Tag Archives: Oakland Raiders

Marcus Allen – A Football Life

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Super Bowl XVIII - AOne thing I always said about Marcus Allen, no one had a better trophy case. Think about what he amassed in a three year period from 1981 through the 1983 seasons. He runs for 2,342 yards and 22 TDs and wins the Heisman Trophy. He then wins NFL Rookie of the Year in his debut with the Raiders and what does he do for an encore?? Has a 1,000 yard season and wins Super Bowl MVP for his 191 yard performance against Washington. The only guy that comes close to that is Tony Dorsett, but he only ran for 66 yards in Super Bowl XII…yet I digress.

Then in 1985 when the Raiders passing game fell flat on it’s ass with an aging Jim Plunkett giving way to Mark Wilson, the Raiders turned to Allen. What did he do?? He ran for 1,759 yards and led the NFL in rushing while winning league MVP. This was the only time in NFL history that a Raider led the league in rushing by the way. Allen’s performance saved their season leading the Raiders to a 12-4 record.
Then came the personal vendetta against Allen by Al Davis. Now I’m not sure the real issue will be revealed in this episode but something happened off-field that had to involve a woman. Had to…it became way too personal. When Ice Cube interviewed Al Davis for the 30 for 30 “Straight Outta LA” he alluded to the fact that it was something off the field he took a personal disliking to. You could see it in his face. Back in 1993 when he was finally freed by free agency and waiting to sign with a new team, Allen said in an interview that Al Davis told him he would “get him” and try to ruin his career.

This is such a travesty because the NFL fan and history were robbed of what he possibly could have become. He was imprisoned for 7 years and still rushed for 12,243 yards after he finished as a Kansas City Chief. The Bo Jackson signing always puzzled The Chancellor. If it was about passing and not running the football, this signing doesn’t make sense. Why not trade Marcus Allen for a quarterback or future draft considerations??

This is when The Chancellor stopped thinking of Davis as one of the top minds in the game. It kept the Raiders stuck in neutral for many years and I hope this episode sheds some light on what went on behind the scenes. Should be a good one…
Marcus Allen – A Football Life

NFL Week 7: AFC West – Illusions

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Peyton Manning showed true greatness in Monday night’s stunning come from behind win.

In the waning moments of Monday night’s comeback, we saw the true nature of the San Diego Chargers under Norv Turner and the possibilities for the Denver Broncos with Peyton Manning. First lets look at the perennial underachieving Chargers. When our CEO talks about championship football teams, it’s usually around signature wins that bolsters their confidence as they mature over a season. Before you can prove to the rest of the NFL that you’re a force to be reckoned with, you have to knock down a bully in your backyard.

Now wasn’t it one year ago Rex Ryan boldly stated “Had I coached the talent the Chargers have, I’d have Super Bowl rings”, in an obvious dig at Turner?? How did he and his team respond after being called out?? They came out and took a 21-10 halftime lead on the Jets only to show no fight in the end while losing 27-21.  http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201110230nyj.htm They were outscored 17-0 as the Jets promptly took their lunch money without much of a struggle.

Fast forward 358 days and here the Chargers were playing the odds on favorite to win the division in the Denver Broncos. This time they woke in the heat of battle up 24-0. Antonio Gates had just scored after the defense showed it could play Manning tough with Quentin Jammer’s 80 yard interception return for a touchdown. Their crowd was in it. Manning was having his struggles and Phillip Rivers looked like a world beater. So what happened???

Let’s take a look at the AFC West standings…

West Division

W

L

T

PCT

PF

PA

HOME

ROAD

DIV

CONF

STRK

LAST5
Denver Broncos Broncos 3 3 0 .500 170 138 2-1 1-2 2-0 3-2 W1 2-3
San Diego Chargers Chargers 3 3 0 .500 148 137 1-2 2-1 2-1 3-1 L2 2-3
Oakland Raiders Raiders 1 4 0 .200 87 148 1-1 0-3 0-2 1-3 L2 1-4
Kansas City Chiefs Chiefs 1 5 0 .167 104 183 0-3 1-2 0-1 0-3 L3 1-4

