POLL Who will win the AFC West?

[Broncosr0k]

1-Oakland=10-6
2-(tie) KC and Denver=9-7
4-San Diego=7-9

That would probably make an exciting finish for the season. You could possibly have 3 teams at 9-6 in the AFC west in week 17.

Am i, or are you?? Hmmm

I could not resist. Had to give a raiders fan a little ribbing.

 

[DJ]

That would probably make an exciting finish for the season. You could possibly have 3 teams at 9-6 in the AFC west in week 17.

Yep, and I'm serious too. I think it'll be that competitive.

 

[Manster7588]

Who will win the AFCw this year? Well to quote Lou Holtz...Notre Dame!

Seems I remember Holtz predicting ND loses weekly. Every week it was no name school is gonna be tough, we'll be lucky to win.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

This is a bit of an optimistic outlook on the defense IMO. I do agree with you about the offense, Andy Reid will scheme them up and they'll be just fine, but that defense, I don't know. Where does the pass rush come from without Houston? Hali is a nice secondary option, but you can't rely on him to get consistent pressure. Dee Ford has over half of his sacks in one game.

Then you look at the secondary, they lost their best corner to free agency. How will Peters handle being the number 1 guy? Gaines is unproven. There isn't much depth at safety.

And for as great as Derrick Johnson has been, how long can that continue? He'll be turning 34 this season, can he continue to play at an elite level?

Now of course it's possible that Houston comes back quickly from his injury and still dominates, Poe returns to form, Hali holds off father time for one more year, Ford finally shows he's the pass rusher the Chiefs thought they were getting, Derrick Johnson continues to star, Peters thrives as the number 1 corner, Gaines steps in and plays well as the number 2 corner, and the Chiefs defense is again one of the best in the league. But that seems like it's counting on a lot of things to go right for that to happen. I don't know, I just think with all of those question marks it wouldn't surprise me if the Chiefs defense takes a step back to the middle of the pack this year.

Generally with what Al Harris, Thomas and co have produced, I am generally comfortable if not overly optimistic with them developing young DB's. One of these CB's they drafted (I'd guess Murray based on what we know now) is probably moving to safety so we'll see how the depth shakes out there. If Gaines comes back healthy and his play looks like his 2014 play, I'd feel ok about the CB position right off the bat. Not great, but it wouldn't at all be a panic position. Legitimate question, but I am not particularly panicked about CB's given the amount of options they have there. I for one will be happy they'll actually have a real, live, functioning nickel CB this year instead of patching it with a rotation of safeties (again losing Gaines while redshirting Nelson hurts) which got eviscerated by strong slot WR's such as Cobb and Edelman in the playoffs.

Peters is an interesting and somewhat divisive subject, but what he does have going for him is he already was the LCB: He's not unfamiliar with facing the best the opposition has to throw at him. I would hope he has worked on not biting on double moves, but if he carries over his last 10 or so games, he'll be just fine.

If I were to guess, they'll roll with the 2nd year CB's in Gaines and Nelson to avoid some of the rookie shenanigans and move Murray to safety. Russell might steal the outside job if he picks it up quickly, but more likely he's the next man up if Gaines, a notable injury risk, is, ahem, injured.

Hali generates more pressures at this point than Ford (at least quality pressures; Ford had quite a few fringey 'pressures' even if there was a notable amount of them) but yes I am concerned about the passrush from the OLB spot while Houston is gone. I feel pretty darn good about the DL, but that's not really a unit that possesses Aaron Donald or a JJ Watt either.

Bottom line, it all depends how long Houston is out exactly and how the ball bounces while he's gone. If the Chiefs are say 3-1 after the bye and Houston comes back, how much are they really impacted? Keep in mind most of their division games are later in the season which tends to, imo, play in the Chiefs' favor for potential tiebreaker scenarios. If last year's games vs SD and Oakland are any indication, no Houston isn't going to be a doomsday scenario in a h2h matchup.

ILB is just a guessing game really regarding how DJ ages, and what's behind him. I wouldn't be surprised if Mauga is unseated by one of, or both, of Ramik Wilson and Justin March. I for one will be watching this group intently given the hub-bub about Justin March in particular to see if there is someone better than Mauga.

Edgerusher was kind of weak in this last draft, imo. That's a position I'd like to see the Chiefs load up on in the first few rounds in this next draft. It's admittedly a concern- Ford shows flashes, but flashes don't mean anything if there's a lot of bad tape in between.

