Speaker 1: Welcome in everybody with another edition of Bears All Access
Speaker 1: with Tom Thare I' Jeff Joning Act from News Radio
Speaker 1: seven eighty and one or five point nine FM w BBM.
Speaker 1: As we get you set for the opening kickoff Sunday,
Speaker 1: September twelfth. That was we wrap up this week. I
Speaker 1: can't take it anymore, Big Tim. I just want football.
Speaker 1: I want real football, to see how the last six
Speaker 1: weeks have unfolded and what it all means for the
Speaker 1: Bears fans here in twenty twenty one. Well, Jeff, when
Speaker 1: you talk about real football, it's something that starts on
Speaker 1: Wednesday of this week, because that's when real football starts,
Speaker 1: and every single football player throughout the course of time
Speaker 1: they talk about the realism of that first practice that's
Speaker 1: dedicated to game planning for an opponent. So it's not
Speaker 1: something we're waiting till next Sunday night. It's something Jeff,
Speaker 1: that when you get out of the practice field, it's
Speaker 1: got to be for real. Well, the guys who haven't played,
Speaker 1: there are two days in the year when the speed
Speaker 1: cranks up. It's opening week of the season and the
Speaker 1: opening week of the postseason. That's when the reality will
Speaker 1: hit him, no question. Yeah, yeah, But you know, the
Speaker 1: reality that's got to soak in in preparation for the
Speaker 1: game is understanding that. Listen, you've got to be ready
Speaker 1: for four quarters. This is not something that you're going
Speaker 1: through three preseason games and you may play five snaps,
Speaker 1: you may play two series of things. Go well, look, dude,
Speaker 1: it's a whole different frame of mind when you're ready
Speaker 1: for four quarters of seventeen weeks of football. What is
Speaker 1: your frame of mind? As now things are laid out.
Speaker 1: We still don't know some starting roles yet to be
Speaker 1: defined on the defensive secondary, but we pretty much know
Speaker 1: what the offense is going to look like. And let's
Speaker 1: take it one step at a time. Let's start on
Speaker 1: the offense. How do you feel about its positioning as
Speaker 1: it goes up against this Rams outfit. I think this
Speaker 1: is the right way to go about business for Week one.
Speaker 1: You have the most experienced quarterback on your staff. You
Speaker 1: got a running back that you're really confident and is
Speaker 1: willing and has the role of all three phases of
Speaker 1: the running back game. You got playmakers and your wide
Speaker 1: receiver position. When Darnell Mooney, A Robinson and the rest
Speaker 1: of the crew, and then you have a heavy, deep
Speaker 1: room of tight ends, the guys that can really be
Speaker 1: involved in every fast of your offense from short yardage
Speaker 1: to long distance. So I like what they put out there.
Speaker 1: I just need to see the development of the continuity
Speaker 1: of the offensive line to see how they can increase
Speaker 1: their role of importance on this offense. Like let's talk quarterback.
Speaker 1: Ryan Pace was asked at his news conference earlier this
Speaker 1: week what the best case scenario for twenty twenty one
Speaker 1: will be the Bears. The best case scenarios is to
Speaker 1: win games with the roster that we have, and we
Speaker 1: feel that we can, Like you know, we feel like
Speaker 1: we've gotten strong in a lot of areas. We feel
Speaker 1: like you have increased competition a lot of areas. So
Speaker 1: we believe we can win games with Andy and then
Speaker 1: grow Justin at the right rate, and Justin would be
Speaker 1: Justin fields Andy Dalton zeroed in on this first start. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean, I'm in a great opportunity right here. I
Speaker 1: knew that coming in that I'd get a chance to
Speaker 1: start here, and that's my focus is on this year.
Speaker 1: The rest of my career is going to take care
Speaker 1: of itself. But you know, my focus on what I'm
Speaker 1: doing now, and um, you know, this is a big
Speaker 1: year for me, and it's gonna for me. I've got
Speaker 1: to go just play like an Oaken play and he
Speaker 1: can do a lot because he's seen a lot time
Speaker 1: and he's hoping for a quick start for this offense
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty one. Yeah, I think just some of
Speaker 1: the stuff that we've done in practice and some of
Speaker 1: the stuff that we've been implementing, and the way our
Speaker 1: guys have been been practicing and playing, I think that's
Speaker 1: been big for us to know the potential of what
Speaker 1: we can be and to be excited about what we have.
Speaker 1: And you alluded to all that about what they have.
Speaker 1: He sees it, players see it in him as well.
Speaker 1: And again the idea that he has seen everything and
Speaker 1: now he's eleventh year. You know, Andy dald he's prepared
Speaker 1: for what he's gonna see in the rams. He's prepared
Speaker 1: for the atmosphere. When you talk about the difference in
Speaker 1: the cadences from you know, last year with no crowd
Speaker 1: to this year going in there in there and yeah,
Speaker 1: I don't know how hostile an environment it's gonna because
Speaker 1: I think it's gonna be a Barras heavy crowd. But again,
Speaker 1: it's got to be complimentary football, Jeff. This is not
Speaker 1: solely that what the offense is going to do. The
Speaker 1: offense has to start fast and put points on the
Speaker 1: board to allow their defense and Sean to sign new
Speaker 1: defensive coordinator to be a little bit more aggressive. So again,
Speaker 1: whether it's through the legs of David Montgomery in the
Speaker 1: running back room or downfield through the receiver tight end game.
Speaker 1: So I do think that it's got to be a
Speaker 1: real complimentary atmosphere from the Bears. So while that's going on,
Speaker 1: Justin Fields is getting ready because should there be a
Speaker 1: snap when Andy Dunton gets dinged or something happens, he's
Speaker 1: got to get out there and run the offense like
Speaker 1: he is prepared to do so. So the scout team
Speaker 1: aspect of it is part of the processes. Matt negu
Speaker 1: lad out this week, that's real and so for him,
Speaker 1: what we'll have to do is number one, mentally, you
Speaker 1: have to make sure mentally that you are completely prepared
Speaker 1: within the game plan with whatever that is. So calling
Speaker 1: the place understanding now that you're that we're rolling like,
Speaker 1: so you know, something happens or there's a shoelace or
Speaker 1: something whatever, you got to go in there like there's
Speaker 1: no there's no setback and it's go time. Um So mentally,
Speaker 1: you got to prepare yourself. That's easy. He can do
Speaker 1: that through through film and video and you know, whatever
Speaker 1: it is that he does physically is where you got
Speaker 1: to be able to, um, stay on top of that
Speaker 1: because you don't get the reps and so where do
Speaker 1: you get those reps? Well as your technique and fundamentals
Speaker 1: can still happen on the look team. That's where he's understanding.
