As Bears worry about running back depth, is wideout the next big question?
What had to be one of Matt Nagy's and Ryan Pace's biggest concerns was realized at practice last Wednesday when running back David Montgomery went down with what may be a meaningful groin injury.
With the megawatt spotlight on the Bears competition at the quarterback position being viewed as the key to the team turning around its ever-sputtering offense, it is a huge mistake to ignore the difficulties either Mitch Trubisky's or Nick Foles' efforts will encounter without a significantly improved ground game.
While we await clarity on just how serious the Montgomery injury is, there is a similar issue facing Nagy, Trubisky and Foles at the wide receiver position that has flown somewhat under the radar.
To be a legitimate contender and win playoff games in the NFL today, teams need to be at least three - and most often four - deep at wideout, and right now, the Bears aren't.
Intuitively it is also a significant issue in evaluating your quarterback play and coming to an inflection point on Foles versus Trubisky.
Allen Robinson is a Pro Bowl talent and one of the top seven or eight receivers in the NFL, and Anthony Miller flashed enough the second half of last season to believe he can be at the least a true No. 2 and possibly more.
But after that ... Ted Ginn, Jr. has never been more than a special weapon and No. 3 or a 4. It appears Cordarrelle Patterson is now the Bears No. 3 running back, and Tarik Cohen is the No. 2 back. Cohen is another special weapon and occasional slot guy at best, and the team continues to wait on Javon Wims, Riley Ridley and rookie Darnell Mooney.
With Robinson currently nursing a bum ankle not thought to be serious, and Miller still working his way back from offseason shoulder surgery, Trubisky's or Foles' time with the 1s has been mainly throwing to Ridley, Wims and Ginn while the other throws to practice squad candidates.
I asked Nagy the other day how he evaluates his quarterbacks when on any given day one is throwing to targets unlikely to make the team or put that QB in the best spot to succeed? Nagy pointed to John DeFilippo.
"That's where Flip is doing ... He has a chart that he uses every day and he puts it on my desk at night," Nagy said. "Once you see the why part, now we're able to say, OK, this was a good decision, this was a poor decision, this was a good throw.
"It should be exactly dead even as far as the reps, and they're doing a good job of going against the 1s and 2s, splitting that up, so we're getting to the point of conceptually, are they running the same concepts as well?"
The bigger issue, which remains unclear, is do the Bears have enough talent at wide receiver?
Ginn will land somewhere on the depth chart, so the answers we're looking for will have to come from Wims, Ridley and the rookie. On Wednesday, for really the first time in camp, both Wims and Ridley appeared to have themselves a day.
As Ridley explained after practice, "You know, we go out and try to take advantage of all our reps, whether A-Rob is there or he's not. But it's big when he's down to show the coaches and show the quarterbacks what you can do and how locked in you are."
Receivers coach Mike Furrey said of Ridley, "He's trying to learn every single position, so I'm really proud where he's at.
"I think what's now going to happen is now let's go see that production and let's see how that carries over as we start really going full-bore here. But I'm really pleased with where he's at right now."
Asked about his recently improved play Wims told us, "I've just been having tunnel vision, just been locked in, zoned in, concentrating a lot more, trying to be better than I was last year, be the receiver I know and believe I can be."
It appears certain the addition of Jimmy Graham to pair with Robinson and Miller will aid the passing game.
But unless Wims, Ridley and Mooney continue to make progress, whether or not Nagy and his QBs have the weapons they need to take a significant step forward remains an open question.
Twitter: @Hub_Arkush