Rams Flashback Spotlight: RB Greg Bell, Notre Dame

[JKBOGEN]

Rams Flashback Spotlight: RB Greg Bell, Notre Dame
June 10, 2018| By:Jake Ellenbogen

I decided to start an on-going series flashing back to past Rams history (similar to what we are doing with the Throwback Thursday episode of The Downtown Rams Podcast every Thursday). In this series, I will try and bring these former Rams to light, show off what they did for the horns and their overall career.


Greg Bell was a former Notre Dame running back that went in the first round of the 1984 NFL Draft. The Buffalo Bills drafted him 26th-overall and he produced immediately. His rookie year, Bell finished with over 1,000 yards rushing and seven touchdowns. It was apparent Buffalo had made a solid choice by selecting Bell in the draft. The next season Bell finished under the 1,000-yard rushing mark but finished with eight touchdowns. His third year would be his last full year with the awful Buffalo Bills who finished a combined 8-40 during that three-year span. Bell only started six games and didn't amass anywhere near the rookie season he had.


The next season all of the sudden the former Buffalo Bills first-round pick had been shipped to Los Angeles in a 10-player and three-team mega blockbuster trade for Eric Dickerson. The Rams knew they were having difficulties re-signing Dickerson and so they traded him to the Colts for a bevy of assets. The Bills traded away RB Greg Bell, a first-round pick in 1988, a second-round pick in 1988 and a first-round pick in 1989. In return, the Bills received the rights to second-overall pick in 1987, LB Cornelius Bennett from the Colts. The Colts received RB Eric Dickerson and on top of Bennett the team gave up RB Owen Gill, a first-round and second-round pick in 1988 and a second-rounder in 1989. The Rams acquired Bell, Gill, two first-round picks (RB Gaston Green & WR Aaron Cox) and two second-round picks (WR Willie Anderson & LB Fred Strickland) in 1988 in addition to a first-round (DE Bill Hawkins) and second-round (LB Frank Stams) pick in 1989.


The Rams didn't really get much out of the trade aside from Flipper Anderson, Fred Strickland and of course Greg Bell. Bell made the Rams look like early winners in the trade starting in 1988. He had over 1,300 total yards from scrimmage and 18 total touchdowns. Dickerson still led the league in rushing, but it was the fact the Rams had a young replacement that had 18 total touchdowns and on top of that the team was going to have more picks incoming. Bell and the Rams had a nice season going 10-6 and falling short in the first-round of the playoffs in a 10-7 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. In 1989, the Rams and Bell picked up right where they left off as the 27-year old RB accumulated over 1,200 total yards and 15 touchdowns. It became apparent that it was going to be time to pay the 27-year old after the team went 11-5. This was the year that the Rams had knocked off both the Eagles and Giants in the playoffs but were ultimately blown out in a game to go to the Super Bowl by Montana and the 49ers.


As for Bell and the Rams for that matter, it was the end of the quick winning era. Bell was one of those dream scenarios when you get a player via trade to replace a star and they do a great job in doing so. Dickerson could never be replaced but Bell was among the league leaders in rushing. Unfortunately, Bell and management didn't see eye-to-eye. He was loose-lipped in his thoughts and because of it, the Rams felt they weren't going to sign him to a long-term deal like Bell wanted. The Rams, in turn, decided to trade him to the Oakland Raiders for an undisclosed draft pick. It was a shame the Rams had such a talented back but felt like he didn't fit the culture of the team. After that last season with Bell, the Rams would go on to have a disastrous stretch until 1999 when they won the Super Bowl.


Bell retired right after his first year in Oakland. He had fallen off a cliff just like the Rams after his departure and others departure. Bell had 33 total touchdowns in two seasons as the Rams starting RB. Dickerson finished with just two more touchdowns in his five seasons with the Colts. The trade simply had no winner or loser and perhaps the winner was the Buffalo Bills who received Bennett. He spent nine seasons with the Bills, racked up 52.5 sacks, 751 tackles, 22 forced fumbles, 19 fumble recoveries and six interceptions. The Bills linebacker was a five-time Pro Bowler and an All-Pro. Bell was great in a limited amount of time for the Rams but the longevity wasn't there and is why Bennett and Bills won the mega Eric Dickerson trade.

