Speaker 1: It's time to talk Bears football with Tom Thayer Jeff
Speaker 1: Jona Yak, a Thursday edition of Bears All Access brought
Speaker 1: to you by IGS Energy. I producers are Jordan trut Up,
Speaker 1: Brian Bosik and Dan Brilliant. Thanks for the folks here
Speaker 1: at the score with the great job they do, and
Speaker 1: thank you all for listening. Tom. All I gotta say
Speaker 1: is wow. I said wow when jackim Grant went ninety
Speaker 1: seven at Lambeau for the punt return touchdown, the only
Speaker 1: one in the NFL this season. And wow in the
Speaker 1: situation the Bears are in overall today, as folks may
Speaker 1: have heard by now, nineteen players not practicing, eight with
Speaker 1: an illness, five with injury, and then six more added
Speaker 1: to the reserve COVID list. That includes guys like Allen Robinson,
Speaker 1: Jesse James, Joe Ea, Booney Way, Eddie Jackson, and Ryan
Speaker 1: Noah and practice squadwide receiver Isaiah Coulter added to the list.
Speaker 1: That's Eddie Goldman, Maury Edwards, Junior, Larry Boram, and then
Speaker 1: the three coordinators Sean decided Chris Tabor and Bill Laser
Speaker 1: on the COVID list as well. A real big impact
Speaker 1: on the offense with the illnesses. That's not to say
Speaker 1: those guys won't be ready to play in four days,
Speaker 1: but the clock is ticking. How do you size all
Speaker 1: of this up? You just gotta be as mentally prepared
Speaker 1: as you possibly can given the circumstances. Yeah, there's some
Speaker 1: things at this late stage of the season you're not
Speaker 1: going to be able to get out there and physically do.
Speaker 1: But when it comes time for Monday, you got to
Speaker 1: be mentally prepared to play, no matter if your name
Speaker 1: is called in the last seconds before the game or
Speaker 1: if you recover from the COVID list and you get
Speaker 1: your opportunity to get on the field. They're kind of
Speaker 1: fortunate they've been through these circumstances all throughout the last
Speaker 1: year and a half to get a better understanding of it.
Speaker 1: But you can never be prepared for a situation what's
Speaker 1: going on frustration indeed from head coach Matt Neeggie, well,
Speaker 1: you never know going I can remember going into last
Speaker 1: year thinking, man, this is you know, are we gonna
Speaker 1: be able to get through this? And we did, and
Speaker 1: then you get into this summer and you say, Okay,
Speaker 1: now we're past it. We're gonna we got you know,
Speaker 1: vaccinations and these are this is what's going on. We've
Speaker 1: been there, done that, we know how to do it,
Speaker 1: and here we are and and all of a sudden,
Speaker 1: here what you see as a spike in numbers and
Speaker 1: for different reasons and and uh, but what you have
Speaker 1: to do is you have to understand that again that
Speaker 1: you have to what we say last year, expect the unexpected,
Speaker 1: that this is the unexpected. It's here. Uh. And so
Speaker 1: what we got to make sure that we do and
Speaker 1: maintain as leaders in this building. And what these leaders,
Speaker 1: the players that we have, is make sure that they
Speaker 1: stay focused. Sometimes as hard as that can be. You
Speaker 1: have to do it. That's our obligation. And that's why
Speaker 1: we're here. And so the teams that do that the
Speaker 1: best will work through it. And uh, you know, you
Speaker 1: got to look for where's the Where's where's the positive
Speaker 1: out of this? I don't know, but maybe maybe there's
Speaker 1: a player that ends up playing that wasn't going to
Speaker 1: play that that does something I don't. I don't know that,
Speaker 1: but maybe there is. And uh, I think that's that's
Speaker 1: how you got to approach it. Well, it's a fair
Speaker 1: question to ask, you know, because first of all, we
Speaker 1: don't know if more will be at it throughout the
Speaker 1: course of the week, if if something spreading, it's uh,
Speaker 1: it's wise to do what they're doing remote meetings now
Speaker 1: on zoom and whatnot. But there's only walkthroughs, there's no
Speaker 1: practice throughout the course of the week, and you really
Speaker 1: don't know. You can't count on anyone right now. Do
Speaker 1: they have enough players to play? They you know, they
Speaker 1: will buy money. But but you know, Jeff, we were
Speaker 1: just you know, have this example of Tevin Jenkins from
Speaker 1: last Sunday night. He didn't think he was gonna play.
Speaker 1: All of a sudden, at a moment's notice, Jason Peters
Speaker 1: gets fell on boom. You're in Tevin Jenkins and there's
Speaker 1: no looking back. I think that's the same mentality that
Speaker 1: a lot of these guys are raised with since the
Speaker 1: time they get into the NFL. A lot of these
Speaker 1: guys were stars in their college team and they played
Speaker 1: every day and every down. But then you get into
Speaker 1: a backup role on the NFL and you never know
Speaker 1: when your name is going to be called. Some of
Speaker 1: these guys can go through a full career and never
Speaker 1: get that opportunity. But again, that's why these guys are
Speaker 1: in the profession they're in not you know, you never
Speaker 1: knew it was going to hit. But you also have
Speaker 1: to you have to be prepared for the role that
Speaker 1: these coaches that put you in, they have trust, faith
Speaker 1: in understanding that when their time comes, you're going to
Speaker 1: be ready. Where are your concerns league wide right now?
Speaker 1: Because it's not just Chicago, it's Washington, it's Cleveland, it's
Speaker 1: the LA RAM shutting down their facility over a hundred
Speaker 1: new COVID cases this week throughout the league in the
Speaker 1: last couple of days. Just from your perspective as an
Speaker 1: announcer right now calling these games, what are your concerns?
Speaker 1: I have more world concerns than I do NFL concerns,
Speaker 1: because if they had to shut the NFL down for
Speaker 1: one week and get everything cleaned up and try to
Speaker 1: get control, get back into every day testing, have separation
Speaker 1: in the work atmosphere, and try to get this thing
Speaker 1: back on track until the end of the season and
Speaker 1: through the Super Bowl, then that's what they would have
Speaker 1: to do. To me, it's hard ignore what the big
Speaker 1: picture of the world is, and so m I don't
Speaker 1: want to minimalize and only thinking about the NFL because
Speaker 1: they can work things out. They showed last year that
Speaker 1: they were capable of doing this when there wasn't a vaccine,
Speaker 1: when circumstances were affecting people, you know, in a more
Speaker 1: destructive way. So now it's about making sure you get
Speaker 1: everybody on track, understand the testing procedures, and possibly get
Speaker 1: back into the everyday testing profile. Justin fields full go
Speaker 1: today says he's been better ninety percent after the game
Speaker 1: against Green Bay, admits some soreness after that game took
Speaker 1: some pops in that one. Tried to limit as many
Speaker 1: as he could, but his focus is exactly where you
Speaker 1: had put it, Tommy. I mean, we've done this before,
Speaker 1: so it's not new. You know, we had it week,
Speaker 1: we played Detroit on Thanksgiving, so it's not like some
Speaker 1: new to us. So um, I mean, at the end
Speaker 1: of the day, we're all grown in. We all are
Speaker 1: here for one reason and that's to win game. So
Speaker 1: if you guys can't lock in for a walk, dude,
Speaker 1: and you know that's on him at the unit of
Speaker 1: the day, and you know it's no part partly my
Speaker 1: job to make sure that the other guys around me
Speaker 1: are locked in and you know, you know, taking the
Speaker 1: Walterrough seriously, he has proved many times that he's got
Speaker 1: a really, really fierce determination no matter what the circumstances.
