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Rashard Mendenhall, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers (1 Viewer)

Jason Wood

Zoo York
2011 Player Spotlight Series

One of Footballguys best assets is our message board community. The Shark Pool is, in our view, the best place on the internet to discuss, debate and analyze all things fantasy football. In what's become an annual tradition, the Player Spotlight series is a key part of the preseason efforts. As many of you know, we consider the Player Spotlight threads the permanent record for analyzing the fantasy prospects of the player in question. This year, we plan to publish more than 140 offensive spotlights covering the vast majority of expected skill position starters.

With the labor uncertainty, there are more unanswered questions entering the summer than usual. The good news is that gives us some more time to discuss the merits of players without having to react (or overreact) to the smallest bits of news about a slight injury in practice, or coach speak. We'll have plenty of time for that when it comes (we hope).

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Thread Topic: Rashard Mendenhall, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

Player Page Link: Rashard Mendenhall Player Page

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It'll be interesting to see if the Steelers ever take advantage of Mendenhall's receiving skills. He was good at Illinois and has averaged 8.9 per on 50 catches as a pro. But they haven't really incorporated him into the passing game very much. If they never do he's still good for years of low RB1 production. If they do, he could put up RB1 numbers. I think they give him a few more receptions this year, and that the Steelers line is a bit better...

2011: 320-1440-13, 32-272-1 (18ppg PPR: RB6-8)

 
There aren't many RBs that should see 20+ touches a game. Mendenhall is one of them, which will make him a very solid option as a RB1. Would like to see more receptions, since he does have good receiving skills. Should get a lot of opportunities to score, with PIT having a solid offense and a good defense.

315 car, 1375 yds, 12 TD

30 rec, 225 yds, 1 TD

 
It'll be interesting to see if the Steelers ever take advantage of Mendenhall's receiving skills. He was good at Illinois and has averaged 8.9 per on 50 catches as a pro. But they haven't really incorporated him into the passing game very much. If they never do he's still good for years of low RB1 production. If they do, he could put up RB1 numbers. I think they give him a few more receptions this year, and that the Steelers line is a bit better...2011: 320-1440-13, 32-272-1 (18ppg PPR: RB6-8)
It doesn't seem likely to happen anytime soon. They drafted a rookie that is all about third down. They seem content on having him on the field for two downs, which if it keeps him fresh, I am all for. I also suspect that they will be passing the ball more than this year than the last couple of years. On the plus side I think the line will be better.295 - 1239 - 10 28 -235 - 0RB 13 but I could take him starting at 6 because I don't think his floor is very low.
 
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After a ton of touches last season(including the playoffs), i suspect the Steelers will lighten his load a little. He should still get alot of carries, but i could see Redman getting some short yardage touches. Other than a few less carries and TD's, i suspect similar numbers to last season.

285 car, 1135 yards, 8 TD's, 20 rec, 140 yards, 0 TD's

 
I see Rashard Mendenhall as a conundrum. In an NFL where RBBCs seem to grow more and more every year, he is definitely one of the few remaining. He has not missed a game over the past two seasons and he plays a leading role on a solid offensive team, yet the best that he has finished is 7th in non-ppr scoring and likely lower than that in ppr as he has a career best 25 receptions.

He is a sure thing to get lots of carries and he hardly has any opportunity to drop far, yet he seems to have much less chance of over-producing his draft spot than the ones usually going before him.

In the survivor drafts already completed, he averaged RB 9 in the WSLs and more recently was drafted at 10, 8, 8, and 9 in the SSLs.

With Mendenhall, you basically know what you are going to get. In his favor, his floor seems to be pretty high though. I see another similar season in 2011, with the only way he presents a bargain opportunity is if he hits the tweets hard right before your draft.

R. Mendenhall 16 gms 320 rushes 4.3 ypc 1376 yards 35 targets 25 catches 200 yds 8.0 ypc & 10 TDs

 
'Go deep said:
After a ton of touches last season(including the playoffs), i suspect the Steelers will lighten his load a little. He should still get alot of carries, but i could see Redman getting some short yardage touches. Other than a few less carries and TD's, i suspect similar numbers to last season.

285 car, 1135 yards, 8 TD's, 20 rec, 140 yards, 0 TD's
Can you unpack this comment a bit?
 
