NFL Picks Week 4: Eric Decker and 10 Broncos Key to Beating Packers

The Denver Broncos are a longshot to defeat the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Sunday. That actually may be an understatement. It would almost seem like a miracle if the Broncos were to defeat the Packers.

The Broncos enter Sunday afternoon as 13 point underdogs vs. the Packers. That is the largest betting line of any game this week. Yes, even larger than the Curtis Painter-led Colts at Bucs game.

Regardless, anything can happen in the NFL, and although hopes are slim for a victory in Green Bay, Broncos fans hope that somehow Denver can pull out a victory to pull within .500. Either that, or Broncos fans are just hoping that Denver can remain competitive.

If Denver is to not only remain competitive against the defending Super Bowl champions, but have a chance at defeating the "Green and Gold", these are the 10 players that absolutely have to step up.

Eric Decker

The Denver Broncos are going to not only need to run the football well, but pass the football well also. They are going to need everything they can possibly throw at the Packers in order to remain competitive.

Eric Decker is one of the keys to that very goal.

In Denver's best offensive showing so far this season, Decker had over 110 yards receiving and 2 TDs in Denver's only win in 2011 over the Bengals. Eric was able to step up in the absences of Brandon Lloyd, Eddie Royal and Julius Thomas.

Denver has most of their receivers back for this game with the exception of Royal, but Decker still needs to step up if the Broncos want an upset.

Brandon Lloyd has been "contained" thus far, as he has only grabbed 10 receptions for 127 yards and zero TDs.

Expect the Packers to zone in on Lloyd to prevent the "big play". If Kyle Orton is to have a good game, he's going to need help from Decker again.

Kyle Orton

There can be no excuses for this one. Kyle Orton is needed for the Broncos to win on Sunday. No phantom fumbles, no interceptions thrown from tipped passes at the line of scrimmage.

Orton needs to be fantastic. He literally has to be mistake-free.

Against a high-octane offense such as the Packers, Denver has to limit their mistakes while maximizing their opportunities as much as possible.

The Packers rank fifth in the NFL in points scored, eighth in yards tallied, while ranking fifth in passing TDs.

It may be too much to ask for Orton to match Aaron Rodgers, but this is what's going to be required if the Broncos are to have a chance in hell.

Orton and Jake Plummer are two different QBs in two different time frames, but Jake Plummer did manage to do the unthinkable. He was able to make the Broncos offense as efficient as the Manning-led Colts offense in a 2006 meeting, before the Broncos lost on a field goal by Adam Vinatieri with time expiring.

Yes, the Broncos were a lot better back then. But the point remains that any QB can look as good as one of the best QBs in the NFL for one week. If Orton can go toe-to-toe with Rodgers, this should be a hell of a game.

Ryan Clady

As the Broncos' best offensive lineman, Clady needs to re-gain the form that made him a standout in his rookie season of 2008.

Clady hasn't been bad in 2011, but when fans witnessed his 2008 season that saw him give up a total of 0.5 sacks while protecting Jay Cutler, people expected a Hall-of-Famer in the making.

If Denver is to have a chance in hell against Green Bay's confusing 3-4 scheme filled with blitzes, Clady is going to have to prevent guys such as Erik Walden, AJ Hawk, Desmond Bishop and Clay Matthews from touching Orton.

If Orton gets rattled, Denver is in for a long day.

Willis McGahee/Knowshon Moreno/Lance Ball

Denver will take all of the help it can get. Even if it comes in the form of three running backs.

All three running backs have specialties of their own that make them unique, but none of them have really proven that they should be starting running backs in 2011.

Willis McGahee has been the best and the most consistent of the bunch, although that's not saying much. He's the only RB with a "good game" on his resume, carrying the ball for over 100 yards in Denver's win over Cincy.

Knowshon Moreno had a terrible game vs. the Raiders, carrying the ball for just 22 yards and a fumble. He did make contributions in the passing game, as he had 35 receiving yards. He was out for Week 2 vs. Cincy, and he was healthy for Week 3 at Tennessee, but Fox held him out of the game.

Lance Ball is a third-down specialist who caught a TD pass in Week 1 vs. Oakland.

The Broncos might need all three of their "unique" abilities at Green Bay. They are going to need McGahee's bruising style of running. They're going to need Moreno's shiftiness and ability to catch passes out of the backfield. They're going to need Lance Ball to make plays in the flats if Orton can't find any receivers downfield.

The Broncos will need all of the help that they can get out of their backfield.

Chris Kuper/JD Walton/Zane Beadles

Yeah, I'm cheating a little bit by adding numerous players to single slides, but all three of these guys go hand in hand with one another.

The Broncos don't have a good offensive line, but many will agree that the brunt of the blame goes to the interior of the offensive line.

The Broncos have given up eight sacks on the season, which is around the league average entering Week 4.