Speaker 1: And if it were tomorrow, he'd have a potentially you know,
Speaker 1: four new starters on the offensive line. Yeah, but his
Speaker 1: role is will be a quarterback. It's not to go
Speaker 1: up in the line of scrimmage, block as a tackle,
Speaker 1: go back, catch the snap and then throw the ball
Speaker 1: down field. Just do your own job. And we hear
Speaker 1: that preach by coaches all around the NFL. So Justin
Speaker 1: has to, you know, take stock and the fact that
Speaker 1: there will be five guys in front of them that
Speaker 1: Juanca still is going to get these guys mentally prepared
Speaker 1: and you have to shift positions around to make sure
Speaker 1: that you got five healthy guys up there. It's the
Speaker 1: same circumstances every NFL team is facing time three week
Speaker 1: window to come off ir for Duke Shelley and jermainea
Speaker 1: Fetty Germaine's been out for quite some time. Maybe they're
Speaker 1: ready to go. How would you feel about that? It
Speaker 1: would certainly help out because the defensive secondary hurting right
Speaker 1: now as well, with Eddie Jackson now on the COVID list.
Speaker 1: He was playing Nickel for crying out loud in the
Speaker 1: LAMBA game on Sunday nights. Xavier Crawford out today with
Speaker 1: that concussion, So a lot up in the air in
Speaker 1: that regard too. Yeah, but you know, listen, man, if
Speaker 1: your numbers called, Jeff, you gotta be ready no matter
Speaker 1: what the situation is. And this is the most most
Speaker 1: unique situation that we've ever been through in our lifetime
Speaker 1: in the NFL. Is you got to be ready to play,
Speaker 1: whether you're coming off of an injured an injury list,
Speaker 1: or you're in a backup role and you're ready to
Speaker 1: go out there and get a starting opportunity. This is a
Speaker 1: a situation too. You're you're hoping for guys to stick
Speaker 1: their hand up in the air. Hey, I may not
Speaker 1: be close to being one hundred percent, but we are
Speaker 1: in an acute situation here. Yeah, we're four and nine,
Speaker 1: But you know, is this is important. This is our family. Yeah, No,
Speaker 1: one's one hundred percent. And that's the That's every NFL
Speaker 1: player will say that every single time. You know, I
Speaker 1: can't remember who it was a couple of weeks ago,
Speaker 1: they were talking to one of the receivers and saying, look,
Speaker 1: after the first day of training camp, you never feel
Speaker 1: good until a month after training camp is over and
Speaker 1: Marquis Goodwin, yes, there you go. So I mean it's
Speaker 1: you know, whether you're a big guy as an offensive
Speaker 1: lineman or a smaller guy at the wide receiver position,
Speaker 1: you're never gonna be one hundred percent healthy man Naggie.
Speaker 1: Putting all this in perspective, you have to make sure that,
Speaker 1: like for the coordinators there, they have to zoom, which
Speaker 1: is what I did, and you have to make sure
Speaker 1: that when you're zooming, the only difference is that they're
Speaker 1: they're not there in person. I mean, that's really the
Speaker 1: biggest difference. And then when you got to practice, they're
Speaker 1: not there, so you have to It just creates a
Speaker 1: little bit more for you to for the backup plan
Speaker 1: of however that is, whether it's game day or whether
Speaker 1: it's the day of practice, or whether it's in meetings.
Speaker 1: You know, it's there's some things that you got to
Speaker 1: work through. But when you keep, you know, a mindset
Speaker 1: of understanding that we're not the only team right now
Speaker 1: in the NFL that's going through this, or really any
Speaker 1: league sports league. There's other teams that are going through this.
Speaker 1: When you keep that mindset, you understand it. You try
Speaker 1: to stay as positive as you can real quick. On
Speaker 1: the coordinators, they've got some experience on the staff obviously,
Speaker 1: and Matt mentioned it earlier today throughout the name of
Speaker 1: Mike Petton that to me would make sense on the
Speaker 1: defensive side of the ball. And they have Tom Herman,
Speaker 1: who has been a head coach, has helped out the
Speaker 1: offense and special teams. That could be a guy that
Speaker 1: also could be leaned on here, right, You know, everybody's
Speaker 1: role has to be elevated. I've never seen a situation
Speaker 1: like this where a team is facing a Monday night
Speaker 1: football game and there without their three coordinators in the
Speaker 1: week's preparation. Like I said, they're fortunate they have been
Speaker 1: through this zoom process before going through the meetings and
Speaker 1: if the coaches are healthy and now they can be
Speaker 1: on the opposite side of the screen and leading every
Speaker 1: one of the meetings just like we're doing now this
Speaker 1: segment of bears One access is to you by athletical
Speaker 1: physical therapy. Visit Athletico dot com to requested appointment in
Speaker 1: clinic or virtually and start feeling better tomorrow back here
Speaker 1: on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to score Jeff Joniak
Speaker 1: and Tom Thayer. Coming up later in the program will
Speaker 1: be joined by Pete Bersich, the radio analyst for the
Speaker 1: Minnesota Vikings. Tom As we look at what the impact
Speaker 1: of certain players are this year, we're looking at a
Speaker 1: lot of young players as we look to the future here,
Speaker 1: a lot of growth potential. Obviously, we can talk about
Speaker 1: Justin Fields and Darnell Mooney and David Montgomery, Khalil Herbert.
Speaker 1: But the one guy, the guy who's already made a
Speaker 1: name for himself and is rising, is Roquan Smith. What
Speaker 1: are your thoughts on where he's come. We're gonna listen
Speaker 1: to him a little bit here in a minute. What
Speaker 1: is your overall view of what Roquan's impact is now
Speaker 1: will be in the future. Still a young man. Well,
Speaker 1: when you talk about impact, Jeff, it's what can you
Speaker 1: do for your teammates and a leadership role, both by
Speaker 1: example in the off season, throughout OTA's training camp and
Speaker 1: then during the regular season into the games. I think
Speaker 1: Roquan Smith has developed enough of a voice in that
Speaker 1: locker room where if something needs to be said behind
Speaker 1: closed doors or words of encouragement before or after a game.
Speaker 1: Roquan Smith has earned that right. And I think that's
Speaker 1: the best thing that you can say about a football player,
Speaker 1: is that, amongst sixty seventy a type of personalities, that
Speaker 1: Roquan Smith is one of the leaders of the entire room.
Speaker 1: So let's listen in this is our avocant healthcare player
Speaker 1: profile Roquan Smith, Sunday morning, ten thirty on Fox thirty
Speaker 1: two Chicago and Bears Game Day Live. All right, a
Speaker 1: ro KANDAM gonna start out with a quote from Matt Naggie,
Speaker 1: And I don't know if you ever heard it, but
Speaker 1: he practices how he plays, and he plays how he practices.
