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, your all
Speaker 1: access passing to Chicago Bears football. Bears All Access is
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Speaker 1: Physical Therapy and CDW Pleas were good, any of everybody
Speaker 1: welcome in it Bears All Access. Hopefully tonight a bit
Speaker 1: of diversion for all of you hunkered down dealing with
Speaker 1: the crisis and the virus and those suffering financially, and
Speaker 1: hopefully your health is good out there and avoiding the
Speaker 1: tentacles of this virus. Stemmy humbling. Indeed, I'm Jeff Jonny
Speaker 1: Ak awaiting Tom Fair and Jim Miller joining us from
Speaker 1: his Michigan home. In fact, we're all at our homes
Speaker 1: working on the show this week, Big Jim, highandle and
Speaker 1: everything I'm due. Well, hey kids at home, Like you said,
Speaker 1: you've had to adjust change some things, trying to be
Speaker 1: mindful of what we're being asked to do as as
Speaker 1: citizens of this great country, and obviously how it's affected
Speaker 1: everybody globally. But yeah, I think, like everybody else, adjusting
Speaker 1: and things are changing constantly as we still try to,
Speaker 1: you know, be mindful of everything that's going on and
Speaker 1: be conscientious of what we need to do. And for
Speaker 1: the first time we hear of someone in the National
Speaker 1: Football League testing positive of the news today that Naperville
Speaker 1: native and New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton testing
Speaker 1: positive for the virus. First person in the NFL. I'm
Speaker 1: certain it won't be the last. But he's about eight
Speaker 1: days into it apparently, no fever, no cop but feeling
Speaker 1: pretty good than being fatigued, and that's the good news
Speaker 1: health wise, but it's it's a reminder of what may
Speaker 1: be ahead. Yeah, well, there's no doubt I think, you know,
Speaker 1: Sean even talked about he wanted to come out and
Speaker 1: be public about it and just explain what he's going
Speaker 1: through and from the respiratory side of it, he said
Speaker 1: he hasn't had the yell effect x that other people
Speaker 1: that have been infected by the by the virus that
Speaker 1: they've had to endure, so for him it seems to
Speaker 1: be going pretty well. But again, he really wanted to
Speaker 1: stress of what we need to do what to be
Speaker 1: mindful of how you can help everybody out in terms
Speaker 1: of your fellow citizens in order to protect everybody that
Speaker 1: that's out there, because again there's there's information that's coming
Speaker 1: out almost minute to minute from businesses and orders, whether
Speaker 1: it's you know here in the state of Michigan and
Speaker 1: what you're dealing with there and the state of Illinois
Speaker 1: and what we're dealing with as a country and getting
Speaker 1: plenty to be mindful of. But again, I think it's
Speaker 1: just for him to come out be public. We know
Speaker 1: NBA players have come out that have tested positive as well,
Speaker 1: and what we're all dealing with and what we have
Speaker 1: to do to try and you know what they talk
Speaker 1: about a spike that is coming. We need to get
Speaker 1: that spike to flatten out. We definitely need to get
Speaker 1: it flattened out and heading in the different direction, and
Speaker 1: the more mindful of what we are to know what
Speaker 1: we have to do to help out, I think everybody
Speaker 1: will be better off as a whole. I think that's
Speaker 1: what they're trying to get to. Jeff Jony Act Jim
Speaker 1: Miller here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the score
Speaker 1: time there will be along as well our producers tonight,
Speaker 1: Mike Rankin and Mike Chen helping us out and hopefully
Speaker 1: a lot of people listening tonight because I know in
Speaker 1: the town I live in, it's people are heeding the advice.
Speaker 1: Nobody's out and about and other than walking the dogs
Speaker 1: and keeping that social distance. So that's that's the way
Speaker 1: to do it. And I know a lot of people
Speaker 1: with WBBM staying at home, working and using the technology
Speaker 1: available to them. Jim with free agency hitting and we're
Speaker 1: gonna get in deep into it tonight with what the
Speaker 1: Bears have done reportedly, because nothing is official until physicals
Speaker 1: are taken, until contracts are signed. But what are you
Speaker 1: hearing from your NFL people and your show on Serious
Speaker 1: Sex on NFL Radio, Moving the chains with Pat Kerwin
Speaker 1: about this whole situation and about free agency that it
Speaker 1: did lift off the ground on the timeline that was
Speaker 1: original scheduled. Despite this situation, Yeah, you know, and obviously
Speaker 1: a lot of people came out and said, hey, whether
Speaker 1: the NFL PA in the NFL agreed upon it, they
Speaker 1: knew it would have to be modified, but to push
Speaker 1: back the entire you know, free agency, because that was
Speaker 1: talked about as well. I mean already as I think
Speaker 1: we already see with how this virus is going to
Speaker 1: be dealt with moving forward, I think everybody already knows
Speaker 1: OTAs are going to be pushed back, Mini camps are
Speaker 1: going to be pushed back. Some teams already think that,
Speaker 1: you know, until we get back to normalcy, that the
Speaker 1: whole offseasons may be scrapped until training camp. So it
Speaker 1: kind of makes sense for free agency to proceed. You know,
Speaker 1: a lot of these free agent contracts that you just mentioned, Pat, Yes,
Speaker 1: you do have to make an official by getting a physical,
Speaker 1: and certainly all teams are going to want to get
Speaker 1: a physical by their own doctor, but they're figuring out
Speaker 1: ways that, hey, maybe we got a partner doctor in
Speaker 1: another city where a player lives that we can deal with,
Speaker 1: whether getting an MRI or things like that. But ultimately,
Speaker 1: you know, probably what will happen is you'll still get
Speaker 1: a second physical for a player once this, uh, this
Speaker 1: virus and everything retreats and you can start to meet
Speaker 1: and fly and do all these things that you need
Speaker 1: to do personally to have a hands on approach to
Speaker 1: to really you know, justify and make all these contracts officials,
Speaker 1: So I think it makes sense that they do it
Speaker 1: a little bit earlier. We'll see how it affects later
Speaker 1: in the offseason. Again, as I mentioned, through the OTAs
Speaker 1: and everything, and the bottom line is if a player
Speaker 1: doesn't pass a physical, they just go back into the
Speaker 1: free agent market, you know. So business has to be adjusted,
Speaker 1: you know, And that's across the board. It's not just
Speaker 1: NFL football. This is you know, even for me locally,
Speaker 1: like whether it's the local bank, I'm getting emails every
Speaker 1: every single day that hey, we'll no longer be you know,
Speaker 1: having a walk in service at your at your bank.
