Studs and Duds: Broncos 19, Raiders 20

Oakland WR Chaz Schilens runs past D.J. Williams for the game-winner. (AP Photo/Chris Schneider)

A loss like that leaves a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. Everyone on the BT Staff is still pretty upset — ok, maybe livid — at Sunday’s affair. So, it’s not surprising that they all picked duds. I went out of my way to try and highlight a few positives, but it wasn’t easy. These Broncos were supposed to be better than this…. Take it away gentlemen.

Dud: Offensive line.
The complete offensive line. We were beat at the point of attack all day and couldn’t gain 5 yards when we needed it the most. I do agree Knowshon Moreno is not a bruising red zone guy, but the o-line has to do a better job of giving him something to work with. When 9 points should’ve been 21, it’s easy to see why we lost this game. I was surprised to hear last night in an interview with Dave Logan that Josh McDaniels said they used all zone blocking against the Raiders. So it’s not like we were playing to our line’s weaknesses, this is what they’re good at. They just didn’t get the job done at all. – Josh Temple

Dud: The entire effing team.
This is unconscionable. We lost to the Raiders. At home. To JaMarcus The Hutt. The team simply didn’t have the passion when they went out on the field. They managed to get a little bit fired up, but by then the domination had begun and the Raiders were there to beat their rival. The Broncos came in looking like they remembered pantsing the Raiders and expected to do it again. Losing to the Raiders the way they did, I don’t believe this team deserves to go to the playoffs. Playoffs have to be earned every game, but especially in the important games. They didn’t earn it. – E. Halsey Miles

Stud: Tony Carter.
Carter was signed from the practice squad the day before the game. An undrafted rookie out of Florida State, Carter is small even by DB’s standards, tipping the scales at 5’9″, 175 lbs. Youth, size, and inexperience didn’t matter — Carter made the most of his opportunity. With Ty Law out due to injury, he trumped Alphonso Smith as nickelback, for whom the Broncos traded a first round pick in the 2008, and finished with one tackle, an impressive pass defensed, a fumble recovery and a special-teams tackle. He was hurt in the fourth quarter, and his replacement later in the game (Smith) half-assed the tackle on Schilens pictured above that led to the Raiders win. Get well soon, kid. – Kyle

Dud: Wesley Woodyard.
Woodyard deserves to get cut after these last two games. Last week Woody left Dallas Clark wide open for three touchdowns, this week he gave Oakland a fresh set of downs to win the game. I’m so livid right now I could give out about several duds, but I have to leave some for the rest of the BT crew because there’s not a lot of studs to pick from this game. It’s going to be a tough assignment to travel to Philly to find a win next week. If Denver has another game like that they won’t see a playoff berth. At least Chicago lost and Cutler threw three picks. – Mr. East

Dud: Eddie Royal.
Not too sure what it is this season. There has been a lot of speculation. It boils down to the fact that Eddie just isn’t getting it done. Maybe it’s not his fault with a lack of targets. Maybe he’s no longer flying under the radar like his rookie season. Whatever the case may be, one thing can be certain, he isn’t helping this team. – J. Kenneth K.

Somewhere in between: Brandon Marshall
For 59 minutes, when the Broncos were on offense, Brandon Marshall was a stud. That’s not a surprise — he’s Brandon Marshall. But Orton threw to him at the end of the game with seconds left. It was a perfect throw. Michael Huff laid him out, to be certain, but if Marshall holds onto that football, Orton has a chance to run up and spike it, throw a 20-yarder at the sidelines, and let Matt Prater do his thing. Marshall, you’re undoubtedly on the cusp of the most lucrative contract in NFL wide receiver history. The highest-paid wideout of all time is expected to make that catch. – Kyle

Dud: Robert Ayers
The first touchdown he allowed by RB Michael Bush was beyond pathetic. Just an ounce of hustle would have been a stop. These rookies are letting us down. – Kyle

There were also a couple of defensive guys that were near-studs, like Brian Dawkins, Champ Bailey, David Bruton (thanks broncogeoff81 in the comments), and D.J. Williams, but no starter gets such an honor for the pathetic overall effort on run defense.