Speaker 1: The following is a presentation of the Chicago Bears Network
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Speaker 1: day and now welcome to Bears All Access. You're All
Speaker 1: Access passing to Chicago Bears football. Bears All Access is
Speaker 1: brought to you by IGS Energy and sponsored by Athletical
Speaker 1: Physical Therapy and Art Van Furniture in Mattress. Everybody. Jeff
Speaker 1: johnny Ick along with Tom Thurm, broadcast partner from news
Speaker 1: Radio seven eighty one to five point FWBBM. We are
Speaker 1: at Bears training camp out of at Nazarene, getting ready
Speaker 1: for what's going to be fundight at Soldier Field Saturday Night,
Speaker 1: Family Night and the chance for the fans to get
Speaker 1: up close from personal with their twenty nineteen Chicago Bears.
Speaker 1: Our guests today on Bears All Access brought to you
Speaker 1: by IGS Energy. Here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy
Speaker 1: to score the outstanding inside linebacker in year two, Roquan
Speaker 1: Smith kind enough to join us after a fun practice.
Speaker 1: It was for me as an observer. It was a
Speaker 1: fun practice real Quin because there was some hitting involved,
Speaker 1: there was some tackling, it was a lot of live
Speaker 1: drills going on some goal line, some rapid fire, get
Speaker 1: the kicking team out there and bang through a field goal.
Speaker 1: It just had a real good, high tempo. How'd you
Speaker 1: feel about today's practice? I felt great about today's practice.
Speaker 1: It was definitely good from the standpoint of felt more
Speaker 1: like a game with like the live periods and um
Speaker 1: having that so getting a chance to go against the
Speaker 1: offense live men a lot, and then I thought it
Speaker 1: was like just another step in getting those game ready. Well,
Speaker 1: it's right up a lot of guys, alleys, because you
Speaker 1: guys are a physical bunch on defense. You guys are
Speaker 1: flying around, but guys on the offensive line they want
Speaker 1: to be able to get in there too, put their
Speaker 1: fingers in the dirt and come off the ball. So
Speaker 1: did you feel like that kind of set the tone
Speaker 1: for what you guys are thinking about it the night
Speaker 1: before you knew you're gonna do it, so it kind
Speaker 1: of set the tone for the day. Oh, that definitely
Speaker 1: sets the tone. And um, you love it as a
Speaker 1: defense when you're able to go live but being smart
Speaker 1: at the same time and then just having a chance
Speaker 1: just to tell on someone. So you love that time
Speaker 1: looking at him smiling. Just to set the scene here,
Speaker 1: you have a T shirt on and says it says
Speaker 1: Bears Linebackers hit squad. Is that a team issued shirt
Speaker 1: or did the one of the players haven't made it?
Speaker 1: That's the team, this team issue. So it's more so
Speaker 1: we got got together the inside linebackers m with the
Speaker 1: coach Delion, and um, we came up with a slogan
Speaker 1: for ourselves and UM we said we're the hit Squad,
Speaker 1: so you know we hit everything. Does each position have one?
Speaker 1: Or is it just the linebackers right now? It's just
Speaker 1: us as I know right now? Okay, So, um, there's
Speaker 1: been a lot made of music at training camp. Do
Speaker 1: you like the music or when you're trying to learn
Speaker 1: and get coached up and stuff, could the music be
Speaker 1: down a little bit? Well, how do you like it?
Speaker 1: Because you know last year having a short period of
Speaker 1: training camp, now you're here full time. How do you
Speaker 1: like the music? I enjoy the music. Um, I love
Speaker 1: like you know when we mix it up. So it's
Speaker 1: a little diverse, you know. So it's not just one
Speaker 1: thing here today. It's like different all every day. So
Speaker 1: I love that, and um, it gets more crowds and
Speaker 1: get all of the crowds into it. Are you hearing
Speaker 1: it or that just in the back of your mind? Well,
Speaker 1: depending on the song, I can't hear it. Depending on
Speaker 1: certain songs, I'm like, Okay, this is getting me going
Speaker 1: right now, even though I'm already going. But definitely some songs.
Speaker 1: So if Kan Brown's on, you're dancing, Uh yeah, I'll vibe.
Speaker 1: It's more kind of it kind of mellows me out,
Speaker 1: just having me thinking more so, I'm more so laid
Speaker 1: back when it's when that's all and I'm just thinking
Speaker 1: about everything. I love k Brown. I do. I love
Speaker 1: Kan Brown. I bet you didn't. You're looking at me
Speaker 1: right now. You're I don't even know you don't even
Speaker 1: know me, right, but you know, to explain the time,
Speaker 1: explain the big time. Who Kan Brown is, what he's
Speaker 1: all about? Yeah, Kan Brown? Um so, most he's country.
Speaker 1: He falls under the genre of country, but like he's
Speaker 1: a little different, not your uh back in the day
Speaker 1: type of country, not your hell billy, but he has
Speaker 1: definitely has some country to him. And um, well, so
Speaker 1: you kind of grew up in the country. Was was
Speaker 1: country music a part of your young guy existence? Or
Speaker 1: were you off off the beaten track and listen to
Speaker 1: something that young guys like yourself would Well, I was
Speaker 1: all around. I listened to country, R and B rap,
Speaker 1: but country I did. I started. I got more into
Speaker 1: it in high school. I had a couple of buddies
Speaker 1: who were just like these huge country fans, and then
Speaker 1: we used just riding car rods and going on dirt
Speaker 1: roads and different things like that, and it was just
Speaker 1: like that's all they were playing. So I'm like, oh man,
Speaker 1: it's growing onto him. Man. That's how it started. Well,
Speaker 1: like I like um Kane Brown, Swindale, m Old Dominion.
Speaker 1: I heard a little Zach a little Eric Church out
Speaker 1: at practice today, so that was definitely great. Luke Combs
Speaker 1: I like him a lot too. Swindale, So yeah, all
Speaker 1: of those guys, Um, I like it. But as we
Speaker 1: continue this, I mean they're playing hard rock, they're playing
Speaker 1: old stuff, they're playing new stuff, they're playing rap, They're
Speaker 1: playing a lot of different stuff out there. So it
Speaker 1: is fun to watch the guys because every even some
Speaker 1: of the offense. Kyle Long likes dancing. He's dancing out there.
Speaker 1: He's dancing, ready to go into the cold top he's
Speaker 1: always moving around. That's a guy. You wouldn't think it
Speaker 1: would be dancing. You wouldn't get this guy to I
Speaker 1: dropped dead. If he was dancing time not dancing, we
Speaker 1: would you have answer prance No. But the thing about it,
Speaker 1: what I like about it is walking on the practice field,
Speaker 1: you're kind of tired, lethargic, and then all of a
Speaker 1: sudden you start hearing the music. It gets you jacked
Speaker 1: up a little bit, and it can take you from
Speaker 1: kind of you know, ready to get ready to get excited,
Speaker 1: and it can be motivating the music. I definitely agree. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I feel like if you are down a little bit,
Speaker 1: just having that music, I feel like, in the sense
Speaker 1: of music is energy, So like I kind of like it.
Speaker 1: Sometimes you may be thinking a little slow than like
Speaker 1: certain lyrics in this song or like this song that
Speaker 1: maybe play just makes you want to go even harder.
