Steelers coach Mike Tomlin doesn’t plan to continue the growing NFL trend of running back rotations in Pittsburgh, despite the presence of a first-round pick as his backup.
In comments Saturday, Tomlin made it clear that Willie Parker will lead, and Rashard Mendenhall will simply get leftover scraps.
“Willie Parker’s our runner,” Tomlin said. “Rashard’s
done a nice job and he’s going to get an opportunity to get his
touches, but more important than anything else, Willie Parker is our
runner.”
Mendenhall’s training camp and preseason played to mixed reviews, and he averaged only 3.1 yards per carry in exhibition play. Tomlin has praised Mendenhall of late, but the coach will speak loudest with playing time.
At this point, Mewelde Moore seems likely to get more action than the team’s 2008 first-round pick because he has a clear role on third downs.
Parker, meanwhile, will start his contract year push with a matchup against the Titans just four days from now. That sounds pretty sweet, doesn’t it?
[Editor's note: Yes it does. Until something goes "snap" in one of Willie's lower extremities.]
This article leads me to believe that the Steelers had better hope Parker doesn’t get hurt.
If he does, their running game won’t scare anybody. And without a decent running attack, everything falls onto their QB, Ben “Toothlessberger”.
If that happens, watch the opposing defenses really pin their ears back and start looking to squish old “Toothy”. By the end of the season, he will feel like he’s been riding that motorcycle of his without a helmet again…
Well DUH!!!! Willie is our starter. “Our runner!” Mendenhall will get the same carries he got at the beginning of last season, Moore will get 3rd downs. This is no news.
@steeler-hater
Please refer to 2008 when both Parker and Mendenhall were hurt.
Tomlin will again run Parker “until the wheels come off” as he likes to say meaning two or three games into the season.
@superfan99
The reason why the Steelers won was mostly because of their defense.
Their offense was ranked only #20 in the NFL (#17 passing, #23 rushing) last year so that is why (like I’ve said many times before) old Toothlessberger is very overrated. Put a truly great passer on this team (like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady or even Drew Brees) and the Steelers win more than 2 rings.
”Toothy” gets way too much credit for the team’s success. So does the running game. The defense should get all the credit. If the “D” wasn’t as good, the offense couldn’t carry the team well enough to win it all. “Toothy” himself has stated as much when he was quoted recently as saying the offense has to start carrying more of its own weight instead of relying so much on the defense to win…
“steeler-hater-
This article leads me to believe that the Steelers had better hope Parker doesn’t get hurt.
If he does, their running game won’t scare anybody. And without a decent running attack, everything falls onto their QB, Ben “Toothlessberger”.
If that happens, watch the opposing defenses really pin their ears back and start looking to squish old “Toothy”.”
That’s exactly what happened last year. Parker and Mendenhall both got injured, the offensive line stunk, and defenses tried to take out Roethlisberger. What happened? The Steelers won the Super Bowl.
Face it- the Steelers are a pass first team, and they have a top 3 QB in Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger thrives on pressure.
In 2006 he blew it out of his ass. Pit. isn’t a pass first team.
Run of Pass we have a great “team”. Not bad for “toothless” to have 2 Super Bowl rings in five years. We have a “team”. You can say what you want but that changes nothing!!! Therapy might help you…
Pitt’s all about defense, that’s it. Pitts offense doesnt scare anybody. #23 in rushing last year. Roethlisberger isn’t a top 3 passing QB. He’s a top 3 ‘game manager.’
“the crazy tomato-
In 2006 he blew it out of his ass. Pit. isn’t a pass first team. ”
You mean three seasons ago, after he had a motorcycle crash and an appendectomy to start the season, followed by a concussion in the Falcons game? What relevance does that have now? Way to cherry pick one season. Why not bring up 2007?
The Steelers didn’t have a running game last year. They failed miserably whenever they tried to establish it. The Steelers relied on Roethlisberger when they needed points. The winning TD drive at the end of SB XLIII was a continuation of how things worked all season.
