Speaker 1: The following is a presentation of the Chicago Bears Network
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Speaker 1: day and now welcome to Bears All Access. You're All
Speaker 1: Access passing to Chicago Bears football. Bears All Access is
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Speaker 1: Miller Life and Hulu. Happy Holidays, wanted all. Hope your
Speaker 1: Christmas was great. It's time to talk Bears with Tom Thayer.
Speaker 1: I'm Jeff jonnyac here on Bears All Access, brought to
Speaker 1: you by IGS Energy, where at PNC Studios at Hatis
Speaker 1: Hogan and you sent for the regular season finale? Tom,
Speaker 1: Can you believe it? It's the regular season finale? At
Speaker 1: one point it felt like it was going in slow motion,
Speaker 1: a little bit of very long training camp, and then
Speaker 1: you whipped through a big chunk of the season of
Speaker 1: the Bears are in first place, and now you're starting
Speaker 1: to think playoffs, at least you and I are. They're not.
Speaker 1: They were told not to. And then they clinched to
Speaker 1: the vision big game against Minnesota week eleven, and here
Speaker 1: we are with the rematch and trying to get a
Speaker 1: number two seat in the NFC and the playoff picture
Speaker 1: open for a forty or upset of the Rams and
Speaker 1: a win by the Bears in Minnesota. How are you
Speaker 1: taking stock at this whole thing that's sad and happy?
Speaker 1: You know, I'm my whole family included, even my mom
Speaker 1: and dad in their eighties, are always so sad when
Speaker 1: football season starts to end, the college season, the high
Speaker 1: school and especially professional football, because it is such a
Speaker 1: reason for all of us to get together. But I'm
Speaker 1: also excited about the Bears of what they're able to
Speaker 1: accomplish since those days in training camp, throughout the regular season,
Speaker 1: throughout training camp, of the regular season, and even training camp,
Speaker 1: we weren't exposed to a lot because the starters really
Speaker 1: didn't play a lot, so we didn't couldn't put expectations
Speaker 1: to the season. The only expectations you have that they
Speaker 1: were going to play Green Bay Week one. And then
Speaker 1: when you look at it, how the continuous development of
Speaker 1: this football team throughout the regular season. That's what kind
Speaker 1: of makes you happy and sad all at the same time.
Speaker 1: You're happy to see the playoffs coming on. The Bears
Speaker 1: are a part of it, but you're sad when you
Speaker 1: see the conclusion. You can see the light at the
Speaker 1: end of the tunnel because as people who love football,
Speaker 1: that's not what we want to see. And we're certainly
Speaker 1: excited about the approach Mattneggie's taking about this game going
Speaker 1: there to win, no matter what, whoever plays, how long,
Speaker 1: how it's all going to work out. With the Rams
Speaker 1: game going on at the same time, there'll be a
Speaker 1: little bit scoreboard of watching and whatnot. They have a plan,
Speaker 1: they have a process, he says, But I think it's
Speaker 1: vitally important to have these guys understand it will be
Speaker 1: a playoff atmosphere. Minnesota has to win to go to
Speaker 1: the playoffs. They are going to be rebbed up. And
Speaker 1: the worst thing you can do as a player, i'd imagine,
Speaker 1: since you played a night isn't is that you go
Speaker 1: in there thinking, yeah, we're gonna take it a little easy.
Speaker 1: Maybe now, don't have that playoff edge. You'll get hitting
Speaker 1: the moth and get hurt number one, right, Listen, I
Speaker 1: don't want anybody raising their hand looking to get out
Speaker 1: of the game. If you're gonna sign up for the
Speaker 1: game and you're gonna take your equipment to Minnesota then
Speaker 1: be ready to play the whole game. This will be
Speaker 1: by far, by far, the most hostile environment they play
Speaker 1: in this season. Yeah, it's gonna come in the last
Speaker 1: regular season game. I think the Bears have been in
Speaker 1: some environments that have been able to work on their
Speaker 1: communication ability and the loudest of environments. But the vengefulness
Speaker 1: that Minnesota fan base is going to feel during the
Speaker 1: course of this game, not only to get themselves in
Speaker 1: the playoffs, beat the Bears for what they did do
Speaker 1: them on Sunday Night a couple of weeks ago, show
Speaker 1: them that the way they were respected before the start
Speaker 1: of the season, thinking Minnesota could be the best team
Speaker 1: in the division. They want to reclaim all that. But
Speaker 1: there's no better atmosphere for the Bears to go in,
Speaker 1: win this football game, get a bye week, and try
Speaker 1: to get an upgrade in their division seating tough team,
Speaker 1: tough scenario, tough stadium. Indeed, at that Viking defense every
Speaker 1: bit as good as any defense in the league right now.
Speaker 1: Brian Witchman, the Bears starting right guard, will join us
Speaker 1: in the program here tonight, joining us as well as
Speaker 1: Paul's Wriguler engineer in Jordan tredup is our what does
Speaker 1: he set up? Set up man? Our producer, yes, our director,
Speaker 1: our boss today. Anyway, this Viking team, how different is it?
Speaker 1: In your opinion? After watching tape from the team that
Speaker 1: the Bears beat in Soldier Field twenty five twenty overcoming
Speaker 1: three turnovers in that game, Vikings also committed three turnovers
Speaker 1: and what they are now with a new play caller
Speaker 1: and a new or maybe I should say what Mike
Speaker 1: Zimmer wanted as the mindset. He we don't want that
Speaker 1: team running fourteen times like they did against the Bears
Speaker 1: in the week eleven games to run out alun More,
Speaker 1: the anticipation of what the coach is going to say
Speaker 1: to a team every Monday morning after they play Sunday evaluates,
Speaker 1: the team evaluates. The film is always a little scary.
Speaker 1: But there's nothing like when they fire a coach in
Speaker 1: mid stride during the football season. They've already lost the
Speaker 1: offensive line coach before the season started. But then when
Speaker 1: you fire a coach midseason, that makes you sit up
Speaker 1: in your chair, that makes you take kind of recount
Speaker 1: for what you have been doing as a player, what
Speaker 1: your requirements are, Are they good enough? And then you
Speaker 1: have the change in philosophy, and it's a philosophy that
Speaker 1: has to be in grain in an offense's head when
Speaker 1: you're going, Okay, we're gonna start running the ball. It's
Speaker 1: not going to be a pass blocking offensive lineman. First,
Speaker 1: we are going to stay in our stance. We are
Speaker 1: going to be in our stance. We're gonna give you
Speaker 1: the snap count, and we are going to run the
Speaker 1: ball behind you. I think forty times the first time,
Speaker 1: twenty eight runs, last eight for three, twenty something like that.
Speaker 1: But from watching it, what's Kevin Stefanski, who's the offensive coordinator,
Speaker 1: has been there since so six and a highly respected
Speaker 1: coach in this league. Somebody's even penciled him in even
Speaker 1: before this promotion as a potential head coaching candidate down
Speaker 1: the road. He's one of these young guns, thirty seven
Speaker 1: years of age, Philadelphia born and raised, tough guy and
Speaker 1: has been around again that Vikings organization a long time,
Speaker 1: starting with the Eagles and brand Children's. What do you
Speaker 1: see on tape that looks different than Week eleven anything?