Speaker 1: Everything's going to be done electronically and and how you
Speaker 1: got to do it. And these are by minute to
Speaker 1: the minute changes. So it's not just restaurants and everything
Speaker 1: is businesses overall as a whole that are having to
Speaker 1: adjust and do things differently and trying to do it
Speaker 1: the best way possible. And for all the teams out there,
Speaker 1: it's it's not ideal, but I think they're coming up
Speaker 1: with the best solutions that they can. And I believe
Speaker 1: the NFLPA actually sent out a flyer to all the
Speaker 1: agents today of how they should go about the physicals
Speaker 1: the best way for the agents to work with teams
Speaker 1: to get these deals done. And again, if a player
Speaker 1: ultimately does not pass as physical and as they failed physical,
Speaker 1: you know, most likely that player, you know, will not
Speaker 1: be signed and they'll just go back into the free
Speaker 1: agent market. And that's how it's always been anyway. But
Speaker 1: teams will have to adjust at that point to sign
Speaker 1: another player or turn towards the draft or things of
Speaker 1: that nature of what they need to do to conduct business. Well,
Speaker 1: right now, like all sports and all businesses, we're at
Speaker 1: the mercy of the virus and how we as a
Speaker 1: population control our own situations to prevent that from advancing.
Speaker 1: And that's really the situation right now, no other way
Speaker 1: to look at Tom there joining us now. Tom, it's
Speaker 1: been a crazy couple of weeks, obvious, Lee, and you're
Speaker 1: back home from Hawaii. I'm back home from Europe and
Speaker 1: Jim's been working out of his home. But you know,
Speaker 1: for football players and you guys as players have dealt
Speaker 1: with certain situations, whether it be strike years or work
Speaker 1: stoppages for whatever reason. The lockout for the players recently,
Speaker 1: you know, my first question about this for players and
Speaker 1: they're not allowed to be in the buildings. Their training
Speaker 1: facilities pretty much are being shut down as well because
Speaker 1: of the social distancing aspect of it. How do you train,
Speaker 1: how do you train? How do you stay in shape
Speaker 1: for one of the offseason ultimately will be in well,
Speaker 1: you know, there's probably about thirty five percent of the
Speaker 1: guys have really nice home gyms in there inside their house,
Speaker 1: so they can have that workout opportunity at home. But
Speaker 1: you know, the thing that always concerns me about working
Speaker 1: out in the offseason, Jeff, if you're realistically going to
Speaker 1: handle the type of weight that's going to turn you
Speaker 1: into an NFL body, no matter what position you play,
Speaker 1: you always have to have guidance, assistance and spotters around you.
Speaker 1: And you're not going to be able to have that
Speaker 1: for the for unforeseen time. So I think these guys
Speaker 1: have to have a, you know, a realistic approach about
Speaker 1: what they have. First of all, what facilities do they
Speaker 1: have access to, whether their own personally or even something
Speaker 1: they're going to have to make up in their minds.
Speaker 1: So the guys get creative. They've been around fitness and
Speaker 1: being active their whole life, and you know, this is
Speaker 1: just another challenge to every one of them that they
Speaker 1: have to be able to get as prepared as they
Speaker 1: possibly can before they can get into a building with supervision. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm sorry for but for the Bears. I mean, we
Speaker 1: all know that that first phase of workouts, when players
Speaker 1: are welcome back to workout, it's just phase one is
Speaker 1: basically getting guys in shape to go on the field.
Speaker 1: So I would think the Bears training staff and their
Speaker 1: strength staff, they'll be able to send players just email
Speaker 1: out a list. Hey, for the big guys, here's your
Speaker 1: workout we want to do in X amount of bench
Speaker 1: or squat or you know, in terms of your cardial
Speaker 1: that they want to get done, just to get players
Speaker 1: that base, that foundation that they need, and they can
Speaker 1: email all that stuff out, that information and players can
Speaker 1: just follow it much like they follow a script every
Speaker 1: day in the National Football League. Yeah, the worst thing
Speaker 1: that could happen if players believe that this is going
Speaker 1: to linger and wipe out the offseason and maybe even
Speaker 1: all the way to training camp or even training camp
Speaker 1: and not prepare the way they need to prepare to
Speaker 1: get their bodies right to even get into that first
Speaker 1: phase of the process. All Right, we'll continue on coming
Speaker 1: up at the bottom of the hour, Joel Ea Booneyway,
Speaker 1: You're going to join the program as well, a young
Speaker 1: man who one day wants to be a doctor, with
Speaker 1: some unique insight into this current situation, this pandemic that
Speaker 1: is embracing all of us right now. This is Bears
Speaker 1: All Access presented by IGS Energy on Chicago Sports Radio
Speaker 1: six seventy to score. Welcome into Bears All Access, brought
Speaker 1: to you by IGS Energy, a proud partner of the
Speaker 1: Chicago Bears, finding electricity, natural gas and all warranty products
Speaker 1: to over one million customers across the country. Learn more
Speaker 1: about IGS Energy at igs dot com. Jeff joni, Ac,
Speaker 1: Tom Thare and Jim Miller your host tonight and another
Speaker 1: edition of this show. We'll be back with your next
Speaker 1: Wednesday as well. But a lot to break down, a
Speaker 1: lot to unpack, your guys. So let's dig in with
Speaker 1: the reported deals and reported situations that have taken place
Speaker 1: with the Bears organization, because none of its official issued
Speaker 1: by the organization. But paramount is the trade for quarterback
Speaker 1: Nick Foles, reportedly for the Bears fourth round pick. Nick
Speaker 1: suggesting Bear Down on his social account today, so a
Speaker 1: change of address again, for a Super Bowl winning MVP
Speaker 1: quarterback just a few years ago from the Philadelphia Eagles.
Speaker 1: Your impressions down the deal right away, Tom and Jim, Well,
Speaker 1: for I like it, you know, because of the fourth
Speaker 1: round value that you were able to give up for him.
Speaker 1: He's got great experience. He's got great experience with the
Speaker 1: quarterback room already in terms of the coaches that he's
Speaker 1: been around. He's got experience as a moment's notice area,
Speaker 1: has experienced as an incoming starter. So I do think
Speaker 1: it's going to benefit the quarterback room. It's oh, you know,
Speaker 1: an increase in competition at any position I think is
Speaker 1: always good. And you know, one thing that's a value
Speaker 1: to this football team is when you have experienced quarterbacks
Speaker 1: at one, two, and three, throw in to your practice players,
Speaker 1: your first and second level players. Everybody's gonna improve because
Speaker 1: of it. Because this is not a Nick Folds Bears
Speaker 1: or Mitchell Trubisky Bears. This is the Chicago Bears. So
Speaker 1: it should be the goal of everybody who's gonna be
Speaker 1: involved in the offseason program, throughout training camp in the
Speaker 1: regular season should be about making the Bears better. So again,
Speaker 1: I like competition, and I like the experience as Nick
Speaker 1: has had so far in his career. For me, I
Speaker 1: think the Bears did all their due diligence that they could.
