Conner remains top back
Will try to bounce back from injuries
Not that it needed any validation, but coach Mike Tomlin left no doubt he is not about to depart from his longheld philosophy of relying on one running back until the wheels fall off.
And there was never any doubt who that is.
“There is no question about who our bell cow is,” Tomlin said Tuesday. “Our bell cow is James Conner, and he is our primary balltoter.”
Despite having four running backs with differing styles, the Steelers will lean heavily on Conner in an attempt to improve a running game that ranked 29th in the league last season, averaging just 90.4 yards per game and producing just one 100- yard rusher.
Benny Snell, who has looked good in training camp, will be his backup and, in all likelihood, get 3- 5 carries a game. Jaylen Samuels will get some snaps in thirddown pass situations, and rookie Anthony McFarland will get one or two touches, primarily to see if he can deliver the kind of big- play runs he did at Maryland. McFarland is a good fit for some of the misdirection plays the Steelers have installed with the help of new quarterbacks coach Matt Canada.
“We have players with unique and different talents,” Tomlin said. “We are not
opposed to utilizing all of those talents.”
Nonetheless, nobody will be utilized more than Conner, who is trying to bounce back from an injury- plagued season that saw his touches drop from 270 in 2018 to 150 in 2019.
It was Tomlin who famously once said of former running back Willie Parker, “We’re going to ride Willie until the wheels fall off.” And they did, right up to the next- to- last game of the 2007 regular season when Parker, who was leading the league in rushing, broke his leg in St. Louis.
Barring injury — and that has been a significant issue with Conner — expect him to average approximately the same amount of touches ( 16.5 carries, 4.2 receptions) he had in 2018.
“You have a Pro Bowltype of running back as a starter that, when healthy, is as good as any in the league,” said running backs coach Eddie Faulkner. “You have a bunch of guys that skill sets fit what we look for, whether that is Jaylen Samuels and his versatility. Whether that is Anthony McFarland and his change of direction and burst. And, obviously, Benny Snell came in and did some good things for us his first year and [ has] only gotten better. I just look around the room and see a lot of talented guys who can help us.”
Conner is coming off a season in which he missed six games and parts of two others with various injuries. He still led the team with 464 yards rushing, but it was the first time in 53 years the Steelers’ leading rusher had fewer than 500 yards.
The Steelers are hoping Conner can regain his 2018 form, when he rushed for 973 yards and 12 touchdowns, averaged 113 scrimmage yards per game, had five 100yard games and was named to the Pro Bowl. The return of QB Ben Roethlisberger should help facilitate that.
Either way, Conner will need to show he can be the player he was two years ago to persuade the Steelers to sign him to a new deal after the season, when he becomes an unrestricted free agent. He can start on national television on Monday in a marquee matchup with New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley.
“We know that there needs to be an improvement,” Faulkner said. “We have worked on it. Ben’s [ Roethlisberger] presence opens up the run game. I also thing the run game can help Ben with some things. Obviously, we put an emphasis on improving that way.”
Who’s right?
If Tomlin keeps with the mindset of using players with familiarity with the Steelers system during this pandemic- altered period, Chukwuma Okorafor should be the starting right tackle against the Giants.
Not only is Okorafor more athletic than the 6foot- 8, 335- pound Banner, but he started four games, including two at tackle. Banner has never started an NFL game at tackle.
What’s more, while their two- year snap counts are basically the same — Okorafor ( 228), Banner ( 223) — the majority of Banner’s snaps have come as an extra tight end in short- yardage situations. Most of Okorafor’s have come at the tackle position.
But that might not matter against the Giants. Tomlin would not commit to naming a starter at his weekly press conference, but he might be inclined to start Banner to use his size against Giants defensive end Dexter Lawrence ( 6- 4, 342), the 17th overall pick in the 2019 draft.
“I’m comfortable with the right tackle prospects,” Tomlin said. “It’s been a tough decision because I feel like we have two guys who are starter- capable. That’s a good issue to have. We’ll quickly sort that out as we get through the week and formulate what we think is best for us at winning this football game.”
Early absence?
Five- time Pro Bowl guard David DeCastro is not expected to play against the Giants and will be replaced on the right side by newcomer Stefen Wisniewski. That means the Steelers will begin the season with three players at new positions on the offensive line — maybe not a good thing for Roethlisberger’s first game back.
The exact nature of DeCastro’s injury is uncertain because teams have not been required to release an official injury report, but it is not believed to be serious. DeCastro was injured in an Aug. 28 night practice at Heinz Field.