New Orleans Saints running back Pierre Thomas (23) is tackled by Oakland Raiders linebacker Quentin Groves (52), safety Tyvon Branch (33), and safety Michael Huff (24) in the first quarter of a preseason NFL football game in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Game tape analysis for the Denver Broncos‘ upcoming opponent. This week — the Oakland Raiders.

Watching preseason game tape to get ready for a regular season game is a somewhat frivolous affair. But it’s all a tape-watching fan can really be offered — as both head coaches have intimated, this isn’t 2010.

To put it bluntly, the Raiders looked pretty dreadful overall in the five quarters of preseason play I watched, but there are two important things to note there: they didn’t play Darren McFadden, and they didn’t play Darren McFadden. Darren McFadden is the type of runner that elevates the gameday performance of his blockers, receivers, and quarterback; they watch him run over tackles and the confidence of the entire team goes through the roof. Don’t take this scouting report and think the Broncos are a shoo-in.

Defensively the Raiders pose a bigger challenge, especially that defensive line. Let’s break it down.

Raiders Defense

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Ted Sundquist served as Director of College Scouting for the Denver Broncos from 1995-2002 and General Manager from 2002-2008. Today he launches a new website, TheFootballEducator.com, full of tidbits on scouting and draft preparation. He was nice enough to chat with BroncoTalk about the NFL lockout, Tim Tebow, Von Miller, and the state of the Broncos franchise.

BroncoTalk: First, if you would, let the fans know what you’ve been up to. We see you are starting a blog and doing some analyst work. Tell us about it!

Ted Sundquist: I have tried to stay on top of the NFL situation and officially interviewed with KC in ’08, spoke with SF in ’11. I’ve done quite a bit of media work through ProFootballTalk.com, 670 the Score in Chicago (weekly show), ESPN spots, The Mtn Network; Draft Analysis, College Football Saturday, Around the Mountain, Player Personnel Director for the Omaha Nighthawks of the UFL ’10. Launching a website soon TheFootballEducator.com. I also sit on the Athletic Foundation Board at US Air Force Academy and am active in the alumni “Pride Club”.

BT: Football is here, but, for a while there, it looked like it wasn’t going to be. What was your take on the NFL lockout this offseason? As a former GM, was there a side (players or owners) you felt like you were more empathetic toward? How do you expect the lockout to affect the players and/or games this season?

TS: The Lockout was a result of “Buyer’s remorse” on the part of the owners after the last agreement in ’06. They were almost immediately working to get out of it. Felt there was a lot of politics surrounding the entire situation; NFL wouldn’t let a season go by but did everything to make you think they would. NFLPA’s De Smith had to come across as a leader in his first round of negotiations on behalf of the union, probably played hard ball as a result.

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McGahee celebrates a preseason touchdown. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Denver Broncos running back Willis McGahee yesterday:

“We’ve got to bring back the ‘Salute,'” McGahee said, referring to the Broncos infamous post-TD celebration. “We have to represent for the running backs, Terrell Davis and those boys. When those guys were there we knew Denver was coming in and running the ball. That’s got to be our mindset – running the ball against whoever, whenever, whatever they put up. We’re ready.”

Yes please.

Linebacker and team captain Wesley Woodyard moves to #52, defensive end Jason Hunter to #90.

UPDATE: Thomas missed practice with a broken finger.

Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas‘s Achilles injury may be healing way ahead of schedule, but that doesn’t mean the Broncos aren’t going to take it nice and slow with it. Thomas sat out practice Friday after returning to practice the previous two days.

Nothing too alarming, though — the second-year player likely wasn’t going to be playing Monday anyway (that would be truly remarkable).

Other players missing practice Friday were Ty Warren (triceps), Marcus Thomas (pectoral), and D.J. Williams (elbow). None are expected to play Monday.

A new weekly segment giving you a snapshot of the fantasy landscape. Pick-up of the Week, Start of the Week, Sit of the Week, and The Broncos Beat.

(Editor’s Note: I’ve wanted to incorporate fantasy football into the blog for awhile now and have tried before. The problem is, week-to-week, covering Broncos in fantasy football gets a little repetitive. “I expect Kyle Orton to throw two touchdowns but fumble twice blah blah blah.” So this is my attempt to pen a quick fantasy column that will actually be useful and garner interest, based on what I can find around the web. Let me know what you think.)

