Thats the narrative but multiple steeler media guys are now vocalizing just how bad Najee has been all camp especially around the goal line.
IT must be worse than we could imagine if well respected Steeler jounalists nicknamed him 1.1
Article: Steelers Practice notebook 15: How long until Warren replaces Harris?
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IT must be worse than we could imagine if well respected Steeler jounalists nicknamed him 1.1
Kaboly was clearly trying to bait Harris in his locker side interview. Pitt sports reporters are real POS. Always trying to stir ****. But when Tomlin steps to mic they all soft ball.
I have no concerns about Harris. He was probably soft balling his carries/reps in training camp as well as preseason games. I don't blame him. I would have more concern about the guy behind Harris/Warren. Not sure if anyone on that roster should be there. I think Connor Hayward can pinch hit there if needed (maybe that's the answer) or you part ways with Booger and the other scrubs and bring in a proven vet that may still be there. Kareem Hunt would be a solid 3 as well as Fornette (neither would be happy, could be another Blount situation) but both would solidify your halfback room. I would pay attention to see what KC does with Clyde Edwards Helaire, but he is a china doll..
I agree Hane. I think it should be lots of carries by both but let's not decide pecking order till 5 weeks after games matter.
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After watching last season and preseason I would say the pecking order should be 50/50 at best for Harris right now. If I was the coach I would lean 60/40 Warren/Harris. See how Warren does with the increase workload. If he excels and Najee continues to struggle I would start to play even more Warren. Perhaps as much as 80/20.
Yeah but Najee is a first rd pick, and this is Tomlin were talking about.
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Oh, I know. I am just saying what I would do. I am not giving up on Najee but he is in year three and if he can't out perform an UDFA then we better start focusing on the guy who will be here after 2024.
I wonder if it's better that Harris starts and wears down the defense for Warren or the other way around.
They both can wear down a defense in different ways.
Warren with speed and power and Harris with agility and quickness.
You'd be surprised at how agility can wear out a defense. Barry Sanders did it all the time!
They both can wear down a defense in different ways.
Warren with speed and power and Harris with agility and quickness.
You'd be surprised at how agility can wear out a defense. Barry Sanders did it all the time!
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Najee says Warren is “efficient” when asked to describe his teammates running style. Seems a bit jealous at Warren’s success. Well, Najee currently you are very inefficient and unless you start showing some efficiency move out of the way.
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It’s tougher for backs to wear down a defense with all the subs along the front 7. You figure the Steelers will deploy 11-13 different players out there per game. Other teams are doing the same thing.
Harris has the power, hands, and decent speed. I believe he was clocked at some point below a 4.5 but is more of a 4.5ish guy. He is the guy they want to wear teams down. That's why Warren is a good complement to him. He has a little more speed and quickness. McFarland and even Austin in certain situations bring even more speed. I still think we're looking at a 60-40 split for Najee this year but Canaduh said he wants to get McFarland significant touches. I think he should get a few per game. If they try to truly divide the backfield into more than 2 guys, it will be a mistake. I hate watching teams do that as their top RB or even top 2 guys never get in rhythm and neither does their entire running game.
I'm really not sure what they've been doing with Najee in camp and the preseason so far. I don't think he is injured at all but he isn't running much. He is a guy that needs carries to get in sync with the OL. He even said that and the injury were the biggest problems he had until after the bye and he was fully healthy. They have to give him more than 1 carry in this last game. I think he has 1 or 2 so far in the first 2 games. If not, it will probably take him a few games to get into any kind of rhythm with how the OL is blocking this year.
I'm really not sure what they've been doing with Najee in camp and the preseason so far. I don't think he is injured at all but he isn't running much. He is a guy that needs carries to get in sync with the OL. He even said that and the injury were the biggest problems he had until after the bye and he was fully healthy. They have to give him more than 1 carry in this last game. I think he has 1 or 2 so far in the first 2 games. If not, it will probably take him a few games to get into any kind of rhythm with how the OL is blocking this year.
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It might. Remember when these journalist said it. I for example said it before them. : ) Enough patting myself on the back.
Harris is a rb / fb is best used in short yardage and the goal line. He is not and ideal even down back. Warren IMO should get the majority of the carries.
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Harris never ran at the combine or his pro day. IMO, he is a 4.64 guy or slower. We will never just how slow he is because he isn't running any NFL timed events. His acceleration to the hole sucks. Just look at his career yards per carry and yards per catch. They rate the worst in the NFL among projected starting 2023 NFL running backs. This is not an accident.
I did not want him on draft day, I preferred RB Travis Eteinne.
Look. Harris is a first round back with a fifth year option they need to make a decision on after tge season…. If you don’t think they are going to give him every single opportunity to show what he can do, you are fooling yourself…
If they really believe Warren is better, then he will be starting at the end of the season, not the beginning. …. But understand that backup RB can often be fools gold.
Rbs are judged in four areas, not just rushing ability… there is also receiving, ball control, and the very critical pass blocking that fans often ignore.
