Cutler watch: Jay, Devin light up the night

It was a tossup as to who was more impressive at Thursday night's practice in front of 8,000 at Olivet Nazarene University's Ward Field, Jay Cutler throwing or Devin Hester catching. Bottom line, they combined to light up the night sky with several long-distance connections. It was exactly what Bears general manager Jerry Angelo had in mind when he swung the deal for Cutler on April 2.

"I like what the offense was able to do (Thursday) night," coach Lovie Smith said. "Jay (was) in full command, made a lot of great throws, (and we were) making plays."

On the third play of 7-on-7, Hester showed off his big-time hops by snaring a wicked Cutler fastball. In 11-on-11, Cutler twice connected on deep sideline routes to Hester, who made diving, crowd-pleasing grabs just in bounds. On the first play in the two-minute drill, Cutler zipped a deep laser deep down the middle that Hester snagged in traffic.