Very Impressed with FWP Tonight

[HawkLatino 0]

I see a ton of posts around here on how good Ronnie Brown looked tonight, but nothing on FWP. IMO, Willie Parker looked better than Ronnie Brown, but didn't get the fantasy love because he didn't so happen to get a TD. From what I can recall of the game FWP almost broke 4 runs and when he got Pitt down to the 1 yrd line (before Batch fumbled the ball) he raised his hand to come out for a breather, but it looks like Pitt was ready to keep him in there if he didn't raise is hand.

 

I think this game cemented the fact the FWP is the main ball carrier and will get the majority of the carries (he carried the rock 29 times tonight). I obviously don't think they should give the rock to FWP 30 times a game all the time because he will wear out just like any other RB, but I am very happy to be a FWP owner after tonights game.

 

I'd like to get the forums opinion on FWP performance and what it holds for the rest of the year.

[hermdogg 0]

Run Willy, RUN!!!! The Boy's a beast. He's gonna have a HUGE year.

[Keyser Sose 0]

FWP ran hard, with gusto, and moved the chains for his team.

Ronnie got stuffed, ran soft, and got SO FARGING LUCKY to get 2 GIFT WRAPPED TDs.

The fantasy scoreboard shows Ronnie with 18 pts and FWP with 11. What a ripoff.

FWP is the man. My big concern is when Cowher pulled FWP for Verron Haynes at the goal line (on the fumble). How often will Haynes vulture TD opps this season?

I had a lot of respect for the Porter kiss to Cowher... but a little creeped out by it. Sorry, I digress.

[-jb- 0]

i have nothing to add here but

[Raider 84 29]

He looked good except for when he got yanked on the one yard line.

[JesterX911 0]

I think Parker has a chance to be a top 10 back no questions... Just keep in mind when Big Ben is back in the line-up and they will probably throw a little more...

 

Very happy to get him in the 3rd round this year

[hermdogg 0]

I think Parker has a chance to be a top 10 back no questions... Just keep in mind when Big Ben is back in the line-up and they will probably throw a little more...

 

Very happy to get him in the 3rd round this year

 

Throw more?? When has Pittsburgh ever thrown the ball?

[gobuckeyes 0]

I thought Cower said he was going to give him more goal-line looks though, I was disappointed with that. He looked good on that 4th and 1 play, I was hoping they'd get creative with him in the red zone. Also, more screen passes.

[HawkLatino 0]

He looked good except for when he got yanked on the one yard line.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong fellas, but I saw FWP raise his hand to come out for a breather when they were on the one yard line before Batch fumbled the ball. I'm fairly positive they would have left him in if he didn't raise his hand...

[Let Da Big Dog Eat 42]

Prediction: Lot's of carries and lots of yards early in the year, then worn down and injured. Trade him before week 6 and get someone who will see the end zone more and be around for your playoffs. Pitts is trying to teach him to "run hard" between the tackles, a recipe for IR for a guy who has to work to keep his weight above 200. I know, I know, Warrick Dunn a the few other exceptions to the rule, but that is exactly what happened to FWP last year in a PT role. At 20+ carries a game, he won't last long.

 

You will thank me.

[HawkLatino 0]

Prediction: Lot's of carries and lots of yards early in the year, then worn down and injured. Trade him before week 6 and get someone who will see the end zone more and be around for your playoffs. Pitts is trying to teach him to "run hard" between the tackles, a recipe for IR for a guy who has to work to keep his weight above 200. I know, I know, Warrick Dunn a the few other exceptions to the rule, but that is exactly what happened to FWP last year in a PT role. At 20+ carries a game, he won't last long.

 

You will thank me.

 

I agree with you here bro, if FWP continues to get 30 to 35 touches a game he's an injury risk, but I don't think 30 to 35 touches will be the norm for FWP. I think he'll see more like 20 to 23 touches or so a game as the norm. I think Pitt did what they had to do tonight to get a win over a touch Maimi team.

