Bear Digest

Bears receivers show it's all about YAC and the ball coming out in time

Timing and production after the catch was apparent from the start with starters and backups for the Bears in their 38-0 win over Buffalo.
Gene Chamberlain|
It's all about the YAC in this offense and Olamide Zaccheaus shows it by getting past Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin for a 36-yard TD.
It's all about the YAC in this offense and Olamide Zaccheaus shows it by getting past Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin for a 36-yard TD. | David Banks-Imagn Images

In this story:

Chicago Bears

Bear receivers loved what they saw, which was the football coming out in time.

Caleb Williams was hardly the only one to appreciate seeing the passing game operating with full efficiency in Sunday's 38-0 win over Miami.

"I mean I think we did what we should have done (Sunday) and we still got a couple weeks or so, a week-and-a-half left of camp and some time still here to prep for Minnesota," Cole Kmet said. "I think it's a good thing what we did today. We still have a long ways to go."

It's true the first team did this against Bills backups, except for one DB. Then again, the starters only played two series and the backups had just as much success against the Bills.

It was execution regardless of who did it, and who it came against, and at times early in camp it looked like they couldn't get a football snapped let alone complete 36-yard touchdown passes.

Beyond this, they did all this without their starting running back playing, his backup, or the third back. 

Kmet's 29-yard reception over the middle on an adjusted route proved critical because it pulled the offense out of a deep hole.

"They might have been a little out sync," Kmet said. "They were showing one thing in coverage and then it looked like they kind of rolled back to another and when you're rolling back like that it's tough for defenders at times to get to their spots when they need to be.

"I recognized the coverage and so did Caleb and he ripped it down the middle. It was good stuff to see."

Williams saw it, too, and the adjustment was made.

Kmet cited the 8-yard first pass to Colston Loveland as just as critical. It made it so at least Williams wasn't passing from the goal line.

The touchdown pass for 36 yards to Olamide Zaccheaus on third-and-5 was pure Johnson offense as most of it came on yards after the catch. Jared Goff led the league at this last year for Detroit. 

Zaccheaus went 29 yards after his 7-yard reception because the defense was so spread out and also because he made a hurdle like an Olympian. For the game, they had 165 yards after the catch per Pro Football Focus, including 24 from Luther Burden III on his three catches for 49 yards.

"It's huge, it's huge," Zaccheaus said of the YAC. "Especially with the people we have on the team, the playmakers that we have. It's a big part of it."

Tyler Scott had 29 yards after the catch and Samori Toure 21 in their play with Tyson Bagent at QB.

"It feels good, we know we've got to keep getting better," Zaccheaus said.

Burden properly described the problem for Bears opponents if they can continue this YAC approach.

"If I get too much space there's going to be a problem," he said.

A key point to all of it was Williams on the first two drives settling in comfortably.

"Calm, very calm like composed and just in the moment," was how Zaccheaus described him. "It was good to see, like said. You've just got to keep building on that."

More Chicago Bears News

X: BearsOnSI

Published
Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.