It isn’t 2001 or 2004 anymore. The Steelers offense isn’t “smash mouth” clock killing offense. It’s pass first, hope to establish some semblance of a running game.
Face it- the Steelers are a pass first team, and they have a top 3 QB in Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger thrives on pressure.
AMEN
The Steelers realized that that a great D and running game wasn’t enough. They needed a franchise QB to get over the hump. Since then they have two more trophy’s to show for it.
“A pass first team” “A top 3 QB”
Dude, don’t embarrass yourself like this again. If you live here in pittsburgh, that’s bad enough.
Steeler-hater–Wow!!–just when i thought i couldn’t read anything more ignorant–Your douchebag self chimes in..you should be beaten like a pinata for your lack of football acumen—As some of our more intelligent posters have stated –please refer to 2008…Suckers!!!!!
That’s some great insight, stuk.
“-The Rural Juror
Roethlisberger isn’t a top 3 passing QB. He’s a top 3 ‘game manager.’”
What does that even mean, really? Roethlisberger’s a “game manager” in the sense that he rarely does something that causes the Steelers to lose the game.
He not a “game manager” in the traditional sense because he’s the focal point of the offense when the game is on the line. He’s bailed the Steelers out of seemingly impossible situations time and again, such as bailing out the Steelers’ vaunted defense after its late game collapse in the Super Bowl. He’s not a “game manager,” as he does more than preside over a Dilfer or Pennington-like 15 yard dink-and-dunk passing game.
Roethlsiberger doesn’t put up big numbers like Brees in a dome in garbage time. He just wins.
Big Ben isn’t a top-3 QB. Plays great playoffs, everything you need as a QB when you have the elements to win at key positions on a team, but 17 tds and 15 ints plus taking that many sacks says that he isn’t among the top handful of QB’s in the NFL. This is more a technical correction on my part than it is an argument.
-Sow Crates
Big Ben isn’t a top-3 QB. Plays great playoffs, everything you need as a QB when you have the elements to win at key positions on a team, but 17 tds and 15 ints plus taking that many sacks says that he isn’t among the top handful of QB’s in the NFL. This is more a technical correction on my part than it is an argument.-
That’s right, the Steelers O sure was stacked in 2008, wasn’t it. A patchwork offensive line that lost 2 starters to injury, an anemic running game featuring an injured Willie Parker, an offensive coordinator who stubbornly insisted on trying to establish the run every game when it was clear it wasn’t an option, and a receiving corps featuring Hines Ward, an underachieving 1st round pick, and an #3 reciever with suspect hands who came undrafted from D-3 Tiffin.
17 TDs and 15 Ints aren’t that impressive on their own, but, when considered in context, they’re pretty good. Consider 2007- 32 Tds, 11 Ints when Faneca was still around and Parker was reasonably healthy. The sacks were an issue, but they mostly fell on the O-line- See the week 3 Eagles debacle.
The bottom line is that no other QB in the league could have won a Super Bowl with the Steelers last year. Not even Brady (see his performance versus the Giants in XLII, when his O-line imitated the Steelers’ O-line)
Roethlisberger is consistently underrated. He comes in his rookie year and takes a team that went 6-10 to 15-1 and the AFCC and people write it off as having come to a good team. He carries the Steelers through the playoffs in 2005 and people write it off because of a bad Super Bowl. He has a bad year during Cowher’s 2006 retirement tour after almost dieing in the offseason and people use that to justify their opinion that he is mediocre. He has a very good statistical year in 2007 and makes the Pro Bowl and people ignore it. He somehow leads a terrible offense to comeback win after comeback win culminating with an all-time classic game winning Super Bowl drive and people shrug.
We’ll see how Roethlsiberger does in 2009, with a line that’s gelling and a Holmes who looks like he’s starting to get it.
If Roethlisberger isn’t in the “top handful” of
NFL QBs, then who is?
