McNuggets: McDaniels, Orton, BDawk talk RAIDER WEEK

Denver Broncos' Knowshon Moreno (27) and Correll Buckhalter (28) celebrate Buckhalter's fourth-quarter touchdown against the Cleveland Browns during an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009, in Denver. Denver beat Cleveland 27-6. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey )

HEAD COACH JOSH McDANIELS

On his first Broncos-Raiders game

“It is our first division game. We are excited about starting that process here. Against the Raiders, there certainly have been a lot of great games over the course of the years. I have watched them from afar, but it will be great to be a part of that. (Oakland) is a great atmosphere to play in. I have played there a few times in my career here in the NFL. The fans are phenomenal there—loud—and they make life tough. It will be fun. It will be a fun challenge. It is an exciting place to play. It certainly is a challenge to go there and win against a good football team. We will be hard at work at it this week.”

On the Broncos-Raiders rivalry

“It means a lot to us. They are our—if you want to call them archrival or what you want to categorize them as—but we get to play them twice a year. I think there are a lot of players on our team that are very familiar with their players. Sure, that is the same on their sideline and then their coaching staff. We have got a guy or two from that organization here now. It is special when you get to play these division games early in the year on the road against a team that historically, you are no supposed to like. We know that, and they know it. It will be exciting for us to go there and meet the challenge.”

On Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell

“The big thing is he leads the league in yards per completion, which has always been kind of a trademark in Oakland. When they complete them, they are deep. They have got a lot of big-play players and a ton of speed. The one thing, too, that he has done a good job of last year is he hasn’t turned the ball over that much. Eight interceptions in 370 attempts last year, I think it was. He takes care of the football for them. They run the ball well. He understands that part of their game plan is going to be getting the ball down the field. He is a younger player who is getting better and played really, really good football late last year. I am sure that he will be ready to go on Sunday.”

On Raiders DE Richard Seymour

“(He is a) big, physical and versatile player. He will play on the end; he will play inside. We talked to our (offensive) linemen this morning. Everyone of them may have to block him at some point by themselves or maybe with help in some way, shape or form. (He is) a guy that can take over a game if you are not careful. (He is) very powerful, very physical and is a good pass rusher for a 310-pound man. He has got quickness, he has got speed around the edge and then he can power you. He definitely helps their front. They have a good front as it is and a lot of big physical players. He is just like them. I have been around him for a long time, and he has definitely added something to them, for sure.”

On if improved safety play has led to more short passes throughout the league

“Not really. Just in studying the Raiders, (S Michael) Huff has made some interceptions where he is supposed to be there in the back part of the field, but he reads something, he gets down there and he makes plays. I think that is probably a player-by-player thing. If one team’s safeties are playing deeper or a few teams that somebody has played are playing deeper, then that may be the case. I have certainly not noticed that up to this point this year with the teams we have played this year in the preseason and the first two games of the regular season.”

On what he is most pleased with through two weeks of play

“I think our players understand how we are going to approach each week, and when we identify what we want to do to try to win the game they have worked extremely hard at focusing on just that part. We don’t play the same way from one week to the next. It takes preparation, and the players meet that challenge every week of accepting what we are trying to give them to do and then doing it very well and then going out there and trying to nail it by the time we get to Sundays. Certainly, nothing is perfect. You are right, it is just two games, but I think the thing that I really enjoy is coming in there on Wednesday morning and trying to describe what kind of team we are playing and how we are going to try to play to beat them, and you see 55 guys, 60 guys taking notes, writing things down and then digesting it. You see that out at practice. As long as you have got a bunch of guys that are willing to prepare that hard and go out there and understand what you going to try to win each week, you give your team a chance.”

On the importance of making adjustments

“I think it is very important. It really is. I do not think we are one of those teams that you could categorize as we do what we do. We kind of do what we do each week differently. For a player, it requires tremendous work, a lot of time, studying and the ability to do adapt from one week to the next. There are plenty of things that we did last week that we are not even talking about this week and vice versa. I think that our players, it is a tribute to them that we have accumulated enough players that we can play like that.”

On if it is hard to establish an identity after changing the game plan each week

“Hopefully, our identity is we just do what we have got to do to win. Hopefully, that is the identity that we create here. That is what we want to create is whatever we need to do or however we need to play to win, that is what we are going to try to do.”

On the Raiders running game

“They have a very good scheme. They do a lot of the zone stuff. They have got really good linemen who are physical and really kind of move the line of scrimmage, but the runners find it. (RB Michael) Bush, who is very underrated—he is a big man, 250 pounds—has great feet. (RB Darren) McFadden is fast. (RB Justin) Fargas, when he gets back, he is the same kind—they are all the same kind of backs: dangerous every time they touch it. (They are) very consistent. They are going to run it and keep running it and keep running it and keep running it. The challenge is we have got to play good run defense every play. We can’t take a play off because they will hit it.”

QB KYLE ORTON

On whether he will wear a glove on his throwing hand at Oakland on Sunday

“I’m hoping it gets better this week and I’m finally through it. We’ll see if it is or not. I don’t know.”

On whether he will wear a glove on his throwing hand during practice this week

“Today I will, for sure.”

On if he is superstitious that he is 2-0 wearing a glove on his throwing hand this season

“No, I’m superstitious that I’ve played without it for 26 years. So that’s how I kind of want to keep it if I can.”

