Speaker 1: The following is the presentation of the Chicago Bears Network
Speaker 1: now on news radio one oh five nine. This is
Speaker 1: a special edition of the Bears Coaches Show with Bears
Speaker 1: Head coach Matt Eberflus, General manager Bryan Poles, team president
Speaker 1: Ten Phillips, and Chairman George mccasky. The Bears Coaches Show
Speaker 1: is sponsored by Advocate Healthcare and Athletico Physical Therapy. Now
Speaker 1: from Alice Hall, here's the voice of the Bears w BBMS,
Speaker 1: Jeff Jonyac. All right, thank you very much in a
Speaker 1: pleasure to get him every buddy. Yeah, We've got people
Speaker 1: in the house. That's right, love it. It's been a
Speaker 1: minute now, right, a couple of years ago, I was
Speaker 1: the last time on this annual Labor Day show. Or
Speaker 1: you finally got an invite, George, you always tell me
Speaker 1: you never like you know, you got the actual show tonight.
Speaker 1: So I'm so excited to be here normally on the
Speaker 1: pre show, yo, the pre show, not ready for prime time, right,
Speaker 1: very excited to be on the your time, aren't you
Speaker 1: glad he's here? Everybody? Come on now, this is this
Speaker 1: will be good coming up here for that type of
Speaker 1: the play. Either season ticket holders We appreciate you being
Speaker 1: here on this Labor day. Nice nice venue. Ted Phillips,
Speaker 1: President and CEO here as well. We're in the PNC
Speaker 1: Broadcast Center, the p and C studios, and you said, wow,
Speaker 1: this is this is nice. We've never done this before.
Speaker 1: Usually we're in the Peyton Center, but we got we
Speaker 1: got intimate here and post COVID now we're ready to go.
Speaker 1: So it is a nice venue to share here tonight
Speaker 1: with these Spears fans, and it's good to get this
Speaker 1: season going in the right direction here for twenty twenty two.
Speaker 1: We got a lot to talk about. We're here until
Speaker 1: eight o'clock tonight, coming up around seven twenty or so.
Speaker 1: Head coach Matty Refluction, general manager Ryan Poles, who joined
Speaker 1: the program as well. So, George, welcome to the twenty
Speaker 1: twenty two season. It seemed probably to you and many others,
Speaker 1: and I know a lot of fans out there, so
Speaker 1: much change, so many different things, and now the dust
Speaker 1: is settling a little bit. We can see what this
Speaker 1: is going to look like. We see in twenty twenty
Speaker 1: two here for the season opener on Sunday. How you feeling,
Speaker 1: how you feeling about everything? Excited, still adjusting to the
Speaker 1: three game preseason and only one home preseason game, so
Speaker 1: we haven't seen the folks around Solder, but looking forward
Speaker 1: to getting back to it. And I think you saw
Speaker 1: a more disciplined team in our preseason games and that's
Speaker 1: a very encouraging science we head into the regular season. Yes,
Speaker 1: a lot of different things that we're going to break
Speaker 1: down tonight and talk about because it is a different
Speaker 1: look and a lot of the things that we all
Speaker 1: as Bears fans always hope for and what it will
Speaker 1: be like to watch this kind of team and their personality.
Speaker 1: And we'll get into that with coach Iberflus and Ryan
Speaker 1: Poles as well. But I know you. We had you
Speaker 1: on the fourth quarter of the preseason finale in Cleveland
Speaker 1: and I said, what about the hits principle that you
Speaker 1: enjo and first word is hustle and you had him.
Speaker 1: He had you right. Yeah. The temple of the practices
Speaker 1: has been a lot quicker, a lot faster. Everybody's moving,
Speaker 1: the players, the coaches, the staff, and it's very encouraging
Speaker 1: to see. And again, I think you'll see that transfer
Speaker 1: to the games, all right. Ted Phillips, A lot of
Speaker 1: news this week last week, I should say, so, have
Speaker 1: you gotten used to the idea that February of twenty three,
Speaker 1: you're you're moving into retirement. I know it was a
Speaker 1: lot of thought went into this and took me by
Speaker 1: surprise the other day. I'm sure there's a lot of
Speaker 1: emotions and what's been going on since. I'm sure you've
Speaker 1: got a lot of phone calls and text messages and emails. Well,
Speaker 1: you know what, forty seasons is a long time, Jeff,
Speaker 1: and I just have to again gratitude to the McCaskey
Speaker 1: family for the trust to support through all the years. UM,
Speaker 1: it has been amazing. People keep asking me, well, what
Speaker 1: are you what are you gonna miss? I'm gonna miss
Speaker 1: the people. I'm gonna miss the people I miss. It's
Speaker 1: it's still after forty seasons. I still kind of It's
Speaker 1: still kind of amazes me when I'm out and certain
Speaker 1: fans will still recognize me. I'm not used to that.
Speaker 1: But you know what, the interactions with all of you,
Speaker 1: UM has been ninety nine percent positive all the way across.
Speaker 1: So I appreciate that I'm going to miss that, UM,
Speaker 1: because our fans are the best, through thick and thin,
Speaker 1: and at this time of the year, especially right we're
Speaker 1: all excited. We're all excited about the season, the changes,
Speaker 1: and that's going to be hard to get used to missing.
Speaker 1: But it's time for me and I know that we
Speaker 1: have a lot of great staff and we have the
Speaker 1: ab to find someone that's going to lead us into
Speaker 1: the future, that's going to do it in the right
Speaker 1: way and continue with the values of the club and
Speaker 1: know what it's like to be a bear with humility
Speaker 1: and great innovation and foresight. So they're gonna We're gonna
Speaker 1: find the right person to take over. You mentioned forty years,
Speaker 1: and you mentioned the people that recognize you to this
Speaker 1: day that you met maybe many years ago. There have
Speaker 1: been a lot of people through this building in forty years.
