Run It Back
As Steelers fans continue to react – and in some cases overreact – to what they’ve seen in the team’s first two preseason games, the biggest overreaction may not be to Kenny Pickett’s 149.1 QB Rating, but to Jaylen Warren’s 62-yard TD run.
This isn’t to say Warren doesn’t have immense value to the Steelers’ offense. His ability to hit holes without hesitation is something even Najee Harris could learn from.
At least when there are, ya know, there are holes for Harris.
And therein lies the rub. No one seems ready to admit that Warren has been the benefactor of running against nickel and dime defenses littered with defensive backs prepared to shut down the pass.
How do we know this?
Simple math: 32 of Warren’s 77 carries last year – 41.6%- came in nickel and dime situations, either 2nd or 3rd down and 4 yards or more to go. And on those carries, Warren’s 234 yards and 7.3 yards per carry average dwarfed what he did in all other situations: 145 yards on 45 carries for a 3.2 yard average.
How does all of this compare to Harris’s splits?
Only 31.2% of his carries came in nickel and dime situations last year, with 85 rushes for 320 yards averaging out to 3.8 ypc. That means nearly 70% of the time, Harris faced defenses prepped for him and often stacked with eight defenders in the box. On those 187 carries coming mostly against stacked boxes, he averaged – are you ready? - 3.8 ypc, with 714 yards in those situations.
Deduce what you’d like from all of these numbers, but I’ll tell you what my takeaway is: Consistency.
Harris, regardless of whether he’s facing a stacked, eight-man box or not, gets the same, steady level of production. Given he spent half of last season playing with a steel plate in his foot because his coach had him paying in the preseason on a Lisfranc injury in his foot, it’s not bad.
When given room, Warren makes the most of it. When he’s not? He doesn’t.
For what it’s worth, Brian Baldinger of NFL Network weighed in yesterday afternoon on The PM Team.
“If Jaylen Warren is a better player than Najee, then they’re gonna find a way to put their best players on the field.”
And maybe, just maybe, Harris’s ability to grind out 3-4 yards per carry regardless of how stacked the defense is, is just what the Steelers want on 1st and 2nd downs. And maybe, just maybe, Warren’s ability to turn big holes into even bigger runs is perfect for a chance of pace/3rd down back.
It’s almost as if Steelers fans are finally getting what they’ve clamored for for years – a backfield tandem – rather than what they’ve complained Mike Tomlin has done for most of his career, which is run a single, workhorse back in to the ground. And now, rather than enjoy the tandem’s complimentary work, they’d rather shove that single back – in this case, Warren – down everybody’s gullet and dismiss Harris as a waste of a first round pick.
Maybe, just maybe, it’s time for the regular season to start.
Peezy Paying Off
Baldinger also had glowing reviews of rookie cornerback Joey Porter, Jr.’s work, in particular on his interception on Bills backup QB Matt Barkley Saturday night.
“A lot of guys will redirect (the receiver) and just give him a bump. Joe Porter, Jr. knocked (the receiver) out of bounds, made him ineligible. You see that length and strength on that move. And then to get his head back around inside and eyes on the ball?
What he did at the line of scrimmage s is something not a lot of cornerbacks have the ability to do.”
Palacios Power
Despite the ups and many downs of the second half of the season, the Pirates have found some bright spots here and there, and outfielder Josh Palacios may be one of the most unheralded positives.
Is he a starting outfielder for a contending Major League team? Maybe not.
His energy and enthusiasm though make him the perfect complimentary piece to a team that’s already built to win. Perhaps that’s in Pittsburgh in 2024.
SkenesWatch
The Pirates announced yesterday that first overall draft pick Paul Skenes will move to AA-level Altoona to start on Saturday.
With the stated goal of keeping him under 20 cumulative innings of work during his ‘reboot,’ the organization has left room for another five or six appearances, and the calendar has room for as many as seven.
The question again becomes whether this and any other subsequent starts for the Curve will be Skenes’ only appearance on a mound in Pennsylvania before the end of the summer.
In his first three professional outings, Skenes has struck out five while allowing one hit and no walks in four scoreless innings of work.
Deadbeat AB
For the second time this year, a Miami-Dade judge has asked the authorities to apprehend Antonio Brown for the purpose of having him actually pay child support.
As someone who claims to have a “Whole Lotta Money,” it’s always been fascinating to me that this guy can never manage to pay people what’s owed to them in a timely manner.
Here’s a thought: Maybe Brown doesn’t have a lot of money and gets by on smoke and mirrors, and, ya know… never paying anybody anything.