Sportsnet's Jim Lang previews each of the NFL's divisions leading up to the opening kickoff on Thursday, Sept. 10. In this installment he says the Chargers are once again the team to beat, and as long as Al Davis is running the Raiders, expect the losing seasons to continue.

AFC West

San Diego Chargers

(2008 record: 8-8, won division)

The undisputed team to beat in the West is also one of the teams to beat in the entire AFC: the San Diego Chargers. Because they play in a weak division and they play way out on the West Coast, I think there are times people forget how just how good a team they have in San Diego. The Chargers just about have it all. This year, they will be even better because their sack master, Shawne Merriman, is back and he's healthy.

First off, just check out some of the amazing talent on the Chargers offence. Quarterback Philip Rivers is coming off a 4,000 yard, 34 touchdown season. Running back LaDanian Tomlinson, even though he has a lot of mileage on his legs, is still coming off a season where he ran for 1,000 yards and scored 11 rushing touchdowns. Then there's six-foot-five receiver Vincent Jackon who is had a breakout 1,000 yard season in 2008. Rounding out the offence is tight end Antonio Gates and their enormous offensive tackle, Marcus McNeil.

For the Chargers, it all starts on offence with Rivers. One of the cockiest quarterbacks in the NFL, Rivers put up big numbers in 2008 and then led the Chargers to an overtime playoff win over the Colts. Rivers has such great tools and he's at the peak of his career, so barring an injury, he should once again put up some incredible numbers.

Rivers might also be one of the best trash talkers in the league. While Rivers likes to talk smack, he loves to talk football even more. I asked Rivers about his favourite target last year, Vincent Jackson, and he ended up giving me an in-depth answer to what makes the big receiver so effective. Here's what he said to me in his e-mail:

"I know I've said numerous times in the past that he's physically as talented and as strong and as fast as there is in this league. With experience you get better. I think he'd probably admit, too, that his continued emphasis on the mental part of the game, understanding the concepts of what we're trying to do, not only what route he runs but why and what we're trying to get done, he has a great understanding of this offence. He understands the windows, what I see from where I am and why I throw it where I do. As big as he is, he's a fast guy and really explosive. He's not a just long strider. A lot of times big guys can have trouble getting off press coverage and he's really physical with the DB and great against guys up in his face."

Needless to say, Rivers is confident that Jackson will get even better in 2009. That means the two of them have the potential to put up some amazing numbers this year.

When it comes to top end talent, the Chargers are just as impressive on defence. Before shutting it down last year with a knee injury, linebacker Shawne Merriman had 39 1/2 sacks in the three previous seasons. The Chargers' other outside linebacker, Shaun Phillips, is almost as good as Merriman. The Chargers have the dynamic duo of Quentin Jammer and Antonio Cromartie in the secondary and the defensive line is anchored by a bad ass stud in Luis Castillo. The Chargers defence completely turned around their season when Ron Rivera took over as defensive co-ordinator. There's no reason to believe the hard-working and highly respected Rivera won't continue to work wonders with the talent he has at his disposal.

Having a game changer like Merriman back is a huge lift for the entire Chargers team, not just the defence. Merriman forces offensive coaches to come up with a game plan to stop him. Merriman's speed off the corner gives most offensive linemen nightmares. Like Rivers on offence, Merriman is the emotional leader of the Chargers defence.

With Darren Sproles returning kicks, the Chargers are always a threat to take one all the way back. Sproles has also emerged as a valuable member of the offence when called upon.

Norv Turner will likely never be viewed as one of the NFL's best coaches. However, with the kind of talent they have in San Diego, even a coach like Turner can get this team into the post-season. The way the schedule is shaping up, there's no way the Chargers should win anything less than less than 10 games, especially because they play in a division where they get to play the Chiefs and the Raiders a combined four times a year. For the Chargers, it's not a question of whether they will make the playoffs; it's only a question of who they're going to end up facing.

Sad fact: The aftershocks of the struggling American economy are still being felt in a big way in the greater San Diego area. Despite the fact that they're one of the best teams in the AFC, a lack of ticket sales may force the NFL to black out a number of the Chargers regular-season home games.

