Greg Roman: 'Fantasy Football is Great, but Reality Football is Kind of Where We Live'
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman has been questioned throughout about the rotation at running back.
Baltimore has four solid players in the backfield — Mark Ingram, Gus Edwards, J.K. Dobbins, and Justice Hill. However, sometimes there is clamoring to give the brunt of the carries to the player that is having the most success.
Over the past several games, Dobbins and Ingram have played the most snaps. Ingram was sidelined by an ankle injury earlier this season and is trying to get back into his Pro-Bowl form. Hill has been used as a situational runner and has been stellar on special teams.
"All those ‘backs are doing a good job," Roman said. "Mark might be getting certain kinds of runs or carries that aren’t as … maybe call them a little bit more ‘dirty work.’ He’s getting a little bit more of the ‘dirty work’ at times, and that’s just how it plays out.
"As far as scrutiny and fantasy football, that’s a totally different world than the one I exist in. I like fantasy football. I’m aware of it. My kids are big into it, and if I wasn’t doing what I’m doing, I’d probably be into it pretty big, too. So, I get it. Fantasy football is great, but reality football is kind of where we live, and we’re going to do what’s best for the team.”
Heading into the Monday night showdown with the Cleveland Browns, Edwards leads the running backs with 487 yards on 101 carries, followed by Dobbins (83 carries, 451 yards), Ingram (63 carries, 260 yards), and Hill (nine carries, 35 yards). Quarterback Lamar Jackson leads the team with 669 yards on 116 carries.
Overall, Baltimore is ranked first among all 32 NFL teams with 169 yards rushing per game. The Browns are second with 157.8 yards per game behind Nick Chubb (799 yards) and Kareem Hunt (739 yards).
The running game will be critical in this upcoming matchup.
The key might be for the Ravens to use all four of their running backs to wear the Browns down late in the game. Edwards, who led the team with 101 yards on just seven carries in the previous game against the Cowboys, is confident Baltimore can use that depth to its advantage.
"With all the ‘backs that we have, with the rotation that we do, you come in there fresh and you have to make a play when your number is called," he said. "That’s the team standard here.”
