Speaker 1: And now Move the Sticks with Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks.
Speaker 2: What's up everybody?
Speaker 1: This is Moved the Sticks, the Workshop Series presented by
Speaker 1: Lows DJ and Buck with you Buck, what is going on?
Speaker 2: Man?
Speaker 3: And now to us DJ, we are getting one step closer.
Speaker 3: We got the final week of preseason and then you
Speaker 3: got that week and a half sabbatical and it's on.
Speaker 3: And it's so crazy how it gets here because it's
Speaker 3: not only the NFL season. We got college football kicking
Speaker 3: off this weekend, and then it's the Sprint. I mean,
Speaker 3: it's not even the Sprint, it's to Marathon, and the
Speaker 3: NFL it's to Marathon to February, and then in college
Speaker 3: it's just to the beginning of January.
Speaker 1: So it should be a lot of fun. Yeah, you
Speaker 1: heard there at the top. This is a different episode here.
Speaker 1: This is part of the Workshop Series presented by Lows.
Speaker 1: So we're going to do three of these, one a
Speaker 1: month where we're going to take one specific team and
Speaker 1: really kind of take them into the workshop Buck about
Speaker 1: what they've been able to do to try and transform
Speaker 1: a losing organization into a winning organization with a lot
Speaker 1: of changes, not just a you know, Caleb Williams move here.
Speaker 1: There was a lot of other roster additions to this
Speaker 1: team really over the last year, and that's where I
Speaker 1: want to start, because when we look at changing this team,
Speaker 1: I think that began last year midway through the year
Speaker 1: when they made that trade for Montes Sweat. This defense played,
Speaker 1: it was a top five defense, as good as any
Speaker 1: defense in the NFL once he got there last year.
Speaker 1: Just your take on the timing of that move, the
Speaker 1: decision to make that move, and the impact that Montes
Speaker 1: Sweat had last year and going.
Speaker 3: Forward, Yeah, I think Monteswat coming over coincides with Matt
Speaker 3: Eberflus really taking over the defense. Defensive coordinator Allen Williams
Speaker 3: steps away, eva Flues has to take over, has to
Speaker 3: become the defensive play call, a rod that he flourished
Speaker 3: in during assignment Indianapolis, and then when he kind of
Speaker 3: assumes the position with the Bears as head coach and
Speaker 3: defensive play call that this defense really kicked off. But
Speaker 3: part of the reason is because they're playing the style
Speaker 3: that he's always wanted to play, and that was helped
Speaker 3: by the fact that Montes Wait came over gave them
Speaker 3: a legitimate.
Speaker 2: Weapon on the edges.
Speaker 3: And if you studied montes Way from a time in
Speaker 3: Mississippi State to how you played with the Commanders, he's always.
Speaker 2: Been a high effort, high motor energy player.
Speaker 3: And everything that Matt Eberflus wants to do on defense
Speaker 3: starts with that part of it. Effort, hustle, all of
Speaker 3: the energy and those things, and so it's really a
Speaker 3: perfect marriage.
Speaker 2: And what you saw was when.
Speaker 3: He gets when ebra Flutes gets the type of pass
Speaker 3: rusher that he needs that this defense demands, many goes
Speaker 3: next level. And so that was I would say the
Speaker 3: core building block that they needed a dominant pass rusher
Speaker 3: off the edge that would give them that steady presence
Speaker 3: where they didn't have to blitz they heat up the quarterback.
Speaker 3: They could do it with a four man rush.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and you hit it too when you go back
Speaker 1: and watch all those sacks last year. It's a four
Speaker 1: man rush man. They are getting home and he's doing
Speaker 1: it off of some games as well as just winning
Speaker 1: on his own.
Speaker 2: And you see him win man.
Speaker 1: He's got that length, bucked the long arm move he
Speaker 1: used with his inside arm, he can walk the tackle
Speaker 1: straight back. You use the term the energy that he brings,
Speaker 1: Like I wrote that down when I was just going
Speaker 1: through his video, I was like, this guy is kind
Speaker 1: of infectious, you know. And we're going to get to
Speaker 1: Caleb Williams in a little bit. We'll talk about how
Speaker 1: this offense is going to be transformed. I do believe
Speaker 1: that Caleb Williams is kind of like a force multiplier
Speaker 1: because of not only his ability, but it's the ability
Speaker 1: to combine with the energy and enthusiasm that he brings
Speaker 1: to the offense. Monte Sweat did that for the defense
Speaker 1: last year. If you wanted proof of concept, you saw it.
