Speaker 1: Gout open that DJ Moore and zone touchdown touchdown Bears.
Speaker 1: I am Jeff Jonia Blitz is not don go what
Speaker 1: was like playing for Coche Good. I don't want to
Speaker 1: answer any questions like that pressure coming is a big trouble.
Speaker 1: Dotty goes Motest Sweat.
Speaker 2: Bears, et Cetera brought to you by Miller Light with
Speaker 2: the voices that the Bears Jeff Joniac and Tom Sayer.
Speaker 1: Well with every passing day, I gotta tell you Bears fans, uh,
Speaker 1: I'm getting overly excited about what is about to take
Speaker 1: place with the Chicago Bears. And I think you would
Speaker 1: all agree with Super Bowl winning Bears guard top theyre
Speaker 1: Jeff Joniac. Episode one thirty seven of the Bears et
Speaker 1: Cetera podcast are brought to you by Middle of Light. Tom.
Speaker 1: I've been dwelling on this and I've been on the
Speaker 1: road a lot, so I've been driving a lot of hours.
Speaker 1: I'm losing my mind in the car, but just contemplating
Speaker 1: what's been going on. This feels different. Does it feel
Speaker 1: different for you? We've been through a lot of change
Speaker 1: in our long time together.
Speaker 3: You know, Jeff, I like your excitement because I think
Speaker 3: a lot of the initial steps have been taken in
Speaker 3: the right direction. And when you look at where the
Speaker 3: Bears are going with identifying the head coaching candidate and
Speaker 3: then him putting together a quality staff, Ryan Poles and
Speaker 3: his scouting department, figuring out who are some key assets
Speaker 3: in the veteran free agency market that we need to target.
Speaker 4: And they have gone out and done that.
Speaker 3: Now Here we said one month before the draft, and
Speaker 3: you know one thing about football people, it's hard to
Speaker 3: ignore the draft because there's so many different opinions of
Speaker 3: the draft where the teams are going to pick, how
Speaker 3: they're going to pick, the decisions they are going to make,
Speaker 3: and then it's kind of a confusing draft because there
Speaker 3: are no clear cut Caleb Williams a guy that's guaranteed
Speaker 3: above them beyond the rest of being the number one
Speaker 3: round draft choice. So I still think there's a lot
Speaker 3: of intrigue that we're going to talk about on these
Speaker 3: podcasts through the next month.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean you mentioned it without the quarterback. Who
Speaker 1: would be the number one overall pick because teams are
Speaker 1: going to go for quarterbacks. I'm expecting cam Ward to
Speaker 1: be the number one pick. I don't think Travis Hunter
Speaker 1: would be, but maybe it would be in a normal
Speaker 1: situation if you're just taking will you believe will be
Speaker 1: the number one impact player Abdul Carter Penn State, you.
Speaker 3: Know, I mean, definitely his name is up there for
Speaker 3: a consideration, just like it is for Travis Hunter. If
Speaker 3: you look at some of the quality offensive linemen in
Speaker 3: the draft, is there a team out there that's in
Speaker 3: a desperate need of a protector of their quarterback asset?
Speaker 3: One of those guys could climb up the ladder. But
Speaker 3: this is probably the most confusing draft that I've studied
Speaker 3: in the last twenty or thirty years, just because every
Speaker 3: time I look at something coming out with their draft
Speaker 3: point whatever it is, it's changing in the direction of
Speaker 3: the picks. And I saw one this morning that the
Speaker 3: Bears picked Mason Graham at number ten.
Speaker 1: That was Mike Tannembaum.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Yeah, So it's just whatever person that you have respect
Speaker 3: for or you believe in their investigative background, look at
Speaker 3: those mock drafts and maybe that'll tell you where things
Speaker 3: are going.
Speaker 1: That's bread crumbs, Tom, bread crumbs, follow the bread crumbs.
Speaker 1: But you also got to take you got to take
Speaker 1: a look at this. So depending on how things fall
Speaker 1: in that top ten. Obviously, hey, maybe maybe Ryan doesn't
Speaker 1: even keep the tenth pick, maybe he moves down. Maybe
Speaker 1: you don't know, We don't know. But if Team X
Speaker 1: picks player A, that then will allow Team Y to
Speaker 1: go and pick player B down the line. It's all
Speaker 1: based on it's not gonna be the top ten best
Speaker 1: players in this draft that will go one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
Speaker 1: In my opinion, it's not gonna be. It's gonna be
Speaker 1: the flavor of the day for one of these ten teams.
Speaker 1: And that's gonna either push somebody down that's gonna make
Speaker 1: it an intriguing decision for Ryan Poles, or allow him
Speaker 1: to move down further to get a guy that you know,
Speaker 1: this is the guy we really want, so we can
Speaker 1: get him here. I think that's how this draft is
Speaker 1: going to fall.
Speaker 4: Well, you know one thing about this draft.
Speaker 3: There is no defined mathematical equation that can tell you
Speaker 3: exactly who you're going to pick, why you're going to
Speaker 3: pick them, and the number associated to the reason you're
Speaker 3: picking them. Because when you look at all these mock drafts,
Speaker 3: and like I said, maybe I've looked at thirty different
Speaker 3: drafts since the end of the NFL season to write
Speaker 3: where we are when not right now a month before
Speaker 3: the draft, and I've seen Shador Sanders go from three
Speaker 3: to twenty yeah, and everywhere in between. So when you
Speaker 3: have a player that one time was thought of of
Speaker 3: possibly the first pick in the draft now sinking down
Speaker 3: into the mid to late teens to early twenties, it's just,
Speaker 3: you know, every every ball is in the air. If
Speaker 3: you're a juggler man, you got to pay attention to
Speaker 3: every one, and there may be one added into the
Speaker 3: hand that you have to be able to absorb. And so,
Speaker 3: like I said, the podcasts are fun, but I think
Speaker 3: each week it's there's gonna be a different intrigue.
Speaker 1: In the latest MOCKWAB, I look at two defensive players too,
Speaker 1: defensive linemen that could be top five or they could
Speaker 1: be twenty five. Shamar Stewart from Texas A and M
Speaker 1: because he hasn't sacked the quarterback a lot, but boy,
Speaker 1: he's got every tool in the shed. He's a monster.
