Thread: Cutler has high praise for offense, Tice

Cutler has high praise for offense, Tice
By Dan Pompei
Tribune reporter

6:56 p.m. CDT, June 12, 2012

It was only the first day of minicamp, but Jay Cutler already has a feel-good view of the new Bears offense.

“It’s kind of surprising to see where we’re at and how well the guys have picked it up,” he said after practice Tuesday at Halas Hall. “I think it’s a testament to how hard they’ve worked, not only the coaches but the players alike.”

Cutler also praised new offensive coordinator Mike Tice.

“Mike’s doing a heck of a job,” he said. “He’s got probably the hardest job of a lot of guys in this building of being able to mesh these offensive players with different schemes and it’s always hard as a first-time coordinator of installing your offense and getting it up and running for game one.

"He’s got a tough gig, but he’s doing a great job. He’s listening to a lot of different guys and taking everyone’s opinion into consideration and then trying to find the best solution."

Tice’s specialty is the offensive line, and Cutler has expressed concern about the uniti. What he has seen in OTAs and minicamp hasn’t done anything to alleviate the concern because offensive linemen can’t be judged until they are wearing pads.

“It’s hard without pads,” he said. “We’re just making sure everyone’s in the right place. We’ve got some talented guys up there. It’s just a matter of finding which five and plugging them in there for an extended amount of time so they can get to know each other."

Tice and Cutler can help the blockers by getting rid of the ball quickly. And Cutler said that is definitely in the plan.

“The ball’s going to be gone,” he said. “We want to get to the playmakers. We want to get the ball to Devin (Hester) and Brandon (Marshall) and Matt Forte and get it out of my hands as fast as possible and I think that’s probably something we’re going to work really hard on in training camp and those preseason games of trying to get that done.”

Cutler can’t work on getting the ball to Forte in minicamp because Forte, who is in a contract dispute, elected not to come.

“Well, we’d love to have him,” Cutler said. “Hopefully we get him for training camp. If we don’t, we’ve got to move on. That’s part of the business. I don’t think anyone’s worried about Matt coming in and not being able to learn the offense or being out of shape. I think he picks things up really quickly. He’s a smart guy. He’s going to come in shape, so it’s just a matter of time if and when we get the guy.”

The silver lining to Forte’s absence is new acquisition Michael Bush is getting a lot of work in his place. “It’s really helping him,” Cutler said. “He’s such a pro though. He does things the right way. He comes ready to work. He’s a smart guy. He picks up the system quickly. Whenever we get Matt in here, he’s going to add a different dimension to this offense. But for right now, Mike’s doing really well for us.”


http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports...0,334034.story