Ravens DC quote on Lev Bell not being here

[Minkah'n History]

Jamison Hensley
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@jamisonhensley
2h2 hours ago
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Ravens defensive coordinator Wink Martindale on absent Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell: "There are a lot of stats [since 2015] that the Steelers are actually better without him. That might be why he’s riding a jet ski down in Miami right now."


Hmmmmmm.


Anyone shocked?

[Legacy User]

There's somebody else missing from the Steelers equation too this year that might be impacting the offensive stats. No, not Bryant.

Also, isn't offensive production up throughout the league this year?

[Legacy User]

Good point by MS. I dont know what to think except 2018 offensive stats are skewed all around. You will have QBs playing in their 50s the way you cant hurt them.

Remember the 14-10 Steeler Raven battles?

Now...if the D keeps the opposing team at 23 pts or under and less than 400 offense its supposed to be impressive this day and age.

[Ice]

There's somebody else missing from the Steelers equation too this year that might be impacting the offensive stats. No, not Bryant.

Also, isn't offensive production up throughout the league this year?

Now he's also missing from the Cleveland equation.

[Havoc]

I continue to hear pundits desperately trying to justify their dumb position on Bell. Claiming he is better than he really is. Saying mind numbing things like Bell is more dangerous in the open field than Conner. It's pathetic.

I have been talking about the 2015 season since before this season started. The offense averaged over 30 per game without Bell during the stretch of games DWill started and finished and that included our annual attrition dumbfest in Baltimore. Other than the Bmore attrition dumbfest, we ran the offense differently in the first half of games with DWill than we usually did with Bell and that is how this offense should have been run with Bell on the field.

I said before this season began that I would not be surprised if the offense is better without Bell as long as we get adequate play from the RB position. I'm not saying we are there yet, but I do believe the best is yet to come this season from this offense with the roster as it currently stands. Ben's best football is ahead of him this season (probably).

It's about the QB and getting the football moving vertically downfield. That's where the money is. The run game should be subservient to the passing game. The purpose of a RB should be to leverage every ounce out of your passing game unless your QB is not good. Period.

Conner's superior open field ability does add something to the offense. So do his intangibles.

Leveon Bell is the most overrated player in the NFL.

[Kodiak]

Leveon Bell is the most overrated player in the NFL.

But will he become the most overpaid?

I think your right about a shift in mentality. Haley and Tomlin always wanted to get the running game going.....that's out-dated thinking that you have to feed the running game in order to establish a running game. Now it's Ben's show, as it should have been long ago.

If Washington can get his shit together and give the team a deep threat, I think the offense could be on the verge of unstoppable. Because, guess what, you have to match NE touchdown-for-touchdown and, to quote John Madden, outscore them to beat them.

[Scunge]

Havoc, I can't remember which network I was watching, maybe it was a clip from youtube, but there were 3 former players being interviewed and they all were in lockstep talking about how well Bell WOULD be playing in place of Conner this year.

The mindset was, well if Conner is doing this well then imagine if Bell was in there behind that O-line, etc. But they completely miss the point, Bell did have that O-line, he did have that blocking, last year was not a mirage, that was reality, a cruel form of reality, because that is who Bell is, a slow, declining player.

Bell would not be leading the NFL in broken tackles this season. He would not be having so many runs and catches over 20+ yards and he most definitely would not be scoring so many touchdowns. How exactly would Bell be doing EVEN BETTER than James Conner this year if he were starting? Conner has had three games this season where he has 100+ yards rushing and 50+ yards receiving in the same game. 3 out of 7 games. Bell had one such game out of 15 games last season.

Bell would be doing better than Conner? That is dead wrong. He wouldn't, plain and simple.

[jebrick]

Jamison Hensley
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Verified account

@jamisonhensley
2h2 hours ago
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Ravens defensive coordinator Wink Martindale on absent Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell: "There are a lot of stats [since 2015] that the Steelers are actually better without him. That might be why he’s riding a jet ski down in Miami right now."


Hmmmmmm.


Anyone shocked?

Other than the stats do not prove Martindale out?

[StillerInCT]

I continue to hear pundits desperately trying to justify their dumb position on Bell. Claiming he is better than he really is. Saying mind numbing things like Bell is more dangerous in the open field than Conner. It's pathetic.

I have been talking about the 2015 season since before this season started. The offense averaged over 30 per game without Bell during the stretch of games DWill started and finished and that included our annual attrition dumbfest in Baltimore. Other than the Bmore attrition dumbfest, we ran the offense differently in the first half of games with DWill than we usually did with Bell and that is how this offense should have been run with Bell on the field.

I said before this season began that I would not be surprised if the offense is better without Bell as long as we get adequate play from the RB position. I'm not saying we are there yet, but I do believe the best is yet to come this season from this offense with the roster as it currently stands. Ben's best football is ahead of him this season (probably).

It's about the QB and getting the football moving vertically downfield. That's where the money is. The run game should be subservient to the passing game. The purpose of a RB should be to leverage every ounce out of your passing game unless your QB is not good. Period.

Conner's superior open field ability does add something to the offense. So do his intangibles.

Leveon Bell is the most overrated player in the NFL.

So much ^

I'm glad the negotiations fell through and we probably won't re-sign him. Bell is good, no doubt. But I think Conner has displayed just how elite the offensive line is. If Bell gets paid, by anybody, he should buy watches for Villy, Foster, Pouncey, DD, and Gilbert.

There's been no drop off from Bell to Conner (Except, yes, a few fumbles). Conner is also far more explosive and much less wear and tear.

I don't think Bell sniffs the type of contract the Steelers offered. I think the most vulnerable person in this whole situation is Adisa Bakari. He really fucked this up in my opinion.

