Speaker 1: The following is a presentation of the Chicago Bears Network
Speaker 1: and Chicago Bears dot Com. Download the Chicago Bears official
Speaker 1: mobile app for up to the minute Bears content every
Speaker 1: day and now Welcome to Bears All Access, your 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 CDW. Week to a training camp kicking
Speaker 1: into gear with the pads coming on, the evaluations starting
Speaker 1: to really make an impact. Welcome back, everybody to another
Speaker 1: edition of Bears All Access. Here on Chicago Sports Radio
Speaker 1: six seventy. The score were brought to you by IGS
Speaker 1: Energy with Tom Thayer, the Super Bowl Bear. I'm Jeff
Speaker 1: Joniak from News Radio seven eighty and one or five
Speaker 1: point NWBBM. We're really digging in now, buddy. Week two.
Speaker 1: Today's practice nonpad, but the next three days padded practices.
Speaker 1: Tom and Matt Nagge promising earlier this morning that there
Speaker 1: will be some live Porsche. It there won't be a ton,
Speaker 1: but that's something we always get excited about. And that's
Speaker 1: about the running game. Yeah, you know it is. You know,
Speaker 1: that's one thing David Montgomery and the rest of the
Speaker 1: running backs want to see. They want to see how
Speaker 1: things unfold according to their offensive line in front of them,
Speaker 1: and then how they read the defense reacting to the
Speaker 1: plays they're running. Again, Matt started this early by saying
Speaker 1: that he wants to get twenty carries a game, and
Speaker 1: so I think you have to emphasize the running game
Speaker 1: a little bit more. And it's also the physical element
Speaker 1: that's added to that part of practice. I think it's
Speaker 1: really beneficial for both sides. Some of the COVID nineteen
Speaker 1: conversation you may have heard involving the reserve list with
Speaker 1: Edie Goldman, Christian Jones, Patrick Scales, and Elijah Wilkins here
Speaker 1: and there in the last couple of days, had a
Speaker 1: lot of discussion about it really from day to day,
Speaker 1: according to Matteggie, and not like last year when they
Speaker 1: would have to shut the building down and scramble at
Speaker 1: three o'clock in the morning. It's not something you overreact to.
Speaker 1: And we don't know all the details. We're not going
Speaker 1: to know all the details. There are NFL rules regarding that,
Speaker 1: as he indicated this morning. But here is where head
Speaker 1: coach Matt Naggie is at this year. Zero panic. I mean,
Speaker 1: when stuff like this happens, we learn from that, and
Speaker 1: I think it's our job as leaders to make sure
Speaker 1: that the players feel that and know that it is
Speaker 1: what it is. I mean, we're going to educate and
Speaker 1: encourage all these players to do everything the right way
Speaker 1: and what we feel can help us and help them
Speaker 1: as people. But at the same time, you're not going
Speaker 1: to get any panic from me, and you're not going
Speaker 1: to get away from it all at all either time.
Speaker 1: It's going to be a constant conversation throughout the league.
Speaker 1: An FLPA Wade and yesterday sent memos to players about it.
Speaker 1: They're a little bit concerned. There have been some flare
Speaker 1: ups in the league in Atlanta, in Miami, Washington, Minnesota,
Speaker 1: but by and large, it's not just the players though
Speaker 1: like last year, He's got to educate the families as well,
Speaker 1: and so they're taking calls, they're doing whatever they can do,
Speaker 1: and every player is trying to adjust to it all. Well.
Speaker 1: You know, that's kind of one of the elements that
Speaker 1: present itself on a team sport like football, because it's
Speaker 1: not only the pandemic issues that you're going to face
Speaker 1: now from last year to this year. But it's also
Speaker 1: the immediacy of an injury on a foot fall team
Speaker 1: that all of sudden you're looking for someone to fill
Speaker 1: that void. So I think when you listen to Matt
Speaker 1: and Aggie answer that question, you're listening to a voice
Speaker 1: of experience. Now he's got a couple of years at
Speaker 1: the helm of the quarter at the head coaching position,
Speaker 1: and he realizes you can't panic in any of the
Speaker 1: scenarios like tackle. Right now, Tevin Jenkins has not practiced
Speaker 1: just yet, still working through back tightness. The list is long.
Speaker 1: There were a lot of players out today, obviously Teriko
Speaker 1: and Eddie Jackson, Jamada Fetti still not able to get
Speaker 1: on the practice field, but a whole bunch of other guys,
Speaker 1: including Elijah Wilkinson, including Badara Tior who's also one of
Speaker 1: the tackles. So it's giving a great opportunity. Tim to
Speaker 1: Larry Borham, Yeah, well, he's been doing good things this
Speaker 1: whole camp, and he has a really positive attitude. He's
Speaker 1: extremely focused, he fits in well with the guys, and
Speaker 1: he's coachable. So I was not surprised with him knowing that. Okay,
Speaker 1: hey listen, we just found out you gotta go in
Speaker 1: there now, you're gonna play this this practice here at
Speaker 1: left tackle with the ones and do your thing. Wasn't
Speaker 1: it wasn't big to him, He was not overwhelmed. The
Speaker 1: film proves it. He did a great job. But can
Speaker 1: you do a great job today? You know? The one
Speaker 1: thing about Larry Boram, the early indicator of Larry Boram
Speaker 1: is how he showed up at camp. He was in shape.
Speaker 1: He completely reconstructed his body from the three hundred and
Speaker 1: sixty pounds he played at in college and now he's
Speaker 1: more of a fluid three hundred and thirty five pounder,
Speaker 1: very strong, good feet, good recognition of his assignment. So
Speaker 1: to me, I couldn't be more excited about any other
Speaker 1: player on this team than Larry Boram. And right now
Speaker 1: he looks the part. He really does. And we saw
Speaker 1: that early in the rookie mini camps with no pad,
Speaker 1: just walking around and running around out there and seeing
Speaker 1: him do drills. How he works against Khalil mack Tom.
Speaker 1: That's a great test right there. You're right. You want
Speaker 1: to talk about something not being too big for him,
Speaker 1: it's the one on one in full pad opportunities to
Speaker 1: go against a guy like Khalil, and he held his ground,
Speaker 1: he was strong at the point of attack. He gave
Speaker 1: a nice punch back to clill Max. So again, all
Speaker 1: indicators are that this job is not too big for
Speaker 1: Larry Boram and it's gonna make Tevin when he does
Speaker 1: come back, getting that competitive frame of mind and try
Speaker 1: to earn his spot somewhere on the offensive line. Three
Speaker 1: inside linebackers out this morning, Joel Ea, booney Way, also
Speaker 1: Josh Woods. They came down with some flare ups from
Speaker 1: the practice at Soldier Field, and then Kristin Jones out
Speaker 1: today as well. So newbi alic Ogletree wearing number forty four,
Speaker 1: twelve career interceptions, four for touchdowns, and a swipe of
Speaker 1: Nick Foles who practice this morning. He took it to
Speaker 1: the house. Hey, this guy's a legitimate starting NFL linebacker.