Speaker 1: James Pierce of Florida. Last year, I was listening to
Speaker 1: a podcast on the draft from ESPN. I believe it
Speaker 1: was ESPN. Yeah, and James Pearce was considered to be
Speaker 1: the possible number one overall pick in the draft heading
Speaker 1: into the twenty twenty four college football season, regardless of position.
Speaker 1: So but that player may not be in the top
Speaker 1: fifteen or twenty. I mean, so, I just think it's
Speaker 1: it's again the breadcrumbs, whatever teams are allowing in for
Speaker 1: me to escape their building. It is the lying season,
Speaker 1: of course, and so you just try to put the
Speaker 1: puzzle together. That's why we love this. We love this.
Speaker 4: I love the draft.
Speaker 1: Love well.
Speaker 4: In five years from night.
Speaker 3: Right now, we're going to be doing a podcast, so
Speaker 3: we're going to talk about a second round or in
Speaker 3: this draft has elevated himself into one of the top
Speaker 3: picks of the draft.
Speaker 4: And I think that always goes without saying.
Speaker 3: And maybe it's an unheralded offensive lineman that's come in
Speaker 3: drafted into the third round that's a Day one starter
Speaker 3: and goes on to have a lengthy all Pro career,
Speaker 3: or a defensive lineman like you're talking about. Because Mason Graham,
Speaker 3: who was picked the tenth for the Bears today, he's
Speaker 3: a guy that's been picked in the mid teens. But
Speaker 3: when you look at his background, his accomplishment, you know
Speaker 3: he's going to be a guy that's going to be
Speaker 3: hard and not to pick if he, you know, is
Speaker 3: passing the vision of a general manager.
Speaker 1: Gotta remind you were brought to you by PNC Bank,
Speaker 1: the official bank of the Chicago Bears. We also got
Speaker 1: a great interview coming up Tom Eric Benemy. I sat
Speaker 1: down with him last week at Hallas Hall, the Bears
Speaker 1: new running backs coach. He brings the fire, he brings
Speaker 1: the heat. I love this guy. We'll hear from him
Speaker 1: in just a moment. But you know, from the process
Speaker 1: of hiring Ben Johnson, then the meeting the man and
Speaker 1: who he's hired on the coaching staff, the moves to
Speaker 1: get Joe Tooney, Jonah Jackson in the trade market, signing
Speaker 1: Drew Dahlman, Grady Jarrett, just to name a few, the
Speaker 1: prior moves that had given the Bears this draft capital
Speaker 1: over the last couple of seasons. The value of that
Speaker 1: tenth pick, five picks in the top one, fifty fourteen
Speaker 1: additions to the roster already nine on offense, five on defense,
Speaker 1: including a new b veteran cornerback Nick McLeod coming Aboard
Speaker 1: on a one year deal, played with the Giants in
Speaker 1: forty nine ers last season. Speedy ran a four to
Speaker 1: four to six half a snap special teams half on defense.
Speaker 1: Last year for the Giants in San Francisco, he was
Speaker 1: an undrafted free agent. So I just that's why I
Speaker 1: feel I got, you know, again, being in the car
Speaker 1: for ten hours yesterday driving down to South Florida, I
Speaker 1: just started going over this in my mind and I
Speaker 1: just became very intrigued. And then to think about what
Speaker 1: Ben's going to create, what Dennis Sound's going to create.
Speaker 1: We really haven't talked about that, and I want to
Speaker 1: talk about that a little bit on this podcast. But
Speaker 1: I'm feeling you share the same optimism, especially with what's
Speaker 1: been done in the trenches.
Speaker 4: Oh, I do.
Speaker 3: And I'm sure that you're the type of driver that
Speaker 3: keeps your blinker on too long because you're not paying
Speaker 3: attention that you've already changed lane and it's on for
Speaker 3: another couple miles time out because I know your thought
Speaker 3: captivated in the thought of football that every other sound
Speaker 3: you ignore.
Speaker 1: Well, but yes, that's exactly what I do. And I
Speaker 1: don't know why it happens. Why can't I hear the
Speaker 1: turn signal? Why can't I hear the click click?
Speaker 3: Why do you forget your car keys on the desk
Speaker 3: of a head coach and walk out with somebody else's
Speaker 3: But you know everything that the Ben Johnson has set
Speaker 3: his sights on to make sure that this team has
Speaker 3: improved before they ever take a meeting room or a field,
Speaker 3: I think is really important because when you talk about
Speaker 3: all those new guys that have.
Speaker 4: Been brought aboard.
Speaker 3: First of all, when you're a player and you walk
Speaker 3: into your meeting room and you don't know your position
Speaker 3: coach yet and they're getting to know you for the
Speaker 3: first time, everything is even. So this guy doesn't have
Speaker 3: expectations for you, or he doesn't have disappointment in you.
Speaker 3: Already everybody is starting off, and then you come into
Speaker 3: these meeting rooms that you've brought a number of guys aboard,
Speaker 3: and there's some introductions that have to take place, because
Speaker 3: even though Grady Jarrett has been around for quite a
Speaker 3: while and he has the reputation of success that he has,
Speaker 3: there's some young kids in there that may not know him,
Speaker 3: may not know what he is able to accomplish. And
Speaker 3: so all these new pieces that are in place right now.
Speaker 3: I think it's only going to increase the competition on
Speaker 3: the practice field, but it's also going to create competition
Speaker 3: in the meeting rooms when you get asked a question
Speaker 3: and a little bit of that you talked about with
Speaker 3: Eric b Enemy about learning this new terminology. It's new
Speaker 3: for everybody, so that is a way to compete that
Speaker 3: you know, your hand's never in the ground or you're
Speaker 3: never taking a step forward.
Speaker 1: All right. With that being said, Tommy, open the door,
Speaker 1: so let's kick it open. Sit down with running backs
Speaker 1: coach Eric be Enemy coach, is a pleasure to meet you.
Speaker 1: Effort so much about you over the years, and I
Speaker 1: couldn't wait to meet you, honestly.
