AFC West Quarterback Rankings

Chargers fans get to see this matchup twice a year now.

No position can be as big of a game changer as quarterback. How well a quarterback plays often determines who wins and loses. Here is the breakdown on the starting quarterback situations for each AFC West team.

1) San Diego Chargers

There is no doubt that Rivers is the cream of the crop in the AFC West. I know that Peyton Manning has been added, but until we know for sure how he throws in a game situation, Rivers is still the best. Last season was a rough one for Rivers, but it happens. He may have the best supporting cast in the AFC West around him too. The offensive line will return all of the pieces that protected him so well at the end of last season. Better yet, they added quality depth to the line. Look for Rivers to have 2 great duals against new Bronco Peyton Manning and return to form.

2) Denver Broncos

Peyton Manning is the guy that Elway wanted. Tebow got thrown under the bus and now Peyton is in charge. If he fully recovers from the neck surgeries, look out. He may not have the best supporting cast around him, but he will have control of the offense like he had in Indy. With young developing players like Eric Decker and Demaryious Thomas to work with, Manning isn't in a talent vacuum.

3) Oakland Raiders

Carson Palmer is a real unknown. What does he even have left? He was all over the place last year, so a full off-season with the team can certainly help. His supporting cast is not very strong at all, especially at tight end, but he is a veteran with good experience. It will be interesting to see how this pans out with a full season. It is critical that Mcfadden stays healthy all year.

4) Kansas City Chiefs

How many more chances is Cassel going to get? He has been hit and miss the last few years, and is most likely on a short leash. He does have great talent around him with Baldwin, Bowe, and company. Cassel has to show that he can be the franchise quarterback he was thought to be. Expect the pressure to be on him from the get go.

A Look Ahead: Biggest Games on the Chargers Schedule

While the official schedule has not been set, teams do know who they will be playing. With that in mind, here are 5 games to watch this season.

1) Denver at San Diego

I know that this game will happen twice this year, so lets go with the Chargers home game against the Broncos. This game has serious draw. With the exception of the Patriots, no team vexed Manning more while in Indy than the Chargers. Rivers gets to dual with Manning at home. Denver is possibly the only team in the league that will look so different and is a division rival. What is there not to like?

2) Baltimore at San Diego

The Ravens are one of the most physical teams in the NFL. This game will be brutal, regardless of the final score. The Ravens are one of 6 teams the Chargers play that were playoff teams last year. The Ravens advanced the farthest of any of the 6. With the influx of former Ravens on the team, expect this to be a great battle.

3) San Diego at New Orleans

I know that the Saints defense is going to be hindered during at least part of the season, but we don't yet know when the Chargers will be playing the Saints. What we will have is two great offenses going toe to toe. This game should be an offensive highlight reel waiting to happen. New Charger Robert Meachem gets a homecoming game against his former team and the Chargers face former quarterback Drew Brees.

4) San Diego at New York Jets

These two teams have produced some good games the last few years, and there is a bit of bad blood. We get to hear Rex Ryan run his big trap for a whole week about this game, which is always entertaining. What is most intriging is that San Diego just may end up facing Tebow this year after all.

5) San Diego at Tampa Bay

This game has been on the radar ever since Vincent Jackson signed with the Bucs. While the Bucs took a step back last year, this is still a very talented team with plenty of youth. The Chargers should be looking forward to this one, especially after all of the headaches that Jackson caused the last two years.

ESPN Power Rankings: Where is San Diego?

ESPN has put up the first power-rankings of the new year. San Diego came in at 15th overall. Here is a link to the ESPN article.

 http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/56065/espn-coms-nfl-pre-draft-power-rankings

How does the AFC West stack up in ESPN's power rankings?

Some of the rankings have me a bit confused, like with Carolina and Kansas City being ranked higher than Cincinnati,  but I think that San Diego is checking in about where they should be. This isn't to say that they are worse than the Broncos (8th), Eagles (12th), or Dallas (14th), or that we are any better. Rather, with all of the losses San Diego has suffered and the uncertainty that comes with signing free agents, these rankings are rough. As the draft approaches and teams continue to address issues, expect these ranking to fluctuate. San Diego still controls the division, but Denver is going to be a handful if Manning stays healthy.

Here is how the AFC West stacks up.

8) Denver Broncos
15) San Diego Chargers
17) Kansas City Chiefs
26) Oakland Raiders

Tebow Traded to Jets

Is Tebow now a threat to Mark Sanchez?

The Denver Broncos made official what we all knew was coming today. It has been announced that the New York Jets have traded  4th and 6th round picks to Denver to get quarterback Tim Tebow and a 7th round draft pick. Tebow, as you may recall, was the media sensation of the entire NFL last season. Fans of Tebow, form all over the country, put him on a pedestal. Denver struggled early in the year and the fans increasingly begged for Tebow to be put in. John Elway and coach John Fox finally did just that, and magic ensued. Fox and company redid the entire scheme to fit the few good traits that Tebow had, mainly his mobility and and ability with read option plays. Tebow was able to get the Broncos into the playoffs as fans see it. In reality, Tebow had a pathetic 46% completion percentage and was benefitted by a great defense and powerful rushing attack. He did make some key plays when it counted, but he is not a good quarterback. That is how Elway saw it, hence bringing in Manning. I am not going to say that Tebow can never be good, but he just doesn't have that traditional makeup just yet.

What happens to McElroy, maybe the best quarterback for the Jets?

The question that now comes up is just how the Jets want to use him. Is he actually going to compete for the starting job? If nothing else, this may be seen as a big red flag on Sanchez by the Jets. Maybe he will be used in wildcat packages. In all honesty, I see him as mainly just taking up space on the roster. Worse yet, he may force who I think is the best quarterback the Jets have, Greg McElroy, down the depth chart. McElroy had to be behind Sanchez due to the investment that the team made by selecting him 5th overall. Now he has to deal with the media circus known as "Tebowmania".

Manning Starts Negotiating with Denver

It seems that Manning is all but a signature away from becoming a Denver Bronco. Manning told his agent to begin negotiations with the Denver Broncos. It seems that Manning will get basically full control of the offense. Manning turned down several other teams, including the Dolphins, 49ers, and the Titans. Experts are now saying that the Broncos are the favorite to win the AFC West. I think that this is going a little far. It will make the AFC West more competitive, but we shouldn't forget that the Chargers have beat Manning 5 of the last 6 times they have played. All of the hype isn't over yet. Just because Manning has signed does not mean that things are set for the Broncos. They now have to deal with Tim Tebow, both from a personnel standpoint and a fan standpoint. While I think most fans will be happy to have Manning, trading Tebow may not be popular. I have a hard time seeing Tebow fit in with a lot of teams. Many are pointing as Jacksonville as the team he will be traded to, but I really could see the Dolphins making a cheap trade, especially with the odds of Alex Smith staying in San Francisco. Expect to hear more and more about how great this trade is. I am still concerned about his injury issues. In the end, I have to love the attitude that Philip Rivers has about Manning coming to Denver. Instead of worrying about how the division just got tougher, he has stated that he is excited to compete against one of the best in the league.