Speaker 1: Talking Bears once again here on Bears All Access on
Speaker 1: Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The Score. It's brought to
Speaker 1: you by IGS Energy. Good to have you along along
Speaker 1: with Tom Fayer, I'm Jeff Joniac and Jim Miller from
Speaker 1: Sirius Sex m NFL Radios moving the chains our weekly
Speaker 1: guest thanks to our producers Jordan trud Up, Dan Billing
Speaker 1: and the folks here at the Score. Coming up at
Speaker 1: the bottom of the hour, were joined by veteran tight
Speaker 1: end Ryan Griffin. Boys, good to see it, Good to
Speaker 1: talk to you. This is the downtime, as it is
Speaker 1: every year, the quiet time of year. But it's still
Speaker 1: not quiet, is it. Jim, No way, no, how no.
Speaker 1: You know, players, you know they got to be smart.
Speaker 1: You know, this is when you got some free time,
Speaker 1: some money in the bank, and you got to make
Speaker 1: some wise decisions. You know. This is I always bring
Speaker 1: it up that this was a point where I kind
Speaker 1: of cranked it up in terms of my training. You're
Speaker 1: expected to be in shape when you arrived to camp.
Speaker 1: A camp isn't sometime that you you're starting to get
Speaker 1: in shape. You've already built this foundation. So for me,
Speaker 1: I want to crank it up. But you know, again,
Speaker 1: time on your hands, be careful, just spend it with
Speaker 1: family and friends and no foolishness. I mean, the task
Speaker 1: at hand is just around the corner. And Tom the
Speaker 1: league would love twenty four to seven NFL headlines, and
Speaker 1: they still do. There's always something going on, something either
Speaker 1: inside the game or outside the game, and that has
Speaker 1: been the case again this week. And then you know,
Speaker 1: you talk about the unveiling of the training camp schedule.
Speaker 1: That's another milestone, so fans are gonna get eleven shots
Speaker 1: at seeing the Bears up at hallisall. We all agree
Speaker 1: that it was a wonderful experience to have a home
Speaker 1: camp without having to pack everything up and go a
Speaker 1: lot more efficient. Fans are up close, great opportunity. The
Speaker 1: first one they'll be able to see for themselves is
Speaker 1: July twenty eighth, so we're a little more than a
Speaker 1: month away from that. But just to reflect on what
Speaker 1: training camp and there's adjustments to another Bear is going
Speaker 1: to tweak how and the interactions with the players are
Speaker 1: going to be back with autographs and everything. Just what
Speaker 1: it would be like at house. On the efficiency of
Speaker 1: it all, well, you know, continue the familiarity that you've
Speaker 1: been able to build upon by bringing this whole rookie
Speaker 1: class in the Hollis Hall. They know how to get there,
Speaker 1: they know how to get home, they know where their
Speaker 1: locker is, they know all the inner workings of the building.
Speaker 1: That's so no one's ever late for meetings or trying
Speaker 1: to transition from one area to the next, and they
Speaker 1: know the distances in between. The one thing about it,
Speaker 1: and I think in the next six weeks is everybody
Speaker 1: was up in arms when they asked Justin about is
Speaker 1: he ready to play a game, and Justin said, no,
Speaker 1: I'm not ready, but I'll be ready in ten weeks
Speaker 1: when it's or however many weeks September eleventh. Is so
Speaker 1: when Jim talks about what you have to do during
Speaker 1: this next six weeks, yeah, it's time off from being
Speaker 1: required to be in the building every day, but it's
Speaker 1: not time off from your football responsibility. That's physically and mentally.
Speaker 1: So I think what Justin Fields can do with the
Speaker 1: information that he's been able to put on the video
Speaker 1: and where he's going to go when they start up again,
Speaker 1: I think it can be as big as a building
Speaker 1: block as anything that he's faced since he was introduced
Speaker 1: to Matt Eberflus and this whole coaching staff in this offense.
Speaker 1: Tammgat injury, so we knew that Dakota Dozier, the veteran
Speaker 1: offensive lineman, suffered a leg injury in the minicamp and
Speaker 1: now had to be placed on injured reserve. He was
Speaker 1: getting first team reps at right guard. Does that impact
Speaker 1: you in any way at what the end result will
Speaker 1: be with that starter at that right guard position. Oh, significantly,
Speaker 1: because it's rookies or a converted center trying to play
Speaker 1: right guard. To me, I hope that they still keep
Speaker 1: in the consideration that Lucas Patrick may be the best
Speaker 1: to play right guard if the rookies don't pan out,
Speaker 1: or Sam Mustaffer is better fit for center than he
Speaker 1: is offensive guard. You gotta keep at an open mind
Speaker 1: when you're talking about developing five guys that can play
Speaker 1: alongside each other for the long haul. And Lucas Patrick
Speaker 1: has experience at right guard, Sam Mustaffer does not have
Speaker 1: a experience at right guard. So you got to keep
Speaker 1: an open mind, Jeff, when they bring these players aboard.
Speaker 1: If you don't have a rookie that is really impressing
Speaker 1: you from day one. You may have to make some
Speaker 1: veteran moves to put the best offensive line out there,
Speaker 1: or like I said, consider Tavin Jenkins. Here's a guy
Speaker 1: that if he can't play right or left tackle, can
Speaker 1: he play right guard. Jim, how do you feel about
Speaker 1: it and are you okay with having a super young
Speaker 1: offensive line versus some veterans that are thrown in the mix. Well,
Speaker 1: I think it's it's going to be crucial for Justin Fields.
Speaker 1: He's got to know his blitz packages and he's got
Speaker 1: to know his hunts, so you know, if a block
Speaker 1: is missed, he's got to get the ball out of
Speaker 1: his hands. So normally you like with a young quarterback,
Speaker 1: you like a veteran offensive line, but that may not
Speaker 1: be the case here with the Bears. So I think
Speaker 1: it puts added pressure on Justin Fields to know the
Speaker 1: ins and out so the past protections, way to check plays,
Speaker 1: you know, to and from, to put his offensive lineman
Speaker 1: in the best position. And as Tom mentioned, I mean
Speaker 1: the real you're gonna find out how it really sorts
Speaker 1: out once the pads come on, once the live bullets,
Speaker 1: when they go through blitz period and blitz pick up
Speaker 1: and inside run. It's gonna sort itself out. It always
Speaker 1: does on the offensive line. But I do think it's
Speaker 1: gonna be imperative if they do go young, that it's
Speaker 1: going to put more pressure on Justin to really know
Speaker 1: where his blitz pickups are. And it's some and at
Speaker 1: some point you know they're gonna they're gonna have to
Speaker 1: go with what they go with at the tackle position
Speaker 1: while keeping an eye and they will because this is
Speaker 1: how it's going to be. Ryan Poles would be constantly
Speaker 1: having his guys look at seeing what's out there, who's
Speaker 1: still available, and if things aren't going in the right
Speaker 1: direction at some point in camp, So Tom, for example,
Speaker 1: there's some tackles out there still available, guys like Dwayne Brown,
Speaker 1: Eric Fisher and Riley Reef, two veterans that come to
Speaker 1: mind that have played the tackle position for a long
Speaker 1: time in the NFL. Would that be an area that
Speaker 1: you'd be okay with if you're not comfortable with what
Speaker 1: you're getting at the tackle position and the development of
Speaker 1: those young tackles at the moment, you know, Jeff, what
Speaker 1: at all three of us experienced last year. Eleven days
Speaker 1: ten days before camp, they bring in an eighteen year
Speaker 1: vet who said he's been sitting on a lake shore fishing.
