Bernard Pierce Has Career Day

December 23, 2012;Baltimore, MD,USA;Baltimore Ravens running back Bernard Pierce (30) breaks the tackle of New York Giants linebacker Mark Herzlich (58) at M

Bernard Pierce. Wow. Pierce had himself a day today. He capped it off with a terrific 78 yard run, but he had been playing exceptionally well all day. This game has been a long time coming.

Pierce is an incredibly fast decision maker who plays with incredible conviction. This is a true one cut back who picks his hole and lashes out and slashes across the defense. I remember a few weeks ago Kevin Byrne, the Ravens PR guy, predicted Pierce would have a run of over 50 yards at some point this season based off his style of play. Today it happened.

Pierce finished with 14 carries for 123 yards(an 8.8 ypc average, that is off the charts good). He topped Ray Rices 24 carries for 107 yards. On a day where Rice had 158 yards from scrimmage and an electric receiving TD and Joe Flacco threw for 309 yards and three total TDs(one on the ground), Pierce may have been the highlight of the day.

It is now very clear(as if it wasn’t over the past few weeks) that Pierce was a steal in the third round and that the Ravens have found a big winner in him. Pierce gives the Ravens options, he gives them security if Rice were to miss a few games or God forbid an entire season. I am not saying that Pierce is as good as Rice, but I am saying that the Ravens wouldn’t be dead in the water if Rice went down now that we have Pierce on board. I can’t express how impressed I am with Pierce over the past 5 weeks or so. This kid is good.