AFC West 2005 Preview

[Al Michaels]

2004 FINAL STANDINGS
Raiders 12-4
Chiefs 11-5
Broncos 8-8
Chargers 7-9

Over the last few seasons this division seems to have been a straight fight between the Raiders and the Chiefs and last year was no different. The Chiefs controlled the division in the first half of the season but finished a poor 3-3 down the stretch. The Raiders won 6 straight down the stretch to power to the Divisional Title. The Chiefs sporadic form continues in the playoffs as they lost the Wildcard game 20-24 to the Stallions. The Raiders of course went on to beat the Redskins in the last minute of the GEFL Bowl.

The Raiders
The Raiders offense is stacked and has play makers everywhere you look. Peyton Manning (78/78) is the best Quarterback in the league rating wise and is the complete quarterback. He has wonderful targets to throw to as well with Terry Holt (72/72) and TJ Houshmandzadeh (52/52) in the receiver positions. Tight end Freddie Jones (59/59) adds yet another great target and they also drafted Health Miller as Jones long term replacement. The Raiders have the aging but still excellent Priest Holmes in the backfield. No one will easily forget Holmes 379 yards rushing Vs the Giants in 2002. The offensive line needs help in most positions but the Raiders management see the OL as more of a need that a necessity.

On Defense they play a 34 and the front three is lead by star nose tackle Russell Davis (59/59) With the retirement of Strahan there is little in the way of ends on either side of Davis and that could be a worry going into 2005. The Linebackers are a solid group and are led by Lavar Arrington (79/79). Arrington is great playing the run, pass or blitzing and really is the focal point of the entire defense. Inside LB Demorrio Williams (50/61) is no slouch himself and compliments Arrington. The secondary of the Raiders is strong. Safety Rodney Harrison (60/60) comes back for his 12th year and developing cornerback DeAngelo Hall (50/60) looks like being a star in the league for some time. Safety Josh Bullocks (33/58) was added to the roster in the first round of the draft and looks a very good talent.

Verdict: It’s pretty clear the Raiders have the most talent in the Division. They have play makers on offense everywhere and should be able to run or pass the ball at will. The defense is not quite a strong as last year but still is very good. Any injury to Arrington though could be devastating to the defense. The Raiders I feel should win the division by 2 or 3 games.

The Chiefs
The Chiefs have made two moves for quarterbacks in the off season to find a successor to Tommy Maddox. Firstly came in Patrick Ramsey (50/50) from the Saints and then Matt Schaub came in from the Rams for a first round pick and Casey Hampton (55/55). You have to presume Schaub is the future in Kansas City but will he start this year is maybe the question. The reason I say that is that the Chiefs stud receivers Joey Galloway (60/60) and Terry Glenn (56/56) are aging and could take hits in training camp, so can the Chiefs win with under developed Schaub and the declining WR’s or will Maddox continue for 2005. One thing for sure is the Chiefs have a top running back to help the offense. Fred Taylor (62/62) will be looking for his 7th consecutive 1000+ yard season. The offensive line is not the greatest in the world and that has to be a worry with a new quarterback possibly starting.

With star nose tackle Casey Hampton being sent to the Rams the Chiefs are missing a classy nose tackle for their 34 defense. The defense ends are decent but are not going to worry that many offensive coordinators around the league. Sam Cowart (65/65) is great though coming from the weak side and should guarantee a pass rush from the outside. The rest of the group are a good unit but individually are not the greatest. The secondary was very good last year but I think they could struggle to reach those lofty heights again. cornerback Sam Madison is the pick of the group.

Verdict: I think Maddox will start and if things go well he will stay in there, if the Chiefs start off something like 2-4 then I feel Schaub will come in. I don’t think the Chiefs can stay with the Raiders this year and will end up around 8-8. The Offense has got older and will take some hits in training camp and I feel the defense played above it self in 2004.

The Broncos
These guys are in good shape it’s just a shame they do not have a GM at the present time. Geoff Garcia (63/63) should start over Kent Graham (55/55) He’s the future in Denver but his sense rush is a little bit of a worry. The Broncos have a very solid bunch of receivers and will do a very good job in the right system. Tim Dwight (49/49) and Plaxico Burress (52/52) will start and the broncos have solid backups to help these guys out. Clinton Portis is the 56/56 half back and he has a pretty good offensive line to block in front of him, the line should also help hide Garcia lack of movement in the pocket.

On defense they pay a 34, Trevor Pryce (55/55) the nose tackle is great against the run as is left end Aaron Schobel (53/53). Carlos Hall (46/46) is the pass rushing specialist out of the three. The quartet of linebackers are led by Mark Simoneau (67/67) who is excellent in parts of the game. He has good solid guys around him which make for a efficient unit. The secondary’s best corner is Charles Tillman (57/57) who can shut down most receivers on his day but apart from him the team does not have a starting corner and that has to be a huge concern. The safties are solid with Bryan Scott (48/51) being the bet of them. The only problem is ee on defense is a lack of depth and I think this will hurt the Broncos.

