By Chris “Dick” Blake

STUD

WR Steve Smith Sr. : Ravens versus Steelers. This is one of the better rivalries in sports and they are playing during primetime Thursday night. Joe Flacco is 7-7 against the Steelers in his career with 17 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions. This Steelers secondary is probably the weakest he has seen so far when he’s gone into Pittsburgh, and I look for him to find his lone receiver Steve Smith Sr. throughout the game. Smith has had 23 targets the past two games and I look for Flacco to continue to find Smith consistently.

Prediction: 9 rec, 107 yards, 1TD

DUD

Detroit Lions Offense: Ask any NFL player where they least like to play and almost all of them will tell you against the “12th Man” at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. Newly returned Cam Chancellor and The Seahawks will be fired up this next Monday Night as an underperforming Stafford and the Lions offense come to town. The Seahawks held Jimmy Clausen to 63 passing yards as they shut out the Bears week 3. I know it’s Clausen, and he’s a lowly Notre Dame quarterback, but that defense is still impressive. I look for Stafford and the entire Lions offense to really struggle Monday.

Prediction: 13 points, 230 total yards, 4 turnovers

GOT GUTS?

Got Guts?: QB Colin Kaepernick: Yeah, you read that right. I look for Kap to bounce back this week against the Packers after a 4 INT game against an impressive Cardinals defense. His 4 INT’s was a career high for Kaepernick but were his first interceptions thrown this year. I look for Kap to do well against a decent Pack secondary in what is going to be a high scoring game.

Prediction: 22-34 322 yards, 2 TD’s, 5 rushes 64 yards 1TD

Chris “Dick” Blake can be reached at neil@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @SagebrushSports.