The Game:
Broncos (3-5) at Seahawks (6-2), 8:20 p.m. ET on ESPN's Sunday Night Football.

The Question:
Which coach is the better offensive mind?

Mike Shanahan		Mike Holmgren
By Merril Hoge Special to ESPN.com Week in and week out, no coach in the NFL creates more favorable offensive matchups for his team than the Broncos' Mike Shanahan. Shanahan uses his players' versatility, skills and strengths to gain an advantage over the opposing defense -- even more than Holmgren has done with his offenses. Even though the Broncos haven't performed as well this season as they have in the past, that's not a reflection on Shanahan's skill as an offensive coach. He can't help the fact he no longer has John Elway, Terrell Davis or Shannon Sharpe in the lineup each week. Shanahan has actually been more creative this year without any of his best weapons. He has continued to use a wide variety of formations and get mismatches that his tight ends, receivers and running back can win. If a team has a defensive vulnerability, Shanahan is adept at both finding and exposing the weakness. He has always done a great job of that, which is why the Broncos, when healthy, have always been one of the league's most offensively efficient teams. Will Shanahan win the AFC West this season? No. But with the talent that remains, whether it's Chris Miller, Olandis Gary, John Avery, Ed McCaffrey or Rod Smith, the Broncos will still give defenses a lot of problems, which can be attributed to Shanahan's ability and unmatched preparation. Shanahan is one of the best offensive minds the game has seen. He and Holmgren are both disciples of the West Coast offense, as taught by Bill Walsh, but Shanahan has tweaked it and has been innovative in terms of using his talent. If he has players who have strength outside of the West Coast approach, he finds a way to use it. He expends his offense to fit the strength of his players. Shanahan has faced no bigger challenge than the one has had this year with the Broncos. But he is still getting results when most coaches wouldn't.		By Mike Golic Special to ESPN.com There is no doubting what Mike Holmgren is capable of doing with an offense. Holmgren has a fantastic offensive mind, something he has proven in San Francisco, in Green Bay and now in Seattle. Holmgren had a better quarterback in Green Bay with Brett Favre. When he came to Seattle, he had a nice cast of receivers and Ricky Watters. But you have to give credit to Holmgren for how he has developed Jon Kitna in a short amount of time into a successful quarterback who is making good decisions. What Holmgren does best is take the offensive talent he has and put his players in situations to succeed. He is not asking Kitna to go out and win games. He is asking Kitna to make the smart throws to put the Seahawks in a position to win the game. You might or might not be able to attribute Green Bay's offensive struggles to the change from Holmgren to Sherman Lewis. When Holmgren left, the first thing Lewis wanted to do in Green Bay was open up the vertical game. Holmgren tended to run a lot of slant, out and middle patterns to get the receiver the ball quickly and let them do the damage by running after the catch. Holmgren doesn't necessarily want his quarterback to make the long throws. He wants to put the receivers in shorter routes and good positions to catch the ball. Even though he didn't have Joey Galloway through the first eight games, Holmgren has still been able to get Derrick Mayes and Sean Dawkins, two receivers who aren't speed threats, open by design. Holmgren and Shanahan have all the basics of the West Coast offense down. It all comes down to calling the game. Does one of them call the game better? Maybe. It was easier for Shanahan when he had talent like John Elway, Terrell Davis and Shannon Sharpe. Despite not having the best talent available, Holmgren has still been able to succeed, a true test of his offensive coaching ability.