Speaker 1: Cut open that Dj Moore episode Touchdown Touchdown Pair. I
Speaker 1: am Jeff joniaclitz Is on dot ee co U.
Speaker 2: What was like playing for coache Gooddom.
Speaker 3: I don't want to answer any questions like that pressure
Speaker 3: coming is a big trouble.
Speaker 1: Dot cos motes Sweat Yes.
Speaker 3: Bears et Cetera brought to you by Miller Lte with
Speaker 3: the voices of the Bears, Jeff Joniac and Tom Thayer.
Speaker 1: Well, we had quite a show at Soldier Field on Saturday,
Speaker 1: the home opener of the twenty twenty four season.
Speaker 4: Preseason style.
Speaker 1: The only home game is that You're ready out of
Speaker 1: move into Kansas City on Thursday night. I'm Jeff Joniac
Speaker 1: with Super Bowl winning Bears guard Tom Thayer and this
Speaker 1: is the Bears et Cetera Podcast number eighty six. The
Speaker 1: episode is brought to you by Miller ESPN analyst. Former
Speaker 1: glen Bard West High School football star, University of Iowa safety.
Speaker 4: His name is Matt bow.
Speaker 1: He played for the Saint Louis Rams, he played for
Speaker 1: the Packers, he played for Washington, ended his career with Buffalo,
Speaker 1: and now he coaches at Icy Catholic Prep as well
Speaker 1: and has four kids. He's a busy man, always with
Speaker 1: a smile on his face and one of the best
Speaker 1: analysts out there to talk football. We're gonna break down
Speaker 1: some of what happened in the game against the Bengals
Speaker 1: at Soldier Field. First, Tommy, how you feeling, buddy, Oh.
Speaker 5: I'm feeling good. Ready to go, Excited to have Matt.
Speaker 3: It's always interesting to talk to a football expert, analyst
Speaker 3: to just see what he sees in the NFL and
Speaker 3: with the Bears.
Speaker 4: Well, one thing I forgot about Matt. Matt, he played
Speaker 4: safety in the NFL.
Speaker 1: But you were also recruited to Iowa potentially as a quarterback.
Speaker 4: Correct I was.
Speaker 6: I wanted to be the next Chuck Long. That was
Speaker 6: my dream, next Chuck Long in Iowa. Well, Chuck played
Speaker 6: at week North. The funny thing about that is two
Speaker 6: years later, Chuck ends up being my defensive.
Speaker 2: Back coach at the University of iowad wow so.
Speaker 6: And it's funny how things work. But I went there
Speaker 6: as a quarterback. I played my first year on the
Speaker 6: scout team red shirt under Hayden Fry, and I got
Speaker 6: hit like you wouldn't believe.
Speaker 2: So Coach Fry when he had a red jersey and
Speaker 2: this is nineteen ninety five. That did not matter.
Speaker 6: And starting defense, you know, because you understand, guys, back then,
Speaker 6: teams are still running the triple options. I'd be the
Speaker 6: triple option scout team quarterback. And like we were preparing
Speaker 6: for Iowa State that week, and I pitched the ball
Speaker 6: three seconds later, I'd be on the ground. Okay, there
Speaker 6: was no protection back then. So I played my first
Speaker 6: year in the scout team. And then we were going
Speaker 6: down to l Passo to play Washington in the Sun Bowl.
Speaker 6: And I went into Chuck Long's office and I said, coach,
Speaker 6: what do you think about me playing quarterback? He said,
Speaker 6: do you want to play on Sundays meaning the National
Speaker 6: Football They said, yes, I do. He goes, it's not
Speaker 6: going to happen a quarterback. Come play defensive back for me.
Speaker 6: And then I switched over to defensive back, played behind
Speaker 6: two NFL guys, Damian Robinson, Kerry Cooks. I tell the kids,
Speaker 6: I coach, now, look, I had to wait. I had
Speaker 6: to wait three years post high school to really play.
Speaker 6: You know, red shirt played on special teams, the red
Speaker 6: shirt fresh and my sophomore year in Iowa, I was,
Speaker 6: you know, the sub package that dime safety. But you know,
Speaker 6: back then, there wasn't many You weren't in subpackage a
Speaker 6: lot of the times, right, you still had pro personnel.
Speaker 6: It wasn't wide open until Drew Brees got to produce.
Speaker 6: So I had to wait my time. But it was
Speaker 6: the best thing that happened to me. I'd tell young
Speaker 6: kids all time, the best thing that happened to me
Speaker 6: in college was to develop the right way to take
Speaker 6: the proper time in the weight room, to build my body,
Speaker 6: to build my football intelligence, learn how to watch tape,
Speaker 6: and then be finally prepared physically and mentally to go
Speaker 6: play Big ten football.
Speaker 5: Hey, Matt, real quick before Jeff jumps back in.
Speaker 3: So back when I started college, we had freshman games.
Speaker 3: I don't know, did you come from the ear where
Speaker 3: you had freshman games or was that? Are we on
Speaker 3: two different age levels?
Speaker 6: No, I mean we didn't have freshman games time. But
Speaker 6: on Fridays we would were called hawk hitters. Okay, so
Speaker 6: that was like the freshmen gat the red shirt guys
Speaker 6: would play, you know when you got cold out inside
Speaker 6: the bubble and there was like no rules. It was
Speaker 6: like the wild West. I mean there was no reps.
Speaker 6: I mean quarterbacks are live and it was it was
Speaker 6: out of control. But yet my fallal in law played
Speaker 6: to u of I played with buckets at yu EVA
Speaker 6: and he always tells me that when they had their
Speaker 6: freshman games back then and he played in the roles.
Speaker 6: Weall know what year that was with buckets. But yeah,
Speaker 6: you told me about the freshman games as well.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we played like Wisconsin, We played Michigan State, you know,
Speaker 3: freshmen teams that we would travel and they would travel,
Speaker 3: and it was you know, it was our first exposure
Speaker 3: into a real four quarter gameplay before we eventually made
Speaker 3: it up to the varsity line.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that was my question if you played other teams
Speaker 1: as opposed to intersquad, so it was not inter squad.
Speaker 5: Not for us.
Speaker 3: We are kind of fortunate to play teams that were
Speaker 3: in close enough proximity that we could either drive to
Speaker 3: or they could drive to. And it was a great
Speaker 3: experience actually, and our families got to come and watch them,
Speaker 3: and it wasn't something they charged for. It was like
Speaker 3: they let the student body in free and it was
Speaker 3: kind of fun.
Speaker 1: What were you playing then, because you started out, didn't
Speaker 1: you play some tight end as well?
Speaker 4: Our defense?
Speaker 3: No, I was My first varsity action I ever got
Speaker 3: was at full back, and then I started playing defensive line.
Speaker 3: But in the freshman games, I was playing offensive guard.
Speaker 4: So but you were a fullback.
Speaker 3: Well, so this is what happened my fresh my freshman
Speaker 3: year against USC. We put in a formation where where
Speaker 3: we had myself as an offensive lineman in Todd Brouney,
Speaker 3: who was also an offensive guard who played out at
Speaker 3: Marion Catholic, and they put us in a double full
Speaker 3: back halfback formation and we had linebacker responsibilities.
Speaker 5: And that's the play that was the.
Speaker 3: First time I ever entered UH major college game was
Speaker 3: against USC, and I blocked Chip Banks and uh it
Speaker 3: was It was the kid need introduction to the major
Speaker 3: college football.
