Speaker 1: The following is a presentation of the Chicago Bears Network
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Speaker 1: day and now welcome to Bears All Access, your all
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Speaker 1: CDW and four And It's that time again. Good even everybody.
Speaker 1: I'm Jeff Jonny Accolong on the broadcast partner from news
Speaker 1: Radio seven eighty one five point FM, WBBM, mister Tom
Speaker 1: Thare and Jim Miller at his Michigan home enjoying the
Speaker 1: beginning of his summer vacation. Yeah. Probably not. He's working
Speaker 1: around the clock, just like everybody else is getting ready
Speaker 1: for the upcoming season. How are you doing, I'm doing good? Yeah, good.
Speaker 1: It's on your mind these days, I don't you know
Speaker 1: in terms of football. You know, you kind of pay
Speaker 1: attention to the news around the league and see what's
Speaker 1: going on. They have all these articles about big expectations
Speaker 1: for players from each football team, and you know, it
Speaker 1: kind of makes you think a lot about the Bears
Speaker 1: because you know, later in the show, we have on
Speaker 1: Sherick McManus, But I was thinking about Tree Cohen in
Speaker 1: the punt return because you know, when you think about
Speaker 1: Gayl Sayers and you think about Devin Hester and the Nave,
Speaker 1: and they made for themselves on the approach Gayl in
Speaker 1: the Hall of Fame, Devin hopefully someday, And you know
Speaker 1: what would the special team play due to a guy
Speaker 1: like three Cohen? Would it take away some of his
Speaker 1: sting or would you try to have to include him
Speaker 1: a little bit more in the offense? Refresh my memory
Speaker 1: and Jim jump in. Did you like the fact that
Speaker 1: he was doing both last year? I was, I think
Speaker 1: you were. I was a little leary. Well, I was
Speaker 1: leary because it was his rookie year. He was being
Speaker 1: exposed to so much, and a lot of the exposure
Speaker 1: was the big hits, going back to the Atlanta game
Speaker 1: to some of the punt return He is a true
Speaker 1: weapon on the punt return game. So I don't mind
Speaker 1: seeing him in there. I just don't like the big
Speaker 1: hits he's exposed to. But I just hope he stays
Speaker 1: a part of the game because when I think about
Speaker 1: different teams and guys that have that caliber, of explosive
Speaker 1: him this I want Treeke to have it, and every
Speaker 1: avenue offered. Yeah, well you look at it and always
Speaker 1: going to be with you guys, I think you know,
Speaker 1: it's tough because, like you said, you're exposing them to
Speaker 1: so many different hats that he had to wear, and
Speaker 1: are you going to overload the player? And I think
Speaker 1: there was a time that he was overloaded a little
Speaker 1: bit when you look at Tarik Cohon. But typically, you know,
Speaker 1: and this goes back to even you know, guys like
Speaker 1: Dez Bryant. You know, normally when you're drafted by a team,
Speaker 1: and that's normally and they feel that you can have
Speaker 1: the biggest impact. That's normally an area where you start
Speaker 1: out at, you know, in the return game, whether it's
Speaker 1: kickoff or punt returned, as Bryant did it. You think
Speaker 1: Antonio Brown, that's what he started out is. And then
Speaker 1: you look at guys like Terre Cohen, who's explosive. He
Speaker 1: was strictly returner, and then they branched out in terms
Speaker 1: of his receiving ability and what he you know, what
Speaker 1: his part was going to be in the offense. And
Speaker 1: then you kind of stick those guys back there once
Speaker 1: they're established, and they got to have at moments. If
Speaker 1: you still look at the Steelers, if it's a big
Speaker 1: play and they need to score, Antonio Brown will be
Speaker 1: back there on punt returns. Say remember me, remember Adrian
Speaker 1: Peterson against the Bears at Soldier Field. He had that
Speaker 1: huge game and then he returns a kickoff, right, Walter
Speaker 1: Payton did it in his past. You know, you got
Speaker 1: to put the best of the best when you're in
Speaker 1: the biggest moments. But it seems like as much as
Speaker 1: we're trying to whittle away some of the special teams
Speaker 1: and what it's contributed to the game and the excitement
Speaker 1: of the game, almost trying to take some of that
Speaker 1: away from him. So it'll be interesting because sheared you know,
Speaker 1: he's a guy that's made a career and now he's
Speaker 1: an experienced veteran in the NFL, and he's had a
Speaker 1: lot of different roles on this team, a lot of
Speaker 1: him pertaining to special teams. You know what's interesting too,
Speaker 1: is because of the new kickoff rule, you just wonder
Speaker 1: how that's going to change returners in the NFL. And
Speaker 1: I still understand that speed kills, but I go back
Speaker 1: to even our two thousand one year, and Jeff, you'll
Speaker 1: you'll remember this. Remember we had Leon Johnson, a big
Speaker 1: running back, as our kick returner because we were all
Speaker 1: we were all about field position. He only went north
Speaker 1: and south, never ever zigzag. Well, because a lot of
Speaker 1: these special teams coaches like Brad Seeley who I've talked to,
Speaker 1: or Mike Westoff of the New Orleans Saints, a lot
Speaker 1: of these special teams coaches saying they're taking all their
Speaker 1: big guys off of the kickoff team coverage and putting
Speaker 1: the speedier guys out there. And I'm wondering if kick
Speaker 1: return coaches, and I'll thinking, you want to what, Let's
Speaker 1: put all our big dudes on kick return and maybe
Speaker 1: it'll go back to more of a field position. You know,
Speaker 1: those bigger running backs can still make plays. You disidentified
Speaker 1: one in Adrian Peterson, but we had Leon Johnson. I
Speaker 1: think we returned it to like to the forty. We
Speaker 1: had great field position, literally, and he was pounded dudes.
Speaker 1: He was crushing dudes. And the last couple of weeks
Speaker 1: Jim has mentioned the name Mike Westoff, who has a
Speaker 1: long term reputation of being the one of the best
Speaker 1: special teams coaches and right, but he was my offensive
Speaker 1: line coach in the USFLO. Yeah, Mike Westoff was right.
Speaker 1: He got the nickname Don Johnson because that was the
Speaker 1: time that coincided with the Miami Vice TV show. And
Speaker 1: Mike Westoff was a young guy, you know, had all
Speaker 1: the flashy hair and stuff like that. But nevertheless he's
Speaker 1: a guy that's you know, been around now for forty
Speaker 1: years through the professional ranks. Outstanding, outstanding coach, outstanding coach. Hey.
Speaker 1: Some have said that the kick returns now could be
Speaker 1: the new punt return. We'll find out. We'll talk about
Speaker 1: more at the Sheriff mcmannus Coming up. This is Bears
Speaker 1: All Access. It's brought to you by IGS Energy. Jeff,
Speaker 1: Jonny Act, Tom there, Jim Miller with you, and Sheriff
Speaker 1: of mannis coming up next on Chicago Sports Radio six
Speaker 1: seventy The Score. Hey, welcome back everybody to Bears All Access,
Speaker 1: brought to you by IGS Energy, a proud partner of
Speaker 1: the Chicago Bears, providing electricity, natural gas, and home warranty
Speaker 1: products to over one million customers across the country. Learn
Speaker 1: more about IGS Energy at igs dot com. Jeff and
Speaker 1: Tom and Jim Miller with you on Bears All Access
Speaker 1: and our buddy Sherriff McManus kind enough to join us.
