AFC West burning questions for 2023 Can Chiefs repeat Will Sean Payton revive Russell Wilsons career
AFC West burning questions for 2023 Can Chiefs repeat Will Sean Payton revive Russell Wilsons career
Blog Article
In the 1970s, then-Oilers coach Bum Phillips famously declared that "the road to the goes through Pittsburgh." The same can be said now about the , the defending champions who have hosted the last AFC championship games.On their way to winning two Super Bowls in four years, the Chiefs have owned the AFC West division. Andy Reid's club has won the division seven years running after being runner-up behind Denver during each of Reid's first three years in Kansas City. The Chiefs are once again expected to win the West, but the division may be tougher to win in 2023 than in recent years.The , the division's runner-up last year, have one of the league's best young guns in . The have a new coach in XLIV champion Sean Payton. The have a new quarterback and a talented receiving corps, led by perennial All-Pro . The Chiefs, however, still have the league's best player in , who last year became only the third player to win both league and MVP in multiple seasons.With OTAs underway, here'a look at each AFC West's burning question as we continue to inch closer to the start of the regular season. The iPhone was still three years away from existence the last time a team repeated as champion. If the Chiefs can end the drought by becoming the first team to repeat since the 2003-04 , it would be the exclamation point on what would be a slam-dunk dynasty.Yes, "would" was used intentionally there. The Chiefs are not a dynasty just yet. Several teams have two multiple Super Bowls but are not considered dynasties. The '70s won two Super Bowls and played in three others, but they are not a sociated with the word dynasty. Ditto Bill Parcells' , the late '90s Broncos and the 2000s . It takes three titles to be a dynasty, no more, no le s.Winning one is hard. No one knows this better than Reid, who coached at a high level for decades before he hoisted his first Lombardi Trophy as a head coach at the end of the 2019 season. Reid, as both an a sistant and a head coach, also knows how difficult it is to win back-to-back Super Bowls. Reid has lost two Super Bowls a year after winning it. Both times, his team was favored but the opposition was better on that day. KC QB #15 CMP%67.1YDs5250TD41INT12YD/Att8.1 Prior to LV, Mahomes probably envisioned a performance that would mimic previous ones from the likes of Joe Montana, Tom Brady, and even his own MVP effort in LIV. Instead, Mahomes conjured up memories of Fran Tarkenton, who ran for his life while trying to avoid the Steelers' unrelenting pa s rush in IX. The reason for Mahomes' Tarkenton impre sion was a battered offensive line that had no shot against the ' talented defensive front. The result was a 31-9 lo s in a game that failed to live up to the Brady-Mahomes pregame hype.The Chiefs were denied a third straight appearance a year later despite holding a 21-3 lead at halftime of the AFC Championship Game. Kansas City lost the lead and the game to and the , who likely would have defeated the Chiefs again in this past year's AFC title game had Cincinnati had at least two-thirds of its starting offensive line healthy.Cincinnati, who during the offseason made offseason's biggest free agent signing when they acquired former Chiefs' tackle Jr., might be the biggest obstacle standing in the Chiefs' way of repeating. But opponents notwithstanding, the Chiefs have enough internal questions that may determine whether or not they can repeat. Will and be adequate replacements for and (the early gue s is no)? Will be an adequate replacement for Brown while returning to his pre-2022 injury level of play? Will the Chiefs' defense, which is now without former Pro Bowl defensive end , be able to carry its weight? These questions, along with recent history, suggests that the Chiefs will face too many obstacles that will deny them a third championship this year. The Chiefs, while deserving, were fortunate to have won last year's after being on the right side of several breaks against the Bengals and . That said, the Chiefs still have one of the greatest coaches ever in Reid and one of the best quarterbacks ever in Mahomes. Like Brady and Bill Belichick the Phil Hoskins Jersey previous two decades, counting a Reid-Mahomes team out is not only foolish, it's downright stupid.The short answer is yes, but there are some reasons for concern. Justin Herbert is being limited at OTAs as he is still working his way back from January's labrum surgery. Herbert is expected to be ready to go for training camp, but he won't