Speaker 1: And even everybody. Welcome back to the Bears Coaches Show
Speaker 1: for this week with Bears head coach Matt Nagge Jeff
Speaker 1: Jonik here with you until eight o'clock tonight. We're brought
Speaker 1: to you by Whippley CPHN Consultants, Bears Director of Player
Speaker 1: Engagement Souper Campbell. Coming up at seven thirty tonight, Matt,
Speaker 1: Welcome back home. Early morning arrived. What tech time did
Speaker 1: you guys get in? Yeah, no, you know what I think,
Speaker 1: Jeff was more like, uh like five or five thirty.
Speaker 1: And after a perplexing night in La could have been
Speaker 1: hard to sleep anyway for you, wouldn't it. Yeah, it was.
Speaker 1: You know, it's it's one of those ones you know
Speaker 1: that you wish didn't happen, but it did happen, So
Speaker 1: how you know, what are you going to do about it? Right?
Speaker 1: That's kind of a mentality that we have, and it's
Speaker 1: stings and it's not what you want. It was a
Speaker 1: good football team we played, but that's why that's why
Speaker 1: there's a tomorrow and that's why there's another week. So
Speaker 1: that's what we got to focus on. Yeah, the interesting
Speaker 1: thing in time and I were talking about it after
Speaker 1: we got off the air with you last night. You know,
Speaker 1: if two teams are now five and two, they hold
Speaker 1: different news conferences, but it's a very different feel for both.
Speaker 1: But in the reality of it all because you wash it,
Speaker 1: it's onto the next week. You guys are both five
Speaker 1: and two of a fresh clean slate to start week gate.
Speaker 1: That that's the optimist view, but it's also the reality.
Speaker 1: Yeah it is, you know, and when you when you
Speaker 1: start going through, uh, you have a game like this
Speaker 1: and if when it feels this way, we also are
Speaker 1: aware of kind of how this lead goes right and
Speaker 1: the it's cyclical in regards to how teams are, and
Speaker 1: all of a sudden a team or two from last
Speaker 1: week gets beat down pretty good, and then this following
Speaker 1: week they come back and they look like they're Super
Speaker 1: Bowl champs. And so what we need to do is
Speaker 1: with us yesterday having that tough loss, how are we
Speaker 1: going to respond to that? You know? And so here
Speaker 1: we go into week eate with a five and two record,
Speaker 1: and uh, you know, we got to use this as
Speaker 1: fuel now to get us going against the Saints. The
Speaker 1: undercurrent is, while all three phases had its issues last night,
Speaker 1: the offense has failed to yet put together that complete
Speaker 1: game that everybody's going to be happy about and be
Speaker 1: happy about from the little things to the big things.
Speaker 1: Where is it add on that Is it more little
Speaker 1: things or is it a combination of a few big
Speaker 1: things as well? What is your view on it after
Speaker 1: you watch the tape again? Yeah, I would just say, um,
Speaker 1: you're right. You know, there's been that that frustration with
Speaker 1: the offense when you're you know, you're just you're not
Speaker 1: scoring touchdowns, you're not scoring points and um, just some
Speaker 1: some penalties when we shouldn't have them, and just unsuccessful
Speaker 1: tries in the red zone and not coming up with points.
Speaker 1: So we have to tie that up and get that
Speaker 1: better and get that tighter. Um. I am fully committed
Speaker 1: understanding them with our players and coaches that they're going
Speaker 1: to do that. Uh, we're you know, this group right
Speaker 1: here when challenge has stepped up, and I think they've
Speaker 1: shown that. So as an offense, we are hungry to
Speaker 1: get this thing right and it's our job to do
Speaker 1: that with every passing day together with this new collection
Speaker 1: of coaches that started here in the offseason with you,
Speaker 1: is your communication focus continue to get narrower and narrower
Speaker 1: to what you guys know you can do and what
Speaker 1: you can't do. Yeah, it does, and we communicate a
Speaker 1: lot in regards to that, and you know, we've talked
Speaker 1: about it for two years now. This has been our
Speaker 1: third years just trying to figure out that identity. We
Speaker 1: thought early on with those three games, of those first
Speaker 1: three games that we had, we were getting the ball
Speaker 1: going in the run game, and then we struggled for
Speaker 1: two weeks and now the last two weeks now it's
Speaker 1: been four weeks where the run game has really struggled.
Speaker 1: That's real. So what do we do, you know, schematically,
Speaker 1: what do we do execution wise? Well, we communicate, we
Speaker 1: figure out the wise and you know, it does take
Speaker 1: one game, and I know that the patience is usually
Speaker 1: not there for all of us, but it does take
Speaker 1: one game, and sometimes it's one play. That's why I
Speaker 1: really was hoping we'd hit that ninety five year a
Speaker 1: touchdown pass yesterday because I felt like it just takes
Speaker 1: one play to where it hits and then all of
Speaker 1: a sudden, next thing, you know, you never look back.
