Steelers will try to get a rusher to build attack
Coach Bill Cowher said having one good ball carrier is not enough.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Coach Bill Cowher remembers, and none too fondly, how the Pittsburgh Steelers discarded years' worth of success and tradition by getting away from their running game three years ago.
That one-year flirtation with a passing-heavy offense directed by Tommy Maddox led to a 6-10 record in 2003, one that stands out among their other records of the last five years -- 13-3 in 2001, 10-5-1 in 2002, 15-1 in 2004 and 11-5 and a Super Bowl title in 2005.
Jerome Bettis, the No. 2 rusher in Steelers history and the No. 5 in NFL history, is now retired. And Cowher wants to make sure those reliable yards keep coming, even though he already has a 1,200-yard rusher in Willie Parker.
"I think you have to have a good back -- you have to have more than one," Cowher said. "A good running game is a good back and a good line. Everything starts, in my mind, in the offensive line. But a good back can take 4-yard runs and turn them into 6- or 7-yard runs and explosive guys can turn them into bigger than that."
That's why Southern Cal running back LenDale White, a big back who would seem to fit the Steelers' longtime preference for a power runner, might prove to be too good to pass up should be drop to No. 32 on the first round of the NFL draft Saturday.
Even if, at 245 pounds or so, White has been much too big for some NFL teams' liking during their pre-draft scouting.
Steelers have enough
And, even if there are indications a team drafting ahead of them looks to be keying on White -- perhaps the Jets at No. 29 or the Colts at No. 30 -- the Steelers have enough draft picks to deal if they want to move up.
With 10 picks in seven rounds, including three in the fourth round and eight in the first five rounds, the Steelers appear to have enough picks to address their needs and still use some to make a deal.
Three years ago, they dealt a third- and a sixth-rounder to move up from No. 27 to No. 16 in the first round and take another Southern Cal player, safety Troy Polamalu. (The deal worked out well for the team they traded with, too -- Kansas City used what was the Steelers' first-round pick to take running back Larry Johnson.)
The question is how much the Steelers want White, who has disappointed some teams with his off-season weight gain and workout habits. They also have needs at safety, wide receiver and center, though it seems more likely they will look for help at receiver beyond the first round.
May look elsewhere
Should it appear White won't fall to No. 32, or it would cost them too much in their estimation to move up and draft him, the Steelers might have to look elsewhere -- perhaps to Tennessee safety Jason Allen. They also like Ohio State center Nick Mangold, even though they have two centers under contract in Jeff Hartings, who is expected to play only one more season, and Chukky Okobi.
Again, the Jets at No. 29 could be the key to the Steelers' draft. If the Jets take Mangold to replace former star center Kevin Mawae, it could allow White to slip to No. 32 -- if the Colts don't get him. But should the Jets take White, Mangold then might fall to Pittsburgh.
If that happens, the Steelers would be taking another step toward keeping that strong running game going, only by adding a lineman rather than a running back. The Steelers then would hope to get by next season with Parker and Duce Staley at running back.
Staley was hurt part of last season, then sat behind Parker and Bettis when he was healthy.
"Whether we are going to be able to address it or not, we will see as it goes," director of football operations Kevin Colbert said of replacing Bettis. "Right now, we will just wait and see."
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