Speaker 1: Jip Banks a outstanding Cleveland Browns outside linebacker, very very
Speaker 1: good player. Do you remember your first snap in a
Speaker 1: Big Ten game?
Speaker 2: Met I do.
Speaker 6: It was my freshman year. It was late in the game.
Speaker 6: We were playing Northwestern at home. I remember that, you know,
Speaker 6: because I played. I mean I remember the special team
Speaker 6: stamps for the first snap of defense. Really, it was
Speaker 6: my fresh year against Northwestern Freezing at Kentnick Stadium. I
Speaker 6: did not do very well. I'll tell you that I
Speaker 6: was all over And I tell you again, I always
Speaker 6: go back to coaching the high school kids. But you
Speaker 6: can't really prepare for it, right because all of a sudden,
Speaker 6: your heart rate elevates, like you just can't control it.
Speaker 6: You're so excited, so nervous, and you're like, Okay, where
Speaker 6: are my eyes supposed to be? Who am I supposed
Speaker 6: to be reading? And all of a sudden, I'm taking
Speaker 6: fall steps. I'm all over the place. So it takes time,
Speaker 6: you know, just like the I remember my first snap.
Speaker 6: This is a good story. So my first nap in
Speaker 6: the NFL preseason game against the Raiders at the Dome
Speaker 6: in Saint Louis.
Speaker 2: First kickoff of the preseason, right, and I.
Speaker 6: Go flying down that I make the tackle at the
Speaker 6: fifteen and you know, I chopped this guy at the
Speaker 6: thigh boards. I'm getting up Malk's side. I run back
Speaker 6: to the sideline. I go all you guys got to
Speaker 6: go again, go again. There's a penalty. I'm like, on
Speaker 6: who like it was on you. You were five yards outside.
Speaker 6: We paused the tape in the meeting room on Monday
Speaker 6: morning or Monday afternoon.
Speaker 2: We got back and I mean I was literally four
Speaker 2: and a half five yards off side. I don't, but
Speaker 2: I'll tell you what I mean. It helped. Coaches loved it,
Speaker 2: and coaches loved to hit. So I'll take it.
Speaker 4: Tom. Your first NFL snap, you remember it.
Speaker 3: Outside of kickoff return? It was in against the Minnesota Vikings.
Speaker 3: And you know, I think everybody has when you're in
Speaker 3: a backup role. Coach Stanfeld came up to me and said, hey,
Speaker 3: Becker tweaked his knee.
Speaker 2: You're in.
Speaker 3: And so I went in and I had My first
Speaker 3: snap was against Scott Studwell for the linebacker for the
Speaker 3: Minnesota Vikings, and we ran a play to the left
Speaker 3: and I had to take a hard angle to cut
Speaker 3: him off. And I think the first play I was
Speaker 3: in there, I cut him. The blossom the great friends, Yeah.
Speaker 4: You guys.
Speaker 1: You guys are still friends. You guys are still friends
Speaker 1: every time you see him. This Bears, Etc. Podcast is
Speaker 1: brought to you by Miller Lite Tastes like Miller Time,
Speaker 1: Celebrate Responsibly Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Ninety six calories
Speaker 1: and three point two cars per twelve ounces. For a
Speaker 1: guy who never would have ever dreamed of having a
Speaker 1: shot taking an NFL snapped these little stories I always
Speaker 1: get a kick out of, and I never know when
Speaker 1: they're gonna pop up. So thanks few thanks for allowing
Speaker 1: me to go down that path. Gentlemen, all right, Matt,
Speaker 1: let's dig in. I know Tom's gotten through the tape
Speaker 1: probably ten times already, because that's what he does, and
Speaker 1: you do as well. Caleb's a big story right now.
Speaker 1: He's splattered all over the networks here this morning, on ESPN,
Speaker 1: on NFL Network, a lot of people writing about him,
Speaker 1: a lot of people are putting a picture on him
Speaker 1: on X next to Patrick Mahomes. And that's what makes
Speaker 1: me crazy. I want him to be Caleb Williams. I
Speaker 1: don't want him to be Patrick Mahomes or Aaron Rodgers
Speaker 1: anybody else. But he certainly has those traits, does he not?
Speaker 2: Yeah, he has undeniable talent. I remember writing that one.
Speaker 6: I watched his college tap at USC. I always use
Speaker 6: the term uncoachable traits. He has a lot of that
Speaker 6: and stuff that if I'm in a position coach, I
Speaker 6: can't really teach. I can teach footwork to drop, the mechanics,
Speaker 6: where to put your eyes, release point, but the stuff
Speaker 6: he does outside of structure I think that's what we're
Speaker 6: really getting at here, especially last week in Cincinnati in
Speaker 6: that final drive of the first half, making those plays,
Speaker 6: even the play that didn't count on the past to
Speaker 6: dudes Indienzeo, and that was an absolute laser off platform
Speaker 6: working into the boundary. Okay, as a player, I wouldn't
Speaker 6: even have the confidence to make that throw, right. That's
Speaker 6: another thing about this guy. It's the confidence level he has.
Speaker 6: Such a young player that I can make these type
Speaker 6: of throws.
Speaker 2: I think the.
Speaker 6: Biggest developmental arc for him will be playing on time
Speaker 6: in the national football it's every young quarterback, right, can
Speaker 6: you play time? Can you throw with rhythm? And I
Speaker 6: think there's ways that Shane Walton, Bear's new offensive coordinator,
Speaker 6: can script that for him, whether it's off of play action,
Speaker 6: a lot of movement Tom. You know, they've seen a
Speaker 6: lot of movement passes in the first two weeks, meaning
Speaker 6: a lot of boot, a lot of flash and getting
Speaker 6: into the edge of the formation which kind of cuts
Speaker 6: the field in the half form and gives them defined reads,
Speaker 6: you know, a level read underneath option or a cross
Speaker 6: or coming over the top. And I think that will
Speaker 6: be the next progression for him. But right now what
Speaker 6: you're seeing, there's a reason he went Number one is
Speaker 6: the reason that people in Chicago should be accepted because
Speaker 6: he can make plays when things go south, and that's
Speaker 6: a tool that is important in addition to the poison,
Speaker 6: In addition to the mechanics and all the stuff we
Speaker 6: talk about the quarterback position being able to create when
Speaker 6: you have to make a play that elevates people at
Speaker 6: the position, and he has those tools.
Speaker 5: You know, Matt.
Speaker 3: One thing that I think the team's going to have
Speaker 3: to pay attention to, especially Chris Morgan, the offensive line coach.
Speaker 3: When I go back and watch a tape, it's teaching
Speaker 3: pass protection to the offensive line because you're not always guaranteed,
Speaker 3: even though you're calling a specific directed protection that the
Speaker 3: quarterback is going to be there. Now, you got to
Speaker 3: start telling these guys, look, you got to play to
Speaker 3: the whistle because you may think that he's to your
Speaker 3: outside shoulder, but he's.
Speaker 5: Already scrambling right.
Speaker 3: And I think that's going to be interesting to see
Speaker 3: the progress of the Shane Walder and Chris Morgan coaching
Speaker 3: time frames that are directly related to the way Caleb
Speaker 3: sees things.
