Speaker 1: The following is a presentation of the Chicago Bears Network
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Speaker 1: day and now welcome to Bears All Access. You're All
Speaker 1: Access passing to Chicago Bears football. Bears All Access is
Speaker 1: brought to you by IGS Energy and sponsored by Athletical
Speaker 1: Physical Therapy and CDW. How are we doing tonight, everybody,
Speaker 1: and welcome into this week's abbreviated version of Bears All Access,
Speaker 1: just about forty minutes before we hand it off to
Speaker 1: Bulls basketball in their season opener against Atlanta. I'm Jeff
Speaker 1: Johnny ac along but broadcast partner top there, Tom Good evening.
Speaker 1: How you feeling, big, Jeff? You know, I'm excited about football,
Speaker 1: and it's kind of weird to say, because at the
Speaker 1: start of the season we hope, we think we get
Speaker 1: this far. But now the Bears that have gotten this
Speaker 1: far and they in the horizon in their sites, there's
Speaker 1: a possible playoff opportunity going out there for them, and
Speaker 1: we'll discuss all of that with Jacksonville's senior reporter JP Shadrick.
Speaker 1: He'll be calling in here and momentarily at six ten
Speaker 1: and then joined by a red hot kicker and Cairo
Speaker 1: Santos at six thirty, and then we'll hear from some
Speaker 1: other news of the day and we'll get right to that. Actually,
Speaker 1: because the Bears did have a walk through today, Tommy,
Speaker 1: and thanks again to our producer tonight, Jordan Malley at
Speaker 1: the score and Jordan Tredup and Dan burreally from the Bears.
Speaker 1: So walk through today, keeping fresh, keeping fresh. Plenty of
Speaker 1: work to get done over the next couple of days,
Speaker 1: but wanted to keep them fresh today and I had
Speaker 1: no problem with that. Just getting these guys right. No
Speaker 1: Dan Bush again, Jalen Johnson or Buster screen in that
Speaker 1: secondary Tommy foot shouldering concussion protocol issues. Yeah, but you know, mentally,
Speaker 1: the information they're able to supply to everybody, whether you're
Speaker 1: not going through the walk through or you're on the sideline,
Speaker 1: you still have to absorb all the information because this
Speaker 1: is not an opponent that you or I or they
Speaker 1: see very often. So it's not like you have a
Speaker 1: great deal you know, of conference experience against these guys,
Speaker 1: or you see them multiple times a year just because
Speaker 1: of watching video. It's something where you almost have to
Speaker 1: become familiar with the roster because a lot of us
Speaker 1: don't know a lot about them. Wow, certainly on the
Speaker 1: defensive side of the ball. They've had some injuries obviously,
Speaker 1: and some players that they've cleaned out of there over
Speaker 1: the years, So the big names are not here. They
Speaker 1: do have some good linebackers. We'll talk about those guys
Speaker 1: later on. But you know, as we continue to grind
Speaker 1: on these guys, there's so many names that frankly, I've
Speaker 1: never even heard of, a lot of undrafted rookie free agents,
Speaker 1: a lot of undrafted players and guys that have found
Speaker 1: their way to Jacksonville. And the end result right now
Speaker 1: is a one in thirteen outfit has last thirteen in
Speaker 1: a row, but played six games decided by a touchdown
Speaker 1: or less. Timmy, and that's been the hook all week,
Speaker 1: from the time the coaches Show started on Monday night
Speaker 1: or at the podium after the win over the Bikings,
Speaker 1: was let's focus. I'm making sure we take this team
Speaker 1: seriously because you've watched the tape. I've watched some of
Speaker 1: the tape. They do play hard, they do. You know,
Speaker 1: it's really interesting because when their last week's game against Baltimore.
Speaker 1: They gave up a safety early. They had a really
Speaker 1: bad series, bad field position that really, you know, haunted them.
Speaker 1: But then they come out in the fourth play the
Speaker 1: game man, they were going for it all. They were
Speaker 1: going for a double bomb on each side of both
Speaker 1: the receivers, but at the drop of the quarterback Minshew,
Speaker 1: he slipped and it just combabulated the entire play. So
Speaker 1: even though they had a bad start, as soon as
Speaker 1: they came back on the field, they looked right to
Speaker 1: attack you and they had it. But if the quarterbacks
Speaker 1: slipped and they prevented him from throwing the ball, so
Speaker 1: you know they're ready to attack if they have a setback.
Speaker 1: I think the one thing we can counted, they're gonna
Speaker 1: try to establish the run. James Robinson, the kid out
Speaker 1: of Rockford Lutheran High School who tore it up here
Speaker 1: in the state of Illinois with record setting high school
Speaker 1: performance and outstanding all time rushing leader at Illinois State
Speaker 1: with forty four hundred and forty four yards and forty
Speaker 1: four touchdowns. Believe it or not that that's a true
Speaker 1: stat line there, and he's picked up right as an
Speaker 1: undrafted rookie, tearing it up he's got thirteen hundred plush
Speaker 1: yards from scrimmin Now he's got a bum ankle, has
Speaker 1: had a sore knee. Not likely going to practice this week,
Speaker 1: but they think he's gonna play Sunday. And why not.
