OFFENSIVE OFFENSE

"Golly, I hope Denver fans didn't pick us to cover the spread. What a nightmare."

This one was ridiculous. The Broncos went into Sunday’s game against the Raiders with the biggest spread of the week. They were 15 point favorites despite the fact that Denver is averaging less than 12 points a game. And what happened? The Broncos couldn’t even score 15 points. They couldn’t cover the spread which is, aside from an annoyance to gamblers everywhere, problematic for a team with Super Bowl aspirations.

Tatum Bell is becoming an excellent back. Javon Walker is proving his value by stretching defenses. Yet somehow Denver cannot score on a consistent basis. I love the fact that the Denver defense is the best in the league, but somehow, some way an NFL team is going to put up 17 points or more against Denver. When that happens the offense will have to step up and win a game. Unfortunately, they haven’t shown they’re capable of such a thing.

A brief summary should show how pitiful this game actually was. In the first quarter, Janikowski missed what for him is normally a gimme. In the second quarter, Champ Bailey made a great interception when the Raiders were in scoring position. And in the fourth, Lamont Jordan fumbled when the Raiders were moving in for another score. That’s a possible 9-17 points that Denver won’t always be able to stop. And when a legitimate franchise (obviously not the Raiders) has a chance for an extra 9-17 points, I guarantee that they’ll find a way to put some of those points on the board. This doesn’t bode well for the so-called offensive Mastermind.

On the plus side, at least we can be sure that the Broncos aren’t peaking too soon. The Cleveland Browns will face the Broncos next week, and I’m sure that Denver can win that one too, even with the minimal effort they put forward against the Raiders. The casual fan should be happy with a 4-1 record, but Broncos fans should be worried about the woeful offense.