| 18 February 2010
I am obviously late to the party with the 2009 season review section, but it's not without merit. Watching a lot of Bears tape over the past couple weeks via the Gamerewind.NFL.com pass makes for a long review session. I would do a write up on Jay Cutler but I think it would be beating a dead horse to review Cutler's season after putting together the TD/INT video review article together already. So with that in mind I'm skipping ahead to the receivers and then working my way through to the end over the next few days.
I'm going to try and be as detail oriented as I can so these reviews may end up being a lot longer than expected or even longer than most of you can stomach. Suffice to say I will make these reviews as complete as I possibly can to make the wait well worth it.
Heading into the 2009 season the wide receiver core was considered the weak link to the offense, by the end of the year it was arguably the strongest link on the offense given the struggles of Matt Forte, Cutler and the offensive line units. While most Bears fans clamored for the Bears to snatch up a veteran free agent wide receiver the Bears seemed content with the talent they had in place and they turned out to be fairly right in their evaluations of the 2009 free agent receiver class.
Of the 2009 free agents not one really had a major impact on his new team, not one really out shined the receivers the Bears fielded in 2009. The Bears rolled out a very young and inexperienced group, which is a major understatement, but if anything is a testament to the developmental success of the young players it's receivers coach Darryl Drake. Drake is one of two offensive coaches retained from Ron Turner's offensive coaches and by all observations he earned the right to return to work another as the Bears' receivers coach.
Most Bears fans will point to the fact that the Bears went yet another year without a 1,000-yard receiver, to that point you can point to the fact the Jay Cutler did a great job of spreading the ball around to many different options and at one point or another each receiving option had an impact on one of the Bears' victories.
Johnny Knox was a player that stood out to me during my pre-draft evaluations of a year ago. Hard to believe I know but Knox was one of the main players I noticed during 2009 scouting combine blog I did on my old site prior to joining this network. Knox was not only fast but he showed great body control and solid hands, but what impressed just about everyone was his speed. That speed is what showed up the most throughout the season, but for a fifth round draft pick Knox was more than just a fast player.
Knox used his speed and quick twitch agility to make some big plays as a receiver, showing a very solid ability to get off the jam and press coverage even though he is not the biggest of receivers. Knox more often than not was able to get open for the Bears even on slant routes and underneath routes. Knox probably had his best game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in week two, blazing down the field on a few big receptions that directly led to the Bears knocking off the defending Super Bowl champs.
In the Steelers game Knox was a bit of a secret weapon that emerged as the Steelers focused on taking away Devin Hester and Greg Olsen. Knox however hauled in six passes for 70-yards and a touchdown including a couple of clutch catches in the game during the Bears' 98-yard game tying scoring drive. That drive was the the longest drive the Steelers had given up since 2007, a testament to the step forward the Bears' offense took under Jay Cutler.
From there Knox was a bit of a strong performer for being the fourth receiving option on the team for the Bears in 2009. While most fans were upset about some of the perceived lack of communication and the wrong routes that Knox at times took that cost the Bears some momentum in games, overall Knox was a dynamite performer.
Knox's overall stats speak volumes for a player that was the last option among Greg Olsen, Earl Bennett and Devin Hester during the season.
The key stat to look into is just what type of production on the field do the Bears get from Knox based on the number of total snaps he took throughout the season. Out of a possible 1,035 total offensive snaps, Johnny Knox was in on 508 total offensive snaps of those 378 were passing plays Knox was involved in, from there Knox was targeted 80 times in 15 games. Out of those 75 times the ball was thrown his way Knox hauled in 45 passes for 575-yards. Which translates to 60-percent success rate Knox was making a catch solid stats for a rookie receiver.
That 60-percent reception success rate was tied for 57th overall in the NFL amongst players who took at least 25-percent of a team's offensive snaps. Pretty middle of the road which is better than you would expect from a rookie receiver. Knox was also amongst the top players in the league with fewest drops with only four drops on the season, another solid stat for a rookie.
Knox also contributed quite highly on special teams earning a Pro Bowl returner nod for his 28.9 yards per return average with one touchdown.
Knox's overall statistical value was around the average for all of the NFL's receivers, he wasn't amongst the best but he was closer to be in the top half instead of the bottom half. While Knox's most prolific games came in the first and second games, his overall value for the Bears was consistent throughout the season. When Knox was given the chance to make a play could be counted on at those critical times, again emphasizing that Knox was a fifth round draft pick out of Abiliene Christian College.
Next up we'll examine Earl Bennett's his first year of significant playing time (second season overall). Bennett was the most reliable target this season, for the Bears after causing a fire-storm in the off-season about his struggles at learning the new play book. Most fans suggested the Jerry Angelo had already wasted yet another selecton on Bennett before he even set foot on the field. In all 16 games Bennett participated in he had only one game that would be considered below average standards of the rest of the receivers in the NFL. Every other receiver on the team had at least three games of below average production
Bennett however proved just as consistent as any other receiver on the Bears. Two games he posted a total of seven receptions and became a defacto third down option on the team with a solid route running ability and reliable hands. While Bennett didn't eclipse over 100-yards receiving in a single game he was over 75-yards receiving three times on the year.
