What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Does Earl Bennett climb the ranks? (1 Viewer)

shader

Footballguy
Bad day for Cutler or not...he looked at Earl Bennett ALOT.

Now the results weren't exceptionally great, but the Packer defense in fairness did look really good.

In ppg, I'd have to say Earl Bennett is an add. He's not a guy you want to start yet, but you wonder if he will be used as Cutler used Royal last year.

 
In PPR I think he moves up a lot. Though his hands didnt seem all that great. Also, his size reminds me more of Steve Smith NYG

 
I drafted him thinking that he would be a frequent target of Cutler but I am interested in hearing what the experts have to say

 
It's certainly encouraging. I see him as a poor man's Wes Welker. He'll get lots of catches but not as many yards or touchdowns. He also made a couple silly mistakes last night (lined up in the neutral zone once; dropped an easy catch).

 
az_prof said:
JAA said:
In PPR I think he moves up a lot. Though his hands didnt seem all that great. Also, his size reminds me more of Steve Smith NYG
I thought his hands looked great. I didn't see him drop one catchable pass.
Yes, he did. I didn't watch every play, but early on when Cutler was struggling, he threw a low pass where only Bennett could get it and he dropped it. It wasn't an awful Braylon Edwards type drop, but it was one he should have had.
 
13 targets for Bennett on Sundaythink he has a chance for an 80-950 type season?
... i think he will easily get 80 targets
He'll have 80 targets after week 8
Would you play him this week (as a flex) against PIT? How will the PIT secondary look without Troy?
I dont see them running the ball very well against Pittsburgh so Id guess Cutler will be throwing more short-to-intermediate routes to Bennett, Forte and Olsen in that order.
 
13 targets for Bennett on Sunday

think he has a chance for an 80-950 type season?
... i think he will easily get 80 targets
He'll have 80 targets after week 8
Would you play him this week (as a flex) against PIT? How will the PIT secondary look without Troy?
I dont see them running the ball very well against Pittsburgh so Id guess Cutler will be throwing more short-to-intermediate routes to Bennett, Forte and Olsen in that order.
Glad to see someone finally bring this one up. I thought 13 targets was really good!! Bennett should be owned in every league(especially PPR).And on the earlier post: "think he has a chance for an 80-950 type season?" I'm pretty sure he meant 80 Rec and 950 yds(not targets)??

 
13 targets for Bennett on Sundaythink he has a chance for an 80-950 type season?
... i think he will easily get 80 targets
He'll have 80 targets after week 8
Would you play him this week (as a flex) against PIT? How will the PIT secondary look without Troy?
I dont see them running the ball very well against Pittsburgh so Id guess Cutler will be throwing more short-to-intermediate routes to Bennett, Forte and Olsen in that order.
I'm thinking the same and already had Bennett as a starter this week. I really like the matchup, especially with Polomalu not there to close of the short/intermediate routes.
 
I agree with the positive thoughts here on Bennett although I do think we need to temper our expectations some by realizing that Olsen will be used more in the future and that when the Bear's can run with Forte that there will be alot less targets for all the receivers.

 
Fools gold, I think. Yes, he got a ton of targets. Yes Cutler was looking for him. Until he started looking for a 4th round rookie for the 2 minute drill to end the game.

Bennett has the skills but something is off with him. He lined up offsides killing a first down. How does a WR line up off sides? He apparently couldn't learn the playbook quick enough to contribute last year. I don't know what it is with the guy but something isn't right. Besides that, he is surehanded with the typical plays, but I haven't seen him make a 'spectacular' catch or play yet, and he had a couple chances to make plays on badly thrown balls at key moments. Marvin Harrison he is not.

I think he'll make some critical mistakes and/or fail to come up with some key plays and Cutler will really look elsewhere.

Moreover:

The Packers gameplanned to take Olsen out of the game, which they did brilliantly. Not every team will be able to do that, and I think he and D Clark will play better and begin seeing those safety blanket passes.

