Najees Market Set

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl...ed-fifth-year-option/421daa1573130a6e4580d624

Nice article to go with that 'X' video.

 

I stopped reading at Najee Harris wasn't the main weapon teams geared for. LoL. LoL. LoL.........So you think the opposition was geared for our passing game. LoL ....the whole 21 tds they threw in the last two years between Trubisky, and KFP years, but not a RB that had 28 tds, and 1000 yards seasons. Notice how much more room Najee started getting after Mason started playing???LoL. Do You actually watch football, or just stats....hell , or the type that just looks where the ball is??? The dang D shows who they were geared for.....look at the formations , and the crowding of the line every time Najee played. Do You know what leagues least men in the box means???? That's what Bell faced most his career in Steelers.....You like stats.....that is a stat.....so tell me ......how the hell was Bell the player teams most geared for ......if He play against the league least stacked boxes. QUOTE from Deangelo Williams.....why are You doing so well running in Pittsburgh......I'm the last person the defense is worried about. Also from Deangelo Williams when asked how Bell would do on other teams.....well this will be the first time He will be the center of attention.....so we shall see....., and we seen....He never hit 4 yards a carry again until He played with KC....where he wasn't the main weapon.

 

Oh , but they did our 21 tds in two years Qbs. LoL.
You know what is really simple ....If....if you actually know what you are looking at.....how the D lines up, and how they react to the snap at what they are keyed on. It's not hard.

 

I think Najee is a good player and he was in a bad situation in the first 3 years in his career.Him and Warren are a very good duo but this is crazy to compare Harris to Bell in his prime.Bell carry us in the second half of the season in 2016 after the steelers were 4-5 after 9 games and they have been in the AFC title game because of a monster second half of the season and 2 monster playoffs game.The steelers had nothing on offense in 2016 after AB and Bell as weapon....Who was our starting TE?...Who was our second WR?...Cody Hamilton who was out of the NFL 1-2 years after?...please

Bell was no longer the same player after his mutiples holdout but in his prime,he was the best RB in the NFL.....With the Jets,Adam Gase was just stupid,he had only a head coaching job because his year as OC with Peyton Manning in Denver

 

Ok explain facing the league least amount of stack box during most of His time in Pittsburgh. Also explain how between 2014 , and 2018 almost every RB used had a good YPC average. Also explain how an old Deangelo Williams led the league in rushing (which Bell never did) while Bell was out.
Bell was good , but he wasn't this rushing God that many seem to think.

 

Williams has never led the league in rushing,not with us.He was very good with us in 2015 but he was not as good like Bell especially as a receiver who was very important in the Todd Haley system....For the stack box,when you have 3 WR so often on the field like the steelers under Todd Haley,the defense can't stack the box with 8 man.This is possible that James Conner would been drafted in the first round without his cancer....He has been very good since he is with Arizona.He just struggle to stay heathly with us

 

I think you can stack the box against a 3 WR set. I remember watching them breakdown the defense when Matt Canada was here and before they snapped the ball all 11 players were within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage.

 

Canada would bring in specific personnel to run specific plays. Hell, I knew what play we were about to run. Those defenses certainly knew.

 

The OC need to be very bad!

 

Najee handled the workload just fine as a rookie gaining 1,200 yards, and catching 70 passes behind a bad OL .

 

That's what happens when a player goes to a bad team for the money.

 

Najee should do a training camp hold in, tell the team he's not practicing until they pay him.

 

I too was disappointed in the Steelers when Najee confirmed today that he did not tell the Steelers to not pick up his 5th year option. Najee said he was disappointed when he learned that the Steelers were not picking up his 5th year.


Now I will go to the side of the fence that thinks Khan and the Steelers were idiots for passing on signing Najee to a 5th year for $7 million. Sorry Boys, but I believe it is going to cost you over $12 million next year to keep Najee.

Steelers tell Najee that they are not sure of their offensive direction??? WTF?

 

najee has a contract for this year, why would he do a hold in? i'm tired of this crap of i did good so you should pay me more. you were a number 1 pick and are paid number 1 pick money. every player is supposed to do good, that's how they keep their job as a starter. he's a good player but we don't know if he's a good player that fit's this offense. holding in would just show he's not on board with the new direction and wanting the team to do well. it's more about being selfish at that point. he hasn't matched that rookie year since. maybe they should take money away. if he want's it to be merit based then he owes the steelers money.

 

Najee is a small minded man. He is holding out for greed - when he is not worth it.

Many of his 'fans' here will see, soon enough.

He is just good, but not great. GOOD, but NOT GREAT.

As has been stated, in general - I would have picked up the 5th Yr. Option, but if he was going to be a pain the *$@, who needs it / him. Ask DJ about that........

 

I think of Najee in the same way I think of DeAngelo when he was with the Steelers. I think he is a GREAT guy to have on the team. I think he is a very GOOD RB. I don't think the offense goes as he goes though, like it did with Bell. I don't mind Najee being signed to a 2nd contract, I don't mind moving on after 2024. Another wait and see position with this offense.

 

Why is it easier to maintain a higher average per carry in a bad offense, and why was it harder for Najee? I agree on your assessment of Kyler Murray v. Pickett, but that isn't the point. Also, as for the 50 fewer carries, that is an availability thing not a workload thing. Conner actually averaged 1 more carry per game than Najee. His volume wasn't lower, he was just out for 4 games and Najee wasn't.

I also mentioned Derrick Henry in my post and it appears you just missed that, he had a young and not great QB. In 2022 and 2023 he's had a Titans offense that has averaged 17.7 PPG and has averaged 4.3 YPC in that span. Bijan Robinson is another example of a higher YPC on a bad offense with a bad/young QB.

