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| Other Week 3 Game Recaps | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATL at NE | CAR at DAL | CHI at SEA | CLE at BAL | DEN at OAK | GB at STL | IND at ARI | JAX at HOU |
| KC at PHI | MIA at SD | NO at BUF | NYG at TB | PIT at CIN | SF at MIN | TEN at NYJ | WAS at DET |
Week 3 Game Recap: Denver Broncos 23, Oakland Raiders 3
Denver Broncos
| QB Kyle Orton, Pass: 13 - 23 - 157 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - -1 - 0 |
The Broncos ran the ball very well, so Orton didn't have to pass very much this week in an easy win. The name of the game for the Broncos is efficient/effective passing, with most passes not going past 15 yards. For the third week in a row he was wearing a glove on his throwing hand because of his injured finger, but it has not bothered his throwing motion whatsoever. He had plenty of time to throw on Sunday, and was frequently lining up in the shotgun. Orton even ran a bootleg play where he rolled to his right and found Tony Scheffler for a first down. Because he was not pressured much, Orton was very patient when going through his progressions and didn't make any ill-advised throws. On his lone touchdown pass of the day, Orton waited patiently while Marshall came open in the end zone. He stood strong and delivered the pass on the money even though he was hit hard immediately after the ball left his hand.
| RB Knowshon Moreno, Rush: 21 - 90 - 1 |
Moreno was fired up before the game, and he had to be separated from the Raiders before the game during warmups. Despite a groin injury, Moreno ran hot all day. He was jump cutting when a hole would open up and was on top of the defense in a hurry. Moreno kept his legs churning after contact, and was fighting for every yard possible on every play. He would even twist, spin, and turn to advance the football. It was his spin move (while in the grasp of a defender) that got him into the endzone, and he had to stretch the football out to break the plane of the goalline.
| RB Correll Buckhalter, Rush: 14 - 108 - 0 (1 targets) |
Big plays were the order of the day for Buckhalter, and he kept the Raiders defense on their toes all day. He had great initial burst, but was not hitting his holes too soon. Cbuck showed great patience on many of his runs, and would wait with his arm on the back of a lineman until the hole was opened up. Two of the Broncos ten longest offensive plays of the day were runs by Buckhalter. In addition to patience and burst, he also showed some moves in the backfield. He would take the handoff, make a quick start/stop move and then continue to the second level of the defense. These subtle moves would freeze the linebackers and open up lanes for Buckhalter.
| RB LaMont Jordan, Rush: 6 - 12 - 0 |
When Peyton Hillis was unable to get it done near the endzone, the Broncos put in LaMont Jordan on 4th and goal from the 1-yard line. He was also unable to punch it in, and the Raiders took over. Jordan once again came in near the end of the game, and is clearly the Broncos "closer." When the team needs to eat up yards, and take time off the clock with a lead, they will continue to use Jordan. With Hillis struggling, we could see more of Jordan near the goalline as well.
| RB Peyton Hillis, Rush: 2 - 1 - 0 (1 targets) |
Hillis is not playing up to his potential, and may be in coach McDaniels doghouse because of his play. He didn't do much with his carries near the goalline, and had a procedure penalty from the backfield -- which is simply unforgivable. His role may diminish if he doesn't start producing, and stop making mistakes on the field.
| WR Brandon Marshall, Rush: 1 - 5 - 0, Rec: 5 - 67 - 1 (7 targets) |
Brandon Marshall was once again involved early and often on Sunday, but this time he was very engaged -- and thus very productive for the team on Sunday. The Broncos were moving Marshall around, trying to create mismatches and found one when linebacker Kirk Morrison tried to cover him in the end zone. Orton patiently waited as Marshall found his way over the middle, and zipped it into him for six. Marshall was very focused during the entire game, and hauled in a deep pass with one of the best cornerbacks in the league, Nnamdi Asomugha, draped all over him. The Broncos threw many different passes to Marshall, deep sideline, deep middle, and short crossing routes all day long. The Raiders had no answer for Marshall when he was targeted, and it looks like he's finally comfortable in this new offense.
| WR Jabar Gaffney, Rec: 4 - 39 - 0 (6 targets) |
Gaffney is so comfortable in this offense, and really knows how to work those option routes all over the field. He would frequently run to the middle of the defense, sit down and turn to the quarterback, and when the defender (usually a linebacker) would sit with him he'd take off to a soft spot in the zone and haul in the pass. Gaffney once again showed good run after the catch ability, and was regularly abusing any Raider assigned to cover him.