Speaker 2: What nice meeting you as well. And it feels good
Speaker 2: to be a part of this family. I mean, I've
Speaker 2: had an opportunity to meet a number of people who've
Speaker 2: worked in this organization or played in this organization. So
Speaker 2: I'm looking forward to just getting something restarted with the
Speaker 2: new coaching staff and the new regime and ready to
Speaker 2: move forward.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's the key in this sport. You got to
Speaker 1: move forward. Everything else is history. It does not matter.
Speaker 1: You know it does, but it doesn't and you know,
Speaker 1: a new page. But talk about just the intensity I
Speaker 1: would imagine of the offensive coaching staff, in particular here
Speaker 1: with Ben Jonson, and bring in all these different influences.
Speaker 1: I just got done talking to Press Taylor, for example,
Speaker 1: and just what those meetings might be like. I mean,
Speaker 1: because you all come from very significant backgrounds. You've all,
Speaker 1: most of you have won a lot of games, won
Speaker 1: super Bowls in your case.
Speaker 2: Coach Benn has done a hell of a job putting
Speaker 2: together staff offensively, defensively, obviously special teams. Wise, it's good
Speaker 2: having an opportunity to work collectively with some of these
Speaker 2: young coaches. We've got some brilliant minds, some very very
Speaker 2: creative individuals. I'm just looking forward to us getting everything established,
Speaker 2: making sure that we can get everything on the same page,
Speaker 2: which we are, and just ironing out all the details,
Speaker 2: because when it's all said and done with, it's not
Speaker 2: about all the collective brains, you know, having a brilliant
Speaker 2: idea about what we can do or what we know.
Speaker 2: It's about making sure that we can hammer it down
Speaker 2: so our guys can go out and play more be
Speaker 2: as efficient and effective as possible. And so that's what
Speaker 2: this process is about right now, just making sure that
Speaker 2: we'll all stayed and getting on the same phase.
Speaker 1: And Ben even in a minute, you know, I didn't
Speaker 1: go about this just hiring friends or people. I know
Speaker 1: there's a couple from Detroit certainly, Antoine Rendel, Gt. Barrett
Speaker 1: for example. Is it a cool thing that he did
Speaker 1: by doing that, because a lot of coaches do they
Speaker 1: just they feel comfort in people that they trust.
Speaker 2: He's done a hell of a job, but just going
Speaker 2: out and finding good people who happen to be very
Speaker 2: good coaches, you know, who are team guys that get
Speaker 2: the big pitcher. So yes, he's built a diverse staff
Speaker 2: of people, but on top of that, people that he's
Speaker 2: not really affiliated with. So he's bought a lot of
Speaker 2: different minds from different areas just so you can always
Speaker 2: help yourself to be better in certain areas. So the
Speaker 2: beauty of it is, it's it's it's fun because right
Speaker 2: now we're undefeated.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, nobody got a bloody nose yet nobody ain't
Speaker 1: black and blue.
Speaker 2: But the beauty of it is is just listening to
Speaker 2: all the creative minds and then just really focusing in
Speaker 2: on some of the things that he has done and
Speaker 2: has success with at Detroit, and it's been fun learning
Speaker 2: that system and actually growing in it, and so I'm
Speaker 2: looking forward to it. This is a brand new journey
Speaker 2: for me. It's a different language, and I'm enjoying it.
Speaker 2: And the beauty of it is it just opens up
Speaker 2: the mind and it gives you an opportunity for growth.
Speaker 1: Well that's a great point, right there, a new language
Speaker 1: for you, and you've been in the league a long time,
Speaker 1: played it at a high level for a long time.
Speaker 1: Ricky prol once told me, and it's been repeated many times.
Speaker 1: Learning a new offense is like learning Chinese in a
Speaker 1: week's time. Of the essence, I mean, I know there's
Speaker 1: a long time before kickoff, but not a long time
Speaker 1: before mini camp and training camp. So do you guys
Speaker 1: feel the urgency to get this playbook? Yes? Written?
Speaker 2: Yes exactly. I mean there's a sense of urgency. Every
Speaker 2: single day, every morning we're spending time about four hours
Speaker 2: of just going through the offense, making sure that we're
Speaker 2: hammering out all the details, whether it's run game, past game,
Speaker 2: different situations that can be presented throughout the course of
Speaker 2: a game, but just hammering out all the details, making
Speaker 2: sure that there is a familiarity with it. Beauty of
Speaker 2: it is not everybody's gonna catch on, include myself. That's
Speaker 2: why we take notes. We detail of notes as much
Speaker 2: as possible.
Speaker 1: You can. Have to study.
Speaker 2: You got to study, have to study. Yes, you got
Speaker 2: to take work home. That's the only way that you're
Speaker 2: gonna become efficient and effective. But also to give yourself
Speaker 2: an opportunity to become the expert at what you do.
Speaker 2: And so you got to take it home because those
Speaker 2: guys are gonna be looking back at me right you know,
Speaker 2: it's my job to make sure I can give them
Speaker 2: the answers, not early on. I may not have all
Speaker 2: the answers, but I'm gonna make sure I find something that.
Speaker 1: You've had quite the career. Let's begin at Colorado. You
Speaker 1: were a hell of a player. I'm a big eight
Speaker 1: guy back in the day. I'm Iowa State cyclone. So
Speaker 1: you're the all time leading rusher at Colorado, all time
Speaker 1: leader in touchdowns. You were a third in the Heisman
Speaker 1: voting during that nineteen ninety national title season. So you
Speaker 1: learn how to win early, didn't you?
Speaker 2: You know what I say this and bless us so
Speaker 2: coach Mats coach Bill McCartney did a great job of
Speaker 2: bringing a diverse group of men just to buy in
Speaker 2: to his dream and in his vision, and he gave
Speaker 2: us an opportunity to be a part of it and
Speaker 2: buy into his dream. And it's amazing how much success
Speaker 2: some of those players, include myself, all of us have had,
Speaker 2: not just on the field, but also off the field,
Speaker 2: and just having that opportunity just to share that experience
Speaker 2: to be a part of a winning a winning team,
Speaker 2: not just winning on the field, but winning off the field.
