Atlas
11-11-2006, 06:20 PM
Raiders' Latest Headache Is Broncos Defense
Clearly, the Oakland Raiders have some problems.
SoCals link: http://www.sportsnetwork.com/default.asp?c=sfgate&page=nfl/news/ABN4048645.htm
The Raiders are 2-6 heading into Sunday afternoon's test against AFC West rival Denver at McAfee Coliseum, and progress for the once-proud franchise, particularly on the offensive side of the football, has been non-existent. The Silver and Black are last in the league in total offense (227.9 yards per game), scoring offense (11.5 points per game), passing offense (122.8 yards per game), sacks allowed (44), completion percentage (46.2) and touchdown passes (4), and are tied for the league-low in rushing touchdowns (2). Their starting quarterback, second-year-pro Andrew Walter, has a 51.1 passer rating, which ranks 34th out of 34 NFL signal-callers. Oakland comes off a 16-0 loss at the hands of the Seahawks on Monday night, the fourth time this year that Art Shell's team has been held to six points or fewer.
This week, the Raiders' problems wear orange, navy blue, and white.
Denver, at 6-2 and fresh off a 31-20 in Pittsburgh, has risen to co-leadership of the top spot in the AFC West based primarily on its defensive play. The Broncos lead the league in scoring defense (12.2 points per game) and touchdowns allowed (7), and have held five of their opponents to seven points or less this season.
The Broncos have owned the Raiders for the better part of the past decade, going 18-5 against them since 1995, with head coach Mike Shanahan always content to beat up on the franchise that fired him four games into the 1989 season. Denver already owns a win against Oakland this season (13-3 in Week 6), a victory that extended the Raiders' losing streak against AFC West opponents to 10 games. Oakland is 2-18 in the division since 2003, and the Broncos, who have outscored their longtime rival by a composite score of 93-28 in their last three trips to McAfee, are expecting that record to be 2-19 very soon.
Can the Raiders shock the masses and give Denver problems of its own on Sunday afternoon? In the topsy-turvy NFL, it would be unwise to rule out such an occurrence.
SERIES HISTORY
The Raiders lead the all-time series with Denver, which dates back to 1960, by a 53-37-2 count. As mentioned, Denver is 18-5 against Oakland since the 1995 season, including a 13-3 home victory in Week 6, and a home-and-home sweep of their longtime division rival last season. The Broncos scored a 31-17 win at McAfee Coliseum in Week 10, and dealt Oakland a 22-3 setback at Invesco Field at Mile High in Week 16. The Raiders are 0-3 in home games against the Broncos since last beating them at home in 2002, and the only win in the series for the Silver and Black since 2002 came in the form of a 25-24 shocker in Denver in 2004.
In addition to the regular season series, the teams have split a pair of postseason matchups, with Denver winning the 1977 AFC Championship, 20-17, and the then-Los Angeles Raiders prevailing in a 1993 AFC First-Round Playoff, 42-24.
Shanahan is 18-5 against the team he coached in 1988 and part of the 1989 season, before being fired and replaced by current Oakland head man Art Shell, who had served as offensive line coach on Shanahan's staff. Shell was 11-1 against the Broncos during his first stint as head coach (1989-94), including the '93 playoff win, but is 0-1 head-to-head against Shanahan's Broncos.
BRONCOS OFFENSE VS. RAIDERS DEFENSE
The vaunted running game of the Broncos was in large part solved last week by the Steelers, who limited Denver running backs Mike Bell (305 rushing yards, 3 TD, 11 receptions) and Cedric Cobbs (9 yards) to a combined 37 yards on 20 carries, with neither reeling off a run longer than five yards on the day. The Broncos will get a boost this week if Tatum Bell (612 rushing yards, 2 TD, 13 receptions), who missed the Pittsburgh game with turf toe, is able to return. Bell is listed as questionable heading into Sunday's game. Thanks in large part to a 72-yard touchdown run credited to Javon Walker on a reverse last week, Denver was able to keep hold of the league's No. 3 spot in rushing offense (150.2 yards per game), behind only Atlanta and San Diego. The Raiders limited Bronco running backs to 85 yards on 24 carries (3.5 yards per carry) back in Week 6.
