Team Fantasy Football Preview: AFC West

by Skeller on Aug 12, 2009 8:00 AM EDT in Football

Is the AFC West filled with good teams and great fantasy options?

No. No, it isn't.

San Diego - Some people think this offense is going to break out, but I'm not one of them. I have Rivers (#7) in my Top 10 but only Jackson (#19) and Gates (#3) come in on my receiver rankings. Is that enough? Hmmm. The running game is ranked favorably with Tomlinson (#17) and Sproles (#35) both making the list, but how likely is that? Will they really share time? I wouldn't be shocked if Sproles finished at #17 and Tomlinson at #35. This is a tough team to judge.

Denver - This team is going to be good, unless Brandon Marshall (#9) leaves town, which wouldn't surprise me. I like Eddie Royal (#28) too, though his ranking goes down if Marshall leaves. If I like both WRs, I should really like the QB. Kyle Orton ranks at #10. Check. Running back is a mess though. Nobody knows who will start and who will finish. Moreno tops my Broncos' RB draft list at #31, but it's certainly possible (maybe probable) that somebody else (psst..Correll Buckhalter) will be fantasy-worthy.

Kansas City - I am not impressed. Matt Ca$$el (#16) is good and will make a fantastic QB2. But while Kansas City has much better barbeque than Boston, it doesn't have better blocking. Always-grumpy RB Larry Johnson (#22) isn't somebody I'd want to depend on. I do like WRs Bowe (#15) and Engram (#47) though so I don't want to downplay this offense too much. This is a good but not great offense and guys like Cassel and Bowe will provide some great games.

Oakland - The best fantasy player on this team is TE Zach Miller (#12). There you go. QB JaMarcus Russell isn't ranked and only one WR (Darrius Heyward-Bey at #42) makes the rankings. Can the passing game REALLY be that bad? Maybe I'm being too hard on them. RB Darren McFadden (#29) should establish himself this season - but that's what everybody said last season. Justin Fargas (not ranked) could run for 1000 yards again.

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Comments

Chargers

Full disclosure: I’m a Chargers homer.

I agree that the offense is not going to “break out” this season, rather they should sustain their excellence. They don’t get the attention that Indy or NE gets, but they were 2nd in points scored last season while being ranked near the bottom in plays from scrimmage. Doesn’t that indicate scoring lots of points quickly, putting the defense back on the field?

by mavickers on Aug 12, 2009 8:29 PM EDT reply actions

Yes, it does.

And the Chargers have a very good offense. But Football Outsiders seem to think that the Chargers are going to be “2007 Patriots” good. I don’t agree with that.

I also have concerns about LT’s durability, but overall the Chargers will be very good.

by Skeller on Aug 12, 2009 11:09 PM EDT reply actions

I’ll have to check out Football Outsiders sometime. They maybe SD homers I can comiserate with.

Yeah, I think we see LT get 65 – 75% of the carries this season… maybe less. Everybody is concerned about Sprole’s durability but I think he has what it takes to be a fulltime back somewhere. Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing SD trade LT away to Denver for Marshall, seeing how Denver can never get enough RBs.

I think Denver is a train wreck and will actually be 3rd in the division behind KC. With the losses of Shanahan (some may view that as a plus) and Cutler, RB by dartboard, and what I think is vastly overrated faith in Belichek understudies I think they may be in for a period of sustained suckage.

by mavickers on Aug 12, 2009 11:28 PM EDT reply actions