Speaker 1: You saw what he did individually and how I felt
Speaker 1: like everybody else around him on that defense with the
Speaker 1: Bears raised their level up. And that's when you know
Speaker 1: you got something special in a player.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 3: And you know the thing is he was forced to
Speaker 3: play a conflimentary role in Washington because they had great
Speaker 3: players there. Even though he was a top pick, he
Speaker 3: still was down the line in the pecking water. And
Speaker 3: the move of Chicago gave him a chance to be
Speaker 3: something different. He got a chance to be the lead
Speaker 3: singer instead of a backup, and he is own that
Speaker 3: he can be the league guy. And when you think
Speaker 3: of some of the other players in additions that we'll
Speaker 3: talk about later. He's been able to step in, set
Speaker 3: the tone, set the stage, and create opportunities for others.
Speaker 3: And you can already tell that this defense has the
Speaker 3: top ten feel based on Montes's way kind of leading
Speaker 3: the way.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and you look at some of these other pieces
Speaker 1: in place, and we'll get to the draft and we'll
Speaker 1: cover that just a little bit. But when you look
Speaker 1: at some building blocks, I think Gervon Dexter is a
Speaker 1: key building block for them as a very athletic, enormous,
Speaker 1: you know, perfect body type for how they want to play.
Speaker 1: Their second round pick in twenty three. He's got a
Speaker 1: chance to be a really, really good player. They handle
Speaker 1: the linebacker position. When through free agency, when you got
Speaker 1: to get t J. Edwards and Tremaine Edmonds. You guys
Speaker 1: are smart, they're tough, they're fast, they can cover, so.
Speaker 2: They're good there.
Speaker 1: And then I would put you know, I don't know
Speaker 1: where you are. I'd put the secondary up in terms
Speaker 1: of talent up against just about anybody. I love Brisker
Speaker 1: at safety as a young player. Second round pick in
Speaker 1: twenty twenty two. Jalen Johnson's the star is the reason
Speaker 1: he got twenty million bucks a year. Kyler Gordon, especially
Speaker 1: just just seeing him move around and how physical he's
Speaker 1: been in the preseason, I think he's got a chance
Speaker 1: to take a major leap as someone who's playing a
Speaker 1: nickel for them. Tyrek Stevenson is a physical, aggressive corner
Speaker 1: like that secondary is really good. Kevin Byern comes in
Speaker 1: the mix there, so they have a lot of pieces
Speaker 1: that I think make sense and work together there.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's funny because it's a defense where the scheme
Speaker 3: is evolving. So much of what Matt Eberfluch used to
Speaker 3: do was about the Tampa two scheme, two deep safeties,
Speaker 3: five underneath, gonna play his own eyes on the quarterback.
Speaker 3: And as they've gotten better personnel, they've shown the ability
Speaker 3: to do more man demand, more zone coverage, I mean
Speaker 3: more zone blitzes in match pressures where you're using man
Speaker 3: and man principles within the zone. They're showing the ability
Speaker 3: to do that, and it only makes this defense that
Speaker 3: much more difficult to face because when your team that
Speaker 3: likes to operate primarily with a four man rush, you blitz,
Speaker 3: it's the element of surprise and so it surprisingly creates
Speaker 3: one on one opportunities for Montes and the other guys
Speaker 3: on the front line. And as this defense continues to
Speaker 3: prove in the back end, they can be able to
Speaker 3: do more creative things on the front end.
Speaker 1: And I want to touch on on one draft pick
Speaker 1: on the defensive side of the ball.
Speaker 2: We'll kind of wrap up.
Speaker 1: The defense before we get over to the offense. And
Speaker 1: Caleb Williams and all the work that they've done on
Speaker 1: that side of the ball. Austin Booker they got in
Speaker 1: the fifth round this year, has already been a stud
Speaker 1: in the preseason. He's been very active, he's been productive.