Speaker 1: It's against his boyhood Idols, the Chicago Bears. You know,
Speaker 1: all these guys that are invited to the combine and
Speaker 1: they have all these numbers and you all of a sudden,
Speaker 1: they pass the eye test because there's a certain height
Speaker 1: and there's a certain weight. You can never put an
Speaker 1: X ray of their heart. And when we look at
Speaker 1: some of these players that have gone unnoticed, Darnell Mooney
Speaker 1: for example, some of these guys that are drafted later
Speaker 1: or they become free agents, that's the thing that you
Speaker 1: can never measure on them. Their work, discipline, the effort
Speaker 1: they're giving when they're tired, and the heart, the heart
Speaker 1: they have. Well, how about Blown Nichols, because this is
Speaker 1: the man's really risen, you could say on defense. It's
Speaker 1: arguably the guy that's been the biggest improvement, and he
Speaker 1: speaks about that today. What's inside his heart? Well, pretty much,
Speaker 1: my whole life has been like an underdog type thing.
Speaker 1: You know, I've never been the highest recruited guy, never
Speaker 1: had the most offers, never been a guy really looked
Speaker 1: at to be that guy, and uh, you know, and
Speaker 1: that and that burnt me, and that added a lot
Speaker 1: of fire into me, and it just made me want
Speaker 1: to outwork everybody. I always told myself, like, if a
Speaker 1: guy was better than me, it was just gonna be
Speaker 1: because he was more talented, not because he outworked me.
Speaker 1: And that's kind of the mindset I lived by. And
Speaker 1: this off season, I just grinded. I didn't have a
Speaker 1: year I wanted to have last year though, with injuries,
Speaker 1: So I just grinded, grinded, grinded, and I kept my
Speaker 1: head down and I went no matter the circumstances, whether
Speaker 1: it was a pandemic or whatever, I was gonna find
Speaker 1: a way to make things happen. And uh, you know,
Speaker 1: I think all that you know comes in and that's
Speaker 1: that's really the reason why I'm able to play at
Speaker 1: a high level right now. I didn't cheat the grind.
Speaker 1: I didn't cheat myself in the off season. And I
Speaker 1: think it's starting to show. And he's a listener. Tommy
Speaker 1: listens to a key Mat Hicks. He's put him under
Speaker 1: his arm and ushered him through his first three years
Speaker 1: and the moment he got here and he listens and
Speaker 1: he's coachable, and both Mac and Hicks have talked about
Speaker 1: that today. Very significant upgrade this season for belom Nichols. Well,
Speaker 1: you know Jeff early in his career, when he first
Speaker 1: came on the scene of training camp, you and I
Speaker 1: were standing out at practice one day and we said, Wow,
Speaker 1: this guy's got traits to be a good defensive lineman.
Speaker 1: And if everything you know adds up over the next
Speaker 1: couple of years, it has added up his dedication, his
Speaker 1: work ethic, his information, his listening, his style, his change
Speaker 1: of ability from inside to outside, and his versatility. So
Speaker 1: it's something you recognize. But then on the other hand,
Speaker 1: he say, man, well this pan out over the next
Speaker 1: couple of years, And it's panning out and he's only
Speaker 1: scratching the surface. Ultimately, what is going to be five sacks,
Speaker 1: third on the team and quarterback hits and second in
Speaker 1: tackles for loss. So he's had a great year. He
Speaker 1: helped to continues it against this Jacksonville team. We're gonna
Speaker 1: find out shortly from Jacksonville's writer Senior writer J. P.
Speaker 1: Shadrick will join the program. Find out who my quarterback
Speaker 1: this game. I mean, I'm expecting Minshew, Bopus Minshew. You know,
Speaker 1: the idea that he's thrown out there is that they're
Speaker 1: gonna split first team reps with Mike Glennon's that's the
Speaker 1: word from the head coach. Yeah, but you know, Minhi
Speaker 1: was like the poor man Baker Mayfield because he's really
Speaker 1: excited about being the quarterback in Jacksonville. He loves playing
Speaker 1: the sport. He brings a lot of enthusiasm out there,
Speaker 1: and he may be taking a beating against Baltimore last week,
Speaker 1: but he answered the bell and he stood in there,
Speaker 1: So you know, I have respect for him because he
Speaker 1: is a guy that first bus on the scene in
Speaker 1: Jacksonville and said that, look, I want to be here.
