Labriola on how the Steelers can run the ball

[polamalubeast]

Ready or not, here it comes:

• It started on Jan. 15 with this from Steelers President Art Rooney II: "I would like to see us be a team that can be more consistent running the football. I think that has to be a part of the game."

• Then there was this on April 20, 72 hours before the start of the NFL Draft, from Coach Mike Tomlin: "There's some top-quality backs in this draft who could help us, but there are also some other positional guys who could help us. We'll let the development do the work for us. If we get an opportunity to add a back who could bring some things to our current pool, we'll be excited about that. We have every intention of running the ball better in 2020 than we did in 2019, whether we add that back or not, and that's just being bluntly honest with you."

• And following the draft, there was a lot of this from fans: "So we selected another receiver for Ben Roethlisberger and allowed the Ravens to select running back J.K. Dobbins. I do not believe the current group of running backs can balance the offense effectively. Championship teams have a feature back, and I still believe Dobbins, or D'Andre Swift, or Jonathan Taylor could have been that for the Steelers. Our defense is physical but our offense continues to be less than the Steelers' traditional physical style. Le'Veon Bell ran over defenders much like Jerome Bettis did. James Connor runs tough but is injury-prone. Anyhow, we had a shot at a feature back a la Ezekiel Elliot, and we passed on him for a big wide receiver."

• Because the Steelers rushed for 1,447 yards during the 2019 regular season (90.4 per game to rank 29th in the league) and averaged 3.7 yards per attempt (to rank 30th in the league), and because Art Rooney II had said he wanted to see the team "be more consistent running the football," the assumption – as illustrated in the above paragraph – was that the team would use the draft to address all of that. And in the process, fix it.

• That in fact is precisely one of the things the Steelers did address in the draft, and what they did was designed to make them more effective running the football in 2020, and beyond.

read more

https://www.steelers.com/news/labriola-on-how-the-steelers-can-run-the-ball

[Born2Steel]

That was an interesting read. I still think the RB room was set predraft and McFarland will need to earn his roster spot. I think Claypool walks in the first day as WR4 or WR5 already with a chance to earn WR3 status for the 2020 season. The one thing I think all Steelers fans should be able to agree on is how the return of a healthy Ben improves this offense no matter the personnel grouping. Can the running game improve without adding a 'feature' RB? Absolutely.

[86WARD]

This:


• Not only is the trend against spending high draft picks on running backs, but the idea of a team needing a dynamic individual to provide the kind of running game that's necessary to win a championship just isn't true anymore. The 2019 Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs had Damien Williams and LeSean McCoy at running back, and neither of them rushed for even 500 yards on the season. The "feature back" for New England's three most recent championship teams were Sony Michel in 2018, LeGarrette Blount in 2016, and Shane Vereen in 2014. When Denver won the Super Bowl following the 2015 season, their feature back was Ronnie Hillman, and he was supported by C.J. Anderson.

• And while Michel rushed for 931 yards and scored six touchdowns in 2018, Conner rushed for 973 yards and scored 12 rushing touchdowns that same season. Additionally, Conner's 12 rushing touchdowns helped the Steelers finish with the most efficient red zone offense in the league that season, which is a much more accurate measure of a back's effectiveness than total number of yards gained.

This here is the only response you need when debating someone about not drafting or spending money on a back...but having said that, I wish Bell never left...lol

[crcsnail]

Does Bell wish he had never left ? Makes u wonder?

[polamalubeast]

Does Bell wish he had never left ? Makes u wonder?

I don't know but one thing is for sure, he thought he would have had a better offer for him (and better team) in the open market when he was a free agent.2020 is likely to be his last year with the Jets since Adam Gase doesn't seem to like him.

[Craic]

I don't know but one thing is for sure, he thought he would have had a better offer for him (and better team) in the open market when he was a free agent.2020 is likely to be his last year with the Jets since Adam Gase doesn't seem to like him.

I doubt he thought he'd get on a better team. Teams that spend lots of money in free-agency usually are not teams that are good teams year in and year out. As for the offer, let us remember that he didn't care about the overall offer, he cared about guaranteed moneys. So, did he think he'd get more? Maybe, but he got most of what he wanted--a guarantee he wouldn't injure himself the second game in and be out millions and millions of dollars.

