AFC West Betting Preview

By Staff Analyst

The AFC West may be the weakest division in the NFL. The Chargers have the best chance to win the division, but they cannot afford a horrid start like last season.

Here are the odds at Bodog to win the AFC West this season.

Denver Broncos 6/1
The Broncos looked like they would win the AFC West last season before faltering down the stretch. This season they have a new coach, a new QB, and a defense that ranked near the bottom last season. Jay Cutler is now with Chicago and Kyle Orton enters the season as the starter, which is a major downgrade. Brandon Marshall leads a good WR corps and RB Knowshon Moreno was a solid 1st round pick, but the major concerns in the Mile High City are on defense. The Broncos D ranked 29th last season and to address that need they signed CB Andre' Goodman and FS Brian Dawkins, but the front line D is undersized and switching to a 3-4 scheme. 18th pick in the draft DE Robert Ayer is a start, but there are still many needs on the line.

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Kansas City Chiefs 9/1
The Chiefs traded for QB Matt Cassel in the off-season, but can he put up the numbers he did last season? Cassel put up good numbers in New England, but the Patriots have a better receiving corps and a better offensive line. The Chiefs still have RB Larry Johnson, but he not the same back that was one of the best in the league a few years back. The Chiefs defense ranked 31st last season and they allowed 28 or more points eight times last year. The whole defensive line only had 10 sacks and their secondary was torched often. They will be using a new 3-4 defense and they have many new players including DE/OLB Mike Vrabel and 1st round draft pick DE/DT Alex Magee. The Chiefs have a lot of holes on their team, but any team in the weak AFC West has a chance.

Oakland Raiders 13/1
The Raiders keep making horrid draft day and free agent decisions and their free-fall is not surprising. WR Darrius Heyward-Beywith over Michael Crabtree, are you kidding me, that may hurt them. I do not even want to get into their other draft day blunders. They have solid RB duo with Justin Fargas and Darren McFadden, but they run behind a weak line. Free agent signing Jeff Garcia may take over the starting job, as JeMarcus Russell who has not shown he is a legit NFL starter. The Raiders secondary is decent, but they ranked dead last in 2008 at stopping the run. They did not do much to address that except for signing free agent DE Greg Ellis and taking a couple of DE's with lower draft picks.

San Diego Chargers 1.29/1
The Chargers are the huge favorites to win the weak AFC West and they have a solid team, but they cannot get bit like the injury bug like last season. LB Shawn Merriman was lost for the season and TE Antonio Gates and RB LeDainian Tomlinson were injured when the playoffs rolled around. LT needs to bounce back from a sub-par season. The Chargers D ranked 25th last season, but with the return of Merriman and drafting 1st round pick DE/OLB Larry English should improve on that. QB Phillip Rivers is legit and had a great season last year, but the guys around him have to stay on the field.

NFL ODDS TO WIN DIVISION