Baltimore Ravens vs. Houston Texans: Purple Friday Q&A week 2

The Baltimore Ravens are about to play the Houston Texans on Sunday. Here is our weekly purple Friday Q&A. (Questions submitted to @Footballman58 on Twitter)

@hoejamilton asks: Do you think Week 1 was an anomaly for the run game and we should expect to see Ingram go back to a more dominant role in the rotation, or do you see Dobbins continue to eat into his snaps pretty equally?

Answer: I think the Ravens really like what they have in J.K. Dobbins and they’re big Mark Ingram fans as well. I think these two ball carriers will go forth as the main duo. Gus Edwards isn’t going away, but the Ravens have a big two when it comes to the backfield. I think the Browns were closing the rushing lanes quickly and the Ravens put in Dobbins because he could hit the hole a little faster.

There is going to be games where it tilts more towards Ingram and games where Dobbins gets the bulk of the work. The one thing that helps here is that Ingram doesn’t have an ego and Greg Roman doesn’t have to worry about satisfying him. If Baltimore wins and Ingram isn’t completely ignored it works. It wouldn’t be shocking if Dobbins ends up being the headliner. He’s a young player that has a chance to be a superstar.

Knowing that Ingram isn’t going to be worried about it, they will try to get Dobbins as much on the job training as they can. Giving Dobbins carries is an investment in later in the season. It also keeps Ingram fresh.

Ingram had 10 carries and Dobbins had seven against the Browns. It wouldn’t be surprising if they both averaged about 10 carries on the year. There will be games where Dobbins gets 15 and there will be games just like the opener where he gets close to 10. Taking Lamar Jackson‘s runs out of consideration, the run game has 20-30 attempts headed their way per game. Think about it like this: Ingram and Dobbins take the appetizers and the entrees while Edwards gets extras and dessert.