WEBVTT - Bears bye week recap with Dan Pompei | All Access 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:02.400 Here we are once again, no game to look forward 0:00:02.400 --> 0:00:04.360 to here in week ten, but hope you're having a 0:00:04.360 --> 0:00:06.640 great evening. Thanks for joining us and welcome to Bears 0:00:06.640 --> 0:00:09.960 All Access brought to you by IGS Energy. Thanks to 0:00:10.000 --> 0:00:12.960 our producers Jordan trut Up and Dan Billion, the folks 0:00:13.000 --> 0:00:15.360 here at the score. Good to have you alongside. I'm Jeff, 0:00:15.400 --> 0:00:17.800 Joni Acam, a broadcast partner in Super Bowl Bear, Tom 0:00:17.880 --> 0:00:22.000 Thare and Tommy coming up, we're gonna summarize what has 0:00:22.000 --> 0:00:24.040 been a rocky ran through the first nine games and 0:00:24.040 --> 0:00:26.280 what to look forward to in the final eight. We're 0:00:26.280 --> 0:00:28.560 gonna do that as well, joined by Pro Football Hall 0:00:28.600 --> 0:00:31.120 of Fame writer Dan Pompey from The Athletic to get 0:00:31.120 --> 0:00:34.239 his thoughts on a variety of topics. But Tommy, what 0:00:34.520 --> 0:00:37.960 was your approach as a player for the bye week 0:00:38.200 --> 0:00:42.040 and what is it now as an announcer? Jeff, we 0:00:42.159 --> 0:00:45.559 never had a bye week because we practiced during the 0:00:45.600 --> 0:00:48.479 bye week. Coach Diffka dangle the carrot in front of 0:00:48.520 --> 0:00:52.400 our faces that if we practiced well during the bye week, 0:00:52.440 --> 0:00:54.960 in which we are in full pads every day, that 0:00:55.200 --> 0:00:59.080 we would get Saturday off. We did not have this 0:00:59.280 --> 0:01:03.880 luxury of the collective bargaining agreement making sure that you 0:01:03.960 --> 0:01:07.080 gave a responsible amount of time off for the players 0:01:07.120 --> 0:01:11.000 to recover. So as much as you know they wanted 0:01:11.040 --> 0:01:12.679 to call it a bye week, it was only a 0:01:12.680 --> 0:01:14.559 bye week in the sense you didn't have a game 0:01:14.560 --> 0:01:19.000 on Sunday. Do you think it's worthwhile now though, of 0:01:19.040 --> 0:01:21.720 course I do. Yeah, I think anyways that you can 0:01:21.760 --> 0:01:25.920 benefit these players to get a little rest, recovery to 0:01:26.040 --> 0:01:29.640 their bodies. I don't want them to leave the game mentally, 0:01:29.800 --> 0:01:32.759 because you can forget a lot of really important information 0:01:33.000 --> 0:01:36.880 quickly if you stay away from your iPad or if 0:01:36.920 --> 0:01:40.039 you're a player that's on the cusper, on the verge 0:01:40.040 --> 0:01:43.280 of understanding what every one of your assignments is. But 0:01:43.360 --> 0:01:45.959 a guy like a Kiem Hicks, a guy like Khalil Mack, 0:01:46.200 --> 0:01:49.720 a guy like Eddie Jackson, Allen Robinson, these guys can 0:01:49.800 --> 0:01:55.040 recover during this week of not being on their feet 0:01:55.080 --> 0:01:58.040 to the point where they can play when they get 0:01:58.040 --> 0:02:00.560 ready to practice next week. I went on interesting and 0:02:00.600 --> 0:02:04.880 it probably doesn't shock me, but justin Fields basically, according 0:02:04.880 --> 0:02:07.160 to man Naggie at his news news conference on Monday, 0:02:07.160 --> 0:02:08.919 said yeah, he's not going to get away from the game. 0:02:09.000 --> 0:02:11.160 It's just not who he is, you can't. Yeah, which 0:02:11.200 --> 0:02:13.160 is a good thing for him though, that's a good thing. 0:02:14.800 --> 0:02:17.400 But I think it is equally as much for Larry 0:02:17.520 --> 0:02:22.200 Boram or you know, um, Travis Gibson, from all these 0:02:22.240 --> 0:02:26.400 you know, Kendallville Door, Jalen Johnson, Duke Shelley, all these 0:02:26.440 --> 0:02:31.000 guys that are still learning the information to master their craft. 