The Bears have lots of skill players worthy of targets. There are two star receivers in Rome Odunze and DJ Moore. They have upper-tier tight ends in Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet. They have two productive running backs in D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai.
We got plenty of questions about target share and carry counts on offense in this Bears mailbag, after the Bears beat the Giants for their sixth victory in the last seven games.
These are all good problems to have. The Bears have some first-world issues going, and there are flaws on this team that might get exposed by better teams.
[READ: Bears overreactions: Ben Johnson’s team is a legit NFL playoff contender]
That allows head coach Ben Johnson to be demanding as heck during the practice week, knowing they’ll have to be better as the level of competition rises in the coming games.
The players understand that they haven’t reached their standard to this point and are working towards potential being realized.
We discuss all that in this Tuesday Bair Mail. Let’s get right to it:
Sharon Edwards from Racine, Ill.
Why didn’t we see more Kyle Monangai after his big game against Cincinnati?
Bair: Kyle Monangai’s carry count working in tandem with D’Andre Swift was a question heading into Sunday’s game. The rookie out of Rutgers broke out the week prior, with 26 carries for 176 rushing yards against the Cincinnati Bengals.
It was far lower on Sunday, with seven carries for 28 yards and minus-1.3 yards over expectation per attempt. The drop was expected with Swift back from a groin injury, and the designed runs overall were far lower. Swift had 13 carries for 80 yards and was super efficient with his opportunities.
I still think the breakdown from the Saints game is the ideal – Swift had 19, Monangai had 13 – when things are going right. Johnson also talked a fair amount about going with a hot hand at times. It seemed like a particular back got a series early on, to help establish a flow, over a true rotation. I would expect that to continue. I would also expect Swift to be the primary guy, a deserved role considering his recent production. He provides big-play ability, but he can also lower his pads and be physical, like he did beautifully on this excellent run.
This is a good problem to have, and it falls on Johnson to pull the right levers and get these two distinct runners in positions to succeed.
[READ: Why Bears coach Ben Johnson is publicly critical of his own play calling]
Harold Feather from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
I don’t get why the Bears two tight ends are not more targeted in the offense. They both have great hands and have done well when thrown to.
Bair: We know that Johnson is not anti-tight end. The Bears’ offensive play caller and play designer is quite the opposite, featuring that position as much as anyone in the league. They run 12 personnel (two tight-end sets) 29% of the time, which ranks No. 11 in the league. That number would be higher had tight ends not missed time with injury.
Last season, with Johnson ran Detroit’s offense, the Lions ran 12 personnel 29.25% of the time, at virtually the same rate. The Bears are passing out of 12 personnel 46.6% of the time, a bit lower than most.
And, if you look at stats, Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet have been targeted 52 times combined and individually rank Nos. 5 and 6 on the target share list.
This isn’t about favoritism, though the Bears have mouths to feed in the receiver corps. Kmet’s catch rate is low, but he and Loveland are running the same amount of routes.
The point in saying all that is this. The tight end position is an important part of this offense. They are being utilized but maybe aren’t the primary in the progression on most occasions. If others are getting open, then the ball goes to them. We are seeing Loveland building trust with Williams, as the rookie is getting targeted in key moments. And they’re a major part of the run game as well, which is going strong. I think tight ends, especially Loveland, will have more days in the sun as we move forward.
[READ: Caleb Williams continues clutch play in Bears’ Week 10 win over Giants]
Dustin Schneider from Chicago
Austin Booker has gotten a lot more playing time with Dayo (Odeyingbo) out. I though he did an awesome job with it.
Bair: Austin Booker had a great training camp and preseason before a knee injury derailed it. He was stuck on injured reserve until Week 9, when he was finally moved to the active roster. His impact has been profound in the two games since.
He has six total tackles, including four run stops, a sack, a forced fumble and 10.8% quarterback pressure rate. That last number needs to be higher, but everything else is solid. He played 82.9% of the defensive snaps against New York, a massive sum for a defensive lineman. The Bears don’t have much depth there right now – we even saw tackle Chis Williams working off the edge – so he must carry a heavy load. We know he’s a solid pass rusher and is typically used more in those instances. His run defense remains a work in progress, and he’ll have to strive in that area without many reinforcements. Overall, though, he proved worthy of a high snap count as the Bears try to adjust off the edge with injuries piling up.
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