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My take on Harris.

Discussion in 'Steelers Talk' started by Jball, Jan 10, 2023.

  1. Jball

    Jball Well-Known Member

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    It's going to be a long off season, so let's take a closer look at some guys.

    Let's talk about Najee.

    I don't love 1st Rd RB picks. You better be special for even a 2nd rd pick. I was very vocal against the pick.

    I did say though, if they were hell bent on it, please take Etienne. He's FAR more explosive.

    And, truly, isn't that why you would draft a 1st Rd RB? Because he's an exceptional athlete with game breaking ability? If Adrian Peterson is taken in the early 20's, I almost get it.

    Let's compare Harris and Etienne for fun. We'll only look at their best 10 games this year. They were both working back from foot injuries early on. Both have young QB's, and are both rebuilding, so that also helps.

    Harris best 10 games stats:

    rushing - 804 yds/4.1 ypc/4 td's/80.4 ypg/ 19 carries per game
    recving - 20 catches/116 yds(5.8 yp)/1 td
    920 total yards/92 ypg

    Etienne best 10 games stats:

    rushing - 922 yds/7.1 ypc/5 td's/92.2 ypg/15 carries per game
    recving - 21 catches/226 yds(10.7 yp)/1 td
    1148 total yards/114.8 ypg

    What's the difference? Explosive plays. Etienne has 8 runs over 20 yards, 4 that went over 40 yards. Hell, Chubb has 13 carries over 20 yards. He had 12 last year as well. Harris has 2 in two seasons. Chubb has 25! Chubb wasn't a 1st rounder either.

    In almost 600 carries, our 1st Rd RB has 2 runs over 20 yards. TWO! In 600 carries! Zero over 40. That's almost unheard of. 600 carries?! Two?! 1st Rd Rb?!

    Ok, let's calm down and look at Rhamondre Stevenson. They guy I wanted, that NE took in the 4th Rd that year. He's also a big back on a rebuilding team, with a young qb.

    Rhamondre Stevenson best 10 game stats:

    rushing - 829 yds/5.8 ypc/4 td's/8.5 carries per game
    (25 more yards on 62 less carries. Very telling. That is 3 less games worth of carries. Harris averages 19.2 per game. )
    recving - 39 catches/220 yards/1 td(actually has 64 catches for 421 this year. Harris (41/229))
    1049 total yards/104.9 ypg

    I keep hearing what a beast he was late. Like in those last 4 wins. Ok, lets look at it.

    He averaged 85 yrds rushing/3.9 ypc over the last 4 wins. Not bad, but not even close to great considering that it's only 4 games to average out. Caught 9 passes(2.2 per game) for 64 yards(16 ypg), and 1 TD. One of those catches was huge obviously. Great f***ing play by Harris and KP.

    Seems like he did well relative to to his normal, but when you put his numbers up against other starters, he's average at best.

    I will say that he has gotten much better at consistently geting 2-4 yards per carry. He's hitting the holes harder and dancing less. A lot less negative runs.

    Plus he's a good kid, and tries hard. Very professional guy. Glad he's on my team. But, he's not a top end back. Again, lack of explosion. And again, the reason you draft a 1st Rd RB.

    He probably suffers from the Edmunds effect. Had he been drafted in the 3rd rd, you're getting close to what you paid for.

    That said, they hit a homerun with Warren. I can't wait to see this kid next year. We're gonna have a nice one-two punch.
     
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  2. PWP

    PWP Well-Known Member

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    Etienne is the most explosive everyone will agree with that I think, he may be more of a me instead of a we guy ? I don't know that for sure but after Bell I am sure if a choice they are going to go with the we guy... Harris seems to be that Team 1st. guy and was probably playing more hurt than we knew...
     
  3. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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    Harris played hurt so we didn’t get to see that true 2nd year growth but he still managed to have another 1,000 yard season.

    I liked Harris over Etienne during the draft and still do. He’s a gamer and a leader and a damn good RB.
     
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  4. S.T.D

    S.T.D Well-Known Member

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    Hey...My Friend....Let's not play fantasy land, and actually show what both have done.....since they both were drafted the same time. You know availability is a thing also.
    Najee...2238 rushing yards..14 rushing tds...696 rec yards, and 6 rec tds..
    Travis E...1125 rushing yards....5 rushing tds...316 rec yards ....0 rec tds.
    Now compare them. LoL
    Oh Najee 18 wins
    Te...9
    Najee is kicking His a$$.
     
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2023
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  5. RichD

    RichD Well-Known Member

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    The way Harris runs, he will be toast by year 5-6.
     
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  6. RipTydz

    RipTydz Well-Known Member

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    I'm not sure what to make of Najee at the moment. I'll say for his size, he shouldn't be dancing so much. I've always said I wish he ran like Bettis. At the beginning of the season he was dancing a lot and looking like a bust. Could it have been the Oline gelling...a bit. But more likely his injury. Warren actually looked better with his burst and just hitting the hole.

    After the bye week, Oline gelled, and once he was fully healthy he looked like a whole new running back. He was hitting the hole harder and looked nimble and also fighting for yards instead of going down easy. We need to use him in our passing game more aswell because he seems to catch everything and it allows him to get out in space.
     