Speaker 1: This is supposed to be vacation time, buddy. I mean,
Speaker 1: we love it that you're joining the show. I love
Speaker 1: it guys having me. Are you doing, brother, I'm doing great, man,
Speaker 1: real good, getting ready for what now is just four
Speaker 1: weeks away for training camp, the local product. We talk
Speaker 1: about guys all the time from the Chicago area. We
Speaker 1: forget that at some times. You know you're you're you're
Speaker 1: a local guy man Peoria, Northwestern and wearing the Bear's
Speaker 1: uniform now for quite a while. Yeah, it's important to you,
Speaker 1: isn't it. It's very important, man. I'm happy. I'm blessed
Speaker 1: to be able to have this opportunity. Hey, I know
Speaker 1: it's a little bit off the trail, but have you
Speaker 1: seen Northwestern's new facility at shaik I've yet to see it, man,
Speaker 1: I haven't been able to go down there yet, but
Speaker 1: I'm sure it's great. You know, you think you know
Speaker 1: you're becoming an elder statesman in the NFL when you
Speaker 1: outlive your college program facility. Now you're into your second
Speaker 1: facility within ther pro team with the Chicago Bears. So
Speaker 1: you know what type of press what type of pressures though,
Speaker 1: is added for a guy that has been a major
Speaker 1: part of the core group of special team play here.
Speaker 1: You know who Chris Taybor is, but you have a
Speaker 1: new head coach, So what are some of your responsibilities
Speaker 1: or the pressures you're putting on yourself. Yeah, that's the biggest.
Speaker 1: The pressure I put on myself is um, you know,
Speaker 1: just always trying to improve every year. You know, this
Speaker 1: is going into my ninth season, but there's always something
Speaker 1: new you're able to learn, you're able to grasp and
Speaker 1: become better at. So that's that's the main focus going
Speaker 1: into this year, is just learning new things and trying
Speaker 1: to perfect my craft. Well, prior to you coming out,
Speaker 1: Jim Miller here, always good to talk to Sherik, and
Speaker 1: since you've been a special team's demon, I know plenty
Speaker 1: of discussions have been about the new kickoff return role
Speaker 1: and just maybe in your eyes because a lot of
Speaker 1: people are still uncertain how it's going to be officiated
Speaker 1: number one, and I assume Chris Tabor, like many other
Speaker 1: special teams coaches, are going to have to adjust on
Speaker 1: the fly. But your your initial reaction. How do you
Speaker 1: think it is going to change for you this year
Speaker 1: in twenty eighteen. I think you know it's going to
Speaker 1: change for everybody. Chris coach Tabor is a great coach,
Speaker 1: and you know he was kind of on point and
Speaker 1: ahead of the game, so he had us kind of
Speaker 1: preparing for that possible change ahead of time, before it
Speaker 1: was even finalized. And you know, it's just something that
Speaker 1: happens in life. You gotta adjust. So that's exactly what
Speaker 1: we'll do. What is different? What are they telling you
Speaker 1: differently now in terms of and you're not going to
Speaker 1: give me the company secrets or anything, but there is
Speaker 1: there are different adjustments to the whole thing. Yeah, well,
Speaker 1: you know, you just gotta It's definitely the starting point,
Speaker 1: like no more really running start. You just kind of
Speaker 1: line up. Once you kick, you kind of just take
Speaker 1: off as it is. So you know, there's a little
Speaker 1: adjustment here and there that you know may affect some guys,
Speaker 1: but I don't see it being too big of a problem.
Speaker 1: Cherick will will it affect anybody's body styles? Because you know,
Speaker 1: Bears fans, they'd remember Israel Adnaja running down the middle
Speaker 1: of the field last year. You saw it, Rory Robertson Harris.
Speaker 1: You know both of those guys are six seven six
Speaker 1: seven plus. Well, the new style of special teams eliminate
Speaker 1: any types of body styles going forward. Really depends on
Speaker 1: if if you're really a guy that really gets head
Speaker 1: start when you are able to run when approaching the kick. Um,
Speaker 1: but another benesit. I feel like that will help the
Speaker 1: kickoff routine. The kick kickoff team is UM. There won't
Speaker 1: be you know, pretty much any wedges. You know, two
Speaker 1: three man, you know, four man wedges. It should be
Speaker 1: mainly mostly single blocks. You know you're definitely gonna get
Speaker 1: some double teams here and there. But you know, m Nikki,
Speaker 1: you just gotta kind of embrace it. Man. That's kind
Speaker 1: of my mindset. It's done. You know, it's nothing we
Speaker 1: can do about it. So let's embrace it man and
Speaker 1: attack it. Well. Speed demons like you. That's why they
Speaker 1: time in the forty at the combine the ten yards split.
Speaker 1: You're you're getting full speed in ten yards whether you're
Speaker 1: start running or straight from a from a three point stands. Well,
Speaker 1: let me ask you this though, do you think from
Speaker 1: a health standpoint, it will reduce the collisions because obviously
Speaker 1: that's the goal. Um, I think the religions will be inevitable. Honestly,
Speaker 1: I think they're going to happen. It's football. I mean,
Speaker 1: it's built on collisions, you know, but hopefully the impact
Speaker 1: won't be as brutal. I'm sure that blindside hits won't
Speaker 1: won't be coming along hopefully, But you know, it's football.
Speaker 1: You can only control so much when you, you know,
Speaker 1: tell two two teams to go out there and try
Speaker 1: to win a ball game. Bears team captain from last season,
Speaker 1: defensive back and special team studs Sherrick McManus with us
Speaker 1: here on Bears All Access with Jeff Jonny Actium there
Speaker 1: and Jim Miller with you on Chicago Sports Radio six
Speaker 1: seventy the score. So you're alluding to it, you believe
Speaker 1: then that there's a real chance because if guys win
Speaker 1: one on one blocks, we're talking about a lot of
Speaker 1: space to run then for the return man. Yeah, that's
Speaker 1: where you know, good coaching comes in to just kind of,
Speaker 1: you know, be able to to create a play essentially
Speaker 1: to kind of help the returner and keep him from
Speaker 1: getting big hits. You know you're gonna have to get
Speaker 1: some blockers out there, some people that can move their
Speaker 1: feet a little bit, you know, more agile, and you know,
Speaker 1: see see how well you do out there. You know,
Speaker 1: there's a lot of enthusiasm on the practice field this year,
Speaker 1: and a lot of it stems from Coach Naggie and
Speaker 1: his attitude. Offensively speaking, did that spill over to the
Speaker 1: defense or was it still the Vic Fangio type style
Speaker 1: of coaching and his the way you approach the game.
Speaker 1: I know everybody was having fun, but did it spill
Speaker 1: over to the fun spill over to you guys? Oh? Definitely. Man,
Speaker 1: Just Coach Naggy his energy, It's electric, man. Everybody feels
Speaker 1: his presence, all the coaches honestly that now here. Their
Speaker 1: energy is great, man. And it just brings more competition,
Speaker 1: and it's helping us build a culture, you know what
Speaker 1: I mean coming up this season to kind of just
Speaker 1: go out there and have a swag about us and
Speaker 1: go out there and win some games. Well, here, Jeff
Speaker 1: mentions that camp's just around the corner, about a month away,
Speaker 1: and certainly you guys report earlier than any other team
Speaker 1: playing in the Hall of Fame game. How do you
Speaker 1: approach this year differently because you're reporting earlier and really
Speaker 1: getting yourself ready because you're a wily wet No. No,
Speaker 1: I mean you know how to prepare for the camp. Yeah,
Speaker 1: pretty much the same way I've been preparing every year.
