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, 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. Oh but it's a great day
Speaker 1: for you everybody. I know it's red hot in Chicago
Speaker 1: and boy, unseasonably warm right now, so a nice heat wave.
Speaker 1: This will be a pre training camp preview of what
Speaker 1: it's to come here for the Bears and the rest
Speaker 1: of the national football This is Bears All Access. Whether
Speaker 1: you on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the score, I'm
Speaker 1: Jeff Johnny Ac. We're brought to you by IGS Energy,
Speaker 1: my broadcast partner Tom Thayer tucked away and Maw, I
Speaker 1: bet you didn't think it'd be in the nineties here
Speaker 1: in Chicago. What do you got over there? Is it
Speaker 1: seventy five and in the light breeze? Yeah, seventy eight
Speaker 1: with a light breeze. If you that's the type of
Speaker 1: weather you life, but like, but I know in the
Speaker 1: Chicago land area, the heat wave has begun. Yes, it has.
Speaker 1: Our producer to Adam Dazinski. He's in our Score Studios.
Speaker 1: Our producers as well Jordan Trutup and Dan Barelli. And
Speaker 1: coming up in our next segment Jim Miller from Sirius
Speaker 1: x MNFL Radios moving the chains and he is a
Speaker 1: former Chicago Bears quarterback. And then at the bottom of
Speaker 1: the hour time we'll visit with Duck Kramer, the Hinsdale
Speaker 1: Central Products. Just like you grew up a big bed
Speaker 1: huge Bears fan and then was able to play his
Speaker 1: entire high school in a collegiate career here in the
Speaker 1: state of Illinois and then drafted by the Bears. You
Speaker 1: guys have a lot in common, even more so than
Speaker 1: Cole Commet because this is a fellow offensive lineman. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, it's gonna be interesting to talk to Doug
Speaker 1: because you know, when I grew up in the sixties,
Speaker 1: the only thing offered you in the NFL was the
Speaker 1: Chicago Bears. So in good times and in bad times,
Speaker 1: you always had to stick with your home hometown team,
Speaker 1: and you wanted to when you go to that next
Speaker 1: generation or a couple of generations after me. You have
Speaker 1: the exposure of the entirety of the NFL, and it's
Speaker 1: kind of interesting where your path is going to take you.
Speaker 1: And I'd like to hear that Doug Kramer has been
Speaker 1: a barrass fan his whole life and his whole career.
Speaker 1: He's a locally born guy, and I just think about
Speaker 1: my family and how excited we were as a whole,
Speaker 1: and I got to imagine it's the same for him
Speaker 1: and his family. Just the opportunity to go out there
Speaker 1: and compete for your hometown team after playing at the
Speaker 1: University of Illinois. What a what a fun career it
Speaker 1: would have, Like the Dick Fucuses and guys like that. Well,
Speaker 1: earlier this week, Luke Keetzie and how competitive this offensive
Speaker 1: line is going to be. As they wrapped up rookie
Speaker 1: minicamp over the weekend at have Us holl I mean
Speaker 1: it should be extremely competitive. I mean that's at every position.
Speaker 1: I mean, that's what we're we're in here doing every
Speaker 1: single day is giving guys an opportunity to compete. There's
Speaker 1: no jobs that are locked up right now, and so
Speaker 1: when you get the pads on, that's when rule ball starts.
Speaker 1: So everything will be evaluated an he says, it will
Speaker 1: be a process. Like everything. I mean, the way that
Speaker 1: they get off the football, the way they execute their
Speaker 1: mentality they're finish. All that stuff's gonna get evaluated. So
Speaker 1: I'm excited to see that we still got a ways
Speaker 1: to go. We've got another phase that we have to
Speaker 1: take in order to be able to be prepared for
Speaker 1: that opportunity. So another month or so to give these
Speaker 1: guests some more working, some more information. Now, so you
Speaker 1: had a bunch of guys are competing at those spots,
Speaker 1: It's gonna be fun to watch. The competitiveness is going
Speaker 1: to be at an all time high. When you bring
Speaker 1: in a new coaching staff and new position coaches everywhere,
Speaker 1: you bring in a lot of young talent, a lot
Speaker 1: of free agents with some opportunities to have some success
Speaker 1: in the NFL. When you kind of think now that
Speaker 1: we've had a chance to talk to Ian Cunningham and
Speaker 1: hopefully eventually get a chance to talk to Ryan Poles,
Speaker 1: and we talked to Matti Eberflus. Every time you get
Speaker 1: to listen to a coach behind the podium or a microphone,
Speaker 1: you kind of get a better understanding of what they're
Speaker 1: looking for. And then you have a little of football
Speaker 1: exposure and you see what the expectations of effort on
Speaker 1: the field is. And I think that is really gonna
Speaker 1: be a telltaling sign of the competitiveness of every single
Speaker 1: position throughout OTAs and training camp and the schedule release
Speaker 1: coming up there at seven o'clock. Officially, I know here
Speaker 1: on the score Danny Parkins seemingly has the entire roster
Speaker 1: of games, but can't confirm or didn't hike as its
Speaker 1: NFL rules, So here we go. We do know. The
Speaker 1: home opener with a visit from the San Francisco forty
Speaker 1: nine Ers at noon on September eleventh, tom So that'll
Speaker 1: be the kickoff visit from a team that came into
Speaker 1: Soldier Field last October May have. So I've seen the
Speaker 1: best play with his feet in the Justin Fields era
Speaker 1: in that game, that wonderful play that he made something
Speaker 1: out of nothing, and that was a hint of what
Speaker 1: he can bring to the table. But the forty nine
Speaker 1: ers in town for the opener, Yeah, well, you know,
Speaker 1: when you look at the teams that they're gonna face
Speaker 1: this year, and you look at the San Francis forty
Speaker 1: nine ers their sidebar stories to every team. You look
Speaker 1: at the Bears going through the coaching transition, and then
Speaker 1: you look at San Francisco where there's uncertainty at the
Speaker 1: quarterback position. Then there's been you know, talk about Deebo
Speaker 1: Samuel and where he wants to play and does he
Speaker 1: want to be traded, would he be willing to hold out?
Speaker 1: Does he want to make his mark out there as
Speaker 1: a wide receiver as opposed to a running back. So
Speaker 1: you know, it's just no A against b in this
Speaker 1: you know, early schedule, there's a lot of things that
Speaker 1: are gonna cause a lot you know, I don't know
Speaker 1: if it's going to cause controversy or it's gonna create
Speaker 1: some new connections. Now, the Bears have lost seven of
Speaker 1: the last eight season openers, so it'd be nice to
Speaker 1: get off on the right foot when we come back.
Speaker 1: We'll be joined by Jim Miller, Bears quarterback and member
Speaker 1: of the team on Sirius XM NFL Radio. He is
Speaker 1: our weekly guest, and also Doug Kramer, the University Illinois product.
