Le’Veon Bell Threatens To Sit or Retire If The Steelers Tag Him Again

Pittsburgh’s gotta call him out on his bluff right? Playoffs are upon us and the Steelers of course are focused elsewhere. Bell was quoted telling ESPN:

Just get the numbers straight, exactly where we want them. I’m not going to settle for anything. I know what I do and what I bring to the table. I’m not going out here getting the ball 400 times if I’m not getting what I feel I’m valued at.

Bell is only 25 and arguably the best running back in the league so obviously his value is sky high. The only problem is that Pittsburgh won’t give him what he wants.  The Steelers played chicken with him last year and did offer him a contract which was upwards of $30 million in the first two years but Bell declined. He ultimately ended up playing on the franchise tag worth $12.1 million last year. The number will rise up to $14.5 million but Le’Veon wants a long term contract. Highly doubt that they’ll be able to actually get the deal done because he wants BIG money. I think he’s bluffing but let the games begin.

PS – Quoted as saying that but then tweets this? Real believable.

 

 

 

OC Radio: Divisional Weekend

After a short hiatus over the holiday season, the Office Chatter gang is back to tackle the NFL playoffs. It’s divisional weekend and our crew of 3 is here to talk all the weekends’ games. We finish up with yet another Alabama national championship.

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Christian Pulisic Claims Americans’ Expectations For Him Are Too High

Not exactly what you want to be hearing from the future of the US Men’s National Team but here we are. Why would Pulisic say this? Well let’s take a live look at ESPN..

Comparing him to Messi & Ronaldo? Never change ESPN. This is definitely a bit far-fetched and I will admit the expectations for Pulisic are essentially to save the US men’s soccer program — especially after the embarrassment this fall of not qualifying for the World Cup this year. The fallout has already started, with young star Jonathan Gonzalez committing to Mexico over the United States.

“I would say that the expectations some Americans put on me is too much,” he said. “But I don’t take it that way. I know no one means harm to me or wants to put too much pressure on me. It’s kind of what they’ve done or do in the past. A lot of countries do.”

 The quote isn’t that outrageous but the US needs this kid to be everything that Freddy Adu wasn’t. US Soccer has never been as down as it is right now and this kid is one of the brightest stars. He plays a significant role on a top team in a top four league in Europe so things are looking bright.

“It’s not about completely restarting. It’s not like we have everything wrong or we panic,” he said. “It’s about developing what we already have into even better. I think if we continue to do that then of course players will come up and there will be new talents. I think if we do that and build on what we already have, we can really create something.”

It does seem like he has a good head on his shoulders and he’s only 19. Get this team a real coach and see if he can shine.

London Finally Gets A Good Game! Eagles Announced to Play Jaguars

The Eagles are going across the pond for the first time ever to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars. The people of London have never seen a matchup between two teams with a winning record and this may be their chance. Both teams are still remaining in the playoffs (though both are projected to lose) and should follow up their successful seasons with more of the same next year.

London will get to see the MVP front-runner before his injury, Carson Wentz live take on the London Jaguars who suddenly cannot lose in London. They shellacked the Ravens 44-7 this season to make it 3 straight in London.

Obviously, the Jags have found success in general now but London used to be the only place they could win. The week hasn’t been announced yet but will be shortly when the NFL officially announces it.

Browns Hire Eliot Wolf as Assistant General Manager

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John “big dick” Dorsey has made his final off-season addition to the Front Office, before we get into the Combine, Free Agency, and the Draft.  Wolf had been interviewing with both the Browns, and Raiders.

Wolf, like Alonzo Highsmith comes from the Greenbay Packer organization.   He is the son of former Packer General Manager, Ron Wolf.  Ron Wolf is most famous for trading for Brett Favre.  Wolf traded a first round pick in the 1991 NFL Draft to the Atlanta Falcons for Favre.  Wolf initially wanted to draft Favre, but was was he was taken one pick prior by Atlanta.

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This has absolutely nothing with Eliot’s hiring, but it shows that Eliot has come from a strong background.   In 2004 Wolf became a Pro Personnel Assistant for Green Bay, and worked his way through the ranks.  He was promoted to Assistant Director of Pro Personnel in 2008, and then finally in Director of Player Personnel.  Wolf comes from the Pro side of things, rather than drafting/scouting.  The idea of over $100 million to spend this off-season has to be intriguing.

Per spotrac.com, the Browns have a whopping $109,696,292 in free money.  It will certainly be interesting to see how Wolf will help spend that.  After all, this is what I want him to bring.  I want him to identify talent at the pro level, and bring them in.  Whether it be a guy who is on waivers, or an eight figure signing when free agency opens.

Seems as if the overall reaction is that this is a great hire.  The trio of Highsmith, Dorsey, and Wolf give me something to feel somewhat decent about.  I will certainly give these guys some time to figure it out.  These are three EXTREMELY well respected executives, who know what it takes to build a sustainable winning program.  First order of business, Quarterback.

