Tatum Bell Fans?

[max040405]

Any Denver homers want to give me some advice on trading for Tatum Bell. Will he have a big season and will he lose his job to Mike Bell?

[samurai30]

Any Denver homers want to give me some advice on trading for Tatum Bell. Will he have a big season and will he lose his job to Mike Bell?

 

 

If he stays healthy...he will have a great season....probably 1,300-1,500 yards rushing. His TDs will probably be in the 8-9 range though. Only way Mike Bell does see time, is if tatum gets hurt...not because tatum will under perform..because we all know what he can do. Tatum in a keeper league is even better. Probably a top 10rb next year, unlike being between 20-25 this year.

Edited October 11, 2006 by samurai30

[Cosmo-J]

Once Shanahan *finally* chooses his man he tends to stick with him through thick and thin (see recently with Droughns and Anderson), so TB would have to do something pretty drastic in order to lose the starting gig. I would not put much stock into Mike Bell making a comeback, barring injury. If you are going to trade for Tatum, I would do it sooner than later... He's rushed for 2 (almost 3) 100 yd games so far; 0 TD's but that will change soon enough. He's currently averaging 96 yds/game and I would think it's not a stretch to guess he runs for at least 1200-1300 yds and a minimum of 8 TD's...

[Avernus]

as much as I hate to say this in this scenario..."skeletor" has always stuck with one back unless he stinks up the joint terribly or is injured...and he can lose his job due to injury...

 

he keeps this way of doing a RBBC until he finds his starter and rides that one throughout the season...but I think he usually knows who his starter is before the season starts...minus a few curveballs..

[TurfPimp]

I'm siiting in pretty good shape and looking at the playoff schedule. Tatums matchups will be @Ari, Cincy and SF!

[Big Red]

I like him alot, but mainly because I just traded him away (along with my backup D and QB) for Jones-Drew and Dunn (I had Taylor and Norwood).

 

I figure he is one injury or 1-2 fumbles away from giving Mike Bell a chance to get his job back.

[samurai30]

I like him alot, but mainly because I just traded him away (along with my backup D and QB) for Jones-Drew and Dunn (I had Taylor and Norwood).

 

I figure he is one injury or 1-2 fumbles away from giving Mike Bell a chance to get his job back.

 

 

 

It was never mike bells job to begin with. Shanny fooled everyone. An injury or 1-2 fumbles will make any back lose his job...

[hezagenius]

It was never mike bells job to begin with. Shanny fooled everyone. An injury or 1-2 fumbles will make any back lose his job...

 

Yeah, going into the season, everyone is my league was sooooo high on Mike Bell. I ended up taking Tatum in round 6 or 7. Mike went in the 4th I think. You knew there was no way Mike was going to keep the job. It was all motivation directed at Tatum. If Shanahanigans doesn't like a RB, he will get rid of them. He has some serious man love for Tatum or he wouldn't still be on the roster.

[quantegy]

Yeah, going into the season, everyone is my league was sooooo high on Mike Bell. I ended up taking Tatum in round 6 or 7. Mike went in the 4th I think. You knew there was no way Mike was going to keep the job. It was all motivation directed at Tatum. If Shanahanigans doesn't like a RB, he will get rid of them. He has some serious man love for Tatum or he wouldn't still be on the roster.

 

Once I catch a glimpse of his breakaway speed on sunday night, I am going to start developing a man crush for this guy...

 

Go Tatum!!!

[Randall]

If he stays healthy...he will have a great season....probably 1,300-1,500 yards rushing. His TDs will probably be in the 8-9 range though. Only way Mike Bell does see time, is if tatum gets hurt...not because tatum will under perform..because we all know what he can do. Tatum in a keeper league is even better. Probably a top 10rb next year, unlike being between 20-25 this year.

 

 

We all know what he can't do too. Let's see what Shanahan does when he can't move the pile 3 times inside the one and when he fumbles 3 times.

[Cyclones]

We all know what he can't do too. Let's see what Shanahan does when he can't move the pile 3 times inside the one and when he fumbles 3 times.

