Speaker 1: The new Bears Radio Network. One day into the new
Speaker 1: league year in the National Football League, and already the
Speaker 1: Bears are better. It promised to be a significant offseason
Speaker 1: for the franchise, and it is turning into exactly that.
Speaker 1: Good even everybody, thanks for being with us and our
Speaker 1: maiden voyage here on ESPN Chicago and the Chicago Bears
Speaker 1: Radio Network. This is Bears Weekly, and my name is
Speaker 1: Jeff Joningac. Joining me tonight will be NFL Radios, Jim
Speaker 1: Miller from Sirius XM, the former Bears quarterback, and our
Speaker 1: producer tonight, Tendra Smith in the ESPN Radio Chicago Studios
Speaker 1: Downtown Special thanks to our Bears producers here at Halis Haut,
Speaker 1: Dan Briley and Jordan tread Up as well. And we
Speaker 1: will kick off the program tonight by introducing none other
Speaker 1: than Bears General manager Ryan Pole's kind enough to take
Speaker 1: some time after what's been a whirlwind experience. Welcome to
Speaker 1: the program, Ryan, Thank you so much for taking the time.
Speaker 1: How are you feeling? First of all, all feeling good?
Speaker 1: How are you guys? Fantastic? Everybody's excited. I've been teasing
Speaker 1: you many times over the course of this process. Back
Speaker 1: before the combine that this was going to be the
Speaker 1: center of the football universe, at least for the offseason,
Speaker 1: and that is exactly what has happened. I've seen your
Speaker 1: face all over social media, Twitter, you name it, showing
Speaker 1: you in action, still shots. You have had a lot
Speaker 1: of attention on you in this Bear's franchise. How you
Speaker 1: feeling about what has been a great process and what
Speaker 1: has transpired so far. Yeah, I'm feeling feeling great about it.
Speaker 1: I kind of talked about it in today's you know press,
Speaker 1: are just really happy with my staff. We were prepared
Speaker 1: to take advantage of the situation where we were in
Speaker 1: I really take the organization to the next level, you know,
Speaker 1: by adding some really good players to our team and
Speaker 1: as well as some draft capital to help us continue
Speaker 1: our journey to get back to a championship caliber organization.
Speaker 1: Before we get into the details of what's transpired, I
Speaker 1: know you mentioned it in your morning news conference here,
Speaker 1: the staff has been unbelievable. You've said this all the
Speaker 1: way back to when you first arrived here. But you know,
Speaker 1: I'm not going to name everybody, but yeah, the Ian
Speaker 1: Cunninghams and the trade Cozios and the Jeff Kings and
Speaker 1: the Chris Whites and the Jjkosh. But we got analytics,
Speaker 1: we got salary cap, we got a plan. Did you
Speaker 1: treat this very much like a draft board free agency? Yeah?
Speaker 1: To be honest with you, we treated this the same
Speaker 1: way we approached every free agency, regardless of you know,
Speaker 1: what your situation is. You know, you should be prepared again,
Speaker 1: regardless of what the cap situation is or you know,
Speaker 1: any trade scenarios to you know, do things the right way.
Speaker 1: So we we executed that really well. We were prepared
Speaker 1: or everything to go down, and I felt like, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, we made some really good moves. You know,
Speaker 1: everyone assumes it was your intention to move the top
Speaker 1: pick no matter what, but that's never the case. However,
Speaker 1: was it hard to remain patient because I'm sure you
Speaker 1: got a lot of potential offers and just resisting that
Speaker 1: urged to jump on a deal just because it looked
Speaker 1: good at the time when there could be others in
Speaker 1: the bullpen that you were yet to come or however
Speaker 1: this process worked. How did you deal with that? Yeah? Again,
Speaker 1: leaning on the staff that I half here, and you know,
Speaker 1: we had some really good conversations about you know what
Speaker 1: should we do in terms of be patient or to
Speaker 1: jump on some of the opportunities that we had. We
Speaker 1: played those scenario games out and felt like where we
Speaker 1: were and how we felt about, you know, the environment
Speaker 1: in the draft. We felt like this was a really
Speaker 1: good opportunity. It covered a lot of you know, things
Speaker 1: we were looking for in the trade. And then on
Speaker 1: top of that, when you had a player like DJ
Speaker 1: Moore into that before free agency, so you can make
Speaker 1: some adjustments to your plans. We capitalized on it and
Speaker 1: I think it turned out really well. Joining me tonight
Speaker 1: of course serious at m NFL radios. Jim Miller kind
Speaker 1: enough to join us as well. You take the floor,
Speaker 1: big jam. What do you got right? Good to talk
Speaker 1: to again, It was great talk to you and coach
Speaker 1: down at the combine. You were lying, you were a
Speaker 1: bit burning the midnight oil. That phone was even ringing
Speaker 1: when you were on set with us, and as you mentioned,
Speaker 1: you talked through all those scenarios you and you mentioned
Speaker 1: the hall. The hall you got in return because some
Speaker 1: some would be cautious to go down to slot nine,
Speaker 1: but you felt good about it and pulled the trigger. Yeah, No,
Speaker 1: it felt good about it, you know, when you look
Speaker 1: at that one to nine spot and then you look
Speaker 1: at your board and you see, you know, the different
Speaker 1: value buckets that you have. We knew that it would
Speaker 1: it would dry up, um, you know, the likelihood of
Speaker 1: it drying up a little bit quicker going to nine
Speaker 1: versus something earlier was the case. That's why it was
Speaker 1: so important for us to acquire a player like DJ Moore.
Speaker 1: Um that really supplemented any loss in that jump from
Speaker 1: one to nine. We knew we were going to get
Speaker 1: a good player that was proven, that's been consistent for
Speaker 1: a long period of time. So that that made us
Speaker 1: feel even better about the situation. Well, you discussed too.
Speaker 1: I mean, you have all these things converging here in
Speaker 1: the business season as free agency kicked off this year,
Speaker 1: so you're you're keeping your eye on the draft and
Speaker 1: focusing on those draft picks in your board as you
Speaker 1: just mentioned. And here you've been busy in free agency,
Speaker 1: you know, with the guys, whether it's a Nate Davis
Speaker 1: who you brought in from from Tennessee and DeMarcus Walker
Speaker 1: or Tremaine Edwinds and t J. Edwards. Just talk about
Speaker 1: specifically those linebackers and the expectations for them because Tremaine
Speaker 1: and both those linebackers really tremendous and really the face
Speaker 1: of the franchise when you look at Edmunds coming from Buffalo. Yeah, well,
Speaker 1: I can't tell you how fired up we are about
Speaker 1: those two guys. You know, first of the process to
Speaker 1: get there, you know, with those linebackers, And though I've
Speaker 1: got a few questions like why, you know, you talk
Speaker 1: about value all the time, why would you start there?
Speaker 1: And maybe a non premium position, but really in fregency,
Speaker 1: when you look across the board, sometimes you know a
Speaker 1: need and a value matches and it marries up really well.
Speaker 1: And we thought that that's exactly what happened at those
Speaker 1: two positions, where there were some other positions where from
Speaker 1: our valuations, the value of what it would cost to
Speaker 1: get it didn't match. So therefore we felt like those
Speaker 1: two things came together with the linebackers. M Tremad Edmonds
Speaker 1: is an unbelievable talent. He fits our scheme very well.
