Bears Blitz

Published by Bryan Dietzler on June 9, 2009
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

Everyone who is a fan of the Chicago Bears, or of football for that matter, will know that the Bears are coming into the 2009 season with a new quarterback and a new chance to put up some points on offense. 

The Bears have had serious issues at the quarterback position for decades and in one fell swoop, they solved these issues by trading for former Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler.  Gone are the days of Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton.  There are no longer any temporary “stop gap” players (Brian Griese and Chad Hutchinson) or no drafted quarterbacks to fail (Cade McNown).

Chicago finally has its all star starting quarterback and can now look forward to a future of scoring more points, holding more leads and thus winning more games.  In what has become the most important position in football, the Bears now have one of the better players in the game and are poised to win big very soon.

Let’s take a look at the players that the Bears currently have at the quarterback position and how they look going into training camp this summer.

Jay Cutler: Cutler is the undisputed starter heading into training camp this summer and for the first time in a long time, the Bears won’t have to worry about having a quarterback competition.  Cutler is getting the offense down and will be ready to go by training camp. This meaning the Bears will be able to do some great things before the season starts.  He should be able to help boost the offense and give them an option in the passing game that they haven’t had for decades.

Caleb Hanie: Last season’s pre-season “wonder” kid serves as the second string quarterback heading into training camp and should be able to retain that role throughout camp and on into the season.  There is some concern that if Cutler goes down, Hanie won’t be able to carry the team forward and there would be a serious drop off in talent.  So, Chicago will cross its fingers and hope that Cutler stays upright this coming season and they won’t have to see any of Hanie except in mop up duty.

Brett Basanez: Basanez was one of the first signings that they made during the offseason and right now appears to be set as the third string quarterback heading into training camp.  Basanez does bring some experience to the position having been in the NFL for a couple of seasons and does have some decent intangibles.  It is not out of the question to think that Basanez may end up beating Hanie for the No. 2 spot and so there just may actually just be a quarterback battle of sorts in training camp this summer.

The Bears did have Missouri’s Chase Patton, Northwestern’s C.J. Bacher, and Florida State’s Drew Weatherford, but none of these guys has stuck.  So the Bears will go into training camp with Cutler, Hanie, and Basanez.  This lack of depth may scare some fans, but there should only be concern if Cutler gets hurt and he has a long track record of staying healthy.