general sense is that Bell won’t be thrown to the wolves, with no regard to whether and to what extent he is or could be fatigued, especially after missing a full year. Which means that Bell may not be averaging ne

NEW YORK (AP) — Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints are feeling quite at home on top of the NFL.The Saints enter the final two weeks of the regular season with the best record in the league at 12-2. They finish the regular season with two games in the Superdome and are a win away from clinching home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.And the Saints are back on top of the latest AP Pro32 poll .The Saints received 11 of the 12 first-place votes for 382 points in balloting Tuesday by media members who regularly cover the NFL.The Saints moved up a spot a day after holding off Carolina 12-9 on Monday night.“On a night when Drew Brees didn’t have his magic touch Will Harris Jersey , it was a rapidly improving defense that carried the Saints to a huge win over Carolina that keeps them in the lead for all-important home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs,” saidNewsday’s Bob Glauber.The next two positions belong to the AFC West. The Los Angeles Chargers received the other first-place vote and jumped two spots to No. 2 following their thrilling 29-28 win over the Kansas Chiefs on Thursday night. Philip Rivers threw for 313 yards and two touchdowns, including a winning 2-point conversion in the final seconds.“Nobody is having more fun playing football than 37-year-old Philip Rivers, who has inserted himself squarely in the MVP conversation,” said Ira Kaufman of Fox 13 in Tampa, Florida.The Chiefs fell two places to No. 3.The NFC North champion Chicago Bears gained two spots to No. 4 after they earned their first playoff appearance in eight years with a win over Green Bay.“The Chargers and Bears are playing better than any of the other contenders at the moment,” said Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk.The Los Angeles Rams dropped two spots to No. 5 after losing to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night.The Houston Texans gained a place to No. 6 after rallying past the New York Jets. The Texans (10-4) are the No. 2 seed in the AFC and are at the Eagles on Sunday as they try to avoid playing on wild-card weekend next month.The New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers followed in the poll. The Patriots fell two spots to No. 7 after losing 17-10 on Sunday at Pittsburgh http://www.lionsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-austin-bryant-jersey , which moved up two spots to No. 8.“Finally beat (Tom) Brady,” Fox Sports’ John Czarnecki said of the Steelers earning their first victory over the Patriots since 2011.New England is the No. 3 seed in the AFC, but closes with home games against Buffalo and the Jets.“Without a first-round bye, Patriots won’t be reaching a third straight Super Bowl,” said Alex Marvez of SiriusXM.Pittsburgh has a half-game lead over Baltimore in the AFC North, but faces a challenge as the Steelers meet the Saints on Sunday.The Indianapolis Colts, in the hunt for a wild-card spot in the AFC Rashan Gary Jersey , also gained two places to No. 9.And the Seattle Seahawks rounded out the top 10 as they fell two spots after their overtime loss at San Francisco. The Seahawks host the Chiefs on Sunday night as they look to close in on a playoff spot. In our countdown of 2019 storylines, topic No. 11 focuses on the performance of Jets running back Le'Veon Bell after a year away from football. A quote regarding Bell from another countdown series suggests that maybe Bell won’t be used to the extent he was in the past.Manish Mehta of the is looking at the most important players on the Jets’ roster. At No. 4 landed Bell.The article includes this quote from coach Adam Gase regarding Bell’s expected workload: “I’ve always felt like I have a good feel of when a guy is either fatigued or we’re heading in a direction of maybe we’re wearing him down. I think we’ll start early to where he’ll get a certain amount of reps that we use. I mean, he is a veteran running back, he plays a position that’s very physical. You can wear a guy out with too many rushes, too many touches, too many snaps, too many practice snaps. We’ll keep an eye on that.”While there’s nothing specific in that response http://www.packersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-darnell-savage-jr.-jersey , the general sense is that Bell won’t be thrown to the wolves, with no regard to whether and to what extent he is or could be fatigued, especially after missing a full year. Which means that Bell may not be averaging nearly 20 touches per game, like he did throughout his five years with the Steelers.Of course, when a guy gets paid more than $13 million per year, it makes sense to use him. Then again, that investment needs to be protected.It’s a balance that Gase seems confident he can strike Elgton Jenkins Jersey , and ultimately it may come down to Gase’s gut-level assessment of whether Bell needs more, or less, rest.