Ben Johnson firmly shuts down a widely requested trade idea with a stern message that leaves zero doubt where he stands
Trading for a RB isn’t currently on the table for Chicago.
The Chicago Bears had a lot of problematic areas to address during the bye, considering how the first four weeks of the season went for the team in all three areas.
On offense, the issues were clear. The unit committed far too many self-inflicted penalties, and the lack of a consistent run game forced the passing game to operate with one hand tied behind its back.
Finding a solution to the penalties is easy: Stop committing them, or find someone else to put into the game that will. Finding a solution to the run game is a little more difficult than many might think because the popular idea is trading for a new running back to magically fix everything.
When asked about the idea of trading for a new running back to hopefully fix the struggling run game ahead of the Nov. 4 trade deadline, head coach Ben Johnson had a pretty firm reasoning against making such a decision after reviewing the tape over the extended break.
Ben Johnson shuts down the idea of trading for a RB amid struggles in the run game
“Our guys are going to be fine,” Johnson told reporters on Tuesday. “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, it’s the tight ends doing their job, and the same thing with the offensive line.”
“There’s a lot of times on that tape we’re not giving our runners a chance. So, I think we’re fine there.”
Fans might not like that answer, but Johnson is right. A lot is going wrong in the protection and overall operation on the ground beyond the personnel in the backfield carrying the ball. Adding someone like Breece Hall or Alvin Kamara won’t change that. It’ll also take weeks for a new player to come in and learn this complicated and highly detailed offense.
Johnson’s comments put the onus solely on the players in the building to get this right, and that’s the way it should be.
“It’s going to take a little bit of time for our guys to all mesh together,” Johnson added. “I think that’s what the tape looks like right now. We’re just not firing on all cylinders yet, and sometimes it can be the ball carrier not hitting the right spot, other times it’s just our combinations aren’t clean yet. It’s going to take everybody.”
More time on task will certainly help with that, as would getting Kyle Monangai or Roschon Johnson more involved. Through four games, D’Andre Swift has carried the ball 56 times with Monangai as the only other back to take a handoff this season (17 total carries for Monangai).
Now, if the blocking improves and the backs are still struggling to hit the right holes and generate consistent yardage per attempt, a potential trade could be back on the table before Nov. 4. But, for the time being, Johnson is leaving zero doubt on where he stands about the idea.
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