The Ravens made Willis McGahee one of the highest paid running backs in the NFL less than 21 months ago, but he couldn’t buy a carry in a 34-3 win over the Bengals.
“It’s strategic, we have a plan,” Coach John Harbaugh said. “We have a plan for Willis. He is going to be a big part of this team, no question about it.”
Harbaugh refused to divulge specifically how he plans to use the player the Ravens signed to a five-year, $26.4 million deal that can be optioned to seven years and $40.1 million through 2013.
Harbaugh would not confirm if McGahee, who has rushed just 16 times for 26 yards the past three games, would play against the Redskins on Sunday.
“[Running backs] coach [Wilbert] Montgomery told me I had a good chance to get a lot of carries and last night, they told me I was going to get the first run,” said fullback Le’Ron McClain, who finished with a game-high 86 yards on 25 carries. “It kept rolling like that. I didn’t know Willis wasn’t going to play. However, they want to work it you just go with it.”
McClain leads the team in rushing with 545 yards and six touchdowns on 142 carries. McGahee is second with 489 yards and five touchdowns on 141 carries and rookie Ray Rice has 423 yards on 104 carries to go with 31 catches for 264 yards.
“I support my team and Coach Harbaugh, and I love playing in Baltimore,” McGahee said in a statement. “I am working hard and look forward to helping our team win another championship.”
Last season, McGahee rushed for a team-high 1,207 and seven touchdowns en route to his first Pro Bowl.
“Willis can play, and he will play,” Harbaugh said. “We are going to put him in the best situation to play, just like we are with Le’Ron and Ray.”
Free Willie
After right tackle Willie Anderson was doused with a cooler filled with Gatorade to celebrate a win over his former team, he experienced another postgame custom for the first time: speaking at the media podium.
“I was never on the podium before,” he said on Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium. “I always wondered where the visitors locker room was. It’s a whole new experience coming in here as a visitor, staying at the Westin Hotel, and seeing everybody. It was different, but at the same time, the win makes it fun.”
Anderson, who signed with the Ravens a few days before the season began after being waived by the Bengals, started in place of the injured Adam Terry, who is still recovering from a concussion he suffered against the Eagles last week.
Anderson, a four-time Pro Bowler, has provided depth to a unit that has overcome injuries to several key players to clear the way for the league’s third-ranked rushing attack, which averages 143.8 yards per game.
“He is just the same Willie,” Bengals guard Bobbie Williams said. “He just happens to work for the Baltimore Ravens’ organization now.”
Big Jim
Ravens safety Jim Leonhard was stunned when he saw Bengals quarterback Jordan Palmer throw the ball directly at him.
“It was right to me,” he said. “I’ll take that any time. It was fun.”
The offseason free-agent acquisition easily snagged the ball and raced down the sidelines 35 yards before sneaking inside the pylon for the touchdown. Leonhard has 49 tackles this season, but the interception was his first as a Raven after spending the past three seasons in Buffalo.
“We played so well,” he said. “Up till that point, the only thing we hadn’t done was put some points up on the board.”