Speaker 1: Join against at the bottom of the hour, sit back
Speaker 1: and enjoy on this steamy, steamy Thursday in Chicago in
Speaker 1: May on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The Squad. Welcome
Speaker 1: back everybody to Bears All Access. It's brought to you
Speaker 1: by IGS Energy. Choose clean energy for your home at
Speaker 1: igs dot com because every good choice adds up to
Speaker 1: a better world. With Tom there, Jeff, Jonny Act, please
Speaker 1: be joined by Jim Miller, our weekly guests from Serious XM,
Speaker 1: NFL Radio's Move with the Chains. I sometimes just limit
Speaker 1: your broad resume, big Jim, because I say Bears quarterback,
Speaker 1: But heck, you didn't just quarterback to Chicago Bears. You
Speaker 1: got a league wide view of things as a former
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh Steeler, a former New England Patriot, Jacksonville Jaguar. Who
Speaker 1: else am I missing? NFL Europe, Tampa Bay, Tampa Bay, Frankfurt, Galaxion,
Speaker 1: So you know you might have a welcoming party. I'm
Speaker 1: sure they're gonna send you to the first regular season
Speaker 1: game in Germany this year. I'd like to go to that.
Speaker 1: I'll be an envoy. Yeah, that'd be cool, and they will.
Speaker 1: I think next year they are playing in Frankfort, so
Speaker 1: they're gonna go be back and forth between Munich and Frankfort.
Speaker 1: So yeah, looking forward to that. I mean, it'll be
Speaker 1: pretty cool. Schedule release tonight, Yeah, schedule release seven o'clock.
Speaker 1: We know the Bear's gonna open against the forty nine ers.
Speaker 1: Green Bay announced their home opener is week two again Jim,
Speaker 1: another primetime game against the Packers. And this every every
Speaker 1: year since so five, and that's deserving. You know, it's
Speaker 1: the oldest rivalry in football. But I think now fourteen
Speaker 1: of them have come Jim in Green Bay. So they
Speaker 1: always love to warm up the welcome head for the
Speaker 1: Bears at Lambeau in primetime. Yeah, and you know, it'll
Speaker 1: be interesting to see how many primetime games the Bears
Speaker 1: do land for Matt Eberflus and you know players, I mean,
Speaker 1: the bottom line is when you get the schedule release one,
Speaker 1: you're looking at your Week one opponent. That's what you're
Speaker 1: thinking about. You're thinking, are their consecutive say you got
Speaker 1: three weeks in a role of away games. Certainly the
Speaker 1: players factor in the bye weekend, but they're all tough.
Speaker 1: I mean, they're all tough. But for me, I always
Speaker 1: focused on Week one, the awaye schedule. How many you
Speaker 1: know Miles will be traveling? Then of course where the
Speaker 1: bye week is, but you know, we got to play
Speaker 1: him one at a time. It is what it is.
Speaker 1: They're not changing it, you know, So once that schedule
Speaker 1: was released, it'd staying the same. So get your mind right,
Speaker 1: get it locked and loaded with as a player of Tim.
Speaker 1: Obviously they didn't, they didn't do all this. They didn't
Speaker 1: make a big deal out of it back then. It
Speaker 1: just was released. You know, you know where you go,
Speaker 1: this is what it is, and you go do it.
Speaker 1: But did you other than looking with the hot weather
Speaker 1: games at heart because you're a sweater and you're worried
Speaker 1: about it. You don't love playing in the heat. Uh?
Speaker 1: You know, I heard a story about you last night,
Speaker 1: as a matter of fact, it was from Brian McCaskey
Speaker 1: who said that you demanded in the huddle to get
Speaker 1: the water first when he was an athletic trainer and
Speaker 1: he was a little nervous to give it to Jay Hilgenberg.
Speaker 1: Is this a true story? Unfortunately? Yes, I was. I
Speaker 1: you know, some of the miseries that made you kind
Speaker 1: of that, you know, and that those circumstances that I
Speaker 1: would always almost demand a towel in the water bottle
Speaker 1: first so I could cool myself down and then you know, uh,
Speaker 1: then give it to everybody else but Brian. He was
Speaker 1: a great trainer for the Bears throughout my whole time there.
Speaker 1: But you know, when you're looking back on the schedule,
Speaker 1: when I when I became a part of the Bears again,
Speaker 1: I was talking last week. I came apart of the
Speaker 1: NFC championship and then the Super Bowl success after that,
Speaker 1: and we had the best record the NFL for three
Speaker 1: or four years after that. So it wasn't always worried
Speaker 1: about who our opponents were. When the schedule release came out,
Speaker 1: I did talk always think about what hot weather games
Speaker 1: we were going to play. Cold weather didn't bother me,
Speaker 1: but it kind of seved up some of the loud
Speaker 1: stadiums that are are you going into the Kingdom in Seattle?
Speaker 1: When do you play the Minnesota Vikings. When we used
Speaker 1: to play Tapa twice year and we'd played at Troy,
Speaker 1: we would have a bigger Bears fan crowd there than
Speaker 1: they would the actual opponent. So with everything that we
Speaker 1: faced in the schedule release, you know, Jim, it was
Speaker 1: that you know, we kind of looked at it and
Speaker 1: what games are good for you and what games are
Speaker 1: going to be the biggest challenge. Yeah. Absolutely. Also the
Speaker 1: Jim the thing I care about most when I look
Speaker 1: at the schedule is what quarterbacks you're facing, yep, and
Speaker 1: what pass rushers you have to stop to avoid having
Speaker 1: them wreck your game plan. Yeah. So you know, when
Speaker 1: I look at this schedule this year, however, it's gonna
Speaker 1: ultimately land. You know, you're looking at Aaron Rodgers, Dak
Speaker 1: Prescott as the big the big ones, and then you
Speaker 1: know Josh Allen from Buffalo. The rest have some you know,
Speaker 1: some growing to do yet or some developing. What the
Speaker 1: team they've moved to on this schedule, well, yeah, Washington
Speaker 1: with Carson Wentz. You know, how is he going to perform?
Speaker 1: You know he's already been this is his third team,
Speaker 1: Let's be honest. Bears have Miami Dolphins this year. Don't
Speaker 1: know the what week it'll be or the time, but
Speaker 1: to a tongue of viola, there's a lot on the
Speaker 1: line there. You know it'll be interesting Week one. Do
Speaker 1: the Bears face Jimmy Garoppolo or is Trey Lance the
Speaker 1: guaranteed starter there for San Francisco, Because that's that's a
Speaker 1: big discremacy. You know Trey Lance only got in two
Speaker 1: games last year, essentially he got hurt, and think about it,
Speaker 1: they elected to roll with a banged up Jimmy Garoppolo
Speaker 1: who's dealing with the shoulder and he had the hand
Speaker 1: issue late in the year and they still felt Jimmy
Speaker 1: gave him a better chance to win. So I think
Speaker 1: it'll be interesting who's lining up under center week one.