Their problem is in run blocking. They are absolutely terrible at it.

Denver was inside the Tennessee two-yard-line on four straight plays early in the fourth quarter, with a chance to go up 21-10. All four times they failed to punch it in. Three of those plays were runs up the middle. Walton/Beadles/Kuper failed to push Tennessee's D-Lineman back one yard on all three occasions, thus creating a turnover on downs.

The Broncos are averaging just 3.2 yards a carry, which is fifth-worst in the league. Denver had these same problems in 2010. If these problems aren't fixed against Green Bay, Kyle Orton will be forced to throw a lot of passes in second/third and longs, which will create a lot of three-and-outs.

If that is the case, Denver will be giving Green Bay good field position. It will also put the defense on the field for the majority of the game. It will be a repeat of the debacle that was 2010.

That cannot happen against the best team in the league if you want to win.

Elvis Dumervil

If there ever was a time for Elvis Dumervil to return from the grave, it's now.

Dumervil has played in one game this year. In the game against Oakland, he left early due to injury.

Dumervil is questionable for the game, but the Denver Post is reporting that he should play in the game.

The Packers are the most complete team in the NFL. Their pass defense has struggled so far in 2011, but basically every area of their team is complete. They have given up only five sacks on the season, which is tied for seventh-best in the league.

Denver will be at full strength on defense for the first time in 2011, with DJ Williams and Champ Bailey also returning to the fold.

Elvis Dumervil will need to rattle Aaron Rodgers into mistakes. With the exception of Tom Brady, Rodgers is the best QB in the NFL when he has time to throw the football. He simply does not make mistakes. He does not under throw receivers. He's always on target. Doom needs to take him out of his comfort zone for Denver to pull off an upset.

Von Miller

Von Miller has every bit lived up to his No. 2 overall draft pick status. He has been Denver's biggest playmaker.

Miller has two sacks and two forced fumbles through three games.

In the absence of Denver's defensive veterans such as Williams, Dumervil and Bailey, Miller has stepped up as well as he possibly can.

Miller's forced fumble of Hasselbeck late in the third quarter of last week's game put Denver's offense in position to seal the game as they recovered the football at the Tennessee 13.

Von Miller will have to make his presence felt at Green Bay. Miller needs to force a sack or a turnover of some kind to change the momentum in favor of the Broncos, and silence the crowd at Lambeau.

Champ Bailey

With Bailey's return from injury, Denver is breathing a huge sigh of relief.

That is until the game starts at Green Bay. Bailey's return is huge. He'll no doubt make a difference for a pass defense that desperately needs his help.

But as mentioned before, the Packers are automatic in the passing game. They have a deep receiving core with receivers such as Greg Jennings, Jermichael Finley, Jordy Nelson and Donald Driver.

Rodgers operates the same way as Brees and Brady. He utilizes the entire field. He utlizes four or five weapons in the passing game. This is what makes him so unstoppable. You combine those attributes with his uncanny accuracy, and it's near-impossible to stop him.

Rodgers is completing 72.0 percent of his passes this season.

Champ won't single-handedly improve a pass defense that has given up over 300 yards to Andy Dalton and Matt Hasselbeck, but he can minimize Rodgers' impact on the game.

If Champ is to do so, it would be one step in many that Denver needs for Sunday.

Brodrick Bunkley

One of the offseason's most underrated acquisitions was Brodrick Bunkley.

Is he one of the best defensive tackles in the game? No. But has he been one of the driving forces behind the Broncos improving drastically as a run defense? Yes.

After ranking 31st in rushing yards given up last season, Denver now ranks 14th. They have held Chris Johnson to 21 rushing yards, while also holding Cedric Benson to 59 rushing yards.

The Packers do not have an amazing rushing attack, but their two-man attack gets the job done. James Starks and Ryan Grant both split carries in the backfield for the Pack. They each have 32 carries on the season, but are averaging 4.2 yards a carry as a team, 11th-best in the NFL.

Bunkley will need to clog the running lanes with his 300-pound frame, to force the Packers into a one-dimensional passing attack. It will allow Denver to preserve stamina by constantly playing the pass. It will also hopefully allow Denver to control time of possession, if Bailey and the pass defense can stop Rodgers a few times.

Britton Colquitt

No, I'm being serious with this one.

In every NFL game, field position is of the utmost importance.

In this game, that statement could not be any more true.

The Broncos might face a lot of three and out situations. If this is the case, Colquitt is going to have to be at his very best to pin the Packers as deep as possible. If you give Rodgers a long field to work with, you might have a chance. If you give Rodgers a short field to work with, you're asking for a loss.

Colquitt has been one of the best punters in the league. His 49.7 average ranks sixth in the NFL, while his six punts downed inside the 20 rank fourth.

The Broncos are going to need a lot of punts downed inside the 20 to minimize Green Bay's offense as much as possible.