Speaker 1: I know, you know, my comp on him was like
Speaker 1: he was a Kirkland brand Max Crosby because he kind
Speaker 1: of has that same playing style. But when I watched him,
Speaker 1: I saw that same just tenacious effort bucket. It's not
Speaker 1: it's not just the link in the in the explosiveness.
Speaker 1: It's it's the fact that like when when when the
Speaker 1: play is dead on the front side and he's dead,
Speaker 1: so many young players, that's that's the end of the
Speaker 1: play for them. He is chasing, he is sprinting down
Speaker 1: the field, chasing the away and I'm just like, Okay,
Speaker 1: that's that's that's that guy's wired the right way to
Speaker 1: go along with impressive athletic ability. They got themselves a
Speaker 1: good one there.
Speaker 3: And I think, you know, it's the perfect marriage between
Speaker 3: front office and coaching staff being on the same page,
Speaker 3: the coaching staff being able to tell the front office,
Speaker 3: these are the types of players that we need, these
Speaker 3: are the traits that we have to have in these
Speaker 3: certain positions, and then it's going and chasing those traits.
Speaker 3: And you talked about Booker and what he's already been
Speaker 3: able to display in the preseason DJ When you look
Speaker 3: at him, I mean you look at him and then
Speaker 3: you look at montes Wett, I mean like they're very
Speaker 3: very similar in terms of prototypical traits, their tools, the
Speaker 3: way they play, the energy and the effort. And if
Speaker 3: you're the Bears, ideally, that's what you're trying to create.
Speaker 3: You're trying to create rooms. They have a lot of
Speaker 3: the same types of players and that we talk about
Speaker 3: basketball teams at wide receiver, but that d line room. Man,
Speaker 3: if you can get the big bodies, the big, tall
Speaker 3: athletic players on the edges to go with the beefy
Speaker 3: guys on the interior. Gives your chance to kind of
Speaker 3: dominate at the point of attack and dominate without having
Speaker 3: to use extra rushes and extra bodies in the pass russ.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it all kind of goes together and all makes sense.
Speaker 1: And that's why I mean, well, let me just put
Speaker 1: it to you, this defense over a seventeen game season
Speaker 1: and considering who they play in that division. You know, Detroit,
Speaker 1: that's a high flying offense. I know Minnesota, Kirk Cousins
Speaker 1: is not there. It goes to Sam Donald, but that's
Speaker 1: still justin Jefferson in company. There's a lot of playmakers
Speaker 1: there as well. And obviously we know Green Bay with
Speaker 1: all their plethora of young weapons, that's not an easy offense.
Speaker 2: Can this defense?
Speaker 1: Don't Chicago be a top five NFL defense?
Speaker 3: You know, it's weird because they can, But I don't
Speaker 3: know if they'll be like the dominating defense where they
Speaker 3: completely suffocate you. I think their ability to rise into
Speaker 3: the ranks of the top five is dependent upon their
Speaker 3: ability to produce turnovers. This is a takeaway defense. They
Speaker 3: want to back you up. They want to win with four.
Speaker 3: They want to get in a off tips and overthrows.
Speaker 3: More so, than what I would call the stifling suffocation
Speaker 3: that we've seen from some of the defenses.
Speaker 2: That's it. That's good enough.
Speaker 3: And if the offense is like we think it may be,
Speaker 3: that is going to be the perfect style of compliment
Speaker 3: of what they do on offense, because if offense is
Speaker 3: scoring points, now your defense is playing against the offense
Speaker 3: that's chasing points. Eliminates the run game. Now you begin
Speaker 3: to get the big hits and the big tips and
Speaker 3: overthrows that lead to interceptions.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, it'll be interesting to see how how
Speaker 1: they maintain it throughout the year. But I do think
Speaker 1: you can look at every position group on that defense,
Speaker 1: and they've got, you know, a blue player, a blue
Speaker 1: caliber player that they can rely upon there, which is
Speaker 1: usually the sign of a pret darn good defense, including
Speaker 1: a closer. I think Montes Sweat he has all the
Speaker 1: tools to be a you know, an elite closer to
Speaker 1: finish ball games. They shouldn't have their offense you run
Speaker 1: up scores to be able to play that way. But
Speaker 1: we're going to get to why that might change. We'll
Speaker 1: get to the offensive side of the ball in this
Speaker 1: this workshop episod As we focus on the Bears right
Speaker 1: after this. All right, Buck, let's let's switch it over
Speaker 1: to the offensive side of the ball. When you look
Speaker 1: at this offense, you know, if you want to transform
Speaker 1: the offense, the easiest way to do it is obviously
Speaker 1: the quarterback position. They made the correct assessment. I think
Speaker 1: we can agree to punt on Bryce Young the year
Speaker 1: before get a hall of picks.
