Congrats Najee Harris

Then he goes to the Cardinals and plays great ball. One of the players we should have kept on our roster. Miss him.

 

Najee appreciation post

 

I'm reminded of a quote from George Costanza, "You know, if you take everything I've accomplished in my entire life and condense it down into one day, it looks decent."

 

This is why I was for picking up his fifth-year. It was an affordable and fair amount that gave them another year to try getting the passing game headed in the right direction while integrating more of Warren and a draftee if they wanted out from Harris.

Side benefit of not having to worry about replacing him this offseason, with a number of other positions they need to fill.

 

Conner is a 1000 yard back just like Harris. Being a 1000 yard back isn't a gamechanger anymore.
DCs were not spending sleepless nights figuring out how to stop Harris. That tells you all you need to know.

Kahn - "we need more playmakers "

 

Yet DCs continued to stack boxes to stop Harris .

 

Yeah, that's not what is happening... Defenses play more stacked boxes because Najee lines up 75% of his carries under center (mostly 12 and 13 personnel). Defenses are going to stack the box against those looks because teams run from those looks very frequently. His share of shotgun snaps are very low (meaning he is going to see non-stacked boxes significantly less than other backs), and quite frankly teams are afraid to stack boxes against backs like Barkley because if he gets past the first line of defense untouched, he is likely to score. Najee just isn't, so they stack the box. If Najee breaks free they will tackle him 15-20 yards downfield and try again. No fear to stack it against Najee.

I think its a cop out to say that Najee faces more stacked boxes and make assumptions from there. Of course he does, because of his usage and the formations his limitations force us to play him out of. If you look at any level of advanced stats, its hard to make a case that Najee is a quality back. A decent lay of the land is shown at the link below. I can definitively say that teams aren't stacking the box to "stop Najee". Its just that the defensive formations he sees are dictated by our offensive formations that Najee's abilities (or lack there of) forces us to play.

https://www.playerprofiler.com/nfl/najee-harris/

The formation specific stuff at the bottom shows that his usage is what led to the stacked boxes (mainly due to his athletic limitations), and not the fact that he is scary. He was a bottom of the barrel starter when it comes to how many yards he gained past what was blocked for him (#31 overall) and one of the worst in the league in Expected Points Added by his play. This is despite the fact that his broken/evaded tackles number and explosive play/breakaway numbers were high (though, some of that is due to having higher usage (#7 overall in carries)).

Ugly stuff, and it DEFINITELY doesn't point to the claim that DC's stack boxes to "stop Harris". Najee kinda just stops himself.

 

You're doing the same with respect to Barkley. It wasn't by chance that the Eagles added him after putting together a superior offensive line and committed $25M+ APY contracts to Brown and Smith. For teams to stack the box to slow Barkley - which some still do - they're also taking the risk of being beat by Eagle receivers, which also includes an above average TE and a former first-round pick as the WR3.

Obviously Barkely is a far more dynamic back than Harris, but the assumption that if the Steelers were to get, say, Jeanty in the draft (or that TreyVeon Hendeson guy) it would lead to less stacks up front is flawed. They would still need to make teams respect their passing game.

 

I agree that defenses were stacking the box due to the formations rather than out of fear of Harris, but it is not hard at all to make a case that he is a good back. Harris has been durable and productive despite erratic quarterback play and weak offensive lines throughout his time as a Steeler.

 

It's hardly a long post? Burying your head in the sand when you're wrong is a strategy for sure.... but its not a becoming one.

 

Yes, of course the caliber of weapons makes a difference. I certainly don't want to discount that. Our weapons were atrocious last year, and they need to be better in 2025 if we want to be successful.

But the fact is that there is a diminishing return to stacked and base fronts, because higher end RB's make you pay if they win against those fronts. Najee gained 2.4 ypc when facing 8+ defenders and 3.7 ypc when facing 7 defenders in the box. Barkley averaged a half yard more per carry against the stacked front and nearly 3 yards per carry more when facing a 7 man front. This is solely due to those big plays. Sure, defenses will still do it to an extent, but there is no fear when Najee is your back because it simply works too easily. They simply don't fear the 60 yard TD, so why not? For reference Warren went 3.8 ypc against 8+ box and 4.0 ypc against 7 man box.

The exciting part about moving on from Najee will be having an RB that can create on their own for a change. Warren has been a top 10 back in yards created per touch (yards gained past what was blocked for him) every year he's been in the league. 2022 was #5, 2023 was #3, and 2024 was #9 (according to this site of course). Najee has been way down this list every year but his first. In 2021 he was #24, 2022 was #45, 2023 was #39, and 2024 was #31. We're going to have a back that can make something happen and not one that gets what's blocked for him and falls over. It should help open the offense up a bit for the passing game.

 

Spot on analysis. Derrick Henry faced the 3rd most 8 man boxes in the NFL. But he was far more dangerous than Harris because his 2nd level running was above average.

 

Yeah, having a good OL and passing game matters who knew .

 

They stacked the box against Ben

It has nothing to do with Harris

 

Wow

Najee’s Hi-Lite film all fit in two minutes and 49 minutes

Very impressive

 

Someone sure has a lot of infatuation for Najee

 

7

 

Congrats, you're both right! It was $6.7M.

 

who's closest
DAMMIT

 

Blast said we're playing Price is Right rules.