Speaker 1: And that's what we got to get to that point
Speaker 1: right now. In offense, Yeah, for those who may not
Speaker 1: know what Matt's talking about. The the stutter goal, sprint
Speaker 1: down the field by the rookie Darnel Mooney and he
Speaker 1: beat his man, and he beat Jalen Ramsey. It's it's
Speaker 1: not just some cornerback out there that's new to the game.
Speaker 1: This is one of the premier defenders in football and
Speaker 1: beat him just a tick off. But as players too,
Speaker 1: how do you make sure because clearly you're frustrated, there's
Speaker 1: no way you can't be. And how do you make
Speaker 1: sure they don't get frustrated with those near misses? Like
Speaker 1: we just we just keep doing this. Yeah, Well, speaking
Speaker 1: as an offense, um, it's just time for it's time
Speaker 1: for all of us to just, you know, really tighten
Speaker 1: it up. And you have to. You don't have a choice.
Speaker 1: So whatever that we talked about when you're one on
Speaker 1: one battles, we can't talk about it. We got to
Speaker 1: do it, and we gotta come together and we gotta
Speaker 1: make big plays at big times. And when you do that,
Speaker 1: it helps out the defense, it helps out the special teams.
Speaker 1: And you understand that, U when we when you are
Speaker 1: a team that has three three phases that's playing at
Speaker 1: you know at a high level. At the same time,
Speaker 1: we're going to be really tough to beat. We just
Speaker 1: haven't done that yet. And that's where Okay, we're going
Speaker 1: into Week eight against another really good football team in
Speaker 1: the Saints. UM, we're going to have to make sure
Speaker 1: that we're doing everything we can to be in that battle.
Speaker 1: There's an assumption that as you go through a season
Speaker 1: that you don't have these heart to heart conversations or
Speaker 1: the looks in the mirror with yourself, your coaches, your players.
Speaker 1: But it does happen every day in the National Football League.
Speaker 1: It has to because the league is constantly evolving by
Speaker 1: the minute, let alone week to week. So is it
Speaker 1: hard for you sometimes? And I know at your news
Speaker 1: conference earlier this afternoon, they are asking you about you know,
Speaker 1: are you looking at yourself? Are you looking at Matt
Speaker 1: the play caller as opposed to just the head coach.
Speaker 1: Are those hard questions for you to hear, or even
Speaker 1: hard questions even bring up with yourself? No, they're not,
Speaker 1: because you understand that when you when you're in a
Speaker 1: big struggle like this, UM, you have to realize, uh,
Speaker 1: that you know everything is available and that that's what
Speaker 1: we we look at that too. You know, it's not
Speaker 1: like we're being stubborn or I'm being stubborn in any way,
Speaker 1: shape or fashion. I mean, Um, when you're struggling as
Speaker 1: an offense, it's about figuring out solutions. It's about staying
Speaker 1: positive and what are those solutions. And if it's a
Speaker 1: if it's a glaring weakness, or if it's something where, um,
Speaker 1: we feel like we need to make a change somewhere,
Speaker 1: then I promise you we'll do that. Uh. And and
Speaker 1: that's but in the competitor in you and in me,
Speaker 1: UM realizes that, hey, we got to fight whatever that is,
Speaker 1: We're going to do it together. And uh, there's no
Speaker 1: there's no Salkingum, we got to make sure that we uh,
Speaker 1: we just stay on our details, We communicate, and we
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Speaker 1: the Chicago Bears. Learned more at whipplea dot com with
Speaker 1: Bears head coach Matt Naggie Jeff Joniac. You know you've
Speaker 1: mentioned last night, you know, and after the heat of
Speaker 1: the battle, right after the the locker room and talking
Speaker 1: to the media and with us on WBBM, when you've
Speaker 1: gone through some tough things, and you said, you haven't
Speaker 1: been anything through like this, And I'm assuming just you're
Speaker 1: looking more at the offensive inefficiency and inability to score.
Speaker 1: But when you've gone through tough patches in your career
Speaker 1: with teams at any level, what are you drawn to
Speaker 1: work out of these slumps? Like? What what has happened
Speaker 1: that gives you confidence that you and your coaches and
Speaker 1: your players are going to collectively figure this out. Um,
Speaker 1: I would say probably the biggest thing. And I learned
Speaker 1: this our one season in Kansas City. We had lost
Speaker 1: five games in a row. And you know usually in
Speaker 1: those in those moments, you start just like people start
Speaker 1: talking now, and you start thinking about the word change right,
Speaker 1: and you start getting to and um I had. I
Speaker 1: had a pretty good conversation with a Hall of Fame
Speaker 1: quarterback recently that talked about one of the best things
Speaker 1: that he had us as a player in his career
Speaker 1: was no change in regards to practice habits, in regards
Speaker 1: to the message from the head coach, because when when
Speaker 1: you change, sometimes to everybody it seems like you're searching
Speaker 1: for answers, and really, when it comes down to it,
Speaker 1: it's just about doing the little things the right way
Speaker 1: and sticking to what you know works and staying. You
Speaker 1: know what, I like to say a lout as persistence
Speaker 1: over resistance, and so right now there's some resistance, and
Speaker 1: so are we going to stay persistent? Are we going
Speaker 1: to continue to fight through this and do it together?