'Go deep said:
After a ton of touches last season(including the playoffs), i suspect the Steelers will lighten his load a little. He should still get alot of carries, but i could see Redman getting some short yardage touches. Other than a few less carries and TD's, i suspect similar numbers to last season.

285 car, 1135 yards, 8 TD's, 20 rec, 140 yards, 0 TD's
Can you unpack this comment a bit?
Sure, i dont think it wouldnt affect the Steelers much, if at all, in the regular season to give Redman a few more touches to avoid burning out their #1 RB by the time the playoffs roll around. Especially with Mendenhall coming off a 412 touch season last year. I also dont think Redman is a big step down either, he did average 5 YPC last season(granted it was only with 60+ carries). I also think Redman is the better receiver, so i could see him getting more time this year.
 
Let's not forget that Pitt. has a soft schedule next year, so im thinking his numbers increase.

maybe 1400-1500 rushing 200-300 rec. 14-18 Tds

 
Let's not forget that Pitt. has a soft schedule next year, so im thinking his numbers increase.maybe 1400-1500 rushing 200-300 rec. 14-18 Tds
More of a reason to give the backup more touches, why beat up your #1 RB against bad teams?
I could see this as reasoning for a higher YPC, total yards, and td's, but not carries. If the Steelers atually do have a soft schedule, they will have big leads with that defense, and theoretically, the backup would get more work.
 
Let's not forget that Pitt. has a soft schedule next year, so im thinking his numbers increase.

maybe 1400-1500 rushing 200-300 rec. 14-18 Tds
After preseason talk of him losing goal line carries, he ended 2010 with 13 rushing TD. I anticipate his line has to improve to some degree, so his ypc should improve. I doubt he'll see quite as many carries as last year, but he should still see more than most. Although touchdowns are nearly impossible to predict, it shouldn't surprise anyone if he lucks into a huge TD year. A workhorse back on a fairly prolific offense should provide all the upside you need in the middle of the first round.

19 carries/gm x 16gm = 304 carries x 4.3 ypc = 1307 yds 12 TD, 20 rec x 8.0 ypr = 160 yds 1 TD
Very good posts here. I despise the Steelers. Hate them and their fans, actually. I've never owned a Steeler in any fantasy football league I've ever played in. I expected Rashard Mendenhall to be terrible last season. An offensive line in shambles, no QB for the first four games, and a tough schedule led me to believe he'd be awful. How wrong I was.

Fast forward to 2011 and I've seen the error off my ways. This might sound crazy, but Rashard Mendenhall has a legitimate shot at being the #1 overall RB in fantasy football. Hear me out..

The Pittsburgh Steelers schedule is easy. Ridiculously easy, and it's not like they're only playing bad defenses either. Many of the offenses they're going to face are atrocious as well. How do you think these team's offenses will fare aginst the Steelers' Defense?

1 at Baltimore Ravens

2 Seattle Seahawks (awful)

3 at Indianapolis Colts

4 at Houston Texans

5 Tennessee Titans (awful)

6 Jacksonville Jaguars (awful)

7 at Arizona Cardinals (awful)

8 New England Patriots

9 Baltimore Ravens

10 at Cincinnati Bengals (awful)

12 at Kansas City Chiefs

13 Cincinnati Bengals (awful)

14 Cleveland Browns (awful)

15 at San Francisco 49ers (awful)

16 St. Louis Rams (awful)

17 at Cleveland Browns (awful)

I'd say that's at least 10 games where the Steelers' opponent will score 13 points or less. Also notice the stretch of cupcakes during the fantasy playoffs. What's that mean for Rashard Mendenhall? It means the Pittsburgh offense will have short fields, the opposing defense is going to be on the field a ton, they'll be worn down, and they'll be pretty sick of tackling in the second half.

Those 10 games all look like potential blowouts. RBs usually do extremely well in blowouts. Mendenhall could be looking at several 100 yard, multiple TD performances this season.

The only tough defenses Mendenhall will face all year will be the Ravens twice. That's it, and Rashard managed 210 total yards and 4 TDs in 3 games against them in 2010.

Even the teams that might put up some points (Colts, Patriots, Texans, Chiefs-possibly) have suspect defenses.

Now, on to the competition for the #1 spot:

Adrian Peterson/Chris Johnson/MJD - Possible rookie QBs, suspect offenses/defenses, not enough TD opportunities. MJD also battling a knee issue.

Jamaal Charles - Much tougher schedule in 2011, coaches seem to limit his touches.

