The Oakland Raiders went just 4-12 last season after dealing with some very inconsistent play on both sides of the ball and after the Broncos won the AFC West at 13-3, the division is looking up at Peyton Manning and company to figure out how to catch up in 2013.
The West was once one of the most competitive divisions in football, but after last season it looked like a mess, with the Broncos dominating and no one else finishing over .500. The Chiefs ended up with two wins and the number one pick in the draft, the Raiders had four wins and were third, while the Chargers went just 7-9 and were wildly inconsistent to a maddening extent. All three teams tried to improve in the offseason and the main reason was to try and knock off the Broncos.
While all three definitely improved this summer, none of them are even close to the Broncos, who added Wes Welker to an offense that was already potent with Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas. The Chiefs had the number one pick in the draft and took Eric Fisher and while they will be improved with Alex Smith at quarterback after a trade, it likely won't be enough to defeat the Broncos, as the team still has questions on defense.
The Chiefs had the worst passing offense last season and now with Smith and Fisher on offense, they should improve at least slightly after he threw for 30 touchdowns in his past 25 games with the 49ers. The team also signed a number of other players, including Donnie Avery, Dunta Robinson, Dwyane Bowe (re-signed) and Sean Smith.
The Chargers feel they are much better after signing Max Starks and drafting DJ Fluker and Keenen Allen, while new head coach Mike McCoy is optimistic about quarterback Philip Rivers. The star has thrown over 30 interceptions over the past two season and McCoy hopes that he can cut down on that as the line gets better. The team also added Dwight Freeney to the mix.
The Raiders had a very intriguing offseason themselves and after trading for Matt Flynn, they feel that the team is improved with veterans like Charles Woodson, Mike Jenkins, Tracy Porter, Nick Roach and Kevin Burnett. The team also likes its draft picks in DJ Hayden, Menelik Watson, Latavius Murray, Nick Kasa, Sio Moore and Brice Butler and Reggie McKenzie expects all the players to contribute this year. While it might not be enough to beat the Broncos, it should be enough for the team to improve this season from last years record.
