50 days to go. Bell and Gordon news @FootbawlTips

50 days left until football starts again, and although its meant to be the quiet season its been a busy few days.

Starting last week with LeVeon Bell missing a drugs test, which means he fails and is therefore due to be suspended for 4 games at the start of the season, at least it stops one of the Bengals injuring him again this year. Although it doesn’t necessarily mean that he has been smoking weed (which seems most likely) he has previously been suspended for the same offence so it’s probably reasonable to assume that’s why he avoided the test. And therefore, totally void of personal bias, he deserves the ban. Unfortunately it doesn’t change my opinion in the Steelers winning the division, Williams is a more than capable backup and will put up some very good numbers in the first 4 games, there wont be much drop off in their production despite Bell being in a league of his own at that position.

At the other end of the spectrum, former Baylor kid Josh Gordon looks like he’ll team up with his college team-mate Robert Griffin III back at Cleveland as he’s been reinstated by the big man Roger Goodell after a year out serving suspensions for driving while impaired and then violating the substance abuse rules multiple times, also failing a drugs test after applying to be allowed back in the league earlier this year. The Browns also invoked their own suspension for him for violation team rules. Great news for Cleveland, a city that earlier this year broke a curse in Basketball and may now finally be in for a better time in sports! Well, they’ll still finish bottom of the AFC North, but they might actually be better to watch with such a big talent starting at WR providing he can pick up Huw Jackson’s playbook and prove his fitness, and stay away from perpetual failure Jonny Football. A few big IFs but you’d hope he’s got his shit together and realised this is probably his last chance. He was the first player to get 200 receiving yards in consecutive games, ended the season as the leading receiver with 1646 yards. Surely this can only be good news for the beleaguered factory of sadness.