[Tommy]

Oakland Raiders.

The Raiders had one of the highest payrolls in the NFL last season, yet they managed just four victories to show for it! A coaching change was inevitable after that debacle, so the hard-nosed Art Shell was re-hired to instill some discipline after the inmates ran the asylum here the last couple of years.

While the Raiders should be more controlled this year, there is still an issue of talent and lack of youth. Except for running back LaMont Jordan, the rest of the key players on the roster are clearly past their prime, or in the case of quarterback Aaron Brooks were never that good to begin with! This only magnifies what we feel was a major blunder with the seventh overall pick in the draft, when Oakland passed on Matt Leinart in favor of safety Michael Huff. Now Huff may turn out to be a good one, but we simply cannot see passing on a cannot-miss like Leinart with the inconsistent Brooks currently topping the depth chart. Also wide receiver Randy Moss has never reacted well to discipline, so it will be intriguing to see if he and Shell can co-exist.

The defense ranked 27th in the NFL last season, and yes it was that bad! The Raiders could do nothing on this side of the ball, allowing 128.1 rushing yards and 217.6 passing yards per game. To make matters worse, Oakland lost five defensive starters to free agency, and one of the returnees Warren Sapp is merely a shell of the great player he once was. Now Shell may somehow will this club to a few more wins than it probably deserves, but that will not be enough to keep the Oakland Raiders out of the AFC West cellar.

Prediction for 2006: 4th Place AFC West


Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs could potentially have the best offense in football this season, especially if Joseph Addai bombs as the Colts running back. Remember that Larry Johnson began last season as the THIRD-STRING running back, and the fact that he is starting right from the get-go this year should boost the offense. Also expect Donte Hall to see more action at wide receiver this season, in addiditon to his customary return duties. The problem for the Chiefs is that the defense will struggle to stop anyone again, even with some nice draft picks.

If Quarterback Trent Green can pass for over 4000 yards and 17 touchdowns without a speedy receiver like he did last season, imagine what he could do with Hall getting more touches! Coach Herm Edwards has already announced that the offense is designing more ways to get the ball to Hall from scrimmage to take advantage of his big-play capabilities. If this comes to fruition, Green may rewrite the record books this year in terms of passing yardage. As for the running game, all that Johnson did last season was rush for 1750 rushing yards on a fanatatic 5.2 yards per carry with 20 rushing touchdowns. Imagine what he could do this year taking snaps with the starting units from Day One!

Unfortunately for Kansas City, the defense has to take the field for about half the game. The Chiefs were dreadful against the pass last season as opposing quarterbacks were seemingly able to spend half an hour in the pocket! There is a ray of hope however as the Cheifs did make a couple of nice draft picks in defensive end Tamba Hali and safety Bernard Pollard. Hali will be an immediate impact player as he instantly upgrades the pass rush, while Pollard should be a starter in the secondary sooner rather than later. This should translate into a few more stops per game, and while that may not sound like much, it may be all that the Kansas City Chiefs need to claim the second wild card spot in the AFC, given the great offense.

Prediction for 2006: 2nd Place AFC West, Wild Card


Denver Broncos

The Broncos surprised many people last season by running away with the AFC West title en route to a 13-3 record. While we expect a much tighter race with Kansas City this season, we still expect Denver to prevail and repeat as division champions on the strength of the far superior defense.

Quarterback Jake Plummer was unbelievable last season as he passed for over 3300 yards and threw just seven interceptions against 18 touchdown passes. Sure that may have been a career year, but we do not expect a terrible fall-off this season considering that he will be throwing against some poor defenses inside the division. It also helps his cause that the Broncos were able to sign wide receiver Javon Walker away from the Packers, as he has more of an ability to stretch the field than the other Denver receivers do. As for the Denver running game, is it the players or is it the system? We ask this because the Broncos are always among the NFL leaders in rushing, yet they have a different 1000-yard rusher every year! Undrafted free agent Mike Bell out of Arizona will now try to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Mike Anderson, Clinton Portis and Terrell Davis. If he is not up to the task, the Broncos still have Tatum Bell and Ron Dayne in reserve. Given that the offensive line is one of the best in football, we expect the running game to flourish again regardless of who gets the carries.

