Cutler Fever Infects Bears Offense
Dennis Dillon - SportingNews.com
Aug 19, 2009
BOURBONNAIS, ILL. -- Bears wide receiver Earl Bennett learned about the big trade while he was sitting in his sociology class -- Deviant Behavior -- at Vanderbilt University in early April.
A friend texted him, saying the Bears had acquired quarterback Jay Cutler from Denver. A few minutes later, Bennett received a call from his agent, Bus Cook, who also represents Cutler. When Bennett stepped outside the classroom to talk on the phone, Cutler was on the other end.
Bennett, a freshman at Vanderbilt in Cutler's final season there, was excited knowing he would be reunited in Chicago with his old college teammate. The rest of the Bears players have caught the Cutler fever after working with their new quarterback during the offseason and in training camp here at Olivet Nazarene University.
Cutler is a young, Pro Bowl quarterback who is expected to provide the production, leadership and stability at the position that the Bears haven't had since the days of Jim McMahon. Cutler also can make the players around him better. Here's how:
Running backs. Knowing Cutler is such a passing threat, opponents can't overload to stop the run by consistently putting an eighth man in the box. That defender might be needed in pass coverage. "If there's the threat of the pass, he can get that extra man out of the box, and there's fewer men to block. And that may open up holes," said running back Matt Forte, who rushed for 1,238 yards as a rookie last season.
Wide receivers. The Bears can open up their playbook and put any and all routes into the game plan, because Cutler has the arm and accuracy to make all the throws. "I think he's going to mean a lot to the wide receivers," Bennett said. "With his decisions and strong arm, you've got to be excited to play with him."
Tight end. Don't be surprised if third-year tight end Greg Olsen winds up as the Bears' leading receiver. He and Cutler have been developing chemistry on and off the field (they went to a Kenny Chesney concert together and wound up dancing on the stage).
"Any time you bring in a high-caliber quarterback, it's obviously going to help everyone," Olsen said. "He has a lot of experience in this league. We have a lot of young guys on offense, especially at some of the skill positions, so that experience factor goes a long way."
The line. Cutler can help with the protections. In the preseason opener, the Bills set up to run a double-blitz with the weakside linebacker and a safety. Cutler recognized it, pointed out the linebacker and the offensive line adjusted and picked it up.
"He saw it, pointed to the WILL (weakside linebacker) and made our blocking easy," center Olin Kreutz said. "Our protection wasn't to block him, but we changed our blocking and it made us look like we knew what we were doing."
If Cutler makes jobs easier for his offensive teammates, it stands to reason he'll make life more difficult for opponents.
"When you face an elite quarterback, he's not going to make it easy for you," Bears outside linebacker Lance Briggs said. "He's going to take advantage of the things you do. He's going to make the right reads, and with his arm he can make the tight throws. He's somebody who can keep drives alive and put points on the board."
Dennis Dillon is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at ddillon@sportingnews.com.
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