The Chicago Bears are officially halfway through the season. They have played nine of their 17 games, but with a bye week, they are halfway through the 18-week schedule. The season has already been a rollercoaster ride, and this was only half of the ride.
While the team is 3-6, there is still going to be plenty to look forward to, all the way through the final game of the season. What are the five biggest things to watch?
5. How will Chicago Bears hand wide receiver additions
The Chicago Bears wide receiver rooms look a lot different right now than it did back when the team showed up to training camp. Beyond that, it is expected to look different soon than it does now.
The team added N’Keal Harry, and Chase Claypool, and they are expected to see Byron Pringle back at some point. What once was a room looking to get bodies in is now a room that is going to have to cut a receiver soon, and keep another inactive.
Last week, it was Velus Jones inactive, but it is likely Pettis will be cut. Does Jones go back to returning punts? Once Harry and Claypool are in the mix, are we about to see the end of Equanimeous St. Brown?
St. Brown has been given chances because he is good with end-arounds, and blocking, but Harry and Claypool serve both roles better. In four weeks we could be looking at Harry and Claypool outside with Darnell Mooney in the slot. Then, Byron Pringle is the fourth wideout, and Velus Jones gets back into the mix as the fifth and return man.
One of Pettis or ESB would get cut, and one of them would move to inactive. Of course, Pettis could also stay active over Jones, but with Pringle in the mix, they do not need that type of wideout as much.
Either way, there is a lot of variety and plenty of decisions that will come as the room grows together.
4. Will Justin Fields keep running?
The big difference between the last three weeks and the first six is how many designed runs that Fields is being given. Luke Getsy is unlocking him right now, and is designed run has essentially doubled in recent weeks.
The question will be, what now? The run game is humming, but like anything, in the NFL you will see the response. He will not break the rushing record for quarterbacks every week. If he does, it will be worth watching for sure.
Now, the team needs to build off of it. They can use Fields as a runner to open up the pass, but if they run him into the ground it will become an issue.
So, we should look to see how Fields develops as a passer. We should see Getsy build off the groundwork he has laid in these recent weeks. Considering Getsy handled his first challenge well, we should expect him to find ways to branch off of the designed runs, but it will certainly be worthy of our attention.
3. What will happen with the Chicago Bears Right Tackle
One interesting note from the loss to the Miami Dolphins was seeing Riley Reiff starting for a second straight week. Larry Borom was out last week with a concussion, but he did pass protocol this week.
To be fair, he passed protocol late in the week, and if anything we have seen that this coaching staff does not throw players right into the mix after they come back. They like to ease things back.
So, it could be that they wanted to give Larry Borom the extra week. Still, when the name is Riley Reiff, a known commodity, and he plays well for two weeks, it has to be noted.
Beyond that, the team activated Alex Leatherwood from the IR. They will not throw him into anything either, but the former first-round pick is certainly lurking in the background as the team continues to find pieces that fit the roster moving forward.
Does Leatherwood get a chance? Do they go back to Borom? Is Reiff going to be the man the rest of the way? There are a lot of ways that the Chicago Bears could go for their right tackle.
2. Can Chicago Bears keep playing unproven rookies
The Chicago Bears’ defense is not getting better. You may have been disappointed with Robert Quinn and Roquan Smith, but the team was not going to improve overnight with them out of the door. With that in mind, this season should be about seeing what type of young talent they have on defense.
Jack Sanborn made his first start on Sunday in place of Roquan Smith. It was up and down, but overall you have to be anxious to see more. Dominique Robinson needs to play more without Robert Quinn. Al-Quadin Muhammad needs to play less, so they can finally see what the fifth-round rookie has.
Fans are probably already sick of Jaylon Jones, but this is a rookie UDFA. One of his first games was lining up with Justin Jefferson, and this week he saw Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. We are not saying bench Kindle Vildor, but if he is still hurt, it is fine to throw in the rookie and let him learn.
Even Kinglsey Jonathan is getting about seven snaps per game without Quinn, and that could go up a few ticks. The Chicago Bears have three UDFAs and a fifth-round rookie I just mentioned. Almost none of them will be long-term stars, but if they can find one of these players to become something, it is a huge win. The defense is already bad, why not keep letting these rookies get chances?
1. How will running back rotation breakdown
The Chicago Bears said that they would go with a more hot-hand approach, but overall, the split In timeshare at running back has been about the same.
In the past four weeks, Montgomery has played 78%, 56%, 70%, and 70%, On the flip side, Herbert is at 22%, 41%, 28%, and 28%. Only one week was it close to even.
When it comes to rushing attempts, Montgomery leads at 56%, 35%, 37%, and 45% while Herbert is at 26%, 28%, 39%, and 23%. In the middle of two weeks, they flirted with a timeshare, but it has not been the case overall.
Herbert is more explosive, but the big difference is passing down work. Montgomery has the majority of the long down and distance, and two-minute snaps. He also gets the short down and distance snaps. It leaves just a chunk of snaps in the middle and a drive here and there for Herbert.
The team said they wanted to mix them in more. Will that happen? Can they find a happy medium and a role that has Herbert more involved? Is Montgomery proving that he needs to be re-signed, or will the team try to force Herbert into uncomfortable roles to see if he can handle more work? These are things we will see in the Chicago Bears’ second half of the season.