Speaker 1: This guy is extremely motivated. He's a football player high
Speaker 1: iq Missiuana Field. He's out the show everybody why he's
Speaker 1: the best middle linebacker in the National Football League. Does
Speaker 1: Matt Naggy have the pulse of Rokuan Smith? Hey, that's
Speaker 1: exactly it. You know, I feel like I'm the guy,
Speaker 1: you know, bost my tail day in and day out,
Speaker 1: and the same thing on Sunday, give it my all
Speaker 1: every single second I'm out there, and I just always
Speaker 1: remind myself Hey, this could be your last play. So
Speaker 1: that's why I go as hard as I do. Why
Speaker 1: is it important to you to be the best middle
Speaker 1: linebacker in the NFL? I feel like that's just pay
Speaker 1: back to myself, my community, everyone that's instilled a lot
Speaker 1: of great things in me, and just all the hard
Speaker 1: work that I put in a year in and year out,
Speaker 1: day in and day out, and it's just like, hey,
Speaker 1: I want to be the best, so I gotta show
Speaker 1: that each and every day. You know, you're the leader
Speaker 1: of the team right definitely one of the leaders of
Speaker 1: the team. Now. I didn't say one. I mean you're
Speaker 1: the man right now. This team is about Roe quant
Speaker 1: Smith And I know you're humble and I'm putting words
Speaker 1: in your mouth, but the fact of the matter is
Speaker 1: the leadership void has to be filled and it's the
Speaker 1: younger guys that are going to pave the way for
Speaker 1: the future. And you're one of those guys right now.
Speaker 1: I know it's important to you to stay humble and
Speaker 1: just lead by your actions, but your voice is louder
Speaker 1: it is, but you break down the team before games.
Speaker 1: People are turning to you. Now, how does that feel?
Speaker 1: And are you okay? Do you have shoulders for that.
Speaker 1: Oh absolutely, It's a tremendous on the first and foremost
Speaker 1: to be consider one of the leaders of this amazing team,
Speaker 1: amazing brotherhood of guys and knowing that a lot of
Speaker 1: guys depend on you in tough moments and when time's
Speaker 1: get tough. So I just try to be that guy
Speaker 1: everyone can depend on, and no regardless of the situation
Speaker 1: or the circumstances, I'm always be me and I'm always
Speaker 1: give it everything that I have. And I think guys
Speaker 1: have no choice but to respect that. What triggered this
Speaker 1: because you made many comments intimated often publicly and on
Speaker 1: social media that you're driven by something. What is that something?
Speaker 1: And what is the criticism that kind of put a
Speaker 1: bird in your saddle that got you to think, you
Speaker 1: know what? People don't People didn't always believe in me. Yeah, absolutely,
Speaker 1: and that's always there, always been a lot of naysayers
Speaker 1: and people saying you can't do this, do that. So
Speaker 1: it's a lot of time just the daughter is just
Speaker 1: like proving those people wrong and then just proving the
Speaker 1: individuals and the people my family and others that believe
Speaker 1: in me. Just proving those people right. And I think
Speaker 1: that's kind of a thing that's just deep inside of
Speaker 1: me and just like, hey, I'm not gonna let myself down,
Speaker 1: nor am I gonna let my people down. So I
Speaker 1: think when I'm thinking about that day in and day out,
Speaker 1: is just like it's a tremendous feeling. And then I'll
Speaker 1: just be like, hey, I gotta do it whatever it
Speaker 1: takes to make sure I don't let anyone down and
Speaker 1: prove those other cats wrong. Do you know who those
Speaker 1: cats are? There's a lot of them, So I don't
Speaker 1: really get into life a lot of them. You really
Speaker 1: think there were a lot? Yeah, I think there's a lot,
Speaker 1: man for sure. And at least I'll keep telling myself that.
Speaker 1: So that is just keep extra motivation on me and
Speaker 1: just keep this chip on my shoulder and that I
Speaker 1: always forever have. Now that's funny to me, he admitted. Yeah,
Speaker 1: maybe it's contrived because he wants to think that that,
Speaker 1: you know, but that's been this thing here for the
Speaker 1: last year and a half. When he does go on
Speaker 1: social media time, it's brief, but it's very focused on
Speaker 1: those who don't believe in what he's doing or what
Speaker 1: this team can do down the road. For one. It's
Speaker 1: most important to develop belief in yourself because I still
Speaker 1: remember high school kids Jeff saying negative things to me
Speaker 1: when I decided to go to Notre Dame. They told
Speaker 1: me to my face, I was not academically qualified athletically,
Speaker 1: I would never make it. And I still know who
Speaker 1: they are. But when you look at Roquan Smith and
Speaker 1: you look at the level he's at in the belief
Speaker 1: that he's developed in himself, and then you go back
Speaker 1: and you look at what he's put on display the
Speaker 1: first game, first play of the Cleveland game, he was
Speaker 1: covering Odell Beckham Junior out of the slot Sunday night.
Speaker 1: He read the left guard pulling it was in the
Speaker 1: backfield for a tackle for loss before the play got started.
Speaker 1: He's made sacks from the outside, He's made sacks from
Speaker 1: the inside, and he puts it on display week in
Speaker 1: and week out. That shows you his commitment to work ethic,
Speaker 1: but also shows you the belief that he's developed within
Speaker 1: himself to know that he's capable of doing and going
Speaker 1: beyond everything that's asked of most football players. He's in
Speaker 1: a great place. You could hear it in his voice.
Speaker 1: Time things aren't going well, bears are four and nine.
Speaker 1: You've got COVID cases popping up left and right. You've
Speaker 1: got all kinds of issues going on. Uncertainty rules the
Speaker 1: day right now. But ro Quant Smith is in a
Speaker 1: very good place. Is that very good for the organization
Speaker 1: foundationally moving forward? It's unbelievable because he's setting an example
Speaker 1: for the other guys to pay attention to. There's a
Speaker 1: lot of that outside noise they often talk about that
Speaker 1: you have to ignore, and it's about how you get
Speaker 1: yourself prepared physically and mentally year round. This is not
Speaker 1: something that's the seventeen time year job for Roquant Smith.
Speaker 1: This is three hundred and sixty five days a year,
Speaker 1: and you know, throughout the offseason, throughout OTA, throughout training camp,
Speaker 1: throughout the regular season. We've never seen a decline in
Speaker 1: ro On Smith at any element of his job since
Speaker 1: the day he's got here. And I think that's what's
Speaker 1: elevated our expectations for him because what he's put on
Speaker 1: display to us. Yeah, he was there every day during
Speaker 1: the offseason. That was something we heard about. We weren't
Speaker 1: able to see it personally, but we know we heard
Speaker 1: about it. He was there every single day, and that
Speaker 1: really bodes well for the future as well, as I say,
Speaker 1: somebody that can shoulder that kind of demand and that
Speaker 1: kind of load. What's next for him? What do you
Speaker 1: want to see from him as a next level to reach?
Speaker 1: Because you're never satisfied. So you know, is it more
Speaker 1: splashed plays? It is it being deployed in a different
Speaker 1: way to use his unique skill set? What is it?
Speaker 1: You know, Jeff? Eventually he's going to be rewarded with
Speaker 1: a new contract, and then that changes the perception of
Speaker 1: every other guy that's looking at you in the locker room.
