Staley out until week 5

[lsufan]

Should people start sending Staley to the waiver wire?

[34=Sweetness]

Uggh, I wish I had taken 15 seconds to look up Staley before I drafted him 2 weeks ago. I had seen nothing on the Cafe about him at all, so I assumed he was rareing to go. Oops

[Dr. Duran Duran]

I'm actually thinking Willie Parker's stock is rising. Bettis can't carry the load and Parker is champing at the bit for playing time. He's had a nice showing in the preseason and has looked really nice when he played last year. With Staley out longer and longer, I'd have to take a flier on Parker late.

[SHOCKandAWE]

Am I the only one that thinks Willie Parker will be the starting RB by season end? Everyone here in the city wants Parker to be the main guy and leave the Bus as the inside the 5 back.

[Shockers]

Cowher likes Parker and knows he is capable of making the big play. For now I see him as a role player much like Randle El has played in the past. He has to start somewhere. I love seeing this guy on the field though. The Steelers have one of the best running games in the game usually from pounding teams over and over again with a big back. It is nice to see someone with home run potential.

[MeShawn]

I'm actually thinking Willie Parker's stock is rising. Bettis can't carry the load and Parker is champing at the bit for playing time. He's had a nice showing in the preseason and has looked really nice when he played last year. With Staley out longer and longer, I'd have to take a flier on Parker late.

Am I the only one that thinks Willie Parker will be the starting RB by season end? Everyone here in the city wants Parker to be the main guy and leave the Bus as the inside the 5 back.

Bingo. I wouldn't go so far as to say Willie will be the starter by the end of the season, but he's going to get a decent amount of carries while Staley is out. The Bus is just old and he won't be able to duplicate stats like last season, guaranteed. Willie Parker will get 5-10 carries with Staley out, and the guy has the potential to break one for a TD every play. He's not someone you draft (unless you're in a dynasty league), but keep an eye on this guy come week 1.

Parker provided three of the four biggest offensive plays on a night when Cowher said the running game "never got in sync." And Parker did it multidimensionally:

His 37-yard run around left end came when Dolphins linebacker Jason Taylor and cornerback Sam Madison got caught inside and he beat them around the corner. The run moved the ball to the Miami 9.

On his 21-yard run near the end of the first quarter, he ran inside off right tackle and then cut toward the sideline to the Miami 46. "I've seen him make those kind of runs in training camp," offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt said. "What you have to do is see him make those kind of runs in a game. You saw that tonight."

On second-and-17 in the second quarter, Parker came out of the backfield and caught a pass from Ben Roethlisberger near the right sideline. He lost his balance and stepped out of bounds at the Miami 48, limiting what could have been a longer gain than 20 yards.

"I was running so fast it just shifted me out of bounds," Parker said. "That's what I was talking about earlier this week -- my awareness to the sideline. I'm going to work hard on it."

Parker is so fast -- he has been timed at 4.23 in the 40-yard dash -- he has spent the offseason and early portions of training camp trying to slow down.

He's so fast, he's trying to slow down.

[Shockers]

Bettis just went down with a calf injury. How serious is yet to be determined. Who will it be at the coveted tailback position in Pittsburgh this year???

[SHOCKandAWE]

Like I said. Watch Willie!

[Shockers]

51 yards on his first carry, not too bad!