WEBVTT - Jerry Azumah talks Devin Hester's impact on the game | Bears Weekly 0:00:00.360 --> 0:00:04.760 Welcome in TOUM Bears Weekly, a Chicago Bears Network production 0:00:05.160 --> 0:00:08.000 download the Chicago Bears Official Act, brought. 0:00:07.800 --> 0:00:10.360 To you by Verizon to follow the team on the go. 0:00:10.680 --> 0:00:14.400 Bears Weekly is brought to you by African Healthcare, Athletico 0:00:14.520 --> 0:00:18.919 Physical Therapy, Beck Revers, cdtling More, Connie's Pizza. 0:00:18.720 --> 0:00:20.960 By Gens Energy and Miller Life. 0:00:21.280 --> 0:00:25.400 Pierre Your hosts Jeff Joniak aka the Mayor of Bearsville 0:00:25.440 --> 0:00:28.440 and his sidekicked Tom the surffask there. 0:00:29.960 --> 0:00:31.200 Pleasant get even everybody. 0:00:31.320 --> 0:00:33.760 Later this evening we find out if the thirty Bears, 0:00:33.800 --> 0:00:36.080 already in Trina, Canton and the Pro Football Hall of 0:00:36.080 --> 0:00:40.839 Fame will become uh well more Company Veterans Committee finalists 0:00:40.840 --> 0:00:45.000 and legendary defensive tackle Steve McMichael return star Devin Hester, 0:00:45.200 --> 0:00:47.040 a Hall of Fame finalist for three years in a row. 0:00:47.120 --> 0:00:49.320 We'll fight out surely if they'll get the gold jackets 0:00:49.360 --> 0:00:52.480 officially and their bronze bus displayed for perpetuity. 0:00:52.520 --> 0:00:53.360 Exciting that ahead. 0:00:53.360 --> 0:00:56.360 Indeed, I'm Jeff Joniack with Super Bowl Bear Tom Thayer 0:00:56.480 --> 0:00:59.320 and thanks to producers Jordan Trudup, Dan Brilli. Also to 0:00:59.400 --> 0:01:02.279 Kevin z Pet of the Spen One thousand Studios, Executive 0:01:02.280 --> 0:01:04.880 producer of the Bears Ready Network as Eric Ostrowski also 0:01:04.959 --> 0:01:07.840 joining us from Vegas after Super Bowl. He's been working 0:01:07.840 --> 0:01:11.080 all week from Serious x MNFL Radio is moving to change. 0:01:11.280 --> 0:01:15.880 Jim Miller time we start with you. Great anticipatory night. 0:01:16.080 --> 0:01:19.000 A lot of rumors out there, obviously, but until we 0:01:19.040 --> 0:01:21.640 hear it for official, I know, as an ex teammate 0:01:21.959 --> 0:01:25.000 of Steve McMichael, for one, and a broadcaster for Devin 0:01:25.080 --> 0:01:27.120 and Julius Peppers for that matter, is. 0:01:27.120 --> 0:01:27.640 A big night. 0:01:28.440 --> 0:01:30.240 Yeah, you know, Jeff, I just wish that we could 0:01:30.319 --> 0:01:34.720 react to the stories because with anticipation of it all happening, 0:01:35.120 --> 0:01:37.360 I'd like to be able to talk honestly about a 0:01:37.400 --> 0:01:40.280 guy that deserves a Hall of Fame. I'm talking about 0:01:40.280 --> 0:01:43.400 a teammate first of all, and Steve McMichael, he deserves 0:01:43.440 --> 0:01:46.200 it on what he was able to accomplish, the impression 0:01:46.240 --> 0:01:49.400 that he left on the league, the improvement that he 0:01:49.400 --> 0:01:52.440 helped his football team when he came aboard the Bears, 0:01:52.920 --> 0:01:56.200 but his commitment of him, his self and his life 0:01:56.600 --> 0:02:01.520 to professional football, and then obviously Devin is a game changer. 0:02:02.040 --> 0:02:05.160 He's left more good memories in our mind and your 0:02:05.240 --> 0:02:08.400 broadcasting voice, and a lot of other guys they have 0:02:08.520 --> 0:02:11.040 along the way, And we all have tons of respect 0:02:11.360 --> 0:02:14.480 for Julius Peppers, what the type of player he was, 0:02:14.520 --> 0:02:18.680 who he was compared to, and his accomplishments and results. 