After months of anticipation, Joe Flacco and the Ravens kick off the 2013 regular season against Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos tonight. Much less anticipated is the season debut of my weekly gameday feature, Four Ravens predictions sure to go wrong. Each week, I’ll make four semi-bold predictions for the Ravens game. Try not to take them too seriously, OK?
1. TORREY SMITH WILL BEAT THE BRONCOS DEEP AGAIN: In last year’s playoffs, Smith twice beat Champ Bailey for long touchdowns receptions. Bailey could be sidelined Thursday with a foot injury, so new Broncos cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie may instead draw the assignment of covering Smith. Either way, though, I like the speedster’s chances of getting behind the Denver defense to produce another big play against a secondary that could start youngsters Rahim Moore and Duke Ihenacho at safety. Outside of that, though, don’t be surprised if Smith struggles to shake free of press coverage. That’s what happened when these teams met in the 2012 regular season.
2. THE RAVENS WILL STRUGGLE INSIDE THE RED ZONE: The last time we saw the Ravens play meaningful football, they were extremely efficient inside the red zone. The Ravens scored on 10 of their 14 trips inside the red zone during the postseason, including two of four trips in the Super Bowl. But much of their success had to do with wide receiver Anquan Boldin and tight end Dennis Pitta being big, reliable targets in the middle of the field. Neither will be on the field Thursday and tight end Ed Dickson is dealing with a hamstring injury. Flacco’s lack of familiarity with his new possession receivers should be a factor when the windows get tighter inside Denver’s 20-yard line.