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Rashard Mendenhall plays the hand he is dealt
By Dagger | August 14, 2009
10 teams have played a preseason football game thus far and your Pittsburgh Steelers are ranked 8th in the NFL in average yards per rush (2.8 yards per attempt). Is this a big deal? No, not with 1/2 of your OL sitting on the sidelines with injury and the starters only playing two series. Nothing to be worried about yet but you would like the Steelers to develop a little confidence and cohesion in their running attack.
Bowie State’s Isaac Redman came off looking good in a short-yardage role by racking up 2 TDs. However, the RB we all wanted to watch last night (Rashard Mendenhall) didn’t really knock our socks off or play like he was a former #1 Pick. The offensive line struggled to get any movement or create running lanes, but we expect Mendenhall to start looking like a First Round RB at some point over the next 4 weeks.
We went back and looked at the tape to see if Mendenhall was really that underwhelming tonight or if most of the blame can be put on the line. Take a look at the following screenshots and form your own opinion. Here are all of Mendenhall’s 9 carries from last night. (two bonus shots of Isaac Redman below as well)
Rush Attempt 1: Left Guard for -1 yards. Play is blown up in the backfield, no chance. It may not look this way on the screenshot but the DE here is right in front of Rashard and he has absolutely nowhere to go.
Rush Attempt 2: Up the middle for 3 yards. A decent amount of running room considering Arizona stacked the box for this 3rd and short.
Rush Attempt 3: Right guard for 4 yards. Pressure up the middle here forces Mendenhall to take this carry further outside than he wanted to. Gaining 4 yards after unexpectedly having to move laterally down the line before heading upfield isn’t a bad effort.
Rush Attempt 4: Right guard for 2 yards. Once again, pressure up the middle forces this play wide and stretches the play out. After side-stepping Kemo the defense is
waiting for Mendenhall near the line of scrimmage.
Rush Attempt 5: Right end for -2 yards. This was Mendenhall’s only “bad” run of the game. No excuse to lose yardage on this play but Mendenhall makes a poor read. He has enough room to get free to the outside but initially tries to take this run inside the RT as opposed to around the end towards the sideline. By the time he realizes he needs to bounce, he is dragged to the ground by Dansby.
Rush Attempt 6: Left guard for 1 yard. Once again, bodies are stacked up at the line and Mendenhall has no room.
Rush Attempt 7: Right end for 5 yards. Mendenhall shows decent speed and vision here to take this run to the edge. He eventually gets hauled down along the sidelines but he shows what he can do with some time and space to work with.
Rush Attempt 8: Up the middle for 5 yards. This was probably Mendenhall’s only carry of the game (up the middle) in which he didn’t have to dodge a tackler in the backfield. A good amount of space is open for him along the line….he picks his hole….and picks up 5 yards.
Rush Attempt 9: Up the middle for 7 yards. Mendenhall once again picks up nice yardage up the middle. Forcing the 2 Arizona defenders up field along the edge of the line allows the RB to get up the middle without being touched..
Nothing earth-shattering here but after watching his 9 carries again, I feel a bit better. When he is not dodging defenders in the backfield, he has the speed/size/strength/vision to make things happen. Watching the game live, I didn’t realize he was under such duress at the line of scrimmage on most of his carries. During live action I had the feeling he was trying to bounce too much and was indecisive. I think any RB would look this way without being given the proper time and space to create something.
Take a look at Isaac Redman’s two TD runs:
Redman TD 1: Isaac gets the handoff, shows patience, and bursts through a gaping hole on the right side. Not a finger touches him until he reaches the goalline. If Mendenhall, Summers, Vincent, or Davis are carrying the rock on this play I think they all score. Great job by Redman to find the endzone but also give credit to the OL, TE, FB.
Redman TD 2: This might be a bigger hole/running lane than Mendenhall saw all game long. Redman did have to bust his way through two Cardinals at about the 2 yard line but he arrived at that point of contact with a full head of steam and went untouched from the 9 yard line to the 2 yard line. Again, I think any of our RBs score if they are in the game and this is their carry.
Topics: Steelers | 10 Comments »
August 14th, 2009 at 7:17 am
I am really hoping Mendenhall will be able to step up soon because I think Parker is going to need some help. I think Parker’s need for help is going to increase as the games and seasons progress. If Mendenhall increases his game, he could be a real big bruiser. I mean, Mendenhall may not have knocked our socks off, but he definitely was able to get some yardage last night.
Did Mewelde Moore get any reps last night? I don’t remember seeing him play. He was a blessing from Heaven last year.
August 14th, 2009 at 7:43 am
The battle for the big 1 yard back is going to probably come down to STs. Summers had a couple of nice plays last night apparently(I didnt get to watch it). And the way teams pick up RBs from Steelers training camps, I dont think Redman will stay on the practice squad.
August 14th, 2009 at 9:46 am
Do you have a count of how many of these runs had a lead blocker, and what game situation (down, distance yardline) that was?
I notice FtT had at least one nice looking ST tackle, and he ‘blowed up’ two blockers on one which in theory should have lead to 0 return yards, but someone else missed their tackle.
August 14th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
I disagree with one point, the last 2 td’s, you mention that any of the running backs could have scored if it had been their carry. I don’t think Summers could have made it in the EZ. If the tank were running the ball, then Davis would have been the lead blocker, and the hole would not have been there. Tank would have been hit as soon as he got the ball…. other wise, I agree with the post.
August 14th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Good point John. Tank did have 2 pretty nice blocks on both TDs.
What I was trying to stress on both Redman TDs was this: YES he did break a tackle and truck thru defenders at the goalline but he had 7 yards of built-up steam and momentum. Mendenhall had a head of steam MAYBE twice all game.
I want to believe that any Steeler RB or FB being given 7 yards momentum would have enough leg drive and power to push a LB/DB back 1 yard for a TD. Redman looks good so far but on both of these carries he was untouched until he hit the 1/2 yard line.
Not anti-Redman or Pro-Mendy….I just think we need to hold off judgemnt on both guys until we see them in a few more preseason games.
August 14th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
I liked the way Redman ran. Even on his non TD runs, he ran with authority and had a real nice spin move on one run that netted him extra yards. He only had one bad run where he foolishly tried to bounce instead of picking up extra yards, but he looked like an NFL caliber back to me.
August 14th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Is Redman the new Gary Russel?
August 14th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
Mendenhall encountered people in the backfield because he has mediocre acceleration, a big guy that is a tentative runner is the last thing that the Steelers need.
Redman has looked better all camp, he scored against our first team at camp and run with power.
I like the idea of pairing with with FWP, who still is the only RB we have that accelerates like a top tier NFL running back.
August 15th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
Yes, Redman scored against the first team at training camp and Mendy failed to do so; however, Mendy went first against a stoked D… by the time it was Redman’s turn many plays had gone by… Defense was tired out… easier to gain yardage against a tired unit… wasn’t that Bettis’ strength – tire out the D and then gain loads of yardage?? Mendy will hopefully be a stud… too early to weigh accurate judgment
August 15th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
Lost in the conversation here is that Frank Summers provided 2 lead blocks on both Redman TD runs. He also led the team with 2 Special Teams tackles. Not bad.