Speaker 1: He's gonna be a stud in Coachyclu's defense and All's defense.
Speaker 1: And he wanted to be here. I don't think we
Speaker 1: talk about that enough. And free agency, you know, money
Speaker 1: does talk. It's a huge driver. Um. But what you
Speaker 1: can sense about guys that are passionate about the game
Speaker 1: are the ones that want to be there. Sometimes they
Speaker 1: take less, sometimes they don't want to hear from anybody else.
Speaker 1: They want to be a Chicago beart. Both those guys
Speaker 1: had that, and that makes me really really excited about
Speaker 1: you know, what they're all about and where they're going
Speaker 1: to bring in this organization. And then even t J being,
Speaker 1: you know, a homegrown guy who's just from round the corner.
Speaker 1: There is no other free agent that's as fired up
Speaker 1: as him to play for his home team and to
Speaker 1: make a name for himself like the great that he
Speaker 1: walks grown up. This is Bears Weekly here on ESPN
Speaker 1: Chicago and the Chicago Bears Radio Network with Jim Miller,
Speaker 1: Jeff Jonah Yak. Our guest is Bears general manager Ryan pauls. Ryan.
Speaker 1: I had a chance to visit with DJ Moore, with Edmonds,
Speaker 1: also with TJ, and also with your new offensive lineman
Speaker 1: as well. And I'll tell you the one thing that's
Speaker 1: stuck out in each and every one of these they've
Speaker 1: been They've been working for some good organizations, but when
Speaker 1: they walked in here. They even the studios when we're
Speaker 1: interviewing them, they said, Wow, we just cannot get over
Speaker 1: this facility. This place is beautiful. This place has everything.
Speaker 1: And I had to ask my goat, they didn't have this, No,
Speaker 1: no they did, but it's not like this. How big
Speaker 1: is that now? Because you know we'd travels. These guys
Speaker 1: are gonna tell everybody else out in free agency. Hey,
Speaker 1: take a look at the Chicago Bears and the facility
Speaker 1: what they want to do for their players. Yeah, it's
Speaker 1: a big deal. It's a really big deal. And you know,
Speaker 1: again as a topic we don't talk about a lot,
Speaker 1: but you know, if you think about some of the
Speaker 1: college facilities and what these kids are are in, you know,
Speaker 1: growing up, a lot of times it's a downgrade when
Speaker 1: they get to the league, which is interesting, but it's
Speaker 1: not the case here. We have a state of our
Speaker 1: facilities and really, to me, it's even more important. You know,
Speaker 1: the aesthetics are cool, but the functionalities even better. Our
Speaker 1: sports science space are pre have in training space for
Speaker 1: these guys to make sure that their bodies are in
Speaker 1: great positions to be successful and healthy for a long
Speaker 1: period of time. That's to me. That's the cutting edge
Speaker 1: part that we have here, and a lot of people
Speaker 1: don't understand how nice this is. This has got to
Speaker 1: be a top three four facility in the NFL. So
Speaker 1: when that word does get out, um, it's important because
Speaker 1: we're gonna ask these guys to be here to master
Speaker 1: their craft and being this building for a long time,
Speaker 1: so to be in a place that is comfortable and enjoyable. Um,
Speaker 1: it's really important. Ryan fans want everything at once, and
Speaker 1: I knew this was going to happen because the salary
Speaker 1: cap space, the draft capital that you have, the draft
Speaker 1: capital you've created with the move from one to nine,
Speaker 1: and even what's gonna come around the corner next. But
Speaker 1: everything can't be done in one felt swoop. I mean,
Speaker 1: this is going to be a process and free agency,
Speaker 1: and I'm very proud to say this is how you've
Speaker 1: stated this since the time you got here. It is
Speaker 1: about value. It's not about just blowing out the budget.
Speaker 1: There is other needs coming down the road. You got
Speaker 1: to save money for a number of things, not the
Speaker 1: least of which knock on wood. You hope it doesn't happen,
Speaker 1: but severe injury to a prominent player that you got
Speaker 1: to go and get somebody else you're looking at extensions,
Speaker 1: just kind of capsualize what that means from an organizational
Speaker 1: point of view, because while you have the assets, you
Speaker 1: gotta do things in a proper way so you can
Speaker 1: have sustained success down the road as well. Yeah that's
Speaker 1: but I will say this to be like, that's why
Speaker 1: I have a really good team around me, because just
Speaker 1: like our fans, I want everything you know right now too,
Speaker 1: and I would love to spend every single time of it.
Speaker 1: But that's why I have an awesome team that allows
Speaker 1: me to see the big picture, um, to do things
Speaker 1: in the discipline way so that we can sustain this
Speaker 1: for a long period of time and be a healthy
Speaker 1: organization both with draft picks and draft capital. Uh. And yeah,
Speaker 1: that's the thing is like you know, when we see
Speaker 1: you know, online and Twitter about where our space is,
Speaker 1: there's plans for that money. Um, it's not just going
Speaker 1: to sit there. Um, there's plans for it. There's emergency
Speaker 1: funds just like most of us should have just in case,
Speaker 1: you know, the car breakdown or the furnace goes like.
Speaker 1: There's there's things that we have built in and reserves
Speaker 1: that we have so that we can do things the
Speaker 1: right way instead of panicking and have to do crazy
Speaker 1: things just to get buy an emergency situation. And then
Speaker 1: there's also opportunities that pop up throughout the season, if
Speaker 1: it's a trade or an opportunity to bring another player.
Speaker 1: And then on top of that, there's there's guys that, um,
Speaker 1: you know, we're looking forward to you know, doing extensions
Speaker 1: with sometime in August I'm sure, and keeping them here
Speaker 1: long term. So there's a plan for all of it. Um,
Speaker 1: we're being disciplined with it. And you know, it is
Speaker 1: hard when those numbers getting published and everyone's like, wow,
Speaker 1: you know, why are you not spending it at all?
Speaker 1: But there is a plan in place as a process,
Speaker 1: and we're going to do things the right way. Well,
Speaker 1: I think you said it earlier about the right price
Speaker 1: and certainly the character of the person that you're going
Speaker 1: to sign and bring into the locker room that you
Speaker 1: just mentioned, Ryan, And even today, you know, yesterday we
Speaker 1: saw a lot of the three in four year deals
Speaker 1: and then today even you know, with the signing of
Speaker 1: Andrew Billings and Robert Tonyan, the one year deals are
Speaker 1: already coming in and there's still really good players out there.
Speaker 1: I'm not asking you for your plan, but how active
Speaker 1: we continue to be in free agencies? You just landed
Speaker 1: two more. It sounds like, yeah, we'll be active again.
Speaker 1: This really shows how good our prostas is. They've been
Speaker 1: doing those evaluations since September UM and and there's some
Speaker 1: really intriguing guys that will continue to seek and see
Speaker 1: if we can you know, find common ground with UM
Speaker 1: and get into our buildings. So, uh, there's there's value here,
Speaker 1: and there's good players. I want to prove that, you know,
Speaker 1: they can they can do special things in the league
Speaker 1: and even go back to free agency again. So we're
Speaker 1: excited about that. And as I follow up, as you
Speaker 1: look at the trade and how you were talking to
Speaker 1: Carolina and how you were able to consummate that trade.
