Our Deadly Backfield Duo

[TonyTone1192]

Similar to the next Raven fan I was VERY distraught after hearing about the loss of Pitta for the whole season. IMHO I believe he is a HUGE reason why we were okay w/ letting Boldin go. He was emerging into a top 5 TE in this league, as well as becoming Joe's safety blanket. In this new era of football, the QB position receives entirely too much attention and other aspects of the game become a bit overlooked such as; ST's play, o-line/d-line as well as the running game.

 

I want to focus a little on our ground game for this post. The more I thought about how Joe would overcome the Pitta loss the more I began to think of what options we could utilize in this situation. It hit me that this upcoming season, barring any major injuries to 27 or 30, we could have the deadliest backfield duo in the game. A lot of people early in the offseason were making claims that Pierce will take Rice's starting spot, I do believe that will be the case but not this season. I see Caldwell taking the ball out of Joe's hands and relieving him of some of that pressure, especially after the loss of 88, and putting it in the hands of 27 and 30, an all-pro back and a future star.

 

IMO Pierce is a better natural runner than is Rice, he's more physical and he's better at attacking the hole. On the flip side, Rice is more shifty than Pierce, runs better routes out of the backfield and has better hands. Hopefully, neither of the two suffer a major injury b/c after the loss of Pitta I see our backfield tandem playing a MAJOR role in our keys to success as well as being amongst the leagues best, if not the best in the league. 

[cushrinada1986]

I agree, I believe Bernard is a much more pure runner than rice in the fact that he fits the power running scheme we have much better. His cut ability and speed through the hole will be a benefit come the colder months and will put years on Rices career for the most part. Rice is more of a Marshall Faulk, Receiving type runner who can beat LBs and Dlinemen off the snap and turn a short play into a score. you put that combo together and you would actually play them on the field at the same time.

[BirdWatcher]

Sad statistic I just saw on NFL Live...we averaged WAY more yards per rush attempt when Pitta was on the field than when he wasn't. He's going to be missed in the running game, too.

[Alexir]

Ground and Pound. I would like pierce to get 240 touches minimum. 15 per game .

[5aiah]

I keep hearing this talk of Pierce taking the starting job and getting the most carries. Watch it guys, Pierce could be concussion prone. A extra heavy load might not be the best for him,ever. Ray Rice will be the starter as long as he is here. Bet that. We need to see how Pierce holds up each year as his load increases because he was also hobbled with other injuries at Temple and was rarely 100%.

[5aiah]

Sad statistic I just saw on NFL Live...we averaged WAY more yards per rush attempt when Pitta was on the field than when he wasn't. He's going to be missed in the running game, too.

Because they were focused on the pass. People forget, how defenses play us will change with less true threats.

[Gordo52]

Ground and Pound. I would like pierce to get 240 touches minimum. 15 per game .

Damn, then what about Rice? 15 too? I don't think I want them to split that much and I don't think we'll run it 30 times a game. I'd like too, because it would probably mean we're winning most the time, but I can't see us running that much this year.

[Alexir]

Damn, then what about Rice? 15 too? I don't think I want them to split that much and I don't think we'll run it 30 times a game. I'd like too, because it would probably mean we're winning most the time, but I can't see us running that much this year.

25 touches for Rice. That's carries and receptions.

They are now both 2 of our top 3 skill position players.

Rice, Torrey, Pierce

[SecretAgentMan]

And with Leach back ;) ;) ;)

[mg90]

And with Leach back ;) ;) ;)

awwwww yeah just found this out too. I lol at people weeping that we're screwed without Pitta. I love our front office.

[TDubbs]

Best in the League, no question. Bring back the wishbone haha! Flacco under centre w/ Leach, Pierce, and Rice behind him, damn that would be sick! 

[TonyTone1192]

I keep hearing this talk of Pierce taking the starting job and getting the most carries. Watch it guys, Pierce could be concussion prone. A extra heavy load might not be the best for him,ever. Ray Rice will be the starter as long as he is here. Bet that. We need to see how Pierce holds up each year as his load increases because he was also hobbled with other injuries at Temple and was rarely 100%.

