Bell not expected to report

stlrtruck wrote:

I'm not saying Conner hasn't proven himself, but he's also had some lack luster performances.

My point is Bell still requires more attention than Conner does at this point.  Having the defenses taking him in to consideration adds a different dimension to our offense.

I don't think Conner has had lackluster performances so much as the offensive line's run blocking has been lackluster. I think our o-line has been highly overrated when it comes to their run blocking (myself being guilty of thinking they were great run blockers prior to this season). Bell's running style suited them somewhat because he was patient and waited for his blocks to develop. His bread & butter is his shiftiness, when you take that away, in my honest opinion Bell is a middling running back who lacks speed. It shows in the games last year where he put up less that 4.0ypc.

Conner looks every bit as dynamic, and he's faster than Bell. Problem is, Conner's running style is less shifty, and more one-cut north/south. He is more of a bruiser, where Bell is more of a dancer. Conner requires a little bit better run blocking. When we played the Browns we had good sound run blocking, and they were opening up running lanes for Conner. Same thing against the Falcons. Against the Chiefs and the Ravens the running lanes were non-existent, and to accentuate the issue, we were playing from behind down by 21 points against the Chiefs early on, and 14 against the Ravens. That pretty well negated our running game for the first halves of both of those games respectively, and it definitely didn't set Conner up for success.

In the two games where we have been competitive, and sometimes dominant on defense, we've had a great running game. In the two games where we have been horrid on defense the running game has been non-existent. That's a direct correlation.

Once Munchak gets these guys adjusted to blocking for Connor we will see a very productive attack. At least that's what I think.

I also think barring injury Connor will prove to be better than Bell. Pretty much everyone here has mentioned it but I'll repeat it anyway. Let Bell go to a team that can't figure out how to block for him and we'll see an average RB. What he has not realized is he didn't make this offensive line click. It's the other way around and eventually it will come out.

Let him sign and trade him for a CB to take over for Artiechoke Burns....

Yeah, if we could get a solid corner to start opposite of Haden we'd be doing alright.

even if Bell came back week 7 bye week it would take him a couple of weeks to get back to game ready so week 10 he'd be in game ready. so he'll be Conner back up the rest of the season.

If Bell was worried about being over used when he returned, I think he can put that thought process to bed.

stlrtruck wrote:

If Bell was worried about being over used when he returned, I think he can put that thought process to bed.

Ed Bouchette is reporting at Pitts Post Gazette that the team showed up for a 2pm meeting today but no sign of Bell

LambertWardSteel wrote:

Ed Bouchette is reporting at Pitts Post Gazette that the team showed up for a 2pm meeting today but no sign of Bell

Can you post a link?

I'm not sure how to copy Tweets in here but it was at Pitt Post Gazette in their Tweets. The comments are below, the link is here: http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers

Ed Bouchette

@EdBouchette
Steelers have a meeting at 2. Le’Veon Bell not here




Ray Fittipaldo

@rayfitt1
Steelers just had a 45minute open locker room. No sight of LeVeon Bell. They’re all on their way to a 2 p.m. team meeting now.

Continuing to show how much he cares about anything and anyone but himself.

He is talented on the field. Off the field you do not need someone like that IMHO! That is going to cause problems.

Since he doesn't want to be traded he probably won't sign his tender before October 31st after the trading deadline.

Yeah you know Bell. He was the guy that played football,then became a Rapper. Yeah,that Bell.

solardave wrote:

Yeah you know Bell. He was the guy that played football,then became a Rapper. Yeah,that Bell.

I disagree. I believe Bell was a wanna be rapper who learned to play football.

stlrtruck wrote:

solardave wrote:

Yeah you know Bell. He was the guy that played football,then became a Rapper. Yeah,that Bell.

I disagree.  I believe Bell was a wanna be rapper who learned to play football.

So you're saying once he pisses away his football career he really doesn't have anything to fall back on?

solardave wrote:

stlrtruck wrote:

solardave wrote:

Yeah you know Bell. He was the guy that played football,then became a Rapper. Yeah,that Bell.

I disagree.  I believe Bell was a wanna be rapper who learned to play football.

So you're saying once he pisses away his football career he really doesn't have anything to fall back on?

You nailed it.

It looks now like Stella was right and if he signs at all it'll be tomorrow after the deadline.

I know if he sits out the entire year he can be tagged again. My question that I can't seem to find an answer for is this. Can they change tag to the non-exclusive?

The way I see it if this scenario plays out either someone would be willing to give up 2 #1s for him or he signs the tag or he sits again for 10 or more games.

I don't think he'll sit out the year. If he does I don't think ANYONE would be willing to give up 2 #1s for him. The clock would be ticking on his future in the NFL.

Whatever happens I sure as hell hope we roll with Connor as the starter. At this point I don't see Bell being any better.

I just hope the Steelers play hardball with the 2 week roster exemption and stick to $0 compensation for those two weeks.

