I've learned over the past couple of years that all I need to do to set off a firestorm is type two words. They are two words which seemingly divide Steelers fans as much as an argument over who is the bigger villain, Ray Lewis or Vontaze Burfict.
The two words? Le'Veon Bell.
It's amazing how many people are so seemingly eager to see Bell racking up 1,000-yard rushing seasons in another team's uniform. It's stunning to see how many people think he is easily replaceable.
It makes one wonder how they will feel if Bell and the Steelers agree on a long-term deal before the July 16 deadline, something he said earlier this week is much closer to happening this year than it was last.
We're talking about a player who earlier this week was ranked as the fifth-best player in the NFL by his peers. Not the fifth-best running back. The fifth-best player regardless of position. And he's just 26 years old. Of the players in the top five, only Philadelphia quarterback Carson Wentz is younger.
Yet the naysayers want him gone. "He's got too many miles on him." "Running backs are a dime a dozen." "He hasn't won the Steelers a Super Bowl." You've heard all the tired old arguments.
Bell's apparent crimes to those who don't want him around are twofold. First, he does some rapping in his spare time. And he wants to be paid like the top-10 player that he is.
I can agree the rapping is silly. But I'm not 26. I don't listen to rap music. It's not my thing. And by most accounts, Bell isn't nearly as good at it as he thinks.
But that's not a legitimate reason to want him out of Pittsburgh.
As for wanting to be paid like a top-10 player, why shouldn't he want that? After all, the other nine players ranked in the top 10 this year will earn a combined $137 million this season, an average of just over $15 million each.
Certainly, there are three quarterbacks in that group — Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers — whose contracts skew that number, but Wentz counts just $6.7 million against the cap this season because he is still on his rookie deal. And Todd Gurley, the only other running back in the top 10, counts just $3.45 million on his rookie deal.
Anyone who thinks Gurley, whose base salary jumps to over $9 million in 2019 in the final year of his rookie contract, isn't also going to ask for $15-plus million per year on a long-term deal is crazy.
Bell is scheduled to earn $14.5 million this season. The Steelers obviously feel he is worth that much money or they would not have placed the franchise tag on him again. So spare me the "he's not worth that much money" stuff. The Steelers disagree. And they might have a better idea on what the potential salary cap ramifications are down the road than you, me or anyone else.
Sure, the Steelers haven't won a Super Bowl with Bell. But they also haven't won one with Antonio Brown. Or Cam Heyward. Or David DeCastro. Or anyone else on the roster not named Ben Roethlisberger.
But as soon as someone can explain to me how not having Bell on the roster this year, next or even three years from now makes the Steelers a better team, I'll agree that not having him on the roster is the best thing for the Steelers.
The Steelers aren't going to use any potential money they might save by not signing Bell to a long-term deal to go crazy in free agency. They just aren't. That's not the way they do business.
They draft players, develop them and sign the ones they like to long-term extensions. They just don't hand out big contracts to free agents. They don't believe in it and that's unlikely to change anytime soon.
Does that mean a long-term contract with Bell is imminent? No. The Steelers thought they had one in place last year at $60 million over five years, but Bell balked at the last minute -- to the shock of his agent -- because of the guaranteed money involved.
Bell thinks the two sides are closer this year. And at 26, he has more reason than last year to want to get something done rather than become a free agent next year at 27.
The bottom line, however, is that top-10 players typically get — and deserve — top-10 salaries.
• NFL.com came out with its rankings of the NFL's 32 head coaches. And much to the apparent chagrin of many Steelers fans, Mike Tomlin is ranked fourth.
Only Bill Belichick, Sean Payton and Pete Carroll are rated higher.
Tomlin isn't perfect. He makes mistakes, such as calling for an onside kick at the wrong time. But all coaches do, even Belichick.
• On its main page Wednesday, ESPN.com had a headline that read, "Ex-Nats player Werth says he's 'done' playing."
This is a story?
Jayson Werth, 39, was playing in Class AAA for Seattle. He was barely hitting .200.
You'll recall Werth signed a seven-year, $126-million deal with Washington in 2011. At age 32. In return, Washington got a .263 batting average and 109 home runs and an OPS of .788 in seven seasons.
That's not necessarily bad play, but is it worth $18 million per year?
That is the biggest difference between contracts in the NFL and other major sports. In the other sports, the contracts are guaranteed. Sign your name on the dotted line and you get all of the money.
That's not the case in football. So if Bell had signed, for instance, the $60 million deal he was offered by the Steelers last season, that didn't mean he would get all $60 million. He only gets the guaranteed money, which is largely the signing bonus. That was the sticking point last season. Bell wanted more money guaranteed.
• Gerrit Cole has cooled off a bit after his hot start in Houston. Cole had a 1.73 ERA in the first month of the season and was at 2.05 two months in. But his ERA in five June starts is 3.77, which isn't bad but isn't at the level of his early play. He also hasn't had a double-digit strikeout game in his last nine starts after recording five in his first seven.
People were looking for reasons for his hot start and there were a lot of theories bounced about. Given his return to normalcy, it could be as simple as a switch of leagues. Most of the American League players wouldn't have had much of a track record against Cole. Now, they're starting to get the book on him.
Cole is still 9-1 with a 2.56 ERA, but the Cy Young talk has subsided.
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