Tag Archives: Kevin Colbert

The Right Choice: Steelers to Let Le’Veon Bell Walk, Will Not Use Transition Tag

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As Kevin Colbert announced yesterday, the Pittsburgh Steelers have decided not to apply the transition tag or the franchise tag on Le’Veon Bell. The move comes as a bit of a surprise because the Steelers had seemed intent on playing hard ball with Bell.

They have chosen not to, and that decision might signal that Art Rooney II has mastered one of the one of the most important tests of his tenure as Steelers president.

Our third and likely final free agent focus profile of Le’Veon Bell reveals why.

Le'Veon Bell, Le'Veon Bell free agent,

Le’Veon Bell departing the grid iron at Heinz Field. Photo Credit: EPA, via the New York Post

Capsule Profile of Le’Veon Bell’s Steelers Career

Here’s the digest version based on our 2017 and 2018 free-agent profiles of Le’Veon Bell.

In his rookie training camp, Ed Bouchette boldly compared Le’Veon Bell’s debut to that of Franco Harris. Journalists such as John Stiegerwald were skeptical, yet Jim Wexell tracked Bell’s rookie performance against Walter Peyton’s as a rookie.

Six years later, Le’Veon Bell has set regular season and playoff rushing records that neither Harris, Jerome Bettis, nor John Henry Johnson could set.

A lot of signs indicate yes, however the fact that Bell has played only one complete season and been hit with two suspensions raises doubts.

The (Theoretical Case) for the Steelers Retaining Le’Veon Bell

The Steelers decision seems clear, but the point of this exercise is to make the strongest case possible for keeping Bell so here goes.

  • On paper there’s a case for the Steelers resigning Le’Veon Bell to a long-term deal.
  • There’s also a case for using the transition tag on him.

No one inside or outside of Pittsburgh questions Le’Veon Bell’s talent and his ability to perform at peak level at least in the short term. With James Conners and Jaylen Samuels on the roster, bringing Bell back would give Pittsburgh a more potent running back tandem than the Willie Parker/Rashard Mendenhall duo they envisioned in early 2008 (with Samuels standing in for Mewelde Moore.)

  • Even if the Steelers can’t sign Le’Veon Bell to a long term deal, the case for putting the transition tag on him is strong, in theory.

As one Steelers scribe privately remarked when Bell’s 2018 holdout became permanent, “It would basically dare any other NFL team to improve on the offer the Steelers made last season.” It would also give the Steelers the chance to match that offer. Theoretically, the Steelers could also match the offer and then trade him to someone else.

And a trade could bring the Steelers a pick in the 2019 NFL Draft whereas any compensatory pick would only come in 2020. With a strike or lockout looming, a draft pick in 2019 helps the Steelers far more than one in 2020.

The Case Against the Steelers Resigning or Transition Tagging Le’Veon Bell

The Steelers were prepared to commit an eight-figure salary cap to Le’Veon Bell in offers made in 2017 and 2018. Yet, James Conner delivered excellent production (although not ball security) in 2018 and he’ll only make $844,572 in 2019.

  • The Steelers can use the difference to bolster their defense, which needs the help.

Beyond salary cap dollars and sense, not having Le’Veon Bell probably cost the 2018 Steelers the playoffs. Bell’s behavior and the gap between his actions and words widened in 2018. Do the Steelers need another potential locker room distraction? Ah, no.

  • Using the transition tag on Bell carries risk as well.

First, the transition tag ties up valuable salary cap dollars that can’t be used while the Bell situation sorts itself out. Forget Bell signing his tender so that the Steelers can trade him. The Steelers could try to “match and trade” but would need to complete the trade on the same day to avoid a salary cap hit.

Finally, if the Steelers tag Bell then decline to match, they get nothing.

Curtain’s Call on the Steelers and Le’Veon Bell

During the 1990’s, it often felt like the Steelers served as the NFL’s farm team. Pittsburgh would develop players like Chad Brown or Yancey Thigpen only to see them leave as free agents. The Rooneys promised things would change with a new stadium. Heinz Field opened in 2001, and since then the Steelers have done a remarkable job of keeping their own players since then.

Retaining key players has been critical to the Steelers overall success in the 21st century and critical to their victories in Super Bowl XL and Super Bowl XLIII.

  • But you can’t keep everyone. Knowing when to let a player walk is just as important as knowing when to keep him.

For a long time it seemed like Art Rooney II and the rest of the Steelers brass was determined to use the transition tag to exert some control over Le’Veon Bell’s fate. While that’s understandable, it doesn’t make sound football sense.

In a perfect world, Le’Veon Bell would have signed the deal his agent had agreed to with the Steelers. But Bell declined. The Steelers gave it a second go around, and Bell sat out all of 2018 while trolling his team at every chance he got.

The Steelers are going to let Le’Veon Bell walk and that is the right decision.

 

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Painful? Yes. But Steelers Make Right Decision to Move on from Antonio Brown

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All good things come to an end. So it is with Antonio Brown and the Steelers. After dominating the headlines for the first two months of 2019, the on-going Antonio Brown Soap opera reached the beginning of the end as Antonio Brown met with Art Rooney II and the two sides agreed to seek a trade.

Art Rooney II, Antonio Brown, Steelers to trade Antonio Brown

Art Rooney II & Antonio Brown agree to part ways. Photo Credit: Twitter

If reports are correct, Antonio Brown first met with Art Rooney II while Brown’s father Eddie Brown was in the room. Once the two sides agreed to a trade, agent Drew Rosenhaus along with Kevin Colbert and Omar Khan joined entered to discuss next steps.