Speaker 1: Now as you have all this draft capital, you know,
Speaker 1: to to maybe to move up, to move down, do
Speaker 1: any of those discussions happen this early prior to the
Speaker 1: draft of you know, to have those relationships with other
Speaker 1: teams like you were able to forge with the Carolina Panthers. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think you know, first, it starts internally. You start
Speaker 1: to uh, you know, when we get out of the combine.
Speaker 1: There's some some medical pieces, there's interviews, there's some things
Speaker 1: that will slightly us the board. We'll look at numbers
Speaker 1: and how many guys we have in certain value sessions
Speaker 1: of the board, and in those brainstormy sessions start to
Speaker 1: kick off. And then as we get closer and then
Speaker 1: into September, you'll start to make those phone calls and
Speaker 1: see if you can set some things up. And obviously
Speaker 1: you just gotta stay, you know, pretty fluid because you
Speaker 1: know the draft takes you know, different shifts in turns
Speaker 1: that you don't expect, so you got to stay ready
Speaker 1: and have kind of all those scenarios planned out. But
Speaker 1: you know, the relationship piece and anticipation part, that's something
Speaker 1: we'll do really well and be prepared. All right, Right,
Speaker 1: we're gonna let you go. Jim snuck a couple in there.
Speaker 1: Andrew Billings, big nose tackle, great leviash, stalemate guy takes
Speaker 1: on multiple blockers for the three technique and the linebackers
Speaker 1: to flow. And Robert Tuny and reportedly also joined the Bears.
Speaker 1: Another local guy. You got several local guys, and they
Speaker 1: already I'll bleed navy blue and orange, don't they they do.
Speaker 1: They do. That's an important piece. They got a lot
Speaker 1: of pride and want to get this thing back like
Speaker 1: well do all right, Ryan, thank you so much. Good
Speaker 1: luck with the rest of the way. All right, thank you,
Speaker 1: thank you, Bears gentlemanager Ryan Poles. Coming up my conversation
Speaker 1: with newly acquired wide receiver DJ Moore with Jim Miller
Speaker 1: from Syria sex M NFL Radios Moving the Chains. I'm
Speaker 1: Jeff Joniac and this is the Chicago Bears Radio Network
Speaker 1: is Bears Weekly with a voice of the Bears for
Speaker 1: twenty three years. Jeff Joniak on the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 1: So far, so good, free agency building, some depth and
Speaker 1: some key roles for the Bears so far. Just a
Speaker 1: couple of days in to the free agent officials signing period, anyway,
Speaker 1: Jeff Joniak. Jim Miller from Sirius XM NFL radio's Moving
Speaker 1: the Chains joining us. Great interview there, Jim with Ryan Poles.
Speaker 1: I mean, my gosh, how many offers do you think
Speaker 1: he had for that pick? And then just going after
Speaker 1: your talent and still trying to remain you know, consistent
Speaker 1: with the plan and don't overspend. You know, you've heard
Speaker 1: me say, there's many times I'm not a big fan
Speaker 1: free agency because it does get expensive, especially with a
Speaker 1: team right now that he's trying to be draft conscious
Speaker 1: moving forward and build that way with these young players.
Speaker 1: But they've targeted a great age range twenty four, twenty five.
Speaker 1: Ectre may Edmonds came in the league at twenty. You
Speaker 1: got to remember that came in the league at twenty
Speaker 1: and this will be a sixth year. But he's twenty,
Speaker 1: he's twenty five. And you get a free agent like TJ.
Speaker 1: Edwards born and raised here, you get DJ Moore in
Speaker 1: a trade at the age of twenty five. I mean,
Speaker 1: that's outstanding numbers right there for what they're trying to do. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's the cherry on top, is how I've stated about
Speaker 1: DJ Moore. I mean, really, his first five years in league,
Speaker 1: he should have four out of five, should be over
Speaker 1: a thousand yards. He probably would have been over a
Speaker 1: thousand last year if it wasn't for the rotation of
Speaker 1: quarterbacks down there between Walker and Sam Darnold in Baker Mayfield.
Speaker 1: I mean, it was a revolving door and that's tough
Speaker 1: for any team to go through. I think the Bears
Speaker 1: fans are more. You're well aware of that when you
Speaker 1: don't have that position solidified, and certainly his numbers suffered
Speaker 1: last year, but this is a top tier talent. He
Speaker 1: is definitely a true number one. So they've have helped
Speaker 1: themselves there and then obviously last year with Claypool and
Speaker 1: hopefully Darnel money will get healthy again. In the continued
Speaker 1: development of Velis Jones Junior alone with Saint Brown, it
Speaker 1: is much better. And I think bringing in a veteran
Speaker 1: offensive lineman like Nate Davis and they're all in that range,
Speaker 1: that's that's what you want in free agency. You want
Speaker 1: those guys, like you said, in the twenty four or
Speaker 1: twenty five, twenty six, twenty seven year old range, where
Speaker 1: you know they're kind of coming into their prime, and
Speaker 1: that's where these guys are. And the Bears, I thought,
Speaker 1: have targeted those type of players that have helped themselves
Speaker 1: early at the right prices. You know here he talked about,
Speaker 1: you know, you couldn't get a deal done with Roquan
Speaker 1: Smith a year ago, and that you know he wanted
Speaker 1: over one hundred million dollars essentially, So you get two
Speaker 1: guys really under that number that are both highly productive
Speaker 1: and still young coming into their prime their careers. So yeah,
Speaker 1: I think it's they've done a nice job. There's more
Speaker 1: work to do. I think everybody understand and said, I
Speaker 1: think Ryan Poles just said there is more work to do.
Speaker 1: But already, Jeff, you're seeing a lot of one year
Speaker 1: deals out there, and there's some markets that have taken
Speaker 1: a hit. Look at the running back position. Man, they're
Speaker 1: getting diced and sliced out there in free agency right now.
Speaker 1: So there's some deals to be had and the Bears
Speaker 1: aren't done well. DJ Moore certainly a key piece to
Speaker 1: this whole puzzle. Earlier conversation I had with the newly
Speaker 1: acquired wide receiver from the Carolina Panthers. Well, first and
Speaker 1: foremost welcome, Welcome, How does it Field? Hey, I'm glad
Speaker 1: to be here. It feels amazing. It's a new opportunity,
Speaker 1: new journey, new faces, new city, to bring the excitement
Speaker 1: and the fund that you have as a person and
Speaker 1: player to a new establishment and organization. Now I'm here,
Speaker 1: I'm here, and I'm grateful to be here. Does it
Speaker 1: sting at the beginning? Does a sting a little bit?
Speaker 1: Give that little initial sting, But it's the business and
Speaker 1: you just gotta go with the punch. General manager Ryan Poles,
Speaker 1: he was gonna make a trade. It gonna be a
Speaker 1: big trade. It was. You know, I keep saying we're
Speaker 1: the center of the football universe this offseason. But you
Speaker 1: had to be in the deal to close the deal.
