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2024 Outlook for Ravens RBs - The King Henry era is here! (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Faust
- Start date
Long Ball Larry
Footballguy
So cut him in re-draft, everyone thinks?
AngryPatriot
Footballguy
suspended indefinitely
McGarnicle
Footballguy
####.
I hate fantasy football.
I hate fantasy football.
GeorgeCostanza
Footballguy
pierce is a hold for at least another week. didnt see anything worth dropping him for at RB in week 1 unless you're going to gamble on the west/crowell committee
pollardsvision
Footballguy
I'd hold Pierce, Forsett, and Taliaferro too, depending on the size of the league. I'd assume it's a competition now. Who knows how it shakes out.
cr8f
Footballguy
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
Maybe Forsett compares with Steve Slaton.
On the other hand, I wonder of they don't trade for a RB.
For teams that might not be worried about the next 2-3 weeks, but rather are looking for the player who might be the guy to emerge that starts 8+ games to finish the year, what's the play here? Looking for some possible inisght from homers or people who have followed this backfield much more closely than me.
- Justin Forsett looked good after Pierce was benched in week 1, but has physical limitations and the Kubiak running system is capable of making mediocre players look sharp.
- Lorenzo Taliaferro was drafted by the Ravens, but I have seen very little of him and other than his pedestrian 3.7 preseason YPC average, don't know much
- Bernard Pierce struggled mightily in 2013 and proceeded to get benched in week 1 after only six carries due to his first career fumble . He looked very good during his rookie season in 2012, but was a train wreck last season, although he would be far from the first player to have a season sabatoged by a team in dissaray that plays far below expectations, which I believe happened to the Ravens in 2013.
Is Justin Forsett a short term stopgap for a few weeks or is he capable of taking the job and running with it? IS Taliaferro capable of working his way into the lineup and then running with the job, Zac Stacy style, or is he a "JAG"? Which is the real Pierce, the 2012 version or the 2013 version and why would Harbaugh/Kubiak bench him so swiftly afer his first career fumble in what is now his 3rd season? Heck, is the Ravens 2015 running back even on their roster?
Which of these guys should be the play from a waiver wire perspective, looking more for week 4 to the end of the season and beyond? Are any of them worth more of a waiver wire bid than the other likely hot week 2 waiver wire options (Crowell, Hester, Quick, etc...)? Very hard to get a feel for this situation, as to me, it FEELS like Pierce is the most talented but doesn't have the coaching staff's faith (which is a huge deal in a Kubiak offense), Forsett looks decent but has had many years in the league to prove he really isn't a lead back for more than a short timeframe, and Taliaferro is an unknown who had a mediocre preseason but the team traded up to acquire him in the draft. Does all this add up to RBBC hell for the duration of the season and the answer is to use your waiver priorities elswhere this week or do people with more insight feel strongly one of these 3 will emerge as the season progresses?
- Justin Forsett looked good after Pierce was benched in week 1, but has physical limitations and the Kubiak running system is capable of making mediocre players look sharp.
- Lorenzo Taliaferro was drafted by the Ravens, but I have seen very little of him and other than his pedestrian 3.7 preseason YPC average, don't know much
- Bernard Pierce struggled mightily in 2013 and proceeded to get benched in week 1 after only six carries due to his first career fumble . He looked very good during his rookie season in 2012, but was a train wreck last season, although he would be far from the first player to have a season sabatoged by a team in dissaray that plays far below expectations, which I believe happened to the Ravens in 2013.
Is Justin Forsett a short term stopgap for a few weeks or is he capable of taking the job and running with it? IS Taliaferro capable of working his way into the lineup and then running with the job, Zac Stacy style, or is he a "JAG"? Which is the real Pierce, the 2012 version or the 2013 version and why would Harbaugh/Kubiak bench him so swiftly afer his first career fumble in what is now his 3rd season? Heck, is the Ravens 2015 running back even on their roster?
