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View Full Version : Ed: Mendenhall might not play in 2012



polamalubeast
02-13-2012, 02:30 PM
Ed just filed this for breaking news from an interview today with Kevin Colbert. And remember that Ed's live chat will be at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The Steelers are not counting on Rashard Mendenhall being able to play in 2012 because of his ACL surgery, and it appears they will not sign any of their own pending free agents before they hit the open market on March 13.

Those were two revelations general manager Kevin Colbert offered during an interview today at the Steelers facility on the South Side.


read more

http://burgh.us/csy

suitanim
02-13-2012, 02:39 PM
I have talked to a lot of people about the Steelers in the last month, and few of them were fans. I was surprised at how many of those people are really impressed with Mendenhall. I wonder if this isn't just us Steelers fans being spoiled again?

Anyway, I consider this very, very bad news.

Steeldude
02-13-2012, 02:43 PM
No big loss. Redman and company will do just fine

ALLD
02-13-2012, 02:46 PM
IR frees up a roster spot.

one side only
02-13-2012, 02:47 PM
Sounds like thay are going to draft a running back. Just don't do it in the first round, please. Don't forget about the young guys on the roster as well. I'd like to see Chad Spann get a chance to show what he can do.

SteelGhost
02-13-2012, 02:52 PM
Any word on Baron Batch ?

El-Gonzo Jackson
02-13-2012, 02:59 PM
If he can't play, then do they put him on IR and go with a combination of Redman, Dwyer, Batch and Clay??

Should be a veteran FA on the market to come to camp also. Too bad, but he is the best RB on the current roster. I know the legions of Lakelanders will not want to hear that.

XxKnightxX
02-13-2012, 03:25 PM
Its not a bad move, the FO is being smart and letting him fully heal, no use in rushing a guy in with a shady O line and getting him killed 2 months out of rehab. At this point hes a loss for the next season unless he gets put on the PUP list and he may be trade bait.

stillers4me
02-13-2012, 03:28 PM
Any word on Baron Batch ?

According to his tweets, his rehab is right on schedule and he's been running for at least a month.

oneforthetoe
02-13-2012, 03:38 PM
Its not a bad move, the FO is being smart and letting him fully heal, no use in rushing a guy in with a shady O line and getting him killed 2 months out of rehab. At this point hes a loss for the next season unless he gets put on the PUP list and he may be trade bait.

Isn't his contract up after 2012? I don't think anyone will offer much for a gimpy rb that is not under contract for any additional years. I seriously wonder if we have seen the last of Mendy here in the burgh.

SteelGhost
02-13-2012, 03:41 PM
According to his tweets, his rehab is right on schedule and he's been running for at least a month.

Thanks a lot !

ALLD
02-13-2012, 03:43 PM
We could theoretically lose him for two full seasons in his short tenure. There might be restrictions to cutting him because of the injury, but we need fewer chronic players and more durable types.

Count Steeler
02-13-2012, 03:45 PM
(preparing to run) Tiki Barber

suitanim
02-13-2012, 03:53 PM
HOLY SHIT!


Now you guys are kicking Mendenhall to the curb?

fansince'76
02-13-2012, 03:57 PM
HOLY SHIT!


Now you guys are kicking Mendenhall to the curb?

He dances and fumbles too much. :chuckle:

steeldevil
02-13-2012, 04:15 PM
That really, really, really sucks.

At least Redman is a good back and Dwyer has potential, imo.

steelpride12
02-13-2012, 04:36 PM
We are spoiled so of course in Steeler fans eyes, Mendy is not that great. He means the world to this team and has the last couple seasons. I think we are in pretty good hands with Redman and hopefully Batch turns out all he was suppose to be, but is Redman an every down back for an entire season? Well see.

O'Malley
02-13-2012, 05:01 PM
HOLY SHIT!


Now you guys are kicking Mendenhall to the curb?

They have plenty of backs to step up... The average RB career three years... IMO it's not that big of a hit losing him for a year.

ShutDown24
02-13-2012, 05:04 PM
HOLY SHIT!


Now you guys are kicking Mendenhall to the curb?

Considering there are people here who actually think Isaac Redman is a more accomplished back, I'd say Mendenhall has been under appreciated for quite a while. He was "kicked to the curb" shortly after being drafted.

ALLD
02-13-2012, 05:13 PM
He is not consistently available which is key to being a star. And when we get him back will he have lost anything and how long will he last?

