Mendenhall....good but not tough?

**MicroBioSteel** · 11-10-2009, 02:09 AM

Don't know if he was afraid of fumbling late but on some of those runs he pussed out and ran out of bounds without thought. If your going to puss late, fall down in bounds at least.
Last year too ballsey taking on Ray-Ray up the middle this year Puss by running out of bounds.

Will the real Rashard Mendenhall please stand up...please stand up!

Nonetheless...extremely happy with his running. We are going to be sick on offense down the stretch due in large part to balance if Arians doesn't ignore the truth.

**SteelHead** · 11-10-2009, 02:33 AM

I'm not sure you and I watched the same game tonight.

Mendy was a beast. Dude has legit speed and shiftiness , runs tough, hits the hole hard and quick and is not afraid of contact. Did you see him follow and set up his blockers tonight ? It was a sight for sore eyes. Now sometimes what happens due to that contact in regards to ball security is still questionable. He's getting better in that department though and had a lot of touches tonight against and aggressive tackling D to prove it.

Why he ran out of bounds on that long run , I don't know.....I'll chalk it up to a bonehead rookie mistake but it's certainly not because he lacks toughness. You gotta remember this kid is still virtually playing his rookie season , only what his 11th game I think.

And props to the O-line tonight , especially the second half. The played great.

**jj28west** · 11-10-2009, 05:46 AM

I see improvement in the blitz pickup. I think we can all agree that the game is slowing down for him and his patience has helped him with the pulling guards.
I saw maybe only a couple plays where he looked tentative in his decision making to cut outside or cut back towards the middle of the field. Like others have said he is young (he came out his junior season?) and has upside.

I would love to see this guy get pi$$ed off to increase his burst that he gets running up the gut. Please BA give him some more draws and some screens.

**Scarletfire1970** · 11-10-2009, 06:11 AM

He still makes me nervous with the ball. Actually come to think of it they all do. Logan, Holmes, Mendy. I am always screaming hold onto the ball! :P

**Jooser** · 11-10-2009, 06:16 AM

Mendy was absolutely awesome last night. No puss there at all.

**Wolfhound45** · 11-10-2009, 07:07 AM

All I saw was toughness, plain and simple. The Steelers fans I watched the game with were all impressed with how well he sets up his blockers, how hard he hits the hole, the burst he has. However, we were also all worried about his lack of ball awareness. At the end of that long run he still had the ball to the inside part of the field. He is forgetting some of the basics about ball security. But he is definitely a tough, hard nosed runner.

**JTP53609** · 11-10-2009, 07:28 AM

i dont know...i think he is pretty tough, he went out of bounds because they cut down his angle after he ran for 22, 36 and 25 yds....

**Oviedo** · 11-10-2009, 07:29 AM

I'm old enough to remember that "tough guys" sitting in their Lazy Boys use to say the same thing about Franco Harris who would do the same thing versus taking a needless hit. The physical toll on running backs is the most extreme in the NFL. I have no problem with a player actually playing smart.

BTW--If Mendy is half as good as Franco I'll take that.

**JUST-PLAIN-NASTY** · 11-10-2009, 07:53 AM

It is funny actually. He should of went down in bounds to keep the clock rolling. However, he went out of bounds because he was coming up on a defender...And he had the ball in the wrong hand. It is the only reason I came up with besides he was winded. I actually think Holmes & Tomlin said something to him after the play.

**phillyesq** · 11-10-2009, 08:15 AM

Originally Posted by Oviedo

I'm old enough to remember that "tough guys" sitting in their Lazy Boys use to say the same thing about Franco Harris who would do the same thing versus taking a needless hit. The physical toll on running backs is the most extreme in the NFL. I have no problem with a player actually playing smart.

BTW--If Mendy is half as good as Franco I'll take that.

Well said -- that was my thought. We saw what happened when the wheels fell off Willie Parker. I have no problem with a back going out of bounds after a long run to avoid unnecessary pounding. I realize that the Bus would have looked for contact, but players like him are few and far between.

On the last long run, Mendy going out of bounds was a mistake. I wish he would have dove down in bounds and secured the ball and kept the clock running. And maybe he was going out to secure the ball. Who knows?

I never questioned Mendy's toughness, and then a while ago, that hack from the trib posted an article about it. I still don't question his toughness. Watch the way he threw his body at blitzers. He is tough.