Jay Cutler: May 2009 Archives

The post made here on Friday before the contract signing party commenced at Halas Hall generated quite a bit of buzz.

Football Scientist author KC Joyner made a case that Jay Cutler was too mistake prone and that ultimately that would limit his success with the Bears. The majority of responses were negative and the general consensus was figures lie and liars figure. We feel compelled to study all sides of an issue and another study by Joyner has been brought to our attention that perhaps will better explain his opinion that is shaped by statistics.

Back in mid-March when the Cutler trade winds were blowing, Joyner analyzed his performance vs. that of Brett Favre in New York. The Jets were rumored to be one of the teams pursuing Cutler and Joyner took their 2008 numbers and put them side-by-side in a blog post for the New York Times. Everyone knows Favre fizzled down the stretch, ultimately leading to his departure and the exits of others, including coach Eric Mangini. The results here might surprise you.

Joyner points out that both quarterbacks worked with solid receivers and also had quality pass-catching tight ends. He calls both quarterbacks "vertically inclined." His study measured the yards per attempt for each quarterback at different depth levels (how far the ball was thrown downfield). Here is how they matched up:

Short passes (0-9 yards) - Cutler 6.2, Favre 5.8

Vertical passes (medium, deep and bomb combined totals) - Cutler 9.8, Favre 9.5

Most are in agreement expectation levels for Jay Cutler in his first season as Bears quarterback are at third-and-long or fourth-and-forever by now. It is going to be challenging for him to meet them, in his first season anyway.

"Anytime a team wants to make a trade like that and give up what they gave up, it's going to be a lot of pressure, a lot of high expectations,'' Cutler said last week after an OTA. "I welcome it. It's going to be fun. It's going to be a good challenge.''

The Bears don't need Cutler to replace John Elway. They need him to be Elway. They've never had that quarterback in franchise history and much is being expected of him even though little has been done with the exception of some new and moving parts on the offensive line. Now that the Bears have their quarterback, they can go out and build around him.

One analyst who is tempering enthusiasm is KC Joyner, who publishes The Football Scientist. No one tackles more game tape than Joyner and he's not convinced Cutler is going to do more than make the Bears' receivers better alternatives in fantasy football.

"Regarding Cutler, I've said many times and I'll say it again, he'll make Bears fans remember Rex Grossman quite fondly,'' Joyner said Thursday in an online chat on ESPN.com.

He bases this opinion on what he calls the "bad decision rate" Cutler has in comparison to other quarterbacks. Joyner finds that Cutler is even more of a risk taker than Grossman was. One gunslinger has been replaced by another, a guy who just happens to be carrying a bigger gun.

"His bad decision rate is 5 percent,'' Joyner said. "That means one out of every 20 passes he throws is either an interception or a near interception because of a mistake he made. A high YPA [yards per attempt] can offset a high bad decision rate but the upper limit for offsetting tends to be around somewhere between 3 and 4 percent. Cutler has got to stop making so many mistakes, period.''

Cutler threw 18 interceptions last season in Denver. Only Brett Favre, after a disastrous stretch at season's end, had more with 22. His yards per attempt average was 7.3, which ranked 10th. The thinking is that now without Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal to throw to, Cutler could wind up pressing.

The Bears didn't make any attempts to deny their interest in upgrading the wide receiver corps going into the draft and in the days following it.

General manager Jerry Angelo said the club likely would have used its first-round pick on a receiver had it not packaged it to get quarterback Jay Cutler. Angelo said the team thought there would be someone potentially special available where they were selecting. With Cutler on board, Angelo then offered his second-round pick to Arizona for Anquan Boldin. Maybe the Cardinals were not that serious about trading the disgruntled star. They reportedly didn't even engage the Bears in talks after the offer.

So as comfortable as Angelo, Ron Turner, Lovie Smith and Cutler himself have said they are with the current cast of Bears' receivers, the team hasn't been shy when it comes to seeking an upgrade. If the Bears are still looking around for help, two free agents remain available and on the surface one is more interesting than the other. Agent Drew Rosenhaus announced earlier today via his Twitter account that a third team has inquired about the services of Plaxico Burress.

