Bell skips Day 1 of Steelers practice

Wallace108 wrote:

LambertWardSteel wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

nine vegetable wrote:

Not sure if I should start a separate thread for this but...

The Browns game is not a gimme, in my opinion.  We are going to need our featured back to rush for more than 32 yards or we might not win that game.

They are an improved team.  They almost have to be.  You can't consistently get the highest draft picks without accumulating some talent at some point.  Put another way...even a broken clock is right twice a day.

I seriously doubt that Bell will be ready to be our best back for that game, even if he reports tomorrow.

Yep. I said something similar in another thread during the 3rd preseason game. Last season, the starters didn't get much preseason work, including Bell who got zero, and the offense came out flat against the Browns. This year, Ben got little work again, Bell got none again, and AB got none. It's like they use the Browns as a fifth preaseason game. I agree with you ... I don't think this is going to be the same ol' Browns. We can't afford for the offense to come out flat while trying to knock off the rust.

I really hope they learned their lesson last season about overlooking teams, but based on what I've seen so far, I'm afraid they haven't. I hope I'm wrong.

I hope you're wrong too but I've been feeling the same. Everyone playing so little over the summer doesn't help matters especially if they aren't prepared. I'm wondering though if starting Conner atRB may actually be a plus since he may not be as rusty and because the Browns may not take him as seriously as Bell

The Steelers are the Super Bowl to the Browns every year. They almost beat us last year in the first game and ended up 0-16. If they beat the Steelers they are legitimate in their minds. The year the Steelers rested players going into the playoffs, Browns almost won, they likely would have had a ticker tape parade if they had beat the back ups.

I'm in favor of Conner starting Sunday even if Bell returns in time and is in the best shape of his life. A message was sent when Jones was replaced with Dobbs (positions are earned). It's time to send another message. In my opinion, the Steelers' biggest problem in recent years hasn't been talent ... it's the lack of discipline. Players who work hard and perform well should be rewarded and given an opportunity over someone who feels entitled to the position and is willing to put himself above the team, and money above the Lombardi.

I 100% agree with you. Conner has earned the right to be the starter. Make Bell fight to get his spot back.

nine vegetable wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

LambertWardSteel wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

nine vegetable wrote:

Not sure if I should start a separate thread for this but...

The Browns game is not a gimme, in my opinion.  We are going to need our featured back to rush for more than 32 yards or we might not win that game.

They are an improved team.  They almost have to be.  You can't consistently get the highest draft picks without accumulating some talent at some point.  Put another way...even a broken clock is right twice a day.

I seriously doubt that Bell will be ready to be our best back for that game, even if he reports tomorrow.

Yep. I said something similar in another thread during the 3rd preseason game. Last season, the starters didn't get much preseason work, including Bell who got zero, and the offense came out flat against the Browns. This year, Ben got little work again, Bell got none again, and AB got none. It's like they use the Browns as a fifth preaseason game. I agree with you ... I don't think this is going to be the same ol' Browns. We can't afford for the offense to come out flat while trying to knock off the rust.

I really hope they learned their lesson last season about overlooking teams, but based on what I've seen so far, I'm afraid they haven't. I hope I'm wrong.

I hope you're wrong too but I've been feeling the same. Everyone playing so little over the summer doesn't help matters especially if they aren't prepared. I'm wondering though if starting Conner atRB may actually be a plus since he may not be as rusty and because the Browns may not take him as seriously as Bell

The Steelers are the Super Bowl to the Browns every year. They almost beat us last year in the first game and ended up 0-16. If they beat the Steelers they are legitimate in their minds. The year the Steelers rested players going into the playoffs, Browns almost won, they likely would have had a ticker tape parade if they had beat the back ups.

I'm in favor of Conner starting Sunday even if Bell returns in time and is in the best shape of his life. A message was sent when Jones was replaced with Dobbs (positions are earned). It's time to send another message. In my opinion, the Steelers' biggest problem in recent years hasn't been talent ... it's the lack of discipline. Players who work hard and perform well should be rewarded and given an opportunity over someone who feels entitled to the position and is willing to put himself above the team, and money above the Lombardi.

I 100% agree with you.  Conner has earned the right to be the starter.  Make Bell fight to get his spot back.

Yep. Then we get to see if Conner is ready for and capable of that role.

Wallace108 wrote:

nine vegetable wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

LambertWardSteel wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

nine vegetable wrote:

Not sure if I should start a separate thread for this but...

