Offense

Broncos - The Broncos found success with their running game in week 3. Knowshon Moreno (21 carries for 90 yds., 1 TD) and Correll Buckhalter (14 carries for 108 yds.) controlled the clock and moved the Broncos down the field. This week, however, it looks like Buckhalter is sitting out with an ankle injury. Moreno is also a little beat up, so this makes room for, drum roll please – Peyton Hillis. Hillis, the Broncos go to guy at the end of last season, has seen more action on the sidelines this year than anywhere else on the field. Last year he carried the ball 68 times for 343 yards while this year he’s carried 12 times for 54 yards. This second year guy should complement the Broncos running game at least on short yardage downs since he weighs 35 lbs. more than Moreno. The Broncos will put points on the board fairly easily as long as they limit turnovers.                  

Raiders- The Raiders were down and out with JaMarcus Russell under center, so they went to Bruce Gradkowski last month and ended up beating the Steelers and Bengals with his leadership. Gradkowski, however was injured last Sunday, so Charlie Frye will be getting the start at QB. Frye hasn’t played this season, and he hasn’t started a game since October 2008. What a blow to Russell’s career. Darren McFadden is back from injury, so I expect the Raiders to use him a lot. Leading receiver Zach Miller suffered a concussion at the end of last week’s game, so he may not suit up. The Raiders are 21st in rushing and 31st in passing. The endzone at Invesco could become a foreign thing to this team.            

Defense

Broncos - The secondary is a beat up bunch that will use this game to make new adjustments. Brain Dawkins is a little battered, but will get the start.  It looks like rookie David Burton will start next to Dawkins in the secondary with Reynaldo Hill suffering an ankle injury and Darcel McBath being moved to the IR (broken arm). I watched Burton in training camp, particularly on special teams, and he hits hard for his size. Last week the Broncos figured out Peyton Manning’s led offense in the 2nd half, so I don’t suspect them having trouble with the Raiders offense. A McFadden-Fargas rushing combination looks mighty threatening, but the Raiders don’t have a balanced offense that can support the run. I see a lot of 3 and outs as long as the Broncos put pressure on Frye and clog the middle of the field.                 

Raiders- The problem with the Raiders defense is that they don’t adjust their defensive scheme according to the team their playing against. They always stick to the man-to-man coverage with one high safety, little blitzing and a four man rush. That’s their story and they’re sticking to it. Like the Chiefs, the Raiders have a tendency to give up big plays both on the ground and in the air. The Raiders are 30th in rush defense and 17th in pass defense. Kirk Morrison leads the team in tackles, Michael Huff and Chris Johnson have 3 INTs a piece, and Nnamdi Asomugha is hands down one of the best corners in the league. You know Asomugha would love to see some different schemes on defense. Richard Seymour will give Ryan Clady a run for his money again, hopefully minus the hair pulling. The Broncos shouldn’t have any problems putting points on the scoreboard.

Special Teams  

Broncos - Darcel McBath will be sorely missed on special teams coverage. Matt Prater missed a field goal last week, but his performance has been so solid all season that I don’t expect it to carry over to this game.    

Raiders-  Jonathan Holland handles kick return duties while Johnnie Lee Higgins takes care of the punt return game. Neither has run one back for a TD this season. Sebastian Janikowski has been good this season hitting 19 of 22 field goals.   

Coaching

Broncos -  Josh McDaniels is beginning to see how much this rivalry means. The last meeting between the two teams was physical and full of trash talk. McD will be fully prepared to handle anything the Raiders throw his way. After preparing for the Colts last week, this week must have seemed like a walk in the park. 

Raiders- If Tom Cable were a target, consider his whole world a firing range. Besides the apparent anger issues, his head coaching position has been in jeopardy all season. He’s officially led the Raiders to another losing season, and the team hasn’t made strides to get better anytime in the near future. Will Al Davis keep the ship sailing the same way or will he finally change his ways? Hmmm…  

 Go Broncos!