X-Terminator
02-13-2012, 05:16 PM
Considering there are people here who actually think Isaac Redman is a more accomplished back, I'd say Mendenhall has been under appreciated for quite a while. He was "kicked to the curb" shortly after being drafted.

That's because he wasn't the second coming of the Bus, and Steelers fans love the power running game. But as of right now, with an average to below average OL, Redman is a better fit since he is a downhill runner. Mendenhall IMO needs a better OL to really be effective.

O'Malley
02-13-2012, 05:20 PM
That's because he wasn't the second coming of the Bus, and Steelers fans love the power running game. But as of right now, with an average to below average OL, Redman is a better fit since he is a downhill runner. Mendenhall IMO needs a better OL to really be effective.

This^... I didn't see the same explosive runs out of Mendy this year.. Although the run he got hurt on looked more like the Mendy I know. between Batch,Dwyer,Clay,Redman, I think the Steelers still have some great options at RB.

steel9guy
02-13-2012, 05:33 PM
I think the Steelers are loaded at RB. Even with Mendenhall out they will be fine. I'd like to see John Clay, Baron Batch and Dwyer get time anyways with Redman as the starter. I think Mendenhalls days are numbered in Pittsburgh. He'd be a good fit with a good Oline as said in the comments above.

O'Malley
02-13-2012, 05:43 PM
I think the Steelers are loaded at RB. Even with Mendenhall out they will be fine. I'd like to see John Clay, Baron Batch and Dwyer get time anyways with Redman as the starter. I think Mendenhalls days are numbered in Pittsburgh. He'd be a good fit with a good Oline as said in the comments above.

Trade to the Cheats***?

El-Gonzo Jackson
02-13-2012, 05:46 PM
That's because he wasn't the second coming of the Bus, and Steelers fans love the power running game. But as of right now, with an average to below average OL, Redman is a better fit since he is a downhill runner. Mendenhall IMO needs a better OL to really be effective.

Actually, he probably would benefit from a zone block scheme, where he can read the hole and pick it. That is what he did in Illinois. If they dont zone a lot, then I think he would have benefitted from a good lead blocker. It doesnt do much for him when every D lineman has stalemated one of our O linemen and there is nowhere to run.

and yes, we can put a #44 on David Johnson and he is still not a great blocker. Just watched the SB replay last night where he blocked nobody and Clay Matthews caused the fumble. Maybe tonight there will be the Ravens game where Johnson didnt block Ngata and he caused Mendenhall to fumble too.

I look forward to seeing Mendenhall in B&G for a good while longer, whether he is back this season or not.

steelreserve
02-13-2012, 05:51 PM
That's because he wasn't the second coming of the Bus, and Steelers fans love the power running game. But as of right now, with an average to below average OL, Redman is a better fit since he is a downhill runner. Mendenhall IMO needs a better OL to really be effective.

Please, I thought we settled a couple years ago that that wasn't the case. Like ... a couple meatheads were obsessed with the Bus and power running. Most people just wanted a running back that was effective all-around, as opposed to a situational back who was round-peg-square-holed into a role as the every-down starter, and continuing to force it year after year without looking for a replacement or even a complementary back.

Mendenhall was that all-around back for a few seasons, but for whatever reason, he started being less effective this year. I don't think it was just the OL, because we've never had a good OL while he's been around. And no matter what we do, people are going to bitch about the OL for at least the next 2-3 years anyway just out of habit, even if we sign five All-Pros.

At any rate, I'm not happy to hear this, because Mendenhall WAS still the most complete back on the roster. But if he can't regain his previous form, we're better off moving on. Wasn't surprised to hear the news either; ACL injuries are a bitch.

Psycho Ward 86
02-13-2012, 05:51 PM
According to his tweets, his rehab is right on schedule and he's been running for at least a month.

kind of a blessing in disguise that he went down so early

SteelerFanInStl
02-13-2012, 06:03 PM
That doesn't mean anything to me. Are they supposed to say that they ARE counting on him for this season? That would be stupid.

Injuries to the ACL take a long time to heal and recover from. Even if he plays some time this year, he won't be the same player. Might as well give it more time to heal.

I like Redman but I wouldn't be too comfortable going in to the season with him and Dwyer as our top 2 RBs.

Iron Steeler
02-13-2012, 08:44 PM
HOLY SHIT!


Now you guys are kicking Mendenhall to the curb?I've kicked him to the curb months ago... def not worth the 1stben round we wastes on hi

zulater
02-13-2012, 09:18 PM
We won a Super Bowl with Willie Parker as our primary back. The Packers won the Super Bowl the year before with James Starks as the main guy. In fact who would you say was the last great back who carried his team to a title anyway?

