Speaker 1: Cut over that DJ Moore n Zode.
Speaker 2: Touchdown, touchdown Bear. I am Jeff Jonihanlitz is not Donnie
Speaker 2: go hout what was like playing for Coachy Digg. I
Speaker 2: don't want to answer any questions like that pressure coming
Speaker 2: is a big trouble Doti Goos Montese Sweat.
Speaker 1: Now, Bears, etc.
Speaker 2: Brought to you by Geico with the voices of the Bears,
Speaker 2: Jeff Joniec and Tom Tayer. Welcome into episode one seventeen
Speaker 2: of The Bears et cetera podcast with Tom Tayr. I'm
Speaker 2: Jeff Joniat, getting you set. Four Bears and Niners were
Speaker 2: brought to you by Geico. Our special guest this week
Speaker 2: is former Chicago Bear usc Trojan and the color Analyst,
Speaker 2: the longtime color analyst of the San Francisco forty nine ers,
Speaker 2: the man we call t Rock, the man with the
Speaker 2: great hair and the big mustache.
Speaker 1: She'd fit right in.
Speaker 2: In any of Chicago's legendary figures with the big flowing mustache.
Speaker 1: I don't know about the man bun, but it looks
Speaker 1: good on you.
Speaker 3: Well before before this podcast is over, I'll take the
Speaker 3: man bun down just to satisfy you.
Speaker 4: You lyrical gangster.
Speaker 3: You know, here's my motto at my age, and Tommy
Speaker 3: will understand this maybe better than anybody.
Speaker 1: If you got it, grow it, amen, Welcome, end to
Speaker 1: that tea Rock. You know, it's funny you kind of
Speaker 1: come across people in your lifetime that you're rarely refer
Speaker 1: to them as their name. And I was thinking about
Speaker 1: that this morning, Tim, that I don't know if in
Speaker 1: my lifetime I've ever called you by your real name,
Speaker 1: because everybody affectionately knows you as T Rock. So as
Speaker 1: people listen to this podcast and they hear us constantly
Speaker 1: refer to t Rock, no, that is Tim Ryan.
Speaker 4: That's it.
Speaker 3: You know how it was in old two point fifty
Speaker 3: North Washington Road, Tommy, if you didn't have a nickname
Speaker 3: by year two, you were getting cut. I mean it
Speaker 3: was pretty much that simple. So yeah, it's been going
Speaker 3: for a long time. The other day, you remember Eric Komero,
Speaker 3: who played with us, of course ninety two maybe or
Speaker 3: ninety one, I don't remember, but he was out at
Speaker 3: the game a couple of weeks ago and he nick
Speaker 3: told me he was coming.
Speaker 4: So I hear him and he's in the end zone
Speaker 4: and I just rock.
Speaker 1: I just hear him yell at right.
Speaker 3: So I go over there and I was talking to
Speaker 3: Nick at the time in the end zone. So I
Speaker 3: go over there and chop it up with Eric. It
Speaker 3: was great to see him. Haven't seen him in a
Speaker 3: long time, and so it was good, and then played
Speaker 3: the game. Next day, I'm in the weight room and
Speaker 3: Nick comes in. I said, Hey, what's up, Nick? And
Speaker 3: he goes, it's up t Rock okay, And now every
Speaker 3: time I see Nick, it's like, t Rock, what's up? Man?
Speaker 4: I go, hey, what's up? Bos? How you do buddy?
Speaker 3: So kind of told him that story of getting nicknames,
Speaker 3: and it's kind of the same ere. There's some some
Speaker 3: good old days, that's for sure.
Speaker 1: Yeah. So do you want to open up with USC?
Speaker 1: Notre Dame or San Francisco, Chicago?
Speaker 3: Why don't we talk about Boise State. I'm pretty high
Speaker 3: on them right now.
Speaker 1: Isn't there their running back in the Heisman Trophy County.
Speaker 3: He's an absolute beast and my daughter's a senior up
Speaker 3: at Boise State.
Speaker 4: So no, we're good. Yeah, we can go wherever you want.
Speaker 3: The USC has been a lot like the forty nine
Speaker 3: ers this year that they obviously been unable to finish
Speaker 3: games and in big moments they've made big errors. And
Speaker 3: you know, Notre Dame, you Golden Domers, I'm never pulling
Speaker 3: for you, but I'm always pulling, But I'm always pulling
Speaker 3: for you.
Speaker 4: Tom.
Speaker 3: You know, that was a great football game and came
Speaker 3: down to the end in a couple of big errors.
Speaker 3: So they've had their challenges. This forty nine er team
Speaker 3: has clearly had their challenges finishing games. Well.
Speaker 1: You know, you know one thing about Bassian.
Speaker 3: Games that really get get you are the ones that
Speaker 3: you know, ten point leads in the fourth quarter are
Speaker 3: unable to hold on. And that's that's been unlike this
Speaker 3: football team over the last been pretty spoiled, you know,
Speaker 3: in four and a half of the last five six years.
Speaker 1: You know one thing about that Notre Dame USC game.
Speaker 1: And I always tell people that if they want to
Speaker 1: go and see two games, that the atmosphere is unlike
Speaker 1: any others. It's either Chicago Bears, Green Bay in Lambeau
Speaker 1: or Notre Dame USC at the Coliseum. And as you know,
Speaker 1: a kid growing up in Joliet, from the Midwest, flying
Speaker 1: from South Bend to California just in awe of the
Speaker 1: presence of USC and the people on the sideline and
Speaker 1: just all the fanfare that surrounded that game. And I
Speaker 1: still get that kind of emotional attachment to the Notre
Speaker 1: Dame USC game in the coliseum.
Speaker 3: Well absolutely, I mean that we all saw the well
Speaker 3: it's probably eight milimeter clips when we were watching them
Speaker 3: on the old reels of those some of those legendary
Speaker 3: historical games.
Speaker 4: And you'll probably remember your guys.
Speaker 3: I remember Anthony Davis and some of those games, games
Speaker 3: that us he was able to come back great, you
Speaker 3: know inner you know, big cross country rivalry that's got
Speaker 3: so much tradition to it, and it means a lot.
Speaker 3: It doesn't matter if you you know what your record is,
Speaker 3: throw them out the window. That's that's the biggest game
Speaker 3: of the year. And everybody usually says, well what about UCLA,
Speaker 3: and I go, that's that's a big rivalry, that's crosstown rivalry.
Speaker 3: But when you talk real rivalry, it's and with USC
Speaker 3: boosters and the alumni, it's about beating Notre Dame. And
Speaker 3: that's why I, you know, I probably have you know,
Speaker 3: a lot more fun talking about it if I was
Speaker 3: able to beat him. I was on four against the
Speaker 3: Irish and and we had good teams. And I'll never
Speaker 3: forget the two ten and oh teams in eighty eight.
Speaker 3: I think it was in first play the game, Tony
Speaker 3: Rice sixty five yard option around the corner and they
Speaker 3: never look back. And Stan Smagala picked off Rodney team
Speaker 3: right before halftime and ticket in Frank Stams blew his shoulder.
Speaker 3: I mean, Chrystal out there with the skinny tape around
Speaker 3: his wrists, so mean, come on, man, you know t.
