PITTSBURGH -- Since Jerome Bettis retired after the 2005 NFL season, the Pittsburgh Steelers have searched for a big, bruising

PITTSBURGH -- Since Jerome Bettis retired after the 2005 NFL season, the Pittsburgh Steelers have searched for a big, bruising running back in his mould. Cheap Reds Jerseys . 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. Reds Jerseys China . Mark Van Guilder, Austin Watson and Colton Sissons also scored for the Admirals (22-13-10), who are 2-0-2 in their last four outings, while Roussel tacked on an assist for a two-point night. Greg Pateryn scored once for the Bulldogs (20-22-4), who lost their fifth straight contest, and also assisted on Gabriel Dumonts goal. Cincinnati Reds Gear . Louis Cardinals on Sunday afternoon; a brief, poor outing that served to highlight two trends that have developed this season. https://www.cheapredsjerseys.us/ . It was a loss. But it was also a learning experience. Deron Williams and Joe Johnson had 24 points each to lift Brooklyn to a 94-87 win over the Raptors, making their first playoff appearance since 08. "I thought we played a little bit as expected as it is our first playoff game," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. PHOENIX -- Miguel Montero took two mighty swings, trying to end the game on both. He failed, so for the third, he shortened up, trying to protect the plate. That ball ended up going out and, boy, did the Arizona Diamondbacks need it. Montero hit a leadoff homer in the 10th inning after Martin Prado hit a two-run single in the ninth, helping the Diamondbacks end a four-game losing streak with a 5-4 win over the Colorado Rockies Wednesday night. "I was swinging hard, trying to launch one," Montero said of his first two swings. "Its a pretty funny game. It was the last pitch I was thinking about in that count and it was a short swing, I was kind of quick on it. That protect swing was pretty good." And a good thing for the Diamondbacks. Stuck in a rut, Arizona appeared to be in trouble after Colorado went up 4-0 after three innings on Carlos Gonzalezs two-run homer and pitcher Jordan Lyles leadoff shot in the third. It took some time, but the Diamondbacks worked their way back into it. After struggling early, Josh Collmenter quieted the Rockies bats over his final four innings and Trevor Cahill did the same while getting six outs. Paul Goldscmidt gave Arizonas offence a little life in the eighth inning, hitting a solo homer off Adam Ottavino. In the ninth, the Diamondbacks strung together a string of two-strike hits to load the bases against Rex Brothers, and Prado tied it at 4 with a two-run single up the middle. Addison Reed (1-2) kept the Rockies in check by stranding a runner at third in the 10th inning and Montero, after a couple of misses, ended it with his first career walkoff hit, a towering homer to right off Tommy Kahnle (2-1). Montero was mobbed as he crossed the plate and was treated to a dirt bath -- an Arizona walkoff tradition -- that was a nice release for a team that had won two of its first 13 games at Chase Field. "We needed that," Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said. "It was good that the guys hung in there." The Rockies certainly didnt want to end their six-game road trip this way. Colorado won four of the first give games and appeared to be in control after Lyles pitched six effective innings. But the Rockies lost the lead after Brothers struggled to put away hitters and the game when Montero hit a 1-2 fastball over the wall. Nolan Arenado extended his majors-best hitting streak to 20 games with a single in the sixth inning for Colorado, which had three hits after the third innning. Cincinnati Reds Pro Shop. "We had the game in control it looked like for most of the game, so it was a tough one to lose," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "It is always tough when you dont put games away." The Rockies beat up on Arizonas pitching the first two games of the series, with 13 runs and 23 hits, including 12 for extra bases. They kept it up early against Collmenter -- with a little help from the right-hander. Gonzalez got it going in the first inning, eking a two-run homer just over the wall in the right. Collmenter had a wild pitch to advance Jordan Pacheco to third in the second inning, but got a break when he was called out on appeal for leaving the base too early on a fly to right. Lyles led off the third with his first homer on Sept. 30, 2012, with the Astros at Milwaukee, and Collmenter followed with another wild pitch that scored Charlie Blackmon to put Colorado up 4-0. Collmenter settled in after that, retiring 10 straight batters until Arenados two-out single in the sixth inning. Collmenter allowed four runs on seven hits in seven innings. "He really started getting the ball down, locating better, getting his curveball down," Gibson said. "He was much more effective and to throw seven innings like that was really what we needed." That kept the Diamondbacks in it, but they couldnt get much going against Lyles. Prado hit a one-out triple off Lyles in the first inning, but was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a grounder by Goldschmidt. Arizona loaded the bases against Lyles in the sixth, scoring just one run, on Aaron Hills groundout. The Diamondbacks struggled in a similar situation the night before, failing to score with the bases loaded and no outs in a 5-4 loss to the Rockies. Unlike the night before, Arizona found a way to win it when Brothers couldnt put hitters away, particularly Prado, whos tying hit came with two strikes. "One pitch away from that game being in the books. No doubt about it," Brothers said. "I didnt execute. Bottom line. I didnt execute a pitch." NOTES: Arizonas starters have allowed 28 homers, most in the majors. ... Colorados Justin Morneau went 0 for 4 to end a 13-game hitting streak. ... The Diamondbacks have Thursday off before starting a three-game road series against San Diego with RHP Bronson Arroyo on the mound. ... RHP Juan Nicasio pitches for Colorado against the New York Mets on Thursday to start a six-game homestand. ' ' '