Inside the Numbers: Chicago Bears Week 2 Wrapup
Sep 15, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears tight end Martellus Bennett (83) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings during the first quarter at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
Looking at the Bears’ rankings after two weeks, there aren’t any huge surprises. The offense is ranked 14th overall, 14th in Rushing and 17th in passing offense. For a group that is just coming together with a new system and a lot of new faces, those are respectable numbers. They also went up against a couple of the more defensive-minded teams left in the league. They will continue to improve.
Tight End Martellus Bennett has been great, but he’s been especially strong in the slot. He ranks third among TE’s for catch rate coming out of the slot. Kellen Davis, we hardly knew ye.
On the other side of the ball, the defense is ranked 17th overall, 14th against the run and 17 against the pass. Considering they’ve played a couple of weaker offenses and the D is supposed to be the same system as last season, those numbers are a little disappointing. The defense continues to be opportunistic, with an encouraging number of takeaway through 2 weeks.
From PFF, we’ve all seen the struggles of Julius Peppers. They have seen the struggles too. According to PFF’s grade, Peppers ranks WORST among 4-3 defensive ends in pass rushing productivity. The other big money man, DT Henry Melton, is in the bottom 1/3 among his positional group in stop %.
So there’s a look inside the Game Book and a peek at Pro Football Focus’s grades and rankings. That’s a wrap on Week 2. On to Week 3!!!