Bears' Cutler pumped about receiver options

Even though Mike Tice is the Bears' new offensive coordinator, more than ever it will be Jay Cutler's offense on the field.

Management has provided him with Brandon Marshall, the receiver who was Cutler's go-to guy in Denver when he threw for a combined 8,023 yards in 2007 and '08. His new quarterbacks coach, Jeremy Bates, worked closely with Cutler and Marshall those two seasons in Denver.

"Jeremy has a really good feel of what I like to do and what I don't like to do," Cutler said after Wednesday's OTA practice. "There were plays out here that I told him, 'I don't like them. Let's think about getting rid of them.' And he's fine with that, and coach Tice is fine with that.

"It's a give and take, and that's a breath of fresh air around here, being able to give ideas and everyone giving ideas and let's pick the best ones that work for everybody."

That wasn't the case last season under offensive coordinator Mike Martz, when the offense operated as more of a dictatorship than a democracy.

Cutler is looking forward to utilizing the most talented collection of skill-position players the Bears have possessed in more than 20 years. And his passing-game weapons aren't just better - they're bigger. The presence of the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Marshall and 6-foot-3, 216-pound rookie Alshon Jeffery gives Cutler more size than he's had in his three seasons with the Bears.

"It changes things, (like) where you can throw the ball, (and) when you can throw the ball," Cutler said. "Those guys are getting better and better each day. And Devin Hester is probably having the best camp of all the receivers. We've got a lot of weapons.

"I think management is going to have a tough job figuring out what four, five or six guys we want to keep (at wide receiver)."