Speaker 1: You just got to do it a little bit sooner,
Speaker 1: you know, so your break is a little bit shortened,
Speaker 1: but you know it's everything's good. It starts a little earlier.
Speaker 1: Sherik mcmannus with us here on Bears All Access on
Speaker 1: Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score. Thank you again
Speaker 1: for joining us, Sherrek. Last year in the defense, Vic
Speaker 1: put you to use, you know, had you blitzing and
Speaker 1: so forth. Do you see that role continuing for you
Speaker 1: and is that something that obviously you would embrace. But
Speaker 1: have you worked on that aspect of your game here
Speaker 1: over the last few years. Yeah. Coach Vic the special
Speaker 1: thing about him, he's very innovative. But at the same time,
Speaker 1: Keef is very original, you know, So if he feels
Speaker 1: like that's something that's going to help us win games
Speaker 1: and mix it up a little bit, I'm sure he'll
Speaker 1: implement that. And you know, I'm all for it. Anything
Speaker 1: I can do to help us win some games and
Speaker 1: get to where we need to get to. I'm for it. Hey, Sherik,
Speaker 1: do you feel like you're getting an old one one
Speaker 1: of your ex teammates is getting into the Hall of
Speaker 1: Fame and you can tell can you tell us a
Speaker 1: little bit about your first experiences with Brian Urlocker and
Speaker 1: you know how you know or the chance that you
Speaker 1: got to grow into that type of football relationship. Definitely,
Speaker 1: So getting traded from Houston when I first came into
Speaker 1: the league, got drafted by Houston and got traded to
Speaker 1: the Bears going into my third year. Single was two twelve,
Speaker 1: and right when I stepped in the building into the
Speaker 1: locker room, Brian was the first player I've seen, and
Speaker 1: I of course knew who he was. I didn't expect
Speaker 1: him to say anything to me, but just a simple
Speaker 1: gesture of just saying, hey, how are you doing man,
Speaker 1: I'm Brian Erlacker. I'm happy to have you with us.
Speaker 1: You know, come on, let's go out here and ball
Speaker 1: out like that, just you know, him just making that
Speaker 1: simple gesture to me. It was just incredible for me.
Speaker 1: So I was I've always been a Brian Erlacker fan
Speaker 1: and I'm very happy for him well deserved and you
Speaker 1: know he deserved it. Hey, first ballot says it all
Speaker 1: about that great player. Let me let me ask this
Speaker 1: and I asked the Keem Hicks as your teammate about
Speaker 1: this too, because here, you know, all the excitement, optimism,
Speaker 1: Bears fans are excited. You guys are excited, and you
Speaker 1: should be. It's been a great off season for Chicago
Speaker 1: and here you had a top ten defense last year
Speaker 1: and that's with all the injuries. I guess I don't
Speaker 1: want to put any pressure, but I guess expectation from
Speaker 1: your guys standpoint, because I gotta believe as a unit,
Speaker 1: you guys are to the point now, at least mentally
Speaker 1: that you kind of want to dominate on an every
Speaker 1: week basis. Yeah, no question, that's the mentality is to dominate.
Speaker 1: And it's never been make sure we're top ten. We
Speaker 1: just felt if we continue to focus on the little
Speaker 1: things or trying to improve and being better than we
Speaker 1: were you know yesterday, you know, things will fall into
Speaker 1: place and we'll see where we line up at the
Speaker 1: end of the day. Oh sorry, shared they stepped down
Speaker 1: you a little bit. Sorry, Big Jim. Last thing we'll
Speaker 1: let you go, and we really do appreciate taking ten
Speaker 1: minutes and spending time with Bears fans in US. Right now,
Speaker 1: where do you see yourself in this whole big picture
Speaker 1: of a team that is, it's been rebuilding here for
Speaker 1: the last couple of years and now it's a younger team,
Speaker 1: and here you are getting another new contract. I don't
Speaker 1: even recall the longest contract you ever you've ever had
Speaker 1: in your career. But you keep on, you keep on
Speaker 1: coming back, you keep proving your worth. How do you
Speaker 1: see yourself in the big picture with this football team? Uh?
Speaker 1: You know, I see myself as definitely a leader, someone
Speaker 1: the guys can go to, whether it's on the field
Speaker 1: problems or you know, off the field problems, and you know,
Speaker 1: just be out there to execute and be a playmaker. Man,
Speaker 1: That's all I want to do is win win game.
Speaker 1: So I'm gonna be the best player I can be
Speaker 1: and hopefully that will help the team. All right, Sherik,
Speaker 1: We look forward to seeing you. Is always a training camp.
Speaker 1: Good to talk to you and have a great month
Speaker 1: off here. Thanks, Sheridan Sherrick McManus Bears defensive backhand special
Speaker 1: Teams demon. I think he's got over eighty Tackleson's come
Speaker 1: out of the Bears from Houston in a trade. Remember
Speaker 1: who he was traded for, Daniel Manner, Tyler Clarks. Bonus
Speaker 1: round my Way Top ding Ding Ding Ding Ding Town,
Speaker 1: Buy your Bear at training camp. Big Jim, all right,
Speaker 1: we're gonna step away. We'll come back talk more about
Speaker 1: Sherrik and where the Bears are headed after this break
Speaker 1: on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The Score. You get
Speaker 1: the latest Bears news, photos and videos delivered straight to
Speaker 1: your mobile device. Download the Chicago Bears Official mobile app,
Speaker 1: presented by Verizon. Jeff Joniak Here with You and Tom
Speaker 1: Fair and Jim Miller, our co hosts, as we Get
Speaker 1: You Sent for the Bears twenty eighteen campaign training camp
Speaker 1: just month the way. We just heard from Sherrick McManus.
Speaker 1: A couple of things I want to bring up. He really,
Speaker 1: you know, like most special teams. Guy and Jim, remember
Speaker 1: Larry Wiggham. Larry Wiggam was an outstanding spe and boy
Speaker 1: at some point of their careers, and Sherick has embraced it.
Speaker 1: Though they don't like just being labeled that guy. They
Speaker 1: want to get on the field defensively, I remember Larry
Speaker 1: Wiggham always wanted to get on the field defense, always
Speaker 1: talking about it, doing features on it, like this is
Speaker 1: what I can do. You look at a guy. There's
Speaker 1: one guy, Corey Graham, you know, didn't get a ton
Speaker 1: of playing them. Here is a very good special team player.
Speaker 1: He became a starting defensive player on a super Bowl team.
Speaker 1: That's what these guys envisioned. But if they can't get there,
Speaker 1: you know, you become a star on special teams. And
Speaker 1: Sheriff has and he is a leader. He teaches these
Speaker 1: guys a lot. He's he's a very quiet guy in
Speaker 1: the in the off the field sense, but on the field,
Speaker 1: well you know, the parks man. He's a he's a nasty,
Speaker 1: tough player. The biggest star in the league on special
Speaker 1: teams is probably Slater from New England Patriots. And he's
Speaker 1: he's made a career, not an All Pro career for
Speaker 1: himself out of that position. And I think that's the
Speaker 1: type of investment that Sherik believes he's made in the
Speaker 1: Chicago Bears in his own career. And he deserves credit
Speaker 1: because you know, this special team's the last regime they
Speaker 1: really lived through some growing pains and they're awful at
Speaker 1: times and they contributed to losses. And so I think
Speaker 1: that's one thing. What do you when you ask him
Speaker 1: the last question, where do you see yourself? And it's
Speaker 1: the best thing that came out of his mouth, as
Speaker 1: I see myself as a leader to turn this thing around. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and you know for that third group, you know it
Speaker 1: does you take a lot of pride. He's already what
Speaker 1: this is going on his ninth year, Yeah, I believe.
