Howard trades to the Eagles for a 2020 6th rounder

[BsGenius]

Per the first paragraph... I was not saying we should have kept Howard. I was actually saying we need a guy who can contribute in all facets. However, he just has to be a quality runner that can handle a 15 carry workload efficiently ALONG with contributing in the passing game. As we have zero of those currently. It's actually precisely what you are talking about. Good rushers who can also contribute in the passing game. What we don't need is TJ Yeldon... that was my only point. We have two TJ Yeldon's and they're better or as good as TJ Yeldon. It would be a redundant and pointless add to our team. TJ Yeldon is a subpar runner, equal to Davis in the passing game and less than Cohen in the passing game.

The mode of thinking that you need a "feature" who can "do it all" is the one which is antiquated, IMO. The feature back is dead. You should never pay one. RB is probably the least important position of the 11 offensive starters. If you can find a stud for their rookie contract, fine. However, you should NEVER... ever pay one big money. KC and LAR didn't miss a beat without Hunt or Gurley. Pittsburgh kept right on going with Conner. Kamara has also statistically been much more efficient with his compliment (up until now) Ingram being healthy and active.

Also, am I dreaming? Or was Legarrette Blount the leading rusher for 3 SB winning teams in 4 years during the post-season? He makes Howard look like Marshall Faulk in the passing game.

The only team with a feature back to win a SB this decade has been Seattle with Lynch. The last time one has been the centerpiece of a SB winning team? As in, a top 2-3 reason they won a SB? God dayyum... you have to go back far. New England has proven that finding a mix of guys who combine to create the characteristics of a feature back is ideal. That's the modern game.

This just makes no sense. If they're putting an extra LB in place of a nickel when a back like Howard is in the game. This creates a mismatch of personnel allowing you to throw the ball down the field 10+ yards more efficiently. So, it's creating a mismatch of its own kind. Also, Howard has forced something like the 3rd most missed tackles in the NFL since his rookie year (or at least up until last season), but I digress.

I am not saying we need Howard. Clearly, Nagy knows his offense better than anyone. However, this mindset of "we need to find our bell cow/feature back" who can do it all is finished and done with. It's why they don't go in the 1st round (mostly) anymore and rarely early outside of Barkley... and how much did that help the Giants offense? Even with him being a stud... yuck.

We clearly want a back who can catch the ball well. I am simply saying that this mystery back needs to be able to run at an efficient level as well. We don't need another guy whose only really good for us in the passing game. Which is Davis and Cohen.

My lord is your understanding of football stupendously terrible.

You really have no idea what you are talking about AT ALL.

Long winded useless drivel of a post full of inaccuracies, generalities, trends, sounds bytes with no substance at all.

Go back to video games you monkey, you don't know what you are talking about.

 

[beardown07]

My lord is your understanding of football stupendously terrible.

You really have no idea what you are talking about AT ALL.

Long winded useless drivel of a post full of inaccuracies, generalities, trends, sounds bytes with no substance at all.

Go back to video games you monkey, you don't know what you are talking about.

You got the long-winded part right, but what you bolded...HE is right, IMO. RBs are a dime a dozen. Howard is replaceable, the question is really, why? Why not use those picks to stockpile other positions?

I will say, that the Bears have a pretty solid roster right now, and that affords them the ability "mess around a little", if you will?

#runningbackslivesdon'tmatterersomeshit, amirite @There is A Moose at 3rd?

 

[Fountain City Blues]

You got the long-winded part right, but what you bolded...HE is right, IMO. RBs are a dime a dozen. Howard is replaceable, the question is really, why? Why not use those picks to stockpile other positions?

I will say, that the Bears have a pretty solid roster right now, and that affords them the ability "mess around a little", if you will?

#runningbackslivesdon'tmatterersomeshit, amirite @There is A Moose at 3rd?

They definitely don't make strategic sense to make a big investment in. I personally think smart offensive coaches can find a way to use them better, but it's pretty hard to justify a top 75 pick on a RB no matter what you do with them. After that, when the success rate with picks is already very low and the ceiling limited, grabbing a RB makes a great deal more sense.

