WEBVTT - Legacy Panel - 06' NFC Championship 0:00:09.920 --> 0:00:12.440 All right, hello, once again, I gotta tell you, and 0:00:12.560 --> 0:00:15.040 you sit back and do your work and your research. 0:00:15.360 --> 0:00:19.079 And Tom and I lived it with these guys. This 0:00:19.239 --> 0:00:24.119 was one heck of a football team. Right here in 0:00:24.239 --> 0:00:27.760 the final analysis, you're gonna realize just how good this 0:00:27.800 --> 0:00:30.480 football team was. A lot of great players. One of 0:00:30.520 --> 0:00:34.519 the most memorable seasons obviously embarrass history in recent vintage. 0:00:35.080 --> 0:00:38.640 And it's started with that shutout win at Lambeau. Start 0:00:38.680 --> 0:00:43.360 the season a rookie button, dam but Devin Hester came 0:00:43.440 --> 0:00:51.720 through in that game. I mean, there's your rookie year, 0:00:51.840 --> 0:00:55.800 first game, Devin coming into the stadium at Lambeau with 0:00:56.000 --> 0:00:58.240 Lovey Smith and the crew getting ready for after a 0:00:58.280 --> 0:01:00.960 playoff season in two thousand and five. A lot of 0:01:01.000 --> 0:01:06.720 good things happened, Rex going deep, a couple of big catches, Mussin, Muhammad, 0:01:07.120 --> 0:01:11.440 Bernard Baron, A lot of good stuff happened in Lambeaux. 0:01:12.120 --> 0:01:15.959 So I started out out, Roberto Garza, did that game 0:01:16.040 --> 0:01:18.760 set the tone for the season, no question about it. 0:01:18.760 --> 0:01:21.400 When you step on the field against the Green Bay Packers, 0:01:21.400 --> 0:01:23.480 And I said the temple like Devin did, and with 0:01:23.520 --> 0:01:26.160 that offensive line and obviously that great defense man that 0:01:26.480 --> 0:01:28.120 that's that's a bar pretty high and go out there 0:01:28.120 --> 0:01:29.760 and try to win football games from the beginning of 0:01:30.080 --> 0:01:35.040 the season, and we're able to do that all year. Devin, 0:01:36.720 --> 0:01:41.479 first game, really you're taking it to the house. I mean, 0:01:41.520 --> 0:01:44.319 that was something that puts you on the map right away. 0:01:44.360 --> 0:01:47.400 The teams started changing the way they looked at you. 0:01:47.480 --> 0:01:50.920 Then as a return man, I would say, so, you know, 0:01:52.040 --> 0:01:54.680 coming into from college, you know and things I didn 0:01:54.800 --> 0:01:59.640 return game. They pretty much said it with applausible O 0:01:59.720 --> 0:02:03.640 Mama to come in to the league and to come 0:02:03.680 --> 0:02:05.480 into the league the first my first game and make 0:02:05.520 --> 0:02:07.200 a statement to say, hey, this is a guy that 0:02:07.280 --> 0:02:08.639 did all of the turn of the callege. I want 0:02:08.639 --> 0:02:10.080 to do the same thing when once I got to 0:02:10.080 --> 0:02:12.000 the NFL, and I knew the only way to do 0:02:12.040 --> 0:02:13.880 that was to set it out the first lay the game, 0:02:14.040 --> 0:02:17.240 the first game, Hey all on the the walk down 0:02:17.280 --> 0:02:20.320 that ramp, when you go to that lambeau Field at 0:02:20.320 --> 0:02:22.560 the start of the open the first game of an 0:02:22.639 --> 0:02:26.680 NFL season, how nerve racking? How special is that feeling 0:02:26.800 --> 0:02:30.000 to start that whole trip, well, especially at Green Bay 0:02:30.080 --> 0:02:32.240 with your rival or you want to go out there 0:02:32.240 --> 0:02:34.720 put on a show. And we had a special feeling 0:02:34.800 --> 0:02:37.000 going into that season, right we knew we were gonna 0:02:37.040 --> 0:02:39.840 be pretty good and we wanted to prove that to everybody. 