That was an incredibly gritty performance by Peyton Manning. Where he could have packed it in after his pick 6, he kept on firing. One strong point to the comeback was they didn’t totally abandon the running game. This kept the Chargers honest and his intermediate passing lanes open. The clinic he performed was reminiscent of the 21 point 4th quarter deficit he erased when his Colts came back on the champion Buccaneers 38-35 in 2003. This time he performed surgery for 2 quarters. Of course we all remembered his epic comeback in the 2006 AFC Championship against New England. However this one seemed better than those..surreal. He has been trying to make it work with a new team, and if you dissect his season, it’s as though he has to realize the strengths of his personnel and what they present in match-ups to the opposition. He’s had to do this in every game and then he gets hot. Do you realize that with 1,808 yards and 14 touchdowns, he is on pace for 4,821 yards and 37 TDs?? Yikes!! Can he physically keep it up for the duration of the season??

So what are we talking about when we say illusions?? In all actuality the Broncos only raised their record to 3-3 and right now the defense is allowing 23 points per game. They do rank 11th in total defense and can play stifling defense in fits and starts. So are they as good as their 3 wins or as flawed as they appeared in their 3 losses?? Puzzling but this win over the Chargers was the first over a winning team as well as a first triumph on the road. As for the rest of the season they only face 3 teams who are .500 or better, and 5 of their next 8 games are on the road.

The Broncos could ride that momentum into a winning streak and a more impressive record. Yet playing good football in spotty fashion has dug to deep a hole against quality teams. With upcoming games against New Orleans, at Cincinnati, at Carolina, home to the Chargers, and then away at Kansas City: If the Broncos were to rattle off wins against these under performing teams and inflate their record, are they a true elite team in the AFC?? Our CEO just shrugged his shoulders at the thought of that…

As for the Chargers, here they were with an inflated record of 3-2 with wins over the back-pedalling Raiders, Titans, and Chiefs. When it was time to step up and show they were for real in a showcase game, they gave us another epic collapse. Just like that loss last year to the New York Jets, it showed this team lacks toughness and has a damaged fight or flight mechanism also. They became clock watchers and couldn’t turn the tide once momentum was on the side of Denver. With the loss of WR Vincent Jackson, this team has lost all of the playmakers they once had to turn a close game in their favor. From a psyche standpoint they will not stand up and fight. As long as Norv Turner is the coach, this team is not to be trusted as being a Super Bowl caliber group.

As for the Raiders and Chiefs…it’s been an optical illusion that they have even taken the field this year.

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NFL Week 4: AFC West -Teams Making Progress

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Darren McFadden takes a hand-off from Carson Palmer in Sunday’s come from behind win.

Funny how attention on one team seems to trump the news of the rest of the division. Many of us were paying so much attention to Peyton Manning and his progress with the Denver Broncos, we wind up surprised when other teams show they are not to be taken lightly. Such was the case in Oakland last Sunday. There was an emotional response to Darius Heyward-Bey being helped off the field late in that game. From that point on the Raiders played spirited football that hadn’t been seen in the first two weeks, when they couldn’t score more than 14 points. After an 0-2 start, the Raiders got off the canvas and an offense ranked 20th sprang to life and came from behind for a 34-31 victory after being behind 31-21 with 3:00 to go.

The San Diego Chargers fell from the ranks of the unbeaten with a  27-3 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.  In a test against one of the NFC’s heavyweights, the Chargers showed they are still lacking when it comes to playmakers. In Antonio Gates, Ryan Matthews, Malcolm Floyd and company, they can get the yardage a given play is designed for but nothing more. Not a game-breaker in the bunch. Atlanta crowded Phillip Rivers and he had nowhere to go with the football as evidenced by his 21 of 38 for 173 yards and 2 interceptions. What this means is they are one of the best of the lesser teams. They can sit on the Oakland’s and Tennessee’s of the world but come up short against stronger teams. This week they travel to Kansas City where they haven’t won in 3 years. Can they do it?? The Chancellor sees a second loss coming.

