Bell year two

Lets talk about something other than deflated balls. I'm curious to get the boards opinion did the leap Bell took in his second year come from natural progression of a highly talented player, a better understanding of his role and the playbook, a new running backs coach, an offensive line that stayed healthy and intact for most of the season with out major injury? Is it a combination of all of these?

I am reluctant to pin a lot of credit on the new running backs coach because while he was AP's coach in Minnesota and we all know what Peterson did coming back from what typically is an injury that slows all players not just running backs but because while Bell improved by leaps and bounds that same progress was not seen by all the RB's on the Steelers roster. Something can be made of the fact that they are of lesser talent than Bell so perhaps his coaching couldn't improve them quite as much. I think the playoff game showcased that the coaching staff had very little confidence in the effectiveness of these backs.

The line staying healthy definitely contributed as did having Miller and Spaeth healthy for most of the season. I think the play calling and getting Bell involved as a threat in the passing game also helped his progression. All in all I think he benefited from help in all areas of the game and it doesn't hurt that he is extremely talented.

 

With time he certainly should improve, but I think he made a greater leap than i would have expected. That combined with the consistency of the OL put the whole package together. And a nice package it is.

 

1. He's a beast, and everything slows down in year two.
2. A better, healthier OL (and a good OL coach - certainly a bigger difference maker than the RB coach)
3. A better passing game (also OL related).

That's my take. Did he drop weight between seasons? He looked quicker to me, but lost none of his power.

 

IMO, Bell, along with a weak schedule, has fooled Steelers fans into believing OL has improved. Bell improved greatly, but it wasn't thanks to a still below average OL.

 

Wow, I don't believe I've heard that opinion before. I thought they were much better, in both phases of the game.

1. LT - Beachum was solid in pass protection, like he was at the end of last year (he was not like that earlier, and before that was Mike Adams). I also think he did much better in the running game.
2. LG - Foster was probably the same.
3. C - Pouncey > Velasco/Wallace, no matter what anyone says. And it's not close.
4. RG - DeCastro's season #3 was his best.
5. RT - After the first couple of crappy weeks, Gilbert made big strides. I'm positive it's Munchak-related.

I think we improved at 4 out of 5 spots, and held steady at the other. And we were healthy.

 

Pouncey and Decastro are obviously good, but everyone else on that line could be replaced. Improved maybe, but still not good enough.

 

Improved, definitely. And anyone can be replaced, but not easily. You can't just throw all your resources at one position and expect to be competitive. Last year we got good play from an OL that included a 7th rounder and an UDFA. For a team that drafts well at basically all positions except a couple (OL and CB), we should be thrilled at their performance.

 

Thrilled? Did you watch those guys play in the most recent playoff game? They are a big reason why we lost.

 

Yeah, it was awful. It was reminiscent of every game they ever played from 2008-2013. See where I'm going with this?

 

Actually no, I don't. I don't think we're all that better than any of those years. We have 2 good players, everyone else should be replaced if not for the fact that we have so many holes on defence. When it comes to the playoffs, we're going to be going against other top teams in the league. With the Oline playing like they did, we won't go far in the playoffs. Ben is not the same Ben of 2008 where he can avoid pressure and make ridiculous plays. He is less mobile than he was in his younger years. It's very rare for a team to go far in the playoffs with poor Oline play. The only reason we did in the past was Ben's ability to escape and our top notch defence.

 

Bell losing weight before the season was a big reason he was much improved in his second season IMO.

 

Seriously? I guess this is an impasse. I know they played badly in the playoff game (along with lots of other parts of our team, I might add), but if you didn't see an improvement in 2014 compared to years past... I don't even know how to finish that sentence.

 

It appears to me the OL did improve .My 3 keepers are Beachum,Pouncey, and Decastro. I think the biggest improvement was the way Haley used Bell he kept D'S off guard and he used Decastro to pull a lot more and it's about time.

I just hope that knee doesn't effect him . I am sure it will or has healed fine physically , but you never know how a player will react mentally from something they have never experienced before.

 

You may have witnessed an improvement, and I'll admit there was some level of improvement from previous years, but a big reason why they looked much better was thanks to Bell. With him being such a weapon out of the backfield, this really slowed the pass rush. The pressure was still there, but Ben was able to dump it off to Bell for big gains. This kept the defence on their heels a lot. We saw what happened with no Bell, the Oline crumpled.

Another reason they looked so much better is we played against a lot of weak teams this year. We had a very easy schedule, this of course will help average players look better than they are. We need to improve the OL if we want to go far in the playoffs. You can say they improved, but we still have 3 mediocre players on the line. That's not good enough.

 

OL definitely improved... there were plays Ben seemed to have all the time in the world. Not as often as we would like but definitely an improvement over last season. Without an improved OL there's no way Ben has those two games.

Decastro is only getting better! My guess is this comes from coaching and greater personal knowledge of the game since he doesn't have any major physical flaws. It's easy to imagine positional dominance and a pro bowl in his near future.

As for Bell... what a player! This kid can do it all. He's a game changer. NO DOUBT. To answer the OP on improvement... it stems from a combination of raw talent + experience (touches)/line coaching. The line opened more holes than the past few years and Bell certainly became an individual threat by creating his own opportunities. How can anyone not be excited about this guy?!

We've just got to keep him healthy. Only RB regret... having a Blount "type" player behind him could have been an excellent combination (hated the way that played out).

 

Well he could run faster with a deflated football I bet

 

I thought they were much improved and the good news is our new coach doesn't need first rounders to be successful.

 

Why? Less air to carry?

 

AIR?
he shooting blanks ?

Bell's a bust

we decided this last year

GREEN FONT

 

The RB can certainly make a back look better than they are and a back can make the o line look better than they are. The pats can have rb by committee because they have a great o line. We CAN'T have a rb by committee because we DON'T have a great o line. I think Bell is a really great rb and it's more his vision than any other aspect of his game that makes him a true joy to watch. He's just really fun to watch run because he just seems to run in slow motion and almost "dissect" the plays on the fly much like a qb does at the line. Bell is not the fastest dude you'll ever see but he's shifty and with his vision it makes him a really special player. I absolutely can not wait to watch him for many years to come. I fully expect to see him hoist a Lombardi. His other great attribute is his pass protecting skills and then his route running skills. He's just a gamer and it shows. Colbert can be criticized for many things but this pick was an absolute homerun.

 

My concern now will be if he can overcome the fear. I almost wish the camera didn't capture that look when he was on the table where you could see he was scared it was a major injury. I hope he can bottle that up and run like a superman that young people think they are.

 

I still warn when some of this board thinks we are well set on offense. one injury can cripple it without quality depth. we saw it when bell went down and we saw it the year before when heath was injured. we are by no means done on offense yet with adding quality.

 

I get that BF but we can't let good players go by in the draft as some have talked about because of the past successes. it's a continuing evolution if we want to end up with the prize we all want. it's not enough to just pick up a guy in the 6th or 7th round to fill in with and try to get by with just the starting 11. big mistake. especially at RB or any skill position. these guys don't last forever.