WEBVTT - Monsters of the Midway: Preparing for Eagles 0:00:05.480 --> 0:00:08.440 Welcome to the PNC studio at Hallis Hall. This is 0:00:08.520 --> 0:00:11.920 Monsters of the Midway Live. I'm Lauren Screedon alongside Bears 0:00:11.960 --> 0:00:15.080 senior writer Larry Mayer and former Bear Tom Thayer. We're 0:00:15.080 --> 0:00:18.079 bringing you, guys, everything Bears Eagles for the next half hour. 0:00:18.200 --> 0:00:22.360 Thanks for tuning in. Guys, the playoffs. How excited are we? 0:00:22.520 --> 0:00:24.759 It's very exciting, Lauren. The first time in eight years 0:00:24.760 --> 0:00:26.720 for the Bears, they won the NFC North. They got 0:00:26.720 --> 0:00:29.080 a home game in Soldier Field. I'm sure the fans 0:00:29.120 --> 0:00:31.320 will show out. Tom, you're the one that knows the 0:00:31.360 --> 0:00:33.559 answer to this question more than either two of us. 0:00:33.800 --> 0:00:36.360 What is the biggest difference going from the regular season 0:00:36.360 --> 0:00:39.400 to the playoffs in terms of intensity and also preparation. 0:00:40.120 --> 0:00:42.400 There is no concern about next week. You're only concerned 0:00:42.400 --> 0:00:45.199 about is getting prepared for this week, making sure that 0:00:45.240 --> 0:00:48.440 you understand the entirety of your game plan. There's nothing 0:00:48.479 --> 0:00:51.199 that can come up and create you to create a 0:00:51.240 --> 0:00:54.000 mistake or second guest your preparation. But I think that's 0:00:54.000 --> 0:00:56.680 a unique thing about Matt Maggie throughout the entire season. 0:00:56.960 --> 0:00:58.880 When he goes to the podium after the game, it's 0:00:58.920 --> 0:01:01.800 only about improving to the next week. And I think 0:01:01.800 --> 0:01:04.360 that's the same message that they presented this week. They 0:01:04.360 --> 0:01:06.240 are the Philadelphia Eagles, but we have to be a 0:01:06.240 --> 0:01:09.200 better football team than then. We played the Minnesota Vikings 0:01:09.240 --> 0:01:10.959 last week. We've both been around here for a long 0:01:11.000 --> 0:01:12.840 time and learning you two, I think that this is 0:01:12.880 --> 0:01:14.920 the best coaching job I've seen in terms of a 0:01:14.959 --> 0:01:17.720 coach taking a team and getting them to focus solely 0:01:17.720 --> 0:01:20.800 on the task at hand, not worrying about the outside noise, 0:01:20.880 --> 0:01:23.280 what other people are saying good or bad, as well 0:01:23.319 --> 0:01:25.720 as also not looking back. They learned from their mistakes. 0:01:25.880 --> 0:01:27.959 They learned from the Packers last week one. It was 0:01:28.160 --> 0:01:31.000 very difficult loss, but they focused on the task at 0:01:31.040 --> 0:01:34.080 hand and they rebound and they show resiliency throughout the season. 0:01:34.280 --> 0:01:36.679 You know, again, Matt Naggie always said, this is not 0:01:36.720 --> 0:01:38.640 a one man show when you're talking about the talent 0:01:38.680 --> 0:01:41.080 of the football team. I think the entire coaching staff 0:01:41.080 --> 0:01:43.880 has done an unbelievable job. And we saw that, you know, 0:01:43.920 --> 0:01:46.319 early in the preseason, the starters weren't getting a lot 0:01:46.319 --> 0:01:48.280 of reps, so the backups were getting reps and they 0:01:48.400 --> 0:01:50.960 looked really good doing it. And then throughout the year 0:01:51.000 --> 0:01:53.000 when someone had to come in because of an injury, 0:01:53.280 --> 0:01:55.880 They've always showed up ready and prepared mentally and physically 0:01:55.920 --> 0:01:58.040 to play. I mean, it's just crazy. Three hundred and 0:01:58.080 --> 0:02:00.720 sixty five days ago, Matt Naggie was here. I mean, 0:02:00.920 --> 0:02:03.120 we had no idea that this is where we would 0:02:03.120 --> 0:02:05.120 be fitting think about it. We went to training camp 0:02:05.560 --> 0:02:08.480 July nineteenth. I mean, it's been a long season and 0:02:08.520 --> 0:02:11.240 to be at this point, I mean, how exciting for 0:02:11.280 --> 0:02:14.359 the team and just the city of Chicago. Let