Normally what I get at Football Outsiders is usually pretty good, but this rankings of receivers has me a bit thrown off. Sure the Bears jumped from 32 last year in the rankings to 14th.
Hey, Rex Grossman's not their fault. Muhsin Muhammad has yet to live up to expectations after his free agent acquisition following the 2004 campaign, but he's reportedly excellent at something we can't quantify: tutoring other receivers. Witness the ascension of one Bernard Berrian from a late-round deep threat into a starting wideout; while Berrian's not a star yet (his -13.5 percent DVOA ranked 67th in the league), Berrian played better and better as the year went along, and his head fake on the hapless Fred Thomas in the NFC Championship game might have been one of the prettiest plays of the season. While tight end Desmond Clark had a surprisingly effective season (16.6 percent DVOA, ninth in the league), he's not likely to keep that up, and with that in mind, the Bears added "G-Reg" Greg Olsen in the first round out of Miami. Miami tight ends tend to be a safe bet, but Olsen doesn't have the star power of Kellen Winslow. The hidden player? Former second-round pick Mark Bradley, who posted fantastic numbers (39.4 percent DVOA and 7.9 DPAR on only 23 attempts), but can't stay healthy. If Chicago's passing attack takes a big step forward in 2007, he's the likeliest reason.
My problem lies with their number 1, Dallas. Listen, T.O and Terry Glenn is a nice combo, but better than Harrison and Wayne or Chad Johnson and TJ? I am having a hard time buying that.