Ravens Better Equipped to Survive Dennis Pitta's Absence This Year

The Baltimore Ravens escaped Cleveland with a win over the Browns on Sunday, but they didn't emerge from the contest unscathed.

Ravens tight end Dennis Pitta was carted off the field and taken to a Cleveland hospital for examination. The Baltimore Sun's Aaron Wilson is reporting that Pitta has a dislocated right hip. Pitta dislocated and fractured the same hip in training camp in 2013, keeping him off the field until late in the season. 

ESPN's Jamison Hensley and Adam Schefter reported on Monday that further tests are required to determine whether Pitta's hip is also fractured, an injury that would be sure to end his season yet again. But unlike last year, if Pitta is sidelined for the rest of the season, it won't doom Baltimore's offense in the same way.

In 2013, Pitta was set to be the centerpiece of Baltimore's passing offense. Pitta, quarterback Joe Flacco's close friend, was to be the Ravens' primary receiving tight end as well as a physical, over-the-middle presence, replacing departed wide receiver Anquan Boldin.

However, all of that fell apart with Pitta's injury. And the rest of the offense suffered—not just because of his absence, but because of an overall lack of playmakers in the passing game and a complete lack of a run game.

Year	Tgts.	Rec.	Rec.%	Yds.	TD
2010	5	1	20.0%	1	0
2011	56	40	71.4%	405	3
2012	93	61	65.6%	669	7
2013	33	20	60.6%	169	1
2014	21	16	76.2%	125	0
Total	209	138	66.0%	1,369	11

Pitta appeared in just four games last season after his injury, catching 20 passes on 33 targets for 169 yards and one touchdown. Without him, the Ravens were led by receiver Torrey Smith, who caught fewer than half of his 139 targets, but who did have 1,128 yards and four touchdowns. The Ravens' next-leading receiver was the undrafted Marlon Brown, who had Smith's yardage by half but seven touchdowns.

It was a mash-up of young, inexperienced receivers, the deep-threat Smith, free-agent tight end Dallas Clark and a run game that produced a franchise-worst 1,328 yards. The void left by Pitta was palpable every week he missed.

This year, things are different. While the Ravens offense would certainly be better off with Flacco's most trustworthy tight end, the receiving corps isn't a cobbled-together mess. And the run game is also producing far better results than a year prior. The Ravens can weather the Pitta-less storm much better. 

Player	Tgts.	Rec.	Rec.%	YPR	Yds.	TD
Smith Sr.	31	18	58.1%	16.1	290	1
Daniels	12	10	83.3%	7.0	70	2

There are two players who can pick up Pitta's slack in the passing game: Steve Smith Sr. and Owen Daniels. Already, both have made an impact. 

Smith Sr. came to the Ravens after 13 seasons with the Carolina Panthers. However, the 35-year old is nowhere close to calling it a career. Currently, he leads the Ravens in targets, receptions and yards, with 31 passes thrown his way, 18 receptions and 290 yards. He is averaging 16.1 yards per catch, has 58 yards after the catch and one touchdown.

Daniels, who spent eight years with the Houston Texans alongside new Ravens offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak, is a system-friendly tight end. Daniels has caught 10 passes on 12 targets—a catch rate of 83.3 percent—for 70 yards and two touchdowns.

He seems the most logical, immediate beneficiary of Pitta's absence. And though Daniels' reception sample size is small, he also appears to be reliable, which is the one trait the Ravens lacked in their Pitta-less passing game last season. 

What also helps is the run game. Last year, the Ravens averaged only 3.1 yards per rush on a combined 423 rushing attempts. Flacco, without the aid of Pitta, was forced to carry the offense. This year, the Ravens can run the ball, which means that the pressure on Flacco and his need to have Pitta around to bail him out is decreased.

Currently, Baltimore's per-rush average is up significantly from last year, at 4.6. That's thanks to an improved offensive line and a trio of running backs more capable of running Kubiak's zone-blocking style of running.

The Ravens' rushing leader is not even on the top of the running back depth chart—Justin Forsett. He has 30 carries on the season thus far, for 189 yards and a touchdown, and is averaging 6.3 yards per carry.

Player	Atts.	Yds.	YPC	TD
Forsett	30	189	6.3	1
Taliaferro	18	91	5.1	1
Pierce	28	113	4.0	0

Forsett is traditionally a third-down back, but that fact also helps Flacco in the passing game: Forsett already has 13 receptions on 15 targets for 32 yards, and Pitta's injury likely means that more passes will be thrown his way as the season wears on.

The starter, at least at present, is Bernard Pierce. Pierce missed the game against the Browns with a thigh injury. Through the first two games, Pierce had 28 rushes for 113 yards, no touchdowns and a 4.0 yards-per-carry average. 

The intrigue comes in with rookie back Lorenzo Taliaferro, who saw his first in-game action on Sunday with Pierce out. Taliaferro rushed 18 times for 91 yards and a touchdown and averaged 5.1 yards per carry. However, if there's a running back depth chart controversy looming for the Ravens, that's a good sign for the offense as a whole.

All three backs are running well, averaging well above the 3.1 yards per carry the Ravens did in 2013. The better the run game, the less reliant the Ravens must be on Flacco, which means the less Flacco and the Ravens offense will miss Pitta.

And when Flacco is throwing the football, finding reliable hands to catch it won't be as troublesome as last year. The Ravens did not have a sufficient backup plan in place when Pitta injured his hip last summer, but they do now, even if it did not take form with the potential of another Pitta injury in mind.

The offense does take a hit without Pitta on the field, but it's not the mortal wound it was a year ago. Currently, the Ravens have an offense with far more depth and talent at skill positions. Pitta's absence stings just a little less 12 months later.