AFC South & West Previews

On Sunday, you saw what was going to happen in the east and north, let's now check out the rest of the league.

AFC South
Indianapolis Colts
A decent amount of adversity will have to be overcome for the Colts to take home a second consecutive Lombardy Trohpy, but the NFL is Peyton's Place so never count them out of title contention. Joseph Addai was a stud last season, but will have to run behind a weakened offensive line, after the retirement of Tarik Glenn. His replacement Tony Ugoh shows some promise, but Jeff Saturday will be the key to line success on Sundays (and Mondays when applicable). Harrison and Wayne are all world, Anthony Gonzalez is a good fit for the system, and Clark and Utecht make for a very nice set of TE's. The weak point of this club has always been the defense, but that could be magnified this season without Corey Simon, but more importantly Booger McFarland who's out for the season. Booger was supposed to clog up the run like his name clogs up noses, so the team is lacking at DT. The ends of Freeney and Mathis are still top notch, and will provide a very solid pass rush. The Linebacking is actually a bit below average, with Gary Brackett leading that unit. Bob Sanders was the catalyst behind last season's improbable defensive dominance, but both starting corners are now elsewhere and Tony Dungy's Tampa 2 could be severely comprimised. A midseason stretch against the Jaguars, Panthers, Patriots, and Chargers (3 on the road) will test Indy's mettle, but a 13-3 mark is expected.

Jacksonville Jaguars
David Garrard is THE MAN in J-Ville as Byron Leftwich has been cut even though he got every first team rep and every preseason start. With a subpar receiving corps, the Jags will once again rely on the two headed monster of Fred Taylor and the surprising Maurice Jones-Drew (MJD). The Guards anchor the o-line, but is below average at Center and the Tackles. As usual, the defense will have to carry this team. Henderson and Stroud is the top DT combo bar none, and Hayward is a sick pass rusher. Smith and Peterson are underrated at LB, and the secondary really took a beating in the offseason. Rasheen Mathis is still top of the line, but they had to sign Aaron Glenn for depth and rookie Reggie Nelson will have to start at FS. The line better stop the run and consistently rush the passer, because the secondary may not hold up when the tough gets going. Given the easy schedule the Jags has with no forseeable prolonged tough stretch, except maybe weeks 13-15 the Jags could squeak out 9-7 out of this team. The playoffs may be a bit of a push though.

Houston Texans
The Texans' second QB will be Schaub almighty, and features two career starts. But the offensive line that turned Carr into a lemon remains the same, and that spells bad news for Houston. Ahman Green is the same style RB that they've always had, and Andre Johnson still doesn't have an overly talented friend at WR. Owen Daniels isn't a second receiving option. The reason why this team could improve is on the defensive side of the ball. The defensive line has a fine mix of youth and veteran with Anthony Weaver providing guidance to Mario Williams and superfreak rookie DT Amobi Okoye. Reigning DROY DeMeco Ryans is complimented by Morlon Greenwood at LB, and Dunta Robinson is the lone bright spot in an overall poor secondary. The first four games are always telling with a young team, and could do them in. If that doesn't do it, the Broncos, Colts, and Jaguars will to end the season. 7-9 will be a nice improvement for Gary Kubiak and co.

Tennessee Titans
Forget that Vince Young is cursed, he certainly isn't blessed with a lot of talent around him. His Running Backs LenDale White and Chris Brown aren't going to be lighting up the scoreboard. Mawae and Roos lead a good offensive line, but their best receivers are elsewhere this year. Eric Moulds hasn't been a number one target in a while, and Brandon Jones is very unproven. It'll be a struggle to score points. The defense has talent even with the suspension of Adam Jones. Haynesworth and Vanden Bosch will do a good job at rushing the passer and stopping the run, and David Thornton and Keith Bullock make a very good LB tandem. The secondary added Chris Hope from Pittsburgh and Nick Harper from the Colts, and rookie Michael Griffin and co will make sure that they don't get scorched via the air. The team is OK, but probably doesn't have enough offensive weapons. Jacksonville, Indianapolis, and New Orleans start off the year and they may not be able to recover. Expect some growing pains, 6-10 is the selection.

