Mendenhall

[steelnavy]

Ain't that great... Seriously, he trips over his own feet in open space and in that second series, instead of using his blockers, he runs straight at a defender for a loss. No vision and dances around too much. Its not ALWAYS the O-line's fault. Let Redman play!

As far as the play calling, how about a pitch out to the side or something? And blame the players all you want, but those running plays look like uncoordinated azz. The puppet master is to blame. Without Ben saving Arianus butt with his amazing talent, this offense is not even mediocre. Ben is single handedly keeping the Steelers in playoff contention and keeping Arians employed.

[feltdizz]

Put Redman in and I'm pretty sure the running plays look better. I was thinking the same thing about Mendenhall.. he has the speed and the athleticism but he is horrible at hitting the hole.

Mendenhall should be on DWTS next year.

[Herewegosteelers!]

Redman should be given more reps. If it works out, good bye Mendenhall next season. (Last year of his contract or one more?)

[steelnavy]

I was being too nice. Mendenhall sucks. I could have gained just as many yards as him so far tonight. Just watched him run right at a defender for no gain when there was wiggle room to the left. And he is not even accelerating after getting the ball. He looks like he is stuck in slow motion. I really don't get the whole keep Arians as coordinator and don't put Redman in thing that they have going. Geesh.

[pfelix73]

Ain't that great... Seriously, he trips over his own feet in open space and in that second series, instead of using his blockers, he runs straight at a defender for a loss. No vision and dances around too much. Its not ALWAYS the O-line's fault. Let Redman play!

As far as the play calling, how about a pitch out to the side or something? And blame the players all you want, but those running plays look like uncoordinated azz. The puppet master is to blame. Without Ben saving Arianus butt with his amazing talent, this offense is not even mediocre. Ben is single handedly keeping the Steelers in playoff contention and keeping Arians employed.


Yup- spot on. The coaches (won't name names) need to put the guys in better situations... BA needs to go....ASAP.

[Steel Life]

The line isn't doing squat to give the plays a chance. Between bad blocking & the Colts filling every gap slow-developing run plays have no chance.

[Steelhere10]

The replay they just showed had a wide lane open, while Mend tries to take it outside for no gain

[D Rock]

I'd like to start an official movement to refer to him by no names besides 'twinkletoes' from now on.

[pittpete]

Hes jealous of Hines Ward and is auditioning for dancing with the stars.

[hawaiiansteel]

I'd like to start an official movement to refer to him by no names besides 'twinkletoes' from now on.


Twinkletoes ended up with 18 carries for 37 yards (a 2.1 yd/avg) and 0 TDs.

we're gonna need a better running game than that going forward...

[BradshawsHairdresser]

Redman got what, two carries? What's up with that?

[hawaiiansteel]

Redman got what, two carries? What's up with that?

3 carries for 6 yards.

what happened to the giving Redman more carries idea? :wft

[AngryAsian]

Tries way too hard to be cute with the prancing moves and has terrible vision... Redman should be seeing more touches... but that's Arians' call and he's not a throbbing cerebrum when it comes to innovation.

[pittpete]

what happened to the giving Redman more carries idea?

That what Brucie calls making adjustments :roll:

[Starlifter]

The line isn't doing squat to give the plays a chance. Between bad blocking & the Colts filling every gap slow-developing run plays have no chance.

doesn't matter who's in the backfield - you got it right. with the way this line blocks, there really aren't many opportunities. having said that - it just drives me nuts how mendy's first move EVERY time he gets the ball is to stop, stutter and look around. just hit the damn hole for christsakes.......

[papillon]

The line isn't doing squat to give the plays a chance. Between bad blocking & the Colts filling every gap slow-developing run plays have no chance.

I'm not seeing it this way, on the last drive, Redman and Moore were making 4 and 5 yards, the Steelers ran three straight running plays with the Colts knowing they were running it and still made a first down without Mendy.

Mendenhall is an explosive back, but he isn't a very good grind it out kind of back. Redman needs to start seeing more carries and use Mendy similar to Reggie Bush, IMO.

Pappy

[BradshawsHairdresser]

The line isn't doing squat to give the plays a chance. Between bad blocking & the Colts filling every gap slow-developing run plays have no chance.

I'm not seeing it this way, on the last drive, Redman and Moore were making 4 and 5 yards, the Steelers ran three straight running plays with the Colts knowing they were running it and still made a first down without Mendy.