Speaker 1: So that's a big, warm hug from the big guy,
Speaker 1: isn't that? It is just to know that I was
Speaker 1: the exact player that the Bears want it and they
Speaker 1: wound up getting it. Was just a big old bear hug. Yes,
Speaker 1: And I'll tell you there's a bunch of boxes that
Speaker 1: these guys want players, and just going through your history
Speaker 1: and talking to some folks that you know and have
Speaker 1: played with, you check every single box and the funny
Speaker 1: thing is here, Yes, you're gonna catch some balls. But
Speaker 1: the blocking and you're an outstanding block. You're like digging
Speaker 1: out dbs and everything else that is for They show
Speaker 1: highlights of the blocks here before they do the big
Speaker 1: catches in your team meetings. So is that part of
Speaker 1: your big game? That's part of the game. You know,
Speaker 1: I do the dirty word before the excitement work that
Speaker 1: down the field, passes and stuff. Blocking is like a
Speaker 1: part of the game that it's going to excel the
Speaker 1: run game but also open up the downfield passing game. No,
Speaker 1: the thing about it too, it's just not getting the way.
Speaker 1: I mean, you gotta, you gotta. It is one too,
Speaker 1: and it sounds like everything you do is about one too. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I don't want to do everything. I'm a man that's
Speaker 1: gonna do everything and are gonna I'm gonna want to
Speaker 1: do everything to help the team win. This has been
Speaker 1: an offensive starved franchise for a long long time, one
Speaker 1: hundred and three years, from the quarterback play to just
Speaker 1: scoring points. So the fan base is buzzing right now
Speaker 1: because they feel they got a number one receiver coming
Speaker 1: in here. They're doing the math and and they're thinking big.
Speaker 1: Your highlights are crazy. It's the desire and that's a
Speaker 1: Chicago bread thing. Like the fans love your style of play.
Speaker 1: How would you describe it to those who haven't seen
Speaker 1: you play? Exciting, never knows to come go from a
Speaker 1: short play and could be a touchdown, it could be
Speaker 1: amazing like juke move or something. Just some of the
Speaker 1: excitement and get the fans out of their seats and
Speaker 1: hopefully the winds follow. Yeah, I've been doing some math,
Speaker 1: the yards after the catch, the yards after the contract, contact,
Speaker 1: broken tackles. I'm a big guy about first downs, first times,
Speaker 1: leading the touchdowns. And I think you've had, you know,
Speaker 1: two hundred and fifty at least fifty to fifty five
Speaker 1: a year. Is that important to you to be known
Speaker 1: as a player that Yep, I'm gonna get in the
Speaker 1: end zone. But I'm gonna move the sticks for you too. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's all about moving the sticks. Move the sticks, you
Speaker 1: stay on the field. Stay on the field at least
Speaker 1: two points. So whatever I gotta do to get those
Speaker 1: points on the board with the team, that's what we're
Speaker 1: gonna do. What makes you such a dangerous runner and
Speaker 1: a nasty runner with a ball in your hands, just
Speaker 1: setting it up in my head before it even plays
Speaker 1: out in life. Just knowing where everybody else is on
Speaker 1: the field. So if I'm going across the middle, just
Speaker 1: know where the safeties and everybody is coming from, just
Speaker 1: to maybe spin out or juke the first person and
Speaker 1: just onto this second. So you gotta have a plan.
Speaker 1: You gotta have a plan. You know, Devin Hester was here,
Speaker 1: so you always tell me all you know, when I
Speaker 1: see color, I go the other way. It was simple?
Speaker 1: Is that for him? But for you? It is it geometry?
Speaker 1: Is it angles? It's all this in a split second
Speaker 1: to think these things through. How challenging is it? And
Speaker 1: have you always been that way? I've always been that way.
Speaker 1: I just don't like getting hit, So I'm I'm always
Speaker 1: making sure I know where everybody is to either spin
Speaker 1: out or make somebody a miss, or just run somebody over.
Speaker 1: I believe Justin and Darnell here in the building greeting you.
Speaker 1: How has that made you feel right off the bat?
Speaker 1: Because getting traded, you know, you get parachuted into a franchise.
Speaker 1: It's a little thank god it's not during the season.
Speaker 1: Now you get a fresh start with everybody else. I
Speaker 1: met those two head dinner with them. It's been lovely.
Speaker 1: They both welcome me. Just met Chase today. So just
Speaker 1: gonna keep going off of that and growing with the team.
Speaker 1: Chase Claypool Grinders, Mooney, Justin Grinders. Are you a grinder?
Speaker 1: I'm a grinder? What are they gonna learn about you
Speaker 1: as a teammate? Sue down fun, push the envelope on everything,
Speaker 1: Just work hard, all right? You got a big smile
Speaker 1: on your face. But I've heard that you're on the
Speaker 1: quieter side, right You let your actions speak louder. Is
Speaker 1: that is that also true about Djmore? That's correct. Uh.
Speaker 1: When I gotta talk, I gotta talk. But if I don't,
Speaker 1: I'm not saying much. This franchise is trying to build
Speaker 1: a foundation the right way. You have sustained success. You're
Speaker 1: on the ground floor or something special. You're getting that feeling. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm getting that feeling because you don't just move up
Speaker 1: to you know, move the number one draft pick to
Speaker 1: non to get a superstar and just go out there
Speaker 1: and just poop the bed. They want to win now, Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know what, you are going to look back this
Speaker 1: This is going to be the most important and probably
Speaker 1: impactful offseason the Bears have had. And I'm going out
Speaker 1: on a limit saying in history just because of the assets,
Speaker 1: the addition of a number one receiver route of the
Speaker 1: gate before free agency even starts, before they even draft.
Speaker 1: Some buddy, want to be cool to tell that story
Speaker 1: one day, Hey, I was a part of something on
Speaker 1: the ground floor, something spect. It's definitely be a part
Speaker 1: of something special. Is gonna be good. You know, here
Speaker 1: with the tradition. They want to win. We're going to win.
Speaker 1: The fans want us to win, so we go. We
Speaker 1: gotta bring it to it, bring it out right, Ye
Speaker 1: all right, Jim. I'll tell you seventy percent of his
Speaker 1: catches for a first down in twenty two. The yard
Speaker 1: after the catch average over the course of his career
Speaker 1: it was almost eight yards as a rookie seven six
Speaker 1: five dip. Last year they had the quarterback issues. But
Speaker 1: what excites me is his football intelligence. Today we heard PJ. Walker,
Speaker 1: who threw him that unbelievable pass against Atlanta, said, you know,
Speaker 1: they call the play and two words in, he's already
Speaker 1: out splitting out into the slot, her in the flanker
Speaker 1: roll out to the split end position because he already
Speaker 1: knows what the play. He's just ahead of the curve
Speaker 1: a little bit on that. Well, that made it easier
Speaker 1: for him to learn this offense quickly. Yeah, I think
Speaker 1: all the things you asked about. One he does take
Speaker 1: pride in is blocking people. Forget Carolina. Last year they
Speaker 1: were a top ten rushing team, so you need to
Speaker 1: have receivers on the outside doing their job. So he
Speaker 1: will get his hands dirty and stick his nose in there.
Speaker 1: People don't know how explosive of a player he is.
