So You Think Steve McLendon Was Bad Against The Run In 2013?
BY DAVE BRYAN DECEMBER 31, 2013 AT 07:45 AM
There a lot of fans that are wanting the Pittsburgh Steelers to draft a nose tackle early in the 2014 NFL Draft because they feel like Steve McLendon isn’t doing his job against the run. I’m here to tell you, McLendon played well against the run in his first full season as a starter when he was in the game.
While I certainly can’t walk you through every running play, I can give you some stats from our charting project that we are wrapping up and the numbers will probably surprise you.
When McLendon was on the field in 2013, opponents ran “up the middle” 47 times for 103 yards. That equates to 2.19 yards per rush and only one of those runs, a 14 yarder, went for more than 10 yards. McLendon was credited with being in on 10 tackles on those runs as well.
While it is a bit unfair to McLendon, we will also look at all runs that went from left guard all the way over to right guard when he was on the field and that includes the aforementioned runs up the middle. In total, there 112 such runs for 458 yards with four going for more than 10 yards. Three of those runs I am sure you all remember as they went for 23, 55 and 60 yards respectively. If you forgot about them, I have included the animated gifs of them below.
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http://www.steelersdepot.com/2013/12...e-run-in-2013/