  • Significantly, the Steelers did not grant Drew Rosenhaus permission to explore trade opportunities with other teams.

This is important, because it underlines the fact that the Steelers are holding on to one of the key cards they have left to play in this deck – determining where Antonio Brown lands. (Preferably somewhere in the NFC.)

It Sucks, But the Steelers Made the Right Decision

There’s no way to sugar coat it, the Pittsburgh 2019 offense will be poorer for Antonio Brown’s absence. However, this move had to be made, however painful it might be.

  • As Jeremy Fowler’s report detailed, Antonio Brown got preferential treatment from Mike Tomlin.

While this outrages a lot of fans, the truth is that star athletes get special treatment from a lot of organizations, at all levels of organized sports. But abandoning your teammates in the heat of battle – with the playoffs on the line – simply cannot be tolerated.

  • One can argue that this sets a bad precedent, that in the future disgruntled players can social media temper tantrum their way off the team.

That could happen.

  • But that pales in comparison to sending a signal to the locker room that quitting is OK.

Like most fans, when news of this incident broke, I clung to some sort of hope that this would somehow just “all go away.” And the Steelers seemed to leave the door open in early January. Perhaps, in a pre-social media era that might have even been possible.

But it takes two to tango, and nothing Brown has done since walking out on the Steelers prior to the Bengals game indicates he’s willing to do his part of the dance.

Make No Mistake About It: Losing Brown Will Hurt

Antonio Brown is a Hall of Fame talent. Losing him will hurt. A lot.

Rarely can a team make a one-for-one replacement for a Hall of Famer as the Steelers did when they transitioned from Mike Webster to Dermontti Dawson. More often than not, you end up with situations akin to what the Steelers found themselves in the 80s when they replaced Lynn Swann with Louis Lipps or Jack Lambert with David Little.

  • Lipps and Little only sins as Steelers were to be merely good instead of great.

Sure, Ben Roethlisberger still has JuJu Smith-Schuster and Vance McDonald as weapons. God willing James Washington will develop and James Conner will stay healthy. And, as it has been noted, the Steelers won Super Bowl XL with Hines Ward and Antwaan Randle El and Super Bowl XLIII with Santonio Holmes and Nate Washington.

Just in case you forgot.

Nonetheless, Art Rooney II has made the right decision.

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Antonio Brown Requests Trade. Steelers Should Oblige by Trading Him into NFL Oblivion

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Just as some commentators were speculating that his chances of staying with the Steelers had improved, Antonio Brown has requested a trade, multiple sources have confirmed. The news came on the heels of social media posts made by Antonio Brown:

https://twitter.com/AB84/status/1095375211749355520

Antonio Brown of course deserted his teammates in the week before the Steelers season finale against the Bengals after a reported dispute with Ben Roethlisberger. Shortly thereafter, Mike Tomlin and Art Rooney II confirmed that Brown had not been responding to repeated phone calls.

Art Rooney II, Antonio Brown, Antonio Brown future with Steelers

Happier times. Art Rooney II & Antonio Brown announcing his 2017 contract extension. Photo Credit: Keith Srakocic, AP via the Washington Post

Yet Antonio Brown was active on social media, deleting the Steelers from his profile, showing photo shopped himself with Jerry Rice wearing a 49ers uniform, trolling Mike Tomlin during his press conference with James Harrison and asking Steelers fans if they wanted him in Pittsburgh.

  • Meanwhile news broke that Antonio Brown had been involved in a domestic dispute with the mother of one of his children.

Reports suggest that Brown pushed the woman to the ground and perhaps hurt her wrist, although the woman has filed no criminal charges and did not make a formal criminal complaint.

While most of the Steelers press corps and a sizable portion of the fan base has been ready to part ways with Brown, Steelers players have been more receptive. Ben Roethlisberger called for Antonio Brown to return, as did Maurkice Pouncey, as did JuJu Smith-Schuster. Cameron Heyward, who is one of the Brown’s more vocal critics, seemed to leave the door open to Brown returning.

Time to Give Antonio Brown What He Wants?

The issue of whether the Steelers should trade Antonio Brown has been a wrenching one. While Antonio Brown suffered a slow start to 2018, he was in All Pro from in Steelers loss to New Orleans.

Nonetheless, Antonio Brown crossed and important line in the week leading up to the Bengals game, and some players felt that the Steelers didn’t react strongly enough, although it appears Brown was testing Mike Tomlin to see if Tomlin really would bench him.

  • It should be noted, that if one reads between lines of Art Rooney II’s comments, the Steelers appear to have at least investigated suspending Brown for his week 17 no show.

While the Steelers have offered no confirmation that they’ll look to move Antonio Brown, it is hard to imagine them trying to insist he stay in Pittsburgh.

But if today marks the no turning back point for Antonio Brown and the Steelers, then the question remains what exactly can Pittsburgh get in a trade?

  • Antonio Brown is a Hall of Fame talent who has shown very few signs of slowing down
  • Moreover, he has 3 years left on a very team-friendly, no guaranteed money contract

ESPN’s Adam Schefter lays out just how good Brown has been:

Ah with numbers like that visions of Kevin Colbert engineering a 21st century like equivalent of the Hershel Walker trade abound, don’t they? Alas, it is not so simple.

Yet in early January, Jim Wexell was reporting that one Steelers insider told him that the best they might get for Brown is a 3rd round pick. Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette quoted an anonymous NFL personnel man as saying the best Brown could net would be a conditional 4th round pick.

  • It says here that the Steelers need to try to get the best value they can for Antonio Brown.

On paper, a swap of 1st round picks and Antonio Brown with the 49ers seems reasonable. But if the pundits have it right, and Antonio Brown’s antics have poisoned the well as much as they seem to have, then Brown won’t bring the Steelers much in a trade.

