This column originally ran in The Standard-Times on Sept. 22, 2006.

By Nick Tavares

It probably really started in 1994.

On a Sunday afternoon in Foxboro Stadium, the up-and-coming Patriots, led by a young Drew Bledsoe and coach Bill Parcells, welcomed the Denver Broncos into town.

Thirty-four points and a Shannon Sharpe distress call later, the Broncos left town with New England's number. The battles waffled back and forth for a few years, but in the Tom Brady era, save for two key wins (most memorably the intentional safety game of 2002), Denver has held most of the success in this series.

Still, the sense of fear that Denver invokes no longer resonates quite so strongly. But whenever the Broncos and Pats lock horns, it's an intriguing battle.

The Broncos, much like the Patriots of this season, are built with the run in mind, though that run hasn't clicked as nicely as head coach Mike Shanahan would like. Denver's running Bells — Tatum and rookie Mike — haven't run with the same authority that Tatum Bell, Mike Anderson and Ron Dayne ran for last season.

New England, on the other hand, has been able to ride its power/speed combo of Corey Dillon and Laurence Maroney to two early victories.

"Any time you can rush the ball like they're running it, it causes problems for any defense," Shanahan said. "Take a look at all three of their running backs. Obviously, Dillon and Maroney are doing a great job. They're running the football, which opens up the play action pass and those type of things."

It's that openness that has been the big difference between the two clubs this season. While Tom Brady hasn't looked completely comfortable coming into Week 3, the fact that he's now adjusting to a new corps of wide receivers is probably the key.

In Denver, the lack of scoring from the running game has left quarterback Jake Plummer exposed, and through the first two games has a quarterback rating of just 38.6, compared to Brady's 77.6.

With the running game clicking as well as it has, Brady will likely get a chance to really give his new receivers, including Chad Jackson and Doug Gabriel, a real chance to contribute.

"There are guys now at the receiver position who have a great opportunity to step in and really play a part and play a big role, and I think those guys are excited about it, too," Brady said. "When you lose guys, like we lost, other guys step in and hopefully they can kind of get up to speed.

"How fast it comes? I don't know. That's up to us. That's our goal."

How fast it comes will impact not just this game, but the rest of the season. While Denver has struggled, they should still be considered a far more challenging opponent for New England than either Buffalo or the Jets were, and each of them gave the Pats a run for their money.

Even with the uncertainty of the Denver attack, there remains a constant in their approach, which Belichick is quick to point out in their favor.

"They have certain elements of their game, whether you see the same plays every single week, but how they build them, how they get to them, how they disguise them — that's what Shanahan really does a good job of, and he creates a lot of pressure on your particular defensive schemes as to how he sets those plays up," he said.

"I don't think it's ever a question of which plays are they going to run. I think it's more of a question of how are they going to get to them and how are they going to build them. I think that's what good teams do. That's what good offenses do."

It's that constant that New England will be up against Sunday. While the Patriots hold an edge over Denver, on both sides of the ball, they'll be searching for that very consistency to hold their old foe down this Sunday.

Nick Tavares is a columnist for The Standard-Times. Contact him at ntavares@s-t.com

Date of Publication September 22, 2006 on Page C04