Broncos should be heavily favored...fan take

[InChiefsHeaven]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/denver-...0176--nfl.html


Dear Lord, this wench is a moron!

There's roughly 10 weeks until the 2012 NFL season starts, and Denver Broncos fans' excitement is growing daily. With continued positive reports coming out of Broncos headquarters in regards to Peyton Manning's recovery, the upcoming season looks very promising. With an improving defense, and the switch to a high-octane offense behind a future Hall of Fame quarterback, the Broncos should dominate their AFC West division.

While I think it's possible that the first half of the schedule could yield a losing record for the Broncos (with tough opponents like the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots, Atlanta Falcons, Houston Texans, and the New Orleans Saints), the second half of the season is where the Broncos can really make a charge to the top of the standings. A large part of that is due to the fact that they will have four of their six divisional games in the second half of the season.

It's hard to identify for sure who will be their most formidable divisional opponent. With Phillip Rivers as their quarterback, the most likely choice would be the San Diego Chargers. With head coach Norv Turner and general manager A.J. Smith narrowly avoiding being fired at the end of last season, the Chargers will face extra pressure to get the job done in 2012. To me, their schedule looks a little more difficult than the one the Broncos face. While they are playing a very similar schedule to the Broncos, they have to contend with playing away against the Steelers and the New York Jets in the final month of the season. Even if the Chargers take an early divisional lead, they will have a tough time holding onto it in December.

It's a toss-up as to what kind of season the Kansas City Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders will have. Both teams will have new head coaches in 2012 and new strategies. The Raiders made a bold move in acquiring quarterback Carson Palmer in 2011 and after a full off-season in the Raiders organization should be ready to be the best quarterback the team has seen since Rich Gannon. If (and this is a big "if") Palmer stays healthy, I look to see the Raiders show significant improvement this season. However, challenging for a divisional title would seem to be far from a reasonable goal.

Much like the Radiers, the Chiefs' fortunes hinge largely upon whether quarterback Matt Cassel can finally live up to that huge contract he signed three years ago. The Chiefs have drafted a large amount of high-quality talent over the past several years, but have yet to have that talent live up to its potential. A winning record would be a big improvement for this team.

Broncos fans will need some patience in September and October, but I think that the Broncos will prevail in the AFC West in the end.

Julie is a featured NFL contributor for the Yahoo Contributor Network. Having followed the NFL her entire life, she became a fan of the Broncos after moving to Denver in 2001.

What a silly silly Donkey fan...