Speaker 1: Stay positive, figure out one by one where we're at,
Speaker 1: and then figure out as a team too, because that's
Speaker 1: probably bigger than anything is when when you have one
Speaker 1: side of the ball that's struggling, like we are on offense.
Speaker 1: The message to the team in the locker room was, hey,
Speaker 1: you know, you can go two different directions here. There's
Speaker 1: that fourk in the road. You can start pointing fingers,
Speaker 1: you can start blaming, you can start being a me guy,
Speaker 1: you can start being a negative nelly, you can start
Speaker 1: being selfish, or you can figure out the solution, do
Speaker 1: your darn job and try to get better. We're five
Speaker 1: and two. We've built this five and two record in
Speaker 1: a hard way, we have and it hasn't been pretty.
Speaker 1: But I will say this, it doesn't matter. We're five
Speaker 1: and two and so now what are we going to
Speaker 1: do moving forward? And is that going to calloust us
Speaker 1: down the road? And is it gonna calloust us for
Speaker 1: this coming week versus the Saints. And I feel like
Speaker 1: with the character of people that we have in this
Speaker 1: locker room, the character of coaches that we have, I
Speaker 1: have no doubt in my mind that will pull through this.
Speaker 1: You make a great point because the worst thing you
Speaker 1: can do as a leader is be wishy washy, because
Speaker 1: you have now created Swiss cheese. And I know a
Speaker 1: lot of people also on the other side of the
Speaker 1: fence say, if you do the same thing over and
Speaker 1: over and over again, that's a definition of insanity. Right. However,
Speaker 1: in pro football you sometimes got to work through the
Speaker 1: issues and the mistakes, the little thing, the nuances. And
Speaker 1: that's to me, just the way the sport is. It's
Speaker 1: not like every other sport. You're right, and there is
Speaker 1: a balance because to the people that are on the
Speaker 1: other side with the definition of insanity, they're they're they're
Speaker 1: correct as well, and so they're both sides are right.
Speaker 1: It's just a matter of that balance of of how
Speaker 1: does how does that get balanced? And what is the
Speaker 1: insanity and what is um the persistence of a resistance
Speaker 1: type deals. So um, the one way to cure that
Speaker 1: is to in speaking to the offensive terms, is to
Speaker 1: have more rhythm, is to score more touchdowns, and then
Speaker 1: inevitably in the end, is to win the football game,
Speaker 1: which which gets you right back on track. So just
Speaker 1: as there's teams in this league that you'll lose a
Speaker 1: game one week, or you lose a couple of games
Speaker 1: in a row, next thing, you know, um, you win
Speaker 1: four in a row and it feels totally different. You say,
Speaker 1: you remember that, remember how we felt two weeks ago,
Speaker 1: and think about how we feel now, or vice versa. Right,
Speaker 1: And so that's where, um, I feel like the character
Speaker 1: of your people in the building really really really have
Speaker 1: a lot of influence and how you respond to adversity. Well,
Speaker 1: one of your strengths in my opinion is, you know,
Speaker 1: you take temperatures, you take the temperature of the team,
Speaker 1: you take individually collectively, whatnot what's the temperature? I mean,
Speaker 1: is there some anger and then how do you channel
Speaker 1: it is there? Can you see their frustration? How would
Speaker 1: you take that temperature? I would say the temperature of
Speaker 1: the team right now is good. We understand after last
Speaker 1: night's game that that's not who we are. We know
Speaker 1: we can play better. So that's the temperature of the team.
Speaker 1: You could certainly feel yesterday. You're you're not human if
Speaker 1: you didn't feel frustration yesterday on the offense the way
Speaker 1: things were going. It's just even when you get close,
Speaker 1: you get down in the red zone, or you get
Speaker 1: momentum going all of a sudden, it's something that deflates
Speaker 1: you a little bit, but you got we got to
Speaker 1: use that now to be able to better ourselves. So
Speaker 1: the temperature of our team right now is Listen, we're five,
Speaker 1: we're five and two, and we understand that we were
Speaker 1: in a good place. But now we got to react
Speaker 1: to it. We got to react to a game that
Speaker 1: we played the way we did want to. And it's
Speaker 1: not just one person. So what are we going to
Speaker 1: do now? You know that's up top and honestly, it
Speaker 1: is collective. Yeah it is. And I think our guys
Speaker 1: they're they're accepting that, you know, and the beauty of
Speaker 1: our defense is like you said, is they want to
Speaker 1: be the best defense in the NFL, and so if
Speaker 1: there's some errors that we have here there that they
Speaker 1: get frustrated with that as well. So, but one of
Speaker 1: the things I think is very very important for everyone
Speaker 1: to understand is is that when you go through these
Speaker 1: times that we went through in that game last night,
Speaker 1: with that sideline amongst the offense and defense, when it
Speaker 1: can be one sided like that, where the defense, you know,
Speaker 1: it is holding them pointwise down until it gets, you know,
Speaker 1: feel the fuel position yesterday was just it was difficult.
Speaker 1: I think we have five drives inside the ten yard line.