West Division

W

L

T

PCT

PF

PA

HOME

ROAD

DIV

CONF

STRK

LAST5
San Diego Chargers Chargers 2 1 0 .667 63 51 1-1 1-0 1-0 2-0 L1 2-1
Denver Broncos Broncos 1 2 0 .333 77 77 1-1 0-1 0-0 1-1 L2 1-2
Kansas City Chiefs Chiefs 1 2 0 .333 68 99 0-1 1-1 0-0 0-1 W1 1-2
Oakland Raiders Raiders 1 2 0 .333 61 88 1-1 0-1 0-1 1-2 W1 1-2

Last week’s 233 yard rushing performance was an eye opener.

Speaking of the Chiefs they are riding the momentum of their 27-24 win in New Orleans. A game where they finally started to look like the team most pundits expected out of the gate. Jamaal Charles ran for a season high 233 yards and displayed he hasn’t lost his game breaking ability with a 91 yard touchdown on the bayou. In those 2 prior meetings the Chiefs stayed with a commitment to the run with 26 rushes in 2010 and 34 in 2011. Now with Cassel and the passing game not totally in rhythm yet, Charles coming off 33 carries last week in the Superdome, and the Chargers allowing 5.7 yards per carry (14 car. 80 yds) for Michael Turner last week. We’re going to take a wild guess and say Kansas City runs the football this week. What do you think??

This week the entire division is squaring off against one another as the Raiders make the trek to Invesco Field. The Broncos will be without the services of MLB Joe Mays who will be serving a suspension. Not the right time when Darren McFadden just had his best game of the season. His 113 yards came on only 18 carries and had a showcase run for a 64 yard touchdown. Right now Denver is 13th against the run and Oakland is 26th against the pass. Last year, Oakland won in Denver when McFadden rushed for over 150 yards. Had the Raiders not played such an emotional game last week they would have a chance to hand the Broncos their third straight loss. The real issue is Manning is going to be able to hit his receivers and expect a huge day from Brandon Stokely. He’ll have a Wes Welker type of day and the Broncos should pull away in this one.

Then it will be time for the first quarter report cards with the season 1/4th over.

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Lester Hayes Belongs In The Hall of Fame

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As the NFL changed the rules in 1978 to liberate the passing game, many thought the big physical cornerback would give way to smaller quicker men. Those who could turn and run with receivers after the 5 yard “chuck” zone (The Mel Blount Rule) would be highly sought after. Yet one team held steadfast to the belief of not allowing that receiver a free ride off the line of scrimmage.

The Oakland Raiders who in 1977, just one year removed from winning Super Bowl XI, selected Lester Hayes out of Texas A&M. Where the league saw smaller cornerbacks at 175-180 lbs enter the league at that time. Hayes was a converted college safety who stood 6’0 and weighed 200 lbs.

Does he have on enough stickum??

His inclusion into the Raiders organization was at the right time as Hall of Fame cornerback Willie Brown retired and took over as secondary coach. Under his tutelage Hayes became a master of bump and run coverage and with his size, manhandled receivers at the line of scrimmage. Sure a receiver could run free after 5 yards but he had to get there first.

Another retiring Hall of Fame Raider was WR Fred Biletnikoff who went against Hayes in practice. Fred ran crisp routes and was a slower version of Steve Largent or a Charlie Joiner. Going up against he and Cliff Branch, who was the one of the league’s perennial deep threats, honed his skills to that of one of the greatest cornerbacks the game had ever seen. He also borrowed Biletnikoff’s use of stickum and took it to obscene levels. Take a look at the pic on the right if you think we’re joking.

Stickum talk aside, his true coming out party was the 1979 season where he led the team with 7 interceptions, returning 2 for touchdowns in the only losing season for the Raider organization during the 1970’s. John Madden had retired and Tom Flores had taken over as Head Coach and the Raiders were a team in transition.

