Ravens running back Bernard Pierce has enough carries to be considered at least a second option by Fantasy owners. He just hasn't done enough with those attempts to earn a spot in most lineups.
Pierce is averaging a meager 2.8 YPC. Granted, so is featured back Ray Rice, who has only seven more tries on the ground. But Pierce, unlike his backfield mate, has been a non-entity in the passing game with just seven catches. And he has only two touchdowns all year. One was against Cleveland, but that is more coincidence than anything else.
The Week 9 matchup in Cleveland is also not favorable for Pierce. He not only shares time with Rice, but the Browns boast a rather stingy run defense. They are yielding just 3.7 yards per carry, which ranks sixth in the league. They struggled for a bit this season, but got back on track last week in Kansas City by holding Jamaal Charles to 74 yards on 18 carries.
Pierce is ranked 31st and 43rd among NFL backs this week by two of the CBSSports.com senior Fantasy writers. That is not a ringing endorsement. It's tough to find two viable running backs for Fantasy lineups, especially when one might be out on a bye week, so Pierce is in play. But he's not a strong choice in Week 9.