The Steelers ran the ball well at home, but they had troubles on the road.  Part of the problem is that the line didn’t play as well as they have in the past.  Another reason is because teams ganged up on the running game and made Ben Roethlisberger try to beat them throwing the ball.  One other factor is that the Steelers didn’t have a guy like Jerome Bettis on their roster who could get the conversions on short yardage situations.  Willie Parker did have a breakout season for the Steelers.  Parker carried the ball 337 times this season and rushed for 1,494 yards (4.4 ypc) with 13 TD runs.  He also caught 31 passes for 222 yards (7.2 avg) with 3 TD catches.  For his career, Parker has played in 39 games (31 starts) and he’s carried the ball 624 times for 2,882 yards (4.6 ypc) with 17 TD runs.  He also has caught the ball 52 times for 456 yards (8.8 avg) with 4 TD grabs.

Najeh Davenport was brought in during the season and he did a decent job for the Steelers.  He carried the football 60 times this season for 221 yards (3.7 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 15 passes for 193 yards (12.9 avg) with 1 TD grab.  For his career, Davenport has played in 52 games (2 starts) and he’e carried the ball 277 times for 1,289 yards (4.7 ypc) with 8 TD runs.  He also has caught 32 passes for 300 yards (9.4 avg) with 1 TD grab.

Verron Haynes played in 7 games before seriously injuring himself.  He carried the ball only 15 times this season for 78 yards (5.2 ypc) and he also caught 18 passes for 95 yards (5.3 avg).  For his career, Haynes has played in 60 games and has carried the ball 174 times for 738 yards (4.2 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also has caught 57 passes for 417 yards (7.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.

Rookie fullback John Kuhn appeared in 9 games and carried the ball twice for 18 yards (9.0 ypc).  He also caught 1 pass for 15 yards.

Veteran fullback Dan Kreider played in all 16 games serving mostly as a blocker in the running game.  He only carried the ball 1 time for 5 yards and caught 8 passes for 62 yards (7.8 avg).  For his career, Kreider has played in 103 games (62 starts) and has carried the ball 30 times for 142 yards (4.7 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also has caught 59 passes for 456 yards (7.7 avg) with 2 TD catches.