And if the Steelers are forced to deal Antonio Brown for a fire-sale like trade value, then they need to get him as far away from Pittsburgh as they can. That means not only sending out of the AFC North, but ideally out of the NFC, and to a struggling NFC team with an unsettled quarterback situation.

While it would be tempting to do this out of spite, the real reason would be to limit the likelihood that Brown’s Hall of Fame talents can be employed against the Steelers. There’s not much difference between a mid 5th or a mid 6th pick, so if that’s all you’re going to get, better to send Antonio Brown to the Washington Redskins, Detroit Lions or New York Giants than to let him land with the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills or say Denver Broncos.

  • Antonio Brown officially wants out of Pittsburgh.

So Be It. The Steelers should oblige him by sending him as far into NFL oblivion as possible if Brown has already made it impossible for them to get fair market value for his talents.

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Reminder Steelers Nation: Lombardi Trophies are an Achievement, Not an Entitlement

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Super Bowl Sunday has arrived and the Pittsburgh Steelers are not playing in it. And while that’s a disappointment, it hardly qualifies as an injustice.

  • Lombardi Trophies are an achievement not an entitlement.

This should be obvious, but certain segments of Steelers Nation seem to have lost sight of the fact. Many bemoan the fact that Mike Tomlin and Ben Roethlisberger have only gone 1-1 in Super Bowls and haven’t sniffed the big game since 2010.

Dan Rooney, Dan Rooney legacy, Dan Rooney Lombardi Trophies, Dan Rooney obituary

Dan Rooney sitting in front of the Steelers 5 Lombardi Trophies. Photo Credit: Steelers.com

Yes, It IS Hard to Feel Good about the Steelers Right Now

Before proceeding, let’s acknowledge the elephant in the room:

  • It is very hard to feel good about the Pittsburgh Steelers these days.

Heck, yours truly started in article musing about the potential for a Steelers rebound in 2019 that Tony Defeo finished while on I vacation. During that time even MORE negative news surfaced about the Antonio Brown AND Morgan Burnett publicly asked for his release.

Jerome Bettis and Hines Ward have sounded off on the situation. Who knows? Before this is over, we might expect to hear from Preston Gothard. OK, we won’t, but you get the point.

All of this provides a poignant backdrop to the harsh reality that since losing the 2016 AFC Championship game to the Patriots, the Steelers have taken two successive steps backwards.

  • Why have the Steelers regressed?

There are many reasons. The hand of fate has been felt acutely. Think Ryan Shazier’s injury or even the injuries that ruined Senquez Golson’s NFL career before it began.

Mike Tomlin, Steelers vs Browns, Steelers Browns tie, Mike Tomlin rain

Mike Tomlin after the Steelers 21-21 tie against the Browns. Photo Credit: Scott R. Galvin, USA TODAY, via ActionNetwork.com

Art Rooney II, Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin have all made mistakes. None of what follows absolves them of their errors. But it should remind us of just how hard their job is.

Winning a Super Bowl Is Hard

The Pittsburgh Steelers have appeared in 8 of 53 Super Bowls. You’ll find no better example of institutional excellence, but spoils Steelers fans into forgetting just how hard it is to bring home a Lombardi.
Just how hard is it to win a Super Bowl?

Well, let’s begin with the fact that the Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions have never appeared in a Super Bowl. While the Jaguars and Texans joined the league as expansion teams in the ‘90’s and 00’s, Lions and Browns fans are waiting ½ century and counting for their first shot at a Lombardi.

  • The Pittsburgh Pirates 1971 and 1979 World Series wins practically qualify Bucos as a dynasty by comparison.

Super Bowl appearances are nice, but it is the wins that really count. Minnesota Vikings and Buffalo Bills fans can attest. Those two franchises lead the league in lost Super Bowls with 4 apiece. In total, there are 12 teams that have never won a Super Bowl in the 53 year history of the event.

  • In other words, 37.5% of NFL teams have never hoisted a Lombardi.

And that percentage does not control for timeliness.

The Jets, Chiefs and Dolphins all have Lombardi’s to display. New York’s arrived as to product of one of the greatest upsets in the history of North American sports.

  • That upset also happened 8 days before Richard Nixon put his hand on the Bible to be sworn in as President.

Hank Stram and the Kansas City Chiefs also pulled off an upset of their own in Super Bowl IV, a victory which came three months before the Beatles officially broke up.

The Miami Dolphins won their last Super Bowl in January 1974, back when Star Trek seemed condemned to be forgotten as a cult series relegated to perpetual re-run status on UHF channels.

Going 1-1 in Super Bowls over an 11 year period doesn’t sound quite has bad, does it? (Special nod to Ivan Cole who pointed many of these stats out via email.)

Building Back-to-Back Super Bowl Eras Is Harder Yet

If winning a Super Bowl is difficult, then stitching together back-to-back Super Bowl eras is harder yet. Think of the franchises fortunate enough to field successive franchise quarterbacks.

George Seifert replaced Joe Montana with Steve Young. He also had Jerry Rice, arguably giving him a better quarterback, wide receiver combos than Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown. He only won one Super Bowl with Joe Montana and one with Steve Young.

The Green Bay Packers had Brett Farve for 16 years and went 1-1 in Super Bowls. succeeded him with Aaron Rodgers, yet have only added 1 more Lombardi to the case under his watch.

  • The Colts of course followed Peyton Manning with Andrew Luck but are still waiting on their latest Lombardi.

Bill Belichick and Tom Brady have indeed authored a Super Bowl era that has lasted 18 years an counting, an incredible achievement which they very well might add to this evening.