Speaker 1: He's not going to be a guy that you're going
Speaker 1: to have to introduce the nuances of the opponent's offense.
Speaker 1: He's seen it all. He's got a lot of playing
Speaker 1: time under his belt, and he's a guy that could
Speaker 1: come in here and immediately contribute to the depth but
Speaker 1: also become a starter. Coming up on today's show, We've
Speaker 1: got Darnell Mooney for a couple of segments, the second
Speaker 1: year Bears wide receiver out of Tulane, and then we'll
Speaker 1: be joined by Jimbo Covert going into the Hall of
Speaker 1: Fame on Saturday and that centennial class of twenty twenty.
Speaker 1: Nice long conversation coming up with Jimbo. A lot to discuss.
Speaker 1: This is Bears All Access on Chicago Sports Radio six
Speaker 1: seventy the Score. The Chicago Bears, one of the teams
Speaker 1: in the Chicago Sports Alliance, are supporting Ready Chicago's gun
Speaker 1: violence reduction efforts. To learn more at Heartland Alliance dot org,
Speaker 1: slash Ready, Jeff, Joni Act, Tom there back with you
Speaker 1: on Bears all Access. Please to be joining Please to
Speaker 1: finally meet him in person. Second year wide receiver, Darnell Mooney,
Speaker 1: Thanks for taking some time and joining us. How you're
Speaker 1: feeling everything going well? Good? How about yourself? Yeah? You
Speaker 1: know great? And we watched you this morning at practice
Speaker 1: make a great play catching the end zone and the
Speaker 1: man went gymnastics on us. I mean the summer that
Speaker 1: the back flip was just perfection. I'd give it at
Speaker 1: ten point ZERU. You know that just is this something
Speaker 1: that you do in practice. I mean, it just it
Speaker 1: just came upon you. We're just trying to show a
Speaker 1: little personality and uh so some different things that I
Speaker 1: can do. You know, I'm a man with a lot
Speaker 1: of different tricks. So well, the one thing that's the
Speaker 1: gift of having great athleticism and harving harvesting all that
Speaker 1: because you've shown it. You've made some acrobatic catches. We've
Speaker 1: seen your college tape as well back there. But you're
Speaker 1: making a name for yourself in a real short time.
Speaker 1: I always I always like to say some guys they
Speaker 1: go from zero to sixty or they make they just
Speaker 1: make a big impact in a very short time and
Speaker 1: it's never a straight line. And I think you've already
Speaker 1: done that and a lot more room to grow. And
Speaker 1: we know I no longer want to call you a
Speaker 1: fifth round pick because it doesn't matter, right, for sure,
Speaker 1: it doesn't matter at all. And you kind of intimated
Speaker 1: that when you met the media this year for the
Speaker 1: first time, that you want to you want to make
Speaker 1: some noise. Sure, going deeper into that tell us about
Speaker 1: all that. So the main thing is when I was
Speaker 1: saying that, uh I want to I want my name
Speaker 1: to be known is more so of like getting respect
Speaker 1: from around the lead, and then not even just a
Speaker 1: respect around the lead, but in the locker room as well.
Speaker 1: So like with the quarterbacks, just knowing that they can
Speaker 1: come to me and knowing that I'll be able to
Speaker 1: make that play regardless of whenever it is, whenever you
Speaker 1: need a bell out, I can be that guy. But
Speaker 1: you know, Darnelle, last year you come in, we have
Speaker 1: no expectations for you. Now this year, we have a
Speaker 1: lot of expectations for you, not only the Bears fan
Speaker 1: but around the NFL landscape. Was there anything different about
Speaker 1: your preparation or you know now that you got that
Speaker 1: attention that there are expectations thrusted on you. I mean
Speaker 1: this year, I mean, I feel like it's more comfortable
Speaker 1: for the coach's wise of just being able to not
Speaker 1: put me, We'll put me in a play that they
Speaker 1: are comfortable with, and just being able to like, Okay,
Speaker 1: Mooney can make this play, not so of a it's
Speaker 1: not so if if like they we got to see
Speaker 1: what he can do on this play, or hopefully money
Speaker 1: can make this play. You know. Jimmy Graham was meeting
Speaker 1: the media and he said that he studied Tony Gonzalez
Speaker 1: and Antonio Gay. It's a couple of famous tight ends
Speaker 1: in the NFL. Does your do you transfer? Thinking? Okay,
Speaker 1: I feel like I play like this guy or I
Speaker 1: have skills of this person. Are there any guys that
Speaker 1: maybe you'd watch a little extra tape on and kind
Speaker 1: of look at your traits similar to them. I'll watch
Speaker 1: a lot of guys, man, I watch I watch a
Speaker 1: Robins Will I mean obviously and Tyreek Hill, Desn Jackson, Jarvis,
Speaker 1: Landry Adam. Feeling like I watch a lot of guys
Speaker 1: because they do a lot of things different and I
Speaker 1: want to put it all into one So if I
Speaker 1: can grab all those guys, you know, different things and
Speaker 1: put it in one one person, I mean, I feel
Speaker 1: like I'd be a great player, for example, out of
Speaker 1: those guys. Give me some traits that you want to
Speaker 1: pull from some of these guys, and I'm gonna throw
Speaker 1: one more on there, and ironically a fifth round pick
Speaker 1: as well. You know where I'm going, right, Stefan Diggs,
Speaker 1: you guys are not that dissimilar in size and wait,
Speaker 1: and I don't know exactly what his speed is off
Speaker 1: the top of my head, but I think you're probably faster,
Speaker 1: but you know he's he's your rookie years statistically not
Speaker 1: that far off either. And then he took a big jump.
Speaker 1: But if you would pull all those guys and think
Speaker 1: in your mind's eye, what what's the trait that you
Speaker 1: want to inherit from some of these great players. Um, well,
Speaker 1: we'll speaking on the Stefan Diggs. Um just him being explosive,
Speaker 1: like with his routes and uh, just being able to
Speaker 1: catch the ball and be able to go as soon
Speaker 1: as he catched the ball, he's getting hit the gas, yes,
Speaker 1: and then uh for example of Tyreek Hill, I mean
Speaker 1: deep threat for sure, the cheetah. Yes, if he's the cheetah,
Speaker 1: what are you man, he's yet to be determined and
Speaker 1: Adam feeling Adam feeling. Uh, his shiftiness and his routes
Speaker 1: is very very nasty, very very savvy, and uh it's
Speaker 1: very explosive as well. And I think him and um,
Speaker 1: well watching some old family with him and Stefan Diggs together.
Speaker 1: I can watch Diggs one at the same time. I
Speaker 1: can watch Diggs one route and then rounded back and
Speaker 1: then go to Alan. When is the route one? When
Speaker 1: is it one? Yeah, I mean more so it depends
Speaker 1: on the route. Depends on a lot route, the line
Speaker 1: of strimmage for sure, and then at the top of
Speaker 1: the route, so you can have you can be losing
Speaker 1: mid route, but as long as you give him, give
Speaker 1: him something, give him some swag to it, you'll be
Speaker 1: able to win it. And I do feel and yeah,
Speaker 1: I think you'd agree. And we go back to the
Speaker 1: Rams game against Jalen Rams and know that's always a
Speaker 1: big Internet sensation, but you smoked them. But it's the
Speaker 1: top of the route. Yeah, it's the top of route.