Speaker 1: You know. I have a question. So last year you
Speaker 1: miss training camp and now you're full. You're full and
Speaker 1: you've been a part of OTAs, You've been a part
Speaker 1: of Mini camp and everything. So what you did last
Speaker 1: year while you were in your contracts situation until being
Speaker 1: ready for training camp this year? Did you do enough
Speaker 1: last year? Did you not do enough? Or are you
Speaker 1: more prepared this year because of your OTAs and everything,
Speaker 1: just you know where you're at from from a year ago.
Speaker 1: I definitely would say being here in kemp is like
Speaker 1: huge for me, and then as a rookie not really
Speaker 1: knowing what to expect coming in the NFL, and then
Speaker 1: like having this training camp, I feel like along with
Speaker 1: last season, I feel like it kind of like motivate,
Speaker 1: like with the tackles, Like I get my tackling down
Speaker 1: in training comp. I don't just have to worry about
Speaker 1: going out to a game. I get the thud here
Speaker 1: more as like last year I wasn't thud and so
Speaker 1: it's like I came out a little rusty. So I
Speaker 1: definitely think it's a lot of great things. And then
Speaker 1: just having a live contact and just like with the
Speaker 1: speed of the game, you can never really plan for that.
Speaker 1: I feel like and I feel like with this year
Speaker 1: it's been great for me. Did you know that you
Speaker 1: guys are gonna get out of today? Like did they
Speaker 1: let you know when you're getting ready in the locker room, Hey,
Speaker 1: we're gonna have some live periods, So put a little
Speaker 1: extra hair air in your helmet, you know, spatch your
Speaker 1: shoes up, tape your hands. Were you ready for it? Oh? Yeah,
Speaker 1: I was definitely ready for A coach had mentioned it before.
Speaker 1: So like, I'm just like whenever today I'm ready, just
Speaker 1: call my phone. Yeah exactly, I'm ready to go. And
Speaker 1: you don't need an invitation, do you? Because one thing,
Speaker 1: you know, you are the nicest guy around. I mean,
Speaker 1: you have a big smile on your face all the time.
Speaker 1: But when you get out there, all of your athletic ability,
Speaker 1: your god given size and speed and quickness, they all
Speaker 1: come together when you tackle. You are an explosive tackler.
Speaker 1: Have you always been that type of tackler who can
Speaker 1: uncoil on contact and finished right through somebody? I would
Speaker 1: say I did do that a lot in high school,
Speaker 1: and then when I first got to college, I was
Speaker 1: kind of like I was more so just trying to
Speaker 1: like hit guy's lord. And then I got um at
Speaker 1: like the end of my sophomore year, had a heart
Speaker 1: to heart with my college coach, Glenn Schuman, and he
Speaker 1: was just like, man, you're like because I was a
Speaker 1: little light at playing the linebacker position. And so then
Speaker 1: I got up to like two twenty five, and he's
Speaker 1: just like, man, for that's why I looked like for.
Speaker 1: He was like, well, I didn't learn it then, but
Speaker 1: that's what he said. He was like, forced equals mass
Speaker 1: time acceleration. So when it was like that, I'm like, man,
Speaker 1: I am two twenty five. I can't run pretty good,
Speaker 1: so like, why don't I just like uncoiling to someone?
Speaker 1: And then I started trying out, trying that out chest
Speaker 1: chest to chess with people. And then after that I
Speaker 1: was just like, hey, man, that's all she wrote. You know,
Speaker 1: you bring up your sophomore year. Can we talk a
Speaker 1: little bit about September twenty First I went to Notre Dame.
Speaker 1: You going to Georgia they play on that day. You know,
Speaker 1: now you're a year removed from college football. You have
Speaker 1: a lot of memories that you've happened to you at
Speaker 1: Georgia that got you to the point where you're at.
Speaker 1: Do you still you still pay attention? Are you still
Speaker 1: excited about it? Because you know Notre Dame going into Georgia,
Speaker 1: it's gonna be a big game. It's definitely gonna be
Speaker 1: a big game. But I'm definitely it's definitely close to me.
Speaker 1: Two of my best friends are still playing at Georgia
Speaker 1: then there last year, so it's like I have to
Speaker 1: pay attention to those guys, and then they always ask
Speaker 1: me what did I think of the game and different
Speaker 1: things like that, and also just you know, going to
Speaker 1: Georgia and then we already beat We just beat Notre
Speaker 1: Dame when I was there, so I'm expecting them to
Speaker 1: do the same game. You know. So you got young
Speaker 1: college friends that you're still tight with, they know you're
Speaker 1: at this level. Who social media is between you guys,
Speaker 1: more you to them or them to you? I would
Speaker 1: I would say it's more of them to me in
Speaker 1: a sense, or we're just more takes. We'll just takes
Speaker 1: between the phone and whatnot like that, because like I
Speaker 1: don't really like a lot of times they'll say different
Speaker 1: things on media. But I'm just like you, they're shy
Speaker 1: away from it, right exactly. You don't want it to
Speaker 1: get You don't want to touch that stove and get burned.
Speaker 1: If you do, you do it once and that's the
Speaker 1: end of it. Have you ever tweeted something or posted
Speaker 1: something on Instagram that you wish you wouldn't have at
Speaker 1: any point in your life? No, that's good now would
Speaker 1: keep it down. Ro Quan Smith our guest here on
Speaker 1: Bearzol Access. It's brought to you by IGS Energy. Our
Speaker 1: engineer coming down to Bourbon eight today. Paul Zerrang and
Speaker 1: the Great Greg Miller is here as well as our producer,
Speaker 1: the Great Greg Miller, who knows his music better than
Speaker 1: all of us combined, with all due respect. A drummer,
Speaker 1: he plays drums, you know, in a big way. So
Speaker 1: the hidden talents behind the scene of the Bears don't
Speaker 1: mess with g money. This is Bearzol Access on Chicago
Speaker 1: Sports Radio six seventy to score. Welcome back to Bears.
Speaker 1: All Access brought to you by IGS Energy, a proud
Speaker 1: partner of the Chicago Bears, providing electricity, natural gas, and
Speaker 1: home warranty products to over one million customers across the country.
Speaker 1: Learn more about IG Energy at igs dot com. Jeff
Speaker 1: Joni at Tom there with you, and Roquan Smith our
Speaker 1: special guest this week, live from training camps. It's a
Speaker 1: rare opportunity. Whenever we get guys to come in here,
Speaker 1: we do appreciate it because it's hard work out there.
Speaker 1: You got football in your mind. You want to get
Speaker 1: your rest and you gotta get your your food, your
Speaker 1: your liquids and all that stay hydrated. Then you got
Speaker 1: more meetings today and it all wraps up with walk
Speaker 1: throughs and all that. There's a lot going on for
Speaker 1: your training camp, but it's also a time to just
Speaker 1: take a deep breath a little bit, and it's our
Speaker 1: most genuine opportunity to really get to know players you
Speaker 1: know at this setting. So we do appreciate you coming out.
