Has L. Bell shown up for camp yet?

[Ron Burgundy]

If Bell shows up the week before the 1st game, I sit his *** for at least the 1st game. Let the guys that practiced get the chance to play. Plus, Bell won't be in football shape and will probably get injured again.

If they can't beat the Browns without him, they don't deserve to win anyway. On the other hand we know how they do playing bad teams on the road, so....
Be interesting to see what the point spread is on that game.

 

[antdrewjosh]

They offered to make him the highest paid running back in the league. So why I don't blame him for wanting as much as he can get, he is greedy as hell.

And he has every right to say thats not enough..just because he places more value on his life then you do doesnt make him greedy or selfish. The league now knows the damge that comes from playing this game but wont offer guaranteed deals but no calls them greedy. Just the players.

 

[antdrewjosh]

Ask any cop or soldier's family who was killed in the line of duty or commits suicide like Seau because they have PTSD.....all for 1/100th of the pay. At least Seau's family is set for life.

Im all for cops or soldiers being paid more ESPECIALLY if the money is their to do so.. and at the same time that family member might tell you all the money in the world isnt worth it.

 

[Supersteeler]

Im all for cops or soldiers being paid more ESPECIALLY if the money is their to do so.. and at the same time that family member might tell you all the money in the world isnt worth it.

Probably not, but it sure beats the hell out of having a dead husband and being broke.

 

[stillwright]

And he has every right to say thats not enough..just because he places more value on his life then you do doesnt make him greedy or selfish. The league now knows the damge that comes from playing this game but wont offer guaranteed deals but no calls them greedy. Just the players.

Look. Bell wants RB and WR money combined....and you know what? He can ask for any amount he wants....but he is being greedy. He wants every penny he can get and why not...but to say he isn't being greedy is laughable.

 

[SteelChip]

If they can't beat the Browns without him, they don't deserve to win anyway. On the other hand we know how they do playing bad teams on the road, so....
Be interesting to see what the point spread is on that game.

You just had to put that out there. This will probably be a " go to a bar to see" game for me unless it's Natly televised ( which I doubt) and then, us losing to the stains with any of their fans in the house would necessitate......oh ****, I can't even fathom.

Thanks a bunch JonBoy

GO STILLERS

 

[antdrewjosh]

Probably not, but it sure beats the hell out of having a dead husband and being broke.

Thats not really a question you can answer.

 

[antdrewjosh]

Look. Bell wants RB and WR money combined....and you know what? He can ask for any amount he wants....but he is being greedy. He wants every penny he can get and why not...but to say he isn't being greedy is laughable.

He doesnt have solid credentials to ask for that? Getting every penny you think you are worth is being greedy? Im the opposite. Knowing the results of playing football and not letting your players know, all the while not paying them guaranteed money while being the highest grossing sport is greedy

 

[kev4heels]

He doesnt have solid credentials to ask for that? Getting every penny you think you are worth is being greedy? Im the opposite. Knowing the results of playing football and not letting your players know, all the while not paying them guaranteed money while being the highest grossing sport is greedy

Bell can ask for whatever he wants. It's his right, and I'm glad players have the right to do so.
The fact that these contracts aren't guaranteed is a joke. The owners know the players won't strike for a full
year to get what they DESERVE b/c many can't lose a full year's pay.

Bell just boils down to 90% of his maximum with his brothers and SB candidates vs. 100% of what he is worth with guys he has no history with and probably a crappy team.
It's all about the money. Bell has decided the money is the deciding factor. His prerogative. However, if I was a teammate and he is not there after the next preseason
game, I start to get a little upset. We shall see.

 

[wig]

As I remember it the Ward situation was different. He wasn't franchised, he was in the middle of the "year before his last year" negotiations and it wasn't going the way he wanted it to. There WERE repercussions to Ward's holdout and it was ended when his teammates reached out to him and asked him to come in and he did. He trusted something would be worked out and it was. Totally different situation.

With Bell, because of his injuries and his suspensions, The Steelers let his contract status ride. He had a monster season despite sitting 1/4 of it out and missing the AFCC game when he was needed most. That put him (in his mind) in an extraordinarily strong position and honestly I have argued and believe that the coaches are largely to blame for his burnout by the time the AFCC game arrived so I can't honestly beat the hell out of Bell for that.