I didn't say this upcoming season Pierce will take over as the starter.. But honestly Rice has AT MOST 3 more seasons of being an all-pro back. Dont forget that running backs have the shortest NFL life, they peak @ 30 and drop in production after that.
I believe that Pierce is I jury probe b/c he doesn't get low enough before contact which exposes too much of his body.

[TonyTone1192]

I agree, I believe Bernard is a much more pure runner than rice in the fact that he fits the power running scheme we have much better. His cut ability and speed through the hole will be a benefit come the colder months and will put years on Rices career for the most part. Rice is more of a Marshall Faulk, Receiving type runner who can beat LBs and Dlinemen off the snap and turn a short play into a score. you put that combo together and you would actually play them on the field at the same time.

I agree.. When Joe is in the gun it would be nice to see Rice and Pierce to his left and right which I hope would create some confusion to the defense.

[gabefergy]

I definitely think both RBs will have major roles this season. I predicted somewhere else we might have two thousand yard rushers. It seems even more likely at this point. I'd like to see Pierce get 150-200 touches and Rice 250-300. However, there still must be a reasonable balance struck with the passing offense.

[flaccopoe]

Don't forget, Leach is back in business!

[gabefergy]

Don't forget, Leach is back in business!

Really? Thanks for the info.

[flaccopoe]

Really? Thanks for the info.

 

Yeah, so the term "trio" would be more appropriate.  The Terrible Trio have a great blend of youth, experience, rushing power and blocking.  Not to mention can make receptions when needed.

[TonyTone1192]

I definitely think both RBs will have major roles this season. I predicted somewhere else we might have two thousand yard rushers. It seems even more likely at this point. I'd like to see Pierce get 150-200 touches and Rice 250-300. However, there still must be a reasonable balance struck with the passing offense.

I agree.. This could bode very well for our receiving core who are speedsters and love taking the top off of defenses, if our run game lives up to it's potential then the play action would be even deadlier.
I don't see us running on 1st and 2nd and passing on 3rd every series, how we did 5 years ago. But i dont see a need for Joe to throw the ball more than 30 times a game this year, unless our run game is non existent that day or the opposing teams' pass defense is playing horrendously.

[5aiah]

I didn't say this upcoming season Pierce will take over as the starter.. But honestly Rice has AT MOST 3 more seasons of being an all-pro back. Dont forget that running backs have the shortest NFL life, they peak @ 30 and drop in production after that.
I believe that Pierce is I jury probe b/c he doesn't get low enough before contact which exposes too much of his body.

Also remember we are taking steps to preserve him and he has receiving skills that can help him stay near the top longer. But yeah his time is limited and them splitting carries is a great thing. 

[AsianRice]

Similar to the next Raven fan I was VERY distraught after hearing about the loss of Pitta for the whole season. IMHO I believe he is a HUGE reason why we were okay w/ letting Boldin go. He was emerging into a top 5 TE in this league, as well as becoming Joe's safety blanket. In this new era of football, the QB position receives entirely too much attention and other aspects of the game become a bit overlooked such as; ST's play, o-line/d-line as well as the running game.

 

I want to focus a little on our ground game for this post. The more I thought about how Joe would overcome the Pitta loss the more I began to think of what options we could utilize in this situation. It hit me that this upcoming season, barring any major injuries to 27 or 30, we could have the deadliest backfield duo in the game. A lot of people early in the offseason were making claims that Pierce will take Rice's starting spot, I do believe that will be the case but not this season. I see Caldwell taking the ball out of Joe's hands and relieving him of some of that pressure, especially after the loss of 88, and putting it in the hands of 27 and 30, an all-pro back and a future star.

