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Bear Digest

How Bears Hit the Ground Running Even Without Injured Kyle Monangai

Thanks to a change in his approach to how the running game is introduced at the start of camp, Ben Johnson sees blocking as more advanced than last year.
Gene Chamberlain|
Bears blockers like Joe Thuney (62) are a bit further along in non-padded practices at blocking the run, thanks to Ben Johnson's changes.
Bears blockers like Joe Thuney (62) are a bit further along in non-padded practices at blocking the run, thanks to Ben Johnson's changes. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Bears put pads on Monday and the running game then comes to the forefront.

Johnson, it seems, has already been at work on the running attack even while it appears they can't do much without wearing pads.

It's an indication he refuses to get bogged down in his own methods and keeps an open mind to change.

“You can see it in the drill work and even the little bit that we're doing non-padded right now," Johnson said. "You can see our get-off, you can see our pad level, you can see our aiming points. 

"I tweaked the run install this summer for really the first time that I've been calling it because of that, because we don't have the pads on for these first four days. Hopefully it's going to give us more time on task with some concepts that are, I'm not going to say more finesse but just not as downhill double-team (blocking) mentality. It's been good for us. I thought we got better from Day 1 to Day 2 in that regard."

Johnson didn't detail what the specifics were, but tight end Cole Kmet spilled out some of the changes in more detail.

"I like it," Kmet said. "I don’t know if this is why he did it, just because it’s harder to run a lot of gap-scheme stuff without pads on, so you run more wide zone for these first four days. And I think that’s been really good and you get maybe more reps than you’d like, but it’s a good thing to work the technique and work the detail of it. And it’s been good for us to get off the snap count, understand our point, and all those things.

"I know guys are itching to kind of get more into the power and the gap scheme stuff coming up, but I like it so far, I think it’s been a cool changeup."

Running more outside zone means they probably didn't miss much with Monangai out because his better power runs normally come more inside with the gap scheme or inside zone. They weren't really even working at these plays much in non-padded practice.

Why reworking the work can work

Johnson wouldn't have organized the practices this way if he felt they could have trouble handling it.

“There were things when I took the job that I really strongly believed in, and so those are still going to be the pillars of it," Johnson said. "I don't want to deviate too far from things that I believe in because I think we had some success, and it worked.

"That's really the foundation piece of it, and you continue to evolve as a coach and the people around you. Like I said the other day, it's really more about trusting the people around me, delegating, knowing their strengths and weaknesses better than I did before, and I think we'll work as a cohesive unit so much cleaner.”

With two different offensive linemen blocking this year for D'Andre Swift and Monangai, the Bears can use any edge Johnson can provide.

Taking a different approach to installing the running game is another example of Johnson evolving. Coaches can't afford to stay to entrenched in their ways an a league so competitive.

In Johnson's case, keeping the running game moving whether they have Monangai or some other back as the main ball carrier is critical to everything they plan to do on offense. It's definitely worth trying something new even after they improved from 25th to third in rushing.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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