Speaker 1: They make the call over to Cincinnati. It sounds like
Speaker 1: the asking price for Andy Dalton was too high. You'd
Speaker 1: make the call to the Carolina Panthers. There are the
Speaker 1: injury history there that makes that potentially problematic. With Cam Newton,
Speaker 1: they make the call to Nick Foles, and Nick Foles
Speaker 1: in the Jacksonville Jaguars is kind of a complicated deal
Speaker 1: because all the money that's involved there. He just signed
Speaker 1: an eighty eight million dollar deal last year for Jacksonville,
Speaker 1: only played in four games. We know he broke his
Speaker 1: collar bone early. As Tom's mentioned, you've got great insight
Speaker 1: from coaches in the building that have worked with this
Speaker 1: young man before, and he's played at a high level. Now,
Speaker 1: this guy was a Super Bowl MVP, so he fits
Speaker 1: the bill as one a guy who can step in
Speaker 1: and play in win games. And he's been in the
Speaker 1: mentor role as well. So it's not over for Mitch
Speaker 1: Traubisky just because you signed Nick Foles. I don't think
Speaker 1: they're kicking anybody to curb here. That's up to Mitch
Speaker 1: and how he competes and what happens. We mentioned long
Speaker 1: ago on Bears All Access, it's going to be somewhat
Speaker 1: of a similar situation to Tennessee. They brought in Ryan
Speaker 1: Tannehill and they gave Marcus Mariota every opportunity. Unfortunately for Arcas,
Speaker 1: Mariota didn't The level of play wasn't what they needed
Speaker 1: to do, and that's why Ryan Tannehill got a shot.
Speaker 1: So I think Nick Foles provides all that for the
Speaker 1: Chicago Bears and why it works for everybody. Jim. Break
Speaker 1: him down in terms of his style, his mechanics. Certainly
Speaker 1: a lot of people know what he can do because
Speaker 1: of that Super Bowl run, filling in for the injured
Speaker 1: Carson Wentz and leading that Eagles team. But break him
Speaker 1: down as he fits in this Bears offense. Well, first off,
Speaker 1: he's well liked, and I will say this, I know
Speaker 1: Nick even from back when he was at Michigan State.
Speaker 1: People forget he transferred back to Arizona and he was
Speaker 1: well liked at Michigan State. And there is not one
Speaker 1: team that he's played on in the NFL that not
Speaker 1: every person in the organization doesn't like him. He's a
Speaker 1: very likable guy. He works hard, He's had his trials
Speaker 1: and tribulations. He's very grounded, down to earth, and he
Speaker 1: just wants everybody to be better. That's what it's about,
Speaker 1: and it's about winning. As for his skill sets, he's
Speaker 1: a longer limb corner or a quarterback. I think we
Speaker 1: all know that probably does have a bigger wind up
Speaker 1: than most guys because his levers are so big. But
Speaker 1: as we know, he's played at a high level, and
Speaker 1: he's been in this offense and he's had a lot
Speaker 1: of success in it in the past. Does have timing
Speaker 1: and rhythm to his throws. His strength is the long ball.
Speaker 1: That's why when you look at Philadelphia and they're marched
Speaker 1: to the super Bowl, it was about double move goes.
Speaker 1: I mean, this guy is extremely accurate down the field,
Speaker 1: and I think he's extremely tough. Somewhat if a rag
Speaker 1: him going down with the broken collar bone last year
Speaker 1: and that disrupted a season. It's about as good as
Speaker 1: a get you can get, in my opinion, for a
Speaker 1: compensitatory fourth rounder to add him to the building, I
Speaker 1: think that's a pretty good get for the Bears. You know, Tom,
Speaker 1: for me, just analyzing all this in the carousel, any
Speaker 1: any number of things could have happened, But in terms
Speaker 1: of making the most sense given the situation with the unknown,
Speaker 1: that's a big variable here. You got a quarterback with
Speaker 1: vast knowledge in this system. Yes, he's overcoming an injury
Speaker 1: and a run season last year, but with three coaches
Speaker 1: on staff, including your head coach and play caller, it
Speaker 1: just seems to me, and given with Jim as discussed
Speaker 1: and what we've learned about Nick Foles and his personality
Speaker 1: and his team first attitude, I mean, this was about
Speaker 1: the most simplest and direct decision to make at the
Speaker 1: quarterback position to increase competition and to help Mitch and
Speaker 1: to help each other that you could possibly have put
Speaker 1: down on paper. Yeah, you know, the quarterback position is
Speaker 1: what we're talking about right now, But you know, go
Speaker 1: even go to the other side of the ball, Jeff,
Speaker 1: when you're talking about making this decision with the thought
Speaker 1: of your defense in the back of your mind, because
Speaker 1: this is a division winning, playoff winning style defense, and
Speaker 1: that's what needs to be complimented. So if you can
Speaker 1: come in here and you can bring competition at any
Speaker 1: position on offense, whether it's an improvement in the running game,
Speaker 1: competition at the quarterback position, more value at the receiver
Speaker 1: tight end position that we've gotten out of the past.
Speaker 1: That's ultimately what you're looking at is, so how Mitchell
Speaker 1: Chubisky and how can the quarterback position Nick Folds, How
Speaker 1: thin they all work together with all the new coaches
Speaker 1: they have to make this offense at the level that
Speaker 1: it was a couple of years ago, but at a
Speaker 1: level that it can help the assist the special teams
Speaker 1: in the defense get to this playoff race this year.
Speaker 1: All Right, another reported deal for Robert Quinn. It's a
Speaker 1: reported seventy million dollars deal with thirty million guaranteed to
Speaker 1: rush the passer. We'll break down that story as well
Speaker 1: and be joined at the bottom of the hour by
Speaker 1: Joel EA booney Way. This is Bears All Access on
Speaker 1: Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to score back with you
Speaker 1: on Bears and All Access Jeff Jonny Act, Tom Fair,
Speaker 1: and Jim Miller coming up at the bottom of the
Speaker 1: hour Joel Ea booney Way. So, before the break, dangle
Speaker 1: down to Robert Quinn. I reported deal with the Bears
Speaker 1: an elite pass rusher eighty and a half in his career,
Speaker 1: a breakout eleven and a half last season. You go
Speaker 1: back to his days with the Rams on a very
Speaker 1: good defensive line, when he had nineteen sacks back in
Speaker 1: twenty thirteen, was an All Pro player twice a Pro bowler.
Speaker 1: What does this exchange, essentially Leonard Floyd for Robert Quinn,
Speaker 1: at least on passing downs mean to the Bears pass
Speaker 1: rush fellas will start with Tom. You know, Jeff, I
Speaker 1: think you have to bring in more value than just
Speaker 1: passing downs. I think it's a little bit unfair to
Speaker 1: Robert Quinn because he does have four six speed coming
Speaker 1: out of college, and he can beat the offensive tackle
Speaker 1: coming around the corner, or he can spread outside the
Speaker 1: offensive tight end and still beat the tackle around the corner.
Speaker 1: Those are the qualities that you admire the most about him,
Speaker 1: or you know, spring to the top first. But his
Speaker 1: change of direction, his playing the run, his taking on
Speaker 1: pulling offensive lineman. He's capable of doing all that. So
Speaker 1: that's what I think the Bears are searching for. You know,
Speaker 1: a guy that can check all the boxes and everything
Speaker 1: a defensive player needs to be capable of doing. He's
Speaker 1: played in both defenses as you mentioned for the Rams
Speaker 1: was more of a three or four outside backer. It
Speaker 1: then becomes a defensive end, not only in Miami, but
Speaker 1: in Dallas as well. Dallas is more of a four
Speaker 1: man front. You know, typically at times last year, Chuck
Speaker 1: Pagano he would and you know Vic Fangio has done
Speaker 1: it as well that sometimes they'll go to a nickel
Speaker 1: four man front on third downs. I think that's where
Speaker 1: he's probably had the most success. When you look at
Speaker 1: Robert Quinn. But I mean, obviously it's it's it hasn't
Speaker 1: happened opposite Kalil Mack. I mean, that's no offense to
Speaker 1: Leonard Floyd. He's been given the opportunity to do that.
