was FWP overrated

I thought Willie Parker was a good back, and did made some great plays for the Steelers while he played for them. Overrated? I don't think so. If he broke into the secondary, then you could pretty much wrap it up.

It was great to watch him play.

 

I think FWP last few years he was a victim of Ariens as much as Ben. They didn't seem to play to his strengths in a similar way enough. He should have been off tackle a whole lot more. They were trying to pound it up the middle with a ****ty O-Line. Huge Snack said he had a better line, but if memory serves, that was during his rookie year (with Whiz) when he wasn't the feature. When he was setting up to be a top level guy his line was plummeting and the x-factor Ariens.

Plus, Tomlin and company wanted to run his wheels off and they did. He had a ridiculous amount of carries up until his leg broke. Who was there to spell him? Nobody really and they didn't.

I think Parker was a bit bitter in the way it ended because I think he could have had a really great career. Granted Pittsburgh gave him far more than any other team and he should be thankful, but had they protected him more I think he would have had a big presence.

 

Agree 100%, FWP was a solid player that in the end of his career was mis-used. FWP's game was always getting to the outside, not running up the gut. I think we could have used him as a change of pace / 3rd down back over MEMO, as a compliment to Mendy much like he was to Bettis. I thank FWP for his short career.

 

I couldn't agree more!

 

It wasn't just his rookie year. He was a rookie in 2003, and played very little. He started the whole season from 2004-2007, un until he broke his leg the second to the last game in 2007.

From 2004-2006 he had Smith, Faneca, Hartings, Simmons, Starks/Colon. That was not just a better OL, it was a great OL overall. In 2007 he lost Hartings and got Mahan (ouch!), but still had overall a better line than we had in 2008 or 2009, and 2010. In those years, it was not just a worse OL, it was a bad OL.

I agree that he was misused and not protected. He should have been a change of pace back or one of two on a RB by committee.

 

Better line for sure, I couldn't remember who since it's been musical chairs for so long. But, like I said, he had the X-factor going against him. Ariens!

To be fair, Mendy gets killed in here a lot and many times deservedly so because of his dancing, but I don't think BA calls the right plays for his skill set also.

I once heard Marshall Faulk say that as he matured he would kind of "think" his way into space and seams. meaning he wouldn't just commit to the designed hole. He would see what was developing in feel it. I think Mendy tries that to, but with this line general play direction despite what the defense is doing has hurt Rashard.

Now, again, just like FWP he has had an injury that I don't think he will come back from. At least not 100% or the same player he was or could have been. I hope I am wrong. For him and us.

If he's close and we intend to use him much the same for some odd reason, I hope we trade him so he has a chance of success somewhere else and we get a player that we can use that fits that player.

Fire Bruce Ariens Immediately!!! :

 

I just had to. Sorry.....

 

I am 6' and I out rebounded Louie Lipps in a steelers basketball game.. boom goes the dynamite :matrix:

 

I can't believe how critical some so called supporters are of FWP. Were they booing him when he went on the SB run.
I remember a comment from Jeff Reed about some supporters who would come down to the side lines and heckle him through the game. The opposition doesn't need to call a time out to ice the kicker we have our own supporters for that.
Funny though how I don't see a thread on was Bettis overrated.
Who can forget the 4th and 1at midfield against the Pats in that AFC championship game that he couldn't get with that great Oline.
Or the fumble on the goal line at Indy that was almost returned for a TD if Big Ben hadn't gotten in the way. That one could have cost a SB.
The countless times he went missing in playoff games only to let Kordell take the blame.
For all Kordells poor performances in the playoffs I didn't see Bettis starring in any of those games.
Oh and I have a 10 inch Tattoo of Bettis on my left arm that I'm proud of.

As for Willie Parker definately UNDERRATED

 

Nice back..few good years but nothing special. 10 yrs from now will hardly be remembered.

 

I would take a pre-broken leg Willie Parker over any running back we currently have.

Willie Parker, love or hate tim for his runs up the middle (which no modern day running backs look good doing), he scored touchdowns and was a threat to break it on every play. Defenses had to actually game plan for him. The same cannot be said for our current backs, although I do like who we have now.

Steeler Nation just didn't like him because he didn't power over people like Bettis. He scored touchdowns though and thats what you need to win games, not bruising runs up the middle.

 

FWP was exciting due to his speed. He also seemed to improve his inside running, but he was not that type of a runner. I always like him and wished he didn't break his leg. As I remember it was just before the playoffs and It set us back some. He was surely underrated in college...