Speaker 1: I want to be this quarterback. Cordarell Patterson did not
Speaker 1: practice today either, he Keem Hicks. I fully expect both
Speaker 1: those guys to play. Cordarell didn't get a lot of
Speaker 1: offensive snaps after suffering a bit of a tweak to
Speaker 1: his knee, but he did continue returning kicks. Yeah, you know,
Speaker 1: he tweaked it on his knee after he caught an
Speaker 1: outlet pass to the left. You see him go for
Speaker 1: it in the game, but he did, he came back,
Speaker 1: he played all right, We're gonna take our first break
Speaker 1: tonight here on Bears All Access. We're brought to you
Speaker 1: by IGS Energy with Tom there, Jeff Joniac coming up next,
Speaker 1: j P. Shadrick get an insight on the Jacksonville Jaguars
Speaker 1: on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The Score. Welcome back
Speaker 1: to Bears All Access, brought to you by IGS Energy.
Speaker 1: Choose clean energy for your home at ags dot com
Speaker 1: because every good choice adds up to a better world.
Speaker 1: Jeff Joniac top there, back with you, along with our
Speaker 1: special guest, Senior reporter for the Jacksonville Jaguars, JP Chadrick
Speaker 1: will join us now and JP, are you doing tonight?
Speaker 1: How things going? Because I'll tell you what. While there's
Speaker 1: fifty three guys plus in that locker room and a
Speaker 1: head coaching staff, and all want to win this game
Speaker 1: and put their best foot forward. All I've been just
Speaker 1: dabbling a little bit listening to Jacksonville radio and podcasts
Speaker 1: in the last couple of days. They don't want to win,
Speaker 1: They just they just want the number one pick. So
Speaker 1: how does that work in that locker room. It's a
Speaker 1: seed man. I'll say that. Thanks for having me on, guys,
Speaker 1: it's great to be with you. And it is total
Speaker 1: opposite mindsets. Right. The fan base has never had a
Speaker 1: number one overall draft pick in Jacksonville's history since nineteen
Speaker 1: ninety five. They've had a number two pick a few times,
Speaker 1: but they've never really been in that position with that
Speaker 1: pick to get a quarterback that they feel like can
Speaker 1: be the face of the franchise for ten or fifteen years. Now.
Speaker 1: You can argue also they've missed on not picking guys eighth, ninth,
Speaker 1: tenth in the draft that ended up being those guys.
Speaker 1: That's another story altogether. So the fans see this in
Speaker 1: their hands for the first time ever and they're like, oh,
Speaker 1: we're gonna do anything we can to secure this for
Speaker 1: the next two weeks. But as you guys know, that's
Speaker 1: not how the NFL mindset works. Coaches don't care about
Speaker 1: that because they might not be here next year. Players
Speaker 1: don't care about that because with a new regime, a
Speaker 1: GM change already and possibly a coaching change, all their
Speaker 1: jobs are on the table as well. So the better,
Speaker 1: the better take you put out the last two weeks,
Speaker 1: the better for the player obviously, and then they're wired
Speaker 1: to win games. I know they've lost thirteenth straight, but
Speaker 1: they're not just going to lay down the problem. The
Speaker 1: problem they have, though, is that they might just not
Speaker 1: be good enough. And if we haven't figured that out
Speaker 1: by thirteen in a row, you might find it out
Speaker 1: this week. Hey, JP, real quick on the quarterback situation,
Speaker 1: because your head coach today saying that he's going to
Speaker 1: share first team snaps this week and decide is this
Speaker 1: a bit of gamesmanship or is there a possibility that
Speaker 1: Glennon could be the starter over Gardner Minshew. I you know,
Speaker 1: it's interesting. I never have heard of a quarterback competition
Speaker 1: on a one and thirteen team in week sixteen. I'll
Speaker 1: be honest with you. That's the first, believe for ten years,
Speaker 1: ten years, I've never heard of that. But I think
Speaker 1: it's fairly real. I think there's a shot Lennon could play.
Speaker 1: It's really a matter. I think it comes down to tomorrow.
Speaker 1: Today it was more of a walk through day. Tomorrow
Speaker 1: will be there a big installed day and Scott team
Speaker 1: and all that stuff will happen tomorrow, and I think
Speaker 1: the guy who has to better Rench tomorrow will probably
Speaker 1: have the advantage going in well, they're off Friday, have
Speaker 1: the advantage going into Saturday's final practice before the game
Speaker 1: on Sunday. I don't you know, if I were to
Speaker 1: put odds on it, I think it's probably sixty forty
Speaker 1: in favor of Gardner going into the week, and then
Speaker 1: we'll see how they play. But I don't think it's
Speaker 1: that long of a shot for Glenna to get a
Speaker 1: chance against his old team this week. Hey, JP, to
Speaker 1: talk a little bit about the future of Jacksonville and
Speaker 1: when you think about the idea playoffs being at the
Speaker 1: end of the rainbow for these guys eventually, and then
Speaker 1: you look at the draft position they're in. If they
Speaker 1: go out there and they bring in a quarterback and
Speaker 1: they have a horrible offensive line, there's very little chance
Speaker 1: of him developing and there's a chance of him getting hurt.
