AFC WEST PREVIEW Aging Oakland Raiders remain the best team

The Raiders are expected to be challenged by Denver and Kansas City.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jerry Rice will turn 41 in October. Rod Woodson is 38. Rich Gannon, Tim Brown and Bill Romanowski each are 37.
How can any team with so many key players born in the '60s possibly challenge for another Super Bowl berth?
"He's old, but he's still young," fellow wide receiver Jerry Porter says of Rice. The rest of the Oakland Raiders echo those sentiments toward their other aging teammates.
The rest of the sports world may be excused for being skeptical. The Raiders made it to the NFL's ultimate game last season, then lost 48-21 to Tampa Bay as the Bucs made the old guys look like the ancients they are.
Still, nobody is dismissing them in a division that is one of the league's most competitive; none of the four teams in the AFC West was under .500 last season.
Plummer at Denver
This year, the major challengers seem to be Denver, with Jake Plummer newly installed at quarterback, and Kansas City, where a defense that allowed more yards last season than any other team has been upgraded and Priest Holmes' ailing hip seems sound.
Even San Diego, which lost seven of its last nine to finish 8-8, could be competitive.
But any discussion of the division starts with the Raiders and their aging core.
Gannon, who spent many of his 16 seasons standing on the sideline with a headset, was the league's MVP last season. Rice, at age 40, had 92 catches, his most since 1996 when he was 34. Running back Charlie Garner had 91 receptions to go with a 5.3-yard rushing average. Bill Callahan replaced the departed Jon Gruden as coach without a hitch and the Raiders averaged 28.1 points a game.
If the age shows this year, it could be on the defense.
Woodson, a member of the NFL's 75th anniversary team, reverted to his All-Pro form of a decade ago at safety. Romanowski, signed after being released by Denver, added fire if not speed to the defense, but he staged a nasty attack on teammate Marcus Williams, breaking Williams' eye socket.
The defense has added age: 32-year-old Dana Stubblefield at tackle, another among several ex-49ers the Raiders have picked up.
There are solid young players, too, notably cornerbacks Charles Woodson and Phillip Buchanon, who looked like a comer last season until a broken wrist sidelined him for the season.
Chiefs improve defense
If age gets to the Raiders, look for Kansas City, which finished just 8-8 last season because its defense allowed the most yards in the NFL.
Dick Vermeil is in his third year with the Chiefs, which in his coaching past with the Eagles and Rams has meant a major move upward. That has registered on the team's psyche.
"This is his third year with Kansas City, and we all know special things happen to Dick Vermeil teams in his third year," said cornerback Dexter McCleon, who played for Vermeil in St. Louis.
The defense added linebacker Shawn Barber from Philadelphia and DE Vonnie Holliday from Green Bay. Defensive tackle Ryan Sims should be much better after wasting most of his rookie season because he held out through training camp.
But the key will be on the other side of the ball. Holmes was headed for the NFL rushing title when he hurt his hip and missed the last two games. So far, it doesn't look like he's lost anything.
The offensive line, featuring tackle Willie Roaf, guard Will Shields and center Casey Wiegmann may be the league's best. Tony Gonzalez was still one of the top tight ends in the NFL last season, but tweaked his knee in practice this week.
Denver continues to suffer from post-Elway syndrome. The Broncos are 34-30 since John Elway retired after leading Denver to its second straight Super Bowl win following the 1998 season.
This year's "next Elway" is Jake Plummer, signed from Arizona where he was exciting but erratic. The party line in Denver is the erratic stemmed from the Cardinals being a bad team. So far he's been OK, although he's spending his time getting comfortable in Mike Shanahan's West Coast offense.
Better surrounding cast
There's certainly offensive talent around him that he lacked in Arizona with running back Clinton Portis, wide receivers Rod Smith, Ed McCaffrey and the oncoming Ashley Lelie, and tight end Shannon Sharpe. Like the Raiders, there's age, too: McCaffrey and Sharpe are both 35, and McCaffrey has been injured a lot lately.
The Chargers have one of the league's best running backs in LaDainian Tomlinson and coach Marty Schottenheimer can usually squeeze eight or nine wins out of any team. They also signed wide receiver David Boston, who can be one of the NFL's best when healthy.
But third-year quarterback Drew Brees is still learning and the defense folded late last season as the Chargers lost seven of their last nine, including their final four games.