The Pittsburgh Steelers running backs just don’t see the

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The same words kept popping up as James Conner Justice Hill Jersey , Jaylen Samuels and Benny Snell Jr. talked. Words such as “we” and “us” and “relationships” and “my guys.”No personal agendas. No campaigning for more touches or playing time. No talk about contracts or specific roles.point of personal pronouns.“We’re trying to be the best running back group in the world,” Samuels said.One that’s ready to escape Le’Veon Bell’s shadow for good.The versatile and dynamic three-time Pro Bowler’s long goodbye ended in March when he signed a four-year, $52 million deal with the New York Jets. For Conner and Samuels, that means no more keeping one eye on the playbook and another on the door to the locker room waiting for Bell to step through.He never did last fall, though that didn’t stop the seemingly endless debate over his intentions and his future, discussions the teammates he left behind tried to avoid even as they combined to put up numbers that rivaled Bell’s at the peak of his considerable powers.Conner and Samuels put up 1,925 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2018. Bell had 1,946 total yards and 11 touchdowns in 2017. Oh, and Conner and Samuels did it at a tenth of the price and an even smaller fraction of the drama.“We didn’t know what the situation with Le’Veon was going to be last year,” Samuels said. “We just had to come to work every day like he was going to show up. Now that he’s not here, we’re going to do the same thing. Just going to push even harder because we know the pressure is on us. We’ve got to get the job done.”One they’re focused on doing together.While Conner made the Pro Bowl after running for 973 yards and a dozen touchdowns and adding 497 yards receiving, he also missed time at various points because of minor injuries. Samuels — a rookie fifth-round pick last fall — filled in capably, including a memorable performance in a victory over the New England Patriots in which he racked up 172 total yards.Conner spent a portion of the winter bulking up in an effort to hold up better under the wear and tear of a 16-game season. His biceps and his shoulders look as if someone inserted a hose into them and just started puffing away, not stopping until his arms and neck appear to be bursting out from under his shoulder pads.“I don’t know what’s going on with him,” Samuels said with a laugh and a shake of his head.Conner is reluctant to discuss specifics about how much weight he’s added. He’s also reticent to declare himself the starter. Entering his third year as a pro, he’s become well-versed in how fast life can come at you in the NFL. He joined the Steelers as a third-round pick in 2017.Sixteen months later he found himself lining up behind quarterback Ben Roethlisberger when Bell opted to work on his music and his tan rather than sign his franchise tag and show up for work.Still, all those yards and all those touchdowns didn’t stop Pittsburgh from taking Snell in the fourth round of the draft following a record-breaking career at Kentucky. Conner didn’t take it personally. This is how things work.“Coach (Mike Tomlin) told us a while ago that he’s trying to replace us every year,” Conner said. “Didn’t mean that in a bad way. Doesn’t mean we’re not doing our job. It’s just you know, there’s always a young buck up and coming. You’ve seen the talent that Jaylen got. Seen the talent that Benny has. All those guys are talented http://www.ravenscheapstores.com/ben-powers-jersey-cheap , really good running backs.”Samuels excelled catching passes out of the backfield at North Carolina State — where he left as the school’s all-time leader in receptions — and spent the offseason refining his route running.The Steelers are looking for ways to have Conner and Samuels on the field at the same time, even if that means moving Samuels into more of an H-back role that would allow him the freedom to move around in search offavorable matchups.“We’ve both got unique skillsets,” Samuels said. “James can do a lot of running and I can do a lot of catching but we can also feed off each other. That was just Year One. Year Two we hope to build off that, exceed and make some noise.”They’re not the only ones. Snell left Kentucky with a year of eligibility left after breaking every important rushing record in school history. He didn’t panic when he didn’t hear his name called until the third day of the draft. He knows how well the Steelers develop mid-round picks. The rise of Conner and Samuels offers tangible proof.“Those are my guys, those are my brothers,” Snell said.A bond they will lean on as the post-Le’Veon Bell era begins, one more focused on sharing the burden rather than hogging the ball or the limelight.“It’s bigger than making plays on the field,” Conner said. “Like, football is like a game of life. So the friendships and the relationships we have off the field, it helps us on the field. Everything is not just competition and who can make plays on the field. It’s important to be a good person, have good character.” Mike Zimmer was already smiling more than usual, sporting a relaxed look of satisfaction rarely revealed in public during the NFL season, when he really let his guard down a few minutes into his postgame news conference deep inside Minnesota’s still-buzzing stadium.

