Kickoff: 2:15 p.m. MT
BT GameBlog: 2:00 p.m. MT
Television: CBS (coverage)
Announcers: Jim Nantz, Phil Simms
The Line: Packers by 14

Keys to the game — Andrew Mason chimes in with his five things to watch, and Jeff Legwold breaks down the game in similar fashion.

Predictions — CheeseheadTV predicts a 21-point Green Bay victory; the Milwaukee Wisoncsin Journal Sentinel staff all predict double-digit victories as well. I predicted a seven-point Packers win in my reciprocal interview with Oak Creek Patch, but no matter the margin, everyone picked Green Bay.

Inactives — Inactives are released approximately one hour before kickoff. Notables from the injury report: Champ Bailey and Elvis Dumervil are officially questionable, with Bailey the less likely of the two to play.

Live Blog — We’re striving to improve our gameday coverage and welcome you to check out what we hope is our best live blog yet today! More polls, media, and reader interaction.

Quarterback Tim Tebow #15 of the Denver Broncos in 2010. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Tim Tebow‘s long-awaited 2011 debut at quarterback will take place today against the defending Super Bowl champions.

Tebow won’t be starting, but he will see snaps at quarterback today vs. the Green Bay Packers, Mike Klis of the Denver Post reports. Klis reports that the oft-practiced but yet-to-be-used “Tebow Package” has ascended offensive coordinator Mike McCoy‘s playcard and will be utilized.

While Tebow will get some red zone work, I still expect Kyle Orton to get the lion’s share of snaps as the Broncos try to attack the Packers’ 31st-ranked pass defense. That being said, the Broncos need something to spark this anemic offense.

The Green Bay Packers are 14-point favorites at home against the Denver Broncos in Week 4. This may be a fruitless exercise, but here are how the experts from ESPN, CBS, FOX, and Yahoo! pick the winner:

	Allen Golic Hoge Jaworski Mortensen Schefter Schlereth Wickersham Accuscore ESPN Users Prisco Judge Freeman Richard Brinson Fowler Beall Halpin Harmon Cole Yahoo! Users

Offensive Coordinator Mike McCoy celebrates with Brandon Lloyd #84 of the Denver Broncos after they scored a touchdown against the Oakland Raiders at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on December 19, 2010 in Oakland, California. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Every Saturday we sift through the week’s transcripts and handpick a Q&A session of interest. This week, Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy responds to Brandon Lloyd‘s call for the football and discusses the 4th and 1 call from Tennessee last week. All quotes courtesy the Denver Broncos.

On getting WR Brandon Lloyd more involved in the offense

“We go into each game plan with what we think is the best thing for us to win. He was out obviously a couple weeks ago, and then he had a couple opportunities in the game where for one reason or another the ball didn’t go to him. He caught the one later in the game towards the end that was more downfield, but it’s not like we’re not trying to get him the ball.”

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Mike Heimerdinger in 2007 as Assistant Head Coach/Quarterbacks with the Denver Broncos (Steve Dykes/Getty Images)

The Denver Broncos released the following statement regarding the death of former offensive assistant Mike Heimerdinger, who lost his battle with cancer at age 58. Heimerdinger performed as the team’s wide receivers coach during its Super Bowl years (1995-99) and returned to the team as Assistant Head Coach from 2006-07.

“The Denver Broncos are heartbroken to learn of Mike Heimerdinger’s passing on Friday night following his courageous battle with cancer.

“Mike coached for the Broncos during the most successful period in team history, highlighted by the club’s back-to-back World Championship seasons of 1997-98. Known affectionately as Dinger, Mike earned respect and admiration from this franchise and around the NFL for his grit, passion and ‘never-give-up’ attitude.

“He remained close with several members of the organization following his final year with the Broncos in 2007, including some who visited him last week before the team’s game in Tennessee.

“The Broncos extend their deepest sympathies and prayers to Mike’s wife, Kathie, and the rest of his family and friends during this most difficult time.”