Speaker 1: Rock one quick thing about it. I was zero and
Speaker 1: four against USC also kind of were right. But the
Speaker 1: first play I ever played in my college career, I
Speaker 1: lined up as a full back against Notre Dame USC
Speaker 1: at Notre Dame and I blocked Chip Banks. So that
Speaker 1: was my introduction into college football, the first play I
Speaker 1: ever played. And it's you know, that memory will never
Speaker 1: go away. And so when you talk about the names
Speaker 1: in your past history, you know I played or I
Speaker 1: didn't play against, But you know there was Charles White,
Speaker 1: there was Marcus Allen, there was you know, Bruce Bruce Matthews,
Speaker 1: Don Mosebar, all these great football players across the legendary
Speaker 1: landscape of USC that I'm super familiar with.
Speaker 2: A game like that four times in your career help
Speaker 2: get you drafted second round for you, Tim, fourth round
Speaker 2: for ten.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: True that And from what Tommy said, I remember my
Speaker 3: first game lineup. I know, Beerline was the quarterback my
Speaker 3: freshman year, played head up on Andy Heck when he
Speaker 3: was an offensive tackle, which is you know, we all
Speaker 3: know that he ended up moving to or was tight
Speaker 3: end before he was an offensive tackle, so he's a
Speaker 3: tight end at Notre Dame. We made the mistake I
Speaker 3: think up up in that game, I don't remember the score,
Speaker 3: but up by two scores and made the mistake upuonting
Speaker 3: to Tim Brown twice. Not a good idea, and they
Speaker 3: beat us at the at the coliseum and Ted Tolner
Speaker 3: was fired after that game.
Speaker 2: Well, one thing more about the USC angle. Caleb Williams
Speaker 2: gets his jersey retired last weekend, brought a Notre Damer
Speaker 2: with him and Cole Comet came out there. So that
Speaker 2: was kind of cool symmetry and great for Caleb because
Speaker 2: he was a great quarterback in college obviously at two schools,
Speaker 2: but well deserved.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and I would say this, and you know, we
Speaker 3: I know Cole obviously don't know him, but his dad,
Speaker 3: Frank was with us way back in the day. You know,
Speaker 3: say what you want about the rivalry, and when you
Speaker 3: get on the field, guys are you know you're trying
Speaker 3: to win your period. I remember we got in a
Speaker 3: big fight with Notre Dame in my senior year when
Speaker 3: we were there.
Speaker 4: But at the end of the.
Speaker 3: Day, there's tremendous respect I think between the players, between
Speaker 3: the coaches, and just because we know what the rivalry
Speaker 3: means and we know whenever you go out there and play,
Speaker 3: the guys that are out there doing it are laying
Speaker 3: it on the line.
Speaker 4: And so there's always been a.
Speaker 3: Life Mike McGlinchey, I've never met, you know, Michael stone Breaker,
Speaker 3: you can go down the list. I've never met a
Speaker 3: Notre Dame guy I didn't appreciate being around.
Speaker 1: Yeah, those are some good names right there.
Speaker 2: We're brought to you by PNC Official Bank of the
Speaker 2: Bears with Tim Ryan just quickly before we get into
Speaker 2: the matchup and what's going on with the forty nine ers,
Speaker 2: reflections on your time in Chicago. Obviously you made an
Speaker 2: impact because everybody loves you. Whenever I bring you up,
Speaker 2: you know you weren't here that long, but you're here
Speaker 2: long enough to make an impact with people.
Speaker 1: So that says a lot of by you.
Speaker 4: Well, I appreciate it. A lot of good people there,
Speaker 4: you know.
Speaker 3: I look at some of these facilities now, that and
Speaker 3: the one we're sitting out out here in Santa Clara,
Speaker 3: and I think of that old college at two fifty
Speaker 3: North Washington.
Speaker 4: Road, and.
Speaker 3: I'll never forget meeting rooms were downstairs under the weight room.
Speaker 3: You remember that. Tom and guys will do it course,
Speaker 3: and kyde Emrick wasn't real big on spot and dumbbells.
Speaker 4: You just throw them to the floor when you're done
Speaker 4: with them.
Speaker 3: Where to god, I'm like, something's coming through this ceiling, man,
Speaker 3: something is coming through this ceiling. No indoor, I mean
Speaker 3: Tommy practiced outdoors most of your career. I mean, we
Speaker 3: had no indoor facility. It didn't matter. One time I
Speaker 3: remember being out there and it was probably in late September,
Speaker 3: and Tommy, you'll remember this. You may have been one
Speaker 3: of the guys. I'm probably not knowing you went into
Speaker 3: the locker room. But the lightning was striking bro like
Speaker 3: on the field. It was like the thunder and the
Speaker 3: lightning were simultaneous, and I'm like, oh no, this is
Speaker 3: We're out there hitting metal sleds and that. And I
Speaker 3: remember Fridge. I remember McMichael that Fridge like, no, hell no,
Speaker 3: we stayed out here and they went in like we
Speaker 3: weren't even out of individual yet and they went in.
Speaker 4: They're like hell no. I think McMichael went in and
Speaker 4: Dicka got pissed. He's like a rag.
Speaker 3: No one's gonna get struck by lightning out here. We're
Speaker 3: going to finish practice. Well, so we finished practice. I
Speaker 3: went home, laid on my couch, turned on the news. Uh,
Speaker 3: six people struck by lightning in the Chicago Land area today.
Speaker 3: I'm like, oh no, but had great times, man, had
Speaker 3: I don't I mean everybody, I just I related to
Speaker 3: what happens now. And it's such a show now and
Speaker 3: it was a show back then. But with all the
Speaker 3: wives and all the family and all the people and
Speaker 3: the entertainment and everybody's got to have their fit and
Speaker 3: everybody's got to have you know, it's all it's pretty crazy.
Speaker 3: I don't know if we ever left the parking structure.
Speaker 3: It took about two hours after games of being under there,
Speaker 3: and it was always the same guys in the same
Speaker 3: old studs and their families that were down there.
Speaker 4: But great memories.
Speaker 3: And really really enjoyed, you know, certainly my first three
Speaker 3: years there when Dicta was there and and all the
Speaker 3: old boys from from the great teams. And then things
Speaker 3: started to change when Dave got there, and I was
Speaker 3: there for a couple of years after that, and and
Speaker 3: then I wasn't there any longer, but great memories. Would
Speaker 3: never trade him for anything, and you know, silver lining
Speaker 3: for me. And I hate that I didn't play nine
Speaker 3: ten years. I think health permitting, a lot of us
Speaker 3: would have played longer. But I look at some of
Speaker 3: the guys that that ended up getting, you know, another
Speaker 3: handful of seasons that that can hardly move. So I
Speaker 3: I was very fortunate to get my ticket punched early
Speaker 3: with an injury and got out and you know, still
Speaker 3: got issues.
Speaker 4: But what was it, feling pretty good about it?
Speaker 1: What was the injury?
Speaker 4: Neck?
Speaker 3: Okay, neck, yeah, neck was And they didn't have the things, Jeff,
Speaker 3: that they have now. I mean John Lynch had real
Speaker 3: bad singers too, but and he was only three or
Speaker 3: four years behind me. But by the time towards the
Speaker 3: end of his career, they had procedures that they could
Speaker 3: go in there and surgically kind of repair those or
Speaker 3: if it's just you know, for those nerves and kind
Speaker 3: of clear things out a little bit. They had none
Speaker 3: of that back in the day, So it was Grin
Speaker 3: and Barrett and I just couldn't do it anymore. But
Speaker 3: at the end of the day, I've been very fortunate
Speaker 3: to stay connected to the game and you know, do
Speaker 3: it in a different way. It's not nearly as fun,
Speaker 3: and as I tell people, it's a lot easier talking
Speaker 3: about it than doing It's damp sure.
