Goodbye Rashard Mendenhall and while you’re at it, take Mike Wallace with you.
The Steelers need a real running back whose not afraid to get hit and wont shoot his mouth off every few weeks on Twitter. Your four injury plagued years have helped minimally while you continue to fumble your way back onto the bench.
Heading into yesterday’s game, your offense had a plan to pound the football with you leading the charge. Against one of the league’s worst rushing defenses, you were supposed to lead the way and make life easy on your 100 year old quarterback. Instead, you fumbled the ball twice, losing one of those fumbles which led directly to Cleveland’s first score of the game. Your team had a lead and momentum until you carelessly lost the ball, similar to what Mike Wallace did in Baltimore the week before.
Speaking of Mike Wallace, pack your bags as well.
Want to know the difference between you and some of the players you want to be in the same pay grade with? They fight for the ball and they make the difficult plays. Sure, Calvin Johnson, Andre Johnson, and Larry Fitzgerald are physically bigger, but they also hustle to the ball and fight for every target. Oh, and they rarely ever fumble, especially in crucial games. You’ve had quite a few drops this season but none more painful than the one yesterday that led to an interception.
On top of that, your attitude towards getting a new contract, combined with your poor performance this season ensures that you will either A) make significantly less money than you wanted with the Steelers, or, B) make significantly less money than you wanted with someone else. No one is going to pay $100 million for a receiver that only runs in a straight line, can’t adjust to the ball, and wont fight for every play. Not even the Washington Redskins.
But at least you have options. Rashard Mendenhall, on the other hand, is going to be handled as an undrafted free agent. The size and talent are there but the toughness is questionable and the health is unreliable. Gone are the days of you being used as a feature back when you were drafted in the first round out of Illinois. Enjoy being a poor man’s Ron Dayne or Derrick Ward on a team that needs an extra running back.
The Steelers had holes to fill coming into this season. Thanks to you two, it looks like there will be two more positions added to the list. Wallace, you’re nothing but a one-trick pony as Mike Tomlin stated months ago. You may want big time money and you may consider yourself part of the “Young Money Family” but both of those players have passed you up and you’re going to be hard pressed to find a team with enough cap space to meet your demands.
As for Mendenhall, I have two words for you: Tim Worley.
Photo courtesy of Steelers Today
