This Decade Is One to Forget For The AFC West

 In 1999 the Denver Broncos and John Elway were on top of the world. They won the superbowl and represented the AFC West well. Then he retired, and the division was up for grabs. The decade started off promising for the AFC West as the division posted two teams that won over 10 games. The Broncos and the Raiders were on top of the division and contending for a superbowl.

  The Raiders maintained to be the head of the division for a couple more years, they were a Tony Saragusa body slam away from possibly beating the Ravens in 2000 to go to the superbowl. They were a "Tuck Rule" away from stopping the Patriots from winning their first super bowl, and after losing Gruden and getting hammered in the 2002 superbowl the division has not had a representative in the game for 6 years. The team with the worst regular season record this decade in the AFC West has the most playoff wins. The team with the most talent has been unable to find a championship coach. The division is in a transition, and no one knows where they will be next decade.

Where are they now?

   The Broncos, well it is only the offseason, but you could say they've been off this offseason. They lose a young pro bowl QB and may be on the verge of losing big play receiver. Josh Mcdaniels has replaced Hall of Fame head coach Mike Shanahan, he has been praised for coming out of New England, but I don't know of any coach that has come out of there that has been able to duplicate the same success.

   The Raiders, they have the worst regular season record of the decade, but have the most playoff wins. They have a young nucleus, but there inability to keep a coach has set the team back. They have missed on some first round draft picks, but have had some surprise late round picks. Jamarcus Russell has two years to prove that he is the player they thought he was. Al Davis has tried bringing in high priced free agents and that has failed for him as well. Though it does look like they are finally getting the right idea, only the regular season will tell how it goes.

  The Chiefs, they are in a rebuilding process, but have some nice pieces. The transition to a 3-4 will be a tough one for the team. They brought in Matt Cassell, but lost Tony Gonzales. With Larry Johnson back strong this team could surpise people, but they may still be a couple years away from .500. The division has bought into the Patriot way, but there is only one team called the Patriots. I'm not sure if this experiement will work with Scott Pioli and Cassell.

    The Chargers, they have had one of the most talented teams of the decade but have not been able to turn it into much.  They have been the superbowl favorites for many years and have not been able to answer the call. They have all the talent in the world to win a championship, but i'm not sure Turner is the best option at coach. They won the division last year with an 8-8 record. Once again, this could be the year for the Chargers.

   Its the last season of the decade and we have yet to produce a champion. Will this be the year of the AFC West? Maybe the Chargers will actually do what they are supposed to do with all that talent, or maybe we may have a surprise this season.