The word "if" has been bandied around alot this offseason...

[Bob's your Information Minister]

So Bob presents his official, homer-free, list of AFC West "ifs." Feel free to contribute your own:

The Kansas City Chiefs will be good....IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIF

1. Kendrell Bell stays healthy
2. Jared Allen's play doesn't drop off due to pot belly
3. Derrick Johnson realizes his full potential
4. Warfield is comfortable seeing more balls thrown his way
5. Kawika Mitchell improves at MLB or someone else steps up
6. Age doesn't drastically reduce the effectiveness of the offensive line
7. Will Shields doesn't retire
8. Priest doesn't get hurt
9. The loss of Johnnie Morton doesn't affect the WR corps
10. They receive several no-calls on clips during Dante Hall returns.

The Denver Broncos will be good.....IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIF

1. Jake Plummer reverts to 2003 form
2. Tatum Bell churns out 1,500 yards
3. Courtney Brown stays healthy AND kicks ass
4. Trevor Pryce stays healthy AND kicks ass
5. Gerard Warren significantly improves the interior line play
6. DJ Williams makes the transition to SAM effectively and smoothly
7. Ian Gold plays well
8. Lenny Walls provides good corner play
9. Sam Brandon smoothly slips into the starting role
10. They can avoid Peyton Manning

The Oakland Raiders will be goood....IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIF

1. Kerry Collins improves
2. Randy Moss does his thing
3. Lamont Jordan gives the Raiders a ground game
4. Switching to the 4-3 helps the defense
5. Norv Turner pulls his head out of his ass
6. Derrick Burgess can prove his three sacks in the playoffs were not an aberration

The San Diego Chargers will be good....IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIF

1. Drew Brees continues to excel
2. Their high round defensive line selections pan out
3. A spotty WR corps led by an aging Keenan McCardell can hold up the passing game
4. Antonio Gates can handle being "the man"
5. Marty can avoid cocktail waitresses

[Florida_Bronco]

Wow Bob this is impressive....no argument here really.

[Dukes]

:thumbsup: I concur

[dbroncos31]

So Bob presents his official, homer-free, list of AFC West "ifs." Feel free to contribute your own:

The Kansas City Chiefs will be good....IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIF

1. Kendrell Bell stays healthy
2. Jared Allen's play doesn't drop off due to pot belly
3. Derrick Johnson realizes his full potential
4. Warfield is comfortable seeing more balls thrown his way
5. Kawika Mitchell improves at MLB or someone else steps up
6. Age doesn't drastically reduce the effectiveness of the offensive line
7. Will Shields doesn't retire
8. Priest doesn't get hurt
9. The loss of Johnnie Morton doesn't affect the WR corps
10. They receive several no-calls on clips during Dante Hall returns.

The Denver Broncos will be good.....IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIF

1. Jake Plummer reverts to 2003 form
2. Tatum Bell churns out 1,500 yards
3. Courtney Brown stays healthy AND kicks ass
4. Trevor Pryce stays healthy AND kicks ass
5. Gerard Warren significantly improves the interior line play
6. DJ Williams makes the transition to SAM effectively and smoothly
7. Ian Gold plays well
8. Lenny Walls provides good corner play
9. Sam Brandon smoothly slips into the starting role
10. They can avoid Peyton Manning

The Oakland Raiders will be goood....IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIF

1. Kerry Collins improves
2. Randy Moss does his thing
3. Lamont Jordan gives the Raiders a ground game
4. Switching to the 4-3 helps the defense
5. Norv Turner pulls his head out of his ass
6. Derrick Burgess can prove his three sacks in the playoffs were not an aberration

The San Diego Chargers will be good....IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIF

1. Drew Brees continues to excel
2. Their high round defensive line selections pan out
3. A spotty WR corps led by an aging Keenan McCardell can hold up the passing game
4. Antonio Gates can handle being "the man"
5. Marty can avoid corktail waitresses
i agree, but if only Brown OR Pryce kicks ass, we'll be just as good as last year. we lost hayward, and if one of those guys steps up, then we'll be just as good, and i think better, than last year. if Pryce plays awesome and Brown does decently, that beats last year. and vice versa. but all in all, not too bad bob.

[SoCalBronco]

good post Bob but i dont know why you mentioned Sam Brandon. Not only will he not be a starter, i dont think he will make the team.

