Le’Veon Bell‘s first season with the Jets could not have gone much worse. The two-time All-Pro averaged just 3.2 yards per carry and, despite playing in 15 games, failed to clear 800 rushing yards. Bell’s contract points him toward a second Jets season, but Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News notes this will almost certainly be his last with the team. A report surfaced last offseason that Adam Gase did not want Bell in the first place, and Mehta adds that Gang Green’s HC repeatedly voiced frustrations about the running back behind the scenes last season. While Gase would also assign blame to the offensive line — one that ranked 31st in Football Outsiders’ adjusted line yards metric — he shifted between blaming that injury-plagued group and Bell throughout the year. The Jets also believed Bell put on weight as the season progressed.
Other than all of this, the Bell-Jets pact has gone great. The 28-year-old back’s four-year, $52.5MM deal runs through 2022, but the Jets can save $9.5MM in cap space by cutting Bell in 2021. Let’s move on to some other situations in the AFC East:
- Some slotted Louisiana offensive line prospect Robert Hunt as a better guard fit than tackle in the NFL, but the Dolphins will station their second-round pick at right tackle to start his career, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald notes. Hunt would then compete with incumbent Jesse Davis — who graded outside Pro Football Focus’ top 60 tackles last season — at right tackle and then slide inside to guard if the Dolphins decide he’s not a good tackle fit. Davis will be the Dolphins’ first-stringer when camp opens, per Salguero. Should Hunt prove to be a better fit at guard, he could compete for the spot opposite recently signed Ereck Flowers.
- As could be expected based on Austin Jackson‘s age (20), Julie’n Davenport is expected to begin as Miami’s left tackle, Salguero adds. Included in the Laremy Tunsil trade, Davenport suffered an injury that landed him on IR early last season. He returned at the midway point and started the Dolphins’ final seven games. With Jackson being drafted 18th, it should be expected he will be in the lineup at some point in 2020.
- This could be anticipated based on the Patriots‘ offseason decisions — not drafting a quarterback and not signing either Jameis Winston or Andy Dalton to low-level contracts — but they are not believed to be inclined to add another veteran passer, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes. Their (virtual) quarterback room consists of 2019 fourth-rounder Jarrett Stidham, on-again/off-again Patriot Brian Hoyer set for his age-34 season and two UDFAs (Michigan State’s Brian Lewerke and Louisiana Tech’s J’Mar Smith).
Bell was coming off an off season. i think he’ll improve at least some this year.
He’ll have a better line to run behind this season. I bet he breaks 1000 yards.
I think you can attribute it to him not playing in 2018, but I’d be more inclined to look at the personnel around him. The OL wasn’t the quality he was used to and they didn’t have a real threat to beat teams passing. Teams would rather have the ghost hunter beat them than Bell
Not like anyone made him sit out 19…
In fact someone offered him 18mil to show up.
The guys a moron.
Well said
Give Davenport a shot at LT. Slot Jackson at RT or guard and slot Hunt at guard or RT.
Keeping Tua upright should be the main priority for Miami.
“Other than all of this, the Bell-Jets pact has gone great.”
PFR owes me a drink, since I spit mine laughing when I read that.
hmmm sooo Gase gonna get rid of talent the first chance he gets….sounds about right! smh
I guess the question is whether Gase himself will last long enough to find himself another fall guy.
Talent only goes so far when the person with it is lazy and selfish
Bell, Davante Parker, Ryan Tanehill, Jarvis Landry, Jay Ajayi, Kenyan Drake, Robbie Anderson, Jamal Adams….the list goes on and on of players he has or will burn bridges with…or players that excell once Gase isn’t around. smh it’s pretty bad
Being a Dolphin fan, I saw (in my opinion) Gase have talent and misuse it. Eg. Devante Parker & Mike Geseiki for starters. Gase is the problem.
Would love to have Bell gone. Idiot combined with poor production= not good recipe for success.
Has Bell issued a rap song to make his point?
I think he’s busy looking for all that money he lost by not playing in 2018
He can always supplement his income by working at Dairy Queen. link to youtube.com
That beginning of the last bullet point on the Patriots quarterback situation is incomprehensible.
Give it another read. It’s actually grammatically sound and content logical.
