The Pittsburgh Steelers never stop working, and all throughout offseason workouts and training camp, they have been putting a plan in place which they hope leads to a seventh Lombardi trophy come February.
For the Steelers’ offense, Todd Haley has installed some new wrinkles into the offense, and some might be more subtle than the usual year-to-year changes you see under the same coordinator. As the team installed these changes, the onus quickly turned to Le’Veon Bell, the All-Pro running back who chose to not show up for all offseason workouts and preseason.
Will he be able to pick up the wrinkles quickly?
Roethlisberger said the #Steelers have added some bigger wrinkles in the offense this year. Said up to Bell how quickly he picks them up
— Dale Lolley (@dlolleyor) August 23, 2017
Ben Roethlisberger confirms he's ready to go Saturday vs. the Colts, and talks about Le'Veon Bell's potential return date. pic.twitter.com/PmLe1IM3sk
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) August 23, 2017
On Monday, Bell signed his franchise tender, and was back with his teammates working on those new wrinkles. However, it sounded as if Bell picked up on a lot of those wrinkles fairly quick.
“Make sure I’m prepared for all the plays, all the wrinkles and things like that. That is also a challege, but you know I was able to get into practice today, you know not miss a beat, and feel good.”
You can see his entire media session Monday below:
Le'Veon Bell talks about his return, his plan to get ready and his thoughts on the offense. pic.twitter.com/lkQkbEfR4U
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 4, 2017
It is a good thing that Bell is picking up the offense quickly, and as Roethlisberger stated in his interview, in the player above, before Week 3 of the preseason, Bell is a very intelligent football player and should have no problems picking up the new variations in Haley’s scheme.
The truly intriguing aspect of these “wrinkles” isn’t about whether Bell can get assimilated in time for the games which really count, but what exactly those wrinkles will be.
Fans can’t get over the fact Roethlisberger, Bell, Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant will all be on the field together again, all behind a potent offensive line which remains intact for the second straight season, and rightfully so. After all, these offensive juggernauts haven’t spent much time on the field together since Bryant was drafted in 2014.
It seems as if Bell will be picking up the offense quickly, and that is good news for an offense which doesn’t just want to be good, but wants to be the best.
It all starts this Sunday.