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Speaker 1: New Year, everybody, and welcome into a another edition of
Speaker 1: Bears All Access. I'm Jeff Jonny Acola. I'm a broadcast
Speaker 1: partner from news Radio seven eighty and one or five
Speaker 1: point nine FWBBM. Mister Tom Fair, got your appetite. A
Speaker 1: little wedding right there with the boys before you start
Speaker 1: this part of the show. And good conversation. I'm sure
Speaker 1: I heard a little bit on the way in as
Speaker 1: I was parking the car. And then of course we
Speaker 1: got the renewal of our relationship with Big Jim Miller Mills.
Speaker 1: How you doing, my friends, I'm doing great, Happy to
Speaker 1: do your guys. Looking forward to it soft season, I'm
Speaker 1: going to be exciting. Obviously, a disappointing finish for the
Speaker 1: year for the Barrison. Hey, now it comes the off season.
Speaker 1: Every bit as important is in season and how you
Speaker 1: play on the field, making the right decisions the acquisitions
Speaker 1: to get this team built to press forward in twenty twenty.
Speaker 1: So good to be with you guy. Yeah, we passed
Speaker 1: you in the hallway a little bit on the TV
Speaker 1: shows in Fox, so we got to see a little bit.
Speaker 1: But I was listening to you on the way in
Speaker 1: I who was hearing the tale in some conversations about
Speaker 1: All Pro talk on your serious XM channel wise parking
Speaker 1: in the garage, and I hear conversation here with Tom Thare,
Speaker 1: with Dan McNeil and Danny Parkins. So you got a question, Well, no,
Speaker 1: there's a bunch of He'll call me today and say, hey,
Speaker 1: I know you're gonna get a chance to talk to
Speaker 1: Jim Miller tonight. Can you ask him why he didn't
Speaker 1: vote Lamar Jackson on the All Pro Team. No, I did.
Speaker 1: I've voted him MVP overall better quarterback. I think Russell
Speaker 1: Wilson is the overall better quarterback up right now as
Speaker 1: they sit today and how they perform. I think Lamar
Speaker 1: is awesome, but I think he's got a lot of
Speaker 1: things that that he can get better at. But he
Speaker 1: is off to a fantastic start. And you know, it's
Speaker 1: funny because a lot of people want to take their
Speaker 1: shots and do all these things. You know. They made
Speaker 1: it sound like we had a weekly with Russell Wilson
Speaker 1: and that's why I voted for Russell. That is just
Speaker 1: simply not true. I interviewed Lamar Jackson wants during training camp,
Speaker 1: much like I interviewed Lamar Jackson once during training camp.
Speaker 1: So there, you know, there's no sinister plot here. But
Speaker 1: I think Russell Wilson is the overall better quarterback. I
Speaker 1: thought Lamar had a great year obviously, you know, and
Speaker 1: I think Pat voted him Offensive Player of the Year
Speaker 1: and MVP. So it's not a shot at Lamar Jackson.
Speaker 1: He got his share of votes for for what we
Speaker 1: selected and why we selected him. Where we did well though,
Speaker 1: So how long you been doing the AP thing? I'd
Speaker 1: say it's about six seven years. See, it's not the
Speaker 1: first time I've been criticized. Remember when Peyton Manning got
Speaker 1: I was the one voter that descended against Peyton Manning
Speaker 1: being the MVP. Remember that one. Remember I correct, I
Speaker 1: correctly voted him offensive Player of the Year because that's
Speaker 1: what he was. Tom Brady should have been the MVP.
Speaker 1: And if you remember Bowl forty eight and how Peyton
Speaker 1: Manning performed a kind of solidified wife old to Tom
Speaker 1: Brady MVP and not Peyton man does sample size of
Speaker 1: the quarterbacks considering Russell Wilson's been doing it at this
Speaker 1: level for quite a while, and Lamar Jackson is more
Speaker 1: burst down to the scenes guy with the help of
Speaker 1: well look what happened with RG three. Yeah, that's what
Speaker 1: That's what I was going to make that reference point. Also. Yeah,
Speaker 1: so you know, I feel very comfortable with my vote.
Speaker 1: So I think people out there that don't get the vote,
Speaker 1: obviously they're a little bit jealous knowing where the source. Hey,
Speaker 1: I tell you, I'd tell you we're a little jealous.
Speaker 1: Eddie Jackson today hit the lottery and boy, you know,
Speaker 1: as a fourth round pick, and you know, according to
Speaker 1: his agency, he gets a big money deal that makes
Speaker 1: him the highest paid safety in the National Football League.
Speaker 1: And I had you know, you knew Landon Collins had
Speaker 1: that honor. I think Kevin Byard was close to that,
Speaker 1: but he just got over the fourteen and a half
Speaker 1: million dollars in annual salary, and that was the key
Speaker 1: to put it over the top. But how about that
Speaker 1: for a fourth round pick that suffered a serious injury
Speaker 1: and his college career the end of his career, that
Speaker 1: probably shoved him down the draft board a little bit,
Speaker 1: and the Bears picked one of their best picks in
Speaker 1: years right there injection as a former fourth round pick.
Speaker 1: I'm happy for him because it is when you are
Speaker 1: one of those middle round picks at all, it is
Speaker 1: about your production and how your future is going to
Speaker 1: be judged going forward. They pick you in the fourth
Speaker 1: or fifth round because they believe you have ability to
Speaker 1: cultivate your talent and make it in the NFL. Rarely
Speaker 1: are we pegged as future starter, future pro bowler. It's
Speaker 1: about serviceable starter, and I think Eddie is achieved beyond
Speaker 1: where he was drafted, So I'm happy for him. I
Speaker 1: don't even consider the finances anymore in football, because if
Speaker 1: you do, as an ex player, you're just gonna make
Speaker 1: yourself crazy with envy. So I admire him for his commitment.
Speaker 1: All as I want to see him do now is
Speaker 1: stay healthy throughout the length of this contract and be productive. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and I think it just reflects the safety market. Probably
Speaker 1: no position has been hotter than the safety market. Look
Speaker 1: at how many got scooped up in PREHC last year.
Speaker 1: You know, even guys like Adrian Amos how he moved
Speaker 1: on to the Green Bay Packers. But landing Collins, he
Speaker 1: lands in Washington, gets a big deal. And you're right, Jeff.