Which of these guys should be the play from a waiver wire perspective, looking more for week 4 to the end of the season and beyond? Are any of them worth more of a waiver wire bid than the other likely hot week 2 waiver wire options (Crowell, Hester, Quick, etc...)? Very hard to get a feel for this situation, as to me, it FEELS like Pierce is the most talented but doesn't have the coaching staff's faith (which is a huge deal in a Kubiak offense), Forsett looks decent but has had many years in the league to prove he really isn't a lead back for more than a short timeframe, and Taliaferro is an unknown who had a mediocre preseason but the team traded up to acquire him in the draft. Does all this add up to RBBC hell for the duration of the season and the answer is to use your waiver priorities elswhere this week or do people with more insight feel strongly one of these 3 will emerge as the season progresses?
In case there was any doubt, it is a full blown (and probably wide open) committee in Balt.
Ravens expect to look to entire running back group against Steelers
By Jon Meoli, The Baltimore Sun
10:12 PM EDT, September 9, 2014
A day after running back Ray Rice's contract was terminated, Ravens coach John Harbaugh reaffirmed his belief in Bernard Pierce, who didn't touch the ball after fumbling on his sixth carry in Sunday's season opener.
"Bernard has been very good. He has a great attitude, good demeanor," Harbaugh said. "You don't lose faith in a player because of a bad play. Bernard is still on his way to becoming, I would say, a very good player, and I've been saying that all along.
"I have the utmost confidence in him. … He's not going to be perfect — none of us are — but Bernard Pierce is a big part of what we're doing, just as are Justin [Forsett and] Lorenzo [Taliaferro]."
The group was initially expected to carry the team through a 12-day, two-game stretch during Rice's initial suspension for domestic violence. But Rice's release left them as the only active running backs on a team whose offensive overhaul centered on a strong running game.
Pierce spent two years behind Rice, and entered his third season as the starter with 968 yards and three touchdowns in two seasons. He had just six carries in Sunday's 23-16 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals and amassed 14 yards rushing before he fumbled to give the Bengals the ball at the Ravens' 23-yard line.
Harbaugh said Sunday that it wasn't a health issue that caused the second-quarter fumble to be Pierce's last carry of the game, and stressed how the coaching staff is "not too enamored with fumbles."
The coach clarified Tuesday that "there was no talk about sitting Bernard down during the game."
"It's just [that] Justin was rolling," Harbaugh said. "He was making good decisions, he was picking up pass protection. We had confidence in him at that time more so than the other running backs."
Forsett finished with 70 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries, with 63 yards coming in the second half. He also caught five passes for 14 yards, and said Monday that he was ready for the increased role after playing an unexpectedly big part in the second-half comeback.
"I'm ready to seize the moment," Forsett said. "My job is to go out and perform when my number is called. I'm excited about the opportunity… and hopefully [there will] be some great things to come on Thursday night."
Pierce did not speak to the media Monday or Tuesday, but said Sunday that Harbaugh addressed the fumble with him during the game.
"He just said, 'Being a running back in this league, if you're trying to stay in this league, you can't fumble the ball.' " Pierce said. "And I agree with him 100 percent."
Harbaugh said Monday that Pierce and Forsett will play a lot against Pittsburgh, and added Tuesday that he would let whoever is playing best dictate who gets the carries.
"It's always been that way," Harbaugh said. "You go with guys that are making plays at those positions. … You go with the guys who are playing the best at the time, but probably more so at running back than any position, when you have a number of guys kind of in the same spot."
Taliaferro, who was on the field for three pass plays Sunday and didn't have a carry, said he doesn't know what his role is going to be with Rice gone. He said the feeling in the running back room hadn't changed much since Rice's release.
"We're all still just competing and trying to get each other better," Taliaferro said. "Things are going to be different, but it's all about the team."
