Given that he is known as “The King,” and his offseason signing created excessive hype, Derrick Henry was mainly disappointed last night in the season-opening loss at Kansas City.
While his first touchdown as a Raven on the opening drive was a great sight, he only averaged 3.5 yards per carry last night and just 46 yards rushing.
His longest run was only nine yards. However, it was not his fault, as the holes weren’t there for him. And as the night wore on, the run lanes never opened, and the Ravens found themselves going away from Henry in the second half.
Given how the offensive line is breaking in three new players at the five starting positions, it will take time for everyone to gel. Until they do, we won’t see all that Henry can be.
Roger Rosengarten had a great preseason and tremendous potential, but he had a “welcome to the league, rook!” kind of night. The man who started over him, Patrick Mekari, was unimpressive as well, and overall, the unit didn’t get enough forward push in the run game.
When they eventually do, you’ll see Henry can be all he can be. It also doesn’t help that they were facing one of the league’s better run defenses in K.C. last night.
In the meantime, veteran left tackle Ronnie Stanley (who had three illegal formation penalties called against him last night) and stellar center Tyler Linderbaum (who had a blunder that led to Lamar Jackson losing a fumble) must provide stability. At the same time, the other three starters gradually coalesce with them into one more cohesive unit.