Speaker 1: He stepped his game up with that. So now he's
Speaker 1: playing like a real quarterback and looked team. So he
Speaker 1: gets it. He understands the why that's that part it
Speaker 1: looked him. But Dan, we got to be able to
Speaker 1: go in between periods and he's got to get those
Speaker 1: physical reps and then post practice get the mental and
Speaker 1: the physical. And we do some things with our younger
Speaker 1: guys anyway that we started last year where we're able
Speaker 1: to get some to get some reps for them of
Speaker 1: our game plan. So all of that said, every week
Speaker 1: that goes by, every play in minute that goes by,
Speaker 1: he just keeps growing and then we gotta Flip has
Speaker 1: a great plan ready for him. What do you think
Speaker 1: He's still gonna have to go out there, run the
Speaker 1: scout team and try to be as challenging to the
Speaker 1: defensive defensive players as he possibly can. But he's also
Speaker 1: going to have to live in that Bears classroom in
Speaker 1: being able to absorb this offense that they're going to
Speaker 1: continue to install throughout the regular season and make sure
Speaker 1: he has a competent and complete understanding of it. Until
Speaker 1: he goes in and he's the starting quarterback, he's gonna
Speaker 1: have multiple roles throughout the early portions are doing throughout
Speaker 1: the season. That's Tom there. I'm Jeff Joniak. Coming up,
Speaker 1: We'll be joined by veteran tight end. Veteran tight end,
Speaker 1: but a man who made the fifty three for the
Speaker 1: first time out of the gate, Jesper Horsted, will join us.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, everybody. Thanks to our producers Jordan trent
Speaker 1: Up and Dan Briley. This is Chicago Sports Radio six
Speaker 1: seventy The Score. Welcome back to Bears All Access, brought
Speaker 1: to you by IgGs Energy. Choose clean energy for your
Speaker 1: home at IGS dot com because every good choice adds
Speaker 1: up to a better world. Please to be joined with
Speaker 1: Tom there with Jesper Horsted veteran tight end. I love
Speaker 1: saying that young man's been here since twenty nineteen. Thanks
Speaker 1: for taking the time out and you made the fifty
Speaker 1: three for the first time right out of the gate.
Speaker 1: What does that mean to you? I sure did, and
Speaker 1: thank you for having me. It means a lot. I think,
Speaker 1: you know, when I come here, that's obviously the goal,
Speaker 1: and then it's just like tantalizing to be on the
Speaker 1: practice squad and have it be so close to practice
Speaker 1: against the team every day and travel with the team
Speaker 1: but not really be a part of the team and
Speaker 1: not really contribute on game day. And so it's just
Speaker 1: something that's absolutely been my goal obviously since I wanted
Speaker 1: to join the NFL, and it feels very very good
Speaker 1: to achieve it. Finally, you know, I really felt Saturday
Speaker 1: going into the game that you had made the fifty
Speaker 1: three man roster. Did you feel that you needed the
Speaker 1: performance that you had to make the fifty three? I did, yeah,
Speaker 1: And I think part of that's just kind of my mindset,
Speaker 1: and I knew that if I had a performance like that,
Speaker 1: I'd be on the safer end. But I did not,
Speaker 1: by any means feel like I was a shoe in
Speaker 1: on the roster. You know, I just wasn't happy with
Speaker 1: my performance the previous game, So I just felt like
Speaker 1: I needed to put good stuff on film in a
Speaker 1: game that third preseason game, and I knew I'd have opportunities. Right,
Speaker 1: You got ninety two catches as a junior in college
Speaker 1: and he got seventy two as a senior. Was it
Speaker 1: better coverage against you or were you not? Or what
Speaker 1: was the difference between that year? The difference was I
Speaker 1: think we averaged winning games by like thirty five points.
Speaker 1: So I barely played in the second half of my
Speaker 1: senior year. We went ten to Oh really, well, that's
Speaker 1: the first undefeated Princeton team since nineteen sixty four. Now
Speaker 1: it's hard to go on beating no matter what level, Right,
Speaker 1: So what was it about that experience? It's something you
Speaker 1: and your buddies from that team will never ever forget.
Speaker 1: They can never take that away from you. Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1: It's a quirky schedule to only play ten games and
Speaker 1: not have any playoff f that. So most time, unless
Speaker 1: you're the absolute best team, you're going to eventually lose
Speaker 1: a game, you know, for better for worse. I think
Speaker 1: we all would have liked to compare ourselves to other
Speaker 1: talent in the FCS and even in Division one football.
Speaker 1: But yeah, it's really something special to go ten and
Speaker 1: know that was a really close team and a really
Speaker 1: talented team that has you know, other guys in NFL
Speaker 1: rosters as well, So we're constantly staying in touch. So
Speaker 1: does seventeen games sound like a lot to you? When
Speaker 1: you think about ten and oh, in college you bent
Speaker 1: through a sixteen game season and now a seventeen game
Speaker 1: Does that numbers sound like a lot off the bat
Speaker 1: in comparison to what I did in college? I would
Speaker 1: say yes, But I also did baseball in college, and
Speaker 1: that's a completely different ball game as well, where you're
Speaker 1: playing games, you know, almost every single day. When you
Speaker 1: look at those minor league and they're playing one hundred,
Speaker 1: fifty hundred and sixty games, so it's all reference. But
Speaker 1: to me, seventeen games is absolutely a lot, and that's
Speaker 1: not even counting playoffs. Jesper Horsted our guest here on
Speaker 1: Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the score with Top There,
Speaker 1: I'm Jeff Jonahak tell us your background from Roseville, Minnesota
Speaker 1: clearly a sports junkie. Right, growing up you did everything
Speaker 1: And do you think all that and tell me everything
Speaker 1: you did in addition to baseball made you a better
Speaker 1: football player. Yeah, I've kind of been pounding the table
Speaker 1: for cross training as I talked to younger athletes, because
Speaker 1: I just think there's so much you can only develop
Speaker 1: yourself so much for a certain sport by just doing
Speaker 1: the same stuff over and over. You know, it builds
Speaker 1: incredible hand ie. When you're playing baseball and seeing thousands
Speaker 1: pitches every day that are coming in at ninety plus
Speaker 1: miles per hour with some crazy curve, like, you have
Speaker 1: to learn how to track the spin of a ball
Speaker 1: in a way that you might not just get if
Speaker 1: you're just running routes or playing catch with a quarterback.
Speaker 1: And in basketball, it's about high pointing and body positioning
Speaker 1: and finding open spaces and getting in front of a
Speaker 1: defender to block. It's very similar to like a kickoff
Speaker 1: return play. So I think that I'm always pulling in
Speaker 1: skills that I've developed in other sports as I'm out
Speaker 1: there playing, and I'm always just preaching to younger people
Speaker 1: like I know there's gonna be a lot of pressure
Speaker 1: from coaches to get you to specialize, and I know
Speaker 1: that it just constantly seems like we're going in that direction.
Speaker 1: But you can really, really, you know, expand your skill
Speaker 1: set by playing other sports. But you know, when you
Speaker 1: see guys like Adam feel in another Minnesota sports superstar.