Speaker 6: No, I agree with that and to your point, Tom,
Speaker 6: that's going to be a progression, that's going to be
Speaker 6: something that it has to be developed, and you really
Speaker 6: need live game reps for that, right Tom, It's one
Speaker 6: thing to do in practice. We all know that. That's
Speaker 6: why I like that he's playing. And I wanted to
Speaker 6: mention that because there's a lot of coaches around the
Speaker 6: league that sit their starters right for all of August.
Speaker 2: There's one coacher doesn't.
Speaker 6: That's Andy Reid and Philip in KMPA City and any
Speaker 6: Reads won a lot of football games. Patrior Maholls won
Speaker 6: a lot of football games. The Super Bowl titles and
Speaker 6: nurse are after playing. So I like the fact that
Speaker 6: Caleb Williams got extra reps. Even when some of the
Speaker 6: guys came out this past Saturday, DJ Moore is out
Speaker 6: of the football game, He's still out there playing because
Speaker 6: he needs those reps.
Speaker 2: He needs to work with.
Speaker 6: Him starting offensive line, with some of the backups too,
Speaker 6: because Tom, as we know about the course of the season,
Speaker 6: there's gonna be guys to get banged up and the
Speaker 6: backups are going to play.
Speaker 2: But that is a progression, Mark right there, that will.
Speaker 6: Probably take and you would know better but I'm just
Speaker 6: speculating here the month of September right until everyone is
Speaker 6: comfortable working with his style of play because it is
Speaker 6: so unique because of his creativity.
Speaker 3: You know, I believe that to get together with your
Speaker 3: offensive line, if you have the luxury of having the
Speaker 3: same five guys, you need to have a thousand reps
Speaker 3: behind center in order to get familiar with the cadence.
Speaker 3: All right, let's travel to the defensive side of the ball.
Speaker 3: Now you're a defense you're a new defensive back coach,
Speaker 3: and you're playing against Caleb. What coverages is Caleb going
Speaker 3: to see initially that maybe they disguise the before.
Speaker 5: The snap of the ball.
Speaker 3: What are the coverages that make the most difficult for
Speaker 3: him to read downfield?
Speaker 5: What do you think about that?
Speaker 6: I think he's going to see the picture change quite
Speaker 6: a bit when we get to week one and that first,
Speaker 6: you know, quarter of the season. What I mean by
Speaker 6: that is a lot of late safety rotation. I would
Speaker 6: always start in a quartershell against Caleb, and I wrote
Speaker 6: take the safeties, whether spend one down week, drop one
Speaker 6: as a robber to take away crossers and over outs,
Speaker 6: but really try to make him read the new picture.
Speaker 6: Post snap, and I think he got some of that
Speaker 6: in the Week one preseason game against Buffalo. I think
Speaker 6: Buffalo did a really good job of changing coverages. They
Speaker 6: went from single high to too high. They threw in
Speaker 6: some two man also, and I think that's gonna be
Speaker 6: a progression for him as well as being able to
Speaker 6: read the coverages as quickly as that happened in the
Speaker 6: National Football League, because if I'm playing against a rookie quarterback,
Speaker 6: I'm gonna throw a lot at him, both coverage, both
Speaker 6: pressure missed the fronts to try to make him read
Speaker 6: it out. I I got to gain an advantage somewhere.
Speaker 6: But you also have to be careful because Caleb Williams
Speaker 6: has the mobility we always talk about, the arm tail
Speaker 6: and the throws.
Speaker 2: He can make all platform. He could run the ball too.
Speaker 6: So if you're gonna play two men, if you're gonna
Speaker 6: play man covers and you do not contain him, that
Speaker 6: is a major.
Speaker 2: Issue from a defensive perspective.
Speaker 6: So in the back of my mind is a defensive
Speaker 6: play caller, I'm thinking, why really like two men in
Speaker 6: this situation?
Speaker 2: But if he gets outside, we're in trouble. First out.
Speaker 2: That's plus fifteen.
Speaker 6: That's plus twenty yrs now because he can do so
Speaker 6: much as a runner as well.
Speaker 1: We are also sponsored by Busy Heart Seltzer Flavors for
Speaker 1: every vibe Celebrate Responsibly most Cors Beverage Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Speaker 1: You guys are taking all my questions because I had
Speaker 1: I wanted perspective of an offensive lineman and how they
Speaker 1: have to adjust as time goes on. And that's why
Speaker 1: they like mobility and these guys, Tommy. They want these
Speaker 1: guys to be able to get off the ball, not
Speaker 1: only just to get the second level and be onto
Speaker 1: the run game, get those tackle sweeps, the pulls. They
Speaker 1: want these guys to be athletic enough to be able
Speaker 1: to handle with Caleb Williams and previously Justin Fields delivered
Speaker 1: in terms of their mobility. And then from the safety
Speaker 1: perspective from you, Matt Jones on this roster, who his
Speaker 1: responsibility at UCLA against usc was to spy this particular quarterback,
Speaker 1: Caleb Williams. Can an NFL defense afford a spy on
Speaker 1: Caleb Williams because he does not want to run. He
Speaker 1: can run, and that's the difference. The late eyes all
Speaker 1: the way to the end, of the play. Uh, do
Speaker 1: you waste a defender on that potential mobility impact?
Speaker 6: Well, I'll say this, I've always I've always thought this
Speaker 6: about a spy. It looks great, right, it looks great
Speaker 6: on a chalkboard, looks great. It looks great in Friday practice, right,
Speaker 6: because Friday practice everything works. We used to we try
Speaker 6: to spy one time on Michael Vick. It did not work, okay,
Speaker 6: because he just ran past the guy.
Speaker 3: Right.
Speaker 6: It was we're wasting a number, and that's what you're doing.
Speaker 6: This is the defense where you're giving up a number, right,
Speaker 6: whether it's a rusher or someone encourage to do this.
Speaker 2: Uh.
Speaker 6: I think there's certain situations. I would try it against
Speaker 6: Caleb Williams, but also you have to have something that
Speaker 6: can match him athletically. You have to have something like
Speaker 6: a Rumblinton has a pursuit pursuit speed and the lateral
Speaker 6: agility to cut off the football when he escapes outside
Speaker 6: the pocket. I do think you'll see it at times, Jeff.
Speaker 6: But again, if I'm playing against Kleb Williams, I'm more
Speaker 6: concerned about the rush clogging interior rush lanes, trying to
Speaker 6: force him to stay in the pocket.
Speaker 2: Than putting a spy on him.
Speaker 4: Tom, you agree one hundred percent.
Speaker 3: You know, I think there's certain guys like Matt mentioned
Speaker 3: Mike Vic and I think Lamar Jackson justin fields. I
Speaker 3: think they're unspiable because you're not going to have an
Speaker 3: athlete that's going to be able to match up with
Speaker 3: those guys when you consider what their straight line speed is,
Speaker 3: especially if they know where they want to go before
Speaker 3: the defender does, and if he's respecting the middle of
Speaker 3: the field. But you know, with a guy like Caleb,
Speaker 3: I think guys in I think bodies and coverage will
Speaker 3: play a bigger role early in his career than trying
Speaker 3: to spy him. And you've got to rely on what
Speaker 3: type of pressure you can provide to him.
Speaker 5: You know, Matt.