0:02:19.040 --> 0:02:21.280 And Jimmy, you wore the uniform of a bear as well, 0:02:21.360 --> 0:02:23.560 so a lot of pride as well for the charter 0:02:23.600 --> 0:02:26.480 franchise of the National Football League. And I'm certain that 0:02:27.040 --> 0:02:30.880 you long felt that McMichael hester included should have been 0:02:30.880 --> 0:02:32.640 in the Hall of Fame even before this. 0:02:33.400 --> 0:02:36.360 Yes, And you know, I think it is safe to 0:02:36.400 --> 0:02:39.520 say that Mago's getting in. You know, I can pretty 0:02:39.560 --> 0:02:43.120 much say that I know Misty, his wife. I was 0:02:43.120 --> 0:02:45.480 texting back and forth with back and forth with her. 0:02:45.639 --> 0:02:49.680 She's out here in Las Vegas for a reason. Because 0:02:49.760 --> 0:02:52.919 Mango's getting in, and he's well deserved. And Tom can 0:02:52.960 --> 0:02:55.119 talk about him as a teammate more than I can. 0:02:55.200 --> 0:02:58.960 I can only talk as me as a lover of football, 0:02:59.280 --> 0:03:02.040 you know, watching the tenacity that he played with and 0:03:02.040 --> 0:03:05.320 in the fierceness and the competitiveness that he played and 0:03:05.320 --> 0:03:08.120 what he's what he stood for from afar, No time 0:03:08.160 --> 0:03:10.919 can go a lot deeper than that. As for Devin Hester. 0:03:11.639 --> 0:03:13.840 You know, with the current rules in the NFL with 0:03:13.960 --> 0:03:16.840 the kick returns, you know, it's pretty much been eliminated 0:03:17.160 --> 0:03:18.680 with the new rule. We'll have to see what the 0:03:18.760 --> 0:03:20.959 NFL does down with the NFL and the owners meaning 0:03:21.000 --> 0:03:24.519 supposedly they want to implement what is the old XFL 0:03:25.120 --> 0:03:27.720 kick return and how the XFL ran it. But no 0:03:27.760 --> 0:03:30.920 one has done what Devin Hester has done, and I 0:03:30.960 --> 0:03:33.480 think that's what swayed the voters. You know, as for 0:03:33.560 --> 0:03:36.520 right now, he's the number one guy all time. You know, 0:03:36.560 --> 0:03:38.960 you could make an argument why wasn't he a first 0:03:39.000 --> 0:03:41.520 ballot Hall of Famer because he's done more than any 0:03:41.600 --> 0:03:45.560 kick returner has ever done. So that one sounds like 0:03:45.840 --> 0:03:47.680 it's in the books as well. Well. 0:03:47.880 --> 0:03:50.320 I'll say this about calling all those except for one 0:03:50.400 --> 0:03:52.360 with the Atlanta Falcons that put him over the top 0:03:52.400 --> 0:03:56.480 pass Diane Sanders, I haven't seen anything like it to 0:03:56.560 --> 0:03:56.960 have it. 0:03:57.480 --> 0:03:59.960 Repetitively done, and you're you're still kicking too. 0:04:00.280 --> 0:04:02.680 And then for periods of time they weren't kicking to him, 0:04:02.680 --> 0:04:05.840 they were afraid of them, and he was getting frustrated. 0:04:05.880 --> 0:04:09.040 It affected his play in anything else, including a wide 0:04:09.040 --> 0:04:12.200 receiver and the pressure and I just was on with 0:04:12.240 --> 0:04:16.440 the Cap and Waddle on ESPN one thousand and we 0:04:16.800 --> 0:04:19.839 talked about this because I believe that Devin, from the 0:04:19.839 --> 0:04:22.640 time he started playing youth football knew he was going 0:04:22.720 --> 0:04:24.720 to be a Hall of Famer and he charted that 0:04:24.839 --> 0:04:28.520 path long, long time ago because he always knew he 0:04:28.520 --> 0:04:31.480 could do it. And just how he returned the ball, 0:04:31.520 --> 0:04:34.680 the arrogance of which he returned that ball, and the 0:04:34.800 --> 0:04:40.080 confidence and the competitiveness of the opposition, the coaches, the 0:04:40.120 --> 0:04:44.320 special teams, coordinators, the punters, the kickers, Eh. 0:04:44.160 --> 0:04:45.120 Let's give it a shot. 0:04:45.440 --> 0:04:47.880 Maybe you know, maybe we'll make a story out of 0:04:47.960 --> 0:04:50.960 him by not letting him get in the end zone. 0:04:50.960 --> 0:04:53.680 And he proved everybody wrong every step of the way, Tommy, 0:04:53.920 --> 0:04:55.000 every step of the way. 0:04:55.560 --> 0:04:58.400 See, let me ask you something about confidence and arrogance. 