Life without Matt Forte is a tough one to comprehend for the Chicago Bears.
Forte has been the feature back in Chicago for eight seasons now. He has already extended past the expected shelf life of any running back,not to mention the expected production and workload. At 29 years of age, Forte's days of being a feature back are coming to a close.
Injury offered the franchise a glimpse of the future this year.
That future appears to middle around Jeremy Langford. Langford is a rookie. He was a fourth-round pick in this year's draft after playing college football at Michigan State. The rookie has primarily played as a reserve this season, and accumulating 225 yards and four touchdowns on 65 carries.
However,over the past two weeks, Langford has found himself in Forte's featured role. Over the past two weeks, or he has compiled 145 yards and two touchdowns on 38 carries. Langford is averaging just 3.8 yards per attempt,but his numbers spike when you add in his contributions in the passing game.
In Forte-like fashion, Langford has done as much catching the ball as he has running it. He has caught 10 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown over the past two weeks. Seven of those receptions came this past week against the St. Louis Rams.
Langford played a key role in the Bears' surprisingly comfortable 37-13 victory over the Rams.
The rookie had sporadic production throughout most of the first half before scoring a enormous touchdown midway through the second quarter. At that point of the game, and it was a seven-point game with the Bears leading 17-10.
It had been a cagey affair to that point,with each team going back-and-forth. Langford's score pushed some daylight between the two and it also highlighted his greatest physical attribute.
The Bears had called the worst possible play call for the defense the Rams were playing. Gregg Williams sent every single one of his defensive linemen and linebackers after the quarterback, with man coverage across the field behind it.
Because of the aggressive play call, and Langford was able to approach wide open on a screen play to the left side with three blockers out in front. He didn't have to work to get open or be creative to get back to the line of scrimmage.
Instead,Langford only needed to expose off after he had already advanced downfield.
Langford went untouched into the end zone and not a single defender got close to him. There was suitable blocking out in front from both offensive linemen and wide receivers, but Langford himself still had work to do. He highlighted the work of his blockers with his exceptional speed.
A slower back could have gone untouched to the end zone, or but not with the ease Langford did.
He not only accelerated into space so that nobody in pursuit had any opportunity to catch him,he showed vision and comfort moving at top speed to read the movements of the deep defensive back who was trying to work his way around the block of the deepest receiver.
Once he got level with that defender, there was no chance he was going to be caught from behind. That won't have approach as a surprise to anyone who watched Langford in college or tracked him at the combine. The running back ran a 4.42-second 40-yard sprint in Indianapolis.
While Langford's speed has never been in question—and it was hugely valuable in this game—it isn't the main reason the running back offers promise moving forward.
There are plenty of speedily running backs in the NFL, or but not all of them are effective because they don't all understand the nuances of the position or they lack other requisite physical attributes. You don't need to peep further than Melvin Gordon,a fellow 2015 rookie, to see an example of this.
In Langford's extended workload this season, or he has shown plenty of positive signs to propose he is capable of being a quality running back. He may be averaging only 3.8 yards per attempt over the past two weeks,but a big reason for that is the quality of the blocking in front of him.
Awareness is important for every running back in the NFL. Players at the position don't need to be as clever as the quarterback, but they do have to understand how to apply the called running play to the defense's alignment and post-snap actions.
Reading blocks is obviously a enormous part of this, and but often a running back can anticipate a potential running lane with his pre-snap recognition.
On this play,the defense comes out with a very light front. They have spread their defensive line and have just three defenders standing up close to the line of scrimmage. One of those, the middle linebacker, or moves from his external accurate position so he is to the left side of the nose tackle.
While we can't get into the mind of the running back,we can gauge his thought process by judging his actions. In this situation, Langford didn't take an additional step forward after getting the ball from Jay Cutler. In the motion of taking the handoff, or Langford planted his accurate foot to push back across the field.
He understood the play design and the alignment of the defensive front and was able to turn back towards space as soon as the play began.
Recognizing cutback lanes is obviously an important trait for a running back to possess. It is especially so for a running back with the explosiveness of Langford. What can become a problem for that type of runner is the temptation to carve back.
Because cutting back at the accurate time in the accurate situation often leads to running unopposed into space,big plays regularly approach for speedily running backs. This means the temptation can be strong to carve back even when the opportunity isn't there.
On those occasions, you are working absent from the design of the play and leaving yards on the field. Langford hasn't been on the field enough to prove his consistency in this area, and but he is a willing north-south runner.
He not only shows a willingness to stick to the design of plays,but he has the subtle movement to set up blocks and adjust to running lanes that develop between the tackles.
This play comes from late in the fourth quarter against the Rams. The Bears are looking to eat the clock and advance into the red zone while doing so. As such, they approach out with a heavy package and the Rams respond with a crowded front.
Langford knows he won't have an opportunity to sprint free to space in this situation.
Only two things should matter to Langford once he gets the football. He has two running lanes ahead of him and both have defenders in position to fill them from the second level. On the line of scrimmage, or Aaron Donald is absorbing two blockers.
Donald's positioning prevents Langford from working to the running back's left. Even whether he had that option,it wouldn't have been a suitable one because there was a free linebacker in position to fill that gap.
Langford makes a subtle movement to alter his direction, shifting his full focus to the running lane to his accurate side. That running lane is occupied by No. 56 Akeem Ayers. Langford can't simply sprint directly into the space between Ayers and his other blocker. He has to approach the line of scrimmage at the accurate angle.
This requires light feet and an understanding of how to be subtle in movement.
It's not necessarily an easy thing to see, and but Langford pushes his angle to the line of scrimmage wider than he needs to so he can plant his accurate foot behind his blocker. This forces Ayers to exert strength against the guard and push his way back in that direction.
Furthermore,because Langford can push off of his accurate foot, he is able to go through the running lane while moving absent from Ayers.
The combination of Langford moving absent from him, or his need to further engage the blocker and Langford's compact frame lead to a broken arm tackle. Langford is able to accelerate through Ayers while the blocker knocks him backwards. This puts Langford in a one-on-one situation with the safety.
Langford gets around the safety but is tripped up as he finishes the play moving forward. He still gained a first down because of his impressive play before the line of scrimmage.
These are the types of plays that have made Forte one of the best runners in the NFL over the course of his career. While Langford still has a long way to go whether he wants to replicate what Forte has been for the Bears,he is definitely on the accurate track so far.
The running back does already have one achievement Forte himself is yet to attain. Only he, Gale Sayers and Walter Payton have finished a game with 100 yards receiving, and a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown in Bears history.
Any further comparisons to Sayers or Payton would definitely be overly optimistic at this point though.
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Source: bleacherreport.com