 

[gogoat1]

He was a DB( I don't mean defensive back), the guy we got in the Dickerson trade. I remember the exact spot I was at where I heard of the trade on the radio. Like my moms generation does about when Kennedy got shot. Then that pile Shaw took all those draft picks and gave us the Frank Stams and Larry Kelms of the world.
Thanks for the bad memories.
What could have been, Dickerson, Everett and Zampeese. The "Phantom Sack" might never had happened.
All Greg Bell did was show us how GREAT the 80s Rams O line was. Multiple no name 1000 yard rushers. Charles White and that fumbling fullback out of Florida and him. The Rams O line hated him (Bell)

 

[den-the-coach]

Greg Bell was a very good RB for the Los Angeles Rams, however, I remember an interview with Bell when he was talking about his conversation with John Shaw the Team President back then as who Bell thought was a good running back in college in 1988...Bell responded by saying, he felt Thruman Thomas was going to be special, in which Shaw responded by saying "We like Gaston Green." Now I remember that interview vividly as it dealt with the Rams not really having football people making football decisions, however, to that point, the Rams had a nice run with John Robinson as Head Coach and John Math running the draft. Things did start to go south via the draft, staring in 1987.

 

[fearsomefour]

I just remember the long run in the Eagles
Playoff game in the rain.

 

[OC--LeftCoast]

I always thought Greg Bell accounted very well for himself, a better than average RB at the very least thru my eyes

 

[den-the-coach]

I always thought Greg Bell accounted very well for himself, a better than average RB at the very least thru my eyes

Still remember when they were showing highlights of the playoff game between the Rams vs. Eagles in GOTW, John Robinson says to Bell...."Go win the game." And Bell took the hand off for like 60 yards to lead to a score to close out that game in Philadelphia against Buddy Ryan's team.

 

[den-the-coach]

Watch Bell's big run against the Eagles 36 second mark.

 

[JKBOGEN]

Thank you guys for reading! You guys never cease to amaze me with history lessons galore! I really appreciate it. Wish I could have seen these guys live.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

When I heard about the trade I was wishing the Rams had traded with he Colts only. Getting Bennett would have been great, especially if the Colts still threw their picks into the deal. Greg Bell was pretty good behind a great OLine but I really wanted Bennett. At the time I thought, Greg who? I was more excited when they traded for Charles White.

Trading away a great player for draft picks is never good IMO. Picks are just a chance to land a good player and even a lowercase to land another great player. It's hard to find real difference makers in the draft. Some entire drafts don't even produce a player of Dickerson's caliber.

 

[Akrasian]

Trading away a great player for draft picks is never good IMO. Picks are just a chance to land a good player and even a lowercase to land another great player. It's hard to find real difference makers in the draft. Some entire drafts don't even produce a player of Dickerson's caliber.

<cough>Herschel Walker </cough>

You have to know what you're doing to win such a trade - but then, you have to know what you're doing to win any trade.

As time goes by, I am more and more an advocate of getting a bunch of good picks, instead of a couple of firsts. As you say, you aren't going to get a player as good as who you traded, at least not without luck. However, the NFL is a team game, with 53 man rosters. If you keep enough good players, and then build depth around them with an eye for your system, you can keep winning for years - and especially in these days of salary cap, having depth is a very good thing, since it disappears so quickly otherwise. But teams that have quality backups all over can survive injuries, and can sign a player here and there, rather than paying a big star and filling in with whatever around him.

 

[Classic Rams]

Heck I liked Greg Bell. He did a great job in Dickerson's absence. He even had a few 200-yard games, a feat no other RB could accomplish with that same great line line from 1988-1990.

What I didn't like about him was when he trash-talked the Bills in the media and fired up a very beatable Buffalo team.

Rams, Bills Spar in War of Words

October 16, 1989 | CHRIS DUFRESNE | TIMES STAFF WRITER

Coach John Robinson couldn't get the muzzle on tailback Greg Bell fast enough.

Bell spent three mostly bitter seasons in Buffalo from 1984 to '87 before his trade to the Rams, yet by the time Bell was silenced, he called Bill nose tackle Fred Smerlas and others "rednecks," all but accused Buffalo's team doctor of malpractice, called the general manager a liar and the head coach a con artist.

Did Bell mention Ronnie Harmon, the former first-round draft choice the Bills promised would make everyone forget about Bell in Buffalo? Harmon, as Bell points out, will be mopping up for starter Thurman Thomas tonight.

"Now that you've seen Ronnie Harmon play, would you spend a first-rounder on him?" Bell asked.

The fearless Smerlas, who dubbed Bell with the nickname "Tinker" in Buffalo, gathered some thoughts about his former teammate and said: "Tinker is a stinker."

Robinson hasn't had such a live wire at tailback since Eric Dickerson. But Dickerson understood the value of not mouthing off about opponents, especially nose tackles.

Robinson, a master of media control, didn't care much for Bell's comments, and later in the week asked Bell to cool it.

"We would rather not have some major issue," Robinson said. "But if there's a riot and they're coming, I will point out that I didn't say anything. I love Buffalo."


Bills Get the Last Half on Bell : Rams: Buffalo uses L.A. running back's comments as motivation in 23-20 victory.

