BOURBONNAIS — He led the NFL in giveaways during the 2014 season, but Bears quarterback Jay Cutler finished his fifth day of two-plus-hour practices still without either an interception thrown or a fumble lost.
The results are precisely in line with goal No. 1 for Cutler, to reduce the turnovers that have been his undoing and unfortunately his hallmark through nine NFL seasons. Audibles have been minimized to reduce decision-making, long considered a weakness in Cutler’s overall game.
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That was the good news of the day, that the Bears No. 1 quarterback has not given the ball away. The bad news is that Bears backups were not quite so pristine in their execution. Jimmy Clausen threw his first pick of camp, overthrowing his receiver in coverage and landing the ball in the hands of cornerback Al Louis-Jean. No. 3 Shane Carden continued to struggle, missing several open receivers but also having a ball go off the hands of wideout Ify Umodu and picked off by safety Anthony Jefferson. That was followed shortly by an interception by veteran safety Sherrod Martin.
Receivers
The offense threw another creative surprise at the defense but if failed to connect when Marquess Wilson appeared to run the proper route, at least based on the look and hands on hips by Cutler. The two talked after the play with offensive coordinator Adam Gase in an effort to clarify the missed connection.
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Alshon Jeffery sat out practice after dinging his shoulder on Sunday, leaving the Bears without either of what was projected to be their 1-2 receiver tandem. Kevin White remains on the PUP list, doing some cardio work to maintain fitness, but his camp debut is uncertain.
“We're just not doing a lot with him as far as strong on-grass movement," Bears head coach John Fox said. "I'm not going to get into all of his things but some of it is in water, there's a lot ways to build your cardio system without pounding on a particular body part. So we're in that stage and hopefully it continues to grow.”