Mendy

The whole he fumbles all the time is just plain dumb and wrong. Six fumbles in 813 carries not to shabby if you ask me

 

He doesn't fumble all the time but when he does it really seems to hurt us

 

Yeah i dont fualt him for the one in the super bowl fumble he got stuck by two people pretty much right away

 

This is true but ultimately he didn't miss those blocks but he still lost the ball. Easy to see it from both points of view though.

 

I did a statistical breakdown of his fumbling on the old board early in the season. He was very middle-of-the-pack, and since he didn't fumble the rest of the year those stats only got better. He wasn't that far behind Ray Rice statistically, and he is known as one of the most secure ball handlers around. So people are misinformed about Mendenhall and base their opinions on other opinions instead of reality... what else is new?

One thing that hurts him is that he lost all 6 fumbles. That's more luck than anything, or lack of it. The SB one... blame to go around. Of course he does need to hold onto that ball, but he should not have been put in that position. It was a surprise hit from a whiffed block. Also a lucky hit by the GB player's helmet.

 

That is a good point about the fumbles lost. Whenever that ball hits the ground it has its own mind and is very hard to predict where it is going to end up at. I am, seemingly any more, one of the few that support Mendy. I don't think he has an issue with fumbling, I actually think that for his style of running he does a good job of holding on to it. But you are right, when his fumbles hit the ground they seem to end up in the other team's hands.

 

His just have that incredibly deflating quality to them. They're totally out of the blue and happen when the feeling is that he's destroying the other teams moral...then Bam!

 

He's a fumbling machine and the Steelers should fumble him!

 

I really think we are going to miss him more then people think. J really hope he proves me wrong but i personally dont think red can pound the rock week in and week out. He does have a good spin move but he has no break away speed. If dwyer comes in ready to go i think he could give him a run for the starting role.

 

Actually, what surprises me, is, that the defense doesn`t strip the ball away from him more, when he gets in the open field.
From day one, he has carried that ball out like a loaf of bread, once he gets past the line of scrimmage, and he still does, but... that isn`t when the fumbles usually seem to happen.
He is actually usually hanging onto the ball fairly well, when it gets knocked out.
Fumbling aside, I just don`t think he has the mentality to be as good as he could be. And after this surgery, who knows?
It always bugged me, that after Ray-Ray broke his shoulder, he didn`t seem to hang out with the team/ work on his rehab, at the Steeler`s facilities...As a matter of fact, I think he got robbed at gunpoint, while he was hangin out in his old `hood.
Don`t remember the details, but I do remember a lot of talk, from the press, and his teamates, who found him kinda stand-offish at the time.
I will chalk that up to him being young, or whatever, but he has just never seemed to have the commitment to be as good as his talent would let him be, if he gave a bit more effort, IMHO...
I don`t think we will miss him that much, if he can`t come back from this latest surgery.
I would like to see him come back and prove me wrong, but I just don`t believe that will happen. He hasn`t shown the desire to make it happen, IMHO.
I think we will be fine with Redman, maybe Dwyer, and hopefully Baron Batch, who lit up training camp last year, before having his own A.C.L. surgery... Just a gut feeling, but I think that kid is hungrier for success, than Mendenhall is...
At any rate, runningback is the least of our concerns on the depth cahrt, at this point.
Go Steelers!

 

You guys need to remember. The pack DID NOT score on Mendy's fumble in the SB. They did however score on both of Ben's picks
The first being a pick 6

 

I thought they got at least a field goal? Anyway, it was a killer because we had the momentum and it looked like we were about to take the lead. He was having a great game. But I agree, the INTs were more costly. They put us in a hole so deep we couldn't get out. Without those, we have some room for error. But since they were in the first half, people let them go more easily.

 

He is a major talent playing behind a horrible line.

 

His fumbling isn't the issue with me. It's his apparent obsession with Dancing with the Stars that pisses me off. The guy could do with a little less dancing in the backfield

 

The Packers did score a TD on the drive that followed the 4th qtr fumble. The drive was 8 plays, 55 yards, 2:53 elapsed and made the score 28-17.

FYI.. The Steelers had 3 turnovers in that game. 1 was returned for a TD and on the ensuing drives following the other 2 turnovers.. the Packers scored TDs.