Oakland had major trouble stopping the Seattle run on Monday night, an unforeseen occurrence for a front seven that had played generally well of late. The Raiders allowed Seattle backs Maurice Morris and Mack Strong to combine for 158 yards on 36 ground carries. Looking to bounce back will be a stop unit led by middle linebacker Kirk Morrison (67 tackles, 2 INT), outside linebacker Thomas Howard (54 tackles), and defensive tackles Tommy Kelly (35 tackles, 2 sacks) and Warren Sapp (24 tackles, 4 sacks). Morrison and Howard combined for 20 tackles in the loss to the Seahawks, while Kelly and Sapp totaled 15 tackles and a sack from their interior spots. Following the poor performance on Monday, coordinator Rob Ryan's defense now ranks 27th in the league against the run (136.4 yards per game), and has faced more rushing attempts (273) than any other NFL team.
There had been speculation that if slow-starting Denver quarterback Jake Plummer (1385 passing yards, 8 TD, 7 INT) failed to pick up his performance during a key two-game stretch with the Colts and Steelers, that the team would award starting duties to rookie and No. 11 overall draft choice Jay Cutler. But Plummer quashed that talk by posting his two highest passer ratings of the season over the past two weeks, throwing for 401 yards with four touchdowns and zero interceptions over the two-game stretch. Walker (39 receptions, 5 TD) has emerged as Plummer's No. 1 target over that span, catching 10 balls for 174 yards and scoring four touchdowns in his past two games. Rod Smith (28 receptions, 2 TD) has continued to be a possession threat for Plummer, though the classy veteran is listed as questionable for this week with a separated shoulder. No non-running back other than Walker or Smith has more than six catches for the team this year. Plummer, who has been sacked just 11 times all season, threw for a season-low 102 yards against Oakland in Week 6.
The Raiders went into the Seattle game ranked first in the league against the pass, but ceded control of the top spot to Chicago after allowing Seneca Wallace to throw for 176. Oakland is now second in NFL passing defense (159.8 yards per game), but has also faced just 212 passing attempts, the fewest in the league. Cornerbacks Nnamdi Asomugha (24 tackles, 3 INT) and Chris Carr (6 tackles, 1 INT), both of whom had big interceptions for touchdowns against Pittsburgh in Week 8, will look to goad Plummer into some mistakes on Sunday. Eight of Oakland's 17 sacks on the year belong to end Derrick Burgess, who is seeking to defend his title as the NFL's sack-master. Burgess had one of the Raiders' three sacks of Wallace on Monday night.
RAIDERS OFFENSE VS. BRONCOS DEFENSE
Walter comes off one of the most miserable nights a quarterback could ever have, as the Arizona State product was sacked nine times in a game in which he somehow managed to complete 16-of-35 passes for 166 yards. The 44 sacks that Oakland QBs have absorbed this year have much to do with the team's ill- fitting vertical-based offense, which requires deep drops by quarterbacks who are usually swarmed under before they are able to look downfield. When he was able to set up and throw against Seattle, Walter completed six passes for 76 yards to No. 1 receiver Randy Moss (32 receptions, 3 TD), while Alvis Whitted (13 receptions) contributed three catches for 27 yards in the game. Jerry Porter has logged just one catch since returning from a two-game team suspension. Walter completed 13-of-26 passes for 189 yards and an interception against Denver in Week 6, and Moss contributed 86 receiving yards in the defeat.
The Broncos defense is not exactly known for forcing buckets full of miscues, but with more games like last week's six-turnover extravaganza against Pittsburgh, that reputation will surely change. Cornerbacks Champ Bailey (44 tackles, 5 INT) and Darrent Williams (50 tackles, 1 INT) along with little- known DB reserve Curome Cox (8 tackles, 1 INT) had a hand in all six turnovers: Bailey had two picks, Williams notched two fumble recoveries, and Cox had both an INT and a recovery. Williams is listed as questionable for this week with a shoulder injury. An improving Denver pass rush had four sacks of Ben Roethlisberger Sunday, including two from end Kenard Lang (20 tackles, 4 sacks). Rookie end Elvis Dumervil leads the Broncos with six sacks on the year, including one last week. Dumervil sacked Walter twice in Week 6.
