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Mendenhall off and running
But Tomlin does like to send messages.
When he does, he doesn't pull any punches.
So after Tomlin sat Mendenhall for not paying attention to details in practice leading into a 23-20 loss at Cincinnati, the 2008 first-round draft pick got the message.
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As luck would have it, Willie Parker suffered a toe injury in that loss to the Bengals, giving Mendenhall a shot at being the Steelers' primary ball carrier.
Mendenhall ran with it.
He gained a career-high 165 yards with two touchdowns on 29 carries in a win over the San Diego Chargers and hasn't looked back.
Over the past five games, all Steelers' victories, Mendenhall has 528 yards rushing on 93 carries with four touchdowns.
Tomlin likes what he's seeing.
"He's doing a nice job of seeing blocks develop. Very rarely is he missing holes," Tomlin said. "The vision aspect of the game that has very little to do with physical skill, I think he's doing a nice job of. I think he's finishing off runs. When he gets into the second level and into the secondary, he's doing a very nice job of making eight to 10-yard runs 20 to 25-yard runs."
Mendenhall has seven carries of 20-plus yards, including three last Monday against the Broncos, when he had 155 yards on 22 carries in a 28-10 victory. That ties him with Atlanta's Michael Turner and Cincinnati's Cedric Benson for third-most in the NFL.
Mendenhall has just 100 carries, compared to 156 for Turner and 198 for Benson.
In fact, among running backs with 100 or more carries, only NFL rushing leader Chris Johnson of Tennessee has a better yards per carry average (6.7) than Mendenhall's 5.7.
"He's been running the ball, but more than just his yards and big numbers, he's done a good job with blitz pick-up, knowing the offense, communicating with me if he needs help with something," said quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. "He's just been doing a great job."
It certainly makes the Steelers, who were relying heavily on Roethlisberger's arm early in the season, a more dangerous team.
"I think he is maybe a little different style than how Willie (Parker) has been lately, but not too much of a different style of Willie of (2004) or '05 when he started playing," said Cincinnati head coach Marvin Lewis, a McDonald native and Fort Cherry High School graduate. "Very fast to the hole and making big plays happen in a hurry."
The Bengals, who have the second-ranked run defense in the NFL behind the Steelers, hope to become the first team to slow Mendenhall.
"Rankings don't mean anything," said Steelers right tackle Willie Colon. "Denver had the No. 1 defense in the league going into our game with them and you saw how that ended up.
"Rashard is explosive. He's doing a good job of hitting the hole and hitting it fast. He's growing and he's being smarter. I'm happy for him."
Odds and end zones
Fullback Carey Davis (hamstring) and defensive end Travis Kirschke (calf) missed their second consecutive day of practice Thursday. ... Safety Tyrone Carter sat out with an illness after practicing Wednesday. ... For Cincinnati, guard Evan Mathis (ankle), linebacker Keith Rivers (calf) and safety Roy Williams (forearm) sat out Thursday.
I Love the Steelers : 11/13/2009
My name is Pastor Robert Prioleau and I have been a Steeler Fan all my life. The steelers are on my prayer list and I plan to make another trip to the Super Bowel to see my steelers take home another championship. Mendenhall has impressed me with his determination despite his lack of attention, but has made up for it in the long run. we can learn alot from that particular situation. Go Steelers
