Speaker 1: Cut over that DJ Moore zode touchdown, touchdown Paars I
Speaker 1: am Jeff jonihat Wlitz.
Speaker 2: Is on Donnie Go.
Speaker 3: What was like playing for coache Good done.
Speaker 1: I don't want to answer any questions like that pressure
Speaker 1: coming is a big trouble. Dottie gos motest Sweat.
Speaker 4: Yes, Bears, et cetera.
Speaker 2: Brought to you by Miller Light with the voices of
Speaker 2: the Bears, Jeff Joniac and Tom Thayer.
Speaker 1: Nearing kickoff between the Bears and the Buffalo Bills week
Speaker 1: after a weekend of nostalgia and can't Ohio with the
Speaker 1: enjronments of Steve McMichael, Devin Hester, and Julius Peppers. Welcome in, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'm the voice of the Bears. Jeff Joniac with Super
Speaker 1: Bowl winning Bears guard Tom Thayer. This episode of the Bears, Etc.
Speaker 1: Podcast brought to you by Miller Lte. The work is
Speaker 1: getting done. What needs to be done yet? But of
Speaker 1: most important is that Saturday noon kickoff in Orchard Park,
Speaker 1: New York against the Buffalo Bills.
Speaker 5: Expecting to see starters play.
Speaker 1: As of this taping, we don't know how many snaps
Speaker 1: for the starting quarterback and the starting offensive defense but
Speaker 1: we do expect them to play, and we're excited about that.
Speaker 5: Tommy, how you feeling?
Speaker 6: You know, I think there's an extra edge of seriousness
Speaker 6: that leads up to the first preseason game now in
Speaker 6: the NFL, especially after you play in the Hall of
Speaker 6: Fame game and none of the starters did play, because
Speaker 6: every time you put what you perceive as a starter
Speaker 6: on the field, it means the evaluation begins. And so
Speaker 6: now you're a guy that's pretty secure in your position.
Speaker 6: You've been around the NFL a little while. Are you
Speaker 6: still up to the responsibilities that it takes to play
Speaker 6: your position? Are you a young guy that has just
Speaker 6: come a board of football team as a free agent
Speaker 6: or as a draft choice, and are you living up
Speaker 6: to the expectations that the general manager and the head
Speaker 6: coach and the team has set for you. And there's
Speaker 6: every snap is serious, whether you're in practice or in
Speaker 6: the games itself.
Speaker 1: On the podium Wednesday, Shane Waldron, the offensive coordinator, his
Speaker 1: weekly visit, all the touch points the media, asking questions
Speaker 1: of all the hot topics. Certainly it's always going to
Speaker 1: be about Caleb Williams, the offensive line, Nate Davis. We
Speaker 1: got a chunk of it from the podium. We'll get
Speaker 1: Tom's reaction, but here's Shane Waldron this week at Hallis Hall.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 7: I think as the O line has some different moving
Speaker 7: parts right now as we you know, try out different combinations,
Speaker 7: work with different things that I think in the long
Speaker 7: run will help us for the full season when you
Speaker 7: get that debt depth built up right there. And then
Speaker 7: for Kalo that allows him to take leadership roles with
Speaker 7: different guys that are in there, you know, work on
Speaker 7: his communication with different groups, different centers, different guards that
Speaker 7: have rotated in tackles, and so I think all that
Speaker 7: does is help us as a team build our communication,
Speaker 7: whether it's player to player, uh, you know, with the
Speaker 7: quarterback to the O line or vice versa with the
Speaker 7: O line to the quarterback. And you know that's going
Speaker 7: to be so important as the season goes, especially when
Speaker 7: it comes to the protections and the idea and of
Speaker 7: everything that we do and and how we want to
Speaker 7: attack a defense. So it's been great for us and
Speaker 7: it'll be great down the road in the season. IKS
Speaker 7: what you're saying that's problem with this the protal to
Speaker 7: come mine with everyone healthy or with moving out it's
Speaker 7: both a learning the experience for Kala. Yeah, I think
Speaker 7: it just it helps with his communication, lets him learn
Speaker 7: different guys, his players that are around him. You know
Speaker 7: what what the different styles are, and you know how
Speaker 7: to community, how to communicate with those guys, you know,
Speaker 7: inevitably in a game, knowing that, hey, there might be
Speaker 7: different players that played throughout the season.
Speaker 8: With that, with that a line in a little bit
Speaker 8: of flux, is there any concern playing him behind it
Speaker 8: in Saturday's game.
Speaker 7: I think we got a good depth. I think Simo
Speaker 7: and hass have done such a good job of moving
Speaker 7: those guys around building that depth. We got frontline players
Speaker 7: that can play at a starter level. We've got guys
Speaker 7: that are playing with that second group and some of
Speaker 7: the guys rotating in a third group that can all
Speaker 7: operate at a high level. And the trust is there,
Speaker 7: and I think we can operate, you know, as an offense,
Speaker 7: depending on how we mix and match different guys. When
Speaker 7: we get to that point talking about tomorrow, what the
Speaker 7: preseason is going to look like.
Speaker 9: We see many big connections, say by the offense, but
Speaker 9: just from my it didn't look like a good day
Speaker 9: for the offense.
Speaker 8: What did you see from the offense.
Speaker 7: Yeah, I saw DeAndre Swift, Khalil Herbert, Travis Homer. You know,
Speaker 7: I can go through a you know, a group of
Speaker 7: those explosive plays and so feeling good about those, knowing that, hey,
Speaker 7: some of the shots down the field, you know, didn't
Speaker 7: connect on some of those. But the thing we love
Speaker 7: and shows up in the Hall of Fame game, you
Speaker 7: know when you talk about different points in training camp
Speaker 7: and and guys that get the ball in their hand
Speaker 7: and run after catchability, And to me, those are the
Speaker 7: things that really come to life as an offense grows
Speaker 7: in the games in practice, you know, you know, not
Speaker 7: getting frustrated if we don't connect on a deep shot, knowing,
Speaker 7: hey we've stretched the defense vertically right there. But then
Speaker 7: we can come back and play a fishing football, connect
Speaker 7: drives together and then get the ball in our playmaker's hands.
Speaker 6: Kale about those those deep because we saw the deep shots.
Speaker 8: But I mean, like, is it.
Speaker 7: Yeah, I think and like every one of those that happen,
Speaker 7: you know, it takes all eleven. So you know, sometimes
Speaker 7: it can be a little bit cleaner in a protection. Look,
Speaker 7: sometimes we might be a little bit clearer in our route. Look,
Speaker 7: sometimes it might be the quarterback being a little bit
Speaker 7: cleaner with his feet. So you know, every one of
Speaker 7: those plays are individual when it comes down to, you know,
Speaker 7: the why of a play not connecting perfectly. And so
Speaker 7: for us as an offense right now, that's where we're
Speaker 7: striving to get, you know, all eleven every single time
Speaker 7: we get to one of those you know, deeper shot
Speaker 7: plays and giving us a chance and then like Caleb
Speaker 7: did today, Tyson did a great job of it today.
Speaker 7: If the defense puts an umbrella over the coverage structure
Speaker 7: right there, finding it, check down, finding a completion, and
Speaker 7: stay in efficient. I have not yet I saw a.
Speaker 1: Lot of Caleb when something would go wrong, come and
Speaker 1: talk to you or talk to Eberflus or kind of
Speaker 1: talk through what happened.
Speaker 2: Are you seeing him making those corrections?
