The Chicago Bears know that Jordan Howard needs to be a better pass catcher. Can he step his game up?
We all know the biggest weakness of Chicago Bears running back Jordan Howard. It has some people running him out of town. Yes, he cannot catch passes well. I know it, and you know it. Fortunately, though, he knows it, and his coaches know it. Now, they are working on it.
Running backs coach Charles London talked about how they are able to improve on his pass catching.
"“That’s one area that both Jordan and I identified when I got here, that he wanted to get better at,” London said. “And he’s put in the work.”“We’re working on hand placement … just his focus and concentration, hand-eye coordination and things like that,” said London, who is Howard’s third position coach in as many seasons.““How he needs to position himself. How he needs to have his hands to catch the ball,” London said. “And I think he’s getting a better understanding of that. I’ve seen progress.”"
With the last coaching staff, it felt as though the vibe was “this is his weakness let’s work around it”. Now we are hearing, here are his weaknesses, let us improve and mold his game to be more well rounded.
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London is open and mentioning specific areas in which Howard must improve. A lot of the issues are issues of muscle memory and repetition. It is going to be frustrating, but London and Howard know this is something that needs to be done, and the team is ready to improve Howard rather than let go of him.
As for whether or not this will translate to the field, time will tell. It is one thing to make these changes in May. To implement them in September is another question.
Still, it is not like the team is going to pepper him with targets. As long as he can catch the ball enough to be a threat in the passing game, he can become a foundation in the offense.
If Howard can take a small step it could go a long way.