Yeah I hope Mendenhall comes back at 100% next year. But if he doesn't, it's not a fatal blow. I can think of about 15 players who's loss would hit harder.

Edman
02-13-2012, 09:59 PM
In 2009 and 2010, Mendenhall was pretty underappreciated.

In 2011, he was running less than spectacular and was being out-produced by Redman. It took Redman running with heart in the Tennessee game to finally wake him up for a big game against Jacksonville.

The first game Redman stepped in as "the man" he had an 100 yard game in the postseason. The Steelers will be fine with Redman. Don't Rush Mendenhall back. Let him be fully healed. ACL's are not easy to come back from.

suitanim
02-14-2012, 05:26 AM
Wow.....I just.............................................. ...wow.

Dino 6 Rings
02-14-2012, 08:05 AM
I like Mendy and liked the initial drafting of him. I hope he recovers and that he can prove the critics wrong and play next season at a high level.

steelerdude15
02-14-2012, 08:32 AM
He is by far the most underappreciated player on this team. He is one of the best backs in the league, but apparently will never receive the credit. Here are some of the issues that surround him, 1) under Arians he wasn't used according to his strengths and 2) he has shitty offensive line to deal with. Its simple, let him fully heal, continue to build the offensive line, and use him for his strengths. Not that hard to understand. Expect a dip of productivity in the run game this year.

The Duke
02-14-2012, 08:38 AM
He is by far the most underappreciated player on this team. He is one of the best backs in the league, but apparently will never receive the credit. Here are some of the issues that surround him, 1) under Arians he wasn't used according to his strengths and 2) he has shitty offensive line to deal with. Its simple, let him fully heal, continue to build the offensive line, and use him for his strengths. Not that hard to understand. Expect a dip of productivity in the run game this year.

I think that with an early round guard and Haley in town it wont suffer much

but yeah, Mendy will be missed in several aspects of his game. Who knows, maybe we'll have him back late in the season, perfect for a title run

suitanim
02-14-2012, 08:42 AM
51 GP, 813 attempts, 156 of those for first downs, 3367 yards, 4.1 average, 29 TD's, only 6 fumbles, all behind arguably the worst OL in the NFL.

But, yeah, it's no big deal that he might not be back.

steelerdude15
02-14-2012, 08:43 AM
I think that with an early round guard and Haley in town it wont suffer much

but yeah, Mendy will be missed in several aspects of his game. Who knows, maybe we'll have him back late in the season, perfect for a title run

I would LOVE for the Steelers to draft a guard in the first round! I'm excited to see what Haley can bring to the table and I hope that he can make this offense much more consistent with more consistent play calling, preparing, etc.

El-Gonzo Jackson
02-14-2012, 09:39 AM
My favorite complaint from the Mendenhall haters is "he dances too much".

If there is no hole to run thru, then what is he supposed to do? I guess run into the defender. The guys game is largely predicated on finding the seam and running thru it. I think he more than any of the RB's would benefit from a good lead blocker or a true zone blocking offense.

tube517
02-14-2012, 10:58 AM
Kick him to the curb! He's worthless and twinkle toes too much. :sarcasm: :chuckle:

zulater
02-14-2012, 05:47 PM
The Steelers placed starting running back Rashard Mendenhall on injured reserve this week after he tore his ACL. Statistics say Pittsburgh's running game will be more explosive without him. Since the start of 2010, Mendenhall averaged 3.9 yards per carry, the fifth-worst among the 28 players with at least 300 rushes in the past two seasons (according to ESPN S&I). Isaac Redman, who is expected to replace Mendenhall, is averaging 4.5 yards per carry over that span. Mendenhall also had the second fewest yards after contact (1.6 per carry) among running backs with at least 200 carries. The rest of the Steelers averaged 2.6 yards after contact.

espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/tag/_/name/rashard-mendenhall

So I guess we should cancel the season without Mendenhall or something? :noidea:

Sorry, but I don't see it. I'm not saying he's as bad as these numbers suggest, but if he's gone for next season what of it? We'll deal with it. It's not insurmountable. And regardless, outside of wishing him a speedy recovery what good will moping and whining about it do?

He'll either play next year or he wont. I'm not lowering my expectations either way.

ALLD
02-14-2012, 06:07 PM
He was good, but never great.

