Lions Give Tatum Bell a 2nd Chance

For anyone still following the exploits of RB Tatum Bell, you’ll be pleased to know he’ll be taking another shot at starting in Detroit this year. ESPN is reporting that the Lions have signed Bell to a one-year deal (worth $1.6M). With Kevin Jones coming back after an ACL tear and with Detroit losing the bidding war with Seattle for Julius Jones, Bell gets a second chance to win the starting job in the motor city.

He wasn’t all that impressive last year when he started four games for the Lions. He had 182 yards on 44 carries (an average of just over 4 yard per carry). Granted, 44 carries in four games is like 11 carries a game – so how much chance to impress was there really?

No one argues that Tatum Bell has explosive speed and quickness, but he always seemed to me to play very ‘light’… and by that I mean he just seemed to get pushed backwards or flat out blown up too easily compared to backs like Mike Anderson and Travis Henry. Tatum Bell is a speed guy that works well on the corners, but that can make him one dimensional and easier to stop. In the end, if you want to start in the NFL, you have to be able to run it up the middle and get those tough short yards on obvious running plays — and for my money, I’ll take Henry (and his bud) any day over Tatum on those downs.

And, since we’re chatting about former Broncos playing in Detroit, I’ll mention that George Foster has also agreed to a one-year contract with the Lions (worth $1.1M).