Of course, my problem with that was it signaled to me maybe he knew something about his body that others didn't. It made me pretty hesitant to want him back for all the guaranteed money for which he was asking.

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

Does Bell wish he had never left ? Makes u wonder?

Bell had 5 great season with the Steelers and made around $16million over those 5 years. Bell made $15million last season as part of his contract that was worth $27million guaranteed.

I would never regret leaving a place that paid me 1/5th of what I was worth.

[polamalubeast]

I doubt he thought he'd get on a better team. Teams that spend lots of money in free-agency usually are not teams that are good teams year in and year out. As for the offer, let us remember that he didn't care about the overall offer, he cared about guaranteed moneys. So, did he think he'd get more? Maybe, but he got most of what he wanted--a guarantee he wouldn't injure himself the second game in and be out millions and millions of dollars.

Of course, my problem with that was it signaled to me maybe he knew something about his body that others didn't. It made me pretty hesitant to want him back for all the guaranteed money for which he was asking.

Read this article...Joel Corry is a former NFL agent… I don't think it was a financially win for Bell in the 3 options that Bell had.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/agents-take-what-did-leveon-bells-year-off-ultimately-mean-lets-break-down-his-jets-contract/

Bell's demands were just unrealistic too....

https://247sports.com/nfl/pittsburgh-steelers/Article/LeVeon-Bell-new-contract-demands--129302042/

There is a reason why the Bell agent had accepted the offer of the steelers in 2017 according to Ed Bouchette.The offer was not bad.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2728265-leveon-bell-reportedly-blocked-5-year-steelers-contract-after-agent-made-deal

You can believe what you want, but I don't think Bell chose the best option among the 3 options he had, especially when reading that Joel Corry had written.I'm happy for Bell if he thinks he chose the best option for him, but was it the right decision financially for him especially if you consider he sit out for a year despite a big offer?

[crcsnail]

Thanks for reply’s . I liked him , thought he was a great player . Could have been another Steeler legend if he had stayed but now just going to fade away imo.

[Six Rings]

The Running back position is not in very good. We'll see what a later round rookie can do. Looks like a plan B and hope to me.

The straight dope is this team is 2 years from falling apart....age at QB ( Ben ), OL, ( Pouncey, ) CB ( Haden ) are going to be issues, and 2 years from now Ju-Ju so they say won't be on the team. The Steelers cap management issues don't offer room too to sign top NFL free agents, they rather give 15 million a season to say Bud Durpee.

Ben is the paste and glue that keeps this team together. Once he retires, its over unless the Steelers can find a good replacement....and then replace Pouncey, and Haden ( Two pro bowl players ) plus they still need to find a back unless the rookie is it.

Had the Steelers drafted M Sweat in round 1, and DK Metcalf in round two ( My calls ) Dupree could walk...we'd get a 3rd round pick for him next year ( Comp pick ), and save oh about 14 million on the salary cap. Metcalf would have given us a big WR with deep speed, and we would have kept our 3rd round pick this draft. But NO, we traded up for Bush, who's good, but probably gave up too much to get him.

[polamalubeast]

One year at a time ... Things can change quickly sometimes .... It doesn't take 5 years to build a good team in the NFL if the front office is good.This is not baseball.Worried only about 2020 right now…

By the way, James Conner is so underrated right now .... Yes he had problems with injuries but I saw players in the past have problems with injuries early in their career and after it was a thing of the past .... I'm not saying that it will be the case but he is a very good player… Some wanted that Conner be traded for a 6th round draft pick which is ridiculous ... Just need the depth behind him so that he doesn't have 25- 30 touch per game.

[86WARD]

One year at a time ... Things can change quickly sometimes .... It doesn't take 5 years to build a good team in the NFL if the front office is good.This is not baseball.Worried only about 2020 right now…

By the way, James Conner is so underrated right now .... Yes he had problems with injuries but I saw players in the past have problems with injuries early in their career and after it was a thing of the past .... I'm not saying that it will be the case but he is a very good player… Some wanted that Conner be traded for a 6th round draft pick which is ridiculous ... Just need the depth behind him so that he doesn't have 25- 30 touch per game.

Also need Ben to take the pressure off the O-Line and the run blitz. Gotta keep the defense honest...