0:02:31.240 --> 0:02:34.359 It's equally as important for those guys at that position, 0:02:34.880 --> 0:02:37.840 justin fields after the game on the w BBM postgame show, 0:02:38.120 --> 0:02:42.079 after the Lawson Pittsburgh was very pleased with certain aspects 0:02:42.080 --> 0:02:44.880 of things. Frustrated with another slow start with the offense 0:02:44.880 --> 0:02:47.400 in terms of penalties and field position of the first half, 0:02:47.919 --> 0:02:51.160 but he says, those chunk plays started to happen. We've 0:02:51.160 --> 0:02:54.160 been trying to, you know, create more explosive plays from 0:02:54.160 --> 0:02:56.960 the get go, and you know, just I mean, we're 0:02:57.000 --> 0:02:59.080 just going to continue to do that. And just just 0:02:59.120 --> 0:03:00.720 like I said before, when we start the game, we're 0:03:00.720 --> 0:03:02.840 gonna start fast and you know, finished fast. Don Did 0:03:02.880 --> 0:03:05.680 you see significant steps in development for Justin in that 0:03:05.720 --> 0:03:08.080 second half? Yes, Jeff, I want to go back to 0:03:08.120 --> 0:03:10.320 say I think this was the most important game the 0:03:10.360 --> 0:03:15.359 Bears played this season, because when you heard the Bears 0:03:15.400 --> 0:03:17.919 come out of the tunnel and that stadium was about 0:03:17.960 --> 0:03:21.360 half full, it was as loud as any stadium that's 0:03:21.840 --> 0:03:25.080 you know, completely full. And so for the Bears, even 0:03:25.080 --> 0:03:27.560 though they had such poor starting field position early in 0:03:27.600 --> 0:03:33.120 the game, they never let that compound into such a 0:03:33.240 --> 0:03:36.320 lead by the opponent that they couldn't overcome that. I 0:03:36.360 --> 0:03:38.840 think there's so many building blocks that you can take 0:03:38.920 --> 0:03:42.520 from this game, whether it's the performance of Justin or 0:03:42.640 --> 0:03:45.880 the performance of you know, the line making sure that 0:03:45.960 --> 0:03:48.880 they stayed in tune with what they are going to 0:03:49.000 --> 0:03:52.640 try to accomplish, how well the defense played up front 0:03:52.720 --> 0:03:56.240 early partitions of that game. I think this game has 0:03:56.280 --> 0:03:59.920 a chance to play dividends going forward, even though they 0:04:00.240 --> 0:04:02.560 ended up losing the game. And Naggie and the Bears 0:04:02.600 --> 0:04:04.960 Coaches Show on Monday night on news Radio one oh 0:04:05.000 --> 0:04:07.800 five nine w bbm Abot fields getting the ball to 0:04:07.880 --> 0:04:10.640 his playmakers. I think what's happening is you're starting to 0:04:10.680 --> 0:04:13.040 see just and feel more and more comfortable with these 0:04:13.040 --> 0:04:17.479 reps he's getting with these particular receivers and running backs, 0:04:17.480 --> 0:04:20.200 and now we got to grow off of that. We're 0:04:20.279 --> 0:04:22.840 kind of finding a nice little balanced schematically with what 0:04:22.839 --> 0:04:24.920 we like to do with them. We're finding out what 0:04:25.000 --> 0:04:28.160 his strengths and weaknesses are and we're trying to put 0:04:28.160 --> 0:04:30.600 it all together to make it the best for us. 0:04:30.720 --> 0:04:32.760 And part of that time, in addition to keeping that 0:04:32.839 --> 0:04:34.760 running game rebin it is the best thing they do 0:04:34.839 --> 0:04:37.400 as a team on any unit right now. That's the 0:04:37.520 --> 0:04:41.120 number one thing. They run the ball extremely well. Montgomery 0:04:41.200 --> 0:04:44.520 back using them in the wildcat, but the emergency cole 0:04:44.560 --> 0:04:48.039 commet here is something to keep an eye on. And frankly, 0:04:48.080 --> 0:04:50.080 the week before it was Jesse James and then Jimmy 0:04:50.120 --> 0:04:53.440 Graham what Naggie called probably the best throw that you're 0:04:53.440 --> 0:04:56.119 gonna see anybody make on an NFL field that Jimmy 0:04:56.160 --> 0:04:58.480 on that twenty eight yard play. I mean, these are 0:04:58.560 --> 0:05:02.160 developments Darnell Mooney as a big play threat developing. Yeah, 0:05:02.200 --> 0:05:04.200 you know, I do like to keep the older the 0:05:05.040 --> 0:05:08.240 veterans incorporated in the game plan. That