Rashard Mendenhall will be starter

[Riddle_Of_Steel]

Originally Posted by Darkstorm05

Let's check out how Dwyer and Redman did before the bye, prior to the line beginning to put up some proper play...

Vs Denver

Dwyer: 9 attempts for 43 yards
Redman: 11 attempts for 20 yards


VS The Jets

Dwyer: 12 attempts for 28 yards
Redman: 12 attempts for 25 yards


Vs Oakland

Dwyer: 3 attempts for -1 yards
Redman: 9 attempts for 27 yards

Hot damn, these guys are surely pro-bowl bound!

Keep in mind though that Redman got injured in week 3 of preseason and has been running on two sore ankles since then.

Also, since mendy did not play in those games, we have no idea how badly he would have fared.

Mendy dances around behind the line for too long, oftentimes resulting in lost yards on 1st & 2nd down (aka Willie Parker), whereas Dwyer and Redman are better north-south runners.

I am excited to see what mendy can do behind the new Oline, but I do think Redmand and Dwyer are better suited to our current scheme and roster.

[Fire Arians]

the first running back this season to dial in a strong performance was mendenhall vs the eagles

[Darkstorm05]

Originally Posted by Fire Arians

the first running back this season to dial in a strong performance was mendenhall vs the eagles

Truth. And I still see everyone says Mendy "Dances and Spins", but really, I can't recall a single spin in that Eagles game. And still, yardage aside, how are we going to get by with the conditioning on these two? Go back and watch Dwyer in those two big games he had. Any time he ran more than 5 or 6 yards he had his hands on knees gasping for air. So if we have these two make decent runs back to back we can't have any more run plays that series while our backs gasp for oxygen on the sidelines? That was NOT NFL starting caliber conditioning.

[bornaSteelersfan]

Mendenhall is definitely our starter. He has proven to be able to "carry the load" over the course of many seasons. I only hope he can keep carrying the ball. His biggest flaw is his tendency to sometimes drop the ball of late. No other running back we have can hit the holes and then accelerate through them like he can. I have watched Dwyer and Redman get caught from behind and get winded. I have also seen them miss the gap (sometimes still able to get yardage). With this line, Mendy's "dancing days" are over.

[Blitzberg06]

Originally Posted by Fire Arians

not to mention he had 1000 yard seasons behind that train wreck of an o-line we had in the past few years, he could do some damage behind the one we have right now

those run plays where dwyer / red are getting 10-15 yard gainers could easily be 30+ with mendy carrying the rock, he just has that breakaway speed/acceleration that premier NFL backs have and they do not.

todd haley's offense will get him in space where he's dangerous, and with the improved o-line / will johnson, just watch

I've always been a Mendy hater and you sir just convinced me to give the guy one last shot. So we shall see what he can do behind this new O line and new scheme. I can't wait for freaking decastro to get back and play.

[PhantomJB93]

Mendy has a better skillset and SHOULD be better than the other guys, but right now I would just stick with Remand and Dwyer. It's working. Mendy wasn't. I know the Oline has improved since he last played but I'd still rather not take the chance. We're on a roll right now and the last thing we need is to kill momentum by changing up the RB situation yet again and having it not work.

Obviously everyone's going to get carries anyway, I say let Redman or Dwyer have the majority of early carries and if when Mendy gets his shot he looks really good, let him take over instead.

[FanSince72]

Originally Posted by Darkstorm05

Let's check out how Dwyer and Redman did before the bye, prior to the line beginning to put up some proper play...

Vs Denver

Dwyer: 9 attempts for 43 yards
Redman: 11 attempts for 20 yards


VS The Jets

Dwyer: 12 attempts for 28 yards
Redman: 12 attempts for 25 yards


Vs Oakland

Dwyer: 3 attempts for -1 yards
Redman: 9 attempts for 27 yards

Hot damn, these guys are surely pro-bowl bound! Truly, because Redman is on track to put up 550 yards this year...a personal record for him! And then it gets better, because after the bye we actually managed to open a hole, and Dwyer ran for a whole 24 yards before his legs literally came apart under the strain of this Olympic feat.

So does that paragraph right there seem really silly? Because it's dialed down to about a 3 compared to saying Mendy should be benched for these two. To be perfectly honest it isn't even physically possible, because they both have showed that they can't take that many consecutive carries without gassing out big time. Mendenhall's WORST full season behind the crappiest run plays Arians could could copy from his Madden 09 playbook he still put up 930 yards and more TD's than Redman and Dwyer combined.

Go look at the replays on the big running games of the last few weeks. There's quite a few instances where we almost have a gap, then our new lead blocker pops it clear and springs Dwyer or Redman, who picks up some good yardage before being run down. Just wait for it, and see what happens when they spring Mendy on a few of those plays.

Why do we have to have this argument every time a backup has a couple good games? Seriously, there are people here who think our 2nd, 3rd, AND 4th string RB would all be starting anywhere else in the league if they weren't stuck here being held back by Mendy.

Ah! When in doubt, drag out the stats.