Speaker 1: When you go back and you look at what a
Speaker 1: dominant ten twelve year left tackle and the center. You know,
Speaker 1: to me, I was talking about this early, the best
Speaker 1: offensive lines I've seen is a dominant left tackle in
Speaker 1: a really, really good center. So when you look about
Speaker 1: the reality of developing this football team that could bring
Speaker 1: in a new quarterback and have and be healthy at
Speaker 1: the end of the year. Ie Joe Burrow, is it?
Speaker 1: I mean, has everybody guaranteed it's a foregone conclusion if
Speaker 1: they lose the next two games that they're going with
Speaker 1: Lawrence and there's going to be no other possibility of
Speaker 1: scouting investigation. Well, I think you go. Look, you do
Speaker 1: your due dilligence, But at the end of the day,
Speaker 1: if you had the number one pick and the best
Speaker 1: quarterback to come out, since Andrew Luck is there and
Speaker 1: he checks all the boxes on and off the field,
Speaker 1: I don't care who the GM ends up being because
Speaker 1: they're still interviewing people. You're probably gonna go pick that guy, now,
Speaker 1: I'm with you. Asked the Indianapolis Colts what they think
Speaker 1: about what happened to Andrew Luck. They didn't protect him
Speaker 1: properly over the years there, and it built up over
Speaker 1: the years where he was just tired of play it.
Speaker 1: He was tired of getting beat up all the time.
Speaker 1: So you get the quarterback because it's so difficult to
Speaker 1: get that piece, as you and Chicago, No, it's very
Speaker 1: difficult to get that piece and have him there, but
Speaker 1: you're far from done at that point. It starts after
Speaker 1: that with the left tackle, with the interior of the
Speaker 1: offensive line. Then you can start building on the defense.
Speaker 1: I think this is where the building of the Jaguars
Speaker 1: over the last years has, you know, maybe gone opposite
Speaker 1: of where the league has gone. They built a great
Speaker 1: defense in twenty seventeen, one of the all time greats
Speaker 1: in this franchise's history made a playoff run because Blake
Speaker 1: Portles played out of his mind and they could run
Speaker 1: the football. Well, that doesn't play for the long term,
Speaker 1: especially when you're paying free agent guys on defense. So
Speaker 1: now that you know you got to keep up and
Speaker 1: score with people, you got to score with people, and
Speaker 1: you have to score in this division especially, and they
Speaker 1: have not been able to put that together. So I
Speaker 1: think the next rebuild, which is coming very soon, I think,
Speaker 1: you know, especially if it's the number one pick, you
Speaker 1: get the trigger, the trigger man at that offense, and
Speaker 1: then you build around that, keep him healthy, get some
Speaker 1: weapons out there, which they feel they have some base weapons,
Speaker 1: and then you have something going and then you can
Speaker 1: really build on the defensive side of making a complete team.
Speaker 1: But if you have a chance to get that quarterback.
Speaker 1: You can do all the due diligence you want, guys,
Speaker 1: but Trevor will be coming a Jacksonville in my opinion.
Speaker 1: All right, So, how do you guys create a culture
Speaker 1: in Jacksonville that when you do bring on these other
Speaker 1: free agents and these other elements that they don't want
Speaker 1: to pull the rip cord and try to get out
Speaker 1: of there within a year or two years. What do
Speaker 1: you think is the most important culture builder that's gonna
Speaker 1: create that atmosphere around Jacksonville. It's a great question because
Speaker 1: they've they've had so many changes in the last few
Speaker 1: years around here since that twenty seventeen team that we
Speaker 1: just talked about, right, and a lot of those guys
Speaker 1: that were on that team were part of the group
Speaker 1: that either wanted to get out of here found a
Speaker 1: way out. Well. Remember twenty seventeen, Tom Coughlin took over
Speaker 1: as the executive vice president of football operations on top
Speaker 1: of the GM and the head coach. They both reported
Speaker 1: to Coughlin. But Coughlin has a totally old school approach
Speaker 1: to player personnel issues and roster management and things of
Speaker 1: that nature, and it just didn't rub right with the
Speaker 1: players union a lot of times. The fine system had
Speaker 1: some issues here. Well, that got removed from the building,
Speaker 1: so Coughlin was gone. They tried this year to just
Speaker 1: have Dave called Well the general manager, and then Doug
Speaker 1: Marrone both report to the owner directly. That didn't work
Speaker 1: out all the while. You can get away with that
Speaker 1: some of that stuff if you're winning football games, right,
Speaker 1: if you have a good enough roster to win you know,
Speaker 1: seven eight nine games, you're flirting with the playoffs, and
Speaker 1: that you know, it's the best deodorant. I think it's
Speaker 1: John Madden used to say. But they haven't won them.