play you talk 0:05:08.279 --> 0:05:10.839 about to Jimmy Graham, but I was equally as impressed 0:05:10.880 --> 0:05:13.000 by the third down throw that he made to Alan 0:05:13.080 --> 0:05:15.960 Robinson because if you look at the flight of the football, 0:05:16.080 --> 0:05:19.080 the location of the defender, it was a pass that 0:05:19.160 --> 0:05:21.520 there's not a lot of guys that can make. But 0:05:21.720 --> 0:05:24.400 the thing that impressed me most and is, listen, man, 0:05:24.760 --> 0:05:28.640 Dave Montgomery. I'll stand up and shout from the highest mountain, 0:05:28.680 --> 0:05:31.240 how he important. He is the success of this team. 0:05:31.240 --> 0:05:33.200 And I like what I see a Khalil Herbert. But 0:05:33.279 --> 0:05:37.839 there was a couple plays that reminded me of Russell 0:05:37.839 --> 0:05:42.159 Wilson of talking about justin fields, because he's really cognizant 0:05:42.160 --> 0:05:44.839 of where the line of scrimmage is. And even when 0:05:44.839 --> 0:05:47.440 he was scrambling outside the pocket and it looked like 0:05:47.480 --> 0:05:49.440 he was trying to put a grab on the football 0:05:49.520 --> 0:05:51.880 that he was going to run, he was able to 0:05:51.920 --> 0:05:54.840 readjust it and find a target down field. One of 0:05:54.880 --> 0:05:58.360 them was Darnell Mooney for the touchdown. So now, if 0:05:58.400 --> 0:06:01.960 we want to make these comparisons to Russell Wilson and 0:06:02.080 --> 0:06:05.000 what he put on display early in his career when 0:06:05.040 --> 0:06:07.640 he was going through the learning stages, I think this 0:06:07.720 --> 0:06:09.719 is a game in this type of environment that we 0:06:09.760 --> 0:06:12.200 saw out of Justin all right. Coming up next, we'll 0:06:12.200 --> 0:06:14.800 be joined by Dan Pompeii for about a half hour 0:06:15.120 --> 0:06:17.480 three different segments with the Hall of Fame writer from 0:06:17.520 --> 0:06:19.760 the Aletic he'll join the program, Tom and I will 0:06:19.760 --> 0:06:22.560 be back in just a second. Here on Chicago Sports 0:06:22.680 --> 0:06:26.080 Radio six seventy The Score. Welcome back to Bears All 0:06:26.120 --> 0:06:28.880 Access brought to you by IGS Energy. Choose clean energy 0:06:28.920 --> 0:06:31.320 for your home at IGS dot com because every good 0:06:31.400 --> 0:06:33.719 choice adds up to a better world. Please to be 0:06:33.800 --> 0:06:36.680 joined with Tom Thare, Jeff Joni, Act the Athletics, Dan 0:06:36.800 --> 0:06:40.520 Pompeii at Dan Pompeii on Twitter and here on Chicago 0:06:40.600 --> 0:06:43.000 Sports Radio six seventy to Score. Dan, thanks for taking 0:06:43.000 --> 0:06:45.600 the time to join us. Let's get into the history 0:06:45.680 --> 0:06:48.039 because we lost a piece of history this week with 0:06:48.160 --> 0:06:51.880 the passing of legendary strength coach Clyde Emrick a friend 0:06:51.880 --> 0:06:55.040 to everybody, and as you wrote in a great piece 0:06:55.120 --> 0:06:57.960 in March of twenty nineteenth, you profiled him in the 0:06:58.000 --> 0:07:01.960 Athletic a revolution mary figure in pro football, and you 0:07:02.120 --> 0:07:06.360 only have so many people that can carry that label. 0:07:06.480 --> 0:07:09.680 He truly was a revolution every figure. It wasn't you know, 0:07:09.840 --> 0:07:14.400 true pioneer as you guys well know somebody. I mean. 0:07:14.400 --> 0:07:18.160 He was the elder state statesman of the Bears organization, 0:07:19.000 --> 0:07:23.480 having spent close to sixty years or maybe even more 0:07:23.520 --> 0:07:27.440 than sixty years when some affiliation with it and you know, 0:07:27.480 --> 0:07:31.000 there's nobody left like him. Really. You talk about a 0:07:31.040 --> 0:07:35.240 guy who started out working with Stan Jones, you know, 0:07:35.280 --> 0:07:37.200 and then he went to Doug Atkins, and then he 0:07:37.280 --> 0:07:41.360 went to Buckis and Sayers and you know, on and 0:07:41.480 --> 0:07:45.000 on buffone, and then he moves into the Super Bowl 0:07:45.000 --> 0:07:49.920 era