Chicago Bears WRs in 2010 (1 Viewer)

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

You'd have to think someone's going to go big in that offense, but who? Looks awfully uncertain/messy right now...

Olsen - a TE, who's already been disparaged by Martz for his poor blocking

Hester - moving to the slot? Picking up return duties again?

Knox - second year guy - more than a deep threat?

Bennett - underneath target like McDonald?

Aromashodu - an under the radar breakout coming?

FA/draft pick - as always lots of rumblings, do the Bears pull the trigger this time?

 

[Dave Larkin]

Aromashodu's my favourite out of these WRs, purely because Cutler trusts him and that showed at the end of last season. He lobbied for more playing time for the kid and he produced when he got it.

 

[Mikey16x]

Leading receiver might not be on the team yet if they upgrade through free agency. But if I had to choose out of all the talent they own at this point I'd go with Knox. Martz loves the deep ball and outside of Hester, not sure who else would be the deep threat. Knox has blazing speed and good to above average hands, with another year under his belt... I like him.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

I think it will be Hester regardless of format unless they add a marshall or royal or TO type of FA

 

[Sinrman]

Arom looked REALLY good near the end of the season. I could see Hester and Arom getting a lot of looks this year, and Forte get a lot of swing passes, a la Marshall Faulk years ago in STL.

 

[Chicago Hooligan]

Aromashodu is not good guys.

 

[domvin]

Aromashodu is not good guys.

People are saying the same thing about Royal now.......all that matters, is if Cutty digs him

 

[az_prof]

The most consistent guy and the guy with the most reliable hands is Bennett.

Can't predict who will benefit most. I don't think anyone can because at least in Detroit and SF it wasn't necessarily the guys anyone would have predicted who excelled. But someone will. I think any of these guys are worth owning but I wouldn't spend too much on any of them because it isn't clear who will be the best to own.

 

[loose circuits]

those that keep saying a free agent, have you even looked who is available?

Mason, Walter, TO, & Bryant or the only WR's worth a crap that don't have contracts or RFA tenders coming their way next year

No 1st or 2nd round pick for the bears and obvious holes on the OL and defense will need to plugged via the draft

I like Knox the most out of all these guys. Can he be Torry Holt? I doubt it

 

[Breesisdaman]

Knox /thread

 

[Sigmund Bloom]

When I think of the Martz attack, I think of the "greatest show on turf" where the receivers looked like roaches scattering when the lights came on at the snap. The Bears WR who fits that description the best is Knox with his superior speed, quicks, and body control. Hester is probably second, then Bennett and Aromashodu.

 

[Ned]

When I think of the Martz attack, I think of the "greatest show on turf" where the receivers looked like roaches scattering when the lights came on at the snap. The Bears WR who fits that description the best is Knox with his superior speed, quicks, and body control. Hester is probably second, then Bennett and Aromashodu.

 

[Sabertooth]

I was able to actually stash Knox at the end of the season last year in a 10 team dynasty. I think he and Hester fit what Martz likes to do with is receivers. Sig, the roach scattering analogy is spot on. Consider this post a big but I'm loving that I snagged Knox now.

He was the first or second fastest guy at the combine last season I believe. There is a pretty cool super-imposed image of him racing Deon Butler I believe where Knox edges him. If he can learn the nuances of the Martz system, he could be very very valuable in short order.

 

[az_prof]

Bennett ran a 4.48 at the 08 combine. Not as fast as Knox's 4.29 time, which is uber fast, but fast enough. The determining factor will be who can pick up the Martz offense fastest, and he has zero tolerance for drops and for mistakes.

 

[JJP]

Aromashadu will have the biggest year in 2010, IMO. Like someone said earlier, Cutler likes the guy. He'd been campaigning for Aroma to get more playing time. Knox has great speed and decent hands but needs to improve his route running. I expect Hester to get much fewer snaps at WR and be the 3rd WR. Look for him to see more action on kickoff returns, especially if Knox is getting more snaps. Olson should be traded; he has some value but doesn't fit Martz' system. Bennett is the only one of the group who can play any of the 3 WR positions. Holt could be interesting if they sign him IF he has anything left, which I'm not sure he does.