The Browns game is not a gimme, in my opinion.  We are going to need our featured back to rush for more than 32 yards or we might not win that game.

They are an improved team.  They almost have to be.  You can't consistently get the highest draft picks without accumulating some talent at some point.  Put another way...even a broken clock is right twice a day.

I seriously doubt that Bell will be ready to be our best back for that game, even if he reports tomorrow.

Yep. I said something similar in another thread during the 3rd preseason game. Last season, the starters didn't get much preseason work, including Bell who got zero, and the offense came out flat against the Browns. This year, Ben got little work again, Bell got none again, and AB got none. It's like they use the Browns as a fifth preaseason game. I agree with you ... I don't think this is going to be the same ol' Browns. We can't afford for the offense to come out flat while trying to knock off the rust.

I really hope they learned their lesson last season about overlooking teams, but based on what I've seen so far, I'm afraid they haven't. I hope I'm wrong.

I hope you're wrong too but I've been feeling the same. Everyone playing so little over the summer doesn't help matters especially if they aren't prepared. I'm wondering though if starting Conner atRB may actually be a plus since he may not be as rusty and because the Browns may not take him as seriously as Bell

The Steelers are the Super Bowl to the Browns every year. They almost beat us last year in the first game and ended up 0-16. If they beat the Steelers they are legitimate in their minds. The year the Steelers rested players going into the playoffs, Browns almost won, they likely would have had a ticker tape parade if they had beat the back ups.

I'm in favor of Conner starting Sunday even if Bell returns in time and is in the best shape of his life. A message was sent when Jones was replaced with Dobbs (positions are earned). It's time to send another message. In my opinion, the Steelers' biggest problem in recent years hasn't been talent ... it's the lack of discipline. Players who work hard and perform well should be rewarded and given an opportunity over someone who feels entitled to the position and is willing to put himself above the team, and money above the Lombardi.

I 100% agree with you.  Conner has earned the right to be the starter.  Make Bell fight to get his spot back.

Yep. Then we get to see if Conner is ready for and capable of that role.

If not, then we all know our #1 draft pick next year will probably be a RB

I agree with you Wally. Dobbs earned his spot and so has Connor. At this point right now I wouldn't care if Bell backed up Connor all year. I don't know how Cowher would have handled this situation but I'm pretty sure he'd never play again for us if Noll was running things.

We've never been a 1 player team.

I think our D is going to have to win this game for us.

Read on Twitter that Bell did not report today, as his teammates were hoping.

Bell’s agent says running back will get there when he gets there and infers that it might be a while. Knows Steelers will run Bell’s wheels off once he shows.

— Steelers Depot (@Steelersdepot) September 5, 2018

LeVeon Bell agent paints the picture to @SiriusXMNFL that his client is out to preserve his body for next year’s free agency. Wouldn’t say when he’d show but did say (paraphrase) “he will be there when he gets there” @TheAthleticPGH

— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly) September 5, 2018

Talked to one Steeler who said he woke up thinking it was 70-30 Le'Veon Bell would show. By time the 9am team meeting rolled around and he hadn't shown, dropped it to 50-50. Now, an hour later, says he's down to 30-70. What we have to figure out, he said, is Bell's end game.

— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) September 5, 2018

I think Bell's end game is clear: he is not going to damage himself, as to get a huge contract next year. Everything else be dammed.

Here's one theory for you: Bell saw Khalil Mack get traded this weekend AND land a huge contract from the Bears and decided it would be in his best interest to stay away from the Steelers for a little bit longer and at least see if they would entertain trading him, or if other teams would contact the Steelers about trying to land Bell. The situation is more complex because Bell isn't under contract, but if two teams hammer out compensation for the trade and the team Bell goes to works out a deal with the running back, he could come in, sign his tender and be shipped out. And it's even more complex because in theory his new team wouldn't be able to work out a contract with him until after the season because of the franchise tag rules. There would have to be a lot of handshake/wink wink agreements going here, perhaps too much for anything to happen.

From https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/is-leveon-bell-going-to-play-for-steelers-in-week-1-heres-why-its-not-looking-great/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

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Normally, I wouldn't give much thought to this kind of theory because we rarely see the Steelers make a big move like this. But if we factor in how the Steelers recently freed up cap space, it's safe to speculate that something is in the works. It could be for something small like signing a linebacker for depth, or it could be something big like trading Bell for a defensive stud. Or it could be something else entirely. Whatever it is, it shouldn't take long to find out.

Not sure if this signing is related to the Bell situation, but I'll post it here as well as in the practice squad thread.

Former Saints RB Trey Edmunds is signing with the Steelers practice squad, per source. He'll join his brother Terrell Edmunds in Pittsburgh.

— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) September 5, 2018

pic.twitter.com/f6eBzYL21H

— Ramon Foster (@RamonFoster) September 5, 2018

Wallace108 wrote:

LeVeon Bell agent paints the picture to @SiriusXMNFL that his client is out to preserve his body for next year’s free agency. Wouldn’t say when he’d show but did say (paraphrase) “he will be there when he gets there” @TheAthleticPGH

— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly) September 5, 2018

Reading that does it really matter at this point? I for one am excited to see James Conner this weekend with Ridley and Samuels backing him up. Bell isn't going to be in Pittsburgh whether he's present or not. If they work out something where he signs the franchise and trade him that's fine, but otherwise let him sit as long as he wants. Bell likely is the next Mike Wallace, takes the big money then asks to come back 2 years later.

From an article at Pitt Post Gazette:

Le'Veon Bell misses team meeting; Ben Roethlisberger stresses offense is 'more than one guy'

Ben Roethlisberger wrote:

Roethlisberger was measured in his comments to reporters Wednesday, but he made it clear that expectations for the offense remain with same with or without Bell in the lineup.

“I think we’re a very good offense,” Roethlisberger said. “Football is the ultimate team sport. One person doesn’t make or break you. I’d like to say the linemen are more important than any skill player, including myself, on this team. This offense is more than one guy.”

Roethlisberger knows this better than anyone. While he acknowledged Bell’s status as “one of the best in the business” he knows the offense has hummed along without Bell in recent years.
In 2015, after Bell was injured in the eighth game of the season, DeAngelo Williams stepped in and produced three 100-yard games over the next seven contests, including a 170-yard performance the next week against the Raiders. The Steelers won all but two of those games and won a playoff game without Bell or Williams, who was injured in the regular-season finale against the Browns.

The next season, Bell served a three-game suspension to start the season and Williams rushed for 143 yards in the season opener against the Redskins. The Steelers won two of their first three games before Bell returned to the lineup in early October.

“We did pretty good then too,” Roethlisberger said. “James is a year better than he was last year. We’re all kind of excited for what can bring to this offense and this team. We have a lot of weapons. We’d like to have [Bell] out there, but we have guys who can make plays for us.”

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2018/09/05/le-veon-bell-contract-steelers-ben-roethlisberger-james-conner/stories/201809050124

I think his approach is going to end up costing him more money than it makes him. He's also taking the risk of becoming expendable by giving James Conner a shot at becoming a star RB.

If I were the Steelers, I'd definitely ice him for 2 weeks if he signs (exempt list). That would cost him a cool $1.7M.

It looks like Bell's teammates are coming over to our side.

Maurkice Pouncey on the absence of Le’Veon Bell: “At this point, it’s bigger than business.” #Steelers

— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) September 5, 2018

Pouncey on Bell--"Honestly it's a little selfish. I'm kinda pissed right now. It sucks that he's not here. we'll move on as a team. It doesn't look like he'll be in the game plan at this point. Conner looks great. We'll worry about him in week 2."

— Tim Benz (@TimBenzPGH) September 5, 2018

More Pouncey on Bell--"At this point go ahead and miss ten (games)."

— Tim Benz (@TimBenzPGH) September 5, 2018

Steelers players coming out much stronger on Bell, taking his absence personally. “It’s bigger than business,” M. Pouncey said. Some players felt he played ‘peek-a-boo’ by not committing to absence earlier.

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) September 5, 2018

Steelers teammates not happy with Le’Veon Bell no show, led by vet G Ramon Foster, their player rep:
“What do you do? here’s a guy who doesn’t give a damn, I guess so we’ll treatit as such. I just hate it came to this. “

— Ed Bouchette (@EdBouchette) September 5, 2018

More Ramon Foster on Bell: “He’s making 7 times what I make twice as much as Al (Villanueva) is making and we’re the guys who do it for him.”

— Ed Bouchette (@EdBouchette) September 5, 2018

Wallace108 wrote:

It looks like Bell's teammates are coming over to our side.

