If the experts are to be believed (at least in some cases) the Denver Broncos have won the AFC West and should march right into the Super Bowl on the strength of Peyton Manning’s right arm. This may very well be the case.

Last year Denver posted a surprisingly good record of 8-8 in a division that often found itself looking like that poor guy from Airplane 2 that was trying to shave in the bathroom. The Chargers fumbled, dropped passes, forgot they were supposed to play defense at crucial moments, and just generally played a terrible year of football. The Chiefs lost three of their big playmakers early on, got confused when they found that people outside of Kansas City wwere actually watching them play and generally discovered that Todd Haley was just kind of…creepy, all the while bemoaning the fact that they hadn’t become the Patriots West version of themselves. And the Raiders? Well, the Raiders were the Raiders, pre AD and post AD.

Now the Broncos have signed Peyton Manning and the rest of the division should roll over and die or, at least, be very afraid. The Chargers hinge on Philip Rivers, as he goes so, to, does the team. The Broncos? Well, the Broncos now have some questions to answer.

First Question: Is Peyton Manning’s neck actually healed? I realize he threw for teams. He did so in shorts and a t shirt in sunny weather with no one running at him trying to dislodge him from his pancreas. This tells us nothing. I’m not a doctor (despite the screen name), but I can’t imagine 3 (or 4) neck surgeries are a good thing. Peyton’s never been great about standing tall against the rush. Is he going to be even more reluctant to do so now? How will his mental state be? The Chargers know what they’re getting with Rivers. Game in and game out he provides the same thing. The Broncos have no idea what they’re getting with Manning.

Second Question: In Indianapolis Manning had receivers he had worked with for years and a coaching staff that pretty much let him do what he wanted to do. He wasn’t being coached so much as asked his opinion. "Which play do you want to call, Peyton? Oh, ok. Have fun!" Is the coaching staff in Denver going to be willing and able to do that? And how much do the Broncos mortgage to get Peyton the tools he needs to succeed? The Broncos’ wide receivers are not great. They’re not consistent. They are young and inexperienced. They are not bad, but they are not Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark. At this point in time, however, does Denver have much of an option left? There aren’t many receivers left unclaimed and Denver won’t be picking in the top ten.

Third Question: Which Broncos defense shows up this year? The good defense that kept them in tight games or the defense they showed at the end of the season that forgot to stop watching Tim Tebow?

Fourth Question: Who will run the ball for the Broncos? Can they continue to ride the legs of 31 year old Willis McGahee or do they hope Knowshon Moreno can stay healthy for longer than five minutes at a stretch? Admittedly, the Colts never had much of a running game, either. But the Broncos don’t have the team the Colts did in their heyday.

Did the Broncos get better? Absolutely. Yes. Tebow was awful as a quarterback. Should the rest of the AFC West be scared of Denver? I don’t think so. I just feel there are too many questions to anoint the Broncos AFC West Champions because of one signing.

Yahoo has given permission for anyone’s fans to give their opinion on any other team about pretty much anything they want and shove that under a quasi-professional sounding fan’s perspective heading so I thought that it might be wise to apply this to the AFC West. Now...a fan's perspective!

Rich Miller from Berkeley: "I thought the Raiders were in Los Angeles"

Us: "No, they used to be, they moved back to Oakland in 1995."

RM: "Well, don’t that beat all. Do they still play football?"

Us: "Yes. They have uniforms and everything."

RM: "Helmets, too?"

Us: "Most of the time, yes."

RM: "Good on them. Proper head covering is important."

We did finally manage to speak with a Raider fan that seemed pretty knowledgeable. Unfortunately we couldn’t use his real name as he was spending 15-20 in San Quentin for armed robbery and "beating the living crap outta some guy with his own wooden leg" so we will simply call him "Adam."

Us: "Adam, what do you think of the Raiders’ offseason moves this year?"

Adam: "I think that they got that guy that’s like, what, 32, that quarterback."

Us: "Carson Palmer, yes."

Adam: "Yeah, him. Anyway, it’s proven the Raiders can do well with older quarterbacks. I mean, Jim Plunkettt was 174 and had no liver and was still out there playing for the Silver and Black. I mean, Ray Guy was dead, they propped him up and had Disney animatronically do his leg and he still punted good. They had to keep another guy out there to hold up the board he was glued to, but it worked! That’s the Raider way! Who cares if we don’t have the money to sign a rabid squirrel and don’t have a draft pick until 2046! Al Davis doesn’t need no draft picks! Al Davis just needs someone fast who can’t catch the ball!"

