SteelerWatch

Few players on the field get as little recognition as a fullback. That effect is exaggerated on teams that have a wealth of talent at tailback. Thanks to the solid play of Jerome Bettis, Willie Parker and anyone else who has suited up and stepped into the backfield for the Steelers — except, of course, Richard Huntley and Amos Zeroue — fullback Dan Kreider has spent his seven-year career amassing a game worth of statistics.

Sure, his 30 carries for 142 yards isn’t much. It does equal a very solid 4.7 yards per carry, but not since the days Merrill Hoge have the Steelers been happy to hand the ball off to their blocking back, and not since Franco Harris have those numbers been astounding. But the position has changed, so much so that if you aren’t named Mike Alstott, you haven’t had many career carries as a fullback.

His receiving numbers are certainly better, but still nothing to jump and shout about.  He’s hauled in 59 catches for 459 yards, a very good total for a season or two if you’re one of the top-tier receiving tailbacks.

It’s the intangibles that make Dan special.  For one thing, he was undrafted.  And he stepped into shoes that have been filled by some very successful players, including a Hall-of-Famer.  To not only make the cut, but to solidify himself so solidly in the starting lineup that the position has not garnered a single, solid draft pick since he took over the position is simply astounding.  League-wide, he is considered one of the top five fullbacks because of his devastating blocks.  His pure strength has essentially made him a downhill offensive lineman, much in the spirit of former center Dermontti Dawson, arguably the best pure athlete to ever play on an offensive line.  He had become so important to the team that, even with wrecking ball Jerome Bettis in the backfield, the Steelers rarely ran the ball out of a single-back formation.

It’s difficult to predict how significant Kreider’s role with the team will be with new offensive coordinator Bruce Arians drawing up the plays.  His desire to utilize more receivers and tight ends may somewhat diminish Kreider’s role; however, he remains the most humble player on the field not named Troy Polamalu, and will undoubtedly give 100 percent in whatever role he’s given.  That’s just the way of the Steeler fullback.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 13th, 2007 at 6:39 am and is filed under My Opinion, Team Spotlight. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.