Hester was the most consistent wide receiver on the field (faint praise), but he did play well and will certainly continue to see lots of passes.

Oh, and Matt Forte will be targeted more then ONCE, or Ron Turner will be fired.

In other words, this game isn't something you should expect to be an example for how Cutler will spread the ball. A combination of guys that WILL see more targets, and a more balanced running attack is going to mean less balls to go around, particularly to Bennett. And Bennett is NOT a guy that is startable with only 6 or 7 targets a game.

 
Fools gold, I think. Yes, he got a ton of targets. Yes Cutler was looking for him. Until he started looking for a 4th round rookie for the 2 minute drill to end the game. Bennett has the skills but something is off with him. He lined up offsides killing a first down. How does a WR line up off sides? He apparently couldn't learn the playbook quick enough to contribute last year. I don't know what it is with the guy but something isn't right. Besides that, he is surehanded with the typical plays, but I haven't seen him make a 'spectacular' catch or play yet, and he had a couple chances to make plays on badly thrown balls at key moments. Marvin Harrison he is not.I think he'll make some critical mistakes and/or fail to come up with some key plays and Cutler will really look elsewhere. Moreover:The Packers gameplanned to take Olsen out of the game, which they did brilliantly. Not every team will be able to do that, and I think he and D Clark will play better and begin seeing those safety blanket passes. Hester was the most consistent wide receiver on the field (faint praise), but he did play well and will certainly continue to see lots of passes.Oh, and Matt Forte will be targeted more then ONCE, or Ron Turner will be fired. In other words, this game isn't something you should expect to be an example for how Cutler will spread the ball. A combination of guys that WILL see more targets, and a more balanced running attack is going to mean less balls to go around, particularly to Bennett. And Bennett is NOT a guy that is startable with only 6 or 7 targets a game.
Did you really just discredit a WR getting 13 targets?!?!?!?!?!?!??!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Fools gold, I think. Yes, he got a ton of targets. Yes Cutler was looking for him. Until he started looking for a 4th round rookie for the 2 minute drill to end the game. Bennett has the skills but something is off with him. He lined up offsides killing a first down. How does a WR line up off sides? He apparently couldn't learn the playbook quick enough to contribute last year. I don't know what it is with the guy but something isn't right. Besides that, he is surehanded with the typical plays, but I haven't seen him make a 'spectacular' catch or play yet, and he had a couple chances to make plays on badly thrown balls at key moments. Marvin Harrison he is not.I think he'll make some critical mistakes and/or fail to come up with some key plays and Cutler will really look elsewhere. Moreover:The Packers gameplanned to take Olsen out of the game, which they did brilliantly. Not every team will be able to do that, and I think he and D Clark will play better and begin seeing those safety blanket passes. Hester was the most consistent wide receiver on the field (faint praise), but he did play well and will certainly continue to see lots of passes.Oh, and Matt Forte will be targeted more then ONCE, or Ron Turner will be fired. In other words, this game isn't something you should expect to be an example for how Cutler will spread the ball. A combination of guys that WILL see more targets, and a more balanced running attack is going to mean less balls to go around, particularly to Bennett. And Bennett is NOT a guy that is startable with only 6 or 7 targets a game.
Did you really just discredit a WR getting 13 targets?!?!?!?!?!?!??!
The question is, did I do it well?
 
