CAN’T HOLD HIM DOWN
WR Robinson continues to produce, even as Bears’ offense struggles
No matter what is going wrong for the Bears or who is playing quarterback, receiver Allen Robinson continues to find a way to produce.
He’s a bright spot in an otherwisedreary offense that ranks near the bottom of the NFL in every meaningful category. As bad as it has looked the last few weeks, it would be even worse without Robinson.
‘‘He’s just an absolute professional,’’ quarterback Mitch Trubisky said. ‘‘He comes to work every day. He’s got that ‘dog’ mentality that he can’t be covered.
‘‘He’s always doing the right job, helping guys get lined up. He knows the offense inside and out and is really good with his releases. And when the ball’s in the air, it’s [his] ball.’’
Robinson’s 464 yards receiving are the most from scrimmage by any Bears player. He also leads the team in catches (41) and is tied with receiver Taylor Gabriel for the top spot in touchdowns (three).
He’s among the NFL’s top 20 in receptions and yards despite playing in the 29th-ranked passing offense.
Robinson’s contributions are more impressive when taking into account that everyone knows the ball is coming to him. The array of talented skill players was supposed to make the Bears’ passing attack diversified and unpredictable, but Trubisky has focused in on Robinson above all others.
Trubisky has thrown to Robinson one of every 3.7 passes, and Robinson has received a team-high 27.3 percent of the targets. Defenses plan on him getting the ball more than anyone else, and he’s still putting up numbers.
‘‘I just make plays when my number is called,’’ Robinson said. ‘‘Whether it’s one target or 20, that’s my mindset.’’
He came in on the high end of that spectrum Sunday against the Saints. Trubisky targeted him 16 times, one shy of the NFL’s season high, and he caught 10 passes for 87 yards and a touchdown.
Who wouldn’t throw to Robinson, by the way, when he’s catching a careerbest 69.5 percent of the balls thrown to him and averaging 11.3 yards per reception?
But Trubisky can’t stay stuck on one receiver. The Bears’ passing distribution was far more balanced last season, when the offense at least could claim it was middle-of-the-pack. Robinson, Gabriel and running back Tarik Cohen each received between 18.1 percent and 18.7 percent of the targets.
After Robinson’s 27.3 percent this season, Cohen has received 19.9 percent of the targets. But no other player has gotten more than 12 percent, and Gabriel has plummeted to 7.4 percent. Gabriel’s dip is partly because he missed two games, but he has averaged four targets this season after 5.8 last season.
Tight end Trey Burton also hasn’t been right physically, and his share of the targets has fallen from 15.1 percent last season to 8.3 percent.
No receiver laments he’s getting the ball too much — ‘‘You’ll never hear me complain about it; the more, the merrier,’’ Robinson said — but the Bears likely would benefit from spreading the ball around more. Gabriel and Burton turned in career seasons in 2018 and can be dangerous weapons.
‘‘It’s just not executing the plays,’’ Gabriel said. ‘‘It’s not [like] we pencil it in, ‘Oh, we’re gonna get this guy the ball.’ It’s just plays not happening and not working. But we’ll definitely get there. That’s one thing I’m not worried about. We’re just worried about winning.’’