Speaker 1: Tee, right, I got a question about that. So you
Speaker 1: played for the Chicago Bears. You got drafted out of
Speaker 1: USC you were immediately accepted into the team. You are
Speaker 1: a high profile player, and then you went onto the
Speaker 1: national broadcasting scene with Fox and now you've been doing
Speaker 1: the San Francisco games for quite a while. Do you
Speaker 1: still have any emotional attachment to the Chicago Bears, either
Speaker 1: when they're playing a game like last Thursday or a
Speaker 1: game that they're going to play against the team you
Speaker 1: broadcast for in San Francisco, Santa Clara, Yes, I do.
Speaker 4: I don't you know.
Speaker 3: I mean my jersey hangs up in my office and
Speaker 3: the relationships I have. And I know Brian mccaskey's still
Speaker 3: skating around there somewhere.
Speaker 1: I don't know what.
Speaker 3: I don't think he's taping ankles anymore, but I think
Speaker 3: he's doing something.
Speaker 4: Yes, I do.
Speaker 3: We went back for Robbie Gold's golf tournament. I don't
Speaker 3: know it's been years now, four or five years, but
Speaker 3: to see all all the you know, a lot of
Speaker 3: the guys, see butt heead see a lot of the
Speaker 3: guys I played with Big Kat Williams. Of course he
Speaker 3: was in golfing. He was just hanging out. Good to
Speaker 3: see a lot of those guys. And I'll be honest
Speaker 3: with you, I pull for him every time they're playing,
Speaker 3: and I was pulling for him in these last three games,
Speaker 3: and I was pissed, like I'm pissed here when people
Speaker 3: get away with stuff like when your center's head got
Speaker 3: blown up on the block kick against the against the
Speaker 3: Green Green Bay Packers at the end.
Speaker 4: Of the game. So yes, I do have an emotional
Speaker 4: vested interest in the is.
Speaker 3: I like to say when I get my card every
Speaker 3: year from the Chicago Bears football Club.
Speaker 2: It's your first stop in football after college, So your
Speaker 2: first professional stop, it's going to have some kind of
Speaker 2: impact with you, for sure. Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Speaker 2: of Illinois right here at home, driving access toward healthier communities,
Speaker 2: through it all all right through your eyes. You know,
Speaker 2: this is an interesting contrast in situations.
Speaker 1: Here.
Speaker 2: You got a team that was rebuilding. They got a
Speaker 2: quarterback they believe will be the franchise quarterback. You guys
Speaker 2: have a franchise quarterback. It appears that was a late,
Speaker 2: late round pick that was really successful at Miama mater
Speaker 2: Iowa State University. And yes, I am a cyclone and
Speaker 2: surrounded by great talent there that I've had multiple bites
Speaker 2: at the Apple and then a franchise like the Bears
Speaker 2: right now that has been it's been evasive to have
Speaker 2: that bite at the Apple, not since a really good
Speaker 2: season in twenty eighteen. It just reminds me this. You
Speaker 2: can never take winning for granted, because even when you're
Speaker 2: winning and you don't finish and get that Super Bowl,
Speaker 2: there's an emptiness about it and that team. The window
Speaker 2: is what has been gigantically open, right, but then you
Speaker 2: start getting age and injury and now it's cloudy a
Speaker 2: little bit. Can you kind of take us through the
Speaker 2: perspective of two organizations in different places, but we're all
Speaker 2: trying to get to the same place.
Speaker 4: Well, I'd start with two Crown Jewels and two teams.
Speaker 3: That have fans across the world that care about them
Speaker 3: and have certainly have interest in them because of what
Speaker 3: they are, what their label is, what their brand is,
Speaker 3: how they play football, and of course out here with
Speaker 3: certainly more Lombardi trophies. But Chicago has been in a
Speaker 3: lot of big games and you know, as as hard
Speaker 3: as hell to win in this league. I don't care
Speaker 3: who it is. It's every week and and the run
Speaker 3: that the forty nine ers were able to put together
Speaker 3: from nineteen and you know, so much of it is
Speaker 3: about is it's really at the end of the day,
Speaker 3: it's not about place, about players. It's about having the
Speaker 3: talent and about having finishers and guys that can go
Speaker 3: out there and win.
Speaker 4: You know, it's.
Speaker 3: There's no magic wand of winning or losing. I just
Speaker 3: always boil it down to one thing. Whip the guys
Speaker 3: ask in front of and you got a pretty good
Speaker 3: chance I mean, at the end of the day, to
Speaker 3: win games. But you know, when Kyle got here, things
Speaker 3: flipped and he was a great hire by by Jed
Speaker 3: York and you know, tried. You know, Jimmy Garoppolo came
Speaker 3: in because it was it was bad early obviously trying
Speaker 3: to do it with with other guys. Jimmy came in here,
Speaker 3: and and Jimmy with that you know, that ability just
Speaker 3: to rip it and get it out quick and all
Speaker 3: those inbreaking routes over the middle of the field was
Speaker 3: really suited to his his style. Then some injuries started
Speaker 3: cropping up on him, but certainly to god us to
Speaker 3: the all the way to the to the Super Bowl
Speaker 3: and nineteen the twenty Super Bowl to play Kansas City.
Speaker 3: Unable to finish that game. At the end, defense dropped
Speaker 3: the ball a couple of times in terms of the coverage,
Speaker 3: Jimmy overthrew Emmanuel Sanders and what possibly was was going
Speaker 3: to get over the hump at that point didn't happen. Brutal,
Speaker 3: But to have so many of those players still young
Speaker 3: and you know, Kittle, Fred Warner, Nick Bosa, all those
Speaker 3: guys were still really really young. And then to go
Speaker 3: out and you know, the COVID year happened, and then
Speaker 3: Jimmy started having some injuries, some challenges started happening, some
Speaker 3: contractual issues, and then getting Trey Lance and where they
Speaker 3: got him, you know, set this organization back just because
Speaker 3: he wasn't ready to go in terms of the playmaker
Speaker 3: and a seamless playmaker and a great kid, but it
Speaker 3: was a challenge for him.
Speaker 4: And so they've since moved on.
Speaker 3: But it's been hall hard to recover from the draft
Speaker 3: picks that were giving up and how the draft situation was,
Speaker 3: and you know, during that, but still able to win
Speaker 3: a lot of games, get the NFC championships, you know,
Speaker 3: when Jimmy got hurt and Brock got in there.
Speaker 4: And I remember when Brock.
Speaker 3: Got here out of out of Iowa State and I
Speaker 3: watched him playing college. But I promise you he wasn't
Speaker 3: here a week in his rookie mini camp. And you
Speaker 3: know they always do, you know, they do one on
Speaker 3: ones and the scout team thirteen quarterback goes and throws
Speaker 3: linebackers on on uh running backs and tight ends when
Speaker 3: they do the one on ones, and I'm watching him,
Speaker 3: and that's usually there's going to be some space, you know,
Speaker 3: those those running backs coming out of the back for
Speaker 3: one on one there's no lineman. Same with tight ends.
Speaker 3: But Brock's putting everything on the money on time. I'm like,
Speaker 3: holy cow. And then i watch him in some team stuff.
Speaker 3: He's out there with thirteam and with a lot of rookies,
Speaker 3: and it's the end of practice and I'm like, I'm
Speaker 3: looking around, I'm like, is that not the best quarterback
Speaker 3: we've had here since it was probably my eighth year
Speaker 3: at the time, I said, since I've been here in
Speaker 3: terms of reading the coverage and delivering the mail.
