In our pre-season prediction thread I said that I expected Bell to have a potential pro bowl season.
After one game, maybe we’re talking all-pro. After the game played so far (with 2 more coming tonight) Le’Veon Bell is 3rd in the NFL in rushing, and leads all running backs in receiving yards.
Obviously… it’s extremely early and those rankings don’t mean much, but the point is Le’Veon Bell has the skill-set to be one of the best backs in the NFL.
As a ball-carrier yesterday, I was most impressed by Bell’s patience and vision. There were about 5 times during the game where I thought Bell was going to be tackled for a loss, only for him to find a hole and pick up 5 yards.
I thought he did a fantastic job of waiting for his blocks, but not “dancing” in the backfield too much.
We also saw plenty of what we already knew, which was that Bell is a huge threat in the passing game as well, catching 6 passes for 88 yards.
There was some thoughts that LaGarette Blount could eat into Bell’s playing time, but if yesterday was any indication, then Blount will be more of a situational back.
Blount had the kind of red-zone run we haven’t seen since Jerome Bettis retired… and was brought in on a 3rd and 1 play that he failed to convert… However, it was a bad playcall that was the reason for the failed conversion, not Blount.
There was certainly plenty of cause for concern with the Steelers as a team in week 1, but I was really excited with what I saw from Bell and the running game as a whole.
Many people were upset when the Steelers selected Bell over the bruising Eddie Lacy, but the Steelers may have grabbed one of the most well-rounded backs in the league instead.
