MASNsports.com is your online home for the latest Orioles and Nationals news, features, and commentary. And now, you can connect with MASN on every digital level. From web and social media to our new mobile alert service, MASN has got all the bases covered.
Get the latest breaking news direct to your phone with our mobile texting service.
Perhaps because of the injury to tight end Todd Heap, and perhaps because they've struggled to churn out much yardage on the ground this season, the Ravens have decided to go with a new alignment on the offensive line tonight.
The Ravens are using right guard Chris Chester as a tight end, have slid right tackle Marshal Yanda back to the right guard spot, and are using Oniel Cousins at right tackle.
With Heap out, the Ravens don't have a quality blocking tight end.
Rookies Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta are considered more pass catching threats, and with Baltimore facing a tough Texans pass rush, they've decided to use Chester as the tight end in a number of jumbo sets.
The Ravens' issues in the running game might have played a factor in the personnel shifting as well.
Baltimore is averaging just 3.6 yards per carry this year, a total which ranks 31st in the league.
The coaches consider Yanda a Pro Bowl-caliber right guard, and while they've had him at right tackle this season because of the injury to Jared Gaither, they might have decided to move him back to the guard spot at which he's more comfortable.
That means putting Cousins, the three-year vet, in at right tackle.
It's hard to say what specifically caused the Ravens to make the move up front, but we'll see how that new alignment works out.
