Will the Chicago Bears pursue Lucky Whitehead?
By Josh Diaz
The Chicago Bears should claim Lucky Whitehead off of waivers.
Lucky Whitehead ran into a case of mistaken identity on July 24th, being accused of a shoplifting incident in Virginia a month ago. The Dallas Cowboys jumped the gun and immediately released Whitehead as soon as news broke.
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On July 25th Whitehead was cleared of any wrongdoing, but is pending on waivers.
The Chicago Bears special teams have not been a strength in recent years. The lack of focus on special teams has been apparent the past few seasons.
According to ChicagoBears.com writer Larry Mayer ” the Bears ranked 19th in the NFL in punt return average, 18th in kickoff return average, 25th in gross punting average, 29th in net punt average and 27th in field-goal percentage.”
Special teams are a crucial part of the NFL, the best teams in the league usually sit on top of the special teams rankings.
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Nine out of twelve playoff teams ranked inside the top 16 in the league according to Football Outsiders statistics. Good special teams play is vital in every single game of the season, and magnifies in the playoffs.
The game within the game, field position matters. The difference between starting on the 25 yard line, and the 40 yard line is tremendous. It eases the pressure off of the offense, and gives the team confidence to execute.
Returning punts, and kickoffs may not seem glamorous but it is a job that needs to be done. Finding the right players that can consistently perform the task at hand is not easy. Many of the 53 man roster spots are compiled of players that only contribute on special teams situations.
The Bears found their kick return specialist in Deonte Thompson, who is signed to a 1 year deal through the 2017 season.
Whitehead could serve as the punt returner, and also backup kick returner. There is no reason to not have solid backups even on for special teams roles.
When a pro bowl special teams player at 25 years old is released for none other than miscommunication, the opportunity should be jumped on.