Tag: Bears run game

David Montgomery among top-5 RBs in rushing yards, scrimmage yards in 2020

Montgomery’s resurgence over the last 6 weeks has helped him finish in the top-5 in rushing yards and scrimmage yards in 2020.

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The Chicago Bears offense has had a bit of a resurgence over the last month and a half, and that has a lot to do with the performance of running back David Montgomery, who has been one of the league’s best backs over the last six weeks.

Montgomery became the Bears’ first 1,000 yard rusher since Jordan Howard in 2016. Montgomery finished the regular season with 247 carries for 1,070 yards, which was tied for the fifth-most rushing yards in the NFL, as well as eight touchdowns. He ranked only behind Tennessee’s Derrick Henry, Minnesota’s Dalvin Cook, Indianapolis’ Jonathan Taylor and Green Bay’s Aaron Jones in rushing.

But Montgomery has proven to also be a weapon in the passing game for the Bears. Montgomery had 54 catches for 438 yards and two touchdowns. His 1,508 scrimmage yards also ranked fifth in the league behind Henry, Cook, New Orleans’ Alvin Kamara and Buffalo’s Stefon Diggs.

Montgomery has eclipsed 100 scrimmage yards in six straight games since returning from a concussion in Week 12.

The Bears have finally found an identity on offense, which starts with running the football with Montgomery. Montgomery has rushed for a touchdown in five consecutive games this season, becoming first Bear to accomplish that feat since Neal Anderson in 1990.

Chicago will face the New Orleans Saints in the wild-card round on Sunday, where the Bears will once again need to get Montgomery going to help their offense find a rhythm.

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Bears’ Week 12 Player of the Game: RB David Montgomery

Leave it to a blowout loss for the Bears run game to finally get going with RB David Montgomery, who had his best outing of the season.

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There weren’t many things to love about the Chicago Bears in Sunday night’s embarrassing 41-25 loss to the Green Bay Packers. The offense was its usual disappointing unit while the defense surprisingly failed the team for the first time this season.

Leave it to a blowout loss for the Bears run game to finally get going with running back David Montgomery, who had his best outing of the season. Montgomery was the lone bright spot on offense — and potentially the entire team.

Montgomery had 103 rushing yards on 11 carries with five receptions for 40 yards and a touchdown. It was Montgomery’s first 100-yard rushing game of the season, and his first since the regular season finale against the Minnesota Vikings in 2019.

Montgomery returned to action for the first time since suffering a concussion against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 10. And his return really sparked the offense from the start, as he cranked off a career-long 54-yard run on the Bears’ opening possession.

While Montgomery certainly deserved more than 11 carries, it wasn’t surprising given the Bears found themselves in a deep hole early in the first half.

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RB David Montgomery has cleared concussion protocol, ready to go vs. Packers

Bears RB David Montgomery confirmed that he has cleared concussion protocol and is “good to go” for Week 12 vs. Packers.

The Chicago Bears will be getting back a valuable member of their offense ahead of Sunday night’s game against the Green Bay Packers.

Running back David Montgomery confirmed that he has cleared concussion protocol and is “good to go” for Week 12.

Montgomery suffered a concussion in a Week 9 contest against the Tennessee Titans, which held him out of the Minnesota Vikings game back in Week 10.

In Montgomery’s absence, the Bears leaned on Cordarrelle Patterson, Lamar Miller, Ryan Nall and Artavis Pierce in a more running-back-by-committee approach. But the Bears’ struggles continued in the run game as those guys managed only 41 yards on 17 carries.

Montgomery told the media that this was the most severe concussion he’s ever had. He said he had to be “smart, and honest with myself” as he recovered from it.

While the run game has been ineffective all season, there’s no overstating the importance of Montgomery’s return, especially as Chicago prepares for a brutal divisional showdown against Green Bay in primetime.

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Matt Nagy states the obvious: Bears’ run game has to get better

After a much-needed bye week, Bears HC Matt Nagy had plenty of time to reflect on the struggles of the ground game.

