Why so down on Fast Willie? (1 Viewer)

[treat88]

In 2006, Parker got 21 carries and one passing target inside the opponents' 5 yard line; he converted those to 11 TDs. Najeh Davenport got 5 carries for -7 yards and 1 TD. Parker tied for #4 overall in number of goal-line rushes. He also had 4 TDs from outside the 5. In 2007, Parker got just 7 carries and no targets inside the opponents' 5; he got just 1 TD on those carries. Najeh Davenport got 10 carries for 11 yards and 4 TDs. 7 carries inside the 5 tied for 28th in the league. He had just one TD from outside the 5. Looking at game logs, he had just three carries from inside the 4, and two carries at the goal line, with one TD.

:X With 1300 yards and 2 TD's, Willie's season is much more a statistical anomaly than indicative of future performance.Willie represents extreme value this season.

 

[Bri]

After Parker's injury I've been hearing he's not longer "Fast" willie parker.

Then you've been hearing WRONG. Parker broke a non-weight bearing bone in his leg almost 9 months ago. He is 100% and has not lost a step. I've seen him in camp & the few carries he's had in preseason and he looks great.

Bottom line is if PIT felt confident at RB heading into this season they would not have taken Mendenhall. I see Mendenhall's role to increase as the season goes on, making Willie Parker a good option for weeks 1-5... but after that you might want to trade him

The Steelers drafted Mendenall because they thought he was the best player available and because they were disappointed in Davenport, both on and off the field. They want Mendenhall to take some off the load off Parker who had been carrying the ball way too much.Mendenhall is going to get his carries but Parker is the unquestioned starter. I expect FWP to get about 60% of the Steelers carries, slightly down from last year.

this is about what I think tooI haven't seen Mendenhall enough but from what I did see, he needs some time. I know the guys around here love his prospects and stellar play but, it's not evident yet. I think you're going to have to give the rook some time to get his feet wet.

 

[Cookiemonster]

Bottom line is if PIT felt confident at RB heading into this season they would not have taken Mendenhall. I see Mendenhall's role to increase as the season goes on, making Willie Parker a good option for weeks 1-5... but after that you might want to trade him

Not saying I agree or disagree with the arguments being presented about FWP and MEND, but if this is the basis of one's rationale, why is MBIII ranked as a top 10 RB when they drafted Jones in the 1st round? I think each situation needs to be looked at independently - without broadly applying the above logic to every scenario.My $.02

exactly Pitt IMO took the BPA best player available regardless of position. Dallas had Zero depth behind MB3 and needed to add a RB as well

Except that Dallas fans are pretty unanimous in their support of Barber and nearly all would like to see him get more touches.About 1/2 of Steeler fans have been waiting for an upgrade since '05. Why do you think there is the annual Duckett hype in the Steeler thread every off season? Parker is widely viewed by knowledgeable Steeler fans as adequate, but more effective being the COP back, and he hasn't looked like "Fast" Willie since '04.

 

[Traders2001]

Because they used a 1st round pick on a beast of a running back. They didn't draft Mendenhall to fetch towels for the vets....

Except that Mendenhall hed only one good season in college and in training camp he looks terribly slow , so i dont think Mendenhall is a factor until next season.

 

[Bri]

About 1/2 of Steeler fans have been waiting for an upgrade since '05. Why do you think there is the annual Duckett hype in the Steeler thread every off season? Parker is widely viewed by knowledgeable Steeler fans as adequate, but more effective being the COP back, and he hasn't looked like "Fast" Willie since '04.

That's just missing the gritty brash running style of the Bus. Steeler fans surely didn't think leading the NFL in rushing was "adequate".

 

[Cookiemonster]

About 1/2 of Steeler fans have been waiting for an upgrade since '05. Why do you think there is the annual Duckett hype in the Steeler thread every off season? Parker is widely viewed by knowledgeable Steeler fans as adequate, but more effective being the COP back, and he hasn't looked like "Fast" Willie since '04.