Speaker 1: Now now you come in going you go from the
Speaker 1: IVY League to the NFL. Do you track a guy
Speaker 1: like that or was he off your radar? And you know,
Speaker 1: the Minnesota I mean, that's a heck come an accomplishment
Speaker 1: for what he did and now what you're doing, Oh
Speaker 1: are you kidding me? I was at his very first
Speaker 1: preseason game. I've never met him personally, but like that
Speaker 1: was the guy that I looked up to and frankly
Speaker 1: still do. His story is unbelievable and I love the
Speaker 1: way that he approaches the game of football. So there
Speaker 1: were a lot of times when I had to remind
Speaker 1: myself of like how he was able to get where
Speaker 1: he is now despite a lot of setbacks and kind
Speaker 1: of just say you know what, like I got to
Speaker 1: just you know, stay on track. It worked for him,
Speaker 1: like maybe to work for me too. When you talk
Speaker 1: about what you've been able to accomplish special teams. Was
Speaker 1: that in your role in college or were you exclusively
Speaker 1: such a high performing receiver that you didn't have to
Speaker 1: go to those lengths because that's the way that you
Speaker 1: were going to build your NFL careers. Frankly, was being
Speaker 1: on special teams just like the same thing for me.
Speaker 1: I was on a kickoff return my whole career exactly,
Speaker 1: and I didn't play much in high school nor college.
Speaker 1: Part of it was an injury my freshman year when
Speaker 1: I think I would have contributed in those phases. But yeah,
Speaker 1: that was a big you know, learning jump too, and
Speaker 1: something that I feel like I'm exponentially better at than
Speaker 1: when I came in here two years ago. And you're
Speaker 1: you're so right, like that is so fundamental for me
Speaker 1: to show what I can do in those phases to
Speaker 1: actually get to step on the field as a tight end.
Speaker 1: It totally comes second to being able to be competent
Speaker 1: and special teams and more than competent. Ted and Jesper
Speaker 1: Horsted our guest here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy
Speaker 1: The Score. This is Bears All Access with Tom There,
Speaker 1: Jeff Joniac We've been there together, Tom and Ike for
Speaker 1: twenty five years doing this. Tim obviously eleven year NFL
Speaker 1: career as a player. And a lot of guys try
Speaker 1: out for football as undrafted free agents. They think they
Speaker 1: want to play, they think they can do it, but
Speaker 1: then the reality starts to hit and the erosion starts
Speaker 1: to take impact. Almost from the rookie mini camp and
Speaker 1: on down, maybe some doubt themselves and they don't want
Speaker 1: to do it anymore. Clearly, you are just the opposite.
Speaker 1: You came in as a converted receiver, projected to be
Speaker 1: a tight end with a two hundred and twenty pound frame,
Speaker 1: and now you've packed on another twenty six twenty eight pounds.
Speaker 1: You had to really want to do this. Am I
Speaker 1: on the right track? Or was there ever anything in
Speaker 1: your mind saying cash, I don't know, I'm an Ivy
Speaker 1: League guy. I mean I could be doing a lot
Speaker 1: of different things now. I don't think that ever really
Speaker 1: crossed my mind, because inevitably, in football you can't play
Speaker 1: it the rest of your life, like there will always
Speaker 1: come times or I'll be able to fall back on
Speaker 1: my education and you know, sit at a desk and
Speaker 1: do all that stuff. But I my goal was always
Speaker 1: to keep playing sports as long as possible, and so
Speaker 1: it never really my mind, even on the worst days
Speaker 1: of camp or you know, yeah, at the worst times.
Speaker 1: I enjoyed your answer when you joined us in the
Speaker 1: postgame show after what is grab some headlines. You're three
Speaker 1: touchdown performance obviously, and the catches were just phenomenal. We'll
Speaker 1: talk about those in our next segment. But with that
Speaker 1: kind of impact and that kind of direction that you
Speaker 1: are getting from Clancy Barrone and Matt Nage, your answer
Speaker 1: about that, yeah, I deserve a spot of the roster.
Speaker 1: I need guys to hear that if I want them
Speaker 1: on my team. And that's what you gave us on
Speaker 1: Saturday night. So that's been bubbling up in you for
Speaker 1: a while, hasn't it. It has. Like I said, it
Speaker 1: was something I have worked harder for than you know,
Speaker 1: just about anything else I can think back on. And
Speaker 1: I really wanted my efforts to show on the field,
Speaker 1: and when they did, I wanted it to be recognized
Speaker 1: that like I was here because I felt like I
Speaker 1: can contribute to this team and I feel like I'm
Speaker 1: now at a level that I can, you know, help
Speaker 1: the Bears win games. Five tight ends on the roster
Speaker 1: right now. That's up some what rare in the national
Speaker 1: football They got know miamis five. Another team has five
Speaker 1: right now, but plenty, plenty of time on the field
Speaker 1: to get the ball into the hands of the playmakers,
Speaker 1: and the tight ends are playmakers on this team. We'll
Speaker 1: continue on with Jesper Horstead after a break with Tom There,
Speaker 1: Jeff Joni Act on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The Score.
Speaker 1: This segment of Bears All Access is brought to you
Speaker 1: by Athletical Physical Therapy. Visit Athletico dot com to request
Speaker 1: an appointment in clinic or virtually and start feeling better
Speaker 1: tomorrow with Jesper Horstead. Kind enough to spend another ten
Speaker 1: minutes with Tom and Jeff here on Chicago Sports Radio
Speaker 1: six seventy the score and advance of a weekend off
Speaker 1: and time to get back at it against the La
Speaker 1: Rams Sunday night, September twelf. It's gonna be a fun
Speaker 1: week up here at hallis Hall. All right, let's talk
Speaker 1: about all you know when you did the game tape.
Speaker 1: I don't know, did you guys watch the game tape
Speaker 1: at all? Even as a tight end group, or is
Speaker 1: that history, because it's a heck of a performance. Five catches,
Speaker 1: a hundred and four yards, three touchdowns, and he drew
Speaker 1: a pass interference penalty that seems to be forgotten as
Speaker 1: well because that's that's the hidden yardage? Or did you
Speaker 1: take they'll look at what you did. We did not
Speaker 1: as a group or team watched that film. I think
Speaker 1: after that last season game, you really shift the focus
Speaker 1: to what really matters and that week one regular season matchup.
Speaker 1: But I certainly watched the film the good and the bad.
Speaker 1: You know, I was out there for a lot of
Speaker 1: snaps and there's a couple I would like back whateverall,
Speaker 1: I was really happy with the performance, you know, and
Speaker 1: I'm looking at more than just the five catches, but
Speaker 1: I show what I could do on special teams. I
Speaker 1: actually had some good blocks in there too, which I'm
Speaker 1: really proud of. So I watched it, but I don't
Speaker 1: think we did as a group. The skills that you
Speaker 1: develop as a wide receiver, how much has that helped
Speaker 1: you into this level of football? And is your speed
Speaker 1: significantly different from a wide receiver body to a tight
Speaker 1: end body. Wide receiver skills I think are totally transferable
Speaker 1: as I'm running routes out there. It's the same stuff
Speaker 1: that I was coached on in high school and college,
Speaker 1: and now to have you know, Clancy and Matt be
Speaker 1: able to even further that education, it's been Yeah, I'm
Speaker 1: certainly a better receiver than I was when I played
Speaker 1: at Princeton or Roseville. I think maybe I lost half
Speaker 1: a step, but I think that's inevitable when you're putting
Speaker 1: on twenty five pounds on the body, and it's a
Speaker 1: little bit different coming out of that three point stance.
