Will Conner stay?

I'd bring him back on a vet minimum deal. I thought he was actually running better at the end of the year, stronger and with more burst... only the run blocking and scheme was absolutely putrid.

 

Scheme definitely played a part, IMO. Early on Fichtner had a good mix of rushing, short/intermediate/long passes, and misdirection plays going on. But falling back on the pass has been a staple of the last 12 years or so, and when the Titan and Raven defenses shut the running attack down in back to-back-games it seemed Fichtner turtled back into his shell a bit and became over-reliant on short passing strikes.

Rushing attempts and YPC began to decline after those games, and passing attempts increased while YPA declined - Ben eclipsed 40 attempts over the first five games, averaging about 35 per game; over the final nine he went north of 40 six times, over 50 twice, and his YPA attempt fell from the low 7s to the high 5s.

I think there were some other factors in play as well, but the adjustments in playcalling over the second half of the season did nothing to help offset any issues they were experiencing, and in some ways further compounded them.

 

If we draft a solid RB early, i'd like to see conner back for cheap. I like him over snell and samuels. Conner could do well in a limited role

 

Fixed

 

If we draft a RB early, we've wasted a draft pick.

Draft pick, Conner (healthy for 4-5 games), Benny, McFarland is NOT better than draft pick, Benny, McFarland, and Samuels (healthy all season)

 

I'd draft someone

 

the Steelers are for sure gonna draft a RB in the first two rounds. OL 1st and RB 2nd or vice versa. next year QB will be picked early since Steelers are going to win 5-6 games.

 

I like the guy. I think he's a better back (when healthy) than Bell ever was. Yeah, I said "ever."

But he averaged less than 10 carries a game last season. That's not good enough, regardless of health or utilization. Not good enough.

And I didn't say you said anything about McFarland other than exactly what you typed. Where did I say anything comparing McFarland to a draft pick? I used your words.

So my point stands that Samuels makes the depth chart better because he's at the very least available when called upon. I wish that JC wasn't made of glass. If he was durable, we'd have had much more pleasant conversations about the running game over the past few years.

 

Then we'll waste that pick. We have many needs and RB is not one.

 

Sorry about the confusion.

You said, "Draft pick, Conner, Benny, McFarland is better than draft pick, Benny, McFarland and Samuel." You were grouping them, right?

So was I.

I was saying, "Draft pick, Conner (healthy for 4-5 games), Benny, McFarland is NOT better than draft pick, Benny, McFarland, and Samuels (healthy all season)"

Even though you'll likely disagree with my opinion, you get what I'm saying now, right?

And JS should carry JC's jockstrap because JC will pull a hammy if he does it himself. Honestly, I really hate badmouthing JC. I really like the kid. I like his heart, his attitude, and his ability. But his durability is just a slap in the face to player, team, and fans at this point.

 

Samuels is a waste. I don't like McFarland either. He has zero instincts.

 

I can see this. JC has averaged just over three missed games per year while in the starter's role. Hard to discern what that means if he's a backup - you can math the workload, or bet on the ruptured durability to show up either way. Neither is really a wrong choice at this point.

Given the youth of Snell and McFarland coupled with the development needed with OL and scheme, I guess I'm willing to yield more to a combo of draft pick/Connor/Snell/McFarland at this point. Samuels is solid on ST and as a runner, but has the more limited ceiling.

 

Conner would be ideal at RB2, he cannot carry the load as a lead back but he is much better than both Snell and Samuels. He hasn’t had a sniff in free agency and is very unlikely to get more than the minimum at this point, meaning he is virtually free to bring back after roster displacement if they cut Samuels. No brainer to do it imo. Conner may hold on until after training camps to sign however, unless he has his heart set on coming back, somebody might go down somewhere and he might snag a better deal than the minimum.

I don’t like drafting a back early but these mid round projects they have been picking haven’t worked, probably because of other factors like the line as much as anything else. Part of me would love a bell cow like Harris or Javonte Williams but it’s difficult to justify doing that if there is a Tackle and / or Center available that can underpin your OLine for the next decade. Any RB they select is likely to have their best years when the Super Bowl window is firmly shut for the Steelers.

 

When did you suddenly get a sense of humor?

 

I give McFarland some space at this point. No training camp and the run game was putrid all around. Instinct is hard to judge when they call your name for the same basic couple of plays and the D has it read as you ar breaking huddle.

 

I just saw where Conner cracked the top 100 at #98 for available free agents. NFL's top 100

Big Al is still there in the top 10.

 

I thought they were trying to sign Al a few weeks back,,, negotians must have stalled

 

In both Al’s and Connor’s case, I suspect they’ll wait to see how the draft plays out. If there’s still a hole at OT or RB, they get a call, if not, best of luck in your future endeavors. Lots of FAs around the league are in that boat now.

 

It would be great if both Al and Banner return for another year. This should allow them to select a RB in the first who would immediately be the feature back next year.