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The Bears were among the NFL’s worst at multiple-back rushes last year. An improved running back room should display a shift in style." NewsNotesFrom The Desk Of...The David Montgomery and Mike Davis EffectNew Trey Burton Color Rush Jersey ,37commentsThe Bears were among the NFL’s worst at multiple-back rushes last year. An improved running back room should display a shift in style. CDTThe Bears knew they had quite the headache to contend with in their running back conundrum this off-season. A migraine would be more accurate. Trading Jordan Howard, drafting David Montgomery, and signing Mike Davis was an emblem of leadership at Halas Hall recognizing Chicago’s backfield drink had to be shaken and stirred. (Sorry, James Bond.) A reasonable expectation for this newfangled backfield trio of Montgomery, Davis, and Tarik Cohen is them helping to evolve the Bears offense. They can start by dramatically lifting and shifting one specific rushing aspect alone. Football Outsiders conducted a comprehensive analysis regarding the prevalence and success of carries from single and multiple-back formations, and how successful NFL teams were in using each in the 2018 season. (For the layman: a single-back carry is defined as any formation where there is only one other player in the backfield aside from the quarterback, and that player takes a rush. A multiple-back carry is where there are at least two other players in the backfield aside from the quarterback, and one of those players takes a rush.)The workhorse 300-carry back is largely considered obsolete across most of the league. So it makes far more sense to condense any running backs evaluation into carry splits, formations, and their success rates. Last year’s Bears didn’t fare well with either of the formerly mentioned lineups. On single-back carries, the Bears were 21st in rushing DVOA with a 314-attempt sample size—over 67 percent of their rushes. On multiple-back carries, the Bears were 18th in rushing DVOA with a 51-attempt sample size. Piece both facets together, and they ranked 19th overall. Let’s make the low-hanging fruit assessment: the Bears were mediocre at running the ball no matter how they lined up last year. It seems indictments of that fact can’t stop funneling in.FO’s Scott Spratt detailed how reliant the Bears were on one back to take them to a middle-of-the-road promised land, and what it might mean for Chicago this fall:The Bears’ offense is going to have to balance a lot in 2019 given the increased number of competent weapons Cody Parkey Jersey , on paper. Finding a happy medium with their running backs in Montgomery and Davis, and still properly using the explosive Cohen, poses among the stiffest schematic challenges for Matt Nagy and his staff. That each member of this trio is versatile enough to accomplish any task asked of them is a luxury the Bears haven’t been able to enjoy with their backs in a long time, let alone any of the past few seasons.The greatest bonus this trio will offer the Bears is that they’ll allow them to be less reliant on single-back rushes—at least when the situation calls for it. No longer do the Bears have to plow ahead with a one-dimensional back and thereby telegraph how their offense will operate when that back has a partner. Aside from each player being able to stand on their legs without any help, any combination of Cohen, Montgomery, and Davis in the backfield should be a treat for Chicago’s coaches. The nightmare for opposing defenses that “Run DMC” presents is implied. Robert is the Editor-in-chief of The Blitz Network, the managing editor of Windy City Gridiron, and the Bears beat writer for The Rock River Times. Follow him on Twitter @RobertZeglinski. You can’t take a picture of this. It’s already gone. CHICAGO (AP) — Sam Darnold and the New York Jets did a good job of protecting the ball.They just didn’t do very much when they had it.Playing without two of its top receivers, New York managed just 207 yards in a 24-10 loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday. Darnold passed for a career-low 153 yards in his eighth NFL start, and Isaiah Crowell was the Jets’ top rusher with a measly 25 yards on 13 carries.Just a quiet, ho-hum sort of day for everyone in green-and-white.“We just couldn’t really get anything going,” Crowell said. “I’ve got to watch the film, but I mean it was frustrating at the same time.”It was New York’s first game since running back Bilal Powell sustained a season-ending neck injury during last weekend’s 37-17 loss to Minnesota. Leading receivers Robby Anderson and Quincy Enunwa were inactive due to injuries, and tight end Neal Sterling departed in the first half with a concussion.Rishard Matthews made his Jets debut after signing with the team on Tuesday https://www.thebearsfanshop.com/Khalil-Mack-Jersey , but the veteran receiver was shut out. Asked if New York (3-5) might need to add another offensive option, coach Todd Bowles said they would discuss the possibility this week.“We had a lot of new people out there,” Bowles said. “I mean they fought hard, they played hard. We’re not going to use injuries as an excuse. Just got to make more plays.”A week after Darnold threw three interceptions and lost a fumble against the Vikings, the Jets played turnover-free ball against the opportunistic Bears. But they hurt themselves with five false start penalties. The flags contributed to a 3-for-14 performance on third down and just 12 first downs overall, compared to 22 for the Bears.“I think the biggest thing for us offensively is just staying in manageable down distances, not getting false starts, not getting penalties,” Darnold said.New York’s longest play of the day was nearly intercepted by Kyle Fuller, but it went off his hands and Deontay Burnett took the ball to the Chicago 18 for a 29-yard reception with about 12 minutes left. Darnold then finished the drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass to rookie Chris Herndon , making it 17-10 with 11:10 remaining.But the Bears responded with an eight-play, 79-yard drive, culminating in Jordan Howard’s 2-yard touchdown run, and the Jets never threatened again.“Very proud of the way they fought and stayed together,” Bowles said. “This is one of the first games the entire year that we stayed together as a team and fought collectively. Execution was not great https://www.thebearsfanshop.com , obviously, and we got to make more plays and we know that.”The lack of execution was particularly glaring before New York rallied in the final period. The Jets had just four first downs and 98 yards heading into the fourth quarter.Before Herndon caught a TD pass for the third straight week, the Jets’ only scoring drive ended with a 42-yard field goal by Jason Myers in the second quarter.“It’s frustrating for everyone,” said Darnold, who was 14 of 29 and was sacked once. “I mean, we just got to play better. We got to, like I said before, it’s about staying in manageable down distances. First and second down, getting off the ball, running the football, and completing the football. So that’s really all it is. If we can do that we’ll be a good football team.”