July 29--Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler arrived on training camp Wednesday afternoon, predictably optimistic about what's ahead for the team over the next 19 days.
As he settled back into dorm life at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Cutler took 10 minutes out to meet with the media horde.
In a relaxed back-and-forth, Cutler discussed the new offense he's learning, the talent of his line and receivers and his goals as a team leader. Here are the highlights of what Cutler had to say.
On the diversity of his pass catchers
"I think when we throw Eddie (Royal) in the mix, you've got a real viable guy that you can move around a lot. He's got experience in the slot. He's got experience outside. With Alshon, I think he's had a great spring, a great summer. Kevin White, Marquess (Wilson). We've got some guys that can make some plays in some different spots for us.
On how he measured Kevin White's growth since they started working together
"It's hard. They come in just getting drafted, and you throw them in a new offense, which they've got to learn. Then they leave for the (NFLPA rookie) premiere, so they miss some time and then come back. He's getting it. He's picking up the offense. First and foremost, you've got to learn formations and then kind of build from there. He's eager. He wants to do it, which is the most important part. He'll be fine.
On White's specific skills that stand out
"Just his physical attributes. You see that right away in the way he runs and catches. He can be a dominant force out there."
On hosting some informal workouts in Nashville
"We threw it together. We knew we wanted to throw at some point. It's just hard working with four or five different guys and getting everyone's schedules because a lot of the guys have families and girlfriends and vacations and trying to get stuff in. It was good. We got three days of work in. And then we all kind of came back to Chicago early and worked a little bit more. So I think they're ready."
On if there's a different leadership responsibility for him given this is his 10th season
"I just got a haircut, and I had lot of gray hair, so it kind of reminded me that I am getting up there. But we have some guys we brought in with some age and some experience. I don't feel like I've been doing it that long, which I guess is probably a good thing. But each and every year, you gain some perspective and some experience that hopefully you can pass on to these young guys."
On how he hopes to approach this training camp over the next two-and-a-half weeks
"This year, we're back to learning another new offense and a new group of guys and the locker room has changed a little bit more than it has in the past. So there's a newness to this group that everyone's going to have to get used to. We're going to have to work out some personalities and see how it all meshes together."
On his hopes that his offensive line can stay healthy
"Two years ago we had the same crew all year. And then last year we had countless different combinations out there. So if we can just get five or six (lineman) and keep those guys healthy as a core group of guys, we'll be good. Because we have a massive amount of talent up front."
On left tackle Jermon Bushrod
"With Bush you know exactly what you're going to get. He's experienced and he's been a difference maker over there. And hopefully we can get him through camp and kind of ease him into the first game where he's healthy."
On how much of last season's offensive struggles resulted from the lack of continuity up front
"It's hard. Any time you've got guys in and out of the lineup and you're introducing new guys or you've got guys playing different positions, it's going to make it hard. Especially during the year where you don't get a lot of practice time and you're trying to go against different defenses and learn the offense at the same time. That's going to be difficult."
On how playing under a new coaching staff impacts the approach of players attempting to prove themselves
"I think that's every year. Every year you have to be trying to improve your game and showing not only new coaches and the rest of the league what you can do."
On whether all the new faces and overhauls within the organization are good for a team that had so many issues in 2014
"I don't think it's bad. I think guys have reacted really well to Coach Fox. He's an easy guy to talk to. He has a lot of experience. He has a gameplan. He's shown that it works in the NFL. So more than anything, I think guys like coming to work now and they enjoy the process of what we're trying to get done."
On what he learned about leadership and his role from last season
"I think in this business it kind of only goes so far. Once you lose so many games, it's hard to reel things back in. And I think that's kind of what happened last year. We got down a path where it was rough. It was really rough. And I think a lot of the guys came together. We lost a few guys along the way. But that's going to happen. This year we just need to stay positive and go into this camp trying to do the best we can."
