Speaker 1: And a pleasant, good evening everybody, and welcome to our
Speaker 1: Labor Day holiday special edition of the Bears Coaches Show.
Speaker 1: A plethora of guests, including the head coach of the
Speaker 1: Chicago Bears, Matt Nagee, President at CEO Ted Phillips, and
Speaker 1: General Manager Ryan Pace. This is our special Labor Day edition.
Speaker 1: Normally we are at the Walter Peyton Center all together
Speaker 1: enjoying the kickoff of the season, but due to circumstances
Speaker 1: beyond our control, this is the case. We have the
Speaker 1: great season ticket holders virtually, but in the contingency role
Speaker 1: we now live in and we dapt and overcome. So
Speaker 1: the Labor Day Coaches Show, as we all know, traditionally
Speaker 1: the kickoff event for the season exclusively for season ticket holders,
Speaker 1: and we're glad you're here with us as well. It's
Speaker 1: not the same obviously, nor will the season opener be
Speaker 1: same or another home opener without fans in the stands,
Speaker 1: but we're thinking of all of you and can't wait
Speaker 1: for the day while here you're cheering on in Pearson.
Speaker 1: So without further ado, let's get going, and we're brought
Speaker 1: to you by Whippley and good to have everybody along.
Speaker 1: We'll start with Matt. Matt good evening, what access just
Speaker 1: to even get here today? Yeah, how you doing, Jeff.
Speaker 1: It's it's great to be on here and it's here,
Speaker 1: you know, it feels good. It's been a long time.
Speaker 1: We've been through a lot together. But I think all
Speaker 1: the players are I know from from being in here yesterday,
Speaker 1: they're excited to get going. They can feel it. You
Speaker 1: can feel the energy, the buzz and and you know
Speaker 1: we're only days away now, so we can't wait. And
Speaker 1: Ryan Pace, you know, you are in a unique situation
Speaker 1: with a building that was prepped for as it turns
Speaker 1: out to be a moment like this at hallis Hall.
Speaker 1: Everything that went into it. You met the media today
Speaker 1: by zoom, you went into some detail I don't know,
Speaker 1: weeks ago about all the protocols and just the size
Speaker 1: and the footprint of the building certainly has helped adapt,
Speaker 1: no doubt, Jeff. I think that's a competitive advantage for
Speaker 1: us as we enter these times. You know, Matt and
Speaker 1: I went into this process knowing we needed to exercise
Speaker 1: spatial distancing and be safe with our players, but this year,
Speaker 1: size of our facility gives us tons of advantages in
Speaker 1: that area. So we're real fortunate to have what we have,
Speaker 1: and the president and CEO Ted Philip's good to see
Speaker 1: you as well. I'll leave it to you to give
Speaker 1: us a little state of the franchise right now, but
Speaker 1: to see you, Jeff. Definitely a different year. It's been
Speaker 1: a different offseason. I think that it's going to be
Speaker 1: as different a year as we've ever had. It's going
Speaker 1: to continue that way. What I'm happy about is that
Speaker 1: every single employee, the coaches, the players, have shown an
Speaker 1: unbelievable ability to adapt, and they've shown patience, resiliency, and
Speaker 1: I'm confident that whatever challenges come our way, and I'm
Speaker 1: sure there's going to be some that we can't even predict,
Speaker 1: that we're going to be able to meet those. And
Speaker 1: you know, we've kind of talked about how the teams
Speaker 1: that are best prepared and that and that can take
Speaker 1: personal accountability to do the right things are going to
Speaker 1: be the ones are going to be most successful. So
Speaker 1: I think we're well situated with that. And the leadership
Speaker 1: from Ryan and Matt has been unbelievable. They've never once
Speaker 1: complained and their entire football lives have been turned upside down, right,
Speaker 1: And we all know, everyone's a creature of habit in
Speaker 1: this business, but they have immediately adjusted and adapted and
Speaker 1: can't wait to get the season started. This is the
Speaker 1: Bears coaches show here on a holiday Labor Day. Hope
Speaker 1: it all goes well for everybody out there and everybody
Speaker 1: is safe in doing well. Matt. The conversation geared all
Speaker 1: toward the quarterback competition throughout the last couple of days,
Speaker 1: and I know Ryan took a lot of questions about
Speaker 1: that from the media today. Was it the most difficult
Speaker 1: decision in your three years as a head coach? Yeah,
Speaker 1: there's a lot of really difficult decisions that you have,
Speaker 1: but I would say for me, yes, you know, you
Speaker 1: have to say that it's one that you put so
Speaker 1: much time into with these players. We all spend a
Speaker 1: lot of time with them, our coaches, you know, just
Speaker 1: trying to give them the best opportunity possible. And then
Speaker 1: these two players compete against each other. They realize the
Speaker 1: importance of what it is to what it means to
Speaker 1: win the job, and so it's not easy, but I'm
Speaker 1: just really proud of the way that those two players,
Speaker 1: along with Tyler Bray, who was right in the middle
Speaker 1: of that with those guys are coaching staff, Ryan, Ted
Speaker 1: and George, just with the communication throughout the whole process
Speaker 1: of not just that competition, but everything, all of our
Speaker 1: discussions of how this team goes and how we like
Speaker 1: to do things here. It's it's good people, and when
Speaker 1: you deal with good people and you have tough decisions,
Speaker 1: it makes it a little bit easier. Both of the
Speaker 1: guys handled it really well, and now they're just ready
Speaker 1: to go out there and Mitch is ready to go
Speaker 1: out there and help us win games, and Nick's ready
Speaker 1: to go help us, you know, support them on the sideline.