Speaker 1: So if you look at those players that you just mentioned,
Speaker 1: they do have experience. Will they take a responsible amount
Speaker 1: of money or because they know it's a desperation sign?
Speaker 1: Are they looking to break the bank one more time?
Speaker 1: If that's the case, I don't want to bring in
Speaker 1: a guy that's money hungry. I want to bring in
Speaker 1: a player that's hungry. So, yeah, the veterans are nice
Speaker 1: to mention Dwayne Brown. He's been a heck of a
Speaker 1: player and he's had a heck of a career. But
Speaker 1: I'm going to exhaust every single guy that I have
Speaker 1: on this roster to tell me, Okay, you cannot play.
Speaker 1: Then we got to look to make a change him.
Speaker 1: One team that's out there that I think Bryan Poles
Speaker 1: is very familiar with is Kansas City. They've got linemen
Speaker 1: to give, all right, They're gonna have Orlando Brown's probably
Speaker 1: gonna be the highest paid left tackle in the league.
Speaker 1: Joe Thuney is the highest paid left guard. Creed Humphreys
Speaker 1: an All Pro as a rookie as a center. Trey
Speaker 1: Smith started every game and playoffs as a right guard,
Speaker 1: and then you've got they've got penciled in Andrew Wiley
Speaker 1: at the right tackle. But Wiley is competing against Lucas Niang,
Speaker 1: who they drafted a couple of years ago. They are
Speaker 1: loaded at their offensive lines, So maybe there a deal
Speaker 1: can be struck with Kansas City that have more than
Speaker 1: enough guys to give at both guard and tackle. Jim Miller,
Speaker 1: Jeff Johnny Act, Tom Fair, We're gonna take our first break.
Speaker 1: Coming up, we'll take a look at the defense or
Speaker 1: the Bears and the status of Robert Quinn. It's all
Speaker 1: ahead here on Bears on Access on Chicago Sports Radio
Speaker 1: six seventy to score. Welcome ack to Bears All Access
Speaker 1: brought to you by IGS Energy. Choose clean energy for
Speaker 1: your home at igs dot com because every good choice
Speaker 1: adds up to a better world. With Jim Miller toomp there,
Speaker 1: Jeff Jonahac, good to have you alongside as we break
Speaker 1: things down. We'll be back with you on Monday as well.
Speaker 1: So a quick turnaround, well, Jim, as much as we
Speaker 1: can in to discuss the Bears of twenty twenty two.
Speaker 1: We'll start looking into the division as well. Take a
Speaker 1: trip around the NFC North to see what's going on
Speaker 1: with our friends in Minnesota, Detroit and Green Bay. Fellas
Speaker 1: before the break, I said, we're gonna talk a little defense,
Speaker 1: but you know, the elephant in the room really is
Speaker 1: Robert Quinn right now, a veteran pass rusher who said
Speaker 1: a single season sack record for the Bears last year
Speaker 1: and an unbelievable bounce back year should have been a
Speaker 1: candidate as well for Comeback Player of the Year in
Speaker 1: the NFL. By far the most consistent pass rusher around
Speaker 1: the team, and he still has a lot of value
Speaker 1: to him. Missed the minicamp, missed the entire offseason. Jim,
Speaker 1: where does that put him in your eyes? And what
Speaker 1: he may or may not want to be. I mean,
Speaker 1: we don't have all the details of exactly what is
Speaker 1: going on or if he will be counted on for
Speaker 1: the Bears in twenty twenty two, and how does that
Speaker 1: impact the Bears moving forward? Yeah, I mean, certainly he's
Speaker 1: a veteran. His role is going to be his role
Speaker 1: if if he elects to report and shows up in shape,
Speaker 1: you know he's going to be counted on, I think,
Speaker 1: to be a leader of the defense. But you know
Speaker 1: from that standpoint. He's been in both A four to
Speaker 1: three and the three four. He's had production in both
Speaker 1: of those. He obviously is coming off a monster year
Speaker 1: and probably a little upset that he in a defense
Speaker 1: that he had a lot of success in. They're going
Speaker 1: to change it up and do some different things, so
Speaker 1: he has to be a professional about it. He may
Speaker 1: not be happy. He may ultimately not be with the Bears.
Speaker 1: I personally think he's a trading chip. If some younger
Speaker 1: guys emerge, they're going to have an opportunity and maybe
Speaker 1: they feel comfortable where the Bears can move on from
Speaker 1: Robert Quinn. So I think it's there's a lot of
Speaker 1: things still up in the air, but hopefully he'll come in,
Speaker 1: be a professional about it and play is hard and
Speaker 1: be prepared to lead a team and bring a young
Speaker 1: defense along. But we'll see where it ends up. I
Speaker 1: think it's it's open ended, is where this could go.
Speaker 1: Tom I'm torn on it personally, because you never can
Speaker 1: have enough good players, certainly in the front seven. You
Speaker 1: want to have rotating bodies in there, have fresh waves
Speaker 1: and go at him and the way they want to
Speaker 1: attack defenses. You know this guy, this guy is a
Speaker 1: turnover maker too. It's not just the sex, it's the
Speaker 1: force fumbles. Where are you sitting on it? You know,
Speaker 1: I always think about Mike ditka Ace attitude, character, enthusiasm,
Speaker 1: and that's the approach I need in this locker room
Speaker 1: with a new coaching staff, with the young guys on
Speaker 1: this roster. We mentioned that he and Ryan Griffin are
Speaker 1: the only two guys with double digit year as a service.
Speaker 1: So I need to hinder him to come into the
Speaker 1: locker room every day, go out to the practice field
Speaker 1: with a positive attitude. That's going to carry over to
Speaker 1: Dominic Robinson, that's going to carry over to Travis Gibson
Speaker 1: and the rest of his defensive ends. That's the attitude
Speaker 1: I need him to have. And then if I'm looking
Speaker 1: at Robert Quinn, I'd be licking my chops to stay
Speaker 1: in this division. This is a group of left tackles
Speaker 1: that are there's so much uncertainty in this division that
Speaker 1: he could have another huge year just within the division.
Speaker 1: And then you talk about the other teams are going
Speaker 1: to play around the league. When you talk about the
Speaker 1: Jets and the Giants and teams like that, So you know,
Speaker 1: Robert Quinn It's all about attitude. If you come in
Speaker 1: here and you have a sour attitude from the first
Speaker 1: day you have to report, I think that really creates
Speaker 1: a negative vibe in the defensive preparation room, especially in
Speaker 1: the defensive line room. So I've totally impressed what Robert
Speaker 1: Quinn did last year, and I hope he comes in
Speaker 1: with that same determination and that same attitude. All right, Tom,
Speaker 1: let's have some fun here, because you you just said
Speaker 1: something that kind of opened You said there's uncertainty at
Speaker 1: the tackle position in the division. So now why do
Speaker 1: you say that? And I trust you because you know
Speaker 1: offensive line so well. So in the division you got
Speaker 1: Taylor Decker at left tackle in Detroit and a suet
Speaker 1: right tackle David BACHTIERI assuming in Jaredy. He's got to
Speaker 1: be helping now, right he recovered that Now there that
Speaker 1: there's I was just reading a report. They're still uncertainty
Speaker 1: about his health status. Elton Jenkins is assumed right tackle.
Speaker 1: He played left tackle. Christian Derris saw the young tackle
Speaker 1: at Minnesota, Brian O'Neill pretty good right tackle at Minnesota.
Speaker 1: So where where are you? How are you feeling about
Speaker 1: these Why do you feel this way. I guess because
Speaker 1: Kirk Cousins and Jared Golf are slow quarterbacks. They get
Speaker 1: out to their descent and they're not the fastest of
Speaker 1: decision makers are on their feet. If you put pressure
Speaker 1: on Kirk Cousins, he's liable to throw an interception or
Speaker 1: just you know, get in his own way. Same thing
Speaker 1: with Jared Golf, Aaron Rodgers. He's the best player in
Speaker 1: the division, but if you can disrupt his flow because
Speaker 1: of the other offensive lineman, So if Robert Quinn's here,
Speaker 1: they're gonna have to focus their slide to the left
Speaker 1: so they can have multiple eyes on Robert Quinn. So
Speaker 1: that should open up the other pass rushers to the backside.
Speaker 1: And we've seen Robert Quinn being able to compliment the
Speaker 1: rest of the defensive lineman. But to me, I still
Speaker 1: think that Robert Quinn is a better pass rusher than
Speaker 1: the talent at left tackle within our division. Jim, do
Speaker 1: you have any thoughts on Tom's analysis there? No, I
Speaker 1: you know, I think a lot of things gotta scored
Speaker 1: itself out. You know, when you look at Bactieri, you
Speaker 1: know he was basically practicing all the way up to
Speaker 1: the end, and then his knee blew up on him again.
Speaker 1: So I'm with Tom. I don't think he's one hundred
Speaker 1: percent healthy yet. Yeah, they're going to say all the
Speaker 1: right things in the timetable that he'll be ready to
Speaker 1: go week one, but there's not a certainty in that.
Speaker 1: So he's already had a cleanup surgery and for an
Speaker 1: I understand, still really hasn't been on the field for
Speaker 1: the Green Bay Packers. I think Christian Derrisau is going
Speaker 1: to be a really good left tackle for Minnesota, and
Speaker 1: Brian O'Neill's pretty good, but was going on his second year.
Speaker 1: He was injured early, much like Tevin Jenkins. He had
Speaker 1: to get a core muscle surgery so really didn't play.
Speaker 1: Got his feet went last year, but didn't play top
Speaker 1: tier football. But I do think he's going to be
Speaker 1: a solid tackle when it's all said and done. But
Speaker 1: Tom's right, you can take advantage of him because he's young.
Speaker 1: He's still a second year tackle in the NFL. Taylor Decker,
Speaker 1: they were probably the Lion's strength to me is their
Speaker 1: offensive line, and they ran the football and were committed
Speaker 1: to running the football a lot more. Penney Sewel's a
Speaker 1: stud Taylor Decker's getting up there, and he came back
Speaker 1: from shoulder surgery last year. But Detroit's new theme is
Speaker 1: running the football. They want more balance, and I think
Speaker 1: you just got to come in with those expectations. But
Speaker 1: they're still young tackles, whether it's derrisau Penney Sewell, and
Speaker 1: if Bok Tier he's not in there, you're going against backup.
Speaker 1: So but that's a savvy quarterback who can normally negotiate
Speaker 1: it up there in the Great White North. All right, Now,
Speaker 1: how does impact Travis Gibson if Quinn moves Because he
Speaker 1: had seven sacks, five force fumbles, and I think less
Speaker 1: than five hundred snaps last year, so seemingly he's going
Speaker 1: to get more snaps, or maybe that the rotation is
Speaker 1: good enough where they have enough depth to keep that
Speaker 1: in that same wheelhouse to keep him fresh. But Pro
Speaker 1: Football Focus Tom just named him a top five breakout
Speaker 1: player projection for twenty twenty two, likely because he's gonna
Speaker 1: put his hand down, he's gonna go get the quarterback.
Speaker 1: He don't have to drop into coverage like he used
Speaker 1: to and those sorts of things. So there's a great
Speaker 1: expectation for Trevis Gibson that's it. Yeah, there's great expectation
Speaker 1: for Travis Gibson mentally and physically. That puts a lot
Speaker 1: more pressure on you as a player. As we stood
Speaker 1: on the sidelines of training camp last year and we
Speaker 1: saw the improvement in Travis Gibson, you were going, Wow,
Speaker 1: I hope this relates to the field, and it did
Speaker 1: in the limited amount of snaps. Now, if he's the
Speaker 1: bona fide starter and now the offensive coordinator, the offensive
Speaker 1: line coach, they devise a plan, a scheme of how
Speaker 1: to slow him down. It's a bigger challenge for Trevis
Speaker 1: out of his stance weekend and week out. And if
Speaker 1: he has to carry a load from a guy that
Speaker 1: just set Chicago Bears sack record for one season, that's
Speaker 1: a tremendous amount of responsibility. So everything that we hear
Speaker 1: from Trevis, it's what you want to hear out of
Speaker 1: a guy that's climbing the veteran ladder. So hopefully he
Speaker 1: has another offseason of improvement like he showed and proved
Speaker 1: to us last year. He's gonna yeah, he's gonna get opportunities.
Speaker 1: If Quinn is in camp and the opposite starter, he's
Speaker 1: gonna get all the slides. As Tom mentioned, so Gibson's
Speaker 1: gonna have opportunities, one on one opportunities to get to
Speaker 1: the quarterback. This is a show me league. You've got
Speaker 1: to see it to believe it. You've got to show me,
Speaker 1: and I think the coaches want him to show them
Speaker 1: as long as well as his teammates. Who'll get those opportunities.
Speaker 1: And as Tom mentioned, he's got to take advantage of
Speaker 1: those opportun when he's too. Date he has, but now
Speaker 1: he's going to be required to do it potentially down
Speaker 1: in and down out on a consistent basis, and we'll
Speaker 1: see if he can earn that. Jim Miller, Jeff jony Yac,
Speaker 1: Tom Fair here on Bears All Access. Let's take a
Speaker 1: break on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the score. The
Speaker 1: segment of Bears All Access is brought to you by
Speaker 1: Athletico Physical Therapy. Visit Athletico dot com to request an
Speaker 1: employment in clinic or virtually and start feeling better tomorrow.
