On the Steelers: Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin unsatisfied, unhappy with RBs

On the Steelers: Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin unsatisfied, unhappy with RBs
September 19, 2012 12:14 am
By Ed Bouchette / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Mike Tomlin gushed about the running backs and the potential of the ground game Tuesday.

The Oakland Raiders backfield, that is.

"All of their backs are capable of making house calls," Tomlin said.

He's not so impressed with his own through the first two games, and he talked about cutting back the number of different plays in their repertoire because of it.

"We haven't run the ball as well as we have liked," Tomlin said.

The Steelers have 141 yards rushing in two games and a paltry 2.6 yards per carry, both ranked 30th in the NFL. Jonathan Dwyer leads them with 71 yards on 21 carries and Isaac Redman has 45 on 23runs. Their other two backs, Chris Rainey and Baron Batch, have six carries between them for 8 yards combined.

Last season, the Steelers averaged 4.4 yards per carry for 16 games.

Among the only two NFL teams behind the Steelers in effectiveness on the ground are the Raiders. Despite Tomlin's praise of Darren McFadden and his running mates, Oakland has only 68 yards rushing and averages just 2.0 per carry.

Tomlin did not identify what the precise problem is for his own team. He declined to single out individuals, although it appears at times the backs are not hitting holes that are there for them.


Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/steelers/on-the-steelers-steelers-head-coach-mike-tomlin-unsatisfied-unhappy-with-rbs-653962/#ixzz26uCSYdHG

Quote :

He declined to single out individuals, although it appears at times the backs are not hitting holes that are there for them.

That might be true at times, but it's hard to find a hole when you're busy shaking off a tackler as soon as you get the ball. Our line is doing a poor job of run blocking right now. That's where the problem starts.

Mendenhall to get more work in practice in hopes of run fix

Posted by Darin Gantt

As the Steelers continue to look for answers for their running game, they may be ready to increase the workload for Rashard Mendenhall.

Mendenhall’s practiced the last two weeks, but hasn’t been active for games. He’s coming off ACL surgery in January, and Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said it might be time to test him.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/19/mendenhall-to-get-more-work-in-practice-in-hopes-of-run-fix/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------




If Mendy is ready, fine. But I don't want them to rush him back hoping he'll be a fix when the problem is with the line.

Here's my thoughts: If anyone is injured that is "Day-to-day" or even "Questionable" we're not going to see them until after the Bye-Week. It's the smart thing to do. Hell, I said this before the Jets game.

bayz101 wrote:

Here's my thoughts: If anyone is injured that is "Day-to-day" or even "Questionable" we're not going to see them until after the Bye-Week. It's the smart thing to do. Hell, I said this before the Jets game.

And that's the way it should be. I don't think it's time to panic and rush guys back just yet. The Rats lost this past week and we're in a 3-way tie for first with them and the Bungles. I'd understand the need to push if the Rats were sitting at 2-0 and we were at 0-2, but now isn't that time.

I agree Buddha, with the way we put away the jets, we should have no problem putting away the raiders. Giving the injured, what will equate to 3 weeks to heal, could prove vital - especially considering how early our BYE week is in the schedule.

stlrtruck wrote:

I agree Buddha, with the way we put away the jets, we should have no problem putting away the raiders. Giving the injured, what will equate to 3 weeks to heal, could prove vital - especially considering how early our BYE week is in the schedule.

I'd like to think we can handle the Raiders without Troy, Mendy, and Harrison, but they've had our number a few times. Let's hope our guys don't take this one too lightly and take care of business against an inferior team. They have stumbled in the recent past and played down to some of these bad teams before.

The good news is that Carson Palmer is still Oakland's QB and he's our bitch.

Buddha Bus wrote:

bayz101 wrote:

Here's my thoughts: If anyone is injured that is "Day-to-day" or even "Questionable" we're not going to see them until after the Bye-Week. It's the smart thing to do. Hell, I said this before the Jets game.

And that's the way it should be. I don't think it's time to panic and rush guys back just yet. The Rats lost this past week and we're in a 3-way tie for first with them and the Bungles. I'd understand the need to push if the Rats were sitting at 2-0 and we were at 0-2, but now isn't that time.

he said "we're in a 3-way." he's so kinky

This topic is a tuff one. My personal opinion is that we still lack some size on the offensive line. I wish we had about 5 more the size of DeCastro.

Kornbread wrote:

This topic is a tuff one. My personal opinion is that we still lack some size on the offensive line. I wish we had about 5 more the size of DeCastro.

The o-line struggling early shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who's followed the Steelers the past few years. DeCastro and Adams were drafted and high expectations shortly followed (mine included). Adams struggled early and was subsequently relegated to a backup position for the time being and then DeCastro's unfortunate injury occurred to pour gasoline on the fire.

I know Colon is an upgrade at G over what we've been fielding, but it seems Max Starks is still trying to work his way back from his season ending injury last year. I think if Adams can get his pass blocking problems polished and wrestle the starting position away from Starks by mid-season and DeCastro can return at full-strength around the same time, this o-line can finally make a giant leap toward respectability and beyond. It's just going to happen a little later than any of us would have liked.There is nothing more than an o-line consisting of Adams-Colon-Pouncey-DeCastro-Gilbert that I would like to see in full force and healthy.

Buddha Bus wrote:

Kornbread wrote:

This topic is a tuff one. My personal opinion is that we still lack some size on the offensive line. I wish we had about 5 more the size of DeCastro.

Adams struggled early and was subsequently relegated to a backup position for the time being and then DeCastro's unfortunate injury occurred to pour gasoline on the fire.

Anyone else notice that Adams didn't go in when Starks got injured late in the game, makes me wonder how far away Adams is from actually stepping up.

steve.durant.96 wrote:

Buddha Bus wrote:

Kornbread wrote:

This topic is a tuff one. My personal opinion is that we still lack some size on the offensive line. I wish we had about 5 more the size of DeCastro.

Adams struggled early and was subsequently relegated to a backup position for the time being and then DeCastro's unfortunate injury occurred to pour gasoline on the fire.

Anyone else notice that Adams didn't go in when Starks got injured late in the game, makes me wonder how far away Adams is from actually stepping up.

First off, welcome to SX, Steve! Glad to have your input into the discussions. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

I hadn't honestly noticed that was the case during the game. That does worry me some in regards to him being able to wrestle the job away from Starks this year or it could be a teaching moment from Tomlin to Adams that he hasn't been sufficiently impressed with what he's seen from him in practice. Tomlin has been known to make a statement or two in the past to his young players if he feels they aren't doing enough to prove themselves (see Rashard Mendenhall and Keenan Lewis as examples). It could be as simple as that or that there is someone else better suited at the moment. We'll see if Adams responds positively to this adversity and pushes himself to get better.

Starks played every snap. Adams actually took the last snap of the game on the right side because Gilbert injured his groin (he didn't practice today).