Tight ends no longer a forgotten position for Bears
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that the Bears' offense remains a work in progress.
Matt Nagy knows this. Nick Foles knows this.
But neither was about to dwell on the negatives after their team improved to 5-1 with a 23-16 victory at Carolina on Sunday.
"I felt like we got a little bit better tonight. I feel like we're figuring out who we want to be," Foles said after completing 23 of 39 passes for 198 yards. "The conversations after the game in the locker room juiced me up and got me excited because we're not just sitting there happy with winning.
"And that excites me about this."
So while there's plenty to wonder about - like how the Bears had a measly 19 rushing yards with a few minutes remaining in the third quarter - let's focus on a rather nice development.
The tight ends.
A completely forgotten position all of last season, the Bears are finally realizing that they don't just have to throw to wide receivers and running backs.
Foles attempted a combined 13 passes to Jimmy Graham, Cole Kmet and Demetrius Harris on Sunday, completing 7 of them for 54 yards. That gives Bears TEs 30 receptions on the season, putting them on pace for 80.
Last season TEs caught a grand total of 46 passes.
True, we aren't exactly seeing the second coming of Travis Kelce or Tony Gonzalez, but using the tight end means WRs Allen Robinson, Darnell Mooney and Anthony Miller will eventually find more space to roam in the secondary.
A good example came in the middle of a 10-play, third-quarter drive that gave the Bears a 20-6 lead. Facing a second-and-5 from the Carolina 38, Foles hit Graham on a curl route for an 8-yard pickup.
On the very next play, Foles dropped a perfect pass into Mooney, who had found a soft spot in the Panthers zone, and the Bears were suddenly at the Panthers' 12.
Three plays later, Foles went into the end zone on the QB sneak.
The Bears got on the board when Foles threaded the needle through blanked coverage and hit Kmet on third-and-goal from the 9.
"The play wasn't even designed for him. We haven't thrown that route all week," Foles said. "There was just something in my gut where I'm like, 'I'm gonna pull this trigger right here.' ...
"There's a reason he's here. He can make those plays and go up and help us out."
Kmet also had an 11-yard reception, giving the rookie 3 grabs on the season. Meanwhile, Graham (5 catches, 34 yards) has 22 receptions for 203 yards, and Harris has 5 catches for 30.
Nothing earth-shattering. But a definite improvement over 2019.
And Foles believes the best is yet to come.
"No, we're not where we want to be," he said. "But I'm excited about our offense. I'm excited about the guys that are there.
"I like the communication that's happening on the sideline. I love the passion of the players. They care and we're bonding; we're getting to know each other.
"That's football. You don't just go out there and play football - you've got to care about the man next to you to make those plays."