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Parker Not Eager to See Kreider Go

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By Michael Bean
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Interesting column in the Post-Gazette about Willie Parker's take on the decision to potentially cut longtime FB Dan Kreider. Parker, who had the 5th most carries in the NFL last year, said he preferes running behind a lead blocker:

"I prefer to have a fullback," said Parker, who was third in the American Football Conference last season with 1,494 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns. "You always want a lead blocker and someone who takes it in there. And a fullback, they just go and take it in there and block somebody to clear a path. Dan Kreider is a good fullback."

Not the most enlightening quote in the world, but it does make sense to ask our star RB about his tendencies and preferences in the running game. Parker did open up though, saying he would be disappointed if the Steelers were to cut the veteran:

"It would be kind of disappointing [if he were cut]. It would be surprising. Sometimes you want to stay away from a lot of that, if they cut him. I don't want to talk about my man like that. He takes pride in what he does and I love what he does."

The issue of course is whether it makes sense to use a roster spot on Kreider in the new Bruce Arians offense. Because Arians likes to spread things out in the passing game with four or five WR sets, the assumption is that Kreider might not fit in. Verron Haynes however, emphasized that the Steelers are still going to be a running team:

"It's not one of those things where we're not going to run the football," Haynes said, "I mean, we're still the Steelers. [Arians] runs the football just as much as anybody. He wants to run the football. A lot of people think we're going to be a pass-happy offense. Uh-uh. That's not the deal. He wants to run the football."

If that's the case, I'd argue that we should keep Kreider. Even if he doesn't play a major role in all of our games, there will be times throughout the season when we'll want to put Willie behind Kreider and pound the football (like when we're beating the Browns by two TDs and FG :).

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