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Bears 2020 #2 RB?


soulman

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Chicago Bears Rumors: Cordarrelle Patterson given a new bag of tricks

What’s in store for the Chicago Bears RB/WR/KR?

The Chicago Bears have been back in the news again. No, I am not going to go into a long history on Kyle Sloter, who is expected to have tryouts with the Chicago Bears as well. I was sitting on Facebook one day, and this guy said he would bet $100 that Cordarrelle Patterson will lead the team in rushing yards this season.

I laughed, but I didn’t take that bet — even if I wanted to. So what does Matt Nagy have up his sleeve? Early this offseason, Nagy and Ryan Pace shared how they were comfortable with the running back room.

They had mentioned how David Montgomery and Tarik Cohen would take the leading roles and shared how they had faith in Ryan Nall. Pace didn’t draft any running backs or sign any veteran players. The Chicago Bears did pick up two undrafted free agents and only held onto one.

The running back room on the Chicago Bears roster only features four. The roster isn’t limited by any means since the Chicago Bears have kept a similar amount of running backs on the active roster in previous years.

What if that Facebook user is correct? What if Patterson is going to get more touches? Patterson is 6’2″, 238 pounds and fast. He can run routes and catch the ball. It’s almost like Patterson is Nagy’s ideal running back.

I am not at all saying he will come to take David Montgomery’s job away. However, what if he takes Tarik Cohens? With the Patriots, Patterson had 42 carries. With Chicago, he had 17. While Cohen and Montgomery struggled to break off big chunk runs, Patterson averaged 6.1 yards per carry.

Patterson is on his last year with the Chicago Bears. Why not see what he can do in a more expanded role. He has now been solely in the running back room learning the ropes of a running back. Maybe Pattersons returning ability was telling us something all along. Perhaps he is a running back. Might not be a bell cow, but perhaps he is a true change-of-pace back.

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I've been in favor of using Patterson more at RB ever since we signed him.  If Bill Belechick discovered that offensively he's far more effective as a ball carrier than as a receiver why have we ignored that possibility?

We're taking about a 6'2"/238lb man who can run as fast or faster than virtually any other offensive player in the NFL.  When he gets in the open he's very difficult to corral and bring down and unlike Cohen who jukes and jerks Patterson glides often making evasive cuts at full speed without ever breaking stride much like Devin Hester which is what made/makes both such effective return men.  If you lose contain on him he's gone.  So here's another potential big play guy we need to set up for that.

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I was one of the ones thinking he was going to challenge Cohen and Montgomery for more rushes. He has the size/speed combo that neither other guy has, while Montgomery has more power in his running and Cohen is a better receiver out of the backfield. With him getting few actual snaps (less than half of what Wims got on offense? WTH?) I kinda though he was going to get at least 3-4 rushes per game either in a traditional manner or on jet sweeps just to see if he could break one long but was way off. Plus that threat should have been another set up for Nagy to run an RPO with I thought. 

 

Primarily Patterson is a kick returner, and an All Pro worthy one. But he could be more than that still. 4-5 touches on offense a game and he may break a big play, you don't have to ask him to go out and play a primary role, but he should be a weapon that gets utilized more IMO, at least on our talent-deficient 2019 offense he should have been. 

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On 8/15/2020 at 1:53 PM, soulman said:

I've been in favor of using Patterson more at RB ever since we signed him. 

Me too. He’s proven over and over he’s not an NFL caliber WR, but is a big, hard running monster to bring down with the ball in his hands. Getting him a few carries a game always made sense, and that we didn’t bring in another vet ahead of camp I have to think he’s slated for a somewhat significant role in the backfield. 

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43 minutes ago, AZBearsFan said:

Me too. He’s proven over and over he’s not an NFL caliber WR, but is a big, hard running monster to bring down with the ball in his hands. Getting him a few carries a game always made sense, and that we didn’t bring in another vet ahead of camp I have to think he’s slated for a somewhat significant role in the backfield. 

IIRC he did really well filling in at RB for the Patriots

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Meh, I would've rather the FO have signed a vet (Miller/Williams), but I'm not mad about this either I guess.

My only issue is that using the RB by committee CAN work in today's game but only if you have a pass game that defenses have to respect and we don't have that right now. 

The RB position needs to a priority in next years draft. We need one all-purpose back and I like Monty but he's not a every down back.

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I believe many see CP as I do.  Not as a pure #2 RB but as a weapon we want to load and use 5-6 times a game running plays schemed specifically for him.  Much like Tarik Cohen he has to be accounted for by the defense whenever he's on the field.  That alone creates it's own advantages when he consumes someone's attention.

And JAF I know what you're saying brother but Pace has never chosen to sign UFA RBs.  Not even those Nagy was very familiar with while with KC.  It seems he'd much rather draft his own RBs and bring in UDFA to compete as he has with every RB we have now.  He's has never spent big $$$ or high picks on his RBs.

Before we peg Montgomery I want to see another season of what he's capable of.  I do believe he can be an 3 down back but I need to see more of him in an offense that isn't malfunctioning and misfiring as badly as we were in 2019.  I think he's a far better back than he was able to show last season.

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