Bears WR Robinson says offense more than capable of big plays
Allen Robinson makes it sound so easy.
If the Bears just produce more plays that go for 20, 30, 40 and 50 yards, everyone will look at the team's offense is a completely new light.
"I think we have dudes who can make plays; we have dudes who have made plays," said Robinson, who leads the Bears with 40 receptions for 474 yards. "Thing that is missing is explosive plays."
Easier said than done, of course.
The Bears' running game got off to a fantastic start with David Montgomery, Tarik Cohen and Cordarrelle Patterson combining for 243 yards on 52 carries (4.67 average) against the Lions and Giants. In the four games since, the ground game has screeched to a halt, with RBs amassing just 206 yards on 66 carries for a 3.12-yard average.
The reasons for the decline are many, starting with the fact that the last four opponents provided a much stiffer test than Detroit (2-3) and New York (1-5).
But the Bears also lost Cohen in Week 3 as well as left guard James Daniels in Week 5.
All of this has been a big factor in Montgomery's longest runs the last three weeks going for just 12, 11, 9, 7 and 6 yards.
And that's on 39 attempts.
It goes without saying that without a strong running game, it's awfully difficult to open up the passing game - especially when your QB isn't exactly Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson.
Still, it's worth surprising the defense once in a while by letting one rip right off the bat.
Why not air one out on the first play against the Rams on Monday night? We often see Mahomes, Rodgers and Wilson throw to receivers who are heavily covered just to give their guy a chance to make a play. Even if the ball is intercepted, coach Matt Nagy ought to have enough faith in his vaunted defense to keep opponents bottled up.
An incompletion isn't the worst thing either as it tells the opposing team, 'Hey - we may just do this again. Better be ready.'
Because right now that's not what the Bears are saying.
This is a team that averages 6.0 yards per passing attempt, tied with the Eagles (1-4-1) for second worst in the league. The Jets (0-6) are at the bottom, with Washington (1-5) and the Giants (1-5) not far behind.
Right now the Bears know they have a pretty good chance of beating weaker teams with defense alone. But with the Rams (4-2), Saints (3-2) and Titans (5-0) on the docket, the offense needs to start clicking.
Robinson is confident it can and was particularly pleased with Wednesday's film session, which was watched by the entire unit. He said everyone was chiming in, offering up different ideas on how to get things going on a more consistent basis.
"I did feel like in that game we had drives where we were clicking," Robinson said of Sunday's 23-16 win at Carolina. "We were stringing together completion after completion after completion - moving the ball down and putting together some pretty good drives. ...
"It's a good sign for anybody, knowing that we can get to that and have those hot moments during games. We've just got to have them more often than not."