"Good news for Plaxico as a 3rd team has just expressed serious interest in signing him. I won't identify any of the teams at their request."

Could the Bears be one of those three teams?

Burress has legal issues in New York but reportedly could make some progress on that thorny matter next month. The New York Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have already been linked to Burress, but he's not going to do any team any good from jail. Burress potentially faces 3 1/2 years in the joint for carrying an unregistered firearm in Manhattan last year, the gun that blew a hole in his leg. There seems to be some thinking that Burress will be able to avoid jail time, or perhaps avoid serving jail time during the season. Of course, that does not address any punishment that will be handed down by the NFL for violation of the league's personal conduct policy, but Burress could very well be in play for 2009. Multiple reports have shot down a report in Wednesday's Miami Herald that he could wind up with the Miami Dolphins.

Then there is the case of ex-Jacksonville wide receiver Matt Jones, who ESPN's Chris Mortenson reported will avoid further suspension from the league for his off-field misdeeds. Jones made 65 catches for 761 yards last season but the Jaguars, badly in need of receiver help, cut him loose. He was busted last summer for possession of cocaine.

Jay Cutler had one pitch on Wednesday at Halas Hall and it will still get some work to get used to apparently.

While the world coming out of Halas Hall the past few weeks has been that the wide receivers have been catching everything in sight, that wasn't the case at the first OTA of the offseason as passes were routinely dropped. Yes, Cutler's fastball arrives with more heat than what the Bears are accustomed to seeing, but it's not like this workout was the first time the team has been around him. If there are push-ups to be done for the drops, the Bears will have a strong group of wide receivers soon.

"It takes a little time to adjust,'' offensive coordinator Ron Turner said. "They know they better get their head around and get their hands up because that ball's going to be there."

Overall, the energy level was high with a lot more excitement than the team had say in March at the mandatory minicamp. Most of Cutler's work was done underneath and he said it was good to work against defensive players. Plenty of national media came in for the unveiling of Cutler and all of the focus was on him.

"No, no, not yet,'' Cutler said when asked if it's his team now. "This is a defensive-kind of run team with Brian [Urlacher] and Lance [Briggs] and some of those guys and Olin [Kreutz] offensively. That's going to come in time. You can't rush things like that. You've got to kind of take things in stride and get guys to trust you and have confidence in you and hopefully by Game 1 they're all behind me."

A few notes:

*** Pisa Tinoisamoa, pictured above watching practice today by the Sun-Times' Al Podgorski, visited with plenty of coaches and players alike during practice before going into meetings with coaches and front office personnel after practice. He will be given a physical during his visit.

*** Josh Beekman worked with the starters at left guard but acknowledged he's in a full-fledged competition with Frank Omiyale for the starting job.

*** Craig Steltz lined up with the starters at free safety and Kevin Payne was next to him at strong safety. Ultimately, Steltz will probably push Payne for the starting job.

Bears president Ted Phillips and general manager Jerry Angelo were clear about one thing at the start of the offseason--any tightening of the belt at Halas Hall in the wake of the economic downturn was not going to have an effect on the football budget and how they do business.

Phillips made the point in February when discussing the organization's decision to freeze ticket prices at Soldier Field. Angelo echoed those sentiments later that month at the scouting combine in Indianapolis. Fast forward to mid-May and the Bears have $20.8 million remaining under the salary cap according to figures obtained by the Sun-Times on Monday. That makes them one of six teams in the league with more than $20 million available. It was announced last week that a final adjustment to the salary camp for 2009 raised it to $127.997 million. The Bears' adjusted cap for this season is $135.9 million, the result of a number of factors, including the Marcus Hamilton likely-to-be-earned incentive that gave the club a credit from last season.

Here are the top six in terms of available space:

Tampa Bay $37 million
Kansas City $31.8 million
Green Bay $29.4 million
San Francisco $26.4 million
Philadelphia $23.1 million
Bears $20.8 million

So, the question is what do to with the money? Angelo recently joked that it's not like he has a $20 bill burning a hole through his pocket. He was asked directly about the possibility of some extensions on Sunday at the team's fan expo.

