As training camp approaches next week, Post NFL columnist Steve Serby looks at the biggest characters in the world of the Jets and Giants.
There was Don Maynard, who was Joe Namath’s deep threat, and elusive Emerson Boozer and powerful Matt Snell in the backfield in Super Bowl III. There were Al Toon and Keyshawn Johnson, big, physical receivers; Wesley Walker, a burner, Wayne Chrebet; an undersized, underdog gamer. There was Curtis Martin, a Hall of Famer.
And now there is Le’Veon Bell, the most unique weapon ever to wear a Jets uniform.
He is a big personality, a rapper in his spare time who calls himself Juice, and of course New York is the perfect place for him to raise the profile.
New York is also the perfect place and this is the perfect time for Bell to remember how to be a star player. Because coach Adam Gase and quarterback Sam Darnold need Bell to make beautiful music with a football in his hands.
After sitting out last season in a contract dispute and wearing out his welcome in Pittsburgh, after reading how Gase believed his four-year, $52.5 million free-agent contract was too rich, after training on his own in Florida, Bell has plenty of incentive and motivation to show up as Darnold’s BBF: best backfield friend.
When last we saw him, Bell was the best dual-threat back in the league, and now he will have to prove he is in Saquon Barkley’s league.
Bell accumulated a combined 2,215 yards in 2014 and was close to 2,000 in 2016 and ’17. It is not realistic for Bell to threaten the 2,000-yard total now since he won’t have the luxury of Antonio Brown making his life easier, and Darnold is not yet Ben Roethlisberger.
But the mad scientist in Gase should nevertheless have a field day devising mismatches for Bell against safeties and linebackers. He should be salivating knowing he can line up Bell as an extra wide receiver in the no-huddle.
For a young quarterback without a No. 1 receiver, a young quarterback who won’t have tight end Chris Herndon (suspension) for the first four weeks of the season, Bell should be the centerpiece of the short passing game and nothing less than an 80-catch security blanket/safety valve.
Listen to what Big Ben told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette after one particular game:
“I honestly thought Le’Veon was the MVP of the passing game. I know that sounds crazy to people, but I’m out there and I know what plays are being made. They were trying to take A.B. away by dropping, dropping, dropping [linebackers]. Le’Veon caught so many checkdowns that turned into big plays. First thing he does, he has to check protection to see if his guy blitzes, and sometimes it might be multiple guys he has to check. Then he has to get out in his route. Sometimes, it’s man coverage and he has to run a man-beater. Sometimes, it’s zone and he has to find his spot. For him, there’s a lot more involved than just running out and turning around. I really felt like his game in the passing game was exceptional.”
Bell brings an unmistakable swagger to the offense, and you can expect him to engage safety Jamal Adams in some entertaining barking during the dog days of summer.
Bell, 27, is entering his prime. His new teammates will be looking up to him. Some were awed by him and his athletic arrogance in the spring. This is Darnold’s team, but it is more Bell’s team than it ever was in Pittsburgh, where he stood in the shadows of Big Ben and Brown.
It has been five years since Bell was suspended two games for marijuana possession and a DUI, three years since he was suspended for three games for missing a drug test. When his relationship with the Steelers deteriorated, he tweeted: “It’s so hard to be a hero in a city that paints you out to be the villain.”
Everyone attributed all of it to immaturity. He has a chance to be a leader now. There are no excuses for him not to be all grown-up.