WEBVTT - Legacy Panel - Quarterbacks 0:00:00.960 --> 0:00:04.600 Please welcome to the stage Chicago Bears Pro Bowl quarterbacks 0:00:05.120 --> 0:00:09.720 Jim McMahon and Mitchell Trubisky, along with your hosts Jeff 0:00:09.800 --> 0:00:26.920 Joniac and Tom Fair. Good morning everybody. How are we doing. 0:00:27.000 --> 0:00:30.880 Did you make it through the night? Glad you came 0:00:30.920 --> 0:00:33.760 out first thing in the morning. Good to have you here. 0:00:34.000 --> 0:00:38.200 Our first legacy conversation of the day, and it's gonna 0:00:38.240 --> 0:00:40.560 be a wonderful day. A lot of walk down memory 0:00:40.640 --> 0:00:43.600 lanes and a lot of insight about all these great 0:00:43.600 --> 0:00:47.760 players and Bears history. Mitchell Trubisky and Jim McMahon meeting 0:00:47.800 --> 0:00:51.959 for the first time. Right, we need to get these 0:00:52.000 --> 0:00:54.920 guys microphones though. That's the first order of the business. 0:00:54.920 --> 0:00:57.960 Big Tom there, Well, a lot of us have not 0:00:58.080 --> 0:01:00.160 seen Jim at this time in the morning. You know, 0:01:00.280 --> 0:01:02.640 he was a late arrival to late arrival to the 0:01:02.640 --> 0:01:05.959 locker room. But I'm inspired to see him here early 0:01:06.080 --> 0:01:08.560 this morning. Well, why don't you hand him a mic 0:01:08.640 --> 0:01:11.399 so we could talk. We need two mics up here, 0:01:11.800 --> 0:01:13.520 so why don't you hand him a mic until he 0:01:13.560 --> 0:01:16.920 can get one air. So Jim, welcome, welcome, always, good 0:01:16.959 --> 0:01:19.880 to see it. It's great to be back here in Chicago. 0:01:24.800 --> 0:01:27.920 I lived lived here for twenty eight years, so it's us. 0:01:28.120 --> 0:01:30.080 It's part of my life, big part of my life. 0:01:30.120 --> 0:01:32.600 All my kids were raised here, born and raised, and 0:01:33.600 --> 0:01:35.760 my oldest son still lives here. That was my granddaughter. 0:01:35.880 --> 0:01:38.760 Know you saw me carting her in here earlier. But 0:01:39.160 --> 0:01:41.560 great to be back and looking forward to the rest 0:01:41.600 --> 0:01:48.200 of the day. Thank you guys. And Mitch obviously you're 0:01:48.240 --> 0:01:51.960 a Chicago Bears quarterback. You know about Jim McMahon. I do. 0:01:52.240 --> 0:01:55.000 I know a lot about Jim Now what you learn 0:01:56.200 --> 0:01:58.880 all kinds of stuff, swapping good stories last night. Just 0:01:59.120 --> 0:02:01.240 excited to learn from him and hear everything he's got 0:02:01.240 --> 0:02:03.840 to say and uh, just what it takes to play 0:02:03.880 --> 0:02:06.200 a quarterback in the city of Chicago and and be 0:02:06.240 --> 0:02:08.320 successful at it. So it's it's been nice talking to 0:02:08.400 --> 0:02:10.120 him and getting to know him and his family. Let's 0:02:10.120 --> 0:02:12.760 start this way before we get to start. This is 0:02:13.000 --> 0:02:15.480 to be successful here, you got to start wearing a headband, 0:02:15.919 --> 0:02:25.640 all right, and some sunglasses. Stop one now you're ready 0:02:25.680 --> 0:02:32.440 to go, Kevin here, This that's how you go. Things 0:02:32.480 --> 0:02:36.800 will start to change for you now. It's it's a 0:02:36.840 --> 0:02:39.760 great question to start though, because what is it like 0:02:40.480 --> 0:02:43.680 Jim and what you've learned Mitch to be the quarterback 0:02:43.720 --> 0:02:48.720 of the Chicago Bears. Well, for the most part, it's 0:02:48.840 --> 0:02:52.919 it's a thankless job. He goes a lot of times 0:02:52.960 --> 0:02:55.120 all you're doing is handing off to guys like Walter Payton, 0:02:55.120 --> 0:03:00.480 which is not a bad thing. But I think Mitch's 0:03:00.800 --> 0:03:04.320 is in a good spot because this offense here showcases 0:03:04.360 --> 0:03:06.639 his talents. And I would have loved to play in 0:03:06.639 --> 0:03:08.560 an offense like this where you got so many things 0:03:08.560 --> 0:03:13.200 going on and so many options. But you know, I 0:03:13.240 --> 0:03:14.560 think it'd be a lot of fun to play in 0:03:14.600 --> 0:03:17.280 that offense. Jim, when you came out of college, you 0:03:17.360 --> 0:03:21.880 had seventy two nca passing records and it was great coaching. 