Steelers’ Bell unsure he’ll be ready

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

Le’Veon Bell walked into and out of the Pittsburgh Steelers training room without a limp on Wednesday. Considering the thoughts racing through the running back’s head as he lay on the turf at Heinz Field last weekend with his right knee in agony, it’s a promising start.

“When it happened, so many thoughts went into my head,” Bell said. “It was scary. It was more so scary than anything.”

While an MRI showed no major damage to the knee following the legal if low hit by Cincinnati’s Reggie Nelson during Sunday night’s 27-17 win, Bell isn’t making any promises that he’ll be available when the Steelers host Baltimore in the wild-card round on Saturday night.

Bell did not practice on Wednesday, instead mixing some work on a stationary bike and some light running with frequent stops to the training room.

Cam Heyward has a theory on what drives teammates Brice McCain and Antwon Blake, and it has nothing to do with their ability as defensive backs and everything to do with the numbers on a tape measure.

“Brice has got that Little Man Syndrome,” Heyward said. “He’s very hard on himself. He always wants to play big. Blake’s got it too.”

McCain and Blake are both listed at 5-foot-9 and have spent their careers trying to prove they can be effective against bigger, taller and sometimes faster wide receivers.

They’re winning as many battles as they are losing these days, one of the main reasons the Steelers (11-5) used a perfect December to capture their first AFC North title since 2010.

It’s heady territory for two players who were backup plans at best when the season began. Yet there they were in the division-clinching win over Cincinnati, creating all three Bengal turnovers.

Both of McCain’s interceptions and Blake’s pivotal fourth-quarter fumble recovery came while blanketing Cincinnati superstar wide receiver A.J. Green, who just happens to be 6-4. Not that it mattered much.

“We’ve got to play big,” McCain said. “It’s a mindset. You’ve got to be able to jump, got to be able to put hands on receivers. We work very hard. Stature is nothing. We work hard every day. We’re going to continue to make plays.”

The Steelers will need them to if Pittsburgh wants to make it to Denver on Jan. 11. While the numbers aren’t particularly impressive — the Steelers finished 27th in the NFL in yards passing allowed — the catastrophic mistakes that cost them earlier in the season have largely vanished.

Since Green torched them with 224 yards receiving on Dec. 7, Pittsburgh has put the lid back on top of a defense that is starting to look respectable if not quite dominant.

And the Steelers are doing it with unfamiliar faces. Cornerback Ike Taylor has missed most of the season with a broken forearm and shoulder issues. Troy Polamalu has played just three times since the first weekend of November due to a knee injury. Both practiced on Wednesday though it’s uncertain if they will be active even if doctors clear them to return.

As strange as it sounds, Pittsburgh has been better with them out of the lineup. The Steelers gave up 15 passing plays of 40 yards or more this season — the second-highest total in the league — but none the last two weeks.

Coach Mike Tomlin understands the urge to point out the missteps that can shift momentum in an instant but believes the productivity he’s seen from the secondary has been steadily building since October.