Ray Rice - fewer TD opportunities. Will McClain take the goalline role?

LeSean McCoy - fewer TD opportunities.

It's difficult to argue against Arian Foster, but if he regresses and Mendenhall gets as many shots at TDs as I think he will, then RM could finish as the #1 RB.

Even if the Steelers limit Rashard's carries you still have to think he'll be around 300 for the season, and against these teams he's going to see a ton of goalline carries. With Ben for an entire season, the offensive line improving a bit, and running against some worn out defenses late in games, Mendenhall's ypc should go up significantly as well.

I don't want to project a 20 TD season, but the factors are in place for that kind of year for Mendenhall. He scored 13 last year with many things working against him. If the Steelers decide to utilize him a bit more in the passing game, look out.

307 carries at 4.7 per carry for 1,442 yards. 25 receptions for 250 yards. 16 total TDs with upside in the 20 range. The Steelers will be scoring touchdowns at an alarming rate in 2011.

 
Let's not forget that Pitt. has a soft schedule next year, so im thinking his numbers increase.

maybe 1400-1500 rushing 200-300 rec. 14-18 Tds
After preseason talk of him losing goal line carries, he ended 2010 with 13 rushing TD. I anticipate his line has to improve to some degree, so his ypc should improve. I doubt he'll see quite as many carries as last year, but he should still see more than most. Although touchdowns are nearly impossible to predict, it shouldn't surprise anyone if he lucks into a huge TD year. A workhorse back on a fairly prolific offense should provide all the upside you need in the middle of the first round.

19 carries/gm x 16gm = 304 carries x 4.3 ypc = 1307 yds 12 TD, 20 rec x 8.0 ypr = 160 yds 1 TD
Very good posts here. I despise the Steelers. Hate them and their fans, actually. I've never owned a Steeler in any fantasy football league I've ever played in. I expected Rashard Mendenhall to be terrible last season. An offensive line in shambles, no QB for the first four games, and a tough schedule led me to believe he'd be awful. How wrong I was.

Fast forward to 2011 and I've seen the error off my ways. This might sound crazy, but Rashard Mendenhall has a legitimate shot at being the #1 overall RB in fantasy football. Hear me out..

The Pittsburgh Steelers schedule is easy. Ridiculously easy, and it's not like they're only playing bad defenses either. Many of the offenses they're going to face are atrocious as well. How do you think these team's offenses will fare aginst the Steelers' Defense?

1 at Baltimore Ravens

2 Seattle Seahawks (awful)

3 at Indianapolis Colts

4 at Houston Texans

5 Tennessee Titans (awful)

6 Jacksonville Jaguars (awful)

7 at Arizona Cardinals (awful)

8 New England Patriots

9 Baltimore Ravens

10 at Cincinnati Bengals (awful)

12 at Kansas City Chiefs

13 Cincinnati Bengals (awful)

14 Cleveland Browns (awful)

15 at San Francisco 49ers (awful)

16 St. Louis Rams (awful)

17 at Cleveland Browns (awful)

I'd say that's at least 10 games where the Steelers' opponent will score 13 points or less. Also notice the stretch of cupcakes during the fantasy playoffs. What's that mean for Rashard Mendenhall? It means the Pittsburgh offense will have short fields, the opposing defense is going to be on the field a ton, they'll be worn down, and they'll be pretty sick of tackling in the second half.

Those 10 games all look like potential blowouts. RBs usually do extremely well in blowouts. Mendenhall could be looking at several 100 yard, multiple TD performances this season.

The only tough defenses Mendenhall will face all year will be the Ravens twice. That's it, and Rashard managed 210 total yards and 4 TDs in 3 games against them in 2010.

Even the teams that might put up some points (Colts, Patriots, Texans, Chiefs-possibly) have suspect defenses.

Now, on to the competition for the #1 spot:

Adrian Peterson/Chris Johnson/MJD - Possible rookie QBs, suspect offenses/defenses, not enough TD opportunities. MJD also battling a knee issue.

Jamaal Charles - Much tougher schedule in 2011, coaches seem to limit his touches.

Ray Rice - fewer TD opportunities. Will McClain take the goalline role?

LeSean McCoy - fewer TD opportunities.

It's difficult to argue against Arian Foster, but if he regresses and Mendenhall gets as many shots at TDs as I think he will, then RM could finish as the #1 RB.