[Keyser Sose 0]

Prediction: Lot's of carries and lots of yards early in the year, then worn down and injured. Trade him before week 6 and get someone who will see the end zone more and be around for your playoffs. Pitts is trying to teach him to "run hard" between the tackles, a recipe for IR for a guy who has to work to keep his weight above 200. I know, I know, Warrick Dunn a the few other exceptions to the rule, but that is exactly what happened to FWP last year in a PT role. At 20+ carries a game, he won't last long.

 

You will thank me.

 

Running hard between the tackles is a recipe for IR? Huhhh?

What do you recommend, tiptoeing through the tulips? Don't you have to run hard and finish runs to be in the NFL? I'm glad this advice was never given to Earl Campbell, Tony Dorsett, John Riggins, Eric Dickerson, Shaun Alexander, etc, etc.

[mobb_deep 921]

I don't own either but FWP looked much better than Ronnie imo. Although Ronnie ran in 2 that Dolphin o-line looked pretty suspect. FWP took a little while to get going but once that Miami D tired he ran all over them.

[hermdogg 0]

Prediction: Lot's of carries and lots of yards early in the year, then worn down and injured. Trade him before week 6 and get someone who will see the end zone more and be around for your playoffs. Pitts is trying to teach him to "run hard" between the tackles, a recipe for IR for a guy who has to work to keep his weight above 200. I know, I know, Warrick Dunn a the few other exceptions to the rule, but that is exactly what happened to FWP last year in a PT role. At 20+ carries a game, he won't last long.

 

You will thank me.

 

Why is it that everyone thinks you have to be big to be durable?

[frank 2,353]

FWP had several 3 yard runs that could have been 1 yard runs. He looked great.

 

 

 

Ronnie Brown is a Beast and will kick ass all year. Not many yards tonight, but do not worry. He will be a good RB1 for the next several years.

 

I agree with you here bro, if FWP continues to get 30 to 35 touches a game he's an injury risk, but I don't think 30 to 35 touches will be the norm for FWP. I think he'll see more like 20 to 23 touches or so a game as the norm. I think Pitt did what they had to do tonight to get a win over a touch Maimi team.

 

Correct. Plus he gets an extra day's rest this week since they play on Monday night.

[AnaheimRams 28]

Correct me if I'm wrong fellas, but I saw FWP raise his hand to come out for a breather when they were on the one yard line before Batch fumbled the ball. I'm fairly positive they would have left him in if he didn't raise his hand...

 

It looked to me like he was looking to the sidelines to verify that he was in fact being pulled.

 

JMO though.

[Captain Allen 0]

Why is it that everyone thinks you have to be big to be durable?

 

That's what I was thinking. Without wasting too much time searching, Tiki and Portis are about the same size as FWP, and you don't seem to hear the "fragile" talk with them. Excluding Portis' latest "injury". I'm sure there are several other backs who are close to the same size also.

[Keyser Sose 0]

That's what I was thinking. Without wasting too much time searching, Tiki and Portis are about the same size as FWP, and you don't seem to hear the "fragile" talk with them. Excluding Portis' latest "injury". I'm sure there are several other backs who are close to the same size also.

 

 

and Portis wasn't injured from running between tackles... rather, running while tackling-

[Let Da Big Dog Eat 42]

Running hard between the tackles is a recipe for IR? Huhhh?

What do you recommend, tiptoeing through the tulips? Don't you have to run hard and finish runs to be in the NFL? I'm glad this advice was never given to Earl Campbell, Tony Dorsett, John Riggins, Eric Dickerson, Shaun Alexander, etc, etc.

 

Because as I said, he had trouble keeping weight last year in a PT role and wore down. Now he is going to take triple or more of the load that he took last year and not get worn down? And, BTW the smallest back you mentioned was Dorsett who played at a minimum of 210. All others are 225+ and ancient history except SA who I think is like 230. BTW, why not bring up Gale Sayers? Still bigger, but hasn't played for 20 years either.

