Slim Le'Veon Bell Looks Like a Star in the Making for the Pittsburgh Steelers

There weren't many positive aspects to take away from the Pittsburgh Steelers' loss on Thursday Night Football. Penalties were rampant, the offense looked stagnant, and Dick LeBeau's defense barely showed signs of life against an average Baltimore Ravens offense.

The biggest takeaway from the 26-6 shelling that took place had to be that running back Le'Veon Bell continues to look like he's going to be a star in this league.

Coming off of a big Week 1 performance where he gashed the Cleveland Browns defense for 109 yards rushing, 88 yards receiving and a touchdown, Bell found a way to become the heart and soul of his team's offense once again.

It wasn't nearly as pretty as it was a week ago, but the ex-Michigan State tailback's final stat line was respectable. He picked up 59 yards rushing on just 11 carries and hauled in an additional five passes for 48 yards.

Shoddy offensive line play didn't matter when Bell got the ball in his mitts. His vision was sublime as he dipped around defenders and constantly turned up the field for big chunks of yardage. In that sense, he was very Matt Forte-like.

Rewinding for a second and looking at the film from his performance against the Browns, it's becoming clear how much he's grown as a runner in just one season. 

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

In the example above, you'll see exactly what we're talking about. Bell lines up as the single back in the red zone. The Steelers' offensive line pulls to the strong side; meanwhile, tight end Heath Miller comes roaring across the formation to pick up his assignment, giving Bell more time to find a hole.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

At that point, the young back has a decision to make. Does he try to slip between the tackles or does he cut it outside, where there's plenty of real estate just sitting out there waiting to be conquered?

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Without hesitation, Bell bounces it outside and picks up 11 yards, barely missing a chance to hit pay dirt.

It may be one example, but this is exactly the type of running we have seen from Bell two weeks in a row. He's making decisions quickly and sticking to them. No more dancing around, no more plunging it up the middle hoping to hit a crease. This 2014 version of Le'Veon Bell has become a revelation for this offense.

Rushing Stats		Receiving Stats
Attempts	32	Receptions	11
Yards	168	Yards	136
YPC	5.25	YPC	12.3
TDs	1	TDs	0

Playing on a short week is no excuse for the Steelers to put up a lousy six points against the Ravens. For starters, this isn't the same smashmouth, physical rivalry we've seen in years past. Pittsburgh has surrendered 53 points through two weeks of the season, and the Ravens haven't fared much better. They allowed Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton to complete 25 passes for 301 yards and a score in a 23-16 defeat at home.

Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley must continue to feed Bell and build this offense around his skill set. Forget LeGarrette Blount. He's a blustery change-of-pace option and that's about it.

Bell is a multipurpose threat who, with a little seasoning, could fall into that Forte or LeSean McCoy category of running backs. Aside from Antonio Brown, he also has gone and proven to be the best pass-catcher on this roster.

He caught 45 passes a season ago—a number that should see substantial growth this year, similar to Twitter's stock price. Mix that in with what he's doing rushing the ball, and folks, what you have is one of the best young backs in the National Football League.

An element to this story that has sort of been lost in translation over the course of the offseason has been that Bell has slimmed down from 2013. Jeff Hartman of Behind the Steel Curtain reported that Bell came into camp having shed about 20 pounds, which was "the lightest he has been since before his freshman year at Michigan State."

That move was huge. Every time he touches the ball, it looks like each one of his steps has an extra layer of burst on it.

Head coach Mike Tomlin may have been less than enthused about his team's showing. "It was a disappointing effort for us. A lot of self-inflicted wounds are going to prevent you from being in football games like that," Tomlin said at his postgame presser, via Steelers.com. But he should take pride in knowing that he has a young man on his roster who's going to be a nightmare matchup for defenses all season long.

Cheer up, Steelers fans, the best part about the NFL season is that it's long and opportunity runs plentiful. Today's failures can be wiped clean during this time of the year. If you take comfort in anything, take comfort in the fact that the guy you spent a second-round pick on last season is budding into a bona fide star.

Unless otherwise noted all college football stats and information courtesy of Sports-Reference.com. Game scores and information courtesy of ESPN.com.