ESPN NFL

The sun may set in the West, but so do many of the league's big-name players. The AFC West is the eventual home for marquee veterans who happened to turn 30 years old.

For one, the AFC West has long been considered the league's most competitive division for personnel. That trend hasn't changed. Unlike some divisions, football people -- general managers or those working with Al Davis -- run the show.

That leads to exciting offseasons, and this one has been no exception. After hitting the age wall in going 4-12 last year, the Raiders underwent the most renovation and they aren't through yet. If Eddie George is indeed cut by the Titans, where do you think the long-time workhorse back is probably headed? That's right. The Raiders didn't get Corey Dillon in a trade to be their every down back. They will be on the phones to George.

		It's no surprise defense was an emphasis in the Raiders offseason. It was an emphasis throughout a division that basically couldn't stop anybody. The Chargers finished 27th, the Chiefs 29th and the Raiders 30th. This trio was particularly bad against the run, the Chargers finishing 25th, the Chiefs 30th and the Raiders 32th.

It follows the pattern of their entire offseason. The league's second-oldest team last year, the Raiders added defensive tackles Warren Sapp, 31, and Ted Washington, 36, cornerback Denard Walker, 31, safety Ray Buchanan, 32, guard Ron Stone, 33, and quarterback Kerry Collins, 31.

Sure, the Raiders are little long at the tooth on offense with 38-year-old Rich Gannon, 41-year-old Jerry Rice and 38-year-old Tim Brown. That may be a problem with downfield speed, but the Raiders are what they are.

"To me, this follows what we've done," Raiders coach Norv Turner said. "When players become available for whatever reason, we try to sign them."

There is a little bit of a New England Patriots flavor to the Raiders signing pattern. They are switching to the Patriots hybrid 3-4 system with a little extra twist. They hired Patriots defensive line coach Rob Ryan to teach the Patriots 3-4 and to be able to switch into a 4-3. To spice it up, he will also teach the 4-6 defense created by his father, Buddy Ryan.

Naturally, the Raiders looked to some Patriots players to fit into that system. Washington and defensive end Bobby Hamilton followed Ryan from New England. The Raiders may be coming off a horrible season, but they are trying their best to operate like a team competing for the playoffs.

It's no surprise defense was an emphasis in the Raiders offseason. It was an emphasis throughout a division that basically couldn't stop anybody. The Chargers finished 27th, the Chiefs 29th and the Raiders 30th. This trio was particularly bad against the run, the Chargers finishing 25th, the Chiefs 30th and the Raiders 32nd.

The Chargers, like the Raiders, are also switching defenses after hiring 3-4 specialist Wade Phillips. Hoping to repeat his past success, Phillips has performed magic with players on rosters, teaching them the toughness of playing in the 3-4 and devising sound, non-complicated schemes.

The most interesting transition, though, might be in Kansas City. Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil hated to give up on defensive coordinator Greg Robinson, whom he grew fond of during their years together. Unfortunately, Robinson's schemes gave up huge chunks of yards if players were out of position. The Chiefs went 13-3 despite having big holes in their defense.

Enter Gunther Cunningham, the former Chiefs coach who had been biding time in Tennessee as the linebacker coach. Cunningham adds fire and aggression to the defense, and he better. It's literally the same roster that finished 30th.

The only veteran free agent addition to the defense is defensive tackle Lional Dalton, who might not be more than the fourth or fifth tackle in the rotation. Safety Jerome Woods, defensive tackle John Browning, cornerback Eric Warfield and others have been around long enough to educate the unknowing Chiefs about Cunningham's intensity. Remember, this is a head coach who practiced 100 plays in 100 minutes to create a rhythm.

Like the Raiders a year ago, the Chiefs have to worry about age hitting them at once. Eight offensive starters are in their 30s, and it could end up at nine depending on whom replaces John Tait at right tackle. The good news is that Dick Vermeil isn't worried about rebuilding programs. He wants to win now.

He signed a contract extension but he's only staying around to take the Chiefs to the Super Bowl. It would have been nice if Chiefs management would have given him a little bit of youth at receiver. Johnnie Morton is 32 and Eddie Kennison is 31, but they are significantly younger than the Raiders so there is time. Plus, whoever came in at receiver in the first two rounds may not have been any better than a fourth receiver.

Following the veteran trend in the AFC West, Broncos coach Mike Shanahan went for veteran role players to fill out a defense that somehow finished fourth in the league. So often, though, Shanahan's ball-control offense on the ground and through the West Coast passing attack covers deficiencies in the defense. He's gone to Super Bowls with low-ranked defenses.

This year, perhaps more than any other, Shanahan wanted veteran leaders to come into the system. For the defensive line, he brought in ends Raylee Johnson, 34 and Marco Coleman, 34, and tackle Luther Elliss, 31. At safety, he hopes the neck problems of John Lynch, 32, will ease up long enough to let him run the secondary.

If Lynch can add pop at strong safety and direct the traffic in the secondary, the Broncos could rank even higher than fourth. Why? They finally found the shutdown cornerback they've been seeking for years. Champ Bailey is good enough to shutdown wide receivers and tireless enough to come over and help out on offense as a wide receiver.

Age concerns are creeping into the offensive line just like in Kansas City and in Oakland last year. Center Tom Nalen is 33, guard Dan Neil is 30 as is left tackle Matt Lepsis. And line guru Alex Gibbs isn't around any more to problem solve and come up with new ideas for the offensive line. Gibbs jumped to the Falcons.

Despite that, Shanahan is confident he can manufacture a good running game from a handful of candidates -- Quentin Griffin, Mike Anderson, Garrison Hearst and NFL Europe prospect Ahmaad Galloway.

The race between the Chiefs, Broncos and possibly the Raiders could be pretty tight. The Chargers are just hoping to be competitive. General manager A.J. Smith weeded out a lot of high paid underachievers, but that didn't leave a big budget of replacements. He had to go bargain shopping for linebackers Randall Godfrey and Steve Foley as starters for the 3-4 and Kevin Dyson as a starting candidate at wide receiver.

Smith has put all of his money on rookie quarterback Philip Rivers. But what is needed is help on the offensive line. The only linemen left from last year's team are guard Phil Bogle, center Jason Ball, tackle Courtney Van Buren and the eternally inactive Toniu Fonoti.

It's one of the few areas in this division that has gotten younger.

John Clayton is a senior writer for ESPN.com.