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 cd W. Back with you once again,
Speaker 1: This is Bears All Access. Jeff Jonnyak and Tom Thayer
Speaker 1: from news Radio seven eighty and one oh five point
Speaker 1: out FWBBM with our producers Jordan Trutup and Dan Barelli.
Speaker 1: We thank you and the guys at the score, we
Speaker 1: break down tomorrow's kickoff betweugh the Bears and Falcons from
Speaker 1: the Mercedes Benz domat Atlanta. We got a lot on
Speaker 1: the docket. Here. We'll hear from the play by play
Speaker 1: voice of the Atlanta Falcons, West Durham. We'll hear from
Speaker 1: safety to Sean Gibson, a chunk of our feature interview,
Speaker 1: and our Bears player profile. To hear on Bears Game
Speaker 1: Day Live Sunday morning at ten thirty on Fox. We'll
Speaker 1: touch on the passing of the Great Gayl Sayers the
Speaker 1: age of seventy seven. We'll talk about that and here
Speaker 1: from some of the players and coaches involved in this
Speaker 1: week's game. Tom, how are you looking at this matchup?
Speaker 1: I think it's a game that the Bears should have
Speaker 1: the confidence to go in there and win. Along their
Speaker 1: development path. That's the unique thing about the Bears early
Speaker 1: in this season. They still have a ways to go
Speaker 1: to eventually be the team they have the capabilities of being.
Speaker 1: But I think confidently they should go down to Atlanta
Speaker 1: and really have the belief that they're the favorite team
Speaker 1: against the O and two Falcons. Health is wealth. That
Speaker 1: is the new catchphrase. I guess health is wealth because
Speaker 1: if you keep your health, you're gonna earn your paycheck.
Speaker 1: You're gonna help your football team. And right now the
Speaker 1: Bears are knockout Wood is about as healthy as any
Speaker 1: team in the league. You still have a limited label
Speaker 1: on Kaloe Mack and his sore knee, and then you
Speaker 1: got the Atlanta Falcons. Julio Jones, Tech McKinley, Klea McGarry,
Speaker 1: the right tackle, and Ricardo Allen. He is out. That's
Speaker 1: been the injury report all week for the Falcons. It's long, Yeah,
Speaker 1: it is, and I think that's going to be the norm,
Speaker 1: maybe early in this season or throughout the whole process.
Speaker 1: But I look each team, they have the luxury of
Speaker 1: having a bigger roster. When you talk about that sixteen
Speaker 1: man practice squad, it's gonna pay dividends throughout the season.
Speaker 1: And like you said, health is wealth. But I think
Speaker 1: the guys that are always thought, man, I don't know
Speaker 1: if I'm ever going to get an opportunity to play
Speaker 1: in the NFL. I would just be prepared and waiting
Speaker 1: for that opportunity to come, and when it does, I'd
Speaker 1: make the most of it. John Jenkins is out going
Speaker 1: to be out at least three games with a thumb injury.
Speaker 1: They brought up a Daniel mccullors from the Pittsburgh practice squad,
Speaker 1: but he's got experience. Massive guy, massive guy in size
Speaker 1: eighteen shoes. Well, he's got a six seven, three hundred
Speaker 1: and forty pounds frame. He plays low, he uses good
Speaker 1: center of gravity no matter how tall he is. And
Speaker 1: now you're talking about you better can't dedicate two offensive
Speaker 1: linemen to him if the point of attack is going
Speaker 1: to be in that interior position. And we don't know
Speaker 1: if he'll be active or not with his debut and
Speaker 1: maiden voyage with the Bears, but certainly an option. I
Speaker 1: want to go to Bill Laser toom the offensive coordinator
Speaker 1: at good things to say about the developing improvement of
Speaker 1: the offensive line, and in particular, I think we both
Speaker 1: were very impressed with the physicality of James Daniels. You
Speaker 1: should keep getting better, right, I mean, this is the
Speaker 1: point where guys really in their careers start taking off.
Speaker 1: So so hopefully it's a it's a good match with
Speaker 1: how he's being coached, and you know, hopefully there's a
Speaker 1: good continuity with the guys next to him. I'm you know,
Speaker 1: the two guys on both sides of him. I think
Speaker 1: you put all those things together with a guy who
Speaker 1: really wants to be good. I mean, I think this
Speaker 1: is the time in his career where you'd like, naturally
Speaker 1: to see him take off. So hopefully that's what we're seeing.
Speaker 1: And next to him it's Charles Leno Junior and Cody
Speaker 1: white Hair with long consecutive game start streaks, right, And
Speaker 1: I think they're really fortunate right now that they can
Speaker 1: keep James at one position. Yeah, he may be the
Speaker 1: emergency center if they ever did get into that need.
Speaker 1: But now James being able to develop at the left
Speaker 1: guard position. Countless amount of reps with Charles Leno and
Speaker 1: the amount of reps that you can get with Cody
Speaker 1: white Hair. It's as valuable as his role itself. Is
Speaker 1: how offensive line works together, and we've seen some really
Speaker 1: considerable development from the end of last year to where
Speaker 1: they're at going into Game three. For me, the biggest
Speaker 1: development is the nasty. The nasty. Last week he was nasty.
Speaker 1: He was looking for somebody to hit, and he did
Speaker 1: so in a very aggressive manner. Wanca steel finish. That's
Speaker 1: the whole finish. You know, they talk about being physical,
Speaker 1: but they talk about finishing and that's what you're seeing
Speaker 1: out of James. All right. Coming up next, we're gonna
Speaker 1: visit you with a voice of the Atlanta Falcons West
Speaker 1: Durham coming up next on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy
Speaker 1: The Score. Hey Bears fans, it's important to stay connected
Speaker 1: now more than ever, and at Motorola we love Mega
Speaker 1: that possible with the new Razor, you can enjoy staying
Speaker 1: connected a little bit more. It's a phone, it's an accessory.
Speaker 1: It's an icon reinvented Hello motto Jeff Joni Actom There
Speaker 1: back on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score. This
Speaker 1: is Bears All Access, brought to you by IGS Energy.
Speaker 1: Welcoming in the long time legendary voice down to the
Speaker 1: south of the Atlanta Falcons, my brother West Durham. He's
Speaker 1: always been real kind to me. You know. That's that
Speaker 1: southern hospitality that we'll miss this week because we won't
Speaker 1: see you, but we'll be thinking about you. How are
Speaker 1: you doing. I'm great. It's good to be with you guys,
Speaker 1: and uh and welcome to twenty twenty in the NFL
Speaker 1: where we do things virtually, but we'll miss seeing you.
Speaker 1: And heck, I gotta be honest, I missed the opener
Speaker 1: because of some testing issues and things like that, so
Speaker 1: you know, uh, first game i'd missed, a second game
Speaker 1: I'd missed in seventeen years doing these games, but came
Speaker 1: back in time to do my first virtual football game
Speaker 1: last Sunday, and man, that was that was hard to take.
Speaker 1: Fellas I'm not gonna lie to you, but great to
Speaker 1: be with you, so as it's to be nice about it,
Speaker 1: as I can't as it's unraveling before your eyes. I
Speaker 1: know the angst and the pressure. We want, we want
Speaker 1: our teams to win, but is it's just you can't
Speaker 1: you have no control of watching what's happening and your
Speaker 1: team's devolving. What's going through your head as you call
Speaker 1: the game, because you know, we compartmentalize things, but we're
Speaker 1: looking at it also from a fan's perspective. Absolutely, And
Speaker 1: you know, it's funny because I had a conversation on
Speaker 1: Tuesday this week with somebody who's kind of been with
Speaker 1: the organization as long as I've been doing the games,
Speaker 1: and they said, okay, in terms of the gut punches,
Speaker 1: is that top three? And I said, well, everybody knows
Speaker 1: what number one is, so yeah, it's not far behind.
