Chicago Bears' Howard struggling, but so is rest of the offense
Chicago Bears running back Jordan Howard went to the Pro Bowl last year as a rookie, when he rushed for 1,313 yards and averaged 5.2 yards per carry.
This year, he's off to a slow start.
Howard had his worst game as a pro in the Week Two loss to the Bucs, gaining 7 yards on 9 carries for a 0.8-yard average.
A man of few words, Howard had not spoken to the media at all since Week 1, when he suffered a shoulder injury while rushing 13 times for 52 yards, and a touchdown.
"We've just had some struggles," Howard said Monday, a day after storming out of the locker room in Tampa, Florida. "I've got to do better, got to break more tackles, get back to my form of last year."
Howard started slowly last year with just 12 rushes for 67 yards in the first three games as Jeremy Langford's backup.
This year the Bears are trying to utilize Howard and change-of-pace rookie Tarik Cohen, which Howard believes can be a winning combination.
"We definitely can coexist on the field at the same time," Howard said. "First play of the game, we were both on the field at the same time. There were other plays in the game we were in at the same time.
"It could open up things for me because when he's on the field, they'll be paying attention to him."
Howard said his shoulder is fine, although he left the locker room Sunday with his left arm in a sling.
Plenty of blame:
Six drops and a nonexistent running game (20 yards on 16 carries), plus 3 Mike Glennon turnovers were more than enough to torpedo a Bears offense that managed just 121 yards in the first half and 310 yards for the game.
"If you're not running the football, you're not going to be able to throw it well, either," tight end Zach Miller said. "We need to establish a run game early on and then be able to stretch it down the field as we progress."
The drops occurred for a number of reasons, but there were some common denominators.
"It's just probably a lack of focus," Miller said. "You could make a number of excuses: It's late in the game, it's playing in a different environment, it's heat - doesn't really matter. You've just got to catch the ball."
Smokin' Jay Cutler:
Zach Miller was happy to see his buddy and former teammate Jay Cutler get a victory in his first game Sunday as the Miami Dolphins' quarterback.
"I never wanted him to quit playing football," Miller said. "To see him have success and get a win out there, I was happy for him. I shot him a text and told him 'congrats.'"
Cutler retired after last season, then unretired and signed with the Dolphins and head coach Adam Gase, after starter Ryan Tannehill suffered a season-ending knee injury in the preseason.
Cutler completed 24 of 33 passes for 230 yards, 1 touchdown, no interceptions and a 101.8 passer rating in the Dolphins' 19-17 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Nothing to report:
Coach John Fox did not have any injury updates on guards Josh Sitton (ribs) and Tom Compton (hip) or inside linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski (chest).
The fear is that Kwiatkoski suffered an injury similar to the torn pectoral muscle that put Jerrell Freeman on injured reserve after Week 1 and elevated Kwiatkoski into the starting lineup.
Christian Jones replaced Kwiatkoski after the injury.
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