... before Walter Payton and even before Gale Sayers, the Bears had Willie Galimore, a guy who - in terms of physical stature and skills sets - is very similar to Tavon Austin.

Granted ... Galimore's day was a long, loooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time ago. But the Bears used him exclusively at tailback.

In this day and age, with the spread designed to counteract the predominance of defensive lines that are big and heavy ... it might not be a bad idea to simply use Austin in that change-up mode with Gurley. Forget the wide-out stuff. Work Austin from the tailback and motion slots; make him a runner first; and find ways of using him in the passing game from those positions.

Fifteen years ago, it would have never worked. But the spread is called the spread for a reason - a way to open up seams by stringing defenses all the way down the line of scrimmage.

I'm not a huge Austin fan. Especially as a pass-catcher.

But what he added Sunday is hard to ignore - both in terms of influence and speed.