Speaker 1: You feel that is your ash in the hole right now?
Speaker 1: For sure? For sure. I mean I've been working on
Speaker 1: it with Alan a lot, just making them sure I'm
Speaker 1: pacing myself, not rushing myself regardless if I'm if I
Speaker 1: lose at the beginning, I can always win at the end.
Speaker 1: So you know, last year we kind of came became
Speaker 1: obsessed with you talking about the route tree. And so
Speaker 1: when you talk about the route tree at this part
Speaker 1: of your career, early in your career, is it something
Speaker 1: that you have to discuss that with the quarterbacks. Andy
Speaker 1: Dalton's a new guy on the scene, Justin's a different
Speaker 1: quarterback than Andy, and you have experience with Nick. So
Speaker 1: is it something when you talk about route tree? It's
Speaker 1: something you have to have a conversation with the quarterback
Speaker 1: for sure, just because some routes I may get out
Speaker 1: of my break faster than other guys. So, um, and
Speaker 1: I might give a little more at the top of
Speaker 1: the routes than other guys like guy I want to
Speaker 1: be is because people people understand that I'm fast and
Speaker 1: they want to back bell out of there. But sometimes
Speaker 1: they know that I'm going to break by just understanding
Speaker 1: the play and like the alignment of where I am.
Speaker 1: So I have to tell them, like yo, sit back
Speaker 1: on your back foot a little bit for me, because
Speaker 1: I might I might have to give them a little
Speaker 1: something at the top. So when you talk about the
Speaker 1: top of the route and you have a quarterback that
Speaker 1: has the skills of Andy Dalton, then you have a
Speaker 1: quarterback that has the skills of Justin Fields. Is the
Speaker 1: top of the route different for a quarterback that runs
Speaker 1: as well as Justin as opposed to a quarterback that's
Speaker 1: experienced as Andy Dalton. Um, I'm not. I'm not sure
Speaker 1: with the with the understanding a quarterback throwing wise, I
Speaker 1: just understand, well Justin could extend the play a little
Speaker 1: bit longer because he does have the traits in the
Speaker 1: four four speed and everything that's talked about. Yeah, I mean,
Speaker 1: well getting out the pocket wise, yes, I mean I
Speaker 1: feel like watching watching practice wise in the two minute
Speaker 1: drill the other day, Justin went absolutely crazy. It was
Speaker 1: amazing to watch and just watching them move around and
Speaker 1: get out the pocket, extending the plays, it was amazing
Speaker 1: to watch. And then Andy as well, Um, just the
Speaker 1: way he was controlling everybody, getting people in the right
Speaker 1: spots and putting the ball on you and uh, letting
Speaker 1: us all know what's going on. Yeah, because as we
Speaker 1: talk with Darnell Mooney here on Chicago Sports Radio six
Speaker 1: seventy to score. This is Bears All Access brought to
Speaker 1: you by IGS Energy with Tom there Jeff Joniac. Because
Speaker 1: the ball is gonna be there on your cut. But
Speaker 1: we were talking today, Tom and I just watch with
Speaker 1: from our perspective because we don't always get to be
Speaker 1: in the right place to see practice. Just you could
Speaker 1: feel Matt Matt Naggie always you can feel it, right,
Speaker 1: you can feel the heat coming off his missile. I
Speaker 1: mean that arm strength is pretty sharp. So do you
Speaker 1: have to be ready for it in both cases? One
Speaker 1: because it's gonna be there on time with Andy, but
Speaker 1: this other guy, it's always gonna be there because he's
Speaker 1: got some mustard on here. For sure. You have to
Speaker 1: you definitely have to know who's back there for sure.
Speaker 1: And you have to definitely get on the jug machines
Speaker 1: if you're catching the ball from justin because nobody's on
Speaker 1: the ball that hard unless it's a jug machine. And
Speaker 1: no one knows better than this man right here, Darnell Mooney,
Speaker 1: because one of his first purchases last year was that
Speaker 1: very thing, a juge machine. Is it in the house?
Speaker 1: Where's it at? Is it in your backyard? Are you
Speaker 1: using it off off practice days? I mean, is this
Speaker 1: a constant, constant thing for you? And give us the
Speaker 1: backstory on the jugs machine. I get it every I
Speaker 1: get it in every day, after practice, after meetings, after
Speaker 1: I leave here seven thirty, get it in. I'm shooting
Speaker 1: it over my house to get some over shoulders and
Speaker 1: I'm shooting my backyard. Who's working with you on this,
Speaker 1: my chef, chef? Then hey, it's more. The more you
Speaker 1: can do in this league, right, even the chef. So
Speaker 1: the chef is this pre dinner or post dinner post dinner,
Speaker 1: so he fries you up, not fry. He makes you
Speaker 1: some nice food, which is right up Tom's jay because
Speaker 1: he's a chef from way back. He enjoys the culinary arts.
Speaker 1: And then, uh, we've got some work to do on
Speaker 1: the bankers. That's hilarious. Are you willing to say who
Speaker 1: it is? Because we give the guy a shout out?
Speaker 1: Because that's who chef Kirk Swabby Kirk Swabie. How'd you
Speaker 1: find him? And what's the relationship like it has been
Speaker 1: the two years now? Yes, relationship is good. He's like
Speaker 1: he's not even my chef. Honestly, he's like another brother
Speaker 1: to me. So I actually found him in my apartment
Speaker 1: complex WHENOW just walking around. I was looking for chefs
Speaker 1: and he happened to live in the same place as me,
Speaker 1: and we you know, that's unbelievable. Well, what's his best
Speaker 1: dish and what do you like him putting on putting
Speaker 1: on the table for you? Thank smoke salmon, it's the
Speaker 1: best dish man and exparagus. Have you physically have you
Speaker 1: changed anything about yourself since you've had. You know, you
Speaker 1: come here from college, you have the food that's offered
Speaker 1: to you upstairs, and now you have a guy that
Speaker 1: supplies food for you. Have you changed anything about your
Speaker 1: body since you got into the NFL. Uh? Well, when
Speaker 1: I got in, I was eating way better I was
Speaker 1: in college. It was nothing but chicken wings, you know,
Speaker 1: fried food, and then uh, training for the combine, I was,
Speaker 1: I was eating very healthy. And then now if I
Speaker 1: eat anything fried and miss, my stomach go bad. So
Speaker 1: I just eat everything clean and uh just take care
Speaker 1: of the body as much as I can. Lean mass.
Speaker 1: Did you put some on from last season? Did you
Speaker 1: put more armor on? Because man, you you absorbed some
Speaker 1: some pretty big hits and you will. I mean, that's
Speaker 1: that's the by virtue of the position. And Matt wants
Speaker 1: everybody to play all the spots, so you're gonna be
Speaker 1: taken on various sized cornerbacks and safeties and whatnot. So
Speaker 1: do you feel you put on some armor and how
Speaker 1: has it made you feeling? Is there a limit on
Speaker 1: how much you could put on to maintain your your
Speaker 1: sparkling speed? Definitely, I definitely put on a few pounds.
