Denver Broncos: The 2013 Denver Broncos were pretty much an unstoppable force until they ran into a brick wall otherwise known as the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl. The Broncos took a valuable lesson from their blowout defeat in the Super Bowl and went out and made some major moves in the offseason to fix their problems on defense, which makes their already strong team that much better in 2014. The secondary was the only real problem for the Broncos last year, especially when cornerback Chris Harris and safety Rahim Moore went down in the early stages of the playoffs. The Broncos fixed that issue in a big way by bringing in two of the best players in the league at their respective positions in cornerback Aqib Talib and safety T.J. Ward. Talib gives the Broncos the shutdown corner they've lacked since Champ Bailey slowed down and got out of elite form a few years ago while Ward brings another sure tackling run-stuffer to an already stacked rush defense as well some pretty solid pass-coverage skills that are an improvement over basically every safety that they had on their roster last year. Their other high-profile offseason pickup, defensive end DeMarcus Ware, isn't anywhere near the player he used to be, but should at least give them another able pass-rusher if he's used as a part of a rotation. However, the biggest difference maker for this 2014 Broncos defense is the return of outside linebacker Von Miller to the lineup. This defense was a completely different animal in the nine games Miller appeared in 2013 and with him back healthy alongside their new additions and 2013 standouts Terrance Knighton and Danny Trevathan, this defense should be back to the elite level they were at in 2012. The Broncos have a rejuvenated defense going into 2014 that should nicely complement their powerhouse offense- which should remain the most deadly unit in the league as long as Peyton Manning continues to play like Peyton Manning. Of course, Manning isn't going to repeat his record-breaking 2013 campaign, but it's not like he's going to all of sudden poop out either. This offense is just as good, if not better than the unit that helped him set records last season. Number one wideout Demaryius Thomas is now entering the prime of his career, the Broncos went out and replaced departed redzone target Eric Decker with another monster target in Emmanuel Sanders, and the league-best offensive line from a year ago is set to get even better with the return of three-time Pro Bowl/All-Pro left tackle Ryan Clady to the lineup after missing almost all of 2013 with a Lisfranc injury. If they stay healthy and Manning continues to play like his inhuman self, it wouldn't be the least bit surprising if the Broncos made it back to the Super Bowl this season.
Kansas City Chiefs: 2013 was a tale of two teams for the Kansas City Chiefs. They started off 9-0 and were the last undefeated team in the league before going on a 2-6 skid to end the season that was punctuated by one of the biggest collapses in NFL history as they blew a 28-point lead in their wild card matchup with the Colts. I expect the 2014 Chiefs to be in line more with the team that had the epic late-season collapse in 2013 than the team that look the league by storm in the first half of the year. Let's face it, the Chiefs success in 2013 was a fluke. They beat a bunch of subpar-to-terrible teams in the first nine weeks of the year in 2013 and got their asses handed to them the minute they started playing playoff-caliber teams in the latter stages of the season. With their 11-5 finish last season and matchups against the NFC West, they're facing much stiffer competition this season, making the odds of repeating their success in 2014 very slim. Not only do the Chiefs have a tougher schedule this year, they also have regressed as a team. The offensive line essentially got nuked this offseason as starting left tackle Branden Albert and starting guards Geoff Schwartz and Jon Ashmoah left the team in free agency. The moves leave the team with three, inexperienced new starters and saddles second-year tackle Eric Fisher- who struggled immensely throughout his rookie season- with the role of anchoring the line at left tackle. There is no offensive line in football that I have less faith in this season than the Chiefs and I expect both the passing and rushing game to suffer because of their instability and overall lack of talent. The Chiefs offense is also still incredibly one-dimensional as the offense basically runs through handoffs and shovel passes to running back Jammal Charles. If Charles went down in their current offensive scheme, I honestly don't know how would they function. While Charles is an undeniably excellent back, they're going to need someone else to step up and make plays if they want to improve on offense and become a perennial playoff contender. Quarterback Alex Smith may not be Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, but he can make some plays if you give him the opportunity and, the Chiefs have competent receivers in Dwayne Bowe, Donnie Avery and Anthony Fasano that would allow to do so. The Chiefs are coached too well and have too much talent to go back to their 2012 bottom-of-the-barrel status, but I'd be highly surprised if they were able to get back into the playoffs this year.
