Bears’ Hanie learning the hard way

If nothing else, the past three weeks have been a learning experience for beleaguered backup quarterback Caleb Hanie.

One lesson stands out: “That wins are tough to come by,” said Hanie, who’s 0-3 as a starter.

“They don’t hand them out. And the plays that are out there, they have to be made. There are excuses that you can make, but that’s all they are is excuses.

“It doesn’t get the job done. It’s been a learning experience, and I’m getting in a groove a little bit more and more each week, and hopefully we can just keep improving and keep pounding away and things will turn our way.”

Although Hanie completed 12 of his 19 passes Sunday, he’d like to have at least one of the incompletions back.

“There was a third-and-10. It was Marion out of the backfield, and I just missed him,” Hanie. “It was a big play. It was there for the taking, and I just missed him.

“Those are the things that are magnified when you lose. I own that play; I own all the passes that I miss. I’ve just got to hit it.”

It’s not entirely Hanie’s fault that the Bears (7-6) have lost all three of his starts — not by a long shot.

But the offense has scored just 1 touchdown in the last eight quarters and converted 2 of 26 third downs, and the quarterback always gets more blame for losses and more credit for wins.

Publicly at least, Hanie still has the confidence of the locker room. But another loss would virtually eliminate the Bears from the postseason picture.

“As an offense, we left a lot of plays out there,” center Roberto Garza said. “We have to execute, and we have to get the little things right to get this thing turned around.

“We’ve been in every game, and he (Hanie) can certainly get better, but he’s not the only guy who needs to play better. We all do; we have to protect him.

“We’re in the hunt. We’re outside looking in, but anything’s possible, and it starts with winning one football game.”

Being at home should help, since the Bears are 5-2 at Soldier Field. But the Seahawks (6-7) have won four of their last five games, including their last two, when they outscored Philadelphia and St. Louis 61-27, although both of those games were at Seattle.

Sunday’s loss at Denver was the first time Hanie completed more than 50 percent of his passes, and his personal-best passer rating of 79.9 was satisfactory.

But he didn’t complete any passes of 20 yards or longer, he was sacked four times, and the offense failed in 13 of 15 third-down situations.

The fourth-year quarterback would have to be living in a vacuum not to hear the criticisms of him and the offense, but he said he’d soldier on.

“I don’t need a pat on the back after losses and stuff,” Hanie said, “but it doesn’t hurt.

“I’d love to be 3-0. I’m trying to do the best I can out there during the week and on the field. I haven’t gotten the job done so far, but I’m confident that if I keep plugging away that I’ll make the plays that put us over the hump. We’re trying to push through.”

Offensive coordinator Mike Martz may have keener eyesight than most, or he may just be looking through rose-colored glasses. But he sees improvement in Hanie’s play.

“He’s getting better,” Martz said. “There’s no question he’s getting better. He’s getting a better feel for the game. The more he plays, the better he’s going to get.

“He’s going to have a long career in this game. He’s basically a rookie learning as he goes.”

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