There was an article recently where John Harbaugh lamented his team's running game this season. He said the team wants to add a big-play running back to the roster, after his offense ranked just 28th in rushing. And that's fair.
"We have not run the football well enough or enough, really, for the last two years," said Harbaugh. "That has to change." While Harbaugh is correct, maybe the team spent too much time giving work to marginal or journeyman backs and not enough to its own rookie, Kenneth Dixon. The youngster was reasonably effective on limited chances, but didn't really get enough opportunity.
In Baltimore's final nine games, Dixon had a role in all of them -- at least 6 carries in every game. But he got double-digit carries only four times, and didn't get more than 13 in any game. This despite the fact he was the team's most effective runner over the last two seasons.
The table below shows Baltimore running backs with more than 5 carries in each of the last two seasons. Dixon averaged 4.3 yards per attempt, better than any of the other runners.
Baltimore will and probably should add another back in the offseason, but it wouldn't hurt for them to give Dixon more work and see if he can be their featured guy. Seems like he'd be an upgrade over Terrance West, at least, who's been at 4.0 or worse in each of his two seasons with the team.
| BALTIMORE RUNNING BACKS, 2015-2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Att | Yds | TD | Avg |
| 2016 | Kenneth Dixon | 88 | 382 | 2 | 4.3 |
| 2015 | Justin Forsett | 151 | 641 | 2 | 4.2 |
| 2016 | Terrance West | 193 | 774 | 5 | 4.0 |
| 2015 | Terrance West | 46 | 180 | 0 | 3.9 |
| 2016 | Javorius Allen | 9 | 34 | 0 | 3.8 |
| 2015 | Javorius Allen | 137 | 514 | 1 | 3.8 |
| 2015 | Lorenzo Taliaferro | 13 | 47 | 1 | 3.6 |
| 2016 | Justin Forsett | 31 | 98 | 0 | 3.2 |
--Andy Richardson