I wrote this quite some time ago when I was bored.  This was long before any roster cuts and even BMarsh's suspension.  I thought I had deleted it, but I saw it was still a draft and in light of Saint's crap talkin', I thought I would issue my own beat down of the Fader Nation.  I named it Virtual Outcomes because everything was made up in my mind and has nothing to do with reality really.  Like I said, I was bored one day and travelling out of town for work, sitting in my hotel room with nothing to watch on television.  Here is the result of that.  lol

Virtual Outcomes is all about possibilities.  Call it satire, call it delusional, call it accurate, call it whatever you want; the idea is to give people a glimpse of what could happen.  I enjoy this sort of mind game and I didn't use anything like Madden or anything else other than my own brain and imagination to come to the conclusions I've come to.

Monday Night Football in the Black Hole. The Denver Broncos at the Oakland Raiders:

As the crowd starts to roar, it is finally here.  Week 1 of the NFL football season.  It is Monday Night Football.  The Oakland Raiders and the Denver Broncos walk onto the field for the opening coin toss. 

The Raiders win the toss and elect to receive the opening kick off.  Darren McFadden returns the kick to the 30 yard line of Oakland and out comes JaMarcus Russell and the hated Raiders.  Russell and the Raiders score a quick first down after a run by Justin Fargas and a short pass to Ronald Curry.  After and incomplete pass to Javon Walker, Russell hands off to Darren McFadden for the first time who carries for a short two yard gain up the middle.  On third down, JaMarcus tosses a quick out to Walker who is tackled by Champ Bailey for a short three yard gain.

Shane Lechler punts deep and the ball is downed at the eight yard line.  Jay Cutler and the Broncos start their drive on the eight yard line.  After four plays the Broncos have driven to their own 31 yard line, Cutler drops back to pass and throws a deep slant to Eddie Royal who catches it for a huge 27 yard gain.  Unfortunately, the drive stalls at the Raider 39 yard line and the unknown punter for the Broncos boots the ball into the end zone for a touchback.

On the Raiders first place from their own 20 yard line, Fargas breaks through the middle for a big 19 yard gain.  Russell hands off to McFadden on the very next play who fumbles after a medium gain, but the ball is recovered by the Raiders.  On the next play JaMarcus tosses a short pass to Walker who jukes Dre Bly for a long 22 yard gain.  The Raider drive stalls after that and Sebastian Jenaikowski hits a 45 yard field goal to put the Raiders up 3 to 0.

Royal takes the kick off from the end zone and returns it to the 33 yard line.  Cutler comes out throwing, hitting Brandon Marshall for a 14 yard gain.  After that, the Broncos begin chewing up the clock, almost rotating Selvin Young and Michael Pittman on each play.  They chew up 23 yards on the ground on six consecutive plays.  After a quick completion to Tony Scheffler for six yards, the Broncos run two more running plays to Young for 12 more yards.  Cutler tosses a short pass to Marshall who takes the pass 9 yards to the 2 yard line.  The Broncos proceed to run three straight running plays with Pittman finally punching through the line into the end zone giving the Broncos the leads at 7 to 3.

The Raiders begin their next posession at their 23 yard line.  The first quarter ends on a six yard run by McFadden.  After two more hand offs, Russell attempts to throw a pass over the middle to Ronald Curry.  The pass is inaccurate and intercepted by Dre Bly who returns is 11 yards to the Oakland 35 yard line.

On the Broncos first play of the drive Cutler drops back to pass.  Brandon Marshall gets open down the sideline and Cutler hits him in stride for a 35 yard touchdown pass.  The Broncos increase their lead to 14 to 3. 

McFadden receives the kick and returns it all the way to mid field.  Fargas bursts through the left side on the first play for a 17 yard gain.  After a short completion to Walker, JaMarcus Russell hands off to Javon Walker on an end around which goes for an 11 yard gain.  After a sack by Tim Crowder, McFadden speeds around the left side for a 24 yard touchdown run.  Raiders 10, Broncos 14.

After a three and out by Denver, the Raiders get the ball back at their own 30 yard line.  Russell and the Raiders methodically march down the field that is highlighted by a 32 yard deep pass down the sideline to Walker.  The drive stalls at the Bronco 22 yard line and Janikowski kicks another field goal to cut the Bronco lead to one point.  Raiders 13, Broncos 14.

Another nice return by Royal gives the Broncos good field position at their own 35 yard line.  Young rips off a nice 11 yard gain to start the drive and Cutler hits Graham for 9 yards and Darrell Jackson for 6 setting up a 1st and 10 at the Raider 39 yard line.  One the next play Cutler hits Marshall 10 yards down field, but he gets blasted by Gibril Wilson who knocks the ball loose.  Quentin Groves subsequently recovers at the 32 yard line.

With just over three and half minutes left to go in the half, Russell starts the drive for the Raiders by throwing a short pass to Fargas for a 4 yard gain.  After a couple of medium runs, Russell scrambles for 8 yards on 2nd down and 10.  On third down he takes a quarterback sneak up the middle to get the first down by the nose of the football.  He continues to drive his team down the field, but after two expended time outs and just forty seconds remaining in the first half the Raiders are faced with a third and a long four at the Bronco 17 yard line.  JaMarcus Russell drops back to pass but is hit hard on a blind side blitz by John Lynch, he somehow holds onto the football.  The Raiders call a timeout with three seconds left as Janikowski trots onto the field to attempt a 41 yard field goal.  Just before the snap, Mike Shanahan calls a time out to attempt to "freeze" Janikowski, hoping to repeat his success against him last season.  The tactic fails this time as Janikowski nails the kick right down the middle to put the Raiders up 16 to 14 at halftime.