Mendenhall is an explosive back, but he isn't a very good grind it out kind of back. Redman needs to start seeing more carries and use Mendy similar to Reggie Bush, IMO.

Pappy :Agree

[Steel Life]

The line isn't doing squat to give the plays a chance. Between bad blocking & the Colts filling every gap slow-developing run plays have no chance.

doesn't matter who's in the backfield - you got it right. with the way this line blocks, there really aren't many opportunities. having said that - it just drives me nuts how mendy's first move EVERY time he gets the ball is to stop, stutter and look around. just hit the damn hole for christsakes.......
Yeah...he's definitely more Franco than Bettis for sure but that doesn't make him a bad back. In fact I think he's trying too hard to make something happen when it's not there...& with this line it's almost never there. There's no push by the line, most of them are on roller-skates as it is & the defenses have figured this out & just fill every gap - what can he do? I love Redman but he's not the answer - a better line is.

[hawaiiansteel]

and we still couldn't establish a running game... :wft

Steelers-Colts inactives

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2011
posted by Dale Lolley

Bryant McFadden is a healthy scratch tonight. Also down are Dwyer, Meredith, Chris Scott, Cotchery and Keisel.

Six starters, including Manning out for the Colts.

Mike Pollak starts at RG for Ryan Diem; Eric Foster – all 265 pounds of him - at DT for Flil Moala; Pat Angerer at MLB for Gary Brackett; Phillip Wheeler at SLB for Ernie Sims; David Caldwell at SS for Melvin Bullitt.

That's four starters right up the middle of the defense.

http://www.observer-reporter.com/or/sidelines/

[Steel Life]

The line isn't doing squat to give the plays a chance. Between bad blocking & the Colts filling every gap slow-developing run plays have no chance.

I'm not seeing it this way, on the last drive, Redman and Moore were making 4 and 5 yards, the Steelers ran three straight running plays with the Colts knowing they were running it and still made a first down without Mendy.

Mendenhall is an explosive back, but he isn't a very good grind it out kind of back. Redman needs to start seeing more carries and use Mendy similar to Reggie Bush, IMO.

Pappy
There were 5 runs on the final drive...one was a scramble by Ben out of a passing formation & the other was basically a kneel-down by Ben to set the kick. But the runs you remember are when Scott had come out of the game & I really doubt that the coaches were going to risk passing with an injured RT (Gilbert) playing LT.

1st and 10 at IND 30 Moore right end to IND 25 for 5 yards
2nd and 5 at IND 25 Moore up the middle to IND 21 for 4 yards
3rd and 1 at IND 21 Redman up the middle to IND 18 for 3 yards

While effective for all of 12 yards, this is tempered by the fact we had the Colts spooked by continuing to have our 3 & 4 wide sets. This is hardly a trend or the basis for critiquing Mendenhall who ran his tail off trying to make something happen. This game is the result of the Colts scheming against the weakest part of our team - the O-Line - & it nearly worked for them.

[papillon]

[quote="Steel Life":2hck1ger]The line isn't doing squat to give the plays a chance. Between bad blocking & the Colts filling every gap slow-developing run plays have no chance.

I'm not seeing it this way, on the last drive, Redman and Moore were making 4 and 5 yards, the Steelers ran three straight running plays with the Colts knowing they were running it and still made a first down without Mendy.

Mendenhall is an explosive back, but he isn't a very good grind it out kind of back. Redman needs to start seeing more carries and use Mendy similar to Reggie Bush, IMO.

Pappy
There were 5 runs on the final drive...one was a scramble by Ben out of a passing formation & the other was basically a kneel-down by Ben to set the kick. But the runs you remember are when Scott had come out of the game & I really doubt that the coaches were going to risk passing with an injured RT (Gilbert) playing LT.

1st and 10 at IND 30 Moore right end to IND 25 for 5 yards
2nd and 5 at IND 25 Moore up the middle to IND 21 for 4 yards
3rd and 1 at IND 21 Redman up the middle to IND 18 for 3 yards

While effective for all of 12 yards, this is tempered by the fact we had the Colts spooked by continuing to have our 3 & 4 wide sets. This is hardly a trend or the basis for critiquing Mendenhall who ran his tail off trying to make something happen. This game is the result of the Colts scheming against the weakest part of our team - the O-Line - & it nearly worked for them.[/quote:2hck1ger]

They were the only three quality runs of the night except for the 12 or 15 yarder by Mendy. I'm not saying it's a trend, I'm not saying with 18 carries Redman would have had 90 yards, what I am saying is that Moore and Redman took what was there, hit the hole hard and ran down hill and converted a critical 3rd down for the Steelers, something Mendenhall didn't do all night, IMO.

