Bear Digest

Chicago Bears backfield situation not so clear after injury report

Analysis: The D'Andre Swift-Kyle Monangai running back dilemma seems something the Bears will look at in a future week after Friday's injury report.
Gene Chamberlain|
D'Andre Swift looks for running room against the Baltimore Ravens.
D'Andre Swift looks for running room against the Baltimore Ravens. | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The real dilemma confronting Bears coach Ben Johnson may need to wait a week.

For once, it appears a pleasant or positive personnel issue. Johnson will need to decide between Kyle Monangai or D'Andre Swift as the backfield starter or the back with the most carries. It might not be this week, though, because Swift missed Friday's practice after testing out his groin injury with a full practice Thursday and a limited one Wednesday. He also had a personal reason for missing practice.

The only players ruled out this week are Josh Blackwell (concussion), T.J. Edwards (hand, hamstring) and Dominique Robinson (ankle). Running back Roschon Johnson is available now after being removed from the injury report.

Monangai's breakthrough performance of 176 yards rushing last week against the Bengals is going to make it difficult for Johnson when there is no injury issue, if that actually occurs.

Does he start Monangai then? Probably not, if Swift is healthy. How to determine the amount of carries is a bit of a dilemma. How does he determine number of reps?

"In my experience, it's usually been that with each guy, there might be a couple of plays in the plan, run game or pass game, that you put their number down for going into the week," Johnson said Friday at Halas Hall. "Other than that, I think, normally, it's been by series.

" 'Hey, this guy is going to start us off this series, and we'll kind of see.' The longer the drive, we might have to substitute someone else in. Or, if I call one of those selected plays, that might be the case. I think we'll get that right balance as we go through it."

He'll have some help, he said, in determining this.

"EB (running backs coach Eric Bieniemy) has a really good feel for guys as they're rolling," Johnson said. "I do believe in a guy having a hot hand, so if one guy is feeling it and giving us a spark, we might lean on that a little bit longer."

Monangai standing out as a seventh-round pick surprised no one with the Bears because they saw him as a sleeper late and even a possible Isaiah Pachecho type because he is of similar size and came from the same school as Kansas City's back. He also was drafted in the same round.

"I think that there are a number of guys here that are just looking for opportunities," Johnson said. "(Monangai) certainly got one and took advantage of it.

"No one on the coaching staff or personnel side was surprised to see that; when you come into the building like he does and have his approach every single day, and it doesn't matter whether it's in the meetings or in walk-throughs or practices, you know what you're going to get. He is a very consistent player. He ran hard, he lowered his pads. I thought that he played some inspiring football for anybody that was watching it, whether you were on the field or on the sidelines. No one was surprised. I think we'll get that from all of our backs."

Denying the power running Monangai displayed is going to be hard to resist for Johnson.

How Ben Johnson really will decide

In Detroit, Johnson had Swift starting in his first season as coordinator. Then Swift suffered an ankle injury and veteran Jamaal Williams started in his place. Johnson liked the power effect from Williams more than Swift's speed for the bulk of the carries.

Swift went to speed or change-up threat and Williams became the load back.

It wouldn't be a shock for this to happen again with Monangai and Swift.

As they say, the backs will have to sort this out themselves with their performance. And whether Swift truly is entirely healthy matters most. One week away for what Johnson had called a "chronic" groin injury hardly seems like sufficient time for healing and the injury report Friday reflected this.

One thing is certain: It doesn't matter who the back is if the offensive line blocks the way it did against Cincinnati.

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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.