Inside The Afc West

Sporting News, The, Jan 1, 2001

2000 HIGHS AND LOWS

BEST SURPRISE: Brian Griese, QB, Broncos. They actually considered bringing in Steve Young. Instead, they were stuck with Griese, who missed most of seven games but finished as the league's top-rated passer.

BIGGEST BUST: Steve Sidwell, coordinator, Seahawks. He was hired to improved last year's No. 23 defense, but the unit was worse, finishing No. 31 in the league.

BEST BAND-AID: Mike Anderson, RB, Broncos. Terrell Who? Olandis Why-do-we-care?

MOST PAINFUL INJURY: Dave Szott, LG, Chiefs. He tore his biceps muscle on the third play of 2000, and the K.C. running game never recovered. He is expected to retire.

PLAY TO REMEMBER: Anderson's 80-yard TD run late in the Broncos' 38-31 win in Seattle. Part of an impressive run of games by Anderson and the Denver offensive line.

PLAY TO FORGET:. Forget is a good word here. Uh, Elvis, did you forget how much time was left in the game? It's the only explanation for Grbac throwing short of the end zone to TE Tony Gonzalez in the middle of the field with no timeouts in the waning seconds against the Patriots.

CHANGE FOR THE BETTER: The Raiders' fortunes turned along with the new year. They closed out the 1999 season with a 41-38 OT win over the Chiefs on January 2. They never lost the momentum and finished this season by winning their first division title since 1990.

CHANGE FOR THE WORSE: The Chiefs going to the air. It was mostly because the running game went AWOL

FREE-AGENT FLOP: DeRon Jenkins, CB, Chargers. The Chargers paid big bucks to lure him from Baltimore. He didn't do much to help San Diego's defense, and the Ravens didn't seem to miss him.

ABOUT TO CASH IN: They're not as sexy as the so-called skill position players, but Seattle G Pete Kendall and Kansas City G Will Shields showed up when their teams didn't. Some teams will reward them for their effort.

ONE THING WE WERE WRONG ABOUT: We said the Chargers' first win would come Week 9 against Oakland, then tried again in Week 12 vs. the Broncos. We gave up on them one week too early, or 12 weeks too late.

YEAH, BUT WE SURE NAILED THIS ONE: We said the Chargers would be the last team to win a game. We just didn't know it would be their only win. --Mike Kilduff

Denver

11-5: 2nd

Team's 7-1 finish masks two big playoff concerns

DETERMINING FACTOR: RB Mike Anderson, a sixth-round draft choice and a former Marine, came into training camp just hoping to make the practice squad. Running behind an amazingly effective offensive line, Anderson finished the season with 1,500 yards rushing, the fifth-best performance ever by an NFL rookie. Anderson became a star after the Broncos lost their top two running backs, Terrell Davis and Olandis Gary, in the season opener. Offensive line coach Alex Gibbs is expected to retire, and he can go out knowing his final season was a masterpiece.

RATING THE ROOKIES: Anderson helped save the Broncos' season. He'll be back next year and will push Davis for playing time, if not for the starting job. LB Ian Gold showed flashes; he's a gifted pass rusher and extremely athletic. With John Mobley entering the free-agent market, Gold might be a full-time starter next season. First-round pick CB Deltna O'Neal played in the team's dime defense, but he's not ready to be a starter. SS Kenoy Kennedy came back from a knee injury and had a decent season, at one point challenging Billy Jenkins for the starting job. Kennedy is a thunderous hitter. With his work ethic and toughness, he'll push for a full-time role next year.

PLAYOFFS PROGNOSIS: The Broncos' 7-1 finish masked their two biggest questions. First, who will be their quarterback? Brian Griese hurt his throwing shoulder in the regular-season finale. He says he'll be ready, but that might be risky. Griese runs coach Mike Shanahan's game plan to perfection, but the team has been winning with backup Gus Frerotte. He's not as cool as Griese, and he's more prone to mistakes, but he's dangerous if he gets hot. The team's schizophrenic defense is the other question mark. It was sensational in the season finale, sacking 49ers quarterback Jeff Garcia six times and playing with controlled fury. But the Chiefs flattened the Broncos a week earlier, rushing for 264 yards. The Broncos likely will be on the road throughout the playoffs, and the defense is a different animal away from home. It had 28 sacks at home, but only 16 on the road. On the road, the Broncos gave up 200 points, five more per game than at home. The team's pass defense came into the final week of the season ranked dead last, and it is susceptible to big plays. The team must create a pass rush that destroys opponents' game plans. That means blitzing early and often. It's a risky defensive game plan, and if it fails it means a quick playoffs exit. --Patrick Saunders

FINAL GRADES

Regular season

OFFENSE A

Rookie Anderson rushed for 1,500 yards. Team set record with 4,464 passing yards.

DEFENSE C-

It forced turnovers, but it gave up big plays--and yards--in bunches.

SPECIAL TEAMS C-

It experienced early-season coverage problems and late-season kicking woes.