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LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Caleb Hanie is making steady progress digesting new coordinator Mike Martz’s offense, and the Bears backup quarterback is enjoying every minute of the process.

“It’s been a lot of fun learning it,” Hanie said. “It’s a wide open offense. A lot of details that are overlooked a lot of times, Mike does a great job coaching those up. He puts a lot of pressure on you; kind of a trial-by-fire thing. He throws everything at you and sees how you react to it.”

Caleb Hanie has shown promise in the preseason in his two years with the Bears.

The greatest challenge for Hanie to this point has been memorizing the terminology and transferring what he’s being taught in the classroom onto the practice field.“You could draw it on the board all day, but once you get out on the field, everything goes so fast,” Hanie said. “You’ve got to get the play from him, remember the play, spit it out to the offense, answer questions that [teammates] might have coming out of the huddle and then remember your reads.

“Just like a lot of offenses, there’s a learning curve getting adjusted to the new terminology. But once you get the concepts in your mind, there are limitless combinations he could put in.”

Just over a month into the offseason program, Martz has liked what he’s seen of Hanie.

“I’m very impressed with him as a passer,” said the Bears offensive coordinator. “He’s got some really unusual skills, more skill than I thought he would have to be honest with you.

“The only thing we don’t know is how well he responds under pressure. Does he take all this information and everything and can he see things around him quickly? Sometimes that takes a little time. He needs experience. We’ll see as much of Caleb as we can to kind of get a feel for where he is.”

Hanie has played sparingly in two seasons with the Bears, appearing briefly in only two games. He mopped up for starter Jay Cutler in blowout losses to the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens last year, completing 3 of 7 passes for 11 yards with 1 interception.

Hanie became the only undrafted rookie free agent to make the Bears’ 53-man roster in 2008 after a stellar preseason during which he connected on 29 of 49 passes for 321 yards with 3 touchdowns, 2 interceptions and an 82.1 passer rating. The Colorado State product continued to show promise last preseason, completing 31 of 50 passes for 374 yards with 2 TDs, 1 interception and an 89.9 passer rating.

Though Martz likes Hanie’s potential, the offensive coordinator acknowledged over the weekend at the rookie minicamp that having a No. 2 quarterback with so little experience “makes you a little nervous.”

There’s still a chance the Bears could sign a veteran backup, but Hanie isn’t looking over his shoulder.

“That’s just part of the NFL,” Hanie said. “I’ve just got to worry about what I can control. Obviously I want the team to have complete faith in me. But you also have to understand where they’re coming from. I haven’t got a lot of game reps. There are guys out there who are just a safer fallback.

“It’s not to say that they don’t believe in my skills eventually, but they just would feel safer [with an experienced backup]. So you understand where they’re coming from. You just don’t worry about it and just go out there and do your job and try to make them think otherwise. I’d love to be the guy, but I have to earn that right.”

Despite his lack of experience, Hanie is convinced that he’s capable of continuing to serve as Cutler’s backup.

“I feel like I’m progressing quickly and catching up to the speed of the game, the speed of the NFL,” Hanie said. “I feel confident that I can go in and do the job. Until I show myself otherwise, I’m going to keep that confidence.”