Offtopic » Browns will not face Le’Veon Bell on Sunday

The Cleveland Browns are catching a break as the Pittsburgh Steelers willb e without running back Le’Veon Bell for Sunday’s season opener at FirstEnergy Stadium.Bell and the Steelers are in a protracted contract dispute and Bell did not report in time to catch a ride on the team bus White Darren Fells Jersey , according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter:A similar situation almost played out last season, but Bell reported in time to play in the Week 1 game. The Browns shut him down, however, holding Bell to just 32 yards on 10 carries. That hasn’t always been the case as in five previous games against the Browns, Bell averaged 4.6 yards per carry while rushing for 507 yards and three touchdowns.In Bell’s place, the Browns will face second-year running back James Conner, who ran four times for 11 yards in the last year’s Week 1 matchup.Even though Bell will not be on the field, Browns defensive coordinator Gregg Williams is not taking anything for granted, according to clevelandbrowns.com:With Sunday’s weather forecast calling for rain and high winds, which should lend itself to a run-dominated game plan, not having to face Bell certainly works in the Browns favor. Welcome to Week 4 of the NFL! This weekly column includes a lot of loose ends leading up to Sunday’s game.Pokorny’s 10 Things to Watch in Week 4 - Browns and the NFL1. Respect Around the NFL: The Browns getting that first win last week over the Jets was a big step forward. No longer does that lingering thought exist in other teams’ minds that “we can’t be the team that loses to the Browns.” Cleveland shot up in the power rankings. Pro Football Focus predicted the Browns to win in nearly a clean sweep among their analysts:It feels fantastic. We have suffered through plenty of miserable seasons, but in particular http://www.authenticsclevelandbrowns.com/cheap-trevon-coley-jersey , the first two years under Hue Jackson’s watch tested our patience more than ever before. An awesome comeback by Baker Mayfield was all I needed last week to believe in this team again. Even if Mayfield ends up having some rookie woes, he can stay in games with this defense the Browns have — can you believe the most points they’ve allowed in a single game is 21 points?2. Color Rush Uniforms: Who else thought the color rush uniforms the Browns debuted in Week 3 against the Jets were awesome? It really makes me look forward to 2020, when the team revamps the current uniforms yet again. As far as wearing the color rush uniforms again, you won’t have to wait long for them again. According to Daryl Ruiter of 92.3 the Fan, Cleveland will wear them two more times in 2018: in Week 5 against the Baltimore Ravens at home, and then one more time later in the season.3. Oakland’s Pass Rush is Non-Existent: Imagine if the Browns, a few years from now, just said, “Sure, we will trade Myles Garrett away,” while having no one even close on the roster to replace him. That’s what the Raiders did with Khalil Mack, and their pass rush has suffered across the board.Oakland’s defense has 3 sacks Youth Denzel Ward Jersey , an NFL-low. Oakland only generates a sack on 3.26% of pass attempts, also an NFL-low. To compare, the Browns generate a sack on 8.41% of pass attempts.Per PFF data compiled by the Buffalo News, Oakland has generated pressure on 19 of 98 dropbacks in 2018 (19.4%), a mark that is the worst in the NFL. To compare, the Browns generate pressure 28.8% of the time.DE Bruce Irvin was once a decent pass-rushing threat with the Seahawks. He talked about the team’s current struggles in that department, but fans have questioned the lack of effort he gives on gameday:4. Haley & Hue - Trick Play Discrepancy: I’m not trying to make something out of nothing here — I just find this amusing, that is all. In Hue Jackson’s post-game press conference right after beating the Jets, he was asked about Cleveland’s successful two-point conversion looking similar to the Eagles’ “Philly Special.” Here was his response:And then here is what offensive coordinator Todd Haley said this week, when asked if the play was borrowed from the Eagles:5. Lots of Chances: Browns fans are stoked about the win over the Jets, but this team must continue making progress. The grind doesn’t stop here. Just think about some of the breaks that Cleveland had go their way against the Jets. Cleveland’s first two-point try failed before the aforementioned “Cleveland Special.” The league reportedly apologized to the Jets for the bad call.Cleveland also had the Jets drop a would-be interception on Baker Mayfield’s first drive and recovered a fumble by Mayfield; not turning it over either time resulted in 3 points. In the fourth quarter, Duke Johnson’s fumble was somehow recovered by Rashard Higgins http://www.authenticsclevelandbrowns.com/cheap-joe-schobert-jersey , but that could’ve left the Browns’ comeback just short if the Jets had recovered it.One big step toward becoming a winning team, though, is that you do prevail despite these types of things. Whether things go your way or not, you still play your game and finish in the best way possible.6. The Browns Have Avoided Penalties: The talk of the NFL these first three weeks has been the awful roughing the passer penalties that have been called. Through three weeks, though, the Browns have actually been pretty good in that department, as defensive coordinator Gregg Williams points out:Through three weeks, the Browns have had 20 penalties total called on them, which is below the league average. They have been especially better the past two weeks, where they only have 9 total penalties. 2 of those were on offense, 3 on defense, and 4 on special teams.7. Draw Play Dave Adds Baker Mayfield: Shout out to Draw Play Dave Youth Baker Mayfield Jersey , who always does great NFL illustrations and just came out with one that adds QB Baker Mayfield to the long list of Browns quarterbacks since 1999:8. Kicker Concerns: One big factor to think about with Cleveland is that kicker Greg Joseph is still very much an uncertain. Here is what special teams coordinator Amos Jones said about him this week:9. NFL Week 4 Picks: I went 10-6 in Week 3, improving to 29-17-2 on the season. Here are my Week 4 picks.10. Predicting the Browns’ Week 4 Inactives: I predict the following players will be inactive for Sunday’s game against the Raiders:Projected Inactives: QB Tyrod Taylor, WR Rod Streater, TE Seth DeValve, DE Devaroe Lawrence, LB James Burgess, LB D’Juan Hines, and CB Tavierre Thomas.I think Taylor will be inactive because of his back issues. Streater is still the newest receiver; he won’t be needed on gameday when Damion Ratley and Derrick Willies can already play. I’d like to see DeValve active over Orson Charles, but don’t know if he’s healthy enough yet. Burgess is out, and Hines was just signed as insurance. Custom Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jerseys