Speaker 2: They don't.
Speaker 1: They don't select him. They decide to wait on the
Speaker 1: quarterback and then man, it just it ends beautifully for
Speaker 1: them with Caroline ended up with the first pick, which
Speaker 1: they own, and they're able to get Kaileb Williams to
Speaker 1: go along with the other hal of picks they got
Speaker 1: for the Bryce Young trade. But that, to me, let's
Speaker 1: start there with that decision. How important was it for
Speaker 1: them to exercise patience knowing that that wasn't the right guy,
Speaker 1: especially for them knowing, you know, where they play and
Speaker 1: what's needed of the position in Chicago.
Speaker 2: One of the things that we learned when you when
Speaker 2: we're very very young in.
Speaker 3: The scouting businesses the importance of conviction as an evaluator,
Speaker 3: as a decision maker. And so for Ryan Poles to
Speaker 3: have enough conviction to know that hey, man. Bryce Young
Speaker 3: may be a good player, but he may not be
Speaker 3: a good player for us. He may not be the
Speaker 3: right player for us.
Speaker 2: A lot of.
Speaker 3: Times when you're building a team, the conversation never goes
Speaker 3: to who you're playing against within your division and the
Speaker 3: conditions in which you have to play. When it gets
Speaker 3: to that stretch run in November December, Bryce Young, his bodybuild,
Speaker 3: his arm strength, and talent might not have flown well
Speaker 3: in the windy.
Speaker 2: City of Chicago. So they wait.
Speaker 3: They had a first round player in Justin Fields that
Speaker 3: they wanted to exhaust all opportunities before they made a
Speaker 3: decision on quarterback. Didn't go the way that Justin Fields wants,
Speaker 3: They're able to make the move, and then they bring
Speaker 3: back a guy in Caleb Williams who appears to be
Speaker 3: the right fit for the way they want to go.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, I guess we should also mention it.
Speaker 1: Look if they'd have taken CJ. Stroud and not made
Speaker 1: that trade, no one how CJ. Stroud played last year, Okay,
Speaker 1: maybe we'd say, Okay, they made the right decision. Obviously
Speaker 1: Stroud was awesome. I do think Stroud walked into a
Speaker 1: different team in Houston than he would have walked into
Speaker 1: in Chicago last year, because you know, we'll start with
Speaker 1: Caleb and focus there. But he's you know, there's some
Speaker 1: other new pieces on this offense as well at Keen Allen,
Speaker 1: DeAndre Swift. But with Caleb specifically, what you've seen from
Speaker 1: him this preseason, I know it's not I don't think
Speaker 1: it's I don't think it's as perfect as maybe some
Speaker 1: would want it to be. But I also know that
Speaker 1: those that are just sitting there on their keyboards, just
Speaker 1: waiting to nitpick every little thing, we're probably a little
Speaker 1: disappointed seeing some of the plays he's made.
Speaker 2: Well.
Speaker 3: Absolutely, And you know, we talk about being a young
Speaker 3: scout and some of the things that you learned along
Speaker 3: the way.
Speaker 2: I was taught the grade to flashes.
Speaker 3: When you're looking at college players, if they flash it
Speaker 3: multiple times, then they're capable of doing it. Now, it's
Speaker 3: about bringing about the consistency. When you go back and
Speaker 3: look at Caleb Williams first at Oklahoma then at USC
Speaker 3: there were a lot of flashes of high end talent.
Speaker 3: And you know, the natural comparisons that a lot of
Speaker 3: people may the Pat Mahomes and it's crazy to compare
Speaker 3: a young player to a guy who's going to be
Speaker 3: a Hall of Famer and maybe go down as the
Speaker 3: greatest of all time and the position, but there are
Speaker 3: similarities in terms of their playmaking ability and the way
Speaker 3: that they kind of make things happen inside and outside
Speaker 3: of the pocket. The one part that you worried about
Speaker 3: with Kayleb Williams after his final season that SC is
Speaker 3: would he be able to reind it in because he
Speaker 3: has so much success with a free, willing, freestyle play
Speaker 3: at SC and.
