Bears president on Jay Cutler: "The whole organization is behind him 100 percent"

With a lockout in effect, Bears president Ted Phillips said his team’s continuity will give them a “competitive” edge when football resumes, bolstering that key pieces are in place, including at quarterback.

“I’m a big supporter of Jay Cutler. He is our quarterback,” Phillips told the Sun-Times Sunday. “He wants to be great, and we think he made great strides in his second year [with the Bears], and we think he’s going to make even more strides, being with Mike Martz again, for 2011.”

Phillips then called Cutler a “great talent” that’s “only going to get better.”

“The whole organization is behind him, 100 percent,” Phillips said.

Phillips said he maintains optimism as owners and players try to work out a new collective bargaining agreement. But, Phillips said his team’s continuity will give them an advantage over many other teams.

“I think it’s huge, and with the labor uncertainty we have now, that’s why we’ve preached, internally, to cover all bases and be ready because you never know when the deal is going to get done, and we’re going to have a competitive edge whenever it ends,” Phillips said. “We’re focused on the 2011 season, and everyone is back. It’s a tremendous help [to have continuity]. A tremendous help.”

Asked if the club would consider trading Cutler, Phillips said, “I mean, no one is untradeable, in the grand scheme of things.

“But, we couldn’t be happier with Jay as our QB… He’s our guy. Our organization has never wavered in saying, ‘Jay’s our quarterback, and we’re excited to have him.’ “