It’s understandable if Chicago fans caught a case of Gronk envy Sunday when watching Rob Gronkowski put on a pass-catching clinic during New England’s 51-23 stomping of the Bears.
It’s probably unavoidable since Chicago’s roster features a player in Martellus Bennett with similar physical attributes to Gronkowski, which is why Bears coach Marc Trestman needs to find fresher ways to feature the tight end more prominently when he breaks down the tape during the bye week to evaluate the first eight games of the season, while devising a plan of attack for the team’s final eight outings.
Brandon Marshall would like to see more of Bennett as well as running back Matt Forte.
“Martellus Bennett’s a beast,” Marshall said Monday during “The Brandon Marshall Show” on ESPN 1000. “I don’t know if you guys have been noticing this kid, but this kid is maturing right before our eyes. This guy is really a beast. I would give it to those two guys, man, and let those guys carry the weight.”
Would Marshall be happy with a Bears attack emphasizing more Bennett and Forte?
“Absolutely not,” Marshall joked. “But it’s all about winning. You can have all the catches you want, but if you’re not winning, you’re probably going to be a sad guy if you really care about the game.”
Bennett led the Bears with six catches for 95 yards and a touchdown in the team’s loss Sunday at New England. The game marked the first time Bennett caught more than five balls in a game since the club’s Sept. 28 loss to the Green Bay Packers, a game in which the tight end hauled in a season-high nine passes for 134 yards.
Bennett scored four touchdowns and caught 20 passes over the first three games of the season, but has scored just one touchdown over the last five weeks.
Bears general manager Phil Emery on Monday discussed the need for the team to put “our best players in better matchup situations.” By not featuring Bennett more, the club isn’t doing that, as the tight end is a matchup nightmare for linebackers and safeties.
“We’ve got to do a better job with our matchups,” Trestman said, “finding the right matchups, offensively, in terms of getting all of our players the opportunity to get the football in the manner that we would want them to.”