0:03:21.960 --> 0:03:24.679 But so when you came to the NFL, was it 0:03:24.840 --> 0:03:28.280 like a I'm not a step backwards, with all due 0:03:28.320 --> 0:03:30.480 respect to what the NFL was about, then it was 0:03:30.520 --> 0:03:34.239 a big step backwards, big step backwards, because I was 0:03:34.360 --> 0:03:36.680 used to throwing the ball thirty five forty times a game, 0:03:37.440 --> 0:03:41.120 and it took me about six years here to do that. Well, Mitch, 0:03:41.200 --> 0:03:44.040 for you, was it a big advancement forward when you 0:03:44.120 --> 0:03:46.760 got a chance to work with Matt Naggie and all 0:03:46.800 --> 0:03:49.200 the offensive coaches that you have and the amount of 0:03:49.240 --> 0:03:52.000 times you threw the ball in college to you know, 0:03:52.120 --> 0:03:55.560 having a six touchdown pass game and the whole continuous 0:03:55.600 --> 0:04:00.200 development of this offense. Yeah, so my first year I 0:04:00.200 --> 0:04:02.880 could relate to the offense Jim used to run, just 0:04:03.120 --> 0:04:07.120 run heavy offense, pound pound the rock. And then second year, 0:04:07.160 --> 0:04:09.200 obviously being in the shotgun, a lot more open it 0:04:09.280 --> 0:04:11.920 up in the past game, a lot more options out 0:04:11.920 --> 0:04:15.480 of the shotgun downfield throws. And you've kind of seen 0:04:15.520 --> 0:04:17.600 how the offense has evolved from year one from year 0:04:17.640 --> 0:04:20.720 two to me and just been able to get better 0:04:20.720 --> 0:04:22.840 and improve my game at MS skills and it's going 0:04:22.839 --> 0:04:25.440 to continue to open up and just continue to evolve. 0:04:25.600 --> 0:04:27.600 But uh, it's been fun to see. And I really 0:04:27.600 --> 0:04:29.679 wish I could have watched Jim play in the offense 0:04:29.720 --> 0:04:33.200 like ours and uh and just tear it up and 0:04:33.200 --> 0:04:35.920 throw the ball down the field and use that arm. 0:04:36.360 --> 0:04:38.720 You know you think about you know, you guys are 0:04:38.800 --> 0:04:41.040 unique because Jim was drafted before I came to the 0:04:41.080 --> 0:04:44.000 Bears and then miss drafting the position you were in. Man, 0:04:44.080 --> 0:04:47.440 there's a lot of attachment to hope when you guys 0:04:47.480 --> 0:04:50.640 get drafted by the Chicago Bears in the position you have. Jim, 0:04:50.640 --> 0:04:52.479 it was a lot of years before there was a 0:04:52.520 --> 0:04:56.320 successful quarterback, and Mitch. You know the circumstance here. Both 0:04:56.320 --> 0:04:58.760 of you guys get drafted with all the hope in 0:04:58.800 --> 0:05:00.400 the world. You know you're in the end. NBA, you 0:05:00.400 --> 0:05:03.320 get drafted first, you may never see the court. Baseball, 0:05:03.400 --> 0:05:05.560 you get drafted you they may never see the field. 0:05:05.960 --> 0:05:09.200 You guys are drafted where you're drafted, you bring a 0:05:09.200 --> 0:05:11.520 lot of hope that's attached to that position. Is that 0:05:11.680 --> 0:05:15.760 motivating or is that pressure for both of you guys? Yeah, 0:05:15.839 --> 0:05:20.600 I think it's motivating because obviously it's a dream come 0:05:20.640 --> 0:05:22.560 true to get drafted as high as you do, and 0:05:22.600 --> 0:05:25.000 then you know you're gonna start because they take you 0:05:25.080 --> 0:05:27.000 that high and you're gonna be put in eventually. So 0:05:27.000 --> 0:05:29.560 you just prepare yourself as much as possible and then 0:05:29.600 --> 0:05:31.440 when the opportunity comes, you just try to make the 0:05:31.480 --> 0:05:36.159 most of it. But it's amazing that I think it 0:05:36.200 --> 