After suffering a concussion, Chicago Bears running back Roschon Johnson looks like he is feeling healthy and showing that he should be the future starter in this offense.
In 2022, the Chicago Bears had the best rushing attack in the NFL. They ran for 3,014 yards, almost 300 more yards than the next team. This season, they are on nearly the same path. They have 1,547 rushing yards, good for third in the league. They are 50 yards away from second place, and 356 away from the top spot.
While the NFL is a passing league, teams that have a strong running game have a big help in their passing game. If a defense has to worry about the ground attack, the space downfield becomes open. An effective quarterback can take advantage of that and make big plays throwing the ball.
Last season, the Bears had David Montgomery as the starting running back. However, it was quarterback Justin Fields who led the way with 1,143 yards. It was the second-highest total by a quarterback in a season in league history.
This season, Fields leads the way again. However, he does so with just 400 seasons. The running backs unit has been hit hard with injuries. Fields has missed four games with an injury and the coaches lowered the number of planned runs. Montgomery is now in Detroit, making Herbert the starter. However, he was on injured reserve with an ankle injury. He returned last week, but his explosiveness is not the same yet.
Herbert’s backup, Roschon Johnson, himself suffered a concussion. He missed two games because of it. He has played a few games but he also seemed like he had some cobwebs to clear.
D’Onta Foreman has been great at stepping up. He has settled the running game and made some big runs. He, however, has also suffered an injury. The Bears deactivated him in Week 12 because of an ankle injury.
Johnson, a rookie, looks like he is coming back to his old self. During training camp and early in the season, he was wowing people with his elusiveness, tough running, and ability to catch passes out of the backfield. He was doing that in Week 12.
While Johnson only had 35 yards on 10 carries, he also contributed 40 yards on 5 catches. He made some key runs that extended drives. For the season he has 363 total yards from scrimmage and 4.7 yards per touch.
Additionally, he made some great blocks. After a defender got past him and blew up Fields for a sack on one play, he later came back and actually blocked two rushers at the same time.
Roschon Johnson picking up TWO defenders so Fields can get this pass off.
Uncommon pass pro for a rookie. #DaBears #Bears pic.twitter.com/nqDwzvqA6g
— Clay Harbor (@clayharbs82) November 28, 2023
Johnson getting healthy at this time is huge. With Foreman now dealing with an injury, and Herbert not completely healthy, Johnson can now show that he could take over the running back spot and play well.
Johnson spent his years at the University of Texas as a backup to Bijan Robinson. He did a great there and is ready to show that he can be a starter, though. He was on his way to showing it before the concussion slowed him down.
The Chicago Bears have a lot of decisions to make this upcoming offseason. It will be Year 3 of the rebuild and quite possibly the most important. Last year they blew up the roster. This season they strengthened it some. Next year they have to improve it even more.
The team should be able to fill a lot of the holes they have left. While there is not a hole at running back, they have to decide who stays and who goes. Herbert is a good running back but he missed nine of 29 games. That is 31 percent of the games played. He cannot help the team if he continues to spend his time in the trainer’s room instead of the field.
Johnson wants to show that he is the guy to lead.
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Matt LaFleur is earning the ire of several of his Green Bay Packers players early in training camp. On Tuesday, LaFleur punished offensive tackle Rasheed Walker for his altercation with defensive end Kingsley Enagbare. However, the most interesting interaction of the day came between LaFleur and tight end Tucker Kraft. Per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, LaFleur called out Kraft for two questionable fumbles during the first week of practice. Both "fumbles" came after the play was over or when the ball fell out of bounds. "Certainly, we all know what kind of player Tucker Kraft is and can be," LaFleur said. "He can’t allow Evan Williams to reach around and punch a ball out, so it is challenging everybody and hopefully that makes us that much better.” The third-year tight end took issue with LaFleur calling him out in front of the media and blamed the coaching staff for implementing practice rules that made it easy for offensive players to fumble. "I’d say a lot of the times — there’s certain rules you play with in practice, like just letting the defense punch repeatedly," Kraft said. "You’re not allowed to stiff-arm. I guess all I have are excuses. Yes, I am working on not fumbling the ball in practice." Schneidman said Kraft answered the question with a tone of sarcasm. Kraft was frustrated that he couldn't defend the ball by stiff-arming a defender trying to poke the ball from his undefended arm. Kraft acknowledged that during practice, he has to "play by the rules" LaFleur makes and is trying to work on having a "yes sir, no sir" attitude with his head coach. He then made a vague reference about a "bus fine" and accused LaFleur of throwing him under the bus in front of the media. Schneidman believes the tight end might actually be calling for Green Bay to fine LaFleur after his discouraging quote Tuesday morning. "So yes, the Packers’ third-year tight end might be calling for his head coach to be fined — not by the league, of course, but by the team — for what he perceived as throwing him under the bus," Schneidman wrote. "Is Kraft being serious about fining LaFleur? "Probably not. Is he peeved LaFleur called him out? It sure seems like it." LaFleur might do better to have a conversation with Kraft before dragging his name into news conferences with reporters. It's clear Tucker doesn't see eye-to-eye with LaFleur about fumbles. This is a good reminder to those getting overly excited or nervous reading practice reports that what happens at practice should be taken with a grain of salt. Most likely, Tucker is going to be fine.