Speaker 7: Yes, I think yeah. His daily improvement has been great
Speaker 7: to see. I think he's so competitive, you know, he's
Speaker 7: he cares so much about being great, and he puts
Speaker 7: in the hard work, so it's not a surprise at
Speaker 7: each day he gets a little bit better and some
Speaker 7: of the you know stuff as he grows within the
Speaker 7: offense and and within some of the different levels of
Speaker 7: communication from the coach to quarterback to the world of
Speaker 7: huddling and and and those things. Uh, seeing his daily
Speaker 7: improvement and making strides and never taking a you know,
Speaker 7: it's not a one step forward, two steps back type
Speaker 7: of process. It's been a hey, if there's been a
Speaker 7: bump in the road the next day. For example, I
Speaker 7: think as an offense, we didn't take care of the
Speaker 7: football well enough three days ago. I guess we'll be
Speaker 7: with the player's day off, and then we come back
Speaker 7: the next day next practice and we're battling. Our defense
Speaker 7: does a great job of getting after the football, and
Speaker 7: we play a clean, clean game from the quarterback position,
Speaker 7: all four quarterbacks on through. So seeing one thing, you know,
Speaker 7: one day, and then that ability to correct and make
Speaker 7: it better the next day and keep stacking those days
Speaker 7: is what we're seeing.
Speaker 8: And at this point, another thing you see the show
Speaker 8: is just because there's so many cameras on them and
Speaker 8: you're picking up audio, you know he might throw and
Speaker 8: you know are just kind of like, you know, the
Speaker 8: frustration element of growing, like how do.
Speaker 6: You see his demeanor as he deals with the.
Speaker 8: Inevitable, you know, challenges that come with training camp and
Speaker 8: getting ready for a week one.
Speaker 7: Yeah, I think he has a very even keel to me.
Speaker 7: But it's also a game of emotion, so there's gonna
Speaker 7: be some instant reactions. There's gonna be some uh some
Speaker 7: times where you know, everyone that's out there, all the
Speaker 7: all the players are out there so competitive, the coaches
Speaker 7: are so competitive, you know, there might be an instant
Speaker 7: reaction of you know, didn't get that one, and then
Speaker 7: how quickly can you bounce back right now for the
Speaker 7: next play. And that's what I've really seen out of
Speaker 7: Caleb and seeing out of you know, all the young
Speaker 7: guys that we've had roams had similar things where you
Speaker 7: see those guys. For young players, their ability to learn
Speaker 7: and grow from each play and then move right on
Speaker 7: to the next play, I think has been something you know,
Speaker 7: going back to the previous question that's helping their growth
Speaker 7: and will continue to helping their growth and development. At
Speaker 7: this point in the training camp, where do you feel
Speaker 7: most confident what.
Speaker 8: You guys are doing to an offense?
Speaker 7: I think right now, with the level of communication from
Speaker 7: where it started in OTAs to where we're at now
Speaker 7: in training camp, I think, uh, you know, when you
Speaker 7: get a new group, you know, some new coaches, some
Speaker 7: coaches that we're here and we're we're you know, uh,
Speaker 7: figuring out everyone's rhythm, figuring out our new players, the
Speaker 7: style of players, uh, that community and our operation. Seeing
Speaker 7: the growth that it's made every single day and being
Speaker 7: on pace for you know, getting ready for that regular
Speaker 7: season opener is something that we're proud of as a staff,
Speaker 7: and I know the players have put in a ton
Speaker 7: of work to get to the level where we're at
Speaker 7: right now.
Speaker 9: We talked about the depth of the offensive line and
Speaker 9: you're obviously please please with that, But how how much
Speaker 9: longer can you guys go in this camp but out
Speaker 9: unless you guys do know, without knowing who the center
Speaker 9: is and who the right guard is.
Speaker 7: Yeah, I think for us, you know, competition is going
Speaker 7: to bring out the best in everybody, and I think
Speaker 7: every single competition that's involved in training camp has its
Speaker 7: own individual timeline. And for us right now, because those
Speaker 7: guys are operating at such a high level at center,
Speaker 7: and then Ryan's been able to go in at the
Speaker 7: guard spot with Nate dealing with a little bit of
Speaker 7: injuries right there, you know, it's been a smooth transition
Speaker 7: as far as the communication, so it makes you feel
Speaker 7: confident that we can go ahead and keep participating or
Speaker 7: keep playing the way we're doing right now. We are
Speaker 7: right now, and then when that time is right, you
Speaker 7: know it'll be right and we don't have to set
Speaker 7: an exact time on it. You know it's going to
Speaker 7: obviously before you know, before that opening kickoff there on
Speaker 7: the opening game. But right now, I feel good about
Speaker 7: where we're at, and because of the professional level of
Speaker 7: those guys that are competing at those spots, you think
Speaker 7: will continue to see Vayala's out of the running back position. Yeah,
Speaker 7: this has been a great chance for Vayalis.
Speaker 2: He did.
Speaker 7: You know, He's done an excellent job as a as
Speaker 7: a core special teams player, did a great job at receiver,
Speaker 7: you know, getting to know the offense. And then for
Speaker 7: us just seeing a guy that's explosive with the ball
Speaker 7: in his hand, trying to figure out different ways that
Speaker 7: potentially could be during the season or during these preseason games, UH,
Speaker 7: to check him out at running back and knowing he's
Speaker 7: had a little bit of that in his history, and
Speaker 7: then for us just as a staff, feeling the best
Speaker 7: thing for him is to do it in a block
Speaker 7: right now, So really taking this block where we get
Speaker 7: the chance to get him in the running back room
Speaker 7: with Chad Morton and you and Chris had done such
Speaker 7: a great job with him at receiver and now seeing
Speaker 7: letting him you know, show his skill set there and
Speaker 7: then be able to you know, come back after this
Speaker 7: this Bill's game here and then reconvene and see what
Speaker 7: the next step would be again with you know, trying
Speaker 7: to maximize his skill set and also putting him in
Speaker 7: that best position to showcase that.
Speaker 5: With the extra reads. You guys have a camp. How
Speaker 5: helpful is that for kill to get that muscle you're
Speaker 5: talking about this growth?
Speaker 9: Just like I know, how difficult is the process as
Speaker 9: a quarterback NFL?
Speaker 3: How much?
Speaker 8: I mean that's you.
Speaker 6: Probably just have to do it right.
Speaker 9: There's like the other film stuff helps.
Speaker 7: Yeah, I think the the benefit of being in early,
Speaker 7: you know, obviously the practice is obviously the meetings, but
Speaker 7: then I think, you know, being able to be on
Speaker 7: the sideline for the Hall of Fame game and watch
Speaker 7: Tyson and uh Brett operate, Austin get in there, uh
Speaker 7: and and have a chance to see the defensive structure here.
Speaker 7: The play calls process it from the sideline, but get
Speaker 7: a chance to see, you know, what that what that
Speaker 7: game action is actually like and getting a feel for,
Speaker 7: you know, knowing that our goal in practice is to
Speaker 7: make this as hard as we can so that way
Speaker 7: when the game time comes around, it's a let's slow
Speaker 7: down a little bit. You got some TV timeouts, You
Speaker 7: got all the different things where it's not as as
Speaker 7: chaotic as practice in terms of you know, right onto
Speaker 7: the next drill, right onto the next situation, got to
Speaker 7: check a scoreboard that's in the corner there. So all
Speaker 7: those things, you know, combined, I think is a huge
Speaker 7: help to be able to be in early for that
Speaker 7: for the quarterback position and then be able to excel
Speaker 7: from there.
Speaker 1: You called the one.
Speaker 3: You've talked about Caleb's growth and what you're seeing from
Speaker 3: Pall eleven. But given the rickety nature of the passing
Speaker 3: game the past couple of practices with the defense missing
Speaker 3: four or five starters, what are you seeing from Caleb specifically,
Speaker 3: either on film or in the practice that tells you
Speaker 3: he's closer to getting this all to come together.
Speaker 8: Than we might think.
Speaker 7: Yeah, I think for us, when you watch him and
Speaker 7: you watch him go through his reads and his progressions
Speaker 7: right there. I think, you know, going to where the
Speaker 7: ball should go is happening way more times than not.
