Even though he was forced to sit out the first three games of the regular season due to a suspension, Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell will enter Week 14 with 1,318 all-purpose yards which currently has him ranked fifth overall in the league in that statistical category. With that said, former NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb had an interesting comment about Bell during a Monday morning interview on ESPN Radio’s ‘Mike & Mike’ show.
“Le’Veon Bell’s been running the football, but it hasn’t been the Le’Veon Bell that we’ve seen over the years,” McNabb said.
Are McNabb’s comments justified? Also, is he only talking about Bell as a ball carrier?
I guess if you looked at Bell’s average yards per carry so far this season (4.5) and compared it to his 4.9 average that he posted last season before going down injured, you could make an argument that his ground production is down. With that said, as of Sunday, Bell has now registered 100 yards from scrimmage in four consecutive games for the Steelers and in eight of his nine games played in 2016.
Sure, Bell only has one run of 20 yards or longer so far this season, but he has managed to register 3 receptions that resulted in explosive plays. Bell is more than just a ball carrier for the Steelers and McNabb should certainly know that by now. As a whole, the only real negative thing that I can say about Bell right now is that he needs to protect the football better as he’s now fumbled four times so far this season.
Moving past McNabb’s comments about Bell, the former quarterback also said during his Monday interview that he believes the Baltimore Ravens will ultimately wind up winning the AFC North division this year.
“I think they’re going to win the AFC North,” McNabb said. “I do, I really do, because Pittsburgh has been so shaky this season.”
While the Steelers have indeed been shaky at times this season, you really can say the same thing about the Ravens and especially when it comes to how their offense has played. Remember, this is a Ravens team that lost four games in a row earlier in the season. I think we’ll get a good idea of what kind of team the Ravens really are next Sunday when they go on the road to play the New England Patriots.
McNabb also gave one other reason as to why he thinks the Ravens will ultimately beat out the Steelers in the AFC North this year.
“Defensively, it seems at times they [the Steelers] forget how to tackle,” McNabb said.