While your statement is correct, the content is a waste of space. Let me paraphrase it for you. Based on the fact that the Patriots didn’t do anything, they are not expected to do anything. It’s like saying that based upon the fact that I did not wake up, I am expected to remain asleep.
In the cosmic sense, all of this content is a waste of space.
Dynamite, like Woody Allen is “at two with nature”.
Hahahaha
I really don’t think BB has much of a great plan with the pats and I think they are going to stink for a couple years before they get better.
Based on their 20 years of greatness you’re going to say that BB doesn’t have a great plan? And this is because?
Yeah, the best strategist in the sports history doesn’t have a plan. Checks out.
I’m thinking the best strategist in sports history was probably the guy who decided pre-arranged funerals were a good idea for the World Federation of Cliff Divers.
Think Brady leaving and at the time he did shows he didn’t have a plan. He didn’t pull the trigger and release Brady earlier which would’ve saved them money. He didn’t replace him in the draft or FA when he could’ve got Winston, Dalton, Love, Eason, Fromm or Hurts all for cheap deals.
Then look at the people leaving New England and the people joining. They losy Brady, Van Noy, Collins, Gronk, Shelton, Karras, Ebnee and Dorsett. They signed Allen and Phillips.
In the draft BB shipped most his picks from this year to next year, not doing a hell of a lot.
The team has a need at QB, WR, IDL, EDGE and LB.
Last year they had a top 3 defence and an offence with a serviceable line, a HOF QB, Edleman Sanu Harry Dorsett and a capable RB.
I think Brady and Gronk are both two people who just got bored of the BB system and a lot of those players on that roster now getting old, losing faith of being successful and yeah.
Wouldn’t surprise me if the Pats fall back for the next 4/5 years. Maybe it’s time to get rid of the old and in with the new meaning players and coaches. Not that BB isn’t a great coach but maybe it’s time to move over now and be remembered for the greatness instead of having a losing record once Brady left to end his coaching career for the next few years. He doesn’t have anything to prove
Plus look in that division. The Bills just went and got a young QB on the rise a great WR in Diggs and that team is getting better.
The Jets who went 7-9 last year, when there QB had mono they upgraded their o line with GVR, McGovvern, Fant and Lewis. Darnold isn’t going to get mono again.
The Dolphins aren’t ready to win now but they have Tua, with Howard and Breida at RB. They upgraded a bunch defensively this offseason and their coach is a former pats coach he knows their system. They won’t scare the Pats yet but give it a year or 2 and they will get a star WR and upgrade the o line.
He did have a plan … He was called Jimmy G but Brady put the kibosh on that and if you noticed Bill seemed to care less and less about the skill players on offense after that point as he no longer had full control of the team. Yes i think he has a god complexity but the fact of what he has done he earned that right.
You could argue that they drafted Harry in the 1st round but that pick i feel was an appeasement to Brady and not a “Bill” guy. I would have to look at his history but if i remember right Bill is a Def 1st round or o-line guy for majority of his picks otherwise he trades away the picks before the Jimmy G trade.
Thats just my opinion and what i see from the outside as a Jets fan and hoping they are in the toilet for years to come.
They may go backward for a couple of years, maybe. But to say BB hasn’t got much of a plan is a bold statement because well, you know, history?
I think Bill’s plan is to retire in a couple years. Who wants to try rebuilding a team when they are in their 70s. Nothing left to prove in the NFL. Time to retire and find something new and exciting to do with the family.
you dont think BB has a much of a great plan? the 1 guy who plans for EVERYTHING. ok dude.
Pats most likely win the AFC East, put Miami and Buffalo in psych rehab!
You’re retarded. Be realistic bro. Being a Phin I can say Bills got the edge for now. Their defense is in tact and their offense is in the rise. Not an Allen fan simply because he wins more on his legs than with “the big arm” (Jamarcus Russell 2.0)
Dolphins? Have you looked at their roster on Defense for 2020?
Have you considered all players taken in the draft or FA’s are all scheme fit? Their building something. Are they gonna win the East? Nah. It’d be nice but to say the Patsies win the East is nonsense.