I'm not talking about numbers, I'm talking about running style and the potential both Redman and Dwyer have shown. Mendenhall has speed and quickness but does not have the breakthrough power or the overall "push" of the other two backs. Put another way, I'd feel more confident when looking at, say, a Third-and-three situation with either Dwyer or Redman than I would with Mendy. Out in the flat or running off-tackle, I'd take Mendy hands down. But if we need a power running game, we won't get it from Mendenhall, but I'd bet the rent that either Redman or Dwyer would deliver the goods consistently.

As far as "springing Mendy" is concerned, that's my whole point; he needs a gap to run through before he does what he does best while Dwyer / Redman often help to create their own gaps just like Jerome used to do. I agree that once he's past the line, Mendy is a joy to watch, but he has never demonstrated any particular ability to get through a defensive front without a lot of help from the O-line.

If you want flash and moves, go to Mendenhall.
But if you want ball control, it's Redman or Dwyer hands down.

[Darkstorm05]

Originally Posted by FanSince72

Ah! When in doubt, drag out the stats.

I'm not talking about numbers, I'm talking about running style and the potential both Redman and Dwyer have shown. Mendenhall has speed and quickness but does not have the breakthrough power or the overall "push" of the other two backs. Put another way, I'd feel more confident when looking at, say, a Third-and-three situation with either Dwyer or Redman than I would with Mendy. Out in the flat or running off-tackle, I'd take Mendy hands down. But if we need a power running game, we won't get it from Mendenhall, but I'd bet the rent that either Redman or Dwyer would deliver the goods consistently.

As far as "springing Mendy" is concerned, that's my whole point; he needs a gap to run through before he does what he does best while Dwyer / Redman often help to create their own gaps just like Jerome used to do. I agree that once he's past the line, Mendy is a joy to watch, but he has never demonstrated any particular ability to get through a defensive front without a lot of help from the O-line.

If you want flash and moves, go to Mendenhall.
But if you want ball control, it's Redman or Dwyer hands down.

Except they don't make themselves much of anything. It's easy to want to ignore stats when they show these two have never done a thing. That power run game they bring sure did put the Raiders in their place. And Denver. Instead of throwing out actual established data based on multiple seasons of performance, how about pointing out some verifiable facts that back your claims that they're better? We're not talking about situational stats here. This is YEARS of starting back numbers under Mendys belt that these two would need YEARS of big games to begin to match.

[FanSince72]

Originally Posted by Darkstorm05

Except they don't make themselves much of anything. It's easy to want to ignore stats when they show these two have never done a thing. That power run game they bring sure did put the Raiders in their place. And Denver. Instead of throwing out actual established data based on multiple seasons of performance, how about pointing out some verifiable facts that back your claims that they're better? We're not talking about situational stats here. This is YEARS of starting back numbers under Mendys belt that these two would need YEARS of big games to begin to match.

Let's just call it a gut feeling and leave it at that, OK?

Whatever Dwyer/Redman didn't do in the past has obviously changed because they're looking very good right now.
Maybe it's Haley's offensive plan, maybe it's more playing time, or maybe they're both just a year older and a bit wiser and a bit more mature. But whatever "it" is, you cannot deny that the last few weeks with Dwyer/Redman have been a major departure from what we've become used to seeing and they've had great success and success builds confidence and confidence makes them even better players.

I'll agree that Mendenhall may not have had the best of all worlds in the past with an offensive line that was shaky and never consistent and maybe now that that's changed he too will look like a superstar as well. No one can say anything about him yet because we haven't really had a chance to see him both at his best and with our new and improved O-line.

But I HAVE seen Dwyer/Redman both with the crappy line and now with the "new" line and all I've seen is positive. I compared Dwyer to Bettis way back in the preseason and virtually every talking head mentions both he and Jerome in the same sentence on a regular basis now. Meanwhile, Redman put on a clinic against the Giants and did all of the things that we counted on Jerome to do for all those years and he looked very comfortable and very confident doing it.

Whatever the "numbers" say about either of these guys or whether those numbers can compare to Mendy, or Jerome or burger sales at McDonald's may mean something to you but they mean nothing to me. I like to go with what I'm seeing right now and right now I'm seeing two running backs that make me feel as if we don't need to worry about a damned thing as far as a running game is concerned and that's all I care about.

If Mendy comes back and makes this team look even better, that's great. But I think he needs to demonstrate that he can actually do that first before being anointed "starter" and that what Dwyer/Redman have done and (if I'm right) will continue to do in the future cannot be ignored or dismissed because a table of meaningless numbers says so.

Don't forget; "stats" can only tell you what someone has done after they've done it. What I'm more interested in is what's happening right now - in real time.

[LVSteelersfan]

I am rewatching the Eagles game. Mendy just continues to p i $ $ me off the way he carries the ball. He holds it out there like a loaf of bread and doesn't switch to his outside hand when he is running free. Teams that are ball hawks will rip that ball loose very easily and cause fumbles. That is not playing smart and is the reason he has fumbles at the most inopportune times like in the Super Bowl. Tuck that damn ball away.