While team goals may not have necessarily been met during the 9-7 regular season, there were certainly individual Ravens who broke out or asserted themselves as worthy of recognition. With that said, let’s take a look back on the season as a whole, as I hand out FanBias.com’s end of season awards.

Offensive MVP: RB Ray Rice

This may be the easiest pick of all. The second-year stud out of Rutgers established himself as a dual-threat star in the league with his breakout performance this year. Shifty and quick, Rice picked through defenses all year both as a runner and as a pass receiver. He led the team in receptions with 78 and rushing yards with 1,339 and combined for over 2,000 yards rushing and receiving for the season. The offense was clearly built around him and justifiably so. For his efforts, Rice earned his first Pro Bowl berth. In fact, remove him from the mix and you have to wonder where the Ravens would have gotten their offensive spark from.

Offensive Newcomer: OT Michael Oher

The Ravens found themselves a gem with the 23rd pick in the 2009 NFL Draft when Ozzie Newsome and crew picked Oher to be the team’s offensive tackle of the future. The rookie out of Ole Miss rewarded the Ravens by starting every game this season and by showing versatility, playing both right tackle (11 games) and left tackle (5 games) due to injury to Jared Gaither. Oher was a steal so late in the first round as illustrated by the fact that he came in second in the AP’s NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award. He has already given notice that he is one of the team’s top linemen and should become a perennial Pro Bowler in years to come. And, as if that’s not enough, Oher has an inspirational life story to tell, one which has been captured in book and film.

Offensive There’s No “I” in Team Award: RB Willis McGahee

There’s no doubt about it, McGahee is a starting-caliber running back. Unfortunately, with the Ravens, he plays behind a potential All-World do-it-all back in Ray Rice. So, this year, the apparently healthy McGahee had to wait patiently on the sideline for his number to be called. As far I’m concerned, his number wasn’t called often or consistently enough, but when asked to do so, McGahee stepped up time and time again. He scored 12 rushing touchdowns and 2 receiving touchdowns to lead the team with 14 total TD’s during the regular season. And, while the numbers are good, who can forget his long-distance rumble against the Oakland Raiders in the final must-win game of the regular season, a play in which McGahee tossed a defender aside with a vicious stiff arm? While McGahee’s future with the Ravens is uncertain, the man clearly has plenty left in his legs (especially given how sparingly he’s been used over the last two years) and hopefully the team can keep him. McGahee proved this year that he’s a team-first player and I never saw a report in which he publicly expressed any dissatisfaction with his role.

Defensive MVP: LB Ray Lewis

In his 14th season, the 34-year-old Lewis shows no signs of slowing down. Just a few years ago, some were wondering whether Lewis was nearing the end of his career but for the second straight season the University of Miami product started all 16 regular season games and was his usual force in the middle. No Rex Ryan? No Bart Scott? No problem as Lewis led the team in tackles again (with 134) and earned yet another Pro Bowl spot. Lewis is the glue that not only holds the defense together, but is clearly the inspiration for the team and this football-mad town. There may not be a bigger impact player in the NFL over the last decade than Lewis and whenever his career does end (shudder) he should go down as one of the top players in the league ever. While he may have lost a step, Lewis continues to be one of the smartest and most well-prepared players on the field and seems to know where every play is going. His importance to the team cannot be overstated and I rue the day Lewis decides to finally hang up the cleats. He has earned every on-field accolade ever heaped on him and has made the players around him better, which may be the ultimate compliment for any player in any team sport..

Defensive Newcomer: CB Lardarius Webb

A third-round pick out of Nicholls State, Webb only came on as a defensive regular later in the season. Initially the team’s kickoff returner, where he played quite admirably and even scored a touchdown, Webb’s true value came when he was inserted into the starting defensive backfield due to injury. A converted safety, the rookie instantly showed that he was the team’s best cornerback, shoring up a position that experienced quite a bit of tumult over the course of the season. Webb proved not only that he could cover, but also that he could hit hard and tackle, both in pass coverage and in run defense. A season-ending knee injury against the Chicago Bears cut short Webb’s rookie campaign but the first-year man showed enough during his time on the field for me to be optimistic that the Ravens have a shutdown corner in the making. Let’s just hope the coaches don’t continue to use Webb on special teams in years to come.

