Bears Blitz

Published by Paul Grossinger on March 15, 2012
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears landed the first blow in free agency when they traded two third-round picks for receiver Brandon Marshall. Marshall can be an enigmatic, mercurial player, but he will help the Bears contend this year, and Chicago will love what he brings to the table.

Marshall is an elite NFL wide receiver. It’s hard to describe exactly how much he can help the Bears. Lets put it this way: Marshall has not had less than 1,000 yards receiving in a season since 2007, while the Bears have not had a 1,000-plus-yard receiver in a decade.

How is that for an upgrade?

In fact, Marshall is so talented that he has been coasting the last two seasons. He has dealt with poor quarterback play from a mixture of Kyle Orton, Chad Henne, and Matt Moore, and still notched more than 1,000 yards passing in each season.

His true ability is visible from his Denver years, when he played with Bears quarterback Jay Cutler. There, Marshall had 102 receptions for 1,325 yards and seven touchdowns in 2008. Cutler targeted Marshall more than any other quarterback targeted his top receiver, and he delivered. There is no reason he won’t deliver now that he is back with the same talented quarterback with whom he paired so well in Denver.  

Equally important, Marshall will make the rest of Chicago’s wide receiver corps much better. The Bears did not have bad receivers last year, but they had a bad receiving corps. The difference: Chicago’s receiving group was less than the sum of its parts because the team lacked the No. 1 option who could draw double coverage, go up over the defenders and catch a deep ball.

Now, Chicago’s receiving corps will be much better because no one will feel the need to try to be that No. 1 guy. Instead, Devin Hester can line up as a speed No. 2 in deep packages and also focus on returning kicks and punts, Johnny Knox can be the speed guy on the outside, and Earl Bennett can be Cutler’s slot and short-pass safety valve. Now Cutler knows which player to go to on each type of pass and can handle his possessions better.

And don’t forget, Marshall will make the Bears line look better! The line was horrible last year, but it looked even worse since there was no deep threat, so teams could play sack packages far more often than normal. Now, opponents will have to respect the deep coverage and, with Matt Forte healthy, the running game, which will increase Cutler’s protection.

So, Marshall can help the Bears in many ways. If he can stay out of trouble (and avoid a suspension for his latest incident), then he will help Chicago on the field.

It’s the first step in the Bears’ renewed quest to become Super Bowl contenders!  

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