Oakland's strength this season has been running the football, though the term "strength" should certainly be applied loosely. The Raiders are 18th in NFL rushing offense (105.1 yards per game), and are tied for last in the league with just two touchdowns on the ground. LaMont Jordan (398 rushing yards, 1 TD, 8 receptions) has been limited to 16 carries over the past two weeks combined amid back problems, but is expected to be in the lineup for an extended period on Sunday. Jordan rushed 23 times for 60 yards against Denver last month. Backup rusher Justin Fargas (283 rushing yards) is averaging 4.6 yards per carry, but was limited to just one attempt in Seattle on Monday night.
Denver ranks sixth in NFL rushing defense (91.2 yards per game) as Week 10 begins, and nearly got to the midway point of the season without allowing a single touchdown on the ground. Willie Parker's three-yard TD run in the third quarter of last week's game marked the first, and to date only, time the Broncos have had a rushing TD scored against them in 2006. The linebacking corps of Al Wilson (58 tackles) in the middle and D.J. Williams (44 tackles) and Ian Gold (50 tackles) on the outside has been solid all season. Wilson had nine tackles, all of the solo variety, last week. Gold is questionable for Sunday's game with a hamstring problem. Looking to set the LBs up for success are tackles Gerard Warren (18 tackles, 0.5 sacks) and Michael Myers (27 tackles, 2 sacks), who combined for two tackles and half-a-sack last week.
OVERALL ANALYSIS
Bashing the Raiders is becoming something of a sport, though it is impossible to ignore the fact that for all of its missteps, Oakland has two wins to its credit this season. Those victories have come as a direct result of defensive play, and the Raiders' defense is good enough that any spark of offense whatsoever should allow the Silver and Black to hang around most weeks. That offensive spark has been missing more often than it has been present, however, and there's little to suggest that it will be ignited on Sunday against a strong Denver defense. Look for the ineptitude to continue from the most poorly-designed offensive scheme of the modern era, and for the Broncos to keep the Raiders at arm's length because of it.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Broncos 21, Raiders 6
Clearly, the Oakland Raiders have some problems.
SoCals link: http://www.sportsnetwork.com/default.asp?c=sfgate&page=nfl/news/ABN4048645.htm
The Raiders are 2-6 heading into Sunday afternoon's test against AFC West rival Denver at McAfee Coliseum, and progress for the once-proud franchise, particularly on the offensive side of the football, has been non-existent. The Silver and Black are last in the league in total offense (227.9 yards per game), scoring offense (11.5 points per game), passing offense (122.8 yards per game), sacks allowed (44), completion percentage (46.2) and touchdown passes (4), and are tied for the league-low in rushing touchdowns (2). Their starting quarterback, second-year-pro Andrew Walter, has a 51.1 passer rating, which ranks 34th out of 34 NFL signal-callers. Oakland comes off a 16-0 loss at the hands of the Seahawks on Monday night, the fourth time this year that Art Shell's team has been held to six points or fewer.
This week, the Raiders' problems wear orange, navy blue, and white.
Denver, at 6-2 and fresh off a 31-20 in Pittsburgh, has risen to co-leadership of the top spot in the AFC West based primarily on its defensive play. The Broncos lead the league in scoring defense (12.2 points per game) and touchdowns allowed (7), and have held five of their opponents to seven points or less this season.
The Broncos have owned the Raiders for the better part of the past decade, going 18-5 against them since 1995, with head coach Mike Shanahan always content to beat up on the franchise that fired him four games into the 1989 season. Denver already owns a win against Oakland this season (13-3 in Week 6), a victory that extended the Raiders' losing streak against AFC West opponents to 10 games. Oakland is 2-18 in the division since 2003, and the Broncos, who have outscored their longtime rival by a composite score of 93-28 in their last three trips to McAfee, are expecting that record to be 2-19 very soon.
Can the Raiders shock the masses and give Denver problems of its own on Sunday afternoon? In the topsy-turvy NFL, it would be unwise to rule out such an occurrence.
