Week 1: Ravens v.s. Broncos

[Paintballguy]

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/...medium=twitter

Denver Broncos tight end Julius Thomas was arrested last week for a failure to appear traffic warrant.

Thomas was scheduled to appear March 21 and failed to appear on a Jan. 24 citation of failure to yield to an emergency vehicle.

The arrest was Aug. 28. He's scheduled to appear Sept. 12.

"We were notified of the issue involving Julius Thomas when it occurred on Aug. 28," the Broncos said in a statement. "It was addressed internally and is being resolved."

Thomas led the Broncos during the preseason with 12 catches for 123 yards.

Thomas is now a starter for the Broncos.

[Stealthbirds80]

I wonder if this has been mentioned already, but how huge could it be to have Darryl Smith at ILB playing the QB of the D rather than some other talented QB not named Lewis? Just think about where he came from and the years spent on that Jacksonville squad dissecting Peyton's game.

In addition to Pees having seen Peyton a ton while in NE, Smith had played him at least twice in his 10 yrs in the AFC south. Is it an edge, we'll see.

[Stealthbirds80]

The game comes down to the pass rush for both sides.

The Broncos are crippled up front, and will not get to Flacco.

The Ravens might have the best front seven in a decade. Manning will be lucky to make it through the game without injury.

Ravens 31
Broncos 17

Aren't the Broncos on like center #3 as well? Here's hoping for an errant snap or two. All I'm saying is that the interior of the Bronco line will have to deal with a healthy Ngata and Chris Canty all night.

[Paintballguy]

I wonder if this has been mentioned already, but how huge could it be to have Darryl Smith at ILB playing the QB of the D rather than some other talented QB not named Lewis? Just think about where he came from and the years spent on that Jacksonville squad dissecting Peyton's game.

In addition to Pees having seen Peyton a ton while in NE, Smith had played him at least twice in his 10 yrs in the AFC south. Is it an edge, we'll see.

I think that will be a big factor. He's played Peyton a ton of times.

[NC Raven]

Aren't the Broncos on like center #3 as well? Here's hoping for an errant snap or two. All I'm saying is that the interior of the Bronco line will have to deal with a healthy Ngata and Chris Canty all night.

Music to my ears!!! :happyanim

[BigRob]

Look,

I'm a Steelers fan so don't gut me. (I think they are mediocre this year by the way)

I think the Ravens have a good shot to win this one. I think the Broncos have a good shot to win it as well.

Its never a good time to play Peyton when you have a lot of defensive pieces that haven't played together very long. Communication between players is at a disadvantage.

Peyton working with his 3rd string center isn't a huge deal in my mind. The guy just gets rid of the ball so dang fast.

I would be worried about Welker, D. Thomas, Decker. Welker is a big upgrade from Stokely last year.

I'm interested to see what you guys do against Denver without Boldin. Good Luck.

[MarkS]

I expect - in time - this defense will be very good. The pass rush is improved, the interior Dline is improved, the CBs are improved.

For this game though, I see problems: Specifically, the interior of our pass-defense is being entirely rebuilt. 2 new safeties and 2 new ILBs. Lewis and Reed gone. There's going to be communication issues early. And going up against a healthy Peyton Manning, playing at home, in warm weather, unless we get to Manning early and often, I expect us to get picked apart in the short/intermediate passing game.

On offense, again - new pieces will take time to gel. Having Champ out should force the Broncos to double-team Torrey much of the game (they might have anyway), which should open up Jones/Dickson/Stokely to do some damage. The passing game will productive, just not enough.

Prediction: Ravens give up a bunch of yards, stiffen in the red-zone, but still lose 26-20.

[GOTA]

So is the weather clear at M&T?