Ted Ginn Jr. was one of the later additions in free agency for the Chicago Bears. When asked why the longtime veteran receiver chose to sign here, he credited Matt Nagy. The Bears head coach was in constant contact with him, almost to the point of being a pest. They talk about anything and everything. Ginn grew to like the guy and felt he was somebody worth playing for. As it turns out, Ginn had another admirer behind the scenes fanning those flames. That was Mike Furrey.

The Bears wide receivers coach is one of the holdovers from the coaching staff purge that happened back in January. No doubt because he’s well respected in the locker room. Furrey has gotten good results from his receivers to this point and players seem to like him. Another part about him is he’s not just a drone. He’ll speak up when he thinks something or somebody can make his receiver room better.

In this case, the coach hinted that he was a big proponent of grabbing Ginn last month.

“I wouldn’t stand on the table for Ted Ginn to come here if I didn’t think he had anything left in his tank. You go back to last year and New Orleans and watch his film and watch this young man run, I mean he still can run, he’s still 4.2, the high 4.2’s, low 4.3’s. I mean this kid can still run and now add you know what, 16, 17 years of experience to that. … And when he lines up, DBs are going to be scared to death that he’s going to take the top off on them.”

Mike Furrey knew Ginn Jr. offered what the Bears lacked

There are a lot of things that go into successful offenses, but a big part that separates the good from the bad is explosive plays. These are plays that eat up large chunks of yardage. The fewer a team has, the harder it is to score points. So it wasn’t a surprise that San Francisco and Kansas City both ranked in the top 10 for explosive pass plays in 2019.

The Bears? They were 31st. Out of 625 total pass plays last season, only 39 went for 15 yards or more. Compare that to 2018, where the Bears ranked a far more respectable 13th? It’s easier to understand why this team barely managed to finish 8-8. An overriding reason for these problems was a simple lack of speed. Taylor Gabriel was the only true vertical threat they had on offense and he was injured early in the year. Nobody else offered that dimension.

So it’s little wonder why Furrey pounded the table for Ginn. Though he may be on the older side, it’s clear he can still run. Combine that with Nick Foles as the possible starting QB, a strong deep ball thrower? The Bears could improve their explosiveness quickly this year.