Steelers homers- Mendenhall/playcalling (1 Viewer)

[Wombat1]

In the Sunday Night game thread there were some Steelers fans talking about Arians (Pitt offensive coordinator) being quoted as saying "we are NOT going to change the game plan." I have read other things about how Steelers are making a concerted effort to pass more with Ben, etc.

So as a Mendenhall owner is there any indication in Pittsburgh as to whether this trend is going to continue? The Steelers offense it seems has clearly been more effective when they run the ball more so you would think they would go back to this more, but the quote from Arains seem to indicate otherwise.

Any other Mendenhall owners concerned?

 

[ThaPenguin]

That's the thing with Arians...you just never know. They could be gashing the team with the run, then they go empty backfield, 5WR on first down or 3rd and short. So I wish it was as easy as a game by game basis, but with Arians, it is play by play. As I said in another thread, I really think he has an Xbox controller to call plays, rather than a game plan and playbook.

Another thing you have to be aware of is the increased touches for Mewelde Moore. Mendy sits out entire series sometimes to get some rest, and all you will see is Moore. But Mendy has gotten pretty much all goalline carries that I can recall, even with his ineffectiveness at times.

 

[duaneok66]

come on people . . .

I'm a Mendenhall owner so I have a vested interest as well . . .

they have already stated that they didnt want him to wear down - before last Sunday's game, he was averaging 21 carries a game, that is ALOT - so they bring in Moore to spell him (every 3rd series I think) . . . also vs the Pats, they were getting schooled, so they went away from the run (shocker) . . .

 

[Godsbrother]

That's the thing with Arians...you just never know. They could be gashing the team with the run, then they go empty backfield, 5WR on first down or 3rd and short. So I wish it was as easy as a game by game basis, but with Arians, it is play by play. As I said in another thread, I really think he has an Xbox controller to call plays, rather than a game plan and playbook.

Another thing you have to be aware of is the increased touches for Mewelde Moore. Mendy sits out entire series sometimes to get some rest, and all you will see is Moore. But Mendy has gotten pretty much all goalline carries that I can recall, even with his ineffectiveness at times.

Pretty much spot on. And the bolded part is what really ticks me off as both a Steelers fan and Mendenhall owner. Moore is okay but there is nothing that he does better than Mendenhall. Mendenhall is the more talented back yet when the Steelers get into passing mode there he is standing on the sidelines. Last week Mendenhall was not on the field for much of the second half. Why on earth you would take out one of your biggest weapons out of the game when you need him most just doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

But there are a lot of things about Bruce Arians' play calling that doesn't make sense to me.

As far as Mendenhall's productivity goes, I think you can pretty much toss a coin week in and week out. He likely has a couple good games in him but good luck trying to figure out when they will happen.

 

[duaneok66]

well, isn't Moore the better blocker?? I thought that was why he's been the 3rd down back for the last several years . . .

 

[Godsbrother]

well, isn't Moore the better blocker?? I thought that was why he's been the 3rd down back for the last several years . . .

No. Mendenhall proved last season he was a much better blocker than Moore. And I understand what you are saying about not running Mendenhall into the ground but over the last four games he has had 15 or fewer carries in three of those games. Not a good trend for Mendy owners.

 

[Wombat1]

well, isn't Moore the better blocker?? I thought that was why he's been the 3rd down back for the last several years . . .

Like the other posters said though he gets entire series to himself, last game Mendenhall had like 2 carries in the game and Moore was already in for the next entire series. He is more than just a 3rd down back.Moore is kind of just a nuisance though, the bigger issue seems to be the pass happy offense to me...

 

[duaneok66]

ok then if Moore is the better blocker then I don't get it . . . I see the lack of carries vs NE but I don't see the lack of 3rd down snaps . . .

 

[IVNACATES]

I thought he was a sell high candidate after week 4, and posted it to get some feedback. The general concensus was that there was no way Ben's return would hurt his sats, and may even help since teams wouldn't load the box anymore. He was averaging 19.5 ppg before, and 13.2 ppg after (in my league). Should've listened to my gut and sold high!

 

[treat88]

Like clockwork third series of every game is no huddle with Moore on the field.

Makes zero sense. Moore has made some decent plays over the last few weeks. That's cool, nice job, but he's an absolute liability every time he takes the field.

