Rice focusing on one area of improvement

Ray Rice is already one of the more complete running backs in the NFL.

He had 1,339 rushing yards last year, which is impressive in and of itself, but added an extra 702 receiving yards as well, giving him 2,041 total yards from scrimmage.

That total was second only to the Titans' Chris Johnson, who went off for a ridiculous 2,509 yards from scrimmage.

Rice led the Ravens in receptions, and led all running backs in receptions and receiving yards.

All pretty impressive feats.

But there's one area where Rice says he still wants to get better in order to become even more of a well-rounded running back.

"One thing I always think I need improvement on is pass blocking," Rice said.

Rice's thought process makes sense. He is by no means easy to push around (the running back is 5-8 of pure muscle), but because he's shorter than most backs, pass blocking a blitzing linebacker is a little more difficult for the Rutgers product.

"When guys see me in a game, their first initial move is to try to bull-rush me over, which, if I'm staying stout, I can cut a few times to slow them up," Rice said. "But that's something where I want to protect Joe, and I don't want anybody giving my quarterback no missed protection, no missed assignments. So, I take that very personally."

Rice has spent some added time with running backs coach Wilbert Montgomery working on his pass blocking, and says that he feels like he's made some strides in that area.

Outside of continuing to improve his blocking, what does a running back who posted such large numbers last year want out of the 2010 season?

"I definitely want to win," Rice said. "That's the overall goal is to win. And, I did [produce] over 2,000 all-purpose [yards] last year, so anything over 2,000 all-purpose [yards], within the team aspect, I'm definitely going to be proud to do.

"If I had 2,000 yards and we didn't win any games, it wouldn't mean anything to me. So, if I had to take lesser yards, and we won every game, that would be a great season for me. But overall, I want to win."

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