Willie Parker, Casey Hampton Out Against Ravens

Shit.

Whaddya got, Beetlejuice?

Rashard Mendenhall is a Champion

Rashard Mendenhall recently signed a three-year deal with Champion Athletic Apparel, making him the first major pro athlete to sign with the brand in over a decade. How 'bout that?

This is a sweet deal for a late first round pick like Mendenhall. All the top picks are fawned over, but Champion struck a perfect deal with a lower-profile first round pick (as low profile as you can get from a skill player taken in the first round) that could be a stud in this league.

I actually have on a pair of Champion sweat pants as I type this (I wrote this last night after work), so there's more free pub for the brand. I don't see the execs pounding down my door to sign me to a deal, even though I'd settle to be paid in a few more pairs of these sweat pants. I got 'em for Christmas last year and they're comfortable as hell.

Yeah you've probably seen this news elsewhere, but I thought it was newsworthy enough to pass along. It's not an ad, and I still get paid nothing at PSaMP (by my own convictions). You won't see ads here, but if you got a press release that sorta ties in Pittsburgh and/or sports and aren't a jerk about it, I'm more than happy to get the word out.

Good for Champion AND Rashard.

I'm Not Making Stuff Up

Last week, I gave you some pictures of Rashard Mendenhall holding the ball away from his body while at Illinois and the NFL Combine. The fans were shocked that Beetlejuice fell so far in the draft. We thought he would have been gone by the time the Steelers got around to picking, but now his stock slide might be due to the fumbling problem. Hold the ball to your body, and there's less of a chance of some linebacker stripping you of the rock. Don't fumble, and you're a valuable contributor to the team.

To prove this was something I was worried about prior to Friday's post, here's video of me and Cotter where I mention the images of Mendenhall's poor form. This is from the Vikes game, where Mendenhall fumbled twice. We were taping ourselves to see if we said anything significant. I'd confirm this as significant.

In possibly-related news, PSaMP (me) and OFTOT (Cotter), are planning on doing an informal pregame show for Steelers games. Since we both live/work in New York City, we want to give you, the readers (watchers?), a glimpse into how displaced Steelers fans provide commentary from The Big Apple. This is where you come in.

We need a title. And quick. The first game is this weekend, so we should be shooting the dumb analysis on Saturday and have it up on the world wide web the same day. Trust me, it's gonna suck, but we'll see how it goes. We need a title that sorta ties in NYC to the 'Burgh. Two tentative examples are "Penn Station Square" (Penn Station - New York; Station Square - Pittsburgh) and "One River Down" (Pittsburgh - 3 rivers; NYC - 2).

Come up with something witty and clever, and if we get any response, we'll throw your choices into the mix. Leave 'em here, or email them to psampmail@gmail.com. Trust me, we don't want to resort to my awesome choice of The Big Apple-Flavored Ketchup.

Rashard Mendenhall Needs To Stop Fumbling

So, Beetlejuice has a fumble problem. That's 3 in the past 2 preseason games. He can run...no doubt about that...but fumbling in the regular season is not an option. Fast Bill has had this problem in his career, which pretty much prevents him from making the jump from a 1,200 yard back to an All-Pro. Honestly, that's his only major flaw. It's concerning to think that Mendenhall might have the same limitations.

The above pictures are all found within the first few pages of a Google Image Search for "Rashard Mendenhall." I mentioned these results to Cotter during the Vikes game last week, and wanted to follow up to see if my memory served me right. Yeah...it did.

Look at that ball. This isn't college anymore. NFL defenders will salivate like dogs being taunted with a piece of meat if you hold the ball out there like that. The best comparison I can make is Tiki Barber. In the middle of his career, dude would fumble like it was nobody's business. From 2000-2003, Tiki had three seasons with 9 fumbles and one with 8. He switched his mechanics, and after one more season of 5 fumbles, he finished his last two years with 1 and 3 fumbles respectively. The ball was clutched next to his chest, nearly under his chin strap.

An example of Tiki's fumble-proofing is below. Might be time for Rashard to adapt.

Not Good

Re-read my title for this post.

And again.

It cannot be stressed enough. Every training camp, the Steelers go for the early goal-line drill, hoping that someone will stand out as a versatile short-yardage back with substantial power. Since The Bus left, the drill seems to come up empty year in and year out.

This year, disappointment is leveled at rookie Rashard Mendenhall. Given three chances from the 1-yard line, Bizarro Beetlejuice failed each time. This might be unfair criticism heaped onto a rook, but much is expected when you score 17 touchdowns as a short yardage/power back in college.

"But Nick, our running game is fine. We have Beetlejuice, Fast Bill and a backup plan in Mewelde Moore that other teams would love to be afforded. And Willie was leading the league in rushing up to his injury in week 16 last season!"

I've tried to use this excuse in my mind, and it isn't working anymore. Willie scored two touchdowns all of last year, both on the ground. That's a massive drop in production, going between yards gained and touchdowns accumulated. You can run a 99 yard play every time you snap the ball, but if you can't punch in the ball while letting the other team score, well...it's hard to justify the lack of production in the points category.

Now, I'm not necessarily worried about the RB corps entirely. If Willie can shake off this, he should re-take his spot on the list of top RBs in the league, and Mendenhall could be a perfect compliment.

Stellar defense, Pittsburgh, but someone needs to break the plane.

Rashard Mendenhall Is Beetlejuice

Hat tip to Mondesi's House for the picture.

MH shows evidence that Beetlejuice (nsfw), the weird, tiny little man best known for his Howard Stern Show appearances, is a proud member of Steelers Nation. Personally, I admire him most for his award-worthy role in Bubble Boy.

The picture and write-up is uncanny, because I was planning on making a Beetlejuice mention today. I've been trying to put my thumb on who Steelers draft pick Rashard Mendenhall looks like, and my thoughts echo those on several random message boards. Listen to these:

- "Mendenhall looks like a non ******** version of beetlejuice [sic]." DChess on Draft Countdown Forums.

- Posted pictures of both Mendenhall and Beetlejuice, Catch17 on CowboysZone (requires registration).

Now its time for you to decide (NFL Juice say they look nothing alike, but posted this picture):



100%.

(Side note: No disrespect to Rashard. Well, as least amount of disrespect as possible when one likens you to Beetlejuice. Its not the teeth, or short appearance or wacky antics. Its the eyes. Definitely the eyes.)