Speaker 1: We had Mitch on to open things up from training
Speaker 1: camp last week. But now in your second year, you know,
Speaker 1: as a rookie, it is like what David Montgomery says,
Speaker 1: you have two years one moff listened twice as much
Speaker 1: as you speak as a rookie, right. I say that
Speaker 1: to my kids all the time and to some other
Speaker 1: people to tell they don't listen right. Right. But now
Speaker 1: now is there a natural comfort zone to be really
Speaker 1: be you, you know, as Matt says, Yeah, I definitely
Speaker 1: feel like that because like going into your rookie year,
Speaker 1: you don't know really what to expect, and so with
Speaker 1: that year going through, you've kind of learned everything, know
Speaker 1: what they expect from guys, coaches and different things like that,
Speaker 1: and now you're here, You're kind of like, oh, I've
Speaker 1: seen this before, I've seen that before. So things kind of,
Speaker 1: you know, get repetitive in the sense, but you can't
Speaker 1: get complacent at the same time, so it's always every
Speaker 1: day like you got to attack certain things. But it
Speaker 1: definitely is more of a like, I feel more comfortable
Speaker 1: at your social hour at night, two hours at night.
Speaker 1: What do you do at that time? Who do you
Speaker 1: gravitate towards and what kind of like you know, before bedtime?
Speaker 1: Funding can you have? Oh well, I tend I don't
Speaker 1: tend to gravitate anything to anyone. I'll normally like do
Speaker 1: something in the tubs or do something like in the
Speaker 1: training room, and then I'll just normally go in there
Speaker 1: because I'm not really on my phone much throughout the day,
Speaker 1: so I'll probably just go back into the room, make
Speaker 1: a few phone calls and whatnot. I don't really hang
Speaker 1: out as much, right But you got some guys that
Speaker 1: have big personalities too in that linebacking group. And I
Speaker 1: think of and he's now healthy he had a bad
Speaker 1: hand injury last year. Is Josh Woods. He's a fun
Speaker 1: guy to watch. He's a very interesting candidate for this
Speaker 1: football team and whatever capacity that they envisioned for him,
Speaker 1: especially as special teams. And Joel Eya Booney Way another
Speaker 1: guy in your draft class, a guy that is also
Speaker 1: you know, god given size and speed there and then
Speaker 1: Danny Trevethan. I told he looks five years younger right now. Seriously,
Speaker 1: I have not seen him play this way, running with
Speaker 1: total reckless abandon in charge. You know, I'm sure you've
Speaker 1: had an impact on him as well as he's had
Speaker 1: an impact on you. And you guys are really the
Speaker 1: group of you guys and Nick Kakowski, there's some other
Speaker 1: guys as well. You guys are really playing at a
Speaker 1: high level, it seems right now. Do you feel that way?
Speaker 1: I definitely feeled out why I feeled that way. I
Speaker 1: was thought out Trevethan. I feel like it's great. You know,
Speaker 1: he's been great for me. And then I think, you know,
Speaker 1: just with the young energy, but man, like he's playing
Speaker 1: his tail off and like I've never seen a twenty
Speaker 1: nine year old movies as he's moving like at the
Speaker 1: position linebacker, and like what he's doing right now is
Speaker 1: really good. And I think we're just like making the
Speaker 1: best out of each other and we're doing all we
Speaker 1: can to get each other better. We see one I
Speaker 1: see he sees some stuff. He'll always like say hey, bro,
Speaker 1: I see that or this and that. And then with Quick,
Speaker 1: I feel like Quick Quakowski is really playing well this UM,
Speaker 1: this UM training camp and whatnot, and I'm just like,
Speaker 1: I see a lot of great things from him. And
Speaker 1: with Ea Booney Way, I feel like he's been consistent
Speaker 1: this training camp as well. And with Josh Wood, he's
Speaker 1: definitely an interesting guy, you know, coming from safety and
Speaker 1: having a year one year at the linebacker position. But
Speaker 1: I definitely feel like he's getting more downhill and like
Speaker 1: his athleticism shows and flashes. And then we have kp
Speaker 1: who's a veteran as we all know, a great special
Speaker 1: team and also can step in and play some backer.
Speaker 1: And then we have Thurmines coming around. He's doing doing
Speaker 1: some good things for us. So that's definitely UM. That's
Speaker 1: definitely good. Kevin Pierre Lewis and jam Jamir is a
Speaker 1: first year player at of Indiana State. For you fans
Speaker 1: out there, you know when they talk about new offensive coaches,
Speaker 1: they talk about the breaking in time of learning the
Speaker 1: terminology and there's a you know, the timing is different.
Speaker 1: Everything is that there's their similarities to that. When you
Speaker 1: get a new defensive coordinator, a new position coach, does
Speaker 1: it take time to learn new things or are the
Speaker 1: coaches learning you guys rather than you learning a new
Speaker 1: a new UH style or terminology or what a defensive
Speaker 1: coordinator brings. Oh, well, you know, it's obviously different when
Speaker 1: you have a new coordinator. But at the end of
Speaker 1: the day, we've been together since UM when when UM
Speaker 1: coach mcgunodam got hired, which was earlier this year, so
Speaker 1: we've definitely had time and like, I feel like we're
Speaker 1: doing a lot of good things together. And so you're
Speaker 1: kind of familiar with the terminology they use from the
Speaker 1: you know, because me, I grew up in the offensive
Speaker 1: side of the ball, and it seems like it takes
Speaker 1: a lot longer to master the terminology is a defense
Speaker 1: is a less terminology to master. And because I see
Speaker 1: you guys using multiple fronts, there's a lot of difference
Speaker 1: to this defense. And it's not you know, it's not
Speaker 1: a forty three defense, it's not a thirty four defense,
Speaker 1: it's not a bear defense. It's a little bit of everything.
Speaker 1: Do you like multiple fronts, And was your experience in
Speaker 1: college like kind of one or two dimensional? And now
Speaker 1: does it seem like there's a lot more on your plate.
Speaker 1: I felt like in college we did a lot of good,
Speaker 1: a lot of different things all over the place. You
Speaker 1: never could tell whether we were three down, four down.
Speaker 1: And I feel like here I'm enjoying it. And then,
Speaker 1: but defense is in a sense, defense is just simple simple.
Speaker 1: All it is is conceptual. So like everything is a concept.
Speaker 1: So like I feel like if it's like you know fires,
Speaker 1: it says a fire zone defense, you got three hundred
Speaker 1: three deep, so like different things like that. I feel
Speaker 1: like everything kind of goes into a concept. So it's
Speaker 1: not that hard when you when you think about it,
Speaker 1: just like you put things together in group things inside
Speaker 1: Linebacker Real Kuan Smith, our guest on Bears All Access
Speaker 1: here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy. The Score brought
Speaker 1: to you by Igs, Energy, Jeff and Time with You
Speaker 1: as well as this second season rolls in for you.
Speaker 1: You accomplished the heck of a lot as a rookie.
Speaker 1: There are high expectations on you, and I'm sure you
Speaker 1: put them on yourself as you go to bed every night.
Speaker 1: And think about your day and you look to the future,
Speaker 1: what do you see for yourself? I just want to
Speaker 1: be the best version of myself. That's what I tell
Speaker 1: myself each and every day, not trying to live up
Speaker 1: to anyone else. What did anyone else I've done? Like
Speaker 1: in the passage, it's more so about attacking my weaknesses
Speaker 1: each and every day and just being the best version
Speaker 1: of myself. However I can do that, whether that's getting
Speaker 1: extra reps doing this, or maybe just like having my
Speaker 1: path level even lower, so like different things like that,
Speaker 1: but I definitely want to just be the best version.
Speaker 1: What do you think of Mark Deleone, the new Ins
Speaker 1: linebacker's coach. The first thing that pops in my mind
Speaker 1: is energy, high energy. I definitely would say that high energy.
