2013 Kansas City Chiefs Preview

2013 Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs, quite obviously, were terrible last season, and received the number one pick in the 2013 NFL Draft as a reward for being the worst team in the entire league. They only won two games all year, but get this: one of them was IN NEW ORLEANS, and the other was against Carolina, which is the only time the Panthers lost over their last six games. My big upset pick going into last season was in Week 5, with the Chiefs beating the Ravens. It would have been successful, except for the fact that the CHIEFS SUCKED AND MATT CASSEL FUMBLED THE BALL ON THE ONE YARD LINE AND THEY STUPIDLY LOST 9-6 BECAUSE THEY COULDN’T SCORE ONE TOUCHDOWN. Sorry. I’m still bitter over that one. Anyway, 2013 is a new year for the Chiefs, more so than anyone else in the world for whom it is also a new year. Enter new head coach Andy Reid and new quarterback Alex Smith Who Doesn’t Turn The Ball Over That Much, and the future for Kansas City is immediately brighter. This team did have its individual talent last year (they had the same number of Pro Bowlers as the Ravens), but they just couldn’t put it together. With upgrades at coach and QB, Kansas City instantly becomes the second best team in the AFC West and a legitimate Wild Card contender. Now, I know it’s an impossible feat to jump from a two-win team to a playoff team in one year---oh wait, it’s not, just look at the Colts from last year! The Kansas City Chiefs turned from a team in the dumps to a team full of promise and potential, and, possibly, a playoff-caliber one? Alex Smith should be able to limit the turnovers that absolutely killed this team last season. Jamaal Charles is an absolute stud in my opinion, and will have his best season yet, as you’ll see in a little bit. Many people, including me to an extent, expect a bounce back year from Dwayne Bowe, the most talented receiver Smith has ever had (Smith, coincidentally, and somewhat pathetically, is also the best quarterback that Bowe has ever had as well). The defense has ability, led by Tamba Hali, Derrick Johnson, Eric Berry, and Brandon Flowers. The Chiefs will undoubtedly improve, the only question is by how much.

Schedule

Week 1: L at JAC (surprise loss of the bat, need to get adjusted)

Week 2: W vs DAL (good matchup, home opener, classic Dallas letdown)

Week 3: L at PHI (Reid’s return won’t go as well as Peyton’s)

Week 4: L vs NYG

Week 5: W at TEN (monster Charles game)

Week 6: W vs OAK

Week 7: L vs HOU (Alex Smith will struggle)

Week 8: L vs CLE (I just love Cleveland)

Week 9: L at BUF

Week 10: Bye

Week 11: L at DEN (I know Reid doesn’t lose after bye weeks, but...)

Week 12: W vs SD

Week 13: W vs DEN

Week 14: L at WAS

Week 15: W at OAK

Week 16: W vs IND

Week 17: L at SD

I have the 2013 Kansas City Chiefs finishing 7-9, but this is their floor. There are multiple winnable games on that schedule (at JAC, NYG, CLE, at BUF, maybe even vs HOU), that would flip their record to nine or even ten wins. They will probably win one of those games to finish somewhere about 8-8, but I do not think that they fall below seven no matter what. Either way, I do not see the Chiefs making the postseason, not this year, anyway. They are better this year, but to go from two wins to ten is a lot to ask. I know I brought up the Colts before, who made the leap from two to 11, but that was with a lot of Luck, both literally and referring to the greatness of their star QB. I just don’t think Alex Smith has it in him to put this team on his back for a four-week stretch and win close games by himself. I do like this team, though, and I will be rooting for them to succeed as much as possible.

Bold Prediction: Jamaal Charles will lead the NFL in rushing yards with 1,633 and break 2,000 yards from scrimmage to go along with 8 total TDs.

