The Bears Offense: Looking at the Quarterbacks

It’s too bad that the acquisition of Jay Cutler wasn’t an immediate success for the Bears in their first year because if would have quieted all of the critics and fans that are coming out now and saying that the trade may have been a bad idea. You can’t deny that the Bears did a good thing by bringing in someone who excelled at the quarterback position but there were too many other things wrong for 2009 to be a successful season for the Bears.

Cutler still has plenty of time to become a successful quarterback in Chicago and just needs the tools around him (and the offense to do it) to become successful and it’s possible that he could see a lot more success in the new offense that the Bears are going to have. Bears fans and coaches hope that his success becomes a reality.

The Bears had two quarterbacks on the active roster last season and decided not to get a true veteran quarterback (to back up Cutler). Instead, they went with Caleb Hanie, a two year player and trusted that he would be able to backup Cutler if he ever went down with an injury. Thank goodness that never happened and now, as the Bears move towards a pass heavy offense, the Bears still have just Cutler and Hanie along with unproven Brett Basanez so they are heading into the 2010 season solid at the front but pretty unstable at the back.

We all know what Cutler did in his first season with the Bears. He threw 26 interceptions to go along with 27 touchdowns. He had a completion percentage of 60.5and threw for a total of 3,666 yards. While Cutler represented the best quarterback to come to Chicago since Jim McMahon, he did struggle and so did the Bear’s offense. Perhaps it was the play calling or the receivers but his first season in Chicago was clearly not what everyone had expected.

Cutler will end up spending his entire offseason learning Martz’s new system and spending practices and OTA’s getting some practical experience in it which he will most certainly need. If things aren’t too complex and everyone, including his wide receivers, are on the same page then Cutler should do better in 2010. Pass blocking may end up being an issue though and Cutler can only do as well as his blockers allow him.

Hanie only got in on only two games throwing a total of seven passes and what people want to know is how could he handle starting a game or two if Cutler got injured. He doesn’t have the kind of experience that most teams would like in a backup quarterback and if Cutler goes down for any reason (and this is likely when he is dropping back to pass thirty times a game) the Bears may be in a bit of a bind. Hanie is a great talent but he’s not the guy you want coming in if Cutler is out for an extended period of time.

The third quarterback in Chicago is Brett Basanez. Basanez is a little more experienced than Hanie is but he doesn’t have the strong arm and decision making skills that Hanie has so he will probably get stuck at number three again this year. However, if the Bears choose to bring in another quarterback with some veteran experience then Basanez may be on his way out of Chicago.

The Bears are very solid at the quarterback position save for their backups but Cutler has to get a lot better this year in order for the team to succeed. He does need help from his wide receivers and offensive line and if they get consistent then he should have no trouble getting them the ball and making the offense work.

It will be interesting to see how everyone adapts to the new offense. Granted there will be some growing pains but if the team takes well to the new scheme and everyone does their job well then it’s not out of the question to say that the Bears will be a lot better than they were in 2009.