advertisement

Miller ready to show he can get job done for Chicago Bears

BOURBONNAIS - For the first time since he entered the NFL as a sixth-round draft pick in 2009, the Chicago Bears' Zach Miller enters a season as the undisputed No. 1 tight end on his team.

Martellus Bennett, the Bears' No. 1 tight end the previous three years, was shipped off to the New England Patriots in the off-season. And Miller received a two-year contract for $5.5 million, including a $1 million signing bonus and $3 million in guaranteed money based on his strong second half last year.

Now the 6-foot-5, 243-pound Miller has the most security he's ever had, but it's no time to coast.

"You get complacent, you get left," Miller said. "You have no time to relax in this league. I got a message from one of my old teammates the other day that said, 'Prepare like you're a rookie.' "

Miller won't let up because he knows there still are questions about him. He came into the 2015 season with a career total of 45 receptions for 470 yards and 4 touchdowns, having missed more than three consecutive seasons with a lengthy list of injuries from 2011-14.

Even in the first half of last season, when Bennett was healthy, Miller caught just 5 passes for 58 yards. But over the next seven games, with Bennett hobbled (he played in just four games and had 8 catches) and the offense going in another direction, Miller stepped up.

He caught 29 passes for 381 yards and 4 touchdowns before missing the season finale with a minor toe injury.

Now, it's all about the encore. Miller knows there are skeptics.

"It's just one of those things where they want to see if I can do it again," Miller said. "People want to see if I can put together that half-season for a full season. If it's doubt, I don't care. It doesn't matter to me. I have to do what I have to do regardless of what other people say.

"I know they're wondering if the position can survive. But I think we did just fine at the end of last year, the last six or seven games. I just have to go make plays, that's it."

As the Bears' new No. 1, Miller will be asked to block more than he ever had in the past before taking over for Bennett late last year.

It's a relatively new task for him. As a quarterback at Nebraska-Omaha, Miller never played tight end until a postseason all-star game after his senior season.

"I didn't know how to play tight end," he admitted. "I played quarterback my whole life."

Miller will never have the bulk that made the 6-foot-6, 265-pound Bennett a force in the run game. But blocking is a learned skill, and the desire to do it is half the battle, so Miller should be fine.

He said tight ends coach Frank Smith helped him make huge strides in that part of his game late last season but there's more work to be done.

"I finally felt comfortable to where I'm not a liability (as a blocker), as I carried on through the end of the year," Miller said. "I actually felt like I improved and was playing pretty well in the run game, graded out well, so it was something that improved.

"But I still have to continue to work on it. You have to work on your weaknesses more than anything, so that's one of those things I work on."

A healthy Miller will get more time this year than he's ever had to hone all of his tight end skills.

• Follow Bob's Bears reports on Twitter @BobLeGere.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.