The situation surrounding Jordan Howard this season has been quite the roller coaster. Before the season even began the 23-year old running back was bombarded with trade rumors. The idea being that his lack of prowess as a pass catcher made him a liability in the new offense Matt Nagy was installing. An offense that had a high demand for backs who could catch the football.
Nagy himself said those rumors were unfounded. He insisted Howard would have a big role to play in the new system. The back worked tirelessly in the offseason to make himself more of a complete player, living off the JUGS machine catching ball after ball to improve his hands. To his credit, he’s been targeted 14 times this year for 11 catches with no drops.
Still, the rumors persisted towards the trade deadline. Howard just couldn’t seem to get going. He averaged well under four yards per carry in five of the seven games he’s played and still has failed to crack 100 yards this season. People were convinced this was all the evidence needed for the Bears to follow through on the buzz and ship him elsewhere.
It didn’t happen. If anything against the Jets last Sunday there was evidence from the opposite direction. Nagy was mic’d up for the game, and he was spotted saying something rather revealing to Howard in the fourth quarter.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
Matt Nagy didn’t sound like a coach eager to get rid of Jordan Howard
One thing that’s been proven about Nagy is he’s a determined individual. He’s competitive down to the bone. He takes it personally when his players struggle and people point it out. That was the case when Mitch Trubisky was struggling earlier in the year and he made it his mission to change the tone. He succeeded. Now it seems that focus has shifted to Howard, whom he wants to dominate with rather than discard.
The craziest part of all this? Chicago currently ranks 3rd in the NFL in rushing to this point. That’s with Howard only averaging 3.5 yards per carry. Try to imagine how much better things could get if Nagy follows through on the promise to get him going. People already have a hard enough time stopping this offense as is. If Howard gets revved up, there will be big problems for defenses down the stretch.
After all, teams that can run the ball in November and December tend to do well. Ask the defending champion Eagles. They averaged 135 yards per game during those two months and were 6-2 during that stretch. This is something Nagy wants to emulate and Howard is the key.
