Willie Parker:Premier back

[lamberts-lost-tooth]

There has been alot of talk about Willie not being a "premier RB"...so I just though we could all look at the stats up through week 6 in comparison to the other division RB's



Willie Parker: 434 Yards*/ 106 Att/ 4.1 Ave/ 5 TD's**
Rudi Johnson: 405 Yards/ 107Att / 3.9 Ave/ 4 TD's
Jamal Lewis: 352 Yards/ 97 Att/ 3.6 Ave/ 1 TD's
Rueben Droughns: 224 Yards/ 68 Att/ 3.3 Ave/ 1 TD's

In the AFC North he is statistically #1 in Yards....#1 in Attempts...#1 in Average...and #1 in Touchdowns.

* Willie Parker is now in the top ten (#9) in the NFL for rushing yards
**Willie Parker's five touchdowns rank third amongst running backs in the NFL.


To put this into perspective...He leads LaDainian Tomlinson, Edgerrin James, Larry Johnson and other RB's considered to be Premier in most statistical categories

[jason97673]

Yeah and they all say he is not a goalline back. He has made many goalline TDs already.

Jerome who?

Parker is doing really good this year. I mean everyone said our run game has sucked this year but look at the run D's we have played.

Miami - 3.0 AVG - 3rd in the nfl - Parker had a 4.0 AVG
SD - 3.9 Average - 14th in NFL (But thats skewed, they are better than that) - Parker had a 4.2 AVG
Jax - 3.6 AVG - 6th in NFL - Parker had 1.8 AVG
Cincy - 4.6 - 28th in NFL - Parker had 4.3 AVG
KC - 4.0 - 17th in NFL - Parker had 5.3 AVG

Hes doing really good considering we played SD and JAX which are widely known as the best run D's as well as us. Miami is ranked third surprisingly. And incy and KC are well..bad.

[19ward86]

i wouldnt quite say jerome who... but he is making it seem like we dont need davenport. and i think that is why he is the best

[HometownGal]

Originally Posted by 19ward86

i wouldnt quite say jerome who... but he is making it seem like we dont need davenport. and i think that is why he is the best

Jerome wasn't a speed back and neither is Najeh. They both were/are utilized as power backs to pick up those hard to get yards through the middle and plow their way over the goal line, so I can't really compare either of them to Fast Willie, though Najeh did break that run on Sunday which was definitely a bonus!

Willie has done well thus far this season and I think it's only a matter of time before he breaks one or two or three. He is coming into his own as an NFL premier back and I believe he is one of our most valuable assets.

[PisnNapalm]

We still need a power back and Daverport seem sto be filling that role. Cut Duce already and activate Kuhn.

[BigDuke6]

Originally Posted by jason97673

Yeah and they all say he is not a goalline back. He has made many goalline TDs already.

Jerome who?

Parker is doing really good this year. I mean everyone said our run game has sucked this year but look at the run D's we have played.

Miami - 3.0 AVG - 3rd in the nfl - Parker had a 4.0 AVG
SD - 3.9 Average - 14th in NFL (But thats skewed, they are better than that) - Parker had a 4.2 AVG
Jax - 3.6 AVG - 6th in NFL - Parker had 1.8 AVG
Cincy - 4.6 - 28th in NFL - Parker had 4.3 AVG
KC - 4.0 - 17th in NFL - Parker had 5.3 AVG

Hes doing really good considering we played SD and JAX which are widely known as the best run D's as well as us. Miami is ranked third surprisingly. And incy and KC are well..bad.

Its Jerome Bettis. The greatest "Big-Back" the game has ever seen. He was our leader and our inspiration. All the way to Super Bowl XL.
Jerome Bettis - Dont forget it.

[tony hipchest]

i posted this in the blast furnace (while willie seems to be getting stronger as he carries the load, rudi johnson seems to be wearing down):

rushing yards against the bucs this season:

j. lewis 18-78
w. dunn 21-134, m. vick 14-127, j. norwood 9-45
d. foster 20-82
d. mccallister 15-123
r. johnson 17-52

nice 3 ypc average there. shut down by the lowly bucs who have to have the most porous run d in the league (maybe its a toss up with the bengals).

we definitely need davenport or somebody to do what he did. willie doesnt need to carry for 40 times a game. 40 rushes is the steelers proven recipie for dominating success. as seen against the titans, texans, broncos, and colts last year and the chifs this year, what they need to do is have ben throw 200+ yds and 2tds with a perfect passer rating before halftime, build up a 2 td lead, and then shut it down with the running game in the 2nd half. when ben is attempting only 5 passes in the 2nd half we need somebody to share the 25-30 carries, to grind out the clock and keep our defense off the field.

[Need4spd]

Originally Posted by jason97673

Yeah and they all say he is not a goalline back. He has made many goalline TDs already.

Jerome who?

Parker is doing really good this year. I mean everyone said our run game has sucked this year but look at the run D's we have played.