Speaker 1: So he's already proven himself. He's made a name for
Speaker 1: himself around the National Football League. It's why he's stuck
Speaker 1: not only in Houston but now solidified in Chicago with
Speaker 1: what he brings to the table from that area of
Speaker 1: the game. And I played with a lot of guys
Speaker 1: like that. I don't know if you remember Dwight Stone.
Speaker 1: Dwight Stone was a gunner when I was with the
Speaker 1: Pittsburghs years. He's like literally our seventh wide receiver. They
Speaker 1: ever put him in at receiver, but he could absolutely
Speaker 1: fly as a gutter. He got double teamed every play
Speaker 1: and he was the first guy down there to make
Speaker 1: a tackle. Let our team every year in tackles and
Speaker 1: guys know what say, Hey, this is where I'm going
Speaker 1: to make my niche this is where I'm going to
Speaker 1: put food on my table. And for some guys it
Speaker 1: could be over a decade that they're doing in the NFL. Well,
Speaker 1: I certainly hope special teams and I coach is an
Speaker 1: outstanding coach. He's been around. Coach Tabor as an outstanding coach,
Speaker 1: been around a long time. He's learned from some of
Speaker 1: the best, obviously, and Dave Tobin whatnot. And he's got
Speaker 1: a great personality, great style about him in terms of
Speaker 1: how he coaches, and that aggressive mentality that they want.
Speaker 1: They want that on special teams too. And I'm excited
Speaker 1: about getting a new kicker in here, Cody Parkey. Well,
Speaker 1: and that consistency that you need out of that position. Well,
Speaker 1: it's gonna be interesting too, because I think that's an
Speaker 1: important part Jeff, that you just brought up there and
Speaker 1: Tom hit out it too, is that think of these
Speaker 1: special teams coaches, you just have a major change in
Speaker 1: the rules of how the game's going to be played normally.
Speaker 1: You know, those special teams coaches are fighting for who's
Speaker 1: gonna be on the roster and when you know when
Speaker 1: that cutdown date comes and who can play all the
Speaker 1: you know, whether it's all the on the four special teams.
Speaker 1: I bet you this year, because of that major change
Speaker 1: in that rule, teams will be sticking with more veterans
Speaker 1: than trusting a rookie that hasn't done it before. In
Speaker 1: the NFL, you didn't think about that. Well. You know
Speaker 1: what was interesting though, Jim, not to be interrupted, but
Speaker 1: last year, we are on the field before the preseason
Speaker 1: game between Cleveland and the Bears and we are talking
Speaker 1: to Tabor and we're talking about Jabrill Preppers, their their
Speaker 1: first round draft choice from Michigan. Yeah, that was a
Speaker 1: regular season game. Was a regular season game, Okay, I
Speaker 1: thought it was a preca anywhere. But anyway, we were
Speaker 1: talking about him and he just made reference. He goes, look,
Speaker 1: I want the best players on the field playing for me,
Speaker 1: because I was saying, wow, you're gonna be able to
Speaker 1: play the first rounder on special teams. And he kind
Speaker 1: of had an attitude towards look our best, We want
Speaker 1: our best guys on the field contributing, and so I
Speaker 1: like that attitude. But you know what does that does that?
Speaker 1: You know right there, you know Sheriff has got to
Speaker 1: be one of those leaders because there's going to be
Speaker 1: more competition on the field. Like he said, all right,
Speaker 1: we're gonna continue on after a break here on Bears
Speaker 1: All Access. Adam Amino join us the preseason television play
Speaker 1: by play man for the Bears here in twenty eighteen,
Speaker 1: and his broadcast partner for those games, mister Jim Miller.
Speaker 1: We'll be back with that after this on Chicago Sports
Speaker 1: Radio six seventy the Score. We're on the best five
Speaker 1: K course in the city at the p NC Chicago
Speaker 1: Bears five K and crossed the finish line on the
Speaker 1: field at Soldier Field. This race is Saturday coming up
Speaker 1: June twenty third, and you can register right now at
Speaker 1: Chicago Bears dot com slash five k. Tommy, you signed up?
Speaker 1: Come on, give it a goal for the bicycle portion.
Speaker 1: Come on, I can make that. Did you do a
Speaker 1: five k right now? On foot? Is that three point
Speaker 1: five miles? Three point one? Three point one? Um? You know,
Speaker 1: if someone was running behind me with like a machete, Yeah,
Speaker 1: but if someone it was up to me, probably not
Speaker 1: big Jem by the look see, I'd say. And maybe
Speaker 1: in a couple of years, uh maybe I'm getting Hey,
Speaker 1: I'll get hip surgery next one. Are you really? Yeah?
Speaker 1: Not you too? All my all, my good buddies here
Speaker 1: are getting that hip work done. So Tom and I
Speaker 1: will be like old tag team wrestling. Tom will take half,
Speaker 1: I'll tag in and up. Then we'll have a fumble
Speaker 1: on the Tom has change, but we'll get disqualified and
Speaker 1: just stop one guy who won't because he's a young gun?
Speaker 1: Is Adam a mean kind enough to spend some time
Speaker 1: with us here on Bears All Access on Chicago Sports
Speaker 1: Radio six seventy of the score, Good evening, How you doing,
Speaker 1: my friend? I kind of like the tag team, my dear,
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna lie to you. Can we just do
Speaker 1: the tag team for everybody? Can we apply that universally
Speaker 1: and just not have to do the whole thing at all?
Speaker 1: Me and Jim gets you and Janie I love, I
Speaker 1: love so much, so much, heavy breathing, guys, so much,
Speaker 1: heavy breathing. Come in. I'm in and you are as
Speaker 1: the new preseason television play by play man for the
Speaker 1: Bears coming up here in twenty eighteen. You gotta three
Speaker 1: games out of the five, and uh, have you met
Speaker 1: your new partner yet? We actually got a chance to
Speaker 1: chat a little bit earlier today, so I was I
Speaker 1: was pumped to finally talk with Jimmy, and I'm ecstatic, man,
Speaker 1: I'm excited to come down to Bears camp at some
Speaker 1: point in July and hang out everybody and see see
Speaker 1: what this is all going to be about. Man, I
Speaker 1: know the excitement levels starting to ramp up when you
Speaker 1: get to this time of year. Yeah, it's kind of nice, though,
Speaker 1: to get ready for a season where there is so
Speaker 1: much excitement going into the preseason because you know, a
Speaker 1: lot of times you get these established football teams, they
Speaker 1: just want to make it to the end of preseason.
Speaker 1: You know, these games are going to be interesting. There's
Speaker 1: gonna be a lot of competition on the field for jobs,
Speaker 1: and we're going to be able to watch the growth
Speaker 1: of a product along with everything else you look at
Speaker 1: in the preseason. You know, I look at the early
Speaker 1: season depth chart and obviously they're still a long, long, long,
Speaker 1: long long way to go before we start to ice
Speaker 1: that down and get it to where it's where it's
Speaker 1: going to look like it's like it's normally gonna look
Speaker 1: once we get to September in week one, but there's
Speaker 1: a lot of green. I was mark guys and green
Speaker 1: that are rookies, and there's a lot of green on
Speaker 1: these depth charts because there are they're oh many possible
Speaker 1: new chess pieces to work with. Obviously Roquan is going
Speaker 1: to be, you know, at the front line of that
Speaker 1: on the defensive side, but there are so many possible
Speaker 1: chess pieces to move around that that are going to
Speaker 1: be fresh. And I think a lot of Bears fans
Speaker 1: and that's obviously going to be the goal for all
Speaker 1: of us during the preseason is to introduce some people
Speaker 1: to some guys that might potentially make some impact and
Speaker 1: I'm excited to see where some of these guys are
Speaker 1: going to fit in well. Adam welcome. It is a
Speaker 1: pleasure talking to you earlier today. And man, you've had
Speaker 1: so much success in your career, a multitude of sports
Speaker 1: and you know, just get to know you. And for
Speaker 1: the listeners out there, I know they've seen you, they've
Speaker 1: heard you. But your love of sports, where did it
Speaker 1: come from? Was it growing up? How many did you play?
