METAIRIE, La. (AP) -Mike Bell had trouble staying on an NFL roster in 2008. He had to ask to come off the field during the New Orleans Saints’ 2009 season opener.
Bell wasn’t expecting to get 28 carries for a career-high 143 yards while working as Reggie Bush’s backup against the Detroit Lions.
The resurgent Bell thanked the Saints’ coaching staff for the confidence they placed in him, then lambasted himself for running out of gas.
“I can’t get tired in the game,” Bell said. “They want me to be able to run the ball consistently, back-to-back. … The offensive line did a great job. You have got to put the team first and I have got to get in better shape. I am putting that on my shoulders.”
Bell also criticized himself for his fumble, which was returned 65 yards for a touchdown. Fortunately for him, it proved inconsequential in the Saints’ 45-27 victory.
mostly compliments for Bell though.
“To be a runner, you have to be able to read what is being blocked and he does a good job of that,” Payton said. “He’s pretty instinctive and he runs with an upright style, so you see some collisions when he runs. But he is a guy that can put his foot in the ground and get north and south and cut back.
“To credit Mike Bell, he has come a long way from Denver, to Houston where he had an injury, and then the patience last year when he was with us. He’s had a tremendous offseason and I couldn’t be happier for someone because he has worked hard at it.”
As a rookie in 2006, Bell rushed for 677 yards and scored eight touchdowns with the Broncos. But Bell said he lacked the perspective to appreciate his early success. He said he got lazy and developed a bad attitude when the Broncos asked him to play fullback. He said he let himself go, getting as heavy as 233 pounds.
His playing time plummeted and he was released after the 2007 season. He was invited to 2008 training camp at Houston, but pulled his hamstring and was waived a few weeks later. The Saints signed him during last season, but played him only sparingly with Bush, Pierre Thomas and Deuce McAllister getting most of the work at running back.
and quick in the open field, taking him beyond the realm of short-yardage power back and into the class of big-play threat.
Payton still talks about the combination of talents Bell displayed on a 46-yard touchdown run during a preseason game at Houston several weeks ago. After bolting past the line of scrimmage on that play, Bell cut hard to the right behind a block by receiver Marques Colston and sped away from the pursuit.
“I know it was a preseason game, but when you look at that run a few times, it was pretty impressive,” Payton said.
Bell’s yardage total against Detroit was the most by a Saints running back in one game since McAllister’s 143 in a January 2007 playoff game against the Eagles. Afterward, Bell said he was at a loss to express how happy he was, but thanked his parents for keeping him motivated and the Saints’ offensive line for the holes they gave him.
“It’s easy to get down on yourself when things aren’t going your way, but I had a great support group around me,” Bell said. “I’m just really thankful.”
The question now is how Bell will fit in once Pierre Thomas returns from his sprained knee, which could be as soon as this Sunday in Philadelphia.
ith our personnel and our packages. … And yet you still don’t want to affect how a guy like Mike Bell runs – he’s a guy that gets stronger as the game goes on. We’ll see.”
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