me 0:02:14.440 --> 0:02:18.200 ask you, Larry and Lauren, what are the realistic expectations 0:02:18.200 --> 0:02:20.919 we all had when this football season started? And I 0:02:20.960 --> 0:02:22.799 don't think any of us are embarrassed to say, oh, 0:02:22.800 --> 0:02:25.040 if you were, if you were eight and eight and 0:02:25.200 --> 0:02:27.400 nine and seven, that would be a great turnaround and 0:02:27.680 --> 0:02:30.840 the future really looks bright. And then all sudden, boy, 0:02:31.280 --> 0:02:33.800 a lot more confidence started to creep into all of 0:02:33.880 --> 0:02:36.240 us as Bears fans. And what were your expectations? You know, 0:02:36.280 --> 0:02:37.800 I think all of us just wanted the Bears to 0:02:37.840 --> 0:02:41.680 be relevant again after four straight last place finishes. I mean, Tom, 0:02:41.720 --> 0:02:44.120 all of us, you know, rewrite, we talk about the Bears. 0:02:44.160 --> 0:02:46.280 We do this all day. A lot of people out there. 0:02:46.320 --> 0:02:47.920 You know, they just go to the games and the weekends. 0:02:47.960 --> 0:02:49.840 They're fans, but this is our lives. We do this 0:02:49.960 --> 0:02:52.320 every day, and we wanted the Bears to be relevant. 0:02:52.320 --> 0:02:54.200 We did not want to be talking about the draft 0:02:54.240 --> 0:02:56.720 on November first, or who was going to be fired. 0:02:56.760 --> 0:02:58.520 And you know, I do Q and A's with fans, 0:02:58.520 --> 0:03:00.440 and every question is when are they going to the coach? 0:03:00.440 --> 0:03:02.200 Who was going to replace them? And it's just been 0:03:02.240 --> 0:03:04.520 a pleasure this year. It's been so much fun for 0:03:04.680 --> 0:03:06.880 me and I know for both of you two to 0:03:06.960 --> 0:03:09.959 have a successful season. And you're right, the expectations were 0:03:10.000 --> 0:03:12.200 not that high early in the season, and then even 0:03:12.240 --> 0:03:14.200 after the green Bay game, you know, here we go again. 0:03:14.280 --> 0:03:16.000 You know, they blew another one to Green Bay. But 0:03:16.080 --> 0:03:18.600 then the way they rebounded. They won three straight games, 0:03:18.760 --> 0:03:20.160 then they lose two in a row, and then they 0:03:20.160 --> 0:03:22.720 rebound again with five straight wins. They lose the Giants, 0:03:22.800 --> 0:03:25.920 they rebound again with four straight wins, and it quickly 0:03:25.960 --> 0:03:28.400 became obvious to me it wasn't the same team. This 0:03:28.520 --> 0:03:30.480 wasn't the same attitude, This wasn't a here we go 0:03:30.560 --> 0:03:32.480 again type thing. And if you talk to a lot 0:03:32.520 --> 0:03:35.360 of the players now, none of them say, to their surprise, 0:03:35.560 --> 0:03:37.600 A lot of them say they looked at OTAs or 0:03:37.640 --> 0:03:39.560 training camp and they knew they were gonna have access 0:03:39.800 --> 0:03:42.240 a successful year. And they're telling me the truth. They 0:03:42.280 --> 0:03:45.280 really believed it. Right. Well, Lauren, you're around the head coach, 0:03:45.320 --> 0:03:48.880 you're around the players. You have more, you know, much 0:03:48.920 --> 0:03:51.200 of a few time you don't remember I said twelve 0:03:51.200 --> 0:03:56.160 and four, that was exactly Well, then you know you're 0:03:56.240 --> 0:03:58.160 run of a few. But you know it's it's been 0:03:58.240 --> 0:04:01.480 great for us the whole football season. And just watch then, 0:04:01.840 --> 0:04:04.560 you know, the constant improvement of this football team. And 0:04:04.600 --> 0:04:06.600 they brought in a lot of new faces here, and 0:04:06.720 --> 0:04:08.840 you know, we also got introduced to how they were 0:04:08.840 --> 0:04:11.200 going to fit in to making this football team better. 0:04:11.360 --> 0:04:13.280 Another thing too, that I also want to add, and 0:04:13.320 --> 0:04:15.680 I know we're gonna talk about the eighty five Bears 0:04:15.680 --> 0:04:18.680 and people love comparing the defenses and stuff, But to me, 0:04:19.240 --> 0:04:21.360 Matt Nage not only improve this team, but he brought 0:04:21.480 --> 0:04:23.840 fun back. And that the first thing I think about 0:04:23.880 --> 0:04:25.760 when I think of Bears football being fund was the 0:04:25.800 --> 0:04:28.279 eighty five team with the fridge and all the different characters. 