Speaker 1: I NOCA is the first day I was like one
Speaker 1: eighty five and I stepped on the scout and I
Speaker 1: was like, WHOA, It's a little too fast for me
Speaker 1: to gain, but I felt great at it. So um,
Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to getting back to one eighty five
Speaker 1: and right now I'm like one eighty around that range.
Speaker 1: But I'm feeling good though, Feeling great more with Darnell
Speaker 1: Mooney after this break on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy
Speaker 1: to score this segment of Bears All Access is brought
Speaker 1: to you by Athletical Physical Therapy. Visit Athletico dot com
Speaker 1: to request an appointment in clinic or virtually and start
Speaker 1: feeling better tomorrow with Jeff Joniac, Tim Thare, Darnell Mooney. Time,
Speaker 1: You've got the floor right. So your junior and senior
Speaker 1: year in college, you had forty eight catches each year,
Speaker 1: and last year you had sixty one catches. Did that
Speaker 1: seem like a big jump to you or do you
Speaker 1: see that's just scratching the surface and you have bigger
Speaker 1: numbers capable each year you play. Yeah, for sure. Honestly,
Speaker 1: last year I didn't realize that I had sixty one catches.
Speaker 1: I thought of more than that, honestly. So I'm expecting more.
Speaker 1: I'm I'm able to take on more. Any role that's more,
Speaker 1: I'm willing to take on. So hopefully, you know, Coachnagkin
Speaker 1: pans and creative plays out for MENI to get open
Speaker 1: and we can see those gor Have you developed a
Speaker 1: relationship with either receivers, coach or coach Naggy that maybe
Speaker 1: you have a suggested route or a play from your
Speaker 1: past that you know that the success raiders high for you.
Speaker 1: I mean, some of the offense that we have ran
Speaker 1: in college was from the Bear, so I've been running
Speaker 1: some of the same plays anyway, So I don't really
Speaker 1: have to say too much. I'm comfortable with everything that
Speaker 1: we call just That's probably why I got a good
Speaker 1: pick up on the playbook lash Year. Are you Are
Speaker 1: you a fan of the game or me. I'm kind
Speaker 1: of obsessed with it after playing, and even while I
Speaker 1: was playing, I would watch tape. I would watch the
Speaker 1: games when they're on TV, and you kind of pick
Speaker 1: up little things. Are you that type of a fan
Speaker 1: for sure? For sure? Like I'll be watching with the
Speaker 1: family and they'll be like, who you're rooting for it?
Speaker 1: I'm like, um, I'm really just washing and I like
Speaker 1: to play outs strategies throughout the game, like what do
Speaker 1: they have to do here? Do they have to score early? Here?
Speaker 1: Do they have to hold the ball a little bit more?
Speaker 1: I just like to pan out strategies of the game.
Speaker 1: Are you playing mad? For sure? Yeah? See it we're old.
Speaker 1: So have you ever played a video game in your life?
Speaker 1: I mean bad Back of the Day? Yeah, I mean
Speaker 1: I know, but you know all the kids, my daughters
Speaker 1: certainly do. But um so it's interesting because I've never
Speaker 1: played it and I would get my rearend kicked by
Speaker 1: any young man playing that game. Uh, do you pick
Speaker 1: up some nuggets that might help you on the field
Speaker 1: from Madden? For sure? Madden is a definitely another practice.
Speaker 1: And then like that, you have to see the coverage
Speaker 1: and uh knowing where you want to go with the ball.
Speaker 1: Some of the players that we run are on man,
Speaker 1: so you can run those plays and just uh you
Speaker 1: can see the see the defense that we were going
Speaker 1: against next week, and I'll probably just get on there
Speaker 1: and just play mad against those coverages and see how
Speaker 1: it'd be panned out and into that And from a
Speaker 1: quarterback view, now, are you as into it as well?
Speaker 1: When Kyle Long was here, the expert. He used to
Speaker 1: play all these different games with people from all over
Speaker 1: the world. Do you do that? Yeah, yeah, yes, tuik,
Speaker 1: So what is that interaction like with you? Do they
Speaker 1: know who you are when you do it? Or do
Speaker 1: you go by undercover? Has I'll work? My name is
Speaker 1: a little different than the video games. Care to share
Speaker 1: that one. But you know when when you go and
Speaker 1: you play a game like Madden, and you can pick
Speaker 1: up different things if you're watching tape. But then when
Speaker 1: you have the human side of it out on the field,
Speaker 1: can you read a defensive back like going, okay, no,
Speaker 1: this guy is not confident and this type of move
Speaker 1: or this type of pre snap movement and stuff. You
Speaker 1: can you read these guys now for sure? For sure
Speaker 1: the leverage tells it all. And then uh, just honestly
Speaker 1: getting in the film room and understanding what guys like
Speaker 1: to do and are reading what type of guys like
Speaker 1: um are not comfortable doing. So if guys are not comfortable,
Speaker 1: like you know, sitting back so far from from a
Speaker 1: blitz and they like to get over and in this cap,
Speaker 1: then you can just tell who who's not comfortable with
Speaker 1: what they're doing. Darnell Mooney, our guest here on Bears
Speaker 1: All Access in Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to score
Speaker 1: with Tom there Jeff Jonaiac. So, I'm gonna go back
Speaker 1: to the catch number. You said, we're surprising. Would it
Speaker 1: surprise you to know you had ninety eight targets? You
Speaker 1: did not know that? So between you and a Rob
Speaker 1: as I just fired up my computer, he's had one
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty plus the last two years and that's
Speaker 1: right at the top of the shelf in the National
Speaker 1: Football League for a targeted receiver. So between the two
Speaker 1: of you, basically two hundred and fifty targets last year,
Speaker 1: and I'm assuming that's gonna continue in that vein. Although
Speaker 1: you do have complimentary speed with veterans that likely are
Speaker 1: going to make this roster and b impact players like
Speaker 1: Marquis Goodwin, Demir Bird and obviously das Knewsom coming off injury.
Speaker 1: There's opportunities here, Javon wims lots of different opportunities to
Speaker 1: will that benefit you guys, if you're not needed to
Speaker 1: be targeted, that often spread the wealth a little bit.
Speaker 1: With that open up the field for you and a
Speaker 1: Rod for sure, for sure, Mark Creas is already telling
Speaker 1: me the other day that I can catch one ball
Speaker 1: and it's over for for me for the rest of
Speaker 1: the season. They're going to respect it for the rest
Speaker 1: of the season. So just understanding that just just a
Speaker 1: room in general, everybody's for each other. So um, I
Speaker 1: definitely think it would open up for everybody. All right,
Speaker 1: blocking or jet sweeps? What is the more physical element?
Speaker 1: Because if you don't block, you can't play in the NFL.
