Willie Parker's balky turf toe may be healthy enough to get back on the field this Sunday. Normally getting a starting tailback back is a good thing, but in Mike Tomlin's case this may be an added complication.There's an old NFL adage that you can't lose your job because of an injury, but there's an a big if to that promise for many coaches--you can't lose your job unless the team discovers that your backup is better than you. We'll find out soon whether Tomlin believes that the promise is an absolute one.
Right now the Steelers are discovering that in 2009 Rashard Mendenhall is a better back than Parker.
Mendenhall has shown in the past two weeks that he is the Steelers' best back, and it doesn't take much expertise to figure that out. He runs with more power than Parker, he shows more decisiveness in getting to the hole and he even has shown a better ability to get outside for big gains. Eight of Mendenhall's 51 carries have gone for 10 yards or more while six of Parker's 52 carries have gone for 10+. If Parker can't provide more big plays then Mendenhall then it's hard to make an argument for starting Parker.
| Breaking It Down |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| A look at how Willie Parker's carries compare to Rashard Mendenhall's, percentage-wise, in terms of yards gained: |
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| Player | Negative Yards | 0 Yards | 1-3 Yards | 4+ Yards |
| Parker |
17.3% |
13.5% |
36.5% |
32.7% |
| Mendenhall |
9.8% |
13.7% |
27.5% |
49% |
The biggest difference may be Mendenhall's ability to avoid second and long. On first and 10, Parker has 27 carries for 64 yards (2.4 yards per carry). In the same situation, Mendenhall has 30 carries for 185 yards (6.2 yards per carry). Mendenhall's stats are bumped up by a 39-yard run, but even without that he still averages 5 yards per carry on first down. Mendenhall's ability to get the Steelers into second and four or five compared to second and eight opens up many more options on second down.
That's not only true on first down. Overall, 31 percent of Parker's carries have gone for zero or negative yardage compared to 23.5 percent for Mendenhall. Parker has the big play ability, but Mendenhall's ability to lower his head and bull forward means that he's more likely to get positive yardage out of a play when the blocking breaks down.
The Steelers will be able to use both Parker and Mendenhall over the final 11 games of the season, but it is clear that there is a changing of the guard going on.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
I totally 110% agree!
Willie has been injury prone the last 3 years on and off.
I think they should continue to split time because I believe the "slow demise" of Willie Parker has a lot to do with getting too many carries in 06 and 07. I remember Tomlin coming into the job and saying he was going to "run the wheels off" of Parker, and he did. He's not a big enough back to get 300 carries a year. Mendenhall might be, but there's no reason to stress his body when there is another capable back on the team.
Let them split carries while Parker is still serviceable to extend both of their careers.
Parkers days in black and gold may very well be over after this year. He's proven that hes not very durable being injury prone the last couple years. He can't break through the line and, like this article mentions put Pittsburgh in that 2cd and 4 situation, like Rashard does.
Mendenhall is a bigger, stronger athelete and obviously younger has a big impact. If Willie doesn't get to the edge and work the angle he rarely gets measurable yards.
Pittsburgh should move forward with Mendenhall as the starter and Moore and Reddman as the 2 and 3 backs. That to me is solid combination on the running game.
Everyone seems to forget that it has only been the last 2 games that the offensive line has played well enough to open holes for the ball carrier.
On many of those big plays by Mendenhall, if it had been Parker carring the ball, the play might have gone all the way because of Parker's speed. Mendenhall has been run down on many plays by linebackers.
Give them the same offensive line play then pick which is the better back.
Well you cant have your cake and eat it too, as they say. Staying with parker only delays the development of mendenhall. Perhaps the improved o-line play is more of a reflection on the way mendenhall plays? Looks to me like the o-line makes their blocks and mendenhall hits the hole like he is supposed to, as to where willie hesitates to hit the hole and by then, the hole is closed. Im not ready to throw parker to the curb, but i also think its time to show every one why the steelers picked mendenhall in the first round.
wow, mendy has 2 good games against horrible run defenses and people are ready to send parker out of town on the next bus. not to mention the o-line is playing significantly better than earlier this year.
i've always been critical of parker's 2 biggest problems. breaking tackles and catching the ball out of the backfield. mendy "seems" to be a more complete RB than parker, but has yet to prove himself against a good defense.
we need both these guys to be healthy this year. the defense is not as stout as last year and 2 healthy "starting caliber" RB's will be necessary to control time of possession in the second half of games down the stretch.
i also agree that this is parker's last year. the salary cap space will be much needed.
Serously, Parker is a bust. He's only had a couple half way decent games ever and for the life of me, I can't even see why we should even be talking about this. They should have pulled him last year when Moore was running rings around him. If you can be honest, most of his runs are for little or no gain, and many are for losses. Then during the course of a game, he'll make a decent run and then those yards are thrown into the mix and averaged out to make like it look like he's done something. That fact that people need to consider is that he isn't getting these decent runs or yards when they are most needed! We should go back and review the past games to see just how many times he was responsible the offenses "3 and outs!" He has dug a hole for us far too many times and this has resulted in far too many 3rd and longs! He's indecisive when trying to find a hole to run through, he is probably the easiest runback to bring down by the opposition...hell, many times he just trips and falls all by himself. I think the only reason they've played him as much as they have, is because they paid he so much money and would be embarassing for upper management to just bench him! (This wouldn't be the first time the Steelers front office wasted a lot of money on a promising running back that didn't prove out!) But it's long over due to try to recoup what they can and palm him off on somebody else. My only fear is that they will continue to play him to create the illusion that they still have confidence him. For to bench him would seriously hurt any chance they would have in getting some other team to bite on him too. I mean how many teams would want to buy out a multi-million dollar contracted running back that is sitting on the bench!!??? I'll bet you anything, that he'll be starting again and the crummy running game we have been having (last year and now) will be back in place!
You wern't saying that when he broke off that 75 yd TD in the Super Bowl against Seattle were you! He deserves to get back on the field healthy and then be assessed.
Its not that mendenhall has only gone against two lacking defenses or that the line is just playing better. Watch the break down of the plays. Parker rarely gets past first contact, even shoestring grabs. Football is an emotional game, the line could be playing better because they are energized by the fact Mendenhall gets past first contact and falls forward. I feel the rb and line go hand in hand in feeding off each other. In the last two weeks there have been many carriers that Rashard has be contacted two or three times or more before being brought down.
Good defense? How quick everyone forgets that in his first start last year against the very good Ravens defense he had 30 some yards in the first half on 9 carrys. Parker in all his games against the Ravens averages 43 yds per game. This is the time to transition to Mendenhall.. Perios.
Shouldn't you mention that Parker's carries came against Ten, Chi, and Cinci? And Mendenhall's came against SD (minus Jamal Williams) and Det? I think the jury is still out on this one and it has more to do with the O-line performance than anything else. It is encouraging to see Mendenhall doing well and gaining some confidence, though.
We have to recognize that they are 2 different styles of runners. Parker is the back that cab break a game open at any time. We as Steeler fans have become spoiled with runners such as Franco and Bettis blasting through the lines with power. RM fits that mold and thats what we are used to and come to expect. Two different styles and both can be used during a game.