Speaker 1: And so, for example, when you were going through the interview,
Speaker 1: great interview, by the way, so I just thought I'd
Speaker 1: look up some numbers. Okay, So when you look at
Speaker 1: DJ Moore and his explosive plays last year, he had
Speaker 1: seventeen plus twenty explosive plays and four plus forty explosive
Speaker 1: plays like the one you mentioned with p J. Walker,
Speaker 1: all right. So and that's with three quarterbacks where they
Speaker 1: didn't have any consistency. So, for example, other explosive receivers,
Speaker 1: people would probably say Jaylen Waddle, Tyreek Hill, right, he's
Speaker 1: an explosive player. How about Jamar Chase of Cincinnati. Compare
Speaker 1: these numbers. Waddle he had twenty one plus twenty explosive
Speaker 1: plays last year. He had six plus forty, all right,
Speaker 1: and he's they had their quarterback issues, but they were
Speaker 1: an explosive team. Tyreek Kill had twenty five plus twenty
Speaker 1: seven plus forty. Jamar Chase with Joe Burrow he had
Speaker 1: thirteen plus twenty and three plus forty. The Bears will
Speaker 1: get explosive plays because that's that number for him is
Speaker 1: a really good number, and he's probably better in that
Speaker 1: if they get if you get consistency at the quarterback
Speaker 1: spot is my point for him. And he's much bigger
Speaker 1: than those receivers that I just mentioned. He's just over
Speaker 1: six foot in two hundred and ten pounds. So this
Speaker 1: is a very explosive player that takes pride in all
Speaker 1: aspects of the game. And I think he comes here,
Speaker 1: as Ryan pull said, just the character side of it.
Speaker 1: You know. You know, we've we've seen players when they
Speaker 1: go to a different team and they don't fit. You know.
Speaker 1: I talked to Packer when all the time he said
Speaker 1: he signed a couple of Steelers players and he had
Speaker 1: to tell one player to quit wearing black and gold
Speaker 1: out to practice. He said, you're a jet pounder. You
Speaker 1: need to wear jet colors, you know. And so you
Speaker 1: have to have the right guy that you're welcoming in
Speaker 1: or can be disruptive to a locker group. And I
Speaker 1: think the Bears have done a nice job of targeting
Speaker 1: those type of players here. All right, we need to
Speaker 1: step away. Great great job with Dj Moore, country strong
Speaker 1: and then he runs that ball like a back sometimes
Speaker 1: when he gets into the open field and be fun
Speaker 1: to watch we'll continue our conversation. This is Bears Weekly
Speaker 1: on the Chicago Bears Radio News. Bears Weekly with the
Speaker 1: voice of the Bears for twenties. We hear is Kill
Speaker 1: Junian on the Bears Radio Network. I mean things are
Speaker 1: moving at a fast clip, that's for sure. Free agency
Speaker 1: continues for the Bears. They keep adding bodies here. Even
Speaker 1: in the last couple of minutes, Jim Beller from Serious
Speaker 1: Sex Im out of our radios moving the chains, and
Speaker 1: the former Chicago Bears quarterback Jim the Bears led the
Speaker 1: league in rushing last year. David Montgomery moving on to Detroit.
Speaker 1: They've already ran a Travis Homer, outstanding special team stud
Speaker 1: and a guy can help out I'm sure in many
Speaker 1: different ways offensively. But now, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter,
Speaker 1: dont To Freeman sixe two hundred and thirty pound running
Speaker 1: back coming aboard on a one year deal. Yeah. I mean,
Speaker 1: and the money's right because this is a very deep
Speaker 1: draft class for the running back position. I mean, you
Speaker 1: can get guys late in the draft that you know
Speaker 1: really are going to contribute for a lot of teams
Speaker 1: out there, and so you know that's why you're getting
Speaker 1: a lot of one year deals right now. Look, and
Speaker 1: there's still big guys out there, right You got Leonard Fournette,
Speaker 1: he was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But this
Speaker 1: offseason leading into free agency, you had Aaron Jones, he
Speaker 1: took a pay cut up there for the Green Bay Packers.
Speaker 1: Ezekiel Elliott he just got released by the Dallas Cowboys.
Speaker 1: Other other running backs have had to rework their deals
Speaker 1: to restructure money so that that that market is getting
Speaker 1: hit hard with all the market forces out there, and
Speaker 1: you can get these one year deals because they were
Speaker 1: going to want to come in, prove it and then
Speaker 1: hopefully to get out in free agency next year with
Speaker 1: a one year deal to hopefully put themselves in a
Speaker 1: better position. So it's really a buyer's market right now
Speaker 1: at the at the running back position. And certainly the
Speaker 1: Bears needed a bruiser. And we know how great a
Speaker 1: running back David Montgomery was for the Bears. And I
Speaker 1: think that's a good deal for the Detroit Lions because
Speaker 1: he's a rugged back, but yet he's got more wiggle
Speaker 1: than Jamal Williams. You know, there's no doubt about that
Speaker 1: that he's better in the open field and his ability
Speaker 1: to catch the football. So I'm happy for David. I
Speaker 1: think he ended up in a good situation, but the
Speaker 1: number really dictated I think that for the Chicago Bears.
Speaker 1: Three years, eighteen million and good for him. But the
Speaker 1: market really is setting it where you can get really
Speaker 1: good guys on one year deals for petties on the dollar.
Speaker 1: And this deal reportedly a three million dollars deal for
Speaker 1: one year. Hit nine hundred and fourteen yards last year
Speaker 1: on two hundred three carries four and a half yards
Speaker 1: to carry along as sixty five touchdowns, a career high.
Speaker 1: So two years, one of Tennessee and one of Carolina.
Speaker 1: So there's a linkage here to what the Bears brought
Speaker 1: in on the offensive line with Nate and then with
Speaker 1: the quarterback and PJ. Walker. They know this guy and uh,
Speaker 1: he's put up some good math here in the last
Speaker 1: two years. So now and tell us about the impact
Speaker 1: of a guy like Robert Tonyan who was outstanding when
Speaker 1: healthy and Green Bay. Yeah, you know, when he tore
Speaker 1: his ACL. He's coming off one of his his best
Speaker 1: years obviously, you know, had the double digit touchdowns, became
Speaker 1: a really a priority target for Aaron Rodgers, so I think,
Speaker 1: you know, he provides that ability. I don't think the
Speaker 1: Bears are done again. I think this is a very
Speaker 1: deep draft. He had two guys out of contract in
Speaker 1: trey Von Westco and Ryan Griffin. But I do think
Speaker 1: the Bears will address that position in the draft again.
Speaker 1: So cole Comet, Robert Tonyan comes with a lot of experience,
Speaker 1: knows the division, knows the offense obviously with Luke Getzi.
Speaker 1: Thinks he's going to be advantageous in this lineup, and
Speaker 1: so all Ford, I think Tony it's a very productive player.
Speaker 1: Hopefully his best football is aheadable eleven touchdowns in twenty
Speaker 1: twenty fifty plus passes in two is five years fifty
Speaker 1: three last season with a couple of tuddies and a
Speaker 1: four hundred and seventy yard season. But that relationship with
Speaker 1: Luke Ketzy is key. So we look at the tight
Speaker 1: end position. That's another veteran added to the mix and
Speaker 1: another local guy from mckenry year in the North suburban
Speaker 1: area to go with cole Comet. Jake Togas the rookie
Speaker 1: from a year ago, Chase Allen, who I like very much,
Speaker 1: not just because he's a Cyclone, Big Jim, but he's
Speaker 1: a solid guy who showed a lot of spunk during
Speaker 1: the practices on the practice squad, got a chance at
Speaker 1: the end of the season. Now you add Freeman with
Speaker 1: Herbert Homer, trust and Ebner in the backfield, you got
Speaker 1: Justin Fields. PJ. Walker, would you suspect the Bears before
Speaker 1: we go to break here to take a gander with
Speaker 1: all their draft capital. I don't care what round it
Speaker 1: may be to look for another developmental quarterback in the draft.