Speaker 3: Throughout the course of training camp, the Bears play a
Speaker 3: four man line. The teams that they play in the
Speaker 3: preseason play a four man line. Then he's going to
Speaker 3: play against a thirty four defense the first week of
Speaker 3: the season. Do you think that there's anything that's changeable
Speaker 3: in the mind of a young quarterback when he's facing
Speaker 3: the two fronts or is everything offensive line blocker type controlled.
Speaker 6: I think he's going to see to your point, Tommy,
Speaker 6: he's gonna ce five man surfaces too. I mean, you're
Speaker 6: that's one of the kind of the trends in the
Speaker 6: NFL now too. Teams will play their subpackete for the
Speaker 6: five man front, so he's gonna see multiple fronts.
Speaker 2: I think this is the situation where he is gonna
Speaker 2: have to lean on his offensive line. He's gonna have to.
Speaker 6: Help setting protection right because this is all new to him.
Speaker 6: It's all gonna be new to him, and that's the
Speaker 6: process when you have a young player at that position.
Speaker 6: It could be the running back of protection saying no
Speaker 6: check to this. You know, whatever it may be, that's
Speaker 6: your job as a teammate in this situation, understanding that
Speaker 6: you have this young player with a super high talent level.
Speaker 6: But there's situations that he has never even experienced yet.
Speaker 6: And like I've said, you can't recreate everything in practice.
Speaker 6: You can't recreate everything in a preseason setting because you're
Speaker 6: not gonna see as much as you will in a
Speaker 6: regular season game. So he's gonna need help in those situations.
Speaker 6: And again, this is gonna be part of the developmental
Speaker 6: process for him because a team like Tennessee with a
Speaker 6: new defensive coordinator.
Speaker 2: You can't really study for them yet, you can't.
Speaker 6: There's gonna be things that pop up week one that
Speaker 6: they've never seen in terms of the quarterback adjusting to
Speaker 6: something like that, both covered front and rush.
Speaker 1: So I came up with a bunch of a words
Speaker 1: to describe Caleb the other day because I was getting
Speaker 1: ready to do an interview for somebody, and you know,
Speaker 1: they want to know what he's all about. And the
Speaker 1: things that have popped everything that you see, the awareness
Speaker 1: the pocket, the spatial awareness in the pocket, the ability
Speaker 1: to add lib eye awareness. Also because of how he's
Speaker 1: always scanning and even if they give him half field reads,
Speaker 1: the guy's still reading full field. What I'm gonna throw
Speaker 1: one in there that I didn't think of until now
Speaker 1: is acuity mental acuity. Because you listen to a golfer
Speaker 1: after they complete their round, they'll tell you every single shot,
Speaker 1: well club they used, what the distance was, what the
Speaker 1: wind was doing, and why they did it. They have
Speaker 1: a great recall for all those shots. Caleb did that
Speaker 1: Saturday at the podium. What's that tell you about him
Speaker 1: at this age of twenty two.
Speaker 6: It means he's a highly instinctual player, you know, very
Speaker 6: self aware, and that's someone that can self scout themselves,
Speaker 6: which is a very important tool as a college player,
Speaker 6: more important and professional football player to self scout yourself
Speaker 6: because understanding what everyone else is watching, you're all watching
Speaker 6: the same tape. So if you can have that immediate
Speaker 6: recall what you did, both positive and negative, it's gonna
Speaker 6: make you a better football player. When you sit down
Speaker 6: to watch the take take your own notes and say
Speaker 6: this is why I need to improve, and more importantly,
Speaker 6: this is where they're going to attack me next week
Speaker 6: if I don't improve.
Speaker 3: You know, for me as a player, I can take
Speaker 3: a game, you know, a day, a day after or
Speaker 3: right after or two days after, and I can replay
Speaker 3: every play in my head. If I'm as offensive lineman,
Speaker 3: I'm playing seventy five snaps, I know every one of them,
Speaker 3: and then I can anticipate a bad play a couple
Speaker 3: of plays in advance by seeing what's coming up. So
Speaker 3: I think any player can really go back and have
Speaker 3: the mental recall of what they're gone through, what they
Speaker 3: just went through, and their performance and the plays they
Speaker 3: perform poorly on.
Speaker 4: You know, the funny thing is.
Speaker 1: It just underscores also that this game is not simple
Speaker 1: and for the average person who's never played at that
Speaker 1: level or maybe never played football, and to assume that, hey,
Speaker 1: it's all about catching and throwing and tackling blocking, Yes
Speaker 1: it is. But the deep dive and the study. And
Speaker 1: you know, people have told me, everybody's at the team
Speaker 1: hotel during training camp and it's about to end now
Speaker 1: they can go on their own, but they have curfew
Speaker 1: and all that, just like a regular training camp. He's
Speaker 1: at the hotel, he's studying. I mean, he's out there.
Speaker 1: He's in his book till all hours of the morning.
Speaker 1: So he is diving into that book. And so is
Speaker 1: Tyson Beagent. Let's talk about him because the value of
Speaker 1: a backup quarterback has never been more underscored than the
Speaker 1: last two years, when over sixty quarterbacks have been used
Speaker 1: as starters in the National Football League.
Speaker 4: It's too many.
Speaker 1: We always say, there's not thirty two quarterbacks, how could
Speaker 1: there be sixty four or in this case last year,
Speaker 1: sixty six. But Tayson Beagent's value is significant and he
Speaker 1: feels quite comfortable in this system. You could see it
Speaker 1: in his practice performance. Matt and Tom and you could
Speaker 1: see it when he showed it. Just a little tap
Speaker 1: on the helmet Q Pettis, Boom, they were on the
Speaker 1: money for two touchdowns, those subtle things.
Speaker 4: How valuable is he right now?
Speaker 3: But you know, these guys are all in the same boat.
Speaker 3: They're all being introduced to the same system at the
Speaker 3: same time by Shane Waldron. It's not something like Tyson
Speaker 3: or Brad or Austin has any more experience in the
Speaker 3: system than Caleb. And so every one of those guys,
Speaker 3: if they have superior study habits, can help the next guy.
Speaker 3: And I think that's important in the quarterback room. Is
Speaker 3: like Matt says and Dick Stanfeld used to say, Look,
Speaker 3: I can't always coach you. You're going to have to
Speaker 3: start coaching yourself. And I think if those guys can
Speaker 3: help each other master the terminology and then understand what
Speaker 3: it means against every decent defense, every down and distance,
Speaker 3: every hash mark they're on in any you know what
Speaker 3: portion of the game they're at. So I think the
Speaker 3: quarterback complementary to each other is important.
Speaker 6: Yea.
Speaker 2: And I think to that point, these games are so
Speaker 2: hard to win.
Speaker 6: I always tell people that you know, you prepare all
Speaker 6: week for three hours on a Sunday.
Speaker 2: Very hard to win these games because the talent level is.
Speaker 6: Very even across the league, so you can't have a
Speaker 6: major drop off between one and two. Is one more
Speaker 6: talented in terms of your quarterback room? Obviously he is.
Speaker 6: That's why he's the starter. There can't be so much
Speaker 6: drop off. Do you have to change everything when the
Speaker 6: backup quarterback comes in?
Speaker 2: So?
Speaker 6: Can Tyson run the same offense as Caleb? That's where
Speaker 6: you have to ask yourself. If he can, then there's
Speaker 6: not going to be much of a drop off. Can
Speaker 6: he come in the fourth quarter, guys and win a
Speaker 6: football game?
Speaker 2: That's what you need. If Caleb's out for me, can
Speaker 2: he come in and win that football game?