Speaker 4: I mean, this guy's just bang, bang bang. And it
Speaker 4: was like, yeah, no doubt.
Speaker 3: You know some of the coaches, and then as the
Speaker 3: season got going, you know, a lot of scout team
Speaker 3: quarterbacks Jeff and Tommy knows this. They're throwing check downs,
Speaker 3: they're throwing you know, they want to look good too,
Speaker 3: and in terms out there taking their reps knowing they
Speaker 3: don't have a chance to play, Brock is ripping it
Speaker 3: into bracket coverage. He's trying to run the forty nine
Speaker 3: er offense. He's like he's trying to move Fred Warner
Speaker 3: out of the way. He's trying to control safeties with
Speaker 3: his eyes. He's making high risk throws he's getting better,
Speaker 3: and it was like wow. So then Jimmy got hurt
Speaker 3: and tray Well Trey started the season, busted his ankle
Speaker 3: against Seattle. Jimmy's whole contract was a whole weird vibe.
Speaker 3: He was working out here, but it was weird. And
Speaker 3: he got back out there and then got hurt against Miami,
Speaker 3: and here comes old brock Purty, mister irrelevant, Miami dialed up.
Speaker 3: I think thirteen zero blitz is out of him in
Speaker 3: the half of football that he played, and he busted
Speaker 3: almost every one of them with the ability to make plays.
Speaker 3: And then he just never looked back and just got
Speaker 3: better and better and better. You guys would love him.
Speaker 3: He's got a tremendous moxy to him. He's an ultimate competitor.
Speaker 3: He's a great person. He's loved in the locker room
Speaker 3: and he and he his rare talent is a he
Speaker 3: moves better than people think. You know, he's short, area
Speaker 3: of quickness, he's got eyes and he's got that knack
Speaker 3: when he knows the guy's about to get there, and
Speaker 3: he can dip out even when it appears that he
Speaker 3: doesn't see him. But his greatest asset and I call
Speaker 3: him the you know, Intel next generation chip. He's he
Speaker 3: he just processes. He can read those coverages and and
Speaker 3: that's the hardest thing I think in football. And you
Speaker 3: guys know, I mean, you love seeing a quarterback get
Speaker 3: off schedule and be able to make huge plays with
Speaker 3: his legs and put a lot of pressure on a defense.
Speaker 4: But I think coaches would prefer.
Speaker 3: Read the coverage, get it out on time, throw it
Speaker 3: to the receiver, let him run after the catch, and
Speaker 3: and Brock has been really, really good at that. Now
Speaker 3: this year has been very strange with the injuries, with
Speaker 3: contract holdouts, and then Ba came back and was just
Speaker 3: you know, because me, you don't I don't care what
Speaker 3: you do if you're not in training camp and you
Speaker 3: don't have Football is like anything else, any sport, anything.
Speaker 3: You got to get in your groove and it takes
Speaker 3: muscle memory, and it takes reps. And he was just
Speaker 3: starting to look like Ba in practice Brandon Ayuk and
Speaker 3: electric routes and separation and and you know, using those
Speaker 3: long arms to capture the football, and then he had
Speaker 3: the catastrophic injury. So it's been it's been hard. It's
Speaker 3: been hard without McCaffrey really from the start. Now he
Speaker 3: is gone again, just when his legs were getting back
Speaker 3: underneath them the other night at Buffalo. So it's been
Speaker 3: a great run. It's not over yet. This team still
Speaker 3: believes they can win despite all the injuries. There's a
Speaker 3: lot of character in this building. But the thing that's
Speaker 3: been the toughest I think to swallow. And you guys know,
Speaker 3: losing sucks. It stinks for everybody. How do you fight
Speaker 3: your way out of it when you got six days
Speaker 3: to get it right again? And everyone wants to knock
Speaker 3: that taste out of their mouth. The human tragedies Jeff,
Speaker 3: that this team has faced this year, it's been overwhelming
Speaker 3: and it transcends football. You go back to Ricky getting
Speaker 3: you know, getting shot in the chest while getting robbed
Speaker 3: over the summer. Then Charvarius Ward unfortunately loses his child.
Speaker 3: Trent Williams just lost his It's it's like, oh my god,
Speaker 3: and and it just it's so much bigger than football.
Speaker 3: So it's you know, it's been, uh, it's been so
Speaker 3: searching season. And Tommy can remember when it was my
Speaker 3: rookie year. We lost Fred Washington in a car accident
Speaker 3: a couple of days defensive lineman out of TCU, and
Speaker 3: those things will affect your will, affect your core and
Speaker 3: your soul. And so it's that's been a challenge. So
Speaker 3: you know, the mindset and the mental toughness, and you
Speaker 3: know the empathy and the sympathy and the support for
Speaker 3: those guys and what they've gone through. This has been
Speaker 3: a this has been a really challenging year.
Speaker 1: Hey, t Rock. So you leave Buffalo the other night
Speaker 1: in the midst of a snowstorm, unbelievable conditions. So if
Speaker 1: you take the San Francisco forty nine ers that leave
Speaker 1: that airport with some question marks behind them, if you
Speaker 1: made this may be a hypothetical. If you take your
Speaker 1: injury report and you put all you make all those
Speaker 1: guys healthy on the active roster, is this a guaranteed
Speaker 1: Super Bowl contender? But because you don't have them on
Speaker 1: the roster, it's kind of some question marks going forward.
Speaker 4: Oh, I don't think there's any question.
Speaker 3: I mean, when you look at this roster, if the
Speaker 3: roster as a whole coming into the season with CMC
Speaker 3: healthy and without that you know that Achilles thing that
Speaker 3: he was dealing with. I you know, I don't think
Speaker 3: there's any question. I think they I think you just
Speaker 3: keep humming. Now again, it's hard as hell to win games.
Speaker 3: But what McCaffrey did for this offense, and yes he
Speaker 3: was the Rushie champion last year, but he was such
Speaker 3: a just a security blanket that wasn't just a dump
Speaker 3: off for brock Purty.
Speaker 4: You knew if they.
Speaker 3: Want to, if they want to play Man, McCaffrey's going
Speaker 3: to be open, period. And that's what a lot of
Speaker 3: teams started doing to the forty nine ers is you know,
Speaker 3: a couple of years ago, I remember that vividly the
Speaker 3: NFC Championship down in Los Angeles when the Rams went
Speaker 3: and won the Super Bowl.
Speaker 4: At the end of the game, we had a lead.
Speaker 3: Kross guitar dropped at interception and then they just started
Speaker 3: hitting us with different stuff. They were able to move
Speaker 3: the ball, but we could not finish because we couldn't.
Speaker 3: Forty nine ers really couldn't beat man coverage. McCaffrey got here.
Speaker 3: He unlocked the passing game click click, passing game unlocked.
Speaker 3: Because now you want to play Man. You know, you
Speaker 3: got to match up. You can go to every time
Speaker 3: if you have to. So not having him certainly was
Speaker 3: hard losing a hard grave. You know, all those guys
Speaker 3: that are those are the guys you count on the studs,
Speaker 3: the stars. And then once BA went down, I mean
Speaker 3: it's been there's no question for every guy. Another question
Speaker 3: mark popped up, and that's that's where they're sitting. That's
Speaker 3: where they're sitting right now. By the way, Buffalo is
Speaker 3: the twilight zone. Man, what the hell's going on there?