Speaker 1: Daniel Jones under the gun for the Giants. They'll face
Speaker 1: a young Zach Wilson Atlanta. How will they be performing
Speaker 1: under Marcus Mariota. I think we know what New England's
Speaker 1: going to be under under mac Jones. I think they
Speaker 1: gave us a good indicare last year. But yeah, the
Speaker 1: quarterbacks you're facing are going to be a big part
Speaker 1: of it and how they can manage the game. That's
Speaker 1: a lot of experience when you're facing somebody like Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 1: Fellas we alluded to it last week time that the
Speaker 1: roster is going to be a continuing piece that is
Speaker 1: constantly changing with this new administration to see where the
Speaker 1: best pieces are and how they all fit together. So
Speaker 1: again today, a couple of veterans added in the receivers.
Speaker 1: Taj sharp former Atlanta Falcon had a really terrific rookie
Speaker 1: year in his time with the Falcons. And Dante Pettis,
Speaker 1: who came in the league with a lot of great
Speaker 1: credentials because of that speed four three two speed that
Speaker 1: hasn't quite translated into a lot of production just yet,
Speaker 1: but maybe here with the Bears that changes. A couple
Speaker 1: of undrafted rookie free agents the Bears had signed were
Speaker 1: let go, and then yesterday the waving of tight end
Speaker 1: yes Chesper Horstead due to a failed physical. They've added
Speaker 1: Rice and Johnny six foot seven, two hundred sixty pound
Speaker 1: tight end from the Giants who runs well off waivers.
Speaker 1: You know what I like about every single one of
Speaker 1: these guys on this football team, offense and defenses that
Speaker 1: are all starting even because there's nobody with a year
Speaker 1: a couple of seasons of advantage within the system, so
Speaker 1: they know how to get in the right place a
Speaker 1: little bit quicker. And when you talk about all the
Speaker 1: free agent wide receivers, how much change over there is
Speaker 1: at the tight end position, all the offensive lineman they
Speaker 1: brought in, both free agents and draft choices. It's gonna
Speaker 1: be interesting because you know, some guys, um, they're able
Speaker 1: to accomplish more mentally quicker, and so you know you
Speaker 1: can't have any you know, mental aires. That's that's gonna
Speaker 1: be a decision, a decision making factor in what you know,
Speaker 1: what has assumed that how you can help the team.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I'm I'm gonna well, it's gonna be fun
Speaker 1: to watch the competitiveness. And I think it's gonna be
Speaker 1: as competitive in otash, not as it will be in
Speaker 1: training camp because it's gonna be in full pads. But
Speaker 1: some of these guys are gonna rise above the rest.
Speaker 1: That's top there. Jim Miller from Serious sex m NFL
Speaker 1: Radios moving the chains, I'm Jeff, Joni K. We're gonna
Speaker 1: step away for a break. This is Bears All Access,
Speaker 1: brought to you by IGS Energy and Chicago Sports Radio
Speaker 1: six seventy to score. This segment of Bears All Access
Speaker 1: has brought to you by Athletico Physical Therapy. Visit Athletico
Speaker 1: dot com to a question, appointment and clinic or virtually
Speaker 1: and start feeling better tomorrow with Tom Baer and Jim
Speaker 1: Beller from Serious XM NFL Radios. Moving to James, I'm Jeff,
Speaker 1: Joniac Jim our weekly guest, Jim Bears, also added a
Speaker 1: quarterback this week, Nathan Peterman. He's been with the Buffalo Bills,
Speaker 1: that's where he broke into the league, and with the
Speaker 1: Raiders last couple of years Ryan Willis released. What you thought, Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think he provides more experience, And again, I think
Speaker 1: you're trying to surround a young quarterback in justin fields
Speaker 1: with some veteran guys who have played a little bit.
Speaker 1: You know, Trevor Simmons has been around. I think when
Speaker 1: you look at Nate Peterman, he's been around two. And
Speaker 1: Nate Peterman was well coached under John Gruden out there.
Speaker 1: He played well in the preseason games. Everybody goes back
Speaker 1: to the Buffalo Bills. Remember he got this first start
Speaker 1: against the Chargers and through like five picks, and that's
Speaker 1: how people remember Peterman. But that's not the case four
Speaker 1: years later. This guy has been well coached. He's been
Speaker 1: in and out of game plans and preparing week in
Speaker 1: week out. As I mentioned out there for the Vegas Raiders.
Speaker 1: At one point he had he had to get an
Speaker 1: elbow surgery, got his arm corrected so he can play,
Speaker 1: and he's got some experience to him that can probably
Speaker 1: be beneficial to the young Justin Fields tom Ay thoughts, Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean, I just think about the quarterbacks. When you're
Speaker 1: trying to teach a system to a quarterback these quarterbacks,
Speaker 1: are their traits significantly different from each other or do
Speaker 1: they have similar traits to each other? Because if you're
Speaker 1: teaching a moving pocket type pass to Justin Fields, does
Speaker 1: Trevor Simeon and Nathan Peterman do they have the same
Speaker 1: athleticism to be able to carry it out and possibly
Speaker 1: turn it into the run or to throw on the
Speaker 1: move or do you focus a little bit of different
Speaker 1: portion of the offense that suits the traits of Trevor
Speaker 1: Simeon and Nathan Peterman That may be a little different
Speaker 1: than Justin Fields. You know, when you're teaching an entire
Speaker 1: offensive line, they kind of all fit into each other
Speaker 1: like pieces do a puzzle. But it seems like when
Speaker 1: you have quarterbacks that have different trade values, do you
Speaker 1: have to teach differently and doesn't put more pressure on
Speaker 1: the position coach to get those points across or develop
Speaker 1: the offense between the three of them. Well, if you
Speaker 1: listen to Luke gets you this week, the running game
Speaker 1: is going to be significant, that's for sure. He keeps
Speaker 1: emphasizing that, and that's the best way to help out
Speaker 1: your quarterback and get him ease into the system and
Speaker 1: open up the deep ball. But more of what he's
Speaker 1: looking for for the key principles for this offense to
Speaker 1: develop hopefully. You know, when you watch us, it's eleven
Speaker 1: is one and it's we're firing off the football better
Speaker 1: than anybody else in this league, and we're finishing better
Speaker 1: than anybody else in this league. Those are the things
Speaker 1: that we're talking about every single day. We're taking care
Speaker 1: of the football, getting off the rock, and we're finishing
Speaker 1: better than anybody else in this league. And so that's
Speaker 1: our mentality, that's our purpose. We can do that. We
Speaker 1: got a chance. Jim, how do you feel about that statement? Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think he You know, if you can always protect
Speaker 1: the football, you got a chance in a game. I'd
Speaker 1: say that all the time. It's easier to lose games
Speaker 1: and it is to win it. And if you start
Speaker 1: to turn over the football, you don't have a chance.
Speaker 1: So you have to protect the football. It's going to
Speaker 1: be paramount. Justin cannot carry the team right now. It's
Speaker 1: it's you know, he's in an early stage of his career.