| WR Eddie Royal, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (3 targets) |
Get out the milk carton, because Eddie Royal was once again mysteriously absent from the gameplan. With Brandon Stokley dressed, but limited, many expected Royal to get the targets that would normally go to Stokley. That didn't happen, as Jabar Gaffney received an expanded role against the Raiders.
| WR Brandon Stokley |
Stokley was dressed for the game, and made it onto the field, but did not put up any numbers on Sunday.
| TE Daniel Graham, Rec: 2 - 33 - 0 (3 targets) |
Graham helped open up holes as a blocker, and the team racked up over 200 yards rushing on the day. He did haul in a tight end screen, and waited patiently behind his blockers as they moved guys out of his way down the field. It went for 24-yards, but could have been an even bigger play (perhaps even a touchdown) if he had cut it outside towards the end of his run.
| TE Tony Scheffler, Rec: 1 - 14 - 0 (1 targets) |
Scheffler was the recipient of a target when the Broncos ran a bootleg play, but other than that he was not involved in the gameplan. The Broncos ran the ball so well that they didn't need to air it out much.
Oakland Raiders
| QB JaMarcus Russell, Pass: 12 - 21 - 61 - 0 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 3 - 22 - 0 |
To say Russell struggled mightily would be the understatement of the year. Russell was out of sync most of the day, and seemed uncomfortable in the pocket. The Broncos defense was able to put pressure on him, and Russell was rushing his throws because of it. He didn't set his feet when he threw, and it made his passes sail most of the day. Because of these errant throws the Broncos were able to pick him off two times, and frustrate him more than he already was. Russell didn't seem to make it very far through his progressions, and was unable to look off the Broncos safeties.
| RB Darren McFadden, Rush: 12 - 45 - 0, Rec: 2 - 3 - 0 (2 targets) |
With Russell struggling, it allowed the Broncos defense to focus on stopping Darren McFadden and the running game. There wasn't much room for him to run, but he was able to shake free and get to the second level of the defense a couple of times during the game. The Raiders were successful running to their left in the 2nd quarter, but the Broncos made halftime adjustments and shut the run game down in the second half. The story of the game for McFadden was his three fumbles. One was lost and recovered in the redzone by veteran Brian Dawkins. With so many three-and-outs by the offense it was hard for McFadden to get in a rhythm on Sunday.
| RB Michael Bush, Rush: 6 - 20 - 0, Rec: 4 - 20 - 0 (4 targets) |
At times Bush was able to use his size and speed effectively against the Broncos, especially in the 2nd quarter when it seemed like the Raiders had figured out how to move the football. In addition to punishing defenders on the ground, the Raiders tried to get Bush involved as a receiver out of the backfield. He finished with the most receptions of any Raiders receiver, but wasn't able to gain a whole lot of yards with his targets. Like McFadden, it was hard for Bush to get into a rhythm against the Broncos.
| RB Justin Fargas, Rush: 2 - 8 - 0, Rec: 2 - -4 - 0 (2 targets) |
Fargas was in the lineup for the first time this season after missing the first two games due to a hamstring injury. The Broncos were very rough on him, but the veteran was able to take a beating and come right back. Fargas was unable to provide much of a spark when he was in the game.
| RB Luke Lawton (1 targets) |
Lawton was targeted with one short pass on the right side, but was unable to haul it in.
| WR Louis Murphy, Rec: 2 - 25 - 0 (5 targets) |
During the 2nd quarter Murphy was getting open underneath, and had the biggest gain of the day (18 yards) when linebacker D.J. Williams was trying to cover him. Because of the pressure on quarterback JaMarcus Russell it prevented Murphy from having a better day. He was the only Raiders receiver to catch a pass on Sunday, and showed good route running ability when trying to get open in a tough matchup against cornerbacks Champ Bailey and Andre Goodman.
| WR Darrius Heyward-Bey (2 targets) |
Both of Russell's interceptions were passes intended for Darrius Heyward-Bey. He was blanketed all day by the Broncos secondary, and was unable to get open on Sunday. For a time during the game it seemed like Russell wasn't even looking at the coverage, and was just trying to force feed the ball to Heyward-Bey. Forcing the ball against a secondary like Denver's only leads to turnovers, as the Raiders found out in this contest.
| WR Todd Watkins |
Watkins was on the field, but was not targeted during the game.
| TE Zach Miller, Rec: 2 - 17 - 0 (5 targets) |
Miller was getting open in the middle of the field, but Russell was unable to find him because of the pressure put on him by the Broncos defense. His day could have been bigger, but he had a 29-yard catch overturned right before halftime. It seemed like all the Raiders receivers were thinking about Brian Dawkins anytime they caught a pass over the middle, and Miller was no different.