with guys like Tom Thayer. He bragged about fair 0:07:50.640 --> 0:07:54.440 squatting seven hundred and five pounds and uh, you know, 0:07:54.960 --> 0:07:57.280 all the way to the you know, to the Bryan 0:07:57.400 --> 0:08:00.440 or Lackers and then the current regime. You know, he 0:08:00.520 --> 0:08:04.160 worked with Cody Whitehair and and guys on the team 0:08:04.200 --> 0:08:08.800 now and and uh an addition of working with people 0:08:08.840 --> 0:08:11.400 and making them better, I think he touched human beings 0:08:11.400 --> 0:08:14.080 and made their lives better and was such a special 0:08:14.080 --> 0:08:17.960 man to be around. Always had time for you, had 0:08:18.000 --> 0:08:21.400 a good word for you. He even helped me with 0:08:21.400 --> 0:08:25.960 with weightlifting at one point, and h helped George Hallis 0:08:26.000 --> 0:08:28.880 at one point. How about that? Uh So, I mean, 0:08:29.480 --> 0:08:32.880 you know you're not gonna see the like of of 0:08:32.960 --> 0:08:36.160 Clyde Emrick ever again. You know, he just a truly 0:08:36.200 --> 0:08:40.520 special man and God rest his soul, Danny. He tried 0:08:40.559 --> 0:08:43.160 to help me as Tommy knows, and he always called 0:08:43.160 --> 0:08:47.800 me fun coachable, but you know I gave, I gave 0:08:48.000 --> 0:08:52.120 the college try. What's unmistakable boh boh about him obviously 0:08:52.240 --> 0:08:54.560 is the resume, but from a human point of view, 0:08:54.600 --> 0:08:57.920 just as a guy, the handshake every time, and the 0:08:57.960 --> 0:09:00.960 excitement to see you, Hey Jeffer. Yeah he's hey Jeffer 0:09:01.040 --> 0:09:04.680 and firm handshake into his eighties. I would love to 0:09:04.720 --> 0:09:06.800 know what that grip strength was all about. You know, 0:09:06.920 --> 0:09:10.000 it's just years of being a dedicated weightlifter. Some of 0:09:10.040 --> 0:09:12.520 the stories he tells me as him being a high 0:09:12.559 --> 0:09:15.480 school kid when he got introduced to weightlifting, and he 0:09:15.559 --> 0:09:21.600 was kind of an introverted soul and his activity after 0:09:21.720 --> 0:09:24.440 school was going to a weight room, whether it was 0:09:24.600 --> 0:09:28.080 inside of his house in the most primitive of conditions 0:09:28.480 --> 0:09:32.600 to when he started going to the YMCA, And he 0:09:32.640 --> 0:09:37.080 didn't attract attention because of his personality. He attracted attention 0:09:37.160 --> 0:09:41.360 because of what he did in the weight room, his physique, 0:09:42.000 --> 0:09:47.520 the way that you took what was weightlifting back in 0:09:47.600 --> 0:09:52.480 the fifties to where it became in this generation. And 0:09:52.600 --> 0:09:56.480 I think when you have an footprint in the NFL 0:09:56.679 --> 0:10:01.360 like he left behind and like Dan mentioned, you're handpicked 0:10:01.800 --> 0:10:06.400 by the guy that started the NFL, George Hallis, and 0:10:06.480 --> 0:10:12.640 it's carried a legacy to every strength coach from now 0:10:12.760 --> 0:10:16.680 into the past. All has some type of Clyde Emrick, 0:10:17.200 --> 0:10:22.000 you know, handprint on him. I just think that it's 0:10:22.040 --> 0:10:26.240 amazing because he treated everybody equally, whether he was trying 0:10:26.280 --> 0:10:30.720 to rehab a guy like Ed McCaskey during his time 0:10:30.760 --> 0:10:37.239 with the Bears, to trying to give help and inspiration 0:10:37.360 --> 0:10:41.640 to Virginia McCaskey when she was recovering from injuries, and 0:10:41.800 --> 0:10:45.680 then to the modern day players how he inspires them 0:10:45.800 --> 0:10:49.640 and the conversations you had with him. If you listen 0:10:49.679 --> 0:10:52.000 to what he had to say, you came out a 0:10:52.040 --> 0:10:55.640 better person because of it. And I think every single 0:10:55.720 --> 0:10:59.800 person that's come across that is inspiring. And I always 0:11:00.040 --> 0:11:03.160 used to ask Clyde as a joke. I always say Clyde, 0:11:03.200 --> 0:11:06.679 who's your favorite player? And I wanted I