The Ravens had no luck running the ball in 2013 as both Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce struggled to find holes and exploit any openings they did find on their way to a league-worst 3.1 yards per carry.
New offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak knows that has to change next season and he is looking to Rice to lead the change after a year further marred by a hip injury. Kubiak said he thinks you need two guys to succeed over 16 games, but left no doubt that he thinks Rice’s return to form is crucial for the Ravens.
“I think as he goes, we’ll go. Our goal is to get him going, and he’s excited to get going and put last year behind him,” Kubiak said, via the team’s website. “We’ve just got to get him going, doing what he does best, and that’s us studying him and fitting him with our system and those type of things. We’ve got to get Ray going. That’s the bottom line.”
Rice doesn’t look much like Arian Foster, who thrived in Kubiak’s offense in Houston, but Kubiak’s run offenses with a variety of different backs doing well going back to his days as the coordinator in Denver. Should that continue with Rice, the Ravens offense will be in much better shape next season.