Speaker 1: I mean talking about coaches, scouts, personnel. You know. I
Speaker 1: dam Pompey's article on the Athletic which was extremely well
Speaker 1: done and covered your entire career. But when you first
Speaker 1: started here in nineteen eighty three, and what you inherited
Speaker 1: over the course of time as you rose through and
Speaker 1: climbed the staircase, so to speak, to your current position
Speaker 1: was a much smaller staff, only needed nine coaches back
Speaker 1: in those days. Nine coaches, nine coaches, coach flow snow pressure,
Speaker 1: which is it doesn't seem possible, but one football field. Yeah, ye,
Speaker 1: fifty employees right now we have two fifty hard to believe.
Speaker 1: But you you've been at the center of that growth
Speaker 1: over that entire four decade. How do you put that
Speaker 1: in the context? Wow, it's been Um, it's it's been
Speaker 1: an honest play, it's been a pleasure. Every day has
Speaker 1: been different. And to see the growth not just of
Speaker 1: the Bears, but of the entire NFL. The way the
Speaker 1: values of the teams has has skyrocketed, and to be
Speaker 1: a part of that, it's something I'll treasure every day
Speaker 1: for the rest of my life. George had a lot
Speaker 1: of great quotes. I'm sure you come off your tongue
Speaker 1: right now as well about what he's meant to you
Speaker 1: in the family. Well, when Ted shared the news with
Speaker 1: our staff on Friday, I had to follow him and
Speaker 1: I told the Bears family that, um that I told
Speaker 1: Ted when he gave me the news that I had
Speaker 1: too much respect for him and I am too grateful
Speaker 1: to him to ask him to reconsider. And now I'm
Speaker 1: wishing that I hadn't said that He's just been fantastic
Speaker 1: for the Bears organization, for our family. You mentioned being
Speaker 1: here in the PNC Center. This was the first significant
Speaker 1: renovation of House Hall that Ted oversaw in twenty thirteen,
Speaker 1: the more recent one in twenty nineteen that Ted Oversaw
Speaker 1: gave us one of the best training facilities in the NFL.
Speaker 1: And we're going to miss his leadership, his sense of humor,
Speaker 1: his drive, his passion, and the thing I feel good
Speaker 1: about is that with Ted's help, we're going to find
Speaker 1: an excellent leader to follow him Sunday Sunday's game, be
Speaker 1: sure to stop by the middle of right Ultimate tail
Speaker 1: Gate located at the Field Museum for food, games, music,
Speaker 1: and more, free to Bears fans of all ages. The
Speaker 1: Ultimate tail Gate opens at ten am through one hour
Speaker 1: post game. We're here at PIANC Studio at HALLISAU. We
Speaker 1: got some good friends here, season ticket holders, some veterans
Speaker 1: here have been around a minute and we are on
Speaker 1: the Bears Coaches Show with Chairman of the Board George
Speaker 1: Hollis McCaskey and President CEO Ted Phillips. So the season
Speaker 1: opening up on Sunday at Soldier Field, Virginia. McCaskey no doubt,
Speaker 1: just can't wait to see it. Yeah, she gets excited
Speaker 1: about every season. She gets excited about every game. I'm
Speaker 1: sure she's listening tonight and we'll be sending me a
Speaker 1: critique of your performance. I'm sure you get the critique too.
Speaker 1: I know that for sure as well. Given all the change,
Speaker 1: given all the change, it's it's almost it's almost like
Speaker 1: tearing down a house and rebuilding it in seven months
Speaker 1: because there's there's so many new players, so many personnels,
Speaker 1: so much going on, and then Ted's decision and then
Speaker 1: everything else that you know, we're looking at here as well,
Speaker 1: with the potential purchase of a Arlington Park that could
Speaker 1: become a new stadium for Chicago. Is this hard to
Speaker 1: put into context for you, even as the chairman of
Speaker 1: the board, because a lot's going on at once, Yeah,
Speaker 1: a lot is going on. When you have Ryan on.
Speaker 1: He might dispute the use of your rebuilding the house analogy,
Speaker 1: but I'll leave that to him. But there is a
Speaker 1: sense of excitement. There's a lot of change in the air,
Speaker 1: but a lot of it can be really positive if
Speaker 1: we do it the right way. What have you seen
Speaker 1: so far that you like in the decisions you made
Speaker 1: to bring Matt and Ryan aboard. Love Ryan's calm, his
Speaker 1: leadership style, his analytical abilities, love Matt's intelligence what Ryan
Speaker 1: describes as Matt's emotional intelligence. It looks like he's been
Speaker 1: a student of the game all that time that he
Speaker 1: was an assistant coach and thinking about what he would
Speaker 1: do and how he would do it when he got
Speaker 1: the opportunity to be a head coach in the NFL.
Speaker 1: And Ted with the history of this franchise, it's just
Speaker 1: always oozing from the pores of this building. You can
Speaker 1: walk around and see it all. And Matt and Ryan
Speaker 1: and both have taken a very strong interest in that history.
Speaker 1: And it was brought up again at the news conference
Speaker 1: today with Coachyberflus with the media and he went through
Speaker 1: the one hundred year book because it's it's it's all
Speaker 1: there for you to get excited about because now there's
Speaker 1: a new chapter going. Yeah. I mean, if if you
Speaker 1: don't believe in what it means to be a Bear,
Speaker 1: you need to be somewhere else. But what I what
Speaker 1: I've been loving about the preseason is seeing in four
Speaker 1: or five jerseys on defense at the ball carrier every
Speaker 1: single play. It's been a long time since we've seen that,
Speaker 1: and you can't ask for a better preseason in terms
Speaker 1: of a confidence builder to take that next step. And
Speaker 1: it's coming Sunday, all right. I get asked a lot
Speaker 1: about Justin Fields. I get asked a lot about Matt
Speaker 1: Eberflus and what's this is going to be. But I
Speaker 1: also get a lot asked questions about Arlington Heights. So
Speaker 1: a lot going on there. You're at the forefront of it.