Speaker 6: That's what you need because these games are so hard
Speaker 6: to win and the Bears are going to be in
Speaker 6: the playoff discussion all season long. That's what I believe
Speaker 6: with this football team. You need a backup quarterback that
Speaker 6: can come in not only run the system. It's not
Speaker 6: enough anymore. You have to come in and win football games.
Speaker 6: If you get that opportunity, We're.
Speaker 4: Brought to you by PNC Official Bank of the Bears.
Speaker 3: But one thing I got to ask because it's Jeff's
Speaker 3: favorite part of professional football, and that's the corner blitz.
Speaker 3: And when you look at what the Bears, when you're
Speaker 3: shaking your head, no yet, no, one.
Speaker 1: Hundred percent, I love the nickel blitz absolutely.
Speaker 3: So when you look at what the Bears did defensively
Speaker 3: this Saturday against the Cincinnati Bengals, I think they had
Speaker 3: five or six blitzes by the defensive backs and they
Speaker 3: all got home except one. And then in the course
Speaker 3: of the preseason, am I showing too much or am
Speaker 3: I showing that to make sure my opponents in the
Speaker 3: regular season are prepared for what could possibly happen.
Speaker 6: I think it's a little both. I think you want
Speaker 6: to put stuff on tape. To your point, we had
Speaker 6: our final preseason game in two thousand and four, so
Speaker 6: it was coach gibbs first year back in Washington, and
Speaker 6: we played in the Hall of Fame game too, So
Speaker 6: as the starters, we played five games and we were
Speaker 6: playing Michael Vick and the Falcons. In the second play
Speaker 6: of the game, we called a double cornerback blitz, okay,
Speaker 6: and it was Greg Williams, and we all know Greg
Speaker 6: likes the pressure. But we wanted it on tape. We
Speaker 6: wanted people to see this that this is what we're
Speaker 6: going to do throughout the season, is that we're.
Speaker 2: Going to come after you. We want you to prepare
Speaker 2: for now. Now.
Speaker 6: When we got into the regular season, there was a
Speaker 6: counter off that same look, right, So I think what
Speaker 6: coach eber flush is doing is showing people that, yeah,
Speaker 6: we are gonna pressure this year, but guess what, in
Speaker 6: the regular season, you're not gonna know where it's where
Speaker 6: we're blitzing from.
Speaker 2: They can be from anywhere, but we are gonna come
Speaker 2: after you. I liked it. They did it. One. You
Speaker 2: need the reps of it. You need the reps for
Speaker 2: one to time up your blitz.
Speaker 6: You need the cover drops to work if you're playing
Speaker 6: zone pressure, if you're playing man pressure, you need those
Speaker 6: reps understanding that football has to come out much quicker.
Speaker 6: Those are all important defensive parts of a pressure that
Speaker 6: you need to.
Speaker 2: Rep in a live game setting.
Speaker 6: But I love what they did, and I think coach
Speaker 6: eber Fluiz, if you go back, I think it was
Speaker 6: his final year as a DC in Indianapolis, and you
Speaker 6: look at a third down rate, they're one of the
Speaker 6: more blitz heavy teams, and I think that's what ultimately
Speaker 6: he would like to get to. Yes, they're still gonna
Speaker 6: play cover two, they're still gonna play their single high coverages, but.
Speaker 2: I think they're gonna pressure a little bit more this year.
Speaker 4: That's my bet, Tommy.
Speaker 1: We talked about it early because and that happened with Gordon.
Speaker 1: He's hiding behind a six to six sweat and a
Speaker 1: six six dexter and they got a stunt and then
Speaker 1: he here he comes, Logan Woodside never even accounted for him,
Speaker 1: and he got buried, helmet in his chest. But they
Speaker 1: couldn't stop it. They kept doing it, and he you
Speaker 1: know what that guy is a quarterback responsibility?
Speaker 4: Is he not? You know that blitzing nickel.
Speaker 6: Yeah, well, in that situation, based on the offensive protection
Speaker 6: and what they're doing, and they're blitzing five, he is
Speaker 6: unaccountable and he's blitzing to the quarterbacks, you know, front shoulder,
Speaker 6: and to me, that's on that's on the.
Speaker 2: Quarterback to identify that.
Speaker 6: And off of this, I thought Kyler Gordon played at
Speaker 6: the regular season Temple. Yeah, he was all over the
Speaker 6: football gear, all over the football fIF. That's what the
Speaker 6: starter should do. It doesn't matter who's playing quarterbacks, not
Speaker 6: Joe Burrow. So what you're a pro, do your job.
Speaker 6: These are reps for you. If Cincinnati wants to sit
Speaker 6: their starters, they go produce against their backups. It's not
Speaker 6: your problem. So I love the way he played on Saturday.
Speaker 6: If I'm a defensive back coach, I used that as
Speaker 6: a teaching tool for future training camp. So, look, this
Speaker 6: is a starter. Okay, he's still on the field. They
Speaker 6: have their backup set, and he's.
Speaker 2: Still playing like it's Week four in the regular season.
Speaker 2: That's how you develop as a.
Speaker 3: Proad Matt week four of the regular season, week one
Speaker 3: of the regular season. Because you have a Jalen Johnson
Speaker 3: Intrigue Stevenson who are playing at a high level cornerback play.
Speaker 5: Does that give you a little bit more blitz freedom?
Speaker 2: I think it does.
Speaker 6: And I think what Tyre Stevenson did last year in
Speaker 6: terms of on the ball production, and look, we all
Speaker 6: know he had some ups and downs beginning the year,
Speaker 6: right right going to it at that position, they're gonna
Speaker 6: pick on you, they're gonna target you.
Speaker 2: But look what he did.
Speaker 6: Look how he progressed throughout the season and the on
Speaker 6: the ball production. That's what you're getting paid for at
Speaker 6: a cornerback position. Yes, you have to tackle. The set
Speaker 6: and edgels are very important things. If I'm a defensive
Speaker 6: back coach and he don't tackle, just comes stand next
Speaker 6: to me on the sideline, you're not gonna play.
Speaker 2: But the on the ball production wins games. And that's
Speaker 2: what he did.
Speaker 6: So to your point, Tommy, yes, I think you have
Speaker 6: two corners that can match up and be physical when
Speaker 6: they match up. They're very physical in terms of their
Speaker 6: covered trades. They're not passive players. They will be aggressive.
Speaker 6: So that gives you more upside in terms of, hey,
Speaker 6: let's go after from Let's send some more pressure tastes.
Speaker 4: Like midder time.
Speaker 1: Go to Middle of Light dot com slash bears pod
Speaker 1: to find delivery options near you.
Speaker 4: Celebrate responsibly.
Speaker 1: Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, wisconsint ninety six calories and three
Speaker 1: point two carbs per twelve ounces. Tom and I have
Speaker 1: been raving about the secondary for two years and they
Speaker 1: are playing at an elite level if you ask me,
Speaker 1: all across the board, and that's without Tequon Brisker. So far,
Speaker 1: he hasn't been out there for several weeks, hopefully as
Speaker 1: soon a return. I think it's vitally important he returned
Speaker 1: as soon as possible. But Kevin byer Is is a
Speaker 1: KG veteran back there who still feels he can take
Speaker 1: the ball away. And I mean, you go right down
Speaker 1: to the undrafted rookie free agent out of Troy Ready
Speaker 1: Stewart five tackles, it's not too big for him. He
Speaker 1: puts his face mask in there and makes a stop.