Speaker 1: You know, Dalvin Cook is a little bit more assured
Speaker 1: of himself. You know, when you come back and you're
Speaker 1: a young football player in the NFL, you're recovering from
Speaker 1: an injury, you always got to kind of work yourself
Speaker 1: through and make sure everything lines up perfectly. And I
Speaker 1: think when you do make the commitment to the run,
Speaker 1: your formations are different. The use of big bodies near
Speaker 1: the football, the way your quarterback what he has to
Speaker 1: do in order for the team to succeed. Now it's
Speaker 1: not on his back, it's on the shoulders of five
Speaker 1: offensive lineman plus a couple tight ends and anybody who
Speaker 1: blocks for the running back. And sometimes that's relief for
Speaker 1: a quarterback. Because as much as you want to talk
Speaker 1: about Kirk Cousins and financially the daily God, he's still
Speaker 1: in the same position as Mitchell Trubisky. He's learning a
Speaker 1: new system, he's learning new terminology, he's learning new teammates,
Speaker 1: and he's been doing a great job of developing their
Speaker 1: receivers and such. But like I said, when you change
Speaker 1: the philosophy of your football team mid stride and you say,
Speaker 1: look where this is no longer thirty five to forty
Speaker 1: passes a game, I'm looking to come in here with
Speaker 1: thirty runs a game. But if the Bears jump start
Speaker 1: quickly go up two scores against the number two rushing
Speaker 1: defense in the NFL, which the Bears are not even
Speaker 1: allowing eighty three yards a game eighty one one. I mean,
Speaker 1: you know a little bit of that is banging your
Speaker 1: head against the wall. I don't stop the run. Dalvin Cook,
Speaker 1: Jeff has got big play capabilities. This is not this
Speaker 1: is not a running back that is gonna get you
Speaker 1: three point four yards a cliff for forty carries. I
Speaker 1: mean he could bang off a seventy five yard or
Speaker 1: at the drop of a hat. So when you have
Speaker 1: those capabilities, I don't think even though if you got
Speaker 1: a fourteen point lead against the Bears, I don't think
Speaker 1: you would ignore it. All right, Well, we're gonna talk
Speaker 1: a lot about this and about the Bears defense in
Speaker 1: general and the ability to jump on teams and the
Speaker 1: offense setting the stage with some leads. Bears are the
Speaker 1: only team in the league that has led in every
Speaker 1: single second half game. They have some insane numbers when
Speaker 1: you talk about limiting teams to touchdowns and just shutting
Speaker 1: out teams period, an amazing number forty three quarters this
Speaker 1: season without allowing a touchdown this season? Are you kidding me? Well,
Speaker 1: you know if you're successful on first down and then
Speaker 1: you open up the opportunity to rush the passer, and
Speaker 1: what you do well and what you maybe you have
Speaker 1: a perceived vulnerability of your opponent in those situations, those
Speaker 1: down and distances. It gives a chance the Bears that
Speaker 1: are very versatile up front, they can put their pass
Speaker 1: rushers against anybody out there, and I think that makes
Speaker 1: it difficult for an offensive coordinator devise a perfect game
Speaker 1: plan and pass blocking for the Bears. All right, we're
Speaker 1: gonna take our first break here on Bears All Access.
Speaker 1: When we come back, we'll be joined by offensive lineman
Speaker 1: Brian Whitsman. Tent there, Jeff Joniac here on Chicago Sports
Speaker 1: Radio six seventy the Score. Welcome back to Bears All Access,
Speaker 1: brought to you by IGS Energy, a proud partner of
Speaker 1: the Chicago Bears, providing electricity, natural gas, and home warranty
Speaker 1: products to over one million customers across the country. Learn
Speaker 1: more about IGS Energy at igs dot com, Where at
Speaker 1: ha asall at PNC Studios. Jeff Joniac and top, They're
Speaker 1: good to have you with us, and good to be
Speaker 1: joined by Brian Whitzman, the big rank guard for the
Speaker 1: Chicago Bears. How you doing, My friend doing great? Making
Speaker 1: your radio debut. Listen to the pipe. I know it's
Speaker 1: like God talking right here. You know, it's funny, you know,
Speaker 1: right myself a right guard. And then I look at
Speaker 1: I look at Brian walk in the room, and you say,
Speaker 1: what's what's changed about the game? And when I look
Speaker 1: at Brian, I look at his length and I look
Speaker 1: at the way he uses all of his assets. There's
Speaker 1: so much difference between your plan. What were your vitals? Well,
Speaker 1: if you gotta give me your vitals, well, all right,
Speaker 1: so I went to the combine. I'm I measured at
Speaker 1: six three and three quarters? How much um? You know
Speaker 1: I played as much as two ninety You know, do
Speaker 1: you remember your arm length? Because he always aggravates him.
Speaker 1: He doesn't like when I always bring up an offensive.
Speaker 1: I means drinking. That doesn't matter, but you know Scott's
Speaker 1: hammer that Now, Now, what are your vitals? UM? Sixty
Speaker 1: seven and three eighth and uh through fifteen? I don't
Speaker 1: remember the arm length. Yeah, but so this is this
Speaker 1: is what confuses me about Oh say, so I feel
Speaker 1: if I was six to five I would have been drafted.
Speaker 1: I was a fourth round draft choice. I thought I'm
Speaker 1: gonna be higher draft choice. But then you're six to seven,
Speaker 1: you start forty nine games, every one of your games
Speaker 1: in college? What the heck happened? You're an undrafted free agent,
Speaker 1: which I admire even more because of what you've been
Speaker 1: able to accomplish. But what the hell are they evaluating?
Speaker 1: I mean, uh, your small school guy. They look at
Speaker 1: the competition. You didn't you didn't play the big level
Speaker 1: guys and in that high division one. Um. But yeah,
Speaker 1: I didn't uh care what they thought. I just knew
Speaker 1: I'd did an opportunity in training camp and go from there.
Speaker 1: By the way I just left. You know what, I
Speaker 1: hate that. I hate that measurement. So you spent a
Speaker 1: lot of time in college at offensive tackle, right, yes,
Speaker 1: So when you were making the transition inside, was it
Speaker 1: because of a need of the team that you were
Speaker 1: trying out for or did they feel that your skills
Speaker 1: fed fit better inside? Yeah? So the first two years
Speaker 1: I was strictly tackle, uh with my first three teams,
Speaker 1: and then um, finally when Kansas City signed me, Uh,
Speaker 1: they they tried me out a little bit at guard,
Speaker 1: and then that second year training or in off season
Speaker 1: they hopped me in at guard, and yeah, I mean
Speaker 1: it's definitely a transition, a lot more uh uh isolated,
Speaker 1: smaller movements, but uh, you feel more secure because you
Speaker 1: got guys you're right and you're left to you know,
Speaker 1: I like it, and I like it, and obviously I've
Speaker 1: been able to start some games there, so um, yeah, no,
Speaker 1: I enjoy guard and I mean I like tackle, but
Speaker 1: I enjoy them both. And my junior year in college
Speaker 1: I played a whole season at left tackle. So you
Speaker 1: kind of get that lonely feeling out there when you
Speaker 1: got knowing that you can touch you the left of you.
