Balls’ Week 16 Predicktions

Buffalo Bills @ Los Angeles Chargers – I expect the Chargers team to rally behind the new interim HC, and try to keep this game close early, but eventually Josh Allen and the Bills wear down a much inferior Chargers squad, and cover 27-13.

New England Patriots @ Denver Broncos – I expect the Patriots the scheme up defensively to hold the Broncos offense in check. This game will be close late, but I do expect the Broncos to hold off the Patriots 20-17.

Las Vegas Raiders @ Kansas City Chiefs – Hard to say which Raiders and Chiefs teams show up. This game has the potential to be very evenly matched with the Raiders having a chance to win, it also has potential to be a blowout with Mahomes lighting up the Raiders defense, even with a lackluster receiving corps. I do expect the result to be somewhere in the middle, with the Chiefs defense suffocating the Raiders offense at times, and win 27-17.

fuck the chiefs

AFCW Preseason Week 1

Chiefs vs Saints – Derek Carr marched right down the field in his Saints debut scoring a touchdown. Patrick Mahomes did not. Saints win 26-24.

Chargers vs Rams – Former TCU rookie wide receivers Quinten Jounston and Derius Davis both found the end zone in their NFL debuts. Chargers roll 34-17.

Broncos vs Cardinals – Russell Wilson got the start with mixed results but admittedly the offensive line did him absolutely no favors. Cardinals win on a last second score 18-17, such a Broncos score.

Raiders vs 49ers – Rookie QB Aidan O’Connell looked sharp, both sides of the trenches were stout, and the defense is flashing signs of being much more opportunistic creating turnovers. Raiders dominate 34-7.

2023 AFC West Draft Picks, Team Needs and Mock Draft

“I have returned.”

-General Douglas MacArthur

It has been a long time coming but I have finally returned. It has been hard to be away for all of you guys and the rehab really, really sucked but it is over and the old fart is back!

Well, it is draft/free agency time when every team and fan has hope for the upcoming season. It is also that time for the ultimate speculation into what we think each team needs and who they will draft with their 1st pick. Let’s go!

Denver Broncos

Draft Picks:

  • Round 3, Pick 68 (from IND)
  • Round 3, Pick 69
  • Round 4, Pick 108
  • Round 5, Pick 140
  • Round 6, Pick 194 (from PIT)
  • Round 7, Pick 247 (from MIN)

Denver traded their 1st and 2nd round picks for Russell Wilson and Coach Sean Peyton.

Projected Cap Space: $12,235,634 (15th in the NFL Spotrac)

Team Needs: OL, DL, RB (NFL.com)

Mock Draft: OT Blake Freeland, 6’8”, 305 BYU

Without top draft capital, expect the Broncos to be patient and take the BPA in each round.

Kansas City Chiefs

Draft Picks:

  • Round 1, Pick 31
  • Round 2, Pick 63
  • Round 3, Pick 95
  • Round 4, Pick 122 (from MIA)
  • Round 4, Pick 134
  • Round 5, Pick 168
  • Round 6, Pick 197 (from MIA)
  • Round 7, Pick 227 (from ATL)
  • Round 7, Pick 251

Chiefs have the last pick in the 1st round after winning the Superbowl (FUCK THE CHIEFS).

Project Cap Space: $-473,578 (18th in the NFL Spotrac)

Team Needs: OT, WR, Edge (NFL.com)

Mock Draft: Edge Keion White, 6’5”, 285 Georgia Tech

This may seem to be a luxury pick but this guy would be a steal.

Las Vegas Raiders

Draft Picks:

  • Round 1, Pick 7 overall
  • Round 2, Pick 38 overall
  • Round 3, Pick 70 overall
  • Round 4, Pick 109 overall
  • Round 5, Pick 143 overall (from ATL)
  • Round 5, Pick 146 overall
  • Round 6, Pick 189 overall (from DAL)
  • Round 7, Pick 198 overall (from ARI)
  • Round 7, Pick 209 overall (from NE)

The Raiders are picking in the top 10 and have more holes than Swiss cheese.

Projected Cap Space: $46,284,005 (3rd in the NFL Spotrac)

Team Needs: QB, OL, CB (NFL.com)

Mock Draft: QB Will Levis, 6’3”, 232, Kentucky

Even if the Raiders sign a veteran QB, they need one to groom for the future.