Speaker 2: Maybe did it to his detriment his final season.
Speaker 3: Could he get back to the basics and kind of
Speaker 3: keep the main thing the main thing, Let me throw
Speaker 3: all time on target from the pocket and use.
Speaker 2: That superpower when needed.
Speaker 3: It appears that he understands when to use it when
Speaker 3: not to, and if he can master that part early
Speaker 3: in his career, he is going to be a problem
Speaker 3: for defensive coordinators around the league.
Speaker 1: And I was watching going through all of his preseason tape,
Speaker 1: and you know, we talk so much about the Mahomes thing.
Speaker 1: You know, everybody use that comparison because of some of
Speaker 1: the magic. When I was watching the preseason stuff, and
Speaker 1: I know we talked about this briefly in the run
Speaker 1: up to the draft. There's some young Russ there, like
Speaker 1: some young Russell Wilson. Some of these are twirling, whirling
Speaker 1: plays where he's buying time and throwing off platform. Remember,
Speaker 1: like people see Russell Wilson.
Speaker 2: Now, look he's not what he was.
Speaker 1: Yeah, go back to young Russ those first couple of years.
Speaker 1: You know, again, great defense that they had. Don't need
Speaker 1: you to, you know, play perfect, but can you generate
Speaker 1: a couple of big plays? And I can remember some
Speaker 1: of those Arizona games. Can you remember Russell just kind
Speaker 1: of running all over the place and making some magic happen,
Speaker 1: exhausting plays, and then look he's there was a sweet
Speaker 1: spot where Russell still had his athleticism and then he
Speaker 1: did learn to play on time, you know, and that's
Speaker 1: when some of those big offensive years happened for him
Speaker 1: in Seattle. I think that Caleb has a chance to
Speaker 1: get to that version earlier in his career.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's funny you bring up the thing with Russell Wilson,
Speaker 3: because I think I've written it down in my report
Speaker 3: about Kaylen Williams that he could like that and that
Speaker 3: he would be a nice comp to be able to
Speaker 3: do that, and you know it's unfortunately right now people
Speaker 3: are looking at the Russell that we're seeing in Pittsburgh,
Speaker 3: the one that's a little stock or whatever. But the
Speaker 3: young Russ that was athletic and could make plays. He
Speaker 3: was kind of the best of both worlds because he
Speaker 3: had the discipline, patience, and restraint to play winning football
Speaker 3: within the confines of the offense. But he always could
Speaker 3: make it right with his athleticism. When Kayleb Williams learns
Speaker 3: how to tow that line in terms of playing on
Speaker 3: script as opposed to playing off script and mixing in
Speaker 3: some of the improvisational playmaking ability, this offense is going
Speaker 3: to be terrific. And they've surrounded with a perfect supporting
Speaker 3: cast to really elevate his game.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: I mean when you look at at Russ rushing the football,
Speaker 1: when you pull up some of those numbers, I mean
Speaker 1: it was, you know, four hundred and eighty nine yards,
Speaker 1: five hundred and thirty nine yards. He had an eight
Speaker 1: hundred and forty nine yard rushing season with six touchdowns.
Speaker 1: You know, in a couple more five hundre yard seasons
Speaker 1: in there, I think Caleb can have those. I think
Speaker 1: it can be you know, maybe five to six hundred,
Speaker 1: seven hundred rushing yards to go along with some creative
Speaker 1: magical plays. He's able to accomplish in the passing game
Speaker 1: as well. But that was just kind of interesting to
Speaker 1: me just seeing that. And also, as we mentioned earlier,
Speaker 1: I think the I think the energy thing, the vibe thing,
Speaker 1: the force multiplier.
Speaker 2: I think that exists.
Speaker 1: I think it not only brings hope in your offensive
Speaker 1: lineman of Hey, if I can just block a little
Speaker 1: bit longer, some something good's going to happen back here.
Speaker 1: If I'm a receiver, if I can just stay alive
Speaker 1: on a broken play, we got a chance for that
Speaker 1: to happen. And even inside the stadium, Hey, you know
Speaker 1: we're down. We don't need to go get some food.