 

[benson_will_lead_the_way]

Aromashadu will have the biggest year in 2010, IMO. Like someone said earlier, Cutler likes the guy. He'd been campaigning for Aroma to get more playing time. Knox has great speed and decent hands but needs to improve his route running. I expect Hester to get much fewer snaps at WR and be the 3rd WR. Look for him to see more action on kickoff returns, especially if Knox is getting more snaps. Olson should be traded; he has some value but doesn't fit Martz' system. Bennett is the only one of the group who can play any of the 3 WR positions. Holt could be interesting if they sign him IF he has anything left, which I'm not sure he does.

At this point its anybody's guess. Bennett started off the year with like 14 targets....and had a couple of solid games...then not much. Knox started off on fire....fell off....then came back with more. Hester started okay then fell off. Aromashadu was battling in camp.....didn't really play all year then had a couple of solid games at the end.Each player had a run with Cutler....then fell off....except aroma....who only played a couple of games at the end.

 

[az_prof]

I posted this somewhere else before but it probably belongs here. If you look at catch %, the percentage that a receiver successfully catches a ball when throw at, the two guys who get the least notice jump out:

Hester: 62%

Bennet: 61%

Knox: 56%

Aromashodu: 55%

Lest you think it is the distance of the throws that affects this:

Yards Per Catch

Hester: 13.3

Bennet: 13.3

Knox: 11.7

Aromashodu: 12.4

Yards After Catch--an indicator of how dynamic a runner the receiver is once he catches the ball:

Hester, 4.7

Bennet: 5.9

Knox: 3.4

Aromashodu: 2.9

Now, I am not saying it is certain that Bennet is the best of these receivers, but people who discount him are making a big mistake that ignores the statistical reality that he was virtually tied for the team lead in terms of catching consistency, tied for the team in terms of yards per catch, and led the team by a large margin in yards after catch. I think there is this idea that he is somehow a slow stepchild who is an ok supporting player but isn't a potential featured receiver. I didn't see anything to support that when I watched games or when I look at the numbers. Knox and Aromashodu got in the end zone more often but TDs scored by WRs is an especially variable stat and I suspect it is the main reason those two are getting the most attention on the board.

Hester is also being overlooked based on this analysis.

 

[WFR]

As someone who owns Cutler, Hester & Olsen I will be following this closely!

I agree that Olsen is trade bait at best.

Aroma and Bennett are on waivers in my league.

I am leaning Aromashodu but Bennett is intriguing.

Let's keep this going!

 

[Mikey16x]

As someone who owns Cutler, Hester & Olsen I will be following this closely!I agree that Olsen is trade bait at best.Aroma and Bennett are on waivers in my league.I am leaning Aromashodu but Bennett is intriguing.Let's keep this going!

I'd sell Olsen before the season begins.. he's only going to go down. Although he probably is the most talented receiver on the field so I'd look for them design some packages where he's lined up in the slot like Dallas did with Witten. But I see most of Olsens games looking like 4 catches for 36 yards.

 

[NattyDread]

I guess it depends what kind of league you're talking about. It's not as if Olsen has limited talent, just not a good fit for Martz's offense. But keep in mind this could be only a one year gig. If the Bears fail to make the playoffs this year, Lovie and his entire coaching staff is likely gone. A year from now we could easily be talking about Olsen as a buy.

 

[Carter_Can_Fly]

Any chance Juaquin Iglesias the Bears 3rd round pick of a year ago has a chance of jumping into the depth chart somewhere? I mean entering this year if you were to look at the Bears that did anything this year and are being talked about heading into next year broke down this way..... Bennet had 0 catches in his rookie year, Aromashodu had 0 last year with the Bears and 7 the year before with Indy, Knox had 0 (was entering his rookie year though), and Hester had 52 the prior year.

