Nnamdi Asomugha #21 of the Oakland Raiders warms up against the St. Louis Rams during an NFL game in Oakland, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

It’s no fun for a quarterback to face the Leagues’ two best Cornerbacks in back-to-back weeks, just ask Kyle Orton.

Last week Orton faced Darrelle Revis and the Jets, this week: Nnamdi Asomugha and the Raiders.

The Broncos’ Orton tested Revis early and throughout the game last week, beating him at times, including once for a 17-yard touchdown to Rookie Demaryius Thomas. The Broncos will be looking for similar success this week, against an arguably more formidable foe.

The Broncos have an excess of weapons to attack Oakland’s secondary, with Brandon Lloyd, Jabar Gaffney, Eddie Royal and Thomas rounding out Denver’s powerhouse passing attack. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Like countless NFL quarterbacks before him, head coach Josh McDaniels underestimated Champ Bailey‘s ability to recover.

Although McDaniels indicated Bailey wouldn’t be ready to practice Thursday, the All Pro put on the pads and participated in the workout, sounding surprised his coach didn’t think he was ready.

“Oh he said that?” Bailey said in the locker room Thursday morning. “I beg to differ.”

An hour later, Bailey gave the all-go: “I feel okay. Ready to play.”

Wide receiver Brandon Lloyd and defensive lineman Kevin Vickerson also returned to practice. Eddie Royal joined the five who missed last week as the only players to miss practice.

Bailey Feels “Okay, Ready to Play” [MaxDenver]

Denver Broncos defender Renaldo Hill is called for pass interference pulling on the face mask of New York Jets' wide receiver Santonio Holmes during the fourth quarter of play Sunday October 17, 2010 at Invesco Field at Mile High. Photo by Joe Amon, The Denver Post

BT contributor T-Money chimes in with his thoughts on the NFL’s pass interference penalty following Sunday’s loss.

It was 4th and six with 1:36 left in the 4^th quarter, and the Denver Broncos were knocked out cold.  Not by Mark Sanchez’s prayer to Santonio Holmes that ultimately hit the ground.  By a ball of sand wrapped in a yellow jumpsuit.  Broncos’ safety Renaldo Hill was called for pass interference because of his slight grab of New York Jets’ wide receiver Santonio Holmes’ facemask, and the Broncos never recovered.

Up to that point, the Broncos (2-4) were the better team.  They did not look perfect by any means but they pushed the Jets (5-1) to their breaking point by holding the league’s best rushing attack to a season low 129 yards and handed Sanchez his first two interceptions of the season.  If it weren’t for that 46 yard penalty on 4^th down, the Broncos win that game.

Think about that. A penalty — not egregious, not intentional in nature, and lacking malice — cost the better team the game.  If Hill’s hand grabs the collar of Holmes’ jersey, we’re probably talking about the 3-3 Broncos.  Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Judging from the film, it looks like Sunday's game in Denver could turn into a run-dominated match. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Every week, teams meet on Monday and talk about Sunday’s game, watch film on the game, and talk about what they did right and wrong. They then come back on Tuesday and watch film of the upcoming opponent and continue to break down film the whole week leading up to the game, trying to decipher the best game plan for each opponent on a week-to-week basis.

Similarly, in BT’s Film Room, I’ll watch film on the Broncos upcoming foe week-to-week and give you my thoughts on what to watch for on Sunday. This week: Raiders edition.

The Raiders have the 3rd worst run defense in the NFL, surrendering nearly 150 yards a game to opponents. Broncos’ quarterback Kyle Orton in a press conference Wednesday speculated that because the Raiders often play press,  man coverage, the running game is opened up.

“I think their secondary is so good, a lot of teams just say ‘okay, our best chance is to run against you [Oakland]’, and they get a lot of runs against them,” said Orton before adding, “When you play man coverage, if the running back can get through the hole, he’s only got to make one guy miss, [and] guys have been able to do that a little bit.”

Thus, one of the best ways the Broncos offense can have success against the Raiders would be to establish a running game. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

• Broncos coaches and players are certainly talking up the Raiders.
• Nnamdi Asomugha is a big reason for the hype.
• Utilizing both the 4-3 and the 3-4 gives Denver versatility and the element of surprise.
• Add “the shotgun formation” to the list of things that aided Denver’s running game Week 6.
• Along with Knowshon Moreno‘s transformation into pregame psycho.
• Woody Paige constructs a Broncos Super Bowl then-and-now dream team.
• Illegal hits – and the changing definitions of what hits are illegal, fine-able, and suspend-able — are the NFL topic du jour.
• Players are voicing their disapproval of the changes and worry about the essence of the game.
• The Chargers‘ offense is on crutches — a lot of crutches.

Record: 2-4
Streak: Lost 1
All-time vs. Denver: 56-41-2
Last time: Raiders, 20-19, 2009
The Line: Broncos by 7

The Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders will meet for the 113th time Sunday (including regular, postseason, and preseason matches). Kickoff at INVESCO Field at Mile High is set for 2:15 p.m. MDT.

Who’s hot: Tight end Zach Miller. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Nine players sat out Denver Broncos practice Wednesday, but head coach Josh McDaniels wouldn’t rule out any one of them for Sunday against the Oakland Raiders.

They include the five who missed last Sunday — safeties Brian Dawkins (knee) and Darcel McBath (ankle), linebackers Robert Ayers (foot) and Wesley Woodyard (hamstring), and cornerback Andre Goodman (quadriceps) — along with cornerback Champ Bailey (ribs), defensive lineman Kevin Vickerson (groin), and wide receivers Eddie Royal (groin) and Brandon Lloyd (non-injury related).

The Raiders are battling injury issues of their own, particularly at quarterback.

Tight End John Nalbone #86 of the Miami Dolphins runs a route against the Dallas Cowboys at Cowboys Stadium on September 2, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. (Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

The Denver Broncos were left with three openings on their practice squad following the promotions of S Kyle McCarthy, LB Kevin Alexander, and LB Diyral Briggs. They’ve since filled those spots up.

Wide receiver Eron Riley, tight end John Nalbone, and defensive lineman Mitch Unrein were signed to the practice squad this week, the team announced.

Meanwhile, running back Andre Brown, who was waived last week and who the Broncos were reportedly interested in bringing back, was claimed off waivers by the Indianapolis Colts.

Much more information on each practice squadder, courtesy Broncos PR, after the jump. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Our weekly perusal around the Interwebz for water cooler fodder. (Number in parenthesis represents last week’s ranking).

ESPN: 22nd (23)
The Broncos’ early schedule has been brutal; softens now.

FOX: 25th (26)
Reality hit the Broncos during last week’s loss to the visiting Jets. At some point, they have to be able to run the ball with a semblance of success. Denver’s offense is getting easier to defend because no defense has to respect its running game. And the lack of a pass rush on defense is not going to be solved based on the personnel they have on that side of the ball. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Kyle Boller #7 of the Oakland Raiders turns to hand-off against the Chicago Bears during a preseason game at Soldier Field on August 21, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois. (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

When asked who his starting quarterback against the Denver Broncos in Week 7 would be, Oakland Raiders head coach Tom Cable couldn’t give an answer.

“We have no idea at this point,” Cable said Wednesday, before offering the understatement of the year. “We’ve got some issues.”

QB Jason Campbell, who came into the season as the starter, posted the 2nd worst passer rating by a Raider since the 1970 merger in San Francisco last week. He’s reportedly suffered a knee sprain and won’t practice fully. Click here to read the rest of this entry »