With Bell probably playing his first game as Chief against the Broncos on Sunday, will he hurt or improve the Chiefs’ offense?
Hello again everyone and welcome to another week of the ArrowChop! This is the column where we look at the positives/negatives of a certain Chiefs/NFL issue and look at both sides of the aisle. Then you, the readers, will come to your conclusions after I lay out the case. So sit back, relax, and enjoy as we breakdown this week’s hot topic.
It seems as though the Chiefs are becoming better after each game. The section of the team that improved this is none other than the rushing attack as Clyde Edwards-Helaire ran for over 150 yards yesterday versus the Bills, showing that he could be in the running for rookie of the year. Darrel Williams pounded one into the end-zone for a touchdown and showed he could be a reliable back, and Le’Veon Bell will be playing his first game for the Chiefs next week versus the Broncos. It seems as though he’s eager to play for them as he tweeted out during the game:
With his addition to the roster, will he hurt or improve upon the Chiefs’ commanding, supreme offense? Let’s break down both sides of the aisle to see which side holds more truth.
Bell will improve the Chiefs offense
This basis falls on the fact that Bell could revert to his Steelers form that all defenses feared. Adam Gase is one of the worst coaches in recent NFL history, especially offensively as he has on average been ranked 25th in points, 27th in yards, and 26th in passing yards since he was with the Bears. That’s just terrible when you’re supposedly an “offensive genius”, and he was never able to utilize Bell the way the Steelers did.
Now, he’s on a team with a competent head coach and offensive coordinator who’ll know how to work him into the offense. They’ll use him in the passing game a lot as, with the Steelers, he had 2,660 yards receiving in the five years he was with them with his season-high being 854 yards; moreover, they’ll use him in goalline situations as well as he has always strived inside the red zone. This is something needed as Edwards-Helaire is always stumped in there.
Another point that fans will love is that there could be a top-tier rushing duo with Edwards-Helaire and Bell in the backfield. Edwards-Helaire has already shown that he could be a dominant back in this league already with two spectacular 100+ yard performances (Week 1 versus the Texans and Week 6 versus the Bills); and, he has burst out some astonishing plays throughout the season. If the Chiefs can revert Bell to his Steelers’ form, as I stated before, then the Chiefs may run away with the entire AFC conference. The league must stay on notice.
Bell will hurt the Chiefs offense
Some believe that Bell’s emotions/ego could hurt the Chiefs’ locker room. Remember when he held out with the Steelers, failed, and signed with the Jets? People lean on that a lot and some, like Curt Popejoy, believe Bell squandered his chances to get into the Hall of Fame due to this. Some have been spouting on social media platforms that his ego will show when he learns that “he won’t be the center of that offense” or “he’ll be sharing touches with Edwards-Helaire and he’ll complain”.
I can understand why they would say that in the article I have here that detailed his long, tiresome dispute with the Steelers organization. Let’s hope this doesn’t happen here as the Chiefs will have none of that.
Some also believe that the signing was useless for the Chiefs as Bell is “washed” and/or they have depth at the running back spot already. For the washed case, people look at the fact that Bell wasn’t the same on the Jets, as he had under 800 yards in his first season with them, averaged 3.2 yards per rush along with and an average of 52 rushing yards per game, and only had three rushing touchdowns (all career-worsts). While that does make a decent case, remember who the head coach for the Jets is. Yeah… it’s understandable why he looked like utter garbage.
Moving on, the Chiefs do have exceptional depth in the backfield (Helaire, Williams, Thompson, and Washington). While this is a short point, it shouldn’t be forgotten. It will be tough to fit Bell into the group with the chemistry the RB room has, but knowing who the Chiefs are as an organization, they’ll make it work.
That’s all for the case for if Le’Veon Bell signing will hurt or improve the Chiefs offense. What are your thoughts on this? Leave a comment down below to join the discussion.
Thanks for reading and have a spectacular day!
