Bradley Chubb Puts Raiders on Notice Ahead of Week 4 Road Tilt
It may not have been his intention, but Denver Broncos rush linebacker Bradley Chubb just gave the Las Vegas Raiders some serious bulletin board material. With the Broncos set to travel to take on their oldest AFC West rival on Sunday, Chubb was asked about the Raiders at his locker, and suffice to say, he didn't hold back.
"I hate 'em, to be honest with you," Chubb said on Wednesday. "I hate 'em. It's only a few teams in the league I hate, and they're one of them because every time we go there, it hasn't gone in our favor... It's always a tough game. I always know it's going to be a good matchup, I always know that they're going—I'm not going to say 'dirty'—but they're talking stuff, we're talking stuff. It's going back and forth, so it's not going to be a cakewalk, no matter what the record is. We know they're looking at it the same way we are."
Chubb has good reason to hate the Raiders. After all, the Raiders have swept the Broncos in each of the last two seasons, despite being led by a special teams coordinator turned interim head coach last year.
The Broncos are yet to win at Allegiant Stadium. Will that ignominious streak get snapped this week? Time will tell.
But don't go counting your chickens before they've hatched. On paper, the Broncos should truck the Raiders, but Nathaniel Hackett's team has displayed an alarming penchant for playing down to their competition thus far.
Plus, there's something to be said for facing an opponent in desperation mode after just three games. The Raiders sit at 0-3 and have, from a historical perspective, already played themselves out of playoff contention (though not mathematically, obviously).
Then there's all that bad blood and juju between Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels and the team that gave him his first opportunity to be the head man. McDaniels succeeded Mike Shanahan as Broncos head coach in 2009 and proceeded to torpedo the team's outlook by trading away burgeoning franchise quarterback Jay Cutler, fresh off a Pro Bowl nod, and embarrassed the franchise by getting it embroiled in a cheating scandal.
Late owner Pat Bowlen fired McDaniels during the 2010 season. McDaniels didn't even get to finish out the year. He was that bad and that detrimental to the Broncos.
So, it goes without saying that there's a mountain of material there to motivate either squad. The Broncos have to be ready to take on an uber-motivated Raiders squad, desperate to keep their season alive against a hated opponent and one with a lot of history.
Chubb's "I hate 'em" quip might not be the Raiders' basis for motivation this week, but it could be. The fifth-year outside linebacker has proven early on this season that his play can cash any checks his mouth might write.
Chubb has been dominant through three games, leading the Broncos with three sacks and forcing a fumble. Let's see how he channels all that hatred on Sunday in Vegas.
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