Tag: Rashard Mendenhall (Page 4 of 7)

      Starting Dennis Dixon forces Steelers to get back to their roots

      September 12, 2010 /
      PITTSBURGH - SEPTEMBER 12: Rashard Mendenhall of the Pittsburgh Steelers runs through the Atlanta Falcons defense during the NFL season opener game on September 12, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

      For decades, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been known for two things: playing defense and running the ball down opponents’ throats.

      Under head coach Mike Tomlin, they haven’t gotten away from playing defense, but the running-the-ball-down-opponents’-throats-thing has kind of gotten away from them.

      On Sunday, they did both things well in a hard-fought 15-9 win over the Falcons in overtime. They held Atlanta’s offense to 58 yards rushing and three field goals, while gaining 143 yards on the ground, which included a 50-yard touchdown burst by Rashard Mendenhall to win the game.

      One thing that will get overlooked about Pittsburgh’s big rushing day was the fact that they had to start Dennis Dixon at quarterback because Ben Roethlisberger was suspended. With Dixon under center, the passing game was extremely limited. And with the game being tight throughout, OC Bruce Arians almost had to keep the ball on the ground and his young quarterback out of pivotal passing situations.

      The end result was a big win for a Steelers team that needs to at least split their first four games while Big Ben is out. Dixon certainly wasn’t flawless (he skipped throws into receivers all day and threw a brutal interception late in the first half with his team driving for a score), but he made a couple of key throws to keep the chains moving in the second half and allowed the defense and Mendenhall to win the game in the end.

      Pittsburgh fans had to love what they saw today. That was good ol’ fashioned Steeler football at its best.

      External Sports, NFL

      Rashard Mendenhall chats with The Scores Report

      July 26, 2010 /
      DETROIT , MI - OCTOBER 11: Rashard Mendenhall #34 of the Pittsburgh Steelers runs for a first quarter touchdown while playing the Detroit Lions on October 11, 2009 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. Pittsburgh won the game 28-20. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

      Selected with the 23rd overall pick in the 2008 draft, third-year running back Rashard Mendenhall will be counted on to anchor the Steelers’ rushing attack heading into the 2010 NFL season. He also does his part to spread the message of the “Athletes’ Creed.”

      Here’s some more information about what the Creed is:

      – 86% of young athletes confirm they’ve seen trash talking during games increase as they’ve gotten older

      – 79% say showing good sportsmanship doesn’t seem to be as important as it used to be

      – 81% agree that athletes today would rather win the game then play completely fairly

      – 73% admit their athletic peers believe it’s cheating only if they’re caught

      With the Champion Gridiron Kings (follow Champion at Facebook) seven-on-seven competition serving as his backdrop, we recently had the opportunity to talk to Rashard about the “Athletes’ Creed,” as well as his expectations for himself and the Steelers in 2010. Check out the video interview below.


      External Sports, Interviews, NFL, Video

      NFL Week 13 Top 5 Observations: Raiders 27, Steelers 24

      December 6, 2009 /

      Here are five quick-hit thoughts on the Raiders’ shocking 27-24 upset of the Steelers in Week 13.

      1. The Steelers could be done.
      It’s easy to jump to conclusions after a loss like this, but there’s a very good chance that the defending champs won’t make the playoffs this season. They’re now one game behind the Jaguars and two games behind the Broncos in the AFC Wild Card chase with only four games remaining. That’s plenty of time to turn things around, but not with the way Pittsburgh has played over the past month.

      2. Pittsburgh’s secondary killed them today.
      The Steelers have played without Troy Polamalu before and have played quite well. But it was clear today that his absence has killed Pittsburgh’s defense. When Bruce Gradkowski can throw for 308 yards and three touchdowns on your secondary, you know something is wrong. What’s worse is that Gradkowski made it look easy, too. Joe Burnett’s missed sure-fire interception and Ryan Clark’s personal foul penalty killed the Steelers in the end.