Fools gold, I think. Yes, he got a ton of targets. Yes Cutler was looking for him. Until he started looking for a 4th round rookie for the 2 minute drill to end the game. Bennett has the skills but something is off with him. He lined up offsides killing a first down. How does a WR line up off sides? He apparently couldn't learn the playbook quick enough to contribute last year. I don't know what it is with the guy but something isn't right. Besides that, he is surehanded with the typical plays, but I haven't seen him make a 'spectacular' catch or play yet, and he had a couple chances to make plays on badly thrown balls at key moments. Marvin Harrison he is not.I think he'll make some critical mistakes and/or fail to come up with some key plays and Cutler will really look elsewhere. Moreover:The Packers gameplanned to take Olsen out of the game, which they did brilliantly. Not every team will be able to do that, and I think he and D Clark will play better and begin seeing those safety blanket passes. Hester was the most consistent wide receiver on the field (faint praise), but he did play well and will certainly continue to see lots of passes.Oh, and Matt Forte will be targeted more then ONCE, or Ron Turner will be fired. In other words, this game isn't something you should expect to be an example for how Cutler will spread the ball. A combination of guys that WILL see more targets, and a more balanced running attack is going to mean less balls to go around, particularly to Bennett. And Bennett is NOT a guy that is startable with only 6 or 7 targets a game.
Did you really just discredit a WR getting 13 targets?!?!?!?!?!?!??!
The question is, did I do it well?
My opinion: yes and noHere's the thing...nobody expects Bennet to get 13 targets per game...or 7 catches per game (which projects to 112 catches per year). But I do expect teams to focus their attention on Olsen, Hester, and Forte...which means that Bennet should face single coverage. The good and bad is that he didn't do much damage with his catches/targets...which basically lays the blueprint for any defense facing Chicago (i.e. cover Olsen over the middle, don't let Hester beat you deep and make them beat you with Bennet). In a PPR league, he's gold in my opinion. In a standard league, I think he'll be mediocre. I expect Forte to get more chances (running and receiving) than he did Sunday night and that these will come at the expense of Bennet. Nut I also think Bennet will likely finish the year with something like 80/780/5.
 
We're very much on the same page Morton. I think Bennett will be useful in a PPR league. That being said, I don't see him getting quite 80 catches short of some key injuries to Bear players. In a non-PPR league, 780 and 5 puts him around WR 35. Thats bye week startable at best. Problem is, I don't see a ton of upside. I'd sell him high now if I had him and people are fishing.

 
Fools gold, I think. Yes, he got a ton of targets. Yes Cutler was looking for him. Until he started looking for a 4th round rookie for the 2 minute drill to end the game. Bennett has the skills but something is off with him. He lined up offsides killing a first down. How does a WR line up off sides? He apparently couldn't learn the playbook quick enough to contribute last year. I don't know what it is with the guy but something isn't right. Besides that, he is surehanded with the typical plays, but I haven't seen him make a 'spectacular' catch or play yet, and he had a couple chances to make plays on badly thrown balls at key moments. Marvin Harrison he is not.I think he'll make some critical mistakes and/or fail to come up with some key plays and Cutler will really look elsewhere. Moreover:The Packers gameplanned to take Olsen out of the game, which they did brilliantly. Not every team will be able to do that, and I think he and D Clark will play better and begin seeing those safety blanket passes. Hester was the most consistent wide receiver on the field (faint praise), but he did play well and will certainly continue to see lots of passes.Oh, and Matt Forte will be targeted more then ONCE, or Ron Turner will be fired. In other words, this game isn't something you should expect to be an example for how Cutler will spread the ball. A combination of guys that WILL see more targets, and a more balanced running attack is going to mean less balls to go around, particularly to Bennett. And Bennett is NOT a guy that is startable with only 6 or 7 targets a game.
Did you really just discredit a WR getting 13 targets?!?!?!?!?!?!??!
The question is, did I do it well?
No. Basically your argument comes down to "something isn't right with this guy," which is nothing more than an opinion or a hunch. You said he didn't know the playbook last year, but the HC and OC have already cleared that up--it was because they tried to make him learn every Wr position. The only other piece of evidence you offer is he lined up off sides once in his first game starting. That wasn't good but you fail to mention that he made a great catch on that play that would have moved the chains. Was it bone headed sure! Do first year starters make dumb mistakes? Yes, often. Some people still can't get over the fact that he didn't catch anything last year and I suspect that is at the bottom your hunch about "something not being right with the guy." Well, he caught seven this year already, regularly got open (that's a big reason why he was targeted 13 times), and caught every catchable ball but one. Now, I am not sure he is the next Colston because I didn't see alot of RAC and the Bears are not New Orleans, but the Pack are very good at preventing RAC. We'll know more after this week. For now I wouldn't want to start him, although I wouldn't feel too bad if he were my best WR3. If he catches five or more passes again this week then he will be a solid start.
 
