Speaker 1: Welcome in to Bears Weekly, powered by IGS Energy, by
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Speaker 1: Here are your hosts, Jeff Chiliac aka the Mayor of Bearsville,
Speaker 1: and his sidekick Tom the Surfmaster Thayer.
Speaker 4: And a pleasant today of everybody.
Speaker 5: Welcome in to another edition of Bears Weekly, headed towards
Speaker 5: the home debut of the twenty twenty four Bears and
Speaker 5: what will be a raucus welcome indeed for rookie quarterback
Speaker 5: Caleb Williams. I'm the rest of the Chicago Bears who
Speaker 5: worked in the rain today against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 4: Here at Hawisaw.
Speaker 5: I'm Jeff Jonaiyak, my broadcast partner, super Bowl winning Bears
Speaker 5: guard Tom Thayrelong our special guest this week, an interview
Speaker 5: with Bears defensive end Daniel Hardy. Had such a terrific
Speaker 5: game along with Austin Booker in Buffalo, but now it's
Speaker 5: moving on to Cincinnati. Joe Burrows guys practice today with
Speaker 5: the Bears. They'll meet on Saturday night. At Soldier Field
Speaker 5: in the ESPN studio spending the Dallas to night Kendrick
Speaker 5: Smith thanks to our producers Dan Brilly and Jordan Tredap
Speaker 5: from the Bears, and the executive producer of the Bears
Speaker 5: Radio Network is Eric Ostrowski. Tom Thair joining us now,
Speaker 5: Big Tom practice with the Bengals just like we did
Speaker 5: as kids.
Speaker 4: When we played in the park in the rain. It
Speaker 4: was nice.
Speaker 5: And you know, pouring, but you know, a little slipping
Speaker 5: slide here and now in again, but overall, got some
Speaker 5: good work in.
Speaker 6: Today, a lot of good work.
Speaker 3: The atmosphere was a good working atmosphere. The conditions worth
Speaker 3: the perfect. But again, every time you get a chance
Speaker 3: to go up against an NFL player, I think you
Speaker 3: have a chance for an improvement.
Speaker 6: And then the defensive front that they are.
Speaker 3: Facing against the Cincinnati Bengals was much more beneficial because
Speaker 3: they've been playing against their own front since the beginning
Speaker 3: of OTA's mini camp and training camp.
Speaker 5: All right, what is the first thing you learned about
Speaker 5: what you saw out there today? It's hard to digest everything.
Speaker 5: We said this one of the Miami Dolphins. We said
Speaker 5: it a long time ago. When the Bears practice with
Speaker 5: the Rams at Western Illinois. Remember we're up in the
Speaker 5: the what do you call those things?
Speaker 4: The lift?
Speaker 5: Who was the Rams with the head coach that was
Speaker 5: here in the offense Mike Martz. Mike Martz and the guys,
Speaker 5: it's hard to digest everything.
Speaker 3: Well, you know, the thing about it is, you don't
Speaker 3: want them to be able to have everything digested before
Speaker 3: you face them. You want to have a guy like
Speaker 3: Caleb Williams, a young quarterback that's seeing personnel, athleticism, different
Speaker 3: lineup of defense for the first time in something you're
Speaker 3: not necessarily prepared for. Because now you're putting into practice
Speaker 3: the work that you put in during the course of meetings,
Speaker 3: and you have to reconfirm the information you learned about
Speaker 3: your offense can fit according to the defense you're seeing.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean, I'm just I'm just saying I had.
Speaker 5: You know, your eyes take you everywhere. You want to
Speaker 5: watch the number one offense against the number one defense
Speaker 5: of the Bengals, but you want to watch the defense
Speaker 5: of the Bears against Joe Burrow, and it's it's hard
Speaker 5: to take your eyes away.
Speaker 4: You know what it is, It's honestly hard to take
Speaker 4: your eyes.
Speaker 5: Away from Caleb Williams in the offense to see what
Speaker 5: they're doing. But I did manage a few snaps with
Speaker 5: Jason McKee out there on the practice field today, and
Speaker 5: Jalen Johnson just keeps making plays, the defense keeps making plays,
Speaker 5: the linebackers keeps swiping the football. I mean another one
Speaker 5: today by Tremaine Edmunds. So and that's against it. You know,
Speaker 5: a very very good quarterback. They're an established quarterback.
Speaker 3: And Joe Burrow today, Yeah, but he's facing eleven strong
Speaker 3: on the Bears first team defense, and so he's got
Speaker 3: to be saying in meetings tonight, boy, the Bears can
Speaker 3: really play fast, aggressive back seven defense, and they're complimented
Speaker 3: by good rushes up front.
Speaker 6: So I think depending.
Speaker 3: Upon where you're having your conversation in the meeting room
Speaker 3: with Cincinnati or in the me with the Bears, is
Speaker 3: kind of the same thing. Because I mentioned Caleb Williams
Speaker 3: being able to enact his system and the players that
Speaker 3: are involved without a lot of preparation time.
Speaker 5: Also, good day, I thought for Rome at Doonesday. All right,
Speaker 5: we've been waiting to find out what's going to happen
Speaker 5: on Saturday at noon at Soldier field.
Speaker 4: In terms of the Bears starters, here.
Speaker 5: Is a chunks of today's news conference with head coach
Speaker 5: Matt Eberflus.
Speaker 7: In terms of the starters this week. You know, I'm
Speaker 7: just going to say this.
Speaker 8: We feel really good about our plan and the process
Speaker 8: that we've been through so far in training camp, and
Speaker 8: you will see the starters in that game, you know.
Speaker 8: So again, I talked about competitive reps the other day,
Speaker 8: and I feel like we've gotten a lot of good
Speaker 8: competitive reps, you know, on ones, a lot of good situations.
Speaker 8: This day was another chance for us to get competitive
Speaker 8: reps against another opponent, another skill set which was outstanding.
Speaker 8: And then this week coming up on Saturday, we get
Speaker 8: another chance to get some reps there too, So we
Speaker 8: feel really good about that. It was great to be
Speaker 8: out there in the weather today for really everybody, just
Speaker 8: because of the ball. You know that you have to
Speaker 8: handle the ball differently and the wet, you know, and
Speaker 8: it was it was wet out there. It was a
Speaker 8: pretty good rain at times. But not only that, it's
Speaker 8: also the footwork. You know, the footwork matters. You got
Speaker 8: to keep your feet under your frame. You got to
Speaker 8: make sure that you're doing a good job with your footwork,
Speaker 8: you know, in terms of planning, driving, moving in that
Speaker 8: wet condition.
Speaker 7: So I thought that was a good experience too for
Speaker 7: really everybody.
Speaker 9: How has Nate Davis look since you get back out
Speaker 9: to practice and you were different talking about a player
Speaker 9: that's been out for a while with injuries with us
Speaker 9: as you have been maybe in three years with him,
Speaker 9: Do you think he was that used to get a
Speaker 9: message through to him?
