Le’Veon Bell was lost for the season last year in Week 8 when he suffered a torn MCL against the Cincinnati Bengals. If you remember, several Pittsburgh Steelers players took exception to the way Vontaze Burfict reacted when Bell went down. While Bell clearly feels there was some intent from Burfict, he says the Bengals linebacker is not the only one who plays that way.
Taking part in team drills on Tuesday for the first time since injuring his knee, Bell spoke to reporters about Bengals defenders targeting him.
“I don’t think it was just (Burfict); it was like the whole team was really out there trying to like twist my ankles and do little dirty stuff in between the piles,” the running back said, via Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “I feel like there’s a lot of teams that do that, try to take me out of the game.”
When asked which teams aside from the Bengals do “dirty stuff,” as he said, Bell chose not to point any direct fingers.
“Umm, a couple, but obviously a lot of teams in our division really play that same way, so obviously I know that,” he said. “I just was kind of ignorant to that at first because I didn’t think people played like that.”
Burfict has a reputation for playing dirty. Ben Roethlisberger said last season that he believed Burfict intentionally dove at his knees on this play, and no one would be surprised if Big Ben was right.
The bottom line is Bell is a true difference-maker when he’s on the field. The Steelers have to find a way to keep him healthy, even if opponents are targeting him. We saw how good they can be without him last season. We know they are even better with him.
