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Rob Long: Ground And Pound

"I'm never going to be a guy who talks about touches," Ray Rice said on Wednesday. "But obviously, we know that going into a game that five carries is not going to cut it." Sounds like he's talking about touches to me.

Ray Rice is one of the best offensive weapons in the NFL. We know that. All of the players know that as well. It seems obvious that there will be dissension in the rank as a result of losing and not giving your best weapon the ball. It's human nature. If Rice doesn't see the ball and the team wins, everyone can live with it, even Ray Rice. If they don't win, the finger pointing will begin.

This doesn't have to become a "three yards and a cloud of dust" offense, but the use of a guy like Rice has been unacceptable. The numbers show that when Rice touches the ball more, the Ravens are successful so feed the beast.

Rob Long

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