The Chicago Bears have a long history of great rushing attacks. One can imagine players from those eras aren’t happy watching this iteration of the team. The Bears have struggled to run the ball effectively all season. They’re 31st in the league through four games. Nobody is more upset about it than head coach Ben Johnson. He has stated his dissatisfaction about it every chance he gets. This shouldn’t be a surprise. Running the ball was part of his core identity during his run with the Detroit Lions. It is the essence of his playbook. Not being able to run has limited what the Bears can accomplish.
However, his opinion on why it hasn’t worked contradicts that of everybody else. Most believe the Bears have a running back problem. D’Andre Swift hasn’t taken full advantage of his opportunities due to his poor vision and inability to break tackles. Kyle Monangai and Roschon Johnson can’t do much better because of a lack of speed. In reality, Johnson believes the problems lie elsewhere. He explained during his Tuesday press conference.
“Our guys are going to be fine. It’s not always the runners — it’s everybody. It’s the quarterback carrying out his fake, it’s the receivers blocking down the field, the tight ends doing their job and same thing with the offensive line.”
Analytics people disagree with Ben Johnson.
ESPN released its updated data on run-block win rates for every team. They have the Bears listed as #1 in the NFL. In other words, their blocking has been the best of any team through the first month of the season. Guard Joe Thuney and center Drew Dalman both rank in the top 10 among run blockers. This means one of two things. The tracking data is mistaken, or Ben Johnson is lying.
Why would he do that? The answer isn’t that difficult to discern. He is covering for his players. By dismissing the idea that the running backs are the problem, he spreads blame to the entire offense and keeps the microscope off Swift and the others.
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It is difficult to know the truth. Johnson understands the last thing he needs is controversy being stirred up with the trade deadline approaching. Swift needs to stay focused on what could be the most important stretch of the season.