NFL 2018 - 2019 -- Watch America's favorite sport wither away and die

Foggy said:

Zeke is in tier 1 of backs. He just has the most unimaginative staff known to man. Don’t forget that Gurley looked rather pedestrian pre-McVay.

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That's why I listed him and Bell right there behind Gurley. Then there is a group slightly behind that in my opinion (although sometimes it's just scheme/other weapons that hold those guys back). Gurley had a pretty good rookie year even under Fisher, no? Like 3rd in the league in rushing playing for noted team killer Jeff Fisher...slightly better than pedestrian.

I mean it's entirely possible that both Conner and Bell are really good. Also, most backs require a half decent team to shine, if they're bad enough they almost all look like turds. I mean the Cowboys aren't particularly good, and they do load up the box against them, but at least they still have a good line. It might not be crazy good like it was a couple of years ago but there's a lot of teams that would be happy to swap lines with them.

Merrith said:

That's why I listed him and Bell right there behind Gurley. Then there is a group slightly behind that in my opinion (although sometimes it's just scheme/other weapons that hold those guys back). Gurley had a pretty good rookie year even under Fisher, no? Like 3rd in the league in rushing playing for noted team killer Jeff Fisher...slightly better than pedestrian.

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Yeah, but his second year was horrible. 3.2 ypc for 278 carries. Not saying he isn't one of the best, just that I think the position is probably more influenced by the whole team than other skill positions.

Bell wasn't coming back after passing up the "free" $850k he would have made for reporting during the bye week. He might get his money (elsewhere) but there has to be a stigma associated with him now that he might not be able to shed. It is one thing to sit out camp and preseason over a contract issue but in a sport where every play has the chance to end someone's career (if not their life) I doubt the Steelers locker room wanted Bell back at this point. Especially the O-line - they've played 9 games so far getting beat on by 300lb+ defensive linemen while he has been in Miami. Keep in mind Bell's plan was to essentially force the Steelers into a bad half-season so that he would have all of the leverage and the Steelers would pay what he wanted for him to come back. Bell was also risking his teammates potential earnings - a bad record this year might reduce what the O-line can get on their next contracts, or there may be performance bonuses in play (thinking something like the O-line getting a $100k bonus for a 1,000 yard rusher or similar).

Bell's future teammates are going to be questioning every unfinished run.

People can say all that kind of negative shit about him but if he joins some team next year and rushes for 1400 yards and catches 70 balls nobody is going to give a fuck.

DickTrickle said:

Yeah, but his second year was horrible. 3.2 ypc for 278 carries. Not saying he isn't one of the best, just that I think the position is probably more influenced by the whole team than other skill positions.

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Then again goff had a bad year then too (his rookie year). I'm more inclined to chalk up that down year for Gurley to Fisher being terrible. It's visible what he's able to do out there both running and catching the ball out of the backfield.

What sometimes gets ignored in the whole Bell thing is that the Steelers have a good O-Line and plenty of other offensive weapons drawing attention. Even DeAngelo Williams looked pretty good with Pit.

Sebudai said:

What sometimes gets ignored in the whole Bell thing is that the Steelers have a good O-Line and plenty of other offensive weapons drawing attention. Even DeAngelo Williams looked pretty good with Pit.

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Yeah 100 percent team matters. If Bell goes to The Raiders or Jets or something he's probably going to not be all that good. I'm sure he'd be a massive upgrade for either team but look what happened to Shady!

Bell is way better than McCoy, but yes your team greatly influences a RBs performance.

The Steelers are making Connor look good. He might be a good back who knows, but chances are Bell is better. You have to give him that, his performances over the last few years bear it out. He just has more proven production, whereas Connor is having one break out season and isnt a known commodity.

If Bell goes to the Lions or some shit, I still think he can be an effective back field option, regardless of the o-line or offensive make up.

Players Union agreeing to the franchise tag was to begin with was pretty wild. It doesn't affect most players though so it sort of fits the whole we'll give up x, y, and z for a little more base money thing.

LeVeon Bell will most likely go down as the guy who killed the franchise tag.

Cousins started a new era with garaunteed contracts, the players are starting to balance the market a bit. They know the brand is under assault, the concussion problem, the rule changes, the players and the PA knows that the time to press an advantage is now.