Speaker 1: Because I really felt like, but you know, Jeff, you
Speaker 1: and Tom have done the game so long together. When
Speaker 1: you do the games and you kind of know one another,
Speaker 1: you can say early in the game, and Dave Archer,
Speaker 1: who's been with me and Jeff, you've known arts for years.
Speaker 1: Dave put it in great concepts early when Atlanta did
Speaker 1: not score touchdowns after those turnovers, and in the league,
Speaker 1: especially this league, you know you've got to be able
Speaker 1: to maximize stuff like that in short field, and the
Speaker 1: Falcons didn't get it done. So when they were kicking
Speaker 1: field goals, arts sat on the air. I hope we
Speaker 1: don't come back to regret not getting touchdowns. And sure enough,
Speaker 1: when Dallas got to score late in the game and
Speaker 1: they put the other one on the board, we knew,
Speaker 1: good and well it was going to come down to
Speaker 1: recovering the onside kick. And it is disappointing. It is
Speaker 1: discouraging because it's gonna be hard given the schedule for
Speaker 1: this team. Now the challenges. You got to shake the
Speaker 1: mental thing and get ready to play Chicago, Then you
Speaker 1: got to go to Green Bay on a Monday night.
Speaker 1: Then you come back and play a Panthers team that's
Speaker 1: also looking for a stride in your first division game.
Speaker 1: And look, we're in this thing and these teams are
Speaker 1: going through all this stuff, the fans are going through it.
Speaker 1: So it just it almost exclamates every game, and so
Speaker 1: therefore it's hard to start oing two. But they got
Speaker 1: to get it. They got to find it quick because
Speaker 1: it's not going to be easy the rest of the way. Hey, West,
Speaker 1: what side of the ball has the opportunity to absorb
Speaker 1: the pressure. You know, Bears, they're still a developing offense
Speaker 1: competition at the quarterback position. They have higher expectations out
Speaker 1: of the Bears defense. But when you look at Atlanta
Speaker 1: met Matt Ryan MVP. You got Dan Quinn control with
Speaker 1: and Raheem Morris on the defense. But so what side
Speaker 1: can absorb the pressure? You know, all the back's needed
Speaker 1: in Atlanta. Well, I think the interesting thing is, Tom,
Speaker 1: had you told me that who Jones is gonna be
Speaker 1: full go this week, I would tell you the offensive side,
Speaker 1: we're not sure where he is. Quite frankly, I'm not
Speaker 1: sure he'll play. That's just me personally. The injury list
Speaker 1: the guys that were out of practice was nine ten
Speaker 1: deep on Wednesday, So let's see kind of where this
Speaker 1: is by Sunday, I would say. Offensively, although they struggled
Speaker 1: to run the ball again, defensively, we were awfully encouraged
Speaker 1: by the way last season ended and the way it finished,
Speaker 1: going six and two in the second half. The offense
Speaker 1: and the defense seemed to be really kicking in and
Speaker 1: yet here, you know, you look at the two quarterbacks
Speaker 1: Atlanta's played in the first two weeks, the numbers are
Speaker 1: like sky high. I mean, Russell Wilson's playing at an
Speaker 1: incredible level, and then Prescott got it got it going
Speaker 1: last week. After the early struggles, he started to find
Speaker 1: the group in the second half. But I'd still side
Speaker 1: to the offense in terms of a group that can
Speaker 1: withstand the flurry and still bring it every week. I think.
Speaker 1: All right, I got a weird question for you going
Speaker 1: into the week three this season, when Dan Quinn and
Speaker 1: the coaches put together your practice squad, do you have
Speaker 1: the type of bodies with experience on that practice squad
Speaker 1: that maybe can come in and fill the void if
Speaker 1: you do have multiple injuries at one position, even to
Speaker 1: contribute depth wise. Yeah, I think they can, especially as
Speaker 1: it relates to linebacker. I think they feel like they
Speaker 1: kept a couple of guys there that are really important
Speaker 1: to them. I think the other end where they probably
Speaker 1: helped themselves more than anything else, is they kept the
Speaker 1: slot receiver guy. You know, if Jones goes down and
Speaker 1: they've got to make a one week exception, They've probably
Speaker 1: feel like they can push a guy from that squad
Speaker 1: up the offensive line. They've moved some guys through transactions.
Speaker 1: They brought John Wetzel back. I mean, if if let's
Speaker 1: say they have an offensive lineman go down, they probably
Speaker 1: okay there. The area that concerns me the most is
Speaker 1: probably the secondary. They get a big injury in the
Speaker 1: secondary again like Ricardo Allen, who you know, left the game,
Speaker 1: that could be something that could handcuff them long term.
Speaker 1: They've got a lot invested in a j. Terrell. They've
Speaker 1: obviously elected to go Isaiah Oliver at the other corner.
Speaker 1: But Keyan O'Neil, and you guys know this, Keano O'Neil's
Speaker 1: only played four games in the last two years prior
Speaker 1: to this season. That was really really difficult for them
Speaker 1: to take. And so they need to stay healthy. There's
Speaker 1: no question about that. West Durham, our guests, the voice
Speaker 1: of the Atlanta Falcons is the Bears get ready to
Speaker 1: go down to Georgia. This is Chicago Sports Radio six
Speaker 1: seventy the score. You mentioned Keyan O'Neil. He's a guy
Speaker 1: who just throws that body around with reckless abandon and
Speaker 1: I will not forget the twenty seventeen opener when he
Speaker 1: whacked Tarik and three remembers it too. Is he still
Speaker 1: play that way. Yeah he does. And that's with you know,
Speaker 1: two years ago going through an injury on opening night,
Speaker 1: right and then comes back and last year they lose
Speaker 1: him in Indianapolis to an achilles injury. But yeah, he
Speaker 1: still brings it. And the amazing thing is a couple
Speaker 1: of years ago they signed this kid, Demante Kyz from
Speaker 1: San Diego State, where they can move Neil to the nickel.
Speaker 1: They bring Kaz into play, and you know, most teams
Speaker 1: now or what, they're three to three five now for
Speaker 1: the most part, and Atlanta gets into that nickel almost
Speaker 1: on every down. And with Kz on the field, he's
Speaker 1: as physical as Neil is. The funny thing about him
Speaker 1: is he's twenty five pounds lighter, but they get pretty
Speaker 1: physical in the middle of the field, just like DQ's
Speaker 1: teams did in Seattle. And I think that's one of
Speaker 1: their calling cards for sure. Hey, West, when you look
Speaker 1: at the centerpieces of your offensive defensive line, Alex Mack
Speaker 1: and center Grady Jared on the defensive line six foot
Speaker 1: three hundred and two pounds, the guys explosive. Man. I've
Speaker 1: always liked him as a player, but I've also liked
Speaker 1: Alex Mack. There are two roles on this team. When
Speaker 1: you look at them, oh and two, are they the
Speaker 1: guys that can come in and be the leadership type
Speaker 1: of personalities you need? Yeah, I think so. I think
Speaker 1: especially in the case of Jared Tom I think that
Speaker 1: when I look at Grady Jared, I see the prototypical,
Speaker 1: you know, one technique in the NFL now right. He's
Speaker 1: a guy who's gonna be point of attack. He's slick,
Speaker 1: He's a little Aaron Donald Leish if you will, in
Speaker 1: terms of size and space. I'm excited about his fewer
Speaker 1: I thought he got a well deserved contract. He's a
Speaker 1: local kid, so everybody here rallies to all of that.