0:05:38.320 gives you a lot of confidence as a player that 0:05:38.400 --> 0:05:40.600 you see a team that when they pick you that high, 0:05:40.640 --> 0:05:42.760 that they believe in your abilities, they believe in who 0:05:42.760 --> 0:05:44.280 you are as a person, and they just want to 0:05:44.279 --> 0:05:46.719 see you go out there, play your game and do 0:05:46.760 --> 0:05:49.279 the best you possibly can. But I think the two 0:05:49.320 --> 0:05:51.680 things I learned in Chicago is that you got you 0:05:51.680 --> 0:05:53.680 just gotta play with a lot of confidence, and then 0:05:53.720 --> 0:05:56.560 you gotta have thick skin, and you just gotta continue 0:05:56.680 --> 0:05:59.200 to give it all, improve your game, put your heart 0:05:59.480 --> 0:06:03.520 and to this, uh into practices and and love the 0:06:03.560 --> 0:06:07.520 fans and win games and they'll love you back. Yea, 0:06:07.800 --> 0:06:09.720 when you got drafted, you know, you know you're talking 0:06:09.760 --> 0:06:12.680 about George Hallis and the whole crew that you were 0:06:12.760 --> 0:06:14.760 drafted by. Yeah, I had to. I had to deal 0:06:14.760 --> 0:06:17.200 with mister Hollis when I first came here, and uh 0:06:18.480 --> 0:06:21.360 I felt like I was lucky because I didn't have 0:06:22.200 --> 0:06:24.880 a guy like John Elway or Dan Marino to sit behind. 0:06:25.480 --> 0:06:27.839 I had Bob Avellini and Vince Evans where the qbs 0:06:27.839 --> 0:06:30.880 when I got here, and uh so there was pressure 0:06:30.960 --> 0:06:32.520 not only for me to play, but I put a 0:06:32.520 --> 0:06:34.280 lot of pressure on myself. I felt that I was 0:06:34.320 --> 0:06:37.240 a better quarterback even as a rookie. And uh I 0:06:37.279 --> 0:06:39.440 think I started the third game that year, and and 0:06:39.440 --> 0:06:42.599 and pretty much after that. But it took a while. 0:06:42.920 --> 0:06:45.240 Um it took a while for them to understand who 0:06:45.240 --> 0:06:48.480 I was a coach. Dick and I we fought quite 0:06:48.480 --> 0:06:52.479 a bit um, but I think he finally understood that 0:06:52.600 --> 0:06:54.440 I was trying to win ball games. I wasn't doing 0:06:54.440 --> 0:06:56.520 things to make him mad. I mean, you were in 0:06:56.520 --> 0:06:58.760 those huddle a lot, and uh, he was sending in 0:06:58.800 --> 0:07:03.080 plays that even knew wouldn't work. So it wasn't It 0:07:03.120 --> 0:07:04.919 wasn't me trying to upset him. It was just me 0:07:05.000 --> 0:07:07.200 trying to win games. And we had different philosophy on 0:07:07.200 --> 0:07:09.240 how to do that. And I kept telling him, Look, 0:07:09.279 --> 0:07:11.080 we don't need to run into a brick wall on 0:07:11.120 --> 0:07:14.000 the all day long. You know, Walter Walter was a 0:07:14.000 --> 0:07:15.680 hell of a receiver too. We could have used him 0:07:15.680 --> 0:07:17.440 a lot more out of the backfield, which I tried 0:07:17.720 --> 0:07:20.720 wanted to do for years. But we finally started getting 0:07:20.720 --> 0:07:22.800 into that about eighty four and eighty five, and then 0:07:22.800 --> 0:07:24.880 things started rolling. When you look at that, when you 0:07:24.880 --> 0:07:30.200 look at that picture, is that a promotion picture? Because 0:07:30.840 --> 0:07:32.920 you look like a little kid that's trying on one 0:07:32.960 --> 0:07:35.360 of those tops uniforms that you used to buy all 0:07:35.400 --> 0:07:37.640 in one package. Yeah, it looks like I was a 0:07:37.640 --> 0:07:40.600 fan just getting a picture right there. Yeah, I was. 0:07:40.680 --> 0:07:44.760 I was pretty young. They're bad haircutting everything. But yeah, 0:07:44.800 --> 0:07:47.040 that was that was interesting. Golf carts back then. That's 0:07:47.040 --> 0:07:51.200 pretty sweet. Well, Mitch, Mitch probably didn't have a guy 0:07:51.240 --> 0:07:53.440 when he got drafted tell him that he was too small, 0:07:53.480 --> 0:07:56.000 that he should go to