The Pittsburgh Steelers, their fans, and the entire NFL has seen what their offense was capable of doing during the Killer B's era. A big part of that was Le'Veon Bell, who was known as the most patient running back that anyone has ever seen. At his peak in Pittsburgh, he was a dynamic runner that could also be a true receiving threat. 1,000+-yard seasons were normal for him, but he still had to prove himself to get that job in the first place. Life wasn't always easy for him, especially in his rookie year.
Bell made an appearance on Antonio Brown's new podcast that surrounds his online brand, CTESPN. On the show, Bell talked a lot about his playing days, especially with the Steelers, and how Ryan Clark, his former teammate, kept trying to intimidate him during his rookie season.
"I remember OTAs, rookie minicamp... [veterans] were watching or something, and my running style was different from everybody else's... I'm hearing them talk like, 'Hey, bro, he's running high. He's running high, he better get them pads down because when the vets come out there, we going to be lighting you up.' They're talking crazy... Now the vets are out there for OTAs. We're doing the OTAs. I'm still running, doing my sh**, they're tagging off. [Clark] is still talking though, like 'Oh, I can't wait 'til pads get on. I can't wait 'til the pads get on.' In my head, I'm thinking like, 'I can't wait 'til the pads get on either, bro, because you think it's going to be sweet, and I'm telling you it's not.'"
There's always an intimidation factor in football, as the veterans will test out the rookies and see if they're truly built for the big stage or not. It was also unusual to see a 6'3" running back, especially one that was so patient, as Bell also mentioned. With his size and patience, guys like Clark thought he was playing high and slow because he was scared of the game. That just made Clark want to hit him even more and show him what the NFL is all about.
Eventually, it came time for Clark to either ring Bell's bell, or vice versa. If Bell wanted to prove that he wasn't scared at all, now would be the time. Once the pads went on in training camp, it was all over.
"So now, training camp comes... fourth day, it's live. We got our first live [practice]. I'll never forget, it was team run [drills], I got up, the o-line made a nice little hole for me, it was perfect. I had a perfect one-on-one... I made a little move, looked right at him, ran him over. Everybody was hype. I got up, didn't talk crazy."
After getting chirped all offseason long, Bell made sure that Clark would not talk about his running style in a negative way ever again. The Steelers saw exactly who he was and what he brought to the table. Even for a patient runner, Bell loved contact, and he had to let Clark know that too. It didn't look great during summer minicamps, but when the pads came on, his running style was a thing of beauty.
Steelers Learn All About Bell's Style
From there, Bell would change the landscape of the running back position. It was all about either hard-nosed power runs, or blazing speed and elite agility to make guys miss. For Bell, it was about letting the offensive line do their job, then making a move when needed. That style helped Bell become arguably the best running back in the NFL for a few years.
