Cue the haters.
I cringed when I heard about the ESPN report by Jeremy Fowler saying Le'Veon Bell told him he would consider (consider!) holding out or retiring after this season if the Steelers placed the franchise tag on him again.
I cringed picturing that people would see the headline and not actually think about what he was saying. Because he certainly didn't.
I cringed in the context he'll probably consider signing a tag deal. It's awfully tough to turn down $15 or so million when it's sitting on the table.
And I cringed because Bell should have known better than to answer that question, even if it might have been conversational and even if he might not have thought it was a big deal.
Let me just tell you this now: The Steelers are completely focused on beating the Jaguars this week. Then, they'll worry about beating the Patriots -- if, indeed, that's who they face in the AFC Championship.
I have rarely been around a team as laser-focused on the task at hand as this one. They don't see any idle talk as being counterproductive to their stated goal, which has been winning the Super Bowl since, well, the day after they were beaten in last season's AFC Championship. It's been their white whale, their windmill-turned-dragon, Quixote-type goal.
Except for this team, it's not some fanciful dream. They have the most talented team in the NFL. And they're not afraid of carrying the weight of that.
If this team has a flaw -- and it really doesn't have many when compared to the others in the league -- it's that some of the players don't think before they speak. They just say whatever is on their mind, consequences be damned.
That's why, earlier this season, Martavis Bryant said when I asked him if he thought he would be booed in his return to Pittsburgh after being suspended against Detroit for his social media rant against teammate JuJu Smith-Schuster, that he didn't care. "I don't care what the fans think," Bryant said at the time.
While that might be true, it's not something you should say.
Some fans will be and are upset about what Bell said Thursday. Some fans are upset about Mike Mitchell telling Sports Illustrated, "We're going to play [the Patriots] again. We can play them in hell, we can play them in Haiti, we can play them in New England. ... We're gonna win."
A statement such as that sounds bad when released the week before the Steelers' first playoff game. It sounds like this team isn't focused. But then you realize Mitchell made that statement some three weeks ago, in the aftermath of losing to the Patriots. In that context, it doesn't sound nearly as bad. The Steelers should have been feeling that way in the days after their 27-24 loss to the Patriots Dec. 17.
Just like Bell should want to be the highest-paid player at his position. There's nothing wrong with that. But you have to pick your moments when you say it.
That's why Bell put out this statement after Fowler's story broke:
I’m trying to win a super bowl...I can care less about what happens after this season...my biggest thing I’m focused on is this team I’m on right now, playing for/with my brothers, & bringing back a 7th ring! what happens next year is irrelevant to my goals
— Le'Veon Bell (@L_Bell26) January 11, 2018
The bottom line is that this is not a team of malcontents. It's a very good football team -- perhaps the most talented I've been around in 25 years -- on which players have had to put their egos and career goals aside in an effort to win a championship. There have been speed bumps along the way, many of them caused by foot-in-mouth syndrome. But, in the grand scheme of things, they don't matter.
If the Steelers don't win the Super Bowl this season, it won't be because of distractions or things they've said along the way. It will be because they were beaten on the football field.
MORE STEELERS
• The Steelers have refused to talk disparagingly about Jacksonville quarterback Blake Bortles. In fact, they've gone out of their way to speak well of the Jaguars and Bortles, in particular. -- Lolley
• Hines Ward has been back this week working with the Steelers receivers and, in particular, Smith-Schuster. Ward has been around at different times this season, but the last time he spent the week with the team, Smith-Schuster laid out Cincinnati linebacker Vontaze Burfict. -- Lolley
• There's surprisingly been no word out of Arizona regarding its head coaching search. And that can only mean the Cardinals are waiting on an assistant with one of the teams still in the postseason. That's not good news for the Steelers, but it could be for offensive line coach Mike Munchak. Munchak is hardly the only candidate interviewed by the Cardinals whose team is still alive in the playoffs. But given that Arizona's past two hires -- Ken Whisenhunt and Bruce Arians -- have both been former Steelers assistants, it is a cause for concern. -- Lolley
PENGUINS
• You might've noticed in our Sunday coverage that Evgeni Malkin wasn't available to reporters to discuss his two-goal performance against the Bruins. Kris Letang, of all people, informed the press that Malkin wouldn't be talking, explaining that "something happened" after the game. Strange. Then, as I was leaving the dressing room moments later, I saw Malkin walking down a hallway, perhaps for some treatment. He didn't appear to be laboring in any way, so the whole scene was odd. Not trying to alarm anybody, but I thought I'd pass it along. -- Matt Gajtka
