AFC West Watch – Linebacker

AFC West Watch, my personal favorite segment, continues on BroncoTalk! The Broncos, historically, have had one of the best linebacker corps. in the league, but this year we enter with significant questions in every spot but one. Meanwhile, one team in the division boasts the league’s sack-leader, and another’s linebacker corps. was part of the NFL’s 3rd-ranked defense. The Broncos aren’t on top anymore, and it was very difficult to rank between them and Oakland as the #2. On to the rankings!

1) San Diego Chargers

The Chargers linebacker unit is likely the best 3-4 unit in the league. Led by “The Victim” Shawne Merriman, these linebackers are fast and have a penchant for making big plays. Simply consider that Steve Foley was nearly killed by an off-duty police officer (ending his career), and that his backup, Shaun Phillips, stepped in and dominated, and you see why this linebacking unit is the best in the west. Their only loss was Donnie Edwards, who I always felt was underrated – but if Shaun Phillips, a backup for years, can step in and make an impact, I wouldn’t doubt that Edwards’ backup will be just fine. No one can be certain how they’ll adapt to a new defensive coordinator, or their new linebacker coach Ron Rivera. But when it comes to talent and big plays at linebacker, unfortunately for Broncos fans, we’re no longer top dog.

2) Oakland Raiders

The Raiders defense was the one bright spot on the team last year – the entire defense excelled at stopping opposing offenses, leading them to a 3rd-rank in yardage. At weak side, they have Thomas Howard, who amassed 110 tackles in his rookie year last season. He had no sacks, picks, or fumble recoveries, but he was solid on his side and could improve this year. At mike, they have Kirk Morrison, who has over 240 tackles in his first two years in the league. Their strong side linebacker didn’t impress much, but Sam Williams will have every opportunity to make more plays.

This year will be interesting for the Raiders defense – they won’t get run on as much as they did the year before, mostly because I expect the team to be just a little bit better. Teams won’t be milking huge leads – so the pass defense and rush defense will balance themselves out (they had the #1 ranked pass defense last year, but again, this could be due to the big leads and opposing offenses playing conservatively).

3) Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos linebacker corps. could be the weakest it’s been in years. The departure of Al Wilson was the toughest loss Broncos fans have felt in a long time… it pisses me off to this day, and I just don’t know if our guys can step up. That’s the whole point – while I believe the Broncos linebackers CAN be better than the Raiders’, I don’t know if it is. No one does. Our strong side spot could be filled by incumbent special-teamer Louis Green. I feel stronger about recent acquisition D.D. Lewis, myself. Lewis is a little shorter than Green, but about 15 lbs. heavier, giving us a solid run-stopper we need on the strong side. Green is a bit speedier and taller, but I’d like to see us keep him on special teams as well. Either way, we don’t know if our strong side will be a source of, well, strength this season.

Of course these questions at strong side all branch from the Wilson cut. Filling in the void at middle linebacker will be D.J. Williams, who was EXCELLENT as a rookie at weak side, but fell off a bit when Ian Gold returned in 2005, and Williams was asked to move to Sam. One of the biggest questions in the 2007 campaign has to be, “Can D.J. cut it?” In his first season, he flew all over the field and made huge plays. He went from 114 tackles in 2004 to 55 tackles in 2005… and although he bounced back a bit last year in gaining 76 tackles, can the Broncos afford to wait a year for D.J. to adjust like he had to in 2005? D.J. will have more opportunities this year – he’ll stay in nickel packages, and his size and speed make him an ideal fit for pass coverage as a linebacker. Mike Shanahan said he’d be “surprised” if D.J. didn’t make the adjustment – for our 2007 season’s sake, I hope he’s right.

Finally, at weak side, we have Ian Gold, the only linebacker returning to his position of the year before. Gold is a solid linebacker, and he can make big plays. I always seem to notice that when Gold has a good game, he’s on fire – he’ll usually get many of his “flashy” plays in bunches during the same game. Then there’ll be a few games where he is just “there” – less tackles, less big plays, almost as if he’s taking a game off (which I don’t think he is), but he isn’t getting beaten either. He’ll be quiet for a few games, for whatever reason, then BAM. He has two sacks in two plays before you can blink. The leader of our linebackers now, Gold will be asked to do more than he might be used to. Our defense will depend on him being able to dominate his side of the field so our other two spots can make adjustments to succeed.

Being a fan and a natural optimist, I’m hopeful that both Williams and whomever fills in at strong side will be able to succeed. I think they will – but until they play the game, I couldn’t rank them ahead of the underrated Raiders defense.

4) Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs suck. It’s just plain and simple. They’ve found themselves at the bottom of all but one of these segments, and it’s no different for their linebacking unit. While I humbled myself enough to rank Oakland ahead of Denver, I won’t do it against the Chiefs, whose unit has always been bottom-of-the-barrel for several years now. They picked up Donnie Edwards, who, according to NFL.com’s Chiefs Depth Chart, will move to right outside linebacker in replacing Kendrell Bell. It was a nice pickup, and as I said before, Edwards is underrated. But I don’t know how the move from 3-4 right inside linebacker to 4-3 right outside linebacker will go for Edwards. Meanwhile, they still have one of the worst starting mikebackers in Napoleon Harris, and he’s complemented by the almost-as-bad Derrick Johnson on the left side. Just thinking of the way Tiki Barber ran all over them two years back, and how the Colts blew over them in the playoffs, brings a vengeful smile to my face. If Edwards can make the adjustment, the unit will be improved, but I wouldn’t bet my season on it if I was a Chiefs fan.

NEXT FRIDAY: (yes, Friday not Saturday, sorry) Offensive Lines.