DeAngelo hall AND Nnamdi Asomugha on our teams.
Hall just need a little improvement on coverage nd dats it

First, Denver’s atrocious run defense was largely the result of an abominal defensive philosophy which will be corrected this year. Second, injuries decimated our front four and placed an excessive amount of run stop responsibility on the LBs and DBs. Doom will be back (I’m thinking ProBowl) and DeWayne Robertson should be good and several talented young players are now healthy with another year of experience under their belt (last years draft was very D-line heavy). Again, and most importantly, the defensive scheme should look more Coyer-esque (high risk/high reward) than last years bend and break strategy, which should pay tremendous dividends in run defense.

At LB, Ian Gold is no longer a Bronco. And all three LBs are different than last years starters. DJ has moved to WIL (his natural position), Koutavides has been brought in at Mike (a young talent from Seattle with a coaches mind and a Romo like mean streak…no, not Tony you idiots), and Boss Bailey (Champ’s bro) has been brought in at SAM. The LB core is significantly improved. They are much faster and stronger and should be a devastating force in both run stop and pass coverage rolls. Either way, most of last years LB core is still around to provide depth.

At DB, Denver still has the best secondary in the NFL (no not arguably). There effectiveness was largely diminished due do the need to play the run last year (again scheme issues); however, this year they will again be free to do what they do best (intercept footballs and demoralize wide receivers). John Lynch is not particularly good in pass coverage (too slow) and will be used primarily in run support.

The offense will also be improved. Denver has brought in a host of very talented wide receivers to compete for the spot opposite B.Marsh (Keary Colbert, Darrell Jackson, Samie Parker, Edie Royal). Stokely is still one of the better slot receivers in the NFL and there are very few LBs or safeties that can match up well with him. The WR depth is phenomenal and among the best in the league. Guys won’t make this team that could start on many others. Cutler is entering his third NFL season, when most QBs in Shanahan system really gel, and will be healthy (which is a scary prospect for anyone on the opposing side of the football). The RB stable is deep and many young backs showed signs of brilliance last year. Selvin Young will be the starter and has stated than he intends to run for 2000 yards this season (hey…anything is possible this time of year). Our tight ends are also among the best in the league (Graham, Scheffler).

Special teams is still a major point of concern for the Broncos. The special teams were poor last year and look to have gotten worse (lost Elam in free agency, lost Saurbruan to his own stupidity). This is an area that Denver will have to work around.

Finally, perhaps most importantly, some of the forces most destructive to the teams overall chemistry and focus (Javon Walker, Travis Henry) have been removed from the equation. There are injury concerns at several positions on this team; however, the depth is much improved and pure odds suggest that there is no way Denver will experience the same amount of injury as last season. In conclusion, I would be VERY concerned if I was a Raider fan, or any other fan scheduled to go head to head with a Denver Broncos team that is out to prove that the last two years were an abberation.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you!!!

Now spew your hatred!

Those two years were not an aberration, the Donkey’s just flat out sucked! Yes, I know we did to, but that doesn’t change the fact both our teams are going in different directions – enjot the cellar.

Really though, your team has so many weaknesses across the board, that the only way they can improve is if you are 100% correct in your analysis. Your head coach is a major problem because he thinks he is better and smarter then everybody else, when really his time has passed. You guys might improve when you are rid of him.

GO RAIDERS!!!

although, since I will be at the Monday Night opener, I will change my view and say the Broncos take both games. :)

Game 1: Broncos 21, Faders 17
Game 2: Broncos 145, Faders 0 (opps that was my Madden simulation, real score: Broncos 31, Faders 24)

must be so bored with your own blog site that you have to come on over here to see what’s up.

Or, maybe you are really tired of the donkey way of life and are hoping that we will adopt you so that you can join the greatest nation on earth: RAIDER NATION!!!

look at Zappa getting over 100 points on MADDEN! Probably rookie. Besides Madden is extremely unrealistic.

Raiders-3 Donkeys-2 And the only way the donkeys will ever make it to another is if Elway comes out of retirement.

GOLD is no longer on this Team

I don’t think the donkeys would make the super bowl if John Elway came out of retirement. And obviously that is my point, they have no chance in hell of winning a super bowl. By the way, comparing the donkeys’ running backs averages to the best running backs in the league is irrelevant. Reason being, they didn’t even receive half the number of carries as those backs. Which is why they earned being recognized as the best backs in the league, and the donkeys are recognized as the team who has a back that rushes for 1,000 yards and then gets traded. Go get some more of Cleveland’s rejected defensive line and pray Brandon Marshall doesn’t trip on any more McDonald’s bags.

Elway couldn’t win a Super Bowl anyway, he’s been away from football for too long and by the time the Broncos got the talent required, he’d be busy get his false teeth cleaned. Everybody knows that a QB doesn’t make a team, he needs talent around him to be successful, and right now, you’re WR are jokes. Marshall has some talent (notice I said some) and Royal is would be a backup for most teams in the league.

