Jay Cutler might not be at the point where he can finish Greg Olsen’s sentences. But he probably could finish his pass routes — or even his route adjustments.

And that is communicating on the highest of level in the football world.
The Bears’ new quarterback and the team’s third-year tight end hit it off as soon as they met April 3 at Cutler’s introductory news conference. They quickly figured out they should be friends—both off the field and on.
At first glance, they appear to be a bit of an odd couple. Olsen is a Jersey kid who went to the urban University of Miami, also known as The U. Cutler is more country, having his roots in Santa Claus, Ind., and having played his college ball in Nashville at academically prestigious Vanderbilt.
Cutler, we should point out, is no dummy. He recognizes a meal ticket when he sees one.
Asked to explain why they have clicked as a quarterback-receiver combination, Cutler said, “He’s a good player. He gets open a lot. It’s hard not to want to get him the ball and let him get the ball in space.”
What that means is Olsen should make a lot of catches even when he is not the primary receiver on a play call. When plays break down and Cutler leaves the pocket, Olsen probably will be his target more often than not.
“Greg is really ready to take another step,” offensive coordinator Ron Turner says. “Jay recognizes how much confidence he’s playing with, and he looks to go to him. ... If he doesn’t like what he sees somewhere else, he goes to him.”
For Cutler to continue his reign as king of Chicago, he needs Olsen. And for Olsen to be something he never has been—one of the best tight ends in football—he needs Cutler.
It is that mutual dependence that is the foundation of their relationship. But it goes beyond that.
There is a chemistry between them that cannot be manufactured. You could see it on the practice fields at Olivet Nazarene during training camp, and you could see it at TJ Donlin’s, the Bourbonnias nightspot where they shared a table in the middle of a sea of fans.
“Off the field, they hang out,” tight end Desmond Clark said. “They always sit by each other. They always are talking, even if it isn’t about football. So you can see they have a natural combination going.”
They share a love of country music. Olsen’s bride Kara, a Floridian, converted him to country. Subsequently, Olsen and Cutler took in a number of concerts together in the off-season. Among them were Kenny Chesney at Soldier Field, George Strait at First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre and Pat Green at Joe’s Bar.
Olsen said spending time away from football with Cutler has helped them as teammates.
“It gives us more chances to talk things out,” he said. “If this situation came up, what would you think? So when you see something for the first time on the field, it doesn’t catch you off guard.”
It can take years for quarterbacks and receivers to become completely comfortable with one another. It appears to be happening quicker with Cutler and Olsen, and a key reason is they know one another.
“This year I feel we have a guy who really understands what he wants out of the guys catching the ball, whether it be backs, receivers or tight ends,” Olsen said. “He has a good feel for where he wants guys and how he wants them to run the routes. He does a good job of letting us know what he expects.”
Of course they also have worked together a lot on the field between OTAs, mini-camp, training camp, a handful of workouts that were unsupervised, individual work after practices and an exhibition game.
They also have watched quite a bit of tape together, going back to the off-season when they studied the plays Cutler had success with when he threw to Tony Scheffler and the other Broncos tight ends.
Cutler always has shown an affinity for throwing to his tight end.
And he never has had a tight end like this one.