By Russ Oates

– Senior Editor

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Sep 28, 2011 – The Denver Broncos will be on the road this Sunday to face the Green Bay Packers in historic Lambeau Field. It’s not going to be a banner day for the players or their fantasy football owners. Looking at ESPN’s fantasy football projections for Week 4, only Brandon Lloyd is expected to go over 10 points. But even that might be a stretch. Let’s break down the roster positions again:

QB: A year ago, Kyle Orton was enjoying a great start to the season in Josh McDaniels’ pass-happy offense. He had just thrown 476 yards against the Colts and was in the middle of a four-game streak of throwing for over 300 yards. One year later, Orton is still throwing for touchdowns, but he’s failed to pass for over 200 yards in the last two games.

Still, he faces a Packers team that is 31st against the pass this season. Drew Brees and Cam Newton threw for over 400 yards against the Packers while Jay Cutler went for over 300. Will Orton follow in their footsteps? If you play in a two quarterback league, START him as your secondary. Otherwise, SIT since he likely wasn’t your starter before this week.

RB: Willis McGahee was brought in to help shore up a red zone/goal line offense that needed improvement. It looked like McGahee had brought that against the Bengals, but then he failed to put the ball into the end zone in those situations. We can say all we want about the fourth down call, but McGahee failed to put it into end zone on the previous two plays, as well. He struggled to reach 50 yards in the game.

Knowshon Moreno was active last week, but was only going to play in an emergency. His hamstring should allow him to play this week, but will he be the hot hand that Fox will go to during the game? Both Moreno and McGahee are risky starts against a rush defense that has allowed a league-best 55 yards a game on the ground. SIT McGahee and Moreno

WR: Brandon Lloyd was back, but he didn’t look quite like his old self. Eric Decker received plenty of targets and had seven catches. The 48 yards could have been improved, but it shows that Lloyd isn’t the only option when healthy. If one feels confident that Orton is going to shred the Packers’ secondary like other quarterbacks have this season, START Decker and Lloyd.

TE: Daniel Fells continues to pick up a catch or two, but he’s not a fantasy factor.

K: Matt Prater is also not a fantasy factor, except in the deepest of leagues.

DEF: Aaron Rodgers is the opposing quarterback, and even if Champ Bailey is back. He might be a tad rusty. But I’m not sure why the Broncos’ defense would have started in other weeks. SIT

For more on the Broncos, visit Mile High Report. For more fantasy football, check out SB Nation Fantasy.

Read More: Brandon Lloyd (WR – DEN), Willis McGahee (RB – DEN), Jay Cutler (QB – CHI), Kyle Orton (QB – DEN), Knowshon Moreno (RB – DEN), Eric Decker (WR – DEN), Denver Broncos, Denver Broncos at Green Bay Packers, Oct 2, 2011 2:15 PM MDT

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Read More: Kyle Orton (QB – DEN), Tim Tebow (QB – DEN), Tennessee Titans, Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton had a chance to lead the Broncos to a second Music City Miracle with one final drive down the field. Unfortunately, Orton’s pass was tipped at the line and intercepted, allowing the Titans to run out the clock. Orton is not winning games for the Broncos, which leads Pete Prisco at CBSSports.com to wonder (Broncos at No. 26 in his power rankings) for how much longer will the team put up with the quarterback:

Kyle Orton isn’t getting it done down the field. Is it Tebow Time?

The answer, according to head coach John Fox, is not yet and who knows how long. Fox told reporters on Monday that Orton provides the Broncos “with the best chance to win.” And if the Broncos don’t win against Green Bay, does Orton still give the Broncos the best chance to win?

No reasonable person would claim that Tim Tebow gives the Broncos a better chance to win. What that person would be saying, however, is that Tebow provides something new and unexpected. The Broncos can find out what they have in Tebow or they can stick with Orton and know that he’s not going to win games.

A couple of days after the Broncos beat the Titans last year in Nashville, Tenn. — a game that was chippy at its best and downright nasty at its worst — Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan invited Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton to come back for a visit.

Orton had just called Finnegan a “cheap” player, accusing him of sucker punching Broncos guard Chris Kuper after Kuper’s helmet had popped off.

Finnegan was fined $10,000 by the NFL for the hit and the Broncos won the game 26-20. It was their only road victory of a 4-12 season.