Canada. That's what mister Hollis 0:07:56.000 --> 0:07:58.080 told me. That the weird part of it though, because 0:07:58.360 --> 0:08:00.960 they bring you in, they show your loving they tell you, well, 0:08:01.000 --> 0:08:04.400 you know, you're not exactly what we'd like you to 0:08:04.480 --> 0:08:08.000 be at the quarterback position. But you know, that had 0:08:08.000 --> 0:08:11.000 to be tough to hear. I couldn't hear words you 0:08:11.040 --> 0:08:13.600 just said. All right, I said, it had to be 0:08:13.640 --> 0:08:16.560 pretty tough to hear that right from Oh yeah, I 0:08:16.600 --> 0:08:18.720 mean I just I was just drafted the fifth player 0:08:18.760 --> 0:08:21.480 and taking in the first round. And then I get 0:08:21.480 --> 0:08:26.120 here to Chicago four hours later and I got out 0:08:26.120 --> 0:08:27.720 of a limo with a beer that kind of caused 0:08:27.720 --> 0:08:31.800 a stink, but um, you know, yeah, I waited for 0:08:31.840 --> 0:08:34.040 mister Alice for about an hour and then he finally 0:08:34.160 --> 0:08:36.000 I finally got to meet him, and he the first 0:08:36.000 --> 0:08:39.200 thing he said was you're you're too small. You don't 0:08:39.240 --> 0:08:41.640 see very well. You got a bad arm. He said, 0:08:41.640 --> 0:08:44.480 maybe you should go to Canada, and I said, well, 0:08:44.480 --> 0:08:46.360 why the hell did you draft me? Old guy? You know, 0:08:47.320 --> 0:08:50.120 I said, who's in her scouting department? And so they were. 0:08:50.160 --> 0:08:52.480 They were knocking me down from day one. So it 0:08:52.520 --> 0:08:53.920 wasn't it wasn't a whole lot of fun that in 0:08:54.000 --> 0:08:59.199 that first meeting. But the history you put together was significant. 0:08:59.240 --> 0:09:03.000 So what you did and and I think the underrated 0:09:03.040 --> 0:09:06.480 aspect of you is the fact that you are a winner. 0:09:06.640 --> 0:09:12.480 You your emotions on the field told that story right. Oh, 0:09:12.520 --> 0:09:14.720 this this is an emotional game. You gotta play the 0:09:14.760 --> 0:09:16.959 game with with a lot of passion, a lot of fire. 0:09:17.080 --> 0:09:20.120 And uh, I've always had that, you know, when I'm competing, 0:09:20.600 --> 0:09:22.400 I feel that I'm the best and then and I'm 0:09:22.400 --> 0:09:24.040 gonna you know, I'm gonna prove it to you one 0:09:24.040 --> 0:09:26.600 way or the other. So and that's that's the way 0:09:26.600 --> 0:09:28.599 I played my whole career. And here's how he did it, 0:09:28.679 --> 0:09:37.240 ladies and gentlemen, right here, Jim McMahon. The biking game 0:09:37.320 --> 0:09:42.160 is the one that everybody talks about. Oh, that's the 0:09:42.240 --> 0:09:45.640 championship game there. Huh yeah, that's the NFC Championship against 0:09:46.120 --> 0:09:48.480 the Rams. Obviously, that's what I used to could run 0:09:48.760 --> 0:09:51.760 is that when you got your butt bruise on that No, 0:09:52.000 --> 0:09:58.559 that was later in the game. You know, Jim, there 0:09:58.559 --> 0:10:02.800 are many men any pictures of you with Walter, just 0:10:02.880 --> 0:10:05.800 the two of you, and you always got your arm 0:10:05.840 --> 0:10:08.400 around him. You're whispering something there. I found a bunch 0:10:08.400 --> 0:10:11.720 of these during the course of his research. Could you 0:10:11.760 --> 0:10:15.679 explain your relationship with Walter on the field and off 0:10:15.720 --> 0:10:18.319 the field. He was a great teammate. You know, he 0:10:18.880 --> 0:10:21.160 did his job. He never said a word, never said 0:10:21.240 --> 0:10:25.160 give me the ball. He told me my first start 0:10:25.160 --> 0:10:27.800 in my rookie year. I changed the play early in 0:10:27.840 --> 0:10:30.520 the game that hadn't It wasn't in the game plan 0:10:30.600 --> 0:10:32.200 that week. But it's a play that you run a 0:10:32.280 --> 0:10:34.920 thousand times in training camp. You should know the play 0:10:35.640 --> 0:10:37.319 because I got up there. It was third and I 0:10:37.360 --> 0:10:39.040 think it was third and nine, and everybody knows we're 0:10:39.040 --> 0:10:41.520 gonna run sweep with Walter on third and long. So 0:10:41.880 --> 0:10:43.720 they had nine guys on this side of the field, 0:10:44.040 --> 0:10:46.920 and I just changed it to a simple off tackle 0:10:46.960 --> 0:10:50.200 play to the other side. And my left guard grabbed 0:10:50.200 --> 0:10:52.040 me after the play and said, you got any more 0:10:52.080 --> 0:10:54.920 surprises for me? This isn't even a game plan. I said, well, 0:10:55.200 --> 0:10:57.120 just keep your ears open because I'm not running into 0:10:57.160 --> 0:10:59.760 a brick wall. And Walter grabbed me right after that 0:11:00.000 --> 0:11:02.160 to keep doing what you're doing. He said, you're making 0:11:02.240 --> 0:11:03.600 us better. And he goes, I don't want to run 0:11:03.600 --> 0:11:06.160 into that either, So I guess he wasn't used to guys, 0:11:06.640 --> 0:11:10.000 you know, changing plays and and and rather than run 0:11:10.000 --> 0:11:11.559 into a brick we're all run the other way. It's 0:11:11.559 --> 0:11:15.320 not that difficult to do. All quarterbacks have that urge 0:11:15.800 --> 0:11:19.120 a little bit or maybe you're not there yet. Yeah, 0:11:19.200 --> 0:11:21.200 I don't think I'm there yet. I'm not gonna change 0:11:21.240 --> 0:11:26.000 Coach Nage's plays. Um he calls. He calls pretty good plays, 0:11:26.040 --> 0:11:29.360 and uh, Coachnege thinks exactly like I think me and 0:11:29.440 --> 0:11:31.839 Jim do you think you think like a quarterback? If 0:11:31.840 --> 0:11:33.559 there's nine guys on the left side, you gonta run 0:11:33.559 --> 0:11:35.520 the ball over there? You you go where the defense 0:11:35.520 --> 0:11:38.880 and you take what the defenses give you. Um, where 0:11:38.880 --> 0:11:41.920 it's open, you check it down, take a shot when 0:11:41.960 --> 0:11:43.959 you can, but take what the defense gives you and 0:11:44.160 --> 0:11:47.480 try to keep him off balance and uh, keep him guessing. 0:11:48.160 --> 0:11:51.080 Match in the highlight. You just saw McMahon the Super 0:11:51.120 --> 0:11:54.240 Bowl the first play to start the second half. Jim 0:11:54.280 --> 0:11:56.200 came into the huddle and said, look at you guys, 0:11:56.440 --> 0:11:58.559 if you show me a good run fate, this is 0:11:58.600 --> 0:12:01.040 gonna be a big play. And you saw the result. 0:12:01.080 --> 0:12:03.760 It was a big play to Willie Golf. Now you 0:12:03.880 --> 0:12:05.640 go to the line of scrimmage, you got more than 0:12:05.679 --> 0:12:11.080 one play call. Is that predictability happen for you or 0:12:11.400 --> 0:12:14.920 is it more predictability according to what the defense shows you? 0:12:17.320 --> 0:12:19.480 I think it's more what the defense shows us. We 0:12:19.559 --> 0:12:21.920 have a lot of options within each play that we 0:12:22.000 --> 0:12:23.319 go to a line of scrimmage and we have a 0:12:23.400 --> 0:12:27.320 bass play, but it could change a route, protection and 0:12:27.520 --> 0:12:29.480 scheme based on what the defense has showing us. And 0:12:29.520 --> 0:12:31.199 we have a quick quick adjustment that the line of 0:12:31.200 --> 0:12:33.400 scrimmage that what they give us, and we go into 0:12:33.400 --> 0:12:34.960 a play and then they show us something else. Then 0:12:35.000 --> 0:12:36.840 we change it really quick and we say, okay, this 0:12:36.920 --> 0:12:38.720 is gonna work based on what the defense has given us. 0:12:38.760 --> 0:12:42.000 We just change it, roll with it and execute it, 0:12:42.040 --> 0:12:45.880 and everyone does our jobs and then we're clicking. Mitch 0:12:46.720 --> 0:12:51.719 the moment you got drafted, explain to everybody how you 0:12:51.880 --> 0:12:56.200 felt the circumstances surround it, and just the whole process 0:12:56.280 --> 0:12:59.480 of the