Well, there wasn't much to cheer about in the Baltimore Ravens loss to the St. Louis Rams last night but there were a few bright spots. One of those few bright spots was rookie back up running back Bernard Pierce out of Temple University.

Pierce showed patience and a great burst when running the ball against the Rams first team defense. The Ravens chose to trade up in the third round of the NFL draft to snatch him before any other team could because they saw what he was capable of and Pierce showed that last night.

Bernard was injured early in training camp and missed some time giving other backs the chance to get some carries. In that time rookie undrafted free agent Bobby Rainey impressed the team and caused a small amount of controversy as to who should back up starter Ray Rice.

Now that Pierce is healthy again he shows why he was and still is the favorite to back up the Ravens All Pro starter. When given the chance he can be both powerful and elusive and should prove to give the Ravens a nice new weapon when Rice needs a breather.

Pierce will start the season as the back up running back and he deserves the spot. Although the Ravens still have many questions heading into the season the running game is solid and in good hands with the trio of Rice, Pierce and Rainey. All three are capable of playing in the NFL at a high level and will be integral parts of the offense as the season progresses.

I, for one, can not wait to see the 2012 version of the Ravens offense take the field. The defense has it's work cut out for them it seems as some of the younger players need to get up to speed very quickly but we will talk about that in a later post. For now, it's nice to know that the Ravens have a bevy of young talent at the skill positions just waiting to make their mark on the biggest of stages.