Ravens leave selves in tough spot with poor backfield plan
have a major impact, but everyone knows that Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is the checkdown king. During the Ravens’ first series against the Bengals he completed passes of 12, 13 and 8 yards to Woodhead, who added a 4-yard run before he was injured.
Now, who is going to be Flacco’s security blanket?
Two of the former titleholders are gone. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk is with the San Francisco 49ers and former tight end Dennis Pitta is in semiretirement.
Actually, the Ravens put themselves in this situation. They knew Woodhead’s history before signing him during the offseason. He had missed 27 games because of injuries during the previous three years and missed most of last season with a torn ACL in Week 2.
What they needed was a security blanket for the new security blanket. They had one in Taquan Mizzell, a rookie running back out of Virginia, but they cut him at the end of the preseason.
Big mistake. Mizzell, now with the Chicago Bears, was the only change-ofpace runner on the roster. Not only was he confident running inside and fast enough to get to the perimeter, but he also had good hands.
But instead of keeping Mizzell, the Ravens chose to keep eight defensive linemen and seven key performers for special teams. Mizzell would have been a better option.
Allen has decent hands and could become the third-down back, but he and West struggle in pass protection. The Ravens could insert wide receiver Michael Campanaro into the backfield, which would present matchup problems, but he, too, would be a liability in pass protection.
Both tight ends, Nick Boyle and Benjamin Watson, could double at fullback/Hback, but the speed wouldn’t be there. Coach John Harbaugh is keeping all options open.
“We just have to see how Harbaugh said.
Woodhead didn’t play much in the preseason, but it was easy to see how the Ravens planned to use the trio of running backs. It’s a well-schemed running game built around taking advantage of angle blocking for offensive linemen.
West is a free agent after this season, so he is playing for a new contract. He has made adjustments in his running style from trying to jump outside too quickly to staying inside and becoming more of a north-south runner. He runs with power and last week in the fourth quarter got 2 or 3 more yards per carry simply on good body lean.
Allen is on a redemption mission. He disappeared from the playing field a year ago as the No. 3 runner behind West and Kenneth Dixon. As a rookie in 2015 he rushed for 514 yards on 137 carries, but last season had only nine carries for 34 yards.
The missing piece, though, is a replacement for Woodhead.
It might not be a problem now, but it could become one in the future. Until the Ravens find someone, they have to squeeze everyone in the backfield a little bit harder for more production. it goes,”