recruitment of Mitch Traubiski by Ryan Pace and 0:12:59.480 --> 0:13:01.760 his staff. Yeah, it was crazy. I actually got a 0:13:01.760 --> 0:13:04.720 pretty good story. I gotta thank Jim for helping me 0:13:04.760 --> 0:13:08.320 get to Chicago. So throughout the draft process, I was 0:13:08.400 --> 0:13:11.000 meeting with um different teams. I didn't know who's gonna 0:13:11.080 --> 0:13:15.080 draft me, obviously, and the Chicago Bears came to North 0:13:15.120 --> 0:13:18.600 Carolina and we kind of had a secret dinner because 0:13:18.640 --> 0:13:20.600 they didn't want anybody to know that they were interested 0:13:20.600 --> 0:13:22.600 in picking me. I had no idea they were interested. 0:13:23.200 --> 0:13:25.760 So we we go out to dinner with the coaches, 0:13:25.920 --> 0:13:28.840 Ryan Pace and the staff, and uh, I made a 0:13:28.880 --> 0:13:32.120 dinner reservation at one of the nice restaurants in Chapel Hill, 0:13:32.640 --> 0:13:36.960 and I made the reservation under James McMahon, the last 0:13:36.960 --> 0:13:43.240 Super Bowl quarterback for Chicago Bears. And so I think 0:13:43.640 --> 0:13:46.720 Ryan Pace and the staff they really liked that. I 0:13:46.760 --> 0:13:50.480 know I did. And and uh, oh, coach Dico, what's up? 0:13:50.480 --> 0:13:56.640 What are you doing? You should have let Jim throw 0:13:56.679 --> 0:14:02.280 the ball more? And am right. So yeah, I had 0:14:02.280 --> 0:14:04.280 to thank Jim for that. And that was one of 0:14:04.280 --> 0:14:06.040 the cool stories that I got that I used his 0:14:06.120 --> 0:14:08.800 name as a reservation and uh, it just so happened 0:14:08.800 --> 0:14:10.680 I get to play for the same franchise that he did, 0:14:10.720 --> 0:14:14.040 and I just know when I got picked. The draft 0:14:14.120 --> 0:14:17.040 was in Philadelphia and it was like it was kind 0:14:17.040 --> 0:14:19.000 of a whirldwind because the team forgot to call me 0:14:19.760 --> 0:14:22.240 and I just heard my name, Roger Goodellson, my name 0:14:22.360 --> 0:14:24.000 was on stage, and it was just I knew it 0:14:24.040 --> 0:14:27.600 was a dream come true. And I just I really 0:14:27.680 --> 0:14:29.480 knew it. I was in the right spot and in 0:14:29.640 --> 0:14:38.200 Chicago has really been home since that moment. It's vitally 0:14:38.280 --> 0:14:40.840 important for a player to feel at home because you 0:14:40.880 --> 0:14:42.920 don't know where you're gonna go. You really don't. You 0:14:43.000 --> 0:14:45.160 want to go certain places, I'm sure in your mind's 0:14:45.160 --> 0:14:47.840 eye and then your heart of hearts and Jim you 0:14:47.880 --> 0:14:50.600 may have felt the same way. But it has to 0:14:50.720 --> 0:14:55.160 feel right for you to thrive. And as we said 0:14:55.240 --> 0:14:58.680 last night, you came in at a time when they 0:14:58.720 --> 0:15:02.640 needed some a new quote of paint they needed. It's 0:15:02.800 --> 0:15:05.920 it's a brand new transition. It's a ground floor and 0:15:05.960 --> 0:15:09.280 you're building from there. Yeah. Absolutely, you come into an 0:15:09.360 --> 0:15:11.720 organization and me coming out of college, I only had 0:15:11.760 --> 0:15:13.920 one mindset that we were gonna win I didn't know when, 0:15:14.000 --> 0:15:15.440 but I knew at one point we were going to 0:15:15.640 --> 0:15:19.480 be successful. We're gonna thrive being here in Chicago playing 0:15:19.480 --> 0:15:22.000 for the Bears, and that was the like in my mind, 0:15:22.040 --> 0:15:24.880 that was the only option. And at first it wasn't happening. 0:15:24.920 --> 0:15:27.840 We were struggling a little bit, going through some adversity, 0:15:27.880 --> 0:15:30.040 and you know that's gonna happen. But you just have 0:15:30.160 --> 0:15:34.600 that mindset that this adversity, these losing games, it's not 0:15:34.640 --> 0:15:39.880 gonna last. Hard work, dedication, and perseverances are the things 0:15:39.880 --> 0:15:42.920 that get you through that. And a year later, we 0:15:43.120 --> 0:15:45.640 we we flipped the script and we start winning games. 