Is Mendenhall really a 3 down back? (1 Viewer)

[The Goose is Loose]

I've been hearing all this talk about Mendenhall becoming a 3 down back this year for the Steelers. This talk seems to have boosted his stock as he's being draft in the first round in many drafts now.

Will he really be in on 3rd downs? I watched some of the Bronco game on Monday night and it seemed like Mewelde Moore was in on 3rd down passing situations. He does a good job in this role and it doesn't appear that the Steelers are changing to Mendy.

Any thoughts on this?

 

[Chaka]

All what talk?

 

[The Goose is Loose]

Here's a link

They also talked about it during the broadcast on the game. Also, the depth chart on Footballguys does not list M. Moore as the 3rd down back.

 

[CrossEyed]

I think many folks have Mendenhall ranked a little too high. I think Moore will still see a lot of ime in 3rd down passing situations and I think Isaac Redman will steal some goal line carries. As good as Redman has looked, I could see him even getting a couple of series every game.

 

[unckeyherb]

Here are some notes from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette regarding Mendenhall over the last few months:Starting around April/May...

Scott Brown, of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, reports Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said he believes RB Rashard Mendenhall can be the team's short yardage back next season.

Pittsburgh Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall may be the team's third-down back in addition to the starting running back this season, according to Ed Bouchette, of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians said RB Rashard Mendenhall does well in goal line situations but wants Mendenhall to improve in short yardage situations, reports Mark Kaboly, of the McKeesport Daily News. 'Some guys have to learn that they aren't running for a touchdown. We need a yard. Rashard did a good job on goal line, but not as good a job on short yardage. That will again be an emphasis in training camp,' Arians said.

The Pittsburgh Steelers plan to rely a lot on RB Rashard Mendenhall this season, reports Mark Kaboly, of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians said Mendenhall is such an explosive player that the team does not want to take him off of the field. Mendenhall, the team's starting tailback, is expected to serve as the team's third-down back, goal-line back and possibly also as their short-yardage back. The team plans to use him far more than the 242 carries he had last season.

Updating a previous report, Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians said he expects to use RB Rashard Mendenhall as a receiver out of the backfield more often than he did last season, according to Mark Kaboly, of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

...Till late August.This tells me that the Steelers were coming into training camp hoping that Mendy would be ready to shoulder the load of a full time RB, hoping that he'd be able to be the third down back and hoping that he would be the short yardage and goal line back. The more recent posts suggest that he has shown them that his is capable of all three. I'd say that all signs point to him being a three down back and getting the bulk of goaline carries.My expectations for him are extremely high this year. he is a talented back in a run first offense/augmented by a top ranked defense who will be given EVERY opprtunity to score points on the ground, through the air and in the red zone. his floor is 1200 yards, 40 receptions for 350 and 9 TDs total. his ceiling is quite a bit higher. I could see 1500/50/400/15TDs not outside the realm of possibility.