PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It’s one thing for fans or media types to have an opinion. It usually carries a little more weight when it’s a former NFL player. Criticism of the Steelers struggling offense is not new, who they are complaining about mostly is.
The discussion centers around last year’s first-round pick after Najee Harris, not the quarterback. The second-year tailback had 49 yards rushing against New England and has just 72 for the season. That ranks Harris 40th in the NFL in rushing yards, behind five quarterbacks.
“He’s definitely big enough,” said former NFL tight end and Fan Morning Show host Dorin Dickerson. “I think gaining some of that weight, sometimes that can hinder you. Your structure, your frame can’t handle that. There is a lack of explosion.”
The Alabama star is coming off a training camp where he mostly dealt with a Lisfranc injury and then injured his foot at the end of the Bengals game. He was able to practice all week and proclaimed ready to go against the Patriots. Dickerson said it may be the foot or the added 10 pounds of muscle slowing him down, but he’s just not able to create out there.
“There’s one play where Trubisky checked down to the flat to Najee Harris,” Dickerson said. “He turned around and there was an ample amount of space for him to explode up the field. It seemed like it took him 10 years to get started. I’m like ‘go, go, go, get going’. He just couldn’t get going. That’s the main issue, he just can’t start.”
Former Steelers offensive lineman Trai Essex had similar feelings about an early play where he cut outside instead of taking the yards to the inside.
“I had to watch it again to make sure I wasn’t trippin,” Essex said on Twitter. “This was the first play of the game. It is blocked almost to perfection! Look at that interior push! There is no read here that tells Najee to bounce it. He predetermined this. Man this angers me so much.”
“It’s very frustrating for the offensive line when they are trying to run certain plays and you have a big running back like that and he bounces outside,” Dickerson said.
Center Mason Cole felt they were better in run blocking Sunday against New England. He admitted they have to create an identity on offense and that should involve the run. As much as the offensive line and quarterback have been under fire, a couple of guys who have been in those huddles believe Najee Harris should be as well.
In another example, Josh Carney of the Beaver County Times posted play that shows the offensive line opening a big gap up the middle for Harris to run through.
Instead Harris runs to the left and is quickly tackled. He could’ve gotten at least 10 yards in the gap.
It’s admirable that Harris said he could play and was ready to go on Sunday, but if he’s hurting his team, that’s on him. He needs to be better, and if he’s banged up, he needs to stop following his blockers all the time and take the open space.