Speaker 7: And some of the things that you know haven't worked
Speaker 7: out have been just from a you know, a near
Speaker 7: miss here or an angle that you know wasn't feeling
Speaker 7: it the right way there. Okay, got it onto the
Speaker 7: next one. But he's been doing a good job. We're
Speaker 7: sticking within progressions, recognizing coverage structures. So seeing all those
Speaker 7: things is what really gives you the confidence moving forward.
Speaker 5: All right, Tom, anything stick out? Anything stick out to you?
Speaker 6: Yeah. One thing at this point what we do have
Speaker 6: in common is neither of us have seen hard knocks.
Speaker 6: So I think that's something I don't know if a
Speaker 6: coach has time really to sit down at that time
Speaker 6: of night and watch because you're so in the middle
Speaker 6: of team meetings or you know, group meetings, position and
Speaker 6: coaching meetings. You know, it's just that the understanding that
Speaker 6: the development of the offensive line is going to take time.
Speaker 6: If you have some injuries at certain positions, you've got
Speaker 6: to try to allow Chris Morgan to insert the players
Speaker 6: that he could be that he believes that could play
Speaker 6: at a starter's level, and I'm glad that the Bears
Speaker 6: have a choice of talent where you can take a
Speaker 6: guy like Ryan Bates and take him from center and
Speaker 6: moving into a legitimate starting offensive guard, and then having
Speaker 6: Coleman Shelton who can come in here and play at
Speaker 6: a high level at the starting center position. I know
Speaker 6: that the the reality of it is is you brought
Speaker 6: Nay Davison here to be the starting right guard, with
Speaker 6: Darnell Wright and Braxton Jones and Tevin Jenkins as such,
Speaker 6: but there's never a promise that those guys are going
Speaker 6: to be there. So I like the fact that there's
Speaker 6: competitiveness on the practice field that helped that's going to
Speaker 6: help to decide the fate of some of these positions.
Speaker 1: Chris Morgan met with the media today as well, little
Speaker 1: groups of offensive assistants for the first time here in
Speaker 1: the preseason. Defensive assistance next week, and he was asked
Speaker 1: a lot about that position, and he said, simply, we're
Speaker 1: going to play the best five, So there is competition.
Speaker 1: There is competition at every position, and that's how they
Speaker 1: approach it, especially here in the preseason. And so he says,
Speaker 1: there's time. I know we all feel a little bit
Speaker 1: of adjida, a little bit about who's not in there.
Speaker 1: But the fact of the matter is there are three
Speaker 1: preseason games, a preseason pre practice against the Bengals that
Speaker 1: will tell a lot, and then there's almost two weeks
Speaker 1: before the kickoff against the Tennessee Titans. So you'd like
Speaker 1: to have as many reps with each other, but they
Speaker 1: can't make it a panic scenario.
Speaker 6: No, But you know right now Jeff Coleman Shelton at
Speaker 6: center and Ryan Bates at guard have had more reps
Speaker 6: with this offensive line than Nate Davis has at right
Speaker 6: guard and Ryan Bates at center. So I think when
Speaker 6: you look at the steps of timing and organization by
Speaker 6: an offensive line, first of all, you have to have
Speaker 6: an understanding of the rhythmic non rhythmic verbal cadence of
Speaker 6: Caleb Williams and how he seeing the field and how
Speaker 6: it affects the timing of the snap. Then secondly you
Speaker 6: have to understand the specific timing of the organization of
Speaker 6: a run block. And then the running backs need to
Speaker 6: be able to have multiple reps where they can pre
Speaker 6: predict how the hole is going to open and where
Speaker 6: their opening is going to be created. And then thirdly
Speaker 6: is pass protection responsibilities, because it takes all five guys
Speaker 6: plus the tight ends, fullbacks and the other guys to
Speaker 6: have organized pass protection to make sure Caleb Williams has
Speaker 6: a lot amount of time to take advantage of this
Speaker 6: talented group of receivers the Bears have. So it's not
Speaker 6: just going out there and saying, Okay, we need multiple
Speaker 6: practices out of you guys. We need multiple practices, multiple plays,
Speaker 6: and multiple periods of the different types of responsibilities that
Speaker 6: we all have to have an organized group of eleven players.
Speaker 1: Tom, they're getting a lot of practice with the screen game.
Speaker 1: How important is that in terms of the continuity in chemistry?
Speaker 1: It looks to be a major part of the offense.
Speaker 1: And some well executed screens at practice this week to
Speaker 1: all the backs, a variety of backs.
Speaker 6: I love it, Jeff, You know because say, for example,
Speaker 6: you go to the Tennessee game, which is the first
Speaker 6: regular season game of the season, and you go, Okay,
Speaker 6: maybe we're a little bit more secure and fast pass
Speaker 6: protection than we are with long dropbacks. So now you
Speaker 6: think of that screen game, you think of play action passing,
Speaker 6: you think of three step drops. So all those can
Speaker 6: really play into the hand and assist Caleb Williams to
Speaker 6: be able to get the ball out of his hands
Speaker 6: quicker and for the offensive line not to have to
Speaker 6: sustain blocks as long. And whenever you have athletes getting
Speaker 6: on the edge in the screen game, man, you could
Speaker 6: those can compute into some big, big gainers. And it's
Speaker 6: the same thing with play action pass and three step drops.
Speaker 6: So you have to make sure that you go into
Speaker 6: that first regular season game with organized, confident protection for
Speaker 6: a young quarterback.
Speaker 1: Taste like middle time, Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Speaker 1: Ninety six calories and three point two cars per twelve ounces.
Speaker 1: I really want to focus just on offense in this
Speaker 1: podcast because there is so much to it and so
Speaker 1: much That's why we started with Shane Waldron. He's the
Speaker 1: guy calling the plays, he's the guy that put together
Speaker 1: the playbook, and now the execution has to come. So
Speaker 1: everybody's watching everything about Caleb Williams and you haven't seen
Speaker 1: hard knocks, so hopefully you will and get some. I
Speaker 1: mean at some point you have to, right, you got
Speaker 1: to see so we could talk about and that's episode
Speaker 1: one of the bank. But in the beginning of that
Speaker 1: episode so much about the learning curve for Caleb Williams
Speaker 1: and reading body language and seeing his disappointment at times,
Speaker 1: but left out, in my opinion, was all the successes
Speaker 1: though as well. And I got to ask you from
Speaker 1: an offensive line standpoint, for those like the tackles Darnell
Speaker 1: Wright and Rexton Jones and Tevin Jenkins at left guard
Speaker 1: and Nate Davis when he was in there at right guard,
Speaker 1: new center situation, but some of the backups like Larry
Speaker 1: Borum competing as well here they got used to a
Speaker 1: certain way with Justin Fields knowing he's gonna probably leave
Speaker 1: the pocket. More often than not, Caleb will move, but
Speaker 1: he won't necessarily be leaving the pocket. He will roll
Speaker 1: out and make a play down the sidelines at the
Speaker 1: last minute. But as an offensive lineman, how much time
Speaker 1: will it take for them to understand what Caleb's doing
Speaker 1: or is it caleb responsibility to let make them feel
Speaker 1: comfortable in terms of that pocket protection even late in
Speaker 1: a snap.
Speaker 6: It's twofold here, Jeff. First of all, I think Caleb
Speaker 6: when he calls the protection in the huddle and then
Speaker 6: they break it towards the line of scrimmage, he has
Speaker 6: to understand the construction of the pocket, where does his
Speaker 6: vulnerabilities lie, Where does more of a lengthy opportunity to
Speaker 6: look downfield in the in the protection that's up there.
Speaker 6: Then the offensive line they have to under understand specifically
Speaker 6: their body positioning to make sure they're constructing the pocket
Speaker 6: efficiently and effectively. And as for the longest time possible,
Speaker 6: Caleb is not going to be a one covered run guy.
Speaker 6: He's going to be a first option, second option checkdown guy.