Speaker 1: He blitzes, he's in pass coverage. They're gonna have some
Speaker 1: really hard decisions. It's good to have. But it almost
Speaker 1: as if every one of these guys has taken the
Speaker 1: queue from Jalen Johnson and about the confidence and the
Speaker 1: positivity in that locker room and have really played with
Speaker 1: their hair on fire.
Speaker 4: Is that possible in a.
Speaker 1: Room that one guy can make that kind of a
Speaker 1: difference to the other ten guys in that room.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I believe it can. I played with a lot
Speaker 2: of great veterans.
Speaker 6: Todd Light when I was in Saint Louis was our corner,
Speaker 6: someone that commanded the room, commanded the respect of the room.
Speaker 6: Champ Bailey and Washington when I was in Washington. It's
Speaker 6: another player in my opinion, that commanded the room, and
Speaker 6: there are natural leaders. You want to emulate what they
Speaker 6: do in practice, how they study, what they.
Speaker 2: Do in the weight room.
Speaker 6: Everything they do really filters out to the entire defensive
Speaker 6: back room. And I'm not saying it's more important as
Speaker 6: a coach. The coach is still the leader of the room.
Speaker 6: We all understand that. But Tom would agree with this.
Speaker 6: The NFL, in my opinion, is more player driven than
Speaker 6: ever in terms of who the leaders are, who are
Speaker 6: the people you follow, who are the high character guys
Speaker 6: in terms of the football character that you follow, And
Speaker 6: I half someone like a Jalen Johnson can really boost
Speaker 6: the confidence and the production of a young player. And
Speaker 6: I've always said this, you can never have too many
Speaker 6: defensive backs any rest right, You just can't none. In
Speaker 6: today's league. You know, the Bears are more sub package
Speaker 6: with five defensive backs. But we're seeing around the league
Speaker 6: right now a lot of more teams are using dying too,
Speaker 6: because what they can do from a pre staff perspective
Speaker 6: in terms of late rotation, creating matchups they want on
Speaker 6: the defensive side of the ball, and that's having defensive backs.
Speaker 6: And also, especially with the new kickoff rule. You need
Speaker 6: dbats to cover and play special teams.
Speaker 3: You know, Matt, I've been impressed with Jonathan Owens because
Speaker 3: I really didn't know what to think him coming from
Speaker 3: Green Bay to the Bears, and whether it's on special
Speaker 3: teams or regular defense, he hasn't shied away from contact.
Speaker 3: So when you talk about depth in the defensive backfield,
Speaker 3: he's a nice luxury to have along with Elijah Hicks
Speaker 3: and Terrell Smith and the rest of the guys. Because
Speaker 3: multiple receivers, multiple guys. So when you look at the Bears,
Speaker 3: I think this Cincinnati game, they started one back, three
Speaker 3: wide receiver. And when you put Keenan, Allen, Roma, Donza,
Speaker 3: DJ Moore all on the field at the same time,
Speaker 3: you're the defensive back coach of any opponent, how do
Speaker 3: you see defending that group of receivers.
Speaker 6: Well, one, if you're gonna play a man, you better
Speaker 6: have the matchups. He's got a match up to Cole
Speaker 6: Comet too.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 2: When DeAndre swifts in the field.
Speaker 6: Who I think the Bears targeted because he has more
Speaker 6: you know, he has pass catching upside, there's no question
Speaker 6: about that. Now you got five receivers, you have to
Speaker 6: count for really, so you have to have matchups. It's
Speaker 6: one thing to say we're gonna play man coverage. Everyone
Speaker 6: says it, well, you better have the guys, right right,
Speaker 6: You better have the guys.
Speaker 2: I do think this. I think in the NFL this
Speaker 2: year is gonna see more press coverage.
Speaker 6: I talked to coaches in the offseason, and I think
Speaker 6: that's to be a point of emphasis for defensive backs
Speaker 6: and defense coordinator because you have to disrupt.
Speaker 2: You can't give clean releases. The DJ Moore, a Dunja
Speaker 2: Keenan Allen expect to win football games.
Speaker 6: They are going to be challenged. But to that point,
Speaker 6: you better have the guys. The NFL is so quarters based. Now,
Speaker 6: what I mean by that is the too high safety
Speaker 6: look because it does give you opportunities to spend coverages
Speaker 6: and disguise, but also because it allows you to limit
Speaker 6: explosive players at the top of the defense where you
Speaker 6: have the inside verticals capped.
Speaker 2: What I mean by that as you have a safety
Speaker 2: over the top of them. But I would.
Speaker 6: Expect teams that have to play more man against the Bears,
Speaker 6: especially you know in the money down situations, third and
Speaker 6: two to six, third and seven to ten, those are
Speaker 6: the situations you have to win. On defense, you have
Speaker 6: to I've always said this about defensive stats too, and
Speaker 6: you know my business, everyone talks about defensive stats in
Speaker 6: terms of the numbers right and the yard for carryer
Speaker 6: alloud and passing yards.
Speaker 2: I don't care about that stuff.
Speaker 6: I care about basically two things, points allowed and turnovers created.
Speaker 2: That's it.
Speaker 6: That's all I care about because the end the day
Speaker 6: that that's what wins football games.
Speaker 1: Busy Heart Seltzer flavors for every Vibe Celebrate response will
Speaker 1: be Mossen Corps Beverage Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and we're brought
Speaker 1: to you by a P and C official Bank of
Speaker 1: the Bears. You're an Iowa guy, so you know, we
Speaker 1: got your punter, Tory Taylor and he's all the rage,
Speaker 1: and then we got the you know, the so called
Speaker 1: punt guid and preseason game here on Thursday, Mattaiza from
Speaker 1: the former Buffalo Bill draft pick and now Kansas City chief.
Speaker 1: So the importance of that position. Though I know people
Speaker 1: were pulling their hair out a little bit because a
Speaker 1: fourth round pick was invested, I could care less. I
Speaker 1: think if he's a weapon, he's a weapon. I don't
Speaker 1: care where I take him, and he appears to be
Speaker 1: He's going to be a weapon. And with a young
Speaker 1: quarterback with an offense, we don't know how long it'll
Speaker 1: take to get the wheels running. With a defense that
Speaker 1: seems like gets ready and is playing at a high level.
Speaker 1: And then in a return game, excuse me, on a punt,
Speaker 1: a punter like him that can change field position, he
Speaker 1: becomes a very important figure here in twenty twenty four.
Speaker 4: Would you agree?
Speaker 1: Because last year the Bears were dead lasting net So
Speaker 1: this will help any by any means to help your quarterback.
Speaker 1: This punter is going to help.
Speaker 6: It'll help your defense too. Yeah, I mean thinking about that.
Speaker 6: I mean the Bears what they did over the second
Speaker 6: half last season. From DEFENSI perspective, they have an opportunity
Speaker 6: top ten defense this year in my opinion. So if
Speaker 6: you have someone like Taylor who can put the ball
Speaker 6: deep in Penn offenses, and you put a top ten
Speaker 6: defense out there, I guess what, you can get the
Speaker 6: ball back for your quarterback in favorable field position. Now,
Speaker 6: LaVar Woods is Iowa special teams quartator, one of my.
Speaker 2: Best friends, and LeVar flew.