Speaker 2: Because the majority of us has been in each other's
Speaker 2: weddings we've had I mean, I can't tell you how
Speaker 2: many times we've been all god parents to certain kids.
Speaker 2: But it was an unbelievable, amazing opportunity to just grow,
Speaker 2: but just to be a part of history because coach
Speaker 2: Mack was a brilliant man that cared about his.
Speaker 1: Players just recently passed away, and nobody has ever said
Speaker 1: anything different than you. Now, do you have you adopted
Speaker 1: kind of his way a little bit and how you
Speaker 1: treat players.
Speaker 2: Well, yes, it's forever. It's all about winning, but it's
Speaker 2: all about getting to know the people that you're working with.
Speaker 2: But on top of that, developing the relationships and finding
Speaker 2: out their limits and how to push them and get
Speaker 2: the very very best out of them. And like I
Speaker 2: always tell young men when I'm coaching them, I said, listen,
Speaker 2: I'm gonna coach you hard, I also coach fair. I'm
Speaker 2: gonna be your biggest advocate when you do it the
Speaker 2: right way. But it ain't personal. I'm coaching that behavior
Speaker 2: that you put on tape because that behavior is at
Speaker 2: some point in time, if it's not done the right way,
Speaker 2: we can impact a game. We can also cast somebody
Speaker 2: an injury or whatever. So we want to make sure
Speaker 2: that we're doing things fundamentally right the right way, but
Speaker 2: also making sure that we understand that accountability goes a
Speaker 2: long way in this industry. And if we can be accountable,
Speaker 2: now we got a chance to grow. Now we have
Speaker 2: a chance to become a winning organization.
Speaker 1: I got to ask you what your definition of hard
Speaker 1: coaching is, because some players like it, some don't, some
Speaker 1: want it, so deal with it. I mean, it's all
Speaker 1: different across the rainbow, and.
Speaker 2: It's basically challenging your guys more than anything just to
Speaker 2: get the very best out of it and more than anything,
Speaker 2: just demanding a certain type of ethic. There's gonna be
Speaker 2: a code and how we handle ourselves. You know, I'm
Speaker 2: from the old school. Always tell them, if you don't work,
Speaker 2: you don't eat, all right, And if we're not eating,
Speaker 2: we're not giving ourselves a chance to be the best
Speaker 2: that we can be. So it's important that we understand.
Speaker 2: It's gonna be an imaginary sign outside that door every
Speaker 2: single day that says hiring all applicants, because if we're
Speaker 2: applying ourselves, that means we're not wasting any opportunities. We
Speaker 2: have to learn how to make sure that we're not
Speaker 2: taking anything for granted. And if we're not taking anything
Speaker 2: for granted, we're doing the very most of it because
Speaker 2: now we're learning to make second effort to happen. And
Speaker 2: if we're playing with that second effort, now we're giving
Speaker 2: ourselves a chance not only to be the best running
Speaker 2: back group, we're giving ourselves a chance to be the
Speaker 2: best team. Because if we put that infectious behavior on
Speaker 2: the tape, players are going to want to follow that.
Speaker 1: I don't know if there's any room in your room,
Speaker 1: I like to sign up, because you got me excited
Speaker 1: right now. I'm literally breaking into a sweat right here
Speaker 1: on the roster as it's currently constituted, Guys like Roshan Johnson,
Speaker 1: Guys like DeAndre Swift, Travis Homer re signed recently. You've
Speaker 1: had a chance to look at these guys, obviously, but
Speaker 1: in a different context, different offense, but just your familiarity
Speaker 1: with the names and the men that they are. How
Speaker 1: do you feel about this group.
Speaker 2: I feel pretty good about the group. I've had an
Speaker 2: opportunity to watch DeAndre, spent some time with DeAndre when
Speaker 2: he came out during the time when he doing the draft,
Speaker 2: so I know all about him. A very very hard
Speaker 2: working kid that doesn't take anything for granted. He loves
Speaker 2: to work now more than anything. We just got to
Speaker 2: make sure that he understands that he can find four
Speaker 2: and a half in between the tackles, but also hit
Speaker 2: the home run when he needs to. But he's a
Speaker 2: great young man that works his tale off. Roshan young
Speaker 2: up and coming player, big key it plays hard, doesn't
Speaker 2: take anything for granted. Looking forward to working with him.
Speaker 2: Travis's by far, first of all. He brings a tremendous
Speaker 2: amount of energy. He does a hell of a job
Speaker 2: on special teams. He's a four phased guy, you know,
Speaker 2: which you love that about him because you can't have
Speaker 2: enough of those team players. And then we got a
Speaker 2: young kid by the name of Ian who's coming off
Speaker 2: Ian Wheeler and Ian, I mean just terrific preseason exactly,
Speaker 2: and he showed flashes. So we want to see exactly
Speaker 2: what all we can continue to develop with him and
Speaker 2: see how we grow. So I'm excited about the group.
Speaker 1: Nobody's got bigger thighs than Travis Homer. He works on
Speaker 1: those bad boys. He works on those bad boys. But
Speaker 1: does it help you as a coach when again, players
Speaker 1: don't know you. They know you by reputation, but you
Speaker 1: know you coached Adrian Peterson, Jamal Charles. I could go
Speaker 1: down the list so many great backs, Kareem Hunt. I
Speaker 1: know I'm missing a few, Maurice Jones, drewid UCLA.
Speaker 4: Does that help?
Speaker 1: It helps spread the word. It's all they got to
Speaker 1: do is pick up a phone because everybody knows everybody nowadays,
Speaker 1: you know what it helps.
Speaker 2: But I'm not gonna have these guys do anything that
Speaker 2: those guys didn't do. And like I told those guys
Speaker 2: when I coached him, I'm not gonna have you do
Speaker 2: anything I didn't do, And so my thing is just
Speaker 2: to make sure that I'm getting the very best out
Speaker 2: of them, but also too challenging myself, making sure that
Speaker 2: I'm presenting them the right information so they can go
Speaker 2: out and be as sound and as sharp as they
Speaker 2: need to be to put their best on tape every
Speaker 2: single day.