What he's currently doing is attempting to cherry pick this year's 12 million ON TOP of a new huge contract. That's basically what it is. He's hoping he gets the kind of offer he got LAST time NEXT time and the 12.1 million on top of it. This year will be essentially a freebie assuming he can stay healthy and take advantage of one of the best offensive lines and QBs and receivers in the game. Bell and his agent aren't dummies. He has a great opportunity to put up excellent numbers again and get at least the same kind of offer he got last time all over again next year WHILE he pockets 12.1 million all for free. All he has to do is stay catastrophic injury free and have the kind of season he generally has.

The Steelers are a perfect contract catapult for him.

 

[Stryker]

mixing in his reps isn't sitting him he still gets his touches

also you left out the in pads reps

which he isn't acclimated to this year...

Think of all the initial injuries suffered in the beginning of camp, and those players needed time to get over them. Hell some are still out. Every player has to get used to the physicality of the game.

Bell working out isn't getting hit. So he could very well go through the injuries that many players do in the beginning of camp.

And again it isn't a stretch of the imagination with his injury history.

If he has a minor acclimation injury i would rather it be now, over coming in at the last minute and getting one.

At least you aren't missing any important regular season game time.

Also I guess for Bell the Steelers aren't changing any of their plays for the season. Everything will be identical.

Signal stealing cheats will be happy to hear that.

I understand your point and it makes some sense. To further that point, when you get to the regular season, practice reps are much less intense than preseason reps. It's more working on technique, correcting mistakes, and working in that week's plays, instead of backs on backers, or hitting blocking sleds. Training camp leads to injuries for most younger players, since they've never played a full season, and the practices are more strenuous. They lack the experience of what it is like to go through training camp. Bell has that experience. He knows how to run the ball, he knows how to hit holes, he knows how to catch, and he knows how to pass block. No amount of drills are going to change that.

My point is not putting him in these grueling practices, and keeping him healthy for the season, is preferred. The season is much less intense practice wise, though the games will always be intense. I've never witnessed a correlation of players lack of practice in the preseason to potential for injury in the regular season. A rep is a rep, and any rep has the potential for injury.

I'm on the extremely conservative side now for preseason, that I don't want any probowl starters taking reps in meaningless preseason games. Last year I think Ben/Bell/AB only played 1 1/2 quarters the entire preseason. I loved that. It didn't hurt the team, they weren't slow off the ball in their first game, or unprepared. They destroyed a DC team on the road, in primetime. I no longer subscribe to the, you need to practice in the preseason to be ready to go in the regular season, theory. I'm more of the, you keep your players healthy so they can play in the regular season, theory. I'd rather have a player getting up to speed week 1 of the season, then sitting on IR because he got injured during in a preseason game.

 

[Stryker]

I'm also starting to think that Bell's contract wasn't just about the money. Here is the chain of events, and my reasoning behind it:

Steelers offered Bell a lucrative contract
Bell and his agent refuse the contract and opt for the franchise tender
Steelers release the amount offered to make Bell the highest paid RB in history by a mile $12M/season

Now the fans are calling Bell greedy and not a team player. But it was the Steelers that released the amount. They didn't have to. They could have kept it under wraps. I think the Steelers were a little upset that Bell refused this offer and released the numbers to garner fan support and distance some fans from their franchise RB (in case they have to move him later).

I also think Bell turned down the contract for 2 reasons:

1: kicking the contract down the road (if he stays healthy) Guarantees him the same signing bonus next year (around $30M, while pocketing the $12M this year). He may opt to take the $14 next year also to kick his $30M down the road another year. This would give him a $56M payout in 3 years instead of a $30M payout in one year. Financially, it makes perfect sense.

2. Something in the wording of the contract, Bell did not like. I don't think he'd be up for giving any money back, due to him getting another drug violation, but I'm sure there was some wording to that effect in the contract. He is negotiating like, you need to take care of the best RB in the NFL (and possibly history), not you want to punish me for things I haven't done? I can see the logic here, and also understand his point. Though the Steelers have every right to protect themselves against a player that has a propensity to lose games due to issues with controlled substances.