Speaker 1: How does Roquan Smith, How does every player around the
Speaker 1: NFL react when they get that second contract? But that's
Speaker 1: what we need to see, the void, the voice of
Speaker 1: rod Quand Smith become louder in the locker room. He
Speaker 1: needs to prepare at the same level he's been preparing
Speaker 1: at an improving year in and year out, because once
Speaker 1: you get rewarded that money, once you earn that money,
Speaker 1: every other guy is looking how can I do that?
Speaker 1: And why did ro Quand Smith? Why was he able
Speaker 1: to do it at such a high level? All right,
Speaker 1: coming up next, we're gonna step away. We'll be hearing
Speaker 1: from Sam Musta for analyzing not only the Vikings, but
Speaker 1: his own play and how the Bears will move forward
Speaker 1: on their offensive line. Is they get ready to meet
Speaker 1: the Minnesota Vikings Monday night football at Soldier Field for
Speaker 1: the seven fifteen kickoff. This is Bears All Access on
Speaker 1: Chicago Sports Radio six seventy. The Score back in a minute.
Speaker 1: Welcome back to Bears All Access, brought to you by
Speaker 1: IGS Energy. Choose clean energy for your home at IGS
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Speaker 1: better world. With Tom there Jeff Joniak here on Chicago
Speaker 1: Sports Radio six seventy the score as we ventured into
Speaker 1: the deep deep waters of Bears Vikings coming up on
Speaker 1: Monday Night. Tommy Sam Mustifer talk this week. Haven't heard
Speaker 1: from him in a bit during the regular week, but
Speaker 1: you know, digging out of four and nine, that was
Speaker 1: one of the topics here earlier this week. Anytime you
Speaker 1: sit in this situation where you're you're four and nine,
Speaker 1: you're you gotta find solutions. However, you know, I can
Speaker 1: be better for this team, better for this franchise. That's
Speaker 1: all I'm looking at. How can I be the best
Speaker 1: center to help you know the Chicago Bears win. That
Speaker 1: that's what matters to me personally. There are things that
Speaker 1: are out of my control and to put my energy
Speaker 1: and effort into things that are you know, above me
Speaker 1: or out of my control, that that's not going to
Speaker 1: help the Bears win. What helps the Bears win is
Speaker 1: if I come up Sundays, Thursday, Monday nights to perform
Speaker 1: to the best of my ability. He always has the
Speaker 1: right mindset, no matter what the performance, no matter what
Speaker 1: the outcome. Sam Mustifer's got his head screw down right,
Speaker 1: Tommy Right. You know, ultimately we're looking at the overall
Speaker 1: performance of five guys. But if you don't have the organization,
Speaker 1: the control, the concentration of a guy like Sam Mustaffer
Speaker 1: in the middle, because really Sam's job affects two other guys.
Speaker 1: That's the offensive guard to the right and the offensive
Speaker 1: guard to the left. And he's got a great working relationship.
Speaker 1: He's another one of these guys like Roquan in the show,
Speaker 1: that's been there every day. He doesn't look for veteran
Speaker 1: days off. He's been able to transition through multiple quarterbacks
Speaker 1: throughout his time already here with the Bears, and it's
Speaker 1: important to him, and I think that's the biggest reflection
Speaker 1: that an offensive lineman can have because it's not a
Speaker 1: star studded, pat on your back type of job. It's
Speaker 1: just making sure that you do the dirty work to
Speaker 1: get yourself prepared to go out there and play on
Speaker 1: a regular basis. And Sam has a really important role
Speaker 1: in the future of this football team, and that's a
Speaker 1: topic he also discussed. And if he sees himself as
Speaker 1: a part of the future. You know, that's a unique
Speaker 1: question because a year ago, or wasn't really even sure,
Speaker 1: like what was I was kind of, you know, in
Speaker 1: the situation that Tevin is, and not in this sense
Speaker 1: that I was the second round draft pick because but
Speaker 1: because I was just into the fire. So you know,
Speaker 1: I've been to I was. I was telling the guys,
Speaker 1: actually that was my first time being on Ford Field
Speaker 1: when we played on Thanksgiving, and the last time I
Speaker 1: was there, I was sitting in the suites. So like,
Speaker 1: I understand how quickly this game can be taken away
Speaker 1: from you. So I have a unique perspective in that
Speaker 1: that when I come into the building every day, like
Speaker 1: I only think about today, like tomorrow really isn't promising.
Speaker 1: I'm not even talking about from a life or death standpoint.
Speaker 1: I'm talking about from this is a cutthroat league. It's
Speaker 1: what can you do for me now? And that that's
Speaker 1: all that matters. M So, you know, we try not
Speaker 1: to focus on that. We try to focus on tomorrow
Speaker 1: and understanding that Monday night it's a huge opportunity for us,
Speaker 1: regardless of if we're four to nine or what like.
Speaker 1: Every day you got an opportunity. We're in coming to
Speaker 1: building tomorrow and practice as harder we possibly can and
Speaker 1: correct the things that we messed up during the Green
Speaker 1: Bay game. So that's all we're focused on. And it's
Speaker 1: good to have a group of guys who are like
Speaker 1: minded and who love the grind. That's really important for
Speaker 1: offensive one. Is that also the mindset though of an
Speaker 1: undrafted guy, Well, you know, I'm glad you asked that.
Speaker 1: You know, Cheff, he's got to leave the fact that
Speaker 1: he was a free agent in the rearview mirror. It's
Speaker 1: what's expected of Sam Muster for going forward. Yeah, you
Speaker 1: could once be evaluated in the position and where he
Speaker 1: was not picked. Where he chose to go, and that
Speaker 1: was the Chicago Bears. He's been a part of a
Speaker 1: great supporting cast that he's been able to galvanize, but
Speaker 1: they've also been able to help him. So Sam has
Speaker 1: earned himself out of that free agent role because right
Speaker 1: now he's a starting center in the NFL, and that
Speaker 1: mindset will never change for him, whether it's with the
Speaker 1: Bears or anybody else in his career. He's always going
Speaker 1: to be looked at as a starter. All right, let's
Speaker 1: talk Vikings with Sam Musterer's viewpoint of what that front seven,
Speaker 1: the challenges of Minnesota's defensive front. They do a great
Speaker 1: job disguising certain things. I mean, Harry Smith's also a
Speaker 1: veteran safety. You can be at the line of scrimmage
Speaker 1: and be on the back end in a split second.
Speaker 1: So you know, I understanding how the playclock works, what
Speaker 1: they're looking at, what tips they're study, and understanding that
Speaker 1: they're listening to our calls, and you know there's got
Speaker 1: to be ajustments. Man, Tom, what do you see when
Speaker 1: the Vikings as you have it right, because Harrison Smith
Speaker 1: does linger around that line of scrimmage, but so do
Speaker 1: just about everybody on that team. They had some big
Speaker 1: guys up front to deal with, and Michael Pearson Dalvin Tomlinson.
Speaker 1: The edge guys are out, as we'll learn from our
Speaker 1: conversation coming up, I'm sure with Pete Bursts, the radio analyst,
Speaker 1: but the Vikings are not ranked very highly in stop
Speaker 1: on the run, stopping the pass, or in yardage allowed.