Speaker 7: I will just say this about date.
Speaker 8: You know, he's uh, he's been working to get back
Speaker 8: and he's done that and it's unfortunate that he's had
Speaker 8: those injuries that he's had in his time here, but
Speaker 8: again he's worked every time to get back and when
Speaker 8: he was back, he did a nice job in there.
Speaker 8: So again that's a competition. We're looking at that for
Speaker 8: who the best inside players are for us. That's not
Speaker 8: solidified yet at center or at that one guard position.
Speaker 8: You know, we feel really good about TeV at that
Speaker 8: one spot. So we'll see where that goes going through
Speaker 8: this week and moving into the next week.
Speaker 9: What do you think Beats will be back out there?
Speaker 7: Yeah, he's weak to week right now, so I don't
Speaker 7: really know.
Speaker 8: I hope I'm hopeful that it's soon, you know, so
Speaker 8: I hope we'll you know, we'll see Matt with.
Speaker 10: Daylas going from I think with two's earlier in the
Speaker 10: week and get some one reps today.
Speaker 9: What has he shown you to earn those starters reps?
Speaker 8: Just toughness, you know, and he's he's able to handle
Speaker 8: that position.
Speaker 7: You know, you would think that, hey, I'm a receiver
Speaker 7: and then going.
Speaker 8: Back to you know, to the tight or the half
Speaker 8: back spot is uh, you got to have some toughness
Speaker 8: in there, and he does. And he's able to get
Speaker 8: the reads down and he's slowly getting it. You know,
Speaker 8: it's not easy to learn how to run the outside
Speaker 8: zone and the you know, the inside duo play and
Speaker 8: all the players that everybody runs in the league. That
Speaker 8: takes some time. And then really about the protections, you know,
Speaker 8: he's learning that. I know he was up here talking
Speaker 8: about that, but he's getting those two might sound silly.
Speaker 2: But as with every opportunity you've given them, he seems to.
Speaker 7: You said Austin, You said Booker.
Speaker 11: Austin Booker, it seems with every opportunity to find his
Speaker 11: way to make an impact in some way. Does that
Speaker 11: make you want to see him out there possibly against
Speaker 11: the Ones this Sunday, so him get some run versus
Speaker 11: the Ones today, maybe just to see Okay, you've.
Speaker 2: Shown it verse the two, shown it versus three. Let's
Speaker 2: see what he can do.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 7: I think he. I think he's earned that.
Speaker 12: Now.
Speaker 8: We got to talk about that as a staff, you know,
Speaker 8: but we definitely, uh, you know.
Speaker 7: Rotate those players who we see as.
Speaker 8: The rush group, you know, so you're rotating at least
Speaker 8: six of those guys during the course of a game
Speaker 8: if you if you have eight up er you know,
Speaker 8: active for the game. And uh, you know, he's really
Speaker 8: shown well in terms of that. He's like I said,
Speaker 8: he's a natural rusher, real instinctual, does it predetermined prior.
Speaker 7: To and you saw that today.
Speaker 8: Again He's got some guys just have natural slip and
Speaker 8: be able to turn the corner.
Speaker 7: You know, He's got that.
Speaker 8: And so he's you know, improving and the most important
Speaker 8: thing he has is motor. You know, he throws his
Speaker 8: fastball every play and that's what a good d lineman does.
Speaker 10: Next step for last week, you said the operation awareness
Speaker 10: in the pocket for Caleb. What's the next step you
Speaker 10: want to see from him this week.
Speaker 8: Just much of the same really, Like I said, he's
Speaker 8: going against a different structure here, So I think that
Speaker 8: just you know, much of the same and improving and
Speaker 8: doing the basics of quarterbacking. And I think that he
Speaker 8: did that last week at a solid rate. You know,
Speaker 8: there's a couple of things with the footwork under center
Speaker 8: and those types of things where he's got to improve,
Speaker 8: and he's worked on those this week. But really much
Speaker 8: of the same and just a level it up, you know,
Speaker 8: as we go through these weeks.
Speaker 2: All right.
Speaker 5: Matt Abraflu's portion of his news conference with the media
Speaker 5: up here at Hall, I saw I got a couple
Speaker 5: of notes, Tommy, one about Booker because that was one
Speaker 5: of the last things you talk about. Just you know,
Speaker 5: what you're noticing as much as the power and the
Speaker 5: overall width and size and length of Javon Dexter. But
Speaker 5: when they loop Booker inside, he's wiry. He does have
Speaker 5: a long reach. He gets his hands very close to
Speaker 5: not only tapping the ball down but intercepting the ball,
Speaker 5: which happened in practice today with Joe Burrow.
Speaker 3: Right, But he keeps himself separating from the blocker. He
Speaker 3: never allows a guy to get his hands on him
Speaker 3: purely where that makes it that strong offensive lineman is
Speaker 3: in control of his upper body. And so when you
Speaker 3: look at a guy like Austin Booker when he's rushing
Speaker 3: from the edge or he's working a stunt on the inside,
Speaker 3: he's very elusive and he's really difficult for an offensive
Speaker 3: lineman to commit to him because he can slap your
Speaker 3: hands away, make him miss and get into the path
Speaker 3: of the quarterback.
Speaker 5: And we're certainly excited about hearing the starters are going
Speaker 5: to play. How much we'll know when it actually happens. Yeah,
Speaker 5: so we'll be looking forward to that.
Speaker 3: You know, I'm glad they're gonna play, And I'm glad
Speaker 3: they know this beforehand because it changes your mentality a
Speaker 3: little bit, getting ready to go to the stadium on Saturday, knowing, Okay,
Speaker 3: when I put my uniform on, I am going to
Speaker 3: get out there and get some valuable reps.
Speaker 4: Only bummer today fans could be here.
Speaker 5: The weather was not conducive for that kind in the
Speaker 5: fear that lightning would cause a delay. In practice, everybody
Speaker 5: have to get indoors at the Peyton Center. The place
Speaker 5: is just not big enough to hold everybody, So there
Speaker 5: could be something that works though to get fans out
Speaker 5: here next week. All right, that's Tom there, I'm Jeff Joniac.
Speaker 5: When we come back, we'll be joined by another pass
Speaker 5: rusher of notes, especially pairing with Austin Booker, and then
Speaker 5: win over Buffalo. Daniel Hardy joined us on ESPN one
Speaker 5: thousand of the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 1: This is Bears Weekly with a voice of the Bears
Speaker 1: for twenty three years, Jeff Jonyak on the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 5: Welcome back to Bears Weekly on ESPN one thousand of
Speaker 5: the Bears Radio Network. We're brought to you by IGS
Speaker 5: Energy with Tom Thayer Jeff Joniac. Tom will rejoin us
Speaker 5: in just a moment, but please to be joined by
Speaker 5: defensive end Daniel Hardy, the Bears third year player out
Speaker 5: of Montana State.
