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by: Jon Reynolds

The AFC West is one of those glory divisions that still exists in the NFL. These four teams have been in the AFC West since 1960. The Kansas City Chiefs were originally the Dallas Texans and then moved to K.C. in 1963. The beauty of that is 50 years of playing each other twice has produced some great rivalries. The Chiefs vs. Raiders rivalry is arguably one of the best in all of the NFL. I know that neither team has mattered much in the last decade, but this rivalry is one of those that you throw out the records and handle your business on the field. The Denver Broncos are typically strong and the San Diego Chargers have been on the verge of a Super Bowl for the past 7 or 8 years.

San Diego Super Chargers! Are you singing along? The Chargers theme song is probably the only NFL song that I know, so I had to go there. In my opinion, the Chargers have the best looking uniforms in the NFL. I just love the Powder Blues/White Helmets/Yellow Lightning Bolt….it just looks awesome. It is really a shame that the Chargers could never capitalize on having the greatest running back of his era, LT, before he left town for the Jets. I have always thought that Philip Rivers was a bit of a jerk and a little too much lip for my liking. However, I can’t argue with the guy’s talent. He is one of the elite QBs in the league right now and has a very talented group of backs and receivers at his disposal. The problem for the Chargers has been self implosion and the Tom Brady. You know, other than that they have been great. The Chargers have a window that is slowly closing. I think with the current group that they have, the Chargers need to get their Super Bowl in the next 3 to maybe 4 seasons.

Denver has a problem that many of the teams in the NFL are suffering through. The Broncos have not had a QB since John Elway retired. The lack of production and stability at the QB position has resulted in the Broncos picking in the top third of the NFL draft. From the mid 90s to the early 2000s it seemed that Denver could just have a RB fall out of bed and go for 1000 yards. The last 1000 yard rusher that Denver had was in 2006 with Tatum Bell. The Broncos are probably kicking themselves for trading Peyton Hillis to the Browns (as he appears to be a work horse that the Browns have been looking for since Jamal Lewis). Knowshon Moreno could be the answer long term for Denver at RB. I honestly thought he would be a bust in the NFL, and he has proved to be a more than adequate RB. Brandon Lloyd decided in 2010 that he would be one of the best WRs in the NFL (catching 77 balls for over 1,400 yards, not to mention B Lloyd killed it for my fantasy team last year…thanks Brandon). Apparently the Broncos only have players that I thought would never amount to anything in the NFL. If you would have told me that, after 4 full seasons, Elvis Dumervil would have 43 sacks I would have slapped you in the face. The guy is a machine and hopefully he can come back 100% after missing last season with a torn pectoral muscle. I guess the Broncos want me to continue to think that there players are awful…your welcome Denver.

The Oakland Raiders. Hmmmm where do I start? Al Davis? This guy LOVES his franchise and it sucks that HE is the reason why the Raiders are so terrible. The guy makes worse player decisions than pretty much any other team in professional sports. Let me just give you a short list of why it sucks to be a Raider fan. JaMarcus Russell. He lasted all of 3 seasons in the NFL. That was $32 mill (guaranteed) well spent, Al. Darrius Heyward-Bey has caught 2 TD passes since being the #7 overall pick in the 2009 Draft. I guess 4.3 speed doesn’t translate into being the next big thing. The Raiders drafted a Sebastian Janikowski with the 17th overall selection in 2000….a KICKER!! Ok, I realize he is one of the best kickers of this generation, but they could have had Shaun Alexander who went 2 picks later to the Seahawks. I don’t know there is just something about taking a kicker 17th overall that makes me think, “yeah, your team deserves to be bottom feeders”. The Raiders have a glimmer of hope. Run DMC. Darren McFadden has finally showed some signs of the talent that he displayed while at Arkansas and had many people, including me, saying “this guy can’t miss”. I just hope that the lack of an above average QB doesn’t result in Run DMC being asked to carry the ball 30 times a game. Long story short, until the Raiders decide to draft football players instead of trying to find the best combine guy, they will not matter in the NFL.

There was one team that really shocked me last season. I mean in my mind, there was NO WAY they could win 10 games, no way. The Kansas City Chiefs proved me wrong, in a big way. They had the no. 1 rushing attack in the entire NFL. Thomas Jones was solid, as usual, and Jamaal Charles looks like he has the ability to be a very special player for the next five or so seasons. I like Matt Cassel at QB, but I don’t love him. I mean he looked like a world beater for the Pats when Captain America, Tom Brady, was injured but has looked pretty average or below average in his time at K.C. Then in 2010, he did the one thing that every QB must do…he protected the ball. He threw 27 TDs against only 7 ints. I will take that ration every year. Dwayne Bowe has now proven to be one of the most productive WRs in the NFL. The Chiefs have some great young talent on the defensive side as well. Eric Berry and Glen Dorsey are both young guys that you can build a great D around. I would say watch out for the Chiefs in the next few seasons.

I feel like I’m going out on a limb here but…the AFC West Champions will be the Kansas City Chiefs.

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