Psycho Ward 86
02-14-2012, 06:10 PM
The kid is 24 years old...some of you guys actually think he's peaked? Id be pretty concerned going into the season with just Redman, Dwyer, Batch, and Spann. That's a lot of unproven runningbacks. Whether or not out passing game/O-line can carry us is a question mark. Seriously, if Mendenhall was on IR at the beginning of next season, and Redman got injured, you guys would be comfortable with the runningback situation? lol?

zulater
02-14-2012, 08:04 PM
The kid is 24 years old...some of you guys actually think he's peaked? Id be pretty concerned going into the season with just Redman, Dwyer, Batch, and Spann. That's a lot of unproven runningbacks. Whether or not out passing game/O-line can carry us is a question mark. Seriously, if Mendenhall was on IR at the beginning of next season, and Redman got injured, you guys would be comfortable with the runningback situation? lol?

There's always another Willie Parker sitting out there somewhere. This isn't 1974, your offense doesn't revolve around your feature back. 14 out of the top 20 backs as measured by rushing yards missed the playoffs last season.

Baron Batch and Redman will get the job done.

Psycho Ward 86
02-14-2012, 08:12 PM
There's always another Willie Parker sitting out there somewhere. This isn't 1974, your offense doesn't revolve around your feature back. 14 out of the top 20 backs as measured by rushing yards missed the playoffs last season.

Baron Batch and Redman will get the job done.

Lol oh yeah? What's Batch done to merit being an NFL runningback? omg omg he somewhat blocked james harrison twice in a training camp drill! Doesnt matter, i have hopes for the kid, but no one knows if he's going to be that kind of guy yet. As i said before, what if Redman goes down. Now what?

Where is this willie parker comparison coming from? What on earth do they have in common other than a little dancing around when theres no hole? He is TWENTY FOUR years old, most RB's havent come close to peeking at that age yet. If runningbacks are so insignificant, why is it that all of our losses this year, including the playoffs, came against teams with some of the top running games in the league? If you think the passing game can carry this team, how so when we were a PASSING team (our strength) this season and only scored 20 points a game. The Haley impact has yet to come out of its shell, we dont know if we can play ball that way.

86WARD
02-14-2012, 08:19 PM
There are other players I'd be more worried about losing for a season before Mendenhall...a lot more.

zulater
02-14-2012, 08:22 PM
Lol oh yeah? What's Batch done to merit being an NFL runningback? omg omg he somewhat blocked james harrison twice in a training camp drill! Doesnt matter, i have hopes for the kid, but no one knows if he's going to be that kind of guy yet. As i said before, what if Redman goes down. Now what?

Where is this willie parker comparison coming from? What on earth do they have in common other than a little dancing around when theres no hole? He is TWENTY FOUR years old, most RB's havent come close to peeking at that age yet. If runningbacks are so insignificant, why is it that all of our losses this year, including the playoffs, came against teams with some of the top running games in the league? If you think the passing game can carry this team, how so when we were a PASSING team (our strength) this season and only scored 20 points a game. The Haley impact has yet to come out of its shell, we dont know if we can play ball that way.

Ok you win, I hereby concede the division to the Ravens and Bengals. Here's to our all out fight to beat the Browns and avoid being the cellar dwellar of the AFC North. Oh woe is us, God why do you punish us so?

Happy?

:coffee:

Count Steeler
02-14-2012, 08:22 PM
Let's not get overly fickle. Mendenhall has good value for our offense. Unfortunately, his motivation wanes from time to time, but Tomlin knows how to motivate him. A benching here, a talking to there and Mendenhall has some good games.

He is still young and maturing. We will miss him if he is gone for the year.

zulater
02-14-2012, 08:27 PM
There are other players I'd be more worried about losing for a season before Mendenhall...a lot more.

Exactly!

No one is happy that Mendenhall might miss next season. But if he does, I think the chances are good the Steelers will survive it. At least when you know something like this early it gives you a chance to make a contingency plan if needed. If Dwyer or Batch aren't looking like you hoped they would through OTA's you've got all summer to find someone else.

This is not a season killing injury for the Steelers!

zulater
02-14-2012, 08:30 PM
Let's not get overly fickle. Mendenhall has good value for our offense. Unfortunately, his motivation wanes from time to time, but Tomlin knows how to motivate him. A benching here, a talking to there and Mendenhall has some good games.

He is still young and maturing. We will miss him if he is gone for the year.

To me it's not a matter of being fickle. It's a matter of whether he'll play or not, and if he doesn't what effect his absence would have on our upcoming season.

If you guys want to have a wake go for it. I've got better things to do.

Count Steeler
02-14-2012, 08:38 PM
To me it's not a matter of being fickle. It's a matter of whether he'll play or not, and if he doesn't what effect his absence would have on our upcoming season.

