A bit of a catch-up on Chargers injury news:
- Stephen Cooper (knee), Mike Tolbert (neck/shoulder) and Antonio Gates (foot) have all been placed on IR and will miss the final game.
- Patrick Crayton, Larry English and Jacob Hester are all listed as doubtful for today's game.....and considering how meaningless it is, can almost be guaranteed not to play.
Today should be an entertaining day of football, with lots of meaningful games. Amongst the early games, the two best (at least for Chargers fans) will be the Raiders trying to go 6-0 against the AFC West in Kansas City and the young Buccaneers traveling to New Orleans for a shot at getting in the playoffs as an NFC Wild Card.
As per usual, use this post as your Open Thread for today's early games. I'll be back with a fresh one for the Chargers game at 1. Now....without further ado, j-man's AFC West breakdown.
The Chiefs go from worst in the division to division champs in one season. How did they do it? Well, for one, they did a great job at limiting the number of mistakes they made. Two, they played the Browns and Bills. Three, they acquired Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel...who have apparently not missed a beat as coordinators since their days in New England. And four, it took almost an entire season before teams stopped underestimating the Chiefs.
GRADES
QB - 8
RB - 8.5
WR/TE - 8
OL - 7
DL - 6
LB - 8.5
CB/S - 7.5
ST - 9
Coach - 9
HF - 10
Overall - 8Obviously a team on the rise, for the first time in a long time. The most pressing offseason question for them is whether or not they'll be able to use this season as a stepping stone towards greater success. We shall see.
GRADES
QB - 7
RB - 8
WR/TE - 7
OL - 7
DL - 9.5
LB - 6.5
CB/S - 7
ST - 9
Coach - 6.5
HF - 6
Overall - 7A very disappointing season, to say the least. Terrible Special Teams, the lack of a #1 RB and injuries were the reasons why this team did not live up to it's potential.
GRADES
QB - 10
RB - 5.5
WR/TE - 8.5
OL - 7
DL - 6
LB - 7
CB/S - 7
ST - 4
Coach - 7
HF - 6.5
Overall - 8.5A weak defense, a terrible running game, a young and inexperienced Offensive Line, no pass rush, injuries and bad coaching all added up to a forgetful season for the last place Broncos.
GRADES
QB - 7
RB - 6 (Editor's Note: One day Broncos fans will understand that Knowshon Moreno is not very good)
WR/TE - 9 (Editor's Note: Or maybe they'll stay delusional...)
OL - 6
DL - 4.5
LB - 5
CB/S - 6.5
ST - 7.5
HF - 6
Coach - 4
Overall - 5.5
ENJOY WITH ABSOLUT RESPONSIBILITY®