October 17, 1989 | GENE WOJCIECHOWSKI | TIMES STAFF WRITER

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — They welcomed Greg Bell back to Buffalo with open arms and clenched fists. They welcomed him back with taunts and banners that detailed their every feeling.

"Hey, Bell," read one sign, "we all hated you, not just Smerlas."

They booed his every success and cheered his every failure.

In short, they remembered.

Bell returned Monday evening to the stadium from which he came and it wasn't exactly the triumphant homecoming he or the previously undefeated Rams had in mind.

The Bills won, 23-20, in a game dipped in emotions. Bell did his part and, if anything, may have made the Rams' task that much more difficult with a series of pregame comments that had his former Buffalo Bill teammates seething and Coach John Robinson reaching in vain for the mute button.

Bell had accused Fred Smerlas, the Bill nose tackle, of being a "redneck." He opined that Buffalo Coach Marv Levy was "more con artist than coach." And to complete the insults, Bell questioned the medical skills of Bills' physician, Dr. Richard Weiss.

You think those remarks found their way to a Buffalo clubhouse wall or two? Put it this way: There probably weren't enough thumbtacks to go around.

"There was plenty of ammunition for the bulletin board," said Smerlas, who helped smother the Ram running game (translation: Bell). "He gave us an incentive to get up there and rack up on him.

"By the way," he said, "I'm not a racist--I hate everybody equally."

Bill defensive end Bruce Smith was more diplomatic, but he got his point across.

Yes, he said, the Bills had read with interest the earlier comments of Bell. And yes, Bell may have helped bring together a team that has struggled this season. But as far as vendettas, well . . .

"Our goal was to stop the running game," Smith said. "I don't care who was running the football. It didn't matter if it was (Buffalo News sports columnist Larry) Felser who was running the football. Well, maybe if it would have been Felser.

"But Greg's a hell of a player. If he jumps on you early, you're in for a very long day."

Bell had his moments, and they were early too. He gained 14 yards in his first three carries. He added another 16 yards two series later. He dashed through tiny openings and squirmed for extra yardage. It was vintage Bell.

By the time the first half ended, Bell was jogging to the Ram locker room with 44 yards to his credit.

But then came the second half and with it an eight-man defensive front by the Bills. They dared the Rams to run and gambled that they couldn't pass in the damp, chilly weather. They were sort of right.

"We came early (with the run) and we were very effective," Bell said. "They made their adjustments and they were good coaching moves. Give them credit."

Said Robinson: "It wasn't a night for offense."

Mostly it wasn't a night for Bell, who began the evening needing only 88 yards to overtake Chicago's Neal Anderson for the league lead in rushing. Now he needs half that much.

Also forgettable for Bell was his second-period fumble that later led to a Buffalo field goal and cut the Rams' lead to 7-3.

"The ball was a little slippery," he said. "It was just one of those type of days. I thought I still had the ball."

Whatever his difficulties--and there many Monday night--Bell didn't think they had any connection to his comments of midweek. In fact, he said, "I think the media tried to hype this game."

Bell helped. So did the upcoming two-year anniversary of the Eric Dickerson deal that sent, among others, Bell from Buffalo to the Rams. With that in mind, it was little surprise that he found himself showered with attention this week. Nor was it any surprise that Bell basked in it.

But did it have anything to do with the Bills' victory?

"I don't think it had anything to do with the game," Bell said.

The Ram running back added that there was no on-field badgering or threats or talk of bounties fulfilled. "Nothing was being said. Everybody just wanted to play football."

At game's end, Bell lingered at midfield to shake hands with the victorious Bills. Andre Reed, who caught the winning touchdown pass, offered a hug. And even Smerlas put an arm around Bell.

Then again, they could afford to be generous.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

<cough>Herschel Walker </cough>

You have to know what you're doing to win such a trade - but then, you have to know what you're doing to win any trade.

As time goes by, I am more and more an advocate of getting a bunch of good picks, instead of a couple of firsts. As you say, you aren't going to get a player as good as who you traded, at least not without luck. However, the NFL is a team game, with 53 man rosters. If you keep enough good players, and then build depth around them with an eye for your system, you can keep winning for years - and especially in these days of salary cap, having depth is a very good thing, since it disappears so quickly otherwise. But teams that have quality backups all over can survive injuries, and can sign a player here and there, rather than paying a big star and filling in with whatever around him.

Walker was one of the few very successful trades. It turned out that he wasn't all that good when not running behind the Cowboys OLine. JJ had to see something that he didn't like. So, in name it was a trade for a big star, but in reality? I don't think so. If the Rams had gotten Cornelius Bennett for Dickerson then it would have been more of an even trade.