Most teams make a transition in personnel with a defensive leader being a linebacker or a star defensive lineman being a marquee player yet here was a cornerback just starting to make a name for himself at the helm. However he couldn’t unseat Louis Wright of Denver, Mel Blount of Pittsburgh, or Mike Haynes of New England on the 1979 AFC Pro Bowl roster. Naturally you’ll conclude they had better seasons yet Blount and Haynes made it on reputation with only 3 interceptions each and Wright only had 2. A gross injustice just because Hayes team had slipped that year.

Enter the greatest single season for a cornerback in NFL history and the greatest coaching job in NFL history…the 1980 Oakland Raiders. In the second season for Tom Flores, the Raiders became the first team to win the Super Bowl from a wildcard position. The team had replaced nine defensive starters from a Super Bowl team just four years before.

Lester Hayes intimidating style at cornerback belied his agility to cover the fastest and best route runners in the NFL.For the season, he picked off 13 passes, just one short of the NFL record by “Night Train” Lane in 1951.  Not only was that the highest total in 29 years, no cornerback has come within 2 of that performance since then (Everson Walls in 1981). He returned those passes for 273 yards and one touchdown and went on to be the Associated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

He was the first player to receive the award while playing for a team that didn’t finish as a top 10 defense with the Raiders finishing 11th. He did this while facing Hall of Fame WRs Steve Largent in Seattle, Charlie Joiner and Kellen Winslow in San Diego, and the electrifying John Jefferson also of the Chargers with whom he had epic battles with.

During the 1980 season teams kept testing him and coming up snake eyes. If you added his 4 interceptions during the playoffs he finished with 17 interceptions in one season. If you look at that against the year Hall of Famer Deion Sanders won his NFL MVP (1994 with San Francisco) from the same position, 6 interceptions for 303 yards and 3 TDs with 2 more ints. in the postseason, it dwarfs it tremendously. Sanders needed another NINE interceptions just to tie him!!!  You would have to add Deion’s next FOUR seasons with Dallas just to tie him with 17!! Tremendous

Oakland went on to win Super Bowl XV and the 80 playoffs began with a wildcard battle against Houston and former quarterback Ken Stabler. The Raiders prevailed 27-7 with the final points scored on Hayes intercepting Stabler and returning it 20 yards hand held high to send the Raiders to Cleveland and the divisional round.

He intercepted Stabler twice then intercepted 1980 NFL MVP Brian Sipe twice in the 14-12 upset of the Browns. In the AFC Championship against the Chargers and the Super Bowl with the Eagles, Dan Fouts and Ron Jaworski just didn’t throw into his area. How do we know this?? In Super Bowl XV Hayes was the left cornerback. Jaworski threw exclusively to his left and Right OLB Rod Martin picked off a Super Bowl record 3 interceptions in a 27-10 win.

The NFL outlawed stickum after that 1980 season in anther decision that Raider loyalist felt was the offspring from the court battle between Raiders’ owner Al Davis and commissioner Pete Rozelle. Some thought that Hayes inability to use stickum had a lot to do with his interception total dropping, when in fact quarterbacks just flat didn’t throw into his area. He never intercepted more than 3 passes in a season from that point forward.

Lester Hayes showing off both rings from Super Bowl XV and XVIII

After being overshadowed by Mike Haynes for that 1979 Pro Bowl slot, he was joined by his former counterpart in 1983 to form one of the greatest CB tandem in NFL history. In that year the Washington Redskins became the highest scoring team in NFL history scoring 541 points on their way to Super Bowl XVIII. Washington’s quarterback Joe Theismann was the NFL’s MVP and the Redskins were being hailed as the greatest team in NFL history…yet they had to defend their title against Los Angeles.

The Raiders started their charge in the 83 playoffs with a 37-10 devastation of the Pittsburgh Steelers which ironically began with Hayes getting the team started with an 18 yard TD interception return. After a 30-14 win against the Seahawks in the AFC Championship experts had the Redskins winning a high scoring game.

What took place in Super Bowl XVIII was a dismantling of epic proportions. Charlie Brown, who had caught 78 for 1,225 and 8 TDs during the regular season, was smothered along with Art Monk and held to a combined 4 receptions by Hayes and Haynes. The coverage was so superb the Raiders blitzed their linebackers and recorded 6 sacks as Joe Theismann had his worst game of the year. His stat-line?? Theismann was held to 16 of 35 for 243 yards and 2 ints. Only one pass was completed in Lester Hayes area the entire day. He won his second championship ring as the Raiders won in dominating fashion 38-9.