[Bob's your Information Minister]

good post Bob but i dont know why you mentioned Sam Brandon. Not only will he not be a starter, i dont think he will make the team.

Who's stepping in at strong safety? Ferguson?

[SoCalBronco]

Who's stepping in at strong safety?

Nick Ferguson will start alongside Lynch at safety.

[WyoLaw]

Nice post! But why do the Broncs and chiefs have ten "IF's"...and the raiders have six "IF's" and the chargers five. Are you saying the raiders and chargers have more of a chance to be good? That's sure what it appears to be from my perspective. Anyway, way to go with the unbiased/objective look.

[Jason in LA]

The Denver Broncos will be good.....IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIF

1. Jake Plummer reverts to 2003 form
2. Tatum Bell churns out 1,500 yards
3. Courtney Brown stays healthy AND kicks ass
4. Trevor Pryce stays healthy AND kicks ass
5. Gerard Warren significantly improves the interior line play
6. DJ Williams makes the transition to SAM effectively and smoothly
7. Ian Gold plays well
8. Lenny Walls provides good corner play
9. Sam Brandon smoothly slips into the starting role
10. They can avoid Peyton Manning



I agree with 1, 3,4, and 5. The D line is a huge if. If things work out this will be one of the best D lines in the league. If things don't work out, they'll be about as good as they were last year.

I'm not worried about Bell at all. To me there is no if there. I'm not worried about either DJ or Gold. The LBs are fine. I wouldn't put an if on Walls about playing good, it's more about staying healthy with him. Sam Brandon won't be a factor. And for #10, I wouldn't call that an if. If they end up playing the Colts again, that's flat out bad luck.

I'm glad to see you admit that Hall got some love from the refs on his returns in '03. A number of them should have been called back. Most KC fans will never admit that.

The Raiders should have a much longer list. The only thing good on that team is the WRs. The O line is average, and could be better this year becaus they started two rookies last year. Jordan is a career backup, and Collins is still the QB. I think the guys on O will be playing both ways, because they did nothing to improve that defense.

[Jason in LA]

Nice post! But why do the Broncs and chiefs have ten "IF's"...and the raiders have six "IF's" and the chargers five. Are you saying the raiders and chargers have more of a chance to be good? That's sure what it appears to be from my perspective. Anyway, way to go with the unbiased/objective look.

I think it's because the KC fans have more of a voice here than the Raider fans, and nobody cares about the Charger fans. On this board the biggest rivalry is between the many Broncos fans and the few KC fans that post a ton. There are Raider fans, but they don't post as much.

[WyoLaw]

The Raiders should have a much longer list. The only thing good on that team is the WRs. The O line is average, and could be better this year becaus they started two rookies last year. Jordan is a career backup, and Collins is still the QB. I think the guys on O will be playing both ways, because they did nothing to improve that defense.

That's funny, the Raiders offense having to play both ways because they did nothing to improve the defense. Hilarious!

[Bob's your Information Minister]

The Raiders should have a much longer list.

Their defense was lumped in one if. That's a gigantic if, and one that I believe will kill their team.

[bronco militia]

Their defense was lumped in one if. That's a gigantic if, and one that I believe will kill their team.

that and their schedule....oh yeah, and Collins is always good for a 4-5 game slump at sometime during the season.

[bloodsunday]

You can debate a lot of things about this post if you want (number of ifs, the order of the ifs, the severity of each if, etc...), but the point would really be the same to me -- every team has them. No team is a lock to be dominant, that's the way the NFL wants it. You can pretty much go down the roster (and coaching staff) and come up with an "if" for every player... if he stays healthy... if he produces better... if he can't produce... if he gets suspended... if he holds out... Early in the season teams are projected into one of three categories (elite, middle of the pack, crap) based on last year and their offseason, then that level changes based on how their "ifs" pan out. I would say that KC, Den, and SD are in the middle of the pack and Oakland is somewhere between middle of the pack and crap since they don't appear to have any defense.

In summary, I think our division will be competitive and that the team which has the most "ifs" go their way will win. Sounds a lot like every season huh?

[gunns]

Nice list, I disagree on Brandon though. I think Ferguson or ANYONE else will be in that spot. And I have to laugh my ass off at the loss of Morton upsetting the WR corps. I would think the loss could be nothing but an improvement.

[Bob's your Information Minister]

Nice list, I disagree on Brandon though. I think Ferguson or ANYONE else will be in that spot. And I have to laugh my ass off at the loss of Morton upsetting the WR corps. I would think the loss could be nothing but an improvement.

