Parker Geared Towards Regular Season

[.GR]

Willie Parker has a total of 18 carries through the Steelers' first three preseason games. Eighteen carries too many, to hear him tell it.

"I didn't want to play in any of the games I played in, to be real," said Parker, who has led the Steelers in rushing in the last three seasons. "It's not a big deal. Regular season is what it's all about."

Parker admitted that he did need a few carries, just to see how his body would respond after he suffered a broken leg in a game against St. Louis last December.

The verdict: Parker said he has never felt better going into the regular season.

"I wanted to get hit, that's the one thing I did want to do," said Parker, who will be in the starting lineup for tonight's final preseason game against the Carolina Panthers at Heinz Field. "I wanted to get hit a couple of times and see how it is after the game. I think I'm ready."

Parker said the injury is no longer a consideration in his mind.

"I'm not thinking about last year," he said. "I'm not thinking about that injury. Last yeat was last year. I'm getting better in different aspects of the game. Now, I feel real comfortable sitting back there (blocking) and taking a man head-on.

"I feel real comfortable running the ball; trying to run through (somebody) to pick up more yards. I feel more comfortable with everything."

Parker, who has rushed for 52 yards in the preseason, said he's ready for the regular season to begin.

"I got enough (carries)," Parker said. "I'm good. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be. If it's meant for me not to play this game, it's meant for me not to play. Right now, I'm just going at it like God has blessed me with this gift, and I'm going to take advantage of it."

Asked to respond to the two schools of thought regarding the amount of playing time that starters should receive in the preseason, Parker said it all depends on the player.

A superstar running back like San Diego's LaDainian Tomlinson has earned the right to sit out the entire preseason, Parker said.

"LaDainian, he gets the job done every year," Parker said. "They make a big deal about preseason, but preseason is just like a quiz of how the season is going to be, and the season is the test.

"You can look at either or. Some people probably need preseason games to get ready for the regular season. I figure if you're in the league over three or four years, you know your body. You know what you need and what you don't need."

 

[Phenomenal TJ]

If Mendenhall learns to hang onto the ball, then he's going to take the starting job within the next year and a half.