Bird's Eye View of the AFCW through 2 weeks...

[Mile High Mania]

Ok, we all know the standings with KC at 2-0 and the rest at 1-1. Overall, it's somewhat on pace with what most expected. Granted - nobody really thought KC would be 2-0 and it's thanks to their defense. Here are some quick hit thoughts that I have on the division.

Chiefs - (2-0)
Next 4: 49ers / bye / @ Colts / @ Texans / Jags

The Chiefs found a way to win at Cleveland - conferencel road wins are critical and divisional home wins are required if you're going to make noise at the end of the season, and right now KC has both. But, that offense and the inability to establish a true and consistent rushing attack will kill the Chiefs if they don't fix it. Cassel has been horrific and he'll only improve if they achieve consistency in the ground game. KC has two top RBs... the problem is that they are trying to date both when they should commit to one of them as 'the guy' and work the other win throughout the game.

The Chiefs have scored 4 TDs in two games and only two of those were by the offense. Obviously that has to improve and it could with San Fran, but over the bye week, KC is going to have some serious soul searching as they stare at back to back road games against the Colts and Texans - those are likely to be two very rude awakenings for Haley and crew.

Projection - Chiefs are 3-3 after this stretch of games

Chargers - (1-1)
Next 4: @ Seahawks / Cardinals / @ Raiders / @ Rams

The Chargers have by far the easiest stretch of games over the next month and should win each of them, moving to 5-1. The defense held the Jags in check, and previously did ok against the Chiefs. Offensively, they could miss Ryan if his injury keeps him out. Can the receivers and Gates step up? Against these 4 teams... very likely.

The Chargers historically start slow under Norv, but at .500 with these 4 games, that should and will change. SD will be on top of the division and in control very soon. Do they trade VJ? I think they will and we'll see how the other WRs respond. They'll always have a chance with Rivers.

Projection - Chargers are 5-1 after this stretch of games

Broncos - (1-1)
Next 4: Colts / @ Titans / @ Ravens / Jets

This is by far the toughest stretch of any division team for the next month. I'll be honest, I could see them winning at TN - possibly, but outside of that... I dunno. I fear an ugly stretch of games, but hope for the best.

Denver's passing game is doing very well, the ground game sucks for the most part and defensively, they're "ok" right now, not stellar. And, they'll need to be stellar in order to go .500 during this stretch. It's not impossible, but it's improbable to me based on what I've seen.

Projection - Broncos are 2-4 after this stretch of games

Raiders - (1-1)
Next 4: @ Cardinals / Texans / Chargers / @49ers

The Raiders slugged it out to narrowly beat the Rams... McFadden is the only real bright spot for this team right now and I could see them losing all 4 of these games. The Rams are worse than all of them and OAK barely beat them at home in front of all 30 fans. So, can they win at AZ or San Fran? I dunno, but I don't see them winning at home vs Houston and San Diego.

Enjoy .500 while you can Raiders fans... and yes, I'm doing the same thing.

Projection - Raiders are 2-4 after this stretch of games

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by Mile High Mania

Yeah, but it was a divisional road game... and at Arrowhead. KC could be the worst team in history and divisional games there will be hard wins.

So, I guess they choked on their second cupcake because... it was a former division rival?

As for Denver, wounds aren't the only thing you'll be licking this season.

[Mile High Mania]

Originally Posted by frazod

So, I guess they choked on their second cupcake because... it was a former division rival?

As for Denver, wounds aren't the only thing you'll be licking this season.

Ha! We'll see how it all shakes out... Denver looked good a year ago as well, things can change quickly. I've been saying for a while that SD was the best of a poor division and they weren't as great as many claimed... the fact that VJ is MIA and the ground game is lacking, those are two big areas hurting SD right now.

They can still rattle off a number of wins in the next month, we'll see.

[MMXcalibur]

I'll admit that the Broncos passing game looks pretty good, but that upcoming schedule of the Titans, Ravens and Jets is going to seriously impede the Broncos chances.

[Mile High Mania]

Originally Posted by KCtotheSB

I'll admit that the Broncos passing game looks pretty good, but that upcoming schedule of the Titans, Ravens and Jets is going to seriously impede the Broncos chances.

Probably, but it's not impossible... hell, who knew the Browns would give the Ravens a solid contest and that was at BALT.

I like Denver's chances @ TN, they have a huge task with CJ/Ringer and they need to contain Vince, but I don't think it's unrealistic to say they can win it. Same for the Jets in Denver... they're hot right now, but again, I like Denver's chances.

I would be happy with a 1-2 record during those 3 games.

If Denver can make it through and be 2-4, then I'll be ok... as the next month of games would be Raiders (in Den), 49ers (in London), Chiefs (in Denver, Chargers (in SD).

I could see Denver going 3-1 during this stretch and if so, 5-5 would be fine with me and I think that's completely realistic at this point.

The final six - Rams (in Den), @ KC, @ AZ, @ Oak, Hou (in Denver), SD (in Denver). Denver could easily be 3-3, or 4-2 if they can beat Hou or SD in Denver.

So, while 1-2 sucks and 2-4 seems realistically dreadful, they could win 8 or 9 games which is better than I expected.

The bolds are the games that I think Denver can win... I am not bolding any of the next 3 games, for obvious reasons, we'll see what happens.

Denver's passing game has been very consistent and performing well... they're killing themselves by not being able to rush (injuries, etc) and failing to score in the redzone. Defensively, they're about average right now, definitely need to pick it up when covering TEs and those short passes over the middle - especially on 3rd down.

It's interesting to see that Denver's WRs league the league in receiving... not sure on the specific stat, but they're holding their own without the Beast.