Rivalry Is Least of Concerns : Pro football: Talk is forgotten as Raiders and Broncos, both 0-2, seek to put their seasons back on track today in Denver.

Denver Coach Wade Phillips was taking verbal shots at the Raiders. Raider Coach Art Shell didn’t want anything to do with the Broncos.

And Raider receiver Tim Brown was telling anybody who asked that he was never happier as a Raider. Listen and weep, Denver.

It was six weeks ago, and the feud was alive and well in Barcelona, Spain.

“Why are those guys here?” Phillips had said with a big smile before the American Bowl exhibition between the archrivals. “Nobody even likes them.”

Shell, breaking an American Bowl tradition, wouldn’t practice with the opposing squad.

Both sides were spewing venom, shaking fists and promising dire consequences when they met for real.

And why not?

Both squads had come to Barcelona confident of their strength, although others had serious reservations about the Denver defense.

Those who were shaking their fists are now scratching their heads. The preseason confidence has been replaced by regular-season reality.

Nobody seems interested in the feud anymore. The obsession with the guys on the other sideline has been replaced by confusion over what’s happening on their own sideline.

The Raiders and the Broncos are both 0-2 heading into today’s early season showdown, with the loser facing a formidable task of getting back into contention.

“Both teams have dug a hole,” Phillips said. “One of them is going to jump in the hole.”

If it’s the Broncos, Phillips may need to shovel fast simply to keep his job. Several Denver columnists have been demanding his head this week, the Broncos having gotten off to their worst start since 1968.

Shell isn’t under that kind of pressure. Yet.

But unless quarterback Jeff Hostetler finds his touch, the Raiders find a tailback and the defensive line finds a way to make up for the loss of AWOL end Scott Davis, the team doesn’t figure to turn things around dramatically.

Hostetler has been uncharacteristically erratic in his first two games but continues to deny that he has an arm injury. The Raider quarterback has not sat out a practice this week, however, and has looked sharper.

Shell has accepted some of the blame for the failure of his rushing attack. “We really haven’t given our running backs a chance,” he conceded.

The Raiders have only 34 carries for 133 yards in two games. Shell said he would like to see his rushers get 25 carries per game.

Davis is expected to skip his second consecutive game after storming out of the team’s training headquarters on Sept. 6 for still unexplained reasons. If his tender hamstring permits, Jerry Ball will start at defensive tackle for the second consecutive week, with Nolan Harrison moving to Davis’ end position. The other starters, defensive end Anthony Smith and tackle Chester McGlockton, remain unchanged.

All four figure to earn their paychecks today. Chasing Bronco quarterback John Elway around in the energy-sapping, thin altitude of Mile High Stadium is never an easy task. But forced to do so with only one veteran reserve, Aundray Bruce, on the bench is really asking a lot.

Denver’s problems can be boiled down to one thing: defense.

The club spent a lot of time and money in the off-season, giving Elway even more tools to work with--wide receiver Anthony Miller and running back Leonard Russell. There’s no question the Broncos can score. Keeping opponents from scoring, however, is another matter.

Denver has given up 62 points in its two games, a total exceeded in the AFC West only by--you guessed it--the Raiders, who have surrendered a league-leading 82.

Whatever they give up, the Raiders seem to find a way to score more than the Broncos. They did so in that Barcelona exhibition, winning in overtime. And they did it in a playoff meeting last January, eliminating Denver. And they have done so consistently in the regular season. The Raiders have won the last three regular-season games between the two and eight of the last nine.

The Broncos haven’t had any greater success off the field. They figured they had snared Brown, a free agent, in the off-season by getting him to sign a lucrative offer sheet, only to have the Raiders match it.

Said Raider owner Al Davis last spring: “We beat them both on and off the field.”

But lately, neither side has been beating anybody.

Barring a tie, that will end for one team today. For the other, the agony might be only beginning.

Raider Notes

Defensive lineman Willie Broughton, desperately needed on the thin defensive line, is not expected to be ready today. . . . Denver Coach Wade Phillips says tight end Shannon Sharpe, recovering from strained knee ligaments suffered in the season opener, will play. But Sharpe is not ready to make that commitment until he sees how he feels in the pregame warm-ups.

Bronco running back Rod Bernstine is expected to start. How long he will last, however, remains to be seen because he continues to be plagued by a hamstring injury that has bothered him since last season. . . . Not activated for today’s game were newly acquired running back Jerrod Bunch, rookie running back Calvin Jones, defensive end Scott Davis and offensive lineman Rich Stephens.

RAIDERS

TODAY’S GAME

Opponent: Denver Broncos.

Site: Mile High Stadium.

Time: 1 p.m. PDT.

Records: Raiders 0-2, Broncos 0-2.

TV: Channel 4.

Radio: KFI (640), KWKW (1330), KMEN (1290).

Rosters: C14.