Bears’ Hanie says he’s confident

Quarterback Caleb Hanie knows exactly what the offense must do Sunday in Denver if the Bears are to avoid the disastrous performance they turned in during last week’s 10-3 loss to Kansas City.

“Just taking advantage of the plays that are there to be made,” Hanie said, alluding to the missed opportunities in his second NFL start.

“We left 3 (touchdowns) on the field. When we’re down there (near) the red zone four times, and we only come away with 3 points, that’s never good.”

In case anyone has forgotten, the Bears frittered away a touchdown when Marion Barber failed to line up on the line of scrimmage before he caught an apparent 4-yard TD pass in the second quarter.

On the next possession, Hanie overthrew a wide-open Earl Bennett at the goal line.

At the end of the third quarter, the Bears reached the Chiefs’ 7-yard line, but Hanie was sacked on back-to-back plays before Robbie Gould missed a 41-yard field goal.

In the fourth quarter, Roy Williams’ goal-line bobble and drop wound up as an interception.

Four scoring opportunities. Three points. One loss.

Those wasted chances summarized the major malfunctions in the Bears’ offense last week: inaccuracy by Hanie, poor protection from the line and precious little help from the supporting cast.

“We didn’t coach real good, and we didn’t play real good around him either, so there are a lot of things that went on in that game,” offensive coordinator Mike Martz said. “We just have to clean things up with everybody, not just Caleb.”

Martz’s playcalling has been criticized by some as putting Hanie in difficult situations, but the quarterback insists that playcalling is not part of the problem.

“I’m very confident in Mike’s playcalling, and I’m very confident in whatever he brings in,” the quarterback said. “And I’m confident that our guys are going to improve and that I’m going to improve and I’m going to make the plays that need to be made.”

It won’t be easy against a Broncos defense that held three straight opponents to less than 14 points before last week’s 35-32 victory at Minnesota.

The Broncos are No. 8 in sacks, led by rookie linebacker Von Miller, the AFC sack leader with 10½.

“He shows up a lot,” Hanie said. “He’s a good player, (but) we play against good players every week. You’ve just got to have a good plan for him, and our coaches are going to have one.”

It sounds as if the Bears’ plan for Hanie is giving him more to work with rather than scaling back the offense to simplify matters.

“He’s not making mental errors,” Martz said. “He’s sharp with everything, so he’s learning under the gun, so to speak. We’ve got to get him into the game a little bit earlier.

“(We were) probably a little bit too conservative with him. He’s capable of probably more than what we’re doing with him. So we’ll be a little bit more aggressive with him.”

According to Hanie, the Broncos’ defense also benefits from an offense that is No. 1 in rushing yards, No. 2 in rushing plays, and as a result maintains control of the ball for an inordinate amount of time.

“I think teams press a little bit because they think they’ll have fewer possessions,” Hanie said, “and they get forced into turnovers. We just have to be patient and take what they give us.”

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