The Chicago Bears wide receivers weren’t able to elevate the offense as much as hoped last season. Expectations were really high too. It was considered one of the deepest positions on the entire roster. Instead they were mostly a one-man show with Allen Robinson topping 1,000 yards. Anthony Miller came on strong after a slow start but ended up re-injuring his shoulder. Taylor Gabriel had concussion issues and was recently cut. Javon Wims and Riley Ridley failed to stand out.
This has led to widespread belief the team needs to upgrade at the position. Preferably find somebody with more speed who can replace and maybe improve on what Gabriel brought. However, analytics expert Cynthia Frelund of NFL.com isn’t so sure things are that bad. Her research revealed some telling numbers about the true state of the Bears passing game and the receivers were not near the crux of the actual problem.
“Bears wideouts averaged only 3.3 yards after the catch per reception in 2019 (second to last), per NGS. Part of the reason for this was that their hips were facing toward the line of scrimmage on down-field passes at the third-highest rate; another factor was the fact that 23.6 percent of the Bears’ passes were thrown behind the line of scrimmage (eighth-most in the NFL). Both stats suggest that the level of pass-catching talent in Chicago is of less concern than the quality of quarterback play.”
Chicago Bears receivers can’t reach their full potential
In other words, the analytics back up exactly what everybody else has been saying for months. The Bears have a quarterback problem. It’s hard to know what you have at the receiver position when Mitch Trubisky often struggles to hit the open man. Too often head coach Matt Nagy was forced to simplify the play calling to give his quarterback easier completions. That only works for so long before defenses catch on, especially when the team can’t run the ball to compensate.
There were times when Trubisky was in a rhythm that the receivers really started to gash defenses. Particularly Robinson and Miller. The talent is unquestionably there for those two to form a dynamic combination. Especially if the team can find a speed threat to help open up the field more. Of course, that doesn’t matter if they can’t get more consistent play at quarterbacks, whether it’s Trubisky or somebody else.
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