Speaker 1: He's got all kinds of talents, but to expect him
Speaker 1: to carry the team, that's just not where he is
Speaker 1: at this stage of his career. So the running game
Speaker 1: is going to be the best avenue for him. I
Speaker 1: know everybody's been screaming for it. They made that transition
Speaker 1: last year, and it sounds like they're going to start
Speaker 1: with that mentality this year, so it'll be excited. A
Speaker 1: lot of things need to come into focus, from the
Speaker 1: offensive line, how did they come together, the running back situation,
Speaker 1: like the situation there with David Montgomery and Khalil Herbert.
Speaker 1: I think Khalil really showed some things when he got
Speaker 1: the opportunity last year. So they have to have the
Speaker 1: mentality that it's going to be early and often for
Speaker 1: them to help out their young quarterback. And I think
Speaker 1: the play action will really suit justin Field beautifully if
Speaker 1: they're able to do those things. But when we are
Speaker 1: talking about the quarterback pack, I like to hear Luke
Speaker 1: Asky talk about every time they're going to fire off
Speaker 1: the ball and how aggressive they're going to be at
Speaker 1: the line of scrimmage at the running game is going
Speaker 1: to be an emphasis and it's eleven as one. I
Speaker 1: agree with all that, But my concern when we're just
Speaker 1: backtracking about the quarterback position, when you put the script
Speaker 1: together for the first twenty five plays of a game
Speaker 1: or however many day script, does it suit all quarterbacks
Speaker 1: or is it the same threat if you had the
Speaker 1: number two or number three quarterback in there as if
Speaker 1: you put the system together for justin That was my
Speaker 1: only thinking process. The preach points that the coaches have
Speaker 1: brought up about how aggressive they're going to be, how
Speaker 1: the emphasis on the running game, and how quick and
Speaker 1: off the ball they want the offensive line to be. Look, man,
Speaker 1: I'm one hundred percent on board with all that, and
Speaker 1: we are just I just speaking a little bit about
Speaker 1: the quarterbacks. Coming up here in moments. We'll be joined
Speaker 1: by Doug Kramer, the Bear's new offensive lineman from the
Speaker 1: University of Illinois and Hinsdale Central. Defensively, last week, Jim
Speaker 1: listening to Alan Williams, a new defensive coordinator. He was
Speaker 1: very good talking about the defense, and boy, that defense
Speaker 1: was flying around playing at at you know, obviously no pads,
Speaker 1: but everybody running around like the athletes they are. And
Speaker 1: there was a lot of energy and juice to that practice.
Speaker 1: Over the three day minicamp, Dominique Robbinson name come up
Speaker 1: because boy, he looks the part of a pass rusher.
Speaker 1: He really does. He's got the frame, he just doesn't
Speaker 1: have the experience. Yeah, we gotta see. We hadn't put
Speaker 1: pads on yet right now where it's football and pajamas,
Speaker 1: where you know, might as well be playing basketball, So
Speaker 1: we have to see what. You know, We're not going
Speaker 1: to give him a whole bunch and really we're saying him,
Speaker 1: but all our guys, we're gonna say, hey, line up here,
Speaker 1: if you get this stimulus, this is the response that
Speaker 1: you're going to give us and so, and we're gonna
Speaker 1: teach it over and over and over again and then
Speaker 1: see kind of what he does. You know, it sounds
Speaker 1: like Rod Marinelli very much. I could hear echoing. You know,
Speaker 1: you strip him down to bear wire and you teach
Speaker 1: them the fundementals all over again, and every couple of
Speaker 1: weeks or even I mean I think Rod told me
Speaker 1: every forty eight hours, muscle memory loses a little bit,
Speaker 1: so he goes right back to the basics. And that's true.
Speaker 1: friendI player Jim, Yeah, yeah, yeah, you do want to
Speaker 1: beyond you know, beyond rope memory is what we call it.
Speaker 1: You know, if I had to line up and really
Speaker 1: count out all my steps on say a seven step drop,
Speaker 1: it'd be robotic, you know, just needs to be rope
Speaker 1: memory where it just that you've do it. You've done
Speaker 1: it so many times you don't even need to think
Speaker 1: about it. And you know, in Dominique Robinson, who you mentioned,
Speaker 1: he's an interesting guy. Ian Cunningham the Bears assistant GM.
Speaker 1: They've been pretty steadfast about it. They believe he has
Speaker 1: a high ceiling. This guy is an early you know
Speaker 1: early and young at his position, as you had mentioned, Jeff,
Speaker 1: and last week's show goes from quarterback in high school
Speaker 1: really signs as a wide receiver and now finds himself
Speaker 1: on the defensive side of the ball. So this is
Speaker 1: all new for him. He's still honing his skills. Can
Speaker 1: he be a guy that can set the edge. He
Speaker 1: certainly has the frame to get bigger and stronger. Most
Speaker 1: rookies do, and he'll be asked to do that because
Speaker 1: he's gonna have to be stronger at stopping the run.
Speaker 1: But he's new to the position. But has a high
Speaker 1: ceiling and an enjoyable conversation with him last week up
Speaker 1: at hallis Hall coming up next joined by Duck Kramer,
Speaker 1: the Hinsdale product, and you have I star at center.
Speaker 1: He's now a Bear. We'll talk to him next down.
Speaker 1: Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The Score. Chicago Bears single
Speaker 1: game tickets go on sale tonight at eight thirty pm.
Speaker 1: Get your tickets at Chicago Bears dot com slash tickets.
Speaker 1: The schedule release officially coming out at seven o'clock. Bears
Speaker 1: will open the year at home against the San Francisco
Speaker 1: forty nine ers and then go up to lambeau Field
Speaker 1: and take on the Packers in Green Bay. And the
Speaker 1: guy will be on that roster, helping things in the
Speaker 1: right direction as the Bears look to build a new chapter.
Speaker 1: We welcome in Doug Kramer, the Hinsdale Central High School
Speaker 1: product and at University of Illinois, five year starter, a
Speaker 1: lot of games played there. He's on the program. Thanks
Speaker 1: for hanging on, Doug, and we appreciate it. You're with
Speaker 1: Tom there, Jim Muller, I'm Jeff Joniak and this is
Speaker 1: Chicago Sports Radio six seventy To Score. So I know
Speaker 1: rookie minicamp afterwards, you had a chance to visit with
Speaker 1: the media and you were talking about dreams coming true,
Speaker 1: and you know, going back to even when you were
Speaker 1: figuring out where you're gonna play college football, it was
Speaker 1: a dream then to play for Illinois. You know, you
Speaker 1: and Tom have so much in common because your homegrown
Speaker 1: offensive linemen that played it. I'm assuming your whole life
Speaker 1: and went to high school, college and now our beginning
Speaker 1: your NFL careers in the same spot. How cool is
Speaker 1: that from your perspective, and certain Lando you foilowed Tom's
Speaker 1: career as well. Yeah, first of all, just how's it going, guys.
