Jay Cutler finally got the receiver he wanted. It's go time in Chicago.
Leading up to the start of the 2012 NFL season, we here at CCS will be giving you a full Chicago Bears preview. Starting with quarterbacks, we will provide a position preview for the whole team.
The last time the Chicago Bears had a 1,000 yard receiver was Marty Booker in 2002. Booker finished the season with 1,181 yards as he posted back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons from 2001-02.
That’s a long time coming for another 1,000 yard receiver in the Windy City.
With the acquisition of Brandon Marshall, the Bears now have a serious receiving threat on their hands. Partnered with Jay Cutler once again, Marshall and Cutler look to regain that magic they had in Denver during the early part of their careers.
Marshall brings receiving numbers Bears fans aren’t too accustomed to seeing over the past several years. Last season with Miami, Marshall finished with 81 receptions, 6 touchdowns and 1,214 yards. By far better numbers then any Bears receiver in a very long time.
The addition of Marshall gives the Bears another weapon on offense. More importantly, it gives Cutler a solid number one receiver. Something he hasn’t had in his brief stint with Chicago.
The Bears struggled at times in the receiving department last year. They looked flat out awful and it was a frustrating time. The good news is that the Roy Williams experiment is over, the bad news is they lose another speed threat in Johnny Knox.
It was obvious the Bears needed to make an upgrade, and who better then Brandon Marshall? Re-uniting Marshall and Cutler was a great move by first year general manager Phil Emery.
Even with the acquisition of Marshall, the Bears still weren’t through upgrading the position.
They traded up in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft to grab wide receiver Alshon Jeffery from South Carolina. The big physical receiver will compliment Marshall on the outside, and gives Cutler another big red zone target.
Jeffery could be a potential breakout receiver in the NFL this season. With the additions of Jeffery and Marshall, the Bears have rose to having one of the better receiving cores in the NFL.
Although Chicago brought in two wide receivers, the core they had already in place will still contribute.
Earl Bennett is expected to be a slot receiver in the Tice offense and being one of Cutlers favorite targets, Bennett will surely get his looks during the season. Bennett is one of the more underrated receivers in the NFL. Over the past three seasons, Bennett has the best drop rate among receivers in the NFL.
According to ProFootballFocus, with 127 catchable balls thrown to him, Bennett has only dropped four of them. That lands him at 3.15% and the best in the NFL.
With Bennett sitting in the slot and seeing action as the number two guy at times, the Bears also feature a speed threat on the outside.
That speed threat is well, you guessed it…Devin Hester.
This could be a breakout year from the Pro-Bowl return man. Hester will not be the feature receiver on the core and that should benefit him greatly. Playing alongside guys like Marshall, Jeffery and Bennett, Hester is poised to have his opportunities down the field.
He just has to make the most of those opportunities with his hands and speed.
The receiving core will be a big part of Chicago’s offense this season. With Jay Cutler at the helm at quarterback, we could see a big year from this receiving core.
Grades
Starters: A-
The Bears finally went out and grabbed the number one receiver they needed. The question is can he produce? Marshall has had a problem with dropped passes in recent seasons, but he’s teamed up with Cutler again and the recipe calls for success.
Whoever is matched outside with Marshall could be key for the Bears. Do they go with the sure-handed Earl Bennett? Or do they go to the young physical receiver in Jeffery?
Backups: B-
The Bears feature a speed threat with Devin Hester that will give opposing defenses fits. Whoever plays the slot for Chicago will be called upon to produce, luckily they have Earl Bennett who has answered the call a few times before.
