Bears Blitz

Published by John Juettner on May 25, 2009
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

The 2008 Chicago Bears offense was very much like every Chicago Bears offense that preceded it.

There were lots and lots of running plays to go along with plenty of underneath throws.

The Bears threw the ball 56 percent of the time in 2008 and ran it the other 44 percent of the time, which over the 991 plays that counted for the Bears on offense is a very balanced attack.

I didn’t see each of the 991 plays, but I saw most of every Bears game in 2008, and from my memory banks these were the plays that were most effective for the Bears last season.

1) Matt Forte running up the middle

Forte carried the ball 316 times as a rookie in 2008, and caught the ball 63 times, leading the team. He was the Bears most consistent offensive weapon and I found where he had the most consistent success running the ball was when plays were designed to be run up the middle.

Forte’s most successful runs up the middle came when he was in a standard I-formation standing behind fullback Jason McKie with two receivers split wide and tight end Desmond Clark next to one of the tackles in a three-point stance.

This Forte highlight video shows that many of Forte’s long runs came with him running straight up the gut of the defense. From that video you can also see that a lot of the more successful up-the-middle runs came when a guard was pulling on some kind of trap play.

2) Goal line fade (or fade-stop) passes

Forte caught four touchdown passes in 2008, at least two of them came on goal line fades as seen in the above highlight video.

Tight end Greg Olsen had his fair share of goal line fade TD receptions too, with is big frame and leaping ability it makes sense to throw it to him close to the end zone.

Most of these touchdown catches come off what is called a fade-stop route, which has become one of the most successful plays across all levels of football.

A fade-stop is when the receiver appears to be running a fade route but then quickly stops to catch a pass that is thrown to the defender’s back shoulder. When the ball is thrown with the correct timing, the play is practically un-defendable.

Goal line fade or fade-stop plays are among the most successful for any team at any football level, and the 2008 Chicago Bears were no exception.

When a fade-stop wasn’t run on the goal line the Bears went to another highly successful offensive play of theirs…

3) Goal line sneak or fullback dive

This one may seem like a bit of a cop-out, but hear out my reasoning.

Last year the Bears rushed for 15 touchdowns. Eight came on Forte runs. Quarterback Kyle Orton had three, and McKie and quarterback Rex Grossman each had two.

Orton, McKie and Grossman combined for 38 rushes for 79 yards. That’s 2.08 yards per carry.

McKie’s longest run of the season was six yards, and I don’t think that one was a touchdown. Grossman totaled four rushing yards – I think it’s safe to say his two rushing scores came on sneaks.

I don’t know for certain, but I’m going to say all seven rushing touchdowns accounted for by Orton, McKie and Grossman were the result of a quarterback sneak or fullback dive.

So, 47 percent of the Bears rushing touchdowns in 2008 came on those two plays. That has to qualify as pretty effective.

4) Swing/screen pass to Forte

As I said earlier, Forte also led the Bears in receptions during the 2008 season.

The most consistently effective catches he made came when he was lined up as the lone back in three receiver sets with a tight end still in the game.

Usually wide receivers Devin Hester and Rashied Davis would be split wide and Olsen would be lined up in the slot. Clark would be in a three-point stance on the line.

These successful plays usually came in standard passing situations, and the four receivers would clear out defenders, leaving space for Forte underneath coverage.

I was surprised at how good Forte was at catching the ball and running after the catch in his rookie season, and it was obvious the Bears were going to try to use his skills as much as possible.

With 63 catches last season, Forte averaged four per game. I’d wager at least two of those on average came on a swing or screen pass underneath the defense’s coverage.

5) Slant pass to Hester

Many think that with Hester’s speed, the deep ball is what is most successful for him.

But when watching games last year, too many deep passes fell to the ground as incomplete passes when trying to throw to Hester.

Part of that was Hester’s fault, part of it was Orton’s fault.

What worked much better for the Bears’ passing attack was throwing quick slant passes to Hester out of three receiver, single-back sets.

These seemed to work best when Hester was isolated on one side of the field, which usually left him with one-on-one coverage.

Hester has an amazing burst to his speed. It only takes him a few steps in the direction he wants to go to hit his top speed. That’s why these plays worked so much better than either deep passes or bubble screens.

On the slant plays, Hester was usually able to beat his defender off the line and then make a move or two in the open field to gain a few extra yards. On at least one occasion, I know he broke a slant pass for a long touchdown.

Hester led the team in receiving yards in 2008 and the most consistent way he got those yards came from catching slant passes and making something happen after the catch.