Cutler Continues To Astonish!

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2009-06-04T22:52:00-04:00

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727 3333 Jay Cutler continues to astound Bears players and coaches with his arm strength and accuracy during the Bears OTAs this week.  On the first play in Wednesday's OTA scrimmage with the Bears first teams on both sides of the field, Cutler drifted back into a seven-step drop, set his feet, scanned the field, and saw that #23 had gotten a step on the defender down the right sideline. Cutler then lofted a perfectly thrown arching spiral that hit Hester in full stride as the ball landed ever so gently right into his hands. Hester caught the ball and kept running all the way to the end zone. Hester has hopes that the long touchdown reception was a preview of things to come for him and the Bears. <o:p> </o:p> “It’s just showing a glimpse of what this season could look like,” Hester said. The season I had last year wasn’t up to my high expectations, this year I’m coming out trying to be better than I was the first two years. My goal this year is to just come out and make big plays like I normally do.” <o:p> </o:p> All Hester had to do was get one-step on the defender. Not one yard, not wide open, just one-step. Cutler put the ball right where it had to be with a flick of his wrist. All Hester had to do was keep running, see the ball, which was right on target and where the playbook said it should be on that play , pull the ball in, and take off with that exceptional speed of his. While the Bears keep saying over and over that they have confidence in their rather uninspired group of wide receivers, Cutler is why. General manager Jerry Angelo continues to support the theory that the quarterback makes the receiver, and not the other way around, Cutler is why. Moreover, so far throughout the Bears OTAs, Cutler has done absolutely nothing to dispel that theory.  <o:p> </o:p> Cutler has been hitting the receivers with crisp rocket passes, which have been right on the money and he has been hitting the receivers in stride.   "As good as advertised," tight end Desmond Clark said when asked about Cutler.   Cutler, who has not missed a single day of the Bears offseason program, continues to make a smooth transition. If he has not gotten the offense down cold yet, that time is without doubt imminent. <o:p> </o:p> “I think he’s getting it,” said offensive coordinator Ron Turner. “I don’t know if he has it yet. There are a lot of similarities concept-wise to what he’s done in the past. Maybe the terminology is different, but the concepts are the same. There’s some carryover. In the short time he’s been here, I think he’s getting a real good grasp of it. He’s got some zip. He’s generated a lot of excitement in the locker room. I think we have a lot of good players around him, but it’s going to take a while for everything to mesh. It doesn’t just happen. We need a lot of reps. We need to get a lot of reps with him and the receivers with everybody getting on the same page to get the timing and the rhythm. It’s going to come. But it’s going to take some time and work. It’s taken a little bit of an adjustment and still a little bit of adjustment for the receivers to know how quickly the ball is going to get on them. Overall I feel good, I’m excited, I really am. I also realize that it’s not going to happen overnight. It’s going to take time. It’s going to take a lot of work." <o:p> </o:p> Cutler is not the only Bear making an impression during camp. Running back Kevin Jones seems to be fully recovered from the ACL injury from the end of the 2007 season while he was still with the Lions. He is fully healthy again and participating in the offseason program 100%. Jones is running with abandon and making all the sharp cuts, moves and utilizing the speed that made him a first round draft pick. <o:p> </o:p> “Kevin will fit in real well,” Turner said. “We’re excited about him. He had an off-season. Last year when we got him he was coming off that knee injury and wasn’t in the best of shape because of the knee. He’s had a year to learn our system and a year to get that knee better.” <o:p> </o:p> This is great news for the Bears considering that Jones is expected to see a lot of expanded playing time in the backfield behind Bears starter Matt Forte. <o:p> </o:p> As far as the receivers, besides Hester, who has shown dramatic improvement in both his route running and catching abilities, Earl Bennett seems to be jumping into his role as one of the Bears lead receivers on the team. I am not sure if it is because he has been reunited with Jay Cutler, or because he finally feels comfortable with the Bears playbook, but he looks like a different receiver then the one he showed last season. He is finally showing off the receiving ability that he exhibited while he was at Vandy. <o:p> </o:p> The rookies have been making a name for themselves as well. Juaquin Iglesias, Johnny Knox and Derek Kinder have all made excellent impressions at times during the OTA practices. <o:p> </o:p> All three of the rookie receivers made admirable catches in Wednesday’s session. Iglesias grabbed one pass away from the defender that looked like a sure interception. Kinder made a good move to juke the defender and hauled in a pass deep down the seam.   However, the rookie receiver that seems to be opening the most eyes at the OTAs is fifth round pick Johnny Knox. He has displayed his quickness, great speed and excellent hands in OTA practices. <o:p> </o:p> “It’s coming along each day,” Knox said. “I have to take my time and just have to get the feel of the quarterback from Week 1, but I am feeling really comfortable each day.” <o:p> </o:p> Considering that most people think that the Bears receiving group is the wink link, they are sure not showing it so far the past few weeks in the OTAs. Even Rashied Davis has looked good and has limited the amount of passes thrown to him that hit the ground. <o:p> </o:p> Maybe, just maybe, Jerry Angelo is right when he says that quarterbacks make the receivers and not the other way around. <o:p> </o:p> 0.0.0.0

2009-06-04T22:52:00-04:00

cutler-continues-to-astonish

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Cutler Continues To Astonish!

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Cutler Continues To Astonish!

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