Chiefs: Surprise Threats in the AFC – The Kansas City Chiefs will have more than their fair share of challengers in the 2020 season. Of course, that goes with the territory when you’re the reigning Super Bowl champion. Some teams will offer a predictable challenge. Others will rise from the ashes as always seems to happen each season. Some rise. Some fall. The AFC teams we expect to give the Chiefs their stiffest competition include: the Baltimore Ravens, the Tennessee Titans and the Buffalo Bills. However, there are teams in each AFC division which could end up being an unexpected menace, including a challenger from the the Chiefs own division, such as the Denver Broncos. The others are: the Indianapolis Colts, the Pittsburgh Steelers and yes, even the New England Patriots.
New England Cam Chowder Surprise?
No, that’s not the same thing as “Meatloaf Surprise”… but it’s close. While I understand that many have left the New England Patriots for dead since Tom Brady herded his goats down to Tampa Bay, the recent signing of Cam Newton by the New England Patriots could — I say, could — be a very dangerous marriage. You see, some think Cam Newton is a “perfect fit” for the Patriots. Hunter Noll of clutchpoints.com wrote a piece called, ”Why Cam Newton Fits With the Patriots” and he says,
“Newton’s consistently [been] an above-average quarterback. Meanwhile, he’s a Mack truck and one of the best runners at the position…. Why is he a perfect fit for the Patriots though? It’s pretty simple, and it doesn’t have anything to do with the stats. Newton is a winner… he 68-55-1 in his career as a starter. He wins.“
That “winning habit” will be a terrific fit with The Patriots Way. One of my favorite analysts who breaks down NFL film is Brett Kollmann. Kollmann also thinks Cam Newton is a perfect fit for the Patriots because they use a short passing system, a strong point for Newton. Brett says Newton is by far at his best when he is in a wide open quick attack passing offense so, it stands to reason that he’ll fit well in New England. Here’s Kollmann’s video breakdown:
Kollmann goes on to say Newton gives the Patriots OC, Josh McDaniels, an advantage he’s never had before because Newton can run the ball. Consequently, Cam will give the Pats an extra man (who can run) in the box. If Newton reads that the defense is stacking the box, he can go to a quick pass. If he reads that they’re going to drop out of the box and go to a max coverage, he can take off and run it. Newton has 58 rushing TDs in his career and given Bill Belichick’s penchant to take advantage of a defense, Newton should shine. Eventually.
It may take Cam Newton some time to digest Josh McDaniels’ (and Bill Belichick’s) system, but once he does, they could end up giving any team problems, because we already know they’re going to have a good defense.
Then again…
A fit? Well, maybe not a perfect fit.
Men of Steel?
It should not surprise anyone that the Steelers are on this list. Yes, they’ve lost WR Antonio Brown and RB Le’Veon Bell over the past two seasons as well as having had QB Ben Roethlisberger go down with an injury in 2019 but… Ben is back, so is JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Washington at WR and James Connor returns at RB. To supplement their passing attack they drafted 6-foot-4 Notre Dame WR Chase Claypool (who I liked for the Chiefs prior to the draft) and also signed TE Eric Ebron. To add to the running back room they also drafted 5-foot-8 Anthony McFarland Jr. who runs a 4.44 – 40 yard dash.
The reason I think the Steelers could give the Chiefs aggravation is that the Steelers are strong on defense, exactly where the Chiefs are strong on offense. Pittsburgh’s D gave up the 5th fewest passing yards in 2019 plus the 3rd fewest receptions.
Sure, the Steelers have to deal with the Ravens and the Browns in their own division but that could serve to only make them stronger come playoff time. Other offseason moves that could help the Steelers include:
The Steelers 10th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, LB Devin Bush, should be even better this year and they likely absconded with the best player the Miami Dolphins gave up last year when they were cleaning house during the season… and that player is Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. A defensive backfield that has both Minkah Fitzpatrick and Joe Haden in it — even though Haden is now 31 years old — is going to be one of the best in the league… even if it does include CB Steven Nelson (as you can tell I am not a fan of Nelson’s, although there are many Chiefs fans that were fans of his while he was in K.C.).
