The 2013 Ravens rushing attack as a whole was atrocious, but the main factor to the struggles was the offensive line. Baltimore had lost center Matt Birk to retirement, which left the awful Gino Gradkowski at center. Roughly half way through the year, Kelechi Osemele went down with an injury and missed the rest of the year. Of course, A.Q. Shipley, Osemele’s replacement, was horrid. On top of that, Michael Oher was a revolving door and Marshall Yanda had the worst year of his career. Then again, the individual play of the running back is key as well.

Despite how productive Ray Rice has been in previous years, his 2013 season was a mess. To be fair, Rice was battling a hip injury, but it also seems as if the high volume of touches (1,109 carries and 278 receptions from 2009 to 2012) has taken a toll on Rice’s small frame. The 2013 version of Rice was slower, less agile, and less decisive. It is a shame that Rice’s best years are already behind him at 27 years old, but it is time for him to be removed from a serious role.

With that said, Baltimore’s next best option is Bernard Pierce. The third year running back had an impressive rookie season, but his 2013 campaign was a let down. Pierce ran for under three yards per carry and only scored twice. Although, like Rice, Pierce was battling injury. Pierce had hamstring issues for a chunk of the season. Pierce too looked slower and less laterally quick than he had before. Granted, Pierce’s injury was less hindering.

More of Pierce’s struggles rooted from the offensive line deficiencies and the bland play calling. It was often evident when Baltimore was geared to run the ball and seldom did they try anything outside the box, both literally and metaphorically. If the call was something other than a dive through the A gap, it felt like seeing a double rainbow. Furthermore, on virtually every running play, one of Baltimore’s linemen let a defender into the backfield. As if that alone was not an issue, it was often Gradkowski who was at fault and, as a center, he is one of two linemen that make up the A gap. In a sense, the rushing offense was meant to fail no matter who was to be handed the ball.

Thankfully, Ozzie Newsome made it a priority to fix the rushing offense. The additions of Gary Kubiak (offensive coordinator), Jeremy Zuttah (center), and Owen Daniels (tight end), as well as the return of Osemele, will make the offense function more smoothly. Not only will the offensive line play be improved, but Kubiak’s zone system will make blocking and running simpler for the players, yet still effective. Pierce fits the mold as a downhill runner in Kubiak’s system. Thinking less and focusing only on the defender in front of him will allow Pierce to run more efficiently. With all the improvements and Pierce reportedly being healthy, how many carries should Pierce see?

A healthy Pierce has No.1 running back capabilities, but he should not be depended on too heavily. Over Rice’s prime four years, he averaged 277 carries per year. Pierce should not see quite that many touches. More ideally, Peirce sees 220 carries or so, Rice sees roughly 115 carries, and rookie Lorenzo Taliaferro gets the remainder of the carries, which is likely to be less than 100. That said, Rice, even in his decline, is still the most useful third down running back. Rice's pending suspension would obviously change everything, but for now, it will be assumed that he remains eligible. Pierce will see more carries than any of the other running backs on the team, but to say that he will “shoulder the load” and produce a majority of the team’s rushing yards is extreme.