Speaker 2: But stay in here.
Speaker 1: They're get coming back on the field and we might
Speaker 1: see something we never seen before.
Speaker 3: You know, it's one of the things that it is
Speaker 3: not talked about enough in terms of like the energy
Speaker 3: that is created from the quarterbacks presence.
Speaker 2: We've talked about the quarterback.
Speaker 3: A franchise quarterback gives everyone into organization hope and that
Speaker 3: hope is something that you can feel on the sideline.
Speaker 3: So when you have a playmaker that can make it
Speaker 3: a variety of different ways, that has a proven track
Speaker 3: record of being able to lead you back. It changes
Speaker 3: the way that you play on defense because on defense,
Speaker 3: on the sideline, you'll say to one another, a man,
Speaker 3: we just need to get Caleb the ball back.
Speaker 2: We just need to give this guy another chance. He
Speaker 2: can bring us back.
Speaker 3: And if you see some of the magic happen and
Speaker 3: it turns in positive results where you see these come
Speaker 3: from behind wins, but then it just emboldens you to
Speaker 3: have this level of confidence that no matter what the
Speaker 3: game looks like, we always have an opportunity because the
Speaker 3: guy that we have is the QB one is a
Speaker 3: legitimate dude, and that legitimate dude can always bring us back.
Speaker 1: We gets you most excited about this receiving core because
Speaker 1: you've got DJ Morho's comeback. It just gave him a
Speaker 1: new contract. They make the trade for Keenan Allen comes
Speaker 1: over from the Chargers, or he's just had a ridiculous
Speaker 1: amount of production, you know, consistent production, no matter if
Speaker 1: it was Philip Rivers or Justin Herbert, he's been outstanding.
Speaker 1: And then you go out and get Roman Doonday. So
Speaker 1: in that trio of white outs, we're going to focus
Speaker 1: on that position. Who has you most excited.
Speaker 3: Well, I'm excited about the collective and I'm excited about
Speaker 3: how they all compliment one another. So in DJ Moore,
Speaker 3: I think you have like the size speed specimen, the
Speaker 3: guy who's terrific with the ball in his hands. He
Speaker 3: can make plays. He's proven to be I would say,
Speaker 3: even a better number one receiver than many can imagine.
Speaker 3: And Keenan Allen, you have a freak show in terms
Speaker 3: of a big body slot receiver with unbelievable stop star
Speaker 3: quickness and the slot it's funny we can talk about
Speaker 3: it's lower not but his ability to run option routes
Speaker 3: and create separation and twist defensive backs in the knots
Speaker 3: is Look, man, it's unrival for a guy of his size.
Speaker 3: And in Roman Dunsa, I think you just have the
Speaker 3: consummate from like he is. When I look at Rome Adunesa,
Speaker 3: I just say, man, this is a what a pro
Speaker 3: wide receiver supposed to look like.
Speaker 2: From the way that he.
Speaker 3: Dresses in terms of his uniform, to the way that
Speaker 3: he runs routes and make plays and the versatility. To me,
Speaker 3: they have the perfect wide receiver for the conditions that
Speaker 3: they're going to play in because it's windy and it's cold,
Speaker 3: and I'm a believer that you need bigger bodies to
Speaker 3: deal with those elements. And then four quarterback that likes
Speaker 3: to make plays. I think they just expand the strikes
Speaker 3: on and he gives him confidence that he can throw
Speaker 3: it up in those fifty to fifty ball situations because
Speaker 3: these guys are gonna come down with it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it is a complete room. I went back and
Speaker 1: watched Roma Dunze every rep that he's played so far
Speaker 1: in the preseason, especially, wanted to focus on him versus press.
