Wolfe could spark offensive explosion

Nothing against injured backup running back Kevin Jones, but the Bears’ offense could actually be more explosive without him.

Had he stayed healthy, Jones could have certainly eased the wear and tear this year on Matt Forte by filling the short-yardage role and pounding the ball between the tackles. But it’s not as if Forte doesn’t have the toughness and the size (6-foot-2, 218 pounds) to hit it up in there, as they say. And Jones hasn’t averaged more than 3.8 yards per carry in any of the past four seasons.

The extra explosiveness could come with increased opportunities for 5-foot-7, 185-pound Garrett Wolfe, whose quick-as-a-twitch moves have yet to be fully utilized. Wolfe has never done more than tease with his special skill set, but he’s never really had a chance to be a consistent contributor on a week-in, week-out basis. Now he could, and he possesses a lot more big-play ability than Jones did.

It’s still up to Wolfe to produce and up to offensive coordinator Ron Turner to get him involved with his own package of change-of-pace plays. But it could be interesting to see if Wolfe can provide another big-play dimension to the Bears’ offense if he gets the chance.