Bears Blitz

Published by Bear Heiser on October 28, 2014
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

One season ago, Chicago Bears wide receivers Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery were widely thought of as the NFL’s best pass-catching duo. The pair racked up over 2,700 yards on 189 catches and 19 touchdowns.

The Bears offense reaped the benefits, as the team ranked second in the league in points scored with 27.8 per game, putting up offense in ways the Bears organization had never seen.

Fast-forward to eight games into the 2014 season, and you have a much different picture. The Bears offense ranks 20th in the league, averaging 22.5 points per game. Where do Marshall and Jeffery stand this season? How about 72 combined catches for 947 yards and eight touchdowns:

Marshall is far behind his production from 2013. Sure, he’s been targeted less, but he’s also not catching as many passes. His catch rate has dropped from 65 percent to 52 percent over the eight-game stretch. Jeffery, after the same stretch of games, is for the most part right where he was last season.

The main reason for their collective declines can be credited to opposing defenses continuing to clamp down on the Bears’ vertical attack.

As the season has progressed, more and more teams are choosing to eliminate the deep ball from Jay Cutler’s repertoire, forcing the Bears’ quarterback to use the middle of the field on a consistent basis. The change in philosophy when defending the Bears duo is why Matt Forte currently ranks second in the NFL in catches (only two behind Antonio Brown of the Pittsburgh Steelers).

During his Monday appearance on ESPN Chicago’s Waddle and Silvy show, Marshall was asked if teams are defending the Bears’ passing game any differently:

They totally changed. And we’re talking about that haven’t changed for two years, or teams who for the whole season play one particular coverage…what teams are doing now is saying, ‘You guys dink and dunk. We’re going to take away everything deep and you dink and dunk.’ 

What we’ve seen this season is opposing defenses sitting in zone coverages with two or three guys back deep. The only way to beat that type of coverage is by establishing the run, but the Bears have struggled to do so all season long.

Head coach Marc Trestman’s offensive system is designed to send Cutler to the line of scrimmage with two plays in hand, allowing him to choose which one best suits the offense based on what the defense is showing. Sometimes the best option is a screen pass over the middle for nine yards instead of a five-yard gain on the ground.

“You’ve just got to take what they’re giving you,” Marshall said of how the Bears have been defended. “Unfortunately, it’s causing us to go 12, 13, 14-play drives, or trying to do that.”

Sunday’s loss to New England was the first time this season when the Bears really seemed serious about committing to the run early in the game. After four Forte run plays started the game, the Bears offense got bogged down by a holding call, which changed the flow of the drive. On the next drive, the Bears were flagged for a false start on the first play, once again changing the drive.

Before they knew it, New England had scored on back-to-back possessions. This forced the Bears to play from behind, allowing the Patriots secondary to sit back in zone coverage, restricting Marshall and Jeffery from finding favorable matchups in the second and third tiers of the field.

As a result, Marshall and Jeffery are being forced to play a more physical brand of football. Defenders aren’t allowing them a free release off the line of scrimmage, which forces the receiver to adjust his route. This is why you see Cutler throwing into traffic more often than not. This also is one reason why Cutler has thrown eight interceptions this season.  

Despite the flaws within the Bears’ offensive game plan, Marshall and Jeffery arguably have been the NFL’s fifth- or sixth-best receiving duo this season.

While Marshall and Jeffery are 22 catches behind the Denver Broncos duo of Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, the Bears do have two players who would lead that list in catches. Forte and Martellus Bennett have 105 combined catches for 1,007 yards and eight touchdowns this season.

But as long as Forte and Bennett are leading this team in receiving, the Bears will remain a team below .500. At 3-5 heading into the bye week, Marshall and Jeffery have eight remaining games to figure out how to do a better job with what the defense gives them. Trestman hasn’t been able to put either receiver in position to succeed, so both players need to watch all the tape they can get their hands on during the bye week.

If Marshall and Jeffery can return in 12 days with a more successful approach, expect the Bears offense to be back firing like it was last season.

It’s somewhat comical that this conversation was started by asking if Marshall and Jeffery are the NFL’s best receiving tandem. It’s hard to receive that accolade when you’re not even the most productive two pass-catchers on the Bears roster.

There’s still time, though.

All quotes transcribed from audio interview. All stats provided by ESPN Stats and Information unless otherwise noted.

Read more Chicago Bears news on BleacherReport.com