Speaker 1: Think about Eddie Jackson at Alabama. I think it was
Speaker 1: the broken lake right, he had the broken Laga that
Speaker 1: kind of pushed him down. He probably would have gotten
Speaker 1: drafted higher because he had, you know, put returnability and
Speaker 1: all those things. But definitely as ball skills, knows where
Speaker 1: the football is in his turnovers his few years in
Speaker 1: the league already and already a couple of Pro Bowls
Speaker 1: under his belt, I mean, very properly compensated when you
Speaker 1: look at that safety market. As I point I'm looking at, Jeff,
Speaker 1: do you know what haha Clinton Dick's other options were
Speaker 1: before he came to the Bears. Because here's a guy
Speaker 1: his contract is also up and last year, did he
Speaker 1: have multiple choices out there? I think, I mean there
Speaker 1: was definitely interest in him. Obviously I can't recall which
Speaker 1: teams it was, but He did say there were other
Speaker 1: options out there, but the pool of Eddie Jackson was
Speaker 1: significant for him as Alabama games. But he as he's
Speaker 1: the first safety to sign in this offseason, he's going
Speaker 1: to increase everybody else's number across the board. So the
Speaker 1: starter grades, it will affect. But even even these guys
Speaker 1: that are starters, and there are there's a little uncertainly
Speaker 1: about how like haha, just because he's on a one
Speaker 1: year deal, I think it still increases what he's going
Speaker 1: to be able to ask for because of Yah. Edie
Speaker 1: just already had a three million dollars one year deal
Speaker 1: with the Bears this year, and Jim, I know he'd
Speaker 1: like to come back. He's he's said it more than once,
Speaker 1: he'd liked to play the rest of his career on
Speaker 1: the Bears back end. With Eddie Jackson and the whole
Speaker 1: safety position in general, and now with dime defenses. The
Speaker 1: Bears saw plenty of those this year, as many defensive
Speaker 1: backs at starter grade that you could possibly afford. I say,
Speaker 1: get on your on your defense right now, because you
Speaker 1: can be versatile with him. They they are great weapons
Speaker 1: in terms of matchup type defenses and these zone defenses
Speaker 1: that you know, some quarterbacks do struggle with at times,
Speaker 1: and the safety position in particular, and I've said it
Speaker 1: a hundred times, I'll say it one hundred more. You
Speaker 1: got to have a bad and back there a baller.
Speaker 1: And if Eddie fits that category, he's a different type
Speaker 1: of player. Obviously, he's not the guy that's going to
Speaker 1: come in and knock your head off every time, that
Speaker 1: type of safety. But his range, his instincts, his ability
Speaker 1: to get off the hash, his ability to line up
Speaker 1: the defense on the back end. He's willingness this year
Speaker 1: to play closer to the line of scrimmage and that
Speaker 1: was how he was deployed with Chuck Pagano and his
Speaker 1: ability to make plays of the line of scrimmage and
Speaker 1: tackling and so forth. I still think everybody can improve tackling.
Speaker 1: You can't have You got to have one of those guys.
Speaker 1: If you want to be a contender gym, you have to.
Speaker 1: I mean, well, I think it goes back I'd say
Speaker 1: probably the Tyrone Matthew draft. Every year it's gotten more
Speaker 1: and more for that versatility that you're mentioning, Jeff. You know,
Speaker 1: even look at you know, from Jamal Adams to Derwin James.
Speaker 1: Just look at the safeties and the impact that they've had.
Speaker 1: And that's why I bring up Tyron Matthew because he's
Speaker 1: played slot, nickel horner. He's you know, as a safety
Speaker 1: is what you've been. He's been a safety at both spots,
Speaker 1: as a free as a strong at times has to
Speaker 1: come in to the box Yep Blitzer. I mean, they're
Speaker 1: just asked to do more. And so again I think
Speaker 1: for Haha, Clinton Dix, who's a great player. I thought
Speaker 1: he played very well for the Chicago Bears. Seventy eight tackles.
Speaker 1: He has been a ballhawk. He got two interceptions. Again,
Speaker 1: I think when the Bears signed him, since he's been drafted,
Speaker 1: he has had the most takeaways. I think up until
Speaker 1: you know, this year when he joined the Bears, from
Speaker 1: when he's been in the NFL, whether in Green Bay
Speaker 1: or in Washington. But I think again, it's got to
Speaker 1: be at the right price because just talking to Jim
Speaker 1: Nagee Downe at the Executive who's the executive director of
Speaker 1: the Senior Bowl, he says, we got another good pool
Speaker 1: of safeties that are coming out this year. So I
Speaker 1: think again, as you know, will it be at the
Speaker 1: right price to return to Chicago, and the price is
Speaker 1: the key because of the salary cap. Now, the move
Speaker 1: that was reported in the papers this week, Kyle Fuller, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, agreeing to restructure and that cleared up six
Speaker 1: million dollars in cap space. So the entering today anyway,
Speaker 1: they had sixteen million dollars of cap space reportedly, So
Speaker 1: that was something that was important to continue that theme
Speaker 1: in the secondary of keeping that group together as best
Speaker 1: as possible. You know, what I think is going to
Speaker 1: complicate the Clinton Dick situation is that Ryan has been
Speaker 1: able to draft first year starting safeties in the last
Speaker 1: couple of drafts and bringing in a guy like Eddie Jackson,
Speaker 1: and everybody know that m Adrian Amos played immediately here,
Speaker 1: So I think you got a little bit of confidence
Speaker 1: that maybe you can go out and pluck one of
Speaker 1: these safety heavy drafts with a rookie in there to
Speaker 1: complement a guy like Anck. Some gms they'll tell you
Speaker 1: right to your face you can get safeties in any
Speaker 1: round and they don't worry about drafting him high. But
Speaker 1: I just think they tell you that about guards too.
Speaker 1: It's very unfair. It is unfair, right, big Jim, good
Speaker 1: to hear you. Good to hear you. These guards are
Speaker 1: in high esteem. That's right, Tom, So get him in there.
Speaker 1: They need to be. But thought, hey, look at Lyndstrom.
Speaker 1: I think he was the highest rated guard. He went
Speaker 1: pretty quick last year out of Boston College to the
Speaker 1: Atlanta Focus. And look at the Hall of Fame finalists.
Speaker 1: A couple of guards in there. Steve Hutchinson is one
Speaker 1: of them. Three safeties too for safety, believe or not.
Speaker 1: We'll talk more about that as we break it down.
Speaker 1: Bears All Access brought to you by IGS Energy Here
Speaker 1: on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: welcome back to the show. This is Bears All Access
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Speaker 1: Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to the Score. Jeff and
Speaker 1: Tom and Jim Miller from Serious XM moving the change
Speaker 1: with our good guy Pat Kurwin. You guys breaking everything
Speaker 1: down to the playoffs this weekend. Later on the show,
Speaker 1: we'll take your opinions on that one. I about it,
Speaker 1: Jim yea and what's going to be going on. But
Speaker 1: you know, one of the best blessed signings. And I'm
Speaker 1: not a big free agent guy, so I'm okay if
Speaker 1: you know you're not investing a ton of money in
Speaker 1: free agency, that's just my opinion. I know you need
Speaker 1: to get some to fill some some roles and so forth,
Speaker 1: and maybe bridge the gap into another draft. But signing
Speaker 1: a Cordell Patterson I was geeked about to begin with
Speaker 1: because of his return ability and clearly one of the
Speaker 1: best of the decade on the All Decade team. But
Speaker 1: the benefits of what he brings in terms of being
Speaker 1: a gunner. I think he's now one of the premier
Speaker 1: gunners in the league. He's a field flipper and if
Speaker 1: you keep and I don't know what you're gonna do
Speaker 1: with Sheriff McManus, but you get two guys like that
Speaker 1: on the edges making plays first, fighting each other to
Speaker 1: get there first, and then the ability to play offensive
Speaker 1: football as well. And today he was named to the
Speaker 1: All Pro Team as a return guy for the fifth
Speaker 1: time in his career out of seven years. That's awesome.
