Will the lack of a quarterback send the Broncos from first to worst?
Possibly no Super Bowl champion has had a shorter honeymoon than the Broncos, who were blindsided by the departure of their quarterback of the future, Brock Osweiler. While they knew Peyton Manning was probably leaving they expected Osweiler – who won several games in Manning’s absence – would keep the offense stable and allow the league’s best defense to make another Super Bowl run.
But now that Osweiler is in Houston the Broncos have the problem of matching their elite defense behind an inexperienced quarterback. That is if they can find a quarterback. Their post-world championship training camp has been dedicated to finding the next Osweiler, which isn’t the way you want to set out on another Super Bowl run. For now they are going with low 2015 draft pick Trevor Siemian over this spring’s No1 pick Paxton Lynch – the experienced Mark Sanchez has left for the Cowboys.
The quarterback situation means the pressure will be on the defense to be even better and generate even more turnovers, if that is possible. They will be built, again, around Von Miller who they handed $70m guaranteed to lead everything, even as they seem to harbor worries about Miller’s maturity. They still have any number of elite pass rushers along with the luxury of three top-level cornerbacks. This defense can be great. But can it be enough to withstand the growing pains of Siemian or Lynch? That may be a lot to ask.
Can Andy Reid finally make it back to the Super Bowl?
Only once in all his years of running the Philadelphia Eagles did Kansas City coach Andy Reid go to a Super Bowl. The result was a 24-21 defeat to the New England Patriots that no doubt stings to this day. Once again, Reid is in charge of a talented team with the potential to go deep in the postseason. But can he push the Chiefs through January? Can he even get them to win their division?
This Kansas City team are a classic Reid club. They have a solid, though not elite, quarterback in Alex Smith who is a statistical equal of the NFL’s top passers but nonetheless falls just short of their metrics. They also have skilled playmakers like Jeremy Maclin and Jamaal Charles and an ability to put up points. Just like Reid’s Eagles, these Chiefs have teased and yet fallen short.
Ultimately it might be their defense that takes them to the top. That is a bit of an irony for Reid who is solidly an offensive coach. The biggest key to Kansas City’s success is pass rusher Justin Houston who tore his ACL last winter and hopes to be on the field by midseason. If the Chiefs can get Houston back with eight games to play and he can be the dominant pursuer of quarterbacks, he and Derrick Johnson could anchor a defense that will at least complement Kansas City’s offense and maybe finally let the Chiefs win big.
Are the Chargers going to make one last stand in San Diego?
After 55 years in San Diego, the Chargers may have reached the end of their time in the city. A referendum on a new downtown stadium looms toward the end of this season, and if the vote fails the Chargers will move to Los Angeles – which is where they started in 1960. So in this year of indecision, the Chargers will try to not do what they have done for decades and disappoint. If they do depart, they will leave San Diego having never won a Super Bowl despite fielding countless teams that had the ability to do so.
Last year’s team seemed to have the talent to win the division; instead they finished 4-12 with almost all those defeats coming by less than a touchdown. This season’s team is also gifted. Quarterback Philip Rivers never gets the credit he deserves. Tight end Antonio Gates is 36 but still effective and receiver Keenan Allen is back after missing half of last season. The Chargers brought in the brilliant Ken Whisenhunt to run the offense and that could help as will an improved offensive line. Will that help 2015’s top draft pick, Melvin Gordon, become the player San Diego imagined rather than the disappointment of last season. But will it work out? That always seems to be the question with the Chargers.
If the offense can find ways to score the Chargers can get off to a huge start because defensively they are solid. Cornerback Jason Verrett has blossomed into a star and the additions of Brandon Mebane and Dwight Lowery might help. The overall ability is there for San Diego to win the AFC West and even make a Super Bowl run, but you could say that for most of the last 15 years. Will this be the year that changes? The long holdout of top draft pick Joey Bosa isn’t a good start. The voters are watching. Never have the Chargers needed to be great, especially because this season is about the fight to stay in San Diego.
How good can the Raiders be?
Slowly the Oakland Raiders have remade themselves in a way unfamiliar to those who watched Raiders rebuilds under Al Davis. In other words, they have put together a solid base of young players and let them grow. Now comes the year where it should start paying off in wins. There are great signs: Derek Carr as the potential to be a top quarterback in the league, but only if he stops throwing so many careless passes. Amari Cooper is one of the best young receivers in the NFL but he has another level to reach. Michael Crabtree can still be a receiving threat and the running game is solid.
The biggest questions are on defense, which is what the Raiders tried to address in the offseason. Last year Oakland gave up an average of 25 points a game, an unacceptable figure for any team trying to make a playoff run. They made some excellent signings in getting Kansas City cornerback Sean Smith and putting him together with David Amerson who played well last year. They added pass rusher Bruce Irvin to go with the outstanding Khalil Mack and signed Reggie Nelson to play safety and hope that top draft pick Karl Joseph can be the difference-maker they think he is.
These are all strong moves on paper and speak to a team that is going forward after several disastrous years. If the expectation is that Carr and Cooper will continue to get better the improved defense could push the Raiders to the top of the AFC West – perhaps for several years to come. And three years ago who would have expected that?
Predictions
1) Kansas City
2) San Diego
3) Oakland
4) Denver
