Sept. 05--With a hat on backward and his hands in his back pockets, David Fales stood in front of his Soldier Field locker stall Thursday night feeling a sense of accomplishment. In the Bears' final exhibition, the forum where players like Fales deliver closing arguments in their quests to land jobs, the 24-year-old quarterback had felt totally at ease.
Over three-plus quarters against the Browns, he oversaw six possessions, helped lead the Bears to 17 points and completed all but four of his 18 passes for 131 yards.
The Bears had won 24-0. And on any other night, after any other victory, Fales' success would have been cause for celebration. But this is a weekend unlike any other in the NFL with each team's final exhibition game followed closely by an avalanche of dismissals.
Final roster cuts are due Saturday afternoon with more than 700 players headed down a tough road.
Thanks for your time. Good luck with your careers.
So even after Thursday's encouraging outing, Fales was aware of the league-wide anxiety contagion that already was spreading.
His approach?
"Out of my control," Fales said. "They'll let me know when they know."
It's hard to say what exactly the Bears' plans are down the depth chart at quarterback behind Jay Cutler and Jimmy Clausen. And it was certainly notable that as Fales conducted an upbeat Q session with reporters Thursday night, a similar gathering was occurring six stalls down where one of the newest Bears, quarterback Zac Dysert, was doing his latest round of introductions.
The Broncos had waived Dysert, in his third season, on Monday and the Bears claimed him a day later. And with that, on a one-suitcase trek from Denver to Chicago, Dysert shot into a whirlwind that took him into a team walk-through plus meetings on Wednesday and then, in a blink, into the huddle at Soldier Field on Thursday for two series late in the fourth quarter of the final exhibition game.
Dysert saw jersey numbers but knew few names. But at least he had had some familiarity with the system of coordinator Adam Gase, the two having developed a bond during the past two seasons in Denver.
Still, after one quick cameo, Dysert headed for that inevitable 40-hour period of uncertainty after coming to an organization he just joined and knows so little about.
"I have no idea what will happen," Dysert said.
Cutler will be the Bears' Week 1 starter. And Clausen remains the preferred No. 2. Yet Clausen's current recovery from a concussion suffered last weekend in Cincinnati complicated the Bears' roster shuffling, perhaps requiring them to keep a third quarterback on their 53-man roster. If Clausen is healthy, perhaps a spot on the practice squad awaits either Fales or Dysert.
Almost certainly, there won't be room in the Halas Hall locker room for both.
So was Fales' productive night against the Browns enough to stick around? Or was it headed into his portfolio as part of a job application to other clubs?
Either way, there was little denying the confidence he played with. By his own assessments, Fales feels much further along in his understanding of protections and the options within each play. Against the Browns, he never took a sack and didn't turn the ball over. On his first touchdown pass, a 19-yarder to Marc Mariani, he recognized the Browns were in Cover-0 with Mariani and Josh Bellamy each singled up with a Browns defensive back to his left.
Fales' second scoring strike came under duress with linebacker Tank Carder rocketing at him untouched on a blitz and corralling the quarterback's feet as he threw. Yet rookie receiver Umodu was in single coverage and Fales uncorked a throw that only Umodu could get, a well-placed touchdown-or-incompletion chance that wound up producing six points.
"As long as Ify kept going, I knew it was going to be him against the safety," Fales said, adding soon after, "It was nice to be able to get a rhythm knowing that you don't only have just one series or two series to play. You can feel it out and then make your plays when it's time to make your plays."
Who knows what it will all add up to?
The timing of Dysert's signing seems to portend an extended audition in Chicago. He likes Gase's offense. And Gase likes the quarterback's intelligence.
"Adam told me it was good to see me, that he was happy for me to be here," Dysert said. "I told him the same thing. I told him, 'Thank you for the opportunity.'"
However long it lasts.
Ultimately, a series of difficult roster decisions will be made in Lake Forest this weekend, a patience-testing game of wait-and-see.
"You try not to worry about it," Dysert said. "But it's definitely in the back of your head."
dwiederer@tribpub.com