In light of that, I believe Redman deserves a few more touches during the game.

Pappy

[NorCal-Steeler]

not to mention he almost put the ball on the turf twice, the kid just blows. He rarely throws up a 100 yrd game. His 1300 yrd season is based on 4th most carries in the league and a few long runs. Between him and Johnson at TE i dont know who sucked more.

[Steel Life]

In light of that, I believe Redman deserves a few more touches during the game.

Pappy
I agree about getting more touches...but styles aside, neither Redman or Mendenhall will run well with this line.

[ikestops85]

Wow, did FWP join the team again? I seem to remember the same complaints about him. He dances in the backfield ... he doesn't see the hole ... he occasionally gets a long run to help his average.

C'mon folks. I realize that Mendy isn't the best back in the league but he isn't bad. I do think he is trying to do to much. But the common denominator with the lack of success of Willie and Mendy has been the abysmal offensive line.

I thought we improved it a lot last year with the addition of Pouncey and Flozelle. This year we seemed to have regressed losing Starks and Adams off that line. Scott had some decent games last year but he isn't as good as Starks was. Face it, the tackles almost got Ben killed last night and the interior of the line could not handle Indy's backups.

These guys are going to have to jell or it's going to be a long season. Ben is not going to be able to take this type of beating all year long.

[Shoe]

The line isn't doing squat to give the plays a chance. Between bad blocking & the Colts filling every gap slow-developing run plays have no chance.

I'm not seeing it this way, on the last drive, Redman and Moore were making 4 and 5 yards, the Steelers ran three straight running plays with the Colts knowing they were running it and still made a first down without Mendy.

Mendenhall is an explosive back, but he isn't a very good grind it out kind of back. Redman needs to start seeing more carries and use Mendy similar to Reggie Bush, IMO.

Pappy

Well put. It's like the argument with Barry Sanders. Barry was obviously a great back. But the thing that prevents me from calling him the best (as opposed to say Marcus Allen or Emmitt Smith), is that his style didn't fit the way in which a running game is supposed to help a football team. Running game is supposed to sustain a team. It's not necessarily to make huge plays... huge plays are nice of course. But it's function is to be like a chisel... it's meant to grind it out, shorten down and distance, and sustain an offensive rhythm.

With our current situation (bad pass-blocking o-line especially), we need to limit the time Ben has to wait for patterns to develop. Putting him in 3rd and long too much is a recipe for disaster. Give him manageable situations, more importantly--give our O-line manageable situations, so that they can at least hold their own.

[Starlifter]

Well put. It's like the argument with Barry Sanders. Barry was obviously a great back. But the thing that prevents me from calling him the best (as opposed to say Marcus Allen or Emmitt Smith), is that his style didn't fit the way in which a running game is supposed to help a football team. Running game is supposed to sustain a team. It's not necessarily to make huge plays... huge plays are nice of course. But it's function is to be like a chisel... it's meant to grind it out, shorten down and distance, and sustain an offensive rhythm.

well said and exactly illustrates why a player can be great - but not great for a team.

[hawaiiansteel]

I doubt we give Mendy another contract...

Chris Johnson isn’t the only struggling big money back

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on September 26, 2011

http://nbcprofootballtalk.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/d-williamscam.jpg?w=250

There are a lot of reasons why teams are hesitant to award big second (or third) contracts to running backs.

The position has a short shelf life, it’s relatively easy to find replacements, and often the running game has more to do with the offensive line and system than the running back.

MDS wrote earlier how Chris Johnson was dead last in yards-per-carry among running backs with more than 25 carries. Johnson has some well paid company at the bottom of the list.

DeAngelo Williams: Carolina’s starter is second to last with 2.3 yards-per-carry. His longest run is eight yards. His teammate Jonathan Stewart has run and caught the ball much better than Williams, indicating that it’s not all about the line.

For now, coach Ron Rivera says the Panthers will continue splitting the workload evenly between the two players.

