QB LeFevour starting over with new Bears offense

It's a whole new ballgame for sixth-round pick Dan LeFevour, the record-setting quarterback from Central Michigan and Benet Academy.

He's learning a new offense with the Bears and relearning how to take the snap from under center, which he hadn't done since his high school days. It's not an overnight process, which new offensive coordinator Mike Martz fully understands.

"Whatever you did in the past has no bearing on today," he said after the weekend rookie minicamp. "They've got to learn a whole new way of offense, a different way of looking at things. Everything is different, no matter what your background or how successful. He's come here obviously with a completely open mind, which is terrific. So he's very, very easy to coach. He's like a sponge. He's trying his best if he doesn't do it right. He's a long ways away."

Operating out of the shotgun at CMU, LeFevour became the only player in NCAA history to throw for more than 12,000 yards and run for more than 2,500. Now he's adapting to a different situation.

"It's a lot to learn, but it's exciting and it's a great opportunity," he said. "I'm looking forward to the challenge and every day just hoping to get a little bit better."

Experience counts: Jay Cutler has never missed an NFL game because of injury.

But backup Caleb Hanie has thrown just 7 NFL passes. Brett Basanez, last year's No. 3, has thrown 11 NFL passes, all in his rookie season of 2006 with the Panthers. So offensive coordinator Mike Martz was asked if the Bears need an experienced veteran backup behind Cutler.

"It makes you a little nervous doesn't it?" Martz said. "Caleb is going to be a real good player, but you really don't know."

Kurt Warner lacked NFL experience when he put up huge numbers in Martz's offense with the Rams, but there was a difference.

"He played in (NFL) Europe, and we looked at all his Europe stuff, so we kind of had a feel for him under pressure with blitzes and things like that," Martz said. "Caleb will be all right. (A veteran) just kind of gives you that insurance and pads it a little bit. I think from that aspect it would make us all feel a little bit easier with a veteran, but you just never know."

Learning to rush: Fourth-round pick Corey Wootton had 10 sacks as a junior at Northwestern, but the most important lessons he learned from defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli last weekend involved rushing the passer.

"He's all about pass rush, and that's something we didn't stress as much in college," Wootton said. "But here in the NFL, you get paid because you can rush the passer. So that's all we've been working on - just pass rush and learning about flipping your hips, hand quickness, all these drills, so it was a great weekend."