Speaker 1: You know, for a guy like Sam must have burned
Speaker 1: the offense as a whole. It's identifying the whereabouts of
Speaker 1: the defenders, who's in their stance, who's the responsibility of
Speaker 1: the offensive line, who's on the second level, who is
Speaker 1: the responsibility of an extra offensive lineman or a possibility
Speaker 1: the back. But then you got Harrison Smith, Jeff. He
Speaker 1: can lie in all the way up at the line
Speaker 1: of scrimmage and be considered a defensive lineman. He can
Speaker 1: hang around that second level where he's in between the
Speaker 1: responsibility of a running back and maybe a tight end
Speaker 1: or an extra offensive lineman, or he can come all
Speaker 1: away from the defensive backfield. So it's gonna be about
Speaker 1: having your head up in your stance, all offensive lineman
Speaker 1: and tight ends and running backs, identify your responsibility and
Speaker 1: then get some landmarks of where these guys are coming from.
Speaker 1: Because the last thing you want to do leaving a
Speaker 1: player is intelligent as Harrison Smith to freelance and allow
Speaker 1: him to come unblocked. That's when he creates havocs. So
Speaker 1: Sam understands Harrison Smith. Where you got to identify him
Speaker 1: and then what position you have to look at him
Speaker 1: depending upon where he lines up before the snap of
Speaker 1: the ball. What are your impressions of their defense? They
Speaker 1: have forty one sex that leads the NFL, and that's
Speaker 1: without a full season of Everson Griffin and Daniel Hunter.
Speaker 1: They combined for eleven snacks before they were out of commission.
Speaker 1: But getting a bunch of people, there's fifteen dudes that
Speaker 1: have had a half a sacker more. It kind of
Speaker 1: reminds me of Mike Dicko when he used to run
Speaker 1: the projector in charge of the offense when I played
Speaker 1: for the Bears. Mike Zimmer is in charge of the defense,
Speaker 1: and you can imagine sitting in the meeting with him
Speaker 1: as he's running the projector with every one of those
Speaker 1: defensive members on the squad because he knows every single
Speaker 1: person's assignment. I think you got to live up to
Speaker 1: the expectations of Mike Zimmer when you play defense for
Speaker 1: the Minnesota Vikings. I like their attitude. They've always been
Speaker 1: a really feisty group. Kendricks is one of the better
Speaker 1: linebackers in the NFL, complimented by Harrison Smith, and they've
Speaker 1: always had good edge pass rushers. Right now, with Hunter
Speaker 1: and Everson Griffith out of the lineup, they'll be moving
Speaker 1: bodies around, but they're also going to look at the
Speaker 1: vulnerabilities of the offensive line and where they determine where
Speaker 1: they can best fit and attack the Bears offense. So again,
Speaker 1: it's about studying during the week, but stand the defensive
Speaker 1: mentality you're going against comes from the head coach. All right,
Speaker 1: that's Tom there, I'm Jeff Jioni, Yakris step away when
Speaker 1: we come back, joined by Pete Burstitch, the radio analysts
Speaker 1: for the Minnesota Vikings. This is Chicago Sports Radio six
Speaker 1: seventy the Score and this is Bears All Access. Stick
Speaker 1: around a lot more ahead. Welcome back to Bears All Access.
Speaker 1: This segment is brought to you by CDW. People to
Speaker 1: get it learn more at CDW dot com. With Tom
Speaker 1: Thare Jeff Jonia here at Chicago Sports Radio six seventy
Speaker 1: the Score. He is the Pride of Providence, Pride of Providence,
Speaker 1: New lex High School, Notre Dame and the analyst, the
Speaker 1: long time analyst or the Minnesota Vikings. He's the Chicago
Speaker 1: Bears version at Tom there at the Minnesota Vikings. Pete Burstitch,
Speaker 1: how you doing, How are we doing? I'm good, I'm good.
Speaker 1: You mentioned long time and I'm sitting here and I'm going, yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm almost fifty. So and you know, I know Thayer
Speaker 1: longs for the days when he was fifty. But yeah,
Speaker 1: I've been doing this now. I've been with the club
Speaker 1: twenty six years, so it's in one capacity or another.
Speaker 1: They kept firing me, and I kept coming back, you know,
Speaker 1: as a coach when I couldn't play anymore, and now
Speaker 1: when I couldn't coach anymore, I do this. But it's
Speaker 1: been it's been a wonderful run. And I've enjoyed it immensely. Oh,
Speaker 1: you do a great job on the radio and your insight. Thankina.
Speaker 1: I listened to your game, your last game, and so
Speaker 1: learn learned a few things about your ball club. But
Speaker 1: the biggest thing I learned is that offensive line cleared
Speaker 1: some big, big holes for your guy Dalvin Cook against
Speaker 1: the Pittsburgh Deals. They did, and you know, we we've
Speaker 1: you know, you go into a game, the second game
Speaker 1: in a row, where you've moved three of your linemen.
Speaker 1: We had Holy Udo playing right guard and he struggled
Speaker 1: a little bit there. He's athletic, but so they moved
Speaker 1: in the left tackle and then they bring Bradbury back
Speaker 1: in who had been out for a while because Mason
Speaker 1: Cole was starting at center. So they moved Mason Cole
Speaker 1: the right guard and put Bradberry back at center. And
Speaker 1: it was the second week of that of that lineup,
Speaker 1: per se. And uh, you know for the Steelers without
Speaker 1: t J. Watt, they're they're a different team. You know,
Speaker 1: there's six and two with him. Um the only two
Speaker 1: losses they had when he was in the game that
Speaker 1: he came back from being injured. Um. And we took
Speaker 1: advantage of their their front and Dalvin Cook what's he's
Speaker 1: He's the heart and soul of this team. Um. You know,
Speaker 1: people talk about cousins and the things that he can
Speaker 1: do and justin Jefferson, but when you know, when when
Speaker 1: Dalvin Cook comes out with the shoulder brace, I mean
Speaker 1: he's old school, came out had the shoulder brace on.
Speaker 1: He was fifty fifty going into the game, he had
Speaker 1: two hundred and six yards and then had a TfL
Speaker 1: on his last carry, so brought it down to two
Speaker 1: h five. But what a what a competitor. He's tough um,
Speaker 1: and we're gonna need him in a game like this
Speaker 1: coming up against Chicago. Hey Pete. So I go back
Speaker 1: and I'm looking at the Pittsburgh steal our game. The
Speaker 1: third play of the game. You got four guys lined
Speaker 1: up to the right of the center. Then you pull
Speaker 1: the left guard to the right, who's being followed by
Speaker 1: a fullback, all creating a point of attack for Dalvin Cook.
Speaker 1: Is a formation? This aggress on one side of the ball.
Speaker 1: Is it a product of replacement offensive lineman? Is it?
Speaker 1: Or is it what you needed to do to Dalvin
Speaker 1: Cook to get him up into that second and third
Speaker 1: level before he's ever touched. Well, I you know, we
Speaker 1: bring we like to we like to throw in an
Speaker 1: extra offensive lineman for a tight end, just to get
Speaker 1: that blocking on on the edge. And when you play
Speaker 1: these three four type teams, they're outside linebackers are so good.
Speaker 1: You want to have a bigger body out there. So
Speaker 1: we'll we'll substitute an extra big guy up front. And
Speaker 1: you know, I think for for Pittsburgh, you know, they
Speaker 1: played Baltimore the on the Sunday before they played US.
