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When Gabe Carimi opted to sit out organized team activities with the Chicago Bears last week, it was perceived by some as the offensive lineman waving the white flag in his battle to preserve his roster spot.

Not exactly. Carimi certainly has turned the heat up on himself by steering clear of Bears headquarters, but his intentions are good. The former first-round pick has been spending his days at the O-Line Performance Academy in Arizona, a clinic run by former Pro Bowl lineman LeCharles Bentley.

"Any time a player opts to make an investment in himself that is outside the scope of what the team expects, that's a gamble," said Bentley, according to The Chicago Tribune. "That's sometimes a risk that players have to be willing to take. Sometimes, when guys are in a situation like Gabe, maybe the player feels comfortable betting on himself.

"Now, where it gets a little sketchy, you can't go back and be OK. You can't go back and be good. You've got to go back and be damn good. That's where the pressure falls back onto the player and, to be quite frank, that is where it belongs. Let these guys stand up and man up for themselves. These are their careers. If Gabe Carimi is going to be labeled as a bust, let this man do it on his own terms."

Carimi has history with Bentley, who trained him in the months before the Bears used the 29th overall pick to secure his services at tackle in the 2011 NFL Draft. He bounced from right tackle to guard last season, and is not guaranteed a job on a Chicago offensive line that's been revamped through free agency and the draft.

"Gabe is, I think, exactly where he needs to be in terms of the mental state," Bentley said. "There are so many different layers to this thing. He is that point, 'I want to fight. I want to play and I want to show people that I can be a first-round talent that I was drafted as. I'm not going to leave my career as a bust.'

"He's hungry to prove people wrong and has taken time and work for him to get to this point mentally and physically. He is light years from where he was."

We'll find out if that's enough to give him a chance at a redemptive season at Soldier Field

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McCown fits profile for NFL backup QB http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports....column?page=1

There aren't many, and certainly not many available, who bring more to role than Bears' No. 2.

Dan Pompei On the NFL 3:55 p.m. CDT, May 18, 2013



Bears fans may be more panicked about Josh McCown being the team's backup quarterback than they were about the Chicago-area water levels being higher than sled hills last month.

Understandable.

McCown is a quarterback with a 71.2 career passer rating. He has been cut twice and traded twice in his NFL career, and his last regular professional paycheck from a pro team before his joining the Bears was from the Hartford Colonials of the United Football League.

But having McCown as your No. 2 is not the same as having the Titanic as your cruise ship.

After all, many other teams are in the same boat with similar backups.

In general, there are two types of backup quarterbacks in the NFL: Those who have failed, and those who have yet to fail.

The Bears would have preferred one from the latter category, but they didn't have enough draft picks to select one as a harbinger of hope. That was too bad.

But that is a separate issue from having McCown as their veteran backup.

Even if the Bears had drafted a quarterback, he might not have been a threat to McCown because they still probably would have wanted a veteran. But it would have given them an option on game day.

Only 26 teams have backups who have started NFL games and could be primary backups this year.

Of those 26 players, 23 do not have a winning record as a starter. Only five have a career passer rating of 80 or better.

Their cumulative passer rating of 74.8 is just a little better than McCown's as is their cumulative completion percentage of .583 to McCown's. 580.

If you are looking for a Jim Plunkett or Doug Williams who can come off the bench and get you to a Super Bowl, you will need a time capsule.

There are two examples in the last 21 years of backup quarterbacks who got their team Super Bowl rings. Trent Dilfer rode the coattails of one of the greatest defenses in history with the 2000 Ravens. Then there was the fresh-faced Tom Brady in 2001, who came off the bench for the Patriots on his way to becoming one of the all-time greats.

As quarterback play has become more important, the notion of a backup superhero has become increasingly quaint.

There are more desirable ones than McCown, certainly. But not many.

The best veteran backups in the league are Matt Cassel, Jason Campbell, Matt Hasselbeck, Kyle Orton and Shaun Hill. They are the Peyton Mannings and Aaron Rodgers of the backup world.

Last year, they went 3-11 in games they started. They had a combined passer rating of 76.6.

Even the best backups are backups for a reason.

Still, if you can get one of the best, it's worth paying more. Otherwise, there isn't much difference between McCown and the others.

And there is a benefit to having McCown as the backup. He is taking up $580,000 of cap space. Last year, the player in his spot, Campbell, took up $3.5 million.

With the cap space gained at backup quarterback, the Bears were able to buy two veterans who could be starters.

Many Bears fans were happy to see Campbell go. But the Bears weren't. They wanted him back. He preferred to sign with the Browns, with whom he has a better chance of playing.

As a rule, the best and most sought after veteran backups aren't going to be interested in playing behind Jay Cutler because what they want more than money is opportunity. They are going to migrate to teams like the Browns, where the starter could be on a short leash.

