2005 AFC West Preview

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1. SAN DIEGO CHARGERS

Coming off their 12-4 first place finish in the AFC West in 2004, the San Diego Chargers could conceivably have a better team in 2005, yet finish with a worse record. This is due to a brutal schedule that includes road trips to New England, Philadelphia, the New York Jets, and Indianapolis, as well as a home game against Pittsburgh. Pro Bowlers Drew Brees, LaDanian Tomlinson, Antonio Gates, and Lorenzo Neal once again lead the San Diego offense. The Chargers receiving corps will also be aided by the return of WR Reche Caldwell and the drafting of WR Vincent Jackson (Northern Colorado) to go along with WR Keenan McCardell, TE Justin Peele, WR Eric Parker, TE Ryan Krause, and WR Kassim Osgood. The leader of the San Diego offensive line (center Nick Hardwick, guard Toniu Fonoti, and tackles Roman Oben, Shane Olivea, and Bob Hallen) is guard Mike Goff. The Chargers are counting on first-round draft pick LB Shawne Merriman (Maryland) to increase a pass rush that was led by linebackers Steve Foley, (All-Pro) Donnie Edwards, Randall Godfrey, Ben Leber, Shaun Phillips, Stephen Cooper, and Matt Wilhelm. San Diego also drafted NT Luis Castillo (Northwestern) to back up Pro Bowl NT Jamal Williams in the middle. The Charger ends surrounding Williams and Castillo will be Igor Olshansky, Jacques Cesaire, DeQuincy Scott, Adrian Dingle, and Dave Ball. San Diego needs CB Quentin Jammer to step up and realize the potential he showed when they drafted him out of Texas. The other members of the Charger secondary are cornerbacks Drayton Florence, Sammy Davis, and Jamar Fletcher, and safeties Terrence Kiel, Jerry Wilson, ex-Green Bay Packer Bhawoh Jue, Hanik Milligan, and Clinton Hart. The addition of Darren Sproles (drafted out of Kansas St.) to handle kick return duties, should be an upgrade over Tim Dwight. Despite his missed field goal in the playoffs against the Jets, kicker Nate Kaeding does a solid job for San Diego as does Pro Bowl punter Mike Scifres.

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2. DENVER BRONCOS - In the 2004 season, the Denver Broncos continued their trend of getting off to a fast start. Denver began 5-1, before ending the year at 10-6 with a playoff loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Still, the finish was good enough for second place in the AFC West. In the off-season, the Broncos brought in every ex-Cleveland defensive lineman possible. DE Courtney Brown, DT Gerard Warren, and DE Ebenezer Ekuban were all signed in an attempt to address a lack of depth. They will compete with DE Raylee Johnson, Pro Bowl DT Trevor Pryce, DE Marco Coleman, DT Luther Eliss, and DE John Engelberger. Some more good news for Denver is that Ian Gold returns to a linebacking group that includes Pro Bowler Al Wilson, DJ Williams, and Keith Burns. Cornerbacks Darrent Williams (Oklahoma St.), Karl Paymah (Washington St.), and Dominique Foxworth (Maryland) were drafted by the Broncos to strengthen a secondary led by Pro Bowl CB Champ Bailey, Pro Bowl S John Lynch, CB Jeff Shoate, S Nick Ferguson, and CB Lenny Walls. On offense, Denver is counting on either Tatum Bell or Quentin Griffin picking up the slack at running back with the loss of Reuben Droughns to the Browns. Mike Anderson, Maurice Clarett (drafted out of Ohio St.), Ron Dayne, and Cecil Sapp will all fight for backup roles. Jake Plummer returns at quarterback for the Broncos with a future Hall of Fame receiver to throw to. You might have heard of him. His name is Jerry Rice. Despite Rice’s presence, Pro Bowl WR Rod Smith should remain the leader of a Denver receiving corps that also includes WR Ashley Lelie, TE Jeb Putzier, WR Darius Watts, TE Stephen Alexander, and WR Grant Mattos. TE Dwayne Carswell was moved back to the Bronco offensive line where he will join Tom Nalen, Matt Lepsis, Cooper Carlisle, Anthony Clement, Ben Hamilton, and George Foster. Denver’s special teams should be one of the best with Smith returning kicks, Pro Bowl kicker Jason Elam handling the kicking duties, and Todd Sauerbrun punting. The Broncos play New England, Philadelphia, the New York Jets, and Baltimore all at home. Meanwhile, two of Denver’s tougher road games are at Jacksonville and at Buffalo.