Speaker 1: What can you tell us, Well, there's been a lot
Speaker 1: of work being done, a lot of people are digging
Speaker 1: in and trying to see if we can make this viable.
Speaker 1: We've said it before, but the reality is we haven't
Speaker 1: bought the land yet. We haven't closed on the land.
Speaker 1: We might not. If we do, I think we will
Speaker 1: do it by the end of this year, early twenty
Speaker 1: twenty three. I'd like to have that accomplished before I leave.
Speaker 1: And if we do buy the land doesn't mean we'll
Speaker 1: develop it. We don't have a stadium design yet, so
Speaker 1: I know there's probably lots of questions on your guy's
Speaker 1: minds about tickets and seating, and we don't We don't
Speaker 1: have that yet. It's a three hundred and twenty six
Speaker 1: acre parcel that will be a stadium anchored development. If
Speaker 1: it happens, probably be the largest development in Illinois history.
Speaker 1: So there's a lot of economic benefits that can go
Speaker 1: towards it, and that's how it's going to get done,
Speaker 1: is by trying to sell the economic benefits, which will
Speaker 1: be staggering, along with the jobs. And an informational meeting
Speaker 1: for community coming up on Thursday seven to nine at
Speaker 1: my alma mater, Hersey High School. Yes, they're in our
Speaker 1: LinkedIn Heights. What will be the gist of that? Both
Speaker 1: of you guys can chime in about well. Ted has
Speaker 1: said many times that we're concerned that people think that
Speaker 1: the project is are there along than it is. We're
Speaker 1: still in the exploration phase. We want to share what
Speaker 1: information we have, but we don't have all the answers.
Speaker 1: We think now though, is the right time to get
Speaker 1: in front of the residence of Arlington Heights and the
Speaker 1: neighboring communities and show them what we have to this point. Yeah,
Speaker 1: they're going to see a preliminary concept that if we
Speaker 1: move forward, we'll probably change over time, but at a minimum,
Speaker 1: it's exciting. It's exciting to explore this, correct, it's a
Speaker 1: must to explore. It's very exciting. We didn't go out
Speaker 1: looking for this land. Churchill Downs, who owned the race course,
Speaker 1: the racetrack, excuse me, put it up for sale and
Speaker 1: it was just too intriguing in terms of the access
Speaker 1: to the property, the size of the property, what it
Speaker 1: could be, the vision. So we just felt like we
Speaker 1: had to put an offer in and we got the
Speaker 1: winning bid. I'm excited about returning to your alma mater.
Speaker 1: I'm sure he's in the Athletic Hall of Fame, the
Speaker 1: Academic Hall of Fame. I want to see the plaques,
Speaker 1: the shrine, whatever they may have. We'll take you on
Speaker 1: the quick ten cent tour. I haven't been back in
Speaker 1: that building in a long, long long time, so it'll
Speaker 1: be it'll be interesting to be there, for sure, in
Speaker 1: a big moment in Bear's history. So, Ted, we appreciate
Speaker 1: you coming on and we appreciate everything that you've done,
Speaker 1: and you gotta allow work left to do on the
Speaker 1: table here before before you go into retirements. So from
Speaker 1: from everybody from my crew, we appreciate what you have
Speaker 1: been to all of us, and nothing but great success.
Speaker 1: You're gonna have that you're gonna have. You're gonna have
Speaker 1: that itch. I know it. You know, you know you're
Speaker 1: gonna have that itch for sure. I get it every year.
Speaker 1: And uh and you're a good man, and so is
Speaker 1: Tommy Thayer your partner. And I love you, guys, I
Speaker 1: love you too, all right, appreciate it. Coming up, we'll
Speaker 1: be joined by Matty Berflus and Ryan Poles. This is
Speaker 1: the Bears Coaches Show. Now more of the Bears Coaches
Speaker 1: Show featuring how two PNC studio at Hallis Hall where
Speaker 1: a Bears fant are our family here since you take
Speaker 1: it holders on the labor day, hope your labor day's
Speaker 1: going well. Now into a different phase of our show,
Speaker 1: please welcome the head coach of the Chicago Bears, Matt Eberflus,
Speaker 1: and the time. Appreciate it, of course, Matt, you'll you'll
Speaker 1: be here every Monday night with yours truly breaking it
Speaker 1: down because you got everybody together. It got a little break,
Speaker 1: getting ready, little light practice today, getting some guys healthy
Speaker 1: today back on the field Byron Pringle for one Vayless
Speaker 1: Jones Junior, little Lucas Patrick. So now you gotta run away,
Speaker 1: right you gotta run away to the start of the season.
Speaker 1: How do you feel about it? Oh, yeah, it's good
Speaker 1: to get everybody back. You know, we've had some soft
Speaker 1: tissue stuff during training camp what you always have, and
Speaker 1: then you know, to get guys back and start putting
Speaker 1: them in there to compete. It was good. It was
Speaker 1: good to see the guys out there and we're excited
Speaker 1: to get this week started. Like you said, today was
Speaker 1: a light practice. You know. We took a team photo today,
Speaker 1: which is pretty cool. You know, we all got out
Speaker 1: there and took a team photo and we did something
Speaker 1: special today. We actually had the coach's exit after the school,
Speaker 1: then we had a late practice and then let the
Speaker 1: guys go. So yeah, very nice gesture because they're often
Speaker 1: overlooked in terms of what you have to do and
Speaker 1: not from the inside, but people don't know what they do,
Speaker 1: how many people are involved, and they are they work
Speaker 1: as hard as anybody. Don't. Yeah, there's no question they do.