But even the vaunted Patriots went 10 years between Lombardi Trophies. And while we’re at it, just how many trophies did Pete Carroll’s Legion of Boom bag?

Hum, going 1-1 in Super Bowls and never dropping below .500 seems a little more appealing now, doesn’t it?

Yeah, But the Steelers Have Had a Franchise Quarterback….

True. And, given what was discussed above, the familiar refrain that Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert are squandering Ben Roethlisberger’s prime years certainly rings true.

  • But how does sentiment stand up to logic?

Let’s see. Don Shula had Dan Marino and only managed one Super Bowl appearance and zero wins. Dan Reeves lost 3 Super Bowls with John Elway. Marv Levy lost 4 Super Bowls with Jim Kelly. Sean Payton and Drew Brees only have one Lombardi to their credit, and have endured 4 losing seasons since winning a Super Bowl.

  • Franchise quarterbacks come with a sort of Catch 22.

Today, a franchise quarterback is (almost) essential to winning a Super Bowl. Yet a franchise quarterback sucks up salary cap space and all but ensures that his team will draft late in every round. That means a franchise quarterback can take you to the Mountain Top, maybe more than once, but his presence also makes it hard to mount a serious comeback should you get knocked off the top.

Steelers Still Have a Shot at a Third Ring

To repeat:  It is hard to feel good about the direction the Pittsburgh Steelers are heading in. As I have said before and will again, it is entirely possible that the window to Lombardi Number Three for the Ben Roethlisberger era closed the moment Ryan Shazier suffered his spinal contusion.

But the emergence of T.J. Watt, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Vance McDonald and James Conner alongside stalwarts like Cam Heyward and Joe Haden at least give the Steelers a chance to keep the window open.

  • Will the Steelers walk through the window before Ben Roethlisberger begins his “Life’s Work?”

Time will tell. But let’s enjoy the ride that might still take us back to the Mountain Top while we still can.

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Mike Tomlin Can’t Win With His Own Super Bowl Talent, Just Bill Cowher’s

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You know the old refrain by now. Yes, Mike Tomlin, the Steelers head coach since 2007, has won a Super Bowl (Super Bowl XLIII, following the 2008 season), but he won that Super Bowl with the talent bequeathed to him by Bill Cowher, who passed on to the great network in the sky and became an NFL studio analyst for CBS.

  • You see, Mike Tomlin never has been and never will be a great coach with great game-day abilities.

He simply stepped into the perfect situation with so much stock-piled talent (and let’s not forget about a coaching staff that included Dick LeBeau as his defensive coordinator), and not only did he auto-pilot Pittsburgh to a Super Bowl in just his second season at the helm, he road the team’s coattails to another Super Bowl appearance two years later.

Mike Tomlin, Bill Cowher, Steelers head coaches

Mike Tomlin and Bill Cowher. Photo Credit: Antonella Crescimbeni, Post-Gazette

Unfortunately, after Mike Tomlin squeezed every last ounce out of Bill Cowher’s players and coaching staff, he’s been unable to duplicate the same success with his own talent and a coaching staff that he mostly hand-picked. (By the same token, Kevin Colbert is only able to win Super Bowls with Tom Donahoe’s talent, but that’s another rant.)

You know the old refrain by now. Despite having Super Bowl-level talent–the very best talent in the league, they say–all of these years, Mike Tomlin has wasted the latter portion of Ben Roethlisberger’s career by failing to bring home a seventh, eighth and possibly even a ninth Super Bowl.

Many say that Mike Munchak, the Steelers universally loved and respected offensive line coach, should replace Tomlin as head coach. Why? Look at what he did as head coach of the Titans. Over a three-year period, Munchak some how, some way managed to squeeze 22 wins out of a roster that wasn’t nearly as talented and Super Bowl-capable as the one Mike Tomlin has had to work with since he exploited Bill Cowher’s talent and then hand-picked his own awesome talent.

What about that John Harbaugh, the tough-as-nails head coach of the Ravens? Sure, he’s only made the playoffs twice and has just one postseason win since guiding his team to a Super Bowl victory following the 2012 campaign. But look at the inferior talent Harbaugh has had to work with all these years.

  • Let’s be real, has the Ravens roster been as fully-stocked with Super Bowl talent as Pittsburgh’s?

Of course not. No team in the NFL has been able to assemble the level of talent the Steelers have put together in recent years. As has already been established, Pittsburgh’s roster is really, really talented–the best in the league, they tell me.

All of these other head coaches–Harbaugh, Munchak, heck, even Bill Belichick–have been doing more with less, while Mike Tomlin has–and I simply can’t emphasize this enough–done less (much, much less) with more.

What does this all mean? I think it’s obvious. It means Mike Tomlin has been a fraud all along, and once Bill Cowher’s Super Bowl talent pool ran dry, he was exposed for his coaching incompetence, this despite once again having Super Bowl-level talent.

If Mike Tomlin can’t do more than he’s done with all of this Super Bowl talent, the Rooney family owes it to the fans to find a coach who will step right in and guide this incredible roster–the very best in the NFL, I hear–to a title.

That’s right, the Steelers need a man who can take Mike Tomlin’s players — the very best the league has to offer –and win a Super Bowl with them.

It would be the perfect situation for any head coach to step right into.

 

 

 

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Steelers Activate Ola Adeniyi, Cut Matthew Thomas

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Heading into their critical Sunday night show down with the San Diego er um, Los Angeles Chargers, the Pittsburgh Steelers made personnel moves, one expected, the other a bit of a surprise.

  • First, the Steelers have activated outside linebacker Ola Adeniyi off of injured reseve.

