Do we really have to send a AFC west team to the playoffs?

[BaseballMan]

When a team is 1-7 but only 3 games behind its not a good year for
any team in that division.

[hayesb26]

lol who do you want to send from the AFC in general then? other than the titans, there are no dominant teams. there really arent any teams that you can line up against denver or san diego and say theyre definitely going to defeat them, other than tennessee. much parity this season

[phillosopherp]

Its funny I live in San Diego and this was supposed to be THE YEAR. Of course then Marriman goes down, and then everyone starts back peddling. But lets face it as soon as they hired Norv it was over.

[kenyan_cheena]

You'll usually get at least one bad division each year when only six of the sixteen games are played within it.

[Raderick]

Don't worry, San Diego will make it better

[BaseballMan]

Originally Posted by hayesb26

lol who do you want to send from the AFC in general then? other than the titans, there are no dominant teams. there really arent any teams that you can line up against denver or san diego and say theyre definitely going to defeat them, other than tennessee. much parity this season

The last few weeks it looks like you could line up any team against the afc west. What are they like 0-6 the last 2 weeks. I figure SD will probably take it by default. I think SD's window of oppurtunity is probably closed. I think they will get in the playoffs cause some team from the afc west has to be there but i think it will be a quick exit. They just seem to have gotten weaker instead of stronger. And maybe they were a little overrated to begin with. Playing against afc west teams maybe made them look better than they really were. Not their fault the other afc west teams are so horrible but
at the same time not much competition for them either. And after getting beat by Denver it just seems like SD is sinking down to the competition instead of rising above it.

[birddogg]

Whats the other option? two huge divisions in each league? No divisions and two leagues?

Inter league play in the NFL has never made since to me.

[jeheinz72]

I think the Chargers will rebound. I expect them to take the division at 9-7 and be the team that the Titans and whomever the #2 seed is doesn't want to face in the 2nd round.

[Slackker]

Wow, is it almost the end of the regular season already?

Oh wait no, we're only through 9 weeks. Carry on.

I'm a Broncos fan, and I admit the Broncos suck. Their defense sucked even when Boss, Champ, and DJ were all healthy. Luckily the offense was good enough to carry them through. Of course then Royal gets his ankle tweaked, Stokely gets a consussion, Scheffler starts off a strange domino effect of groin injuries, and now Hall and Pittman are out for the year. So yeah, back to my original 8-8 prediction.

Did ANYONE think the Chiefs and Raiders would be any good? No, so that covers them.

As far as San Diego goes.. one game they shouldn't have lost (Denver) and two games they lost on the final possession.. so, they're still pretty good. I'd argue better than any of the AFC East teams once playoff time hits, assuming Tomlinson's toe is better by then, and Chambers doesn't get injured again.

[BaseballMan]

nah if the chargers were a good team this year they would have won those games. If they were 5-3 i could see them being a good team but fact is they are 3-5 and not a good team this season. The broncos looked better than they really were. Good passing offense but no defense and the rush offense aint what it use to be.
Put it this way when the raiders who have been horrible the last six years and have played badly the last 2 games can be 2-6 with a chance of winning the division it isnt a pretty picture. Usually at 2-6 you can pretty much cancel playoff hopes. Not that they shouldnt try but its usually unlikely they would make it. But one LT injury and SD could be done. Hell the raiders had actually outplayed them for 3 qrts. What happens if the raiders finally get their act together? Not that i see it happening but the point is they still have a shot at 2-6. I think the Broncos are gonna end up with 6 or 7 wins. Their season seems to be on a downward spiral. I have a feeling they will get beat this week too. And KC will probably be admitting hiring Edwards was a mistake any day now.
All in all i think its one of the worst seasons weve seen in awhile for the afc west. Sure theres half a season to go but for fans of those 4 teams have we seen anything this year to convince you they can match up with Pitt, Ten, NE, Bal etc. Just being honest in that i just dont see it at this point.

