Steelers better off without Le'Veon, AB

[hawaiiansteeler]

Steelers better off without Le'Veon, AB

By Bucky Brooks
NFL.com Analyst
Published: May 24, 2019

It's uncommon for a team to improve after losing a pair of All-Pro players, but the Pittsburgh Steelers could show the football world that chemistry can trump talent when building a championship roster. While I'm certainly not convinced that all squads with great camaraderie can make up for their talent deficiencies, I firmly believe that this Steelers team will be better thanks to an addition-by-subtraction approach that relieved the club of some distractions that played a role in its underachievement the past couple years.

I know that statement will surprise some observers who have seen me support Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown in the past. I still believe that Bell and Brown are transcendent stars with better skills than those of their successors (2018 Pro Bowl selectees James Conner and JuJu Smith-Schuster).

So, why will the Steelers be a better team without No. 26 and No. 84 in the locker room?

to read rest of article:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001031896/article/steelers-better-off-without-leveon-ab-suh-vs-mccoy-redux

[polamalubeast]

Very surprised to see a positive article about steelers by Bucky Brooks!

We need to focus what steelers have, not what players steelers do not have.A team can win with JuJu as number 1 WR, and Conner as number 1 RB ... I mean, JuJu would have been the best WR or at least in the conversation of every super bowl champion since 2013, in the last 6 years.

In the case of Conner, he would have been the best RB of his team in 12 of the last 14 super bowl champions at least, since 2005

My point is that we can win with them ... Yes the steelers have problems, but JuJu and Conner are not one of the problems even though they may not be good like Bell or Brown

[polamalubeast]

From a team-building standpoint, Tomlin and general manager Kevin Colbert have been able to hit the reset button on the roster and stockpile the locker room with guys that they believe will form a more cohesive group. The team wants players who embrace the toughness, selflessness, and competitiveness that's keyed the franchise to six Super Bowl wins.

"We needed to get back to being the Steelers," said a Steelers front office executive. "We need guys with the right DNA who love the game and embrace how we do things. That's how we've won in the past going back to Chuck Noll and his teams and it is the way that we've always won since that point. The last year or so was a wake-up call and a reminder that we need to get a collection of blue-collar guys who work well together. ... Playing for us isn't for everybody, so we need to make sure that guys that are in the locker room embrace what we're about."

...

[BnG_Hevn]

Well, they made playoffs without bell and missed the playoffs last year with AB.

Is this a captain obvious moment?

[hawaiiansteeler]

here's an interesting stat:

all four of Ben’s red zone interceptions last season came via passes that were intended for AB.

[polamalubeast]

here's an interesting stat:

all four of Ben’s red zone interceptions last season came via passes that were intended for AB.

And 10 of his 16 interception by Ben was intended for AB.

[hawaiiansteeler]

Joe Haden: ‘I Think It Is’ Going To Be Beneficial To Have Eliminated AB, Bell Controversy From Locker Room

By Matthew Marczi
Posted on July 23, 2019

https://steelersdepot.com/2019/07/joe-haden-i-think-it-is-going-to-be-beneficial-to-have-eliminated-ab-bell-controversy-from-locker-room/

[FrancoLambert]

Hold on...he’s projecting improvement based on things that don’t show up on a stat sheet and things you can’t measure.

Impossible! :eyebrows:

[AtlantaDan]

Very surprised to see a positive article about steelers by Bucky Brooks!

Working off a new script to draw more page hits

Given the restrictions on access (no way Roy Blount, Jr would get the access to write his classic Three Bricks Shy Of A Load on the '73 Steelers today), even the reporters that cover the Steelers full time only know what the players and coaches want them to know. The next time Brooks has a valuable insight on the Steelers rather than just random observations will be the first time

[Fire Goodell]

I swear Conner and Juju are some of the most disrespected players in the media right now. All they did was put together pro bowl seasons, and most articles are still saying that they're not good enough to be #1 options. They really already proved they can be. I can't wait for this season and for them to shut the critics up.

Also makes me laugh how some people are talking about us 'losing' Bell this season. We didn't lose him, matter of fact he had 0 touches last season. I feel already last season Conner proved he could get it done. Sure he missed a few games due to injury, but I guess that's par for the course considering that Bell couldn't make it through a season without getting injured or suspended, or both.