Hayes at this point was the best cornerback in all of football. He played in 5 straight Pro Bowls from 1980-1984 and was the player most future NFL’ers modeled their game after. Most notably Hanford Dixon of the Cleveland Browns. Everything from the three foot long towel hanging from his waist to his aggressive play against a receiver at the line. Dixon and Frank Minnifield are the tandem that Lester Hayes and Mike Haynes are most often compared to. As a combo… Dixon and Minnifield were the best tandem in NFL history. Yet the man who coined the Brown’s “Dawg Defense”, was a 3 time Pro Bowler who modeled himself to be like Lester, what would you call Hayes?? In The Chancellor’s book, he’s a Hall of Famer.

Please lend your thoughts as well by writing in to the Pro Football Hall of Fame to the address below. Please be respectful and positively lend your voice:

Please write & nominate #37 Lester Hayes
Send letters to:
Pro Football Hall of Fame
Attention Senior Selection Committee
2121 George Halas Dr NW, Canton, 
OH 44708

For induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, I present to you Lester Hayes

lester

Tom Flores Belongs In The Hall of Fame

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When you think of the short list of coaches in NFL History that have won multiple Super Bowls, who comes to mind?? Of course you think of Vince Lombardi, Don Shula, Tom Landry, Chuck Noll, Bill Walsh, or even Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick. Throw in Joe Gibbs and his three rings.  Do you realize there are only two eligible coaches that have won multiple Super Bowls that are NOT in the Pro Football Hall of Fame??

Think about it a second, we’re talking about a coach with as many victories as six eligible Hall of Fame coaches and you don’t consider Tom Flores great?? Only Jimmy Johnson,Vince Lombardi and Bill Walsh can best Flores in shortest coaching careers who achieved 2 Super Bowl victories.  Landry, and Shula coached 29 and 33 years respectively to achieve the same number of championships.

Tom Flores and Jim Plunkett showing off Super Bowl rings.

For some it’s the fact that his winning percentage of .527 isn’t that high. However Bill Parcells is almost a shoo-in finalist this year with a winning percentage of .570. Also, before his stint as Seahawks head coach, he left the Los Angeles Raiders with a winning percentage of .610 which is better than Bill Walsh at .609. Something to think about.

It’s fair to compare him to Bill Walsh since he is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and coached in the same era. Walsh led the team of the 80’s to 3 Super Bowl wins in San Francisco to Flores’ 2 championships. Yet in head to head competition, Flores Raider’s were 2-1 against Walsh’s 49ers. Now throw in the fact Flores had a better winning percentage before he left for Seattle and it’s hard to argue his candidacy.

Tom Flores with his team before player introductions in the L.A. Coliseum

After following in the footsteps of another Hall of Fame coach in John Madden, some mistakenly think Flores won with Madden’s guys. Which isn’t close to being true. In today’s market of free agency we’re used to a lot of movement, yet between winning Super Bowl XI (Madden’s team) and Super Bowl XV only WR Cliff Branch and Mark Van Eeghen remained of the skill positions. WR Fred Biletnikoff, QB Ken Stabler, and RB Clarence Davis were all gone. Ken Stabler was traded to the Houston Oilers. He won with (at the time draft bust) Jim Plunkett at quarterback who was with his 3rd team. Stop and think about that.. That’s the equivalent of the Colts trading away  Peyton Manning and bringing in Matt Leinhart and winning the Super Bowl.

Furthermore 9 of the 11 starters on defense for Super Bowl XI were gone by Super Bowl XV. Jack Tatum, Willie Brown, Monte Johnson, all gone with the holdovers being John Matuszak andTed Hendricks. He won Super Bowl XV with a quarterback the world had forgotten about. A little known RB in Kenny King and 14 new players in only his second season as a head coach?? Might be the single greatest coaching performance in NFL history.

