Rice Takes

It is an enviable position for an NFL team to be in: Win while not playing its best. That’s where the Broncos find themselves after two games of the 2007 season.

Sunday’s overtime win over the Raiders was the Broncos’ second consecutive nail-biter. The bottom line is that the Broncos are 2-0 and they are not playing nearly to the level at which they are capable of playing.

The Broncos have plenty on which to work after beating the Raiders. A few of the items:

• They surrendered 200 net yards rushing. The Raiders couldn’t throw the football, finishing with 53 net yards passing. But the Broncos could hardly stop Oakland’s running game. It was just too easy.
• For the second straight week, the Broncos’ offense marched up and down the field. But for the second straight week, they struggled to score points. The Broncos racked up 441 yards but they still had to rally to win.
• The Broncos’ special teams has to tighten things up. The onside kick the Raiders recovered seemed to give them new life. Even though Oakland didn’t score on the ensuing possession, the Raiders seemed to be energized by taking the Broncos by surprise.

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Finally. The regular season is here. Preseason just doesn’t do much for me. Sure, it’s mildly interesting to see if any players emerge as legitimate. Running back Selvin Young undoubtedly falls into that category.

But a guy like Young is the exception. There just are not that many surprises.

Now the rosters are set and it is go-time. It is time to see where every team stands. Here are a few observations on the Broncos as they enter Sunday’s regular season opener at Buffalo.

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