wanted him 0:11:06.720 --> 0:11:09.880 to say me, but he always say Doug Plank. I 0:11:10.000 --> 0:11:13.000 love that guy. Ever got to know what that guy's 0:11:13.040 --> 0:11:16.240 all about. So you know, Clyde didn't pull punches. He 0:11:16.320 --> 0:11:20.000 told you exactly and as honestly as he could answer 0:11:20.040 --> 0:11:23.640 whatever question you asked him. And uh, you know, I'm 0:11:23.720 --> 0:11:28.320 just super happy in my life that I got to 0:11:28.480 --> 0:11:31.920 know and become and stay friends with a guy with 0:11:32.000 --> 0:11:35.319 a man like Clyde Emrick. I think Danny was struck 0:11:35.400 --> 0:11:39.400 by just the individual accomplishments, because you know, I read 0:11:39.400 --> 0:11:42.199 in that story that you wrote that Brian Urlacher used 0:11:42.240 --> 0:11:46.000 to do a bear crawl backwards down steps. Was that 0:11:46.120 --> 0:11:49.440 a Brian original or was that a Clyde induced idea? 0:11:49.600 --> 0:11:52.240 I believe it was a Brian original. But I think 0:11:52.280 --> 0:11:54.719 I did that a few times too, after a night 0:11:54.760 --> 0:11:59.280 out late night, kept getting home, you know, but I 0:11:59.280 --> 0:12:01.800 wantn't doing it to get better though. Yeah, but you 0:12:01.800 --> 0:12:05.520 know you mentioned to Tom mentioned Doug Plank too. He 0:12:05.960 --> 0:12:09.240 used to take Clyde told me this story. Planks probably 0:12:09.240 --> 0:12:12.040 told Tom the story too. Used to take one hundred 0:12:12.080 --> 0:12:16.760 pounds dumbbells and power clean them ten ten times for reps. 0:12:17.080 --> 0:12:19.520 He said, I didn't know of anyone else who can 0:12:19.559 --> 0:12:22.400 do that. You know, Doug Plank is a normal size 0:12:22.600 --> 0:12:27.000 human being, and he had this incredible power, incredible will, 0:12:27.240 --> 0:12:29.960 and you know Clyde had a way, I think of 0:12:30.960 --> 0:12:34.360 bringing that out of everybody. And that's really the point 0:12:34.480 --> 0:12:38.640 that he made so many Chicago Bears better than they 0:12:38.640 --> 0:12:41.600 could have been had he not been part of their lives. 0:12:41.920 --> 0:12:45.880 And I know Tom you would say the same that 0:12:46.040 --> 0:12:51.000 he probably made you into a better football player. Well, 0:12:51.000 --> 0:12:54.000 you know that was the unique quality. You know, Clyde 0:12:54.080 --> 0:12:57.880 constructed your body however it was meant to be constructed. 0:12:58.280 --> 0:13:01.800 I was a different weightlifter than Steve McMichael. Steve McMichael 0:13:01.880 --> 0:13:05.000 was a different weightlifter than Jim Morrissey. And so no 0:13:05.040 --> 0:13:07.480 matter who you were and how your body was shaped, 0:13:07.880 --> 0:13:11.720 Clyde designed whatever needed to be done, which was the 0:13:11.800 --> 0:13:14.920 best for you. And when you talk about those power, 0:13:14.960 --> 0:13:18.319 clean dumbells, and when I became a member of the Bears, 0:13:18.800 --> 0:13:21.040 Clyde was as active in the weight room as any 0:13:21.080 --> 0:13:23.520 player in there. And he was the type of guy 0:13:23.600 --> 0:13:26.280 that would do one arm snatches with one hundred and 0:13:26.320 --> 0:13:30.640 twenty pound dumbell and it was always it wasn't approving ground, 0:13:31.000 --> 0:13:35.319 it was inspiration. And that's just the way he carried 0:13:35.400 --> 0:13:38.840 himself in the weight room. He was so unique about 0:13:38.880 --> 0:13:42.520 the way that he went about his business in a 0:13:42.600 --> 0:13:46.440 really undersized weight room. But I think it was the 0:13:46.480 --> 0:13:52.400 most important development of team camaraderie was the way he 0:13:53.120 --> 0:13:56.160 led the guys when they got to the weight room. 0:13:56.240 --> 0:13:58.440 It was different than what we did on the field, 0:13:58.880 --> 0:14:00.720 but what we did in the way room was equally 0:14:00.720 --> 0:14:04.800 as important to the construction of the Bears for generations. 