0:04:28.440 --> 0:04:30.760 And now the Bears have those type of characters. He's 0:04:30.800 --> 0:04:32.880 giving the ball the team hicks on the goal line 0:04:32.880 --> 0:04:35.160 on fourth down on the key play at the end 0:04:35.200 --> 0:04:36.560 of the game. It's the last play of the game. 0:04:36.600 --> 0:04:38.840 The Bears need a touchdown the force overtime. He has 0:04:38.920 --> 0:04:42.520 Tarik Cone throwing a pass. He has Nick Wikowski catching 0:04:42.560 --> 0:04:46.520 two point conversions. He has Bradley sal catching touchdown passes. 0:04:46.680 --> 0:04:48.400 I mean, what if you play for this team, they 0:04:48.440 --> 0:04:50.280 probably send you out on a pass pattern. I mean 0:04:50.279 --> 0:04:52.240 it's incredible and that reminds me of the eighty five 0:04:52.279 --> 0:04:53.880 Bears in terms of the fun. Well, when you're an 0:04:53.880 --> 0:04:56.640 offensive lineman, you're blessed to be just an offensive lineman. 0:04:56.800 --> 0:04:58.840 You know, Bradley Sewell moves all over the place. We 0:04:58.880 --> 0:05:00.640 saw him at fullback, he him at tight end, you 0:05:00.640 --> 0:05:03.160 see him at offensive guard, offensive tackle, and he's a 0:05:03.160 --> 0:05:05.440 really good long snapper. And I think that's one of 0:05:05.440 --> 0:05:07.640 the qualities that Matt Maggie has brought to this young 0:05:07.720 --> 0:05:10.600 group of athletes that he allows them to be themselves. 0:05:10.680 --> 0:05:13.240 He allows them to have fun. And I think that's 0:05:13.279 --> 0:05:16.320 the great thing is let your personality be your personality. 0:05:16.320 --> 0:05:18.359 Inside the locker room, there's a giant sign on the 0:05:18.360 --> 0:05:20.920 wall that we've all seen it, says be you. Matt's 0:05:20.920 --> 0:05:23.400 got that on his playsheet every week to remind him 0:05:23.400 --> 0:05:25.159 and a lot of the players I spoke would love 0:05:25.240 --> 0:05:26.920 that about him. He said from day one. He came 0:05:26.960 --> 0:05:28.960 in here and he encouraged us to let us show 0:05:28.960 --> 0:05:31.960 a personalities, let us be ourselves, let us have fun. 0:05:32.000 --> 0:05:34.800 And they really respect Matt Naggie, but they love to 0:05:34.839 --> 0:05:37.000 have fun with him. And it's obviously translated into a 0:05:37.040 --> 0:05:41.080 great season that Laura obviously predicted. That's right, called it 0:05:41.120 --> 0:05:43.479 in July. You guys called it in July. And I 0:05:43.520 --> 0:05:46.080 mean just on the topic of Matt Nagie Coach of 0:05:46.080 --> 0:05:48.440 the Year. Oh, don't you know what, Shure, I'm biased. 0:05:48.480 --> 0:05:50.400 I worked for the Bears. How do you not select 0:05:50.520 --> 0:05:52.559 him for his coach of the year. Everybody's talking about, 0:05:52.640 --> 0:05:55.440 you know, possibly Sean Payton or Anthony Lynne with the Chargers, 0:05:55.440 --> 0:05:57.640 and they both have done great jobs. That Matt Naggie 0:05:57.640 --> 0:06:00.719 took over a team last place four straight years. The 0:06:00.760 --> 0:06:03.160 Bears were four and twenty against their division opponents the 0:06:03.240 --> 0:06:05.080 last four years, and he won five out of six 0:06:05.160 --> 0:06:08.080 games that alone, I think earns Coach of the Year. 0:06:08.480 --> 0:06:11.640 NFC Champ's third seed in the playoffs. Call me crazy, 0:06:11.640 --> 0:06:13.159 but how do you vote against them? You know, it'd 0:06:13.200 --> 0:06:15.240 be interesting to ask Matt Maggie this question because it 0:06:15.240 --> 0:06:17.360 would he vote for Andy Reid? Because you look at 0:06:17.360 --> 0:06:19.880 what Patrick Mahomes has been able to do with a 0:06:19.920 --> 0:06:22.640 similar style of offense. I think at all is it's 0:06:22.680 --> 0:06:25.800 opened us a picture to what Mitchell Trubisky