Chicago Bears: 3 Stats They Must Improve In 2016
By Erik Lambert
Stats don’t always tell the whole story of how a team must improve, but there are some that point the right way for the Chicago Bears.
Most casual fans tend to stick to the basics of stat reading. For the offense it’s about yards gained, points scored and turnovers avoided. For the defense it’s yards allowed, points allowed, turnovers forced and quarterbacks sacked. As for special teams, it is about distance of balls punted, kickoffs covered without a big return and accuracy on field goals from outside 40 yards. There is nothing wrong with this since all of those stats showcase some importance to team success.
However, there are other less notable categories that tend to reflect well or poorly on a roster. This article is going to focus on each phase of this Bears team and spotlight a particular stat where they struggled in 2015 and must improve in 2016 to win more games.
Offense: Yards Per Play
During OTAs, a number of beat writers following the Bears could hear offensive guard Kyle Long shouting at teammates during drills that they needed to get “chunks” on every play. In other words, they couldn’t just settle for 2-3 yards on runs and 4-5 on passes. The time had come for them to truly go on the attack. They had to seize territory in greater bunches. More big plays. Indeed it was a problem last year. Of the 5,514 total offensive plays they ran, Chicago managed 5.38 yards per play. That ranked them 21st in the NFL.
The reason this is so important is because six of the top 10 teams in this category made the playoffs. Teams that can generate more yards per play tend to create more scoring opportunities. More points often equals more wins, and so on and so forth. There were several reasons why the Bears struggled in that department last year. Most notably injuries to several of their key personnel. Hopes are high they’ve done enough to avoid that problem. One thing is for sure. This group is forming the mindset that they’ll have to take more chances if they want to win.
Next: Defense