0:02:40.040 --> 0:02:42.640 And I think the score was twenty six zero or 0:02:42.680 --> 0:02:45.520 something like that, and we put on him and a 0:02:45.560 --> 0:02:47.959 lot of it was how good that defense was a 0:02:48.120 --> 0:02:51.440 run game and then this guy was electric. So it 0:02:51.520 --> 0:02:53.160 was so fun to be a part of that team 0:02:53.400 --> 0:02:55.920 and to go out there put it on Green Bay 0:02:55.960 --> 0:02:58.560 like that. We made a statement early that that we 0:02:58.639 --> 0:03:05.040 knew we were gonna be pretty good. Patrick, same theme, 0:03:05.440 --> 0:03:07.880 same theme, you know, like Oland, I'm gonna piggyback on 0:03:07.919 --> 0:03:10.080 one old and said two thousand and five, we were 0:03:10.120 --> 0:03:12.160 pretty good, but we were young, and we knew we 0:03:12.240 --> 0:03:15.440 had talent coming up, and we knew everybody was getting 0:03:15.440 --> 0:03:18.480 a year older and getting a year better, and going 0:03:18.520 --> 0:03:20.920 through that training camp, like you said, we were pretty 0:03:20.960 --> 0:03:22.679 confident we were gonna be pretty good. We felt like 0:03:22.720 --> 0:03:24.600 we could be pretty good, and to go into that 0:03:24.600 --> 0:03:26.200 game and do what we did, I think we proved 0:03:26.200 --> 0:03:28.760 it to ourselves and that started that run of what 0:03:28.880 --> 0:03:31.080 seven wins in a row, and that's that's what started it. 0:03:31.160 --> 0:03:35.320 Right there. Charles loves defense and everybody in it thrived 0:03:35.440 --> 0:03:38.680 you guys like today's Bears if twenty eighteen number one 0:03:38.680 --> 0:03:40.680 in the league, and takeaways number one and three and 0:03:40.720 --> 0:03:47.960 outs number four, and scoring defense thirty four interceptions, defensive 0:03:48.000 --> 0:03:53.240 touchdowns galore. Nine defensive Pro Bowlers from that era of 0:03:53.280 --> 0:03:58.400 Bears football. What made that defense so unique and special? 0:03:59.440 --> 0:04:01.720 I think it was just the mindset that Coach Smith 0:04:02.520 --> 0:04:05.400 set for us. Like Coach Nagi says he has a 0:04:05.400 --> 0:04:08.360 good culture, I think Coach Smith said, uh, he said 0:04:08.400 --> 0:04:10.160 the tone. He had a really good culture for US. 0:04:11.200 --> 0:04:14.640 Hall of Fame. Brian Urlacher, what a great leader. And 0:04:14.840 --> 0:04:16.520 you know, when you're in that huddel and you make 0:04:16.560 --> 0:04:19.560 a mistake, Brian has no problem cursing you out. And 0:04:19.960 --> 0:04:21.719 I don't like to get cursed out, so I just 0:04:21.720 --> 0:04:28.039 try to do my job. I think after you you 0:04:28.160 --> 0:04:31.279 have a fast start, does the pressure build for that season? 0:04:31.640 --> 0:04:33.720 You know, because I don't know if what was love 0:04:33.760 --> 0:04:36.000 you a guy that put pressure on you, or did 0:04:36.040 --> 0:04:38.600 you guys put pressure on yourself? I know because I 0:04:38.600 --> 0:04:40.800 always hear you guys talk about how close that locker 0:04:40.880 --> 0:04:44.280 room was. So was it putting pressure on yourselves or 0:04:44.880 --> 0:04:48.040 was it something that just came with the season. It 0:04:48.080 --> 0:04:50.480 was a little bit of both. I think coach Smith 0:04:50.640 --> 0:04:54.360 was he was a defensive head coach, so he expected 0:04:54.520 --> 0:04:57.680 the defense to do more. Um. I remember one game 0:04:57.720 --> 0:05:00.880 he goes, hey, defense, if we don't score, we don't win. 0:05:00.920 --> 0:05:02.960 If we don't score defensive touchdowns, and we're not winning 0:05:02.960 --> 0:05:04.720 this game. So y'all need to we need to score, 0:05:04.880 --> 0:05:06.800 you know, we need to score some points. The offensive 0:05:06.800 --> 0:05:08.839 players in that room, there were not It was a 0:05:08.839 --> 0:05:11.279 defensive meeting. It was a defensive meeting. But that's just 0:05:11.360 --> 0:05:13.120 kind of that was a guy love he was. He 0:05:13.400 --> 0:05:17.320 was defense wins games. You know, he was old school. 0:05:17.560 --> 0:05:20.520 You know, there's that saying offensives take his defense wins games. 