By Brad BiggsExpectations have been that Mike Martz might eventually go out and secure a quarterback he has worked with previously to add to the Bears' mix along with Jay Cutler.
That quarterback might become available soon, depending on what the San Francisco 49ers are thinking after agreeing to terms with former No. 1 overall pick David Carr on a two-year contract over the weekend. Carr was signed to back up another former No. 1 overall selection, Alex Smith, and that could spell the end of the road for veteran Shaun Hill, who Martz had a preference for during his time in San Francisco.
The San Francisco Chronicle speculated that Hill could be released soon. Hill has a 10-6 record as the starter over the last four seasons and entered last year as the top guy before losing his job to Smith. Hill started eight games for Martz in 2008 when he passed for 2,046 yards and threw 13 touchdowns vs. eight interceptions.
Photo: Shaun Hill might be available after the 49ers' signing of David Carr. (Ron Jenkins/AP)
Hill is entering the final year of a $6 million, three-year contract he
signed in February 2008. The squeeze likely will be put on him because
the 49ers also have Nate Davis, who was a rookie out of Ball State last
season. They like Davis as a developmental project, but have given no
indication to Hill what the future holds.
Martz is known for liking to have quarterbacks he has worked with previously. He brought ex-Bear J.T. O'Sullivan with him to San Francisco after having worked with him in Detroit. O'Sullivan is now in Cincinnati.
The Bears have two quarterbacks under contract behind Cutler, Caleb Hanie and Brett Basanez. They carried only two on the active roster for 15 games until Basanez was promoted from the practice squad before the season finale in Detroit.
Martz is known for liking to have quarterbacks he has worked with previously. He brought ex-Bear J.T. O'Sullivan with him to San Francisco after having worked with him in Detroit. O'Sullivan is now in Cincinnati.
The Bears have two quarterbacks under contract behind Cutler, Caleb Hanie and Brett Basanez. They carried only two on the active roster for 15 games until Basanez was promoted from the practice squad before the season finale in Detroit.
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"veteran Shaun Hill, who Martz had a preference for during his time in San Francisco"....Total BS!
Martz brought in Stinkin' O'Sullivan and handed him the job. He didn't have any open QB competition and certainly did not "have a preference for" Hill. You are definitely not a 9ers fan or even follow league news.
The Bears have spent a lot of money. They can't afford a 2 million dollar back up QB. Hanie is earning the league minimum. They've invested 2 years on Hanie, no need to give up on him now. Hanie has done whatever they've asked of him, what makes you think that he can't fit in to Martz' system?
So, Martz likes working with QB's he's worked with before. Who doesn't? He needs to start with a clean slate, and that means evaluating the talent he has already.
Dumb idea. Hill floundered in SF, and is barely a serviceable QB. He might be a better backup than Haney right now...might. BUT, Haney could be the next Kurt Warner....or maybe something less glamorous but decent. When you consider that Hill's #s with Martz were much lower than Jon Kitna's, you have to conclude that he's probably not that good. And on the chance that the staff does not retain their jobs, how much sense does it make to have wasted a roster space on Shaun Hill for a single year, for the hope that he'll complete 1 more pass per game than Haney would have in similar circumstances? Not worth it to me.
The reality is, if Cutler goes down, the season is over anyways....let's spend our effort getting someone who can block for the guy, not some never-was QB.
It's never a bad idea to have a QB with a brain on the team just in case Jay Cutler has trouble remembering the plays again.
Why do teams still hire this clown??
I set the over/under at 5 games into the 2010 season before Bears fans are flooding these comment boards with demands that the Bears "give Hill a chance" because he "doesn't throw interceptions" and he "has a winning record as a starter."
Martz has done zip in the last 4 years and yet this report talks of him as the gold-standard. Thankfully Angello has atleast shown over the last few years that he isn't a pussy when it comes to personnel decisions (not smart either but...). Martz can throw out the bath water but the baby ain't going anywhere. My gut feeling says they're going to overload on cheap linemen not QBs, Clark is probably going to get traded (wishful thinking here by hoping it's not Olsen) and they're going to try drafting a few athletes to play free safety (someone said in life you can never stop learning but the Angovies were too busy slapping their own backs). By week 10 when everything has blown up in everyone's faces the media is going to call Peppers too old, Martz a stubborn dummy, Lovie weak, Angello an idiot, Phillips a slimy hypocrite and the McCaskeys cheap for not spending more on getting superstars at every single position (including the hot dog vendor).
Why not try to work and help haney he's got skills and a pretty good arm that's the bears problem they don't work with what they already have and before you know it they cut them or trade and the player turns out to be damn good.Try to go out and get a safety that can play stop thinking that peppers going to make the corner's job so easy the still need to learn how to man up,and for sure learn how to tackle.If they are looking 4 a QB go after bulger he knows the Martz play book as well.
Not sure if I like this or not. Hanie has gotten almost no time to determine whether he can play when it counts, and Hill has lots of game experience. On the surface, the move makes sense. But Martz, the way he handles his QBs in SF was a train wreck, where he kept bouncing back and forth between O'Sullivan, Hill, and Smith, and now none of them are established starters in the league. Will he get antsy if Cutler has a couple of bad games early, and go to Hill this season? Quite frankly, we cannot afford to let his ego into the mix. Cutler is the future of this offense, regardless of the scheme we implement, so he needs to be out there for every play, except in case of injury.
So all said and done, I don't like giving Martz what he wants, as he has proven he cares more about the moment than he does about the long term health of the franchise. We can't afford to let that happen here.
Whether we sign Hill if released or draft a QB that Martz likes late in the draft I think we definetly can't gamble 2 years in a row with the backup QB. Hill would give us a veteran thats familiar with the system who could step in for Cutler if he gets banged up and has to miss a couple games. Were gonna need our draft picks to fill needs so hopefully we can get Shaun Hill. We need to draft a safety, an O Lineman, a corner, and a WR.