Speaker 1: You know, it's weird is how we are all introduced
Speaker 1: to Cordial Patterson through the Minnesota Vikings and you only
Speaker 1: got a snippet of exposure to him because they didn't
Speaker 1: use him very much, but you kind of saw what
Speaker 1: type of athlete he could be. And then his career
Speaker 1: kind of expanded with his opportunities more with the Patriots
Speaker 1: than the Vikings or the Raiders, and so then you
Speaker 1: get a chance to meet the guy and how gracious
Speaker 1: he is and how much football means to him when
Speaker 1: he's willing to do anything that's asked of him. He's
Speaker 1: a great He is a really good guy in the
Speaker 1: locker room to show young guys the work ethic of
Speaker 1: older experienced guys that are still making the Pro ball
Speaker 1: and being challenged as their job changes. And the special teams. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I thought it was kind of cool, Jeff, because as
Speaker 1: you mentioned, he gets he gets recognized as a returner
Speaker 1: on the first team, and he was recognized that just
Speaker 1: for special teams overall, you know, like Matt Slater on
Speaker 1: the second team. So voters were paying attention. What was
Speaker 1: it the Green Bay game where he got screwed, right,
Speaker 1: they guy for the illegal touching quickly and that was
Speaker 1: illegal play. He was right there. I most got myself
Speaker 1: in big trouble on that one. Jim. I'm not gonna
Speaker 1: say what I said, but I said something I shouldn't. Well,
Speaker 1: I mean it was it was a legit play. I mean,
Speaker 1: you know, again, just because it looks bad with the hit,
Speaker 1: you don't flag the result. You gotta know what's going on.
Speaker 1: And certainly, uh, Cordarrell knew exactly that he timed it
Speaker 1: perfect and you know that was that was a big
Speaker 1: momentum changing play. But his gunner work has been outstanding,
Speaker 1: and I was glad to see he got recognized today
Speaker 1: on the second team from that stay point. And you know,
Speaker 1: we've had him on the show as well, and he
Speaker 1: talked about, you know, what his position is and he'd
Speaker 1: like to think he's a running back. And he's always
Speaker 1: been used in that fashion throughout all the way to Tennessee,
Speaker 1: but just not often enough, certainly not like he did
Speaker 1: with the Patriots. But I know Matt Naggie wants to
Speaker 1: come up with a better plan for Cordall Patterson offensively
Speaker 1: well to me, then let's interchange two bodies. Put put
Speaker 1: treikon on the line of scrimmage exclusively and then put
Speaker 1: Cordairyl Patterson in the backfield more because you see what
Speaker 1: type of effort he gets when he gets to the
Speaker 1: line of scrimmage and how difficult he is the tackle.
Speaker 1: He's a big body, but so is Derrick Henry. And
Speaker 1: you think about Derrick Henry for the Tennessee Titans going
Speaker 1: into New England this year leading the league and rushing
Speaker 1: those big body types can still be as effective as
Speaker 1: any running back that's out there. Yeah, you got to
Speaker 1: front him up. I mean it's hard to tackle him
Speaker 1: from the side. He runs extremely hard, and I'm not
Speaker 1: arguing that maybe maybe running back is the spot where
Speaker 1: he meetings to be featured even more. And I'm sure,
Speaker 1: like you said, Matt Naggie, go through all that and
Speaker 1: they'll sort that out and maybe that's in the mix
Speaker 1: for twenty twenty. Jim Miller, Jeff Jonnyak, and Tom There
Speaker 1: here on Bears All Access brought to you by IGS
Speaker 1: Energy with Mike are excuse me, Adams Zinsky and Mike
Speaker 1: Chen our engineers here today, our producers helping us out
Speaker 1: at the facility. First time I've been in here since
Speaker 1: the season ended. So it's a little different studio set
Speaker 1: up and down the hall WBBM, so getting acclimated here.
Speaker 1: But it feels weird. It feels like the season ended
Speaker 1: for the Bears a month ago and it was just
Speaker 1: a weekend ago that they were playing the Minnesota Vikings guys,
Speaker 1: and it just feels so much has changed already, and
Speaker 1: the instant flip to twenty twenty, which is necessary, and
Speaker 1: the changes in the coaching staff and the signings already
Speaker 1: getting set to set up the salary cap for the
Speaker 1: free agency period coming up in March, and then certainly
Speaker 1: the NFL Draft. But doesn't feel a little weird. Oh yeah,
Speaker 1: it's been It feels like a month. You know. It
Speaker 1: feels weird because you know, the Minnesota Vikings, even though
Speaker 1: the Bears beat him, it didn't need to leave you.
Speaker 1: It didn't leave you with any great feelings because you
Speaker 1: really knew it was eight and eight and there was
Speaker 1: no player. And then you think going forward, there's a
Speaker 1: really negative opinion out there of some of the elements
Speaker 1: of the Bears as an organization team players, But you know,
Speaker 1: that's an obstacle that they're challenged with every single year.
Speaker 1: If you don't go to the playoffs and you don't
Speaker 1: move on to the super Bowl. So it's going to
Speaker 1: be interesting to see how they correct some of the
Speaker 1: issues that they faced. When you think about, you know,
Speaker 1: going to the drawing board at the start of the
Speaker 1: off season last year, Matt's designing these plays according to
Speaker 1: the abilities of some players in how they were going
Speaker 1: to be able to contribute on different areas in the field.
Speaker 1: And then when you pull those guys off the board
Speaker 1: and they don't give you any meaningful staff, any meaningful snaps,
Speaker 1: you lose such a high percentage of what you're trying
Speaker 1: to accomplish on the field that it's difficult to be successful.
Speaker 1: So I think this year it's going to be interesting
Speaker 1: because just for the tight end position, along with JP
Speaker 1: Holt and Jasper Horsted, I think you have a receiver
Speaker 1: and a blocker in that position. So maybe that element
Speaker 1: of the tight end position will be reintroduced to this office. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think they're going to exhaustively go through everything on offense,
Speaker 1: certainly have already made changes with Juan Castillo, who coach
Speaker 1: Naggie knows well from their times in Philly together, I
Speaker 1: would assume is going to be a part of it.
Speaker 1: To get the run game up and going a little
Speaker 1: bit better. And you know, I just think coach Naggie
Speaker 1: was right about a lot. I do think the team
Speaker 1: played hard at the end. You know, I think they
Speaker 1: always give great effort, and I think that's a good
Speaker 1: sign about the coach. For example, look at another team
Speaker 1: like Carolina. To me, Ron Rivera was the glue holding
Speaker 1: that team together, and as soon as they let him go,
Speaker 1: that team just went by the wayside. And good to
Speaker 1: see Ron joining the Washington Redskins. But I think the
Speaker 1: Bears played hard all year long. But you know, I
Speaker 1: don't think they're going to ignore areas that they failed.
Speaker 1: I think Tom just pointed out a couple of them.
Speaker 1: The tight end position has to be corrected, the offensive
Speaker 1: line to run the ball more has to be corrected.
