Who will Tote whe Rock? A Look at the Pittsburgh Steelers' Running Back Battle

From Franco Harris to Jerome Bettis, the running game has always been the staple for the Pittsburgh Steelers.  The key to success has always been pound the ball, and play great defense.

Since the retirement of "The Bus" Jerome Bettis, Pittsburgh has been more flash than bash coming out of the back field.

Could it be that the Steelers are going away from what worked for so many years?  Or could it be that we are going back to our roots?

When Fast Willie Parker (Flash) came to the Steelers as an un-drafted free agent out of North Carolina, no one envisioned that he would replace the legend of the "Bus".  But, after Super Bowl XL, when Bettis decided to hang up the cleats, Parker was given the keys to the backfield.

In 2006, Willie Parker rushed for 1,494 yards and 13 touchdowns.  In 2007, he rushed for 1,316 yards and two scores.

Though these numbers were good enough to rank Parker in the top six in both seasons, they were not good enough to keep the Steelers from using their first round pick on power house Rashard Mendenhall.

Mendenhall was projected to be drafted in the top 15 in the 2007 draft.  When he unexpectedly fell to the Steelers at pick 23, it was too good of a value to pass him up.

Mendenhall (Bash) is a lot closer to the mold of the old school Steeler running backs.  At 5'10, 224 lbs, Mendenhall is more of a truck than a Ferrari.

Though he broke his shoulder in a collision with Ray Lewis in a week 4 match up against the Ravens, Mendenhall is looking to return and take some carries from "Fast" Willie.

Mewelde Moore did a fantastic job last year when both Parker and Mendenhall were out with injuries.  Moore is great at catching out of the back field, and even better at picking up the blitz.

Look for Moore to continue to be the third down back.

With the many problems the Steelers had in short yard situations last year, this year they decided to draft a possible solution.  Frank "the Tank" Summers comes to the Steelers from UNLV.

Summers is not the kind of guy that is going to run around you.  At 5'10, 230lbs, Summers is perfect for the short yardage situations.  He is not afraid to put his head down and run straight ahead.

I, for one, am looking forward to seeing what Tank can do in training camp against the latest version of the Steel Curtain.

If Summers can hang on to the football, I look for him to be the guy on goal to go.

That leaves Parker and Mendenhall to battle for the starters job.  With Parker entering the last year of his contract, look for him to be at his best when opening day against Tennessee comes around.

With Mendenhall coming off injury, look for him to show the Steelers that they didn't waste that first round pick.

I look for Parker to be at the top of the depth chart come week one.  Expect Mendenhall to get his carries, about 10-15 per game.  Who ever can stay healthy, and put up the best numbers will be at the top come playoff time.

Either way, it is going to be exciting to see "Flash and Bash" fighting it out.