FanPost

Why the Chiefs will RUN away with the AFC West Title


Bored, I found myself scouring the AFC Blog on ESPN. There is an apparent series of weaknesses within the division, where ESPN claims the run defense of three of the four teams (Denver was the quarterback position) are a major weakness.

Now, whether ESPN doesn't say it or if Denver has gotten much better (an old Jamal Williams doesn't count for much of an upgrade), we all remember Jamaal Charles' almost record-breaking day against none other than the Denver Broncos defense. So we can include Denver in the discussion of having a weak run defense.

Personally, I would rank San Diego and oakland together as better than Denver and Kansas City (both gave up huge running games). Yes, I expect improvements from the defense, but won't the other teams improve too? So perhaps that isn't as big of a predictive factor of how the AFC West will shape up. Which leads me to my point....

I think it is safe to say that any team is in the running for the AFC West title (pun definitely intended). It is clear that as part of Pioli and Haley's building plan they are building the team to compete within the division first, and then later will tweak to compete with the top teams in the AFC.

We've already heard about how the defensive additions have been made as a counter-punch to the strong passing teams of Denver and San Diego. Although, you could (effectively) argue that Denver's passing game took a huge hit. Wait, does Denver have any offense now?? Anyway....

how does the running game shape up for all four AFC West teams?

Luckily, Mike Shanahan is no longer in Denver, with a system by which he substituted back after back after back and had great success. Now what? Peyton Hillis was traded. The zone blocking scheme is gone. Knowshon Moreno is the lead back now. Iowa Hawkeye fans had a saying about Knowshon Moreno last year at Heisman voting time: Knowshon Moreno is no Shonn Greene. What's my point? If I'm a Broncos fan, I'm not thrilled about the running game.

Is SD in much better position? They're in better position by stopping KC from signing Sproles. LT is gone, and that is big. Yes, he was injured at times, but he was still on the field. He was a huge leader. Sproles is a huge weapon, but I'm not sure many of us would consider him much of an upgrade over Charles....Yes, SD drafted another running back, but are we really scared of their running game? probably not really. Still, I'd put them way ahead of Denver.

And how about Oakland? They've had a stack of running backs, but like everything else in Oakland, they've underachieved in an underachieving scheme running behind two offensive lines an underachieving JaMarcus Russel and the underachieving offensive line. Darren McFadden was supposedly the second coming of Adrian Peterson. with Bush and Fargas, it is possible that Hue Jackson might be able to put Al's drunken mess together.

Much has already been said about our defensive line's incompetence last season. we all hope that the addition of Crennel, Smith, and growth lead us, but as I've already said, other teams hope to improve too. Will we have to be super strong to stop the run in our own division? maybe not. but it is going to take a while to get over the Jerome Harrison nightmares.

So for the Chiefs....it really doesn't need to be said, but just to finish off strong....

Our offensive line has a half season in the zone blocking scheme...with lots of improvement. We've added Lilja. Smith was okay, but Lilja is actually starter material. We now have mastermind Charlie Weis in place of Chan Gailey and coach Haley. We have JC (who could've broken that running record), added Thomas Jones, and drafted DMC. Although Dex will be runnin' with the receivers, he'll spend time in the back field. It remains to be seen whether Kolby and Jarvis make contributions in 2010.

Still, unless Oakland's backs live up to all the hype plus more, we have the best running backs in the AFC West. In a division that is a bit weak against the run, that is a good thing. One thing is for sure, the stats may not be pretty but it is certain that the only stat that matters will be prettier: the win column. Here's to you, 2010 season, hurry up and come!

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Arrowhead Pride's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Arrowhead Pride writers or editors.