"I think we were unprecedented in terms of all the people we did extensions with,'' Angelo said of last year. ``So in part that made fewer players come up, but those that do well, we'll definitely do what we've always done in the past. I've always said this, 'They take care of their business and business takes care of itself.'''

The Bears were so pro-active in signing players who were coming out of contract last year that there really are not that many to choose from. We detailed the list of free-agents-to-be in discussing the ramifications of an uncapped year here.

We teased a blog post on backup quarterbacks earlier today when we wrote about Jay Cutler picking up the offense and it didn't take long to receive this e-mail.

It's from Ed. We will leave Ed's last name out of it. As he points out, he didn't want to be shredded by some of the more animated regulars on here.

I have a question regarding your teaser at the bottom of your latest entry, but I wanted to ask you directly so I don't flame the board. Why not bring back a veteran QB who is familiar with this offense? Rex Grossman. Obviously, there wouldn't be a learning curve for picking up this offense. He has game experience under the system. And he might be able to succeed in a limited capacity with a revamped (bigger) offensive line. Plus, the Bears wouldn't need to sign him to a long term deal. Please let me know your thoughts.

Ed

We're pretty sure you're not alone on that one, Ed. In the minority? Perhaps. Alone. No way. We're not going to do any Rex bashing and we never have. We've written it before and I believe it--fans grabbed hold of Grossman and used him as the symbol for everything that was wrong with the position from an organizational standpoint. Ultimately, his demise as a former first-round pick had as much to do with the franchise as anything else.

We've also written before that Grossman should have ventured out in search of a new opportunity a year ago. He waited and now he finds himself without a job. New agent Drew Rosenhaus has been trying to find him work at the veteran minimum for more than a month. There just aren't many jobs available out there right now and it could take an injury this summer or a trip to the United Football League for him to get a chance. Hey, there will be a franchise in Orlando, a hot bed for Gators fans.

I doubt seriously the Bears would consider Rex Part II. Yes, he knows the system. We get all of that. But the book on Grossman effectively closed when Kyle Orton was named the starting quarterback at the end of training camp last summer. You can argue the merits of finding someone with experience--there aren't many quarterbacks still available that have any--and knowledge of your system all day. The Bears deemed Grossman wasn't a fit for them.

Back to our regularly scheduled blog post ... we've detailed what is going on at wide receiver and safety, and will surely do so again soon, but the issue at backup quarterback needs to be answered soon. Should the Bears attempt to locate a veteran quarterback as a backup?

There are pros and cons to it with Caleb Hanie, an undrafted free agent from last season, and Brett Basanez currently behind Cutler on the depth chart. General manager Jerry Angelo and coach Lovie Smith have not ruled out the possibility, but to this point they haven't made a move.

All eyes will be on Jay Cutler when the Bears begin the next phase of the offseason program with OTA's on Wednesday at Halas Hall.

It is the first of 14 scheduled OTA's (organized team activities) that will carry through mid-June before a six-week break leading into training camp. Offensive coordinator Ron Turner expects Cutler to have nearly all of the playbook down before his summer break. That means when the team reaches Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Ill., it will be refining most things on the field, not learning them.

"He'll have almost all of it,'' Turner said. ``It will not hold us back at all when we get to training camp. He'll have already gotten nearly everything. Once you get in the season you always add things by game plan and all that but as far as the basics of the playbook, it will all be in.''

Turner went back to the very basics with Cutler after he was acquired on April 2. They began drilling almost daily at Halas Hall. Some days they watched game tape to see how Turner likes to call plays in the flow of the game and what the thought process was behind the decisions. Sometimes they watched situational cut-ups. For instance, they would devote two hours to reviewing all of the pressures they saw in a certain formation. Turner sought feedback from Cutler and found there was quite a bit of carryover to what the quarterback brought with him from Denver.

"As far as how we adjust protections and concepts and things like that,'' Turner said, ``There were some similarities. It's not like we're going from German to Spanish.''

Jay Cutler does not have Eddie Royal to throw to after switching teams but that might be OK.