[jeheinz72]

Dude, the AFC West isn't even the worst division in football...(the NFC West is, I'll take 4-4 Denver and 3-5 San Diego over 5-3 Arizona and any of the 2-6 squads there)

And to say "and one injury to player X and their done" is a pretty unfair statement to make. You can say that about a lot of teams.

[BaseballMan]

Originally Posted by jeheinz72

Dude, the AFC West isn't even the worst division in football...(the NFC West is, I'll take 4-4 Denver and 3-5 San Diego over 5-3 Arizona and any of the 2-6 squads there)

And to say "and one injury to player X and their done" is a pretty unfair statement to make. You can say that about a lot of teams.

Im just being realistic. None of the afc teams have shown any promise.
Doesntmatter what the NFC West does the Afc West wont be getting to the SB this year. Yeah miracles happen but it wouldnt be very realistic to beleive the Lions will be champions either. So why treat the AFC West any different. Bottom line is the 4 teams stink. Maybe they will any improve but i dont expect it. They deserve the glory when they have a good year so why should we not be honest when they are playing bad? Look im not saying dont support an afc west team or not hope that they turn things around, im just saying dont expect it.
Unfair or not SD is playing like crap with LT. So what should i expect if he goes down? That some unknown is gonna step up? Yeah you can play the
you never know but the safe bet is that it wont happen.

[jeheinz72]

I just think that's a very defeatist way of looking at it. I'm a semi-Chargers fan (not my favorite team, but I like them) admittedly, so maybe I've got a touch of rose-colored glasses on but just look at their losses

- 2 point loss on a last-second play to a 6-2 Carolina team
- 1 point road loss in Denver in a game that by virtually every account they got screwed on
- 7 point loss on a cross-country trip to Miami, a team that's 4-4 and is VERY much improved.
- 9 point loss on a cross-country trip to Buffalo, against a team that has been in 1st place nearly all season
- 5 point loss on a trip overseas to London against a potent (though inconsistent 4-4 Saints team)

Sandwiched in there are 2 absolute butt-kickings of 5-3 teams, 30-10 over NE (was 30-3 plus a pity score) and 48-29 over the Jets.

I mean yeah, if we're talking "Is someone from the AFC West going to win the Super Bowl" then likely not. But I look at the Chargers schedule and there is zero reason they can't finish at least 9-7 (possibly better pending Big Ben's injury for their game at Pittsburgh next week). If they do, and presumably that'll take the West, if I'm the top wild card I wouldn't be happy about traveling out West to San Diego in the Wild Card round. If they then win that game, I'm not happy if I'm Tennessee and my hard-work for say a 14-2 season is Charger team that beat us twice last year is our first playoff game.

I'm not saying any of this *will* happen, but given the talent on the team, given the injuries they've faced (LT, McNeill, Gates, Tucker, Chambers to name a few), given the fine seasons they've produced the last 2-3 years, one has to think that they are one of the few sub 4-win teams that could get on a roll and be dangerous in the 2nd half of the season and playoffs.


Let's not forget that just last year, the eventual champion Giants were just 6-3 to start the season and had fared very poorly in the "big" games up to that point (2 losses to Dallas, butts kicked by the Pack, narrow win at home vs PHI) while basically using a creampuff schedule to amass wins (such luminaries as the Jets, Atlanta, SF and Miami were among their early wins).

Judging a team, much less an entire division, with half the season to go isn't a good idea.

[BaseballMan]

just calling it as i see it. no more no less

[lencombs]

I type this as the Broncos are down 10 going into the half and making Brady Quinn look like the next incarnation of red grange.

My AFC Power Ranking

Tennessee
Pittsburgh
AFC East (all four teams in any order) Mia, NYJ, Buf, NE
Baltimore
Indy
Cleveland
San Diego
Denver
Jacksonville
Houston
Kansas City
Cincy
Oakland

so the top 2 afc west teams are 10th and 11th best teams in the AFC..but one of them gets in the playoffs regardless.

[BaseballMan]

Well if Denver loses tonight we can officially call the afc west
the below .500 club.

