Will The Chargers Stay As Top Contenders?

After the San Diego Chargers end a 13-3 season with a disappointing loss to the Jets, it's time look at the future on how they can stay as top contenders.

Let's look at the areas that they need to address and their areas of strength:

OFFENSE:

• Quarterback: Phillip Rivers is an elite quarterback, one of the best in the game. He is young, hardly makes mistakes, works great with Turner's system, proven leader and has gotten better each year. The Chargers should be set in this position for years to come.

• Receivers: The Chargers have a great receiving crew. With TE Antonio Gates and the young big receivers-Vincent Jackson, Malcolm Floyd and Legedu Naanee, the Chargers looks to be in great shape in this area. Vincent Jackson is a free agent this year, it is a no brainer that they have to sign him.

• Running Game: This is one of my areas of concern. LT has average 3 yards a carry this season but not really sure if that is because of the lack of blocking or if he has lost steps in his game. The Chargers' front office will have to decide wheather to keep him or draft a running back. Sproles is a great player, but I don't think that he can carry the load of being a primary back. The Chargers are going to have to address this issue.

• O-Line: It's no secret that they played terrible at the beginning of the season, but played better as the season went. Marcus McNeill is another player in the roster that is a free agent, they must resign him and add more talent in this area.

DEFENSE: The Chargers have a solid defense and without question have talent in all layers of the unit. Defensive tackle Jamal Williams need to come back healthy next year and Shawne Merriman needs to get back to the pass rusher that he was before his injury for the Chargers to go far in the playoffs.

One player that concerns me is Antonio Cromartie. He had a good rookie season, but was not even close to being that kind of player this season. I'm not concern so much about the interceptions, but his tackling ability. Many times this season, I've seen him miss tackles or refuse to make tackles. There is no question that he has talent, but been playing very soft this past season.

SPECIAL TEAMS: The Chargers are also solid on special teams, but Kicker Nate Kaeding will have to fix his playoff struggles. He is the most accurate kicker in the history of the NFL in the regular season, but struggles in the playoffs. I don't know how he's going to fix it, but this is a problem that he is going to have to workout if he wants to remain as a Charger.

MY FINAL TAKE: The Chargers have a lot of key players who could be free agents this post season. Among those players are LT Marcus McNeill, LB Shawne Merriman, WR Vincent Jackson and RB Darren Sproles. These are the key players that the Chargers are going to have to sign if they want to stay as contenders next season.