NFL.com's Pat Kirwan, in a segment on CBSSports.com, suggests that third-round pick Juaquin Iglesias could make the kind of impact as a rookie that Royal did in his first season last year with the Denver Broncos.

That's asking a lot. Royal started 15 games and made 91 receptions for 980 yards with five touchdowns. With Brandon Marshall suspended for the season opener, Royal made nine catches in the first game and never looked back. The quarterback and wide receiver made a connection early and clicked.

Plenty of football lies ahead. The team's fan expo is scheduled for Sunday at Soldier Field and the first OTA will be held on Wednesday at Halas Hall. Let's get right to the mailbag. We've received several questions recently about defensive lineman Israel Idonije and we'll address two.

Q: My question is about Israel Idonije. It seems like every year he gets moved from tackle to end and then back again the next year. I understand a key to the 3-4 defense is finding the rare player with the attributes to play defensive end. Typically they are players that are too small to be a nose tackle but are bigger than a typical rush end in a 4-3. Doesn't that describe Idonije? Apparently players like Idonije are so rare that Kansas City used the third pick in the draft to grab Tyson Jackson even though some would call it a reach. Jackson is listed at 6-4, 294 pounds and Idonije is nearly identical at 6-6, 297. Wouldn't Idonije be better served by playing in a 3-4 defense? Doesn't he have some trade value? I know he's a big contributor on special teams but isn't the defensive line crowded with the addition of the new draft picks? If idonije was a good fit for the Bears wouldn't he have settled into a position by now?

Chris F., Homer Glen, IL

A: You make some interesting points but we would suggest that a quality nose tackle in the 3-4 is probably the most rare thing. The whole concept of the 3-4 is to tie up the blockers with three down linemen so the four linebackers can make plays. That starts with a tackle who can command double teams and create pileups in the middle of the field on every snap. I am not going to dispute that Idonije has value. There were a couple of games where he really stood out last season. He had a sack, QB hit and four tackles against Philadelphia. He had 1 1/2 sacks, a QB hit and a pass deflection against Jacksonville. There were other moments too. But there were times last season when Idonije wasn't as noticeable, and his playing time dipped over the final third of the year. Idonije has been a career role player for the Bears and for him to have real trade value, some team would have to view him as a starter and a top starter for them. I am sure the Bears would listen to offers but I also know that they believe strongly that you can never have too many defensive linemen, particularly versatile ones like Idonije. He can play all four spots on the line, even the nose in a pinch, and guys like that are hard to find and make life easier on coaches come Sunday.

Mike Holmgren was largely credited with helping develop a young Brett Favre in Green Bay more than 15 years ago. Now, Holmgren is asked to weigh in on an old Favre, the one who is or isn't contemplating a 2009 return with the Minnesota Vikings depending on, well, the day or you who believe.

Holmgren weighed in on a current young quarterback with a strong arm in Jay Cutler on Thursday when he visited with Waddle & Silvy on WMVP-AM 1000. Holmgren and his Seattle Seahawks faced Cutler on Dec. 3, 2006, in Cutler's first NFL start. He threw two touchdowns, was intercepted twice and was sacked three times in a 23-20 loss.

"We played against Jay in Denver, it may have been his first start,'' Holmgren said. "He was a little wild, but he has really good ability. He can really throw it. And I didn't begin to comment on how he's developed and things like that because, but he went to the Pro Bowl. And he's a young quarterback. And I know this, those guys are hard to find. They really are.

"If you have one then you have to cultivate it and build up a trust and ride that horse all the way. And it surprised me a little bit, to be honest. I think it's a wonderful thing for the Bears. I think the Bears have always been a difficult team to play, and their defense has always been very, very strong. And they've always had some question marks over the years at quarterback, and this seems to have solved that problem. I expect it to be a very good thing for Chicago."

Let's get right to the mail.