Top Qb’s:
Peyton
Brady
Brees
Warner
Rivers
McNabb
Cutler
Rodgers
Ben barely makes the top 10. He’s good enough to get wins, but without a monster D there is no way he would be able to carry the team. Ben is a good game manage, but the entire offense is just average. A lot of QBs could do a better job if they were in his place. A good but not great QB
Brees- top 5, very accurate, but ultimately a Superdome garbagetime stat guy. How is he on the road?
Warner- great when he has stellar WRs and a good line, worthless when he doesn’t.
Rivers- top 5, but has had an all around better offensive cast
McNabb- choker
Cutler and Rodgers over Roethlisberger? What have they ever done? They’re flavors of the month. I’m surprised you didn’t include Ryan and Flacco on the list.
It’s interesting to note the omission of Carson Palmer. Just a few short years ago he was the punditry’s consensus choice for the best QB in the AFCN. Now he’s not even a top 10 QB.
I’ll take Roethlisberger over any QB in the league. He may hold onto the ball too long sometimes and get sacked, but when our O-Line does blow blocks he makes plays most of the QB’s in the league can only dream of making. He extends the play, which can drive you crazy at times, but most of the time he makes amazing plays. It’s great to be on top, only on Steeler feeds will you find the most idiotic comments from non-Steeler fans. I hope the Titans get blasted on Thursday night.
@wyoff,
If “Toothy” is a “Top 3 QB” in the NFL then why were the Steelers only ranked #17 in passing? You can’t say it is because their running game was so great. It ranked #23 in the NFL. Overall, the total Steeler offense ranked #20 in the league. If “Toothy” is so great as a QB, how come the numbers don’t show it? How come the offense isn’t even in the Top 10?
Face it… the Steeler defense covered the Steeler offense’s arses.
“Toothy” is little more than a game manager. The defense is clearly the biggest reason they won anything at all.
@ Brenston Buckner,
instead of resorting to baseless insults, why not explain how an offense can be potent when it is ranked so low in the league.
Is it too hard for you to understand that there were 19 NFL teams statically ranked ahead of the Steelers in 2008? There were 22 other teams which put up better rushing stats than the Steelers and 16 teams that put up better passing number than the Steelers.
If “Toothlessberger” was indeed a “Top 3 QB” then how come the stats do not reflect that?
It’s simple math. I’m sorry I am confusing you Steeler fans with the facts. But the biggest fact is that Pittsburgh won the titles mostly due to their defense. “Toothy” is little more than a glorified game manager. Put Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, or several other more talented passers in as the Steeler starter instead of “Toothy” and I’ll bet that Pittsburgh would have won 5 titles in a row instead of just those 2 titles spread apart.
Only Steeler fans think “Toothy” is as good (or better) than Brady or Peyton. Us more rational fans outside Pittsburgh know better…
Not saying he’s better but before Randy Moss, Brady threw no more than 28 TD’s. Yet because of his game managing he was considered a top two qb. Peyton has never played a season without legit weapons. (Harrison and Wayne vs. Ward and Holmes?) I know who anyone would pick.
Manning won a Super Bowl because of a superior defense, so did Brady. The proof is in the pudding Steeler Haters. Roethlesberger has always had much less to work with. He is in a class with Brady and Manning no doubt. Anyone who places Rivers and Brees above him are probably the same guys who have won their fantasy leagues but chose the Panthers to win the Super Bowl the last few years.
@steeler-hater
We wouldnt expect intelligence or objectivity from some stupid, ignorant redneck named “steeler-hater”
You ask why the passing game was only 17th…maybe because our OLine is horrible and our top two RBs were injured, thus taking away play action.
Im not going to take much time explaining things to you, seeing as how your name tells the whole story. Pretty sad when you identify yourself as a Steeler hater before you label yourself as the team you actually cheer for. Probably a Cleveland Sh1tStain fan. Regardless of who you cheer for, you are sad and pathetic.