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Bears have question marks on defense

By WTOP Staff

GENE CHAMBERLAIN
Associated Press

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears know who’s backing up starting quarterback Jay Cutler. Now they’d like to know their defense is backing up their offense.

Clausen won his roster battle when Jordan Palmer was cut Sunday, with one preseason game at Cleveland on Thursday still to play.

“Jimmy’s played a lot more football in this league,” Bears coach Marc Trestman said. “He’s younger, and I thought the competition was very close.

“But I thought at the end of the day, I think the upside for Jimmy (is) his age, his experience, and he came highly recommended from some people I trust in Carolina.”

Clausen is 26 and Palmer 30. Clausen played only in 2010 as a rookie out of Notre Dame, when he got into 13 games with 10 starts. He completed 157 of 199 throws for 1,558 yards with three touchdowns and nine interceptions. Then he watched Cam Newton come in and develop into a starter and a star.

Palmer had only 15 NFL passes to his name, none since 2010, and no starts.

“His ability to handle the adversity that he had in his first year (in Carolina), his leadership qualities — he stood up tall through a lot of tough times in Carolina and gained the respect of his teammates and the team there with the way he handled himself in a very, very difficult year,” Trestman said of Clausen. “So that, plus performance, plus experience, plus youth were a lot of the reasons if I can give you some content.

“It wasn’t everything. Jordan, he did a heck of a job. We really did a good job, and Matt did, of giving the guys almost an equal amount of reps and opportunity. At the end of the day it really comes down to how you feel about things.”

Clausen had the disadvantage of coming in during organized team activities June 5, while Palmer had been in Chicago last year after a Cutler injury.

“I studied really hard,” Clausen said. “When I first got here I was playing catch up. I was playing catch up when I was back home for a few weeks getting ready for training camp. But I grasped the offense pretty well.”

Clausen feels he has developed as an NFL player by getting the chance to observe.

“One of the big things is sitting and looking back on the sidelines the past few years in Carolina, just sitting and learning really did help,” he said. “I didn’t have that in college. I didn’t have that in high school.

“Just to sit back and take a step back and look at everything, help the game slow down a little bit for me, and just learned how to play in the NFL, because it’s totally different from college.”

The Bears would like to see improvement in their preseason finale in containing mobile quarterbacks. They struggled to keep Seattle’s Russell Wilson from escaping the pocket, and also had problems against Jacksonville. They’ll face more mobility against Johnny Manziel and Brian Hoyer in Cleveland, then will see mobile quarterbacks in their first four regular-season games.

“Obviously we’d like to put on a better performance than what we showed,” linebacker D.J. Williams said. “But you know, we looked at the film and everything is correctable.

“We do have speed on the defense. That’s what the league is turning into. Two years ago it was everyone throwing it in the air and now teams are getting mobile quarterbacks. Now you’ve got mobile quarterbacks that can run and throw.

“So every year the defense just has to adapt to your competition.”

Defensive coordinator Mel Tucker believes players need to make better decisions on the run to stop scrambling quarterbacks.

“If the quarterback does break the pocket and it becomes a scramble situation, we need to plaster (to a receiver),” he said. “We call it plaster in our zone or man. You just have to cover longer.

“When the quarterback gets out of the pocket, bad things happen typically.”

NOTES: Chicago released safety Craig Steltz, a six-year veteran. Safety Chris Conte missed practice Monday due to a concussion suffered against Seattle and is day to day. … Safety Ryan Mundy suffered a head laceration in the game and missed Monday’s practice. … Starting fullback Tony Fiammetta is day to day with a hamstring.

___

AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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