Ravens DC hilariously shades Le’Veon Bell, says Steelers do better without him
“Will Le’Veon Bell ever report?”
That’s the question everyone has been asking since Bell staged a contract holdout and declined to report to the Pittsburgh Steelers all those months ago. But now there’s a different question in the air:
Do the Steelers want Bell to report?
That question is not about money, or Bell’s contract, or his decision to not sign his franchise tender. It’s about what’s happening on the field. Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale summed it up nicely in a single quote.
Ravens defensive coordinator Wink Martindale on absent Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell: "There are a lot of stats [since 2015] that the Steelers are actually better without him. That might be why he’s riding a jet ski down in Miami right now."
— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) November 1, 2018
If Bell needs a break from that hot Miami sun, Martindale’s got some shady, shady shade for him. But is he right? Are the Steelers better without Bell, and is that why they’re in no hurry to pay him and get him back on the field?
An astute Twitter user responded with some stats from just last week.
— Billy Hartford 4-2-1 (@MikeTomlinFan) November 1, 2018
There is improvement. However, those stats may not be the only reason the Steelers are fine with Bell waterskiing on the backs of happy dolphins in Miami, or whatever it is that he’s doing. James Conner, the second-year running back the Steelers tabbed to replace Bell, has been an absolute revelation.
Conner has played in seven games for the Steelers, and if you look at Bell’s performance through the first seven games of 2017, Conner is outpacing him. Conner has nine touchdowns, while Bell had just four. Conner is getting more yards per rush than Bell (4.7 to 4.1), and more yards per reception (10.4 to 6.5). Oh, and Conner just earned himself the AFC Offensive Player of the Month award.
Week 5️⃣:
25 touches
185 yards from scrimmage
2 TDWeek 6️⃣:
23 touches
129 yards from scrimmage
2 TDWeek 8️⃣:
29 touches
212 yards from scrimmage
2 TDWell-deserved, @JamesConner_. 👏 pic.twitter.com/JZcHP5zCE0
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) November 1, 2018
.@JamesConner_ is the 1st Steelers player since 1950 to have 2+ rush TD in 3 straight games
The last time a player had a streak of at 4+ games with 2+ rush TD was @LT_21, who had an 8-game streak in 2006
LT set the single-season rush TD record in 2006 and was the MVP#Steelers
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) October 31, 2018
Run through all the best @NFL RBs in your head. Then guess who has forced the most missed tackles this year.
That’s right: James Conner. He’s forced 26 missed tackles on rushes, 20 on catches. That’s a missed tackle on 28.9% of his touches, the highest of 54 RBs w/ 50 touches.
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) November 1, 2018
Not to mention that he comes without a massive contract demand and a months-long holdout.
Comparing stats head-to-head isn’t really fair to Bell. He has played five seasons in the NFL (obviously not including 2018), and provides more than what the numbers show both on and off the field. But as long as Conner is coming even close to matching Bell’s recent output, it’s hard to imagine the Steelers rushing to give Bell the contract he wants.
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Liz Roscher is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at lizroscher@yahoo.com or follow her on Twitter at @lizroscher.
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