in short-yardage and goal lin

PITTSBURGH -- Since Jerome Bettis retired after the 2005 NFL season, the Pittsburgh Steelers have searched for a big, bruising running back in his mould.Wholesale Jerseys China . The list of hopefuls has been long, if not particularly distinguished. Verron Haynes, Najee Davenport, Carey Davis, Gary Russell, Frank Summers, Jonathan Dwyer and Isaac Redman all failed to consistently provide production in short-yardage and goal line situations. Enter LeGarrette Blount. The 6-foot, 250-pound veteran certainly looks the part. And while he has a long way to go to be mentioned with the likes of Bettis, there have been plenty of flashes during his four seasons in the league. Blount averaged 5.0 yards per carry while splitting time with Stevan Ridley in New England last season, and gashed the Indianapolis Colts for 166 yards and four touchdowns in the playoffs. Though second-year back LeVeon Bell remains the starter, Blount is confident he can make an impact no matter what situation. "I know they brought me in here to run the football, so I hope there are plenty of carries to go around," Blount said Wednesday. "I know that LeVeon is going to get his fair share, so I hope theres enough for all of us." Bell, last years second-round pick, missed the opening three games while recovering from a preseason foot injury. But he still played nearly 700 snaps, a heavy workload the 6-foot-1, 230-pound Bell managed with ease. Still, the Steelers will find opportunities to go from the patient and pragmatic Bell to the bruising Blount, with the emphasis on bruising. "Thats my running style," Blount said. "Thats how I run the football, and I feel like (Bell) is also a big, tough running back, too. So, thats just how this team is built, with a physical running game, and I think thats what theyre trying to get back to. So, hopefully, we can do that." Blount noted a balanced offence is needed to make a run to the Super Bowl such as the ones by Seattle and Denver last year. The champion Seahawks had Marshawn Lynch running the ball and Russell Wilson throwing it, while the Broncos ran the ball with Knowshon Moreno when Peyton Manning wasnt breaking NFL passing records. "I think its huge for us to (sign Blount), because Ive always said that we need to be a balanced offence," quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. "So, we need to run the ball. We need to be great at running the ball, and weve got guys that want to be great at running the ball. So, hopefully, we can do it and do it successfully." Blount added that while his body type and size make him an ideal power back, he has a variety of skill sets, such as catching the football and running away from defenders in the open field. But he certainly has proven he can run over them as well. Those attributes, combined with Bells slashing style, should give the Steelers a solid one-two punch. "I think we have a really good mix of running backs," Blount said. "(But) Ive seen the NFL Network, and they have these top 10 or top five running back duos in the NFL. I noticed that were not one of them, and I dont like it. In all honesty, I believe theyre downgrading the skill level that we have in our backfield. . I think thats kind of disrespectful." Does that mean Blount and Bell have something to prove? "Were not going to go out here and go on about how were not in that group," Blount said. "But were going to go out there and show that we belong there with our performance." NOTES: RB Dri Archer has missed the opening two OTAs, just like linebacker Jordan Zumwalt from UCLA, because his school is on the quarters system and their class has not yet graduated. . OTAs continue Thursday and also run Tuesday through Thursday next week. Wholesale Jerseys From China . Wednesdays draw could have been worse for the Canadian women. They managed to avoid four-time champion New Zealand and Australia, although Canada will face both sides on tour next year ahead of the August tournament. Wholesale Jerseys . JOHNS, N.The Toronto Blue Jays make their second stop of an eight-game road swing tonight when they pay a visit to PNC Park to take on the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first game of a weekend interleague series. Toronto has lost six of its last eight games but is coming off Thursdays 7-3 victory at Kansas City. Juan Francisco and Colby Rasmus both went deep for the Blue Jays, who are second in the American League with 34 home runs on the season. Starter Mark Buehrle went 6 2/3 innings and gave up two earned runs. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh is back home to kick off a nine-game homestand. It has been a rough start to the season for a Pirates team that was coming off their first trip to the playoffs in 21 years. Things have been much different through the first month in 2014, as the Pirates have dropped seven of their last eight games and sit at 10-18 overall. They lost both games of a doubleheader at Baltimore on Thursday. In the first game, the bats were held in check for a 5-1 setback. The offense showed a bit of life in the nightcap, but Baltimores Matt Wieters sealed the outcome near 1 a.m. ET with a walkoff home run in the 10th inning. "Its been rough," first baseman Ike Davis said. "(Friday) is a new day. Hopefully, we can get some sleep aand come out swinging and regroup a little bit. Jerseys Wholesale. . As long we can give ourselves opportunities the whole season, were going to score runs." So far this season, the offense has largely failed to deliver in such opportunities. Pittsburgh stranded 28 runners during Thursdays doubleheader. "We keep fighting and fighting and putting ourselves in scoring position, but we havent been able to cash in the way we need to," manager Clint Hurdle said. "We keep showing up. The bats were better throughout the series. We had men on base throughout the game. Were still looking for that big hit." The Pirates hope to get another quality start from Gerrit Cole on Friday night. Over his last two starts, the right-hander has given up a total of only two earned runs in a span of 15 innings. He took the loss at St. Louis his last time out despite yielding just one run in seven frames. This will be Coles first-ever time facing the Blue Jays. His counterpart, Brandon Morrow, will try to forget his last outing against Boston, in which he issued a career-high eight walks and allowed four earned runs despite not giving up a hit. He was pulled after just 2 2/3 innings. After five times through the rotation, Morrows ERA sits at 6.04. cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys from china ' ' '