Broncos vs. Packers Late Week Report

The Green Bay Packers come into this weekend’s game against the Denver Broncos at 3-0. They are one of only two undefeated teams remaining in the NFC and are looking for their tenth straight victory dating back to last season. The Broncos, on the other hand, are playing mediocre football. They come to Lambeau with a 1-2 record and a fed up fan base. The Broncos fans are chomping at the bit to have Tim Tebow, the third string quarterback, replace starter Kyle Orton. The fans feel that if they are going to lose, they should lose with Tebow as their quarterback. I am a big fan of Kyle Orton and consider him very underrated as a quarterback. He is tough, mentally and physically. Since he has come into the league he has been overlooked. First in Chicago when he was replaced by Rex Grossman and now in Denver with fans calling for his benching in favor of Tim Tebow. This could be looked at as a trap game for the Packers because it is, on paper, an inferior team and the Packers go to Atlanta next Sunday and play a big game against the Falcons. In the NFL you have to be on your game every week or you are going to lose and I believe the Packers will not take the Broncos too lightly.

The Packers vs. Broncos rivalry is a pretty historic one. The two teams have faced off in a Super Bowl and have had some pretty historic matchups. The Packers come into this game relatively healthy. Ruled out for the game are Nick Collins (neck), Mike Neal (knee), and Frank Zombo (scapula). Collins was lost for the season but is still on the active roster and Mike Neal will be out at least 4-5 more weeks after finding a cartilage tear on his injured knee. Zombo may return to practice next week but still could be out a couple more weeks. Ryan Grant (kidney), Bryan Bulaga (knee), Charles Woodson (foot and knee), and Brad Jones (hamstring) did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday. Grant and Bulaga are long shots to play on Sunday, even though they expressed their availability to play to the media. If Grant and Bulaga cannot go on Sunday, James Starks and Marshall Newhouse would take their spots on offense. Woodson should practice in the walkthrough on Friday and be ready to go on Sunday. Jones is harder to tell because it is a hamstring. I would inactivate him this week because Vic So’oto got a full week of practice in and should be healed from his weightlifting back injury. The Pack practiced outside on Thursday and where in full pads working on tackling and hitting drills. I would expect the Pack to exploit the Broncos safeties and linebackers in coverage and get the ball to Jermicheal Finley with a heavy dose of play action passes. The Broncos will try to take away Greg Jennings, so Jordy Nelson, Donald Driver and James Jones should have more passes thrown to them.

The Broncos have no one ruled out of the game yet. Wide receiver Eddie Royal (groin), Demaryius Thomas (finger), and tight end Julius Thomas (ankle) all sat out Wednesday’s practice and all will likely be game time decisions on Sunday. The Broncos should have cornerback Champ Bailey (hamstring), defensive end Elvis Dumervil (shoulder) and running back Knowshon Moreno (hamstring) back in the lineup for Sunday after missing last week’s game in Tennessee. Their defense will try to get pressure on Aaron Rodgers with Dumervil and first round draft pick Von Miller and I would expect them to go after Marshall Newhouse. Newhouse held his own and played pretty well against Julius Peppers and Israel Idonije last week against the Bears. On offense, the Broncos will try to exploit Charlie Peprah in coverage and look for them to try to run the ball between the tackles with Willis McGahee and Moreno.

My Prediction: I think the Packers will handle the Broncos from the opening kick. Rodgers to Finley all day and the Packer's defense will cause turnovers and get to Orton. Packers win this one big.

Packers 42 Broncos 17

Matt

Broncos vs. Packers Early Week Report

The Packers come into this game at 3-0 and facing their first AFC opponent of the season. Last week against the Bears, the Packers ran a lot of their plays out of shotgun, and were effective. The Broncos are a middle of the road defense and I would expect the Packers to attack their secondary because of the injured Champ Bailey (hamstring) and the slow play of Andre Goodman. The Broncos also have been vulnerable with safeties Brian Dawkins and Rahim Moore. Expect for Jermicheal Finley to be a major focal point down the middle of the field for Aaron Rodgers. For the Packers defense, they will have to get pressure of Kyle Orton and stop the running of Willis McGahee. Pass rush will be key. The Packers will most likely be without starting right tackle Brian Bulaga (Bruised Knee) and running back Ryan Grant (Bruised Kidney) for the game. Also look for Derrick Sherrod to be active for the first game of his career in a backup role to Marshall Newhouse on right tackle. Newhouse did a great job against the Bears in both run blocking and pass protection. Also expected to be out will be Frank Zombo (Scapula) and Mike Neal (Knee).

The Broncos come into this game at 1-2, after losing a heartbreaker to the Tennessee Titans, 17-14. Head Coach John Fox came under fire for his fourth and one call late in the game against the Titans. This was a game the Broncos should have won but couldn’t deliver late. With the loss, Kyle Orton has now lost 17 of his last 25 starts for the Broncos. The fans want Tim #Tebow but I think he will stay on the sidelines for one more week. Orton is a good passer and the Broncos will look to get Charlie Peprah in one on one coverage against Daniel Graham and try to exploit him. Also look for the Broncos to incorporate Knowshon Moreno in the passing game and single him up on either AJ Hawk or Desmond Bishop, both of whom have had trouble in coverage. The Broncos will try to take advantage of Marshall Newhouse and throw multiple looks at him. Expect Elvis Dumervil to play and go against Newhouse as well as stud rookie Von Miller. As far as injuries for the Broncos, it looks pretty good. Champ Bailey was held out of the Titans game but is expected to play, the same goes for Dumervil and Moreno. We will get a better gauge later in the week when the injury report is released.

Matt