2013 Denver Broncos Preview

2013 Denver Broncos

Denver is, absolutely and completely, the class of the AFC West. There are no teams even close to them in talent, and their floor is even better than the next team’s highest ceiling. With Peyton Manning leading the way, the Broncos started out 2-3 before reeling off 11 wins in a row to finish 2012 with a 13-3 record and the top seed in the AFC. Winning the division does not matter to this team anymore; now, they are all in for something greater. John Elway has helped construct a team that could bring Denver its first Super Bowl victory since he won it, the biggest acquisition this offseason being former rival Patriot wide receiver Wes Welker. Manning loves throwing to the slot man in three-receiver sets, and he just landed the best one in the business. Welker’s new receiving brothers each broke out last year in Denver, and Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker are looking to keep improving in Year Two of Peyton. The Broncos drafted college running back Montee Ball, touchdown extraordinaire, to bring even more firepower to the offense via the ground game. 2013 really is Super Bowl or bust for Denver; remember, this team was a blown coverage away from hosting the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game last year, and could have easily been playing for the Lombardi Trophy. Instead, the game ended up being just another loss for Peyton Manning in the postseason, leading to another offseason of regret and disappointment. The Broncos have the inside track to once again be the AFC’s number one seed, and if they do land that spot, it will be interesting to see of Denver could seal the deal this time.

Schedule

The Denver schedule is no pushover, and is full of primetime games against top tier opponents. The Broncos begin the season hosting the defending champion Ravens, then travel to New York for another Manning Bowl against Eli and the Giants, incidentally at the stadium where the Super Bowl will be held. Hm. Foreshadowing, anyone? Most of their toughest games are on the road as well, including trips to Dallas, Houston, New England (Manning vs Brady! Nothing like it), and, of course, Indianapolis. I covered Peyton’s return in the Indianapolis preview, but to reiterate, I am incredibly excited for that game, which is on Sunday Night Football, 10/20. Manning vs Luck is something everyone has been wanting to see, and I think it will be one of those 35-31 shootout kind of games where everyone is just so caught up with each quarterback going back and forth waiting for one of them to blink and it will come down to the last four minutes and everyone will be so excited and unable to breathe and the pace of the game will be pretty much like the pace of this sentence. Can’t wait. Let’s see what’s in store for Denver this season.

Week 1: W vs BAL (they will not let the Ravens slip away again)

Week 2: L at NYG (more foreshadowing?...)

Week 3: W vs OAK

Week 4: W vs PHI

Week 5: L at DAL (don’t know why, I just think this will be a crazy Romo game)

Week 6: W vs JAC

Week 7: W at IND (like I said: Peyton is still the king in Indy)

Week 8: W vs WAS

Week 9: Bye

Week 10: W at SD

Week 11: W vs KC

Week 12: W at NE (F U BRADY)

Week 13: L at KC (Chiefs will be competitive this year)

Week 14: W vs TEN

Week 15: W vs SD

Week 16: L at HOU

Week 17: W at OAK (L if they rest starters, have 1 seed clinched)

So I think the Broncos will be solid enough to again reach the 12 win plateau, if not exceed it. They might fall down to 11 wins if they have the 1 seed locked up already going into that game (which, if my predictions are correct, they will), but that will still be plenty fine enough to win the division and the conference. The AFC is way down this year, especially at the bottom, but even the top teams are not truly elite. Denver is the best this conference has, and they will have another chance to have home field advantage throughout the playoffs and to punch their ticket to the Super Bowl.

Bold Prediction: Not much too bold about this team, so I’ll give you my stat lines for the 3 receivers and see how close I get.

Welker: 101 rec, 1,226 yds, 7 TD

Decker: 68 rec, 976 yds, 11 TD

Thomas: 81 rec, 1,388 yds, 10 TD

Total: 250 rec, 3,590 yds, 28 TD. Wow.

2013 Tennessee Titans Preview

2013 Tennessee Titans

The Titans were very disappointing last year, a season in which I thought they, and not the Colts, would establish themselves as the second best team in the AFC South. I guess I overestimated Jake Locker, for the time being, anyway. Chris Johnson, even though his numbers were pretty good overall, was considered a bust because of how inconsistent he was. Part of the blame for that has to go to the atrocity of the offensive line, and to the fact that since Tennessee was down so often, they had to abandon the run to try to catch up. The biggest problem, as if they didn’t have enough already, was the defense, which allowed 30 or more points in eight of the first ten games. That’s amazingly bad, and it’s a credit to the offense that the Titans were even able to win six games last year. Tennessee added some pieces to the offensive line, including the drafting of Chance Warmack in the first round this past year, which should help the entire offense out. However, I don’t think they made enough improvements to really make a difference this year. The best that they can hope for is another magical year from CJ2K and a breakout from wide out Kendall Wright. If those things don’t happen, we could be looking at the worst team in the South. Yes, even worse than Jacksonville.

