.

You said "anything is possible" and then said "The Rockies could win the NL West..."

Which is it?

Really, I get your point. The Chargers COULD go on a 10 game win streak to close out the season. In 2009 they were 2-3 and went on an 11 game run to finish 13-3. And the Broncos did the same thing in 2012. So yeah, it can happen. With 2 games against a much improved Raiders team and 2 against the Broncos I can see them losing 2 or 3 more easily. Maybe even 4.

 

[SpringStein]

And then there is the environment where home games for the Chargers are more like away games with visiting fans outnumbering Charger fans. And now they've acknowledged that the Chargers have applied to relocate:
Chargers counsel confirms they’ll apply for relocation to L.A.

 

[iknowftbll]

^ It'll be a longshot the Chargers will be welcomed in LA any better than San Diego. Of the three teams in the discussion for relocation, the Chargers have the least claim to the LA market. The Rams may have some fans remaining and the Raiders...well they're a good fit for LA. But a soft, powder puff blue team like the Chargers is not likely to draw much support from the LA market. Their home games will remain astonishingly welcome to visiting teams because LA is full of people whose loyalties are to other teams. A few die-hard San Diego fans (there's about half a dozen or so of them) will make the drive up to see the LA Chargers, but for the most part their move to LA is only a marginal improvement to their bottom line.

 

[WalkerBoh]

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

Ahhhh..... my understanding was that Freudenschade meant the reverse (feeling sorrow from others' success.) You keeping yourself dry and above water?

 

[Mingo]

Ahhhh..... my understanding was that Freudenschade meant the reverse (feeling sorrow from others' success.) You keeping yourself dry and above water?

Yes - 5 inches since midnight

 

[randymon]

^ It'll be a longshot the Chargers will be welcomed in LA any better than San Diego. Of the three teams in the discussion for relocation, the Chargers have the least claim to the LA market. The Rams may have some fans remaining and the Raiders...well they're a good fit for LA. But a soft, powder puff blue team like the Chargers is not likely to draw much support from the LA market. Their home games will remain astonishingly welcome to visiting teams because LA is full of people whose loyalties are to other teams. A few die-hard San Diego fans (there's about half a dozen or so of them) will make the drive up to see the LA Chargers, but for the most part their move to LA is only a marginal improvement to their bottom line.

Bingo IKF. The only chance ( and it`s about a million to 1 ) that the Chargers get a relocate is if one of the proposals that has come up in talks,and that`s the shared stadium with the Raiders. Even then the only time they would get a full or near capacity crowd as the "home" team would be if they were hosting the Raiders. 80% would be Raider fans. Believe me I know. I`ve spent 7 yrs in SD and another 15 or so yrs 40 miles outside of SD. They have a lousy fan base in SD and it doesn`t get any better outside of that either. I`ll almost guarantee that if a new team comes to Southern Cal, it will be the Rams and believe it our not, they still do have a good fan base IKF.

 

[iknowftbll]

I also lived in San Diego, Randy. Twice. The first time was during the Mike Riley years where the team went 1-15 in 2000 and 5-11 in 2001. You couldn't give away a Chargers ticket in those days. Then I was back in 2007-2010, some solid years for the Chargers and bad years for the Broncos. Chargers fans were everywhere all of a sudden. I get that winning will rejuvenate interest in a franchise, but you don't have to be asshats about it. Plus the 2007 Chargers in their home WC game against the Titans were nearly blacked out. Blacked out for the playoffs! The fact that it was even discussed is an embarrassment to this franchise and its pathetic fanbase. Now that the Chargers are mediocre their fan interest has tapered off again. Tomorrow's game in San Diego with the Raiders promises to be an away "home" game for the Raiders. That stadium will be nearly half full if not more with silver and black than powder puff blue.

The Chargers are a joke.

 

[SpringStein]

It was difficult to do, but I was pulling for the Chiefs today...

 

[SpringStein]

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

The CHARGERS can WIN OUT

I'm thinking this idea came to a halt much sooner than the author expected!

 

[cdumler7]

Well have to feel much better about our 2 games left against San Diego. I think very good chance we at least go 5-1 in the division once again this year if not 6-0. Wow did San Diego look terrible.

 

[iknowftbll]

^ San Diego did look terrible but our two games with them are far enough away and you just never know what you're going to get with that team. They got bent over a barrel yesterday but any given week they can blast an opponent. I think that is part of what frustrates their fans so much. And amuses me!

