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Post by El Marsh on Nov 15, 2018 3:42:30 GMT
The Le'Veon Bell hold out saga has ended with him still refusing to sign his franchise tender...
And his (now former) teammates summarily pillaging his locker for its contents XD
I can see both sides of the situation and have no rooting interest in it one way or the other but that was a pretty funny sight today
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Post by Zealot on Nov 15, 2018 4:08:57 GMT
With all the crap the Steelers put up with him and his suspension and injuries, I'm not surprised at all that they didn't bother to sign him long-term.
The sad thing about it all is just his overall attitude towards what he thinks he deserves. He's going to regret that when some stupid team gives him a fat contract and he underperforms leading to more mediocrity to whatever team signed him.
Regardless, James Conner is having a fantastic season and as a cancer survivor he's a great success story.
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Post by Timberwolf on Nov 15, 2018 12:56:36 GMT
I don't think the NFL should have the franchise tag period.
If a player fulfils his contract and is eligible to be an unrestricted free agent, he should be able to sign anywhere he wants, not be held hostage by his current team with the franchise tag.
I can see where Le'Veon Bell is coming from. He's not the first player to be disgruntled being tagged, though I believe he was the first not to sign the tender and sit out a whole season.
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Post by Zealot on Nov 15, 2018 14:33:39 GMT
There's no denying that he's talented. His vision and patience are second to none when running the ball and he can catch.
The thing though is that this isn't the first rodeo the Steelers have been through when dealing with prima donna position players and Bell has more than enough baggage to make them reluctant to sign him long-term.
If he wants to end up like Mike Wallace and get hooked to a fat contract to underperform for the rest of his career, he can do so.
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Post by kokushishin on Nov 16, 2018 20:19:41 GMT
Runningback seems to be one of those where it's hard to say the premium rusher is that much better than the store brand to begin with. And even then, the O-line is probably more important.
Similarly given the short career span and a high chance of QOL issues afterwards, walking away from 14+ million even if you think you're worth 18 million or whatnot is pretty risky.
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Post by El Marsh on Nov 16, 2018 20:38:28 GMT
^yeah, I can't see how James Conner having a BETTER SEASON THAN BELL HAD LAST YEAR won't hurt Bell's pursuit of crazy money
I'm sure somebody will pay him handsomely (lots of people are tying the Jets to him at the moment) but I'm skeptical he'll get anything better that Todd Gurley (the league's most productive RB since his rookie season) signed for this year. I think the talks of Bell's legal baggage are a bit overblown but I do think that it and the idea of "commitment" will hurt his chances at a silly payday.
It was a risky gamble for sure but ultimately, I think it'll be worth it for him because even if he "only" gets the 2nd or 3rd best RB contract ever, he'll be away from the Steelers and their management and I've been of the impression for a while that that's been as important to him as the hard cash.
Definitely a unique scenario as far as NFL players go
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Post by El Marsh on Nov 16, 2018 20:57:29 GMT
Although it's a couple of weeks old, I want to mention how the Team USA women completely rocked the World Gymnastics Championships in Qatar. Simone Biles in particular had an outstanding showing, racking up 6 medals in total (4 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze) with the Gold Medals in the Team and Individual All-Around among them. In the wake of the soul-shattering revelations about the abuses that were facilitated and perpetrated against the athletes by those in power at USA Gymnastics, this was a very emphatic first step on the road to the rebirth of the program. I really hope the young ladies on the team continue to excel going forward and that the taint of that previous darkness won't prevent people from recognizing and lauding their considerable skills. Shine on, girls!
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Post by Timberwolf on Nov 20, 2018 15:14:36 GMT
Hey Marsh, how are you feeling after last night's Monday Night football game? I'm sure you had your highs and lows during the game.
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Post by El Marsh on Nov 20, 2018 18:06:38 GMT
How am I supposed to feel?
My team scored 51 pts and lost.
How would YOU feel?
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Post by Zealot on Nov 20, 2018 18:08:25 GMT
They can make up for it when the NFL rigs the playoffs to have both teams face off in the Super Bowl. Fun fact: That is the first instance of a score of 54-51 in NFL history otherwise known as Scorigami. nflscorigami.com/It's also the most points ever scored by a losing team. |
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Post by El Marsh on Nov 20, 2018 18:21:23 GMT
I turned it off when they tried to call a forward pass a fumble (that was returned for a TD). There's no doubt that the Chiefs made some mistakes (5 turnovers....yeah) but when you see some shit like that you know goddamn well what the script is.
