SoCalBronco
06-22-2005, 04:09 PM
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Quiet Confidence for Bell
By Andrew Mason
DenverBroncos.com
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Fourteen months ago, Tatum Bell was confident to the point of being brash.
BRONCOS TV: BELL HOPES CHANGES IN WORKOUT, DIET KEEP INJURIES AWAY IN SECOND YEAR
When the Broncos picked him in the 2004 NFL Draft, he immediately asked for jersey No. 7, not realizing that it sits out of circulation in deference to -- and honor of -- a certain Hall of Fame quarterback. After settling for jersey No. 26, he promptly declared that he could be the best in the league -- right away.
"My goal is to lead the league in rushing," Bell said on the day he entered the NFL. "I don't want to come in and just average the minimum and get 100 yards."
Only experience could create humility, and Bell's rookie season was more humbling than that of most first-day selections, as he spent the year battling four injuries -- a fractured pinkie, torn rib cartilage, a pulled hamstring and a separated shoulder.
Being the NFL's rushing leader was a goal Bell wouldn't come close to approaching, and he only hit the century mark once in a year in which he failed to crack the starting lineup. He didn't finally see more than spot offensive duty until December, and he touched the football 66 times in the last five games after carrying it only 14 times in the first 11 contests.
Bell doesn't regret his stratospheric pronouncements, but the frustrating year clued him in on the work involved with turning them into reality.
"It's easier said than done," Bell said. "You've got to go out and pay the price in the offseason, and the cards have got to fall down the right way for you to be one of the top backs."
The offseason work starts with a change in diet. Steaks, once a staple of Bell's palate, are only occasional visitors to his plate -- once a month and no more, he insists.
"I'm trying to cook healthy stuff instead of eating all the junk food," Bell said.
It continues in the weight room, where Bell was limited to lower-body work until the shoulder injury healed earlier in the offseason. In the months since, he's been at full speed, believing that more time in the weight room will not only help him avoid injuries, but will allow him to carry the ball 20-25 times per game.
Bell never amassed more than 17 carries as a rookie.
"I'm hitting the weight room hard, and I'm trying to be in the best shape so Coach won't have to pull me out unless I'm tired," Bell said. "I feel like I've just got to keep proving myself to the coaches that it's mine and that I've got what it takes to last all 16 games. It will all hit the fan when training camp comes."
If his body's in the shape it needs to be, the mental aspects of the game should cause him no problems, he maintains.
"I know all the plays," Bell said. "I know everything that's going on, so there won't be any surprises.
"I'm just not nervous as I used to be last year," he added. "I still get a little nervous when the coaches come out and they start getting on me. I've just got to calm down, because I know the plays, I know what I'm doing, I don't have to think as much. I know what I'm doing."
And Bell is certain of what he should be this year, showing that his confidence may be tempered with restraint, but it hasn't vanished.
"I feel like I'm the man," he said. "It hasn't been said; I just feel that deep inside."
Quiet Confidence for Bell
By Andrew Mason
DenverBroncos.com
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Fourteen months ago, Tatum Bell was confident to the point of being brash.
BRONCOS TV: BELL HOPES CHANGES IN WORKOUT, DIET KEEP INJURIES AWAY IN SECOND YEAR
When the Broncos picked him in the 2004 NFL Draft, he immediately asked for jersey No. 7, not realizing that it sits out of circulation in deference to -- and honor of -- a certain Hall of Fame quarterback. After settling for jersey No. 26, he promptly declared that he could be the best in the league -- right away.
"My goal is to lead the league in rushing," Bell said on the day he entered the NFL. "I don't want to come in and just average the minimum and get 100 yards."
Only experience could create humility, and Bell's rookie season was more humbling than that of most first-day selections, as he spent the year battling four injuries -- a fractured pinkie, torn rib cartilage, a pulled hamstring and a separated shoulder.
Being the NFL's rushing leader was a goal Bell wouldn't come close to approaching, and he only hit the century mark once in a year in which he failed to crack the starting lineup. He didn't finally see more than spot offensive duty until December, and he touched the football 66 times in the last five games after carrying it only 14 times in the first 11 contests.
Bell doesn't regret his stratospheric pronouncements, but the frustrating year clued him in on the work involved with turning them into reality.
"It's easier said than done," Bell said. "You've got to go out and pay the price in the offseason, and the cards have got to fall down the right way for you to be one of the top backs."
The offseason work starts with a change in diet. Steaks, once a staple of Bell's palate, are only occasional visitors to his plate -- once a month and no more, he insists.
"I'm trying to cook healthy stuff instead of eating all the junk food," Bell said.
It continues in the weight room, where Bell was limited to lower-body work until the shoulder injury healed earlier in the offseason. In the months since, he's been at full speed, believing that more time in the weight room will not only help him avoid injuries, but will allow him to carry the ball 20-25 times per game.
Bell never amassed more than 17 carries as a rookie.
"I'm hitting the weight room hard, and I'm trying to be in the best shape so Coach won't have to pull me out unless I'm tired," Bell said. "I feel like I've just got to keep proving myself to the coaches that it's mine and that I've got what it takes to last all 16 games. It will all hit the fan when training camp comes."
If his body's in the shape it needs to be, the mental aspects of the game should cause him no problems, he maintains.
"I know all the plays," Bell said. "I know everything that's going on, so there won't be any surprises.
"I'm just not nervous as I used to be last year," he added. "I still get a little nervous when the coaches come out and they start getting on me. I've just got to calm down, because I know the plays, I know what I'm doing, I don't have to think as much. I know what I'm doing."
And Bell is certain of what he should be this year, showing that his confidence may be tempered with restraint, but it hasn't vanished.
"I feel like I'm the man," he said. "It hasn't been said; I just feel that deep inside."