Speaker 1: I know it's the era of throwing the football and
Speaker 1: everybody loves that, but I have a feeling Bear's gonna
Speaker 1: run the football too, aren't they now? Right, Eric, Bears
Speaker 1: gonna run the ball.
Speaker 2: I'll say this, we have fun running the football.
Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly. I love the idea, all three phases. The
Speaker 1: mindset that Ben Johnson is kind of cemented here is
Speaker 1: that we're gonna be physical, nasty and tough and not
Speaker 1: just on offense and not just running the ball, but
Speaker 1: three phases, and that that excites me in a town
Speaker 1: like this, Yes, it's lacking blue baby exactly. Eric, thank
Speaker 1: you so much, pleasure to meet you, finally, welcome to Chicago.
Speaker 2: I appreciate you having me and thank you all right.
Speaker 1: Any thoughts from me? Tommy Hope Hope, I mean, I
Speaker 1: wish you were there. With me because he had me
Speaker 1: ready to go. I said it, and I literally was
Speaker 1: breaking out in a sweat. He's not that old skull
Speaker 1: thought that you carry Tommy.
Speaker 4: I like this guy. I like his attitude.
Speaker 3: I like his reputation that he's developed since he's been
Speaker 3: a coach in the NFL, the success you talked about
Speaker 3: that he had at University of Colorado, the seriousness and
Speaker 3: the work ethod he expects of all of his players.
Speaker 3: He's become familiar already with the group of talent that
Speaker 3: he's going to have in the room. He acknowledged the
Speaker 3: difficulty in learning the terminology, and sometimes there's a chance
Speaker 3: where you might have to ask a player or another
Speaker 3: coach a question about what you guys are all learning together,
Speaker 3: and then player expectations. I you know, with Eric Bienemy,
Speaker 3: and you know, Mike Dicka used to say it all
Speaker 3: the time, and I really enjoyed hearing it out of
Speaker 3: his mouth. I'm never going to ask you to do
Speaker 3: anything that I haven't done.
Speaker 4: And so when Mike Dicka.
Speaker 3: Was out practicing for Tom Landry or the other coaches
Speaker 3: he played for, and you know he played in an
Speaker 3: extreme era, coach allis Yeah, coach Hallis, but we probably
Speaker 3: played in a more friendly era. And I think that's
Speaker 3: the thing about coach b Enemy. He's not going to
Speaker 3: ask his running backs to do something that he's not
Speaker 3: already done throughout his career, and so I'm super excited
Speaker 3: to see where he takes that next level of competitiveness,
Speaker 3: not only at the running back position, but at the
Speaker 3: offensive line position in the offensive meeting room, because he's
Speaker 3: got a world of experience at every level of football
Speaker 3: that you need.
Speaker 1: This podcast is brought to you by the official beer
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Speaker 1: Let's stick with the theme at running back, because there's
Speaker 1: a bunch of them, and I know you've looked these
Speaker 1: over as well. The type of back that the Bears
Speaker 1: may or may not be interested in adding to the
Speaker 1: stable given the skill sets of DeAndre Swift, Rosehawn Johnson,
Speaker 1: Travis Homer, Ian Wheeler, is there a particular kind of
Speaker 1: back a change of pace, a power back. What do
Speaker 1: you think Ben Johnson could utilize to his advantage and
Speaker 1: get this offense in a level where you're running the
Speaker 1: ball efficiently, you're picking up first downs when you need
Speaker 1: to on third down, and you're making things easier on
Speaker 1: your quarterback.
Speaker 3: I need some lightning, Okay, No, I need the guy
Speaker 3: that is you know, once he gets in space, as
Speaker 3: a foregone conclusion, you're only reading the back of his
Speaker 3: jersey until he crosses the goal line. You know, you
Speaker 3: have a variety of skills and a guy like DeAndre Swift,
Speaker 3: do you have a variety of skills? In row Seawan
Speaker 3: Johnson and the other running backs is of the Ian Wheeler,
Speaker 3: the young man that got hurt last year. I really
Speaker 3: liked him last year, and Travis Homer, but all the
Speaker 3: other guys they have and you look at the success
Speaker 3: that Ben Johnson has in the overall big picture development
Speaker 3: of his offense. He had thunder and lightning in Detroit
Speaker 3: with Montgomery and Gibbs. So is there that guy that
Speaker 3: is that lightning bolt of this offense that can run
Speaker 3: wheel routes, that can run outside zone plays, that can
Speaker 3: run away from linebackers or nickel coverage defensive backs and
Speaker 3: create that super play for you that only comes with
Speaker 3: the attachment of world class speed.
Speaker 1: And both those backs up in Detroit catch the football
Speaker 1: very well. Of course, David Montgomery does, and so does
Speaker 1: the lightning bolt up there in Detroit. Jimior Gibbs that
Speaker 1: lightning bolt. So Matt Miller from ESPN, he also does
Speaker 1: something NFL Draft Scout put together the top five players
Speaker 1: at each position, and he broke things down a little bit.
Speaker 1: So I'm just gonna so he has Ashton Genti from
Speaker 1: Boise State number one. I'm Marion Hampton number two from
Speaker 1: North Carolina, catub Johnson of Iowa number three. And then
Speaker 1: the two Ohio State kids, which we both like, Gwin
Speaker 1: Shawn Jenkins and Trayvon Henderson. Those two cats are lightning bolts.
Speaker 1: Would you agree, Oh yeah, one hundred percent.
Speaker 3: You know one thing too about all the Bears running
Speaker 3: backs right now that they have in house. They can
Speaker 3: all catch the ball. So they have a variety of skills.
Speaker 3: We saw a lot of screens run last year that
Speaker 3: those guys are capable of running screens and how to
Speaker 3: read blocks as a maneuver off field. But then they
Speaker 3: can also be reliable blockers and outlet receivers on third down.
Speaker 3: So that's one thing that the skill level that's already
Speaker 3: in the running back room, as these guys can do
Speaker 3: everything that's required of them out of a three downs.