Los Angeles Chargers

Draft Picks:

  • Round 1, Pick 21
  • Round 2, Pick 54
  • Round 3, Pick 85
  • Round 4, Pick 125
  • Round 5, Pick 158
  • Round 6, Pick 200
  • Round 7, Pick 241

The Chargers have the 21st pick and have Herbert’s contract extension looming.

Projected Cap Space: $-19,922,446 (28th in the NFL Spotrac)

Team Needs: WR, DL, TE (NFL.com)

Mock Draft: WR Jalin Hyatt 6’0”, 185 Tennessee

The Chargers need some speed at WR and they may have to make some tough choices at that position.

Football, Football and more Football. I have missed it and all of you (even you lord, LOL)

MAY THE FO BE WITH YOU!

Week 3 AFC West Predicktions

Balls filling in for JMC this week. We are still thinking of he and the War Department, praying she returns to full health soo. Take care, bud.

Short and sweet this week.

Chiefs over Colts 31-20, Mahomes and company is too much.

Chargers over Jaguars 24-20, expecting Herbert to play, albeit in a safe, cautious manner by and the Staley/Lombardi’s game planning.

Titans over Raiders 23-20, Raiders offense still reeling.

49ers over Broncos 26-23, back and forth affair. Russell/Hackett’s offense still struggling at times vs a 49ers team that is ready to rally behind Garappolo.

fuck your teams

AFC West Offseason Review: Las Vegas Raiders

Three down, one to go in our series of AFC West Offseason Reviews. The grand finale is that of the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Raiders had a very busy offseason. They started by relieving general manager Mike Mayock of his duties, and choosing not to retain interim head coach, Rich Bissaccia. That began the search of a new front office and coaching staff. A search that led them to former New England Patriots front office/coaching staff members, nabbing Dave Ziegler as general manager and Josh McDaniels as head coach. They rounded out the coaching staff with several former Patriots staff members highlight by offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo, but the most notable addition would probably be adding Patrick Graham as defensive coordinator.

From there, the Raiders got busy reloading a roster that had just taken an injury/off the field depleted team to the playoffs, where they would lose to the eventual AFC Champions in the final seconds of the game.

Free Agents Lost:
CB Casey Hayward, WR Zay Jones, QB Marcus Mariota, DT Quinton Jefferson, FB Alec Ingold, LB Nicholas Morrow, DT Solomon Thomas and a few others.

Free Agents Retained:
OT Brandon Parker, DT Johnathan Hankins, OL Jermaine Eluemunor.

Free Agents Added:
EDGE Chandler Jones, DL Bilal Nichols, RB Brandon Bolden, CB Anthony Averett, WR Mack Hollinsm OG Alex Bars, FB Jakob Johnson, CB Darius Phillips, S Duron Harom, WR Keelan Cole, LB Kenny Young, LB Jayon Brown, DT Vernon Butler, WR Demarcus Robinson, RB Ameer Abdullah, EDGE Kyler Fackrell, LB Micah Kiser.

Traded For:
WR Davante Adams, CB Rock Ya-Sin

Traded Away:
EDGE Yannick Ngakoue

Draft Selections Added:
OL Dylan Parham, RB Zamir White, DT Neil Farrell, DT Matthew Butler, OT Thayer Munford Jr, RB Brittain Brown

Notable Undrafted Free Agents Added:
LB Darien Butler, WR Justin Hall, CB Sam Webb

With the overhaul of the front office and coaching staff, it was inevitable that the Raiders would see quite a bit of turnover among the roster, which is evidenced above. The Raiders addressed a few areas in particular. Pass rush by adding Jones, getting younger and more skilled in man coverage by adding Ya-Sin/Averrett, and also replenishing Carr’s WR corps, by trading for the best receiver in football in Davante Adams after Carr’s offense was cut off at the knees last year after the loss of Henry Ruggs III in 2021.

On paper, the Raiders seems to have addressed some concerns on the roster, and re-tooling for the new regime quite well but a few question marks linger. How quickly can the coaching staff implement their scheme, and will wins come sooner or later? Will the young offensive line gel quickly and with the diversity evidenced by other Patriots’ offensive lines over the years? Will the younger Raiders’ secondary be up for the task?

The Raiders’ offseason gives plenty of reason to be confident in the path moving forward, re-tooling an already talented team around a solid QB on offense w/ strong weapons as well as a few notable standout players on defense. It also gives plenty of reason for skepticism including an entirely new front office/coaching staff trying to implement their scheme, an OL that is unproven at best/completely doomed at worst, and an entire team centered around a QB whose career accomplishments include a 0-1 career playoff record over his 9 years.