Even if the Steelers limit Rashard's carries you still have to think he'll be around 300 for the season, and against these teams he's going to see a ton of goalline carries. With Ben for an entire season, the offensive line improving a bit, and running against some worn out defenses late in games, Mendenhall's ypc should go up significantly as well.

I don't want to project a 20 TD season, but the factors are in place for that kind of year for Mendenhall. He scored 13 last year with many things working against him. If the Steelers decide to utilize him a bit more in the passing game, look out.

307 carries at 4.7 per carry for 1,442 yards. 25 receptions for 250 yards. 16 total TDs with upside in the 20 range. The Steelers will be scoring touchdowns at an alarming rate in 2011.
Great post. I am pretty much praying that mendenhall is there for me @ pick #8. hopefully someone picks a qb or wr in the first 7 picks, or mjd, so im guaranteed to get someone i covet. If Mendenhall can get up to 30-35 catches, he should be looking at a top 5 season.325 carries, 1400 rush yards

30 rec, 250 rec yards

14 total tds

 
Mendenhall scares me a little this year. I'm picking 5th and those of us in that spot (non-PPR) will likely be choosing between McCoy and Mendenhall (assuming CJ remains unsigned). Mendenhall had (I believe) 409 touches last year counting the postseason. That is a ton. There does not seem to be much worry in the the FBG community of him wearing down, is that because he is still so young and has few career carries? I love that he seems in line to get all of the meaningful carries but that could change if he wears down in the middle of the season.

 
'Chaka said:
Mendenhall scares me a little this year. I'm picking 5th and those of us in that spot (non-PPR) will likely be choosing between McCoy and Mendenhall (assuming CJ remains unsigned). Mendenhall had (I believe) 409 touches last year counting the postseason. That is a ton. There does not seem to be much worry in the the FBG community of him wearing down, is that because he is still so young and has few career carries? I love that he seems in line to get all of the meaningful carries but that could change if he wears down in the middle of the season.
I think I will be facing the same decision (McCoy v Mendenhall) and I keep vacillating between them but right now Mendenhall is separating himself from McCoy in my book.
Same decision here (no thread on this?). I'm in a 10-teamer....so feel I can take a few more risks....so am leaning to McCoy for his upside potential....but I'll probably change my mind in 24 hours too.
 
I mentioned this a week or so ago in a thread discussing Mendenhall vs. McFadden, but the appealing aspect of Mendenhall to me is his relatively high floor. Simply put, he is a pretty safe pick. A true featured back that gets the redzone touches and plays for a good offense. Guys like him are hard to come by these days. While admittedly, Mendenhall's upside isn't as alluring as McCoy's or McFadden's, Mendenhall offers a lot to a typical FF team.

For me personally, I'd probably go with McCoy over Mendenhall, but not by a huge margin. I don't think McCoy's floor is too much lower and his ceiling is definitely higher, imo. But it is worth mentioning that taking a relatively safe bet like Mendenhall as your RB1 does afford you the ability to be riskier and go after more upside type guys at RB2 and RB3, if so inclined.

And FTR, I'm not too worried about Mendenhall's large workload last season slowing him down this season. If anything, since Pitt didn't make any real RB moves this season, it makes me confident that Mendenhall is in store for another year with a lot of touches.

 
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A lot of good points about Mendenhall here but I think, obviously, that with the Steelers O-Line in much better shape Mendenhall should seemingly improve if he can stay healthy. My only question would be the tendency of the Steelers to break their traditional mold and resort to a more Pass Happy attack we've seen in recent years from them. Offense Coordinator Bruce Arians has given Ben more freedom with play calling and he has definitely shifted more towards the air game than the ground game. With the break out year of Mike Wallace and the addition of Jericho Cotchery I could see more emphasis taken away from Mendenhall.

 
mlball, agreed. However, I think to some, including myself, Mendenhall comes across as a boring pick. When your draft is over and you look at your team, he is not a guy you get excited about when you see his name on your roster. But he should be, given that he is very productive. Odds are, I'll have to talk myself into him, if I have a shot at him in any leagues, and odds are that I will regret taking him instead of a flashier and sexier pick, but long term, I suspect I'd be happy with him. It is just a matter of what kind of mood I am in on draft days.

