Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin indecisive on RB Rashard Mendenhall vs Denver Broncos – NFL News
Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has kept everyone guessing about participation of running back Rashard Mendenhall for the game against the Denver Broncos this Sunday as while some commentators see the player’s return to practice as a sign of his availability
for the game, others think it as the coach’s mockery to pull levers on the opposition just before the weekend’s season opener.
Rashard’s recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) has been a mystery and surprise throughout the offseason and so was his return amid the repeated assertions of the coach that he was out of the side for the rest of the season.
No sooner did the management announce activation of the RB, than the entire situation has changed for the player so much as some media reports have now suggested he might be given a chance on the starting line over Jonathan Dwyer and Isaac Redman.
Interestingly, the coach has been tight-lipped over the development of the entire scenario and so is the player himself, leaving everyone in doubts if he is going to make it to the season’s starting game.
Amid the ifs and buts, the player has continued to concentrate on his fitness and form, and is reported to have taken part in the entire pre-game training activity.
It is an impression on the field during the workout that the onlookers have set hopes of the RB’s inclusion in the squad for next game, which is still to be proven because some analysts, who have been closely monitoring and tracking Rashard’s rehab throughout
offseason, have also called it a strategy of the coach to put the opposition under some sort of pressure.
Rashard suffered the injury about eight months ago and as per initial statements of the coach he was most likely to be left on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. A week after the coach ruled out return of Rashard to the side, the team confirmed
removal of the player off the PUP list, allowing him to return to training.
Amid the scenario, some commentators have questioned the level of the coach's authority in the development of the running back’s situation. It seems, they believe, someone other than the coach is controlling it which could be true given the level of inconsistency
the official has shown in his statements on the status of the player.
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