The NFL and media have fallen in love with the passing game in recent years but this year the playoffs are proving that you can still win by running the ball.  The Titans have taken down the Patriots and Ravens behind a middling QB, a strong running game/Oline, and a strong defense.   We have two of those pieces.  FWIW the Ravens got to the 1 seed by running.    

We all know we need the Oline fixed but we also must find a good RB to compliment Montgomery.  A RB with some speed.  Then we need someone to call the running plays.       

 

 

I remember liking Derek Henry, saying if we don't take Gurley in 2015, we can take Henry in 16.  

I'd be good with taking OT with our first 2nd rd pick, trading down with the next to gain a 3rd RD and then drafting TE and RG. We can find a good back in 4th/5th to compliment Montgomery/Cohen. 

We've invested in CB with Skrine/Tolliver/Shelly which can lighten the blow of losing Prince. 

OLB/SS will be difficult, but maybe Floyd can be reworked making it team friendly.  Use the 4/5 on a SS and a 6th on OLB.  With any cap space, bring in another OLB.  

The hardest part would be getting Nagy to go with power run. He cannot envision how a great run game would make his pass game much more potent.

 

I think Montgomery is a really great back.

It's not necessary for a RB to be a home run hitter. Payton surely wasnt.

Put it this way, if you can get 4 yards per carry every single time without fail, your team cannot lose, and you will be the most dominant offense in football even if you never do anything else but hand the ball to that RB.

A 10 minute 15 play drive ending in a touchdown is MUCH more dangerous than a long 80 yard touchdown pass.

RB is a strength on this team. If you want to augment the running game (and yes we should really want that!!) then the Bears need these things:

1) an actual run blocking offensive line

2) a coach that will call the run, and the right run, and often

3) an effective passing game to stretch the defense, and keep safeties out of the box

The running back is the only part of the equation we already have. If the Bears do a decent job of some of these things, and we will all be buying Montgomery jerseys.

56 minutes ago, BearFan NYC said:

I think Montgomery is a really great back.

It's not necessary for a RB to be a home run hitter. Payton surely wasnt.

Put it this way, if you can get 4 yards per carry every single time without fail, your team cannot lose, and you will be the most dominant offense in football even if you never do anything else but hand the ball to that RB.

A 10 minute 15 play drive ending in a touchdown is MUCH more dangerous than a long 80 yard touchdown pass.

RB is a strength on this team. If you want to augment the running game (and yes we should really want that!!) then the Bears need these things:

1) an actual run blocking offensive line

2) a coach that will call the run, and the right run, and often

3) an effective passing game to stretch the defense, and keep safeties out of the box

The running back is the only part of the equation we already have. If the Bears do a decent job of some of these things, and we will all be buying Montgomery jerseys.

Not saying Montgomery wouldn't be the feature, but we cannot count on Cohen to take over if Monty goes down.  I'd feel better if they had another back on the roster that can. Maybe one with a little more speed to mix it up occasionally too because I hate seeing Cohen run for the sideline like its paydirt.

14 hours ago, AZ54 said:

The NFL and media have fallen in love with the passing game in recent years but this year the playoffs are proving that you can still win by running the ball.  The Titans have taken down the Patriots and Ravens behind a middling QB, a strong running game/Oline, and a strong defense.   We have two of those pieces.  FWIW the Ravens got to the 1 seed by running.    

We all know we need the Oline fixed but we also must find a good RB to compliment Montgomery.  A RB with some speed.  Then we need someone to call the running plays.       

 

 

I would hardly call Tannehill "a middling QB" this year.  I believe he is one of the top rated and stats wise as good as any QB since he took over for Mariota.  Yea he only threw for what just under 100 yards the last two game.  But that is all they needed from him.  He threw two great TD passes last week and ran for another.  And that's all they needed from him.  As a coach said decades ago throwing the football has only three out comes and two are bad.  He is blessed to have a great running game and a coach who knows how to use it.    

The one thing I hope Pace noticed is that every team that has won so far has a receiver or two that can take the top off a defense.  We have zero.  It's not likely to happen via free agency, as there aren't many out there.  KC has 3 receivers 4.4 or less and Kelce at 4.6.

To me that is the priority right behind the OL.  Don't be surprised if we take one early.

The defense will be solid without too much investment.  The offense has to come up this year.

"He threw two great TD passes last week and ran for another."  Opps, I meant yesterday.  Seems longer.  LOL 

1 minute ago, Mongo3451 said:

The one thing I hope Pace noticed is that every team that has won so far has a receiver or two that can take the top off a defense.  We have zero.  It's not likely to happen via free agency, as there aren't many out there.  KC has 3 receivers 4.4 or less and Kelce at 4.6.

To me that is the priority right behind the OL.  Don't be surprised if we take one early.

The defense will be solid without too much investment.  The offense has to come up this year.

I believe even more that that is a TE that can make plays in this offense.

 

1 hour ago, Bill said:

I believe even more that that is a TE that can make plays in this offense.

 

If the field doesn't get stretched, nothing works easily underneath.

1 hour ago, Mongo3451 said:

If the field doesn't get stretched, nothing works easily underneath.

While I agree that having someone to take the top off the def. is great.   The way this team and is constituted and the scheme they run neither the oline or the QB that can take advantage of that.  A good route running TE seems at this time a better option.  IMHO

On 1/12/2020 at 4:38 PM, Bill said:

I believe even more that that is a TE that can make plays in this offense.