Speaker 1: He played at Clemson, so all those things have built
Speaker 1: him to succeed here. And he's been a pleasure to
Speaker 1: work with from our standpoint, but also within the franchise,
Speaker 1: he's a lot. He's a big community guy, which is huge.
Speaker 1: But in times like this, I think Grady Jared's voice counts.
Speaker 1: I think it counts a lot in that room. I
Speaker 1: think the other guy whose voice Alex mackew mentioned, I
Speaker 1: think Matt Ryan is also that guy. Matt Ryan. Every
Speaker 1: quarterback is the face of a team, but Matt Ryan
Speaker 1: has because of the experience he's had here and the
Speaker 1: years in the investment he's put in this community. He's
Speaker 1: as much the heartbeat of the team as anybody else
Speaker 1: is now too. And it's interesting. He's aged beautifully, as
Speaker 1: I tell him. He hates when I say it, but
Speaker 1: he's aged beautifully because of all the things he's been through,
Speaker 1: and it's almost like he understands maybe his cause is
Speaker 1: to get this thing back. And I've always been impressed
Speaker 1: with the way he just handles all of it, from
Speaker 1: locker room to game, to media to all that. But
Speaker 1: I think he and Jared are really kind of the
Speaker 1: heartbeat of the team in many ways on both sides
Speaker 1: of the ball. Max important, don't get me wrong, But
Speaker 1: Alex Mike is a quiet guy. He's a he's not
Speaker 1: a verbal guy. Good interview, not a great interview, you
Speaker 1: know what I mean. He's just that guy that's steady
Speaker 1: and shows up every day to snap it. Really, what
Speaker 1: do you got with him? My three point three yards
Speaker 1: to carry? Now? Is it? What's the product here? Because
Speaker 1: we've seen what he's capable of at this level well,
Speaker 1: and that's the thing we all came in thinking Okay,
Speaker 1: you're getting him on a one year deal that LA
Speaker 1: is responsible for about sixty percent of and you kind
Speaker 1: of start figuring up games and you think, okay, well,
Speaker 1: let's see he's playing. He's touched the ball thirty seven
Speaker 1: times combination of running pass and two ball games. So
Speaker 1: you divide it up, and that's a pitch count of
Speaker 1: about eighteen touches a game. Dirk Cutter threw out twenty
Speaker 1: to twenty five in the preseason, and I just never
Speaker 1: felt like that was realistic, to be honest, I think
Speaker 1: it is what it is at this point, you know,
Speaker 1: And that's not a cop out answer. I think you've
Speaker 1: got to invest in Gurley and let him be your guy.
Speaker 1: You really got to have him in the red zone.
Speaker 1: I thought last week one of the times when I
Speaker 1: was talking about them kicking field goals and not scoring touchdowns, guys,
Speaker 1: they didn't have Girly in the game. They were going
Speaker 1: to Edos Smith on short yardage. And I think you
Speaker 1: gotta go with a muscle back, if you will, and
Speaker 1: Girly's that and Tom. I'll say this, Jeff, when he's
Speaker 1: really good, you'll know it early. He was good early
Speaker 1: against Seattle. He was decent against Dallas, but it tailed
Speaker 1: off pretty quick for him. And I don't know if
Speaker 1: that's just gonna be kind of the up and down
Speaker 1: we're gonna get through the year or not. I'm interested
Speaker 1: to see against your front and your front seven, in particular,
Speaker 1: how Sunday goes for him. Wester of our guest voice
Speaker 1: of the Atlanta Falcons. So Calvin Ridley, all of a
Speaker 1: sudden is blowing it up in everybody's mind. But you're
Speaker 1: on the inside, so you've seen the development yourself. But
Speaker 1: as a route runner, you are better, aren't they. Yeah,
Speaker 1: he's really he came here. I don't want to say
Speaker 1: he was a this product because the ACC guy and
Speaker 1: may want don't want to give Alabama that much credit, right,
Speaker 1: But look at all the guys from Alabama that have
Speaker 1: gone to the league in the last handful of years.
Speaker 1: And we can take Jones, who obviously came here a
Speaker 1: decade ago, but now you look at Cooper Rugs, Ridley,
Speaker 1: think of all the guys they've just put in the league.
Speaker 1: Calvin came here incredibly polished, and I think it'll be
Speaker 1: fun Sunday with Riley on the other team. To be honest,
Speaker 1: I just think that's a unique story for those kids.
Speaker 1: And he's come here and been fantastic, and he's become
Speaker 1: very quickly a guy who has a voice. He has
Speaker 1: a voice and is a really good leader. Harry Douglas
Speaker 1: does some suffering our pre and post games and still
Speaker 1: talks to a lot of those guys. And he made
Speaker 1: the comment a couple of weeks ago that that Calvin
Speaker 1: Ridley has quietly become one of the leaders with a
Speaker 1: young team, and some of these younger guys are leaning
Speaker 1: on him to say, Hey, what do we need to
Speaker 1: do next? And we're talking about a guy in his
Speaker 1: third year. We all more in the loss of one
Speaker 1: of the greats of the game at Gail says, you
Speaker 1: and I both had the opportunity called Devin Hester's kickoff returns,
Speaker 1: and you've called some other great offensive players. But wouldn't
Speaker 1: you have loved to have just one crack at it.
Speaker 1: He'd be a challenge to capture him, wouldn't it. I
Speaker 1: told this story the other day. I met him in
Speaker 1: nineteen seventy four when I was eight years old at
Speaker 1: the Final Four in Greensboro, because Kansas was in the
Speaker 1: Final Four with NC State, UCLA and Marquette and my
Speaker 1: dad was a huge GAYL. Sayers guy. My dad loved
Speaker 1: Gayale Sayers and my dad who was doing the PA
Speaker 1: at the Final Four though there's another story Joniac for
Speaker 1: another dinner. My dad was doing the PA and he
Speaker 1: came and got me in the seats at the Final Four.
Speaker 1: Between games on that Saturday afternoon, Kansas played Marquete in
Speaker 1: the afternoon they lost. Ucla played NC State that afternoon.
Speaker 1: He came and got me and said, I want to
Speaker 1: introduce you to somebody, and he took me to meet
Speaker 1: Gail Says. My dad was just very few times in
Speaker 1: his life that I ever my dad not be able
Speaker 1: to generate conversation, but around GAYL. Sayers, he couldn't do
Speaker 1: it because of my dad had done Brian Piccolo's games
Speaker 1: in college at wake Forest. Not many people know my
Speaker 1: dad did wake Forest long before he did North Carolina,
Speaker 1: and he had done Brian Piccolo's college games, and he
Speaker 1: knew from Brian's widow Joy how much GAYL. Sayers had
Speaker 1: met to Brian. And so when my dad went to
Speaker 1: meet GAYL. Sayers, he was speechless and to me, I
Speaker 1: was meeting I was meeting the trading card. I was
Speaker 1: meeting that three D graphic you got in the cereal box.