Tom Flores and Al Davis receiving the Vince Lombardi Trophy following Super Bowl XVIII

Although winning it all in 1980 was the crowning jewel of a season, his triumph in 1983 should have catapulted him to legendary status. It was his ’83 Raiders that stopped the defending champion Washington Redskins and MVP Joe Theismann dead in their tracks. The ’83 Redskins were the highest scoring team in NFL history and going into Super Bowl XVIII, pundits were hailing them as the best team ever. Yet in a dominant performance the Raiders ushered in the era of the Super Bowl blowout winning 38-9. After that game we had the string of 13 consecutive NFC Super Bowl winners. Yet if you looked at the era from 1980-1996, ONLY Tom Flores won a Super Bowl for the AFC side of the ledger and he did it twice. How is that for impact??

Yet why is he constantly overlooked for his coaching performance when it comes to greatness?? Is it because of the shadow cast by former owner Al Davis?? Even in the NFL Films Super Bowl XVIII video, they lauded Raider assistant Charlie Sumner for the defensive play that put the Redskins hopelessly behind. The Jack Squirek interception for a touchdown to make it 21-3 at the half. Why didnt they give Flores the credit for that move??

Logic tells us that a part of it could be the fact that he’s Hispanic and the sporting press doesn’t view him in the same light as fellow coaches. We hope to be wrong in this assessment yet it’s the ONLY discernible difference between he and every other coach listed above.  Tom Flores, for his career had 97 wins, 87 losses and was 8-3 in the postseason. He had the AFC’s best record (12-4) also in 1985 with MVP Marcus Allen but they were upset in the playoffs by the Patriots. To some, those aren’t great numbers but neither were Joe Namath’s 173 TDs and 220 interceptions and he’s in.

It’s about impact and contribution to the game. Being the only AFC coach to win a Super Bowl in a 17 year period qualifies for impact. Another interesting fact; Of the first 20 Super Bowl winners, his 1980 Oakland Raiders are the ONLY  team that doesn’t have a skill player in the Hall of Fame. Cliff Branch being in there is another argument for another time. Again we call that one of the greatest coaching performance in NFL history. It’s time to give Tom Flores the credit and distinction he deserves.

Please lend your thoughts as well by writing in to the Pro Football Hall of Fame to the address below. Please be respectful and positively lend your voice:

Please write & nominate Tom Flores
Send letters to:
Pro Football Hall of Fame
Attention Senior Selection Committee
2121 George Halas Dr NW, Canton, 
OH 44708

For induction into the Hall of Fame, I present Tom Flores

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NFL Week 16 AFC West: Interesting Turn of Events

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Lost in all the Tebow talk is the play of the defense led by Von Miller’s 11.5 sacks and 50 total tackles.

Everyone is still trying to wrap their heads around the topsy turvy AFC West or mainly the Tim Tebow led Denver Broncos. We, at Taylor Blitz Times figured out the Oakland Raiders are a season away from full potential with Carson Palmer. With a full offseason to work the kinks out and get him a grade A receiver, they look to be the division front runner for 2012. We forwarned you the San Diego Chargers would underachieve with that talented roster and are waiting for the Chargers to dismiss Norv Turner to get a jump on 2012 now that Kansas City has made the switch. Huh, oh Tebow Magic?? We’ll be getting to that but first…

Haley’s offense scored 10 or fewer points in 8 of 13 games leading to his dismissal after a 4-9 record.

In an effort to get a jump on the 2012 season, the Chiefs dismissed Todd Haley. Did he deserve it?? His team has tanked this year from the very outset and the offensive performance of his Chiefs has been, well, offensive. Remember they lost their first two games 41-7 and 48-3 respectively… This from the offensive mastermind that got the Cardinals to Super Bowl XLIII just 3 years back?? Chiefs brass drafted WR Jonathon Baldwin in the first round and signed his former receiver with Arizona in Steve Breaston to join Pro Bowl WR DeWayne Bowe. We know they lost Charlie Weiss as co-ordinator but should this offense have slipped THIS far??  How in the hell did Matt Cassel regress from 27 TDs /7 int’s to 10 TDs/9 int’s before Tyler Palko’s 2TDs/7 ints since Cassel’s injury?? Sure they lost Jamaal Charles to a season ending injury but they still had Thomas Jones in house who ran for almost 1,000 yards last year. Then couple that with his reported inability to get along with Scott Pioli, he had to go. You can’t say the front office didn’t get him the pieces he needed for even moderate success and they ranked 31st in offense. Yes it was a just firing. Here let’s take a look at the standings…