[polamalubeast]

I swear Conner and Juju are some of the most disrespected players in the media right now. All they did was put together pro bowl seasons, and most articles are still saying that they're not good enough to be #1 options. They really already proved they can be. I can't wait for this season and for them to shut the critics up.

Also makes me laugh how some people are talking about us 'losing' Bell this season. We didn't lose him, matter of fact he had 0 touches last season. I feel already last season Conner proved he could get it done. Sure he missed a few games due to injury, but I guess that's par for the course considering that Bell couldn't make it through a season without getting injured or suspended, or both.

The media and fans have always had the problem of focusing on the players that the team have lost that the players that the team have.

As I said, 2 months ago in this thread (post 2) we can win with Conner and JuJu as our best player at this position ... They are very good and I would not be surprised if JuJu has an all pro caliber season ... The key for the steelers is the other players must help to have a more complete offense.

[Fire Goodell]

The media and fans have always had the problem of focusing on the players that the team have lost that the players that the team have.

As I said, 2 months ago in this thread (post 2) we can win with Conner and JuJu as our best player at this position ... They are very good and I would not be surprised if JuJu has an all pro caliber season ... The key for the steelers is the other players must help to have a more complete offense.

Yep I agree. I honestly think Juju is a superstar in the making as well. The guy just has the right combo of talent, work ethic, and positive attitude. Unlike Brown, I think this guy is establishing himself as a leader on the team too. AB had an insane work ethic but I never thought he emerged as a leader, we need more on the field leaders and Juju / Conner could be those guys.

It's one reason why I'm more optimistic this year, the group of younger players we drafted 3-4 years ago are emerging as leaders. One of the things we didn't have during the "Young Money" and "Killer B's" era, was the on-field leaders we seemed to have lost when Bettis / Ward / Troy retired. I think these type of players are necessary to build a championship. When it really counted, these guys delivered and fired up the troops, that's an intangible that's really overlooked imo (they are the type of players that make people around them better). It does feel this team is definitely shifting toward 'team' and not just a collection of individuals with talent.

[Bluecoat96]

I'll say this. If James Conner sucks this upcoming season, it won't because of lack of conditioning. Dude isn't messing around. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190725/b0b9dd72619c6106296bb1e4b7f13c9d.jpg

Sent from my moto z4 using Tapatalk

[Fire Goodell]

Conner is gonna get it done, I have no doubt about it. Dude has the attitude of a man who's been given a new lease on life and he's not gonna waste it.

[polamalubeast]

Yep I agree. I honestly think Juju is a superstar in the making as well. The guy just has the right combo of talent, work ethic, and positive attitude. Unlike Brown, I think this guy is establishing himself as a leader on the team too. AB had an insane work ethic but I never thought he emerged as a leader, we need more on the field leaders and Juju / Conner could be those guys.

It's one reason why I'm more optimistic this year, the group of younger players we drafted 3-4 years ago are emerging as leaders. One of the things we didn't have during the "Young Money" and "Killer B's" era, was the on-field leaders we seemed to have lost when Bettis / Ward / Troy retired. I think these type of players are necessary to build a championship. When it really counted, these guys delivered and fired up the troops, that's an intangible that's really overlooked imo (they are the type of players that make people around them better). It does feel this team is definitely shifting toward 'team' and not just a collection of individuals with talent.

Great point for the leadership....The leadership had been a major problem in the steeler B's era

I have sometimes said in the last couple week that the retirement of Hines Ward and James Farrior after the 2011 season have hurt the steelers for the leadership ... Even though Ward and Farrior were not the same players in 2011, they were still useful for the leadership

And other players have retired after like Polamalu, Ike Taylor, Heath Miller and others and that's after that the drama really started and it got worse and worse every year.

I have good hope that the steelers will learn from this lesson for a very long time ... Having a lot of leader in a locker room is crucial if you want to have a real chance to be a super bowl champion ... This is true that nothing is guaranteed (the 1990s steelers are an example) but at least you give yourself a much better chance ..... When you have a lot of talent, but the focus is not at the right place when it's time to focus on football, often his team underperformed, especially in the big moment.

[steelreserve]

Bell-Einstein contributed nothing at all last year except for a large salary cap hold. So by any standard, we are better off without him.