 

 

He didn't seem to have much trouble carrying Ray Ray on his back for 4 or 5 yards on Monday night. He gained 92 TOUGH yards against a punishing Defense. The early fumble still led to 0 carries for Mike Bell. He had one fumble on a night when it was 35 and raining. He'll be fine.

[samurai30]

We all know what he can't do too. Let's see what Shanahan does when he can't move the pile 3 times inside the one and when he fumbles 3 times.

 

 

you're drinking some serious hateraid there. he's moved the pile this year, he's improved at running between the tackles, and he's the best back on the team.....and he'll be a top 10 back next year fantasy wise. Of course its still early to say how he'll end up doing, but you have to like this chances..

 

 

good tatum bell article for those that are interested

 

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nfl/...5066064,00.html

 

By Lynn DeBruin, Rocky Mountain News

October 14, 2006

Never mind that his father stood 6-foot-7, and had at least 50 pounds on him.

 

When it was crunch time in the driveway back in DeSoto, Texas, Tatum Bell wouldn't give an inch.

 

"I'd be ready to make the game-winning shot and he'd knock me right into the garage," Tony Bell recalled. "It'd take a long time to get that last bucket in."

 

Years have passed since those pickup games, but if anything, Tatum Bell's competitive nature has only intensified.

 

It explains the tally sheet front and center on his refrigerator, tracking the games of dominoes with girlfriend Jeré Boykin.

 

It explains why their 10-month-old daughter Ta'Lor consistently utters "Dada" rather than something maternal.

 

"She'd say 'Momma' at first, and he was pretty irritated," Boykin said with a laugh. "Every day after that, he'd go up to her and say 'Da, Da, Da, Da, Da.' Now, that's all she says."

 

The fact is, Bell hates to lose, whether it's movie trivia, bowling or the No. 1 running back job for the Broncos.

 

When the latter happened a few months back, it lit a fire under the third-year pro.

 

While coaches insist there were no psychological games involved in naming Mike Bell the starter instead of Tatum Bell, the outcome was just the same.

 

"Whatever they did pushed a button in him to get him in second gear," Boykin said of 5-11, 213-pound Tatum.

 

Now, after seeing spot duty the past two years behind Quentin Griffin, Reuben Droughns, Mike Anderson and Ron Dayne and battling Mike Bell earlier this season, Tatum Bell is intent on keeping what he has.

 

"He's finally gotten his chance to prove himself, but he still has more to prove," Boykin said. "He hasn't scored a touchdown yet. He knows there's more he can do and knows he has to keep working hard."

 

Bell, 25, earned the starting job with his strong effort in overtime against Kansas City, then backed it up with a solid 27-carry, 123-yard game on the road against New England.

 

Against Baltimore's stingy defense Monday night, he carried 19 times for 92 yards, including a 12-yard run on third-and-10 from the Ravens 17-yard line that helped set up Denver's game-clinching touchdown.

 

It was the kind of run - late in the game, between the tackles, in poor conditions - that Bell hopes will silence remaining critics questioning whether he can be that every-down back.

 

"He's proven he's ready to take the load," quarterback Jake Plummer said.

 

Through four games, Bell has 387 yards, putting him on pace for 1,548 this season. His 5.0-yard average is best in the NFL among backs with 75 carries or more.

 

"I know the history," Bell said. "All the backs that were before me since I've been here are gone now. I hope I'll be the one that makes it."

 

Heart and soul

 

The tattoo across the left side of Tatum Bell's chest is hard to miss. It reads "Family First."

 

The words are written in indelible ink for a reason.

 

He grew up in Garland, Texas, a Dallas suburb, raised by his mother, Vanessa Jones, and his grandmother Doris Jones. Though his father lived crosstown in DeSoto, they were all but strangers.

 

That changed when Tatum was in eighth grade.

 

His mother, wheelchair-bound from a paralyzing auto accident years earlier, suffered complications from pneumonia and died at age 47.

 

Tatum was just 14.

 

"When my mom passed, (my dad) came back into my life and helped me become a man," said Bell, who points to the sky after scoring touchdowns, to honor his mother.

 

"But I always said when I have kids I'm going to be around (whether) I'm with the mom or not."

 

In this case, he's more than around.

