The Chicago Bears backfield will be the strength of this new offense. This is in no way a disrespectful slight at either Mitch Trubisky or the array of new wide receivers the team has assembled. It’s a simple statement of fact. Right now Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen are the most proven offensive assets on the roster and both have a chance to shine brighter than ever in this new system being installed by Matt Nagy and his staff.
Keep this in mind. Last season the Bears had the 3oth ranked offense in the league. This included the worst passing attack in the NFL. It was pretty bad. Yet in spite of that Howard and Cohen combined for 1,970 yards from scrimmage and 12 touchdowns. That’s 42.8% of the teams’ total yardage production and 48% of its scoring. This was in spite of every single defense they played loading the box to stop them.
So try to imagine how much worse it would’ve been had they not been on the roster. Not exactly something that’s pleasant to think about. They deserve a fair share of respect for their talents. That’s why when ESPN delivers its rankings of the best backfields in the NFL, it was more than reasonable to have high expectations.
As usual, it ended up being a disappointment.
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Chicago Bears backfield dismissed as a couple of average joes
Mike Clay continued the longstanding tradition of no respect from ESPN towards the Bears when he ranked their backfield a distant 15th in the league. There were some obvious ones that were easy to accept like the Saints, Rams, Steelers, and Falcons. Fine. Yet to see Browns (8th) and Patriots (10th) ranked ahead of them? That’s a travesty.
“Howard and Cohen form one of the league’s most intriguing young duos, but there’s a reason why the two recent mid-round picks aren’t ranked higher here. Howard has been a great rusher since entering the league in 2016, ranking fifth in carries (528) and third in rushing yards (2,435), but he’s not well-rounded. While Howard’s efficiency dropped from “elite” as a rookie to “solid” in 2017, he has been one of the league’s worst receiving backs (5.4 career yards per target) so far.
Cohen was an explosive playmaker as a rookie, but a deeper look shows a 1.3 YAC (second worst at the position) and a shaky 5.26 yards per target. At 5-foot-6, 190 pounds, Cohen simply isn’t built for anything more than a change-of-pace role. There are some red flags here, but also massive upside, especially in new coach Matt Nagy’s offense.”
It’s clear Clay views Howard as a one-trick pony and Cohen as nothing more than a gadget player. This is a classic case of a man getting lost in the stats and likely never watching the actual film. He didn’t account for the fact that both men were facing eight or nine-man boxes almost exclusively most of last season. It’s hard to be efficient under those conditions.
Ask reigning Offensive Player of the Year Todd Gurley whom Clay seems to adore. He averaged a paltry 3.2 yards per carry in 2016 and just 7.6 yards per reception. People were ready to proclaim him a one-year wonder. Then Sean McVay arrives with a new offensive scheme and those numbers jump to 4.7 and 12.3 respectively.
So maybe it’s never the best idea to go strictly by the numbers.