Maurkice Pouncey on the absence of Le’Veon Bell: “At this point, it’s bigger than business.” #Steelers

— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) September 5, 2018

Pouncey on Bell--"Honestly it's a little selfish. I'm kinda pissed right now. It sucks that he's not here. we'll move on as a team. It doesn't look like he'll be in the game plan at this point. Conner looks great. We'll worry about him in week 2."

— Tim Benz (@TimBenzPGH) September 5, 2018

More Pouncey on Bell--"At this point go ahead and miss ten (games)."

— Tim Benz (@TimBenzPGH) September 5, 2018

Steelers players coming out much stronger on Bell, taking his absence personally. “It’s bigger than business,” M. Pouncey said. Some players felt he played ‘peek-a-boo’ by not committing to absence earlier.

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) September 5, 2018

Steelers teammates not happy with Le’Veon Bell no show, led by vet G Ramon Foster, their player rep:
“What do you do? here’s a guy who doesn’t give a damn, I guess so we’ll treatit as such. I just hate it came to this. “

— Ed Bouchette (@EdBouchette) September 5, 2018

More Ramon Foster on Bell: “He’s making 7 times what I make twice as much as Al (Villanueva) is making and we’re the guys who do it for him.”

— Ed Bouchette (@EdBouchette) September 5, 2018

It's good to see the team is behind the feelings of the fans. Pouncey in particular seems to really call other players out. I hope the team resolves to put this behind them and not let it be a distraction despite the fact it will be a huge story with the media. Maybe this serves to inspire the team...I'm sure already there are people out there picking Browns this weekend because Bell won't be there. That sort of thing really inspired the team in 2010 when Ben was suspended. So maybe everyone puts extra effort into their jobs and comes out stronger behind Conner.

There's only one thing I fear when Conner becomes the starter and that's that Ben will get killed. His blocking skills are non-existent at the moment and that's where Bell excels the most imo.

wouldn't it be great if Conner, Samuels and Ridley come in and there is no drop off in the Steelers run game and pass catching out of the backfield. other teams might see the Steelers run offense wasn't just about Bell that made it work but it was the offense as a whole o-line passing game that really made Bell look so really good.

I'm wanting to see Samuels take off this season he's the same size as Bell at 6'1" and 225lbs with ball catching ability as good as Bell. I think Conner and Samuels will make a good RB tandem for the Steelers this season.

keep in mind this is no longer Haley's offense and Fichtner's offense is power off tackle runs and power off tackle play action that sets up the rest of his offense. both Conner and Samuels have the size and speed to run the off tackle run plays and make defenses respect it. off tackle run plays have been a staple of the Steelers offense for years.

imo the Steelers won't miss Bell this year.

Its a bad sign when you lose your linemen. At that point, its pretty much over.

I agree with Pouncey - let him sit 10 games. Bell is only hurting Bell - every week he misses, he's out over $3/4M that he will never get back. Bad, bad business decisions on his part.

effyou515 wrote:

wouldn't it be great if Conner, Samuels and Ridley come in and there is no drop off in the Steelers run game and pass catching out of the backfield. other teams might see the Steelers run offense wasn't just about Bell that made it work but it was the offense as a whole o-line passing game that really made Bell look so really good.

I'm wanting to see Samuels take off this season he's the same size as Bell at 6'1" and 225lbs with ball catching ability as good as Bell. I think Conner and Samuels will make a good RB tandem for the Steelers this season.

keep in mind this is no longer Haley's offense and Fichtner's offense is power off tackle runs and power off tackle play action that sets up the rest of his offense. both Conner and Samuels have the size and speed to run the off tackle run plays and make defenses respect it. off tackle run plays have been a staple of the Steelers offense for years.

imo the Steelers won't miss Bell this year.

While a like the trio of Conner, Samuels and Ridley, people often forget the Bell is the best blocker of all RB's in the league. That's something we will surely miss until he's back. Especially because he makes up a lot for Jesse James who's a poor blocker as a TE. We're lucky to have an outstanding OL, but you never can have enough good blockers.

Stella Nation wrote:

effyou515 wrote:

wouldn't it be great if Conner, Samuels and Ridley come in and there is no drop off in the Steelers run game and pass catching out of the backfield. other teams might see the Steelers run offense wasn't just about Bell that made it work but it was the offense as a whole o-line passing game that really made Bell look so really good.

