AFC west.(National Football League)

DENVER BRONCOS

Much has been made of Champ Bailey's great skills as a cover corner, but his tackling also is outstanding. Bailey is not a huge hitter, but he's terrific at reading plays, picking a path through the blockers and taking down running backs with solid tackles to their legs.... A key player down the stretch will be CB Kelly Herndon. With Bailey playing so well on the opposite side, teams are throwing toward Herndon more, and he has responded well. He studies opponents and is solid in man-to-man coverage. What he lacks is Bailey's ability to recover quickly alter getting beat to break up a pass. SEE A DIFFERENT GAME: The team's first quarter point differential--plus-48 through 11 games--is the best in the NFL Why? First, credit the 15-play script that Mike Shanahan and coordinator Gary Kubiak concoct for each game. It's designed to jump-start the game plan and put the opponent on its heels. Shanahan also is a master at using plays to uncover a defense's tendencies, then coming back to exploit those tendencies on the next possession.--Patrick Saunders

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

Injuries forced the team to play young Ss Shaunard Harts and Willie Pile against the Chargers. Neither was dominant, but each proved deserving of more playing time. Pile delivered some big hits, something the secondary hasn't been doing.... The Chiefs demoted Julian Battle from third corner, but he still has a future with the team. Battle is an excellent athlete but is raw. He uses poor technique and frequently gets caught with his hands on receivers.... Brian Waters is becoming one of the NFL's best guards. A tight end in college, he runs well and often is used to lead screens and other open-field plays. He has tremendous strength and has become more skilled in using it. He's not a mad grader but gets the job done on power runs. SEE A DIFFERENT GAME: Replacing RT John Welbourn (knee, hip) with Chris Bober gives the team a different look. Welbourn was supposed to offer a physical presence in the running game but didn't. Bober isn't as strong or as good a pass blocker as Welbourn but is more athletic and will allow the team to run more screens and sweeps to the right.--Adam Teicher

OAKLAND RAIDERS

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