It doesn't seem that long ago, but it's been 10 years. Ten years since we got to witness the single greatest game by a Steeler running back, and that man was Fast Willie Parker. Willie was an explosive back with elite speed. Not much of a tackle breaker, or as shifty a runner as Bell, but his top end speed was unmatched. I remember the 2006 game against Cleveland in week 14 well.
Unlike the game we saw yesterday, where Bell's shiftiness and vision over a multitude of play sets, carried him to the new single-game Steeler rushing record. FWP's game could be summed up by one play. A play that couldn't be stopped all day by Cleveland, running it over and over, because they were getting 10+ yards on it each and every time they ran it. It was a simple LG Pull overload rush right, and Parker got to pick his hole. That Left Guard was HOF bound Alan Faneca, known for his perfect balance of quickness, power, and technique. Alan had a field day pulling and pounding Brownies all day long. I'll bet if you talked to him about this game, he'd remember it like it was yesterday.
I counted 8 pulls right, and each time it was a first down. It was the same play Fast Willie Parker broke right in the previous year's Super Bowl for an 75 yard TD run, and the longest rushing play in Super Bowl history! On this day in December, it was simply the play that could not be stopped. The majority of Parker's 223 yards came off of this play. The Browns knew it was coming, they tried to adjust, but they just couldn't stop it. I remember it being called on back to back plays, both going for 10+ yards, and when that happened, the Browns didn't have a chance to win. The weakness was found, and it was exploited, to a tune that ended in Willie Parker being the Steelers single-game rushing record holder.
Unlike the game we saw yesterday, where Bell's shiftiness and vision over a multitude of play sets, carried him to the new single-game Steeler rushing record. FWP's game could be summed up by one play. A play that couldn't be stopped all day by Cleveland, running it over and over, because they were getting 10+ yards on it each and every time they ran it. It was a simple LG Pull overload rush right, and Parker got to pick his hole. That Left Guard was HOF bound Alan Faneca, known for his perfect balance of quickness, power, and technique. Alan had a field day pulling and pounding Brownies all day long. I'll bet if you talked to him about this game, he'd remember it like it was yesterday.
I counted 8 pulls right, and each time it was a first down. It was the same play Fast Willie Parker broke right in the previous year's Super Bowl for an 75 yard TD run, and the longest rushing play in Super Bowl history! On this day in December, it was simply the play that could not be stopped. The majority of Parker's 223 yards came off of this play. The Browns knew it was coming, they tried to adjust, but they just couldn't stop it. I remember it being called on back to back plays, both going for 10+ yards, and when that happened, the Browns didn't have a chance to win. The weakness was found, and it was exploited, to a tune that ended in Willie Parker being the Steelers single-game rushing record holder.