In a division full of playoff contenders, featuring a perennial AFC favorite like the Kansas City Chiefs, the Raiders are as difficult as the rest of their division foes to predict how they will fare in 2022. I believe certain pieces of their coaching staff has improved, certain pieces of their roster has improved, but it will all depend on how it all comes together this season as to whether they will find themselves in the thick of AFC Playoff contention or trying to keep themselves out of the AFC West basement, like they had finally gotten themselves out of in recent years.

In other words, it’s on you, Josh McDaniels, Derek Carr and company!

AFC West Offseason Review: Denver Broncos

We are nearly July, which means we are getting closer to the NFL Training camp, and football. Let’s look back at the offseason moves by a third AFC West team in this mini-series, the Denver Broncos.

A lot of change this offseason for the Broncos, but what’s new? This offseason featured the sale of the franchise for (Oh-Em-Gee!!) $4.65 Billion. The 2nd year general manager fired Vic Fangio, and replaced him with rookie NFL head coach, Nathaniel Hackett who proceeded to bring in his own staff. They also made a big addition at the most important position in sports, adding Russell Wilson at quarterback in exchange for a few early draft picks.

Let’s look at the rest of the moves up and down the roster.

Free Agents Lost:
QB Teddy Bridgewater, CB Kyle Fuller, CB Bryce Callahan, LB Kenny Young, LB Micah Kiser among others.

Free Agents Retained:
RB Melvin Gordon, S Kareem Jackson, TE Eric Saubert and DT DeShawn Williams

Free Agents Signed:
DE Randy Gregory, DT DJ Jones, CB K’Waun Williams, OL Billy Turner and OL Tom Compton.

Traded For:
QB Russell Wilson

Draft Selections Added:
OLB Nik Bonitto, TE Greg Dulcich, CB Damarri Mathis, DT Eyioma Uwazurike, S Delarrin Turner-Yell, S, WR Montrell Washington, C Luke Wattenberg, DT Matt Henningsen, CB Faion Hicks.

Notable Undrafted Free Agents Added:
OLB Christopher Allen, CB Ja’Quan McMillian, RB Tyreik McCallister

Broncos front office and rookie head coach Nathaniel Hackett went to work rebuilding a defense that had been tailored to former head coach Vic Fangio. They moved on from players on all levels and brought in guys they felt were more suitable for DC Ejiro Evero.

The offensive side of the ball featured the addition of pro bowl quarterback Russell Wilson, and fortifying the offensive line to better protect the QB than Denver has done in recent years.

It is a very interesting time in Denver for the Broncos, a lot of change, a new era, and a lot of new shiny players/coaches. Ultimately, I believe there are simply too many moving parts to expect the Broncos to take the crown in a loaded AFC West, but if they can find a way to gel early and the coaching staff is as good as some believe they are I would not rule them out. There is a fair amount of talent on this roster in nearly every unit.

Fuck the Broncos.

AFC West Offseason Review: Los Angeles Chargers

Happy 1st Day of June! Happy LGBTQ+ Pride Month! Especially our very own, Lord. Let’s celebrate by reviewing the offseason for his beloved 2nd favorite NFL team, the Los Angeles Chargers.

Free Agents Lost:
EDGE Uchenna Nwosu, DL Justin Jones, LB Kyzir White, LB/EDGE Kyler Fackrell, OT Bryan Bulaga, DL Linval Joseph, CB Chris Harris Jr, OG Oday Aboushi and a couple other less notables.

Free Agents Retained:
QB Chase Daniel, DL Christian Covington and a couple other less notables.

Free Agents Signed:
CB JC Jackson, DL Sebasatian Joseph-Day, DL Austin Johnson, LC Kyle Van Noy, TE Gerald Everett, CB Bryce Callahan and a couple other less notables.

Traded For:
EDGE Khalil Mack

Draft Selections Added:
G Zion Johnson, S JT Woods, RB Isaiah Spiller, DT Otito Ogbonnia, OL Jamaree Salyer, DB Ja’Sir Taylor, DB Deane Leonard, RB Zander Horvath

Notable Undrafted Free Agents Added:
RB Kevin Marks Jr, EDGE Ty Shelby, TE Erik Kroemmenhoek

There was quite a bit of turnover on the roster for the Chargers, which isn’t out of the ordinary for teams in year 2 of a new coaching regime. Staley seems determined to rid the team of any remaining “Anthony Lynn” players that he believes may be holding them back. The biggest takeaway from all of the moves is that GM Tom Telesco and HC Brandon Staley know that they are in “win now” mode. I mean, most teams are in this mode in some capacity, but I believe everyone is aware of the urgency of trying to capitalize on championship aspirations while one of the game’s top franchise QB’s is still playing on his rookie contract.

