He's been named All-Pro and led the NFL in rushing touchdowns during each of the last two years too. That couldn't have been further from the truth. Others were blocking fullbacks who spent their careers opening holes for star backs. The next season, he racked up 1,273 yards and 13 touchdowns on the way to an AFC Championship win. A dominant defense and an unstoppable running gamethats Steelers Football. The real results of who touched it first is still undetermined to this day. 7. Really, he will just be doing what teams like the Steelers did for decades. A fullback is not required in this type of offensive game plan. At 244 pounds, Morris was a load running behind the offensive line and his numbers backed up his train rushing efforts. The speedy running backs, the classic old power running back, and the mixed, well-rounded, good running back. Tracy ran for 2,717 yards and 15 touchdowns in his time with Pittsburgh and caught 96 passes for 1,322 yards and 14 touchdowns. The Steelers had jumped offsides on the play and it was called back. All-time Rushing Leader: Franco Harris 2,881 att, 11,950 yds, 91 TD . Bell made three Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams as a Steeler. With a 3.5 yards per carry average and zero touchdowns, his rookie season was a major disappointment, but Gordon has answered all his doubters since then. Once the Steelers free up a considerable amount of cap space, are eight free agents who could reinvigorate the roster in the 2023 season. He signed as an undrafted free agent who had run a 4.23-second 40 at the Scouting Combine the previous spring. While those numbers may not seem impressive by todays standards, they were good enough to earn Tracy Pro Bowl appearances with the Steelers in 1958 and 1960. As the tight end position increasingly becomes more of a focal point in offensive schemes , one can only imagine what this list will look like in years down the road. Sadly, the days of Steelers Football seem to have gone the way of the dropkick. He also earned the first of two consecutive First-Team All-Pro selections. Fuqua led the . We present them here for purely educational purposes. In three of his four NFL seasons, Gurley has rushed for more than 1,100 yards and at least 10 touchdowns. In both seasons, he made All-Pro. 4. Dudley also scored on a lateraled pass and has kicked point-after-touchdowns as well as making successful field goals. Barkley was a huge reason why the Giants returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Dave Holcomb began working as a sports writer in 2013 after graduating from Syracuse University. No NFL team has enjoyed the consistent level of success the Pittsburgh Steelers have enjoyed since the AFL-NFL merger of 1970. Parker was perhaps the fastest running back ever to play for the Steelers. Franco Harris was a fullback, as was Merril Hoge and John Henry Johnson. But Stewart posted 5,366 rushing yards and 31 touchdowns in the decade. 3 in NFL history. Franco Harris arrives during the 2019 Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. Many NFL teams used a pro-style offense during the same period, and this was an age when the fullback was a vital ball carrier. In the following AFC title game against Miami, Pollard was held to just 48 yards rushing. Buffalo 2007-10; Seattle 2010-15, '19; Oakland 2017-18. During that year, Peterson won league MVP the last running back to do so. Still, I think he is deserving of the number 16 spot on this list of all-time great Steelers backs. The team has selected second overall once, and third overall four times. With the 2019 season, there is still time to influence who lands where among a list of the best running backs of the decade. West Virginia's Senate passed a bill Monday that would give $25,000 in tax credits to former residents who move back to the state to work. Visit ESPN to view the Pittsburgh Steelers team depth chart for the current season Amos Zereoue: Another fan favorite was West Virginia University product, Famous Amos Zereoue. The running back ran for 1,200 yards and seven touchdowns on 307 carries, and caught 74 passes for 467 yards and three touchdowns. But following the Super Bowl Morris was arrested for trafficking marijuana and the Steelers wanted nothing to do with his off-the-field problems and released him. As a Steeler, Bettis crashed his way for 10,571 rushing yards and 78 rushing touchdowns, both second-best in team history. The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They got a lot of carries in an era when both the fullback and halfback needed to contribute to the running game. 1. His professional career started in 2007 when he decided to skip the last year of college and enter the NFL Draft. Walter Abercrombie: To this day, Abercrombie is Baylor Universitys all-time leading rusher with 3,674 yards while scoring 22 touchdowns. When a running back like Jerome Bettis, Franco Harris, or John Henry Johnson tramples linebackers and safeties all game, it grinds opponents down and destroys their will to compete. Jerome Bettis (1996-2005). He would end up moving to the Dallas Cowboys where he would get a chance to face off against his former team in two more Super Bowls (X and XIII). The Pittsburgh Steelers have a long history of smash-mouth football dating back to before they ever won their first Super Bowl. Myles Jack 61 Minkah Fitzpatrick . Bell was a unique back in Steelers history