I’m not a fan of the Ravens. They’ll have a good defense, but does the offense have enough weapons. They’ve scored only 29 and 30 touchdowns the last two years, and I don’t see how they’re supposed to be better.

Baltimore’s games, I think, will tend to be the lowest scoring in the league.

But I did see a blurb go by in which Marshall Yanda, one of the best guards in the league, says they’re going to strongly emphasis the run. Baltimore has finished with franchise lows in rushing in each of the last two years.

"The word I think of is 'commitment,'" Yanda said in an article written by Jamison Hensley of ESPN. "I think we’re going to be committed to it more this year than we ever have."

Not that we should be looking to run out and make trades for guys like Terrance West and Javorius Allen. (West is the starter for now, but Allen will also play and may wind up in the starting role at some point.) Baltimore also has Danny Woodhead, but he should be used more as a third-down type option – probably catching 50-plus balls.

A big part of running comes from what the team is trying to do. When Marc Trestman was the offensive coordinator, he wasn’t interested in trying to grind between the tackles – he believes in short passes to running backs serving as the running game.

Trestman is gone now, so Baltimore will make the running game more of a priority. After Marty Mornhinweg took over as the offensive coordinator in the second half of last year, the running game picked up some, with the team averaging 20 more rushing yards per game in the final eight games. The yards-per-carry average went up by a yard (from 3.5 to 4.5).

Not that West is going to save your fantasy team, but there could be a few decent games in there. Baltimore in Week 2 is at home against Cleveland. They’ve got Jacksonville in Week 3.

If the Ravens ever sour on West (which is possible), Allen would probably be the next back up. They also have two tailbacks on their practice squad who could be activated at some point – Jeremy Langford and Alex Collins. Langford had a nice run of success with the Bears two years ago.

RUSHING IN 1st/2nd HALVES OF 2016
RkTeam1st2ndDiff
1Seattle603988385
2NY Giants546866320
3Pittsburgh768992224
4Jacksonville713918205
5Chicago773962189
6Buffalo1,2331,397164
7Baltimore654809155
8Atlanta8921,036144
9Kansas City806942136
10Philadelphia86295189
11Oakland93299058
12Minnesota58162443
13NY Jets88192140
14Houston91294735
15Indianapolis79783134
16San Francisco9931,02633
17Los Angeles61863416
18New Orleans86587712
19New England93194110
20San Diego7527586
21Green Bay853848-5
22Carolina926888-38
23Detroit684626-58
24Arizona902830-72
25Washington892804-88
26Cleveland912800-112
27Tampa Bay864752-112
28Miami977847-130
29Cincinnati962807-155
30Denver838646-192
31Dallas1,3221,074-248
32Tennessee1,218969-249

—Ian Allan