Jordan Palmer arrived at Halas Hall last week and has barely left. The Bears’ new backup quarterback with Jay Cutler out with a torn groin has gone to work every morning at 6:30 a.m., while leaving around 8 p.m.
“I’ve always hung my hat on the preparation stuff,” Palmer said. “So if I’m going to have confidence in any part of my game, it’s going to be in how prepared I am to play and what I know more so than how fast I can run or far I can throw it.
“I feel like I’m ready to go. If my job to help Josh get ready to play in Green Bay? Great. If my job is come here and lead us to the playoffs, then I’m very, very confident in my ability to both those.”
Palmer said he has “a nice little foundation” from his preseason stint with the Bears to lean on. He was 11-for-17 for 111 yards and a touchdown in the first half of the Bears’ final exhibition game against the Browns.
Palmer, who will back up Josh McCown against the Green Bay Packers on Monday night, definitely impressed coach Marc Trestman then.
“He has retained quite a bit,” Trestman said Monday. “He’s got a good feel for what we are doing. I believe he could go in there and manage the game reasonably well a this point in time based on where he is today. He’s not going to get the reps this week obviously [with the first-team offense]. [But] he’s got to be ready to go. That’s what veterans do.”
Palmer said the Bears’ coaches make their offense an easy one to step into for quarterback.
“They do a really good job of understanding who their quarterbacks are, and what they need to prepare them with,” Palmer said. “I felt really confident playing in the preseason even though I was only here for a couple days. I feel really comfortable and confident going into Monday night should my number get called. I think it’s the coaching philosophy, how they deliver the information that makes guys feel ready to play.”