Speaker 1: But now you're the guy you come here within a
Speaker 1: week later your start and you go to the line
Speaker 1: of scrimmage and you're also the ignititer for the center
Speaker 1: to know that the quarterbacks are ready. Man, that's a
Speaker 1: lot of information filtering through your head in a forty
Speaker 1: second span and still know the snap count and understand
Speaker 1: the timing of what is that being asked to you?
Speaker 1: How difficult is that? I mean, I guess it was
Speaker 1: a somewhat easier transition with Naggie a lot of familiarity,
Speaker 1: but yeah, I mean, you get here and you gotta
Speaker 1: know the stuff right away, and you just dive into
Speaker 1: stuff and dive into your playbook and and uh, I
Speaker 1: don't have much time for any now. And by the way,
Speaker 1: when when timers first to the igniter, when you see
Speaker 1: the right guard hitting the the left hip or the
Speaker 1: rear end of the center, it's time to go. It's
Speaker 1: time trying to get that snap going. Did you guys
Speaker 1: do any of that stuff? And when did that start?
Speaker 1: And why does that happen? It probably started since you've
Speaker 1: been in the NFL. Yeah, I would think because they
Speaker 1: had a lot of different things they tried. But then
Speaker 1: now the fact that they have a First of all,
Speaker 1: they have to have an offensive lineman that has an
Speaker 1: experience that can maintain everything that's required of him before
Speaker 1: and still get a tempo that the defense can't, like,
Speaker 1: you know, completely count on every play. Yeah. Um, in
Speaker 1: Kansas City, we just did the center. But I think
Speaker 1: with the center being kind of the quarterback of the
Speaker 1: offensive line, he has to see everything, so it's it's
Speaker 1: important that he's up and looking around. So uh here
Speaker 1: it's it's good with the guard. Um, yeah, igniting the
Speaker 1: quarterback right. Brian Whitchman, our guest, here on Bears All
Speaker 1: Access on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The score. Why
Speaker 1: saw at the quota UM a mix of academics and athletics. Uh,
Speaker 1: I was looking for a civil engineering college and uh
Speaker 1: they happened out for me a scholarship. So it was
Speaker 1: best of both worlds. Now you went the easy route,
Speaker 1: just civil engineering, right, Well, how about that engineering students?
Speaker 1: I got a ton of respect for a ton of respect.
Speaker 1: Difficult any one of your like a conference award, an
Speaker 1: academic award, didn't you. I was reading up about it,
Speaker 1: and you, oh yeah, I was. I was an academic
Speaker 1: All Conference or whatever that that list is. But uh yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean engineers definitely a challenging uh regiment or in
Speaker 1: college and you really had to balance things and uh
Speaker 1: time manage and it really uh yeah. So post career
Speaker 1: interest in that, oh yeah, post career interest in that
Speaker 1: and a few other things. Um, I did a externship
Speaker 1: at Capitol Hill this offseason. This past offseason, I brought that.
Speaker 1: I saw that It kind of slipped under the radar,
Speaker 1: but I found out about it. I brought it up
Speaker 1: to you in the back room a couple of weeks ago.
Speaker 1: Explain to everybody what that was like and where does
Speaker 1: your political interests drive you to do something like that?
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, I just always kind of been interested in
Speaker 1: politics and policy and everything and saw that there was
Speaker 1: an opportunity through the NFL Players Association to do that,
Speaker 1: and uh I just leapt at it. I was able
Speaker 1: to kind of intern with Robin Kelly out of Illinois
Speaker 1: Representative and uh yeah, just day to day stuff. Got
Speaker 1: to see what a life in DC is about and
Speaker 1: how how our federal government really runs. Uh, just very interesting.
Speaker 1: Is there any similarities in your college education to that
Speaker 1: or is there anything that you know your education can
Speaker 1: help you to gain more interest in a political opportunity
Speaker 1: or not an opportunity, just whatever you're searching for. I mean,
Speaker 1: i'd say college wise, with civil engineering, I mean that
Speaker 1: that really just the stress and the rigor of that
Speaker 1: kind of puts you uh forward in any uh if
Speaker 1: you go in something else too. But uh, politics wise, yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean I could see myself possibly uh being a
Speaker 1: staffer in DC and then possibly going from there. So
Speaker 1: I bet you'll learned a lot that you can't share.
Speaker 1: But it is a crazy places in that. Yeah, Actually
Speaker 1: a quick crazy story, uh, there's a former Redskins old
Speaker 1: lineman uh Is in Paul Ryan's office, and he was
Speaker 1: able to get us into the White House. And while
Speaker 1: we were doing a private tour of the White House,
Speaker 1: there was a lady ran a car into the barrier
Speaker 1: outside the White House. So the White House went on
Speaker 1: lockdown when we were in there, and we're like as
Speaker 1: a sapping before and they're like, no, this has not
Speaker 1: happened before, like in their time, and so we all
Speaker 1: ran like we all rushed outside of the Situation room,
Speaker 1: and it was it was pretty intense. Really. Yeah. Well,
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, we had an opportunity to go
Speaker 1: there a lot of many years after we won the
Speaker 1: Super Bowl UMU, and that was our opportunity to go
Speaker 1: in there and look at the White House and just
Speaker 1: an amazing place. And you know, having an opportunity to
Speaker 1: walk through there just because we want a Super Bowl championship.
Speaker 1: It was pretty amazing going through the grounds and inside
Speaker 1: the facility and what it means to the to us,
Speaker 1: right and just looking at a painting from there, just
Speaker 1: the history behind it, and I mean everything in there
Speaker 1: is just a very historic and just part of our
Speaker 1: country's heritage. So and Bryan Wisman, our guest here on
Speaker 1: Bears All Access from Chicago Sports Radio six seventy of
Speaker 1: the score, lots to break down as the Bears get
Speaker 1: up for the playoff before we had to a break
Speaker 1: here and just the idea of being a six seven
Speaker 1: guy playing card. What are the inherent difficulties of being
Speaker 1: that tall? Yeah, inside, it's all about leverage. So there's
Speaker 1: deffinitely difficulties going against those those bigger, kind of more
Speaker 1: compact guys that are shorter and stubbier, I mean, because
Speaker 1: you got to get leverage below them, and leverage always
Speaker 1: wins down there. So there's definitely challenges. But uh, I
Speaker 1: guess my length can definitely make up for that some
Speaker 1: of that stuff, and you just really got to concentrate
Speaker 1: on lowering your pads and getting down there. Because definitely
Speaker 1: different than a than a six three guard possibly well yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean, well playing against you know, a couple of
Speaker 1: years ago, I mean a couple of weeks ago, against
Speaker 1: Aaron Donald and the speed that he has and his
Speaker 1: small frame. But you know what, you guys, you and Cody,
Speaker 1: you and Bobby, you guys work really well together. And
Speaker 1: it seems like when you talk about fits on defenses,
Speaker 1: fits for offensive line play as equally as important. So
Speaker 1: kind of helps you get a chance to get you know,
Speaker 1: get your usable leverage and your usable strength. But you're
Speaker 1: also quick enough to get your hands on the defender
Speaker 1: before they can ever touch you, which is so defeating,
Speaker 1: deflating to a defensive lineman. And did you play defensive
Speaker 1: lineman in high school? Little? Um? I did? I was?