Speaker 1: Tom Fair, Jim Miller, two former Chicago Bears, Jeff jony
Speaker 1: Aac here getting excited about the start of training cap
Speaker 1: at the end of July. We'll see out there fans.
Speaker 1: No question about we got also the family fest that
Speaker 1: is always a popular thing, going to be ten thirty
Speaker 1: five in the morning on a Tuesday. I believe it
Speaker 1: Soldier Field in August. So that'll be exciting for the
Speaker 1: young folks to come out and watch the new version
Speaker 1: of the Chicago Bear. So I've been racking ahead to
Speaker 1: try to find a couple of guys that are kind
Speaker 1: of under the radar, not discussed a lot, but may
Speaker 1: have to make much bigger your impact, And maybe people
Speaker 1: are counting on and maybe maybe I'm off on these,
Speaker 1: but I'm gonna throw a couple of names at you.
Speaker 1: Let's start with Tommy as you stick on the defensive
Speaker 1: side of the ball. He only signed a one year contract.
Speaker 1: He was injured with an ankle injury missed all of
Speaker 1: twenty twenty one. Nicholas Morrow is expected to be a
Speaker 1: starter where they put him exactly. He worked out a
Speaker 1: lot of inside linebacker at the middle linebacker position now
Speaker 1: in the new defense, could be the green dot guy
Speaker 1: and let Roquan run wild over there on the week side.
Speaker 1: All yet to be determined, but would you count him
Speaker 1: among those high expectation as well? Despite signing a one
Speaker 1: year contract here in this defense. Well, Jeff, you know
Speaker 1: you just said something that kind of wasn't alert to
Speaker 1: me when we were talking about Nicholas Morrow and allowing
Speaker 1: a linebacker to run wild. Because as an offensive guard,
Speaker 1: if I was preparing to play against a linebacker that
Speaker 1: was six foot two twenty five, I would be encouraged
Speaker 1: throughout the course the week to run right at him
Speaker 1: and see if he can withstand the abuse of having
Speaker 1: three hundred and thirty pounders from three hundred pounders running
Speaker 1: at him or two hundred and sixty five pound tight ends.
Speaker 1: If Nicholas Morrow stays healthy in this lower body and
Speaker 1: he can run to the speed that he's capable of running,
Speaker 1: and then I give him the advantage if he ever
Speaker 1: has to take on blockers at the isolation place with
Speaker 1: blasting game of fullback or you know fullbacks around the league,
Speaker 1: and then that's where I see the challenge is going
Speaker 1: to come from. But if you're gonna get a team
Speaker 1: that's gonna try to run sideline to sideline against the
Speaker 1: Bears Morrow Roquan Smith, I think they're two of the
Speaker 1: fastest best interior linebackers within the division. It's gonna be
Speaker 1: to see how teams are to determine to run at him.
Speaker 1: You think of the first regular season game of the
Speaker 1: year and talking to some guys from San Francisco, they
Speaker 1: believe Trey Lance is going to be the starter. What
Speaker 1: does that do to the game plan of the San
Speaker 1: Francisco forty nine ers. Is he gonna be attacked with
Speaker 1: George Kittle? Is he gonna be attacked by offensive linemen?
Speaker 1: So to me, it's how does this Nicholas Morrow disengage
Speaker 1: from being attacked or how is he able to run sideline?
Speaker 1: The sideline when you talk about linebackers running free. Jimmy
Speaker 1: had a couple of seventy plus tackle seasons there with
Speaker 1: the Raiders before suffering that injury last year. So he
Speaker 1: was he was on the rise, and you can't you
Speaker 1: can't replace the speed. And he's born with the speed.
Speaker 1: He's got speed, Yeah, I mean, and that's what Matt Aberflus,
Speaker 1: head coach of the Bears, has talked about that that's
Speaker 1: got to be the standard. Guy's got to be able
Speaker 1: to run and fly to the football. And Morril has
Speaker 1: that type of speed and I think we all have
Speaker 1: seen it in Roquan Smith. That guy's the heat seeking missile.
Speaker 1: You know, part of it is their instincts and they
Speaker 1: have to use their speed to their advantage. Is as
Speaker 1: Tom mentioned, sometimes you're taking on a three hundred pound
Speaker 1: three twenty pound off on some linemen. You got to
Speaker 1: be able to weed through the trash and sometimes beat
Speaker 1: those offensive linemen before they can even get to the
Speaker 1: second level. Some of it has to beat with the
Speaker 1: guys up front, guys like Kiris Tonga that really need
Speaker 1: to keep those linebackers clean so they can fly and
Speaker 1: fill and do all the things that they need to do.
Speaker 1: And some other times it'll just beat with their keys,
Speaker 1: their key and diagnosis, the recognition of a play where
Speaker 1: they're going to become unblockable just by getting to the
Speaker 1: spot where they believe the ball's going before the running
Speaker 1: backs able to get there, say on an outside zone play.
Speaker 1: So they'll beat it with a little bit of both
Speaker 1: sheer speed. They got to be savvy to shed blocks
Speaker 1: and weed through the trash, and then of course have
Speaker 1: to count on the guys up front to do their
Speaker 1: jobs as well to keep them as clean as possible.
Speaker 1: You know, just to clarify this, I'm not saying Nicholas
Speaker 1: Morrow cannot do it because one of the best linebackers
Speaker 1: I've ever played against in the history of the USFL
Speaker 1: and the NFL with Sam Mills and so this guy
Speaker 1: was a multi time All Pro, multi time Pro Bowlers.
Speaker 1: So I'm just saying, if I was an officsive lineman
Speaker 1: and I was studying my opponent and I saw that
Speaker 1: I would like I would have a great deal of
Speaker 1: confidence me personally running at him. All Right, we're gonna
Speaker 1: take him another break. Coming up next out of the break,
Speaker 1: we'll be joined by the bears new tight end, the
Speaker 1: ten year veteran Ryan Griffin, who's helping out with a
Speaker 1: unit that is going to be counted on to do
Speaker 1: a lot of work both in the pass and run
Speaker 1: game for the twenty twenty two Bears. This is Bears
Speaker 1: All Access on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score,
Speaker 1: getting a close view of practice and your favorite Bears
Speaker 1: players at hadis off. The twenty twenty two training camp
Speaker 1: schedule is out. Go to Chicago Bears dot com for
Speaker 1: more details. Welcome back to Bears All Access here on
Speaker 1: Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score, Tom there, Jeff
Speaker 1: Joni at Jim Miller will be along in a while.
Speaker 1: And now joined by Bears tight end Ryan Griffin kind
Speaker 1: enough to join us. I'm your time off in this
Speaker 1: moment after the mini camp and the start of training camp.
