Bell good as gold for Steelers
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Note to the Steelers: Whatever Le’Veon Bell wants this offseason when his contract talks begin, with all due respect to the movie “Rounders,” pay that man his money.
There have been a lot of great players who have worn a Steelers uniform. In fact, 21 former Steelers players have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
None has had a stretch of games quite like the Bell has put together in the second half of this season and into the playoffs.
Heading into Sunday night’s playoff game at Kansas City, an 18-16 win by the Steelers that sends them on to the AFC Championship next Sunday in New England, Bell had rushed for 1,002 yards in his past seven games, an average of 143 per contest.
He set the team playoff record with 167 yard rushing in last week’s 30-12 opening-round win over Miami in his first career postseason game.
And he’s still just 24 years old and seemingly getting better each year.
He followed that up by breaking his own record with 170 yards against the Chiefs.
“I didn’t even know,” said Bell. “I was just out there running the ball and then somebody told me. I didn’t know how many yards I had.”
We all know about his suspensions for violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy that have caused him miss the start of the past two seasons.
That caused some to call for the Steelers to cut him this year. How short-sighted does that opinion now appear?
The Steelers believe in Bell. They believe he’s a good person who made some mistakes.
Perhaps more important, his teammates believe in him, so much so they voted him the team’s MVP for this season.
And it’s hard to argue that he shouldn’t have been.
With the Steelers lacking in consistent offensive weapons opposite Brown, Bell was relied on more than ever before.
And he responded with the best stretch of offensive production of an offensive player in team history.
With his team-record 170 rushing yards against the Chiefs on 30 carries, he has 1,172 yards rushing in his final eight games.
More important, he set an NFL record for a player in his first two playoff games with 337 yards, eclipsing the mark of Arian Foster, who had 285 yards rushing in his first two postseason games for Houston.
“He’s the best in the league at what he does. There ain’t no denying it,” said right tackle Marcus Gilbert. “When we go on the road, he’s unstoppable. As long as we do our job up front and Ben (Roethlisberger) puts us in good positions, we’ll get the job done.”
Bell created something of a firestorm last summer when he released a rap song that included the line, “I’m at the top and if not I’m the closest, I’ma need 15 a year and they know this.”
Bell later backed off that statement, but given his performance this year, that kind of money isn’t out of the question.
The Steelers also could place the franchise tag on him. In 2016, that would have cost $11.789 million. That will likely go up over $12 million, but Bell is worth every penny of that and the Steelers should get him signed to a long-term deal.
If the Steelers are going to have a chance to beat the Patriots next Sunday, it will be the legs of Bell that will be needed to get the job done.
Roethlisberger might still be the quarterback and leader of this team, but it’s Bell and the offensive line that makes everything work.
“I can’t say enough about the offensive line,” said Bell. “There were times when I was getting the ball and getting six, seven yards before I was even touched.”
The Steelers have, by and large, paid their offensive linemen. Four of the five starters are on their second contract with the team. Only left tackle Alejandro Villanueva, a second-year starter, is the only one who hasn’t gotten that new contract.
Now, it’s Bell’s turn.
He gives them a chance to win every game because when he’s carrying the football, the other team’s offense is standing on the sidelines.
Think that will be important against Tom Brady?
Think that’s important enough moving forward to give Bell a new contract?
The thinking here is most certainly.
Dale Lolley can be reached at dlolley@observer-reporter.com