Suggestion: Ray Rice in the slot more and Bernard Pierce carrying more

[Sami84]

Having rice as the slot reciever with pierce and leach running and blocking respectively. I think it would also help prolong rices career . Our receiving core would be smith ,Dickson ,rice, jacoby/ dallas depending on the set.

I don't see a negative in his. Pierce is a beast and rice clearly knows how to play slot.

[SecretAgentMan]

Hm....
NO!

 

We just brought in a slot receiver.

 

NO!

[StaticRaven]

I think having Pierce and Rice on the field at the same time is a good idea, and I hope we see it often this coming season.

 

I think having Pierce and Rice and Leach on the field at the same time is a terrible idea, and I'd like not to see it at all.

 

I think having Rice as a full-time Slot Receiver is a terrible idea and I don't want to see that at all either.

 

There was just an article posted over at the Sun about this.

[hawkprey]

Hm....
NO!
 
We just brought in a slot receiver.
 
NO!

Why not? Stokley can run comeback routes too. Have him run a comeback on the outside while Rice clears the linebackers. Easy first down! 

[Moderator 2]

Hey guys remember everyone is entitled to an opinion and not bashed, even if you don't agree.

[gabefergy]

This idea has been tossed around a little bit and talked about by a few NFL folks. Peter King wrote about the possibility of playing Rice and Pierce together a week or so ago, and Matt Vensel just wrote a column on this very subject. 

 

I think there is definitely a chance we will see it a little bit, but I doubt it will be used very often. Rice did line up as a WR a bit last year so it has already been done to a degree.

 

Here is the article by Vensel http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bs-sp-ravens-running-backs-0813-20130812,0,7042181.story

[beanfigger]

This will actually happen at times this year, and I'm excited to see how it works. It won't be the majority of the time, or close to it, but it should happen from time to time.

[GrimCoconut]

Sure. Why not? I'm sure we'll see this at some point. 

[Sami84]

The major reson is I feel it will prolong rices career. Honestly I think pierce could if given the chance to start at rb be a top 5 back in the league.

[gabefergy]

The major reson is I feel it will prolong rices career. Honestly I think pierce could if given the chance to start at rb be a top 5 back in the league.

I'm not sure about the latter part, but I think Pierce could definitely start for a lot of teams. I am a bit worried about his durability as a featured back though. Rice has never really had any durability concerns so I think this would be more about getting playmakers on the field and taking advantage of Rice's unique skill-set.

[rmw10]

Yeah I don't mind as a part-time, every now and then thing. I wouldn't want this to be an almost every down thing.

[SecretAgentMan]

Yeah I don't mind as a part-time, every now and then thing. I wouldn't want this to be an almost every down thing.

I agree with this.
Been thinking about that one for awhile.

But full time thing=no

[gabefergy]

I agree with this.
Been thinking about that one for awhile.

But full time thing=no

Yeah, definitely not full time, but it could be effective in small doses. Anything to keep defenses off-balance. Plus Rice and Pierce on the field together gives some big play ability.

[baltravens]

Rice in the slot is just one of many looks and formations Caldwell has in his offensive game plan. I have recommended getting the ball more to Ray Rice on passing plays to compensate for the loss of Pitta and Boldin. Plays where Flacco can slide him the ball when his first option is not there could consistently work in a game when we have estblished a running game.

Caldwell will do all the crafting of our 2013 offensive strategy.

[Ravenseconbeast]

I see this happening. But Rice needs to get better @ running again. He lost alot of his explosiveness in his first step and elusivness. We're not paying him +8m a year to just catch backfield catches. If his running yards doesnt go up from last year, it would be a dissapointment for me.

[gabefergy]

I see this happening. But Rice needs to get better @ running again. He lost alot of his explosiveness in his first step and elusivness. We're not paying him +8m a year to just catch backfield catches. If his running yards doesnt go up from last year, it would be a dissapointment for me.

Lost explosiveness? I'm not sure about that. He still averaged 4.4 YPC. While it wasnt as good as the previous year, he was one of the most productive backs in the NFL. I'm not sure how that is dissappointing.