could possibly 0:06:25.800 --> 0:06:28.320 be in a year or two in this offense. So 0:06:28.560 --> 0:06:30.479 when you talk about Coach of the Year candidates, I 0:06:30.520 --> 0:06:32.960 bet you if you asked Maddie'd probably point to Andy Reid. 0:06:33.000 --> 0:06:35.400 And there's a lot of guys out there that are qualified, 0:06:35.480 --> 0:06:37.960 but no one, I mean, as Matt is as deserving 0:06:37.960 --> 0:06:39.920 as anybody. The chiefs of the Saints were both of 0:06:39.960 --> 0:06:42.600 the playoffs last year. Let's not forget that the Bears 0:06:42.600 --> 0:06:45.680 were irrelevant. The Bears were five and eleven, firing their coach. 0:06:46.040 --> 0:06:48.000 Nobody knew what was going on. They didn't know who 0:06:48.120 --> 0:06:51.320 was coming back. People had questions about the training, about 0:06:51.440 --> 0:06:54.760 Ryan Pace even returning, people had questions about Mitch Trubisky. 0:06:54.960 --> 0:06:57.040 A year later, they're in the playoffs, They're the number 0:06:57.040 --> 0:06:59.560 three seed. Ryan Pace is probably going to be the 0:06:59.600 --> 0:07:01.360 executive of the year and Matt Naggie could be the 0:07:01.400 --> 0:07:03.920 Coach of the Year. So I think just that alone 0:07:03.760 --> 0:07:06.880 where they came from plays a role who gets the 0:07:06.920 --> 0:07:08.240 Coach of the Year awards. So that's why I think 0:07:08.279 --> 0:07:10.880 Matt deserves it well. And Eagles head coach Doug Peterson 0:07:10.960 --> 0:07:13.800 had great things, of course, to say about Coach Naggi today, 0:07:13.800 --> 0:07:16.280 and Coach Naggie gave us a little timbook Timbo that 0:07:16.640 --> 0:07:24.280 Doug Peterson likes Vanilla Rainbows. Frankles, Yeah, I can add 0:07:24.360 --> 0:07:26.440 to that as well though, because our good buddy Dan 0:07:26.520 --> 0:07:28.840 Pompey here's a plug for it, who's writing the one 0:07:28.880 --> 0:07:31.480 hundred year book with Don Pearson for the Chicago Bears 0:07:31.440 --> 0:07:33.880 and did a book with Doug Peterson. He said that 0:07:34.360 --> 0:07:38.040 Doug Peterson's favorite ice cream is actually hoggindaes Vanilly has 0:07:38.040 --> 0:07:41.360 it for the night before every game. So there you go, 0:07:41.480 --> 0:07:43.320 and I'm gonna plug real quick. If you guys have 0:07:43.480 --> 0:07:47.360 questions while you're listening out there on Facebook, YouTube, the 0:07:47.520 --> 0:07:50.200 Bears app, Chicago Bears dot com, make sure you guys 0:07:50.200 --> 0:07:53.000 are tweeting those are commenting on Facebook Live. We're going 0:07:53.040 --> 0:07:55.200 to get to some of those fan questions again. If 0:07:55.200 --> 0:07:57.800 you're just tuning in. This is Monsters in the Midway Live. 0:07:57.920 --> 0:08:00.440 We're happy to have you guys here and happy to 0:08:00.440 --> 0:08:02.600 be talking about the Bears playoff. And I have a 0:08:02.680 --> 0:08:05.280 question briefly about Tom Therap because Tom Thare a lot 0:08:05.280 --> 0:08:09.400 of people right here. People don't realize that Tom Thare 0:08:09.480 --> 0:08:11.800 is the most interesting man in the world. Tom Thayre 0:08:11.840 --> 0:08:13.920 is the guy who's had dinner with Frank Sinatra. He 0:08:13.960 --> 0:08:17.480 has all these stories. It's incredible. Absolutely did. We'll talk 0:08:17.520 --> 0:08:20.800 about it later, but let me ask you this. Doug Peterson, 0:08:20.840 --> 0:08:23.600 the head coach of the Eagles. Yes, Tom went to 0:08:23.640 --> 0:08:26.280 the Miami Dolphins for just a little bit after he 0:08:26.280 --> 0:08:29.040 played for the Bears, and Doug Peterson was your teammate, correct, 0:08:29.200 --> 0:08:31.240 And did you not play in the game where Sula 0:08:31.360 --> 0:08:36.040 broke the record against broke Don Shula broke George Pallas's record. 