Fullback Kyle Juszczyk said all three running backs have enjoyed "a ton of reps" in the preseason and during regular season practices. He believes a renewed commitment to the running game would spark its success.
"From Day 1, Coach Kubiak talked about running the football and being a more physically team and having that be our mentality and identity," Juszczyk said. "I think you'll see more of that going forward."
Throughout the offseason, offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak and the team's skill players spoke of an offense that would rely on the ground game, and use play-action fakes to pick up big plays through the air.
That played out in the preseason, when the team rushed 156 times for a league-high 684 yards in four games. But the Ravens' running backs had 17 carries, and quarterback Joe Flacco dropped back to pass 62 times.
"I think last week, obviously, wasn't a great example of what we're necessarily going to be doing all year," Flacco said. "It kind of got away from us a little bit, but we have total confidence in our running backs and in our line, pushing people around and opening up lanes for those guys."
The quarterback echoed Harbaugh in his support of the team's running back corps without Rice, and the running game's development.
"You saw what Justin is going to be able to do for us," Flacco said. "You've seen what Bernard can do for us in the past. We have some young guys, we have Lorenzo. We're going to be great, and our line is playing physical and getting better and better. I think that we're really working on a great thing, and working on being really good."
Juszczyk said the running back group believes it can produce against a Steelers defense that allowed 183 yards on 30 carries in Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said that performance means they "have respect for anybody's ability to run the football."
"We think we can do the same thing," Juszczyk said. "All those guys are going to step up. It's a big opportunity that's in front of them. They're the right guys for the job."
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bs-sp-ravens-steelers-0910-20140909,0,5458992.story
Ravens expect to look to entire running back group against Steelers
By Jon Meoli, The Baltimore Sun
10:12 PM EDT, September 9, 2014
A day after running back Ray Rice's contract was terminated, Ravens coach John Harbaugh reaffirmed his belief in Bernard Pierce, who didn't touch the ball after fumbling on his sixth carry in Sunday's season opener.
"Bernard has been very good. He has a great attitude, good demeanor," Harbaugh said. "You don't lose faith in a player because of a bad play. Bernard is still on his way to becoming, I would say, a very good player, and I've been saying that all along.
"I have the utmost confidence in him. … He's not going to be perfect — none of us are — but Bernard Pierce is a big part of what we're doing, just as are Justin [Forsett and] Lorenzo [Taliaferro]."
The group was initially expected to carry the team through a 12-day, two-game stretch during Rice's initial suspension for domestic violence. But Rice's release left them as the only active running backs on a team whose offensive overhaul centered on a strong running game.
Pierce spent two years behind Rice, and entered his third season as the starter with 968 yards and three touchdowns in two seasons. He had just six carries in Sunday's 23-16 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals and amassed 14 yards rushing before he fumbled to give the Bengals the ball at the Ravens' 23-yard line.
Harbaugh said Sunday that it wasn't a health issue that caused the second-quarter fumble to be Pierce's last carry of the game, and stressed how the coaching staff is "not too enamored with fumbles."
The coach clarified Tuesday that "there was no talk about sitting Bernard down during the game."
"It's just [that] Justin was rolling," Harbaugh said. "He was making good decisions, he was picking up pass protection. We had confidence in him at that time more so than the other running backs."
Forsett finished with 70 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries, with 63 yards coming in the second half. He also caught five passes for 14 yards, and said Monday that he was ready for the increased role after playing an unexpectedly big part in the second-half comeback.
"I'm ready to seize the moment," Forsett said. "My job is to go out and perform when my number is called. I'm excited about the opportunity… and hopefully [there will] be some great things to come on Thursday night."
Pierce did not speak to the media Monday or Tuesday, but said Sunday that Harbaugh addressed the fumble with him during the game.
"He just said, 'Being a running back in this league, if you're trying to stay in this league, you can't fumble the ball.' " Pierce said. "And I agree with him 100 percent."