Speaker 1: And you do block, but you also run a lot
Speaker 1: of sweeps. So when you look at getting a ball
Speaker 1: at the line of scrimmage where you're the ball carrier
Speaker 1: or downfield where you have to make a block that's
Speaker 1: instrument instrumental and a successful play, what physical part of
Speaker 1: it do you do you like the most. I'll take
Speaker 1: on I'll take on the blocking. I'll take on the blocking.
Speaker 1: The jet seems all like because I can run past
Speaker 1: the you know, the big, heavier guys, I have to
Speaker 1: worry about too much of them. But uh, I mean,
Speaker 1: if I can, you know, get a good block in,
Speaker 1: it'll get me ready for the rest of the game
Speaker 1: early on. So all right, we're gonna let you go.
Speaker 1: One final question. Uh, you know your late father worked
Speaker 1: at GM, your mom worked for good Year in Gaston, Alabama.
Speaker 1: So are you in the cars because all that know
Speaker 1: what what what other hobbyish type things like music and
Speaker 1: like rooftops, rooftops, hanging out at some rooftops. You got
Speaker 1: some favorites in this fair city because there are a
Speaker 1: lot of the favorite one. Okay, can't beat that best
Speaker 1: view in the city right down the Chicago River, right
Speaker 1: that's at a boy. Have you been on a rooftop
Speaker 1: in this town? Oh yeah, okay, I don't know. You
Speaker 1: don't get on much. I was at a game at
Speaker 1: regularly recently. No, not that kind of rooftop I'm talking about,
Speaker 1: you know, a restaurant, tavern. You know, nah, believe me.
Speaker 1: In my social life, I have not presently applied computing
Speaker 1: your major at Tulane. I was just what Matt Forte
Speaker 1: last week and he brought you up. Another Tulane grad
Speaker 1: And Matt his degree was financing. He's had a great
Speaker 1: post career because of it, doing all sorts of things.
Speaker 1: And no matter what, when your football career ends ten
Speaker 1: or fifteen years from now, you got other things to
Speaker 1: fall back on, don't you. And that that was the
Speaker 1: value of that education for sure. For sure McMain goes
Speaker 1: be successful fifty percent each way. I know football is
Speaker 1: in the fifty percent. I mean NFL is in fifty percent,
Speaker 1: but Tulane has a powerhouse name. So I was hopefully
Speaker 1: whenever I can get a job somewhere, that resume will
Speaker 1: say two lane and it will be like, okay, we
Speaker 1: can just go ahead and give him the job, and
Speaker 1: then if I go to NFL, it was a plus.
Speaker 1: So absolutely well, we wish you nothing but the best
Speaker 1: this year. Great to finally meet you face to face
Speaker 1: and have a great season. Thank you, Thank you. Darna
Speaker 1: Almoney our guest here on Bears All Access coming up,
Speaker 1: Jimbo Covert to Bears Hall of Famer going into the
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame this weekend. Great news and great conversation ahead.
Speaker 1: This is Bears All Access on Chicago Sports Radio six
Speaker 1: seventy to score. Welcome back to Bears All Access brought
Speaker 1: to you by IGS Energy. Choose clean energy for your
Speaker 1: home at igs dot com because every good choice adds
Speaker 1: up to a better world. With Tom Thayer, Jeff Joniak
Speaker 1: and please to be joined by the Centennio Hall of
Speaker 1: Fame Class of twenty twenty, the greatest left tackle on
Speaker 1: Chicago Bears history, Jimbo Covert finally gets his coronation this
Speaker 1: weekend in Canton, and just like the igs energy read there,
Speaker 1: every good choice adds up to a better world. You
Speaker 1: were a great choice for the Hall of Fame and
Speaker 1: long overdue, and then on top of the Jimbo, you
Speaker 1: had to wait it out because of a pandemic. But boy,
Speaker 1: when you get up on that stage and Canton in
Speaker 1: front of your peers and fans, it's going to be
Speaker 1: an emotional moment for you. How have you processed that
Speaker 1: and how you how you feeling about it all. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's definitely gonna be an emotional moment for I just
Speaker 1: think that that's been a while, and you know all
Speaker 1: this too, with everything that's gone on in in the world,
Speaker 1: pandemic and everything, it was the right decision to make
Speaker 1: to not get all those people together, and now getting
Speaker 1: all those people together and still having some difficulties. I
Speaker 1: think it's a difficult thing right now for everybody. But
Speaker 1: you know, I think for people that are vaccinated and
Speaker 1: people who feel comfortable going there, I think it's gonna
Speaker 1: be one heck of a good time. So it's a
Speaker 1: little I think waiting that long just makes it that
Speaker 1: much sweeter. And it's gonna, you know, really, you know,
Speaker 1: looking forward to spending time with all my family and
Speaker 1: friends and teammates, and it's gonna be a good time. Hey, Jimbo.
Speaker 1: So the other day, my friend Steve dial sends me
Speaker 1: a picture of his grandson going to his first football
Speaker 1: practice and he's sitting on the backseat with his helmet on.
Speaker 1: Tell me the story about Jimbo Covert going from that
Speaker 1: day to going on the stage as a Hall of Famer. Well,
Speaker 1: it's a long story, Tom, to take a long time.
Speaker 1: But you know, I first started playing football when I
Speaker 1: was eight and my brother was nine, and my and
Speaker 1: my we had to beg my dad to let him
Speaker 1: play football, let me play football. My mom didn't want
Speaker 1: me to play, so my dad was kind of against
Speaker 1: it because of her, but he really wanted us to play.
Speaker 1: So we wore my mother down a little bit. But
Speaker 1: you know, I started Conway Raiders midget football or termites
Speaker 1: or wherever they call it back then, and I played
Speaker 1: fullback for one day and then I became a guard
Speaker 1: after that, and then a tackle and I never left
Speaker 1: a position after that, So I was destined pretty early
Speaker 1: to play that left tackle position. I played it ever since. Uh,
Speaker 1: you know, midget football, so it but you know, all
Speaker 1: the hard work and all the people that you mean,
Speaker 1: I think that's the greatest thing about football. Football is
Speaker 1: you know, just creates memories for a lifetime and creates
Speaker 1: relationships for a lifetime at every level. You know, you'll
Speaker 1: see a lot of my buddies that are going to
Speaker 1: be there that I grew up with and went to
Speaker 1: kindergarten in first grade with and played football, midget football,
Speaker 1: junior high football. You'll see all the guys from pitt
Speaker 1: in the Bear. So it's going to be a way
Speaker 1: to party and it's going to be a great scene everybody.
Speaker 1: Jimbo Covert our guest here on Bears All Access on
Speaker 1: Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The score top there. Jeff
Speaker 1: joniac I wrote this last year. I went back in
Speaker 1: my files and I said, Jimbo grew up in a
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh area, steel Town built tough, and that's exactly how
Speaker 1: you played the game. It's it's your roots that kind
Speaker 1: of built your foundation and your mentality and your desire.
