How Bell fits with Birds
Demetress Bell is going to face an adjustment period.
How Bell fits with Birds
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Demetress Bell is going to face an adjustment period.
After having watched his games with the Bills last season, that much is clear.
Advanced metrics reflect favorably on Bell. According to Pro Football Focus, he allowed just one sack in seven games last season. But in this case, those numbers don't mean a lot. The Bills' offense demanded that Ryan Fitzpatrick get rid of the ball quickly. The Bills quarterback averaged just 6.7 yards per attempt, which ranked 22nd.
Consider this: More than 70 percent of Fitzpatrick's pass attempts traveled 10 yards or fewer from the line of scrimmage.
Michael Vick, meanwhile, averaged 7.8 yards per attempt, which was tied for 10th. And only about 59 percent of his pass attempts traveled 10 yards or fewer from the line of scrimmage. The Eagles still like to run play-action and let Vick find his receivers downfield.
The point here is that Bell will have to get used to blocking for Vick, a quarterback who hates conceding a play. That's what makes him so spectacular at times - the ability to shake defenders, get away from sacks and pick up big chunks of yardage with his arms and his legs. But the improvisation is also what makes Vick a challenge to block for.
Overall, after reviewing some of Bell's games from 2011, I came away thinking he should be a nice fit in pass protection. On the occasions where he was asked to hold his blocks longer, Bell seemed able to do so. He didn't look like the most physical or aggressive guy, and I didn't notice any real pattern on the plays where he had issues, but he did get overpowered a couple times on bull rushes.
In the run game, he's not going to wow anyone like Peters did. I doubt Bell will ever be someone who makes Cris Collinsworth slow down the tape and drool over. And I didn't see him get to the second level and attack linebackers much, although I'm guessing Howard Mudd's scheme will better take advantage of his athleticism.
The Peters option caught the Eagles off-guard, but they seem to have found a decent replacement, especially considering the limited options. The front office deserves credit for being in good position from a financial standpoint and landing Bell when other teams had interest.
Durability is a concern. Bell played eight games in 2009, 16 in 2010 and seven last year. While I don't expect the Eagles to draft a tackle early, it wouldn't surprise me to see them pick one up in the middle rounds as a potential backup, along with King Dunlap.
According to PFF, Bell played 401 snaps last season without being whistled for a penalty. As Andy Reid would say, that's a good thing.
Bell turns 28 in May and gets a full offseason to work with Mudd. He won't be Peters, and will need time to adjust, but considering the alternatives, should provide the Eagles with an adequate replacement.
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Nice move. Good offseason so far, just like last one.— PHLtoLAX
Comment removed.- agree! good assessment sheil.— Dexter
- Seems to be a good move. Now if the Eagles can draft somebody who can contribute! That would be new.— 4thand10
- Right, because Leshawn Mckoy, Desean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and Kelce don't contribute a thing... — meontumblr
- For as bad as the Dream Team of players went last season, we could say the opposite of the coaching staff. In the past two seasons Reid has been able to lure the best special teams coach, April, convince Washburn to leave a comfortable job in Tenn and lure the best o-line coach, Mudd out of retirement and I think that speaks volumes. You can rip him for Castillo all you want but these coaching hires have been phenomenal. Bell was supposed to visit the Steelers and Packers but yet signed with us. And there is no doubt Mudd's presence was the main factor because Bell saw how Mudd was able to get Peters to play up to his potential and make a career LG a solid, if not spectacular RT in less than 1 season.— kwasi2323
- @Kwasi2323 Although I agree with most of what you said, that newer coaches have been somewhat overlooked due to a disappointing season but Peters had been to 3 pro bowls before last year it's not like he had never found his game before Mudd. I'm sure Mudd had an influence on him and arguably could have transformed him into the best LT in the game but he was highly touted when we received him in 09.— stockdalec12243
- How screwed would we have been if this injury had happened week one of preseason?— dragoon6
- The bottom line with Bell is he has to stay healthy.
As far as drafting goes, AR is a pretty good judge of talent on the O, but pretty bad when it comes to the D. I just hope Washburn has a lot more influence than Castillo. The pickup of Bell allows them to focus on the D; if they make it count they might just win the division.
But it really comes back to Mike Vick. Can he finally morph into a disciplined QB. We don't need his flash - we need steady, mature leadership.— Cameiros - Great work as usual Sheil.— soybot
- Good point, Dragoon. I've always said you never want to see your team's logo flash up on Sports Center during the preseason - it's only bad news.— Mike in LA
- @meontumblr I agree that LeSean McCoy, DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and Jason Kelce were great draft picks. Let's not forget Todd Herremans, Trent Cole, Mike Patterson, and Brent Celek, all starters. Add Jason Avant, who's been a solid third receiver despite last year's hiccups, and you'd have to argue that the Eagles have had some success in the draft. Yes, there have been busts, but for @4thandten and others to say they've found no contributors through the draft is flat out wrong.— kingsolomonsmind
- Thank you Mr. Roseman for finding a suitable replacement for JP...johnnyu— john ullman
- wierd thing is Bell was the guy who replced peters in buffalo when he came to the eagles. Not to say he is peters but he has tons of potential. Ltes say peteres comes back next year and bell stays healthy and produces. DO we let him go? or try to work him into diff spot— Lambo1
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