This move was expected. Bud Dupree’s participation in practice was limited this week, and T.J. Watt also suffered a minor injury in the Steelers loss to the Chargers. Anthony Chickillo also suffered some sort of ankle injury in the Steelers win against the Chargers, although he has practiced since then.

  • So it was not a surprise to see the Steelers activate Ola Adeniyi off of the injured reserve list.

During the preseason Ola Adeniyi, whose full name is Olasunkanmi Adeniyi, was one of the stand out players for the Steelers defense as he recorded 3 sacks, and was a regular presence in the offensive backfield.

Ola Adeniyi, Olasunkanmi Adeniyi

Steelers activate Ola Adeniyi for Chargers game. Photo Credit: Karl Rosner, Steelers.com

However, their move to make room for Ola Adeniyi does count as a bit of a surprise, as Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert chose to wave inside linebacker Matthew Thomas. Matthew Thomas joined the Steelers as part of their 2018 undrafted rookie free agent class, and had a stand out effort in preseason.

In fact, just prior to the opener, Jim Wexell reported some Steelers coaches were considering the possibility that Matthew Thomas could be splitting time with starters Vince Williams and Jon Bostic by the end of the season.

That role for Matthew Thomas never materialized, as the Steelers have turned to L.J. Fort as their primary backup at inside linebacker. The Steelers can of course resign Matthew Thomas to their practice squad, but he would have to clear waivers first.

Other Steelers News Heading into Chargers Game

In other injury-related news, safety Morgan Burnett is also likely out against the Chargers, paving the way for rookie Marcus Allen to see his first playing time of the year taking over the role of dime linebacker.

Starting right tackle Marcus Gilbert has been ruled out leaving Ben Roethlisberger’s protection in capable hands of either Matt Feiler and Chukwuma Okorafor. Cornerback Cameron Sutton is listed as questionable.

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Le’Veon Bell to Sit Out 2018 – The Le’Veon Bell-Steelers Soap Opera Ends. Finally.

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It’s over. Thank God. The Pittsburgh Steelers-Le’Veon Bell soap opera ended today as the 4:00 pm deadline came and went without Le’Von Bell signing his franchise tender. Now Le’Veon Bell cannot play for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2018, and he’ll forfeit the entire 14.5 million he was due under the franchise tag.

  • The move also effectively ends Le’Veon Bell’s career as a Pittsburgh Steeler.

In football terms both sides lose here, at least in the short term. While James Conner has excelled in Le’Veon Bell’s absence, the drop off from James Conner to Stevan Ridley and Jaylen Samuels is large. Today the Steelers are legitimate Super Bowl contenders; a serious injury to James Conner immediately downgrades them to a team that, with a few breaks, could win perhaps win a playoff game.

Le'Veon Bell, Le'Veon Bell hold out,

Le’Veon Bell departing the grid iron at Heinz Field. Photo Credit: EPA, via the New York Post

In addition to losing the money, Le’Veon Bell loses a shot at winning a Super Bowl in 2018. While there’s little doubt that some team, awash with salary cap space will offer Le’Veon Bell more than the Steelers were able (or willing) to pay, money won’t buy Bell a championship.

Sure, Le’Veon Bell could find himself with the Eagles or Patriots in 2019. Even the Browns, who have gobs of cap sapce, are broaching respectability, seem to have a legit quarterback and could become formidable by a soon as next year. Ah, but what if the biggest offer comes in from say, the Oakland Raiders….?

  • But the post-Pittsburgh Steelers portion of Le’Veon Bell’s story remains to be written, and others will write it.

While yours truly wishes Le’Veon Bell would have come back to play out his franchise tag, I’m also glad the fat lady has sung on this soap opera. The Le’Veon Bell-Steelers story has simply become tedious.

The Le’Veon Bell Soap Opera Hour – a Tedious Affair

Sure, the Steeles misjudged things when they used the 2nd Franchise tag.

But the Steelers sincerely desired to sign Le’Veon Bell to a long term deal. While the Steelers reported offers might not have reached the levels that Franchise Running Backs of yesteryear enjoyed (i.e. Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders, Marshall Faulk), they were ready pay Bell far and above his peers.

As for Le’Veon Bell? Yes, Bell said he would hold out (he also said he’d retire) if he got a 2nd franchise tag. He’s also said a lot of other things, some of them even wrote right side up.

  • And that has been the most aggregating plot line of this entire soap opera.

And at almost every stage, Le’Veon Bell’s actions have contradicted his words. Yet that hasn’t stopped both fans and much of the professional press, from hanging on Le’Veon Bell’s every word, acting as if the Burning Bush itself is speaking.

Did Le’Veon Bell show up to start the season as he promised he would? No. Nonetheless, “Sources” indicated he’d show up during the season’s 1st six weeks, and people believed them. Except he didn’t show up. Then Bell himself told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler he was going to show up at the bye week. Everyone bought it, until he didn’t show up.

  • Then of course Bell was waiting to darken doors on the South Side until the trade deadline passed. It passed and Bell remained in Miami.

And while we’re at it, did anyone really believe those trade rumors about Le’Veon Bell? I don’t know about you, but those always struck me as more mischief than anything else.

Thankfully, all of that stops today. Sure, they’ll be talk about the Steelers using a third franchise tag on Le’Veon Bell or even the transition tag (again, do does anyone believe that the Steelers really told Le’Veon Bell they were going to transition him in 2019?) But all indications are the Steelers are ready to move on.

  • And, while that’s the right move on the part of Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert, that’s a shame.

Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell are probably the three men most responsible (well, you’d have to add Cam Heyward and make it a quartet) for the turn around the franchise has seen since starting 2-6 in 2013.

