The Pittsburgh media provided a chorus last week of praise for Steelers running back Mewelde Moore last week and, as detailed above, commentators were tripping over themselves to ask “Why hasn’t Moore gotten more carries?”
- Anytime a player comes off the bench and does well, the question of where has this guy been is always an interesting one.
But A little background is useful, consider….
Anthony Brown and Chris Conrad alternated at right tackle for the Steelers during the 1999 season. The operative question in those lineup shifts was, “Which one is worse?” The Steelers offensive line and running game were horrible that year. Game fifteen found both men injured and up stepped Shar Pourdanesh. Pourdanesh was no world-beater, but he was a definite upgrade, and his presence (along with the snow) helped the Steelers notch a 30 to 20 victory over the Carolina Panthers, and thus the Steelers averted their worst season since finishing 5-11 in 1988.
When asked why Pourdanesh hadn’t played sooner, Bill Cowher answered that he honestly had no idea….
Considering how poorly the Steelers line played in 1999, the question of “Where was Pourdanesh?” was spot on.
- Is the question, “Why haven’t we seen more of Moore?” legit now?
The answer is no.
During their victories against the Texans and the Browns the Steelers gained at total of three hundred yards. They got smothered against the Eagles, but does anybody think that Moore would have been a difference maker? There’s a chance, but there were a lot of other things going wrong that day.
Moore got plenty of time against the Ravens, but only after Carey Davis got hurt. Ah, but Davis only netted 15 yards on 8 carries, so its obvious that the Steelers should have put Moore in first, right?
- Well, Moore did get in, and he also got 8 carries… Alas, he netted 2 yards less than Davis.
Mewelde Moore played exceptionally well against a tough Jaguar defense, and clearly deserves to see the ball more often.
But it’s a flat-out incorrect criticize the Steelers for not giving him more carries sooner.