Brown it's hard to say because his on-field performance was still good - but knowing what I do now, it is difficult to imagine a scenario thay does not end up with him storming off the field and causing some big problem. Still pissed that we went out of our way to take a sucker deal for him, but that's a separate issue.

[86WARD]

Conner is gonna get it done, I have no doubt about it. Dude has the attitude of a man who's been given a new lease on life and he's not gonna waste it.

He’s got it done once already...that’s just as many times as Melvin Gordon has “gotten it done”.

[polamalubeast]

He’s got it done once already...that’s just as many times as Melvin Gordon has “gotten it done”.

And his work ethic is also excellent

1154404740610101249

[teegre]

1154404740610101249

Look how awful Conner looked at his Pro day. I would be ashamed to go out it public looking like that.

#dadbod

[polamalubeast]

1154772644878835712

[Mojouw]

Chemistry and leadership are all well and good. But these articles act like the team decided to replace All-Pro talents with veteran journeyman "glue guys". That isn't the case. Colbert and company may have prioritized "character" in their evaluations of players, but Conner, Juju, Watt, Bush, Edmunds, and whoever else anyone wants to point to as part of Colbert's plan to makeover the team, can also flat-out play football.

Even with Bell and AB in the fold, almost all of these guys would have been drafted anyways. Maybe not Snell. The team did what it always does, it went out and got talent. When AB and Bell were drafted, they were viewed as hardworking ideal younger players as well -- at least in the media reports. There are some rumblings (all in hindsight) that everyone knew these guys were rotten or whatnot.

Long story short. All this hand-wringing and projection boils down to "NFL team loses talent. NFL team replaces that expensive talent with younger and cheaper talent. Results to be decided."

[polamalubeast]

Chemistry and leadership are all well and good. But these articles act like the team decided to replace All-Pro talents with veteran journeyman "glue guys". That isn't the case. Colbert and company may have prioritized "character" in their evaluations of players, but Conner, Juju, Watt, Bush, Edmunds, and whoever else anyone wants to point to as part of Colbert's plan to makeover the team, can also flat-out play football.

Even with Bell and AB in the fold, almost all of these guys would have been drafted anyways. Maybe not Snell. The team did what it always does, it went out and got talent. When AB and Bell were drafted, they were viewed as hardworking ideal younger players as well -- at least in the media reports. There are some rumblings (all in hindsight) that everyone knew these guys were rotten or whatnot.

Long story short. All this hand-wringing and projection boils down to "NFL team loses talent. NFL team replaces that expensive talent with younger and cheaper talent. Results to be decided."

It takes both to have success

In the 2000s (2004 to 2010 especially) steelers had talent, but also a lot of leadership...In the Killer B's era, a lot of talent, but the leadership was missing

Let's hope that the steelers will come back what had help to have success before ... Good thing that young players like JuJu, Watt and others have talked about the importance of being leaders.

[Mojouw]

It takes both to have success

In the 2000s (2004 to 2010 especially) steelers had talent, but also a lot of leadership...In the Killer B's era, a lot of talent, but the leadership was missing

Let's hope that the steelers will come back what had help to have success before ... Good thing that young players like JuJu, Watt and others have talked about the importance of being leaders.

Sure. And I wasn't trying to re-open that aspect of the debate. But the articles and postings on the "new" Steelers are just kinda over the top on the idea that chemistry and character are going to carry the team forward in 2019. In the last 3 years the team has acquired a great deal of talent. Hopefully that talent is also of good character. But it is not like players like Juju, Watt, and Conner were taken for their leadership skills or whatever. They were taken because the team believes they can be massive talents in the NFL.

Now, I might buy that the Steelers player acquisition strategies have been modified to elevate character/leadership up the list of priorities. Perhaps that means guys like Snell instead of Bryant in the middle rounds. But there has not been, in my opinion, some massive re-orientation of the roster. Most of these guys were on the team prior to the souring of AB and Bell. Watt, who seems to be an emerging star and leader, would have been drafted regardless of what AB did or did not do. Same with Conner.

This is more the story of a team being very proactive in ensuring that the talent pipeline is fairly full at a number of key positions. And despite the ire on the internet, the team hits on enough of its draft picks that they can lose elite talent and have players ready to step in and play. The only positions that they have had a hard time filling are pass rusher and DB -- the two defensive positions that almost every NFL team is struggling to fill.