Speaker 1: But three sacks when you're playing opposite Khalil Mack, more
Speaker 1: production was needed. The Bears got better on defense by
Speaker 1: signing Robert Quinn. In terms of what he's capable of,
Speaker 1: I know, just reading quotes last season from Jason Garrett,
Speaker 1: just the ability to bend the corner like he does
Speaker 1: for a man of his size is an elite situation.
Speaker 1: There was a lot of different things that he did well.
Speaker 1: There are some questions about what he does again to run,
Speaker 1: but in terms of that kind of pass rusher as
Speaker 1: you say, opposite now Khalil Mack and the inside of
Speaker 1: Keem Hicks and you got your guys inside with Danny
Speaker 1: Trevathan coming back and Roll quant Smith hopefully healthy. What's
Speaker 1: your opinion of the front seven as it looks now?
Speaker 1: You know Jeff Eddie Goldman, you know, he's kind of
Speaker 1: the guy that if he can take that next level
Speaker 1: step and he can occupy a little bit more attention
Speaker 1: on the inside and taking the demand of two offensive lineman,
Speaker 1: a center and guard at all times. So what that's
Speaker 1: gonna do is that's gonna distribute how they can block
Speaker 1: Robert Quinn to one side, Khalil Mack to the opposite,
Speaker 1: Ed and somewhere in the middle of a Keem Hicks.
Speaker 1: So again you talk about what this front seven can do.
Speaker 1: It's got probably more capabilities because you add the experience
Speaker 1: of Robert Quinn. But again it's you know, we talk
Speaker 1: about the stars, but we need to talk about these
Speaker 1: guys that need to be the upcoming stars. They need
Speaker 1: to have Eddie Goldman have that career year even though
Speaker 1: he's still a young man. Yeah, I think it's as
Speaker 1: good as any you know, for in the National Football League.
Speaker 1: I really do. I think with what Time just said,
Speaker 1: with a healthy Akim Harris, you got Roy Robertson Harris,
Speaker 1: Khalil Mack, and Robert Quinn. To me, it's better than
Speaker 1: what it was because I think you will get more
Speaker 1: of an impact opposite Khalil Mack. Granted, everybody's got to
Speaker 1: stay healthy. I think everybody knows that on how you
Speaker 1: rotate those guys through. But I think their front seven
Speaker 1: is as good as any. It's as good as any
Speaker 1: in the National Football League, if not, you know, in
Speaker 1: the top five for sure, without a doubt. Cowboys teammate
Speaker 1: started calling him the black Cobra last year Fellas because
Speaker 1: of that ability to bend and strike. The quarterback had
Speaker 1: a lot of pressures as well. I like it, right,
Speaker 1: I like it. But Jeff, you know one thing that
Speaker 1: comes out of I heard about the Cowboys Also, you
Speaker 1: know he was considered an equally as a good well
Speaker 1: playing run players DeMarcus Lawrence was. However, DeMarcus Lawrence is
Speaker 1: a lot bigger of a guy. So you know when
Speaker 1: you talk about not being buch of a difference between
Speaker 1: the two, and you know they both of them have
Speaker 1: Pro Bowl potential. So I think that, you know, when
Speaker 1: you have Robert Quinn and you meet you think about him.
Speaker 1: Early in his career he had speed off the line
Speaker 1: of scrimmage that was unmatched by a lot of players
Speaker 1: in the NFL. But now he's got years of experience,
Speaker 1: intelligence and understanding out of his stance. Not necessarily just
Speaker 1: a great burst knock on what everybody stays healthy. That
Speaker 1: will be a vicious front seven getting to the quarterback,
Speaker 1: and it'll certainly be a boost if they can get
Speaker 1: that thing rolling from the back end of the defense.
Speaker 1: We'll address that later in the show. All Right, another
Speaker 1: reported deal, Jimmy Graham coming aboard big target. Sixty of
Speaker 1: his seventy four touchdowns have coming the red zone. Boys,
Speaker 1: that's what you said, He's a target. You know. The
Speaker 1: thing about it is if he identifies enough attention on
Speaker 1: the interior of the passing zones or nearer the line
Speaker 1: of scrimmage, just think that what that's gonna do for
Speaker 1: you know, Alan Robinson and rest the receivers out here.
Speaker 1: So he needs to be that attention getter immediately. Red
Speaker 1: zone target. We've mentioned it that the position has been
Speaker 1: non existent now with Graham and Harris. We'll see if
Speaker 1: Jimmy Graham could give that Red Zone production the Bears
Speaker 1: is needed. All right, that's Tom Fair, Jim Miller. I'm
Speaker 1: Jeff Jonnyac. Coming up next, Joel Ea Booneyway joins the program.
Speaker 1: This is Bears All Access on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy.
Speaker 1: The score everybody. This segment of Bear Zone Access is
Speaker 1: brought to you by CDW people who get it and
Speaker 1: more at CDW dot com. Mike Rank and Mike Ken
Speaker 1: our producers with Tom Fair and Jim Moler. I'm Jeff Joniac.
Speaker 1: Welcome into the second part of the hour on our
Speaker 1: program here today, as we break down free agency from
Speaker 1: a Bear's perspective. We'll look at a wider scope of
Speaker 1: the NFC North tonight as well and look at some
Speaker 1: of the big stories, including Jim Miller's old team mate
Speaker 1: Tom Brady leaving the New England Patriots. Before we get
Speaker 1: with Joel Ea Booneyway, we might as well touch on
Speaker 1: it since I opened the box. Uh, he's gonna be
Speaker 1: a buccaneer and it's still hard to fathom. Yeah, well
Speaker 1: really is. But I mean you talk to Tampa Bay Bucket,
Speaker 1: your fans, and I've already talked to a couple of
Speaker 1: guys down there in Tampa. This everybody believes, you know,
Speaker 1: it just changes everything, It elevates everything for an organization
Speaker 1: has really struggled, you know. It's you know, people even
Speaker 1: forget how long ago that they won that championship with
Speaker 1: John Gruden, but remember when they traded for John Gruden,
Speaker 1: everything kind of elevated in terms of what the standard
Speaker 1: was was gonna mean. And I do think Tom Brady
Speaker 1: brings that to the table down there. I think he
Speaker 1: can still play. Yes, he's not what he was, but
Speaker 1: they've got the weapons around him that, you know, that
Speaker 1: ideal to what you need for a powerful offense. When
Speaker 1: you look at Evans, the wide receiver, Godwin is very underrated.
Speaker 1: Probably still need to shore up a little bit of
Speaker 1: their offensive line, but they've got two tight ends that
Speaker 1: are outstanding and Cameron Bradon and I think O. J.
