The Baltimore Ravens lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars 12-7 in a pitiful performance Monday night. They only gained 16 yards by halftime, including one passing yard by Joe Flacco, and they didn’t record their first first down until under six minutes left in the third quarter. Coach John Harbaugh called the disgrace “almost as bad as you can play on offense.” Flacco said the team needs to be better even when they’re off their game. But nobody was as straightforward regarding the team’s problems as linebacker Terrell Suggs.
“It baffles me that Ray Rice only had seven carries,” Suggs said. “This is a Pro Bowl running back you’re talking about. They fed their horse. We have to feed our horse. It’s all right, just calling a spade a spade.
“When I have a Pro Bowl running back, and he’s not getting his touches, I’m going to feel some kind of way about it. He wants the ball. And I think we should feed him. Ray Rice is a phenomenal player. You have to use your phenomenal players. I have to question how many touches Anquan [Boldin] had. We’ve got guys on this team that can do some great things. We have to use those guys. It’s that simple.”
While getting the ball to Anquan Boldin (4 catches on 12 targets) was more difficult because of the pressure Flacco faced, I completely agree with Suggs regarding the lack of carries for Rice.
Rice actually had eight carries, not seven, but one of the problems was that the Ravens benched hm after he lost a fumble midway through the first quarter. They let Vonta Leach and Ricky Williams carry the ball the next two series. Rice still was targeted eight times in the passing game and had five receptions, but taking the ball out of his hands took away some of their opportunities for big plays. On a night they ran few plays and had little success, they needed to give Rice every chance possible to break a big run.
Maurice Jones-Drew fumbled three times but the Jaguars didn’t take him out. Sure they rested him at times for Deji Karim, but they fed MJD 30 times. The passing game may have been off, but there was no excuse for not giving Ray Rice more carries.
If the Ravens are not going to name Terrell Suggs offensive coordinator, at least take his advice.