Speaker 6: So the longer that you can sustain that pocket, the
Speaker 6: longer Caleb is going to have to evaluate all the
Speaker 6: weapons that he sent down field, and they're not always
Speaker 6: going to be downfield. Some of them could still be
Speaker 6: in the backfield. He's got a talented group receivers at
Speaker 6: the backfield position that if that is where it has
Speaker 6: to go with the football, you can get as big
Speaker 6: as a play out of that as you will, you know,
Speaker 6: being able to find one of your talented receivers downfield.
Speaker 6: But it is you know, these guys going hand in
Speaker 6: hand and understanding the construction of the pocket and where
Speaker 6: the most stability in that pocket.
Speaker 1: Is, and they're layering in, They're layer in the new
Speaker 1: plays each week, adding to the arsenal that they plan
Speaker 1: on and veiling in the regular season. So some days
Speaker 1: won't look as good, some days will look better. And
Speaker 1: I do like what Nick Saban believes, and I've said
Speaker 1: it many times. Caleb Williams and all quarterbacks essentially are
Speaker 1: point guards. You're distributing the football, you're scanning the field,
Speaker 1: and especially mobile quarterbacks, and that's what that's what he
Speaker 1: has to play. He has to set up others and
Speaker 1: then when he needs to take a three point shot
Speaker 1: and throw the deep paw in a clutch moment, there
Speaker 1: you go splash like Steph Curry from deep. You know,
Speaker 1: that's the way the play has to be.
Speaker 6: Yeah, exactly right, you know, Jeff. A good analogy about
Speaker 6: being a point guard is point guard is like play
Speaker 6: action because Shane Waldron talked about the importance of making
Speaker 6: sure they have a stable of running backs that are
Speaker 6: really good at carrying the football offensive line. That's good
Speaker 6: that it's opening holes because the most favorable protection for
Speaker 6: any offensive line and any quarterback is play action passing.
Speaker 6: And that's when you need the deception and you have
Speaker 6: the aggressive run approach approached by the offensive line and
Speaker 6: then you have a more identified receiver where you're going
Speaker 6: to go with the football. So the running game is
Speaker 6: going to play an important role in the overall passing
Speaker 6: success of this football team. And that's one of the
Speaker 6: things I was really encouraged about the other night in
Speaker 6: the Hall of Fame game, is the balance of this
Speaker 6: offense is going to be equally as important as any
Speaker 6: other facet of this offense.
Speaker 1: Missy Heart Seltzer Flavors for every Vibe Celebrate Responsibly, Molten
Speaker 1: Corese Beverage Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Let's talk running backs because
Speaker 1: and I want to go individually. Here we got DeAndre
Speaker 1: Travis Homer, Roshawn Johnson, who's a little banged up at
Speaker 1: the moment. Khalil herbert Ian Wheeler is banged up and
Speaker 1: not working right now, trying to rehab whatever's bothering him.
Speaker 1: The rookie running back out of Howard. But the introduction
Speaker 1: now Veaylist Jones Junior at least this week. At the
Speaker 1: running back position, and I mean the running back position,
Speaker 1: he is dealing with pass protection, he is dealing with
Speaker 1: swings out of the backfield. He's dealing with running the
Speaker 1: ball between the tackles and he's dealing with running sweeps
Speaker 1: on the zone blocking excuse me, this zone running offense.
Speaker 1: So he's getting a taste of it all. We know
Speaker 1: what he has. He's got unique speed. He's got elite speed.
Speaker 1: He's a bigger body guy that can create a bounce
Speaker 1: off of contact. He has contact balance. We've seen that
Speaker 1: in the kick return game. He's had pass receptions that
Speaker 1: have been on the big play side of forty plus
Speaker 1: yards in his young career. How are you looking at this?
Speaker 1: Why are they doing this? And what do you think
Speaker 1: is going to happen with this?
Speaker 6: He's a courageous runner at the point of attack. He's
Speaker 6: willing to lower his shoulder and challenge a tackler if
Speaker 6: they don't. Some guys don't want to hit guys, and
Speaker 6: Vayless is a big guy, as you mentioned. But how
Speaker 6: quickly can you get the ball into the hands of
Speaker 6: a playmaker? And that's exactly what you're doing with a
Speaker 6: guy like Vaylas Jones Junior. If he's lined up five
Speaker 6: yards behind the quarterback in the backfield and it's a
Speaker 6: simple toss and you get the offensive line out in
Speaker 6: front of him, and then you let pick and shoes
Speaker 6: where the hole is going to open up. That's when
Speaker 6: you give him the opportunity of the playmaker that you
Speaker 6: know he's got the ability to be. So I like
Speaker 6: the fact that they're thinking outside the box of Dayless
Speaker 6: Jones Junior and what he can offer a football team.
Speaker 6: And he also increases his opportunities to make this football
Speaker 6: team other than just a kick returner or possibly you know, Jeff,
Speaker 6: the fifth wide receiver on a football team. If you're
Speaker 6: the third running back kind of football team and then
Speaker 6: all of a sudden you show reliability and blitz pick up,
Speaker 6: you're increasing your value all up and down the NFL board.
Speaker 6: So I think it's I like the creativity of the
Speaker 6: Bears coaches and thinking outside the box.
Speaker 1: And if you start with the notion now including the
Speaker 1: NFL officials that we're in talking to the media about
Speaker 1: rules changes, that they have boiled it down that the
Speaker 1: kickoff return is a running play and Baylis Jones Jr.
Speaker 1: Certainly is still competing for the kick return job, and
Speaker 1: it is a running play. The way it's constituted this year,
Speaker 1: it makes it makes a lot of sense. And and
Speaker 1: and frankly, you know, the the assertion that this is
Speaker 1: a bubble situation for Baylor's Jones. Yeah, because the Bears
Speaker 1: do have depth at receiver. Now there's a you know,
Speaker 1: the big three, unless there's an injury, are gonna be
Speaker 1: on the field more often than not. And then you
Speaker 1: have Tyler Scott and then you have many other choices.
Speaker 1: Colin Johnson's another one. So these there are ways to
Speaker 1: keep a talent on the field, keep them in, keep
Speaker 1: them engaged.
Speaker 5: Give them a possibility. He's going to get a few
Speaker 5: touches every game.
Speaker 6: Well, you know this thing, don't lose the fact that
Speaker 6: VELAs can line up as a wide receiver. And if
Speaker 6: you need a wide receiver side, say you put Colin
Speaker 6: Johnson and Vaylis Jones Junior on the same side, and
Speaker 6: but they're both going to have blocking responsibility. They're both
Speaker 6: super willing to do it. They have the bigger type
Speaker 6: of bodies that can angle attack defensive backfield and now
Speaker 6: you and create increase the running lane that there is
Speaker 6: to the outside. So that's what I'm saying. You know,
Speaker 6: Vayalas could be considered a four position player and it's
Speaker 6: really it's a really important role in the modern day
Speaker 6: NFL game day roster.
Speaker 1: All Right, I want to get your thoughts thumbnail on
Speaker 1: each guy as we go. DeAndre Swift certainly is a
Speaker 1: meeting and maybe surpassing expectations, and but his role will
Speaker 1: be in this offense. Certainly we know he can do it.
Speaker 1: He's got finishing speed, he's got the ability to catch
Speaker 1: the football, and he looks to me to steal the
Speaker 1: former baron Pittsburgh Steeler running back Meryl Hodges term a
Speaker 1: factor back.
Speaker 5: I believe that DeAndre Swift.
Speaker 6: Is used to call himself the factor back of.
Speaker 5: No, No, No.
Speaker 1: He called him the ultra back. He was the ultar back. Yeah,
Speaker 1: the factor back, ultra back. But anyway, what's your opinion
Speaker 1: right now?
Speaker 6: You know, I've really been impressed with DeAndre Swift. He's
Speaker 6: got the innate ability as a running back to understand
Speaker 6: where and how the hole is going to open up.
