This, That and The Other

After the Steelers came away with a great win in San Diego on Monday Night, a few things became very apparent to me.

First and foremost, there is no doubt in my mind, nor should there be in anyone else’s’ that LeVeon Bell is the best running back in the NFL. His versatility is unmatched; he’s explosive yet powerful and can catch the ball as well as any wide receiver in the game, out of the backfield. He’s so great that Mike Tomlin gave him the ball out of the wild cat formation with basically no time left and the game on the line, while a field goal would have tied it. LeVeon Bell delivered and the Steelers won. 

Secondly, I need to give Tomlin credit for making that call. I blast Tomlin a lot, and I still feel it’s deservedly so but he made a gutsy call that paid off to win the game. Not many coaches would have made that call even having Bell at their disposal but Tomlin did. Credit him with a game winning decision, a decision that was the correct one. 

Thirdly, the NFL officiating is getting worse by the year. How can an entire crew let 18 seconds just dwindle away unnoticed. It very well could have cost the Steelers the game, fortunately it didn’t. Either way, it’s completely unacceptable.

Fourth, there just isn’t a QB like Big Ben. Mike Vick has done an adequate job but he just can’t duplicate or even come close to what Big Ben does.  Ask Antonio Brown. His numbers have nose dived since Ben’s injury. With that said, I could certainly do without Brown starting to voice displeasure, especially after a team win.  I really don’t want to see him turn into a diva wide receiver. He too, is the best at what he does but part of what makes him so special is his work ethic and generally his willingness to do whatever it takes to win. Now, it’s starting to sound like he’s turning into a ‘me’ first guy and that’s disappointing for sure.

Lastly, not related to the Chargers game but I’m starting to wonder about Maurkice Pouncey. News just broke today that he is probably out for the year now after having a second surgery to clean up an infection from the first one.  He’s a great center when he plays but this will now be his second full season missed since 2013 and at Eight Million dollars a year, that’s not good.  Dare I say it may be time to move on from him? I know, it’s tough to say that but can we really trust his ability to stay healthy? I’m not so sure anymore.