Speaker 4: Wonderful performance in Buffalo.
Speaker 5: I mean you talk about a tandem attack with you
Speaker 5: and Austin book A way to go. That was a
Speaker 5: wonderful experience to watch two pass rushers get after it.
Speaker 4: Identical stat line. I don't know if you know that.
Speaker 5: Really, Yes, you guys had the exact You had five
Speaker 5: tackles each, two and a half sacks, each same number
Speaker 5: of tackle for losses. So you guys as a pair
Speaker 5: did some damage.
Speaker 13: Hey man, that's what we're all about as a D
Speaker 13: line man, just wreckon shop.
Speaker 4: Yep.
Speaker 5: And how did you guys play off of each other?
Speaker 5: Because that's also something that defensive ends. When you're really cranking,
Speaker 5: you guys can play off each other even though you're
Speaker 5: on the opposite sides.
Speaker 13: Oh, absolutely, Especially you know the energy aspect of it,
Speaker 13: you know, kind of is everybody second preseason game. You know,
Speaker 13: everybody's still trying to make sure you don't mess up.
Speaker 13: And it was just we got two point in the
Speaker 13: game where some of the vets came in and they said,
Speaker 13: you make sure you guys are celebrating, man, make sure
Speaker 13: you're loving each other up. And so we really made
Speaker 13: an emphasis of that and we just started feeding off
Speaker 13: each other's energy and it just kept building and building
Speaker 13: and building. It not just me and Book, but you know,
Speaker 13: the whole D line as a whole, and just playing
Speaker 13: as a team, rushing fours one and getting out of
Speaker 13: the queue.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I'll tell you.
Speaker 5: Watching Hard Knocks last night, ebra Flus was miked up
Speaker 5: and he kept asking for a takeaway and he wanted
Speaker 5: points out to take away, and sure enough, the pressure
Speaker 5: breaks pipes and Mica of Baskerville comes up with a
Speaker 5: pick six.
Speaker 4: Sat a mile away almost got too excited when.
Speaker 5: I was calling it because I could have called it
Speaker 5: before they even got in his hands. But they married together, obviously,
Speaker 5: and that's what will be the mark of this football
Speaker 5: team in the big picture. How do you feel that's
Speaker 5: coming along as a unit?
Speaker 13: It's I mean, we're building every day. Yeah, you can
Speaker 13: never be perfect, but that's what we're striving for, and
Speaker 13: we're getting better and better every day, and we continue
Speaker 13: even you know, even when the season starts, that's still
Speaker 13: going to be the same thing. We talk about that
Speaker 13: a lot of just every day coming out and trying
Speaker 13: to be better, better than we were yesterday, and just
Speaker 13: keep taking steps forward. And that's that's what wins championships,
Speaker 13: that's what wins super Bowls, and so that's you know,
Speaker 13: that's our emphasis, and that's the direction we're gonna keep
Speaker 13: going in.
Speaker 4: No easy way to get to the NFL is there.
Speaker 5: I Mean, what I always do when I prepare for
Speaker 5: preseason games, I always take note of the guys that have.
Speaker 4: A long time to get here.
Speaker 5: There's a guy on the Bengals and I can't recall
Speaker 5: his name right now. He's been cut ten times, but
Speaker 5: he's still going after it. He was in the United
Speaker 5: Football League, and so when you're undrafted and you come
Speaker 5: into the league, it is extremely difficult. You were drafted
Speaker 5: by the Rams in the seventh round. That matters that
Speaker 5: you were a draft pick.
Speaker 4: There's a certain.
Speaker 5: Attachment to that, but it's no guarantee. As you found out.
Speaker 5: Do you appreciate the guys that have been doing it
Speaker 5: a lot longer than you, that are still trying to
Speaker 5: make a roster, a fifty three man roster.
Speaker 12: Oh?
Speaker 13: Absolutely, I mean there's nothing more devastating then, you know,
Speaker 13: coming out here and there's nobody who comes out here
Speaker 13: and doesn't give it their all, and you're trying to,
Speaker 13: you know, make the team, and then things just don't
Speaker 13: end up shaking your way. You know, it might be
Speaker 13: a numbers thing. It might be because you know you weren't
Speaker 13: quite you know, you didn't do everything right, but you know,
Speaker 13: nothing but respect for everybody who comes out here and
Speaker 13: who's laying it all out there and giving it everything
Speaker 13: they have. So but yeah, no, definitely those guys who
Speaker 13: and you know, thugging it out for years and years
Speaker 13: and years trying to make a team.
Speaker 12: You know, a lot of respect for them.
Speaker 4: And that is the hard thing about hard knocks.
Speaker 5: I mean, people seem to enjoy seeing behind the scenes,
Speaker 5: but when it gets later in the episodes, somebody's gonna
Speaker 5: get called to come to the office and that is
Speaker 5: a very very hard personal moment that does not go well.
Speaker 5: Typically it's hard to accept, but uh, you know, and
Speaker 5: I I don't know if you've been ever cut before,
Speaker 5: but it's a it's an awful feeling for for a
Speaker 5: guy trying to get to the NFL, isn't it absolutely?
Speaker 2: You know?
Speaker 13: And everybody says football is what you do and not
Speaker 13: who you are. But you know, when you've been doing
Speaker 13: it for as long as some guys have been, it
Speaker 13: becomes it's a piece of you. Like it's not just
Speaker 13: a you're not just out here doing this for fun.
Speaker 13: It's a part of your soul.
Speaker 4: Man.
Speaker 12: You put your your blood, sweat and tears.
Speaker 13: Into this thing, and not making a team can really
Speaker 13: look it just enjoys some people. Yeah, it'll mess you up.
Speaker 13: So but you know where all warriors were, all fighter
Speaker 13: and so especially, and that's why it's so just like
Speaker 13: I said, it's you have so much respect for guys
Speaker 13: who have been, you know, still trying for years and
Speaker 13: years and years to make the team because they're not
Speaker 13: taking no for an answer, and you know, and they're
Speaker 13: not backing down from anything, and they're picking themselves up
Speaker 13: when they fall, and and so you know, you just
Speaker 13: got to keep keep your head down and keep pushing.
Speaker 5: Daniel Hardy our guest here on ESPN one thousand of
Speaker 5: the Bears Radio Network. So you came to the Bears
Speaker 5: after the cuts and the practice squad. So the benefits
Speaker 5: of being here and now for the entire offseason as
Speaker 5: it made you understand the defense better, get them a
Speaker 5: better idea of who they're dealing with here and what
Speaker 5: you're all about, not just as a football player, but
Speaker 5: as a man, your character and so forth.
Speaker 4: Is it making a difference.
Speaker 3: Oh?
