UPDATE: Mendenhall out for season with torn ACL.

Posted by Mike Florio

The Steelers won their game on Sunday in Cleveland, but they lost their shot at the bye week that would have accompanied the AFC North title.

They also may have lost their starting running back for the bulk of the offseason, if not longer.

Coach Mike Tomlin told reporters after the game that running back Rashard Mendenhall could have a torn ACL, and that Mendenhall is not expected to play next weekend in Denver.

A source with knowledge of the situation tells PFT that an MRI will be performed tomorrow.
--------------------------------------------------------





OK, so what does this mean? We've got Redman and Clay. And ... ?
Not too long ago, we were stacked at running back. I don't like going into the playoffs with a backup running back and a guy who was put on the active roster last week. Has anyone heard anything about Moore?[b]

And with the way those two ran (minus redman's fumbles) today, I think our running game may have improved.

stlrtruck wrote:

And with the way those two ran (minus redman's fumbles) today, I think our running game may have improved.

Mendy has been running well lately. But I'm not too concerned about production ... I'm more concerned about depth.

Wallace108 wrote:

stlrtruck wrote:

And with the way those two ran (minus redman's fumbles) today, I think our running game may have improved.

Mendy has been running well lately. But I'm not too concerned about production ... I'm more concerned about depth.

i agree, if not for the injury he would have had over a hundred yards today and probably no fumbles

vasteeler wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

stlrtruck wrote:

And with the way those two ran (minus redman's fumbles) today, I think our running game may have improved.

Mendy has been running well lately. But I'm not too concerned about production ... I'm more concerned about depth.

i agree, if not for the injury he would have had over a hundred yards today and probably no fumbles

Halfway through the season, I was calling for Mendy to be replaced by Redman. But I don't have any complaints about how Mendy's been running lately. He's looked really good.

Wallace108 wrote:

vasteeler wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

stlrtruck wrote:

And with the way those two ran (minus redman's fumbles) today, I think our running game may have improved.

Mendy has been running well lately. But I'm not too concerned about production ... I'm more concerned about depth.

i agree, if not for the injury he would have had over a hundred yards today and probably no fumbles

Halfway through the season, I was calling for Mendy to be replaced by Redman. But I don't have any complaints about how Mendy's been running lately. He's looked really good.

I was too but I have to agree Redman being a threat seemed to light a fire under Mendy. Now we have to worry about fumbles. Not good.

solardave wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

vasteeler wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

stlrtruck wrote:

And with the way those two ran (minus redman's fumbles) today, I think our running game may have improved.

Mendy has been running well lately. But I'm not too concerned about production ... I'm more concerned about depth.

i agree, if not for the injury he would have had over a hundred yards today and probably no fumbles

Halfway through the season, I was calling for Mendy to be replaced by Redman. But I don't have any complaints about how Mendy's been running lately. He's looked really good.

I was too but I have to agree Redman being a threat seemed to light a fire under Mendy. Now we have to worry about fumbles. Not good.

Does the kid get any slack? Yeah he had two fumbles, but he's been running good. Maybe he had a bad day.

stlrtruck wrote:

solardave wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

vasteeler wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

stlrtruck wrote:

And with the way those two ran (minus redman's fumbles) today, I think our running game may have improved.

Mendy has been running well lately. But I'm not too concerned about production ... I'm more concerned about depth.

i agree, if not for the injury he would have had over a hundred yards today and probably no fumbles

Halfway through the season, I was calling for Mendy to be replaced by Redman. But I don't have any complaints about how Mendy's been running lately. He's looked really good.

I was too but I have to agree Redman being a threat seemed to light a fire under Mendy. Now we have to worry about fumbles. Not good.

Does the kid get any slack? Yeah he had two fumbles, but he's been running good. Maybe he had a bad day.

I sure hope he had a bad day. As banged up as we are we need him to bring it. As far as getting slack he fumbled twice. Would any of us be giving Mendy (or Moore or anyone else for that matter) any slack?