Speaker 1: So we had a show appreciation for the door, but
Speaker 1: it's it's something they're always going to have that that's
Speaker 1: the memory of you made the final fifty three, you're
Speaker 1: ready for week one and Ryan putting to get together.
Speaker 1: And I know I mentioned a house, but it's like
Speaker 1: seven and a half months of redesigning something and the
Speaker 1: amount of work that went into that. It's just the
Speaker 1: crazy thing to me about football when that happens, and
Speaker 1: then you show up for your first practice. It all
Speaker 1: looks normal like they've been doing but these it's everybody's new.
Speaker 1: I mean across the board. How'd you pull this off
Speaker 1: in seven and a half months. Yeah, it wasn't just me.
Speaker 1: I have a really good staff and you know ways,
Speaker 1: and I've been really happy with the turnout. And then
Speaker 1: the other thing too, is we have a great coaching staff,
Speaker 1: so you know, with their involvement and you know their
Speaker 1: willingness to coach these guys, especially the last you know,
Speaker 1: last weekend. You know there's new players that haven't been
Speaker 1: here during camp and our coaches got them up to
Speaker 1: speed and we're excited about it. Well, Matt, you talk
Speaker 1: about these coaches almost every time you're at the podium,
Speaker 1: and you know you say it with a confidence because
Speaker 1: you know these guys, especially the coats, guys you've worked with,
Speaker 1: but to get to know them and now let them
Speaker 1: see the around a lot of good teachers that I've
Speaker 1: been under over the course of my career, so I've
Speaker 1: learned what it looks like. And for me to talk
Speaker 1: to these guys when we uh, you know, hired them.
Speaker 1: It's about developing and teaching the players to become better players.
Speaker 1: And people always say that, you know, I was a
Speaker 1: college coach for eighteen years, and they say, well, you
Speaker 1: can't you know the pros are where they are. I don't.
Speaker 1: I disagree one hundred percent. And all those coaches believe
Speaker 1: that they're just teachers first, and then coaches, you know,
Speaker 1: and then building relationships I think is really important, so
Speaker 1: we can challenge those guys. Ryan, you must have been
Speaker 1: around people, and Matt you yourself as well. There are
Speaker 1: some coaches that, Okay, you're gonna give me some rookies,
Speaker 1: but I, I don't know. I just don't have that faith.
Speaker 1: This gentleman believes in young players. You have fifteen rookies
Speaker 1: on this roster. It's a league high. The average age
Speaker 1: is just over twenty five nearly, you know, not quite
Speaker 1: twenty six years of age. Aguins make sure that we're
Speaker 1: teaching them, they're getting their bodies right and they can
Speaker 1: play fast and learn our system. So to have coaches
Speaker 1: like we do is really good and in turn, these
Speaker 1: young players, there's some innocence there when they're so young,
Speaker 1: they you know, I'm gonna get this opportunity. You know,
Speaker 1: you're not just relegated to the practice squad for the
Speaker 1: first player a better mentally ready player. Yeah, I think
Speaker 1: it's I think it's a good point. You know, you
Speaker 1: really want to just keep developing everybody on the roster.
Speaker 1: So it doesn't matter if you're slated as a starter
Speaker 1: and then you're also slated as a backup, because at
Speaker 1: some point during the course of the season, everybody's going
Speaker 1: to play and you have to be ready to play.
Speaker 1: So you got to be able to step in to
Speaker 1: that role and put a winning performance out there. And
Speaker 1: that's why we do that. So we always want to
Speaker 1: develop everybody on at roster, from the first guy to
Speaker 1: the sixty ninth guy. We want to develop them because
Speaker 1: you never know. This special edition of the Bears Coaches
Speaker 1: Show with Mattie Buflus and General Manager Ryan Poles is
Speaker 1: sponsored by for Rising Bette Rivers and Miller liked once
Speaker 1: again the Voice of the Bears w BBMS Jeff Joniac.
Speaker 1: Great seats available to see your Chicago Bears this season
Speaker 1: a soldier field. Get your tickets at Chicago Bears dot
Speaker 1: com slash tickets with Ryan Poles, Bears general manager and
Speaker 1: head coach Maddie Boflus. I'm Jeff Joniac. We have Bears
Speaker 1: fans here and join the show on their holiday weekend.
Speaker 1: That's right, getting ready for the forty nine ers. Ryan.
Speaker 1: The other day, your face lit up. You said, I
Speaker 1: love that dude, that com man. About your affinity for
Speaker 1: the man sitting next year right here, Matt Eberflus is resonating,
Speaker 1: and what have you come to learn about all aspects
Speaker 1: of what he brings to the table now that you've
Speaker 1: gotten to know him very well. Yeah, the leadership part
Speaker 1: stands out. I mean when he's in front of the room.
Speaker 1: And that's the one thing you don't know, you know
Speaker 1: when the interview process, But when he gets in front
Speaker 1: of the room, everyone's locked in, and he's passionate about
Speaker 1: what he does, and he has everyone's attention and he
Speaker 1: you know they're they're locked in. By the time you're
Speaker 1: done with the team meeting, you want to go play
Speaker 1: football immediately after. So it's effective too. So the other
Speaker 1: thing too is just detail. You know, there's a lot
Speaker 1: that goes behind the scene. Is just in terms of
Speaker 1: the schedule to move everybody around, the coaching staff, the players,
Speaker 1: and everything's been on point and it's been running really smooth.
Speaker 1: You would think, you know, he was the head coach
Speaker 1: for a really long time, so it's been it's been awesome.