He is worse than Mendenhall in every phase of the game, blocking included.

I get the need to spell Mendenhall, I don't get the need to sit him for entire series.

Arians is both stubborn and not very bright. Deadly combination.

 

[Jerry Lawler]

Arians takes a lot of risks, and some of them blow up in his face. I can't say I don't scratch my head at times when watching his offense, but the dude has 2 super bowl rings as an OC. He's earned a little room to experiment.

 

[duaneok66]

Mendenhall appears to be 6th in carries behind Peterson, C Johnson, Jackson, Gore, amd Jones-Drew . . .

that is pretty reasonable - Peterson is at 23 rushes a game, RM is at 20 rushes a game now . . .

 

[BeTheMatch]

Mendenhall appears to be 6th in carries behind Peterson, C Johnson, Jackson, Gore, amd Jones-Drew . . .that is pretty reasonable - Peterson is at 23 rushes a game, RM is at 20 rushes a game now . . .

But those all came early in the year when they were force-feeding him the ball with no QB back there. Things have changed pretty significantly since Ben came back.

 

[duaneok66]

Mendenhall appears to be 6th in carries behind Peterson, C Johnson, Jackson, Gore, amd Jones-Drew . . .that is pretty reasonable - Peterson is at 23 rushes a game, RM is at 20 rushes a game now . . .

But those all came early in the year when they were force-feeding him the ball with no QB back there. Things have changed pretty significantly since Ben came back.

in part - but it also changed because he was getting the ball too much - you dont want your RB having that many carries (see LJ, SA, PH and others of past years, or just go dig up a footballoutsiders article about carries) . . .

 

[kupcho1]

also vs the Pats, they were getting schooled, so they went away from the run (shocker) . . .

10-3 at the half is schooled?Of course I'm assuming you watched the game ...

 

[C-Bound]

Benching him this week for Moreno in PPR. We'll see how that works out...

 

[duaneok66]

also vs the Pats, they were getting schooled, so they went away from the run (shocker) . . .

10-3 at the half is schooled?Of course I'm assuming you watched the game ...

I wtched the entire game and I didnt say anything about halftime . . .

 

[Godsbrother]

also vs the Pats, they were getting schooled, so they went away from the run (shocker) . . .

10-3 at the half is schooled?Of course I'm assuming you watched the game ...

I wtched the entire game and I didnt say anything about halftime . . .

Mendenhall's last series was the 3rd quarter drive where Reed missed the 26 yard FG. The score at that time was 17-3. On the Pats next possession they scored a TD (missed the XP) and went up 20 points. At that point Moore replaced Mendenhall for the rest of the game.I think Moore does an adequate job and have no problem with him spelling Mendenhall on a few plays but he is the inferior back and when you need to generate some offense it doesn't make sense to take the better player off the field.But this is obviously how the Steelers are going to play it so Mendenhall owners better hope the Steelers are in some close games from here on out.

 

[kupcho1]

also vs the Pats, they were getting schooled, so they went away from the run (shocker) . . .

10-3 at the half is schooled?Of course I'm assuming you watched the game ...

I wtched the entire game and I didnt say anything about halftime . . .

Then you don't know what you're talking about.You implied that they went away from the run because they were "getting schooled." (You're sarcastic parenthetical: "shocker", indicates that this shouldn't be surprising.)

Patriots 0 | Steelers 0

1st-10-Pit26 Rush Rashard Mendenhall Off Right Guard to Pit29 for 3 yards

2nd-7-Pit29 Incomplete Pass Ben Roethlisberger Pass Incomplete to Rashard Mendenhall

3rd-7-Pit29 Incomplete Pass Ben Roethlisberger Pass Incomplete to Mike Wallace

4th-7-Pit29 Punt Daniel Sepulveda punts 41 yards to NE30, Julian Edelman Fair Catch