 

"He's awesome," said Boykin, a Denver native who met Bell six years ago while both were athletes at Oklahoma State (she played on the soccer team).

 

"It's rare you find, well, I shouldn't say rare, but he's real hands-on. He likes to be involved in everything."

 

He changes diapers, gets Ta'Lor her bottle, tends to her in the middle of the night, brushes her hair.

 

"She's the apple of his eye. He prides himself in being her father," said Boykin, a teacher at New Covenant Christian Church in Denver.

 

Bell savors this new role in life.

 

"That's my heart, man," he says. "No matter how my day goes, when I come home, she puts a smile on my face."

 

As for his own father, Bell now calls him his best friend.

 

But getting to that point took some work, especially after Tony Bell and his wife, Terry, took Tatum into their home after his mother's death.

 

Suddenly, he had a new family, including a half brother, T.J. (now a sophomore cornerback at OSU), he'd never met, and rules he never imagined.

 

"That was a lot for a child at that age," Tony Bell said. "He tried to handle it on his own. There was a lot of anxiety there, a lot of tension and a little rebelliousness, understandably so. But we got through it."

 

Maturation process

 

In retrospect, football was the easy part.

 

At DeSoto High School, Bell became a star, his speed and shiftiness elevating him as high as the No. 6 running back prospect in the country.

 

His success continued at Oklahoma State, where he rushed for 3,409 yards and 34 touchdowns in 41 career games.

 

In Denver, he expected to pick up where he left off after being drafted in the second round in 2004.

 

He announced his goal of leading the league in rushing (his father always told him to aim high) and even asked for his former jersey number, only to find out a guy named Elway forever would have dibs on it.

 

But other things didn't go quite as planned. While Bell battled injuries to a finger, ribs, hamstring and shoulder, Griffin got the job, then Droughns took over when Griffin suffered a season-ending injury.

 

Bell, with his 4.3-second speed, was tagged Denver's change-of-pace back, carrying 75 times for 396 yards as a rookie.

 

Last year, Anderson won the job, and Bell rotated in, carrying 173 times for 921 yards and eight touchdowns.

 

This year, with all of the other veterans out of the picture, Bell figured it would be different. Then coaches named the other Bell the starter during preseason.

 

"Obviously, he was upset when the announcement came out," assistant head coach Mike Heimerdinger said. "But there's two things you can do. You can quit, and mope about it, or you can fight, and 'Tate' fought."

 

Tatum's father reminded him how at each level, he had to pick it up a notch.

 

"You can't take it for granted," Tony Bell said. "You've got to tighten up the belt and go to work. He understood what he had to do."

 

Many teammates saw a more focused player.

 

"We've always seen the talent in him, it's just kind of coming to the forefront now. (The New England) game was a statement game," safety John Lynch said. "He ran like he was running with a purpose."

 

Lynch already was sold on Bell's toughness, especially when Bell separated a shoulder as a rookie yet continued to play through the injury.

 

"I'll never forget his first year," Lynch said. "We were in the training room and he's giving a veteran a hard time, asking, 'When are you going to get back on the field?' At the time, he was playing through some pain, so I always appreciated that about him."

 

While others have seen the toughness and competitive fire, Broncos team captain Rod Smith has seen the maturation.

 

"When you first get in the league, you want to make this big impact, you want to be a superstar, and it's usually about you," Smith said.

 

"If you could listen to (our) conversations now, it's about what can he do for us. He fought his way through the running back controversy, played his way through it and did an excellent job.

 

"I really like what he's grown to as an athlete and as one of the future leaders of this football team. That's what makes him stand out right now."

 

Just Tatum

 

While Smith lauds the future leader in Bell, teammates still laugh at the mild-mannered running back, the likable guy with a heart as big as his truck who will forever remain confident in his ability - both on and off the field.

 

"He's probably the worst bowler to play on the team, by far, but he's going to talk like he's going to roll a 200," receiver Todd Devoe said.

 

Then there's Bell's "snake" dance, which, by everyone else's standards, is pretty awful.

 

"Oh, you can't tell him he can't get down," Devoe said.

 

Boykin, who still is waiting for Bell to battle her on the soccer field, can relate.

