New Raiders play caller could throw wrinkle in Broncos plans

Following back-to-back losses, the Denver Broncos have put an emphasis on getting off to better starts on both the offense and defensive side of the ball.

However, the fallout from Jon Gruden’s departure from the Las Vegas Raiders this week could throw a kink in Denver’s plans to start hot on defense.

“Their offense, I’m sure, won’t change as far as schematically what they’re doing,” said head coach Vic Fangio on Wednesday. “Obviously, the new play caller will maybe zero in on some other stuff that maybe they haven’t used as much or majored in. They have a lot of personnel groups.

“It’ll be the same offense, but how it’s called and how its utilized will be different.”

That new Raiders play-caller will be offensive coordinator Greg Olson, who deferred to Gruden previously and hasn’t called plays in the NFL for some time.

Broncos defensive coordinator Ed Donatell said on Thursday when a guy has been calling plays for a while, there’s a book on how they do so. But when a guy hasn’t called plays in some time, there is “some feeling out.”

“Vic has great instincts. We’ve been to through kinds of things before where you have to be on your P’s and Q’s; are they staying true to form or what are the things that are different as the first quarter unfolds,” Donatell said.

However, pass rusher Von Miller said on Thursday that he doesn’t anticipate Las Vegas will come out and be “unpredictable.”

“What they do is what they do. How they call the game will definitely change because they have a new play-caller. They’re not going to come out here and be an option team,” Miller said. “They’re not going to come out here and just change their whole identity because Gruden is gone. They’re still going to do some of the things that they do well.  We just don’t know when they’ll do it.”