Speaker 1: That's another one and I'm not sure I've ever had
Speaker 1: happened in my career. Joined Bears Care and advocate Health Karen,
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Speaker 1: and their families. Purchase your real Bears fans wear a
Speaker 1: pink shirt at Chicago Bears dot com slash Pink Bears.
Speaker 1: Coach Matt Naggie, what are you thinking about on the plane?
Speaker 1: What's going through your man? Yeah, Well, initially when you
Speaker 1: get on there, you know everything you want to go
Speaker 1: through the game right away, so we were I was
Speaker 1: able to get through the game and watch watch the
Speaker 1: uh the game both sides and go through that and
Speaker 1: then before you know it, Jeff, it's it's, uh, you
Speaker 1: lose so much time here with today being a Wednesday
Speaker 1: where we're installing our game plan that you head right
Speaker 1: to the Saints, so you go. So I was just
Speaker 1: watching the Saints on the plane, plane ride back and
Speaker 1: then you land and it's back to the office and
Speaker 1: your role and so, um, there's there's not a lot
Speaker 1: of a short week like that. In the flight, there's uh,
Speaker 1: doesn't give you a lot of time to salt. You know,
Speaker 1: Nick was I think fourteen of his first fourteen on
Speaker 1: first down last night, but then as the downs progressively
Speaker 1: went in a different direction, it wasn't as efficient. Um,
Speaker 1: and you're you're facing a really good third down defense.
Speaker 1: What is the teaching point here in the in the hook?
Speaker 1: First of all, try to limit as may third downs
Speaker 1: as you can, and then when you do get to home,
Speaker 1: you know, you want to try to keep them six
Speaker 1: to five or less. Now, I know even last night
Speaker 1: there was a few in there that we missed in
Speaker 1: that range. But to be able to stay in a
Speaker 1: manageable third down, your percentages are going to increase drastically
Speaker 1: against any defense that's ranked in the top whatever on
Speaker 1: third down. But, um, they give you a bunch of
Speaker 1: different looks. You know, they'll do different things with their
Speaker 1: fronts and with their linebackers, and they'll try to, you know,
Speaker 1: trick you. So we're gonna have to be really efficient
Speaker 1: in regards to our vision and and and being ready
Speaker 1: for any unscouted looks. Um, what is your level of
Speaker 1: concern on Cody white Hair's calf injury. Yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 1: I would say for him. You know, I think he's
Speaker 1: a he's a tough guy, and I know he's gonna
Speaker 1: try to do everything he can to get ready. But
Speaker 1: we'll just have to kind of see here as we
Speaker 1: move forward this week as to the magnitude of it,
Speaker 1: where he's at and that he's gonna be able to
Speaker 1: go or not. Sam Mustafer, obviously he got in there
Speaker 1: and played James Daniels. He's out. That's that's a center
Speaker 1: right there too. And you know it's not easy to
Speaker 1: try and figure out if you'd lose somebody of that
Speaker 1: nature at a very critical position. Yeah, that's a good point.
Speaker 1: You know, it's it's uh with the COVID now, the
Speaker 1: way it goes, and just everybody, if you're a close contact,
Speaker 1: et cetera. I mean, it can knock you out. So
Speaker 1: we have to be really cautious with that. And again,
Speaker 1: a guy like Sam, if given the opportunity to be
Speaker 1: the next guy up, then he'll do that. You know,
Speaker 1: he's worked extremely hard at just to get to this point.
Speaker 1: And you know, I just know that if it does
Speaker 1: come down to that and he has to come in
Speaker 1: and play, you saw it yesterday, He's going to come
Speaker 1: in and give it everything he has. All Right, let's
Speaker 1: look at the Saints real quick here. Drew Breese obviously
Speaker 1: is where you're beginning to end the conversation. He'll he'll
Speaker 1: take what the defense gives you. He's not gonna for
Speaker 1: I mean, to play without his two top receivers and
Speaker 1: still manage to complete most of his passes and get
Speaker 1: a win. Yeah, I mean, you're talking about one of
Speaker 1: the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. And it's
Speaker 1: crazy to think about because we're literally the same age.
Speaker 1: You know, I think he's forty two, So I didn't
Speaker 1: even think of that too, right, now to the month,
Speaker 1: so so to be thinking he's still playing, but he's
Speaker 1: taking great care of his body and his mind and
Speaker 1: he knows where the ball's at. And obviously I get
Speaker 1: stories from Jimmy Graham all the time from when he
Speaker 1: was with him and uh and then with with Ryan
Speaker 1: and Ryan Pace and these guys that take in they've
Speaker 1: all been you know, they've been there, they've been so um,
Speaker 1: they know what type of player he is and he's
Speaker 1: gonna You're always gonna be in the game with Drew
Speaker 1: Brees and and I think that defense is playing well too. Yeah,
Speaker 1: did you have a story that Jimmy that that that
Speaker 1: you could share that that top of mind. But Drew
Speaker 1: brobably probably just the biggest, you know, one of the
Speaker 1: ones in general that he talked about was I think
Speaker 1: Jimmy's rookie year. Um, you know, Jimmy ran around a
Speaker 1: little bit off, it wasn't the perfect route, and Drew
Speaker 1: through it to a spot and Jimmy wasn't at that
Speaker 1: spot and ended up being an interception. And I think
Speaker 1: Drew might have got after Jimmy a little bit and
Speaker 1: told him to listen, here, you rookie, you run to
Speaker 1: that spot. I'm throwing to a spot, you better be there.