  • It would have been perfect for Pittsburgh to see the Killer Bees standing on the dais, hoisting Lombardi Number Seven together.

That will never happen now. So be it. Finally we can accept it and move on.

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Underachieving or Just Underwhelming? Steelers Report Card for Loss to Ravens

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From the grade book of a teacher who wonders if his students are underachieving or simply underwhelming to begin with, here is the Pittsburgh Steelers Report Card for the 2018 home loss to the Ravens.

James Conner, Anthnoy Levine, Steelers vs Ravens

What’s wrong with this picture? James Conner’s tackle of Anthony Levine was perhaps his best play of the night. Photo Credit: Barry Reeger, PennLive.com

Quarterback
Again Ben Roethlisberger started slow in the 1st quarter, played like a stud in the 2nd quarter and then fizzled out in the 3rd quarter. The Steelers failed to cross the 50 in the second half and were 3-11 on third downs. Ben Roethlisberger not only missed several open receivers, he had several almost interceptions. Grade: F

Running Backs
James Conner had 19 yards on 9 carries and 3 catches for 15 yards. In contrast, Le’Veon Bell has owned Baltimore in the Steelers last three games and this Raven’s run defense, while improved is hardly impenetrable. The run blocking was suspect, but the Steelers needed more from Conners, and didn’t get it. Grade: DSteelers, Report Card, grades,

Tight Ends
Vance McDonald and Jesse James caught every pass thrown their way and McDonald’s 33 yarder was impressive. However, his fumble set up Ravens’ touchdown and the Steelers defense doesn’t need its offense to do the opposing teams any favors. Grade: C-

Wide Receivers
JuJu Smith-Schuster had four catches and Antonio Brown managed 5 catches 11 targets. James Washington caught 2 of four. While it IS clear that Ben Roethlisberger is out of rhythm with his receivers, it does take two to tango, and there were many plays when no one was simply getting open. Grade: C

Offensive Line
Statistics say Ben Roethlisberger was only sacked once and hit once. But the pocket seemed to collapse quickly, and several of the Ravens front 7 batted down passes. Nor did the line effectively open holes for the running game. The Ravens won the battle of scrimmage. Grade: D

Defensive Line
Cam Heyward had 5 tackles and Stephon Tuitt had 4 with Javon Hargrave registering three, a tackle for a loss, and QB hit and a sack. The Ravens team rushing total of 3.2 years won’t impress any fantasy football owners, but Baltimore ran the ball when it needed to especially in the 3rd half. The Steelers defensive line failed to pressure Joe Flacco. Grade: D

Linebackers
Bud Dupree sacked Joe Flacco and had a decent night. Jon Bostic led the team in tackles, and looked to get men lined up properly. T.J. Watt had four tackles but was otherwise invisible. L.J. Fort looked good after Vince Williams got hurt. The Steelers linebackers weren’t a liability, but they failed get pressure and failed to deliver a 2nd half stop when it was needed. Grade: C-

Secondary
Joe Haden had an outstanding night – after whiffing on those two touchdown passes, one of which he and his fellow defender appeared to be confused on. Terrell Edmunds recovered a fumble that Sean Davis forced, although Edmunds barely avoided getting burned on a Joe Flacco overthrow. Baltimore was 8 of 17 on third down, and while that’s not all on the secondary, a lot of it is. Grade: D

Special Teams
Chris Boswell splitting the uprights not once, but twice for 34 and 39 yards provided the night’s lone bright spot. Jordan Berry also punted reasonable well and the Steelers coverage units didn’t give up any long returns. A special teams spark would have been nice. Grade: B

Coaching
The Post-Gazette’s Ron Cook channeled his inner Chuck Noll when he quipped, “The Steelers problems are great, and they are many.”

For all of the accolades that Ben Roethlisberger has won, and for whatever statistics milestones the offense had achieved before the game, the Steelers offense had been inconsistent all season long as it struggled on third downs disappeared for quarters at a time, only scoring 13 points in the 1st and 4th quarters.

  • Why does the Steelers offense explode in the 2nd quarter only to tapper off in the 3rd and then completely peter out in the 4th?
  • Do Randy Fichtner’s scripted plays fall flat, leading him to adjust only to have defenses readjust?

That’s almost certainly a simplistic explanation, but it makes as much sense as any other offered. Clearly Ben Roethlisberger must be more consistent, but is just is clear that Randy Fichtner must create the conditions for Roethlisberger to be consistent. Thus far Fichtner has failed.

  • On defense, it is hard to know what to say.

Is it Keith Butler‘s fault? Or is Mike Tomlin micro managing him? Has Kevin Colbert, with or without Mike Tomlin’s assent, emphasized drafting for athletic talent at the expense of polished football skill? Or are the Steelers assistants deficient in developing that talent?

Mike Tomlin, Terrelle Edmunds, Steelers 2018 1st round draft choice

Mike Tomlin with Terrell Edmunds. Photo Credit: Jessie Wardarski, Post-Gazette

Sure the Steelers forced field goals and secured a turnover in the Red Zone, but that hardly matters when an offense can protect a 4 point lead by authoring back-to-back 6 minute plus 2nd half. If the Steelers coverage is so weak that it can only rush 3 men, then perhaps the disease is worse than the cure, because at least big plays get the offense back on the field quickly.

  • And the fact that we’re even having this discussion underlines just how deeply into dysfunction the Steelers defense has sunk.

