OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Running back Justin Forsett was asked about the departure of offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak when he re-signed with the Baltimore Ravens in March.

"That's the reason why I wanted to come back, because I knew I had my hogs up front, and thank God Gary [Kubiak] is not one of those linemen," he said. "I'm not worried too much about his departure."

Six months later, it's officially time to worry. The Ravens have gone from the No. 8 rushing attack in 2014 to the No. 27 one just three games into this season.

The struggles of the ground game is the biggest surprise of the Ravens' 0-3 start. Forsett was back, and so were the Ravens' top seven offensive linemen.

The only piece missing is Kubiak. The Ravens couldn't run the ball the season before he arrived (30th in rushing), and they have yet to establish the run the season after he left.

So, is the run game off kilter because of the loss of Kubiak?

"Nah, the little things that we need to fix up has nothing to do with play calls," said Forsett, who ranks 33rd in the NFL in rushing. "It's the players. We have to execute. That goes for me. That goes for everyone. When it goes well, it's because of all of us. When it goes wrong, we all have to take ownership of it."

It's a valid point that the players aren't executing, and it's specifically the offensive line. Offensive tackles Rick Wagner and James Hurst rank in the bottom 10 in run blocking, according to Pro Football Focus. The run grades for guards Marshal Yanda and Kelechi Osemele as well as center Jeremy Zuttah are also significantly lower than 2014.

The blocking was so good last season that the Ravens averaged 3.15 yards before contact (third-best in the NFL). The blocking has been so poor this year that Baltimore is averaging 1.67 yards before contact (29th in the league).

While the players haven't performed up to last year's standards, the coaches believe they can put them in a better position to succeed.

"I have to do a better job of making sure the plays that we're running attack the weaknesses when we can find the weaknesses," offensive coordinator Marc Trestman said. "I have to do a better job,. It starts with me and everybody working together to try to get it done. I think it's too early to really point a finger at where we are."

In Trestman's 12 years as a head coach or offensive coordinator in the NFL, he's only had one season when his running game has finished higher than 16th. But it should also be noted that Kubiak isn't working the same magic with the Broncos, who have the second-worst running game in the NFL.

All offseason, the Ravens coaches and players said they were going to keep the same principles of Kubiak's run game and use the same zone-blocking scheme. There obviously has been something lost in translation.

The greatest change from last season has been the inability to break long runs. Last year, Forsett led the NFL with 17 runs over 20 yards. In three games this year, he has one.

“We've got to have a sense of urgency, but you can't panic,” Forsett said. “We've got to keep working. And when it hits, it's going to hit and we'll be that explosive team that we know we can be in the run game.”