Speaker 1: Howard would take another step forward. So I think it's
Speaker 1: all in play. And you've got Bruce Arians. Bruce Arians
Speaker 1: will be very flexible with the offense. Tom Moore is
Speaker 1: also down there. Everybody remembers Tom Moore, not only for
Speaker 1: his days in Indianapolis with Peyton Manning. So it's very
Speaker 1: quarterback friendly in terms of the offense. And I think
Speaker 1: Clike Christensen as well. So I think for Tom, with
Speaker 1: everything that was on the table for what he wanted
Speaker 1: to do and to have an opportunity, I think Tampa
Speaker 1: presented the best opportunity for him to do it, because
Speaker 1: you know, it looked like it was not going to
Speaker 1: be back in New England for the amount of money
Speaker 1: he was looking for. All right, that's Jim Miller, Tom Fair,
Speaker 1: Jeff joniak here and please be joined out by Joel
Speaker 1: Ea Booty Way, the Bears veteran inside linebacker Joel. Good
Speaker 1: to see you. Good to talk to you. I hope
Speaker 1: all things are well, and thanks for joining the program.
Speaker 1: How things so he called me a batman, making you
Speaker 1: old man? Hey, listen, after that, after that first year,
Speaker 1: you're a veteran. There's no other way to put it. Hey,
Speaker 1: you know I I asked to have you on tonight
Speaker 1: because of your unique background. Obviously, your your story is
Speaker 1: well written. At one point in your your life, you're
Speaker 1: going to be switching gears, hopefully after a long football career,
Speaker 1: when we will really call you a big time veteran
Speaker 1: and enter the medical business. That's what you studied in college.
Speaker 1: Your dad is, if I'm not mistaken, currently still the
Speaker 1: director of public health at cal State Sam Marcos out
Speaker 1: in California. Your mom's a nurse, and we're talking front
Speaker 1: lines of what is a very unique situation for all
Speaker 1: of us as old folks and you younger guys as well,
Speaker 1: and I thought you might give us some perspective on that.
Speaker 1: First of all, how's mom, how's the family, and how's
Speaker 1: everything going. Yeah, the mom's great. The family's good. She's obviously,
Speaker 1: like you know, on the front lines of this and
Speaker 1: dealing with that every day. But she's healthy. I talked
Speaker 1: to her every day and checking with her. She says
Speaker 1: she's doing well. So the family is good. Dad, as
Speaker 1: everybody else's is doing well during this time. Hey, Joel,
Speaker 1: you know, first of all, let me congratulate you before
Speaker 1: being called a VET, because that's something that's not earned
Speaker 1: by a lot of guys. And after what you just
Speaker 1: went through with the collective bargaining agreement, you know that
Speaker 1: that's a heck of a title that you've been able
Speaker 1: to earn. Joel, One thing I want to ask you
Speaker 1: is about your generation, because I'm reading a lot about
Speaker 1: how they're asking all these people that have millions of
Speaker 1: followers to go out there and spread the message about
Speaker 1: the coronavirus, and how the young people have to start
Speaker 1: understanding the message that they do have to have this
Speaker 1: social distancing. You're a part of that generation, do you
Speaker 1: follow I mean, do you follow those rules? And do
Speaker 1: you think it's important for your generation to go out
Speaker 1: and spread that message? Yeah, I think it's very important.
Speaker 1: I feel like we do have a opportunity in a
Speaker 1: platform to like use social media and be able to
Speaker 1: like reach people, you know, through our following and whatnot,
Speaker 1: and I think it's important to use that to relay
Speaker 1: that message because you know, people my age can be um,
Speaker 1: you know, a little stuffering sometimes and I feel like
Speaker 1: they they don't have to listen and they're above, you know,
Speaker 1: what's going on or whatever. So personally, I've been I've
Speaker 1: been doing a as much as I can tell my
Speaker 1: friends and family to just stay away and you know,
Speaker 1: trying to minimalize the contact with people that you have
Speaker 1: and whatnot. So I think it's important. Obviously, the news
Speaker 1: has done a good job, and social media has helped
Speaker 1: relay that message across across the people. Well, Joel and
Speaker 1: and one, thanks for joining us, Jim Miller here, and
Speaker 1: just you know for what your your mother and father
Speaker 1: are dealing with it. Everybody keeps on talking about this
Speaker 1: spike that it still hasn't spiked, and we need to
Speaker 1: get the cases to level out and hopefully uh you know,
Speaker 1: you know, hopefully retreat moving forward. But you know, just
Speaker 1: talk about your mom and dad being on the front
Speaker 1: lines one getting all the equipment that they need to
Speaker 1: fight and obviously they're being overburdened with what's being asked
Speaker 1: to be done. And just maybe some feedback that you've
Speaker 1: heard from them that people are starting to understand what
Speaker 1: is happening and why all these uh, whether it's urgent
Speaker 1: cares or the medical facilities are just being overburdened right
Speaker 1: now in instead of distancing and isolating and quarantining, what
Speaker 1: they've asked to do to kind of get this spike
Speaker 1: to retreat a little bit until it quits the burden
Speaker 1: on our medical healthcare and what's being asked of it
Speaker 1: right now, right yeah, I mean, I think a lot
Speaker 1: of people aren't taking it as serious as they should.
Speaker 1: And you know, My mom has been telling me, you know,
Speaker 1: a lot, that I need to do a good job
Speaker 1: of staying indoors and staying away from people and relaying
Speaker 1: that to me and my brothers and me and friends.
Speaker 1: You know, I'm trying to get that message to them
Speaker 1: as well. But yeah, I just think a lot of
Speaker 1: people are just they think it's you know, it's not
Speaker 1: as serious as it is, and that they can you know,
Speaker 1: still go about and go out, you know, whether it's
Speaker 1: going out on the weekend or going out to you know,
Speaker 1: even to the gym and things like that, you know
Speaker 1: what I mean. I think it's just important just to
Speaker 1: stay away from people right now, and um, I think
Speaker 1: that's a big message that's not really getting across yet.
Speaker 1: But hopefully you know, the next you know, days and weeks,
Speaker 1: so people can realize that this is something that needs
Speaker 1: to be taken serious and you know they should listen
Speaker 1: to uh, to the news and other people that the professionals,
Speaker 1: even like my mom and the nurses obviously, you know,
Speaker 1: I have a direct connection to that, but even the
Speaker 1: people that don't you know, have that connection. Shit still
Speaker 1: like listen to the people that are telling them what
Speaker 1: what's going on. Because you know this is something that's serious.
Speaker 1: Joel Eya booney Way, our guest here on Bears All
Speaker 1: Access with Tom Fair, Jamler Jeff Joniac at Chicago Sports
Speaker 1: Radio six seventy to score. I saw you on Twitter
Speaker 1: today at IG Underscore, Nacious, NACI o US and offering
Speaker 1: encouraging words for doctors and nurses and everybody at Advocate
Speaker 1: are Aurora. Um, is that something you're gonna keep doing?
