When it got right down to it, he still was able to make plays running. He did make some key plays with his arm, buying time to throw it, hanging in the pocket against an outstanding blitz package and making some key third-down conversions.
Quotes about third-down (14 Quotes)
He'll be the guy he'll get the opportunity to show people he can be the guy, show people he's more than a third-down back. This is something that he's prepared for his entire life.
We just didn't execute the plays when we needed to. We ran the ball well at times, but we didn't execute on the big third-down plays or in the fourth quarter.
Just think of the consequences of those penalties. There were several third-down stops that gave them first downs with penalties. It's the consequences of it that everybody needs to understand.
If the Patriots are to three-peat, the NFL has decided to make them earn it. How about four road trips in the next five games against Super Bowl aspirants Carolina, Pittsburgh, Atlanta and Denver ... Chris Perry could do little last December while fellow rookie running backs Steven Jackson, Kevin Jones and Julius Jones were lighting up the NFL with 100-yard games. Perry, a first-round pick of the Bengals, was limited to two games in 2004 because of a sports hernia. But Perry underwent off-season surgery, then had a superb camp and pre-season this summer. He'll back up Rudi Johnson at halfback and be the third-down back. You always compare yourself to the people you came out with, ... They're all flourishing in the NFL, and I'm happy for them. I want to be there myself. I'm anxious to get to their level.
It was tough. He is our guy, he is our playmaker. You could really tell on that third-down snap that he wanted to go, but he couldn't go. That made it a little bit easier to make the decision to put Schaub in for that fourth-down play.
When you can rush two linebackers on third down, and we already have one of those types of guys in Jason Taylor, you've really helped your chances of becoming a successful third-down team. It's something that we would look at trying to do if the opportunity presents itself.
We knew the yards were going to be hard. We knew they would try to shut down the run as much as they could. Trent did a good job hitting the receivers on some third-down passes.
Wide receiver Hines Ward will not argue the facts The Steelers' first-team offense is struggling. The unit failed to score a touchdown in four preseason games and failed to convert on more than 80 percent of their third-down attempts. When told that coach Bill Cowher said the team is not where it needs to be, Ward said. What team is at their peak right now ... It's just a process. We have to grow and keep on working.
Any time you've got a guy starting his first game who completes 70 percent of his passes, doesn't turn the ball over and we end up at 60 percent on third-down conversions, he did a nice job.
The defense has to get off the field. They did play hard and were on the field for a long time. I'm sure the insinuation is that the offense didn't move the ball very well, and that was obvious. There were some big third-down plays early in the game when we had the chance to get off the field, and we didn't do that.
Let's go. I mean, it's the same situation I was in my rookie year. I probably get lost in the shuffle just because I do so much third-down stuff. But people forget I am a running back. I can the run the ball.
The one glaring statistic we need to improve on is third-down production. The most important statistic running the ball is how many attempts. We need to be up in the 25s and 30, moving the sticks and getting rid of the three-and-outs.
We came out of the blocks smoking. Then Marc got hurt, we had a couple of turnovers and we gave them some third-down conversions. When you let a good team like the Colts get on a run, it's hard to put a finger in the dike. Obviously a 17-point lead isn't enough against the Colts.