[delusional247 0]

I think tonight was a test for FWP.

 

1. See how he would do with that amount of carries

2. Had to shoulder the load because no one expected Batch to play so well.

 

 

 

Would have been nice if he get a TD but i don't expect him to have 25+ carries all year

[dfin13 0]

28 carries for 83 yard, 1 carry for 32 yards. Of course, you can't take away that one carry, it was a great run and indicative of his explosiveness, but I think the 115 yard stat is a little misleading here. I'd rather have a guy who can average 3.5 to 4 yards a carry consistently than one who gets 2 yards here, 3 yards there, and the breaks a long one once a game.

 

Parker isn't an every-down back, and by midseason, it's going to wear him down the way they're using him.

[kcBlitzkrieg 29]

FWP ran hard, with gusto, and moved the chains for his team.

Ronnie got stuffed, ran soft, and got SO FARGING LUCKY to get 2 GIFT WRAPPED TDs.

The fantasy scoreboard shows Ronnie with 18 pts and FWP with 11. What a ripoff.

FWP is the man. My big concern is when Cowher pulled FWP for Verron Haynes at the goal line (on the fumble). How often will Haynes vulture TD opps this season?

I had a lot of respect for the Porter kiss to Cowher... but a little creeped out by it. Sorry, I digress.

 

 

I don't know who you were watching but there is no way in hell you can describe Brown's running as "soft". Were you watching the same game as everyone else? Pittsburgh's D is stout and Miami's line was not giving Brown much of anything to work with. Yes his yardage sucked but he was running with power, breaking tackles & moving people forward after contact. Ronnie is going to put up very good numbers this year, as is Parker who contrary to several of these posts did NOT get pulled because of the goal line situation. He had just carried the ball 3 or 4 consecutive times pushing it down to the goal line. It was clearly a breather he was getting yanked for, not a Haynes vulture attempt. Haynes by the way looked worthless in the few pass & run opportunities he was presented. I was also expecting a few more receptions(screens, etc.) for FWP but I see Whisenhunt working there, he should still be good for 20-25 touches a game and will put up the numbers. If I was an owner of either of them I would be happy and be expecting good things for the year.

[nobody 2,926]

Fast Willie looked great. He will be a great back for many weeks. Than he'll get hurt. He ran right through a Zach Thomas tackle on that first long run.

 

As for Ronnie Brown, I'm deeply concerned about the Dolphins O-line. It looks horrible. I'm aslo deeply concerned about the human turnover at quarterback.

[davidbostonisgood 2]

I traded FWP for Maroney straight up!

[lb3g4m3rcyl 0]

I see a ton of posts around here on how good Ronnie Brown looked tonight, but nothing on FWP. IMO, Willie Parker looked better than Ronnie Brown, but didn't get the fantasy love because he didn't so happen to get a TD. From what I can recall of the game FWP almost broke 4 runs and when he got Pitt down to the 1 yrd line (before Batch fumbled the ball) he raised his hand to come out for a breather, but it looks like Pitt was ready to keep him in there if he didn't raise is hand.

 

I think this game cemented the fact the FWP is the main ball carrier and will get the majority of the carries (he carried the rock 29 times tonight). I obviously don't think they should give the rock to FWP 30 times a game all the time because he will wear out just like any other RB, but I am very happy to be a FWP owner after tonights game.

 

I'd like to get the forums opinion on FWP performance and what it holds for the rest of the year.

 

You say it as if it's a surprise. As if Parker wasn't a beast last year.

[ravenmad22 0]

I traded FWP for Maroney straight up!

 

You went all in on 7 2 off suit!

[davidbostonisgood 2]

You went all in on 7 2 off suit!

I know, but it was a 5 player keeper league. (I picked up Parker in my auction league, so I won't be totally pissed if Maroney doesn't turn into a stud).