Speaker 1: I mean, losing so many games right now, and there's
Speaker 1: just really no hope. And they were, in my opinion,
Speaker 1: a lot of that stuff happened because they were paying
Speaker 1: out big contracts to some players that you can argue
Speaker 1: probably didn't deserve it that early. Blake Mortle's got a
Speaker 1: second deal here somehow, Yes, who did? Miles Jack got
Speaker 1: his deal early. Good football player playing at a Pro
Speaker 1: Bowl level this year, but he got it a little early.
Speaker 1: And a guy like Unike and Goqua who was putting
Speaker 1: up sack numbers and sack fumble numbers and impact plays
Speaker 1: on defense. Couldn't you know, get a sniff or anything
Speaker 1: like that. And Jalen Ramsey wasn't getting his in time
Speaker 1: though it was going to come at some point. Those
Speaker 1: guys got restless. So winning games, paying the right guys,
Speaker 1: setting a culture of winning, and we're all about football only.
Speaker 1: I think there was a little bit of that down
Speaker 1: here too. And it's all it's a lot of us
Speaker 1: been washed away already. There's probably some more change coming
Speaker 1: on the horizon, all right, JP, I wanted to get
Speaker 1: in to ask you about James Robinson real quick, a
Speaker 1: local guy here, but we are out of time, so
Speaker 1: we gotta we just trust you. That's he's a fiery
Speaker 1: guy that got overlooked in the draft, so we're happy
Speaker 1: for his success. Thank you so much for joining us.
Speaker 1: Happy holiday's, Merry Christmas to you and your family, and
Speaker 1: good luck with the with the grind here. Appreciate you guys.
Speaker 1: And yeah, quickly, Robinson did not practice today. I would
Speaker 1: expecting to play Sunday. Thanks for having me, guys, Thanks right,
Speaker 1: thank you. J P. Shadrick Jacksonville Jaguar senior reporter. Let's
Speaker 1: take a break. This is Chicago Sports Radio six seventy
Speaker 1: the score. Welcome back, everybody to Bears aut Access is
Speaker 1: brought to you by IGS Energy, Jeff Jonny Akin, Tom Bear.
Speaker 1: This segment of Bears aut Access is brought to you
Speaker 1: by Microsoft Surface and CDW. People'll get it learn more
Speaker 1: at CDW dot com. We are going to be listening
Speaker 1: to the sounds of Cairo Santos coming up at the
Speaker 1: bottom of the hour before we do that. Though, Matt
Speaker 1: nag he pretty ticked off today, Tommy, how that role
Speaker 1: Quant Smith got a Pro Bowl snub? You want to
Speaker 1: really know my reaction, I'm not going to give you
Speaker 1: my real reaction. I'm just not going to I'll just
Speaker 1: leave it at that. This guy leads the NFL in
Speaker 1: solo tackles, and he leads linebackers and tackles for loss.
Speaker 1: I don't think anything else has to be said. I
Speaker 1: could go on and on about that one. I'm gonna
Speaker 1: leave it just at that. I think it's it's that
Speaker 1: this guy is an absolute stud and for him to
Speaker 1: be left off is just just simply not right. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's pretty embarrassing that he's not on all the Pro
Speaker 1: Bowl team, But you know what, the Pro Bowl is
Speaker 1: kind of nonsense, because half of those guys would be
Speaker 1: opting out if they had to go in the Pro
Speaker 1: Bowl and play anyways, and then roll Kuan Smith would
Speaker 1: eventually make it up onto the Pro Bowl team. But
Speaker 1: it's about All Pro and I still think ro Quan
Speaker 1: Smith deserves to be named All Pro. And I think
Speaker 1: that's the highest altar now days that you can stand
Speaker 1: on in terms of teams season a postseason awards, because
Speaker 1: when you're playing at a Pro Bowl level, it's different
Speaker 1: than playing in first, second, third year All Pro or
Speaker 1: Pro Bowl level. All Pro is what you want to do. Right,
Speaker 1: There's only two inside linebackers on the NFC rosters for
Speaker 1: the Pro Bowl, so it's Bobby Wagner and Fred Warner.