Frank Gore: Johnson is last. Williams is second-to-last. Third worst in yards-per-carry: Frank Gore coming off his extension. Now Gore is dealing with an injury. NFL.com’s Michael Lombardi thinks the 49ers should get backup Kendall Hunter more involved and we agree.

Gore used to be able to get to the outside, but it’s not happening for him so far this year.

Reggie Bush: The Dolphins are paying Bush $6 million to do what he did in New Orleans, but worse. Bush is averaging 2.9 yards-per-carry. It’s not like he’s lighting it up as a receiver either; Bush has two catches in the last two games. Daniel Thomas is the best running back on the team.

Three games is too small a sample size to draw any conclusions about the three players above. But the last decade has proven to us over and over that giving running backs a big contract usually isn’t good business.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... oney-back/ (http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/09/26/chris-johnson-isnt-the-only-struggling-big-money-back/)

[hawaiiansteel]

Why so tough on Mendenhall?

TUESDAY, 27 SEPTEMBER 2011
WRITTEN BY BOB SMIZIK

Almost to a man, the Steeler, players and coaches, were thrown under the proverbial bus by the SteelerNation after the team‘s most recent win. And there’s nothing wrong with that. The SteelerNation has high expectations. It demands perfection and believes, to a person, if he or she were coaching the team, perfection would be achieved.

In the aftermath of the near-loss to Indianapolis Sunday night, the usual suspects and some not so usual were trashed: Bruce Arians, Mike Tomlin, the offensive line, Aaron Smith, Lamarr Woodley, Dick LeBeau, Lawrence Timmons, everyone in the secondary except Troy Polamalu and, most notably, Rashard Mendenhall.

I find the criticism of Mendenhall a bit peculiar. No question, he has had a disappointing season -- after an excellent season last year when he ran for 1,273 yards. That figure, by the way, is seventh best in Steelers history.

You’d think that after such a season -- he was seventh in the NFL in yards gained -- he’s be cut a bit of a break. Three games is kind of quick to be jumping on a guy.

And all the more so because of who is playing in front of him. Fans of Ben Roethlisberger have, for years, used the offensive line as a justification for any shortcomings he might have. Why doesn’t Mendenhall get the same break? How is he supposed to find running room behind such a widely maligned group?

Some of this, I think, has to do with Mendenhall’s incredibly stupid off-season Tweets. He cost himself some fans with that nonsense.

And some of it has to do with his infamous fumble in the Super Bowl. That fumble was no more his fault than was the fumble the Colts returned for a touchdown the fault of Roethlisberger. Mendenhall had the ball well protected in the Super Bowl. But how do you protect it from a blind-side human projectile? Which is what jarred the ball loose.

What I also find peculiar is how Roethlisberger, once a favorite whipping boy, is coming away somewhat unscathed from these sub-par early-season performances. The man has been a turnover machine, and that all does not fall to the offensive line.

This is not to suggest he deserves a high level of criticism. He doesn’t. He is an elite quarterback and the Steelers are lucky to have him. It’s just surprising that the legion of critics have been so easy on him.

His numbers are down from last year. Yes, it’s only three games, but Mendenhall also has played only three games.

Last season, Roethlisberger ranked third in yards per attempt; this year he’s sixth. Last year he was sixth in yards per game; this year he’s seventh. Last year he was fifth in passer rating; this year he’s 17th. Last year he threw 17 touchdowns and five interceptions; this year he has thrown three touchdowns and four interceptions.

Last season, the Steelers averaged 23 points a game; this season, with two weak opponents in three games, they are averaging 18 points a game.

The blame for the lack of offense is spread around from the line to Mendenhall to Arians. Not much of it is going in Roethlisberger’s direction. No big deal, just a bit peculiar.

It’s early. People have to unleash their frustrations and, as stated, there’s nothing wrong with that. But let’s wait a few more games before making any final judgments on this team and these players.

http://communityvoices.sites.post-gazet ... mendenhall (http://communityvoices.sites.post-gazette.com/index.php/sports/bob-smiziks-blog/30232-why-so-tough-on-mendenhall)

[feltdizz]

The line isn't doing squat to give the plays a chance. Between bad blocking & the Colts filling every gap slow-developing run plays have no chance.

I'm not seeing it this way, on the last drive, Redman and Moore were making 4 and 5 yards, the Steelers ran three straight running plays with the Colts knowing they were running it and still made a first down without Mendy.

Mendenhall is an explosive back, but he isn't a very good grind it out kind of back. Redman needs to start seeing more carries and use Mendy similar to Reggie Bush, IMO.

