Steelers: Le’Veon Bell’s “Patience” Examined
By Zack Goncz
Understanding Blocking
This is something far too few skill players understand. At best they just try to hit someone hard, at worst they put their hands on them and follow them around. When they imagine playing, the ball is in their hands, someone is blocking for them.
There are only so many hours in the day, might as well spend it improving your ability to catch and run with the ball. Blocking is a nice skill but it ultimately helps other people. Right?
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Wrong. And Bell is proof of that. A blocker’s basic duty, as simple as possible is to stay between the guy they’re blocking and the ball. They’re pushing a player a certain direction. That players is pushing back. Defensive players weave around blocked players. The defense has it’s own ideas and the blockers must adapt to packages, stunts, and all manner of chaos.
Bell anticipates how the blockers will block. That’s why he’s patience, he’s not just waiting for something to develop, he’s anticipating specific things developing.
If he’s running up the middle he’ll anticipate Foster and Pouncey pushing a nose tackle back and he’ll know when Pouncey will peel off to attack the middle linebacker, where a lesser back would run past the double team and get tackled by the linebacker.
Utilization of Physical Tools
Finally, and this is kind of tangential but related to patience, is Bell’s understanding of what tool will do the most at any given time. Bell understands when he needs to lower his shoulder and get a few extra yards. He understands when it’s time to shake someone. He understands when it’s time to turn on the jets. And also important, he knows when to run out of bounds and not take a hit.