San Diego Chargers can win the AFC West
By Andrew Long
The AFC West is home to some of the most competitive football in the league, which will certainly make things hard on the San Diego Chargers in their quest to capture the division crown. Even with the tough competition, I believe that the Chargers have the talent to finish on top of the AFC West.
The San Diego Chargers reside in one of the toughest divisions in all of football, sharing the AFC West with the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, and Oakland Raiders, all of which boast top-tier defenses and strong offensive units. That being said, I believe that San Diego possesses the talent to compete in, and possibly even win, their division.
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Such a task won’t be easy, not at all, but if the Chargers can find a way to stay relatively healthy, there’s no reason that they can’t go from worst to first in the division. San Diego’s roster contains the type of players necessary for a deep playoff run, and is booming with potential at a number of key positions.
The Chargers have managed to assemble a solid defense over the past few seasons and now have a skilled, young player at every level.
San Diego selected defensive end Joey Bosa with the third overall choice in the 2016 NFL Draft, a player that has the potential to become a perennial Pro Bowler. Bosa joins a defensive line that already has a pair of good players in Corey Liuget and Brandon Mebane.
Their linebacker corps, in my opinion, is the strongest part of their defense. They have a player on the verge of being a household pass-rusher in Melvin Ingram, and a 23-year-old up and coming player in Jeremiah Attaochu. In addition to the talent coming off the edge, the San Diego Chargers possess an abundance of potential at inside linebacker with Denzel Perryman, Manti Te’o, and Joshua Perry.
The backend of their defense isn’t quite as strong as their front seven, however, the unit does have a few bright spots. Cornerback Jason Verrett is undoubtedly the best player in the secondary, and perhaps even on the team. Having Casey Heyward playing opposite of him will likely help, too.
While there are some holes on the defensive side of the ball, I view the unit as being strong overall. Outside of the offensive line, I believe that the same can be said for the offense.
The Chargers have one of the better quarterbacks in the league with Philip Rivers at the helm. For the first time in recent memory, Rivers is accompanied by a strong supporting cast on offense. He’s had good players around him before, but it always seemed like he and the offense were lacking the player to put them over the top.
With Keenan Allen, Travis Benjamin, and Stevie Johnson holding down the receiver positions on the outside, and Antonio Gates and Hunter Henry locking down the tight end positions, Rivers has a number of options when it comes to the passing game. If Melvin Gordon can capitalize on his potential in his second year as a pro, which I believe he can, the Chargers will have a solid rushing attack to go with their potent passing game.
All in all, you have to like the level of talent that resides on the San Diego Chargers roster. Personally, I believe that the team is capable of beating out the likes of the Broncos, Chiefs, and Raiders.
Denver is going into the season with a shaky quarterback situation and saw their Super Bowl roster picked apart by opposing teams in free agency. Kansas City has a strong roster in their own right, but will only go as far as Alex Smith takes them. Oakland looks phenomenal on paper and they have a great group of young players on their roster, I just think that they need another year to gel.
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The weaknesses of the other teams in the division lead me to believe that the San Diego Chargers have a legitimate chance of capturing the AFC West. It will be a tough task to accomplish, but if everything plays out right, the Bolts can certainly make it happen.