Speaker 3: We're up in Buffalo, Tommy, we're ten miles you know
Speaker 3: where the downtown the Orchard Park. I'm watching the weather
Speaker 3: for We're there for a day and a half. I'm going,
Speaker 3: where the hell's the snow. There's not a flake. There's
Speaker 3: not a snowflake in downtown Buffalo. We drive ten miles,
Speaker 3: there's three feet. I'm like, this place is whack.
Speaker 1: We're there earlier this year.
Speaker 2: That's why I liked that. They're you know, no dome
Speaker 2: on the new new facility either. They're gonna take advantage
Speaker 2: to that weather. You know that gives you, that gives
Speaker 2: you competitive advantage.
Speaker 3: Right, Yeah, we'll put some heating coils under the new
Speaker 3: field of its field turf because that thing was that
Speaker 3: thing was like concrete and really and obviously the snow
Speaker 3: was a challenge with the footing and several inches of snow.
Speaker 3: But I think McCaffery heard his knee when he came
Speaker 3: down on that concrete on his right knee on the
Speaker 3: play that he almost busted right up the gut.
Speaker 4: I think that's where the.
Speaker 3: The I think I'm not talk to anybody, but I
Speaker 3: think that's where the injury happened. And he thought he
Speaker 3: could go another play and then and then just went down.
Speaker 3: But definitely is a tough place to play. I remember
Speaker 3: jumping in. The fans will remember this. I jumped off
Speaker 3: sides there in ninety one and Tommy will remember to
Speaker 3: it was Jeff. It was ten ten, and there's a
Speaker 3: minute and this is when Jim Kelly and Buffalo they
Speaker 3: were going right, So it's ten ten, there's like a
Speaker 3: minute to go, maybe a little more before half or both.
Speaker 4: I think both of us run defeated it. Maybe in
Speaker 4: week five.
Speaker 3: I think both these were four to zero, and Kelly
Speaker 3: would call the offense from that little k gun from
Speaker 3: the line of scrimmats, and I'm like, I'm looking for
Speaker 3: every advantage. I'm not the fastest guy out there, right
Speaker 3: so I'm going I got my ear to the to
Speaker 3: the huddle, his little k gun, and I swear to god,
Speaker 3: I heard him say Monday and Monday in my mind
Speaker 3: met on one and so he calls it and I jumped.
Speaker 3: But back in the day, you had time to get back.
Speaker 3: It wasn't just activate right. The offensive line just couldn't
Speaker 3: stand up and stick as they had to actually snap
Speaker 3: the ball. So I pulled back. I think clearly my
Speaker 3: helmet was still in the neutral zone. They snapped the ball,
Speaker 3: Kelly rips it, Mark Carrier picks it, takes it in
Speaker 3: the end zone for a pick six, nullified offsides.
Speaker 4: Tim Ryan, Chicago Bears.
Speaker 3: I'm like, and the it so first down Buffalo, and
Speaker 3: were backed up first down Buffalo. Three plays later, maybe
Speaker 3: Andre Reid deep post touchdown, seventeen to ten and a half.
Speaker 3: We get on the plane to go home thirty five
Speaker 3: to ten route and I got home and made the mistake,
Speaker 3: got my white Bronco and turned on six p't eighty
Speaker 3: and I'm like, everybody wanted me cut Tim Ryan lost
Speaker 3: this game. Get rid of this guy. They said he
Speaker 3: was a young Steve McMichael. He's not even closed.
Speaker 4: It was bad.
Speaker 3: But so yeah, that memory definitely popped out at high
Speaker 3: Mark Stadium the other day.
Speaker 2: Well, it amazes me for both of you guys, because
Speaker 2: I've heard Tommy mentioned it all the time he gave
Speaker 2: up a sack or something. He thought, Oh my god,
Speaker 2: I'm gonna give up seventeen sixteen sacks this season.
Speaker 1: Against Sam Clancy in Cleveland.
Speaker 2: These these moments, they occupy space in your brain and
Speaker 2: you have it's such a vivid failure.
Speaker 1: Right, It lingers for your whole life. Oh my god, you.
Speaker 3: Never stop feeling it, Jeff. It's not just a memory
Speaker 3: in the memory bank. It transcends from toes to your
Speaker 3: top of your head.
Speaker 2: Let me ask you this, and then Tommy, you know,
Speaker 2: time for another one here. By the way, it tastes
Speaker 2: like Miller time celebrate responsibly Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Speaker 2: Ninety six calories and three point two cars per twelve
Speaker 2: ounces the art of finishing, And no matter if you
Speaker 2: have a veteran team a young team, is it something
Speaker 2: you have to relearn every year as a unit as
Speaker 2: a team. Excuse me to finish schemes because obviously that
Speaker 2: is what haunted what that's what's haunted the Bears so
Speaker 2: far here this year and to a certain extent a
Speaker 2: year ago as well.
Speaker 1: What is the what is the key to unlocking that?
Speaker 3: From your opinion, I don't know if there is a
Speaker 3: key to unlocking it. And the key would be you
Speaker 3: got the key in the door, you got to turn
Speaker 3: it and go in and finish, make the play. I mean,
Speaker 3: there's been a lot of opportunities. You guys know, you've
Speaker 3: been doing this for a long time. It's four or
Speaker 3: five plays a game. Either you make them or you don't.
Speaker 3: And you know, most of the time the great teams,
Speaker 3: Pat Mahomes usually going to make the play's he's a star,
Speaker 3: and so again it comes down to the players. So
Speaker 3: the opportunities have been there, you know, for this team,
Speaker 3: it's been it's been strange because special teams had major
Speaker 3: challenges early in the in the year, certainly in the
Speaker 3: three games. I mean there was a point in the
Speaker 3: season you go back to the Super Bowl and the
Speaker 3: special team gaff and the Super Bowl, it was like
Speaker 3: eight of ten games there was a major special team
Speaker 3: gaff in a big moment of the game. For a
Speaker 3: variety of reasons, and to me, special teams a big
Speaker 3: play in special teams is such a momentum getter like it.
Speaker 3: I mean, it's a huge play when it's a big
Speaker 3: play in special teams and it can flip the momentum
Speaker 3: and a heartbeat and momentum is crazy in this league.
Speaker 3: You guys know how important it is. It's hard to
Speaker 3: create it, and then when you lose it, it's hard
Speaker 3: to get it back, and you need a big play
Speaker 3: to kind of swing the momentum. And you know, for
Speaker 3: one reason or the other, the forty nine ers just
Speaker 3: have not played complimentary football when when they have the
Speaker 3: momentum and then when they lose it. And a lot
Speaker 3: of those were special teams early in the year were
Speaker 3: unable to get it back and unable to get the
Speaker 3: go make a play, a big play when you needed to.
Speaker 3: I mean, I think about the Rams game early. It's
Speaker 3: real simple. Brock makes you know. Brock's going everywhere. He
Speaker 3: sees Ronnie Bell getting down the scene. He just rips
Speaker 3: an absolute rope to him, and Ronnie looked like he
Speaker 3: was playing defensive back. He tried to catch it, but
Speaker 3: appeared he just batted it down. He just dropped the ball.
Speaker 3: He didn't he didn't make the play. So I think
Speaker 3: at the end of the day, the more you know
Speaker 3: the the more playmakers you have that make those kind
Speaker 3: of plays and are used to making those kind of
Speaker 3: plays help you finish. And we certainly forty nine ers
Speaker 3: still have a lot of them, but for one reason
Speaker 3: or the other, it's you know, have not have not
Speaker 3: made those plays at key times. And I know your
Speaker 3: guy situation was a little different what happened the other game.
