I’ve learned from my work in theatre that sometimes things happen you cannot have planned for: if you were the director of a play and your lead actor showed up drunk on opening night, belligerently insisting that he’s fine to get onstage and perform, what would you do?

To save your show, you’d have to pull him. But then what? Who do you turn to, to replace your Romeo? The other main characters are too important doing what they do, so you have to go to the ensemble. It’s a risky move, but if one of them knows the lines and has paid attention in rehearsal, you just might pull it off.

This is the situation the Baltimore Ravens find their backfield in with the now-suspended OurLads) stack up as such: incumbent backup has experience in as well from his time playing at Temple in college.

It certainly couldn’t hurt, as Pierce was our second-worst running back by Rushing NEP in 2013. The offensive line played absolutely atrociously with Jim Caldwell’s version of the zone-blocking scheme, and Pierce’s already low -0.07 Rushing NEP per attempt from 2012 plummeted to a horrendous -0.21 (tied for the fifth-worst mark among rushers with 150 or more carries since 2000). Pierce will likely be given the first crack at early down work, but we saw his ineffectiveness at play last year, as did the coaching staff. What if he can’t hack it?

Taliaferro, who was facing his own legal charges earlier this offseason, has a physical profile that leaps off the page and tape. Standing 6’0”, weighing 229 pounds, Taliaferro ran a 4.54 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, along with blistering three-cone and short shuttle drills, not to mention an explosive 34-inch vertical jump. He was a small-school product, coming from Coastal Carolina, but he carried the load there quite well and emerges from – coincidence? – a zone-blocking scheme. Taliaferro could be a nice dark horse candidate to win this lead job for the beginning of the season, as he profiles the most like a Gary Kubiak lead back after Pierce.

Forsett seems the only other likely competition, but that is likely to be more on passing downs. He's a solid receiver out of the backfield (0.25 career Reception NEP per target) compared to Pierce (0.10) and the others, so expect to see him work in more as a change-of-pace.

There's little to no clarity in this backfield situation heading into the year. Veteran deference indicates that Pierce and Forsett will work in a committee early, but if Pierce falters, I expect to see Taliaferro out there sooner rather than later. Forsett will likely be just a third-down option unless all else fails for early-down work. Taliaferro may simply be more appealing because he is an unknown commodity, but I believe he is likely to be the most efficient back of these backups.

However, if the trends of Kubiak's offense and the Ravens' own are any indication, it may not matter all that much who the lead back is in Baltimore; there will be little work and less efficiency to go with the title. Ray Rice will also return in Week 3 from suspension, so unless someone makes a big impression, they will likely let him take another crack at the job. These understudies may not be handsome options, but someone will have to step up and take the spotlight for a short while. As they say in the theatre: “The show must go on!” As rough as it may be.