Trusting Receivers and Tight Ends, Saints Visiting Miller, Trubisky’s Historic(ly Bad) Numbers, and Other Bullets

Nov 03, 2017

There’s still another nine days until the Bears host the Packers at Soldier Field.

How’s everyone dealing with the time off?

Mitch Trubisky is completing an historically low percentage of passes (Oh! A fun bullet (not)). The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain dives into the numbers in an attempt to figure out what’s behind Trubisky’s 47.5 percent completion rate, and you’ll definitely want to check it out (especially because Fishbain accounts for throwaways, drops, passes batted at the line, and misses). In short: Trubisky has a lot of growing up to do in the pocket and we’re all looking forward to see how he fine-tunes his game. For starters, he could make better use of the middle of the field with targets like slot receiver Kendall Wright, as well as tight ends Adam Shaheen and Dion Sims.

Because of the injury to Zach Miller, Sims and Shaheen could be joined in the mix by Daniel Brown. As we noted earlier, Brown – who is currently third on the positional depth chart – took a chunk of passing snaps away from Shaheen in Week 8. In fact, Brown played just three fewer snaps than the second-round pick. To be fair, Brown is a converted receiver, but it’s telling to see him thrust into more passing situations than the rookie tight end (Shaheen) or the big free agent acquisition (Sims).

Speaking of tight ends, ESPN’s Mike Triplett writes that Miller has been visited by the New Orleans Saints’ tight ends during his hospital stay. Miller remains in a New Orleans hospital as he receives further observation and treatment in the wake of his devastating knee injury, but he hasn’t had to go through it alone. New Orleans’ tight ends have treated him as if he was one of their own, which is a great sign of sportsmanship that shouldn’t be lost on anyone.

Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune catches up with the Bears’ rookie quarterback, who will do his best to get the healthy tight ends as involved with the offense as Miller was before his injury.

Of course, that’s not the only challenge Trubisky has ahead of him. Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times notes one of the second-half hurdles Trubisky must clear is finding a rhythm with a receiving corps that has featured just two receivers who have played every game with the team in 2017 – Kendall Wright and Josh Bellamy. Wright emerged as Trubisky’s top target in his debut, but has since seen his targets and playing time take a dip as the Bears’ offensive game plan leaned heavily on the running game. Bellamy, who had an infamous drop of what could have been a Mike Glennon touchdown pass in Week 1, is an interesting target considering the time he spent working with Trubisky and the third-team offense during training camp and throughout the preseason.

We have yet to see Trubisky connect with Tanner Gentry the same way he did during the preseason, though we could see him find a deep threat in the form of Dontrelle Inman, who is expected to be part of the game plan when the Bears prepare to play the Green Bay Packers in Week 10. NBC Sports Chicago shares video featuring Zach Azzanni, who coaches the team’s wide receivers. Azzanni talks about what Inman can bring to the table with a 6-foot-3-inch frame and a bit of experience in what has long been a highly accomplished San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers passing attack led by Philip Rivers. Ideally, Inman and Trubisky hit it off in practice and can take it to the playing field on Sunday.

And finally, in case you missed it, Ezekiel Elliot’s suspension may have been postponed again, as it looks like he’ll play on Sunday.

written by

Luis C. Medina

Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.

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