AFC West - Punting Hotbed of the NFL - We may not score but we're gonna give you bad field position!!!!

The AFC West is without a doubt the worst division in pro football.  Currently, one quarter of the way through the season the Broncos, that's right the same Broncos that hired a coach in over his head and turned their franchise upside down by trading the best QB they have had since Elway, are in first place with a 4-0 record.  They are followed by the extremely talented but extremely underachieving Chargers at 2-2, the hapless Raiders at 1-3, and of course, the undermanned Chiefs at 0-4.

The Broncos are one of five teams left in the league undefeated and they are ranked 8th in the current ESPN power poll.  That should tell you something about how good they really are. 

The Chargers are loaded, repeat loaded, with talent, but their fans don't care and it seems neither do they.  Put that team in Kansas City and every game would SRO and it would be absolute hysteria.  Arrowhead would be the scariest place to play on the planet and nobody would come out with a victory.  It would be Super Bowl or bust and everyone would be behind them, but in San Diego, they can't even fill up the stands for a perennial playoff team and what is often regarded as one of the most talented, best teams in the league.  Sad.

There is nothing you can say about the Raiders that hasn't already been said.  Their franchise absolutely has no clue, they are run by their cryptkeeper owner who is certifiable and has people who make sure the public can't see the strings that are holding him up on a daily basis.  They gave a "project" #1 overall pick $60+ Million dollars to be overweight and have a 47% completion percentage and drafted Sammy Parkers twin brother at #7 overall this year cause he ran a 4.2 forty.  This organization is in disarray and will continue to spin out of control until Al Davis wakes up, realizes it is not 1978 and gets sombody mentally stable to control this organization.  But as far as I am concerned, I figure let Davis destroy this franchise to the point where they can't come back.  I will laugh the whole way.

Then there is the Chiefs.  Through the 1990's one of the most dominant teams of the decade and had the best homefield advantage in all of sports.  Those days are long gone.  The Chiefs are in full on rebuild mode and it doesn't look like they are even as close as their stadium is to being finished.  The Chiefs are underamanned in every facet of the game and are just not a good football team. 

However, there are some bright spots (well, one bright spot anyway).  This division has the three best punters in the league and possibly of all time.  We will go through one by one and discuss each one, starting with my personal favorite:

Dustin Colquitt - Kansas City Chiefs

Year-to-Date Stats:  Gross Avg - 46.2 (league rank: 11), Net Avg. - 44.5 (league rank: 1), In 20 - 9 (league rank: 5t), Return Avg. Against - 2.5 yds (league rank: 1)

Depending on who you ask, net avg. is the most important statistic for a category and this is where Colquitt has shined throughout his career, with this year being no exception.  Gross average is good but it does nobody any good if you can kick it far and outkick your coverage. 

Further, a good net average shows your ability to punt the ball with hangtime, the most underrated skill of a punter, and allow your coverage unit to get in good position.  It also shows the ability to have great command over the football and be able to pin the opponent deep, which, combined with only 1 touchback this season, Colquitt greatly has the ability to do.  This gives rise to the argument that Colquitt may just be the best at what he does in the NFL.

Mike Scifres - San Diego Chargers

Year to Date Stats:  Gross Avg. - 47.7 (league rank: 6), Net Avg. - 42.9 (league rank: 3), In 20 - 7 (league rank: 8t), Return Avg. Against - 9.1 (league rank: 19)

Scifres kind of gets lost in the shuffle a bit in my opinion, which is easy for a punter to do in this punting heavyweight division we have in the West.

Scifres does not quite have the leg of a Shane Lechler or the skill of a Colquitt but he has great consistency and still remains one of the best in the league.  His nearly 48 yeard average is solid and his solid net average shows he gets good height over his punts.  He has pretty good command but also plays on a team that punts far less than the others in this division.

Shane Lechler - Oakland Raiders

Year-to-Date stats:  Gross Avg. - 52.6!!! (league rank: 1), Gross Avg. - 44.4 (league rank: 2), In 20 - 8 (league rank: 8t), Return Avg. Against - 8.2 (league rank: 16)

What can be said about Shane Lechler?  As much as I like having Colquitt on our team Lechler still makes me jealous.  He is the best punter in the league and there really isn't even much of a question. 

He could be better than all time Raider great and consensus best punter of all time, Ray Guy.  Lechler can kick the ball high, far and has as much command over it as Tiger Woods.  I got to see him in person this year and it's not even funny.  Every time he punted the entire stadium had a collective gasp as he just anihilated the ball completely. 

The Raiders drafting Lechler in the 5rd round in 2000 was the equivalent of taking the hottest freshman to prom.  She's really hot, but she's still a freshman.  Lechler is really good, but he's still a punter.  Fact is though, he may be the best player in the division with the possible exception of Phillip Rivers. 

Final Thoughts:

At least the AFC West can hang their hat on something.  You may force us to 3-and-outs on a regular basis but you are gonna regret it!  We will never give you good field position so that just means you get to rack up more yards on your way to scoring.  Opponents beware, you are all 5.2 seconds away from being inside your own 20 yard line.  The AFC West is the most feared field positioin division in the league!!!

(Sidenote:  I think that Mike Scifres pic looks like he is in the middle of a dance off using the football as a prop, I feel as though he is just gonna let the ball drop to the ground, jump backwards and yell "boom!!!"  Just saying.)