If you guys want to have a wake go for it. I've got better things to do.

Let's not forget that Mendy has bumped Redman every time he is healthy. Tomlin and Arians must have seen something. Redman is servicable, and should be able to have a good season. But if Redman goes down, we are in a precarious position.

Besides, if we play our cards right, it will make us look that much better when we win the SB with our star RB on IR for the season.

Psycho Ward 86
02-14-2012, 08:40 PM
Ok you win, I hereby concede the division to the Ravens and Bengals. Here's to our all out fight to beat the Browns and avoid being the cellar dwellar of the AFC North. Oh woe is us, God why do you punish us so?

Happy?

:coffee:

well you're agreeing with me with no attempt at debate so yup :)

zulater
02-14-2012, 08:54 PM
Let's not forget that Mendy has bumped Redman every time he is healthy. Tomlin and Arians must have seen something. Redman is servicable, and should be able to have a good season. But if Redman goes down, we are in a precarious position.

Besides, if we play our cards right, it will make us look that much better when we win the SB with our star RB on IR for the season.

Some times preconceived notions are hard to dismiss. Look how long it took for Cowher to finally concede that Deshea Townsend was better than Dewayne Washington. And because James Harrison was cut several times it took years for him to finally win a starters job, even though every time he played in his early years he'd outplay Haggans or Porter's standard of play.

Mendenhall was a 1st round draft pick, Redman was undrafted, if it wasn't for their beginning status Redman would be on equal footing already with Mendenhall based on their play in this most recent season.

Last thing, I wish Mendy a speedy recovery and hope that he challenges for comeback player of the year when he's back playing again.

steelreserve
02-14-2012, 11:19 PM
My favorite complaint from the Mendenhall haters is "he dances too much".

If there is no hole to run thru, then what is he supposed to do? I guess run into the defender. The guys game is largely predicated on finding the seam and running thru it. I think he more than any of the RB's would benefit from a good lead blocker or a true zone blocking offense.

Yes, that's precisely it. Keep moving forward and pick up a yard or two instead of letting the defender come to you for a -1. When there's a seam, run through it, and when there's not, bash ahead and take what you can get. Most importantly, understand that there's not always going to be a hole, and learn to recognize the difference, so you don't always get caught looking for something that isn't there. That's what good all-around RBs do, and what Mendenhall did pretty well too until this year, then for some reason it seemed like he either regressed in his recognition or started trying to do too much.

I'm not surprised people are making Parker comparisons, because some version of that was Parker's biggest problem. Difference is, we've seen Mendenhall do better, but Parker made a career out of it.

Redman seems like he just tends to plow ahead regardless, which works reasonably well but isn't really the full picture either. The best outcome would be for Mendenhall to regain his previous form as an all-around back AND see Redman emerge as a legitimate force to be reckoned with in the meantime. And hopefully, with a new OC who might not be as married to the one-back-at-a-time method as Arians was for much of his stay, we'll come up with some creative ways to take advantage of that.

Craic
02-15-2012, 01:32 AM
I think the bigger story that people are missing - is the continued problems of our coaches over the last two coaching staffs not bending to reality.



Player
year
rushes
year
rushes or injury
year
rushes or injury
year
outcome


Mendenhall
'10
324
'11
injured
'12
Out for season
'13
????


Parker
'06
337
'07
321-injured
'08
Injured Knee 5 games
'09
Injured - lost starting job


Bettis*
'00
355
01
225 Season ending injury
02
Injured out 5 games

lost starting job


Foster
'92
390
93
177 - Out 6 games
'94
Out 5 games
'95
out





Bettis also ran 375 times in 97 316 times in 98 and 299 times in 99.


Anyone else see a pattern? The only one that breaks it is Bettis, as he had 3 consec. years of running around 300 plus yards. However, I remember him in the late 90's having a lot of health problems and fighting through them to play.

So, if the pattern holds, at 24 years of age, he's finished in the NFL as a starter. So much for the "featured back" being a great thing.

suitanim
02-15-2012, 05:37 AM
I don't think people are understanding that you can't just take elements of the team away without paying a price. We are already going to be missing (probably) Ward, and (maybe) Wallace. This would be the third starter (based on '11 opening day) who may not even be dressed. The defense is going to be in the same boat.

It's not something to take lightly...

zulater
02-15-2012, 05:51 AM
I don't think people are understanding that you can't just take elements of the team away without paying a price. We are already going to be missing (probably) Ward, and (maybe) Wallace. This would be the third starter (based on '11 opening day) who may not even be dressed. The defense is going to be in the same boat.

