BOURBONNAIS — New Bears quarterback Jay Cutler may already have a go-to guy in Chicago and it’s not speedy wideout Devin Hester or workhouse running back Matt Forte.
It’s 6-foot-5 tight end Greg Olsen.
“You don’t find it very often with a guy with that kind of motor and as big as he is, just the way he adjusts to balls,” Cutler said on Wednesday. “A lot of guys that big are kind of stiff and they can’t really do some of the things he can. He’s a huge target and we have to use him the right way.”
With training camp in its early stages, it has already become routine for Cutler to find Olsen in the passing game, so much so that the third-year tight end out of Miami has been elevated to the first string ahead of 11-year veteran Desmond Clark. The move up the depth chart was no shock to Olsen or Clark.
“It’s really just a formality,” said Olsen, who made 54 catches last season after a 39-catch rookie year in 2007. “We still pride ourselves on being two guys who both can contribute a ton and really have a big role in the offense.”
The Bears completed 95 passes to the two tight ends last season, only 31 less than to their wide receivers. With an inexperienced wide receiver corps and Cutler learning the playbook from scratch, they figure to do much the same this season.
Practices are bearing this out. When offensive coordinator Ron Turner was asked if there had been a “play of camp” to date, he pointed to Olsen’s diving catch as he went out of bounds on a deep fade route with Brian Urlacher and Danieal Manning glued to him in tight coverage.
Meanwhile, Olsen’s connection with Cutler continues to build. The two have become good friends off the field since Cutler arrived from the Denver Broncos in the spring.
“He was ready to take the next step even without Jay,” Turner said. “Getting Jay in here, they’ve developed already a good chemistry. He has a lot of confidence in him, Jay does in Greg. I think (Olsen) is primed to have a really good year.”
Cutler said the two are beginning to get a good idea of how each other thinks as they talk in the huddle and on the sidelines.
“I think it’s important to have a pretty good rapport with each other especially on the field,” Olsen said. “I think we have a good feel for each other and what each other likes to do. A lot of that has to do with continuing to come out every day and work together and talk and communicate and that’s just what we’ve done.”
Clark had started every Bears game the last four seasons and has missed only four starts in six seasons with the team. He still has a role because the Bears’ offense uses a lot of double tight end alignments.
“It’s just a situation where I’m not a 25-, 26- or 27-year-old in this game,” the 32-year-old Clark said.
