Hanie makes final cut as Bears get down to 53

As an undrafted free agent, the odds were stacked against rookie quarterback Caleb Hanie, but the longshot from Colorado State still is a Bear after the final cuts were made official Saturday night.

"I like what he did through the entire preseason," offensive coordinator Ron Turner said. "Every time he played, he did well."

Hanie grabbed everyone's attention in the first preseason game, when he led the Bears to 10 points, as many as Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton combined. Hanie completed 9 of 16 passes against Kansas City for 101 yards, 1 touchdown pass and a 96.1 passer rating.

"Every time he's gotten an opportunity here, we've liked what we've seen from him," Bears coach Lovie Smith said after that game. "He has a strong arm. He's picking up the offense now. We like him."

Hanie, who will be third on the depth chart, led the Bears in preseason passing yards (321) and TD passes (3). His passer rating of 82.1 was sandwiched nicely between Orton's 87.1 and Grossman's 78.4.

Hanie also showed better athleticism and running ability than either of the top two quarterbacks, running four times for 37 yards. He was sacked just once while throwing 49 passes, showing escape- ability rarely seen in a Bears quarterback.

Hanie completed 12 of 17 passes in the preseason finale Thursday for 115 yards, but he was intercepted once and finished with a 64.6 passer rating, leaving him uncertain as to his fate.

"I feel like I've done everything I can and I've made enough plays to get people's attention," he said. "You can't worry yourself over it too much."

The 6-foot-2, 225-pounder said he came in with modest expectations but believes he has become a much better player over the past four months.

"I'm just trying to get my foot in the door. I think I've taken a pretty big step and improved on the little aspects of the game, like mechanics," he said. "I know the offense a lot better than I did."

Two of Hanie's TD passes went to Brandon Rideau, who led the Bears with 3 scoring grabs and 127 receiving yards, but it wasn't enough.

The Bears kept third-round draft pick Earl Bennett and decided to give Mark Bradley another chance to fulfill the potential he showed as a rookie in 2005, when he was a second-round pick.

Bradley had 8 preseason catches, 2 more than he had all of last season. Bennett caught 2 passes for 21 yards but had a 75-yard punt-return TD.

Rideau, who spent 2006 on the Bears' practice squad and a week on their active roster last year, had 3 catches for 63 yards in the final preseason game and was singled out by Smith for his play, which had him feeling pretty good about his chances.

"It's great motivation," Rideau said. "It lets me know that I can play in this league. I feel like I did what I could do, and I want to prove that I can do more."

After the final preseason game it seemed that Rideau would get his chance with the Bears. Turner was asked if the 6-3, 198-pound Rideau was making it tough to decide on the final roster because of his play in the final two preseason games.

"Not just this last couple weeks," Turner said. "He had a very good training camp, he's played well in every game, and he's definitely piqued our interest - at least mine anyway."

NFL teams can establish their eight-man practice squads beginning today, and it is expected to include several players who were cut Saturday.