0:04:58.920 --> 0:05:01.720 Are you glad that he read turned the one in Atlanta? 0:05:01.839 --> 0:05:07.119 Or else you would have called everyone no, I listen, 0:05:08.360 --> 0:05:11.160 listen me. And Devin wasn't a bear at the time, 0:05:11.279 --> 0:05:15.080 so we never cheered against him. However, if throughout the 0:05:15.120 --> 0:05:18.119 course of your broadcasting career, you could say I called 0:05:18.160 --> 0:05:21.479 every single one of Devon's returns throughout a Hall of 0:05:21.520 --> 0:05:25.200 Fame career. That would be something amazing to say. 0:05:25.160 --> 0:05:27.120 Yeah, no question, you know. Yeah. 0:05:27.160 --> 0:05:31.640 But West Durham, the Atlanta Falcons radio guy, Jimmy he he, 0:05:31.640 --> 0:05:34.919 he did give me a little shout out, like my 0:05:35.000 --> 0:05:38.240 good friend Jeff Joniek would say, Devin Hester, you are ridiculous. 0:05:38.279 --> 0:05:41.200 He said it, so thank you, West Durham. It means 0:05:41.240 --> 0:05:41.520 a lot. 0:05:41.600 --> 0:05:43.840 I you know, you never know who you're gonna call 0:05:43.880 --> 0:05:46.440 in this in this league, right and and he was 0:05:46.520 --> 0:05:49.159 just he just resonated with everybody. And I get more 0:05:49.279 --> 0:05:53.560 questions about where did ridiculous come from even today. Well, 0:05:53.600 --> 0:05:55.680 that's the genesis of that. It was the it was 0:05:55.720 --> 0:05:58.640 the second return against Saint Louis. The Bears were blowing 0:05:58.640 --> 0:06:01.400 out the Rams. They were on side kick and I 0:06:01.440 --> 0:06:05.600 saw the distance between Devin and the nearest approaching defender. 0:06:05.760 --> 0:06:08.680 He blew by him like nothing. I just I just 0:06:08.800 --> 0:06:12.520 lost it. And you can't believe this stuff. I just 0:06:12.640 --> 0:06:13.160 can't believe it. 0:06:13.200 --> 0:06:16.359 Jimmy, Well, it's perfectly framed, and that's what you do 0:06:16.440 --> 0:06:19.560 as a radio guy, and he's framed it perfectly. It's ridiculous. 0:06:19.640 --> 0:06:22.919 What he was doing was it was ridiculous at the 0:06:23.000 --> 0:06:26.400 time of how he was making special teams play to 0:06:26.720 --> 0:06:30.240 another level. I'll never forget the game where Mike Shanahan 0:06:30.400 --> 0:06:33.360 is the head coach of the Washington Redskins at that 0:06:33.440 --> 0:06:37.559 time time formerly the Redskins, i should say, and Keith 0:06:37.600 --> 0:06:40.719 Burns who or not Keith Burns, Keith Butler who was 0:06:40.720 --> 0:06:43.840 their special teams coach, and we had we had played 0:06:43.839 --> 0:06:47.840 together at some at one point, and he became their 0:06:47.839 --> 0:06:52.240 special teams coach and Mike Shanahan challenged him or Keith 0:06:52.240 --> 0:06:55.800 Burns excused me, and there was Mike Shanahan challenged him. 0:06:55.839 --> 0:06:57.800 They kicked to him twice and he had two returns 0:06:57.800 --> 0:07:01.279 in that game, and it basically destroyed the game. White 0:07:01.279 --> 0:07:04.360 coaches would even kick to this guy or challenge him 0:07:04.960 --> 0:07:07.000 is beyond me. And that goes back to the Super 0:07:07.000 --> 0:07:10.400 Bowl against Tony Dundee. If you remember, Peyton Manning was 0:07:10.440 --> 0:07:13.280 screaming on the sideline, who the heck made that call 0:07:13.360 --> 0:07:15.280 to kick to this guy? And it goes back to 0:07:15.320 --> 0:07:19.480 the head coach and Peyton was upset from the first snap, yep. 0:07:19.560 --> 0:07:22.600 And you know what happened after that? Tom Tom smacked 0:07:22.680 --> 0:07:24.880 Jimmy smacked me so hard on the rear end, which 0:07:24.880 --> 0:07:28.360 he used to do before every broadcast early in my career, anyway, 0:07:28.400 --> 0:07:30.800 to make sure I'm ready to go. And it hurt, 0:07:31.280 --> 0:07:33.800 it's stung. You got your mind off the nerves. And 0:07:34.320 --> 0:07:36.240 he turned to me with a finger and my faces 0:07:36.280 --> 0:07:38.680 in the game hasn't even started yet. 0:07:38.680 --> 0:07:39.800 And he was so right. 