Speaker 1: And and and have you talked to your teammates about
Speaker 1: all this and what's their reaction because obviously you can't
Speaker 1: get together. You got the building shut down right now,
Speaker 1: all the NFL facilities are and you know during this time. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: I've been talking about teammates and um pretty much. It's
Speaker 1: kind of just see what happens. You know, we're all
Speaker 1: like waiting and waiting. And the last week or two
Speaker 1: has has been wild, you know, as far as things
Speaker 1: shutting down, and it's like every day something else shuts
Speaker 1: down and it gets a little more serious. But we're
Speaker 1: also in the contact is just kind of waiting, um
Speaker 1: to see where where we're headed, you know. But um,
Speaker 1: it's been fine, you know that I'm trying to just
Speaker 1: stay stay away, and um, as far as social media,
Speaker 1: you know, I'm trying to show so love to the
Speaker 1: people who who are you know, dealing with this head on,
Speaker 1: And I think it's the point that see that and
Speaker 1: kind of understand that it's it's obviously not easy to
Speaker 1: do that and it's it's serious. But um, yeah, you know,
Speaker 1: as far as that goes, man, we're just really waiting
Speaker 1: and seeing where where things go. You know, one thing
Speaker 1: Joel about professional sports, professional football, you can't neglect your body.
Speaker 1: So when you get yourself in a position like this
Speaker 1: where that you don't have everyday supervision out of the facility,
Speaker 1: do you have access to that opportunity where you can
Speaker 1: either lift privately or do you have some equipment that
Speaker 1: you kind of keep going because you know, back in
Speaker 1: our day when Jim and I played, do you finish
Speaker 1: the season? Then you weren't expected to show up until
Speaker 1: a two day mini camp and then the starter training camp.
Speaker 1: Really that that could be the actuality and it's up
Speaker 1: to you guys that get yourself ready. Do you have
Speaker 1: access to anything? Yeah, yeah we have. I mean my
Speaker 1: apartment has a Jim but even that, I'm kind of
Speaker 1: staying away from that I've pretty much just been doing
Speaker 1: homeworkouts and I've got like a yoga matt and stuff
Speaker 1: that I can do stuff with and um, push ups,
Speaker 1: sit ups, you know, body body squats, just anything you
Speaker 1: can you can do to get some type of you know,
Speaker 1: exercise and workout. It is important. Like you said, you know,
Speaker 1: we're used to just kind of having a period of
Speaker 1: grace back into things. But the way it's looking, we
Speaker 1: might be, hum, we might have to jump right into it,
Speaker 1: you know, um straight away. So I think most guys
Speaker 1: are doing a good job of just kind of staying
Speaker 1: out top of their body and working out and um
Speaker 1: doing that stuff at home. See that. That's what I
Speaker 1: want to hear. Joel, Is this the herschel Walker workout?
Speaker 1: Are you doing like a thousand sit ups and a
Speaker 1: thousand push ups a day? Yeah? Yeah, I would say
Speaker 1: I would say something like that. Yeah, Now when you're
Speaker 1: if you're doing well, if you got if you do
Speaker 1: the stand up push ups like where you put your
Speaker 1: feet up against the wall and you're you know, I
Speaker 1: wanted you to do about one hundred of those a
Speaker 1: day and you'll be good to go. Right. You don't
Speaker 1: even need to do regular ones. You do hundred of those,
Speaker 1: you're good. Yeah, how about some burpies, fellas, I think
Speaker 1: we all got to jump on that. We're all at home,
Speaker 1: we're stuck, we're doing nothing right, Uh yeah, exactly. Hey,
Speaker 1: I want you to tell me about your dad. Your
Speaker 1: dad Emmanuel as I said, director of public health at
Speaker 1: cal State Sam Marcos, but got his PhD and ms
Speaker 1: in environmental and occupational health at uyic here in Chicago,
Speaker 1: where you were born and lived. Um, and Nigerian came
Speaker 1: to this country, and clearly this is something that impacted
Speaker 1: you given your background and desire also to be a
Speaker 1: doctor one day, Um, what what's he doing and and
Speaker 1: and what's what kind of impact has it made on you?
Speaker 1: Him and this profession? Yeah, so you know I've been
Speaker 1: around health my whole life, you know, started with with
Speaker 1: my dad and my mom as well. But um, yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, we're just used to being being around that profession,
Speaker 1: and uh, it gives you a different viewpoint as far
Speaker 1: as you know, daily life and hygiene and you know
Speaker 1: all that stuff. You know, for me, he wanted to
Speaker 1: be a doctor, like I'm around, um around that a
Speaker 1: lot too. So Um, he's definitely like instilled in me,
Speaker 1: like you know, the point of health and um, he's
Speaker 1: you know, his especialties public health, L like this, this
Speaker 1: what we're going through right now is like you know
Speaker 1: directly what he what he deals with. So he's just
Speaker 1: kind of you know, going about it and in the
Speaker 1: best way and kind of relaying that message to me
Speaker 1: and my brothers and telling us pretty much what. You know,
Speaker 1: the majority of the news and stuff is toll us,
Speaker 1: but it's not having that perspective you know from your
Speaker 1: dad and him giving you that advice. Um, it's nice
Speaker 1: hey Joel personally, you know with I've called you a
Speaker 1: vent at your introduction and I really respect that because
Speaker 1: guys have to earn that. Well, what is your goal
Speaker 1: for this season? You know, everybody kind of to have
Speaker 1: you all this guy's gonna be a great special teams
Speaker 1: player and what you have been, But where where do
Speaker 1: you see your future going? Now that you're a little
Speaker 1: bit more familiar with the new defensive system you're in.
Speaker 1: You know that Quadkowski as signed with the Raiders. So
Speaker 1: what's Joel? What are you looking for for yourself? Yeah?
Speaker 1: For me, I mean, um, shout out to Quick Quick
Speaker 1: and KPL you know those guys got um new deals
Speaker 1: or whatnot at different places. But um, for me, you know,
Speaker 1: I'm just my goal has always been to be a
Speaker 1: starter and always been to you know, to be a
Speaker 1: dominant linebacker in this league. So you know, none of
Speaker 1: that has changed. My goal this year is to do
Speaker 1: that exactly. So you know, coming into whenever we start
Speaker 1: back up, you know, I'm excited to get get to work,
Speaker 1: and um, I've been putting into working and so I'm
Speaker 1: excited to to try to reach that goal this year. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and that would be my last question because as Jeff said,
Speaker 1: you can't go into the facilities. I'm sure at some
Speaker 1: point you'll be in contact. And I mentioned whether it's
Speaker 1: the strength coaches for Phase one, maybe a good base,
Speaker 1: a foundation that they can either email all the players, um,
Speaker 1: to really start to get that base on here, so
Speaker 1: you are ready to roll once potentially the doors are
Speaker 1: open and come back in. So you know, is that
Speaker 1: line of communication going to open up here soon? With
Speaker 1: what you've heard from from the Chicago Bears. Yeah, Yeah,
Speaker 1: We've been getting emails from from the team and they've
Speaker 1: pretty much been telling us any updates, um about what's
Speaker 1: going on. So far, nothing is stone yet. It's still
Speaker 1: earlier as far as when we will start back up,
Speaker 1: but yeah, I pretty much day to day, we're just
Speaker 1: waiting waiting for any updates, and once we get that
Speaker 1: that email or the notification that you know we're starting
Speaker 1: up at this time, I'm sure everybody will be back
Speaker 1: in back in the start of things and getting ready
Speaker 1: to uh get work. Joel, Yeah, booney away our guest.