0:08:36.080 --> 0:08:39.840 It wasn't against the Eagles too. Against the Eagles, do 0:08:39.840 --> 0:08:42.559 Doug was playing quarterback? I was there for the Eagle 0:08:42.720 --> 0:08:45.120 or for the Miami Dolphins. On the other side of 0:08:45.160 --> 0:08:48.240 the field was William Perry within an Eagles uniform because 0:08:48.240 --> 0:08:50.920 he got traded right at the same time. So for 0:08:50.960 --> 0:08:53.240 me it was more of an opportunity to sit in 0:08:54.120 --> 0:08:57.600 meetings led by Don Shula for a year learning more 0:08:57.640 --> 0:09:01.280 AFC passing type offense, and that was a great opportunity 0:09:01.320 --> 0:09:03.480 for me to go down there. But I also think 0:09:03.480 --> 0:09:06.600 if you look at the history of quarterbacks that Doug 0:09:07.200 --> 0:09:09.760 has been able to coach and play under. He's got 0:09:09.800 --> 0:09:12.800 a wide variety of experiences himself. And so when you 0:09:12.840 --> 0:09:16.720 think of the combination between Matt and Maaggie and Doug Peterson, 0:09:17.080 --> 0:09:19.000 the two of them, they have so much in common, 0:09:19.160 --> 0:09:22.000 their their style of coaching, the way they think the game, 0:09:22.040 --> 0:09:25.200 because they're both ex quarterbacks, got it, It's gonna be 0:09:25.240 --> 0:09:30.400 one of the great story you know, uncontact battles of 0:09:30.440 --> 0:09:32.600 the game is Doug, It's gonna be really interesting. Now 0:09:32.720 --> 0:09:34.080 I know your brother in law was in the league. 0:09:34.120 --> 0:09:36.760 He played offensive line too. I believe I'm wondering how 0:09:36.760 --> 0:09:38.440 Matt and Maaggie feels about going against this is like 0:09:38.440 --> 0:09:40.679 one of his closest friends. Would you rather go against 0:09:40.720 --> 0:09:42.480 a close friend or just haven't played another game and 0:09:42.480 --> 0:09:44.160 go against someone you don't know, Would you rather go 0:09:44.200 --> 0:09:46.760 against your brother? Because you think about Kyle Long and 0:09:46.800 --> 0:09:49.240 Chris Long, you think about two coaches that will never 0:09:49.320 --> 0:09:51.840 touch each other. There's a you know, when you go 0:09:51.920 --> 0:09:54.160 through a game plan with Matt Naggie Collin and you're 0:09:54.200 --> 0:09:56.680 an offensive guard, there's a good chance that you could 0:09:56.760 --> 0:09:59.080 hit all eleven guys on the defense, or you know, 0:09:59.080 --> 0:10:03.040 they're scattered through your responsibilities. So when you get all 0:10:03.040 --> 0:10:05.920 eleven guys on single place, yeah, right, I remember I 0:10:06.000 --> 0:10:08.320 was there for him. I was a very young child watching. 0:10:08.679 --> 0:10:11.679 I'm just kidding thinking of Kyle, and they're two emotional 0:10:11.720 --> 0:10:14.320 personalities of their team. And you know, I wouldn't want 0:10:14.360 --> 0:10:16.719 to go out there and have to hit my brother repeatedly. 0:10:16.800 --> 0:10:19.079 But if it, Kyle said in the locker room to 0:10:19.200 --> 0:10:22.200 I mean one word to describe it. He was anxious, 0:10:22.320 --> 0:10:24.400 anxious about, you know, having to do that, I think. 0:10:24.600 --> 0:10:28.520 And I also saw its Howie Long's birthday. His mom 0:10:28.559 --> 0:10:30.320 just isn't even gonna be able to watch, is what 0:10:30.360 --> 0:10:32.600 he said. I remember when the Bears played the Rams, 0:10:32.600 --> 0:10:34.520 if I'm sure a lot of Bear friends remember, there 0:10:34.520 --> 0:10:36.679 was a fight in the game and Chris actually pulled 0:10:36.760 --> 0:10:38.880 Kyle off and saved him from being kicked out of 0:10:38.920 --> 0:10:40.720 the game. I wonder what will happen this week if 0:10:40.720 --> 0:10:42.719 that happens well, I mean, it is going to be 0:10:42.720 --> 0:10:44.640 an emotional game because if you go back and you 0:10:44.679 --> 0:10:46.280 look at the tape last year when they played the 0:10:46.280 --> 0:10:49.240 Philadelphia Eagles, Philly really was in control of that game 0:10:49.280 --> 0:10:52.040 the whole time. This is an entirely different team that's 0:10:52.080 --> 0:10:54.600 going and to Soldier Field to play the Philadelphia Eagles 0:10:54.600 --> 0:10:57.440 this year. There's no similarities to the Bears on offense 0:10:57.480 --> 0:11:00.400 what they faced last year. But