We echo the Broncos’ sentiments with our deepest sympathies to the Heimerdinger family. RIP Dinger.

Packers running back Ryan Grant has averaged nearly five yards a carry this season. He has been ruled out for Sunday's game. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

The Denver Broncos and Green Bay Packers have been hit hard by injuries this season.  In all, eight players have been ruled out for Sunday’s game at Lambeau Field.

Broncos wide receiver Eddie Royal (groin) will be joined by fellow receiver Demaryius Thomas (finger) and tight end Julius Thomas (ankle) as the three Broncos that have been ruled out for the game.  Cornerback Champ Bailey (hamstring), defensive tackle Marcus Thomas (groin) and defensive end Elvis Dumervil (shoulder) appear to be gametime decisions, as all three players are listed as “questionable”.

Running back Knowshon Moreno (hamstring) and linebacker D.J. Williams (elbow) are both probable to play Sunday, but may only see rotational roles with Willis McGahee and Wesley Woodyard respectively.

For the Packers, running back Ryan Grant (kidney), offensive tackle Bryan Baluga (knee), safety Nick Collins (neck), defensive end Mike Neal (knee) and linebacker Frank Zombo (shoulder) have all been ruled out. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Green Bay Packers' quarterback Aaron Rodgers throws a pass against the Chicago Bears during the first quarter of their NFL football game in Chicago September 25, 2011. (REUTERS/Jim Young)

BT exchanged interviews with Green Bay Packers blogger Andy Tisdel this week to discuss their upcoming game against the Denver Broncos. Check out Andy’s work at Oak Creek Patch.

BT: The Packers lost in back-to-back weeks to the Lions and Patriots last year to fall to 8-6 and on the precipice of the playoffs. They haven’t lost since. What do you attribute to the turnaround?

AT: Well, last year Aaron Rodgers was the difference-maker. He went out with a concussion in that loss to the Lions, didn’t play against the Patriots and then carved up the Giants upon his return. The team stifled the Bears in the season finale and never looked back. The talent in the passing game had been there all along, but I thought the offensive line really put it together over the final few weeks. They opened holes for James Starks in the running game and kept Rodgers upright, and that’s carried over into the early part of this season. Having one of the game’s best offensive minds (in my opinion) as your head coach helps, too.

An early undefeated record can mask a team’s faults. What do you see as the Packers’ greatest weakness?

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I love Tebow, but some of his fans are just too much. (AP Photo/The Gainesville Sun, Matt Stamey)

You can be a Denver Broncos fan, and you can be a Florida Gators fan, but this is no hybrid.

To be clear, I have nothing against fans of the Florida Gators and I’m sure there are legitimate Bronco fans out there that also happen to be Gator fans.  But the Florida fans that have followed quarterback Tim Tebow to the Broncos and are giving us longtime Denver fans a bad reputation and tainting our image must be disowned.

I have no problem with Gator fans jumping aboard the Broncos bandwagon (we’ve here all seen the light at some point in our lives, whether born into Bronco fandom or not) but if you’re a fan of the Broncos just because Tebow is a Bronco, your not a legitimate Broncos fan. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Denver Broncos Brandon Lloyd (L) gains a first down before being stopped by Oakland Raiders Chris Johnson (R) during their NFL football game in Denver, Colorado September 12, 2011. (REUTERS/Mark Leffingwell)

Brandon Lloyd understands the Denver Broncos‘ new run-oriented, conservative philosophy on offense under head coach John Fox. He just doesn’t like it.

More accurately, he’d like to be a bigger part of it.

Lloyd feels he has been underused heading into Week 4 of the 2011 season, having hauled in 10 catches for 127 yards in two games played (he missed Week 2 with a hamstring injury). Those numbers aren’t terrible in and of themselves, but when compared to his league-leading 1,448 receiving yards and 18.8 avg., he has some catching (up) to do.

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