Kordell Stewart dropped back and tried to hit Ahmad Merritt on a quick slant. Brian Urlacher dropped back and intercepted, the highlight of Wednesday morning’s Bears practice.
On the very next play, before the cheers subsided and as soon as one fan mocked, “Thanks, Kordell,” Stewart hit young receiver Edell Shepherd in stride for a touchdown.
It was Stewart’s career flashing before training-camp eyes–70 touchdown passes, 72 interceptions in eight love-hate seasons in Pittsburgh. It’s not what Stewart or Bears offensive coordinator John Shoop want to see this year.
“I don’t think you measure a quarterback by how many interceptions he does or doesn’t throw,” Stewart said. “I think you measure him by how many games you win.
“Granted, you don’t throw interceptions.”
Another statistic that interests Shoop is completion percentage. The Bears chart every practice for Stewart, Chris Chandler and rookie Rex Grossman. Shoop wants a 65 percent passer this year. The Bears won’t reveal the results of their training-camp passing charts, but an unofficial tally for 11-on-11 and seven-on-seven drills for Tuesday and Wednesday showed this: Stewart 24-of-32, .750; Chandler 14-of-18, .780; Grossman 10-of-18, .555.
If Stewart can get to 65 percent combined with his career rushing average of 5.2 yards, Shoop sees another Rich Gannon, if not a Steve Young.
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Edited by the Sports staff of RedEye.