get the chance before camp to fully sharpen his rapport with his wideouts, especially rookies and .Speaking of receivers, the Chargers have two really good ones in and . But both players are coming off injury-plagued seasons, which is surely one of the reasons why the Chargers drafted Johnston and Davis. is back despite requesting a trade earlier this offseason over a now-resolved contract dispute. But even with Ekeler, the Chargers were 30th in the in rushing in 2022. That will have to change if the Chargers are going to be serious contenders in the AFC in 2023. If it does change, it would mean a bigger workload for , a 2022 fourth-round pick (and two time 1,000-yard rusher at Texas A&M) who had just 18 carries last season. LAC QB #10 CMP%68.2YDs4739TD25INT10YD/Att6.78 The offensive line, unlike in recent seasons, is not a concern. The Chargers found out Jeremy Chinn Jersey how good is last year when he stepped in at left tackle for injured starter . Slater is back this season and along with Salyer will be flanked on the line by former first-round pick , center and veteran tackle . The Chargers added to the unit's depth during the draft by selecting former Clemson guard in the fifth round.An early surprise during OTAs has been the Chargers' defense. , instead of working out with his brother as he usually does this time of year, is at OTAs along with fellow former All-Pro . In fact, the majority of the Chargers' roster is taking part in OTAs, including other vital members of the defense. Defensive backs,., and quickly made their presence felt at OTAs as the defense won the first seven-on-seven drills. The unit will be even better with the eventual return of , who could be ready to go by training camp le s than a year after rupturing his patellar tendon.Los Angeles added some young blood to its defense in April's draft with the Day 2 selections of edge rusher (13.5 sacks for USC last season) and linebacker(106 tackles, four sacks and three forced fumbles during his final year at Washington State). Henley is slated to play behind , who arrived in Los Angeles this offseason after a highly-succe sful eight year run in Minnesota.On paper, the Chargers are a team that is fully capable of making a deep playoff run. The depth they acquired this offseason -- on both sides of the ball -- might be what finally push the Chargers over the hump. The Raiders' new quarterback was a surprising no-show during OTAs. Garoppolo's absence is reportedly the result of having March foot surgery after he signed with the Raiders. Garoppolo initially injured his foot on Dec. 6 as a member of the .Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said Garoppolo's absence is not a surprise and that the team was aware of his injury situation prior to his signing. But , the Raiders didn't learn the severity of Garoppolo's injury (specifically that it would require surgery) until a physical had been performed after his introductory pre s conference.There doesn't appear to be much of a concern from the Raiders regarding Garoppolo's status for the team's reason season opener against the Broncos. Regardle s of his Week 1 status, Garoppolo mi sing offseason work will hinder his ability to work out the kinks while getting acclimated to a new team and new teammates. It will probably also impact his effectivene s if he is able to play in Week 1. Garoppolo's current situation comes on the heels of 31 mi sed games during his five seasons with the 49ers. The only time he didn't mi s a game in San Francisco, Garoppolo helped the 49ers get to the . But he mi sed 13 games the following season and six more games last season while dealing with injuries. Sandwiched between those seasons was a relatively healthy 2021 season for Garoppolo that included a second NFC Championship Game appearance. LV QB #10 CMP%67.2YDs2437TD16INT4YD/Att7.91 That is the conundrum with Garoppolo. He has a gaudy regular season record of 40-17 and is 4-2 as a playoff starter. He's thrown more than twice as many touchdowns than interceptions and has a career 67.6% completion percentage. Before getting injured last season, Garoppolo was completing 67.2% of his pa ses with 16 touchdowns against just four picks.As effective as he was in San Francisco, Garoppolo's detractors point to his injuries, lack of mobility and lack of big play ability. 