 
A lot of good points about Mendenhall here but I think, obviously, that with the Steelers O-Line in much better shape Mendenhall should seemingly improve if he can stay healthy. My only question would be the tendency of the Steelers to break their traditional mold and resort to a more Pass Happy attack we've seen in recent years from them. Offense Coordinator Bruce Arians has given Ben more freedom with play calling and he has definitely shifted more towards the air game than the ground game. With the break out year of Mike Wallace and the addition of Jericho Cotchery I could see more emphasis taken away from Mendenhall.
I agree, a lot of great points above. You make some great points regarding the passing game as well.The "pass happy" attack also concerns me some, but Mendenhall could still get a lot of goal-line touches. It is worth noting that with Big Ben out of the lineup last year, Mendenhall averaged 17 PPG in standard scoring and when Ben returned he averaged 12.8 PPG. At 12.8 PPG, he would have been outside of the top ten. Without looking at this data, my initial thought would have been "Plus, he gets Ben for all 16 games!" but this actually appears to be a negative based on the data. Unless his TDs go up, he could disappoint just a little.
 
I find it interesting he is viewed as a "safe" pick. I thought the same, but digging deeper, I'm not so sure. Including the playoffs last year, he had 385 carries, easily 1st in football (2nd was michael turner with 344). There's this supposed curse of 370, but no one takes into account the playoffs. I do agree that he has a high floor, and is a solid yet unspectacular pick. I'm just wondering, what are people's thoughts on the fact that he had essentially 385 carries last year?

 
It is worth noting that with Big Ben out of the lineup last year, Mendenhall averaged 17 PPG in standard scoring and when Ben returned he averaged 12.8 PPG. At 12.8 PPG, he would have been outside of the top ten. Without looking at this data, my initial thought would have been "Plus, he gets Ben for all 16 games!" but this actually appears to be a negative based on the data.
I've been meaning to look at that and forgot....but that may be the stat that pushes me to McCoy.Nice work!
 
A lot of good points about Mendenhall here but I think, obviously, that with the Steelers O-Line in much better shape Mendenhall should seemingly improve if he can stay healthy. My only question would be the tendency of the Steelers to break their traditional mold and resort to a more Pass Happy attack we've seen in recent years from them. Offense Coordinator Bruce Arians has given Ben more freedom with play calling and he has definitely shifted more towards the air game than the ground game. With the break out year of Mike Wallace and the addition of Jericho Cotchery I could see more emphasis taken away from Mendenhall.
I agree, a lot of great points above. You make some great points regarding the passing game as well.The "pass happy" attack also concerns me some, but Mendenhall could still get a lot of goal-line touches. It is worth noting that with Big Ben out of the lineup last year, Mendenhall averaged 17 PPG in standard scoring and when Ben returned he averaged 12.8 PPG. At 12.8 PPG, he would have been outside of the top ten. Without looking at this data, my initial thought would have been "Plus, he gets Ben for all 16 games!" but this actually appears to be a negative based on the data. Unless his TDs go up, he could disappoint just a little.
I'm not a huge Steeler fan, nor am I particularly unlazy - as such, I can't confirm this, but didn't Ben's return coincide with some injuries on the o-line? (or roughly?) The reason I ask is that Mendy's drop in production might be coincidental to Ben's return, not caused by it.Can anyone confirm or refute this?
 
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Mendenhall will finish in top 5 rb. Steelers are going to get him the ball in space more this yr.
From your keyboard to Mike Tomlin's headphones.Guy has been stellar in the receiving game to this point in his career, but they haven't thrown him many passes.
 
So, what went wrong this year? Most regarded him as one of the very safest picks in the first couple of rounds and he seemed to have a very high floor. If you would have told me in August that he'd be active for ever game except for one yet only receive 20 or more carries ONCE all season, I would have been absolutely shocked. I think we all know there are no real sure things, but I'm always interested in revisiting players to see if there's something we can pick up for next season. Did the Steelers' officially becoming a pass-first team doom him, did Tomlin decide he can't handle a big workload, or was he banged up all year? Or some combo of all three? Just wondering if there's anything to be learned from this and if any backs could suffer the same fate in 2012 (seemingly a very safe pick but see their usage scaled way back)? Perhaps Turner?

 
Arians philosophy and the o line. I think hes a mice buy low into 2012.

That o line was horrible this year.

