Bernard Pierce Must Prove He Can Be Trusted as Ravens Starting RB
With Ray Rice permanently removed from the Baltimore Ravens' roster, the team has a decision looming about the running back depth chart.
ESPN's Jamison Hensley (via Yahoo! Sports' Brad Evans) said on Monday that he expects seventh-year journeyman Justin Forsett to be the Ravens starter on Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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However, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said, via Hensley, on Monday night that "Bernard Pierce, Justin Forsett—they'll both play a lot. Lorenzo Taliaferro will be a big part of it, too."
That statement has all the makings of the Ravens using a running-back-by-committee approach to the position, hoping that a hot hand will emerge as not just the dominant rusher against the Steelers but also the clear-cut starter for the rest of the season.
Pierce was pegged as the Ravens starter when Rice was initially suspended for the first two weeks of the season. However, Pierce lasted only eight snaps according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required) after fumbling the football away. Pierce had six carries totaling 14 yards—a 2.3 yards-per-carry average—before sitting the rest of the contest.
The rushing duties then fell to Forsett, whose familiarity with offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak's run-blocking scheme led to a fairly productive day. Forsett had 11 carries for 70 yards and a touchdown, giving him a 6.4 yards-per-carry average.
| 2012 | 108 | 532 | 4.9 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 7 | 47 | 0 |
| 2013 | 152 | 436 | 2.9 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 20 | 104 | 0 |
| 2014 | 6 | 14 | 2.3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 266 | 982 | 3.7 | 3 | 1 | 36 | 27 | 151 | 0 |
However, the sample size was small, considering quarterback Joe Flacco attempted 62 passes in Week 1's 23-16 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. That low number of rushes plus Pierce's benchwarmer status means that Pierce does have a chance to regain the starting job with a strong performance on Thursday.
In his previous two seasons as Rice's backup, Pierce rushed 260 times for 968 yards and three touchdowns. He also had some usefulness in the passing game last season, catching 20 of 25 passes thrown his way for 104 yards. This year, Pierce was thought to have the edge over the other Ravens backs because Kubiak's system mimics the one Pierce worked in at Temple.
But with the benching, Pierce now has a lot to prove. Forsett has already shown that he can be a capable back and there's the specter of rookie Taliaferro looming. Taliaferro may have been a marginal part of the team's Week 1 game with one passing target, no receptions and no carries, but he had a very strong preseason.
Taliaferro had 65 rushes for 243 yards and a touchdown. He's a big, bruising back—Pro Football Focus has him down for 136 yards gained after contact this summer—and in a fluid backfield, he can certainly surpass Pierce and Forsett, adding a physical dimension to the run game the two veterans cannot.
Pierce has already proved unreliable, based on his benching. Forsett has just seven starts in his career, the most recent being four years ago. The door is open to the rookie.
Pierce's career 3.7 yards-per-carry average is misleading, because it is skewed by his 2012 season in which he ran 108 times for 538 yards, giving him an average of 4.9 yards.
His baseline might be more in line with his 2013, with a 2.9 average. That kind of yards-per-carry average isn't going to help the Ravens move the chains or take the pressure off of Flacco, who simply cannot be throwing 60-plus times per game.
What works in Pierce's favor this week is the Steelers defense. At home, against the Cleveland Browns, the Steelers allowed 183 rushing yards on 30 attempts—a 6.1-yard average rush—as well as two rushing touchdowns.
This bottom-six rushing defense will have to try to stop the Ravens in Baltimore on Thursday night. The opportunity for Pierce to redeem himself in the eyes of Harbaugh and Kubiak is there.
Should Pierce squander that opportunity, as he did in Week 1, then his involvement in the running back rotation will be sharply on the decline. The Ravens struggled to run the ball last year, which contributed to the team's 8-8 finish.
Though the offensive line was mostly to blame for that outcome, any problems running the ball this year could easily lead to the same outcome. Clearly the Ravens do not have patience for mistakes or slow starts based on the decisions they made in Week 1.
With Pierce benched after a mere six carries, Week 2 might be his final chance to prove he can reliably shoulder the run game's load this year. Pierce's leash is short and Forsett and Taliaferro are breathing down his neck, waiting for the chance to be named the Ravens' true starting running back.
One more mistake—a fumble, a botched blitz pickup, a dropped pass—could throw Pierce to No. 3 on the depth chart, forgotten while others carry the football and the trust of the coaches.
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