Picture it: Pittsburgh, 1976.
The Steelers had two starting running backs on the roster. You may remember them — Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier.
Bleier was drafted by two teams in 1968 — the Steelers in January and the U.S. Army in December. Once he returned to the team in 1970, he had a tough time earning a roster spot.
When Harris came on the scene in 1972, Bleier was a veteran, but still only had 238 carries to Harris’ 846 by the time 1976 rolled around. History was made that season when head coach Chuck Noll decided to utilize the two of them in the run game.
Bleier had a career season that year with 1,036 yards rushing and five touchdowns on 220 attempts. Harris had 1,128 yards and a career-high 14 touchdowns on 289 attempts. The two also logged 294 and 151 receiving yards, respectively.
The Steelers finished the season at 10-4 and became the second team in NFL history to have multiple 1,000-yard rushers. There have only been four league-wide ever since.
Fast-forward to recent history.
The Steelers have not had multiple 1,000-yard rushers, let alone multiple running backs. They’ve strictly been a feature back team. Head coach Mike Tomlin isn’t the only one to overwork his primary running back; Bill Cowher was guilty of it, too.
Although we saw flashes of it in 2018, James Conner was never meant to be a featured back — he was drafted to complement Le’Veon Bell. And since Bell parted ways with Pittsburgh, the Steelers have not found his replacement.
As The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly beautifully illustrated in his recent article, Conner’s yards-per-carry decrease, and injuries and fumblitis increase after 17 touches. Tomlin should take a moment to read it and limit Conner’s playing time this season for optimal results.
In the 2019 offseason, there was chatter about getting two RBs on the field. We’ll never know if the team was just blowing smoke as RB injuries never allowed it to play out.
I genuinely believe it’s time for the Steelers to evolve — not just consider 1976 but to employ its tactics. The NFL has changed dramatically since then, and more and more teams have been using multiple running backs, not only in running-back-by-committee but also in two running back sets.
It would keep defenses on their toes and allow the offensive game plan to open up even more. Not to mention, it would take some pressure off an aging Ben Roethlisberger.
This can be achieved by drafting an RB in the second or third rounds and rotate him with Conner and in tandem with Conner. Sprinkle in Benny Snell, Jr. and a dash of Jaylen Samuels and the Steelers have a recipe for the Super Bowl.
A girl can dream, can’t she?
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