Ravens DC Don Martindale Says Steelers Are Statistically Better Without Le’Veon Bell

TheSportster

By Alex Hoegler

Published Nov 1, 2018

Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Don Martindale took a shot at Le'Veon Bell, saying Pittsburgh's offense has better without him.

Jan 14, 2018; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell (26) rushes the ball against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the fourth quarter in the AFC Divisional Playoff game at Heinz Field. Jacksonville won 45-42. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers are set to meet for the second time this Sunday, and the verbal jabs are already coming in.

This time, Ravens defensive coordinator Don Martindale is aiming at Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell, who still hasn't joined the team following a contract dispute and has yet to announce when he'll return.

Second-year running back James Conner continues to do a fine job filling in for Bell, and the Steelers offense hasn't missed a beat. In fact, Martindale believes Pittsburgh's unit is better without Bell.

"There are a lot of stats [since 2015] that the Steelers are actually better without him," Martindale said, via Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com. "That might be why he’s riding a jet ski down in Miami right now."

Pittsburgh's rushing attack is averaging 100 yards on the ground per game in 2018, a slight dip from the 104.2 they averaged last season. However, the Steelers averaged just 3.8 yards per carry in 2017, compared to 4.3 per carry this season.

CBS also displayed this graph that shows Martindale is speaking the truth, not just pure trash talk.

Those stats are simply hard to ignore, and Martindale is absolutely onto something. Perhaps that is a reason why the Steelers weren't willing to give Bell the lucrative long-term offer that he was seeking.

Of course, the Steelers have been notorious slow starters throughout the last few seasons. Bell suffered a torn MCL injury in the midst of the 2015 campaign as the Steelers started out sluggish. They then picked it up and won six of their final eight games to reach the postseason.

The Steelers have overcome a sloppy 0-1-1 start and sit atop the AFC North with a 4-2-1 record. Conner and the rushing offense haven't been the problem in Pittsburgh, so it's hard to envision their record being much better with Bell right now.

Pittsburgh will have the chance to back up Martindale's claim, should they pick up a big win against their arch rivals.

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