The Ravens by no means discovered their backfield final season.
It’s a wierd factor to say a couple of crew that completed third within the league in dashing, however Greg Roman’s offense, with Lamar Jackson at its heart, is designed to provide a crushing benefit on the bottom. We noticed this in 2019 and 2020, not a lot in 2021 after the crew’s high two working backs, J.Okay. Dobbins and Gus Edwards, tore ACLs earlier than the primary snap of the common season.
The names of those that stuffed in, Devonta Freeman, Latavius Murray, Le’Veon Bell, have been acquainted to NFL followers, however the gamers had pale from peak kind. Gone have been a lot of the explosive, double-digit positive factors that appeared routine with Dobbins and Edwards toting the ball.
The Ravens anticipated a return to kind in 2022 with Dobbins and Edwards rehabilitating their knee accidents. They obtained a dose of fine information Monday when Dobbins returned to observe for the primary time in nearly a 12 months, however coaches have no idea if he’ll instantly resemble the again who averaged 6 yards per carry as a rookie. Edwards stays on the bodily unable to carry out checklist.
That means the Ravens are once more auditioning a pool of prospects and rebound candidates who might need to fill the breach behind Jackson within the early weeks of the season. These embrace Mike Davis, a part-time starter for the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons the final two seasons; Corey Clement, a former backup for the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys; Justice Hill, a fourth-round Ravens choose in 2019 who tore his Achilles final September, and rookie Tyler Badie, a sixth-round choose who impressed throughout offseason exercises.
It’s anybody’s guess which of those runners can be featured most come Week 1.
“It couldn’t be much more wide-open than the running back position right now,” coach John Harbaugh mentioned.
That’s why no group can be extra scrutinized when the Ravens line up in opposition to the Tennessee Titans Thursday night of their preseason opener. Most of the crew’s stars, together with Jackson, is not going to play, however Davis, Clement, Hill and Badie could have their possibilities to redraw the pecking order at a place important to Roman’s assault.
“The big thing for us as coaches now is we’re seeing these guys, but we’re trying to push them all to the No. 1 spot — we’re trying to push them all there — and then see who grabs the brass ring and how it shakes out,” the Ravens offensive coordinator mentioned. “But we want to make sure we’re prepared because any of these guys could play.”
Davis, 29, has run for extra NFL yards, 2,034, than Clement, Hill and Badie mixed and entered camp because the most secure wager to face in for Dobbins or Edwards. But coaches haven’t handled him as a presumptive favourite for the function. He averaged a career-best 4.6 yards per carry for the Seattle Seahawks in 2018, then dropped to three.8 yards per carry over his final two seasons with the Panthers and Falcons. He’s additionally a sure-handed receiver with 169 profession catches, a trait Harbaugh pointed to when discussing Davis in June. The Falcons, Davis’ hometown crew, signed him to a two-year deal earlier than the 2021 season however launched him in May.
“There was a lot of disappointment; I would say personally, I didn’t feel like I had my best year,” he mentioned. “With that situation going on, I would say yeah, it fuels me.”
He mentioned he’s unsure how the Ravens will use him, however “all I know is that whatever I’m here to do, I’ll be ready for it.”
“Mike is probably like the Swiss Army knife in the room,” Ravens working backs coach Craig Ver Steeg mentioned, noting that Davis can thump by means of an inside hole on one play and seem like a large receiver the subsequent.
The Ravens signed Clement, a former undrafted free agent out of Wisconsin, the day earlier than coaching camp began. The 27-year-old is a powerfully constructed runner who has demonstrated quickness between the tackles throughout his transient time with the Ravens, drawing reward from Roman. He posted profession highs of 321 yards and 4.3 yards per carry in 2017, his rookie season with the Eagles.
“You could see it from Day 1 that he’s a pro’s pro,” Ver Steeg mentioned. “He gets it and studies at night and knows how to adapt to an offense. You can see his power. You can see his quickness. He’s got really good pass [protection] ability. On top of that, he’s a really competent special teams guy in this league. So he brings a nice veteran element to the room.”
Hill, 24, is essentially the most acquainted face to Ravens followers. He turned heads together with his sprinter’s pace throughout his rookie summer time of 2019 however couldn’t crack the lineup constantly in 2019 or 2020 and misplaced all of final season to a torn Achilles. He’s going through a do-or-die coaching camp, with the prospect to earn vital enjoying time or fall out of the Ravens’ plans.
So far, Hill is trending in the correct route.
“There’s a guy, if you think back two years ago, he had a really defined role — perimeter, speed screens,” Ver Steeg mentioned. “But he’s come back and shown parts of that [are] even better than before. So I’m excited for him. He’s a guy who can’t wait to get out and mix it up with another team.”
Hill mentioned he used final 12 months to “reflect and get better at things you need to work on.” He described himself as not simply wholesome however a extra assured participant.
The 5-foot-8, 197-pound Badie is the smallest of the candidates. He ran for 1,604 yards at Missouri final season and has impressed Ravens coaches together with his versatility. As a 2022 draft choose, he appears prone to make the crew, however his potential function is up within the air.
There’s quite a lot of that going round on this best of place teams.
“Our job is to get everybody exposed … to everything, and make sure everybody’s got all the bases and all the breadth of our offense covered,” Ver Steeg mentioned. “We’re going to mix them all in and see. … I see No. 1 potential in every guy. My job is to make every guy push themselves to be a No. 1.”
Preseason, Week 1
TITANS@RAVENS
Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
TV: Ch. 11
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
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Source: www.bostonherald.com