3 Steelers turnovers = 21 Packers points

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/playbyplay?gameId=310206009&period=4

 

mendy is a good back. redmen is a good back. dwyer is a good back. so on and so on. i think the steelers are not enamoured over either. now with mendys injury even less. i'm just not sure they are sold on him as a complete back. he can run up the middle. he can run outside. he can work as a receiver. the only trouble is he seems to only do it in spurts.

mendy only gaining minimul yardage running up the middle behind this line is one thing. then you bring in red and watch him run behind the same line and get extra yardage and good yardage puts questions in the teams mind about the will of mendy.

redman is not as good at getting outside as mendy. he doesn't have that kind of speed as a feature back.

dwyer cannot break it outside either.

i still think the team is looking for a complete back to run this offense. inside and out. we have alot of good backs, but i think if they are going to give a bigger contract to someone ,the guy better be able to do all these things on a game by game basis. does this make sense?

to sum it up if we could put reds inside tough running style and mendys outside and speed and boths blocking and pass catching abilities into one back, then we will have a good one they want to pay well. i just don't think they are sold on 3 or 4 backs that only have part of what they want. they were working on mendy, but now with the injury, i think they are less sold on him being that guy.

 

Mac daddyo, I would agree with you on several. However, Redman has to know that this is his chance. He has stated that he is going to work on his speed during the off season. With him knowing that he will be the starter I fully have confidence in him coming back ready to do the job, no matter who they bring in. If he works hard during this off season, I feel that he will be faster and able to get it done. Also, I think that Baron Batch will be able to help the steelers in the mode of a better Mewelde Moore. Thats why I think Moore will be gone. I do not have any faith in Dwyer or Clay. I see only one of them making the team as the fifth back. So it will be, Redman, Batch, maybe a rookie, the kid from Cincinnati, and maye Michael Bush a FA from Oakland, 6'1, 245 and Dwyer or Clay as the fifth back, whoever servives in camp!

Bush is intriguing because he is a big Bettis type at 6'1, 245 and a FA! The Steelers should make that one big FA splash by signing Bush!

 

i don't doubt red will be the starter and he will stick around, but i don't think the steelers are so sure he's going to be their feature back for the next 5 years. he's a big time overachiever theres no doubt about that. he's a try hard guy and most fans love that, but they want to know he has all the aspects of the game. he's not fluid and elusive. alot of guys are fast.

 

My thoughts exactly. I won't miss him at all when he goes. While he's a threat to go all the way when he gets in the open field those chances MIGHT occur once, maybe two times a game at the most. I'll take a more consistent 3 to 5 yards per carry workhorse type of guy as our #1 back everyday of the week versus a back like Mendy who MIGHT break off a big run once every 4 or 5 games.

 

What do you guys estimate the ratio is between runs where he dances too much and runs where he hits the line of scrimmage hard? What do you estimate the ratio is between runs where his dancing yields fewer yards than it would have if he'd crashed right into a defender or OL's back on purpose and runs where his dancing gains extra yards because he found a new hole or bounced it outside?

I would love to hear some numbers on this. I'm not even close to being done reviewing the whole season yet, but so far in my evaluations this dancing theory seems to be missing from the actual tape and only present on the message board.

 

i agree with ya snack, i never have seen him dance to much. i think he gets tired without them pulling him enough to give him a breather and he gets lazy about trying to find an opening. i have seen him miss where a hole was running up the middle and his vision to find a hole thats open if he would keep his head up and make a move one way or the other. sometimes he just keeps pushing with his head stuck in (usually kemo's back) because kemo was on his knees in the hole. to sum it up he gets tired and gives up on plays. though not always his fault. he's a spurty guy. some series he's all out some he seems like, oh well i'll just bury myself in this linemans back and not take the hit.

 

It is entirely possible that much of what we think we know right now about players changes once they get the new system. How the RBs hit the holes...are there holes?...how often are they kept in to block...do they get more use as a receiver...does the new offense still call for pound pound pound when running, or do we incorporate pitches to the outside and sweeps. A LOT will change. The largest impact will be on running backs, tight ends, and offensive lineman. What worked in BAs offense might not work now. It is also possible that our line suddenly becomes stellar. If we can sure up the guards, I am really starting to think this line is going to come together especially if Colon can stay healthy.

 

Good point. I expect all the running backs to perform better this season because of Haley (and hopefully our line will be better too). As the best open field runner, Mendenhall stands to gain the most and improve the most under the new OC.

 

Mendy is much more of an open field runner than a guy who is going to run into the back of his lineman. Mendy's strengths aren't plowing ahead for an extra yard. He's a big guy with power and can run over people, but that's not his style. His style is to find a hole, get through it and make people miss. Any "dancing" he did was because he was desperately searching for a hole that simply wasn't there. Running the ball requires a lot of practice. Arians did not practice running the ball and it showed on the field. We couldn't run worth a damn for the entire time Arians was around.

Things will be better next year under Haley.