So the Chargers made a few notable moves in particular this offseason. They traded for an aging, yet still effective and at times dominant defensive end in Khalil Mack. They paired that move with adding arguably the best cornerback available in JC Jackson, though one can only wonder why New England was so willing to let him walk. They also know giving Herbert time to throw is a priority, so they added OL Zion Johnson in round 1 of the 2022 NFL Draft.

They addressed a weak interior defensive front 7 by replacing Linval Joseph and Justin Jones, with Joseph-Day and Johnson. They added one of the better TE’s on the market to a weak TE room, and a couple depth players in the secondary.

The Chargers’ 2022 Draft Class features a number of guys with pretty significant upside (Johnson, Woods, Spiller, Salyer, Ogbonnia), but plenty of reason to be cautiously optimistic due to the circumstances they were taken in. #17 overall is a bit rich for an OG, and overall the only picks they had in the top 150 were used on G, S, and RB. For a team that is devoid of talent and depth in a few areas, drafting positions that I would consider to be less positional value than others seems like a luxury the Chargers weren’t really in a position to afford.

Overall, the Chargers did a solid job getting younger and faster at a few positions. They added a couple potential game-changing players to the defensive side of the ball and bolstered the run defense which was badly needed.

They will be in the mix in the AFC West, but it’ll be hard to predict a division championship is in the cards given the competition.

Fuck the Chargers.

AFC West OffSeason Review: Kansas City Chiefs

The offseason is upon us. Let’s take a look back and see how each AFC West team fared this season, beginning with the defending division champions, Kansas City Chiefs.

Free Agents Lost:
CB Charvarious Ward, CB Mike Hughes, S Tyrann Matheiu, WR Byron Pringle, WR Demarcus Robinson, S Dan Sorenson, S Armani Watts, G Austin Blythe and a couple other less notables.

Free Agents Retained:
DT Derek Nnadi, TE Blake Bell, OT Andrew Wylie.

Free Agents Signed:
S Justin Reid, WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling, RB Ronald Jones II, LB Jermaine Carter and a couple other less notables.

Traded:
WR Tyreek Hill

Draft Selections Added:
CB Trent McDuffie, DE George Karlaftis, WR Skyy Moore, S Bryan Cook, LB Leo Chenal, CB Joshua Williams, OT Darian Kinnard, DB Jaylen Watson, RB Isaiah Pacheco, S Nazeeh Johnson

Undrafted Free Agents Added:
WR Justyn Ross, RB Jerrion Ealy, LB Jack Cochrane (Former USD Coyote)

Reviewing all of the roster moves made this offseason, it’s obvious that the Chiefs differ greatly in terms of where their roster is at compared to their peers in the AFC West. They are talented, seasoned and have a lot of players that are valuable in this league. That means they have to either find a way to pay them in order to keep them, trade them, or let them walk when they hit free agency.

The Chiefs lost a lot of talent this offseason, highlighted by 3 of their top 4 wide receivers including All-Pro and bona fide game changer, Tyreek Hill. They were able to get some high draft picks back in that trade, but it will be hard to replace a player of that caliber. They also lost starters and other contributors on multiple levels of the defense, most notably the overhaul in the secondary.

They approached free agency with some money to spend, focusing on adding quality players in the wide receiver room and on defense. The Chiefs entered the draft needing to pick up some help at CB and EDGE, but otherwise had a pretty quality roster in place allowing them to be nimble throughout the draft. The Chiefs hit all the right notes throughout the draft. I am not nearly as high on CB McDuffie and WR Moore as many, but I am no draft expert and will defer to the more qualifed experts that widely liked these additions for the Chiefs.

The Chiefs also picked up a few rookies post draft that have a real shot to make this team in WR Ross, RB Ealy, and LB Cochrane as a special teamer.

In review, it’s hard to argue the Chiefs got better this offseason considering all that they lost, but they did about as good of job as one could expect given the circumstances. If they hit on a good number of the many new players they brought in this offseason, they not only very well could have gotten better but given the amount of youth they added on affordable deals, they could have set themselves up for another strong multi-year run in this division/conference.

Fuck the Chiefs.