The Steelers lost 3 staggering talents in Shazier, AB, and Bell. They have in a handful of seasons identified and obtained highly talented replacements in Juju, Conner, and Bush. That is really impressive.

[polamalubeast]

Sure. And I wasn't trying to re-open that aspect of the debate. But the articles and postings on the "new" Steelers are just kinda over the top on the idea that chemistry and character are going to carry the team forward in 2019. In the last 3 years the team has acquired a great deal of talent. Hopefully that talent is also of good character. But it is not like players like Juju, Watt, and Conner were taken for their leadership skills or whatever. They were taken because the team believes they can be massive talents in the NFL.

Now, I might buy that the Steelers player acquisition strategies have been modified to elevate character/leadership up the list of priorities. Perhaps that means guys like Snell instead of Bryant in the middle rounds. But there has not been, in my opinion, some massive re-orientation of the roster. Most of these guys were on the team prior to the souring of AB and Bell. Watt, who seems to be an emerging star and leader, would have been drafted regardless of what AB did or did not do. Same with Conner.

This is more the story of a team being very proactive in ensuring that the talent pipeline is fairly full at a number of key positions. And despite the ire on the internet, the team hits on enough of its draft picks that they can lose elite talent and have players ready to step in and play. The only positions that they have had a hard time filling are pass rusher and DB -- the two defensive positions that almost every NFL team is struggling to fill.

The Steelers lost 3 staggering talents in Shazier, AB, and Bell. They have in a handful of seasons identified and obtained highly talented replacements in Juju, Conner, and Bush. That is really impressive.

Good post

I also think that the things that have happened in the last few years, the steelers will have learned from their lesson and they will want to be sure now that the players that the steelers take in the drafts are very good person.


I also think that Tomlin will change things (like new rules) for changing the culture that were not very good in the last few years and being less tolerant about things you can not do ... I would not be surprised if Tomlin had spoken about it with his players during the OTA and mini camp about things you can and you can not do on social media or things like that

And just for yesterday in the entrance of the players, no players (except for Eli Rogers) have made an entrance just to have the attention ... The players have also said nothing stupid in the social media in the last two month (since Bud Bupree on Mark Kaboly) but of course the test for it starts now!

[Fire Goodell]

Look how awful Conner looked at his Pro day. I would be ashamed to go out it public looking like that.

#dadbod

lol if that's a dad bod I wish i had a dad bod :chuckle: in all seriousness he's still in top shape in that left pic, he's rocking a 6 pack while being totally relaxed. But in the right that looks like he's below 10% bodyfat, dude's ripped. Defenders are not gonna look forward to tackling him and snell lol.

[polamalubeast]

Why the media is overselling the value of former Steelers Brown and Bell

Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell were fantastic football players for the Steelers, but here is why the media is overselling their value to the team.
NFL media has been consumed with talks of Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell this offsesaon. While the Steelers did lose two All-Pros, is the national media overselling the value of these two football players to Pittsburgh’s success?

In a recent episode of the Rich Eisen Show, Eisen suggests that the Steelers don’t have a shot without Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell

1153439581179695104

Eisen’s opening statement in the video was ‘no Brown, no Bell, no shot’ – suggesting that the Steelers don’t stand a chance without the two former All-Pro weapons. However, I believe the media is over-valuing these two players when it comes to the success of the team.

James Conner was fantastic when called upon last year. He averaged more yards per rush than Bell did his last year starting, and more yards per reception than Bell had in any season since 2014.

Despite his compensatory 3rd round label, Conner was productive and efficient for the Steelers – collecting nearly 1,000 rushing yards, 13 total touchdowns, and nearly 500 receiving yards in just 13 games.

Bell has already been replaced, and the Steelers haven’t skipped a beat in the running game.

Antonio Brown, on the other hand, will be more difficult to replace. The 4-time All-Pro was fantastic on the field during his time in Pittsburgh, but his off-field antics got in the way of the Steelers plans.

read more

https://stillcurtain.com/2019/07/27/media-overselling-value-former-steelers/

Some Medias and fans focus always what the steelers have not, instead of focusing what the steelers have

[polamalubeast]

1155369919820816385

[teegre]

lol if that's a dad bod I wish i had a dad bod :chuckle: in all seriousness he's still in top shape in that left pic, he's rocking a 6 pack while being totally relaxed. But in the right that looks like he's below 10% bodyfat, dude's ripped. Defenders are not gonna look forward to tackling him and snell lol.