Bell sacrificed a lot of money, but ultimately he basically gave up a season in the prime of his career in order to passively protest him being jerked around on a tag. It is a huge risk but ultimately I think it will work in his favor but his reputation took a massive hit.

Le'Veon Bell is going to need so much future money to make up for this on a financial level, which is clearly his most important goal. If he cared about his career stats, wins, Superbowl chances, organizational stability, playing for a universally agreed upon player's coach, etc. he would have stayed in the Burgh.

Vegas odd's are on the Jets to pay him next year. Granted a few teams in Texas and Florida have no state income tax, but man, Pittsburgh is one of the most affordable and highly ranked livability indexed cities in the nation and world for its size. Even if he makes more money on another team, it might be a net loss or about the same as the Steeler's offer with expenses. The probability of playing for a crap organization coach is fairly high. For a guy whining about his health, I'll laugh hard if he goes to a crap team and organization like the Jets chasing money and defenses stack the box and punish him.

I also chuckle at players whining about guaranteed money not being enough. Sure you risk any given Sunday having a catastrophic injury ending your career and income stream as a player. However, people who are really concerned take out expensive injury policies. Guaranteed money is certainly important, but overblown in this regard. Also, teams pay injury settlements all the time, and we're talking about all NFL players earning top 1%+ salaries every year even at league minimum doing something people risk their lives doing for a lot less and a lot more danger.....while not being nearly as unionized.

If the NFL owners really do collude to screw people over like Kaepernick, I'll laugh if they agree to dick over Bell for trying to take them hostage. Won't happen of course because he's better than Kaeperbo, but man, the dream potential....

That's all fine and good but the franchise tag is going to be reworked one way or the other.

It's not just about Bell the player either, it's also about the negative exposure that was caused by this hold out. It doesnt bode well for the league. Part of this is position related, but ultimately the franchise tag will be re structured or outright eliminated as we know it.

That, along with the garaunteed contract is certainly evidence of a favorable shift in the market for players.

Also what data is showing the NFL is going backwards? Ratings and revenue has been steady, even this year, maybe they dont have a capacity for growth, but they still command a huge audience and lucrative sponsorships and TV/Streaming deals.

Naxi Qayreon said:

Le'Veon Bell is going to need so much future money to make up for this on a financial level, which is clearly his most important goal. If he cared about his career stats, wins, Superbowl chances, organizational stability, playing for a universally agreed upon player's coach, etc. he would have stayed in the Burgh.

Vegas odd's are on the Jets to pay him next year. Granted a few teams in Texas and Florida have no state income tax, but man, Pittsburgh is one of the most affordable and highly ranked livability indexed cities in the nation and world for its size. Even if he makes more money on another team, it might be a net loss or about the same as the Steeler's offer with expenses. The probability of playing for a crap organization coach is fairly high. For a guy whining about his health, I'll laugh hard if he goes to a crap team and organization like the Jets chasing money and defenses stack the box and punish him.

I also chuckle at players whining about guaranteed money not being enough. Sure you risk any given Sunday having a catastrophic injury ending your career and income stream as a player. However, people who are really concerned take out expensive injury policies. Guaranteed money is certainly important, but overblown in this regard. Also, teams pay injury settlements all the time, and we're talking about all NFL players earning top 1%+ salaries every year even at league minimum doing something people risk their lives doing for a lot less and a lot more danger.....while not being nearly as unionized.

If the NFL owners really do collude to screw people over like Kaepernick, I'll laugh if they agree to dick over Bell for trying to take them hostage. Won't happen of course because he's better than Kaeperbo, but man, the dream potential....

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Lets be generous and assume Bell retires at age 34. He then has what 30 to 40 more years to live off what he has made, all the while paying for his own medical care without insurance.

https://deadspin.com/the-nfl-broke-former-players-like-me-heres-one-way-to-1829914431

Le'Veon Bell is set for life. He skipped training camp and the entire season. So he totally watched Hard Knocks this year while he sat on his fat ass. If he paid attention, he listened to Carl Nassib's financial advance and is collecting his guaranteed 10% investment return per year. Carl Nassib was cut by the Brown's and picked up on waivers by the Tampa Bay Bucs who are conveniently located near Le'Veon Bell's Miami base. This all happened by design! It's all making sense now.