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The Chicago Bears have long been synonymous with great running backs and rushing attacks. But that hasn’t been the case since Matt Nagy took over as head coach in 2018, where Chicago’s run game has become an ugly statistic and made the offense one-dimensional.

This season, the Bears have the statistical worst rushing attack in the entire NFL, averaging 78.2 yards per game this season.

But believe it or not, there was a time this year when Chicago had a top-10 run game, where they averaged 138.0 rushing yards per game in the first three weeks of the season.

Since then, they’ve averaged 52.6 yards rushing, where they’ve rushed for more than 63 yards just once, which has a lot to do with them dropped five of their last seven games.

But you don’t need to tell Nagy that the run game needs to be better. And after a much-needed bye week, Nagy had plenty of time to reflect on the struggles of the ground game.

“I just feel like we have a good pulse on knowing that, big picture, the struggle to run the football is where a lot of this stuff starts,” Nagy said. “[There’s] different reasons for that. Is it scheme? Is it execution? Is it a little bit of both? And then knowing, ‘OK, that has to get better.’ I don’t care who we’re playing, the run game has to get better. You just see teams across the league that are able to establish the run. It helps open up other areas of the field.”

One thing that should help, at least a little, is the return of running back David Montgomery, who missed Week 10 against the Minnesota Vikings with a concussion.

Nagy believes Montgomery’s likely return against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night will go a long way for this team.

“I just feel like he’s a leader in that huddle and he does it in a quiet manner,” Nagy said. “This guy, now, he’s a fighter, and I know it just killed him to miss that [Vikings] game. But I think being able to have him get back, just that level of confidence and that toughness that he brings to the huddle and every time he touches the football, I know that he’s a complete team player. He’s all about ‘we’ and our team, so every game that goes by he has more and more experience, so I’m excited to get him back.”

But even with Montgomery back in the line-up, Chicago’s run game remains the worst unit in the NFL — which isn’t by fault of Montgomery. There are a number of factors from offensive line to play-calling.

And hearing Nagy say the Bears need to be better with the run game, it’s more of the same. Nagy continues to repeat himself not only on a daily but yearly basis, which makes you wonder if the Bears run game will ever be productive with Nagy’s offense.

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Bears RB David Montgomery ruled out vs. Vikings

The Bears have ruled out starting RB David Montgomery (concussion) for Monday night’s game against the Vikings.

There hasn’t been much to love about the Chicago Bears’ run game this season. And things got worse with news that starting running back David Montgomery has been ruled out of Monday night’s game against the Minnesota Vikings.

Montgomery suffered a concussion in last Sunday’s loss to the Tennessee Titans. He’s remained in concussion protocol all week, but the Bears have already ruled him out for a pivotal Week 10 game.

With Montgomery out, that leaves the Bears thin at running back with Cordarrelle Patterson, Ryan Nall, Artavis Pierce and practice squad member Lamar Miller.

Patterson told reportersPatterson told reporters earlier this week that he would be the next man up if Montgomery couldn’t play, which certainly looks to be the case. But look for Miller to possibly get some touches against the Vikings.

The Bears run game ranks last in the NFL with 82.3 rushing yards per game, which says more about the offensive line than Montgomery.

It’ll be a tall task trying to get the run game going without Montgomery and more instability on the offensive line.

Should the Chicago Bears make a run at RB Le’Veon Bell?

It didn’t take long for many to link released RB Le’Veon Bell to the Bears, especially considering their struggles in the run game.

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The NFL free-agent market just gained an attractive addition via running back Le’Veon Bell, who was released by the New York Jets on Tuesday night. The Jets had tried trading Bell, but after getting no offers they parted ways with one of the game’s best backs.

It didn’t take long for many to link Bell to the Chicago Bears, especially considering their struggles in the run game and Bell’s versatility in the passing game, which has made him a weapon.

But the problem with the Bears run game isn’t just on running back David Montgomery. It’s the offensive line, which has struggled in run blocking, pass protection and pretty much everything in these last two games. It’s on play caller Matt Nagy. And it’s also a lack of depth behind Montgomery.