0:07:40.320 --> 0:07:42.760 And if they just would have continued to run the football, 0:07:42.800 --> 0:07:44.720 we would have been talking about a second Super Bowl 0:07:44.760 --> 0:07:47.520 champion in Chicago. I really believe that. Anyway, we got 0:07:47.520 --> 0:07:49.880 to take a break, boys, sit back. We got some 0:07:50.000 --> 0:07:54.120 time in between. Earlier today we visited with Jim, your 0:07:54.160 --> 0:07:58.080 old teammate, Jerry Azuma for some twenty minutes talking about 0:07:58.080 --> 0:08:01.920 all things. Very lovely man, great player for the Bears. 0:08:01.960 --> 0:08:03.840 We talk with him coming up next here out of 0:08:04.000 --> 0:08:06.000 espon Chicago and the Bears Radio Network. 0:08:06.160 --> 0:08:08.880 This is Bears Weekly with a voice of the Bears 0:08:08.880 --> 0:08:12.120 for twenty three years, Jeff jony Aik on the Bears 0:08:12.320 --> 0:08:15.920 Radio Network. 0:08:16.320 --> 0:08:18.920 Unfortunate Bears Weekly is brought to you by CDW. 0:08:19.040 --> 0:08:19.640 People to get it. 0:08:19.680 --> 0:08:22.360 Welcome back to Bears Weekly, Jeff Joni Aak and Tom Thayer. 0:08:22.800 --> 0:08:25.000 Jim Miller to rejoin the program from the Super Bowl 0:08:25.000 --> 0:08:27.320 in Vegas in just a moment and joining us now 0:08:27.400 --> 0:08:30.600 our good friend, the president of Bears Care, the charitable 0:08:30.680 --> 0:08:32.679 arm of the Chicago Bears. One of the most exciting 0:08:33.160 --> 0:08:36.400 Bears players for a seven year stretch from nineteen ninety 0:08:36.440 --> 0:08:39.480 nine to two thousand and five, the New Hampshire running 0:08:39.480 --> 0:08:42.120 back turned cornerback and Pro Bowl kick return to the 0:08:42.120 --> 0:08:44.760 one and only Jerry Azuma, who still every time I 0:08:44.800 --> 0:08:47.679 see him, is fit to hit, looks like he should 0:08:47.720 --> 0:08:49.640 still be playing. I don't know how you do it. 0:08:49.800 --> 0:08:51.080 What are you thirty five? 0:08:51.280 --> 0:08:52.040 Yeah, something like that. 0:08:52.120 --> 0:08:53.160 Yeah, we'll just stick with that. 0:08:53.640 --> 0:08:56.559 But no, you you have kept yourself in tip top, 0:08:56.920 --> 0:09:01.600 rock solid shape. And is this something of significance in 0:09:01.640 --> 0:09:04.280 your life that you pay attention to every single day? 0:09:04.360 --> 0:09:07.200 Well, I have to you know, you know your body 0:09:07.240 --> 0:09:09.080 starts talking to you, you have to start listening to it, 0:09:09.160 --> 0:09:12.000 especially when you get older. I have a six year 0:09:12.040 --> 0:09:14.160 old and an eight year old, so they basically keep 0:09:14.200 --> 0:09:17.640 me active as much as possible. So it's all about 0:09:17.679 --> 0:09:19.360 them right now, so I have to make sure that 0:09:20.160 --> 0:09:21.520 I'm able to move around for them. 0:09:21.720 --> 0:09:24.680 By the way, I love the names of your children, 0:09:24.760 --> 0:09:29.320 Santiago and Valentino, those guys that either they're movie stars, 0:09:29.559 --> 0:09:33.559 starting quarterbacks, I don't know, but they're gonna be a 0:09:33.600 --> 0:09:37.360 really big right, Like, tell me the genesis of those names. 0:09:38.480 --> 0:09:41.440 So Bianca my wife, she is a Mexican, and we 0:09:41.480 --> 0:09:44.760 wanted to go with a name that just kind of 0:09:45.040 --> 0:09:48.000 was like Spanish influenced because they have a whole bunch 0:09:48.040 --> 0:09:49.480 of African names right behind them. 0:09:49.920 --> 0:09:52.320 So we went with Santiago. 