Undrafted rookie QB Hanie at the ready for Bears

If history is any indication, it won't be long before Bears fans are clamoring for Caleb Hanie.

As the third-string quarterback, Hanie will become a fan favorite at Soldier Field as soon as starter Kyle Orton and backup Rex Grossman stumble, even a little.

History also says there's a good chance that three quarterbacks will start games for the Bears. It has happened in four of the previous six seasons, including 2004, when the Bears used four (Chad Hutchinson, Craig Krenzel, Jonathan Quinn and Grossman).

"Yeah, I've heard that," Hanie said with a smile. "That's just extra motivation for me. It gives me a little push to say, 'You better be ready, because whether it's injuries or stuff like that, you're right at the edge of playing. Just be ready for your opportunity.'

"Hopefully Kyle doesn't get hurt, or even Rex, but you always have to be prepared."

Hanie, who signed with the Bears as a free agent, said he wasn't prepared to go undrafted in April. He might have been a little surprised, but he wasn't shocked, having played under the radar at Colorado State in the Mountain West Conference.

"I wasn't angry," he said. "I saw it more as a business decision for most teams. It was a little disappointing, but I was glad to (sign with) the Bears. It was a great place to land for me."

Being ignored in the draft by all 32 teams isn't the ideal way to begin an NFL career, but it provided motivation for the 6-foot-2, 225-pound Hanie, who finished his college career ranked fifth all time in touchdown passes in the Mountain West and seventh in passing yards.

His ratio of 18 TD passes to 15 interceptions last season was ordinary, but he set the CSU record with a 64.2 completion percentage.

"Obviously you want to get drafted," Hanie said. "You want to feel that sense of self-worth, but it does add a little extra motivation to show people what you have and what they might have missed out on or what they might miss out on some day."

Hanie said that when he heard the names of some of the quarterbacks called on the second day of the draft, he couldn't help but think, "I'm better than him."

Now that he's on the Bears' 53-man active roster, he joked that he's also on the other side of that equation.

"You probably give yourself a little too much credit sometimes," he said. "I thought I was better than some of the quarterbacks drafted, but that's just me. Now they're probably saying, 'Hanie made the team in Chicago? (Heck), I could've made the team in Chicago.' "

Starting off as an undrafted free agent is never the quickest route to a starting job in the NFL, but Hanie already has learned to be patient. It wasn't until he got a phone call from coach Lovie Smith on Saturday that he knew he made the team.

"I was on edge up until the end, right until the very last second," Hanie said. "It was a long process and a lot of waiting and a lot of patience."

Normally calls go out only to players receiving bad news, but Hanie was one of the players on the bubble.

"There have been a couple years when I haven't called some of the guys that thought they were on the bubble, and they didn't realize not getting a call was good," Smith said. "Caleb was pretty excited to say the least."

Now it's back to playing the waiting game for Hanie, although maybe not for long.

"I'm patient enough to wait for my opportunity (to start)," he said. "That's not to say I'm not going to work as hard as I can to press that earlier.

"I'm going to be ready when I get my opportunity. You have to treat it as if you're the starter now, so that you can be prepared when that opportunity comes if it's this year or whenever."

For quarterbacks in Chicago, it usually doesn't take long.

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