Biggest Game of the Season Regarding the AFC West

Denver @ San Diego

Here is the AFC West Standing (Tie breaker advantage: Denver won vs SD 9.22 23-10)
San Diego 8-3 Div 3-1 AFC 6-2
Denver 7-4 Div 3-1 AFC 4-3
(No team in the AFC with more then 6 losses will win their division)

Denver comes off of tough loss vs Oakland in the snow by 1 point. The consistent Jason Elam had a field goal attempt blocked on Denver's last play of the game. San Diego got off to a "slow 1-2 start" (Lost to (8-3)NY Jets and (7-4)Denver Broncos) then went on to win their next 7 out of 8 games losing only to (9-2)Atlanta. San Diego came off of a shootout in Kansas City.

Denver's balanced passing attack is led by Jake Plummer who is having his best year of his career. Jake Plummer completed 59.3% of his passes for 2751 passing yardds and 22 touchdowns (career high) to 11 interceptions. Boosting a 91.7 QB rating. Earlier this season he had back-to-back games with 4 TD passes(Stat isn't that impressive when compared to Peyton's gamestats) and in one of those games vs Atlanta he threw for a franchise record(How long was Elway there?) 499 yards in a game. He also has good speed to run for a first down(Not impressive when compared to Vick's rushing threat).

In the backfield we have Rueben Droughns who rushed for 946 yards(4.7 YPC) and 3 touchdowns. Which is impressive since he carried the ball only 10 times in the first 4 games of the season. There has only been 1 game since he started where he didn't rush for over a 100 in a game, 3 he rushed for over 150. He started his career at running back bursting through the door with totals of 193 and 176. Droughns has a good combo of power and speed, he was full back before he filled in for the injured Griffin.

Denver has a balanced group of recievers, Rod Smith leads the team in catches with 49 catches and 762 yards with 5 touchdowns. He caught an 85 yard pass last which I believe is the longest of his veteran career. Ashley Lelie is #2 with 39 catches and 724 yards. He leads the team with 6 touchdown receptions. There was only one game where he didn't have a catch over 30 yards(Vs Tampa Bay he was pass intefered with on a long pass attempt but narrowly dropped the ball), in Denver's first matchup with San Diego, Lelie caught a 33 yard touchdown over a defender in the endzone on 4th and 9. Denver has 4 other players with 18-25 catches, Jeb Putzier(23), Darius Watts(25), Dwayne Carswell(18), and Rueben Droughns(24). Also Champ Bailey has 1 catch for 11 yards :)

Denver's defense is ranked #8 in the league, their defense would not be the same without Al Wilson. He fly's to the ball, He leads the team in total tackles also had a big play vs Oakland with his defensive touchdown and also can't forget that 4th down tackle. Every linebacker who plays around him plays well and I think he deserves some credit because he is the defensive leader. DJ Williams, Denver's 1st round pick, plays next to Al Wilson and is #2 on the team in total tackles. He should get AFC Defensive ROY award. Also can't forget Champ Bailey who leads team in solo tackles and interceptions. He is a solid cover corner and a solid wrap up tackler. He consistently shuts down recievers but However in Denver's 3 of 4 losses he gave up long receptions and touchdowns. Reggie Hayward leads the team in sacks. John Lynch, the hard hitting safety has made big plays this year. Last week he had an interception in front of the endzone late in the 4th quarter. However Denver's offense drive stalled near midfield and Oakland scored on their next offensive possession. He also stopped any chance of Tampa Bay winning the game by making a big backfield tackle on Mike Alstot on 4th and 1.

Kickers
Jason Elam 18/21 in Field Goal Attempts, 10/10 from under 40 yards, 8/11 from further
Mich Knorr 41.7 (34.4 Net) Yards per punt average

Onto the Home Team

Behind center we have Drew Brees who I felt was good ever since his 2002 season and was going to be solid starting QB for years to come. He was not bad in his first 3 years. I'm sorry Philip Rivers but at this time I don't see him being something more then a clipboard carrying QB or starting for a team weak at the QB position. I could be wrong though. He has completed 65.8% of his passes, out of those completions 21 of them were touchdowns and got 2,458 yards through the air. Out of his incompletions, 3 of them were interceptionsHe has a career high 108.0 QB rating, 3rd in the league behind bomb throwers Daunte Culpepper and Peyton Manning. There were only 2 games in which I felt he did not play well, vs New York(J) and Denver. In those games he failed to complete 50% of his passes.

In the backfield is who I feel is the best offensive player in the league, Ladanian Tomlinson, that opinion can easily change by the way Peyton Manning is performing. He has 899 rushing yards(3.8 ypc) and 11 touchdowns. He is also #2 on the team in receptions. He hasn't been having the season were accustomed to seeing(back-to-back 1600 yard seasons and a 100 catch one), In 6 games(1 vs Denver) he failed to achieve a 3 YPC average, but when he is on the top of his game he is explosive. He rushed for over 100 times 3 times, vs Houston(121), Tennessee(147), and Oakland(164).

The ones catching the ball, their top 2 recievers are not even wide recievers. Antonio Gates, their tight end, leads the league in receptions(69) with 795 yards and 11 touchdowns. The 2nd year guy from Kent State started the season as a fantasy sleeper and quickly became a dominant tight end. LT is #2 on the team with 38 receptions. Their actual recievers are Eric Parker who has 29 catches and 414 recieving yards. Keenan McCardell who recorded 26 catches and 348 yards in 5 games with the Chargers. Reche Caldwell caught the ball 18 times for 310 yards, all 3 of his TD catches were over 30 yards. This was in 6 games before he suffered a season ending injury.

I don't know much about San Diego's defensive players but they are ranked #12 in the league.
Donnie Edwards who filled in after Seau's departure leads the team in tolo tackles with 92, Terrence Kiel has 65. Steve Foley leads the team in sacks with 6 and fumble recoveries.

Kickers
Nate Kaeding 15/19 field goal attempts, 9/11 from under 40, 6/8 from further
Mike Scifres 42.5 (38.9 Net) Yards per punt average.

The poll question is: Who will win?
I broke down both teams as fairly as I could, based on all this and how they matchup I think Denver will win.(hopefully) None of this will mean anything if one team makes too many mistakes, like a fumble or an int that leads to 6 the other way.

This isn't the same team that lost to Denver in September. LT is still recovering from a groin injury, but is starting to improve despite his inability to make cuts that make LBs and DBs look like fools.

Breese is looking solid, thanks to the help of a vastly improved offensive line. I also believe that Schittenheimer's (sic) decision to knock Dougie down to the third QB really helped to boost Drew's confidence. Flutieflake is poison in the clubhouse, and having him stalking the sidelines wearing his helmet, tossing a ball around, and lobbying Marty to get him in the game so he could score his precious rushing touchdowns was not good for Breese's game at all. Flutie should've been carrying a clipboard, and mentoring Breese rather than making him feel that his job was in jeopardy any time he turned the ball over.


SHOW ME YOUR LIGHTNING BOLTS!!!