 
'TS Garp said:
So, what went wrong this year? Most regarded him as one of the very safest picks in the first couple of rounds and he seemed to have a very high floor. If you would have told me in August that he'd be active for ever game except for one yet only receive 20 or more carries ONCE all season, I would have been absolutely shocked. I think we all know there are no real sure things, but I'm always interested in revisiting players to see if there's something we can pick up for next season. Did the Steelers' officially becoming a pass-first team doom him, did Tomlin decide he can't handle a big workload, or was he banged up all year? Or some combo of all three? Just wondering if there's anything to be learned from this and if any backs could suffer the same fate in 2012 (seemingly a very safe pick but see their usage scaled way back)? Perhaps Turner?
I think the main thing is how bad the OL is this year. Tomlin knows he can handle the workload, but he didn't want to run him as much as he did last year so not to run him into the ground. Tomlin said at the beginning of the season that Redman would get a series each half, and Moore and sometimes Redman are the third down backs.
 
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FWIW, the Steelers have been averaging over 4 yards per rush since the re-inserted Max Starks into the starting lineup. They still don't run it as often as they used to, but they have improved some in their limited attempts over the course of the season. That said, they still aren't a very consistent run blocking unit. They seems to want to be more of a zone blocking unit, but most of the interior players aren't "finesse" types. Having the Human Yellow Flag Kemoeatu in the starting lineup most of the year doesn't help either, but I digress. On Mendenhall....

TLDR version:

Mendenhall can still be a bankable low-end RB1 if the Steelers would just throw him the ball more.

Long version:

Mendenhall's plight this year is pretty easy to explain to me: It's schematic. The Steelers are a passing team now, and likely will be for the foreseeable future.

Now, that isn't necessarily a bad thing for a RB...should open up the ground game, etc. etc.....but the thing that works against Mendenhall(or has so far with this new "philosophy" of Arians') is that Mendenhall is mind-bogglingly almost never involved in the passing game. When all runners have been healthy this year Mendenhall is the primary runner and GL back, Redman gets one series each half of his own and also gets most of the non-GL short yardage attempts and Moore has been the 3rd down/two minute/come from behind back.

So, basically, just about any instance were Mendenhall may have been able to generate a little more oomph as a receiver to make up for the lowering of his overall touches has seen Tomlin/Arians rolling out Mewelde effing Moore in his place. It really doesn't make sense. Mendenhall has made himself into a better blocker than Moore, he's probably his equal as a receiver and is certainly faster. Hell, coming into the season Moore had been jettisoned from the team and only a Barron Batch blown knee got him back into the fold. That said, the coaches pretty quickly re-inserted him into the lineup as the primary pass catching back after re-signing him and then we've seen what's went down with Mendenhall. He's basically been turned into "James Starks that scores TDs."

At any rate, going forward it's still tough to completely downgrade Mendenhall because he's A)Still only 24, B)Still the primary runner, on a good offense, who gets the lion's share of the GL looks, and C)May still see an expanded role on 3rd downs, as Moore will be a FA after the season and his likely replacement(Batch) will be coming back from a pretty serious knee injury.

 
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FWIW, the Steelers have been averaging over 4 yards per rush since the re-inserted Max Starks into the starting lineup. They still don't run it as often as they used to, but they have improved some in their limited attempts over the course of the season. That said, they still aren't a very consistent run blocking unit. They seems to want to be more of a zone blocking unit, but most of the interior players aren't "finesse" types. Having the Human Yellow Flag Kemoeatu in the starting lineup most of the year doesn't help either, but I digress. On Mendenhall....

TLDR version:

Mendenhall can still be a bankable low-end RB1 if the Steelers would just throw him the ball more.

Long version:

Mendenhall's plight this year is pretty easy to explain to me: It's schematic. The Steelers are a passing team now, and likely will be for the foreseeable future.

Now, that isn't necessarily a bad thing for a RB...should open up the ground game, etc. etc.....but the thing that works against Mendenhall(or has so far with this new "philosophy" of Arians') is that Mendenhall is mind-bogglingly almost never involved in the passing game. When all runners have been healthy this year Mendenhall is the primary runner and GL back, Redman gets one series each half of his own and also gets most of the non-GL short yardage attempts and Moore has been the 3rd down/two minute/come from behind back.

So, basically, just about any instance were Mendenhall may have been able to generate a little more oomph as a receiver to make up for the lowering of his overall touches has seen Tomlin/Arians rolling out Mewelde effing Moore in his place. It really doesn't make sense. Mendenhall has made himself into a better blocker than Moore, he's probably his equal as a receiver and is certainly faster. Hell, coming into the season Moore had been jettisoned from the team and only a Barron Batch blown knee got him back into the fold. That said, the coaches pretty quickly re-inserted him into the lineup as the primary pass catching back after re-signing him and then we've seen what's went down with Mendenhall. He's basically been turned into "James Starks that scores TDs."