Speaker 1: I was a All state armable mentioned d n nice
Speaker 1: any mental recall about when you are fate, like what
Speaker 1: you would be thinking in an instant? I mean I
Speaker 1: was just going against better to little guys in a
Speaker 1: small town that wasn't even sat look at the grin.
Speaker 1: I know. Well, I mean you buried people, didn't you.
Speaker 1: It's a good thing. You're a nice guy, but you
Speaker 1: have a little nasty to you too. Yeah, finish your finishers,
Speaker 1: they like to say, definitely, Yeah, Yeah. I mean there's
Speaker 1: there's a side of me I feel anything, the side
Speaker 1: of me on the field, and they're completely different. Yeah.
Speaker 1: We'll talk more about that when we come back here
Speaker 1: on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to score, escape the
Speaker 1: cold and head to the Riu Palace, Costa mujeris in
Speaker 1: Cancoon with your favorite Bears players, including Prince Amukamara, Roquan Smith,
Speaker 1: and Cody Wyhair. Plus Inside the Bears hosts Lauren Screeten
Speaker 1: and Anthony Adams. Visit Apple Vacations dot com slash Bears
Speaker 1: to book Today. Bears meet the Vikings in Minnesota coming
Speaker 1: up on Sunday. You can hear the game on Chicago's
Speaker 1: Home of the Bears. It is News Radio seven eighty
Speaker 1: and one oh five point nine FM. WBM will start
Speaker 1: our pregame at noon, kickoff at three twenty five. And
Speaker 1: having as many guys would playoff experience like you had
Speaker 1: last year in Kansas City. Brian Witzman our guest here
Speaker 1: on Bears All Access with Tom There. I'm Jeff Joniak
Speaker 1: is so valuable because Tom and I, you know, obviously
Speaker 1: been doing this a long time, and we talked to
Speaker 1: these guys and they really are sometimes stunned at what
Speaker 1: the playoff intensity is like. And there will be a
Speaker 1: playoff atmosphere in Minnesota on Sunday, there is no doubt
Speaker 1: about it. So if you haven't experienced playoff football like
Speaker 1: you have, you do realize that it does ratchet up
Speaker 1: to a whole different level. Can you be one of
Speaker 1: those guys that explain to players, Hey, listen, you may
Speaker 1: have heard about this. It may sound like a cliche,
Speaker 1: but it is reality. Yeah, I mean it's it's definitely
Speaker 1: an increased intensity, but at the same time, you can't
Speaker 1: let that get into your head and distract you from
Speaker 1: the task at hand. Obviously it's it's one and done
Speaker 1: for every game in the playoffs, but no, I think
Speaker 1: you just gotta obviously up your intensity and try to
Speaker 1: do that more and more. But as the week goes on,
Speaker 1: you do your same routine for the most part. Well,
Speaker 1: so have you been on both sidelines here as a
Speaker 1: member of the Minnesota and a member of another team
Speaker 1: here in the new stadium? Uh? Yeah, I was obviously
Speaker 1: with Minnesota earlier the season, so I mean I had
Speaker 1: a home game there, And that's kind of my leading
Speaker 1: up to my questions, because you've had an experience of
Speaker 1: practice against those guys. Plus you've been on the offensive
Speaker 1: side of it when it's nice and quiet in there,
Speaker 1: but now you're going to the extreme other side of
Speaker 1: it because it's as loud as you can possibly get.
Speaker 1: Did you ever sit there when your defense was on
Speaker 1: the field thinking, oh my god, how can an offense
Speaker 1: of an opponent even communicating this? Or have you had
Speaker 1: enough experience communicating with crowd noise at practice and at
Speaker 1: games and stuff that it's just kind of another thing
Speaker 1: that you deal with. I mean, actually, the one home
Speaker 1: game I had there was the Bills when they played them,
Speaker 1: and they the Bills got off to an early, pretty
Speaker 1: big lead, so I didn't really experience that full I
Speaker 1: guess the noise factor there, but I mean even going
Speaker 1: back to college, we played at North Dakota State in
Speaker 1: the Fargo Dome, and that that that place is filled
Speaker 1: with with noise in an environment, and I mean, yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean there there's uh obviously in Kansas City it
Speaker 1: was loud. That ground shook there, it didn't it. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean it's it's loud, but uh yeah, I mean
Speaker 1: when it when it's loud, you just uh kind of
Speaker 1: focus on your man ahead of you, and I mean
Speaker 1: everything else kind of just filters out. You know, with
Speaker 1: Matt's offense, are you you're rarely blocking the man ahead
Speaker 1: of you. I've never seen more assignment changes amongst a
Speaker 1: group of all the blockers, including Michael Burton and Trey
Speaker 1: Burton and Adam Sheheen and the tight ends and everything.
Speaker 1: You know, you there, there's a good chance that you'll
Speaker 1: you'll block you know, eight of the eleven guys on
Speaker 1: on their defense at some time, whether you're pulling on
Speaker 1: a screen or trapping or whatever you gotta do. Yeah, Um,
Speaker 1: I mean Naggi is Uh, I don't know how his
Speaker 1: mind works. I'll never be a I don't think I'll
Speaker 1: ever get to that where I'm a coach like that.