Speaker 1: It's awesome to be on the show. But yeah, obviously,
Speaker 1: you know, growing up in Illinois fan being able to
Speaker 1: play there, and then you know, growing up a huge
Speaker 1: Bears fan and getting this opportunity is is awesome. And honestly,
Speaker 1: if I would have told myself that, you know, growing up,
Speaker 1: I probably wouldn't have believed it. But you know, it's
Speaker 1: come true and now you know, we just got to
Speaker 1: make the most out of the opportunity. But I'm super
Speaker 1: fired up to be a Chicago Bear. Hey, big Doug Congratulations,
Speaker 1: this is Tom Fair. Welcome to Chicago and hope you're
Speaker 1: here for decades to come. So Jeff mentioned that you
Speaker 1: played five years in college, and I think there's a
Speaker 1: lot of the conversation of the speed of the game
Speaker 1: is lost on quarterbacks. I think it goes for everybody
Speaker 1: that comes from college to the NFL. When you see
Speaker 1: the speed of what you guys were practicing a rookie minicamp,
Speaker 1: did it seem a step faster to you than what
Speaker 1: you experience at University of Illinois? Um, yeah, I think
Speaker 1: you know, the speed of the game definitely, it definitely
Speaker 1: increases as keep going up in the levels, and it's
Speaker 1: it's no different it's going from high school to college.
Speaker 1: There's definitely, you know, a little bit of speed difference.
Speaker 1: But I think really the most important things are, you know,
Speaker 1: you got to focus on every single detail you know
Speaker 1: once you get to this level, and also just have
Speaker 1: the urgency and getting your footwork, getting your landmarks and
Speaker 1: all of those sort of things. So obviously you know
Speaker 1: the speed is going to increase, but you know you
Speaker 1: just got to match it, and obviously you know you'll
Speaker 1: get used to it. Um, you just gotta keep going
Speaker 1: against it. So a little bit of a learning curve,
Speaker 1: but you know it'll be it'll be fine at the
Speaker 1: end of the day. You're playing football. Yeah, but you
Speaker 1: know you're in the unique position where you're playing center.
Speaker 1: Do you ever to have any sidebar conversations with all
Speaker 1: the quarterbacks that you're working with, just to see, okay,
Speaker 1: do I need to adjust the snap? Does it need
Speaker 1: to be delivered here? And any of those conversations take
Speaker 1: place or is it just go about your business and
Speaker 1: you guys will adjust with reps. No, I think I
Speaker 1: think you have to focus on all the little details
Speaker 1: and and one of those details is having those conversations
Speaker 1: with the quarterbacks. Um. You know, my job is to
Speaker 1: get them the football first and foremost. So um, if
Speaker 1: I can do it better, I want to know, you know,
Speaker 1: if I can do it better. Um. And those are
Speaker 1: conversations that you know, me and me and Ryan Willis
Speaker 1: had during a rookie mini camp. So um, yeah, those
Speaker 1: are those are certainly things we talk about. Doug Jim
Speaker 1: Miller here, congratulations, I'm playing for the home team, Chicago Bears.
Speaker 1: That it is quite a you know, quite an accomplishment
Speaker 1: for you to be able to play for the home
Speaker 1: team in Chicago. One. I just want to know through
Speaker 1: the first OTAs you know, the introduction of the playbook,
Speaker 1: you know, how did that go for you? Um? You know,
Speaker 1: it's always new when you learn a new system and
Speaker 1: maybe new techniques that are involved, and you know, just
Speaker 1: how was it and is it that much more expansive
Speaker 1: than what you've gone through at say Illinois? Um, yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean it's it's a little bit more expansive. Um.
Speaker 1: You know I had I had three different offensive coordinators
Speaker 1: at Illinois and um, you know, three different O line
Speaker 1: coaches with that, so I you know, had its taste
Speaker 1: of what it was like, you know, relearning playbooks and
Speaker 1: and you know, taking what you've known before then and
Speaker 1: carrying it over. Um. But yeah, I mean it's it's expansive,
Speaker 1: it's detailed, and you know you really just got to
Speaker 1: dive into it every day and continue to study it
Speaker 1: and um, you know, then when you go out on
Speaker 1: the field, you know what you're doing and you're ready
Speaker 1: to roll. Um. But really at the end of the day,
Speaker 1: you just got to dive into it and study. You
Speaker 1: know a lot of people to say, you know, everybody
Speaker 1: calls it the Underworld Olympics because you're not in pads
Speaker 1: right now. But you know, you can do things in
Speaker 1: terms of techniques, whether it's hand placement, getting the positioning
Speaker 1: of the block or the angle that you're taking it.
Speaker 1: And certainly it's not to the level of training camp
Speaker 1: but what it is in full pads. But trying to
Speaker 1: practice to be perfect in those type of situations even
Speaker 1: though you don't have your pa adds on. I mean,
Speaker 1: how disciplined can you get to do all that? Yeah?
Speaker 1: I think, Um, you know, without that contact, you have
Speaker 1: to think about everything everything else. Um, you know, in
Speaker 1: certain blocks, I'm thinking about my footwork, I'm thinking about
Speaker 1: where my hat goes, where my eyes are, where my
Speaker 1: hands are, everything, um, and just you know, trying to
Speaker 1: have that perfect draft. And at the end of the
Speaker 1: day with offensive line, you know, chances are everything's not
Speaker 1: going to be perfect on every single play, but you
Speaker 1: know that continued pursuit to try to, you know, reach
Speaker 1: that perfection. It's huge offensive line Bears draft pick a
Speaker 1: Duck Kramer our guest here on Chicago Sports Radio six
Speaker 1: seventy The Score brought to you by IGS Energy with
Speaker 1: Tom Fair. I'm Jeff Joniak and Jim Miller from Serious
Speaker 1: x M NFL radios moving the chains, you know, offensive linement.
Speaker 1: Typically they don't they don't love talking about themselves. And
Speaker 1: here you're put in position as a as a kid
Speaker 1: coming out of college and going to be drafted, to
Speaker 1: talk about yourself a lot, whether it be to the
Speaker 1: media and the build up to it afterwards after rookie minicamp?
Speaker 1: Are you comfortable with that in in this position? Uh?
Speaker 1: And I what is your what is your take on
Speaker 1: that aspect of things? Um? Yeah, I definitely I would
Speaker 1: much rather talk about the team. I'd much rather, you know,
Speaker 1: talk about those goals and how we're growing together rather
Speaker 1: than just about myself. Um. But you know, it's part
Speaker 1: of it. So obviously I'm in this opportunity and I'm
Speaker 1: I'm super happy and and proud of the work that
Speaker 1: I put in to get here. Um, So you know,
Speaker 1: I can, I can do a little bit of both.
Speaker 1: So I'd definitely rather rather talk about you know, the group,
Speaker 1: the team and where where that's going. All right, now,
Speaker 1: you've indicated significantly that you are a Monster Bears fan,
Speaker 1: from the jerseys you wore, to the attention you paid
Speaker 1: to it. Um, give me some stories first, I mean
Speaker 1: first game at Soldier Field, Uh, first memory of what
Speaker 1: it was that that really got your attention about the Bears.