Oakland Raiders: Mark Kriegel of NFL AM hit the nail on the head when he referred to the 2014 Oakland Raiders as "the football version of The Expendables". The Raiders had an almost endless amount of space this season and they decided to spend it on every available member of the 2009 Pro Bowl class, all the while letting two of the most talented players on their roster (tackle Jared Veldheer and defensive end Lammar Houston) move onto other teams. The Raiders did make a few good pickups in free agency (wide receiver James Jones, cornerback Tarrel Brown, defensive end Justin Tuck), but a vast majority of the guys they signed this offseason are once great players who now are just shells of their former selves (running back Maurice Jones-Drew, outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley, tackle Donald Penn to name a few). Out of all the moves The Raiders made this offseason, none was more baffling than the trade they made with the Texans for quarterback Matt Schaub. Schuab's play has been consistently declining since 2011, with his trainwreck 2013 campaign where he completed more passes to the defense than his own guys proving that he has basically nothing left in the tank. Why anyone would turnover the reigns to their offense to Schaub at this point in his career is mind-boggling. Unless Schaub miraculously stops his recent downward spiral and goes back to his pre-2011 form, the Raiders will probably be benching him in favor of rookie Derek Carr by the time October rolls around. Even if the Raiders had a competent quarterback, they just simply don't have the talent to win a lot of football games. Their rushing attack is being led by one of the most fragile players in the league (Darren McFadden) and a former elite back who's consistent injury history has slowed him down immensely (Jones-Drew), their receiving corps besides Jones is practically non-existent, and their defense is a combination of really talented young players with almost endless potential (Sio Moore, Nick Roach, their 2014 first-round pick Khalil Mack) and veterans who are too old to do much of anything but collect a paycheck and make the occasional nice play (basically every one else on the defense), which makes them an average unit at best. This season will more than likely go down as the last year of the Dennis Allen/Reggie McKenzie-era and potentially the last season the Raiders ever play in Oakland, as the lease on their stadium is up and the ownership has pondered moving them to either San Antonio or Los Angeles. Whether they end up staying in Oakland or moving elsewhere, I don't believe the Raiders will start winning until they get an owner whose last name isn't Davis and a dynamic coach that can bring a new attitude and winning culture to this long-struggling franchise.
San Diego Chargers: The Chargers are coming into 2014 fresh off a playoff berth and basically the same roster in place, which is both a good and bad thing for this squad. On the good side, Philip Rivers is finally back in his groove with head coach Mike McCoy and Frank Reich- who got promoted from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator after Ken Wisenhunt left for the head coaching job with the Titans-running the offense. With another year to build his rapport with budding star wide receiver Keenan Allen and a solid offensive line that won't allow him to get murdered every time he drops back to throw, Rivers should be able to do even better this season. The McCoy effect has also translated to the backfield as Ryan Matthews and Danny Woodhead emerged as a really solid two-headed beast out of nowhere last season. Matthews finally lived up to his potential in 2013 with a league-high six 100-yard rushing performances while Woodhead was the perfect complement to Matthews' bruising style with his reliable hands and quickness out of the backfield that led to him finish the year with over 1,000 yards from scrimmage and 8 TD's. As long as Matthews can remain healthy and Woodhead doesn't suddenly flounder, this duo should be lethal yet again for this offense.The problems with the Chargers pretty much solely lie on the back end of their defense. Their secondary was abysmal last season and they don't really look like they're going to be much better in 2014. They have a pair of potential new starting corners in 2014 first-round pick Jason Verett and ex-Chief Brandon Flowers, but I don't think this duo will be enough to turn the tide for this putrid unit. Verrett is a player I liked coming out of the draft this year due to his physical presence, but he's too small to be the number one corner and will be more than likely stuck with a nickel role in this defense. That number one corner spot will probably go to Flowers, who has suffered one of the saddest declines in recent NFL history going from highly underrated shutdown corners to one of the worst corners in the league over the last couple of years. Unless defensive coordinator John Pagano is a literal wizard, Flowers will not return to his old form in San Diego. If Flowers even manages to serve as a serviceable stopgap corner before the Chargers bring in someone else next season via free agency or the draft, his season can be deemed a great success. The Chargers will be in the hunt for the playoffs once again, but with the same holes that plagued them last year and a much tougher schedule this year, I expect them to just miss the cut.
Projected Standings for the AFC West:
1.Denver Broncos (13-3)
2.San Diego Chargers (8-8)
3.Kansas City Chiefs (6-10)
4.Oakland Raiders (4-12)
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