Thank You Ray Rice

[Gordo52]

I do love Rice. Im glad hes not complaining about his contract. He deserves more. But CJ has been one of the if not the best RB in the league since hes been drafted. He deserves what he got

[Ravenseconbeast]

I have no problem seeing Ravens pay Ngata/Rice/Flacco. They'll get their money. I have no doubt about that

[lowrider]

Also helps that Rice's contract ends this year and Chris Johnson still had two years left to play out.

Rice is not a Dime a dozen. He rarely turns over the ball. He is durable (knock on wood). He is elusive. He is physical. He has the big play ability. He is a great receiver. He can run between the tackles. He is consistent. He does need to work on his run blocking. But overall what more do you need from a running back? Its easy to say that running backs are so easy to replace, until you have to replace them. There's a handful of running backs that carry the load and get over 2000 yards running and receiving like Rice does.

[scrock]

Man we might not be able to keep all out young players coming up for new contracts, even when the salary cap goes back up next year.

Ngata's deal is getting worked out, Ray Rice is due up, they said Joe Flacco will get his new deal next year, you got Ben Grubbs deal coming up.....some other i'm forgetting?

Its going to be hard to sign all those guys to big contracts and still be able to sign other guys, draft picks, etc

[Natty Boh]

Ray Rice seems to have a much better head on his shoulders than most. But the time will come for him to get paid too...and soon.

[ravens88]

He can run and cut like the best and make check down catches into huge plays like no other running back in the league at the moment he is going to get money for sure. I mean he makes one handed in motion catches every game like its nothing.

[chesapeakeaviator]

[quote name='edreedfromtheu' timestamp='1314917853' post='772879']
I think a lot of people, especially Ravens fans... tend to over-value Ray Rice.

Bottom line is, pretty much any back behind this line has had success. As much grief as the offensive line has gotten... McGahee(who many say was past his prime) was able to run just fine behind them. LeRon McClain(a converted fullback) was able to run very well behind the line.

The bottom line is, running backs are a dime a dozen(that means there are plenty of them). There's just no need to give a huge contract to one when you can get any veteran, any rookie, any RB who can fill in just fine. The game has changed it's rules to really promote the passing game.

It's great that Ray Rice showed up on time to camp, and didn't hold out. But perhaps his reasoning isn't exactly because he's a "saint" and maybe more because he realizes that he has it really good with the Ravens. If he holds out trying to get a huge contract, the Ravens might just tell him to go ahead and chase money... at which point he could end up in a much worse situation than he's in now.

Sure, he'll enjoy the money. But he won't enjoy his job nearly as much. Just ask Barry Sanders... it wasn't worth battering your body for no shot at the playoffs and a losing team.
[/quote]

Agree that the Ravens line and offensive schemes are conducive to an effective running game. Beyond that, I vehemently disagree. Dollar for dollar, he's probably one of the best players in the entire league at this moment, and would be worth a considerable (although NEVER 30 mil for a RB in the NFL) raise. He will, however, be on the downward slide after another two to three years. Sad reality of the current NFL.