Speaker 1: But for the most part, I lost a lot less
Speaker 1: speed than I expected, and I still feel like I'm
Speaker 1: pretty fast, and that's an advantage I have as a
Speaker 1: tight end out there. How long did it take you
Speaker 1: to learn a three point stance? Because there's a real
Speaker 1: question because I'm an offensive lineman, Jesper, I live out
Speaker 1: of a three point stance still, when you're a wide receiver.
Speaker 1: When you're a wide receiver and you transfer that type
Speaker 1: of size into a three point stance, how long did
Speaker 1: it take for you to feel comfortable in a stance
Speaker 1: and out of a stance? Longer than I expected? Frankly,
Speaker 1: it's an unusual stance. You know, I had done, like
Speaker 1: I said, other sports and track, and I've come out
Speaker 1: of stances before, but it's different when you need to
Speaker 1: be powerful immediately out of the stance and quick out
Speaker 1: of it too, because otherwise the defender is going to
Speaker 1: have a step on you. So I would say like
Speaker 1: I didn't necessarily feel comfortable throughout that first year, and
Speaker 1: then in that offseason, I was like, this is something
Speaker 1: I need to be like confident and comfortable out of.
Speaker 1: So I spent more time coming out of the stants.
Speaker 1: You know, anytime I was running on my own, I
Speaker 1: was just like, all right, I guess I'm going to
Speaker 1: do it out of a stance this time last year.
Speaker 1: Really honed in on in the practice squad and now
Speaker 1: feel very comfortable. But it took longer than I thought, really.
Speaker 1: Jesper Horsted our guest here on Chicago Sports Radio six
Speaker 1: seventy the score, Jeff Joni Act Tom There. So the hands,
Speaker 1: the hands are big. That's the aspect of your game. Yes,
Speaker 1: you can use your body to seal off a defender.
Speaker 1: You can run the right routes, but if you don't
Speaker 1: have good hands, they don't have a place for in
Speaker 1: the National Football League? Were they always good or have
Speaker 1: you spent a significant amount of time working on those hands.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's a given you're gonna work out it
Speaker 1: no matter what. But tell me about that story. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think it's kind of been my strength as an
Speaker 1: athlete from the beginning. And I go back to the
Speaker 1: cross training that comes with playing multiple sports. And I'm
Speaker 1: going to throw an unusual one out there, but my
Speaker 1: parents had me playing instruments from the time I could
Speaker 1: walk all through high school, and I think that actually
Speaker 1: did develop my hand eye as well. I was playing piano,
Speaker 1: via in bass, guitar, and I still do to this day.
Speaker 1: And I think I played a little bit of a factor.
Speaker 1: I think most of it comes from, like I said,
Speaker 1: baseball and basketball and obviously football too, but I think
Speaker 1: there's something there too. Well. You know, you can tack
Speaker 1: the time's brother in law, John Scully, who played center
Speaker 1: at Notre Dame and they were roommates. And he's a
Speaker 1: concert pianist, right that's playing center. But yeah, I mean, yeah,
Speaker 1: it's his whole life. He's played music. You know. I
Speaker 1: know you look at me and feel sorry for my
Speaker 1: head of hair. So let's talk about the I know,
Speaker 1: let's talk about the genesis because I look you up
Speaker 1: on the internet everything. Man, you got that boy scout
Speaker 1: hair cut, and now I see you growing these flowing
Speaker 1: locks like h you know, Goliah, David and Goliath. So
Speaker 1: what's up with that? That's a good question. My last
Speaker 1: haircut was at the beginning of the previous camp, so
Speaker 1: last year's camp, and I didn't tell anyone about it
Speaker 1: as the first time telling anyone, but I was kind
Speaker 1: of just like, I don't think I'm gonna cut my
Speaker 1: hair to lie. I'm on the active roster, Like I
Speaker 1: am just gonna see what happens. I've never grown it
Speaker 1: out long before. Maybe I make it this year and
Speaker 1: no one ever notices, or maybe next year, or I
Speaker 1: don't know, hopefully not two years down the road. But um,
Speaker 1: it was just kind of like an internal little goal
Speaker 1: and I didn't want a jink set, didn't want to
Speaker 1: bring it up. And it kind of became fun and
Speaker 1: took kind of life of its own, and now you know,
Speaker 1: like the internet has a field day every time I'm
Speaker 1: out in the field because my hair is so crazy.
Speaker 1: But um, yeah, it's it's fun. It's kind of annoying.
Speaker 1: At times, and it's probably gonna get trimmed up a
Speaker 1: little bit this weekend, not for sure. Um, don't lose
Speaker 1: the juju. Yeah it's true, maybe not maybe talking me
Speaker 1: out of it. So react from coaches and players to it.
Speaker 1: Lots of good, good natured jabs here and there, or
Speaker 1: you got a nickname out of this? A lot of
Speaker 1: good nature jabs. People definitely seem to like it. Um, yeah,
Speaker 1: I haven't gotten a nickname out of well. I got
Speaker 1: a couple here and there from the hair, but none
Speaker 1: of them are sticking, thankfully. So just bro Horse did
Speaker 1: our guests and bears all access tell us what it's
Speaker 1: been like working with Clancy Barrone. I love his personality
Speaker 1: to me, it seems like he's a straight shooter. And
Speaker 1: then just the Jimmy Graham impact he's impacted Cole Cole
Speaker 1: apparently is taking that to a new level as well.
Speaker 1: I mean, is is that just what that room is?