After running back Tarik Cohen went down with a torn ACL, the Bears turned to receiver-turned-running-back Cordarrelle Patterson to provide a spark. But he hasn’t been the answer, becoming more effective in the passing game. The Bears also signed Lamar Miller to the practice squad with the belief that they’ll elevate him to the active roster in the near future.

Chicago’s offense has faced two of the best run defenses in the NFL over these last two games, and the results have been pretty gruesome. They’ve managed just 63 yards on 30 carries for an abysmal 2.1 yards per carry. The Bears went from a top-10 rushing attack in the first couple of weeks to a bottom-six run game over these last two games.

While Bell is certainly an intriguing option to bring into Matt Nagy’s offense — and it certainly helps that he’d now be more affordable — he wouldn’t be a magical cure all for a Bears offense that still hasn’t figured out how to effectively run the football. Still, it’s an idea that’s hard not to consider. Especially at the right price.

 

 

The Bears are the only team without a rushing touchdown this season

The Bears’ recent Week 4 outing was a reminder this run game is an unfinished product, so it makes sense they’ve yet to score a rushing TD.

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Through four games this season, it’s been more of the same from the Chicago Bears on offense. While receivers Allen Robinson and Darnell Mooney have been the bright spots on offense, there have been more concerns that have overshadowed that.

The Bears offense has been searching for an identity dating back to last season, and Matt Nagy believes they found it in running the football. And it seemed to work through the first three weeks, where the offensive line showed improvement and David Montgomery was hitting open holes and getting significant gains. It opened up play-action, which allowed both quarterbacks Nick Foles and Mitchell Trubisky to find some success.

But Week 4’s game against the Indianapolis Colts was a reminder that this run game is far from an established product. The Bears were held to just 28 rushing yards on 16 carries, which is just unacceptable for an offense trying to find a balance.

In case you were looking for another concerning stat, the Bears are the only team in the NFL that has yet to score a rushing touchdown through these first four games.

Montgomery has scored one touchdown this season — a 28-yard catch-and-run touchdown from Trubisky. Aside from that, Montgomery hasn’t had many chances to pound the ball in from the goal-line.

The Bears will need to find a way to get the run game going again, especially as they prepare to face a Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense that’s allowing just 64.3 rushing yards per game, which is the second best in the NFL.

Bears know they must get the ball in Cordarrelle Patterson’s hands

When you have a versatile weapon that’s a threat to make a play, you should do everything you can to get him the ball as much as possible.

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When you have a versatile weapon that’s a threat to make a play every time the ball is in his hands, you should do everything you can to get him the ball as much as possible. Which, unfortunately, is something the Chicago Bears failed to do with Cordarrelle Patterson last season.

Patterson had an All-Pro year as a kick returner last season, including a 102-yard kickoff return against the New Orleans Saints. There were also times when Patterson was brought in either as a running back or receiver and was able to make a big play to keep the chains moving for an offense that really needed it.

So it’s no surprise that getting the ball into Patterson’s hands more often in 2020 has been a focal point for the Bears. Whether that’s as a receiver, running back or kick returner.

“I think we all have realized that [regardless of] how we do it or how it happens, the guy has to have the ball in his hands,” receivers coach Mike Furrey said, via ChicagoBears.com. “He’s one of the most elite, explosive, dominant football players with the ball in his hands in this league, whether it’s kick return or whatever he does on offense. Those are the traits that he has, so we have to get him ready and get him going.”

The Bears have a loaded receivers room where players like Allen Robinson and Anthony Miller are the go-to guys for whoever wins the starting quarterback job. So one of the ways Chicago is considering utilizing Patterson more is in the running game.

NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported that Patterson was meeting with the running backs rather than the wide receivers during training camp, which could indicate an increased role for Patterson in the run game this season.

Last season, Patterson had 17 rushes for 103 yards, which should change this year given a bigger workload for Patterson in the run game. With the intention to get Patterson the ball as often as possible, the run game is probably the best chance to do just that.

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RB Tarik Cohen dubbed Bears’ bounce-back player in 2020

Considering what Tarik Cohen has showcased in his first two seasons, it’s hard to believe that he won’t rebound in 2020.

