It's a mad, mad world out there in the NFL. There are those inexplicable times when dogs are being chased by cats who are being chased by mice.

In the AFC for example, a New England Patriots team that was left downtrodden and without its starting quarterback, beat up on a deeper, more talented Indianapolis Colts team twice in a month as if the two aren't even in the same league.

	Jon Gruden is still looking for his first win against the Broncos as Raiders head coach.

Also, there are the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins.

The Dolphins, however terrific a run they might find themselves on or how large a lead they might have built, are always derailed when they play the Jets. Take, for example, the 31-7 fourth-quarter lead the Dolphins lost to the Jets in a 40-37 Monday night loss last year ... or the 17-0 lead they lost earlier this season.

At times in this crazy league, the mere sight of some teams simply torments another. This is the case with the Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders.

No matter how stoked the Raiders may be in a particular season, the Broncos are seemingly always there to wreck things for them. The two meet Monday night in Oakland, where the 5-1 Raiders are a 5½-point favorite and have a chance to somewhat separate themselves from the hated Broncos.

But so what?

The Broncos have made a living of crushing the will of the Raiders, winning the last seven meetings and 11 of the last 12 since the acrimonious relationship between Mike Shanahan and the Raiders' acidic owner, Al Davis, ended unceremoniously in 1995.

Since coaching the Raiders, Shanahan has become hugely successful in Denver, and beating up on Davis' Raiders has always been a close second to winning the Super Bowl.

The history behind the hatred between Shanahan and Davis stems from Davis' firing of Shanahan as Raiders head coach four games into the 1989 season and replacing him with Art Shell.

Although there still was $250,000 due on Shanahan's contract, Davis refused to pay it, and the dispute went to an NFL arbiter, who ruled in Shanahan's favor. Davis, however, still has not paid Shanahan.

Two years ago, Shanahan even proposed to Davis that the money he's owed be given by Davis to the Oakland Public Schools system, a proposal that Davis never even responded to. This has led to Shanahan tweaking and ridiculing Davis at every chance he gets.

Leading into Monday night's game, Shanahan took to complimenting Raiders coach Jon Gruden, who happens to be 0-6 against the Broncos during his Oakland tenure.

"He's done such a great job there," Shanahan said. "I just hope he gets the type of contract he deserves. He's a young coach and should be paid accordingly. But I'm hoping with the situation like it is that Al doesn't pay him the type of contract he deserves when his contract is up, so we can get him out of the AFC West. He's always been tight when it came to head coaches. I'm hoping (Davis) doesn't take care of him."

The Shanahan-Davis feud is always a sideshow before any of the games between these two teams.

"The Raiders and Broncos was never a -- how should we put it? -- a wholesome rivalry," said Broncos backup quarterback Steve Beuerlein, who'll miss Monday's game with an elbow injury. "You just wanted to get out there and kill them, just rub their face in it as much as we possibly could.

	Broncos vs. Raiders
	The Raiders lead the series 49-30-2, which means before the Denver streak of 11-of-12 began, the Raiders were up 48-19-2. This is the 12th meeting between the teams on Monday night, and the third consecutive season the teams have played on MNF. Eight of the previous 11 Monday meetings were decided by seven points or less.

"Now, in the recent years since Mike got here, there's a personal feeling in the rivalry, more personal than it ever was."

Gruden has done the best he can to downplay the uncanny hold that Denver has had on his teams.

"I try not to get into trends and history and things of that nature," Gruden said. "I am well aware of all the negative trends that come up when you talk about this particular game. But I like the streak (four consecutive victories) that we're on right now, and I'd like to keep it."

The Raiders, too, have been kings of Monday Night Football with a 33-18-1 record. They've lost only two Monday night games at home. Problem is, one of those came against the Broncos, who've beaten the Raiders in the last three overall on Monday night.

"I'm sure those guys want a piece of us real bad," Broncos free safety Eric Brown said.

"I'm not worried at all," Raiders defensive end Regan Upshaw said of the streak. "I feel like we can beat these guys and beat them convincingly."

Oakland receiver Tim Brown said, "Man, we are playing so good this year that we don't even think about (the streak). I'm sure the fans (and) the media think about it and talk about it. But as far as this team, we are in a great position to put these guys three games behind us, and that's all we are looking at."

The Raiders are, indeed, feeling good about themselves, having come off a bye week that followed an impressive win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

"We've got some winners on our team," Gruden said. "Winners expect to win. That trait can only be enhanced by winning. We expect to win if we play at our best, and that is a healthy theme and something we want to try and instill in everyone."

"Not beating them in a long while means they're the only animal untamed in our cage," Raiders tackle Lincoln Kennedy said. "We have to get over this hump."

Broncos' Neil pleads innocent
While Patriots linebacker Bryan Cox has been screaming bloody murder since breaking his leg against Denver last Sunday, Broncos right guard Dan Neil, who was fined $15,000 for an illegal block on Cox, insisted he never touched him.

	Neil

	Cox

"Specifically, on a pass play, you clipped your opponent from behind and below the knee," NFL director of football operations Gene Washington told Neil in a letter explaining the fine.

Since the play, which took place in the third quarter of Denver's win over New England, Cox has vowed revenge on Neil.

"I'm going to get him," Cox said earlier in the week. "I don't care how long it takes. I'm going to get him. This league always talks about protecting players and how we want to protect the people who are in a defenseless position. If that wasn't defenseless, I don't know what is."

The play has drawn differing opinions, the oddest one coming from Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Reeves, who coached Neil while he was in Denver.

"People are diving to make blocks," Reeves told Atlanta reporters during the week. "It's unfortunate that Bryan got hurt. But he actually got hurt trying to hurdle and landed wrong, and the leg bent back under him. Was it caused because of a block? Yes. But did the block cause it? No."

Patriots coach Bill Belichick, however, insisted that it "definitely was a clip" on the part of Neil.

Cox, whose last three seasons have ended in injury, said he expects to return to the lineup before the end of this season.

Jets get defensive about criticism
There were some contentious words bandied about the Jets' training complex this week, with the usually mild-mannered head coach Herman Edwards taking some offense to reports that his team's 4-3 record is a mirage.

	Edwards

Edwards has been sarcastically joking with his players that the Jets are being perceived as the worst 4-3 team in the league following their unsightly 13-12 escape of a win in Carolina last week.

"We're 4-3 and I'm certainly not giving any of those four wins back," Edwards said. "We're not playing (to impress) the fans; we're playing to win the game. It's like in golf. You look at the scorecard to see how you did. It doesn't matter if you hit it into the trees three times. If you made par, that's all that matters.

"A lot of people are questioning the league, saying it's not good. I think everyone's the same. This is what (the NFL) wanted; they wanted parity. Now everyone says it's mediocrity, that everyone's no good."

Edwards then asked, if the team isn't playing well, "What am I supposed to tell the team? 'Hey, give them the win?'

"Sure can we play better, absolutely," Edwards said. "We were fortunate to win the game. I'm not saying it was pretty. I'm not saying I'm satisfied with it. If it's a better team we probably don't win the (Panthers) game. But it wasn't. That ain't our fault. We just play the schedule."

Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post writes an AFC notebook every week for ESPN.com.