Cutler confident as Chargers loom

BOURBONNAIS - Even though he's never taken a snap against another team in Mike Martz's offense, quarterback Jay Cutler is confident heading into Saturday night's preseason opener against the Chargers.

"Mike does a good job getting quarterbacks prepared," Cutler said. "I think you can look at his track record. No matter who the quarterback is or what team it is, they're going to be successful."

Last year Cutler had a 92.0 passer rating in the preseason, completing 28 of 44 passes for 329 yards with 2 TDs and 1 interception.

In past preseason openers, Bears coach Lovie Smith has limited playing time for starters to one quarter, tops. But he might want to get the offense a little more time to work on assimilating the new scheme. Either way it's fine with Cutler.

"Whatever they decide," the quarterback said. "It's important to get out there and get some plays and get some rhythm, but if we start off hot and we get off the field, we get off the field."

Despite the enormity of Martz's playbook and the extensive classroom work that the offense has already logged, Cutler says he isn't overwhelmed.

"Mike does a good job of getting us prepared in meetings," Cutler said. "We worked really hard and put a lot of stuff in in OTAs and minicamp. We sent a lot of hours just going over it and over it with Mike and making sure that we're completely comfortable because there are a lot of plays, a lot of verbiage. There is a lot for a quarterback to know, but once you grasp the basic concepts, you can kind of decode what he's trying to get to."

Martz says he'll be able to tell how well Cutler is grasping the system.

"(If) he makes a good decision, and he makes a good throw," Martz said. "I know that sounds silly. I'm not being a smart aleck, but that's just it. You have to get back and be decisive and quick with the ball and make accurate throws. That sounds so easy to do, but it's so hard to do. And that's what we look for."