Both the good and bad news for Le'Veon Bell and the Steelers is that he may indeed enter the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program after he was charged with driving under the influence.
The ARD was created years ago for first-time offenders of nonviolent crimes and once the program is completed, the accused has his record expunged.
That is, it is wiped off his criminal record. His standing with the NFL is another case.
Bell faces a two-game suspension by the NFL, even if he agrees to go into the ARD program and his legal record is expunged. The NFL considers any plea-bargain agreement - which is basically what ARD is - a conviction and under the new drug and alcohol policy passed this year, commissioner Roger Goodell can suspend Bell for two games.
A spokesman for the NFL acknowledged that a DUI, whether it's from alcohol or marijuana, is subject to the following:
"The commissioner will review and may impose a fine, suspension or other appropriate discipline if a player is convicted of or admits to a violation of the law (including within the context of a diversionary program, deferred adjudication, disposition of supervision or similar arrangement including but not limited to nolo contendere) relating to the use of alcohol" and, he subsequently clarified, marijuana.
The league's new drug policy carries a two-game suspension upon a conviction or plea agreement for a DUI. The league wanted to be able to discipline a player immediately upon his arrest for DUI, but the NFL Players Association would not agree to that. Thus, unless Bell comes to a plea agreement before this season ends, he would not face a suspension until next season, most likely the first two games.
Bell leads the AFC with 542 yards rushing.
For the sake of the city ... win!
Ike Taylor is not used to this; not used to not playing and definitely not used to not winning. After consecutive 8-8 seasons and a 3-3 start to this one, he's not quite sure what to say.
"It's hard for me to talk about it," said Taylor, who is doing what he can as he waits for his broken right forearm to heal. "Like I really don't know what to say. It's just hard to talk about.
"Something has to happen, man. We have to turn this thing around. We have the tools to do it. We just have to be consistent. When you're inconsistent, you're going to win some and lose some. This is the NFL. It doesn't happen like that. There's no such thing as win some and lose some. You want to be at the top of your division, at least put yourself in the playoff hunt every year."
Taylor has been around since 2003, his rookie season and only losing one with the Steelers, so he has an idea how people here react when the team does not meet their expectations, like this season. Fans are upset.
"As they should be," said Taylor, who has his own talk show and provides color on broadcasts of the Pittsburgh Power Arena Football League team. "They're allowed to be upset. And you can't be mad at that, can't be mad at that at all."
The Steelers play three consecutive home games starting Monday night at Heinz Field with the Houston Texans and Taylor said of his teammates: "Three home games - if you don't want to do it for yourself, you need these three home games for the fans because they're just as hungry as we are. They're just like us. They're spoiled like me. They're used to doing good at home, doing OK on the road. They're used to playing in the playoffs. They're used to talking smack. The economy is booming when we win. Everybody is smiling, small businesses start to pick up. In this town, it's a domino effect.
"That's what the young guys have to understand. I've been here long enough to see what our wins do to the city. We have to turn this stuff around."
Stats on Worilds don't lie
Jason Worilds said this week that he is not getting as many chances to rush the passer because his coaches have him covering receivers more often.
In fact, his chances to rush the quarterback have been reduced considerably. Pro Football Focus breaks down every play for every player and lists whether a defender rushes the quarterback, covers a receiver or plays the run on every play.
In passing situations only, they have Worilds rushing the quarterback 128 times and covering passes 96 times through six games. That means he rushes 57.1 percent of the time when the opponent passes. The three outside linebackers who have played on the right side this season for the Steelers have rushed the quarterback 135 times and covered 89 times or 60.2 percent of the times.
Those percentages of rushing the passer are way down. Consider that in 2013, Worilds rushed the passer 378 times and covered on 100 plays, according to PFF. That meant he rushed 79 percent of the time last season. In 2012, LaMarr Woodley rushed 64.5 percent and James Harrison rushed 62.1 percent.
The breakdown on the rushes by the three right outside linebackers this season go like this, according to PFF: Jarvis Jones 39 rushes, 47 covers for 45.3 percent rushes; Arthur Moats 67-29 for 69.8 percent; and James Harrison 29-13 for 69 percent.
First Published: October 19, 2014, 4:00 a.m.
Updated: October 19, 2014, 7:40 p.m.