[Slackker]

Originally Posted by BaseballMan

Unfair or not SD is playing like crap with LT. So what should i expect if he goes down? That some unknown is gonna step up? Yeah you can play the
you never know but the safe bet is that it wont happen.

Sorry, but.. have you even been paying attention to injuries this year? LT has been banged up the entire year, unable to cut off his.. (right?) foot, and they've been trying to avoid running him as frequently. Sure, he's still LT and he's still getting touches.. but not nearly what he has in previous years. Fact is.. he's only had TWO hundred yard games this year (both of those under 110) and he only has five TDs in 8 games. Does that sound like LT is healthy to you?

I'm a Broncos fan. I admit they're awful. I said that after week 3. I was optimistic after blowing out Oakland in the opener, saw all their defensive flaws the second week, and saw it continue the third week. That's when I knew, for sure, that they're not very good.

This Denver fan can't believe he's defending San Diego, but.. saying they aren't a good team is silly. They might be the best 3-5 team I've ever seen. Especially considering they should be 4-4. Hoculi's horrible 'inadvertant whistle' was completely responsible for their loss against Denver.

[jeheinz72]

Originally Posted by lencombs

I type this as the Broncos are down 10 going into the half and making Brady Quinn look like the next incarnation of red grange.

My AFC Power Ranking

Tennessee
Pittsburgh
AFC East (all four teams in any order) Mia, NYJ, Buf, NE
Baltimore
Indy
Cleveland
San Diego
Denver
Jacksonville
Houston
Kansas City
Cincy
Oakland

so the top 2 afc west teams are 10th and 11th best teams in the AFC..but one of them gets in the playoffs regardless.

I"m a Dolphins fan, and even with them beating the Chargers, the Chargers are the better team. Line those two up 10 times on a neutral field and the Chargers win probably 8 times, maybe more.

And well, Denver won. Though I still think they're garbage. Ep

The Chargers blew out the Jets too, not sure how you can really rank them ahead. Though I realize this goes against what I'm saying above with regard to the Chargers/Fins, you'll just have to take my word as those are the two teams I follow the most.

I'd go, in order of who I'd least want my favorite team to play on a neutral field with the season on the line

TEN
PIT
NE
INDY
SD
BAL
BUF
NYJ
MIA
DEN
JAX
CLE
HOU
CIN
KC
OAK

[BaseballMan]

Originally Posted by Slackker

Sorry, but.. have you even been paying attention to injuries this year? LT has been banged up the entire year, unable to cut off his.. (right?) foot, and they've been trying to avoid running him as frequently. Sure, he's still LT and he's still getting touches.. but not nearly what he has in previous years. Fact is.. he's only had TWO hundred yard games this year (both of those under 110) and he only has five TDs in 8 games. Does that sound like LT is healthy to you?

I'm a Broncos fan. I admit they're awful. I said that after week 3. I was optimistic after blowing out Oakland in the opener, saw all their defensive flaws the second week, and saw it continue the third week. That's when I knew, for sure, that they're not very good.

This Denver fan can't believe he's defending San Diego, but.. saying they aren't a good team is silly. They might be the best 3-5 team I've ever seen. Especially considering they should be 4-4. Hoculi's horrible 'inadvertant whistle' was completely responsible for their loss against Denver.

Coulda, shoulda,woulda. Other teams have had injuries. Should we just allow SD to play when LT is healthy. Hoculi's whistle was responsible for SD not stopping the next play. Hoculi's whistle played defense on the next drive?
SD was a good team last year but this is this year and at this point they are not a good team. Yeah they might pull it together but we might see the broncos representing the afc west. And you said it your self the broncos are not very good. So you want me to beleive SD is good and behind the broncos
but the broncos are bad? Why give SD a free pass? Lets face it. Its just a down year in the afc west.

[lencombs]

Chargers are going nowhere this season, Miami beat them straight up and would do it again. They barely can beat the Chiefs. LT is hurt, can't turn off his foot like he usually does, and Merriman is out for the year.