The Oakland Raiders (1-1) are hosting the Denver Broncos (2-0) this week at the Oakland Coliseum.  The Raiders’ defense has been very strong so far this year and has been one of the surprises of the league in this young 2009 season.  The offense has been a different story though, as JaMarcus Russel has struggled a lot through the first two games.  He has had some plays though that show how talented he is, but the Raiders need more consistency out of him at the quarterback position.

The Raiders are going up against one of the best defenses in the league.  First year head coach Josh McDaniels has sparked a new life into the Broncos defense and they are the reason this team has been successful.  The Broncos offense has not been very strong and quarterback Kyle Orton has been mediocre at best.  He has two touchdowns, but one was a tipped pass at the end of their week one game, where Brandon Stokley caught the tipped ball and ran it in for a last second victory.  So, the Broncos should be 1-1.

The Raiders defense is definitely going to be effective against the Broncos and I am expecting them to force some turnovers.  I think the Broncos defense will do the same, as both offenses are no match for the defense they are going up against.  I think the Raiders do have more weapons on offense though, as they are young and talented.  That talent hasn’t been very effective thus far though, but if Russel can have a solid game the Raiders have a great shot at winning.  I think the Raiders defense is going to make some big plays and it will help the Raiders pull off the upset and beat the Broncos late.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Broncos 20, Raiders 24

I think the Raiders are going in the right direction as a football team but it’s going to take some time before they start winning a lot of football games.  With that in mind I would have to side on the under.  But, if the Raiders can control the clock with their running game they might be able to pull out some close, low scoring games.

The Raiders have cut running backs Adimchinobe Echemandu and Louis Rankin despite both having huge preseasons.  Echemandu carried the ball 9 times for 107 yards (11.9 ypc) for the Raiders in the preseason.  Undrafted rookie RB Louis Rankin was a star for the Raiders in the preseason with 21 carries for 148 yards (7.0 ypc).  The fact that the Raiders could cut these guys tells you what they think of the three RBs that they kept.

I hate to be the bringer of bad news but I would take the under.  The Raiders offense will still have problems putting points on the scoreboard because they haven’t really improved the offensive line.  It doesn’t matter who the QB is if he is running for his life every down.  Also, WRs Jerry Porter, Ronald Curry and TE Zach Miller don’t strike fear in the hearts of opposing defenders.  The Raiders will rely on their defense again to keep games close and hope they can make a coulpe big plays on offense.  Take the under.

The over/under for the Raiders is 6 1/2.  The Raiders are 50-1 to win the Super Bowl and 35-1 to win the AFC.

The suggestion here is to take the over.  The Raiders are going to be better this season due to Art Shell, and the Chiefs and Chargers are going to be falling a bit.