After throwing for 4,018 yards and 22 touchdowns in 15 games, Carson Palmer is no longer the unquestioned starter in Oakland. It doesn’t matter that the Oakland Raiders are still underwater on their investment in Palmer, that he’s a team leader or that he has a $13 million base salary in 2013.

General manager Reggie McKenzie went on SiriusXM radio and told Alex Marvez of FoxSports that Pryor is going to get his chance to start and head coach Dennis Allen reiterated that plan in his appearance on NFL Network. If it seems odd to create a competition between a player with one career start and a veteran like Palmer, that’s because it is odd.

There were a lot more reasons that the Raiders didn’t win in 2012 and Palmer got blamed for a lot of things that simply weren’t his fault. Palmer isn’t an elite quarterback, but he is a solid starter that about a dozen other teams probably wished they had last season.

Salary Cap Implications

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The Kansas City Chiefs need a quarterback and everyone knows it. There is no doubt that a team with only three wins has major issues, but the Chiefs are unique in that they also have six players in the Pro Bowl. With a good quarterback and few other tweaks to the roster, the Chiefs could be a playoff team in 2013.

Since the Chiefs have the No.1 overall pick in the 2013 NFL draft and the No. 34 overall pick in the second round, they are going to get a chance to draft a quarterback. The Chiefs simply need to find the guy they like and make sure they get him.

The quarterback crop lacks an elite player, but there aren’t going to be many years that produce three or more franchise signal callers. The year after Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson all produce at an elite level as rookies is obviously going to be a letdown. It would be unwise to discount the quarterbacks that are available because they aren’t of the same caliber as the ones who came out in 2012.

Geno Smith

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The Oakland Raiders have taken their time replacing the four assistant coaches who were fired at the end of the season. The staff is not yet complete, but they are moving closer to finalizing a staff for the 2013 season.

For what Dennis Allen’s choice of offensive coordinator lacked in excitement and name recognition he may make up for with his choice as offensive line coach. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, Tony Sparano has been hired by the Raiders as their offensive line coach and assistant head coach.

In more ways than one, Sparano is the perfect hire for the Raiders. Sparano brings experience, production and creativity to Oakland's offense that was absent in 2012.

Experience

It can’t hurt to have a guy with experience on the coaching staff. Al Saunders is the senior offensive assistant, and he’s helped Allen by being his eyes in the booth. Other than Saunders, the Raiders have no other coaches with experience as a head coach in the NFL.

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The San Diego Chargers have a new general manager, new head coach and the coaching staff is coming together. Some of the most important decisions have been made, but none of the people hired will actually play a snap for the Chargers in 2013.

The front office and coaching staff are vital to any team’s success, but the players play the game, and many get paid big bucks to do it. The Chargers need to bring in impact players to compete in the AFC West in 2013, and they need those impact players at several key positions.

The Chargers aren’t particularly young or deep at any position, and some positions are so void of talent that finding an upgrade will not be a challenge. The Chargers are going in a new direction this offseason, and if they were making a shopping list, it might look a little like the following list.

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The Kansas City Chiefs have the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 NFL draft, and there has been much talk about what the Chiefs could do with that pick. The quarterbacks in the draft aren’t considered to be worthy of the No. 1 overall pick even if that’s the Chiefs’ biggest need. New general manager John Dorsey has also stated that the Chiefs will draft the best player available.

With left tackle Branden Albert about to become a free agent, the Chiefs have a decision to make. If the Chiefs don’t give Albert the franchise tag, they will need a left tackle badly. Franchise left tackles aren’t typically available in free agency, which would mean the Chiefs would probably have to draft one.

The Chiefs could conceivably draft Luke Joeckel or Eric Fisher, but that’s a horrible waste of the No. 1 overall draft pick. Joeckel or Fisher could very well be the best players in the draft, but the Chiefs would still be better off re-signing Albert and drafting a player at a different position.

Albert is a proven left tackle, and even if he isn’t elite, he’s a very good starter who has also stayed relatively healthy during his career. Letting Albert walk in free agency only to draft a left tackle with the No. 1 pick is just trading a known commodity for an unknown commodity at a reduced price.

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Tim Brown earned the nickname "Mr. Raider," for being the best player on the Oakland Raiders for nearly his entire career. It wasn’t until the end of his career that the Raiders were any good after Jon Gruden took over as the head coach. Oakland would eventually make a trip to the Super Bowl under Bill Callahan at the end of the 2002 season.

Brown is one of the finalists to get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and suggested in an interview Saturday with SiriusXM radio (via NFL.com) that Callahan sabotaged the Raiders by changing the game plan on the Friday before the Super Bowl XXXVII. Brown openly called it a “conspiracy theory” when he shared the story in front of a group of fans last September.

Although Brown is entitled to his opinion, he’s actually sabotaging his chances of getting into the Hall of Fame by making these comments on a national radio show in the few weeks leading up to the Super Bowl. The only thing Brown’s comments accomplish is to make clear of the fact that the Raiders had to overcome dysfunction to get to Super Bowl XXXVII.

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The Oakland Raiders didn’t have any players selected to the Pro Bowl, but fullback Marcel Reece was the first alternate and would go if Baltimore Ravens fullback Vonta Leach couldn’t for some reason. An injury seemed to be the likeliest reason Leach couldn’t go at the time.

As it turns out, Reece will get a free trip to Hawaii, because the Ravens will play in the Super Bowl, having beaten the Broncos and Patriots on the road. Beating Peyton Manning and Tom Brady with excellent supporting casts seemed near impossible just a few weeks ago. Reece is just one of benefactor of the Ravens’ run.

Reece absolutely deserves to go, as he is one of the most versatile fullbacks in the NFL. He continues to prove that the fullback position is not dead, it’s just changing form. Leach is an old-school fullback and was voted in because he is the best blocking fullback in the NFL. Reece is much more versatile.

Reece was no slouch blocking this year, which is an area of his game that was lacking just a few years ago. In fact, he is now one of the better blocking fullbacks in the NFL.

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The Denver Broncos had a really good team in 2012. Peyton Manning revitalized the offense and the defense produced thanks to players like Von Miller and Wesley Woodyard. The Broncos were good enough to get the No. 1 seed and were the favorites until suffering a disappointing double overtime loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Their schedule was not the most difficult and the AFC West was putrid in 2012. Denver’s key players also stayed extremely healthy. Things could change in a hurry and if the Broncos want to make another run they can’t maintain the status quo.

Manning will get the Broncos to the playoffs, but he’s going to need help once they are there. Certain positions didn't pull their weight equally and the Broncos will need to address them this offseason.

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