Meanwhile everyone I talk to at work is telling me the Broncos suffer their first loss this week. We'll see. I have a lot of confidence Kubiak is going to make adjustments to help Manning while not completely abandoning his offensive design.

Noteworthy for those of you who like this sort of thing: The Broncos will wear the blue jersey and white pants on SNF in honor of the uniform the team wore against the Packers in their first SB win. The last time the team wore this uniform was the 29-23 OT win against the Steelers with Tebow as QB.

 

[randymon]

^ San Diego did look terrible but our two games with them are far enough away and you just never know what you're going to get with that team. They got bent over a barrel yesterday but any given week they can blast an opponent. I think that is part of what frustrates their fans so much. And amuses me!

Meanwhile everyone I talk to at work is telling me the Broncos suffer their first loss this week. We'll see. I have a lot of confidence Kubiak is going to make adjustments to help Manning while not completely abandoning his offensive design.

Noteworthy for those of you who like this sort of thing: The Broncos will wear the blue jersey and white pants on SNF in honor of the uniform the team wore against the Packers in their first SB win. The last time the team wore this uniform was the 29-23 OT win against the Steelers with Tebow as QB.

And the first time they won the SB. I want to say it was first year they made change they won vs GB but I'm prob wrong.

 

[iknowftbll]

And the first time they won the SB. I want to say it was first year they made change they won vs GB but I'm prob wrong.

No, you're right. I remember the uniforms weren't really embraced by the fans until the SB win. As if the uniforms had anything to do with it. But fans are silly.

 

[Mingo]

I'm pretty sure the Broncos were in those uniforms when they lost to Jax in 96 and were out of the playoffs.

 

[WalkerBoh]

I'm pretty sure the Broncos were in those uniforms when they lost to Jax in 96 and were out of the playoffs.

They were still in the orange and lighter blue unis and the big "D" on the helmets when they lost to the Jags.

 

[randymon]

Yep and I remember I was surprised by many fans and outsiders that didn't like them. I thought they were awesome and looked more intimidating than all their previous unis. Still my number 1 today.

 

[iknowftbll]

Update:

AFC West:

Broncos: 7-0
Raiders: 4-3
Chiefs: 3-5
Chargers: 2-6

Let's start from the bottom and work our way up, shall we?

The Chargers went out to Baltimore and came home with their 6th loss of the season. They have 5 remaining with AFC West opponents, all of which have shown themselves to be better teams. They've already lost to the Raiders and while I suspect they'll be good enough to split with the Chiefs, it won't surprise me or anyone else to see them get swept by the Raiders and Broncos. And there's more. This team may be looking at a 5-11 season by the time all is said and done.

The Chiefs have played solid defense for a few weeks now, with the offense making a contribution the last two weeks. The wheels seemed to fall off after they allowed 30+ points three consecutive weeks, but even before they got themselves into the win column they were holding opponents to under 20 points. Now 4 straight weeks they've done so. They return from London and go on a bye, then visit the Broncos in Denver. The Broncos beating them in KC earlier sent their season into a tailspin. They seem to have finally recovered, and will be looking to deal the Broncos a setback when they come to Denver.

The Raiders are beginning to look like a playoff team. They are playing good ball and as of right now, there doesn't seem to be a lot of competition in the WC chase. In fact, the Raiders are currently seeded 5th. They have an intriguing matchup with the Steelers this week in Pittsburgh. Despite the Steelers having a few injuries they are still a tough out, so if the Raiders go out there and lock in a win they will have some serious momentum as they reach the halfway point in their schedule.

As for the Broncos, I think we finally saw what the offense is capable of when things begin to gel. I've been saying all season that I expected to see improvement out of the bye. But this is one game and there is still a lot of work to do. The offense needs to build on the success they had against the Packers and take advantage of some winnable matchups ahead. The Colts provide an opportunity to make some gains in the offense's improvement. And the defense? Well...

What are your thoughts? Right now there are some solid rivalries quietly heating up. The Chiefs gotta believe their season isn't over and they know a win against the Broncos puts them at 4-5 and on the brink of the playoff picture with a major demon temporarily vanquished. But the Raiders are suddenly relevant and have a remaining date with the Broncos as well as two with the Chiefs.

The AFC West is looking really good right now.