AlaskaSaints

Yeah.

Not good enough to be a Saint.
We've allowed so much talent to slip through our roster.

dizzle88

Many people here said from the start he should not have been released, he's a good football player

halloween 65

True !! But I will add if there is 1 coach and 1 scout that I give props to is those two, they have continuously found and produced small school products that have found sucess in the NFL wheather we use those GEMS to there potential or not. I have always felt that the talent we have and have had that if the O-line was built for that everything else would fall into place. This is the only knock I have ever has with Payton.

Danno

Dude, we had Pierre Thomas, Mark Ingram, Darren Sproles and Chris Ivory on the team when Detroit claimed him off our practice squad.

AlaskaSaints

Dude, what makes you think I don't know that? Just another missed opportunity in a parallel, perfect universe.

SloMotion

I like him better than Reggie, .

Yeah, but you guys were loaded with talent at RB, so somebody had to go. At the time it wasn't a bad decision and he really hadn't done anything in the NFL at that point anyway. I probably wouldn't have been that up on the acquisition had it not been for some of the positive posts about Bell here on B&G. Thanks for making me look like a genius among my peers on that one, .

But he's everything you (or at least me) love in a professional athlete ... local boy done good and doing it for the home team, ... the guy has an interesting storyline.

- grew up in western Michigan, went to Wayne State University & worked as a security officer at the Lions Training Facility, Allen Park.

- won the Harlon Hill Trophy, Division II's equivalent of the Heisman.

- after going undrafted in 2010, got a call from Bill Belicheck (NE). Didn't immediately return it & contacted his agent instead. By the time he got back to NE, they had signed someone else ... what could have been? Would play with six teams (in some capacity) the next 15 months before signing with Detroit.

- very visible around town, often seen at the NFL's Play60 and other local events.

Not as flashy as Reggie Bush, but more durable, runs north/south on a more consistent basis, falls forward, good hands & will break a big one now & again. I do chuckle on the long-gainers though ... he's really not flashy or quick ... he just lumbers along and would be "slo-motion" by my standards, .

Here's a great stat that I like about him & why I think he'll be the Lion's most consistent RB for a few seasons to come ... at this point in his NFL career, he has under 400 carries. What's the magic number for running backs, 1200? Reggie Bush is nearing the 1200 mark and his season thus far has been marred by injury.

Yeah, I love me some Joique Bell, .

Danno

It sounded like you were angry at losing him. I didn't understand the "not good enough to be a Saint" comment. He was a Saint.

And I don't understand how it was a missed opportunity.

QBREES9

He wasn't better then what we had on the roster.

stickman

Every team has a player they regret letting go in hindsight. He ain't the first, he won't be the last.

QBREES9

The Saints will find another one just like him