No. Basically your argument comes down to "something isn't right with this guy," which is nothing more than an opinion or a hunch.
Did you bother to read the rest of my post about target distribution? Do you think Forte and Olsen will continue to see so few passes?
Now, I am not sure he is the next Colston
You got that right.
 
No. Basically your argument comes down to "something isn't right with this guy," which is nothing more than an opinion or a hunch.
Did you bother to read the rest of my post about target distribution? Do you think Forte and Olsen will continue to see so few passes?
Now, I am not sure he is the next Colston
You got that right.
As far as targets, no, I don't think that Forte and Olsen will see so few. But I agree with other posters that teams will scheme to stop Olsen and Forte, and so the guy who benefits is Bennett. It was also clear as day to me from watching that game that Cutler looks to Bennett when he is trouble and that he trusts the guy. So, I don't expect Bennett to see 13 looks every game, but I do expect him to get his share and to be the possession receiver who moves the chains. And I didn't see anything in his performance to make me think he isn't talented. And if the team can run the ball better that will help everyone on offense as they will have more offensive snaps. So those guys could get more looks and it wouldn't necessarily mean a huge drop in looks for Bennett.
 
Here's the thing- does it really help you all that much to have a WR that gets Cutler's dump offs (outside of a PPR league)? TDs are where its at, and Bennett isn't a speedster, and in the red zone he WILL be competing with Olsen, Clark, and Forte big time.

As far as matchups, first off the Bears didn't even try to run the ball in the first half, and played catchup much of the second half. That probably contributed to their loss more than any single factor. I agree that will open up the playaction- but that will definitely open up the tight ends and Hester and Knox to get behind the coverage.

The question isn't will Bennett get 13 targets a game (he will not, obviously) the question is how many targets will it take for him to be a useful part of your fantasy team, and what percentage of the offense does that make him, and is that reasonable. If Bennett is going to be a top 25 WR in a non-PPR league, he'll need more than 5tds or 1000yards essentially. He isn't going to be in the bonus very often and he's not going to score a lot of TDs, I just don't see much upside unless you need 48 yards and no touchdowns. The 6 catches don't matter to me (outside of PPR of course).

 
Here's the thing- does it really help you all that much to have a WR that gets Cutler's dump offs (outside of a PPR league)? TDs are where its at, and Bennett isn't a speedster, and in the red zone he WILL be competing with Olsen, Clark, and Forte big time.As far as matchups, first off the Bears didn't even try to run the ball in the first half, and played catchup much of the second half. That probably contributed to their loss more than any single factor. I agree that will open up the playaction- but that will definitely open up the tight ends and Hester and Knox to get behind the coverage. The question isn't will Bennett get 13 targets a game (he will not, obviously) the question is how many targets will it take for him to be a useful part of your fantasy team, and what percentage of the offense does that make him, and is that reasonable. If Bennett is going to be a top 25 WR in a non-PPR league, he'll need more than 5tds or 1000yards essentially. He isn't going to be in the bonus very often and he's not going to score a lot of TDs, I just don't see much upside unless you need 48 yards and no touchdowns. The 6 catches don't matter to me (outside of PPR of course).
Many of us do play in PPR leagues and many of us do start more than two WRs--I can start four. So he definitely represents value depending on your league. I don't know how many targets he will get but I know his QB likes him and looks for him; he won't get 13 every week but I will bet you that he gets 13 or more again. We don't really know how effective he will be near the goal line, but he isn't a little WR. You mention Desmond Clark but he is really a non-factor: first he has back issues and now he has a broken rib. Forte should get the most TDs, and after that I don't think it is clear at all.
 