Q: My question concerns the Green Bay Packers' implementation of the 3-4 defense. Under Lovie Smith's tenure, the Chicago Bears' record vs. teams that run the 3-4 is 2-6. Here are the results:

2004: Houston Texans (coached by Dom Capers) 24 v. BEARS 5
2005: Cleveland Browns 20 v. BEARS 10; BEARS 17 v. San Francisco 49ers 9; Pittsburgh Steelers 21 v. BEARS 9
2006: BEARS 41 v. San Francisco 49ers 10; New England Patriots 17 v. BEARS 13
2007: San Diego Chargers 14 v. BEARS 3; Dallas Cowboys 34 v. BEARS 10
2008: no opponents

Dom Capers (an associate of 3-4 students Bill Cowher and Dick LeBeau) has taken three separate basement dwelling defensive units and flipped them into formidable forces in his first year on the job. The 3-4 defense can can prove to be exotic, dynamic and perplexing all within the same possession. What are your thoughts on Capers and his history? Any insights on how the Bears prepare themselves for the Packers new defense?

Jim A., Parts Unknown

A: To take your well made point a step further, the Bears are 0-6 vs. teams that implement the 3-4 defense that are not in San Francisco. I think the 49ers were running more of a hybrid 3-4 there at the time, however, because of some personnel shortages. At any rate, Capers' success has been well documented and Dan Pompei recently put together a nice story in the Tribune about it. There is a lot of work that goes into switching a defense and the key is acquiring the personnel. The Packers believe they are off to a good start after landing tackle B.J. Raji and linebacker Clay Matthews in the draft. I don't know what to say about that 2004 game with Houston, though. That meeting came at the end of a disastrous offensive season for the Bears. If you recall, Chad Hutchinson was the quarterback at the time. I think the one thing the Bears have going for themselves in this situation is new quarterback Jay Cutler. He comes from the AFC where the 3-4 has been more prevalent and he's played twice a season against one of the better 3-4 defenses in the league in San Diego.

Peter King doesn't like the Bears' acquisition of Jay Cutler.

He loves it.

Weighing in this morning in his Monday Morning Quarterback segment for Sports Illustrated, King lists the Bears fourth in his post-free agency, post-draft power rankings.

Fourth.

That's a major step up in class for a team that has not reached the playoffs the last two seasons and has struggled with consistency on defense. The Bears missed the playoffs last season because they couldn't hold big leads in several games, and couldn't come up with key plays in some big games down the stretch--see Minnesota and Houston as examples. Few people doubt that Cutler is going to energize the Bears' offense, but it's pretty much the same characters on defense, one that slumped again in 2008 and led to a shakeup on the coaching staff.

But King points out that the Bears did well in three key statistical categories--yards per rush, turnovers and yards per pass. The Bears were also pretty solid on third down, ranking fifth in the league. But as the old saying goes, figures lie and liars figure. The defense may not have given up the big runs or the big passes, but it couldn't get off the field at critical times and you cannot come up with a single statistic to mask what was an abysmal pass rush. The Bears blitzed more than any team in the league, a lot of them run blitzes to help out a front that couldn't stop the run on its own. The Bears succeeded vs. the run because they stacked an eighth defender in the box. They struggled stopping the pass because of it. They didn't give up the deep ball often because that is what the Tampa Two stops. They did get picked apart by short passing attacks.

There is not much debating the fact that the New York Jets are in greater need of a tight end than the Bears.

But free agent Michael Gaines left the Jets' facility on Wednesday without a contract offer and could be heading to Halas Hall later today. Gaines traveled back to Detroit after his visit with the Jets, who essentially have Dustin Keller and not much else for rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez to work with.

If the Jets are slow playing things with Gaines, it could be to the benefit of the Bears. Gaines figures to be a guy who could quickly challenge Kellen Davis, the fifth-round pick last season from Michigan State, for a roster spot. Although he was active for 16 games last season, Davis was on the field for just 40 offensive snaps. In replacing Israel Idonije in some key spots on special teams, Davis' contributions were marginal. He made three total special teams tackles.

What the Bears would be seeking in Gaines is a better blocker. He's 6-4, 277 pounds, and while he has decent hands and moves well for a big man, he's known as an in-line blocker. Essentially, Gaines is an extra guard if he's on the field. Certainly the Bears can get a thorough scouting report on him from defensive line coach Rod Marinelli, who was with Gaines in Detroit.