you know, that's kind 0:11:00.400 --> 0:11:03.920 of the uniqueness of it is Matt Maggie can probably 0:11:03.960 --> 0:11:07.480 help Vic Fangio and Doug Peterson can probably help Jim 0:11:07.480 --> 0:11:10.559 Schwartz in terms of how do you think offenses when 0:11:10.559 --> 0:11:13.240 you see the different formations out there. We're going to 0:11:13.280 --> 0:11:16.480 go to a fan question really quick. Um, first one, 0:11:16.840 --> 0:11:20.040 is Eddie Jackson going to play this Sunday. I think 0:11:20.040 --> 0:11:22.559 it's gonna be hard to keep Eddie Jackson off the field. Fortunately, 0:11:22.880 --> 0:11:25.280 last week before the game, we got to see him 0:11:25.360 --> 0:11:28.480 running around on the field with the trainers and get 0:11:28.640 --> 0:11:32.000 coaches are getting an evaluation of where he's at seven 0:11:32.080 --> 0:11:34.160 days ago to where he will be in that in 0:11:34.240 --> 0:11:37.000 seven days from that, And to me, I think he's 0:11:37.040 --> 0:11:39.599 such a competitor. He knows he means so much of 0:11:39.679 --> 0:11:41.559 this football team. And you know, the guys that have 0:11:41.640 --> 0:11:44.679 filled in for him ever really played well. Sheriff McManus 0:11:44.800 --> 0:11:47.760 and DeAndre Houston Carson, then Dion Bush. They have all 0:11:47.800 --> 0:11:52.559 played good, solid football. But Eddie understands what this game means. 0:11:52.679 --> 0:11:54.120 I don't think there's any way you're going to keep 0:11:54.160 --> 0:11:55.679 him out of it. I don't think that's the question. 0:11:55.720 --> 0:11:57.480 I think the question is how effective will he be 0:11:57.520 --> 0:11:59.440 out there? Because it is an ankle injury that's going 0:11:59.480 --> 0:12:02.320 to slow him a little bit possibly, so he will 0:12:02.320 --> 0:12:04.520 probably I imagine, play in the game, but is he 0:12:04.559 --> 0:12:05.880 going to be affected by it? Is he going to 0:12:05.920 --> 0:12:08.120 be slower? And you know, with the Eagles see that 0:12:08.160 --> 0:12:09.640 he's not the same guy, they're going to try to 0:12:09.679 --> 0:12:11.680 attack him. But with that being said, I think the 0:12:11.720 --> 0:12:14.360 Bear secondary is way better than the Eagle secondary going 0:12:14.360 --> 0:12:16.920 into this game. And really, when you look at it, Tom, 0:12:17.040 --> 0:12:19.960 everybody talks about the defense and everything and about obviously 0:12:20.400 --> 0:12:22.800 Roquan Smith and Kalo Mac made a big difference. But 0:12:22.960 --> 0:12:26.240 I remember talking to Vic Fangio before the offseason, everybody 0:12:26.320 --> 0:12:29.040 was asking about the draft and free agency and who 0:12:29.080 --> 0:12:31.120 the Bears were going to get. He just wait a second. 0:12:31.400 --> 0:12:33.679 The most important thing for this defense is the guys 0:12:33.720 --> 0:12:36.559 that are returning. They need to improve and keep developing. 0:12:36.760 --> 0:12:38.760 And he kept harping on those guys. And as we 0:12:38.800 --> 0:12:42.200 saw guys like we mentioned before with Eddie Jackson, but 0:12:42.240 --> 0:12:45.360 also Kyle Fuller tied for the league lead in interceptions 0:12:45.360 --> 0:12:48.040 at Kem Hicks. Those are three guys from the defense 0:12:48.120 --> 0:12:50.440 from that have been here that are now taking that 0:12:50.480 --> 0:12:52.800 other step and all made the Pro Bowl. Well, not 0:12:52.880 --> 0:12:54.400 to want up you, but just to talk about a 0:12:54.440 --> 0:12:56.800 couple more candidates. If you look at what Leonard Floyd 0:12:56.800 --> 0:12:59.320 and Eddie Goldman have done the last five games, they're 0:12:59.320 --> 0:13:02.000 playing the best ball of their career. You know, Eddie 0:13:02.000 --> 0:13:04.680 Gott was rewarded with the new contract, and everybody knows 0:13:04.720 --> 0:13:07.960 what the obstacles at Leonard Floyda's face throughout the season. 