Speaker 1: Fred Warner an outstanding player with forty nine ers. Really really,
Speaker 1: he's he's serious. And Wagner has had a great reputation
Speaker 1: obviously in Seattle. But you can make a case, strong,
Speaker 1: strong case for you just indicted everybody. Wagner's got a
Speaker 1: strong reputation. Groquan Smith is showing a new level of
Speaker 1: linebacker play from covering backs out of the backfield, tight
Speaker 1: ends off the line of scrimmage, He's blitzing he's got
Speaker 1: tackles for loss. He's leading the NFL into end tackle
Speaker 1: and solo tackles. So I mean there's a he's got
Speaker 1: the list of credentials to make it to the Pro Bowl, right,
Speaker 1: And you know it's not only that, just the way
Speaker 1: he's leading. You know, he's running the show. He has
Speaker 1: made a big advancement in that regard. A couple of
Speaker 1: young players to keep an eye on, in that regard
Speaker 1: as their leadership abilities that started in college and knew
Speaker 1: that they would have an opportunity to open that umbrella
Speaker 1: here at the NFL level. He's one of them, and
Speaker 1: so is David Montgomery. We're gonna take another break. When
Speaker 1: we come back, we'll be joined by Bears kicker Cairo Santos.
Speaker 1: He's coming up next here in Chicago Sports Radio six
Speaker 1: seventy the Score. This segment of Bears All Access is
Speaker 1: brought to you by Athletico Physical Therapy. I visitt Athletico
Speaker 1: dot com to requested apployment in clinic or virtually and
Speaker 1: start feeling better Tomorrow. Jeff Joni Act Tom Thay are
Speaker 1: gonna be with you on Bears All Access abbreviated version Tonight.
Speaker 1: Bulls Basketball coming up at six forty five with Chuck
Speaker 1: Swarski and Bill Wennington. Pleased to be joined now by
Speaker 1: Bears kicker Kiro Santos. Thanks for taking some time out, Kiro.
Speaker 1: Are you feeling yes, feeling great? Yeah? Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1: How was a pleasure to chop with you guys? Yeah? Good?
Speaker 1: Good to have you a long. Good to have you
Speaker 1: a long. Sou What I mean are you if you
Speaker 1: could put in the context how much fun you're having
Speaker 1: right now? I mean, you're feeling great, You're you're you're
Speaker 1: having a successful season. Things that are looking up for
Speaker 1: the team at all three phases. You're still on the hunt.
Speaker 1: I mean there's ten teams already knocked out of those things.
Speaker 1: So you guys are still playing for a lot. Where
Speaker 1: are you at mentally right now? Yeah? I think I
Speaker 1: think Maggie described it great when he talked to us
Speaker 1: after the last game against Minnesota. He say, it feels
Speaker 1: like we're having three seasons in one with everything that
Speaker 1: the roller coaster that he has been, how he started
Speaker 1: in the middle phase, and and now making this push,
Speaker 1: and we feel there's something left to be done. I
Speaker 1: got two games, an opportunity to make a runs here
Speaker 1: and how we battled through everything this year, I feel
Speaker 1: like we're due to have that opportunity to make his
Speaker 1: special run here and uh and sneaking in a playoffs,
Speaker 1: so that's our goal and UH and for myself, I'm
Speaker 1: just glad to be uh involved in in these moments,
Speaker 1: to to help the team in and to find my
Speaker 1: groove again, the one that I never lost belief and
Speaker 1: myself I had a roller coaster the last couple of years.
Speaker 1: And uh and just enjoying hitting those strides that I
Speaker 1: used to to have early in my career. Hey, Cayrol,
Speaker 1: when you talk about the rhythm that I think every
Speaker 1: sports person is trying to achieve, whether it's a beautiful
Speaker 1: jump shot, whether it's a golfer at the tea hitting
Speaker 1: a beautiful rhythm tea shot. The other day in the
Speaker 1: game in Minnesota, I was watching your rhythm and it
Speaker 1: looks perfect. But how much is it a relief to
Speaker 1: you that you don't ever have to think about your
Speaker 1: rhythm because the snap in the hold is going to
Speaker 1: be so perfect. It's huge, and maybe it goes unnoticed,
Speaker 1: uh for for people just just so used to having
Speaker 1: these two guys, you know, the paddle donno patch kalees
Speaker 1: just uh you know how how good they are. And
Speaker 1: I was kind of laughing at myself earlier this week
Speaker 1: because like, maybe I should practice kicking with the laces
Speaker 1: uh every now an inch because I never see him
Speaker 1: with those two guys that if I if I do
Speaker 1: see him, I I just don't know how I would react.
Speaker 1: It would just be such a shock and a surprise
Speaker 1: that maybe I'll start doing that just in case because
Speaker 1: it's so perfect that the ball almost its teeth up
Speaker 1: for me and I just have to uh trust all myself,
Speaker 1: which you know, it takes a huge part of the
Speaker 1: equation when you look at everything that has to go
Speaker 1: into for you know, to put the balls through the uprights,
Speaker 1: and so just super thankful. And these guys they they
Speaker 1: these a big praise too, Yeah they do. You know,
Speaker 1: you talk about your rhythm and your preparation because in
Speaker 1: order to get into the rhythm, you guys have to
Speaker 1: go out and you have to have you have to
Speaker 1: feel perfect. So you've had a couple of colder weather
Speaker 1: kicking games and Soldier Field. You had perfect conditions last
Speaker 1: week in Minnesota sixty one degrees and Sonny in Jacksonville.