Speaker 1: And obviously you've called everything my friend, You've really their
Speaker 1: versatility is amazing. No, I appreciate that. Man. It was,
Speaker 1: you know, it was my dad, my brother, My late
Speaker 1: father and my brother were big on that, and they
Speaker 1: they helped me out and pushed me in that direction.
Speaker 1: And being a Cub fan and a Bull fan and
Speaker 1: a Bear fan, growing up and playing baseball, basket ball, football,
Speaker 1: doing all the things that everybody else did and not
Speaker 1: nearly as well as a lot of other people did
Speaker 1: quite poorly in all honesty, and then uh, and playing
Speaker 1: some volleyball and just kind of doing everything possible. And
Speaker 1: then when you figure out you're you're pretty terrible at
Speaker 1: most of these things, you slide over to the broadcasting side.
Speaker 1: So that's uh, that's how it worked for me, man.
Speaker 1: But it's it's uh, it's fun to watch the development
Speaker 1: of everything over the course of a period of time,
Speaker 1: and for me, it's uh, it's fun to look back
Speaker 1: and see where it starts. And the fact that you
Speaker 1: get to do it now in Chicago and some capacity
Speaker 1: is probably the best thing about it. Adam Amin our guest.
Speaker 1: He is a native of Addison and went to his
Speaker 1: college at Valparaiso and has done a great job in
Speaker 1: his career in a very short time. ESPN thought a
Speaker 1: lot of you, obviously and put you into some really
Speaker 1: prime broadcasting roles, um, not the least of which is
Speaker 1: college football. And I tell the story, and I told
Speaker 1: you Adam one day, and we met many times before
Speaker 1: with Tom and I in the field. You've done some
Speaker 1: NFL games as well for a network, And keep pairing
Speaker 1: this voice calling all college football game keep whipping around.
Speaker 1: I couldn't couldn't name him. I couldn't place it. And
Speaker 1: you know the depth of knowledge and so forth, and
Speaker 1: the deep understanding of exes and o's and the excitement here.
Speaker 1: It's Adam Amin And so that Friday night football package
Speaker 1: you have on ESPN, were you able to and have
Speaker 1: you been able to over the last couple of years,
Speaker 1: especially this rookie class, See anybody on this team right
Speaker 1: now that you can share with us some of the
Speaker 1: insight that you learned from I'm calling their games absolutely,
Speaker 1: And the two guys that stick out obviously are Roquan
Speaker 1: Smith and I think Anthony Miller as well. And and
Speaker 1: people are familiar with Roquan right now because he's such
Speaker 1: a high profile pick, because he's a potential impact player
Speaker 1: right off the bat. And that was obviously one of
Speaker 1: the things that people were raving about scouts why scouts
Speaker 1: were raving about I remember being on the on the
Speaker 1: field during the National Championship game when it was Georgia
Speaker 1: and Alabama and seeing his sideline to sideline speed and
Speaker 1: the closing speed that he has on towles, especially going
Speaker 1: up against a pretty prolific running game that Alabama featured
Speaker 1: in that championship game. To see how quickly he closed,
Speaker 1: To see what he did against Auburn in the SEC
Speaker 1: Championship game, to see his development over the course of
Speaker 1: a short period of time, and how we skyrocket up
Speaker 1: a lot of GM's charts because of his skill set
Speaker 1: because of that speed. Obviously had a great forty time
Speaker 1: at the Combine as well, So various fans are excited
Speaker 1: about him. They should be because he has all the skills,
Speaker 1: all the tools physically to add on to what I
Speaker 1: think is a growing defense. And then Anthony Millard to me,
Speaker 1: I I called a handful of Memphis games the last
Speaker 1: few years and seeing how he made great adjustments with
Speaker 1: different quarterbacks that are that are pretty solid NFL potential quarterbacks.
Speaker 1: I'm not saying they're gonna be starters anytime soon, but
Speaker 1: Paxton Lynch has started games for Denver Riley Ferguson's gonna
Speaker 1: have a chance to maybe be out of roster for
Speaker 1: the next couple of years, and he made adjustments despite
Speaker 1: his size, and his heart is big. That's the thing.
Speaker 1: He's a former walk on who didn't I chances to
Speaker 1: go play scholarship football maybe a lower level, wanted to
Speaker 1: be at the Division one level, and ended up becoming
Speaker 1: one of the great receivers in the history of Memphis football.
Speaker 1: So to me, watching him grow with different quarterbacks still
Speaker 1: be as productive as he was great catch radius. Again,
Speaker 1: he's not the biggest guy, but I think he can
Speaker 1: be an impact slot guy relatively quickly. I'm a big
Speaker 1: fan of one Anthony Miller brought to the table in
Speaker 1: Memphis in obviously an up Temple College offense, but I
Speaker 1: think that skill set that he brings physically despite the
Speaker 1: smaller stature, I think it's still going to be very
Speaker 1: fruitful for this Bears offense that continues to grow and
Speaker 1: with Matt Nage is trying to figure out different ways
Speaker 1: to get points on the board, well, you know, you know, Adam,
Speaker 1: I think that's going to be fun for all of
Speaker 1: us because if you think traditionally, you go back in
Speaker 1: all the generations of your family, my family that watched
Speaker 1: the Bears, and they're used to the middle linebacker, four
Speaker 1: or three defense. Now it's at thirty four and then
Speaker 1: you think of a three yard cloud and dust eight
Speaker 1: man front Walter Payton offense. Now, I don't think there's
Speaker 1: going to be a lot of similarities to it. So
Speaker 1: I think for those of us have grown up around
Speaker 1: Bears football, it's going to be an interesting era to
Speaker 1: start watching a whole new style. You describe the college
Speaker 1: style and may infiltrate the Bears a little bit this year,
Speaker 1: and I think that might be a trend a little
Speaker 1: bit more going forward. Listen, pro style football is not
Speaker 1: going to go away anytime soon, and anybody who believes
Speaker 1: that it is probably isn't looking at the whole scope
Speaker 1: of the picture right now. But it is going to
Speaker 1: begin influencing more and more because go to the lower
Speaker 1: levels of football, go the youth levels of football. It
Speaker 1: is spread and it is going to be an adjustment
Speaker 1: that takes place over a period or maybe a decade,
Speaker 1: maybe a decade and a half, maybe even longer than that.
Speaker 1: But this will begin to infiltrate more and more and more.
Speaker 1: Even if it's just in package form, which I think
Speaker 1: we will see relatively early on with this Bears team,
Speaker 1: there will be some I imagine, some packages to see
Speaker 1: different levels of offense, different levels of receiving routes, different
Speaker 1: levels of the running game. I think we're going to
Speaker 1: start seeing this infiltrate the NFL a little bit more
Speaker 1: and more. And I think this is a good mix
Speaker 1: of guys that we could see make an impact relatively early,
Speaker 1: whether it's in the preseason or beyond. For the listeners
Speaker 1: out there, any play by play guy I've been with,
Speaker 1: these guys are absolutely monsters. They have the ability to
Speaker 1: put garbage in garbage out in terms of all the information.