The Broncos take possession at the start of the third quarter at their own 29 yard line.  On their second play of the half, Cutler hits Brandon Stokley down the middle of the field for a huge 28 yard gain.  Selvin Young takes a hand off on the next play on a sweep for another 16 yards, followed by a screen pass from Cutler to Young that picks up 12 more.  Two plays later on third and five at the Raider eight yard line Cutler hits Scheffler on a slany for 8 yards and a touchdown putting the Broncos up 21 to 16.

After a quick three and out by Oakland, the Broncos get the ball back on their own 46 yard line after a 27 yard punt return by Eddie Royal.  Cutler and the Broncos convert one third down, but not the second and they miss a 45 yard field goal attempt with just under seven minutes remaining in the third quarter.

With solid field position, the Raiders take over and begin marching down the field, when on a critical 3rd down and 8 at the Broncos 40 yard line Russell hits Chris McFoy on a deep pass down the seam for 32 yards.  Hand offs to McFadden for 4 yards and Justin Griffith for 3 to set up a third and goal at the one yard line.  Russell keeps it on a quarterback sneak and pushes himself into the end zone to take the lead.  The Raiders try to go up by three points but the JaMarcus Russell pass to Javon Walker is deflected by Champ Bailey, keeping the score 22 to 21 in Oakland's favor.

A touchback sets the Broncos up at their own 20 yard line on the ensuing posession.  The drive stalls at their own 46 yard line, but on fourth and inches Mike Shanahan decides to go for it.  Pittman is stopped behind the line by Tommy Kelley for no gain and the Broncos turn the ball over on downs.

The third quarter ends on a 10 yard run by Justin Fargas.  After a screen pass to McFadden for 13 yards, the Raiders drive stalls at the Bronco 13 yard line.  A Janikowski 30 yard field goal puts the Raiders up by 4, 25 to 21.

Janikowski kicks off to Royal who takes the ball from the 2 yard line.  Royal dashes up the middle, veering right for a huge 54 yard return before being pushes out of bounds a the Raider 44 yard line.  Cutler starts off with a 13 yard bullet pass to Daniel Graham.  Two subsequent rushes by Young for 12 yards puts the Broncos into the red zone.  Cutler is sacked on the next play by Derrick Burgess for a six yard loss.  On 2nd and 16 Cutler hits Marshall for an 11 yard gain.  On third down Cutler's pass is deflected at the line setting up a 31 yard field goal.  Closing the gap on the Raider lead back to 1 point. 

The Raiders start their next drive at their 28 yard line, but find themselves in a third and 10 after two failed plays.  Russell throws deep to Javon Walker who makes a great catch for a 36 yard gain.  The Raiders then run the ball four consecutive times to get into the red zone, but on 3rd and 5 a short screen pass to Michael Bush falls a yard short of a first down.  Janikowski kicks a 29 yard field to make the score Oakland 28, Denver 24.

After a touchback, the Broncos take over at their own 20 yard line with just over four and half minutes left in regulation.  My play-by-play for this exciting drive is below:

-1st and 10 at the 20 yard line.  Cutler passes incomplete over the middle to Stokley.  4:32
-2nd and 10 at the 20 yard line.  Hand off to Young on a sweep for 8 yards.  Tackled in bounds.  4:14
-3rd and 2 at the 28 yard line.  Cutler short pass to Stokley who takes it 4 yards, before being tackled in bounds.  3:56
-1st and 10 at the 32 yard line.  Pitch to the outside to Young who runs for 11 yards before being pushed out of bounds.  3:40
-1st and 10 at the 43 yard line.  Cutler passes to Sheffler for 7 yards before being tackled in bounds.  3:26
-2nd and 3 at the 50 yard line.  Hand off to Young for a 5 yard gain up the middle.  2:54
-1st and 10 at the opp. 45 yard line.  Cutler incomplete pass to Jackson.  2:46
-2nd and 10 at the opp. 45 yard line.  Cutler scrambles for 6 yards.  2:15
-3rd and 4 at the opp. 41 yard line.  Cutler pass is deflected at the line.  2:05
-4th and 4 at the opp. 41 yard line.  Cutler pass to Stokley on a slant for 7 yards.  2:00 Two Minute Warning.
-1st and 10 at the opp. 34 yard line.  Hand off to Young up the middle for 3 yards.  1:46
-2nd and 7 at the opp. 31 yard line.  Cutler pass incomplete to Graham.  1:39
-3rd and 7 at the opp. 31 yard line.  Cutler pass complete to Marshall for 9 yards.  1:17 Time Out Called by Denver.
-1st and 10 at the opp. 22 yard line.  Cutler pass incomplete to Marshall.  1:11
-2nd and 10 at the opp. 22 yard line.  Cutler scrambles for 4 yards.  1:00
-3rd and 6 at the opp. 18 yard line.  Cutler sacked for a 6 yard loss.  0:51 Time Out called by Denver.
-4th and 11 at the opp. 23 yard line.  Cutler passes to Scheffler for 13 yards being tackled in bounds.  0:33
-1st and Goal at the 9 yard line.  Cutler pass incomplete to Marshall.  0:26
-2nd and Goal at the 9 yard line.  Cutler passes to Jackson for 7 yards, pushed out of bounds.   0:21
-3rd and Goal at the 2 yard line.  Cutler is flushed out of the pocket and scrambles to the left side and dives into the end zone for a touchdown.  0:12   Broncos 31, Raiders 28.

The game ends on a long pass from Russel to Walker that is picked off by Champ Bailey to end the game.

*****

I will be at this game and I look forward to watching a game as exciting as the one I imagined above.  The Broncos and Raiders always seem to play each other tough.  The rivalry had faded(pun intended) greatly over the past dozen or so years, but finally it has returned.  I have a feeling the Raiders are going to come into this game a little cocky and are going to be surprised at just how good this Bronco football team is.