got my james conner jersey today wooooo
got my james conner jersey today wooooo
I’m with everyone who thinks it’s not a good look for the Steelers to raid his locker. It just looks petty and resembles Bengals-like criminality.
They also shouldn’t be saying anything negative about him. They should be like Tomlin: “so be it.”
Now when the Steelers play against him they’ll call it a “revenge game” and we’ll be just giving his new team bulletin board material.
And the LAST thing I want is for the Steelers to go head hunting against him (even worse Bengals-like activity)
Let it go. Be the bigger men. Bell was lame about everything, but truthfully if the Steelers hadn’t (justifiably) talked trash about him, he may very well have come back. And he was NEVER a cancer in the locker room. He’s a good football player and I’d rather have him than Ridley.
And as much as I dislike Bell now, at least he didn’t do what Blount did: walk out on his team DURING A GAME.
So Bell will never be my most hated Steeler of all time.
I get what you are saying but it's not like we won't be fired up and wanting to make our own statement. Bell has plenty of reasons and so do his Steeler teammates for wanting to get the better of the other. You want bulletin board material just post a couple of his tweets while his teammates where at training camp. The Steelers will want this not only for themselves, but for the fanbase as well. I aint scared.
He wasn't a cancer in the locker room but was toxic with his tweets in the pre-season. Thankfully Conner shut that down, can't imagine how bad it would have been if Conner hadn't performed the way he has. it would have been un-bearable.
re: looting Bell’s locker
That was a slap in Bell’s face. 100% That tells you exactly what the other Steelers players think of him.
As far as Bell being extra motivated... okay. Bell can rant & rave all that he wants, but he’s not the toughest player out there. Ray Lewis was a tough guy... until Joey Porter called him out. Warren Sapp was a tough guy... until Faneca called him out. Burfict was a tough guy... until JuJu & DeCastro callee him out. I’d bet that VW isn’t losing one iota of sleep about Bell being “extra” motivated.
This reminds me of the story about Lyle Alzado. He was drafted by the Broncos, and entered the locker room pounding his chest and telling everyone how awesome he was. Tombstone Jackson quietly listened... and then he quietly said to Alzado, “Shut the F^CK up.” Alzado (smartly) turned to his locker and started dressing.
As in: Bell is a great, great player... but he is obviously not well-respected.
Raiding a former teammates locker resembles Bengals-like criminality.....
The criminals play with intent to injure their opponents within the lines.
The thieves were simply demonstrating their frustration and anger with how he walked out on the team.
Nothing more, nothing less.
The we understand its a business decision he has to make reactions we heard from his teammates was all they could say at the time.
Forced to remain silent and not add fuel to the fire during Bells holdout, once it was over, all bets were off.
I dont think the trash talking directed at him was what kept kept him from coming back.
Bells ego and inflated self-worth were more to blame.
Emptying out his locker is not a big deal, folks... it happens all the time. There have already been multiple ex-players stating that when they left the team, they took what they wanted that day. They weren't coming back.
I think the bigger message was they ripped down his nameplate. They left everything alone for months speculating his return. Now, they "officially" know he's not a part of the TEAM. And when you're not on the TEAM, you don't need no damn locker.
Answering all the same questions about Bell every day is one thing... starring at that (semi) empty locker every day like a tomb... just sayin'
So DeCastro, Pouncey and Foster may be partially to blame for Bell not reporting? Props for an explanation I have heard nowhere else.
Anything is possible for Bell since he allegedly was thinking of coming back as "the missing piece" after the Ravens loss, which I suppose means he did not return because of the Falcons smackdown along with Ben and AB pulling off the late TD against the Bengals that denied him the opportunity to return as the savior.
But that assumes Bell ever had a plan - I have my doubts
There was only ONE player that kept Bell from reporting and his last name is GREED.
So, Roethlisberger, Brown, JuJu, Conner, McDonald and the best o-line in the NFL is not enough because Bell is not with us ?!
Its pretty much standard practice. Nothing in the locker was Bells personal items. It was all team issued at the beginning of the season that went unused. Just happens to be a premiere player thats in the news for making a poor decision.
Media trying to make a story about nothing.
Exactly, which is why you could the Steeler equipment guy loading up the boxes.
All of this is on Bell. He misjudged the Steeler FO, thinking he could force their hand into giving him more money after they laid out their final offer, strike one. He misjudged his teammates by letting them hang for over half the season, giving them the false hope that he would return, Strike two. If this was a business decision he should have publicly said so after training camp ended. And he misjudged his ace in the hole, James Conner flopping or getting injured so he could waltz in as the savior, unfortunately for Bell, Conner matched or exceeded his play, Strike Three
When you start playing football as a kid it’s for the love of the game. It’s the game itself and the comradery built with your teammates. Thankfully, most of the Steeler players haven’t lost that key part of football.