Speaker 6: He's got the explosiveness when he gets to the second
Speaker 6: level that he can be physical at the third level
Speaker 6: with yards after initial contact. He's got some of the
Speaker 6: best hands at the running back position that I've seen
Speaker 6: in quite a while, because when you're breaking into a
Speaker 6: new quarterback, it's just not an easy pass to a
Speaker 6: running back. Usually you're on the move. For a swing pass,
Speaker 6: you're in a position on a quick screen that the
Speaker 6: ball is going to be delivered immediately. If it's play
Speaker 6: action pass, you have to go through a play action fake,
Speaker 6: and then you have to go out in your route
Speaker 6: with awareness. So all the responsibilities of a running back
Speaker 6: outside of just being able to run the ball, DeAndre
Speaker 6: swifts every one of them, and oh yeah, if he
Speaker 6: needs to pick up a blitzer, he's he's willing to
Speaker 6: do that, so and I think that's probably as important
Speaker 6: to put on notice as anything else that you can
Speaker 6: do as a complimentary running back.
Speaker 1: He's the lightest back. And then you go to Travis
Speaker 1: Homer Roshawn Johnson. They're two twenty one and two thirty
Speaker 1: one respective. Let's start with Rochean obviously sideline here, but
Speaker 1: we know he's a battering ram. He is willing to
Speaker 1: take and initiate contact, and you need the change of pace.
Speaker 1: You need those types of backs to run between the tackles.
Speaker 1: Travis Homer on third down is looking like he did
Speaker 1: in Seattle. He was not used in the old system.
Speaker 1: He was not used in the last couple of years
Speaker 1: in that regard, and I thought wow when he came
Speaker 1: from Seattle, because he did have some moments that caught
Speaker 1: your attention as a third down back. We know he's
Speaker 1: a special corese special teamer and a very good one.
Speaker 1: Are you encouraged by the variety that has afforded now?
Speaker 1: Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, who knows how to use Homer,
Speaker 1: he used him in Seattle.
Speaker 6: You know, I quickly wrote, Shawn Johnson's probably the best
Speaker 6: blocking running back that the Bears have. Going to Homer,
Speaker 6: He's just got to stay healthy, Jeff, It's a matter of, Yeah,
Speaker 6: this guy is one of the most physically gifted specimens
Speaker 6: on this football team. But you got to be able
Speaker 6: to stay healthy that you have multiple days in the
Speaker 6: role that they have designed for you, and then you
Speaker 6: have to show production when you're on field opportunity comes.
Speaker 6: So that's listen. I'm all for Travis Homer. However, it's
Speaker 6: about making sure that you can stay healthy. And over
Speaker 6: the last couple of years that we've had an opportunity
Speaker 6: to be around him, he's missed some time with injuries,
Speaker 6: and if he can put together a stretch that he's healthy,
Speaker 6: he'll be an immediate contributor on kickoff and kickoff return
Speaker 6: because he's capable of blocking and he's a willing tackler.
Speaker 5: And then there's Khalil Herbert.
Speaker 1: We absolutely know what type of player we have here
Speaker 1: in Khalil Herbert, and he's working very hard out there
Speaker 1: right now. A finishing back as well led the league
Speaker 1: and yards per carried two years ago.
Speaker 5: What is your opinion of Khalil Herbert right now?
Speaker 6: He's got a significant burst, he's super thick lower body.
Speaker 6: Whenever he lowers his shoulder pads, his tackling target becomes
Speaker 6: really small and there's always yards after initial contact. Listen,
Speaker 6: Khalil Herbert belongs in the NFL. Does he fit into
Speaker 6: this system? I hope so. But somewhere along the line,
Speaker 6: he is going to be in the NFL, and he's
Speaker 6: not an easy tackle. And he's another guy that missed
Speaker 6: a significant amount of time with an injury last year,
Speaker 6: but then kind of turned back into himself in the
Speaker 6: Ladder Star Ladder part of the year.
Speaker 1: And of course, if Curry blasting game, the six year
Speaker 1: veteran six feet two hundred and forty nine pounds, we
Speaker 1: were well familiar with his game as well as special teams.
Speaker 6: I want to see him have more opportunities to catch
Speaker 6: the ball. We've seen him make some incredible catches on
Speaker 6: wheel routes and downfield opportunities. I'm sure if you give
Speaker 6: him some screen chances with some big blockers in front
Speaker 6: of them, if you get them in the open field
Speaker 6: against a corner or a safety, he's willing to be
Speaker 6: a punishing running back. So but now you talk about fullback,
Speaker 6: h back, h back are more tight ends. Full backs
Speaker 6: are exactly what they're designed to be. So there's a
Speaker 6: little bit of competition between tight ends that can play
Speaker 6: h backs and full backs.
Speaker 1: We are brought to you my P and C Official
Speaker 1: Bank of the Bears, one of our partners that was
Speaker 1: in the viewing suite at Hallis Hall during practices this week.
Speaker 1: We have the privilege to speak to all these folks
Speaker 1: and their clients, other partners like doctor Pepper and Cannon,
Speaker 1: and we don't want to miss anybody. But we've really
Speaker 1: enjoyed it and Tom out of those conversations because we
Speaker 1: don't know what we're going to talk about.
Speaker 5: It just whatever's top of mind.
Speaker 1: We try to make them different every week, every day,
Speaker 1: and but my takeaway is that everybody's excited they they
Speaker 1: feel it just like anybody else, and it's more of
Speaker 1: just it's more than hope. They believe it, and it's
Speaker 1: the way it is in the building. We all feel
Speaker 1: the same way. We have great expectations. We don't know
Speaker 1: how it's going to turn out. But I know you
Speaker 1: like doing those two They take you down memory lane
Speaker 1: as being an eighty five Bear champion to certainly the
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame discussion with McMichael and Hester and Pepper's
Speaker 1: how have you enjoyed those and your interactions with these
Speaker 1: fans because they're also very very well educated about football.
Speaker 6: You know that there's a company for Ego, for example,
Speaker 6: that's in Aperville, so there's six degrees of separation from
Speaker 6: somebody that works in that company and people that I've
Speaker 6: grown up with. There's a girl that introduced herself there
Speaker 6: and her roommate in college was a family that I
Speaker 6: grew up here with in Joe. Yet, so I like
Speaker 6: meeting the fans of the Bears. But you know what,
Speaker 6: one thing that's been cool about the Bears this year,
Speaker 6: and I think it was the anticipation of the last night.
Speaker 6: Everybody wanted to see hard knocks and because you get
Speaker 6: some exposure to the Bears through the Hall of Fame Weekend,
Speaker 6: the Hall of Fame Game, the weekly, the daily coverage
Speaker 6: on the news that the Chicago Bears get. But now
Speaker 6: you're you're there the prime. You're the premiere of a
Speaker 6: eight of an HBO series that's going to be you know,
Speaker 6: have more episodes coming up that you get a little
Speaker 6: bit more exposure behind the scenes of Hallas Hall, just
Speaker 6: like the people that do get a chance to come
Speaker 6: into Hallis Hall and watch practice. You know, it's it is.
Speaker 6: It is a luxury and it's a great opportunity.
Speaker 1: Yep, they took you behind the scenes. For those of
Speaker 1: you who haven't seen it. One of the things that
Speaker 1: has made its way out on the Twitter verse and
Speaker 1: whatever is theo Benedette, You did.
Speaker 5: Hear about this? Correct?
Speaker 6: Yes? Can you?
Speaker 5: Can?
Speaker 1: You have imagined doing that? And did did you back
Speaker 1: in the day? Did you rookies and were you considered
Speaker 1: a rookie even though you played several years in the
Speaker 1: USFL before you joined the Bears, a couple of years
Speaker 1: in the USFL, did you have to do anything in
Speaker 1: front of the team.