  7. SGSteeler

    SGSteeler Well-Known Member

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    Who cares. We should only be drafting for 6 years of a RB's career. You get the first 5 with the first round pick and a franchise year. Then let him sign elsewhere. Not many backs make it to 30 and beyond.
     
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  8. SGSteeler

    SGSteeler Well-Known Member

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    I like Harris better than Etienne, but I also think Etienne will be a good back too so its just a stylistic choice IMO. Stevenson is a weird one because he was propped up this year by two big games. He had 2 games all year over 80 yards and in those games he went for 172 and 161. To put it in perspective, when healthy for the last 8 games Najee went for over 80 yards 6 out of 8. I don't really see Stevenson as a feature back. More of a 600-700 yards guy in a tandem. Harris is a much better player than Stevenson. Etienne will depend on their careers.

    I am excited for Najee next year when we have a better line, a better pass game, etc. I really think he makes a big jump. I don't think he will ever be Le'Veon Bell good.... but I think a good 1300+ yard year is incoming if he stays healthy.
     
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  9. SteelerGlenn

    SteelerGlenn

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    Harris is the right guy for the Steelers. That other dude is hurt all the time.
     
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  10. steelersrule6

    steelersrule6 Well-Known Member

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    Harris wasn't an explosive runner at Alabama, the team knew what they were getting with him, I'm sure they wanted the bigger three down RB Etienne fumbles more too. LeVeon wasn't an explosive RB either, but he still made All-Pro :shrug:.
     
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  11. Rush2seven

    Rush2seven Well-Known Member

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    It’s too early to compare. Wait 5 years and look back.

    Having said that, Najee ran behind an awful line last year. This year they started out just as bad, but improved since the bye.

    The line last year didn’t give Ben anytime, so he had the quickest release in the NFL. They didn’t stretch the field enough to get the defenders to take a few steps back.

    This year, they ran on 1st down so much it was predictable. Defenses were able to stack the box.
     
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  12. Joshi

    Joshi Well-Known Member

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    Najee Harris is the least of our concerns. He is a very good young back and as KP improves and defenses have to play with 2 deep safeties, Najee’s production will continue to improve. With him and Warren the Steelers have an excellent 1-2 backfield.
    Personally I could care less if Najee was drafter ion the 1st, 4th or 7th round, or that Warren was undrafted. They are productive. End of story.

    The off season has definitely started if we are complaining about draft position of a very good player.
     
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  13. hmmmmm

    hmmmmm Well-Known Member

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    1,000 yard season is 58 yards per game. When they played 14 games 1,000 meant a lot more.
     
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  14. Vox Ferrum

    Vox Ferrum Well-Known Member

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    most RBs are. The next couple of years they have Warren as a true 2nd back. Keep building and they have a legitimate running game to match any team in the league.
     
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  15. gibson43

    gibson43 Well-Known Member

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    Yeah. But the goal is for your first rd draft picks to be two contract guys. That in itself is why you shy away fro RBs in the first rd based on their shelf life.
     
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  16. Formerscribe

    Formerscribe Well-Known Member

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    Choosing just some of the games both guys played for your comparison is some serious bull**** and nullifies everything else in your post.
     
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  17. AskQuestionsLater

    AskQuestionsLater Writing Team

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    Harris' playing style is not suited for home run hits. He is a complete runner with instincts that one simply cannot teach. People merely classifying him as a mere "battering ram" are not looking at the totality of his game.


    Realistically... take away the speed and Najee is very similar to SaQuan Barkley. Barkley has the superior ability to hit big runs but other than that, both are near identical; Najee possessing the superior contact balance and instincts while Barkley having far greater agility and explosive capability.
     
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  18. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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    He played with a Lisfranc injury. 1,000 yards is very impressive.
     
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  19. Wardismvp

    Wardismvp Well-Known Member

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    What a ridiculous thread, we are looking for going forward how to improve this team/roster. These
    threads don't offer solutions to this problem. Barring injury to Najee and Warren we have two capable
    backs that I am extremely happy with. Let's talk about solutions that will get us closer to competing with Cincy, Buffalo, KC
     
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  20. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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    Aside from Picketts growth, the next best development IMO was the 1-2 punch of Harris and Warren. That should be a burden on teams for years to come.
     
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  21. Wardismvp

    Wardismvp Well-Known Member

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    A good running game is a QB's best friend. We should continue building our OL/DL
    Imagine if you can everybody a consistently successful running game. This opens up
    the play action game for our very capable receivers and Te's.
     
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  22. groutbrook

    groutbrook

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    Music in the locker room?
     
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  23. FeartheBeard

    FeartheBeard Well-Known Member

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    Not to mention it took at least the first half of the season for the Oline to gel. Things are coming together for this team and I am excited for next season.
     
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  24. shaner82

    shaner82 Well-Known Member

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    lol i don't think we need to find solutions on this board. Nobody in the teams front office is looking here for solutions to the problems.
     
  25. Wardismvp

    Wardismvp Well-Known Member

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    Ok smarty, maybe we can offer up opinions on what we think would improve Steelers roster.
     
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