Well, Morton was among the leaders in third down conversions last year. But, I look at Morton and I don't think he brings anything to the table that Samie Parker and Marc Boerigter don't.

[Ray Finkle]

So Bob presents his official, homer-free, list of AFC West "ifs." Feel free to contribute your own:

The Kansas City Chiefs will be good....IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIF

1. Kendrell Bell stays healthy
2. Jared Allen's play doesn't drop off due to pot belly
3. Derrick Johnson realizes his full potential
4. Warfield is comfortable seeing more balls thrown his way
5. Kawika Mitchell improves at MLB or someone else steps up
6. Age doesn't drastically reduce the effectiveness of the offensive line
7. Will Shields doesn't retire
8. Priest doesn't get hurt
9. The loss of Johnnie Morton doesn't affect the WR corps
10. They receive several no-calls on clips during Dante Hall returns.

The Denver Broncos will be good.....IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIF

1. Jake Plummer reverts to 2003 form
2. Tatum Bell churns out 1,500 yards
3. Courtney Brown stays healthy AND kicks ass
4. Trevor Pryce stays healthy AND kicks ass
5. Gerard Warren significantly improves the interior line play
6. DJ Williams makes the transition to SAM effectively and smoothly
7. Ian Gold plays well
8. Lenny Walls provides good corner play
9. Sam Brandon smoothly slips into the starting role
10. They can avoid Peyton Manning

The Oakland Raiders will be goood....IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIF

1. Kerry Collins improves
2. Randy Moss does his thing
3. Lamont Jordan gives the Raiders a ground game
4. Switching to the 4-3 helps the defense
5. Norv Turner pulls his head out of his ass
6. Derrick Burgess can prove his three sacks in the playoffs were not an aberration

The San Diego Chargers will be good....IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIF

1. Drew Brees continues to excel
2. Their high round defensive line selections pan out
3. A spotty WR corps led by an aging Keenan McCardell can hold up the passing game
4. Antonio Gates can handle being "the man"
5. Marty can avoid corktail waitresses



well written, I will give you a pass on your weekly negative rep this week! Nnyah!

[bombquixote]

good post, bob. but you still suck. neg rep for you!

[doof]

So Bob presents his official, homer-free, list of AFC West "ifs." Feel free to contribute your own:

The Kansas City Chiefs will be good....IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIF

1. Kendrell Bell stays healthy
2. Jared Allen's play doesn't drop off due to pot belly
3. Derrick Johnson realizes his full potential
4. Warfield is comfortable seeing more balls thrown his way
5. Kawika Mitchell improves at MLB or someone else steps up
6. Age doesn't drastically reduce the effectiveness of the offensive line
7. Will Shields doesn't retire
8. Priest doesn't get hurt
9. The loss of Johnnie Morton doesn't affect the WR corps
10. They receive several no-calls on clips during Dante Hall returns.

The Denver Broncos will be good.....IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIF

1. Jake Plummer reverts to 2003 form
2. Tatum Bell churns out 1,500 yards
3. Courtney Brown stays healthy AND kicks ass
4. Trevor Pryce stays healthy AND kicks ass
5. Gerard Warren significantly improves the interior line play
6. DJ Williams makes the transition to SAM effectively and smoothly
7. Ian Gold plays well
8. Lenny Walls provides good corner play
9. Sam Brandon smoothly slips into the starting role
10. They can avoid Peyton Manning

The Oakland Raiders will be goood....IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIF

1. Kerry Collins improves
2. Randy Moss does his thing
3. Lamont Jordan gives the Raiders a ground game
4. Switching to the 4-3 helps the defense
5. Norv Turner pulls his head out of his ass
6. Derrick Burgess can prove his three sacks in the playoffs were not an aberration

The San Diego Chargers will be good....IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIF

1. Drew Brees continues to excel
2. Their high round defensive line selections pan out
3. A spotty WR corps led by an aging Keenan McCardell can hold up the passing game
4. Antonio Gates can handle being "the man"
5. Marty can avoid corktail waitresses

That's what makes this game so fun, you never when and if any of those things can come true, case in point the '04 chargers. But, if they all do happen to come true it makes all the years of waiting worth while. You as a chief fan should know all about failure and false hopes, so it kind of makes you an expert in the field.