Verdict: This team was built by Wolfpack who loved a efficient football team and that’s certainly what the Broncos are. They should move the ball well on offense but I fear a little for the defense especially if they do not get a GM quickly. With a GM this team cab push for a winning season and a wildcard but they are not good enough as yet to challenge the raiders for the division.

The Chargers
The Chargers have options at Quarterback in Byron Leftwich (50/61) and vet Barry Sylvester (54/54) and I think it’s clear that Leftwich will start unless he has a dreadful pre-season or gets hurt. Leftwich will have the newly aquired Kevin Curtis (45/45) as his main target and there are maybe three or four solid possibilities to who gets the other starting spot at wide reciever. Rudi Johnson (46/46) will get the start at half back and he looks like he could have a good season even though the offensive line lacks talent to run or pass block. In saying that most of the offensive line is young and could easy get a lot better with the right coaching.

The defense is a work in progress and some very nice players have been added in a short period of time. The undoubted star of the defense is defensive tackle Vince Wilfork (86/86). Willfork talent is just sublime and can stop the run on his owna s well destroy offensive lines when rushing the passser. Expect Wilfork to face double teams on every play. if the Chargers stay in a 43 Cleveland Pinkney (42/42) will start next to Wilfork. Eric Moore (29/50) is a young talent and is very likely to start in one of the defensive end positions. Vet Greg Favours (56/56) is the star of the linebackers and I expect him to move to the strong side as he plays the run and pass well as well as rushers the passer equally well. First round pick Demarcus ware (38/53) will probably start on the weak side and looks like being a great pass rusher especially if as expected the Chargers move to a 34. Cornerback Jason Babineaux (48/58) is the best defensive back on the team and anyone of about five players will accompany him in the secondary.

Verdict: The AFC West is a tough division and although the Chargers have made great strides in the last two years after some mis management they still are a season or two away from winning the divison. The offense will move the ball efficeintly if unspectacularly and the defense has enough to help the offense win some games. There is very good young talent scattered on both sides of the ball and if they can gel quickly a wildcard is certainly not out of the question for the Chargers.

[Al Michaels]

The Disturbed Interview
1. How many games do you think you win this year?
10

2. Who do you think will be your toughest opponent in your Division this year and why?
Kansas City. Nemesis really has offense figured out and is getting much better at defense. I think he will win the division this year.

3. What player do you think is going to have a big year for you and why?
None really. On offense we are ball control so we don't put up huge stats. I suppose on defense we could see Rodney Harrison have another big year.

4. Who will be the league MVP this year?
Tomlinson, hands down the best player in the league.

5. Who will be in this years bowl?
Minnesota and New England

6. You took safety Josh Bullocks (33/58) at 1.30. What were your first thoughts on him?
Nothing special.

7. If you could add one thing to the GEFL to improve it what would it be? So it could be a rule preventing a loop hole, removing a rule, a new feature, different sim schedule or what ever you like?
Things are fine the way they are.

8. Which division do you feel has been the strongest and weakest division in the GEFL since you joined. Please exclude your own division.
Subby is the only GM who has been here longer than I have and in that time I'd have to say overall the NFC East has been the best division.

9. There were a lot of rumors you came close to trading Peyton Manning to the Redskins, why are you looking to move Manning and why did the deal to the Redskins not happen?
There never was anything close to a deal for Manning with anyone. As far as why I wanted to move him.. I think stud QBs are overrated. If I got what I wanted from anyone, I'd trade him in a heart beat.

10. Your run defense was 7th worst for yardage and the worst for ypc giving up 5.14 a run. Why was that and what are you doing to improve that in 2005?
I just hit recommend on defense. I don't play to change that.

11. You’ve won back to back bowls why is that? Please explain your thoughts.
Luck. Not sure there is much else to say. I think everything in this game is luck and dice rolls.

12. You were the joint best team in the redzone last year scoring 5.7 points per visit. explain why you think that was?
No idea. I run the exact same offense in the red zone that we do anywhere else on the field.

13. Terry Ng was I think 8-0 as a starter for you last year and won you a bowl after Manning went down. Why did you let him go to free agency?
Ng was a FA signing the week after Manning got hurt so I could only sign him to a 1 year deal. I chose not to pursue him in this year's FA because he wasn't an affinity to anyone of my Position leaders.


The Nemisis Interview
1. How many games do you think you win this year?
If our WR's don't take too big of a hit in TC, I think we can win 10 games. If they all realize their age, it could be anywhere from 6-8 wins.