At any rate, going forward it's still tough to completely downgrade Mendenhall because he's A)Still only 24, B)Still the primary runner, on a good offense, who gets the lion's share of the GL looks, and C)May still see an expanded role on 3rd downs, as Moore will be a FA after the season and his likely replacement(Batch) will be coming back from a pretty serious knee injury.
Well said. I agree with your points.I'd add that they used Redman a lot in nearly every game. I was expecting an 85/15 split in touches and it was more like 65/35. There were also some odd instances of another RB coming in for a play and vulturing the TD (like this week). Also he seemed to get stopped all the time at the 1 or 2. Not just the Cleveland game but many other times. Even Big Ben didn't score a rushing TD and he's good for 2 every year.

 
i used to blame arians too for mendy not being involved in the run game, but as i saw more PIT games this season, i realized that its ben's fault. i dont know how many times i saw mendy standing WIDE open in the flats but ben instead tries to force it in 30 yards downfield to a covered WR. mendy could be putting up HUGE receiving stats if ben wouldnt be so preoccupied with always going deep. i'd also love to know the play breakdown to how often he runs between the tackles. i expect it to be a fairly high %. my biggest concern tho is his ball security. it amazes me that he doesnt fumble more often the way he never secures the ball. i think thats a big reason they do not seem to trust him in short yardage, goalline, and clock killing times.

 
Excellent info in here -- thanks. :thumbup:

Seems like Batch's recovery is coming along well, and, assuming he's all systems go for 2012, that could limit Mendenhall's value even more. Maybe Tomlin just doesn't feel that Mendenhall is the ideal back for his offensive scheme or that he can remain effective (and/or healthy) with too many touches. Seems hard to imagine him returning to RB1 status at this point, but I guess you never know. Definitely a situation to watch going into next season.

 
i dont know how many times i saw mendy standing WIDE open in the flats but ben instead tries to force it in 30 yards downfield to a covered WR.
This is certainly a part of it too and happens more frequently than it should. A lot of times it feels like Ben's progressions are usually thus:1. Where's Mike Wallace?2. Damn, he's bracketed. Who's the deepest open guy?3. Oh, @#$@#, pass rush! Do something quick.4. Get sacked/throw up a jump ball to a doubled Wallace while Mendenhall/whoever the RB is at the time stands on the other side of the field with not a soul within 15 yards of them waving/screaming for the ball.
it amazes me that he doesnt fumble more often the way he never secures the ball. i think thats a big reason they do not seem to trust him in short yardage, goalline, and clock killing times.
Probably part of it, although as for GL work he actually gets most of it.To that, I have to wonder, if they're that worried about ball security with him....why not just start Redman? Mendenhall could fumble it at any time, not just in "specialty" situations. They don't seem to care about it otherwise.
i'd also love to know the play breakdown to how often he runs between the tackles. i expect it to be a fairly high %.
I would also expect that, since the Pitt OTs aren't that strong at blocking for the run. Plus, Bruce Arians, seemingly, only has three rushing plays in his playbook. :) Dive behind LG/C, Offtackle right with the LG pulling, and that ridiculous sprint draw that never works(but that's usually a Mewelde Moore kind of a thing...which is probably one of the reasons it doesn't work. He's a dead giveaway that they may run it).
 
Thru 15 games, PIT is only rushing 26.53 times per game vs. 29.44 last year. They are throwing it 33.3 times per game vs. 29.9 last year. Mendy has gotten 220/350 RB rushes this year (62.9%). He got 324/418 last year (77.5%). I honestly expected a drop off to maybe 2/3rds of the carries, but I didn't see the drop in rushes as I figured the line would improve this year (2010 was abysmal). It's going to be hard to predict next year. Can't really assume they go back to the run and can't assume he will get more of the load, although he did miss a game. If you give him his normal 15 carries for the game he missed then we are up to 67.1% of the carries. So I guess it all depends on his ADP. How much are you willing to pay for a guy with a projected 16 game total of 250 carries and 20 receptions? I think he's a safe bet to improve upon his ypc and for double digit TDs, so he's still a RB1 in my book. I just don't see him going for 300+ carries like he did in 2010.

 

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