Broncos:

• This guy has been getting a lot of attention recently despite not playing.
• All of Brandon Marshall’s catches in one video.  
• Darcel McBath is done for the season. That’s a huge hit on special teams.
• Here’s your chance to ask Knowshon Moreno a question.
• Vonnie Holliday thought his football career was over last season.
• A nice piece on Kyle Orton’s career year.
• Bronco Talk’s studs and duds from Indy.

AFC West:

• Should this guy go to the Chiefs game on Sunday? Look at his options and then vote.
• Sunday’s loss for the Raiders guarantees them another losing season.
• Chargers are up two games on the Broncos with three to play. 

Random:

• Gotta go with a Tiger Woods Holiday link.
• More Christmas music from the Houston Rockets.
• And yet another song from the ugliest dog in the world.
• If you your name is Bill Walton, you shouldn’t ever rap.
• A golf fail of epic proportions.
• When athletes go “bleep.”

By the time I had finished my first beer, the Colts had a 21-0 lead over Denver. At that point it started to look like a decisive blowout that would require turning the T.V. off and watching paint dry for better entertainment. Credit has to be given the Broncos defense, however, for figuring out how to stop the Colts on offense. After the initial offensive burst, the Broncos held Peyton Manning to 3-18 passing and forced him into 3 INTs until the final drive of the game. Brain Dawkins had 2 of those picks while Darcel McBath got the other one. 

On offense, the Broncos managed to score 16 consecutive points, getting to within 5 points with 10 minutes left in the game. It was the Baby T.O. show that kept the Broncos in the game. Brandon Marshall broke the real T.O.’s record for most catches in a game with 21 receptions for 200 yards and 2 TDs. Every ball that left Kyle Orton’s hands went directly to Marshall. It almost looked like a game of catch in the backyard. Who’s asking for Jay Cutler now?  Credit Marshall for working for those yards after the catch. He’s definitely proving that “The Beast” is an appropriate nickname for his 6’4”, 230 lb. frame. Even the best tacklers in the league have trouble bringing him down on the first try.

It was after Marshall’s 2nd TD catch that the Broncos looked like they had a shot. Unfortunately, Manning and the Colts moved the ball downfield with ease to hit none other than Dallas Clark for his 3rd TD reception. That was the drive that ate 7 minutes off the clock and pretty much inserted the pin into the Broncos’ already deflating balloon.

It appeared that Josh McDaniels was thinking along the same lines as the Texans when he spread the defensive coverage to the sides of the field to leaving Clark open in the middle. It was Clark who picked up a lot of those big third down conversions and then had a halo over his head in the endzone where Manning could easily find him. It will be interesting to see if anyone can find anything to stop this offense.

A lot of people have criticized McD for his decision to defer taking the ball first when the Broncos won the coin toss at the beginning of the game. Personally, I agree with his decision only because they were playing in Indy. Had they been at Invesco, I suspect he would’ve taken the ball first to get the crowd and offensive momentum on the Broncos side. Manning isn’t one of those players who shuts down after a score by the other team to start the game. If anything it puts fire in his belly. McD did his research and found that the team who kicks off in the first half typically has the final possession in that half. Think about it - with a score to end the half, carrying that momentum into halftime along with the guarantee that you’re getting the ball back to start the 2nd half is huge. Momentum shifts usually happen at that stage of the game anyway, and it would’ve been perfect with Manning on the bench.

There’s no doubt that the Broncos could’ve played better on both sides of the ball. They were going up against a great team, however. No one expected them to win that game, yet they were within striking distance at the end of the game. Adjustments will be made by the coaching staff and you can guarantee a fired up crew next week against Oakland. This is the final push – the time when minds and bodies are tested, when the post season can become reality, and a playing far into January becomes the goal. These next 3 games are must wins. Games that can extend the season, games that you work for year round. Now is the time to really go to work!