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By K.C. Johnson
Tribune staff reporter
August 14, 2005, 11:08 PM CDT
BOURBONNAIS, Ill. -- With his oldest son, Emory, gearing up for his freshman year of high school football and his youngest, Trey, prepping for a youth league, Jeff Blake knew he'd be busy this fall.
But instead of spectating in Austin, Texas, Blake will be calling signals in Chicago.
On Sunday, the day before Rex Grossman will undergo surgery on his broken left ankle and the day Chad Hutchinson took snaps as the No. 1 quarterback, the Bears signed Blake to a one-year contract for $750,000. Blake will be at Monday night's practice.
Coach Lovie Smith all but eliminated talk of a quarterback controversy by saying the 13-year veteran will battle Kurt Kittner for the third-string job behind Hutchinson and rookie Kyle Orton.
"Chad's our starter; it's as simple as that," Smith said. "But you need three quarterbacks. Chad isn't looking over his shoulder. He's our guy. And we can't wait to see him lead us."
Forget the surfer-dude stereotype of Hutchinson. Within him beats the heart of a fiery competitor who defiantly shrugged when asked what he thought of the public outcry to sign a veteran quarterback in the aftermath of Grossman's injury.
"It's out of my control if somebody likes me or doesn't like me," Hutchinson said. "Right now I'm thinking about winning games. My focus is on what I can do, not on what other people do."
Blake, who completed 18 of 37 passes in three games with the NFC champion Eagles last season, sounds like a willing partner.
"I'll do whatever they ask me to do," Blake said in a phone interview. "If they want me to play games or back up, I'll do it. I can bring experience both on the field and off of it in the locker room. Whether things are going good or they aren't, I can keep a level head and help out."
In 117 career games with five teams, Blake is 1,819-for-3,232 for 21,656 yards and 133 touchdowns, with 99 interceptions. His best season came in 1995, when he earned Pro Bowl honors with Cincinnati after throwing for 3,822 yards and 28 touchdowns. He last started in 2003, with 13 games for Arizona.
Blake, 34, has extensive experience with West Coast offenses, playing for Bruce Coslet in Cincinnati, Mike McCarthy in New Orleans and Andy Reid in Philadelphia.
"I don't know [offensive coordinator] Ron Turner, but I like the offense," Blake said. "You don't have to hold the ball that long. It's all about timing."
Timing is why Blake will be catching a flight Monday morning instead of taking flight to chase one of his sons off to practice.
Grossman's injury forced general manager Jerry Angelo and his staff to ponder some hard questions about their handpicked quarterback's durability.
While the hope remains that Grossman, Hutchinson or Orton can develop into a bona fide starter, veteran experience suddenly moved to the top of management's wish list—especially since the Bears still have three exhibition games.
As good as Orton has looked against second- and third-string defenses in the first two exhibitions, the organization wants to make sure he continues to experience success and not get rushed along.
Enter Blake.
"Jeff is a guy who has played in the league for a while," Smith said. "We looked at him a little bit before. He's a good fit for where we are right now."
But make no mistake: This is Hutchinson's job to lose. And he seemed to embrace that at practice Sunday, hitting receivers and answering hard questions with equal aplomb.
"I feel like I have the confidence of everybody on the team," Hutchinson said. "I was there last year. I stepped in with no reps and in the first game led us to victory. I know they have confidence in me, and I'm going to prove it again."
One of the knocks against Hutchinson as he went 1-4 as a starter last year was his slow release and tendency to take too many sacks. Hutchinson said he has improved those facets through game experience and off-season work on his footwork.
Turner, who watched all of Hutchinson's games from last season on film, agreed.
"In our system, the most important thing is making quick decisions and getting rid of the ball," Turner said. "I say it all the time: 'I want the ball out of your hand. If it's out of your hand and complete for a 3-yard gain, that's fine.' I'd rather have the ball in someone's hand running with it than in the quarterback's hand. Chad's gotten better at that."
Hutchinson also knows this season's offense better, having gone through an entire off-season with Turner as opposed to being dropped into the fray of Terry Shea's system when Grossman got hurt last season. The Bears believe that fact, plus upgrades at several offensive positions, will translate to an improved Hutchinson, who already had been taking snaps with the first-string offense in practice.
"Last year we put Chad in a tough situation," Smith said. "A lot of our better players weren't on the field. We have a good team around the quarterback position, whether it was Rex or Chad leading us. To me, that's the difference. We weren't throwing to [Muhsin] Muhammad last year. We didn't have the line intact. We feel good about our team around him, and we know that he can play."