 

IMO Pierce is a better natural runner than is Rice, he's more physical and he's better at attacking the hole. On the flip side, Rice is more shifty than Pierce, runs better routes out of the backfield and has better hands. Hopefully, neither of the two suffer a major injury b/c after the loss of Pitta I see our backfield tandem playing a MAJOR role in our keys to success as well as being amongst the leagues best, if not the best in the league. 

True dat.....With Leach back, our duo backfield are even more dangerous, which opens up more passing game.  Loss of Pitta is hurt, not as football player but also as a friend.  However, I believe our passing game will be ok as long as our O-line is solid and running game is elite.  It might look shaky for WRs with first few regular season games, but as a few games under their belts, our WRs will be good and legit.......

 

2 more weeks till the first opening preseason game......

[gabefergy]

I agree.. This could bode very well for our receiving core who are speedsters and love taking the top off of defenses, if our run game lives up to it's potential then the play action would be even deadlier.
I don't see us running on 1st and 2nd and passing on 3rd every series, how we did 5 years ago. But i dont see a need for Joe to throw the ball more than 30 times a game this year, unless our run game is non existent that day or the opposing teams' pass defense is playing horrendously.

I think a lot will depend on the match-ups and there will likely be in-game adjustments every week as well. I agree that we wont jsut be run-run-pass like we were so often under Cam. Caldwell will vary it up and hopefully we can use a good mixture of passing and running to jump out to  a lead and then just pound the rock late in the game.

[TonyTone1192]

True dat.....With Leach back, our duo backfield are even more dangerous, which opens up more passing game.  Loss of Pitta is hurt, not as football player but also as a friend.  However, I believe our passing game will be ok as long as our O-line is solid and running game is elite.  It might look shaky for WRs with first few regular season games, but as a few games under their belts, our WRs will be good and legit.......

 

2 more weeks till the first opening preseason game......

 

Yessir!! I couldn't have said it any better myself.. I know some won't agree but after the loss of Boldin and now Pitta we should run to set up the pass and not vice versa. Hopefully our o-line can play consistently well this season, they will be a focal point on the offensive side of the ball. VERY excited that we have our road grater back. LEEEAAACCCHHHHH!!!!

[beanfigger]

Yessir!! I couldn't have said it any better myself.. I know some won't agree but after the loss of Boldin and now Pitta we should run to set up the pass and not vice versa. Hopefully our o-line can play consistently well this season, they will be a focal point on the offensive side of the ball. VERY excited that we have our road grater back. LEEEAAACCCHHHHH!!!!

 

I think we still might have to throw early to stay unpredictable.  If not, we might find teams stacking the box on us.  Also, we need to get our linemen in shape before we proclaim our run game unstoppable.

[TonyTone1192]

I think we still might have to throw early to stay unpredictable. If not, we might find teams stacking the box on us. Also, we need to get our linemen in shape before we proclaim our run game unstoppable.

I mean if teams want to stack the box on us.. That would leave Torrey 1 on 1 and that's 6 points all day everyday.I'm pretty sure that our offense as well as caldwell would LOVE to see 7 or 8 men in the box, this isn't the one dimensional Vikings offense we're talking about, Joe and our receiving core could greatly benefit from 1 on 1 coverage. Our run blocking was better than our pass blocking last year but I completely agree, we need our line to play consistently well for any type of success.

[beanfigger]

I mean if teams want to stack the box on us.. That would leave Torrey 1 on 1 and that's 6 points all day everyday.I'm pretty sure that our offense as well as caldwell would LOVE to see 7 or 8 men in the box, this isn't the one dimensional Vikings offense we're talking about, Joe and our receiving core could greatly benefit from 1 on 1 coverage. Our run blocking was better than our pass blocking last year but I completely agree, we need our line to play consistently well for any type of success.

 

Don't get me wrong, I know Joe's eyes will light up if he sees 8 in the box.  I would just love it if we caught defenses stuck in between with a balanced attack.  I think the best way to do that is throw early.  It will help us score early points, which is when our backfield will be more lethal and effective.