Kyle Long: Bears are 'confident' in Jimmy Clausen at quarterback
The winless Chicago Bears are about to play the defending conference champs on the road without their starting quarterback, but that's not killing their confidence.
Backup quarterback Jimmy Clausen will start for an injured Jay Cutler (hamstring) against the Seattle Seahawks this Sunday. His Pro Bowl protector, right tackle Kyle Long, is confident he can play well enough to give the Bears a shot at their first win of the season.
"We have to have practice reps with Jimmy and that will come this week," Long said in a radio interview on Tuesday, per ESPN's Jeff Dickerson. "We’ll see how this goes. We are confident in Jimmy."
Clausen, a former second-round pick out of Notre Dame, relieved Cutler in the first half of last Sunday's 48-23 loss to the Arizona Cardinals at Soldier Field. He completed 14 of 23 pass attempts (60.9 percent) and finished the game with 121 yards passing. Clausen did not throw a touchdown, and he was intercepted once.
Long said getting used to Clausen's cadence will be the "most difficult part," according to ESPN, after being so used to Cutler's presence under center.
(h/t ESPN)
