Even before Joe Flacco's back became an issue, the Baltimore Ravens needed to get back to pounding the ball on the ground.
Too often the past couple seasons the Ravens have relied on Flacco and a short passing game, in lieu of running the rock. Pro Bowl guard Marshal Yanda believes that trend is about to change.
"The word I think of is 'commitment,'" Yanda said of the running game, via ESPN.com. "I think we're going to be committed to it more this year than we ever have."
Last year, the Ravens ranked 30th in rushing attempts per game (22.9) and 28th in total rushing yards (1,463). In 2015, Baltimore was 25th in attempts (23.9) and 26th in yards (1,478). The previous year, John Harbaugh's team ranked 11th in attempts (28.0 per game) and eighth in yards (2,019). While correlation doesn't equal causation, it's worth pointing out that 2014 was the last time the Ravens made the playoffs while 2015-2016 were two of the worst years of Harbaugh's tenure.
Flacco was coming off an ACL injury last year and in a short-pass based offense (which is not his strong suit), put one of the worst seasons of his career. Flacco's 6.4 passing yards per attempt ranked 27th in the NFL, and his 83.5 passer rating placed him 24th out of 30 qualified passers.
Now that Flacco is coming off a back injury, the need for the Ravens to return to the ground game in 2017. Terrance West leads the running back corps and should get the bulk of the carries, with Danny Woodhead earning the third-down role and Buck Allen seeing spot duty.
After back-to-back seasons setting franchise lows in rushing attempts, the Ravens need to return to their running roots to help carry Flacco through the season.