[Malkavian Raven]

Not sure how effective this would be other than the defense would have to keep him covered. Linebackers would just release and hope someone in the secondary closes in quick enough to limit any kind of damage. As a once a game kind of thing, I can see this working in the early stages of the season but after a handful of times, defenses will have it sniffed out.

[gabefergy]

Not sure how effective this would be other than the defense would have to keep him covered. Linebackers would just release and hope someone in the secondary closes in quick enough to limit any kind of damage. As a once a game kind of thing, I can see this working in the early stages of the season but after a handful of times, defenses will have it sniffed out.

It potentially does a few things to the defense. First they have to decide if they want to play Rice and Pierce with a sub-package or stay in their base D. If they stay in base then Rice matched up on a LB is a mis-match in the slot. Either way this likely draws a LB out the box which could open up more room to run. Don't also discount the ability of Pierce to catch the ball in this personnel grouping as well. There are a lot of different options that Joe could go with depending on how the defense reacts which is the main purpose.

[Gordo52]

I like any idea that gives Rice the ball in the passing game as much as possible.

[CalvinSmoke]

It could be nasty because we could completely change our formations with those two on the field. Could start with the both in the back field with an old West Coast look, then motion rice to the slot. Line Backers wouldn't know what to do lol

[BloodRaven]

Rice has good hands for a running back but not for a slot receiver, he can't replicate what Boldin could do.

[TDubbs]

It's almost guaranteed that we will see more Rice in the slot then we have in the past, however being a RB is in his blood and that will never change. Caldwell liked to line up in the I-Form with Pierce as the FB and then motion Rice out to the slot, so no doubt we will see that. 

 

Personally, I'd love to see the wishbone from time to time. Pierce, Rice and Leach behind Flacco with 2 WR's. With our 3 headed monster, that would be very effective because there are so many options. Only as a change of pace type offense though. 

[cushrinada1986]

Although the idea of Rice in the slot seems like a good idea, please keep in mind that when going over the middle, WR's are more open to free shots from LBs and SS's than a RB would be running in the hole. I think there should be a small package that Flacco can audible to though just not a constant thing.

[Free Agent]

We won't see Rice as THE slot receiver, but we could definitely be seeing more of him in the slot.

[beanfigger]

How has Pierce looked protection-wise this summer? If he can excel in that area, this formation could be lethal.

[The Raven]

I do want to see more of him in the slot, but I don't want to lean on him as a slot WR. Maybe he could spell Stokley in the slot, and he could play the slot opposite Stokley in 4 WR sets.

 

Regardless of where he plays, I do want him to get more touches in the air this season. 

[Gordo52]

How bout we trade Rice for Anquan Boldin?  :lol:

 

his career catches is 78 in 2009. Last year he had 61.

 

 

...anyone think he gets over 78 this year? lol

[The Raven]

How bout we trade Rice for Anquan Boldin?  :lol:

 

his career catches is 78 in 2009. Last year he had 61.

 

 

...anyone think he gets over 78 this year? lol

 

I won't rule it out. You want to get the ball in your best receivers hands, and Rice is that guy. If no other receivers step up, we'll need to lean on Rice a little bit.

[hawkprey]

I won't rule it out. You want to get the ball in your best receivers hands, and Rice is that guy. If no other receivers step up, we'll need to lean on Rice a little bit.

I really doubt he gets it 78 times though. We'll also be feeding Leach, Pierce, and Juice the ball in the passing game every now and then, and there's a lot of options as far as TE and WR now. I don't know how many times we plan on throwing with our loaded backfield. We could wind up having 6 guys with 40-60 receptions each and no one getting more than 80.

[The Raven]

I really doubt he gets it 78 times though. We'll also be feeding Leach, Pierce, and Juice the ball in the passing game every now and then, and there's a lot of options as far as TE and WR now. I don't know how many times we plan on throwing with our loaded backfield. We could wind up having 6 guys with 40-60 receptions each and no one getting more than 80.

 

This is probably the most likely scenario.