Sometimes RBs have great rushing skills, but teams limit them because they don’t want to overexpose their liabilities…
Other times the Back may not be deemed fit to carry a bulk of a load. They are good in limited use, but wear down quickly.
Another point that has to be taken into account is that backup RBs don’t often get carries in the bulk of short yardage and obvious run downs, so they can have higher average rushing numbers without really being better simply by usage.
You must also take into consideration that because teams typically gameplan for the starters style, the backup may look better simply because their run game strengths are counter to the primary back’s and creates mismatches that might not be available if they were the back the defense was geared for…
So the equation is far bigger than just who has the larger ypc…
That isn’t to say Warren isn’t better… but sample sizes are probably too small to say anything definitive yet.
The best case scenario is that Harris stays healthy and has a great year, but warren also shows really good abilities. Both are under contract next year so one could be traded and the other extended.
If they really believe Warren is better, then he will be starting at the end of the season, not the beginning. …. But understand that backup RB can often be fools gold.
Rbs are judged in four areas, not just rushing ability… there is also receiving, ball control, and the very critical pass blocking that fans often ignore.
Sometimes RBs have great rushing skills, but teams limit them because they don’t want to overexpose their liabilities…
Other times the Back may not be deemed fit to carry a bulk of a load. They are good in limited use, but wear down quickly.
Another point that has to be taken into account is that backup RBs don’t often get carries in the bulk of short yardage and obvious run downs, so they can have higher average rushing numbers without really being better simply by usage.
You must also take into consideration that because teams typically gameplan for the starters style, the backup may look better simply because their run game strengths are counter to the primary back’s and creates mismatches that might not be available if they were the back the defense was geared for…
So the equation is far bigger than just who has the larger ypc…
That isn’t to say Warren isn’t better… but sample sizes are probably too small to say anything definitive yet.
The best case scenario is that Harris stays healthy and has a great year, but warren also shows really good abilities. Both are under contract next year so one could be traded and the other extended.
These are legitimate points some fans ignore. Especially the game planning points. If you are geared to stopping one style, it isn't a stretch to see another style back do well.
I just think there is two capable backs that will be used. If you see Najee start to lose his usual reps then we all can start to think who they perceive as the better option...
In addition to yards per carry
Almost 600 carries into his career Harris is terrible in almost every advanced metric.
I could be wrong about Harris, he could come out this year and run for 6 ypc like he did in college?
I just think we've had a large enough sample size to temper our expectations.
Warren is a small sample size but the guy literally owns Harris in every metric and has never put up bad tape.
Obviously you read exactly zero of what i posted about backup rbs and why their limited carries don’t always translate… that metric even says that he doesn’t have enough carries to qualify for some of those stats…
In addition to yards per carry
Almost 600 carries into his career Harris is terrible in almost every advanced metric.
I could be wrong about Harris, he could come out this year and run for 6 ypc like he did in college?
I just think we've had a large enough sample size to temper our expectations.
Warren is a small sample size but the guy literally owns Harris in every metric and has never put up bad tape.
Im not arguing that Warren might not be very talented, but every season there is some backup with gaudy numbers that fills in as RB 1 and by game 2 or 3 looks exactly the same as the top rb numbers… teams gameplan for tgeir running style and they start getting more obvious run downs where they get run blitzed and they don’t look as good…
On AM's TD run, he showed power, shift, and balance, then lunged another 2yds into the EZ, and extended the football for the score. I don't see the tripping this year.
He did have a good game, Its still hard to trust him looking at the big picture.
He looks like a shot adrian peterson or ladanian tomlinson at the very end. They knew what to do in their head but the body didn't cooperate, they lost balance and agility, thats exactly what Mcfarland runs like.
Exactly 1 of those stats.
I agree Warren has limited work but you couldn't find a RB that ranks worse than Najee in those advanced metrics
I know you are pushing that agenda hard, and ultimately I really don’t care whether Harris or Warren is the starter…but you still aren’t grasping that stats for backups are often biased high and that a lot of times when a backup takes over a starts role there is a very steep drop in those stats..
So lets say a guy is a third down back and is in a lot of passing downs… he might get lots of cheap rushing yards and broken tackles off of pass defense specialists… those advanced stats look really good then. Lets say a guy is a short yardage back and primarily in vs run defenses stocked with runstopping specialists who are expecting a run… that guys stats will look ****** as hell… so you have to factor in actual use, not just stats…
and when one guy has such a big discrepancy in touches as there is between these two, you have to understand how that can input a high bias into the lower guys numbers…
Warren is intriguing, but he also is a second year player with very limited exposure… making definitive judgments over his stats is not really a wise move yet.. especially since the Oline hasn’t been really good at runblocking for years now.
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I think there are set til harris gets hurt do you bench warren when Harris comes back??
I have Stats, you have an agenda. I am not making judgements just relaying stats. The stats could change I am aware of that.
Name 1 even decent RB in the league who averages over a yard per carry less than their backup assuming the backup has 70+ touches
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