AFC West: Don't close the book on it just yet!
Written by Shawn-Colin Thomas    Wednesday, 21 October 2009 01:55    PDF Print E-mail

Denver is 6-0. The second and third place teams (San Diego & Oakland) are both four games behind. With the Chargers already having their bye week, and since Oakland is...Oakland; a lot of people have chalked up a division win for Denver; and for a logical reason. They've knocked off the AFC North leading Cincinnati Bengals, the destructive New England Patriots, and two of their division rivals (San Diego & Oakland). But if you take a look at the talent on the teams, and the remaining schedule for the teams, you'll realize this division is not quite yet in the books.

Going by the remaining schedule, San Diego has it the easiest out of the three. They only have to put up with the Giants, Eagles, Broncos (those three all turn their "ugly heads" toward San Diego 3 games in a row) and the Bengals later on in the season. They also have the entire division beat when it comes to name players such as Rivers, Tomlinson, Merriman etcetera. They also have history on their side. (The Chargers have won the AFC West the last three years in a row, and the Broncos have always fallen apart at the worst possible time.) To further that, if last season is proof of anything, the Chargers should NOT be counted out. Last season, come week 14, the Broncos were 8-5, and the Chargers were 5-8. The Chargers won the division with an 8-8 record, ironically enough defeating the Broncos in week 17 to take that title.

Now to Oakland. Coming into the season, no one expected much from them. They still don't. The thing about Oakland though is that they are the ultimate spoiler. They've been so bad for so long, some teams underestimate them and they find out that Oakland is not as bad as they are made out to be (i.e see Philly). Oakland also has a few weapons, and ones that are rather underestimated. Darren McFadden is one of the more complete backs in the league, Nnamdi Asomugha is by far the best cornerback in the entire league, and Seymour is an established defensive end from the Patriots (enough said). With all of that though, horrible free agent moves, and horrible draft choices have hinderd this team greatly, but for the first season in a while, they have practically their full team back from the previous year. It's only a matter of time before they finally start clicking (well...one would assume), and if the Bolts and Broncos don't watch out, the "Black Hole" might just devour them whole.

With that being said, the Broncos are still the division leaders until further notice. The Broncos of this year look nothing like the Broncos of last year when it comes to personnel. They have a new coach, a new Quarterback, a brand new defense and a whole new outlook on the game. This team is not the team that lost them the division at the last second last year. This team is one with a nice combination of rookies and veterans, and is clicking rather well, and has been since week one. However, even with those six victories, no one should be fully convinced the Broncos are the real deal. Yet. The back half of the season is what is going to tell the story for this Denver team; just as it has done in years passed. For the moment, the AFC West is Denver's to lose. However, don't be surprised if come wild card weekend, Denver's name isn't listed within the playoff brackets; and San Diego's or Oakland's is.



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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 21 October 2009 01:59 )