There hasn’t been a Pro Bowl wide receiver in Chicago since Marty Booker did his first tour here and that was a long time ago.  It’s hard for any receiver to establish themselves in a town with so much quarterback controversy.  Joey Galloway would be probably be more of a household name if not for all the quarterback issues in Tampa Bay. 

But you know what?  The last time I checked, football is a team sport.  Receivers want to pad their stats and look good so they can get endorsement deals and be famous.  Not every receiver has that opportunity and more often than not, every receiver trying to be that guy ends up hurting the team.  Sometimes being a great receiver means making great blocks downfield so your running back can get longer runs.  Sometimes being a great receiver means breaking off your route and getting a four yard catch when your quarterback is in trouble.  Sometimes being a great receiver means catching the ball over the middle and taking the hit from the linebacker so your team can get a first down.

I’ve been talking to people for a while now how the receiver position in dying in the NFL.  The age of Jerry Rice and the unstoppable receivers of his time appears to be in the decline, if not almost dead.  There are only a handful of elite receivers left in the NFL and some of their egos are proving disasterous to their teams.  After Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, and Chad Johnson, there is a big drop off of talent.  Marvin Harrison used to be the best but he’s starting to look old.  There are a few young guys like Reggie Wayne and Braylon Edwards to carry the torch, but each passing year there are fewer big time receivers in the NFL.  So is it really the Bears fault?  Look around the NFL, there are a lot of good receivers, but the number of great ones is dropping off. 

The modern NFL is leaning towards offenses that feature a two-back system and have at least one huge tight end that can run just as fast as a receiver.  It’s actually the evolution of the tight end that’s killing the receiver.  Every team had that hard ass receiver that would go over the middle for six or eight catches a game, get killed by the linebacker, and the sick bastard loved it.  Now everyone wants to be on the cover of a video game and can’t afford to hurt their pretty face. 

As the saying goes, the more things change, the more things stay the same.  The game of football demands for someone to take the open space defenses usually create over the middle to catch the ball and move the offense.  Since receivers are no longer willing to do it, coaches have evolved ultra-tight ends that are big as houses but move like receivers.  Their bodies allow them to take on linebackers and their talent allows them to make plays for the end zone.  All over the country, coaches are finding these huge kids that are fast and good with their hands.  Up until a few years ago they were probably put at fullback, defensive end, or linebacker.  If he was drafted today, Mike Alstott probably would have been a tight end for Tampa Bay.  Meanwhile the prima dona receivers sit on the sideline and watch their job dimish to a minimal role. 

The evolution of the game has created faster linebackers and the old end around plays don’t have the effectiveness they used to.  More offenses are using running backs with good hands to slide to the sidelines and give a place for the quarterback to dump the ball.  Quarterbacks used to scramble around looking for receivers to break their route and make an amazing play.  Those highlights are reserved for runnings backs now as they swing along the sidelines making dashing cuts for the endzone. 

The dynamics of the game are changing and big play wide receivers are a dying breed.  There will always be a select few that will collect the big money and get on the magazine covers.  The sad part is their rarity will only drive up their value and force teams to dump money at a position they know will only have minimal impact.  What good does a big contract for Bernard Berrian have for Minnesota if Tarvaris Jackson can’t even get him the ball?  The Bears went with an approach that may become more common in the NFL.  A rotating core of slot receivers that block downfield and make key third down plays to keep the drive going.  The big plays are no reserved for running backs and tight ends, with receivers running a distant third. 

Anyway you look at it, Muhsin Muhammad is right.  Chicago is the place where receivers go to die, and so is every other city in the NFL. 

Mentioning the Panthers to any Bears fan invokes horrid memories of Steve Smith carving up the field and humiliating the defense.  This contest is guaranteed to haven’t a different result because Steve Smith will not be available for the Panthers.  He has been banned for two games as a result of a fight during training camp and gives the Bears defense a big sigh of relief.

The real storyline of the week is the match up against ex-Bears Muhsin Muhammad who will have to assume the role as primary target for Jake Delhomme.  The Bears have established a history with Muhammad from his three years with the team.  His departure turned ugly recently when Muhammad made comments that Chicago is where receivers go to die in the NFL.  While there have been recent struggles for Bears receivers, there is nothing that suggests a good receiver can’t excel in the Bears system.  Now the Bears offense will be motivated to prove him wrong and the Bears cornerbacks will have extra motivation to shut down Muhammad every time they try to get him the ball.

Looking ahead to the Panther offense, the Bears will take the exact same approach they used against the Colts.  The Bears will stack eight men in the box and shut down the run, forcing Delhomme to make plays in the passing game.  On offense the Bears will look to establish the running game and use short pass plays to keep drives moving and control the clock.  The advantage is the players know the game plan can result in success against the best teams in the NFL, the disadvantage is the Panthers will study the tape from the Panthers game very closely and prepare.

The Panthers are recovering from their own shocking win in week 1 against the Chargers and will be looking to repeat those results.  Without Steve Smith the Panthers have the harder challenge of finding a way to move the ball against the Bears defense that held a highly potent Colts offense at bay.  The second road win will be a tough one for the Bears but they should be able to pull it off.