My Preseason Projections:
1.Denver Broncos (11-5)
2.Kansas City Chiefs (9-7)
3.San Diego Chargers (6-10)
4.Oakland Raiders (2-14)
Actual Standings
1.Denver Broncos (13-3)
2.Kansas City Chiefs (11-5)
3.San Diego Chargers (9-8)
4.Oakland Raiders (4-12)
Denver Broncos: Saying that the Denver Broncos offense was productive this season would be a wild understatement. It became clear during their opening night game against the Ravens, when Peyton Manning tied the single game touchdown record by hurling 7 touchdowns that this offense was going to be an absolute force. This level of dominance did not waver for a vast majority of the season as Manning went onto break Tom Brady's single-season record with a jaw-dropping 55 touchdowns. Manning's freakish play benefited the entire offense. His receiving corps was better than ever with the addition of Wes Welker and sudden breakout play of tight end Julius Thomas joining the already lethal tandem of Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker. Manning distributed the wealth as all four players finished with at least 65 receptions and double-digit touchdowns. Manning's electric season and overwhelming numbers in the passing game also opened up the door for the rushing game to emerge. Knowshown Moreno had the best year of his career by far picking up his first 1,000 yard rushing season, becoming a legitimate threat in the receiving game with over 500 yards and developing a nose for the endzone with 13 total touchdowns on the year (10 rushing, 3 receiving.) Rookie Montee Ball also developed as a nice change-of-pace back to Moreno late in the year after a horrid start to his rookie year. The other side of the ball was not as kind to the Broncos as they struggled to find their identity. There were certainly bright spots with the play of newly-acquired defensive end Shaun Phillips, who led the team in sacks (10) and was an admirable replacement for the departed Elvis Dumervil and inside linebacker Danny Trevathan, who made a huge impact in his first year in the starting lineup. Despite a few standouts, the Broncos defense just didn't take flight like they did in 2012. The secondary was completely untrustworthy throughout the year. Champ Bailey missed a majority of the season with various injuries which hurt them from both a leadership and on-the-field standpoint. Domnique Rodgers-Cromartie continues to decline as a player and while safeties Chris Harris and Duke Inhencao played the run well, they didn't get the job done in pass coverage. Above all, the Broncos defense was hurt by the absence of Von Miller for half of the season (missed first 6 games due to suspension, missed last 2 games with torn ACL.) They're a completely different unit when Miller is on-the-field. Miller stops the run, is one of the best pass-rushers in the league and is able to create takeways. Miller is the type of standout player that the rest of the defense rallies around and when he's out of the lineup, the entire unit suffers. The Broncos have a small window to win a title in with Manning turning 38 in March, but if they can get a more complete and consistent defense, I wouldn't be shocked if Manning walked with his 2nd Lombardi trophy before he retires.
Kansas City Chiefs: The Chiefs 2013 season can be broken into two halves. Part 1: The epic and unlikely rise of an unbeaten and Part 2: The epic fall from the grace. The Chiefs came out of the gate looking about as impressive as any team in the league. Quarterback Alex Smith came exactly as advertised and captained the team with his solid albeit conservative play that got results and kept turnovers to a minimum, the defense were takeaway machines thanks to the strong secondary and unholy pass-rushing duo of Justin Houston and Tamba Hali and Jammal Charles became the most horrifying dual-threat running back in the league. After a 9-0 start, the Chiefs hit a snag and finished the year 2-5. Save for a blowout loss at the hands of the Colts in Week 16, they were all close games. The offense didn't slow down as Charles was still a powerhouse and Smith was still protecting the ball and making plays when he needed to, it was the defense that caved in and blew it. The defense that was so menacing to start the year just folded. Houston and Hali both got hurt which put a huge damper on their ability to create a pass-rush. The lack of a pass-rush exposed their vulnerability in the secondary with even guys like all-pro safety Eric Berry struggling to make plays. You have to admire the Chiefs season going from the bottom of the barrel a year ago to making the playoffs and being the last undefeated team in the league. That being said, the players and coaches seemed to cash out at a certain point. The offense was keeping them in games while the defense just lost its edge when it mattered most. Andy Reid mostly did a great job turning the team around, but some of the play-calling and game-management down the stretch was absolutely horrendous and is definitely a big part of why they struggled so much in the most important part of the season. The Chiefs have plenty of potential going forward: The team just needs to play with the same level of fire all season long and Reid needs to finally break his cycle of poor game management if they want to reach the promised land.