Speaker 1: What's different about you getting ready to get into your
Speaker 1: rhythm when you're going out to a cold atmosphere you're
Speaker 1: going out to an indoor, nice atmosphere, or you're going
Speaker 1: into the atmosphere that you'll be going into in Jacksonville.
Speaker 1: And it definitely I think it changes from from one
Speaker 1: element to the other, as you mentioned these last three games,
Speaker 1: and you just have to I take the pregame um
Speaker 1: differently for all those three scenarios. In the colder, I
Speaker 1: think I warm up more, uh, just you know, to
Speaker 1: get the body going, and I think the leg is
Speaker 1: a bit slower, um. So you have to just get
Speaker 1: your body going. And um, I haven't even had that
Speaker 1: last game. I think at home against Houston it was
Speaker 1: cold and I wore these thick compression leggings and I
Speaker 1: feel like as I was warm up, it was restricting
Speaker 1: my motion. So it was like, man, this doesn't it's
Speaker 1: like like you mentioned the rhythm, It's just like my
Speaker 1: legs swing feels shorter. U. The pop is not on
Speaker 1: the ball like it normally years. So I ranted the
Speaker 1: locker room changed to a thing like the warm weather.
Speaker 1: So my legs are pretty cold during a game, I
Speaker 1: had to keep him in the heater. Um, but my
Speaker 1: leg I just gained that extra whatever inch of flexibility
Speaker 1: that boom. I was able to palm kickoffs and longer
Speaker 1: field goals and the warm ups like I expected to.
Speaker 1: So I had to make that adjustment there and uh,
Speaker 1: and then taken to an indoor game where you have
Speaker 1: to really work both ends of the fields as far
Speaker 1: as to test the wind on both ends. So I
Speaker 1: warm ups are shorter, the legs feels fresher. I feel like, um,
Speaker 1: you know, it takes just it's more about quality and
Speaker 1: not quantity. There just pends on pending on good balls
Speaker 1: and um and taking it to a good weather place
Speaker 1: and Jacksonville good grass. It's just kind of it's just
Speaker 1: made a lot of fun to just be outside, you know.
Speaker 1: I enjoyed, you know, testing to win the different stadiums
Speaker 1: and having that challenge and then playing on short conut grass.
Speaker 1: I feel like the ball is just teed up super
Speaker 1: nice for you and you can get nice pop on it.
Speaker 1: So um and everything just kind of have to go
Speaker 1: into like a golfer you know that tests different greens,
Speaker 1: different grass. How they were going to roll the ball,
Speaker 1: attack and stuff that, Um, there's a lot that goes
Speaker 1: into it. With the end of the day, just can't
Speaker 1: at the same time not think about it too much
Speaker 1: once the game actually started and and and going. You
Speaker 1: have to trust all the routine and process that you
Speaker 1: put in and countless reps uh and just trust that
Speaker 1: muscle memory that it's all gonna work out. Cairo Santos,
Speaker 1: our guest. You're on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to
Speaker 1: score with top there Jeff Joniac. You played one game
Speaker 1: there in your career. I believe you had an extra
Speaker 1: point boot again against the Jaguars there, But so it'll
Speaker 1: be a bit of adjustment. These teams don't play each
Speaker 1: other are very often. But I want to bring up
Speaker 1: the fact that you had a fifteen point game last
Speaker 1: weekend's the Viking, So that's making seven kicks with your
Speaker 1: extra points, and it pushed you over one hundred points
Speaker 1: for the season as the fourth time in your career.
Speaker 1: Now you got one all five and a couple of
Speaker 1: games to go. Yet, given that those first three years
Speaker 1: were all back to back to back one hundreds and
Speaker 1: what you've gone through, what does that figure mean to you?