Speaker 1: That's a trust that I that I'm gonna have with you.
Speaker 1: And from that day on, Jimmy always understood that, hey,
Speaker 1: I better be in that spot that he wants me
Speaker 1: at and he's thrown to a spot and it's about trust.
Speaker 1: What do they get out on Kamara? Yeah, he's special.
Speaker 1: I mean he's such a talented back that can do everything.
Speaker 1: I mean, they get him the ball, they target him
Speaker 1: different ways, whether it's in the screen game, it's out
Speaker 1: of the backfield, whether it's a handoff. He can break tackles.
Speaker 1: He's got speed, he's guy there, great hands, great vision.
Speaker 1: So he's a big time weapon for them, and we're
Speaker 1: gonna have to make sure we have a good game
Speaker 1: plan for him. All right. Defensively, here again another front
Speaker 1: that plays well against the run. I mean this is
Speaker 1: now fin mic count. This will be five out of
Speaker 1: the top eight run defense. Isn't yards per carry alloud
Speaker 1: that you will have faced now in the first It
Speaker 1: will be eight weeks of the season. So you're being
Speaker 1: tested significantly by these fronts. Yeah, we are. I'll tell
Speaker 1: you what, Jeff, when you watch these guys on defense,
Speaker 1: that just like you said, at that front, I mean
Speaker 1: they are swarming front. They fly around, they played fast,
Speaker 1: they played vicious. You feel them. So like you just said,
Speaker 1: week by week, that's not going to change. It is
Speaker 1: what it is. So we have to make sure that
Speaker 1: we gear ourselves up ready. And you know you really
Speaker 1: shouldn't want it any other way. All right, Matt, We'll
Speaker 1: let you go. You got a lot to do. We'll
Speaker 1: talk to you next week, all right, appreciate Jeff see it.
Speaker 1: Welcome back to the Bears Coaching Show, brought to you
Speaker 1: by Whipfley, CPAs and Consultants. Bears Director of Player Engagement
Speaker 1: Lamar soup Cavin, one of my favorite guys up at
Speaker 1: How to sound good to talk to you. Good to
Speaker 1: see you, Lamar. How you holding up? I'm good, Jeff.
Speaker 1: How are you in the family doing doing doing fine?
Speaker 1: Doing fine? Uh? Let's talk about last night real quick
Speaker 1: with the fellas. That's a long trip back after a loss.
Speaker 1: Are these things that when you're at hallisall, when you
Speaker 1: see the players starting tomorrow again, that kind of act
Speaker 1: a little bit as counselor and psychiatrists a little bit, huh,
Speaker 1: get guys through some things. Yeah, you definitely do. Obviously
Speaker 1: the magnitude of that game Monday Night Football where we
Speaker 1: were in the season. You know, obviously one game doesn't
Speaker 1: make or break the season. By having the right mindset
Speaker 1: after that game and going to a next week, especially
Speaker 1: where they upon a light in the Wars, is really
Speaker 1: important for us to have the right frame of mode
Speaker 1: success going into Sunday. Yeah, this team has shown a
Speaker 1: lot of heart and resiliency over the course of the season,
Speaker 1: so you know there's a lot of paved road ahead Matt.
Speaker 1: Matt said it, Nick Fole said it after the game yesterday,
Speaker 1: So you know, these things are part of the process
Speaker 1: of getting better and playing that full game with it,
Speaker 1: which is yet to happen this year. And you know,
Speaker 1: from your time as a player, do you draw in
Speaker 1: some of your own experiences, Yeah, I made some Bearrats.
Speaker 1: Fans might not know. I'll play for the Lions, so
Speaker 1: we have some rough years in Detroit, So I'm very
Speaker 1: familiar with some of these some of these tough games
Speaker 1: or some of those losses. Right, But that's where probably
Speaker 1: comes into play, right, the character. You build a roster
Speaker 1: on character, you build a roster all prior you look
Speaker 1: for God that are leaders or needs at the times
Speaker 1: when those intangible qualities need to show up for us
Speaker 1: to come out and have a great game on Sunday. Hey,
Speaker 1: what kind of role are you playing with practice squad guys,
Speaker 1: especially this year adjusting to not playing in games, and
Speaker 1: it's it's a very different environment. It's a constantly changing
Speaker 1: situation minute to minute because of COVID protocols and so forth.
