Chicago Bears: 5 changes that must be made before Seahawks game

Run it

The good news is the Bears have a phenomenal running back in Jordan Howard. The Pro Bowl back has always been a terrific runner. He has the patience to wait for the hole to open, the speed to hit it when it does, and the power to break through tackles. However, in the first game he also appeared much improved as a pass cat,cher. No doubt all of the work he put in during the preseason has paid off.

So by now, you’re probably wondering, ‘what’s the bad news?’ The bad news is, you have to use him or he’s not effective! If Nagy wants to take significant pressure off his young quarterback, while at the same time opening up the field for him, he will feed Howard early and often.

According to the results in the tweet above, Howard was highly effective when given the football. Now some of those second-half touches were receptions, but it’s important to call out that he only rushed the ball 15 times.

There’s no good reason Howard should get less than 20-25 carries per game right now, even with all the options the Bears have. Let’s face facts — Mitch is going to go through some growing pains as he learns an entirely new system. In a sense, it’s like he’s a rookie again. So what better way to ease him into that progression than to lean more heavily on your Pro Bowl running back and defense.

Now, I am not suggesting that Nagy put the handcuffs on Trubisky.  Quite the contrary (see above). But I’m practical enough to understand that those shots downfield have to be calculated not careless. And in between aggressive play calls, it’s comforting to have a player like Howard who you know will get you around five yards per touch.

After Sunday night’s debacle, I fully expect Nagy to feature Howard more prominently in the running game Monday night. If he doesn’t it should be cause for concern.

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