Let’s not forget for you who only know the pats for the last 20 years. The pats spent many years in mediocrity. For as bad as the Phins have been, I’m pretty sure we have the lead in head to head battles.
Know your football and not just the logo on the uniform dude.
Jamarcus Russell 2.0 ?
You got a color Tv over there yet gramps?
What the Patriots did 25 years has about as much relevance as your pathetic post
I think it’s funny how him Gurley wanted to set the new standard for running backs…..failed ‼️‼️
They did set a new standard. Never overpay for a running back. That’s the new standard.
Chargers were smart to not give Gordon a deal comparative to bell and gurley. They gave Ekeler 24.5 mill for 4 years. Drafted fresh legs in the 4th round, Joshua Kelley, and have Justin Jackson on a rookie contract still.
They have a coach who better understands the running game. Lynn like having multiple interchangeable backs instead of a workhorse. Rivers, as great as he is and was, is not really Lynn’s type of QB. With an offense throwing it up and down the yard, a single big workhorse back sometimes makes more sense. Props to both guys for still being productive together, but Taylor is more Lynn’s type-a game manager who will work off the rotation of backs. That’ll fit them better than committing a bunch of money to Gordon and Lynn will be comfortable with a more familiar scheme while they coach up Herbert (who looks like he has potential but also has never taken a snap under center in his career).
Yep…and Gordon making less that he was even offered from the chargers and probably a more even timeshare of 50/50 than he had with ekeler
Can’t wait to see Stidham win under BB. Hate all you want however, BB made Cassel, Garoppolo, Brisset all look good. He maybe the only coach in the NFL who can develop QB’s.
i agree “they” are way underrating Stidham/BB.
Loved Stidham coming out of Auburn. He needed some polish on reading defenses and progression work, but he was mature and had a big arm and had good experience in close games in a tough conference. I don’t know how great or poor he’ll turn out, but he was pretty good as far as potential goes. I’m interested to see how he turns out.
Ever meet a kid, who gets a new toy – maybe not new new but new to him – and all he does is put on a stink face, complain, or cry. That’s Adam Gase.
That’s a great comparison, but I also think that’s just Adam Gase’s natural face.
Finally the “experts” have realized they are not adding another Veteran QB. Now they can stop linking every available QB with NE.
Robert Kraft plans to offer open tryouts to the public. To qualify, all you have to do is give him a massage.
I’m not a Jets fan, but I think Gase is right not to want Bell at the price they paid him.
Bell got what he wanted, money money money not football
Bell sat out for money, betting that his skill was so great that he could compensate for any offensive line and run well, even after missing a year. He thought that by joining the Jets, he would be able to be the face of the team in the locker room and lead them to a new standard of quality while collecting a huge paycheck. He was wrong.
Bell seems on the outside to have said and done the right things SINCE coming to the Jets, and though last season was terrible, I wouldn’t blame him entirely (at least when it comes to his abilities). Bell is still young enough and a good enough athlete that taking a year off would slow his readjustment to the game, but he could come up to game speed midway through the year. That’s still bad, but the Jets were bad even after Bell caught up. That’s on their offensive line, and on Gase himself.
The Jets just got a new GM, and Gase was the only one there from before. His schemes, as usual, were bland and boring and his personality turns his players off (at least those not good enough to get shipped out) and like Bill O’Brien, Gase would like complete control as much as possible. He has a habit of utilizing players based on his like or dislike of them, not their personal abilities. Gase may not have wanted Bell, at least not at that price, but he failed to use him and failed to help scheme the offense productively around him or any of his other players.
It’s actually incredible to me that, after all that Bell did (or didn’t do), that ultimately Adam Gase would end up looking like the bigger failure. If we had gotten to see Bell perform with a real chance of success and still fail, it would have been easier to put the final kibosh on his stupid hold out decision from a few years ago. But as it stands now, we can’t put it all on him because of how terribly Gase has built that offense.
That Steelers o-line is exactly why they can plug and play whatever RB they want and still see success. Including how great Williams was whenever Bell was injured.
What’s an acceptable Pat’s record for 2020?
8-8, 7-9—Split in the East–keep the pressure on the Bills & Dolphins.
They have a tough schedule. I’m looking forward to watching Stidham and a relatively young defense.