Saints Sideline Blog

RING THAT “BELL”

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009      Email Print

DATELINE: Metairie,LA/ August 25,2009 (Saints Man of the Moment!)
 
His cellphone has been as active as his game was against the Texans. Mike Bell tells me plenty of family, friends and former teammates and coaches have chimed in after his 100 yard game in Houston. With Reggie Bush on the sidelines, Bell made the most of his opportunity with a 46 yard touchdown run and several tough gains, the kind Saints fans haven't seen since some guy named Deuce left the huddle. Pierre Thomas is firmly the starter but admits, this Mike Bell guy is coming on and coming on fast.
 
"Fast" is the perfect word to describe Bell's emergence on the NFL scene. He arrived as an undrafted rookie free agent and after 9 days of camp became a starter in Mike Shanahan's run-happy offense, where he finshed with over 800 yards. Then injuries came as did the turnovers and after a switch to fullback the following year, complacency set in. Bell admits he lost his edge and as a result was let go by the Broncos. His next shot was last summer versus the Texans, but Bell didn't make it out of training camp.
 
To his credit, Bell blames himself. These days, he's tougher mentally and is in great shape losing the 15 pounds he needed to lose.  Bell feels reborn in New Orleans with a new attitude and a brand new opportunity to revive his career. Many wondered this offseason why Sean Payton didn't go after a big back to replace McAllister his response was "we feel we have the answer in our building." Many thought that answer was Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas but many didn't include Mike Bell in the conversation, after Saturday you may want to reconsider.
 
AROUND THE CAMPFIRE
 
DEFENSE RULES: Great morning practice for Gregg Williams' guys who picked Mark Brunell three times in 11 on 11 drills and broke up several passes.
 
HART-BREAKER: Its official, the NFL handed down its four game suspension to Saints kicker Garrett Hartley for violating the NFL's policy on performance enchancing substances.
 
BACK IN BUSINESS: Good to see Charles Grant back on the practice field as he's been out over a week with a hamstring injury suffered against the Bengals. Pierre Thomas also back after nursing a mild knee strain on Monday.
 
REGGIE ON IDLE: Payton and Reggie Bush both say he will get many reps in Oakland but while he dressed in full pads today was very limited in practice.
 
MOORE OF LANCE?: Lance Moore tells me today he hopes to see a lot of action on Saturday, no official announcement yet but he is likely to play after he and his shoulder have looked great in practices without the red jersey the past few weeks.
 
FOR STARTERS: The rule of thumb is that preseason game number three is that the starters get the most reps and Payton says his 1st unit should see a half of football on the West coast.
 
CST COVERAGE: The best and most complete Saints coverage will be found on CST. Our pregame show in Oakland kicks off at 2:30 followed by the game and then our postgame which as always features an exclusive 1on1 interview with Drew Brees.
 
UNTIL NEXT BLOG,
Mike Nabors
CST

By: Mike Nabors

An Emmy award winning sports reporter who covers a wide variety of events for CST. Primarily, Mike serves as the network's reporter for Saints coverage.

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