Speaker 1: You became so fanatical about it because I love those
Speaker 1: stories about the kids that grew up in the team.
Speaker 1: The teams are gonna play for give me something good, yeah,
Speaker 1: um yeah, I think one of the one of the
Speaker 1: biggest memories I had for sure, you know growing up
Speaker 1: watching the Bears was you know, when we made the
Speaker 1: playoff run and in the Super Bowl and Devin has
Speaker 1: to return the kick. I remember, you know, just being
Speaker 1: in my living room with all my best friends, you know,
Speaker 1: some family watching the game, just absolutely losing my mind. Um.
Speaker 1: But you know, those little moments like that are really why,
Speaker 1: you know, I grew to love the game. And um,
Speaker 1: you know, growing up I loved Brian or Lackers. So
Speaker 1: just watching him, you know, every single player rang, you know,
Speaker 1: his range on the field, going sideline to sideline. Um,
Speaker 1: you know, all those little moments just watching it made
Speaker 1: me made me, you know, really fall in love with
Speaker 1: the game. Hey, don can you take us through the
Speaker 1: your draft week and experienced were you guys? Were you
Speaker 1: watching the draft from the very first pick until when
Speaker 1: you get picked, were you have certain family members with
Speaker 1: you and when that and that call finally came and
Speaker 1: it came from the bears. How was that whole experience
Speaker 1: that you lived through? Yeah, yeah, so I actually I
Speaker 1: would watched the first two days of the draft alone, um,
Speaker 1: just because I think my parents wanted to leave me
Speaker 1: alone for that one. And that was really just knee tracking,
Speaker 1: you know, different offensive line than that we're getting picked. Um.
Speaker 1: And then the third day we knew there was you know,
Speaker 1: a chance that I would I would get picked that day,
Speaker 1: so I ended up just watching him with you know,
Speaker 1: my mom, dad, brother and sister. And yeah, I mean
Speaker 1: it was it was a really long day. And uh
Speaker 1: that call obviously made you know, the wait worth it, um.
Speaker 1: And you know, I'm sure everyone you know, you guys
Speaker 1: have all seen the video of the call, um. You know,
Speaker 1: definitely best phone call of my life. And uh, you know,
Speaker 1: my parents and brother and sister were losing their minds
Speaker 1: in the background as well. Well. Now that you've transitioned
Speaker 1: to the pros, you know, and you know you have
Speaker 1: those I don't want to say other things in college
Speaker 1: that employee. You know, you've got class, you've got other responsibilities.
Speaker 1: You've got to take care of it. Now, it's all football.
Speaker 1: You know, it's a job. You're going to work. You know,
Speaker 1: it's time to go to work every every single day
Speaker 1: and have you already adjusted to the itinerary, in the
Speaker 1: tempo and all the things that are involved about being
Speaker 1: a true pro is you're just you know, you're another
Speaker 1: working stuff just like us, Doug. That's what it is.
Speaker 1: That's my point. You're going to work every day, right,
Speaker 1: You got to approach it as such. Yeah, absolutely, you
Speaker 1: have to. Um, you know it. There's you have to
Speaker 1: take everything you're doing seriously because you know, at the
Speaker 1: end of the day, it is a job. But you know,
Speaker 1: it makes a little bit more fun when you know
Speaker 1: you love what you're what you're doing. Um. So you know,
Speaker 1: I love the game of football. I love watching it,
Speaker 1: I love talking about it, and I love learning about it. So, um,
Speaker 1: it may it may be a job, but I definitely
Speaker 1: love going in there every single day, um, getting better,
Speaker 1: you know, learning things about the playbook and just you know,
Speaker 1: getting out on the field. My teammates, Doug, last question
Speaker 1: and we'll let you go. We really appreciate you taking
Speaker 1: the time to join us and hope to have you
Speaker 1: on again. Were you anything other than a offensive lineman
Speaker 1: throughout your football playing days all the way back to
Speaker 1: youth football, Yeah, I was. I've been an old lineman
Speaker 1: for the majority, I would say, you know, at the beginning,
Speaker 1: there were a couple couple you know, games or stints
Speaker 1: where I played a little bit of quarterback or running back,
Speaker 1: lineback or in those sort of things. But um, other
Speaker 1: than that, I've been, you know, an old lineman my
Speaker 1: entire life, through and through. Awesome. That's the way to
Speaker 1: do it. To get to the end on the field.
Speaker 1: Best athletes on the field there you got. You know,
Speaker 1: we're surrounded by him in the in the booth with
Speaker 1: Jay Hillingenberg and him and uh, you know, the offensive
Speaker 1: linemen after their playing careers are the best guys to
Speaker 1: learn the game from if you ask me. So, I
Speaker 1: know you know the game and that's one of the
Speaker 1: strengths of your game. So we look forward to seeing
Speaker 1: you and good luck with everything throughout this offseason and
Speaker 1: leading up the training camp. Appreciate it. Appreciate you guys,
Speaker 1: and bear down. Bear down. That's Kramer. You have by
Speaker 1: product Hinsdale Product and now a Chicago Bear will continue
Speaker 1: on with Jim Miller and Tom Thayer and breakdown what
Speaker 1: exactly did happen at Rookie Minicamp that will pave the
Speaker 1: way for the conversion into the veteran mix with these
Speaker 1: guys as they go into OTAs. It's all ahead here
Speaker 1: on Bears All Access on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy
Speaker 1: the Score. This segment of Bears All Access is brought
Speaker 1: to you by CDW people who get it. With Tom Fayer,
Speaker 1: I'm Jeff jony Aclong with Jim Miller from Serious XM
Speaker 1: NFL Radios, Moving the Chains. I enjoyed our conversation with
Speaker 1: Doug Kramer. Now let's talk about Rookie Minicamp. I felt
Speaker 1: being up there that the and this is what they want,
Speaker 1: this is what Maddie Buflus is hoping for. Just the
Speaker 1: speed by which they were moving, the athleticism of the talent.
Speaker 1: And they were like thirty five tryout guys, six of
Speaker 1: them signed to the roster, really athletic mix, guys from
Speaker 1: small schools, big schools, played a lot, didn't play a lot,
Speaker 1: it didn't matter. They were there to try to get
Speaker 1: on this roster and get on this ninety man roster
Speaker 1: that's gonna be constantly changing. But that that was my
Speaker 1: first and foremost thought about it. I hadn't seen that
Speaker 1: kind of tempo, and maybe I just don't remember, but
Speaker 1: I did not remember seeing that kind of tempo. Fellas
Speaker 1: that I did see in those three days. Well, you're
Speaker 1: remembering correctly because one of you look at it and
Speaker 1: you see the tempo in which these guys were practicing with.
Speaker 1: It changes just the mentality of what you have to do,
Speaker 1: what your job is, what position you're playing, how quickly
Speaker 1: you need to be there. Are you thinking of what
Speaker 1: you just heard in the huddle as the ball is
Speaker 1: being snapped? And now if you're half a foot too
Speaker 1: slow off the ball, you're left behind in that type
Speaker 1: of tempo. And it never slowed down throughout the weekend.