 

Reminds me of why they say such nice things about people at funerals....... you were always better than you really were once your gone.

 

Well, I guess I just disagree. In my opinion, FWP was only able to run behind that line one year (2004) when it was dominant--and he only got 32 attempts. After 2004, that line's dominance tapered off considerably. Was that line, even after 2004, better in the run game than our current line? Yes, I would say so. But I still don't think FWP had a good line except for 2004.

/shrug

 

I can agree with that after 04 our oline started dropping quick

 

What the longest running touchdown in SB history ( 75 yards )
The biggest play of that game
Logic like that would also indicate that people will forget JHs return interception for a 95 yard TD.

Maybe you (deeb11) could remind them.

 

Harrison will have played much longer thanfwp by the time he retires, and has a NFL def mvp sward. He will be remembered much longer than fwp. By the way, fwps play in the superbowl is way down the list of biggest plays the steelers have made in the super bowl.

 

I completely disagree with that statement

 

Well, I guess I just disagree. In my opinion, FWP was only able to run behind that line one year (2004) when it was dominant--and he only got 32 attempts. After 2004, that line's dominance tapered off considerably. Was that line, even after 2004, better in the run game than our current line? Yes, I would say so. But I still don't think FWP had a good line except for 2004.

/shrug[/quote:u85b45ov]
I definitely disagree. In 2005 Faneca was only in his 9th year and still playing at a HOF level. Hartings and Smith were also still playing at their Pro Bowl levels, and Smith and Simmons were actually healthy. People forget how good Simmons was before his turn for the worse. Starks was the new blood, but still decent. 2006 was a terrible year, but only because of our quarterback. The OL was very good again and Parker did well.

The difference between the OLs of '04-'06 and '08-'10 is night and day. What's possibly an even bigger difference is the offensive scheme, which catered to the RB when Parker was young, and patronizes it now.

 

I was always a fan of FWP. I kind of feel like when Mendenhall finally got the starting job he was basically just a replacement for FWP and his role never moved much beyond that. They could have been great if they were both healthy together, but the stars never aligned.

 

Not overrated just off of the simple fact that he was an UDFA.Diamond in da ruff.Im just glad when he was on a decline we had someone to replace him.

 

Wow, amazed this thread keeps going. Wondering why we're talking about a player who hasn't been with the team going on three years now. Don't we have new stuff to talk about? Just saying.

 

lets see: FWP 2004 0 TD's 0 fumbles
2005 4 TD's 4 fumbles
2006 13 TD's 7 funbles
2007 2 TD's 4 fumbles
2008 5 TD's 2 fumbles
2009 0 TD's 0 fumbles

rashard 2008 0 TD's 0 fumbles
2009 7 TD's 3 fumbles
2010 13 TD's 2 fumbles
2011 9 TD's 1 fumble

 

I definitely disagree. In 2005 Faneca was only in his 9th year and still playing at a HOF level. Hartings and Smith were also still playing at their Pro Bowl levels, and Smith and Simmons were actually healthy. People forget how good Simmons was before his turn for the worse. Starks was the new blood, but still decent. 2006 was a terrible year, but only because of our quarterback. The OL was very good again and Parker did well.

The difference between the OLs of '04-'06 and '08-'10 is night and day. What's possibly an even bigger difference is the offensive scheme, which catered to the RB when Parker was young, and patronizes it now.[/quote:2pobqhbq]


What I loved about our '04 line was that it didn't matter if teams knew we were going to run the football. We would come out in obvious running formations and other teams simply couldn't stop the run. Statistically, this can be a little hard to see. For instance, this year we had a very good ypc in the run game. But could we line up in an obvious run situation and run the ball successfully? We seemingly couldn't even against the some of the below to average defenses...and certainly not against the good defenses.

So, yes, Parker still had seasons with decent numbers between 05 and 08. However, I don't think that speaks to the fact that the dominance of those lines was the same as the line of 04. Was the line still good compared to many other teams in the running game? Yes. But was the line dominant? Not in my opinion. And that's the definition of "good" I was working with. And I certainly wasn't meaning to take anything away from the fact that our line from 05-08 was better than our current one.

It doesn't really matter much to me, though. It is just conjecture on my part. I really did like Parker, though.

 

Snack? What's going on with your project. At least tell us where you are in this noble endeavor. We aren't going to let you stall on it. It's wayyyy to interesting and important.

Ted... we're dying... (what movie?) - (no Cheating...).