Speaker 1: I think he's a great asset to our room, and
Speaker 1: with him being in there, he's and what he tells
Speaker 1: me every day, you know, he just be the best
Speaker 1: version of yourself each and every day, and I just
Speaker 1: try to do that. And I always have that reminder
Speaker 1: from him as well, you know, you got to attack
Speaker 1: it like it's your last day. And then with Chuck
Speaker 1: in the background as well. So I definitely love that
Speaker 1: if you're to sleep when saying I didn't have the
Speaker 1: best version of me today, well, I'm definitely I'm definitely
Speaker 1: going to bed and push Like like, man, I've had
Speaker 1: like I left like two or three plays out there.
Speaker 1: I wish I can get back, but you know, you
Speaker 1: scribe for a perfection, but that's never really possible. But like,
Speaker 1: I definitely want to be there. Have you ever had
Speaker 1: a play because I know I have and I still
Speaker 1: had players that haunted me from my career when I
Speaker 1: was playing that you ever have a play that haunts
Speaker 1: you still in your head when you think about it
Speaker 1: on tape or just either they're just the mistake you
Speaker 1: made that you know that you'll never do it again.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, There's there's plenty things like that that's happened
Speaker 1: like since probably college and then like a couple of
Speaker 1: plays like that in the league. You just be like, man,
Speaker 1: I really did this, and you can't when you look
Speaker 1: back out of you like I can't believe I let
Speaker 1: myself do that. But like things happen, but you can't
Speaker 1: just you can't live in the passage. Just have to
Speaker 1: keep going, right, you got one to really haunt you.
Speaker 1: There's there's a there's a few. So trying to think
Speaker 1: of I'll have to sit here and think of like
Speaker 1: which one hunts the moment. I prefer to think of
Speaker 1: the opening game against the Packers when you came in
Speaker 1: and you sacked the court. I mean, you've talked about
Speaker 1: this before and this show is we did it in
Speaker 1: Mexico as a matter of fact, when you were kind
Speaker 1: of enough to join us. But that is some entry
Speaker 1: into the National Football League. You couldn't even have scripted
Speaker 1: that any better, could you. Yeah? Man, Like, as I thought,
Speaker 1: think back to it, and then like when it happened,
Speaker 1: then I like go go Like at the end of
Speaker 1: the drive, I go over to the south line, Like, man,
Speaker 1: my first play, I had a sack. Like how many
Speaker 1: people can say that they had, like, let alone a tackle,
Speaker 1: but a sack on their first place. So that was
Speaker 1: definitely a very sweet It's like a baseball player hitting
Speaker 1: the home run at their first half bat in the
Speaker 1: major leagues. Yeah, that's something you'll never forget. That's for sure.
Speaker 1: The only thing that would have been better. I'll win
Speaker 1: in that game, but you guys will get another crack
Speaker 1: at them Opening Day Thursday night, September fifty soldier field
Speaker 1: as the Bears get ready for the twenty nineteen season opener.
Speaker 1: After the commercial, I want to go back and readdress,
Speaker 1: readdress the sack question on something I read this offseason.
Speaker 1: You got it. That's time fair. I'm Jeff Joniac with
Speaker 1: the real quand Smith here on Chicago Sports Radio six
Speaker 1: seventy to the School. The Chicago Bears Network presents Inside
Speaker 1: the Bears, brought to you by Verizon. Anthony Adams and
Speaker 1: Lauren Screeden cover the world of Bears football on and
Speaker 1: off the field every Sunday night at ten thirty five
Speaker 1: pm on Fox thirty two Chicago, or watch anytime at
Speaker 1: Chicago Bears dot Com. Around the Bears official app, Jeff
Speaker 1: Joni Act top There roll Kuan Smith, the Bears inside linebacker,
Speaker 1: over one hundred and twenty tackles in his rookie season
Speaker 1: last year. A bunch of sacks, hats and picks had
Speaker 1: a lot of fun with a twelve and four football team.
Speaker 1: And Tom Thayer out of the break, wants to know
Speaker 1: a little bit more about that old bing sack against
Speaker 1: the Packers in twenty eighteen. No. I was reading an
Speaker 1: article this offseason and they talked about predicted sacks of
Speaker 1: the Chicago Bears defense. It said Khalil Mack is predicted
Speaker 1: to get seventeen sacks. But what made it surprise me
Speaker 1: is they said Roe Kuan Smith is predicted to get
Speaker 1: ten sacks. Is that are you capable of that? Is
Speaker 1: this defense have the willingness to allow you to do that?
Speaker 1: Because to me, I don't know if it's an exaggerated
Speaker 1: number of seventeen for Khalil or ten for you, but
Speaker 1: shoots you get ten sacks, you know you got your
Speaker 1: ticket to All Pro forget the pro ball. Is this
Speaker 1: defense built for that that possibility? I definitely think that's
Speaker 1: a fair assessment. Khalil, You know, Khalil speaks for himself.
Speaker 1: And then it all just depends on one on one
Speaker 1: matchups I get, you know, versus the backguard and different
Speaker 1: things like that, and taking advantage of those matchups and
Speaker 1: coming through and like making the most of it. So
Speaker 1: we're you know, as you see a guy on the
Speaker 1: line of scrimmage a one on one matchup, but you know,
Speaker 1: a defensive outside linebacker against an offensive tackle or an
Speaker 1: interior one. So do you know when you have a
Speaker 1: one on one pass for rush of opportunity and you
Speaker 1: know when it's going to be against the back specifically,
Speaker 1: because I really think you have the clear advantage on
Speaker 1: that where you get a running start at the back.
Speaker 1: A lot of them don't have repetitiously done that a
Speaker 1: thousand times in their career, like offensive lineman do. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I would. I would definitely say I know um more
Speaker 1: more often than not, just based on offensive tennesseeas and whatnot,
Speaker 1: and like if they're slide protection or if it's just
Speaker 1: you know they're sliding, then just the backsteps up and
Speaker 1: so different things like it all. I think it varies
Speaker 1: with each and every offense. Yres that sack against Green Bay.
Speaker 1: Did you know you were Russian? Or was it reaction
Speaker 1: according to the flaw of the play? No I knew.
Speaker 1: I knew I was rushing on that play, and I
Speaker 1: guess it was a good play to um, get me started,
Speaker 1: first play, first play of my career, to like just
Speaker 1: warm me up, so send me on the RUSS. So
Speaker 1: that was definitely pretty sweet. Broquan Smith, our guest here
Speaker 1: in Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to Score Bears All
Speaker 1: Access brought to you by IGS Energy. Did you get
Speaker 1: stronger in the offseason, because you know, when you guys
Speaker 1: are coming out, you don't get a lot of opportunity.
Speaker 1: You're traveling around interviewing for jobs, and you're getting ready
Speaker 1: for a combine. You know, it's not getting ready for
Speaker 1: pure football, it's getting ready for your forty and so forth.
Speaker 1: So have you added some armor to the body a
Speaker 1: little bit? Yeah, I've definitely added some armor to the body,
Speaker 1: and I've done a lot of soft tissue stuff as well.
Speaker 1: So it's just trying to make my body feel I didn't.
Speaker 1: I felt great at the end the last season, but
Speaker 1: I'm trying to make this year feel even better. So
Speaker 1: it's just all about building them to um what I've done,
Speaker 1: what I've done in the past, and just staying more healthy.
