Faithful turn out as Camp Cutler convenes

BOURBONNAIS - The faithful turned out in droves to see Jay Cutler in his first training camp practice as a Bear, and the new quarterback gave them what they wanted.

An estimated crowd of 6,000, one of the largest in the Bears' eight years at Olivet Nazarene University, gave Cutler a rousing welcome when he appeared on the practice field Friday afternoon.

The applause increased during the second 7-on-7 session when Devin Hester made a tough over-the-shoulder catch on a Cutler pass deep down the sideline and grew louder when, two snaps later, tight end Greg Olsen made a nice adjustment to a long Cutler toss down the opposite sideline.

"That's who they come to see right now," said tight end Desmond Clark, who caught 3 Cutler passes. "He's the new guy in town, and they want to see if he is really what they say he is. I think they got a glimpse of that. He is as advertised."

After a shaky first sequence in 11-on-11, Cutler hit 5-for-5 on shorter routes during his second series. In his fourth and final set of plays, Cutler completed 5 of 6 passes including a deep ball down the middle to Earl Bennett and a dart through heavy traffic to Rashied Davis.

"Toward the end we started getting into it," Cutler said. "Early on guys were kind of getting used to the new cleats on new grass. It's a new atmosphere, so we're going to get better and better. There's going to be some speed bumps we have to get over when camp gets a little bit tiring, but overall I think it's a good first day."

On the day, Cutler completed 9 of 12 in 7-on-7 and 15 of 21 in 11-on-11. Early in Friday's practice, with wide receivers going one-on-one against cornerbacks, Cutler rifled a deep ball beyond the reach of a streaking Hester, and even that show of arm strength was appreciated.

"Way to go Jay," a fan yelled.

"The fans have been absolutely tremendous from Day One," Cutler said. "We just have to go out and win games now. That's kind of what we're working on right now."

Cutler, who was acquired in a trade with the Broncos on April 2, has been spending time recently at Halas Hall with his receivers, making sure they didn't accumulate any rust in the five weeks between the final OTA and the start of training camp. It seems to have worked.

"It was a good first day," Cutler said. "Guys were in the right spots. That's the most important part of it; the rest is going to come."

Bears coach Lovie Smith already sees the offensive picture coming into focus, and he likes the looks of it with Cutler running the show.

"I think he's in total control," Smith said. "He has a track record. Guys realize that, so they're going to listen to what he tells them. He has a way about telling them. You won't see him scream or yelling at guys, but he'll get his point across, and with his personality, it allows the guys to really gravitate to him."

Last year an air of uncertainty surrounded the offense, while Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton competed for the quarterback job. But there's no doubt who the main man is now.

"I feel like it (took) a big toll," Hester said. "We didn't know which quarterback to adjust to. This year we know who our guy is. Now we're just having fun and polishing up our work."

It's obvious the fans aren't the only ones amped up over the offensive possibilities with a Pro Bowl quarterback who's still only 26 at the controls.

"We were going to have pretty high expectations coming in regardless," Olsen said. "But then, obviously, when you make a big splash like that at that position, it takes it to another level. I think guys are excited to get out there and put the pads on and get rolling. That's the exciting part, to see how much better we can get."

There's a lot of room for improvement, considering the Bears were 26th in total yards last season.

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