Speaker 1: The last question for me, Joel, My belief is in
Speaker 1: the NFL because it is hard to be balanced and
Speaker 1: have great units across the board all three phases. But
Speaker 1: the Bear's defense is notable and one of widely regarded
Speaker 1: as one of the best in the NFL. So despite
Speaker 1: the moves and the changes, you keep a strength of
Speaker 1: strength on paper at this point until you guys get
Speaker 1: on the field. But getting Danny Trevathan, Uh, this is
Speaker 1: all reportedly obviously until things are official. But Robert Quinn
Speaker 1: added to the mix, just your thoughts on on Danny
Speaker 1: in terms of his leadership and inspirational impact on that
Speaker 1: football team and what you guys are doing defensively, right, Yeah, Danny,
Speaker 1: that's that's my god, that's my big brother. So um no,
Speaker 1: I was like a no brander for him to come back,
Speaker 1: and I'm Brady's back. And um, the leadership like you said, Um,
Speaker 1: the maturity just as a classic bet you know what
Speaker 1: I mean. Great player. Um, he's he what he brings
Speaker 1: has already has already been noted. But um Robert Quinn, Yeah, man,
Speaker 1: he's he's a beast too. Man. You know, we know
Speaker 1: what he's done, um in his career, and so he's up.
Speaker 1: Having him next to lil is gonna be there's gonna
Speaker 1: be a problem for for opposing offenses and our defensive
Speaker 1: song man. Like you said, so you know, bringing back
Speaker 1: these pieces, bring mcdanny and adding adding Robert Quinn is
Speaker 1: definitely uh good news. And uh we're very excited to
Speaker 1: uh obviously get to meet um, you know Robert and
Speaker 1: um get started with with chasing this uh this ring
Speaker 1: next year. All right, Well, we really appreciate you taking
Speaker 1: the time to join the program. Very insightful and uh
Speaker 1: keep keep keep hitting at social networks to get them
Speaker 1: to get the message out because hey, you know, uh,
Speaker 1: you know we talk about working out and getting ready
Speaker 1: for the season. You know, he'd be Tommy and Jim
Speaker 1: one of the first guys you want walking off the bus.
Speaker 1: This guy's not gonna stop working out right, all right, Joel,
Speaker 1: looking forward to see you when we get all together again.
Speaker 1: Sounds good man, Thank you, Stay safe, Stay healthy, Joel
Speaker 1: Ea booney Way, our guest here on Chicago Sports Radio
Speaker 1: six seventy The Score Back with more on the show
Speaker 1: after this time. Ours one more segments ago here on
Speaker 1: Bear's All Access with Tom Beare Jim Miller, Jeff Johnny Ax.
Speaker 1: So I was thrilled to talk to Joel Ya Boneyway Fellers.
Speaker 1: He's a smart guy and has the attention of a
Speaker 1: lot of people during this time. So that was very
Speaker 1: insightful stuff right there from Joel. Yeah, it was. I
Speaker 1: mean Joel's you know, He's is really an interesting year
Speaker 1: for Joel. When I talk about a guy like Eddie
Speaker 1: Goldman that I hope to have a career year to
Speaker 1: get the best out of the front of the defense. Joel.
Speaker 1: We've seen his athleticism, we see here as intelligence, we
Speaker 1: hear as intelligence. He's the guy. He's got to be
Speaker 1: the type of guy that goes into this training camp
Speaker 1: and starts really fighting for that starting job. And I
Speaker 1: think that more than just a quality special teamer. He
Speaker 1: can get a lot more reps and the defense of
Speaker 1: configurations they use well before he's even got a doctor
Speaker 1: attached to his name. He's almost like Tardif from from
Speaker 1: the Data City Chiefs, right. I'm sure a lot of
Speaker 1: players are tapping into him getting the information because they
Speaker 1: know he knows firsthands just with his his experience, his
Speaker 1: mother and father and their experiences as well. And you
Speaker 1: know he's a resource that players are going to turn
Speaker 1: to to educate themselves on what's going on currently right now.
Speaker 1: You want to be aware, and I'm sure players are
Speaker 1: making themselves aware, and Joel's and making himself available so
Speaker 1: that they're aware of what they need to do to
Speaker 1: do their part and come out of this unscathed. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, fellas anyone wants. You just want to be
Speaker 1: You want to be shot straight on the whole deal.
Speaker 1: You know what's fact, what's fiction? Sure, and uh and
Speaker 1: roll with it and just protect your family. And that's
Speaker 1: the bigger thing. You know, we all want sports back,
Speaker 1: we all want everything back. Businesses up and running, Tom,
Speaker 1: I know your family has a very successful business and
Speaker 1: Joliet a restaurant, and you know, support all these and
Speaker 1: go ahead take the time to promote it too, because
Speaker 1: you know, on our friend Luke and ellis with av
Speaker 1: Lee just opening up a couple of restaurants here in
Speaker 1: the past couple of years, and so many people you know,
Speaker 1: support if you can order out, take the take out,
Speaker 1: and support the local businesses, it's a big deal. Yeah, Jeff.
Speaker 1: You know, you got a staff that you know, they
Speaker 1: make ends meet almost week to week in some aspect,
Speaker 1: and so if you can help these businesses have some
Speaker 1: you know, have an opportunity to cook some food or
Speaker 1: deliver some food or give you a carry out during
Speaker 1: these trying times. You know, I see it on a
Speaker 1: real personal level with my brother and my family, and
Speaker 1: but I see it across the board. And every small
Speaker 1: business owner in the world needs the support of their
Speaker 1: their fellow human beings to make sure that they're making
Speaker 1: the right to they're making the right decision for the
Speaker 1: big picture, not just for themselves. Yeah, and if you
Speaker 1: can't go there to get the delivery, hey, buy gift card.
Speaker 1: Do whatever you can. You know, maybe it's an opportunity
Speaker 1: to send a gift card to somebody, a loved one,
Speaker 1: some elderly neighbor that our need that obviously are the
Speaker 1: most vulnerable to the virus. Do what you again to
Speaker 1: help out your neighbors and everybody local that you mentioned, Jeff, Yeah,
Speaker 1: and the other thing I want to also focus on,
Speaker 1: so you know everybody again, everybody wants to have the
Speaker 1: sports scene back in row, and we are very selfish
Speaker 1: in that regard. We want football to start on time
Speaker 1: and have the offseason program go. But we've got to
Speaker 1: remember that everybody's families are the most important thing, and
Speaker 1: these guys, coaches, players, executives, ownership all have to worry
Speaker 1: about their families first and make sure everybody stays healthy.