Speaker 1: And Ryan. This was months in the making obviously, in
Speaker 1: terms of the process putting heads together, Matt and his staff,
Speaker 1: the four new assistant coaches that get to know you session,
Speaker 1: with Nick not having a chance to be here, the
Speaker 1: circumstances of Mitchell Trubisky's career and how that arc has developed,
Speaker 1: and all the different aspects of it. There's a lot
Speaker 1: to break down. Where you pleased with how the whole
Speaker 1: process ultimately went to where you are, Yeah, Jeff, I
Speaker 1: would say this. I thought our coaching staff did an
Speaker 1: awesome job and just really creating a competitive environment that
Speaker 1: was fair for us to valuate both the quarterbacks and
Speaker 1: you know, obviously Jeff to no preseason games, creating that
Speaker 1: environment was critical. So I just respected the process and
Speaker 1: I respected how Matt, you know, ultimately came to making
Speaker 1: making that decision. So proud of the process, I would say,
Speaker 1: and Ted you from your position as well, have to
Speaker 1: look at this as well, because it all matters to
Speaker 1: the entire building. It matters to each guy in that
Speaker 1: locker room how that process went. Yeah, just the whole
Speaker 1: the whole process of getting the building put together and
Speaker 1: to make given the players the sense that we're doing
Speaker 1: everything and more to keep them safe. You know this,
Speaker 1: I know this is that it's an emotional issue. This
Speaker 1: whole issue with COVID has affected everyone individually in a
Speaker 1: different way. But I know for a fact that certain
Speaker 1: staff and players it's a very emotional time. And I
Speaker 1: think when they've come in here and they've seen how
Speaker 1: the meeting rooms have been set up and everything that's
Speaker 1: been done for cleaning and disinfecting, they realize that they
Speaker 1: can't be any safer. There's never a one hundred percent.
Speaker 1: But I think right now the team feels like we're
Speaker 1: we've put them in a position to be successful and
Speaker 1: to feel good about coming in here every day. And
Speaker 1: welcome back to the Bears Coaches Show. We sincerely hope
Speaker 1: your Labor Day weekend has been enjoyable. This is our
Speaker 1: annual Labor Day special featuring Bears head coach Mattneggie and
Speaker 1: general manager Ryan Pace and President and CEO Ted Phillips,
Speaker 1: and virtually we are joined by some of the great Bears.
Speaker 1: Season ticket holders should typically come out to the Peyton
Speaker 1: Center on this day and join us to talk Bears football.
Speaker 1: It is a game week and I think many felt
Speaker 1: this might have been a long shot in many respects,
Speaker 1: and that's not the case. Football schedule for Sunday in
Speaker 1: Detroit against the Detroit Lions, and good to have you
Speaker 1: with us on the radio on Sunday with Tom there
Speaker 1: myself with a nine am pregame and a new and kickoff.
Speaker 1: Make sure to gear up for the Chicago Bears regular
Speaker 1: season with Jersey's caps and other must haves from the
Speaker 1: official Chicago Bears Pro shop shop now it's stored dot
Speaker 1: Chicago Bears dot com. Bat with Matt Naggie, Ryan Pace,
Speaker 1: and Ted Phillips. Matt Coaches are Wired differently laser focused
Speaker 1: on preparation. Is that how you've always felt in this
Speaker 1: process despite everything that has been going on, Yeah, it is, Jeff.
Speaker 1: The preparation part is very important. But what you need
Speaker 1: to do is you want to try to do as
Speaker 1: much as you can in the front end. And we
Speaker 1: talk about, you know, expect the unexpected, and you can
Speaker 1: kind of feel it right now in a good way
Speaker 1: in our building. It's here as far as the prep goes. Now.
Speaker 1: We we've been working on Detroit and we know where
Speaker 1: we're at and have an idea on things. But now
Speaker 1: you realize that, hey, you're you're really you know, six
Speaker 1: seven days away and you're finally into your normal schedule
Speaker 1: of how to do your you know, your day to day,
Speaker 1: hour to hour stuff. So it feels really good. I
Speaker 1: really love where our coaching staff is at right now
Speaker 1: with that, with being prepared, and so we're ready to
Speaker 1: get back at it tomorrow, get the guys in here
Speaker 1: for a little bit and get the week going. And
Speaker 1: Ryan going back to the offseason zoom meetings and all
Speaker 1: that went into that with players. What resonated with you
Speaker 1: on how Matt and the staff handle it, because we've
Speaker 1: heard a lot of very good things would have loved
Speaker 1: to have. I've seen some of those speakers that it
Speaker 1: came in and what they all meant, But overall, the
Speaker 1: players seemingly got a heck of a lot out of it. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, I've said this a lot. Everyone feeds off
Speaker 1: Mats leads, so he just operates with a positive mindset.
Speaker 1: You know, he's always looking for solutions, he's always speaking
Speaker 1: outside the box. And I just think that type of
Speaker 1: mentality that he naturally has really benefits our entire organization
Speaker 1: during these times. And I just think it's energizing to
Speaker 1: be around, and that's important right now, you know, Ted,
Speaker 1: I often heard even before this season, Ryan and Matt
Speaker 1: talk about no excuses. You talked about no complaining. Even
Speaker 1: before the COVID pandemic and everything else that's going on.
