5 Things To Watch For In Thursday Nights’ Game Between The Ravens And Broncos

Aug 29, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) on the sidelines during first quarter of the preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals at Sports Authority Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The Super Bowl champs Baltimore Ravens open up the season tonight against the Denver Broncos. The Broncos, like the Super Bowl champs, have high expectations for the season.

This could easily be a match-up that we see again sometime January, but for now while we are only in September, here are five things to look for in tonight’s game between the Baltimore Ravens and Denver Broncos:

The Return Of Lardarius Webb

Webb will be playing in his first game since tearing his ACL against the Dallas Cowboys in week 6 of last season. In his first game back, he will have some legitimate competition between upcoming wide receiver Demaryius Thomas

Peyton Manning’s Second Year From Neck Surgery(s)

Tonight’s game against the Baltimore Ravens will be Peyton Manning’s second year from returning from multiple neck surgeries. Since then, his velocity throwing the ball has been on and off. It will be interesting to see if the velocity, that he once had, will appear on a more consistent basis.

Reps Between Ray Rice And Bernard Pierce

Bernard Pierce had a strong showing in his rookie year with the Ravens. He is expected to receive much more reps in his second season with the team. Just how many reps Pierce will get between himself and starting running back Ray Rice, will begin to show in tonight’s nights game against the Denver Broncos.

The Youth At Wide Receiver For The Ravens

The Ravens have a good amount of youth at wide receiver to try and replace Anquan Boldin. Deonte Thompson, LaQuan Williams and rookies Aaron Mellette and Marlon Brown are all under 25 years old.

The Broncos Running Back Situation

The Broncos running back situation is not really a situation. It’s actually a great thing that they have three good running backs (Ronnie Hillman, Montee Ball and Knowshon Moreno) in the stable. What everyone is really looking forward to is who will end up starting the game at running back for them and how the reps will be established between all three running backs.