Speaker 6: So I haven't been a part of a rookie show
Speaker 6: since my freshman year of Notre Dame, and that was
Speaker 6: a nasty deal because you had to go up there
Speaker 6: as a freshman and you had to perform in front
Speaker 6: of the upper classmen. But the upper classmen would come
Speaker 6: in there and they would bring like a wet bag
Speaker 6: of toilet paper or some moist dinner rolls, and if
Speaker 6: you got up there and you were doing something that
Speaker 6: they didn't like.
Speaker 5: You were pelt.
Speaker 6: You got pelted. So what did you do?
Speaker 5: Or can you say?
Speaker 4: Now?
Speaker 6: It was something we made up a song to my
Speaker 6: wiener has a first name, it's Oscar in the Oscar
Speaker 6: Meyer song. But we made it up using the coaches' names,
Speaker 6: and a group of us mimicked the habits of the
Speaker 6: coaches that we barely knew at that point. And so
Speaker 6: luckily we had a good response from the upper classmen
Speaker 6: and we did get pelted, not that badly. But the
Speaker 6: thing about it is after the rookie show, all the
Speaker 6: freshmen have to stay around and clean up.
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, knowing you, I know you dreaded having
Speaker 1: to get up there and do something like that.
Speaker 6: Well, I you know I did. I did dread it,
Speaker 6: but I didn't mind it because I was going up
Speaker 6: there with a couple of my other classmates at that point,
Speaker 6: Marks of Agnan and Bob Clasby and a couple of
Speaker 6: other guys that I was just getting to know.
Speaker 5: So I G you avoided in eighty five.
Speaker 6: I wasn't a rookie.
Speaker 5: Wow, you dodged a bullet, didn't you.
Speaker 6: Yeah. Someone said, you know, getting the cafeteria stand in
Speaker 6: the chair and singing, and I said, no, I'm not
Speaker 6: going to do it. I'm not a rookie.
Speaker 5: Nice taste like middle Time.
Speaker 1: Go to middlelight dot com slash bears Pod to find
Speaker 1: delivery options near you. Celebrate responsibly Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Speaker 1: Ninety six calories and three point two carbs for twelve ounces.
Speaker 5: Let's listen in to.
Speaker 1: Bear's rookie wide receiver Roma Doonday at the podium this
Speaker 1: week about his progress so far, right.
Speaker 2: I think I'll just try and take a lot, you know.
Speaker 2: I just I just tried to take in, you know,
Speaker 2: every every route that they run and what they see
Speaker 2: on different coverages. They probably annoy with me all the
Speaker 2: things that I ask him about. But yeah, I try
Speaker 2: and gain as much information as I can as possible,
Speaker 2: but as possible. But sometimes I look back, I'm like, man,
Speaker 2: I'm not even gonna ask a questions about that. Like
Speaker 2: whatever he did right there, that's that's something special for him,
Speaker 2: you know what I mean. And that's one thing that
Speaker 2: you uh, you Gardner too, Like you know, sometimes I
Speaker 2: watch King and sometimes I watch DJ and they do things.
Speaker 2: I'm like, Okay, I don't know if that's in my playbook.
Speaker 2: You know, I'm gonna have to figure out a different
Speaker 2: way to you know, get the route done. Because they're
Speaker 2: they're they're special in that way. They have, you know,
Speaker 2: such such unique traits to be able to do so
Speaker 2: many different things and comfortability to get open on any
Speaker 2: given route. So just learning those things and learning the
Speaker 2: different nuances that they that they do within a route
Speaker 2: and catching the ball that I try and emulate. But
Speaker 2: you know, got to find my own side within that
Speaker 2: as well.
Speaker 8: To DJ's extension.
Speaker 2: Oh man, that's that's crazy, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2: I was. I was super happy, you know, just the
Speaker 2: minimum time that we've we've got to spend each other.
Speaker 2: He's been a great mentor for me and you know,
Speaker 2: a great ambassador of this organization in this league as
Speaker 2: a whole great person on and off the field and
Speaker 2: a great player as well. So to me, I was like,
Speaker 2: you know, ecstatic. You know, I think he's the first
Speaker 2: player to have this first ten years guaranteed, right or
Speaker 2: something like that. Man, that's that's huge, you know, to
Speaker 2: have that happen, and he deserves it all. Honestly, he's
Speaker 2: I think he's continued to be underrated in this league.
Speaker 6: You know.
Speaker 2: I think if you turn on the tape and see
Speaker 2: what he's capable of doing is tremendous. So I'm glad
Speaker 2: that they finally got to settle.
Speaker 5: You came in pretty confident for this season.
Speaker 6: But anything you've seen or done in the last in
Speaker 6: the first couple of weeks or two plus weeks of practice,
Speaker 6: that have given you even more confidence that you can
Speaker 6: come in here and make an impact immediately.
Speaker 5: You've learned anything that you didn't know you don't.
Speaker 2: Just oh, I mean, I think I think all the
Speaker 2: skill sets that I kind of learned learning college, like,
Speaker 2: there's there's nothing that like kind of that I've gone
Speaker 2: against that was like like it's tough and it's competitive,
Speaker 2: for sure, but there's nothing out there where it's like, man,
Speaker 2: this is gonna be too much to overcome or you know,
Speaker 2: something like that, Like you know, it's just you know,
Speaker 2: different levels of competition and then different athleticism levels, and
Speaker 2: people knowing where where they're supposed to be at when
Speaker 2: they're supposed to be there, especially you know, defenses and
Speaker 2: coverage and zone coverage, man covers and know the responsibilities.
Speaker 6: So I want to.
Speaker 2: Say it's anything like unexpected, it's just more heightened and
Speaker 2: more you know, uh detailed within within any given play,
Speaker 2: uh coach Grub, my old coordinator, you should say, you know,
Speaker 2: be be the signal, you know, not the distraction. And
Speaker 2: you know there's a bunch of signals on this team,
Speaker 2: guys who you know are the beacon for people, and
Speaker 2: a bunch of you know, uh signals and beacons out
Speaker 2: there in the world that you know, they they radiate
Speaker 2: that energy, that that that sound, that noise, and you know,
Speaker 2: focusing on those things, I think it's most important. And
Speaker 2: of course number one beacon, you know, being God, you know,
Speaker 2: anything you do playing through him and going towards his
Speaker 2: like you'll probably all.
Speaker 5: Right, you were talking about the special things that Keenan does.
Speaker 5: What are some of the things that you see him
Speaker 5: do that think you.
Speaker 2: Just saying, oh man, keenan man uh. I mean, first
Speaker 2: of all, like him moving around at like his size
Speaker 2: is just crazy. Like his explosiveness, his agility, his route deception,
Speaker 2: his you know, speed deception, acceleration, all those different nuances
Speaker 2: within the route. He's he's mastered it. And you know
Speaker 2: it's it's so many subtle things within the route that
Speaker 2: he does that you know, it takes a you know,
Speaker 2: very keen eye to even you know, notice the things
Speaker 2: that he's doing. And and obviously no one's figured it
Speaker 2: out yet because they still can't guard him. So one
Speaker 2: of the most impressive things is his cuts too, Like
Speaker 2: he can cut on his outside foot, he can cut
Speaker 2: on his inside foot, and you know, he's staying off
Speaker 2: the grass and is able to maintain his balance, you know,
Speaker 2: every single time. So I think that's something that's very
Speaker 2: unique to him. But yeah, you're.
Speaker 6: Learning from Keen DJ. What's been the thing that just
Speaker 6: in this short time you've been able to add to
Speaker 6: your game that you feel you didn't have last season?
Speaker 7: Oh?
Speaker 2: I think you know, especially within man covers, you know,
Speaker 2: the nuances of that route. I mean, we got a
Speaker 2: good bit of man covers that you do. But you know,
Speaker 2: I think learning from them, they're you know, always trying
Speaker 2: to make things look vertical. And that was the point
Speaker 2: that you know, wide receiver coaches in my past, you know,
Speaker 2: have emphasized as well. But at this point in the league,
Speaker 2: at this you know, all of them the league, everybody's fast,
Speaker 2: you know what I mean. The you know, the difference
Speaker 2: between speed is you know, milliseconds you know, or you know,
Speaker 2: however little it was no allows one that the other day.
