Chicago Bears: David Montgomery Looking To Earn Respect

Chicago Bears running back David Montgomery is tired of consistently getting overlooked as one of the better backs in the NFL. He’s making it his mission to prove his doubters wrong in 2021.

The Chicago Bears Have had some pretty good draft choices in the past three years. They picked up a starting running back, a starting wide receiver, and a starting cornerback. They also drafted players who are big contributors. In this year’s draft, they feel they finally found their franchise quarterback and a mean and tough left tackle in addition to more contributors in backup roles. They feel like they really solidified the roster.

One of those picks who is currently starting is running back David Montgomery. In his rookie season in 2019, the Bears’ third-round pick amassed 1,074 yards from scrimmage and 7 total touchdowns. During his sophomore season, he raised those totals to 1,508 total yards from scrimmage and 10 total touchdowns. In addition, he was among the league leaders in broken tackles, recording a total of 74 in his two seasons.

Montgomery got those yards and scores despite running behind a struggling offensive line. In each of the last two seasons, the line dealt with injuries, COVID, and linemen playing out of position. That isn’t a recipe for success.

Montgomery’s second season should be considered pretty successful. He gained 1,070 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns. That ranked fifth in the league. That was pretty amazing considering he had three games in which he gained 30 yards or less. Also, he had the fourth-most carries in the league with 247.

Montgomery feels disrespected

Despite gaining those numbers running behind a torn-up line, Montgomery isn’t getting the attention around the league that other backs receive. When the so-called experts talk about the top backs, they don’t mention him.

He wants to change that.

I’m hungry. People gotta pay, I’ve been disrespected for far too long. They just put other guys… ahead of me. They put me out of the top-10 running backs after I just rushed top-five in the league last year. It’s just a whole lot of disrespect going on. But it’s cool, because I’m like, ‘Everybody pay.’

At first it was about proving everybody wrong, but now it’s about proving myself right. Let folks know I stopped doing this for them a long time ago. This is personal for me.

Montgomery must feel great heading into the 2021 season. The Bears made a concerted effort to improve the offensive line, drafting two of them. They also signed free agent lineman Elijah Williamson. In addition, they have two other draft picks from 2020 who are ready to step up and contribute. The offensive line will be much stronger and meaner this season. The unit will fight more and hopefully open more holes for Montgomery to run through.

Montgomery gets to use his tools to full use

In his first two seasons, it seemed like Montgomery got hit behind the line of scrimmage a lot. That should change this season. He’ll get a better chance to use his incredible balance and shiftiness to gain big yards. He used some amazing balance to gain the yards he did when he had defenders all over him. Imagine how much better he’ll be when he has clean holes to run through.

While many people are cannot wait to see how much the quarterback situation improves, Montgomery’s season will also be important. If he takes another step up and has a big season, it’ll make life easier for this offense. If the defense needs to account for him, then the wide receivers will have more room to operate, thus giving the quarterback more open options. If all that happens, then we’ll see how good head coach Matt Nagy’s offensive system can be. Then we can see the Chicago Bears become true title contenders once again.

Montgomery wants to show that he is the next in the long line of great Chicago Bears running backs and help the team win a ton of games in the process.