Speaker 13: Absolutely, And I feel like, you know, even more importantly
Speaker 13: than the playbook and understanding the defenses, understanding the culture.
Speaker 13: We talk about our hits principle, the hustle, intensity, the
Speaker 13: ball and smart and understanding that culture and how it
Speaker 13: plays into every single aspect of our game is very
Speaker 13: important and it gives you the ability to buy in
Speaker 13: because you know, yeah, I don't know about you, but
Speaker 13: it's a lot easier to play hard when you care
Speaker 13: about what you're playing for, you know what I mean?
Speaker 12: Sure, And you know, getting to know the.
Speaker 13: Guys and developing relationships with coaches and staff and all
Speaker 13: of that so very important. And you know, I've enjoyed
Speaker 13: every minute of my time here.
Speaker 4: How about Travis Smith again? Second season with him?
Speaker 5: Has he unlocked anything that previous coaches haven't unlocked with you?
Speaker 13: Really, it's just just talking about mindset and understanding. You know,
Speaker 13: you come to work every day and things might not
Speaker 13: you know, always go your way, but you got to
Speaker 13: be the same person every day and you got to,
Speaker 13: you know, just figure out what works for you and
Speaker 13: what isn't and then you got to make those changes.
Speaker 12: Trave doesn't. And that's the other thing.
Speaker 13: Trav don't miss a single detail. If you mess up
Speaker 13: one thing, he's not gonna let us slid because he
Speaker 13: doesn't want you to develop bad habits.
Speaker 12: So he's going to be right on it right there.
Speaker 13: So you know, excellent D line coaching doesn't want anything
Speaker 13: but the best for all of these guys.
Speaker 5: You know what impresses me about coaches. And I've been
Speaker 5: a part of this organization for twenty eight years, so
Speaker 5: I've seen a lot what you just said. You know,
Speaker 5: they notice the slightest thing with a hand placement, your footwork,
Speaker 5: whatever the way you get off the line of scrimmage,
Speaker 5: where your pad level is. But it's in an instant
Speaker 5: of time before they even watch the tape. Then the
Speaker 5: tape clarifies what they saw at that coaching moment. Do
Speaker 5: you have a lot of respect for that too, because
Speaker 5: you got to have your eyes trained as a coach
Speaker 5: to notice even the slightest little things that can make
Speaker 5: you a better player.
Speaker 12: Absolutely.
Speaker 13: And then what's even more impressive is that, you know,
Speaker 13: especially with guys like Drive, he's not just doing it
Speaker 13: for one position.
Speaker 12: He's got four.
Speaker 13: Yeah, pretty much that well, defensive ends are kind of
Speaker 13: the same, but the two interior positions are a little
Speaker 13: bit different. Yeah, And he's doing it for all of them,
Speaker 13: and he can coach every single last one of them.
Speaker 13: And and just like you said, you know, understanding those
Speaker 13: the minute details of every single position and the nuances
Speaker 13: that come with that and being able to you know,
Speaker 13: help develop somebody you know from their rookie season. You
Speaker 13: know guys who just coming in and then also working
Speaker 13: with guys vets like you know, DeMarcus Walker, Jacob Martin, uh,
Speaker 13: Montes Sweat. You know, guys who've already been doing this
Speaker 13: and being able to work with both different types of players.
Speaker 12: Is it, you know? Phenomenal?
Speaker 5: All right, So let's get to your story a little bit. Beaverton,
Speaker 5: Oregon home a Nike right, yep, Nike. I remember going
Speaker 5: out there. It's in the Nike store there, the big one,
Speaker 5: the big one on campus. Uh, you go to Montana State,
Speaker 5: you're drafted by the Rams. But prior to that, you
Speaker 5: know the college route. I can't even pronounce the name.
Speaker 5: I know it's in Weed, California, believe or not?
Speaker 4: Is it Siskus scuse CISQ.
Speaker 5: CISQ's the college of this Never heard of this college
Speaker 5: in my life.
Speaker 4: I thought I seen them all.
Speaker 5: Uh it's a community college named after a mountain range
Speaker 5: along the California Oregon border.
Speaker 4: Do I have it right?
Speaker 1: Yes?
Speaker 5: So I did my homework. Why there and what did
Speaker 5: it do for you to get to Montana State?
Speaker 12: Uh?
Speaker 13: Really it was uh honestly, it was kind of a
Speaker 13: it was the only option I had, Wow, because I
Speaker 13: you know, I didn't play football until my senior senior
Speaker 13: year of high school. Also, was really trying to I
Speaker 13: was paying my own way through college. Was really trying
Speaker 13: to pick up a scholarship, you know, any.
Speaker 12: Way I could.
Speaker 13: And you know, Portland State wasn't too interested. Some D
Speaker 13: two schools, around D three schools weren't interested.
Speaker 12: Around the area was you know, and.
Speaker 13: Really they you know, by the grace of God, the
Speaker 13: coach just happened to be in town that day recruiting
Speaker 13: somebody else and he heard I was available and stopped
Speaker 13: by the school and we sat down and we talked,
Speaker 13: and you know, it was affordable enough for me to
Speaker 13: be able to play, work and go to school there.
Speaker 13: So that was the That was the route I took.
Speaker 13: And it was also you know, it wasn't too far
Speaker 13: away from home. It was also dealing with some family
Speaker 13: stuff at the time, so didn't want to be across
Speaker 13: the country or anything like that. So it was really
Speaker 13: just a ended up being a the perfect spot for
Speaker 13: me in that situation.
Speaker 4: So what was your sport prior to football?
Speaker 12: Basketball?
Speaker 5: Okay, basketball, So there here comes the forty inch vertical
Speaker 5: I get that right. So how much weight did you
Speaker 5: play at in basketball and what'd you have to do
Speaker 5: to get it?
Speaker 13: I was I didn't even I wasn't even checking my
Speaker 13: weight at that time, but I know I was definitely
Speaker 13: below one ninety Oh my.
Speaker 4: Yeah, So you put a good fifty pounds on since then.
Speaker 12: Yeah?
Speaker 4: Wow, wow? Are you a big weight room guy? Do
Speaker 4: you like the weight room? I do?
Speaker 13: I love it, And that's kind of your you know,
Speaker 13: when you've been doing this for long enough, and certain guys,
Speaker 13: different guys are different, but it kind of becomes your
Speaker 13: your sanctuary, and when you get in the room, it's
Speaker 13: like everything else kind of washes away and the only
Speaker 13: thing that matters is you and the weight on that bar.
Speaker 5: So you shined at your pro day. You weren't invited
Speaker 5: to the combine? Were you two forty when you're in
Speaker 5: a four to six? And do you still hold that speed?
Speaker 5: Because that's pretty good. That's pretty good right there for
Speaker 5: a man your size.