0:15:46.280 --> 0:15:47.880 Had a pretty good season and we're just trying to 0:15:47.920 --> 0:15:49.960 build off that going forward. But you just got to 0:15:50.000 --> 0:15:52.360 continue to have that mindset that you're gonna come in 0:15:52.440 --> 0:15:55.600 here and thrive and get the Chicago Bears organization back 0:15:55.640 --> 0:15:57.840 to where it needs to be in that's winning football games. 0:15:57.920 --> 0:16:02.040 I've said this many times Jim and Tie Mitch last 0:16:02.120 --> 0:16:04.840 year and I always refer to this, but he did 0:16:04.840 --> 0:16:08.040 an interview with a gentleman before the season, before training 0:16:08.040 --> 0:16:11.480 camp started, and he basically set the tone for the 0:16:11.640 --> 0:16:16.800 entire season. It was a very convicted passionate explanation of 0:16:16.880 --> 0:16:20.000 what he envisions for the Chicago Bears. He didn't say 0:16:20.000 --> 0:16:22.920 it was gonna happen in twenty eighteen, but it certainly 0:16:23.480 --> 0:16:25.600 was a big step in that direction with a twelve 0:16:25.600 --> 0:16:29.600 points season in the playoffs. But he sees that picture 0:16:29.720 --> 0:16:33.320 right there. I found this picture to be quite revealing 0:16:33.880 --> 0:16:36.360 because it's the super Bowl trophy that those two guys 0:16:36.360 --> 0:16:40.040 helped win, and it's like you're peering into the future there. 0:16:40.600 --> 0:16:43.440 It's what you want, It's what every player wants. Is 0:16:43.440 --> 0:16:45.960 that what you're feeling right there when you walk in 0:16:46.320 --> 0:16:49.360 as a brand new draft pick looking at that, Yeah, 0:16:49.440 --> 0:16:51.800 it's pretty surreal looking at that. You walk into the 0:16:51.800 --> 0:16:56.960 Bears facility and you see all the history and you 0:16:57.000 --> 0:16:58.640 just feel very lucky to be a part of it. 0:16:58.760 --> 0:17:01.280 And looking at that trophy, I mean, that's what every 0:17:01.360 --> 0:17:07.080 kid dreams of. And just me being goal oriented and 0:17:07.520 --> 0:17:11.359 shooting as high as possible, you think attaining that is 0:17:11.400 --> 0:17:15.040 definitely it's within reachs if we just continue to work, 0:17:15.119 --> 0:17:17.080 continue stick to the plan, believing each other, and just 0:17:17.160 --> 0:17:19.720 keep working. But that's the goal that we're going after 0:17:19.720 --> 0:17:22.160 this year. And the other cool thing about the picture 0:17:22.200 --> 0:17:25.160 I think is the quote in the back from George Hollis, 0:17:25.240 --> 0:17:27.960 nobody who ever gave his best regretted it. And I 0:17:28.000 --> 0:17:30.040 think if you do that and any aspect of life, 0:17:30.040 --> 0:17:32.800 whatever you do, do with everything you possibly have, and 0:17:33.240 --> 0:17:35.040 you won't have any regrets. So that's what we're doing. 0:17:35.080 --> 0:17:37.520 And I think if you do that, then you get 0:17:37.520 --> 0:17:40.119 a little closer to that trophy. You know, Hey, Jim, 0:17:40.359 --> 0:17:43.000 we see that picture of Mitch. We saw that picture 0:17:43.040 --> 0:17:45.680 of you sitting with Allie and Dick. You guys both 0:17:45.720 --> 0:17:48.720 up like you're eleven years old. How do you get 0:17:48.800 --> 0:17:52.000 the patience between when you get drafted in your first 0:17:52.040 --> 0:17:55.160 start and do you do you guys both remember your 0:17:55.200 --> 0:17:57.879 first start, because I think anybody that gets drafted in 0:17:57.920 --> 0:18:00.560 the NFL, I'm drafted here to be a start or 0:18:00.600 --> 0:18:03.800 I'm gonna be a leader. What took that time in 0:18:03.840 --> 0:18:06.920 between you and your first start? Well, like I said, 0:18:07.400 --> 0:18:10.159 like I said earlier, I didn't have the you know, 0:18:10.280 --> 0:18:13.040 Hall of famers in front