Speaker 1: I was like, holy cow, that's the guy who you
Speaker 1: know made me want to watch football. I have those
Speaker 1: cards too, to this day. I always remember my Gayl
Speaker 1: Sayers cards. And I don't know how anybody in their
Speaker 1: right mind could ever say anybody ran better big time.
Speaker 1: Oh no, no, he said A standard and a great
Speaker 1: story I heard this week, and I knew you've heard
Speaker 1: a hundred of them. Was I heard somebody talk about
Speaker 1: him at the Hall of Fame. And when he would
Speaker 1: go to Chris Berman said this the other night. When
Speaker 1: Gayl Sayers would go to the Hall of Fame, everybody
Speaker 1: in the Hall of Fame went to Gayl says the
Speaker 1: two guys they would go around. All those guys in
Speaker 1: gold coats who were great players would go find Gayl
Speaker 1: Sayers and Jim Brown and say thank you, and they
Speaker 1: should have. It was at the Hall of Fame that
Speaker 1: I was from Mike Singletary's induction. I ran into Gail
Speaker 1: and it's the rare time I've asked somebody to sign something.
Speaker 1: And as Tom knows, there's no better penmanship ever in
Speaker 1: sports by any player. Coach or executive that has put
Speaker 1: his pen to an item. Gail takes his time. He
Speaker 1: took his time sending a perfect autograph, Right, Tommy, That's awesome.
Speaker 1: That is awesome, most perfect penmanship for a Hall of Famer,
Speaker 1: because he's he signed thousands of autographs, you know, I mean,
Speaker 1: so he's he's he's a credible guy. You know what too,
Speaker 1: is about his his post career success. I think I
Speaker 1: think it's a little bit understated because he transitioned from
Speaker 1: a short career into being, you know, a well known
Speaker 1: businessman here in the Chicago business market. Yeah, my dad
Speaker 1: passed away from a neurocognitive situation, and I know Gail
Speaker 1: did too, And it's a it's a it's a hard
Speaker 1: goodbye in a lot of ways. And so, uh my
Speaker 1: prayers and thoughts are with his family and friends. And
Speaker 1: certainly we've got a lot of close friends in the
Speaker 1: Chicago area who who my family has known for years,
Speaker 1: and I know what he meant to that community, and
Speaker 1: I know what he meant to the NFL. And uh,
Speaker 1: it's sad. It is sad that, uh that it ends
Speaker 1: like that, But uh man, what a player, what a talent?
Speaker 1: What's your quick thirty seconds on what you think you'll
Speaker 1: see from the Chicago Bears on Sunday. Well, I think
Speaker 1: it's a really good team. I like what they've done,
Speaker 1: uh man. I'm a huge Roquan Smith guy. And Khalil
Speaker 1: Mike's still being there just delivers a presence that you know,
Speaker 1: we saw in the NFC South with somebody like Keekley
Speaker 1: for a long time. You know, when Khalil Mike's on
Speaker 1: the field, there's there's something there every snap. So I
Speaker 1: like the front from what I've seen. I think it
Speaker 1: gets the job done. But it's the linebackers that make
Speaker 1: the money, and that's the way it should be in Chicago.
Speaker 1: And then you know, I knowing Mitchell a little bit
Speaker 1: from his days at Chapel Hill, I think he wants
Speaker 1: to let Cohen and Montgomery run the game. And you
Speaker 1: got some talented guys at wide receiver. I'm expecting this
Speaker 1: thing to be pretty close. And by the way, Jimmy
Speaker 1: Graham has done nothing but kill Atlanta in his career,
Speaker 1: so I can't tell you I'm excited to see him
Speaker 1: walk through the tunnel at Mercedes Benz on Sunday, for sure.
Speaker 1: Good nugget to know. Can you leave him an old
Speaker 1: hair before the charter leaves. By the way, that's West Durham,
Speaker 1: Voice of the Atlanta Falcons. Always a pleasure. Thanks for
Speaker 1: taking out some time, my friend, anytime. Guys, great to
Speaker 1: be with you. Have a good year. Okay, have a
Speaker 1: good call you too. That is West Durham, Voice of
Speaker 1: the Atlanta Falcons. More with Tom after this break on
Speaker 1: Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score. This segment of
Speaker 1: Bears All Access is brought to you by CDW. People
Speaker 1: who get it learned more at CDW dot com. Jeff
Speaker 1: Jonny Akin. Tom Fair back with you on Bears All Access.
Speaker 1: Good to have you a lot. Coming up, we'll be
Speaker 1: talking to Chuck Pocatto, the Bears defensive coordinator, about what
Speaker 1: has always been in a very successful campaign that the
Speaker 1: Chicago Bears have reunited with the National Football League and
Speaker 1: the real Bears fans wear pink shirts that are available
Speaker 1: for purchase. We'll talk about his battle with cancer over
Speaker 1: the years and his recovery and what it all means
Speaker 1: in the big picture. Tom, let's talk about Cole Commet.
Speaker 1: We know that he's not getting a ton of snaps
Speaker 1: right now, finding that patience right, Well, that's you use
Speaker 1: the word, took the word right out of my mouth.
Speaker 1: That's about finding patients, making you know, very few got
Speaker 1: very few times do as a draft choice in that
Speaker 1: high up have a chance and the luxury of development
Speaker 1: in development with mentors in front of him that can
Speaker 1: do the types of things that he's going to need
Speaker 1: to do throughout his career. The more he gets on
Speaker 1: the field, the more I want to target cole Commit.
Speaker 1: I want to get him actively involved in the passing
Speaker 1: game early. So now every coordinator long way has to
Speaker 1: have cole Commit concern. And if you do get him
Speaker 1: one and a nice time pass early enough on the run,
Speaker 1: you're going to see yards after the catch. It was
Speaker 1: a topic broached in his zoom call with reporters that Friday. Yeah. Me,
Speaker 1: it takes a lot of patience, you know. Um, you know,
Speaker 1: going from you know being the guy to now, you know,
Speaker 1: kind of being in the learning position right now with
Speaker 1: you know, obviously two bats ahead of me in terms
Speaker 1: of Demetrius and Jimmy. Is uh something that you know,
Speaker 1: I got to learn a vacatient with and you know,
Speaker 1: something that I'm fully embracing right now. So Um, yeah,
Speaker 1: it definitely takes a lot of patience and you know,
Speaker 1: just uh, I gotta use it to my advantage, you know,
Speaker 1: during the week. Just being able to learn from these guys.
Speaker 1: It's just it's just invaluable. So you know, just kind
Speaker 1: of making the most of it right now, and you know,
Speaker 1: continue to improve each day and you know, staying patient
Speaker 1: during the whole process. You know, I can I definitely
Speaker 1: can see what can happen. And you know, I'm just
Speaker 1: sticking to my process in terms of coming out to
Speaker 1: practice every day and showing improvement every day and going
Speaker 1: week to week and you know kind of just game
Speaker 1: by game and that and whatnot, and so, um yeah,
Speaker 1: I know, I definitely can see that happening. I just like,
Speaker 1: like I said earlier, just a lot about patients at
Speaker 1: this point. You know, Um, you know, I'm a young
Speaker 1: player in this league. You know, I'm only twenty one.
Speaker 1: I'll be twenty one for this whole whole season, So
Speaker 1: I got a lot of got a lot to learn,
Speaker 1: still got a lot of ball play and you know
Speaker 1: a lot of learns throughout that process. Against the Falcons,
Speaker 1: do you anticipate at all in terms of position groups?
