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This early? It's been widely reported since he suffered the injury many thought it was a 6 week timeframe. That's next week and if they hold him out in week 4 due to bye in week, which I suspect, he'll be at 8 weeks when he makes his debut.
Even if it comes from the coaches, it should be taken with a grain of salt. Tomlin has been extremely squirrely about Bell's injury from the beginning.
Good point; it used to be that unless a player was on the Patriots, injury info from the team would be relatively easy to obtain. It seems like the last few years, more and more teams have deemed it important to try to keep that information classified.
I know this, and that goes to my original point; there are so many people "covering" the NFL anymore, that there is incredible competition to get "the scoop." What we end of getting is speculation, passed off as fact. Whether it be beat reporters, bloggers, people with "un-named sources," there's so many people trying to be the first to "break a story," that they are throwing stuff against the wall and seeing what sticks. Then you get internet sites (huddle, rotoworld, cbs, espn, fftoday, FBG, etc) that report these things, and they are often accepted as facts, when they are merely speculation.With regards to Tomlin, while he never said it was or was not a lisfranc, he wasn't very forthcoming. I'm sure that at some point, he was asked by someone if it was a lisfranc, yet I can't find a definitive yes or no from him. Even last week, after the "un-named source" said it WAS a lisfranc (and it was noted in the local papers and local radio), he said nothing to confirm or refute that report. I wasn't at every press conference or interview he did last week, but I have to imagine that he was asked about that report. Yet nothing can be found where he says either yes or no. It just seems like more and more NFL coaches think keeping injuries a secret gives them some significant advantage. I don't think it does, but it does make our hobby a little more difficult.
He very will might have a lisfranc injury. As far as I've seen, they've never said that it wasn't that injury (only that his injury wasn't as bad as Spaeth's).But I know what you mean. When I saw the reports last week that it was, actually, a "rare lisfranc" injury, I looked for any confirmation/denial from the Steelers. I would have liked to see a denial, but since I didn't see a confirmation, I didn't fully believe it.
Someone asked Tomlin whether Bell would be ready for the season opener, and Mike Tomlin said "I hadn't asked. It's just great to hear that it is what it is. It's perking up day by day."
But there is a ton of swampland in Florida. Why would that be at all misleading like Tomlin was?
have they even said he will play? i doubt he plays and even if he did i wouldnt start him over Wilson.
I think it would be a mistake bringing the kid back this week, this reeks of desperation and usually bad things happen when you are desperate
Agreed. I said this in his other thread, but I'm hoping that's not the case and they're not rushing him out there before he is at 100% for fear of tanking without him. Obviously no one knows whether his injury was a Linsfranc or not, but if it was, then we saw how Gates' performance suffered all year while trying to play through the injury a couple seasons ago. I say sit him until week 7, 8, or whatever it takes. If he comes back and plays on a diminished level he's not even going to be startable behind their putrid line. At full speed he stands a chance.
I don't think he's the next AP or Steven Jackson (someone he's been compared to), but if you think he's not a significant upgrade over Felix or Redman you're mistaken. He was considered by multiple scouts to be the 2nd best RB in the class behind Lacy, and he posted more yards in 2012 then the other top back out of the Big Ten, Montee Ball. I'm not saying he's an all-pro, but the kid easily has more talent than any other RB on their roster.
This would be the smart route for the Steelers who have time and time again proved that they know what they are doing when it comes to smart moves so I'm expecting this instead of an early comeback.
They may try to work him into some packages, but pretty much missing preseason will mean that they will work him in rather than handing him the keys right away, i think
As a Steelers fan, I have to disagree with this... at least for the last few years. We've lost very important games by playing Ben before he was ready to return from injury several times. Polomalu has missed most of the last 3 years because he is put back in a week or 2 too early every time. Tomlin has not been tops as far as clock control or challenges. He's fun to listen to, but I think he's wearing thin. They have been pushing their salary further and further into the future and that credit card is just about maxed out. Their early draft picks have not been hits aside from "Pouncey, the early years," and Ziggy Hood (at least starting). Mendenhall / Sweed? Cam Heyward? 2007 was their last good draft with Timmons & Woodley. Any of the coaching changes there look good? Haley working out? Have the special teams EVER been any good there? If not for Ben being able to do a lot with very little help and **** LeBeau making stars out of middling talent for years, this team would be picking top 10 very often.GeeYouknit said:
I was just coming in here to post this. Could Miller AND Bell be enough to transform this team almost overnight? It just might be.SaintsInDome2006 said:
There are all kinds of situations in the NFL where guys that nobody, even the NFL brass of all 32 teams, didn't expect much (Warner, Brady, Arian Foster, etc). This guy was drafted in the second round, but of course we all know that guys drafted in the first round can suck. BUT, the guy has an incredible opportunity. He has little to no competition. He might get 2 yards every carry, or he just might do something with that opportunity. You might want to wait until he carries a few times in a regular season NFL game before concluding that he's not special. Some guys just turn it on in the NFL. Some don't. The truth is, he's going to get that chance.iamkoza said:
I would say this all though the offense did look better Sunday night with the return of Heath Miller, so maybe things are trending up
I hope you're right, and it's actually why I have the optimism to grade him as I did. If you would have asked me week 2 I would have said there's a good chance he's barely startable most games. Being a rookie, the foot injury, offensive troubles, and lack of a line are all against him. They appeared to do some things right on Sunday night and at least showed Ben can make teams respect the pass game and not stack the box, so that's a plus. Felix has also looked average to somewhat decent for parts of games, which bodes well for Bell. The RB3/Flex with RB2 upside is how I see it before he's even taken a snap in a true NFL game, so take it for what it's worth. Total wild card.
Im betting even the Steelers dont know. Everyone will have to wait and see how he responds to actual play. Unless things get clearer as the week goes on desperation start.
Hopefully you got good value for him. Depending on when you drafted he probably cost you a late first/early 2nd. Not sure I would have traded him in dynasty (unless of course, you got that kind of value for him).
Tomlin was on Sirius NFL Radio yesterday and was specifically asked how much playing time Bell would see. Tomlin answered by saying that he wasn't going to have him in uniform to stand by him on the sidelines. I very much got the impression they plan on using him quite a bit.
Big Ben sounds absolutely stoked.
This