As he ran dead into the strong grip of middle linebacker Zach Thomas, the promising season for running back Tatum Bell appeared doomed from the start.
It was the Broncos’ season opener in Miami, and with starting running back Mike Anderson on the sideline nursing sore ribs, Bell was stopped twice in goal-to-go situations.
The scouts must have been right. Bell was a sprinter, not a running back.
Oh, he might get his garbage-time runs here and there. But trust him when the yards were tough? Or when the game was early and undecided? When the Broncos had the ball inside the opponent’s 20 and needed more than three points?
Bell’s role in those situations figured to be as sideline supporter.
In the next game against San Diego, the Broncos couldn’t wait to rush Anderson back in there, flak jacket and all. Never mind Bell had suffered a sprained ankle midway through the second quarter on a special-teams play. Ron Dayne already had barreled ahead of him anyway on the depth chart.
After the loss to Miami, Bell didn’t get a carry the next 1 1/2 games. Bell said the Denver coaches weren’t pleased that he didn’t score in those goal-line situations against Miami.
“But it’s all good; I’m not complaining,” Bell said. “I’m happy we’re winning games.”
Bell has gained more yards than Anderson as the Broncos bring their AFC West-leading 5-1 record into the Meadowlands for a game Sunday against the 3-2 New York Giants.
At their current pace, the Broncos’ tailback committee of Bell (1,053 yards) and Anderson (955 yards) would finish with a combined 2,008 yards. If the latest number sounds familiar, it should. Terrell Davis set the team record by rushing for 2,008 yards in 1998, the Broncos’ most recent Super Bowl season.
When did it turn around for Bell? When the former Oklahoma State star had back-to-back carries for 2 yards and fought for every inch against a rugged Jacksonville front in the Broncos’ fourth game. When he came in on a fourth-and-1 against the Washington Redskins on Oct. 9 and ran for a 34-yard touchdown. When he took a handoff on second-and- goal from the 3 last weekend against the New England Patriots and rammed into the end zone looking like a mirror image of Clinton Portis.
There are statistics that show carry for carry, Bell is the best big-play back in the NFL. But it wasn’t until he proved he could get those tough yards that he became the Broncos’ featured back the past two games.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell everybody: I can get the tough yards,” Bell said. “I can get the yards on the goal line and third down. I can do it all. I can pick up the blitz.”
Not that anyone pretends Bell’s game doesn’t begin and often end somewhere well downfield with breakaway speed. In rushing for 241 yards the past two games, Bell got 157 on three carries – 34- and 55-yard touchdown runs against Washington, and a 68-yard gallop against the Patriots.
Bell has produced a big-play run (defined as 10-plus yards) on 17.2 percent of his carries, tops among NFL running backs and second overall to Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick’s 20 percent.
But if coach Mike Shanahan brought in Bell only on plays designed to hit big, there’s a chance defensive coordinators equipped with logic and film projectors might figure it out.
“Certain plays I might be in, and it’s designed just for when I’m in there,” Bell said. “But then again I might be in a couple plays before that play, and that’s where I can show more of what I can do.”
The red zone may be where Bell best demonstrates his all- around game. This is not exactly big-play territory, yet Bell has been trusted for 13 red-zone carries to 17 for Anderson.
“Obviously the big runs are the ones that people remember,” Broncos fullback Kyle Johnson said. “People love big plays and that’s why they buy tickets, but the little plays and the little things are the ones that typically the coaches and your teammates will notice.”
Good or bad, the coaches notice, although Bell may be heartened to know it wasn’t the boss blaming him for not scoring against the Dolphins’ goal-line defense.
“Houdini couldn’t have scored on that goal line,” Shanahan said. “They were stacking the run.”
Staff writer Mike Klis can be reached at 303-820-5440 or mklis@denverpost.com.