Speaker 3: The other I mean, I'm pulling, like I'm you guys know,
Speaker 3: I pulled for the Bears to win when when they're
Speaker 3: not playing the forty nine ers, and you know, coming
Speaker 3: off that that Green Bay game, and then of course
Speaker 3: I want to see Detroit lose. I'm not a huge
Speaker 3: Lions fan, got a lot of respect for them and
Speaker 3: how they play the game, no question about it. But
Speaker 3: the debacle at the end of that game, I'm like,
Speaker 3: oh my god. I mean I was late going out
Speaker 3: to practice. I just had to sit and watch that.
Speaker 3: I couldn't believe it.
Speaker 1: Is brock Perty still playing for a new contract?
Speaker 3: Well yeah, because he doesn't have one. I don't know
Speaker 3: if you know this, He's got a deal next year.
Speaker 3: They're they're all playing for new contracts. Tommy, I don't
Speaker 3: know what's going to happen contractually with him. It's been
Speaker 3: hard for him with all the moving parts, you know,
Speaker 3: with the with the way the weapons have gone this year,
Speaker 3: with the injuries, and it's been a challenge not having
Speaker 3: McCaffery out there, and he has still played good football.
Speaker 4: It's hard to evaluate off.
Speaker 3: That snow game in Buffalo, I mean in terms of
Speaker 3: throwing throwing the football, and then he missed the week
Speaker 3: before with with the shoulder injury. The question is probably
Speaker 3: at this point, is he, you know, the sixty million
Speaker 3: dollar man, and I don't know how they're gonna how
Speaker 3: they're going to handle that. So, yes, he's playing for
Speaker 3: a contract. Yes, eventually he'll get a contract, but I
Speaker 3: don't think it's certainly not like as if this team
Speaker 3: right now was, you know, sitting at ten and two
Speaker 3: and and things were looking great with with all the
Speaker 3: weapons and the health of the football team, then I
Speaker 3: would say, and Brock was playing with those same players
Speaker 3: the way he's been playing the last season and a half,
Speaker 3: I'd say it's probably a lock. I don't know what
Speaker 3: the situation is now, but I know they love him.
Speaker 3: And I know he loves it here and there's still
Speaker 3: a lot of I think to me, still a lot
Speaker 3: of football to go before before they reached that point
Speaker 3: in their decision.
Speaker 2: Tom, certainly I was going to kick out of talking
Speaker 2: to t Rock. Tim Ryan right to go down memory,
Speaker 2: and he and I outstand much like yourself, football lifers
Speaker 2: who are great analysts. They know the game extremely well,
Speaker 2: well spoken, and always get a charge out of it.
Speaker 2: Listening to him, he gets very fired like you. He
Speaker 2: gets very fired up on his calls.
Speaker 4: You know.
Speaker 1: It's kind of something I was interested to see how
Speaker 1: the love of the team is transferred because Tim is
Speaker 1: a Chicago Bear, drafted Chicago Bear, he came in and
Speaker 1: joined the locker room kind of seamlessly, and then getting
Speaker 1: out of it and going with the San Francisco forty
Speaker 1: nine ers. You know, for me, I've been a Bear
Speaker 1: my whole life. I grew up a Bears fan, and
Speaker 1: I've never been, you know, had the love for another
Speaker 1: team like I do the Bears. And it would just
Speaker 1: be weird when now he's broadcasting a game against the
Speaker 1: Chicago Bears for a team that he didn't play for,
Speaker 1: but a team that he works for. So I find
Speaker 1: that there's really a fine line there. But Tim's a pro,
Speaker 1: He's one of the best of the best, and I'm
Speaker 1: like you, I enjoy talking to him every time.
Speaker 2: And an interesting matchup on Sunday. Because this is a
Speaker 2: forty nine er twon. I just looked at this too,
Speaker 2: the NFC West, Tim does not have one team in
Speaker 2: it that has a five hundred or better record within
Speaker 2: the within the NFC, they are all two games under
Speaker 2: five hundred at least in the NFC, Yet they're all
Speaker 2: battling for that division.
Speaker 3: Now.
Speaker 2: The forty nine ers have really been washed out by
Speaker 2: injuries that the talent is not the same. It's definitely
Speaker 2: not the same. The defense has undergone some changes just
Speaker 2: on free agency alone. Then you add injuries into it,
Speaker 2: and of course the prime positions of Ayuk and McCaffrey,
Speaker 2: two guys at last year, you know, tore it up.
Speaker 2: This year, they'll in their season with ninety combined touches.
Speaker 1: That's it, did you? Yeah, Well, they started the season
Speaker 1: some awkwardness with the contract negotiations they were going through,
Speaker 1: trying to figure out what's going to happen with brock
Speaker 1: Purty in the long run, and then you have Acajeffrey
Speaker 1: injury that he has to go to another contrary to
Speaker 1: go and try to get it all figured out. Some
Speaker 1: of the injuries don't surprise me for that team because
Speaker 1: I've been suspicious to some of their guys like Bosa
Speaker 1: McCaffrey anyway, So I'm not sitting here totally.
Speaker 4: Please.
Speaker 1: It's just unfortunate. And when you look at four and
Speaker 1: eight against five and seven, the teams are really comparable
Speaker 1: in every other way you want to look at this matchup.
Speaker 1: But for the Bears team that is not won on
Speaker 1: the road.
Speaker 2: They did win in a neutral site game in London, obviously,
Speaker 2: but they're owing five the forty nine ers three and
Speaker 2: three at home with a well thought of head coach
Speaker 2: and Kyle Shanahan. One thing you know with him, the
Speaker 2: defense is gonna play tough and hard and take the
Speaker 2: ball away and they're going to run the football somehow,
Speaker 2: some way. So they're not only down McCaffrey, they're down
Speaker 2: Jordan Mason. He goes on IR that came after our
Speaker 2: podcast on Monday. So they're talking about a rookie, Isaac Garronado,
Speaker 2: former Wisconsin, former Louisville running back, big run this season
Speaker 2: for a touchdown super fast, and they're bringing guys up
Speaker 2: off the practice squad. So but Shanahan always gets you
Speaker 2: to run. He runs the football.
Speaker 1: You know, I think the NFL right now, this era
Speaker 1: of team is fortunate to have a practice squad because
Speaker 1: the Bears bring guys up from the practice squad. Every
Speaker 1: team in the NFL brings up guys from the practice squad.
Speaker 1: But they're very fortunate to have guys at position positions
Speaker 1: like that that have been inside the building and they
Speaker 1: know the offense, they know the terminology, they know the play.
Speaker 1: So it's not like it's gonna be a seamless transition
Speaker 1: to a practice squad player from a guy that you
Speaker 1: paid a tremendous amount of money to be one of
Speaker 1: the main stays on this football team. But the guys
Speaker 1: are ready in every one of these practice squad guys
Speaker 1: that get an opportunity to play in the regular season,
Speaker 1: they should be having sleepless nights right now with excitement
Speaker 1: and anticipation. So you're it's kind of interesting because you know,
Speaker 1: we don't know what to expect from the broadcast booth
Speaker 1: and I will see it come Sunday.
