Edgerrin James
- RB
- ,
- 47
- 219 lbs
- 6' 0"
- N/A
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titansonline.com
·Sep 19, 2010 · 8:34 AM EDT
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"You put (Andrew Luck) on that field, healed up, and you put an Edgerrin James - maybe that's bigger, faster, stronger - and let this man continue to do the job that he's already begun to do, this is going to be a special place to be and a special place to play."
Related players: Frank Gore, Marlon Mack
This could be a strong indication the Colts will take Penn State RB Saquon Barkley at number three overall. If not Barkley, the Colts do seem like they are going to highly invest in an RB.
Though it's possible for David Johnson to increase his average from 23.3 touches per game to 30, it could come at a price.
Three running backs who averaged more than 28 touches per game were injured the following season. Four were injured in the year after that -- including Larry Johnson and Edgerrin James.
Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer believes in trying to get Johnson 30 touches a game, but he's also a realist.
"I think getting him 30 touches is the plan until he's sore or he loses a little bit of flexibility or whatever it may be as things pop up during the season," Palmer said. "Ideally that's great. I think that's the plan. If something changes, like it can in this game, and you have a hamstring or shoulder or the thing that comes up, the plan changes, but it's a great plan to start with."
James Wilder was the last RB to average over 30 touches per game with 30.8, the story said. Cards HC Bruce Arians said there is a difference between Johnson accomplishing the feat vs. Wilder from back in 1984 - Johnson won't run the ball 30 times. Arians was quoted as saying there's a big difference between "catching 10 passes than running the ball 30 times." Arians added that getting the ball in Johnson's hands and creating space makes a big difference, too, when it comes to wear and tear on the body.
Titans RB Chris Johnson had 69 yards (2008) and 57 yards (2009) in his two games against Pittsburgh. The Steelers have had the AFC's best rush defense during that span, with only Ray Rice of Baltimore gaining more than 100 yards against them in their last 35 regular season games. Rice ran for 141 yards during a 23-20 Ravens loss on Dec. 27.
Johnson has had 12 consecutive 100-yard games dating to last season, and the Steelers aren't eager to be the victims of No. 13.
"He's definitely putting himself up there to be talked about as the best in the game, if he keeps this up,'' Steelers linebacker James Farrior said.
The Steelers rarely allow any back to gain that kind of yardage. They have yielded only four 100-yard games over the last five seasons-plus, to the Colts' Edgerrin James (124 yards in 2005), the Jaguars' Fred Taylor (147 in 2007), the Jets' Thomas Jones (117 in 2007) and Rice.
"We're going to be extra motivated this week,'' Farrior said.
Marshall Faulk rushed for 1,319 yards and caught 86 passes in 1998.
Edgerrin James followed that the next two years in Indianapolis by averaging 1,631 yards on the ground and scoring a total of 35 touchdowns.
Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians had an up-close look at both of those running backs during his brief time on the Colts' coaching staff a decade ago. He gets flashbacks when he sees Rashard Mendenhall.
"He is a good combination of both those guys," Arians said. "He has that kind of skill set. There is no doubt he can do what those two did."
It's an understatement that the Steelers have high hopes for Mendenhall in his third year. Despite his rookie year being limited to 19 carries and his second year marred with a benching because of a lack of attention to detail, Mendenhall is the player the Steelers are relying on in the running game.
They decided not to re-sign Willie Parker in the offseason and didn't bring in veteran running backs to compete with Mendenhall.
There was a reason for that.
The Steelers expect Mendenhall to do everything this year, meaning he will rarely come off the field.
"My goal is staying out there until I can't," Mendenhall said. "That's my role."
In this era of the running back by committee, the Steelers are looking in a different direction when it comes to Mendenhall.
"He is such an explosive player that you just don't take those guys off the field," Arians said.
Arians plans to use Mendenhall much more than the 242 carries and 1,108 yards he totaled last year. He expects to utilize Mendenhall more out of the backfield as a receiver as well. Mendenhall caught 25 passes a season ago and found the end zone eight times.
Mendenhall is expected to be the third-down back, the goal-line back and possibly the short-yardage guy, too.
Mendenhall is a top ten back in both our regular rankings and our PPR rankings, and in some drafts, he might not be taken in the first round (his current ADP is 13). If you are drafting late in the first round, he's a good guy to get. If you can take him in the second round, he will offer exceptional value.
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