Speaker 1: In turn, what have you learned and what have you
Speaker 1: come to appreciate about the new general manager? I would say, oh,
Speaker 1: and I tell this all him all the time, is
Speaker 1: that the number one job of a GM is to
Speaker 1: pick players that really can play. And he does a
Speaker 1: great job with that. Him and I have the same
Speaker 1: vision with the type of players we are. We cover it.
Speaker 1: And he's got a great eye. I'm not talking about
Speaker 1: a good eye, a great eye for talent and it
Speaker 1: takes a special eye. I'll be able to see those
Speaker 1: guys and pick those guys, um, you know in the
Speaker 1: later rounds uh, you know, like Braxton Jones, you know,
Speaker 1: like different players like that. And he's going to continue
Speaker 1: to do that. And that's not only in the draft.
Speaker 1: That's that's free agency, and that's picking guys, claiming guys,
Speaker 1: and and so I would just say that what a
Speaker 1: what a tremendous eye for talent. Well, it's just six
Speaker 1: claims last week, guys that are going to figure in
Speaker 1: to the future of the Chicago Bears hopefully. And that's
Speaker 1: not a simple process either. And you and I spoke
Speaker 1: the other day. It's almost like a new draft, but
Speaker 1: it's a limited window and you gotta you gotta put
Speaker 1: in the time. But you know, you were looking for
Speaker 1: the traits obviously, but you were looking for plays like
Speaker 1: these guys playmakers and do they fit what a Bear
Speaker 1: looks like now? And you believe you found a few more. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: we're excited. Um. And again it goes back to my
Speaker 1: staff and in the process that we have shoot that night,
Speaker 1: we put hours. We're until about one in the morning,
Speaker 1: you know, watching tape, and we had a board set
Speaker 1: up and it was very similar to the draft, except
Speaker 1: you have twenty four hours to get it done. So
Speaker 1: it's something I learned in my past, and it's it's
Speaker 1: part of our philosophy and um, it's it's I actually
Speaker 1: look forward to it. You know, it's a it's a
Speaker 1: treasure hunt to look for guys that play our style,
Speaker 1: um and and can help us win games. Do you
Speaker 1: get so intoxicated with the exercise that you maybe even
Speaker 1: wanted more. Yeah, and you gotta say, we gotta gotta
Speaker 1: calm it down here for a second, we gotta calm
Speaker 1: it down. So now, you guys, well you all, it
Speaker 1: seems to me you were meant for this period. You
Speaker 1: were meant for this team, this city, this style, And
Speaker 1: I'm saying that to you. I mean, I really believe that.
Speaker 1: And you're just so humbly confident about what you want
Speaker 1: this to be their standard. You throw that word around
Speaker 1: a lot, But now do we close our eyes and
Speaker 1: know exactly what a bear looks like? Well, I would
Speaker 1: say this is that you know you have to be
Speaker 1: on your on top of that because you know, as
Speaker 1: soon as you look away, the standard slip. And you
Speaker 1: have to make sure that you're on top of that
Speaker 1: every single day and every single rep because the standard
Speaker 1: is high and you have to uphold the standard. And
Speaker 1: what's been great is that we've had such great buying
Speaker 1: by the players. The players have really taken a hold
Speaker 1: of this about playing hard, playing smart, doing things the
Speaker 1: right way, playing the aggressive style, but doing it the
Speaker 1: right way, the smart way, and they just take taking
Speaker 1: you know and ran with it, and that's that's great,
Speaker 1: but it's also the leader's job, and I mean coaches
Speaker 1: and players to uphold that standard. And that's a day
Speaker 1: to day process. And you can't ever let that go.
Speaker 1: And so if you as soon as you relax and say, hey,
Speaker 1: you know, we're not looking at that anymore, you got
Speaker 1: to look at it every single day. Have you personally
Speaker 1: ever burned yourself by taking your eye off along your way?
Speaker 1: I've learned that over the course of time, where you know,
Speaker 1: you you take your eye off something for a minute
Speaker 1: and then there it is, it's and it shows up,
Speaker 1: and you got to just go back to the basics,
Speaker 1: go back to the beginning and reset. And that happens,
Speaker 1: you know, because our standard is so high, there's gonna
Speaker 1: be a little bit of slippet sometimes, but we gotta
Speaker 1: just rein it in and just keep going forward. And
Speaker 1: the Bears matchup of the forty nine ers brought to
Speaker 1: you by Miller, like official beer partner of your Chicago Bears.
Speaker 1: It's Miller time Bears fans Jeff Jonny AAC along with
Speaker 1: coaching GM here at Hallis Hall at PNC Studio. We
Speaker 1: got Bears fans in your season ticket holders, ready to
Speaker 1: let it rip. How loud are you going to be
Speaker 1: on Sunday? All right, can't wait? Can't wait? You know,
Speaker 1: we we expect that from the home fans on Sunday,
Speaker 1: So I guess would be a good time say what
Speaker 1: do you need? What do you need from the fans
Speaker 1: on Sunday? Well, you know, it's always u You know,
Speaker 1: it's an exciting time for the city, and it's exciting
Speaker 1: time for the Bears, and we're gonna be ready to go,
Speaker 1: and we want our fans to be ready to go too.
Speaker 1: So you guys know what. You guys know football. You
Speaker 1: guys been watching it a long time. You know when
Speaker 1: to be loud and just be as loud as you
Speaker 1: can in those critical moments for us on Sunday. So
Speaker 1: I appreciate that, Ryan uh As it's currently constituted. And
Speaker 1: you've said many times you're gonna you're on this hunger
Speaker 1: to keep finding guys that if somebody's better out there
Speaker 1: and fit, you're gonna go get them. How do you
Speaker 1: feel about what you have for week one? Yeah? I
Speaker 1: feel good and I'm excited to see them perform. You know,
Speaker 1: you have this checklist of things that you look for.
