Arians didn't coach the Browns last season. 2001-2003.
I'm sorry I didn't pay closer attention to Arians' impressive resume. During the 2001-2003 seasons, the Browns never managed to have a top 20 offense in the NFL, but they did manage to finish 27th and 30th. During his banner 2002 season, they were 21st. In 2001, the Browns' running backs combined for 1169 rushing yards and 8 TDs. Give that a second to sink in. That's not one guy, that's the whole team. But to be fair, they didn't have any running back talent.In 2002, they drafted a running back in the first round. William Green ran for 887 yards and 6 TDs. To be fair, again, he was a rookie. So obviously he should improve the next year. In 2003, they drafted another highly touted running back, Lee Suggs. They combined for 848 yards in 11 total games, although both were injured throughout the season. This was the closest Arians came to getting a 1000 yard season from his running back, and he managed to get 1670 from the RB corps - good for 20th in the NFL. Yes, Cleveland was less talented than Pittsburgh. And maybe William Green is not as talented as Willie Parker. But William Green was the first running back drafted in his class. He was supposed to be more talented than the untouted Parker. When one player exceeds expectations, and the other fails to meet them, it could be a case of bad scouting, or a case of the player just not being coachable. But you could also look at the coach who is supposed to develop that talent. And so far, Arians and his hasn't shown me as much as Cowher and co. Cowher and co. were successful in developing a relative unknown and getting him to average 100 yards and a TD per game. Arians was not successful in developing a first round talent. Maybe more three tight end sets would have helped Green. Maybe Arians has learned from his mistakes. But the Steelers aren't really more talented on offense this year than they were last year, their coaching has taken a step back, and Parker is coming off an unexpectedly good year. Even if Cowher were still there, I'd say there was a decent chance he regressed. The fact that they've changed coaches to a defensive minded coach, changed offensive coordinators to a guy who doesn't have a ton of experience and hasn't had success developing running backs, and who has been talking a lot about the passing game. Right now Parker is getting drafted seventh or eighth overall on average, ahead of players who run just as much, are as talented, are in similar situations, and have good offensive lines. I don't think his upside is higher than Rudi Johnson's, and if things break wrong for him I think he would have a worse year than if things broke wrong for Rudi. Same thing goes for Travis Henry and Joseph Addai. I understand that you feel differently. Good luck with that.
Well, I hope I don't overpay too much...but here are guys I will target
Now, let me get back to what I was doing. I'm typing! I'm typing! This is so much fun.