Speaker 3: But when you talk about that one guy that you know,
Speaker 3: sometimes you're kind of take taking a back because you
Speaker 3: see how quick they are. You know, to me, that's
Speaker 3: the one guy that would really help the room quite
Speaker 3: a bit.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and Matt picks tray Von Henderson as the number
Speaker 1: one third down back from Ohio State, Jaden Blue of Texas,
Speaker 1: Trevor Etn of Georgia, RJ. Harvey Central Florida, and Donovan
Speaker 1: Edwards of Michigan who did not have as big a
Speaker 1: year last year, but boy, he was fantastic in his
Speaker 1: sophomore season two sixteen in the fourth quarter against Ohio
Speaker 1: State with a couple of big touchdown runs. But here's
Speaker 1: a back for you from Virginia Tech that has my attention. Tom.
Speaker 1: His name is Base Sholtot and he was at the
Speaker 1: senior both for the national team just twenty one, five
Speaker 1: eight and three quarters two eleven. I don't have his
Speaker 1: combined numbers here, but elite acceleration and speed. He reached
Speaker 1: a top speed of twenty miles per hour in college
Speaker 1: according to GPS. Great pass catcher as well, but just
Speaker 1: a lot of explosion in his game six point three
Speaker 1: yards per curry for his career and also returned kicks. Uh,
Speaker 1: that would be a middle round type of cat. But uh,
Speaker 1: these there's so many in this draft. I mean, we
Speaker 1: can go down the list.
Speaker 3: Maybe you could give me stand is there is Jaden Blue?
Speaker 3: Is he a guy that has unique type of speed
Speaker 3: because I remember seeing one of these guys in the
Speaker 3: college playoffs in the college system, and I thought it
Speaker 3: was Blue from Texas that had like edge speed that
Speaker 3: once he once he got in the open, that he
Speaker 3: was an uncatchable guy.
Speaker 1: Maybe I'm just now you're you're right four three eight
Speaker 1: forty for Jaden Blue at the combine.
Speaker 4: So yeah, right, So he's the guy.
Speaker 3: He's a guy that from the college football season through
Speaker 3: the combine up until now, you know, he's kind of
Speaker 3: that lightning bolt guy that if you get him to
Speaker 3: that outside zone play and he's always played with a
Speaker 3: good offensive line at Texas that you know, he's a
Speaker 3: type of running back spark that I was also interested in.
Speaker 1: Duton also ran a four three to two. Ye, so yeah,
Speaker 1: that that's exactly what you're talking about. Tommy, I'm picking
Speaker 1: up with you're laying down. Thank you to our partners
Speaker 1: CDW and Lenovo who make amazing happen. Learn more at
Speaker 1: CDW dot com slash Lenovo. Okay, let's now talk a
Speaker 1: little defense if I may, because I'm trying to figure
Speaker 1: out what exactly Dennis Allen wants and we think of
Speaker 1: him as a guy that you know, he said it.
Speaker 1: You know, you gotta affect the quarterback. You gotta affect
Speaker 1: the quarterback. So you're thinking, Okay, this guy a big blitzer.
Speaker 1: I know. Jim Milder told us from his research that
Speaker 1: in the top five of defensive coordinators called third level
Speaker 1: blitzes from the safeties and corners and whatnot. But you
Speaker 1: dig in. You know, he blitzed less last year than
Speaker 1: the Bears did as a team, so he doesn't blitz
Speaker 1: very much overall. So he realies according to what I've
Speaker 1: been digging into, more get there with four. But he
Speaker 1: uses a lot of stunts and twists. So this leads
Speaker 1: me to you as an offensive lineman, and then as
Speaker 1: you evaluate defensive linemen. Is everybody good at it? The
Speaker 1: twist is sent just because you call one. Is the
Speaker 1: twist and stunt effective based on the technique used or
Speaker 1: the physical traits of the player doing the twist and stunt?
Speaker 3: You know, when you talk about winning a stunt, you
Speaker 3: know Grady Jared O'dangbo, these guys are really good at
Speaker 3: it because they have certain tools. The explosiveness and the
Speaker 3: quickness and the instant earning of leverage by Grady Jared,
Speaker 3: the length and the ability to occupy a lot of
Speaker 3: space for Odangbo. These guys are really going to be
Speaker 3: incorporated well with the rest of these guys and the
Speaker 3: athleticism that the Bears already have. But Steve McMichael always
Speaker 3: used to talk about it, if you're going to be
Speaker 3: a really good stunt running team, you're going to have
Speaker 3: to have one guy that's supremely unselfish and he's got
Speaker 3: to be that type of guy that is able to
Speaker 3: occupy space and at tension and get two offensive linemen
Speaker 3: out of position. And then those two offensive linemen that
Speaker 3: are out of position, they don't have the recover ability
Speaker 3: to take that other looper, that other guy that's coming
Speaker 3: around on the stunt and it's listening to you know,
Speaker 3: hamp and Ming and Richard and all these guys talk
Speaker 3: about it because they used to run a lot of
Speaker 3: stunts and we used to run against them and practice
Speaker 3: all the time, and it is it is about Jeff.
Speaker 3: You got to have a guy that's unselfish. He knows
Speaker 3: that he's going to get hit by two guys, but
Speaker 3: he's also is going to be the reason why Montes
Speaker 3: Sweat gets a sack because Grady Jarrett was able to
Speaker 3: give up his body.
Speaker 4: And if you go back and you.
Speaker 3: Look at some of the highlights of Grady Jarrett throughout
Speaker 3: his career. He can line up pre snap that puts
Speaker 3: two offensive linemen in a really unbalanced power position, and
Speaker 3: then if he gets one guy out of position. In
Speaker 3: what out of position I mean is you're not coming
Speaker 3: back on the same plane. There's an interruption in that plane.
Speaker 3: Now there's a gap, and all of a sudden, that
Speaker 3: defense lineman is able to win it. So unselfishness is
Speaker 3: a key ingredient if you're going to be a team
Speaker 3: that runs stunts really well. But one thing about Dennis Allen,
Speaker 3: because I think if you talk about a team. If
Speaker 3: you're a blitzer, if you're a stunter, what are your vulnerabilities?
Speaker 3: Is it a guy like Jared Goff that doesn't have
Speaker 3: great escapability? Is a guy who or there's an offensive
Speaker 3: lineman that maybe there's a vulnerability in his position and strength.