Speaker 1: So I know there's some people saying, oh, you know,
Speaker 1: is he got enough quickness and twitch to be able
Speaker 1: to get off press and get away from press. I
Speaker 1: think some play you know, a player too maybe got
Speaker 1: posted from training camp going up against Jalen Johnson, which,
Speaker 1: by the way, as we mentioned in one of the
Speaker 1: top corners in the league. The or no shame in that,
Speaker 1: but I was curious to see how he did. He
Speaker 1: didn't have any issues buck. I mean, he's got he's
Speaker 1: he can he can win with strength, he can win
Speaker 1: with quickness. He can he's sudden, he can escape. You know,
Speaker 1: there's one rep in the Buffalo game with going up
Speaker 1: against again one of the best nickels in the league
Speaker 1: there where he's you know, he plays underneath him and
Speaker 1: he's got an out route and then you know he
Speaker 1: cuts him off and takes it away. And I was like, Okay,
Speaker 1: we'll see how much more of this shows up. That
Speaker 1: was the only one that was only play and I
Speaker 1: saw him get on top early. He looks, he looks strong.
Speaker 1: So I mean that's why when I get to that
Speaker 1: question of who are you most excited about, I think
Speaker 1: I might be most excited about it Doomsday because of hey,
Speaker 1: broken plays. He's got an unbelievable innate feel and you've
Speaker 1: already seen that manifest and in a big play down
Speaker 1: the field against the Bengals. But he's got a real
Speaker 1: good feeling scramble rules in the red zone. He's going
Speaker 1: to be able to play above the rim and really
Speaker 1: go get the ball. And then even you saw him
Speaker 1: flip him a reverse. People forget this guy. Returned kicks
Speaker 1: like he's really good with the ball in his hands. Man,
Speaker 1: he is really good with the ball in his hands.
Speaker 3: I feel like that wasn't talked about enough doing the
Speaker 3: evaluation that he was a legitimate punt returner. And we've
Speaker 3: talked about the secret sauce to great wide receiver is
Speaker 3: maybe their ability to return punts because it showcases their
Speaker 3: open fuel running skills and the donees. They being his
Speaker 3: size as their punt returner says a lot about like
Speaker 3: his athleticism, his toughness, his running ability, and you know,
Speaker 3: it just makes them, it makes them a more dangerous
Speaker 3: team because when I look at that that trio Keenan Allen,
Speaker 3: I mean everyone can get busy in terms of catching
Speaker 3: run concepts, crossing routes and those things, and then the
Speaker 3: dunes they being able to run reverses. I mean, they
Speaker 3: just have a lot that they can throw at you
Speaker 3: without making it a very complex offense for the quarterback.
Speaker 1: And lastly, in terms of the skill guys, you look
Speaker 1: at the addition of Swift. DeAndre Swift is someone with
Speaker 1: excellent burst plays low to the ground. I think his
Speaker 1: style is going to play well if you look at
Speaker 1: him in the Philly offense. What Philly did obviously with
Speaker 1: all their weapons as they're able to create some space
Speaker 1: and he's able to make some things happen. I don't
Speaker 1: think he's a I don't think he's a you know,
Speaker 1: a creator in terms of man. There's a wall of
Speaker 1: bodies there and he's going to just push piles and
Speaker 1: kind of create something at of nothing. But I think
Speaker 1: he's a back that can capitalize on space. If you
Speaker 1: can get people spread out, you can get them in
Speaker 1: the in the open field a little bit, you know,
Speaker 1: where they're catching the ball or running the ball. That's
Speaker 1: when he's at his best. And I look the last
Speaker 1: year's version of the Bears. I don't know if that's
Speaker 1: a I don't know if I love that, but I
Speaker 1: think you look at him going forward and the group
Speaker 1: that they have and with Caleb and having to account
Speaker 1: for Caleb as a runner as you had to account
Speaker 1: for Jalen Hurts as a runner.
Speaker 2: I like the fit. Yeah, No, it's a nice fit.
Speaker 2: They just have they have size, they have speed, they.
Speaker 3: Have the ability to move the change with the some
Speaker 3: possession playmakers, but then they also have the home run
Speaker 3: ball in a variety of ways. It's a really dynamic
Speaker 3: and unique offense that I don't know if they've ever
Speaker 3: seen the kind of personnel in Chicago particularly on offense
Speaker 3: to do it. It could be a lot of fun
Speaker 3: because they've had to look at their rivals to the north.
Speaker 3: The Green Bay Packers and Washington play a certain style
Speaker 3: and have success throwing it all over the yard, and
Speaker 3: they had to.
Speaker 2: Look at that with envy.
