Oakland Raiders: Know Your Opponent (Denver Broncos) and Know Yourself

Damali Binta – Oct 26, 2011

Sun Tzu said, "Know your enemy before going into battle." Let's adapt this and say, "Know your opponent before going into an NFL game."

Tzu continues by saying, "For if you know your enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles."

Again, the adaptation would be, "For if you know your opponent and know yourself, you need not fear the result of the remaining nine NFL games on the Raiders' schedule."

With this in mind, I proceeded to learn more about the win-loss record of the Broncos, especially after bye week. Ten years were chosen for an easy computation. From 2001 to 2010, it was discovered that the Broncos have won 60 percent of the games immediately after their bye week. Now compare this finding with the finding for the Oakland Raiders.

We noted in an earlier article that the Raiders have consistently lost games immediately after bye week for the past seven years.

This suggests that the Oakland Raiders need to really work hard to get a victory after bye week. Their opponent has a better win-loss record for this narrow analysis. Yet, the pattern is revealing.

In fact, for five consecutive years, the Broncos have defeated their opponent immediately after their own bye week. Those opponents are listed in a table

2007  Steelers

2006  Ravens

2005  Raiders

2004  Saints

2003  Chargers

Now if you look at 2010, you see that, again, the Broncos defeated the Kansas City Chiefs. The score for the Broncos was 49-29, with the Broncos up by 20 points. This occurred immediately after the Broncos bye week.

Does this tell you something about the discipline of the Oakland Raiders and the Broncos, if the discussion is confined to the win-loss record after bye week?

Conclusion

Sun Tzu may not have known NFL football, but he seems to understand human behavior. Since NFL football is made complex by behavioral factors of the teams, it just makes sense to study the videos, film and coaching style of the opponent to be better prepared for a victory.

A military officer who studied at Annapolis emphasized in a 2004 article that this simple message was drilled into them, over and over again. It needs to be drilled into the hearts and minds of the Oakland Raiders.

"Know your opponent," Oakland Raiders. Your chances of optimization will be greater if you know your opponent and you know yourself or your teammates.