Harbaugh said Monday that Pierce and Forsett will play a lot against Pittsburgh, and added Tuesday that he would let whoever is playing best dictate who gets the carries.
"It's always been that way," Harbaugh said. "You go with guys that are making plays at those positions. … You go with the guys who are playing the best at the time, but probably more so at running back than any position, when you have a number of guys kind of in the same spot."
Taliaferro, who was on the field for three pass plays Sunday and didn't have a carry, said he doesn't know what his role is going to be with Rice gone. He said the feeling in the running back room hadn't changed much since Rice's release.
"We're all still just competing and trying to get each other better," Taliaferro said. "Things are going to be different, but it's all about the team."
Fullback Kyle Juszczyk said all three running backs have enjoyed "a ton of reps" in the preseason and during regular season practices. He believes a renewed commitment to the running game would spark its success.
"From Day 1, Coach Kubiak talked about running the football and being a more physically team and having that be our mentality and identity," Juszczyk said. "I think you'll see more of that going forward."
Throughout the offseason, offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak and the team's skill players spoke of an offense that would rely on the ground game, and use play-action fakes to pick up big plays through the air.
That played out in the preseason, when the team rushed 156 times for a league-high 684 yards in four games. But the Ravens' running backs had 17 carries, and quarterback Joe Flacco dropped back to pass 62 times.
"I think last week, obviously, wasn't a great example of what we're necessarily going to be doing all year," Flacco said. "It kind of got away from us a little bit, but we have total confidence in our running backs and in our line, pushing people around and opening up lanes for those guys."
The quarterback echoed Harbaugh in his support of the team's running back corps without Rice, and the running game's development.
"You saw what Justin is going to be able to do for us," Flacco said. "You've seen what Bernard can do for us in the past. We have some young guys, we have Lorenzo. We're going to be great, and our line is playing physical and getting better and better. I think that we're really working on a great thing, and working on being really good."
Juszczyk said the running back group believes it can produce against a Steelers defense that allowed 183 yards on 30 carries in Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said that performance means they "have respect for anybody's ability to run the football."
"We think we can do the same thing," Juszczyk said. "All those guys are going to step up. It's a big opportunity that's in front of them. They're the right guys for the job."
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bs-sp-ravens-steelers-0910-20140909,0,5458992.story
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cstu
Footballguy
Faust
MVP
John Harbaugh will go with hottest back:
http://espn.go.com/blog/baltimore-ravens/post/_/id/13113/john-harbaugh-will-go-with-hottest-back
http://espn.go.com/blog/baltimore-ravens/post/_/id/13113/john-harbaugh-will-go-with-hottest-back
just_want_2_win
Footballguy
Ghost Rider
Footballguy
Forsett still looked better overall.
Forsett: 6 yards per touch
Pierce: 4.5 yards per touch
Forsett: 6 yards per touch
Pierce: 4.5 yards per touch
FreeBaGeL
Footballguy
He looked horrible for 3 quarters and turned things around with a nice 4th.
That run where he got stood up on the 2 yard line was really bad. He had a full head of steam running at a guy who was at a stop and weighed 30lbs less and couldn't even move him an inch.
huh? pierce was awful. 24 of his yards came on his last 2 carries with under 2min left when the defense had clearly given up. before that he was 20 for 72 and hadnt made a single defender miss, broke a single tackle, or even made the pile move. and this is actually a great sign for pierce owners. it shows that no matter how horrendous he is, as long as he doesnt fumble, he will get most of the workload and have opportunities. and even better he will play deep into garbage time when a better back would be benched for health reasons.
SameSongNDance
Footballguy
Pierce looked bad and there's no real way around it. His vision was bad as he ran into his OL all night and he played a lot lighter than his 230lb frame would suggest (4 carries inside PIT 5 yard line, stood up on each one). The fact that they gave up on running him in the RZ towards the end of the game and instead decided to run two consecutive QB sneaks with Flacco speaks volumes. He showed flashes of what we saw during his rookie season when the holes were large enough, but a majority of it looked like the same crap we saw last year. I don't know how any owner who watched tonight's game could come out of it feeling confident going forward. You're going to need BAL to go up multiple scores and the opposing defense to throw in the flag in the second half of each game for Pierce to replicate tonight's production. Hope that your fellow league mates didn't watch tonight's game and ship him asap.