The Boston Bruins have been under pressure to retool after a disappointing season, and now a potential blockbuster move could shake the entire NHL. A major trade proposal has surfaced that could send a star goaltender to the Edmonton Oilers, a move that would give them the elite presence they've lacked in net while forcing Boston closer to a rebuild. The deal being floated by multiple outlets would send Edmonton's current starter, Stuart Skinner, along with Matthew Savoie, Beau Akey, and a 2028 first-round pick to Boston, while the Oilers land a goaltender capable of changing their Cup window overnight. Edmonton's push for a franchise goalie could reshape the Western Conference and challenge the Dallas Stars' path to the Cup If this trade goes through, the Oilers would instantly address one of their biggest weaknesses, setting up a showdown with teams like the Dallas Stars, who already see Edmonton as one of their toughest rivals. Boston, on the other hand, would fully commit to a rebuild, pairing Joonas Korpisalo with Skinner in what could be one of the NHL's weakest tandems, likely boosting their draft lottery odds in one of the most hyped draft classes in recent memory (NHL.com). An insider noted, "They weren't the only ones who had inquired about Swayman, but yes, I was told they poked around." That comment shows just how wide the interest is for this level of goalie talent (Heavy.com). I think this kind of trade would completely shift the balance of power in the West, making Edmonton even more dangerous for teams like Dallas, who could end up facing a vastly upgraded Oilers team in the playoffs. If Boston truly embraces a rebuild, moving their top goaltender could be the first domino in a massive roster overhaul, something that could shake the market for weeks.
The New York Yankees acquired several talented veterans after superstar outfielder Juan Soto walked in free agency this past offseason, with southpaw pitcher Max Fried (12-4, 2.62 ERA) chief among them. They signed the latter player to an eight-year, $218 million contract, and he's given them their money's worth thus far. Fried leads New York's pitching staff in wins and ERA. The 31-year-old is also tied for third in baseball in wins, is 11th in ERA, and is 11th with a 1.03 WHIP. Still, the Yankees could use pitching help, given that ace Gerrit Cole is out for the year after getting Tommy John surgery, and 2024 AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil will make his first start of the season on Sunday. Fried was asked after Tuesday's bout with the Tampa Bay Rays if he's anxious to see what New York does ahead of Thursday's Trade Deadline, via SNY. "You've just got to take care of business every day," he said. "That's not something that we can control...We have baseball games to win." The Yankees did just that on Tuesday, beating the Rays 7-5 in a comeback effort. Fried earned his 12th win after allowing four runs (two earned) in 6.2 innings to go with nine strikeouts and two walks. The veteran also tossed a career-high 111 pitches. Over the last few days, the Yankees acquired third baseman Ryan McMahon from the Colorado Rockies and fellow third baseman Amed Rosario from the Washington Nationals. They also traded pitcher Carlos Carrasco to the Atlanta Braves for a player to be named later or cash. New York will face Tampa Bay again on Wednesday and Thursday.
It appears that Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love is getting better at one area, particularly when it comes to the hard count. He had success last week with his hard count when he got both Nate Hobbs and Edgerrin Cooper jumping on separate occasions. Love, who is entering his third season as the Packers’ full-time starting quarterback, continues to work on his game and polish areas where improvements can be made, and mastering the hard count seems like one of the items he is focused on in the training camp. It can also be recalled that he talked about the hard count during 2023 OTAs as an “emphasis that I’ve been trying to just build and keep working.” Green Bay offense takes friendly fire over Love’s hard count On Monday, Love drew another offside because of his hard count, but not at the expense of the defense. “Love got Hobbs to jump with his hard count last week. On Monday, Love got another Packers newcomer to jump on the hard count. The only problem for Love is that it was his own left guard. Banks flinched right before defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt and was booted from the drill for Jacob Monk,” Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reported. Getting familiar with Love’s cadence is a challenge for the Packers’ offensive line, as the team definitely doesn’t want to see the QBs hard counts resulting in penalties for the offense instead of for the defense.