Is Najeh Davenport the new Bus?

By Darrell Laurant  |   Thursday, October 19, 2006  |  Comments( 4 )

Pittsburgh Steelers
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Like the New York Yankees teams of the late 1990s, the Pittsburgh Steelers seem to have a knack for picking up athletes who have been discarded by other teams and allowing them to blossom as role players.

Najeh Davenport, for instance.

Davenport tantalized the Green Bay Packers for five years after being drafted out of the University of Miami, a big back seemingly always on the verge of stardom. After all, this was a 250-pounder who was fast enough to return kickoffs.

Alas, Davenport was also always on the verge of the disabled list. Among other things, he broke his foot, his ankle and his eye socket and endured a succession of hamstring problems. Even after the Packers finally cut him and Pittsburgh picked him up, Davenport limped through the first part of the 2006 season with a strained calf muscle.

Until last Sunday, when he rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown and proved useful in maintaining possession and milking the clock in a 45-7 Steeler victory over Kansas City.

So is he the new Jerome Bettis in Pittsburgh? Davenport, who seems to regard himself as a slightly larger Barry Sanders, wouldn't put it quite that way.

"I don't think I'm the type of back that Jerome (Bettis) was," he said. "I like to use my speed as an accent, although I did get run down by a defensive lineman."

That being Jared Allen of the Chiefs, who caught Davenport from behind after he reeled off a 48-yard run.

Davenport has also shown the ability to catch balls coming out of the backfield and was assigned kickoff duty on Sunday.

A guy with the name Najeh Trenadious Monte Davenport has to be an interesting fellow, and Davenport's resume shows a colorfully checkered past -- everything from pager salesman to paralegal to actor in a movie called "Full Clip."

His best performance in a starring role, however, came in a 2004 Monday Night Football game against St. Louis, when he rushed for 178 yards. The Packers, justifiably excited, waited for a repeat. It never came.

Maybe all he needed was a change of scenery. All aboard!

Original Pittsburgh Steelers analysis, courtesy of RealFootball365.com
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