Rashard Mendenhall - BTSC 2010 Community Projections

:)

Teams will certainly play aggressively to stop the run against us in the four (hopefully) games without Ben. Consequently, I see BA using this as an excuse to throw on nearly every play and Mendy averages 60 – 80 per game with no TDs.. So, by game 5, he is at 240 yards, no tds and maybe 60 carries. Then Ben comes back and defenses have to respect our passing game, which eases things up a bit. Also, as you point out, the o-line will need some time to adjust to Kugler and game 5 seems like the right time for the running game to explode. I think a safe assumption is 20 carries for 100 yards per game, and scores every other game. That puts Mendy, at a minimum, at 1440 yards on 300 carries, and 6 tds. That said, I think that is playing it too safe and I think our running game, even though other teams no its coming in the first 4 games, is going to surprise people. I think Mendy finishes with 1500 – 1800 yards, with 14 -16 tds, on about 350 carries. I initially voted for the 1000 – 1300 range above, but I’m changing my vote after thinking about. I like th o-line’s run-blocking ability. I also think Lefty, whom I believe will be the starter, will throw deep early and often to keep defenses honest. Finally, while I join my fellow BTSCers in loving Redman, Mendy is a complete back in terms of running, catching and blocking, so I think he will be effective in the redzone and hold off Redman.

That’s an average just shy of 94 yards per game. Now, if they plan to utilize him more in the pass game, I should expect that would reduce the number of carries per game. So, maybe 80 – 85 yards per game if they plan to throw at him 5-7 times a game. So, low end, I’d expect to see about 1,300 yards on the season with about 500 yards receiving (3 rec p/game 10 yd avg).

     2500+ for Redman!

1200, 500 receiving. That’s if he’s healthy, I have a weird Injury feel for Mendy this year, and that whole FB thing I think will end up being a gimmick with Redman that doesn’t work at all.

Arians will find a way to screw up the best backfield we’ve had since Bettis lost his lateral agility ten years ago.

I think he can have 1300 rushing and 500 receiving, maybe more of each. What scares me is the fumble-itis and how much time he’ll spend on the sidelines after doing the ball-away-from-the-body routine. It’s gonna happen at least once, and with Coach T, that means back to learning his details.

He will break 1000 again, but I don’t think he goes over 1300. The line might have gotten better with Pouncey, but not good enough to truly make him join the elites with his number. Plus teams will most certainly stack the box without Ben. I think his YPC will hover right around 4.0, while he get’s between 1100 and 1200 yards. Not too shabby, yet still something to improve upon.

that yes, while Ben is out we plan (hopefully) on running the ball more. This would mean good things for Mendenhall….

but at the same time, no one is going to fear our QBs while Ben is out and will stack the box…so don’t expect league MVP like numbers…

I think he is the next Bam Morris, big games with big fumbles

he may lose the ball more than he scores

I really struggle here. He is only entering his second full year of playing time, and I think there is still a lot of upside for him. Plus, I think his workload will be increased during BB’s 3-game suspension. With decent run-blocking, I think he can spin his way to a few more TD’s from inside the 10. Those are the pros.

The cons? He could be spelled more by Redman (esp. at goal line and late in games as Redman can help “close it out”), and his workload will increase not only in the first 3 games, but all season long as he continues to show improvements over last year. Due to that fact, he has the potential for more nagging injuries as well as fumbles—perhaps keeping his numbers lower than those of elite RB’s. I definitely feel this year will reveal exactly what the Steelers have in Mendy.