ETB’s 2009 NFL Season Previews: AFC West
July 17, 2009
By Darren Yuvan
With training camp on the horizon for the 2009 NFL season, ETB’s Darren Yuvan will break down the league’s outlook division by division. Next up is the AFC West, where despite basically bringing back the same squad as last year, the Chargers are poised to dominate. Make sure to check out our AFC North preview too.
San Diego Chargers
With no huge offseason acquisitions and no major player departures, this is basically the same squad that went 8 – 8 last year. The thing is, with no other quality teams in the once-proud AFC West, the Chargers are clearly the most talented team in the NFL’s weakest division.
The offense should once again be highly potent. LaDainian Tomlinson and his 141 career TDs are (apparently) fully healthy, and the lightening-quick Darren Sproles has been franchised and is ready to spell the 30-year-old LT; the running game should once again be racking up the yards and trips to the end zone.
The highly competitive Philip Rivers is one of the best QBs in the league, and as usual. he’ll be throwing to three of the league’s best targets in Antonio Gates, Vincent Jackson and Chris Chambers. The Chargers should once again have little trouble putting points on the board.
The defense, which struggled mightily at times last season–especially against the passwill be helped immensely by the return of physical freak Shawn Merriman, with rookie first-rounder Larry English ready to step in if Merriman’s knee isn’t fully ready. English has been everything the Chargers have expected so far in mini-camps. He and Merriman should allow the Chargers to improve on their woeful 25 sacks last season, with the added QB pressure reducing the scorching 3,958 passing yards they gave up as a team–second highest in the NFL.
Also expect better seasons out of Antonio Cromartie and Quentin Jammer. The added QB pressure should allow them to improve on their interception numbers as they combined for only 4 picks all of last season.
Simply by remaining healthy, the Chargers should improve on last year’s record by a game or two, and 10 – 6 should be more than enough for a stranglehold on this division.
Darren Yuvan breaks down the rest of the AFC West after the break..
Oakland Raiders
A bit of a surprise pick for 2nd place in the division, the Raiders have been quietly amassing talent on both sides of the ball and have just been waiting for someone to bring it all together. With some actual stability in the coaching staff, Tom Cable may be just the man to lead the Raiders back to respectability. 8 – 8 is not out of the question this year for Oakland.
With the offseason signing of Jeff Garcia, many pundits have been quick to predict an immediate QB controversy in Oaktown, already declaring the inexperienced but highly talented Jamarcus Russell a major first-round bust. But after a slow start in which Russell lost his head coach and playcaller several games in and was equipped with the worst wide receiving corps in the league, the young QB began to show marked improvement as last season progressed. He lead the Raiders to back-to-back wins to close out the season, topping it off by outplaying Garcia and a Tampa Bay squad with a playoff berth on the line.
A closer look at Russell shows him with better overall statistics through his first 16 starts than such NFL luminaries as Peyton Manning, Troy Aikman, and John Elway. Whether he ultimately attains the heights of those All-Pros remains to be seen, but expect those ridiculous Ryan Leaf comparisons to disappear as Jamarcus more than holds off Garcia’s challenge.
Russell has an impressive collection of running backs to help alleviate some of the pressure. The electric Darren McFadden is fully healthy after having much of his rookie year slowed by turf toe and should take a much larger role in the offense, both rushing and receiving. Michael Bush showed his worth by rushing for 177 yards and 2 TDs against Tampa last season and should split the majority of the work with McFadden. Expect veteran Justin Fargas’ workload to be phased out a bit this year, but he can still be counted on for solid production if needed.
The improving offensive line is lead by Robert Gallery, who by all-accounts has turned himself into a top-notch guard after being a bust at tackle. Youngster Mario Henderson looks to build upon several impressive starts from last year and has an early lock on the open left tackle position.
If the Raiders can get any production whatsoever out of their young receiving corps, the offense has potential to become dangerous.
The Raiders defense is lead by all-pro cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, who teams with Chris Johnson to make a formidable pair of corners, while linebackers Kirk Morrison and Thomas Howard are young, fast and athletic.
The key to the Raiders’ success will be their notoriously leaky run defense on the front. They’ve added Dallas castoff Greg Ellis to the defensive line, but whether he makes a difference or not remains to be seen. If new coordinator John Marshall can get better results from this group than Rob Ryan did, the Raiders will be making some noise in 2009.