Speaker 1: So that doesn't get lost in the equation here. As
Speaker 1: we move on and talk more about what happened in
Speaker 1: free agency and the opening days here and now you're
Speaker 1: really into the second phase, just get overall thoughts in
Speaker 1: the division and obviously you got to win your division
Speaker 1: first if you want to be a playoff team. So
Speaker 1: what you guys think of what the Vikings, Packers and
Speaker 1: Lions have done. We don't need to go through every acquisition,
Speaker 1: but where they're going and what they've done in this
Speaker 1: first phase of free agency. We'll start with Tom. You know, Jeff,
Speaker 1: I think if you look at the division outside the
Speaker 1: Detroit Lions this past season, and a lot of it
Speaker 1: had to do with the injury to Matthew Stafford, there
Speaker 1: was no teams that was in a desperate scenario to
Speaker 1: make these wholesale changes where they're going to completely change
Speaker 1: the roster of their team within one free agency period
Speaker 1: or one offseason. So I think every team took steps
Speaker 1: to maybe lose a player that has been unproductive in
Speaker 1: their eyes. And I'm talking about every team across the board,
Speaker 1: because when you look at Trey Waynes leaving Minnesota, he
Speaker 1: was a high pick a couple of years ago. Every
Speaker 1: one of the teams in the division has had those
Speaker 1: instances come across. And then you look at the Detroit
Speaker 1: Lions when they come and they pick guys like Nick Williams,
Speaker 1: they get Chase Daniel, they get guys out of their
Speaker 1: own division to try to make their roster better. And
Speaker 1: that's kind of the thinking processes make our ruster better,
Speaker 1: why we're depleting the roster of our opponents. So some
Speaker 1: teams are are also, you know, taking that template to success. Yeah,
Speaker 1: this seems like to me, it's a status quote for
Speaker 1: Green Bay, They you know, they lose a tackle and
Speaker 1: Bilaga they add Wagner, right, they use a lose a
Speaker 1: talented linebacker and Blake Martinez who led that team in tackles,
Speaker 1: and they add Christian Kirksey so to me, you know,
Speaker 1: and then obviously they lose Jimmy Graham to the Bears,
Speaker 1: and they just resigned Mercedes Lewis. Minnesota's in the same boat.
Speaker 1: They probably lost the most. I don't think any Bears
Speaker 1: fans are going to have any love loss at that.
Speaker 1: Stefan Diggs is shipped off to to the Buffalo Bills,
Speaker 1: you know, but they kind of maintain the status quote.
Speaker 1: They lose Linvell Joseph, they add big defensive tackle Michael Pierce, so,
Speaker 1: and then you know they franchise tag obviously Anthony Harris.
Speaker 1: So that's kind of the status quote there. If anything,
Speaker 1: they've lost a little bit in terms of the production
Speaker 1: with Dix. Detroit you can say that they've lost quite
Speaker 1: a bit, you know. I you know, I think when
Speaker 1: you signed Desmond Truffont, he's not as good as as
Speaker 1: what they lost in Slay in that trade, but he's serviceable,
Speaker 1: you know. But Detroit certainly is relying you know, there's
Speaker 1: no way you're gonna put Danny Shelton in the mode
Speaker 1: of snacks Harrison, so and then you add Nick Williams,
Speaker 1: so it's more of a rotational thing for the Detroit Lions.
Speaker 1: But I don't think Detroit has really bettered themselves. They've
Speaker 1: had a lot of holes to fill, and they lost
Speaker 1: some key players that I still don't think they've filled yet.
Speaker 1: All right, when that many players left prior to the
Speaker 1: arrival Matt Patricia and he's certainly getting more of the
Speaker 1: New England influence there, but certainly sounded as well. No
Speaker 1: love lost between Darius Slay and the head coach who's
Speaker 1: now the highest paid corner in the NFL with the
Speaker 1: Philadelphia Eagles. Well, you know, Jeff, hasn't Darius Slay probably
Speaker 1: been the best player on the football team over the
Speaker 1: last last couple of years. I know Matthew Stafford is
Speaker 1: the quarterback and what he does, but when you're presented
Speaker 1: that football team defensively, speaking for a lack of talent
Speaker 1: up in front of him, he was probably the best
Speaker 1: defensive player they had. I don't know, man, I think
Speaker 1: they were ranked twenty eighth in the NFL and defense,
Speaker 1: and I believe he only had two interceptions a year ago.
Speaker 1: So well that, Jim, I'm just talking about the best
Speaker 1: on their team. I'm not talking about the best in
Speaker 1: the league, because you know, I think he may be
Speaker 1: in the the only concern of a defensive player, not
Speaker 1: only by the Bears, but anybody else. Right, No, it's
Speaker 1: a it's a good point, but man, that pass for us.
Speaker 1: They still they've got a lot of work to do
Speaker 1: for Detroit, and I'm sure you know with the mandate
Speaker 1: by ownership that the coach has got to be in
Speaker 1: a playoff run. You just wonder if the talent that
Speaker 1: is being shipped out the building it doesn't look like
Speaker 1: the talent they've placed it with. It's gonna be tough
Speaker 1: to win with Jim Miller, Tom there, Jeff, Joni Ike
Speaker 1: here on Bears All Access, remaining moments before we turn
Speaker 1: it back over to the guys on the score real
Speaker 1: quick again. Salary cap situation being what it is, Bears
Speaker 1: have to be, you know, very particular right now in
Speaker 1: terms of what they do moving forward. And we got
Speaker 1: the draft coming up. Two picks in the second round,
Speaker 1: obviously given up that fourth, no third, You've got a
Speaker 1: five and you've got two sixes and two sevens. The
Speaker 1: people that they lost were people that were required to
Speaker 1: play last year because of injury and stepping into rolls,
Speaker 1: and it really did make a difference. Yeah, the record
Speaker 1: was eight and eight, but at times we were praising
Speaker 1: the guys that they had on a roster that was deep.
Speaker 1: So guys like Nick Quickkowski, corne Elias Lucas, who reportedly
Speaker 1: agrees with the Redskins, was a very important piece to
Speaker 1: that puzzle. Upfront. Obviously, Chase Daniel as a backup quarterback.
Speaker 1: Nick Williams did a nice job inside. Kevin Pierre Lewis,
Speaker 1: we all praised his performance. We're talking in every phase,
Speaker 1: special teams, on defense, and on offense, despite its inequities
Speaker 1: over the course of the year. Is this an important
Speaker 1: time now to cherry pick your way through the rest
Speaker 1: of free agency and whatever you get in the draft
Speaker 1: to also reload that depth and now you have to replenish.
Speaker 1: Just don't bring in bodies, bring in something of value,
Speaker 1: whether it's future potential and development or you know, maybe
Speaker 1: someone that has a hiccup of an injury that that
Speaker 1: you know is upside is still yet to come. Well,
Speaker 1: I think they've upgraded the two spots that were key
Speaker 1: that we mentioned. Pass rusher in quarterbacks certainly has been elevated,
Speaker 1: and we'll see what they can do and upgrade some
Speaker 1: depth as you mentioned Jeff via the draft. All right, fellas,
Speaker 1: we'll talk to you next Wednesday. Stay safe, stay healthy, everybody.
Speaker 1: Thanks for joining us for Tom Fair, Jim Miller, Joel Ea,
Speaker 1: Booney Way, Mike Rankin and Mike Chen our producers. We
Speaker 1: appreciate you listening tonight. Hopeball stays well for everybody, and
Speaker 1: keep listening to the Score as we bring you the
Speaker 1: best in sports. This is Bears All Access on Chicago
Speaker 1: Sports Radio six seventy the Score. I'm Jeff Jone. Have
Speaker 1: a great night, everybody. Thanks for listening to this Chicago
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