The NFL slate is almost upon us, and with just a few days left until the season begins, I need to hurry up and finish previewing all 32 NFL teams. Today we move to the AFC West. This is another top heavy division, but will they contain the AFC's second wild card? You'll have to read on to find out.
Common opponents on schedule: AFC South, NFC East
Last year: 13-3 (1st), lost in AFC Divisional Round
We have to remember: Denver was poised to host New England to set up yet another Brady/Manning playoff duel before Rahim Moore inexplicably forgot how to play pass defense up a touchdown in the closing moments of a game. They're going to have some issues to start the year, as Elvis Dumervil left due to a fax machine error and Von Miller is sitting out the first six games of the year for violating the league's substance abuse policy. Fortunately for the Broncos, the toughest game on that stretch of their schedule is the season opener against Baltimore. I think 4-2 in that stretch is reasonable, especially since there aren't any injury-based doubts about the guy they have lining up under center. Adding Wes Welker to their receiving corps doesn't hurt either.
2013 Prediction: 13-3
Last year: 2-14 (4th), missed playoffs
Let's face it: the Chiefs were bad last year. They addressed a major hole by getting rid of Romeo Crennel and replacing him with Andy Reid, which is an upgrade as long as Reid doesn't say "Ermahgerd berbercurr!" and proceed to eat the entire metro out of house and home. They upgraded at quarterback to Alex Smith who looked really good again last year before he got hurt and was replaced by Colin Kaepernick in San Fran. He's got decent receivers, and having Jamaal Charles at running back is a good sign too. Their defense is decent as well, and while they may not make the playoffs, they're heading back in the right direction after a couple straight down years.
2013 Prediction: 7-9
Last year: 7-9 (2nd), missed playoffs
The Chargers' window is closing. Phillip Rivers is a good but not great quarterback who can make mistakes at the least opportune time, and Antonio Gates is getting up in years. Ryan Matthews would be a good runner if he could stay healthy; he has yet to play a full season since coming into the league 3 years ago. Defensively, the additions of Dwight Freeney and Manti Te'o ought to make things interesting for a defense that wasn't too bad last year. I just don't think the offense has the firepower to do enough, and we can't blame Norv Turner this year. Oh well.
2013 Prediction: 6-10
Last year: 4-12 (3rd, missed playoffs)
I think this is still a team trying to piece itself together. Matt Flynn, for the second straight year expected to be the starter, looks to be ceding the job to Terrelle Pryor, who has thrown all of 30 passes in his NFL career. They don't have much of a receiving corps, and Darren McFadden needs to stay healthy if this team can exceed expectations. Adding Charles Woodson back to the secondary might help that side of the ball a little bit, but I'm not sure how well he'll fit that role like he fit the nickel corner in Green Bay's defense perfectly.
2013 Projection: 4-12
Tomorrow I visit the division that likely most of my readership cares about in the NFC North. Granted, it's because I live in Chicago, but still. Should be good.
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