Speaker 13: Absolutely, honestly. I mean I haven't timed it, but I
Speaker 13: think I might be even a little bit faster. You know,
Speaker 13: these NFL weight rooms, they'll do something for you.
Speaker 5: So, yeah, you never have to run another forty, right
Speaker 5: unless somebody challenges Yeah, one of eight children, which got nine.
Speaker 4: Okay, okay, got that now. But p ford w g H.
Speaker 4: You gotta tell me what that's all about me.
Speaker 13: That stands for play for Wilbert gil Hardy. And that
Speaker 13: was my father. He had cancer started, he got it.
Speaker 13: It was diagnosed my junior year or sophomore year high school,
Speaker 13: and passed away my freshman year at college. And so
Speaker 13: I started writing that on my cleats, all my towels,
Speaker 13: all my stuff. So, you know, just as a constant
Speaker 13: reminder to me is you know, this is is why
Speaker 13: I'm doing this.
Speaker 12: Before he passed away, I let him know that I'd
Speaker 12: be there to take.
Speaker 13: Care of my you know, my mom and my younger
Speaker 13: sister because I was, you know, one of the big
Speaker 13: thing things he was worried about. And so you know,
Speaker 13: when things get hard, you know, that's kind of the
Speaker 13: things that I you know, reflect on and and and
Speaker 13: use his motivation.
Speaker 5: I read that he's described as a humble spiritual leader
Speaker 5: in Portland, uh, in the African American community. So he
Speaker 5: was at the pulpit given sermons. What kind of a
Speaker 5: sermon was he given? It's when you say dynamic, I'm
Speaker 5: thinking it's loud and kind of crazy, Uh, in a
Speaker 5: good way.
Speaker 12: Oh, absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 13: It any given Sunday, it could it could be anything,
Speaker 13: you know, but you know, it was always his message
Speaker 13: was always trying to bring people to God.
Speaker 12: And no matter who was there, you were in the
Speaker 12: right place.
Speaker 13: As long as you were there, you were hearing the message,
Speaker 13: you were you were in the right place.
Speaker 12: That was the slogan wed.
Speaker 13: You know, he'd always say it, and he'd have the
Speaker 13: church say, you know, Highland, you're in the right place.
Speaker 13: And so, you know, he was always trying to especially
Speaker 13: his big thing, his big focus was the youth because
Speaker 13: you know, kids, more than you know anyone you know,
Speaker 13: need to get to know God and and and that
Speaker 13: was the path he tried to lay out. And and
Speaker 13: he was really a staple in the community and it
Speaker 13: honestly probably hasn't even been the same without him.
Speaker 12: So, you know, major loss, but he's in everybody's hearts.
Speaker 5: What would he be thinking now, knowing that you've made
Speaker 5: it to the National Football League, you're with the charter
Speaker 5: franchise the National Football League. The very first one, George
Speaker 5: hallis stature sitting out front and and you've made the
Speaker 5: most of your opportunity to get yourself in a position
Speaker 5: and that's all you can ask for it to be
Speaker 5: in the right place.
Speaker 4: Yeah, So what would he think? And are you in
Speaker 4: the right place?
Speaker 13: I think he would think so, in my opinion, the
Speaker 13: Bears do things the right way in terms of like
Speaker 13: you know, like we talked about with the culture and
Speaker 13: things like that, and you know, I also would like
Speaker 13: to think that he'd be proud of the work ethic
Speaker 13: and the things that, you know, all the effort that
Speaker 13: I put into to get to where I am. You know,
Speaker 13: as everybody knows, there's no easy way, Like like we
Speaker 13: talked about, there's no easy.
Speaker 12: Way to do this.
Speaker 13: So really putting your head down and dealing with the
Speaker 13: struggles of everything and trying to handle all that. I
Speaker 13: like to think I make him proud And hopefully this
Speaker 13: season we can make him even more proud of well.
Speaker 5: I hope you'll be here quarterback wrecker at Montana State
Speaker 5: sixteen and a half sacks that one year that puts
Speaker 5: you on the NFL radar?
Speaker 4: Are you stacking good days?
Speaker 5: Do you feel good about where you're at right now
Speaker 5: in terms of what you can show here as.
Speaker 4: A pass rusher.
Speaker 13: You know, I never try and be complacent. Yeah, there's
Speaker 13: always there's alway stuff that you can improve on. You know,
Speaker 13: I had a two and a half sack game the
Speaker 13: other day. But you know, if I do everything right
Speaker 13: and I get certain plays back that I could do
Speaker 13: over again, it would probably be more than that. So
Speaker 13: it's like you have to be able to, you know,
Speaker 13: give your self credit and feel good about where you are.
Speaker 13: But you you know, constant, constant progression because you know,
Speaker 13: the second you say I got it figured out, that's
Speaker 13: when you get punched in the mouth, you know what
Speaker 13: I mean. So just you know, constant progression, keep getting
Speaker 13: better every every single day.
Speaker 5: Well, against the Bengals on Saturday, I don't know who.
Speaker 5: Their play doesn't sound like they're gonna play starters, but
Speaker 5: they got a bunch of six eight tackles on the
Speaker 5: depth chart. I mean, I've seen more six eight guys.
Speaker 5: I'm checking to see if they're true six eight or not.
Speaker 5: Some are so I'm not But a guy at six y'
Speaker 5: one plus, you.
Speaker 4: Got a leverage advantage, don't you.
Speaker 13: Absolutely yeah, I mean that's kind of great. You got
Speaker 13: built in built in pad level yes, yes, but you
Speaker 13: know those you got to use your your strengths where you.
Speaker 5: Can't so because once they get your hands on you
Speaker 5: at that length, it becomes a little challenging, right.
Speaker 4: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, So we won't let that right. Hey,
Speaker 4: you're a joy to talk to.
Speaker 5: Really enjoyed your performance last week and keep stacking them.
Speaker 5: Appreciate your time back with Tom theair with more here
Speaker 5: on ESPN one thousand and the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 1: This is ESPN Chicago, w NVP WTBC h D two Chicago,
Speaker 1: a Good Karma Brands radio station. Is Bear's Weekly with
Speaker 1: a voice of the Bears for twenty three years Jeff
Speaker 1: Joni on the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 5: This day, The Bear's Weekly is brought to you by
Speaker 5: Athletical Physical Therapy. Visit Athletic dot com to requested in
Speaker 5: clinic or virtual appointment at Start Feelings Better Tomorrow. Jeff
Speaker 5: and Tom Bengals were at Hallis Hall today practicing dodging
Speaker 5: rain drops. At times it would pour out there and
Speaker 5: unfortunately Tom a couple of injuries for the Bengals. Don't
Speaker 5: know the severity of each, but both needed air casts
Speaker 5: to and get carried off and one was on kick return.
Speaker 5: The former Michigan running back Chris Evans and then one
Speaker 5: of their backup tackles, Deontay Smith, had an issue as well.
