Ben Johnson is one of the best offensive minds in the NFL. Nobody can dispute that. His feel for play calling is second to none. However, like any other great coach, he’s not immune to certain flaws. For the Chicago Bears head coach, his biggest might be understanding his personnel usage. For months, the passing game has been stuck in a stop-start situation. Across entire quarters, they’re stuck in the mud, unable to do anything. Then all of a sudden, they find a spark and put together some impressive drives.
Most of the attention has been directed at Caleb Williams for his supposed accuracy problems. That is part of it, but not nearly all of it. One issue that hasn’t been mentioned enough is the target distribution. One could argue that Johnson isn’t getting the ball enough to the guys who have been making the most plays. Here is some data to help illustrate the point.
Bears receiving leaders since the start of November
- Colston Loveland – 324 yards and 4 TDs
- Luther Burden – 224 yards
- Rome Odunze – 188 yards and 1 TD
- D.J. Moore – 167 yards and 2 TDs
Bears target leaders since the start of November
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- Rome Odunze – 34
- Colston Loveland – 31
- D.J. Moore – 28
- Luther Burden – 25
Chicago has gotten the most juice from their two rookies, Loveland and Burden, for over a month now. Yet they aren’t the two most targeted players. That has to change.
Ben Johnson needs to get over the rookie label.
Yes, Loveland and Burden are inexperienced. They’re also the two most explosive weapons you have. They also clearly have the confidence of Williams, who hasn’t hesitated to throw it their way. Odunze is hurt. Moore doesn’t seem to have chemistry with the quarterback for whatever reason. Cole Kmet isn’t explosive enough. Olamide Zacchaeus has drop issues. Ben Johnson is a smart guy. Smart coaches understand the primary responsibility is getting the ball in the hands of your biggest playmakers.
That is Loveland and Burden.
They were the ones who sparked the second half comeback in Green Bay. Both were crucial to taking down Pittsburgh a couple of weeks ago. Neither has done anything to suggest they’re untrustworthy. Johnson may feel like he has a lot of mouths to feed, but his job isn’t to keep everybody happy. His job is to get the ball to guys who make plays for the quarterback. Those two have done that consistently most of the season. It is time to accept that reality and take off the training wheels.