0:05:20.520 --> 0:05:22.520 But that that's just kind of the that's just that's 0:05:22.560 --> 0:05:24.640 where all the money was, Tom, I mean, all the 0:05:24.720 --> 0:05:26.560 salary cap was on the defense side of the ball. 0:05:26.560 --> 0:05:34.560 They better score and Roberto and old you know, it 0:05:34.600 --> 0:05:38.600 became almost a medium mock that Love. He would say, hey, 0:05:38.600 --> 0:05:41.120 we get off the bus run of the ball. But 0:05:41.400 --> 0:05:44.400 was that a message to you guys, it's not your shoulders? 0:05:44.440 --> 0:05:46.800 And did you embrace that? Did you love when he 0:05:46.880 --> 0:05:49.280 said that? No question about it. You know, obviously Harry 0:05:49.320 --> 0:05:51.719 Heaston was a coach who was not here, um, and 0:05:51.800 --> 0:05:55.080 we have Thomas Jones, Ruben Brown, Fred Miller, John Tate. 0:05:55.160 --> 0:05:57.640 I mean the offensive line. All we wanted to do 0:05:57.720 --> 0:06:00.280 was double team people, and that was the mindset from 0:06:00.320 --> 0:06:04.200 Ron Turner, from coach Lovey. You know, we had that defense, 0:06:04.240 --> 0:06:07.160 So go out there and move the football, double team people, 0:06:07.200 --> 0:06:10.040 move off the line of scrimmage, and let Thomas Jones 0:06:10.080 --> 0:06:12.640 go out and do what he does. Obviously, when you 0:06:12.720 --> 0:06:14.400 run the football, you control the game and all the 0:06:14.440 --> 0:06:18.400 defenses fresh. We have more first downs and able to 0:06:18.440 --> 0:06:19.920 keep the ball away from the other team and then 0:06:20.080 --> 0:06:22.920 keep those guys fresh, and I guess anybody, they're gonna 0:06:22.920 --> 0:06:24.919 create turnovers and get to the quarterback. So when you 0:06:24.960 --> 0:06:27.160 they tell you, hey, running the football, that's what we 0:06:27.200 --> 0:06:29.599 wanted to do in a way. Yeah, you know, Jeff, 0:06:29.600 --> 0:06:31.760 we just had all the components, right. So we did 0:06:31.800 --> 0:06:34.920 have a good offensive line, Ruben Brown and like guards 0:06:34.960 --> 0:06:37.320 just said, but we also had des Clark and then 0:06:37.360 --> 0:06:39.520 Moose Muhammad who would control the middle of the field. 0:06:39.680 --> 0:06:42.400 But nar Burying would take the top off of any defense, right, 0:06:42.440 --> 0:06:45.640 so as soon as the guys started crowding us, we 0:06:45.680 --> 0:06:47.440 had a guy who could go deep and you know, 0:06:47.480 --> 0:06:50.000 and laid in that playoff run. But nar Burying had 0:06:50.000 --> 0:06:51.800 a lot of big games there and he was, you know, 0:06:51.839 --> 0:06:54.200 whenever they would come down and with Cedric, Bens and 0:06:54.240 --> 0:06:57.680 Thomas running the ball and Rex would hit Bernard and 0:06:57.720 --> 0:06:59.360 that would give us more room to run the ball. 0:06:59.400 --> 0:07:02.200 So we had all the components that year to be 0:07:02.240 --> 0:07:05.280 a strong running team. You know, Patrick, you probably you 0:07:05.400 --> 0:07:09.080 lose special teams as well as anybody when you got 0:07:09.080 --> 0:07:11.800 to play alongside a guy like Devin Hester. When you 0:07:11.840 --> 0:07:14.240 guys were sitting in the meetings and devising a scheme 0:07:14.560 --> 0:07:18.200 for Devon, did you understand the greatness that you were 0:07:18.280 --> 0:07:21.640 witnessing and to be a part of and developing. Yeah, 0:07:21.680 --> 0:07:23.960 there's no doubt about it. And you know, having Dave Toby, 0:07:24.000 --> 0:07:27.200 our special teams coordinator, knowing that we had a special talent, 0:07:27.920 --> 0:07:30.440 he was able to cultivate that room to understand that, hey, 0:07:30.480 --> 0:07:32.400 we got to make the most of this. And guys 0:07:32.480 --> 0:07:35.360 loved blocking for Devon. The funny thing is Tom that 0:07:35.920 --> 0:07:38.480 guys were begging to get on the punt return team. Peanut, 0:07:38.560 --> 0:07:40.160 you were on the punt return team. You know, guys 0:07:40.200 --> 0:07:41.840 wanted to be on the kickoff retern team. They wanted 0:07:41.880 --> 0:07:43.200 to be out there when he had the ball, and 0:07:43.680 --> 