Speaker 3: The Chicago Bears now can play that style in cold
Speaker 3: conditions and they may be able to create some advantages.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I think, look, Colekomet's a nice tight end.
Speaker 1: You bring over Gerald Everett as a as a free agent,
Speaker 1: who's a nice move tight end. Compliments that well offensive
Speaker 1: line wise. Excited about Darnell Wright what he can be
Speaker 1: on the right side, you know, there was a case
Speaker 1: to be made. I thought, you know, there's a chance
Speaker 1: they might take a left tackle in the draft with
Speaker 1: instead of a Dudnesay. I love a Donsay, but I
Speaker 1: thought that was at least a conversation. They obviously believe
Speaker 1: in Braxton Jones. I don't know he's ever going to
Speaker 1: be a blue player, but he's got a chance to
Speaker 1: be a you know, develop and be a solid player.
Speaker 1: The interior the offensive line would be an area that
Speaker 1: I'd be a little bit concerned. Le's see how that
Speaker 1: group plays together. But man, just from last year to
Speaker 1: this year, you know, as we're doing this series, I
Speaker 1: don't know there's a greater transformation than the offense of
Speaker 1: the Chicago Bears.
Speaker 3: I don't know if there's a more fun offense in
Speaker 3: terms of the transformation where you can sit and look
Speaker 3: and just get excited about what this team could be.
Speaker 3: A lot of pressure falls on the new offensive coordinator,
Speaker 3: Shane Waldron. He has to show that he can take
Speaker 3: all of those pieces of the balls and put it
Speaker 3: together and make it a work of art. But you
Speaker 3: have the quarterback, you got pass catches, you got runners.
Speaker 3: The offensive line is in question, but some of the
Speaker 3: players on the offensive line are solid. It's just a
Speaker 3: matter of getting it all together and if they can
Speaker 3: continue to play complimentary football where the defense really matches
Speaker 3: what the offense is able to do.
Speaker 2: Yeah, they're gonna be there. They can mean the thick
Speaker 2: of it hard division, but they should be very, very
Speaker 2: in the North. All right.
Speaker 1: So this is the final verdict as we're wrapping this
Speaker 1: thing up seven and ten. Last year, the Chicago Bears
Speaker 1: simple question, can they flip it?
Speaker 2: Yes?
Speaker 3: I was gonna say it's funny because I was thinking
Speaker 3: about the magic number, the magic numbers ten.
Speaker 2: I think they can get to ten. They'll get to ten.
Speaker 2: I the energy around the team is says that they
Speaker 2: believe that they can make it happen.
Speaker 3: And the quarterback is certainly gonna give them a chance
Speaker 3: to steal two or three games at the end of
Speaker 3: the games.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I do think, you know, the two best
Speaker 1: divisions in football this year, the deepest divisions, the must
Speaker 1: watch divisions, are in the North. It is the NFC
Speaker 1: North with the Bears, that all those teams are just
Speaker 1: talking about, the Vikings, the Lions, the Packers, And then
Speaker 1: it's the AFC North, which is the other intriguing division.
Speaker 1: So I think it's gonna be very competitive. It's not
Speaker 1: gonna be easy, but I do think that's attainable. I
Speaker 1: do think they could be a ten and seven team
Speaker 1: provided everything goes well. But I am they're gonna be watchable.
Speaker 1: They've gone from a semi unwatchable product to one that
Speaker 1: I think not just us, but I think those around
Speaker 1: the league are paying attention to see what this thing
Speaker 1: looks like. In Chicago.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean there's a lot of excitement about it.
Speaker 3: I mean, there are hard knocks. I mean they are
Speaker 3: getting opportunities primetime games. There's a lot of excitement about
Speaker 3: the quarterback. When the quarterback is good, the team has
Speaker 3: a chance to be great. It'll be fun to watch
Speaker 3: the number one overall pack Kayleb Williams lead this team
Speaker 3: a to a postseason birth in his first season.
Speaker 2: Well, no doubt.
Speaker 1: I hope you guys enjoyed this one today. We got
Speaker 1: two more of these coming up from you, one a
Speaker 1: month here over the next couple of months, so we
Speaker 1: appreciate you guys hanging with us as we focused on
Speaker 1: the Chicago Bears. This was Move the Sticks, the Workshop
Speaker 1: series presented by Loew's