Speaker 3: So I do think before we ever take say what
Speaker 3: Dennis Allen is, I think what is he up against?
Speaker 1: Well, for example, the Bear's going to play Lamar Jackson
Speaker 1: this year in Baltimore, Lamar Jackson. If you stunt a
Speaker 1: quarterback like that, where there is a gap for somebody
Speaker 1: to get into, that gap is also available to him
Speaker 1: though too, to out athletic him, right, to out maneuver him.
Speaker 1: So are those days you know? Do you do? You
Speaker 1: not do those against quarterbacks like that?
Speaker 3: You know, sometimes with a guy like Lamar as you
Speaker 3: try to have that pocket that keeps him contained and
Speaker 3: they don't give him that escape patch, and then all
Speaker 3: of a sudden you try to make him throw the
Speaker 3: ball because you know the profit that will get by
Speaker 3: throwing the ball if it's a completion, whatever the down
Speaker 3: distance is. But it could be an incompletion, it could
Speaker 3: be a tip ball, it could be an interception. But
Speaker 3: you just don't want to give consistent escapability for a
Speaker 3: guy like Lamar because we've seen what he does and
Speaker 3: that's why he's an MVP candidate each and every year.
Speaker 3: So you know he's one of the great ones. But
Speaker 3: you know there's there's a lot of others as well.
Speaker 1: If you practice against it every day, is I mean,
Speaker 1: this is probably a dumb question, but your offensive lineman,
Speaker 1: if they're facing those stunts and twists in practice every
Speaker 1: day during training camp, are they getting better at stopping them?
Speaker 1: And can be they Can they be real creative? Can
Speaker 1: you can you have a guy like you and Donald
Speaker 1: used to go. You know, he could go through over
Speaker 1: two gaps to get the stunt finished and he'd still
Speaker 1: get there and have the speed and acceleration to put
Speaker 1: his foot in the dirt and get up field and
Speaker 1: get the quarterback.
Speaker 3: You know, one thing about offensive line, you got to
Speaker 3: develop the familiarity and the habits of each of the
Speaker 3: guys that you play next to, because you got to
Speaker 3: be able to go to the line of scrimmage and
Speaker 3: not necessarily yell out what the protection is, but make
Speaker 3: sure that if a guy comes into the gap, I'm
Speaker 3: going to be able to pass him off to the center,
Speaker 3: and I know he's there one hundred percent of the time,
Speaker 3: and that I gotta as soon as you pass someone off,
Speaker 3: you got to be ready for who's coming around. And
Speaker 3: some of the habits that you develop as an offensive
Speaker 3: line are you never have to communicate them.
Speaker 4: You become aware of them when you go.
Speaker 3: To the line of scrimmage second, long, third and long,
Speaker 3: and they got the pass rushing group in there that
Speaker 3: that's what they that's what they like to do, and
Speaker 3: if they are running stunts. That's why you practice that
Speaker 3: period every single day in training camp because you you
Speaker 3: become familiar with the habits of the guys next to you.
Speaker 3: And hopefully Haleb becomes more creative with the snap count,
Speaker 3: because the more creative you can become with the snapcount,
Speaker 3: the more you can create a little tells or signs
Speaker 3: of exactly where the defensive line's going, or maybe get
Speaker 3: them a half a second off balance that puts that
Speaker 3: offensive lineman in a winning position.
Speaker 1: Tom, you were big on the offensive line ten yards
Speaker 1: splits on the forty yard dashes at the scouting combine.
Speaker 1: So for example, Will Campbell, he led the group he
Speaker 1: at a top speed of sixteen point four to seven
Speaker 1: miles per hour at his ten yards, and he reached
Speaker 1: the top speed of twenty miles per hour on his
Speaker 1: forty run. That's just one example. Do you also factor
Speaker 1: in the ten yard splits for the defensive lineman or
Speaker 1: does that matter less to you?
Speaker 3: What?
Speaker 1: Oh?
Speaker 4: No, it matters to me as much.
Speaker 3: Yeah, because when you think of the explosiveness, and you know,
Speaker 3: let's you know, take two guys. You know, you can
Speaker 3: take a guy like Andrew Billings, or you could take
Speaker 3: a guy like Aaron Donald, and then look at what
Speaker 3: they're and Andrew Billings is a weight room guy, so
Speaker 3: I expect him to be explosive. But the body size
Speaker 3: of two different types of defensive linemen. That's why you
Speaker 3: have a three technique, and that's why you have a nose.
Speaker 3: That's why you have a defensive end or a five
Speaker 3: technique defensive end. It's because of their initial explosiveness, not
Speaker 3: only how quickly they get off the ball, but how
Speaker 3: quickly they disengage from their blocker. And it's just like
Speaker 3: you talk about the explosiveness of Will Campbell. Redirective power
Speaker 3: in your feet is something that a lot of people
Speaker 3: don't talk about, but it's probably one of the most
Speaker 3: important elements of sustained success buy an offensive lineman, because
Speaker 3: first of all, I'm going to come out of my
Speaker 3: stance and I'm going to have an approach to you.
Speaker 4: I'm going to have.
Speaker 3: A punched you on a pass blocking responsibility. That defensive
Speaker 3: linement is going to try to swipe my hands.
Speaker 4: Now, I got to.
Speaker 3: Keep my balance, but I also have toct redirect my
Speaker 3: body positioning with power into into your position. And so
Speaker 3: if you're out there and you don't have power in
Speaker 3: your legs and you don't have bendability, you're going to
Speaker 3: get pushed backwards into the path of the quarterback. You're
Speaker 3: going to lose your block and your strength upper body,
Speaker 3: and then you're going to lose the block more immediately
Speaker 3: if you can't redirect with power. And so that's one
Speaker 3: of the things that I always liked about the feet
Speaker 3: of Will Campbell is you know, he stays competitive within
Speaker 3: his assignment because he has the feet that are up
Speaker 3: to his you know, capabilities and his expectations.
Speaker 1: So in the draft, James Pears the Tennessee edge one
Speaker 1: his ten yard split that led all defensive ends and
Speaker 1: edge rushers common outiver of Oklahoma State had a one
Speaker 1: five seven and Shamar Stewart at Texas A and M.
