The way that the Chicago Bears roster has set up this offseason, they may be a team looking to run 22 and 13 personnel
If you have heard Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy talk in the media, you know that he firmly believes in all three of his tight ends and their specific usage in the offense. He has preached moving to a more tight end based offense.
If you heard Matt Nagy talk in the media, you have heard him obsess over Tarik Cohen. He can run routes, he can pass protect, better than we thought he was, Matt Nagy is “giddy” about Tarik Cohen.
His consistent talk about Cohen, Sims, Shaheen, and Burton says that this team is going to be running 13 and 22 personnel a lot.
13 personnel means one running back and three tight ends. This obviously leaves one more skill player being a wide receiver. 22 personnel would then mean two backs, two tight ends.
We all know of Jim Schwartz. He may not have been a great head coach for the Detroit Lions, but he is a defensive guru. He turned the Eagles defense into a Super Bowl champion group.
Below is a video of Schwartz explaining why 13 and 22 personnel are the two toughest personnel groupings to defend.
It is a schematic nightmare and puts less quick and shifty cornerbacks on the field. Of course, Schwartz now works with Doug Pederson, who is rather connected to Matt Nagy.
Trey Burton, a mismatch tight end went from playing for Pederson, with Schwartz seeing his impact to Matt Nagy seeking Burton for this very impact.
Wide Receiver Depth
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On top of having the specific personnel that many teams do not have to run 22, and 13 personnel, they also have the wide receiver depth to be enticed to play out of that formation more.
From what I've heard, the depth at WR could still be a problem for the #Bears. Some early struggles at OTAs for the bottom half of the position but it's early, no reason to panic... yet.
— Bill Zimmerman (@ZimmermanSXM) May 24, 2018
Allen Robinson is rehabbing.Taylor Gabriel is a role player. Anthony Miller is a rookie. The depth is questionable across the board from there.
The Chicago Bears will have a chance to minimize their receiver usage, therefore ensuring less chance of injury and less need for the depth to step up into action.
It seems as though the writing is on the wall that these are two alignments the Chicago Bears may be hoping to revolutionize the NFL with.