I'm not arguing against your point on the option. I'm arguing against the posts where you mention that Harris is "good"/"successful"/"a high caliber back" because of his 1,000 yard seasons and his ranking in total yards rushing in the league. I think a few specific stats make him look a lot better than he truly is (mainly due to volume of opportunity). I would've understood if we did pick up Najee's option, but I think we can do better. I think for 7 million bucks we should be looking to a rookie or a cheaper player to be the same caliber of good as Najee. I don't think that will be all that difficult. It appears that the FO thinks the same thing.

 

You can't just "stop reading" every time you see something you disagree with... Makes for terrible debates when you just disregard entire points/narratives because you see a single thing you don't agree with. That's weak.

It is a fact that Najee wasn't the MAIN weapon teams geared for. It was pretty common knowledge that at the end of the season teams were mainly focused on shutting Pickens down (some teams even flat out admitted it in pressers). If they didn't allow a big game by Pickens, they'd likely shut the entire offense down. Team's didn't fear or gameplan around Najee, they simply thought Pickett sucked so they made his life as hard as they could and dared him to beat them. They didn't put extra defenders in the box because Najee Harris is scary. They did it because our QB was trash and they were trying to put the outcome of the game on him.

And yes, being a human with a functioning brain I understand the concept of "least men in the box". However I am smart enough to understand that defenses line up based on matchups vs. formations. Bell faced fewer men in the box because Todd Haley used 3/4/5 WR sets at the highest rate in the league. If you remember the games, 4WR and Bell was a common formation for us in the Todd Haley era (even in shorter yardage situations to the dismay of many fans). Teams constantly had to have extra DB's on the field and use their athletic LB to cover our TE's and Bell because of HOW WE LINED UP, not because they didn't think the best RB in the league wasn't worth game planning for. It's not like we lined up in 12 personnel all game and faced 6 man boxes.... It is also worth noting that Bell ran a lot (and effectively) out of the shotgun as well. This is something Najee has shown he can't do in the NFL. You will certainly face more people in the box in 2 TE sets than you would in a 4 WR shotgun formation. If Najee was capable of being effective out of the gun, he would definitely face fewer people in the box. Lastly, DeAngelo's comments are just him being humble in a position where he was surrounded by really good players. He was a really good player too.

 

You talk in circles...I, and apparently don't watch much Steelers ball....Najee ran predominantly out of shotgun, and pistol when Ben was here.
Here are facts....not Your feelings...
Bell ran out of the league least men in the box.
Most the Rbs for the Steelers between 2014, and 2018 had good YPC, when Bell became the focal point to most Ds ....he never reached 4 ypc again.....untill He played with KC....where again He was not the focal point.
Yeah Deangelo Williams said He didn't think Bell was going to do well outside of the Steelers because He was being humble....LoL....LoL.
You are trying to sell Me that Najee wasn't the focal point of the opposition D , but the Qbs where.....LoL....., and then You say ....they didn't do it because of Najee, but because our Qb was trash......LoL.....it still is the same thing....yet because You rather argue.....You don't even see You are making My point. Hell it's in Your own words. LoL. They didn't respect the Qbs so they focused on Najee. Hell I don't even know why I'm arguing the point.....You admitted it in Your own post, and Yet say it's not . LoL

 

How did that special back do after He left tge Steelers. He never reached 4 yards a carry again.....until....like on the Steelers....he wasn't the focal point of the the opponent which was when He played for KC....other than that....He was lucky to get 3 ypc. Wow that's special. He was good....like Najee good. You put Najee on that Steelers team from 2014 - 2018, and He looks tons better.....just like most of the Rbs that played during that time did when Bell couldn't.

 

Funny You say He hasn't matched that rookie year....who was our Qb then....was He the one Bell had His whole career, and not an old version.

 

This shows You haven't been watching the Steelers long.....Yes Deangelo Williams led the league in rushing while Bell was out, and when Bell came back He (Bell)was given the job back, and of course that was the end of Deangelo Williams leading the league in rushing . LoL. More proof Your a newbie Steelers fan.
Also...for You people that don't know football.....You can stack the box in any formation.

 

- I don't talk in circles at all... Not sure which part of my posts are difficult to comprehend? I haven't missed a Steelers game since I was in college (early 2010's and only during competition when I played a collegiate sport). Prior to that I missed less than 5 games from the time I was 5. I watch plenty of Steelers ball.
- Najee never ran primarily out of the gun. He ran some in his rookie year, but he was terrible at it. There is a reason why we don't do it anymore.
- Yes. This statement is factually true. I explained the reasoning for it in my previous post. it should be very easy to comprehend. 4WR/1RB sets will see fewer people in the box vs 2TE/2WR sets.... Every time, regardless of personnel.
- Yeah, that is because our backfield was filled with quality backs during that span. Our back ups were LeGarrette Blount, James Conner, and DeAngelo Williams. All quality NFL backs. Also, Bell WAS the focal point for at least 3 years in Pittsburgh. Teams knew they couldn't stop AB, just contain him. They tried to stop Bell and make us one dimensional. This very rarely worked, Bell was too good.
- No, DeAngelo Williams said he himself was "successful because he is the last guy the opposition is worried about". Hence, he was being humble. You were the one that brought the quote... Why did you pivot to saying that Williams said Bell would do poorly outside of Pittsburgh (something that I can't find proof that he said)?
- Najee wasn't the focal point. Defenses would try to put the ball in Pickett's hands because he sucked. If Pickens didn't find a big game, then our offense was easy to stop. Not a single team in the league fears Najee Harris. None.