Adam Gase knows he didn’t use Le’Veon Bell properly in his first season with the team. He admitted as much Wednesday during a video conference with reporters.
“I feel like I did a bad job at the beginning of the season,” he said. “I was really trying to get [Bell] going – and at the same time teams knew what we were doing and they were loading up the box and he was taking some shots. I’m sure that wore on him as the season went on.”
Bell finished with his worst season since his rookie year, finishing with career-lows in almost every statistical category while seeing a drop in touches, yards and touchdowns. He also ranked among the least efficient running backs in the league last season with a 42 percent success rate, according to Football Outsiders.
The Jets need to incorporate Bell in their offense in a smart, efficient way if they hope to improve in 2020. That means different looks out of the backfield for Bell – especially in the passing game – as well as different offensive schemes. Gase failed to use Bell properly in 2019 – partly because of the porous offensive line and partly because of his gameplan – but appeared open to making changes in 2020.
“I have to do a good job of making sure he’s getting his touches,” Gase said, “but at the same time we’re putting him at the best position possible to get to 16-plus games.”
Increased production for Bell should come with a better offensive line. Joe Douglas brought in an entirely new line for 2020 through free agency, the draft and roster cuts. That includes Mekhi Becton, the 6-foot-5 tackle who’s prowess in Louisville’s zone-blocking scheme helped the Cardinals average 213.8 rushing yards per game and 4.8 yards per rush. Any upgrade in run blocking should elevate Bell’s ability to rush considering his per-carry averages before and after contact of 1.17 and 2.0 were among the worst in the NFL.
But the biggest strategy change that would lead to a more successful 2020 campaign for Bell revolves around adding different plays for Bell into the gameplan.
Gase mentioned that he tried too hard early on in the season to get Bell going quickly – he averaged 25.75 touches in the first four weeks of the season – and that led to team’s loading the box and punishing Bell with early hits. That could change by incorporating other running backs into the backfield more and putting Bell out wide more to give him space to catch the football.
In Pittsburgh, Bell flourished as a pseudo-receiver for the Steelers, which was part of the reason he held out for the 2018 season looking for a lucrative contract. He averaged 101.67 targets in the three seasons between 2015 and 2017 in which he played at least 12 games. But in New York, he was only targeted 78 times. That can’t happen if the Jets want Bell to play at a Pro Bowl level, and Gase knows that. He mentioned he’s looking into “getting the ball in [Bell’s] hands and letting him go do different things.”
“We have to make sure he’s the primary guy in some of the passing game stuff,” Gase continued.
That means running Bell out wide rather than having him catch passes out of the backfield or in the flat. He proved in Pittsburgh and in limited action in New York that he is a great pass-catcher. Gase needs to try more of that in 2020.
Touches alone won’t help Bell’s efficiency, though, even though Gase alluded to it. The Jets need to switch up their personnel in order to flummox defenses – if that’s something Gase is truly worried about.
The Jets ran 11 personnel (one running back and one tight end) on 68.5 percent of their offensive snaps in 2019, according to Sharp Football Stats. That was the ninth-highest in the NFL. The Jets would do well to try some plays with at least two running backs in the backfield, something the 49ers used expertly in 2019, which helped their run to the Super Bowl.
San Franciso’s offense flourished in 2019 because it ran 21 personnel (two running backs, one tight end) 42 percent of the time and led the NFL with 2,876 yards and 13 total touchdowns in that scheme. It will be tough for Gase to replicate that usage with a backfield that includes a 37-year-old Frank Gore and a rookie in La’Mical Perine, but the Jets can certainly increase their usage from the 3.5 percent they ran in 2019 in 21 personnel.
Gase also mentioned increasing the Jets’ number of offensive plays as a means to boost Bell’s production. Last season, the Jets averaged fewer than 60 plays per game. Gase wants that number to be closer to 65 or 70 plays per game, which would put the Jets in the top 10 in the league.
Would that equate to more production from Bell? Possibly. The opportunity would surely be there because the touches would likely increase. But that doesn’t mean much unless Bell can perform.
Gase wants more touches for Bell, but he did a poor job managing them in 2019, which led to a slow decline in production and snap share as the season progressed. Gase talked about ensuring Bell can play through the entire season, but the Jets used Bell less and less frequently toward the end of the season. If Gase can find a way to seamlessly blend better blocking with a nice mixture of offensive schemes around Bell, the touch management will work itself out well enough to where Bell could have a relatively productive season.
Bell seems excited about everything he’s seen from Gase, though. Despite rumors that the two had a bad relationship (there were reports Gase wasn’t happy former Jets GM Mike Maccagnan paid Bell $52 million and then that Joe Douglas wanted to trade Bell at the 2019 deadline), Bell said he loves working with his coach.
“I love Coach Gase,” Bell told reporters Wednesday. “Me and him never had any falling out or bad talks… We always moved in a positive direction. I think he’s a good leader for us. I think he can get it done.”
Bell has touted his physique this offseason – much like he did for most of 2018 and the 2019 offseason – and has, on multiple occasions, prophesized a career-year for himself. He continued with that proclamation Wednesday.
“This has been the best I’ve felt and I’m ready to show it,” Bell said. “I’m ready to show this is the best Le’Veon Bell that’s ever played in the NFL.”
Now, it’s up to Gase to use the best Le’Veon Bell properly.