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GSH wrote:playing devils advocate for a second, if howard really isnt a fit in nagy's scheme and he is gone end of the season, is Bell worth looking at as a better fit in nagy's offense?

Dollars would be way too much.

southdakbearfan wrote:

GSH wrote:playing devils advocate for a second, if howard really isnt a fit in nagy's scheme and he is gone end of the season, is Bell worth looking at as a better fit in nagy's offense?

Dollars would be way too much.

look at what he turned down from the Steelers ... he is not worth that (and more) to the Bears IMO

if Howard is on his way out, then Nagy and Pace need to find their guy in the draft to replace him ... aside from the Mack trade, the draft is how they have re-built from the ashes into what we have now ... so they need to use the draft, and the free agents who may fit, to continue the positive build

Bell thinks the world revolves around him and the Bears think the best approach is a team approach ... so greedy selfish malcontents need not apply for work in Chicago

I found the last part of this comment by Jim Trotter in his article on Bell's decision over on nfl.com to be utterly risible:

What's interesting is how some fans have turned on Bell. I've always found it fascinating how the public is quick to side with owners and teams when it comes to a negotiation involving players. Why is that? Stripped down, I believe they feel players should be grateful for being paid so much money to play a kids' game. I also believe there's a racial component; African-Americans comprise roughly 70 percent of the players, and there is a segment of the population that views them as highly paid field hands who don't deserve what they're getting.

The reason fans have turned on Bell is really quite simple: They are passionate about their team and expect the players to share that passion, especially when they're getting paid millions of dollars.

It's no different to any other popular sport played anywhere else in the world. It has absolutely nothing to do with race whatsoever. Outside of a small minority of racist turds, people don't care about the colour of a player's skin, only what they do for the team they love.

If the player plays well then, whilst always believing players are overpaid in general, nobody objects to them earning big money commensurate with their performance level. In fact, if a player has played well and is coming out of contract fans will rail against owners if they don't stump up a generous contract offer. Fans do object if a player under-performs, particularly if they're on a big contract, or they don't turn up to perform at all as Bell has chosen to do.

This current propensity to bring race into every issue is pathetic and detracts from and devalues genuine instances of concern. This is a clear example. This is all about Bell believing he's worth more than the Steelers do and turning down both a big multi-year offer and a lucrative one year contract in the expectation that he can make even more millions. Frankly I'd be very surprised if he does end up getting a better deal that more than makes up for the $14m he's passed up this season.

Ultimately it's his choice, but you can't expect Steelers fans to be happy about it and side with the player over their hopes for their team.

yeah, i remember seeing some bears fans getting heated over Roquan's holdout of training camp and he hadnt played a down, let alone one of your star players.

GSH wrote:playing devils advocate for a second, if howard really isnt a fit in nagy's scheme and he is gone end of the season, is Bell worth looking at as a better fit in nagy's offense?

Nagy's offense isn't one that requires an elite back like Bell to be successful. We're putting up 30 points a week with consistency and Howard isn't even a big part of that. I'm not trying to be negative on Howard, I think he's great its just that he doesn't get holes to run through. Part of me wants to see "The Jordan Howard Game" where he just goes off for 150 yards and 3 TDs, but I don't know if we'll see that and that's not necessarily Howard's fault. Wanting to see that really is just kind of a meatball thing for me anyway. I'm really happy with how the offense is operating right now.

If it gets to the point where we need to pay Howard $8-9M / year I'd rather trade him for a pick and then use a pick to draft the replacement and put the money into the right side of the line and to pay Eddie Jackson.

Appears Bell was granted his release today.

I bet the Steelers put a lot more thought into a players character on draft day now. I think they have had all they can handle between Bell and Brown.