ZB Game of the Week: Ravens at Broncos

I am eager for the football season and I am excited to watch Thursday night, when the Denver Broncos host the Baltimore Ravens in a rematch of one of the most exciting playoff games in recent memory.

There will be a lot of compelling football taking place this weekend, but this game is a great kickoff to the season. It’s also a kickoff to the new Zoneblitz Game of the Week segment. The Game of the Week will be selected during our pick segment each week. For that game, we’ll find bloggers who will share their thoughts on why their team should win and how their team could lose that game.

This week we’re joined by Tony Lombardi, founder of Russell Street Report and Scott Payne, a writer with Mile High Report.

Tony Lombardi, Russell Street Report: (@RussellStReport, @RSRLombardi)

WHY THE RAVENS WILL WIN:

The Ravens are a battle-tested, resilient team capable of overcoming the odds on the road. They did exactly that in 2012 on their way to the Super Bowl XLVII title.

This season the Ravens will look a lot different and the Denver Broncos will be the first to test the retooled champions who are now younger and faster, particularly on defense.  And that’s exactly where they will present problems for Peyton Manning.

Manning, 37 is a student of the game and his preparedness is more essential now in the November of his career than ever before. He’s made a career out of exploiting opponents’ weaknesses but with little to no game film to go on, Manning will be forced to discover those weaknesses on the fly.

Last season in the Divisional Playoff Game behind an offensive line at full strength, Manning was sacked by the Ravens 3 times and hurried 5 other times contributing to 2 interceptions.

This season Manning’s offensive front isn’t as strong and they will have to ward off the likes of a healthy Terrell Suggs and Haloti Ngata along with newcomers Elvis Dumervil and Chris Canty. The Ravens linebackers are faster and more capable in coverage than predecessors Ray Lewis and Dannell Ellerbe.

Defensively the Broncos will need to get after Joe Flacco but do they have the horses to do so now that two players responsible for nearly 60% of last year’s sacks will not suit up in orange and blue (Von Miller, Dumervil)?

WHY THE BRONCOS WILL WIN:

The Ravens have had an inconsistent preseason and one has to wonder if all of the new faces are struggling to gel. Can they make the pre-snap adjustments to play chess with Peyton Manning? Will the new pair of starting safeties be in position to cover the potential breakdowns in coverage if the future Hall of Fame quarterback is able to move the new defense out of position?

On offense the Ravens will count on several new faces in the passing game. Accomplished veterans like Dallas Clark and Brandon Stokley will need to make plays, as will rookie receivers Marlon Brown and Aaron Mellette.

Torrey Smith beat Champ Bailey twice for scores in the Divisional Game last January. This season expect Bailey to get help over the top. Can the other receivers who have yet to develop timing and rapport with Joe Flacco be counted on? The answer to that question could very well decide the game and if the preseason is any indication, that answer is no.

PREDICTION: The Baltimore Ravens have garnished little respect (9-point underdogs) since the Super Bowl and that feeds the beast in this team, one that embraces an us-against-the-world approach. They are better and faster than the team that won it all last season and on Thursday night the rest of the world will see.

RAVENS 27 BRONCOS 24

Scott Payne, Mile High Report: (@Skotty_Payne/@MileHighReport)

WHY THE BRONCOS WILL WIN:

It’s the rematch game that Broncos players, and fans have been waiting for all summer. We all know how it went down in the playoffs, but here’s what I think will happen Thursday night. I do not think the Ravens will be able to stop Peyton Manning and the Broncos offense.

The three-headed Monster at receiver will be a handful for the new look Ravens D. Also when the Broncos are in those 3 WR sets, it should open up the running lanes. I expect one of the Broncos running backs(Montee Ball, Ronnie Hillman, Knowshon Moreno) to have a big game. A dark horse to watch on the Broncos offense is Tight End Julius Thomas. Thomas is a big athletic TE who will be a matchup problem for the Ravens.

WHY THE RAVENS WILL WIN:

The big question heading into the game for the Broncos is their defense. Denver will be without All Pro linebacker Von Miller and possibly future Hall of Fame cornerback Champ Bailey. Will the other guys step up? That’s something I personally am anxious to see.

The Broncos will be sure to see a heavy dose of Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce. If the Ravens have success in the run game, that should allow Flacco to work the play action, and throw the bombs we usually see.

PREDICTION: Here’s where the Broncos can win this game early. If they go up by a two score lead early, and put the ball in Joe Flacco’s hands. I think the Denver Broncos defense will be just fine. Outside of his impressive hot streak in the postseason Flacco has been pretty average in his career. So the pressure will be on Joe, and I believe he will not come through. The Broncos will be 1-0.

BRONCOS 31 RAVENS 13

Zoneblitz’ Take: The Broncos are the class of the AFC this season with an offense that will be difficult to stop. The Ravens went through a tremendous amount of turnover after their Super Bowl championship season. I agree that they got younger and potentially more athletic on defense. This will be closer than some think. I think there’s a strong likelihood the Ravens will need some time to gel as a team. But don’t sleep on this team. Anyone who takes the Harbaugh/Newsome duo lightly is going to get burned. The Broncos will win a tight game in week one, but by midseason, this Ravens unit will again be one to be reckoned with.