Bears' Bennett just getting started
Martellus Bennett's career-best performance Sunday against the Green Bay Packers may be a sign of things to come from the Bears' tight end.
The 6-foot-6, 265-pounder is well on his way to a career season after his 9-catch, 134-yard outburst in the Bears' 38-17 loss. He is tied for third in the NFL with 29 receptions, tied for fifth with 4 touchdown catches and is 15th with 295 receiving yards.
Among tight ends, only the Denver Broncos' Julius Thomas has more TD receptions (5), and only the New Orleans Saints' Jimmy Graham has more catches (32). Bennett leads the Bears in catches and receiving yardage.
In the past two seasons, Bennett established himself as a reliable, go-to weapon. In 2012, his only season with the New York Giants, Bennett caught 55 passes for 626 yards and 5 TDs.
Last season, his first with the Bears after signing a four-year, $20.4 million contract with $9.2 million guaranteed, the Texas A&M product had 65 receptions for 759 yards and 5 more scores.
Bennett would obliterate those numbers if he maintains his current pace, which is unlikely.
But he has given indications through the first quarter of the 2014 season that he's ready to approach the elite class of tight ends, like Graham and the New England Patriots' Rob Gronkowski (when healthy), along with the Dallas Cowboys' aging but still effective Jason Witten, whom Bennett played behind in his first four years in the league.
Why now?
“A lot of it was just being brutally honest with myself, looking at the tape,” Bennett said. “I think overall it was just looking at the offense and what's expected of me in the offense, what (quarterback) Jay (Cutler) wants, not what I want to do.
“What I want to do at work really doesn't matter. I try to do everything that they want from me.”
Bennett also credits his work in the off-season with Bears running back and fitness fanatic Matt Forte for helping take his game to a higher level.
“I got with Forte, and we do a lot of running on the hill, more explosive stuff like that,” Bennett said. “I always felt explosive, and I always felt strong and kind of beastly on the field, but I think right now it's really just getting a taste of success.”
Bennett's performance against the Packers showcased his off-season work. He was more “beastly” than ever, breaking more tackles and picking up more crucial yards after the catch than Bears observers saw last year.
Bennett believes he finally is getting the recognition he deserves, recognition for which he had to wait a long time, in his opinion. Part of the reason is that he was barely 21 when he was drafted by the Cowboys in the second round (61st overall).
And he played behind Witten, who had just begun a six-year stretch where he averaged 92 receptions and 1,018 yards per season.
During the four years Bennett was in Dallas, Witten never missed a start, and he has missed only one game in his 12-year career. There weren't many scraps left for Bennett, who averaged 21 catches in four years as a Cowboy, with a high of 33 in 2010.
“Four years I was a backup,” said Bennett, who did get 31 starts in Dallas when the Cowboys opened with two tight ends. “Everybody judged me on my production as a backup tight end which I never really understood. It was like, ‘Oh, he wasn't productive in Dallas — 30 catches as a backup tight end.' I mean, that's pretty productive for a backup tight end.”
Bennett's days as a backup are long gone, and at only 27, he could be just approaching his peak years.
“Last year I felt like I was starting to feel my own groove.” he said, “and this year I feel like guys have to plan for me.”
If teams don't, they risk seeing a lot more of what the Packers saw Sunday.
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