Kansas City Chiefs

(2008 record: 2-14)

2009 marks a massive season of change in the heart of the American Midwest. Todd Haley takes over as the new head coach, Scott Pioli takes over from Carl Peterson as the general manager, and Matt Cassel came over from New England to be the Chiefs new franchise quarterback. This is Haley's first head coaching job in the NFL after his impressive run as the Cardinals offensive co-ordinator. Pioli was Bill Belichick's boy wonder in the front office and is generally regarded as one of the brightest minds in the entire league. Cassel took over for an injured Tom Brady in Week 1 last year and threw for more than 3,600 yards and 21 touchdowns. All three men have impressive resumes, but neither one of them have ever been "the man" in the NFL. This means the Chiefs are bound to suffer through some major growing pains before their new trifecta get it right.

While he's no longer a member of the Patriots, Cassel is very appreciative of all the guidance and mentorship given to him by Tom Brady. Said Cassel:

"When you're a young quarterback, you come in the league and you hope there's going to be a guy there that will kind of look after you and kind of teach you the way. (Brady) is a professional in every sense of the word. He really was able to teach me how to prepare off the field and on the field, in the film room. Also, those leadership qualities you need as you move forward in this business as the starting quarterback."

But now, Cassel is on his own. Not only that, Cassel is being paid a ton of money and being asked to resurrect the Chiefs offence. That's a lot of pressure for Cassel and he doesn't have anything close to the level of talent he was able to work with in New England.

In a pre-season game against the Seahawks, Cassel sprained his left MCL after being sacked by a Seattle defender. Because of that, the Chiefs might be forced to start the regular season against the Ravens with Tyler Thigpen at quarterback.

If Thigpen ends up getting the start, that means Todd Haley will have to turn to running back Larry Johnson. While LJ is a talented back, he hasn't had an injury-free season and a 1,000-yard season since 2006. With so much rebuilding on offence, Johnson might find staying healthy for 16 games a challenge.

On defence, Scott Pioli and Todd Haley brought in veteran linebacker Mike Vrabel to teach all the kids how to be a man in the NFL. With the likes of Glenn Dorsey and Tyson Jackson, the Chiefs have a lot of talented, but very young players on defence. The Chiefs defence set a NFL record for futility in 2008 when they recorded only 10 sacks.

They may not win many games this year, but because of Arrowhead Stadium the Chiefs will likely once again win the award for the loudest stadium in the NFL.

Cool fact: Recently inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Derrick Thomas had the biggest day of his career when the Chiefs played a game on Veterans Day a few years ago. During the pre-game ceremony, four Air Force jets flew over Arrowhead Stadium. Thomas' father was a B-52 pilot killed in action during the Vietnam War. Suitably motivated by the flyover, Thomas set the NFL single-game record when he had an amazing seven sacks against the Seahawks. I still get chills up my spine every time I think of that story.

Oakland Raiders

(2008 record: 5-11)

The Oakland Raiders might not win many games this year, but there isn't a team in the NFL that can touch them when it comes to dysfunctional behaviour. In 2009, Tom Cable is being asked to try to stop the endless cycle of losing that has taken over the Black Hole. So what does Cable do? Cable starts his first full season as the head man of the Silver and Black by, allegedly, punching the crap out of one of his own assistant coaches. Only in Oakland.

There once was a time when the Raiders were considered one of the top teams in the NFL. That was a long time ago. Now, the Raiders are looked at as a bit of a joke. Once respected and revered, Raiders owner Al Davis is laughed at by many people in the NFL.

Quarterback JaMarcus Russell stunned everyone by showing up at camp out of shape and overweight. Not exactly what you want to see out of your franchise quarterback. His backup is 39-year-old veteran Jeff Garcia.

The Raiders do have some talent at running back in their second-year man out of Arkansas, Darren McFadden. McFadden shares the Raiders backfield with the gritty and effective Justin Fargas. The problem for either McFadden or Fargas is that opposing teams don't have a lot of respect for the Raiders' passing game anymore, so they load up eight defenders in "the box" and concentrate at stopping the run.

Receiver is another story altogether in Oakland. The Raiders shocked everyone at the draft by selecting Darius Heyward-Bey with the seventh pick overall. Oddly enough, it is a receiver the Raiders picked in the fourth round, Louis Murphy, who looks like he can help the team right away. One young receiver that showed some flashes of brilliance was the Raiders' little speed burner, Johnnie Lee Higgins. Hidden in all this doom and gloom on offence with the Raiders is their amazing tight end, Zach Miller.

