The Chicago Bears passing game can be considered the white antelope of the NFL. For those who aren’t caught up on their biology lessons, the white antelope are among the rarest animals on Earth. Seeing one doesn’t happen often and doesn’t last long when it does. Nothing better describes the idea of a dominant Bears passing attack than this.
For an idea of what that means? Chicago has featured a top 10 aerial attack in the Super Bowl era twice. Just two times since 1966. If that doesn’t hammer home how inept they’ve been at keeping up with modern offensive philosophy, nothing will. Part of the problem throughout these long droughts is an inability to augment the wide receiver position.
The Bears are bad enough with quarterbacks. They might be as bad or worse with receivers. Going into 2018 people are scared to death. This teams’ reputation is well-known and GM Ryan Pace has done nothing to ease those fears. It feels like it might take something drastic to change the status quo. Something bold.
As it turns out? History shows those white antelope moments in team history actually came about through such tactics. Specifically daring trades.
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1995: The Jeff Graham trade
Nobody saw 1995 coming. Not one person with a shred of sense at that time expected the best Bears passing season in franchise history to happen. Yet it did. So how? Well, the pieces actually came together the year before in 1994. Erik Kramer was signed as their starting quarterback and Curtis Conway had been drafted in the first round at wide receiver. The big addition didn’t come through until the team dealt a fifth round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for an underutilized receiver named Jeff Graham.
Graham had played good football in Pittsburgh but was stuck on a loaded roster. Chicago took advantage, believing he could become even better once made the focal point of an offense. In 1995 their beliefs were vindicated. He exploded for 1,301 yards, helping them to a 9-7 record. Sadly it all ended after that climax. Graham became a free agent the next year and the Bears allowed him to escape to the Jets. It was a mutually destructive move.
Graham never sniffed that level of production again and the Bears passing offense regressed without him. Even today it leaves some to wonder what might’ve been.
2013: The Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery trades
If there is one passing offense in Bears history that could be considered truly special, it was that 2013 group. Former GM Phil Emery was many things during his brief run in Chicago, most of them not good. One thing can’t be argued though. He was superb in his construction of that receiving corps, and the catalysts were both acquired via trades the year before in 2012.
It started at the beginning of free agency when Chicago dropped a bombshell that they’d traded two third round picks to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for Pro Bowl receiver Brandon Marshall. Emery wasn’t done though. A month later he struck again. In the second round of the NFL draft, he moved up from the 50th pick to the 45th pick, surrendering a fifth round choice in order to secure South Carolina standout, Alshon Jeffery.
A year later it all came to a head. Marshall and Jeffery spearheaded a passing game that finished fifth in the NFL. The two combined for 2,716 yards and 19 touchdowns. Each ended up in the Pro Bowl.
To this point, Pace hasn’t conducted a trade of this magnitude outside the draft, and none of them were for a receiver. Perhaps it’s time to change up that plan of attack.