It's a move the Bears should consider because they need to get better in short-yardage situations. Here is a look at how the Bears did last season and how the Lions performed in the same situations. Yes, we know Gaines wasn't the reason for the success or failure of each play, but it's an interesting comparison when you consider the Bears had a strong young back in Matt Forte and the Lions were one of the worst outfits ever assembled.

Third-and-one

Bears 17-for-25, 68.0 percent
Lions 13-for-19, 68.4 percent

Third-and-two

Bears 8-for-19, 42.1 percent
Lions 8-for-11, 72.7 percent

Fourth-and-one

Bears 6-for-10, 60 percent (all 10 attempts were rushing)
Lions 3-for-5, 60 percent (2-for-3 when attempts were rushing)

We published a Q&A with general manager Jerry Angelo in today's edition of the Sun-Times and as the case often is with things like this, not quite all of it made it into the newspaper. The beauty of our space here is that it's unlimited.

Maybe the most interesting thing Angelo touched on, or at least something we found interesting, was how he viewed the construction of the roster.

There have been a couple sayings around this team for some time.

One is the Bears are a draft-driven organization.

The other is the Bears get off the bus running.

Is it possible both will fall by the wayside after the trade for Jay Cutler? With a player they believe can be a franchise quarterback, are the Bears going to continue to beat the silly line about getting off the bus running? This team was 24th in the league in rushing last season.

It doesn't sound like Angelo is going to be calling the Bears draft driven any longer, not after peddling his first-round pick this year and his first-round pick next year for Cutler. Truth is, the roster doesn't support his statement either. More on that in a little bit.

Angelo started talking about the construction of the roster after being asked if he has been too conservative.

"How do you define conservative?'' he said. "What do you have to do to not be conservative? What we have always done here, the art of this business, every team has decisions to make each and every year and there are always going to be some big decisions. That is very difficult to do and what you don't want to do is miss big. So we have a very pragmatic approach to making decisions. We don't do things knee jerk, we don't do things based on perception. We do things based on how it is going to impact us now and going forward. Nothing great probably looked good early. So being conservative in this business, in a of of ways, is a good thing. Because the one thing you don't want to do is make decisions based on emotion because when you do that, then you become desperate. There are a lot of casualties in this business from desperate thinking. If conservatism isn't going out there and doing some things where people say, `Wow, what was he thinking?' then yes we are conservative and I don't have any problem with that.

"I feel this, we built this team many different ways. We've done it through the draft, we've done it through the free agency system, we've done it through trades. When you look at our roster over my tenure here, we probably have done it every which way you can do it. We really have. There are some teams that really abide by the draft. There are some teams that really look at free agency. I think we have had a good mesh of both in how we've done this and in a sound way. In terms of free agency, we've had a pretty good track record in terms of our free-agent signings and that's not easy to do. There is probably as big of a bust ratio when you bring in free agents as the draft. I think we've done a pretty good job of meshing the two and we've always looked at every avenue, the Arena League, NFL Europe, I don't know any more we can do. Is that to say we've been great at everything? No, I'm not saying we've been great at everything but we've explored everything and I think we've been pretty good at most things. Whatever we feel like we have to do to win now and keep an eye on the future, I think we've done a pretty good job.

On Tuesday, we took a close look at how the playing time was divided on the defensive line last season in order to get an idea where rookies Jarron Gilbert and Henry Melton might fit in this season.

Today, we're going to examine a personnel change made in 2008 on offense and how it could impact the roster and more this coming season. Specifically, how did the playing time shake out at tight end and fullback over the past two seasons?

As part of Four Down Territory last month, a reader asked if Greg Olsen could potentially supplant veteran Desmond Clark as the starter this season even though Clark is considered a more well-rounded player as a blocker. Clark started 16 games last season and Olsen made seven starts as the club leaned heavily on double tight end formations. More on that in a little bit.

"Who starts doesn't really matter,'' coach Lovie Smith said. "Both guys played last year. Last year, we considered Greg a starter. It's like you have a third receiver who is a starter. I feel like we had 13 starters on the offense. Defense, the nickel is like a starter. Greg is one of the guys.''

