I'd say the NFC West was the second hardest division to pick in football (after the NFC South). Three good teams, and a resurgent Raiders. That always gets me on edge, which explains why I think this will be a war of attrition right from the start.

If you don't agree, tell us your predictions in the comments below, or you can make your own season picks right here.

The current betting:

Broncos 4/6

Chargers 4/1

Chiefs 5/1

Raiders 35/1

My prediction

SD (13-3) - The Chargers have threatened to be the ones that would upset the Broncos and their AFC West bandwagon in the last couple of years, and I think now is their time. Peyton will start strong, but questions will come hard and fast when people see his arm (or lack). That's all playing into the hands of Phil Rivers and his mad bunch of talented young outlets. Stevie Johnson, Keenan Allen, Ladarius Green, Branden Oliver - I can see them all getting a lot of looks. Somehow, Malcom Floyd is also on the roster too.

On D, they have top quality LBs, a solid DB corp and a decent D-line. It should be enough, put it that way. I could see those DB's playing havoc with the QB's in this division. They'll get the job done this year and I think they'll look for home field advantage in January.

DEN (9-7) - As with the Packers in the NFC North, I was tempted to go even lower here, because in all honesty, they're heavily reliant on a guy who fell apart in the latter stages of last season to perform miracles with a roster that is a shadow of the 2013 monsters. The good news is that DeMariyus Thomas is still around, but the bad news is that I doubt Peyton Manning can lob his ducks any harder downfield than he did in the preseason, where he looked about as handy as a snake in a pole vault contest.

On the plus side, if their starters stay healthy, they should pull out wins, as their D is strong enough to mitigate some of Manning's problems and grind out some wins.

OAK (8-8) Blind optimism? Maybe. I'm a big fan of the Raiders, not because they're in any way likeable, but because they represent the really engrossing days of the 70s and 80s in the NFL, a time when you could wash your steroids down with some Jack, end a guy's career with a hit, and then saunter down the local gentleman's club to relax for the night. What a life. Not that it's what i'd do of course...

Anyway the Raiders are just on the up sneakily. They've built their foundations from the ashes of a dismal 2012 roster, and if they even get to 8-8, I'd say that Reggie McKenzie would be my GM of the year. Remember the horrendous contracts and draft picks doled out (Carson Palmer, Richard Seymour, Stanford Routt anyone? Anyone?) by the previous regime, and then consider that his first draft pick actually came at pick no.95 (a compensatory selection too, the Raiders actually only held picks in the 5th and 6th rounds) in his first draft, and you have some idea what he has been up against.

In fact, read this, and tell me 8-8 wouldn't be an absolute triumph.

KC (6-10) I am down on the Chiefs this year. They've done well getting Jeremy Maclin at WR, which should be great when they then can't get the ball to him enough. In fairness, I like Alex Smith, I just think if you ask him to do too much, he won't get it done. Let the guy play his own way, and he'll probably get you 10 wins a season. Tell him to throw downfield, and you're asking for trouble in a division like this with strong DB's.

Their defense is really good. I mean I think they have on paper probably the best players in the division, but I question how they win games. Maybe I'm just being a negative nelly, but there's something off about this.

Oh, and like most people, I can still remember when Andy Reid wasn't the second coming of Vince Lombardi, and was studiously ignoring Brian Westbrook in his Philly backfield.