Round 1: Broncos.

Orton, of course, had no plans of taking up Finnegan on his offer to come back to Tennessee.

The NFL scheduling gods, though, are giving fans

Round 2 on Sunday, 51 weeks later. Each team’s head coach is different this year, and time has cooled tempers.

But many of the players are the same, especially on the Broncos’ offensive line, as well as Orton and Finnegan.

The 2010 game between the Titans and Broncos produced 16 penalties, including 10 on Tennessee for 111 yards. Tennessee defensive tackle Sen’Derrick Marks and Denver linebacker Mario Haggan also were fined by the NFL for personal fouls.

“It was a good game; he’s a good player,” Orton said Wednesday of Finnegan, being careful not to reignite a war of words. “They like to play a physical style of football and so do we.

“I think it fades away, but that’s just the style of football that they play and we’re not going to back down. We’re going to play physical too, so I’d pretty much expect the same thing this week.”

The Broncos (1-1) return to Tennessee as one of the NFL’s most penalized teams, with 17 accepted fouls for 146 yards. Three other flags on the Broncos were declined. And those came in two home games.

The Broncos are expecting Tennessee (1-1) to try to lure them into making mistakes Sunday and are reminding each other to remain poised.

“We have to match

it, but keep our cool,” defensive tackle Kevin Vickerson said. “We can’t get overexcited, too aggressive, because they will use all of that against you, do little things to egg you on, to try to get something going.”

Vickerson played for the Titans from 2007-09, on the same defense as Finnegan. He said Finnegan is like “a feisty pit bull.”

“When I was there, he was always trying to start something. He likes to play physical, aggressive, violent. Right on that line,” Vickerson said. “Most dirty players around the league do that. I wouldn’t say he’s dirty, but he plays very hard and overly aggressive.”

Finnegan, though, might not be the biggest challenge. Tennessee’s defensive line frustrated the Broncos’ offensive line last year, sacking Orton six times.

After giving up five sacks in the 2011 opener to Oakland, the line’s protection improved in Week 2 against Cincinnati (two sacks), as did the run blocking. Willis McGahee grinded out 101 yards.

“Our offensive line has to build off last week,” Orton said. “They played their best game and they’ll have to build off that and keep it going.”

Lindsay H. Jones: 303-954-1262 or ljones@denverpost.com

DENVER — Sebastian Janikowski tied an NFL record with a 63-yard field goal and the Oakland Raiders beat the Denver Broncos 23-20 Monday night in a chippy and clumsy game between the AFC West rivals.

“I had a dream I broke the record and it was here in Denver,” Janikowski said. “The ball really carries here.”

The Raiders (1-0) won in Denver for the fourth straight season in coach Hue Jackson’s NFL head coaching debut, and handed the Broncos (0-1) their first loss in a home opener since 2000.

John Fox lost his debut as Denver’s coach, and he lost at least two playmakers in the process.

Pass-rusher Elvis Dumervil (shoulder) was relegated to situational duty for three quarters, and perennial Pro Bowl cornerback Champ Bailey injured his left knee making a touchdown-saving tackle of Darren McFadden, who ran 22 times for 150 yards.

The Broncos cut the deficit to 23-20 on Kyle Orton’s 9-yard TD toss to Lance Ball with both Brandon Lloyd and Knowshon Moreno on the sideline, apparently with cramps, with 3:43 left.

Other than that, Orton had a tough night. He completed 24 of 46 passes for 304 yards with an interception. As he left the field, fans were chanting, “Tebow! Tebow!” for second-year quarterback Tim Tebow, who had an awful camp and is probably the No. 3 quarterback behind Brady Quinn.

The Raiders salted away the win by controlling the clock and were able to line up in victory formation after Michael Bush’s 12-yard run to midfield for the first down at the 2-minute warning.

“There’s no consolation for close but we’re still optimistic,” Fox said. “We just happen to be 0-1 like half the teams in our football league.”

After a first half filled with fouls, fists and frustration, the Raiders took a 16-3 lead into the locker room in wild celebration as Janikowski’s 63-yard field goal fluttered over the crossbar as time expired.

That tied the mark set by Tom Dempsey in 1970 and matched by Denver’s Jason Elam in 1998 at the old Mile High Stadium.