Speaker 1: You have you know, offseason programs OTAs, and then you
Speaker 1: can't wait to get the pads on and get the
Speaker 1: pads on and you see how physical they are. Can
Speaker 1: they hold up to that? And then you get some
Speaker 1: preseason games. So now we finally get the lights to
Speaker 1: turn on. This is this is real football. Um, it
Speaker 1: turns up a couple of notches, and uh, I'm excited
Speaker 1: to see the guys perform. I think they're gonna surprise
Speaker 1: some people. They keep telling us that too. Any number
Speaker 1: of them. Hey, we're gonna surprise people. This old being
Speaker 1: overlooked in the in the record, predictions and all this
Speaker 1: stuff that that comes with you know football. That's part
Speaker 1: of it, I guess, um. The fandom of it is
Speaker 1: so intense, the analysis so intense. But you you've got
Speaker 1: these guys believing or maybe they just believe in themselves
Speaker 1: by virtue of you know, there's a lot of guys
Speaker 1: on this roster. They've been marginalized their whole life, and
Speaker 1: you're you're looking for those guys because they're hungry the
Speaker 1: newest guy. I'm here, Marsett Smith. I hope I got
Speaker 1: it right today. You know how upset the Vikings. Let
Speaker 1: you go, yes, I have a chip on, they're not.
Speaker 1: I mean sometimes it sounds cliche, but I think you've
Speaker 1: got a lot of guys that feel they're backed into
Speaker 1: a corner a little bit. Do you sense that? Yeah?
Speaker 1: I mean the guys I think have come together because
Speaker 1: of the experience that just went through. You know, they've
Speaker 1: they've had off season program and then they go through
Speaker 1: training camp and as you guys know that it's it's
Speaker 1: not easy, you know. And I think that when you
Speaker 1: have a training camp like we did, I think it
Speaker 1: brings guys closer because they go through something that's difficult
Speaker 1: and now they understand what the standard is and they
Speaker 1: started to see that payoff and they started to see it,
Speaker 1: you know, you know, come to light and they can
Speaker 1: see it say wow, this is this is something good
Speaker 1: happening here. So I believe that the guys are getting
Speaker 1: closer and closer, and the team chemistry is getting better
Speaker 1: and better, and it's all going to come down to
Speaker 1: Wednesday's practice. You know, we're gonna have to have a
Speaker 1: great Wednesday's practice. That's when we have pads on. We're
Speaker 1: gonna have to thud we're gonna have to hit each
Speaker 1: other pretty good to get on the line of scrimmage
Speaker 1: on both sides of the ball. So that's going to
Speaker 1: start there and then get more into situations on Thursday
Speaker 1: and to third down and finish it off with red
Speaker 1: zone on Thursdays or Friday. So it's an important that
Speaker 1: we do the work on the practice field and that's
Speaker 1: going to be a part of our preparation for game time.
Speaker 1: If you have a practice that doesn't go to your liking,
Speaker 1: do you get nervous about Sunday? Well, you know, nothing's
Speaker 1: ever perfect, you know, so you always look at corrections
Speaker 1: and you will get those after practice and well, if
Speaker 1: something's there, we'll have to work on the next day,
Speaker 1: we'll do that. So you know, it's always that's your
Speaker 1: job as a coach and the leader. You just got
Speaker 1: to make the corrections and move forward and go to
Speaker 1: the next day. Ryan Justin Fields is a legit national
Speaker 1: story right now. Yeah, everybody's like coming around taking another
Speaker 1: look at what they've seen. I believe because of that
Speaker 1: preseason finale. But I mean we're talking about X player.
Speaker 1: We're talking a lot about about this man right now.
Speaker 1: He's starting quarterback in a football crazy town and a
Speaker 1: passionate fan base, a beloved franchise, a large media market.
Speaker 1: Is he ready for it all? Yeah? I think he is.
Speaker 1: You know, if you look at his history. I mean
Speaker 1: I think he was the number one high school recruit
Speaker 1: coming out, you know, and then he had, you know,
Speaker 1: his success at Ohio State. And if you know Justin,
Speaker 1: you're around Justin. He is as steady Eddie as can be.
Speaker 1: He never gets too high and never too low. He
Speaker 1: just works at his craft. And I know we're both
Speaker 1: proud on how he's attacked this whole change. They've thrown
Speaker 1: a lot at him, and he just keeps answering and
Speaker 1: get he gets better, and he just chips away and
Speaker 1: he's ready to go. So and he mentioned this, he
Speaker 1: wants to be coached hard. He an interview recently, and
Speaker 1: Luke getsy. I don't watch and I can't see exactly
Speaker 1: what goes on in that room, obviously, but I get
Speaker 1: the sense he coaches him hard. Is that what Luke,
Speaker 1: You're doing? Well, he's just like all the rest of
Speaker 1: the coaches. He's a teacher, you know. So he's built
Speaker 1: the relationship like the rest of the coaches to have
Speaker 1: the ability to challenge, you know, so you want to
Speaker 1: be able to challenge the guys as a coach and
Speaker 1: you challenge them to get better and give them the
Speaker 1: understanding of what they're doing and why they're doing it,
Speaker 1: and then they understand you know, hey, it's gonna help
Speaker 1: us win. And that's an important piece to it. But
Speaker 1: you have to build a relationship first before you can challenge.
Speaker 1: And those guys got a tight relationship as Janoko does
Speaker 1: and the rest of those quarterbacks in that room. That's
Speaker 1: a really good room. All right. Your decision to go
Speaker 1: into the quarterback meetings, what was this something that you
Speaker 1: felt you are going to do or I mean, how
Speaker 1: did that all come about? I don't know that a
Speaker 1: lot of coaches do that. No. I think it's important
Speaker 1: for the head coach to be in there because your
Speaker 1: quarterback has to know that the head coach has his back,
Speaker 1: and I think that he understands that the whole football
Speaker 1: team has his back. The head coach has his back,
Speaker 1: and we're all in there to make sure that everything
Speaker 1: goes right as a football team and how he fits
Speaker 1: into that football team. So it's an important piece to it. Yeah,
Speaker 1: are you finding that as a first time head coach.
