Not to start a ****e storm, but Dwyer....

[BigRob]

Insufficient data to draw a good conclusion.

Take a closer look at the run game; according to one analysis the Steelers nemesis was 2nd down runs which averaged a full yard less than runs on 1st or 3rd downs. In otherwords, Redman got all the tough carries and Dwyer comes in for cleanup. There were at least 5 runs with no yds gained, all but one on 2nd down. The OL was being stood up. Starks was the only guy who I think outperformed,based on his injury status and who he faced.

Your analysis is incorrect and makes big assumptions. Correlation does not equal causation. Redman struggled on 2nd down carries. That doesn't mean that Dwyer would have as well.

You have to take the whole body of work of each back. Dwyer earned a shot at more carries, and Tomlin agrees. He outperformed Redman.

[stopplayn]

He's Barry Sanders. One of a kind, like Troy.

Agree wholeheartedly

[lloydroid]

Anyone want to know my opinion on this one?

[7 UP]

Dwyer or Redman, it dosent matter. Fact of the matter is Mendenhall is heads and tails better than both of those backs. When Mendenhall is fully healthy I think he can be an absolute beast in this new offense. I doubt you see Mendy until after the early bye. But once hes back, I think this committee approach will be over. Until then, my guess is they start Redman, but Dwyer eventually gets more carries as they go with the hot hand.

[hawaiiansteel]

Anyone want to know my opinion on this one?

maybe you should start a new thread and explain it to us...

[phillyesq]

Insufficient data to draw a good conclusion.

I agree.

Dwyer looked good, and certainly did earn more opportunities. But it was just a handful of carries for both. Redman had a nice game against Denver last year, and decent overall numbers.

Redman isn't as bad as he looked on Sunday. Dwyer is still a question mark, though he has looked good. Still need to see more of each.

[hawaiiansteel]

Insufficient data to draw a good conclusion.

have you been hanging out with Slappy?

[fordfixer]

September 12, 2012 12:04 am

[url]http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/steelers/steelers-likely-to-give-dwyer-more-carries-652882/[/url]

By Ed Bouchette / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Jonathan Dwyer has had nothing but success with a football in his hands at Georgia Tech, with the Steelers in the preseason, in his few chances last season and in the first game of 2012.

Sunday at Heinz Field against the New York Jets, he will get even more opportunities.

"I thought Jonathan Dwyer provided a spark play and represented himself well and will probably get an increased opportunity because of it," coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday.

Dwyer ran nine times for 43 yards, a 4.8-yard average per carry and one touchdown that was overruled by replay in the 31-19 loss in Denver. That represented more than half the Steelers 75 rushing yards. Everyone else had 32 yards on 17 carries or a 1.9-yard average.

This comes after Dwyer led the backs with 147 yards and a 5.3-yard average in the preseason. Last season, he averaged 7.7 yards per carry, although he only carried 16 times. Dwyer also caught two passes for 11 yards in Denver.

Tomlin did not say if Dwyer will start (Isaac Redman held that honor and carried 11 times for 20 yards against the Broncos), but he expressed overall disappointment with a part of the game the Steelers have long wanted to improve upon. The desire to run more effectively may be the main reason Bruce Arians was let go and Todd Haley was hired as offensive coordinator.

"I think we're capable of being better," said Tomlin, assessing his backs' performances in Denver. "We're still going to continue to play a number of people. We haven't sorted out specifically what that rotation is to this point."

All the backs, except for the inactive Rashard Mendenhall played. Baron Batch played mostly on third down next to Ben Roethlisberger in the shotgun. He had one carry but lost a yard. Rookie Chris Rainey had two carries for 5 yards and one catch that lost a yard. Redman also caught two passes for 7 yards.

Mendenhall will practice for the second consecutive week, and, again, Tomlin would not hint about his plans for him. Mendenhall's anterior cruciate ligament was torn Jan. 1, and he had surgery that month.

Minnesota's Adrian Peterson had surgery after his ACL and medial collateral ligament were torn one week earlier than Mendenhall. He not only started the Sunday for the Vikings, but he also scored two touchdowns and rushed for 84 yards on 17 carries, an average of 4.9 yards, against Jacksonville. He also caught one pass.

If Mendenhall were on the same timetable as Peterson, he would play this week. Tomlin officially listed him as "doubtful" Friday for the Denver game.

"We'll see how the week takes us," Tomlin said Tuesday. "I thought he had a good week last week. He's done a nice job with the things we've asked him to do, and we'll just continue to move forward and put our heads together as the week unfolds and see if he's the guy for us this week."
Injury news mostly good

While Tomlin described "pretty good news" on the injury front, there, basically, was no news on James Harrison's knee that has kept him out of most every practice since last spring. The veteran outside linebacker's left knee was scoped Aug. 15 to remove particles that were irritating it and causing it to swell.

"James Harrison worked out yesterday," Tomlin said Tuesday. "He will run tomorrow, and we will see where he is. We will basically follow the same protocol with him that we did last week. We will work him up to activity and see how his knee responds to that activity. We will let that be our guide in terms of his participation."