0:09:52.720 --> 0:09:56.400 He was born on Christmas Eve, so a couple hours 0:09:56.480 --> 0:09:59.640 later he would have been Jesus who knows, but we 0:09:59.760 --> 0:10:02.760 went with the saint instead for Santiago. So that's how 0:10:02.800 --> 0:10:04.679 that turned out. And then Valentino was just a name 0:10:04.720 --> 0:10:07.440 that we've always loved and admired, and we went with 0:10:07.480 --> 0:10:08.679 that with our youngest. 0:10:09.840 --> 0:10:10.160 Jerry. 0:10:10.640 --> 0:10:13.240 So you figure where your body's at at this point, 0:10:13.840 --> 0:10:15.920 What is the state of the game in your mind 0:10:16.800 --> 0:10:19.000 of a father for young kids? And I'm going to 0:10:19.040 --> 0:10:21.560 follow up with the question after that, but let's talk 0:10:21.559 --> 0:10:22.520 about that first. 0:10:23.000 --> 0:10:26.280 Yeah, I mean, I get that question asked a lot. 0:10:26.400 --> 0:10:29.040 You know, my kids in the fall, it was the 0:10:29.080 --> 0:10:31.560 first time playing flag football and they absolutely loved it. 0:10:31.600 --> 0:10:33.040 And it was the first time that I. 0:10:32.960 --> 0:10:35.600 Was able to actually throw the ball at them and 0:10:35.840 --> 0:10:37.559 have them catch it in you know, just kind of 0:10:37.600 --> 0:10:39.800 learned the foundation and fundamentals of the game, so. 0:10:40.160 --> 0:10:43.280 They really liked it. I think I grew up in Oklahoma. 0:10:43.880 --> 0:10:47.079 So I grew up in Oklahoma in the late seventies 0:10:47.160 --> 0:10:49.480 early eighties, So football was life and it was all 0:10:49.520 --> 0:10:52.160 about hitting people as hard as you could. It was 0:10:52.200 --> 0:10:55.480 always about being aggressive, you know, the Oklahoma drills and 0:10:55.520 --> 0:10:57.800 things like that. So I learned to hit and be 0:10:57.840 --> 0:11:00.960 aggressive at a very early age. And then now looking 0:11:01.000 --> 0:11:03.000 back at it, and now that I have kids, I'm 0:11:03.040 --> 0:11:05.960 thinking to myself, well, maybe that isn't the direction that 0:11:06.000 --> 0:11:08.120 I necessarily need to go, because you can build a 0:11:08.160 --> 0:11:11.680 strong foundation and really learn the game of football and 0:11:11.760 --> 0:11:15.319 love the game of football without having that physical contact, 0:11:15.520 --> 0:11:18.160 you know. I think flag football builds a strong foundations. 0:11:18.400 --> 0:11:20.240 You can learn the ex's and o's and things like that. 0:11:20.320 --> 0:11:23.640 So I'm more of the standpoint of, you know, learning 0:11:23.640 --> 0:11:25.760 the game and having a lot of fun and running 0:11:25.760 --> 0:11:28.880 around what you can do with flag football without the physicality. 0:11:28.960 --> 0:11:30.360 And then later on, once your. 0:11:30.200 --> 0:11:32.719 Body starts to mature and you feel like you know what, 0:11:32.800 --> 0:11:35.679 you can lace up the cleats and see if you're 0:11:35.679 --> 0:11:37.640 really about that life to take some hits, then we 0:11:37.640 --> 0:11:38.320 can find out. 0:11:38.360 --> 0:11:41.359 So I would say, like you know, junior high high school. 0:11:41.200 --> 0:11:43.000 Is is when you can start put on pads and 0:11:43.280 --> 0:11:45.079 see if you really want that contact. 