0:14:05.000 --> 0:14:07.440 Dan POMPEII from the Athletic the Hall of Fame writer 0:14:07.640 --> 0:14:09.520 in the Pro Football Hall of Fame for his years 0:14:09.559 --> 0:14:13.079 of outstanding work, coverage and reporting, joining us here in 0:14:13.160 --> 0:14:17.040 Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to score Walter Payton deadlifting 0:14:17.200 --> 0:14:21.080 six twenty five. Dan at two o eight. That doesn't 0:14:21.080 --> 0:14:24.200 seem humanly possible, does it? Well, again, you're you're talking 0:14:24.240 --> 0:14:30.120 about a player who was, you know, beyond human almost right. Uh. 0:14:30.640 --> 0:14:34.840 The strength and the power that that Walter had was 0:14:34.840 --> 0:14:38.120 was truly incredible and part of what made him who 0:14:38.160 --> 0:14:41.040 he was. You know, he's love I love the story 0:14:41.200 --> 0:14:44.120 about him that he used to go up to trees 0:14:44.360 --> 0:14:48.360 and just wrapped his arms around them and uproot them. 0:14:48.600 --> 0:14:51.840 I mean, who who could do that? You know, who 0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:54.520 could who could walk on their on their hands across 0:14:54.560 --> 0:14:58.440 the field. You know, we've all seen him do many 0:14:58.520 --> 0:15:02.480 things that just made you stop and stare, and that 0:15:02.480 --> 0:15:06.520 that strength that he had was surely you know one 0:15:06.520 --> 0:15:09.920 of those things. The other interesting thing that Clyde used 0:15:09.920 --> 0:15:13.000 to tell me is he never he never did those 0:15:13.040 --> 0:15:15.320 things in the weight room, like like you just talked 0:15:15.320 --> 0:15:20.080 about Jeff, when the others were around during a team lift, 0:15:20.680 --> 0:15:23.320 he'd do them when everyone was gone. He'd say, hey, Clyde, 0:15:23.360 --> 0:15:26.080 look what I can do, you know? And that's just 0:15:26.240 --> 0:15:28.440 just so Walter, you know can I want to give 0:15:28.480 --> 0:15:31.160 you three instances of the weight room with one was 0:15:31.200 --> 0:15:34.720 Walter Payton. Somebody was doing deadlifts and they had about 0:15:34.760 --> 0:15:38.160 five hundred and something pounds on there, and Walter walked 0:15:38.200 --> 0:15:41.680 in and it's just as great personality. How much is that? 0:15:41.800 --> 0:15:44.400 And Clyde told him how much he was. He told 0:15:44.440 --> 0:15:47.000 a guy who goes get away, gets over there and 0:15:47.200 --> 0:15:49.920 does a couple reps with it, sets it down, and 0:15:49.960 --> 0:15:52.640 walks out of the weight room. One day after practice, 0:15:52.720 --> 0:15:55.200 there was four hundred and five pounds on the bench 0:15:55.600 --> 0:15:58.600 and Richard Den comes in after practice and he gets 0:15:58.640 --> 0:16:01.600 underneath it and Clyde goes, wait, wait, Richard, you gotta 0:16:01.600 --> 0:16:04.920 warm up. You gotta warm up, Clyde get away. Clyde goes, okay, 0:16:05.000 --> 0:16:07.840 gives them a lift off. Richard does a four hundred 0:16:07.800 --> 0:16:10.880 and five pound bench press, sets it back on the rack, 0:16:11.240 --> 0:16:14.000 walks out of the weight room. So we are in there, 0:16:14.120 --> 0:16:16.400 and Johnny Morris was in there with us, and we 0:16:16.400 --> 0:16:20.080 are filming these heavy lifting segments. And so we used 0:16:20.120 --> 0:16:22.640 to have this table that was about three and a 0:16:22.720 --> 0:16:27.440 half feet high, and William Perry had fifty pound dumbells 0:16:27.440 --> 0:16:30.720 in each hand and did ten reps up and down, 0:16:30.760 --> 0:16:34.640 a cliometric exercise that Clyde used to have him do 0:16:34.720 --> 0:16:37.520 all the time. I actually still have a VHS copy. 0:16:38.000 --> 0:16:42.360 It was these types of guys between Fridge, between Richard, 0:16:42.440 --> 0:16:46.360 between Walter that were inspired because Clyde was in the 0:16:46.360 --> 0:16:48.760 weight room and they didn't have to put this stuff 0:16:48.800 --> 0:16:52.760 on display all the time. It was just the inspiration 0:16:52.920 --> 