Pappy

Well put. It's like the argument with Barry Sanders. Barry was obviously a great back. But the thing that prevents me from calling him the best (as opposed to say Marcus Allen or Emmitt Smith), is that his style didn't fit the way in which a running game is supposed to help a football team. Running game is supposed to sustain a team. It's not necessarily to make huge plays... huge plays are nice of course. But it's function is to be like a chisel... it's meant to grind it out, shorten down and distance, and sustain an offensive rhythm.

With our current situation (bad pass-blocking o-line especially), we need to limit the time Ben has to wait for patterns to develop. Putting him in 3rd and long too much is a recipe for disaster. Give him manageable situations, more importantly--give our O-line manageable situations, so that they can at least hold their own.

That's crazy talk... Barry Sanders was on a very bad team with no major weapons in the passing game. The running game WAS the passing game in Detroit. Sometimes Barry took a sack but he is still the best RB to ever touch a football.

If Barry had Emmit's OL he would still be running...

[hawaiiansteel]

Steelers' Mendenhall is struggling on ground

By Scott Brown, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, September 29, 2011

http://files.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2011-09-28/0929SteelMendenCAP-a.jpg

A season after finishing seventh in the NFL with almost 1,300 rushing yards, the Steelers' Rashard Mendenhall is on pace to run for just under 800 yards.


Rashard Mendenhall said he has never felt more confident and is "as ready as I've ever been." Yet a season after finishing seventh in the NFL with almost 1,300 rushing yards, the Steelers' fourth-year back is on pace to run for just under 800 yards.

Something doesn't add up when it comes to the workhorse of a ground game that can't seem to get going.

"It's a lot bigger than one person," Mendenhall said Wednesday. "It's a whole mindset. It's a whole attack from the top, offensive coordinator (Bruce Arians), plays that are called that matches what we have. It's a collective effort of everybody that has to be clicking to be successful."

The Steelers are 23rd in the NFL in rushing offense (85.7 yards per game). Mendenhall is averaging just 3.0 yards per carry.

Asked if the struggles stem from becoming a pass-first offense — the Steelers have run 42 percent of the time through three games — Mendenhall said, "We're just running what's called. We're the low men on the totem pole, and we're just trying to carry out what our duties are."

Mendenhall rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons as a starter and said the lack of production is a "frustrating thing." But he took a big-picture approach.

"Obviously, our running game is not up to par, and we want to work on it, but we're winning games first and foremost," the Steelers' first-round pick in 2008 said. "We're not panicking."

Roethlisberger last week said he had no concerns about the running game. But three days after the Steelers managed just 67 rushing yards against the Colts, Roethlisberger couldn't offer how jump-start the ground game.

"I am not the run-game guru," Roethlisberger said. "I don't know if it's blocking better, longer, running. Honestly, I don't know."

Perhaps the most surprising thing about the Steelers' running-game shortcomings: All signs pointed to Mendenhall building on last season, when he rushed for the seventh-most yards in franchise history and came within one score of trying Franco Harris' record 14 rushing touchdowns in a season.

Arians praised Mendenhall during training camp and before the season opener said the offense would run through Mendenhall.

Mendenhall said there is still plenty of time for the running game to get going.

"I feel like I'm the best player I've ever been because I work at it and where I'm at experience-wise," Mendenhall said. "I think those things will show in time."

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsbu ... z1ZJ95TMaj (http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_759261.html#ixzz1ZJ95TMaj)

[fordfixer]

Mendenhalls says its too early to worry

http://www.heraldstandard.com/sports/st ... 70b83.html (http://www.heraldstandard.com/sports/steelers/mendenhalls-says-its-too-early-to-worry/article_4e7d51c8-c792-5ff9-b3e0-1c2715e70b83.html)

Posted: Thursday, September 29, 2011 2:00 am | Updated: 11:45 pm, Wed Sep 28, 2011.

By Jim Wexell For HeraldStandard.com | 0 comments

PITTSBURGH — A month ago, Steelers running backs coach Kirby Wilson said of Rashard Mendenhall, “there’s nothing he can’t do.”

A few weeks ago, offensive coordinator Bruce Arians called Mendenhall, “the lead dog, and everybody else feeds off him.”

Yesterday, Mendenhall said of himself, “I’m the best player right now than I’ve ever been because I work at it and because of where I’m at experiencewise.”

