Crazyrebel(l)s ist umgezogen! » No NFL football again this week

Maurkice Pouncey Jersey , though plenty of talk about AB. I realize it’s not that important that I add my two cents to the massive pile of opinions on the man and his plan. I’m hoping though that writing this column will purge the theme from my future.Antonio Brown is very good at playing football. We shouldn’t let his negatives blot out the reality of his talents. I’m not arguing that we should keep him. I am arguing that those who argue, “He’s washed up anyway” are letting their emotions show, rather than their minds. The world is full of men who are very good at playing football that I would not want on my team. Because, of course, there’s more to being a football team than running routes and catching passes. That the intangibles are intangible doesn’t make them unimportant. At the end of the day, one of two things is going to happen. AB will either implode and never come close to matching the success he’s had (we’ll call that the Leveon Bell option) or he will catch a lot of passes, rack up thousands of more yards and play on a team that doesn't win (we’ll call this the Ocho Cinqo option.) What I am nearly certain will not happen is he will have several years of great success on a team having several years of great success. At the end of the day the Steelers and AB were both looking at each other, at home and dateless as the playoffs began, saying to each other, “It’s not me, it’s you.” This time next year we’re going to know the Steelers were right and AB wrong.This may seem a little weird, but one of the hard things for me is that henceforth when I watch highlights of AB with the Steelers Cameron Heyward Jersey , my stomach will turn, and I’ll be thinking about the end. I’m not upset at Franco or Mike Webster or even Greg Lloyd for drawing another paycheck or two after they no longer fit in our plans. But this is just ugly, and an utterly different situation. One need not be a diva to want to play more after the Steelers think you should hang them up. When playing is your one, holy passion, then play. And come back for a day to retire a Steeler when you know your time has come.There are three worlds to an NFL player. There’s on the field. There’s off the field football stuff. And there’s off the field non-football stuff. In two out of three AB has been through train wreck after train wreck. I believe it will spill onto the field next season.AB, instead of heading for a legacy as one of the greatest to ever play the game is driving 100 MPH toward of legacy of one of the greatest to ever raise the question, “What the heck happened there?” Instead of being mentioned with Jerry Rice, Marvin Harrison and Larry Fitzgerald, he’ll be mentioned with TO, Ocho Cinco, and Josh Gordon. That boomin’ we’re hearing? That’s AB blowing up his legacy.It is always a good thing to pause and give thanks for our spouses, like my beautiful wife. It is also always a good time to pause and give thanks for players with class. Thank you Ryan Ben Roethlisberger Jersey , Joe, James, Alexander, Cam.Without undermining thought #1, we’re going to be fine next year at wide receiver.Hey AB- #call God. Ramon Foster can still hear the sound of his right knee buckling underneath him.It's the first time in the Pittsburgh Steeler guard's two-plus decades playing football he'd ever heard one of his joints go "pop pop pop."Lying on the field at Saint Vincent College after the ugly collision during the opening week of training camp last month, Foster feared the worst."A lot of things go through your mind," Foster said. "You don't want to go through your whole entire career and end it on an injury or have to go to (injured reserve). I've always been a gamer. I've always been a guy that shows up."Something that Foster will continue to do for the AFC North champions now that the right knee that bent backward so awkwardly has mostly healed. The nine-year veteran practiced with his teammates on Monday for the first time since he hyperextended and suffered a bone bruise in the knee on July 28.The 32-year-old is optimistic he'll be available when the Steelers open the regular season at Cleveland on Sept. 9, though a lot of it will depend on how the knee responds to practice.Though he feels good, Foster is also being cautious. He doesn't want to rush back at the expense of his long-term health."This season is challenging," Foster said. "My goal is to be 100 percent right so I don't have to take a week off at some point for general soreness. We'll see how we feel (Tuesday)."Foster is the longest-tenured member of one of the NFL's top offensive lines. He created a role for himself after making the team as an undrafted free agent in 2009 and is entering the final season of a three-year deal he signed in 2016. He shrugged when asked if the injury ended any chance at signing a new contract before the regular season starts."We're at a point now where if it happens, it happens and if not, it's up to me to have a great season T. J. Watt Jersey ," Foster said. "The way the market is now, we'll see how it goes."Foster is simply relieved it's even an option and is well aware of how narrowly he avoided a more harrowing outcome. When coach Mike Tomlin reviewed the play during a film session with the entire team, he paused at the moment Foster's right knee bent backward awkwardly."My foot was in the ground barely turning," Foster said. "Nobody said they could look at it, so for me to be practicing today is truly a blessing."Foster has spent the majority of the past month in the trainer's room recuperating, a process he said he "hated every minute of."Still, he understands it's a small price to pay. Enormously popular with his teammates, Foster noted an uptick in chatter when he lined up on Monday."The thing I always say to myself is, 'When I'm done, I don't want to be a guy that is just someone they forget about,'" Foster said. "Clearly I've made my mark on some guys because they said practice wasn't the same. It was fun to be back."