Conner
- Thread starter TheSpecialSauce
- Start date
Steelers should have kept Conner And used the najee Harris pick for an OL
A-holes like Mark Madden bashed Conner whenever possible, but barely say a peep about the lack of production from Harris.
Like you said, we’d be much better off with a couple good young OL and Conner.
Saw Conner is around 235lbs. I like that version of him then the 220ish one he showed early with the Steelers.
Yes, yes, yes. Damn would the Steelers be in a much better position right now if they did.
He ran hard tonight and was tough to tackle.
Everyone seems to forget the he could not, and can still not, stay healthy.
Yeah, definitely a lot of short memories. Steelers understandably moved on from James for one primary reason, he couldn’t stay on the field very often during his Steelers tenure.
And the Steelers gave up on him when that happened and the Cardinals do not.
He isn’t durable enough to use as an every down back. But the Steelers use as many as 3 or 4 backs during the course of most games. He could have been fine operating in that stead. The problem with the run game are the same then as they are now; the OL. The backs are solid, as they were then when Conner was among them.
It is fine that they parted ways with JC, but drafting a replacement as a first rounder, while not improving the OL, was and remains a mistake.
It is fine that they parted ways with JC, but drafting a replacement as a first rounder, while not improving the OL, was and remains a mistake.
cardinals used him and edmonds with a nice 1-2 punch. actually edmonds started but i believe he was injured later in season and conner started. again, a very effective back if he is used correctly..
one of my bigger pet peeves about mediocre mike. just over uses his starting running back in a day and age where you dont do that.
He absolutely is a starting RB in the NFL. Almost every team in the NFL divides up their carries. This isn’t the 80’s or 90’s when Walter Payton or Barry Sanders were constantly fed the ball.
well he's averaging 50 yards a game rushing so if that's what you call a starter, ok. but i think we are saying the same thing. He needs to be part of a very good 1-2 combo and probably best to be the 2 back in that combo.
Again, that's a compliment, not an insult.
And what you said does nothing to change the fact that there was absolutely nothing wrong with the Steelers decision.
One of the reasons you shouldn't put too much value on a single RB is because the injury rate is pretty high with them. Harris hasn't exactly been healthy. Keep hearing how dinged up he is as an explanation for his performance. That's possible but it's also why you never put that much value on an unproven talent. Aren't many guys like the Bus. Most wear out pretty quickly or are in and out of the lineup.
Yeah but the issue with Conner has never been his play it's that he always is injured.
That's becoming more obvious by the day.
yeah and this is why i get frustrated that Tomlin doesnt play Warren more. He's getting better but still, it should be 60-40 or 50-40-10 (Snell/Mcfarland).
the second Warren has a nice run (or catch like last sunday) then tomlin pulls him. i just dont get it.
No way in hell the Steelers should have kept Conner. He was a fragile piece of china here, and they were right up against the cap.
There will be about 30 good Free agent RBs available in the off season. of course it's too late for us, especially with Warren playing well but you can easily get the production you are getting from Naj from a FA rb and use the first rd draft pick for much bigger needs.
This wasnt even hindsight, this was common sense.
Harris is a bust as a feature back. I really don't think he has the explosiveness for the NFL, to be honest. I had that game on last night and both teams seemed to have more talent than the Steelers at that position. Saw an unbelievable jump cut and mused that Harris couldn't do that by accident. Gotta have playmakers at RB and WR. The Steelers don't.
he's Walter Abercrombie, 21st century version. that's not even an exaggeration or a huge insult either. Abercrombie wasnt terrible. just a good back, not great at anything and well, someone that wont be remembered too fondly as time passes..
Imagine Conner still here and with Creed Humphrey as his center. It wouldn’t solve all our problems, but it’d certainly help.
Not keeping Conner and drafting Harris are two separate arguments. They should have drafted a running back in the 3rd round, at the earliest, that year and called it a day.
i agree. not sure why people are combining the two here. both are seperate from each other.
You're right about that. It was a cap decision first and foremost. It made sense in that regard and it was probably better for Conner.
Yeah having a good line is far more important than having top level RB. Look at the Pats last night. Down their top two RB and the next two guys looked very good. It’s like the Steelers game a few weeks ago where McFarland and Snell looked good.
JC is good but he was going to be too expensive. He has great games like last night but he also is usually out a few stretches every year with injuries as he was earlier this year. I think you put the money into the line and find 3-4 capable backs to rotate in.
I always thought that you need a couple different types of RB's and you keep their legs fresh. I think that's one reason some of these guys look so good early in the season and always fade.
Yep. Need speed guys and bruisers. Rotate them effectively and it really wears out a defense. The Pats did it effectively last night with Harris and Strong.
We all know Tomlin likes to run em til the wheels fall off, but you can’t fault him for not trying the ‘couple different types of RBs’ approach. We’ve had a long list of small quick RBs here over the years whether through late round draft pick or free agent pickup to supposedly be that change of pace back. Of course, none of them worked out or hung around long.
Harris, Warren, McFarland, Snell isn’t a bad backfield committee and all have shown glimpses of being good this year. Hard to really expect too much of them behind a predictable offense and a line that has been better but still needs improvement. An improved downfield/play action passing game would help as well.
That's why I always laugh when people cite these track and field statistics. Dri Archer, Chris Rainey... even Che Nwabuko at Pitt.
I mean, yeah - it's good to have speed. But there's a reason these guys are going to Kent State/Pitt or falling to the 5th round.
I’m not sure how much the Steelers/Tomlin have adapted as opposed to changing out of necessity because of Harris’ nagging injury and lack of production. Me thinks it would have been more of the same had they been getting anything out of Harris.
yes, also known as the 4-9 Cardinals...The Steelers gave him four years. Will the Cardinals do the same? He never gained the now watered down number of 1,000 yards in any of those seasons with the Steelers...If it would be anyone who did not wear a Pitt uniform would you blame them for not re-signing him?
