Broncos should be heavily favored...fan take

[InChiefsHell]

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...

[TrueFanDave]

Originally Posted by Toad King

Interesting.

The QB who was near the top of almost every statistical category was a liability, but not San Diego's 22nd ranked defense or 16th ranked running game.

Rivers made several boneheaded passes/INTs last season.

This is fact. In this regard, he was a liability.

I don't wanna hear about a poor running game.

The Giants had the worst running games and Eli was clutch and won the SB.

Rivers was not clutch.

Besides, when is 27 TDs a big deal. Matt did it 2 yrs ago.

[BossChief]

Originally Posted by Toad King

Cassel or Orton started in 4 of those 5 wins.

Even if they didn't, those shitty QBs made our defense look better than it actually is.

We only had 3 games where our qb was able to move the ball.

Are gonna try and play it off like that didn't impact defensive matrics as much as any other factor?

[the_spatula]

Originally Posted by Toad King

Tyler Palko is not part of this equation.

Are we forgetting about Palko's crowning achievement against Caleb Hanie?

[TrueFanDave]

So, were the Chiefs the only team to play those QBs?

[SNR]

Originally Posted by Dave

Rivers made several boneheaded passes/INTs last season.

This is fact. In this regard, he was a liability.

I don't wanna hear about a poor running game.

The Giants had the worst running games and Eli was clutch and won the SB.

Rivers was not clutch.

Besides, when is 27 TDs a big deal. Matt did it 2 yrs ago.

Matt threw 27 TDs by checking down like a retard and chucking wild goal line throws up to Bowe when things REALLY got tough.

Rivers threw 27 TDs by being an actual QB and accumulating 4600 yards of passing. How much is that? That's more yards in a season than Trent Green ever threw in a season. And that was in his "shitty" year.

Was 2011 a worse year for Rivers than 2010? Undoubtedly yes. Was it a shitty year? Please.

[TrueFanDave]

Originally Posted by SNR

Matt threw 27 TDs by checking down like a retard and chucking wild goal line throws up to Bowe when things REALLY got tough.

Rivers threw 27 TDs by being an actual QB and accumulating 4600 yards of passing. How much is that? That's more yards in a season than Trent Green ever threw in a season. And that was in his "shitty" year.

Was 2011 a worse year for Rivers than 2010? Undoubtedly yes. Was it a shitty year? Please.

He threw 20 INTs which directly resulted in losses.

4600 yards doesnt mean shit if you're chucking it to the other team half the time and only winning 8 games.

[BossChief]

With a qb like Rivers, KC could probably win 14 games next year and have a shot at going undefeated.

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by BossChief

With a qb like Rivers, KC could probably win 14 games next year and have a shot at going undefeated.

[TrueFanDave]

Also, I wasnt comparing Rivers to Cassel, or 2011 to 2010.

This has to do with people picking SD to win it every season and then Rivers and Co. shitting themselves.

[TrueFanDave]

Originally Posted by BossChief

With a qb like Rivers, KC could probably win 14 games next year and have a shot at going undefeated.

Doubtful.

[the_spatula]

Originally Posted by vailpass

You paying attention, bro?

Point out one team that has a better set of O-line/TEs/WRs/RBs than the Chiefs. Did you watch the defense during the last weeks of the season? Wake up, dude.

[OnTheWarpath58]

Given two choices, who would you prefer as the QB of the Kansas City Chiefs?

A.) Philip Rivers

B.) Matt Cassel


If your answer is "A", take those stats and shove them up your ass - they don't matter.

Denver and SD should be favorites for the division - they have the best QB's. Just like NE being the favorite in the AFCE, Green Bay and Detroit being the favorites in the NFCN, and so on.

[Buzz_TinBalls]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

Just like you expect Manning to pick where he left off? With a new team?

And I still think people are underestimating how much Manning's players around him helped him out. Especially the offensive line being able to adjust at the line of scrimmage correctly every time Peyton changes the blocking scheme 5 seconds before the play clock expires. He will get hit significantly more based on that fact alone, then you add the fact that Indy's offensive line was just better in general.

Peyton Manning is HOF and one of the best QB's in the modern era of pro football. Those other guys, though Jamaal is certainly a similar caliber football player as Manning, he and the others are not protected by modern rules that essentially prolong the careers of QB's in today's game. So, no -- I don't think these players have the opp Manning has this season and that is because of the new rules or how they are now being enforced and taught to players in the NFL.

[OnTheWarpath58]

Decided to read the article.

Someone might want to tell this broad that Pittsburgh and Atlanta aren't good teams, and that New Orleans is nothing to worry about without Sean Payton.

At least that's what CP told me.

[TrueFanDave]

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

Decided to read the article.

Someone might want to tell this broad that Pittsburgh and Atlanta aren't good teams, and that New Orleans is nothing to worry about without Sean Payton.

At least that's what CP told me.

I think the Saints will be dogshit due to all that's happened.

Especially the D. Officials will be watching them closely.