Losing Ray Rice hurts the Ravens but not as much as people think.
Indeed Rice is an undeniable playmaker who is a positive addition to any offense in the NFL however without him the Ravens can still produce with Willis Mcgahee, Leron McClain and Jalen Parmele.
The Ravens' next opponent, the Pittsburgh Steelers, have an amazing run defense only allowing 59.7 rushing yards/game so far this season. Everything man Troy Polomalu has returned to a defense that at times struggled to defend the pass last year. Of course, linebackers James Harrison and Lamarr Woodley have combined for five sacks this season and are equally effective in run defense.
Willis Mcgahee has succeeded against this Pittsburgh defense before, look back at 2007. That year, Mcgahee was the full time starter and ran for 50 yards with only 12 carries in the ninth week. Yes, these numbers sound mediocre but taking account the formidable run defense Pittsburgh has maintained through the years, he looked good.
It is important to note that Mcgahee is relatively fresh only carrying the ball 16 times in the past three games. Rice has not officially been ruled out but it is guaranteed that he will see a lot less action in the Steelers game.
It will be difficult for Flacco to get anything going in the air against the Steelers but a balance of productive running and a variety of short, mid and deep passes will keep the Steelers a little more honest.
This year the Steelers are 3-0 beating the Atlanta Falcons, Tennessee Titans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, teams who have each have only one loss.
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