Speaker 1: I don't think it's out of the question, you know.
Speaker 1: I think with you know, you want to have a
Speaker 1: veteran leadership there, I still think, you know, we know
Speaker 1: that Justin Fields hasn't arrived, hasn't arrived yet completely, but
Speaker 1: I think we feel encouraged about where he's gonna go. PJ.
Speaker 1: Walker brings a little bit of experience with his background.
Speaker 1: But yeah, I think you especially now, I think they're
Speaker 1: going to change that quarterback rule where you're gonna have
Speaker 1: three active on game days so you don't have that
Speaker 1: situation happen that happened in the San Francisco Philadelphia Eagles game.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I think the Bears aren't done there. I
Speaker 1: think they'll draft a developmental guy and they may sign
Speaker 1: another veteran to come in and compete with p. J. Walker.
Speaker 1: All right, Coming up next, we'll be joined by Tremaine Edmonds.
Speaker 1: My interview with him, the sixth year of Virginia Tech,
Speaker 1: two time pro bowler, A delight to talk to here
Speaker 1: at HAISAW. Today. This is Bears Weekly with Jima. I'm
Speaker 1: Jeff Joniac here on he asked p in Chicago and
Speaker 1: the Chicago Bears Radio Networks Bears Weekly with a Voice
Speaker 1: of the Bears for twenty three years, Jeff Jony on
Speaker 1: the Bears Radio Network. Got to be strong down the
Speaker 1: middle of the defense. Three technique defensive tackle guy can
Speaker 1: plug up the run game, middle linebacker, and of course
Speaker 1: the safety position. Jeff Joni, KJM. Miller back with you
Speaker 1: here on Bears Weekly. Tremaine Edmunds Auto twenty five. It's
Speaker 1: six five, two fifty three before we get to the interview. Jim,
Speaker 1: you think about this system and you go all the
Speaker 1: way back, you know, sitting with love you Smith all
Speaker 1: those years looking at the Buccanteers defense. They didn't have
Speaker 1: a er Lacker, but they did have a Derek Brooks
Speaker 1: Erlacker had a Lands Briggs. Carolina Panthers had Luke Keekley
Speaker 1: and Thomas Davis when Ron Rivera was over there. The Colts.
Speaker 1: You look at Shack Leonard, Anthony Walker, Bills, Matt Milano
Speaker 1: and of course Tremaine Edmunds, Jim those are pairings that
Speaker 1: are going to be very interesting for the Bears now
Speaker 1: that they have a TJ here as well. Yeah, and
Speaker 1: I think, well, body types two is what you're referring to.
Speaker 1: I mean, Tremaine's a taller, angular guy that's kind of
Speaker 1: like how Erlacker was. He was big for for a
Speaker 1: middle backer when you look at six to five, but
Speaker 1: it's because he could run, you know. Then he mentioned Lance,
Speaker 1: who's who was a running hit guy, and I think
Speaker 1: these are the guys they got. Shack Leonard is basically
Speaker 1: that same deal. There was something that thought maybe he
Speaker 1: was going to be a safety, you know, almost like
Speaker 1: a Jeremy Chin type of player. Look, how Carolina has
Speaker 1: used him sometimes at safety, but he started out at linebacker.
Speaker 1: But I think we look at Edmonds, he's got the levers,
Speaker 1: he's big four and mike backer. But the body types
Speaker 1: are very similar with what it sounds like Eberflus wants
Speaker 1: to do with him and TJ. So I think it's
Speaker 1: a good signing for both of them, and it's again
Speaker 1: at the right price. It's it's less money than what
Speaker 1: they would have signed Roquan Smith for m and Roquan
Speaker 1: is a great player. I think we understand that, and
Speaker 1: he got his deal done with Baltimore. But I think
Speaker 1: these guys are really good fits in this Bears defense
Speaker 1: for what they want to do at that position. Heckway
Speaker 1: back in the day, I mean, Jack Lambert played that
Speaker 1: drop all the way down the middle. They call it
Speaker 1: the mic down the pipe right there. He was six
Speaker 1: four and I can't believe he's seventy. By the way,
Speaker 1: Jack Lambert one of the nastiest linebackers in NFL history. Anyway,
Speaker 1: I sit down earlier today with the newest Chicago Bear,
Speaker 1: Jermaine Edmonds. This morning, you are a Chicago Bear. How's
Speaker 1: that hitting you? Man? I'm still taking it all in,
Speaker 1: you know. I think since the day that happened, man,
Speaker 1: you know, my phone's been going so crazy. It's kind
Speaker 1: of like I'm trying to reply to everybody without sitting
Speaker 1: down and like reflecting. Like man, like this is real.
Speaker 1: But I mean it seems it's so real now just
Speaker 1: walking into here man and saying, all the history of
Speaker 1: that's in this bud And I think that's the biggest thing.
Speaker 1: And you know, sitting there, my family is excited, man,
Speaker 1: everybody's excited. Man. I'm ready to you know, to come
Speaker 1: here to Chicago and just you know, make my own story, man,
Speaker 1: write my own write my own legacy. And that's key
Speaker 1: because this place is like a museum. Right. You walk in,
Speaker 1: your head spins around. And obviously you were born into
Speaker 1: this game. Your dad was a great tight end for
Speaker 1: the Miami Dolphins back in the day. Your brothers all
Speaker 1: played in our still playing obviously, But you come in
Speaker 1: here and if you want a piece of this, is
Speaker 1: it where it all began, right. So you know a
Speaker 1: lot of guys sometimes don't realize that until they get here.
Speaker 1: As you were walking through the building, and you've been
Speaker 1: here before too, when twenty eighteen draft process, what sticks
Speaker 1: out about it? I think the biggest thing is, like
Speaker 1: I said, just seeing all the faces and seeing how
Speaker 1: many legends you know play for the Chicago Bears. I mean,
Speaker 1: like you hear about it, but to actually come in
Speaker 1: here and walk around and just look around. I mean,
Speaker 1: if you're a true competitor like you would want to
Speaker 1: play here. And I think that's the number one thing
Speaker 1: that sticks out. I mean, the facility speaks for itself,
Speaker 1: top of the line. I mean everything that you can
Speaker 1: ask for, from the equipment to the weight room to
Speaker 1: the you know, the all the people that's in here.
Speaker 1: They disagreeted me with open arms and you could just tell,
Speaker 1: like the culture here and you know how they built
Speaker 1: this thing up. Man has the right people in here.
Speaker 1: And I think that's the two most important things in
Speaker 1: the game is the ball and the people. And you know,
Speaker 1: obviously once you have those two, I mean, the sky's
Speaker 1: a limit for the program. Get ready, know who the
Speaker 1: Hall of famers are because coach Heberflus in his office,
Speaker 1: he's got a list of them all and give you
Speaker 1: a quiz every Yeah you go in there for sure. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I don't know if you've heard about that alreadybody he
Speaker 1: appreciate embraces it too. And I think in this town
Speaker 1: as football crazy, no different than Bill's Mafia was. Um.
Speaker 1: They're just starving for a winner here and they appreciate
Speaker 1: guys who do wrap their arms around the history of
Speaker 1: this franchise. So we go right to the linebacker position.
