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Bears' offense will shake the NFLor be shaken out

Sporting News, The, June 19, 2000 by Dan Pompei

Crowton professes to believe in the importance of balance and running the ball. But he also points out that some of the Bears' passes achieve the same effect as runs. The little sweep tosses to receivers on one-step drops, known as flashes, often result in consistent gains. "They are high-percentage completions, they stretch the defense outside, and there is no sack potential," Crowton says. "We utilize them like running plays."

Perhaps the Bears will become a better running team when they become a better passing team. Last season, the Bucs held the Bears to nine points in eight quarters. They did it by staying in a base defense most of the time and challenging the Bears to beat them by throwing the ball. And because the Bears were unable to mount a consistent passing attack against the Bucs, they never could loosen up the defense in order to run the ball.

"That offense is very quarterback-driven," Bucs coach Tony Dungy says. "You can run in that system if the quarterback plays well. The defense has to be fearful of the quarterback, and then you get a one-linebacker defense, which is easier to run against. But if the quarterback doesn't strike that kind of fear, it's tougher to run the ball."

As much as it is a quarterback-driven offense, almost any quarterback can be functional in it. Last season, the Bears had three quarterbacks throw for more than 1,000 yards. It was only the second time in NFL history it happened. And none of the three-Matthews, Miller or rookie Cade McNownever threw for 1,000 yards in the NFL before.

Many of those who have emerged in Crowton's offense haven't seen their earnings rise in accordance with their yardage totals. Miller and Matthews found no one willing to offer them starting jobs this off season. Engram virtually was ignored as a free agent before resigning with the Bears at a much lower salary than he had envisioned. Talent evaluators around the league clearly have attributed the increased production to Crowton's system more than the players' abilities.

There is a feeling that many of the yards gained by Crowton's offense are "cheap" or meaningless. Indeed, the Bears' offense last year was kind of like a nervous caged animal in that it covered a lot of ground without getting anywhere. It was the most inefficient offense in the league at converting yards to points-the Bears averaged an NFL-worst 20.3 yards gained per point scored. The league average was 15.3 yards gained per point scored. The Eagles, with the league's 30th-ranked offense, amassed 1,693 fewer yards than Chicago but scored the same number of points (272).

So though it's fine that the Bears were gaining yards, the yards were just empty promises without points.

The true measure of this or any offense is not standing ovations or miles accrued. It is touchdowns. If this offense starts scoring them with more frequency, it will shake the NFL. If it does not, it will go the way of the T-formation.