The Ridiculousness of the AFC West

Oakland currently leads this maniacally convoluted division in the race to being the least mediocre team west of the Mississippi, but that doesn’t really hold much sway with 7 games to go for each team. Denver has managed not to get too bogged down in the Tebow hype and by hook and crook have matched their win total from last year. Going back to the Left Coast, the Chargers have completely stalled out. The Philip Rivers doppelganger that has been floating pick sixes to his opponents has brashly put his name in the hat for flop of the year and one is left to wonder if this is Norv Turner’s final final stand. Finally, the Chiefs have done little to consistently inspire confidence in their play; this futility is best highlighted by last Sunday’s game, where the Broncos called a running play almost 90% of the time and still won. I’m going to attempt to break down the rest of the slate for each team as well as analyze the current talent situation for all four squads in hope of divining the eventual champion of the Always F***ing Crazy West division.

Oakland: Trying to figure out how this team will play is like walking into a dark room full of shapeless black and silver balloons and guessing which one is the biggest. I don’t think Carson Palmer is a “franchise quarterback” and I really don’t think that he was worth the trove of picks the ghost of Al Davis threw at Mike Brown. Hell, I don’t even know for sure if he’s better than Jason Campbell. What this team can do, though, is run the ball. Darren McFadden is injured often, but when he’s healthy he is basically the red horse of the apocalypse. Michael Bush, DMC’s backup, could start for many teams but is forced into a timeshare in Oaktown. The offensive and defensive lines are both made up of body moving behemoths that make up for a lack in foot speed with sheer brawn. They don’t have a truly easy game left; the Vikings have the worst record on their schedule but they will be at home and barring injury they will have Adrian Peterson. They still have the good teams in the NFC North and the Chargers again, so they’ll have to establish something, anything, on offense and hope to play physically in the run game in order to keep their slim lead.

Kansas City: I can’t take Kansas City seriously after their performance the previous weekend. I will, however, readily acknowledge the legitimacy of Jonathan Baldwin as a great target across from Dwayne Bowe a little ways down the line. Currently, however, this offense seems to be in disarray. In my opinion they’ve never given Dexter McCluster the touches he deserves. He’s small and has ball control issues but he’s elusive and extremely fast. If I were Todd Haley, and thank God I’m not, I would throw about five or six screens to McCluster per game, just to make the defense react to him in the open field. Matt Cassel was somewhere right around the average but he’s out for the year, leaving the door wide open for Tyler Palko. If I were a Chiefs fan, I would be decidedly unhappy. I don’t think the defense is good enough to cover up whatever misdoings

Pandora

Palko will unleash upon the world.

Denver: A prime example of the West’s bizarreness, the Broncos decided to step back in time in hopes that Timothy Richard Tebow can continue to do that thing he does so well. Denver’s offensive line deserves a big ol’ jar of cookies for consistently opening holes in the running game for

Willis McGahee

Knowshon Moreno

Lance Ball. Moreno, he of the “Yeah, I might have been overdrafted” fame, is out for the season and in the short term the onus of the running game will fall on Ball, recently promoted Jeremiah Johnson and of course, Tebow. The Broncos have an above average cadre of young receivers in Eric Decker, Eddie Royal and Demaryius Thomas but the latter two are usually injured to some extent. Defensively, the Broncos have dramatically improved a rush defense that was a continual joke throughout the 2010 season and have survived a barrage of injuries to somewhat keep the pressure off of a secondary that is simultaneously aging and infantile (again with the bizarre: Starters Brian Dawkins, Champ Bailey and Andre Goodman are all winding down their careers while the other ballhawking positions are occupied by rookies Rahim Moore, Chris Harris and Quinton Carter. The Broncos pass rush has improved a great deal largely thanks to rookie sensation and potential defensive cornerstone Von Miller, who basically flies around the field wreaking havoc. The Broncos have a lot of questions of offense but they also have a lot of weapons. Defensively, they’ve been solid but they’ll have to avoid falling off the tracks as the season winds down like they have the last two years.

San Diego: The team that has been the favorite to win this division (and occasionally, the Super Bowl) for seemingly half a decade is once again struggling. Last year, they were subject to the less-than-memorable special teams lapses that made weekly cameos on “How Not To Play Football” reels. This year, it’s Philip Rivers. Like the Raiders, they have two starting caliber running backs in Ryan Matthews and Mike Tolbert but their struggles stem from elsewhere. Floaty has been floating picks like its going out of style, although to be fair, his offensive line is miserable. Marcus McNeill’s injury let the world see the wonder that is Brandyn Dombrowski, the one man who could make Kamerion Wimbely look like a swagged out juggernaut. One thing I noticed from a cursory glance at their schedule this year is that they have not blown any team out in typical Rivers-Jackson-Gates fashion. (The Chargers largest victory was 26-16 at home against Miami. Yikes.) The defense is playing well, but they haven’t forced many turnovers. In fact, losing the turnover battle seems to be one of the main reasons San Diego is 4-5: they’ve given up the ball 27 times while taking it away only 12 times. They have a tough schedule and I just don’t see them making the playoffs.

Ultimately, this division will come down to quarterback play. For Oakland, the key will be assimilating Carson Palmer into the offense as swiftly as possible. In KC, Tyler Palko has to step up and find a way to lead his team, or at the very least, not throw consecutive pick sixes. The only chance of putting up points in the Mile High City will be whether or not a Tebow-centric offense can consistently succeed. In San Diego, the damage may already have been done.