SERIES HISTORY
The Raiders lead the all-time series with Denver, which dates back to 1960, by a 53-37-2 count. As mentioned, Denver is 18-5 against Oakland since the 1995 season, including a 13-3 home victory in Week 6, and a home-and-home sweep of their longtime division rival last season. The Broncos scored a 31-17 win at McAfee Coliseum in Week 10, and dealt Oakland a 22-3 setback at Invesco Field at Mile High in Week 16. The Raiders are 0-3 in home games against the Broncos since last beating them at home in 2002, and the only win in the series for the Silver and Black since 2002 came in the form of a 25-24 shocker in Denver in 2004.
In addition to the regular season series, the teams have split a pair of postseason matchups, with Denver winning the 1977 AFC Championship, 20-17, and the then-Los Angeles Raiders prevailing in a 1993 AFC First-Round Playoff, 42-24.
Shanahan is 18-5 against the team he coached in 1988 and part of the 1989 season, before being fired and replaced by current Oakland head man Art Shell, who had served as offensive line coach on Shanahan's staff. Shell was 11-1 against the Broncos during his first stint as head coach (1989-94), including the '93 playoff win, but is 0-1 head-to-head against Shanahan's Broncos.
BRONCOS OFFENSE VS. RAIDERS DEFENSE
The vaunted running game of the Broncos was in large part solved last week by the Steelers, who limited Denver running backs Mike Bell (305 rushing yards, 3 TD, 11 receptions) and Cedric Cobbs (9 yards) to a combined 37 yards on 20 carries, with neither reeling off a run longer than five yards on the day. The Broncos will get a boost this week if Tatum Bell (612 rushing yards, 2 TD, 13 receptions), who missed the Pittsburgh game with turf toe, is able to return. Bell is listed as questionable heading into Sunday's game. Thanks in large part to a 72-yard touchdown run credited to Javon Walker on a reverse last week, Denver was able to keep hold of the league's No. 3 spot in rushing offense (150.2 yards per game), behind only Atlanta and San Diego. The Raiders limited Bronco running backs to 85 yards on 24 carries (3.5 yards per carry) back in Week 6.
Oakland had major trouble stopping the Seattle run on Monday night, an unforeseen occurrence for a front seven that had played generally well of late. The Raiders allowed Seattle backs Maurice Morris and Mack Strong to combine for 158 yards on 36 ground carries. Looking to bounce back will be a stop unit led by middle linebacker Kirk Morrison (67 tackles, 2 INT), outside linebacker Thomas Howard (54 tackles), and defensive tackles Tommy Kelly (35 tackles, 2 sacks) and Warren Sapp (24 tackles, 4 sacks). Morrison and Howard combined for 20 tackles in the loss to the Seahawks, while Kelly and Sapp totaled 15 tackles and a sack from their interior spots. Following the poor performance on Monday, coordinator Rob Ryan's defense now ranks 27th in the league against the run (136.4 yards per game), and has faced more rushing attempts (273) than any other NFL team.
There had been speculation that if slow-starting Denver quarterback Jake Plummer (1385 passing yards, 8 TD, 7 INT) failed to pick up his performance during a key two-game stretch with the Colts and Steelers, that the team would award starting duties to rookie and No. 11 overall draft choice Jay Cutler. But Plummer quashed that talk by posting his two highest passer ratings of the season over the past two weeks, throwing for 401 yards with four touchdowns and zero interceptions over the two-game stretch. Walker (39 receptions, 5 TD) has emerged as Plummer's No. 1 target over that span, catching 10 balls for 174 yards and scoring four touchdowns in his past two games. Rod Smith (28 receptions, 2 TD) has continued to be a possession threat for Plummer, though the classy veteran is listed as questionable for this week with a separated shoulder. No non-running back other than Walker or Smith has more than six catches for the team this year. Plummer, who has been sacked just 11 times all season, threw for a season-low 102 yards against Oakland in Week 6.