Speaker 1: And you've done it on a multiple you know, Like
Speaker 1: I said, you've called everything, bro. Like, when you're calling
Speaker 1: two games, how do you eat race your memory bank
Speaker 1: to fill it up again for the next thing you're calling?
Speaker 1: Adam Adam tell him that after a game it is
Speaker 1: almost like you have a knowledge flush. If I were
Speaker 1: to be asked, what's the number of so and so
Speaker 1: on the chargers on the team playing going back is
Speaker 1: we're now getting ready to look at the tape of
Speaker 1: that game and get ready for the Packers. I'd have
Speaker 1: to stop and think about it. It isn't that true.
Speaker 1: You kind of have to do that. It's a little
Speaker 1: bit of compartmentalization. I think you have to be when
Speaker 1: you when you when you do a large volume of
Speaker 1: these games. And I'm again, very lucky to do that,
Speaker 1: and I've been I've been very lucky to be in
Speaker 1: a position to do a lot of the sports, introduce
Speaker 1: sports that I really love and enjoy. And this is
Speaker 1: obviously towards the top of the last to be doing
Speaker 1: this with you guys. But you have to compartmentalize. I
Speaker 1: have to erase that. For the last five six years,
Speaker 1: I've been doing a Friday or Saturday college football game,
Speaker 1: and then I'm on a flight going to an NFL
Speaker 1: site on Sunday to do radio, and then I might
Speaker 1: be going to a baseball game later that week, or
Speaker 1: you know, when we're doing the NBA playoffs, that might
Speaker 1: be doing an NBA game on a Monday. I flew
Speaker 1: and in an MLB game on a Tuesday, flew across
Speaker 1: country to do another NBA game Wednesday. It's just part
Speaker 1: of the process and part of the fun of this,
Speaker 1: and again, it's a position that a lot of people
Speaker 1: would would love to be in, so I certainly won't
Speaker 1: take it for granted or bad mouthed it's but part
Speaker 1: of that process is being able to, Like you said,
Speaker 1: I think it's a great way to say, it's plush
Speaker 1: out whatever knowledge you crammed into your head for the
Speaker 1: last period of time to get ready for Game A,
Speaker 1: and then start racking your brain and filling it up
Speaker 1: with whatever you got to know for Game B and
Speaker 1: trying to move on as quickly as possible. Literally, for
Speaker 1: the listeners are like the first super computers ever built.
Speaker 1: All these play by play guys, it's incredible what they do.
Speaker 1: All right, Adam, we're gonna let you fly. We're looking
Speaker 1: forward to seeing you up at training camp and you'll
Speaker 1: be there in Cincinnati for that first game that you'll
Speaker 1: be doing with Jim Miller on Fox for the Bears
Speaker 1: and Bengals, and it won't come soon enough. I know
Speaker 1: everybody likes to enjoy the summer a little bit, and
Speaker 1: that's all fine and good, but we're all ready. We're
Speaker 1: all ready for football. I don't mean thank you so
Speaker 1: much and congratulations, Thanks a lot boys can't wait to
Speaker 1: be a part of it. All right, we'll continue on.
Speaker 1: We're gonna take your phone calls when we come back.
Speaker 1: If you're so inclined you don't give us a call.
Speaker 1: Three one two six four four sixty seven sixty seven.
Speaker 1: Three one two sixty four sixty seven sixty seven. On
Speaker 1: your way, Homer out and about tonight Jeff and Tom
Speaker 1: and Jim Miller with you on Bears All Access, brought
Speaker 1: to you by IGS Energy on Chicago Sports Radio six
Speaker 1: seventy the Score. This segment of Bears All Access is
Speaker 1: orchestrated by cd W CDW people who get it, Jeff
Speaker 1: Joni Ac along with Tom Thare Jim Miller. As we
Speaker 1: continue on Bears All Access with you know seven o'clock tonight,
Speaker 1: give us a call three one two six four four
Speaker 1: sixty seven sixty seven. Three one two six four four
Speaker 1: sixty seven, sixty seven and Jim. Tom wants to talk
Speaker 1: about the division a little bit because we don't always
Speaker 1: have you. You know, you got you here and the summertime,
Speaker 1: but once the regular season gets going, we usually have
Speaker 1: a player for the whole show. So you have been
Speaker 1: at the center of this on Sirius x MNFL Radio.
Speaker 1: What's the talk? What's the talk in the division? I've
Speaker 1: seen team, you know, many people looking at Minnesota as
Speaker 1: a super Bowl you know, team a contender for sure,
Speaker 1: and with Aaron Rodgers healthy and a new look defense,
Speaker 1: and maybe the Packers can pull something together. But what
Speaker 1: are you hearing out there about the division right now? Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean it's kind of like, you know, Minnesota putting
Speaker 1: all their chips on the table, like Jim Fossil said.
Speaker 1: For the Giants, you know, when you signed Kirk Cousins,
Speaker 1: you're hard to believe that's one hundred percent guaranteed contract
Speaker 1: sends a message there. Bringing in Sheldon Richardson on their
Speaker 1: defensive line, they have a very deep roster. That'll be
Speaker 1: interesting how their offensive line shakes out, because Rummers and
Speaker 1: obviously Riley re really proved to be good additions a
Speaker 1: year ago for them. But you know, they're gonna have
Speaker 1: to work through the One thing I think about with
Speaker 1: them is they still have a rookie play caller, you know,
Speaker 1: with who they brought over and how that's all going
Speaker 1: to settle in, So they're gonna have to go through
Speaker 1: a little learning curve there and just how they play
Speaker 1: in situational play. People will have to really catch up
Speaker 1: with what they're doing. But they're They're a talented team,
Speaker 1: and I think as for depth, that team has a
Speaker 1: ton of depth, both offensively and defensively. As how I
Speaker 1: put them, they you know, maybe receivers, they're one light
Speaker 1: area because they're trying to get Laquon Treadwell, but they
Speaker 1: will be strong. Green Bay is interesting. I actually I
Speaker 1: like their defense. I think the defensive backs they're going
Speaker 1: to play more press man with Mike Patton coming on board.
Speaker 1: I still I do not like their offensive line. Patton
Speaker 1: I just went through the offensive lines of all the
Speaker 1: NFC North teams. I actually like the bears versatility more
Speaker 1: than any other offensive line in the division. I think
Speaker 1: the Bears are a strong point from that standpoint. But
Speaker 1: Green Bay I'm still not a believer. But Aaron Rodgers, obviously,
Speaker 1: you know he covers a lot of warts. There's no
Speaker 1: doubt about that. They'll have a running back by committee
Speaker 1: in terms of Jones and Montgomery and what they did
Speaker 1: last year with Williams. Mike McCarthy has already talked about
Speaker 1: that and Joe Philbin. I think that's gonna help Mike
Speaker 1: McCarthy and that offense coming back as their OC. He
Speaker 1: kind of prepped how they did it before. He would
Speaker 1: prep Mike McCarthy, do the game plans till Thursday, and
Speaker 1: then start introducing it to Mike McCarthy, so he was
Speaker 1: prepped to call the plays on game days. So I
Speaker 1: think them they're they're not going to miss a beat.