Speaker 1: It's a great room, it really is, and it starts
Speaker 1: with Clancy. He, like you said, he's straight to the point,
Speaker 1: a very seasoned veteran coach, and he just you know,
Speaker 1: is always there as a resource and always there as
Speaker 1: a great coach but does not over coach. I think
Speaker 1: that's one of the best attributes he has. Like anytime
Speaker 1: I go to him, he has a concise answer for it,
Speaker 1: but he's not going to spend forty five minutes describing
Speaker 1: something that you know, I as a player, can understand
Speaker 1: in a couple of minutes. I think he has such
Speaker 1: a good feel for that and just the knowledge is
Speaker 1: off the charts. And I'm gonna say the same with
Speaker 1: Jimmy Graham. It has been so beneficial for me to
Speaker 1: have him because he's a pretty similar not necessarily body type,
Speaker 1: but position wise or both, you know, like more pass
Speaker 1: catching receiver verse, and he sees the game so well
Speaker 1: and so like like I think I said on that
Speaker 1: interview after the game, like all those three routes were
Speaker 1: stuff that I had talked to him before about what
Speaker 1: would you do in the situation, Like if it is man,
Speaker 1: how much are you really stare stepping to you know,
Speaker 1: get yourself open on that? And he, you know, he's
Speaker 1: done it all. Like he's in the league for so
Speaker 1: many years and has caught somebody passes runs so many
Speaker 1: routes that he's just a database for how to get
Speaker 1: open as a football player, and on top of that,
Speaker 1: has a really good knowledge of run game, which is
Speaker 1: something I'm always learning, you know, fronts and where to
Speaker 1: work on double team blocks and stuff like that. And
Speaker 1: he gets it from a receiver's perspective. So yeah, I
Speaker 1: can't say enough of him. And there's more people involved too,
Speaker 1: Like it's not just those two. Jesse's a great database
Speaker 1: and has been on a couple of teams, which I
Speaker 1: think is really helpful. You know, talk about stuff that's
Speaker 1: scheme and talk about stuff that's like, you know, what
Speaker 1: do you think about the way that we're being coached
Speaker 1: on this? Have you learned some other way? And Yeah,
Speaker 1: JP's one of my best friends in the team, and
Speaker 1: Cole is just a star and knows a lot more
Speaker 1: than you'd expect for a second year player. You know,
Speaker 1: Jasper year touchdown catching the rollout pass by Justin, did
Speaker 1: you realize that you were a real option in that
Speaker 1: touchdown catch or was it just kind of a reaction
Speaker 1: because Justin threw the ball because I Jeff's call that
Speaker 1: night on the radio broadcast was you know, kind of
Speaker 1: unexpected excitement from what we see above. What did you
Speaker 1: think as the ball was coming in your direction. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I would say I wasn't really supposed to be there.
Speaker 1: I just kind of started playing football when I saw
Speaker 1: Justin was rolling out. And you know, I think, like
Speaker 1: I said in that interview after the game, I didn't
Speaker 1: really stop to ask questions or wonder why the ball
Speaker 1: was coming my way because I knew I had a
Speaker 1: chance to make a play on it. So not necessarily
Speaker 1: meant for me or how you draw it up on
Speaker 1: a card, but that's not how football is played anyways,
Speaker 1: And so I was glad the ball was coming my
Speaker 1: way in the end zone. All Right, we've been having
Speaker 1: fun with the guys. In our last last bit of questions,
Speaker 1: it's we'll call it a five pack, all right, five
Speaker 1: quick hitters. You opened the door with the instruments. So
Speaker 1: what's your favorite instrument? What's your favorite music? Um? And
Speaker 1: if you've been in a band, I have not been
Speaker 1: in a band, favorite instrument is guitar. I transitioned from
Speaker 1: the other strings enough find myself playing guitar a lot more. Um.
Speaker 1: I really think I appreciate all genres of music. In
Speaker 1: the last year, I think I've especially gotten into classic
Speaker 1: rock that I may be missed when I was younger
Speaker 1: or wrote off and I've just been loving the you know,
Speaker 1: the classic you know, stones Zeppelin, all of them. So
Speaker 1: here go the lawn here, Yeah, perfect, Sephine, all Right,
Speaker 1: favorite book? Favorite book? Um, that's a good question. I
Speaker 1: think it's constantly changing, but I'll go with it's called
Speaker 1: Name of the Wind. It's a fantasy book, which isn't
Speaker 1: usually my genre, but it was just really well written,
Speaker 1: produst achievement. Mhmm. Yeah, it actually might be, you know,
Speaker 1: I like, I'm trying to think of what I would
Speaker 1: have answered for that question beforehand, and I think it
Speaker 1: might be the fifty three. But that being said, it's
Speaker 1: it's weird because it feels great and it's thing I've
Speaker 1: worked so hard for, but it's not the end goal.
Speaker 1: Like I don't just you know, quit because I made
Speaker 1: the fifty three and there's a whole lot more I
Speaker 1: would like to do now that I have the open
Speaker 1: door to do it. So yeah, for now, we'll say
Speaker 1: fifty three, but hopefully there's a better answer coming. Favorite
Speaker 1: app uh Spotify, Spotify? The music Man? Maybe your new
Speaker 1: nickname from me? Is that? All right? The music Man?
Speaker 1: Maybe sweet music down the field and the superpower you'd
Speaker 1: like to have if you could um time travel. I
Speaker 1: think it would be so cool to go back and
Speaker 1: see how different things were in different area eras and
Speaker 1: first stop, it would be your first step. I would
Speaker 1: love to see the dinosaurs, honestly, I just read Jurassic
Speaker 1: Park and tie back into the books. Would and again
Speaker 1: I need a button that can like get me out
Speaker 1: of there immediately too if I need it. I don't
Speaker 1: really want to mess around with them, but I would
Speaker 1: love to see what they were like, and then you know,
Speaker 1: come back to modern times or the nineteen hundreds or
Speaker 1: who knows what. Very interesting stuff. Well, again, the fifty
Speaker 1: three is a great accomplishment, but you got your your
Speaker 1: journey is just beginning in that realm. Yeah, thank you
Speaker 1: very much. It's always a pleasure to come on the show,
Speaker 1: and hopefully there's a lot more as I continue to
Speaker 1: progress on this fifty three. Absolutely go get the rams.
Speaker 1: Maybe a little chip block and Aaron Donald on the
Speaker 1: way out to catching a touchdown. Got it all right,
Speaker 1: Jess for Horsted, our guests, we'll continue on. We'll talk
Speaker 1: with NFL Network to Andrew Siciliano. A little sneak peek
Speaker 1: at the Rams when we're coming back next here on
Speaker 1: Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score. This segment of
Speaker 1: Bears All Access is brought to you by CDW People
Speaker 1: to get it With Tom Thayer, I'm Jeff Joniak, and
Speaker 1: this version of Bears All Access, we're taking a look,
Speaker 1: a little sneak peek the appetizer, if you will, for
Speaker 1: the La Rams. The countdown to kick off on September twelfth.
Speaker 1: On this night, we bring in our good friend and
Speaker 1: former Chicago radio star Andrew Siciliano, now a superstar for
Speaker 1: Direct TV and the NFL network, kind enough to join
Speaker 1: us because he's also the preseason television voice of the
Speaker 1: La Rams. Andrew, thanks for joining us. What you learn
Speaker 1: about the La Rams in the preseason? Guys, that's tough
Speaker 1: to learn a lot from the Rams in the preseason.
Speaker 1: First of all, you're way too kind. That was quite
Speaker 1: an introduction and everything I know I learned from both
Speaker 1: of you. As for what we learned in the preseason,
Speaker 1: I think the big question that remains answered or unanswered
Speaker 1: rather because let me turn it that way, is what
Speaker 1: does his defense look like? You're taking Brandon stay least
Speaker 1: three to four from a year ago, which was the
Speaker 1: number one defense in football. You still have Aaron Donald,
Speaker 1: you still have Jalen Ramsey. You lost some other key pieces,
Speaker 1: John Johnson, Troy Hill, Morgan Fox, most notably here, and
Speaker 1: you're bringing Raheem Morris, who's been a Tampa two covered
Speaker 1: two guy, a four three guy, and he's trying to
Speaker 1: put his spin on it. We had Jalen Ramsey on
Speaker 1: our preseason broadcast on the sideline during one of the games.