The Raiders went into the Seattle game ranked first in the league against the pass, but ceded control of the top spot to Chicago after allowing Seneca Wallace to throw for 176. Oakland is now second in NFL passing defense (159.8 yards per game), but has also faced just 212 passing attempts, the fewest in the league. Cornerbacks Nnamdi Asomugha (24 tackles, 3 INT) and Chris Carr (6 tackles, 1 INT), both of whom had big interceptions for touchdowns against Pittsburgh in Week 8, will look to goad Plummer into some mistakes on Sunday. Eight of Oakland's 17 sacks on the year belong to end Derrick Burgess, who is seeking to defend his title as the NFL's sack-master. Burgess had one of the Raiders' three sacks of Wallace on Monday night.
RAIDERS OFFENSE VS. BRONCOS DEFENSE
Walter comes off one of the most miserable nights a quarterback could ever have, as the Arizona State product was sacked nine times in a game in which he somehow managed to complete 16-of-35 passes for 166 yards. The 44 sacks that Oakland QBs have absorbed this year have much to do with the team's ill- fitting vertical-based offense, which requires deep drops by quarterbacks who are usually swarmed under before they are able to look downfield. When he was able to set up and throw against Seattle, Walter completed six passes for 76 yards to No. 1 receiver Randy Moss (32 receptions, 3 TD), while Alvis Whitted (13 receptions) contributed three catches for 27 yards in the game. Jerry Porter has logged just one catch since returning from a two-game team suspension. Walter completed 13-of-26 passes for 189 yards and an interception against Denver in Week 6, and Moss contributed 86 receiving yards in the defeat.
The Broncos defense is not exactly known for forcing buckets full of miscues, but with more games like last week's six-turnover extravaganza against Pittsburgh, that reputation will surely change. Cornerbacks Champ Bailey (44 tackles, 5 INT) and Darrent Williams (50 tackles, 1 INT) along with little- known DB reserve Curome Cox (8 tackles, 1 INT) had a hand in all six turnovers: Bailey had two picks, Williams notched two fumble recoveries, and Cox had both an INT and a recovery. Williams is listed as questionable for this week with a shoulder injury. An improving Denver pass rush had four sacks of Ben Roethlisberger Sunday, including two from end Kenard Lang (20 tackles, 4 sacks). Rookie end Elvis Dumervil leads the Broncos with six sacks on the year, including one last week. Dumervil sacked Walter twice in Week 6.
Oakland's strength this season has been running the football, though the term "strength" should certainly be applied loosely. The Raiders are 18th in NFL rushing offense (105.1 yards per game), and are tied for last in the league with just two touchdowns on the ground. LaMont Jordan (398 rushing yards, 1 TD, 8 receptions) has been limited to 16 carries over the past two weeks combined amid back problems, but is expected to be in the lineup for an extended period on Sunday. Jordan rushed 23 times for 60 yards against Denver last month. Backup rusher Justin Fargas (283 rushing yards) is averaging 4.6 yards per carry, but was limited to just one attempt in Seattle on Monday night.
Denver ranks sixth in NFL rushing defense (91.2 yards per game) as Week 10 begins, and nearly got to the midway point of the season without allowing a single touchdown on the ground. Willie Parker's three-yard TD run in the third quarter of last week's game marked the first, and to date only, time the Broncos have had a rushing TD scored against them in 2006. The linebacking corps of Al Wilson (58 tackles) in the middle and D.J. Williams (44 tackles) and Ian Gold (50 tackles) on the outside has been solid all season. Wilson had nine tackles, all of the solo variety, last week. Gold is questionable for Sunday's game with a hamstring problem. Looking to set the LBs up for success are tackles Gerard Warren (18 tackles, 0.5 sacks) and Michael Myers (27 tackles, 2 sacks), who combined for two tackles and half-a-sack last week.
OVERALL ANALYSIS
Bashing the Raiders is becoming something of a sport, though it is impossible to ignore the fact that for all of its missteps, Oakland has two wins to its credit this season. Those victories have come as a direct result of defensive play, and the Raiders' defense is good enough that any spark of offense whatsoever should allow the Silver and Black to hang around most weeks. That offensive spark has been missing more often than it has been present, however, and there's little to suggest that it will be ignited on Sunday against a strong Denver defense. Look for the ineptitude to continue from the most poorly-designed offensive scheme of the modern era, and for the Broncos to keep the Raiders at arm's length because of it.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Broncos 21, Raiders 6