0:16:56.520 of Clyde in that room. It was these guys kind 0:16:56.560 --> 0:16:59.960 of wanted to show Clyde, not everybody out. They weren't 0:17:00.280 --> 0:17:02.920 for people to gather around. So and I was in 0:17:03.000 --> 0:17:06.000 there and all three of these times with these guys 0:17:06.080 --> 0:17:09.159 walking in and it was inspiring to me. But it 0:17:09.240 --> 0:17:13.200 was also supported and inspired to buy Clyde. Talk Bears 0:17:13.280 --> 0:17:15.840 Football with Dan Pompey coming up after this on Chicago 0:17:15.880 --> 0:17:18.639 Sports Radio six seventy the score. This segment of Bears 0:17:18.680 --> 0:17:21.320 All Access is brought to you by Athletico Physical Therapy. 0:17:21.400 --> 0:17:23.879 Visit Athletico dot com to request an appointment in clinic 0:17:24.000 --> 0:17:26.680 or virtually and start feeling better tomorrow. With Tom There, 0:17:26.720 --> 0:17:29.919 Jeff Joniac and Damn Pompeii from the Athletic, the Pro 0:17:30.000 --> 0:17:34.119 Football Hall of Fame writer joining us parts unknown on 0:17:34.200 --> 0:17:37.399 a job. I'm sure, Dan, let's let's dig into this 0:17:37.480 --> 0:17:41.320 Bears team. I gotta ask you, though, from a professional 0:17:41.359 --> 0:17:44.320 point of view, when you wrap up a Bears game 0:17:44.359 --> 0:17:48.639 in the Athletic every Monday morning, it's very succinct comments. 0:17:48.800 --> 0:17:52.760 Is it harder to write that series of thoughts the 0:17:52.800 --> 0:17:55.800 way you're doing the way you crafted versus a longer, 0:17:56.680 --> 0:18:02.479 longer form Story's what's harder? Well, thank you, Jeff. I 0:18:04.000 --> 0:18:07.200 What I do after the game is completely the almost 0:18:07.200 --> 0:18:09.360 the opposite of what you guys do, because what you're 0:18:09.400 --> 0:18:14.000 doing is reactionary in its instant right. So I try 0:18:14.000 --> 0:18:18.080 to take a step back after the game and say, Okay, 0:18:18.119 --> 0:18:24.160 what did we just see that matters, that's significant, that 0:18:24.720 --> 0:18:29.119 maybe has something to say about what's going to happen 0:18:29.160 --> 0:18:34.840 moving forward, And you know, I think it's it's not 0:18:35.080 --> 0:18:38.040 terribly difficult. It's just a matter of honing in on 0:18:38.359 --> 0:18:41.680 the right pieces and kind of looking at what some 0:18:41.760 --> 0:18:46.320 of the other reactions to what just happened were. And 0:18:47.640 --> 0:18:49.760 you know, it does. It does. It's not something I've 0:18:49.760 --> 0:18:52.879 had some people say to me, some critics say to me, 0:18:53.480 --> 0:18:55.959 They're like, oh, what did you just do that in 0:18:56.000 --> 0:18:59.240 two minutes after the game? And no, it's it's not 0:18:59.320 --> 0:19:01.879 like that. It's it's it's thought. You know, it takes 0:19:01.880 --> 0:19:06.199 some thought and it takes some kind of deliberation, but um, 0:19:06.520 --> 0:19:09.640 you know, it's uh, it comes out when you when 0:19:09.640 --> 0:19:13.240 you really try to focus in on what you just 0:19:13.280 --> 0:19:16.440 saw and what it means. Sometimes two days after the fact, 0:19:16.520 --> 0:19:20.000 it's it's old news. But but Dan, I can't help 0:19:20.359 --> 0:19:23.040 because you have such a long history with the Bears. 0:19:23.160 --> 0:19:25.879 You you wrote a book about the hundred years of 0:19:26.840 --> 0:19:30.080 what this team has gone through. So the immediately following 0:19:30.119 --> 0:19:32.800 the game, like Monday night, and the officiating is such 0:19:32.840 --> 0:19:36.040 a big part of the story. Can you separate the 0:19:36.119 --> 0:19:41.080 two of football from officiating? Because it's it's kind of 0:19:41.119 --> 0:19:44.520 picked up steam where it's become a national story and 0:19:44.560 --> 0:19:47.760 it's a topic from everybody. You know, I was listening 0:19:47.800 --> 0:19:50.399 to Buckus on the Rich Eyes and Show talking about 0:19:50.440 --> 0:19:55.199 the officiating. I've listened to ten national you know, correspondence 