Thread: Studious Hanie Always Prepared..................

Maybe we win with Caleb Hanie and maybe we don't but I know one thing. His mama expects him to win and he's not about to let her down and never hear the end of it. LOL.

Hanie has always struck me as a very high effort guy. CSU wasn't favored to win many games when he played there but I'll be damned if he didn't keep them in a lot of them they lost. He may lose but nobody will kick our asses while he's at QB I feel pretty confident of that.

I gotta kick about the story about throwing in the rain his frosh year. I suppose of your were a shotgun option QB in HS how you gripped the ball wasn't a big thing. Guess it just goes to show that some big old country boys just know how to play the game. I think Dan Hampton was a lot like that too. He should love Caleb Hanie.

If history repeats itself, Caleb Hanie should be able to keep the Bears on a roll
by mark potash mpotash@suntimes.com November 22, 2011 10:56PM

Updated: November 22, 2011 11:21PM


Caleb Hanie is not in a class with Jay Cutler as an NFL quarterback. But is he at least in a class with Koy Detmer, A.J. Feeley, Anthony Wright, Chris Simms, Damon Huard, Luke McCown, David Garrard and Quinn Gray? All of them were young, inexperienced, mostly unheralded backup quarterbacks who stepped in for established starters in the second half of a season and kept their teams’ playoff hopes alive or took them all the way to the finish.

If the Bears medical team’s rosy prognosis for Cutler’s broken thumb turns out to be on target, Hanie’s challenge of getting the Bears to the postseason is not that daunting. It’s not like it hasn’t been done before. Just ask Wright or Simms — wherever they are.

It helps to have factors in your favor that put the wind at your back, like a manageable schedule, a defense that gives you a greater margin for error and the momentum of a winning record. Hanie has varying degrees of those factors on his side, heading into his first NFL start at Oakland on Sunday. Plus one that can’t be discounted: He has played behind Cutler for nearly three years.

The advantage of playing behind Cutler is that there’s no subtlety to him. Much of Aaron Rodgers’ magic is hard to define. But Cutler is like Brett Favre. He lays it all out there for you — what you can do, what you can’t do and what you should never, ever even try to do.
All you have to do is pay attention. Look at what three years of playing behind Favre did for Rodgers. As great as he was, Favre threw 32 interceptions that were returned for touchdowns in his career — one for every 16 touchdown passes he threw. Rodgers has thrown one pick-six in 64 games and 1,940 passes — one for every 118 touchdown passes. He’s the best quarterback in football because he learned not only what to do, but what not to do. He had a great teacher. (That should be enough to stop any thoughts talking heads like Skip Bayless has of Favre being a good guy to bring in to replace Jay Cutler. Even Jay's record is better than this)

On a smaller scale, Hanie has the same advantage.
But he also has some history on his side. If these guys did it, he can, too:

David Garrard, Jaguars (2005)
Garrard was in his fourth NFL season and had made only three starts when Byron Leftwich suffered a broken ankle against Arizona in Week 11. Garrard led the Jaguars to a victory that gave them a 7-3 record. He went 4-1 as a starter — beating teams with a combined record of 11-41 — as the Jaguars finished 12-4 to make the AFC playoffs. His 88.4 passer rating as a starter was just behind Leftwich’s 89.3.

Koy Detmer/A.J. Feeley, Eagles (2002)
The Eagles were 7-3 when Donovan McNabb suffered a broken right ankle against the Cardinals. Detmer, who had started five games in six seasons, threw two touchdown passes and had a 115.8 rating in a 38-17 rout of the 49ers but suffered a dislocated elbow. Feeley, a second-year player who had never started in the NFL, went 4-1 with five touchdown passes, five interceptions and a 72.6 rating as the Eagles finished 12-4.

Chris Simms, Buccaneers (2005)
Jon Gruden’s Buccaneers were 5-1 when Brian Griese was lost for the season with torn knee ligaments. Simms, a third-year player who had started two NFL games, lost his first two starts in place of Griese but won six of the next eight as the Bucs finished 11-5. Simms’ 81.4 rating (10 touchdown passes, seven interceptions) was even higher than Griese’s 79.6.