Speaker 1: Mitch Turbisky understanding how to read defenses has to be corrected,
Speaker 1: and he's got to work harder. From that standpoint, you
Speaker 1: don't question the effort, but the preparation and things that
Speaker 1: they can do to make themselves better everything, I think
Speaker 1: we'll be gone through with a five tooth cold. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1: A lot of discussion obviously about the coaches and you know,
Speaker 1: I think the thing that might be lost in this
Speaker 1: is that where first year head coach, for a first
Speaker 1: time head coach like Matt Naggie was collecting his staff
Speaker 1: isn't simple. You know, you got some guys, but in
Speaker 1: his position, he was not going to be pulling guys
Speaker 1: from Kansas City. That was that's that's the agreement that
Speaker 1: you make with a guy like Andy Reid or a
Speaker 1: team you're coming from to get the permission to talk
Speaker 1: and so forth. So he was introduced to some new guys,
Speaker 1: obviously whether he heard them from other guys got the blessing,
Speaker 1: and so he brings in Harry, he brings in Harry
Speaker 1: he Standard the offensive line coach, and Mark Helfrich, and
Speaker 1: you know, he had to teach them his offense. That's
Speaker 1: the one thing about this that I've I've dwelled on
Speaker 1: the past few days is that the coaching staff had
Speaker 1: to learn the offense. And while that's simpler for a coach,
Speaker 1: I would assume than a player right away, you know,
Speaker 1: there's there's elements of it that they probably were still
Speaker 1: learning as as the season went into year two and
Speaker 1: through year two. So that's something that has to be
Speaker 1: talked about. When you're talking about change making changes on
Speaker 1: a coaching staff. That's a good point because you just
Speaker 1: think a scheme, right When you think a scheme, whether
Speaker 1: it's run scheme and what he's bringing from Kansas, cy
Speaker 1: Wan Castill knows that he knows that scheme, you know,
Speaker 1: and Harry. You know, Harry's standing nothing against Harry, and
Speaker 1: he's a fine coach, and wish him well. I mean,
Speaker 1: he'll have an opportunity somewhere else. But I think one
Speaker 1: is probably more familiar with the scheme than say guys
Speaker 1: that he just met for the first time and what
Speaker 1: you were explaining, because Harry from all I understand, I
Speaker 1: know Owen Cruz, former guys that have been with them,
Speaker 1: they love his drill work and all that stuff. But
Speaker 1: you know, typically I would think the offensive line coach
Speaker 1: is installing your run game pretty much every single week.
Speaker 1: At least a lot of the old line coaches I've
Speaker 1: been around, like Bob Wiley, we Weird Chicottle, he instituted
Speaker 1: all of our run game. Our calls are runs inside
Speaker 1: outside zone, run, our power plays. He designed the scheme
Speaker 1: of it. Yes, and Harry is an outstanding offensive coaches.
Speaker 1: To slice it he's doing. The head coach teaches the
Speaker 1: position coaches the system, and then the position coaches go
Speaker 1: and teach the exact of their positions, specific whether it's
Speaker 1: Gilbright to tight End Harry or Mark Halfridge. They're teaching
Speaker 1: Matt Maggie's system, and then you have to break down
Speaker 1: how they're being taught. Dinver a break here on Bears
Speaker 1: All Access on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to score
Speaker 1: back in a few Hey Bears fans, get out of
Speaker 1: the cold and hit the beach in Cabo San Lucas,
Speaker 1: Mexico with your favorite Bears players, Law Nichols, Roy Robertson,
Speaker 1: Harris Inside the Bears host Loren Screeden and Spice Adams
Speaker 1: and Apple Vacations this March visit Apple Vacations dot com
Speaker 1: slash Bears from more info. Always a great trip. Do
Speaker 1: not put your name in there yet, No, because I
Speaker 1: will not be attending this year. Really yes, got a
Speaker 1: little bit of a complication and will not be able
Speaker 1: to join the droopet. But I can speak glowingly about
Speaker 1: the journey and the great people from Apple Vacations and
Speaker 1: the fans are outstanding. It's a really good time. So
Speaker 1: if you haven't signed up, you ever never have gone
Speaker 1: on that journey. When is it going to do it?
Speaker 1: It's coming up here in March, Big Tom. So it's
Speaker 1: a good time for sure here in Chicago Sports Radio
Speaker 1: six seventy the Score, Jeff and Tom and Jim Miller,
Speaker 1: David Montgomery fellas and when it all winds up, he
Speaker 1: finished fourth among the backs and rookies period in yards
Speaker 1: from scrimmage. Miles Sanders was number one, then Jess Jacobs,
Speaker 1: AJ Brown at receivers budding star, and then David Montgomery.
Speaker 1: And I really feel strongly about it, and I've been
Speaker 1: on record as saying it, and I thought he was
Speaker 1: going to be a ten touchdown guys first year, and
Speaker 1: if things would have developed offensively like we envisioned, that
Speaker 1: very much could have happened, whether that's a combo of
Speaker 1: catches and runs. But I always felt he was a good,
Speaker 1: good goal line back, good inside the ten back at
Speaker 1: Iowa State. But I just think the sky's the limit still.
Speaker 1: There was nothing he did that disappointed me. Well, you
Speaker 1: know what, the single biggest area of improvement for the
Speaker 1: Bears offense is going to be the red zone. So
Speaker 1: I think David Montgomery can be relied upon for a
Speaker 1: lot more to be put on his plate both as
Speaker 1: a receiver and a rusher next year. But I think
Speaker 1: his asset is the full length of the field. So
Speaker 1: you know, how do you intertwine what you've learned about
Speaker 1: David Montgomery His dedication to the sport, his willingness to
Speaker 1: play week in and week out. That's just it, Jim,
Speaker 1: And you've met with him, right, attitude, His desire is willingness,
Speaker 1: and I don't think he's just it's not just lip smacking.
Speaker 1: It's it's serious to him. And you know how they
Speaker 1: always say scouts want to know if the game means
Speaker 1: something to him, and it definitely means something to Yeah,
Speaker 1: he impressed me. I mean, we know about his ability
Speaker 1: to make guys miss, but sometimes his balance is a
Speaker 1: lot better than what I thought because he got hit
Speaker 1: with him awkward position. Yeah, but yet it's still strong
Speaker 1: enough to move forward. So really, his strength and balance
Speaker 1: impressed me more than it went far beyond what I thought.
Speaker 1: He was capable of a couple of fumbles, and I
Speaker 1: think he can develop more in the past game too.
Speaker 1: I just think one of the things going forward for
Speaker 1: David Montgomery. He's has to have more conscious effort to
Speaker 1: follow the point of attack. You know, you don't have
Speaker 1: to freelance so quickly as a running back in the NFL.
Speaker 1: If you can understand where the strength of the design
Speaker 1: of a run play is going to happen, I think
Speaker 1: that's the thing that will help to benefit him the most.
Speaker 1: They become that heavy four plus per carry guy, not
Speaker 1: what do you feel and jim way into the philosophy
Speaker 1: of slow two and through the hole versus just slamming
Speaker 1: it in there and you know, and hitting the guess
Speaker 1: you know, I mean from I came from an area
Speaker 1: that when you had the point of attack that was
Speaker 1: called that was a point of emphasis every one of
Speaker 1: those running plays. So the offensive line created the impact.
Speaker 1: The running back got the extra yards out of the
Speaker 1: impact we created. So again, I would when an offensive
Speaker 1: line is choreographed to put their head in an exact position,
Speaker 1: their hands in an exact position, try to gain leverage
Speaker 1: against a defensive line where they're going to gain control
Speaker 1: up to the second level. That's where the offensive running
Speaker 1: back has to follow because that's where the players, the
Speaker 1: offensive lineman, the blockers in front of him, including JP Holt.
Speaker 1: That's where they're going to be put in a position
Speaker 1: of strength where it's going to benefit these guys. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and I think for him to get a feel and
Speaker 1: oddly enough, because he didn't do a lot of a
Speaker 1: lot of it when he was you know, at Iowa State,
Speaker 1: is following a lead fullback, I kind of liked him
Speaker 1: in those sets. And I do think that is another
Speaker 1: area that maybe the coaching staff will dive into because
Speaker 1: even in Philadelphia and even in Kansas City they have
Speaker 1: Sherman there as their fullback. Jim, I'd be off for it.