Speaker 1: Because they needed these one hundred five points, especially this
Speaker 1: year because the offense you know was slow to grow. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, and points. You know, you always see kickers
Speaker 1: being I think the highest scores of teams. But when
Speaker 1: I think when you've had games play out like we've
Speaker 1: had in you know, short game games are short difference
Speaker 1: and scored between in the two teams and um, both
Speaker 1: teams not scoring. So any time you get an opportunity,
Speaker 1: you feel like you've got to come out with points
Speaker 1: there just because you know there's not many situations being
Speaker 1: played out that you can score. UM. So it just
Speaker 1: feels like the importance, UM, my importance for the team
Speaker 1: and and how these games have been played out, Uh
Speaker 1: is is high. And as a kicker and kind of
Speaker 1: the guy that I I am now you know, we're
Speaker 1: at the point in my career that I want to
Speaker 1: be put out there to kind of regain all that
Speaker 1: those reps that I've missed in the last couple of
Speaker 1: years and the reputation. I'm asking for those opportunities and
Speaker 1: hope to um just be the delivered in the way
Speaker 1: that I believe that I can deliver. So, uh, it's
Speaker 1: been it's been amazing to be a part of this
Speaker 1: team this year. UM and in the big picture for me,
Speaker 1: just you know, like I mentioned, just to get back
Speaker 1: into the of the the guy that I was UM
Speaker 1: probably in my career that had that continuity UM with
Speaker 1: Kansas City year in year out, just scoring a lot, uh,
Speaker 1: putting you know, important kicks, big kicks UM from my team,
Speaker 1: you know, every year. So we had the opportunity to
Speaker 1: do that. And it's been, uh, been a blessing and
Speaker 1: been very thankful to to be back at it again. Hey,
Speaker 1: Cairo and the big kicks you've had this year. Once
Speaker 1: you get into the huddle, are you untouchable? Is there
Speaker 1: anybody that's talking? He doesn't stay what's your mojo there
Speaker 1: in terms of your relationship with the other guys, because
Speaker 1: kickers are unique. Yeah, I try to stay back and
Speaker 1: and and I think uh, Tabe's approach, you know, Chris
Speaker 1: daber Especial team's coach approach is uh is it's very
Speaker 1: laid back as well. He's gotten to know me and
Speaker 1: see what kind of approach um I like to do.
Speaker 1: And then he gets the crunch time and uh and
Speaker 1: and and he does just a job just just saying
Speaker 1: the right things at the right time. You know, he
Speaker 1: came to me, and he's come to me before, um
Speaker 1: when the games are kind of approaching that way, that's
Speaker 1: like okay, like you know, could be a kick there,
Speaker 1: and just you know, just remind me just to like
Speaker 1: stay locked in and stay focused on on on opportunities
Speaker 1: and points and and because we knew that how the
Speaker 1: Minnesota game that okay, we're getting the ball back and
Speaker 1: and they weren't scoring, and we just had to kind
Speaker 1: of keep putting points to eliminate to create that ten
Speaker 1: point difference or the six point difference to make it
Speaker 1: difficult for them to make a comeback, and and so
Speaker 1: and then he just says that and he knows to
Speaker 1: walk away. He doesn't need to coach me on technique
Speaker 1: on those things because he knows I take care of that.
Speaker 1: And and it's just it's rhythm to me. It's just
Speaker 1: at that time, it's just you gotta trust the process
Speaker 1: on everything and just trust my my rhythm. And it
Speaker 1: feels like a practice rep when when you kind of
Speaker 1: simplify everything in your head just to focus on feelings
Speaker 1: and not technique. Kyra, We're gonna let you go appreciate
Speaker 1: your time as always, Good luck, in Jacksonville and keep
Speaker 1: the dream alive. Right, You've had a heck of a
Speaker 1: year and let it keep going strong. Appreciate you man,
Speaker 1: Thank you, Enjoy you guys. Have a good night, all
Speaker 1: right you two Cairo Santos Hey Bears fans been shopping
Speaker 1: for your game day celebrations. Don't forget to pick up
Speaker 1: your favorite variety of lays, Potato ships and tostitos. Tostitos
Speaker 1: and lays are an essential part of the game day
Speaker 1: tradition and the official chip of your Chicago Bears. Go Bears,
Speaker 1: Tom Final thoughts on the Jaguars, what are you expecting?
Speaker 1: You know, don't take them lightly. They have some big
Speaker 1: playability they have They're gonna take some chances, and they
Speaker 1: have a good running back that wants to prove something
Speaker 1: to all of the state of Illinois. Yeah, they got
Speaker 1: good linebackers like JP Shadrick said, Miles jack is somebody
Speaker 1: to consider Joe Schobert. Those guys at the second level
Speaker 1: playing well, but the defensive numbers not good across the
Speaker 1: board most importantly and points allowed, yards allowed. They are
Speaker 1: in tough situations there. They have a totally new secondary,
Speaker 1: a lot of young guys offensively. They're gonna start established
Speaker 1: that run for Surewood James Robinson healthier, Not that'll be
Speaker 1: the case. Should be fun time. We'll talk down the
Speaker 1: radio on Sunday nine am pregame, noon kickoff. That's all
Speaker 1: the time we have. Thanks for our producers Jordan tread Up,
Speaker 1: Dan Billy and Jordan Malliott. Thank you for listening. It's
Speaker 1: been Bears All Access on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy
Speaker 1: the score. Have a great night, everybody. Thanks for listening
Speaker 1: to this Chicago Bears Network presentation of Bears All Access.
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