 

We could really use a speed WR to stretch the field but I have to agree fixing the TE position if the first priority.  We can get some production from our existing WRs.  We got no production from our TEs.   

12 hours ago, AZ54 said:

We could really use a speed WR to stretch the field but I have to agree fixing the TE position if the first priority.  We can get some production from our existing WRs.  We got no production from our TEs.   

The first priority is fixing the OL!

10 minutes ago, BearFan NYC said:

The first priority is fixing the OL!

Oh, he knows that.  His comment was between speed WR and TE.  Everybody knows it's OL one way or another.

Oops! Sorry! I'm just so disgusted by it I guess I'm seeing things that arent there.

And I totally agree the WRs are fine, and TE is a huge need.

Carry on!

 

 

 

On 1/12/2020 at 3:06 PM, BearFan NYC said:

Put it this way, if you can get 4 yards per carry every single time without fail, your team cannot lose, and you will be the most dominant offense in football even if you never do anything else but hand the ball to that RB.
 

In theory yes, but that RB would need 20 carries a drive to score a TD. Since you are looking at maybe 30 total touches a game, that is a flawed argument. 

Complimentary football is the way to go. The pass sets up the run and run sets up the pass. The problem with the Bears is we couldn't do either efficiently and were very predictable. 

 

On 1/12/2020 at 2:46 AM, AZ54 said:

The NFL and media have fallen in love with the passing game in recent years but this year the playoffs are proving that you can still win by running the ball.  The Titans have taken down the Patriots and Ravens behind a middling QB, a strong running game/Oline, and a strong defense.   We have two of those pieces.  FWIW the Ravens got to the 1 seed by running.    

We all know we need the Oline fixed but we also must find a good RB to compliment Montgomery.  A RB with some speed.  Then we need someone to call the running plays.       

 

 

Of the top ranked defenses, only SF (2nd) is left. KC is ranked 14th, GB 15th, and TEN 16th for DEF DVOA.

For passing offense, KC is 2nd, TEN is 6th, SF is 8th, and GB is 11th.

For rushing offense, GB is 4th, TEN is 5th, SF is 13th, and KC is 14th.

So passing offense is still the strongest trend, with 4 of the top 11 still left. Top defense only has 1 in the top 11, and rushing offense only has 2 of the top 11. 

Just based on efficiency it would be SF vs KC in Super Bowl with SF winning.

13 minutes ago, adam said:

In theory yes, but that RB would need 20 carries a drive to score a TD. Since you are looking at maybe 30 total touches a game, that is a flawed argument. 

Complimentary football is the way to go. The pass sets up the run and run sets up the pass. The problem with the Bears is we couldn't do either efficiently and were very predictable. 

 

Oh I'm not saying to never pass. I'm saying the consistent 4 or 5 yard running play is the most dangerous play in football, not the long pass.

And so, the role of the running back isnt to get 80 yard runs, but to move the chains and force the defense to have to move toward the ball, which opens up the passing game and complimentary football like you said.

And therefore, Montgomery is great, and we dont need to replace him with a "home run hitter" - lord knows Walter Payton wasn't one. But he was the best back ever. Jim Brown too.

Just now, adam said:

Of the top ranked defenses, only SF (2nd) is left. KC is ranked 14th, GB 15th, and TEN 16th for DEF DVOA.

For passing offense, KC is 2nd, TEN is 6th, SF is 8th, and GB is 11th.

For rushing offense, GB is 4th, TEN is 5th, SF is 13th, and KC is 14th.

So passing offense is still the strongest trend, with 4 of the top 11 still left. Top defense only has 1 in the top 11, and rushing offense only has 2 of the top 11. 

Just based on efficiency it would be SF vs KC in Super Bowl with SF winning.

do those rushing rankings still hold up in yards per carry? Because I think those are total rushing yards, which doesnt really tell the story of complimentary football as you suggested, and I just clarified above.

you know what? scratch that. Im not even really making that argument.

I'm just saying Montgomery has the skill set to excel at what you ask a running back to do.

10 hours ago, BearFan NYC said:

Oops! Sorry! I'm just so disgusted by it I guess I'm seeing things that arent there.

And I totally agree the WRs are fine, and TE is a huge need.

Carry on!

Zero chance I'm not fixing the Oline this offseason (were I the GM ).  You can scan through my past posts and see I was one of the first here calling out the Oline, or even asking for Kyle Long to get benched.  

2 hours ago, AZ54 said:

Zero chance I'm not fixing the Oline this offseason (were I the GM ).  You can scan through my past posts and see I was one of the first here calling out the Oline, or even asking for Kyle Long to get benched.  

for sure!

12 hours ago, BearFan NYC said:

do those rushing rankings still hold up in yards per carry? Because I think those are total rushing yards, which doesnt really tell the story of complimentary football as you suggested, and I just clarified above.

Those are DVOA rankings, which are basically efficiency ratings which would consider YPC. 

23 hours ago, BearFan NYC said:

for sure!

Jason taught me well.  

Hey Mr. 7 running attempts:

The 49ers are going to the super bowl, and have only throewn the ball 6 times with 12:50 left int he 4th quarter.

34 points too.

RUN. THE. BALL.

I mean sure, have your high tech offense too but

RUN. THE. BALL.

NAGY!

As he watches the playoffs he will notice KC going to the SB with his offense.