Ravens vs Broncos: Three predictions

I'm beyond excited for regular season football to be back. The beer, the wings, the pizza, the touchdowns, the hard hits and so much more are finally going to be in my living room yet again as we get to watch the Baltimore Ravens face off against a bevy of teams the NFL calls the best in the league. We start off with the Baltimore Ravens facing off against the Denver Broncos in Denver tonight in a playoff caliber match that could have implications come January.

I'm predicting a lot of things for tonight's game.

Tight end Crockett Gillmore has a massive game

When the staff here at Baltimore Beatdown was looking at the game and discussing our thoughts, one thing kept popping up time and time again. Most of us think that this will be tight end Crockett Gillmore's coming out party as nearly all of us mentioned him for touchdowns in tonight's matchup. I think against the Denver front-seven, he can create unique mismatches that will allow him to find room in their zone coverage. Then his "man strength" will let him get some yards after the catch. I grabbed him in FanDuel's single game leagues because I think he puts up two touchdowns against a Denver defense that can be exploited.

Steve Smith starts off his 'final ride' with a bang

We saw it during the preseason, but soon to be retired wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. will be in the mix for the Baltimore Ravens. He caught several big passes from quarterback Joe Flacco during the preseason and we see it again tonight against Denver's weak safeties. He slips passed Aqib Talib and the safety bites on the run fake allowing Steve Smith to get behind him for a massive completion. Smith ends the game with near 100 yards and makes his mark on the Broncos in his final season.

Lardarius Webb begins his slide into mediocrity

Cornerback Lardarius Webb has been an injury prone player since coming into the league and that along with age has helped sap his speed and talent. Against one of the better wide receiver tandems in the league, we see Webb struggle massively as he gives up big completions until the Ravens provide him with extra help. The long prediction is that he won't be the number two corner for the entire season as Rashaan Melvin takes over for him, but we see the same ol' Webb that we witnessed last season.