Juan Castillo

AU KIRK- Flickr

When it comes to all of the drama surrounding a certain x-Baltimore Ravens’ player, who was recently released due to a video, dropped by TMZ, the fans are the ones who suffer the most. This is because they can’t get an ounce of sports talk into their system on current players. For that, I apologize to you Ravennation.

There are more things going on in Charm City than the aftermath of the loss of a player. With that said lets talk about something positive.

The Offensive-line did a stellar job in run-support for Justin Forsett and the pocket was well established for Joe Flacco’s 62 attempts in the air. Rick Wagner proved to be a more than suitable replacement for the now departed wannabe, Mr. Blindside himself, Michael Oher.

Flacco may have been sacked thrice, but the other 62 times he dropped back to pass, he managed to get the ball off. 4.5% sounds like a low sack percentage to me. Of course over a 16 game stretch that is 48 sacks, so Baltimore aims to get the number of dropbacks down a bit, especially since they shouldn’t be throwing the ball as much.

Statistically speaking, the Ravens win 86% of the time, when the lead back gets 15 or more touches. Those odds say it all. Give Bernard Pierce and Forsett the rock and pound it out!

They have a prime opportunity to pound it out Thursday night against a porous Pittsburgh Steelers’ Defense, that let the Cleveland Browns run all over them Sunday as they racked up 183-yards and 2-tds on the ground.

I am excited to see the Ravens taking advantage of the raw tenacity of Guard Kelechi Osemele on the ground. KO is a nasty brawler of a Guard who is capable of kicking out to Right Tackle is needed.

Then of course there is Probowl Guard Marshall Yanda, who has to be content knowing he has a unit of this caliber working beside him. He is one of the main reasons for the Ravens rushing attack being in the top 10 for years, well except for last year. I still blame Juan Castillo for that mess of a run-attack. Gino Gradkowski and Michael Oher’s inability to adapt to the zone-blocking scheme did not help much either.

This new unit looks leaps and bounds better than last year’s, even in the loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Gary Kubiak deserves a lot of the credit for the improvement. I love how he designs an Offensive run scheme that complements his players strengths. Can this O-Line produce an encore performance of protection and ground support Thursday evening against another division rival? Only time will tell. Until then though, you might want to ensure you start the right Ravens on your Fantasy Football roster for week 2 ahead of time (not the linemen). I know I did. Our guy P.J. Conley can even help you out with that.

Jermaine Lockett is the CEO and a Writer for Couch Rider Report. Follow us on twitter and like us on Facebook.

[soliloquy id=”1293″]

Ravens Nation, I know you’re ready for some football. We are chomping at the bit, awaiting the kickoff of 2014. In order to get there though, there is a price to be paid for the players. That price is sweat, blood, tears and for some, a great deal of disappointment. Training Camp is now here and there are questions that need to be answered for the Baltimore Ravens. With that said lets take a look at a few that need to be addressed.

No. 5 What will the Ravens do at FS? We all know there is a log-jam at camp for the position and it appears that Darian Stewart has the edge but be on the lookout for Omar Brown, as he is the practice-field warrior, looking for opportunity to let it translate to regular season games. Terrance Brooks may have to be patient and wait his turn to start, unless he turns all the way up in camp.

No. 4 Can Marlon Brown top his rookie performance from 2013? There is the possibility that this former Georgia standout could hit the “Sophomore Wall”. I say this because he has an uphill battle for playing time ahead. He and Jacoby Jones will be dueling hard in training camp for that number three spot on the depth chart. Even with 7TDs from last season, Brown could still ride the pine in 2014, due to the addition of Steve Smith and a healthy Dennis Pitta in play.

No. 3 Who is going to assert themselves as the true RT in Charm City? My money is on Kelechi Osemele; he has the game experience, starting 23 games between 2012-2013. Rick Wagner is the fan favorite, but I am not as high on the second-year player out of Wisconsin. Jah Reid, if healthy has a case to present for the job as well. Reid has only started 7 games in three years, so this is a make-or-break year for the fourth year player.

No. 2 Is there really a competition for the backup QB spot or are the Ravens preparing to shop Tyrod Taylor? Taylor is an electrifying player who shows flashes of promise during the preseason every year but seems to fall apart during regular season games. The Ravens once again have brought in a challenger to face-off against Taylor in camp. Keith Wenning has an impressive arm with nice touch on the ball and while he doesn’t have mobility comparable to Taylor’s, his pocket presence and ability to go through progressions may be enough to push Taylor out the door. I don’t believe the Ravens are going to carry 3 QBs into the regular season. Someone has to go…

No. 1 Can Bernard Pierce be the every down back the Ravens are looking for now that Rice may be facing suspension? There is no timetable for how long Rice will be out but the Ravens hopefully have already considered the contingency plan. I am hoping it is Bernard Pierce. Pierce has Arian Foster’s build and running style; he just needs his vision and the type of holes that Foster ran through. He’s in luck; the mind behind Foster’s line just so happens to be the new O-Coordinator in Baltimore now. There has to be some excitement when considering the scheme that Gary Kubiak will bring to the ground game. Anything will be better than what Juan Castillo brought to the table last year.

With all of these questions lingering before Training Camp, fans have to be on the edge of their seats, awaiting the first whistle. I am right there with you Baltimore.

Jermaine Lockett is a Writer and CEO for Couch Rider Report. Follow us on Facebook or twitter.

Couch Rider Report~Home of Original Sports Perspective

Baltimore’s O-Line Has Vastly Improved

Baltimore Ravens: 5 Training Camp Questions