Last edited by Shoes; 11-15-2018 at 12:55 PM.
Give a lib a fish--he eats for a day
Teach a lib to fish--he is back the next day asking for more free fish.
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ
I just can never bring myself to get behind this idea of Blount as the "most hated of all time." It was a bargain-contract gamble on a player who was known to be a likely head case, and he turned out to be exactly that. He was on the team for like half a season in a backup role.
Compare that with someone like Harrison, a 15-year veteran who had spent almost his entire career with one team, a face-of-the-franchise player who was arguably in the discussion as one of the team's all-time greatest, and he did almost exactly the same thing.
Or in Bell's case, blowing off an entire season because he's too caught up in his own ego - let's be real, the "business decision" mantra is a VERY thin excuse for that - and continuously bitching and moaning about the plight of the poor oppressed NFL star. Not a good look. And the entire "business" aspect of his decision was predicated around trying to harm the team as much as possible over the course of two seasons. Fuck that guy.
Honest question, are you even allowed to show up and clean out your locker if you never signed a contract, and therefore aren't a member of the team? Everything else you said I agree with 100%.
See you Space Cowboy ...
They should let the trainers or ball boys or any non-player that helps the team all day, every day use the locker for the remainder of the year and let them be one of the "guys".
The thing nobody really knows about unless you played is that the players would play for free. They get paid to practice. Bell focused on the end of the rainbow instead of simply playing out a very generous contract in good faith.
He will find another team and some LB will lay a hit on him and he will take a dive. Trust me it's coming.
All Defense!
It is not as if the Steelers trashed pictures of Bell’s loved ones that he left in his locker during the offseason or that Bell left a mess behind when he checked out after the Jax playoff loss
About the only thing Bell might want is his name plate above his locker. If he wants more shoes my guess is Nike will ship them to whatever address Bell provides
You all are hilarious.
Wouldn't be surprised if he wants a guaranteed contract so he can just take his money and run. The contract the Steelers offered him he'd have made like 32 mil guaranteed if he played for at least 2 years, which would be a given barring injury (would literally have to be one on par with Shazier's). It's almost like he doesn't want to play, I don't know anyone else in the league that would have turned that down. Heck if that contract got offered to Gurley I would bet money he'd have signed it.
Le'Veon's decision was so dumb on so many levels, it is unbelievable. I'm talking Harry and Lloyd turning down the hot chicks in the bus in Dumb and Dumber level of stupid. Look at all the negative consequences
1. Loss of money: Pisses away $14.5 million. Good luck making that money up compared to the contract you turned down.
2. Diminished value: James Conner, his backup and the 2nd year 3rd rounder, made Le'Veon in the Steelers offense expendable. With that O-line and with Ben making the pass a threat, any RB capable of running through holes can get good yardage in this offense, and if a RB learns to pass catch, then they'll receive numerous touches and an opportunity to gain tons of yards throughout the season. Of course if Bell would have remembered how DeAngelo Williams revived his career in 2015 when Bell was out and the offense put up gobs of points and yards in his absence, maybe he would have recognized that "gee aybe my backup and the offense will do well in my absence and that will decrease my perceived value and notions that I am needed, gee maybe I should do what I can to not allow that possibility by showing up".
3. Rust: LeVeon will need some luck playing at game speed considering when he plays, he will have not played a snap of game action in 20 months and will play against guys who have a year of playing speed on him. Keep in mind it took him a month to get back to game speed after sitting out preseason in 2017
4. Kiss the Hall of Fame good bye: After 2017, HOF was possible if he could churn out a few more productive seasons. Now you can pretty much kiss that good bye. Already a known reputation for being not so reliable, he will now only have 3 productive seasons in the 6 calendar years since he was drafted and his bullshit antics will surely turn off the voters (Hell T.O.'s antics got him a few years of waiting, and he never refused to play an entire season and he had a much longer career). Bell probably has 2 maybe 3 years left in his prime before he wears down. At this point it's gonna be hard to make a great case for him to be in
5. Raises questions about his character: His bullshit antics will turn teams off. Some who were interested will now more than likely be unwilling to so much as look at him let alone shell out the ridiculous price tag he and his SJW agent will be demanding. At the end of the day, he may be forced to sign a contract comparable to the one he proudly rejected by the Steelers, except now he may have to make due with a shit O-line and no QB rendering this whole thing all for naught.
In summation: If you make a big mistake, and are feeling embarrassed by it, just think of Le'Veon Bell, you'll feel so much better