Schedule

Week 1: L at PIT (biggest blowout of the opening week)

Week 2: L at HOU

Week 3: W vs SD

Week 4: W vs NYJ (they aren’t that bad)

Week 5: L vs KC (Charles will have 200-ish in this one)

Week 6: L at SEA

Week 7: L vs SF

Week 8: Bye

Week 9: L at STL

Week 10: L vs JAC

Week 11: W vs IND

Week 12: W at OAK

Week 13: L at IND

Week 14: L at DEN

Week 15: L at ARI

Week 16: L at JAC

Week 17: L vs HOU

Ouch. So that’s 4-12 for Tennessee. I really don’t this team will be very good, but I could always be wrong, of course. I think the Titans might also be able to take one of the Jacksonville and Houston games, which would give them six wins, but either way, they will be bad. Sorry, Tennessee fans. Also, this prediction has nothing to do with the fact that I just traded away Chris Johnson from my fantasy team.

Bold Prediction: Bernard Pollard will be waived by the team so that he can sign with whoever happens to be playing the Patriots the week after, and promptly injure Danny Amendola.

2013 Jacksonville Jaguars Preview

2013 Jacksonville Jaguars

It’s been a long while since the Jaguars have been relevant in the AFC picture. Half a decade has passed since the glory days of Byron Leftwich/David Garrard and the two-headed rushing monster of Fred Taylor and a younger Maurice Jones-Drew actually came close to winning something. They have since spiraled into misery, and have not improved due to poor quarterback play and even worse drafting. The Jags finished 2012 with an embarrassing 2-14 record and were rewarded with a decent offensive lineman. Unfortunately, lineman don’t really affect win totals, so Jacksonville seems to be in line for another top five draft pick in 2014. Everything about this team is depressing, especially the attendance numbers. How is it that the city of Jacksonville still even has a team? Ignoring all the positives, however, 2013 could be the year the Jaguars finally start to make some progress. Gus Bradley received his first head coaching job after a stellar job in Seattle as defensive coordinator which should help start to shape up that side of the ball. Maurice Jones-Drew is finally not injured or holding out, so there might be a revival season coming from him. Cecil Shorts emerged last year as a competent receiver, and after a four game suspension, Justin Blackmon will join him to form a nice young receiving duo. If Blaine Gabbert improves at all (and really, how can he not?), then Jacksonville could see their win total double or even triple. This would still only give them five or six wins, of course, but at least it’s better than two, you know? Unfortunately, that still might be too many wins to hope for.

Schedule

Week 1: W vs KC

Week 2: L at OAK

Week 3: W at SEA (just kidding. big loss here.)

Week 4: L vs IND

Week 5: L at STL

Week 6: L at DEN

Week 7: W vs SD

Week 8: L vs SF

Week 9: Bye

Week 10: W at TEN

Week 11: W vs ARI

Week 12: L at HOU

Week 13: L at CLE

Week 14: L vs HOU

Week 15: L vs BUF

Week 16: W vs TEN

Week 17: L at IND

I think the Jaguars will go 5-11 in 2013. Maximum. I can’t believe I even have the total that high. The fact is the Jaguars are irrelevant. For now, anyway. The biggest question mark is Blaine Gabbert, but if he somehow morphs into a quality starter, then within three years this team could potentially be making a playoff push.

Bold Prediction: Maurice Jones-Drew will rush for a MAXIMUM of 850 yards and 7 TDs. I have him at 813 and 6, to be precise.

