Steelers' Foster: 'I Don't Expect To Be Fined'
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan)- As Jim Colony would say, "Three in a row, look at them go."
After sinking under the .500 mark at 4-5, the Pittsburgh Steelers have reeled off three wins in a row to remain tied atop the AFC North with the Baltimore Ravens at 7-5. The most recent win came this past Sunday against the then 8-3 New York Giants, as the Steelers came away with the 24-14 victory.
For a non-divisional match-up, (and non-conference match-up for that matter), Sunday's game was very physical and emotional and at one point, Steelers guard Ramon Foster got involved in a little scuffle with Giants linebacker Kelvin Sheppard. Foster took exception to to the way Sheppard brought down his teammate Le'Veon Bell, who had 182 total yards on the night.
Foster joined "The Fan Morning Show" in his weekly spot on Tuesday and was asked whether the thought he was going to be fined for his actions.
"I don't expect to be fined, no not at all," said Foster. "Some people said I kicked the guy, I do not see a kick in that. Also, I don't think it was flagging because they knew what the guys on the Giants team were doing was wrong, Le'Veon was already down he had four guys pushing him, well it was two guys at the time and then two other guys came up and were trying to bend him back, specifically, number 91 Sheppard. So, I just didn't like the way that looked. You know, there's a certain point where safety is more important than you trying to prove a point to a guy that just ran for a 100 yards on you."
Foster and his offensive line mates helped Bell spring for some many yards and credited the coaching staff for challenging the group throughout the week.
"I also [have to] give it up for [head] coach [Mike] Tomlin and coach Munch [offensive line coach Mike Munchak] also because they threw the challenge out there early on in the week and they did it in a sideways type of fashion. They kept putting up the stats and saying "they (the Giants) hadn't done this." It was a little edge for us to get that job done."
There has been some concern about Bell's workload and the sheer volume of touches he gets per game and how that will affect him from an injury or energy standpoint. Foster said that not to worry about that.
"Le'Veon doesn't mind, one thing about Le'Veon, I think we've all seen it from his off-season training to training camp, he prepares to be the best back in the league," said Foster. "I think they workload that he has taken on is something that he enjoys right now. He's smart enough to know if its too much."
The Saturday before the game against the Giants, a video surfaced of Steelers receiver Antonio Brown and Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. together, listening to music and seeming to have a great time together. Seeing Brown fraternize with the enemy of the week bothered some Steelers fans and Foster gave his thoughts on the situation and whether he sees opponent players before the game.
"I never really do it beforehand," said Foster. "If I do, I'll stop by the hotel, I'm definitely not going to snap it, but its a different age, Snapchat it I mean. It's a different age right now, the guys in this league its all about building your brand. Those two guys are two of the hottest wide receivers in the league, if not the most popular guys in the NFL. So, its always good when they can show their friendship, they train together in the off-season and they play on the same side of the ball man, it's two offensive guys. There is no beef there, I don't think I'd be kicking it with a defensive guy, though."
"From a player perspective its okay because,like you said (Colin), the fans hate the teams more than the guys hate the players, and that's how it's always kind of been. Right now its more highlighted because all the social media and the branding of guys more than anything."
Foster also loves to see Ladarius Green making his mark in the Steelers offense.
"If there's one highlight of the season its him coming back into his own, man," Foster said. "That guy has been through a lot, starting from the time he was signed here in Pittsburgh, man, through training camp up until now. I'm just happy to see him playing and having fun with it right now, you know, he got into a little skirmish himself on the field and I was there to kind of back him up a little bit. He saw me after the game he was like, 'man, that's when I knew I was on the right team,' he was like 'that's fun right there, you know?'
You can hear the entire "Fan Morning Show" interview with Ramon Foster, including who he says are the select few on the team that could beat Ryan Shazier in a foot race, below.
