Like that piece of furniture bought on impulse that never really fit the décor, the Steelers put Najeh Davenport out on the curb this week after there were no takers at the yard sale.
Although Davenport's potential has never been questioned (some say he could have been one of the best ever), his career has been pockmarked with injuries and a 'lazy' tag that goes back to his college days. His release from Pittsburgh, though, is more a reflection of the plans for this season than it is on Davenport's production. The Steelers allowed too many sacks last year, and a big part of that was the unproductive running game. Enter first round pick Rashard Mendenhall, who should see time right away with FWP's broken leg still on the mend. Pittsburgh also wants to keep Gary Russell, and that makes Davenport, and his salary, expendable.
How do you improve your pass protection? Run the damn ball, and do it well. The 2008 offense is starting to take shape, and I'm liking the less pass-happy look of the makeover so far.
The running game was actually very good, until Parker went down. He was kind of leading the league in rushing when it happened. No, the pass protection was a problem because the offensive line did a very #### poor job of it. That's the reason. Davenport was a decent role player, but with Mendenhall and Moore being brought in, and Parker coming back, he was expendable.
Actually look for the Steelers to pass as much if not more, then they did last year. Ben is still under appreciated as a great QB, and the weapons that he has with Miller, Ward, Holmes, and Sweed will see a lot of passing. And that isn't a bad thing.
I don't disagree. I would say the offense failed often on FIRST down (against 8-man looks) and often lost ability to set the tempo by getting into long late-down situations. We were also not as good at running the ball later in the game, and threw sometimes when we should have run (Denver being one big example). Even though FWP was leading the league it seemed to me one of those 'Barry Sanders' things where he has runs of -1, -2, -1, -4, and eventually breaks one. I'd rather have positive yards more often. And then then of course they saved their worst run of the season with a 7-yard attempted QB sneak with the playoff against Jacksonville on the line. I am all for MORE weapons ...
Don't forget Ben was hurt towards the end of the season. All those sacks finally caught up to him and he injured his foot. I saw him try to scramble and a 300 plus D lineman ran him down and that doesn't usually happen.
Troy P(I'm not even going to try) was not himself last year and I hope that he's healthy and ready to go this year. Ryan Clark went down also and that seemed to affect the secondary as they were number one against the pass up to that point and then it went downhill fast.
I actually think with a healthy offensive line and the acquisitions of a true center and some good special teams players, the Steelers might make some noise once again.
I'm not even going to count on Sweed,Mendenhall and that rush end(who will probably become a OLB) as contributing as rookies. If they do however, this could be e pretty good year.
Parker did a lot with a very suspect line last year, more than half his negative yards came on the left side, Faneca has to take some of the heat for that. Najeh was a good fit, but I believe the "lazy" tag might have been his problem. Lots of potentiol, and no production when the time came to stand up. Let the Bears have him!
Hey I have a serious question for you....what sober person ever said Najeh Davenport was capable of being one of the best ever? Once you find that dude paint the word #### on his forehead....I agree with you about one thing, an effective running game will keep the pressure off of the passing game as long as that passing game is based in play action....oh wait....Ben had a better running game last year than he will this year....he may not be healthy come January this year either.....
Six of one, half dozen of the other......Glad Davenport is gone, although blocking was poor at times he went in AND his timing was off due to lack of playing time. Just gotta wait and see....they do have some more weapons though, so.............................
buckles, I'm with you on this one. I think that the offensive line hurt the running game, which hurt the passing game in the form of sacks. I too look for the Steelers to still go to the air, but with Parker and Mendenhall in the backfield, they should have some options. If I am not mistaken, Mendenhall has some pretty good hands too which could open up some outlet passes and options for Big Ben. If the schedule doesn't kill them, look for another good year to be a Steeler fan. Here we go Steelers here we go!!!
I am a post-mid-life -crisis Steeler fan, always looking for newer, badder habits. The NFL is by far THE sport I make time for. I am a renter, no wife, no kids, so I do not have the yardwork, minivan mileage, soccer practice, and all that other stuff cluttering up my life. Instead, I have this stuff cluttering up my life, but I like it, and most of all, it's FREE. I hope you find something enjoyable in the blog.
