Royal needed no time to nurture for Broncos

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Brandon Marshall better hurry back. Not so much for the Denver Broncos as for Brandon Marshall.For one week, anyway, QB Jay Cutler has a new favorite receiver.Opening nights are notoriously unreliable indicators of the long run, but watching rookie Eddie Royal on Monday night, the Broncos debut that came to mind was that of Rick Upchurch 33 years ago.It was Sept. 21, 1975, when the 23-year-old Upchurch put up 284 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, including a 90-yard pass reception from Charley Johnson, as the Broncos beat the Chiefs 37-33.Monday night, the 22-year-old Royal carried the ball on an end-around the first play from scrimmage, which was a pretty good indication of the game plan. For the Raiders, it was a Royal pain.He had seven catches for 99 yards and a touchdown by halftime. Unofficially, he finished with 185 all-purpose yards, not enough to surpass Upchurch, but more than enough to make a grand entrance onto the NFL stage.Early in the third quarter, on an end-around going nowhere, he wisely threw the ball away, giving him something even Upchurch didn't have in his debut -- a pass attempt.Royal was the Broncos' second-round pick in this year's draft, the 42nd player selected overall. By comparison, the fourth overall pick, the Raiders' Darren McFadden, carried the ball nine times for 46 yards. These rookies need to be brought along slowly, you know.To make matters worse for beleaguered Raiders owner Al Davis, Royal repeatedly torched cornerback DeAngelo Hall, recent recipient of a seven-year, $70 million contract.Royal's splashy introduction overshadowed an equally spectacular season debut by Cutler, who was virtually flawless in leading the Broncos to a 41-14 laugher. When Marshall joins them, the trio has the potential to put up numbers in the passing game the Broncos haven't seen since the days of Rod Smith and Ed McCaffrey.Before you make your reservations for Tampa and Super Bowl XLIII, keep one thing in mind: The Broncos did all this against the Raiders, football's most pitiable team for the last five years. They didn't look like they've made a lot of progress.In fact, you can start the Lane Kiffin countdown right now. The only question is whether he will last as long as Mike Shanahan did as Raiders coach.The over/under, of course, is 20 games. Kiffin has three to go. At 4-13, he has no chance of matching the 8-12 that got Shanahan fired 19 years ago.Davis doesn't like losing to anybody, although he's had no choice but to get used to it lately, having lost 62 of his last 81 games. But he hates losing to Shanahan, especially in a home opener before the whole country, or at least the part of it that can stay up on a weeknight to watch the second half of a twi-night doubleheader.The Raiders faithful, decked out in their usual apocalyptic attire, many of them tailgating all day, were booing the home team by halftime.Judging the Broncos defense off this one is difficult because the Raiders offense was thoroughly incompetent.Second-year quarterback JaMarcus Russell looked like the rookie he might as well be for all the playing time he got last year. By the end, he had respectable numbers, but the enduring memory was his impression of Dave Krieg -- the ball slipping from his hand as he pulled it back -- when the Raiders were still in the game, driving for a tying score in the first quarter.Midway through the second quarter, on a second-and-12 deep in his own territory, the Broncos showed blitz. Russell tried to audible and ended up taking a penalty for delay of game. On third-and-17, Kiffin thought discretion the better part of valor and ran the ball.This does not mean that Russell, McFadden & Co. won't form the core of a formidable offense once they get used to this whole NFL thing. But I wouldn't recommend wading into the Black Hole and counseling patience while Royal is tearing up perhaps the highest-priced secondary in the league.At least some things about the Raiders never change. Once the tide started going against them, they committed five personal fouls. This is what Davis' vaunted tradition has come to -- no pride, no poise.Thanks to first-week losses by the Chargers and Chiefs, this was a game for sole possession of first place in the AFC West, though it may be a little early to be mentioning such things.Tom Brady is out for the year. San Diego, Indianapolis and Jacksonville all lost their openers. Brett Favre switched conferences. In other words, the AFC may be more wide open this year than anybody anticipated. After all, the Steelers and Broncos authored the two most impressive performances of Week 1. The Chargers should present a better test Sunday. But once Marshall returns, they may be up against a Royal flush.(Contact Dave Krieger of the Rocky Mountain News at kriegerd(at)rockymountainnews.com.)