Speaker 1: I love the fact that this point of emphasis that
Speaker 1: they made since the day mattiebro Fust was hired, that
Speaker 1: it's carried on to the field, and I really believe
Speaker 1: there's no slowing down. And you know, like when Doug Kramer,
Speaker 1: you get a chance to go through rookie camp and
Speaker 1: everybody's kind of on the same pace because they're just
Speaker 1: beginning to learn the system. I remember my freshman year
Speaker 1: at Notre Dame. You go for a week of practice
Speaker 1: with only the new signed scholarship players, and then a
Speaker 1: couple days later they bring in all the veterans and
Speaker 1: it's like someone turned the gay John and also went
Speaker 1: to a speed like you've never experienced before. So I
Speaker 1: am super encouraged by the effort that was demanded out
Speaker 1: of these guys. And Jim with veterans, you know they've
Speaker 1: been they've been working at it here now in the
Speaker 1: offseason program, the voluntary part of it. OTAs will now
Speaker 1: mix that with the with the rookies. But even for them,
Speaker 1: do you think training camp will be a little bit
Speaker 1: of shock to the system for what they've been used to.
Speaker 1: It amazed me I still to this day. Like when
Speaker 1: we go out and we watch the Seattle Seahawks practice,
Speaker 1: their temple is like none other than I've ever seen
Speaker 1: in the NFL. And the reason why they do it
Speaker 1: and I can see it it's catching on or around
Speaker 1: the league, is you're only out there for a lot
Speaker 1: of time, right hour and a half, and you're trying
Speaker 1: to maximize the reps that you're getting because you don't
Speaker 1: have the quote unquote to day, so you've got to
Speaker 1: be productive and efficient when you're out there and try
Speaker 1: to maximize and get as many reps in as you can. Certainly,
Speaker 1: it is important to practice with whether it's going drill
Speaker 1: to drill, to have the temple, the pace you catch players,
Speaker 1: the tension level. There is no nodding off, so to speak,
Speaker 1: or daydreaming or anything like that. So you got to
Speaker 1: be in tune because there's so much energy and tempo
Speaker 1: that is going on out there. But I do think
Speaker 1: you know, the coaches said that they were going to
Speaker 1: set the standard, and after a while, it just becomes
Speaker 1: normalcy for the players where you know, I don't want
Speaker 1: to say you can turn it on and turn it off,
Speaker 1: but you literally know when you step on those white
Speaker 1: lines what is expected, and so it'll it'll start to
Speaker 1: mimic each other and it just and it becomes that
Speaker 1: way every single time you come out the field again
Speaker 1: wrote memory, right, you're doing it over and over and
Speaker 1: over again and what's expected. And that's the same thing
Speaker 1: about practicing as well and practice as perfect as you can. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: and when you got when I got a coach who's
Speaker 1: chicked off about the way the practice is going, and
Speaker 1: they're not. It's not going well. Efforts not there. Maybe
Speaker 1: don days of camp. Do you remember fellas the longest
Speaker 1: practice of your life? I remember, give me, give me
Speaker 1: something both, I'll touch in. We were going into our
Speaker 1: first week IF against Jacksonville in Pittsburgh, and it was
Speaker 1: kind of you know, we just got out of training camp, right,
Speaker 1: you get that, you know, that little time off, and
Speaker 1: then you come back and everybody's just kind of blonde.
Speaker 1: You're getting back into the practice schedule, and I remember
Speaker 1: Bill Kauer made a start over from stretch. It was
Speaker 1: we got all the way to blitz period, which is
Speaker 1: for the listeners out there, it's like halfway through practice
Speaker 1: when we were due blitz period, and it was such
Speaker 1: a I can't say the word, but it was such
Speaker 1: a bad practice. He's like you, He called everybody up
Speaker 1: and said he wanted to know what. Everybody, go down
Speaker 1: to that tunnel and you're running out to this field again,
Speaker 1: and we're gonna start from stretch because that is just
Speaker 1: not good enough for us to win in the National
Speaker 1: Football League. And we did, man, And I'll tell you what.
Speaker 1: The practice picked up from a stretch on. Nobody allowed
Speaker 1: to do that over again. I mean, but yeah, everybody
Speaker 1: was in tune after that. He got your everybody's mind right.
Speaker 1: So we were in Berlin, Germany, getting ready to play
Speaker 1: a preseason game against the San Francisco forty nine ers
Speaker 1: and Joe Montana or their offense, they were throwing the
Speaker 1: ball all over the field. But the thing that Dicker
Speaker 1: recognized that in between periods when the horn blew, where
Speaker 1: we would kind of methodically make our way to the
Speaker 1: next drill, the forty nine ers they would like sprint
Speaker 1: pace to their where they had to be on the field,
Speaker 1: and Dicka took notice of that, and because of how
Speaker 1: successful they were in practice and how good of a
Speaker 1: team they were, all of a sudden that night in
Speaker 1: the team meeting, he says, I don't want anybody lollygagging
Speaker 1: in between drills. I want you to sprint to that
Speaker 1: next drill position, get ready, and make you sure that
Speaker 1: the tempo continues on that same pace. So, whether it's
Speaker 1: an example of another team what they're doing right in
Speaker 1: front of you, and how it kind of transform what
Speaker 1: year head coach thinks, it was an eye opening experience
Speaker 1: for all of us that we're gonna start going from
Speaker 1: drill to drill as quickly as the forty nine ers
Speaker 1: were doing it. As you just time, did you just
Speaker 1: call your team meets lollygaggers just like Bull Durham. First,
Speaker 1: the second, well, you know, we we practice every practice gym.
Speaker 1: We're in full pad, so we were going live. There
Speaker 1: was no you know, tempo, but you know, you kind
Speaker 1: of take that slow jog over to the next period.
Speaker 1: But after that, there was no more slow jog in
Speaker 1: between periods. It was get there and let's see if
Speaker 1: we can get maybe an extra rep or two in
Speaker 1: that period. Well, we're gonna be looking at positions throughout
Speaker 1: the course of the next few weeks because that'll be
Speaker 1: the end of the offseason program here in about a month,
Speaker 1: when they wrap up with the mandatory mini camp. So
Speaker 1: a good place to start is at the safety position,
Speaker 1: which I put a lot of value in. I know
Speaker 1: some others don't. They don't, they don't look at it
Speaker 1: the same way, but I've always always felt strongly about it.
Speaker 1: And when you look at the depth chart now and
Speaker 1: there's three, four, five, five of the six players, assuming
Speaker 1: Michael Joseph is still a safety and not just a corner.