It's not something to take lightly...

It doesn't really matter how we take it. Him rehabbing well enough to play effectively next season or not has nothing to do with our perception of things.

It's just another challenge on the road for the Steelers. At least in this case it's one that's relatively spelled out before the offseason even begins. Therefore the Steelers can decide if the pieces are already in place to take up the slack or if they need to make provisions from off the current roster. I'll be watching with interest to see how they go about it. My general sense is that they're confident in the people they have, and wont use an early draft pick or a splash free agent to address Mendenhall's loss. But that's just my guess. Time will tell if I'm right or not?

The one person this might affect most is Mewelde Moore. I thought Moore had a good season last year, but I also thought he'd probably not be in the plans for 2012. If Mendenhall is indeed out for next season, Moore probably gets another year as a Steeler. And I'm good with that.

suitanim
02-15-2012, 07:43 AM
It doesn't really matter how we take it. Him rehabbing well enough to play effectively next season or not has nothing to do with our perception of things.



This cavalier and dismissive attitude people have is, hopefully, not pervasive in the FO.

"New OC? Great! Change is needed!. No Ward? No biggie! No Wallace? We have other WR's! Mendy out? Who cares, he's a bum!"

That's 4 big (possible) changes already in this offseason, just on offense, on a team that usually has very little change from year-to-year (which is also, incidentally, the reason they are so successful).

Again, I realize there is a faction who will disagree with me on just about everything no matter what I say, but I don't care about that. I'm worried that this team is going to struggle next year because of the massive amount of change. I'm not afraid of change per se, but not all change is good. We seem to be losing more than we are gaining...

tube517
02-15-2012, 08:46 AM
I think the bigger story that people are missing - is the continued problems of our coaches over the last two coaching staffs not bending to reality.



Player
year
rushes
year
rushes or injury
year
rushes or injury
year
outcome


Mendenhall
'10
324
'11
injured
'12
Out for season
'13
????


Parker
'06
337
'07
321-injured
'08
Injured Knee 5 games
'09
Injured - lost starting job


Bettis*
'00
355
01
225 Season ending injury
02
Injured out 5 games

lost starting job


Foster
'92
390
93
177 - Out 6 games
'94
Out 5 games
'95
out





Bettis also ran 375 times in 97 316 times in 98 and 299 times in 99.


Anyone else see a pattern? The only one that breaks it is Bettis, as he had 3 consec. years of running around 300 plus yards. However, I remember him in the late 90's having a lot of health problems and fighting through them to play.

So, if the pattern holds, at 24 years of age, he's finished in the NFL as a starter. So much for the "featured back" being a great thing.

I've said before that RBs that get over 300 carries constantly, don't last. You have to have 2 RBs that share the load. The feature back/workhorse is a thing of the past. If you have a feature back, it will probably be only a few years. Adrian Peterson and Chris Johnson were dominant a few years ago. Now? Their yards and carries have decreased.

Steeldude
02-15-2012, 12:51 PM
Where is this massive amount of change people are talking about? The Steelers looked to upgrade their OC. Ward played no significant role last season so I see no adjustments needed. Redman has shown to be a very capable RB, perhaps even better than Mendenhall. Wallace is still up in the air. He disappeared late in the season. He needs to be more than just a deep threat. I am not worried about the WRs or RBs. I feel the ILBs, OL and NT are the main concerns.

86WARD
02-15-2012, 02:02 PM
Fuck mewelde Moore. He's not replacing Mendenhall or Redman. There will be a new RB on the Steelers roster for 2012. No doubt.

Craic
02-15-2012, 04:22 PM
Where is this massive amount of change people are talking about? The Steelers looked to upgrade their OC. Ward played no significant role last season so I see no adjustments needed. Redman has shown to be a very capable RB, perhaps even better than Mendenhall. Wallace is still up in the air. He disappeared late in the season. He needs to be more than just a deep threat. I am not worried about the WRs or RBs. I feel the ILBs, OL and NT are the main concerns.

Wallace was double covered a lot and I think Ben used him to pull off safeties while throwing to Brown quite a bit as well. So it wasn't just that he disappeared. His role seemed to change into being as much of a decoy as anything else. I don't care about individual receiver stats, I care about how the receiving unit plays. Wallace taking two or three guys with him on a fly pattern where he isn't thrown the ball so that another receiver is free underneath and catches the ball, is just as important as Wallace catching it. It's a reception.

