LLT
09-08-2012, 05:06 AM
September 8, 2012
By Gerry Dulac / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Since he became coach in 2007, Mike Tomlin has not been afraid to use one running back until the wheels came off. And sometimes they did.
Willie Parker was leading the league with 321 carries in '07 when he fractured his leg in Week 15 in St. Louis. Rashard Mendenhall was one of just five NFL backs to have more than 300 carries when he had 324 in '10.
In the five years under Tomlin and offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, the Steelers' top running back never had to worry about getting the bulk of the work, whether it was Parker or Mendenhall. The team's leading rusher averaged 263.2 carries a season in those five years.
That, though, might all change under Todd Haley, who used the running back-by-committee approach in Kansas City and looks as if he might want to do the same with the Steelers.
"As of right now, we've been switching out every play [in practice]," said running back Isaac Redman. "It looks like they might want to use us as a group instead of one guy."
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/steelers/steelers-rbs-wait-for-call-on-starter-652353/#ixzz25s5GubN5
By Gerry Dulac / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Since he became coach in 2007, Mike Tomlin has not been afraid to use one running back until the wheels came off. And sometimes they did.
Willie Parker was leading the league with 321 carries in '07 when he fractured his leg in Week 15 in St. Louis. Rashard Mendenhall was one of just five NFL backs to have more than 300 carries when he had 324 in '10.
In the five years under Tomlin and offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, the Steelers' top running back never had to worry about getting the bulk of the work, whether it was Parker or Mendenhall. The team's leading rusher averaged 263.2 carries a season in those five years.
That, though, might all change under Todd Haley, who used the running back-by-committee approach in Kansas City and looks as if he might want to do the same with the Steelers.
"As of right now, we've been switching out every play [in practice]," said running back Isaac Redman. "It looks like they might want to use us as a group instead of one guy."
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/steelers/steelers-rbs-wait-for-call-on-starter-652353/#ixzz25s5GubN5