Speaker 1: There's a new new bodies surrounding Eddie Jackson. I we'll
Speaker 1: start with Tom and then we'll go to Jim. How
Speaker 1: do you feel about this now? A couple of veterans
Speaker 1: DeAndre Houston Carson obviously comes back as well, but some
Speaker 1: new young blood. Yeah. You know what I like again
Speaker 1: the speed in which they complimented the defensive backfield with
Speaker 1: how quickly they went to their angle of pursuit. But
Speaker 1: what kind of intrigues me is can you take a
Speaker 1: couple of the six two young guys in turn them
Speaker 1: into big, physical safeties. And that's when you look at
Speaker 1: the size of some of the guys that they're bringing
Speaker 1: aboard this year to get into the competition at CAMPY.
Speaker 1: I know you have to look at them as special
Speaker 1: team contributors, but I think the safety role of the
Speaker 1: Bears defense is equally as important as you want to
Speaker 1: talk about the three technique or the nickel the slot corner.
Speaker 1: You gotta have a ferocious element at that safety position,
Speaker 1: and the Bears have had it before in the past,
Speaker 1: but I think that's a new element that needs to
Speaker 1: be designed into this new defensive system. Time you're talking
Speaker 1: about John Alexander and A J. Thomas Agie Thomas from
Speaker 1: Western Michigan by way of Detroit. He was a rookie
Speaker 1: Minicamp signing, and same with John Alexander from Charlotte. You
Speaker 1: throw in Jim Elijah Hicks, the five eleven safety out
Speaker 1: of cows picking the seventh round. Of course, Jikwon Brisker
Speaker 1: six one, two hundred. In the second round. You got
Speaker 1: Dane Crookshank, he's six one two o nine. Michael Joseph
Speaker 1: is six one one ninety six at least on the
Speaker 1: roster right now. And Eddie Jackson is six feet two
Speaker 1: or six. So you got some big boys back there
Speaker 1: at the safety position. Yeah. Well, I mean just look again,
Speaker 1: look where the coaches have come from. Right, Look how
Speaker 1: Indianapolis is built. When they drafted, uh Cary Willis out
Speaker 1: of Michigan State, He's right in that same mold. You know,
Speaker 1: they want the over two hundred, big physical guy. They're
Speaker 1: gonna have to come downhill and fill and help and
Speaker 1: run support and all those things, but still have the
Speaker 1: the ability in coverage. From that standpoint, I think, you know,
Speaker 1: both Brisker and all those guys kind of have the
Speaker 1: same body frame and what they're trying to do. They
Speaker 1: all can run, they're all physical, but they're in that
Speaker 1: two hundred to two fourteen range like Kari Willis of
Speaker 1: the Annapolis Colts. That's that's what they wanted to look
Speaker 1: like in my opinion for the Bears. All right, a
Speaker 1: couple of things to go over here. Uh, you know,
Speaker 1: it's the family of Tom Waddle. Tom Waddle the bears
Speaker 1: former wide receiver. But Gino Cappelletti, one of the best
Speaker 1: players in NFL history, an original member of the Boston
Speaker 1: Patriots in nineteen sixty has his number retired, number twenty.
Speaker 1: He's a Hall of Fame receiver and place kicker there
Speaker 1: with the Patriots and was a long time broadcaster as well.
Speaker 1: He died this morning at the age of eighty seven.
Speaker 1: So condolences to Tom. Who's uh that's his father in
Speaker 1: law and his wife Kara. A great family and a
Speaker 1: great guy. We met him many times. I know, Jim
Speaker 1: you've probably met him too, just along the broadcast circuit
Speaker 1: over the over the course of that man's career. But
Speaker 1: the AFL's all time leading score wow, and also an
Speaker 1: MVP back in nineteen sixty four. So shout out to him,
Speaker 1: and then Robin Wilkie, who has and an executive assistant
Speaker 1: for multiple general managers Jerry Angelo and Filmery, and then
Speaker 1: John Fox, Matt Naggie and Matt Eberflus is retiring I
Speaker 1: think here in the next few days. But she had
Speaker 1: been with the Bear since nineteen ninety eight. A lovely woman,
Speaker 1: fullest bunk on it does her job at a very
Speaker 1: very high level and a very big part of that
Speaker 1: front office for a long time. We've known Robin a
Speaker 1: long time and now Jim she was there when she
Speaker 1: was there since ninety eight, so we all know her.
Speaker 1: What a great woman and just fun, fun, but really
Speaker 1: diligent about her job. So we gotta wish her happy retirement,
Speaker 1: right big Tom, Oh my God, never shy of sharing
Speaker 1: an opinion with who Robin was. And I'm so proud
Speaker 1: to have known her and worked alongside of her for
Speaker 1: all these years, and she played an important role inside
Speaker 1: that building, and I wish her nothing but a long, happy,
Speaker 1: successful retirement. Yeah that was zero. I arrived in Kago
Speaker 1: and she was a treat man obviously, always a pleasure
Speaker 1: to work with and like said, a lot of fun.
Speaker 1: So you know, we wish you're all the best in
Speaker 1: retirement will be thinking about She's impacted so many people
Speaker 1: and done such a good job, so hopefully retirement as
Speaker 1: everything she wants it to be. Absolutely, she's definitely earned it,
Speaker 1: that's for sure, all right. So schedule release coming up
Speaker 1: here in a couple of minutes. Single game tickets going
Speaker 1: on sale at eight thirty, so you know it's getting
Speaker 1: closer to impact here. The Barriers will open the season
Speaker 1: against San Francisco Week one at Soldier Field. As Jim
Speaker 1: alluded to when he joined the program in the last
Speaker 1: half hour, who the quarterback is for the forty nine ers,
Speaker 1: we don't know at this time whether it's going to
Speaker 1: beat Trey Lance or if it's going to be Jimmy Garoppolo.
Speaker 1: Still they're in San Francisco. My guess it's going to
Speaker 1: lean towards Trey Lance getting a start here in his
Speaker 1: second season, and then at Green Bay Week two against
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers without Davante Adams
Speaker 1: an adjustment for him up there as well. You're already
Speaker 1: shaking your head. You're really getting your anger on towards
Speaker 1: the no you know what, I just want the loyalty
Speaker 1: of the Bears fans to show up September eleventh at
Speaker 1: Soldier Field and make it difficult for whomever plays quarterback.
Speaker 1: Let's start this season on the right foot. In advance
Speaker 1: every week accordingly, Absolutely and Jim. The NFL season opens
Speaker 1: Buffalo at the Rams Thursday, September eighth. We'll be looking
Speaker 1: forward to that. Jim. We'll talk to you next week.
Speaker 1: Sounds good. Appreciate it, guys. That's gonna do it for us.
Speaker 1: Thanks to Duck Kramer, University of Illinois product and a
Speaker 1: Bears draft pick now on their offensive line for joining
Speaker 1: the program tonight. Thanks as well too, Jordan Trudup, Dan Brilliant,
Speaker 1: Amstezinski Coming up next, Gabramer is at Anthony Herron will
Speaker 1: join you. This has been Bears All Access on Chicago
Speaker 1: Sports Radio six seventy to score. Good night, everybody, thanks
Speaker 1: for listening to this Chicago Bears Network presentation of AIRS
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