Speaker 2: That's you know, the speed difference at this level. So
Speaker 2: you got to have you know, speed, you know, in
Speaker 2: and out of breaks, and you know, always streatening to
Speaker 2: go deep in that that that puts defenders in the buying.
Speaker 1: He continues to impress me Tom his intelligence about the game.
Speaker 1: He speaks like a veteran. Frankly, he's learning a ton
Speaker 1: from Keenan Allen and DJ Moore and everybody else. And
Speaker 1: I I think he's gonna flip like a slipper. It's
Speaker 1: gonna be a nice added bonus for the Bears here
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty four.
Speaker 6: You know, I think he comes from a good competitive
Speaker 6: college working atmosphere. So the jump to the NFL isn't
Speaker 6: too big for him. He understands that he can gain
Speaker 6: a lot of knowledge from the veteran receivers that he's
Speaker 6: working with. He understands that he's been developing a really
Speaker 6: good friendship with Caleb Williams, and he knows how important
Speaker 6: each of their development is step by step together is
Speaker 6: going to be in the all and how it plays
Speaker 6: out on this football team and throughout his career. And
Speaker 6: you know, Rome's a cool guy to listen to at
Speaker 6: the podium. You know he's you can hear the youthfulness
Speaker 6: in his approach and the way he answers questions. However,
Speaker 6: he respects the veterans that he's around in what he
Speaker 6: can take from each one of these guys.
Speaker 1: And he's an inch talleran and six pounds heavier at
Speaker 1: least on paper than Keenan Allen, who has got a
Speaker 1: really strong lower half of his body that clearly helps
Speaker 1: him play his position at the level he does in
Speaker 1: his ability to explode out of his routes, even at
Speaker 1: eleven years deep into his NFL career. So great guy
Speaker 1: to learn from. Anything else that sticks out in that
Speaker 1: conversation with Romadounza.
Speaker 6: I just think it's important when you are so congratulatory
Speaker 6: about the way they went about showing DJ Moore the
Speaker 6: love with giving him a new contract, and it's not envy,
Speaker 6: its respect and understanding that you know, he says, what now,
Speaker 6: this is ten years of guaranteed contract for a veteran
Speaker 6: like DJ Moore, But he also understands that it's out
Speaker 6: of performance and it's out of what you've been able
Speaker 6: to do as a player in the NFL that's got
Speaker 6: you to this point. And I think that's a nice
Speaker 6: reflection to have have from a rookie that's just come
Speaker 6: aboard from a group of receivers that are so talented
Speaker 6: and respected, that have Hall of Fame credentials. So I
Speaker 6: just like the fact that these guys are going to
Speaker 6: play an important role in the way we're talking about
Speaker 6: Roma Dunza in three or four years and where he's
Speaker 6: at in his career.
Speaker 1: I want to go to the offensive line, and I
Speaker 1: want to touch on a guy who has yet to practice,
Speaker 1: and that is Karanamagaji, the third round pick. Chris Morgan,
Speaker 1: the Bears run game coordinator an offensive line coach, was
Speaker 1: asked about him if he's going to be able to
Speaker 1: get into a training camp practice here before the regular season,
Speaker 1: he says, he hopes so, and he's very very excited
Speaker 1: about Karanamagaji, potential tackle candidate here also can play guard
Speaker 1: from Yale Quad Taar last October, recovering from that. But
Speaker 1: he's doing well in his rehab. He is getting stronger,
Speaker 1: he says, in the weight room, and he is very
Speaker 1: attentive and understands the playbook in the classroom and the
Speaker 1: assignments are So he's very excited about this player, are.
Speaker 6: You, Jeff. There's two guys on this offensive line that
Speaker 6: are only one position player, and that's Braxton Jones, a
Speaker 6: left tackle, and Darnell right the right tackle. Every other
Speaker 6: single person that we're talking about that are on the
Speaker 6: field are playing multiple positions, even Tevin Jenkins right guard,
Speaker 6: left guard. So when you look at a guy like Amagaji,
Speaker 6: who's gonna wear number seventy two jersey, he's got the
Speaker 6: template of an offensive lineman that you could put in
Speaker 6: there and play at multiple positions, and whether it's from
Speaker 6: center to tackle, he you know, he can line up
Speaker 6: at every one. And I'm going to be interested as
Speaker 6: much as Chris Morgan is when they finally do get
Speaker 6: him in pads to see how he makes that transition
Speaker 6: from the IVY League to the NFL. Other guys have
Speaker 6: done it successfully and I expect Amagaji to do it
Speaker 6: successfully as well. But super intelligent, a really good athlete.
Speaker 6: Get it some work in and see how he fits
Speaker 6: in and where do you determine him to fit the best.
Speaker 5: Tom, we got to talk about the hip drop tackle.
Speaker 5: I know it.
Speaker 1: It's something that you were outspoken about a year ago
Speaker 1: when it became a discussion point because of injuries. Frankly,
Speaker 1: it was taught once upon a time to tackle that way,
Speaker 1: and now it's going to be something that's going to
Speaker 1: draw you a flag. And even if it's not called
Speaker 1: on the field, upon review by the league, if it's
Speaker 1: considered and checks three boxes on the list of reasons
Speaker 1: why it'd be called the hip drop tackle, you will
Speaker 1: be fined after the game, even if you didn't get
Speaker 1: a flag in the game for this. It's a tricky
Speaker 1: thing at the moment. It's a bit subjective at times,
Speaker 1: but not if three factors and that is the way
Speaker 1: you wrap, leave your feet and roll on the back
Speaker 1: of the legs of a player while you're bringing him
Speaker 1: down to the ground a hip drop tackle. Your thoughts
Speaker 1: on this. The referees explained it in great detail this
Speaker 1: week up at Househall.
Speaker 6: Very sad, very sad for the game of football that
Speaker 6: they take such a reactionary game, a reactionary position, and
Speaker 6: they say, there's a guy up in the booth that
Speaker 6: can make the determination that I'm going to find you
Speaker 6: after the fact because the player you went to tackle
Speaker 6: didn't stop, and so as he's carrying his momentum to
Speaker 6: try to gain yards after contact, you happen to have
Speaker 6: your body that goes to as backside as you're bringing
Speaker 6: him to the ground. If you want to do that,
Speaker 6: then tell the defensive player, all right, you stop as
Speaker 6: soon as you get you make contact with the defensive player.
Speaker 6: I think it's a little ridiculous, you know, just like
Speaker 6: they're you know, all the other changes that they've made
Speaker 6: in the NFL. They think they're making it to make
Speaker 6: the game safer. That's ridiculous because now you have players
Speaker 6: that may be slowing down because they're already thinking, oh,
Speaker 6: I can't make this a hip drop. Oh I don't
Speaker 6: want to get fined in an enormous amount of money
Speaker 6: and it's like I said, it's a reactionary game, and
Speaker 6: I think it's unfair what you're doing to the game.
Speaker 1: I hope I explained it correctly. It's it's the swiveling
Speaker 1: of the hips. It's dragging down and then if if
Speaker 1: if your legs, ankle, or foot are trapped, that is
Speaker 1: considered you know, so they got to check three boxes.
Speaker 5: Now.
Speaker 1: Coach Iberflus, when we've talked about this in our podcast
Speaker 1: during the season last year, he doesn't coach that his
Speaker 1: is a hamstring tackle. So the ability to attack face
Speaker 1: up and get yourself in a position and staggered feet
Speaker 1: to drive yourself into the ball carrier.
Speaker 5: Uh.
Speaker 1: So that's how he teaches it. He doesn't teach it
Speaker 1: any other way. But yeah, I mean, I didn't play
Speaker 1: the game. So you take, you take.
