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Speaker 2: Kier are your hosts.
Speaker 1: Jeff Chilheac aka the Mayor of Bearsville and his sidekicked
Speaker 1: term the surf Faster Thinger.
Speaker 3: Much to discuss.
Speaker 4: We've got the post super Bowl wrap up, the Hall
Speaker 4: of Fame announcements now official, and the Bears dig into
Speaker 4: free agency and the draft. Welcome into another edition of
Speaker 4: Bears Weekly with Super Bowl winning Bears guard Tom Thayer
Speaker 4: and Jim Metal from Serious x MNFL Radios, moving with
Speaker 4: the chains, the ex Bear quarterback. We've got our helpers,
Speaker 4: of course, in the studio at ESPN one thousand and
Speaker 4: our producers Jordan tread Up and Dan Brilly from the
Speaker 4: Bears and the executive producer of the Bears Ready Network,
Speaker 4: Eric Ostrowski.
Speaker 3: Tell us how we doing.
Speaker 4: Jimmy survived, You've been traveling stop, You've sprotted wings, You've
Speaker 4: been flying all over America.
Speaker 3: How did you survive Vegas?
Speaker 5: I'll tell you what. I thought they did a great job. Obviously,
Speaker 5: they had about three hundred thousand fans come in for
Speaker 5: the game, and I thought overall for the NFL, you
Speaker 5: know that these numbers continued to go up. It was
Speaker 5: the most viewed super Bowl, and I think the NFL
Speaker 5: did it without a hit, without a hitch. I think
Speaker 5: it's kind of a dot com bubble that just doesn't
Speaker 5: seem to burst. But as for the game, the game
Speaker 5: was incredible, and I thought to go to overtime, and
Speaker 5: obviously Patrick Mahomes doing Patrick Mahomes things had to be
Speaker 5: pretty frustrating for the San Francisco forty nine ers.
Speaker 6: It was the second smallest crowds and Super Bowl one
Speaker 6: at a little bit over sixty one thousand people. So
Speaker 6: the reason that the viewing audience is so big is
Speaker 6: because they didn't have the seventy five thousand seat you know,
Speaker 6: eighty thousand seat you know stadium that they probably would
Speaker 6: have sold out equally as easy.
Speaker 4: Everybody's got different opinions and how it was going to
Speaker 4: play out and what did play out ultimately, and you know,
Speaker 4: maybe I'm wrong. But you know, you keep talking about
Speaker 4: you got to have special quarterback and I know I
Speaker 4: said that on our podcast this week with Tommy Jimmy,
Speaker 4: But you know, you also got a factor in the
Speaker 4: defensive quotion here, and Steve Spagnolo did an unbelievable job
Speaker 4: throughout the entire postseason and now the most decorated defensive
Speaker 4: coordinator in terms of Super Bowls and wins in the
Speaker 4: NFL history, and that's Steve Spagnolo.
Speaker 5: Yeah, he was tremendous. You know, they were probably the
Speaker 5: most consistent defense throughout the regular season and then got
Speaker 5: even better in the postseason. During the year, they were
Speaker 5: only giving up seventeen point three points a game, and
Speaker 5: I think we know why. Their offense was kind of
Speaker 5: a struggle to get going. So the defense somewhat carried
Speaker 5: Kansas City. And then through the postseason, as I mentioned,
Speaker 5: you're facing the best of the best, and they're on
Speaker 5: the road the entire time, they actually got better. They
Speaker 5: were only giving up fifteen point eight points a game.
Speaker 5: That includes on the Super Bowl as well. So and
Speaker 5: they're the youngest defense in the league. Think about that.
Speaker 5: They average twenty five years of age, and so that's
Speaker 5: a credit to Steve to be able to communicate to
Speaker 5: a lot of young players who they had four rookies
Speaker 5: that started on that defense a season ago in the
Speaker 5: Super Bowl, and how they really carried it over. So
Speaker 5: really a fine job by Steve Spagnolo.
Speaker 7: Yeah, but you know, the one.
Speaker 6: Thing about that, Jim Man, Jeff, is that if the
Speaker 6: forty nine ers don't fumble on the first series of
Speaker 6: the game, and say they just score three points out
Speaker 6: of that possibly seven, then they get the extra point block.
Speaker 6: If they go down and they score that first series,
Speaker 6: then you got Spagnola thinking about, okay, is my plan
Speaker 6: right or else? It gives the opportunity for San Francisco
Speaker 6: defensive coordinator Steve Wilkes to be way more aggressive in
Speaker 6: those first series if you're playing on a lead. So
Speaker 6: there's a lot of different moments in time that you know,
Speaker 6: could change the thinking process of the coaching And I
Speaker 6: do like what the Spagnola did. Man, the guy's really
Speaker 6: a great defensive coordinator. However, when you have plays like
Speaker 6: that that take away scoring opportunities, and when you think
Speaker 6: about the game was one by three and you left
Speaker 6: at least minimum four on the field, it could have
Speaker 6: been a different outcome if it was a perfectly played
Speaker 6: game by both teams.
Speaker 4: Jim, Andy Reid, You've spent many hours talking to him
Speaker 4: over the course of his career. When you add it
Speaker 4: all up, and he's been to the big Game several
Speaker 4: times now, but it took him twenty years to actually
Speaker 4: win a Super Bowl, and it just emphasizes how hard
Speaker 4: it is to win this game. Everybody says, oh, you know,
Speaker 4: you want to compete for a Super Bowl, and that
Speaker 4: all sounds good, but everything has to come together.
Speaker 3: We all know that. To me, you know, you.
Speaker 4: Could talk about all the other sports, but this one
Speaker 4: because of the threat of injury at every turn, on
Speaker 4: every single snap. How do you put that in a
Speaker 4: frame and explain his career, Andy Reid.
Speaker 5: I think he's always been good really assembling a good roster,
Speaker 5: you know. I think even if you go back in Philadelphia,
Speaker 5: you know, five times they were in the NFC Championship game. Yes,
Speaker 5: they only went to one Super Bowl, which they lost
Speaker 5: to the New England Patriots. But you know, to even
Speaker 5: get that far, to have that many cracks at having
Speaker 5: an opportunity to get to the Super Bowl. And I
Speaker 5: think the key in that is one you've got to
Speaker 5: have good rosters offense, defense, and special teams. He's always
Speaker 5: had good offensive lines, he's always had good defenses. Think
Speaker 5: of the great Jim Johnson that was his defensive coordinator
Speaker 5: in Philadelphia, and now he had Spagnolo who's been with
Speaker 5: him five years in Kansas City. And I think he's
Speaker 5: got a great idea in mind to identify his quarterback.
Speaker 5: Think about what he learned in Green Bay coaching Brett Fharr.
Speaker 5: He goes to Philadelphia, he brings Doug Peterson with him,
Speaker 5: and right away he drafts Donovan McNabb. Then when he
Speaker 5: leaves Philadelphia he goes to Kansas City. He identified the
Speaker 5: quarterback and that was to trade and get Alex Smith.
Speaker 5: And now when he's got Alex Smith, he has the
Speaker 5: foresight to trade up in the draft because he identified
Speaker 5: that Patrick Mahomes was such a talent that they identified
Speaker 5: him and then the drafted Patrick Mahomes cultivated him the
Speaker 5: right way. He sat for a year and Alex Smith played.