Let's hope Redman and Clay find their groove because we will need a strong ball-control run game in Denver. I hope somebody on the sidelines saw what I saw yesterday -- the player "who gives us the best chance to win" once again struggling mightily. Besides the very noticeable limp, we can now add bad weather to the list of excuses for the putrid offensive showing. Seems like I've heard that refrain before. A healthy quarterback could have picked up serious yardage by running at one point yesterday. The player who gives us the best chance of winning didn't even consider running because he CAN'T !!!! When an injury affects your ability to run AND throw, not to mention how you think, you should not be in the game.

Alas, we could all be Browns fans. If you want a really good laugh, go to Cleveland .com and read the fans comments. They are so pathetic. You could almost feel sorry for them if they weren't, well, Browns fans.

I'm worried about depth too. We now need Moore more than ever. I hope he comes back strong because we're going to need an effective running attack with the way Ben has looked his last couple of outings. I am honestly not feeling as good going into the playoffs as I was just a couple of weeks ago. Ben isn't right and I'm not sure how much better he'll get in another week. The defense is going to have to step up big time for a couple of weeks till Ben can get healed enough to be more consistent.

Buddha Bus wrote:

I'm worried about depth too. We now need Moore more than ever. I hope he comes back strong because we're going to need an effective running attack with the way Ben has looked his last couple of outings. I am honestly not feeling as good going into the playoffs as I was just a couple of weeks ago. Ben isn't right and I'm not sure how much better he'll get in another week. The defense is going to have to step up big time for a couple of weeks till Ben can get healed enough to be more consistent.

ben seemed to start to warm up as the game went on. i think thats why he was left in the game, just to get ready for the playoffs. i think we will see the ben we all love in the playoffs

vasteeler wrote:

Buddha Bus wrote:

I'm worried about depth too. We now need Moore more than ever. I hope he comes back strong because we're going to need an effective running attack with the way Ben has looked his last couple of outings. I am honestly not feeling as good going into the playoffs as I was just a couple of weeks ago. Ben isn't right and I'm not sure how much better he'll get in another week. The defense is going to have to step up big time for a couple of weeks till Ben can get healed enough to be more consistent.

ben seemed to start to warm up as the game went on. i think thats why he was left in the game, just to get ready for the playoffs. i think we will see the ben we all love in the playoffs

I hope so, but I'm a little worried that 1 more week won't help the injury significantly enough to make him much better at this point. He'll be facing a tougher defense in Denver.

Quote :

I hope so, but I'm a little worried that 1 more week won't help the injury significantly enough to make him much better at this point. He'll be facing a tougher defense in Denver.

Actually that isn't true, Denver is 19th overall in the league defensively and the Browns are 10th. The Browns are 30th against the run and 2nd against the pass while Denver is 22nd against the run and 18th against the pass. Those Denver numbers might be artificially inflated due to their schedule as well. They faced several teams during the tebowmania phase that weren't exactly offensive juggernauts(dolphins 22nd,jets 25th, vikings 18th,chiefs 27th,bears 24th).

supytalpeht wrote:

Quote :

I hope so, but I'm a little worried that 1 more week won't help the injury significantly enough to make him much better at this point. He'll be facing a tougher defense in Denver.

Actually that isn't true, Denver is 19th overall in the league defensively and the Browns are 10th. The Browns are 30th against the run and 2nd against the pass while Denver is 22nd against the run and 18th against the pass. Those Denver numbers might be artificially inflated due to their schedule as well. They faced several teams during the tebowmania phase that weren't exactly offensive juggernauts(dolphins 22nd,jets 25th, vikings 18th,chiefs 27th,bears 24th).

I stand corrected.

Doesn't Denver have a better pass rush though? That's the real area of concern I have in regards to Ben in this game if his mobility is still stunted.

solardave wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

vasteeler wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

stlrtruck wrote:

And with the way those two ran (minus redman's fumbles) today, I think our running game may have improved.