Speaker 1: We talked about him earlier, one five eight. Those are
Speaker 1: the only three guys under one point six seconds Tommy
Speaker 1: and at defensive tackle it was an SMU defensive tackle
Speaker 1: Jared Harrison Hunt won six', NINE Uh georgia defensive Tackle
Speaker 1: Tyreon Ingram dawkins one six' nine And, ty robinson who's
Speaker 1: an excellent Athlete from nebraska one seven to one and a,
Speaker 1: Local PRODUCT. Tommy cj west Out of nazareth one seven,
Speaker 1: to three the defensive Tackle. From indiana how do those
Speaker 1: numbers rate? For you does anything stick?
Speaker 4: Out right, you know the immediate comparison to.
Speaker 3: Team success So the rams went and took two defensive
Speaker 3: linemen last year in. The draft in the one guy
Speaker 3: you came back bragging from the senior ball that this guy,
Speaker 3: is legit and when he got to the combine He.
Speaker 1: Was braden fists if, you, Want.
Speaker 3: Yes fisk so if you want to talk about, in
Speaker 3: comparison what were there times and if you ever were
Speaker 3: able to look up what their times were and what
Speaker 3: they immediately did to, that defense it'll kind of tell
Speaker 3: you what these guys should be capable of being because of.
Speaker 1: That ten yard time one six' Eight. For, braden fisk
Speaker 1: okay so that falls that have false right in line with.
Speaker 1: What you're saying tommy, at defensive tackle that would be
Speaker 1: that would be number one at defensive tackle in the
Speaker 1: twenty twenty five combine if he had participated in the twenty, twenty, Five.
Speaker 1: Guys right yeah.
Speaker 3: And then the outside Rusher that the rams brought, Aboard
Speaker 3: as well he's another guy that had some. Super athletic
Speaker 3: traits and if you want to talk about outside guys,
Speaker 3: and inside guys you have. Comparative analytics there.
Speaker 1: That would be The Outside linebacker jared verse his ten ONE.
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Speaker 1: The chicago bears how's, Your? Pt going tommy as a
Speaker 1: knee replacement that reaches what seven, eight weeks ago.
Speaker 3: Seven, Weeks ago yesterday, it's going, great you know just
Speaker 3: everyday process and you know it's you know a lot
Speaker 3: of times that they tell you about a, positive, mental
Speaker 3: attitude dude and there's never been more true about the
Speaker 3: lingering rehabilitation process of. A Knee replacement so, i'm all,
Speaker 3: good super positive.
Speaker 1: Ready to roll as it made you, ready to hit
Speaker 1: tough and ready to go at least, On the board
Speaker 1: you'll be on the board you're going to be on
Speaker 1: that board. In a MONTH that's what i. Want to know,
Speaker 1: not a chance.
Speaker 3: NOT a chance i respect the guys too much that
Speaker 3: are on the board and what they're.
Speaker 1: About To undertake now i'm talking, about the surfboard. The long, Board,
Speaker 1: come on TOMMY you lost. I LOST you then i
Speaker 1: would thought you.
Speaker 4: Were joking about being on. The, big board no the only.
Speaker 1: There's only one board you, would be on not on,
Speaker 1: a board room but a board. On THE water so
Speaker 1: i expect. That. To, happen tommy hey we got to
Speaker 1: do a shout. Out and Congratulations. Welcome To, Chicago laura
Speaker 1: anderson senior Vice president of administration And, chief financial Officer
Speaker 1: joining the Bears From, the big ten where she worked.
Speaker 1: For seven, Years chicago, Native illinois grad so welcome, To The.
Speaker 1: Friendranchise laura anderson we'll see YOU. Up at hallishu uh
Speaker 1: you got any final thoughts before we break. For, the week.
Speaker 3: No NOT really, Like i said i'm interested every day
Speaker 3: to do a little bit, more, research about uh. The
Speaker 3: draft anticipation now that these guys are going through a lot,
Speaker 3: of pro days and you See that cam ward had
Speaker 3: ninety guys at, his pro day yesterday when there's only
Speaker 3: going to be one team that has the opportunity. To
Speaker 3: pick them and it's it's something, THAT you know i
Speaker 3: came from the area that we didn't. Have pro days
Speaker 3: we went to the combines and. That was it and so.
Speaker 1: Would you have benched at the combine and the pro
Speaker 1: day if you were just knowing? Who you are would
Speaker 1: you have done? It both times would? You, be satisfied
Speaker 1: yeah you know you want to.
Speaker 4: Watch me, Bench come in let's go in.
Speaker 3: The weight, room put, it you know get, a belt
Speaker 3: on less rock.
Speaker 4: And roll in we got to.
Speaker 1: Wrap this up but do you have a story about
Speaker 1: somebody that was like challenging you and you blew their
Speaker 1: mind with how many reps you threw up or or just?
Speaker 1: OR just weight i mean, at ANY point because i
Speaker 1: would dare say you Were, one cocky, yeah no weightlifter
Speaker 1: because you.
Speaker 3: Can do it the first time that we were At Down,
Speaker 3: in tampa bay there was an OFFENSIVE guard that i
Speaker 3: was spotting and He Was an all american and he
Speaker 3: only did like three reps, and no WEIGHT but off
Speaker 3: i picked it off OF him AND i, and, i
Speaker 3: said hey are?
Speaker 1: You all right?
Speaker 3: Is something, wrong, he, Goes, OH no tom i ain't much,
Speaker 3: of a weightlifter, AND right there i GO.
Speaker 4: Right and I thought that i really would do it enough.
Speaker 3: To impress him but he ended up getting drafted in,
Speaker 3: the second round got injured, during training camp never really
Speaker 3: PLAYED and and i think weightlifting was an important part
Speaker 3: of his inability to hold up to the physical requirements.
Speaker 1: Of. The job interesting always, Have a, Story appreciate it
Speaker 1: buddy special thanks To Our, guest eric bannemy the bears
Speaker 1: new running back coach. For, A Time There. I'm jeff joniek. Thanks.
Speaker 1: For listening everybody please subscribe Now On the chicago, Bears, Official, app,
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Speaker 1: down everybody