That’s basically got I look... give or take 25... (perfect). :lol:

[polamalubeast]

1155593025755721731

[polamalubeast]

1155719522457800704

Too early to think Super Bowl at the moment, but Farrior knows how this is important to have a good locker room in the NFL .... The locker room was not a problem in the years that Farrior was with the Steelers.

[teegre]

The trend continues.

Media person writes derisive article, followed by a “What are the Steelers going to do?” article, which leads to the “Hey, the Steelers are good!!!” article.

Last September, Bucky said the Steelers could NOT won without Bell. And now, we have the opposite type of article.

*(I’m assuming that Bucky wrote a “What now???” article in March-ish.)

[86WARD]

The trend continues.

Media person writes derisive article, followed by a “What are the Steelers going to do?” article, which leads to the “Hey, the Steelers are good!!!” article.

Last September, Bucky said the Steelers could NOT won without Bell. And now, we have the opposite type of article.

*(I’m assuming that Bucky wrote a “What now???” article in March-ish.)

Derisive? How dare you use big words around here!

[hawaiiansteeler]

Derisive? How dare you use big words around here!

so persnickety...

[Hawkman]

so persnickety...

Now that’s just a “gimmicky” word.:chuckle:

[86WARD]

So Le’Veon comes out and apologizes to fantasy owners who drafted him saying he wished he could’ve told them not to draft him. Couple things here:

a. He’s busy dropping rap singles. He could’ve told people. Could’ve totally told people...he had nothing but time.

b. And I find it curious that no one has picked it up. Le’Veon pretty much admits that he wasn’t going to play at all last season. So no matter what the offer was, he wasn’t playing.

[hawaiiansteeler]

So Le’Veon comes out and apologizes to fantasy owners who drafted him saying he wished he could’ve told them not to draft him. Couple things here:

a. He’s busy dropping rap singles. He could’ve told people. Could’ve totally told people...he had nothing but time.

b. And I find it curious that no one has picked it up. Le’Veon pretty much admits that he wasn’t going to play at all last season. So no matter what the offer was, he wasn’t playing.

I defeated the guy who drafted Le'Veon with his first round pick in the semi-finals, he had a really good team but was forced to play guys like Adrian Peterson, Joe Mixon and Kerryon Johnson while I benefitted greatly by picking up James Conner.

my friend now hates Le'Veon with a passion, I'm sure every fantasy owner who picked him last year feels the same.

[polamalubeast]

Bell has always been far too focused on things that is not football outside for fantasy football or things like that.

I understand that you can not always be focused on football all the time, but sometimes, you have to be, especially during the preparation of the games, especially when it's in the playoffs or a big games in the regular season.

I understand that many play in the fantasy football, but for a player, you have to focus on the team result and help the team to win, so it should not be a problem for you if some people who play in the fantasy football do not draft you in the first round.

[86WARD]

I defeated the guy who drafted Le'Veon with his first round pick in the semi-finals, he had a really good team but was forced to play guys like Adrian Peterson, Joe Mixon and Kerryon Johnson while I benefitted greatly by picking up James Conner.

my friend now hates Le'Veon with a passion, I'm sure every fantasy owner who picked him last year feels the same.

He’s an idiot for not handcuffing his RBs. Lol.

[hawaiiansteeler]

He’s an idiot for not handcuffing his RBs. Lol.

yup, he learned that painful lesson the hard way. as one of my other friends said, he should blame himself instead of Le'Veon...

[86WARD]

yup, he learned that painful lesson the hard way. as one of my other friends said, he should blame himself instead of Le'Veon...

I went the opposite. I drafted Conner, added Samuels as a handcuff and then late in the season at the deadline traded Jordan Howard for Bell...just in case Bell came back.

[hawaiiansteeler]

https://img.bleacherreport.net/img/article/media_slots/photos/002/940/160/3c5a2cc9408cd82cfc3f0236abf80514_crop_exact.jpg?w= 2975&h=2048&q=85

[polamalubeast]

why?

[hawaiiansteeler]

why?

I'll be sure to ask you that the next time I don't like one of your posts...