Speaker 1: You're an experienced guy ten years in. What do you
Speaker 1: do with this time? Have you adjusted it over the
Speaker 1: course of your career in any way from when you
Speaker 1: first started? Were you at right now? Oh? Sure, Yeah,
Speaker 1: there's been a lot of growth, you know during this
Speaker 1: time as a rookie. I remember my first you know,
Speaker 1: time off. We had the Rookie Symposium and got to
Speaker 1: travel out to Canton and you know, meet some of
Speaker 1: the greats of all time and the bus and stuff.
Speaker 1: Unfortunately they don't do that anymore. I wish they would
Speaker 1: continue that. But that being said, that was ten years ago. Now,
Speaker 1: you know, my break consists of a lot more training.
Speaker 1: It's almost like I used to treat this as kind
Speaker 1: of a break, whereas now I'm just kind of ramping
Speaker 1: up into a training camp. So I don't want to
Speaker 1: come to camp out of shape. So this time I'm
Speaker 1: using while away from the facility, it's more about getting
Speaker 1: my body ready for my NFL season. Yeah, and I'm
Speaker 1: sure this is a message you pass on to the
Speaker 1: younger guys, they can't get it confused, right because they're younger,
Speaker 1: they feel, you know, indestructible as you once did. But
Speaker 1: this camp sounds like it's going to be something special
Speaker 1: in terms of getting on your heels and being on
Speaker 1: the hoof the entire time. Have you had a toughest
Speaker 1: camp in your career moment that you could share that
Speaker 1: maybe you could pass on to the younger folks and
Speaker 1: what they might expect, because this sounds like it's going
Speaker 1: to be a tough one. Yeah, sure, I would say
Speaker 1: always camps with first year head coaches are a little
Speaker 1: bit tougher. The urgency is there, a lot of young
Speaker 1: guys who are hungry, really want to make a name
Speaker 1: for themselves in front of this new staff, really looking
Speaker 1: forward to the competition coming in August. You know that
Speaker 1: being said, the toughest moment in camp for me, it
Speaker 1: was probably as a rookie out in Houston. For those
Speaker 1: who don't know, I was drafted in twenty thirteen by
Speaker 1: the Texans and Houston's camp are notoriously sweltering, hot and heavy,
Speaker 1: and you know, while we do play inside, we did
Speaker 1: practiced outside out there in the in the Houston heat again,
Speaker 1: and as a rookie, I was going up against the
Speaker 1: legs of you know, J. J. Watt and Brian pushing
Speaker 1: just legends of the game, and that was no fun.
Speaker 1: But that being said, I did improve a whole bunch
Speaker 1: in one month, learned a lot. And I consider those
Speaker 1: camps the start of you know, my career as a
Speaker 1: building blocks of my technique and just the culture that
Speaker 1: I came up with really has helped me improve, you know, individually,
Speaker 1: So I credited a lot of those practices to you know,
Speaker 1: my skill. Now, Ryan, first of all, let me congratulate
Speaker 1: you on your ten year career because when you look
Speaker 1: at the roster of the Bears, you look at you
Speaker 1: guys that have double digit years of service, yourself and
Speaker 1: Robert Quinn. And that's one thing that always impresses me,
Speaker 1: the perseverance of no matter where you came from, you
Speaker 1: have the determination where we're taught. We're interviewing in your
Speaker 1: ten season. So I saw an interview with you at
Speaker 1: the party and me talked about the building and the
Speaker 1: vision of the Chicago Bears. So now at the conclusion
Speaker 1: of OTAs and mandatory mini camp is the building and
Speaker 1: the vision what you thought that attracted you to the Bears. Yeah,
Speaker 1: i'd say so full stop coming in that. You guys
Speaker 1: even alluded to it. You know, with this upcoming camp,
Speaker 1: it's going to be a tough one. We're going to
Speaker 1: be running a lot, We're gonna be well conditioned, we're
Speaker 1: going to be violent. All these things was said to
Speaker 1: me when I sat down on my visit. So all
Speaker 1: these things I see are transition coming to fruition here
Speaker 1: leading up into camp. So I would expect nothing different
Speaker 1: during the season. You know a lot of times when
Speaker 1: we see a guy in an elder statement, a guy
Speaker 1: with experience, and they draft a guy or they have
Speaker 1: guys in this position. Oh, it's not my job to
Speaker 1: coach or teach these guys. You're kind of being a
Speaker 1: unique position. You've been able to get over plenty of
Speaker 1: hurdles in your career, and you have some young guys
Speaker 1: in the tight end room. So do you take the
Speaker 1: experiences that you've lived with and kind of share them
Speaker 1: with a cold command or even a guy in a
Speaker 1: different position that can benefit them or are you Are
Speaker 1: you a guy that kind of keeps to yourself and
Speaker 1: you know it's not necessarily their responsibility or you just
Speaker 1: kind of keep to yourself. Yeah, I try to take
Speaker 1: that is. I'm just trying to be a great teammate
Speaker 1: for everyone on the Bears roster right now, So whatever,
Speaker 1: even in my position, not in my position, I'm just
Speaker 1: trying to help these guys out on the field. Off
Speaker 1: the field, I've just come to realize that, you know,
Speaker 1: time in this league is cut short all too often,
Speaker 1: so i want to make sure that every single one
Speaker 1: of my teammates has you know, you can use me
Speaker 1: as a resource to fully realize the talent and the
Speaker 1: time and the opportunity that they're presented with, you know,
Speaker 1: in such a great organization with with the Bears. So
Speaker 1: that's not going to be me. You know, I'm holding
Speaker 1: off any tips or anything, and I'm there for coal
Speaker 1: or whoever in the tight end room or even in
Speaker 1: the offensive unit room. Coaches even can come to me
Speaker 1: if they have something they want to discuss with me.
Speaker 1: I'm an open book for sure, and I've seen a
Speaker 1: lot in my ten years. But I'm also you know,
Speaker 1: hugely willing to learn, and i know as soon as
Speaker 1: you stop learning, you stop growing. So I'm there to
Speaker 1: just help this team get to where we want to
Speaker 1: be and I'm really looking order to doing that. Ryan
Speaker 1: Griffin our guest here around Chicago Sports Radio six seventy
Speaker 1: to score. This is Bears All Access and it's brought
Speaker 1: to you by IGS Energy, with Tom There, Jeff Joniak,
Speaker 1: Jim Miller will be along in just a moment as well.
