Bears Don’t Need a Big Receiver, They Need a Receiver to Play Big
The Bears brought Roy Williams in to be the “#1 wide receiver” and I’m using the quotes because the whole idea of a #1 wide receiver is a bit of a farce, especially in the Bears offense. Call it a mismatch, a square peg and a round hole or whatever you want. Mike Martz doesn’t like and doesn’t need a big wide receiver. He likes the little guys to get in and out of their breaks quickly and change direction to get to their spot with as little loss in speed as possible. His offense requires precision and speed. (A perfect match for Soldier Field, don’t you think?)
Call it a compromise that they brought Williams and his 6’3″ frame here to help the young receiver group and Jay Cutler. Given that he had the best year of his career under Martz, it wasn’t too much of a stretch. Coming in on a 1-year deal, it’s a relatively low risk move, but it’s a move that could prove costly.
The Bears handed Roy Williams the top receiver job as if they had just brought in Jerry Rice in his prime. This is a guy who hauled in 37 balls and 5 TD’s last year. Think it was a flukey bad year? The year before he had 38 catches. That’s what this guy is and that’s what he’s going to be. They’re not getting the 2006 Williams who had 1300 yards on 82 catches. The sooner the Bears realize this, the sooner they can start fixing the problem.
The Bears don’t need Roy Williams and his 6’3″, 230 pound body. The Bears need their wide receivers to step up and make plays. They need a wide receiver that goes up and fights for the ball. They need a wide receiver who will catch a perfectly thrown, wide open 3rd down pass. They need a wide receiver with some football instincts that can find the open spot and knows how to come back to the ball when his quarterback is scrambling out of the pocket when protection has broken down.
If the Bears just needed a big body, why couldn’t Devin Aromashodu get the job done? Because he didn’t do the things I just listed and spent the better part of the 2010 season in Mike Martz’s doghouse.
Do you know how tall Torry Holt is? 6’0″. Isaac Bruce? 6’0″. They were pretty good in Mike Martz’s offense, don’t ya think? What the Bears are missing is a wide receiver that PLAYS BIG and whether it’s Williams or Hester or Bennett or Knox or even rookie Dane Sanzenbacher, they need to get the right guys on the field.
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