Speaker 1: And so let'll stop you right there real quick. So
Speaker 1: let me get this straight. So Philbin will not be
Speaker 1: calling the plays. That's how I think the setup is
Speaker 1: going to be how it was previously. That's what I
Speaker 1: was come to understand, and that's how it always was
Speaker 1: where Philbin, like I said, he would prepare the game plans,
Speaker 1: then say hey, Mike, here's what we're doing with from
Speaker 1: twenty to twenty. Here's our red zone pack as this
Speaker 1: is what I'm thinking, and here's who I'm looking at
Speaker 1: attack and so Mike McCarthy would get a feel for
Speaker 1: what he wanted done in terms of situational play, because
Speaker 1: I think for Mike he enjoys that part of the game.
Speaker 1: You know, we handed it over to the calling previously
Speaker 1: to Clement, and he took it back over real quick.
Speaker 1: So it may get to the point where Philipin's calling plays,
Speaker 1: but I think it'll start where McCarthy is at the
Speaker 1: beginning of the season to get Aaron Rodgers up and
Speaker 1: running quickly. But I do like their defense is gonna
Speaker 1: be much different. They will play a lot faster, and
Speaker 1: I think you the buying factor is there from the
Speaker 1: defensive players from that standpoint, Jim. Lastly, just to stay
Speaker 1: on the offensive side the ball. What quarterback in our
Speaker 1: division has the best supporting cast of their offensive players
Speaker 1: before we get to the defensive sideball, because we have
Speaker 1: you know is the it is the quarterback division right now?
Speaker 1: But which one has you know? Because every same Minnesota
Speaker 1: you know, because every single one of them, there is
Speaker 1: a question mark within their offense. Like Jim said, they're
Speaker 1: trying to get Lakwan Treadwell, who is a first round
Speaker 1: draft choice a couple of years ago, to try to
Speaker 1: be the receiver they expected out of him. He has
Speaker 1: not been. There's nothing to prove that he will be.
Speaker 1: So I think that's gonna be in Teeling. Man, that's
Speaker 1: a dangerous duo. Don't you think they're They're really good?
Speaker 1: Kyle Rudolph, I like as a tight end. I'd like
Speaker 1: Delvin Cook if he comes back strong from injury. He
Speaker 1: was looking really good yeah last years. Um, but skill positions,
Speaker 1: that'd be a tough one because I do like I
Speaker 1: like Detroit's receivers because when you look at Marvin Jones
Speaker 1: and what Tate has done and this Kenny Golladay, I'm
Speaker 1: not kidding that dude is going to be a player
Speaker 1: who they drafted a year ago. Supposedly he is really
Speaker 1: raising eyebrows with what he's done. And I think just
Speaker 1: the theme of the Detroit Lions draft, they upgraded their
Speaker 1: offensive line. We know, getting Taylor Decker back helped them
Speaker 1: because Greg Robinson was terrible the first six games today, Yeah,
Speaker 1: and so but I mean that's not an upgrade I'm
Speaker 1: gonna yeah, But the drafting of Frank rag Now, I
Speaker 1: think he's gonna play left guard, much like how the
Speaker 1: Bears are doing that with t J. J. H. Daniels
Speaker 1: there for the Bears. But and Terrell Crosby is a
Speaker 1: big guy who's gonna I think he's gonna be a
Speaker 1: player in the NFL. So the theme of them not
Speaker 1: running the football that they're trying to rid that. And
Speaker 1: then you drafted kirie On Johnson, who was a bell
Speaker 1: cow running back, and adding obviously la Garrett Plunt, and
Speaker 1: then they drafted the fullback position, but he already tore
Speaker 1: his ACL and now they're gonna bring over. They'll probably
Speaker 1: end up picking up a fullback, I would think by
Speaker 1: the end of training kit. But I like their skill
Speaker 1: set play so quickly in the division. We're saying right
Speaker 1: now Minnesota probably has the best supporting cast for their quarterback.
Speaker 1: Would you say that or I mean, I don't know,
Speaker 1: yeah right now, just because of what they accomplished already
Speaker 1: Tealan becoming what he's become in Stefane Diggs. But I
Speaker 1: think with a new play caller, their defense again, they'll
Speaker 1: have to carry him until their OC settles in. I
Speaker 1: really believe that. I would think for me personally, I
Speaker 1: would probably take Detroit. Didn't I would take Detroit in
Speaker 1: terms of skill positions, Talan have some like average of
Speaker 1: nineteen yards per catch or some double digit thing like that,
Speaker 1: because that's not Kirk Cousins strength. And so I mean,
Speaker 1: you're gonna have to be able to develop a relationship
Speaker 1: with the two receivers they had last year that they
Speaker 1: developed with a quarterback that probably threw him passes because
Speaker 1: he was the backup for their team well more than anything.
Speaker 1: All these offensive weapons were speaking of and the quarterbacks involved.
Speaker 1: You better on on the bier side of the fence
Speaker 1: that that secondary that's all together at the moment, and
Speaker 1: hopefully guys can press them and challenge them a training
Speaker 1: camp and become factors as well and push for playing
Speaker 1: time throughout the season and make them better. Really have
Speaker 1: to be on it along with your big nineties guys.
Speaker 1: We're gonna we're gonna talk about it every week. Well,
Speaker 1: you know, to break down the offensive linebackers two here
Speaker 1: in a moment. But but you know, last year, when
Speaker 1: there were so many question marks on the defensive backfield,
Speaker 1: the offensive front seven eight, they had to play well
Speaker 1: in order to provide a little bit of extra pressure. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it didn't lead to sacks, but they were able to
Speaker 1: pressure the opponent's quarterback and kind of help the defensive
Speaker 1: backfield to develop. I think the defensive backfield is going
Speaker 1: to have to do that for the front this year.
Speaker 1: They're gonna have to play a strong part in their
Speaker 1: role on this defense to make sure you get some
Speaker 1: guys reps that need some important reps and you know,
Speaker 1: either you're coming back from injury or you just need
Speaker 1: to play better. And you know another thing too is
Speaker 1: you know, and Tom's brought this up before, teams are
Speaker 1: going to have to adjust to the Bears. You know
Speaker 1: how Naggie's gonna call plays, the personnel groupings. He's going
Speaker 1: to provide the chess pieces that he has, and that's
Speaker 1: going to take time in adjustment. I would say the
Speaker 1: same thing for you know, the Chicago Bears coaches and
Speaker 1: how they prepare to play the Lions, because the Lions,
Speaker 1: I like their defense, you know, drafting to Shawn Hand,
Speaker 1: they're going to run a hybrid. They will be in
Speaker 1: four three some weeks, they'll be in three four. So
Speaker 1: it even Petton does a little bit of that too
Speaker 1: in Green Bay. So I think all the coaches are
Speaker 1: mining their peak piece and ques because they're literally has
Speaker 1: been a ton of changes in the NFC North in
Speaker 1: terms of the staffs and how they're put together and
Speaker 1: what they're going to present in twenty eighteen. I think
Speaker 1: you've been reading too many Michigan newspapers, That's what I'm thinking. No,
Speaker 1: I'm kidding, I mean, you really are in love with
Speaker 1: this team right now. Uh yeah, I like, I like.
Speaker 1: I think every team in the NFC North got better.