There's certainly some guesswork, but any defense that has a collection of Poe, Peters, Berry, Hali, Johnson with strong contributors as well in Howard and Bailey is going to have my attention. Houston is a big loss, RCB is a big question mark, but I think it's more probable than not the defense will be good anyways. Great however like it was last year would take some wishcasting and weird outcomes such as Nelson turning into an elite slot CB or something similarly unexpected like that.

My hope is that dropoff is offset some by Jamaal Charles returning, an improved O-line, and development of a #2 WR, but that's just me crossing fingers for now.

 

[cdumler7]

Generally with what Al Harris, Thomas and co have produced, I am generally comfortable if not overly optimistic with them developing young DB's. One of these CB's they drafted (I'd guess Murray based on what we know now) is probably moving to safety so we'll see how the depth shakes out there. If Gaines comes back healthy and his play looks like his 2014 play, I'd feel ok about the CB position right off the bat. Not great, but it wouldn't at all be a panic position. Legitimate question, but I am not particularly panicked about CB's given the amount of options they have there. I for one will be happy they'll actually have a real, live, functioning nickel CB this year instead of patching it with a rotation of safeties (again losing Gaines while redshirting Nelson hurts) which got eviscerated by strong slot WR's such as Cobb and Edelman in the playoffs.

Peters is an interesting and somewhat divisive subject, but what he does have going for him is he already was the LCB: He's not unfamiliar with facing the best the opposition has to throw at him. I would hope he has worked on not biting on double moves, but if he carries over his last 10 or so games, he'll be just fine.

If I were to guess, they'll roll with the 2nd year CB's in Gaines and Nelson to avoid some of the rookie shenanigans and move Murray to safety. Russell might steal the outside job if he picks it up quickly, but more likely he's the next man up if Gaines, a notable injury risk, is, ahem, injured.

Hali generates more pressures at this point than Ford (at least quality pressures; Ford had quite a few fringey 'pressures' even if there was a notable amount of them) but yes I am concerned about the passrush from the OLB spot while Houston is gone. I feel pretty darn good about the DL, but that's not really a unit that possesses Aaron Donald or a JJ Watt either.

Bottom line, it all depends how long Houston is out exactly and how the ball bounces while he's gone. If the Chiefs are say 3-1 after the bye and Houston comes back, how much are they really impacted? Keep in mind most of their division games are later in the season which tends to, imo, play in the Chiefs' favor for potential tiebreaker scenarios. If last year's games vs SD and Oakland are any indication, no Houston isn't going to be a doomsday scenario in a h2h matchup.

ILB is just a guessing game really regarding how DJ ages, and what's behind him. I wouldn't be surprised if Mauga is unseated by one of, or both, of Ramik Wilson and Justin March. I for one will be watching this group intently given the hub-bub about Justin March in particular to see if there is someone better than Mauga.

Edgerusher was kind of weak in this last draft, imo. That's a position I'd like to see the Chiefs load up on in the first few rounds in this next draft. It's admittedly a concern- Ford shows flashes, but flashes don't mean anything if there's a lot of bad tape in between.

There's certainly some guesswork, but any defense that has a collection of Poe, Peters, Berry, Hali, Johnson with strong contributors as well in Howard and Bailey is going to have my attention. Houston is a big loss, RCB is a big question mark, but I think it's more probable than not the defense will be good anyways. Great however like it was last year would take some wishcasting and weird outcomes such as Nelson turning into an elite slot CB or something similarly unexpected like that.

My hope is that dropoff is offset some by Jamaal Charles returning, an improved O-line, and development of a #2 WR, but that's just me crossing fingers for now.

With us being in the Cap Era of the NFL every team is going to have question marks and it is easy for us as fans to get caught up in the optimism that could be in answering those question marks. It is what makes this game so much fun to watch because from one year to the next we just never know what will happen. A team can go from terrible to great in just a couple of years or from great to terrible in an even shorter time.

Any updates on Houston and his recovery? Reading at a couple of Chiefs sites they seem pretty darn optimistic that he will be ready week 1. I would be shocked beyond belief if he was ready week 1.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

With us being in the Cap Era of the NFL every team is going to have question marks and it is easy for us as fans to get caught up in the optimism that could be in answering those question marks. It is what makes this game so much fun to watch because from one year to the next we just never know what will happen. A team can go from terrible to great in just a couple of years or from great to terrible in an even shorter time.