Speaker 1: But I mean, it's it's crazy how he uh, how
Speaker 1: he works and how he uh goes goes through the
Speaker 1: offense and uh and just puts us in a great
Speaker 1: situation to win every week. Did he carry himself the
Speaker 1: same way as OC and offensive system in casey as
Speaker 1: he does as the head coach? I mean, I mean
Speaker 1: it's it's uh, it's it's so similar. It's it's uh,
Speaker 1: when I got here, it was just such familiarity. Um
Speaker 1: and and it's it's great to see guys like that
Speaker 1: don't change and and say the same person they are
Speaker 1: when when they get elevated that head coach, he just
Speaker 1: simply inspires belief, doesn't he as a coach to players? Um, yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean, I mean, I don't think I've had a
Speaker 1: head coach that I really wanted to to just do
Speaker 1: right for as much as him. So right, you know what,
Speaker 1: I was talking to Jordan before I talked for different
Speaker 1: people today. Then they all wanted me to ask Brian
Speaker 1: that same question about the Matt Maggie because you know,
Speaker 1: those of us that never never knew him, never knew um,
Speaker 1: you know, to listen to him one week for the
Speaker 1: podium and how it came true one week and just
Speaker 1: everything that we've learned. You know, it's been a great
Speaker 1: experience for us to be able to learn about him. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I'll say this, when I when I was in Kansas
Speaker 1: City and he headed to Chicago, I mean that was
Speaker 1: that was definitely like a disappointment that we weren't going
Speaker 1: to have him anymore. So, I mean, to be reunited
Speaker 1: was great. Big smile on the face of Brian Whitzman
Speaker 1: is his Bears get ready to meet the Vikings and
Speaker 1: head to the playoffs and short order here as we
Speaker 1: take a break here on Bears All Access on Chicago
Speaker 1: Sports Radio six seventy The Score. You can help deserving
Speaker 1: families by donating a winner coat for the Chicago Bears
Speaker 1: jewel Osco Coat Drive at participating jewel Osco locations now
Speaker 1: through February First. Donations benefit the Salvation rp Here. On
Speaker 1: Bears All Access brought to you by IGS Energy at
Speaker 1: Chicago's Sports Radio six seventy to score, bringing you this
Speaker 1: from P and Z Studios at how I saw you
Speaker 1: run into fair down in the city at all? You know,
Speaker 1: because he does live in the Yeah, well we just
Speaker 1: we just talked. Get him on the lake, do some
Speaker 1: paddle board. We will during the off season, you know.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's a great community. That's why so many
Speaker 1: players stay in the Chicago Land area because there they
Speaker 1: love their communities they play in, they grow up in,
Speaker 1: essentially when they get a chance to stay here, and
Speaker 1: it's a great supporting community to you know, you're not
Speaker 1: far from Wisconsin, so you go get your outdoor stuff
Speaker 1: in right, Right, you're an outdoorsman, right, A little bit,
Speaker 1: A little bit, a little bit. Yeah, I wasn't like
Speaker 1: a big hunter growing up, but I definitely fish quite
Speaker 1: a bit. Uh. Northern Minnesota. There's an area called of
Speaker 1: Boundary water is that I went up there probably five
Speaker 1: times growing up. The best thing you ever cut um
Speaker 1: most proud of Sure, you know one that's gonna it's
Speaker 1: gonna be a tail. It'll grow, you know, I mean,
Speaker 1: I mean, you can never go wrong when you caught
Speaker 1: a walleye up there just and and everything tastes better
Speaker 1: because you're literally out out in the middle of nowhere,
Speaker 1: no self interception. You uh, we shipping steaks the first night,
Speaker 1: so you're just in the woods, just grilling the steak up.
Speaker 1: And I mean it might be the worst steak at
Speaker 1: the grocery store, and it tastes like a taste like way.
Speaker 1: So can you ever do something like that? I belink
Speaker 1: you'd have the patience, you know when when we are
Speaker 1: little kids, my dad and my dad and myself and
Speaker 1: my brother and another guy he worked with in his
Speaker 1: two sons. We went up to Canada, hitched up two
Speaker 1: canoes and then paddled back into the boundary waters and
Speaker 1: camped out for a couple of weeks. It was awesome.
Speaker 1: It was one of the greatest experiences. And you know,
Speaker 1: it's different, you know, I I would like to do that,
Speaker 1: but I like saltwater experiences. Yes, he does surf, the
Speaker 1: surfer that he is, uh with that you know that's
Speaker 1: that's your downtime and trying to get yourself right mentally.
Speaker 1: What do you do during the season to get yourself
Speaker 1: felt right mentally? Um? Anything I mean mentally Uh A
Speaker 1: lot a lot of chill music, I guess, uh my
Speaker 1: meditator a little bit um you and Lennol Yeah yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean anything that can get you uh more relaxed,
Speaker 1: more focused is something I want to do. So when
Speaker 1: do you do the meditation and what does that entail?
Speaker 1: I certainly I've never done that. I probably could use it.
Speaker 1: If you couldn't do it, I couldn't do it right.
Speaker 1: Jordan trynip shaking his head. Paul's rank. I'm a type am,
Speaker 1: I'm high intensity. But what does it do for you?
Speaker 1: How do you go about to do it? When do
Speaker 1: you do it? Um? I do it before I go
Speaker 1: to bed, and just I mean it helps sleep better.
Speaker 1: Uh just kind of decompressed from from the day of
Speaker 1: football and everything. Um, I mean you just put on
Speaker 1: some very relaxing music and just kind of get in
Speaker 1: your head and just uh just let let things clear.
Speaker 1: So you know, like you and the last year of
Speaker 1: my career, midway point, I went from the Bears to
Speaker 1: the Miami Dolphins and then your require man, you gotta study,
Speaker 1: you gotta learn, you gotta know the you cannot have
Speaker 1: mental airs and all that stuff said. You came here,
Speaker 1: you started playing immediately. Was it because of your association
Speaker 1: a Matt Maggie's system or because of the technology they
Speaker 1: have today with the tablet and you can have that
Speaker 1: stuff in front of your face twenty four hours a day.
Speaker 1: What was your biggest route to playing quick the quickest? Um,
Speaker 1: I mean, uh, a lot of Obviously Naggi took his
Speaker 1: system and uh I'd been a part of that, so
Speaker 1: I I knew some things. But uh yeah, I mean
Speaker 1: you you just gotta put your head in there. I
Speaker 1: mean a lot of it is technique wise. Coaching staff
Speaker 1: are there's an old lineman, your your on line coach. Uh,
Speaker 1: they're all going to differ a little bit and technique
Speaker 1: and really just had to hone in on that. But
Speaker 1: uh yeah, in general, Uh, we have our iPad, we
Speaker 1: have everything, so we have it, have it all in
Speaker 1: front of us. So when we're home, I mean, you
Speaker 1: just gotta bury your head and it so when I
Speaker 1: during my career, when I we go from one team
Speaker 1: to the next, we have a paper playbook and we
Speaker 1: sit there and then look at pictures and diagrams and
Speaker 1: explain what your assignment is according to the stick figure
Speaker 1: that's tron. Now you have the access to the actual
Speaker 1: movement of the play while you're learning it. Does that
Speaker 1: help you learn it quicker at with this technology something
Speaker 1: that we weren't exposed during our day with the technology? Um,
Speaker 1: I mean, I think technology can help, but I mean
Speaker 1: at the end of the day, you're gonna just gonna
Speaker 1: be bearing your head and learning the concepts and everything.
