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Steelers' Mendenhall eager to show moves
By Scott Brown, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, August 3, 2009
[url="http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_636473.html"]http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsbu ... 36473.html[/url]
After suffering a season-ending shoulder injury last September, Rashard Mendenhall wanted to find something to keep him active.
Mendenhall, who has an artistic bent, signed up for hip-hop dance lessons at a Pittsburgh dance studio. Near the end of June, he performed in a recital at Chartiers Valley Intermediate School.
Among those in the crowd of about 1,000 people were Steelers director of player development Ray Jackson, running back/wide receiver Stefan Logan and wide receiver Brandon Williams.
"It does take a little extra gumption to go out there and dance in front of some people knowing you are the biggest person out there," Williams said. "On a scale of one to 10, I'll give him a seven. He worked hard, and it showed."
Mendenhall is hoping his hard work pays off on a much bigger stage — and also allows him to showcase his moves.
The Steelers' first-round draft pick in 2008 is healthy and is expected to push starter Willie Parker for playing time this season. Mendenhall is part of a backfield that offensive coordinator Bruce Arians said may be as deep as he has ever seen as a coach.
That is good news for any offense and particularly one that finished 23rd in the NFL in rushing a year ago, as the Steelers uncharacteristically did.
"Everybody is capable of busting one out there," Arians said, "all the way down to the last guy."
Arians compared the quality depth the Steelers appear to have at running back to what he had in Kansas City in the early 1990s when the Chiefs' stable of backs included Christian Okoye and Barry Word.
"If you told me Frank (Summers) and Isaac (Redman) had to be our backs, I'd feel pretty good except for the fact that they are rookies," said the well-traveled Arians, who coached running backs for the Chiefs from 1989-1992. "But talent-wise, I'd be real happy."
He'll hardly be disappointed with Parker, a two-time Pro Bowler, and Mendenhall.
Both reported to training camp in excellent condition, and Mendenhall said he is in better shape than he was as a rookie. Even more promising for the Steelers: Parker has embraced the idea of sharing the load at running back even though he could be playing for a new contract.
"It's a long season, (and) most NFL teams are merging into a two-back system," said Parker, who is going into the final year of his deal with the Steelers, "so I think it would be great for me not to get as many carries as I got two years ago."
A heavy workload in 2006 and 2007 seemed to catch up with Parker, who averaged 329 carries in those two seasons.
He missed five games last season with shoulder and knee injuries. The sixth-year veteran also averaged a career-low 3.9 yards per carry and gained only 791 yards.
When Parker and Mendenhall were sidelined, it was Mewelde Moore who kept the running game afloat.
That is why Arians said Moore will be anything but an afterthought even if the 5-10, 209-pound Parker has a bounce-back season and Mendenhall lives up to the promise that made him a first-round pick.
"If we didn't have Mewelde last season," Arians said of the player who could be the team's third-down back, "we wouldn't have been in the Super Bowl."
The broken shoulder he sustained in his first NFL start forced Mendenhall to watch the Steelers' Super Bowl run from a distance.
Dance lessons may have helped him stay fit and flexible, Mendenhall said, but it couldn't replace football. The 5-10, 225-pounder said he has lost a little weight and added that "maybe" he is more cut these days.
What is clear is the only dancing Mendenhall hopes to be doing in the next couple of months is the kind that takes place in end zones following touchdowns.
When asked how anxious he is to getting back to playing football, Mendenhall said: "As a competitor, who wouldn't be? Expectations will be high, but that's how it's supposed to be."
By Scott Brown, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, August 3, 2009
[url="http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_636473.html"]http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsbu ... 36473.html[/url]
After suffering a season-ending shoulder injury last September, Rashard Mendenhall wanted to find something to keep him active.
Mendenhall, who has an artistic bent, signed up for hip-hop dance lessons at a Pittsburgh dance studio. Near the end of June, he performed in a recital at Chartiers Valley Intermediate School.
Among those in the crowd of about 1,000 people were Steelers director of player development Ray Jackson, running back/wide receiver Stefan Logan and wide receiver Brandon Williams.
"It does take a little extra gumption to go out there and dance in front of some people knowing you are the biggest person out there," Williams said. "On a scale of one to 10, I'll give him a seven. He worked hard, and it showed."
Mendenhall is hoping his hard work pays off on a much bigger stage — and also allows him to showcase his moves.
The Steelers' first-round draft pick in 2008 is healthy and is expected to push starter Willie Parker for playing time this season. Mendenhall is part of a backfield that offensive coordinator Bruce Arians said may be as deep as he has ever seen as a coach.
That is good news for any offense and particularly one that finished 23rd in the NFL in rushing a year ago, as the Steelers uncharacteristically did.
"Everybody is capable of busting one out there," Arians said, "all the way down to the last guy."
Arians compared the quality depth the Steelers appear to have at running back to what he had in Kansas City in the early 1990s when the Chiefs' stable of backs included Christian Okoye and Barry Word.
"If you told me Frank (Summers) and Isaac (Redman) had to be our backs, I'd feel pretty good except for the fact that they are rookies," said the well-traveled Arians, who coached running backs for the Chiefs from 1989-1992. "But talent-wise, I'd be real happy."
He'll hardly be disappointed with Parker, a two-time Pro Bowler, and Mendenhall.
Both reported to training camp in excellent condition, and Mendenhall said he is in better shape than he was as a rookie. Even more promising for the Steelers: Parker has embraced the idea of sharing the load at running back even though he could be playing for a new contract.
"It's a long season, (and) most NFL teams are merging into a two-back system," said Parker, who is going into the final year of his deal with the Steelers, "so I think it would be great for me not to get as many carries as I got two years ago."
A heavy workload in 2006 and 2007 seemed to catch up with Parker, who averaged 329 carries in those two seasons.
He missed five games last season with shoulder and knee injuries. The sixth-year veteran also averaged a career-low 3.9 yards per carry and gained only 791 yards.
When Parker and Mendenhall were sidelined, it was Mewelde Moore who kept the running game afloat.
That is why Arians said Moore will be anything but an afterthought even if the 5-10, 209-pound Parker has a bounce-back season and Mendenhall lives up to the promise that made him a first-round pick.
"If we didn't have Mewelde last season," Arians said of the player who could be the team's third-down back, "we wouldn't have been in the Super Bowl."
The broken shoulder he sustained in his first NFL start forced Mendenhall to watch the Steelers' Super Bowl run from a distance.
Dance lessons may have helped him stay fit and flexible, Mendenhall said, but it couldn't replace football. The 5-10, 225-pounder said he has lost a little weight and added that "maybe" he is more cut these days.
What is clear is the only dancing Mendenhall hopes to be doing in the next couple of months is the kind that takes place in end zones following touchdowns.
When asked how anxious he is to getting back to playing football, Mendenhall said: "As a competitor, who wouldn't be? Expectations will be high, but that's how it's supposed to be."
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