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Lions RB Joique Bell: 'I’m going to rush for over 1,200 yards'
Detroit Lions running back Joique Bell is coming off knee and Achilles surgeries, but he’s confident about his ability to produce in a big way in 2015.
How confident is Bell? He guaranteed a career year in an interview with Mlive.com.
“I’m going to rush for over 1,200 yards,” Bell said. “That’s the minimum. If I do less than that, I’ll be surprised. I’ll be disappointed. Anything more than that, I wouldn’t be surprised at all.”
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A Lions running back hasn’t reached that total since Barry Sanders put up 1,491 yards in 1998. The 28-year-old Bell is coming off a career-high of 860 yards last season, but that was when he was paired up with Reggie Bush. With Bush now a member of the San Francisco 49ers, Bell has a big opportunity ahead of him to assume every-down duties.
"My first year here I rushed for a few hundred (yards)," Bell said. "Second year, close to (700). Then last year, almost 900. So this next year, I'm just going to jump the gun and say 1,200. That's the minimum."
Bell is expected to be back for the Lions during training camp, where he’ll lead a group with rookie Ameer Abdullah and third-year back Theo Riddick. Riddick did most of his damage as a pass-catcher last season, while Abdullah, a third-round pick out of Nebraska, has a versatile skill set but is a bit undersized at 5-foot-9 and 205 pounds.
Bell should certainly shoulder most of the load for Detroit, but 1,200 is a bit much to expect. Only six backs reached that plateau in 2014.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
