The Pittsburgh Steelers aren't surprised by the success of
second-year running back James Conner.Conner continues to shine in the spotlight
while two-time All-Pro running back Le'Veon Bell remains away from the team.
Conner enjoyed a history-making
day
Youth
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during the Steelers' 33-18 home win against Cleveland on Sunday."He's doing what
he's been doing the whole time," Steelers right guard David DeCastro said. "He's
keeping his head down and running really hard. He's a fun guy to block
for."Bell, who finished as the NFL's third-leading rusher last season, still has
not reported nor signed his one-year, $14.5 million franchise tender.Conner has
taken full advantage while Bell has been away.He finished Sunday's game with 212
all-purpose yards, just 25 fewer than the Browns totaled as a team. Conner, a
2017 third-round pick, rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught
five passes for 66 yards."I'm just doing what I love to do," Conner said. "Just
trying to be in the right spots for (quarterback) Ben (Roethlisberger) with the
check-downs in the passing game, and just trying to put the ball in the right
spots in the right game."He also made history while he was at it.Conner is the
first Steeler to rush for at least 100 yards and two touchdowns in three
straight games. He eclipsed 100 yards rushing for the third straight game and
fifth time this season."He did a lot of good things (against Cleveland), running
the ball and catching the ball for us," Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey said.
"He just looks good all the way around and runs the ball hard. He takes it very
seriously and his preparation is very good. I can't say enough about him."Now,
the rest of the league is taking notice.Conner's nine touchdowns rank second in
the NFL and his 599 rushing yards are third. Conner, a former University of
Pittsburgh standout, is also tied for the most touchdown runs, and has the
second-most yards from scrimmage ¡ª 922 ¡ª through the first seven games of a
season in team history."I had a front-row seat for his college exploits, so we
are not surprised by his talents, play, demeanor, or his displays of
will
http://www.steelersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-marcus-gilb ert-jersey ,"
said Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, whose team shares a practice facility with
Pitt.Conner rushed for 135 yards, gained 192 all-purpose yards and finished with
two scores during the season opener at Cleveland. He has 281 yards rushing, 404
all-purpose and four touchdowns in two games against the Browns.It wasn't easy
for Conner on Sunday: Conner had 36 yards rushing on his first 12 carries. But
on his next 12, Conner added 110 yards rushing. By the third quarter, the fans
at Heinz Field were chanting his name ¡ª "CON-NER," ''CON-NER," ¡ª when he
finished the period with 114 all-purpose yards."I'm proud of him,"
Roethlisberger said. "It was so much fun to watch him go and work and be
successful and hear the crowd love on him."Conner didn't allow the slow start to
affect his play."Things aren't going to go our way the whole game," Conner said.
"You just have to have patience. We just wanted to stay focused and locked
in."Conner enjoyed a strong finish with 60 of 75 yards, including a 12-yard
touchdown, during a third-quarter scoring drive that gave the Steelers an
11-point lead. He added a 22-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter."It's just
a moment that we have to take advantage of late in the game," Conner said. "We
have the ball, trying to run the clock out and we need first downs. We're just
trying to move those chains and stay on the field."Conner seeks a strong finish
to the season, of course."I'm just trying to be a better back every week,"
Conner said. "I'm just running hard." When I first began mourning the end of the
2018 NFL season that was put to bed by the Patriots 13-3 victory over the Rams
in Super Bowl LIII on February 3, there was no way in heck I thought Steelers
fans would soon find a football fix that didn¡¯t involve mock drafts, the
upcoming free agency period, Antonio Brown, Le¡¯Veon Bell or a continued
preoccupation with
¡°FireTomlin!¡±However
David
DeCastro Jersey , Friday morning, my mom (or mum in both Pittsburgh and
England-speak) called to inform me that BTSC writer and Great Britain native
Simon Chester was on the KDKA Morning Show to talk about the Alliance of
American Football Fan Guide he had recently published. When I first heard about
that, the first thing I thought was, ¡°Wow, why didn¡¯t Larry Richert ever have me
on to discuss one of my annual Super Bowl Roasts? "After I got over that
disappointment, the next thing I thought was, ¡°Really?¡± I couldn¡¯t believe there
was an actual buzz for the newly-created AAF, a sort of developmental league
founded by filmmaker Charlie Ebersol and headed by former NFL general manager
Bill Polian.Later that day, my cousin texted me about the league, and that¡¯s
when Irealized the buzz was real. But was it real enough to sustain the
excitement all the way through until the start of the 2019 NFL season (or, at
least the start of the NFL Draft)? As for me, personally, was this something I
wanted to care about? I was intrigued by some of the rules Simon listed in his
fan guide, such as no kickoffs and no extra points, which tells me the disdain
for the foot part of football is growing¡ªwe may be about five years away from
having to come up with another name for the sport (seriously, without kickers
and punters, calling it football would be like calling the Bee Gees the Bee Gees
once Barry Gibb retires). I actually laughed at the very strict overtime rules
which include just one possession from the 10-yard line for each team (if
there¡¯s one thing sports fans want more of, it¡¯s ties). I did take an initial
liking to the idea of forcing a team to convert a fourth and 12 in lieu of an
onside kick. Then I thought about how that would translate to the NFL, and
unless it was a fourth and 40, in most
cases
Authentic
Javon Hargrave Jersey , it would be like Tony Romo putting a golf ball
into the giant hole in that one commercial.Now equipped with at least some
understanding of the AAF, I decided I was going to try and watch the league¡¯s
debut on CBS on Saturday night. Unfortunately, I got about halfway through the
pre-game show before I decided I didn¡¯t want to watch the actual game. There was
nothing in particular that forced me to change the channel. It¡¯s just that,
well, I kind of want to miss football for a few months. I believe half the fun
of enjoying something is not having it around for a while. It¡¯s like what Barry
Manilow told his good friend Suzanne Somers regarding the dwindling audience for
her ongoing Las Vegas show, ¡°How can you give them a chance to miss you if you
never go away?¡± I mean, aren¡¯t you always going on and on about the
over-saturation of the sport of football? Don¡¯t you continuously complain about
the length of games, the numerous commercials and about how the NFL practically
force-feeds you match-ups on Thursday nights? Aren¡¯t you someone who is ready to
throw fists at the mere suggestion of expanding an NFL regular season to 18
games? How can you be so frustrated by all things football, yet excited about
more football¡ªjust six days after football ended? I do like the fact that the
AAF will give many fringe players¡ªparticularly quarterbacks¡ªa chance to develop
their skills and perhaps get noticed by the NFL. I also like that so many areas
without NFL teams¡ªincluding Arizona (Cardinals humor, Ar Ar)¡ªwill get a chance
to see a level of football that¡¯s at least slightly greater than college (well,
except for Alabama where the quality of college football is better than 75
percent of the AFC East). I may try and find some AAF highlights online. I may
take in some action if a game is on at some bar I happen to be at. I may even
get excited about the prospect of Zach Mettenberger of the Memphis Express
finally developing into the next Ben Roethlisberger. But I don¡¯t see myself
going out of my way to watch this new football league.When I was 12 years old, I
was watching a baseball game, when a player tried to dive into the stands to
catch a foul ball. The announcer joked that he didn¡¯t get both feet in bounds,
thus the catch didn¡¯t count. When I heard that, I got that warm and fuzzy
feeling because I knew football was right around the corner. That was 35 years
ago, and just about every summer since then, something happens or is said that
makes that warm and fuzzy feeling return. I want to continue to have that
feeling every year, and I may not if I forget how to miss football.Sorry,
AAF.
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