It's strange to think that the Bears may actually be doing something non-traditional, but that's exactly what Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune is reporting might happen in the Windy City.
Biggs says the Bears have been using play-action fakes from the shotgun formation that doubles as the trigger play for a read-option run. The play action fake gets the quarterback out of the pocket in search of clearer throwing lanes while helping out the offensive line in pass protection. From that rollout, Jay Cutler could pull the ball down and run if he wants to.
"Jay has the skill set to do just about everything, anything," head coach Marc Trestman said. "We are trying to give him the things he has had the most success with first.
"Whether we’ll do it, I don’t know. We’ve studied it."
The big question in the Bears' plan to utilize such plays remains Jay Cutler. While Cutler is certainly no statue in the backfield, we have to wonder if Cutler can run the ball effectively in a read-option setting. According to backup quarterback Josh McCown, Cutler and the rest of the Bears' quarterbacks have that capability.
"There is no question Jay is athletic enough [to run the read-option]," McCown said. "All three of us could get it done if we needed to. It’s going to have to be a part of [the offense] a little bit because we are going to have to give our defense looks on it because it’s so successful in our league. We’re all waiting to see if the defenses can stop it."
Right now, we'll just have to take McCown's word that Cutler is athletic enough to run in the open field.
