Bears could steal a specific play-call from the Panthers' playbook and use it against them in Week 5
As the Chicago Bears get prepared to face the Carolina Panthers this week, they'll need to be ready for anything that gets thrown at them in Week 5.That includes trick plays and no one is better at executing trick plays when you least expect it than Panthers punter Johnny Hekker.Hekker isn't just a punting legend […]
As the Chicago Bears get prepared to face the Carolina Panthers this week, they'll need to be ready for anything that gets thrown at them in Week 5.
That includes trick plays and no one is better at executing trick plays when you least expect it than Panthers punter Johnny Hekker.
Hekker isn't just a punting legend in the NFL world, he's also one of the best fake punt experts the game has ever seen and not many people know about it.
Last week in the Panthers' loss against the Cincinnati Bengals, everyone was given a reminder, even if the play didn't work out.
Down 28-14 in the third quarter, the Panthers opted to try and trick the Bengals on fourth-and-three at the Panthers' 35 yard line. On the play, Hekker faked the punt and attempted to throw it to tight end Feleipe Franks who couldn't come down with the catch resulting in a turn over on downs.
But don't fault the Panthers for trying it and if the situation presents itself again, don't be surprised if they try it again this weekend and Bears special teams coordinator Richard Hightower will be ready for it.
Hightower spent six seasons with the San Francisco 49ers and faced Hekker 12 times in those six seasons. In two of those games, Hekker attempted a fake pass on fourth down. In his career, Hekker has completed 15 of his 25 pass attempts for 193 yards and one touchdown.
"Johnny has had so many of them," Hightower explained on Thursday. "There's a lot of tape to look at and a lot to study. And believe me, we look at all of it."
The reason these plays work so well for Hekker is because of his background as a former quarterback and it's something the Bears' special teams unit will have to be prepared for. But the Bears could take it one step further and use a trick play against the Panthers on Sunday with rookie punter Tory Taylor.
The Bears toyed with installing a few different trick plays during the offseason but nothing was ever reported about a trick play involving Taylor, and rightfully so since you don't want to show your hand with media in attendance.
In his college career Taylor attempted one pass, a three-yard completion to Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta on fourth-and-eight. He also had one trick play run that went for four yards on fourth-and-six against Ohio State in 2022.
Taylor's shown he can have a few tricks up his sleeve as well if they can just be executed correctly, and that's because Hekker is someone he grew up watching.
"[Hekker's] got a lot of different tricks in his bag and to me, that's a guy that Tory's been watching forever," Hightower added. "And he's a great guy to study."
Obviously Hightower isn't going to come out and say that a trick play with Taylor is something that could be in the game plan on Sunday. But the wording of that is interesting and if the right moment pops up, maybe Taylor will get the opportunity to emulate someone he's taken a lot of time to watch. And it'd be awesome to see the rookie make another major impact for the team in an entirely new way.
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Each will be something to monitor.
