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Retired_Member_001
04-28-2008, 07:49 AM
Pittsburgh's shocker could work out


With the 23rd Overall pick of the 2008 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select Running Back Rashard Mendenhall. Those words are words no NFL Fan could predict if they were watching the 2008 NFL Draft on Saturday. In fact many thought that Mendenhall would be taken in the early teens. However, this was not to be the case.

Questions have risen ever since the pick of Mendenhall. The Steelers had a painful need for an offensive lineman and a big need for a defensive lineman in the Draft. Many Steelers fans wanted their team to trade up at all costs to take a good offensive lineman. Last season the Steelers gave up 47 sacks, during the off-season they lost their best offensive lineman, Alan Faneca, this leaves the Steelers offensive line dangerously (danger a word Ben Roethlisberger will relate to) thin and weak. To add to this, their defensive line is very old and defensive lineman in the first round would be very welcome.

So with needs this big, it would make sense for the Steelers to go with a lineman in the first round. But wait a minute, remember the team in discussion right now, the Steelers aren’t your average team. The Steelers are a team that live life running the football, they like physical play. At 209lbs, is Willie Parker the kind of guy you think could live up to this kind of offense? That was a rhetorical question, but the answer would most definitely be no. To be fair, Willie Parker was leading the league in rushing before he got injured. But there’s the point, he got injured. You see, all you have to do is watch Willie Parker play to realize he is a finesse, speed, no contact kind of guy. Bulldozing over people with no mercy is not his game to say the least. On the other, Mendenhall is your tough inside runner who also has speed and can catch the ball.

The Steelers won their last Super Bowl by using a good speed, physical running back combo. In fact, the dual running back system is becoming a must in the NFL today. No team can be called a good running team unless they have two guys who can get 1,000 yards. In Parker and Mendenhall, the Steelers have two guys who can get 1,500 yards (although not in the same season). At this rate Parker can be getting his big flashy long runs more often as he won’t be as worn out.


"He's an exciting running back," said director of football operations Kevin Colbert, who oversees the draft. "He runs with power, he runs with moves, he can catch."

"Most successful teams have two productive running backs that they can count on. This one's a little bit bigger than Willie, so there may be some things that he can do to complement Willie, and that's only going to help us." Said Colbert.

Of course the argument will come up as to why they didn’t pick an offensive lineman or a defensive lineman. I will come out and honestly say, I think they will fail this season because their offensive line will get Big Ben killed. But to be fair, who did you want them to take? All the guys were taken, teams went hard for an offensive tackle this Draft and teams were reaching for guys so hard their arms fell off. Sure the Steelers could trade up, but then what? They would lose most probably a 2nd or 3rd round pick, picks that were eventually spent on a future WR and a future DE, both big needs for the Steelers. At the end of the day, the Steelers did what was best for the future of the team. They couldn’t even reach for another offensive lineman and the defensive lineman that were available (K.Balmer and L.Jackson) are not exactly 3-4 DE’s.

As said previously, the Steelers did what was best for the Franchise. Parker and Mendenhall, providing the Steelers draft a good offensive lineman next draft, could turn out to be the best running back duo the League will have.

omac
05-11-2008, 09:00 AM
Nice article. :salute:

I'm not too sure just how bad the Steelers OL was; I know they need a lot of improvement, but sometimes, Big Ben holds on to the ball pretty long while trying to make plays. One of the reasons Houston's OL looked better under Schaub than it did under Carr was that Schaub would get rid of the ball pretty fast. Maybe Big Ben will learn to get rid of the ball faster this season.

I agree with your, though; Mendenhall is the physical back that's a perfect compliment to Parker. I guess they'll protect Ben more this season through their running game.

rcsodak
07-06-2008, 01:08 AM
Isn't this in the wrong forum?


Who gives 2 shitz about the Squeelers? :coffee:

MOtorboat
07-06-2008, 09:58 AM
Isn't this in the wrong forum?

Um, no. it's not.

Retired_Member_001
07-06-2008, 11:21 AM
Isn't this in the wrong forum?


Who gives 2 shitz about the Squeelers? :coffee:

What a joker.

I'm guessing you are new to this. This is a place where our writers talk about FOOTBALL. Last time I checked, the Steelers were a FOOTBALL team.

rcsodak
07-07-2008, 12:26 AM
No, I'm not new to this. Note my start date, penguin!

This Forum is called "BroncoForum's Articles", is it not? I believe there's another forum for other teams, "Other NFL Team Discussion", is there not?