 

"One thing you cannot tell Tatum is that he can't do something, because he will swear he can do it with the best of them," Boykin said.

 

"It's not a bad thing at all. It's just Tatum."

 

Home-run hitter

 

A look at Tatum Bell's longest runs for the Broncos:

 

Date Yards Opponent

 

Oct. 16, 2005 68 yards vs. New England

 

Oct. 30, 2005 67 yards* vs. Philadelphia

 

Oct. 9, 2005 55 yards* vs. Washington

 

Sept. 9, 2006 39 yards at St. Louis

 

Oct. 23, 2005 37 yards at New York Giants

 

Dec. 24, 2005 35 yards vs. Oakland

 

*touchdown

 

Bell leads the NFL in yards per carry among backs with at least 75 carries:

 

Tatum Bell Denver 5.0 YPC

 

Deuce McAllister N. Orleans 4.8 YPC

 

Tiki Barber N.Y. Giants 4.6 YPC

 

Frank Gore San Fran. 4.6 YPC

 

Julius Jones Dallas 4.5 YPC

 

Warrick Dunn Atlanta 4.5 YPC

Edited October 14, 2006 by samurai30

[LooGie]

you're drinking some serious hateraid there. he's moved the pile this year, he's improved at running between the tackles, and he's the best back on the team.....and he'll be a top 10 back next year fantasy wise. Of course its still early to say how he'll end up doing, but you have to like this chances..

good tatum bell article for those that are interested

 

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nfl/...5066064,00.html

 

By Lynn DeBruin, Rocky Mountain News

October 14, 2006

Never mind that his father stood 6-foot-7, and had at least 50 pounds on him.

 

When it was crunch time in the driveway back in DeSoto, Texas, Tatum Bell wouldn't give an inch.

 

"I'd be ready to make the game-winning shot and he'd knock me right into the garage," Tony Bell recalled. "It'd take a long time to get that last bucket in."

 

Years have passed since those pickup games, but if anything, Tatum Bell's competitive nature has only intensified.

 

It explains the tally sheet front and center on his refrigerator, tracking the games of dominoes with girlfriend Jeré Boykin.

 

It explains why their 10-month-old daughter Ta'Lor consistently utters "Dada" rather than something maternal.

 

"She'd say 'Momma' at first, and he was pretty irritated," Boykin said with a laugh. "Every day after that, he'd go up to her and say 'Da, Da, Da, Da, Da.' Now, that's all she says."

 

The fact is, Bell hates to lose, whether it's movie trivia, bowling or the No. 1 running back job for the Broncos.

 

When the latter happened a few months back, it lit a fire under the third-year pro.

 

While coaches insist there were no psychological games involved in naming Mike Bell the starter instead of Tatum Bell, the outcome was just the same.

 

"Whatever they did pushed a button in him to get him in second gear," Boykin said of 5-11, 213-pound Tatum.

 

Now, after seeing spot duty the past two years behind Quentin Griffin, Reuben Droughns, Mike Anderson and Ron Dayne and battling Mike Bell earlier this season, Tatum Bell is intent on keeping what he has.

 

"He's finally gotten his chance to prove himself, but he still has more to prove," Boykin said. "He hasn't scored a touchdown yet. He knows there's more he can do and knows he has to keep working hard."

 

Bell, 25, earned the starting job with his strong effort in overtime against Kansas City, then backed it up with a solid 27-carry, 123-yard game on the road against New England.

 

Against Baltimore's stingy defense Monday night, he carried 19 times for 92 yards, including a 12-yard run on third-and-10 from the Ravens 17-yard line that helped set up Denver's game-clinching touchdown.

 

It was the kind of run - late in the game, between the tackles, in poor conditions - that Bell hopes will silence remaining critics questioning whether he can be that every-down back.

 

"He's proven he's ready to take the load," quarterback Jake Plummer said.

 

Through four games, Bell has 387 yards, putting him on pace for 1,548 this season. His 5.0-yard average is best in the NFL among backs with 75 carries or more.

 

"I know the history," Bell said. "All the backs that were before me since I've been here are gone now. I hope I'll be the one that makes it."

 

Heart and soul

 

The tattoo across the left side of Tatum Bell's chest is hard to miss. It reads "Family First."

