Jay Cutler feels positive about where Bears' offense stands

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler said Monday that he's grown comfortable with the team's new offense, but coach John Fox stressed that the high-priced quarterback will be held to the same standard as any other player on the roster.

"We're in a performance-based business. I understand that, and you have to perform," Fox said. "But leading up to that there's a lot that goes into it, and he's done everything we've asked. Obviously I feel good about [offensive coordinator] Adam Gase's ability; we hired him. He's an outstanding coach. I've seen him operate before, as a coach and a playcaller on game day.

"I think he'll help Jay, but you've still got to perform."

Cutler, who signed a seven-year, $126.7 million contract with $54 million in guarantees in early 2014, is learning his fifth new offense since he arrived in Chicago in 2009.

"You've got to try to forget the last one as quickly as possible and just wipe the slate clean," Cutler said. "Maybe I've gotten better at that over the years, maybe not. I feel great about the offense we're in right now. I know the guys like it. I know the receivers like it. Martellus Bennett is going to love it when he gets involved in it. We just have to keep heading in the direction we are going and keep studying. We are not where we want to be yet."

The 32-year-old quarterback is coming off a tumultuous season. From a statistical standpoint, he finished 2014 with the second-highest passer rating of his career (88.6), but he lost his starting spot in Week 16 because of poor performance. The Bears' record plummeted to 5-11, costing coach Marc Trestman and general manager Phil Emery their jobs.

Enter Gase, Fox's former coordinator in Denver, who met Cutler in 2006 during the NFL pre-draft process.

"[My relationship with Gase] has been good," Cutler said. "A lot of communication because we are trying to hit the fast-forward button in this a little bit. I've been reaching out to him, and he's been reaching out to me. Just trying to go through reps on the field and talk about it as much as we can off the field so that we can play the play a few times and then move on to the next one."

Cutler said he's made individual strides mastering the playbook since the team's first on-the-field work during a voluntary minicamp in late April.

"I feel better. I feel a lot better," Cutler said. "I think it's coming along. It's not exactly where we want it to be, but we are moving in the right direction. Guys are putting in a lot of time on the field and off the field in meetings. A lot of study time. It's moving along.

"I'm comfortable with these guys. I've known some of these coaches throughout my career. They've had a lot of success in this league, and they're trying to bring it here. I feel good about it, but I think we have a great group of players on the field right now offensively, guys that mesh together. We're just trying to put it together."