Pick-up of the Week:
QB Michael Vick, Philadelphia (at STL)
(This’ll usually be a waiver wire pick-up).
From Matthew Berry, ESPN —

Here’s my argument as to why Vick is not only worth a first-round pick, and not only should be the No. 1 quarterback taken, but should be the No. 1 pick overall. It’s actually very simple.

If Michael Vick is as good as he was last season and stays healthy all year, you win your league. Period. And he’s the only guy you can say that about.

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• The ten greatest moments in John Elway‘s career. [Denver Post]
• “There’s no way the Raiders put 59 on the Broncos this year. It’s not possible. There’s no way John Fox would allow it.” – Vic Lombardi [CBS4] [VIDEO]
• Raiders coach Hue Jackson: “Tell (the Broncos) to keep talking. It’s cool. They’ve said a lot of stuff. It’s all good. Those two wins [from last season] don’t make much difference.”  [Examiner.com]
• Those ever-important interior defensive linemen tasked with holding the line will be Brodrick Bunkley, Kevin Vickerson, Ryan McBean, Mitch Unrein, and Robert Ayers on passing downs. [Denver Post]
• The Broncos have other players in mind to pressure the passer, too. [Sacramento Bee]
• That pass rush might open the door for plenty of screens. [Mercury News]
• Among Ted Bartlett’s observations: the Raiders bringing in a 6th offensive linemen on running plays. [IAOFM]
• Andrew Mason plugs in numbers into Excel and comes up with a 7-9 season. [MaxDenver]

Football is back. Tonight NBC is serving up a feast for our eyes as two NFC titans battle it out in the first game that really matters. However, tonight is just a tease.

Sunday will provide a plethora of touchdowns, turnovers, tackles, and possibly tears.

The Colts will face the up-and-coming Texans without Peyton Manning for the first time since 1998. A classic showdown will take place between the Ravens and Steelers, with Big Ben in the line-up this time. Atlanta will look to prove everyone in-fact a legitimate contender for a Super Bowl against a Chicago team lead by Jay Cutler, who also has a thing or two to prove. This Week one is looking to be good.

New Orleans at Green Bay

Will the champs look sharp heading into the season? Probably. However, if the Saints’ run game can get some momentum, the Packers will have a tough time winning. With Mark Ingram and Pierre Thomas sharing the rock and Drew Brees still at the helm, the Saints will be scary this year. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Broncos players (from right) Kyle Orton, Elvis Dumervil, and Brandon Lloyd sit on the sideline during the 2011 preseason. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Our 2011 Denver Broncos Season Preview dropped earlier in the week, but that reflected the opinions of just one man/overactive child. Let’s get the entire BT Staff’s opinions, shall we? The BroncoTalk staff drops their respective Broncos and Super Bowl predictions.

E. Halsey Miles —

After taking a very realistic look at our schedule, we have 6 pretty winnable games. That means we only have to be good enough to win 2 challenging games to make 8-8, which would be have been considered an incredibly lousy season only a few short years ago, when Mike Shanahan was fired. Now, it would be considered a big step up, out of the NFL basement and into the “between the 20s” of NFL mediocrity. This team, currently rebuilding, could have a ferocious D-line, and that is probably the thing that will win a few games. I think the defense will rank generally pretty good thanks to a good pass rush and a good secondary. It’s still weak up the middle, though, and that will prevent it from being an elite defense. The offense? I can’t say I’m excited. The O-line still needs some help (WHY did we let Ryan Harris go?) and that’s going to hurt the run game, no matter how good the Knew Knowshon and McGoalline McGahee are. And I don’t think Orton is going to see the stellar numbers he had with Josh McDaniels and the spread offense, either.

Final record: 8-8, 2nd in division

Super Bowl: Patriots over Packers in a nailbiter.

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Broncos' VP John Elway (far right) and GM Brian Xanders (near right) hold a conference call with fans in April with team PR Executives Jim Saccomano (far left) and Patrick Smyth (near left) present. (Image courtesy of Gray Caldwell/Denver Broncos)

Ever since John Elway returned to the Broncos organization as the Executive Vice President of Football Operations, fans have felt more connected to the Coloradan-based team.

Long gone are the secretive days of former Head Coach Josh McDaniels when fans weren’t even allowed to “tweet” from their phones during training camp practices.  Not only is such activity now allowed, the Broncos front office has been more open to the fans than ever, from conducting fan conference calls with General Manager Brian Xanders and Coach John Fox to following Elway’s transaction updating tweets on twitter.

Between Elway, Fox and Executive Director of Media Relations, Patrick Smyth, the Broncos have come up with creative ways of being more open with the fans.  Click here to read the rest of this entry »