Speaker 1: And I think the those paper sheets that show you
Speaker 1: the assignment and everything are never gonna grow older anything. Uh,
Speaker 1: that's always going to be part of football. Plus, everybody
Speaker 1: does learn differently, right, some people can't take it from
Speaker 1: the classroom to the playing field, but they could ace
Speaker 1: that test in the classroom, much like any any walk
Speaker 1: of life or that you guys, you know, I mean,
Speaker 1: I love that classroom where they just they're they're just
Speaker 1: not dialing in and they have to actually physically run
Speaker 1: through the place. So that being said, when you played,
Speaker 1: you played at a very high level, clearly with a
Speaker 1: great offensive line. How much better would you guys have
Speaker 1: been with the iPad. I think I think the instantaneous
Speaker 1: viewing of it on the sideline, either still shots or
Speaker 1: because you gotta remember, when we were there, they would
Speaker 1: take picture polaroids from up in the press box, stick
Speaker 1: them to a sheet of paper, run them down to
Speaker 1: the sideline on a fishing wire, and then that's how
Speaker 1: you would look at it. And now you'd hope that
Speaker 1: they would take him within succession so you could see, Okay,
Speaker 1: did I miss with my hands? Did I take a
Speaker 1: bad step here? Did I get my head down? Nowadays,
Speaker 1: the instantaneous, perfect look at what you just did can
Speaker 1: be so helpful. So do you answer the question you
Speaker 1: would have been a better player, We would have been
Speaker 1: a better offensive line, because the offensive line is not
Speaker 1: about being a player. An offensive line is about being
Speaker 1: players together. And I don't think a still shot is
Speaker 1: going to make me play better, but a still shot
Speaker 1: or a moving shot, okay, me and Brian, Hey, Brian,
Speaker 1: I got to come to you a little bit more.
Speaker 1: Just hang with me, because this linebacker is not flowing
Speaker 1: so quick. So there's elements about the game that you
Speaker 1: could talk about that could help you improve from. If
Speaker 1: you run this play in the first series and you
Speaker 1: want to run get in the third series. You can
Speaker 1: be better by that third series, right, And I think
Speaker 1: it goes back to if let's say the left side
Speaker 1: gets a look that we haven't gotten yet. And I
Speaker 1: mean you look at the you look at the iPad
Speaker 1: and you see that clearly and how they did that.
Speaker 1: It's just that much quicker for adjustments when when we
Speaker 1: get that look as well. Right, you know, looking at
Speaker 1: the Minnesota game from a few weeks back, you kind
Speaker 1: of look at, you know, what do they do against
Speaker 1: Bobby Massey? What did they do against Charles Leno? And
Speaker 1: they use the guys you know, on both sides, So
Speaker 1: it's not like Bobby Massey can only block one guy
Speaker 1: the whole time. They're gonna, like I said, this offense,
Speaker 1: they're gonna have to block everybody. They run a line
Speaker 1: stunt against Brian and Bobby or Brian and Cody, they're
Speaker 1: gonna have to switch off perfectly. There are a lot
Speaker 1: more stunts in games today in the league than when
Speaker 1: you played, And has it increased since the time you've
Speaker 1: gotten the league. From defenses, I think they play a
Speaker 1: lot more defensive fronts now with and a lot more
Speaker 1: blitzing component to it, whether you're using Roquan or someone else.
Speaker 1: So I think there's more multiple fronts um that you
Speaker 1: can use that they do use today. I think it
Speaker 1: depends on obviously the game situations. So I mean, if
Speaker 1: if you get off to a lead early and you're
Speaker 1: nursing that the whole game, they're not going to really
Speaker 1: have those situations. And obviously a team by team basis,
Speaker 1: they're they're they're different with that as well. But uh,
Speaker 1: it must be fun playing on the lead all the
Speaker 1: time because you guys have for the most part this
Speaker 1: season right right right in control. Yeah, it's been a
Speaker 1: big reason and it's been that it was that way
Speaker 1: in Kansas City. Yeah, Um, there's definitely uh uh you
Speaker 1: want to keep them on my numb you want to
Speaker 1: and I mean it's fun to be able to, uh
Speaker 1: get that lead and then rely on our great backs.
Speaker 1: We have to maintain it. So obviously Kyle Long hurt
Speaker 1: that enabled you to move into the mix here at
Speaker 1: guard and you know he is on his way back.
Speaker 1: Don't know at the time of this show that what
Speaker 1: his status is going to be. But how do you
Speaker 1: deal with that as a as a competitor at number
Speaker 1: one and be as a guy that you know, you've
Speaker 1: had that starting job in the last seven weeks, right,
Speaker 1: I mean, Kyle has been been great with me just
Speaker 1: uh he's obviously it's it's tough when you're away, when
Speaker 1: you're watching film and you're not doing anything. But he's
Speaker 1: been a great leader, and I know what he means
Speaker 1: to this team. I don't know what he's meant to
Speaker 1: this team for years. So uh uh yeah, obviously it's
Speaker 1: been great to be uh be in and um, but
Speaker 1: if we can get a guy back like that and
Speaker 1: uh who can make who can also make a difference. Uh,
Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to You know, so much is discussed
Speaker 1: and written and even this week, a lot of discussion
Speaker 1: about the selflessness of this team. You know, you're on
Speaker 1: the inside, you're in that locker room. Uh, it's a
Speaker 1: team than now you're just becoming much more familiar with
Speaker 1: than you did early in the season, being on another
Speaker 1: roster and so forth. Do you see that? Do you
Speaker 1: do you understand what why it's working that way? Right? Um?
Speaker 1: I think I've been on teams where there are there
Speaker 1: are those like two or three guys in the locker
Speaker 1: room that kind of uh uh, they're they're kind of selfish.
Speaker 1: They they uh, they're about themselves and you really don't
Speaker 1: see anyone on a team like that. Everyone bought into
Speaker 1: when Nagge brought in, and it's just great to be
Speaker 1: a part of. How are you you know? For you
Speaker 1: know you you live in itinerary life when you are
Speaker 1: a football player. How's this flexing been for you? Did
Speaker 1: you like the move of the two games that would
Speaker 1: have been noon starts tonight? In this game that you
Speaker 1: win a game, you're popular football team, so they want
Speaker 1: to capitalize on your popularity by that misstart. Are you
Speaker 1: okay or would you like to say okay noon noon noon,
Speaker 1: Let's let's get it done. Oh no, I enjoy uh
Speaker 1: kind of that atmosphere. You kind of soak it in
Speaker 1: having the Monday night games, and I mean that that's
Speaker 1: fun to be a part of, right. Uh you just
Speaker 1: kind of embrace it, and um, obviously you don't approcha
Speaker 1: any any different, but uh, you're kind of able to
Speaker 1: ease into it during that day and kind of uh
Speaker 1: instead of waking up and going right away, I kind
Speaker 1: of like being able to kind of lead into it
Speaker 1: a little bit more right Now, if you play a
Speaker 1: night game, do you like watching other NFL games during
Speaker 1: the day or do you kind of like keep to
Speaker 1: your self and just worry about what you do. I
Speaker 1: keep to myself. H Yeah, well no, because I always
Speaker 1: if we had a Monday night game or Sunday night game,
Speaker 1: I used to like watching the games um during the
Speaker 1: day because he's kind of watching what you're about to do,
Speaker 1: and it's if it's doable for them, then then then
Speaker 1: I can do it at that at that level or better.
Speaker 1: So it was kind of more like just watching what
Speaker 1: someone else is doing that you're gonna do. That's Tom there.