Speaker 1: I have to laugh because Tom always has a little
Speaker 1: smirk when he brings that up. Because when Tom was
Speaker 1: a rookie, he played in the us the original USFL,
Speaker 1: played an entire season, playoffs, got on his motorcycle, went
Speaker 1: to training camp double days with Mike Ditka. It was
Speaker 1: brutal in the heat and the northern in Wisconsin, and
Speaker 1: then played a Super Bowl season. So he played what
Speaker 1: forty four consecutive games, which is incredible. He really is
Speaker 1: in one calendar year he played and we talk about
Speaker 1: a lot. But I don't know how willing he would
Speaker 1: have been, because this guy is an unbelievable competitor to
Speaker 1: this minute, that he would be sharing tips for a
Speaker 1: guy to take his job, right, I mean, he just
Speaker 1: sounds almost foreign Tommy, Right, Yeah, Well you know for me,
Speaker 1: I mean I learned, I learned more from a guy
Speaker 1: like Steve McMichael, who I was practicing against every day
Speaker 1: through his experiences than I was at some of the
Speaker 1: fellow offensive lineman because we were competing against each other.
Speaker 1: But you know, Ryan's in a different seat. You know,
Speaker 1: all the experiences through changing from organization, organization, philosophical thinking
Speaker 1: of different coaches, and now all that experience that he
Speaker 1: can add to um. You know, these young tight ends
Speaker 1: or a young offensive tackle's career and guys like I
Speaker 1: truly I love the game right so it's if it's
Speaker 1: not going to be me, I would hope if somebody's
Speaker 1: out there at the tight end position, they would have
Speaker 1: all the tools available to make to make the play,
Speaker 1: to get the sixth technique blocked, to run the right
Speaker 1: route I think against a different defensive technique. So I mean,
Speaker 1: at the end of the they we're all on the
Speaker 1: same team. So if Pole's out there, I'm not I
Speaker 1: want him to be ready to make a play to
Speaker 1: you know, to help us win. So I guess that's
Speaker 1: my mindset, and that's a good one. The modern day players,
Speaker 1: I mean, I've I've heard of some horrible stories and
Speaker 1: we're not gonna believe it at this point, but just
Speaker 1: you know, guys were just thirsting for information and nobody
Speaker 1: would give it to them, and so they had to
Speaker 1: figure it out on their own, and it didn't benefit.
Speaker 1: It was not a tight team. Now Tom's team was different.
Speaker 1: It was a super super I mean it's this eighty
Speaker 1: five Bears. They were a personality all of its own. Now,
Speaker 1: you mentioned you loved the game, New Hampshire born and bread, right,
Speaker 1: that's right, Yukon guy. So you got that tough Northeast
Speaker 1: to you. How were you viewed coming out of the
Speaker 1: draft or coming into the draft? Where you disappointed where
Speaker 1: you were selected? And have you ever taken the time
Speaker 1: to see how many guys are no longer playing at
Speaker 1: that position in the draft, because that was the Kelsey draft,
Speaker 1: That was zach Ertz Draft twenty thirteen was a pretty
Speaker 1: star studded tight end class. Oh sure, yeah, I keep
Speaker 1: track of it daily. So how many of a year left? Uh?
Speaker 1: Like you said, you know, Earth is still there, Kelsey's
Speaker 1: doing his thing. Um. Jack Doyle actually just retired. You know,
Speaker 1: me and him, I used to compare only because he
Speaker 1: was a undrafted free agent and I might as well
Speaker 1: have been. You know, it was a sixth round. I
Speaker 1: think it was two oh one overall, so um, yeah,
Speaker 1: you know that's uh, that's a big chip on my
Speaker 1: shoulder that I hasn't really left to be honest, never
Speaker 1: got an invitation to the Combine, which really hurt at
Speaker 1: the time when I was a rookie coming in UM
Speaker 1: and I was kind of a fifty fifty not sure
Speaker 1: whether I was going to get drafted or be an
Speaker 1: unsigned or assigned undrafted free agent. So I try to
Speaker 1: keep that with me. Like I said, it's just a
Speaker 1: big chip on my shoulder, and try to carry that
Speaker 1: that fire with me. You know, some people still doubting me,
Speaker 1: and a lot of those guys that were chafted over
Speaker 1: me are no longer in the league league, So I'm
Speaker 1: just trying to do my thing and you know, help
Speaker 1: out the team along the way as well. Brian. You know,
Speaker 1: I find it interesting because back when I was playing,
Speaker 1: you know, we had the last game of the season,
Speaker 1: we had our exit physical, and we never had to
Speaker 1: show up until the mandatory minicamp. So now, you guys,
Speaker 1: when Matt eber Fleus got introduced as a head coach
Speaker 1: and he said these guys better have their running shoes,
Speaker 1: it kind of gave me an indication that you're better
Speaker 1: be in shape or else. When you lost in OTA practice,
Speaker 1: after all the OTA's you've been through throughout your career,
Speaker 1: were you surprise you lost one? Because when I was
Speaker 1: out there watching and I was looking at the tempo
Speaker 1: you guys were playing at, I was thinking it's beneficial
Speaker 1: for the young guys to get a meal more realistic
Speaker 1: feel of the speed of the game. Were you surprised
Speaker 1: when you guys got docked an OTA? I don't know
Speaker 1: if I was surprised. Uh, Like like you, I think
Speaker 1: it was detrimental to our team, however, us losing an
Speaker 1: opportunity to get better. You know, you only get what's
Speaker 1: I think, fourteen of them, and uh, you know with
Speaker 1: the new staff and new offense, especially at UM, you know,
Speaker 1: on the offensive side of the ball, I think we
Speaker 1: really lost an opportunity there to to get better and improve.
Speaker 1: U Was I surprised? No, I don't think so. I
Speaker 1: think after this pandemic situation, having OTAs canceled for a
Speaker 1: whole year, a lot of guys got to, you know,
Speaker 1: look look back on that and say, you know, we
Speaker 1: are here voluntarily, and uh, you know, for the tempo
Speaker 1: to be you know, a little bit higher, and guys um,
Speaker 1: you know, hitting without pads on. You know, guys are
Speaker 1: just looking at it different. You know, it's a different
Speaker 1: end I felt today, And uh, you know, I've been
Speaker 1: a part of OTAs that have gone much harder than
Speaker 1: what we did you know, last month. But that being said,
Speaker 1: it is it's a different league. And uh, you know,
Speaker 1: the Pas really trying to cut down on off season injuries. Unfortunately,
Speaker 1: we had Dakota you know, go down, but it is
Speaker 1: part of the game. We're just trying to make it
Speaker 1: safer for everybody. You know. I forgive me if I'm asking,
Speaker 1: if I'm so wrong my timeframe. Did you ever play
Speaker 1: with Jeff Scanina, because it's kind of funny that he
Speaker 1: was down with the Houston Texans. He's the uncle of
Speaker 1: Cole Comet, and I was thinking, Wow, what a generation
Speaker 1: gap filler you would be if you were one time
Speaker 1: a teammate with Scanina and now you're playing with his
Speaker 1: nephew Cole. I think I just missed out playing with Jeff.
