10-10-2018, 08:48 PM
(10-09-2018, 10:36 PM)Whatever Wrote: It would depend on how long Bell played in a blowout as to what his stat line looked like.
What are the Steelers doing with those savings? Nothing. So I'm not sure what the argument is. Normally, when you go with a cheaper player, it's so you can invest more money in other areas of the team. The Steelers aren't a better team with Conner as the RB1.
The Steelers are one of the worst rushing teams in the league. In the Steelers 2 losses, Conner was held to under 20 yards rushing. That's not keeping the offense moving. Against good teams, the Steelers have no offensive balance. An effective run game helps the defense by controlling the clock, giving the players time to rest, and giving the coaches more time to analyze and make adjustments.
The question isn't how much better Bell would have done in a blowout against a bad team with an injury ridden defense. The question is would Bell get completely shut down against the Chiefs and Ravens like Conner? The question is would Bell choke and fumble against the Browns? I think you know the answers.
You're just looking at stat lines and not paying attention to what actually happened.
In both losses where Conner was held to under 20 yards, the Steelers fell behind quickly, immediately taking them out of their game plan.
Against Kansas City, the Steelers were behind 21-0 six minutes into the game. Digging deeper you'll find that their first possession was a 3 and out. 3 incomplete passes by Ben, followed by a 2 play drive by KC. Next possession? Another 3 and out. Connor had 1 run, followed by 2 incomplete passes, the another quick 5 play TD drive by KC. Third drive? Connor ran 1 time followed by 9 consecutive passes, most from the no huddle, and a missed FG.....then another quick 6 play TD drive.
At that point, 6 minutes into the game, Conner had 2 carries and the Steelers were down by 3 touchdowns. How effective do you think ANY running back would be in that situation?
Against Baltimore....Ravens score first. Pittsburgh starts with 3 consecutive pass plays, the last a fumble. Baltimore scores again quickly in 4 plays. Conner has yet to register a carry and the Steelers are already down 14-0 again causing them to get out of their GP.
In both of those games, they're playing catch up by multiple touchdowns less than 1/2 of one quarter into the game. There's no 'controlling the clock' at that point. It's all out the window. So yes, my guess is that Bell gets shut down much the same way against Baltimore and KC the way that Connor did. Does he have a better stat line in the end? Possibly. But not significantly. And would it have made a difference in the outcome of the game? HIGHLY doubtful.
As far as what they are doing with the savings? In 2018? Absolutely nothing. They cant. His franchise tag has to be counted against the cap, so they can't do anything with it this year. But, to the best of my research, I believe that any money that he foregoes by holding out can be carried over into the next year. So if Bell sits 10 games and misses out on $9M, the Steelers will likely be able to carry over that $9M in cap space into next year and use that money in other areas of need.