Speaker 1: This division got better overall with the pieces to the
Speaker 1: puzzle that they had. Hey, Jimmy Graham's no slouch on
Speaker 1: green Bay. That's a good acquisition. That's is a legitimate
Speaker 1: red zone threat that Green Bay has not had since
Speaker 1: Dr Michael Finley left. Do you agree? I mean yes,
Speaker 1: without question in that red zone aspect of the Bears
Speaker 1: has to also elevate significantly. It has not a good
Speaker 1: good place to be. And now with the different weapons
Speaker 1: they have and the creativity of this offensive coaching staff,
Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to see how they how they work
Speaker 1: in the red zone and challenge defenses. Oh. I mean,
Speaker 1: you got to be able to first of all, make
Speaker 1: Mitchell Trubisky's athleticism a weapon, and then you have they
Speaker 1: have to decipher a lot of information quickly from that
Speaker 1: point on, And I think that's the key ingredient here
Speaker 1: is make sure they have so much awareness of the
Speaker 1: quarterback that the other guys are getting involved in battles
Speaker 1: one on one matchups that they're favorable in. This week
Speaker 1: on Inside the Bears, Eddie Jackson goes for a ride
Speaker 1: with Spice Adams in Big Guys in a Benz Anthony
Speaker 1: by the way, a belated birthday wish he just had
Speaker 1: a birthday. This weekend, Mitchell Trubisky holds a camp for
Speaker 1: kids in his hometown of Minner, Ohio. Inside the Bears
Speaker 1: Airs Saturday's six pm on CW fifty Chicago and Sunday's
Speaker 1: at ten thirty five on Fox thirty two Chicago. You
Speaker 1: can also watch show segments online at Chicago Bears dot
Speaker 1: com or on the Chicago Bears official app anytime. A
Speaker 1: few more minutes with Tom and Jim, Jeff Joniak here
Speaker 1: on Bears All Access brought to you by IGS Energy.
Speaker 1: With you in deal seven o'clock tonight, Let's continue with
Speaker 1: our position breakdowns. We've covered the offense so far and
Speaker 1: now we'll dig into the defense as we move closer
Speaker 1: to training camp here in the next four weeks. Outside
Speaker 1: linebackers I want to talk about, and we'll start with
Speaker 1: Leonard Floyd just saw you know you're a good friend.
Speaker 1: Jim gil Brandt put him on a list of guys
Speaker 1: he is projecting to be a potential pro bowler this year.
Speaker 1: Do you guys agree. He has that kind of potential
Speaker 1: right now, coming off injury as he starts a year three. Yeah,
Speaker 1: potentially he's got it. We've seen that since he stepped
Speaker 1: on the field here, and you talk about those types
Speaker 1: of traits. Is really clever feet, good length, good enough
Speaker 1: strength when he came in here that if he continued
Speaker 1: to develop, he's going to really, you know, have an
Speaker 1: opportunity to flourish. But I need to see better attitude
Speaker 1: out of him. I need to see more of an
Speaker 1: attitude that has a lot of energy attached to it,
Speaker 1: because Leonard Floyd was not brought here to be have
Speaker 1: a slugger's type attitude. He was here to bring a
Speaker 1: leader attitude with him. And when you're drafted that high
Speaker 1: not only by your production, but the way you lead
Speaker 1: yourself on the practice field, the encouragement that you give
Speaker 1: and you show to your other teammates. So to me,
Speaker 1: I've seen it before, and I saw at Pronell McFee
Speaker 1: when he came hidden here and he was in training camp.
Speaker 1: I know that he was injured, but he had an
Speaker 1: attitude man that you wanted to see be here or
Speaker 1: you wanted that type of attitude by you know, shown
Speaker 1: by a lot of your players. Yeah, and uh, you
Speaker 1: know for him, but you know, I expect to breakout year.
Speaker 1: You know, he's been in the system now two years.
Speaker 1: He's stronger from being in the weight room with how
Speaker 1: he's trained. He knows the system or what the coaches
Speaker 1: expect of him and on every single defensive call, and
Speaker 1: he should know the defense inside and out at this point.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I expect the big year and hopefully it's
Speaker 1: injury free where he can start. The light bulb comes
Speaker 1: off and he's going to be the hot rod, first
Speaker 1: round pass rusher, the bear thought he was going to be,
Speaker 1: and he's capable of it. He has the ability to
Speaker 1: do it. So I think this is a big year
Speaker 1: for Leonard Floyd. And where is Aaron Lynch in this picture?
Speaker 1: Because if he comes on strong, you know you have
Speaker 1: Sam Macho on the other side, but you need a
Speaker 1: rotation of guys based on down a distance and whatnot.
Speaker 1: If he can come in and stay healthy and be
Speaker 1: what he was early on under Vick Fanjo and San Francisco,
Speaker 1: he too has all the traits. Yeah, he's got the length,
Speaker 1: he's got the power, he's got the intelligence. You know,
Speaker 1: I always envision if you could put Lynch and you
Speaker 1: could put Roy Robertson Harris on one side together and
Speaker 1: have them rushes a tandem. You're talking about two guys
Speaker 1: that are nearly six to seven. They have a lot
Speaker 1: of length, and I said, they really move their fee. Well,
Speaker 1: if you could get these guys in some type of
Speaker 1: relationship like you have with a Keem Hicks and Leonard
Speaker 1: Floyd boy, that could pack a lot of pass rush power,
Speaker 1: length and everything else you need. So it's going to
Speaker 1: be a couple of guys to pay attention to and
Speaker 1: there how their relationships developed together. And he's still a
Speaker 1: young player, you know, he's only going on his fifth year,
Speaker 1: had early success that you mentioned under Vic Fangio as
Speaker 1: a rookie, and then came back, you know, did a
Speaker 1: little bit better in twenty fifteen, and now he's back
Speaker 1: in a familiar defense where he had success. So I
Speaker 1: think for him, he's going to come in with a
Speaker 1: positive attitude knowing he can succeed and for him, his
Speaker 1: best football's ahead of him. I think the sky's the
Speaker 1: limit for him and he should approach it that way.
Speaker 1: Being in back in this system. And sam Acho is
Speaker 1: somebody can count on no question. He had his best
Speaker 1: year last year. I think he would admit that. Isaiah Irving,
Speaker 1: we saw flashes and Cassima ata Balle that just brought in.
Speaker 1: We haven't seen him yet in a Bear's uniform on
Speaker 1: the actors field, but somebody to keep an eye under
Speaker 1: in training camp, you know. And I'm sure there's going
Speaker 1: to be a guy or two out there that's going
Speaker 1: to be brought in to see if they can add
Speaker 1: any spark to the outside. The guy to me as
Speaker 1: interesting as Sam Macho, because is he really a guy
Speaker 1: that you want to be a core special teamer? Is
Speaker 1: that really the role that you envisioned for him? But
Speaker 1: every time he's been given the opportunity to be on
Speaker 1: the field, he's played very well and he's done a
Speaker 1: nice job for the Bears. All Right, we're out of
Speaker 1: time for tonight. Tom. You have yourself a great week
Speaker 1: the rest of your week. Jim Miller, we'll talk to
Speaker 1: you soon as well. Thanks fellows as always, and thank
Speaker 1: you to Igs Energy, our sponsor of Bears All Access.
Speaker 1: Thanks to Sherriff McManus and mister Amade joining us as
Speaker 1: he will entertain the first preseason under his Bears belt
Speaker 1: three games this year as Jim's partner on Fox TV,
Speaker 1: our director of Content Dan Burrelly, coordinating producer Jordan tritt
Speaker 1: Up and helping us out today Mike Chen and Herb
Speaker 1: Lawrence is always here in the Score Studios. Thank you
Speaker 1: everybody for listening. Have a great night everybody. Until next week.
Speaker 1: For Tom and Jim, I'm Jeff Joniac. Thanks for listening.
Speaker 1: You're on Bears All Access on Chicago Sports Radio six
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