The Raiders had gotten the ball with just 24 seconds left in the half when safety Matt Giordano intercepted a pass thrown by Orton at the Raiders 24. A 15-yard facemask on Broncos defensive tackle Kevin Vickerson, one of 16 fouls committed in the first half — eight by each team — helped Janikowski move into range.

Janikowski’s teammate, punter Shane Lechler, would add a 77-yard punt in the fourth quarter.

But his 57-yard punt in the third was returned 90 yards for a touchdown by Eric Decker. It was the eighth TD on a punt or kickoff return on opening weekend, the most in a single week in NFL history.

Orton drove the Broncos 74 yards in a dozen plays on Denver’s first drive after halftime but once again they stalled in the red zone, this time reaching first-and-goal from the 6 before settling for Matt Prater’s 30-yard field goal that made it 16-13.

Prater was wide right from 56 yards out in the first half.

The Broncos were driving again and reached the Raiders 24 when Orton had tight end Daniel Fells open going into the end zone. But the ball slipped out of his hand and defensive end Lamarr Houston pounced on it for Oakland.

The Raiders, who committed 15 penalties for 131 yards, quickly capitalized, covering 65 yards in just three plays for the decisive touchdown.

Darrius Heyward-Bey caught a 17-yard pass and McFadden reeled off a 47-yard run before being dragged down just shy of the goal line by Bailey, who left the game with an injured left knee.

Campbell took it in from there on the next snap to give the Raiders a 23-13 lead with 12:33 remaining.

Pass-rusher Von Miller, the second overall pick in the draft, speared the football out of Jacoby Ford’s arms on his first snap as a pro and fellow rookie Rahim Moore, a strong safety, scooped it up at the Raiders 15. But the Broncos had to settle for Prater’s 28-yard field goal.

Darryl Blackstock’s block of Britton Colquitt’s punt led to a 3-yard TD toss from Campbell to Marcel Reece, who trotted into the end zone after Moore failed to follow the fullback into the flat, giving Oakland a 7-3 lead it would never give up.

Knowshon Moreno fumbled two snaps later, and Janikowski split the uprights through a driving rain from 37 yards out for a 10-3 lead. He added chip shot from 21 yards out before his record-tying 63-yarder.

Colquitt’s next punt traveled 65 yards and was downed at the 1, but the Broncos couldn’t turn loose their “Doom and Gloom” pass-rush because Dumervil, in his first game in 21 months, jammed a shoulder in the first quarter and was used only sparingly afterward, replacing Jason Hunter on some passing downs.

Anytime he spoke about reasons for optimism this season, Fox would start the conversation by saying, “Well, we get Elvis Dumervil back.”

Dumervil missed last season with a torn chest muscle after leading the league with 17 sacks in 2009. He moved back to defensive end from outside linebacker this summer and packed on extra muscle, making him more stout against the run with his long arms and built-in leverage.

But he was relegated to watching helplessly from the sideline as McFadden ran roughshod over the Broncos yet again.

The Raiders walloped the Broncos 59-14 in their last visit to Denver, on Oct. 24, when they scored the most points in their history. The Broncos didn’t dwell on the debacle during the week as Fox declared, “This year is 2011. Last year was 2010.”

The result was the same.

Raiders 23, Broncos 20

Oakland 0 16 0 7 — 23

Denver 3 0 10 7 — 20

First Quarter

Den – FG Prater 28, 9:55.

Second Quarter

Oak – Reece 3 pass from J.Campbell (Janikowski kick), 13:28.

Oak – FG Janikowski 37, 11:14.

Oak – FG Janikowski 21, 1:27.

Oak – FG Janikowski 63, :00.

Third Quarter

Den – Decker 90 punt return (Prater kick), 12:31.

Den – FG Prater 30, 1:55.

Fourth Quarter

Oak – J.Campbell 1 run (Janikowski kick), 12:33.

Den – Ball 9 pass from Orton (Prater kick), 3:43.

A – 75,671.

