The Super Bowl
Champion Baltimore Ravens visit Sports Authority Field to battle the Denver Broncos in the 2013 NFL season-opener in a rematch of last year's dramatic AFC divisional round playoff game.
Denver was on their way to hosting an AFC Championship game last January,
before safety Rahim Moore
inexplicably blew his coverage, leaving Jacoby
Jones wide open for a 70-yard touchdown with 31 seconds left,
forcing overtime and an eventual 38-35 win. The rest is history as the Ravens
went on to beat the New England Patriots
in the Conference Championship and then took down the upstart San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl,
claiming their second Lombardi trophy in franchise history.
The Ravens will look to become the
first team to repeat as champions since the Patriots won three Super Bowls in
four years (2001, 2003, 2004). If the Ravens are to repeat, it
will come with a noticeably different supporting cast as the champs endured a major roster overhaul in the offseason.
That being said, let’s look at the
key additions and departures for both the Ravens and Broncos.
Baltimore
Ravens
Key Additions:
Chris Canty (DT, NYG), Elvis Dumervil (LB, DEN), Rolando
McClain (LB, OAK), Michael Huff
(S, OAK), Brandon Stokley (WR, DEN) Matt Elam (S, Rooke), Arthur Brown (LB, Rookie)
Key Losses: Anquan Boldin (WR, SF), Matt Birk (C, Retired), Paul Kruger (LB/DE, CLE), Ray Lewis (LB, Retired), Cary Williams (CB, PHI), Dannell Ellerbe (LB, MIA), Ed Reed (S, HOU), Bernard Pollard (S, TEN) Ma'ake Kemoeatu (DT, FA)
Denver
Broncos
Key Additions: Wes Welker (WR, NE), Louis Vasquez (G, SD), Shaun Phillips (DE, SD), Sylvester
Williams (DT, Rookie), Montee Ball (RB, Rookie) Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie
(CB, PHI)
Key Losses: Elvis Dumervil (DE, BAL), Brandon Stokely (WR, BAL) Willis McGahee (RB, FA), Dan Koppen (C, Torn ACL)
Prediction
The Broncos have
long awaited their chance to get some sort of revenge versus the Ravens. Peyton
Manning and company would love to start the opposing Ravens season out on a losing
note. Denver is loaded on offense, especially with the addition of Wes Welker
as the team’s star slot receiver. Baltimore made some nice additions in the offseason;
still, the team certainly regressed with Ray Lewis, Anquan Boldin and Paul Kruger all now
departed. I am picking the Broncos to win tonight and start what could be an
unforgettable season for the franchise in style, taking down the defending
champions.
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