Tarik Cohen Blames Loss of Benny Cunningham For His Rough 2019

Tarik Cohen understands that the Chicago Bears offense was rough in 2019. Himself included. After two standout seasons in 2017 and 2018, he didn't perform up to expectations. Not only did he average just 3.3 yards per carry on the ground, he also posted a miserable 5.8 through the air. Almost half of what he produced the year prior.

What is the reasoning behind these struggles? Cohen believes it was a multitude of factors. The offense as a whole didn't obsess over the details enough last year and it led to way too many mistakes. Then there was the matter of health. Several Bears dealt with injuries during the season including Mitch Trubisky, Anthony Miller, Kyle Long, and Trey Burton. As it turns out, Cohen himself was playing nicked up too.

A big reason why was he'd neglected a number of exercises that he used to do in order to stay more durable. He got lazy. Why? Namely, because he had somebody nearby to constantly remind him as he told Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times.

“I’ve been doing yoga now, stretching more often and just like the small training room, in-house things you do to keep your body durable,” he said. “And to keep the wear-and-tear of the season off of you longer.”

Why not do that during the season? In his first two years, Cohen said, he had veteran Benny Cunningham to remind him to take care of his body. Last year, he was gone.

“I really slacked on that. …” Cohen said. “I always had older guys that would keep me on that, keep me in line.”

Tarik Cohen learned a lesson only gained by experience

Seeing something like this, it's not a shock. Young players always have certain veterans they look up to. Guys who take them under their wing and show them all the necessary things to have success in the NFL. However, there comes an inevitable point in time where those veterans aren't there anymore. Then it falls on the student to become the master. Sometimes it takes a season or two to figure out that the constant nagging about putting in extra work was for their benefit.

Clearly Cohen experienced that last season. He thought he had everything figured out. He'd done great work in 2018. Obviously that would continue. Except that's not how the NFL works. This league is unforgiving to those who aren't obsessive about working hard. Cohen paid the price for slacking off. Now his future with the Bears is very much in question going into 2020.

Hopefully it's not too late for him to remember the lessons Cunningham taught him.