Kansas City Chiefs
Scott Pioli, Todd Haley and Matt Cassel are ushering in a new era of football in Kansas City, but though the Chiefs should be improved from last year, they’re still a ways away yet. .500 would be considered a huge achievement in KC, though expect more like a 6 – 10 or 7 – 9 at best.
With Cassel’s newly signed long-term deal, he immediately becomes the KC present and future, and judging by his performance last year the Chiefs are in capable hands.
The Chiefs offense also features a stable of effective running backs in Larry Johnson, Jamaal Charles and Kolby Smith and a great young receiver in Dwayne Bowe. The Chiefs have little depth behind Bowe, however, which was why veteran wideout Bobby Engram was brought in as a free agent.
Tony Gonzalez’s departure leaves a gaping hole in the KC attack, and with no proven playmakers on the roster at the tight end position this could be a huge Chiefs weakness. Brad Cottam, Sean Ryan and Tony Curtis will be competing for the starting job, and those three combine for only 30 receptions last season.
The Chiefs defense struggled against both the rush and the pass last season and will need to be much better this year to make the team competitive. The Chiefs have added a slew of known names to their defensive roster to ensure plenty of competition, including safety Mike Brown, linebackers Zach Thomas , Mike Vrabel and Corey Mayes and cornerback Travis Daniels.
First-round draft pick Tyson Jackson will get the chance to make an impact immediately on a rebuilding squad that struggled rushing the passer last season. And if last year’s top pick, Glenn Dorsey, shows more than he did his rookie year, the Chiefs will have a nice, young nucleus to build their line and defense as a whole around.
There’s only one way to go after last year’s fiasco in KC, and that’s up, but Pioli, Haley and Cassel need a few seasons before the real results are seen.
Denver Broncos
It’s been a downright disasterous offseason in Denver, and look for the Broncos to sit in the cellar of the NFL’s worst division. Does that make them the worst team in football? That, I’m not 100% sure of, but they will be close.
The obvious big change is at quarterback, where Josh McDaniels quickly alienated Jay Cutler, with Cutler forcing a trade to Chicago. That leaves ex-Bear Kyle Orton as the starter in Mile High, and though he’s a serviceable player, there’s a very clear talent drop between Cutler and Orton. Veteran Chris Simms could surprise and push Orton, but Simms hasn’t been the same player since he ruptured his spleen as a Buccaneer.
McDaniels has even more problems with star wideout Brandon Marshall demanding a trade. If Denver does not accommodate, McDaniels will need to make a concerted effort to bring Marshall back on board. Denver has precious few threats in the passing game outside of Marshall and tight end Tony Scheffler. Jabar Gaffney and Brandon Lloyd have been brought in as free agent receivers, but neither has shown consistent production throughout their careers.
Denver’s famed running back depth is not present this season, which should open the door for rookie Knowshon Moreno to seize the starting job from journeymen Lamont Jordan and Correll Buckhalter. Fullback Peyton Hillis should also see a few carries and his share of action in the short passing game.
The Broncos defense was terrible last season, getting only 26 sacks and 6 interceptions as a team, and as a result, there has been some huge personnel turnover on the defensive side of the ball. Out of a job in Denver are LBs Boss Bailey, Jamie Winborn, and Mike Leach, CB Dre Bly, DE John Engelberger, S Marlon McCree, and DTs Josh Shaw and Dewayne Robertson.
Stepping in are safeties Brian Dawkins and Renaldo Hill, CB Andre Goodman, LBs Andra Davis and Nick Greisen,.and DTs Ronald Fields, J’vonne Parker, and Darrell Reid.
With such heavy turnover on both sides of the ball and in the coaching staff, it’s going to be tough for Denver to achieve the necessary team cohesion to be successful this year. It’s looking like a long season in Denver.
Born in Pittsburgh and currently residing in New York City, Darren is a part-time writer, part-time night club disc jockey (vinyl only, please), full-time cog in the corporate machine, both a card-carrying member of Raider Nation and the owner of several Terrible Towels, and has also had a slightly unhealthy man-crush on Hakeem Olajuwon since 1986.
1 Comment »Posted by ETB Contributor on Jul. 17, 2009 at 10:39 am in NFL