AFC WEST W L T PCT HOME ROAD DIV CONF PF PA DIFF STRK
Denver 8 5 0 .615 3-3-0 5-2-0 3-2-0 6-3-0 269 302 -33 Won 6
Oakland 7 6 0 .538 3-3-0 4-3-0 2-2-0 5-5-0 290 354 -64 Lost 2
San Diego 6 7 0 .462 4-3-0 2-4-0 2-3-0 5-5-0 324 299 +25 Won 2
Kansas City 5 8 0 .385 2-4-0 3-4-0 2-2-0 3-7-0 173 305 -132 Lost 1

Marching toward the playoffs are the Denver Broncos who just vanquished the Chicago Bears 13-10 in overtime. “Tebow Magic” strikes again and much like “Mile High Magic” in the 1980’s, teams play those last few minutes in total fear and make mistakes. However it’s the stellar play of the defense that is being totally overlooked that is giving Tebow the chance to win it in the end. Although they’re ranked 19th overall they have kept 4 of their last 5 opponents to 13 or fewer points.  Von Miller is one of 4 bloodthirsty linebackers who are making plays all over the field. Wesley Woodward leads the way with 78 tackles followed by DJ Williams (74),  Joe Mays (64), and Miller with 63. They’re making timely plays when they need it more than anything else. With their top 4 tacklers being their linebackers , they are executing their defensive play calls to perfection.

Right now there is no way to quantify what is taking place in Denver outside they are doing just enough to win. During the 7-1 record that Tebow has engineered, the Broncos are dead even in the turnover ratio. Tebow has not been efficient at the beginning of games when the full playbook is being used. It’s when the Broncos are running from spread formations and the hurry up offense that he can see the openings. It might be time for Denver to open with this in the first half. Especially with Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots coming to town. Prepare for some exotic looks and delayed blitzes on the part of the Patriots if the Broncos try to line up traditionally.  If they don’t counter what New England game plans for the Broncos are headed for a loss. They will not slow the Patriots offense down like Chicago’s or the Chargers. Don’t forget this coming week, the Patriots are eyeing a first round bye and need this win.

Still in the hunt are the Oakland Raiders who have have one of the most tumultuous season in their history. They have seen better days than last week’s 46-16 drubbing from the Super Bowl champion Packers. Yet the defense couldn’t sustain the load over the course of this season and that’s before the injuries to Jason Campbell and Darren McFadden. Do you realize the Raiders have allowed 20 or more in 11 of 13 games including 30 or more points allowed in 3 of their previous 6?? Right now the Raiders are 29th in the NFL against the run so we’re not talking about the loss of Namedi Asougmha either. Somewhere this team lost it’s defensive focus yet will come out of 2011 with a real quarterback in Carson Palmer and can focus on a true number one receiver and solidify their defense. They may have enough gas to catch the Broncos in the waning weeks due to schedule (Lions, Chiefs, Chargers) but that would take a monumental collapse on Denver’s part (Patriots, Bills, Chiefs) in remaining games.

The Broncos and Raiders are works in progress. Although the Broncos are in the midst of Tebow hysteria, it’s the Raiders who have made some strides and are in place to really challenge for the AFC championship next year. From an X’s and O’s standpoint a book is being established against Tebow and you’ll see it in the up coming weeks in the form of delayed blitzes.  Teams are going to rush hard outside, get him to where he commits to dart up in the pocket to run through holes, then send delayed blitzers there. Keep your eyes on this… The book on how to stop Tebow was written over 25 years ago. Its the same one that was designed to stop young John Elway. Yet a team had better have willing hitters when they arrive.

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