Any updates on Houston and his recovery? Reading at a couple of Chiefs sites they seem pretty darn optimistic that he will be ready week 1. I would be shocked beyond belief if he was ready week 1.

I am no doctor, and everyone is different, so I feel a bit out of my element when speaking on such things. A lot of the outrageous optimism I am guessing comes from Dorsey's quotes on the subject (TPP: Doctor's saying he'll play) paired with this instagram post a couple months ago has a lot of random people thinking he'll be A-ok for week 1 which seems crazy homerish to me, but I am not a doctor either. Von Miller's recovery time is frequently cited as well.

And quite frankly- I am not going to pester the doctor in the family on the off-chance he knows something about knee surgeries.

 

[cdumler7]

I am no doctor, and everyone is different, so I feel a bit out of my element when speaking on such things. A lot of the outrageous optimism I am guessing comes from Dorsey's quotes on the subject (TPP: Doctor's saying he'll play) paired with this instagram post a couple months ago has a lot of random people thinking he'll be A-ok for week 1 which seems crazy homerish to me, but I am not doctor either. Von Miller's recovery time is frequently cited as well.

And quite frankly- I am not going to pester the doctor in the family on the off-chance he knows something about knee surgeries.

Thanks. To me it is not so much the straight line that is ever the issue when healing from a knee. It is do you trust it enough to plant and go? That always seems to be the last thing that comes back is just fully trusting that everything is going to stay together. I tore my Achilles a year ago and I still struggle to trust myself to push off with that foot. Any time I start up a run it is always with my non-injured foot getting the first push. Just recently started working on cuts with it for soccer season and it felt good but it still felt very weak causing me to slow it down just a bit.

I would also point out with Von Miller that he has his surgery a month earlier than what Houston did. He didn't start practicing full go until a week or two before the season. Then they had to put him on a snap count for the first month of the season before they finally let him go full out. I would also point to the fact that as the season wore on he wore down terribly. 6 of the first 7 games of the year he had at least one sack and provided lots of pressure. After that he only had sacks in 4 of the last 9 games. So I hope your coach does a better job of watching the snap count for the season because Von was a shell of himself by the end of the year.

 

[Oldschool739]

You can whine all day. No one is taking that ridiculous contract nor that retarded looking QB off your hands.

Well you could like put Ray Ray back on the pay roll. He seems to have a knack of getting rid of people and suits.

Joe Elite is here to stay, but if we need someone to disappear I will consult you because you do have the dirtbag whisperer up there is Cheatersville....

 

[Oldschool739]

I wouldn't touch Flacco and his overinflated ridiculous contract with a 10-foot pole! I mean the guy with an 84 career passer rating in a time when QB Stats have been going crazy. Yeah no thanks. Throw in since he got paid his team has struggled for the most part showing he needs lots of talent around him which won't happen because he is taking up so much of the cap every single year. That contract is why I feel confident in our bet that even with a guy like Sanchez the Broncos will have a better record than the Ravens.

That's because you don't know the difference between a winner and a blowhard....I thought you were smarter than this but I guess the thin air up there on flying bullet mountain has altered your good sense....
Maybe D. Thomas can get you hooked up with his cocaine trafficking mom and grandmom to ease your struggle...

 

[cdumler7]

That's because you don't know the difference between a winner and a blowhard....I thought you were smarter than this but I guess the thin air up there on flying bullet mountain has altered your good sense....
Maybe D. Thomas can get you hooked up with his cocaine trafficking mom and grandmom to ease your struggle...

View attachment 125618

The funny thing is for all your hooping and hollering that Mr. Sanchez has been to just as many AFC Championship games as your boy Flacco. So at some point in his career Sanchez was actually a winner in this league and his team made some major noise in the playoffs with him as a major contributor in those games. heck even with Flacco's 11 touchdown 0 interception post season Sanchez still has a higher QB Rating in the playoffs than that of Flacco.

 

[Oldschool739]

The funny thing is for all your hooping and hollering that Mr. Sanchez has been to just as many AFC Championship games as your boy Flacco. So at some point in his career Sanchez was actually a winner in this league and his team made some major noise in the playoffs with him as a major contributor in those games. heck even with Flacco's 11 touchdown 0 interception post season Sanchez still has a higher QB Rating in the playoffs than that of Flacco.

