Cutler passing it around in Bears offense
Sharing the wealth is working wonders for the Bears' passing offense lately, and so is giving quarterback Jay Cutler the freedom to gamble on his own talents.
Cutler and offensive coordinator Mike Martz both predicted back in training camp that this year's aerial attack would be an equal-opportunity employer rather than depending on one or two go-to guys.
And that's how it has shaking out. It's not just several different players who are contributing; it's several different positions.
“Not consciously, (but) we're trying to give all these guys opportunities to make plays because it helps us,” Martz said. “You don't become so predictable offensively, and they've really risen to the occasion.”
Johnny Knox leads the team with 617 yards and 32 catches, and keeps looking more and more like a fifth-round steal every week.
“Steady progress,” Martz said. “Johnny doesn't know how good he can be. He's a special talent, and he's learning every day and getting better every day. You can see the progress is remarkable. He gets better every week.”
But opposing defenses can't focus too heavily on Knox. Running back Matt Forte has 30 receptions, followed closely by wide receiver Earl Bennett (27), tight end Greg Olsen (24) and wide receiver Devin Hester (24).
“Early there were some teams that tried to take Johnny out of it,” Martz said. “Not anymore. There are just too many things going on, and now that (we) know the offense way better than we did three weeks ago, the confidence level has risen. And now we can start to move things around a little bit, and that makes it hard for the defense (to focus on one guy).”
Olsen leads the team with 4 TD catches, while Forte has 3 and Hester 2. Knox has a wide lead in yards per catch at 19.3, but the next four players are all between 10.1 and 11.8.
Against Minnesota, the Bears converted 11 of 19 third-down opportunities, 10 of them on Cutler passes which, incredibly, went to seven different receivers.
They included a TD to tight end Kellen Davis, his first catch of the year; a 12-yard toss to Rashied Davis, his first catch of the year; and a 9-yard pass to Devin Aromashodu, just his third catch in the last eight games.
“That's a big, big deal for us,” Martz said. “When you do that, it's harder to account for all of that as a defense. We'd like that to happen.”
Having witnessed the highs and lows that came during Rex Grossman's tenure, Bears fans know all about the risk-reward trade-off that comes with a quarterback who has a riverboat-gambler mentality.
Cutler has the same mentality, but he is better equipped to reap the rewards and minimize the risks because he has rare arm strength and more athleticism.
Cutler made two dangerous throws against the Vikings. One went for a 17-yard touchdown to tight end Greg Olsen on third-and-14 play. The other was intercepted in the end zone.
Martz was asked how to balance Cutler's risk taking with his propensity for making throws that very few quarterbacks can duplicate.
“You don't,” Martz said. “You just let him go. The stupid stuff, sometimes guys will do, but he's not like that. He's had a couple (bad plays) that all quarterbacks have, and you want him to clean that up.
“But you never talk to a quarterback about, ‘Don't throw that.' If that's his read, you throw the best ball you can and smoke that thing in there.”
ŸFollow Bob LeGere's Bears reports via Twitter@BobLeGere. Check out his blog, Bear Essentials, at DailyHerald.com.
<P><B>Bears capsule</B> <P>
<P>Bears (6-3) at Miami (5-4)<P>
<P><B>Time:</B> 7:20 p.m., Channel 9, NFL<P>
<P><B>Line:</B> Dolphins by 1½<P>
<P><B>Bob LeGere's pick:</B> Bears 20, Dolphins 16<P>
<P><B>Last meeting:</B> Dolphins beat Bears 31-13, Nov. 5, 2006<P>
<P><B>Last week:</B> Bears beat Vikings 27-13; Dolphins beat Titans 29-17<P>
<P><B>Notes: </B>Twenty-five years ago next month, Bears endured their only loss of season at Miami en route to winning Super Bowl. ... Brian Urlacher needs 4 tackles to break Mike Singletary's team career record of 1,487. ... Dolphins have converted 46 percent of their third-down situations, third best in NFL. The Bears are at 29 percent, second worst. ... Dolphins rank third worst in kickoff coverage, and Bears are fourth best in returns. ... Bears rank second in NFL in points allowed and lead league with 24 takeaways: 14 interceptions and 10 fumble recoveries. ... Bears have forced 40 three-and-out series, most in league. They've allowed 6 TD passes, tied with New Orleans for fewest in NFL. ... Jay Cutler has been sacked league-high 29 times. ... Bears need 1 win to become first franchise to reach 700 in regular-season games. They're 699-510-42. ... Former Dolphins Jake Scott and Bill Stanfill will be inducted into team's Honor Roll at halftime. ... Dolphins are down to third-string QB Tyler Thigpen with Chad Pennington (shoulder) out for season and Chad Henne bothered by left knee injury. Thigpen played decently in short stint late in win over Titans, going 6-for-12 for 79 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. ... Miami's Cameron Wake leads AFC with 8½ sacks. ... Dolphins have not had 100-yard rusher this season, but Ronnie Brown ran for 157 yards last time Dolphins faced Bears. ... TE Anthony Fasano is coming off his first 100-yard receiving game. ... Brandon Marshall has 55 receptions but only 1 touchdown. ... The Dolphins are 0-for-5 converting fourth downs.</P>