No. 3 – Del Rio’s defense will be surprisingly aggressive
Broncos fans maligned Jack Del Rio throughout his tenure as Broncos defensive coordinator for failing to call up blitzes and for routinely allowing soft third-down conversions. At first glance, it doesn’t seem like things have changed much since he took over as head man in Oakland, as his Raiders are the No. 31 team against the pass through the first four weeks of the year.
But Del Rio made a wise choice in plucking Ken Norton Jr. from Seattle to serve as defensive coordinator. Norton has an impressive edge rush in Justin Tuck and Khalil Mack, with Aldon Smith also in the rotation, that Del Rio has slowly allowed to get more and more aggressive. With Denver’s age on one side of its o-line and inexperience on the other, Denver will have to commit extra protection for Manning.
Oakland has also been good against the run, allowing just over 90 yards per game, so Denver may be forced to rely on its receivers to win the game. That circles back to the Raiders’ rush, which will be more aggressive to limit Manning’s decision-making time and try and force errors.
