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Bears could target veteran backup for Cutler
Bears could target veteran backup for Cutler
March 8, 2011 4:50 PM |
By Brad Biggs
Eighth of a 10-part series.
A year after Jay Cutler was on the field for all but 11 snaps with the Chicago Bears, he missed one game and half of another during the regular season because of a concussion. Cutler then was sidelined by a knee injury in the NFC Championship Game after the first possession of the second half.
The playing time for the quarterbacks in 2010 was pretty straight-forward. Looking ahead, the question is who will be in line to take snaps in the event something happens to Cutler in 2011?
First, let's look at the playing time for quarterbacks this past season:
Jay Cutler: 889 snaps, 90.7 percent
Todd Collins: 62, 6.3 percent
Caleb Hanie: 29, 3.0 percent
Collins will be an unrestricted free agent and the Bears will not bring him back. The team tendered Hanie with the low offer as a restricted free agent, but offensive coordinator Mike Martz wasn't ready to anoint him as the No. 2.
A year after drafting Dan LeFevour in the sixth round, the Bears could consider that route again. But Martz doesn't believe in giving his No. 3 quarterbacks much work, especially in training camp, so developing a late-round pick would be difficult. It certainly didn't go smoothly with LeFevour, who struggled.
Given Martz's frequent pleas for a veteran backup a year ago, one would imagine he will state his case in Halas Hall again this year. That's just a theory. General manager Jerry Angelo said Hanie's stock had risen, at least in his eyes, so we'll see what kind of collective decision the organization reaches at the position. Remember, the Bears have not been opposed to going with only two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster in the past.
We've already posted playing-time breakdowns on the defensive line, wide receiver, linebacker, cornerback, running back, tight end and safety positions. Check back throughout the day as we analyze playing time at every position.
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Hope briggs "theory" wrong and we do not waste cap space on a vet.. rather it go OL/Dt/WR and go with cutler/hanie/who cares?
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High Fives / Like - 1 BEAR DOWN!, 0 Dislikes
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agreed, it was a stupid move last year, and it would be and even bigger mistake this year.
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Originally Posted by
Riczaj01
agreed, it was a stupid move last year, and it would be and even bigger mistake this year.
and so far the team hasn't shown any indication going for a Vet, and did tender hanie for 2011, so just IMO its more the writers looking to "stir the pot" than team actually going for a vet, as usually happens in chicago
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Hanie is the backup, searching for an emergency QB at this point is overkill.
Winston Churchill:
"Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak."
"If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain."
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V.B.P.D.
Keep Hanie as the number 1 backup. He looked pretty good in the last game
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We should look for a savvy veteran. Like Todd Collins for example.
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Lovie and JA both need to sit Martz down and tell him to shut the fvck up if he asks for a vet backup again this year. Hanie has proven he's up to the job and that should be it. No more expensive but worthless security blankets for Martz anymore.
We already have Matt Gutierrez on the team and if Martz can't find enough time for him then maybe he should consider an assistant who could work with him. The only thing we could possibly need a vet for is to run the scout team and that's it. He'd have about as much game responsibility as a bullpen catcher does in baseball.
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Originally Posted by
Riczaj01
agreed, it was a stupid move last year, and it would be and even bigger mistake this year.
Im not a supporter of JA "vision" of team direction but Collins was brought it out of desperation cause Hanie got hurt and no qb wanted to sign with us as preseason fodder so they said guarantee me a spot for the year by guaranteeing the contract or its not worth bothering to even show up.
as far as keeping him the number two that was just Lovie "genius" at work lol
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Originally Posted by
soulman
Lovie and JA both need to sit Martz down and tell him to shut the fvck up if he asks for a vet backup again this year. Hanie has proven he's up to the job and that should be it. No more expensive but worthless security blankets for Martz anymore.
We already have Matt Gutierrez on the team and if Martz can't find enough time for him then maybe he should consider an assistant who could work with him. The only thing we could possibly need a vet for is to run the scout team and that's it. He'd have about as much game responsibility as a bullpen catcher does in baseball.
think more a media trying to build a mountian out of not even a molehill.. they tendered hanie and haven't shown any interest ina F/A.. so untill see that FROM TEAM.. more biggs et al trying to stir something that isn't happening