Smith is on the money. We've reviewed statistics from last season and although Clark started nine more games, their playing time was nearly identical. Let's look at how close it actually was:

If we had any photo doctoring skills at all, we'd get a picture of Jay Cutler in a Cubs jersey throwing out the first pitch at Wrigley Field and put him in a Sox jersey. But we don't possess those talents, so we'll just let you know this way that Cutler is scheduled to take the mound on the South Side.

The White Sox announced that the new Bears quarterback will throw out the ceremonial first pitch Friday night before their game with the Texas Rangers at U.S. Cellular Field.

*** Former Whitney Young star Russell Maryland is teaming together with Bears tight end Greg Olsen to support a scholarship fundraiser for their school--the University of Miami.

Maryland will be honored at a dinner May 28 at the Metropolitan Club at Sears Tower in the 11th annual Chicago Scholarship Classic. Olsen is scheduled to appear along with Miami head coach Randy Shannon, other members of his staff and Pro Football Hall of Fame member Ted Hendricks. The event will be emceed by Bryan Dolgin of WMVP AM-1000. He is a 1997 graduate of the school. A golf outing will follow May 29 at Oakbrook Country Club in Oak Brook at 1 p.m.

For more information and tickets visit www.chicago-canes.org.

Safety Al Afalava is the only draft pick that will miss significant time in OTA's, which begin May 20, because of the league's rule that rookies cannot participate in anything beyond one minicamp until after May 16 if they have a degree or their school has already held its commencement ceremonies.

The sixth-round pick is from Oregon State and graduation day is not until June 13. That means Afalava would be eligible to participate in the final week of OTA's. There are two in May--on the 20th and 21st--and then they resume June 1 with four per week for three weeks.

"I am going to ask them for some homework," Afalava said. "Whatever they give me, I am going to do my best. I love to study football and I catch on fast, but it's the NFL and hopefully I don't get too behind."

The Bears will wrap up their three-day rookie minicamp this afternoon at Halas Hall after which the Bears might extend contract offers to a few of the 25 tryout players.

It might be tough for any of the three quarterbacks to get one. It's not so much Jay Cutler that is in their way but an inexperienced depth chart behind the new starter. Northwestern's C.J. Bacher, Missouri's Chase Patton and Florida State's Drew Weatherford have been splitting time. Blocking their way are Caleb Hanie and Brett Basanez. Hanie, the undrafted free agent from last season, has yet to appear in an NFL game. Basanez threw 11 passes in 2006. The Bears might be hesitant to add a third inexperienced passer to their depth chart and they only carried three quarterbacks to training camp last summer. When they took a fourth quarterback--Florida's Chris Leak--to Bourbonnais, Ill., in 2007 he pretty much just stood around. There wasn't enough work to go around.

Patton is battling a lack of experience as well trying to become the next Matt Cassel--a career college backup who hits it big. At 6-5, 220 pounds, he has the kind of size the NFL is looking for and the strongest arm of the bunch. But he played behind Heisman Trophy candidate Chase Daniel and threw only 31 passers over the last two seasons.

Marcus Freeman hasn't gotten to know Lance Briggs yet but they already have something in common besides both being listed at weak side linebacker.

Freeman is a guy who most thought would go much higher in the draft than he did, falling to fifth round and 154th overall where the Bears deemed him a "value pick'' as finding a backup for their perennial Pro Bowl performer wasn't a priority. Briggs used his draft snub--he went in the third round and felt he should have been a first-round pick--as motivation to prove to those who passed on him they were wrong all en route to the riches of a second NFL contract.

"My first interview was with the Bears at the Senior Bowl,'' Freeman said after practice Saturday afternoon. "The scout Jeff [Shiver] told me I reminded him of Briggs. That's just a huge compliment to me putting me in the same mold as an All-Pro like him.''

Had Freeman come out last year after his junior season, he might have been a second-round selection. Ankle injuries marred his senior season but the Bears focused on the player he was as a healthy underclassman.

"I enjoyed my time last season and I am enjoying my time in the NFL now,'' he said. "The money comes, the money goes. As long as you're happy, everything is good.''