We got a closer

[SteveA]

This was lost on the Nation as to why we will love Snell. He could close out games with 4 minutes left. Never giving the ball back to the opponent.

Bell could NEVER and NEVER CLOSED GAMES. Running the clock out with a lead. I NEVER REMEMBER HIM DOING SO. Conner has yet to do it, and while our defense gave up leads in the 4th we had the opportunity to close out those games running the ball as timeouts and time elapsed.

Benny Snell is our closer. You heard it here first

 

[squidkid]

1 did we ever try?
2 what makes you think tomlin will give the ball to a rookie, with a slim lead, with little time on the clock, to a guy that hasnt seen the field all game?

 

[Tibs]

Benny Snell is our closer. You heard it here first

Great anecdote from Labriola:

NFL coaches are well aware that among the most difficult things to do is run the football when the opponent knows you’re going to run the football. And left unsaid is that giving the ball to the same guy play after play after play in an attempt to accomplish that goal simply adds to the degree of difficulty.

In the 2019 Citrus Bowl, Kentucky had seen a 27-7 fourth-quarter lead over Penn State shrink to 27-24 when the Wildcats offense got the ball back at their own 25-yard line with 4:12 remaining and the Nittany Lions being in possession of their full complement of three timeouts.

Everyone knew what the Wildcats were going to do, and it also was no secret when it came to which man they would turn to get that job done. To that point in the game, Benny Snell had rushed for 129 yards on 18 carries and scored two touchdowns, and the rest of the Kentucky offense had combined for 153 yards rushing and passing combined.

Snell carried the ball eight straight times; he gained 4 yards on a third-and-3, and he gained 6 yards on a second-and-6. His final total in terms of real estate gained was 25 yard in eight carries, but what was more significant at the time was that his running ate up all but one second on the clock while also forcing the Nittany Lions to use all of their three timeouts in a futile effort to do something about what Snell was doing to them.

“My style is hard-nosed football,” said Snell. “I’m grinding for every yard. I’m physical in pass protection. I’m a physical player. I want to mirror myself after a Marshawn Lynch or an Adrian Peterson. Just fighting for extra yards and giving your all.”

https://www.steelers.com/news/labriola-on-day-3-of-the-2019-nfl-draft

 

[steeltruckin]

Snell will not be closing out games if Connor is not hurt, you heard it hear first.

 

[xjx]

I hope he can do it. We need a guy in that spot.

 

[Omar10213245]

This was lost on the Nation as to why we will love Snell. He could close out games with 4 minutes left. Never giving the ball back to the opponent.

Bell could NEVER and NEVER CLOSED GAMES. Running the clock out with a lead. I NEVER REMEMBER HIM DOING SO. Conner has yet to do it, and while our defense gave up leads in the 4th we had the opportunity to close out those games running the ball as timeouts and time elapsed.

Benny Snell is our closer. You heard it here first

actually, i believe Bell did that year before last in Pittsburgh's home game vs. Cincinnati.

 

[SteveA]

Snell will not be closing out games if Connor is not hurt, you heard it hear first.

This guy will be a load...U heard it here first. Plus Conner needs to work on his stamina

 

[SteveA]

1 time in 5 years? Hmmmm

 

[JMM]

I hope so. I enjoyed the days where we pretty much could run it down opposing defenses throats in the 4th and there was nothing they could do about it.

 

[Vincent]

what makes you think tomlin will give the ball to a rookie, with a slim lead, with little time on the clock, to a guy that hasnt seen the field all game?

Because it would be counter intuitive. Nobody in the league would expect 'counter intuitive' from Tomlin. Nor would I. But I would hope that our OC might reflect on Snell's role in closing the 2019 Citrus Bowl and send one of his subordinates to distract Tomlin long enough to close games.

 

[fedderone]

1 did we ever try?
2 what makes you think tomlin will give the ball to a rookie, with a slim lead, with little time on the clock, to a guy that hasnt seen the field all game?

Because Snell NEVER fumbles.
Ball security is his best attribute.
Plus, he LOVES bowling people over.


Sent from my iPhone using Steeler Nation mobile app

 

[ark steel]

Well, this year the coaches know more of what they have in Samuels. Last year, when Conner was killing it, pulling him out for the unknown would not have been wise.

I'd expect JaySam to spell as conner more this year, which should hopefully extend his availability into the season.

Im hoping snell gets some preseason time with and against 1st teamers and can show what he's got and shows he can be used in the short yardage situations. if he can, it makes the RPO that much more effective.

 

[steelhurt]

Listen, we have no super star running back and that’s fine. Tomlin needs to stop this run the wheels mentality **** and use the running back by committee approach. Each guy brings a different skill set so use that to our advantage. Hopefully dumb *** won’t screw this up.


Sent from my iPhone using Steeler Nation mobile app

 

[Drink IRON City]

1 did we ever try?
2 what makes you think tomlin will give the ball to a rookie, with a slim lead, with little time on the clock, to a guy that hasnt seen the field all game?

SAME ******* reasoning that you don't think we can win our division................. it's an opinion and HIS is a dang good option with Snell, your's is just troll opinion.