And yes - Conner all the way as our starter.

I think it would be funny if he misread the clock and signed 5 minutes before the trade deadline and they quickly traded him.

Yes I updated the subject line due to the obvious.

Its now being reported that he's not going to sign at all.

Dreams do come true!

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000986242/article/steelers-dont-expect-leveon-bell-to-play-in-2018
They're saying now that there's a loophole. He can bypass the second tag and if we tag him again it'll be at the QB level around 25 mil.
I just wish someone on one of these networks would spell out all the possibilities. For instance:

What kind of tag can we place on him?
What are the terms of any tag we'd place on him like Non-exclusive, Transition, etc.
I still hold out hope that we can get something for him like a descent pick.




Connor is in concussion protocol right now and I hope he can play in Jags land next week.
If he can't go all we have is Ridley or Samuels. A huge drop off.

solardave wrote:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000986242/article/steelers-dont-expect-leveon-bell-to-play-in-2018
They're saying now that there's a loophole. He can bypass the second tag and if we tag him again it'll be at the QB level around 25 mil.
I just wish someone on one of these networks would spell out all the possibilities. For instance:

What kind of tag can we place on him?
What are the terms of any tag we'd place on him like Non-exclusive, Transition, etc.
I still hold out hope that we can get something for him like a descent pick.




Connor is in concussion protocol right now and I hope he can play in Jags land next week.
If he can't go all we have is Ridley or Samuels. A huge drop off.

When I heard that sitting out the intire season wasn't going to hurt him except for the money he loses, I already guessed he wasn't coming back. It would be awesome if we won the SB this season and that he wouldn't return. A missed SB probably would hurt him more than missing the money.

Steelers have 5 options:

- Doing nothing and letting him hit FA and closing a longterm deal with him. Highly unlikely.
- Doing nothing and letting him hit FA where he signs a longterm deal with another team. Depending on his contract and production on the field Steelers get at best a compensatory 3rd round pick. One of the two most likely options.
- Franchise tag him again for around $25M. If they do this I will eat my cap, my shirt and my shoes. Most unlikely.
- Transition tag him and matching the best offer another team makes. Bell stays a Steeler. Depending on the offer that's a possibility, but I think that won't happen.
-Transition tag him and not matching the best offer. Bell signs for the team with the highest offer. Steelers get a pick for the round they put the tag on, can be 1st or 2nd round. The higher the round the higher the money a team needs to pay Bell. Also a likely option.

Stella Nation wrote:

solardave wrote:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000986242/article/steelers-dont-expect-leveon-bell-to-play-in-2018
They're saying now that there's a loophole. He can bypass the second tag and if we tag him again it'll be at the QB level around 25 mil.
I just wish someone on one of these networks would spell out all the possibilities. For instance:

What kind of tag can we place on him?
What are the terms of any tag we'd place on him like Non-exclusive, Transition, etc.
I still hold out hope that we can get something for him like a descent pick.




Connor is in concussion protocol right now and I hope he can play in Jags land next week.
If he can't go all we have is Ridley or Samuels. A huge drop off.

When I heard that sitting out the intire season wasn't going to hurt him except for the money he loses, I already guessed he wasn't coming back. It would be awesome if we won the SB this season and that he wouldn't return. A missed SB probably would hurt him more than missing the money.

Steelers have 5 options:

- Doing nothing and letting him hit FA and closing a longterm deal with him. Highly unlikely.
- Doing nothing and letting him hit FA where he signs a longterm deal with another team. Depending on his contract and production on the field Steelers get at best a compensatory 3rd round pick. One of the two most likely options.
- Franchise tag him again for around $25M. If they do this I will eat my cap, my shirt and my shoes. Most unlikely.
- Transition tag him and matching the best offer another team makes. Bell stays a Steeler. Depending on the offer that's a possibility, but I think that won't happen.
-Transition tag him and not matching the best offer. Bell signs for the team with the highest offer. Steelers get a pick for the round they put the tag on, can be 1st or 2nd round. The higher the round the higher the money a team needs to pay Bell. Also a likely option.

Do you know how much it would cost to transition tag him for a 2nd round? I think 1st round is unrealistic. 2nd round might be too.

Of course they might just decide to never deal with him again. Don't offer him anything, let him walk, if you get something out of him signing, great, at least you are rid of a big headache.

Steelers don't expect Le'Veon Bell to play in 2018

Don't expect Le'Veon Bell to show up to the Pittsburgh Steelers facility next week, or anytime this season for that matter, Jeremy Bergman of NFL.com reports.

Despite owner Art Rooney's recent comments anticipating Bell's return to the facility, the team is not expecting their star RB to play for them this season, sources told NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport.

Rapoport added Pittsburgh wants him back on the roster, but the front office believes Bell will stay away and await free agency in 2019.

http://theredzone.org/Blog-Description/EntryId/73437/Steelers-don-t-expect-Le-Veon-Bell-to-play-in-2018

stay away, stay far away.