Speaker 1: You never never really felt a rookie wall. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean you heard about it, right, You must think
Speaker 1: when's it coming? But that's good to hear. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: definitely heard about it, and like guys would be like, yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm in a rookie wall or whatever, and I'm just like, man,
Speaker 1: I'm waiting. I'm waiting for it to come, and I
Speaker 1: never I never had a visit though, well, with as
Speaker 1: many games. As you win, the rookie wall kind of
Speaker 1: goes away. Now if some of these rookies are facing
Speaker 1: three and thirteen season or something, that rookie wall can
Speaker 1: come early. With all the fun you guys were having
Speaker 1: with club deb at the end, how'd you do in
Speaker 1: club dub? Were you a big dancer in the club double?
Speaker 1: I wasn't a big dancing club dub if I'm being Nunns,
Speaker 1: but I can get in there, throw my hand due
Speaker 1: to pivot thrests, you know, so jump up any and so.
Speaker 1: So now this offseason, your first offseason without the extreme
Speaker 1: time commitments that you had last year. What fun did
Speaker 1: you have? What did you reward yourself with? Well, I
Speaker 1: had a trip down to Mexico, as my friend knows about,
Speaker 1: he was down there as well. And then I had
Speaker 1: a trip over to the Bahamas with two of my
Speaker 1: good guy friends from college. So that was pretty much it.
Speaker 1: And then I was back in school, so I was
Speaker 1: trying to do that stuff there. How was at How
Speaker 1: was it I did the same thing I played my
Speaker 1: first year of professional football that I went back and
Speaker 1: finished school. It was kind of you know, it's kind
Speaker 1: of fun in that sense because you knew what you
Speaker 1: were gonna do after. Was it fun for you? It
Speaker 1: was definitely pretty chill because all I would do just
Speaker 1: like and then I was still at the universit of George,
Speaker 1: so it was more like I eat their food, So
Speaker 1: I go in there, get the food, and then I
Speaker 1: just go to class and then work out, and then
Speaker 1: after that just hang low and then just hang out
Speaker 1: with the guys. But that was definitely chill, just knowing
Speaker 1: I'm not like obligated to work out at this time
Speaker 1: or that time. It was more so when I wanted
Speaker 1: to are you working out in their facilities? I was
Speaker 1: very nice. Now, are you a guy like you know
Speaker 1: Lebron Lebron, You know, he he'll work out at you know,
Speaker 1: two o'clock in the morning. Sometimes he'll work out, you know,
Speaker 1: first thing in the morning. Whatever. Are you a scheduled guy?
Speaker 1: Do you like working out in the morning or would
Speaker 1: you you can't fall shleep, Yeah, I'm gonna go and
Speaker 1: work out for a couple of hours or anything like that.
Speaker 1: I know. I'm more so, you know, whenever my schedule,
Speaker 1: I like, I'll have my schedule and it's just like, okay,
Speaker 1: I have time here to get my work out in
Speaker 1: but I feel like sometimes if I don't don't have
Speaker 1: anything for the rest of the day, like I would
Speaker 1: rather get it in the morning, so I'm like, I'm
Speaker 1: free for the rest of the day. What was your
Speaker 1: earliest class? My earliest class this summer was nine fifteen,
Speaker 1: all right. Yeah, you know, some of those guys they
Speaker 1: shy away from those eight o'clocks and stuff, and you know,
Speaker 1: start getting rolling academically at ten o'clock. But it's nice
Speaker 1: to get it out of the way. And yeah, I'm
Speaker 1: sure Georgia it's always nice and warm down there, so
Speaker 1: it wasn't like the polar vortex that we are living
Speaker 1: through up here. Yeah, it was definitely pretty sweet bend
Speaker 1: down in Georgia, and then like it prepares you for
Speaker 1: the heat that you're gonna face out here in Bourbon
Speaker 1: at you know, I feel like I'm down there running
Speaker 1: in ninety five ninety eight degree weathering. You rarely see
Speaker 1: that here, are you Donald school? No, I'm going back.
Speaker 1: I'm like fourteen fourteen credit. I was away. Good for you,
Speaker 1: you know, That's one thing I really respected about James
Speaker 1: Daniels is you know, come of going back to Iowa
Speaker 1: and finishing, and I think it says a lot to
Speaker 1: the young kids and stuff, and it's important for them
Speaker 1: to see that the education, the academic side of it
Speaker 1: is important to him. And then to unveil his Chicago
Speaker 1: Bear jerseys as he's walking in graduation at Iowa. I
Speaker 1: really admire him for that, and I admire you for
Speaker 1: going back to Georgia and putting in that effort. Absolutely
Speaker 1: have a huge minded respect for James for doing that
Speaker 1: and then doing some of it throughout the season and
Speaker 1: like throughout the springstet. That was definitely suite and I'm
Speaker 1: definitely happy for what will your major wind up being.
Speaker 1: So I was eCOM, but I just switched this summer.
Speaker 1: I just switched this summer just to try to finish
Speaker 1: up quickly to what come. Okay, very good, Now, I
Speaker 1: don't want I'm not rushing you off. Okay, you're yere
Speaker 1: two of hopefully a fifteen year career. But do you
Speaker 1: have bigger future plans at all? You know, regarding what
Speaker 1: you're studying, what your education isn't Why did you and
Speaker 1: he can what about it intrigued you? And now into
Speaker 1: the communication stuff. So initially I started out with ECON
Speaker 1: so I had a really good budd of His name
Speaker 1: was Reggie Carter, so he played linebacker before me. He
Speaker 1: was like two or three years older than I am,
Speaker 1: and so I kind of looked up to him when
Speaker 1: I first got to college. And then I was like, yo,
Speaker 1: so Reggie, what are you majoring in and whatnot? And
Speaker 1: he was just like econ, you know, um, you know
Speaker 1: it's great in the business school stuff like that. So
Speaker 1: then they saying, I said, okay, well I took like
Speaker 1: my first song, I took like a micro I think
Speaker 1: I took like micro econ. And then I'm like, okay,
Speaker 1: I did pretty solid in that. And then like the
Speaker 1: following like in the springtime, I said, okay, well I'll
Speaker 1: take a macro, so step up. And then it was like, okay,
Speaker 1: this not as bad as not as bad as I
Speaker 1: would have thought. So then I got into it. And
Speaker 1: but the whole reason I got into it because I
Speaker 1: just knew like Terry, but like even though I backed
Speaker 1: out now, but Terry business school. I was like, if
Speaker 1: I was a major in econ and whatnot in business,
Speaker 1: getting a degree from this business school and then playing
Speaker 1: football here at George's gonna like line me up with
Speaker 1: so many connections, so I was more so on the
Speaker 1: outside of things. And then like once this stuff like
Speaker 1: all unvailed for me, like going first round and whatnot,
Speaker 1: I'm like, you know, it'll be great to have that.
Speaker 1: I got that background, so like I kind of know
Speaker 1: a lot about the business side of things, but even
Speaker 1: though I'm not like obtaining a degree in that. And
Speaker 1: then I just said, okay, I'll switch to come like
Speaker 1: and I feel like that's so broad as well. And
Speaker 1: then it kind of given me a lot of different avenues.