Speaker 1: Do you participate more of this two and three tight
Speaker 1: ends against them, because while they Falcons have speed and athletics,
Speaker 1: the Bears have size and they could use that through
Speaker 1: their advantage and owning that clock tomorrow. Okay, the size
Speaker 1: of your advantage, JEP, you have to use it by
Speaker 1: the interior offensive line because when you talk about Grady
Speaker 1: Jarret six foot three h five Kyler Davison six two
Speaker 1: three oh nine, that offensive line has to get those
Speaker 1: guys blocked first, or whatever's on the exterior is not
Speaker 1: gonna matter. Now, let's bring in the tight ends. If
Speaker 1: they have solid blocking on the inside, the tight ends
Speaker 1: offer them the opportunity to run the entire width of
Speaker 1: the field and the running game. They can block to
Speaker 1: the outside, they can get on the move, they can trap,
Speaker 1: they can run screens. They can really have a lot
Speaker 1: of develop a lot of opportunities they create for the offense.
Speaker 1: You know one thing about Cole commit as if I'm
Speaker 1: a developing offensive guard. Every time I break the huddle,
Speaker 1: I'm going to the right guard. I'm getting in a
Speaker 1: three point stants or a two point stands. That's what
Speaker 1: I'm doing every single play. Cole commet, he can be
Speaker 1: in their five plays and being five different positions every plate.
Speaker 1: That's why there's so much on his plate, so he
Speaker 1: needs time to develop. It's not just the routine of
Speaker 1: a right guard. It's a routine of an h back,
Speaker 1: a fullback, a tight end, a wide receiver. You got
Speaker 1: a block, you got a trap. You know there's a
Speaker 1: lot of details. What ultimately where Cole's gonna be at?
Speaker 1: You got a wham? Who doesn't love a wham? You
Speaker 1: gotta Dan, you don't want to wham? I don't need you.
Speaker 1: I'll tell you. What the Bears need is more great
Speaker 1: play from the secondary against the Falcons with Calvin Ridley,
Speaker 1: the unknown of Julio Jones. They've got an outstanding tight
Speaker 1: end in Hayden Hurst and a guy that me draw
Speaker 1: the attention of Deshaun Gibson, the veteran safety. Featured tomorrow
Speaker 1: morning at ten thirty on Fox on Bears Game Day
Speaker 1: Live with Canalis myself in time there wonderful sit down
Speaker 1: with him and say, ticked down all the great place
Speaker 1: he's made of his career as a ball hawk. Well,
Speaker 1: you pick six Jake Cutler, the experts quarterback. You pick
Speaker 1: six Drew Brees. You are the guy who intercepted Deshaun
Speaker 1: Watson for the first time in his NFL career. You've
Speaker 1: intercepted Ben Roethlisberger, if I'm not mistaken, you intercepted Pat
Speaker 1: mahomes All. You got a lot of pelts on the
Speaker 1: wall with future Hall of Fame quarterbacks. Absolutely, I take
Speaker 1: pride in that. Man. I got a couple of them
Speaker 1: hanging in my sun room. You know, the good ones,
Speaker 1: the Patrick mahomes and and you know the Drew Brees
Speaker 1: those was those was got to go on my personal stash,
Speaker 1: you know. But a couple of them I let him
Speaker 1: hang on the wall. Man in his room. He think
Speaker 1: it's the coolest thing game. And man, it'll be like, man,
Speaker 1: be Ben Roethlisberger actually threw his ball. It's like, yeah, man,
Speaker 1: that's the real football. So being able to do that, man,
Speaker 1: it's pretty cool. Man. I've been fortunate enough to be
Speaker 1: able to play long enough where I've got my hands
Speaker 1: on a couple of um, some interesting some some you know,
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame level quarterback interceptions, man, and those type
Speaker 1: of things that those are memories that live with you
Speaker 1: forever and ever, you know, And my kids as they
Speaker 1: get older, they still understand the importance of it, man,
Speaker 1: And it's just a cool feeling for sure. Yeah. Throw
Speaker 1: Matt Ryan and there until your pick six to him. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: this secondary, you're in the star studded. I put you
Speaker 1: in that category too. You're a pro bowler. You have
Speaker 1: that on your resume with the Cleveland Browns. You had
Speaker 1: a great year back in fourteen. Six picks a part
Speaker 1: of a really impressive secondary there too. How does that
Speaker 1: one with some big names compared to this one with
Speaker 1: an All Pro and Eddie Jackson. You've got a rookie
Speaker 1: that's coming on strong at corner and Jaylon Johnson and
Speaker 1: a two time pro bowler and Kyle Fuller. That's a
Speaker 1: decorated secondary. Do you have a bit of a comparison.
Speaker 1: And maybe it's a part of you being a younger
Speaker 1: player then and now a veteran player now you've seen
Speaker 1: a lot. Yeah. I think that this secondary here, man,
Speaker 1: we have the perfect combination of you know, youth as
Speaker 1: well as you know, a veteran leadership in presence, and
Speaker 1: I think that those things balance out so well. Obviously,
Speaker 1: you know the talent itself, you know, playing with a
Speaker 1: guy like Eddie Jackson, you know the things that he
Speaker 1: can do on the field, not I mean the guys
Speaker 1: can do. Kyle full of himself. You know, Buster in
Speaker 1: the slot is you know, one of the best slots
Speaker 1: in the game. And you know Jalen the way he
Speaker 1: came on with no reason to not believe that he's
Speaker 1: trending upwards in a hurry. So you look at that. Man.
Speaker 1: I plug myself in there. Man, it's just you look
Speaker 1: around and you can't help but be comfortable around here.
Speaker 1: And I think that the communication and just the vibe
Speaker 1: and the atmosphere, you know, on the back end, I've
Speaker 1: played in some really good secondaries in my career, but
Speaker 1: this right here, I think from just like a paper
Speaker 1: standpoint as well as a talent standpoint. You know, a
Speaker 1: lot of things can look good on paper, but when
Speaker 1: you turn on the tape and you know all these
Speaker 1: players actually what they're perceived to be on paper. And
Speaker 1: I think that this secondary bar Nun is probably one
Speaker 1: of the best, if not the best secondary that I've
Speaker 1: been a part of. Obviously, the year got to play out,
Speaker 1: but I'm so excited about being a part of this
Speaker 1: second day, of being a part of this team, being
Speaker 1: a part of his defense, in itself. So I think
Speaker 1: that we continue to get better, continue to grow. Man
Speaker 1: in this second day, I think the sky's a limit,
Speaker 1: no reason why we shouldn't be where we want to
Speaker 1: be accomplishing our goal. Man as being the top second
Speaker 1: day in this National Football League. It really is something
Speaker 1: that this guy has picked six some of these quarterbacks
Speaker 1: from Drew Brees. He's intercepted Ben Roethlisberger, as we heard
Speaker 1: in this but he's also done so with Matt Ryan.
Speaker 1: Tom last year ninety plush yard return as a Houston Texan.
Speaker 1: Is that in the head of a Matt Ryan, it
Speaker 1: is in in the head of the ball hawking Gibson. Well,
Speaker 1: you know, if you can play on the lead and
Speaker 1: then you can be a lot more aggressive defensively upfront,
Speaker 1: and that results of the interceptions on the back side.
