no three-play calls in my high school offense. Ive been trying

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Finally, some good news for the scuffling Chicago Bears: Quarterback Jay Cutler will return from a thumb injury to play against the Minnesota Vikings on Oct. 31.Whether its too late for Cutler to salvage something for the Bears (1-6) -- or perhaps his own career in Chicago -- remain valid questions.I think hes been at the bit for a while, coach John Fox said Monday. I think anytime you cant play as a competitor, as a player, obviously thats hard and I think he handled it great.Fox said team doctors cleared Cutler to play over the weekend. His return comes at an opportune time since backup Brian Hoyer broke his left arm against Green Bay on Thursday night and had surgery. He was placed on injured reserve, and the Bears have not ruled out picking up another quarterback.Matt Barkley replaced Hoyer in the loss at Green Bay.Cutler completed 28 of 46 for 373 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions in a game and a half before his thumb sprain against Philadelphia in a 29-14 loss Sept. 19. He had a passer rating of 75.7Hoyer completed 134 of 200 for 1,445 yards with six touchdowns and a passer rating of 98.0. His 200 attempts without an interception are only five shy of the franchise record set in 2008 by Kyle Orton. While Hoyer was playing, Fox was asked if Cutler would return as starter when he healed and said the starting position would be performance-based.Fox sought to clarify his statement Monday.Some things that I say go somewhere that I wasnt really intending, he said. At the end of the day, obviously, Jays our starter. He was injured, not permitted to play medically. And now that hes healed, hes back to being our starter.Thats really the facts and kind of what happened and where were at now. So I dont know that there was a competition to speak of. Just like there wasnt a competition when Matt Barkley went in, he was our only quarterback left. So its good to have Jay back. Were excited to have him back and hopefully he can remain healthy.Its been speculated often that Cutler and Chicago may part ways after this season. Fox doesnt think the talk will affect Cutler.I think all that for everybody is tough, Fox said. I think everybody realizes what they signed up for. Obviously as a coach and a staff youre always trying to help your players through stuff like that, but one thing Ive found in Jay in the time Ive been here is that hes very tough-minded and resilient.Fox said Cutler worked with offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains and Hoyer throughout his injury.Now its a matter of getting back in sync with teammates on the field.Center Cody Whitehair said there could be a slight adjustment made in terms of Cutler taking snaps instead of Hoyer, but not much else.We dont really play into that much; whichevers back there, were going to try and do our best to protect them and do our thing on the run, Whitehair said. But you know, it is nice to have him back. Hes been a leader on the sideline even while he wasnt playing and itll be nice to have him back out there.Game notesFox said right guard Kyle Long suffered a triceps strain in the Packer game, but didnt offer much detail on whether his play will be affected: Well continue to have time. Our first really day back to full practice is Thursday. ... The Bears promoted OL Cornelius Edison to the active roster, claimed TE Daniel Brown off waivers and RB waived Joique Bell. ... The Bears are in a stretch that has them playing one game in 23 days. Theyre hoping it allows numerous injured starters to heal, including nose tackle Eddie Goldman and running back Jeremy Langford. Both had high ankle sprains.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/AP-NFLReplica Soccer Jerseys . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. Wholesale Soccer Jerseys China . 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Hawkins, who turns 41 in December, will compete with Rex Brothers for the closers role at spring training.STANFORD, Calif. -- Stanford coach David Shaw?has named Ryan Burns the starting quarterback for the season opener.The redshirt junior had been locked in an even battle with redshirt sophomore Keller Chryst this offseason in a quest to replace Kevin Hogan, the winningest quarterback in program history.Shaw said that Chryst will also see some action when the Cardinal open their season at home on Sept. 2 against Kansas State.Ryan Burns will start and play a good chunk of the game, Shaw said. Keller Chryst will play as well. Were going to play both guys and try to win a game.But Burns will be Stanfords starter and is expected to see the majority of playing time.There hasnt been a huge separation between the two, Shaw said. Both guys have played extremely well. Ryan has just barely been enough ahead to get the nod.Both Burns and Chryst check in at 6-foot-5 and about 235 pounds, which is a build similar to that of former Stanford star QB?Andrew Luck?-- whom Shaw considers the physical prototype for the position.Burns and Chryst say that throughout their competition theyve watched film of Luck and Hogan, with the goal of emulating the strengths of those two onetime Stanford starters.Burns and Chryst have already taken at least one page from the playbook of their predecessors: Even as quarterbacks, they both enjoy the contact aspect of football, making them natural fits for Stanfords rugged offense in at least one way.We both enjoy hitting people, Burns said.Since Chryst was the first quarterback off the bench to relieve Hogan last season, some might consider Shaws selection of Burns as a moderate surprise. But the coach insisted the two were closely matched even last year, and that Burns has required some extra time to acclimate to Stanfords pro-style offense after running the triple-option in hiigh school.ddddddddddddHis high school offense was very different from what we do, Shaw said. We knew when we recruited him that we were going to ask him to do things hes never done before. ... We knew he had the tools, but theres a lot of muscle memory in what we do. So we had to build up the reserve of experience.Burns, who is entering his fourth year on campus, said hes more comfortable with Stanfords system than ever before.Its been a long process, he said. There were no checks, no three-play calls in my high school offense. Ive been trying to get adapted over the past three years. But the toughness and downhill running that I learned in high school has carried over.Shaw called Burns and Chryst into his office on Wednesday morning to share his decision, emphasizing that Chryst would rotate in for some series against Kansas State.I just took that as, I still have to compete, Burns said. Nothing is solidified. Just because Im playing the first snap doesnt mean Im the starting quarterback for the year at all. Kellers a heck of a quarterback, and hell always be on my tail and Ill always be on his. I just have to come here and keep working my butt off every day.Stanford opens the season with a particularly challenging stretch of schedule -- games against USC, UCLA, Washington, Washington State and Notre Dame follow the opener versus Kansas State. For that reason, Shaw said hell need full productivity out of Burns from the get-go. The coach emphasized that early over-reliance on other offensive veterans like RB?Christian McCaffrey could doom the Cardinal.We need him to play quarterback, Shaw said. This is big-time college football. Were not spoon-feeding anybody. ' ' '