0:11:46.000 --> 0:11:47.920 Well, you know, you are also a guy that brought 0:11:47.920 --> 0:11:49.880 people out of their seats or made them stay in 0:11:49.920 --> 0:11:52.760 their seats for a part of the return game, and 0:11:52.800 --> 0:11:55.640 I think you kind of forge an opportunity for yourself 0:11:55.679 --> 0:11:58.440 in the NFL through your ability and the return game. 0:11:58.800 --> 0:11:59.920 Yeah, give me. 0:12:00.320 --> 0:12:03.160 Your feelings about the state of the return game in 0:12:03.240 --> 0:12:07.600 today's NFL. Do you want to see it changed and 0:12:07.720 --> 0:12:11.000 stay in as significantly as has been throughout the one 0:12:11.040 --> 0:12:14.000 hundred years of the NFL? Or are you okay with 0:12:14.080 --> 0:12:15.280 the changes that you're seeing. 0:12:15.920 --> 0:12:19.120 Yeah, Well, the return game and special teams has always 0:12:19.120 --> 0:12:22.160 been a dynamic thing in the NFL for a long 0:12:22.200 --> 0:12:24.520 period of time, and I understand. 0:12:24.080 --> 0:12:26.000 The changes that they've made. They've they've made these. 0:12:25.960 --> 0:12:29.720 Changes due to safety and safety concerns and things like that, 0:12:29.800 --> 0:12:32.840 So I understand it. And they made drastic, sweeping changes, 0:12:33.080 --> 0:12:36.240 you know, to kind of push the game forward as 0:12:36.280 --> 0:12:38.959 we now know it and try to get away from, 0:12:39.240 --> 0:12:42.120 you know, the big time collisions with you know, running 0:12:42.160 --> 0:12:44.839 down on kickoff. You know, we have guys like Israel, 0:12:44.880 --> 0:12:47.760 Aadneje who's running down at you know, three hundred pounds, 0:12:47.840 --> 0:12:50.319 running as hass as he can to like knock somebody's 0:12:50.320 --> 0:12:53.600 block off. So I understand getting that part out of 0:12:53.640 --> 0:12:55.120 the game, but they. 0:12:55.000 --> 0:12:57.800 Can't swing it too far because these days, these. 0:12:57.600 --> 0:13:01.800 Games and these plays are extremely dynamic. You're talking about 0:13:01.840 --> 0:13:04.920 a person like Devin Hester, who's hopefully we'll get into 0:13:04.960 --> 0:13:08.840 the Hall of Fame tonight. He basically flipped you know, 0:13:09.160 --> 0:13:12.560 the field position. He changed the whole dynamic of a game. 0:13:12.600 --> 0:13:16.199 He changed game plans, He changed so many different elements 0:13:16.480 --> 0:13:20.440 that the game presented, and I think that I don't 0:13:20.480 --> 0:13:23.120 want to see that go away, and it's it's definitely 0:13:23.240 --> 0:13:23.680 have gone. 0:13:23.720 --> 0:13:24.560 It's gone away. 0:13:25.040 --> 0:13:28.080 And you know, return is the most one of the 0:13:28.080 --> 0:13:31.760 most exciting things to start off a football game. Returns 0:13:31.760 --> 0:13:34.160 are extremely exciting because if you have a person like 0:13:34.200 --> 0:13:36.840 a Devin Hester or a Johnny Knox, or Glenn Milburn 0:13:36.960 --> 0:13:39.040 or Daniel Manning, you know, the list goes on and 0:13:39.080 --> 0:13:42.440 on and on. These guys can really do incredible things 0:13:42.480 --> 0:13:43.880 just off of one play. 0:13:44.400 --> 0:13:49.319 So I think the NFL is they have their. 0:13:49.120 --> 0:13:51.920 Concerns, and I understand their concerns, but I just don't 0:13:51.920 --> 0:13:56.000 want to see them eliminate, you know, special teams return plays. 0:13:56.040 --> 0:13:59.240 Former Bears cornerback kick return star Pro bowler Jerry Azuma 0:13:59.280 --> 0:14:01.520 with ushign Bears Weekly, Jeff and Tom with you here 0:14:01.559 --> 0:14:03.920 on the ESPN one thousand of the Bears Radio Network. 0:14:04.000 --> 0:14:06.960 So to that point, a couple of things. One back 0:14:07.000 --> 0:14:08.640 to the flag football and then we'll get back into 0:14:08.640 --> 0:14:11.800 the kick return thing. I heard a quote from Brock Perty, 0:14:11.840 --> 0:14:14.440 the starting quarterback for Sunday Super Bowl for the forty 0:14:14.520 --> 0:14:15.120 nine ers, and my. 0:14:15.320 --> 0:14:18.120 Fellow Iowa State alum loved that guy. 0:14:18.720 --> 0:14:23.240 He started playing flag football at twelve, and he said, hey, 0:14:23.560 --> 0:14:27.120 it was a quicker game my decision making process I 0:14:27.200 --> 0:14:29.960 had to think quickly, and that's kind of transferred over 0:14:30.000 --> 0:14:31.840 to him as a quick thinking quarterback. I thought that 0:14:31.920 --> 0:14:34.640 was an interesting statement about you know, because flag football 0:14:34.680 --> 0:14:34.960 is going. 