The Bears fell in love with David Montgomery within the draft course of, traded as much as get him within the third spherical and the love affair has solely picked up steam since turn out to be a Bear.
From the second Montgomery stepped foot in Halas Hall, the rookie working again from Iowa State has been every little thing the Bears thought he was. And by means of the offseason program and mini-camps Montgomery has solely solidified their conviction that he’s an ideal match for Matt Nagy’s offense, or at the least a a lot better match than the departed Jordan Howard.
Montgomery’s debut within the Bears’ preseason opener Thursday night time towards the Carolina Panthers solely accelerated the momentum and enhanced the too-good-to-be-true notion that the Bears have discovered their Kareem Hunt.
Montgomery accounted for 41 yards on 4 touches in a six-play, 49-yard landing drive within the second quarter that gave the Bears a 7-6 lead. The last play of the drive may need been sufficient to spark everyone’s creativeness.
Montgomery confirmed his persistence, imaginative and prescient, acceleration and nostril for the top zone on a seven-yard landing run. On a first-and-goal play from the 7-yard line, Montgomery took a handoff from Chase Daniel on the 10-yard line, hesitated on the 9, waited for a block from tight finish Bradley Sowell, escaped a sort out try from behind — and darted towards the top zone, hopping between two defenders on the objective line for the rating.
The pleasure of the gang was palpable — the landing elicited an appreciative cheer that was exceeded in quantity solely by Elliott Fry’s ensuing PAT. The hug from Nagy on the sidelines was heartfelt. And the response on Twitter was virtually over-the-top celebratory — with requires placing the child in bubble-wrap till Sept. 5 towards the Packers.
But one endorsement specifically can’t be ignored — from former Bears Pro Bowl working again Matt Forte, a Pro Bowl caliber runner, blocker and receiver and essentially the most reliable mannequin for what the Bears hope Montgomery can turn out to be:
“I really like the vision, balance and elusiveness of young @MontgomerDavid,” Forte tweeted. And then he adopted it up with extra:
“Can’t coach vision. You can have all the measurables but it’s more important to set up blocks and create plays at RB! And that’s what it seems like @MongomerDavid can do. I like it.”
Montgomery’s landing capped a formidable drive for the rookie. On first-and-20 from the Bears 41 after a holding penalty on tight finish Bradley Sowell that negated Montgomery’s five-yard run, Montgomery turned a display screen move from Daniel right into a 23-yard achieve for a primary down — sprung by strong block by guard Ted Larsen.
On second-and-one from the Panthers 27, Montgomery took one other move from Daniel for a six-yard achieve. He completed with 46 yards on six touches for the night time — three carries for 16 yards and three receptions for 30.
Even in a single small — and hardly defining — glimpse, Montgomery gave the Bears what they had been searching for once they drafted him. For what it’s value, Jordan Howard didn’t catch a single move within the preseason final yr.
Time out for a needed disclaimer: This was the opening preseason recreation towards back-ups — a breeding floor for false-positives. Then once more, some guys bought it and a few guys don’t. And even if you apply the it’s-only-preseason filter, it certain seems like what Montgomery confirmed Thursday night time is nearer to being actual than a mirage. He handed the attention take a look at.