 

The words are written in indelible ink for a reason.

 

He grew up in Garland, Texas, a Dallas suburb, raised by his mother, Vanessa Jones, and his grandmother Doris Jones. Though his father lived crosstown in DeSoto, they were all but strangers.

 

That changed when Tatum was in eighth grade.

 

His mother, wheelchair-bound from a paralyzing auto accident years earlier, suffered complications from pneumonia and died at age 47.

 

Tatum was just 14.

 

"When my mom passed, (my dad) came back into my life and helped me become a man," said Bell, who points to the sky after scoring touchdowns, to honor his mother.

 

"But I always said when I have kids I'm going to be around (whether) I'm with the mom or not."

 

In this case, he's more than around.

 

"He's awesome," said Boykin, a Denver native who met Bell six years ago while both were athletes at Oklahoma State (she played on the soccer team).

 

"It's rare you find, well, I shouldn't say rare, but he's real hands-on. He likes to be involved in everything."

 

He changes diapers, gets Ta'Lor her bottle, tends to her in the middle of the night, brushes her hair.

 

"She's the apple of his eye. He prides himself in being her father," said Boykin, a teacher at New Covenant Christian Church in Denver.

 

Bell savors this new role in life.

 

"That's my heart, man," he says. "No matter how my day goes, when I come home, she puts a smile on my face."

 

As for his own father, Bell now calls him his best friend.

 

But getting to that point took some work, especially after Tony Bell and his wife, Terry, took Tatum into their home after his mother's death.

 

Suddenly, he had a new family, including a half brother, T.J. (now a sophomore cornerback at OSU), he'd never met, and rules he never imagined.

 

"That was a lot for a child at that age," Tony Bell said. "He tried to handle it on his own. There was a lot of anxiety there, a lot of tension and a little rebelliousness, understandably so. But we got through it."

 

Maturation process

 

In retrospect, football was the easy part.

 

At DeSoto High School, Bell became a star, his speed and shiftiness elevating him as high as the No. 6 running back prospect in the country.

 

His success continued at Oklahoma State, where he rushed for 3,409 yards and 34 touchdowns in 41 career games.

 

In Denver, he expected to pick up where he left off after being drafted in the second round in 2004.

 

He announced his goal of leading the league in rushing (his father always told him to aim high) and even asked for his former jersey number, only to find out a guy named Elway forever would have dibs on it.

 

But other things didn't go quite as planned. While Bell battled injuries to a finger, ribs, hamstring and shoulder, Griffin got the job, then Droughns took over when Griffin suffered a season-ending injury.

 

Bell, with his 4.3-second speed, was tagged Denver's change-of-pace back, carrying 75 times for 396 yards as a rookie.

 

Last year, Anderson won the job, and Bell rotated in, carrying 173 times for 921 yards and eight touchdowns.

 

This year, with all of the other veterans out of the picture, Bell figured it would be different. Then coaches named the other Bell the starter during preseason.

 

"Obviously, he was upset when the announcement came out," assistant head coach Mike Heimerdinger said. "But there's two things you can do. You can quit, and mope about it, or you can fight, and 'Tate' fought."

 

Tatum's father reminded him how at each level, he had to pick it up a notch.

 

"You can't take it for granted," Tony Bell said. "You've got to tighten up the belt and go to work. He understood what he had to do."

 

Many teammates saw a more focused player.

 

"We've always seen the talent in him, it's just kind of coming to the forefront now. (The New England) game was a statement game," safety John Lynch said. "He ran like he was running with a purpose."

 

Lynch already was sold on Bell's toughness, especially when Bell separated a shoulder as a rookie yet continued to play through the injury.

 

"I'll never forget his first year," Lynch said. "We were in the training room and he's giving a veteran a hard time, asking, 'When are you going to get back on the field?' At the time, he was playing through some pain, so I always appreciated that about him."

 

While others have seen the toughness and competitive fire, Broncos team captain Rod Smith has seen the maturation.

 

"When you first get in the league, you want to make this big impact, you want to be a superstar, and it's usually about you," Smith said.

 

"If you could listen to (our) conversations now, it's about what can he do for us. He fought his way through the running back controversy, played his way through it and did an excellent job.