[ravenmad22 0]

If it's a keeper, I can understand.

[davidbostonisgood 2]

I rolled the dice. I got a good feeling about Maroney and am thinking Parker will never turn into a long term stud. I know i'm taking a chance but what the heck. It's only fantasy football, and i know i'd be kicking myself for the next 10 years if Maroney turns out to be the player I think he will be.

[Guest Black Label Society]

I rolled the dice. I got a good feeling about Maroney and am thinking Parker will never turn into a long term stud. I know i'm taking a chance but what the heck. It's only fantasy football, and i know i'd be kicking myself for the next 10 years if Maroney turns out to be the player I think he will be.

 

Maroney may end up being a bonafide stud by the end of the year.

[davidbostonisgood 2]

The only thing I see holding him back is injuries. He was dinged up occasionally at Minnesota too.

[SoloMatisse 0]

FWP didn NOT raise his hand. he wanted a shot at that TD, but you could see he was a little tired, so they brought in the fresh guy before Batch bothched it.

[Dan 66]

I don't know who you were watching but there is no way in hell you can describe Brown's running as "soft". Were you watching the same game as everyone else? Pittsburgh's D is stout and Miami's line was not giving Brown much of anything to work with. Yes his yardage sucked but he was running with power, breaking tackles & moving people forward after contact. Ronnie is going to put up very good numbers this year, as is Parker who contrary to several of these posts did NOT get pulled because of the goal line situation. He had just carried the ball 3 or 4 consecutive times pushing it down to the goal line. It was clearly a breather he was getting yanked for, not a Haynes vulture attempt. Haynes by the way looked worthless in the few pass & run opportunities he was presented. I was also expecting a few more receptions(screens, etc.) for FWP but I see Whisenhunt working there, he should still be good for 20-25 touches a game and will put up the numbers. If I was an owner of either of them I would be happy and be expecting good things for the year.

 

Finally. It only took 28 posts to get to the meat of this. Beautifully said.

 

I will add, as a fan, that my biggest concern with the running game is not Willie - in any fashion. Rather, I would like Patrick Cobbs to get that playbook down quickly. I think the Steelers saw something that they like, and think they can use. Someone's got to spell Parker effectively at some point. Haynes can't.

 

FWP didn NOT raise his hand. he wanted a shot at that TD, but you could see he was a little tired, so they brought in the fresh guy before Batch bothched it.

 

You prove the same point, though. Regardless of whether or not he called to be taken out or not is moot. The fact is that he was NOT pulled because it was goal line. That's the key. Some people are wary because they see him getting vultured. That's just ludicrous, if last night was the measure for such a thought.

[Dan 66]

28 carries for 83 yard, 1 carry for 32 yards. Of course, you can't take away that one carry, it was a great run and indicative of his explosiveness, but I think the 115 yard stat is a little misleading here. I'd rather have a guy who can average 3.5 to 4 yards a carry consistently than one who gets 2 yards here, 3 yards there, and the breaks a long one once a game.

 

Parker isn't an every-down back, and by midseason, it's going to wear him down the way they're using him.

 

um.

 

You sound as though (a) you've only looked at the box score and write up, or ( were looking for a reason for Willie's performance to be bad.

 

Let me help you . . . How about this for a different take on your twisted logic:

 

12 carries for 25 yards (how he opened the game), 17 carries for 90 yards. Even accounting for your 32-yarder, that's 16 for 58, which is 3.7, which fits into your mold there. And when he breaks one for 32 yards, and puts them in position to score, boy that's huge. But for Batch's fumble, that's an easy six. But go ahead and discount the "one big play."

 

I think he started off tentative. I think he also started off against a very good defense. I also saw him working the inside, and accepting 1-3 yards when that was all that was there. And incidentally, Pittsburgh still moved the ball consistently. With Batch instead of Roethlisberger in there, Miami was more keyed on the run, and the Steelers still ran. I'll take those short runs when you're trying to loosen up defenses. If you think that every run is going to be 5 yards or longer, you're nuts.