Speaker 1: Does it help you because you're gonna be a guy,
Speaker 1: It's gonna get interviewed a lot because you are a
Speaker 1: starter and a you're a player very much on the rise.
Speaker 1: You could have made the Pro Bowl last year. You're
Speaker 1: you're headed to that type of career. Does it help
Speaker 1: you to take classes like in that particular curriculum, to
Speaker 1: sit before Jeff and time and do interviews or get
Speaker 1: on TV and do interviews and kind of get you
Speaker 1: used to that more. I definitely feel like that. And
Speaker 1: then a lot of times you feel like you kind
Speaker 1: of know what like people are hinting that they may
Speaker 1: not say it like exactly, but then like from like
Speaker 1: the different things in the class you've learned, you feel like, Okay,
Speaker 1: this is where we were trying to go right here,
Speaker 1: this is where we're trying to go here. So like
Speaker 1: it definitely definitely helps, and you know, and it gives
Speaker 1: you the opportunity to increase your brand because when you
Speaker 1: can sit there and speak in front of some difficult scenarios,
Speaker 1: if you are losing a game, winning a game, whatever
Speaker 1: the scenario is, the better that you can present yourself
Speaker 1: in the business sense that you started your college career with.
Speaker 1: You're kind of you know, earning money and presenting yourself
Speaker 1: as as a quality speaker and someone who can answer
Speaker 1: the difficult questions and promote the brand of the NFL
Speaker 1: and promote the brand of Roal. Kuan Smith. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: definitely agree with you. And it's about just keeping your
Speaker 1: composion just you know, doing whatever you can, like being
Speaker 1: honest obviously, and just doing what you can and just
Speaker 1: answering the questions to the best of your ability. You're
Speaker 1: doing a good job of a real quant Smith our
Speaker 1: guest here on Bears All Access Time for a break
Speaker 1: on Chicago's Sports Radio six seventy to score get up
Speaker 1: close to the twenty nineteen Chicago Bears and enjoy Illinois
Speaker 1: Bears training camp now through August tenth and bourbon A
Speaker 1: Illinois right here where we are right now. Get free
Speaker 1: tickets at Chicago Bears dot com. Jeff Joni act out
Speaker 1: there inside line like a real quant Smith off to
Speaker 1: a great start for twenty nineteen, and the fans have
Speaker 1: really turned out last weekend. As we all know, better
Speaker 1: than seventeen thousand fans showed up on the two days.
Speaker 1: It's tough sometimes at early practice eight fifteen for the
Speaker 1: treukdown from various parts around around the state. But have
Speaker 1: you guys really felt the love? We've definitely felt the love.
Speaker 1: I was like, man like the first day when they
Speaker 1: said twenty two thousand fans coming out, I'm like some
Speaker 1: of the guys, even like in college, didn't. It wasn't like,
Speaker 1: you know, to play in front of twenty two thousand,
Speaker 1: But that was definitely sweet. Just show you how much
Speaker 1: the fans love the Bears. Didn't you get an indication though,
Speaker 1: I don't waste stadiums last year when you'd start seeing
Speaker 1: more Bears Jersey filter into an opponent stadium than you
Speaker 1: would the home team and then when you guys are
Speaker 1: winning games on the road, you would hear that chat
Speaker 1: let's go Bears, Let's go Bears. You kind of got
Speaker 1: an understanding of how important you guys are to the
Speaker 1: fan base, but really how much the fan base is
Speaker 1: willing to support you guys. Yeah, that definitely means a lot. First,
Speaker 1: I've seen it in Arizona last year. We're in the
Speaker 1: dome and next thing I know, I look behind in
Speaker 1: this like a crap ton of Bears fan. I'm like
Speaker 1: fantas fan in Arizona, Like how many order they travel? Well,
Speaker 1: you know, they find any warm weather city as a
Speaker 1: destination as a vacation to come and support the Bears
Speaker 1: because you know, we sit up in the broadcast booth
Speaker 1: and it's unbelievable how the voice of support is, you know,
Speaker 1: filling up the stadium because yeah, we lived through some
Speaker 1: lean years. But when you you know, you turn it around, man,
Speaker 1: they're there in droves to support you guys. And obviously
Speaker 1: the indicator out here and you can hear it every
Speaker 1: time the kickers are out there competing for their job.
Speaker 1: Every time they hit a kick, you hear the roar
Speaker 1: of the crowd, which you know, it's it's inspiring. No
Speaker 1: matter what position you play. I definitely would agree with
Speaker 1: that you have great support throughout each and every position.
Speaker 1: They're definitely out there routing on the kickers, so you know,
Speaker 1: that's definitely pretty sweet. But then just having those guys
Speaker 1: just you know, cheer you on all throughout practice and
Speaker 1: you just feel that energy coming through coming to practice
Speaker 1: initially and just having all the fans they're shouting your
Speaker 1: name and stuff. That means a lot and just show
Speaker 1: you the support that you have here in Chicago. Isn't
Speaker 1: it crazy when you think about you So you're growing up,
Speaker 1: Oh shoot, just say, you know, six, seven, eight years ago,
Speaker 1: you're just a kid down in Georgia trying to be
Speaker 1: a football player. But you know, I haven't even in
Speaker 1: high school. Yeah, you got college and now you're an
Speaker 1: NFL player at what do you know, twenty two, twenty
Speaker 1: two years old. Twenty two years old coming out of
Speaker 1: that gate and they're chanting your name. That's some heavy
Speaker 1: stuff that you got. Like you gotta compartmentalize all that.
Speaker 1: Like you say, you know, just be the best version
Speaker 1: of you. But how do you not let it get
Speaker 1: to you? You know? And a good I mean get
Speaker 1: to your head. Yeah that that definitely says a lot.
Speaker 1: But yeah, as a kid man, even in high school, uh, college,
Speaker 1: to be perfectly honest, dream of having moments like this
Speaker 1: where you like, you see different things like hard knocks
Speaker 1: and then just guys out of training come practicing, their
Speaker 1: fans are all day and like to be in a
Speaker 1: position out of still still seems surreal. And I just
Speaker 1: remind myself on a daily like it's a blessing to
Speaker 1: be here, and I just gotta do whatever I can
Speaker 1: to keep myself here as long as you know I can.
Speaker 1: You know, you got Mitch obviously is the guy. In
Speaker 1: my opinion, his draft class kind of began to set
Speaker 1: the tone for the culture. And not that they were
Speaker 1: boisterous about it, but it's just the way they are approaching.