Speaker 1: I came in in thirteen. But yeah, it's it's great
Speaker 1: to play with with Cole, someone who you know, hometown
Speaker 1: kid and you know his dad obviously, you know, play
Speaker 1: for the Bear, so really excited for him for the
Speaker 1: opportunity that he has um And yeah, it's it's kind
Speaker 1: of funny. You know, I'm thirty two, he's what twenty
Speaker 1: three now, and you know, I just try to give him,
Speaker 1: you know, as much knowledge of the game, you know,
Speaker 1: as I can and help him out. All remaining moments
Speaker 1: with Bears tight end Ryan Griffin here on Chicago Sports
Speaker 1: Radio six seventy score with Tom I'm Jeff, all right,
Speaker 1: let's final moments. Just talk about the team because what seed,
Speaker 1: in your opinion, has been planted by this head coach
Speaker 1: Mattie Broflus in his first goal round. I would say
Speaker 1: toughness if I had to boil it down to what
Speaker 1: it's gonna be, mental toughness and h you know, like
Speaker 1: you said, we're going to have the track shoes on,
Speaker 1: so we're gonna be a better conditioned than our opponent.
Speaker 1: And at the end of the day, we're gonna have
Speaker 1: to make plays when when the time gets tough, you know,
Speaker 1: at the end of the at the end of the game,
Speaker 1: and we're certainly going to be in shape to do
Speaker 1: so it's if we had the mental fortitude and the
Speaker 1: preparedness to execute, you know, in the fourth quarter, because
Speaker 1: our bodies are going to be there, Our lungs are
Speaker 1: going to be there, that's for sure. Coaching Refluce is
Speaker 1: going to make sure that happens. So we're gonna have
Speaker 1: the toughness, you know. It's it's gonna come down to
Speaker 1: can we execute, Can we beat the man across from us?
Speaker 1: Can we win eleven individual matchups on the same play?
Speaker 1: You know? So I'm really looking forward to it. I
Speaker 1: think we have the guys to do it. In the
Speaker 1: locker room. We just gotta, you know, put the work
Speaker 1: in and looking forward to Week one. This has been
Speaker 1: a team that has been challenged to score touchdowns even
Speaker 1: while winning over the years of late so touchdowns. You
Speaker 1: gotta have this underrated offense, I'm certain from the outside
Speaker 1: looking in about what is put being put together. As
Speaker 1: a veteran who's seen a lot of camps, a lot
Speaker 1: of players, twenty other quarterbacks in his career now twenty one,
Speaker 1: do you have a good feel for what this might
Speaker 1: look like for the twenty twenty two Bears, for the
Speaker 1: fans going Soldier Field this year. You know, what. I'm
Speaker 1: so excited to see what Justin Fields can bring to
Speaker 1: the offense. I don't think, like you said, we're going
Speaker 1: to be underrated, and that's fine, that's okay with us.
Speaker 1: Nobody is really expecting us to do much. But I
Speaker 1: think a lot of people will be surprised. Like I said,
Speaker 1: if we put the work in in August, we do
Speaker 1: have the skill at skill positions to make some waves
Speaker 1: and score some score some points. We're going to be
Speaker 1: excited to watch coach even flews his defense out there
Speaker 1: and make plays. And you know, I again, I cannot
Speaker 1: wait for number one to get out there and let
Speaker 1: it lose. You know, Ryan, I think in the last
Speaker 1: ten years in the NFL, the tight end position has
Speaker 1: changed more than any other position in the NFL. When
Speaker 1: you're at the front side point of attack, when you're
Speaker 1: the backside, when you're an h back in motion, or
Speaker 1: you're at the full back position. Now they said, okay,
Speaker 1: this is going to be an outside zone running team.
Speaker 1: In your career, how much have you been a point
Speaker 1: of attack tight end as opposed to backside, h back
Speaker 1: or fullback. You know, it's funny you said that time
Speaker 1: because I was actually drafted, like I said, down in
Speaker 1: Houston with coach Kubiak, and he was running a similar system,
Speaker 1: the wide zone scheme with the tight end the y
Speaker 1: at the point of attack on the front side and
Speaker 1: even honestly on some of the backside runs when we
Speaker 1: go a wide zone to support, the backside ends up
Speaker 1: being the front side. So that being said, the tight
Speaker 1: end position is very important in terms of the run
Speaker 1: game here. So my experience I started here in thirteen
Speaker 1: and this was my role coming in as a rookie.
Speaker 1: Is there to be the point of attack to help
Speaker 1: Owen Daniels, you know, do his thing as the u
Speaker 1: back bath, the move guy, and this was my role,
Speaker 1: so it kind of comes full circle. I played every
Speaker 1: position since then, know that the full back guy, the
Speaker 1: move guy. I've been you know, split out sometimes and
Speaker 1: now here I am back at the the what you
Speaker 1: want to call the y spot, you know, the move
Speaker 1: tight end, you know, at the front side of the run.
Speaker 1: So I'm looking forward to getting back to it, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, bringing some toughness and violence to this, to
Speaker 1: this offensive line, and really looking forward to running the
Speaker 1: ball here. Music to our ears, trust me, music to
Speaker 1: our ears. We love here. On the violence we love
Speaker 1: here in the running game. All right, we really appreciate
Speaker 1: your time. Thank you so much for joining us. We're
Speaker 1: looking befoward to watching your work and help lead this
Speaker 1: team and looking forward to talk to you down the
Speaker 1: road again. Appreciate it. Yeah, same guys, thanks for having
Speaker 1: Thank you Ryan. That's Ryan Griffin, Bears tight End. When
Speaker 1: we come back, we'll wrap up the show with serious
Speaker 1: x M NFL Radios Jim Miller with Tom There. I'm
Speaker 1: Jeff Joniac on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to score.
Speaker 1: This segment of Bears All Access is brought to you
Speaker 1: by CDW people to get it with Tom There and
Speaker 1: Jim Jeff Joniac as we break down the Bears are
Speaker 1: twenty twenty two. We'll be back with you on Monday
Speaker 1: night as well. Tom will be on assignment and be
Speaker 1: a big Jim Miller and I taken the controls. Jim,
Speaker 1: Are you ready for just a duo show without the
Speaker 1: big guy? No time to get scared now, Jeff, I'll
Speaker 1: be ready exactly all right. So, uh, great listening to
Speaker 1: Ryan Griffin. Great personality. Uh, and he hit it on
Speaker 1: the head. He plays violent, wants to play violent. The
Speaker 1: bears want to play violent, but I was really encouraged.
Speaker 1: You here how that tight end position is going to
Speaker 1: be used Tommy. Uh. And it's it's fitting that this
Speaker 1: week is tight end school, right, or what do they
Speaker 1: call it? Tight end you? So there's twenty eight guys,
Speaker 1: including Cole Commet to participate. Jim's got a big smile
Speaker 1: on his face. Why are you laughing? I know how
Speaker 1: Tom Tom said there was a guard camp he wouldn't go. Yeah, well,
Speaker 1: I mean I talked to George Kittle, I mean probably
Speaker 1: an honor Rob Gronkowski. Oh yeah, I mean I believe
Speaker 1: it was George Kittle last year said it was just hilarious.