 

I was more impressed by this performance from Willie than last year's 161 against the Titans. He ran tough and smart this game, and he got better as the game went on. Yeah, I know, Miami's defense got tired. Okay, but Willie didn't.

 

Thanks for listening.

[Captian America 0]

I think the people who won't give Parker credit are the same ones who bashed him last year and won't admit they were wrong about him. Just for the record here are some heights and weights of some running backs.

 

Willie Parker 5'10 209lbs.

 

Tiki Barber 5'10" 205lbs.

Reggie Bush 6' 0" 203lbs.

Warrick Dunn 5' 9" 180lbs.

Marshall Faulk 5'10" 211lbs.

Priest Holmes 5' 9" 213lbs.

Curtis Martin 5'11" 210lbs.

Clinton Portis 5'11" 212lbs.

Brian Westbrook 5' 8" 203lbs.

 

I just think it's funny that these people can say that Parker is too little yet have nothing to say about these other running backs who are some of the best in the NFL.

[TimmySmith 2,783]

While the 29 carries indicates that he is the man, he really only carried the ball so much because Batch had trouble throwing early. Once Big Ben gets back the whole field will expand and Parker will go back to 20-23, with a better ypc. If Batch stayed at QB I would trade Parker tomorrow. As it is, any Parker naysayers should be quieted by a super performance.

[Dan 66]

While the 29 carries indicates that he is the man, he really only carried the ball so much because Batch had trouble throwing early. Once Big Ben gets back the whole field will expand and Parker will go back to 20-23, with a better ypc. If Batch stayed at QB I would trade Parker tomorrow. As it is, any Parker naysayers should be quieted by a super performance.

 

Well said.

 

I also think that when Ben gets back, they open it up more. I think you'll see Parker involved with that passing game, too. I think the screens work better with Ben because the downfield threat is greater, and the pass rush is a bit more determined. So screens work to offset that, and also get Parker in open space.

 

I'm looking forward to what Parker can do this year.

[lowman 4]

Thank You Timmy Smith. Last night it was The Don't Let Charlie Fock It UP Show. You are right on. They ran FWP on so many first down with 8 on the line. I have a feeling it only gets better for FWP.

[wizbang 10]

My FWP game 1 review:

 

The good

1. Parker got BETTER with more carries. Some credit surely goes to the OL but that trend WILL get noticed by Cowher.

 

2. Parker ran hard and kept his speed late in the game despite a heavy workload.

 

3. Cowher kept Parker in the game on 4th and 1 and also when Pitt was on the 5 yardline. That tells me that Parker won't routinely get pulled in short yardage situations. It will happen. Even Edge was pulled when he seemed tired at times but I don't think it will be the norm.

 

The bad

1. Parker seems to take a lot of abuse. It's great to watch a guy run hard like that all the time but I'm worried that the punishment will wear on him. Guys like Tiki and LT just don't seem to take the big hits Parker does. Parker almost seems to invite contact at times.

 

Last year Parker wore down. No doubt about that. However, so did Cadillac and many rookie RBs before them. The rookies that finish strong (JJones, KJones, RBrown, Portis) usually begin the season with limited carries while those who get a lot of carries early (Cadillac, Parker) tend to slow down. Most of the time these guys rebound in their second season and are able to maintain their strength a little better. We'll see if that happens with Parker (who was essentially a rookie last year)... just as we'll have to wait and see with Cadillac. My guess is that both hold up better this season.

[Blue Martini 0]

Run Willy, RUN!!!! The Boy's a beast. He's gonna have a HUGE year.

 

Not unless he scores abunch from more than 10 yards out - they are pulling him near the goal line - and picked his a$$ when they said he would get those goal line totes....3rd rounder, probably a few too early without those inside the 5 carries. Fockin' Cowher and that piece of junk V. Haynes!!