Speaker 1: When we asked him about it, he was rubbing his
Speaker 1: hands with this huge grin on his face when asked
Speaker 1: by my partner Keip Delete what his role will look
Speaker 1: like this year. They're going to move him around a lot.
Speaker 1: He's going to be inside outside, not think too you know,
Speaker 1: earth shattering here. But they are very excited to see
Speaker 1: how this defense looks. But I think at the same time,
Speaker 1: there might be a little uncertainty as to whether or
Speaker 1: not they can keep up being number one in football. Hey, Andrew,
Speaker 1: if I was going to be the head coach of
Speaker 1: the Bears, I have first thing I would do when
Speaker 1: I was getting my team prepared to play against Rams,
Speaker 1: I would kind of explain the vulnerabilities and how we
Speaker 1: are going to attack the Rams since you've seen them,
Speaker 1: and if you were in that room, where would you
Speaker 1: say the rams vulnerabilities are at this point in this
Speaker 1: early season process? Okay? Are we talking defensively here? Tom? Defensively?
Speaker 1: It's whenever, both offense or defensive, Like, where do you
Speaker 1: think the most need for improvement is in the Rams? Okay?
Speaker 1: I would say defensively. First, obviously you're running away from
Speaker 1: Aaron Donald, but that's far easier. Said they've done. You
Speaker 1: have two or three guys there, you also have yet
Speaker 1: rather you put two or three guys on him and
Speaker 1: then you try to run away from him. That said,
Speaker 1: I think depth on D line right now is definitely
Speaker 1: an issue. A Sean Robinson is not going to be
Speaker 1: healthy for the first couple of weeks. He had his
Speaker 1: nie scope last week, So they're gonna have some young
Speaker 1: guys up on the D line that perhaps you can
Speaker 1: take advantage of. And they're thin at corner. They only
Speaker 1: have four corners now. When I say thin, Darius Williams
Speaker 1: and Jalen Ramsey are legit. After that, you know it's
Speaker 1: kind of a crapshoot here, but you also don't know
Speaker 1: what they're going to do defensively. Offensively, you have a
Speaker 1: new center. He's a familiar face. His guy that took
Speaker 1: a couple of years ago but really has lost maybe
Speaker 1: the last year and a half as he's come back
Speaker 1: from a knee injury, and that is Brian Allen. He
Speaker 1: has never been that stout Tom. You could see that
Speaker 1: on tape far more than me. He has gotten stronger
Speaker 1: really in the off season. And it was a big
Speaker 1: surprise that they moved Austin Corbett away from center. He
Speaker 1: was a starting right guard. They put him at center
Speaker 1: and everyone thought that was his job, and then they
Speaker 1: moved him back to right guard and put Austin Corbett
Speaker 1: at center. So you have a new center who's played
Speaker 1: the position before, but not the biggest with a new
Speaker 1: quarterback here, and to me, that's a question mark. Now.
Speaker 1: Brian Allen a local kid from Hinsdale and Michigan State,
Speaker 1: so excited to see the local guys get the playing time.
Speaker 1: He is a tough guy inside, no question about it.
Speaker 1: You mentioned the quarterback new quarterback, not to us, not
Speaker 1: in any way, shape or form. We know everything there
Speaker 1: is to know about Matthew Stafford and the fact that
Speaker 1: the matter is the man was not complimented very often
Speaker 1: with a running game. Will he be complimented with a
Speaker 1: running game in La Yes he will, But that running
Speaker 1: game is gonna look a little bit different than maybe
Speaker 1: they had planned. A couple of months ago when cam Acres,
Speaker 1: who they firmly believe, and if you look at cam
Speaker 1: Acres numbers in December and in the postseason, you could
Speaker 1: see that he was an ascending player. They firmly believe
Speaker 1: that he was going to be a number one dog,
Speaker 1: and then they lost him, and so they had to
Speaker 1: figure out what they're gonna do. They love Darryl Henderson,
Speaker 1: but Darryl Henderson's had injury issues and they're concerned that
Speaker 1: they could keep him upright for seventeen weeks. So they
Speaker 1: went out and they got Sony Michelle. Now Sony Michelle
Speaker 1: is going to play week one, but how much don't know.
Speaker 1: They love the fact that he's a one cut guy,
Speaker 1: that he can get up field, but Daryl Henderson is
Speaker 1: going to get the first shot at it. There's also
Speaker 1: a rookie named Jake Funk from Maryland who's coming back
Speaker 1: from a couple of acls, and he has made the team.
Speaker 1: You're going to see him someone third down. They still
Speaker 1: are heavy outside zone. There was a thought that they
Speaker 1: were going to mix in a little more power this year.
Speaker 1: That remains to be seen, however, if they stick to
Speaker 1: that thought. Now that Cam Akers is out the conversation,
Speaker 1: there's two two thirty nine year old offensive tackles in
Speaker 1: this game. Yeah, I know there's a lot of conversation
Speaker 1: about the Bears thirty nine year old offensive tackle because
Speaker 1: he just came on board. What about your Guys' is
Speaker 1: thirty nine year old offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth, who turns
Speaker 1: forty in December. He's back for one more ride. He
Speaker 1: is a he's really a coach. He's a coach slash
Speaker 1: left tackle because he coaches tom more than he practices.
Speaker 1: Sean McVeigh is nice to his veterans, whether it's Wit
Speaker 1: or a new guy like DeShawn Jackson. He's going to
Speaker 1: take care of you and he's going to make sure
Speaker 1: he doesn't wear you down. Andrew Whitworth is really the
Speaker 1: assistant offensive line coach. With the new guy Kevin Carberry
Speaker 1: who came in from Stanford in the offseason, they are
Speaker 1: fine at left side. Eventually he will wear down. They
Speaker 1: hope it is not this year. Joe Nopoom, who they
Speaker 1: took a couple of years ago pretty high at a
Speaker 1: TCU they thought to replace him, is the swing tackle
Speaker 1: and he is waiting in the wings. But the health
Speaker 1: of this offensive line is a, if you want to
Speaker 1: go back to the first question, a big question mark.
