LogFAQs > #926766494

AFC West Prediction

1. Denver Broncos
2. Oakland Raiders
3. Washington Hawks
4. Kansas City Chiefs

The Broncos were by all accounts a Top 5 team last year, but only finished 9-7 and more importantly, were on the outside looking in come playoffs. The defense should still remain elite despite the massive turnover at CB. They spent 2nd and 3rd (via RFA) round picks to fill the starting jobs, so a pair of upper-70s CBs should be more than fine for a defense loaded everywhere else. The offense will be a bit of a mystery. QB A.J. McCarron, coming off of a rookie season in which he posted an 82.0 passer rating with 1300 yards and a 62.4 completion %, will replace the retired Michael Vick, and will be the first pocket passer they've had as the Week 1 starter since maybe Brady Quinn. Given the OL didn't miss a beat and how well he connected with the team's top three WRs (Colbert, Wallace, and Tate), I have faith in him.

HB LaMarcus Coker has played a full 16 game season only once (S8) and has missed 12 in the past three seasons. The team no longer has absurdly high-end backup Antonio Pittman, so their backup now is former Dolphins and Rams HB Mikell Simpson. He is injured right now, but he has posted a 4.2+ YPC in all but one season, so that should be reassuring. Combine that with the best offensive and future HoF FB Brian Leonard, one of the best blocking TEs in Dwayne Allen, and a phenomenal OL (I talked earlier in the offseason about how absurd the OTs were in particular), and you have one of the AFC's SB favorites.

By virtue of winning the division, the Raiders are "lucky" to face the division winners from last season in the Dolphins, Colts, and Ravens. Then again, the alternative is being forced to face the second-place teams in the Pioneers, Steelers, and Jets (though they still got the Pioneers on their schedule), so I'm not sure which is worse. Anyway, the team with the surprise playoff run from last year had a quietly excellent offseason. They lost stalwart WR Anquan Boldin, and former 1st rounders Brandon Marshall and Doug Baldwin haven't lit it up exactly, but the team has finally handed the reins to Andy Dalton. Perhaps with some continuity (Raiders haven't had a QB be the starter out of the preseason in consecutive seasons since Daunte Culpepper eons ago), they can break loose. HB R.J. Jackson quietly had his best season in the league in his first season in Oakland.

They killed it in free agency with their OL signings. RG Adam Goldberg has the highest pass-blocking rating at the position and 16th in run-blocking. OT signees Sean Locklear and Marcus Johnson have posted a combined line of 179 blocks against 2 sacks allowed. They may not have the Broncos line, but they are probably no worse than fourth in the AFC. This defense is still great. They replaced the moribund Mychal Kendricks with 1st rounder Vontaze Burfict and so many players keep trending up. The DL is merely okay, and that would normally be problematic in a run-based division, but the Raiders somehow make it work year in and year out. With the conference becoming more evenly spread, it will be a tough path for them to stand out and replicate what they managed to do last season, but they will certainly be in the thick of the playoff race, especially being gifted the NFC South as their non-conference opponent.
---

KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
https://imgur.com/VfpY7tg