Speaker 6: To Melbourne Australia to get Taylor. I remember the store.
Speaker 6: I remember talking to him. I said, what are you
Speaker 6: doing because I'm flying to Australia. I said, you gotta
Speaker 6: be Kidney for what I'm going to get a punter
Speaker 6: And he went to Australian got him and Taylor is
Speaker 6: a great hawkke Gy and I said this to your point, Jeff,
Speaker 6: we spent a fourth round pick.
Speaker 2: No, you spent a fourth round pick on a starter.
Speaker 6: That's what you did, a starter that can change field
Speaker 6: position to help you win football games. I want to
Speaker 6: have charac if it was in the third run. You
Speaker 6: spent a draft pick on the starter. And that's the
Speaker 6: important thing here is that people always forget about special team,
Speaker 6: especially throughout the draft process. It's all about offense and
Speaker 6: defense and playmakers and immediate impact guys. Well, guess what
Speaker 6: this is? An immediate impact is this someone can step
Speaker 6: in right now, be a starter and help your football team.
Speaker 2: So I like to pick.
Speaker 6: Obviously I'm biased because I'm a Hawkey, I understand that,
Speaker 6: but this is someone that can help you win football games.
Speaker 6: I really think from a defensive perspective, if you're Matt Eberflus,
Speaker 6: you'd be more willing to say, well, look the way
Speaker 6: we're playing defensive football right now, let's try to pin
Speaker 6: him beat and put our top ten unit out there.
Speaker 2: Maybe we take the football away now, or maybe we don't.
Speaker 6: Maybe we get the ball back to Caleb now at
Speaker 6: the plus forty five yard line and we're gonna start
Speaker 6: rolling again.
Speaker 3: Well, Matt, you know Notre Dame is taking over his
Speaker 3: tight end to you. So I just want you to
Speaker 3: accept that. Secondly, the new kickoff kickoff return rule. Do
Speaker 3: you think you could play on both sides of the
Speaker 3: ball or would you be kickoff coverage Maine or what.
Speaker 5: Do you think? What do you think about it all?
Speaker 2: I'm very interested. I like it because of his returns.
Speaker 5: That's what me too.
Speaker 6: It's a play now, right, you needed to play and
Speaker 6: when I played, the ball was moved back five yards.
Speaker 6: I think we kicked off from the thirty and there
Speaker 6: wasn't really no rules. It was the Wild West. There
Speaker 6: was the four man wedgie run down there, and you say,
Speaker 6: you know what, this is really going to be uncomfortable.
Speaker 6: It's just gonna hurt, but I gotta do it anyways,
Speaker 6: you know, And you're running into guys like you Tom
Speaker 6: you me had offensive lineman backer, right.
Speaker 4: Yeah, can't you just run around them? Never?
Speaker 3: I spent my whole career on kickoff return. I couldn't
Speaker 3: shy away from that contact.
Speaker 2: No, because we run around them, then it's a return
Speaker 2: run up to guy.
Speaker 4: I'm only kidd you know.
Speaker 2: I like it.
Speaker 6: I do like it because you're getting a play now,
Speaker 6: and I think once we get to the regular season,
Speaker 6: you will see more counteraction on kickoff return, almost like
Speaker 6: a split flow.
Speaker 2: Zone when you bend it back.
Speaker 6: And I think you'll see more creativity with the two
Speaker 6: returners back there in terms of what you can do
Speaker 6: basic stuff right now.
Speaker 2: But I am for anything that allows someone.
Speaker 6: To earn extra years in the league. And if you
Speaker 6: can make tackles and special teams, you can stay in
Speaker 6: the league. So I was really worried they were just
Speaker 6: completely wipe it away, right, because I'll be honest, I
Speaker 6: was a starter for a couple of years in the league,
Speaker 6: But really I made the league and I stayed in
Speaker 6: the league because I could cover kicks. So I always
Speaker 6: want to be a part of it. I think it
Speaker 6: creates opportunity and more importantly, special teams. In my opinion,
Speaker 6: the best developmental tool for football, especially for defensive players,
Speaker 6: because you have to play at top speed, you have
Speaker 6: to use your hands to stack er shed blox, you
Speaker 6: have to play with the elite vision, and you have
Speaker 6: to tackle in the open field. Now, obviously that's reduced
Speaker 6: a little bit, you're still getting those opportunities. And if
Speaker 6: I'm a coach and there's someone, even in the regular season,
Speaker 6: keeps making plays on special teams, special teams, special teams,
Speaker 6: it's a defensive back or linebacker. Eventually got get in
Speaker 6: reps on defense. Now because they're so productive, they're proving
Speaker 6: their value so much that I'm gonna give them more opportunity.
Speaker 3: To me that I'm I'm waiting for a special teams
Speaker 3: coach to be gutsy enough to put offensive a lineman
Speaker 3: on kickoff return because I think with the proximity, it's
Speaker 3: like a guard playing against the linebacker. And I think
Speaker 3: if you can attack and you can create those points
Speaker 3: of attack, like you were mentioning, I think there's a
Speaker 3: place on kickoff return for offensive linemen.
Speaker 2: That's a very interesting point.
Speaker 6: And you know, we just talked earlier about the offensive
Speaker 6: lineman terms out lettics and down how they can move
Speaker 6: I can pull reach outside and outside don't get to
Speaker 6: the second level. Well you you can, basically, tom you
Speaker 6: could run outside zone. Is running outside zone. It's just
Speaker 6: the you know, the ball here is a little deep.
Speaker 6: But look, if I'm a defensive back in this situation,
Speaker 6: in an offensive lineman gets his hands on me, I'm
Speaker 6: probably not getting them off right. He's probably not in
Speaker 6: time to.
Speaker 2: Make a play. So it's an interesting point you bring up.
Speaker 1: Well, Kansas City's got an offensive lineman from Marshall last
Speaker 1: named Driscoll and I saw him out. Uh he's six '
Speaker 1: eight and he was out there downfield blocking on a
Speaker 1: run the other night against Detroit. So yeah, these these
Speaker 1: guys can These guys can move. They can run Tommy.
Speaker 1: Before we wrap things up, Karanamagaji on the way back.
Speaker 4: Now he's off the NFI.
Speaker 1: What are your expectations and Matt being at IC, I
Speaker 1: don't know if you ever had a chance to see
Speaker 1: Koran play at Hinsdale Central, But we'll start with Tommy.
Speaker 3: I would explore where where does he fit best, Where
Speaker 3: does he play the most confident, Where does his balance
Speaker 3: fit his progression the quickest? And then I think that's
Speaker 3: the one thing that Chris Morgan has done a great job.
Speaker 3: If you look at a majority of these guys, they
Speaker 3: play more than one position. So I think you got
Speaker 3: to get Amagaji fed as many reps as you possibly
Speaker 3: can over the next couple of weeks see where his template,
Speaker 3: his body, his athleticism fit in the most competitive scenario
Speaker 3: you can put him in.
Speaker 6: I would agree with that in terms of what his
Speaker 6: talent base was, especially on his college team, to watch
Speaker 6: his college state last year, in terms of his basically
Speaker 6: his raw talent, in his upside, what he can bring
Speaker 6: because he has all the physical tools right, the physical
Speaker 6: tools you want to position. So now it's in the
Speaker 6: Bears the coaching staffs.
Speaker 2: To develop those tools.