 

[Drink IRON City]

Remember now that are LEGITAMITE #2 WR is back we won't be near as heavily relied upon Bell in a receiving mode. Bell may get his number of handoff but he won't match last year's number / yards of receiving. That's the squeeze, he wants #2 money but isn't a #2. Line him up as a full time WR and you have a #3 at best. He doesn't have that all out speed required for true #2 WR position. You will witness this when Bryant consistantly is lined up at #2.


Salute the nation

 

[tapeANaspirin2it]

Bell's contract is somebody else's problem now. If he wants a record setting deal, he won't get it from the Steelers.

There appears to be 2 or 3 QBs who will be drafted Top 5 next year. Darnold from USC, Allen from Wyoming, and Rosen from UCLA. I can see one of the teams that lands 1 of those QBs going after Bell. It would be an instant offensive overhaul. I can see the Jets or 49ers doing that.

I can also see the Raiders doing it if they come close this year and see Bell as the final piece.

 

[jitter77]

I'm also starting to think that Bell's contract wasn't just about the money. Here is the chain of events, and my reasoning behind it:

Steelers offered Bell a lucrative contract
Bell and his agent refuse the contract and opt for the franchise tender
Steelers release the amount offered to make Bell the highest paid RB in history by a mile $12M/season

Now the fans are calling Bell greedy and not a team player. But it was the Steelers that released the amount. They didn't have to. They could have kept it under wraps. I think the Steelers were a little upset that Bell refused this offer and released the numbers to garner fan support and distance some fans from their franchise RB (in case they have to move him later).

I also think Bell turned down the contract for 2 reasons:

1: kicking the contract down the road (if he stays healthy) Guarantees him the same signing bonus next year (around $30M, while pocketing the $12M this year). He may opt to take the $14 next year also to kick his $30M down the road another year. This would give him a $56M payout in 3 years instead of a $30M payout in one year. Financially, it makes perfect sense.

2. Something in the wording of the contract, Bell did not like. I don't think he'd be up for giving any money back, due to him getting another drug violation, but I'm sure there was some wording to that effect in the contract. He is negotiating like, you need to take care of the best RB in the NFL (and possibly history), not you want to punish me for things I haven't done? I can see the logic here, and also understand his point. Though the Steelers have every right to protect themselves against a player that has a propensity to lose games due to issues with controlled substances.

Possibly best RB in history? Yikes I would not put him near that list yet.

As far as I am concerned he should be out there with his teammates. You have veterans like Harrison, Ben, Brown, etc etc having to go through the motions of training camp Bell should be there too. He has proved less than guys like Brown, Ben, Ward, Troy etc etc so I think it is a punk move to hold out. I dont care if he plays much or at all in the preseason, but I think he should be physically there at camp. I dont know what the stats are, but we scored almost a TD less w/o Bryant what were they w/o Bell. If he doesnt sign a deal next year we could draft / pick up another RB and use the remaining money to sign a good corner.

 

[SteelChip]

All this fuss about Bell not being in camp and the possible injuries or lack of bruises while not participating in the riggers of spring drills...blah, blah blah.

This self proclaimed future hall of fame, multi-positional rappin' boy wonder wouldn't have donned any pads in camp anyway. He's still "officially" recuperating from a March groin operation and could write his own agenda at St Vincents anyway.

As far as I'm concerned, he has earned every bit of the **** he's gonna get from the staff when he does bring his happy *** into the fold.

 

[slashsteel]

Ben's take

almost like I wrote it.

http://www.Invalid Link - Check SN ...hlisberger-bell-cant-simulate-football-shape/

 

[Drink IRON City]

There is NO other explaination other than selfishness as why Bell hasn't showed up. The other players are his friend....... But they want him there. They know this is a little distraction that is growing. There is a consensus of "FOOTBALL" shape. He doesn't have to HIT the vigorous side of practice but he needs to be there. What will make the bell ring for Mr. Bell????



Salute the nation

 

[MTC]

Dick move not signing and getting into camp.
This will eventually be a messy separation. Maybe not this year, but the best running back in the game today is truly a me first guy.
Such is life

Well said.
Not surprised nor gonna be emotionally invested. The Steelers will move on just as life.
Time for the new backs to shine

 

[stelmann58]

I am sure your see these are his last two seasons in pittsburgh and you are correct they will move forward just like in the past. But Bell is a bad teammate because he has nothing to gain money wise and just not spending time with his teammates getting in football shape.