Speaker 1: They wanted to be the vehicle to make it. Eddie
Speaker 1: Jackson included. And then you got yourself twenty two, You
Speaker 1: just turned twenty two. You got James Daniels. He'll be
Speaker 1: twenty two on September thirteenth. At center, one of the
Speaker 1: most important positions in football inside linebacker in this defense,
Speaker 1: you know, extremely important position that's a lot of weight
Speaker 1: to put on the shoulders of twenty one and twenty
Speaker 1: two year old guys. You would think in a league that,
Speaker 1: you know, some of their best stars are the ten
Speaker 1: year veterans and the big name quarterbacks. How do you
Speaker 1: look at that, you know, as a young man, If
Speaker 1: I put it in that kind of context, I would say,
Speaker 1: first and foremost, I have to give it to the
Speaker 1: guys upstairs. Is going on, not because like are the
Speaker 1: talent of the guys that we've drafted the last couple
Speaker 1: of years speaks for itself, But I think it starts with,
Speaker 1: you know, good dudes, good human beings, and um, I
Speaker 1: feel like once you start there and like guys have
Speaker 1: a like they're more are good. And then it's like
Speaker 1: those guys can handle those type things and like you
Speaker 1: can handle the pressure and you kind of know what
Speaker 1: to expect in a sense, and you're always gonna give
Speaker 1: your best regardless of the circumstances, and you're just gonna
Speaker 1: control the controllables. So I feel like that's that's definitely
Speaker 1: a main thing to it. Jeff and I were walking
Speaker 1: through the fans yesterday and I saw a fifty five
Speaker 1: sixty year old guy with a roll Kuan Smith throwback
Speaker 1: jersey on and I said, hey, that's a that's a
Speaker 1: nice jersey. First of all, have you bought any of
Speaker 1: your own jerseys yet? And is it weird when you
Speaker 1: see him out there for sale? Like he says as
Speaker 1: a twenty two year old kid, Now they're selling roll
Speaker 1: Kuan Smith jerseys. Uh, that's definitely pretty crazy. Um, but
Speaker 1: I have not bought any outside. I've taken gotten a
Speaker 1: few out from like my game jerseys and whatnot, but
Speaker 1: I haven't like bought any from the outside. But just
Speaker 1: seeing that, man, it just goes to show I think
Speaker 1: about them, Like, man, I'm like tremendously blessed, you know
Speaker 1: for people to be wearing my jersey, spending their hard
Speaker 1: earned money just to represent me in a sense, and like, man,
Speaker 1: it kind of like you know it, it makes you
Speaker 1: feel great, And it's like, man, I think these guys
Speaker 1: a lot. What do you think about those throwback uniforms
Speaker 1: you guys are gonna wear during the regular season. I
Speaker 1: think from nineteen thirty six. I know Kyle Fuller unveiled
Speaker 1: them at the hundred years celebration. Uh, They're gonna make
Speaker 1: you look fast, They're gonna make you look big. What
Speaker 1: do you think about those uniforms. I like them a lot.
Speaker 1: I love to throwback when they first was unveiled and
Speaker 1: it's like, man, like, we were wearing knees, so it's like,
Speaker 1: it's pretty sick. I'm excited to um put them on
Speaker 1: and then do some good work in them. How about
Speaker 1: the helmet? All the helmet is pretty sick. It reminds
Speaker 1: me of like of another college, like a college team helmet. Yeah, Michigan, Michigan.
Speaker 1: But but yeah, it's definitely pretty sweet. Did you wear
Speaker 1: different uniforms at Georgia or you guys pretty consistent about
Speaker 1: your home and way uniforms. Yeah, we were pretty consistent
Speaker 1: about all home and away uniform very similar to hear
Speaker 1: in Chicago. But the thing was we did do like
Speaker 1: the black all black once um in my career to
Speaker 1: so that was definitely pretty Remember the gaming, did you win?
Speaker 1: We did win the game and it was versus h
Speaker 1: Uel Lafayette, right. But you know, sometimes because the Bears
Speaker 1: have worn uniforms like that in the past, and they
Speaker 1: sometimes they didn't have success, and then we're all superstitious
Speaker 1: and then you start thinking, oh, man, I don't know
Speaker 1: if we want to wear that uniform again. But it's
Speaker 1: kind of cool because it's such a big part of
Speaker 1: sports nowadays, whether it's baseball, football, hockey, whichever, there's always
Speaker 1: the different variations of uniforms you got, So it'll be
Speaker 1: cool to unveil those and come out and play well
Speaker 1: and have the support because I think you'll see a
Speaker 1: lot of those jerseys in the stands on the games
Speaker 1: you play for those. Yeah, I definitely do. I feel
Speaker 1: like the fans love those jerseys and then as players,
Speaker 1: we love them areself, so it's definitely great. All right.
Speaker 1: I want to go back to Danny Travisan explain to
Speaker 1: the the average fan what your relationship must be. What
Speaker 1: has blossomed in your relationship at inside landbacker. You both
Speaker 1: know the defense well enough to call it absolutely Danny,
Speaker 1: he's a great guy to look up too. Came into
Speaker 1: the league except to me for who I am, and
Speaker 1: just like you know, trying to doing a lot of
Speaker 1: things just to get me better, telling me little things,
Speaker 1: little tricks, how to get this done, how to get
Speaker 1: that done, and then just a guy you can depend
Speaker 1: on out there, like if I messed up on something
Speaker 1: like he'd like okay, and maybe coming this well if
Speaker 1: I see something like telling him, so, I feel like
Speaker 1: we have that connection amongst each other, just like we
Speaker 1: kind of know what each other is gonna do, play
Speaker 1: in and play out. And it's only been like one
Speaker 1: year that we've played together, but it's just been a
Speaker 1: connection that we've like kind of gravitated. Khalil Mack he blew.
Speaker 1: But I was on the sidelines in the middle of
Speaker 1: the fields today and he I honestly felt like Superman
Speaker 1: running by. I felt this breeze. And he was racing
Speaker 1: the shay Towns in the secondary coach because he has
Speaker 1: to be first on that ball when they start team.
Speaker 1: Every time he's racing with Leonard, He's doing a lot
Speaker 1: of stuff. If you could just put into context what
Speaker 1: we're seeing here because we're it's a treat to watch him.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, man, the guy's pretty special. As I've said before,
Speaker 1: like dating back to last year when I first got
Speaker 1: when I first got here, he first got signed, and
Speaker 1: then like seeing the guy and practice them like okay,
Speaker 1: it's practice right now. You know, you do go hard
Speaker 1: and practice, but I'm seeing this guy like flying, Like, man,
Speaker 1: this guy's doing this in practice. I'm wondering what he's
Speaker 1: gonna do in the game, and it's like stuff I've
Speaker 1: never seen before and them just like, man, I see
Speaker 1: why he got like over one hundred million to guys
Speaker 1: special the way it was inscribed to me, it's like
Speaker 1: there's an imaginary rope that he's pulling everybody with him.
Speaker 1: He doesn't necessarily have to verbalize anything. It's just what
Speaker 1: he does. And do you feel that that he is
Speaker 1: basically taking that rope and hey, everybody follow I definitely
Speaker 1: feel that way. What his actually it speaks for itself,
Speaker 1: the way he goes about his work day in and
Speaker 1: day out, and as a young guy me like seeing
Speaker 1: a guy done and things he's done throughout the league,
Speaker 1: it like I have no choice but to gravitate towards
Speaker 1: that because it's like, man, this guy, he's the example
Speaker 1: of like what you want want in your career and
Speaker 1: how you want to go about your stuff day to day.
Speaker 1: Ro Quan Smith our guest One more segment to go
Speaker 1: here on Bears All Access on Chicago Sports Radio six
Speaker 1: seventy to score final segment with Bears in Chat. Linebacker
Speaker 1: ro Kuan Smith. I have a great rookie season and
Speaker 1: looking forward to his twenty nineteen performance with Tom There.
Speaker 1: I'm Jeff Joni Yak, Paul's rank or engineer, and Greg Miller,
Speaker 1: our producer. Here at training camp as the Bears get
Speaker 1: ready for Family Night and next Thursday you open up
Speaker 1: against Carolina Panthers. Don't know what the playing time is
Speaker 1: going to be for you guys, but you know to watch,
Speaker 1: even to the younger guys if that may be the case,
Speaker 1: execute this defense for the first time under Chuck Pagotto.