Colts Rivers: Water Under the Bridge?
Philip Rivers has relocated this offseason to Indianapolis. Will he get the Colts over the top? Will he be the same ole guy we knew with the Chargers? Do the Colts have enough support pieces around him to make it to January and the playoffs?
Let’s take that last question first. With Marlon Mack at RB, plus the newly drafted RB Jonathan Taylor (someone I was high on before the draft) holding down the running back position, it look like Rivers may have the best backfield he’s ever worked with. Add the impressive stall of wideouts including: T.Y. Hilton, rookie Michael Pittman Jr. and Parris Campbell, and you have the right recipe for success.
What many will be wanting to know, is whether or not Rivers still has any pop left in his 38 year old arm? BTW, he’ll be 39 this December.
The Colts defense was 7th in the league in 2019 vs the run (rushing yards allowed). Even though their defense was looking up last year they made some big additions by trading for DeForest Buckner and signing him to a 5-year deal. They also went out and signed Xavier Rhodes, T.J. Carrie, Sheldon Day, Trey Burton, and Roosevelt Nix. Their defense should be one giant step better this season because of those players, because when you add them to LB Darius Leonard and Justin Houston, that group could be stellar. Hats off to the Colts GM, Chris Ballard, who used to serve as the CHiefs director of football operations.
The Colts also have perhaps the best OG in the game today in the 6-foot-5, 330 lbs. Quenton Nelson. With Anthony Costanzo at LT and Mark Glowinski at the other Guard position, the Colts have the making of standout OL. Rivers should have the time he needs in the pocket, if he doesn’t hold onto the ball until the cows come home, which he is noted for.
Broncos Bucking the Odds?
The Denver Broncos have themselves a quarterback in Drew Lock. Finally. Or do they? With the exception of Peyton Manning, the Broncos John Elway, who has been their GM since 2011, hasn’t had a clue about what to do at the one position he used to hold himself. If Lock is just average this season, Denver will be better than Joe Flacco and should improve on their 7-and-9 record in 2019. If they can win even just a couple more games, they may make it to the playoffs.
I’m not that sure that the 2020 Broncos can give the Chiefs a run for the roses, but if I had to choose one AFC West team that might, just might… it would be the Broncos. The Las Vegas Raiders are at least another year away from contending for anything, or even making the Chief/Raiders a real rivalry again, and the Chargers are just… the Chargers. Also, I’m not at all convinced the changes the Chargers have made this offseason will get them a record any better than last season’s 5-and-11 mark.
The list of skill players the Denver Broncos have to surround QB Drew Lock with seems impressive enough: RB Melvin Gordon, RB Phillip Lindsay, WR Courtland Sutton, WR Jerry Jeudy, WR K.J. Hamler and TE Noah Fant. The question is, can they make those players all mesh in time for the season to begin?
In December, Jeff Legwold, ESPN’s beat writer for the Broncos, reported,
“Even with the injuries and adjustments, the Broncos are still a top-tier defense. They rank No. 11 in total defense (324.3 yards allowed per game), No. 9 in scoring defense — as one of nine teams giving up fewer than 20 points per game — and No. 5 in pass defense.”
The other defensive moves Denver made this offseason means their defense is likely to maintain their level of play, or even get better. They traded for DT Jurrell Casey, re-signed NT Shelby Harris, traded for CB A.J. Bouye, and re-signed CB De’Vante Bausby. The trade for Casey gives them a tremendous inside outside punch with Von Miller and Bradley Chubb coming off the edge.
While Denver made some positive additions this offseason, they also had some significant losses including:
Secondary AFC Threats: Conclusion
With the best player now locked down for the next ten+ years in Kansas City, Patrick Mahomes and company look to be competitive no matter what other teams do. So, I’m not so sure it will matter what they do in the long run. In fact, the way the Chief have been built now, gives many other teams a blueprint for creating success in the NFL(e.g., speed at WR or developing their QBoF). The only difference… Patrick Mahomes will be playing for K.C. for a long, long time. Consequently, all other NFL teams will be looking up at them for the foreseeable future. Now, that’s news worth celebrating Chiefs fans!
Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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