Speaker 1: Put him in there. To me, it cleans things up
Speaker 1: with why you ask the question, Jeff, you know of
Speaker 1: getting to the whole quick. Normally that fullback is dictating.
Speaker 1: You know, you're you're going opposite his shoulders, stay on
Speaker 1: a lead play and how the fullback attacks the middle
Speaker 1: linebacker that's going to set up the block and clear
Speaker 1: the path. And it just really opens things up where
Speaker 1: you're just reading the fullback and his shoulder and how
Speaker 1: he blocks the linebacker and that's going to decide it
Speaker 1: for you. I mean, it cleans it up for you.
Speaker 1: You know, Jim, he is such a receiver too, that
Speaker 1: if you did have the awareness of the defense, having
Speaker 1: the fear of the running game first, that could open
Speaker 1: up so many pass reception opportunities for David Montgomery. Take
Speaker 1: away a little of the abuse of the carries and
Speaker 1: add it to the element of the quality of receiver
Speaker 1: he is. Yeah, the no questions here, He's got great hands,
Speaker 1: in great ability to do that. He's He's going to
Speaker 1: do nothing but get better, is my opinion. So, you know,
Speaker 1: as a veteran of this sport, Tom and Jim yourself,
Speaker 1: so do you prefer running schemes that are like that,
Speaker 1: like you guys just describe or you know, the one
Speaker 1: step and the one that cut back to to daylight
Speaker 1: type of running games? Well, I like to be multiple,
Speaker 1: you know. I think you can still be an inside
Speaker 1: zone team, an outside zone team, m still be a
Speaker 1: power team. I mean that that's really all that Baltimore
Speaker 1: is doing right now. They just window dress a lot
Speaker 1: of things. Well, I mean they may be in pistol,
Speaker 1: but that is a power they're running. All they running
Speaker 1: is twenty six duo where the garden the center. Twenty
Speaker 1: six duo. For those folks out there that don't know
Speaker 1: what twenty six duo is Please tell us, well, it's
Speaker 1: where the center and guard they're doubling up to the backer.
Speaker 1: It's double duo, double okay. And they just run it
Speaker 1: over and over again from different formations. And they'll run
Speaker 1: the power play too. Greg Roman his notorious for the
Speaker 1: power play. Even out when he was in San Francisco,
Speaker 1: they literally ran every personnel grouping and ran thirty six power.
Speaker 1: It's where the left guard pulls and goes up. He'd
Speaker 1: decides whether he's going to kick out the kick out
Speaker 1: the end man out a line of scrimmage, or if
Speaker 1: the tight end takes the end man now the guard
Speaker 1: will turn up field and get the first backer inside.
Speaker 1: Is all that play is. But they he window dresses
Speaker 1: it with shifts, formations, motions. But he can run it
Speaker 1: out of you know, two tight ends. He can run
Speaker 1: it out of three wides. He can run it out
Speaker 1: of four wides. There's nothing that precludes you from doing it.
Speaker 1: And there is running a lot of duo. And I
Speaker 1: think the bears, you know, I just I'm always a
Speaker 1: believer in why would you limit yourself? You know, why
Speaker 1: do you want to go golfing without every club in
Speaker 1: the back. I want to be multiple on offense and
Speaker 1: be able to do everything. But it can be simple
Speaker 1: concepts that you do over and over again. But yet
Speaker 1: you're you're multiple in terms of what you present. Well,
Speaker 1: you know, so zone and power running game. You know
Speaker 1: the word power is power, it's so listen. So outside
Speaker 1: running plays outside the shoulder of offensive tackle, outside the
Speaker 1: shoulder of a tight end. You can use a zone
Speaker 1: element because you're trying to reach to an area and
Speaker 1: create a hold of the outside. But when you're talking
Speaker 1: about running the ball in between the inside shoulder the
Speaker 1: right tackle and inside shoulder the left tackle, you're not creating.
Speaker 1: You don't create a guessing game for the running back.
Speaker 1: It better be a point of impact and no matter
Speaker 1: where the defenders are in front of you, it's specific
Speaker 1: to the design that the offensive linemen don't have eyes
Speaker 1: in the back of their head. They can't guess where
Speaker 1: the running back is going to go. Again, they're going
Speaker 1: to create that impact in the defense and then the
Speaker 1: running back we're talking about four yards of carry. We're
Speaker 1: not talking about David Montgomery. Every time he carries the
Speaker 1: ballist through the line of scrimmage and it ends up
Speaker 1: in a touchdown. You're talking about time consuming, power running game,
Speaker 1: and when you're talking about running the ball to the
Speaker 1: interior the offensive line, you better come off the ball. Yeah.
Speaker 1: For example, for the listeners out there, strictly like an
Speaker 1: outside zone team, that's the Rams. The Rams are an
Speaker 1: outside zone team. That's what they historically run. Believe it
Speaker 1: or not, even with Gurley. I mean they'll run some
Speaker 1: duo two and things like that, but they typically are
Speaker 1: an outside zone running team. Um and sealant like who
Speaker 1: is a former NFL offensive line coach, Paul Alexander was
Speaker 1: breaking it down us, say, Gary Kuback, they are an
Speaker 1: outside zone team. For the Minnesota Vikings yep, yep, yep,
Speaker 1: Bears average just three point seven yards and kerry in
Speaker 1: twenty nineteen, twenty ninth in the league. It'll have to
Speaker 1: improve as they get ready for their next phase of reloading.
Speaker 1: As the offseason commences, Eddie Jackson reportedly, according to his agency,
Speaker 1: agreeing to a big contract. We talked about it at
Speaker 1: the top of the show. We'll resume that conversation when
Speaker 1: we come back here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy
Speaker 1: to score. Welcome back to Chicago Sports Radio six seventy
Speaker 1: the score. The segment of Bears All Access is brought
Speaker 1: to you by CDW. People will get it learn more
Speaker 1: at CW dot com. Jeff, Joni Actim, They're good to
Speaker 1: be with you again. As we began the twenty twenty
Speaker 1: version of Bears All Access with Jim Miller joining us,
Speaker 1: now all the way through training camp, started training camp,
Speaker 1: and honestly, it's not that far away and we haven't
Speaker 1: even started the playoffs. Honestly, when so last year when
Speaker 1: we started Bears All ask Access at the conclusion of
Speaker 1: the season, it was after the Double Dark and just
Speaker 1: the horrificness of the Bears and the playoffs and what
Speaker 1: they thought the future was gonna hold. And then you
Speaker 1: think of the start of Bears All Access, this passed
Speaker 1: off season with us, and now you think of where
Speaker 1: we're at a year. It's just like George mccasky was saying,
Speaker 1: Jim the other day, you had the momentum was just
Speaker 1: arrow up, and it just after that opener, you're kind
Speaker 1: of like, oh, and it got a little slippery there,
Speaker 1: and then they had to fight their way back repeatedly
Speaker 1: and you know, only managed to get to five hundred.
Speaker 1: But all that stuff, you know, you wonder you put
Speaker 1: it all together, the twelve wins, the way they lost,
Speaker 1: the energy, that the resolve that they felt they had
Speaker 1: when they went to training camp that they were gonna
Speaker 1: make good and turn things around from that kid right
Speaker 1: spot right there. Though, I feel pretty good about Eddie
Speaker 1: pennerol Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. But what I'm saying, though,
Speaker 1: what I'm saying was was it too much for this team?