Hmmm......doh :tsk:


:coffee:

MOtorboat
07-07-2008, 12:29 AM
No, I'm not new to this. Note my start date, penguin!

This Forum is called "BroncoForum's Articles", is it not? I believe there's another forum for other teams, "Other NFL Team Discussion", is there not?


Hmmm......doh :tsk:


:coffee:

Dude...this is not BroncosTalk.

We have a team of writers who write original content. Not all of it is about the Broncos, thus, this is not in the wrong forum.

Stick to topic and quit being an ass.

If you aren't new to this, then read around this forum a little more, maybe you'll understand better.

BroncoBJ
07-07-2008, 12:33 AM
:lol: Rcsodak got owned.

Classic :salute:

But nice article and I was actually hoping Denver would draft him. Then I wanted us to trade back up to get him.
Oh well. :fight:

Retired_Member_001
07-07-2008, 06:55 AM
No, I'm not new to this. Note my start date, penguin!

This Forum is called "BroncoForum's Articles", is it not? I believe there's another forum for other teams, "Other NFL Team Discussion", is there not?


Hmmm......doh :tsk:


:coffee:

BroncosForum's articles = Articles written by BroncosForum's writers.

Doh.

SmilinAssasSin27
07-07-2008, 02:59 PM
A-who cares where it belongs? It's the offseason.

B-Their OLine WAS that bad. I live here, I see em every week.

C-Mendenhall shouldn't have been a surprise to those who pay attention. They had been publically hoping J Stewart would fall to them. Why not Mendenhall?

Retired_Member_001
07-08-2008, 01:14 PM
A-who cares where it belongs? It's the offseason.

B-Their OLine WAS that bad. I live here, I see em every week.

C-Mendenhall shouldn't have been a surprise to those who pay attention. They had been publically hoping J Stewart would fall to them. Why not Mendenhall?

Their offensive line was THAT bad. Who else were they going to take though? Teams were reaching for Offensive lineman so badly their arms fell off. Most of the 2nd round talents went in the 1st.

rcsodak
07-08-2008, 08:28 PM
Dude...this is not BroncosTalk.

quit being an ass.


Kiss my what? :coffee:

Throw your namecalling around to some kid, kid.

The Squeeelers ARE a different team, are they not? THUS, the reasoning for my initial post. I simply asked a question. Seems some wittle feewings got hurted.

Maybe the forum's sub-info should reflect the fact that it's contents will pertain to anything the crack writers' little fingers want to type out. :coffee:

ps. Cutler, ownage is something you should be used to. Me? Not so much. ;)

MOtorboat
07-08-2008, 08:29 PM
Kiss my what? :coffee:

Throw your namecalling around to some kid, kid.

The Squeeelers ARE a different team, are they not? THUS, the reasoning for my initial post. I'm spot-on, and simply asked a question. Seems some wittle feewings got hurted. Deal with it.

Maybe the forum's sub-info should reflect the fact that it's contents will pertain to anything the crack writers' little fingers want to type out. :coffee:

ps. Cutler, ownage is something you should be used to. Me? Not so much. ;)

:confused:

You clearly don't get it. Run along now.

broncobear
07-18-2008, 08:43 PM
The Steelers were faced with a lousy choice, as you indicated. No OT left, the DT's either didn't fit the system or were fine later round picks. Heck, the Broncos drafted like gold this year. I was after Powell ever since I notice that he had over 100 running plays run at him and give us minus 17 years. Now, that's a stat. I think that in a few years he'll be solid for us. 'Steiger should be sooner than that, but he fits our system well as was still a 4th rounder. He's too small for the Steelers - And our friends are right, Big Ben has a habit of holding the ball longer than would be best, so they need more of a road grader type.

I watched Mendenhall play last year. He fits the Broncos system very well (although I thought Clady was a better pick), and I would have loved to get him, but Pittsburgh will be happy to watch him spell Parker (or vice versa).

Nicee Post!

bengaaaaals1688
07-19-2008, 01:18 PM
Their offensive line was THAT bad. Who else were they going to take though? Teams were reaching for Offensive lineman so badly their arms fell off. Most of the 2nd round talents went in the 1st.

While that is true, the fact that they didn't try to draft a OL later in the draft was what made that pick truly idiotic. They don't have a good OL, their best right not is Max Starks and that isn't saying much, but they didn't do anything to fix it. No matter how good a RB is, he will never be good without an OL, unless his name is Barry Sanders.