If Conner can work on ball security, he's a top 10 back which is all you really need in today's NFL.

[rocky mtn stiller]

Conner is running like he's got something to prove. Bell was running more like he didn't want to spill his drink.

Bell's first season as starter I think he was running downhill with some attitude but it seems like that was a long time ago. Maybe some self preservation and long term outlook was developing.

[Jobu]

C’mon guys...while I would tend to agree with most of the opinions on Lev Bell here, I think we need to stop pretending that he didn’t give his all. I know that we are all either pissed off or frustrated, or both, by his “business decision”, and that his days as a Steeler are coming to an end, but to suggest that the guy didn’t work hard and play nuts out when on the field, simply is not true.

[Minkah'n History]

Conner is running like he's got something to prove. Bell was running more like he didn't want to spill his drink.

Bell's first season as starter I think he was running downhill with some attitude but it seems like that was a long time ago. Maybe some self preservation and long term outlook was developing.

Injuries? Wear and tear from all the touches seems a lot more logical.

He’s just not as quick and/or explosive as he was for about a year or two.

[rocky mtn stiller]

3 months ago I'd have said it was a business decision. Now he's passed missed the opportunity of at least $9mm that he will likely never recoup in his career no matter what his next contract is so if it was a business decision it may not have worked out the way he planned. Or he doesn't want to have his wheels run off which is the other side of the business decision equation. But I think it would be hard to put that idea out of ones mind come game time. He was a great player and probably has some greatness left to go but in the spirit of SBI that will most likely be with another team.

[Kodiak]

3 months ago I'd have said it was a business decision. ...Or he doesn't want to have his wheels run off which is the other side of the business decision equation

But he turned down 5/$70M from the Steelers....so he either thought he could get more money, or was REALLY concerned about guaranteed scratch. Or probably both. Been hanging around Ben, figures his legs only have so many carries....3 years left, and the franchise tag $14.5M is not what Bell wants to sell one of those seasons for. PIT 5/$70M probably was $14M a year, so that wasn't getting it done, either.

Say Bell got 5/$70M from someone else, but $30M SB and not the PIT rolling guarantee. In 3 years, he makes maybe $54M on that deal, vs. $42M from PIT. If he mails it in and gets cut after 2 years (and that could very well be his thinking), it's $46M vs. $24M.


It's going to be a really interesting thing to watch in FA. By holding out, Bell just sent a signal that he can't be trusted to honor the back-end of a contract frontloaded and heavy on guarantees.....so it seems almost impossible for him to do better than PIT 5/$70M offer, or recover the $14.5M he walked away from this year.

[Louis Lipps Service]

3 months ago I'd have said it was a business decision. ...Or he doesn't want to have his wheels run off which is the other side of the business decision equation

But he turned down 5/$70M from the Steelers....so he either thought he could get more money, or was REALLY concerned about guaranteed scratch. Or probably both. Been hanging around Ben, figures his legs only have so many carries....3 years left, and the franchise tag $14.5M is not what Bell wants to sell one of those seasons for. PIT 5/$70M probably was $14M a year, so that wasn't getting it done, either.

Say Bell got 5/$70M from someone else, but $30M SB and not the PIT rolling guarantee. In 3 years, he makes maybe $54M on that deal, vs. $42M from PIT. If he mails it in and gets cut after 2 years (and that could very well be his thinking), it's $46M vs. $24M.


It's going to be a really interesting thing to watch in FA. By holding out, Bell just sent a signal that he can't be trusted to honor the back-end of a contract frontloaded and heavy on guarantees.....so it seems almost impossible for him to do better than PIT 5/$70M offer, or recover the $14.5M he walked away from this year.

Exactly how I feel. Someone will be dumb enough to still give him a pretty decent sized deal...but it's not going to be what he was looking for, and may not even be what the Steelers offered him in the first place. And then when you factor in the 6-7 million dollars he forfeited from skipping out on games this season....I think his him and his agent's little crusade ended up costing him a pretty big chunk of money.

[COR-TEN]

Someone will be dumb enough to still give him a pretty decent sized deal...but it's not going to be what he was looking for, and may not even be what the Steelers offered him in the first place.

Exactly. Some teams won't give a shit about being a contender, as long as they have players that give fans hope, keep buying tickets, merchandise, and advert dollars keep rolling in. Championships aren't the first order of business. Making money is. Bell and his agent know this, and they also know he won't have to sacrifice his body to get the big money. Might not be what he wanted, but he's already financially ahead of most citizens of the US. He's already accumulated over $30M.

Money for nothing and chicks. . . err. . . cheap strippers with cellulite for free.

[Kodiak]

...Someone will be dumb enough to still give him a pretty decent sized deal...but it's not going to be what he was looking for, and may not even be what the Steelers offered him in the first place.

He's going to have so much egg on his face, he may have to settle for even less so he can say it was never really about money, he just didn't want to stay in PIT (i.e. even if CLE is his best offer, he won't be able to take it if it's less than what PIT offered).

So assuming no one will match what PIT had offered, cross-off about half the league as Bell's future team...."I really wanted to end-up in LA so I could focus more on my rap career during my downtime".

[Havoc]

From depot today...

https://steelersdepot.com/2018/11/james-conner-leads-league-in-forced-missed-tackles/

But it is mind-boggling that he has forced 20 missed tackles on his 31 receptions.

James Conner in space > Leveon Bell in space.

[Havoc]

I am hearing former players talking up Bell right now on the NFL Network... it's laughable.

Michael Irvin just said the Steelers with Bell play chess instead of checkers... LMFAO. It's a stupid, low IQ offense with Molasses on the field.

Get Conner in space today vs the Ravens.