Thread: Seems like Bears are all on same page in minicamp

Seems like Bears are all on same page in minicamp
Cutler and Tice believe communication has been critical to installing offense
By Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune reporter

9:13 p.m. CDT, June 12, 2012

The Bears are winding down their offseason program and Jay Cutler said Tuesday after the first day of minicamp that he is surprised how far along the offense is.

"It's kind of surprising to see where we're at and how well the guys have picked it up," Cutler said after a 21/2-hour practice. "It's a testament to how hard they've worked, not only the coaches but the players alike."

The Bears have practices Wednesday and Thursday before they break for the summer and take six weeks off before reporting to training camp in late July at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais. It's the third offense for Cutler in four seasons with the team and the fourth in nine seasons under Lovie Smith.

It was interesting to hear Cutler describe it as a melting pot. There is the running game the team had success with last season — one that really hasn't been touched to this point — and a passing game that is a mixture of what offensive coordinator Mike Tice likes from his past, what quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates and Cutler liked with the Broncos and even some stuff Bates picked up in one year with the Seahawks.

"A lot of carryover," Cutler said. "A lot of stuff that we did the last couple of years. It's kind of a mixture … of a lot of different things."

Tice said the Bears have worked very little on their running game, and it's not because Matt Forte has been absent. Rules prohibiting contact during the offseason make it impossible to evaluate the linemen and implement the fine details that are needed.

"That's the biggest part," Tice said. "To try to come and work on your 40, 50, 30, 20, your inside run game right now is silly. The most you can do is end of breaking some rule and getting in trouble, so we stayed away from the run game."

Yes, the Bears have done some work but that is something that will come more in training camp. Plus, Forte averaged 4.9 yards per carry last season, the best Bears' number in two decades. Tice believes the ground game will pick up where it left off and actually be better with the addition of free agent running back Michael Bush.

Cutler and Tice both praised the communication that has helped the transition, which was easier with a position coach such as Tice was moving into the coordinator role who knew the personnel in place. If it sounds like a subtle dig at ex-coordinator Mike Martz, maybe it is. Ultimately, they are trying to find what fits personnel best.

"(Cutler) is throwing every ball well so it's hard to figure out what he's comfortable with," Tice said. "It looks like he's comfortable with everything we've installed.

But the communication between the coaches and the players has been phenomenal. I've always found that sometimes the players have great thoughts, especially when they're very focused like our players are right now. … We're going to put our players in position to do well and not ask them to do things we don't believe as coaches or their body language is telling us they don't like or that they can't do well."

There are two more practices to go until a break but Smith says he's excited when Cutler says the offense has been put in with relative ease.

"Jay knows what is going on as well as anyone," Smith said. "We're about where we need to be at this stage."



http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports...,1784235.story