Denver Broncos
Love: Peyton Manning Will Not Die
The rumors of Peyton Manning's football death have been greatly exaggerated, though I've tried to predict the end of his career for three years now. So I'll let fate sort that one out for a change. In the meantime, not knowing whether Manning will be back at full speed after a nasty quad injury last season, we can admire the certainty that he will probably play until it's no longer physically possible because he's more robot than human. With a second Lombardi so close and yet so far away two years ago, there's no doubt No. 18 will crawl on hands and knees--flesh wounds and all--to get one more shot. But maybe it's about time for John Elway to show him the corporate side of things, you know, just for another mid-career option. Just sayin'. Look at that gangly old-man arm!
Jim Harbaugh's ouster in San Francisco certainly grabbed more headlines this offseason, but I'm inclined to think the Broncos front office will regret firing John Fox when the dust settles and they realize they replaced him with Gary Kubiak. The thin atmosphere in Denver doesn't make it easy to think straight sometimes, especially when your front office is known for making awful decisions, but how else could the Broncos possibly justify replacing a guy who's been to two Super Bowls and taken this team to the playoffs four years in a row, Tim Tebow and all, with a guy who's never made it past the divisional round and has two winning seasons as a head coach to his name? Gary Kubiak's hire in Denver isn't totally out of left field - he has two decades of experience there as a player and then as an assistant. But if you're trying to squeeze every last drop out of Peyton Manning's waning career, why would you kick a solid coach who knows this roster to the curb for the coaching equivalent of a 2003 Honda Accord? Kubiak is a perfectly good means to 8 or 9 wins, but he's hardly the answer for any team that wants to go deep in the playoffs. Combine this with rumors that the Broncos were trying to shop Manning around in the offseason and methinks the tank is on.
Kansas City Chiefs
Love: A Real-Live Wide Receiver!The Chiefs, erm, accomplished something highly improbable last year when they managed to go the entire season without a single touchdown pass to a wide receiver. That's bad, considering that is job requirement numero uno for the position. In fact, the last time this happened was 1964 when the forward pass was still considered the stuff of smoke and mirrors by many teams. Anyway, as "special" as last year was, Kansas City will almost certainly avoid a repeat after reuniting WR Jeremy Maclin with fellow Eagles expat Andy Reid and acquiring guard Ben Grubbs to buy Alex Smith some time in the pocket. The timing couldn't be better considering Maclin just came off a career season in Philly. Having a legit outside threat alongside Jamaal Charles and touchdown dance connoisseur Travis Kelce around should keep Arrow Head rocking this season, and this time it won't just be the tailgatin' booze.
Hate: Second Banana Status
I truthfully can't think of a lot to hate about this iteration of the Kansas City Chiefs, but that's in large part because they're a pretty uneventful bunch in a division that features The Peyton Manning, San Diego's often-fun offense and the comic relief of the Raiders. The Chiefs have only won the West once in the past decade, and though they've turned things around dramatically with Andy Reid at the helm, they certainly won't be division favorites going into this season. They have proven they can beat the bottom of the barrel consistently and even managed to beat both eventual Super Bowl teams in 2014, but this team has had the tendency to fizzle when it matters most, especially against those pesky Broncos. Until they can muscle their way into a better playoff position, it's hard to imagine KC playing more than second fiddle to the AFC's better half.
Oakland Raiders
Love: Derek Carr Might Just Be AlrightNow there's a sensibility we haven't heard in Oakland since Rich Gannon retired a decade ago! And besides being Jesse Pinkman's doppelganger, Derek Carr had a quietly good rookie season while we were balking at Blake Bortles and Johnny Manziel in 2014. He had more touchdown passes than Russell Wilson and fewer interceptions than Andrew Luck or Peyton Manning with roughly the same number of attempts. If you're starting to get curious about Carr's sleeper status in 2015, let me help by reminding you that he'll be throwing to Amari Cooper, the former Alabama wideout who managed to make us forget how good his predecessor Julio Jones was with plays like these. With a solid start to his pro career and one of the most intriguing receivers in the draft at his side, Carr could give the beleaguered Black Hole something to grimace at--in Raiders' fans own loving way--this season.
Hate: Apparent Amnesia from 2003 to 2011
Le sigh. Hand it to the Raiders to make a foot of progress and step back a mile. As exciting as this young offense and Khalil Mack-led defense sounds on paper, they will be managed by new coach Jack Del Rio. Why the amnesia? Del Rio's last head coaching gig was with the pitiful Jacksonville Jaguars during that time, where he finished out his tenure with four straight losing seasons and two last-place finishes in the godawful AFC South. To Del Rio's credit, he did lead the franchise to its two most recent playoff appearances in the mid-aughts, but if you're looking for a guy with a successful turnaround track record, he probably wouldn't make your top 32. For my love of underdogs, I'd like nothing better than this journeyman coach to prove me wrong and shake up the divisional order, but that would suggest Del Rio is somehow far more capable than the eight other victims to go through Oakland's revolving door over the past decade.
Le sigh. Hand it to the Raiders to make a foot of progress and step back a mile. As exciting as this young offense and Khalil Mack-led defense sounds on paper, they will be managed by new coach Jack Del Rio. Why the amnesia? Del Rio's last head coaching gig was with the pitiful Jacksonville Jaguars during that time, where he finished out his tenure with four straight losing seasons and two last-place finishes in the godawful AFC South. To Del Rio's credit, he did lead the franchise to its two most recent playoff appearances in the mid-aughts, but if you're looking for a guy with a successful turnaround track record, he probably wouldn't make your top 32. For my love of underdogs, I'd like nothing better than this journeyman coach to prove me wrong and shake up the divisional order, but that would suggest Del Rio is somehow far more capable than the eight other victims to go through Oakland's revolving door over the past decade.
San Diego Chargers
Love: Serious Upgrading on the GroundThere probably weren't many tears shed in San Diego when former first round pick Ryan Mathews headed to Philadelphia this offseason. Although there were a few flashes of promise during the running back's early career with the Chargers, he never quite lived up to the hype when he was healthy enough to play. But after bringing in Orlando Franklin at tackle and drafting Melvin Gordon, who could actually be a rare first-round RB steal, San Diego may finally get the offensive balance needed to take this team to the top of the AFC West. Lest I forget to mention Gordon is second only to Barry Sanders in college football history for most rushing yards in a single season. And if he turns out to be even 80% of Sanders, the Chargers could be serious conference contenders. Don't say you didn't see it coming!
This could be filed under the Raiders too, but San Diego is in the throes of an ugly finance battle that could send the Chargers to LA if they don't pony up for a new stadium. If you want a superb rundown of why this is bad, you won't be disappointed by this John Oliver bit, but in a nutshell, San Diego is just the latest in a long line of cities that have been extorted for public funds and insanely large tax breaks to keep a team in the very-most profitable league in the country in town. If the city OK's the deal, they'll get to keep the Chargers until the next upgrade request inevitably comes along at the expense of all of the other things that are supposed to be publicly funded like schools, police and roads and such. And if the city says no, there's no real incentive for the franchise to negotiate on any kind of funding arrangement that would be more reasonable. The Chargers can simply go to one of the many other cities that are thirsty for an NFL team and willing to sell their souls to get one. There's no real tenable solution for policymakers who know the emotional stakes their constituents put into a home team (and may well feel the same way themselves) and who don't get nearly the same instant gratification should they decide to protect their community's long-term financial viability instead. Anyway, consider this your PSA/policy wonk analysis of this series - this issue sucks. Next week: on to the NFC!
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