”Hey, let’s open these things up!” Zimmer blurted out mid-sentence, prodding a Vikings official to push the button that removes the window shades and allows the premium ticket-holders in an adjacent lounge to peer in the room.

His wish to interact with the customers who cheered the Vikings on to a last-play divisional round victory was granted.

Zimmer then proceeded to slowly and rhythmically clap above his head, dignifying the ritual ”Skol” chant performed by the purple-clad fans at each game honoring the area’s Scandinavian heritage and the team’s nickname.

”You deserve it!” Zimmer said, again interrupting his own answer to acknowledge the crowd.

From peers around the league to players in the locker room to people up and down the organization, there’s a strong sentiment that Zimmer has earned this, too Iman Marshall Jersey , pulling within one win of a Super Bowl appearance.

The way the Vikings finished their 29-24 victory over New Orleans on a last-chance 61-yard touchdown pass from Case Keenum to Stefon Diggs suggested they’re on some kind of charmed path, an uncharted territory for this championship-deprived franchise. Zimmer, for his part, has experienced his own share of painful setbacks.

”I just think he was so proud of us,” tight end Kyle Rudolph said. ”Proud of us for fighting until there were zeros on the clock.”

Zimmer is only here, preparing the Vikings for the NFC title game in Philadelphia on Sunday, because he himself resisted the urge to quit.

After being passed over for so many head coach vacancies during a six-year run as Cincinnati’s defensive coordinator, Zimmer nearly canceled a second interview in Minnesota in 2014 after a different team that considered him chose a different candidate. He ignored the discouragement in his head, instead accepting the offer to become the ninth head coach in team history at age 57.

”Sometimes you wonder, but I have a lot of confidence in myself,” Zimmer said at his introductory news conference at team headquarters. ”I feel like I was destined to do this.”

That first season, the Vikings improved by two wins to finish 7-9 with rookie Teddy Bridgewater forced into action ahead of schedule at quarterback and running back Adrian Peterson absent for all but one game because of the child abuse case and subsequent NFL discipline dispute he was involved in. In 2015, they went 11-5 and ended Green Bay’s four-year hold on the NFC North title.

The potholes in the road were waiting, though.

Blair Walsh’s 27-yard field-goal try went wide left at the end of the one-point wild-card round loss at home to Seattle.

The 5-0 start in 2016 was washed away by a torrent of season-ending injuries, including Bridgewater, Peterson and several offensive linemen.

Offensive coordinator Norv Turner resigned the day after Zimmer had the first of eight eye surgeries to address a torn retina. The third procedure forced him to miss a game for the first time in his career .

The first quarter of the 2017 season brought knee injuries to quarterback Sam Bradford and running back Dalvin Cook, who needed reconstructive surgery to repair a torn ACL.

The Vikings didn’t blink, though, particularly with the experience of 2016 so fresh. Case Keenum deftly took over for Bradford http://www.ravenscheapstores.com/trace-mcsorley-jersey-cheap , and Jerick McKinnon and Latavius Murray became a productive backfield tandem.

All of these on-field hurdles have paled next to the pain Zimmer has endured in his personal life. His wife, Vikki, died suddenly in 2009. His father and former high school coach, Bill, passed away during training camp in 2015.

Zimmer was hired by the Vikings because of his acumen as a defensive strategist and teacher, having started his 24-year NFL career as the defensive backs coach for Dallas before a promotion to defensive coordinator in 2000.

Calling plays has been his forte, a responsibility he has yet to give up despite his duty as the main man on the staff on game day, but his ability to mold a disciplined, selfless unit from a collection of alpha males and high draft picks helped the Vikings’ defense rank first in the league in 2017 in both fewest yards and points allowed.

Beneath the gruff exterior is a deep affection for his players, an emotion that has caused his voice to crack and his eyes to well up several times over the years in various public discussions of their development or character.

He’s a football coach just like his father, though, and the critical eye and demanding approach are always quick to come out.

”We can’t make these mistakes in playoff games or we’ll be going home,” Zimmer said on Monday, reflecting on the reality of the performance after the euphoria of the winning play had worn off.

Now the Vikings must go on the road to face a team with a 14-3 record just like theirs, the last and biggest obstacle looming before they can experience a Super Bowl.

”We’ve got a bunch of fighters on this team,” Zimmer said. ”They’ve been a resilient bunch all year long. I expect it to continue to be that way.”

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