Oakland Raiders: I'd like to sincerely apologize to all the Raiders fans out there, you guys just can't catch a break. Other long-suffering franchises like the Browns at least have some optimism on the horizon, there is none of that going on in Oakland. Like a majority of their fellow bottom-feeders this season, The Raiders problems start at quarterback. There was some optimism around Terrelle Pryor at the beginning of the season thanks to a few huge plays, but that was soon erased by absolutely terrible play that eventually lead to his benching for rookie Matt McGloin, who was equally unimpressive. Oft-injured running back Darren McFadden proved once again that he's pretty much useless as he missed 6 games and struggled when he was playing. With a 2nd straight year averaging 3.3 yards per carry and his impending free agency, it would be an absolute shock if the Raiders retained him. Just like on offense, the team's biggest struggles on defense involved the passing game with their laughable secondary play. Charles Woodson was respectable at safety, but watching his comrades plays was nothing short of painful. Rookie cornerback D.J. Hayden was absolutely putrid when he was healthy while veterans Mike Jenkins and Tracy Porter showed exactly why the Cowboys and Broncos respectively let them walk in free agency. About the only positives the Raiders can take away from the 2013 season lie in their defensive front. Nick Roach led their retooled linebacker corps with the all the swagger and intelligence that he picked up from playing alongside Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs for 6 years in Chicago. Veteran journeyman Kevin Burnett and rookie Sio Moore were also productive and were the main reason the Raiders had a rushing defense that finished in the top half of the league. The Raiders can also credit running backs Rashad Jennings and Marcel Reece for looking solid enough to ensure that team doesn't have to waste their money re-signing McFadden. The Raiders are just a mess and Reggie McKenzie is going to have to make A LOT of moves to salvage this team.
San Diego Chargers: How many people expected the Chargers to go to the playoffs this year? Hell how many people expected this team to even go .500? The sudden resurgence of the Chargers can be fully be attributed to new head coach Mike McCoy and offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt. These guys somehow managed to get Phillip Rivers back into elite-form, overhaul a terrible offensive line into one of the strongest in the league and do the seemingly impossible by making consistent disappointment Ryan Matthews an effective NFL running back in the same season. I don't mean to sound ridiculous or over-the-top, but accomplishing all of these things within a single season is nothing short of a small miracle. Rivers was free-falling of late by turning the ball over and losing his accuracy then 2013 happens, enters a new system and he goes onto to throw 32 TD's, completes nearly 70% of his passes (a career best) and only throws 11 INT's . The offensive line was in shambles and allowed 49 sacks last year, which was 4th-most in the league. In 2013 they draft tackle D.J. Fluker in the 1st round and sign free-agent tackle King Dunlap and went onto allow 30 sacks, which was tied for 4th-least in the league. Ryan Matthews was a huge bust that letdown the Chargers each and every year since he was drafted in 2010. Enter 2013, where Matthews runs for a career-high 1,255 yards and plays all 16 games for the first time in his 4 NFL seasons. Plain and simple, McCoy and Whisenhunt are just brilliant offensive minds that can garner results no matter how long the odds look. These weren't the only improbable successes for the Chargers this year. The team was able to overcome season-ending injuries to top wideouts Malcom Floyd and Danario Alexander thanks to the dynamite play of rookie Keenan Allen and veteran tight end Antonio Gates, who has his best season since 2009. About the only place the Chargers really struggled was in the secondary. Their secondary is mostly inexperienced and it showed with their consistent missed assignments (cornerback Derrek Cox was especially guilty of this) and terrible coverage, which ended up landing them amongst the bottom 5 pass defenses in the NFL. The Chargers ended the year on a four-game winning streak and are looking like they could potentially ride that momentum to a deep playoff run. McCoy and co. appear to be onto something truly special here.
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