Mike Bell Speculation

The Times-Picayune is reporting that New Orleans Saints RB Mike Bell could miss three to four weeks with his sprained knee.  Mike Bell, the Saints, and team doctors have not commented on Bell’s status for this weekend’s game, let alone his status a month from now.

The timetable is roughly that of Pierre Thomas.  The problem, though, is you’re not comparing apples to apples.  First of all, everyone recovers at a different pace.  Second, the extent of the injuries likely isn’t the same.

It’s all speculation at this point.  Take the Cowboys for example.  Marion Barber was slated to miss a week or two and he participates in practice the next two days.  What’s worse is you can’t even count on the injury report because team’s can list someone on the report every week (ahem Tom Brady) or they can choose not to list them (ahem Brett Favre).

The odds of Bell playing this weekend are slim.  Looking any further gets hazy.  We’ll have to see if he can practice.  Unless you are a game-changer like Brian Westbrook, practice is required to play.  Mike Bell is solid, but Westy he is not.  The Saints have an explosive passing game and Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush have shown they are capable of getting the job done out of the backfield.  The Saints are so confident in their system that Lynell Hamilton could be called upon this weekend.

I urge you not to overreact and drop Mike Bell until further information is revealed.  You can pick up Hamilton if have someone expendable, but check on Thomas’ status before you decide to plug him in on Sunday.  The same goes for the Cowboys situation.  You can plug in Felix Jones since he should produce whether MB3 plays or not, but do not use Tashard Choice, even in a flex spot, if Barber is going to play.  They don’t go until Monday so you’ll have to make that decision on Sunday.  When in doubt, I would lean towards using another option.

Going forward you’re likely to hear more injury timetables without the proper verification.  I’m not saying they are wrong, but I just caution you to make any rash decisions until all of the facts are revealed.

Originally published at LestersLegends.com.