By Chris Mueller
http://www.timesonline.com/sports
October 5, 2016
(AP Photo/Jared Wickerham). Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell (26) rushes past Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Dadi Nicolas (52) during the second half of an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016.
Was it one of his catches out of the backfield? Was it one of the pedestrian plays he made, like effortlessly picking up an oncoming pass rusher and neutralizing a threat to Ben Roethlisberger? Or was it his spectacular run when the game was already decided — the vintage one, where he took what appeared to be a complete absence of space and seemed to teleport forty yards downfield?
Whatever your particular moment was, the realization probably put a smile on your face, at least if you root for the Steelers.
Le’Veon Bell is back. It is appropriate, too, that his return happened with Halloween mere weeks off, because he conjures up nightmares for opposing defenses and their coordinators.
It isn’t just that Bell dismantles defensive game plans. It is the way he does it that both thrills Steelers fans and flummoxes those tasked with stopping him. If a hole isn’t there, he waits until one is. If one never materializes, he churns out a few yards.
If a defender tries to take him out head on, he jukes them into an alternate universe. If someone breaks down early to try and anticipate one of his moves, he lowers a shoulder and runs them over. If he gets into the open field, his speed is plenty good enough to go the distance.
If he catches a screen pass, there exists the very real possibility that he will nimbly pick his way through the secondary and rip off a huge chunk of yardage. If he splits out like a wide receiver, only the number on his jersey belies the fact that he isn’t one by trade.
Le’Veon Bell gives the Steelers options. He gives them flexibility. He makes them nearly indefensible. An offense flush with weapons got perhaps its most dangerous one back.
The other thing, of course, is that after a tentative first series, Bell looked better than ever. He had burst, his vision was preternatural, and his ability to make people miss sublime. He looked like the best running back in the league, which is of course exactly what he is, when healthy.
It isn’t an overstatement to say that a healthy Bell is the difference between the Steelers fizzling out in the playoffs at some point or winning the Super Bowl. He’s that special.
The suspension that frustrated so many Steelers fans was probably forgotten sometime in the second quarter against Kansas City. Bell’s teammates, for one reason or another, have stood steadfastly in his corner during the whole ordeal, never giving him the Martavis Bryant treatment. Maybe his situation really is different, or maybe they simply know how important he is—even more so than Bryant, who is arguably a top-five receiver in the league in terms of natural physical gifts.
DeAngelo Williams has been a great story in his season plus wearing black and gold. He has been everything the team could possibly have hoped for in a backup, and plenty more. But any arguments about seriously divvying up touches between the two backs had to have evaporated after watching Bell. Seeing him at his best is like seeing someone playing a different game.
He is matchup hell for every team that lines up across from him, a chess grandmaster seeing a wild churn of moving bodies seemingly in slow motion, calculating moves several steps ahead. He can slice and dice like a surgeon, or destroy like a battering ram. He humiliates linebackers, safeties and cornerbacks in equal measure, and all in unique ways.
Perhaps you were frustrated by his latest transgression, or got caught up in what DeAngelo Williams was doing, or maybe it was a simply a case of “out of sight, out of mind”. Maybe Le’Veon Bell was off your radar. No more.
Le’Veon Bell is back. Pray for the rest of the NFL.
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