of me, so I felt 0:18:13.040 --> 0:18:15.640 that I should be playing right away. But after going 0:18:15.640 --> 0:18:18.640 through training camp, I wasn't ready week one. I knew that, 0:18:18.720 --> 0:18:22.240 and the coach, Dicka knew that. I believe Bob Babbolini 0:18:22.320 --> 0:18:25.280 started the first game. I think Vince Evans started the 0:18:25.320 --> 0:18:28.240 second game, and I started the second half of the 0:18:28.280 --> 0:18:30.960 second game. And then my first start was against the 0:18:31.000 --> 0:18:34.919 Detroit Lions, and that's something I'll never forget. We had 0:18:34.960 --> 0:18:36.080 to go I think we had to go to the 0:18:36.160 --> 0:18:38.840 length of the field to kick a field goal to 0:18:38.840 --> 0:18:41.440 win that game. But we did win it. But my 0:18:41.480 --> 0:18:43.840 first I think the first throw I'd had was I 0:18:43.920 --> 0:18:46.560 threw a pick six to the strong safety. So I 0:18:46.600 --> 0:18:49.679 didn't have a real good start, but Dicka stayed with me, 0:18:49.720 --> 0:18:51.879 and I think he knew that he knew that I 0:18:51.960 --> 0:18:54.520 knew what I was doing, or I wish he would 0:18:54.560 --> 0:18:56.360 have told me that, because he thought I was doing 0:18:56.359 --> 0:18:58.440 everything to make him mad. But I think he finally 0:18:58.520 --> 0:19:01.119 understood I got the game. I mean, coming from the 0:19:01.160 --> 0:19:03.320 office that I came to fuming college. I mean, I 0:19:03.359 --> 0:19:05.320 was so used to seeing pretty much anything on the 0:19:05.320 --> 0:19:07.560 defensive side of the ball, so nothing really surprised me 0:19:07.600 --> 0:19:10.639 in the pros, and I think he finally realized that 0:19:10.680 --> 0:19:13.679 I actually didn't know what I was doing. Mitch, how 0:19:13.720 --> 0:19:16.800 about you in between getting here in your first start, 0:19:16.960 --> 0:19:20.080 impatient or was it the time that you needed to 0:19:20.119 --> 0:19:23.920 grow I mean, I think as a competitor, I wanted 0:19:23.920 --> 0:19:26.280 to start from day one, but I believe I started 0:19:26.280 --> 0:19:29.719 a week five against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night football, 0:19:29.760 --> 0:19:32.000 which is a very memorable start. I mean, as a kid, 0:19:32.560 --> 0:19:34.639 you dreamed to play on Monday night football, and to 0:19:34.680 --> 0:19:37.720 go against the Minnesota Vikings at home at Soldier Field 0:19:37.800 --> 0:19:43.400 was absolutely incredible. We came up short, but I threw 0:19:43.440 --> 0:19:47.679 my first touchdown a tipped pass to Zach Miller, so 0:19:47.760 --> 0:19:51.720 that worked out. But I think it was a little 0:19:51.720 --> 0:19:54.280 tougher for my development coming in because I mean, all 0:19:54.280 --> 0:19:57.120 through a training camp and even leading up to that week, 0:19:57.119 --> 0:20:01.200 I was taking reps with a third and second team, 0:20:01.240 --> 0:20:03.560 just preparing leading up to that point, and all of 0:20:03.600 --> 0:20:06.200 a sudden, for the first time, I'm about to play 0:20:06.200 --> 0:20:09.159 a game with the starters, and the first time I'm 0:20:09.200 --> 0:20:12.879 getting reps with them was that week. So I thought 0:20:13.160 --> 0:20:15.760 it could have helped just getting reps with them more 0:20:15.840 --> 0:20:19.919 early on from the beginning. But the more reps, I 0:20:19.920 --> 0:20:21.680 feel like I get better, which each and every single 0:20:21.720 --> 0:20:24.000 rep coming in the game, coming in practice, and being 0:20:24.000 --> 0:20:26.679 out there going against the starters, especially going against our defense. 0:20:26.720 --> 0:20:29.200 They just prepare so well weekend and week out, and 0:20:29.760 --> 0:20:33.200 it's it's a continual journey just trying to keep him better. 0:20:33.440 --> 0:20:36.040 You know, there's nothing can be as more humbling as 0:20:36.119 --> 0:20:39.320