The NFL has a unique ebb and flow that is not found in other professional sports leagues. With few exceptions, teams that dominate the league rarely stay among the elite for more than five seasons.

Perhaps no division has been hit harder by this reality than the AFC West of the last few years. As the Denver Broncos enter the 2009-2010 season, they will face division opponents surrounded by several uncertainties and weaknesses.

 

San Diego Chargers

The Chargers are the one team in the AFC West that has not changed its personnel much in the offseason.

With LaDainian Tomlinson’s recent injuries and decrease in production, the passing game has become San Diego’s main offensive threat. In 2008, Philip Rivers posted career highs in completion percentage, passing yards, passing touchdowns, and passer rating.

The Charger passing attack is built primarily on hitch routes and screens, simple passes that most defenses are willing to concede. Once the opposition commits to these short passes, San Diego can open them up by throwing downfield.

By switching to a 3-4 defense, the Broncos will have more speed and more coverage options against the pass, and Denver has signed several veteran defenders who match up better with the Chargers than last year’s defense.

San Diego’s defense is quick and athletic, intimidating opponents with frequent blitzing and hard hits. This could easily disrupt the timing of an already inconsistent quarterback like Kyle Orton, and neutralize the open field skills of Knowshon Moreno. Denver will benefit from the spread offense, designed to neutralize aggressive defenses and force them to account for several offensive options.

With Denver’s offense slightly less talented and defense slightly more talented than last season, look for lower scoring games against San Diego. Also keep an eye out for the Chargers and fourth quarter comebacks; they have a knack for turning certain defeat into thrilling victory in the last fifteen minutes.

 

Kansas City Chiefs

Like Josh McDaniels, new Kansas City head coach Todd Haley has worked with talented offenses such as Dallas and Arizona in his recent career. Haley takes over a team that finished 31st in total offense in 2007 and 24th in total offense in 2008. With the addition of Matt Cassel, the Chiefs should have more success in the passing game, opening up the ground attack for Larry Johnson, who frequently victimizes the Broncos.

In 2008, Kansas City’s defense finished 28th or worse in sacks, pass defense, rush defense, and points per game. This is the sort of problem that will take at least two seasons to improve upon. Against the Chiefs, Denver will be able to test all aspects of the spread offense, as Kansas City is one of the worst defensive teams the Broncos face all season.

The Chiefs are one of the youngest teams in the league, with 12 of 22 starters having four years of experience or less. The Broncos have only six starters in that category, and should benefit from veteran leadership against the Chiefs in 2009.

This seems to be one matchup that throughout the years has always produced close, competitive contests. Since the 2000 season, the road team in the Denver and Kansas City rivalry has won only three games. Look for one blowout win and one close game between the Broncos and Chiefs in 2009, with the home team winning each time.

 

Oakland Raiders

Unless Tom Cable makes drastic changes in his first full year as head coach, Oakland will continue to be a below average team. The Raiders have not won more than five games in a season since 2002, and have not improved much in this time period.

There is no question about the talent and speed of the Raider offense featuring JaMarcus Russell, Darren McFadden, Javon Walker, and Darrius Heyward-Bey. The Raiders, however, do not have a solid game plan that maximizes the potential of these skill players. Look for most of the Raider points against Denver in 2009 to be set up by big plays, not sustained drives.

The addition of Richard Seymour will help round out a defense that gave up 192 rushing yards per game in 2008, good for last in the NFL. Against Denver’s spread offense, the Raiders will have matchup issues with the depth of Bronco wide receivers. This will allow Denver to run the ball with ease, something they should be able to do regardless of success in the passing game.

Denver and Oakland will likely play low-scoring games in 2009, as neither team has the firepower to put up high scores. Denver matches up more evenly with Oakland than Kansas City or San Diego, so these will likely be the closest contests of any two division rivals in 2009.

Read more Denver Broncos news on BleacherReport.com

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