Denver Broncos (8-8, AFC West Winner)
| New signings: | Retained: | Free agents lost: |
|---|---|---|
| FS Mike Adams WR Andre Caldwell TE Joel Dreessen QB Caleb Hanie QB Peyton Manning CB Tracy Porter TE Jacob Tamme |
MLB Joe Mays G Manny Ramirez MLB Wesley Woodyard |
DT Brodrick Bunkley TE Daniel Fells DE Derrick Harvey FB Spencer Larsen QB Brady Quinn TE Dante Rosario WR Eddie Royal |
Potential breakouts: Jacob Tamme, Demaryius Thomas
The Big Fish: We all know who the biggest story is here. One of the biggest name free agents in league history chose the Broncos as his new home, and a few complementary players followed suit. John Elway and John Fox managed to convince four-time MVP Peyton Manning to move to the mile high city and return to the top of the AFC.
It was widely thought that the Broncos would gather up all of the former Colts that were still available on the market once Peyton signed, and the Broncos could try to work things around the former first overall pick as best as they could. But Jeff Saturday went for a bit more of a sure thing in Green Bay. At age 32, Dallas Clark may be on his last legs and be closer to retirement than another championship. Pierre Garcon took the money and ran and Reggie Wayne re-upped in Indy for a reason that we are still waiting to hear.
But in two of the more overshadowed moves of the offseason, Denver brought in a pair of solid tight ends in Tamme and Dreessen to act as Peyton’s version of Gronk and Hernandez. Neither of them are the fastest or the tallest, but they are solid veteran players who understand how to block and catch with the best of them. As the spread continues to be the scheme of the day, teams will roll out double tight end sets away from the goal line, with one of them often lined up in the slot. This creates matchup problems that we all know Peyton will be able to see a mile away.
What’s next: Aside from the draft, the Broncos are surely done for now. They picked up almost an entirely new offensive attack to go along with an already potent pass rush. They could still use a big body in the middle of the defensive line to clog up the gaps, and the fact that as many as five defensive tackles could hear their names called in the first round bodes well for their odds of scooping one of them up.
San Diego Chargers (8-8)
| New signings: | Retained: | Free agents lost: |
|---|---|---|
| SS Atari Bigby OLB Jarret Johnson FB Le’Ron McClain WR Robert Meachem TE Dante Rosario WR Eddie Royal QB Charlie Whitehurst |
OT Jared Gaither TE Randy McMichael TE Kory Sperry LS Mike Windt |
DE Everette Brown SS Steve Gregory WR Vincent Jackson RB Mike Tolbert |
Potential breakout: Robert Meachem
New look Bolts: After years of having their best offensive talent walk out the door with nothing coming the other way, AJ Smith finally wrote a few checks and brought in some help for Philip Rivers. While they lost of their best offensive weapons when Vinny Jackson took the Glazers’ money, they added some complementary players that could provide a greater impact than the oft-injured Jackson ever did.
Meachem and Royal are not flashy, but if Malcom Floyd can stay healthy, the three receivers could create matchup problems for opposing defenses. Meachem is out to prove that he was not just a product of the Saints run-and-gun attack, and Royal is hoping to return to the form that saw him catch 91 balls thrown his way as a rookie. Le’Ron McClain is not a classical blocking fullback, but he could provide some goal line help to the fumble prone Ryan Mathews, stepping into the role held by the departed Mike Tolbert.
The Chargers defense was one of the most feared during the days of Shawne Merriman, but it has since fallen off a cliff and struggled to garner any pressure on the pocket. So Jarret Johnson was brought in from Baltimore to be the outside backer on the 3-4 and provide some stability to a defensive unit that has been run over time and time again as of late.
What’s next: Losing Tolbert may end up hurting more than losing VJax when all is said and done. He was able to handcuff Mathews when he got jittery in the backfield, and his hard nosed style of running was not pretty, but it was effective against the notoriously porous run defenses that are so prevalent in this division.
