The case for/against Najee Harris...

But if Thor's stats are right, they both are used in the same situations about the same percentage of their overall carries. It's not like one is used for short yardage and another is used in passing downs. Looking at those stats, why does Najee average 1.2 yards less per carry?

 

They have one guy that is productive and if any of all of the rest produce we will be fine. We just don't know yet how this will transpire. Many of those playoff teams made it work in a similar way. RB wise and WR wise. Let the process play out before we say it won't work.

 

Yes you are right he did run in a wide zone at Alabama. I agree his confidence had definitely wayned (sp) which I am sure caused some dancing. I don’t know if there is some things gong on behind the scenes we all don’t know about. I can’t fathom it being character as Najee seems likable. I know he kind of threw some shade at the coaching in one of his interviews toward the end of the season so who knows. Its evident somebody doesn’t have faith in him. On the surface it appears that would be Khan because I know Tomlin has always sung his praises publicly. If that is the case then Khan wields a bigger stick than I though he did. I can’t see Tomlin not getting the last say in these types decisions.

Watch Najee light it up and then go to Cleveland or Cincy next year. That would be just our luck.

 

Not sure how reasonable it is to imply the WR lineup has "failed miserably" before they've even played a down of football. And I don't think bargain hunting had much, if anything, to do with trading Johnson.

 

Pro Football Reference is usually what I use.

I don't think I've seen your other post yet, but I did see a blurb on OTC that only 28% of running backs have had their fifth year option picked up since 2018, when it became fully guaranteed. That's the lowest percentage (aside from center, which had only one qualifying player).

 

What's the fun in that?

Assuming a collection of scrubs can be the WR2 is a mistake. Counting on a rookie taken in the third round to do it is a dubious choice at best. Khan created a hole in the offense. So far, he has failed to fill it. I think he's too busy pushing for the perfect to accept the good. Unless he pulls some other move out of his hat, that's going to hurt the team in 2024. That is a considerable mistake given that they took such an all-in for one year approach with their quarterback room.

 

I don't think it did, either, but it had a lot to do with the poor job they have done in replacing him.

 

Guess that indicates something about the position value

 

It is if you're not adding context to the peers in question. Again, I'm not trying to take away from Harris, but he was one of six running backs to play and start in all 17 games last year. His 255 carries ranked 6th in the league. Those numbers speak well to his durability and low turnover rate, but take away from an argument leaning on his efficiency. There were 33 backs that had at least 175 carries last year; Harris ranked 18th in YPC.

 

That's your opinion, which you have a habit of trying to pass for fact. Unless you have verified offer letters to available receivers, we don't really know who they may have tried signing, or how much they offered to do so.

I get that the receiving room feels thin right now. But it's not like they haven't been here before.

 

I didn't like the Diontae trade Khan created a big hole at #2 WR, their approach is they want win in the playoffs then why not keep a proven player, they should've kept him for 2024 and then get a comp pick for him.

 

saw this today. the kid ain't bad. depth looks OK at this spot.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nf...S&cvid=d50aaf1843de4cd28153acfe48ea6b26&ei=16

 

time will tell. maybe they have a lot of faith in the new coach.

 

That changes the argument. The argument I'm refuting is that 1,000 yards doesn't mean much, but when you realize that only six backs had more than Harris, that speaks to his production. It's not misleading to point out that he was among the top seven in the league in rushing yards.

 

You're muddying the waters here. This is the argument of yours to which I replied:

You established a connection between Harris's finishing seventh in rushing yards and his salary option "that would only put him 12th in the league". You want him compared to his peers, yet you're doing so using a stacked deck by focusing solely on total output without the context of efficiency.

Sort of like determining a batter's worth in baseball by focusing only on total hits for a given season while leaving out that others may have only played part of the year or were part of a platoon, or had better OBP, SLG, wRC+, etc.

 

Or like determining a defensive players worth by only focusing on his stats, like tackles, sacks, passes defensed, fumbles caused/recovered, and interceptions, and ignoring his pass run win rate against left handed offensive tackles in the rain.

 

maybe they are just anticipating having to sign a QB, TE, WR, CB, DT and RB next year. all of which cost a lot of money. yes it looks like they have a lot of money right now but when you start signing these positions it will get expensive.

 

This does not fill me with high hopes. YIKES!

You might say it doesn't matter, but these guys make money with their bodies. There are a lot of really smart football players, but the difference is that some guy's bodies respond and perform at a higher level. These guys succeed in the NFL. That's why all these measurables and arm length stuff is so prevalent. It's the difference between being a really good college player and an NFL player. Edwards has the worst RAS I've ever actually seen. Wow.

 

yet it was said to be a weak RB draft. warren went undrafted. AB was a 6th rounder. from the film, the kid looks like he can run behind his blocks and find open holes. actually corderell patterson does that very well too. we shall see.

 

Dionte was becoming a locker room cancer. The only way to deal with that is cut it out ASAP. Getting rid of him was the correct path forward. Same with Pickett. As for Harris I would like for him to sign a second contract with the Steelers. He is coming into his prime and is durable, reliable and overall a great citizen. Good luck finding that these days with the RB position.

 

Solid take. This would make sense due to the fact he is advocating that running backs need to be paid more. With the option they control him for another year.

A nice friendly break up from both sides.

 

or - MAYBE they are planning a trade, as another consideration.

 

Gotcha. Both are relevant facts to the discussion, but different parts of it. The ranking seventh in rushing yards demonstrates why the comments about 1,000 yards not meaning much don't hold up. The mention of salary is more about why I think passing on the fifth-year option was a mistake, because it was relatively cheap.

 

It's possible, but that wouldn't be great. This would be yet another example of the team caving to a player's demands, which is a disturbing trend.