Miami - 3.0 AVG - 3rd in the nfl - Parker had a 4.0 AVG
SD - 3.9 Average - 14th in NFL (But thats skewed, they are better than that) - Parker had a 4.2 AVG
Jax - 3.6 AVG - 6th in NFL - Parker had 1.8 AVG
Cincy - 4.6 - 28th in NFL - Parker had 4.3 AVG
KC - 4.0 - 17th in NFL - Parker had 5.3 AVG

Hes doing really good considering we played SD and JAX which are widely known as the best run D's as well as us. Miami is ranked third surprisingly. And incy and KC are well..bad.

Whoa there big fella... "Jerome who?" In a forum like this, you're bordering on blaspheme with a statement like that. I tend to agree with 'Duke' here on this one. I feel pretty safe saying that "The Bus" (which is one of the best nicknames any athlete has ever had) will go down in Steelers lore as nothing short of a legend. That's right, alongside Mean Joe, Franco, Swann, Lambert, and on and on and on (it's a long list), and yes, even Bradshaw too. He's not just in the conversation with the best running backs of all time (5th statistically), or at the top of the list with the best "big" backs ever, he's also one of the more beloved and respected figures in sports by his fans, his teammates, his city, and the sports community in general. Just as athletes like Terrel Owens, and teams like the Miami Hurricanes represent everything that I personally cannot stand about sports these days, Jerome represents everything there is to treasure about sports.

I know that was off topic as this is a thread about Willie Parker, but I felt that had to be said.

GO STEELERS!!!

[tony hipchest]

http://postgazette.com/pg/06290/730570-66.stm (i nice chart compares the 5 leadin td rushers (willie is 3rd)

Steelers' running game in fast lane with Parker, Davenport
Tuesday, October 17, 2006

By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Willie Parker is living up to his nickname. He's off to a Fast start.

Even without Jerome Bettis and Duce Staley, the Steelers' ground attack has maintained its punch five games into the season. They also found someone to fill the old Bus goal-line role. His name is Parker.

Parker ran for 109 yards and scored two touchdowns Sunday against Kansas City. His five touchdowns this season are one more than he scored all of last season when Bettis replaced him whenever the Steelers came within 5 or 6 yards of the goal line.

Parker is the third-leading rusher in the AFC with 434 yards and he's No. 2 among those who have not played more than five games. Buffalo's Willie McGahee leads the AFC with 505 yards rushing but the Bills have played six games, one more than Parker and the Steelers (2-3). Denver's Tatum Bell has 470 yards after five games. Parker is second only to LaDainian Tomlinson, who has seven rushing touchdowns.

"Willie's doing a great job," quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. "A lot of people thought he wouldn't be able to do it because he's not the biggest guy, but Willie's just a little ball of muscle -- when he gets in there, he can really get a push."

Parker, 5 feet 10, 209 pounds, proved he could withstand a full season running against the big boys in the NFL when he ran 255 times for 1,202 yards last year. He's on a pace to better that.

Parker had 404 yards rushing after five games last season, counting his 172 yards to open the season against NFL soft touches Tennessee and Houston. He has eclipsed that this season even though he was held to 20 yards on 11 attempts in Jacksonville in the second game of the season. At his current pace, he would rush for 1,389 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Franco Harris set the Steelers' rushing touchdown record with 14 in 1976. Jerome Bettis ran for 13 in 2004. Receiver Louis Lipps set the overall touchdown record with 15 in 1985.

Parker is running more and producing more. His 106 carries put him on a pace to carry 339 times, 84 more than last season, which would be a 33 percent workload increase.

"He's a tough kid," guard Alan Faneca said. "He takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'. Little guys make it in this league. He's not a little guy, he's just littler than Jerome was."

The Steelers also discovered someone to complement him the way Bettis did last year. Najeh Davenport ran 12 times for 78 yards and one touchdown against the Chiefs in his first extensive play with the Steelers, who signed him after the first game. The Steelers may use him to spell Parker and not put him into the goal-line role, but at 6-1, 247 pounds, he gives the team a big, veteran back with some speed who can take some of the carries off Parker.

"Najeh ran hard," coach Bill Cowher said. "It was good to see him in there."

Davenport added more versatility and depth to the Steelers' running game. He signed after the Packers gave up on him after four years and many injuries. He did not play in the Steelers' second and third games, but in San Diego, he took a short pass and ran 32 yards with it.

"It seems like he just got here," Faneca said. "To pick it up enough and get in a game and help us out like he has, that's big. That's something, especially for a running back coming in and getting a feel for a system and see how we're doing and see how we look at plays. To do that in a month, that's asking a lot."

Suddenly, the worries about the Steelers' running game without Bettis and with an ineffective Staley walking the sideline in sweats every game do not seem as acute today.

"I think you saw it yesterday. We did a good job," Faneca said. "Everybody got their hands on the ball back there. We were clicking up front and I think we have to do our job up front, foremost, and give them the holes to run through.

"We have to get that going before we get the passing game going and everything kind of plays off of that. I think everybody knows that."

[SteelerFanInCA]

I really like the 1-2 punch we have right now. I'm hoping both these guys can stay healthy the entire year. Davenport definitely looks like he can punish some people with his running.