Mike Bell is finally an Eagle...and why that's a good move...
Mike Bell (number 21) signs a 1-year, $1.7 million deal with the Eagles for 2010...
I like it...at first glance, no big thing... Brian Westbrook's replacement? Maybe only as a roster spot, because you need a veteran back to spell 2nd-year guy LeSean McCoy at the feature back spot...no need to wear out Shady with too many touches. And Bell is a bargain compared to Westbrook's contract if it had been reinstated. But what I really like about Bell's signing is how long it took New Orleans to finally let him go.
This deal should have been done two weeks ago...but the Saints agonized over letting Bell go, fretting to the last minute, and pulling out every archaic Free Agency bylaw to delay the proceeding...until finally, they decided to let Bell go to the Eagles.
That tells me a lot...the Saints know Bell is a blue-chip RB, and that he's healthy...and he's definitely worth the wait for the Eagles.
Andy Reid was diplomatic about the signing, being careful to compare Mike Bell to Correll Buckhalter....and not to Westbrook. Truth be told, Bell is a basher, and not a dancer like Westbrook...or McCoy, for that matter...so don't expect the second coming of classic Eagle tailbacks like Timmy Brown or Wilbert Montgomery.
Bell is 6-0 and 225, only 26 years old, and his knee sprain from the 3rd game of last season is completely healed... He has good hands and feel for the short-pass game, he has a chip on his shoulder about being undrafted in 2006 out of Arizona, still runs a 4.5 in the 40, and he could be the perfect fit in the Eagles' West Coast Offense as the ultimate backup to the feature RB...
But what I really like about Bell's signing is the signal it sends about the upcoming NFL Draft: the Eagles are obviously satisfied with their Offense (dependent of course upon the assumption the O-Line is stabilized), and will now concentrate on drafting for their Defense.
This is what I read into the Bell signing---we will now concentrate on Defense in the Draft. To me, that is a wonderful revelation. What a smart and prescient move this could be!
Lord knows, we have had the Defenses in the past to blow away the best of the NFL. I still can't believe how Buddy Ryan's Eagles failed to win a Super Bowl with that incredible Hall-of-Fame-quality defensive unit he had! Some will say Buddy was a great defensive coordinator but a lousy head coach...perhaps Buddy misssed the forest for the offensive play-calling and overall team leadership trees so essential to winning the big one in this god-forsaken game...
But concentrating on rebuilding a Super Bowl-quality defense is a great thing for the Eagles....Knock McNabb if you must, but he has led us to a new era where scoring is no longer the problem...preventing scoring is the new mantra.
Mike Bell is a positive sign of the times. His entrance means we no longer have to worry about drafting for offensive pieces of the puzzle. We're pretty well set up now at WR, TE, RB, FB...and if the OL gels as it should after a freak season of injuries, even #5 should have no troubles reestablishing himself as the most productive QB in Eagles' history. Mike Bell is another reason I hope McNabb gets to drive this steel-pedal guitar one more time in 2010. Bell is a kindred spirit, too...he's good for McNabb's morale...they're both on the same page as far as having done great things in individual spotlights, but somehow having failed to convince the critics that they deserve to be considered among the best in the game.
It's similar to when the Rolling Stones signed Ronnie Wood from the Faces to play backup lead, slide and rhythm guitar to Keith Richards, long after the departure of Brian Jones (Wilbert Montgomery) and Jones' successor Mick Taylor (Brian Westbrook). Ronnie did great and became better and more popular than ever before...and that's what I'm hoping for Mike Bell. Mike can ball...you can look it up...and whether McNabb runs this team's offense in 2010 or not, you can count on Mike Bell to take every opportunity, everything this sport has to offer, to make his career statement with a new band in the prime of his football life.
And one last thing: Bell has a Super Bowl Ring. That counts to the team for a lot more than we realize...