On if the glove on his throwing hand affects his passes

“Not really. There might be one or two throws so far this season that I kind of think that it was a minor factor, but for the most part, no, it hasn’t been too big of an issue at all.”

On what will determine if he wears a glove on his throwing hand at Oakland on Sunday

Just if I can play without it, then I will. If I can’t, then I won’t.”

On if he is excited for the Broncos-Raiders rivalry

“Yeah, no question. I have seen this one from afar for all my life. It is a great rivalry. It will be fun to go into the Black Hole and play. They are a good football team. We have got our work cut out for us all week. We have got to have a great week of preparation and try to carry that over into Sunday.”

On the Raiders’ defensive line

“They are very stout up front. Their front four gets a lot of pressure. They do a great job of stopping the run, and then in the back end of their defense, they are probably the fastest defense in the league. They have got great athletes, and it has shown so far through the two games. They get pressure on the quarterback with the front four and there are not a whole lot of guys open to throw the ball to.”

On the Raiders’ defense

“They certainly do what they do and really don’t change it for anybody. They are very confident with their guys outside playing man-to-man defense, basically picking them up 90 percent of the time and just utilizing all of their guys in the box to stop the run. We have got to do a good job of running routes, be accurate with the football and make plays in the passing game.”

On how the Raiders’ defense affects his game plan

“You have got to know exactly what you have got to do. This is a great week for us to really concentrate on what we are supposed to do and really have a great idea of what they are going to do. We spend a lot of time studying and try to find holes where we can find some weakness.”

On if it is taking longer to develop a relationship with WR Brandon Marshall

“I don’t think so. Brandon has done a good job of working and being ready to go. We did have a couple of miscommunications, but that wasn’t any different than with a couple of other wide receivers as well.”

On playing in the Black Hole

“I have been there once before. I didn’t play, but I got to see the whole effect of the Black Hole. It is interesting and it will be fun. It will be a great atmosphere, and these guys are a physical football team. We are going to go up there and try to play just as physical. It will be an old-school, smash-mouth game, which will be fun.”

On his experience playing in Oakland

“We played up there when I was in Chicago. I just wasn’t on the field, so I was able to get a look at it from the sideline.”

On the Raiders’ fans

“They are good fans. They are being loud; they are trying to give their team an edge and just make it a good environment to play football.”

S BRIAN DAWKINS

On whether he has played in Oakland before

“First time I have ever made it out there. Any time you go to a place, a hostile environment, you have got to be much more together as a team and you look forward to the challenge.”

On the environment in Oakland

“I have heard stories. I wouldn’t say it is overhyped. They are very passionate, and they want to get after the opposing team just like they want their team to get at the opposing team. It should be a very exciting challenge for us.”

On comparing Oakland’s fans to Philadelphia’s fans

“I am pretty sure, being from Philadelphia and hearing about the stories and being part of some of the stories, things that happened in Philadelphia would not surprise me out there.”

On Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell

“The cat, first of all, is a big dude. You could put him at tackle if they wanted to with how big he is. (He is a) physical guy. He has a cannon for an arm. Any cat that can stand flatfooted and sling the ball 65 yards down the field, we have to be—every part of the field is a potential for a catch. That is the way we look at it. I don’t look (at) his completion percentage at all. We just make sure that you are where you are supposed to be. His arm can get it to wherever on the field it needs to be and we have to be in deep coverage.”

On the Raiders’ speed on both sides of the ball

“Across the board, defensively and offensively, they have a bunch of speedsters on that team. That makes your attention to detail, your eyes being in the right place and when you are supposed to be in coverage you need to be where you are supposed to be. If not, the potential (for a big play) is always there.”

On starting the season 2-0

“It is two games. (We have) long season ahead of us, mistakes have still been made in those two games that we still need to continue to fix and if we don’t come out this weekend, we will be 2-1. It matters not last game. It is all about this coming game, and this is a very important game. Obviously, this is my first time playing the Raiders as a Bronco. I have heard about what intensity it needs to be from the fans point of view. I am equal opportunity, so it doesn’t make a difference for me. 2-0 doesn’t make a difference. We need to go out and make sure that we are ready to play.”

On the Broncos’ experience in the secondary

“The communication back there is some of the best that I have been a part of. The way that we talk in the back end makes the game that much easier when you have guys communicate. Each one of us, we each study film and we may pick up different things throughout the course of a week. If one of us sees something, we let everybody else know and correct things on the sideline. That is one of the things that people don’t realize. They say that we are a veteran group, but we are a veteran group with talent. All of us can play ball. It is exciting to be able to line up and look to the left and right of me and see the playmaking potential we have back there. We make sure that we are accountable for our positions, too.”

On contributors to the secondary’s success

“It is all inclusive. (Head Coach) Josh (McDaniels) comes in and helps us out tremendously. Obviously, (Defensive Coordinator) Mike (Nolan). What he adds to the table helps us out tremendously. Those guys, if they see something during the week that can help me, I am going to listen to it. I am going to put it into my repertoire. We have a lot of different people with wisdom and knowledge that (are) helping us put the product on the field that you are seeing.”

On the communication in the secondary

“It is a building block thing. It is blocks at a time. It obviously started in the offseason, us meeting one another. All of us are humble guys and clicked right away. Then, we are taking this thing to the season.”