Worse, the 2018 Pittsburgh Steelers are not playing with confidence. Notice the change in demeanor between the Steelers before and after Vance McDonald’s stiff arm against Tampa. Absent a spark like that, the Steelers are not taking the field with the attitude of a team that believes it can win, and that is on Mike Tomlin. Grade: F

Unsung Hero Award
This young player caught a couple of passes, including a key 3rd down conversion, ran a play out of the backfield, and feathered the Ravens with a long enough kick return that they squibbed the next kickoff it to Roosevelt Nix and for that Ryan Switzer wins the Unsung Hero Award for 2018 loss to Baltimore at Heinz Field.

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4 Random Thoughts to Put the Steelers Current Chaos into Context

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A lot changes in one week in the NFL. Seven days ago the question facing the Steelers was whether Ben Roethlisberger could shake off the rust. Today the Steelers defense looks like a sieve, and Pittsburgh is momentarily last in the AFC North.

And to make things worse, this was a week of 10-12 hour work days, which means no blogging so instead here are 4 Random Thoughts on the Steelers 2018 season thus far.

Antonio Brown, Randy Fichtner, Steelers vs Chiefs

Antonio Brown confronts Randy Fichtner. Photo Credit: NFL.com

1. The Defense Wasn’t As Bad Against Kansas City as it Was Against Jacksonville

When the outcome of Sunday’s home opener against the Chiefs became apparent, fans rushed to compare it to the January disaster against the Jaguars. That’s not an accurate description.

  • The Steelers defense wasn’t as bad against the Chiefs as it had been against the Jaguars. It was worse.

Jacksonville’s defense scored a touchdown. The Steelers offense also gift-wrapped another. Kansas City got no such stocking suffers from the Steelers offense, although Danny Smith’s special teams did set up the Chiefs first touchdown.

But when comparing the two games consider this:

  • Sean Spence was playing whereas a month before he’d been out of football.
  • Javon Hargrave was hurt, and played very little, yielding to L.T. Walton.
  • Injuries forced Stephon Tuitt to play with essentially one arm.
  • Mike Mitchell was manning the deep safety slot.

Since that awful January performance, the Steelers have signed Jon Bostic, cleaned house in the secondary, bringing in Morgan Burnett and Terrell Edmunds. John Mitchell has gone upstairs replaced by Karl Dunbar, while Carnell Lake has left (and no, I don’t entirely buy reports that Lake left on his own) and Tom Bradley has taken his place.

T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree have switched sides. Players like Mike Hilton, Cam Sutton and Artie Burns have had another year to develop and mature. Oh, and Pittsburgh has had a full off season to work on the “communication problems” that plagued Keith Butler‘s defense.

  • As Cam Heyward reminded, there IS a lot of football left to be played.

But thus far the Steelers defense appears to be getting worse, not better. The bright side? They have no where to go but up.

2. Antonio Brown’s Antics Are No Longer “Minor Annoyances”

When asked about Antonio Brown‘s Facebook live incident, Steelers President Art Rooney II described it as “minor annoyances.” Against the Chiefs, Browns walked off of the field, and got into shouting matches with Randy Fichtner and wide receivers coach Darryl Drake.

Later this week Antonio Brown explained his outburst as a non-outburst, and offered that his non-outburst was fueled by the fact that the Steelers were losing by 40.

  • Except they weren’t, because James Conner was barreling into the end zone with an impressive second effort to tie the game.

All wide receivers want the ball. Hines Ward, Lynn Swann and John Stallworth were no different. Yet none of them became Divas. While Antonio Brown has flashed signs of Diva like behavior in the past, it wouldn’t have been fair to have labeled him as such before.

  • Is it fair to label Antonio Brown a Diva now?

Time will tell, but at this point his behavior has passed the point of being “minor annoyances.”

3. Mike Tomlin Has “Lost Control of the Locker Room”

That’s a popular narrative. And to some degree, whenever you’re losing, everything your critiques they say is true. But there’s really not a lot of evidence to support the “locker room is out of control” missive.

  • Yes, Antonio Brown is a distraction (see above).
  • Yes, Le’Veon Bell‘s absence is an on-going story.

But is there anyone else in the locker room that is a problem child? So far, no. And sure, the Steelers do seem to have serious issues on defense. But let’s keep those in context.

In 1990, Joe Walton arrived, and installed an offense that his players hated and struggled to grasp. The 1990 Steelers went one month without scoring an offensive touchdown. Assistant coaches could be heard screaming at each other through the headsets.

  • Even Joe Greene remarked, “I hope this isn’t our identity” when quizzed about Walton’s finesse offense.

There may be some legit issues in terms of the Tomlin-Butler relationship on managing the defense, but 2 weeks into the season, the Steelers locker room has hardly gone rouge.

4. Tomlin and Colbert’s Gambles Look a Lot More Questionable Today

Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin gambled 14.5 million dollars in salary cap space that Le’Veon Bell would be back. That’s 14.5 million that could have gone to the defense. At the time it looked like a wise gamble.

  • As of now, the Steelers are getting nothing form that 14.5 million, and next spring all the extra cap space won’t knock any years off of Ben Roethlisberger’s age.

On defense the Steelers gambled that they could bring in Jon Bostic as a stop gap measure and stuck to their guns in the 2018 NFL Draft when they couldn’t get one of the inside linebackers they wanted. The thought was that the Steelers could compensate by deploying extra defensive backs.

  • Thus far that doesn’t look to be the case.

But week 3 is only beginning, and there’s still a lot of football left to play.

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Steelers Report Card for Chiefs Debacle: So Much for Sending the Defense to Summer School

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Taken from a gradebook of a teacher who heard all the right things about the ½ his class that went to summer school and now wonders if it was all a mirage, here is the Pittsburgh Steelers Report Card for the 42-37 loss to the Chiefs.