 

[slashsteel]

I am not so sure they will move on from him, we will see.

Obviously with his stance it is possible in two years, they say seeya.

But they also could very well come to terms next year on a contract.

Obviously unpredictable. Obviously.

 

[Drink IRON City]

Us fans have a tendacy to be more invested in team & player than the actual players. Think about your job and how it's more everyday than about the "teammate" aspect of it. I realize our jobs aren't team sports but it's still mundane daily. The NFL / NHL / MLB jobs aren't as exciting on a daily baseas us fans think they are. Still no excuse for not being there. In my job if I'm not there it puts extra burden on the other employees. Bell thinks it's not hurting anything with him not being there is wrong, coaches and players have to spend extra time / worries / about what if he doesn't show. He is causing extra effort that could be more focused on team betterment than worried / distracted on him and his cause.




Salute the nation

 

[TDX27]

Bell is not guaranteed the same amount of money next year. The only way he gets a similar offer is if he has a great season. An injury, a suspension or even a below average season will reduce what he is offered next year. He gambled big on himself. I hope he gambled right and we get another ring out of it but the odds are he bet wrong.

 

[Ron Burgundy]

Bell is not guaranteed the same amount of money next year. The only way he gets a similar offer is if he has a great season. An injury, a suspension or even a below average season will reduce what he is offered next year. He gambled big on himself. I hope he gambled right and we get another ring out of it but the odds are he bet wrong.

True, he doesn't have a good track record of making it through a season. Pretty dumb of him not to take what they're offering when you look at it that way. If he plays under the franchise tag this season and gets hurt then they don't owe him anything beyond this year and his value to other teams likely drops and he makes less than if he'd signed a contract. Wouldn't be the first time ego got in the way of a good business decision.

 

[antdrewjosh]

Ryan Mathews finally healthy enough to pass physical, so Eagles cut him
Frank Schwab
Frank Schwab
Shutdown CornerAugust 15, 2017

The NFL is a cold-blooded business in many ways, but perhaps no more so than when teams wait for players to get healthy just so they can get rid of them.

About 11 a.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, news started to break that Philadelphia Eagles running back Ryan Mathews had passed a physical after healing for months from neck surgery. Mathews was cut by the Eagles before noon, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport.


[Now’s the time to sign up for Fantasy Football! Join for free]

When you bemoan a lack of player loyalty in professional sports, remember tales like this one too. NFL players have an “Injury Protection Benefit” in the collective-bargaining agreement. which ensures a player of up to 50 percent of his salary up to $1.15 million if he’s injured during a game and can’t pass a physical the following season (h/t to Philly Voice and Pro Players Insider). That was clearly the reason the Eagles kept Mathews around for months and then cut him about an hour after he passed his physical. They saved $4 million on the salary cap by cutting Mathews, who suffered a herniated disc in the C6 and C7 spinal segments of his neck late last season and needed surgery. Mathews was slated to make $4 million in base salary on the last year of his three-year, $11 million deal, but that base salary was not guaranteed. Keep this in mind when players fight for guaranteed contracts in the next CBA.

Mathews has dealt with many injuries during his career – that’s a big reason the Eagles were so eager to move on – but teams will probably be interested. Mathews is a former first-round pick with two 1,000-yard seasons. Last season he had 661 yards and eight touchdowns in 13 games. He has averaged 4.4 yards per carry in his career, which is good. He’s 30 years old and unlikely to be an every-down player or make it through 16 games, but can offer some help. Teams with depth issues at running back like the Baltimore Ravens, who lost starter Kenneth Dixon for the season already, could take a look at Mathews now that he’s free.

The weird saga of the Eagles waiting all offseason for Mathews to get a clean bill of health just so they could immediately tell him he’s fired without any further compensation is over. Now Mathews can try to find work again, likely at a much lower salary than he was scheduled to make with the Eagles.

And yet people wonder why Bell is doing what he is doing. If nothing in his contract was guaranteed after his first year this could be him. Dont get hurt you say. Smh. Go run full speed into that 300 or 250 pound guy trying to kill you 25 to 30 times a game. But dont get hurt though. Block up that guy with a running start coming at you. But dont get hurt though. Its going to be really interesting at the next labor agreement. Real interesting indeed.