When Mitch Trubisky stepped up to the makeshift podium after Wednesday’s OTA, his first answer set the bar for what you’ll be hearing myriad times over the next 8 weeks.
“It feels like we're playing football,” he said. “Everyone's on the same page. Everyone knows what they're doing by year two in this offense so it’s a lot of fun just getting out there and going through it, and just being even more detailed than we were last year within every single and each play.”
The Bears are, by most definitions of the word, running it back in 2019. Barring a training camp injury, the starting lineup that takes the field on September 5th is going to look almost identical to the one that fell a double-doink short of the NFC Divisional round. In fact, 8 of the 11 offensive starters from that Wild Card loss figure to be there again in 2019.
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One of the few new members is running back Mike Davis, who the team signed back in early March. Davis, a 4th-round pick in 2015, bounced around San Francisco for two seasons and Seattle for another two after that. He put together the finest year of his career in 2018, appearing in 15 games with 728 yards from scrimmage and five touchdowns.
He joins a running back group that saw an atypically high turnover rate this offseason. Gone is Jordan Howard, traded to the Eagles in late March. Less than a month after that, the Bears traded up to get Iowa State’s David Montgomery. Other rookie Kerrith Whyte will get a chance. Though Tarik Cohen will technically be listed as the starter, there are plenty of 1st- and 2nd-down touches up for grabs.
“We talk a lot about how we first just need to build the foundation,” running back coach Charles London said. “Let’s build the foundation in place. Let’s learn our runs, let’s learn our formations and go from there. Then we can take it to the 202 level. “I always tell the rookies that it’s like building a house - you’ve got to lay the foundation before you start hanging the drywall.”
“The only challenge is learning the playbook,” Davis added. “Which I’ve really gotten down quickly because it’s some of the same terminology as other places I’ve been. It’s all about really getting the playbook down and coming out and executing in practice. Other than that, man, it’s easy.”
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For his part, Davis came into OTAs eager to finally get a shot at climbing the depth chart. After three years of healthy (and unhealthy) scratches, Davis finally got a shot in Seattle in 2018. Despite appearing in double-digit games for the first time in his career, the Seahawks were never a great fit. He was used primarily in passing, 3rd-down situations, as over 60% of the their running back play calls went to Chris Carson.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a pleasant surprise,” he said when asked about a bigger role. “It’s things that I could have done in Seattle -- which is why I was on the field a lot on 3rd down -- but it was like I never really got the opportunity to be up there. They were trying to -- I don’t want to say push me out -- but I didn’t really get a chance to showcase it as much.”
Recent drama aside, Seattle has long been considered one of the most player-friendly teams of the past decade. The Nagy-era Bears are quickly gaining the same reputation, and NFL players are noticing.
“The culture and the players are more up front with you here,” Davis added. “The offense is more fun here. I have a lot more leeway as far as in the offense. It’s fun.
“I would say I’m treated a lot better here.”
While his role with the Bears remains to be seen, it’s a safe bet to assume he’ll feature more prominently than he had with either San Francisco or Seattle. At times last year, the Bears' offense became more predictable in part due to Howard's deficiencies in the pass game. That's less of a concern with Davis, who Pro Football Focus graded higher as both a runner and receiver last year. The hope is that Davis, along with Montgomery, will breathe new life into a run game that ranked 19th in DVOA last season.
"Let's just say when we signed Mike and drafted David, there was a lot of excitement," offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich added. "Not only what they’ve done on the field, how they carry themselves off the field, how they prepare has justified that. To this point, without shoulder pads and all that other stuff, that remains to be seen.
"Everything is positive at this point."