[CBFF] Free agent Hanie made wise choice :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Bears

[Tom Shannon]

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/bears/927523,CST-SPT-bear02.article#


  Free agent Hanie made wise choice

May 2, 2008
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BY BRAD BIGGS <mailto:bbiggs at suntimes.com> bbiggs at suntimes.com

It would've been easy for Caleb Hanie to stay close to home and sign a 
free-agent deal with the Dallas Cowboys.

The native of Forney, Texas, grew up a Cowboys fan, after all, just on 
the other side of Dallas from the team's headquarters in Irving.

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But like every other free agent with a dream of following the path taken 
by Tony Romo after he was undrafted out of Eastern Illinois, Hanie 
realized he needed to pick a trail that isn't blocked by Romo.

That brought him to the Bears and the three-day rookie minicamp that 
begins today, the first chance the team has to work with top pick Chris 
Williams. Hanie will be in competition with fellow free agent Nick Hill 
of Southern Illinois.

''I really weighed all the options,'' said Hanie, who started the last 
two seasons for Colorado State after spot action his first two years. 
''Although it would've been nice to stay close to home, I just felt 
Chicago was the best situation for me with only two quarterbacks on the 
roster, and they're both on short contracts. The Bears told me they were 
only bringing one other free-agent quarterback in.

''Really, that's it. Just the opportunity to make the team this year, 
possibly, and advance my career as fast as I can.''

The Cowboys would've thought long and hard about drafting Hanie if they 
had a seventh-round pick. Instead, they put on a full-court press to 
sign him when the draft ended, but about an hour after it was over, he 
concluded the Bears were a better match.

Hanie passed for a career-high 2,455 yards and 18 touchdowns last 
season, completing 64.2 percent for a Rams team that stumbled to a 3-9 
record. The issue most teams had was that he offset his 29 touchdown 
passes the last two seasons with 27 interceptions.

Scouts recognized what he had to work with, though. Colorado State's 
offensive line struggled last season. His junior year, top running back 
Kyle Bell went down with an ACL injury before the season started. He 
never had a running game to lean on.

''He did throw quite a few interceptions, but we thought that he was on 
a bad team trying to make plays more than making poor decisions,'' one 
NFL quarterbacks coach said. ''He didn't have a great team around him, 
and it looked like he was just a competitor, trying to make plays and 
give his team a chance to win more than having a chronic problem making 
bad decisions.''

While some analysts have criticized the Bears for not drafting a 
quarterback high, ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. has raved about their pickup of 
Hanie.

''It's a great situation,'' Hanie said. ''I'm just lucky to be in Chicago.''


-- 
Life... is like a grapefruit. It's orange and squishy, and has a few pips in it, and some folks have half a one for breakfast.
  - Douglas Adams