Speaker 1: They never talk about that other than there is no
Speaker 1: there are no excuses. They rise above circumstances. How critical
Speaker 1: is that for adaptation in this what Matt has called
Speaker 1: the Year of contingency. Well, it's huge, and I think
Speaker 1: some of the things they do so well together Matt
Speaker 1: and Ryan talking about is they get everyone pulling in
Speaker 1: the same direction, and they're always talking about solutions, not
Speaker 1: the problems. And when you have that kind of mindset,
Speaker 1: everyone feeds off of it, and they they have the
Speaker 1: ability to have a message delivered, and they're consistent on
Speaker 1: a daily basis of delivering that. It's transparent, it's authentic,
Speaker 1: and I can't be any more proud of how they've
Speaker 1: handled it because this, as I said earlier, this is
Speaker 1: a very different type of year, and we have to
Speaker 1: be ready on a daily basis for uh, you know,
Speaker 1: unknown challenges to pop up a matt Your theme messaging
Speaker 1: is always something intrigued by what you come up with.
Speaker 1: And I know it's been a big conversation from you
Speaker 1: about mental and physical toughness. This is the kind of
Speaker 1: team you want based on what transpired last year. Is
Speaker 1: the message any different than when you got the players together,
Speaker 1: then it will be on Wednesday. It's the first big
Speaker 1: practice for a preparation for week one. Right, No, it's not, Jeff,
Speaker 1: it is it's for us. It's it's about the details.
Speaker 1: But really, more importantly, I think a lot of our players,
Speaker 1: coaches and support staff, everybody in this building. They keep
Speaker 1: hearing attacking and aggressive and there's a lot of different
Speaker 1: ways that you can look at those two words, but
Speaker 1: that's something that we all felt that we can be
Speaker 1: a lot better in in a lot of different areas.
Speaker 1: And so that mindset of having that attacking and aggressive
Speaker 1: mentality is important. But then also too we like you said,
Speaker 1: we talked about being physically tough and mentally tough now
Speaker 1: at the time, we didn't realize that we were going
Speaker 1: to have to be as mentally tough as we all
Speaker 1: horror right now because it is. It challenges you every
Speaker 1: single day when you wake up, there's a possibility as
Speaker 1: something being new that none of us have gone through.
Speaker 1: And just one thing I want to make clear too
Speaker 1: is you know Ted was talking about the relationship with
Speaker 1: Ryan and myself and and you know everybody knows how
Speaker 1: I feel about that and how close we are and
Speaker 1: when we think a lot alike and support each other.
Speaker 1: But also Ryan and I have had a ton a
Speaker 1: ton of support from Ted and from George and Missus
Speaker 1: McCaskey in helping us be able to do what we'd
Speaker 1: like to do. And when you have that support and
Speaker 1: you feel good about that, and I'm talking about the
Speaker 1: you know, you have to come up with a plan
Speaker 1: on how are you going to attack the way you
Speaker 1: want to go about with COVID and all the rules
Speaker 1: that they give you, and they've given us the resources
Speaker 1: to keep our players safe. And when our players got
Speaker 1: here for the first day in person, they felt safe,
Speaker 1: they felt comfortable, and we Ryan and I can come
Speaker 1: up with ideas, but if you don't have support to
Speaker 1: do that, then you can't do it. And we had support.
Speaker 1: And I think it's from the top down, and that's
Speaker 1: what's so cool about this Ryan, that includes you know,
Speaker 1: Matt's talking about players, but in his families, it's it's
Speaker 1: the assistance. It's Matt himself, it's you yourself. You know
Speaker 1: what kind of contingency plans are in place if if
Speaker 1: it outbreak hits and it impacts you or an effects
Speaker 1: impacts Matt, and that you know, Jeff, we've thought through
Speaker 1: all the different contingency plans and I think as we
Speaker 1: work through the process. Really this started back in March,
Speaker 1: so this is one of those deals you open one
Speaker 1: door and there's six more questions, you know, as we
Speaker 1: go through this. But as you said, we have to
Speaker 1: have plans for all possibilities. That's for our players, and
Speaker 1: the league has done given us a lot of avenues
Speaker 1: to help protect our players and for our staff, and
Speaker 1: I think no matches said it from the McCaskey family, George, Ted.
Speaker 1: We've been given the resources to protect our team in
Speaker 1: a first class manner and you feel it throughout our
Speaker 1: whole setup at Household, a whole new setup. But right now,
Speaker 1: like our mindset is, we cannot let our guard down.
Speaker 1: We cannot be complacent, especially as we're about to hit
Speaker 1: the road for Detroit. And welcome back to the Bears
Speaker 1: Coaches Show, brought to you by a Whippley CPA's and Consultants,
Speaker 1: a proud partner of the Chicago Bears. Learn more at
Speaker 1: Whippley dot com. Jeff Jonny AAC along with Matt Neeggie,
Speaker 1: Ryan and Pace and Ted Phillips here on the Bears
Speaker 1: Coaches Show as we get up for the twenty twenty
Speaker 1: regular season opener in Detroit on Sunday. Home opener a
Speaker 1: week from Sunday against the Giants in our Labor Day special. Hey,
Speaker 1: we'd love to be in front of the fans at
Speaker 1: the Payton Center, no doubt about it, but that's not
Speaker 1: the case tonight. But we sincerely look forward to seeing
Speaker 1: everybody out and about at some point in the near
Speaker 1: future and season ticket holders virtually joining the program. Tonight, fellas,
Speaker 1: let's start taking some questions from our season ticket holders
Speaker 1: that they sent in. We're gonna start with coach Naggy.
