Najee Harris Appreciation Thread

Chris Hoke said it best. Stop using him in the outside zone blocking scheme. We aren’t very good at blocking it and Najee shouldn’t be running laterally to the sidelines nor does he have great vision for the backside cut back. Najee is much better when he is lined up 7 seven yards back and he runs downhill between the tackles. A power scheme with gap and duo blocking and pulling Lineman is what is best for Najee. Najee ran great yesterday and with alot of passion. He is best when he is pissed off thats for sure.

Three runs I want to point out.

1. The first run of the game with a duo block for ten yards. That was actually my favorite run and this is one we should be able to produce more consistently. That is the type of run and scheme that suits Najee.
2. Outside Zone Block with Najee cutting it back to the outside to the right flat and juking a CB and gaining like 20 yards on the play. The Outside Zone scheme is actually designed for this kind of run actually. We have not been hitting them, either because Najee hasn’t been seeing the holes or the Oline have not sustained their blocks on the backside. I like it but I don’t anticipate this being a common theme with Najee. I could see Warren hitting alot more of these.
3. Outside Toss for the 35 yard touchdown. Great effort run by Najee and phenominal juke on the ILB from the raiders to prevent a loss. We blocked up that play pretty well with the exception of the raiders ILB getting in there. Again 9 times out of 10 Najee gets tackled for a loss on the play.

The other thing here is the Raiders are considered one of the worst tackling teams in the NFL. I am not trying to be a debbie downer just trying to keep things in perspective. I am hopeful if anything here that the Steelers are learning that we need to employ more of the down hill running with Najee. I am not confident the outside zone or toss plays are the best utilization of his talents even in spite of a few successful plays yesterday. The run blocking still has a long way to go in my mind before I would consider us an elite team in that area.

 

Last night was an example of how some game favor a certain type of back. Warren really couldn’t get going yesterday but Harris did. The different running styles work better for different games. They hit just right last night, Warren will have some good games this year as well. Harris is awesome.

 

He will be taking his talents elsewhere.

 

I love when Najee runs over guys, and you can never fault his effort. My issue with him is that once he starts going laterally he seems to lack the ability to quickly turn it downfield if a cut back lane develops. It's not his fault we drafted him in the 1st round, but I'll repeat what I've said many times. There is literally no RB that is worth taking in the 1st round. Ever. period. end of story.

 

I MIGHT let it go if it was Adrian Peterson.

 

IDK

I believe he thinks he’s going to get a Saquon Barkley contract and he is not

And if you look at average running back salaries it is quite likely any offer he receives will be less than what the 5th year option would have been

He made comments a long while ago that told me he would be difficult to sign to a long term contract until he faces reality

Bell.2

 

He may not get what he wants, but I think he will be trying.

 

He will definitely try

 

You are exaggerating here. You act as though these runs are the first impact plays of Najee's career. That just isnt the case. Harris was off to a great start to the season during the win streak. You can't just look at the Colts and Cowboys games and then say he's been horrible.

 

the only reason I can think the Steelers want Harris out is because he wants RB to get paid enormous amounts of money- just a thought

 

I don't honestly think he was off to a great start though. He had some decent enough stats in a couple games, but the Chargers game (for example) was inflated a bit, as he ripped of nearly 40 yards on his last two runs (due to the OL opening massive holes) on a tired defense as the clock was run out. I think the fact that how he started was considered a "great start" exactly makes the point I am trying to make. He rushed 55 times for 209 yards (3.8 avg) and 0 TD's. That isn't a "great start" for a good back, its a "great start" for a back that ISN'T very good..... He then took his next 27 carries for 61 yards and 0 TD's before breaking out in the second half of the Raiders game. I would have considered the Falcons and Denver games to be decent, the Chargers to be below average, the Colts and Cowboys to be abysmal, and the Raiders game a great one.

And true, its not the first big play that Harris has made... But I do believe it is one of the few big plays that HE has made happen due to him playing his position great. TBH the majority of his big plays were from his rookie season, and a lot of them look like getting 15 yards blocked for him then him gaining an extra 10-ish yards because 190 pound DB's cant take him down by themselves once he has a head of steam. He's had a few nice stiff arms too, but realistically a lot of his big plays haven't come from him doing anything out of the ordinary. That TD run was out of the ordinary. He made a cut that made Spillane overrun the play, he squeezed through a small hole, and turned on the jets to get to the pylon. A few plays earlier he took a ball into the open field and made someone miss because of a good juke move.... Those are two runs that we have NEVER seen out of Najee. Not once. They were fantastic, and if he had shown at any point during his career that he was capable of doing these things at a somewhat consistent level my opinion on his ability would be drastically different. He looked like a good back Sunday, something that I don't believe he's looked like much since 2021. I honestly hope it continues. I'm not expecting it to, but it would be SO nice to see last week's Najee appear again at some point this season. It was amazing.

His rookie year he looked like he could be a high end back. He wasn't quite there yet, but he looked like he had the potential. Then the next two years he didn't even look like a top 25 back in the league. This year looked to be a lot of the same, but then *BOOM* the Raiders game happened lol Maybe he can use that momentum to change the outlook of the season for him.

 

I mean, we could just let him hit the market and pay what it dictates... we've done that before. If we thought Harris was worth "enormous money" for the position, we would have just picked up the option. 7 million bucks is 11th in the league among RB's. We obviously don't think he is a top 15 back in the league, otherwise that price tag would be fair and agreed to.

 

I Love Najee as many on here know, and I will stick up for him, but I agree. I have yet to see any RB that is worth a 1st round......unless that is the only thing that Your team is in need of

 

I believe Najee is in the top 2 for forced mis-tackles this year. This says a lot of what He's dealing with.

 

So, when the offensive line opens holes for Harris, it doesn't count, but when they don't, those runs should count against him. Got it. lol

 

Loved it

 

Just wondering if Najee haters are having toast with their crow this morning.

 

I’m pretty confident in Warren > Harris, but I do think there’s immense value in a workhorse-type back who is rarely injured, plays well down the stretch and can abuse opposing defenses. I’d happily re-sign him!

 

Oh they will still be out there.

 

Najee 21 att 102 yds 1TD 4.9 ypc
Warren 12 att 44 yds 0TD 3.7 ypc

 

Yikes - Warren has notably been injured. lol let’s never base it on a small sample size.

 

If Najee walked on water, you guys would b!tch that the water wasn't wet enough.

Fact of that matter is, Najee hasn't just been better than Warren this season, he has been one of the best backs in the league.

 

And answers the bell each and every week. Can't make the club when your in the tub.
Notice how much those 185 pd db's get tired of tackling that 240 pd back! LOL