The Baltimore Ravens kicked off the 2014 preseason as they hosted the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday night. There has been a lot of attention paid to the new zone scheme that Gary Kubiak has brought with him. The Ravens have a stable of backs to roll out in the preseason. They looked really good in their debut.
Ray Rice started things off with a six yard run on the Ravens first play from scrimmage. Rice has slimmed down and looked much lighter on his feet than last year. His appearance was brief but he made his presence felt. Rice was only in for the first series but rushed for 17 yards on three carries. Rice was pleased to get involved on the first series. “It felt good to get out there and show that I still have a burst.”
The Ravens first drive ended with a two yard touchdown run by Bernard Pierce. He spoke about what he saw develop on the touchdown run after the game: “I looked at my read, and it was sliding. I really had no choice but to get a good push and drive my feet.”
Pierce ended up with ten carries for 37 yards which isn’t that good in terms of yards per carry, but he did show flashes of why he is such a solid fit for the offense. He didn’t waste anytime picking his rushing lane and hitting it. Unfortunately, Pierce did have a fumble on one of his carries but the ball took a lucky bounce and he was able to recover it.
The best performance of the night came from rookie Lorenzo Taliaferro. He made good on the Natrone Means comparisons that he has received from some analyst. Taliaferro truly ran behind his pads as he packed a punch in between the tackles. The big back was able to follow his fullback and break tackles en route to 13 carries for 71 yards. His longest run was a 12 yard run in which his plowed his way off tackle before being taken down by 49ers safety Bubba Ventron and cornerback Darryl Morris.
All in all, the Ravens running game shined in it’s debut. The offensive line was able to get a solid push and open up holes for the running backs to punch through. The athletic unit was very solid on the move and consistently allowed the Ravens running backs to get to the second level of the 49ers defense.
The Ravens coaching staff will be cautiously optimistic knowing that they went against a 49ers defense that didn’t include Patrick Willis, Justin Smith, Aldon Smith or Ray MacDonald. The Ravens rushing offense ended up gaining a total of 237 yards against the 49ers. They averaged 4.9 yards per carry also.
An effective running game is a necessity in Kubiak’s offense. It opens up the passing game, especially the different play action plays that Kubiak will dial up. Once the running game gets going, the play fake will draw the linebackers towards the line of scrimmage which will give the Ravens receivers an advantage when running their routes right behind the linebackers. Having athletic tight ends such as Dennis Pitta and Owen Daniels will also allow them to work some tight end screens effectively.
It is safe to say that the Ravens have reasons to be optimistic about their offense after this showing. True, it’s only the preseason, but the offense looked rather sharp in their first game action with Kubiak at the controls. The next test will be in the three mixed practices that the Ravens and 49ers will have on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