It was hard not to find a player on the Chicago Bears’ offense last season that regressed in some way. Minus receiver Allen Robinson, of course. But one of Chicago’s biggest playmakers, versatile weapon Tarik Cohen, was someone whose playmaking abilities were severely lacking last season.

As for what went wrong in 2019, Cohen “dropped more passes, broke tackles at a lower rate and produced significantly fewer explosive plays,” according to Pro Football Focus. But considering what Cohen showed in his first two seasons, it’s hard to believe that he won’t rebound in 2020.

Which is why ESPN dubbed Cohen the Bears’ bounce-back player entering the 2020 season.

Outlook for 2020: Cohen had nowhere to run last season. Chicago’s all-purpose threat gained just 465 yards on 79 catches and 213 yards on 64 carries. Coach Matt Nagy attributed Cohen’s struggles to being routinely double-teamed by opposing defenses. The way Cohen can bounce back is simple. The Bears need a more balanced offensive attack with better weapons and improved quarterback play. Cohen’s contract is also up after the season, providing more motivation for him to get back on track.

Cohen has thrived when utilized as an overall playmaker on offense, where he can showcase his speed and elusiveness. But last season didn’t go as planned for the former fourth-round pick. Last season, Cohen rushed for 213 yards on 64 carries and caught a career-high 79 passes for 456 yards and three touchdowns. But he also averaged 3.3 yards per carry and had seven drops on 103 targets.

Entering a contract year, Cohen is someone that should play significantly better than he did a season ago given the circumstances around him should change. The Bears have made it a priority to bring more balance to their offense, which starts with establishing a run game.

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Bears’ David Montgomery among RBs set for Year 2 breakout in 2020

The struggles of Chicago’s run game hasn’t stopped analysts from believing that RB David Montgomery is poised for a breakout season in 2020.

The struggles of the Chicago Bears’ run game last season were well-documented. But that hasn’t stopped many analysts from believing that Bears running back David Montgomery can capitalize off a solid rookie season in 2020.

NFL.com’s Maurice Jones-Drew examined the second-year running backs that appear poised for a Year 2 breakout in 2020, and Montgomery is among those that made his list.

Jones-Drew points out the fallacies of the Bears offense as a whole last season and the importance of head coach Matt Nagy in Montgomery’s potential success.

Like I said in my running back rankings earlier this month, Montgomery’s success depends entirely on head coach Matt Nagy. The Bears relied on quarterback Mitchell Trubisky too often last season, and the result (an 8-8 record) prompted them to trade for Nick Foles in the offseason. No matter who’s under center this fall, though, Montgomery should be at the center of the offense. Trubisky and Foles need to lean on the run game in order to succeed in the passing game, because let’s face it: These two, with this supporting cast, aren’t going to throw all over the yard on NFL defenses. They’re just not. Montgomery has the goods to lead the Bears’ offensive charge with his vision, ability to break tackles and speed in the open field. He should see closer to 280-300 carries, easily gain 1,000-plus rushing yards and log double-digit TDs.

Montgomery had a solid rookie year, where he had 889 rushing yards and six touchdowns. He also added 25 receptions for 185 yards and a score. Montgomery surpassed 1,000 all-purpose yards as a rookie.

The run game wasn’t pretty last year. Montgomery struggled behind an ineffective offensive line — averaging 3.7 yards per carry — and he wasn’t helped by Nagy’s aversion to running the football. Montgomery had more than 20 rushing attempts in just four games, and there were seven games where he had less than 15 carries.

That should change drastically in 2020, as running the football has become a focal point for Nagy’s offense. Which is why he brought in new coaches with experience in the run game, including offensive coordinator Bill Lazor and offensive line coach Juan Castillo.

Montgomery is confident that he will have a breakout season that many have pegged him for.

“It’s going to be better this year,” he told reporters earlier this offseason. “I’m going to be better this year for this team and this organization. I’m going to come as prepared as ever to lead that running back room the way I need to — and be who I need to be for this offense and this team.”

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