      3. Maybe the Steelers just aren’t that good.
      Considering they’re in the middle of a playoff race and had lost three games coming into today, the Steelers can’t blame this loss on a letdown or that they played down to their opponents’ level. They just didn’t make enough plays in the end to come away with a victory and maybe the bottom line is that they just aren’t as good as some people thought. Everyone used to say that the lack of a running game would start costing them games, but the running game has been fine under Rashard Mendenhall. Injuries have certainly been a problem defensively, but the fact of the matter is that Pittsburgh just isn’t making enough plays this season to win games. It’s the exact opposite scenario of last season.

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      NFL

      The Bengals have finally found the right blueprint for success

      November 15, 2009 /

      Last year, it was easy to view the Cincinnati Bengals as a joke. They were a mess on the field and an embarrassment off it. Their star player couldn’t stay healthy, their running back was a castoff from Chicago, one of their star receivers couldn’t match his off-field antics with quality on-field production and their head coach had no idea how to hold everything together.

      But it’s amazing how one offseason can change everything. Carson Palmer is healthy again and playing extremely well, Cedric Benson has revived his career, Chad Ochocinco is still a circus act (but a productive circus act), and Marvin Lewis’ name keeps coming up as a coach of the year candidate.

      The Bengals beat the Steelers 18-12 on Sunday and they didn’t use smoke and mirrors to do it. They held Rashard Mendenhall to 36 yards on 13 carries by dominating the line of scrimmage and forcing Ben Roethlisberger to beat them through the air. But Big Ben couldn’t and Cincinnati put the clamps on Pittsburgh’s offense inside the red zone and made the Steelers settle for field goals instead of touchdowns.

      All in all, it was a complete effort by the best team in the AFC North. The Steelers and Ravens have often been highly regarded as the most physical teams in the division and the Bengals outplayed both of them not once, but twice this year. As long as Palmer and Benson (he left today’s game in the third quarter due to a hip injury) can stay healthy and the defense continues to play well, there’s no reason to think that the Bengals can’t make a deep run in the postseason.

      The Bengals have finally figured out that chemistry can play a huge role in helping a team win. Gone are the days where the inmates run the asylum in Cincinnati; winning has a way of forcing players to shut up and fall in line.

      NFL

      Fantasy Quick Hitters: Maclin, Mendenhall, Cotchery, Polamalu and Calvin

      October 15, 2009 /


      Even when Curtis returns, Maclin should still be the starter.       As evidenced by their use of DeSean Jackson last season, the Eagles aren’t afraid to give rookie WRs a lot of snaps. Maclin torched the Bucs last week and should be a decent start going forward even though Donovan McNabb will surely distribute the targets more evenly in the future.

      Steelers won’t determine who is the starter until gametime.       Complicating matters, Rashard Mendenhall is recovering from “flu-like symptoms” and Willie Parker is practicing fully, so the Steelers aren’t sure who will be best suited to carry the workload in Sunday. Given his recent performance, Mendenhall is clearly the better player, but the Steelers have been stingy about giving him the starting job. It’s entirely possible that this is a time share on Sunday.

      Cotchery probably isn’t going to play.       The Bills are pretty good against the pass, so he wasn’t going to be a good play anyway. David Clowney deserves some consideration in really deep PPR leagues, and Braylon Edwards should be a decent start (assuming he still has Mark Sanchez’s eye).

      Polamalu should face the Browns.             This is bad news for the entire league, but in the short-term, downgrade Derek Anderson and Mohamed Massaquoi, who were looking to have a bounce-back game after a miserable outing against the Bills. It may not happen if Polamalu is back at full strength.

      Calvin Johnson and Matthew Stafford both miss practice. Both players are listed as questionable, but Johnson was seen hobbling earlier in the week and Stafford wasn’t even on the sidelines for Thursday’s practice. Fantasy owners that are desperate for WR help could try Bryant Johnson and/or Dennis Northcutt. Northcutt had a nice game last week and could post a solid line in PPR formats. Johnson is a deep threat and should get lots of targets against a Packers defense that has struggled against the pass (and will probably be playing with a lead).

      Fantasy Football, News, NFL, Rumors & Gossip

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