• The Sabres have Evander Kane and his $5.5 million contract on the trading block, and the Penguins had interest in him as recently as a year-and-change ago. Kane's combination of speed, long-range shooting and feistiness more than offset his off-ice personality quirks, most of which were blown up unfairly in Winnipeg. But don't expect the team to feel the same about him now. That's mostly because it was Rick Tocchet who was enamored of adding him, and Tocchet's obviously now in Arizona. Kane's speed and energy would be welcome regardless, but the rest ... maybe not as much now. Tocchet loved the role of working with the migraine guys. -- Dejan Kovacevic
• The bye week couldn't have come at a less opportune time for Daniel Sprong. Never mind that he was just feeling his way through his return to the NHL, but he also was really beginning to bond with Sidney Crosby. And more than just on the ice. The two have almost instantly become inseparable, even if it's the captain doing almost all the talking. "I ask questions, and he's the greatest player in the world, so he's got answers," Sprong told me just before the break. "All you want to do in that situation, if you're me, is just listen and learn." And is Sprong comfortable offering his own suggestions? "I'll just keep listening for a while." -- Kovacevic
• The mid-point of the season has come and passed for the Penguins without Jim Rutherford making any major trade, no major shakeup. Just don't hold your breath waiting for Kris Letang to be dealt. Rutherford has said all along that he figured that it would take half a season for the Penguins to regain their footing. With three wins in their last four games, it remains to be seen if that is the case, but it has bought the Penguins -- as currently constructed -- at least some more time. Forty-five days might sound like a long time but the NHL's trade deadline will come up fast. Unquestionably, a third-line center remains Rutherford's top priority. -- Chris Bradford
• The organization does not sound overly concerned about Matt Murray's disappointing play. No player could have used the bye week, which ends this weekend, more than the goalie. While it wasn't optimal to pull Tristan Jarry from Sunday's win over the Bruins, it allowed Murray to ride in like the knight in shining armor to save the day. Murray's penalty shot save on Brad Marchand in the final minutes could be just the confidence boost that he and the Penguins needed. -- Bradford
• With Chad Ruhwedel coming back from injury, the Penguins will now have eight healthy defensemen. The question now is which two will sit? Fair to say that it won't be Letang, Olli Maatta, Brian Dumoulin or Justin Schultz. That leaves Ruhwedel vying with Ian Cole, Jamie Oleksiak and Matt Hunwick for a spot in the lineup. It's a great problem for Mike Sullivan to have. But only Cole has any trade value toward getting the aforementioned third-line center. Cole was yet again a healthy scratch last Sunday, even after he took the morning skate on one of the top three pairs. With Cole there's been a lot of smoke, but not yet fire. Stay tuned. -- Bradford
PIRATES
• After an impressive two months on offense, Josh Bell batted only .211 over his final 32 games this past season. Yet, he wasn’t concerned whatsoever that pitchers figured him out. In fact, they attacked him the same way. So, what caused the slide? “It was frustration,” Bell told me at this week’s voluntary minicamp. “I guess you get to a point where you were tasting the playoffs a little bit, we were in contention for a while and once we lose that, it’s just a learning experience there too. … You have to take every at-bat seriously.” — Lance Lysowski in Bradenton, Fla.
• If the Pirates trade Andrew McCutchen and/or Josh Harrison, they’d lose their two most important leaders. That much was clear when I spoke to players at minicamp this week. But could Bell inherit that role, despite being only 25? Sure, he’d become the face of the franchise. However, he’d prefer the vocal leadership still come from McCutchen, Harrison and even David Freese. — Lysowski
• Jose Osuna will spend the bulk of his time in spring training at third base after he played the position in the Venezuela Winter League. Neal Huntington expressed some skepticism that Osuna has gotten enough reps to play there in the major leagues early this season, but Osuna’s teammates think he’ll adjust nicely.
“I watched him closely late in the season when he was over there doing infield work before games, and he has all the tools to play there,” Max Moroff told me. “He’s quick on his feet and has a cannon for an arm. Seriously, the dude can do it. It’s going to be fun to watch. I can’t wait to watch him over there.” — Lysowski
• The few major leaguers in attendance didn’t have much to say about the ongoing trade rumors involving McCutchen and Gerrit Cole, but there was plenty of talk about what other teams are doing, particularly the Yankees. Yeah, the Pirates aren’t pleased at all that Giancarlo Stanton is now in the Bronx. “It’s a complete joke,” one player told me. — Lysowski