But after three games, Mendenhall has rushed for only 148 yards at a 3.0 average yards per carry.

It’s quite a decline from last season when, at this point, he had rushed for 332 yards in three games at an average of 5.2 per carry.

As a team, the Steelers average only 3.3 per carry, or exactly what the 6-10 Steelers averaged in 2003.

In fact, in their 78-plus years, the Steelers have averaged 3.3 yards per carry or less 18 times, and didn’t have a winning season in any of them.

You might call 3.3 the Mendoza Line of Steelers football.

Mendenhall said it’s too early to worry, but was asked how the team will fix it.

“You work at it. You concentrate on it. You focus on it, just like the Texans,” Mendenhall said of this week’s opponent.

The Houston Texans are fifth in the NFL in rushing yards per game and they average 4.1 per carry, or exactly what the Steelers averaged last season when the owner mandated that his team improve its running game.

But that urgency doesn’t appear to be present. And Mendenhall said it has nothing to do with the lockout or injuries to the offensive line.

“It’s a lot bigger than one person, than the offensive line, it’s the whole mindset, it’s the whole attack, starting from the top, the offensive coordinator, the plays that are called, the matchups we have. It’s a collective effort of everybody. It has to be clicking for us to be productive,” he said.

Mendenhall repeated this several times for the waves of reporters who showed up at his locker three days after he’d rushed for only 37 yards on 18 carries against the Indianapolis Colts.

Mendenhall sprinkled his comments with similar remarks about the play-calling, a renewed focus on details, and the offense needing a collective effort. One play that seemed to symbolize all of those problems was the play that turned the game around for the Colts on Sunday night.

With a 10-3 lead in the second quarter, the Steelers had the ball at the Indianapolis 42. The called play was a draw to Mendenhall “with a pass option,” according to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

“I saw something with Mike (Wallace),” Roethlisberger explained. “I knew I didn’t have time to really set too long and throw it, but I thought I had enough time to get a quick pump. We actually had a touchdown. But I probably held on to it.”

And Dwight Freeney crashed down on Roethlisberger to force a fumble that was picked up for a Colts touchdown.

If it had been thrown for a Steelers touchdown, it likely would’ve been called back because guard Chris Kemoeatu was downfield blocking for the Mendenhall draw. Kemoeatu never heard the audible, if there was one called.

“I’m not exactly sure what Ben was doing with the signal or if it was supposed to be handed off,” Mendenhall said. “It’s on him to give it, and we’ll take it if he does. If he doesn’t, he must see something.”

The Steelers’ lack of attention to detail almost cost them the game. It’s what Mendenhall’s talking about.

“But we struggled in the run game before,” he said. “This is so early in the season. Even in Baltimore we were pretty productive in the run game but we had to get away from it.

“It’s so early. We’re not panicking.”

NOTES: Steelers that missed Wednesday’s non-contact practice: WR Arnaz Battle (knee), DE Brett Keisel (knee), G Doug Legursky (shoulder), and T Jonathan Scott (ankle). ... LB James Farrior, DE Aaron Smith and WR Hines Ward were given the day off. ... WR Mike Wallace was limited by sore ribs. ... WR Andre Johnson missed practice for Houston.

[fordfixer]

Steelers' Mendenhall is struggling on ground
By Scott Brown, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, September 29, 2011
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsbu ... 59261.html (http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_759261.html)

Rashard Mendenhall said he has never felt more confident and is "as ready as I've ever been." Yet a season after finishing seventh in the NFL with almost 1,300 rushing yards, the Steelers' fourth-year back is on pace to run for just under 800 yards.

Something doesn't add up when it comes to the workhorse of a ground game that can't seem to get going.

"It's a lot bigger than one person," Mendenhall said Wednesday. "It's a whole mindset. It's a whole attack from the top, offensive coordinator (Bruce Arians), plays that are called that matches what we have. It's a collective effort of everybody that has to be clicking to be successful."

The Steelers are 23rd in the NFL in rushing offense (85.7 yards per game). Mendenhall is averaging just 3.0 yards per carry.

Asked if the struggles stem from becoming a pass-first offense — the Steelers have run 42 percent of the time through three games — Mendenhall said, "We're just running what's called. We're the low men on the totem pole, and we're just trying to carry out what our duties are."

Mendenhall rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons as a starter and said the lack of production is a "frustrating thing." But he took a big-picture approach.