Salute the nation

 

[QB coach]

I like the Snell pick a lot. He racked up great stats against SEC competition who knew he was going to run the ball a lot. I think he was a team leader at Kentucky who lifts up his teammates to play better. And I love the confidence he shows in himself. If you don't believe you can do the job, your teammates will notice this right away and you will be buried by them. He is definitely a hard nosed runner and I'd be surprised if he doesn't contribute right away. I think they want to use Samuels more in the passing game down the road than from TB. Conner needs a rest now and then which Tomlin is terrible at doing. A lot of players are gassed in 4th quarter when they are needed the most.

 

[Just A Fan]

We got a closer

That's the first thing I thought when I saw his highlight reel, them I remembered all of their highlight reels look good. Oh and they all have ****** soundtracks. Then I saw that he had 48 touchdowns in 3 seasons and that made me happy again. I see him maybe starting out as a short yardage back. Here's hoping he kills it in preseason and earns some regular season reps. Excited for camp, already thinking about getting to Latrobe early enough to get a bleacher seat in the shade this year.

 

[JMM]

I like the Snell pick a lot. He racked up great stats against SEC competition who knew he was going to run the ball a lot. I think he was a team leader at Kentucky who lifts up his teammates to play better. And I love the confidence he shows in himself. If you don't believe you can do the job, your teammates will notice this right away and you will be buried by them. He is definitely a hard nosed runner and I'd be surprised if he doesn't contribute right away. I think they want to use Samuels more in the passing game down the road than from TB. Conner needs a rest now and then which Tomlin is terrible at doing. A lot of players are gassed in 4th quarter when they are needed the most.

You bring up a good point about the players being gassed at the end..How do you think our team compares with the elite teams when it comes to conditioning? It's one thing to be able to pass block, definitely another animal to have a grinding power run game. Will be interesting to see what they come up with this year.

 

[Badcat]

I think we all harken back to the glory years of Bettis and Fuuuuuu!!! Two big physical backs just eating up clock. I mean Connor and Snell aren't as big but they are just as physical and if Tomlin doesn't give them both 10+ carries a game, it would be an injustice to the offense's capabilities.

 

[Tibs]

You bring up a good point about the players being gassed at the end..How do you think our team compares with the elite teams when it comes to conditioning? It's one thing to be able to pass block, definitely another animal to have a grinding power run game. Will be interesting to see what they come up with this year.

Not sure it's a conditioning issue per se, just seems other teams do a better job rotating players at certain positions. You could argue the Steelers are more stubborn than most, leaving their star players out there for long durations. You could also argue, we've never had the 3-deep talent we now have at RB. Perhaps they'll change things up this season. It's ironic, it would make a guy like James Connor all the more effective if he had his legs beneath him in the 2nd half of games. Now that we got rid of our two ****-head, me-first superstars, I envision a more team-first approach with players supporting and rooting for each other to succeed, as opposed to making demands on playing time or getting the ball. We'll see about that, but that's my expectation.

 

[Ron Burgundy]

Because it would be counter intuitive. Nobody in the league would expect 'counter intuitive' from Tomlin. Nor would I. But I would hope that our OC might reflect on Snell's role in closing the 2019 Citrus Bowl and send one of his subordinates to distract Tomlin long enough to close games.

Shades has made worse mistakes.

 

[mightyguru]

Snell was the entire offense...opposition knew he was the only horse, yet he succeeded and NEVER fumbled his entire college career...I really like that.

 

[Drink IRON City]

Snell was the entire offense...opposition knew he was the only horse, yet he succeeded and NEVER fumbled his entire college career...I really like that.

That NO-fumble stigma is pretty kewl and hope it trends forward with his play ability. He is easy to like and very much welcomed addition to this STEELERS team.




Salute the nation

 

[wig]

Because Snell NEVER fumbles.
Ball security is his best attribute.

Against college players who aren't as talented as him, sure. But now he's going to be the least talented guy in the immediate vicinity of the football. He 'may' find that ball security is less of a sure thing.

As for the Steelers not having a star running back... Once again, Conners eclipsed Bell in his prime in EVERY SINGLE RUNNING BACK category. He also caught passes for more yards on average than Bell... Yes, Conner has to maintain numbers to make us truly forget Bell, but with that line and his own determination - he may just be able to do that. And if he does better than Bell AGAIN, I don't want to hear any more of this "Bell is a once in a generation" back bullshit.

 

[bigben]

Against college players who aren't as talented as him, sure. But now he's going to be the least talented guy in the immediate vicinity of the football. He 'may' find that ball security is less of a sure thing.

As for the Steelers not having a star running back... Once again, Conners eclipsed Bell in his prime in EVERY SINGLE RUNNING BACK category. He also caught passes for more yards on average than Bell... Yes, Conner has to maintain numbers to make us truly forget Bell, but with that line and his own determination - he may just be able to do that. And if he does better than Bell AGAIN, I don't want to hear any more of this "Bell is a once in a generation" back bullshit.

Bell had less fumbles than Conner, More scrimmage yards per game throughout his entire career.
The James Conner led Steelers were ranked 31'st in rushing
But keep telling yourself lies.

 

[tapeANaspirin2it]

Interesting analogy calling Snell a closer. Closer is important to a team but not as important as the starting pitchers and the starting lineup. I dislike the Snell pick because i feel like they got a closer but they could have used another starting pitcher or Outfielder more.