Speaker 1: You've had some great ones here, so obviously you know
Speaker 1: who they are, and now you're going to be one
Speaker 1: of those guys following in their footsteps. But as you say,
Speaker 1: creating your own path as well, what do you want
Speaker 1: to show the fans of Chicago? Man? I want to
Speaker 1: show them who your mainems is, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: I pay respect to all the guys they came in
Speaker 1: front of me. You know, you have some great guys.
Speaker 1: I actually watch Fan one a lot of those guys
Speaker 1: you no believe it or not, but I guess the
Speaker 1: most recent one that you can easily say is Brian Urlacker.
Speaker 1: You know, obviously my old coach, you know, coach them,
Speaker 1: So it was always a connection with me, you know,
Speaker 1: just as far as going back to see some of
Speaker 1: the things that he did. And I think anybody that's
Speaker 1: striving to be great, you have to watch the great
Speaker 1: guys that caming for you, because that's what you're striving
Speaker 1: to be. Lot. You have to compare your game to somebody,
Speaker 1: and obviously you want to compare it to somebody that's
Speaker 1: been there before. Somebody that's done it at a high level. So,
Speaker 1: you know, just going back and I saw the Bears
Speaker 1: tradition for a while, you know, just looking at it
Speaker 1: and looking at the ways that he made plays and
Speaker 1: just kind of nitpicking, you know, taking a little thing
Speaker 1: from here, taking a little thing from there, and adding
Speaker 1: it to Jermaine Atmos game. And now it was about me,
Speaker 1: you know, writing my own story and and and telling
Speaker 1: the world and showing the world who Jermaine Atmos is.
Speaker 1: And I know that coach true coach, And of course
Speaker 1: Coach Babbage just saw him last summer and he talked
Speaker 1: a lot about you. Honestly, he loves the way you
Speaker 1: played the game. And Arlacer love Coach Babbage as well.
Speaker 1: That Mike down the pike and the cover too, right right, yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, yeah, that's that's that that would be you
Speaker 1: right now at six five. What does that do to
Speaker 1: obliterate the vision of a quarterback, a guy of your size,
Speaker 1: a guy of lackercise in this particular scheme, While it
Speaker 1: does evolve out of cover two every now and again,
Speaker 1: and you know that's not just the only thing you
Speaker 1: guys are gonna play. What's been your experience with that. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think just having a guy that can you know,
Speaker 1: run with tight hands, run with receivers, and that can
Speaker 1: move because I obviously Cover two man, if that Mike
Speaker 1: linebacker's outside, it can move around, you can make a
Speaker 1: lot of plays. And obviously when you turn on that
Speaker 1: fan with Brian her Lacker, he made a lot of
Speaker 1: plays in particularly Cover two. Obviously he made a lot
Speaker 1: of plays on a lot of defenses, but you know,
Speaker 1: he perfected that Cover two and he perfected you know,
Speaker 1: the system that he was in. So just being able
Speaker 1: to have a guy that can move around, Um, you know,
Speaker 1: I'm that guy that can you know, can run with receivers,
Speaker 1: can run with tight ends, are able to match up
Speaker 1: with certain guys. Being six five, obviously you're getting you're
Speaker 1: getting quarterback windows, you're getting receiver windows, and you affect
Speaker 1: the passing game a lot. So you're gonna be teamed
Speaker 1: up with t J Edwards, Jack Samborne as right now,
Speaker 1: two Wisconsin guys, what do you know about TJ? What
Speaker 1: do you know about Jack? Yeah? Man, I'm a big fan.
Speaker 1: I think obviously just watching TJ and the success that
Speaker 1: he had with Philly, and I mean I've been a
Speaker 1: big fan of them. For a while, I was like, man,
Speaker 1: this guy's lying around like that. I started acting people
Speaker 1: on my team about him and just seeing him flying around,
Speaker 1: you know, both of them just flying around and making plays,
Speaker 1: and you know it hats off to them. They come
Speaker 1: from a good program and I think it shows it's
Speaker 1: showing in the NFL. You know. Obviously I had a
Speaker 1: chance to watch t J more just as far as
Speaker 1: the offseason and Super Bowl and everything like that. So
Speaker 1: I'm excited to get to work with him. Man, he
Speaker 1: seems like, you know, the the right guy that you
Speaker 1: want to work with. Good identity. Man. He plays with
Speaker 1: a lot of passion and that's what you gotta have
Speaker 1: obviously at linebacker. And you know, seeing the things that
Speaker 1: he did at Philly, I'm excited to team team with
Speaker 1: him right beside each other. And he's already bleeding Navy
Speaker 1: blue and orange. Case he grew up a Bears fan,
Speaker 1: lands Briggs lover or lacker. I'm assuming there was a
Speaker 1: big market for a man of your skill. Bryan Poles
Speaker 1: clearly invested in somebody significant. I think you're the highest
Speaker 1: paid for year contract inside linebacker in NFL history, which
Speaker 1: is outstanding. Great platform for your future. It clearly means
Speaker 1: he wanted to embrace you. How important is that to you,
Speaker 1: from the top down to the front office that they
Speaker 1: want you. Yeah. Well, first I just want to say
Speaker 1: thank you just for them giving me this opportunity, you
Speaker 1: know what I mean, just to be able to come
Speaker 1: in and display my time to the city of Chicago.
Speaker 1: And you know, everybody just embracing me with open arms
Speaker 1: truly means a lot. I understand. What's that? What's that hand?
Speaker 1: I understand. You know, obviously, when you make that type
Speaker 1: of you know, investment in a guy, you know, obviously
Speaker 1: you're demanding a lot. And I understand that. And you know,
Speaker 1: like I said, I appreciate them. But like I said,
Speaker 1: man for me as a person, my character, what you
Speaker 1: see is what you get. Like I'm a man of
Speaker 1: first of all, a man of faith, you know what
Speaker 1: I mean. I believe that's you know, I believe in God,
Speaker 1: and you know, I've believed that it's a reason that
Speaker 1: I'm here and i'm and I believe that it's a
Speaker 1: reason that they got me here. And so I'm ready
Speaker 1: to I'm ready to embrace that. I'm ready to attack that.
Speaker 1: And I got my heart hat on, man, and I'm
Speaker 1: ready to work. And that's all Bears fans want to hear,
Speaker 1: teammates want to hear. Jimmy He says he really does
Speaker 1: want to be a leader on this team. It doesn't
Speaker 1: happen just because you get a big contract, though, you
Speaker 1: gotta earn it a little bit. But this young man, well, again,
Speaker 1: the age says one thing, the experience says another. Yeah,
Speaker 1: well I did that first training camp in Buffalo when
Speaker 1: Bob Babbage was there and his son is still on
Speaker 1: that staff there in Buffalo. This guy was a green
Speaker 1: dot right from the beginning. So he was calling the plays,
Speaker 1: making all the adjustments, making up, making all the checks.
Speaker 1: Is it probably his football background with his family that
Speaker 1: you brought up. Yeah, I think that's a big part
Speaker 1: of it. It's been instilled in him his whole life.
