If Mendenhall doesn't start after this year's performances by him and Parker, Tomlin should be fired and replaced before the end of the first quarter. There can't possibly be any doubt after Pittsburgh's first five games as to who the better back is at this point. I understand loyalty and all, but with Cincinnati and Baltimore both playing well, Pittsburgh can ill-afford to be getting 3 yards per carry because Parker was the starter for a few years and Tomlin feels bad.
This is textbook Tomlin. It doesn't matter if anyone agrees with it or not, and I'm not saying I do either, but it's how he operates. He's on record outlining it. He said he likes taking younger players(which I took to mean juniors) in the draft when he can and bring them along slowly to ingrain "the Steeler/Tomlin way" into them. He won't deviate from the progression unless his hand is forced. It's why he handled Timmons how he did, it's why he's handling Mendenhall like he is, etc. etc. (Maybe he'd have a different approach with a team that wasn't a perennial playoff contender, but we only have what he's done thus far to go on.)He did it with Timmons and that worked, he's doing it with Mendenhall(those two were both among the youngest players in their draft class, IIRC) and it appears to be working, he was in the process of doing it with Hood until Smith was hurt and his hand was forced to use him more sooner than he would have otherwise.....I don't see him changing his spots because Rashard had a couple good games.
If anyone thinks that Tomlin won't play a guy out of "loyalty" they haven't been paying attention at all. This is almost a carbon copy of what happen last season with Timmons/Foote....by the time TC was over everyone thought Timmons could probably be a better player overall than Larry Foote. By midseason, everyone pretty much KNEW he was a better player overall than Larry Foote. Foote started every game anyway, including the playoffs, because that's how Tomlin operates/Larry was one of "his guys." Timmons was put in subpackages/a position to contribute, and he did, but he was never even hinted at as overtaking Foote by Tomlin. He'd dance around it all day and say stuff like "Oh, we really feel like we start 5 LBs, blah, blah, blah", but that was just a diplomatic way of saying "Timmons ain't starting over Foote."
Until Tomlin shows us anything different, there is no reason for anyone to believe that he's not going to start Parker if Parker is 100% healthy. He's been saying that for as long as anyone has been asking. Note, that does not mean that Mendenhall won't see the field or won't contribute. But it also doesn't mean he'll be getting 20+ carries guaranteed even if Parker is dressing.
If Mendenhall is being tagged to start this week with Parker dressing, I'm taking that to mean that Parker still isn't 100%, not that Tomlin is totally on board the "Mendenhall is our starter" bus yet. I'm also taking it that Parker is still a threat to poach double digit carries.
If Coach Mike HAS changed his M.O. to this point, and has eschewed the "bring 'em along slowly" approach with Mendenhall, then I'll have to re-assess my opinion on the situation then. In the meantime, if Parker is healthy, I'm going to be skeptical that Mendenhall is anything more than a "50/50" type guy until Parker's hurt again(which anymore seems more likely than not)/gone come 2010.
Regardless, it sounds good for Mendenhall this week.