Speaker 1: Brian Witzman, Bears Guard, our guest here on Bears All
Speaker 1: Access one segment to Go, Paul's Oranger Engineer and Jordan
Speaker 1: trade Up, our producer as we bring you Bears All
Speaker 1: Access on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to Score all Right.
Speaker 1: Special thank you to Brian Whitzman, Bears Guard for joining
Speaker 1: us tonight on Bears All Access. Ruth's Chris would like
Speaker 1: you to have this one hundred dollars gift card to
Speaker 1: enjoy at one of their Chicago and Areas steakhouses. Ruth's
Speaker 1: Chris this is how it's done, but he's got to
Speaker 1: inspect it first. Tom there, for some reason, wants to
Speaker 1: make sure all the eyes are dotted than the teaser crossed.
Speaker 1: I just think about eating a big steak from room Chris.
Speaker 1: Then you know that what movie was that? What movie
Speaker 1: was that? Oh, Nebrata was Nebraska? You never see the
Speaker 1: movie Nebraska? I mean it's you know, it's a So
Speaker 1: the movie Nebraska plays, and so everybody starts calling Tom
Speaker 1: and I say, hey, you know, congratulations on your debut
Speaker 1: on the silver screen. And we're like, what somebody trying
Speaker 1: to play a joke on us? I mean it was
Speaker 1: I called Tom, Tom, what are you hearing? Yeah? What
Speaker 1: is going on? So, sure enough, we're in the movie Nebraska,
Speaker 1: but no one ever asked we're not visually on but
Speaker 1: they played one of our calls. But one of the
Speaker 1: funniest things of the whole deal is there's just a
Speaker 1: bunch of old guys sitting around watching a TV. But
Speaker 1: you don't see the television, and it's a it's a
Speaker 1: it's a different kind of movie, there's no doubt about it.
Speaker 1: And all of a sudden, you hear Tom reading a
Speaker 1: Ruth's Chris commercial. So that was a real funny thing.
Speaker 1: So fast forward. I just can't remember the actor's name
Speaker 1: down you remember the old as, Yeah, Bruce Dern, it's
Speaker 1: it's one of us, it's the I think it's the
Speaker 1: It thinks it's the Giants Patriots super Bowl. And I'm
Speaker 1: covering the super Bowl and I get a press release
Speaker 1: from Bruce Dern's company. Hey, you know he's going to
Speaker 1: be in New York, Like, yeah, I'd like to interview him.
Speaker 1: I like to find out why you didn't it. Where's
Speaker 1: the permission for Jeff and Tom to get in? Even
Speaker 1: in the credits, you know the movie Nebraska, So we
Speaker 1: got shut out. I think that's kind of is a
Speaker 1: local guy, right, But he never called me back, That's
Speaker 1: that's for sure. Brewstern. Yeah, there's a lot of the
Speaker 1: actors are from the Chicago area. So anyway, a sidebar
Speaker 1: story of inconsequence. I ate at Ruth Chris the two
Speaker 1: nights before we play in the super Bowl back in
Speaker 1: the back then, and I ordered a steak for two
Speaker 1: for myself. I had ordered Porterhouse. Did you go by yourself? No,
Speaker 1: I went with my college girlfriend. But I ate the
Speaker 1: whole steak nice. Well, you'll enjoy it regardless. We can
Speaker 1: guarantee that. Remaining moments here with Brian Witzman the Bears Guard,
Speaker 1: as we take a look at the Bears and Vikings.
Speaker 1: You know, this defense of the Bears is prominent, talking
Speaker 1: about it in very legendary terms about what it's doing.
Speaker 1: But there are some other really good defenses in this league,
Speaker 1: and you guys have faced a lot of really good
Speaker 1: fronts this year, even on teams that are not playoff caliber,
Speaker 1: and I think that's really gone under the radar a
Speaker 1: little bit. I mean, I'll bring up the Bills, I'll
Speaker 1: bring up the Jets, I'll bring up the Lions, I'll
Speaker 1: bring up the Giants. I mean, you guys have had
Speaker 1: your hands full of this year, don't you think. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I mean in this league there's a lot of a
Speaker 1: lot of very talented d linemen and we face a
Speaker 1: lot of them. Um. I mean you look at it
Speaker 1: as a you look forward to it as a good
Speaker 1: challenge that week, uh. I mean, if you want to
Speaker 1: be the best, you gotta gotta play some of the best.
Speaker 1: So it just gets us better every week. And this
Speaker 1: Vikings front is obviously one of those. Right. Well, what
Speaker 1: do you respect and what what what resonates with you
Speaker 1: about that bunch? Um? I mean they just don't have
Speaker 1: any uh any weaknesses really and on that defensive front,
Speaker 1: they've got solid guys across the line, and they've stayed healthy.
Speaker 1: And um, obviously we we had a good game plan
Speaker 1: last time and uh Noneggie is gonna have a great
Speaker 1: winning again. Is it easy? I mean, how long did
Speaker 1: it take for you to get to know Cody's game
Speaker 1: and Bobby's Massy's game, because you know, and during practice
Speaker 1: you're not gonna go one hundred percent, but then all
Speaker 1: of a sudden, man on Sundays, here it comes, did it?
Speaker 1: Do you notice there's are a difference about different how
Speaker 1: you have to communicate with each first of all? Or
Speaker 1: are they this similar in their personalities? Um? I mean
Speaker 1: they're they're obviously the fits you have on your double
Speaker 1: teams and everything, and I mean you can get some
Speaker 1: of that in practice, but I mean it's not against
Speaker 1: uh those those big de linement that have pads on
Speaker 1: and uh no, I mean just from a communication stamoid,
Speaker 1: the calls and everything. It takes a few weeks to
Speaker 1: really hone that in and uh, but I mean they're
Speaker 1: they're uh great guys, great, uh great communicating and uh
Speaker 1: they've helped me out a lot. How would you describe
Speaker 1: that room your room? Um, I'd say, uh, it's it's
Speaker 1: uh kind of a quiet but uh but very focused
Speaker 1: and very Uh everybody knows the role and everybody knows
Speaker 1: uh that that uh, that unit together is uh something
Speaker 1: that can be special and uh yeah, I mean just
Speaker 1: every day you gotta go out there and work, and
Speaker 1: I mean it's great to be a part of it
Speaker 1: because uh all those guys have a great energy and
Speaker 1: a great enthusiasm every day. Does Harry he stand have
Speaker 1: I mean, he's a pretty serious guy and he's been
Speaker 1: here before, so we know Harry very well. But you know,
Speaker 1: just going to the college game and Notre Dame and
Speaker 1: the coming back, I'm wondering how that has worked for him,
Speaker 1: you know, in terms of how his approach has changed
Speaker 1: from the first time he was here for the second time.
