At the end of the 2013 season it appeared the Steelers had their answer at the Running Back position with a very good season from Le’Veon Bell.
The Steelers didn’t sit idly in the off-season though, bringing in some thunder and lightening in the form of LaGarette Blount and Dri Archer.
We didn’t see a whole lot of the Steelers gameplan with the starters on Saturday night, but it did look like each man will have his own role within the Steelers offense.
Sophomore Le’Veon Bell obviously lined up behind Ben Roethlisberger with the first team offense.
Bell looked strong on the few carries he received on the first drive. He also showed off his versatility catching one ball for 6 yards.
The second year man will be the workhorse in this offense, as he should be. I would say something like 1,600 yards of total offense from Bell is not out of the realm of possibility.
Despite the production from Bell, the Steelers were wise to bring in a competent backup to spell him, which they lacked last year.
LaGarette Blount wasn’t all that impressive in the few carries he received, but it was telling that he received his carries inside the 20 yard line.
I thought that it was also interesting that Blount was quickly pulled from the game in the first quarter. This also seems to indicate that the Steelers are planning a more significant role than Jonathan Dwyer or Felix Jones had last year.
I guess that the label of a running back is a loose one in the case of rookie Dri Archer, but I don’t think anyone really cares what the program says as long as Archer makes plays like his 46 yard gain on a screen pass early Saturday night.
Antonio Brown was once the Steelers’ jack of all trades, but now he’s an elite NFL wide receiver. He’s too valuable to continue to play special teams.
Dri Archer will (hopefully) fill that role now for Pittsburgh.
People love to hate Todd Haley, but it appears that he’s starting to get the pieces to fit his system.
