Haley Must Resist the Temptation of Tinkering Too Much With Bell and Williams

You could hardly blame Steelers’ Offensive Coordinator Todd Haley for being excited about the return of Le’Veon Bell. Heck, all of Steelers’ Nation is absolutely smitten with that thought of Bell returning especially after that offensive outburst Sunday against the Niners.

Most offensive coordinators are mad scientists by nature and Haley is no different. The discussion this week has already started about whether we’ll see Bell in the backfield with DeAngelo Williams who has been sensational in his fill-in roll the first two weeks.

Here’s my advice; slow your roll Todd Haley.

The excitement of having Bell and Williams in a “pony backfield” is indeed exciting but Haley can’t start conjuring up new spells just yet. For starters, Bell is hardly going to be in ‘game-shape’ regardless of how many ‘six-pack selfies’ he may put on social media.

Williams is going to be needed to spell Bell especially in these first couple of weeks so while the thought of using both in the backfield is enticing, Haley must consider Bell’s stamina and a few other things as well.

If Haley, and perhaps Mike Tomlin, are so adamant about getting them on the field together then I have a suggestion. The Sunday offensive explosion was fueled by a rather simple formation but it happens to be one I love.

The Steelers scored on four straight possessions in large part due to ’11’ personnel which meant one tight end, one running back and three receivers on the field. I’ve argued for three plus seasons that anytime the Steelers go with Matt Spaeth and/or Will Johnson they just aren’t as dynamic.

With that in mind, if Haley is so inclined to put both backs on the field at the same time then I advocate the same thing Neal Coolong from DKonPittsburghSports.com said in conversation with me today. “Put Bell in the slot where the threat of the run remains strong.”

I couldn’t agree more because not only does it allow Williams the opportunity to be successful running but it also makes some difficult adjustments for opposing defenses. As we know, Bell is an excellent receiver who could be a very interesting and dangerous threat from the slot or even spread out wide.

As I said, Haley can’t be blamed for thinking of the possibilities but he also can tinker too much as we’ve seen in the past. My advice is to just keep it simple and avoid over-thinking things.