As for main concerns, with Hoke gone and Big Snack getting up in age, I'd say that's our first concern (though I'm still wondering if Ziggy can slide over and play NT while Kiesel is on the field). We seem to be able to fill in LB's pretty well. So I'm not as worried about them. I do however, think RB's are a big concern. Without Mendenhall, we have no RB that is a proven game in and game out player (Mendy wasn't even quite that). I know everyone has pointed at Redman, but he hasn't carried the team for a season and his style of running invites fatigue and injury. I'd like to see us get another RB, at least for this year (a FA vet at the end of his career with a season or two left in his tank is perfect, actually).

Other than that, I agree that O line should be focused on. All of the skill positions are taken care of already. There's NO reason to draft WR, QB, TE. I wouldn't mind an excellent CB, but I don't have my hopes up there.

El-Gonzo Jackson
02-15-2012, 05:39 PM
Wallace was double covered a lot and I think Ben used him to pull off safeties while throwing to Brown quite a bit as well. So it wasn't just that he disappeared. His role seemed to change into being as much of a decoy as anything else. I don't care about individual receiver stats, I care about how the receiving unit plays. Wallace taking two or three guys with him on a fly pattern where he isn't thrown the ball so that another receiver is free underneath and catches the ball, is just as important as Wallace catching it. It's a reception.

As for main concerns, with Hoke gone and Big Snack getting up in age, I'd say that's our first concern (though I'm still wondering if Ziggy can slide over and play NT while Kiesel is on the field). We seem to be able to fill in LB's pretty well. So I'm not as worried about them. I do however, think RB's are a big concern. Without Mendenhall, we have no RB that is a proven game in and game out player (Mendy wasn't even quite that). I know everyone has pointed at Redman, but he hasn't carried the team for a season and his style of running invites fatigue and injury. I'd like to see us get another RB, at least for this year (a FA vet at the end of his career with a season or two left in his tank is perfect, actually).

Other than that, I agree that O line should be focused on. All of the skill positions are taken care of already. There's NO reason to draft WR, QB, TE. I wouldn't mind an excellent CB, but I don't have my hopes up there.

Good points padre. I think Wallace's speed should open things up more for the other receivers, including Heath Miller. Maybe he will be used more in the offense as a receiver.

As for NT, I am willing to be there will be some free agent vets on the market who will come to camp if Hampton cant play on opening day, along with a rookie. LB is a real concern for me, as we really dont have anybody around and we again might have to look to a FA vet.

O line isnt bad as most think. We should start the season with Pouncey, Gilbert, Colon for starters and the OG battle will be a good one I think. I expect to see Foster, Jon Scott, Chris Scott, Legursky in camp, along with 2 draft picks.

RB's with Redman, Dwyer, Batch, Clay and a FA vet (like LeRon Mclain?) in camp might be a solid group too.

O'Malley
02-15-2012, 05:45 PM
I think with Redman, Clay, and Dwyer they have three power type backs.. Mix in some Batch to change it up, I personaly like the RB situation.. Not saying Mendy sucks by any means.. I also agree Mendy is yet to reach full maturation, still has upside(if he can get back to 100% health).. A torn ACL is nothing to sneeze at.. With that said IMO there is still four RBs' I'm excited about. Let him rehab and see what happens.. I still believe the RBs they have can get the job done! I also agree both sides of the ball the lines need to be shored up.. Even if Hood can step up to NT he needs a backup, Hampton may not be here... O-Line is the biggest void for the team... Without a good to great O-Line no use to have great receivers or RBs , or a top 5 QB... ARII needs to protect his biggest investment BR...

Count Steeler
02-15-2012, 05:54 PM
Dwyer, Clay and Batch are pretty unproven commodities. If Redman goes down, we will definitely be a pass first team. I'm still hoping that Mendy will not be off the entire season. However, if he is 50/50 at the start of the season, don't hold a roster spot for him. Put him on IR and let him recover fully.

SteelGhost
02-15-2012, 06:46 PM
Good points padre. I think Wallace's speed should open things up more for the other receivers, including Heath Miller. Maybe he will be used more in the offense as a receiver.

As for NT, I am willing to be there will be some free agent vets on the market who will come to camp if Hampton cant play on opening day, along with a rookie. LB is a real concern for me, as we really dont have anybody around and we again might have to look to a FA vet.

O line isnt bad as most think. We should start the season with Pouncey, Gilbert, Colon for starters and the OG battle will be a good one I think. I expect to see Foster, Jon Scott, Chris Scott, Legursky in camp, along with 2 draft picks.

