Hillis

[Crash]

I prefer we use our skill and our $100 million QB and quit worrying about playing Bill Cowher football that never won anything with it's beloved fullback.

[Wallace108]

I prefer we use our skill and our $100 million QB and quit worrying about playing Bill Cowher football that never won anything with it's beloved fullback.

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I don't think it has to be either/or when it comes to running and passing. I'd like to see them do both effectively.

[Crash]

The FB offense in SB XL did nothing. The ONLY decent run Willie Parker had all day? 3 wide and a TE.

The running game for the majority of that post season was nothing, it was passing and defense that won us that ring.

[Wallace108]

The FB offense in SB XL did nothing. The ONLY decent run Willie Parker had all day? 3 wide and a TE.

The running game for the majority of that post season was nothing, it was passing and defense that won us that ring.

I agree that the defense was key in winning SB XL, but I wouldn't give Ben too much credit. He was 9-of-21 for 123 yards, 0 TDs, and 2 interceptions.

Both Parker and Mendenhall wanted Arians to utilize a fullback.

Willie Parker said Wednesday that the Steelers may need to take a different approach to establishing the run and added that he would welcome an increased role for the fullback in the offense.

"We bring in two tight ends now, without a fullback, and (opposing defenses) know where it's going," Parker said of the Steelers' running game. "I just know when we get in two (tight end sets), it's not very successful. They definitely know where it's going."

Read more: [URL="http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_602428.html#ixzz1p9knPWfd"]RB Parker targets Steelers' philosophy - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review[/URL] [URL]http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_602428.html#ixzz1p9knPWfd[/URL]

Rashard Mendenhall did anything but lobby for a fullback Wednesday after practice.

But the soft-spoken Steelers' running back said he prefers to have a fullback as a lead blocker instead of a tight end.
His comments were not a knock on Heath Miller, Matt Spaeth, Sean McHugh and David Johnson, all tight ends who line up in the backfield from time to time in Bruce Arians’ offense.
They did shed some light on why running backs generally prefer fullbacks to lead the way for them.
“A fullback in the backfield he can probably see a lot of things a tight end couldn’t,” said Mendenhall, who rushed for 1,108 yards and seven touchdowns in 2009, his second season in the NFL. “(Fullbacks) being ballcarriers they know what you’re trying to do, they know where you’re trying to go and they can get there before you so a lot of times the fullback will end up at the same place after reading a play.”

Read more: [URL="http://blog.triblive.com/view-from-the-press-box/2010/05/26/mendenhall-endorses-use-of-a-fullback/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaig n=Feed%3A+triblive%2Fblog%2FViewFromThePressBox+%2 8View+from+the+Press+Box+Blog%29"]http://blog.triblive.com/view-from-the-press-box/2010/05/26/mendenhall-endorses-use-of-a-fullback/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaig n=Feed%3A+triblive%2Fblog%2FViewFromThePressBox+(V iew+from+the+Press+Box+Blog)[/URL]

I understand what you're saying, and I don't want a return to Cowher Ball either. But we need to have a more effective running game than what we've had in recent years.

[Chadman]

Interior OL blocking improvement, the return of Willie Colon & a RB group that doesn't dance around so much behind the line- those 3 things will get you an effective running game.

Crash is right- no need to return to the FB driven running game mentality- not when the strengths of the team are in the arm & hands of your passing offense.

But an effective running game is a great compliment.

[Crash]

I understand what you're saying, and I don't want a return to Cowher Ball either. But we need to have a more effective running game than what we've had in recent years.

Then treat the OL with some urgency instead of as an afterthought.

[hawaiiansteel]

Then treat the OL with some urgency instead of as an afterthought.

if we don't Ben is going to get killed one of these days and we'll never be effective in short-yardage situations or in the red zone.

[Wallace108]

Interior OL blocking improvement, the return of Willie Colon & a RB group that doesn't dance around so much behind the line- those 3 things will get you an effective running game.

Crash is right- no need to return to the FB driven running game mentality- not when the strengths of the team are in the arm & hands of your passing offense.

But an effective running game is a great compliment.

You and Crash could very well be right. I'm just going by the words of Parker and Mendy. They both felt the running game would be more effective with a lead blocker. I think there's a mentality that if a team utilizes a fullback, they're going to be running 60 or 65 percent of the time. You can utilize a fullback and still throw.