Speaker 1: You'll be sitting on the sidelines, possibly taking a lot
Speaker 1: of mental notes. I'd imagine two right absolutely, you know,
Speaker 1: whatever coast the sides, I feel like I'll be ready
Speaker 1: for whatever. And if I am on the silom, i
Speaker 1: am on to feel getting good reps or on the sideline,
Speaker 1: I'll definitely taking mental reps because you can always learn
Speaker 1: from any players. So I've always taking that with me
Speaker 1: and I feel like it'll be great. You know, the
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame game was this week, and I was
Speaker 1: always a type of player if football was on, I
Speaker 1: watched it, and you know, you got very limited amount
Speaker 1: of window and at nighttime, but it kind of adds
Speaker 1: the seriousness to Hey, this is the beginning of the season,
Speaker 1: the commentators are critiquing the players on the field yield,
Speaker 1: the way they demonstrate what they're doing well or not
Speaker 1: doing well is kind of making deciding factor whether they
Speaker 1: make the team. Do you watch any of the game
Speaker 1: and are you the kind of the guy that like me,
Speaker 1: I said that they had always added a little bit
Speaker 1: of a seriousness. When the game's actually started playing on TV,
Speaker 1: I would definitely say so. I feel like myself. I'm
Speaker 1: a football junkie, so definitely didn't send the game all.
Speaker 1: I did watch a little bit before I went to
Speaker 1: bed last night and just sending this, like man, time flies,
Speaker 1: I just remember last year when this game was kicking off,
Speaker 1: and like now it's kicking off again, going in the
Speaker 1: year two. Unless you know that the wheels are definitely
Speaker 1: getting rolling. We're seeing vic Fanjio on another satelline. It
Speaker 1: definitely was, but he looks the same now. They're recovering
Speaker 1: from a kid He had a kidney stone. You know
Speaker 1: about that? Oh I didn't hear. Yeah, so he was
Speaker 1: he was maybe iffy about making his debut. He's you know,
Speaker 1: he's got a kidney stone. He's trying to pass. I guess,
Speaker 1: so that's not that's not that's not good duty, that's
Speaker 1: tough duty. Well, you know, then you think of what
Speaker 1: Chuck Bogano has been able to overcome, and I think
Speaker 1: a lot of his appreciation for being out there coaching
Speaker 1: on the field shows in his enthusiasm and the way
Speaker 1: he coaches, because you know, I see him trying to
Speaker 1: get his message out there when the music is trying
Speaker 1: to play and everybody gets the right message. Chuck puts
Speaker 1: a lot of energy into being a coach, and I
Speaker 1: think you almost have to to get the energy out
Speaker 1: of the players. Absolutely, I have so much respect for
Speaker 1: the guy going through what he's going through and just
Speaker 1: having the outlook that he have has on life each
Speaker 1: and every day. Man, it speaks volume. And then like
Speaker 1: just knowing a guy who's once in like who's once
Speaker 1: in that position like man, you know, like Kafeel sar
Speaker 1: for himself in a sense, but he did not, so
Speaker 1: like it's great just having a guy like that experienced
Speaker 1: a lot, and somebody that you can lean know who've
Speaker 1: been through a lot of different times, having the experiences
Speaker 1: with some of the defensive players that he played with him.
Speaker 1: When I saw Ed Reid getting interviewed last night in
Speaker 1: the game, and you think of the Ray Lewis is
Speaker 1: or the personnel that he was around throughout his career.
Speaker 1: You know, he kind of brings a little bit of
Speaker 1: clout with him that you know, this isn't a first
Speaker 1: time guy that's given a message. This is a guy
Speaker 1: that has a great deal of experience that's just trying
Speaker 1: to make me a better football player. Absolutely got a
Speaker 1: lot of respect. Guy has a laundry list of great
Speaker 1: players that Eve Coast and UH have a lot of respect.
Speaker 1: And I feel like there's a lot I can still
Speaker 1: can learn from him, and I'll see what I can
Speaker 1: what more I can learn from him on a daily
Speaker 1: A lot of fans are very intrigued by what could
Speaker 1: unfold this season for Leonard Floyd. He's a Georgia bulldog
Speaker 1: like yourself. You know him very well. What's in his
Speaker 1: head right now about what this season means to him.
Speaker 1: I think it means a lot. He's healthy. Um, he's
Speaker 1: looking to um come in and have a great Yeah.
Speaker 1: I feel like he've had a great all season, so
Speaker 1: that's big and um, I feel like it's definitely be
Speaker 1: a really good season for him, And I think is
Speaker 1: the start of something special for him. Yeah. I mean,
Speaker 1: everybody's rooting for him, and he's got all the tools
Speaker 1: in the shed to to really have a terrific years.
Speaker 1: He's expanding his game. He can be moved all over
Speaker 1: the formation. So I just we're in through a bunch
Speaker 1: of names. We haven't even got to the secondary. The
Speaker 1: point is what Pogano is commissioning you guys to be.
Speaker 1: Don't don't give up on the idea that this could
Speaker 1: be one of the best defenses ever. He's pushing that
Speaker 1: theme to you, guys. I know he is, I've heard
Speaker 1: he is, and you look at the types of talent
Speaker 1: you have. Are you guys believing in this? I definitely
Speaker 1: will have to agree with that in all seriousness because
Speaker 1: we have the pieces all over the fields, like no
Speaker 1: wink weak link anywhere, and I feel like if every
Speaker 1: guy play up to their capability, I feel like we
Speaker 1: can write our own story and that but comes with that,
Speaker 1: you have to like get better each and every day
Speaker 1: and not take any day lightly and um, you have
Speaker 1: to take advantage of every opportunity. You can't you can't
Speaker 1: let anything go by, and you just gotta make the
Speaker 1: most of the moment you know, Jeff brings up a
Speaker 1: lot of different people. A defensive back when a Kiem
Speaker 1: Hicks gets angry, he kind of seems like he's He's
Speaker 1: the straw that stirs the drink. He brings a lot
Speaker 1: of energy into that huddle. For a guy up front,
Speaker 1: there's a nice having that big, strong body up there
Speaker 1: with the rest of those defensive linemen. But a Keema
Speaker 1: is a powerful man. He's definitely a powerful man. I
Speaker 1: love having him in front of me. He demands a
Speaker 1: double team and I got a lot of respect for him.
Speaker 1: He brings energy each and every day. So having a
Speaker 1: guy like that that does the things on the field
Speaker 1: and Dan in the locker room is this speaks volume.
Speaker 1: And Balan Nichols is right behind him learning, So it's
Speaker 1: gonna be something real quant Thank you so much for
Speaker 1: this time. It was wonderful. You did a great job.
Speaker 1: Good luck in twenty nineteen. We'll talk to you soon.
Speaker 1: Thank you, guys. Ro Quan Smith our guest here on
Speaker 1: Bears All Access. That's gonna wrap us up with Tom
Speaker 1: Fair and Paul's Oranger engineer, and Greg Miller, our producer,
Speaker 1: and the folks at the studios at WSCR Radio Sports
Speaker 1: Radio six seventy to Score. I'm Jeff Joniac. Thanks for listening, everybody.
Speaker 1: This has been Bears All Access, brought to you by
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