Speaker 1: This is almost a silly question because you are so
Speaker 1: organized and you are on it. But is there enough
Speaker 1: time in a day? Yeah? Oh yeah, there's enough time.
Speaker 1: If your organized, there's enough time. I mean, the day
Speaker 1: goes fast. There's only so many minutes in a day,
Speaker 1: but it goes quick. But you have to be on
Speaker 1: top of what you want to get done in that day.
Speaker 1: All right. I need to consult you for ideas on
Speaker 1: how I can fit everything in and one day as well.
Speaker 1: The Bears Coaches Show continues exclusively on the Home of
Speaker 1: the Bears one oh five nine w VBM. Welcome back
Speaker 1: to you up the Nancy Studio at how To Saw
Speaker 1: Jeff Jonny Ak along with head coach Mattie Briflus and
Speaker 1: gentle manager Ryan Poles. Bears fans have been great tonight.
Speaker 1: Appreciate you guys. See a soldier field and we'll talk
Speaker 1: down the radio. Our pregame at nine, kickoff at noon
Speaker 1: with the entire crew, Ron, Jim and Jay, myself and
Speaker 1: Tom and our esteemed broadcast crew. It's also time to
Speaker 1: look Ahead, brought to you by Bette Rivers, the official
Speaker 1: sports book partner of the Bears. The Bears will kick
Speaker 1: off a new season and a new era Sunday at
Speaker 1: noon when they welcome Trey Lance and the forty nine
Speaker 1: ers two Soldier Field. I say, Trey Lance, You say
Speaker 1: what Matti Brefus, Yeah, I say that. You know, we
Speaker 1: got a chance to watch him play last year. He
Speaker 1: started in the Arizona game kind of the middle of
Speaker 1: the season there, and the team all was with last
Speaker 1: year played it played them right after that, and he
Speaker 1: didn't play in the game that we played against. But
Speaker 1: so we got a chance to look at him, and
Speaker 1: he's a tremendous athlete and a tremendous talent. You know,
Speaker 1: he gives you a lot of problems because he can
Speaker 1: run the foot ball and um, yeah, he's a he's
Speaker 1: a he's a lot to handle. So we're gonna have
Speaker 1: a challenge ahead of us for our defense, and we're
Speaker 1: excited about that challenge. And so as Deebo Samuel. I
Speaker 1: know you faced him in that game against the Colts
Speaker 1: and he was here October thirty first and had himself
Speaker 1: a game as well. Just a unique kind of a
Speaker 1: football player. And you know, you want to bring him
Speaker 1: down when he kept if he's gonna catch it, make
Speaker 1: sure you didn't get the Yeah, and that's why they're
Speaker 1: like the number, I think number one or two team
Speaker 1: in the NFL with yack yards last year and deebo
Speaker 1: is a big part of that, and Kittle's a big
Speaker 1: part of that. So um, you know, they were obviously
Speaker 1: very strong with running the ball and they're taught the
Speaker 1: right way. So we're gonna have to our challenge in
Speaker 1: front of us on defense. All right, Ryan, what is
Speaker 1: the best story to come out of the preseason in
Speaker 1: your opinion, I think it's, you know, our roster coming together.
Speaker 1: You know. I go back to the event coach had
Speaker 1: with you know, down with the Cubs, you know, and
Speaker 1: I saw a team, you know that was unsure of
Speaker 1: all the change, and they started to gel when they
Speaker 1: started to come together. So I'm just looking forward to
Speaker 1: those groups playing together and have each other's back, you know,
Speaker 1: when the lights turn on. So yep, tight end Cole
Speaker 1: Commit said is one of the best things he's ever
Speaker 1: been a part of. Obviously, he likes hitting the baseball team,
Speaker 1: so you know, he cranked a few home runs. That
Speaker 1: was a tremendous experience for a guy who loves the
Speaker 1: history of this sports Town. Now, that's certainly a place
Speaker 1: to do it. But let's talk about some of those guys,
Speaker 1: the guys that we feel that are on the cusp,
Speaker 1: you know, could take a big, giant step here. Justin
Speaker 1: obviously is one of them. We're also were looking here,
Speaker 1: We're looking at Darnell, We're looking at Cole commit. They're
Speaker 1: going to get their chances to make a mark on
Speaker 1: this offense. And then the running game. You talked in
Speaker 1: the break about you know, hey, I like seeing a
Speaker 1: run over guys. Is this going to be a physical,
Speaker 1: nasty offense first and foremost before we start talking about
Speaker 1: what could be an aerial show with a guy who's
Speaker 1: got a great arm. Yeah, I mean we all believe this,
Speaker 1: and I know the Bears fans will appreciate this. Is that,
Speaker 1: you know, we believe in a strong running game, you know,
Speaker 1: So that's an important piece to this. You know, it
Speaker 1: really sets up a lot of things for Justin and
Speaker 1: the offense. When you're able to run the ball with
Speaker 1: Montgomery and you know, and have a lead back in
Speaker 1: there and being able to do some different things that
Speaker 1: we're able to do in the running game. So it
Speaker 1: sets up a lot of things for us, you know,
Speaker 1: it keeps us ahead of the sticks. It's it's just
Speaker 1: a good formula for winning, you know, So we believe
Speaker 1: in that strong running game. I loved your answer last
Speaker 1: week when people are talking about you know what's around. Okay,
Speaker 1: there's a lot of young players ready to get an
Speaker 1: opportunity to develop, and you, as the general manager, have
Speaker 1: to be pragmatic in your approach. You're building an entire roster,
Speaker 1: and is that always in the back of your mind,
Speaker 1: because you could pull the trigger on many different things
Speaker 1: if you so choose. Yeah, you know, there's a level