Speaker 1: This is from may Lean, Alabama, section four forty one
Speaker 1: from Mark Teachman. Wants to know what changes will the
Speaker 1: Bears be making to improve their overall performance in twenty twenty.
Speaker 1: Broad question, of course, because coaches like to say we
Speaker 1: got to improve everything. Yeah, we do, Melee, and I
Speaker 1: think for us, the changes that happens every year, every
Speaker 1: every team is a little bit different. So you know,
Speaker 1: I feel like for us as coaches, we can coach
Speaker 1: the these guys with the details better. The players can
Speaker 1: really take these details in and then go ahead and
Speaker 1: execute it. Um. You can look across the board, whether
Speaker 1: it's offense, defense, special teams, and like like you said, Jeff,
Speaker 1: it can be a broad question. But for us, we
Speaker 1: just know offensively we want to score a lot more points.
Speaker 1: We want to protect the football, create an identity on offense,
Speaker 1: and then defensively, we want to continue with that aggressive
Speaker 1: mentality that we've had, get you know, get that football
Speaker 1: away from the offense and play fast and play with energy.
Speaker 1: I think the biggest thing for us all three phases
Speaker 1: special teams too, is get that swag back. I think
Speaker 1: we lost that a little bit last year. So if
Speaker 1: there's one big thing that we can all get better at,
Speaker 1: it's getting that energy and that that juice back. Is
Speaker 1: that you included, that's me included? Yeah? Well, I h yeah,
Speaker 1: it is. It's me. I know I can be better
Speaker 1: in that area and being able to help out these players.
Speaker 1: It's happening right now, Jeff in practice. If I hope
Speaker 1: you can tell that the times you've been out there
Speaker 1: and you can feel it. There's just a different vibe
Speaker 1: right now in this building in a good way. And
Speaker 1: I love that and I don't want to take that
Speaker 1: away from anybody. Ryan. I'm gonna build off of that
Speaker 1: with you, because the player procurement aspect is in your
Speaker 1: hands and your staff and getting a guy that you're
Speaker 1: familiar with back to New Orleans. Jimmy Graham. Oh, I
Speaker 1: find as just an amazing story and journey through this
Speaker 1: life of his. Nothing came easy for Jimmy Graham, and
Speaker 1: he's turned out to be a guy that as Matt
Speaker 1: uses the word juice. He brings juice to practice, he
Speaker 1: brings leadership to that room. On offense, you got developing
Speaker 1: guys in that regard that you've drafted in in that
Speaker 1: building team Matt coming in. I think Roquine could be
Speaker 1: that guy and Eddie Jackson. So do you feel you
Speaker 1: have guys almost in every position group that can bring
Speaker 1: some of what Matt's talking about? Oh for sure. And
Speaker 1: that's that's a conscious effort as we've built the team, Jeff,
Speaker 1: to add those type of leaders throughout our building. And
Speaker 1: you mentioned Jimmy Graham, and I mean beyond the physical
Speaker 1: skill set that he brings, which has been evident in practice,
Speaker 1: the leadership that he brings, as Matt says, the juice
Speaker 1: and the energy that he brings it's infectious to the
Speaker 1: locker room. The swagger and confidence that he has. I
Speaker 1: feel like we had that in every position group now,
Speaker 1: and that's huge as we start this season because, to
Speaker 1: be quite honest, that hasn't been the case in some
Speaker 1: previous years. But we feel good about that in every
Speaker 1: position room as we go forward. I think people would
Speaker 1: be in tried to know what your choice would be
Speaker 1: who brings the juice on special teams. Is it Corderrel
Speaker 1: or is it Cherik or I mean because because Cordarrel
Speaker 1: is doing just about everything, including being a gunner. One
Speaker 1: of the best players of the year last year was
Speaker 1: his play putting that ball down inside the one. Remember
Speaker 1: that one? For sure, I'd say, you know, definitely Cordero
Speaker 1: and Tariq would be in that in that talk. And
Speaker 1: then Shark just with the consistency that he brings on
Speaker 1: special teams has been huge for us over the years.
Speaker 1: Ted this is from Bourbon at the old home of
Speaker 1: the Bears in terms of training at Mark Morgan from
Speaker 1: Section two fifty six. Since social distancing is an accepted practice,
Speaker 1: why can't the NFL allow so many fans based on
Speaker 1: a team's capacity to attend a game. In the Bears case,
Speaker 1: this would amount to roughly sixteen thousand fans per game.
Speaker 1: This is a big topic, no question. Just heard that
Speaker 1: the Browns and the Bengals from their governor, and that's
Speaker 1: part of this government impact is saying six thousand fans
Speaker 1: can show up. What can you tell season ticket holders
Speaker 1: and fans in general about what the plan is moving forward?
Speaker 1: I know in initial stages that's not going to be
Speaker 1: the case. Yeah, that's you touched on it, Jeff and Mark.