2013 Indianapolis Colts Preview

2013 Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts are the jokers of the AFC. What I mean by that is, you could make an argument for Indy finishing with a 5-11 record or a 13-3 record, and I wouldn’t be really shocked by either one. Many people have made a case against the Colts this year: Luck will have regression; new offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton (who coached Luck at Stanford) will be more conservative; they went an impossible 9-1 in games decided by a touchdown or less; teams won’t underestimate them...all valid points. However, there are more than a few reasons why Indianapolis might even improve off of an already amazing season. Andrew Luck could get even better with a year of experience under his belt and his comfort level with his new/old OC; more weapons were added on offense (Darrius Heyward-Bey, Ahmad Bradshaw); a full year for Chuck Pagano; they might find more ways to win where they won’t even have to get lucky in close games. I, personally, am an Andrew Luck fan, and I like him more than any of the other second year quarterbacks (including, if you want, Kaepernick, which is obvious if you’ve ever read anything I’ve written). Therefore, I’m inclined to say that while the Colts might not build on or even match their 2012 record of 11-5, they will be a better overall team and once again push for a playoff spot. For example, I think Luck will do a better job of finding different targets, rather than rely on Reggie Wayne every time a play breaks down. I really love TY Hilton this year, and many people are excited about tight end Dwayne Allen. Bradshaw and Ballard will share the running workload, and DHB can take the top off a defense. Speaking of defense, the Colts’ D will be improved, as Chuck Pagano will be on the sideline from the start. Robert Mathis is still there to lead the pass rush, and they will have two stud middle linebackers in Pat Angerer and Jerrel Freeman. Vontae Davis is their top corner, in a division where no one has more than one star receiver. The Colts may not be at the level of the top 4 teams in the AFC yet, but Andrew Luck will have them there soon.

Schedule

While each game on a team’s schedule carries the same weight, there is one game on the Indianapolis slate which stands out a little more than the rest: Week 7, which is Peyton Manning’s return to Indy with the Broncos. Peyton Manning is my favorite player ever in the NFL, and even though I was born and raised in New York, I grew up a Colts fan because of him. It will be a very emotional return, and I expect an absolute standing ovation for arguably the greatest quarterback of all time (statistically). The world will be watching on Sunday Night Football (Oct 20) for this game, and I expect it to be a thriller. It’s probably the game I’m looking forward to the most this year, outside of the annual Peyton-Brady showdown. And there’s only way that it can turn out.

Week 1: W vs OAK

Week 2: W vs MIA

Week 3: L at SF

Week 4: W at JAC

Week 5: L vs SEA

Week 6: W at SD

Week 7: L vs DEN (Peyton Manning will not lose this game. He’s still the King of Indy.)

Week 8: Bye

Week 9: L at HOU

Week 10: W vs STL

Week 11: L at TEN

Week 12: W at ARI

Week 13: W vs TEN

Week 14: W at CIN

Week 15: W vs HOU

Week 16: L at KC

Week 17: W vs JAC

My official prediction for the Indianapolis Colts is a 10-6 record and a playoff spot. If you remember, I think the Houston Texans will finish 10-6 as well,which means that this division will come right down to the very wire. By way of tiebreakers, though, the Texans will still take control of the South, via divisional record (that loss to Tennessee will sting the Colts in the end). Of course, this is all theory, so I do not actually think that this division race comes down to one game against the Titans, but the point is that Houston will beat out Indianapolis by a hair. I still do think that the Colts will be back in the playoffs when all is said and done.

Bold Prediction: Stat lines for the breakout offensive duo...

Luck: 4,209 yds, 29 TD, 13 INT

Hilton: 67 rec, 1,142 yds, 8 TD

2013 Houston Texans Preview

2013 Houston Texans

I’ll start and end this preview in one sentence: the Houston Texans cannot win a Super Bowl with Matt Schaub at quarterback. That is my opinion, and a championship is the only goal for Houston this year. They established themselves as a powerhouse last year by going 12-4, but you have to take that with an asterisk because they finished the season 1-3 and dropped all the way to the 3 seed in the AFC. After an ugly first round playoff win against Cincinnati, they got dominated by the Patriots, and the Texans were an afterthought. They have all the pieces needed to win a Super Bowl besides QB: an outstanding workhorse running back; a stellar offensive line; a beastly receiver; and a loaded defense. Arian Foster and Andre Johnson have carried this offense for a few years now, but the carries are starting to rack up for Foster, and age is setting in for Andre. They are hoping rookie DeAndre Hopkins will be able to take the torch and become the number one receiver in a few years, whilst having a significant impact immediately. Like I said, this defense is really loaded, with stars at all three levels. JJ Watt broke out last year with a historic season, Brian Cushing will look to return strong from his injury and lead the linebackers, and free agent signee Ed Reed will try to finish his career with another ring by playing his usual ball-hawk center field at safety. The only problem is Matt Schaub, who is basically an older version of Andy Dalton; he has limited arm strength and has spent his career mainly chucking it up to one stud receiver. Schaub is capable of winning games in this league, but we’ve seen him lose to the Bradys and the Mannings of the world far too often. If he can put it all together and have a career year, the Texans will be the best team in the AFC. I just don’t see it happening.

