JOCKlife.com takes a look at the different divisions in the NFL. The AFC West looks intriguing with some key additions and losses.

The 2009 NFL season will bring a tight race in the AFC West. With the San Diego Chargers taking the title last year with a record of just 8-8, no team came out of the season as a dominant force.

The Chargers took the crown last year, but winning just half of your games hardly makes you a dominant team. Now, with resigning of running back LaDainian Tomlinson to a new restructured three-year deal, the team will look to defend their title with essentially the same group of players from last season, minus a few exceptions.

With the departure of defensive tackle Igor Olshansky to the Dallas Cowboys, head coach Norv Turner will look to Luis Castillo, a four-year veteran to step up and fill the void left at defensive tackle.

The team will look to beef up their pass coverage after ranking near the bottom of the league with 247.4 pass yards allowed. If the Chargers manage to do these things and are able to keep players like linebacker Shawne Merriman off the injured reserve list this year, look to see San Diego return to the playoffs out of this division.

The Denver Broncos on the other hand have been active during this free agency period. The team has looked to bolster their bench when they signed quarterback Chris Simms to back up unsettled Jay Cutler who insists the team wanted to trade him for Matt Cassel.

Broncos also picked up a pair of running backs in J.J. Arrington and Correll Buckhalter. Both backs are not marquee names, but last season, Denver had numerous issues running the ball, because all their backs were injured.

The biggest acquisition in the opinion of most pundits for Denver is the arrival of Brian Dawkins and Andre’ Goodman. Both defensive backs combined for 114 tackles last season with their previous teams and the mile high team would hope their addition can help improve a defense that allowed 374.6 yards per game as well as letting pretty much anyone who touched a ball into the endzone.

If anything will be the downfall of Denver, it might be the drama currently going on between Cutler and head coach Josh McDaniels. Obviously with the new additions to the team, McDaniels is letting everyone know this is his team.

The first year coach may have laid down the law with Cutler after his temper tantrum following the trade rumors, but that does not rule out a future conflict that could bring down their bread and butter, the passing game.

If Cutler is able to put this all aside, the Broncos will look to fight the Chargers all the way to end of the season. Hopefully this time they win game down the stretch when it matters so they can get into the post season.

The offseason has been filled with emotions for the Oakland Raiders with the loss of linebacker Marquis Cooper in a boating accident off the coast of Florida. With all of the emotions, the Raiders faithful have probably not noticed that Oakland have done very little to improve a team that struggled on both offense and defense. The resigning of defensive back Nnamdi Asomugha may have kept the team at its current talent level, but the Raiders have a long way to go before competing for a spot in this division or the playoffs.

The key to an improvement for the team would be the development of quarterback JaMarcus Russell. While Russell was fairly successful for a young quarterback, with 2,423 passing yards, his 12 fumbles and eight interceptions are unacceptable though for a player picked number one overall in the 2007 NFL Draft. New head coach Tom Cable will have his hands full with this team too.

By far the biggest change in the AFC West has to be the Kansas City Chiefs. With Scott Pioli as the new general manager, firing Herm Edwards and bringing in first year coach Todd Haley to restructure the team, a new era has begun for the Chiefs.

Haley was the Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator from 2007-08, and also helped lead an explosive offense that paraded pro bowl receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin to Super Bowl XLIII. Haley won’t be working with quarterback Kurt Warner, but should be able to mold Matt Cassel into a quarterback that can lead Kansas City to a winning season.

Chiefs’ first steps towards a turn around involved releasing some dead weight. After trading a second round pick for former New England Patriots duo quarterback Cassel and offensive linebacker Mike Vrabel, the team is finally headed in the right direction. Expect the Chiefs to take a player such as offensive tackle Eugene Monroe from Virginia with the third pick overall in the 2009 NFL Draft.

Plus after finishing last season with just two wins, the Chiefs have nowhere to go but up. With the right guidance from Haley, a 12-year NFL coaching veteran, this team’s stock is on the rise. While they most likely will not compete for the division with the Chargers or the Broncos, with the changes on both sides of the ball, they are guaranteed to receive the respect they deserve in their division and the league.

Average: Select ratingPoorOkayGoodGreatAwesome

Your rating: None Average: 4.5 (20 votes)