Caleb proves he's able Bears' third-string QB

Caleb Hanie, is the Bears' "other" quarterback - the one who isn't competing for the starting job.

But he was the team's most productive quarterback in the preseason opener Thursday against the Chiefs, and he displayed the poise of a veteran while leading the offense to 10 points playing with and against second- and third-stringers.

Hanie completed 9 of 16 passes for 101 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Rideau. Those numbers and his passer rating of 96.1 would have been even more impressive were it not for drops by rookies Marcus Monk and Earl Bennett during a two-minute drive that came up short because of the drops and a pair of penalties. That final drive was the only one of three Hanie possessions that didn't produce points.

It was an encouraging performance for the undrafted rookie out of Colorado State. Still, he maintained his poise and his grip on reality after the game when questioners wanted to include him in the battle between Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton for the starting job.

"I'm really just trying to make the team," Hanie said. "So that's as much motivation as I need. The top two quarterbacks are way ahead of me right now as far as knowing the offense and everything, so I'm not too worried about them. (I'm) just trying to keep focused on what I'm doing."

Even before his impressive debut, Hanie had already cleared a major hurdle when he easily distanced himself from Nick Hill, the other undrafted free-agent quarterback who opened camp with the Bears but was released after one week. Hanie has decent size at 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, and he showed better athleticism than Grossman or Orton, running twice for 21 yards against the Chiefs.

Hanie started 28 games at Colorado State and led the Mountain West Conference in passing efficiency last season, yet still went undrafted. He missed 2 of his first 3 passes vs. the Chiefs but quickly settled down. "At first I was a little antsy, a little hyped up to be in a game, and I sailed my first pass," he said. "But after that first drive, I kind of settled in and felt a lot more comfortable. You just try to stay as relaxed as possible and trust the linemen and receivers that they're gonna be there for you."

Hanie said he went into his first professional game with a basic plan.

"Just to control the offense, manage the game and try to do the best I can to stay poised," he said. "Just go out there and show them that I'm ready and know my reads and everything. Just kind of simple."

Thursday night, "simple" worked pretty well for the rookie.