Kansas City Chiefs

That hit on Trent Green (not the one picture here) is why we are not letting our babies grow up to be football players.  Yes, we love the game, but the game can go on without our yet to be conceieved boys.  Thankfully, Green seems to be fine but will not play for a few weeks and the Chiefs get a lucky break in that their bye is week 3.

Though they got beat on Sunday, I believe the offense will be fine.  Even if Damon Huard is calling signals, he’s not the one getting the handoffs, Larry Johnson is, and if last year is any indication, he is going to run wild over opponents this year (again, don’t make too much out of Sunday’s loss).  The one caveat is that the Chiefs aging offensive line may limit Johnson’s running stats but he’s still going to reach the end zone a lot this season. 

So Dick Vermiel tried to win with offense, now new coach Herm Edwards is going to try to win with some defense.  He’s spent most of the off season  fixing the Chiefs defensive liabilities by installing the Tampa 2 scheme.  From the reports I’ve read, they have the speed to play it like the Bucs did in their Super Bowl year.  The issue is that the Chiefs don’t have the personnel up front to create the pressure on opposing QBs and to slow down ground games.

Depending on how the Broncos respond to getting beaten by Jake Plummer and how Phillip Rivers can handle the Chargers, the AFC West is wide open.  If Green can make it back healthy by Week 4, this team could make a late run.  

  

San Diego SUPER Chargers

Yeah, yeah, so we’re still not finished with our preview yet.  We’ll admit, this is our one liability – we’re not going to stay at home to “blog” on a Saturday when we have to get our nails done, not even if it’s blogging about football.

Rest assured our week 1 recap will come tomorrow, after tonight’s MNF games.

Speaking of tonight’s games, let me resume our tour of the AFC west with the San Diego Chargers.

Everybody’s going to compare Phillip Rivers this year in his first year as a starter to departed Charger Drew Brees, who by all accounts, had grown into the leader of the team. 

This would be a mistake.  The right comparison to make would be between Phillip Rivers and Eli Manning, the QB that was supposed to be in San Diego except for that little intervention Archie staged for the good of his son.

I have to say, for all the talk about the Mannings being the Kennedys of football, that was pretty classless.

The Chargers don’t seem much the worse for wear, though.  They made it to the playoffs in Rivers first year, then slogged through a brutal schedule last year and just missed the playoffs.  Of course, all with Rivers on the bench.

The younger Manning boy made it to the playoffs last year largely on the backs of Tiki Barber and their defense, until he was exposed as a poser.

So the balance is even at the start of this season.  As for the Chargers outlook, the good news is that the Giants are the ones with the brutal schedule this year and all accounts from San Diego say that Rivers is NFL ready.  If he’s not, L.T. and Antonio Gates will try to ease his transition into full time play.

Even if the team and defense can rebound from the shocking shooting of linebacker Steve Foley, opposing offenses are going to pick apart the Chargers secondary.

On a fashion note, I love the powder blue uniforms but I don’t think powder blue exudes the toughness an NFL team should exude.  But they are pretty.  

Wide Receivers on the Move

It’s a big day for WRs in the NFL.  Deion Branch was traded from the Patriots to the Seahawks for a 1st round draft pick and Koren Robinson signed with the Green Bay Packers. 

The talk around town is that either Pioli and co. fumbled the Branch situation by allowing him to figure out his market market rate or that Branch is overvalued and his success was merely a product of the Belichick system.  Since the Seahawks gave a first round draft pick and considering their history horrid receivers since Steve Largent, I’m chalking this one up to the Patriots front office.  For now (I was trying to photoshop Belichick in plave of the MVP trophy but failed).     

And finally, the front office in Green Bay wakes up and admits that Brett Favre cannot win football games by himself, signs drunkard Koren Robinson.  Alikat says she knew this was coming, “He had to stay in the midwest where drunk driving is viewed as a necessary way of life.  K.Rob will fit right in.”