0:13:08.360 --> 0:13:11.480 But when you look at their improvement, not only we 0:13:11.480 --> 0:13:13.840 talked about the assistant coaches how much they've been able 0:13:13.840 --> 0:13:15.920 to help them, but how much they've gotten out of 0:13:15.960 --> 0:13:19.800 themselves and their improvement is almost immeasurable. How it filters 0:13:19.840 --> 0:13:21.640 do a Kem Hicks or how it goes down to 0:13:21.679 --> 0:13:24.240 Blile Nichols, or how it goes to Danny Trevathan from 0:13:24.320 --> 0:13:27.400 Rokuan and such. So those two guys also they got 0:13:27.400 --> 0:13:29.520 to be mentioned in the mix. And Danny Trevathan and 0:13:29.520 --> 0:13:32.360 Prince Semukamara, both two guys would have also been here before. 0:13:32.400 --> 0:13:35.160 And they're making a lot plays this year and Princes 0:13:35.200 --> 0:13:37.240 taking the ball away like everybody in tom that's the 0:13:37.240 --> 0:13:39.719 biggest difference to me. The Bears last year were a 0:13:39.760 --> 0:13:41.800 top ten defense and they said their biggest thing this 0:13:41.880 --> 0:13:44.320 year was trying to be a number a top five defense. 0:13:44.360 --> 0:13:46.160 They made it at number three, but that doesn't really 0:13:46.160 --> 0:13:48.960 tell the whole story because this team took the ball 0:13:49.000 --> 0:13:51.679 away unlike any time ever before or the Bears. They 0:13:51.679 --> 0:13:54.800 had twenty seven interceptions after having eight each of the 0:13:54.840 --> 0:13:56.959 last three years. That was the biggest difference, and that 0:13:57.040 --> 0:13:58.840 kind of reminded me the eighty five Bears too. They 0:13:58.840 --> 0:14:01.000 went out there thinking we're gonna take the ball away 0:14:01.000 --> 0:14:02.880 and we're going to score. Well, the funny thing about it, 0:14:02.920 --> 0:14:05.319 before the season ever started, Prince of Mukamara said he's 0:14:05.320 --> 0:14:07.440 going to set a goal to get ten interceptions throughout 0:14:07.440 --> 0:14:09.640 the season. And you think of the whole defensive back, 0:14:10.120 --> 0:14:12.440 the defensive backfield of defense as a whole have been 0:14:12.480 --> 0:14:14.360 able to triple that him out, So I go, boy, 0:14:14.400 --> 0:14:17.120 that's high expectations for the defense to get ten. But 0:14:17.160 --> 0:14:19.440 he was saying it for himself. But I like the 0:14:19.480 --> 0:14:22.120 confidence that he kind of kicked off, because you know, 0:14:22.160 --> 0:14:24.880 you have one player with confidence that mentioned something about it, 0:14:24.920 --> 0:14:26.880 then it kind of trickles over to the next guy 0:14:26.960 --> 0:14:29.040 and the next guy's commitment and the next guy. So 0:14:29.320 --> 0:14:31.760 I think it was an important statement for Prince to make, 0:14:32.000 --> 0:14:34.200 but I like that they were able to capitalize on it. 0:14:34.280 --> 0:14:35.960 And the interesting thing to me, too, is that they 0:14:36.040 --> 0:14:38.440 expect to make those plays now. When the game's on 0:14:38.440 --> 0:14:40.640 the line, the defense expects to either make a stop 0:14:40.880 --> 0:14:43.920 or take an interception away and end the game. And 0:14:43.920 --> 0:14:46.040 that's really refreshing. I think that's something they learned from 0:14:46.080 --> 0:14:48.840 the Green Bay game where it didn't happen and everybody thought, 0:14:48.920 --> 0:14:50.600 oh my god, this is going to ruin their season. 0:14:50.640 --> 0:14:52.880 But yet they learned from that and they've improved on 0:14:52.960 --> 0:14:55.280 that and they've done a great job. I think you're 0:14:55.360 --> 0:14:57.960 as a former player, you can probably speak to this. Obviously, 0:14:58.240 --> 0:15:00.600 the confidence that they have now, they just feel like 0:15:00.680 --> 0:15:04.000 it's going to happen. I believe that they think they 0:15:04.000 --> 0:15:06.600 can make any quarterback look rush. They can take the 0:15:06.680 --> 0:15:09.480 vulnerabilities on the offensive line and take advantage of them. 0:15:09.600 --> 0:15:12.160 There's receivers that they can match up with. But you know, 0:15:12.200 --> 0:15:13.800 they kind of got a little bit of a different 0:15:13.800 --> 0:15:16.760 monster coming in this weekend because Nick Folds is taken over, 0:15:16.760 --> 0:15:18.720 and I think he's better to run that system than 0:15:18.800 --> 0:15:22.040 Carson Wentz is. He's got a great relationship with Doug 0:15:22.080 --> 0:15:24.920 Peterson and the most pressure moments and they make the 0:15:25.000 --> 0:15:28.440 right calls and they have the right kind of communication together. 