I think the offense we had under Cowher gets a bad rap. What if during Cowher's tenure, he had the same defense, the same running game, and the same receivers. But instead of having Kordell Stewart, Mike Tomczak, Tommy Maddox, Kent Graham, or a young and inexperienced Roethlisberger, he had Big Ben in his prime? I think the results would have been much different. In my opinion, our offense under Cowher wasn't mediocre because we used a fullback ... it was mediocre because we didn't have a good quarterback.

[Wallace108]

Then treat the OL with some urgency instead of as an afterthought.

I think it's a misconception that the Steelers haven't addressed the O-line.

Going back to 2008, here's who they drafted:

2008
Tony Hills, 4th round

2009
Kraig Urbik, 3rd round
A.Q. Shipley, 7th round

2010
Maurkice Pouncey, 1st round
Chris Scott, 5th round

2011
Marcus Gilbert, 2nd round
Keith Williams, 6th round

In the past three drafts, we've taken offensive linemen with either our 1st or 2nd picks (we didn't have a 2nd round pick in 2009 ... Urbik was picked in the 3rd round but was our 2nd pick). The problem (if you want to call it that) is that we tend to draft at the end of the first round. The stud O-linemen are gone by the time we pick, and there's no reason to overreach for lower-round talent in the first round. In this regard, we're a victim of our success. We haven't done so well with our later-round picks, but I don't think it's because of a lack of effort.

Oh, and by the way ... I'm not trying to be antagonistic, Crash. I enjoy the discussion. 230572241.gif

[Oviedo]

Interior OL blocking improvement, the return of Willie Colon & a RB group that doesn't dance around so much behind the line- those 3 things will get you an effective running game.

Crash is right- no need to return to the FB driven running game mentality- not when the strengths of the team are in the arm & hands of your passing offense.

But an effective running game is a great compliment.

Totally agree with you Chadman. Three yards and a cloud of dust equals losing football in 2012. Ben is our most importnat players and whether we succeed or fail will depend on him more than any other player. Running games are complementary components to an NFL offense. You need to be able to run in certain situations or "situational football" as Tomlin often says. Our problem is that our offense has been hamstrung by an OL that fails in key areas of "situational football" both in the passing game and running game. No FB is needed to fix that but better offensive linemen are.

[RuthlessBurgher]

You might get your wish. Tolbert is practically begging the Steelers to give him a call.

Tolbert is a more well-rounded back than Hillis (and more of a team player, while Hillis has some of that me-first head-case in him). Tolbert runs hard, catches oodles of passes out of the backfield (Haley has a better history of using backs as receivers out of the backfield than Arians ever did), and may not be looking for a huge deal (he's always been a complementary back in a RB-by-committee situation, which is how he would be used here if we managed to get him). He'd be an upgrade on Mewelde Moore for sure, and Redman-Tolbert would be a solid tandem until Mendenhall is able to return.

[RuthlessBurgher]

I think it's a misconception that the Steelers haven't addressed the O-line.

Going back to 2008, here's who they drafted:

2008
Tony Hills, 4th round

2009
Kraig Urbik, 3rd round
A.Q. Shipley, 7th round

2010
Maurkice Pouncey, 1st round
Chris Scott, 5th round

2011
Marcus Gilbert, 2nd round
Keith Williams, 6th round

In the past three drafts, we've taken offensive linemen with either our 1st or 2nd picks (we didn't have a 2nd round pick in 2009 ... Urbik was picked in the 3rd round but was our 2nd pick). The problem (if you want to call it that) is that we tend to draft at the end of the first round. The stud O-linemen are gone by the time we pick, and there's no reason to overreach for lower-round talent in the first round. In this regard, we're a victim of our success. We haven't done so well with our later-round picks, but I don't think it's because of a lack of effort.

Oh, and by the way ... I'm not trying to be antagonistic, Crash. I enjoy the discussion. [ATTACH=CONFIG]429[/ATTACH]

Welcome to our newly updated board, Wallace! How are things going at your new board?

[Crash]

4 of the 7 players you listed are 4th round or later. They gave up on Urbik after what? One camp?

That's not urgency. That's quantity over quality.

[Oviedo]

Heard that Hillis went to the Chiefs. Can anyone confrim?

[feltdizz]

Hills WAS good... not sure if he will ever recapture that magic though...

as far as the OL goes...

Ben and Mend are the ones who needed to show some "urgency" behind the OL that we had last year. The OL "was what it was" last year.... and it won't be much better this year. Once you are outside the tackles... stay outside the tackles instead of cutting back on a play that wasn't going anywhere.