Jordan Howard makes Bears history

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malk
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G08 wrote:I just hope Howard learns how to catch the God damned football.
Looks like a concentration thing to my barely trained eye. They're often simple takes where it seems he's already thinking about what he'll do after the catch before he's snaffled the ball. That's fixable and he only needs to be somewhat reliable as a safety valve, he's never going to be a proper option in the way Forte was.
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malk wrote:
G08 wrote:I just hope Howard learns how to catch the God damned football.
Looks like a concentration thing to my barely trained eye. They're often simple takes where it seems he's already thinking about what he'll do after the catch before he's snaffled the ball. That's fixable and he only needs to be somewhat reliable as a safety valve, he's never going to be a proper option in the way Forte was.
I hope so... I place a ton of value in RBs that can catch the ball. They tried to sell us that his lasik surgery would help him out with the dropsies -- it hasn't.
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G08 wrote:I just hope Howard learns how to catch the God damned football.
Of all the things you want in your RB, I see this as the most coachable aspect. You can't teach vision, power, YAC, or heart. Stick him in front of a jugs machine for six hours a day over the off-season.
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malk wrote:
G08 wrote:I just hope Howard learns how to catch the God damned football.
Looks like a concentration thing to my barely trained eye. They're often simple takes where it seems he's already thinking about what he'll do after the catch before he's snaffled the ball. That's fixable and he only needs to be somewhat reliable as a safety valve, he's never going to be a proper option in the way Forte was.
I would agree with this. Its not a hands thing, it's a 'catch the ball, then run' thing. I think if he concentrates on breaking down the process, he will get a lot better at it. Focus on the ball, then the catch, THEN think about running. I believe that's the issue.
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Bears Whiskey Nut wrote:
malk wrote:
G08 wrote:I just hope Howard learns how to catch the God damned football.
Looks like a concentration thing to my barely trained eye. They're often simple takes where it seems he's already thinking about what he'll do after the catch before he's snaffled the ball. That's fixable and he only needs to be somewhat reliable as a safety valve, he's never going to be a proper option in the way Forte was.
I would agree with this. Its not a hands thing, it's a 'catch the ball, then run' thing. I think if he concentrates on breaking down the process, he will get a lot better at it. Focus on the ball, then the catch, THEN think about running. I believe that's the issue.
I used to do this all the time. Ping out a pass to me that I didn't have time to think about and I was automatic. Little pops and floaters I'd mangle thinking of what I was doing next. It wasn't even a case of practicing, just concentrating, a lot on watching the ball into my hands. I remember repeating catch the ball, catch the ball, catch the ball to myself in warm ups and during games. It took about a season before it became second nature but now it's just another automatic process (which is weird, I automatically concentrate rather than automatically catch correctly if that makes sense).

Different levels, sports etc. but I see no reason why that shouldn't be translatable.
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Bears Whiskey Nut wrote:
G08 wrote:I just hope Howard learns how to catch the God damned football.
Of all the things you want in your RB, I see this as the most coachable aspect. You can't teach vision, power, YAC, or heart. Stick him in front of a jugs machine for six hours a day over the off-season.
Completely agree. :thumbsup:
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Bears Whiskey Nut wrote:
malk wrote:
G08 wrote:I just hope Howard learns how to catch the God damned football.
Looks like a concentration thing to my barely trained eye. They're often simple takes where it seems he's already thinking about what he'll do after the catch before he's snaffled the ball. That's fixable and he only needs to be somewhat reliable as a safety valve, he's never going to be a proper option in the way Forte was.
I would agree with this. Its not a hands thing, it's a 'catch the ball, then run' thing. I think if he concentrates on breaking down the process, he will get a lot better at it. Focus on the ball, then the catch, THEN think about running. I believe that's the issue.
I'm with you guys. However, I've also noticed that Howard's drops may be occurring when he's anticipating contact. The one at the end of the Atlanta game for example and then the one this week against the Bengals when he was in the middle of the field facing Trubisky. He doesn't seem to have had issues when the ball is swung out his way in the flat when he's already half turned up field and can see if there is anyone closing in on him. It may be that as a running back he's used to and very comfortable with seeing defenders coming at him but is uncomfortable with the notion of being hit while his back is turned and when he's vulnerable.
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Boris13c wrote:
UOK wrote:First RB in the history of the franchise to rush for over 1000 yards in each of his first two seasons of the league.

:thumbsup:

and to think, the Bears got him as sort of an afterthought pick rather than someone they were targeting (at least that's how I remember the draft day stories unfolding)

he and Cohen (another afterthought) make an interesting and diverse pair from the backfield ... happy to have them both
Neither of those guys were an afterthought.