Tyreek Hill touchdown Steelers, Sean Davis, Artie Burns, Steelers vs Chiefs

Tyreek Hill scores as Sean Davis and Artie Burns “watch.” Photo Credit: Christopher Horner, Tribune-Review

Quarterback
Fantasy owners how started Ben Roethlisberger were likely pleased by the quarterback’s 39-60-452-3-0 with one sack and no fumbles performance. And to be sure, Big Ben was far better in week 2 than in week 1. But too many of Ben’s passes were either high, overthrown or just off target, and that fact is obvious in the Steelers 3-11 3rd down conversion rate. The Steelers got a good game from Ben on an afternoon when perfect was necessary. Grade: B-Steelers, Report Card, grades,

Running Backs
James Conner ran 8 times for 17 yards while Stevan Ridley ran once for 2 yards. Conner caught 5 passes on 5 targets. Roosevelt Nix caught 1 pass for 19 yards. Teams that fall behind by 21 points in a quarter don’t rely on rushing the ball much, but Conner also didn’t do much with the opportunities presented to him. Grade: C

Tight Ends
Jesse James had 5 balls thrown his way an caught each one of them to lead receivers with 138 yards. At a point in the game when nothing seemed to go Pittsburgh’s way, Jesse James showed he clearly came to play. Vance McDonald made his first appearance of the season, and had 3 catches on 5 targets. Tight ends were one clear bright spot. Grade: B+

Wide Receivers
Like James, JuJu Smith-Schuster came to play and delivered when things looked bleak, leading all wide receivers with 13 for 121. Ryan Switzer had one catch on one target, while James Washington had 1 touchdown catch on 5 targets. Antonio Brown had 9 catches for 67, yet his visible pouting was the exact opposite of what the team needed, especially given the 17 targets he enjoyed. That brings the group grade down. Grade: B-

Offensive Line
The stat sheet says that Ben Roethlisberger was only sacked once and only hit 3 times. And it is true that the Big Ben had ample time to throw on numerous occasions. However, there were other times early in the game when he was rushed and those possessions ended in punts. And the lone sack came on the drive after the Steelers defense had scored a safety, and helped kill any momentum. The Chiefs also registered 5 tackles behind the Steelers line of scrimmage.

If ever there was a day when the Steelers NEEDED their offensive line to dominate up front to set the tone, it was the Chiefs game. The line failed to do that. Grade: C-

Defensive Line
Six Chiefs touchdown passes and make it easy to miss the struggles the Steelers defense had on the ground as evidenced by Kareem Hunt’s 4.2 rushing average. Worse yet, the Chiefs gained 9 yards on the first carry of their final drive in a situation when the Steelers KNEW they were going to run. Grade: D

Linebackers
The Steelers linebackers didn’t pressure Patrick Mahomes, couldn’t stop the run, and couldn’t keep the middle of the field covered. Jon Bostic did have a nice tackle for a loss and T.J. Watt did pressure Mahomes into a hurried throw that fell incomplete. Bud Dupree and Vince Williams were non-factors. Grade: F

Artie Burns, Chris Conley touchdown Steelers, Steelers vs Chiefs 2018

Chris Conley burns Artie Burns for a touchdown. Photo Credit: Christopher Horner, Tribune-Review

Secondary
Wow. No areas of the Steelers defense got more attention in the off season, as the secondary was the subject of coaching, position and personnel changes. And yet, the Steelers secondary was easily the worst unit on the field against the Chiefs. Artie Burns gave up 3 touchdown passes, although one may not have been his fault. Terrell Edmunds missed a key tackle. Morgan Burnett added noting. Sean Davis, Mike Hilton and Cam Sutton all looked bad. Grade: F-

Special Teams
How bad were the Steelers special teams? Chris Boswell missed both a field goal and an extra point and even together two plays do not provide the unit’s key lowlights.

D’Anthony Thomas 31-yard punt return set up KC’s first touchdown. A Matthew Thomas penalty nullified an Antonio Brown punt return to the Steelers 47. Jordan Berry did have one nice punt that pinned Kansas City down, but Mike Tomlin thought enough to mention punting during his press conference.

Ryan Switzer did have one very nice kick return, but special teams set up Kansas City scores and sabotaged offensive opportunities – the exact opposite of what they should do. Grade: F

Coaching

Mike Tomlin, Mike Tomlin press conference

Photo Credit: Gene J. Puskar, AP via ESPN.com

Whether it is because of execution or play calling, the Steelers offense has now started slowly in two games and sputtered at critical moments in the fourth quarters of games.

  • With that said, Randy Fitchner’s offense put up enough points to win in a normal situation.

…But the Steelers offense was hardly in a normal situation against the Chiefs. Losing Ryan Shazier dealt a devastating blow to the Steelers defense, but Kevin Colbert, Mike Tomlin and Keith Butler have had 287 days to react to that loss.

In that time the Steelers have made numerous changes and position scuffles, and designed and deployed any number of subpackages and schemes all aimed at improving the defense.

  • Unfortunately, the Steelers defense starts 2018 worse than it finished 2017.

The Jacksonville Jaguars may have scored 45 points last January, but the defense scored 7 and set up another touchdown with a turnover. Whatever Mike Tomlin and Keith Butler had planned for the Steelers defensive game plan, it failed miserably. Grade: F

Unsung Hero
It was a rough day, but after special teams and offensive penalties ruined the chance to capitalize on the safety, all appeared lost. Yet one man stepped up and make a heads up lay by forcing a fumble, which gave the Steelers new life, and that player was Cam Heyward and for that he is the Unsung Hero of the loss to the Chiefs.

 

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