Rice wants to do what only Roger Craig and Marshall Faulk have ever done: gain 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in a single season.
“My thing ain’t just rushing yards,” Rice tells USA Today. “I’m all-purpose, whether it’s catching or running. My ultimate goal is to get 1,000 and 1,000.”
Rice is at the top of that new breed of running back and running game. No longer do NFL teams ground and pound their way to championships. In today’s NFL a three yard screen, or a short flare pass to a running back constitutes a run in some schemes.
Rice, Arian Foster, LeSean McCoy, Maurice Jones-Drew and Chris Johnson represent the new hybrid back that can run in between the tackles, slip out the back field for a short pass or get matched up on a backer or safety and out-and-out beat them for a 50 passing touchdown.
The goal is realistic for Rice, and everything points to him being the focal point of the Ravens offense this season. Stay tuned.
Photo Credit: Larry French/Getty Images
Glenn Erby is a NFL writer for FootBasket. He also owns the NFL blog, Tha Cover 2. You can read more about him over there. Follow him on Twitter @thacover2.