0:14:34.880 --> 0:14:35.720 To be an Olympic sport. 0:14:35.840 --> 0:14:36.200 It is. 0:14:36.320 --> 0:14:41.240 It's mushrooming, no question about it, and it's including girls 0:14:41.240 --> 0:14:43.320 and women. So I think it's fantastic for the sport 0:14:43.320 --> 0:14:45.760 of football in general because the game's always under attack. 0:14:45.840 --> 0:14:47.760 So that's just my statement about that. 0:14:48.560 --> 0:14:51.400 Okay, So looking back at your career as a kick returner, 0:14:51.680 --> 0:14:54.000 a couple of seasons you had over forty returns. 0:14:54.320 --> 0:14:56.960 The average number of returns this year for an NFL 0:14:57.000 --> 0:14:57.800 team was eighteen. 0:14:58.560 --> 0:14:58.960 That's it. 0:15:00.000 --> 0:15:03.680 The Rams had nine returns. So you've eliminated the third 0:15:03.680 --> 0:15:05.560 phase of the game. Because on top of that, the 0:15:05.640 --> 0:15:08.320 punt return game, Zoom and Tom. 0:15:08.440 --> 0:15:09.720 The kickers have become. 0:15:09.640 --> 0:15:14.320 So so good athletic, big legs. They're either kicking it 0:15:14.360 --> 0:15:16.400 out of bounds or really a lot of hang time 0:15:16.480 --> 0:15:20.040 for fair catches. And so to me, the more dangerous 0:15:20.120 --> 0:15:22.080 of the two. And I didn't play the game, so 0:15:22.400 --> 0:15:25.320 maybe I'm speaking too much here would be the punt return. 0:15:25.320 --> 0:15:27.520 You look what happened at Tarik Cohen shortly after he 0:15:28.280 --> 0:15:31.240 signed his long term contract, gets jumbled up there and 0:15:31.400 --> 0:15:33.080 suffers a serious injury that he's. 0:15:32.920 --> 0:15:34.400 Still coming back from. 0:15:34.640 --> 0:15:37.440 But they have to they have to find a way 0:15:37.640 --> 0:15:40.200 to keep that excite, inciting element in the game. 0:15:40.240 --> 0:15:41.200 It's a football play. 0:15:41.640 --> 0:15:44.120 And you know, you suffered some injuries though, and I 0:15:44.120 --> 0:15:47.280 don't know, I can't recall you had a pair of 0:15:47.360 --> 0:15:50.280 neck injuries, you had a hip problem. Was it more 0:15:50.320 --> 0:15:52.720 from playing corner or was it more from the return game. 0:15:53.640 --> 0:15:56.000 I just think it was just from playing football. You know, 0:15:57.400 --> 0:15:59.840 you know, I spent a lifetime playing football, and people 0:15:59.840 --> 0:16:03.080 are like, you played seven years in the NFL, you know, 0:16:03.360 --> 0:16:06.880 relatively short career, and you know, why did you retire 0:16:06.920 --> 0:16:09.080 so early? And I was like, well, actually, you know, 0:16:09.120 --> 0:16:11.560 I started playing football at the age of six, you know, 0:16:11.600 --> 0:16:13.800 and I played till you know, twenty eight, twenty nine 0:16:13.880 --> 0:16:14.240 years old. 0:16:14.320 --> 0:16:15.560 So that's a lot of. 0:16:15.520 --> 0:16:19.760 Time of you know, pounding my body and really playing 0:16:19.760 --> 0:16:23.320 football and really getting after it, mixing up, mixing up 0:16:23.320 --> 0:16:26.080 myself with football. So it was a lot of a 0:16:26.120 --> 0:16:30.280 lot of time between starting and loving football at the 0:16:30.280 --> 0:16:33.040 age of six or early age, going all the way through, 0:16:33.400 --> 0:16:35.120 you know, my professional football career. 