Many things have changed since the last time Oakland and Denver met in Week 1. The Raiders have a new quarterback and a new wide receiver. They might also have a different running back than the one the Broncos faced in the season-opener. But regardless of that, one thing remains the same.
The Raiders are a premier running team. They are second in the NFL, averaging 159.3 rushing yards per game. Even if the NFL’s eighth-leading rusher, Darren McFadden, doesn’t play — he hasn’t practiced this week with a foot injury — the Raiders will utilize Michael Bush and rookie Taiwan Jones.
Bush stepped in for McFadden in the Week 7 game against the Kansas City Chiefs after the fourth-year running back out of Arkansas injured his foot. Bush ran for 99 yards on 17 carries.
Defensive Coordinator Dennis Allen has been impressed with McFadden, calling him “one of the better backs in the league,” but notes that the Broncos won’t get much of a break if he doesn’t play.
“I think when you go back and look at (their last) game, he gets hurt, and they hand the ball off to Bush, and I think he had about 100 yards rushing in the game,” Allen said. “I think schematically what they do, their personnel allows them to be a really good running football team, and when you put a special talent like Darren McFadden back there, it makes it even that much better.”
The players echoed Allen’s statement, saying that it doesn’t matter who’s in the backfield for Oakland, as they all present a challenge and the Raiders will still run the ball.
“They still want to tote the rock,” safety Brian Dawkins said. “No matter who’s back there, the offensive line does a good job of moving people, getting people on the ground so that the backs can have some open lanes. We have to make sure that we stay off the ground and make tackles.”
Head Coach John Fox said that the Broncos need to do better at stopping the run than they did against Oakland in Week 1, when they gave up 190 yards on the ground. However, Fox recognizes that the team has played better run defense since that matchup and hopes that will continue.
“We definitely have to play better,” Fox said. “We saw them once in the opener, and it was our first time out as a defense. Hopefully we’ve cleaned some of that up. We’ve been a little bit more solid since that time.
“They’re very talented. They have very talented backs, not just No. 20 (McFadden), and a big offensive line, so it should definitely be a test for us.”
INJURY REPORT
Here is Thursday’s injury report.
For the Broncos: safety Quinton Carter (concussion), cornerback Cassius Vaughn (hamstring) and tight end Virgil Green (neck) did not practice. Running back Willis McGahee (hand) and tackle Orlando Franklin (groin) were limited. Tight end Julius Thomas (ankle) was a full participant.
For the Raiders: running back Darren McFadden (foot), quarterback Jason Campbell (collarbone), cornerback Chimdi Chekwa (hamstring), safety Michael Huff (ankle), kicker Sebastian Janikowski (left hamstring), cornerback Chris Johnson (groin/hamstring), and linebacker Rolando McClain (ankle) did not practice. Defensive Tackle John Henderson (back) and center Samson Satele (knee) were limited. Tight end Kevin Boss (concussion), safety Matt Giordano (neck), running back Marcel Reece (ankle), and wide receiver Chaz Schilens (groin) were full participants in practice.
For photos of the Broncos in action at Thursday’s practice, see below.
-Kenny Legan
Tags: Darren McFadden, Oakland Raiders, Stopping the Run, Week 9
Looks cold in Denver.
If McFadden doesn’t play and the defense still gets gashed for a buck fifty then there are serious physicality problems on both offense and defense.
The offense needs to make some plays and stay on the field though.
Is it just me or in the picture of Tebow and McCoy talking is Matt Prater playing in the snow? lol just pointing that out!
Kind of looks like it. Maybe someone hid his ball!!!
Why the heck do we hate Tim Tebow?
Jen Floyd Engel covered local sports for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram since 1997 and became a columnist in 2003. Sports opinions? She’s never short of them. And love her or hate her, she’ll be just another one of the boys.706
Updated Nov 3, 2011 4:56 PM ET
What if Tim Tebow were a Muslim?