Anthony Wright, Ravens (2003)
Like Simms, Wright didn’t have big shoes to fill when rookie Kyle Boller was lost for the season. The Ravens were 5-4 at the time, but with their standout defense and Jamal Lewis’ 2,066 yards and 14 touchdowns, all he had to do was stay clean. Wright, a fourth-year player who had started five NFL games, had ratings of 65.8 or lower in five of seven starts, but he threw more touchdown passes (nine) than interceptions (eight), and the Ravens went 5-2 to finish 10-6 and make the playoffs.

Quinn Gray, Jaguars (2007)
Garrard parlayed his 2005 opportunity into a starting job, but he suffered a sprained ankle that kept him out for three games. The Jaguars were 4-2 and turned to Gray, a fourth-year player from Florida A&M making his first NFL start. Gray threw for 100 and 101 yards in victories over the Bucs and Titans and 354 with three interceptions in a loss to the Saints. He kept the Jaguars in contention at 6-3 when Garrard returned. They finished 11-5, one game ahead of the Titans.

I love the crap he heaps on Favre. It's kind of nice now that Madden has taken his head out of Favre's ass and retired too to have some folks writing about how it really was rather than the modern day folklore Madden and Joe Buck so often peddled.

Nobody can tell me that Caleb Hanie isn't at least as good or better than any of the other QB's on this list. I think that as far as preparation is concerned the parallel to Aaron Rodgers is a good one. I'm not comparing raw talent here (Loki/Evernight) but rather having an opportunity to learn how to run this offense his way with maybe fewer mistakes than even Cutler would ordinarily make.

There are dozens of reasons why Hanie should succeed and fewer why he should fail. I actually feel good about this right now. I just hope I'll feel the same 4 weeks from now.

Originally Posted by soulman

Byron Leftwich suffered a broken ankle against Arizona in Week 11.......Donovan McNabb suffered a broken right ankle against the Cardinals.

Moral of the story: if you're playing in Arizona, guard your ankles.

Hanie determined to take advantage of rare opportunity

By: Larry Mayer | Last Updated: 11/23/2011 3:35 PM

If Caleb Hanie plays with the same poise and confidence that he displayed during his first press conference as starting quarterback Wednesday, the Bears will be a lock to make the playoffs. Preparing to make his first NFL start Sunday in Oakland, Hanie spoke in-depth about replacing Jay Cutler, who is expected to be sidelined until late in the regular season with a fractured right thumb.

Link to Video: Hanie vows to make most of opportunity (His interview)


“It’s a great opportunity,” Hanie said. “You never want it to come at the expense of one of your good friends and close teammates and one of your best players. You never want that to happen, but you have to take advantage of opportunities when they’re given to you, so that’s what I’m going to try to do.”
Cutler underwent successful surgery Wednesday afternoon in Colorado to repair the injury he sustained while trying to make a tackle on an interception return in last Sunday’s 31-20 win over the Chargers. He is slated to begin rehab in a couple days and is expected to return to action before the playoffs.

Averaging 32.2 points during their five-game winning streak, the Bears (7-3) don’t need Hanie to come in and save their season but to pick up where Cutler left off.

“I’m being asked to come in and keep the offense’s momentum going the way it is,” Hanie said. “It’s not like we’re struggling offensively to where I’ve got to come in and make all these plays and save the season and start winning some games. We’re on a good roll. We had momentum and as long as I do the things I need to do and get the ball to the guys that make plays, that’s my main job.”

Hanie has appeared in four games in three years with the Bears. His most extended action came in last season’s NFC Championship Game loss to the Packers when he engineered two late touchdown drives, completing 13 of 20 passes for 153 yards, one TD and two interceptions.

“We have a lot of confidence in him,” said center Roberto Garza. “He has confidence in himself. He made some big plays for us. He just hasn’t played very much. This is an opportunity for him to step up and we feel confident he will do that.”