Patriots 7 | Steelers 0

1st-10-Pit36 Rush Rashard Mendenhall Off Right Tackle to Pit39 for 3 yards

2nd-7-Pit39 Rush Rashard Mendenhall up the Middle to Pit36 for -3 yards

3rd-10-Pit36 Pass Ben Roethlisberger Pass to Heath Miller to NE48 for 16 yards

Penalty Pit-Trai Essex PENALIZED -10 yards for Holding

1st-20-Pit42 Incomplete Pass Ben Roethlisberger Pass Incomplete to Mike Wallace

2nd-20-Pit42 Sack Ben Roethlisberger sacked at Pit32 for -10 yards

3rd-30-Pit32 Sack Ben Roethlisberger sacked at Pit25 for -7 yards

4th-37-Pit25 Punt Daniel Sepulveda punts 50 yards to NE25, Julian Edelman returns to NE37 for 12 yards

Patriots 10 | Steelers 0

1st-10-Pit31 Rush Mewelde Moore Off Right Tackle to Pit34 for 3 yards

2nd-7-Pit34 Incomplete Pass Ben Roethlisberger Pass Incomplete to Hines Ward. Replay challenge - ruling reversed.

3rd-7-Pit34 Pass Ben Roethlisberger Pass to Mike Wallace to Pit41 for 7 yards

1st-10-Pit41 Rush Mewelde Moore Off Right Tackle to Pit44 for 3 yards

2nd-7-Pit44 Pass Ben Roethlisberger Pass to Mewelde Moore to NE50 for 6 yards

3rd-1-NE50 Rush Mewelde Moore up the Middle to NE45 for 5 yards

1st-10-NE45 Incomplete Pass Ben Roethlisberger Pass Incomplete to Emmanuel Sanders

2nd-10-NE45 Incomplete Pass Ben Roethlisberger Pass Incomplete to Emmanuel Sanders

3rd-10-NE45 Sack Ben Roethlisberger sacked at Pit47 for -8 yards

4th-18-Pit47 Punt Daniel Sepulveda punts 53 yards to NE0, TOUCHBACK.

Patriots 10 | Steelers 0

1st-10-Pit20 Pass Ben Roethlisberger Pass to Rashard Mendenhall to Pit22 for 2 yards

2nd-8-Pit22 Rush Rashard Mendenhall Off Right Tackle to Pit24 for 2 yards

3rd-6-Pit24 Rush Ben Roethlisberger up the Middle to Pit36 for 12 yards

1st-10-Pit36 Rush Rashard Mendenhall up the Middle to Pit37 for 1 yard

2nd-9-Pit37 Rush Rashard Mendenhall Off Right Tackle to NE29 for 34 yards

1st-10-NE29 Pass Ben Roethlisberger Pass to Heath Miller to NE11 for 18 yards

1st-10-NE11 Rush Rashard Mendenhall Off Right Tackle to NE8 for 3 yards

2nd-7-NE8 Incomplete Pass Ben Roethlisberger Pass Incomplete to Mike Wallace

3rd-7-NE8 Time Out Pittsburgh Steelers timeout.

Penalty NE-Jermaine Cunningham PENALIZED 4 yards for Offside

3rd-3-NE4 Incomplete Pass Ben Roethlisberger Pass Incomplete to Antwaan Randle El

4th-3-NE4 Made Field Goal Jeff Reed 22 yard field goal is GOOD. Holder-Daniel Sepulveda

Kickoff Jeff Reed kicks 62 yards from Pit30 to NE8, Brandon Tate returns to NE23 for 15 yards

Patriots 10 | Steelers 3

1st-10-Pit18 Rush Mewelde Moore Off Right End to Pit21 for 3 yards

Penalty Pit-Jonathan Scott PENALIZED -5 yards for Illegal Formation

2nd-12-Pit16 Two Minute Warning Two-Minute Warning

2nd-12-Pit16 Incomplete Pass Ben Roethlisberger Pass Incomplete to Antwaan Randle El

3rd-12-Pit16 Incomplete Pass Ben Roethlisberger Pass Incomplete to Heath Miller

4th-12-Pit16 Punt Daniel Sepulveda punts 40 yards to NE44, Out of Bounds

Patriots 10 | Steelers 3

1st-10-Pit14 Pass Ben Roethlisberger Pass to Mewelde Moore to Pit26 for 12 yards

1st-10-Pit26 Time Out Pittsburgh Steelers timeout.

1st-10-Pit26 Incomplete Pass Ben Roethlisberger Pass Incomplete to Heath Miller

2nd-10-Pit26 Pass Ben Roethlisberger Pass to Mewelde Moore to NE45 for 29 yards

1st-10-NE45 Time Out New England Patriots timeout.