Schedule

Houston finished 12-4 after an 11-1 start in 2012, and even though I spent that first paragraph explaining why I don’t think they will win the Super Bowl, I still think that the Texans are plenty good enough to win this division again (although they are one Andre Johnson injury away from being atrocious in the passing game). They do have a pretty testing schedule that includes the rest of the first place teams from the AFC, but it is balanced out a bit because of the fact that the bottom two teams in the South are terrible. Here is how I think their 2013 season will play out:

Week 1: W at SD

Week 2: W vs TEN

Week 3: L at BAL

Week 4: W vs SEA

Week 5: L at SF

Week 6: W vs STL

Week 7: L at KC

Week 8: Bye

Week 9: W vs IND

Week 10: L at ARI

Week 11: W vs OAK

Week 12: W vs JAC

Week 13: L vs NE

Week 14: W vs JAC

Week 15: L at IND

Week 16: W vs DEN

Week 17: W at TEN

First of all, what the hell, schedule makers? How do you give anybody, no matter how tough the team, Seattle, San Francisco, and St. Louis all in a row, after traveling to Baltimore, no less? In the back end of the schedule, they get Indy twice, New England, and Denver, although at least three of those games are at home. I think Houston will finish 10-6, which should earn them the AFC South crown. But because I think they will lose to both Baltimore and New England, who I also think will finish 10-6, the Texans will presumably finish as the 4 seed in the conference (depending on how I think Denver will do). We’ll see if our next team, the Indianapolis Colts, has a chance of upsetting the Texans in my next preview.

Bold Prediction: JJ Watt and Ed Reed will combine for 20 sackceptions this season (sacks + interceptions, a stat I made up just now).

2013 Pittsburgh Steelers Preview

2013 Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers are a proud franchise led by a great young coach in Mike Tomlin and a two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger. They really struggled last year and did not make the playoffs, as they fell to third place in the AFC North. Their offense sputtered at times, as Mike Wallace missed some time (he will now be missing permanently, as he is with Miami), and they never got a ground game working. Their defense was stout and elite, as usual, but they really hurt themselves by not creating enough turnovers to bail out the offense. They are also another year older, but that has not stopped them before, and they replaced James Harrison with new outside linebacker Jarvis Jones, whom they selected in the first round of this past draft. The offense lost Heath Miller to a torn ACL in Week 16 last year, which is a truly devastating injury for them, as he was Big Ben’s security blanket. His only true weapons on the outside now are Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders, neither of whom have ever had that one true breakout year yet proving he is number one receiver material. I love the drafting of running back Le’Veon Bell, but as of right now it looks like he is down on the depth chart. If he ever gets the starting job, I’m really high on him. There are plenty of questions surrounding the Steelers: will Big Ben return to form? Can the defense continue to play at the same high level as years past? Which receiving threat will step up? Can the offensive line keep Roethlisberger upright? These are all valid concerns, and maybe too many for a team to make the playoffs.

Schedule

Week 1: W vs TEN (this will be something like 28-3)

Week 2: W at CIN

Week 3: L at CHI

Week 4: L at MIN

Week 5: Bye

Week 6: W at NYJ
Week 7: L vs BAL
Week 8: L at OAK

Week 9: W at NE

Week 10: W vs BUF

Week 11: L vs DET

Week 12: L at CLE

Week 13: L at BAL

Week 14: W vs MIA

Week 15: W vs CIN

Week 16: L at GB

Week 17: W vs CLE

WHOA. All throughout my divisional previews of the AFC North teams I’ve talked about how I expect three teams out of the four to make the playoffs. I literally changed my mind about that as I was going through the schedule. That’s how crazy the second tier of teams in the AFC is. So now, it looks like I have the 2013 Pittsburgh Steelers at 8-8, which is unlikely to grab that final wild card spot. Their lack of offensive weapons scares me a little bit, along with the fact that in this division, you need more than just a stud defense, because all four teams have that now. The question now becomes, who do I think will beat out the Steelers and make the playoffs come January? Maybe we’ll get our answer when I continue with the AFC South previews. Take a guess, you might get Lucky. Until next time.

Bold Prediction: Le’Veon Bell will be the Steelers’ leading rusher and score 10 touchdowns.