The defense was solid last season finishing 13th in the entire NFL, and it played much better than that as many of the yards this unit allowed came late in games with the outcome already settled. Nobody was able to run on the Broncos as they allowed just 85.2 rushing yards per game. This unit probably had the smallest turnover in the off-season of any other defense in the league, so we look for solid numbers again this year. The Denver Broncos may have overachieved a bit last season by beating up on a weak division, but we feel that they have enough talent to repeat as division champions in 2006.

Prediction for 2006: 1st Place AFC West


San Diego Chargers

The Chargers paved the way for Philip Rivers to take over at quarterback by allowing Drew Brees to leave through free agency, but for this year at least this team will only go as far as the legs of LaDainian Tomlinson take it.

The departed Brees followed up on his breakthrough 2004 season with another great year last season, passing for over 3500 yards and 24 touchdowns. Now Rivers may be capable of putting up those numbers in the future, but he should go through the usual growing pains this season. Yes he will have an All-World tight end to throw to in Antonio Gates, but the San Diego wide-outs leave much to be desired. In fact it is unclear who the starting receivers will be from week to week, which would make timing difficult for a veteran quarterback let alone a youngster like Rivers. Now Tomlinson is one of the three best running backs in football, but he is now the obvious focus of the offense, which may force him to face some seven-man fronts this year.

Defensively, San Diego had the best rushing defense in the NFL last year, surrendering just 84.3 rushing yards per contest. However the passing defense was abysmal as this unit allowed a whopping 243.0 yards per game through the air, ranking 30th out of 32 NFL teams. The Chargers thought they were bringing in some help by drafting cornerback Antonio Cromartie of Florida State with their first pick, but he has some medical issues that may slow his immediate development. San Diego did not add any additional help to speak of except for maybe safety Marlon McCree, formerly of the Carolina Panthers. With an unproven quarterback and many holes on both offense and defense, we project the San Diego Chargers to finish third in the division this year with a sub-.500 record.

Prediction for 2006: 3rd Place AFC West


Cleveland Browns

The Browns were lacking in talent last season, but they showed great desire while being very competitive under coach Romeo Crennel. Cleveland did finally add some talent during the off-season, although we still feel the Browns will finish in the AFC North cellar once again. Our biggest problem with the Browns is their faith in Charlie Frye, as evidenced by their trading away of Trent Dilfer. Unlike Clevelad, we are not sold on Frye as a bona fide NFL starting quarterback, especially after he tossed six interceptions while throwing only four touchdown passes last year. Maybe Cleveland knows something we do not know, but we feel the lack of experience as this key position with stunt any improvement the team might have this season. The best part of the offense may be running back Rueben Droughns, who rushed for over 1200 yards last year. Then again Drouughns may now get some added attention from opposing defenses, as not only are the Browns weak at quarterback but lost also their leading receiver from last year in Antonio Bryant. They tried to upgrade the receiving corps by acquiring Joe Jurevicius, but he is nowhere near the speed threat that Bryant was. The offensive line should be improved thanks to the signing of center LeCharles Bentley, formerly of the Saints. The defense was a mixed bag in 2005. Yes it ranked a respectable 14th in the NFL in yards allowed, including a surprising third in pass defense. However the only reason for that high ranking was that the run defense was non-existent, allowing 137.6 yards per game on the ground. Granted the Browns added a nice veteran presence in linebacker Willie McGinest, and he should be just as important in the locker room as he is between the white lines. However the Cleveland Browns still figure to bring up the rear in the AFC North again this season.

