Chicago Bears: Five key observations heading into critical Packers game
No. 3: The Chicago Bears offense is exploiting everyone’s talents
An interesting aspect of this new Bears offense is that it is not only emphasizing Mitch Trubisky’s strengths over his weaknesses but Nagy and his coaches are doing the same with other offensive talents. For example, there are now plays where Allen Robinson and Jimmy Graham are enabling each other to get open and at times wide open.
The Chicago Bears’ first touchdown against the Jaguars is a great example. Robinson lines up on the right side and Graham is literally lined up behind him. Then Robinson runs into the end zone at basically a 45-degree angle. Meanwhile, Graham takes a jab step to his right then cuts left mirroring Robinson’s 45-degree angle route, and is wide open in the end zone for an easy to complete touchdown pass.
Now I have often written that the Bears should be doing a lot more than they have to scheme up Jimmy Graham to be open. They finally did that this last game and he delivered. I do not believe Bears fans fully appreciate how valuable it is to the Chicago Bears offense to have two targets with superb hands at 6’7″ and 6’3.”
It is well known that Allen Robinson is one of the best receivers in the NFL at snaring contested passes. However, It can be argued that Graham is as good if not better than Allen Robinson at contested catches. The argument would be that Graham’s hands are as good as Robinson’s but he is four inches taller, his arms are three inches longer and his bulk helps out muscling smaller defenders.
Jimmy Graham probably had his best game as a Chicago Bear. His catches included a 30-yard pass with a 20-yard run after the catch, a five-yard touchdown reception, and a 22-yard touchdown reception where he was wide open but had to jump high to make the catch over his head. This brings back memories of an earlier touchdown catch where he one-handed the ball with a defender leaning on him. This is the best end zone tandem the Bears have had in ages, courtesy of the Chicago Bears general manager, Ryan Pace.