due to both the wide-open offense he played in and his careful, patient running style. Bleier starred in Super Bowl XIII with a touchdown reception and a recovered onside kick to seal Pittsburghs third NFL title. The 2016 All-Pro had his own issue staying on the field because of a suspension in 2017, but despite that Elliott has 4,048 rushing yards and led the league in rushing twice in three years. The move closes the latest chapter of Wentz's career after just one season in Washington. WILLIE PARKER had difference-making speed at the NFL level, but because he wasn't built physically to withstand the 913 carries he got from 2005-07, he got worn down and then his speed wasn't as difference-making at the NFL level. Of course, we all know why. He earned the Super Bowl MVP award after running for 158 yards and a touchdown against the Vikings in Super Bowl IX. Let us know your thoughts down in the comments!For Business Inquiries: insid. Near the end of an uneventful rookie season, he was drafted to fight in the Vietnam War. Conner responded with a Pro Bowl performance and gave Steeler Nation hope that hed become the next great Pittsburgh running back. Four of those were LeVeon Bell, but three were different players who stepped up in those seasons: Mendenhall (Pittsburgh's last first-round running back), Williams, Conner. Many teams even rotate three or more backs throughout the game, with all getting an equal number of carries. Najee Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers. Running backs are not the commodities they once were. Still, Johnson's All-Pro 2016 season was enough to land him on the list. Only other is safeties at sub lb and doesn't change their ratings just where they are on the field. Harris is my fourth-ranked running back for the 2022 season. Each offense makes its own set of demands on running backs, and every back mentioned in this article needed a specific set of attributes to succeed. In Super Bowl XXX when the Steelers lost to the Dallas Cowboys that many thought that Pittsburgh could have won if not for Neil ODonnells errant interceptions, Morris rushed for 73 yards on 19 carries and scored a touchdown. Overall contributions to the Steelers franchise. He made another Pro Bowl in 1993 but only rushed for half as many yards due to injuries. Steeler running backs Franco Harris, Rocky Bleier, Jerome Bettis, Willie Parker, Sidney Thornton and Rashard Mendenhall all helped bring Lombardi Trophies to Pittsburgh. But Hoak is probably best remembered for his ever-so-long tenure as the Running Backs coach with Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher. His rookie contract was voided after his fourth season, after just one in Pittsburgh, and there were opportunities to leave. But Harris and the Steelers' rushing attack were just getting started. Dickerson was traded mid-season in 1987; he played three games for the Rams and nine for the Colts. In the previous nine years, however, the Steelers had a top-15 player seven times. Lynch was an underrated pass-catcher in his prime too. To prepare, we at Chargers Wire are previewing players from every position. Bettis will be inducted into the Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2015 in August, and the accomplishments to be praised that day are only part of why he was the man during his 10 seasons with the Steelers. RASHARD MENDENHALL came to the Steelers as a first-round pick in 2008, and after spending the bulk of his rookie season on the injured reserve list, he rushed for 3,309 yards on 812 carries (4.1 average) and 29 touchdowns from 2009-11. A good scoring drive based on running plays eats up the clock and keeps the ball out of the hands of the other team's offense. I predict that sometime in the next decade, an offensive coordinator will go back to power football and line up with a tight end, a fullback, and a tailback in an I-formation for most of the game. Outside linebacker Joey Porter came to Pittsburgh in 1999. NFL Top 10 Best Running Backs of the 2010s - #8 Arian Foster. He returned to put . He finished his career in Pittsburgh with 3,115 rushing yards, 241 receptions, and 34 total touchdowns. Twenty-three slots went by before the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Najee Harris in 2021. Steelers running back James Conner (30) runs for a short gain past Titans cornerback Kristian Fulton (26) during the first half at Nissan Stadium. [2] He led the NFL with 576 yards in 1932 and held on to the record throughout his career. There have been some running backs in Steelers history who had one or two good seasons in Pittsburgh, then went on their way. Sep 20, 1992; San Diego, CA, USA; FILE PHOTO; Pittsburgh Steelers running back Barry Foster (29) in action against San Diego Chargers defenders Junior Seau (55) and George Thornton (93) at Jack . Teams like the 49ers, Packers, and Chargers still have plenty of use for thembut many organizations dont carry a fullback on their roster at all. Best: Franco Harris. In 2016 he had one of the best seasons for a running back in recent memory, accumulating a league-high 2,118 yards from scrimmage, including at least 100 yards in the first 15 games of the year. Franco Harris gets most of the credit for that infamous incident, but Terry Bradshaws passing attempt on that play was originally intended for Fuqua who was decleated by Jack Tatum.
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