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

End of the Week NFL Picks – Week Three

This is my first set of picks for week three of the NFL Season.  See if you agree or think I am crazy!  Enjoy!

Panthers 27 Jaguars 17
12.00 CBS Charlotte, North Carolina
 
Cam Newton makes more plays then his rookie counterpart Blaine Gabbert and the Panthers record their first win of the season.

Saints 34 Texans 31
12:00 CBS New Orleans, Louisiana
 
The Texans are almost there but they can’t get past a really good team like the Saints.  Drew Brees sets up the game winning field goal and the Saints go to 2-1.
 
Patriots 42 Bills 31
12:00 CBS Orchid Park, New York
 
The Bills are surprising a lot of people, myself included, but that will end this week.  The Pats are playing like they are on a mission to dominate every team in the league.  Tom Brady is a machine and shows it again against Buffalo.
 

Browns 21 Dolphins 17
12:00 CBS Cleveland, Ohio
 
Tony Sparano and the Dolphins need a win but will not find one in Cleveland.  Colt McCoy does just enough and the Miami offense still can’t get on track.
 
Titans 20 Broncos 14
12:00 CBS Nashville, Tennessee
 
The Broncos are a mess and Tennessee is coming off a huge win against the Ravens.  The Titans stay hot and the Tebow chants grow in Denver.
 
Eagles 24 Giants 14
12:00 FOX Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
 
I have a funny feeling that Michael Vick plays after his concussion against the Falcons.  Vick plays and has success against an injury depleted Giants secondary.  Eli Manning also turns the ball over way too much and that will continue against the Eagles.
 
Lions 35 Vikings 20
12:00 FOX Minneapolis, Minnesota
 
The Lions are favored on the road against the Vikings.  Doesn’t happen often but there is good reason why they are.  Their offense stays hot and Minnesota and Donovan McNabb are left to keep looking for their first win.
 
49ers 26 Bengals 14
12:00 FOX Cincinnati, Ohio
 
The 49ers let one slip away against the Cowboys.  I like the way the Bengals are playing with all the youth on that team.  The youth will show this week and they will have to endure some more growing pains but the Bengals are on the right track. 

Jets 23 Raiders 7
3:05 CBS Oakland, California
 
The Jets are playing really good football and that will continue in Oakland.  Expect a rusty start because of the cross country flight, but then the Jets will pull away in the second half and cruise to a 3-0 start.
 
Chargers 38 Chiefs 10
3:05 CBS San Diego, California
 
There are few words to describe how bad the Chiefs are.  Horrendous is my favorite word to use.  The Chargers will destroy the Chiefs and Todd Haley’s future in Kansas City may be running out.

Ravens 31 Rams 17
3:05 CBS St. Louis, Missouri
 
The Ravens were shalacked by the Titans last week and I am sure John Harbaugh let his team hear about it all week in practice.  A lot of Ray Rice is expected and also look for a bounce back game from that vaunted Ravens defense.
 
Packers 28 Bears 13

3:15 FOX Chicago, Illinois
 
See Packers vs. Bears Late Week Report for summary of my prediction.
 
Cardinals 35 Seahawks 21
3:15 FOX Seattle, Washington
 
This is the home opener for the Seahawks and they will play hard for a little bit but this game will be all Cardinals.  Kolb to Fitzgerald, get used to hearing that those names because you will hear them all game.
 
Falcons 34 Buccaneers 14
3:15 FOX Tampa, Florida
 
The Falcons have momentum after their come from behind win against the Eagles and will take Tampa Bay out of it early.  Look for the Atlanta defense to make life tough for Josh Freeman and the Falcons to roll over the Bucs.
 
Steelers 20 Colts 10
7:20 NBC Indianapolis, Indiana
 
The Colts offense is like a high school offense with Kerry Collins running the show.  Look for that to continue this week against the Steelers.  Big Ben will be off a little but will still have enough to send the Colts to their first 0-3 start since 1998.
 
Redskins 17 Cowboys 14
7:30 ESPN Arlington, Texas
 
Will Tony Romo play or won’t he?  That is the big question around the Monday night showdown in Big D.  I say he doesn’t play and the Redskins sneak out of Dallas with a close win.

Matt

Orton, and the Broncos fumble with Raiders (#Tebow)

Big day tomorrow.  Gotta get there early.  Just havin’ a couple drinks and finishing up the last MNF game.  There’s a nfl.com/ticketexchange that intrigues me.  Every time I see it actually.  Start of 4^th quarter.  Silly fumble by Kyle.  Wide open #86, but Horton – weather undoubtedly excuse, although there is no real excuse, that he dropped the ball.  Less than 2 minutes later Darren McFadden breaks a 47 yard run to the Broncos’ 1 yard line.  Man that guy is fast.  I can’t believe he didn’t get in tbh.  Imho he should have made it.  The booth should review that, it was close enough.  Or is it only when he gets in that it gets reviewed?  Review every play.  These refs are done.  147 yards on the day.  McFadden is doin’ pretty damn good tonight.  I started really liking this guy ever since he was on my fantasy football team.  I don’t know if it was last year or two years ago.  I don’t remember what league it was in frankly.  QB sneak, touchdown Raiders.  22-13.  Most likely 23, unless their kicker is hurt as well.

Kick is good.  12 minutes to play.

I would fumble probably 40 times on 32 pass plays if you put me out there in the rain.  But if you asked me to count the players ( I went to school for accounting) , I would have counted them perfectly and could attest to my accuracy.

I’ve never liked Papa Johns.  Sorry.. Papa John.  Actually very recently had Dominoes.  Heh.

Countin’ down the probably sleep level in my head.  6, maybe 7 hours?  Busy day tomorrow though.. maybe I’ll just stay up til the end of this game.  Kickers are too strong.  I’m sick of these touch backs.  Content is too easy when you can type 100 words per minute.  Orton gets sacked, then fumbled (2 consecutive plays).  3^rd and 3, 11:49 to play.  Denver’s ball, their own 27. 

Fumble or dropped ball.  My initial thought.  Dropped ball.  Wow, no doubt in my mind after one replay, at how wrong I was.  Fumble recovered by himself.  These guys are trying to do way too much with the football (risky juke moves).  There will be a fumble every play.  Time is of the essence though.  I hated playing in stuff like that.  I could choose to slide past an otherwise easy pop-out, or fall on my face trying to stop.  10:14 to go in the game.  After midnight.  That’s it for me.  Or is it?

Ah hell, I can probably make it to the end of it.

Kevin