Us: "Adam, unfortunately Al Davis passed away last year."

Adam: "No, shit? When?"

Us: "October."

Adam: "Oh. That would explain it. I was in solitary for shanking that guy with a sharpened sausage link during October. Well, who the hell is in charge, now?"

Us: "Reggie McKenzie and Al Davis’ son."

Adam: "Do they have legs? I got this thing about legs, you know."

Us: "So we heard, yes. I believe they do."

Adam: "Well, hell, I guess that can be the Raider way, too. Can’t wait til I get out of this place. First thing Imma do is cut that squealer that ratted me out. Then Imma go to a Raider game. RAIDERSSSSSSS!!!"

It was at this time that the guards dragged him away from the phone.

All in all, with no cap space and no draft picks the Raiders are in wait and see mode. Their fans seem content with this arrangement, not that there are a lot of options. Only time will tell how good the Raiders will be this year.

With the Denver Broncos enraptured with the Son of God leading them to fully 87 glorious yards of passing per game the Chargers decided it was high time for a second coming of their own.To that end, the team has re-signed backup quarterback Charlie Whitehurst to a 2 year contract. A source several blocks down from Chargers Park at "John's Big Burrito and Sushi Den" was quoted as saying "Hey, at least our guy looks like Jesus."

While it is uncertain at this time, it is believed that the Seattle Seahawks will once again attempt to trade for Whitehurst, this time parting with "two first round picks and all the Starbucks AJ can drink. Norv can buy his own damn coffee" according to a source who slept with a barista that Paul Allen once gave a decent tip to. Welcome back to San Diego, Charlie.

Anyone else notice that the Raiders seem to be "rolling up" alot of opposing players this year? After what they did to us in the first game our sideline looked like a M*A*S*H unit with Hardwick, Tomlinson, and Williams among others , now Leon Washington from the Jets gets "rolled up" and snaps his leg (gruesome image, might I add). Seems kind of like an unfortunate coincidence. Well, I guess if you can't beat 'em hurt 'em, eh?

 

Once upon a time the idea of American Justice involved the concept of innocent until proven guilty. Obviously in the blog and Twitter age that's not really the case anymore. You can be convicted and hung in the court of public opinion in less time than it takes the police to ask you what happened. Even if nothing comes of it people know the police were at your house by the time you get back from the door to sit down on the couch.

Now, for every blogger and Twitter sharing the wealth of knowledge about people who interest us there are a number of "experts" who simply re-hash whatever has already been reported but put their own spin on things. Merriman may very well have taken Tila Tequila, drowned her in the toilet for a bit, threw her through a stained-glass window before grabbing the neighbor's poodles and beating her with them. That's not for me to say. If he is guilty of perpetrating the crimes he is accused of on Ms. Nguyen then he deserves the massive penalty afforded by the law. Domestic violence is a serious crime and does not need to ever be marginalized. I also think it's wrong to call the victim anything in regards to a bimbo or to use any of the other innuendos used in the Union Tribune stories attributed to both Kevin Acee and Tim Sullivan. She is, until the truth has been discovered, the possible victim of a crime. What she does or has done is of no consequence and has no bearing on anything.

But for Kevin Acee to declare Merriman's time with the Chargers at an end is rather irresponsible and hasty. He's not been charged with any crime excepting a citizen's arrest which, though possibly serious, does not equate to a grand jury indictment. Acee needs to keep his opinions to himself in that regard.

Will this be a distraction for the team? Possibly, but I doubt it. I mean, if the Patriots could stay focused after their coach was caught cheating then I'm sure the Chargers, as professionals, can manage to do the same. Will this affect Merriman's status or play? Doubtful. It's doubtful the NFL will act unless or until a conviction is attained. We're not dealing with Pacman Jones here. Merriman does not have a long and checkered history with the police.

Experts are all well and good until their opinions start to make them seem more important than they are. It's like Silver picking the Chiefs to win the AFC West. Silver gets paid for his opinion, oddly enough, but that is all it is, his opinion. Write the story, state the facts, opine if you must, but don't use it as a pulpit to declare your own importance

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