Speaker 2: And they just added is he Abanaconda from the New
Speaker 2: York Jets, another guy that had sowed some promise as
Speaker 2: a young player. Uh and uh Patrick Taylor former Green
Speaker 2: Bay Packers. So same same family of offenses coming coming
Speaker 2: to town to take on the Bears on Sunday in
Speaker 2: uh In, Why don't I keep I keep wanting to
Speaker 2: say San Francisco, but Santa Clara.
Speaker 1: Good new Chicago.
Speaker 2: United Airlines is getting brand new planes with all the
Speaker 2: bells and whistles, like Bluetooth connectivity screens at every seat
Speaker 2: and room for everyone's roller bag. United proud to fly
Speaker 2: the Chicago Bears and you too. All right, let's hit
Speaker 2: the podium this week. Thomas Brown with the head coaching
Speaker 2: title right now. A couple of things that he kept
Speaker 2: saying in this news conference, and he said more than once.
Speaker 2: Here is the violent nature by which he wants this
Speaker 2: team to play. And I don't want perfection, I don't
Speaker 2: need perfection, but I need excellence.
Speaker 1: I'm glad you brought that up, because perfection in football
Speaker 1: is in pops. He said, if he wanted a nitpick,
Speaker 1: he could look at every single play and make a correction.
Speaker 1: And that's the same for every single football team. Since
Speaker 1: the beginning of this sport, and I'm glad that Thomas
Speaker 1: Brown didn't stand up there and say a bunch of
Speaker 1: unrealistic things that led to false belief. I enjoy everything
Speaker 1: he said since the first moment I got to hear
Speaker 1: him after the elevation to offensive coordinator, and I enjoyed
Speaker 1: him just as much as a head coach. And I
Speaker 1: think the first time that he stands in front of
Speaker 1: the entire team and delivers that message, I do think
Speaker 1: it'll filter through the minds of the defensive players and
Speaker 1: understand what their obligation and commitment is to this football team.
Speaker 1: And he understands that his obligation and the commitment to
Speaker 1: this football team is to make this offense the best
Speaker 1: possible offense that they can be.
Speaker 2: Interesting enough, though, he's also asked about you know, how
Speaker 2: does this change Caleb's development? And you know, now that
Speaker 2: he's looking over the whole thing, I'm not the sole
Speaker 2: person charge of Caleb's development. There's Caleb, and there's other
Speaker 2: coaches and teammates and growing together. So that's another strong
Speaker 2: statement by Thomas Brown.
Speaker 3: Right.
Speaker 1: You know what I like about Thomas Brown, Jeff, is
Speaker 1: this is not something that he's given the questions beforehand
Speaker 1: to be prepared for, and you can hear the voices
Speaker 1: of the members of the press fighting for that next question.
Speaker 1: And so to me, you know, I may be over
Speaker 1: thinking it, but again, I love his delivery of what
Speaker 1: he says. I like the fact that he weighed in
Speaker 1: at two twenty five and now he's what two o
Speaker 1: eight or two three two o three, and the way
Speaker 1: just kind of slips away. And so he can think
Speaker 1: out of this this box of football exclusive and he
Speaker 1: can he can have the analogies of life along with football,
Speaker 1: and I do think that's an important way to go
Speaker 1: about football business. And I'm glad I had to hear it,
Speaker 1: and I'm super excited for him.
Speaker 2: He made us laugh, but he said he's not an entertainer.
Speaker 2: He's not here to entertain. He's to engage.
Speaker 1: And we talked about that in the podcast Monday.
Speaker 2: And he does a great job of that. All right,
Speaker 2: So now let's flip it over to Caleb Williams, because
Speaker 2: Brown is asked for something that is simple in a statement,
Speaker 2: but not necessarily so simple is and this happened when
Speaker 2: he became offensive coordinator. Blind trust, have blind trust in
Speaker 2: him because they didn't know each other very well, they
Speaker 2: didn't speak to each other very much. Wasn't part of
Speaker 2: the chain of command in that regard even though he
Speaker 2: was passing game coordinator and understanding that, you know, Caleb
Speaker 2: knows other people in the building better, but just have
Speaker 2: that blind trust and I got you. How significant is
Speaker 2: that statement of I got you, because that's what he's saying, Caleb,
Speaker 2: just trust me.
Speaker 4: I got you.
Speaker 1: First of all, if I could go into depth about
Speaker 1: the Caleb presser was I was not excited about it,
Speaker 1: but that one question, specifically, it was one of the
Speaker 1: most honest answers I've ever heard of a subject that
Speaker 1: sensitive because Caleb didn't just come out and say, you know,
Speaker 1: a cliche answer about it. He understood that there's building
Speaker 1: blocks and he had to get through a level of
Speaker 1: this trust that I think at this point in his
Speaker 1: this season, he has all the trusts in the world
Speaker 1: and Thomas Brown. He trusts his coaching, he trusts his suggestions,
Speaker 1: he knows the confidence that he's going onto the field
Speaker 1: with and he has to me. I think he's has
Speaker 1: this development of respect for what Thomas Brown is doing
Speaker 1: for the football player. Caleb Williams as much as he
Speaker 1: is the person what didn't excite you. I didn't like
Speaker 1: all the questions about the soap opera of what's been
Speaker 1: going on the last couple days. That's not Caleb to answer.
Speaker 1: That's answers of either guys that have been through those
Speaker 1: types the experiences before, guys that have been around the
Speaker 1: NFL a little more. And I think it's excuse me.
Speaker 1: I think it's a waste of time for Caleb not
Speaker 1: to be talking about the San Francisco forty nine ers,
Speaker 1: and I think it's unfair to him. So I'm glad
Speaker 1: that that press conference of the week is over with
Speaker 1: because now everything from free practice to first snap of
Speaker 1: the game, it's all about the forty nine ers.
Speaker 2: Here's something I really thought showed the confidence level of
Speaker 2: by which he carries himself in this building. On the
Speaker 2: Daily brought up the fact that they played hard, tough,
Speaker 2: close finishes with the three division opponents. Okay, and the
Speaker 2: quote our record doesn't say how we fight, and that
Speaker 2: is a significant delineation. This is not a team that
Speaker 2: crawled into a hole and didn't play for anybody. They
Speaker 2: played for each other and they continue to do so
Speaker 2: and I expect them to in the final five games,
Speaker 2: no matter who's running the show. And I just think
Speaker 2: that's the type of people that are in that locker room.
Speaker 2: That's just my opinion. But I like that he said
Speaker 2: that the leader and the CEO of the football team
Speaker 2: at that podium right then and there said what he
Speaker 2: needed to say.
Speaker 1: The dude's never disappointed me one sentence that's ever come
Speaker 1: out of his mouth since the beginning of time. And
Speaker 1: I love listening to Caleb. He's authentic, he's real. He
Speaker 1: thinks about his answers. If they ask him a question
Speaker 1: that he needs a little time, he'll repeat the question
Speaker 1: so he has time for that to resonate in his
Speaker 1: mind before he answers. And like I said, he doesn't
Speaker 1: say anything in cliches. He says things in well thought
Speaker 1: out sentences. And so as much as I like Thomas
Speaker 1: Brown from everything that we've heard from him out of
Speaker 1: the podium, I like that as much from Caleb. Since
Speaker 1: he's been at the podium, we have a lot more
Speaker 1: experience with Caleb sitting standing up there. But now Thomas
Speaker 1: Brown is an incredibly meaningful position for the Bears organization.
Speaker 1: What Caleb is as well Bears fan.
