Ravens must fix running game during bye

Nov 1, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back Justin Forsett (29) runs with the ball in the fourth quarter against the San Diego Chargers at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

Under the tutelage of former offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak, the Baltimore Ravens fielded the NFL’s 8th best rushing attack in 2014, totaling 2,019 total yards and averaging 4.5 yards per attempt.  Through eight games in 2015, they rank only 21st in the league, totaling 794 yards and averaging 4.5 ypc.

Other than replacing Kubiak with Marc Trestman, what has changed to cause such a drastic regression? The Ravens have the same lead running back in Justin Forsett, and returned all five starters along the offensive line.  Trestman is understandably spending the bye week trying to find some answers to this dilemma.

"“We’re going to take a good, hard look at everything,” Trestman said Tuesday.“We’re certainly not where we [want to be]. There was a point about four weeks ago when we thought we were moving in the right direction. We had a couple of very, very productive games running the football, and then it diminished.”"

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Clearly, injuries are a concern and part of the problem.  Left tackle Eugene Monroe has missed most of the season as he has struggled to stay healthy.  Jeremy Zuttah has been banged up recently, as has Kelechi Osemele.

As we have seen even dating back to last season, the Ravens depth along the line leaves a lot to be desired.  Primary backups James Hurst and John Urschel have graded out as two of the worst at their position by Pro Football Focus over the last season and a half.

Part of the problem can be attributed to the run/pass ratio.  Marc Trestman came to town with a reputation for being pass happy, and so far the numbers support that reputation.  The Ravens are 7th in the NFL in pass attempts this season after finishing last season 17th.

In sharp contrast, they were 11th in rushing attempts in 2014, but are only 21st this season.  It’s an interesting statistic given the lack of talent at the wide receiver position.  Combined with the fact that they have been right in every single game this season with no huge deficits to overcome, there really isn’t an excuse for the lack of rushing attempts.

There is certainly room for skepticism, especially when you look at last week’s win over the San Diego Chargers.  With the Chargers sporting the NFL’s second worst run defense, the Ravens chose to run the ball only 26 times while throwing it 37 times against the 13th ranked pass defense.

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Opposing defenses will obviously continue to stack the box (as the Chargers did), looking to eliminate the Ravens ground game after they lost Steve Smith for the season.  It’s part of the reason why they have brought in deep threat receivers Chris Givens and Joe Morgan as they attempt to make defenses respect the passing game.

But as the Ravens achieved offensive success on the ground last season, they must do the same this season.  If the Ravens don’t commit to the run to set up the deep pass and keep their mediocre defense off the field, teams will continue to burn them through the air.  And they’ll continue to lose games that they should win.