"Coach Mike Tomlin once said he would run Willie Parker until the wheels came off, and, toward the end of the 2007 season, they finally did.

Parker was never the same after be broke his right fibula in a Week 15 game in St. Louis, an injury that culminated a three-year period in which he carried 913 times -- an average of 314 attempts per season.

The Steelers are hoping the same thing does not happen to Rashard Mendenhall, who has posted consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and became the first running back since Franco Harris in 1976 to lead the team in scoring.

In his first two seasons as a starter, Mendenhall, a No. 1 draft choice in 2008, already is being used at a more frequent pace than Parker.

Mendenhall had 324 carries this season, second only to Houston's Arian Foster (327), who led the National Football League with 1,616 yards rushing. That gives him 568 carries in his first 29 professional starts.

After Parker became the starter at the beginning of the 2005 season, he had 542 carries in his first 29 starts. While each back has the same amount of runs of 20 yards or longer in that time (20), Mendenhall (20) has more touchdowns than Parker (11).

His 13 touchdowns this season were one shy of the franchise record (14), set by Harris in 1976. Mendenhall was unaware he was that close to the Hall of Fame running back."