It’s no secret the Baltimore Ravens went through hard times just one season after being crowned champions of the world. In particular, the Ravens’ stellar rushing attack regressed dramatically in the 2013 season, ranking 30th in the league with 1,328 rushing yards and 3.1 yards per carry: a league worst.
Considering the amount of talent the Ravens have in their possession, this came as a shock to many people. The Ravens’ talents include 2nd year back up running back Bernard Pierce, trusted fullback Vonta Leach, and 3-time Pro Bowl running back Ray Rice.
There are, of course, many factors that could play into why the Baltimore Ravens running game was so bad. Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce both dealt with injuries throughout the season. Rice played most of 2013 with a bad hip. Pierce dealt with various shoulder, knee, hamstring and toe injuries, eventually having surgery for a torn rotator cuff. In addition, the offensive line was flat out awful, consistently missing blocks and letting defenders get past them to break up the play. Finally, there was the very bland, predictable and one dimensional play-calling by offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell. Game after game, many fans and fantasy football owners became more enraged when the Ravens highly talented offense repeatedly fell flat on its face.
When the Ravens missed the playoffs for the first time since John Harbaugh took over as Head Coach in 2008, everyone inside and out of the Ravens front office knew there were changes that had to be made. One of the first changes was letting go of running back’s coach Wilbert Montgomery, who had been with the team since 2008. The Ravens stayed quiet until mid-January when Jim Caldwell took the vacant Detroit Lions coaching job, and left the Ravens with even more decisions to make regarding how their team would look in 2014.
After a very thorough search, the Ravens eventually landed former Houston Texans head coach Gary Kubiak as their new offensive coordinator. Kubiak was the offensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos for 11 seasons before coaching Houston, implementing a zone blocking scheme that has proved to be successful, particularly for both Terrell Davis in Denver and Arian Foster in Houston. In addition to the hiring of Kubiak, the Ravens also brought on Thomas Hammock, a very successful running back coach for the Wisconsin Badgers who was very highly recommended to Baltimore.
The question still remains: Will Baltimore’s entire offense be able to improve upon an abysmal 2013 season? What is going to be done about the offensive line? So far it seems like they’re making all the right moves to do so. It is still early in the offseason however, and there are plenty of other issues that still need to be addressed. Offensive tackles Eugene Monroe and Michael Oher are both set to become free agents, and a need for a strong veteran presence at center is very apparent. Still, if history proves to be accurate, if there’s one team that is always up to the task of making something out of nothing, it would certainly be the Baltimore Ravens.