Harrison's knee did not respond well to that protocol last week.

He went through a full practice that Monday, signalled the knee was A-OK Tuesday, went through a partial practice Wednesday, did not practice Thursday or Friday and did not play Sunday.

Tomlin had good news on a few other injury fronts, especially about the two starting offensive linemen who left the game Sunday in the second quarter.

"Ramon Foster, who missed time in the game, appears to be fine, as is Marcus Gilbert, who hyperextended his knee. Gilbert may be limited in the early part of the week, but it won't stop him from participating in this upcoming game."

Foster had what the coach described as an optical migraine with blurred vision Sunday.

Troy Polamalu also has a right calf strain that may limit him in practice, but Tomlin said he should play.
Quick hits

• Quote of the day from Tomlin when asked if he could evaluate the replacement officials: "I'm not going to do that. I'm going to keep my money in my pocket."

• Tomlin, who fired special-teams coach Al Everest in the preseason, praised the play of his special teams in Denver. Amos Jones, formerly Everest's assistant, coaches them now. "I thought our kicking game and our specialists were an asset. Shaun Suisham was 2 for 2 on field goals. He was 5 of 5 in the kickoff game, meaning he had five touchbacks. I thought Drew Butler represented himself well in his first time out as our punter. He had a 40.0 net average and landed one punt inside the Broncos 5-yard line. We won the field-position battle with that. We had a good punt-return game. Antonio Brown's return produced a scoring opportunity."

First Published September 12, 2012 12:00 am

Read more: [url]http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/steelers/steelers-likely-to-give-dwyer-more-carries-652882/#ixzz26E8W66BB[/url]

[flippy]

Haley's offense looks built for Mendy to me. Get that kid the ball in space and we're gonna have a different offense. Anyone know when Mendy's back? Can't believe it, but I really think he's gonna make a huge difference.

[BigRob]

[url]http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2012/9/11/3316740/steelers-game-preview-fantasy-football-jonathan-dwyer-isaac-redman-starter-Jets-week-2[/url]

Is there value in a diversified backfield?


This isn't your investment portfolio. This is football. And the reasons why [URL="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/players/71874/isaac-redman"]Isaac Redman[/URL] should get even a third as many carries as [URL="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/players/108581/jonathan-dwyer"]Jonathan Dwyer[/URL] right now are suspect at best.


Dwyer had 43 yards on nine carries in Pittsburgh's Week 1 loss to Denver. Redman, the starter, had 11 carries for 20 yards. Dwyer also had a big gainer wiped out by a holding penalty on wide receiver [URL="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/players/71118/mike-wallace"]Mike Wallace[/URL]. If Wallace's guy makes the tackle on that play, it still went for 11 yards.

So what is [URL="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/pittsburgh-steelers"]Steelers[/URL] coach Mike Tomlin saying this week? Dwyer may see an increase in opportunities against the [URL="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/new-york-jets"]Jets[/URL] in Week 2.


That's Tomlin-Speak for Dwyer's going to carry the ball early and often. Judging by the Jets' shoddy tackling in a 48-28 rout of Buffalo in Week 1, they're going to be pretty excited to get a chance to stuff what appears to be a struggling running game.


Dwyer is the one breaking tackles right now, not Redman. He's done nothing but produce in every game he's been in, and if there was a reason to take the restrictor plate off the three-year vet and let him run, it's this one.


The Jets' secondary is pretty good. [URL="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/buffalo-bills"]Bills[/URL] quarterback [URL="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/players/3219/ryan-fitzpatrick"]Ryan Fitzpatrick[/URL] was giving turnovers away like they were flu shots last week, but the Jets looked hungrier and hungrier each time No. 7 dropped back in the pocket. But there were blown tackles all over the field. Dwyer does not get taken down easily by one guy. He'll break tackles.


Find cornerback [URL="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/players/2984/antonio-cromartie"]Antonio Cromartie[/URL], motion tight end [URL="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/players/1620/heath-miller"]Heath Miller[/URL] over to his side. Pull the guard, hand off to Dwyer and watch the carnage.


Redman can serve just fine as a substitute in a normal altitude environment. There's no need for them to split carries this week, and this is a team the Steelers should aim to get another 25 or more runs called.

[Oviedo]

Right now, it appears that Dwyer is the "Contender" and Redman is the "Pretender" with a new challenger just waiting in the wings in Mendy.

[Slapstick]

Right now, it appears that Dwyer is the "Contender" and Redman is the "Pretender" with a new challenger just waiting in the wings in Mendy.

Right now, it appears that Dwyer is (finally) playing well while Redman is dealing with his minor injuries...

I don't expect to see Mendenhall receive any significant work until after the week 3 bye...

[feltdizz]

Doesn't matter if Dwyer starts because he takes himself out of the game after 3 plays....

[lloydroid]

Haley's offense looks built for Mendy to me. Get that kid the ball in space and we're gonna have a different offense. Anyone know when Mendy's back? Can't believe it, but I really think he's gonna make a huge difference.

JD will prove better. Just my prognostication.

[lloydroid]

maybe you should start a new thread and explain it to us...

OK, I will