Ray Rice not worried about being rusty

OWINGS MILLS, Md.– Ray Rice isn't worried about being rusty.

Rice was hardly even bruised during the preseason as the Baltimore Ravens preserved their elusive all-purpose running back for the games that actually count.

The Pro Bowl runner only touched the football 13 times during the preseason, rushing eight times for 30 yards and catching five passes for 56 yards.

Now, a well-rested Rice figures to be heavily involved as the Ravens prepare for Monday night’s season opener against the New York Jets.

“Man, I feel great,” Rice said. “It’s the best I’ve ever felt. Our training camp was physical. It felt good to get tackled during training camp by our guys. You don’t necessarily want to be tackled by another team, but I feel fresh going into this game. It feels great to know that you got your workload in camp, but now you’re ready to play the regular season.”

The former Rutgers star rushed for a career-high 1,339 yards during his second NFL season, also catching 78 passes for 702 yards. Only Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson ranked ahead of Rice’s 2,041 all-purpose yards from scrimmage.

A native of New Rochelle, N.Y., Rice said that he has requested roughly 35 to 40 tickets for friends and family for this game at the new Meadowlands stadium.

“It’s a new stadium, my family is up there and I’m trying to get my high school coaches to come,” Rice said. “I’m trying to make it a special event. Christmas came early to a new people. Just a little section, you’ll see little purple No. 27 jerseys.”

Rice is a focal point of the Ravens’ offense, averaging 127.6 net yards per game last season. And he scored eight touchdowns.

This game means a little bit more to Rice because of the location, which is close to his hometown.

“It is more exciting when you find out you’re going to a place where you were born and raised and played college ball,” Rice said. “I’ve got to let my emotions get high, I know it will be racing a little bit. When the game settles down, I stick to just going out there and trying to play my game.”

The Ravens aren’t worried about Rice being rusty.

They’ve seen enough from him in practice to be convinced that the 5-foot-8, 212-pounder is ready for another big season.

“Hopefully, he’ll come out ready to go,” quarterback Joe Flacco said. “You know what Ray can do, so I expect him to come out and do all that: have some good carries, be effective first in the pass game.”

The Jets are no ordinary opponent, though.

The NFL’s reigning top-ranked defense from last season features a strong front seven anchored by nose guard Kris Jenkins and inside linebackers David Harris and Bart Scott.

“We both play that physical game of football,” Rice said. “It’s going to be who out-executes each other. I don’t think it’s going to be a first-quarter knockout. I want the game to go four quarters. That way, our true testament and will, will come out.”

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