Speaker 1: The guy wakes up and they saw him at the
Speaker 1: the bar having a shot of vodka before they go
Speaker 1: out for a round of golf. So I wonder what
Speaker 1: it's going to be like this year with robbery tiring, So,
Speaker 1: god forbid, that's gonna be a blast out there. Somebody's
Speaker 1: gonna have to take the baton right, no question about it.
Speaker 1: But you know, time dominant tight endplay can really affect
Speaker 1: and impact what a defense has to do, put you
Speaker 1: in conflicts. So if these guys can do both catch
Speaker 1: and block of course, and the different personnel packages. I mean,
Speaker 1: you're you're talking about creating mismatches for success no matter
Speaker 1: where your offense is at in terms of its development.
Speaker 1: And we are not going to know where this offense
Speaker 1: is at in its development until pretty far along, I
Speaker 1: would think, in the regular season. So I'm anxious to
Speaker 1: see how these tight ends and blasting game as that
Speaker 1: full back h back contributes and what this will look
Speaker 1: like with the new additions at the tight end position
Speaker 1: veterans and cole commit Well, you know, Jeff, the two
Speaker 1: points of emphasis that I got for Motier is if
Speaker 1: it doesn't happen, the Bears are gonna have a hard
Speaker 1: time improving. And if they're gonna run the outside zone
Speaker 1: as much as they're talking about, the tight end is
Speaker 1: going to be instrumental in the success of that play
Speaker 1: because you're not always going to run it to the
Speaker 1: weak side where there's no tight end. You're gonna run
Speaker 1: it a lot of the times to the wide side
Speaker 1: of the field, to the tight end and the three
Speaker 1: point stance or a tight end coming from over the
Speaker 1: h block blocking the end man aligne of scrimmage up
Speaker 1: to the second level, so you have to have a
Speaker 1: high performing, high blocking tight end, kind of a Mark
Speaker 1: bavaro ish or a George Kittle ish. That's the type
Speaker 1: of performance you have to have out a tight end.
Speaker 1: But Jeff, let's not let the topic escape us before
Speaker 1: the season gets going. The red zone. If these tight
Speaker 1: ends don't accomplish some big numbers in the red zone,
Speaker 1: it's gonna be difficult for justin fields and the rest
Speaker 1: of this offense. So to me that the instrumental outside
Speaker 1: zone tight end, blocking in the red zone performance by
Speaker 1: the tight end are the two biggest obstacles that we're
Speaker 1: going to have to see improved throughout the preseason and
Speaker 1: into the regular season. You know, the key is, like
Speaker 1: what Tom said, if you want to run that outside zone,
Speaker 1: play the tight end, if it is to his side,
Speaker 1: he's going to be the key player at the point
Speaker 1: of attack. As Tom mentioned, say there's a wide nine technique, Well,
Speaker 1: that's not going to be an ability for Cole Commit
Speaker 1: to get a hook block right. He's going to have
Speaker 1: to really sustain it and string it out and be
Speaker 1: able to be able to muscle it and hold it
Speaker 1: for a long time where the running back can get
Speaker 1: his read whether he still will take it outside, or
Speaker 1: whether it'll take it inside. If it's say a seven technique,
Speaker 1: the end man's on the endman a line of scrimmage
Speaker 1: just kicked down over the tight end, or just shade
Speaker 1: it just outside. Now you'll have the ability to hook
Speaker 1: him where it'll be an easy read for the running
Speaker 1: back to just take it to the outside. So Coal's
Speaker 1: going to be able to do all that, and all
Speaker 1: the tight ends are going to be able to dictate
Speaker 1: end at some point, there are going to be really
Speaker 1: the key player at the point of attack to really
Speaker 1: set up that run play that the Bears wanted to
Speaker 1: make a foundation of their offense, all right, and that
Speaker 1: out listen that outside zone play at home, it's going
Speaker 1: to be different than on the road because, as Jim mentioned,
Speaker 1: the tight end is not going to be able to
Speaker 1: hear the snap count, so he's going to have to
Speaker 1: have timing in his block. At home, it's a different story,
Speaker 1: all right. Throw a name aty. I mentioned Nick Morle
Speaker 1: earlier in the program as a guy that the Bear's
Speaker 1: gonna need to have counted on for that position. But
Speaker 1: I'm gonna throw one on the offensive side of the
Speaker 1: ball that maybe he's under the radar. Does he have
Speaker 1: the skill, He does have the speed, and he has
Speaker 1: experience in the system. We haven't talked a lot about
Speaker 1: Equimenius Saint Brown. We're talking about Byron Pringle obviously, Darnell Mooney,
Speaker 1: and we got Vellis Jones. What are you what are
Speaker 1: your expectations for Equimedius Saint Brown? Is there untapped potential here?
Speaker 1: Jim Millery, that'll wrap up the program tonight. Yeah, you know,
Speaker 1: you just you look at his time at Notre Dame
Speaker 1: and he was a true X. They've had some good
Speaker 1: X receivers coming out of there. You know, Miles Blinkin
Speaker 1: kind of has been a failure, but Chase Claypool has
Speaker 1: certainly been a solid X I think for the Pittsburgh Steelers,
Speaker 1: and I want to see Equinimus Saint Brown really emerged.
Speaker 1: I think that's his role. He's a big guy. He
Speaker 1: can be a red zone present six five two one
Speaker 1: and fourteen pounds. You know, he can be a jump
Speaker 1: ball guy, where Justin Fields has to have the competence
Speaker 1: that any fifty fifty ball he's got to feel comfortable
Speaker 1: throwing it up there. For Saint Brown to come down
Speaker 1: with it, and he's had limited opportunities. You know, you
Speaker 1: look at you know, Aaron Rodgers. He kind of it
Speaker 1: was kind of a fast break with him and Davante Adams,
Speaker 1: and really the ball wasn't shared to a lot of players.
Speaker 1: It was kind of Randall Cobb at the time. Tanyan
Speaker 1: stepped up a little bit, and of course Adams. Those
Speaker 1: other guys, whether it's Valdez Scantling who's now at Kansas City,
Speaker 1: or even Saint Brown really haven't had a lot of
Speaker 1: opportunities because Rogers clearly was favoring knows other targets over
Speaker 1: Sat Brown. He's got the size, he's got the skill.
Speaker 1: We'll see if he can take advantage of the opportunity
Speaker 1: that he could be the true X for the Bears
Speaker 1: this year. Tom, give me fifteen seconds on the topic. Hey,
Speaker 1: if he plays up to a size and he develops
Speaker 1: a bigger catching radius, I think he can be a
Speaker 1: real asset for justin Fields. If you're six to five,
Speaker 1: you gotta play like you're six seven. All right with
Speaker 1: Tom there, Jim Miller, thanks everybody for listening. Thanks as
Speaker 1: always to the folks at the Score. Our producer, Jordan Trutup,
Speaker 1: Dan Billy and our guest Ryan Griffin. That'll do it
Speaker 1: for us. Have a great night, everybody. This has been
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Speaker 1: Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score. Good night, everybody,