Pittsburgh Steelers: RB Jonathon Dwyer Emerging As a Solid Option In The Backfield

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With so much talk during in Pittsburgh surrounding wide receiver Mike Wallace‘s holdout, along with the injury list growing each week, it’s hard to come up with many positives this preseason.

Third-year RB Jonathan Dwyer, however, is beginning to shine. He has taken advantage of extra carries as Pittsburgh looks to replace RB Rashard Mendenhall, who will likely miss the beginning of the regular season while recovering from ACL surgery.

While some of the Pittsburgh offense is having growing pains in the new system of first-year offensive coordinator Todd Haley, Dwyer has looked especially good carrying the ball as evidenced in his five-yard average per carry this preseason.

Against Indianapolis in the second week of the preseason, Dwyer tallied 43 yards on eight carries. The week prior, before getting hurt against the Eagles, Dwyer had two carries for 40 yards, showing a great burst of speed.

In previous years, the former sixth-round pick had upset the Steelers brass by reporting to camp overweight and out of shape. This season, Dwyer is lighter and quicker. Dwyer also seems more focused on proving the doubters that he belongs.

In Saturday night’s game versus Buffalo, Dwyer didn’t muster much on the ground, but was very effective out of the backfield catching passes. Perhaps the highlight of a 98-yard drive was Dwyer making a nice catch along the sideline and going for 33 yards on the play.

Isaac Redman was expected to see the bulk of the carries with Mendenhall sidelined, but has been battling through injuries of his own during this preseason. It seems in Pittsburgh, Haley wants a backfield-by-committee approach, with rookie Chris Rainey also getting some touches to take advantage of his breakaway speed.

Where Dwyer needs to show production is in short yardage situations. The Steelers have had trouble in past seasons picking up first downs on third-and-short. Dwyer’s ability to hit the hole with force could make him a great goal line and short yardage option for Pittsburgh.

Also, Dwyer could be a worthwhile selection in later rounds for those fantasy football players out there.

Follow Andrew on Twitter: @AndrewASmith25

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2012-08-28 03:44:29

Source: http://www.nationalfootballauthority.com/2012/08/pittsburgh-steelers-rb-jonathon-dwyer.html