FreeBaGeL
Footballguy
I thought both looked bad. But at least Forsett made a nice move and made a guy miss on his long run.
Jerry Curl
Footballguy
Wadsworth
Footballguy
I saw a RB get the ball 23 times, go over 100 yards and a team win by 20. Say what you want about how he looked, but it seems pretty clear that Pierce is going to have plenty of opportunity. He did not look good, so what? He is a guy most people drafted as a back up that has a chance at putting up RB2 numbers for this point forward.
ILUVBEER99
Footballguy
plus he got 4 carries inside the 5. granted he failed miserably but eventually he'll fall into the end zone if he's getting the ball on the goal-line.
FreeBaGeL
Footballguy
I'm assuming that people care because if he doesn't start looking good with those touches then he's not going to keep getting them. This also might be the best rushing match-up he has all year as every RB the Browns could trot out last week against Pitt looked like a perennial all-around.
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LargeMouthBass
Footballguy
Pierce looked bad and he almost had 100 yards rushing. Just imagine if he has a good game.
All the ones complaining about Pierce are the ones that have Forsett or Taliaferro.
All the ones complaining about Pierce are the ones that have Forsett or Taliaferro.
Andrew74
Footballguy
Lot of butt hurt in here. But I'm still going to see if I can pawn Pierce off on someone.
rjv
Footballguy
Rick James
Footballguy
I was shocked with Pierce's really poor vision. He could have moon-walked into the endzone on one of his GL carries if he had just cut to the right where this massive hole was. Instead he plowed right into the back of his line. This happened a couple times.
Sabertooth
Footballguy
This kind of hyperbole really limits my ability to take you seriously. Didn't break a single tackle? Not even one?
FreeBaGeL
Footballguy
Problem is, the last time Pierce had a good game Eli Manning was still considered a top quarterback. It's been that long.
This bad game came against a horrid run D and was actually Pierce's 2nd best game from a ypc standpoint in his last 20 tries.
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Kitrick Taylor
Footballguy
Ray Rice had 1 game with over 75 rushing yards last year. ONE! Fact of the matter is, Baltimore had significant issues on offense last year. Specifically their Oline. Blaming Bernard Pierce for not having a great game last year is not good analysis.
Bernard Pierce got the ball 6 times last week before getting benched for his fumble. This is a new offensive system, with a new offensive line. Last night was really the first time he got a chance to get into the groove of a game. He probably missed some reads. He didn't look fantastic. I don't think its very smart to judge what he can be based off this one game. I just think his comfort level in this offense needs to grow. Same thing with his oline. The Ravens Oline should not be confused with the one the Browns field. The Ravens ran the ball a ton inside the 5 last night and got stuffed repeatedly. Didn't matter if it was Bernard Pierce, Justin Forsett or Joe Flacco running the ball. I think after last weeks debacle in their rush defense, the Steelers committed themselves to not letting that happen to them again. So they threw more bodies at it.
I'm not here trying to say that Bernard Pierce is going to be the next great RB. I just think selling him short based on his first 28 carries in a new system is foolish. He's won the starting job, and given health, will likely be a solid RB2 this season.
Kitrick Taylor
Footballguy
Pierce is 215 this year, and Forsett and Flacco didn't have any better luck running inside the 5. Steelers completely sold out to stop the run down there. Its why Daniels was so wide open for both those TDs.
Van Dyman
Footballguy
That's what I'm thinking. Might also try to maximize Pierce's trade value by targeting a league mate whose "zero RB" draft (is that what we're calling it this year?) is killing him early.