"Obviously, our running game is not up to par, and we want to work on it, but we're winning games first and foremost," the Steelers' first-round pick in 2008 said. "We're not panicking."

Roethlisberger last week said he had no concerns about the running game. But three days after the Steelers managed just 67 rushing yards against the Colts, Roethlisberger couldn't offer how jump-start the ground game.

"I am not the run-game guru," Roethlisberger said. "I don't know if it's blocking better, longer, running. Honestly, I don't know."

Perhaps the most surprising thing about the Steelers' running-game shortcomings: All signs pointed to Mendenhall building on last season, when he rushed for the seventh-most yards in franchise history and came within one score of trying Franco Harris' record 14 rushing touchdowns in a season.

Arians praised Mendenhall during training camp and before the season opener said the offense would run through Mendenhall.

Mendenhall said there is still plenty of time for the running game to get going.

"I feel like I'm the best player I've ever been because I work at it and where I'm at experience-wise," Mendenhall said. "I think those things will show in time."

Read more: Steelers' Mendenhall is struggling on ground - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsbu ... z1ZJye6QOE (http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_759261.html#ixzz1ZJye6QOE)

[fordfixer]

On the Steelers: Texans a good example to follow
Thursday, September 29, 2011
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11272/1178372-66-0.stm

No surprise that when the Steelers play Sunday at Houston, the game will feature one of the best running teams in football. Isn't that usually the case when the Steelers play?

Yet, it's not the Steelers ground game that ranks among the most feared in the NFL, it's the one the Houston Texans run.

The Steelers, who have run for more yards than any team in the NFL since the 1970 merger with the AFL, do not rank in the top 10 after three games, nor the top 20. They are down there at No. 23, which is usually where teams running the West Coast offense reside.

But if the Steelers need to remember how it used to be, they can catch an eyeful when they watch video of the Texans this week. Houston ranks No. 5 in the league in rushing with an average of 138 yards a game, or about 52 more than the Steelers average.

The Texans have accomplished that without injured starter Arian Foster, the league's rushing leader last season with 1,616 yards. Foster has a hamstring injury that has limited him to just 10 carries and 33 yards in the opener, but he's expected to play against the Steelers.

At the moment, Ben Tate leads Houston with 301 yards with a 4.6 yards per carry average. Rashard Mendenhall leads the Steelers in rushing with 148 yards with a paltry 3.0 yards-per-carry average.

Mendenhall said if the Steelers want to be a dominant running team again, all they have to do is mimic the Texans agnd spend more time on it.

"You concentrate on it, you focus on it, just like what they do on the Texans -- that's something they put a lot of time and effort into, and it's productive out there on the field. And that's something we need to do as well."

Mendenhall intimated the Steelers don't work on it enough.

"As far as the run game, it's a lot bigger than one person, than the offensive line. It's a whole mindset; it's a whole attack starting from the top, the offensive coordinator, the plays that are called, the matchups we have. It's a collective effort of everybody that has to be clicking to be productive."

Much of the blame has been placed at the feet of the offensive line, which has undergone much change the past several years and likely will have more in Houston because of injuries. Despite the flux, Mendenhall was able to rush for 1,273 yards last season in which he got off to a sizzling start -- 332 yards and a 5.2 ypc average after three games.

Mendenhall does not believe it's as simple as a few replacements in the line.

"It's bigger than just positions and players. With the way we work here the standard is the standard, so it doesn't matter who's out there. But those linemen have to jell and work together, they have to be put in a good position as far as a play is called against certain defenses. We have to have good looks. We have to, as running backs, take our read and hit [the holes]. It's a collective effort to be productive."

Ben Roethlisberger, who has the green light to audible out of plays and has done so, said he does not know why the running game has not been productive.

"That question has been asked a lot. I am not the run-game guru. I am not sure what it is. I don't know if it's blocking better, longer, running -- honestly I don't know."

Coach Mike Tomlin offered no clues either but said it has to change. "We better improve in that area and improve in a hurry."
Big Ben leaves early

Roethlisberger left practice early for what Tomlin said was a "conference call."

Tomlin said it was no big deal.

It's unusual for the starting quarterback to leave a practice in the middle of a week during the season unless he were injured, sick or had a personal family matter.

Roethlisberger was not mentioned on the official injury report Wednesday, even though there is a category for "limited participation in practice," and the Steelers list those players who are usually rested -- such as Hines Ward with the explanation that it is not injury related.

