New York Jets star makes a vow: 'this is the best Le’Veon Bell that has ever played in the NFL'
The expectations aren’t being lowered for Le’Veon Bell at all this year, this as the New York Jets running back is looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2019.
For Bell, who signed a four-year, $52.5 million contract with the Jets last year, his output in his first season in New York was far below his usual standards. The three-time Pro Bowl and twice All-Pro running back had career-lows in yards per game and yards per carry.
Now, after an offseason where Bell says he is in his best shape ever, the Jets running back is hoping to get back to being a playmaker.
“For myself, I think this is the best I’ve felt and I’m ready to show it – I’m ready to show that this is the best Le’Veon Bell that has ever played in the NFL,” Bell said Wednesday on a conference call with the media.
“I think I’ve had a lot of success over the course of my career and it’s because I worked hard. I think I worked hard to help me get to where I was. Now, it’s like, I kind of realize, just over the course of the last six, seven years, compared to where I’m working at now, it’s not even close. This year, I’m expecting a lot from myself. I hold myself to a high standard. I’m ready to show everybody what I’m able to do this year.”
The narrative a year ago was that Bell was not an ideal fit in head coach Adam Gase’s offense. Also in his first year with the Jets, Gase was blamed in part for Bell’s drop in production.
And while scheme and fit may have played a part in Bell’s lack of yardage a season ago (the Jets were second-worst in the league last year in both rushing yards and rushing attempts), so too did an offensive line that was among the poorest in the NFL. Without running lanes, Bell not only didn’t have anywhere to go last season but was often had first contact while still in the backfield.
Gase is promising to change that this year and will attempt to get creative in terms of how he gets his elite running back the ball in a position to make plays.
“It’s just about getting the ball in his hands and let him go do things. Let him make defenders miss, find ways to get him in open space. Really, it’s variety,” Gase said on Wednesday.
“It’s just trying to move him around and not always make it to where a defense can say that he’s always going to be do this or if he’s in this spot, he’s always going to be doing this. It’s something that we were working in walk-thru yesterday of just kind of showing him all these different spots we can put him in, what he can with it. For me, I can see him embracing that. You can tell when he’s listening, he really knows that this can help open up my game a little more than last year. I think he’s done a really good job of engaging what we’re talking about.”
It is bold talk but perhaps easier said than done.
It certainly will be a bit tricky to get Bell and the revamped, rebuilt offensive line on the same page this offseason, especially without preseason games. For now, the excitement about a new-look Jets offense comes from the new starters brought in along the offensive line as well as Bell, who has a new look of his own.
The running back has made it a point to post on social media snippets of his workouts. He appears to be in tremendous shape and always sweaty.
The Jets hope for an improved offense over last year’s output, in particular a weak ground game, rests in some creativity in the playcalling from Gase as well as Bell’s outstanding shape.
He won’t admit his current weight but said that he is noticing the positive impact on the field.
“Overall, I feel good. I think I had made a plan – I think May 30 was the date. I made a plan to come in, lose weight and get to my desired playing weight. This is the lightest I’ve ever played in the NFL,” Bell said
“I don’t want to say a specific number but it is in the 215…210-215 [pounds] range. I just kind of stay within that range. You know, I feel good. This is the lightest I’ve been playing since literally high school. Not to say that I wasn’t in shape or anything [previously] in my career but compared to how I am now it isn’t even close. I raised the level of my conditioning and my shape level. Me being 28-years old, I’m excited where I’m at.”
It is a level of conditioning that hasn’t gone unnoticed around the Jets locker room.
“He looks really good, we’re just looking to use him in a lot of ways,” quarterback Sam Darnold said.
“We’re just looking to have a good year with him and continue to build off kind of the end of the year that we had last year.”
