The Ravens have one of those “good problems” about to pop up this week into next… and his name is Willis McGahee.

Last week, between Le’Ron McClain and Ray Rice (and a few nice scampers by a QB and WR here or there), the Ravens ran over the Bengals for 200+ yards on the ground. It’s the kind of base running game that every team loves to build around.

And yet, by most accounts, that running game was not at full strength without Willis McGahee because neither Rice nor McClain fit the prototype of the modern NFL back.

McGahee will likely continue to be limited this weekend in Houston, but even giving him a few carries helps the Ravens’ cause enormously. Between Rice, McGahee and McClain, the Ravens have three very different, but very capable runners from which to base their ground attack. McGahee is the all-around, load-carrier; Rice is the elusive, outside runner; and McClain is the up-the-gut, bowling ball. With McClain’s added ability to play fullback (his original position), he gives the Ravens plenty of options for mixing their playbook.

The running game is going to be huge part of the Ravens offense this year, which is no surprise. But the more successful they can be on the ground, the less pressure is put on rookie Joe Flacco and the more successful they can be at controlling the clock for their defense.

Last week, the Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger needed only 18 pass attempts in their effort at dismantling the Texans (Big Ben himself only took 14).  On the ground, though, the Steelers’ two primary backs carried the ball 35 times for 166 yards and three touchdowns.

The Texans front seven are pass rushing specialists. They are weakest against the run. Between the addition of McGahee and the quality mixed-attack of Rice and McClain, the Ravens should be in good shape come Sunday. Because of the split carries, we still may not see a single back reach 100 yards. But the key to the game, will be getting the entire unit close to the 200 mark again, thereby keeping Joe Flacco and the pass attack out of the spotlight.

The Ravens are expected to sign veteran (and former Pro Bowl) offensive tackle Willie Anderson today after he worked out with the team and met with team leaders yesterday. Anderson spent the first part of his career with the Cincinnati Bengals, but lost his starting job this preseason and refused to take a pay cut. The team waived him on Saturday.

To anyone who’s followed this Ravens team for more than a season, juggling on the offensive line is nothing new. There has been great debate over the last decade about where the problem with this Ravens’ offense falls - coach, quarterback and offensive line are the three most popular choices. And while coach and quarterback have certainly garnered more attention over the last nine months, you won’t find anyone giving this offensive line too much credit.

Just take a look at how this season’s line compares to last season’s:

2007: LT Jonathon Ogden, LG Chris Chester, C Mike Flynn, RG Ben Grubbs, RT Marshall Yanda

2008: LT Jared Gaither, LG Ben Grubbs, C Jason Brown,  RG Marshall Yanda, RT Adam Terry

For those of you who can’t read between the lines, 2008’s version is “Youth, Inexperience, Unproven, Youth, Youth.”

The new signing, Willie Anderson, says he would like to be ready to play with this offense on Sunday.  But where will he play? The easy answer is Right Tackle, and if and when he does play with this unit, that’s where we can expect to see him. The trick then becomes juggling Adam Terry and Jared Gaither. While Terry has had more playing time in his career and this preseason, Gaither is the more talented player - and oddly reminiscent of Jon Ogden with his impressive size. But neither is a lock.

In the view of this blog… it’s time to end the Adam Terry experiment. Perhaps Anderson gets limited reps with this unit on Sunday against his former team, but come Week 2, it’s time to go with talent. Let the league shape big-man Jared Gaither and play the greater strength, Anderson, on the opposite side. Apologies to Mr. Terry, but depth is never a bad thing in this league - especially on an offensive line.

Alright, so… apologies for the bit of a sabbatical on the part of our little One Winning Drive crew, but we’re back now and ready to get going again!

Let’s take a moment and review what’s gone on since we’ve been, well, gone…

Alright, cool, now that that’s out of the way, let’s get to the meat and potatoes of things: Draft Day 2008 is just over a month away and the Ravens have quite the decision to make. Here’s OWD’s own mini-mock of what might be to come…
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Let’s play a game… shall we?  This team is so full of holes, we might as well give it a try…

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It’s been nearly a month since this team finished the most disappointing seasons in club history. In that time, we’ve seen plenty of change and plenty of talk about more change to come. So in these days of silence and uncertainty, I present to you the three most pressing issues facing the Ravens as they move into the off-season and truly move towards a more successful 2008…

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Did you know that Cam Cameron’s real first name is Malcolm?

Did you know that I have an unhealthy love for really horrible plays-on-words?

Sources close to the Ravens are reporting that Cam Cameron, former Head Coach of the Miami Dolphins and offensive coordinator for the San Diego Chargers, will be joining John Harbaugh’s staff as the team’s offensive coordinator. The move is promising, especially for fans looking for that “total overhaul” of the Ravens’ broken system.

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