Speaker 5: But I think he's really got a good idea of
Speaker 5: the quarterback that you need with the style of offense
Speaker 5: that he wants to run. But offensively, he's always been
Speaker 5: good at identifying his QB, and he's got a good one.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 7: I think one thing about Andy Reid.
Speaker 6: I think it's more amazing than the fact that he
Speaker 6: was an offensive tackle in college and then he's by
Speaker 6: you know, known probably by a whole generation that don't
Speaker 6: realize that he was an offensive tackle, but being raised
Speaker 6: in the novel Edwards system at BYU and playing around
Speaker 6: a quarterback in college like Jim McMahon who left college
Speaker 6: was seventy two records and how successful they were and
Speaker 6: the Mountain West back in the day that he's he's
Speaker 6: had an understanding of the importance of the development of
Speaker 6: the quarterback position while he was an offensive tackle, and
Speaker 6: I really don't see a lot of other guys that
Speaker 6: have had that growth potential to that position that didn't
Speaker 6: play quarterback itself.
Speaker 4: Many ways to skin a cat, but I'll tell you
Speaker 4: there's only a few ways to win a Super Bowl,
Speaker 4: and you gotta have certain elements, and we can discuss you.
Speaker 3: Gotta have a quarterback, no question about that. We'll discuss more.
Speaker 4: Brad Spielberger coming up from Pro Football Focus to look
Speaker 4: at the Bears at the draft, free agency and where
Speaker 4: they're poised to strike. Here on Bears Weekly on ESPN
Speaker 4: Chicago and the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 1: You were tuned into Bears Weekly with Jeff Jonyak on
Speaker 1: the Bears Radio Network. This is Bears Weekly with a
Speaker 1: voice of the Bears for twenty three years, Jeff Jonyak
Speaker 1: on the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 4: This segment of Bears Weekly is brought to you by
Speaker 4: IGS Energy. Jeff Joniak along with Tom Payer, Jim Miller
Speaker 4: from Serious X and MNFL Radio is moving the chain
Speaker 4: and Brad Spielberger joining.
Speaker 3: Us from Pro Football Focus.
Speaker 4: He's been with us before, Glad, you rejoined us because
Speaker 4: guess what, here we are again. I thought last offseason
Speaker 4: was going to be the off season of the Bears.
Speaker 4: Constant conversation. That turned out to be the case with
Speaker 4: the big trade, and here we are again, Brad. I mean,
Speaker 4: this is something we have just been talking while we
Speaker 4: were waiting for you, and it's just constant conversation what
Speaker 4: they gonna do and from the inside walls of Pro
Speaker 4: Football Focus.
Speaker 3: And you back from Vegas at the Super Bowl.
Speaker 7: What are you hearing?
Speaker 3: What are you thinking?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 8: No, it's funny, Like you said, we had this exact
Speaker 8: same conversation last year, the Bears controlling the draft at
Speaker 8: number one. I think this time is different though. I
Speaker 8: think you are already going to see the Bears take
Speaker 8: a quarterback at first. Overall, we'll see who that quarterback is.
Speaker 8: I know everyone is talking about Caleb Williams, but that
Speaker 8: is a consensus when you talk to people around the
Speaker 8: league as well in Vegas, which you can tell from
Speaker 8: my voice. I was just in Vegas. That's what everyone
Speaker 8: expects to happen. And I think you trade fields, get
Speaker 8: some draft compensation there, try to get some receiver talent,
Speaker 8: some trench talent on.
Speaker 7: Both sides of the ball.
Speaker 8: And this is the off seas of the Bears, and
Speaker 8: then we're done having this conversation about you know what
Speaker 8: the Bears do it first overall.
Speaker 6: Hey, Brad, you know a subject that I haven't heard
Speaker 6: addressed once so far this offseason. And when you think
Speaker 6: of the finances and you think of the depth of
Speaker 6: a position, where does.
Speaker 7: Beijing fit into the discussion? Do you have to have?
Speaker 6: You know, I don't want to see him go spend
Speaker 6: a lot of money on a quarterback just because he's
Speaker 6: a veteran.
Speaker 7: And now how does he fit into this? And your
Speaker 7: thinking in the quarterback position.
Speaker 8: It's a good question, yeah right, because in theory, you say, hey,
Speaker 8: a lot of teams want to have that veteran leader
Speaker 8: for the quarterback. He said, well, do you want to
Speaker 8: move on from a really good undrafted free agent that
Speaker 8: has probably proven he can be at least a backup
Speaker 8: in this league? And if you you know, you're not
Speaker 8: going to carry three quarterbacks, most likely if you did
Speaker 8: wave him or something like that, try to get on
Speaker 8: the practice squad, someone probably would pick him up. So
Speaker 8: it's a very good question, you know. I think maybe
Speaker 8: they're just trying to build this coaching staff nucleus with
Speaker 8: all these you know, guys from the quarterback Collective, which
Speaker 8: is where kill.
Speaker 7: Williams is training right now now.
Speaker 8: Shane Waldron's been involved there, some of the other coaches
Speaker 8: they brought in Carry Joseph some others have been involved
Speaker 8: there as well. So maybe they're not going to have
Speaker 8: that veteran presence maybe, you know, I know, it's been
Speaker 8: very very common. We hear that it's helpful. It also
Speaker 8: doesn't guarantee you success. As Bears fans can attest having
Speaker 8: any Dalton or Nick Foles or whoever hasn't guaranteed anything
Speaker 8: in the past.
Speaker 5: Well, Brad Jim Miller here and if they do go
Speaker 5: quarterback one, as you suggest other areas of needs that
Speaker 5: you've targeted for the Chicago Bears.
Speaker 8: Yeah, for me, a wide receiver is the next need.
Speaker 8: You know, it's great to get Dj Moore. You have
Speaker 8: a clear cut bona fide number one. I don't really
Speaker 8: think Darnold Mooney is a Bear in twenty twenty four.
Speaker 8: I'm not saying I would would't welcome him back, but
Speaker 8: I just don't see it folding.
Speaker 7: Out that way.
Speaker 8: And I think they are sitting there at nine hoping
Speaker 8: that one of Molik Neighbors from LSU or rom A
Speaker 8: Dounza from Washington are available at nine. I think Dounsday's
Speaker 8: probably more likely. I really think Neighbors and Marvin Harrison
Speaker 8: Junior are going to be top five, top seven picks.
Speaker 8: But a donsay they're really special talent big you know,
Speaker 8: good of the contested catch player, good route runner, late hands,
Speaker 8: late separations, a lot of the nuance of playing wide
Speaker 8: receiver does very very well. I think we'll hit the
Speaker 8: ground running immediately. And then second for me is more
Speaker 8: defensive line help. Whether that's on the interior of three
Speaker 8: tech to kind of move Dravon Dexter around, making more
Speaker 8: of a one technique or another edge rusher opposite of
Speaker 8: Montes Sweat. I think that's where I'm looking if I'm
Speaker 8: the Chicago Bears.
Speaker 4: Brat Spieldberger, our guest here on AESPN one thousand of
Speaker 4: the Bears radio network, Jeff and Tom and Jim Miller
Speaker 4: from Serious x MNFL Radios moving the chain. So with
Speaker 4: that said, we're always focused on the big prize of
Speaker 4: quarterbacks in the draft, but we got free agency before that.
Speaker 4: Where do you see the Bears sitting in terms of
Speaker 4: being poised to strike? They have salary cap space. Again,
Speaker 4: maybe more will be created here in the coming weeks,
Speaker 4: But that's the most obvious attention at the moment is
Speaker 4: what they might do in free agency. And I know
Speaker 4: you dip into that quite a bit as well. Where
Speaker 4: are they cap wise and how do you see things?
Speaker 8: Yeah, they're healthy on the cap and they do have
Speaker 8: more moves they could make to clear extra room. I
Speaker 8: think they'll again kind of be like quietly aggressive. As
Speaker 8: Ryan Poles has mentioned, pick your spots. Maybe had certain
Speaker 8: players like at Tremaine Edmonds, you make a bigger splash,
Speaker 8: but more so kind of just filling out starters. I
Speaker 8: think for me, center is the number one choice here.
Speaker 8: There's a ton of center talent available. It also helps
Speaker 8: that two guys in Evan Brown who started for Seattle
Speaker 8: this year, and then Coleman Shelton who played for the
Speaker 8: Rams with Shane Waldron. So two guys that ran Shane
Speaker 8: Waldron's offense, you know, are available at center. That could
Speaker 8: We talked about having that veteran quarterback. Having a veteran
Speaker 8: center that knows the offensive coordinators offense would also help
Speaker 8: this hypothetical rookie quarterback quite a bit.
Speaker 7: So I go there.
Speaker 8: I look at Bryce Off with the New York Jets
Speaker 8: is an edge rusher. If you want to add a
Speaker 8: pure one on one pass rush winner opposite of Montes Sweat.
Speaker 8: I look at Bryce Off and then the interior of
Speaker 8: that defensive line. There's so much talent there. The big
Speaker 8: name like a Justin Metta Bik from Baltimore, Christian Wilkins
Speaker 8: from Miami had a really good year, or even further
Speaker 8: down a list like a tight Year Tart from Tennessee
Speaker 8: or a Grover Stewart from overrun stuff from Indy. There's
Speaker 8: there's a ton of names there. So, like I said, trenches, trenches, trenches.
Speaker 7: You know, Brad.
Speaker 6: Just to continue the narrative about the defensive line, you
Speaker 6: think about what Chase Young and Montes Sweat did during
Speaker 6: the regular season last year and by moving to new teams,
Speaker 6: and then you think of this year, a guy like
Speaker 6: Chris Jones or Daneil Hunter. Are those guys beyond their
Speaker 6: peak and on the downside, even though Chris Jones I
Speaker 6: think as a heck of a player and Danielle Hunter
Speaker 6: is a guy.
Speaker 7: That's in the division, are those two.
Speaker 6: Guys that you can still identify as players that come
Speaker 6: in and be first ay starters and immediate help.
Speaker 8: I really don't think Chris Jones is done, you know, ascending.
Speaker 8: It's remarkable how good he's in the last couple of years.
Speaker 8: But also you see the kids see now lotning him
Speaker 8: up as a seven tech, you know, edge rusher, and
Speaker 8: he's winning against good tackles, like bending the corner, flattening
Speaker 8: his art, getting to the quarterback. It's what he's able
Speaker 8: to do at six five, three hundred is truly incredible.
Speaker 8: So I wouldn't be opposed to it obviously. That's you know,
Speaker 8: it's my number one free agent in the entire offseason,
Speaker 8: you know, among all teams. But far be it from
Speaker 8: me to be against adding Chris Jones Steel Hunter. I
Speaker 8: think to a degree you probably could make that argument.
Speaker 8: Still a very very good player, the Vikings led the
Speaker 8: NFL and Blitz right by a staggering margin, and so
Speaker 8: his sack numbers are a little bit inflated to where
Speaker 8: they're always bringing extra bodies. He's obviously still a phenomenal
Speaker 8: football player, but yeah, per PFF's metrics and all that
Speaker 8: pass rush, win rate, pressure rate, some of those numbers,
Speaker 8: he's not quite as dominant on a you know, per
Speaker 8: play basis by himself. But again, I would not be
Speaker 8: opposed to ring indidn't Hunter.
Speaker 5: Final one for me? Brad Is I would assume if
Speaker 5: they can't get a long term deal done with Jalen Johnson,
Speaker 5: they would probably put the franchise tag on him. But
Speaker 5: you know, we'll see where that goes. But if they
Speaker 5: were to lose Jalen Johnson, what other corners out there
Speaker 5: in free agency on DC? If they do elect to
Speaker 5: move on from I think he's a blue chip player.
Speaker 5: I really like the year he's at.
Speaker 2: I do too.
Speaker 8: I'm not even twenty five years old yet, so I
Speaker 8: think the number one target there would be a guy
Speaker 8: you saw play on Sunday Night, and that's Lugerious Neat
Speaker 8: and those two are by far the best corners available
Speaker 8: in free agency. Seems a little bit older, but he
Speaker 8: has the inside, outside versatility. You know, played outside this
Speaker 8: year for the first time for a majority, Sticky in coverage,
Speaker 8: very physical. I know we did have the penalty in
Speaker 8: the Super Bowl, but I love about him as normally
Speaker 8: he gets the offensive player to take a penalty. He
Speaker 8: keeps his composure, so he's competitor. He's a talker and
Speaker 8: just a really really good player. Down the board, there's
Speaker 8: some more kind of value options, but I'm with you,
Speaker 8: and I think Ryan Poles agrees with us.
Speaker 7: They got to do whatever they can to keep you.
Speaker 3: Allen Johnson, Yeah, no question.
Speaker 4: He really did spark and I love the age part
Speaker 4: of it. Twenty five that's the wheelhouse for me. My gosh,
Speaker 4: if you can get a twenty five signed up, you're
Speaker 4: in good shape.
Speaker 3: All right.
Speaker 4: We're going to wrap up here, and we appreciate your time.
Speaker 4: What did we learn from the Super Bowl, regardless of
Speaker 4: who won or not, that will echo in throughout the
Speaker 4: rest of twenty twenty four throughout this league.
Speaker 8: Do you think, Yeah, I think it's a continued lesson,
Speaker 8: but really an exclamation point just on the value you
Speaker 8: have interior pass rush and you don't have to necessarily
Speaker 8: have you know, these incredible tackles, incredible edge rushers, you
Speaker 8: of course want them, but you look at this game
Speaker 8: and San frans Interier offensive line kind of got bullied
Speaker 8: and that's why Rock Purty was either under siege and
Speaker 8: throwing the ball away or not able to get the
Speaker 8: ball out at all. And Kansas City didn't really have
Speaker 8: much off of the edge, you know, with an injury
Speaker 8: to Charles Amene who they just couldn't really win there.
Speaker 8: So I think that's just the continued stories. If you
Speaker 8: can collapse the pocket, and the fastest path to the
Speaker 8: quarterback is you know, a straight line from point A
Speaker 8: to point B. So I think more you know players
Speaker 8: like that in this draft class, maybe a little bit earlier.
Speaker 8: I think you're gonna see more and more investment on
Speaker 8: those freakish three techniques that another Bears are looking for far.
Speaker 4: And wide at ten year NFL guard just snickered here
Speaker 4: on our zoom call, tut there about the quickest path
Speaker 4: to a quarterback. He took exception to that one, didn't
Speaker 4: you tell me?
Speaker 7: Now, it's the fact of the matter.
Speaker 6: You know, I've been d down Street that's resulted in
Speaker 6: a sack.
Speaker 7: But I know the importance of interior play.
Speaker 6: And you think about the Bears with Tavin Jenkins and
Speaker 6: Nate Davis.
Speaker 7: Are you confident or concerned?
Speaker 2: So?
Speaker 6: And you talk about the center position already, so you
Speaker 6: know it's you know, that's three positions that you have
Speaker 6: to take in, you know, into your thinking process going
Speaker 6: through free agency in the draft.
Speaker 7: No, that's the good counter as well. Those guys matter
Speaker 7: a ton too.
Speaker 8: The guard market has exploded, and it should have because
Speaker 8: defending those guys defending Yeah, there you gow you like
Speaker 8: that one.
Speaker 4: Yeah, a little past this time, we just talked about
Speaker 4: salaries in the NFL, and it's crazy what what even
Speaker 4: backup quarterbacks are earning compared to what a ten year
Speaker 4: NFL guard who never missed a game made back in
Speaker 4: his day. Anyway, Brad, we appreciate the time. Hope to
Speaker 4: have you on again. You have a lot of knowledge
Speaker 4: and you just banged it out. Loved it, appreciate it,
Speaker 4: Thank you, Thank you so much. Back with Mar with
Speaker 4: Jim and Tom.
Speaker 1: After this, you were tuned into Bears Weekly with Jeff
Speaker 1: Joniac on the Bears Radio Network. Is Bears Weekly with
Speaker 1: a voice of the Bears for twenty three years Jeff
Speaker 1: on the Bears Network.
Speaker 4: Want VIP access to every Bears home game, exclusive seating,
Speaker 4: sideline credentials and more are now available. Get the ultimate
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Speaker 4: Bears Weekly out ESPN one thousand of the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 4: There is no franchise in the National Football League with
Speaker 4: more Hall of famers and more added to the bunch.
Speaker 4: After the addition of Steve McMichael, the great and legendary
Speaker 4: defensive tackle of the Chicago Bears, and Devin Hester, the
Speaker 4: all time leader in funt return touchdowns and by far
Speaker 4: the number one return man in NFL history, had a
Speaker 4: chance to visit with him after the announcements and get
Speaker 4: his thoughts. Devin, good to see you and congratulations. First
Speaker 4: and foremost, I know, it's been a long wait, and
Speaker 4: the obvious question is how does it feel to be
Speaker 4: a Hall of Famer?
Speaker 9: I mean it, it feels great, you know, this morning
Speaker 9: waking up to all the table, the whole night of
Speaker 9: trying to ignore all the text messages and all the
Speaker 9: phone calls. Man, it was a great honor to wake
Speaker 9: up this morning to really officially say that I am
Speaker 9: twenty twenty four Class Hall of Famer.
Speaker 4: So we're gonna take this in steps. Tell me how
Speaker 4: you found out Edri and James showed up at your house.
Speaker 2: You guys are gonna be going driving cars, right his
Speaker 2: old cars? Yeah.
Speaker 9: So edgend called me about a week prior and was saying, Hey, Die,
Speaker 9: I be in town. You want to get up and
Speaker 9: go ride the old schools a little bit right around town,
Speaker 9: go grab some lunch, breakfast, whatever. And I was like fine,
Speaker 9: And so we planned for Thursday around about ten o'clock,
Speaker 9: and So gave me a text message let me know
Speaker 9: the night before the Hey, I be around there. Make
Speaker 9: sure you have your car clean. So I'm up cleaning
Speaker 9: the car late that night, trying to get ready for tomorrow.
Speaker 9: He came pulled up at the house and I didn't
Speaker 9: get the knock. I got the horn, so he beat
Speaker 9: the horn. And when as he beating the horn, I
Speaker 9: you know, ran to the door and just seeing all
Speaker 9: the camera guys and Edge James with his Hall of
Speaker 9: Fame jacket on, and that's when I knew it was official.
Speaker 2: Do you remember how you felt that in that instant?
Speaker 9: Most definitely? Man, it was it was like, as I
Speaker 9: was going to the door, that's when it really hit
Speaker 9: me and I seen the camera guys racing to the
Speaker 9: front door, and it was like, wow, man, like it's
Speaker 9: all said and done, Like it's finally here.
Speaker 2: Devin, who was the first person you called?
Speaker 9: So the first person I called was my mom. And
Speaker 9: when I called, I let her know, Hey, Mom, I
Speaker 9: have some news to tell you. And I was like, Mom,
Speaker 9: you know, out of all the women in the world
Speaker 9: that have sons that played the game of football, I
Speaker 9: can just sit here and tell you today that you
Speaker 9: were the three hundred and seventy fourth mother, Like they
Speaker 9: said that son is a Hall of Famer, And she
Speaker 9: just busted out crying and yeahing and stuff, and it
Speaker 9: was just it was overwhelming.
Speaker 2: I'm assuming you cried as well.
Speaker 7: Yeah, yeah, I cried a couple of times.
Speaker 9: I actually cried this morning as I was scrolling looking
Speaker 9: at the text message and stuff like that, And of
Speaker 9: course I hopped on Instagram and the first first thing
Speaker 9: that popped up was my son and he's home now
Speaker 9: in Orlando, and he posted a picture of me in
Speaker 9: the Hall of Fame, and then the song that he
Speaker 9: put on it. It was just a testimonment how grateful
Speaker 9: he was that I was his father, you know what
Speaker 9: I mean, the way I opened up the opportunity for him.
Speaker 4: You know, that's a great point, Devin, because not every
Speaker 4: Hall of Famer has been.
Speaker 2: Able to share with their own children.
Speaker 4: Some have passed on already and were posthumously honored. How
Speaker 4: important is it that your kids, at their age right
Speaker 4: now are watching this unfold for you?
Speaker 9: It's very important because me as a father, I always
Speaker 9: wanted to set a good role be a good role
Speaker 9: model to them, and to have them to be able
Speaker 9: to say, you know what, my father is a great
Speaker 9: role model and someone's look I can look up too,
Speaker 9: and everything that he does, he tries to make sure
Speaker 9: that it's the best and it's the right decision. So
Speaker 9: I leave a great platform for those guys, because I
Speaker 9: know eventually, one day I won't be here, and the
Speaker 9: moment that happens, you know what I mean. I hope
Speaker 9: that the foundation that I built for my three boards,
Speaker 9: that they will be able to continue the legacy, and
Speaker 9: you know, in the name and to say that one day,
Speaker 9: you know what I mean, with their kids and their
Speaker 9: kids that you know, you guys know that your grandfather
Speaker 9: was a great person on and off the field, as
Speaker 9: well as the Hall of Famer.
Speaker 4: Back in September, you and I spoke at your home
Speaker 4: in Orlando and we talked about the fact that you
Speaker 4: were not a first round draft choice, you are not
Speaker 4: a first ballot Hall of Famer, which was upsetting to you.
Speaker 2: But now you're the.
Speaker 4: First return specialist in the Hall of Fame. So as
Speaker 4: you look back at all those emotions and now where
Speaker 4: you're at, how would you frame it?
Speaker 2: How do you feel about it?
Speaker 9: I feel, you know, I feel blessed. And when I
Speaker 9: sit back and I look at it, when you go
Speaker 9: down the list of not being a first rounder, not
Speaker 9: being the Hall I'm in a first round, and not
Speaker 9: being a first ballot Hall of Famer, But then I
Speaker 9: look back and you know what I mean, you think
Speaker 9: about the position that I'm in right now, and it's
Speaker 9: probably about I can't. I don't even think it's more
Speaker 9: than one person that can really say. Besides, right now
Speaker 9: my situation that a I'm a Hall of Famer, but
Speaker 9: I'm the number one Hall of Famer in my category
Speaker 9: and my position as a Hall of Famer. When you
Speaker 9: look at everybody else, it could be an argument, you
Speaker 9: know what I mean, who's the best quarterback, who's the
Speaker 9: best running back, receive, a defensive back, linebacker. But to
Speaker 9: sit in my position, and it's a specially unique situation
Speaker 9: where I can only say that I'm the best to
Speaker 9: ever do it. When it comes to kickoff and part return,
Speaker 9: I'm the number one kickoff and partment returner in the world.
Speaker 9: And it's a fact right now.
Speaker 4: So you're going in with other Bear ties Steve McMichael,
Speaker 4: the legendary defensive tackle, and Julius Peppers who played four years.
Speaker 2: With the Bears.
Speaker 4: How important is that as well to you? As this
Speaker 4: summer is going to be a summer of Navy blue
Speaker 4: and orange.
Speaker 9: Hopefully man that they see this trend, man and they
Speaker 9: make sure that we have this game be the Bears
Speaker 9: have to play in this game. You know what I mean,
Speaker 9: This is a no brainer, you know what I mean.
Speaker 9: I don't know who the other team we may play again,
Speaker 9: but the fans have to be out and be able
Speaker 9: to see this game in Canton and to be able
Speaker 9: to sit and witness three great legends that came through
Speaker 9: the city of Chicago and to be honored us three
Speaker 9: guys as a NFL Hall of Fame that actually played
Speaker 9: for Chicago Bears. That is, that is the moment that
Speaker 9: the city of Chicago needs right now.
Speaker 4: When you walk down of the stage at honors and
Speaker 4: the curtain came up to present the Hall of Fame
Speaker 4: Class of twenty twenty four and your name was announced,
Speaker 4: can you tell.
Speaker 2: Me what your emotions were like?
Speaker 4: What was going through your head when you walked out
Speaker 4: there with all those guys?
Speaker 9: It was, it was, it was. It's so hard to
Speaker 9: descrive it, you know, because you know, as a kid
Speaker 9: growing up, we don't think about when you when you
Speaker 9: eight ninety ten years old, you don't think about the
Speaker 9: Hall of Fame as a kid. You know, you think
Speaker 9: about what high school I'm gonna play for, what Pop
Speaker 9: wanted team? You know what I mean? And then maybe
Speaker 9: what college I'm playing for, and so to look further
Speaker 9: down in the future and to say that whow you
Speaker 9: know what I mean, those courages open up like this
Speaker 9: is the best award and pretty much the last award
Speaker 9: you can honestly get playing football. Is no other awards
Speaker 9: I feel like you can achieve, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2: This is.
Speaker 9: The end of the road. This is like playing Super
Speaker 9: Mario and you being King Coopan and you jumping on
Speaker 9: the flag. It's no more plans. It's pretty much over.
Speaker 9: And that's how That's pretty much how it is.
Speaker 4: There's also some special teammates, and you played with a bunch,
Speaker 4: but you know the names that pop into my head
Speaker 4: that were on those returns with you blocking for you,
Speaker 4: you know they pop up from Israeli Donna Jay to
Speaker 4: Charles Tillman to Riskshid Jason McKee.
Speaker 2: I'm missing guys, but a piece of them are.
Speaker 4: Going in with you to the Hall of Fame. And
Speaker 4: I know they realize it and they have pride in it.
Speaker 4: What would you say to those gentlemen and the coach
Speaker 4: Dave Toad and the general manager Jerry Andrelo and coach
Speaker 4: love E.
Speaker 2: Smith, and that whole group.
Speaker 9: So, Man, that whole organization on DWN, from love Smith
Speaker 9: and Jerry to coach Dave told Man, I appreciate the
Speaker 9: opportunity of jumping out on the limb. I know it
Speaker 9: was a big hesitant about me in the draft, and
Speaker 9: like you said, this kid here great talent, but doesn't
Speaker 9: have a locked position. And to really really take that
Speaker 9: chance and pull that trigger in and draft me was
Speaker 9: a great honor. And I'm hopefully that I made them
Speaker 9: proud for the decision that they made. You know, some
Speaker 9: draft picks, you know, some of some of the coaches
Speaker 9: that the GMS could be scratching their head right now
Speaker 9: four or five years from now, saying why did we
Speaker 9: pick this guy? So I'm hoping that I made them
Speaker 9: proud and as well as the city and to go
Speaker 9: down to all my teammates and to sit back and say, wow,
Speaker 9: you know what I mean, This was a team effort thing.
Speaker 9: And I know at the end of the day, none
Speaker 9: of these were returns up in Chicago or just end
Speaker 9: of the accolades of the awards wouldn't be possible without
Speaker 9: those guys at the end of the day, Man, and
Speaker 9: and I just loved that I was had an opportunity
Speaker 9: to play on a team like that where special team wise,
Speaker 9: we really really took special team series and we valued
Speaker 9: it and we made sure that this was a key
Speaker 9: three phase of our our system and our team. Oh yeah,
Speaker 9: and most definitely, Man, I wanted to give a shout
Speaker 9: out to Mark Tudaski, man, because I know the story
Speaker 9: of Mark and what happened during the draft day in
Speaker 9: the room, and Man, I know that this guy here
Speaker 9: was was probably about getting a fight with three four
Speaker 9: guys in the draft room, man, and for them guys
Speaker 9: to go ahead and say, hey, man, this is your
Speaker 9: draft pick. We go we this this is gonna fall
Speaker 9: on you, man, And I'm hoping that man. Listen, I
Speaker 9: made moren't proud as well?
Speaker 2: Yeah, Mark Sadowski for sure. Well you're very respected.
Speaker 4: Young players want to be you, Young players want to
Speaker 4: play like you, and young people want to be where
Speaker 4: you are right now. Congratulations very much, Pro Football Hall
Speaker 4: of Famer Class of twenty twenty four.
Speaker 2: Thank you, Devin pre say so much.
Speaker 9: Appreciate too so much, Jeff for all the amazing lyrics
Speaker 9: and just going crazy in the boot man. And I
Speaker 9: was telling everybody this morning, I say, man, whenever I
Speaker 9: hear you talking or yelling, I feel like you're talking
Speaker 9: about me.
Speaker 2: Well, you gave me a lot to describe.
Speaker 4: I took it as a challenge every single time you
Speaker 4: touch the football. And as much as those guys got
Speaker 4: up off the bench to watch you, you got to imagine
Speaker 4: what I had been going through because I had to
Speaker 4: capture that moment.
Speaker 2: I captured all but one. All but one.
Speaker 4: I'll take it. Man, you really you help put me
Speaker 4: on the map too. So I appreciate you, and I
Speaker 4: love you.
Speaker 2: Brother.
Speaker 7: I love you too.
Speaker 4: Jeff Man heartfelt from Hester, heartfelt from me to Devin
Speaker 4: as well. Along with Steve McMichael and Julius Peppers, who
Speaker 4: spent four years with the Bears, including the twenty ten
Speaker 4: NFC Championship game, all will be inducted this summer August
Speaker 4: in Kanton, Ohio. The likelihood that the Bears would get
Speaker 4: the Hall of Fame game as well.
Speaker 3: Well return with Jim Miller and Tom Thayer.
Speaker 4: After this on ESPN one thousand and the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 1: You were listening to Bears Weekly on the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 1: This is Bears Weekly with the Voice of the Bears
Speaker 1: for twenty three years. Jeff Jonyaik on the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 4: Segment of Bears Weekly is brought to you by Athletico
Speaker 4: Physical Therapy. Visit Athletico dot com to request an in
Speaker 4: clinic or virtual appointment and start feeling better tomorrow. Jeff
Speaker 4: Joniak along with Tom Thayer and Jim Miller from Serious
Speaker 4: x MNFL Radio's Moving. I just heard from Devin Hester
Speaker 4: the Hall of Famer our interview last week, and let's
Speaker 4: dip into that because Steve McMichael, Devin Hester, we talked
Speaker 4: about the likelihood they were going.
Speaker 3: In and our last show last week.
Speaker 4: Now we know they're headed to Canton in the summer
Speaker 4: along with Julius Pepper's the four year Bear. Jim the
Speaker 4: Hall of Fame class in general, what did you think
Speaker 4: of it? What will this potentially do in some weird
Speaker 4: way when they get together to talk about kick return
Speaker 4: in the NFL owners meetings coming up in March, Because
Speaker 4: it was a real bummer again not one kick return
Speaker 4: in the Super Bowl touchback City and it just is
Speaker 4: a play. These guys are running down the field taking
Speaker 4: win sprints. I don't get it.
Speaker 5: Yeah, Yeah, it's become an inconsequential play. So I'm with
Speaker 5: you there. I do think they are going to address
Speaker 5: it the Competition Committee. You know, they may implement. Well,
Speaker 5: now it's called the UFL. Obviously the XFL has merged
Speaker 5: to create the UFL. But the XFL used a unique
Speaker 5: kickoff return and it did invite kick returners. So basically,
Speaker 5: the back line would be moved to like the fifteen
Speaker 5: yard line and the coverage team would be about on
Speaker 5: the twenty five yard line, so there's only basically ten
Speaker 5: yards where they'd be able to get to kickoff covers.
Speaker 5: The kickers would be in his normal spot where he kicks,
Speaker 5: but the coverage team can't start going till the returner
Speaker 5: catches the ball. So it does encourage kick returns. I
Speaker 5: talked to who is an Anthony backed. He coached the
Speaker 5: Saint Louis BattleHawks, and he thought it was a very
Speaker 5: effective way to you know, let's not take the foot
Speaker 5: out of football. Where they did have returns. It was
Speaker 5: an exciting play where you could have a kickoff returns.
Speaker 5: Otherwise you'll never see a Devin Hester again. I mean
Speaker 5: you just you won't see it. Teams won't invest in
Speaker 5: their kick return a coverage game and then they'll they'll
Speaker 5: move on again. The statistics are probably going to drive it.
Speaker 5: As for the Hall of Fame, I know we're splitting
Speaker 5: hairs here. I thought Antonio Gates was going to get in.
Speaker 5: I really did. And that's no offense to Patrick Willis.
Speaker 5: But I look at Patrick Willis somewhat like Terrell Davis
Speaker 5: of the Denver Broncos. Right, Patrick Willis had a shortened
Speaker 5: career and he did you know, he would have an
Speaker 5: opportunity to make the Hall. But Terrell Davis had to
Speaker 5: take a little bit of a wait before he got
Speaker 5: in because of his shortened career. That's why he didn't
Speaker 5: get in so early. So I thought Antonio Gates was
Speaker 5: going to get in, but didn't happen. Hopefully it'll happen
Speaker 5: the next time. And the only other one I thought
Speaker 5: Tory Holt. You know, obviously Johnson made it in for
Speaker 5: the Houston Texas, but there's a log jam at the
Speaker 5: receiver position, and I just thought maybe Tory Holt would
Speaker 5: would have had an opportunity to creep in there. But
Speaker 5: again we're splitting Harris. They're all great players.
Speaker 6: Ye you know, I like say one thing about the
Speaker 6: kickoff return because the traditional kickoff return that we.
Speaker 7: All known throughout the history of the NFL, it's.
Speaker 6: One of the most difficult designed plays in all of
Speaker 6: offensive football because the length of requirement of assignment in
Speaker 6: the traditional kickoff return is difficult and guys are never
Speaker 6: committed to their lanes where you can count on. The
Speaker 6: guy you're counting out at the start of the return
Speaker 6: is the guy that you're going to block at the
Speaker 6: end of the return. But the way that the USFL
Speaker 6: UFL have changed the kickoff coverage design, I think there's
Speaker 6: more designable returns when you have that distance of personnel.
Speaker 6: So I think it can be more creative on the
Speaker 6: kickoff return if they did have that shorter distance between
Speaker 6: the defenders coming down and the offensive players waiting for
Speaker 6: the ball to return. So I think it is an
Speaker 6: exciting and not listen man, I'm a traditionalist from wayback,
Speaker 6: but what the examples I saw on the field, I
Speaker 6: think it is something that needs to be explored to
Speaker 6: keep that exciting play in the game.
Speaker 4: I just want the third phase to still be the
Speaker 4: third phase completely. It's how you build rosters. It's part
Speaker 4: of the process and the challenge of building a roster
Speaker 4: that includes your kickoff coverage and your kick return team,
Speaker 4: and the unit is you know guys that can do
Speaker 4: more than just one thing, and otherwise.
Speaker 3: You're going to be eliminate.
Speaker 4: You are already threatening to eliminate the running back position
Speaker 4: in a weird way, and you're going to threaten to
Speaker 4: eliminate even more jobs in the return game.
Speaker 3: I just I find it odd. I just do well, Look,
Speaker 3: it's not.
Speaker 5: Don't even invest teams, don't even invest in returners anymore.
Speaker 5: Jovin Hester, obviously, the Bears invested in him. Think of
Speaker 5: the Cleveland Browns when they had Joshua Cribbs they invested
Speaker 5: in him. Or Kansas City with Dante Hall. These guys
Speaker 5: were kick return specialists. And it is to me it's
Speaker 5: the most exciting play in football that will really get
Speaker 5: the fans at a stadium to jump out of their
Speaker 5: seats when you see one go the distance and take
Speaker 5: it to the house.
Speaker 4: So we heard Brad Spielberger earlier, I'll get your thoughts.
Speaker 4: Because the Bears right now have sixteen free agents. Two
Speaker 4: of them are josh Blackwell and Joe Reid, a wide receiver.
Speaker 4: There are excluded rights free agents, so they can retain.
Speaker 4: I hope they do retain blackwell, but I mean it's
Speaker 4: a small number. They had a lot of one year
Speaker 4: contracts again last year, and that's the process of rebuilding
Speaker 4: a roster to plug some holes. But I'm interested to
Speaker 4: where you guys are feeling about Justin Jones at defensive tackle.
Speaker 4: To have that rotational guy, he gives full effort. I
Speaker 4: like the way he plays. Would that be somebody you'd
Speaker 4: like to keep on the roster time We'll start with you.
Speaker 7: Well, I'd have.
Speaker 6: To see what is my feelings on the future development
Speaker 6: of Zach Pickens and Javon Dexter Junior, a couple of
Speaker 6: guys that they brought in last year because now they're
Speaker 6: going to be considered veterans even though they're only in
Speaker 6: their second year.