Offensive coordinator Mike Martz won’t have to make any major game-plan adjustments in transitioning to Hanie, who like Cutler can produce plays with both his arm and his feet.
“Our offensive is built around being mobile in the pocket, making accurate throws and getting the ball out quick while at the same time protecting the football,” Hanie said. “So I think that plays to my strengths.” (I think he makes an accurate assessment of his strong point)

Hanie wants to be perceived as more than just a quarterback who doesn’t make mistakes to lose games.

“I definitely don’t want to be known as a game manager around the league,” he said. “I feel like that just cements you in a backup role or a fill-in role for the rest of your career. I’m going to try to make plays. I’m not going to play scared or ultraconservative. I’m not going to play dumb as well on the flipside. (Sounds to me like he'd be content remaining in Chicago as Cutler's backup)

“You never want to try to do too much, but you also don’t want to go into a shell and try to not take any risks. It’s a fine line trying to find that and hopefully I won’t have any issues finding it.”

Last season Hanie was set to serve as the No. 2 quarterback before sustaining a shoulder injury in the preseason opener. With Hanie unable to prove himself, Todd Collins was signed to be Cutler’s backup. This summer Hanie was anointed the No. 2 quarterback, but was criticized by Martz after struggling at times during training camp.

“The lack of OTAS [due to the NFL lockout] did end up affecting me more than I initially thought it would,” Hanie said. “I struggled a little bit. I had good moments the first couple weeks, but then I also had bad moments. By the end of training camp, I felt like I was on a steady rise.

“I got a lot of reps in practice a couple weeks ago with the bye week and I felt like I did a great job getting the ball out quick and making good decisions, and Mike felt the same way.” (This is good to hear. Looks like a little unconscious planning ahead will pay off)

Asked about his relationship with Martz, Hanie said: “It’s been fine. You have ups and downs. Just like any good marriage, you have some bumps in the road. But Mike has been great this season. Sometimes you are reluctant to take the criticism and stuff like that, but looking back on it it’s always a good thing.” Hanie feels fortunate that his opportunity to play is coming with a team that’s excelling in so many different areas. (Patched your their little preseason spat huh?)

“I feel very comfortable in the situation I’m in,” he said. “Our defense is playing excellent, taking away the football. You’ve got numerous Pro Bowlers on that side of the ball.

"Our running game is solid. Matt [Forte] is doing a great job; he’s having a Pro Bowl year in my opinion. Our receivers are coming on strong, starting to make plays within the offense, and I feel very confident about that. As long as I do my job and get the ball to the playmakers and let them do the hard work, it should be fun.” (The confidence is there so let's hope the skills to make it happen are too)

Caleb sounds a little like an "aw shucks I'm just here to do my job" kind of guy in his interview. You can tell that he has a handle on what needs to be done though. He made a funny. When they asked him if he'd gotten any advice from Cutler he said, "yeah he told me how to charm the media". I hope his advice on how to QB is more effective. LOL

Chicago Bears Report

Garza: Offense won't change under Hanie

November, 23, 2011Nov 23
2:32
PM CT

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By Jeff Dickerson


LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Very little needs to change on offense now that Caleb Hanie is at quarterback as far as center Roberto Garza is concerned.

"We have to go out there and run the ball and protect our quarterback," Garza said Wednesday. "We need to stick to the same game plan that's won us football games here in the past."

The recipe for success, when there's been success in the first 10 games, has been a heavy dose of Matt Forte and timely plays in the passing game. The Bears enter Sunday's game in Oakland ranked No. 22 in passing offense (216), compared to No. 14 in rushing offense (116.9), which means Matt Forte should expect a heavy work load this weekend against the Raiders, one of the league's poorest rushing defenses.

Hanie will no doubt have to keep the defense honest, but the game will likely be won in the trenches.

"Jay was playing really good football for us, it's a shame it happened, but unfortunately that's the NFL," Garza said. "But we've had to overcome a lot of injuries already. We've seen what Caleb can do. We know he's a talented player and he can step in and fill that role.'

"But it's definitely up to all of us to go out there and do our jobs. He's a competitor, We saw how competitive he was in that [NFC Championship] game. He brings a lot of energy to the huddle. Now it's our job to keep up with him."

More commentary on Hanie;

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:7271368