0:07:46.200 we understood that we got the special one, you know, 0:07:46.560 --> 0:07:48.320 and guys were fighting to get out there, and you know, 0:07:48.360 --> 0:07:50.920 you were part of a two starting cornerback wanting to 0:07:50.920 --> 0:07:53.720 be on the punt return team. Yeah, I mean I 0:07:53.720 --> 0:07:56.000 don't think I was. I don't think I knew I 0:07:56.040 --> 0:07:58.760 was witnessing greatness because I was always blocking for him, 0:07:58.840 --> 0:08:01.000 just running down the field. And then a lot of 0:08:01.000 --> 0:08:04.040 the I guess touchdowns you have, I don't even celebrate 0:08:04.080 --> 0:08:06.320 with you because I'm so damn tired. I'm trying to 0:08:06.360 --> 0:08:09.320 catch my breath. You like, roll the one you rolled 0:08:09.400 --> 0:08:13.440 like eight nine times. I was like, yeah, okay, I'm tired. 0:08:13.480 --> 0:08:16.320 I gotta go back out to those defense Devin. You know, 0:08:16.600 --> 0:08:19.320 and all the returns, there's an obvious point of attack 0:08:19.360 --> 0:08:21.360 that you try to pay attention to and they try 0:08:21.360 --> 0:08:24.160 to develop for you. But I asked you last night, 0:08:25.280 --> 0:08:29.680 how how far of recognition did you say, okay, I'm gone, 0:08:29.960 --> 0:08:32.439 Even when you saw the blocks unfold in front of you, 0:08:32.720 --> 0:08:35.920 or you saw that one crease that you needed as 0:08:35.920 --> 0:08:38.960 a returner, it was always like the first ten yards 0:08:39.040 --> 0:08:40.880 and my mentally, if I can get the first ten 0:08:40.960 --> 0:08:43.480 yards to get the head of a fourhead of thing running. 0:08:44.040 --> 0:08:47.240 That is, that's where all the grinding the grid is 0:08:47.280 --> 0:08:48.960 when the first ten yards of returning, and if I 0:08:49.000 --> 0:08:51.600 can break free through the the rest of the work 0:08:51.679 --> 0:08:54.079 is easy. You know. So I was built around but 0:08:54.200 --> 0:08:57.480 coach Dave with a great group of guys, and like 0:08:57.600 --> 0:09:00.480 these guys, say Man and special team co day with 0:09:00.600 --> 0:09:03.600 the Jeans. When it came to returns, he spend day 0:09:03.600 --> 0:09:06.440 out and day in and day out to prepare my 0:09:06.480 --> 0:09:08.840 opponents instead of them. And so when I got to 0:09:08.840 --> 0:09:12.400 the meetings on moneys and toolsdays and Wednesday, he pretty 0:09:12.480 --> 0:09:15.480 much broke down every single thing front and longest now 0:09:15.559 --> 0:09:17.760 but to the direction of the punt. And it made 0:09:17.760 --> 0:09:21.520 it so much easier for me, tom Um. What made 0:09:21.520 --> 0:09:23.280 it so special too, It was a funny story is 0:09:23.320 --> 0:09:25.280 that when the defense would come off the field, you 0:09:25.280 --> 0:09:28.440 could see it during the special team's sideline copy. They 0:09:28.480 --> 0:09:30.720 wouldn't go and get the sideline adjustments. They would turn 0:09:30.760 --> 0:09:32.800 around them and wait for the punts. And you could 0:09:32.800 --> 0:09:35.400 hear Bob Babbitts, the linebacker coach or whoever, yelling get 0:09:35.400 --> 0:09:39.400 over here, and they're like they're like, no first stand 0:09:39.520 --> 0:09:41.040 right here. We gotta watch this and then all of 0:09:41.080 --> 0:09:42.360 a sudden they you know, and then they go back 0:09:42.360 --> 0:09:44.880 and get the adjustments. But that's how special that is 0:09:44.880 --> 0:09:47.480 one of the greatest compliments of people you pay attention 0:09:47.559 --> 0:09:49.440 to on the field. Well, maybe you should be sitting 0:09:49.480 --> 0:09:51.720 on the bench, but if you're playing against the Barry 0:09:51.760 --> 0:09:54.200 Sanders or something, you always wanted to watch him. And 0:09:54.320 --> 0:09:56.760 I think Devin contributed that type of greatness to the 0:09:56.840 --> 0:09:59.760 Chicago Bears that if he if he was gonna get 0:10:00.040 --> 0:10:02.240 turn the kick returning, gonna return a punt, You're not 0:10:02.280 --> 0:10:04.680 going to the the concession stand, You're not going to the bathroom. 