Oak Den

First downs 20 25

Total Net Yards 289 310

Rushes-yards 39-190 13-38

Passing 99 272

Punt Returns 0-0 5-128

Kickoff Returns 0-0 0-0

Interceptions Ret. 1-0 0-0

Comp-Att-Int 13-22-0 24-46-1

Sacked-Yards Lost 1-6 5-32

Punts 6-58.2 4-41.3

Fumbles-Lost 2-1 4-2

Penalties-Yards 15-131 10-91

Time of Possession 32:35 27:25

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – Oakland, McFadden 22-150, Bush 9-30, Reece 1-11, J.Campbell 6-2, Ford 1-(minus 3). Denver, Moreno 8-22, Orton 1-13, McGahee 4-3.

PASSING – Oakland, J.Campbell 13-22-0-105. Denver, Orton 24-46-1-304.

RECEIVING – Oakland, Heyward-Bey 4-44, Reece 3-23, Ford 3-22, Myers 2-10, McFadden 1-6. Denver, Lloyd 6-89, McGahee 5-32, Decker 3-53, Fells 3-32, Moreno 2-35, Royal 2-33, Larsen 1-15, Ball 1-9, Willis 1-6.

MISSED FIELD GOALS – Denver, Prater 56 (WR).

There was the time Kyle Orton wasn’t Drew Brees, the time he wasn’t Jim McMahon.

And the time he wasn’t — take your pick — John Elway, Brian Griese, Jake Plummer or Jay Cutler.

Now, he isn’t Tim Tebow.

It seems wherever Orton has gone since leaving Southeast Polk High School in Runnels, Iowa — from Purdue to the Bears to the Broncos — fans have wanted somebody else to do his job.

But he is on the doorstep of his seventh NFL season, a contract year and a potential free agency windfall, and he’s at the center of the Broncos’ preparations for their season opener Monday night against Oakland in Denver.

“The offseason is so long and so tedious and so annoying, you just want to get to the regular season,” Orton said. “A lot of things happen. A lot of things are said, but the regular season is finally here and you just immerse yourself in football for 16 games, hopefully more than that.

“That’s what I’m prepared to do. Immerse myself, have a great year and help lead this team to a lot of wins.”

What an offseason it has been. New executive vice president of football operations John Elway anointed Orton the Broncos’ No. 1 quarterback in January. New head coach John Fox re-affirmed it in February, March and April, even as training camp opened in late July.

The Broncos tried to trade Orton to the Dolphins this summer, but the deal fell apart because a new contract with Miami couldn’t be worked out. There was, and is, the constant call from fans to make the extraordinarily popular Tebow the starter.

And now, there is fatherhood. Orton and his wife, Bridget, welcomed their first child into the world last week.

“Really, I don’t expect anything in the offseason in terms of what’s happening outside of the team or me,” Orton said. “Basically I try to spend as much time with my family as is possible, enjoy that and don’t worry about anything else.

“I thought whatever happened, it would take care of itself and I would get to football time at some point. Just get to football time, that’s my mind-set. And now is football time, and I’m always excited for that.”

Fox said of Orton: “He’s done what you want a quarterback to do. He’s performed in the preseason games, performed in practice, led the team and controlled the huddle. That’s what the job is.”

Orton has thrown for at least 3,600 yards in each of the past two seasons as Denver’s starter. Last season he ranked third in the NFL in completions of at least 25 yards, behind stars Aaron Rodgers and Philip Rivers.

But Orton is only 11-17 as Denver’s starter — 8-7 in 2009, 3-10 in 2010 — and the Broncos have struggled once they get into the red zone.

“No matter what team Kyle plays for, he’s going to be awesome,” said Broncos wide receiver Brandon Lloyd, Orton’s teammate in Chicago and Denver. “He is a really good quarterback. He knows what he’s doing and the team believes in him.”

Orton hopes Fox’s commitment to the running game — Denver ranked 27th in the 32-team league in rushing attempts last season and 18th in 2009 — will open things up when the Broncos move inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. In Fox’s nine seasons as Carolina’s coach, the Panthers were in the top 10 in rushing attempts four times and in the top 14 six times.

“To be an offense where you’re scoring consistently, it takes a lot,” Orton said. “It takes everybody involved. If we run the ball better, it should give us better looks to get the ball into the end zone. But to be honest, I’d prefer we get the same looks we got last year and we’ll just walk the ball in. I’m just excited about what this offense can do.”

