 | | Jaworski on the Broncos |  |
The Denver Broncos are looking for consistency. I used to really look forward to plugging in the Broncos' tape on Tuesday because Mike Shanahan is one of the NFL's great designers of offense. He can manufacture points with formation variation, motion and creating favorable matchups for his personnel. But since they lost Ed McCaffrey, I have not seen the same offense that has made Denver so much fun to watch. Against Seattle, the Broncos used three tight ends a high percentage of the time, which is not an aggressive style. McCaffrey's loss has hamstrung the offense; Shanahan can't use all the formations he loves until he finds a complementary receiver to Rod Smith. And no one has stepped up.
I'm not thrilled with the way the Broncos are playing defense right now. I believe they are too vanilla and predictable. That will cause some problems against the Raiders, who play a well-designed offense.
Five keys for the Broncos:
1. Mix it up. Broncos defensive coordinator Ray Rhodes must mix up their coverage in the secondary. In breaking them down, their coverages lack unpredictability. They need to change it up because the Raiders know how to attack coverages. If an offense can anticipate coverage, it's a huge advantage.
2. Get after Gannon. Rich Gannon is the ultimate ad-lib quarterback, a terrific playmaker. If the Broncos let him sit back and move around, he will eat them up. The Broncos' pressure has been average at best. They have used some blitzes, but I don't believe Rhodes wants to use a high percentage because he doesn't confidence in his secondary to be left in single coverage outside.
3. Griese must be good. The Broncos must get consistent play from Brian Griese. Having one go-to receiver in Rod Smith has limited him. In addition, he took some licks against Baltimore. Since then it seems he has lost a little bit of his composure. It happens to every quarterback; if he gets hit, he can become more frenetic in the pocket. Griese must calm down and get back to being the patient quarterback he was and can be.
4. Run consistently. The Broncos are still a running football team, but they have lacked consistency. The running game sets up Griese, who is an excellent play-action passer and timing-and-rhythm quarterback. He needs to have the components in place around him to be successful. I don't think he can be asked to drop back 40 times in the pocket and beat teams. But if they are running the ball well and the play-action game is working, he can be tremendous. All three running backs are healthy. Terrell Davis is the most talented of the group. But how healthy is he? He needs to prove he can be healthy and be available every week.
5. Shore up special teams. Denver special teams must get its act together. Before last week's victory over New England, the Broncos gave up special teams touchdowns two straight weeks. It's imperative that special teams do not give up big plays.
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 | | Salisbury on the Raiders |  |
The Oakland Raiders are the most complete team in the NFL. Although I think they know how complete they are, the Raiders play with a blue-collar attitude that comes from head coach Jon Gruden. He will continue to make the Raiders grind and work. They have a balanced offensive attack, with Charlie Garner producing on the ground while Tyrone Wheatley is hurt. Rich Gannon and the receivers connecting in the passing game, the tight ends getting involved, and the defense running around making plays.
The Raiders' kicking game, with Sebastian Janikowski, is as solid as any in the league. Janikowski is a huge weapon. In addition, Oakland has won two tough road games in a row -- at Indianapolis and at Philadelphia. There is nothing the Raiders don't do well going into Monday's AFC West showdown against rival Denver.
Five keys for the Raiders:
1. Get over it. Denver has had Oakland's number, winning 11 of their last 12 meetings. So the Raiders need to believe they are the class of the West, not the Broncos. They don't need to be arrogant, but they can't be concerned about the past. Oakland needs to get over the psychological hump. It takes confidence. Right now the Raiders are the boss, and they need to play that way.
2. No Bronco tempo. The Raiders can't allow the Broncos to get into a comfort zone, which is running the ball. They like to pound the ball. If the Broncos jump out to a lead, they can hand the ball to Terrell Davis, Mike Anderson or Olandis Gary and try to pound Oakland into submission. That's when the Broncos are dictating the flow of the game. The Raiders must force the Broncos away from their strength, making a banged-up Brian Griese throw the ball without Ed McCaffrey.
3. Slow hot Rod. The Raiders must roll their coverage toward Rod Smith because Eddie Kennison shouldn't be able to beat them. Without McCaffrey, the Broncos have been a different football team. Kennison has been unable to compensate for McCaffrey's loss. Meanwhile, Smith is the NFL's leading receiver. So the Raiders can't let Smith win the game. They will force Kennison to do it.
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4. Get some separation. The Broncos are playing average football. With the emotions of this game, the Raiders should jump out fast. The longer they let Denver hang around, the better off the Broncos will be. The Broncos have enough of a passing game to get them back in it, but the Raiders need to distance themselves from Denver to avoid any chance for a comeback. Don't let the game come down a three-point lead late in the fourth quarter, or a tie game where a 55-yard field goal by Jason Elam can beat them.
5. Hit Griese. Griese has taken a pounding this year, and his shoulder is bothering him. The Raiders need to bang him around some more. They don't need to cheap-shot him, but I'm not opposed to the Raiders taking a 15-yard penalty early in the game to let Griese and the Broncos know they will be in for a marathon, not a sprint. |
