Steelers’ linemen believe Bell deceived them
The Steelers – particularly offensive linemen Ramon Foster, Maurkice Pouncey and David DeCastro – took a lot of flak from national media for not hiding their displeasure with the fact Le’Veon Bell hasn’t reported to the team.
“You’re not supposed to talk about another player’s finances,” they screamed. “Stay out of his business,” they crowed.
And then the worst, “Let the negotiations play out.”
It’s amazing so many people who are supposed to work as members of the media covering the NFL – many of them former players – could be so misinformed.
This is hardly a contract negotiating ploy Bell is taking by not reporting to the Steelers and signing his franchise tag. There can be no negotiations because of the NFL rules regarding the franchise tag.
That time has passed.
The offensive linemen, in particular, were upset because they felt Bell misled them. All along, he had been telling them he planned to report and then didn’t. They believe they had been misled. No, make that lied to.
So, of course they were upset.
Despite slogging through a tie in the rain last week in Cleveland, this is a Steelers team that has Super Bowl aspirations. And Bell gives the team its best chance to achieve that goal.
- Yes, we know James Conner did an amazing job last week in the rain. He rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns and caught five passes for another 57 against the Browns.
It was a very solid effort. It marked just the second time a Steelers player had gained more than 175 yards and scored twice in a season opener in team history. Louis Lipps also did it in 1984.
But Conner isn’t Bell, though it is good the Steelers can use him as a receiving option.
One of the reasons Conner was so active in the passing game was because the Browns pretty much ignored him coming out of the backfield. That doesn’t happen with Bell.
And that’s where the Steelers might miss Bell the most. The Browns were intent on dropping seven players into deep coverage because they didn’t fear Conner.
Bell gets immediate attention from opponents, which in turn helps free up other pass receivers.
- The offensive linemen took heat nationally, as well, for celebrating Conner’s first touchdown run. Perhaps everyone has forgotten what Conner had to work through – cancer – to make it this far.
His first career touchdown run was kind of a big deal, and worthy of a celebration, not a shot at Bell.
- The Steelers had 12 penalties – in 70 minutes – in the tie against the Browns while Cleveland had 11. That’s a lot of penalties. And, of course, the immediate reaction by some fans is to point to the Steelers as being undisciplined.
Well, the entire league must have been undisciplined last week.
There were 255 penalties assessed. That made it the second-highest penalized week in the league since 2007. There was an average of 15.9 penalties for 140.8 yards assessed per game last weekend.
That’s too many. Way too many.
Why so sloppy? Most teams don’t play their starters much in the preseason, so the first week of the season becomes an extension of the preseason.
The Picks
Because of a transmission error last week, the column didn’t make it to the O-R.
But the plan is to make five picks each week – including the Steelers’ game – that are sure-fire locks. Last week, those were the Steelers, Bengals, Ravens, Rams and Saints. So that was a 3-2 start, even though we won’t take credit for those games since they didn’t appear in print.
Here are this week’s picks.
Steelers minus 4 over the Chiefs: The Steelers are 6-1 against the Chiefs when Ben Roethlisberger starts and finishes the game. And they’re 4-1 against the Chiefs under Andy Reid, holding Kansas City to an average of a little more than 15 points per game. This should be a higher-scoring affair, but the Steelers should cover in a 34-21 win.
Patriots minus 1½ over the Jaguars: Tom Brady vs. Blake Bortles? You go with Brady every time. That Leonard Fournette also is banged up only drives that home. The only reason this spread is close is because the game is in Jacksonville. But the Patriots should win, 24-13.
Vikings minus 1½ over the Packers: Minnesota’s defense is too much for a banged-up Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers rallied the Packers against the Bears last week, but the Vikings’ offense is light years ahead of that of the Bears. That should add up to a 27-20 Minnesota win.
Rams minus 13 over the Cardinals: The Cardinals, Bills and Colts will be vying for the top overall pick in next year’s draft. Los Angeles’ defense could make this a short day for brittle Arizona quarterback Sam Bradford. The Cardinals will struggle to score in a 30-3 loss
Detroit plus 6½ against the 49ers: The Lions are 0-17 on the road against the NFC West since 2000. But they’re better than they showed last week in a blowout loss at home to the Jets to open the Matt Patricia era. They won’t win to break that streak, but 6 1/2 points is too much. Detroit will cover in a 27-24 loss.