Speaker 1: And Tom's told me many, many, many stories about a
Speaker 1: guy you don't mess with on a very tough team
Speaker 1: in the eighties, was Jimbo Covert? Well, yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 1: I just think thanks Jeff, I just think that, you know,
Speaker 1: and Tom and I hacked a lot of conversations with this,
Speaker 1: you know, when I first got to the Bears, you know,
Speaker 1: pulling me back up when I was a pit, you know,
Speaker 1: the the offensive line where the guys are kind of
Speaker 1: set practice tempo and you know, step kind of the
Speaker 1: speed of practice. And you know, I'm sure it was
Speaker 1: the same way at Notre Dame. When I got to
Speaker 1: the Bears, it was completely the opposite. You know. It
Speaker 1: was a deep tons of line that set practice tempo
Speaker 1: and set set kind of game, you know, speed of practice.
Speaker 1: And you know, I just wasn't really comfortable that because
Speaker 1: I thought they kind of, you know, were guys that
Speaker 1: you know, had an advantage and they took advantage of
Speaker 1: it and you know, push some people around, and you know,
Speaker 1: I wasn't used to that. So you know, I wanted
Speaker 1: to make sure when I get in there that I
Speaker 1: set up for myself and showed people I wasn't going
Speaker 1: to be pushed with or messed around, and you know,
Speaker 1: I think that just creates people that respect that. You know,
Speaker 1: I don't know if if you didn't do that, they
Speaker 1: wouldn't respect you at all. So you know, that's just football.
Speaker 1: That's just being on the field and earning respect and
Speaker 1: you know, having guys that if you play with, respect
Speaker 1: you and that's a big deal. Jim Malayah, you know
Speaker 1: the common ground between you and Mike did he went
Speaker 1: to pitt You went to pitt He's from the Pittsburgh area.
Speaker 1: Year from the Pittsburgh area, So that the initial relationship
Speaker 1: between you two as coach and player. How how did
Speaker 1: that start, How was that relationship develop and how did
Speaker 1: it kind of mold your attitude in your career. That's
Speaker 1: great time. When I first got there, you know, mini camp,
Speaker 1: my rookie year, I was named the starter before Avon
Speaker 1: walked on the field, you know, and and I went
Speaker 1: in there didn't know the players, didn't know the system,
Speaker 1: and you know, it took me a while to kind
Speaker 1: of get up to speed. I think, um, there was
Speaker 1: a lot of expectation that I would play at a
Speaker 1: at a you know, a high level, winning football level,
Speaker 1: and right out of the gate when you're not used
Speaker 1: to the system. You know. There was a couple of
Speaker 1: times where I wasn't you know, I don't think I
Speaker 1: played as well as I should have, and he let
Speaker 1: me know about it, especially down in Baltimore when when
Speaker 1: he uh when he broke his hand on that locker,
Speaker 1: and it was probably my fault because I was the
Speaker 1: first game I ever got pulled out of because I
Speaker 1: missed about three assignments, and he let me know that.
Speaker 1: He challenged me the next week and said, you need
Speaker 1: to play at an all pro level. I don't care
Speaker 1: how old you are, and that's my expectation. And then
Speaker 1: the next week against Denver, we played really good game
Speaker 1: and I got a game ball. So I think that's
Speaker 1: when it kind of started that I had to challenge
Speaker 1: myself as well. And I just couldn't say, hey, I'm
Speaker 1: a rookie and you know, you know, if i make
Speaker 1: a few mistakes, that's okay. I wasn't allowed to make
Speaker 1: any mistakes, and so I had to put the pressure
Speaker 1: on myself and it all worked out. But that relationship
Speaker 1: started I think basically saying I'm going to challenge you
Speaker 1: to be the best player you can be, and I'm
Speaker 1: not going to expect anything less than perfection, and that's
Speaker 1: what he wanted for those Bears fans out there that
Speaker 1: enjoyed watching Jimbo Covid and those that never got the opportunity.
Speaker 1: I always find it fascinating to go back and just
Speaker 1: read and this is why guys getting into Hall of
Speaker 1: Fame what they did and in terms of dominance or
Speaker 1: change the game in their era. And it's really when
Speaker 1: you see it in print, it's a mind blow because
Speaker 1: this is Dan Pompey's research, and Dan, the great Hall
Speaker 1: of Fame writer, helped you get in there. Obviously, he's
Speaker 1: standing on the table for you. Seventeen games in your
Speaker 1: career against current Hall of Fame pass rushers, four and
Speaker 1: a half sacks allowed. I wonder if you remember all
Speaker 1: those four and a half sacks allowed, because Tom remembers
Speaker 1: everyone he may have given up for every offside yet
Speaker 1: and then the other angle of it. First four years
Speaker 1: in the league, Bears led the league in rushing with
Speaker 1: Jimbo Covert leading the way and seven one thousand yard rushers. Yeah,
Speaker 1: everybody knows Walter Payton, but also Neil Anderson three times.
Speaker 1: So this was bigger than just the guys in the
Speaker 1: backfield toting the rock. It was what you did all that,
Speaker 1: all you guys on the offensive line, but in your era.
Speaker 1: So those are some significant reasons to put a man
Speaker 1: in the NFL Hall of Fame for sure. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: think I'm most proud of Jeff is just you know,
Speaker 1: our offensive line and you know how we came together.
Speaker 1: And you know, I can't think of four better guys
Speaker 1: that I would rather line up next to on any Sunday.
Speaker 1: I mean, we were very fortunate to play together for
Speaker 1: a long time and that's a big deal. And I
Speaker 1: think that's a big deal for offensive line lineman to
Speaker 1: be comfortable with each other. So you know, we were.
Speaker 1: And you know what I'm most proud about is is that,
Speaker 1: you know, setting a record like that, you know, really
Speaker 1: kind of went unnoticed for a long time. And it
Speaker 1: was really unfortunate because if you can lead the league
Speaker 1: in Russian four years in a row, I mean, it
Speaker 1: only happened one other time, and I think that was
Speaker 1: in the forties from the Bears in the forties, and
Speaker 1: so and you think about guy, you know, teams that
Speaker 1: have Hall of Fame offensive linemen, right that have several
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame offensive linemen that in that era, their
Speaker 1: team's never led the league in Russian And so when
Speaker 1: you think about that, you know, how does that go
Speaker 1: unnoticed all those years? And I think it was basically
Speaker 1: because you had to be had such a great defense
Speaker 1: and h and I think a lot of that was
Speaker 1: kind of attributed to Walter Payton, and rightly so, but
Speaker 1: but you have to have an offensive line without they're
Speaker 1: blocking for him, right And I think finally to get
Speaker 1: that recognition, finally, after all these years, it was kind
Speaker 1: of surprising to me that it didn't get recognized earlier
Speaker 1: on JAMAI. You know, your college roommate Dan Marino says
Speaker 1: you're the best left tackle he's ever played with him
Speaker 1: for a former Hall of a Hall of Famer Richard
Speaker 1: Den says you're the best left tackle he's ever played against.