Well, I got front page, woopie! (sarcasm) That’s what I thought before I read the little editor’s note. I put in so much hard work to find that the only reason I was recognized for said hard work, was because of Raiderpete’s breakdown. It was very good, and I’m not mad at him, but if you people don’t care for all the crap I do, then I’m done. I’m putting an end to this section of Raider’s Opposition. If anybody else thinks they can do better, then by all means go right ahead and continue it. If you people don’t care, then I don’t either. I will however repost my SUCCESSFUL Raider’s Breakdown series just as I said I would after preseason to evaluate the starting lineup, unless you people don’t care about that either. I’m guessing Saint’s the editor around here, so thanks a lot buddy. I MIGHT still post comments, but I don’t know. To people who actually cared for the hard work I put into everything I do on this blog, I apologize. To everyone else, I’d like to see you do any better. Night Raider’s faithful. Good freaking night. >:-(

Gold’s no longer “a force to be reckoned with.” His skills declined precipitously last year and contributed to our horrendous run defense. He was released months ago. Neither is Lynch necessarily “good at coverage,” although he does better than you’d expect for a slow safety by reacting instantly and getting a jump on the ball. But his forte is run support and it’s possible the Broncos will take him out on obvious passing downs.

Calling Cutler “a fairly decent QB” is a fairly huge understatement. According to pro-football-reference.com, whose ratings are adjusted by the strength of the pass defenses the QB faced, Cutler was the fourth best QB in the league last year. You can see the article here. For a QB in only his second year, his first full year as a starter, playing exhausted with undiagnosed diabetes behind a patched-up o-line, that’s fairly decent alright. And now he’s heading into his third year with a deeper corps of receivers and a suddenly deep o-line with two key players back from injury. When Nalen (our center) went down our bread and butter inside game went away. He’s back and several young and so far impressive o-linemen are a year older. You’ve also underestimated Marshall, as RaiderPete has already pointed out. He didn’t catch 102 balls by accident. Have fun trying to bring him down.

You’re right about needing to get pressure on Cutler. Even though you’re much better at cornerback you can’t cover effectively without a good rush and without controlling the run. The latter, with our CBs having to cheat up to stop the run and opponents able to pass when they wanted to, made us much worse against the pass last year than the yardage total indicates. If you can’t stop us from running, and with Nalen and Hamilton back, Kuper and Pears going into their third year, and Clady taking over at LT it won’t be easy, you’ll find yourselves in the same situation. And we don’t need Jordan to do it.

Run defense is, as everyone knows, our potential achilles heel, but we don’t have to be good to be significantly better than last year. And we should be better. Our linebacking was a mess, with two guys playing out of position and the third (Gold) in serious decline. D.J.’s back at his natural position and will be a force at Will, Koutouvides will be solid at Mike, and Boss Bailey, who’s potentially the weak link, is nonetheless a clear upgrade over Webster, who continually overran plays. Ekuban, a runstopping DE on the strong side, is back from injury, our rookies – Moss, Crowder, Thomas – are a year more experienced, Dumervil is heading into his third year, and we picked up DeWayne Robertson, who was essentially playing out of position as a nose tackle for the Jets but who’ll be playing mostly one-gap for us. So I don’t see how we can be anything but better, even though we have questions at safety.

Where we really have the advantage, it seems to me, is at QB. Cutler’s proven he can do the job, even under adverse circumstances, and chances are good he’ll be significantly better this year. The jury’s still out on Russell. By the end of this year you’ll have an idea of how good he’s going to be, but right now there’s no way of knowing for sure. And even if he does develop into a star, he’s not going to be that good at the beginning of his second year after having gotten a late start as a rookie. But QB is always a crapshoot – remember Ryan Leaf? – and you won’t begin to know what you’ve got until he’s got a few starts under his belt. For an idea of what’s involved you might want to check out this piece I wrote awhile back.

In sum, I think we’re still ahead of you and that you’re going to have an uphill battle to split with us, much less sweep. But I’m not going to posture and make silly, outrageous predictions and claims. The games will be played and we’ll see how they turn out. I don’t hate y’all, despite the fetsh some make of it. It’s all good, clean fun.

Ciao

Raiders fans should look forward to these games(mondaynight), plus the high lights. The RAIDERS and I lick our chops for our opportunity to cut up cutler and the other puss QB’s in the AFC WEST. It doesnt matter who they have an brought in. WE READY, just another notch in OUR belt. “WIN lose, OR TIE RAIDER TILL I DIE”!!!!....

not everyone can evaluate a football game. Only special and really passionate people can. Some people just watch football and don’t know how much goes into making a play work and not work.

This is so funny I can’t stop laughing! You guys think that you will win!!!! Oh my god! Ah man that is a funny thought!!!