Ryan’s NFL Preview: AFC West

I let Steve go first this year, just because he actually has a life to schedule himself around, but I don’t. Of course, had I know we were going to start by making the exact same prediction, I might have posted mine first. Let’s travel to the AFC West which, in my opinion, is even worse than people realize.

San Diego Chargers: People seem to think the Chargers are going to be the class of the AFC this year, which to me seems inexplicable. Aren’t they basically the AFC version of the Vikings, except with a half retarded quarterback (best picture ever) and receivers that aren’t afraid of the ball? What’s worse, the Chargers rely on just Ladanian Tomlinson out of the backfield with Darren Sproles as the back up. Really, they are just one hit to Tomlinson’s knee away from misery. Their defense is shaky, given the injury to Shawne Merriman. Oh, and they are coached by Norv Turner. In the end, I don’t think they can win this division, unless the other three teams really suck. Oh. They do. Of course, some people think the Vikings have what it takes to win the NFC too.

Denver Broncos: Mike Shanahan can’t really do anything but coach the running game. He’ll do that again this year, to the benefit of Selvin Young. Other than that…Hey look! Barack Obama’s in town!

Oakland Raiders: Of the two really, really, really bad teams in the AFC West, the Raiders are the one stocked with the raw talent at skill positions. They have picked a QB in Jamarcus Russell and a RB in Darren McFadden the past two drafts, and still have last season’s leading rusher Justin Fargus. If they could just get a wide receiver that wants to play, they could be a serious threat this year. Well, a threat to .500, anyways.

Kansas City Chiefs: We see it all the time. Defenses are overmatched by a particular teams strongest skill, so they go into the draft and free agency looking for players will help prevent that guy from hurting you. It happened with the Colts, and now teams in the AFC South are stocking up on their secondaries, just trying to catch up. The Chiefs nabbed Glenn Dorsey in the draft this year, a great between the tackles run stopper. Should be awesome against… the Broncos. Oh, and the Chiefs. I bet that defense looks awesome in practice.