Chicago Bears beat the Arizona Cardinals: Offensive grades

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: B

Wide Receivers

The number one receiver group did get a few more opportunities this week for the Chicago Bears. So their grade wasn’t quite as incomplete as it was in the preseason opener.

But there are still a lot of questions surrounding this unit that have not been answered.

For example: are we going to get to see the Cameron Meredith and Kevin White combination work yet, or is that too much to ask?

Meredith got four targets overall, catching two for 26 yards, but he should’ve had four receptions. The problem was: the fact that he didn’t wasn’t his fault. On both incompletions in his direction, Glennon made poor throws that a Cardinal nearly intercepted, showing off his limitations.

White, on the other hand, caught two of three targets for two yards. One was an ill-fated screen on the Bears’ first possession where Kendall Wright didn’t give him a chance to do anything after the catch, getting him tackled for a big loss.

Also, we had a few Tanner Gentry sightings tonight, as Trubisky targeted him often during their stints together.

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Gentry posted two catches for 19 yards on two official targets. However, he also committed offensive pass interference on a fade route down the sideline from Trubisky. As a positive, he may have saved the ball from being intercepted.

However, his lack of great speed and ability to separate from corners also showed itself. He also was part of a botched on-side kick recovery with Daniel Braverman that gave the Cards a chance to win. If he wants to make the roster, the undrafted rookie from Wyoming will have to do better.

Tight Ends

The tight ends did a little bit more today, especially Zach Miller, but overall, they’re still fighting to stay relevant too. Miller had two catches for 17 yards, including a nice first down off a throw from Glennon. Adam Shaheen caught his only target but looked awkward while doing it; he fell and had to get up before being touched down, squeaking out a nine-yard gain. Daniel Brown had one catch for a first down via Mitch Trubisky before leaving the game limping.

In particular, Shaheen has disappointed so far in the preseason. The reports of his red zone prowess and great hands in practice haven’t translated to the game. Interestingly, his transition to the NFL looks slightly more difficult than we might have realized, though perhaps it makes sense. Anyway, he’ll keep getting chances to show he can play.

Having a solid running game is great, but at some point, you’re going to need to open up a passing game to be successful. It’s difficult to evaluate this pass-catchers when they’re not getting many opportunities to make plays. The Bears won’t be in line for a quarterback change in the foreseeable future. However, one wonders if they’ll need one if anyone’s going to produce in the passing game.