Speaker 1: But from guys that are working out to potentially being
Speaker 1: you know, are ready to come in, I mean, is
Speaker 1: this a big job for you as well? Yeah, I
Speaker 1: mean it's actually a big opportunity as well. You look
Speaker 1: at some of the young men and I think, first off,
Speaker 1: it's a mentality and the psychological component to it. I've
Speaker 1: never called it a practice squad. I always called it
Speaker 1: to developmental squad. The guys know, I've never used practice
Speaker 1: squad because we're here to develop you. You're not here
Speaker 1: just to practice. So I think setting that tone of
Speaker 1: development puts them in the right frame of mind to
Speaker 1: be able when their name and number is called, to
Speaker 1: be able to help us out on Sunday. So for
Speaker 1: my developmental guys that have been on there for the
Speaker 1: Rashad cowards that Isaiah Rban that used to be with us.
Speaker 1: You know a lot of those guys. Putting them in
Speaker 1: the right frame of mind to make sure that when
Speaker 1: their number is called, they are ready to go. With
Speaker 1: the COVID involvement. You know, these guys are really adaptable. Right.
Speaker 1: We had to do all of our rookie programming online
Speaker 1: on Zoom and then you do your best a lot
Speaker 1: of rookie programming, but really getting to know them, understanding
Speaker 1: there why what they wanted to accomplish, and whether it's
Speaker 1: in person or online, when you build those type of
Speaker 1: relationships of what drives them and what they need. Once
Speaker 1: we had a chance to get in person, it was
Speaker 1: easy to push them in that direction and understanding that,
Speaker 1: especially with COVID, it's not just an injury that may
Speaker 1: bring you up to the active roster, it's also someone
Speaker 1: taps some positive for COVID. So make sure they're always
Speaker 1: ready and preparing like starters, and every week is important
Speaker 1: for me and my staff. Ay Lamar, you raise a
Speaker 1: great point, great great point, and you attend NFL meetings
Speaker 1: for your particular aspect of things, right, I mean, you
Speaker 1: guys talk. Every team has a person in your role.
Speaker 1: Have you ever raised the idea to the front office
Speaker 1: of the National Football League and the committees call it
Speaker 1: the developmental squad as opposed to the practice squad. It's
Speaker 1: a great non institutional knowledge. I keep in nineteen twenty
Speaker 1: Hollis Hall just a little advantage psychologically for my guys.
Speaker 1: But my guys know how I feel about that. We
Speaker 1: talk about that day one, and just the word like
Speaker 1: words matter in any conversation that you have. You're telling
Speaker 1: a guy every day your practice squad, and his mind
Speaker 1: is like, all right, I'm here to pracate when you
Speaker 1: tell them that you're on the developmental squad, I'm here
Speaker 1: to develop you, to make sure that you're going to
Speaker 1: be able to contribute to us as a member of
Speaker 1: the Chicago Bears. I think that just puts them in
Speaker 1: the right mindset to move forward, to take it a
Speaker 1: little bit more serious seriously. Has it ever come back
Speaker 1: to you and saying, player really appreciated that. Yes, Yes,
Speaker 1: a couple of times. It has just puts you in
Speaker 1: the right frame frame of mind because a lot of
Speaker 1: times we speak to them about not being complacency. You know,
Speaker 1: complacency can sit in when you just feel like you're
Speaker 1: here for practice and you're never going to get in
Speaker 1: and you're just happy where you are or ask This
Speaker 1: helps us to challenge them every week to get better.
Speaker 1: You know, Wednesdays and Thursdays the workdays. How hard are
Speaker 1: you going to push the offense? How hard are you
Speaker 1: going to push the defense? All of those things are
Speaker 1: on tape, and you know you move forward with that
Speaker 1: type of mindset, and coaches one day will say, hey,
Speaker 1: this guy, the type of effort he's putting in on
Speaker 1: the developmental squad getting our starters ready, he deserves to
Speaker 1: have a jersey on Sunday and hopefully that comes fruition
Speaker 1: for all of my gods on the developmental squad one day.
Speaker 1: The Chicago Bears Network presents Inside the Bears, brought to
Speaker 1: you by verions At, Anthony Adams and Lauren Screeden cover
Speaker 1: the world of Bears football, on and off the field,
Speaker 1: every Sunday night at eleven o five pm on Fox
Speaker 1: thirty two Chicago, or watch anytime at Chicago Bears dot
Speaker 1: com or on the Bears Official app. Back of the
Speaker 1: Bears Coaching Show with the Mars Soup Campbell to Bears
Speaker 1: player Engagement director and Lamar. Let's talk about some of
Speaker 1: the topics of the day. Right now. We're a week
Speaker 1: out from the vote, and I know the voter registration
Speaker 1: idea has been really prominent throughout almost every sport, every college.