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3. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS - Traditionally, Arrowhead Stadium provides one of the best home field advantages in the NFL for the Kansas City Chiefs. During the 2004 season, that changed as Kansas City only went 4-4 at home. If the Chiefs can return to dominating their home turf in 2005, it could go a long way towards improving Kansas City’s 7-9 record and third place AFC West finish from a year ago. In the off-season, the Chiefs signed ex-Pittsburgh Steeler LB Kendrell Bell, ex- New Orleans CB Ashley Ambrose, and drafted LB Derrick Johnson (Texas) to beef up the defense. Bell should battle with Johnson, Shawn Barber, Mike Maslowski, Scott Fujita, Quinton Caver, and Kawika Mitchell for playing time. The Kansas City defensive line is led by tackles Ryan Sims, Lional Dalton, and John Browning and ends Eric Hicks, Jared Allen, and Carlos Hall. Ambrose comes over from the Saints to join a secondary that also includes CB Patrick Surtain, S Sammy Knight, CB Eric Warfield, S Jerome Woods, CB Dexter McCleon, S Greg Wesley, CB William Bartee, S Shaunard Harts, and CB Julian Battle. On the other side of the ball, Pro Bowlers Trent Green, Priest Holmes, and Tony Gonzalez will once again lead the Chiefs high-octane offensive attack. Larry Johnson, Tony Richardson, and ex-St. Louis Ram Robert Holcombe provide good depth behind Holmes. Kansas City signed ex-Philadelphia Eagle WR Freddie Mitchell and also drafted WR Craphonso Thorpe (Florida St.) to go along with WR Eddie Kennison, WR Marc Boerigter, TE Jason Dunn, WR Chris Horn, and WR Samie Parker. The Chiefs are fortunate to have one of the best offensive lines in the league. It’s anchored by center Casey Wiegmann, guards Will Shields and Brian Waters, and tackles Willie Roaf and Jordan Black. Pro Bowl KR Dante Hall is also one of the best. Meanwhile, punter Nick Murphy should face a challenge from Dustin Colquitt (drafted out of Tennessee). The Kansas City kicker is Lawrence Tynes. The Chiefs have some tough home games against the New York Jets, Philadelphia, New England, and Cincinnati, while also traveling to Buffalo, Houston, and Dallas.

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4. OAKLAND RAIDERS - The only black hole for the Oakland Raiders in 2004 was their defense as they finished 5-11 and in fourth place in the AFC West. Even the acquisition of Pro Bowl DT Warren Sapp didn’t exactly strike fear in the hearts of Oakland opponents. The same can’t be said this time around, however. This past off-season, the Raiders made some real noise by bringing in ex-Minnesota Viking Pro Bowl WR Randy Moss to help revive the vertical passing game. The running mates for Moss include WR Jerry Porter, TE Rickey Dudley, WR Ronald Curry, TE Teyo Johnson, WR Doug Gabriel, and TE Josh Norman. Once again, throwing spirals to this group is Oakland QB Kerry Collins. Collins will also be handing the ball off to a backfield of ex-New York Jet RB LaMont Jordan, FB Zack Crockett, and RB Justin Fargas. The Raider offensive line is anchored by guard Ron Stone, centers Jake Grove and Adam Treu, and tackles Robert Gallery, Barry Sims, and Brad Badger. Meanwhile, Sapp leads an Oakland defensive line that features ex-Philadelphia Eagle DE Derrick Burgess, (All-Pro) DT Ted Washington, DE Bobby Hamilton, DT Ed Jasper, DE Tyler Brayton, DT Grant Irons, DE Sam Williams, DT Kenny Smith, DE Tommy Kelly, DT Anttaj Hawthorne (drafted out of Wisconsin), and DE Akbar Gbaja-Biamila. The Raiders drafted Kirk Morrison out of San Diego St. to strengthen a linebacking unit that also includes DeLawrence Grant, Travian Smith, Jay Foreman, Tim Johnson, and Edward Thomas. Oakland also drafted heavily in the defensive backfield, bringing in CB Fabian Washington (Nebraska) and DB Chris Carr (Boise St.). Other members of the Raider secondary include Pro Bowl CB Charles Woodson, SS Derrick Gibson, CB Denard Walker, CB Renaldo Hill, and S Stuart Schweigert. Oakland’s special teams are in good hands with K Sebastian Janikowski and P Shane Lechler, both Pro Bowlers. The Raiders face a tough schedule that forces them to travel to New England, Philadelphia, Tennessee, and the New York Jets.

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