Speaker 1: That's pretty high praise for for you and for the
Speaker 1: compliments of two Hall of famers. What's that mean to
Speaker 1: you that after all these years, that your your name
Speaker 1: is still at the forefront of both of these guys
Speaker 1: career Well, Danny, you know, I just um, we played
Speaker 1: together for three years and I protected his blindside and uh,
Speaker 1: you know, he always says that that he made me
Speaker 1: a better left tackle because you get rid of the ball.
Speaker 1: So that's interesting. He'll say that to me. He won't
Speaker 1: say that. But um and Richard, I mean, you know,
Speaker 1: we came in together, and we practice against each other
Speaker 1: every day, and you know, maybe we weren't sometimes very
Speaker 1: fond of each other and because of practicing like that,
Speaker 1: and uh, but we were always friends and he means
Speaker 1: a lot to me, and you know he made me better.
Speaker 1: I mean, you played against some Tom I mean he
Speaker 1: had one of the best first steps of any player
Speaker 1: I've ever played against. It. If you didn't have a
Speaker 1: good pass set coming up the ball, you were dead already.
Speaker 1: I mean he was already passed. So and playing against
Speaker 1: our offensive line, I mean we weren't, I mean our
Speaker 1: defensive line. We were never going to play against anybody
Speaker 1: on Sundays it was any better. I mean, you had
Speaker 1: Steve McMichael, who I think should be in the Hall
Speaker 1: of Fame. Dan Hampton is a Hall of Famer, Richard Dent,
Speaker 1: you know the Fridge, you know, Mike Hardenstein. I mean
Speaker 1: these guys were players now, I mean they were some
Speaker 1: of the greatest players of all time. So you know
Speaker 1: who were we going to play on Sunday in a
Speaker 1: scheme that was going to be better than those guys.
Speaker 1: So our practices were more intense than the games. Here
Speaker 1: and Bears All Access on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy
Speaker 1: to score our special guest, Hall of Famer Jimbo Covert,
Speaker 1: the Bears left tackle with Tom There Jeff joniac So
Speaker 1: NFL Lineman of the Year in eighty five, one hundred
Speaker 1: ten games in a career, slugging it out in the trenches,
Speaker 1: four all Pro seasons, and uh one of the premier
Speaker 1: players in Bear's history, regardless of position, a lot of accolades.
Speaker 1: So when you had to put pen to paper and
Speaker 1: now I don't know how many times you may have
Speaker 1: rewritten it or have you written it? Are you gonna
Speaker 1: speak off the cuff? What's your plan for Canton this weekend?
Speaker 1: On your acceptance speech? Yeah, there will be no speaking
Speaker 1: off the cuff because they got the chain on us
Speaker 1: out there. Oh yeah, that's right. How many minutes? How
Speaker 1: many minutes they've given you now? Eight six? Now, how
Speaker 1: can you capture your life in six minutes? Well, they
Speaker 1: made sure that, so I had to submit it and
Speaker 1: then they wanted you to work with a speech coach
Speaker 1: who was great and kind of move some things around.
Speaker 1: And then, um, you know, I timed it and I
Speaker 1: said it was under six minutes, and she timed and
Speaker 1: said it was over eight minutes. So um, then I
Speaker 1: added some things. She had took some things out, so
Speaker 1: then she had me read it in front of her
Speaker 1: own zoom and time. So yeah, so it's hard to
Speaker 1: capture your whole life in six minutes, you know, and
Speaker 1: so um, that was hard to do. But I I
Speaker 1: just didn't want it to be you know, thank you,
Speaker 1: thank you, thank you, thank you for six minutes. I
Speaker 1: tried to weave some things in there that I think
Speaker 1: we're important, that people have huge impact in my life.
Speaker 1: And so I'm hoping with six minutes it doesn't justice
Speaker 1: and that's all we can hope for. One more thing
Speaker 1: about that, though, Do they factor in the tears, because
Speaker 1: I don't know how an emotional man you are, but
Speaker 1: we've seen I've been many and the tears start flowing,
Speaker 1: and you you know that that's going to eat up
Speaker 1: some of your six minutes. Well, I hope they stops
Speaker 1: o'clock with I don't know if they will, but the
Speaker 1: rumors are since I haven't seen you have, no one's
Speaker 1: ever seen this before. Six minutes you get a light
Speaker 1: like a light, seven minutes you get like a red light.
Speaker 1: And then eight minutes are going to play music. Look
Speaker 1: like it's the Oscars. They're gonna give you the hook
Speaker 1: and take you off stage. So I think, God, no
Speaker 1: one wants to be the first guy that you know, um,
Speaker 1: so I'll get through it rather quickly. So we'll see
Speaker 1: all right, last thing with Jimbo Covert bears Hall of
Speaker 1: Fame left tackle, gets his induction speech in place, and
Speaker 1: his bust in Canton, and it's just an amazing accomplishment
Speaker 1: for any pro athlete to get to the Hall of
Speaker 1: Fame and be considered one of the best of all
Speaker 1: time in this great game. So, Matt Suey, your presenter,
Speaker 1: I know there have been some stories written about that,
Speaker 1: but explain that choice before we let you go and
Speaker 1: enjoy your trip down to Canton. Well, Matt and I
Speaker 1: were roommates. M Willie Galt and I were roommates for
Speaker 1: the first year, and you know, um, but you know Willie,
Speaker 1: Willie like to have people come up to the room.
Speaker 1: You know, like we go out and play la and
Speaker 1: the you know couple of the Jack and Bib will
Speaker 1: be up in our room and h we go to
Speaker 1: another place and he'd have other celebrities up there. I said, Willie,
Speaker 1: I love him, oh man, but I can't. I can't
Speaker 1: take it anymore. I got to get into so so
Speaker 1: I went to Matt and uh, because I think he
Speaker 1: had Roland Harper and then Roland retired and uh and
Speaker 1: then uh, and then I got Matt. So I'm out
Speaker 1: in our roommates for seven years. And he was such
Speaker 1: a great mentor. And it was funny because we used
Speaker 1: to laugh. A was a pitt and pin stake guy
Speaker 1: in the same room together, you know. But we got
Speaker 1: along and I really had a tremendous amount of respect
Speaker 1: for him, and he became a mentor of mine, and
Speaker 1: you really gave me a lot of advice later on
Speaker 1: in my career about what I was supposed to do
Speaker 1: kind of do after football and what his thoughts were
Speaker 1: and really meant a lot to me. So UM, And
Speaker 1: I think it was a way of also remembering Walter
Speaker 1: because they were so close, and having Walter be part
Speaker 1: of this thing as well, because we all miss him
Speaker 1: and he meant so much all of us, so he'll
Speaker 1: be there as well in spirit, and that's what I
Speaker 1: kind of wanted. Well, Jimbo, we really I appreciate you
Speaker 1: taking the time in a busy week for you. Congratulations again,
Speaker 1: enjoy the entire process, this once in a lifetime moment
Speaker 1: with your friends, your family, and teammates. And couldn't think
Speaker 1: of a better man to be representing the Chicago Bears
Speaker 1: in the National Football League and the Pro Football Hall
Speaker 1: of Fame. Numbers twenty nine and thirty. Ed Sprinkle, a
Speaker 1: forties and fifties era Bear defensive lineman, also inducted this
Speaker 1: weekend as well. Jimball, congrats, buddy, Thank you, Jeff, thank you, Tommy,
Speaker 1: Thank you jim Ball. Take care yea you buddy. More
Speaker 1: Bears All Access coming up after this break on Chicago
Speaker 1: Sports Radio six seventy to score. This segment of Bears
Speaker 1: All Access is brought to you by CDW. People to
Speaker 1: get it. Jeff and Tim wrapping up. Today's show. Been
Speaker 1: a good one with Darnell Mooney and Jimbo coverd Lots
Speaker 1: of great conversation, lots of great storytelling as well. All Right,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna hit you with a bunch of stuff here, Tommy,
Speaker 1: let's talk Cole comment boss coming at him quick from
Speaker 1: Andy Dalton. It's coming there fast from justin field because
Speaker 1: he's got heat on his missile for sure. When he adjusts.
