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Thread: Eddie George compares Le'Veon Bell & LeGarrette Blount to Earnest Byner & Kevin Mack

  1. #1
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    Eddie George compares Le'Veon Bell & LeGarrette Blount to Earnest Byner & Kevin Mack

    Eddie George compares Le'Veon Bell and LeGarrette Blount to Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack

    By Neal Coolong on Apr 7 2014



    How closely does LeBackfield resemble Cleveland's power and power duo from the late 80s?

    Interesting point from the player who probably most closely resembles Steelers' long-limbed running back Le'Veon Bell.

    George knows the Steelers well, having played for the Titans during the peak of the last good rivalry in the history of the AFC Central.

    He dipped way back in time, back to the Tecmo Bowl days, in drawing the Byner and Mack comparison. Two big backs (Byner was 5-foot-10, 215 pounds and Mack was 6-foot-0, 212 pounds...that was big back then) who could run with grace as well as power, it may be a pretty fitting comparison.

    If one can even be drawn. That era is remarkably different when compared to today's NFL. Mack and Byner rushed for a combined 1,172 yards and 13 touchdowns in 1987 for probably the last actually good Browns team to ever set foot on a field.

    Of course, no comparison to Byner will ever go without mention of The Fumble, Byner's gaffe at Denver's 2-yard line with 1:11 remaining in the game. A touchdown would have tied the game, and instead, with Denver taking an intentional safety and the 38-33 win, Cleveland fell out of the Super Bowl once again.

    Byner's multi-faceted talent, fumbling aside, is a realistic comparison to Bell. He had 432 yards on the ground that year, but 552 yards on 52 catches as well. Mack, a fullback, had 705 yards rushing on 201 carries and added 223 yards on 32 receptions.

    Blount won't catch 32 passes in this offense, but he has a $100,000 bonus if he rushes for 850 yards, so maybe that's in his sights.

    And if both of them hang onto the ball, this could be one of the best Steelers rushing tandems in quite a while. Hopefully when it's said and done, the comparison is less Byner/Mack and more Franco/The Rock.

    [URL]http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2014/4/7/5590044/eddie-george-compares-leveon-bell-and-legarrette-blount-to-earnest[/URL]

  2. #2
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    I'm very excited. I was very high on drafting Blount in the later rounds of the 2010 draft. I'm still very high on Blount as a #2 in this O. I can't imagine how tired teams are going to be trying to tackle a fresh Blount late in the 4th quarter. I'm telling you, he is going to have some big games if he stays healthy. With Munchak and two big young backs...the sky is the limit for our running game next season. Lets not forget keeping Bell fresh, healthy and extending his career. It will cut out some of his production which I'm very ok with...especially if it means keeping him a few extra seasons.

    PS-call me old school but I really miss the days when the Steelers could impose their will on teams with a lead. They know it's coming...but still can't stop it. I love a good old school running game.
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  3. #3
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    Interesting comparison from the guy who I thought Le'Veon's style reminded me of most. Byner and Mack were a couple of versatile power backs (probably a better comparison than a couple of pure, brutish power backs like Christian Okoye and Barry Word).
    Steeler teams featuring stat-driven, me-first, fantasy-football-darling diva types such as Antonio Brown & Le'Veon Bell won no championships.

    Super Bowl winning Steeler teams were built around a dynamic, in-your-face defense plus blue-collar, hard-hitting, no-nonsense football players on offense such as Hines Ward & Jerome Bettis.

    We don't want Juju & Conner to replace what we lost in Brown & Bell.

    We are counting on Juju & Conner to return us to the glory we once had with Hines & The Bus.

  4. #4
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    Since I hate the Browns I refuse to give that comparison any credibilty. I would prefer to compare Bell and Blount to the 2004 version of Bettis and Duce Staley or even to the Eric Pegram/Bam Morris tandem of the 90's if I had to.

  5. #5
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    How about the Ravens pair of Jamal Lewis and Priest Holmes once upon a time?
    Steeler teams featuring stat-driven, me-first, fantasy-football-darling diva types such as Antonio Brown & Le'Veon Bell won no championships.

    Super Bowl winning Steeler teams were built around a dynamic, in-your-face defense plus blue-collar, hard-hitting, no-nonsense football players on offense such as Hines Ward & Jerome Bettis.

    We don't want Juju & Conner to replace what we lost in Brown & Bell.

    We are counting on Juju & Conner to return us to the glory we once had with Hines & The Bus.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Notleadpoisoned View Post
    Since I hate the Browns I refuse to give that comparison any credibilty. I would prefer to compare Bell and Blount to the 2004 version of Bettis and Duce Staley or even to the Eric Pegram/Bam Morris tandem of the 90's if I had to.
    Lets hope Blount doesn't turn out like Duce Staley. I don't want to see him standing the sidelines in his sweat pants!!!
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  7. #7
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    More like L White and Eddie G.
    [url=http://img525.imageshack.us/i/steelers2010.jpg/]http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/2...eelers2010.jpg[/url]

  8. #8
    Legend

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    Reminds me more of these two:



    They only played a couple seasons together, but they were a good compliment to each other. If Blount accepts his role, we'll see big things from our running game this year.
    Last edited by SteelCrazy; 04-09-2014 at 04:35 PM.
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  9. #9
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    Mack and Byner were one of the few tandems that rushed for 1,000 yards each (along with Franco and Rocky)....

    I'm not looking for that kind of production, but if we could finish in the top 10, I'd be happy...

  10. #10
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    I don't think Bell is the slasher Byner was. I am shocked Mack was only 212. That's not even a big back these days, but I recall the power he had. If they end up as good as that pair I'd be smiling.

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