0:10:04.800 --> 0:10:07.760 You're waiting to see what Devin does it. Man, you 0:10:07.960 --> 0:10:14.040 take your time. And like I said, I gotta give 0:10:14.040 --> 0:10:16.800 a lot of credit to our defense because our defense 0:10:16.840 --> 0:10:19.319 put us in so much good field position to be 0:10:19.360 --> 0:10:21.520 able to call to return, you know, and we had 0:10:21.960 --> 0:10:25.559 offensive pinning back to their ten fifteen yard line, so 0:10:25.840 --> 0:10:27.720 when there was time to play the ball, you didn't 0:10:27.760 --> 0:10:29.960 have no choice but to kick it. You know. We 0:10:30.000 --> 0:10:32.120 didn't allow you know, a lot of offenses across that 0:10:32.120 --> 0:10:34.600 fifth yard line, so that for as a returner, it 0:10:34.760 --> 0:10:37.960 was like the green light for me back to the 0:10:37.960 --> 0:10:40.880 old line from it the game, and then we got 0:10:40.920 --> 0:10:44.240 a couple of photos about you guys. You did everything together. 0:10:45.679 --> 0:10:50.280 How critical is that? Well, when you play offensive line, 0:10:50.400 --> 0:10:54.079 the line is usually better than the sum of its parts, right, 0:10:54.120 --> 0:10:57.360 So you gotta like you gotta be working as one unit. 0:10:57.559 --> 0:11:01.000 Everybody's got to see everything through Harry heastand always said 0:11:01.000 --> 0:11:03.240 through one set of eyes. So we all got to 0:11:03.280 --> 0:11:06.080 see everything the same way. And so that's why we 0:11:06.080 --> 0:11:08.920 would eat eat, we'd eat breakfast together, eat lunch together, 0:11:09.040 --> 0:11:11.439 hang out, walk to the meeting room together, and just 0:11:11.720 --> 0:11:15.920 kind of build that culture of always always seeing everything together, 0:11:16.040 --> 0:11:18.600 always doing everything together. That way, we were always on 0:11:18.600 --> 0:11:22.079 the same page. But you know, being an outsider looking in, 0:11:22.200 --> 0:11:24.920 I admired that so much because I used to We 0:11:24.960 --> 0:11:27.200 sit on the bus waiting to travel and then you 0:11:27.240 --> 0:11:30.400 see the offensive line filter out and everybody waiting for 0:11:30.440 --> 0:11:34.960 each other, kind of reconnecting in between each snap. You know, Roberto, 0:11:35.440 --> 0:11:38.160 you guys all he meant so much to each other. 0:11:38.240 --> 0:11:40.800 But it spills on because then it's the same challenge. 0:11:40.800 --> 0:11:42.880 You bring it to the practice field. If one guy's 0:11:42.880 --> 0:11:45.240 gonna show up, we all better show up. And I 0:11:45.280 --> 0:11:48.360 think it's important to show that aspect of the offense, 0:11:48.720 --> 0:11:50.880 no question, because we have to work together as a unit, 0:11:50.920 --> 0:11:54.320 and that chemistry is built day in and day out, 0:11:54.400 --> 0:11:58.800 and the expectation that the line set together. You weren't 0:11:58.880 --> 0:12:00.440 You didn't want to be the guy that didn't do 0:12:00.480 --> 0:12:03.000 it right. So when we walked in together, it was 0:12:03.040 --> 0:12:06.040 we're doing everything together. We're making all the right adjustments, 0:12:06.080 --> 0:12:08.480 everything that Olden is telling us to do, okay on 0:12:08.480 --> 0:12:10.480 this play. We gotta do this okay, so let's do 0:12:10.520 --> 0:12:13.640 it together. And that doesn't come just on the football field. 0:12:13.679 --> 0:12:16.079 It starts in the locker room. It starts walking in 0:12:16.120 --> 0:12:19.560 the plane together, walking through practice together. You know, everything 0:12:19.600 --> 0:12:22.680 that we did helped us be better football players because 0:12:22.960 --> 0:12:26.440 we built that friendship, but also that expectation that this 0:12:26.480 --> 0:12:27.880 is the way it's going to be done and you 0:12:27.960 --> 0:12:30.440 have to do it at this level day in and 0:12:30.480 --> 0:12:33.160 day out, and that tempo and that culture was set 0:12:33.240 --> 0:12:36.440 by Olden, by Ruben Brown, by Harry heastand by the 0:12:36.440 --> 0:12:38.440 guys that been around and been doing it year in 0:12:38.440 --> 0:12:40.960 and year out. We step on that football field, you know, 0:12:41.000 --> 0:12:42.760 I was the youngest guy there and I was like, man, 0:12:43.120 --> 0:12:44.720 I gotta keep up with these guys. You know, and 0:12:44.760 --> 0:12:46.920 I got to do my job to the best of 0:12:46.920 --> 0:12:49.960 my ability, and that was set by spending all that 0:12:50.000 --> 0:12:51.520 time together because you wanted to go out on the 0:12:51.559 --> 0:12:55.280 football field and perform for your teammates. Guards. One story 0:12:55.320 --> 0:12:57.280 I love telling about you guys and what you're talking about. 0:12:57.320 --> 0:12:59.800 You know how you guys always together that if any 0:12:59.800 --> 0:13:02.719 of any of the offensive line route was gonna be 0:13:02.800 --> 0:13:06.720 late to a meeting, nobody would go in. So everybody 0:13:06.800 --> 0:13:12.560 was late because we didn't find everybody right, whole team. 0:13:12.640 --> 0:13:15.640 So wait on everybody. Wait who came up with that idea. 0:13:16.640 --> 0:13:20.800 I'm guessing him there was there anybody that was ever late. 0:13:21.080 --> 0:13:22.720 There were a few guys we had to go get 0:13:22.720 --> 0:13:24.439 out of their house a couple of times after a 0:13:24.480 --> 0:13:26.520 late night. We had to go get him. So so 0:13:26.679 --> 0:13:28.559 we get there all time. But I don't want to 0:13:28.600 --> 0:13:30.480 say any names and put them out there, but there 0:13:30.480 --> 0:13:32.959 we had a few guys who were, you know, repeat offenders. 0:13:33.000 --> 0:13:34.559 We had to always go get them. We're looking out 0:13:34.600 --> 0:13:37.120 for them. Oh, and what did you appreciate about this 0:13:37.160 --> 0:13:41.360 man in the weight room? Guards in the weight room, Well, well, 0:13:41.400 --> 0:13:44.079 guards are in the weight room. You know, he's legendary. 0:13:44.120 --> 0:13:46.199 Now at hallis Hall and that's that's just the truth. 0:13:46.240 --> 0:13:48.800 That's how strong this man is. But that's just who 0:13:48.880 --> 0:13:51.520 he is. Like what I appreciate about him was is 0:13:51.880 --> 0:13:54.400 he's the same guy every day. He works hard in 0:13:54.440 --> 0:13:56.320 the weight room, he works hard in the meeting room. 0:13:56.480 --> 0:13:59.400 He shows up every day. He's ready to compete, and like, like, 0:13:59.440 --> 0:14:01.800 I know, you might walk into the way room with Garza, 0:14:02.080 --> 0:14:03.800 are you better be ready to get it on because 0:14:04.040 --> 0:14:06.000 he but he does everything like that and that's what 0:14:06.040 --> 0:14:09.400 you appreciate about him. Hey, Charles, I think I read 0:14:09.440 --> 0:14:11.920 where you went to eleven different schools as a youth, 0:14:12.040 --> 0:14:15.000 but you played twelve years for the Bears, which one 0:14:15.320 --> 0:14:19.120 shape who you are today more. I think the eleven 0:14:19.160 --> 0:14:23.360 different schools just being in different environments, different situations, moving 0:14:23.360 --> 0:14:26.480 all over the world, living overseas, living in Europe as 0:14:26.520 --> 0:14:28.880 a young kid. It allowed me to get out of 0:14:28.880 --> 0:14:32.520 my shell. No pun attended, but it is just it's 0:14:32.600 --> 0:14:36.960 just it allowed me to get out of my shell 0:14:37.040 --> 0:14:40.440 and really, um, open up, talk to people, ask questions, 0:14:40.520 --> 0:14:43.040 you know, just be a little bit more open asking 0:14:43.160 --> 0:14:46.720 questions and stuff. A Devin. So your freshman year, you 0:14:46.840 --> 0:14:50.680 return a kickoff opening kickoff against Florida for a touchdown. 0:14:51.120 --> 0:14:53.680 You return the opening kickoff in the Super Bowl for 0:14:53.720 --> 0:15:03.440 a touchdown? That a super impressive Like which one did? 0:15:03.680 --> 0:15:06.200 Did one shape you more than the other? Did you 0:15:06.240 --> 0:15:08.360 like you learned that you had the ability that early 0:15:08.400 --> 0:15:10.960 in life, and then that transferred all the way up 0:15:11.000 --> 0:15:14.760 into the NFL level. I think it pretty much started 0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:19.480 um in my youth days playing just backyard football. UM 0:15:20.080 --> 0:15:23.080 we would play, UM we did. We couldn't play anything 0:15:23.160 --> 0:15:25.400 like Brad, so we we would call it throw off 0:15:25.760 --> 0:15:27.720 and so we would throw the ball off and well 0:15:27.720 --> 0:15:30.280 played two hand in touch. And it was like every 0:15:30.280 --> 0:15:32.080 time I got back there, I were running back on 0:15:32.120 --> 0:15:34.120 two hand in touch. So I think from that point 0:15:34.160 --> 0:15:36.280 on it I grew a passion and I love for that, 0:15:36.400 --> 0:15:39.600 the return game, and it just really just a sale 0:15:39.880 --> 0:15:42.360 the old I got. All I know is all these 0:15:42.440 --> 0:15:44.760 years after that, every single time I go to the 0:15:44.760 --> 0:15:48.440 scouting combine and you say you're with the Bears, Where 0:15:48.440 --> 0:15:51.200 were you when when Devin returned the opening That's how 0:15:51.440 --> 0:15:56.760 significant of a play never happened before since the opening kickoff. 0:15:57.320 --> 0:16:00.400 For me calling the game, I never even anticipated It's 0:16:00.440 --> 0:16:04.000 bad on me made that one cut and I started 0:16:04.040 --> 0:16:08.440 thinking oh boy, well, how am I gonna capture this 0:16:08.480 --> 0:16:11.440 moment at the Super Bowl? But wow? Was that not 0:16:11.840 --> 0:16:13.840 the moment one of the biggest memories in our lives. 0:16:19.600 --> 0:16:21.880 But in order to get there, in order to get 0:16:21.920 --> 0:16:31.040 there Bears going undefeated to Arizona, things didn't go that well. 0:16:31.760 --> 0:16:34.520 Matt Leinert started that game, and it was having a 0:16:34.560 --> 0:16:42.200 field day for a time, and then we go to halftime, 0:16:43.000 --> 0:16:50.000 come back, that's got the most physical half you've ever 0:16:50.040 --> 0:16:52.560 played it. We will win this game if you hit 0:16:52.600 --> 0:16:54.640 somebody in the mouth. And that starts with Keygoff to 0:16:54.760 --> 0:16:56.120 hit us in the monk ke goof return to hit 0:16:56.160 --> 0:16:58.200 us in the mouth. Keygoff hit me mout and I 0:16:58.240 --> 0:17:02.320 didn't do nothing about it. This happened to change physical. 0:17:02.520 --> 0:17:04.600 We're gonna get physical. We're gonna get up with him. 0:17:04.800 --> 0:17:06.919 We'll get no personal follows. Give me between the whistle, 0:17:07.000 --> 0:17:18.760 get up. Who will win this game? I promise? Yes. Hey, 0:17:23.800 --> 0:17:25.879 I like to tell I like to tell everybody, Jeff, 0:17:26.119 --> 0:17:31.199 Only the defense was listening when I was talking. The 0:17:31.320 --> 0:17:35.119 offense wasn't listening to me. But one the performers that 0:17:35.200 --> 0:17:38.520 that game, we remember standing on the sideline and as 0:17:38.560 --> 0:17:41.720 an offensive lineman, you guys are talking about hess and 0:17:41.760 --> 0:17:43.760 this is honest, and guards will tell you this. With 0:17:43.920 --> 0:17:46.800 offensive line, we'd stand there about where he would catch 0:17:46.840 --> 0:17:49.639 the ball. So we got to witness him because on 0:17:49.760 --> 0:17:52.520 kickoff return we're standing close to him, and on punt 0:17:52.560 --> 0:17:54.560 we're watching him. And if he caught the ball in 0:17:54.600 --> 0:17:57.320 the middle field, honestly, I'd walked to the bench because 0:17:57.359 --> 0:17:59.359 he was gone. He would see it on the special 0:17:59.359 --> 0:18:02.680 team's film. It was I'd walk away. I'd walk away 