0:16:35.240 --> 0:16:39.160 So injuries do happen. This is the game of football, 0:16:39.240 --> 0:16:39.480 you know. 0:16:39.560 --> 0:16:41.800 And I understand what the NFL is trying to do 0:16:41.840 --> 0:16:44.480 with slow down injuries and prevent them as much as possible. 0:16:44.520 --> 0:16:47.360 But at the same time, I'm about the integrity of 0:16:47.400 --> 0:16:49.240 the football game as well, and I feel like the 0:16:49.640 --> 0:16:52.520 integrity of the game is really taking a hit at 0:16:52.520 --> 0:16:53.920 this point. 0:16:54.160 --> 0:16:55.800 I feel like, you know, the. 0:16:55.880 --> 0:16:59.400 League is leaning towards protecting certain some people and not 0:16:59.440 --> 0:17:03.040 necessarily protecting all people. And that's a bigger conversation that 0:17:03.080 --> 0:17:05.960 we can get into. But I just think just looking 0:17:06.000 --> 0:17:08.840 at it, I just think that you know, it's still football, 0:17:08.920 --> 0:17:11.280 and there should still be some type of integrity that's 0:17:11.280 --> 0:17:14.600 still in place. And at the same time, you do 0:17:14.720 --> 0:17:17.399 have to be mindful of like the egregious you know, 0:17:17.560 --> 0:17:20.720 for example, head shots or next shots. I mean, I 0:17:20.760 --> 0:17:24.520 think that we all know what those egregious headshots look like. 0:17:24.640 --> 0:17:28.200 But you know, sliding last minute and then getting hit, 0:17:28.359 --> 0:17:30.439 you know what I'm saying, It doesn't really feel like 0:17:30.720 --> 0:17:34.200 the egregious headshot or the unnecessary roughness, or taking a 0:17:34.280 --> 0:17:36.800 quarterback down even if he's off balance and then trying 0:17:36.800 --> 0:17:39.720 to race yourself so that you don't land fully on him. 0:17:39.760 --> 0:17:43.600 You know, like there's a lot of little situations that 0:17:43.720 --> 0:17:44.400 happen that. 0:17:44.520 --> 0:17:45.719 We have to be mindful of. 0:17:45.920 --> 0:17:48.199 And I think that the NFL is doing all that 0:17:48.200 --> 0:17:50.840 they can to protect people, but at the same time, 0:17:50.880 --> 0:17:53.040 they're losing a lot of the integrity of the football game. 0:17:53.600 --> 0:17:55.840 Jerry, you look at the two way player that Dion 0:17:55.960 --> 0:17:58.720 Sanders has in Colorado, then you have to think of 0:17:58.760 --> 0:18:01.760 some of the untapped potential of a guy like Devin Hester. 0:18:02.440 --> 0:18:05.040 But I remember during your career, I used to sit 0:18:05.080 --> 0:18:08.359 with Jay Hilgenberg, and he would sit there and say, 0:18:08.480 --> 0:18:10.919 week in a week out, one of the best running 0:18:10.920 --> 0:18:13.560 backs on the Chicago Bears is Jerry Azuma. 0:18:14.520 --> 0:18:15.760 When you think about. 0:18:15.440 --> 0:18:17.720 The game and where it's at now and the potential 0:18:17.800 --> 0:18:21.440 you had back then, could we have seen Jerry Azuma 0:18:21.760 --> 0:18:25.160 and the backfield as a running back on an NFL level? 0:18:25.880 --> 0:18:30.880 Well, absolutely, Tom, Absolutely, you know I'm going to say 0:18:30.920 --> 0:18:31.280 yes to that. 0:18:33.000 --> 0:18:34.680 Growing up, I've always. 0:18:34.359 --> 0:18:36.000 Been a running back, and I've always been on the 0:18:36.040 --> 0:18:36.840 offensive side. 0:18:36.640 --> 0:18:37.240 Of the football. 0:18:38.119 --> 0:18:41.719 I've watched Walter Payton in my days in Oklahoma, and 0:18:41.760 --> 0:18:43.600 that's who I try to be. I try to be 0:18:43.640 --> 0:18:45.520 a running back and I try to beat Walter Payton. 0:18:45.640 --> 0:18:49.399 So conceded on being a running back through high school, 0:18:49.520 --> 0:18:51.560 through college, and then when I got to the pros, 0:18:51.800 --> 0:18:55.040 you know, I started running backwards, which was completely different 0:18:55.080 --> 0:18:57.159 and very different than what I was used to. So 0:18:58.119 --> 0:19:01.399