Friday, Jan. 14, 2011
9:03 AM
By John Mullin
CSNChicago.com
Theyve heard it so long, they probably should be used to it.
The Bears dont have a No. 1 receiver.
The Bears need to draft a receiver in the first round.
Wide receiver is the Bears weak link.
They should be used to it. But theyre not. It still rankles.
NFL
And thats a good thing. A very good thing.
We always carry a chip on our shoulders, said Earl Bennett, one of those who never seems to be quite good enough. Last year we carried a chip and it just rolled over to this year.
You always hear the same thing: The Bears dont have any receivers, no receivers, they need a No. 1. Well, we feel like every guy in this group is a No. 1 so we just got to continue to go out and prove everybody wrong. This year its, the Bears need to draft a receiver. But I feel like everybody in this group has done a great job.
Big names, go home
The Bears have no receivers in the top 50 for receptions. Johnny Knox is the only one in the top 50 in yardage (960 yards, 21st).
Yet theyre still playing. Top-10 receivers like Brandon Lloyd (Denver), Reggie Wayne (Indianapolis), Andre Johnson (Houston), Calvin Johnson (Detroit) and Santana Moss (Washington) will be watching this weekend, along with a lot of other so-called No. 1s, when the no-name Bears receivers are busy in Soldier Field.
Theres a lot of receivers who wish they were on this team, Bennett said. The great thing about us is that everybody in here plays together and no one worries about whos No. 1 or any of that.
Actually, Bears receivers take turns being No. 1-for-a-day. Four different wide receivers posted team-high or tied for honors for games this season. Bennett led five times. Knox led five times. Devin Hester led once. Rashied Davis came off the bench for game-high receiving yardage in Green Bay,
The Bears rank a dismal 28th in passing yards. But the seasons of Dallas (6th), Denver (7th), Houston (4th), Indianapolis (1st), New Orleans (3rd), Philadelphia (9th), San Diego (2nd), Washington (8th) and the New York Giants (10th), nine of the top 10 passing offenses based on yardage, are finished this year.
They can have the numbers; the Bears will take the playoffs.
Nobody believes
And they will take the doubters.
Its a positive for us, said receivers coach Darryl Drake. Theyve come to the realization that its probably always going to be the case. Thats just the nature of being in Chicago.
But for us its motivation. I dont ever want them to get comfortable and think that its not there because sometimes you can think that youre there and you dont work as hard. I want people to say theyre worried because Earl Bennetts in town. People have to account for Earl Bennett. People have to account for Devin Hester. Thats all that matters. These guys are still in the process of growing at the NFL level.
Hester is 28. Knox is 24. Bennett is 23. Devin Aromashodu is 26. The old guy is Davis, and he is a leader on special teams. Only Davis and Hester has been to the NFL playoffs, to a Super Bowl.
The only guy whos been through all of this war is Rashied, Drake said. Theres never been a game where I sensed that they were in awe or afraid. It was always, Lets go get it done.
And possibly with a touch of lets show everybody.
Every week all year weve had a chip on our shoulder, every week we go out like weve got something to prove, Knox said. Thats something Ive heard --- that weve got no receivers --- since Ive been here, last year and up to this year weve gotten better and its shown.
John "Moon" Mullin is CSNChicago.com's Bears Insider, and appears regularly on Bears Postgame Live and Chicago Tribune Live. Follow Moon on Twitter for up-to-the-minute Bears information.