Speaker 1: So you talk about a team schematically offensively, you know,
Speaker 1: that's antithetical to what we do. I mean, it's completely opposite.
Speaker 1: And I just don't think that they, you know, made
Speaker 1: the transition, so to speak, from you know, from there
Speaker 1: to playing US. But the power running game, um, I'd
Speaker 1: love to see it come back. I mean, that's what
Speaker 1: took teams out of that, you know, proverbial forty six
Speaker 1: zone bare front to begin with back in the eighties,
Speaker 1: and you start being able to get double teams and
Speaker 1: moving guys up front. Um, you're you're able, I think,
Speaker 1: to do those things. So we're much better man blocking
Speaker 1: counter iso draw a type of affront than we are
Speaker 1: just running the zones left and right, because um, our
Speaker 1: guys up front aren't huge, and so we're happy of
Speaker 1: a penetration, especially against guys like blul Nichols and the
Speaker 1: Keem Hicks and some of the animals that you guys
Speaker 1: have upfront. All right, Phil in the blank here, the
Speaker 1: Minnesota Vikings are going to the playoffs because is that
Speaker 1: the MVP of the team. Is it is it is
Speaker 1: the quarterback or is it Dalvin Cook? I think it's
Speaker 1: I think it's Dalvin Cook. I mean, um, Dalvin is
Speaker 1: is the the most consistent player we have. Um, I
Speaker 1: think he can you know, the reception that he had
Speaker 1: late in the game when we needed, you know, we
Speaker 1: needed to move the chains, he comes up. But when
Speaker 1: Dalvin is rolling, then Kirk is usually a much better quarterback.
Speaker 1: And that's because of the play actions and the different
Speaker 1: things that you can do off of the run action,
Speaker 1: which allows Kirk to to buy some time and let him.
Speaker 1: If you let Kirk Cousins sit in a pocket unmolested,
Speaker 1: he's gonna he's gonna pick anybody apart. I mean, he
Speaker 1: has that accuracy. You have to get after him. You
Speaker 1: have to make them moves. You've got to make him
Speaker 1: feel uncomfortable. Uh. And when you're running the football, and
Speaker 1: running the football at a good clip, at a five
Speaker 1: yard per carry type clip, something similar to what we
Speaker 1: had against Pittsburgh, it's hard. It's hard for those d
Speaker 1: linemen to shift gears and go think about the run
Speaker 1: and then have to shift gears and then and go
Speaker 1: after the quarterback. You stay out of third and long.
Speaker 1: I mean that's been another nemesis of ours is when
Speaker 1: it's third and eight, third and ten, defensive lineman could
Speaker 1: pin their ears back. You know, you can, you can
Speaker 1: widen out your your nose tackle and you have two
Speaker 1: three techniques. You do those kinds of things to make
Speaker 1: it more difficult for cousins to be protected. So I
Speaker 1: think Dalvin Cook has been is absolutely the MVP of
Speaker 1: this team, and if we can get him going Monday night,
Speaker 1: I think the Bikers have a pretty good shot. Pete Burst,
Speaker 1: it's our guest here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy
Speaker 1: to score. This is Bears All Access, Jeff and Tom
Speaker 1: with you the local product. Pete Burst hitch former NFL player,
Speaker 1: coach and broadcaster right now with the Minnesota Vikings. So
Speaker 1: I was telling Tommy, looking back at the last time
Speaker 1: we played the Vikings, looked up my old board team
Speaker 1: with six and seven, same as a year ago as
Speaker 1: they Yeah, honestly, but I know and you did not
Speaker 1: make the playoffs last year. But the difference is I
Speaker 1: counted twenty seven I think twenty seven new faces on
Speaker 1: the current fifty three man roster, which is more than
Speaker 1: that bottom third of a roster that overturns every year,
Speaker 1: how is that continuity come around, especially on the defensive
Speaker 1: side of the ball. And what do you feel you
Speaker 1: guys are doing well? The numbers don't say you're doing
Speaker 1: very well in terms of yards, but how how are
Speaker 1: you overall doing defensively? What should the Bears be bracing
Speaker 1: for well? I think situationally, there are some good things.
Speaker 1: We're We're a good third down team. We just unfortunately
Speaker 1: don't always steal a lot of third downs. You know,
Speaker 1: we're pretty good team in the red zone. I think
Speaker 1: what Mike Zimmer made a comment in his Monday Monday
Speaker 1: morning presser and he was talking about the difference between
Speaker 1: the first half. I mean, we were up twenty nine
Speaker 1: to zero and the Steelers were able to come back
Speaker 1: and make that a game, and he talked about the
Speaker 1: difference between the first half and the second half, and
Speaker 1: the bait. The bottom line is this is it's not
Speaker 1: that the players changed or the calls changed. It's just
Speaker 1: a lack of discipline. It's the lack of making sure
Speaker 1: as a corner. But Shad Brelan that you're lined up perfectly,
Speaker 1: that you're not too far inside that you're not too
Speaker 1: far outside that you're doing and paying attention to all
Speaker 1: the little things. And you know, when when teams want
Speaker 1: to throw the football, you take out you know, Dalvin
Speaker 1: Tomlinson and Michael Pierce. Now this was the first game.
Speaker 1: Think about this. We had these We had Michael Pierce,
Speaker 1: Dalvin Tomlinson, Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr set up to
Speaker 1: go into the season. It wasn't until last week that
Speaker 1: we had all four of them on the field at
Speaker 1: the same time. And oh, by the way, or without
Speaker 1: Daniel Hunter and Everson Griffin, who I believe are still
Speaker 1: either our sack leaders are still right at the top,
Speaker 1: and they haven't played in weeks. So the defensive line,
Speaker 1: as you know, we've we've substituted some people in there,
Speaker 1: and we've gotten some juice out of some guys that
Speaker 1: we don't normally have. But that's kind of the identities
Speaker 1: those four guys in the front. You have Harrison Smith
Speaker 1: and Xavier Woods in the back end, very very smart.
Speaker 1: I look forward to seeing what they can do to
Speaker 1: fields and in a way that they can shift and confuse.
Speaker 1: They work in tandem. They work well together to give
Speaker 1: looks and then to make things shift and change. So
Speaker 1: we're gonna need some of that, you know, absolutely against
Speaker 1: the Bears. And it's just a matter of what team
Speaker 1: shows up. I mean, you guys have some explo receivers,
Speaker 1: some explosive players. It's just a matter of how discipline
Speaker 1: we can be. And again, we go from shutting a
Speaker 1: team out in the first half to giving up you know,
Speaker 1: almost thirty some points in the second half. And it's
Speaker 1: not the calls, it's not the people. It's just the
Speaker 1: guys on the field executing what they're supposed to do.
Speaker 1: And when they mentally take a step back or kind
Speaker 1: of mentally going to cruise control, oh my god, it's
Speaker 1: a disaster. I mean, it's been it's been a roller
Speaker 1: coaster ride. It's been an absolute roller coaster ride. No
Speaker 1: team has given up more points in the latter part
Speaker 1: of a first or second half late in the game.
