Cleveland Browns: Far too early to bury rivalry with Steelers
Can the Steelers still run the ball?
If you have friends (or acquaintances) who are Steelers fans and you want to get their goat without being too obvious, just start praising the wide receivers, and tick off four or five names.
“Boy what a group of receivers you guys have: Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, James Washington, JuJu Smith Schuster, Eric Ebron, wow, they are all good.”
Your friend will nod in agreement at first, but then start to get agitated and eventually, he will blurt out, “We ain’t no run ‘n shoot team! We gotta run the bleeping ball!” You can pretend to be sympathetic, but inside you will be laughing your tail off, because that is where the Steelers are really worried.
Pittsburgh, like the Browns, have built their identity around the running game, and if they can’t run, they cannot play football for Shinola. They lost James Conner in the off-season, who didn’t get a big payday to move to Arizona, but probably should have. Last season, Conner was apparently weakened by Covid-19 (you will recall that Conner is a cancer survivor, and we are told that that is a risk factor for Covid-19 symptoms).
In any case, he wasn’t the same player after he got sick, and never really made it back 100%. That was a major factor that caused the Steelers to overwork Roethlisberger and why the team faltered down the stretch after starting 11-0.
Conner had three 100-yard rushing games prior to getting sick, but could not top 37 yards after making it back. His loss is the one that might hurt the most, though they have the perfect replacement with Najee Harris, the former Crimson Tide back.
They are going to give Harris the ball and ask him to gain 1,000 yards from scrimmage with a makeshift offensive line. Harris is 232 pounds and runs the 40 in 4.45 seconds. He didn’t participate in the full Pro Day drills due to lingering effects from a sprained ankle.
That might remind Browns fans of another sure-fire Browns draft pick from Alabama, Trent Richardson, who posted 4.49 seconds in the 40 but did not participate in most of the Combine drills.
Ohio fans may dig this quote, which shows some humility after a convincing Crimson Tide victory over Ohio State for the College Football Championship;
"“Najee, Ohio State has a really good front. How were you able to expose those holes so effortlessly?” “Effortlessly?” Harris said. “You didn’t see what they was doing? They was blowing my ass up. What you talkin’ about?” he said. “Bruh, they was blowing my ass out. You trippin’.” — Najee Harris, quoted in Fox News, March 23, 2021"
Harris is a special person who came from the humblest of backgrounds, spending part of his youth at a homeless shelter in Richmond, California. He did not forget the kids who live at the shelter when he made the big time.
Whatever team drafts Alabama's Najee Harris is getting a special person. Today he threw a draft party for kids at the homeless shelter where he lived for several years growing up. He told me it was emotional the first time he went back to visit. @kron4news #NFLDraft #RollTide pic.twitter.com/JadBIFh4pd
— Kylen Mills (@KylenMills) April 30, 2021
It just seems like this fellow may be made of a different cloth than Trent Richardson. The Steelers may have something here. Heart like this probably translates to mental toughness to go along with his physical ability, which bodes well for success in the ground game.
That’s another reason why the Steelers ground attack should not be counted out at this point. Harris might join Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt in Hawaii in the not too distant future.
The defensive losses are more concerning. Specifically, Bud Dupree and Mike Hilton are no longer wearing black and gold.