Speaker 1: What was was all of this too much for this
Speaker 1: still pretty young football team to take on? All that
Speaker 1: success and the bounce of the one hundred did they
Speaker 1: were on stage? Man, it was it was a big spotlight. Yeah, well,
Speaker 1: expectations from the fans and certainly, you know, and rightfully
Speaker 1: so they what everybody's mouth to how well and the
Speaker 1: level that they were playing. But I think you know,
Speaker 1: we all know you gotta earn it. You know, you
Speaker 1: definitely got to earn it every single year, every season.
Speaker 1: It's its own entity. You know. Let when you say,
Speaker 1: you know it sounds cliche, but one game at a time,
Speaker 1: and last year is last year. It truly is last year.
Speaker 1: And last year already is over for the Bears. Twenty
Speaker 1: nineteen is over. It's all about twenty twenty and these
Speaker 1: guys got to earn it, from coaches to players, to
Speaker 1: everybody in the organization that to put your best food forward,
Speaker 1: to be committed to what you need to do. Because
Speaker 1: I think we can we can all say it wasn't
Speaker 1: just one person, whether it's the quarterback or receivers not
Speaker 1: running the right route or dropping footballs or not making
Speaker 1: the right block or missing a tackle. I mean, I
Speaker 1: think everybody collectively knows they need to play better individually,
Speaker 1: and I would think expect to, but you got to
Speaker 1: earn it in order to be able to do that.
Speaker 1: Who's the biggest underachiever Cleveland or the Bears, Because when
Speaker 1: you think of going into the season, there is no
Speaker 1: more two teams more profile than the Bears in Cleveland,
Speaker 1: and they had unrealistic expectations for Cleveland and they had
Speaker 1: because of the results of last year. But that that
Speaker 1: goes to a larger issue is that you know, just
Speaker 1: like the old you know Washington, Dan Snyder, Washington Redskins.
Speaker 1: Every year, you know you're you're your Lions in in
Speaker 1: the spring and Lambs in autumn. You know, you collect
Speaker 1: all this talent, but the best talent is not necessarily
Speaker 1: the best team, and that's been proven over and over
Speaker 1: and over again. Well, which team had more unfair expectations
Speaker 1: thrust upon them? Cleveland? I don't think it was unfair
Speaker 1: for the Bears, but because of the types of players
Speaker 1: they brought in, the personalities in Cleveland, they are automatically
Speaker 1: assumed the stew was going to be, you know, five star.
Speaker 1: I mean, that was trouble and we knew it. I
Speaker 1: think it was definitely Cleveland. The expectations were throughout the
Speaker 1: roof and for first time head coach, that's a lot
Speaker 1: to a manage. I mean, I think of it all
Speaker 1: and pet says, it's on the air of the time,
Speaker 1: you're being vilified for all the ills of the past.
Speaker 1: I mean, think about how bad they've been through what now,
Speaker 1: ten coaches and what is it thirteen years? Oh? No, here, here,
Speaker 1: this is, this is I saw this today. So that
Speaker 1: the Dallas Cowboys what it appears to be that we
Speaker 1: makeing a coaching change which is seemingly not official but
Speaker 1: yet official. I don't I don't know. You know more
Speaker 1: about it than I do, Jim, but they've had eight
Speaker 1: head coaches in sixty years. Dallas Cowboys, the Cleveland Browns
Speaker 1: have had eleven in twenty you're not, I mean on
Speaker 1: the Steelers, common sense everybody. It's just there's no way
Speaker 1: you can keep taking two steps back to go a step.
Speaker 1: You're never going to climb the mountain where the Steelers
Speaker 1: have three. Yeah, three, I mean it's absurd. I mean,
Speaker 1: that's bad for the game. It forget about the team
Speaker 1: we're talking about. It's bad for the game when you
Speaker 1: have that, But it fuel fuels the Beasts a little
Speaker 1: bit because everybody is wanting it now and there's no
Speaker 1: time to waste, seemingly, but the development of teams, it
Speaker 1: is a game. It's a week to week league, let
Speaker 1: alone a year to year league, and all the different
Speaker 1: maschinations going on. Heck, we could talk about the Bears
Speaker 1: roster from here to Kingdom come about. I mean, there's
Speaker 1: a group of guys, and I've talked about the guys
Speaker 1: that needed to take the step, and the first half
Speaker 1: of the season was a half a dozen guys or
Speaker 1: so that they didn't, and then the amount of guys
Speaker 1: that you really got nothing out of offensively in twenty nineteen.
Speaker 1: Dad all contributes to it, and you just never know
Speaker 1: how that's going to work. This is Bears All Access
Speaker 1: in Chicago sports Radio, six seventy score. It's a stunning number.
Speaker 1: Oh I love playing twenty Yeah, but you know it's
Speaker 1: it's just weird because of you know, you think of that.
Speaker 1: There's the NFL still is a big topic of conversation
Speaker 1: throughout the offseason, and so the way teams finish or
Speaker 1: what they're expected to do in the future, it's almost
Speaker 1: like a guarantee. And then you see Cleveland come out
Speaker 1: and they beat Baltimore as badly as they did to
Speaker 1: start the season, then all of a sudden, I mean,
Speaker 1: they went right to the top. Well, Jim, it's like
Speaker 1: you look at this, okay, the Bear schedule when you
Speaker 1: lay it all out and everybody analyzes the schedule right
Speaker 1: away if it's easy er or easy or difficult. We
Speaker 1: could say that we knew the Bear schedule because of
Speaker 1: the types of teams and the quarterbacks that you're going
Speaker 1: to be facing. When they were UFE was going to
Speaker 1: be a challenging schedule, certainly the home schedule. And now
Speaker 1: next year you're assuming it's easier. It's not necessarily the case.
Speaker 1: I mean, you have five new playoff teams again this year.
Speaker 1: You don't know which quarterbacks you're staying healthy when you
Speaker 1: face those quarterbacks, and who you're beating and who you're not.
Speaker 1: So it's it's kind of an exercising futility, don't you
Speaker 1: look at it that way? Yeah, No, you're right, because
Speaker 1: they're you know, most likely there's going to be four
Speaker 1: to five new playoff teams. You know, and look at
Speaker 1: Green Bay and we knew the quarterback was good, but
Speaker 1: how they their roster was built because you know, I
Speaker 1: personally I think Green Bay is you know, they they
Speaker 1: just played more efficient. They're really not ranked high offensively
Speaker 1: or defensively for a first year head coach. I think
Speaker 1: they're opportunistic and they get turnovers, but I mean just
Speaker 1: in sheer talent. I like their pass rushers, but I
Speaker 1: don't think that roster is typically you know, star studded.
Speaker 1: You know, they're bringing along young players that they're developing.
Speaker 1: So I think the Bears canna have a quick turnaround here,
Speaker 1: I really do. You know, it's about the quarterback taking
Speaker 1: the next jump. But I think you're right, certain positions
Speaker 1: and have to have an impact next year, and that's
Speaker 1: what it's about. It's about growing, you know, like you said,
Speaker 1: how can Cleveland ever grow if they're constantly changing coaches?