Wrong again, dirty has been to 2 AFCCG's and 1 of them were given by the stupid move of Caldwell to sit his starters in a perfect season....
Joe has been to 3 and won a SB, and named MVP. No Comparison , Major Fail !!!!!
This....

Or This....

 

[cdumler7]

I apologize he has been to 3 not 2. Still doesn't negate the point that Sanchez has been a winner at different parts of his career. So sitting here saying that my comment about the Broncos winning with Sanchez is laughable or that I am some idiot for thinking so or however you put it is what is laughable in this situation. He has won before and still I can't get over this but it is not a foregone conclusion that Sanchez is our starter this year. He is just the guy with the most experience right now that is in a 3-way competition with 2 unknowns.

 

[idahoraiderfan33]

That would probably make an exciting finish for the season. You could possibly have 3 teams at 9-6 in the AFC west in week 17.



I could not resist. Had to give a raiders fan a little ribbing.

It's all good Bronco Fan.. The AFCW will come down to the last few games.. It's a 4 team race and all 4 teams have a chance.. Now of course im picking the RAIDERS

 

[Broncos6482]

It's all good Bronco Fan.. The AFCW will come down to the last few games.. It's a 4 team race and all 4 teams have a chance.. Now of course im picking the RAIDERS

I don't think the Chargers have a chance.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

1. Chiefs
2. Broncos
3. Raiders
4. Chargers

I wouldn't be shocked to see the Raiders overtake the Broncos.

Great minds think alike! lol...my order exactly.

With Houston being out a good period of time...the margin so thin in this DIV that any of the teams can win it...even SD...OAK stole most of the headlines this offseason, I wouldn't be surprised to see them win the DIV or finish last....just so much unknown.

Why am I so late to this party?...thread started Sunday I noticed.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

I don't think the Chargers have a chance.

IDT they will, but they have a chance.

Realistically it's coming down to DEN, KC, and OAK...but I need a 3 headed coin to flip...lol...I think KC only because they have a somewhat proven QB and solid DEF even w/o Houston.

 

[idahoraiderfan33]

I don't think the Chargers have a chance.

They will be alot better than people think IMO..

 

[NWPATSFAN]

Joe Elite is here to stay, but if we need someone to disappear I will consult you because you do have the dirtbag whisperer up there is Cheatersville....

View attachment 125616

Damn Tawmy why couldn't I have been a Raven? That way Ray Ray could've given me the homie hook up~Aaron Hernandez~I want a statue too.

 

[Oldschool739]

I apologize he has been to 3 not 2. Still doesn't negate the point that Sanchez has been a winner at different parts of his career. So sitting here saying that my comment about the Broncos winning with Sanchez is laughable or that I am some idiot for thinking so or however you put it is what is laughable in this situation. He has won before and still I can't get over this but it is not a foregone conclusion that Sanchez is our starter this year. He is just the guy with the most experience right now that is in a 3-way competition with 2 unknowns.

Well which one is it dude, first you believe they will win with Dirty, and then you say you're not sure he can beat out 2 unknown and 1 of them a rookie ??????
C'mon man, fess up, you know Dirty is garbage, I'd be more concerned to face those unknowns than him, at least they are young and teachable for Kubes to mold into his system...Dirty's brief moment in the sun has already set my friend, and to compare him to a SB MVP is laughable to say the least....

 

[cdumler7]

Well which one is it dude, first you believe they will win with Dirty, and then you say you're not sure he can beat out 2 unknown and 1 of them a rookie ??????
C'mon man, fess up, you know Dirty is garbage, I'd be more concerned to face those unknowns than him, at least they are young and teachable for Kubes to mold into his system...Dirty's brief moment in the sun has already set my friend, and to compare him to a SB MVP is laughable to say the least....

We are talking about 2 different situations here...

The first question is can the Broncos win with Sanchez if he is the starter? Yes yes they can. They proved last year they can win with subpar QB play if that is what Sanchez delivers. Obviously hoping for more than just subpar QB play if he does start.

Then the next part is will Sanchez actually win the job? I have no clue right now. He is our 1st string QB right now at least when looking at practice yesterday and him getting the 1st team reps. He has two guys though who are not just career back ups fighting for the spot. We are talking about guys with high upside that the coaches like a lot.