Bears' offensive starters to get more time vs. Raiders

BOURBONNAIS - During the eight plays it was on the field last week, the Bears' first-team offense showed it could huddle up, get to the line of scrimmage and snap the ball without any major snafus.

More will be expected at 7:30 Saturday at Soldier Field against the Oakland Raiders (Fox Ch. 32, WBBM 780-AM).

Much more.

This time quarterback Jay Cutler and all the starters should play well into the second quarter, giving onlookers a good preview of the attack that offensive coordinator Mike Martz will utilize in his first season with the Bears.

But Martz won't waste any of his best material in the preseason, and he isn't putting any pressure on Cutler. With the regular-season opener still three weeks away, Martz contends he doesn't need to see anything from the quarterback that he hasn't already seen on the practice field, the classroom or in film study.

"I'm fine with Jay," Martz said. "I don't need to see anything from Jay. He gets better and better. He's a pretty remarkable guy, both as a man and as a player."

Before the Bears broke camp at Olivet Nazarene University Friday morning, Cutler said he considered practice time more valuable than preseason games - or at least his abbreviated participation in that first preseason game.

"We're out here for two hours, and we're going over every little thing," he said at the conclusion of practice. "In games you get limited amount of reps, you get a limited amount of looks from the defense. Out here is where you've really got to make it happen, and that stuff's got to translate to the game. If we see a look out here, we've got to be able to recognize it and react correctly in the game. Practice time is invaluable to us."

With backup quarterback Caleb Hanie sidelined for an indefinite period of time with a right shoulder injury, Cutler's health is more important than ever, considering his only healthy backups are rookie Dan LeFevour and Matt Gutierrez, who has been with the team just four days and has thrown 2 passes in the NFL.

The Bears chose not to bring in an experienced backup after Hanie was injured last week, depriving Cutler of a possible sounding board as he learns a new system under Martz. But Cutler says he doesn't need a veteran presence as long as Martz and Hanie are around.

"Mike's the guy," Cutler said. "Any questions I have, I go straight to him. He's the all-knowing source for this offense. It's kind of his baby. He does a great job of giving me all the information. That's one thing that he's excelled at since he first got here. He's going to give me every possible tool to succeed."

Hanie and Cutler are frequent companions, on the practice field and off. It's a good working relationship, according to both players.

"We've got to be a team," Cutler said. "We've got to be on the same page. He's got to be a guy that I can bounce things off of, and he's got to be my other set of eyes out there.

"I think he's done a great job of that, of just watching things. I'll ask him to watch the backside corner or the backside safety, and he's always done a good job, and I've tried to help him as much as possible. I think he's improved so much since I first got here and so much since Mike's (been) here."

Unfortunately for Hanie, he won't be able to demonstrate his improvement for another couple weeks. Until then, he'll have to settle for being another set of eyes for Cutler.