It seems Matt Nagy may have discovered he has a running back worth using too little, too late. David Montgomery averaged 13.71 carries per game through the first seven games of 2020. In the five games since, that has risen to 15.75. Truth be told given the state of the quarterback position, he should be getting 20+ carries every week. Don’t believe it?
To date, Montgomery has gotten 20 or more carries in a game five times. He’s rushed for 476 yards at 4.25 per carry. The Bears are 3-2 in those games with one loss coming in overtime against New Orleans and the other coming on a missed Eddy Pineiro field goal as time expired against the Chargers. Every time this team has put the offense on his back, he’s responded.
That seems to drive Nagy crazy.
He has always wanted to run the offense through the quarterback. The problem is he doesn’t have a quarterback. Mitch Trubisky nothing more than average. Nick Foles can’t stay healthy. Until the Bears are able to find one, they have to make this offense go through Montgomery, and it’s a fitting time to do it.
Adam Rank of NFL.com believes in an otherwise lost season, the second-year running back will finally get his chance to really shine this Sunday. Things are shaping up for him to have a big afternoon. Not only because he is getting himself into a groove the past two weeks, but also because the upcoming opponent figures to be accomodating.
“He’s got another great matchup this week against the Houston Texans, who have allowed the second-most fantasy points to running backs this season. A lot of it won’t matter because I’m dead inside. But there has been some encouraging signs by the Bears and the offensive line. And no matter who is calling the plays next season, there seems to be something to work with. Monty is close to being a low-key top 10 running back this season. And no, I don’t expect you to hit me up on social media to apologize. We’re cool.”
David Montgomery is more than ready for extra work
The Houston Texans are a team defined by their quarterback Deshaun Watson. It wasn’t always that way. Just a few years ago they were defined by a defense led by J.J. Watt and others. Now? They’ve clearly lost a few steps and it’s really begun to show up this season. In 12 games this season, they have allowed at least 100 yards on the ground nine times. That includes 109 in each of the past two weeks.
The smart thing for the Bears would be to do everything in their power to limit the number of times Watson touches the football. Especially with their defense having surrendered 68 points the past two weeks. The best way to do that is ball control. The best way to control the ball is a heavy dose of the running game. That is why David Montgomery should be the center of attention.
He’s not the biggest, strongest, or fastest.
He is a machine though. The guy refuses to go down. His mixture of contact balance and relentless effort make him a chore to get on the ground. Backs like that tend to get better the more times they touch the football. Something the coaches failed to truly grasp. Perhaps the next staff will do a better job of realizing what he does best and take full advantage of it.
Either way, it should be a fun afternoon watching him run on Sunday. Then again expecting Nagy to do the logical thing at this point is never a winning proposition.