Speaker 1: So it is gonna be a key ingredient here that
Speaker 1: the offense has to have some points success in Atlanta,
Speaker 1: so they can have this offense chasing the dream, trying
Speaker 1: to take advantage downfield and then Eddie Jackson or Gibson
Speaker 1: there in the perfect area you get that tip ball,
Speaker 1: You get good coverage by the corners and buster screen
Speaker 1: and that's what he's going to take advantage of it.
Speaker 1: So he should go in there expecting to get an interception.
Speaker 1: Look as you got in front of you, that group
Speaker 1: of guys that are rushing Matt Ryan. Listen, it's different,
Speaker 1: it's a different monster. You're dealing with what Robert Quinn
Speaker 1: on the edge than the unknown that they face in
Speaker 1: Detroit against Matthew Stafford, who is equally as decorated as
Speaker 1: Matt Ryan. Yeah. Yeah, and you get the pressure. It
Speaker 1: could mean good things. If you don't, it could mean
Speaker 1: bad things because he will pick you apart. Matt Ryan
Speaker 1: has done it many many times. Right, all right. Coming
Speaker 1: up next, we'll hear from Chuck Poganto, the Bears defensive coordinator,
Speaker 1: as we bring you Bears All Access the day before
Speaker 1: the Bears meet the Falcons down in Georgia. This is
Speaker 1: Bears All Access on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score.
Speaker 1: Welcome back to Bears All Access, brought to you by
Speaker 1: IGS Energy, a proud partner of the Chicago Bears, providing electricity,
Speaker 1: natural gas, and whole warranty products to over one million
Speaker 1: customers across the country. Learn more about IGS Energy at
Speaker 1: igs dot com. Jeff Joning acc along with Tom Thair
Speaker 1: and Bears defensive coordinator Chuck Pagatta. Welcome back to Bears
Speaker 1: all actions. I get you out the Coaches Show and
Speaker 1: now you're double dipping. It's always a pleasure. Grateful to
Speaker 1: be here. Good to be here as well. Let's talk
Speaker 1: about the NFL US Crucial Catch campaign, the unveiling of
Speaker 1: the Bears twenty twenty version of the Real Bears Fans
Speaker 1: where pink T shirts is coming out in partnership with
Speaker 1: Advocate Healthcare, the official healthcare partner of the Chicago Bears,
Speaker 1: and your name to this campaign is attached to it
Speaker 1: under the big bold letters. If it takes all of us, Chuck,
Speaker 1: tell us about it, Yeah, you know, going through my
Speaker 1: circumstances back in two twelve and fortunately coming out on
Speaker 1: the right side of it, we know that not everybody
Speaker 1: does make it through. We had a saying back then,
Speaker 1: n FA nobody fights along, So it does take all
Speaker 1: of us. And I just feel, you know, very humble
Speaker 1: and grateful that I can be a part of this
Speaker 1: and I'm around to help and encourage others anyway I can.
Speaker 1: You know there are layers to your journey in this
Speaker 1: and now it's been what seven years, so you have
Speaker 1: met a whole new group of people in your life,
Speaker 1: not only those who cared for you, but those you
Speaker 1: met afterwards and continue to meet because of your own
Speaker 1: foundation and your own fundraising efforts with Chuck Strong. Uh
Speaker 1: how's it changed you? It's uh, it's been amazing. UM.
Speaker 1: And uh just again to um, just my perspective uh
Speaker 1: has always been really good, but it's really great now
Speaker 1: about life. Um. You know, we have tough jobs, players, coaches,
Speaker 1: your job, any anything to deal with the NFL is
Speaker 1: really hard, but life is much harder. You know, there's
Speaker 1: real life stuff going on, and we're lucky to get
Speaker 1: to play a kids and a game and coach a
Speaker 1: kids game. So, UM, building those relationships with not only
Speaker 1: the doctors, the nurses, the caregivers, the you know, first responders,
Speaker 1: all those people that just are so selfless and what
Speaker 1: they do uh for for these people fighting these battles,
Speaker 1: but then having the opportunity to meet so many people
Speaker 1: and and get a group together and and be able
Speaker 1: to raise uh you know, awareness and raise money for research,
Speaker 1: because that's what it's all about, is is they got
Speaker 1: to have they've got to have them money. They're gonna
Speaker 1: have the dollars to be able to to do their jobs,
Speaker 1: these scientists and these researchers to come up with cures
Speaker 1: for all blood cancers, and and uh, you know, so
Speaker 1: you know, I'll be until they put me, you know,
Speaker 1: Jeff in my last suit, I'm gonna you know, I
Speaker 1: don't know how much, how much coaching, how long I'll
Speaker 1: do it, but I know, until the day you know
Speaker 1: I'm done, I'm gonna be. I'm gonna be doing that
Speaker 1: Bears Defensive coorda or check Pocanto here on Bears All Access, Jeff,
Speaker 1: Johnny act top there, Chuck Strong, you launched it in
Speaker 1: twenty thirteen, if my math's right, north to seven and
Speaker 1: a half million dollars raised, and it primarily goes to
Speaker 1: Indiana University Melvin and Brent Simon Cancer Center. Am I correct?
Speaker 1: And does that? What does that number reflect and what
Speaker 1: does that number mean to Chuck Pagano? Yeah, it's crazy
Speaker 1: and it seems like yesterday. And you mentioned how many
Speaker 1: years it's been, you know, and how many years removed
Speaker 1: we are and you're in remission. And then what we've
Speaker 1: been able to generate from a from a financial standpoint,
Speaker 1: what we've been able to give, you know, the the I. U.
Speaker 1: Simon Cancer Center there um and every penny, every penny
Speaker 1: goes to research. Again, I can't emphasize that enough. And
Speaker 1: and and there's like pediatric cancer We're way behind, but
Speaker 1: a lot of those dollars go to pediatric cancer and
Speaker 1: pediatric you know research and things like that. So um,
Speaker 1: you know, and there's been so many generous people, those
Speaker 1: people in Indiana and Indianapolis and that community there. You know,
Speaker 1: I'll be forever connected with those people because of this,
Speaker 1: uh and going through the circumstances. But you know, like
Speaker 1: mister Hersay, you know, two years ago, this year unfortunate
Speaker 1: because of COVID, we had to cancel the eighth annual
Speaker 1: you know, Chuck Strong Gala. We'll pick it up hopefully
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty one, Lord Willing. But uh, he steps
Speaker 1: up and gives a million dollars. So when when a
Speaker 1: guy like that steps up in one evening and gives
Speaker 1: a million, and then you raise another you know million
Speaker 1: on the side, and you can you can come up with,
Speaker 1: you know, raise two million dollars. It's easy to get
Speaker 1: to that number that you mentioned. But it's it's just selfless,
Speaker 1: generous people. Mister Gary Edwards down there, and he'd killed
Speaker 1: me for mentioning his name because he never wants to
Speaker 1: be mentioned. But entrepreneur down there, who's just there, and
Speaker 1: there's tons and tons of people that have given so much,
Speaker 1: but just amazing just how good people are and how
Speaker 1: generous they are, and they understand that in order to
Speaker 1: win this battle and keep fighting this battle and keep
Speaker 1: getting ahead of it, you know, there's gotta be there's
Speaker 1: gotta be money there for research. The real Bears fans
Speaker 1: wear pink shirts are gonna be available for purchase online
Speaker 1: at Chicago bears dot Com Backslash Pink for thirty bucks
Speaker 1: can be shipped or picked up at Bears Fit in
Speaker 1: Vernon Hills, and the proceeds benefit bears Care and help
Speaker 1: fund local programs which provide care assistant at support services
Speaker 1: to breast cancer patients and their families, including helping facilitate
Speaker 1: timely access to critical breast health services for low income
Speaker 1: win him women. Thirteenth year of the campaign, March Ham
Speaker 1: from Bearscare, the director of Care, Uh, really the greater
Speaker 1: importance right now during the pandemic because the cancer diagnosis
Speaker 1: and the disease itself does not stop. Yeah, yeah, no
Speaker 1: no doubt about it. And that uh you know what
Speaker 1: Marge has done and what this community has done, and
Speaker 1: what everybody continues to do again, like you said, especially
Speaker 1: during uh you know, these circumstances, uh, never more important.