Special Teams Newcomer: Returner Jalen Parmele

A second year running back stuck on the bench at a tremendously deep position, Parmele got the opportunity to showcase his skills as the team’s kickoff returner late in the season when Lardarius Webb went down with an injury. Decisive and powerful, Parmele provided the team with a spark from the outset. A big man for the position, he nonetheless showed elusiveness and the ability to find holes and make big plays, averaging 31.4 yards per return. That number could have been much higher given that more than a couple of his big returns were called back by penalty. As fans very well know, big plays on special teams can energize the entire team. With Parmele as the team’s kickoff returner, I believe the Ravens have found the man who can provide that spark for years to come. I also hope he can be adapted to become the team’s punt returner as well.

Certainly, a win by the Ravens is a must, especially if the team wants to ensure that it controls its destiny as it tries to secure a wild card berth. But, I’m looking for more, especially on the offensive side of the ball…

Quarterback Joe Flacco is a future star in this league but one thing is clear in his second season in the NFL — he’s not ready to lead his team quite yet. He’s shown more than flashes of brilliance and even the ability early in the season to lead the team for long stretches of time. But, with a wide receiving crew that is slightly above average at best and an offensive line that hasn’t always done a good job of protecting Flacco, I believe offensive coordinator Cam Cameron has relied too much on the University of Delaware product.

That over-reliance on Flacco has been accompanied by an infatuation with running back Ray Rice. Again, there’s no doubt that this year has been Rice’s coming out party as one of the top running backs in the league and I’ve been high on him since his Rutgers days. But, the offense going through Rice and Flacco has become much too predictable.

Interestingly enough, the remedy for the team’s offensive woes (and let’s be real here, last week’s 48 points came against the Lions) does not involve a new wrinkle or any sort of innovation — instead it only requires looking back to the past. What I propose is returning to the team’s 2008 use of running backs Willis McGahee and Le’Ron McClain.

Last year, the three-headed monster at running back eased Flacco’s rookie year and led the Ravens to the playoffs. So, why abandon a system that clearly worked in the past?

I understand that Rice is a superstar in the making. But, McGahee has been – and continues to show that he is — a productive starting-caliber running back himself. And let’s not forget that McClain led the Ravens in rushing last year, gaining much of his yards up the middle and late in games, often breaking the spirit of Ravens foes.

While both McGahee and McClain have the ability to gain the tough yards, especially in short yardage situations, they don’t have the explosiveness or pass-catching ability of Rice. Still, the Ravens have struggled mightily this year in goal-line and short yardage situations, opting to use Rice more often than the other two in such situations, and that has been a problem for which McGahee and McClain are the perfect answer.

So, here’s what I propose in terms of how to use the three running backs:

• Outside the 20: Primarily use Rice in ways that exploit his ability in the open field with a sprinkling of McGahee and McClain on short-yardage plays.
• Inside the 20: Primarily McGahee and some McClain.
• Inside the 5: Equal parts McGahee and McClain.

Couple this running strategy with taking some of the pressure off Flacco to win games for the team and I think the Ravens’ struggling offense will flourish. The defense will be on the field less as the running game eats up clock and Flacco’s mistakes will be limited.

With three very winnable games remaining this season against teams with losing records, the Ravens are poised to make the playoffs for the second straight year under Coach John Harbaugh. But, instead of putting the offense in situations it’s not prepared to handle right now, why not simply refer to the successful blueprint laid out in Harbaugh’s first year — run often, spreading the carries among three very capable running backs, each with his own unique skill set?