Speaker 1: The reality is the league realized they couldn't dictate to
Speaker 1: each team, so it's up to each individual team to
Speaker 1: work with their local and state government. Everyone's got different
Speaker 1: rules and regulations. And I can tell our season ticket
Speaker 1: holders this that we have worked tirelessly to come up
Speaker 1: with a plan reduced capacity. The plan that we had
Speaker 1: presented to the city and the state was about eleven
Speaker 1: thousand fans. The building was broken up into fifteen different
Speaker 1: zones with dedicated ingress and egress, and dedicated restrooms and
Speaker 1: food and beverage, and with one hundred people or less
Speaker 1: per each seating section. That's how we got to the
Speaker 1: eleven thousand. The good news is the government officials, the
Speaker 1: public health officials, they loved our plan. The problem is
Speaker 1: that right now State of Illinois and the City of Chicago,
Speaker 1: the COVID cases keep increasing, and until that curve breaks
Speaker 1: and they get to start heading downward, we're not going
Speaker 1: to be able to have fans. The feeling is that
Speaker 1: it's not safe, but I know this that the plan
Speaker 1: that we have people will feel very safe. We've worked
Speaker 1: with Populace, which is a global stadium architecture firm, and
Speaker 1: the plan we have has been responsive to the city
Speaker 1: and the state, so we have it. We haven't waiting
Speaker 1: there and we're just waiting now for the number of
Speaker 1: cases to start dropping where we can implement it. And
Speaker 1: we can't wait because we want to get our fans
Speaker 1: back in the building. Obviously great home field advantage. We've
Speaker 1: got the best fans there are in the league. Welcome
Speaker 1: back everybody. During the twenty twenty season, the Chicago Bears
Speaker 1: are giving away one hundred one thousand dollars to a
Speaker 1: deserving nonprofit organization in the Chicagoland area. So visit Chicago
Speaker 1: Bears dot com slash community all Pros for more information
Speaker 1: and how you can help out. Back on the Bears
Speaker 1: Coaches Show, sponsored by and brought to you by A
Speaker 1: Whippley CPAs and Consultants, Jeff Joni accled on with Matteneggie,
Speaker 1: Ryan Pace and Ted Phillips as we continue our conversation
Speaker 1: building up to the twenty twenty opener on Sunday at
Speaker 1: Ford Field. Uh, gentlemen, I don't I don't think anyone
Speaker 1: could have foreseen the reaction that has happened over the
Speaker 1: course of the last several months in our country and
Speaker 1: within each of our lives, and in your lives and
Speaker 1: your building. Matt Nagie the Social Injustice movement concerns that
Speaker 1: you emphasize that listening was always going to be the
Speaker 1: big key, but no one was ever really, no one
Speaker 1: could be prepared for what happened. How revealing has this
Speaker 1: been for you and for the organization. Yeah, Jeff, it's
Speaker 1: um it really makes you take a step back when
Speaker 1: you do listen. We all think that we have all
Speaker 1: the answers. We all think we have our own stories.
Speaker 1: But when you sit back and you listen to other
Speaker 1: people's stories, um, it's very, very impactful. And until you
Speaker 1: do that, it's hard to understand. And I think with
Speaker 1: that listening and you heard us talk about it and
Speaker 1: you feel it here with us? Is that word love?
Speaker 1: I mean that when I say that, I don't just
Speaker 1: say that and just throw that that that word around.
Speaker 1: You feel the love for each other in this building.
Speaker 1: It's real, it's authentic. We have some tough talks. Now,
Speaker 1: there's some there's some talks that, um there there's a
Speaker 1: little bit of uncomfortable, you know, there's a lot of honesty.
Speaker 1: But when you do this, because there's so many different
Speaker 1: opinions when you go about this right and where things
Speaker 1: are at and you talk about you know, whether it's
Speaker 1: a social injustice or whether it's dealing with COVID and
Speaker 1: how you handle that, and everybody has like when you
Speaker 1: when you're talking about COVID, right, some people from a
Speaker 1: level one to ten are a ten or eleven and
Speaker 1: others are one. But we're all like, you're allowed to
Speaker 1: feel whichever way you want to feel. And and now
Speaker 1: you go into some of these other topics and when
Speaker 1: you do it together, it's a lot easier, and it
Speaker 1: does take a little more time, but in the end
Speaker 1: we've all become so much tighter and um, that part
Speaker 1: is what I'm proud of everybody being able to do that.
Speaker 1: So we we've it's a day by day process, but
Speaker 1: we've done a good job with it. Ryan, from your
Speaker 1: position as general manager, what have you done to help
Speaker 1: ease the concerns players have and be able to engage
Speaker 1: in open discussions and just what the franchise is planning
Speaker 1: to do. Ted can jump in on this too, because Ryan,
Speaker 1: the one thing when we hear the zoom interviews with
Speaker 1: the with the players, and certainly the fans must know
Speaker 1: now we do not have face to face interviews anymore.
Speaker 1: It's it's it's a mass interview with players. And the
Speaker 1: Bears have been great getting a number of players to
Speaker 1: get on these zooms. They all say they feel grateful
Speaker 1: that they can speak about it. Jeff, You know, I
Speaker 1: think it starts at the top, and really we've had
Speaker 1: unwavering full support from the top down, so from the
Speaker 1: McCaskey family and George and Ted, and I think in
Speaker 1: every meeting we've had is just stressing to our players
Speaker 1: into our staff that they have our full support, and
Speaker 1: it's you know, recognizing what's going on in our country
Speaker 1: and having those real, honest conversations. And you know, it
Speaker 1: doesn't always have to be in a team meeting setting either.