Speaker 2: Steinhoffel's a proud partner of the Chicago Bears. This Bear season,
Speaker 2: Steinhoffels partnering with Special Spaces Illinois, creating dream bedrooms for
Speaker 2: children battling cancer. For every false start caused by the
Speaker 2: Bears defense during a home game, Steinoffls donates one thousand
Speaker 2: dollars to Special Spaces Illinois shop in store and online
Speaker 2: at Steinhoffels dot com. All right, let's talk about this
Speaker 2: matchup with the forty nine ers. What are your expectations
Speaker 2: on what we'll see from from San Francisco. With Brock
Speaker 2: Purdy shaking off that shoulder injury, his numbers are down.
Speaker 1: He turns the ball over, they have some problems.
Speaker 2: If he doesn't turn over the ball, they usually are
Speaker 2: pretty successful offensively.
Speaker 1: But you know, having Brock Party in the lineup, I
Speaker 1: still think you're going to see a fast twitch misdirection offense.
Speaker 1: You're going to try to get the Bears defensive players
Speaker 1: a step or two off balance in the wrong position,
Speaker 1: are moving in the wrong direction, and that's when you
Speaker 1: take advantage of it with some of the weapons they have,
Speaker 1: you know, the and the other receivers in the backfield.
Speaker 1: Because we almost have to address the positions by positions
Speaker 1: other than Kittle because we don't know who's going to
Speaker 1: be there. But I don't think the offense maneuverism will
Speaker 1: change at all. So I do think it's about Eric
Speaker 1: Washington and the Bears defense understand what the down and
Speaker 1: distance is, understanding where they are in the field, understanding
Speaker 1: the different formations they're seeing, and then commit to what
Speaker 1: your job has been asked for in the huddle. If
Speaker 1: they don't try to over and outthink themselves, I think
Speaker 1: the Bears defense could play a really good game against
Speaker 1: San Francisco, and I do think that they could get
Speaker 1: into the space of Rock Party and maybe block some
Speaker 1: passes or get a pick or two.
Speaker 2: Juwan Jennings the new top dog in terms of receiving.
Speaker 2: He's got career highs right now, been a big part
Speaker 2: of Rock Party in the passing game. Deebo Samuel also
Speaker 2: not getting the ball as much as a and back
Speaker 2: over the last three weeks. We'll see if that changes
Speaker 2: with their running back issues going on. Defensively, another player
Speaker 2: goes on injury reserve upfront, so that that front very
Speaker 2: different from the team that took the field last year
Speaker 2: in the Super Bowl Tommy, but still the ever present
Speaker 2: danger of a Fred Warner and Leonard Floyd.
Speaker 1: Leonard Like, I'm happy for Leonard Floyd, I really am.
Speaker 2: He's had a heck of a career. He really has.
Speaker 2: He's had a heck of a career. He continues to
Speaker 2: sack the quarterback he has.
Speaker 1: You know, there's about five or six guys in the
Speaker 1: last four or five weeks that we look back and go, Wow,
Speaker 1: these guys have had a career even though they started
Speaker 1: with the Bears. I'm not gonna pull for Leonard Floyd
Speaker 1: come Sunday, right, I'm gonna pull for the offensive tackles
Speaker 1: and the tight ends to block him like they've never
Speaker 1: blocked him before. But I do think that there are
Speaker 1: question marks in the front of the San Francisco defense.
Speaker 1: But I think Fred Warner, as you mentioned, he can
Speaker 1: make up for some of those misalignment making sure everybody
Speaker 1: is the position they're supposed to be before the snap
Speaker 1: of the ball. He's going to be a quick read
Speaker 1: to breaking down what this offense is gonna challenge him with.
Speaker 1: But now it's about the center and the guards and
Speaker 1: the running backs and anybody who has a blocking assignment
Speaker 1: to Fred Warner to make sure you get to him quickly,
Speaker 1: sustain the block, and try to keep him off the
Speaker 1: path of whomever the ball carrier is running back to
Speaker 1: receiver all right.
Speaker 2: Time for our Geico gives you more football stat of
Speaker 2: the day in our podcast number one seventeen. The San
Speaker 2: Francisco forty nine ers six and a half sacks for Floyd.
Speaker 2: I don't know if Nick Bosa is gonna play or not.
Speaker 2: He's got seven sacks and he's the biggest threat, obviously
Speaker 2: third in their all time sack list. I know you
Speaker 2: haven't loved him as a player, or was that Joey
Speaker 2: which one?
Speaker 1: Injury wise? You know Nick Bosa. It's Nick Bosa more
Speaker 1: because I don't want to allow him to do what
Speaker 1: he wants to do, and that's runoff field and rush
Speaker 1: the passer. So what I'm going to do is I'm
Speaker 1: going to run the ball at him as many times
Speaker 1: as I can. Point of attack, you know that play
Speaker 1: that you love, that twenty eight and forty nine crack
Speaker 1: whatever they call it, and come in with suspect yeah,
Speaker 1: the toss crack and have an unsuspected blocker hit him
Speaker 1: from the blind side. So I am never going to
Speaker 1: allow a player that does something great allow him to
Speaker 1: do that to me repeatedly, and whether it's from my
Speaker 1: era at Lawrence Taylor to this era of Nick Bosa,
Speaker 1: I just don't want to give him the freedom to
Speaker 1: rush the passer with the assistance of crowd noise.
Speaker 2: Jeff more in that Geico stat because you've been asking
Speaker 2: for it so much. And I did interview him for
Speaker 2: our TV show, Bear's Game Day Life coming up not
Speaker 2: this week but next week. So Keenan Allen double the
Speaker 2: targets the last three weeks, double the production. And I
Speaker 2: think he's in a really good place. So DJ's in
Speaker 2: a good place. He's getting his targets. Now, he's getting fed.
Speaker 2: Keenan's getting fed, Rama Doonday's getting fed, Cole's getting fed.
Speaker 2: Everybody's getting fed.
Speaker 1: Right, you know, and there too is. Let me tell you,
Speaker 1: there's nothing like an afternoon game on the West Coast
Speaker 1: to make sure that you're awake and ready to roll,
Speaker 1: that the temperatures are really comfortable, it's a natural grass field,
Speaker 1: and there's a lot of elements pointed in your direction
Speaker 1: to make a favorable performance for the Bears. So if
Speaker 1: we can get the Bears defensive line in tune with
Speaker 1: Brock Purty and we can have Caleb Williams. You talked
Speaker 1: about the stats of such an impressive numbers into the
Speaker 1: third and fourth quarter. If this Bears team could start
Speaker 1: a little bit faster in the first and second quarter,
Speaker 1: then it's going to change the way that Eric Washington
Speaker 1: is going to be able to call a more aggressive
Speaker 1: approach from the defense. So there's a lot of things
Speaker 1: that they have, you know, pointed in a positive direction
Speaker 1: for the Bears.
Speaker 2: Have a newer gently used coat land around. We'll head
Speaker 2: to your local jewelasco until February tenth and donate one
Speaker 2: of your newer gently used coach to the thirty sixth
Speaker 2: annual Bears Coach Drive help keep you warm this winter.
Speaker 2: That's going to wrap us up for our podcast special.
Speaker 2: Thanks to our guest t Rock, Tim Ryan, San Francisco,
Speaker 2: forty nine ers analyst and former Chicago Bear defensive tackle,
Speaker 2: and for Tom there, I'm Jeff Jonahyah.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening and please.
Speaker 2: Subscribe now on the Chicago Bear's official app, Apple, Spotify, YouTube,
Speaker 2: or wherever you get your podcast speared down.
Speaker 1: Everybody