AFC Previews

Well, i was asked to do this so why not. Here goes nothing. I'm only going to do previews of players that i know. Would be unfair to the others that i haven't played so i cant give an accurate opinion on you guys. Next season though hopefully!

I'll start with a division a day, so today will be the AFC West only. Tomorrow will include a preview of the AFC South.

AFC WEST:
We'll start off here in the AFC WEST, Where the two teams that I'll be previewing are the Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos.

Oakland Raiders:
The Raiders, managed by long time member Rain look for a breakthrough of some sort to find a way to win the Lombardi trophy. Rain has been very consistent in being able to get to the playoffs in his long EOTP history. But has never been able to advance to the big title game. We'll see if this year Rain can break through and take the AFC by storm.

Offense:
Rain's offense is a bit of a tricky one to figure out. Although he loves the run, and can have Darren McFadden burn you on 1 play, Rain's offense over the last year has shifted more to a Pass first offense. He has a quarterback that goes by the name of Carson Palmer. The USC star leads a Raiders offense that looks to take short throws into big plays with their top end speed. But also they can blow the top off when needed. Although not the typical Raiders WR you would see in past years offense, Look for Juron Criner to be a big factor in this passing offense. Rains running game should be very exceptional. With an improved Oline that contains star LT Jared Veldheer and C Stefen Wisniewski, Rain should be able to take runs to the left, down the middle on Iso's and to the right. It helps that his RB is Daren McFadden.

Defense:
There is one thing that longtime member Rain is known for, and that is Sacks. Rain loves to be able to pressure the QB at any time. espically with just a standard four man rush. He traded for arguably one of the best pass rushers in the NFL. Yes, in case you haven't heard Jared Allen will be wearing the classic Black and Silver. Jared Allen gives Rain one of the top Dlines in the league. With Jared Allen, Richard Seymour, and Tommy Kelly, I'm safely assuming Rains D-Line achieves 30 sacks alone. As for the LB's of this group, he assures us they will be fine. Trade rumors about Rolando McClain the Raiders starting MLB could be on the move. But will he take the cap penalty that comes with the trade? the secondary is average at best. Tyvon Branch will be the leader, expect him to be coming in on some safety blitzes this season.


Denver Broncos:
The Broncos are managed by the psychotic owner War. War comes over to his beloved Broncos after managing the Jagwires for over 2 Madden's now. War comes to the Broncos looking for more success then what he had in Jacksonville. Only making the playoffs 3 times out of 12 total seasons as the Jags manager.

Offense:
Dan has a franchise Quarterback! Peyton Manning joined Denver this off-season which should give Dan the ability to rely on passing a bit more rather then his running game. Yes, Dan's offense was mainly focused on the running game with RB MJD in the past two maddens. I fully expect him to continue the trend. But instead of having to run on 3rd and 6, he has the ability to trust Manning to give him accurate throws and pick up needed 1st downs. he'll have trusty WR's in Thomas and Decker, his passing game should be more of a weapon this year. Look for Dan's offense to give you the ground and pound but make you worry about the passing game as well.

Defense:
What can i say, the West has a thing for people wanting to get pressure on the QB. Dan like Rain, has two phenomenal pass rushers in Von Miller and Elvis Dummervill. Dan loves to user the #1 DT, but he won't have the same talent he did in Jacksonville at the DT position. We'll see if he users Ty Warren or he switches to DE this year. Dan was able to consistently get pressure on the QB with the DT. LB's are a strong point here for the Broncos, As stated the pass rushing Von Miller anchors the LB core. with Joe Mays in the middle calling the plays and veteran D.J. Williams on the outside. the LB looks to be very promising for Dan. Secondary might be a problem in Denver. After Champ Bailey there really isin't much talent there. Champ Bailey will do his usual business and lock down #1 WR's. But can Dan rely on Chris Johnson and Tracy Porter who have had up and down careers to make plays and play like Champ? we'll see. Safety should be a concern for Dan, although having nice young safety's. They just aren't ready to start right away.


Overall:
The two above i think are the two ultimately who will be competing for the division crown. Here is how i see the two finishing.

Oakland-12-4
Week 1: Win
Week 2: Win
Week 3: Win
Week 4: Win
Week 5: Bye
Week 6: Win
Week 7: Win
Week 8: Win
Week 9: Loss
Week 10: Win
Week 11: Loss
Week 12: Win
Week 13: Win
Week 14: Loss
Week 15: Win
Week 16: Loss
Week 17: Win

12-4 and #2 seed in the AFC, taking the division.

Denver-10-6
Week 1: Win
Week 2: Loss
Week 3: Loss
Week 4: Loss
Week 5: Win
Week 6: Win
Week 7: Bye
Week 8: Loss
Week 9: Win
Week 10: Win
Week 11: Win
Week 12: Win
Week 13: Loss
Week 14: Win
Week 15: Win
Week 16: Win
Week 17: Loss

10-6 for Denver and the 6th seed in the AFC just sneaking in the playoffs.

nice write up dude