web-20161002pdSteelersSports15-12 Le’Veon Bell rushed for 102 yards in the second half Sunday against the Chiefs.
On The Steelers: Le'Veon Bell might be better than ever
October 4, 2016 12:00 AM
By Ed Bouchette / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
You have to hand it to Le’Veon Bell — and Ben Roethlisberger did that in one form or another 23 times Sunday — that when he’s healthy, when he’s not suspended, he is the NFL’s best running back.
And, according to one veteran Steelers starter, he might be better than ever.
Miss the first three games and all those practices for skipping drug tests? Rehabbing a torn up knee since November? He was as rusty as a Ferrari Spider back on the track after a short hiatus.
ADVERTISEMENT
Bell averaged a mere 6.5 yards per carry in the first half of the Steelers’ whirlwind, 43-14 barbecue of the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday. That warm-up contained just six carries for 39 yards. He then went out and ticked off 105 yards on 12 carries in the second half.
His total: 144 yards rushing, an 8-yard average per carry and five receptions for another 34 yards.
Guard Ramon Foster, out with a chest injury, nevertheless saw something from the sideline in Bell he had not seen in his previous three years. Bell always was praised for his patience in waiting for a hole to open, picking it and hitting it.
“To me, it looks like he was more straight ahead,” said Foster, who added that’s a good thing. “Him in between tackles, his burst of speed, there wasn’t any hesitation in it. I thought he looked like a different guy.
“Now he’s one-cutting and going. Some of those runs, he was that close to being a house call. I think he switched it up a little bit, whether he wants to admit it or not. That may be just the growth of his game.”
Bell did not want to admit it.
“I don’t feel like I did. I felt I was out there just trying to find holes and do what I could. Sometimes, I feel like it was there so I have to take it, there’s no need to set up anything. The offensive line did a great job of opening up holes, so I took what I got.”
Whether his running style is evolving into something different/better, the Steelers leaned on his versatility as a receiver more Sunday night.
Bell lined up in the backfield, in the slot, in motion and split out wide like Antonio Brown. The poor Chiefs did not know where he was going, or how to stop him.
“You know, it’s hard because you treat him as a running back,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “You treat him as a wide receiver and that’s kind of what we wanted to do. He is a weapon wherever we put him. So we wanted to move him around and do some stuff, and I thought we could have even used him more in the passing game.”
Part of the plan was to pair Bell and DeAngelo Williams on occasion with Williams in the backfield and Bell split out somewhere. They did not do it all that often, but it was a start.
Bell played 88 percent of the offensive snaps, or 52 of the 59. Only the linemen and Roethlisberger played more. Williams was in for 17 offensive plays with four carries for 7 yards, including a touchdown run of 2 yards, and one catch for 2 yards.
Bell’s re-entry into the lineup was either coincidence or a big part of the reason the Steelers were able to go from three points in Philadelphia to 43 at Heinz Field in one week’s time.
“He’s the Juice,” Brown said, referring to a Bell nickname. “When he’s out there, you know what he’s going to give you and what he’s going to bring.”
Can he possibly be an improvement over the All-Pro Le’Veon Bell of 2014, when he played in all 16 regular-season games for the only time in his career (but missed their playoff loss with a knee injury)? He set the team record with 2,215 yards rushing and receiving that season. He caught 83 passes, 32 more than any back in their history.
“You name me a better back,” Foster said regarding those in the entire NFL. “You might have a speed back out there who is a straight blazer like [Shady] McCoy who can hit the corner real good. But, as far as a pure running back, I don’t see that.
“Le’Veon, I think, is the best at doing it out of the backfield, catching the ball, just making a move on the defensive linemen; there can’t be a better back, I don’t think.”
Todd Haley, their offensive coordinator, might have only touched on some of the things he plans for Bell as the season moves along.
“We had some more things in the playbook,” Tomlin said, “but other things were working, too.”
His teammates cannot wait to see what’s up their sleeves.
“That’s a position teams have almost X-ed out in a sense they might get 2-3 years out of a guy,’’ Foster said of the average NFL halfback. “But Le’Veon is one of those dudes where there’s no telling how much you can get out of him. His flexibility and him evolving at that position, not just being a runner, he’s motioning, he’s in the backfield, out of the backfield. I don’t know another dude who is doing what he’s doing.”
Ed Bouchette:
ebouchette@post-gazette.com
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/...ight-be-better-than-ever/stories/201610040060