I'm wanting to see Samuels take off this season he's the same size as Bell at 6'1" and 225lbs with ball catching ability as good as Bell. I think Conner and Samuels will make a good RB tandem for the Steelers this season.

keep in mind this is no longer Haley's offense and Fichtner's offense is power off tackle runs and power off tackle play action that sets up the rest of his offense. both Conner and Samuels have the size and speed to run the off tackle run plays and make defenses respect it. off tackle run plays have been a staple of the Steelers offense for years.

imo the Steelers won't miss Bell this year.

While a like the trio of Conner, Samuels and Ridley, people often forget the Bell is the best blocker of all RB's in the league. That's something we will surely miss until he's back. Especially because he makes up a lot for Jesse James who's a poor blocker as a TE. We're lucky to have an outstanding OL, but you never can have enough good blockers.

a lot of this depends on Ben if he plays with in the offense and does the quick check downs or will he be greedy for the long ball? Ben getting the ball out quick helps out the blocking a lot.

I think we're going to be just fine. I read that Connor was improving picking up the blitzes and he doesn't impress me as a selfish guy on or off the field. I think at this point he is an upgrade. Plus we have Ridley and Samuels. Ben will just have to get the ball out quicker.

Honestly having had a lot of time to sit and think about this entire Bell situation here's my opinion on why not having Bell isn't going to hurt this team that much.

1. Bell is slow. James Conner looks to be more explosive. Bell is not a home run threat, and last year was one of the worst years that I can remember for Bell as far as 10+ yard and 20+ yard runs.

2. Bell isn't really great at running the ball, nor is he particularly great at receiving it. I would say he's good at both maybe great at receiving if you're just talking about his receiving ability as a runningback. Bell wants to be paid like a WR though, and if he was a WR he would be a average to good one, not a a great one. All in all he's a very versatile back but he's not a homerun threat when running the ball due to a lack of speed. He may be great receiving the ball as a running back but I hardly think that makes him worth WR money.

3. Bell acts like he's a superstar, and conveniently forgets the fact that his offensive line does a ton of work to make him look like a superstar. Bell's running style is always described as "patient" or "hesitant". For his running style to work you have to have exceptional offensive line play where the o-lineman can follow through and hold their blocks long enough for Bell to find an opening. Bell has never been a one-cut North-South kind of guy. I think if you put Bell on a team with subpar offensive line play that it would really expose him. He's not particularly great and only seems to manage a hair over 4 YPC over the course of a season. Backs like Todd Gurley are far more explosive, put up better YPC and are more of a threat to find the endzone on any given play than Bell is.

All in all Bell is a versatile back, that's his calling card. We have Conner who looks to have improved his game immensely from his rookie season who is faster and just looks more explosive than Bell. If Conner has really improved his pass catching as much as sites like Steelers Depot would have us believe than he could easily be just as productive, or more productive than Bell if he can stay healthy. We also have Ridley who's a decent hard-nosed runner, and isn't too bad at catching the ball either. To round things out we have Samuel a swiss army knife that looks pretty explosive as a runner, and has the ability to catch the ball and line up in the slot or even at TE. Those three guys can easily make up for Bell's production and seem to have a better team mentality overall.

All in all, I don't think we need Bell as much as he thinks this team does. The fact that guys like Pouncey (widely known to be Bell's best friend on the team), Decastro, and Foster are openly ripping Bell to the media doesn't speak well to Bell. Ben said it best, one guy doesn't make the team, football is the ultimate team sport. Bell is salty because he wanted the Steelers to break character and overpay him, he thought he could pressure them into it, and now he's holding out actual games because he didn't get what he wanted. Good riddance. Let him sit on a couch and write crappy rap songs all season, trade him, or let him go and let some other team with an idiot running their front office overpay for his services.

Bell's best season statistically was 2014 in that his longest run was 81 yards. His longest reception in 2014 was 48 yards. He averaged 4.9 YPC and 10.3 yards per catch. Not exactly elite if we're only going by stats. He's pretty damn good at blocking and catches well out of the backfield but is he worth the money he's demanding. He's not asking mind you ( because if he was he'd be in camp) he's demanding.

Everyone who points out how our line really makes him look great is absolutely right. He obviously has watched different game film than we have watched games. Maybe film that isolates him taking the line out completely where it makes him look like a freakin' magician.

I couldn't be a bigger fan of Connor,Ridley and Samuels at this point.