Is what it took for Conner to match Bell's season total in 2017 for 20+ yard rushes. Oh but Bell is so explosive right
Also on pace to get double digit rushing TD's for the season, something Bell hasn't done yet.
Is what it took for Conner to match Bell's season total in 2017 for 20+ yard rushes. Oh but Bell is so explosive right
Also on pace to get double digit rushing TD's for the season, something Bell hasn't done yet.
It is about time somebody started a thread on this topic.
I love the way Conner has improved his feel for the passing game and his hands.
One of the most impressive things he did yesterday was on a swing pass in the right flat when Ben was under pressure. He spun to adjust to the ball and snagged it cleanly, then immediately put a move on a defender and ran with power to gain significant yards on the play.
It probably won't make anyone's highlight reel, but that play showed me some real natural pass catching skills, and really displayed his progression as a player with his feel for the game.
He was very impressive. He still needs to get better at running routes and his ball security could be better, but it was a great day for James Conner and the Steelers. For Le'Veon Bell......not so much.
Last edited by pczach; 10-08-2018 at 08:25 AM.
I'm so happy hes getting his chance to shine! This would not have happened for him if Bell was playing. Kudos to to him for running with the opportunity. ( pun intended!)
HMM. Update through wk 5.
Conner has very similar numbers, even slightly better through a 5 week sample now. The team is a half game worse, largely due to defense.
More yards per carry. 29 less rushing yards on 18 fewer carries.
Almost 100 more receiving yards on 5 less receptions.
2 more TD’s
Almost 50% more points for the offense
Only the fumble in week 1 is worse, but Bell lost 2 fumbles last year in week 8 and week 12.
Oh, and most importantly. Over $4M less to this point.
System, line, qb, wr’s. Bell’s future financials are diminishing as just a guy we picked up in the 3rd round is performing as well or better at 5% of the cost.
Running Backs are a dime a dozen. Good GMs still know that.
Bell skipping out of the first half of the season is a bigger blessing than it is curse ...
Had bell been here wk 1 we would not know what we have in Conner and would likely have spent a high round pick in the next draft for a RB ...
now we do not have to .......
Kenny Pickett is who I though he was .. Eagles problem now
Conner is doing fantastic, but if there is anything I learned from years past. The Steelers don't get very far with one guy. The Bus couldn't do it, and neither could Bell even on his best days. The NFL works in funny ways. All it takes is one bad break to Conner, one awkward snap and the Steelers are essentially stuck with Stevan Ridley who isn't that good.
All of the Steelers' Super Bowl teams had a multi-faceted rushing attack.
1970's: Franco and Rocky. Nuff Said.
1995: Bam Morris and Erric Pegram.
2005: Jerome Bettis and Willie Parker
2008: Willie Parker and Mewelde Moore
2010: Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman
Its really a pity Bell had to be so dumb. He can Conner could've been a two-headed monster. The team doesn't "Need" Bell, but would be better with him.
after 5 games there is no better picture of average than this steelers team 2-2-1
Kenny Pickett is who I though he was .. Eagles problem now
The main reason the Bus didn't make it to the Super Bowl until his 10th year with the team was because of shitty QB play. Put a past his rookie playoff jitters Big Ben on one of those earlier teams and Bettis probably makes a Super Bowl trip earlier
The main reason the Steelers haven't been to a Super Bowl since Bell's arrival is because of porous defense.
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Conner again showed that they don't need Bell, just like he showed in Cleveland. Hopefully he keeps it up
Bus only has ONE 100-yard rushing game in the postseason. ONE, and that was against the Broncos in 1997. Bus inevitably broke down from the wear and tear of being the bellcow for those Steelers teams all those years.The main reason the Bus didn't make it to the Super Bowl until his 10th year with the team was because of shitty QB play. Put a past his rookie playoff jitters Big Ben on one of those earlier teams and Bettis probably makes a Super Bowl trip earlier
And below-standard play from everyone else. Bell runs for his life in the 2016 postseason, but the Chiefs game is still in doubt because Ben did nothing, and once Bell hit the wall in the title game, Ben did nothing again and the Defense disappeared.The main reason the Steelers haven't been to a Super Bowl since Bell's arrival is because of porous defense.
In 2017, Ben gives Jacksonville 14 points and puts the Steelers in a hole, and a poor Defense was the nail in the coffin.
And when the Steelers inevitably end up making an early postseason exit again this year (assuming they even make the playoffs) as a result of Conner breaking down, who will you blame then? I hope they don't follow your advice and just jettison Bell out of town because of a dispute.Conner again showed that they don't need Bell, just like he showed in Cleveland. Hopefully he keeps it up
One-man rushing attacks don't win in the NFL. Walter Payton couldn't do it (Until he got Matt Suhey), Barry Sanders couldn't do it, Emmitt Smith couldn't do it (without Daryl Johnston after the 90's boys broke up of course), Curtis Martin couldn't do it, Jerome Bettis couldn't do it, Adrian Peterson couldn't do it, Shaun Alexander couldn't do it, and Ladanian Tomlinson sure as hell didn't do it.
If the Steelers run with the Conner show the rest of the year, they're fucked.
You are acting like the no. 2 RB is the most important position and is deciding Super Bowls without regard to OTHER aspects of the team such as QB, Defense, Coaching. Trust me winning a Super Bowl involves more than multiple RBs sharing carries
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Beast Mode shouldered most of the load in 2013, as did Marcus Allen in 1983, John Riggins in 1982 among others
Howard Griffith, though TD is probably the closest guy to do it all, which is why he deserves the HOF despite not playing that long.That’s just a silly statement to start with.
But to play your game, Terrell Davis did it.
Ringless.Shaun Alexander did win in the NFL.
Kevin Faulk may like to have a word with you.Corey Dillon did it. Antwon Smith did it.
Robert Holcombe.Marshall Faulk did it. Just to name a few...
Robert Turbin.Beast Mode shouldered most of the load in 2013
Marcus Allen ran 266 times for only 1,014 yards in 1983. Oh yeah, and Frank Hawkins.as did Marcus Allen in 1983
Joe Washington.John Riggins in 1982 among others
But hey, I'll stop. Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.
Barry Sanders problem was his supporting cast throughout the team was poor, chief among them was not having a QB or a head coach. Matt Suhey arrived in Chicago in 1980, Walter Payton didn't even win a division title or a playoff game until 1984 when the Bears dominant defense came into play, that's what earned Payton a ring. Again Bus didn't have a QB before Ben, Adrian Peterson only had one year of great play from Brett Favre and he lost Peterson's chance at a conference title with an ill-timed INT. Johnston was with Emmitt Smith for all but 3 of Smith's years with the Cowboys, they were already in decline before he left. Sorry, your apparent insinuation argument that it's the 2nd RB won all these Super Bowls is not correct. Tomlinson's biggest issues was Marty Schottenhemier's bad luck/playoff woes followed by Norv Turner being the head coach
Sound like more Ben hatred to me.
What I'm saying is every Super Bowl team, even our very own Steelers, had greater success with a 1-2 punch in the backfield. Name the last Super Bowl winning team that had an all-star "feature back".
Conner is doing excellent and playing extremely well, but to say the team doesn't "need" Bell is retarded and detrimental to the team. That's like saying the team didn't "need" DeAngelo Williams in 2016. Running the wheels off of Conner for 16 games will only result in doom and disappointment. I know the team wanted Bell to come back, but Bell instead chose to be a pinhead.