AJ will likely bring in some more help along the front seven in the draft, and do not be surprised when some of the new guys in town take a shot at a Lights Out dance.
Oakland Raiders (8-8)
| New signings: | Retained: | Free agents lost: |
|---|---|---|
| CB Ron Bartell G Mike Brisiel DB Pat Lee DB Shawnte Spencer |
OT Khalif Barnes G Cooper Carlisle |
TE Kevin Boss RB Michael Bush QB Jason Campbell CB Stanford Routt C Samson Satele WR Chaz Schillens DE Trevor Scott OLB Kamerion Wimbley |
Potential breakout: none
House cleaning: This is what happens when you act like the salary cap doesn’t exist. The Raiders were so far over the salary cap that they needed to either cut or restructure the contracts of all of their most talented players. Boss, Routt and Wimbley were cut outright, they let Bush and Schillens walk and what is left hardly resembles the enigmatic team from just a year ago.
Carson Palmer will not be as rusty as he was last year, because, well, that would just be terrible. Hopefully he can prove that he was worth the exorbitant price that the Raiders gave up to get him. While it is unlikely that he will play at the level of two first-round picks, one can always dream.
The Raiders don’t have a pick in the first two rounds of the draft, so what they have now is likely what they are going to be going to the field with on Week 1. Darren McFadden needs to be healthy for more than half the season if the Raiders hope to have anything resembling success. This could be one of those years for the Raiders. Maybe we will get to see Terrelle Pryor take a few snaps.
What’s next: That is a great question. No one is really sure what is next for these guys. New GM Reggie McKenzie is doing his best to balance the books and get a team on the field under the cap. If he can make this team into a winner in the next few years, consider it mission accomplished.
Kansas City Chiefs (7-9)
| New signings: | Retained: | Free agents lost: |
|---|---|---|
| TE Kevin Boss RB Peyton Hillis QB Brady Quinn OT Eric Winston |
ILB Jovan Belcher |
CB Brandon Carr FB Le’Ron McClain QB Kyle Orton |
Potential breakout: Peyton Hillis
Adding to the attack: Last year could not have gone much worse for the reigning division champions. All of their breakout players from a year ago went down with serious injuries. Eric Berry, Matt Cassel, Jamaal Charles and Tony Moeaki all went down with season ending injuries and the Chiefs were left scrambling to find replacements.
Dexter McCluster is simply too small to take 15+ carries in a game, so Peyton Hillis, the CIA man himself, was brought in to act as the thunder to Jamaal Charles’ lightning. Kevin Boss will line up opposite Moeaki on the line and will give Cassel an excellent pass catching tight-end to complement the run blocking ability of Moeaki. Then of course there is the move that saw Brady Quinn come to town. It was a comedy of errors last year when Cassel got hurt. Kyle Orton was claimed on waivers, and then subsequently hurt on his first play. We call remember what Tyler Palko did, and no one needs to go down that path again.
One of the more confusing moves of the offseason came when the Texans cut right-tackle Eric Winston. He had been one of the keys to their zone-blocking scheme that has made undrafted backed Steve Slaton and Arian Foster into 1,000-yard backs. So when the Chiefs saw a talent like Winston on the market, they brought him to town and didn’t let him leave without signing on the dotted line. Word around town is that the Chiefs may go for a zone-scheme now and this could mean great things for the team. If they can implement it and execute it effectively, look out for the Chiefs as a sleeper this year.
What’s next: Picking 11th overall in the draft means that the Chiefs will try once again to bring in an impact player for their defense. They have tried with Tyson Jackson and Glenn Dorsey in the past few years, without either one providing much in the way of pressure on the pocket. This year it may be one of the many defensive tackles on the board, or a tackling machine like Luke Kuechly. There is also a possibility that a mauler like David DeCastro is brought in to help lead the new look offensive line, but 11 may be a bit early to draft a guard.