Speaker 1: What are some of the things he has to take
Speaker 1: into account as he tries to catch that football, because
Speaker 1: it's coming at him in very different ways, and it
Speaker 1: is going to be coming to him a lot here
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty one. I think with colcome at the
Speaker 1: thinking process. As soon as you break the huddle. You
Speaker 1: listen to the terminology in the huddle and you see,
Speaker 1: am I the first, second, or third read on this route?
Speaker 1: If I'm the first read on this route, and I
Speaker 1: win my battle at the line of scrimmage, and I
Speaker 1: got to look for that football to be there by
Speaker 1: the time I'm out of my break. It's not a
Speaker 1: chance where you get to recognize eye contact and then
Speaker 1: throw the ball. It's about having a sped up process.
Speaker 1: And again, another thing Mats talked about with Andy Dalton
Speaker 1: is the ability to anticipate the throw justin fields. He's
Speaker 1: got the arm strength to contribute, and he also adjusts
Speaker 1: those speeds he can feather it in or he can
Speaker 1: rip it over the middle in tight coverage. Some big
Speaker 1: plays made today in the back of the end zone.
Speaker 1: A lot of red zone work here today. I'm impressed
Speaker 1: with the type of speed on his fastball, and you know,
Speaker 1: sometimes you're gonna need it, but sometimes you gotta take
Speaker 1: something off on that fast bawd throw a change up. Yeah,
Speaker 1: But you know the way justin runs, he's got a
Speaker 1: lot of different arm angles according to the type of
Speaker 1: pressure he's facing. It's not always just gonna be an
Speaker 1: overhand throw. There's a lot of times that he's going
Speaker 1: to have to adjust to either defender near him or
Speaker 1: the conclusion of the route. All right, Tommy, if you
Speaker 1: had to summarize so far, what has been the most
Speaker 1: enlightening development of camp for you and maybe what has
Speaker 1: been the most disappointing. Well, the most enlightening thing is
Speaker 1: I'm really impressed in the effort that the defenders are
Speaker 1: given new defensive coordinators Seawan to Si. These guys are
Speaker 1: playing enthusiastically and they're playing fast, and I think it
Speaker 1: means a lot to the overall scheme because you have
Speaker 1: the continuous development of guys like Blom Nichols and a
Speaker 1: Key Nicks and you know the outside rushers that we
Speaker 1: know about. But it's the overall team enthusiasm on the
Speaker 1: defensive side of the ball in relation to Sean to
Speaker 1: Si and maybe a little disappointing. I'm disappointed in some
Speaker 1: of the marquee names not being out there, and I'll
Speaker 1: you know Eddie Jackson and you know Tevin for that part.
Speaker 1: Robert Quinn missed a practice, So I know it's far
Speaker 1: away from the first game and the Dolphins are getting
Speaker 1: ready to come in here. But it's about these guys
Speaker 1: being healthy and being on the field because that's when
Speaker 1: you're really going to be able to put all of
Speaker 1: your scheme in motion. All right, Have you learned anything
Speaker 1: about Andy Dalton and justin fields that you didn't know before,
Speaker 1: It didn't anticipate before. Experience makes you a smarter quarterback,
Speaker 1: and I think that's what you see out of Andy
Speaker 1: Dalton when you see a formation that he knows that
Speaker 1: someone's in the wrong position, he can make the adjustment immediately.
Speaker 1: He can make the alternative play decision at the line
Speaker 1: of scrimmage to keep the offense in the in the
Speaker 1: right play and he's got really confident arm strength, and
Speaker 1: he knows how to He's getting to know his assets
Speaker 1: better in terms of their development, but justin you know,
Speaker 1: it's it's all about confidence in his ability. If he
Speaker 1: feels that there's a free run, sure, he knows that
Speaker 1: he's a better athlete to make a miss in space
Speaker 1: and either converted into a solid run by a quarterback
Speaker 1: or taking advantage of a receiver that's just coming open
Speaker 1: later in the route. All right, here come the Miami
Speaker 1: Dolphins next week. A couple of practices, then I walk
Speaker 1: through day, and then they play at Soldier Field on
Speaker 1: Saturday at noon on the fourteenth. I think there's a
Speaker 1: lot of excitement about it. How do you feel about
Speaker 1: what you can see in terms of the work that
Speaker 1: you're going to get in the evaluation you're going to
Speaker 1: get going up against Miami Well, and as when I
Speaker 1: went through training camp and we brought in a different opponents,
Speaker 1: it was all about making sure that you trust what
Speaker 1: you've been coached up into this point, because you're not
Speaker 1: going to have a lot of tape of evaluation before
Speaker 1: you get into your first one on ones or nine
Speaker 1: on seven or seven and seven. So it's about listen
Speaker 1: to the coaches, listen to the critique and the fundamental
Speaker 1: criticisms and improvements that you've been able to make, and
Speaker 1: use those tools that they've given you thus far. All right, Tom,
Speaker 1: we're out of time, man. We're gonna talk to you
Speaker 1: next week, and we'll be talking about those Miami Dolphins
Speaker 1: and getting ready for the first preseason game, one of
Speaker 1: three on the schedule. Exciting times for everybody involved, Exciting
Speaker 1: times for Bears fans as well as they get to
Speaker 1: see it all unfold with Tom there, I'm Jeff Jonnyac.
Speaker 1: Thanks again to our guest today, wide receiver Darnel Mooney
Speaker 1: and the Hall of Famer left tackle Jimbocover from that
Speaker 1: great Bears offensive line from the eighties into the nineties.
Speaker 1: We're gonna talk to you next week. Thanks again to
Speaker 1: our producers Jordan tread Up, Dan Bailly and the folks
Speaker 1: at the Score. This has been Bears All Access, brought
Speaker 1: to you by IGS Energy on Chicago Sports Radio six
Speaker 1: seventy The Score. Thanks for listening to this Chicago Bears
Speaker 1: Network presentation of Bears All Access. Podcasts are available on
Speaker 1: Chicago Bears dot com and on iTunes, or download the
Speaker 1: official Bears mobile app. Bears All Access has been brought
Speaker 1: to you by IGS Energy and sponsored by Miller Litte