Chicago Bears' Wright says receivers just need the chance
Wide receiver Kendall Wright's 10-catch, 107-yard effort against at Cincinnat in Week 14 was the most productive game of the season for any Chicago Bears pass-catcher. The six-year veteran wasn't overly impressed.
"I mean, it was OK," said Wright, who leads the Bears with 43 catches and 477 receiving yards. "It wasn't what we could do all the time.
"It could be better this game (Saturday against the Detroit Lions). It was cool to go out there and have 100 yards, 10 catches, but when you feel like you could do it every game, it doesn't really matter."
To clarify, Wright wasn't saying that the Bears could have a 100-yard receiver every game. He was just pointing out that they don't usually throw enough passes to put up big individual numbers.
But, if they did, Wright says individual pass-catching numbers would be a lot more impressive.
"In our offense, we have great running backs, so we never know when we'll be able to catch the ball or they'll be running it," Wright said. "So we just have to go out there and block, and hopefully we can open up the running game or the running game can open us up."
Wright caught 94 passes for 1,079 yards with the Tennessee Titans in 2013, a year after they drafted him in the first round (20th overall) out of Baylor.
So he has had big games before, and he knows what it takes.
He caught 12 for 150 yards in a game against the Arizona Cardinals in 2013, 7 for 132 against the Houston Texans the next year and 8 for 133 last year against the Cleveland Browns, all with the Titans.
Wright says he and the other Bears receivers could put up numbers like that now, but they have to get the ball more.
"We can," Wright said, "if we get the opportunity. We don't get the opportunities that most receivers do. The receivers that everybody calls good, which they are, they're getting 12 to 13 targets a game.
"(But) if you're a receiver getting 2 of 3 targets a game, are you good? I mean, how do you know if you're good if you're only getting 2 or 3 targets a game."
Now that the chemistry between rookie quarterback Mitch Trubisky and Wright is palpable, the 5-foot-10, 191-pound wideout might get more than a couple targets per game down the stretch.
"It's finally getting to the point where you saw the chemistry between (Trubisky) and Kendall," said offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains. "They're kind of taking it to another level."
Wright thinks that might elevate the perception of Bears wide receivers in the eyes of observers.
"(The Steelers) Antonio Brown will go out there and have 15 targets, and he's great," Wright said. "But you come to our game and we have 2 (targets) and it's, 'The Bears need receivers.' No, they don't need receivers.
"When you balance it up, you could see what us and our receivers do. But when the game plan calls for us to run the ball, that's what we do. When it calls for the pass, that's when we pass."
So why not more balance?
"That's above my pay grade," Wright said. "All I can do is go out there and do what I'm coached to do. That's all we all can do. We all have a job, and that's to go out there and be the best at our job.
"We let everybody else, the coaches or upstairs, control that. We don't control what they do, and we don't try to."
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