AFC West
San Diego Chargers
New look, new coaches, thankfully the same LT. Norv Turner will run Tomlinson to no end, and he'll do a nice job in developing Phillip Rivers (he did the same with Alex Smith and Troy Aikman). McNeill and Deilman star on the left side of the line and allows LT to run at will to the weak side. Don't forget Lorenzo Neal, the best Fullback in the game. Rivers will play catch with Antonio Gates, and may have the receivers getting in on the act as well, with fast rising Vincent Jackson and a promising rookie Craig Davis. The front seven is superb with Castillo, Williams, and Olshansky on the line and superstars Merriman and Phillips at LB. The secondary is suspect, and Quentin Jammer has to prove that he can cover the top receiver. They could get shredded in the air in a given game if they're unable to get to the QB. By pure talent alone, they'll take this division. They start against Chicago and New England, and have the Colts, Jaguars, and Ravens in weeks 10-12. I'll take 12-4 with this team and a first round bye.

Denver Broncos
Jay Cutler will be eased along in his second year, and Mike Shanahan will let his running and defense do the work. Sounds familiar? This year's RB is Travis Henry, and their blocking led by Lepsis, Hamilton, and Nailen this year always seems to get the job done. As always they have depth with former Texas player Selvin Young and Mike Bell along with Cecil Sapp. Cutler has Javon Walker and the talented Daniel Graham to throw to, but Rod Smith may never play again and young Brandon Marshall will have to start. He'll have to grow up fast in order for Denver to reach its full potential. The Broncos are playing Extreme Makeover defensive line, and they don't have much to work with. Sam Adams and Simeon Rice are in along with Moss and Crowder, Gerrard Warren and Jimmy Kennedy out. Gold and DJ Williams will anchor a very good LB corps, and Bailey and Bly could be the best cornerback pair in the last decade. Ferguson and Lynch are the safeties. Their tough stretch is early on, so I see a late season rally and a 10-6 record to go down.

Kansas City Chiefs
If only Larry Johnson and Tony Gonzalez could play QB. Damon Huard held off Brodie Croyle for the starting gig and will have time in the pocket with the solid O-line led by Waters and Weigmann to try to manage the game. The handoff will easily be the team's best play, and there will be many a toss to Gonzalez. But Parker and Kennison aren't going to cut it anymore as starting wideouts, but they'll try to phase in Dwayne Bowe at receiver. Young Tamba Hali leads a very good defensive line along with the overlooked Jared Allen, and Johnson and Edwards leads the LB's. Law and Surtain is a good pairing at CB, but the safeties will allow the opposition to pull the trigger deep. This team is the definition of mediocre, and they'll finish out 7-9.

Oakland Raiders
It's OK Lane Kiffin, I'd go ill if I had to coach this team also. Daunte Culpepper will lead the Silver and Black before JaMarcus Russell takes the reins, and LaMont Jordan will try to find himself helped out by Dominic Rhodes after he comes back from suspension. So many draft picks have been wasted on this offensive line, but they've been busts and couldn't protect anything if they were the only people on earth. Miller has potential at TE, and the always angry Porter will pair with oft injured former UNC star Ronald Curry. The offense sounds like a joke, Raider Nation isn't laughing. The defense has a lot of potential, unlike the O. Burgess and Sapp star on the left side of the line, the right side is awful. Morrison is the lone bright spot at LB, and Nnamdi Asomugha is a star at CB, and the team may get as many wins as there are vowels in his name. Huff and Schweigert make for a good young group of safeties. Shane Lechler will be very important for this team, for some obvious reasons. They might actually start 3-1 with winnable games against Detroit, Cleveland, and Miami early on but the wins will be few and far between after that. I'll be nice and give Da Raidaz 5-11, and I'll give some virtual Tums to Mr Kiffin.