Speaker 1: Or I think some of the best talks that I've
Speaker 1: had have been one on one talks with our players
Speaker 1: and our staff, and that have been really good. And
Speaker 1: I just think listening, seeing it through different perspectives, having
Speaker 1: empathy is critical right now, And Ted about from your
Speaker 1: perspective and how the mccaskey's feel about how everything's been handled. Yeah, Jeff,
Speaker 1: so I agree with everything that Matt and Ryan have said,
Speaker 1: but let me add that I think what the players
Speaker 1: and the staff will appreciate is that we have committed
Speaker 1: to take action steps they're being formulated, but it's not
Speaker 1: going to just be words. I think that the tone
Speaker 1: has been set by listening and talking and having those
Speaker 1: uncomfortable conversations, but we will work with the team and
Speaker 1: come up with some tangible steps to make a difference,
Speaker 1: you know, And I was I just would like to
Speaker 1: share that, you know, Julia Jackson, who's the mother of
Speaker 1: Jacob Blake who was shot, had had some really powerful
Speaker 1: words that she talked about. And what she said, and
Speaker 1: I'll just encapsulate it all briefly, is she said, we
Speaker 1: need love, we need prayers, and that we all everyone
Speaker 1: needs to examine our hearts and be united towards healing
Speaker 1: our country. I mean, that's that is powerful, and I
Speaker 1: think that's what is behind our desire to want to
Speaker 1: make a difference, and that comes from ownership. George and
Speaker 1: Virginia are a very, very committed to making sure that
Speaker 1: we take the necessary steps so that everybody feels that
Speaker 1: it's not just talk. All right, Welcome back, everybody, as
Speaker 1: we break down the Bears for twenty twenty with Ryan Pace,
Speaker 1: general manager, Ted Phillips, the president and CEO, and the
Speaker 1: head coach of the Bears, Mattonaggie. As we talked to
Speaker 1: season ticket holders as well, normally this show on Labor Day,
Speaker 1: always at Hollis Hall. We'll go back to some questions
Speaker 1: fellas from our season ticket holders. Tim Becaro from Chicago
Speaker 1: section one thirty three wants to ask Ryan when will
Speaker 1: Alan Robbins to get his new contract? Yeah, that's something
Speaker 1: you know, Tim, We usually keep those conversations behind the scenes.
Speaker 1: But hey, look you can have confidence. We know how
Speaker 1: important a Robbers that this team, the type of player is,
Speaker 1: the type of person he is. Um, So we recognize that,
Speaker 1: but we keep those things internal. Hey, Ryan, here's here's
Speaker 1: a blunt question as well from Michael Strauss section three
Speaker 1: o eight. You're a half glass full guy, so it's
Speaker 1: tough to answer this question when you say, what do
Speaker 1: you believe is the weakest part of your team? And
Speaker 1: Sam for your strongest the strongest part of our team. Um,
Speaker 1: that's a good question. You know, I think the things
Speaker 1: that come to my mind right away, or pass rushers,
Speaker 1: you know, our pass rushers is a major strength. I
Speaker 1: think that's important in this league. We talked about us
Speaker 1: today with the media to hit the quarterback. Turnovers are
Speaker 1: generated from that. I'm a glass have full guy the week,
Speaker 1: just part of our team. That's hard for me right now.
Speaker 1: Let's get a couple of games into it. We're constantly
Speaker 1: trying to improve our roster. That's something we're always looking at.
Speaker 1: But that's a hard one for me to answer right now.
Speaker 1: And Matt, the depth chart came out today for the
Speaker 1: first release. It's called unofficial for good reason, but getting
Speaker 1: ready for Detroit. So the battles that we all had
Speaker 1: circled and you had circled as well, let's talk about
Speaker 1: some of them, right. Cornerback rookie out of Utah Jalen
Speaker 1: Johnson Listen as a number one corner opposite m Kyle Fuller,
Speaker 1: and then to Sean Gibson at safety. Thoughts on those
Speaker 1: potential starting jobs for week one. Yeah, both of those
Speaker 1: guys had really good camps, as did the other guys
Speaker 1: you know as well. For Jalen to come in here
Speaker 1: as a rookie. The one thing I noticed about Jalen
Speaker 1: is he has a lot of confidence you know, you
Speaker 1: can see it. He's got great instincts. Came in here.
Speaker 1: I messled him every single day. I try to get
Speaker 1: in his head and try to tell him we're gonna
Speaker 1: go after him, and do you know, you go deep
Speaker 1: on him and do different things. And he had a
Speaker 1: great camp, he really did. I think he stepped up
Speaker 1: to the plate and um and and accepted every challenge.
Speaker 1: Uh to Shaun Gibson. The same thing again with with
Speaker 1: him and Dion Bush having a great battle both those guys.
Speaker 1: You know, it's it's below the radar with the quarterback
Speaker 1: competition in regards to how that goes. But those two
Speaker 1: guys really really good guys that that battled it out
Speaker 1: equal reps um a lot of respect for Dion as well.
Speaker 1: And so Tayshaun comes in here with a lot of experience.
Speaker 1: He's a ballhawk, really really sees the field well. Um,
Speaker 1: I think he's gonna compliment Eddie Jackson really well on
Speaker 1: that back end. And so you have some guys that
Speaker 1: have some experience and so when you have that with
Speaker 1: that that defense that we have, they fly around, they
Speaker 1: play fast. And Jerry Lathrow from section two thirty seven
Speaker 1: wants to know, what does the expected return for David Montgomery. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's again that's gonna fall into kind of what what
Speaker 1: Ryan was saying with some of the questions. You guys
Speaker 1: are asking some pretty good questions here. I like you,
Speaker 1: you're trying to help out the media, but uh that
Speaker 1: that'll will have more on that I'll don't want to
Speaker 1: help about Detroit. No, no, no, that's right. That's right. Um,
Speaker 1: you know, uh, we're gonna we're gonna keep that until Wednesday.
Speaker 1: It was funny because I did hear uh coach Patricia
Speaker 1: today say you know they asked him about guys too.
