LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Long before free agency netted him $18.5 million guaranteed, Mike Glennon felt a strong pull toward the Chicago Bears.
“I spent a lot of time over these last few months watching various teams in situations that may possibly need a quarterback,” Glennon said Friday. “When I watched the Bears' film, I saw a great offensive line, I saw a great running game, and I saw playmakers on the outside. I saw a system that I felt fit my skill set.”
What skill set, exactly?
That’s a fair question since Glennon last started two-plus years ago. But the 6-foot-6 quarterback feels strongly about offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains’ multifaceted system -- a scheme Glennon thinks plays to this strengths.
“I pride myself on being a smart guy and having full command of the offense and really getting the ball in the playmakers' hands,” Glennon said. “I feel like with the run game we have, with the offensive line, the great running backs and the playmakers on the outside, all I need to do is make good decisions with the football and get it to them and we’ll be very successful.”
Glennon finished his four-year career in Tampa with 4,100 passing yards, 30 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.
“When I studied Dowell’s offense, I saw a variety -- they do dropback, play-action, quick game, nakeds, screens ... a little bit of everything,” Glennon said. “I just felt like that fit me. The players around me will fit me as well. It was also concepts that I’m familiar with. I’ve been in three different systems in four years, and there were pieces from all of them and things I felt like I excelled in, in those offenses, Dowell has in his. I’m sure we’ll be working together over the next few months to really bond and figure out what I like, what he likes and how we can mesh this together to bring a really strong offense out there.”
Glennon’s Bears scouting report is ambitious. The Bears just lost Alshon Jeffery in free agency to the Eagles, and Kevin White -- the seventh overall pick in 2015 -- has played in only four regular-season games. But Glennon does have a strong handle on the roster for a player who just signed on Thursday.
Glennon’s keen interest in his teammates is another variable that attracted general manager Ryan Pace. Jay Cutler warmed up later in his career and participated in off-site training sessions with teammates, but Glennon wants to hit the ground running -- now. He plans to quickly set up throwing sessions with receivers and tight ends away from the team facility as soon as possible.
“Yesterday afternoon talking to him, the first question he asked is right away, ‘Hey, so when I get in, obviously, I want to get the playbook, can I get all the tape downloaded on an iPad,’” Pace said. “He asked, can I have pictures of everybody in the building I'm going to interact with, with their names, everybody in the building. Can I have the cell phones of every single player on offense and certain guys on defense. So right away I think that tells you something about a guy when that's kind of his mindset before he even walks in the building.”
That may seem trivial to the outside world, but it represents serious progress at quarterback to those inside Halas Hall.