2. Who do you think will be your toughest opponent in your Division this year and why?
Evey opponent will be tough this year, but Oakland takes the cake on being the hardest. Since winning all 3 games we played a few seasons back, Oakland has gone on a serious run vs KC and the landscape doesn't seem to have changed much this offseason.

3. What player do you think is going to have a big year for you and why?
Patrick Ramsey could have a big year for us. He'll get a shot in preseason to show me what he can do, and if he does well, he'll start this year. If not, he'll back up Stoney Case. Sam Cowart could also have a big year. With our passrushers getting old and slow, he may be the guy who gets to the QB most often this year for us.

4. Who will be the league MVP this year?
I expect Clint Stoerner to have a great year.

5. Who will be in this years bowl?
Washington Vs Raiders

6. You took tight end Bo Scaife (23/46) at 1.25 in this years draft what are your initial thoughts on him?
I am not a big fan of TE's. I did want to fill that spot on my roster with someone decent. It was down to Heath Miller (who had a higher grade), and Bo Scaife (who had the better combines). My hope is that Bo plays up to his combines, rather than his bars. I would like to think that over the course of his career, he'll play higher than his bars.

7. If you could add one thing to the GEFL to improve it what would it be? So it could be a rule preventing a loop hole, removing a rule, a new feature, different sim schedule or what ever you like?
25% cap reduction.

8. Which division do you feel has been the strongest and weakest division in the GEFL since you joined. Please exclude your own division.
Strongest is the NFC North. Weakest is the NFC South (seems to be a 1 team show there).

9. The Chiefs have be renowned for their passing attack over the last few years but your Quarterbacks are beginning to look their age and your 4 best receivers average 12 years experience each. I would expect it is possible a few will take big hits in training camp. How do you think your passing attack will perform this year?
If our WR's take HUGE hits in TC, we'll likely be running with our younger guns this year. QB Ramsey, and probably fit WR Parker into the lineup somehow. The big 4 will have to drop a long way even for Parker to get his shot though. Either way, I'll gameplan around what I have available to me.

10. You had the best pass defense in the GEFL last year even though it seems you have a lot of players in your secondary with low ratings. Explain why the unit was so good?
This one is hard to explain. The style of defense we play is geared to stop the pass, but I think the secondary cohesion, combined with passrush played a big role in this last season.

11. I know you favorite player in real life is the Broncos Tim Tebow, you will probably be looking for a QB right now or at the end of the season. Will you be looking for a player like Tebow or what will you be looking for in your QB of the future? Please explain your thoughts.
HA! I do actually see alot of a younger Steve Young in Tim Tebow (minus all the praying). My personal opinion for FOF QB's is that "runners" seem to perform better than pocket passers. There is one QB that I'd like to get my hands on either this season, or next season, but he's gonna be expensive.

12. Your redzone offense was not that good last year which is perhaps a little surprising as you have Glenn and Galloway as receivers as well as very good half back in Fred Taylor to punch it in when your close to the goal line. Why do you think you were well below average in this area and what will you do to improve. Please explain your thoughts.
I think it was the offense I was running. I opted to run the Play Action Vertical from Ben's Library (with a few tweaks). This season I'm likely to move back to the offense I ran a few seasons back. That offense seems to work better for me across all leagues rather than the PAV.

Thanks for you questions, Al. Just a quick note, I'm looking into my crystal ball, and I'm wishing you LUCK next season moving to Sunday Night Football with John Madden

[Al Michaels]

The Barry Sanders Interview
1. How many games do you think you win this year?
Although we miraculously managed to win 7 games last year and we have improved our roster at a few positions, I do believe our record will be around 5-11. With the current roster, there's plenty to be excited about... BUT... not this year. It will be strictly a year of learning and development for this squad. When you start off being the GM of the worst organization in the GEFL, you have to focus on development and future first. Once the pieces are in place, then we can think about competing for the playoffs and then competing for a Super Bowl. One step at a time though.

2. Who do you think will be your toughest opponent in your Division this year and why?
Oakland. They've been strong for 5 years straight now and GM Disturbed seems to know what he's doing.

3. What player do you think is going to have a big year for you and why?
Although he may not have a strong statistical season, Vincent Wilfork will hold down the fort defensively for our team. We expect some improvement in the rush defensive and hopefully with the improvement at DE, we can also build from our anemic pass rush. But Wilfork will be the central focus for all that to happen.