Speaker 1: He goes, well, as soon as you as soon as
Speaker 1: you find out from Matt who he's playing it, I'll
Speaker 1: tell you who'll it's not gonna happen. Right, It's a
Speaker 1: good question though, Yeah it is, Uh Ted. Here's the
Speaker 1: question for you Bears fans obviously very loud on third
Speaker 1: and fourth down with the Bear Raids siren during critical situations.
Speaker 1: How much of an impact well, not having fans in
Speaker 1: the team and critical situations where fan noise and the
Speaker 1: Bear Raids siren are normally at peak, and uh, are
Speaker 1: you concerned at all about and the league gonna really
Speaker 1: monitor the volume of noise from whether it's fake noise,
Speaker 1: pumped in noise, or whatever they choose to do, like
Speaker 1: we've seen in other other stadiums in years pasted. Is
Speaker 1: there is there anything on that. Yeah, well we're yeah,
Speaker 1: we're definitely gonna miss our home field advantage in our
Speaker 1: in our packed stadium. UM. It'll be interesting to see that.
Speaker 1: I know that from a broadcast standpoint, the league is
Speaker 1: going to have audio monitored that's going to be somehow
Speaker 1: reactive to different situations. And they're also going to add
Speaker 1: what you call curated audio literally based on past actual
Speaker 1: crowd noise from soldier field UM. And they're going to
Speaker 1: have that also, UM, which I think will help mask
Speaker 1: some of the field level audio. So it's gonna be
Speaker 1: interesting how it is monitored. I know there will be
Speaker 1: league officials there to keep the decibel level, you know,
Speaker 1: at at an appropriate um uh standard. And it's gonna
Speaker 1: be something totally different for us, and we'll have to
Speaker 1: just wait and see. I know we have a new
Speaker 1: PA announcer and he's gonna be calling the down in distance,
Speaker 1: so our first PA announcer and over forty years and
Speaker 1: he's got to do it with no fans in the
Speaker 1: building at least for now. It's gonna be different, definitely.
Speaker 1: So that's that's the word of the day and for
Speaker 1: the year. I guess here in twenty twenty Bears Coaches
Speaker 1: Show brought to you by Whipley CPAs and Consultant's Counting
Speaker 1: Down to the opener Sunday in Detroit's Ford Field. Jeff
Speaker 1: Joniac back with you our final segment about five minutes
Speaker 1: to go, six minutes to go or so. Tonight, UH
Speaker 1: tackled a bunch of topics, but let's talk some football, Matt.
Speaker 1: Let's go back if you're just joined the program, and
Speaker 1: we did talk about the the quarterback decision with Mitch
Speaker 1: Drubisky right now and Nick Foles in a backup role
Speaker 1: to start the season. Is there anything anecdotal that you
Speaker 1: could share with us about the conversation with both gentlemen
Speaker 1: that we would be interested in. Well, I think, Jeff,
Speaker 1: the biggest thing is number one for these guys when
Speaker 1: they are competing, they're trying to understand, Okay, when his
Speaker 1: coach gonna go ahead and let us know what's going on, right,
Speaker 1: is this something that he's gonna wait over the weekend,
Speaker 1: is it right away? And and so once that decision
Speaker 1: was made, then it was imperative to bring each of
Speaker 1: them in on their own and for me to have
Speaker 1: a one on one conversation with him and break the
Speaker 1: news to him. And that's what we did. So Mitchell
Speaker 1: came in first, and you know, again they don't know
Speaker 1: what to expect. So we just sat down and had
Speaker 1: had a real good conversation and I broke the news
Speaker 1: to him that he's going to be the starter, and
Speaker 1: I really it was really neat to see his reaction
Speaker 1: was just first of all, he has a mask on,
Speaker 1: so it's hard to tell some of it because you
Speaker 1: can't see through the mask. But he was very, very
Speaker 1: excited when we told him the news. And I think
Speaker 1: for him, he just has he has this focus right
Speaker 1: now in this drive where you know, he understands, Okay,
Speaker 1: I just got the news that I'm starting, but that's
Speaker 1: not going to affect or change anything on my demeanor
Speaker 1: of where I'm going right now. And that's what I
Speaker 1: felt when I was with him, and so it was
Speaker 1: really good. We just got right into some of the
Speaker 1: things that we're looking at doing and now for him
Speaker 1: to understand that I liked it. I thought it went
Speaker 1: really well. Right after that, then I was able to
Speaker 1: get Nick in, and Nick came in and again just
Speaker 1: broke the news to him that which direction that we're
Speaker 1: gonna go. And to no surprise me knowing Nick as
Speaker 1: a person, he handled it like a true professional. He
Speaker 1: knows that you can only choose one and that for
Speaker 1: us as a decision that we went with. And again
Speaker 1: for people to understand that this is a guy that
Speaker 1: told me, hey, listen, I'm gonna do everything I can
Speaker 1: to help Mitch out with a schedule, a weekly schedule
Speaker 1: that has worked for me in the past, whether it's
Speaker 1: watching film, lifting weights, et cetera. Stuff, practice habits, and
Speaker 1: he did that. And then in the end, as a
Speaker 1: lot of people, as I said before, in the end,
Speaker 1: he said, can I give him a call and congratulate him?
Speaker 1: And that's what he did. And I think that's what
Speaker 1: we have as two special guys rooting for each other
Speaker 1: to make the Chicago Bears better and Ryan, from your
Speaker 1: perspective on it, given what you've added, this helps significantly.
Speaker 1: Just watching Jimmy Graham, watching Cole Commet blossom before our eyes.
