Ray Rice has lost 15 pounds so far this offseason

[AlbionHero]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...out-15-pounds/

He wasn't shaking off any defenders last year so I guess his best chance is to just outrun them.

[kronusthebonus]

How come whenever the Ravens ask guys to put on weight, it never works out. We lost a few good years from Kruger when we asked him to bulk up, too.

[moose10101]

How come whenever the Ravens ask guys to put on weight, it never works out. We lost a few good years from Kruger when we asked him to bulk up, too.

Who asked RR to put on weight? Not Harbaugh. Are you just assuming?

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/r...,4167136.story

[BcRaven]

AHA, so that's where my sister-in-law's extra 15 lbs came from... Bc

[bmorecareful]

We discussed this a bit in another thread. Rice has been steadily gaining weight since he came into the league in 08. He was 195lbs at the Combine and during his rookie year, and he felt that made him a little injury prone.

He played around 205 or so in 2009 when the Ravens had their best offense of the Harbaugh era and he had his "best" year (he had more yards in 2011 but his yards per carry was over half a yard lower.) He has never looked as elusive as he did that year, both running through tackles and forcing missed tackles.

In 2010 through 2012 he was in the 210-215 range and even though people don't like to talk about this, Ray Rice was quietly one of the least elusive backs in the league during that time. He still produced well because of his underrated power and low center of gravity but he had one of the lowest rates of broken or missed tackles over those years. You could see that his wiggle was basically completely gone even if it did show back up now and again like the 4th and 29.

I do blame the coaching staff somewhat for this because Rice was given goal-line and short-yardage carries during these years even though he does not have the running style of a short-yardage runner. He gained weight to get more powerful but that was a mistake, he should have stayed light and the short-yardage carries given to a bigger back.

In the offseason Rice pigged out and neglected his conditioning and got up to 225. That was NOT a coaching staff decision or even a conscious decision by Rice, he admitted that he just didn't work hard at all that offseason. Rice is not meant to be 225lbs, he LOOKED fat last year and played fat. His target should be between 205 and 210 preferably right around 207 or so. Losing 18-20 pounds of fat makes a HUGE difference for a guy built like Rice.

If he can get his conditioning squared away and get to the right weight I expect Rice to bounce back, maybe not to his 2009 level given all the tread on his tires, but hopefully closer to that. Losing weight and giving goal-line/short yardage carries to Pierce should help get the running game back on track.

[Darksouleyez]

I have read in a lot of other places that this weight loss is perfect for the HB in a zone blocking scheme.

[JoeCool5]

15 pounds = 15 punches?

[HoustonRaven]

He's down to a better fighting weight ...

... too soon?

[BcRaven]

He's down to a better fighting weight ...

Now that's
Of course that's in the "Two X Chromosome" division... Bc

[wickedsolo]

He's down to a better fighting weight ...

... too soon?

Well, prison meals aren't too appetizing...


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[ravenjoe]

More of a problem than his weight, imho, is that RR is still bothered by that hip flexor he suffered in week two......not good news!

[landshark52]

Ravens RBs in recent years have had a tendency gain too much weight. Mcgahee got into the 240s which was too much for him, Ray Rice and also Bernard Pierce who I think should play closer to 220 than 230 like he was last year. Usually if a trend repeats itself like that then it's more than just an issue with the player. Maybe their strength and conditioning program stresses too much on increasing slow-twitch muscle mass than fast-twitch muscles.