Prediction for 2006: 4th Place AFC North


Cincinnati Bengals

With Pittsburgh winning the Super Bowl, many people may forget that this Bengals team actually won the AFC North division last season. However we see leaner times ahead for this franchise, as we think that the injury to Carson Palmer and all the off-the-field problems will take their toll. Palmer had a breakthrough year at quarterback in 2005, but he tore both the ACL and MCL in his knee vs. the Steelers in the playoffs. It is a miracle that Palmer has progressed as mush as he has given that the injuries were suffered just seven months ago, but we still do not expect to see him at full strength until mid-season at the earliest. Cincinnati may regret letting reliable back-up QB Jon Kitna get away, as they are now left with Anthony Wright, Doug Johnson and rookie Erik Meyer to compete to be the fill-in for Palmer. This should have a trickling effect on running back Rudi Johnson and wide receiver Chad Johnson, as Rudi will be running against more odd-man fronts with opposing defenses focusing on him, and Chad will simply have lower numbers due to erratic quarterback play. The defense is an even greater concern. Remember that this units was just 28th in the NFL in yards allowed last season, but the Bengals scored enough points on offense to overcome this shortcoming. We do not see that happening two years in a row, as every quality team has at least a decent defense and this Cincinnati offense will not score as much as it did last year. The Bengals did add huge defensive tackle Sam Adams and first round draft pick Jonathan Joseph should be a fixture in the secondary for the next decade, but this unit needs much more help than that. Not only do we think that a repeat division title is out of the question, but with the improvement of Baltimore and the uncertainty surrounding Palmer, we see the Cincinnati Bengals slipping to third in the division this year.

Prediction for 2006: 3rd Place AFC North


Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens had a disappointing season in 2005, mainly due to a pathetic offense that ranked 24th in the NFL in total yards. Things look more promising this year however with the acquisition of Steve McNair, who is the stud quarterback that this franchise has been missing ever since moving to Baltimore. The truth of the matter is that Coach Brian Billick had done a fantastic job with this team through the years without a real quarterback, even winning a Super Bowl with Trent Dilfer at the helm! The flip side of that is that expectations are higher this year with a real signal-caller. McNair will once again be hooking up regularly with Derrick Mason. That combination helped McNair win a co-MVP Award with the Titans, and we feel that the combination should be prolific again. Now that defenses need to respect the pass, running back Jamal Lewis should be in line for a bounce-back season after rushing for just 906 yards and three touchdowns last year. The Ravens also have a fine back-up in Mike Anderson, who led the Denver Broncos in rushing last season. Baltimore was its usual stingy self on defense in 2005, ranking 4th in the NFL in fewest yards allowed. This year should be no different, particularly with the addition of defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, drafted in the first round out of Oregon. This team suddenly has a nice balance of offense and defense that it has not enjoyed in about a decade, and we look for the Baltimore Ravens to move up to second in the division this season.

Prediction for 2006: 2nd Place AFC North


Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers won the Super Bowl after making the playoffs as a wild card last year. We see them winning the division this year though, especially with QB Ben Roethlisberger seemingly fully recovered from his motorcycle accident. Big Ben will almost certainly be ready for opening week, which is welcome news for Pittsburgh considering his 26-3 career record as an NFL starting quarterback! Also for all of the hoopla surrounding the retirement of Jerome Bettis after the Super Bowl, in actuality that he will not be missed at all on the field. He had already lost his job as the starting running back to the mercurial Willie Parker, and a healthy Duce Staley is a nice replacement for Bettis as the goal line back. The Steelers also reloaded at wide receiver, selecting Santonio Holmes out of Ohio State in the first round of the draft to fill the spot of departed free agent Antwaan Randel El. Finally the offensive line is still one of the best in the NFL . Defense has always been a strong suit for Pittsburgh, and that unit ranked 5th in the NFL last year. Nobody was able to run on the Steelers all season as they allowed only 86.0 rushing yards per game. The pass defense was not too shabby either, and the fact that Pittsburgh blitzes at virtually every opportunity makes this one of the most intimidating defenses in all of football. It is really difficult to find any holes in any aspect of this team, and we feel the end result will be a playoff rematch with Indianapolis in the AFC Championship Game. This time however we look for the Pittsburgh Steelers to enter that contest as AFC North division champs.

Prediction for 2006: 1st Place AFC North, AFC Championship Game Runner-up


Written by LT Profits of BetWWTS

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