Need I rant.
No. I'll do a little for you. And just a little, as it has become a pointless exercise.
First, on FWP: I believe that he has improved his running between the tackles. But we only see this when he has a chance to run between the tackles, which is rare. Our Oline has steadily declined since 2004, the last time that I would say they were truly great. They were good in '05, but certainly not the road graders they were in '04.
I say all this to make the point that FWP needs at least a chance to make any yardage inside, and those chances have been few. In the SB, he had to give his best Dancing with the Stars impression just to get positive yards. He bounces outside because it is rare that he has any room inside, and I doubt there are many guys in the leagu who have gained over 1000 yards in the last four years that have had so many DL wrapped around their legs as soon as the ball was snapped.
I believe this Oline can be better, but it won't happen until--here it comes--BA and the offensive staff change the system. The line is not as fast, smart, or talented as most of the Steeler lines in decades past. It boggles the mind that we cannot adjust to the personnel we have rather than trying to force square pegs into a round hole. These guys will never be great, but they could be better if Arians would drop the slow-developing/pulling guard and tackle/delays and draw plays that he continues to try. Let these guys go straight-up, hat-on-hat, zone blocking scheme and they would look much better, IMO.
One more thing on FWP and Mendenhall: We are using an impossible standard of comparison for them. Not too many guys had the footwork/power/inside presence of Jerome Bettis, and he usually had more oline help. Sorry, but we can't reincarnate the Bus...although I too would like to see someone a little more like that carrying the ball. Mendenhall has had no chance to prove himself, for heaven's sake. Lay off the guy and let's see what he can do.