Speaker 1: Two minute offenses are killing you guys all year. Well,
Speaker 1: and then what's been what's been hugely you know, just
Speaker 1: you don't understand it is the last two minutes of
Speaker 1: the first half. I mean, I know, we've given up
Speaker 1: over one hundred points in the second quarter and I
Speaker 1: think three like seventy five percent of that one hundred
Speaker 1: points has been inside the last two minutes. And it's
Speaker 1: not like the two minute defense is what's going out
Speaker 1: there and not getting it done. It's we've had some
Speaker 1: seven minute drives right at the end of the first
Speaker 1: half that that started with six seven minutes left and
Speaker 1: on a touchdown. And one week it's you know, one
Speaker 1: week it's this, the next week it's a penalty, the
Speaker 1: next week it's somebody just losing a guy. I mean,
Speaker 1: you can't make it up. And again it goes back
Speaker 1: to that lack of focus and when you get laid
Speaker 1: into the halves of football games, that's what it's about.
Speaker 1: It's about focus, toughness, you know, making sure you get
Speaker 1: your job done. And that's the kind of thing that's
Speaker 1: I think that's been failing on us. It's been it's
Speaker 1: been a bizarre year in that in that respect. I
Speaker 1: mean every week it's something different. Every week you might
Speaker 1: might be a turnover, a penalty. It's it's just been
Speaker 1: it's been a moving target for sure. Pete. You know,
Speaker 1: I love Harrison Smith and Kendricks. I think on the
Speaker 1: back of the defense, these guys are two of the
Speaker 1: better players in the NFL. But can they be the
Speaker 1: two better players in the NFL at that position if
Speaker 1: they don't have Griffin and Hunter up front? Um, I
Speaker 1: think Pierce, I think again, Michael Pierce and Dalvin Tomlinson
Speaker 1: helped those guys out quite a bit. I think Anthony
Speaker 1: Barr stepped up, you know, in a bit of a
Speaker 1: leadership role. Last week we had a bad taunting tenalty
Speaker 1: and you know, Bar stepped up and kind of shoved
Speaker 1: the guy that did it and was like, you know,
Speaker 1: Chris Boyd's like that. You know, we don't do those
Speaker 1: kinds of things here, which which was great to see.
Speaker 1: But I think that that middle of the defense depends
Speaker 1: a lot on those two inside guys. And you know,
Speaker 1: we've got guys like Kenny Willikas who are picking up
Speaker 1: the slack kid from Michigan State. Um on the outside. Um,
Speaker 1: you know, so dj Wanham is doing a decent job.
Speaker 1: You know, we we've had to move some other you know,
Speaker 1: some other guys around a different positions, so we're not
Speaker 1: getting we're not getting the juice. So we got out
Speaker 1: a Dideo Hunter. But I think for Kendricks and you know, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, for Kendricks in the middle of the field
Speaker 1: and Harrison Smith. So much of what they do depends
Speaker 1: on that no's tackle on three technique combo. All right, Peter,
Speaker 1: our last question before I let you go appreciate it
Speaker 1: as always, Uh, what what are the rumblings right now
Speaker 1: out of Minnesota? Every team everything's got Wait, what do
Speaker 1: you mean we got we got I mean we're we're
Speaker 1: you know, it's you know, it is it is amazing.
Speaker 1: And I think that um, you know, with with Zimmer,
Speaker 1: he's just been around a long time and last year
Speaker 1: was a very very tough year to go through, a
Speaker 1: lot of it doing dealing with injury. And it's kind
Speaker 1: of the same thing again. And this team just can't
Speaker 1: get to five hundred and over five hundred, we can't
Speaker 1: get over the hump. And I think the what the
Speaker 1: fans steak is it's getting stale, right, you know, they're
Speaker 1: they're talking about play calling and some other things. They're
Speaker 1: looking for stuff. The filling stale. Um. You know that
Speaker 1: that Zimmer has been around for a long time and
Speaker 1: the same voice, the same players, you know, and and
Speaker 1: and I think that's where the frustration is coming from. Um,
Speaker 1: you know, the wolf the Wolf through the Wolf ownership group.
Speaker 1: They're tascic, they're very patient. I think they're gonna let
Speaker 1: the season absolutely, you know, play out, and you know,
Speaker 1: and see how this thing ends. And you know, you
Speaker 1: never know if these guys on the Vikings team decide
Speaker 1: that they want to do this and that they really
Speaker 1: commit themselves to it. I think that's the only that's
Speaker 1: the only hurdle. And you know it's up to Zimmer
Speaker 1: to get those guys going and get him going on
Speaker 1: the road. All right, Pete, we'll let you go. Appreciate it.
Speaker 1: Tell our buddy Paul Allen not to come to Chicago
Speaker 1: and say, hey, take it easy on us today. I
Speaker 1: know he's a big city. That's how he preps me
Speaker 1: before every game that I see him. You tell him
Speaker 1: he's rolling in here with some confidence, but we hope
Speaker 1: to take it away all Paul's never at a lack
Speaker 1: He's never ad a lack for confidence, right, I mean
Speaker 1: that he's never had a lack for confidence. Look forward
Speaker 1: to seeing you guys on Monday. Please stop in, Please
Speaker 1: stop in. That's beat all right, guys. Yeah, I will
Speaker 1: appreciate it. Appreciate it. With top there, Jeff Joniac. More
Speaker 1: coming up as we break down the Bears and Vikings
Speaker 1: here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The Score. Download
Speaker 1: the Chicago Bears app to play our new predictor game
Speaker 1: Risk It brought to you by bet Rivers for your
Speaker 1: chance to win two hundred fifty dollars in free bets
Speaker 1: and a custom Bears jersey. Tom There, Jeff Joniac wrapping
Speaker 1: up our show tonight. It's riddled with questions, so many questions,
Speaker 1: no idea. Who will be ready to play because of sickness,
Speaker 1: injury and COVID nineteen reserve list, and then includes coaches
Speaker 1: as well. Twelve players now on the COVID list, all
Speaker 1: three coordinators on the COVID list, thirteen more players than
Speaker 1: that practice today seven to non cod illness, and includes
Speaker 1: a chunk of offensive players. All right, with all that
Speaker 1: being said, Big Tom, how do you deal with the
Speaker 1: Minnesota Vikings. Let's start offensively, because it starts with stopping
Speaker 1: Dalvin Cook exactly while you said it right there is
Speaker 1: as good as Kirk Cousins as and the people that
Speaker 1: have put his name in the same paragraph as a
Speaker 1: possible MVP candidate in the league. It's about stopping Dalvin
Speaker 1: Cook and making sure that you attack the offensive line.
Speaker 1: Don't let it. They're an offensive line attack you. They
Speaker 1: play some unique formations. They play some impactful and power
Speaker 1: point football. But the Bears defensively have always played really
Speaker 1: well against Minnesota Vikings at home, So don't give them
Speaker 1: any encouragement early in the game. Try to be as
Speaker 1: physical as and play as fast as you possibly can,
Speaker 1: and take Dalvin Cook off of his tracks. You know,
Speaker 1: he's playing with a little bit of a sore shoulder,
Speaker 1: so it's gonna take the physical element if you want
Speaker 1: to take any speed or power away from Dalvin Cook.
