Bennett not so subtly communicates with Cutler
Even though he wasn’t targeted by Jay Cutler last week and has yet to catch a pass as a Bear, tight end Martellus Bennett said he hasn’t had to remind the quarterback that — like all receivers — he’s open on every play.
“Nah, he sees me,” Bennett said. “I’m (almost) 6-7, big black guy running down the field. He sees me. I wear white gloves, so he can see the white gloves when I wave them like Mickey Mouse. I’m clapping every time I’m open. I do enough of that to let him know I’m open before I have to tell him.
“But I do come back and reiterate the fact that I’m open by whispering, ‘Hey, I was open,’ even when I’m not open.”
According to Bennett, Cutler will have plenty of opportunities against the Raiders tonight to find an open receiver.
“He has three guys out there — especially me and B (Brandon Marshall) — we’re both like ‘Hey, we’re open.’ But I’m like, ‘He wasn’t open; I was open.’ It’s just a competition between all of us — who can get open the most.
That’s a good thing for this offense. That’s the type of people we want to play with. I’m trying to outdo him. He wants to outdo me. And ‘Cutty,’ he’s in a great position to have a lot of guys working to get open. Whoever gets open first gets the ball. That’s the way we look at it.”
Short for fanatic:Bears coach Marc Trestman knows firsthand about Oakland fans and the #147;Black Hole#148; section of overzealous and often profane Raiders backers at O.co Coliseum. Trestman was on the Raiders staff as a senior assistant, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. #147;I#146;ve always thought it was a great environment,#148; Trestman said, an opinion not shared by many opponents. #147;We got to know the fans and what they were really about, not only at the stadium but away from the stadium. They#146;re a bunch of fans that really love their team and really love football. #147;There#146;s a little bit of villain there, but they really aren#146;t. They#146;re good people that have day jobs like the rest of us, they come out to the stadium to, in their own way, support the team. The first half should be noisy. We#146;ve got to play in the noise, and it#146;ll be fun to do it. We#146;re looking forward to it.#148;Last looks:Most starters will play at least until halftime tonight and possibly into the third quarter, but coach Marc Trestman also wants a chance to evaluate players competing for spots at the bottom of the roster.#147;We#146;ll finish up with guys who are in competition to make the football team and guys who have certainly worked very hard to try and make the football team,#148; he said. #147;We want to expose all of our players and get them all on tape.#148;The 90-man roster must be pared to 75 by 3 p.m. next Tuesday and to the final 53 by 5 p.m. Aug. 31.Head games:Concussions have sidelined wide receiver Earl Bennett for three weeks and defensive tackle Henry Melton for two weeks, imperiling their availability for the regular-season opener.#147;The one thing that is encouraging from our medical people is they are both getting better and they are making progress,#148; coach Marc Trestman said. #147;We#146;re going to be as upbeat as we can and stay encouraged that they#146;ll be ready to go.#148;Offensive tackle Jonathan Scott has been out since July 31.#147;We feel good enough that we#146;ll see him get a little more work over the next 10 days,#148; Trestman said. #147;He#146;s back up, his knee is cleaned out and we#146;re encouraged that he#146;ll be working soon.#148;Set in stone:Right guard Kyle Long and right tackle Jordan Mills will start tonight, but they haven#146;t been anointed yet. Left tackle Jermon Bushrod, left guard Matt Slauson and center Roberto Garza are secure.#147;I would say it#146;s safe to say at this point that they#146;re set,#148; coach Marc Trestman said.FBN20011449Bears tight end Martellus Bennett makes a catch during training camp in Bourbonnais.Associated PressFBN