NFL | Mike Ditka has open mind on Bears QB Jay Cutler

When asked about Jay Cutler recently, ex-Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy said he wasn't completely sold on the maturity and leadership ability of the new Chicago Bears quarterback.

Former Bears coach Mike Ditka, an ESPN analyst, said, "I don't think anything about what Tony said is earth-shattering. I think it's a fact. [Cutler] came here under uncertain circumstances. The way he got out of Denver was kind of strange. But the kid is a talent."

Ditka is taking a wait-and-see approach.

"People ask me one question: 'Is he a good quarterback?' " he said of Cutler. "Well, he's got a great arm. He had great receivers up in Denver, they had an offense that threw the football a lot, so it highlighted his strengths. If he's in an offense that doesn't highlight his strengths, what's his strength going to be? It's got to be leadership, like Tony said. And he's got to prove that."

Ditka, who coached the Chicago team that won the 1986 Super Bowl, added, "If they win with Jay Cutler and go to the Super Bowl, he will own this city. He can have my key."

The Denver Broncos traded the disgruntled Cutler, 26, to Chicago in April.

Although Ditka insists he doesn't have a pipeline to day-to-day team decisions, he said he is confident the franchise won't change its entire offensive philosophy to suit the new quarterback. There might be some tweaks, but the Bears won't morph into the pass-happy Broncos.

Will that test Cutler's patience? Ditka, for one, will be watching.

"The worst thing that you could ever do in this city is come in here and be a complainer or a whiner," Ditka said. "If you do that, you've got a problem. So I think if he comes in here and shows that he's the leader of this football team. ...

"From what I understand from talking to the people I talk to, he's been a model citizen, and the city has really embraced him. He's been up there with the ballclub, working out and doing all the things he's supposed to do. Evidently, everything is full-go ahead and looks pretty positive."

It sometimes is hard to judge a marriage by the honeymoon.

"You'll find out a lot when the pressure's on," Ditka said. "We'll find out once the season starts. When things are either going good or not so good, you find out how people respond to that."

In terms of immediate concerns about the Bears, Ditka is focused on the other side of the ball. He has his doubts about a defense that finished 21st in defense last season, and 30th against the pass.

"They were trying to hide some weaknesses and they didn't have good cover people," Ditka said. "If you don't get there with the blitz, if you live by it, you die by it. That was part of their problem. ... If you don't have cover people, they're going to eat you up."

Note

• Kyle Orton will be Denver's starting QB, Broncos coach Josh McDaniels announced. Chicago gave up Orton, 26, and draft picks to get Cutler.