Speaker 1: They certainly unleashed him against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but in
Speaker 1: i'll due respect, the Steelers really didn't give much of
Speaker 1: a fight up front, and the blocking was on point
Speaker 1: for Minnesota. Yeah, I think whenever you play the Minnesota
Speaker 1: Vikings at home, it's the perfect playing atmosphere. It's an
Speaker 1: extremely fast surface in the sports turf. It's indoors. You're
Speaker 1: gonna be able to get stretched out as well as
Speaker 1: you possibly can at this point in the season. But
Speaker 1: now circumstances are going to be different. It's gonna be
Speaker 1: at home and Soldier field on the natural grass surface.
Speaker 1: You're always thinking of all your footing. That's why the
Speaker 1: Bears they have to have a good, powerful first drive
Speaker 1: and take a little bit of the sting out of
Speaker 1: the Minnesota Vikings. Yeah. Cook three point six yards a
Speaker 1: carry and along at twenty and five career games against
Speaker 1: the Bears on eighty eight, carries a couple of touchdowns,
Speaker 1: a couple of fumbles. He will put the ball on
Speaker 1: the ground if that opportunity presents itself. Jalen Johnson gonna
Speaker 1: have a busy daytime dealing with Justin Jefferson. What a
Speaker 1: talent he's become. Outstanding route runner. Has a chance to
Speaker 1: set records for two years in the league, passing Randy
Speaker 1: Moss and also will likely pass well. He will he
Speaker 1: will pass in a game or two, depending on how
Speaker 1: the Bears defend him this week. He'll pass Odell Beckham
Speaker 1: for the most receiving yards in a two first two
Speaker 1: years of a career. Yeah. You know, that's kind of the
Speaker 1: the cool thing about the NFL. When you look at
Speaker 1: a league, Why when you have a guy like that
Speaker 1: that unexpectedly burst on the scenes and has a great
Speaker 1: season complimented by an experienced quarterback like Kirk Cousins. You
Speaker 1: want to see if they can back that season up,
Speaker 1: that same star potential, that same big play quality. He's
Speaker 1: been able to do that. And now with Adam Feeling
Speaker 1: gone with a high ankle sprain, now there's even more
Speaker 1: put on Jefferson's plate. Can he not necessarily do it
Speaker 1: single handedly? But can he stretch the field like a
Speaker 1: big number one receiver. They do have tight ends that's
Speaker 1: developing and building, and they always have Dalvin Cook who
Speaker 1: has game breaking explosive speed from and at the line
Speaker 1: of scrimmage. But Jefferson he's the big play go to
Speaker 1: guy right now. And like I said, single handedly without
Speaker 1: Adam Feeling, going to be another active day for the
Speaker 1: linebackers defensively. We touched him early in the show, but
Speaker 1: I want to bring up Patrick Peterson after a great
Speaker 1: career in Arizona at one corner. Maybe he's not the
Speaker 1: athlete and he was, but he's still a physical corner,
Speaker 1: likes to mix it up on the outside. Yeah, then
Speaker 1: get physical back with him. You see where he's at
Speaker 1: at this stage in IF's career. I think the least
Speaker 1: impressive thing about the Minnesota Vikings as a team is
Speaker 1: their defensive backfield outside Harrison Smith, some of these guys. Yeah,
Speaker 1: they're up in age, but listen, they still got Darnell
Speaker 1: Mooney who has big play potential, and they have running
Speaker 1: backs that can catch it out of the backfield if
Speaker 1: they want to challenge defensive backs at the line of scrimmage.
Speaker 1: But it's gonna take Justin to have confidence in his
Speaker 1: past protection as some accuracy downfield, and maybe you get
Speaker 1: more targets to the tight end position if you are
Speaker 1: missing some key wide receivers. You just gotta keep Justin
Speaker 1: free from getting tagged in this game against the Minnesota
Speaker 1: Viking special teams kickoff coverage on alert with Knai Wongu
Speaker 1: two touchdowns this season against the forty nine ers and
Speaker 1: raving something to watch and Tom Dull back into your past.
Speaker 1: Just saw the Bears posting today on Twitter a happy
Speaker 1: birthday William Perry, big number seventy two, And they put
Speaker 1: the highlight in the London game when he ran in
Speaker 1: for the touchdown. I saw fifty seven out there doing
Speaker 1: his thing the goal line and Fritz scoring in London
Speaker 1: again to Dallas Cowboys, Remember that play, Jeff, the first
Speaker 1: play they ever used William Perry was against San Francisco
Speaker 1: forty nine ers in San Francisco, and I was right
Speaker 1: at the point of attack. The only thing that was
Speaker 1: going through my mind was make sure you get movement
Speaker 1: on your block or else William Perry's gonna drill you
Speaker 1: right in the back. The more playing time, the more
Speaker 1: opportunities he got in the backfield in short yardage and
Speaker 1: goal line, he was great incentive to make a key
Speaker 1: block to get out of the way or else. William
Speaker 1: Perry wasn't going to make a shifty move in the backfield.
Speaker 1: He was going to lower that three fifty in drill
Speaker 1: you're right in the back. So I love Fridge, Love
Speaker 1: that guy to death. He made Offensive Football Fund for
Speaker 1: us because he was important part of just the enthusiasm,
Speaker 1: the excitement in the world, renowned attention he got. It was,
Speaker 1: it was. It was just a straight hand it to William.
Speaker 1: There was no name. You didn't name your play, Yeah,
Speaker 1: there was no fancy. Yeah we didn't name the plays
Speaker 1: when you had multiple people in the backfield from Walter
Speaker 1: Payton to Dennis Sentry to Thomas Sanders to Neil Anderson,
Speaker 1: so on and so forth. But when you introduced William
Speaker 1: Perry to the backfield. It's just handed to William and
Speaker 1: get out of the way. So you're telling me in
Speaker 1: the huddle, Hey, we're gonna we're gonna give it to
Speaker 1: William here block. That's it. Yeah, nothing else. No, that's
Speaker 1: just like a bunch of kids in the park. Hey,
Speaker 1: you know, we're gonna just we're gonna give it to
Speaker 1: the big gay. Well, I mean, so you know he
Speaker 1: would so if he's replacing a running back and we
Speaker 1: had a thirty one influence, if we had a slant
Speaker 1: twenty four, so Williams in position of the four back
Speaker 1: and yeah, slant twenty four. But Williams getting the ball.
Speaker 1: So it wasn't a secret to the opponent. It was
Speaker 1: just they recognize that after he ran. After he was
Speaker 1: a lead blocker in San Francisco. Then he carried the
Speaker 1: ball against Green Bay and then Dick says, okay, William,
Speaker 1: now we're gonna throw you the ball. And it was
Speaker 1: just a simple pass pattern to William outside into the
Speaker 1: at threw him the touchdown, and he became history. And
Speaker 1: we're history, Tom. We're out of time, so we're gonna
Speaker 1: wrap things up here on bears All Access. Talk to
Speaker 1: you on Monday night, Tom Bears Vikings. Tom, please stay healthy,
Speaker 1: will you. Hey, I'm staying in the house by myself.
Speaker 1: All right, folks. That's gonna wrap us up. Thank you
Speaker 1: so much to our producers and everybody at the Score
Speaker 1: for Tom There, I'm Jeff Joniac. That'll do it for
Speaker 1: us tonight on Bears All Access on Chicago's Sports Radio
Speaker 1: six seventy the Score. Goodnight, everybody.