Speaker 1: of patients and you know, we want to do things
Speaker 1: the right way and right now, the way we've done
Speaker 1: it was you know, through the draft and as well
Speaker 1: as through claims and free agency. So it's coming together,
Speaker 1: but there is a level of patience. You gotta have
Speaker 1: to do it the right way so that you can
Speaker 1: sustain it over a long period of time. Offensive line
Speaker 1: loaded with young guys at this point, it's one of
Speaker 1: your wheelhouse positions. You played it obviously, you wore their
Speaker 1: uniform here in two thousand and eight when you came
Speaker 1: in as a rookie undrafted. Do you feel your eyes
Speaker 1: sharp and you know what you want. Yeah, at the
Speaker 1: offensive line, absolutely, and it's coming together. I've been really
Speaker 1: impressed with you know, Braxton Jones coming in and developing
Speaker 1: so fast, and you know, he's been hungry since he
Speaker 1: came in. He wanted more and more knowledge. He's spent
Speaker 1: time with Chris Morgan and he does extra and he
Speaker 1: just continues to get better every single day. So that
Speaker 1: group's coming together nicely. I approached a couple of writers
Speaker 1: in the locker room today, open locker room or back
Speaker 1: in the locker room. It's kind of strange. Some of
Speaker 1: these players have never had microphones in their face because
Speaker 1: of COVID. But it's it's great to get to know
Speaker 1: the guys in a different way. But I say, hey,
Speaker 1: you know, you're not believing that the takeaways are going
Speaker 1: to happen and love he said it was going to
Speaker 1: this system, it's going to happen, and it's about creating
Speaker 1: the opportunity to get the take Oh yeah, there's a
Speaker 1: level of luck involved too, But the passion and the
Speaker 1: unbelievable attention to that detail, do you truly believe it's
Speaker 1: going to create what you believe will happen? Yeah? And
Speaker 1: I think there is a little bit of luck, but
Speaker 1: it's not that much because you have to create those
Speaker 1: opportunities and you create the fumble by doing strip attempts
Speaker 1: and that's on every play, you know, so we want
Speaker 1: to make sure we're doing that every single play. And
Speaker 1: then you create the recovery by hustling to the ball.
Speaker 1: So if there's no hesitation when you hustle to the ball,
Speaker 1: you will be there when the ball comes out, and
Speaker 1: if you expect it to be there, it will be.
Speaker 1: And we have to do a great job of technique
Speaker 1: or how we recover those fumbles when they're in close
Speaker 1: quarters and when they're on the open field. So we
Speaker 1: practice all those things. We practice how we were turned
Speaker 1: the ball. So it's it's something we're very fanatical about
Speaker 1: and something we pay attention to every single day. That's
Speaker 1: the fumble part. How about now the past that gets
Speaker 1: tipped in the middle of the field, Because as long
Speaker 1: as everybody's running to the ball with their hair on fire,
Speaker 1: I mean, this, for example, looks to me like a
Speaker 1: golden opportunity for an Eddie Jackson, for Jiquan Brisker, Kyler Gordon.
Speaker 1: These guys get Jalen Johnson to get the ball in
Speaker 1: their hands. They're all talking that we're in the locker
Speaker 1: room too, so you got them thinking feverishly about this. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and really, when we play the style we do, we
Speaker 1: know we play more zone than most people, so we
Speaker 1: have a lot of set of eyes on the ball
Speaker 1: and so when the ball does get tipped or thrown
Speaker 1: in your area, we're able to break on it and
Speaker 1: u and have a chance. All Right, we have less
Speaker 1: than a minute final message to the fans from Ryan
Speaker 1: Poles and Mattieberflus about what we're gonna expect here in
Speaker 1: twenty two. Yeah, we're excited. I think our future is
Speaker 1: bright and uh, you know, I'm ready to get this
Speaker 1: thing kicked off down a soldier field and see a
Speaker 1: lot of these guys can get give me a sample,
Speaker 1: come on. Yeah. I just want to thank all the
Speaker 1: fans for all your support and the players. I want
Speaker 1: to thank the players and all the staff for all
Speaker 1: the hard week we put in over the last seven
Speaker 1: months to get to this point. But we're excited for
Speaker 1: the competition that we're going to be in on Sunday.
Speaker 1: We're excited to get it going. And so when you
Speaker 1: walk in there as head coach in that tunnel for
Speaker 1: the first time in your NFL career. It'll feel different
Speaker 1: once I say let's go, let's go, let's go. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I want to. I want to echo those thoughts. Let's go.
Speaker 1: Appreciate you guys, thank you so much. Before to a
Speaker 1: long and enjoyable season. Do an they shows so for
Speaker 1: Bears Chairman of the Board George Hallis mccaski, President and
Speaker 1: CEO Ted Phillips, General manager Ryan Poles, and head coach
Speaker 1: Matt Eberflus and our producers Dan Varilli, Jordan Treadup, Andy Gersher,
Speaker 1: Keith Johnson, a Lisa Fielding, our engineer pauls Rang and
Speaker 1: do you find folks for taking your holiday time to
Speaker 1: spend it with us. We appreciate it so much. Give
Speaker 1: yourselves a hand. Thank you to our little season ticket
Speaker 1: holders and sponsors for your continued support of Bears football.
Speaker 1: We'll be talking to you on the radio Sunday at
Speaker 1: nine am. Kickoff at noon, Ron Gleason, Jim Schwantz JA
Speaker 1: He'll give me my broadcast partner Tom Fair for the
Speaker 1: noon kickoff. Good night, everybody, This is News Radio one
Speaker 1: oh five nine w BBM.