It was a barrel of laughs when first-round pick and starting left tackle Ronnie Stanley wore a chicken suit at the Ravens' annual rookie show.
But it's a much more serious matter that Stanley and his linemates not be chickens this fall, or the team will be over a barrel, again.
Besides reviving a moribund running game, a more important priority for the offensive line is to protect newly healed quarterback Joe Flacco from opposing pass rushers, so the Ravens won't have to test their quarterback depth.
When backup left tackle James Hurst was shoved into Flacco's left knee late in the fourth quarter of an eventual home win against the St. Louis Rams last Nov. 22 -- causing a season-ending ligament tear -- Flacco's streak of 137 straight starts (including playoffs), an NFL record for quarterbacks at the start of their careers, was finished.