Gopher State
Footballguy
Pierce averaged 4.4 yard per rush last night, He have value going forward as a #2RB
KellysHeroes
Footballguy
Pierce was the clear starter
He gained most of his yards after the game was over and the Steelers D was extremely uninspired. I think he had 11 for 39 in the first half, when it was still a ball game.
Bad vision, lack of burst, not much power. I know any RB getting 15+ touches is probably worth the start, but I'd put him at the bottom of that list along side a guy like Shonn Greene. RB3/Flex at best.
FreeBaGeL
Footballguy
At least one of Pierce's runs down there should have been an easy touchdown. The one where Polamalu, who Pierce has 25 lbs on, stood Pierce up at the two despite Pierce having a full head of steam going forward while Polamalu was initiating the contact from a dead stop. It was really, really bad that a 230lb RB with a full head of steam couldn't even make a safety, albeit a good one, budge an inch despite him having every advantage on the play.
To be clear, in last week's buy low/sell high thread I said that Pierce was the #1 buy low candidate out there due to the combination of Rice being cut at the same time he was "benched" for an issue that wasn't going to affect his playing time going forward. However, I hadn't watched him actually run in a while and if this was one of his "good" games, I'm not impressed. He has some value if he can keep getting 20+ carries a game and spring a couple, but I'm not counting on either the Ravens' putrid offense providing them with many more leads to protect nor with his ability to hold onto the job. He's just not a very good running back. He had a couple of nice games in Cam Cameron's super RB friendly system several years ago that, quite frankly, can make anyone look good. That's it. Even worse, he's an extreme risk to play every week because the Ravens aren't going to be putting up many points and if they fall behind it will likely be all Forsett to go with the passing game.
Crusaderfan
Footballguy
I think a lot of people that are putting Pierce down are Forsett owners that don't want to admit that Forsett's role here appears to be as a 3rd down/change of pace RB. After last night, I don't see that changing real soon. Yeah - Pierce's best action came late in the game - probably just the way they hoped it would. Running down the clock.
Pierce didn't show "flash" but he was fearless running in between the tackles and he certainly looked durable, which means I'm keeping him for now. He's also the clear goal line back, despite not being able to punch it in last night. I'd still start him over Trent Richardson, Chris Ivory, Darren Sproles, Joique Bell, to name a few. He's in the Flex discussion for me, and may become quite valuable later in the season when the fragile backs start to go down with injuries.
EDIT: I should mention that the Ravens' O-Line was getting almost no push. Any running back will struggle when the opposing Line dominates. We all saw Eddie Lacy against Seattle. For the Ravens, even an average D Line will make it feel like they're playing against all-stars, and god forbid they ever play a real D Line, but they're going to get crushed. I'm actually impressed that Pierce got more than 2 YPC given the O Line play.
EDIT: I should mention that the Ravens' O-Line was getting almost no push. Any running back will struggle when the opposing Line dominates. We all saw Eddie Lacy against Seattle. For the Ravens, even an average D Line will make it feel like they're playing against all-stars, and god forbid they ever play a real D Line, but they're going to get crushed. I'm actually impressed that Pierce got more than 2 YPC given the O Line play.
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SameSongNDance
Footballguy
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cstu
Footballguy
I just finished watching the whole game on Game Rewind and didn't see any goal line play where Pierce could have scored. Polumalu was not standing still and had about 4 yards to move toward Pierce - besides he's one of the best to ever play.
After watching all his plays I came away more impressed with Pierce.
cstu
Footballguy
Kitrick Taylor
Footballguy
Pierce is 215 not 230. So he's got 10 lbs on Polamalu who is a HOFer.
Kubiaks system has made an awful lot of RBs into highly successful fantasy options. This was game 2 into its implementation.
I think like most things around here, Pierce isn't nearly as bad as some would have you believe, nor is he probably as good as his rookie numbers looked.
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