Broncos won't exhale with Raiders on tap

After a brutal monthlong stretch that left them bruised, battered and 2-4, the Denver Broncos turned their attention to the middling AFC West with the Oakland Raiders on tap this weekend.

They're not exactly exhaling.

The Raiders (2-4) may have issues in the offensive backfield, but Broncos coach Josh McDaniels spoke about them Wednesday like they were the 1985 Chicago Bears on defense, the 2007 New England Patriots on offense and the 2003 Kansas City Chiefs on special teams.

And his players parroted that message in the locker room, praising the Raiders as the most talented team in football, player for player.

''This is a team that has great size, great speed, very physical team and the best way to describe them all in all would be explosive,'' McDaniels said. ''They can create big plays in really any phase of the game. They've scored on a long field, they've really dominated people in the kicking game. They've created turnovers and they challenge you really in every phase.''

He then heaped praise on the Broncos' archrival that has beaten them at Invesco Field four times in the last eight years, including 20-19 last season.

''(Oakland) certainly outplayed us, outcoached us, out-schemed us, out-adjusted us last December when they beat us here last time we played them,'' McDaniels said.

His take on the Raiders' offense:

''A great running game with big, fast backs. Every receiver that they throw the ball to has great speed and size and one of the better football players that we'll play all year is their tight end (Zach) Miller.''

Their defense:

''It's probably as big of a front seven as we're going to play all year. Smallest guy weighs 255. They're very physical. (Richard) Seymour's playing at an extremely high level. The young linebacker (Rolando) McClain is playing very well inside, never comes off the field,'' McDaniels said. ''They're fast everywhere in the secondary, which carries over to their kicking game.''

And that's where McDaniels really went wild:

''This is, no question about it, the biggest challenge we'll face all year in terms of their special teams. They've got the fastest coverage guys in the league, they've probably got the two biggest legs in the league in terms of their kicker and punter and they've got great speed at returner,'' McDaniels gushed. ''And they've already helped their team in terms of winning the San Diego game with a couple of blocked (punts) there, had a bunch of big returns so far this season.''

Tom Cable sounded anything like a coach of a juggernaut, though. He might have to wait until Sunday to even name his starting quarterback.

With Bruce Gradkowski limited because of a sore throwing shoulder, backups Jason Campbell, who has a sore knee, and Kyle Boller split reps in practice and punter Shane Lechler even took a handful of snaps with Oakland's starting offense Wednesday. Tailbacks Darren McFadden and Michael Bennett also were limited with hamstring injuries.

Their banged-up backfield may be in question but not their style, McDaniels countered.

''They're still going to run the football a bunch,'' McDaniels said. ''They're going to throw the ball down the field to those receivers and tight ends.''

The gushing continued when the Broncos opened their locker room.

''They're big, they're fast, they're strong, they're physical - all those things show up every game,'' Denver receiver Brandon Lloyd said. ''... as far as athletic ability, they have the best athletes in the league, per player, they're the best.''

While the Broncos butter up the Raiders, they're not exactly down in the dumps over their own 2-4 start. For one thing, only Kansas City is better in the AFC West at 3-2 right now, and for another, they still have all their division games ahead.

The Broncos have played the toughest schedule in the NFL so far, with their opponents combining for a 23-12 record and a .657 winning percentage.

That doesn't mean the Raiders are a relief, safety Nate Jones said.

''Division opponent, I don't care, both teams could be 0-14, if you play somebody in your division, it's a tough game,'' Jones said. ''So, we enter another stretch here. It doesn't matter who we played and how hard they were, we're in the division now. So, we've got to get it going.''

NOTES: The Broncos were without nine players at practice, including WRs Eddie Royal (groin) and Lloyd (non-injury) and DBs Brian Dawkins (knee) and Champ Bailey (ribs).