Players who did not practice Wednesday because of injuries were starting linemen Doug Legursky (shoulder) and Jonathan Scott (ankle) along with defensive end Brett Keisel (knee) and special teamer Arnaz Battle (knee).

Mike Wallace went through a limited practice because of his rib cartilage injury but he said he fully expects to play Sunday.
Another fine

In what has been a weekly occurrence, another Steelers player was fined for something he did in a game. Antonio Brown was fined $7,500 for a low hit during Joe Lefeged's interception return for the Colts. Brown said he was trying to "blow up" the blockers on the return. He has appealed the fine.

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[fordfixer]

Redman may be answer to run puzzle
Thursday, September 29, 2011
By Gene Collier, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11272/1178369-150-0.stm

The average gain by the Steelers running game at Indianapolis was shorter than your couch -- about 77 inches -- so it's time for some changes to the components, obviously, and not just the changes mandated every week by their highly breakable offensive line.

Mike Tomlin and his staff will work on that puzzle for another 72 hours while they pack for Texas, but as of midweek, starting left tackle Jonathan Scott still had a substantial wrap on his injured ankle, which is only the beginning of the problem.

You can blame almost anyone for the well-earned position as the 23rd-best ground game in a 32-team league, but at some point you'd have to address the enigma of why Isaac Redman can't get on the field when Rashard Mendenhall's production is down by about 55 percent from last September.

"Last week I was taken out of the third-down offense completely," Redman told me Wednesday. "This week I'm back in certain situations."

Those situations, of course, have a way of never materializing, and they extend to first and second down as well, even though Redman makes a significant contribution just about every time he gets the chance. You'd think his dagger of a 20-yard touchdown against Seattle the week before might have earned him at least a full offensive shift Sunday night, but then you'd have thought winning the Baltimore game in December with a 9-yard reception in the final minutes might have at least swollen the pressure on the starter as this season began.

"I do feel like right now I'm at my peak," Redman said. "I'm trying to bring a sense of urgency to every opportunity I get."

On less than a third of the carries, some of them in situations where a yard or 2 is considered successful, Redman's averaged 4.2 yards to the 3.0 generated by Mendenhall, that figure being frightfully similar to Ben Roethlisberger's 2.9.

"I'm not sure what it is," Roethlisberger said Wednesday about why the offense generated next to nothing against the Colts' 30th-ranked run defense. "I'm not the running game guru. I don't know if it's blocking longer or running better or what."

What we've seen in three games in terms of blocking hasn't exactly been a clinic, certainly, but it has been better than what might have been expected in an unending game of musical emergency room chairs. It has been better than what got televised to a national audience in Weak Three, when with Mendenhall carrying 18 times, six plays went backward, two went nowhere, and six others gained 2 yards or 1.

Maybe there isn't a lot a running back can do with eight-in-the-box staring him in the facemask, but Mendenhall looked indecisive just a little too frequently. For the moment, he doesn't look to be the kind of back that can alter a decline in which the Steelers have only had a 100-yard plus rusher twice in the past 19 games, including postseason.

At the minimum, he doesn't look like the 2010 Mendy, who had 332 yards at this point, including two 100-yard games, and was averaging 5.2 per pop. He has 148 today on 15 fewer carries, that attributable to the amount of time the Steelers spent trailing badly in the opener.

Still the coaches have expressed nothing but admiration for the starter, even in a year when he has made more noise with his Twitter account than his ball carrying. Receptive as he has been to all sorts of information, might it not benefit Mendenhall to hear some official suggestion that he's not necessarily this team's Feature Back For Life?

This only says that such a suggestion could come in the form of an extended opportunity for Redman, a credible threat with a season in which he averaged 4.8 yards per carry behind him, then 7.1 per carry in the playoffs.

It wouldn't be the worst idea in the world for Mendenhall to feel the same kind of urgency on which Redman appears to thrive.

"I wouldn't say that urgency ever goes away," Redman said. "I've been playing football for a long time and there's never a play when I don't feel it and try to make something happen. But I'm a running back who tries to read the defense and understand the defense, and it would be great to be in a situation where I could run a play one way the first time so that I can run it another way later, you know? In my situation now, I don't get to set the defense up or to set blocks up for the offensive line."

That day is coming.

Maybe that day should be here by now.

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