KhalilSackDaddy wrote:He defintely wants chunk/explosive plays. And Howard hasn't given him a reason to believe he can give him that consistantly througout the season.
I cannot imagine how he doesn't look to find a RB either in the draft or in FA that can do what he's looking for.
The problem is for all his talk of adapting to his players' strengths Nagy hasn't managed to do that for Howard.
We've seen what Howard is capable of as a runner when he finished 2nd and 6th in the league in rushing yards. The concerns were over his pass catching and perhaps to a much lesser extent his pass blocking. He's been excellent at both this year. When he's had to carry the ball he's been hit at or behind the line of scrimmage so often he's had no chance to gain much yardage. This shouldn't be the case when defenses are no longer able to stack 8 or 9 in the box. Howard just needs a seam and he'll hit it and regularly carry defenders for 6 yards or more. Nagy and his staff haven't been able to put him in a position to do that very often.
What I find frustrating and downright unfathomable is why when Nagy finally managed to get Howard going against the Giants he abandoned it.
Both TD drives in the first half showcased what Howard can do.
1st TD: 10 plays, 57 yards.
6 carries from Howard for 38 yards, including 5 in succession where he gained 3 yards, 2 yards, 22 yards (on 3rd and 5), 8 yards and 3 yards. The next play they faked to Howard from the 2 yard line and Shaheen was left wide open for an easy TD.
2nd TD: 9 plays 69 yards.
The drive started with a 25 yard run from Howard. He also had runs of 1 yard and 4 yards before Nagy tried one of his 'creative' plays, lined him up at QB and he was stopped for no gain. Hicks barrelled in on the next play.
That's two drives where Howard contributed 68 yards on 10 carries including two chunk/explosive plays. It demonstrates how much better he does when he stays on the field and gets into a rhythm.
In the second half he had 2 carries.
I just don't understand that. It's not like the Bears were trying to make up a large deficit (until the last minute or so). It's not like Daniel was having a great game. Nagy just stopped using the most effective weapon he had in the first half, the player who played the biggest role on both TD drives. If he's going to do that then what difference is bringing in another RB going to make?