Adam Gase Stresses Patience For Jay Cutler, Bears Offense
(CBS) When the Bears took receiver Kevin White at No. 7 overall last weekend in the NFL Draft, it wasn't just a selection of the best available player.
It was music to new offensive coordinator Adam Gase's ears and another weapon for quarterback Jay Cutler to utilize.
On Friday after Chicago's first day of rookie mini-camp, Gase spoke to the media for the first time since the team hired him in January. And he had plenty to say about White, a speedster who figures to start opposite of Alshon Jeffery, and Cutler, who will play a leading role in how much success Gase's offense finds in 2015.
"It's going to take some time, me and him getting used to each other," Gase said of Cutler. "He's worked with a couple different guys. The good thing is, he's heard a few things that I say. He'll look at me and kind of, 'That's a little (Mike) Martz-ish,' right there. But right now, we're three actual practices in and 65 plays with him, so we have a long way to go, and we'll see how it goes through the rest of the spring."
Perhaps the biggest task for Gase will be helping Cutler limit his turnovers after he had a league-worst 24 of them in a disastrous 5-11 season for the Bears in 2014.
"He'd be the first one to tell you we have to get better in that area," Gase said. "I know this: You don't want to overemphasize it, because then everybody starts thinking about it and next thing you know, you start turning it over. I learned that lesson in 2013 (in Denver). We kept talking about it, talking about it, we kept turning the ball over. So one of things we got to do is you practice as an individual, and you let those drills work for you. And I think more times than not, it works out the right way.
"I see a more patient guy. We just have to get him there for 60 minutes. I think that's going to be a challenge for all of us as an offense, to make sure we're patient throughout the game, we're not forcing things and we're getting the ball to our playmakers."
If Chicago has its way, White will stretch the field and help create more space for Cutler.
"We really like what he brought to the table, and we look for specific routes, and when we see one or two things, we know they can do the entire tree," Gase said of White. "So his speed, his body control, the way that he bursts off the ball, all those things we really liked."
In other news from rookie mini-camp, nose tackle and second-round pick Eddie Goldman and offensive tackle and sixth-round pick Tayo Fabuluje left the practice field early. Bears coach John Fox declined comment on why they left early.