The 2019 season can’t end fast enough for the Chicago Bears offense. It has easily been one of the most disappointing years for that side of the ball in franchise history, which is saying something. Sure the organization has had plenty of bad offenses before, but this stings worse because it’s clear they have a lot of talent that can excel. Yet for a bevy of reasons, it has grossly underachieved. That said, there have been a couple of bright spots. Allen Robinson went over 1,000 yards receiving. The first to do so in five years. Then there is David Montgomery.
Some people haven’t been happy with how the rookie running back has performed this season. They need context on this. Montgomery is 39 yards away from posting 1,000 from scrimmage for the season. In the past decade, a total of 209 running backs have been drafted in the 3rd round or later. Of those numbers, only six have managed to produce 1,000 yards or more in their first NFL season. They were DeMarco Murray, Alfred Morris, David Johnson, Jordan Howard, Kareem Hunt, and Alvin Kamara.
Not bad company to keep in Montgomery’s case. Nobody would accuse him of being a breakout star this year, but he has not been anywhere close to a problem on offense. His struggles have less to do with his ability and more to do with what’s happening around him.
David Montgomery is capable of being much more
There are two primary reasons that Montgomery hasn’t been as effective as hoped when the season began. First is the offensive line. A mixture of health issues and bad blocking has led to few actual lanes for the rookie to run through. Too often he’s been met in the backfield before he ever had a chance to get a head of steam. Then there’s the quarterback situation. It’s been obvious all year that opposing defenses have no respect or fear of Mitch Trubisky. They’ve practically dared him to challenge them over the top and he rarely has.
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This has enabled them to keep extra bodies around the line of scrimmage, making it tough for the running back to find any space. Yet in spite of all that, Montgomery has found ways to stay productive. This is the most encouraging thing about the entire affair. He didn’t get flustered by the difficulties. He worked through them. That is what good players do. The Bears have good reason to feel confident about their young back moving forward.