Imagine for a second, the Denver Broncos quarterback is a devout follower of Islam, sincere and principled in his beliefs and thus bowed toward Mecca to celebrate touchdowns. Now imagine if Detroit Lions players Stephen Tulloch and Tony Scheffler mockingly bowed toward Mecca, too, after tackling him for a loss or scoring a touchdown, just like what happened Sunday.
I know what would happen. All hell would break loose.
Stinging indictments issued by sports columnists. At least a few outraged religious leaders chiming in on his behalf. Depending on what else had happened that day, they might have a chance at becoming Keith Olbermann’s Worst Person In The World.
And there would be apologies. Oh, Lord, would there be apologies — by players, by coaches, possibly by ownership with a tiny chance of a statement from NFL commish Roger Goodell.
You cannot mock Muslim faith, not in this country, not anywhere really.
It is primarily a respect issue, because religion is sacred and should be off limits. Yet when Tulloch and Scheffler dropped to a knee to mock how Tebow prays — an action known as “Tebowing” that has gone viral among the public, too — we yawned and told Christians to lighten up. We blamed Tebow for making a show of honoring God rather than himself in moments of joy. We excused them because Tulloch said he was mocking “Tebowing,” not God.
here is the rest of the article – I thought it was balanced,well written, and important.
That others chose to mock — and Tulloch is in good company with many journalists I call friends and web posters with a wicked sense of humor — reminds me very much of the final line of The Paradoxical Commandments so often attributed to Mother Teresa. “You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God; it was never between you and them anyway.”
And everybody is getting dropped in the grease on this one.
The defenses of Tebow, by Christians, are so ugly it defeats the point. This is where Christianity so often loses people, the ardent preaching of the gospel of “I’m Right, You’re Wrong” and the demand for tolerance and the unwillingness to grant it. Because if Tebow were Muslim and did celebrate by bowing to Mecca, that would deserve respect too. Same for a Jewish player, yet why do I see that blowing up into an ugly mess as well? The level of discourse about religion in this country is frankly embarrassing, a bastard child of political discourse.
The only one who looks good in all this — maybe too good for some — is Tebow.
I find it especially telling that Tebow rarely lectures and does not fight back. He did not create Tebowing, nor is he responsible for it blowing up hipster style. It was kind of cool, I thought, after hearing a kid had said he was “Tebowing” while getting chemo.
Tebow is just a guy with the good sense to say thanks. Instead of taking his cue, we mock his faith.
And that says more about us, none of it good.
Recently, within the past two years I have had my eyes opened to “good” Christians. I was reminded that Christians, like everyone else, there are good ones and bad ones. And just like everyone else, like many very out spoken people, don’t think things through. They are often times the ones that are the most vocal. I believe this is where the push back comes from. I realized that I was grouping them unfairly and with like everyone else, even though they wear a label of a group, they should be assessed individually. Tebow to me sounds and acts like a “good” one. He isn’t the unfortunate stereotype southern Christian out raining fire and brimstone. The article is absolutely correct when it says it says more about us and none of that is good.
Broncos need to stop more than just the run game they need to stop the pass. Broncos suck at stopping the pass. Last week they stunk on both stopping the run & pass. The offense wasn’t any better including Tebow. Tebow better start showing some improvement or he is going to get yanked, hopefully not for Orton.
So it is ok for fans to mock christianity by Tebowing even if they are atheiest Muslim or Jewish? Just saying…
That is exactly why we don’t bring religion into the blog!!!!!!!!!!!
Everyone would really like him, if he was sagging his pants and getting DUIs seems thats the NFL way lol.
I hope we win
why the heck did tebow do so well in his three starts last year but has stunk up the joint this year. if i remember right tebow scored 20 points plus and had at least 200 yards passing in all three games. i may be way wrong thats just how i remember it.
well ,gotta say… at least our LB coach looks scary… good thing too, with the way our D played last week.