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Bears' League-Leading Ground Game Shaky on Several Counts Against Packers

Whether it's fumbling, injuries or red zone problems, the Bears have an awful lot of problems for a team leading the NFL in rushing.
Gene Chamberlain|
Bears quarterback Tyson Bagent hands the ball off to running back D'Andre Swift against the New York Jets Sunday.
Bears quarterback Tyson Bagent hands the ball off to running back D'Andre Swift against the New York Jets Sunday. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Chicago Bears

It's a good thing D'Andre Swift realizes his transgressions, and that the severity of the Bears' punishment was Ben Johnson labeling Sunday's fumble "egregious."

After all, they can't be too critical of their starting running back when he's all they've got.

Digital injuries continue to plague running back Kyle Monangai, and he has not practiced this week. His thumb injury is a bad enough problem for any back, but according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, the toe injury he also has is "turf toe." That can be extremely painful and the kind of thing that takes a while to work through, although it can be done.

So Swift might be the best and only chance for the NFL's top rushing team to establish the running game against the Packers on Sunday, and it's their running game that triggers the passing.

"I've got to know where I'm at at all times, be more conscious of fumbling the ball," Swift said Thursday. "That (fumbling) ain't me."

The Bears didn't deliver any stern lectures to Swift about the fumble, just pulled him from the game and there were some words for him from Ben Johnson later. In days gone by, another staff had a back who fumbled one time too many and coaches taped a newspaper photo from a game up in his locker with him carrying the ball high and tight, tucked perfectly. Someone had written on it, noting he used to carry it correctly so he should know. He got the message.

Fumblers not wanted

In this case, Swift said he knows how to do it and coaches didn't really have to point anything out.

"I can't really put the ball on the ground and put the team and everybody else (in jeopardy)," Swift said. "II can't really do that. I know that."

The Bears do extensive work before practices at avoiding fumbles.

“We do ball security every single day," offensive coordinator Press Taylor said. "We start practice with ball security. We emphasize it. We make a great emphasis to our scout team defense to make attempts at the ball. That's something they've done a great job with."

Swift had fumbled against the Vikings at the 1-yard line and that one essentially cost them the game, although they also had a gimmie field goal blocked, as well, in a 9-3 defeat.

"I know coach (Ben Johnson) mentioned it the other day, the first one, we'd rather it not happen," Taylor said. "There's ways it could not happen based on the way we carry the ball against Minnesota. Then the second one he mentioned was egregious. That just goes back to our fundamentals, the way we talk, how we expect guys to carry the football.

"We talk about that every single Saturday. We commit time in our meeting to (backs) coach (Eric) Studesville talking about all this. Obviously, we place an emphasis on every single practice. But when guys are out there, that's the number one point of emphasis on anything we do. We talk about scheme, but we talk about our fundamentals more than anything.”

The goal-line woes

The Bears have other problems with the running backs besides injuries and fumbles, so they can't beat themselves up too much about it. Their goal-line and short-yardage offense has been a coin toss. They had four plays to score from the 1 last week and failed, but replay challenges overturned TDs twice before Monangai would blast into the end zone. They had problems by the goal line against the Vikings besides the fumble at the 1.

Swift said he felt like he had scored on both of his overturned TDs in Sunday's win over the Jets.

"Especially the second one," he said. The replay person saw it differently but the league's interpretation of indisputable evidence these days seems awfully disputable.

“There's not one consistent thing that's been 'This is the issue and we get this fixed,' " Taylor said of goal-line plays. "It's kind of each play has kind of had its own thing of certain issues whether we provided the right play at the right time, we're getting the motion timed up the exact right way, whatever it may be. But it's certainly something that has our attention.”

Taylor did admit something, though. They miss that option near the goal line provided by Caleb Williams' legs.

“Yeah, moving the quarterback's always an option down there," Taylor said.

Of course, it was that type of play that got Wiliams injured. Backup Tyson Bagent isn't exactly a statue compared to Case Keenum, and he could be used that way if they so choose.

"I feel like, at least, Tyson is probably a little bit more mobile than Case," Taylor said. "So you kind of get a little bit more of that involved as well, if that's what the defense dictates for us.”

At least it would be someone without an injury trying to get to the goal line. Swift has his own issues besides the fumbles. He has a both a hip and knee injury and practiced Thursday only on a limited basis.

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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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