0:15:28.840 --> 0:15:31.240 So everything the Bears have been able to do is 0:15:31.520 --> 0:15:33.560 you know, they got they leave a wake of teams 0:15:33.800 --> 0:15:35.880 behind them, but this is a this is a team 0:15:35.920 --> 0:15:37.760 they haven't seen yet this year. They're familiar with the 0:15:37.800 --> 0:15:41.120 system because of their head coach, but personnel, you need 0:15:41.200 --> 0:15:43.720 to see it on tape as much as you possibly 0:15:43.760 --> 0:15:47.280 can become familiar with your opponent by watching them on tape. 0:15:47.320 --> 0:15:48.880 I heard a lot of the same things though, before 0:15:48.920 --> 0:15:50.880 the Rams came in with Jared Goff and about how 0:15:50.880 --> 0:15:53.440 they're high flying team. They're averaging thirty five points a game. 0:15:53.720 --> 0:15:56.200 Then the Bears defense completely shut them down, kept them 0:15:56.200 --> 0:15:59.200 from scoring a touchdown and fifteen to sixth Finals score, 0:15:59.240 --> 0:16:01.800 and really the Rams limped out of here not really 0:16:01.840 --> 0:16:04.800 knowing what hit them. Here's hoping. Obviously the same thing 0:16:04.840 --> 0:16:07.320 happens with the Eagles, but obviously their playoff tested going 0:16:07.400 --> 0:16:09.640 to going to the Super Bowl and winning last year. Yeah, 0:16:09.880 --> 0:16:13.160 you know, the Philly had just has more success experience 0:16:13.240 --> 0:16:15.240 than what the Rams did up into this point or 0:16:15.240 --> 0:16:16.880 what the Bears have learned how to do up into 0:16:16.920 --> 0:16:19.200 this point, so they are a little bit more familiar 0:16:19.240 --> 0:16:21.240 with this playoff tempo that we talked about at the 0:16:21.240 --> 0:16:23.640 beginning of the show. As an eighty five bear, my friend, 0:16:23.720 --> 0:16:26.280 let me ask you this question. You had to say 0:16:26.320 --> 0:16:31.080 it like that too. He's been waiting. They are practicing 0:16:31.120 --> 0:16:34.120 in the bathroom. I don't have to practice it, my friend. Um, 0:16:34.800 --> 0:16:36.400 you win the Super Bowl in eighty five, you have 0:16:36.440 --> 0:16:38.560 a really good season. In eighty six, the Eagles haven't 0:16:38.600 --> 0:16:40.360 had that good of a season. But was there any 0:16:40.480 --> 0:16:42.840 bit of a letdown or hey, we won, we reached 0:16:42.840 --> 0:16:46.680 the mountaintop. Was there any letdown? I know mcmannon got 0:16:46.760 --> 0:16:48.400 hurt in eighty six, but was there a letdown going 0:16:48.440 --> 0:16:50.080 into that season? Going through that season? Was it just 0:16:50.120 --> 0:16:52.920 not the same thing? No, there was not a letdown 0:16:52.960 --> 0:16:55.880 because Dick didn't allow that. If he felt that you 0:16:55.880 --> 0:16:58.520 are uncommitted to what was required of you to get 0:16:58.520 --> 0:17:01.240 back to the super Bowl, you'd be cuts. It's a 0:17:01.360 --> 0:17:04.479 hard process of making this football team. And yet so 0:17:04.520 --> 0:17:07.159 many guys that were committed to the Bears, committed to 0:17:07.200 --> 0:17:10.280 winning that they gave everything in the offseason, and they 0:17:10.320 --> 0:17:13.159 gave everything during the season, and it was unfortunate that 0:17:13.160 --> 0:17:15.880 when when we got to the playoffs, so we weren't 0:17:15.960 --> 0:17:19.359 solid at the quarterback position. Tom, you mentioned Nick Foles. 0:17:19.400 --> 0:17:23.040 I mean, coming up twenty five straight completions on Sunday, 0:17:23.080 --> 0:17:26.040 the Bears defense is obviously going to have their hands full. 0:17:26.280 --> 0:17:30.000 How can the Bears pass rush rattle Nick Foles? You 0:17:30.040 --> 0:17:33.600