Speaker 1: How can you even instill a culture every two years? Yeah,
Speaker 1: you can't. Well this is this is gonna be a
Speaker 1: great example this year. And you think of Detroit because
Speaker 1: they have the same head coach, but they got coaches
Speaker 1: jumping ship there. Plus they fired a bunch of coaches.
Speaker 1: So you keep the head coach in place, but you're
Speaker 1: going to bring in a bunch of coaches that are
Speaker 1: going to coach these players differently. So you know, you
Speaker 1: talk about the dysfunction of Cleveland, you talk, you know,
Speaker 1: I talk to a good point two times because it's
Speaker 1: gonna have It's not gonna be with free agents. What
Speaker 1: free agent is going to sign with Detroit when they
Speaker 1: know it's one and done for Matt Patricia right and
Speaker 1: Bob Quinn. Now that's where teams find themselves in real
Speaker 1: jams from time to time. You mentioned Eddie Pineto before
Speaker 1: I cut you off about five minutes ago. And so
Speaker 1: the final story is twenty three to twenty eighty, ranks
Speaker 1: sixteenth in the league in field goal accuracy. But he
Speaker 1: did rebound after that midseason slob. I think he missed
Speaker 1: four of eight kicks or whatever, finished eleven of eleven
Speaker 1: in his final six games and a game winner against
Speaker 1: Danvern back in week two. And I feel it was
Speaker 1: a success. But you're right, but nobody wants to hear that. Why,
Speaker 1: you know, when Tabor comes out and says Adam Vinattery
Speaker 1: and even Robbie gold they rated out less than eighty
Speaker 1: percent the rookie years as kickers, probably both go to
Speaker 1: the Hall of Fame. So Eddie Panero is right where
Speaker 1: he needs to be. I mean, but when he's having
Speaker 1: his struggles, oh your ego again, and that nobody wants
Speaker 1: to let the guy fight through it and grow. They're
Speaker 1: ready to make a change, get a new kicker in here.
Speaker 1: Sometimes it takes time. You gotta let it grow. You
Speaker 1: gotta let it, you know, mature a little bit and grow,
Speaker 1: and maybe it'll be pretty good when it's all said
Speaker 1: and done, because I think everybody'd say Robbie Golden and
Speaker 1: Adam vine Terry unfortunately had the year with the knee,
Speaker 1: but pretty good over his inn a few. Sometimes the
Speaker 1: attitude about the kick is a reflection because the red
Speaker 1: zone offensive the Bears was so poor that now you're
Speaker 1: walking out any Panero to kick a short field goal
Speaker 1: instead of what you really want. You want the Bears
Speaker 1: celebrating in the end zone and Matt even said it
Speaker 1: coming out at second half the start the Minnesota game
Speaker 1: to Mark Grody's field goals don't win games. So a
Speaker 1: note about that injury superiod with the knee. He only
Speaker 1: missed one of his ten field goals with battling through that.
Speaker 1: So for a young kicker who's never been hurt before,
Speaker 1: you know, and we know how kickers can be, that
Speaker 1: was a big mental hurdle to climb. We'll pick it
Speaker 1: up on the other side of this break. This is
Speaker 1: Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score and welcome back
Speaker 1: to the program. You can help deserving families by donating
Speaker 1: a gently used win a coach to the Chicago Bears
Speaker 1: juelasco coach Driver the participating juelasco locations right now through
Speaker 1: February twenty eighth. Donations benefiting the Salvation Army, always a
Speaker 1: big cause for the Chicago Bears and the crew. Yeah,
Speaker 1: when they first started the coach drive, when I was
Speaker 1: a player for the Bears, and do you think of
Speaker 1: seeing how long it's been going and how many coachs
Speaker 1: they've been able to distribute to the people here in
Speaker 1: the Chicagoland area. It is an awesome event. It should
Speaker 1: be it should be NFL wide. Every NFL team should
Speaker 1: have a coach driver. Yeah, extends other way through the
Speaker 1: bottom of February, right up to the Combine as Jim
Speaker 1: and I will get ready for that here in a
Speaker 1: short period of time. You're already doing your homework, my friend,
Speaker 1: getting ready. Senior Bowl comes first. Yeah, when is that?
Speaker 1: That'll be the games January twenty fifth, But we'll get
Speaker 1: down there the nineteenth. Yeah, leading up there, So obviously
Speaker 1: Cincinnati and the Lions will be coaching in that tonight
Speaker 1: supposedly hate the How could the Lions do? And no coaches, Well,
Speaker 1: better get on the move pretty quick, you know, that
Speaker 1: would be that would really be unfair to some of
Speaker 1: the seniors that need to be coached by you know,
Speaker 1: quality NFL personnel in order to get the best out
Speaker 1: of themselves, because that is a big judgment day for
Speaker 1: a lot of those guys, no doubt. And I'm sure
Speaker 1: they'll probably have guys in place by by then. And
Speaker 1: you know, here the Chicago and there's a couple of
Speaker 1: good ones out there. Bill Callahan, him getting release by Washington.
Speaker 1: I don't know your thoughts on him, Tom. I think
Speaker 1: he's a hell of the offensive line coach. I agree
Speaker 1: with you, Jim. I'm surprised Ron. I'm sure he's got
Speaker 1: a handful of ex staff members he'll probably bring along
Speaker 1: with them just because they're comfortable with each other. But
Speaker 1: you know, you know, if you're a new head coach
Speaker 1: coming into a team where you're gonna get rid of,
Speaker 1: you know that he was the interim and head interim
Speaker 1: head coach after they got rid of Jay Gruden. I
Speaker 1: don't know if the dynamics are there, but I think
Speaker 1: Bill Callahan is a is a heck of an offensive
Speaker 1: line coach. I heard he's interview in Scott Turner, his
Speaker 1: offensive coordinator. Huh out of the Turner family. Familiarity obviously,
Speaker 1: and that's in large parts sometimes that's how you build
Speaker 1: your coaching staff, familiarity as they get ridy to reload
Speaker 1: there in Washington. All right. News of the day, Eddie
Speaker 1: Jackson getting a contract extension, his agency putting it all
Speaker 1: over Twitter today. It's the highest paid safety in the
Speaker 1: NFL now, and we talked about it at the top
Speaker 1: of the program. Well, we'll wind it home here and
Speaker 1: talk about it again and just how it sets up
Speaker 1: the Bears in their free agent search as well as
Speaker 1: they work with the limitations of the salary cap because
Speaker 1: of the types of salaries they have. They already restructured
Speaker 1: Kyle Fuller and made that deal more friendly for them
Speaker 1: in terms of the camp. Maybe there's more and then,
Speaker 1: you know, I would guess that, you know, Alan Robinson
Speaker 1: might be one of these guys. Those are the first
Speaker 1: two guys you thought of it in free agency for
Speaker 1: the Bears, and that's maybe where the bulk of the
Speaker 1: money will go with their own free agents. Well, you know,
Speaker 1: Alan Robinson is probably the MVP of the team this
Speaker 1: year when you look at what he was able to accomplish,
Speaker 1: and you know, there are some hiccups in the offense
Speaker 1: throughout the year, whether it's you know, Chase Daniel starting
Speaker 1: at quarterback, the injury to Mitchell Trubisky, the overall development
Speaker 1: of the offense. So I think Allen Robinson is another
Speaker 1: guy that he shows his leadership value by the way
Speaker 1: he conducts himself. He's not a guy that's asking for
Speaker 1: all the cameras to be pointing at him to look
Speaker 1: at me when I come out to warm up for pregame.