0:18:02.680 --> 0:18:05.359 and be like field goal, it's an extra point, like 0:18:05.720 --> 0:18:10.639 it was over. But that game was. It was amazing, 0:18:10.720 --> 0:18:14.240 and we as an offense witnessed it right because we 0:18:14.240 --> 0:18:16.800 weren't doing much. And you know, it was Mike Brown 0:18:16.880 --> 0:18:19.399 taking the ball back. It was her lacker pulling it 0:18:19.440 --> 0:18:23.720 out to these twenty two tackles and Peanut and and 0:18:23.840 --> 0:18:25.640 then and then we're on the field and I look 0:18:25.680 --> 0:18:29.560 at Ruben Brown and I'm like, it's he's gonna take 0:18:29.640 --> 0:18:32.800 this back, like that's insane if he takes and sure enough, 0:18:32.880 --> 0:18:35.520 and we're just laughing on the sign like this is insane, man, 0:18:35.560 --> 0:18:38.200 And and it was, you know, it was. It was 0:18:38.240 --> 0:18:39.960 an amazing game to be a part of the Oh 0:18:40.200 --> 0:18:44.040 did you so first of all, it does give you 0:18:44.040 --> 0:18:47.280 a little goosebump. Yeah, yeah, how could it not? Right? 0:18:48.320 --> 0:18:51.480 Did that movie? Right there? Her to see yourself in 0:18:51.600 --> 0:18:55.960 the end result, all these years later, it's just fun 0:18:56.000 --> 0:18:58.919 to see being a room with these guys, you know, 0:18:59.040 --> 0:19:02.920 like being back here and just you know, I'm thinking, 0:19:02.960 --> 0:19:08.720 what the hell am I talking about? But no, it 0:19:07.119 --> 0:19:11.480 were It was cool, it was, but that was like 0:19:11.960 --> 0:19:14.440 that was just a special team, Like that's really what 0:19:14.600 --> 0:19:17.520 everybody believed. Like we just we never thought we were 0:19:17.560 --> 0:19:19.880 gonna lose a game. We never thought there could beat us. 0:19:20.080 --> 0:19:22.399 You know, we had a couple of key injuries that 0:19:22.440 --> 0:19:25.560 everybody knows about who were really key players for us. 0:19:25.640 --> 0:19:28.879 But when we were our full fifty three and that 0:19:29.000 --> 0:19:32.000 full fifty three squad was there, Jeff, we felt like 0:19:32.040 --> 0:19:34.639 we were unbeatable. Like we literally felt like that. And 0:19:34.680 --> 0:19:37.479 that's you know, and then like we didn't even know 0:19:37.600 --> 0:19:39.439 what we had in this guy, and when he showed 0:19:39.520 --> 0:19:42.160 up and on as an offense, we're getting a ball 0:19:42.320 --> 0:19:44.040 on the other side of the fifty every time because 0:19:44.040 --> 0:19:46.520 nobody wanted to kick to him anymore, right, so they 0:19:46.560 --> 0:19:50.000 just squim it and we get good field position every play. Yeah, 0:19:50.040 --> 0:19:53.240 affected all three phases, every every blade of grass on 0:19:53.280 --> 0:19:55.800 the field because of Devin and your defense taking the 0:19:55.880 --> 0:19:57.960 ball away and setting you guys up. Tom, I just 0:19:58.080 --> 0:20:00.720 you know, it's neat to see h because you don't 0:20:00.800 --> 0:20:03.000 really get inside a locker room to see people address 0:20:03.040 --> 0:20:05.520 their team. And we are always lucky enough to be 0:20:05.560 --> 0:20:09.600 addressed by Walter Payton, and everybody understood the message and 0:20:09.640 --> 0:20:12.080 he was trying to say when I was reading about you, 0:20:12.119 --> 0:20:14.119 one hundred and eighty two starts for the Bear, second 0:20:14.160 --> 0:20:17.399 only to the great Walter Payton. That's pretty amazing to 0:20:17.520 --> 0:20:20.280 have your name in the same sentence is Walter Payton 0:20:20.640 --> 0:20:23.680 after what he's accomplished and what you are, and then 0:20:23.800 --> 0:20:26.159 still the message you get to deliver to your teammates. 0:20:26.200 --> 0:20:29.320 It's got to be important to you. Being a spina 0:20:29.440 --> 0:20:33.800 Chicago Bear obviously means the world to me. Obviously, when 0:20:33.840 --> 0:20:36.800 your name is mentioned with Walter Payton, I mean we 0:20:37.160 --> 0:20:39.159