Bears wide receiver Bobby Wade always hoped his chance would come, but not like this.
“It’s not the ideal way to get a job,” Wade said.
Coach Lovie Smith named Wade a starter Saturday after the Bears traded Pro Bowl wide receiver Marty Booker to Miami for defensive end Adewale Ogunleye. Assuming that development thrilled Wade would be a bad assumption.
He wore a blank expression and spoke in a somber tone in the Bears’ locker room Saturday night when recounting the moment Booker broke the news to him in person.
“It’s like losing a brother,” Wade said. “He’ll be missed, but I guess the way to say this is it’s the nature of the game. We still have to shoot for our goals. It’s a golden opportunity for me, a guy in his second year and a guy who loves to make plays. Obviously somebody has confidence in me to be in this situation.”
The situation with the Bears’ offense changes significantly without Booker. Life after Marty will necessitate some changes in the game plan and the expectations of other players, such as Wade and David Terrell.
Here’s a look at five developments in the Bears’ offense that might evolve in the absence of Booker.
Wade will lead the Bears in receptions
1. Wade came to the Bears with a knack for finding holes in coverage, and that sense has become more acute after a year’s experience. He rarely will beat anybody deep, but in an offense built around disciplined, midrange patterns, Wade ideally blends quickness and savvy. His ability to pick up yards after the catch makes him, in Booker’s absence, the most consistent threat to do damage. Wade credits a year learning from Booker and a freshman season spent at the University of Arizona in the same meeting room with Dennis Northcutt for helping him develop an understanding of how to get open.
Four receivers will have at least 50 catches, but none will exceed 80
2. This might have happened even if Booker had stayed, but it more likely will occur now that Rex Grossman will begin the season without a favorite receiver. He isn’t worried. “Typically, that’s how I’ve played. Not on purpose, but you get so many different looks throughout the course of the game [that] you can’t really rely on one guy,” Grossman said. “So you spread the ball around and have a good running game, the defense doesn’t really know what’s coming.” Grossman’s terrific field vision and abundance of confidence make him less likely to lock in on his primary receiver and increases the chances of a running back or tight end coming open late.
Running back Thomas Jones will carry an even heavier load running and receiving, a la Marshall Faulk
3. In Faulk’s first three years in the offense after which the Bears’ is patterned, he averaged 17 carries and five receptions per game. He ended each of those seasons with more than 1,300 yards rushing and at least 80 receptions. Given the Bears’ plans for using Jones, those represent realistic numbers for the jitterbug back. His health, though, becomes more important in Booker’s absence, especially with Anthony Thomas healing slowly, because the dropoff in the passing game between Jones and No. 3 option Adrian Peterson is steep. Without Booker, Jones becomes the Bears’ most proven game-breaker on offense, and he came to town wearing the label of unproven.
Tight end Desmond Clark will be used down the field more, especially on third down
4. Clark began running routes last week on his own, and the Bears need him and his gimpy hamstring back on the field as soon as possible. Their passing game requires a tight end whose speed requires defenses to adjust. Clark’s deep routes could prove critical in occupying safeties and linebackers long enough for the Bears’ inexperienced receivers to find openings and develop confidence.
Even more pressure shifts to left tackle Qasim Mitchell and his ability to protect the passer
5. As long as the Bears lack a proven breakaway threat at receiver, teams figure to blitz them and risk that they don’t have a player such as Booker capable of turning a little mistake into a big play. The most inviting spot on the offensive line for blitzing teams is Mitchell’s, so he can expect even more walk-up safeties and racing cornerbacks until the Bears prove it’s a bad gamble for defenses.