Jeff Legwold: 303-954-2359 or jlegwold@denverpost.com

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Two sides to Orton’s story

Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton had some ups and downs in the team’s 4-12 season last year:

UPS

NFL leaders in completions of 25 yards or longer

1. Philip Rivers, Chargers 43
2. Aaron Rodgers, Packers 40
3. Kyle Orton, Broncos* 35
3. Eli Manning, Giants 35

NFL leaders in completions of 40 yards or longer

1. Philip Rivers, Chargers 14
2. Michael Vick, Eagles 12
3. Kyle Orton, Broncos* 11
3. Donovan McNabb, Redskins 11

*Started 13 games

DOWNS

Passer rating inside opponent’s 20-yard line

1. Tony Romo, Cowboys 121.8
2. Alex Smith, 49ers 118.8
3. David Garrard, Jaguars 115.5
20. Kyle Orton, Broncos 91.5

Passer rating in the fourth quarter

1. Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers 110.3
2. David Garrard, Jaguars 108.3
3. Michael Vick, Eagles 106.8
15. Kyle Orton, Broncos 86.3

Jeff Legwold, The Denver Post

The Denver Broncos are still trying to find some consistency in the post-Mike Shanahan era. After two nightmarish years with Josh McDaniels at the helm, the franchise has handed the personnel keys to a legend and the coaching keys to an established defensive mind with an impressive head-coaching résumé.

But while the onus is on John Elway and John Fox (and I suppose general manager Brian Xanders) to fix a defense that surrendered a sickening 29.5 points per game in 2010, the focus continues to be on the quarterback position.

That isn’t surprising, because quarterbacks are the easiest players to analyze and criticize on any team. But it’s still sort of perplexing, because the Broncos had the NFL’s seventh-best passing game last year.

It’s no secret that the Broncos considered trading Kyle Orton in the offseason. It’s also no secret that Tim Tebow has struggled in training camp and the preseason, so much so that Brady Quinn has (at least temporarily) supplanted him as Orton’s backup. These are juicy storylines, but they aren’t overly crucial when assessing the fate of the 2011 Broncos.

As long as Orton is under center, they’ll be good offensively. And Tebow proved late last season that he can probably hold it down in Orton’s stead, if necessary.

The passing game isn’t the problem in Denver.

The problem? Everything else.

2010 in a nutshell: They go 4-12 despite winning two of their first four games. The defense can’t stop anybody, especially on the ground. Kyle Orton and Brandon Lloyd emerge to become the only bright spots in a painful season.

Three predictions for 2011:

1. Von Miller will be the defensive rookie of the year: Marcell Dareus and Ryan Kerrigan might be primed to have big years in Buffalo and Washington respectively, but Miller has emerged as a clear DROY frontrunner during training camp and the preseason. The No. 2 overall pick (and the defense as a whole) will benefit greatly from the presence of a healthy Elvis Dumervil on the opposite side. Dumervil led the league in sacks in 2009 before missing all of 2010 with a torn pectoral muscle. This is a team that registered a league-low 23 sacks and 18 takeaways last year. With Miller and Dumervil rushing the passer and a healthy Andre Goodman teaming up with rookie ballhawk Rahim Moore in the secondary, they’ll make more big plays in 2011.

2. They won’t run well: They ranked 26th on the ground last year, and I see no reason why Knowshon Moreno will be any more effective this season. He still doesn’t have much support from a weak interior offensive line and there’s a feeling that he’s simply not capable of being a quality No. 1 back. Fox had a great power running game in Carolina, so his presence and the acquisition of Willis McGahee could help a little, but don’t expect them to dazzle on the ground.

3. And they won’t defend the run well: They tried to improve a horrible run defense with the addition of free agent defensive tackle Ty Warren, but it looks like he’ll miss most of the season with a torn triceps tendon. Solid linebacker D.J. Williams is also hurt, which is nothing new for him. For the second year in a row the Broncos will rely on a group of mediocre run defenders to keep offenses balanced, but I don’t envision Brodrick Bunkley, Kevin Vickerson and Marcus Thomas (who is also currently injured) making a big difference. Denver surrendered a league-high 26 rushing touchdowns and was beat for a league-high 22 runs of 20 yards or more last year. I don’t see those numbers improving much this season.

The final word(s): Improvements were made to the defense, they’ll be better off with an established head coach and the passing game will again experience success. But they still lack both the talent and depth required to compete. They’ll win five or six games.