Speaker 1: If they stay healthy, and right now they are. If
Speaker 1: they stay healthy like they did in twenty eighteen when
Speaker 1: they were there for the entire season, they think they
Speaker 1: can put together one of those seasons. If they don't,
Speaker 1: then everything you asked about the quarterback on the running
Speaker 1: game I think comes into question. Andrew Ceciliano, our guest
Speaker 1: here from NFL Network at Chicago Sports Radio six seventy
Speaker 1: to score. This is Bears Oh Access, A little sneak
Speaker 1: preak at next week's Bears Rams openers. We've circled We've
Speaker 1: been excited about, yep, a number one defense a year ago,
Speaker 1: and I noticed that all the writers and the analysts
Speaker 1: are pegging this game as a Bears offense with a
Speaker 1: new quarterback and some question marks on the offensive line
Speaker 1: and a new defensive coordinator against Matthew Stafford and the
Speaker 1: number one defensive football That's all last year, and you've
Speaker 1: noted that already, that there are changes that could affect
Speaker 1: that ranking, but you cannot affect the kind of player,
Speaker 1: the wrecker that Aaron Donald is. So give us a
Speaker 1: Bear's perspective as they match up with Aaron Donald and
Speaker 1: the Rams. Listen, you guys know this far more than me,
Speaker 1: is that the Bears offensive line is, even if healthy,
Speaker 1: a question mark, when not healthy, even more so of
Speaker 1: a question mark. I don't know that there's any interior,
Speaker 1: oh live who can walk into a matchup with Aaron
Speaker 1: Donald and go, yeah, we're good, We're good, we can
Speaker 1: handle this. Yeah. I mean the ideas you get them
Speaker 1: upfield and you're run away from him, you trapple, I gas.
Speaker 1: But it's far easier said than done. There's a great
Speaker 1: piece that Jordan Roderigue did in The Athletic a couple
Speaker 1: of weeks ago about Sean mcvay's favorite plays that Aaron
Speaker 1: Donald has ever made. She sat down with him during
Speaker 1: training camp in Irvine and he put together a cut up,
Speaker 1: and his cut up hardly any of him were highlight
Speaker 1: real sacks that people see, you know, in commercials. They
Speaker 1: were plays where he took two or three guys to
Speaker 1: block where he freed a teammate up to get a sack,
Speaker 1: where he said an edge when you know, he looked
Speaker 1: like a superhero. I don't know that you can really
Speaker 1: contain him. He is the most disruptive defensive force in football. Andrew.
Speaker 1: The personality of Jalen Ramsey, it's kind of abrasive to
Speaker 1: anybody who's on the other side of the Rams. Does
Speaker 1: he fit in good with the new defensive coordinator Raheem Morris.
Speaker 1: Is it something that that Morris is going to have
Speaker 1: to look to embrace or is he going to allow
Speaker 1: him to have the freedom to have the same type of,
Speaker 1: you know, on the field personality that he shows. Raheem's
Speaker 1: not messing this up and they are. They are BFFSTI already, Tom.
Speaker 1: The Rams love them some. Jalen Ramsey. I think the
Speaker 1: biggest stink in the offseason was who's going to get
Speaker 1: number two? And they allowed the jersey changes and Sean
Speaker 1: mcfayh had to give it to Robert Woods because of
Speaker 1: his seniority here and Jalen switched to five. That was
Speaker 1: the biggest Jalen Ramsey controversy we had here. He is
Speaker 1: going to have the freedom they're going to move him
Speaker 1: around a lot. Brandon Staley put him in what he
Speaker 1: called last year the star position. And I think the
Speaker 1: one thing from Raheem Morris that we've gotten is he
Speaker 1: does not want to screw up the success they had
Speaker 1: a year ago. And you'll see Jalen in the slot sometimes.
Speaker 1: You'll see him in essence playing linebacker sometimes, and you
Speaker 1: will see him traveling when need be if there is
Speaker 1: a wide receiver that warrants it on the other side
Speaker 1: of the ball. He is the ultimate chess piece, like
Speaker 1: a queen on the board that can go anywhere and
Speaker 1: do anything. And they are not a friend like Sean McVeigh.
Speaker 1: Joke last week actually was Raheem I'm sorry joke last
Speaker 1: week that he thinks that if he had to, he
Speaker 1: could put Raheem, he could put Jalen Ramsey at three technique.
Speaker 1: Those are his words, not mine, and I think he
Speaker 1: meant it when he said it because he was comparing
Speaker 1: him to Ronde Ronde Barbara, who he coach obviously when
Speaker 1: he was young, and he said he was the greatest
Speaker 1: nickel of all time. And not to say that Jalen
Speaker 1: Ramsey is simply a nickel, but you can play him anywhere.
Speaker 1: That was his comparison and said, you know what, I
Speaker 1: bet you could play him at three technique. All right,
Speaker 1: Andrew a final question before I let you go, appreciate
Speaker 1: the time. As we look at young corners Jalen Johnson,
Speaker 1: we assume Kendall Vildoor and Duke Shelley the three nickel
Speaker 1: and outside corners against guys like Cooper Cup, Robert Woods,
Speaker 1: Van Jefferson and the speed demon veteran to Sean Jackson.
Speaker 1: As you look at that matchup, what would you say?
Speaker 1: I would say that be wary of the deep ball,
Speaker 1: and that last year the one thing that eventually doomed
Speaker 1: Jared Goff his fault a bid. He didn't react well
Speaker 1: to pressure when the line broke down. Certainly everything was
Speaker 1: condensed because they didn't have a deep threat last year
Speaker 1: without Brandon Cook, so that was not his fault. But
Speaker 1: last year they do, or this year I spoke, this
Speaker 1: year they have that deep dead. They have the Sean
Speaker 1: Jackson back. Sean is going to stretch the field. And
Speaker 1: when the Sean Jackson did practice this year, he got
Speaker 1: behind people, not only against the Rams, but he got
Speaker 1: behind the safeties for the Cowboys. He got behind the
Speaker 1: safeties for the Raiders as well in joint practices. He
Speaker 1: still has that extra gear and they are going to
Speaker 1: take their shots. The jet motions coming back to two
Speaker 1: at well, probably some of that. And Jeff, like you
Speaker 1: and I talked about last year at one point, nobody
Speaker 1: blocks like Robert Woods, and no one likes to block
Speaker 1: like Robert Woods. When he comes in motion, he is
Speaker 1: looking for someone to crack back on and he revels
Speaker 1: in it. So circle those guys. Sounds like a great
Speaker 1: scouting report. Andrew, thank you so much. Andrew Ciciliano from
Speaker 1: NFL Network and you'll catch him on Direct TV quite
Speaker 1: busy starting Sunday. Andrew, appreciate your time. Thank you. All right,
Speaker 1: I'm a good call, guys, Love you. Thank you, Andrew Siciliano.
Speaker 1: Along with Tom there, I'm Jeff Jony acc Let's take
Speaker 1: a break. One more segment to go with Tom thayre
Speaker 1: here on Bears All Access on Chicago Sports Radio six
Speaker 1: seventy The Score final segment of Bears All Access with
Speaker 1: Tom Thare Jeff Joni Acc here in Chicago Sports Radio
Speaker 1: six seventy Score. We're brought to you by IGS Energy,
Speaker 1: thanks again to Andrew Siciliano. He gave us a great
Speaker 1: breakdown on the Rams. He does their preseason games obviously,
Speaker 1: and that leads us to what this Rams offense we'll
Speaker 1: be able to throw at the Bears. Tommy, you've already
Speaker 1: taken a peek, and one of your intriguing things is
Speaker 1: how those routes are running. It's the Bears secondary with
Speaker 1: Matthew Stafford. Will you have time in the pocket to
Speaker 1: extend the routes to go deeper on that secondary or
Speaker 1: will the pressure be so much that it'll be checked down?
