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Steelers hope to build on NFL’s top rushing attack

5 min read
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PITTSBURGH – Three games does not a season make.

But three games can certainly show the start of a trend. For the Steelers that trend is one they haven’t seen since 2001.

Pittsburgh currently has the No. 1 rushing attack in the NFL, averaging 163.3 yards per game.

For the Steelers (2-1), a big part of that has been the emergence of second-year running back Le’Veon Bell as one of the top players at his position in the league.

Bell leads the NFL in total yards from scrimmage with 461 (315 rushing, 146 receiving) and is coming off a career-high 147-yard rushing effort Sunday at Carolina.

“I don’t use special very often, but I think you could use that with him and his play,” said Lovie Smith, head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-3), who will be tasked with trying to shut down Pittsburgh’s rushing attack Sunday at Heinz Field.

“I think he’s a special running back and as good a running back as there is in the league. Of course, he has good size but he has quick feet. He has the feet of a small back, can make you miss in the open field, can run in between the tackles (and) has good hands. There’s not much the guy can’t do. We will definitely have our hands full this week with him.”

Bell has been good. But the Steelers’ offensive line also has been a big part of the equation.

The Steelers spent several years attempting to rebuild their offense line, using a number of high draft picks on linemen, including first-round selections on center Maurkice Pouncey and guard David DeCastro.

Pittsburgh also added offensive line coach Mike Munchak, a Hall of Fame player and former head coach with the Tennessee Titans, in the offseason.

But the Steelers couldn’t have foreseen this kind of complete makeover. Coming off a 264-yard rushing effort against Carolina – its best total under head coach Mike Tomlin – the Steelers are averaging nearly twice as many yards rushing as they did last year, when they were 27th in the league at just 86.4 yards per game.

For a team that hasn’t ranked higher than 11th running in rushing since finishing 2007 third in the league, it’s a big step.

“It’s only three games but we had high expectations,” said DeCastro. “We have got to keep it going and be able to maintain that and stay at the top.”

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said the big rushing effort last week came as a result of a poor performance by the team the previous week in a lackluster 26-6 loss at Baltimore. The Steelers were effective running the ball, gaining 99 yards on just 18 carries, but had to get away from their run game after falling behind.

The offensive line, in particular, was upset that Roethlisberger was sacked twice and took some big hits in that game.

“They took a lot of pride and a lot of hurt to the Baltimore game, so I think they kind of put all that into a little ball of rage and took it out on Carolina,” Roethlisberger said.

So did Bell and backup LeGarrette Blount. Both rushed for more than 100 yards against the Panthers, becoming the first duo to accomplish that feat for the Steelers since Earnest Jackson and Walter Abercrombie in 1986.

While the 250-pound Blount is a straight-ahead, power runner, Bell, who has trimmed down to 225 pounds after playing at 240 in college, has shown a unique patience, allowing his blocks to set up before hitting a hole.

“It’s interesting, sometimes you turn around (after a handoff) and see him almost standing completely still, but the patience he has as a young runner is unbelievable,” Roethlisberger said.

DeCastro said that style is perfectly complimenting what the line is doing.

“It’s great to have a guy like that back there, who has a sense of how to set up blocks and knows where to run, how to help you out in terms of setting guys up,” he said.

It all seems to be coming together for the Steelers, who have preached for years about having balance on offense but have seldom accomplished that goal.

Despite scoring only six points against Baltimore, the Steelers rank fifth in the league in total offense.

“We couldn’t run the ball as inefficiently as we did last year,” said offensive coordinator Todd Haley. “I think it’s just been a process, and we are making good progress. We just have to keep building and getting better.”

Wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey returned to practice Thursday after sitting out Wednesday with an illness. … Running back Dri Archer (ankle) and guard Ramon Foster (ankle) both made it through practice for the second consecutive day after missing the Carolina game. … When asked if he felt linebacker James Harrison, who was signed Tuesday, would be active Sunday, defensive coordiantor Dick LeBeau said, “I don’t think Mike (Tomlin) brought him back not to dress him.”

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