Bottom line though is RB's are largely replaceable, and when they are good, they still are largely dependent on the OL (or just outliers/run-fit-busts) for their production. Running is a nice tactic if you're ahead and play great defense, it is generally poor strategy in the longrun, however. Passing is just too effective in the current NFL to think otherwise.

Unless the Bears start a bunch of Trent Richardsons, I am not sweating RB.

 

[beardown07]

They definitely don't make strategic sense to make a big investment in. I personally think smart offensive coaches can find a way to use them better, but it's pretty hard to justify a top 75 pick on a RB no matter what you do with them. After that, when the success rate with picks is already very low and the ceiling limited, grabbing a RB makes a great deal more sense.

Bottom line though is RB's are largely replaceable, and when they are good, they still are largely dependent on the OL (or just outliers/run-fit-busts) for their production. Running is a nice tactic if you're ahead and play great defense, it is generally poor strategy in the longrun, however. Passing is just too effective in the current NFL to think otherwise.

Unless the Bears start a bunch of Trent Richardsons, I am not sweating RB.

not to mention their shelf-life being so much shorter than other positions.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

not to mention their shelf-life being so much shorter than other positions.

Yep. It's a big waste of time to even draft them with a 1st round pick with RB salaries being so depressed. Barkley was one of the most expensive RB's in football last year; he was a rookie. Find a RB that can make a cameo at WR for presnap purposes, not be a complete nincompoop hitting the hole, and you're good to go in the current NFL at RB.

 

[NCChiFan]

Yeah, but we have Cohen and Davis. Two guys that are very good pass catchers (Cohen an exceptional one). We need somebody with high upside as a runner. I'm not saying that we should get a guy for the sole purpose of running. In that case we should have kept Howard. However, we DO need a guy that can handle a solid bulk of carries with efficiency.

Davis has a 3.7 YPC career average and we all know Cohen is good in short bursts... but not equipped to handle a larger workload consistently. We might be a pass oriented team, but we won't carry 3 backs whose primary role is to catch the ball.

Yeldon is just redundant and doesn't fill a need. We have him already... possibly two better versions of him.

Pace has got to be thinking draft pick here to fill. Word is Nagy and Co brought in a bunch of College RB's to talk to. With no Cunningham or Howard, don't see much in Nall, the Bears will need 2 more body's. But what do I know.

 

[wood20ks]

Pace has got to be thinking draft pick here to fill. Word is Nagy and Co brought in a bunch of College RB's to talk to. With no Cunningham or Howard, don't see much in Nall, the Bears will need 2 more body's. But what do I know.

Coradelle Patterson played some rb for NE last season which I thought he did well.......Maybe they have some plans for the same here......

 

[nebearsfan70]

 

[averagejoe]

Thats all the bears could get apparently. And it won’t even help us this year. I guess they are high on Davis and Cohen.

This is all hypothetical:
Let's say that Nagy and Pace are these concerned, sympathetic people that they seem to be portrayed as.

Maybe they sat down with Howard and said, look, we've got several offers on the table. They're all fairly similar. Which of these places would you want to go to?

Cause gotta say, maybe a 6th round pick doesn't seem like much, but going to Philly (a team looking for some RB identity) isn't a bad place for Howard to land.

Spoiler

If we find out Buffalo offered a 5th, is that gonna satisfy any Bears fans in Howard's corner?

 

[BsGenius]

This is all hypothetical:
Let's say that Nagy and Pace are these concerned, sympathetic people that they seem to be portrayed as.

Maybe they sat down with Howard and said, look, we've got several offers on the table. They're all fairly similar. Which of these places would you want to go to?

Cause gotta say, maybe a 6th round pick doesn't seem like much, but going to Philly (a team looking for some RB identity) isn't a bad place for Howard to land.

Spoiler

If we find out Buffalo offered a 5th, is that gonna satisfy any Bears fans in Howard's corner?

(rolls eyes)