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Bires: Redman states his case
By: Mike Bires
Beaver County Times
[url="http://www.timesonline.com/sports/sports_details/article/1501/2010/august/14/bires-redman-states-his-case.html"]http://www.timesonline.com/sports/sport ... -case.html[/url]
Saturday August 14, 2010 11:57 PM
Times photo by KEVIN LORENZI Ben Roethlisberger high-fives Ryan Clark as he returns to the sideline after intercepting a Detroit Lions pass during the Pittsburgh Steelers game against the Detroit Lions on Saturday, August 14, 2010.
It’s way too early for Isaac Redman to think he’s locked up a roster spot. But he surely must feel better about his chances after the way he played Saturday night.
One of the bright spots in the Steelers’ 23-7 preseason win over Detroit was the play of Redman, a second-year pro.
The third of four Steelers halfbacks to carry against the Lions, Redman may have been the game’s No. 1 star. At the least, he shared game MVP honors with third-team quarterback Dennis Dixon, who threw for 128 yards and a touchdown.
Redman carried 15 times for 60 yards, both game-high figures.
He also scored on a 1-yard plunge in the second quarter, thus furthering his potential as a short-yardage and goal-line back the Steelers are searching for.
“The sky’s the limit for the kid,” offensive coordinator Bruce Arians said the other day before a training camp practice at St. Vincent College.
“It’s just how much he can continue to improve and when his opportunity comes, what does he do with it? No one ever thought Barry Foster would be Barry Foster until he got the ball.”
By no means was Arians suggesting that Redman will ever duplicate what Foster did in his five seasons with the Steelers.
A fifth-round draft pick out in 1990, Foster ranks seventh on the Steelers’ all-time rushing chart with 3,943 career yards.
And in 1992, Foster set a franchise record for most yards in a season (1,690) and most 100-yard games (12).
Before Redman can even think along those lines, he must first make the Steelers’ final 53-man roster.
If he does, he’ll be the first player out of Bowie State, a Division II program, to play in the NFL.
For a while last year, it seemed Redman would achieve that milestone.
He was a training camp sensation because of his ability to score in goal-line scrimmages. He also carried 37 times for 145 yards and three TDs in the preseason games.
But Redman did not survive the final cut. He spent the 2009 season on and off the Steelers’ practice squad.
For Redman to make it this year, he’ll probably have to fend off rookie Jonathan Dwyer, a sixth-round draft pick out of Georgia Tech. Dwyer rushed for 1,395 yards in each of the past two seasons for the Yellow Jackets.
Against the Lions, Dwyer mopped up in the fourth quarter after Redman’s night ended. Dwyer only got six carries for 8 yards.
So for now, it’s Redman who has the advantage.
Mike Bires can be reached online at [email="mbires@timesonline.com"]mbires@timesonline.com[/email]
By: Mike Bires
Beaver County Times
[url="http://www.timesonline.com/sports/sports_details/article/1501/2010/august/14/bires-redman-states-his-case.html"]http://www.timesonline.com/sports/sport ... -case.html[/url]
Saturday August 14, 2010 11:57 PM
Times photo by KEVIN LORENZI Ben Roethlisberger high-fives Ryan Clark as he returns to the sideline after intercepting a Detroit Lions pass during the Pittsburgh Steelers game against the Detroit Lions on Saturday, August 14, 2010.
It’s way too early for Isaac Redman to think he’s locked up a roster spot. But he surely must feel better about his chances after the way he played Saturday night.
One of the bright spots in the Steelers’ 23-7 preseason win over Detroit was the play of Redman, a second-year pro.
The third of four Steelers halfbacks to carry against the Lions, Redman may have been the game’s No. 1 star. At the least, he shared game MVP honors with third-team quarterback Dennis Dixon, who threw for 128 yards and a touchdown.
Redman carried 15 times for 60 yards, both game-high figures.
He also scored on a 1-yard plunge in the second quarter, thus furthering his potential as a short-yardage and goal-line back the Steelers are searching for.
“The sky’s the limit for the kid,” offensive coordinator Bruce Arians said the other day before a training camp practice at St. Vincent College.
“It’s just how much he can continue to improve and when his opportunity comes, what does he do with it? No one ever thought Barry Foster would be Barry Foster until he got the ball.”
By no means was Arians suggesting that Redman will ever duplicate what Foster did in his five seasons with the Steelers.
A fifth-round draft pick out in 1990, Foster ranks seventh on the Steelers’ all-time rushing chart with 3,943 career yards.
And in 1992, Foster set a franchise record for most yards in a season (1,690) and most 100-yard games (12).
Before Redman can even think along those lines, he must first make the Steelers’ final 53-man roster.
If he does, he’ll be the first player out of Bowie State, a Division II program, to play in the NFL.
For a while last year, it seemed Redman would achieve that milestone.
He was a training camp sensation because of his ability to score in goal-line scrimmages. He also carried 37 times for 145 yards and three TDs in the preseason games.
But Redman did not survive the final cut. He spent the 2009 season on and off the Steelers’ practice squad.
For Redman to make it this year, he’ll probably have to fend off rookie Jonathan Dwyer, a sixth-round draft pick out of Georgia Tech. Dwyer rushed for 1,395 yards in each of the past two seasons for the Yellow Jackets.
Against the Lions, Dwyer mopped up in the fourth quarter after Redman’s night ended. Dwyer only got six carries for 8 yards.
So for now, it’s Redman who has the advantage.
Mike Bires can be reached online at [email="mbires@timesonline.com"]mbires@timesonline.com[/email]
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