And the winner is…..Mendenhall
Perhaps the writing was on the wall when the Steelers failed to sign him to a new contract during the off-season. Willie Parker’s days as the Steelers starting running back seem to have come to an end.
Parker returned to the playing field last Sunday despite a toe that is still not completely healed.
Prior to the game, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was non-committal as to who would get the majority of carries. Both Tomlin and offensive coordinator Bruce Arians used the same neutral reply; “we’re just happy to have both running backs available to play”.
Fans, on the other hand didn’t seem to be quite so neutral. Many Steelers fans had already grown tired of Parker’s inability to gain short yardage between the tackles. Parker’s running style was often seen as being “feast or famine”. Parker would either get to the outside and picks up significant yardage, or he would be stopped for little to no yardage.
Fast Willie Parker
Personally, I’ve always felt that Parker’s game was rather one-dimensional. Parker is fast. Period. He isn’t a powerful runner, which is why he is often unsuccessful running between the tackles. He also isn’t particularly elusive. He has never been known for having much “swivel in his hips”, and his running style will never be confused with Barry Sanders’. Oh yeah, and he can’t catch.
But despite the collective thoughts of much of Steeler Nation, the Steelers coaches decided to make it an open competition. And after a one game competition, the winner is Mendenhall.
Mike Tomlin announced that Rashard Mendenhall will get the majority of the snaps for the foreseeable future. “Rashard has earned the right to take the majority of the snaps as we move forward”. And with those words, a baton was passed in Steelers running back history.
Parker doesn’t quite see it that way. He seems to think that the reason that he is not starting is because he is not healthy.
“I am not ready to take the load right now,” Parker said. “When I am ready, we will make another decision.”
Perhaps Parker is right. However, if that were the case wouldn’t Mike Tomlin have said that Mendenhall will start “until Parker is healthy” ? Instead, he said that Mendenhall had “earned” the right to take the majority of the snaps. That sound like Tomlin believes that Mendenhall has proven that he is the better choice (at least for now).
Mendenhall is averaging 5.1 yards per carry, compared to 3.1 yards/carry for Parker. Moreover, they have almost the same number of carries.
(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
But before we get too excited about Mendenhall’s future, we have to remember that most of his yards were gained during starts against the Detroit Lions and the Cleveland Browns, two of the worst teams in the NFL.
We have to remember that Mendenhall does have a history of fumbling. Even during his impressive games against the Lions and Browns, TV commentators mentioned how loosely he was holding the ball.
Besides those two dynamic games against lesser foes, Mendenhall doesn’t have much of an NFL resume. Fans quickly forget that Mendenhall was all but invisible during the preseason. In fact, most fans were calling for an undrafted rookie named Isaac Redman to become the Steelers’ starting running back at the end of the preseason.
The bottom line is that the ball belongs to Rashard Mendenhall….for now. He still needs to show what he can do against quality NFL defenses.
In Willie Parker, we have a back who has proven himself over a long period of time. In Mendenhall, it is still not clear what we have.
Perhaps Tomlin and Arians were right prior to their commitment to Mendenhall. Perhaps we all should have just been happy to have both backs available to play.
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October 23, 2009 11:26 am 4 Comments
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By Steelers Fan Jim, October 23, 2009 @ 11:57 am
Here’s what I think about that. Mendenhall may not be as quick and as fast as Parker, but he has shown his power and determination this year. He deserves to be the #1 back. He’s no Jerome Bettis, but he has helped take pressure of of Ben and eat up the clock.
By John#21, October 24, 2009 @ 11:01 am
No doubt Mendenhall should start. Hopefully, he grows with experience and gets better and better. As we all know, most teams have more than one good back. You have to in this league. We are fortunate because we have 3. Mewelde is also a tremendous talent and a valuable team player. I wouldn’t be so quick to give up on Parker. He does have the dimension of speed that no one else has. He can prove to be valuable in a rotation. It seems clear that his confidence is shot. Whether he can get it together and be a contributor as a #2 or as a situational back will determine whether the Steelers offer him a contract after the season.We will see. In the meantime, let’s hope we see the emergence of the next great back in Runhard Rashard!
By John, October 26, 2009 @ 8:49 am
Now if he could only hold on to the ball!
Mendenhall is obviously the most talented back on the team but if he keeps coughing up the ball at this rate we’ll all be calling for “More of Moore!”
By chris, February 5, 2010 @ 12:06 pm
Thats stupid Mendenhall tries hard but by the end of the season he wasnt trying anymore and Parker was running all over the dolphins…Parker obviously wants his spot back and he probably wont get it. He will probably go to another team and become the best running back to ever live.