The last thing you want to do before a big division showdown in the NFL is give the other team some bulletin board material, a rule that T.J. Ward must not be aware of, because that's exactly what he did this week.
The Broncos safety has been watching film of the Raiders over the past few days, and after watching Oakland's receivers in action, he wasn't exactly impressed. During an interview this week, Ward said that neither Amari Cooper or Michael Crabtree qualified as "elite" players.
"I feel like they have two good receivers. I don't feel like they have two elite receivers," Ward said, via CSN Bay Area.
I'm not sure what Ward's definition of elite is, but if it's racking up yardage, then Cooper qualifies. He has 787 yards receiving this year, which is the third-highest number in the NFL.
On the other hand, if elite means catching touchdowns and scoring points, then Crabtree probably qualifies. The Raiders receiver has caught a total of six touchdown passes this year, which was tied for the NFL-lead heading into Week 9 (Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans took the league-lead after catching two touchdown passes against the Falcons on Thursday night).
For the season, Crabtree has 47 catches for 569 yards.
Of course, Ward might've just been saying what he said because he hates the Raiders, something that he made very clear this week.
"We never liked the Raiders," Ward said. "We just don't like them. You ever not like someone and you don't know why? We just don't like them."
Anyway, it's possible that Ward's trash-talking could come back and haunt him this week, and that's because the Broncos' secondary isn't going to be at full strength. Denver has already announced that Aqib Talib won't be playing on Sunday.
The upside for the Broncos is that the Raiders' receiving corps might not be at full strength, either. Cooper was limited in practice all week and has been listed as questionable for Sunday's game.
