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During the night telecast of the Monday night opening double-header between two bitter AFC West rivals, something ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer said caught not only my attention, but I'm sure a lot of other residents of Raider Nation as well. Dilfer assumed that of the Raiders' penalty-filled night, scuffles and aggressive nature meant that the team lacked discipline. Granted the 15 penalties for 131 yards were deserved, I argued that it was exactly what this team needed. Many forget that there was actually no NFL preseason this year. For Dilfer to assume that a clean-fought game was to be expected in week one was ludicrous. While there was no overwhelming evidence of penalties in the other week one games, the talk of the NFL after one week centered around ballooned passing yards. Tom Brady passed for over 500 yards and Chad Henne, the other quarterback in the game passed for over 400 yards (Chad Henne everybody! Who saw that coming?). This further explains that not only are the pl...

The Raiders kicked the Broncos tail last season, but every season is different. The Broncos have a new head coach and return Elvis Dumervil. The Broncos also added a dynamic rookie in Von Miller in April's draft. The Broncos are a different team with different challenges. The Raiders are very similar team, with very familiar challenges and maybe a few new ones.   Raiders Offense vs. Broncos Defense The Raiders were able to run on the Broncos last season and will attempt to do the same again. The Broncos go from a 3-4 to a 4-3, but the Broncos didn't drastically alter the front seven. Dumervill and Miller are the primary difference and they are mostly pass rushers. Much has been made of the Raiders new and improved passing game and the Broncos secondary will make plays when provided ample pass rush. The Raiders will need to play run effectively to use play action. An early lead will help the offense and keep the Broncos pass rush from pinning their ears back to get Jason Campbel...