No, Le’Veon Bell did not look like himself Sunday. But Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has other things on his mind rather than his star running back acclimating after taking the preseason off.
Via Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com, Tomlin said Bell’s 47-yard performance against the Browns Sunday will need to improve: “And it will.”
But he was also salty about the team’s 13 penalties for 144 yards, which he wasn’t ready to pin on any particular player being there or not, which is “why I lose patience when we repeatedly cover the same things.”
“You can sing that Le’Veon Bell camp song all you want,” Tomlin said. “He’s here. We’re working. It’s Week 2. We’re getting ready to play the Minnesota Vikings. I’m done with it.”
Of course, that’s a handy deflection, but until Bell gets back up to speed, the Steelers aren’t going to look like themselves. Without wide receiver Antonio Brown freaking out against the Browns they probably lose, and then Tomlin would have plenty to have stew about besides penalties.
After staying away from offseason workouts and training camp before signing his $12.1 million franchise tender, Bell had 10 carries for 32 yards and three receptions for 15 yards against the Browns.