Mendy has been running well lately. But I'm not too concerned about production ... I'm more concerned about depth.

i agree, if not for the injury he would have had over a hundred yards today and probably no fumbles

Halfway through the season, I was calling for Mendy to be replaced by Redman. But I don't have any complaints about how Mendy's been running lately. He's looked really good.

I was too but I have to agree Redman being a threat seemed to light a fire under Mendy. Now we have to worry about fumbles. Not good.

bet Redman will be carrying that football everywhere he goes this week.

Buddha Bus wrote:

supytalpeht wrote:

Quote :

I hope so, but I'm a little worried that 1 more week won't help the injury significantly enough to make him much better at this point. He'll be facing a tougher defense in Denver.

Actually that isn't true, Denver is 19th overall in the league defensively and the Browns are 10th. The Browns are 30th against the run and 2nd against the pass while Denver is 22nd against the run and 18th against the pass. Those Denver numbers might be artificially inflated due to their schedule as well. They faced several teams during the tebowmania phase that weren't exactly offensive juggernauts(dolphins 22nd,jets 25th, vikings 18th,chiefs 27th,bears 24th).

I stand corrected.

Doesn't Denver have a better pass rush though? That's the real area of concern I have in regards to Ben in this game if his mobility is still stunted.

Von Miller and Elvis Dumerville if I remember correctly, but I don't know if they're healthy or how they're playing overall. I watched them play against the Bears and the Pats and don't remember much other then them being a very one dimensional team offensively. The Bears were down to their 3rd string running back and 2nd or 3rd string qb, even then it took two gifts from the rb to give them a chance. Against the Pats they moved the ball effectively on the ground in the 1st quarter and then the wheels fell off.

supytalpeht wrote:

Buddha Bus wrote:

supytalpeht wrote:

Quote :

I hope so, but I'm a little worried that 1 more week won't help the injury significantly enough to make him much better at this point. He'll be facing a tougher defense in Denver.

Actually that isn't true, Denver is 19th overall in the league defensively and the Browns are 10th. The Browns are 30th against the run and 2nd against the pass while Denver is 22nd against the run and 18th against the pass. Those Denver numbers might be artificially inflated due to their schedule as well. They faced several teams during the tebowmania phase that weren't exactly offensive juggernauts(dolphins 22nd,jets 25th, vikings 18th,chiefs 27th,bears 24th).

I stand corrected.

Doesn't Denver have a better pass rush though? That's the real area of concern I have in regards to Ben in this game if his mobility is still stunted.

Von Miller and Elvis Dumerville if I remember correctly, but I don't know if they're healthy or how they're playing overall. I watched them play against the Bears and the Pats and don't remember much other then them being a very one dimensional team offensively. The Bears were down to their 3rd string running back and 2nd or 3rd string qb, even then it took two gifts from the rb to give them a chance. Against the Pats they moved the ball effectively on the ground in the 1st quarter and then the wheels fell off.

I'm not sure how they are doing health-wise either. I thought I heard a couple of weeks ago that Miller was injured, but I'm not sure the severity or whether he's back playing or not. If those 2 are healthy, they could pose a huge problem for us if Ben isn't more mobile by then.

Steelers lose workhorse RB Mendenhall to torn ACL
NFL.com Wire Reports
Published: Jan. 2, 2012 at 04:31 p.m. Updated: Jan. 3, 2012 at 02:34 a.m.

If the Pittsburgh Steelers make a run in the AFC playoffs, they'll do it without starting running back Rashard Mendenhall.

Harrison: It's about to get wild
From the surprising Bengals and late-surging Giants to the playoff-tested Steelers and Saints, Elliot Harrison examines Wild Card Weekend. More ...
Mendenhall tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the Steelers' regular-season finale, NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora confirmed Monday, and is out for the season.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said after Sunday's 13-9 victory over the Cleveland Browns that he believed the running back "potentially" tore his ACL. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette first reported that Mendenhall had torn the ligament but suffered no other damage in the knee.


(Read More:) http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d825a7dc5/article/steelers-lose-workhorse-rb-mendenhall-to-torn-acl?module=HP11_headline_stack

We're getting used to overcoming adversity.