The Change of the AFC West

For four straight seasons, the San Diego Chargers were the almighty rulers of the AFC West.

They were looked at as the best of the worst, so to speak. The AFC West has had little to be excited about, until now.

Here we are, heading into week 10 with the Kansas City Chiefs in first place while the Oakland Raiders are chomping at the heels of the Chiefs for the top spot.

While this would usually be relaxing time for the Chargers to sit back and cruise right into the playoffs with a sub-par record of 9-7 or even worse, this season is a defining moment of change. 

Change has introduced itself to the fourth place Denver Broncos. And although it may not seem like the most pleasurable of change at this time, head coach Josh McDaniels believes his methods of building a football team will land the Broncos a successful future. 

The third place San Diego Chargers' window of opportunity could be closing.

Although when Philip Rivers is your quarterback it's never safe to say the window is shut.

Give him a couple practice squad scrubs for wide receivers and he will have no problem making them look like all-stars.

Despite the Chargers offensive and defensive ranking, their special teams have been shredded to a degree that no one thought was possible. The coaching staff will be held responsible, and if head coach Norv Turner isn't careful he could find himself searching for a job soon enough.

The second place Oakland Raiders are a team that is hungry for success.

They've been driven to the ground, beaten themselves more than beaten their own opponent.

And while the Raiders do indeed lead the NFL in penalties once again, they have found a way to become relevant for the first time in seven years.

Due in large part to their strong running game, and explosively speedy receivers.

They've had good defenses before during this rough patch, but not a defense that has had the ability to actually win games for them.

In Kansas City, the team that very few expected to produce, they have managed to gain control of the AFC West, and they remain in the drivers seat for the 10th straight week.

They are built for not only long term success, but success right now through their No. 1 ranked rushing attack.

Head coach Todd Haley established himself as the man that would make the Chiefs a powerful team once again.

In 2009, it began as he forced the team to drop an enormous 700+ pounds of excess weight that former coach Herm Edwards had allowed key players to pack on.

Herm literally set the Chiefs back by at least two years based on his lack of coaching and discipline, and he allowed players to not take football seriously. Therefore they didn't take their bodies seriously.

General manager Scott Pioli and head coach Todd Haley changed the culture of the Kansas City Chiefs from the day they set foot in Arrowhead.

"Fifty-three guys off the street could win two games," Haley said to veteran Chief, Brian Waters.

What Waters didn't understand at the time was that Haley had a plan to turn the Kansas City ship back on track.

After winning four games in 2009, the Chiefs have emerged into the 2010 season with five already.

Once the Chiefs figured out their identity would be to pound the rock, and stuff the run, they immediately added leadership to their backfield by installing halfback Thomas Jones into their plan for success.

And although Jones will be a short term piece to the puzzle, Scott Pioli went right ahead and drafted six players who were all captains of their respective team in college.

Beginning with adding not only high character players, but high quality players that don't put themselves above the team.

And although the players are the ones who produce on the field, Pioli had his connections, and his first step during the off-season was adding 3-4 mastermind Romeo Crennel as defensive coordinator.

He's not only a guy who can motivate, but he's a guy that can teach the young talent and develop them properly along with Hall of Fame defensive back Emmitt Thomas.

If this season has taught us anything to this point, it is that no one ever knows anything.

If no one expected to see an NFL with zero undefeated teams to this point, they certainly didn't expect to see zero one loss teams as well.

The NFL is becoming a more even game.

The culture change that is taking place in Kansas City and Oakland is something to keep an eye on.

This was a once proud rivalry, and as we saw last week, the Chiefs and Raiders are back with a vengeance. And back to prove that they can relight that fire that once burned through Len Dawson's eyes when he looked at the silver and black.

For the first time since 1993 the Chiefs and Raiders could finish first and second together like the rivalry is meant to be.

The element of change has taken over the AFC West.