4. Who will be the league MVP this year?
Peyton Manning. He gets to play us twice so that will certainly inflate his stats! LOL

5. Who will be in this years bowl?
Oakland/ Washington. Two powerhouses meet up again.

6. You drafted Demarcus Ware (37/53) at 1.18, what are your initial thoughts on him?
Although LB is one of our stronger areas, we are getting old and one thing we lacked severely last year in my first season as the GM of the Chargers was any sort of pass rush. So, with a 1st and 2nd round pick, our focus was to correct that issue. Ware may also possibly see some action at DE in nickel and dime packages to add some extra QB pressure. Our DE situation was BY FAR the worst in the league. Anyone could have improved us there and I think Ware can possibly fill that need. Demarcus will need time to develop, of course, but we expect him to be the face of this defense within the next couple years, along with Vince Wilfork.

7. If you could add one thing to the GEFL to improve it what would it be? So it could be a rule preventing a loop hole, removing a rule, a new feature, different sim schedule or what ever you like.
Once again, I've been in this league for one year but I am currently in 4 different leagues and I feel this one is run very well. I really don't have any complaints except for the 3 year FA rule but I do understand why that's in place as well.

8. Which division do you feel has been the strongest and weakest division in the GEFL since you joined. Please exclude your own division.
In the one season I've been in this league, the NFC North clearly is strong with all teams having winning records. Meanwhile, the AFC South was pretty pathetic with only one team with more than 4 wins.

9. The Raiders and the Chiefs have represented the AFC in the all of the last three GEFL bowls just how tough is your division with these two in it and how long do you think it will be until you can seriously challenge these two for the Divisional Title? Please explain your thoughts.
It's certainly tough to compete with all three teams in the division really considering what I was handed when taking over in mid-free agency last year. Our team was completely devastated with players leaving our organization before I had a chance to sign them. But, we're building a nice young core here which we were able to accomplish through the draft last season ( 5 starters this year and Berrian, who had over 800 passing yards last year who will be our #3 WR this season) and I think it will take at least a couple seasons before we're respectable. But my plan is to be a STRONG team within 5 years. It certainly takes quite a bit of patience but you need to be patient some times to be successful.

10. The team was unfortunately left in a complete and utter mess when you picked them up, you got them within one game of an 8-8 season last year. with that in mind which part of the team that you have so far built have you been most happy with and why?
Well, other than at QB and LB, we've had to pretty much build every position but our defensive and offensive lines were completely embarrassing to look at when I took over. They still need quite a bit a work, let me tell you!!! But at least we've added some pieces to make them a respectable group. The 4th round of the 2004 draft was actually very important to us as we were able to acquire two of our current starters, Max Starks LT and Trevor Hutton RG. We were also able to acquire our starting RT in Fred Wakefield this offseason to replace Kyle Kosier, who has no business being a starting lineman at this point in his career. And at defensive line, Wilfork is a stud as our NT and we've replaced Chris Combs (who was recently cut) with our rookie 2nd round pick, Eric Moore. Whenever you can replace a starter and then have the luxury of cutting him, things are obviously improving there. LOL As a matter of fact all 3 defensive line starters were not with the team when I took over. ....So, although it's certainly, at best, a work in progress and will need further attention in the next couple years, we've at least made those two positions somewhat respectable compared to what it was.
And you're right when you said that this team was in a complete and utter mess!!!

11. Your running game was the 4th worst in the league last year yardage wise and third worse in ypc. Why was that and how to you intend to improve that in 2005?
Simply put, our offensive line was horrible!!! No other way to put it. As I mentioned, Max Starks, Trevor Hutton and Fred Wakefield will certainly help a bit this year in the running game but for 2005, we focused on the other atrocious line on defense. Expect us to focus more attention next season on the O-line. We have a couple extra early round picks in 2006 so there's a good chance our running game will improve even further next year. :)

12. At the present time your cohesion is bottom three in three categories and sixth worse in other, how do you think this low cohesion has harmed you? Please explain your thoughts.
Well, it certainly hasn't helped us but right now, we're just focusing on building a talent base here is San Diego. Cohesion will be important when we start becoming serious contenders but when building from the ground up, something's gotta give and, although I'd like to give more focus to cohesion and it is certainly important to build a winner, it's importance isn't as high at this present moment.

13. Quarterback Byron Leftwich looks the best player on your roster and is still developing, how good can he be and what kind of system are you looking to put in place for him? explain your thoughts.
I expect Byron to be our starter for years to come and I have full confidence that he will get the job done for us. However, he's clearly learning on the job right now and we're hoping that Barry Sylvester, who has plenty of experience, can act as a great mentor for him. We're certainly not going to put too much pressure on Byron early on in his career to carry our offense either so, although our running game isn't great, it will be used early and often in games. Hopefully in a year or two, he can be given the green light to throw the ball at will once we add some missing parts. We did address one missing part which should help Byron considerably. And that was the acquisition of Kevin Curtis WR. He's young and talented and I'm hoping these two can develop and strong connection for years to come as I hope they can grow together. Time will tell though, especially when speaking of the lowly San Diego Chargers! Time will tell...