Steelers' Willie Parker could be playing chicken with 'Curse of 370' this season

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Willie Parker and the Curse of 370
Published 9/19/2007 by Stuart Fraser at Football Outsiders
Willie Parker and the Curse of 370 Suddenly, everybody seems concerned about running back workloads except for Mike Tomlin, who promises (threatens?) to ride Willie until the wheels come off . The Curse of 370 and related concepts in RB overuse seems to be the first FO theory to approach the ranks of conventional wisdom. It s early to be speculating about this season s potential victims, but that didn t stop the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette s Ed Bouchette from asking Mike Tomlin about Willie Parker s workload. After two weeks, two running backs have the 47 or more carries that would put them on pace for 370 over the full season Travis Henry (49 carries), Edgerrin James and Parker (50 carries each). posted 9-19-2007 at 8:43 AM by ...

Run for Your Lives! It's ... 370!
Published 9/19/2007 by Ryan at Heels, Sox & Steelers
... Nifty column in today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Ed Bouchette about Mike Tomlin's "we're going to run Willie until the wheels come off" comments from yesterday's presser. I saw those comments and thought, hey, there's an SCI column. Scooped by the pro ... didn't see that coming. ...

What The Willie?
Published 9/19/2007 by Thejim at Sportsocracy.org

Fantasy Football: Week Three Quick Hits
Published 9/20/2007 by Andrew at Empty the Bench
... September 20, 2007 - Willie Parker enjoyed a massive 2006 with 1,700 total yards and 16 total TDs, but he finished with 70 yards or less rushing in seven games and failed to score in six games. That inconsistency and his diminutive stature are the only reasons he wasn t a consensus top-6 pick in drafts. Well, he s likely to surpass his 2006 stats this season and outproduce his 9th overall ADP. This week new HC Mike Tomlin declared , We re going to ride Willie until the wheels come off . . . He s game for that, he s in great physical condition, he wants the ball, he s a competitor and he s showing he s capable of doing that. In the preseason Tomlin also suggested that Parker would stay on the field more in third-down and goal-line situations. Early indications show Tomlin means it with Parker on a 400-carry pace. The Steelers new spread offense has also been a big success thus far, keeping the offense on the field more th ...

The Week in Quotes: Sept. 20, 2007
Published 9/20/2007 by Ben Riley at Football Outsiders
... ) AFTER THE WHEELS COME OFF, THE RELAXATION BEGINS We re going to play some people, but Willie Parker is our feature runner and that s no secret. When he needs a blow, he s going to get a blow; when he doesn t, he won t. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin , describing his plans to run Willie Parker until the wheels come off ( Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ) THE REST They did an outstanding job. I credit the New York Jets. Their defensive line and linebackers did a very, very effective job of illegally simulating the snap count. Ravens head coach Brian Billick , accusing the Jets of a different sort of tomfoolery ( ...

Curse of 370? Myth or Fact? And Will Willie Approach that Number?
Published 9/20/2007 by cgolden <info@behindthesteelcurtain.com> at Behind the Steel Curtain: Front Page Posts
... I recently read an article in the PG by Ed Bouchette about the "curse of 370."  He wrote it after Coach Tomlin stated in a press conference that he was going to "ride Parker until the wheels came off."  I've always been fascinated with the fine line between getting as much production out of a guy as you can and overworking them to the point where they break down.  So after reading his article I dove into some research and looked at every running back since 1975 that has carried the rock 370 times or more (I didn't go back any further than that because prior to 1978, they only played 14 games so the idea that a guy could still get 370 carries is a stretch).  There were 20 guys that had accomplished that feat and of those guys only three guys did it more than once.  The great Eric Dickerson is the only back in that time to do it more than twice and he actually did it four times.  For the sake o ...

49ers’ pregame report: Tough going for Gore
Published 9/23/2007 by John Ryan at Morning Buzz
... They ve faced LT and LJ and just about every other great running back you can think of, and no dice. Combine this with the fact that Gore himself has yet to break the century mark this year, and I think we know where this is headed: right into Alex Smith s hands. I m not saying there s any great shame in losing this game. But if the 49ers don t even give their franchise quarterback a chance, couldn t we all start to think they just don t have any faith in him? On the other side: Football s cybergeeks have a Curse of 370, meaning the number of carries at which a running back suffers irreversible damage in the future. Willie Parker is headed well past 370 this season. To which his new coach says: We ...