Thank the based NFL gods for allowing the Chiefs to get back into the game even after that.
pah
And no, I'm not really bothered that the Chiefs lost. The Rams are a more complete team.
I'm fed up with the league doing shit like changing crews JUST to make sure that they achieve some sort of BS agenda.
So yeah, I'm not bothered at being 9-2 (how could anybody be) but when those two losses come by a total of 6 pts after scoring a combined 91 pts in those games, I'm not entirely thrilled.
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Post by Senator Phillips on Nov 20, 2018 18:23:45 GMT
I'm not a fan of the ultra-proliferation of offence that we're seeing in the NFL and the NBA as of late, mostly at the expense of defense. Casuals and advertisers love it, so the trend will continue, but I prefer more balanced contests.
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Post by Timberwolf on Nov 20, 2018 19:19:38 GMT
Scores in the NBA are coming down now as teams figure out how to defend the wide open offenses that are trending in the NBA.
I mean, my Bucks "only" scored 104 points in a victory over Denver last night.
But I'm with you. I'm a defense guy myself. I would rather see a 1-0 baseball game, a 13-10 football game, or a 98-89 basketball game than the high scoring games that we've been seeing the last few years.
I blame it on rule changes designed to help offense, not defense, in all sports.
Baseball wants to get rid of the shift and put a shot clock on the pitcher.
Football continues to enact rules that favor offense over defense though I do agree with the player safety rules such as defenseless player situations and roughing the passer with the full body weight.
Basketball makes the shot clock 14 seconds following an offensive rebound, creating more possessions in a game.
I disagree with all of those rule changes. I wish we could go back to the good old days where defense matters.
Even college sports are getting there. With the proliferation of the spread offense in football, teams are scoring in the 30s and 40s regularly and they are fuck, screw defense, especially the Big 12 conference.
College basketball has a slightly longer shot clock, but teams are running like it's a 24. Even with 8 less minutes to play, many teams are scoring in the 100s.
I miss the days of the 45 second shot clock in college basketball. I remember my local university would play stall ball by passing the ball around until the shot clock is running down to like 10 seconds or so, then take the shot. Scores like 50-44 were common back then.
To sum it up, it's all about offense these days in all sports, sad to say.
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Post by LankyLefty17 on Nov 20, 2018 19:52:51 GMT
I can't say I prefer offense over defense or vice versa. What I don't like is rule changes specifically for the sake of generating a more "fan friendly game." It stifles innovation. The reality is the pendulum will swing the other way if you let it. Smart people come up with defenses to counteract good offenses. The west coast offense ruled the NFL till more complex zone blitz schemes took away easy quick reads. What gets annoying is when rule changes handcuff defenses from being able to execute counters.
I do have to say, I actually like the NBA rule changes for the most part, though the ticky tack foul calling this year is a bit ridiculous. Allowing zone defenses and lowering the shot clock promotes more passing and ball movement, and less iso ball pounding offense. And as much as people like to glorify it now, those Knicks teams in the early 90's were ugly and boring to watch. Making guys actually rotate and stay in front of their man instead of hockey checking anyone that got into the lane is not my opinion of what basketball is.
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Post by NSL on Nov 21, 2018 9:13:56 GMT
I'd definitely attribute this to offensive philosophies within this decade as it pertains to football. Chip Kelly's high tempo spread option offense, the growing use and terms of RPOs or Run-Pass Options, and even spread-iso football as we see it now in the Big XII and Clemson are being seen now in the NFL, and as I see it, the Chiefs and Rams are where they are now because of those influences, and with great effect. Teams like the Eagles last season and even the Titans already have college style offenses with NFL applications attached. Considering how the NFL will absorb it like the Borg, I expect parts of what works best spread throughout most of the league within the next few years, like the pistol, the wildcat and the zone read option have been.
Though, offenses in college football have almost always been explosive to a degree and have ended up as concepts adapted in the NFL today. The Air Raid and modern Run n' Shoot in the 80's and 90's still have concepts that we see to this day.
There are defensive looks and trends now that have also been adapted to the NFL from college, with linebackers blurring the lines between safeties and defensive ends. Soon enough, defenses in the NFL will adopt blitz packages and stunts Don Brown at Michigan and just about most things Nick Saban and Alabama are doing right now.
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