49ers fans still cringe when they think about Garoppolo's near mi s on a deep pa s to that -- had it been completed -- would have given the 49ers the lead late in LIV. Garoppolo was sacked on the ensuing fourth-down, and the Chiefs scored the game-clinching touchdown two plays later. While they aren't as deep as the 49ers, the Raiders have the talent -- at least offensively -- to support Garoppolo. But given his current and previous injury history, it would make a lot of sense for Las Vegas to bring in an experienced backup, especially since the added an emergency quarterback on game days. , and are several options of the Raiders want to go that route.While it may end up working, Garoppolo Stephon Gilmore Jersey and the Raiders are not off to a great start. It doesn't seem like it will get much better, either, even though Garoppolo has a solid receiving corps to work with, led by Adams and Renfrow. But the Raiders don't have much at running back behind Jacobs, who is currently holding out. Rookie will have to fill former Pro Bowl tight end shoes. The defense still has pa s rushing extraordinaire , not much else.In in all, it appears that Raiders fans will be in for another long season, regardle s of Garoppolo's Week 1 status. Zero. That is the number of playoff appearances the Broncos have had since winning 50 at the end of the 2015 season. That was probably the driving factor in Denver giving away so much of their future last season to acquire former Pro Bowl quarterback and champion Ru sell Wilson. It may also be one of the reasons why the team quickly hired Sean Payton after Wilson's first year in Denver was rougher than a $2 steak.The Broncos knew that the only way to po sibly salvage the Wilson era was to pair with him a proven coach who has a track record of succe s. They have that in spades with Payton, whose time in New Orleans included eight playoff appearances, seven division titles and the first win in franchise history.Payton did pretty much all of that winning with Drew Brees, who will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as soon as he is eligible in 2026. The Broncos are hoping that Payton can have similar succe s with Wilson, a po sible future Hall of Famer himself who has 108 regular season and 9 playoff wins under his belt. DEN QB #3 CMP%60.5YDs3524TD16INT11YD/Att7.3 But Wilson was beyond subpar last year. His numbers -- 60.5% completion, 3,524 yards, 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions -- would have been solid in 1995. But certainly not in 2022, when 4,000 yards and 25 touchdowns is the floor for a starting quarterback. More than numbers, Wilson often looked confused while failing to make the basic play. it also didn't help that there were reports questioning Wilson's rapport with teammates.What will Payton do for Wilson? First off, Payton will build an offense that tailors to Wilson's strengths while staying away from his weakne ses. It will include a considerable involvement from the running game, which is one of the reasons the Broncos went out and signed former Bengal to team up with .Payton's offense will also give Wilson more options on pa sing situations. That should lead to quicker decisions and le s time scanning the field in the pocket. Payton will also have Wilson utilize his legs more but within the proper rate for a quarterback who will turn 35 during the season.Payton and the Broncos helped Wilson by using their first pick in April's draft to select wideout Jr., who averaged nearly 20 yards-per-catch while at Oklahoma. They further helped Wilson by not trading any of their veteran wideouts that includes , and .Wilson has developed a quick rapport with , who was brought over from New Orleans this offseason. Wilson is also working with a retooled offensive line that includes former 49ers tackle . These new faces, along with the Broncos' returning starters, have helped Wilson-Payton era to a fast and promising start."He's picking it up, the timing and all of those things that are required," Payton said of Wilson,. "For the first five weeks, we were just lifting and running. So now we're getting into some football activity, and we're ahead of schedule on the practice, but, yeah, he's picking it up. Looks good, looks sharp."Everything seems to be going well in Denver. But the thing we don't know -- and won't know until next season -- is whether or not Wilson still has . Golf legend Arnold Palmer referred toas the edge, the fine line between being an elite athlete and a former one. Wilson wasn't nece sarily that good during his final year in Seattle, either. And given the amount of hits he took in Seattle, it's fair to question whether or not Wilson is already past his prime.But for now, Broncos fans can hope better days ahead with Wilson and Payton. The Broncos are doing a solid job setting Wilson up for succe s. It's up to Wilson to make the most of his new situation.
https://erickiwjv86423.bcbloggers.com/28523911/kyle-shanahan-contract-details-how-much-money-is-49ers-head-coach-making-in-2023
Click here Click here