Sassy
04-05-2007, 11:57 PM
This ticks me off!
New Number, No Problem
Bell Brings Back No. 30, Prepares for 2007
Running back Mike Bell will switch to No. 30 this season -- a number his idol, Terrell Davis, made famous for the Broncos during two Super Bowl runs.PHOTO: TREVOR BROWN JR. / RICH
Be sure to check newsstands for the current copy of Broncos Magazine featuring a tribute to cornerback Darrent Williams. All newsstand proceeds will be donated to the Darrent Williams Trust Fund.
By J. Michael Moore
Broncos Magazine Editor
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- As a Broncos fan in the late 90s, running back Mike Bell had a great role model.
"I've always been a big-time Broncos fan," he said last June after the Broncos signed him to a rookie contract. "I was 10. I was a big-time Elway fan and I always liked the Broncos. To have the opportunity to play for them, I couldn't ask for anything more. I had Elway and Terrell Davis jerseys, which I still own to this day."
When asked what number he wanted to wear Bell stayed away from Davis' No. 30 and took 20.
He wore it well.
Bell was elevated to the top of the depth chart during training camp and split time with Tatum Bell through the season but, when the Broncos signed former Titans running back Travis Henry last month, the rookie sensation had a problem on his hands.
Henry, who led the Titans with 1,240 rushing yards last year, has worn No. 20 since his days at the University of Tennessee. He was prepared to pay Bell for the number.
On Tuesday, Bell wouldn't confirm or deny if money exchanged hands, but Henry now has No. 20 on his name plate.
Bell has No. 30 on his jersey.
His only fear was taking away from everything Davis accomplished, but he made sure to ask permission through his marketing representative before getting his new gear from the equipment room.
Now a year older, Bell understands two things -- why the Broncos brought in a veteran running back after trading Tatum Bell to the Lions as part of a deal to acquire cornerback Dre and what it means to wear "T.D.'s" number.
On Henry: "...I knew they were going to bring someone in," Bell said. "Just common knowledge. I knew if they didn't, it would just be me and I didn't have any experience. I didn't start last year. I don't have (much) experience, so I know they have to bring some type of veteran in that has experience, and he's real experienced and he played well wherever he was."
On Davis: "It means a lot. I think people place too much significance on it because a number is not going to make me play any better, but I did grow up watching him, and it basically completes what I wanted to do. It is special to me, but it's not going to mean anything if I don't go out there and perform."
In just one year in the NFL, Bell has developed a unique brand of maturity. It started when he became the undrafted rookie that made it to the top of the depth chart just a few weeks before the season opener.
It's continued as teams, including the Broncos, look for ways to effectively divide the workload.
Of course, Bell learned from the best.
Davis rushed for 6,413 yards in his first four seasons, including 2,008 yards in 1998. He became a star in the Broncos running game and totaled 72.8 percent of the team's rushing attempts in 1997 and 1998 (74.6 percent in his 2,000-yard season).
The Broncos have rolled out more 1,000-yard rushers since Davis, including Mike Anderson, Clinton Portis and Tatum Bell, but none carried the ball more. In fact, no back has totaled more than 59.7 percent of the team's carries since 1998 (Portis in 2002).
Bell carried 157 times last season (32.2 percent of the team's rushing attempts) but, with eight scores, he accounted for 61.5 percent of the rushing touchdowns.
He will go into training camp ready to compete, just as his hero, a sixth-round pick, did back in 1995.
"I don't know what everybody else thinks, but I know I'm not going in with an attitude like that," he said Tuesday when asked about Henry's arrival. "I'll go out there and work every day like I'm No. 1. That's what I did last year and it helped me out a lot. So I'm going out there with the same attitude, regardless of what anybody else thinks."
With a new number, maturity and faith, he's ready for 2007.
"...I'm just going to continue to work hard, do everything I can do and put everything else in God's hands and whatever happens, happens."
RELATED LINKS:
New Number, No Problem
Bell Brings Back No. 30, Prepares for 2007
Running back Mike Bell will switch to No. 30 this season -- a number his idol, Terrell Davis, made famous for the Broncos during two Super Bowl runs.PHOTO: TREVOR BROWN JR. / RICH
Be sure to check newsstands for the current copy of Broncos Magazine featuring a tribute to cornerback Darrent Williams. All newsstand proceeds will be donated to the Darrent Williams Trust Fund.
By J. Michael Moore
Broncos Magazine Editor
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- As a Broncos fan in the late 90s, running back Mike Bell had a great role model.
"I've always been a big-time Broncos fan," he said last June after the Broncos signed him to a rookie contract. "I was 10. I was a big-time Elway fan and I always liked the Broncos. To have the opportunity to play for them, I couldn't ask for anything more. I had Elway and Terrell Davis jerseys, which I still own to this day."
When asked what number he wanted to wear Bell stayed away from Davis' No. 30 and took 20.
He wore it well.
Bell was elevated to the top of the depth chart during training camp and split time with Tatum Bell through the season but, when the Broncos signed former Titans running back Travis Henry last month, the rookie sensation had a problem on his hands.
Henry, who led the Titans with 1,240 rushing yards last year, has worn No. 20 since his days at the University of Tennessee. He was prepared to pay Bell for the number.
On Tuesday, Bell wouldn't confirm or deny if money exchanged hands, but Henry now has No. 20 on his name plate.
Bell has No. 30 on his jersey.
His only fear was taking away from everything Davis accomplished, but he made sure to ask permission through his marketing representative before getting his new gear from the equipment room.
Now a year older, Bell understands two things -- why the Broncos brought in a veteran running back after trading Tatum Bell to the Lions as part of a deal to acquire cornerback Dre and what it means to wear "T.D.'s" number.
On Henry: "...I knew they were going to bring someone in," Bell said. "Just common knowledge. I knew if they didn't, it would just be me and I didn't have any experience. I didn't start last year. I don't have (much) experience, so I know they have to bring some type of veteran in that has experience, and he's real experienced and he played well wherever he was."
On Davis: "It means a lot. I think people place too much significance on it because a number is not going to make me play any better, but I did grow up watching him, and it basically completes what I wanted to do. It is special to me, but it's not going to mean anything if I don't go out there and perform."
In just one year in the NFL, Bell has developed a unique brand of maturity. It started when he became the undrafted rookie that made it to the top of the depth chart just a few weeks before the season opener.
It's continued as teams, including the Broncos, look for ways to effectively divide the workload.
Of course, Bell learned from the best.
Davis rushed for 6,413 yards in his first four seasons, including 2,008 yards in 1998. He became a star in the Broncos running game and totaled 72.8 percent of the team's rushing attempts in 1997 and 1998 (74.6 percent in his 2,000-yard season).
The Broncos have rolled out more 1,000-yard rushers since Davis, including Mike Anderson, Clinton Portis and Tatum Bell, but none carried the ball more. In fact, no back has totaled more than 59.7 percent of the team's carries since 1998 (Portis in 2002).
Bell carried 157 times last season (32.2 percent of the team's rushing attempts) but, with eight scores, he accounted for 61.5 percent of the rushing touchdowns.
He will go into training camp ready to compete, just as his hero, a sixth-round pick, did back in 1995.
"I don't know what everybody else thinks, but I know I'm not going in with an attitude like that," he said Tuesday when asked about Henry's arrival. "I'll go out there and work every day like I'm No. 1. That's what I did last year and it helped me out a lot. So I'm going out there with the same attitude, regardless of what anybody else thinks."
With a new number, maturity and faith, he's ready for 2007.
"...I'm just going to continue to work hard, do everything I can do and put everything else in God's hands and whatever happens, happens."
RELATED LINKS: