No particular reason why we’re going to start with the AFC West; I didn’t want to start in the NFC… the NFC North specifically… we’ll leave that for last. I guess I can say we’ll start here because this is where the back-to-back Super Bowl champs reside. Yes, I hate to say it, but… the Chiefs are legit, and their quest for a three-peat is just as legit. With Reid and Mahomes, the Chiefs will continue to have a pretty large say in the road to the Super Bowl; there’s really no way around it. And, and… with their defense and expert defensive coordinator, watch out. We can all hope that Kelce is past his prime, and that Rashee Rice is prosecuted to the full extent of the law (not likely), but they also have a pretty good RB in Pacheco. Who will dethrone the Chiefs? We can talk about some other AFC teams, and maybe a couple NFC ones, but as far as the rest of the teams in this division… nobody.
We’ll still talk about them. Harbaugh was the hire of the year, and the Chargers should have a bright future, based on Harbaugh’s track record of success, but that will take a while I would think. Herbert at QB is a good start; dumping his whole WR corps in the offseason was an interesting move. Smartly, they did bolster their OL, because Herbert was running for his life last year. With a little protection, maybe they think he can throw to anybody? If not, he can just hand off to Ekeler… oh wait, he’s gone too. Antonio Gates maybe? Their defense has star power, but… hard to think the Chargers will push the Chiefs for division supremacy; the best possible outcome would be a push for a wild card spot, although I think even that is a long shot. We’ll come back to the Chargers in another year or two…
How about the Raiders? Well, speaking about QBs… O’Connell or Minshew? Sounds like the whole Grossman vs Orton debate… maybe O’Connell could turn out to be something, or maybe Minshew can have a career rebirth a la Baker Mayfield in Tampa Bay. Whoever it is, will be throwing to Davante Adams; that helps. The Raiders also snatched the best TE in the draft with Bowers, which was curious since they already had drafted one last year, but… who am I to say? The Raiders did beat KC in KC last year, so there is that. Maxx Crosby… pushed for interim coach Antonio Pierce to be back, and he is; will the players continue to lay it all on the line for him? If they do, will it be enough? Maybe not…
That brings us to Denver; woof! The Russell Wilson experiment is over; in steps Bo Nix… like I said, woof! Will Sean Payton be able to coach him up? Not sure if he’s the next Drew Brees in waiting, but he can’t be worse than Wilson, right? Well, don’t tell the Pittsburgh Steelers that. The Broncos also brought Zach Wilson over as an insurance policy to Nix. He sounds like Eagle Insurance, or whatever the cheapest way to get insurance is in your neck of the woods. The Broncos should be a train wreck bringing up the bottom of this division.
OK, I guess that was good. One division down, seven more to go. Next.
Leave a Reply