Bennett also finished the season with a respectable 717-yards receiving on 54 catches out of 85 times he was thrown at. His percentage caught was second on the team with 63.5-percenet just a shade under Devin Hester's 64-percentage caught total.
On the season Bennett only dropped a total of three passes good for second on the team behind Greg Olsen's two dropped passes.
Going forward Bennett should only get better as he develops a better comfort for the speed of the NFL and the work required to succeed. While Bennett may not be the most athletically gifted receiver he was consistent and gave a consistent effort throughout the season. Bennett showed good route running ability, greats hands and body control to make the tough catch in traffic. If Bennett continues to improve as a Bear he will easily go down as a steal for a third round selection.
Context to the success of Bennett's season is given in the fact that he is the third option on the team with a target rate lower than Hester and that of number one overall target Greg Olsen. 717-yards on the season for a number two receiver who is targeted as a third receiving option throughout the season is solid production. Considering you want around 1,000-yards or more from you number one receiving option and about 700 to 800-yards from your number two receiver, Bennett achieved what he should have for a number starting wide receiver. Solid numbers consistent production.
Easily the most disappoining player on the 2009 Chicago Bears was TE Greg Olsen. Olsen did not live up to the expectations you would have for a potential Pro Bowl TE and he had the lowest pass completion percentage of any option on the field. Bears fans grew frustrated with Olsen throughout the season, especially early in the year when he struggled the first two games against Green Bay and Seattle. Overall Olsen has the highest total of low production games of any player on the team with five games in which he scored below what would be considered average production or performance. Olsen was thrown at more than any other receiver on the team with a total of 105 balls thrown his way and his percentage caught was lowest on the team at 56.2-percent over the course of 16 games.
These numbers point to the reasons why most Bears fans are pretty infuriated at Olsen's incosistency throughout the season, it shows up in the numbers. Despite leading the team in receptions, despite being targeted the most by Cutler, Olsen was the least consistent receiver on the team. There is little doubt that Olsen's athleticism and size combination is amongst the best in the NFL, but his consistency needs to back it up. When you toss in Olsen's pure lack of heart and desire as a blocker, coupled with the lack of opportunities for the TE in Mike Martz's offense, it's no wonder Olsen has been at the heart of trade rumors early in this off-season.
While most fans wouldn't consider Devin Hester a number one receiver he did play up to that level this season for the Bears. Three games in which Hester went over 90-yards receiving, seven games in which he had over 75-yards receiving on the season. Hester was second on the team for times he was thrown to at 89. He was also the highest on the team amongst receivers with a 64-percent pass completion percentage based on times he was targeted. All this despite the fact that he missed three games on the season. Hester was well on his way to over 1,000-yards receiving before the injuires cut short his shot at that all important yardage plateau.
The question moving forward will not be how consistent Hester can be but how much better can he be and are there legitimate injury and durability concerns. Hester is not the type of player built to withstand punishment and he's still learning the hard way that there's a certain time to try and get yards and other times to simply avoid taking the big shot.
Mike Martz is excited about how to utilize Hester in the future in the slot, and with Devin Aromashodu's emergence as a potential number one target and Earl Bennett's ability to be a consistent number two, it will be interesting to see how he succeeds as a slot threat.
Hester was the best overall receiver on the team in pure overall yardage and reception totals, which is important as a number one receiver. His solid yardage totals throughout the season also provide hope that he is still getting better as his career moves forward.
The most pleasant surprise was the late season arrival of Devin Aromashodu who was asked to fill in in place of the injured Hester. Cutler immediately got Aromashodu involved in the game plan by targeting him 12 times in the most signficant action he saw all season. The first game in which D.A started Cutler threw to him time and time again. It didn't necessarily pay off in a big success rate as D.A was fourth on the team with a 60-percent reception versus target percentage. 40 times D.A was targeted to 24 receptions on the season, but he was only the second receiver to eclipse the 100-yard receiving mark on the season and was tied with Olsen for most TDs in a game with three.
Perhaps the most important factor which is often overlooked is that Cutler has confidence in D.A. and will throw to him at any time. When a QB trusts his receiver that speaks volumes about the chemistry between the two and can only lead to positive production moving forward.
Overall the receiving unit was far more consistent than anyone could have expected in 2009 and the number bare that out over the course of the season. This is one of the youngest receiving units in the NFL right now and arguably one of the most consistent core of receivers when you cycle through the best options on the team.
Based on the numbers you can see that Cutler liked to spread the ball around pretty evenly and for the most part each receiver was equally as productive when called upon as the next. This unit didn't feature one big time receiving threat, it featured a good receiver in Hester and then average production from there on.
The next question is just how good will this unit perform in the new offense. Mike Martz knows how to analyze and evaluate as good as any offensive coordinator in the league. He also knows how to get the best out of the personnel he has on hand, and his offense can be highly productive regardless of the level of talent he has to work with.
This unit is just beginning to scrape the surface of it's potential and will only get better and more consitent moving forward, that's good news for Bears fans if they hope to win more games in 2010.
Statistical data provided by profootballfocus.com as well as some of my own evaluation and data collection
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