Unless you're the overly-hyperbolic type, and only look at box scores, you probably didn't think anything of Colston Loveland's zero-catch performance in the Chicago Bears' 59-point explosion against the Carolina Panthers.
If we're really hammering home that point, Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III didn't even get into the end zone during that near-60-point outing. But many did pick Loveland to be the focal point of the Bears' offense this year, so the end result might have raised just a few eyebrows.
In Week 2, the Bears take on a completely different animal in the Minnesota Vikings' defense. Led by defensive coordinator Brian Flores, the Vikings blitzed Jordan Love on nearly 80 percent of dropbacks in Week 1.
The next-closest team in Week 1 was around 50 percent.
Flores is a mad man -- a well-respected one, at that. His defenses notoriously try and make quarterbacks as anxious as possible while risking it on the back end at times.
For Bears fans a little worried about Flores' blitzing, have no fear. Ben Johnson will very likely do something different than what he did in Week 1 against Carolina.
Ben Johnson's Week 2 strategy vs. the Vikings will result in a big Colston Loveland game by default
Against the Panthers, Johnson used 12 personnel just 30 percent of the time, according to Sharp Football Analysis. For those who may not know, 12 personnel is when the offense has two tight ends on the field along with one running back and two wide receivers.
12 personnel has become more and more popular over the last season or two and will very likely continue to rise as the NFL usually adopts these trends when things start to work.
In addition, Johnson used 13 personnel on 16 percent of snaps (one running back, three tight ends, one wide receiver). So, for just less than half of the Bears' offensive snaps against Carolina, Johnson used multiple tight ends.
This is where he'll have to switch things up against the Vikings. If Flores opts to blitz Caleb Williams like he did Jordan Love on Sunday, the Bears will obviously need extra blockers in there. And Chicago's top two tight ends happen to understand the "no block, no rock" concept pretty well.
Loveland is the better blocker, but Kmet is serviceable. Sam Roush, on the other hand, has some work to do, but that's another story entirely.
I would venture to guess the Bears throw multiple tight ends on the field for well over half of their offensive snaps on Sunday, and specifically, that 13 personnel should rise to over 20 percent. If I had to put a number on it, I'd bet Johnson uses 12 personnel nearly 40 percent of the time, making it closer to 60 percent of snaps having multiple tight ends on the field against the Vikings.
Because of this, and because of Johnson's ability to scheme so well, I am looking for several occasions where Loveland latches onto his block for roughly a second to a second and a half before releasing into a route.
Loveland is so good at yards after the catch, too, so these routes don't have to be anything grandiose.
A simple latch and release into a route into the flat or a 5-yard dig in the middle of the field should suffice, and from there, Loveland is going to gain additional yards more often than not.
Enough plays like this and, before we know it, Johnson will call something similar. Only this time, Loveland doesn't stop after the first move and then cuts down field for what could be a bigger play -- and dare I guess, off play-action.
The quick passes should come in bunches in this one. We may not see a lot of big plays with Flores blitzing as much as he will. Although, this could be the perfect time to allow rookie Zavion Thomas loose for the first time -- again, a story for later.
Loveland should have plenty of those quick passes come his way after either briefly holding a block or being the one tight end who doesn't get a blocking assignment.
Expect Loveland to wind up with a minimum of six targets on Sunday -- but I'm thinking more along the lines of 8-10 in the end.
Read more: Ben Johnson can't overthink using Zavion Thomas against the Vikings
With the way Flores' defense plays, Loveland is going to have to be a focal point. And I think he comes out a huge part of the game plan.
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