Willie Parker is listed at 5-10, 209. I'm guessing that 209 is more like 201. Najeh Davenport is 6-1, 247. Local Pitt guy and childhood Steeler fan Kevan Barlow came in for a free agent visit last week. He's listed at 6-1, 234. If Barlow happens to come on board, that would give us three very diverse runners. Parker would still get the bulk of the carries, but having 2 bigger backs would be nice in short yardage situations. Alas, before we get too excited about bringing in Barlow instead of Verron Haynes (who they are still in contact with) look at these numbers: AVG first three years 4.1, 4.7, 5.1. Nice. AVG last 3 years: 3.4, 3.3, 2.8. Yikes! He was more of a role player in the beginning of his career and when asked to carry the load later, he faltered. Maybe a situation of sharing the load again would do everyone good? I'm on the fence about this one. To me, it looks like it may be an insurance policy for Parker. Having an experienced runner if Fast Willie goes down would be better than what's on the waiver wire at that point in time. If the price is right - I could be convinced.
5 comments:
The Steelers signing Barlow is like you buying a used transmission at the junkyard. That is... it won't take you very far.
i just wonder what he's capable of if he's happy and content playing for us knowing that he might only get 5-6 touches per game and some significant carries should parker miss a game of two. if willie gets nicked, i'm not too comfortable with najeh and an undrafted rookie carrying the load for a short stretch.
Indianapolis, Tennessee, and Buffalo looked at Barlow a month ago. So far nobody is throwing a contract his way.
He was a productive player for the 9ers. But in a league where retread RBs are a dime a dozen this one don't have much tread on the retread.
If the Stiller's sign him it'll only be because he's a hometown boy and it'll be for the hometown discount too. I don't think he could beat out John Kuhn for a practice squad spot at this stage of his career. Not sure if either one would be eligible for practice squad status this year anyway.
Your time would be better spent inventing some new magic cleanser that opposing DCs can use to get the poop stains out of their pants when they see Heath Miller and Matt Spaeth in the lineup simultaneously!
I know you don't believe right now, but those guys won't know whether to shit or go blind!!
i'd take kuhn over barlow if it was simply 1 or the other. i'd need to know how many rbs we're carrying to make this legit. i think in a perfect world i'd rather have kuhn than davenport.....and still have a back for an extended period should parker go down. for my role playing big back i'd take kuhn. however....i dont like kuhn or davenport starting if disaster strikes. it doesnt have to be barlow.....i just think we need another runner who is less than 220.
Well you could be getting your wish. I've heard some independent reports today that the Stillers are very close to signing Barlow.
I bet he'll sign cheap to play in Pittsburgh. If so, it's possible we could get our money's worth.
Not sure of his injury history but for some reason I'm thinking this dude is damaged goods.
In a perfect world I'd like to see Willie Parker get 1,800+ yards on about 190 carries and not have to worry about any other guys. But that ain't happenin'.
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