Speaker 4: And you know, it's it's not it's in it.
Speaker 5: It's sometimes these things are gonna happen no matter where
Speaker 5: you practice against whatever. But it's just, you know, you
Speaker 5: feel bad. All the players are gathered around from both
Speaker 5: teams feeling bad. They get carted off here as they
Speaker 5: flew into do these joint practices, but it was slick
Speaker 5: and things happen.
Speaker 3: I don't know, Yeah, it's super unfortunate, you know. I
Speaker 3: hate the fact that guys get hurt. But again, it's
Speaker 3: kind of the mantra of the NFL. It's the next
Speaker 3: man up mentality. And so if you do have a
Speaker 3: guy in front of you get injured and you're gonna
Speaker 3: get some extra reps or extra playing time, first of all,
Speaker 3: are you in shape in order to pick up those
Speaker 3: extra reps? Are you mentally in shape to you know,
Speaker 3: give the team what they're giving you in the meeting rooms.
Speaker 6: That transfers to the field.
Speaker 3: But injuries, I always feel bad for the guys, whether
Speaker 3: throughout my career or some of the young guys I
Speaker 3: see now one of.
Speaker 4: The guys we've been impressed with.
Speaker 5: I know because as we've talked about him a great
Speaker 5: length and every time he takes the podium or visits
Speaker 5: with me on side conversation, whoever is Kevin bayerd Tom,
Speaker 5: I think he's gonna have a big impact here. Let's
Speaker 5: listen to him at the podium today, talking about the
Speaker 5: proceedings with the Bengals.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was fun.
Speaker 14: Obviously, a lot of rain out there today kind of
Speaker 14: favorites the defense a little bit, but it was exciting.
Speaker 14: Obviously I played against Joe Burrow you know a lot
Speaker 14: over the years. I know how good of a quarterback
Speaker 14: he is. So anytime you get a chance to go
Speaker 14: up against him and kind of test out some of
Speaker 14: the things we're doing coverage wise, that can kind of
Speaker 14: confuse him a little bit.
Speaker 2: It's always fun.
Speaker 14: But I feel like the defense brought a lot of energy,
Speaker 14: got some takeaways, got three turnovers, So that's always like
Speaker 14: the gold of the day to get three turnovers. So
Speaker 14: pretty happy with what we've done and what we did today.
Speaker 14: We'll watch the film and just get better from the
Speaker 14: stuff that we need.
Speaker 4: To get better at.
Speaker 14: Yeah, I mean just kind of trying to disguise the
Speaker 14: coverage a little bit and kind of really just read
Speaker 14: a quarterback's eyes kind of took me towards the ball.
Speaker 14: Just one of those things you don't really think, you
Speaker 14: just kind of react and was able to stretch out,
Speaker 14: go get the ball, get up, go pick six. And Uh,
Speaker 14: I said it was fun, Like you said, the defense,
Speaker 14: we had a lot of fun today. I want to
Speaker 14: be the guy that gets a lot of turners for
Speaker 14: this defense as we brought me here for. So I
Speaker 14: want to keep that going.
Speaker 15: Kevin, I know you got your own responsibilities, need to
Speaker 15: given coverage, but playing with Jalen Johnson does that allow
Speaker 15: you to play with a little bit more freedom, maybe
Speaker 15: take some chance the other way than you would if
Speaker 15: you didn't have such a league corner on one side.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I played with a lot of good corners over
Speaker 2: the years, Malcolm Butler being one.
Speaker 14: You know, I had a guy Logan Ryan, Dori Jackson,
Speaker 14: a lot of guys, but Jalen's definitely, Uh, he's up
Speaker 14: there with the best ones I've ever played with.
Speaker 2: He's He's a true shutdown.
Speaker 14: Corner, a guy that when it's a lot of different
Speaker 14: coverages is the way we're doing things. Like if I
Speaker 14: see on a guy can just leave alone and talk
Speaker 14: to the other stations on the other side the field, like, hey,
Speaker 14: we can maybe push the coverage because I know he's
Speaker 14: not giving up anything. So he's a special player. Uh,
Speaker 14: and you know, I've really been enjoying playing with him
Speaker 14: so far.
Speaker 4: Where is the weather that's really coming down out there?
Speaker 1: For a while?
Speaker 4: Were you good?
Speaker 8: Did you guys know going in that you would hang
Speaker 8: out there unless it was late in or.
Speaker 4: What you know? What was Kennedy direction?
Speaker 14: Yeah, I know, which had like contingency plan depending on
Speaker 14: you know, how bad the weather would get if we
Speaker 14: would go to the the watcher Payton, I'm always a
Speaker 14: big per to one. I don't want to be on
Speaker 14: turf at all I can avoid it. So I kept
Speaker 14: preaching out there, like stay out here, let's just stay
Speaker 14: out here because grass is always better for players and just.
Speaker 2: In my opinion. But yeah, I mean a little bit
Speaker 2: of rain don't hurt anybody.
Speaker 12: Was that fun like playing in the rain, Yeah.
Speaker 2: It's cool.
Speaker 14: It was kind of like remember the Titans type practice
Speaker 14: training camp deal.
Speaker 2: We was out just making jokes on the sideline, you
Speaker 2: know what I mean. It was fun.
Speaker 15: Defensive looks pretty good throughout being player, off season and close.
Speaker 4: Do you think you guys are just waiting already?
Speaker 2: I'm ready to play now. Honestly.
Speaker 14: I know we have a you know, a couple more
Speaker 14: preseason games to go, and always things we can get
Speaker 14: better at. But I'm more than excited, you know, for
Speaker 14: this group and ready to go out there and put
Speaker 14: our brand of football on tape.
Speaker 2: You know, the the high level football we played so far.
Speaker 14: Uh, it's really to be expected on my end, just
Speaker 14: watching us day and day in and day out going
Speaker 14: to work. So we just have to keep it going,
Speaker 14: make sure guys stay healthy, get everybody back. We still
Speaker 14: have a couple guys we need to get back and
Speaker 14: just keep working. But like so, I'm excited for this group.
Speaker 2: For sure.
Speaker 9: He's gonna getting guys back. It's gonna take some time
Speaker 9: for you and Jakwan to be out there together to
Speaker 9: there's some of the minor communication things that could be
Speaker 9: major on any given play.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we'll see.
Speaker 14: I know he's close, but he's in meetings every day.
Speaker 14: We're still talking. On the back end, he's been in
Speaker 14: this defense longer than me so honestly, there's still some
Speaker 14: things that we're meetings and he's helping me out with.
Speaker 2: But like you said, you do need, you know, time.
Speaker 14: Together to get back out there, get the communication and
Speaker 14: everything going. But I mean, you know, one guy's not
Speaker 14: in there, it's another opportunity for another guy. And Elijah
Speaker 14: Hicks has been playing this behind off. I really like him.