Speaker 1: So um again, I'm just I'm thrilled to uh to
Speaker 1: be a part of it. And we did something a
Speaker 1: year ago here tackle cancer deal and and all these
Speaker 1: all these kind of things. I just think we can't
Speaker 1: do it. We can't do enough, um, you know, to
Speaker 1: raise awareness and and uh there's a lot going on
Speaker 1: right now in our world and we're talking about a
Speaker 1: lot of different things and they're all they're all great,
Speaker 1: but um this is this is important as well. And
Speaker 1: and uh shoot, if we can we can save you know,
Speaker 1: one life, you know, and one family doesn't have to
Speaker 1: say goodbye to a loved one, know before it's time
Speaker 1: for you know, especially a young one, then then damn
Speaker 1: it's it's well worth every every every second we put,
Speaker 1: you know, in time and energy that we have towards it.
Speaker 1: And check. I can only speak for the men listening
Speaker 1: to this, because sometimes we're hard headed and we don't
Speaker 1: we don't go to the doctor maybe when we need to.
Speaker 1: Screening is the first step, isn't it. Yeah, no doubt
Speaker 1: about it. And like you said, we all are resilient.
Speaker 1: We never think it's gonna be us, you know. I
Speaker 1: you know, even back when I was going through and
Speaker 1: having you know, the symptoms that I had, you know,
Speaker 1: was during the season, and you're gonna put it off,
Speaker 1: put it off, put it off. But you can't do that,
Speaker 1: like you said, that's that's the most important thing is
Speaker 1: is make sure that you get screened and you get checked,
Speaker 1: and you go to the doctor and you get a physical.
Speaker 1: And if you're not feeling well, you know, you don't
Speaker 1: have to play the tough guy bs, you know, go
Speaker 1: go to the damn doctor and get checked out. And
Speaker 1: if you you know, yourself checking whatever and you feel
Speaker 1: a lump, you feel this, you feel that take the time.
Speaker 1: None of us think we have time, you know. But again,
Speaker 1: the biggest myth in life is that we have all
Speaker 1: the time. We don't we have today, you know. So
Speaker 1: that's huge and that's very very important. Well, many people
Speaker 1: remain inspired by your story, Chuck. Keep the fight up,
Speaker 1: and I know it was probably super moving. I can't
Speaker 1: even be in your shoes to know. But when the
Speaker 1: Colts left the light on in your office for three
Speaker 1: months before you came back, and yeah, we're able to
Speaker 1: turn the light off, you kind of close the chapter
Speaker 1: that was at least first part of the book anyway,
Speaker 1: and you moved on and have done great things to
Speaker 1: help others. So congratulations to you and keep it going,
Speaker 1: my man. Yeah, thank you, I appreciate you, and good
Speaker 1: luck this weekend in Atlanta. They're fast, thank you. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's gonna be tough. We're gonna have to be at
Speaker 1: our best, all right. Chuck Pogano, Bears defensive coordinator. The
Speaker 1: Bears and Bears Care officially recognized National Breast Cancer Awareness
Speaker 1: Month October eighth for the Bucks. And that's the crucial
Speaker 1: catch game, Chuck Pogano, our guest. We'll return with Tom
Speaker 1: Thayer after this on Chicago Sports D six seventy The Score.
Speaker 1: Tide Cleaners is now offering new Tide Complete Care. This
Speaker 1: exclusive cleaning formula can only be found at Tight Cleaners.
Speaker 1: Visit Tide cleaners dot com to learn more. Today with
Speaker 1: Tom there, Jeff Jonihac, good to have you alongside here
Speaker 1: on Bears All access to our final segment. We'll be
Speaker 1: bringing the game to you from the studios of WBBM
Speaker 1: tomorrow morning, starting at nine am with Ryan, Jim and
Speaker 1: Jay the kickoff in New nine w BBM. We're not
Speaker 1: going to be able to travel. Are you ready for this?
Speaker 1: This is a new adventure for you and I. We've
Speaker 1: never done it before. We're gonna We're gonna kill it, though,
Speaker 1: tomorrown't we? You know, the first year the USFL, George
Speaker 1: Allen used to say every single team meeting, this is
Speaker 1: a season of first. And this is the season of
Speaker 1: first for us, whether it's going to Detroit with no fans,
Speaker 1: seeing what it's like and soldier feel with little to
Speaker 1: no support, and now doing it from a monitor. This
Speaker 1: is a season of first for us. And although we've
Speaker 1: been around for a couple of decades, where hey, this
Speaker 1: is a new experience for us. Yeah, we are. We're
Speaker 1: gonna have the All twenty two, which we can see
Speaker 1: the entire field coming in, so that'll help bu as
Speaker 1: an analyst, for sure. You don't try to break it
Speaker 1: down as best we can. I'm excited. I'm excited. Hey,
Speaker 1: it's it's football. We're calling it. So We'll be happy
Speaker 1: to do it, all right, and so will Mitch drubisk
Speaker 1: You be happy about getting out there. He's got confidence
Speaker 1: right now. Yes, it's got to get evened out in
Speaker 1: terms of the success and failures of each quarter or
Speaker 1: a half. And this week he was asked how improved
Speaker 1: the running game is and how it's specifically helping him
Speaker 1: as a quarterback. Yeah. I think sometimes you notice that
Speaker 1: sometimes the windows are just bigger, or when you drop
Speaker 1: back the pass and you see a bunch of defenders
Speaker 1: get deep really quickly and they're not respecting the underneath routes.
Speaker 1: So I think it either makes them bail out and
Speaker 1: more of the underneath stuff is more open, or if
Speaker 1: it's a different type of drop back, then the windows
Speaker 1: are a little bigger and they're they're having to cover
Speaker 1: more of the field just because maybe they're in a
Speaker 1: little bit more of a panic because they respect the
Speaker 1: run game, or they lose track of their assignment for
Speaker 1: whatever reason. It's just nice to keep the defense off balance.
Speaker 1: In I think when you have a steady run game
Speaker 1: and the way that our line is doing a great
Speaker 1: job controlling the line of scrimmage, it just it gives
Speaker 1: more stability to this offense. I feel like play action
Speaker 1: is what we're talking about here, and there are many
Speaker 1: benefits to it. You know better than anybody. You guys
Speaker 1: did it a lot with water Payton. Well, the benefits
Speaker 1: to it. It's the easiest block for offensive lineman to make,
Speaker 1: but they're also the biggest salesman of play action. They
Speaker 1: have to run a play on the line of scrimmage
Speaker 1: exactly like the run play would look, and they have
Speaker 1: to exaggerate with their helmets staying low to the ground
Speaker 1: so the linebackers don't see it too until too late.
