Good morning Bears’ fans! We keep trudging through the most boring part of the sports calendar, but there are still plenty of Chicago Bears stories to follow. Check out our latest installment of Bear Dawn for Tuesday June 23rd, your one stop shop for all the latest Chicago Bears news and notes from the internet.
ESPN asks if this is finally Jay Cutler’s year. No, seriously. Their NFC North beat reporters debate the topic, probably because it’s June and there’s not much else to debate. Here’s a sampling from Packers beat writer Rob Demovsky:
"That depends what you think his potential is. Early in Cutler’s career, scout after scout would include Cutler when I asked them to list the top five or top 10 quarterbacks in the league. They loved his arm and his mobility. But it has been years since any scout put Cutler in that list, and there is enough scar tissue to suggest he won’t get back there. Just look at his career record against the Packers: He’s 1-11 against them, including playoffs. He has never beaten them at Lambeau Field. If you can’t beat the best team in the division, how good can you really be?"
I’ll give you a moment to stop bashing your head against a brick wall before we continue.
While we’re on the Cutler topic, the Bears are hoping he and Eddie Royal can rekindle the chemistry they developed when they were teammates in Denver.
"“I remember I the first OTA [in Denver in the spring of 2008]; I think he was on field two because we split fields and he came over to field one with us, and we break the huddle and you see him looking down,” Cutler said at minicamp. “I was like, ‘What is he doing, man?’ So he came back to the huddle and I grabbed his arm and he had wrote down all the plays and what he had for each route. That just tells me it’s important to him. He doesn’t want to mess up. He wants to come out here and do the right things and that is still the same to this day. “"
Eddie Royal used crib notes to help him remember his plays? What happens when you break a sweat?
Speaking of quarterbacks, David Fales (remember him?) is working on ball security in his battle for the #3 QB.
With minicamp in the rear view mirror, the Sun Times’ Adam Jahns and Patrick Finley each wrote up the things we know about the Bears. Nothing earth-shattering, but a few interesting nuggets in there. My favorite:
"3. The Bears’ defense will be something fans have never seen.Fangio is learning where everyone fits best in his 3-4 scheme. What he’s installing is a world different than what former coach Lovie Smith and former defensive coordinator Mel Tucker ran.The Bears no longer will be easy for the Green Bay Packers’ Aaron Rodgers and other quarterbacks to scan and dissect. Fangio’s ‘‘D’’ will confuse and attack. Every player is a potential blitzer on every down.“I can’t tell the secrets,” McPhee said, “but [Fangio’s] got us where you don’t know who’s dropping, you don’t know who’s rushing. It’s just different.”"
Another interesting storyline coming out of OTA’s is Kyle Long’s move to tackle. The Score’s Dan Durkin thinks the move should be permanent.
CSN Chicago is “Looking Ahead” to training camp by taking a deep dive on the linebacker competition.
What can we expect from rookie wide receiver Kevin White? Scout.com’s Aaron Leming takes a closer look.