Olivia Rodrigo's 'Drivers License' Leads Hot 100 for 8th Week, The Weeknd's 'Blinding Lights' Marks a Year in - Billboard
Olivia Rodrigo's 'Drivers License' Leads Hot 100 for 8th Week, The Weeknd's 'Blinding Lights' Marks a Year in - Billboard |
| Posted: 08 Mar 2021 12:00 AM PST [unable to retrieve full-text content]Olivia Rodrigo's 'Drivers License' Leads Hot 100 for 8th Week, The Weeknd's 'Blinding Lights' Marks a Year in Billboard |
| Le'Veon Bell Won't Help Steelers Solve Rushing Problems - Yardbarker Posted: 30 Mar 2021 05:26 AM PDT  The future is now, old man. The days of placing importance on establishing your dominance on the ground appear to be a distant memory, as the modern grasp of the game now lives through aerial attacks and maniacal play-designs. The Pittsburgh Steelers know this all too well, as 2018 saw quarterback Ben Roethlisberger throw for over 5,000 yards in a single season, ranking as one of eight quarterbacks in NFL history to accomplish such a feat. Roethlisberger also has attempted over 600 passes in the previous two of three seasons, with 2019 being the outlier (Roethlisberger suffered a season-ending injury in week two). With a Hall of Fame quarterback and a slew of prominent pass-catchers playing in Pittsburgh through the last fifteen years, moving the ball through the air has never been a problem for the Steelers. Yet any Steelers' fan will be able to tell you about the prominence of running the football in Pittsburgh, as the team's historical ability to dominate on the ground has become synonymous with the Steelers in the likes of terrible towels and Lombardi trophies. So when the Steelers finished last in rushing offense for the 2020 season, change was all but apparent. Offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner is now out of the picture, and under-performing offensive linemen such as Alejandro Villanueva (for now) and Matt Feiler were sent away in free agency, along with running back James Conner. While all were not sole proprietors of Pittsburgh's problems, each played a role in the Steelers finishing last season as the only team in the NFL to not average at least 90 rushing yards per game. "We've got to be a lot better in running," said Steelers president Art Rooney II on a Steelers Nation Unite call. "Certainly, we don't want to see the Pittsburgh Steelers being last in the league in rushing again ever. I think it's something our coaches are focused on and we'll be looking for ways to improve in the draft. It's something we've got to fix, and we are working on it." Sure, the days of grinding out a hard-nosed victory by earning three yards and a could of dust are a distant memory. However, an apparent lack of running game forced the Steelers into a one-dimensional team far too often last season. The main solution? Find a new ball-carrier to wear and black and gold. While backs such as Benny Snell and Anthony McFarland have shown glimpses of potential, it appears the Steelers aren't sold on either to shoulder the load of touches moving forward. While the Steelers are favored by many to land a running back in the early parts of the 2021 NFL Draft, there's been some movement within the fan base to take a different avenue and pursue a familiar face in Le'Veon Bell. While Bell does deserve praise for his time in Pittsburgh, the Steelers would be doing themselves a disservice by signing Bell and foregoing better options. The shelf life for NFL running backs is extremely short. Simply put, backs once considered the best in the league (David Johnson, Todd Gurley and Bell himself) are now shells of their former selves. Toting the rock in the NFL will forever be a young man's game (outside of Frank Gore), with younger, fresher and ultimately cheaper guys coming through each year in the NFL Draft. Bell has totaled nearly 2,000 career touches at the age of 29. That's a ton of mileage on those tires, and while Bell may find success in a supplementary role, the Steelers are in the market for a running back capable of handling a starting workload. Sooner than later, the eventual touches would wear on Bell and force him to miss time (similar to what we saw last year), which is one of the main reasons why the Steelers parted ways with James Conner. The most important ingredient to any success rushing the ball starts up front with the offensive line, and after losing three starters on what was already a poorly-performing offensive line, there's no doubting the Steelers are in the midst of rebuilding the trenches. Bell failed to produce behind a bad offensive line in New York, while also failing to emerge as a starter in Kansas City with an average at very best offensive line. Coming to a work-in-progress offensive line in Pittsburgh would see no different result for Bell. For Pittsburgh to fix their rushing attack, the work first must be done up front. No running back signed or drafted by the Steelers would be set up for success without the team first adequately addressing positions of need on the offensive line. Reviving the Steelers' rushing game is a process, and won't happen over night. Le'Veon Bell was once a great part of the team. However, the Steelers have far better avenues to explore than bringing Bell back for a reunion. |
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