Joe & Daphne's Preview: The AFC West

 By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe) and Daphne Parello (@DaphnePup)

Daphne and I have already broken down both the AFC East and the NFC East, so we'll move west to close out the week with a look at the AFC West.

The division is home to two quarterbacks that should again put up big numbers in Peyton Manning and Phillip Rivers, along with one of the league's better game managers in Alex Smith and, perhaps, an up-and-coming star in Oakland's Derek Carr.

The division is not as cut and dry as it has been the past few years, however, as concerns over Manning's age and health, along with a transition to new coach Gary Kubiak, have many feeling that the Broncos can be beaten.

Will there be a changing of the guard out west? Daphne and I investigate.

Long And Suite Preview: The AFC West

Can the Broncos make it back to the Super Bowl?

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

The AFC West was the only division to send three teams to the playoffs this past season. That might have more to say about the overall quality of the conference, rather than the overall quality of the division, but even adjusted for strength of schedule, the AFC West was the third-best division in football last year. Here are all eight division, ranked by average SRS:

NFC West: 7.92
NFC South: 3.12
AFC West: 3.05
AFC East: -1.05
AFC North: -1.98
NFC East: -3.38
NFC North: -3.85
AFC South: -3.88

Most of the league's good teams were clustered in those three divisions at the top. This year, with the NFC North expected to improve dramatically, and the AFC North and AFC South expected to improve marginally, it's unlikely that there will be such a large disparity between the best division and the worst division. That means it's unlikely that the AFC West will get three teams back to the playoffs.

The Patriots are almost certain to win the AFC East, and the Broncos are almost certain to win the AFC West. The Colts are probably safe in the AFC South, if not as the division winner, then as a wild card. When you throw in the AFC North winner, whoever that may be, you end up with Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati (two of those three), Houston, Kansas City, San Diego, and possibly even Miami or another surprise team (New York? Tennessee?) fighting for two spots. Both of them going to the West again seems far-fetched.

Why Your Favorite AFC Team Will Make the Super Bowl Next Year

Ryan Tannehill and the Dolphins could be playing on Super Sunday next year... No, seriously. Ok, maybe not that seriously.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe) and Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin)

We've made it to that comfortable void between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl, and two fan bases are in football fandom heaven right now.

Yep, those lucky bastards in Denver and Seattle get to dream about their team's Super Bowl date in just under two weeks, not to mention all the reminiscing they're already doing about the 2013 season and accompanying postseason. You see, making the Super Bowl is such a huge accomplishment, that the season is already a success for both this teams. After all, Peyton Manning did beat Tom Brady to get here, and the Seahawks got to defeat, then totally belittle, the hated 49ers to make Super Sunday.

Only a New England Patriots fan could complain about just making the Super Bowl.

Divisional Weekend Roundup: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

 By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Every Tuesday during football season, editors Jeremy Conlin and Joe Parello bring you the good, bad, and ugly from the football weekend that was. 

The Good

LeGarrette Blount

By now you know that the Patriots kicked it old school Saturday night, getting defensive against the Colts in Foxboro and grinding it out with their running game on offense. While the offensive line deserves a great deal of credit, running back LeGarrette Blount was a flat out stud.

The physical back ran over and around defenders all day to tie a franchise playoff record with 166 yards, and an absurd four touchdowns. We all knew Blount was a handful to bring down, but he also proved plenty tough to tackle when given some day light.

With the Patriots leading by six at the start of the fourth quarter, Blount put an exclamation point on his day, running right, then cutting back left to nothing but open grass. He finished the play by out running everyone in the Colts' secondary for a 73-yard score to, effectively, end the game.

AFC Divisional Weekend Preview

Will we see a passing of the torch in the AFC Saturday night? Or, will the elder No.12 add another notch to his playoff belt?

 By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe), featuring Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

Yesterday, we previewed the NFC matchups this weekend, featuring the Saints, Seahawks, 49ers, and Panthers. Today, we tackle the AFC side of the coin, with a special guest appearance from Bob Lobel (you can find his pick for the Patriots game about halfway down, right before we transition to the Sunday AFC game).

For the first time in a long time, Jeremy is going to be forced to write at length about the Patriots (which is something he has avoided doing for most of the season, because of the rage-fits it drives him into), so enjoy that. It may be your last opportunity to experience it this season.

Wild Card Weekend Roundup: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Andrew Luck is taking on the persona of his former coach Jim Harbaugh, who was Indy's "Captain Comeback" in 1995.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe) and Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin)

Every week, editor's Jeremy Conlin and Joe Parello bring you the good, the bad and the ugly from the pro and college football weekend that was. Well, actually, just pro football this week. Joe will have you covered with a bowl wrap up after the BCS Championship Game.

The Good

Andrew Luck

He was far from perfect Saturday in a home win against the Chiefs, but Colts quarterback Andrew Luck proved again why he's the most resilient signal caller in the game today.

Trailing 31-10 at halftime, he got the ball in his hands after a mistake laden first half, and promptly… Threw a pick that led to another KC score, putting the Colts in a 38-10 hole.

AFC Wild Card Weekend Preview

Can Kansas City sack duo Justin Houston and Tamba Hali stop Andrew Luck?

 By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

So, the regular season is over.

We both finished up the season on a strong note - Jeremy went 10-6 against the spread in Week 17 to finish at 118-129-11, for a winning percentage of .484. Joe finished up with a 11-5 week to finish at 125-122-11, cracking the .500 mark for the first time all season.

(In Jeremy's defense, several of his Week 17 picks were made solely to disagree with Joe in an effort to gain ground, and as it turned out all three of those picks - Washington over New York, Arizona over San Francisco, and St. Louis over Seattle - went wrong. Jeremy could have finished with a 13-3 Week 17 if not for his overly-competitive side trying to close Joe's lead. His loss.)

So Joe is our regular season champion. He's also in the lead in the Suite Sports Bowl Pick'em Challenge and will likely take home the crown unless Clemson beats Ohio State in the Orange Bowl and Auburn upsets Florida State in the National Championship game (not because Jeremy picked Auburn, but because Joe has the game worth 10 extra confidence points that Jeremy won't be able to make up).

So Jeremy's final hope to save his dignity is to beat Joe over the next 11-game sprint that is the NFL Playoffs.

Long and Suite Preview: The AFC West

Peyton Manning and the Broncos look to repeat as AFC West champions.

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

While pretty much everybody expects Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos to take care of business in the AFC West this season, the division is not devoid of story lines.

Among them will be how the Broncos deal with the loss of pass rusher Elvis Dumervil (To a paperwork delay, no less), and the six-game absence of rising star Von Miller on the other side of the defense. Miller was suspended for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

After the Broncos, it's a cluster of teams that have underachieved on a grand scale in recent years, headlined by San Diego and "guy we thought would be an elite quarterback by now," Phillip Rivers. The Raiders seem to always have speed, but production has failed to follow athleticism to Oakland. Members of the Black Hole might not recognize the product on the field this season, particularly on defense, where the Silver and Black look to replace as many as nine starters.

Then you have a new era beginning in Kansas City, and suddenly the Chiefs are a trendy playoff pick due to the additions of head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Alex Smith.