0:19:55.240 --> 0:19:58.679 talking about the officiating. So how do you separate the 0:19:58.800 --> 0:20:02.240 two of the this instance, and do you think if 0:20:02.440 --> 0:20:05.119 the story stays as long as it is that helps 0:20:05.200 --> 0:20:08.560 or hurts the Bears? Well, I think it's it's certainly 0:20:08.600 --> 0:20:11.959 something that you don't ignore because it was part of 0:20:11.960 --> 0:20:14.399 the game and part of you know, what's happening with 0:20:14.440 --> 0:20:18.480 the Bears this week after the game, and as you said, 0:20:18.520 --> 0:20:21.240 it's it's become a story with some legs a little 0:20:21.240 --> 0:20:26.720 bit even nationally. So um, you know, I think there 0:20:26.720 --> 0:20:29.359 were other parts of the game though, certainly that that 0:20:30.560 --> 0:20:34.959 demanded our attention and you know, required analysis. So you know, 0:20:35.320 --> 0:20:39.080 you don't you don't want to have that one aspect 0:20:39.440 --> 0:20:43.840 kind of eclipse everything else that happened. But you know 0:20:43.920 --> 0:20:48.640 that the officiating was certainly a factor and something that 0:20:49.200 --> 0:20:52.120 people love to focus on officiating. You know, I think 0:20:52.200 --> 0:20:55.359 anytime almost any time a team loses, there's usually a 0:20:55.400 --> 0:20:57.200 call or two they say, we'll look at that call. 0:20:57.240 --> 0:20:59.480 If it had gone the other way, you know, would 0:20:59.480 --> 0:21:02.000 have been different. In this case, there were several of 0:21:02.040 --> 0:21:06.000 those calls, right, and you know, um some calls that 0:21:06.080 --> 0:21:09.119 really left people scratching their head. It was interesting, you know. 0:21:09.160 --> 0:21:12.520 The one that seemed to get the most attention was 0:21:12.560 --> 0:21:17.679 the taunting call against Cassius Marsh, which you know, the 0:21:17.760 --> 0:21:19.919 NFL has pretty much said, no, that was that was 0:21:19.960 --> 0:21:22.720 the right call, and it was one that I really 0:21:22.800 --> 0:21:26.240 didn't understand all the craziness about that. Either. I know, 0:21:26.280 --> 0:21:28.920 he didn't go, he didn't do something that was that 0:21:29.080 --> 0:21:34.200 was flagrant, but I thought he took a risk by 0:21:34.920 --> 0:21:37.399 kind of standing and looking at the other sideline or 0:21:37.400 --> 0:21:39.320 whatever he did, or you know, put his hands on 0:21:39.440 --> 0:21:42.720 his hips. Um. You know, one of the points I 0:21:42.800 --> 0:21:46.000 made in my column after the game is, you know, 0:21:46.080 --> 0:21:48.439 if I were coaching a team now with all this 0:21:48.600 --> 0:21:53.040 kind of uh ambiguity about this taunting call, I would 0:21:53.040 --> 0:21:56.480 tell every one of my players after every play, you 0:21:56.520 --> 0:21:59.639 need to walk back to your sideline. Don't dance, don't 0:21:59.720 --> 0:22:02.480 do don't spike, don't you know, don't look at just 0:22:02.640 --> 0:22:05.359 go back to the satellite. And if you're incapable of 0:22:05.359 --> 0:22:07.480 doing that, you get a problem playing for me. So 0:22:07.520 --> 0:22:11.000 they call a couple roughing the quarterback penalties against the 0:22:11.040 --> 0:22:14.120 Bears when there was kind of in the momentum of 0:22:14.160 --> 0:22:16.680 the play. And then you go back and you watch 0:22:16.800 --> 0:22:18.920 that tape, no matter what angle you want to look at, 0:22:18.960 --> 0:22:21.520 there's a couple of hits after the fact that Justin 0:22:21.640 --> 0:22:25.040 took that he got no respect on the call. Do 0:22:25.040 --> 0:22:29.040 you think this can change and start giving him the 0:22:29.080 --> 0:22:34.359 calls that he deserves, or do you think the officials say, hey, look, 0:22:34.480 --> 0:22:39.399 I'm not responsible for protecting this guy. It's that's the 0:22:39.560 --> 0:22:42.399 job of the team, the offensive line or whatever. Because 0:22:43.119 --> 0:22:45.400 I think in a game like the other night, some 0:22:45.440 --> 0:22:48.080