Phil Sears-USA TODAY Sports
As soon as I heard that Gary Kubiak was the new offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens, I immediately became concerned for Ray Rice.
The exact causes of why Rice unperformed remain unknown, but he did suffer a hip injury early on in the season. Rice has been able to remain fairly healthy throughout his career and he will need to take care of himself, as he is closer to the end part of his career than he is the beginning. Andy Reid was able to help protect and not wear down Jamaal Charles with his play calls this year, and Charles was obviously much more productive because of this. I was hoping for an offensive coordinator who could bring the same kind of protection for Rice, but Kubiak will not be that type of coordinator.
My main concern with Kubiak is that he will overuse Rice, and this will result in Rice being worn out or becoming injured. Rice has only rushed the ball 300 times or more in a season once in his career. While under Kubiak, Arian Foster rushed the ball more than 300 times in both full seasons that he played, and he rushed the ball 278 times in the 13 games he played in 2011.
The Houston Texans appeared to be ready for a Super Bowl run in the 2012-13 season, but they fell apart because of the one dimensional element of the offense. In order for Kubiak to be successful, he will need to make sure that he can find a better balance for the passing and rushing game than he did with Houston. If Kubiak finds early success with Rice, I do not expect him to be able to finish the full season due to injury and overuse.
Jack Delaney is a fantasy football writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter @jackbmore13, “Like” him on facebook or add him to your network on Google
