A Proving Ground for Veterans and Rookies
All the Chicago Bears should talk the way David Montgomery does.
The third-year Bears running back normally had not been the most vocal or candid player in his first two years, but his first meeting with media this offseason indicated a different player in this regard.
He talked about needing to be more of a leader. Talking to the fans through the media is one smaller part of this responsibility.
Montgomery offered a rather dramatic description about his own drive for this season.
"The entirety of my career of being able to carry a football and do it successfully, I've had a chip on my shoulder," Montgomery said. "But as it happens so often from wherever I was then to where I am now, the chip grows.
"It's no longer a chip, it's been a boulder for a while now. It's more so not about proving anybody wrong, but proving myself right, to me."
All players have something to prove, and in Montgomery's case it's more to himself.
Anyone who doubts him isn't really paying attention.
This week SI.com's fantasy football experts labeled Montgomery one of the players most likely to be a bust this year.
Good luck with that guess. Doubting Montgomery rarely turns out to be good policy.
When he doesn't succeed it's usually been the inability of the line to get him a proper opening.
There are actual Bears players with much more personally to prove this season.
A similar list was compiled as the offseason began in February. This is always a fluid situation, affected greatly by roster changes. There have been many since then.
Here are the top 10 Chicago Bears with something to prove for 2021, a revised grouping to keep up with the times.
10. S Jordan Lucas
They signed him in free agency. He opted out. Then came the 2021 offseason and when many veterans on defense decided not to participate in on-field voluntary practices at Halas Hall, Lucas joined them in staying away. Can he even play? There were no offseason practices last year before he opted out. So, during minicamp from June 15-17 it's going to be the first time Lucas actually shows the Bears what the money they agreed to spend on him in March of 2020 has brought them. He'd better be at the top of his game after so long away because there are numerous candidates for limited safety roster spots.
9. NT Eddie Goldman
Like Lucas, Goldman opted out. No one can hold this against him. Unlike Lucas, Goldman has been a valued, contributing member of the defensive line in the past. It's easier to look past a year away. If anything, a year away from the daily grind in the trenches should benefit Goldman's body. However, he has to get out and prove it. If he gets off to a slow start, the skeptics will be pointing to his year away with a critical finger.
8. RB Tarik Cohen
Cohen is at Halas Hall rehabbing this week after tearing an ACL. He isn't practicing yet. There is no greater concern for a running back than returning from an ACL tear. It's especially concerning for a speed back whose game included great maneuverability. Cohen can't rush back from this. It's been about 7 1/2 months since his surgery. With Damien Williams on the roster to join Montgomery, the Bears have other running backs who can catch passes. This isn't the same as the breakaway dimension Cohen normally provides, though. Will Cohen even have this dimension after ACL surgery? It's definitely not the Gale Sayers era where the ACL tear signified the possible end of a career, but it's still a major obstacle for Cohen to overcome. The fact the Bears got only three games out of him after committing to his second contract adds to the pressure.
7. T Teven Jenkins
Coming straight from college to start immediately in the NFL is tough enough. Doing it at a position where he has the responsibility of protecting Andy Dalton's or Justin Fields' blind side makes it all the more difficult. Jenkins wasn't even a full-time left tackle, and he has to bear the burden of being the only one on the roster who really has any measurable experience playing this position. So, there are many doubters Jenkins needs to prove wrong in his very first NFL season and his performance at a difficult position could make or break the Bears offense.
6. Eddie Jackson
Few could doubt Jackson's skills after the start to his career, but last year signified a dramatic decline in productivity. It came right after a $58.4 million contract. Coincidence? Has he become too satisified? The 110.1 passer rating against when he was targeted last year was almost twice what his rating against was in 2019. The 67.4% completion percentage he allowed when targeted was a huge increase over the solid 53.5% level he had in 2019. His former teammate, Adrian Amos, is now graded ahead of him by Pro Football Focus. Some will question whether the Bears kept the wrong safety when they let Amos leave for Green Bay. Jackson has to bounce back, and there are 58.4 million reasons why.
5. James Daniels
Now in a contract year, Daniels naturally has something to prove. He seemed on the verge of becoming one of the best blockers on the line before last year's torn pectoral muscle after the fifth game. They need to see whether Daniels actually is the blocker they thought they had before the injury in order to commit another contract to him, because if there is one position this team has an abundance on this roster it's guards.
4. Anthony Miller
A decline in receptions and yardage normally places pressure on a player, and then there's the whole playoff fight and ejection thing. Miller already had a reputation for not being sufficiently into his playbook at times. Tack on the fact he's now in a contract year, the Bears brought in two players who can play his position in Damiere Byrd and Dazz Newsome and it's as if the door is being held open for Miller to depart. Will he show he's worth keeping in Chicago?
3. Desmond Trufant
Two straight injury-plagued seasons and three in the last five years tend to call into question any player's dependability. You can't make the club from in the tub, was the old refrain. Trufant has to prove he's not a perennial candidate for the trainer's room and injury report. He's also going to be 31 when the season kicks off, which isn't exactly ideal age for a starting NFL cornerback. Add on the pressure of playing a position where the game might be on the line every single play, and that the team really hasn't brought in an alternative veteran option, and it's easily one of the most challenging situations facing anyone on this roster.
2. Robert Quinn
Two sacks and six quarterback hits isn't acceptable from many backup players, let alone a player who received a $70 million contract. Last year was an embarrassment for Quinn and as a result also for GM Ryan Pace.
1. Justin Fields
Living up to being a first-round quarterback pick, proving many detractors wrong about his abilities and picking up an NFL offense well enough in his first year to sufficiently play the most difficult position to all of sports is plenty to fill anyone's plate. Heap a mile-high helping onto it of past failed Bears quarterbacks and all the emotional baggage of a city starved for someone — anyone — to step up and play the position adequately and Fields has the most to prove of anyone on the roster.
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMavenC
