Are the Pittsburgh Steelers better off without Le’Veon Bell? One NFL coach seems to think so.
Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Wink Martindale said on Thursday that there are a lot of stats suggesting the Steelers are better without Bell on the team. He even concluded that statement with a funny crack about Bell riding a jet ski.
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
Bell’s actually been at nightclubs in Miami, Wink.
Martindale is right. The stats show that the Steelers have been more productive with James Conner at running back the first seven games of this season compared to the first seven games last season with Bell.
The #Steelers, w/ James Conner as their starting RB, are averaging 8 more ppg and have a higher 3rd down % (43.2 to 36.0) and higher red zone % (75.0 to 42.3) than they had thru 7 games last year w/ Le’Veon Bell at RB. How is Conner’s production affecting Bell’s perceived value? pic.twitter.com/rxNh6cCUh9
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) October 31, 2018
Bell is holding out over a contract dispute. He has elected to preserve his body and protect it from damage and has yet to report to the Steelers, though he needs to report soon otherwise he risks losing a year of service time towards his free agency. In the meantime, his replacement just won AFC Offensive Player of the Month for October and seems to be rendering Bell less valuable by the week. We’ll see how Conner does when he and the Steelers face Baltimore on Sunday.