1st-10-NE45 Incomplete Pass Ben Roethlisberger Pass Incomplete to Heath Miller

2nd-10-NE45 Time Out Pittsburgh Steelers timeout.

2nd-10-NE45 Incomplete Pass Ben Roethlisberger Pass Incomplete to Arnaz Battle

HALFTIME

Patriots 10 | Steelers 3

1st-10-Pit29 Pass Ben Roethlisberger Pass to Rashard Mendenhall to Pit32 for 3 yards

2nd-7-Pit32 Rush Rashard Mendenhall up the Middle to Pit28 for -4 yards

3rd-11-Pit28 Sack Ben Roethlisberger sacked at Pit18 for -10 yards

4th-21-Pit18 Punt Daniel Sepulveda punts 42 yards to NE40, Julian Edelman Fair Catch

Patriots 10 | Steelers 3

1st-10-Pit33 Rush Rashard Mendenhall Off Left Guard to Pit37 for 4 yards

2nd-6-Pit37 Rush Rashard Mendenhall up the Middle to Pit44 for 7 yards

1st-10-Pit44 Pass Ben Roethlisberger Pass to Mike Wallace to NE46 for 10 yards

Penalty NE-Brandon Meriweather PENALIZED 38 yards for Pass Interference

1st-8-NE8 Rush Rashard Mendenhall Off Right Tackle to NE8 for no gain

2nd-8-NE8 Incomplete Pass Ben Roethlisberger Pass Incomplete to Heath Miller

3rd-8-NE8 Incomplete Pass Ben Roethlisberger Pass Incomplete to Emmanuel Sanders

4th-8-NE8 Missed Field Goal Jeff Reed 26 yard field goal is MISSED. Holder-Daniel Sepulveda

Patriots 17 | Steelers 3

Pass-wackiness ensues

Outside of the Steelers' 4th drive of the game, they never committed to the run and abandoned it well before they fell behind to the point where you'd need to play catch up via the pass. What's particularly galling was that they were having success with the run and never went back to it down only 10 points in the 1st half.

Arians is horrible.

 

[scrumptrulescent]

Arians has a SB ring on his hand. Does anyone criticizing him think they could do better?

 

[DoubleG]

Arians has a SB ring on his hand. Does anyone criticizing him think they could do better?

Probably, otherwise they wouldn't be complaining about his usage of Mendenhall. You joined FBG almost 3 years ago - why is this suprising to you?

 

[scrumptrulescent]

Arians has a SB ring on his hand. Does anyone criticizing him think they could do better?

Probably, otherwise they wouldn't be complaining about his usage of Mendenhall. You joined FBG almost 3 years ago - why is this suprising to you?

My bad........carry on.

 

[Godsbrother]

Arians has a SB ring on his hand. Does anyone criticizing him think they could do better?

So once a coach wins a Super Bowl their decisions and play calling can never be called into question?

 

[scrumptrulescent]

Arians has a SB ring on his hand. Does anyone criticizing him think they could do better?

So once a coach wins a Super Bowl their decisions and play calling can never be called into question?

Not at all. However, he has proven successful in the NFL. And I do believe he has more inside information than armchair QB's.

 

[Kiddnets]

Arians has a SB ring on his hand. Does anyone criticizing him think they could do better?

So once a coach wins a Super Bowl their decisions and play calling can never be called into question?

Not at all. However, he has proven successful in the NFL. And I do believe he has more inside information than armchair QB's.

I dont care how many rings he had....his gameplan and playcalls vs the Pats was awful

 

[ThaPenguin]

Arians has a SB ring on his hand. Does anyone criticizing him think they could do better?

Absolutely.I pwn fools on Madden.

 

[C & C]

Arians has a SB ring on his hand. Does anyone criticizing him think they could do better?

I wanted him gone that Super Bowl year even though they won it. I can't stand the guy.

 

[treat88]

Jonathan Scott, Ramon Foster, and Trai Essex are the three biggest reasons that the Pitt running game will continue to struggle.

Throw in an OC, that a SB was won in spite of not because of, that fails to demonstrate any creativity or feel for how to call a running game and you've got a bad situation for fantasy numbers.