Tarik Cohen is one of the most unique offensive weapons in the NFL. His ability to run the ball well and catch it like a receiver too makes him hard to account for. The problem is he’s too often his own worst enemy. For all the fantastic individual efforts he can give at times, he too often is prone to giving up on others that had big opportunities wasted.
Perhaps no tendency frustrated Chicago Bears fans more last season than his constant decision to settle for running out of bounds. The constant joke was a magnet stood on the sideline and drew Cohen to it. Too often rather than turning up the field for extra yards, he’d just drifted out of bounds. Sometimes it ended up stalling drives because he didn’t try hard enough for first downs or even scores.
It seems the running back finally realized this. He’s taken time to evaluate tape a lot this offseason. Recently on Twitter, he had some fun with fans, asking them to share any film of him. Then he would explain what was going through his head on the play. After seeing enough clips, he came to a major conclusion.
This problem didn’t crop up just last year. There were seeds of it back in 2018. It’s uncertain how or why it came about. Maybe a hit he got on one cutback left an impression, making him gun shy about doing it again. Regardless, it seems he understands how often he was hurting his team by not pushing for more.
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Tarik Cohen also sent a subtle hint to Bears coaches
Obviously Cohen can’t do it alone. In order for him to get north-south like so many want, he’ll need a big assist from the offensive line. Suffice to say the blocking up front wasn’t ideal in 2019. One way he thinks that can be fixed is by running more of a power-man scheme. Right now the Bears employ more of a zone-blocking system. Something that hasn’t serve Cohen well. Whenever they’ve gone more power-man though? The results speak for themselves.
It’s not a terrible idea. David Montgomery also seems to excel more when the Bears employed some power football. Much of this will depend on new offensive coordinator Bill Lazor and offensive line coach Juan Castillo. Both are expected to be in charge of overhauling the run scheme. Will they reach a similar conclusion to Cohen? He and others will find out when training camp begins next month.