Speaker 1: And that's what Mitch is referring to. After he does
Speaker 1: a play fake and he turns around and he looks
Speaker 1: at the linebackers being sucked up to the line of scrimmage,
Speaker 1: the safety is confused and the cornerbacks thinking that they're
Speaker 1: coming up to support the run. And then bam, he's
Speaker 1: got a fire and take advantage of it. And then,
Speaker 1: like he says, you see the windows a little bit bigger.
Speaker 1: But again, it's a nice combo of what Mitch sees
Speaker 1: provided by the offensive line. Do teams adjust to play action?
Speaker 1: Can you make them pay for it? Oh, you can
Speaker 1: make him pay for it. You just can't become frustrated
Speaker 1: if you have a couple of runs that maybe go
Speaker 1: for one or two yards, because the defense is going
Speaker 1: to hold up their end of the bargain. You're gonna
Speaker 1: get those explosive runs like we saw in the fourth
Speaker 1: quarter last week. Is just the abuse of the game.
Speaker 1: Takes a toll on that the front seven of Atlanta Falcons. However,
Speaker 1: if you get these guys trying to react to a
Speaker 1: Cordarel Patterson or to David Montgomery or what Tree can
Speaker 1: offer you, if they try to overreact, that's when the
Speaker 1: windows are going to get even wider. For Trabisky in
Speaker 1: terms of that as well. It's benefited him his scrambles.
Speaker 1: Believe it or not, the stats are this. He's number
Speaker 1: one in the NFL on yard per carry on scrambles.
Speaker 1: He's only had three. It's a small sample size. But
Speaker 1: when you think about all the great mobile quarterbacks out there,
Speaker 1: and you think of all the more right away, and
Speaker 1: you think of Lamar Jackson, you think of Russell Wilson
Speaker 1: in Seattle, you think of certainly now the kid Kyler
Speaker 1: Murray and in Arizona, if that can build, if he
Speaker 1: could keep getting it's twelve point seven yards on three
Speaker 1: scrambles on average. If that can continue this year, what
Speaker 1: will that do for the entire offensive success. Well, it's
Speaker 1: just gonna change of the defense of a configuration of
Speaker 1: all defensive coordinators. They're gonna have to dedicate a spy
Speaker 1: on the Mitchell Trobiski. So that's one less guy you
Speaker 1: got to block. That's one less guy that's deep in
Speaker 1: coverage because you're concerned about Mitch's legs. However, if I
Speaker 1: was going to keep that stat and all the world
Speaker 1: of analytics, tell me what happened after the scramble. Did
Speaker 1: they just go three and out? Did that result in
Speaker 1: a touchdown? Did that give me a field goal? Did
Speaker 1: that run out the clock so the opponent didn't get
Speaker 1: back on the field. That's what I need to see,
Speaker 1: and I think that will tell you the value of
Speaker 1: your scramble ability. We need Doug Colletti on the case
Speaker 1: for that one. I'm sure it'll be on the broadcast tomorrow.
Speaker 1: Your wheels are already turning. I got you there. You
Speaker 1: know we've heard often that, and teams are playing a
Speaker 1: lot of man coverage in the league right now, and
Speaker 1: they are getting burned. It's if you don't have the
Speaker 1: pass rush, you're not gonna have the the time involved
Speaker 1: to continue to plaster coverage and make plays. So what
Speaker 1: will the Falcons deploy against Mitchell Trubisky as he evaluates
Speaker 1: his own play against zone and against man? All great players,
Speaker 1: I think if you work on your weaknesses and try
Speaker 1: to make them your strengths, I think that's that's an
Speaker 1: attribute that all players try to do. You got to
Speaker 1: look at your weaknesses honestly and assess those and be like,
Speaker 1: we want to get better at that. So we look
Speaker 1: at it as a challenge. If if we're better against
Speaker 1: man and not as good against zone, yeah, sure, bring
Speaker 1: it on. We'll attack it. But it all comes down
Speaker 1: to timing ball accuracy and then receivers, tight ends, running
Speaker 1: backs being in the right place at the right time,
Speaker 1: and everybody recognizing it and being on the same page.
Speaker 1: So that's going to come down the film study and
Speaker 1: then just execution throughout the week. But I definitely think
Speaker 1: with the group we have, we're off for that challenge
Speaker 1: and we're looking forward to two teams possibly doing more
Speaker 1: of that. To us, what are you envisioning tomorrow from
Speaker 1: the Falcon secondary. I think they're going to try to
Speaker 1: keep Mitchell Trubisky guessing because they just don't want to
Speaker 1: be come one dimensional. Because now you're talking about matchup
Speaker 1: nightmares for the Atlanta Falcons. If they're going to stay
Speaker 1: exclusively man cover of Mitchell Trabisky, then I put the
Speaker 1: speed in the creativity of Darnell Mooney out there. I
Speaker 1: put the size of Jimmy Graham out there. I put
Speaker 1: the speed ability to run route of Anthony Miller out there.
Speaker 1: I always have Alan Robinson. But when you're talking about
Speaker 1: guys trying to match who's gonna match up against Jimmy
Speaker 1: Graham nine to twelve yards down the field, I don't
Speaker 1: think a lot of guys the secondary move of Darnell Mooney.
Speaker 1: I don't know if these defensive backs know him well
Speaker 1: enough to predict how he's gonna run routes. So I think, look,
Speaker 1: if you give the Bears a steady diet, a one
Speaker 1: dimensional on defense, you're asking for it because you have
Speaker 1: a stable of running backs, and you have a whole
Speaker 1: different caliber of wide receivers. You know, and I listen,
Speaker 1: I don't want to leave out Javon Wins and these guys.
Speaker 1: But when you're talking about specifics and how you attack coverage,
Speaker 1: the Bears have an arsenal that they can do a
Speaker 1: lot of different things. This is Bears All Access, brought
Speaker 1: to you by IGS Energy, with Tom Fayre Jeff Joniac
Speaker 1: wrapping things up here Tom before we depart. Yes, it's
Speaker 1: a fast track down there, and the Falcons are athletic
Speaker 1: and fast, and we know they got speed at all
Speaker 1: three phases of the defense and certainly on the offensive
Speaker 1: side of the ball as well. But the Bears have
Speaker 1: improved speed too. It's not where they like it yet,
Speaker 1: certainly on the offensive side of the ball, but the
Speaker 1: defense is fast in places, and it's definitely fast on
Speaker 1: special teams where our guy Cordarrell Patterson on that surface
Speaker 1: if they kick it to him. I'm very excited about
Speaker 1: the possibilities, but you know it is I think it
Speaker 1: puts a lot of fear into the defense or the
Speaker 1: special team's coordinator when they know a guy like Cordarrel
Speaker 1: is coming into town because he's unpredictable. To me, I'd
Speaker 1: like to see Tarik at a punt return opportunity. He
Speaker 1: has a chance to be equally as explosive is what
Speaker 1: Cordarrel can do at the kickoff return game. So yeah,
Speaker 1: it's a fast track, it's an indoor facility. The flight
Speaker 1: of the ball is going to be perfect and turn
Speaker 1: it up all right, Tom, that's gonna wrap us up.
Speaker 1: Be looking forward tomorrow's game began. Check us out nine am.
Speaker 1: Pregame neon kickoff on WBBM. That's gonna do it this
Speaker 1: week for Bears All Access. Thank you to all involved,
Speaker 1: including Jordan tread Up, Dan Brilliant, and the guys of
Speaker 1: the score. For Tom there, I'm Jeff Joniac again. Thank
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Speaker 1: on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy this score, thanks for
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