 

"I really like what he's grown to as an athlete and as one of the future leaders of this football team. That's what makes him stand out right now."

 

Just Tatum

 

While Smith lauds the future leader in Bell, teammates still laugh at the mild-mannered running back, the likable guy with a heart as big as his truck who will forever remain confident in his ability - both on and off the field.

 

"He's probably the worst bowler to play on the team, by far, but he's going to talk like he's going to roll a 200," receiver Todd Devoe said.

 

Then there's Bell's "snake" dance, which, by everyone else's standards, is pretty awful.

 

"Oh, you can't tell him he can't get down," Devoe said.

 

Boykin, who still is waiting for Bell to battle her on the soccer field, can relate.

 

"One thing you cannot tell Tatum is that he can't do something, because he will swear he can do it with the best of them," Boykin said.

 

"It's not a bad thing at all. It's just Tatum."

 

Home-run hitter

 

A look at Tatum Bell's longest runs for the Broncos:

 

Date Yards Opponent

 

Oct. 16, 2005 68 yards vs. New England

 

Oct. 30, 2005 67 yards* vs. Philadelphia

 

Oct. 9, 2005 55 yards* vs. Washington

 

Sept. 9, 2006 39 yards at St. Louis

 

Oct. 23, 2005 37 yards at New York Giants

 

Dec. 24, 2005 35 yards vs. Oakland

 

*touchdown

 

Bell leads the NFL in yards per carry among backs with at least 75 carries:

 

Tatum Bell Denver 5.0 YPC

 

Deuce McAllister N. Orleans 4.8 YPC

 

Tiki Barber N.Y. Giants 4.6 YPC

 

Frank Gore San Fran. 4.6 YPC

 

Julius Jones Dallas 4.5 YPC

 

Warrick Dunn Atlanta 4.5 YPC

 

 

jesus christ dude. settle down. split that crap up into multiple posts, or better yet, multiple threads. the only reason I quote the whole thing, is to put it into perspective. That's like a screen play. wow.

 

edit: and for the record, I didn't even read the Opraher, and I'm sure no one else did either. We're far too lazy 'round the Huddle for that.

Edited October 14, 2006 by LooGie

[samurai30]

jesus christ dude. settle down. split that crap up into multiple posts, or better yet, multiple threads. the only reason I quote the whole thing, is to put it into perspective. That's like a screen play. wow.

 

edit: and for the record, I didn't even read the Opraher, and I'm sure no one else did either. We're far too lazy 'round the Huddle for that.

 

 

dude, take a chill pill..relax..u'll live longer....no harm in posting some info about a player. Some people are too lazy even to click a link. Speak for yourself about being lazy, I'm sure a few people read it, u don't have to read the whole thing.

Edited October 14, 2006 by samurai30

[Thews40]

Traded Tatum to my son this week in my local (surprised there isn't a deluge of "collusion" threads) for Warrick Dunn. His team is better than mine, so I think I got the best end of it, but I think Dunn is much more steady than Tater. A Donco starting RB is worth a lot in Denver, so i sort of expect Tatum to change hands soon. We'll see, but I have a "consolidation" at having Dunn in two leagues. Cobbs had some carries, and the other Bell is still in the wings, so I'd look to trade tater now. One fumble...

[ghengis_chan]

I just traded Edge and Braylon Edwards for Hass and Tatum.... I needed a bye week QB for Favre this week and saw an opportunity to get Hass. Edge has O-line problems so I thought it was a good trade. I also have McGahee and Chester so Edge was expendable but would not trade him without some return RB depth. The other team was hurting at WR and still thinks Edge is going to have his typical type year.

[kingfish247]

i'm a fan of Tatum, at least this week (see team below)

 

i liked how he bounced back from that early fumble vs. BAL. That hit and dragging of Ray Lewis was pretty f-ing impressive. Funny how it didn't make many highlight reels. It was very un-Tatum-like.

 

that said... it's very likely Tatum will fumble or struggle to get a tough 2-3 yds at a critical point during a game. It's just the type of runner he is. He might just absolutely go nuts but he's not an RB in the Portis/Anderson/TD mold.