Broncos’ stride built for under

After an offseason shakeup that brought coach Josh McDaniels and quarterback Kyle Orton to Denver, expectations for the Broncos are way down.

Meanwhile, a functional Carson Palmer returns to lead Cincinnati's offense for what should be a better season. The Bengals are 41/2-point home favorites over the Broncos today.

The Gold Sheet handicapper Bruce Marshall is not taking a side, but he does recommend betting the game under the total of 43.

Without gunslinger Jay Cutler, who was traded to Chicago, Denver will implement Orton into an offense with a slower pace.

"Although we're not on a Denver bandwagon by any means, and suspect that McDaniels is going to end up deeply regretting the Cutler trade, that doesn't necessarily mean the McDaniels influence will be a total negative," Marshall said.

"Where we see McDaniels having an initial impact is on the pace and flow of games. Now that Orton appears ready to go, we expect him to effectively manage a ball-control, clock-milking offense that will complete lots of shorts passes, and complement that with a modestly effective ground game between the tackles.

"That doesn't necessarily mean the Broncos are going to win a lot of games, but they will keep the clock moving with their offense conducting almost all of its business within 10 or so yards of the line of scrimmage. That will subsequently shorten the games and help keep the Denver defense off the field."

Marshall said he expects new coordinator Mike Nolan, who's installing a 3-4 alignment, to improve the Denver defense.

"Given that we have little faith in the Bengals offense erupting with Palmer working on a sore ankle, we don't expect a ton of scoring in this opener," said Marshall, who outlines key technical notes on some Week 1 games:

• Miami at Atlanta: The Falcons went 9-3 over the total in their past 12 games at the Georgia Dome and have covered in six of their past nine at home. Dolphins coach Tony Sparano, however, covered six of eight on the road last year. Miami has covered only one of its past six openers (1-4-1 against the spread). Edge: Falcons.

• Jacksonville at Indianapolis: The road team has covered all four meetings the past two seasons. Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio is 26-15 ATS in his past 41 as a 'dog. The Colts, 4-8 ATS as favorites last year, are 6-13 ATS in their past 19 when favored. Edge: Jaguars.

• Detroit at New Orleans: The Lions covered six of eight on the road last year. Detroit is 18-6 over on the road since 2006. The Saints are 18-8 over in their past 26, and 16-8 over in the past 24 at the Superdome. Edge: Over.

• Dallas at Tampa Bay: Cowboys coach Wade Phillips has won and covered the opener the past two seasons. Dallas has won and covered the past two versus Tampa Bay. Edge: Cowboys.

• Washington at New York Giants: Seven of the past 10 in the series went under. The Giants have covered five of six versus the Redskins. Giants coach Tom Coughlin is 11-4 ATS in his past 15 as a favorite. The Redskins went 12-3-1 under last season. Edge: Giants, under.

Compiled by Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Matt Youmans.