Speaker 1: It's really taken on a different life this year, in
Speaker 1: particular your role in it and how you've managed that
Speaker 1: for the Chicago Bears here in twenty twenty, no being
Speaker 1: able to navigate the importance of you know, coming into
Speaker 1: play football. Obviously we didn't have our OTAs, we didn't
Speaker 1: have offseason, so just like in any organization, you're only
Speaker 1: as goes to people around you. My assistant Erica Marmelajo,
Speaker 1: we talked about it when she was initially hired of
Speaker 1: July first, on what we could do to impact the
Speaker 1: voting initiative of our players and decide that when they
Speaker 1: check in for their physicals that this would be a
Speaker 1: place where we could actually register them to vote. You know,
Speaker 1: they're just coming in for physicals, and so we thought
Speaker 1: they would have that time to be monumental to not
Speaker 1: only take away from football, but also help them roll
Speaker 1: out there a civil right to register the vote and
Speaker 1: take advantage of that. What do you think of the
Speaker 1: role and being an athlete yourself, you know, for professional
Speaker 1: and collegiate athletes, because there's a lot a lot of
Speaker 1: parents out there listening to the show with their own
Speaker 1: kids at colleges, including the Bears you know, are having
Speaker 1: for this election in particular. Right, Well, I think, for
Speaker 1: one thing, for the athletes that you see speaking out,
Speaker 1: you know, it's always been shut up and play, or
Speaker 1: shut up and play football, or shut up and dribble.
Speaker 1: But when you look at it from the perspective of
Speaker 1: what we look at when I was recruiting for Wisconsin
Speaker 1: as we're hearing Chicago Bears, you look for character, right,
Speaker 1: You look for integrity, you look for leadership, You look
Speaker 1: for people that understand and can change the culture. So
Speaker 1: for me, it actually makes sense, like why wouldn't you
Speaker 1: want athletes at the center of talking civics, of talking
Speaker 1: what's right in the community, of talking about what's right
Speaker 1: in their world. Because deaths our natural attributes. So I
Speaker 1: believe it would be somewhat selfish to leave that just
Speaker 1: to the sports a world, as far as in the
Speaker 1: locker room or on a field. Why not bring those
Speaker 1: things outside the sports, well, those intangibles that help those
Speaker 1: guys be successful in the locker room, I think they
Speaker 1: can help change some lives outside the locker room in
Speaker 1: their duty as well. It seems like the defensive backs
Speaker 1: were keenly interested in this. They cut a bunch of
Speaker 1: videos for Chicago Bears dot com and other social platforms.
Speaker 1: Did they come to you or did you spawn the
Speaker 1: idea with them? It was more of a mutual. I
Speaker 1: think all the position groups wanted to do something to impact.
Speaker 1: One of the things that defensive backs with coach to
Speaker 1: Shade Towns and wanted to do was really impact voting
Speaker 1: initiatives and exercising your right to vote. You know, it's
Speaker 1: a civic duty that a lot of my play a
Speaker 1: lot of my black players have nowhere further to go
Speaker 1: than in their home to talk to people that I
Speaker 1: didn't have to write to vote, you know, thirty forty
Speaker 1: years ago, So really hits home with them. And there's
Speaker 1: exercising that right, understanding the history of what it took
Speaker 1: to get that legislation passed, and understanding that there was
Speaker 1: a time where we could not do that. So exercising
Speaker 1: that right, I think spoke hugely to them and I
Speaker 1: think they really got behind it and something that they're
Speaker 1: extremely passionate about as well as the rest of the
Speaker 1: Bears or organization. Talked to bottom and one cat still
Speaker 1: cutting some PSA's Spanish language. The offensive line coach a
Speaker 1: huge fan base right there. Absolutely absolutely as everyone's civic duties.
Speaker 1: You know, I have players from all over the country.
Speaker 1: Right I can live in a bubble because I speak
Speaker 1: the players that have different background where they came up at,
Speaker 1: what their political affiliations are. Right, so understand that this
Speaker 1: is a universal right that all of them, no matter
Speaker 1: what your background, no matter what your party affiliation is,
Speaker 1: you have a right to vote. And I think all
Speaker 1: the players understanding and support each other rock the vote
Speaker 1: on social media and web campaigns. How has it been
Speaker 1: received from what you're hearing, It's has been phenomenal, It's
Speaker 1: been It's been phenomenal. I really think we're at a
Speaker 1: tipping point and in a page where you will start
Speaker 1: to see more athletes becoming politically responsible um with their
Speaker 1: with their platforms. Before they were athletes, before we saw
Speaker 1: them on college on Saturday, before we saw them in
Speaker 1: the NFL, they were members of their community. And I
Speaker 1: think through this process, the best thing that has happened
Speaker 1: is we've been able to educate them on what it
Speaker 1: means to vote, whether it's your local election, whether it's
Speaker 1: your state election, whether it's a national election, and how
Speaker 1: those things impact them individually. When I first got here
Speaker 1: four years ago, I had a lot of single, single
Speaker 1: men in my locker room. Right now have Now those
Speaker 1: men are now fathers. Now those men are now married.