So entering 2009 this past season it would have broke down like this

-Hester 27 years age had 52 catches

-Aromashodu 25 years age had 0 catches

-Bennet 22 years of age had 0 catches

-Knox 23 years age (rookie) had 0 cathces

So with Martz coming in I don't think anyone has a defined role just yet, so maybe Igesias could sneak in somewhere.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Bennett ran a 4.48 at the 08 combine. Not as fast as Knox's 4.29 time, which is uber fast, but fast enough. The determining factor will be who can pick up the Martz offense fastest, and he has zero tolerance for drops and for mistakes.

Didn't Bennett have trouble learning the simple Ron Turner offense during his rookie year (big part of the reason he had zero catches by his own admission)? That could spell some serious trouble to his chances under the Martz offense.

 

[whitem0nkey]

another guy that will probably be in the mix is Juaquin Iglesias (3rd round pick 2009).

he will not be the main guy or the 2nd option but he should take away some catches form whom ever will be the main guy.

 

[Max Power]

Sources tell the Chicago Tribune's Around Town celebrity column that Deion Branch "wants to sign with the Bears."

Branch was seen in Chicago on Friday night. Tom Curran of Comcast Sports in New England, however, passes along a report that Seahawks GM John Schneider has no plans to cut Branch, which is a big surprise considering the 30-year-old receiver's obvious on-field decline and $5.47M salary. Branch is apparently considered a good fit for new OC Jeremy Bates' scheme. Feb. 16 - 9:41 am et

Source: Chicago Tribune

 

[az_prof]

Bennett ran a 4.48 at the 08 combine. Not as fast as Knox's 4.29 time, which is uber fast, but fast enough. The determining factor will be who can pick up the Martz offense fastest, and he has zero tolerance for drops and for mistakes.

Didn't Bennett have trouble learning the simple Ron Turner offense during his rookie year (big part of the reason he had zero catches by his own admission)? That could spell some serious trouble to his chances under the Martz offense.

The problem was that they made him learn all three WR positions at once. The coaches accepted responsibility in the summer. Normally you would have a rookie focus on one position. I don't think you can conclude from this that he is stupid or a slow learner.

 

[TS Garp]

I think it's going to be unpredictable. There's bound to be a lot of noise out of training camp about who the favorite will be, but I think it's going to be a crapshoot when it comes down to it. I think it'll be worth taking a flier on Knox or one of the others late (or watching the WW and being ready to pounce) but I wouldn't invest anything earlier than a 10-12th rounder on any of them, personally.

 

[B. Nugget]

Bennett ran a 4.48 at the 08 combine. Not as fast as Knox's 4.29 time, which is uber fast, but fast enough. The determining factor will be who can pick up the Martz offense fastest, and he has zero tolerance for drops and for mistakes.

Didn't Bennett have trouble learning the simple Ron Turner offense during his rookie year (big part of the reason he had zero catches by his own admission)? That could spell some serious trouble to his chances under the Martz offense.

The problem was that they made him learn all three WR positions at once. The coaches accepted responsibility in the summer. Normally you would have a rookie focus on one position. I don't think you can conclude from this that he is stupid or a slow learner.

Um...he played at Vanderbilt, I doubt he is stupid and would bet he is probably a pretty smart guy.

 

[Catbird]

Not to hijack, but Martz arriving just seems like a bizarre end to the Lovie era. Da Bears couldn't get further from their historic approach, mindset and attitude. The system won't fall easily into place in its first year, and will thus probably result in completely starting over nest spring. It feels like Lovie grasping at straws, hoping for a miracle to keep his job and Martz hoping for the miracle of yet another chance - to become the Bears next head coach. No small potential for conflict there, and Martz isn't easy to get along with in the best of times. I guess only these two are desperate enough to embrace each other.

The one good thing I see is that Martz' game requires, and so teaches, both QBs and WRs greater throwing and route/receiving anticipation than any other system. This usually leaves the players at both positions better upon return to a more typical system for having worked with him. Maybe that will help the next regime - so that the whole misadventuere isn't a total loss.