Offensive coordinator Todd Haley plans to put his stamp on the Pittsburgh Steelers with an attack centered on the ground game. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is learning to accept the transition away from last year's pass-happy scheme, but do the Steelers have a running back capable of carrying the load?
With Rashard Mendenhall healing from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, Isaac Redman should see plenty of action early in the season. The three-year veteran clearly has something to prove.
"Ever since I've been here, I've been doubted by everybody except the players and coaches," Redman told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "They understand the type of player I am, and it's why they've kept me around. They see something in me, so I never doubt myself. I'm ready to get out there. Hopefully, I'll surprise everybody."
Redman signed a one-year, $540,000 contract with the team in April, months after his 121-yard performance in Pittsburgh's ugly playoff loss to the Denver Broncos. We haven't seen Redman through a 16-game season, and neither have the Steelers. He carried the ball 53 times for 247 yards in 2010, with another 110 rushes for 479 last year. He did nothing as a rookie in 2009.
For a team with so much talent at wide receiver, Pittsburgh is talking about leaning on a running game with little depth at the position until Mendenhall returns. Redman says he's ready, and he better be.
