Parker trying to get new deal

[bengalsfan21]

Honestly I hope he gets signe and I don't care who it is by I have him in my keeper league and got him in the 15th round

[Suitanim]

This more than anything shows the chess match that the front office has to contend with every year. Pay Willie peanuts and keep him hungry for next year? But what if he performs and wants a huge contract? Does 2 years of production make him worth the extra money? (Actually, I prefer this scenario...underpay him for '06 and have him play his guts out for a big contract next year)

Conversely, the Steelers could sign him long-term to a pretty reasonable deal based on just one seasons production and hope that he's not a flash in the pan. Pay some now and hope, or pay much more later for a proven commodity.

[83-Steelers-43]

IMO. Pay him cheap for this year, see what he does and if he performs on a high level, give him the big contract after the season ends. Personally, I want to see what he looks like after having one big year before I see the Steelers blow money on the guy.

[coachspeak33]

I really hope they sign Willie to a 4-5 year deal becuase we would get him cheaper over that period if we sign him now.

Three things can happen
1. Willie just keeps getting better and we have an unbelievable bargain over that time frame
2. He plateau's, plays at the same level during that span as he did in 05-06, and at worst we have depth at RB and whether he improves or not, his speed will allow Willie to always be a good change of pace back.... running outside the hashmarks... catching screens... and serving as a homerun threat everytime he touches it.
3. He gets worse.... NFL contracts protect the club if this occurs more than they protect the players.

Sign him.... How many RB's run for 1200 yds in their first season as starters????? I cant think of too many!!!!

[Livinginthe past]

Its worth remembering that while 1200 yards is excellent rookie production and 4.7yds is very good also, alot of these stats were complied against very poor opposition.

If you break down his stats against teams with half decent run D, and those without, it tells a fairly significant tale.

Against the poor teams (Tenn, Houston, Cincy, Minnesota, Cleve, and Detroit) he ran for 820 yards at an average of 117yards per game and 6 yards per carry.

Against teams with decent run D (NE, SD, Jax, Balt, Denver etc...) he ran for 514 yards at just 64 yards per game and 3.1 yards per carry.

The fact is Willie made alot of his yardage against poor opposition and then put in a number of games with averages around 2.6ypc against good teams - this is why the Steelers have the upperhand in any negotiations this offseason.

I stick by my opinion, that he has alot of upside but also that his stats from last year flatter him a great deal.

NM

[rgleason]

That's a fair argument - Willie's production did taper off vs. the stronger teams. However, although Willie's majority of yards may have come vs lesser teams, I still think he showed enough in some big games :
at Cincy - 18 car, 131 yds (and had a decent performance in the Cincy home loss)
at Minn. 14 car. for 81 (w/ 50 yd run)
Det. 26 for 135
- Minn. and Det. may not be the Steel Curtain, but those were huge games for us, especially the Det. game.

Although nto ready to declare Willie the second coming, I dont think there is any way Willie gets less than 1200 this year if healthy and gets same amount of carries. His upside is huge.

But I mean, for the what he gave us this year, winning a superbowl and everything, am I the only disturbed that this guy is maybe not a Millionaire? Do we got like a million bucks lyign around anywhere that we can just give him please.

[Koopa]

so he had 81 yards vs minny but had a 50 yard run hmmmmmmmm........that's not very good then if he don't break that he don't get near 50 yards for the game........ and a lot of those yards against the bengals came when the game was already over....... he's not worth a pay day just yet, let him prove himself this year and if he has a good season tender him like you did ike and just make him stay

[Livinginthe past]

Originally Posted by rgleason

That's a fair argument - Willie's production did taper off vs. the stronger teams. However, although Willie's majority of yards may have come vs lesser teams, I still think he showed enough in some big games :
at Cincy - 18 car, 131 yds (and had a decent performance in the Cincy home loss)
at Minn. 14 car. for 81 (w/ 50 yd run)
Det. 26 for 135
- Minn. and Det. may not be the Steel Curtain, but those were huge games for us, especially the Det. game.

Although nto ready to declare Willie the second coming, I dont think there is any way Willie gets less than 1200 this year if healthy and gets same amount of carries. His upside is huge.

But I mean, for the what he gave us this year, winning a superbowl and everything, am I the only disturbed that this guy is maybe not a Millionaire? Do we got like a million bucks lyign around anywhere that we can just give him please.

We definitely agree on the upside of Willie Parker.

And although he contributed to the team, I really think that the Pittsburgh success lies mainly with Ben Roethlisberger and his amazing playoff form and the return of the Blitzburgh defense - again mainly in the playoffs when it counted the most.

NM

[tony hipchest]

Originally Posted by rgleason

His upside is huge.

But I mean, for the what he gave us this year, winning a superbowl and everything, am I the only disturbed that this guy is maybe not a Millionaire? Do we got like a million bucks lyign around anywhere that we can just give him please.

its fair to say willie is the poorest guy in the steelers locker room. especially for a guy going into his 3rd year. he makes the absolute minimum which i believe is $230,000 a year and thats before taxes. the steelers gave j. harrison a new 4 year $5.5 mil contract which i think helps establish the price for another undrafted player like w. parker.

i dont think there is a steelerfan alive suggesting he make l.t. or r. bush type money, or even w. dunn/ t.barber money. fair market value for him (right now) is probably less than duce and more than v. haynes, probably 1.75-2 mil/yr.

[tony hipchest]

Originally Posted by Livinginthe past

We definitely agree on the upside of Willie Parker.

And although he contributed to the team, I really think that the Pittsburgh success lies mainly with Ben Roethlisberger and his amazing playoff form and the return of the Blitzburgh defense - again mainly in the playoffs when it counted the most.

NM

i think a commitment to willie would be a round about way of showing commitment to bens passing capabilities. as opposed to drafting a rb in the 1st round which would show me the steelers were committed to 60-40 run/ pass ratio. a this ratio, though it has worked, needs to be leveled of a bit as ben continues to grow and develop.