Speaker 6: You'd obviously want them more on the practice field, but
Speaker 6: you still have time throughout the regular season to develop them,
Speaker 6: whether it's in practice, whether it's in the film room
Speaker 6: learning from the veterans, because there's will be a time
Speaker 6: this year and we all know this where he's gonna
Speaker 6: have to play meaningful reps for the Bears. That's how
Speaker 6: it works when you play a long season. If the
Speaker 6: Bears have a playoff push and get into the dance,
Speaker 6: that offensive line could look much different in week sixteen
Speaker 6: than it does then.
Speaker 1: Yep, they got them listed as a tackle, but I
Speaker 1: think he could do both. But I think you're going
Speaker 1: to try him left tackle in protect.
Speaker 3: I expect him to be mentally up the speed as
Speaker 3: soon as he puts his pads on in today's practice,
Speaker 3: So it's not a learning curve for him because he's
Speaker 3: been around here since he's gotten drafted.
Speaker 2: All right.
Speaker 1: Lastly, I can't think of two people that love high
Speaker 1: school football more than Tom Thayer and Matt Bowen. And Matt,
Speaker 1: I know you've been spending many years now at I
Speaker 1: see helping out that program.
Speaker 4: What's it mean to both of you?
Speaker 1: And do you see as we continue to hope to
Speaker 1: protect this sport and the value of what this sport
Speaker 1: means to young men to have these guys continue to
Speaker 1: play high school football. I know numbers have shrunk over
Speaker 1: the years. I don't know if that's going to be
Speaker 1: threatened even further, or is the influx of flag football
Speaker 1: going to get more people playing football and the ultimately
Speaker 1: throwing the pads one day when I don't want to
Speaker 1: play flag anymore. Matt, how you feel about it and
Speaker 1: how's your how's your team looking, And Tommy, I'm your
Speaker 1: thoughts as well.
Speaker 6: I think numbers, you know, I think numbers have remained steady.
Speaker 6: I know they have for the Catholic schools, especially in
Speaker 6: the Chicago Catholic League. I think there are numbers in
Speaker 6: our youth programs here in Elmers who remain steady, almost rising.
Speaker 2: At point. I loved, you know, high.
Speaker 6: School football because I believe it's the last line of
Speaker 6: competitive innocence.
Speaker 2: So I've always said about it, You're still teaching, You're
Speaker 2: still developing.
Speaker 6: It is a challenging time for young athletes because of
Speaker 6: you know, the development you're going through through high school,
Speaker 6: both academically, athletically and socially. Right, And I think football
Speaker 6: what it provides and is different for everyone. There are
Speaker 6: elite competitors who want to play football. There are others
Speaker 6: that use it to develop a peer base, right to
Speaker 6: have people to to to join with throughout their high
Speaker 6: school career, which is very important to some. I'm a
Speaker 6: strong believer in high school football. I'm now going into
Speaker 6: my tenth year at I see Catholic coaching my son
Speaker 6: this year. My son Grant's going to be a freshman
Speaker 6: for us at ice, which is very important to me
Speaker 6: to be able to coach him. But it's been one
Speaker 6: of the most rewarding things for me, guys, and something
Speaker 6: I really needed.
Speaker 2: You know, I've always said I've been a football guy.
Speaker 2: Have no problem saying that.
Speaker 6: It's not knocking myself's who I am, but it's very
Speaker 6: rewarding to me because it gives me something and that
Speaker 6: I need in terms of having passion for something outside
Speaker 6: of my family and work.
Speaker 2: And I think everyone needs that.
Speaker 5: I agree one hundred percent.
Speaker 3: My brother coaches the freshman program at Julia Catholic, My
Speaker 3: nephew's on the varsity staff at Jolia Catholic, and I
Speaker 3: have a great nephew that's going as an incoming freshman
Speaker 3: at Jolia Catholic that's going to be a part of
Speaker 3: the football program. And I do think it's a great
Speaker 3: lesson for life to be learned when you play a
Speaker 3: sport that you develop camaraderie. You get some criticism in
Speaker 3: front of your peers that you have to accept and
Speaker 3: you have to let it roll off your back because
Speaker 3: nobody is exempt from getting criticized when you're playing a sport.
Speaker 3: And I just think it plays an important role in
Speaker 3: the future life. Look, if you go out your freshman
Speaker 3: year and you don't want to play anymore, at least
Speaker 3: you learned a lesson about competitive sports and maybe it
Speaker 3: can help you in different decisions you make in life.
Speaker 5: So you know, Matt, I don't know.
Speaker 3: We open up with the Little Hawks from Iowa City,
Speaker 3: Iowa at JLA Catholic.
Speaker 5: We went, We.
Speaker 3: Traveled there last year to play it well, and this
Speaker 3: is one of my things, Matt. I wish the IHSA
Speaker 3: would allow schools that are closest to each other to
Speaker 3: play a majority of games because I think when you
Speaker 3: challenge the parents that have to travel hours to go
Speaker 3: see their son or daughter involved in the football game,
Speaker 3: I think it takes away a little bit of the
Speaker 3: support of these guys and these ladies that are working
Speaker 3: hours and hours and now they're trying to get to
Speaker 3: their sons, sons or daughter's games. So I just wish
Speaker 3: somehow that teams that were closer to each other were
Speaker 3: to have more opportunities to play to continue the support
Speaker 3: in the stands.
Speaker 6: I agree with that, and I'll tell you what. On
Speaker 6: Joy Cathley, we played JCA outside of conference before we
Speaker 6: joined the Catholically a bunch of times, and that is
Speaker 6: a four quarter battle, you Catholic, and you better get
Speaker 6: ready for power and trap and power and trap over
Speaker 6: and over again. They are physical, they are nasty, they
Speaker 6: come off the ball, they are extremely well coached, and
Speaker 6: those are the games you want to coach it, those
Speaker 6: are the games you want to play. And that's what
Speaker 6: the Catholic League provides. In Chicago, you play the big teams.
Speaker 6: And look, we are the small school in the Chicago
Speaker 6: Catholicy were the least amount of boys. Right now, we
Speaker 6: have three hundred and twenty three Toll students, so we
Speaker 6: have not two way players, but guys that are two
Speaker 6: ways and also playing special teams. That's just how we
Speaker 6: have to coach, how we have to prepare. So for us,
Speaker 6: it is always we accepting the challenge and understand that
Speaker 6: every Friday night in that conference is going to be
Speaker 6: highly competitive with very very well coached football taps.
Speaker 4: Well, Matt, you're a book of knowledge.
Speaker 1: I appreciate it. I feel like you guys are brothers.
Speaker 1: You guys look the same, Tommy just a little bit older.
Speaker 1: He's got specs. You guys got a clean dome and
Speaker 1: a lot of football knowledge, and all you guys do
Speaker 1: is watch tape. Every conversation we started with, yeah, I
Speaker 1: watch tape on him. I watch tape on him. And
Speaker 1: that's what I love about you guys and Matt, you
Speaker 1: do an unbelievable job. We appreciate you taking the time.
Speaker 6: Well, I appreciate you guys having me on and thanks Matt.
Speaker 6: What a great Bear season. This will be a fun
Speaker 6: football team to watch.
Speaker 4: It definitely looks that way. Special. Thanks to Matt and
Speaker 4: for time, I'm Jeff. Thanks for listening.
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Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcast. Bear Down, Everybody,