Speaker 1: But does he allow for uh, You're gonna bite my
Speaker 1: head off when I see this. Is there Is there
Speaker 1: a little bit of fun in there? Yeah? And if so,
Speaker 1: is there anything regular that you guys do as a
Speaker 1: unit in that room or is it all business. I mean,
Speaker 1: I'd say it was a little bit of fun, but
Speaker 1: uh at the end of the day, uh um, he's
Speaker 1: gonna coach, coach the technique out of us and uh
Speaker 1: uh just correct us on everything. And I mean he's
Speaker 1: a great coach that that just knows where to say
Speaker 1: and knows how to improve the players. Yeah, he can
Speaker 1: communicate well with this players. I think it's Harry's room. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you can have fun before the offensive line coach gets
Speaker 1: in there, and then immediately following that's when the camarader starts.
Speaker 1: But when I watch when I watch Harry practice, when
Speaker 1: I watch you guys on the sidelines of the game,
Speaker 1: and you guys immediately get together sitting your positions. Harry
Speaker 1: has the tablet still pictures and other notes that it's
Speaker 1: all about coaching football improvement, corrections. And it seems that's
Speaker 1: the way Harry was before. That's why he was a
Speaker 1: Notre Dame, and that's the way he is now at
Speaker 1: the Bears. But again, you think of some of the
Speaker 1: changes that he's had to correct or make sure stuck to.
Speaker 1: You know, James Daniels coming in there, Cody before the
Speaker 1: start of season, make adjusting his snap and then you
Speaker 1: coming and involved. That's a lot to put on a
Speaker 1: play while he's still coaching everybody else that's out there
Speaker 1: is getting you guys ready to play, right, I mean,
Speaker 1: he definitely knows what to say and kind of. I
Speaker 1: mean he's he's been he's been an ad for a
Speaker 1: long time. So I mean when when he says something techniq, guys,
Speaker 1: you know, uh uh, he's speaking from experience and from
Speaker 1: the history he's had and offensive line play Brian what's
Speaker 1: been our guest here and remaining moments of Bears All
Speaker 1: Access on Chicago Sports Radio six seventies scores brought to
Speaker 1: you by Igs Energy, Jeff, Jonnyac and Tom there with you.
Speaker 1: So Matteggie, I'm sure he's he's already started the messaging
Speaker 1: process with you guys. But you gotta go in there
Speaker 1: thinking about playoff intensity and also about winning that game,
Speaker 1: because if you didn't, if you weren't particularly ready mentally
Speaker 1: to play a team like that that's going to be
Speaker 1: ferociously trying to get to the playoffs, you get yourself
Speaker 1: hurt at a minimum and embarrassed at the worst. Correct. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean, we know what their mindset is, and we
Speaker 1: know what ours is going in, uh just approaching it.
Speaker 1: I mean we're we're in we're in playoff mode right now,
Speaker 1: because I mean we know that, uh obviously we get
Speaker 1: in another game after this, but uh uh yeah, I
Speaker 1: mean from here on out, it's it's a laser focus.
Speaker 1: And uh yeah, I mean Minnesota's our opponent right this week,
Speaker 1: and we're approaching it just like any other game this year. Yeah,
Speaker 1: but exactly. I'm glad you said that is about the
Speaker 1: approach of any game this year, because every game has
Speaker 1: been serious. I think from the way we've looked at
Speaker 1: up from the outside in and the way that you
Speaker 1: guys have prepared for it from the inside, from the
Speaker 1: inside in. And I that's why I don't think any
Speaker 1: game is too big for the Bears, no matter it
Speaker 1: is a play it is a playoff caliber game this
Speaker 1: weekend as much because it's a division game, even though
Speaker 1: there's something on the line for Minnesota and the Bears.
Speaker 1: But you know, when we start talking about next week's
Speaker 1: game or the net the first playoff game, the same
Speaker 1: thing is gonna be there. This football team has to
Speaker 1: get better from what they did last week in Minnesota.
Speaker 1: How hard would it be to play back to back.
Speaker 1: I mean, I can't speak from a coaching staff perspective,
Speaker 1: but I mean you have to develop a new game
Speaker 1: plan back to back, and I mean that's tough scheming
Speaker 1: the same thing over and over. But uh yeah, I mean, uh,
Speaker 1: it's they're they're familiar with everything. And uh yeah, I
Speaker 1: mean I mean you kind of did it. You kind
Speaker 1: of did it with Detroit. Yeah, in a sense, A
Speaker 1: little bit in a sense. Yeah, I mean with with
Speaker 1: any team. It's it's tough to beat him back to
Speaker 1: back like that. Um. But but yeah, I mean we're
Speaker 1: just gonna approach it just uh uh. I mean we're
Speaker 1: not We're not having a different mindset for this game
Speaker 1: just because uh so and so scenario. I mean, we
Speaker 1: we're gonna approach it, uh with the laser focus, just
Speaker 1: like every other week. You know. The little fun that
Speaker 1: you do have is the defensive personnel coming in the
Speaker 1: offensive huddle. Is that fun to prepare for? Fun when
Speaker 1: you see their number being called? But is there kind
Speaker 1: of a little bit of pressure on you because you
Speaker 1: know better succeed um according to the practice plan? Um.
Speaker 1: I mean I wouldn't say that. I mean, it's it's
Speaker 1: something exciting and I need. I mean, you hear the
Speaker 1: fans kind of roar when you have those home games
Speaker 1: and they run on the field, and uh, it's more
Speaker 1: exciting than anything. I mean, you're not you don't feel
Speaker 1: any pressure. It's it's that it's making football fun. Really.
Speaker 1: I mean, honestly, I would think, because we all got
Speaker 1: a little kid in us when you play this game right,
Speaker 1: so you get your you get you break the huddle
Speaker 1: with a cheam Hicks and Roy robertson Harris and whatnot.
Speaker 1: What everything you guys done. Is there a little bit
Speaker 1: of smirk at the line of scrimmage when the defense
Speaker 1: is trying to get themselves right to figure out what
Speaker 1: the heck is going on a little bit? And has
Speaker 1: there been any conversation defensively in these games that that
Speaker 1: madd has pulled these things? Uh no, there's not my
Speaker 1: pocket cross the ball on those plays. But I mean
Speaker 1: it's it's fun. Uh. I mean the plays that we've
Speaker 1: had this year that that have worked like that, I
Speaker 1: mean those just celebrating the touchdown with the defensive guys.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's has it been the most fun you've
Speaker 1: ever had? Oh? Yeah, I mean it's been a fun year. Uh,
Speaker 1: it's been a really fun year. Um. Well, obviously we've
Speaker 1: had a lot of success and uh, but beyond the success,
Speaker 1: it's that that really togetherness that we've had. Uh, that's
Speaker 1: just formed throughout the season. Appreciate you. Thanks for coming on. No,
Speaker 1: you're busy getting ready for the Minnesota Vikens. Brian Witzman
Speaker 1: our guest here on Bears All Access. That's gonna do
Speaker 1: it tonight. Thank you for listening. Everybody. For Tom Bear,
Speaker 1: I'm Jeff Jonihac. Have a great night. This is Chicago
Speaker 1: Sports Radio six seventy the Score. Thanks for listening to
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