That's just missing the gritty brash running style of the Bus. Steeler fans surely didn't think leading the NFL in rushing was "adequate".

Yes, they did. The running game was unable to kill the clock and put games away. The running game was not smashmouth and not having much effect on the defense late in the game. Parker needs a complimentary back, and hopefully, by '09 Parker will be the complimentary back himself. If not, they'll keep looking.I think what people are missing most is MeMo. He has looked sharp so far. He's a good blocker and reciever and makes for the best 3rd down back on the roster. Neither Parker nor M'hall should be getting many receptions, while both will lose some carries on 3rd and long draw plays. Not so much that Parker will lose 150 carries to M'hall, but 100 and another 50 to Moore as well as whatever catches he was getting.

 

[Righetti]

I see Willie Parker-Mendhanhall situation breaking similar to the Tiki Barber-Ron Dayne situation.

a good RB who people overlooked as a scat-back third down type but has proven he's good gets pushed aside by the masses by a big pounding first round back.. The first round pick has a hard time doing what he is first asked to do (putting the ball over the goal-line) and other short yardage situations. The overlooked veteran continues to develop and puts up a great year.

then again I own FWP

 

[Sabertooth]

About 1/2 of Steeler fans have been waiting for an upgrade since '05. Why do you think there is the annual Duckett hype in the Steeler thread every off season? Parker is widely viewed by knowledgeable Steeler fans as adequate, but more effective being the COP back, and he hasn't looked like "Fast" Willie since '04.

That's just missing the gritty brash running style of the Bus. Steeler fans surely didn't think leading the NFL in rushing was "adequate".

Yes, they did. The running game was unable to kill the clock and put games away. The running game was not smashmouth and not having much effect on the defense late in the game. Parker needs a complimentary back, and hopefully, by '09 Parker will be the complimentary back himself. If not, they'll keep looking.I think what people are missing most is MeMo. He has looked sharp so far. He's a good blocker and reciever and makes for the best 3rd down back on the roster. Neither Parker nor M'hall should be getting many receptions, while both will lose some carries on 3rd and long draw plays. Not so much that Parker will lose 150 carries to M'hall, but 100 and another 50 to Moore as well as whatever catches he was getting.

Ok, just stop already. If people want smashmouth over production, then they are pretty ignorant.

 

[Sabertooth]

I see Willie Parker-Mendhanhall situation breaking similar to the Tiki Barber-Ron Dayne situation.a good RB who people overlooked as a scat-back third down type but has proven he's good gets pushed aside by the masses by a big pounding first round back.. The first round pick has a hard time doing what he is first asked to do (putting the ball over the goal-line) and other short yardage situations. The overlooked veteran continues to develop and puts up a great year.then again I own FWP

And I don't own either. Just an outside observer being objective.

 

[Bri]

About 1/2 of Steeler fans have been waiting for an upgrade since '05. Why do you think there is the annual Duckett hype in the Steeler thread every off season? Parker is widely viewed by knowledgeable Steeler fans as adequate, but more effective being the COP back, and he hasn't looked like "Fast" Willie since '04.

That's just missing the gritty brash running style of the Bus. Steeler fans surely didn't think leading the NFL in rushing was "adequate".

Yes, they did. The running game was unable to kill the clock and put games away. The running game was not smashmouth and not having much effect on the defense late in the game. Parker needs a complimentary back, and hopefully, by '09 Parker will be the complimentary back himself. If not, they'll keep looking.

If you can't win with a very good defense, a very good passing game, and the best runner(at the time) you have coaching issues not personnel issues.

 

[CrossEyed]

Parker is still a very good back who runs with adequate power for a back his size. He's not just all speed. I expect Willie to still get the bulk of the carries this season and I think you'll see his TD numbers jump from last season also. FWP was very effective at the goal line in '06. Hopefully the coaching staff learned from their failed Davenport experiment last year.