Speaker 1: Already the entire five man tight end class that you
Speaker 1: have here for twenty total revamp from last year, a
Speaker 1: more excited, driven and a guy who says he's going
Speaker 1: to just have fun David Montgomery. The offensive line touched
Speaker 1: up the addition of James Jermaine Efetti, leading more towards
Speaker 1: that physical toughness that that Matt referred to. And then
Speaker 1: of course speed at receiver with developing players and Anthony
Speaker 1: Miller and hopefully Riley Ridley and Darnel Mooney, this should
Speaker 1: help the quarterback play as much as the quarterbacks help
Speaker 1: those guys develop. No for sure, Jeff. Before I answer that,
Speaker 1: I just want to acknowledge all the season ticket holders
Speaker 1: that are watching tonight. I I really wish we could together.
Speaker 1: I know this is tough, but we hope to see
Speaker 1: you guys soon in the near future. But yeah, with
Speaker 1: what you're talking about, you know, every year there's change,
Speaker 1: and you know, we made a lot of additions. I
Speaker 1: think you know, we go into the offseason, you know, Matt,
Speaker 1: and identify our needs and we a variety of ways
Speaker 1: trying to address those needs. And this year it was trades,
Speaker 1: free agency, the draft. Um, there are a lot of names,
Speaker 1: even more names that you didn't mention that I think
Speaker 1: are going to make an impact. And I think, you know,
Speaker 1: one of the benefits that we have right now is
Speaker 1: just the continuity of the coaches and in the scouting
Speaker 1: staff is the longer we're together, the more closely we're
Speaker 1: connected on acquiring players that fit our profile. So it's
Speaker 1: a physical skill set, it's scheme fit, it's football makeup
Speaker 1: and character fit. And I feel like the Vets and
Speaker 1: the rookies Jet that we added, they're all natural fits
Speaker 1: to our roster, to our locker room. They're going to
Speaker 1: make a quick impact. Well, the weird thing is not weird,
Speaker 1: but the cool thing is for me to listen to
Speaker 1: these guys. First of all, ro Quin, I'm out the
Speaker 1: proach of people wrong. Khleil Mack has got an edge
Speaker 1: to them. Jail Johnson says, you know, he's got a
Speaker 1: chip on his shoulder, Trevis Gibson's got a chip off.
Speaker 1: Everybody's got a chip on their shoulder, and they weren't
Speaker 1: all here last year, so you got a bunch of
Speaker 1: it sounds like. And again, anybody could pick pick through
Speaker 1: that and say, wow, it's just words. But if you're
Speaker 1: around people you know what's fact and what's fiction and
Speaker 1: what's genuine. Yeah, for sure, I think that's that's the
Speaker 1: profile that we target to guys with that kind of mindset,
Speaker 1: chip on your shoulder or driven, obsessed, whatever you want
Speaker 1: to call it, we got. We got a locker room
Speaker 1: full of those kind of guys that are all pulling
Speaker 1: in the same direction, and that's when it gets excited.
Speaker 1: All right, Ted, I'm gonna give you the final question
Speaker 1: before I give Matt a chance to preview the Lions,
Speaker 1: to send us off in our final couple of minutes
Speaker 1: here with our season ticket owners, and again, thank you
Speaker 1: so much for joining us. Hey, I have confidence will
Speaker 1: were back next year at this time at the Peyton
Speaker 1: Center breaking things down for twenty twenty one, and who
Speaker 1: knows how much fun we'll have here in twenty twenty
Speaker 1: with the schedule. But a final message to the fans
Speaker 1: here before opening kickoff, I would say to all our
Speaker 1: season ticket holders, we miss you. Keep following us. Our
Speaker 1: social digital staff are working hard to give you some
Speaker 1: great content while there's no fans or limited fans later
Speaker 1: in the stadium, So keep following us and routing the
Speaker 1: team on and we can't wait to get your back
Speaker 1: in person to give us that home field advantage six
Speaker 1: days go Bears. All right, Ted, thank you so much.
Speaker 1: And Ryan, how about a sneak peek here at our
Speaker 1: friends up in Detroit. Yeah, you know we know this opponent.
Speaker 1: Well there there's a change obviously with their defensive coordinator,
Speaker 1: but you know, same head coach is kind of driving
Speaker 1: that defense. A lot of skill at the receiver position.
Speaker 1: A quarterback that's healthy right now. He's a dynamic player.
Speaker 1: So yeah, we're gonna have our hands full. But I
Speaker 1: feel good about our team and our mindset going into this.
Speaker 1: And you have told the team I saw it a
Speaker 1: nineteen twenty football drive, a great thing put together by
Speaker 1: the Bear staff that you believe they have championship caliber
Speaker 1: players in that room. So and Ryan, our Matt keep
Speaker 1: messen you guys up here. Mad final thoughts on the
Speaker 1: lines coming up? Yeah, just real quick too. I want
Speaker 1: to echo to all the season ticket holders. Man, we
Speaker 1: appreciate it, Thank you so much, and we know you're
Speaker 1: all behind us, and we're gonna do everything we can
Speaker 1: to get as many wins as we can and and
Speaker 1: and everything. So U real quick, great team, great quarterback
Speaker 1: is where it starts with them, and so we got
Speaker 1: to make sure that we handle him. Defense does their thing,
Speaker 1: and uh, I just feel like for us, it's it's
Speaker 1: we got to worry about us. We do that, we'll
Speaker 1: be good. We're out of time. Good night, everybody. This
Speaker 1: is News Radio seven eighty and one oh five point
Speaker 1: at FM WBBM