Speaker 1: Charlie right, You know, I think one of the things
Speaker 1: you have to understand is the athleticism by Matthew Stafford
Speaker 1: that the Bears know well, He's not the type of
Speaker 1: guy that's going to be able to run away from pressure.
Speaker 1: It's going to be about the decision he makes with
Speaker 1: immediacy at the line of scrimmage. And now if the
Speaker 1: coverage can match the pressure up front, Because I do
Speaker 1: believe there's vulnerabilities up front on the Rams that the
Speaker 1: Bears defense is going to be able to take advantage of.
Speaker 1: You got to put Matthew Stafford in that hurry up
Speaker 1: frame of mind. Because if you just allow the speed
Speaker 1: of the Rams to run uninterrupted downfield, you could have
Speaker 1: a tough time containing type that type of speed. So
Speaker 1: it's gonna be about the position, the uncomfortable position that
Speaker 1: you put Matthew Stafford in. Well, he challenges everybody. He
Speaker 1: doesn't care how take your coverages. He will try to
Speaker 1: force it in there. So therefore this defense which wants
Speaker 1: to take the ball away will certainly have that opportunity.
Speaker 1: That is the case with Matthew Stafford. He trusts himself
Speaker 1: significant now safety to Sean Gibson gave us a sneak
Speaker 1: peek this week as well breaking down this Rams offense.
Speaker 1: That's why this is the most difficult team when it
Speaker 1: comes to a discipline standpoint, because man, sometimes you may
Speaker 1: see guys on film the ball. It'll be a jet
Speaker 1: sweep here, another one here, and you will see a
Speaker 1: guy just stuck, he don't know where to go. And
Speaker 1: you got a guy like Robert Woods getting a reverse
Speaker 1: running twenty yards up the sideline. Your odds gotta be huge.
Speaker 1: And that's the that's the that's the hard part about it.
Speaker 1: Because we're taughtest defense man. You want to play fast,
Speaker 1: play fast. The fast team, fast, physical, but sometimes man,
Speaker 1: you see too much to see something fast. Man, that's
Speaker 1: a big play waiting to happen against offenses like this.
Speaker 1: So definitely, you gotta have your odds trained and I
Speaker 1: understand what you see and not play too fast. It's
Speaker 1: crazy that may sound, because you're you're taught man to
Speaker 1: the fastest team. Man. Defensively, those are the most effective team.
Speaker 1: So you know when you look at that, man, you
Speaker 1: gotta really just take a step back, slow down, understand
Speaker 1: what you see. Indian react. So I think that that's
Speaker 1: gonna be huge for us. Man. Obviously, we got a
Speaker 1: two week has start compared two years probor Man, so
Speaker 1: we're definitely excited about that oppenitony Man, and we're doing
Speaker 1: some things to get us ready for that. All right,
Speaker 1: So he brought up some interesting things there with I
Speaker 1: discipline time. You know, they want to be a fast offense.
Speaker 1: They'll do a lot of jet sweeps, there will be
Speaker 1: a lot of motion. But you got to somehow get
Speaker 1: through all that window dressing and slow the game down
Speaker 1: a little bit from your eyes as a member of
Speaker 1: the secondary, because they're gonna want to play fast and
Speaker 1: make you start quickening your pace, but maybe you don't.
Speaker 1: Maybe you just calm it down so you trust what
Speaker 1: you see. You know how they always talk about the
Speaker 1: quarterback goal. In the second or third year of the system,
Speaker 1: things are slowing down for me, Roquan Smith maybe calling
Speaker 1: the signals and the huddle defensively, but to Sean Gibson
Speaker 1: is the quarterback of that defense. On the back end,
Speaker 1: He's gonna have to make sure that everybody is a
Speaker 1: pre snap proper position and they understand who their responsibility is.
Speaker 1: And then if someone may be on the wrong page,
Speaker 1: to Sean Gibson has to make up for that. So
Speaker 1: he is going to have a lot on his plate
Speaker 1: and if he can slow it down, that is going
Speaker 1: to be a huge important role for him next Sunday night.
Speaker 1: You know, twenty five interceptions in his career as an
Speaker 1: undrafted free agent out of Wyoming. I appreciate his journey
Speaker 1: and what he's done. He's thrilled to be on the team.
Speaker 1: He's an wonderful spokesman right now. It really gets into
Speaker 1: detail and speaks his mind. And he's very high on
Speaker 1: Jalen Johnson. We heard that earlier in this offseason. He
Speaker 1: brought it up again he says, you watch mark my words,
Speaker 1: it's going to be that kind of year for Jalen Johnson.
Speaker 1: And what a great stage on Sunday Night Football on
Speaker 1: September twelfth, a week from Sunday. How that will all
Speaker 1: play out? You know, I'm high on Jalen Johnson too, Jeff.
Speaker 1: You know, we got to go out to practice every
Speaker 1: day in training camp and watch his daily improvement, and
Speaker 1: then we had a chance to meet him in person
Speaker 1: for an episode of Bears All Access a couple weeks ago,
Speaker 1: and then you get to have a chance to meet
Speaker 1: a guy face to face everything. He presents himself as professional,
Speaker 1: and I think that he had a lot of pressure
Speaker 1: put on him last year when he had no training
Speaker 1: camp and was the starter immediately, and I think he's
Speaker 1: living up to the expectation so far set for him,
Speaker 1: and he cherishes the opportunity. All Right, we only have
Speaker 1: about a minute to go, but we heard Andrew Ceciliano
Speaker 1: explain how difficult it is to deal with Aaron Donald
Speaker 1: is a disruptive of a player that there is in
Speaker 1: the NFL, and has been over the last three to
Speaker 1: four years, certainly a two time Defensive Player of the
Speaker 1: Year winner, take a look at it from an offensive
Speaker 1: lineman perspective on what this front five is going to
Speaker 1: have to deal with. That guy and the rest of
Speaker 1: the bunch. You have to respect him, but you can't
Speaker 1: fear him. Whether it's back in our day going against
Speaker 1: Reggie White or Keith Millard when he was defensive MVP
Speaker 1: of the league. Somebody is going to have a difficult
Speaker 1: to Simon every once in a while. But there's a
Speaker 1: lot of double teams and you got to be physical
Speaker 1: against him. Matt and Aggie's got to call the right
Speaker 1: plays against Aaron Donald to kind of put him on
Speaker 1: an island of a double team. So you can't make
Speaker 1: this about Aaron Donald and the Rams. You got to
Speaker 1: make this about the Rams defense as a whole. Can't
Speaker 1: wait to break it down even further next week, Tommy.
Speaker 1: That's going to wrap us up. Appreciate your time. Also
Speaker 1: thanks to our producers Dan Burreally, Jordan Trdup, and the
Speaker 1: folks at the Score. Thanks to our guests tonight, jessper
Speaker 1: Horsted and Andrew Siciliano of NFL Network. That'll do it
Speaker 1: for us. Thanks for listening, everybody. This has been Bears
Speaker 1: All Access on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The score,
Speaker 1: good Night, everybody,