Robert Gallery and the Raiders offensive line are still a work in progress. The problem is that there simply isn't enough top end talent along the line to make it a first rate unit.

The Raiders defence took a hit when Derrick Burgess cried uncle and was traded to the Patriots. Talk about going from the outhouse to the penthouse. The crown jewel of the Raiders defence is also the best player on the entire team, cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. The incredibly gifted Asomugha is arguably the best cornerback in the entire NFL. Even more unexpected Heyward-Bey's selection was the Raiders' decision to take little known safety Mike Mitchell in the second round. Then again, Al Davis always believes he's the smartest man at the draft and is about to uncover the next hidden gem. Outside of Asomugha and linebacker Kirk Morrison, there are still a lot of holes on the Raiders defence.

There is one thing the Raiders are better at than most teams and that's kicking the football. Sebastien Janikowski is still one of the top field-goal kickers in the league and punter Shane Lechler is one of the best in the AFC.

The bottom line in Oakland is this: until Al Davis is willing to step aside and hire a top notch, proven G.M. and head coach, the Raiders are doomed to never rise up from their seemingly endless cycle of losing seasons.

Sad note: For years, Davis has lived by the mantra of "Commitment to Excellence". The message doesn't seem to be getting through any more as the hapless Raiders have won only 11 games over the past three seasons.

Denver Broncos

(2008 record: 8-8)

Much like the Chiefs, the Broncos are in the midst of a major organizational makeover in 2009. After a great run in Denver, Mike Shanahan is out as head coach and in comes 33-year-old whiz kid Josh McDaniels. McDaniels comes to the Broncos after a great run in New England as the Patriots' offensive co-ordinator. In an even more stunning move, the Broncos traded franchise quarterback Jay Cutler to Chicago in exchange for the Bears' starting quarterback, Kyle Orton. So McDaniels is being asked to replace a man with two Super Bowl rings, and Orton is being asked to replace a quarterback who threw for more than 4,000 yards in 2008. Of course, Cutler played a huge role in getting dealt. Having said that, Broncos fans will be expecting Orton to put up the kind of numbers they're used to seeing from their starting quarterback

McDaniels has an even bigger problem than what Bronco fans think of Orton, and that's wide receiver Brandon Marshall. One of the poster boys for the NFL's growing list of bad-boy receivers, Marshall is livid with the Broncos for refusing to renegotiate his contract. Marshall's point is that he's put together back-to-back seasons with at least 100 receptions. Marshall is also upset with the way the Broncos dealt with his recent acquittal on battery charges. Marshall boycotted the team's off-season workouts and he's been in involved in a number of off-field incidents. The bottom line is that the relationship between Marshall and McDaniels and the Broncos has hit rock bottom. So now, the Broncos are faced with the prospect of dealing their best offensive player before the start of the season. If they can't swing a trade, I have no idea how any of his teammates will be willing to welcome back Marshall with open arms. Add it all up and it makes for a very unhappy Broncos locker room. Welcome to the NFL, Josh McDaniels.

Like the Chiefs, the Broncos watched their franchise quarterback get banged up in a pre-season game. Orton injured a finger on his throwing hand in the Broncos' loss to Cutler and the Bears. Orton's backup is trying to rehab from a high ankle sprain as fast as possible so he's ready for Week 1.

I like the Broncos' selection of running back Knowshon Moreno from Georgia. He has a lot of upside and teamed with former Eagle Correll Buckhalter, Moreno should learn the pro game in a hurry. If the Marshall saga doesn't end, it leaves the Broncos wafer thin at receiver. That means they are going to have to run the ball a lot and that means Moreno should get a lot of touches for a rookie.

I like McDaniels' decision to hire former 49ers head coach Mike Nolan as his defensive co-ordinator. He's a good football man with a wealth of experience. Nolan is likely wishing he had a younger version of cornerback Champ Bailey. That's meant as no disrespect to the man, it's just that Nolan will need a proven Pro Bowler like Bailey around a few years to help tutor his young defensive players. Nolan has his work cut for him in 2009, because the Broncos gave up more points last year (448) than any other team in the AFC.

Amazing stat: Say what you want about the Broncos, but you can never question the passion and loyalty of their fans. Since 1970, every single home game, whether at the old Mile Stadium, or the new Invesco Field, has been a sellout.