If he can't, Blake will be around.
kcjohnson@tribune.com
Copyright © 2005, The Chicago Tribune
http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/cs-0508145bears,1,4503795.story?coll=cs-bears-headlines
Tribune staff reporter
August 14, 2005, 11:08 PM CDT
BOURBONNAIS, Ill. -- With his oldest son, Emory, gearing up for his freshman year of high school football and his youngest, Trey, prepping for a youth league, Jeff Blake knew he'd be busy this fall.
But instead of spectating in Austin, Texas, Blake will be calling signals in Chicago.
On Sunday, the day before Rex Grossman will undergo surgery on his broken left ankle and the day Chad Hutchinson took snaps as the No. 1 quarterback, the Bears signed Blake to a one-year contract for $750,000. Blake will be at Monday night's practice.
Coach Lovie Smith all but eliminated talk of a quarterback controversy by saying the 13-year veteran will battle Kurt Kittner for the third-string job behind Hutchinson and rookie Kyle Orton.
"Chad's our starter; it's as simple as that," Smith said. "But you need three quarterbacks. Chad isn't looking over his shoulder. He's our guy. And we can't wait to see him lead us."
Forget the surfer-dude stereotype of Hutchinson. Within him beats the heart of a fiery competitor who defiantly shrugged when asked what he thought of the public outcry to sign a veteran quarterback in the aftermath of Grossman's injury.
"It's out of my control if somebody likes me or doesn't like me," Hutchinson said. "Right now I'm thinking about winning games. My focus is on what I can do, not on what other people do."
Blake, who completed 18 of 37 passes in three games with the NFC champion Eagles last season, sounds like a willing partner.
"I'll do whatever they ask me to do," Blake said in a phone interview. "If they want me to play games or back up, I'll do it. I can bring experience both on the field and off of it in the locker room. Whether things are going good or they aren't, I can keep a level head and help out."
In 117 career games with five teams, Blake is 1,819-for-3,232 for 21,656 yards and 133 touchdowns, with 99 interceptions. His best season came in 1995, when he earned Pro Bowl honors with Cincinnati after throwing for 3,822 yards and 28 touchdowns. He last started in 2003, with 13 games for Arizona.
Blake, 34, has extensive experience with West Coast offenses, playing for Bruce Coslet in Cincinnati, Mike McCarthy in New Orleans and Andy Reid in Philadelphia.
"I don't know [offensive coordinator] Ron Turner, but I like the offense," Blake said. "You don't have to hold the ball that long. It's all about timing."
Timing is why Blake will be catching a flight Monday morning instead of taking flight to chase one of his sons off to practice.
Grossman's injury forced general manager Jerry Angelo and his staff to ponder some hard questions about their handpicked quarterback's durability.
While the hope remains that Grossman, Hutchinson or Orton can develop into a bona fide starter, veteran experience suddenly moved to the top of management's wish list—especially since the Bears still have three exhibition games.
As good as Orton has looked against second- and third-string defenses in the first two exhibitions, the organization wants to make sure he continues to experience success and not get rushed along.
Enter Blake.
"Jeff is a guy who has played in the league for a while," Smith said. "We looked at him a little bit before. He's a good fit for where we are right now."
But make no mistake: This is Hutchinson's job to lose. And he seemed to embrace that at practice Sunday, hitting receivers and answering hard questions with equal aplomb.
"I feel like I have the confidence of everybody on the team," Hutchinson said. "I was there last year. I stepped in with no reps and in the first game led us to victory. I know they have confidence in me, and I'm going to prove it again."
One of the knocks against Hutchinson as he went 1-4 as a starter last year was his slow release and tendency to take too many sacks. Hutchinson said he has improved those facets through game experience and off-season work on his footwork.
Turner, who watched all of Hutchinson's games from last season on film, agreed.
"In our system, the most important thing is making quick decisions and getting rid of the ball," Turner said. "I say it all the time: 'I want the ball out of your hand. If it's out of your hand and complete for a 3-yard gain, that's fine.' I'd rather have the ball in someone's hand running with it than in the quarterback's hand. Chad's gotten better at that."
Hutchinson also knows this season's offense better, having gone through an entire off-season with Turner as opposed to being dropped into the fray of Terry Shea's system when Grossman got hurt last season. The Bears believe that fact, plus upgrades at several offensive positions, will translate to an improved Hutchinson, who already had been taking snaps with the first-string offense in practice.
"Last year we put Chad in a tough situation," Smith said. "A lot of our better players weren't on the field. We have a good team around the quarterback position, whether it was Rex or Chad leading us. To me, that's the difference. We weren't throwing to [Muhsin] Muhammad last year. We didn't have the line intact. We feel good about our team around him, and we know that he can play."
If he can't, Blake will be around.
kcjohnson@tribune.com
Copyright © 2005, The Chicago Tribune
http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/cs-0508145bears,1,4503795.story?coll=cs-bears-headlines
