Dear Rashard Mendenhall, Limas Sweed, and Co-
You hear the term "The Sophomore Slump." Rookies have decent seasons, and they get cocky. They think the league is oatmeal and they've dived into it like sweet brown sugar. We've seen it many a time-In the NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA, and, hell, maybe even in Soccer. But when you put on your black and gold sweaters, when you think about steeler football, sophomore slumps just don't come to mind. You know why?
Because Steelers thrive in their second year. It could be the respect they are taught of the league by their veteran teammates. It could be the fear of dissapointing their proven coaches, or even worse, the Rooney family that reigns above. It could be their hunger to live up to the triple hypocycloid-label that scatters their uniform. But when it comes to Steeler football, sophomore slumps are like losing seasons-they just don't come around. In fact, second year Steelers have developed a pattern of dramatically improving in their second year. For the sake of conciseness, let's call this amazingly beneficial pattern "the deuce."
Let's look at some notable Blackngold of past and present that have exploded in year 2.
Lynn Swann went from having 2 touchdowns with 208 yards in his first season, to snagging a career high 11 touchdowns with 781 yards in the deuce.
Terry Bradshaw threw for only 1410 yards and 6 touchdowns as a rook, but chunked up 2259 yards for 13 endzones in the deuce.
Gregg Lloyd started out with a soggy .5 sacks and 33 tackles in his first season, but hardened up to get 7 sacks and 92 tackles in the deuce.
Jerome Bettis, you ask? Although he didn't start out as a rookie, he gained his single season career high 1,665 yards in his unconventional steeler deuce.
Joey Porter started out his steeler career with 13 tackles and 2 sacks, but went on to knock 59 tackles and his steeler high 10.5 sacks in the deuce.
Plaxico Burress caught no touchdowns with 273 yards in year 1, yet exploded for 6 touchdowns with 1,008 yards in the deuce.
As for players still with us,
Willie Parker had 186 yards and no touchdowns in his first year, and 1,202 yards with 4 touchdowns in the deuce.
Troy Polamalu had 38 tackles and no interceptions as a rookie, but thrust 96 tackles and 5 interceptions in the deuce.
Even when Santonio Holmes had an impressive rookie season catching 824 yards and 2 touchdowns, he upped it with 942 yards and 8 touchdowns in three less games in the deuce.
LaMarr Woodley managed only 14 tackles and 4 sacks in year 1, and when on to bake 60 tackles
and grill 11.5 sacks in the deuce.
There are some obvious factors that contribute to this improvement that include being comfortable in the league, knowing the playbook, and of course more playing time. But if you look at these guys, they played an awful lot in their rookie seasons, even if they didn't start every game. Yet they all managed to explode in their second season.
I'm not saying that Mendenhall and Sweed will have amazing seasons, but I am labeling the deuce a trait of a great Steeler player. The second season in the NFL for a Steeler is very telling, and we should be very excited to see how these guys perform when they're clean from their rookie label.
As for players still with us,
Willie Parker had 186 yards and no touchdowns in his first year, and 1,202 yards with 4 touchdowns in the deuce.
Troy Polamalu had 38 tackles and no interceptions as a rookie, but thrust 96 tackles and 5 interceptions in the deuce.
Even when Santonio Holmes had an impressive rookie season catching 824 yards and 2 touchdowns, he upped it with 942 yards and 8 touchdowns in three less games in the deuce.
LaMarr Woodley managed only 14 tackles and 4 sacks in year 1, and when on to bake 60 tackles
and grill 11.5 sacks in the deuce.
There are some obvious factors that contribute to this improvement that include being comfortable in the league, knowing the playbook, and of course more playing time. But if you look at these guys, they played an awful lot in their rookie seasons, even if they didn't start every game. Yet they all managed to explode in their second season.
I'm not saying that Mendenhall and Sweed will have amazing seasons, but I am labeling the deuce a trait of a great Steeler player. The second season in the NFL for a Steeler is very telling, and we should be very excited to see how these guys perform when they're clean from their rookie label.
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