So the issue really is this — what do you hope for in a veteran backup if you can't have Earl Morrall?

You hope for a player who can make routine plays, has enough wisdom to avoid losing the game and has enough perspective to enhance a locker room.

Hello, Josh McCown.

Matt Cavanaugh, the Bears quarterbacks coach, understands the dynamic perhaps better than anyone. In addition to coaching quarterbacks for 20 years, he began 12 of his 13 NFL seasons as a backup quarterback, serving as an understudy to Joe Montana, Randall Cunningham and Phil Simms, among others.

He thinks McCown is perfectly qualified for his job.

"You want a guy who is smart, will make good decisions, understands what the game is all about and still has the tools to make plays," Cavanaugh said. "He has that. There isn't a lot of wear and tear on the body. He's physically strong. He still has good leg movement. He has been very efficient throwing for us in the offseason.

"That's all you can ask. I'm happy to have him. … I'll be shocked if he doesn't perform well."

McCown might perform well. He might not.

After all, he is a backup — like those on most teams.

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By Doc Hopkins | Yahoo! Contributor Network – 50 minutes ago
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COMMENTARY | Just over a year ago, the Chicago Bears hired Phil Emery, then Kansas City's director of college scouting, as the fifth general manager in team history. His hiring brought an end to the 11-year run of former GM Jerry Angelo, a tenure I graded here in a previous column. Just a year into his run at the helm, Emery is making all the right moves.

Bears quarterback Jay Cutler has been sacked 148 times in his four seasons in Chicago, an average of 37 sacks per season. That's way too many. In addition, Cutler has missed games due to injury in his previous three campaigns. This points to an issue with protecting the QB, and Emery has been proactive in fixing the problem.

In the NFL, everything starts with the quarterback, and to say Chicago's offensive line was "bad" last year would be an insult to all things bad. Cutler's protection from his O-line was atrocious. Rather than head into another season hoping the line will gel, Phil Emery got proactive and revamped it, signing Jermon Bushrod to protect Cutler's blindside. Emery also brought in Matt Slauson, a solid guard who signed for a bargain-basement price. 2013 first-rounder Kyle Long adds versatility and size at the right guard position. These moves are designed to protect the most important position in sports -- and with Cutler heading into a contract year, he has all the motivation (and protection) he needs to deliver a playoff run.

Emery's upgrade of the roster isn't limited to the offensive line. As I wrote here in a previous column, five Bears tight ends accounted for 33 catches. Not 33 catches apiece -- total. Martellus Bennett, an early Emery signing this offseason, caught 55 passes last season as a Giant. Yes, one man caught 22 more passes than five members of Chicago's roster combined -- all while never fumbling the ball.

Defensively, despite ranking fifth in total defense last year, Chicago let some winnable games get away. The 23-17 home loss to Seattle in Week 13 was unacceptable. The Bears allowed rookie QB Russell Wilson to pass for nearly 300 yards and two scores, those two touchdowns coming late in the fourth quarter to put the Seahawks ahead and in overtime to win it. In both drives, Wilson exploited a tired, hurting defense. Face of the franchise Brian Urlacher was out late in the game, sidelined by a pulled hamstring which would end his season and, ultimately, his time in Chicago.
So, what does Phil Emery do? Upgrade the linebacker position, signing James Anderson and tackling machine D.J. Williams to one-year contracts. Williams, a former standout in Denver suspended for performance-enhancing drug usage, is hungry to show he's still a viable force in the NFL. Anderson is a man the Bears are so high on, they're allowing him to wear No. 50, last worn 20 years ago by "Samurai" Mike Singletary.
Chicago also drafted Rutgers standout LB Khaseem Greene, who led the Scarlet Knights in solo tackles, tackle assists, total tackles, tackles for loss, sacks, QB hurries, forced fumbles and fumble recoveries. Have I also mentioned Greene was ranked ninth out of 199 OLBs by nfldraftscout.com? Emery got him in the fourth round of the draft. With Charles Tillman and Tim Jennings shutting down wide receivers, teams will dump balls off over the middle, leaving pass catchers to be dissected by Green.

The Bears aren't making so-called "sexy" moves in the draft and free agency; they're making solid ones. Phil Emery seems to have his head in the game. With solid play from the offensive line protecting him and a defense that got younger and faster at linebacker, QB Jay Cutler is in prime position to make believers out of us all. Of course, I do have doubts -- and addressed them here -- about whether rookie head coach Marc Trestman is the man to lead Chicago to the Lombardi trophy. But, as the old saying goes, "that's why they play the games!"
Doc Hopkins has followed Chicago sports for decades. He has worked in sports media over 10 years and has been published in the Chicago Tribune. Find him on Twitter @SupermanHopkins or leave him a comment below.

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