Speaker 6: We're gonna play hypothetical Jeff and Tom. And hypothetical Jeff
Speaker 6: is his name is Jeff Zonka, and my name is
Speaker 6: Tom Singletary, and Jeff Zonka is carrying the football, and
Speaker 6: I'm in an open field position, and between you and
Speaker 6: the goal line is me, this linebacker. So now as
Speaker 6: you put your head down to gain the extra yards
Speaker 6: after contact, as I absorb that punishing hit by Jeff Zanka,
Speaker 6: my body kind of swings around and I and that's
Speaker 6: the only thing that I'm doing is holding on to
Speaker 6: you for dear life. And then all of a sudden
Speaker 6: you fall forward and my body falls on the back
Speaker 6: of you. So now I'm going to get penalized for
Speaker 6: that instead of saying, okay, Jeff Zanka, don't lower your
Speaker 6: head as soon as you've seen me facing you up,
Speaker 6: and you stop and lay down right there, and then
Speaker 6: we'll do it like rugby. We'll put the ball down
Speaker 6: and go to a scrum. So I'm just yeah, whether
Speaker 6: you teach it or you don't teach it, the instantaneousness
Speaker 6: of contact is unpredictable. So yeah, called me old and
Speaker 6: all that. But you know, Larry's Aunka, Pete Johnson, Tony Dorset,
Speaker 6: Walter Campbell, Earl Campbell, Adrian Peterson, all these types of
Speaker 6: guys that Eric Henry. It's it's an emergency situation when
Speaker 6: you're trying to tackle these guys, even the Barry Sanders.
Speaker 6: You can't stay in a perfect tackling position when you
Speaker 6: tackle Barry Sanders, Walter Payton's gonna drive his helmet right
Speaker 6: into your chest and run you over, just like Earl
Speaker 6: Campbell did in the Highlight against the RAM. So just
Speaker 6: the instantaneousness of football and you're trying to make a
Speaker 6: post you know, a post evaluation of a tackle.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, we went through this discussion when they started
Speaker 1: with the you know, the helmet to helmet and how
Speaker 1: often that happens. And I raised a question to those
Speaker 1: guys yesterday and I said, you know, how many of
Speaker 1: because the running backs could also anybody who initiates contact
Speaker 1: with the crown of their helmet, including a running back
Speaker 1: who's trying to get him maybe into the end zone,
Speaker 1: he lowers his head and it happens to be helmet
Speaker 1: to helmet contact, you could get flagged. And I wondered
Speaker 1: how many running backs And he couldn't answer that question
Speaker 1: because I haven't seen much of it. And but you know,
Speaker 1: he says people have adjusted, and that's the point they
Speaker 1: were trying to make. Is now, they didn't come up
Speaker 1: with this rule. It's the Competition committee, obviously in the
Speaker 1: name of health, and so they've changed, they've altered the
Speaker 1: way this is now being approached, and they haven't seen
Speaker 1: a preponderance of helmet to helmet anymore.
Speaker 6: Well, you know, all these rule changes could be made
Speaker 6: by a guy a lot of guys that have never
Speaker 6: played football before, and it doesn't going to change my mind,
Speaker 6: and I'm going to agree with it. I still think,
Speaker 6: you know, football, like Dicka said, if football is a
Speaker 6: collision sport, it's not a contact sport. And so when
Speaker 6: you challenge the cur the courage and the courageousness of
Speaker 6: all offense and defensive players, sometimes that contact is not pretty,
Speaker 6: but you know, it is what it is, and I
Speaker 6: guess changes will be made. I would be furious, though, Jeff,
Speaker 6: if I got a fine slip. I showed up on
Speaker 6: a Wednesday and I get a fine slip because some
Speaker 6: guy up in the booth determined that I made a
Speaker 6: hip drop tackle.
Speaker 1: Busy Heart Seltzer Flavors for every Vibe, Celebrate Responsibly, Molten
Speaker 1: Course Beverage Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. All right, let's look at
Speaker 1: the Buffalo Bills. I'm not sure who they're going to
Speaker 1: play it again, early taping here before the game, Bears
Speaker 1: leve on Friday, play on Saturday at noon in Orchard Park.
Speaker 1: And the fans, they love it out there. They're crazy fanatics.
Speaker 1: They will be loud and proud even in the preseason game,
Speaker 1: and it'll be fun to see. That's a perennial A
Speaker 1: Division contending team in the AFC East that has not
Speaker 1: been able to get over the hump with the Kansas
Speaker 1: City Chiefs in the AFC and the Baltimore Ravens and
Speaker 1: the AFC, so a tough AFC. You know who the
Speaker 1: premier teams are in that AFC. Throw the Miami Dolphins
Speaker 1: in there as well with their speed at receiver into
Speaker 1: a But how do you feel about playing the Bills?
Speaker 1: And you'll be seeing a lot of Mitch Trubisky, the
Speaker 1: former Bears quarterback.
Speaker 6: You know, they're a premier football team in the AFC,
Speaker 6: considered a real Super Bowl contender with one of the
Speaker 6: top three to five quarterbacks in the NFL and Josh Allen.
Speaker 6: They're on the cusp of building a new stadium. So
Speaker 6: when you're talking about the Buffalo Bills, it's a unique
Speaker 6: atmosphere to go into play. They support their team in
Speaker 6: the preseason as well as the regular season, so when
Speaker 6: you talked about the communication inside the stadium, it's going
Speaker 6: to be more difficult than it was at the Hall
Speaker 6: of Fame. Game or what they faced that practice. There's
Speaker 6: a kind of a coach that may be on the
Speaker 6: hot seat already that these guys better perform, and they
Speaker 6: better perform from the beginning of preseason into the regular season.
Speaker 6: And like you said, it's we don't know who's going
Speaker 6: to play, but I would imagine that they're going to
Speaker 6: have starters that are going to be out there unless
Speaker 6: there's an injury scenario that we're not aware of yet.
Speaker 1: Yeah, they've had to get younger on defense because they
Speaker 1: paid Josh Allen Stefan Diggs is gone. They made a
Speaker 1: trade obviously with the Houston Texans for that, but the
Speaker 1: big safeties that made such a dramatic impact on that
Speaker 1: defense are gone. Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde no longer
Speaker 1: the safety. So younger guys moving up the chain, and
Speaker 1: at some point, when you're paying your quarterback that kind
Speaker 1: of money, that's going to happen. Von Miller trying to
Speaker 1: work himself back after a year last year we played
Speaker 1: eleven games, did not have a sack coming off acl
Speaker 1: the year before.
Speaker 6: Tommy, Yeah, he's one of the guys that I wouldn't
Speaker 6: expect to play if I'm the head coach or if
Speaker 6: I'm the GM of the Buffalo Bills, Von Miller is
Speaker 6: not going to see the field most likely into the
Speaker 6: regular season. However, they have some other pass rushers and
Speaker 6: defensive line I'm in that you have to be concerned about.
Speaker 6: And when you talk about roles changing on a defense,
Speaker 6: you know you're gonna see some guys out there that
Speaker 6: are going to be flying around because they're going to
Speaker 6: be fighting for the respect of their coaches so they
Speaker 6: can climb up that ladder of being considered a starter
Speaker 6: instead of a backup.
Speaker 1: All right, that's going to ramp us up or Brought
Speaker 1: to you by PNC Official Bank of the Bears and
Speaker 1: by Miller Lte Tommy. We'll talk to you next week
Speaker 1: on the podcast, but we'll talk to you Saturday afternoon
Speaker 1: from Buffalo Special. Thanks to you for listening, and please
Speaker 1: subscribe now in the Chicago Bears official app, Apple, Spotify, YouTube,
Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcast and tom homework Assignment.
Speaker 1: Find a way go see episode one of Hard Knocks.
Speaker 6: I'll come over your house. I don't have HBO.
Speaker 5: You're welcome anytime. Thanks for listening to everybody.
Speaker 4: Bear down Less first