A few weeks back Jerome Bettis was passed over for the Hall of Fame for the 4^th consecutive year of his eligibility. At first I couldn’t imagine how this could possibly be. How could “The Bus” not be in Canton already?  It seemed ridiculous. The Bus is 6^th all-time in career rushing yards with 13,662. He had an additional 1,449 receiving yards along with 200 receptions and he scored 91 touchdowns in his 13 year career. 

To add to those totals, Bettis even threw for 63 yards and 3 scores.  He carried the Pittsburgh Steelers for years and was the centerpiece of their offense from 1996-2001.  How could this man, whose most memorable game, the game against the Chicago Bears in 2005; which turned around the Steelers season and helped get them to the Super Bowl, not be in?  That game is one for the ages around Pittsburgh and one kids’ will tell their grandkids about one day. All great players have a standout moment and that one is Jerome’s.

 Bettis also had six pro bowls to his name, won the AP offensive rookie of the year and the AP Comeback player of the year. He’s an all-time player on an all-time organization, why is this man being passed over?

I couldn’t fathom the idea. It made no sense to me.  Then I did some research and while I think he should be and will be in the Hall of Fame, I actually understand why he hasn’t been voted in yet.

While he is 6^th on the all-time rushing leader list, he has the 2^nd lowest career yards per carry average of the top 28 rushers on that list (I only looked at the top 28). Bettis has a career yards per carry average of 3.9, the standard is generally 4.0.  While the difference is only .1 yard per carry, add that up over a career or even a season and it makes a significant difference.  Only Eddie George, at 3.6; who ranks 25^th on the list, is lower. Geroge is not in the Hall.  John Riggins, who ranks 16^th on the list, has an equal yards per carry average; and that’s it, the other 26 guys are all higher.  That’s certainly working against The Bus.

Bettis also only had eight 1,000 yard seasons out of the 13 years he played. Yes, his yardage total is impressive and again, I think he’ll get in, but to have five seasons without even 1,000 yards, including the last four years he played, hurts.

Additionally a stat I found that surprised me tremendously was his fumble total. Bettis was always described as sure handed, which is why the fumble against the Colts during the 2005 run was so shocking. Yet, looking at his numbers, he fumbled 41 times in his career, averaging one every 84 carries or if you break it down by games, one every 4.6 games he played. That is not as sure handed as I had thought and again it’s something that the voters are surely looking at when they make their decisions.

Lastly his yards per game average for his career was only 71.2 yards per game.  That number is not overwhelming by any means and I almost think if he didn’t chase that elusive ring until the end and had he retired earlier, he’d already be in because that average would have been higher.

The fact of the matter is that a running back getting a Super Bowl ring just doesn’t mean as much as it does for a quarterback to do so and the voters are not really considering the Super Bowl championship when looking at Bettis’ resume.

So after all the research I did, I can at least stomach why the Bus isn’t in Canton just yet because there are some valid reasons why. I also take solace in thinking this ‘snub’ is only temporary and I don’t believe he’ll wait too much longer.

Yes The Bus is a hall of fame player, his numbers show it, but they also show that he’s going to have to wait a little longer in order to earn that spot amongst the best that have ever played.

As the team progresses through the offseason they’ll need to begin to look at the contracts they currently have on the books for 2014 and beyond and what those contracts mean towards the cap.  There are several players that could be impacted through a restructuring of their current deal or via an unconditional release.

The Steelers will navigate their way through the roster and make decisions on each and every player in an effort to remain under the cap as well as keeping the roster as competitive as possible at the same time. 

It’s likely the following players will be impacted in some form or fashion.

Ben Roethlisberger, 2014 cap hit 18.8 million dollars.  The decision on Roethlisberger should be an easy one. The team must extend his contract beyond its end date of 2016, which should enable them to lower his salary and cap hit. He wants to remain a Steeler for his entire career and the team feels the same way, so why not take care of business now?

Troy Polamalu, 2014 cap hit 10.8 million dollars.  Polamalu is a tricky one. He is overpaid at this point but he’s not a guy the team should release due to his ability to still contribute plus his legendary status.  With one year on his contract the team should try to extend him an additional year to help reduce the cap hit. If they can’t come to an agreement they should just keep him. They may release Polamalu if they can’t get his salary down, which would be a very unfitting end to his Steeler career.

LaMarr Woodley, 2014 cap hit 13.4 million dollars.  This one should be simple too; it’s time to part ways with Woodley. He still has three years remaining on his contract and quite simply, he’s not worth the money.  He’s often injured and just not putting up the big plays and statistics that a 13.4 million dollar linebacker should.  If the team can re-sign Jason Worilds; this move is highly likely. If they can’t, then the team may let Woodley stay for at least one more season.

Heath Miller, 2014 cap hit 9.4 million dollars.  Miller should stay no matter what and he will. His contract ends at the end of this season, so if the team is able to extend him a few more years in an effort to reduce his cap hit, they should do so and I believe they will.

Ike Taylor, 2014 cap hit 11.9 million dollars.  Taylor is in a situation where he still has some gas left in the tank but he’s clearly not the player he once was. The team has secondary issues so there is some use for him, but not at 11.9 million dollars.  If the team can find some way to extend him by one year in an effort to reduce the cap hit, then by all means they should do so. If they cannot find a way, then he must be released. I suspect his time in Pittsburgh will end and he’ll be released.

Larry Foote, 2014 cap hit 1.8 million dollars.  Foote missed the entire 2013 season and while his salary is very reasonable, it may make sense to move on from him and save the money. I could go either way here and think they should probably bring him back but it would not be shocking if he were let go.

Steve McLendon, 2014 cap hit 2.9 million dollars. McLendon has not shown enough to be a starter in this league. If the team feels they can draft or even sign a new starting nose tackle, they should save the money and let McLendon go. I believe that’s what will happen.

Ramon Foster, 2014 cap hit 1.9 million dollars. While the offensive line has issues, the team should try to bring back Fernando Velasco and do so by cutting Foster. Foster is nothing to write home about and his money can be better served on a guy like Velasco. I think there’s a good chance the team will bring him back however.

Levi Brown, 2014 cap hit 6.2 million dollars. Absolutely a no brainer; he should and will be released. He’s far overpaid and never even set foot on the field for the black and gold.

These won’t be easy decisions but decisions the team will have to make to ensure they are set for 2014 and beyond. While some of the players under the microscope are long time Steeler vets with major contributions to their success; it has become a necessity to make these decisions for the betterment of the organization.