Speaker 7: And is there another guy out there?
Speaker 6: And they did sign Billings and so is there another
Speaker 6: guy out there that gives me more explosiveness at the
Speaker 6: three technique defensive tackle. I have all the respect in
Speaker 6: the world for Justin Jones, the guy. I think he
Speaker 6: played better his second year than he did his first
Speaker 6: year once he got complimented by more.
Speaker 7: Concerned at the defensive end position.
Speaker 6: However, if I go out there and I can find
Speaker 6: a guy that has that extreme three technique explosiveness and
Speaker 6: wins the game of leverage, I will have to explore that.
Speaker 6: And I'm not it because Justin Jones listening, if you
Speaker 6: let him go, he's going to be signed in a minute.
Speaker 6: But if you find that guy that really fits what
Speaker 6: we all think is needed at that specific position, I
Speaker 6: have to investigate that opportunity.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think price will dictate it, you know, And
Speaker 5: you know, I believe when you look at Brad he
Speaker 5: said to a guy like you know, say, like last
Speaker 5: year Javon Hargrave was was out there in free agency
Speaker 5: for the Philadelphi Eagles in San Francisco, signs him to
Speaker 5: a pretty big deal. And why maybe the Bears weren't
Speaker 5: involved in bringing in Hardgrave a year ago. And I
Speaker 5: think a guy like Justin Mattabuke, who had just a
Speaker 5: terrific year double digit SATs sacks, is an interior guy
Speaker 5: for the Baltimore Ravens will have to explore and see
Speaker 5: what the prices are out there for his services. I
Speaker 5: assume Baltimore is going to want him back, but you know, again,
Speaker 5: finances are going to dictate them.
Speaker 4: Yeah, franchise tags will be going out as well. All right,
Speaker 4: what type of receiver would you like to see the
Speaker 4: Bears add?
Speaker 3: Not a name, just the type. You know.
Speaker 6: The thing about it is is right now, I'm not
Speaker 6: infatuated with these six five receivers or that you know
Speaker 6: that height as a requirement, and it's probably because of
Speaker 6: DJ Moore. If you get a guy that has the
Speaker 6: ability to catch the ball in traffic, does willingness to
Speaker 6: go over the middle and make difficult catches in the
Speaker 6: red zone and in the end zone, that's what I'm
Speaker 6: looking for. Jim can address that more intelligently than I can.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think for production, I think they've they've got
Speaker 5: you know, good body types as it sits right now.
Speaker 5: But obviously with three guys being a free agent, that's
Speaker 5: an area that they're going to have to tap into. Obviously,
Speaker 5: like you said, productive route runner, very disciplined. But I
Speaker 5: want to see production a guy that can separate, get open,
Speaker 5: a discipline, a route runner where quarterback, no matter who
Speaker 5: it is, is going to have confidence to throw him
Speaker 5: the ball. And I think sometimes that wasn't always the
Speaker 5: case of this past year for the Chicago Bears and
Speaker 5: why DJ Moore kind of was the favorite and targeted
Speaker 5: so much. Obviously he's the best player. He's going to
Speaker 5: command that, but we need a number two to command
Speaker 5: that opposite Hid. No matter who it is. That the
Speaker 5: Bears sugned.
Speaker 4: Separation with physicality, That's what I'm looking at. The separation
Speaker 4: is the critical component. You got to run a perfect
Speaker 4: route and you got to do it every time and
Speaker 4: sell it like hell. All right, we're gonna step away.
Speaker 4: Our final segment coming up with Tom Thare Jimiller. I'm
Speaker 4: Jeff Joniak aran Bears Weekly on ESPN one thousand and
Speaker 4: the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 1: You were tuned into Bears Weekly with Jeff Joniak on
Speaker 1: the Bears Radio Network. This Bears Weekly with a voice
Speaker 1: of the Bears for twenty three years, Jeff Jona on
Speaker 1: the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 4: This segment of Bears Weekly has brought to you by CDW.
Speaker 4: People to get it and get the ultimate VIP fan
Speaker 4: package this season by this at in Chicago Bears vip
Speaker 4: dot Com. Remaining moments with Jim and Tom. I'm Jeff
Speaker 4: Joniak here on the SB one thousand and the Bears
Speaker 4: Radio Network.
Speaker 3: We touched on free agency.
Speaker 4: We wrapped up the Hall of Fame, but before we
Speaker 4: do just I don't know, Jim, if you had time
Speaker 4: to watch the nine and a half minute video that
Speaker 4: ESPN's one of their writers put together interviewing folks about
Speaker 4: Steve McMichael, it was a tear jerkerr I know, Tom
Speaker 4: and I both saw it.
Speaker 3: Tom's got his thoughts as well, but just.
Speaker 4: Grateful that he's he's alive, got the knowledge that he's
Speaker 4: in and hopefully he can make it to the summer
Speaker 4: in Canton there because that's the plan.
Speaker 3: That's the plan. But it was moving, man.
Speaker 5: Yeah, no, I know, it's obviously very emotional. I've talked
Speaker 5: to his wife, Misty. She was out in Vegas as well,
Speaker 5: and we've done some things prior to going to going
Speaker 5: to Las Vegas to see the Super Bowl, and you know,
Speaker 5: this has been you know, obviously a goal, a goal
Speaker 5: that you know everybody wants to score and get across
Speaker 5: the finish line to get him at for that special
Speaker 5: moment in Canton. I know the Chicago Bears organization has
Speaker 5: stepped up. I know his former teammates have stepped up. Obviously.
Speaker 5: Misty's got a lot of friends and loved ones that
Speaker 5: want to see her accomplish this goal for Mongo McMichael
Speaker 5: as well, and hopefully everything will will work out exactly
Speaker 5: the way everybody wants it to. So, you know, he's
Speaker 5: well deserved to get into the Hall of Fame and
Speaker 5: hopefully he'll be there to really experience it.
Speaker 6: Listen, man, me is a guy that carries so much
Speaker 6: clout and respect in the in the weight room, in
Speaker 6: the locker room, in front of any coaches that he's
Speaker 6: ever been had a chance to talk to, how dedicated
Speaker 6: he is to making other guys better.
Speaker 7: And I think that's kind of one of the tribut
Speaker 7: you know.
Speaker 6: You know, a lot of guys aren't attributed to that
Speaker 6: so much as a guy like Steve McMichael, and you know,
Speaker 6: like Jim says, and we all think that he's he's
Speaker 6: earned the opportunity to be in the Hall of Fame
Speaker 6: because of commitment and results. And the only reason I
Speaker 6: feel bad about Steve getting in the Hall of Fame
Speaker 6: now is because I think twenty years ago he would
Speaker 6: have given one of the greatest speeches on the podium
Speaker 6: at Hall of Fame Weekend that you would have ever
Speaker 6: seen from any other player in the history of Hall
Speaker 6: of Famers. But I think the love and the dedication
Speaker 6: that the teammates have for Steve McMichael, it's evident and
Speaker 6: obvious by the train of people that go and continuously
Speaker 6: visit him.
