As it stands the safest best there is in the AFC West is the Oakland Raiders.

Don’t take my word for it though, let the math geeks tell you that the Silver and Black have a 60% shot at winning the division and giving the East Bay a long overdue playoff date.

Let’s not get too carried away.

Yes, the Raiders control their own destiny. Yes, the rest of the teams in the division have more questions than Bob Costas does for Joe Paterno. No, the Raiders cannot afford any of that to factor into their upcoming contests.

Jay Cutler’s broken thumb has only opened up the opportunity for a potential soul crushing loss. Hue Jackson had better not be taking Caleb Haine lightly. These are the games that cost teams their dreams.

That blown lead in Buffalo looms large as do those two TD tosses Tebow connected on just a few weeks ago.

The Raiders cannot afford another penalty party as they did in Minnesota. It speaks volumes on how well Coach Jackson has his team mentality prepared when you see them overcome all these mistakes.

All that being said the time has come to flip the playoff switch.
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When the Raiders last saw Tebow they didn’t quite know what to expect. The rookie made a couple big plays but in the end it was Oakland that dominated. One of those plays was typical Tebow in which he was unable to execute a draw play yet somehow turned it into a dash to pay dirt. Now that there is more tape on Tebow the Raiders should be more prepared for his unorthodox style of play.

Getting pressure on Tebow has proven to be the best remedy to stop the Broncos. With an inconsistent running game, Denver simply doesn’t have many weapons should they need to rely on the pass. Hopefully Rod Woodson will encourage his DBs to take more risks. With each hapless floater Tebow tosses the Oakland secondary will have ample opportunities to make plays.

Keeping Tebow scrambling around like a frightened cat is crucial. Unable to make plays from the pocket, more often than not Tebow finds himself running like mad to extend plays. This is where the Raiders must do the most damage. As Detroit proved last week, constant pressure on Tebow creates a certain type of chaos that benefits the defense.

But that type of situation is not mutually exclusive to Tebow. The Raiders showed the world that very principle by harassing Orton all night long at the season’s start. However with Tebow it is even more crucial that the Raiders remove his desire to dance around in the pocket.
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It had been 9 years (not a typo) since the Raiders won a season opener, ditto for the last time they won on Monday Night. Well, those ominous streaks are now a thing of the past.

Maybe the Gatorade bath was bit much but at least it shows how much the players both respect and admire their head coach. So far Al’s controversial decision is looking like the right move.

More proof of how little the preseason means, Hue’s bully was picked on in the preseason yet was abusive of the Broncos in the regular season opener.

The O-line pushed the Donkeys around while the D-line dominated. Kyle Orton surpassed the 300-yard mark but did so while running for his life. Darren McFadden ran for 150 bruising yards behind the physical play of the line as he continued his ownership of Denver. Going back to last season that makes three straight 100-yard efforts by Run DMC against the Mile High rivals.

While the final score might appear as if this one was close there really wasn’t much drama at all.

To be sure Sebastian Janikowski’s record tying 63-yard field goal proved vital as the final score will reflect. Still, it wasn’t until late in the 4^th quarter that Denver’s offense actually produced a score. Before that the only other TD came on a 90-yard punt return by Eric Decker. That would be one of the areas the Raiders must improve in which makes this team very much a work in progress.
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