Speaker 14: I know he's an undrafted guy a couple of years ago.
Speaker 14: He has that chip on his shoulder and you could
Speaker 14: just see it out there. But if it's special teams
Speaker 14: of defense, and that's what I keep telling him. You know,
Speaker 14: you know Jakwanum obviously he's gonna come back, But every
Speaker 14: opportunity you get to come out here and go ahead
Speaker 14: and show your brand of football, show your physicality.
Speaker 2: I've been enjoying watching him so far too.
Speaker 4: I get you excited to play football, Tommy.
Speaker 3: You know Kevin Byron, he's a pros pro and you
Speaker 3: can hear a lot what comes out of his mouth.
Speaker 3: You know, he talks about, you know, having a guy
Speaker 3: like Jalen Johnson next to him and he's familiar with
Speaker 3: playing with a great cornerback and then he understands what
Speaker 3: his responsibilities are and sometimes how he can take advantage
Speaker 3: of spacing because of the corner that he's playing next to.
Speaker 3: Then you talk about him being ready to let's go play.
Speaker 3: It's time for the season. Listen, man, it's gonna be
Speaker 3: an eighteen game season, and it's going to be a
Speaker 3: limited preseason. When you hear a veteran talk like that,
Speaker 3: you know that the amount of time that they've been
Speaker 3: on the practice field, he's ready to start the regular season.
Speaker 6: Let's get this thing going.
Speaker 3: The one thing I did disagree with him at the
Speaker 3: very beginning of his presser, I always thought in rainy conditions,
Speaker 3: the offense.
Speaker 6: Had the advantage.
Speaker 3: Interesting because we know where we're going, we know what
Speaker 3: our next step is gonna be, we know where we're
Speaker 3: anticipating you to.
Speaker 6: Be according to the flow of the play.
Speaker 3: We know how to get under balance as we're getting
Speaker 3: into a sharp cut or possibly turning a corner.
Speaker 6: And then he said he feels the advantages in the defense.
Speaker 3: I would like to have a lengthier conversation too with
Speaker 3: him about that, because when he said that, and I
Speaker 3: heard him this afternoon and had his presser, I was
Speaker 3: kind of shocked that, you know, he believed that the
Speaker 3: defense had the advantage. When I sit here on the
Speaker 3: offensive side of the ball, and I think the offense
Speaker 3: has the advantage.
Speaker 4: Well, maybe it's by position.
Speaker 5: Maybe, And he's coming downhill with a head of steam
Speaker 5: and he's just going linear at somebody.
Speaker 4: Maybe he thinks that would be interesting.
Speaker 3: Well, just to amplify that or just a little a
Speaker 3: little bit. Keenan Allen is such a premier route runner
Speaker 3: and it's hard to anticipate what type of routes he's
Speaker 3: gonna run. And now if you're overthinking it as a
Speaker 3: defensive back and you think, Okay, I'm gonna predetermined position
Speaker 3: where Keenan's gonna go, and all of a sudden he's
Speaker 3: a head fake and cuts inside or vice versa. And
Speaker 3: now you're jumping into that position, trying to staff your
Speaker 3: cleats the heel or your cleats in the ground to
Speaker 3: make that adjustment feet slip, you're on the ground completion.
Speaker 5: There you go, Yeah, that exactly happened. He did a
Speaker 5: little head bob and bam ran an expert route. I say,
Speaker 5: he's got a doctorate and route running and a back
Speaker 5: shoulder fade from Caleb Williams right on the money. Uh,
Speaker 5: there there were a bunch of guys slipping early. And
Speaker 5: I think you go back to coach Eberflus when we
Speaker 5: started the show talking about how you have to play
Speaker 5: with the feet under you, and you you always have
Speaker 5: been somebody who who is thinking the same way, whether
Speaker 5: we're playing in icy conditions, if you're playing in snow
Speaker 5: or over the years you've said, hey, make sure you
Speaker 5: do your job in terms of getting the right cleats.
Speaker 5: Ask Tony Medlin what you need to get the job
Speaker 5: done and somehow play under your pads, stay balanced And
Speaker 5: is that easier said than done Tommy, No.
Speaker 3: It's pretty difficult because you're always trying to play the
Speaker 3: game fast no matter what position you play. Like you
Speaker 3: just brought up maybe a defensive back season different than
Speaker 3: an offensive lineman. Offensive lineman, I break the huddle, I
Speaker 3: know the snap count. I know that I should react
Speaker 3: quicker than you as a defensive lineman, and when you
Speaker 3: try to react to me, and if I have a
Speaker 3: good stabilizing hands inside punch on you, I should be
Speaker 3: in control of your body. But the different types of
Speaker 3: surfaces that you play on nowadays, and if you are
Speaker 3: playing outdoors under icy or rainy conditions. You better be
Speaker 3: aware of what is your most confident footwear to wear
Speaker 3: on that game day.
Speaker 5: You could tell how excited he was though playing too,
Speaker 5: because he's had plenty of battles with Joe Burrow and
Speaker 5: the AFC, and so I'm sure he would have been
Speaker 5: looking forward to playing him on Saturday. But no starters
Speaker 5: or most of the starters not expected to play for
Speaker 5: Zach Taylor's Bengals, but Buyer, his interception was terrific, a
Speaker 5: diving stats football and a really really nice play. All Right,
Speaker 5: we're gonna take another break. When we come back, we'll
Speaker 5: hear from Tom his Tom Thoughts segment. There's always good.
Speaker 5: He's got good ones here on ESPN one thousand of
Speaker 5: the Bears Radio Network, This.
Speaker 1: Is Bears Weekly with a Voice of the Bears for
Speaker 1: twenty three years, Jeff Tonyaik on the Bears Radio Network.
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Speaker 5: Jeff and Tom with you on Bears Weekly. Tom's thoughts, What.
Speaker 4: Do you got?
Speaker 3: You know, Jeff, So, I was thinking about a group
Speaker 3: of guys. I'm gonna say all of them together and
Speaker 3: then tell you why, Matt Pryor Coleman, Shelton, Jerome Carvin,
Speaker 3: and then I look at your guy that Daniel Hardy,
Speaker 3: I look at carls Jones Junior, I look at Elijah Hicks,
Speaker 3: and I look at Ian Wheeler.
Speaker 6: So you think about injuries during the course of the training.
