Denver
(4-0)
Great
defense. Amazing defense. At its best, probably the class of the
AFC defense.
Also
the worst undefeated team in the NFL. The offense is going to
be the downfall of the team. I think New England, Cincinnati and
Pittsburgh are all better than Denver right now… I think the New
York (Jets) could beat them… and those comments alone mean I have
the Broncos teetering on the edge of being outside the best five
teams in the AFC.
The
amazing thing is, unlike teams such as the Colts, the Broncos
are taking care of business each week and separating themselves
from the rest of this division. But eventually… Green Bay and
New England on the schedule… some things will catch up with them.
Playoffs?
Yes. Not much else.
San
Diego (2-2)
A
lot of people want me (and you) to believe Philip Rivers is an
incredibly talented football player, a quarterback that may one
day be a Hall of Fame candidate, and that I’m truly missing something
since I don’t watch all of his games.
And,
that may be true. Could be true. Absolutely. There are a lot of
really strong, and even great, players that I don’t watch on a
regular basis. Maybe what I see of Rivers… read of Rivers… understand
of Rivers… maybe all of that is missing his greatness.
If
it’s true though… they’ve had an awful long time to get things
built up around him and failed to do so. (And considering the
players they’ve had… well… yeah… you can see the sarcasm and understand
that I’m just not buying in to the hype. I mean, the last time
they had double-digit wins was 2009. And it’s not a fluke… before
that we head to 2007 and 2006.)
Yup…
in his amazing career, Philip Rivers has been the starting quarterback
in San Diego since 2007, and he’s only won ten or more games a
simply stunning 3 times. 3. Three. 1 – 2 – 3. 2006... 2007… 2009…
not once in the past five seasons… three.
Perspective?
Ok. Andy Dalton has won 10 or more the last three in a row, and
is likely to surpass that mark again this year. Just a hunch that
you agree the competition in the AFC North that Dalton faces has
been consistently stronger than that facing Rivers in the AFC
West. (Really? You want to debate it? Two words… Tim… Tebow. And
we’re done.)
This
year they’ve defeated the Lions and Browns… you know, the juggernauts
of the league so well known as being tough to beat.
I’m
sorry… Rivers may put up amazing stats… if he’s on your team,
you’re going to win between 7 and 9 games, miss the playoffs,
and wonder when they’ll put a team around him. Year after year
after year after…
Oakland
(2-2)
I
don’t know what to say here.
A
lot of young players. Some playing pretty well. But there isn’t
a point in their season where I can see them running off more
than two or three wins in a row.
Two
games against Denver (may not be one of the best teams overall,
in my opinion, but strong, strong defense and still the class
of this division), New York (Jets), at Pittsburgh, Minnesota,
and Green Bay all remain.
So
yeah… I could see them challenge for second in the division, and
maybe even cross the line into a winning record. But I think 7
or 8 wins is about where they’ll land in the end.
Kansas
City (1-3)
The
Chiefs are in trouble. They are bottom third of the league in
offense and defense, and I could see them going 2-4 (or worse)
just in their games against the AFC West.
And
yet… look for a huge surge late in the year. They get all of the
major games out of the way early… Green Bay and Cincinnati are
done, with Pittsburgh coming up. Get to November and suddenly
there is no one left outside of divisional games. Seriously… it’s
the Lions… the Bills… Ravens… Browns… all teams with questions
and weaknesses that the Chiefs could defeat.