dragondawg
08-01-2007, 09:24 PM
Jim on demand: AFC West not the big easy
By Jim Armstrong
Denver Post Staff Writer
Sometimes, training camp can seem like those old Western movies, when cowboys stranded in the desert would start seeing mirages.
As in, it isn't easy to maintain perspective at camp, what with the sun taking aim at your brain while you watch players running around in partial pads.
Now that I'm in the press room, with the air conditioning booming, what do you say we talk a little reality?
The Broncos' front office did a very good job during the off-season, upgrading several positions on the roster. The problem, of course, is that they had all those problem areas in the first place.
Such isn't the case in San Diego, where the Chargers are so confident in their players, they brought back all 22 starters who finished last season. No really, I'm not making this up. In an era in which players come and go like sunrises, the Chargers stood pat.
One look at the stats tells you why. The bottom line is that San Diego finished 14-2, five games better than the Broncos' 9-7. A few notches up from the bottom line lies this frightening stat: The Bolts scored 492 points, 173 more than Denver.
No wonder the Broncos made all those changes. The Broncos didn't score 20 points last season until Week 7. They finished 25th in the league in passing and their offense scored 32 touchdowns, one more than LaDainian Tomlinson.
But then, this is the NFL we're talking about. We have seen teams finish 4-12 one year and win the Super Bowl the next. Just last season, three teams that had finished last in their divisions in 2005 won them in '06.
Can the Broncos stage that type of turnaround and make up five games on the Chargers? Sure.
But know this: No matter how much optimism is in the air at Dove Valley, it isn't going to be easy.
http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_6516757
By Jim Armstrong
Denver Post Staff Writer
Sometimes, training camp can seem like those old Western movies, when cowboys stranded in the desert would start seeing mirages.
As in, it isn't easy to maintain perspective at camp, what with the sun taking aim at your brain while you watch players running around in partial pads.
Now that I'm in the press room, with the air conditioning booming, what do you say we talk a little reality?
The Broncos' front office did a very good job during the off-season, upgrading several positions on the roster. The problem, of course, is that they had all those problem areas in the first place.
Such isn't the case in San Diego, where the Chargers are so confident in their players, they brought back all 22 starters who finished last season. No really, I'm not making this up. In an era in which players come and go like sunrises, the Chargers stood pat.
One look at the stats tells you why. The bottom line is that San Diego finished 14-2, five games better than the Broncos' 9-7. A few notches up from the bottom line lies this frightening stat: The Bolts scored 492 points, 173 more than Denver.
No wonder the Broncos made all those changes. The Broncos didn't score 20 points last season until Week 7. They finished 25th in the league in passing and their offense scored 32 touchdowns, one more than LaDainian Tomlinson.
But then, this is the NFL we're talking about. We have seen teams finish 4-12 one year and win the Super Bowl the next. Just last season, three teams that had finished last in their divisions in 2005 won them in '06.
Can the Broncos stage that type of turnaround and make up five games on the Chargers? Sure.
But know this: No matter how much optimism is in the air at Dove Valley, it isn't going to be easy.
http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_6516757