Speaker 4: Kay Channel two did an interview with Bears President and
Speaker 4: CEO Kevin Warren this week. Just over a year ago,
Speaker 4: he came to the Bears and he talked about the
Speaker 4: quote decisions that will resonate over the next fifty years,
Speaker 4: and some of those decisions obviously surround a stadium, a
Speaker 4: new stadium, a dome stadium here in Chicago, or on
Speaker 4: any of the other properties that they're exploring, including what
Speaker 4: they own in the three hundred and twenty six acres
Speaker 4: in Arlington Heights. Tom will start with you, it's just
Speaker 4: an exciting time. He's building relationship with Mayor Johnson in
Speaker 4: the city. The staff's working tirelessly on this and we
Speaker 4: should be learning here, I would think in the short
Speaker 4: term what the plan is going to be. And he's
Speaker 4: putting full support also in building this team and giving
Speaker 4: Ryan Poles and his staff exactly what they need to
Speaker 4: get it done.
Speaker 7: Well.
Speaker 6: As a Bears fan, priority number one is figuring out
Speaker 6: a way to get this team into the playoffs and
Speaker 6: deep into the playoffs and then.
Speaker 7: Compete for a Super Bowl.
Speaker 6: I think if anybody loses sight of that, then you
Speaker 6: know they don't really know what's important to sports franchise
Speaker 6: of any sport. Number two is being a lifelong Chicago Joliet,
Speaker 6: Chicago residents. And from the time I used to drive
Speaker 6: into the city and I used to see that stadium
Speaker 6: sit dormant for four months a year, it kind of
Speaker 6: frustrated me because you took in consideration what could be
Speaker 6: going on in there between February March, April into May
Speaker 6: and now which you think all the stadiums at all
Speaker 6: of us, Jim, you and Jeff and I we've been
Speaker 6: in all the stadiums around the NFL landscape, and you
Speaker 6: think of what the city is capable of bringing twelve
Speaker 6: months a year, not only eight months a year. So
Speaker 6: the vision and the insight and know what you think
Speaker 6: could happen in that stadium between Super Bowls and Big
Speaker 6: Ten championship games, in final fours and all the other things.
Speaker 6: The Dome stadium isn't obvious. And if it happens on
Speaker 6: the lake Front, I think that will benefit the city
Speaker 6: of Chicago.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I just think from that standpoint standpoint, they won't
Speaker 5: be shortsighted like they were last time, because I think
Speaker 5: we all agree, how great would Chicago be. You've got
Speaker 5: all the great restaurants, You've got the hotels that can
Speaker 5: accommodate fans coming in, just like what Las Vegas experiences
Speaker 5: past weekend. To make Chicago, the city of Chicago a
Speaker 5: show piece. Think of all that revenue that Tom just mentioned,
Speaker 5: Big Ten championship games, final fours. He's got to be
Speaker 5: multi purpose facilities that really you can generate revenue all
Speaker 5: year round. And what better place to really have that
Speaker 5: revenue infused into it than the city of Chicago. But
Speaker 5: first things first, as Tom mentioned, it's to get to
Speaker 5: you know, if you build a stadium. The NFL has
Speaker 5: quickly rewarded the cities that have built the new stadiums
Speaker 5: to host a Super Bowl. And what better city would
Speaker 5: be better to host a Super Bowl than the city
Speaker 5: of Chicago. They've got everything there to just be a
Speaker 5: great place to host one.
Speaker 4: All right, wrapping up combines coming up here a couple
Speaker 4: of weeks away, and this is one it gets real serious.
Speaker 3: Jimmy A.
Speaker 4: Lot to discuss. I mean, everybody's got their top one hundreds.
Speaker 4: And it's interesting because Dan Brugler from The Athletic, who
Speaker 4: I have a lot of respect for his new top
Speaker 4: one hundred. It is offensive heavy.
Speaker 5: I always believe this. I think need Trump's everything. Okay,
Speaker 5: you know I don't teams say, oh, we're here to
Speaker 5: take the best player available. But you know why are
Speaker 5: teams trading up to grab a quarterback because they need
Speaker 5: a quarter He and Carolina needed a quarterback. They traded
Speaker 5: up from nine to one because they didn't have a quarterback.
Speaker 5: So I personally believe need Trump's what the team is
Speaker 5: going to take. And so you know, you look at
Speaker 5: Houston last year. They needed a quarterback and they needed
Speaker 5: a pass rusher. Here they traded up so that they
Speaker 5: could get both both a quarterback and obviously Will Anderson
Speaker 5: who won the defensive Rookie of the Year. So I
Speaker 5: believe it's need and by that definition alone, it won't
Speaker 5: be just offensive dominated. If a team needs a defender,
Speaker 5: they'll justify, you know, making the selection and say, no,
Speaker 5: that's where we had him greater that Remember Tyson and
Speaker 5: Lululu who got drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars. He went
Speaker 5: top ten and everybody's like, Oh, that's a reach, that's
Speaker 5: a reach. They needed a d tackle they take. They
Speaker 5: took Tyson a Lululu.
Speaker 3: Tom eight offensive linemen in his top twenty.
Speaker 6: Yeah, glad to see that because it's a it's a
Speaker 6: position of importance. But I both of you guys, and
Speaker 6: I blamed both of you guys for this. I used
Speaker 6: to love watching the Senior Ball and the Senior Bowl
Speaker 6: practices and then you kind of carry it through to
Speaker 6: the Combine. Now I'm so disappointed of what I've seen
Speaker 6: out of the Senior Bowl.
Speaker 7: And now I got to re see.
Speaker 6: The Combine because watching the quarterbacks throughout the week of
Speaker 6: practice at the Senior Ball, I didn't see anything in
Speaker 6: the game itself.
Speaker 7: So now even though you know it's the Combine, I
Speaker 7: need to go and re.
Speaker 6: See all the quarterbacks arm strength, decision making process, accuracy,
Speaker 6: the difficult passes that they make them throw repetitively. So
Speaker 6: disappointed in what the Senior Bowl showed me. Now it
Speaker 6: kind of reignites my interest in the Combine.
Speaker 3: But that's the definition of scouting. Why are you blaming Jimini.
Speaker 3: I don't get it.
Speaker 6: I'm blaming both of you guys for what reason the
Speaker 6: hand in broadcasting that game, and I spent hours throughout
Speaker 6: the course of the week watching and rewatching the practice.
Speaker 7: You see guys bailing in the midst of the game.
Speaker 2: Jim, I'm confused.
Speaker 3: I'm confused.
Speaker 5: Michael, Michael Panix was my first interview before kickoff. I
Speaker 5: was twisting his arm to get in there. I said,
Speaker 5: you had a great week, just don't play.
Speaker 4: Uh, well, we're gonna We're gonna have a lot of
Speaker 4: fun this offseason.
Speaker 3: I can guarantee you that.
Speaker 4: Boys, we gotta run. Jim, thank you as always. Take
Speaker 4: some time off now, just just leaven a day, just
Speaker 4: to regroup. Well, you even working.
Speaker 5: Hard when I'm not doing that, Jeff, I'm gonna reintroduce
Speaker 5: myself to my children.
Speaker 3: Yeah, there you go. We'll figure it out exactly. That's
Speaker 3: gonna do it for us.
Speaker 4: Appreciate all our help from our producers, and most of
Speaker 4: all you for listening. For Brad Spielberger from PFF, for
Speaker 4: Tom Thayer and Jim Miller.
Speaker 3: I'm Jeff Joniac. Have a good night, everybody. On the
Speaker 3: new radio home of the Chicago Bears ESPN Chicago.
Speaker 2: Good Night.
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