Speaker 1: But I mean, he took it over right from day
Speaker 1: one in Buffalo. And I remember talking to Sean McDermott
Speaker 1: about He's like, you're not gonna believe this guy. You know,
Speaker 1: we we couldn't believe it, just where his football intelligence
Speaker 1: was and how much we could put on his plate
Speaker 1: so early there in Buffalo. And as for TJ. You know,
Speaker 1: one hundred and fifty nine tackles last year. I mean,
Speaker 1: these guys are very productive guys, high character guys. It's
Speaker 1: important to them and again the perfect guys that you
Speaker 1: want on your team character wise, that will fit in
Speaker 1: the locker room and really be leaders from from day
Speaker 1: one one of what's to be expected of other players
Speaker 1: around them. High character, great families both of those players.
Speaker 1: One thing before we go to breake Edmonds his family,
Speaker 1: his mom Cookie as Dad Farrell, who played in the NFL,
Speaker 1: not only raising three boys who all made the NFL,
Speaker 1: but foster parents to about twenty two children over the
Speaker 1: past twenty years. So that speaks a lot right there
Speaker 1: about that family. All right, one break to go here
Speaker 1: and we'll wrap things up with Jim Miller, Bears quarterback
Speaker 1: from Sirius XM NFL Radios. Moving the chains here on
Speaker 1: Bears Weekly with Jim Miller. Back in a second sees
Speaker 1: Bears Weekly with the Voice of the Bears for twenty three.
Speaker 1: Here is Jeff Julian on the Bears Radio Network. Don't
Speaker 1: you just love legal tampering. I Mean, we knew what
Speaker 1: was going down Wednesday, everything became official. We would call
Speaker 1: that a flurry of activity Jim Miller, but still plenty
Speaker 1: available out there, a lot more to be done. Bears
Speaker 1: have many roster spots to fill, and we gotta start
Speaker 1: turning our attention to the NFL Draft quite soon. It's
Speaker 1: coming and there'll be a lot of discussions on what
Speaker 1: they'll do with that ninth pick. Hey, I say, everything's
Speaker 1: on the table Jim for that ninth pick. And who
Speaker 1: says they're gonna stay right there? Yeah, they may move around.
Speaker 1: I mean you can trade down get probably with the
Speaker 1: best right tackle in the draft, if that's the direction
Speaker 1: they want to go in. But it's interesting the events
Speaker 1: that are happening with Jalen Carter, the d tackle from Georgia,
Speaker 1: because yeah, what do you think? What do you think
Speaker 1: from the combine and his pro day workout which did
Speaker 1: not go well. I mean, he could be falling right
Speaker 1: into the Bear's lap at the number nine spot, and
Speaker 1: the guy moves like a player who's a lot lighter
Speaker 1: than what he is. He was nine pounds heavier at
Speaker 1: his pro day, was out of shape obviously, and you
Speaker 1: know it's but he's still going to go in the
Speaker 1: top ten, sobody he may fall right into the Bear's lap,
Speaker 1: but certainly they'll have to do their whole work on him.
Speaker 1: The unfortunate incident that happened off the field and everybody's
Speaker 1: you know, really getting all the information that they need
Speaker 1: on him. But right now, it's uh. He was he
Speaker 1: was probably considered the number one player in this draft,
Speaker 1: and he's not doing himself any favors and could fall
Speaker 1: right to the Bears, and he is definitely in need
Speaker 1: for the Bears at that position. You know, I know
Speaker 1: a lot of folks are concerned about the defensive line
Speaker 1: and what is becoming in terms of the Bears. However,
Speaker 1: they've added, and this is a defensive line most teams
Speaker 1: want this, right you'd like to have eight or nine deep,
Speaker 1: So start continuing to add positions like you did today
Speaker 1: earlier today with the big guy at nose tackle. There
Speaker 1: you've got DeMarcus coming aboard from Tennessee. So those are
Speaker 1: pieces to go with what you have. But I don't
Speaker 1: really want to spend crazy money at the edge position
Speaker 1: in free agency. I'd rather get one in the draft
Speaker 1: or to grow those guys. Not dissimilar to what the
Speaker 1: Detroit Lions did last offseason. Yeah, I agree with you.
Speaker 1: And right now, there's only one guy out there that
Speaker 1: really fits the Bears age range because we know they're
Speaker 1: going younger, and that'd probably be on a Kingakway, you know,
Speaker 1: as he's twenty seven years old, very you know, another
Speaker 1: high character guy, but everybody else is pretty much already gone.
Speaker 1: You know, I don't think the Bears are going to
Speaker 1: look at players older in the tooth like Saya, Melvin
Speaker 1: Ingram or a Frank Clark who's thirty. You know, you
Speaker 1: want to be rating at twenty six to twenty seven
Speaker 1: age rage, like I said, And I do think the
Speaker 1: Bears will target and there's some good edge rushers in
Speaker 1: this draft and it'll be right in the Bears wheelhouse
Speaker 1: for them to select him. And if you're just joining us.
Speaker 1: Over the course of the last hour, Robert Tunyon reportedly
Speaker 1: coming on board on a one year contract with the Bears.
Speaker 1: The mckenry product and former Green Bay Packer Deonta Freeman.
Speaker 1: I've been running back last year with Caroline. I had
Speaker 1: a very strong year career. High for him, big back,
Speaker 1: a rugged guy there. And those are the kind of
Speaker 1: deals we're going to see here, these one year deals,
Speaker 1: finding players to fit into the puzzle here, because there
Speaker 1: is a big puzzle also the Baylor Bear now Chicago
Speaker 1: Bear with nose tacker Andrew Billings. We should probably expect more,
Speaker 1: all right, in the final thirty seconds or so, Jim,
Speaker 1: we got to give a quick thought. What's happening between
Speaker 1: the Packers and Jets with this Aaron Rodgers man there,
Speaker 1: it's gonna be a waiting game, you know, and nobody
Speaker 1: knew about the fifty eight million dollars option that is
Speaker 1: in place as smartly structured by the Packers that they
Speaker 1: can wait till week one of the season. And so
Speaker 1: for me, for me, would I do, Jeff, if I'm
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers, I show up on the Packers doorstep the
Speaker 1: first day of Phase one of the OTAs this offseason
Speaker 1: because they may not want that to happen, and maybe
Speaker 1: that would spurn them to maybe get realistic on the
Speaker 1: compensation they're looking for for Aaron Rodgers. Yeah, it's gonna
Speaker 1: what do you think is fair? I think it should
Speaker 1: be a second rounder quite frankly, I think Bill Polian
Speaker 1: said a second rounder, maybe two threes at the most.
Speaker 1: But they seem to be animant that they want a
Speaker 1: first round pick and I don't know if that's going
Speaker 1: to happen all right, Jim, appreciate it as always, that's
Speaker 1: going to do it for us. Want to thank our guest,
Speaker 1: Bears general manager Ryan Pauls. We got the executive producer
Speaker 1: of Bears Radio Network, Eric Ostrovsky, AM one thousand, producer
Speaker 1: Kendra Smith, our Bears producers Dan Brilli and Jordan tread Up.
Speaker 1: For former Bears quarterback Jim Miller. I'm Jeff joni Ak.
Speaker 1: Thank you for listening, everybody. This has been Bears Weekly
Speaker 1: on the new radio home other Chicago Bears AM one thousand,
Speaker 1: ESPN Chicago. We'll talk to you next week. Coming up
Speaker 1: the Voice of the Cats, Davennett, and Northwestern basketball in
Speaker 1: the NCAA tournament in progress. Have a great night, everybody.
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