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Swallowing my pride here.  I think Alex Smith is a must get this off-season.  With it being pretty clear he is on the market, The Browns have been mentioned as a potential landing spot.  Dorsey was the man who brought Smith to Kansas City for a 2013 conditional third round pick.  Now, with Smith coming off arguably his best season the price might be higher.  This where my man Sashi Brown deserves some credit.  Bill Belichick won’t call The Browns to have them overpay for Jimmy G, but I bet Andy Reid calls the Browns first if trading him is the option they go with, rather than cutting him out-right. Sashi built up draft capital for a reason.  Let’s use it.  I’m ok with a bit of an overpay, as Smith is coming off a damn good year, as reflected in the stats below.  While Smith isn’t going to get you a Super Bowl, he could bring major stability to the Quarterback position, while we groom either Darnold, or Rosen.

Hopefully the organization is starting to stabilize.  See if we can attract a few free agents (hello Terrlle Pryor), trade for Smith, and pick your future Franchise Quarterback.  Use the ass-tone of picks to continue to build roster.  Let’s get this ball rollin’.  The off-season is our season baby!

Image result for Terrelle Pryor browns

P.S. But seriously, bring back TP12…Or

Any of these guys…

The UCF Is National Champions Gimmick Needs To Stop

UCF capped off their undefeated season with a win over Auburn in the Peach Bowl and claimed to be “undefeated National Champions.” At first, it was funny and lighthearted that UCF claimed to be National Champions and held their own block party before the real championship on Monday.

And then UCF paid their coaches a national championship bonus.

Okay still a bit cool. Nice to see they’re rewarding their coaches for a great season. And then Governor Rick Scott stepped in.

And now they’re releasing shirts too because why not try to profit off of this?

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Little bit too far — undisputed? Not quite. The Alabama team we saw against Clemson & Georgia absolutely wipes the floor with Scott Frost’s Knights. This was funny and lighthearted to start with but now is entering the territory of insufferable. The 2017 UCF Knights were likeable and a nice underdog story — and now they’re doing everything possible to ruin it. I don’t know what UCF diehards are running to buy these shirts but if you do, you’re a joke and so is this program.

Gerrit Cole NOT traded to the Astros

This trade that would send Gerrit Cole to the Astros, still could happen but as of right now the internet ran with a false rumor.

It had been reported by Jon Morosi of MLB Network that a deal had been reached between the Astros and Pirates.

More updates to come.

 

 

Alabama Does It Again

It took me some time to accept this, with my extreme hate for Alabama and the SEC conference but facts are facts. Alabama is the best team in the nation. Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide went into halftime down 13-0. In an unprecedented move, he benched his QB (who wasn’t doing much to be fair) who has won 25 of his last 27 starts to put in a true freshman, Tua Tagovailoa to lead the comeback.

The play that sealed the National Championship?

Jokes — I’m firmly anti-Alabama but UCF… you guys are not the national champions, you went undefeated in the AAC.

Also, chalk this up to the Atlanta Journal Constitution for jinxing UGA before the game even started.

Back to the game, Georgia controlled the entire first half and most of the game — in fact Alabama didn’t lead once. Jake Fromm made some big throws but with a one score lead and 7 minutes to go, they couldn’t convert a first down. Tua, who made big plays all night, took his team down and hit Calvin Ridley to tie it up at 20.  Georgia then was forced to punt after 3 downs yet again, setting Alabama up for an easy game-winning 36 yard FG.

 

Of course however, Nick Saban was not losing this game in OT as Georgia scraped up a FG and Alabama hit them with the dagger on the following possession.

That’s a wrap — Alabama has now won 5 championships in 9 years and is no doubt the powerhouse of college football. Now with a stud freshman QB? Place your bets on Alabama repeating again.

PS — State of Georgia in football…not the best look.

Seahawks Fire OC Darrell Bevell

The Seahawks have reportedly fired offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell after seven years with the team. He has been with the team since 2011 and in that time he helped the Seahawks get to two Super Bowls, winning one.

Which leads me to his most memorable moment of his tenure..

 

Everyone in the world hated the decision to pass, the main comment was “you don’t pass the ball when you’re on the one yard line and you have Marshawn Lynch”. I didn’t hate the move, but you got to throw a jump ball fade where only your guy can get it. Throwing a slant, too many things could go wrong, like it did.

All joking aside, he had a good seven year run and he played a major part in winning the Super Bowl they won. Its safe to say that he won’t be out of a job for long, he’s a coach that has won and can bring great experience to another team.

Next to go in Seattle, will likely be the “Legion of Boom”. It’s safe to say next year’s Seahawks team will look very different from past years.

 

Why Danny, WHY?

Danny Ainge tweeted a photo of Gordon Hayward walking by a pool without his ankle brace. Based on that smile, it looks like Hayward is doing well in his recovery from his gruesome ankle injury.

Danny, please don’t tease us like this. Celtics fans have finally gotten past the grieving stage in Gordon’s injury and are fully on board with him missing the season and coming back healthy next year. And now you go and do this. Come on. All this tweet does is stir the pot, get rumors started and play with our emotions.

I still don’t expect Hayward to come back this year, BUT…

If the Celtics did get Hayward back, never mind focusing on Cleveland, the Celtics might have the team to really challenge the Warriors. I know it sounds ridiculous but they’ve already beaten them once and they have the top ranked defense in the NBA. This could be their year! But probably not..