We Need a Bus! The Answer to the RB Woes Might be Down the Hall!

Tradition, family, heart, pride… All are characteristics of what the Pittsburgh Steelers are made of. From the inception of our great franchise, we’ve hung our hat on toughness, grit, & hard nosed football. Growing up, watching the NFL Films clips of those black and gold uniforms with a mud splashed 32 & 20 on them running the football were part of my infatuation with the game. As I began to really focus on the game as a kid, I followed the Steelers backfield as the next memorable groups of backs took handoffs. Hoge, Foster, Morris, and ultimately to the Great Jerome Bettis continued the tradition of running the football to glory for the Pittsburgh Steelers. After Jerome Bettis retired, we had a mix of backs ranging from quick and shifty to bruisers, of whom, besides Willie Parker, didn’t hang around long. Then came Le’Veon Bell. We all saw potential greatness in Bell. He showed to be the whole package, but we all know what happened after that… 

That brings us to today… Since the Bell saga ended, we’ve had James Conner, Jaylen Samuels, and, this year, Bennie Snell toting the rock for the Steelers. With everything that went down this year with our QB, the RB position became magnified. Before diving too deep into this, I am well aware that Mike Munchak leaving had a tremendous impact and our offensive line did not play very well. Now, to the problem. We do not have a bellcow style running back. If we do, we certainly did not do much to establish them this season. When all were healthy, we’d dress upwards of 5 RB’s and not give any of them a chance to get into a rhythm and really establish themselves. Moving forward, we need a RB1. We need a guy who can run the ball 20 times from various positions and, let’s get crazy, can catch a pass every once and a while… Which leads us to look in our own mirror and see who we already have in our backfield… 

James Conner – We all know JC’s story. It’s unbelievable. Every single Steelers fan wants #30 to be our super star. Who wouldn’t? James Conner is a good running back. In 2018, he played in 13 games, ran the ball 215 times for 973 yards, and 12 TD’s. With a healthy Ben Roethlisberger and passing attack, he’s shown signs of being able to pound the rock like we all want, but the absolute number 1, 2, & 3 issues with him is health. He has not shown the ability to stay healthy. Hopes were soaring this season when he was making his return from injury, only to see him go down again. His best game, by far, was this season against Miami when he carried the ball 23 times for 145 yards and a TD, before leaving the game with a shoulder injury. Not to mention that the Steelers were 3-7 with Conner this season

Jaylen Samuels – Who is the real Jaylen Samuels? Is he a scat back? Receiving RB? Can he pound the ball? He’s a bit of a mystery. He seems to have all the tools to be “the guy” but there’s been peaks and valleys. His first time being the feature back, in 2018 against NE, he broke out with 142 yards on 19 carries. The play for him was toss counter. He had a tremendous game and the future looked bright for him. Personally, I always though Samuels was going to breakthrough and really challenge for touches. He’s certainly shown flashes since, including this season’s game against Arizona when he showed the ability to make tough catches and contribute on special teams. The piece that is the biggest drawback on him is when his “hustle” and “work ethic” were questioned. Whenever I see that, it creates a doubt.

Bennie Snell Jr. – I have to admit. Through the first few games with Snell, I thought the 5’10” 224lb RB was the second coming of Jonathan Dwyer. He was getting taken down by shoelace tackles, etc. I was wrong, thankfully. As the season got thick, and injuries mounted, Benny came out strong when he was the featured back. He had productive games against the Chargers & Bengals. He saw 166 snaps in 2019. He carried the ball 106 times for 426 yards and 2 TDs. 

Kerryth Whyte – Mr. Whyte is an interesting study. He was signed to the roster right before the Cincinnati game. His first few carries were a flash! The young man can fly! Outside of 2 carries for -1 yard, he didn’t have a carry for less than 6 yards. However, he only touched the ball 6 times. Ending the game with 43 yards and averaging 7 yards per tote. With an off-season of development, you never know what he could become…

Trey Edmunds – Alright, I’ll admit. Everytime I see a #33 carrying the ball for us in recent memory, I get a little angry from Touissant’s fumble in Denver… I’ll leave it there…

So, the question is, what do we do from here? Do we have a bellcow on this roster? Honestly, it feels like we could, but clearly the coaching staff’s not sure who that might be. The coaching staff had a chance to see that this season, but didn’t give anyone a true test to be the 1 on multiple weeks. It was a revolving door.

My feeling is we may have that horse, but that horse needs to emerge. Not only that, but they need to be given the chance to emerge by the coaching staff. Imagine, day 1 of OTA’s. The RB’s walk into the running back meeting room and the depth chart is blank! The old school approach, an open competition going into OTA’s & training camp. Go out and earn it! Can 30 stay healthy? Can 38 perform consistently? Can 24 get a little more savvy and really emerge for us? Those questions will be answered eventually, but I’ll leave you with this… A bellcow running back, a back that you can lean on consistently, who you don’t have to worry about ball security, and who you can rely on in the heat, is sorely missing from the Steelers offense. The standard is being able to run the ball when the other team knows your going to and you do it anyway! 

This coming season, on opening weekend, the offense is going to get the ball with about 4 minutes left and up by 4. 7 is under center, he turns and hands the ball to the RB 8 times to secure the victory and bleed the clock. Win #1… A man can hope can’t he?