It was thought yesterday that the Steelers could be without rookie running back Le’Veon Bell from six to eight weeks with a sprained foot.
Mike Tomlin said today – ‘not so fast.’
Tomlin said that the back could be back a lot earlier than expected, stating that the foot will not require surgery.
He also said that for now, Bell’s foot has seen dramatic improvement from treatment, including more movements without pain in the past 48 hours.
ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter says Bell will be on the sidelines about six weeks on Wednesday, while CBS insider Jason La Canfora said it would be more like eight weeks that Bell would miss.
For now, Bell is for sure out this week vs the Chiefs, and the team is listing the injury as a mild mid-foot sprain.
In his only preseason appearance, Bell had 9 yards on four carries before the injury Monday vs the Redskins.
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DrGeorge
August 22, 2013 at 3:39 pm
Tomlin is obviously intrigued with Bell as the answer to the Steelers anemic running game. Just as he was intrigued with the now departed R. Mendenhall. He used a #2 and #1 pick on them, respectively. He has a lot of credibility invested in Bell, especially with Mendenhall having proved no better than a low-priced UFA (Isaac Redman) and a late round pick (J. Dwyer). Having made the mistake of anointing Bell before he even had one NFL carry, Tomlin’s future may now depend on whether Bell lives up to his lofty draft number.
However, Bell’s foot is not really the issue. The attention paid by Tomlin and the media to the RBs as a group is simply misplaced. Bell is not the answer to an O-line that lacks experience and talent, particularly at LT, LG, and RT. The few carries he had in the preseason against the Redskins were not inspiring, because the line simply could not move the Redskin defenders. That wasn’t Bell’s fault, or Dwyer’s. Add to that the embarrassing fact that Ben R. continues to run for his life because the line can’t pass protect, and you have a prescription for a worse season than last year. (That is not a prediction — it’s an honest assessment of our present O-line dilemma.) Note that the Steelers O-line has been mediocre since at least 2008, and Tomlin in all those years has failed to fix it.
Judging from fan comments in blogs across Steelers Nation, nobody much cares about Mr. Bell’s foot. Fans care about when the O-line is going to start making holes for the RBs and protecting the QB. Fix the O-line debacle, and any of our backs will succeed. But as long as the O-line continues to struggle, it simply doesn’t matter who runs the ball. I’ve been saying that for three years. And sadly, it’s still true.
Dave B.
August 22, 2013 at 7:31 pm
I completely agree with you on the offensive line . Youre entire offense from top to bottom hinges on that offensive line doing its job . You cant run and you cant pass block if youre lineman are getting run past like they’re not standing there . The problem I have is , I dont see a progression . Last year it was injuries . It was a revolving door , just trying to guess who was going to be in the lineup come Sunday . But now , a year later our line is healthy and we look every bit as bad now as we did then . Its a damn shame when we have a quarterback that we paid a hundred million dollars to , a couple years back , that has to run for his life every time he takes the snap from center . Bottom line , Ben is not 25 years old anymore . He’s now entering his 30’s and his body is not going to take much more of this , before he finally starts to break down . At some point , its gonna happen and then everybodys going to scratching they’re head saying , what if ?