The Denver Broncos are visiting the Oakland Raiders this week at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The 4-3 Raiders are coming off their Bye week after being shut out by the Kansas City Chiefs 28-0 in Week 7. The 2-5 Broncos are trying to regroup after a 45-10 shellacking at the hands of the Detroit Lions on their home turf. Denver would also like to avenge the 23-20 Week 1 loss that Oakland stole at Mile High. Eight weeks have passed and there have been personnel changes to both teams since that Monday Night game. With that in mind, let's look at this matchup.

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We looked at the starting defense this morning, and I wanted to go back and review formations before I wrote up the offensive starters.  Formation, whether it is shotgun, wishbone, pistol, single wing or whatever always comes down to what is the offensive line capable of doing.  Based on their capabilities you modify the formation to start utilizing weapons.  Last year, with all the upheaval on the OL, the ideals of the Denver offensive philosophy struggled to come to light, and as the blockers up front started to come around and get healthy and shifted into their proper roles on the line, the weapons started going down, in a perfect storm of offensive inequity.

I surmised during the offseason that based on the bits and pieces we were seeing that we would be treated to some concepts from the wing-t offense, most notably the addition of a true wingback role to the offense, and a high level of misdirection plays and handoffs at multiple levels in the running game.  I felt that Fox reinforced this idea with his "sophisticated" comment of some infamy.

I didn't bother charting anything from the 1st preseason game, but this 2nd game deserved a closer look, with the starting OL staying in the game throughout the first half.  It was worth the second look...

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Continuing our sub-grand experiment here at MHR, this week's notebook is officially ready to go.  Heading into the game I made a note to myself to watch and track formations and personnel groupings (saw some pretty cool stuff), keep an eye on Orlando Franklin and Chris Kuper over there on the right side, watch the fullbacks a little better, and to pay attention to what kinds of packages we were seeing pressure from on defense.

Overall I just wanted to see a team that was cleaning up the mistakes (penalties in game one were a problem), as well as playing physical, like a team halfway through the season.  A fast start is huge this year, for a lot of reasons, and establishing some physical dominance will go a long ways toward that goal.  A slow start will kill the Broncos before they even have a chance to get out of the gate.

Lets get right to the analysis.

Defensive Starters

• DT Broderick Bunkley:  We were missing two of our most productive starting DTs for this game and it showed on the first drive, but a few guys came through to help alleviate the loss.  Vickerson was up and down all game, getting a stop on the first play, but later getting manhandled on the outside shoulder of a guard to allow a 3rd and 2 conversion right at him.  Bunkley showed up pretty well early, with his penetration on the Bill's third down almost leading to a 3 and out for the defense's first drive, if not for a converted fake punt on the next play (have you ever seen a fake punt in the preseason?).  On the next drive Bunkley would once again penetrate deep into the backfield on a little delayed rush.  The pressure would force an incompletion and lead to 3rd and 18.  And Bunkley wasn't done yet, batting a ball down at the line of scrimmage (and almost intercepting it) later in the first half.  He finished out his first half reps with a gimme crush of the RB in the backfield (along with DJ and Goodman) after the QB and RB had trouble with the handoff/playfake.  All in all, a nice day by the Bunk.

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Last year I started a new series here on MHR where I shared my extensive note-taking during games, and I am planning on continuing that this year.  These are simply off the cuff observations of things that oftentimes go unnoticed, or I describe certain plays or situations to help us understand them better.

Typically I organize these notes as a sort of abbreviated play-by-play, but I'm always interested in better ways to present the info, so the format will change, sometimes significantly.

Like a lot of you, it feels like the wait for this game has been a long time in the making, despite the fact that its hasn't been any longer than any other time.  With that said, I have to say how great it was to really see these guys for the first time, and to see them competing hard.  8 pages of notes later, I feel like I am finally getting a grasp on how this whole shivaree is going to shake out.

Without further ado, lets start breaking things down.

Starting Offense

• 1st thing that stands out to me is the first play of the game, with Cassius Vaughn back to return kicks.  With Royal out for the game, this indicates just how far Vaughn has come since last year, as the starting return man behind Royal.  Of course, excepting 1 or 2 plays over the course of the game, kickoffs are non-impact plays at this point, and that will likely project into the season...
• Knowshon Moreno:  Number one offensive need was a running game, and it sure looks like that could be addressed this year.  Knowshon could have a huge impact in that area, and tonight he showed several reasons why.  After breaking a tackle on his first run he would go on to make a defender miss for a first down, and then continues on another play to evade a tackler with a spin move against the Cowboys' Shawn Lee, followed by dragging two more defenders with him for the 1st.  And he wasn't done, breaking an arm tackle on the following play.  Add in production as a checkdown option and pass blocking on the drive and KM is showing he can carry his share of the load.  If you have been watching him as long as I have, you know that the start of his Denver career has been the anomaly, where he didn't look as quick or elusive as you know he can be.  It is clearer than ever to me that when healthy, he can be the back Denver drafted him to be, an all around, slippery and difficult to bring down runner, with great effort.

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Since the Denver Broncos weren't able to find a starting Defensive Tackle during the draft this past weekend, or more like an acceptable candidate did not fall to them on their Board, it is time to look again at the viable options via the Free Agent Pool. I wrote on this subject in January thinking it was accepted that a Free Agency period would precede the 2011 NFL Draft. Since that did not go down like each of us thought it would, let's review the Defensive Tackles available who play in the 4-3 scheme. I have included whether or not their team has an opportunity of placing the Franchise Tag on any of them, but I would add the caveat that without a CBA, their is uncertainty in that regard, as well as the service time for Restricted and Unrestricted Free Agent status. I am leaving the original text from my earlier post, but I will add an update to each one.

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The path to become an NFL head coach can be rigorous. An education along with a football background helps. Being able to teach and communicate is an asset as well. However, even if you were born into the middle of a coaching tree (see Kyle Shanahan), you still have to pay your dues to get there. You can take the road through the High school and college ranks in order to gain the background experience necessary, but in many instances you will need to do an internship as a Quality Control Coach.

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Watching Monday's coverage of the NFL Scouting Combine, I have to admit being very impressed with Von Miller. I am not so sure it would be wise for the Broncos to select him with the second overall pick in the draft, but if the "three legged stool" that is the Denver brain trust believes he is the second coming of Al Wilson, then I'm all for it. However, if the EFX (Elway, Fox, Xanders) team are just looking for a pass rushing Linebacker, they should take a long hard look at Dontay Moch. That guy is the ultimate definition of "Tweener." Anyway, before I get caught up in favorites, let me show you how the top rated Linebacker prospects graded out using Pat Kirwan's Explosion Number equation. Ready Jump.

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