Saints vs. Ravens: Previewing Baltimore's Preseason Week 1 Matchup

The Baltimore Ravens will open the 2015 NFL preseason with a matchup against the New Orleans Saints this week. 

The Ravens will do so in the friendly confines of M&T Bank Stadium on Thursday night. It will be the first of four preseason games both teams have before the regular season opens. 

The theme of the first preseason game will be depth and figuring out who will make up the back end of the depth chart this year. The starters will only play a series or two in this game, leaving the backups and fringe roster players to get most of the playing time in this game. 

This may not be an important game for Ravens players who will play significant snaps in 2015, but it is pivotal for those players who will make up those last 10-15 spots on the final 53-man roster. 

With that said, here's all the info you need for Thursday night's game: 

Location: M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore

Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

TV: WBAL-TV in Baltimore

Mobile: NFL Gamepass

Radio: Sirius XM Radio

Betting Line (via Odds Shark): Ravens (-3)

Latest Injury News

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

Several key Ravens will likely be missing this preseason game, highlighted by rookie wide receiver Breshad Perriman. 

Perriman, the team's first-round pick out of UCF this year, was expected to take on a starting role this year. He was also being counted on to give Baltimore's offense the kind of deep threat it lost when Torrey Smith left this offseason to sign with the San Francisco 49ers.

Unfortunately, Perriman injured his knee on the first day of training camp. While it was only a bruised knee, it's managed to keep Perriman out for nearly two weeks of practice since. 

That likely means Perriman won't play Thursday in what would have been his first live NFL action. While it's a setback, the Ravens don't believe he's falling behind too far, as offensive coordinator Marc Trestman told ESPN.com's Jamison Hensley. 

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“He’s a smart young man. He’s not going to get behind learning the offense,” Trestman said. “Obviously, he doesn’t have the opportunity to develop his skill set on the grass, but we can’t do anything about that. We’ll work hard with Bobby [Engram, wide receivers coach] and our coaches to get him ready as quickly as we can and put him in a position where he can compete. When that time comes, we’ll get started.”

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As for other Ravens banged up, one guy definitely out this week is defensive lineman Brent Urban. He suffered a torn biceps muscle last week that could sideline him for the upcoming 2015 season, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. 

Urban, a fourth-round pick out of Virginia in the 2014 NFL draft, was expected to be a backup at defensive end this year. However, he wasn't expected to play significant snaps and may have even been a routine game-day inactive had he even made the final roster. 

Another defensive lineman on the mend is Timmy Jernigan. According to Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun, Jernigan missed Baltimore's final two practices leading up to Thursday's game with a foot injury. 

Jernigan is expected to have a breakout year in Baltimore's defense this season with Haloti Ngata now in Detroit. The 22-year-old was looking great in training camp before suffering the injury. 

While it looks like the foot issue will hold Jernigan out this week, it doesn't look serious enough to keep him out next week as well. That said, Baltimore will be more cautious with him given that he's expected to start and play a heavy amount of snaps along the defensive line this year. 

Losing him for a significant amount of time because they rushed him back too soon in the preseason is something they can ill-afford with Jernigan. 

Key Players to Watch

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

As mentioned earlier, the starters are only going to play a series or two, which could result in about eight to 10 snaps played in the game.

There will still be some key backups and other players fighting for a spot on the 53-man roster. Here's a look at which Ravens are worth watching the most in this game. 

RB Javorius "Buck" Allen

The Ravens will rely heavily on veteran running back Justin Forsett to carry the ground game this year. However, the backup spot is still very much up for grabs, with newcomer Buck Allen being a strong challenger for it. 

Baltimore drafted Allen in the fourth round out of USC in this year's NFL draft after he rushed for 1,489 yards and 11 touchdowns this past season. While Forsett is more of a pure runner, Allen is more of a versatile back who can be a good pass-catcher out of the backfield. 

With Forsett likely getting little to no run in this game, Allen is in for a big workload in his first live NFL action. How well he does will help determine if he wins that No. 2 spot.  

OLB Za'Darius Smith

When the Ravens lost Pernell McPhee this offseason, it left a big void at outside linebacker behind Elvis Dumervil and Terrell Suggs. Though those form arguably the best pass-rushing duo in football, Baltimore's front seven was so good last year in part because when starters needed a break, there wasn't much, if any, drop-off between them and the backups. 

That was the case with McPhee, who racked up 7.5 sacks in a situational role behind Suggs and Dumervil. With him having left to sign with the Chicago Bears, fourth-round rookie Za'Darius Smith is expected to come in and help fill the void. 

Smith had 10.5 sacks in his two years at Kentucky after spending two seasons in the junior college ranks. Based on the lack of news, he appears not to have done much to stand out early on in Ravens camp, so seeing how well he does in live NFL action will be a key storyline to watch this week.  

TE Maxx Williams

The Ravens drafted Minnesota's Maxx Williams in the second round of this year's draft in hopes that he could become their starting tight end as early as this year.

Williams has shown flashes in offseason workouts and training camp, per official team video and observations from BaltimoreRavens.com's Garrett Downing, respectively. But this will be his first NFL game. And he'll likely get a lot of run Thursday night. 

We could see Williams run with the starters and continue to play with the backups for much of the first half. While Williams will likely be starting, he needs to get as many live reps as possible before the regular season opens.

Expect to see Williams a lot early on in Thursday's game while catching passes from both Joe Flacco and backup Matt Schaub. 

Prediction

Rogelio Solis/Associated Press

The most important thing about Thursday's game lies not in who wins and who loses the contest.

Being able to call this game a success means coming out without major injuries while also having the guys who are making the roster perform well. However, that doesn't mean both teams aren't playing to win this game.

Heck, Baltimore went 4-0 in the preseason last year and was clearly playing to win all four games. A big reason why the Ravens won all four preseason games was because, as mentioned earlier, their defensive depth allowed them to play strong for four quarters. 

Baltimore allowed an average of just 13.25 points per game in the 2014 preseason. From start to finish every game, the defense was able to dominate sans a 37-30 shootout with the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2.

While the Saints have a good starting offense, their backups leave a lot to be desired. The Ravens will likely win this game by shutting the Saints backups down and escaping with a narrow win. 

Final Score: Ravens 23, Saints 13