I haven't seen Hesters name in this thread. Hester has plenty more upside. Hester will be the primary benefactor of Polamalu's injury. Bennett will get better as the season continues (his first catch was last game) but many of his targets were due to Olsen being planned against. He might reproduce his numbers from last game.

 
Here's the thing- does it really help you all that much to have a WR that gets Cutler's dump offs (outside of a PPR league)? TDs are where its at, and Bennett isn't a speedster, and in the red zone he WILL be competing with Olsen, Clark, and Forte big time.As far as matchups, first off the Bears didn't even try to run the ball in the first half, and played catchup much of the second half. That probably contributed to their loss more than any single factor. I agree that will open up the playaction- but that will definitely open up the tight ends and Hester and Knox to get behind the coverage. The question isn't will Bennett get 13 targets a game (he will not, obviously) the question is how many targets will it take for him to be a useful part of your fantasy team, and what percentage of the offense does that make him, and is that reasonable. If Bennett is going to be a top 25 WR in a non-PPR league, he'll need more than 5tds or 1000yards essentially. He isn't going to be in the bonus very often and he's not going to score a lot of TDs, I just don't see much upside unless you need 48 yards and no touchdowns. The 6 catches don't matter to me (outside of PPR of course).
Many of us do play in PPR leagues and many of us do start more than two WRs--I can start four. So he definitely represents value depending on your league. I don't know how many targets he will get but I know his QB likes him and looks for him; he won't get 13 every week but I will bet you that he gets 13 or more again. We don't really know how effective he will be near the goal line, but he isn't a little WR. You mention Desmond Clark but he is really a non-factor: first he has back issues and now he has a broken rib. Forte should get the most TDs, and after that I don't think it is clear at all.
It really does come down to the league you play in and how the point system works. Bennett's my #6 reciever (I'm carrying six) and I'm in a PPR league. I got him nothing as a free agent and he'll provide a nice bye week or injury replacement. Like other posters have suggested, in PPR format he has legitimate value.
 
Call me crazy but I see him averaging double digit targets going forward. For the reasons already mentioned here and Cutler "loves" him as we know. Bears D will be average and I can see Cutler needing to let loose quite a bit. He'll be seeing my starting lineup at least week 4 vs. the lions.

 
Earl is 22 years old. In three years of play, he set SEC receiving records.

PREDICTION: Assuming football health, Earl will have more receptions and receiving yards at the end of this season than any Bears wide receiver (who was listed on the opening day Bears roster) had in CAREER receptions and receiving yards coming into this season.

Hester can run one route correctly. Same with Knox. Both got manhandled in the first five yards and lack essential physicality to play the position.

The Bears should put DA and EB out there (health permitting) and let Hester and Knox come in when they need a third receiver (or a second baseman) to run a post pattern.

Aromashodu could blossom into a come out of nowhere receiver by the end of the year, especially in comparison to his career production.

 
What do people think about Hester's value going forward? His he a #2?
I see Hester more as a deep threat, big play guy. He would be great in leagues that reward long plays and in leagues that give points for returns. But I just don't see him as a featured WR1. It's hard for small receivers to get open regularly and they offer the Qb a smaller target. Steve Smith is the exception that proves the rules. Hester will have the occasional big game where he scores one or even two times on long balls, but I don't think you will be able to count on him for reliable, weekly production. Everyone assumed he would be the featured receiver because he was the only one with proven experience, but I never bought that assumption and week 1 put it in question. I could be wrong and we will know more after week 2, so if you like him, I wouldn't give up on him. But I wouldn't give alot to get him in PPR or standard scoring leagues.
 
Game 2:

2 targets, 2 rec, 22 yards.

Johnny Knox 9 targets

Devin Hester 7 t

Kellen Davis 5 t

Matt Forte 6 t

Greg Olsen 6 t

Earl Bennett 2 t

Adrian Peterson 2 t

 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top