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HisRoyalSweetness wrote:
Bears Whiskey Nut wrote:
malk wrote:
G08 wrote:I just hope Howard learns how to catch the God damned football.
Looks like a concentration thing to my barely trained eye. They're often simple takes where it seems he's already thinking about what he'll do after the catch before he's snaffled the ball. That's fixable and he only needs to be somewhat reliable as a safety valve, he's never going to be a proper option in the way Forte was.
I would agree with this. Its not a hands thing, it's a 'catch the ball, then run' thing. I think if he concentrates on breaking down the process, he will get a lot better at it. Focus on the ball, then the catch, THEN think about running. I believe that's the issue.
I'm with you guys. However, I've also noticed that Howard's drops may be occurring when he's anticipating contact. The one at the end of the Atlanta game for example and then the one this week against the Bengals when he was in the middle of the field facing Trubisky. He doesn't seem to have had issues when the ball is swung out his way in the flat when he's already half turned up field and can see if there is anyone closing in on him. It may be that as a running back he's used to and very comfortable with seeing defenders coming at him but is uncomfortable with the notion of being hit while his back is turned and when he's vulnerable.
That's also a concentration thing, thinking on how to take contact rather than catching the ball. He's quite a thoughtful runner, looking for the hole developing etc. I doubt he's worried about the contact but just is thinking about what to do next, eager to look at what's in front of him and where to look.
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Teddy KGB wrote:
Boris13c wrote:
UOK wrote:First RB in the history of the franchise to rush for over 1000 yards in each of his first two seasons of the league.

:thumbsup:

and to think, the Bears got him as sort of an afterthought pick rather than someone they were targeting (at least that's how I remember the draft day stories unfolding)

he and Cohen (another afterthought) make an interesting and diverse pair from the backfield ... happy to have them both
Neither of those guys were an afterthought.

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I'm pretty certain Howard was talked about as the best player available at the time he was drafted. So maybe afterthought was not the correct term, but he wasn't one of the announced highly touted RB options taken earlier.
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Just thought it was worth noting that Howard is 4th in the league in rushing and only 70 yards behind the leading rusher (Bell). He's also the only runner in the top 11 on a team with a losing record.

To have a chance at a rushing title on a 4-9 team tells you exactly how special (and underrated) he is.
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What I love most about this dude, you hardly hear anything from him. I like that.
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wab wrote:Just thought it was worth noting that Howard is 4th in the league in rushing and only 70 yards behind the leading rusher (Bell). He's also the only runner in the top 11 on a team with a losing record.

To have a chance at a rushing title on a 4-9 team tells you exactly how special (and underrated) he is.
And doing it for most of the season with zero passing game. That's incredible.
"I wouldn't take him for a conditional 7th. His next contract will pay him more than he could possibly contribute.".

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malk wrote:
wab wrote:Just thought it was worth noting that Howard is 4th in the league in rushing and only 70 yards behind the leading rusher (Bell). He's also the only runner in the top 11 on a team with a losing record.

To have a chance at a rushing title on a 4-9 team tells you exactly how special (and underrated) he is.
And doing it for most of the season with zero passing game. That's incredible.
Bingo!

Although I wouldn't say zero at this point anymore, but yes absolutely. The fact that the offense has been one dimensional only adds to how great Howard's season has been.
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malk wrote:
wab wrote:Just thought it was worth noting that Howard is 4th in the league in rushing and only 70 yards behind the leading rusher (Bell). He's also the only runner in the top 11 on a team with a losing record.

To have a chance at a rushing title on a 4-9 team tells you exactly how special (and underrated) he is.
And doing it for most of the season with zero passing game. That's incredible.
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I'd agree that Howard's receiving abilities need brushing up on... But let's try to keep it all in perspective; we're not building the perfect Madden 18' RB here.

Yeah, Dude has some SERIOUS RB skills!
Everything already mentioned & doing it with a separated shoulder.
Can you imagine how difficult it must be to carry or catch a ball with that kind of burning pain?
Shouldering through lineman, bring tackled & then doing it again & again?

His 2nd year isn't even over yet & he's playing with 1 arm most of the season.
I say, maybe let's give the best player on a rebuilding (& shitty) team a pass on any drops this year.
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I think part of the problem is that Howard hasn't been used enough in the passing game. He hasn't been given much opportunity to develop and refine his receiving skills.

Yesterday against the Lions he didn't look to have a problem. He caught all five that went his way although the longest, a 17 yarder, was called back due to a hold. Yes he's had a couple of drops this season on top of several last year but that shouldn't mean you should stop feeding him the ball. In doing so you're deliberately making your offense more predictable. Howard's a young guy who needs opportunities. The offense needs to get the ball in his hands more consistently from week to week than they do and in less predictable ways. He's shown just how good he is.

I hope the next coaching staff expand Howard's role in the passing game and don't keep hiding him away like Fox and Loggains have done. I also hope they run more plays with him and Cohen together, working as decoys for each other to keep opposing defenses honest and open up the field. We've seen it work; it just hasn't been done frequently enough.
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I thought to check and Pro Football Reference has Howard's catch % (completions/targets) at 71% this year, up from 58% last year.

Cohen and Cunningham are both on 73.8%.

I was surprised to see it that high, perhaps a few of us are letting last year and a couple of big drops cloud our judgement.
"I wouldn't take him for a conditional 7th. His next contract will pay him more than he could possibly contribute.".

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