Speaker 1: So they grow and they've learned that their responsibilities and
Speaker 1: the decisions that they make by going to the ballot
Speaker 1: bossball and basically affect their family and their children for
Speaker 1: years to come. It's more than symbolism. But the officers
Speaker 1: are closed next Tuesday, and that is an important attraction
Speaker 1: for everyone to see what do you what do you
Speaker 1: what do you feel about that? You know? In terms
Speaker 1: of making that decision, No, I think it's important. I
Speaker 1: think having a support of coach Naggy and George McCaskey
Speaker 1: and Ted and said Phillips or to be able to
Speaker 1: close the officers, to understand and make that statement that
Speaker 1: this is a day and I'm in the camp that
Speaker 1: it should be a national holiday, you should be able
Speaker 1: to have that day off. I will firmly stand in
Speaker 1: that camp. But for them to support us to be
Speaker 1: able to do that just really shows up the top
Speaker 1: to the bottom support that we have not only in
Speaker 1: the locker room, but from the front office and mad
Speaker 1: management as well, with Ryan and Matt as well. Back
Speaker 1: on the Bears Coaches Show, Jeff Jonnyac with the Mars
Speaker 1: Sup Campbell, the Bears player engagement Director. As we wind
Speaker 1: down our show tonight, let's let's tackle a couple of
Speaker 1: different topics one injured players. I've always felt it's a
Speaker 1: lonely journey for them when they're having season ending surgeries
Speaker 1: that really remove them from the day to day family experience,
Speaker 1: and then you throw COVID and the protocols on top
Speaker 1: of it. So I look at a guy with a
Speaker 1: boundless energy of a Tariko, and how's he handling it
Speaker 1: with his first serious injury of his life. I mean,
Speaker 1: if you know Teri's personality, you know he's handling it
Speaker 1: with a smile. He's approaching the best way that he can,
Speaker 1: you know, rehab him stuff, looking forward to having him
Speaker 1: back in the building soon. We miss his energy, we
Speaker 1: miss his personality. But as someone in my role of engagement,
Speaker 1: you know, it's always difficult to get these guys to
Speaker 1: kind of slow down, look at the big picture, look
Speaker 1: at life outside of football, kind of see how things
Speaker 1: may be. So as much as you never want to
Speaker 1: have a guy on IR, you never want to see
Speaker 1: a guy injured, and almost the opportunity for conversations about life,
Speaker 1: about where you want to go, about what life is
Speaker 1: going to be like once you finally hanging the helmet up,
Speaker 1: and I think looking at it that way, from that
Speaker 1: opportunity standpoint is not only do you give them another zest,
Speaker 1: but hopefully mentally it puts them in a position where
Speaker 1: when they come back to play football, it's not about
Speaker 1: football anymore. It's also about football and also erstanding where
Speaker 1: football can take you if you understand where you want
Speaker 1: to go when you hang your halbit is this more
Speaker 1: than ever before you making sure you have great communication
Speaker 1: with coach Naggie and Ryan Pacier, general manager, based on
Speaker 1: everything the wide range of situations and moments that have
Speaker 1: occurred from the time the offseason started to where we're
Speaker 1: at right now. Yeah, absolutely absolutely. I mean, Jeff, would
Speaker 1: you be in an inside and you know how it
Speaker 1: had to gay. A football week can be getting prepared
Speaker 1: for a game Coach Naggie's big on his exs and ohs.
Speaker 1: Ryan's always in the process of trying to get us
Speaker 1: better and looking at the best plan for us moving forward.
Speaker 1: So the fact that Coach Nagie and Ryan makes time
Speaker 1: for me to sit down and talk about these things,
Speaker 1: to understand that we're on the same page as far
Speaker 1: as what's going on, it's just monumental. I know it's
Speaker 1: not like that everywhere, but I'm definitely in a privased
Speaker 1: position to have a leadership like that, to be able
Speaker 1: to have those open, honest conversations. This is an adaptation
Speaker 1: that is unique because this has never ever happened before, right, right,
Speaker 1: And unfortunately it's a litmus test, right, what do we
Speaker 1: do what our best practices? You know, every day is
Speaker 1: a best practice test, right? And you here, Ryan mentioned
Speaker 1: obsess You miss here, Coach Nague missied obsess. Right. We
Speaker 1: have to seize these moments and rather than being on
Speaker 1: the defensive of what these obstacles present to us every day,
Speaker 1: it's about being on the offensive, planning two or three
Speaker 1: months ahead, two or three weeks ahead, what can happen?
Speaker 1: How do we handle that? So, along with the training staff,
Speaker 1: Andre Tucker John tomp Yer, Truity staff. Everyone's played a
Speaker 1: part in our evolution of how we've handled COVID, and
Speaker 1: I'm really proud of the way that we've done that.
Speaker 1: Keep paying it in there and thanks so much for
Speaker 1: your time, Lamar Soup Campbell, awesome, Jeff, mission around the building.
Speaker 1: Talk soon. Likewise, that's a ramp on Tonight's Bears Coaches Show.
Speaker 1: Want to thank our producers Jordan Trudup, Dan BURRELLI, Andy
Speaker 1: Gersher and Keith Johnson, and most offen you for listening
Speaker 1: Bears Saints with our pregame at noon kickoff three twenty
Speaker 1: five For Bears head coach Matt Naggie and Director of
Speaker 1: player Engagement Lamar Soup Cambell, I'm Jeff, Jonny. Each have
Speaker 1: a pleasant, good evening. This is News Radio seven eighty
Speaker 1: and one or five point nine FM w BBM. Good night,
Speaker 1: every buddy,