By Hennessy Yinz love regular features. From Know Thy Enemy (accept no cheap substitutes!) to Wallace Watch ’12, our fearless leader, Chris, loves regular features,… Read More »Iron City Six Pack: Steelers-Raiders Edition
The Pittsburgh Steelers face the Oakland Raiders this Sunday. The Raiders are 0-2. Some people believe the Raiders are the worst team in football. I… Read More »Know Thy Enemy: Oakland Raiders
That man above is Tim Tebow. Tim Tebow is a football player in the national football league. Tim Tebow did not allow the temptation… Read More »Hennessy’s Rant of the Week: I Hate The Media (And Tim Tebow)
Mother Nature intervened last night to delay the latest installment in the Pittsburgh Pirates descent into abyss. Okay, so they actually won for once, stick… Read More »Still Trying To Figure Out That Penalty On Ike Taylor…
The Pittsburgh Steelers won their tenth straight home opener, soundly thrashing the New York Jets 27-10. As LaMarr Woodley promised, yesterday’s win ensured the Steelers… Read More »Week 2 Recap: Back To The Future
What a difference six months can make. Back in March, Pittsburgh Steelers GM Kevin Colbert was making the media rounds addressing the state of his… Read More »Rashard Mendenhall: Medical Miracle Or Worst Decoy Ever?
Rule number one of the preseason is don’t get injured. Rule number two is don’t get injured. Rule #3 is see rule number one. I… Read More »DeCastro Down & Out (And Other Preseason Thought)
Another day, another injury. Yesterday I mentioned that Pittsburgh Steelers All-Pro linebacker James Harrison remained on the PUP list due to ongoing soreness and swelling… Read More »Harrison Has Surgery, Redman Goes Down
The Pittsburgh Steelers began mandatory mini-camp last week. Which is not to be confused with voluntary off-season team activities (OTAs) or strongly suggested rookie orientation… Read More »Steelers To Begin Season Without Hampton, Mendenhall
ProFootballTalk is reporting that the Pittsburgh Steelers may cut ties with starting running back Rashard Mendenhall. Actually, this news is being reported by Ed Bouchette of the Post-Gazette but unless you have a puppy in need of paper training you’re unable to read this information since they’ve chosen to put it behind their insipid pay wall. Please allow me to save you that $3.99 so you can spend it on a more worthy item, such as a triple cinnamon dulce non-fat latte at Starbucks or a pack of Big Red.
To recap what we already know, Mendy tore his ACL in the season finale against Cleveland. Steelers GM Kevin Colbert, making the rounds of the local talk shows, has said an ACL tear takes about a year to heal. While a player may physically return to the field sooner, it is his opinion (and mine) that a player doesn’t begin to approach their old form until at least a full year has passed. Keeping this in mind, most had assumed Mendenhall would begin the 2012 season on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list with the team having the option to activate him later in the campaign. Now it seems the injury was either more serious than originally thought or Mendy’s rehab is progressing slower than expected because Uncle Eddy is hearing from inside sources that we may have seen his last carry in the Black and Gold.
I’m not terribly surprised. Running backs are like racehorses. When a racehorse breaks his leg, they have to put him to sleep. When a running back pulls up lame, his career is over. Oh, they may come back and they may even still have a few semi-productive seasons but once a RB blows out a tire, they’ll never be the same player again. What I’m saying is, if you have the second pick in your fantasy football draft, stay the hell away from Adrian Peterson.
Considering Mendy wasn’t any great shakes before tearing his ACL, I can’t imagine he’ll blossom into an elite back in 2013. The only thing that separated Mendenhall from undrafted free agent Isaac Redman was his big play break-away speed. If his ACL costs even .1 second on his 40 time, that advantage is basically gone. And as we’ve seen time and time again, he’s too soft either mentally or physically (or both) to be a tough yardage lower-your-shoulder grinder.
Read More »Is Mendenhall Tip-Toeing Out Of Pittsburgh?