Over the course of the season, the Chicago Bears have decisions to make regarding the running back position. Both Khalil Herbert and David Montgomery have various skills but they need to produce more scoring. Where do they go from here? Is a consistent timeshare in the immediate future?
Herbert himself said that they need to focus on being better. They want to find their way into the endzone after big runs like we saw last week. It's frustrating to have big and explosive plays only to get shut out of the endzone. But the silver lining is the Bears have a guy with the ability to produce those kinds of plays, they just need to use him correctly.
Khalil Herbert Has Explosive Potential
Khalil Herbert has nine runs over 15 yards in only one and a half seasons as a backup running back. David Montgomery, on the other hand, has 19 runs over 15 yards in over three NFL seasons as a starter. What does that mean?
It means Herbert has more potential for explosive plays while Montgomery does not. This doesn't necessarily make Herbert the better running back and this is a good problem to have.
David Montgomery is a much better blocker when it comes to pass protection. Montgomery allows pressure on the quarterback 5.7% of the time during pass protection. But Herbert is closer to 10% in that same category. What the Chicago Bears don't want is to "tip their pitches" too much when these players are on the field on separate plays.
So how do the Bears pull this off? Can they feature both backs in the same play? Possibly. But why not scheme more running plays for Justin Fields?
We know that Fields can use his legs when he has to. As BearsOnTap panelist ButkusStats said above, Fields isn't a runner, he's a passer who can run. If the Bears can scheme more RPO against the Patriots this coming Monday night, it will open up the run game.
This leads directly to hiding the Bears' hand when it comes to Khalil Herbert and David Montgomery. They can scheme different looks for different plays but they also should be scheming similar looks for different plays.
Herbert can explode in this offense and the Bears can use that. If they get their opponents questioning what's coming on a given play regardless of which running back is on the field, that's how they can create big and explosive plays.
Chicago Bears Explosive Plays
Through six weeks in the 2022 NFL season, the Chicago Bears rank second in rushing yards. They are only behind the Cleveland Browns in that category but the gap in total explosive plays is much different.
The Bears have three rushing plays over 40 yards this season while the Browns only have one. But the Browns have 11 rushing plays over 20 yards and the Bears only have seven. Does this lead to opening up the passing game? Potentially yes.
The Bears have three passing plays over 40 yards compared to the Browns' lone play above that mark. But both teams have 15 passing plays over 20 yards this season. So theoretically the explosive runs do lead to more explosive passing plays and some of that can be credited to the offensive line doing its job. Some of it, however, should be credited to confusing defenses with playcalling.
Heading into the Monday Night Football matchup with New England, the Chicago Bears can change this narrative by designing runs for Justin Fields while utilizing different personnel. This, in theory, leads to more explosive plays for Khalil Herbert out of the backfield that his history proves he's capable of.
Will Matt Eberflus and Luke Getsy accomplish it this coming Monday night? If they want to break their losing streak, then they must. At least we know the Bears have an explosive back like Khalil Herbert as long as they use him properly.
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