I’m full of emotional conflict this morning after watching one of my favorite artists perform at Ravinia last night, but I got absolutely drenched in the rain while doing so. At least the rain held off for much of the performance. Onward.
The more I think about the Bears’ 2019 roster construction, the more I like the team’s collection of running backs. Modern football requires depth and versatility at that position, and that seems to be exactly what the Bears have collected. The trio of Tarik Cohen, Mike Davis, and David Montgomery create impressive and obvious depth, while the versatility is fairly easy to see – at least, on paper. In 2018, Tarik Cohen lined up all over the field and figures to do so again in 2019. And Mike Davis has a skill set similar to that of Jordan Howard, in that he can run between the tackles, shed would-be tacklers, and catch passes out of the backfield. The Bears still need to piece together how to best utilize Montgomery, but there are 64 days until the season opener, so there’s plenty of time to figure it out.
Remember, it took Head Coach Matt Nagy and Offensive Coordinator Mark Helfirch quite a while to figure out how to best use Jordan Howard/get the most out of the offense with him in it. But they were able to run the ball successfully in the second half of the season behind a revitalized Howard, and that’s an encouraging sign for those who are still wondering how and where Montgomery exactly fits in.
I think it’s time to re-think how we envision running back usage in this game (with these coaches, and featuring these players). The Bears run the ball differently now than they ever have before. Nine different players were given at least one hand-off last season, which includes wide receivers (Taylor Gabriel, Anthony Miller, and Anthony Robinson), one tight end (Trey Burton), and a defensive lineman (Akiem Hicks). That group doesn’t include quarterbacks Mitch Trubisky and Chase Daniel, who combined for 81 rushes last season. If I set the over/under of Bears ball-carriers in 2019 at 9.5, would you take the over? Considering that I haven’t even mentioned Cordarrelle Patterson as a possible ball-carrier, I wonder if I need to set a higher number.
Trubisky had his issues throwing while in a clean pocket, which doesn’t seem good … but also seems fluky. Perhaps another season in this system and continued excellence from the line will help matters this year.
The evolution of QB1 is one of those NFC North storylines that everyone is going to keep an eye on in 2019:
NBA free agency has caught the full attention of NFLers:
True facts. My favorite player can stand alone in history if he doesn’t go to LA. Dare to be different https://t.co/QK2gjpCzKA
Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.
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NEWSLETTER