Speaker 1: It's more he leads by example rather than just trying
Speaker 1: to be attracted to the cameras. Yeah, I think it
Speaker 1: always starts first resigning your own um. Certainly. You know,
Speaker 1: again it's got the dollars and cents have to work
Speaker 1: out and sometimes you know, it's the business side of it.
Speaker 1: You know, remember when Kyle Fuller, they the Bears let
Speaker 1: him go shop as wears and ultimately he returned to Chicago.
Speaker 1: That could happen to a couple of the Bears, you know,
Speaker 1: whether it's Quakowski or Trevathan or the linebackers that potentially
Speaker 1: could be moving on, but may be may be able
Speaker 1: to return here. Because I do think Quikowski and a
Speaker 1: couple of those key players, and I like what Pierre
Speaker 1: Lewis did towards the end of the year. So those
Speaker 1: guys are a couple free agent. Yeah, they really did
Speaker 1: a great job. And that it leads us into Roe
Speaker 1: Kwan Smith, who's doing pectoral muscle. It should be available
Speaker 1: for a return obviously the training camp and you look
Speaker 1: at a couple of guys time that you brought up
Speaker 1: in the break that are coming back hopefully this weekend.
Speaker 1: J J. Watt, expected to come back from his pectoral terror,
Speaker 1: still leads the team and quarterback pressures despite missing eight games.
Speaker 1: Well ro Quan Smith, No, yeah, Kwan Alexander also come
Speaker 1: back from a peck injury. But you look at the
Speaker 1: end of the year, Roquan Smith had one hundred and
Speaker 1: one tackle, still leading the team in tackles, no matter
Speaker 1: how many games he's missed. But I think you have
Speaker 1: to really, um, you gotta put Rokuan Smith is taking
Speaker 1: a leadership role in this team. He's he's not an
Speaker 1: introverted guy on the football field. He gets along with
Speaker 1: his teammates well, he plays his you know, solid interior
Speaker 1: defensive football. So you know, Roquan Smith, if they do
Speaker 1: not sign Danny Trevathan, even though he's a young guy,
Speaker 1: he's going to have to be in that leadership role
Speaker 1: along with whomever whatever other linebackers they do sign. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, he had that hiccup earlier in the year.
Speaker 1: You know, I think he came back, got refocused and
Speaker 1: got his mind right to play football, and you know,
Speaker 1: I just think that's going to be a blip on
Speaker 1: the radar screen. I think he is going to show
Speaker 1: the growth and development to be one of the leaders.
Speaker 1: And that may be the case because maybe Rokuan would
Speaker 1: shift over to Trevathan spot and if they're able to
Speaker 1: resign Quakowski or Pierre Lewis and one of those guys
Speaker 1: emerged to keep that depth at the at the linebacker spot,
Speaker 1: because again, I don't think he can afford all of them.
Speaker 1: I really don't, So Roquan is gonna have to take
Speaker 1: a much bigger role of say, a key leader like
Speaker 1: Danny Trevathan. We're to be moving on in free agent,
Speaker 1: and I think they're fortunate that Rokuan is considered the
Speaker 1: three down linebacker just like Kevin, Pierre Lewis and Nick
Speaker 1: Watkowski at this point. And I think nick Watkowski his
Speaker 1: study habits are you know, it benefits him so much
Speaker 1: that he's a pre snap thinker. He can get himself
Speaker 1: in motion to the right position before the ball has
Speaker 1: ever snapped. You see evidence of it. But you know,
Speaker 1: even if they didn't sign Danny Trevethan, there would be
Speaker 1: a lot more pressure on Nick Watkowski because you really
Speaker 1: didn't know to consider him a starter until he got
Speaker 1: the trevithan injury opportunity, and then he probably performed at
Speaker 1: a higher level. Considering the blitz against Dalvin Cook, a
Speaker 1: blitz against an offensive guard and the Packers and the
Speaker 1: interception and safety and play, yeah, the safety, the anticipation
Speaker 1: on the screen against Minnesota. He's done a lot of
Speaker 1: big players. He had dinged on his PA coverage over
Speaker 1: the years. You know that that was some area. But
Speaker 1: you know he did a great job of that too.
Speaker 1: I think he can study himself into being a faster,
Speaker 1: more competitive pass coverage linebacker. I got a couple of
Speaker 1: minutes left, Jim, Let's go through some league white stuff.
Speaker 1: So first of all, the Hall of Fame final, let's
Speaker 1: a shout out to Chicago's very own Bryant Young tremendous
Speaker 1: was honored to be at the Chicago Sports Hall of
Speaker 1: Fame and he was one of the inductees. In his
Speaker 1: story and the death of his son was extremely moving,
Speaker 1: one of the best speeches I've ever heard. And what
Speaker 1: a great player for the forty nine ers. But a
Speaker 1: guy you always bring up to tom is Sam Mills.
Speaker 1: Sam Mills I played against him in the USFL. I
Speaker 1: had some unbelievable experiences just because there was a few
Speaker 1: teams in there you played against them multiple times. Here
Speaker 1: was one of the hardest, hitting, most physical small linebackers
Speaker 1: I've ever played against. And then to see him go
Speaker 1: to three years in the USFL in twelve years in
Speaker 1: the NFL. He deserves to be a Hall of Famer.
Speaker 1: And you look at the you know, Vaughan Johnson, he
Speaker 1: passed away a couple of weeks ago. The interior linebacker
Speaker 1: that he played along with the New Orland Saints. Vaughan
Speaker 1: Johnson was a sixty three, two hundred and forty five
Speaker 1: pound inside linebacker. Sam Mills was probably five to six
Speaker 1: and a half. Oh yeah, probably five six and a
Speaker 1: half two hundred and fifteen pounds or something. Um. But
Speaker 1: he was as explosive and as courageous as a linebacker
Speaker 1: as you've you've had a chance to face the field bells,
Speaker 1: that's what he's called as right up my alley. Wow,
Speaker 1: that's I gotta look that up. That's craziness. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: didn't think he was that short. Yes, And then as
Speaker 1: an as an ode to Eddie Jackson getting his big deal,
Speaker 1: John Lynch, Troy Polamalo, Steve Attwater, Leroy Butler. Some of
Speaker 1: the several of those guys just downhill with reckless, abandoned
Speaker 1: type safeties that blew you up, played some great football,
Speaker 1: and those are the kind of safeties that you need
Speaker 1: to win in the National Football League. Agreed. Jim agreed.
Speaker 1: I wish they all could get in because we could
Speaker 1: go through all those names and all very worthy, no
Speaker 1: doubt about that. Well, I'm we're often running in twenty twenty.
Speaker 1: Appreciate your buddy five knew five six size. Well, I
Speaker 1: mean if they're calling six, if they're calling five seven
Speaker 1: and a half, they're calling five nine, then that means
Speaker 1: he's five five eight and a half. All right. We
Speaker 1: didn't get into the playoff games, but in ten seconds thought, Tom,
Speaker 1: what do you like tomorrow? I'm going Bill's Titans, Saints, Seahawks.
Speaker 1: That's the final word for Tom There, For Adams Zinsky,
Speaker 1: Mike Chen, Jim Miller, and Tom There. I'm Jeff Joniac.
Speaker 1: This has been Bears All Access on Chicago Sports Radio
Speaker 1: six seventy The Score. Good night, Thanks for listening to
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