RB's with Redman, Dwyer, Batch, Clay and a FA vet (like LeRon Mclain?) in camp might be a solid group too.

I don't know Gonzo, the NT free agents market is extremely reduced :noidea:

http://www.footballsfuture.com/2012/fa/dl.html

The Duke
02-15-2012, 07:43 PM
I always liked Paul Soliai, and Miami is likely not bringing him back. But laziness has always been a problem with him so I don't know if they would even consider signing him

suitanim
02-16-2012, 05:25 AM
Remember, too, that it takes time for D players to get up to speed. We are looking at some big changes on D this year, and we may have a relatively off year defensively. If so, we will need a more effective offense all the more. It won't help if we start the season minus one of our team leaders (Ward), our best WR (Wallace) and our #1 RB (Mendy) AND putting in a new offense.

El-Gonzo Jackson
02-16-2012, 09:37 AM
I don't know Gonzo, the NT free agents market is extremely reduced :noidea:

http://www.footballsfuture.com/2012/fa/dl.html

Like Duke said, Solai is an option, but might be too expensive. So to with Garay, Kelly Gregg, Shaun Rogers and a few others that might just have to be veteran plug in, if we cant find our NT in the draft.

suitanim
02-16-2012, 10:17 AM
Looking at the big picture, if we start the season with 3 starters at skill position last year gone, an OL in (at best) transition, a new OC and ostensibly a new offense being installed, a defense down 3-4 starters from the previous season, it might just be too much to overcome in one season. Even if we moved up from 21 in scoring, to, say, 10th, based on last year, we'd average 3 more points a game.

On the other side of the ball, say we DROP from number 1 to number 10 (and it's likely the defense will suffer more losses this year than the offense), we'd be giving up about SIX more points per game. Last year we went 12-4 by winning (on average) 20 to 14. With these estimates, we'd be in the 23-20 range. It stands to reason that by closing that average margin of victory gap, we could lose 3-4 more games.

Each starter we lose either through retirement, injury, FA, or whatever starts to create a cascading effect. The younger guys may be more talented or a shade faster or whatever, but experience counts. I think it was Denver's DC who pointed out that the average experience for the Steelers defense was 9 years per. He didn't see that as our guys being old, rather them being very experienced and being able to run very complex defenses. I'm worried that maybe the hallmark of our teams recent success (retaining almost all of our players and coaches from year-to-year) may slip a bit this year.

X-Terminator
02-16-2012, 11:54 AM
I think the defense will be affected more than the offense, though, in terms of turnover. Hampton, Hoke and Farrior possibly all gone will hurt more than the offense losing Ward and Mendenhall (I'm not buying the presumption that Wallace will be gone). They don't have a true backup NT or MLB, and will either have to bring in FA or plug in draft picks who will have to learn LeBeau's defense on the fly. No such problem with the offense, since they can just plug in Redman for Mendenhall and either keep Cotchery or bring in another #4 WR. And if Haley holds to his plan to just tweak, not overhaul, the offensive scheme, so much the better.

SteelGhost
02-16-2012, 12:52 PM
Like Duke said, Solai is an option, but might be too expensive. So to with Garay, Kelly Gregg, Shaun Rogers and a few others that might just have to be veteran plug in, if we cant find our NT in the draft.

Garay could be a nice plug in if he's healthy imo.

zulater
02-16-2012, 12:54 PM
I think the defense will be affected more than the offense, though, in terms of turnover. Hampton, Hoke and Farrior possibly all gone will hurt more than the offense losing Ward and Mendenhall (I'm not buying the presumption that Wallace will be gone). They don't have a true backup NT or MLB, and will either have to bring in FA or plug in draft picks who will have to learn LeBeau's defense on the fly. No such problem with the offense, since they can just plug in Redman for Mendenhall and either keep Cotchery or bring in another #4 WR. And if Haley holds to his plan to just tweak, not overhaul, the offensive scheme, so much the better.

Agreed!

suitanim
02-16-2012, 01:04 PM
And that NT position is SO important to the success of the 3-4. If we are forced into a stop-gap situation, or we count on an FA or even one of our own current players to adapt and it doesn't work, it will also have a cascading effect. If your 3 guys up front aren't occupying more than 3 blockers, it will "trickle back" to the LB's, who won't be freed up, and it gets only worse from there.

zulater
02-16-2012, 05:55 PM
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/02/16/clinton-portis-wants-to-play-football-again/

Not to worry, Clinton Portis is looking for a landing spot! :heh: