John Shoop took his receiving corps to the movies Saturday night.
No, they didn’t see “Vanilla Sky” or “Oceans 11.”
“Last night I showed them 15 to 20 plays that were just touchdowns,” said the Bears’ offensive coordinator. “That’s all our meeting was. I said that at some point in this game [against Tampa Bay], somebody is going to have to step up and score touchdowns.”
And, just as in the movies, Marty Booker, David Terrell, Dez White and Fred Baxter stepped up to lead the Bears in Sunday’s 27-3 victory over the Bucs.
Terrell caught three passes for 94 yards, including a 62-yard reception on which he was tripped up at the Tampa Bay 2. One of Booker’s three catches was an artful TD grab at the back of the end zone that was allowed after a Bears challenge. And Baxter beat a Tampa Bay double team in the end zone for an 18-yard third-quarter score.
Quarterback Jim Miller completed less than 50 percent of his passes (14-of-29 for 190 yards), but got more help from his receivers than in previous weeks.
Terrell, who dropped two potential touchdown passes in the previous home game against Detroit, set up the Bears’ first touchdown.
Booker leads Bears receivers with 78 receptions for 845 yards and eight touchdowns. His 2-yard catch in the back of the end zone was at first ruled incomplete. But the replay clearly showed Booker’s feet were inbounds.
“That’s one time replay has worked for us this year,” said Miller.
“When I caught the ball and looked down, I tried to see where my feet were and I saw nothing but the white chalk,” said Booker. “I kind of got disgusted and I thought I wasn’t in. It’s a good thing they showed the replay [on the Jumbotron] and it showed that I was in. I’m glad they overturned it.”
The delayed call on Booker’s touchdown did deprive him an opportunity to celebrate.
“It was kind of bad because I didn’t get a chance to do my dance,” said Booker, who was on the sideline when the call was overturned. “I haven’t had a chance to do my dance at home yet. We have one more home game [Jan. 6 against Jacksonville]. Hopefully I will have a chance to do it then.”
The Bears’ offense had tallied only 33 points in the previous three games. But running back Anthony Thomas ran for 173 yards in 31 carries and a TD to take the pressure off the passing game.
“We didn’t install anything new for this game,” said Bears coach Dick Jauron. “That’s our offense; that’s what we do. We did open the game up throwing the ball. We knew we wanted to definitely get back to the run. We knew we had to run the ball to win. But we wanted to start the game throwing.”
Baxter’s TD grab gave the Bears a comfortable 20-3 advantage in the third quarter.
“Fred was double-covered and he just reached up and grabbed it,” said Shoop. “It was a heck of a play. We weren’t playing the Sisters of the Poor now. That’s a good defense.”
“We were in the red zone and I just ran my route,” said Baxter, who also was the third option on the pass play. “I really didn’t feel the defenders there. I saw them, but my main goal was just to catch the ball. You have to have awareness of where the ball is and the timing. There are a lot of things involved in catching the ball.”
