Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert used the words “good” and “very good” earlier this week when talking about running back Le’Veon Bell.

And that was by design.

“You have to save great for guys that have done it for a lot of years,” Colbert said. “Joe Greene taught me that a long time ago. It’s good to do it. Let’s do it again, let’s do it again. So great is reserved for very few. But he’s a very good player.”

One who is on the verge of greatness.

Bell rushed for 1,361 yards in his second NFL season. That led all AFC players and ranked behind only the 1,845 rushing yards that DeMarco Murray posted in his final season with the Dallas Cowboys.

Bell led all NFL running backs with 854 receiving yards and his absence in the Steelers’ AFC wild-card loss to the Baltimore Ravens reinforced his value in the passing game as a blocker.

Bell, who turned 23 last month, has said he still has a lot of room to get better.

Coach Mike Tomlin agreed, which is why he will push Bell as much as the All-Pro pushes himself.

“I think he is capable of being the very best,” Tomlin said. “I think that is his desire. I have a great deal of respect for what that phrase means. And I know that he does too. So his pursuit of that is going to be steeped in work and preparation and growth.

“He still is very much a young man. The thing that I like about him is that he is committed to getting better and working at his craft on a daily basis. That’s what he has shown me in the two years that I have worked with him.”