Speaker 3: Camp, and we talk about how unfortunate they are, whether
Speaker 3: it happened in today's practice by Cincinnati or guys that
Speaker 3: just get some type of injury that keeps them out
Speaker 3: of action. And then what does that person behind them
Speaker 3: do that's in line? Do they impress the coaches and
Speaker 3: realize that maybe they have a Diamond and a rough
Speaker 3: and these guys have the ability to possibly make the
Speaker 3: final roster. A guy like Coleman Shelton, because of the
Speaker 3: injury to Ryan Bates and the injury to Nate Davis,
Speaker 3: may end up being the starting center for this football
Speaker 3: team because he's taken advantage of quality reps. Today when
Speaker 3: you see him in one on ones against the Cincinnati Bengals,
Speaker 3: when you really don't have a lot of information fed
Speaker 3: to you by who you're going to be practicing against,
Speaker 3: he went out there and played the position of center,
Speaker 3: and he did it with strength, and he did it
Speaker 3: with confidence. And I think when you look at what
Speaker 3: he needs to offer this offense, maybe he is the
Speaker 3: starting center because of injuries and hiccups in front of him.
Speaker 3: And then you look at a guy like Jerome Carbon
Speaker 3: number sixty three. We didn't know a lot about him
Speaker 3: coming here. He's got a big body, he's got a
Speaker 3: template of an offensive alignment. Where does his versatility carry him?
Speaker 3: He can play center, he can play offensive guard. He's
Speaker 3: an intelligent guy, he's a good athlete. So now all
Speaker 3: of a sudden he's on the radar of being able
Speaker 3: to make this football team, just like Daniel Hardy because
Speaker 3: when you think about him, you know there is an
Speaker 3: injury in front of him. To Jacob Martin, now who's
Speaker 3: the next man up in that line? It's Daniel Hardy
Speaker 3: and look at the production that he's put on two
Speaker 3: game fields already. And Kevin Bayer talk about Elijah Hicks
Speaker 3: when you have Jakwan Brisker out of the lineup for
Speaker 3: as long as he's been. Yeah, Elijah Hicks has some
Speaker 3: experience with this football team. But what do you do
Speaker 3: when you're running with the number ones? Do you play
Speaker 3: like a number one? Or do you play with those
Speaker 3: coaches thinking Okay, who's going to be next in line here?
Speaker 3: And Elijah Hicks has answered the bell. So that's the
Speaker 3: one thing about training camp and every one of us
Speaker 3: throughout our career, we're going to be faced with that opportunity.
Speaker 3: Where are you when that opportunity comes can spell the
Speaker 3: life of your career. And so just just a group
Speaker 3: of guys. There's more out there, but those are just
Speaker 3: a group of guys that come to mind that have
Speaker 3: gotten extra reps because of injuries in front of them,
Speaker 3: and the coaches have really done a nice job of
Speaker 3: getting them mentally and physically prepared.
Speaker 5: Now you mentioned Ian Wheeler took a great advantage of
Speaker 5: his opportunity obviously with the two touchdowns in Buffalo today,
Speaker 5: running hard as usual did on kick return, that was
Speaker 5: an interesting exercise as well because of that ball. Both
Speaker 5: teams had some if issues holding out of the ball.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, and I think that's gonna be what's
Speaker 3: gonna plague a lot of these teams through the initial
Speaker 3: experimental stages in the regular season because now, well, okay,
Speaker 3: we're used to seeing the great returners of the history
Speaker 3: of the NFL, because the return was what it was
Speaker 3: for one hundred plus years. Now there's different types of kickoffs,
Speaker 3: they different hang times, they have different blocking in front
Speaker 3: of them.
Speaker 6: You gotta read it more immediate, you know.
Speaker 3: The thing about it is the old time kickoffs, you
Speaker 3: would sit there and catch a four point zero hangtime
Speaker 3: kick and then you would have blocks that were set
Speaker 3: twenty yards in front of you. Now you're catching the
Speaker 3: kick and the blocks are right there in front of you.
Speaker 3: And so the eye contact, the eye process, the thinking
Speaker 3: of where the point of attack is that's predetermined in
Speaker 3: the huddle call. There's so many issues that are facing
Speaker 3: the kickoff and kickoff return game. And I really don't
Speaker 3: think that we're gonna be interesting. We're gonna be introduced
Speaker 3: to the interesting concept of this new play until the
Speaker 3: regular season.
Speaker 5: Am I correct? A muff is going to be more dangerous? Correct,
Speaker 5: Because what you just said is this true? I mean
Speaker 5: a muff you don't have as much time to regroup.
Speaker 3: We saw two in this past week's game, and Buffalo
Speaker 3: Buffalo had one and Valis had one. So also, now
Speaker 3: you're scrambling to make sure you control the football, and
Speaker 3: then how if someone gets beat immediately and they're attempted block.
Speaker 3: Now you're trying to be a creator, and those guys
Speaker 3: coming down to chase you are equally as good as
Speaker 3: what they're challenged with than what you are. So uh,
Speaker 3: it's I still think and I'm still excited about it.
Speaker 3: I think when the regular season gets here, it's gonna
Speaker 3: be awesome.
Speaker 4: That's down there. I'm Jeff Jonniyac. One segment to go.
Speaker 5: When we come back, we'll here some of cole kmet
Speaker 5: the veteran tight end at the podium today after practice
Speaker 5: with the Bengals. This is ESPN one thousand and the
Speaker 5: Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 1: ECUs Bears Weekly with a Force of the Bears for
Speaker 1: twenty we here on the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 5: This segment of Bears Weekly brought to you by CDW
Speaker 5: people who get it. Jeff and Town wrapping things up
Speaker 5: Cole Kmet practicing against the Bengals and to play them
Speaker 5: on Saturday at Soldier Field.
Speaker 10: Buffalo runs a similar type of defense to what we
Speaker 10: got with front wise, and but you know with with
Speaker 10: the Bengals here run with that three down just a
Speaker 10: good to give us a different look and we'll see
Speaker 10: plenty of three down teams throughout the season, So I
Speaker 10: think that's good for us up front in terms of
Speaker 10: how we're identifying things in the run game, pass game,
Speaker 10: for protection purposes. So you know, we were it was
Speaker 10: a quick turnaround to Cincinnati. It sounds like we do
Speaker 10: a ton of prep on them going into this week.
Speaker 10: But it's always good to see different looks and you know,
Speaker 10: kind of get that situation to learn from that. So
Speaker 10: you kind of get today and then you know, you
Speaker 10: get another day with the game on Saturday, they get
Speaker 10: to kind of get that working over set three down front.
Speaker 10: So I'm always good to see a little different things
Speaker 10: and obviously against the different personnels is a good thing
Speaker 10: for us to.
Speaker 5: Not does have success and Caleb like impresses in his
Speaker 5: first hyman, do you guys get excited to to see
Speaker 5: what the next step looks like?
Speaker 2: What's that?
Speaker 7: Yeah?
Speaker 10: Yeah, absolutely, it was cool to see him do his
Speaker 10: thing out there, and you know, when those lights came on,
Speaker 10: you can see the competitive side of him really come out,
Speaker 10: So that that was really cool to see. And you know,
Speaker 10: as as he's phone and as that juice is going
Speaker 10: on the field, you know, you kind of forget that
Speaker 10: it's a preseason game and you know you're just kind
Speaker 10: of having fun.
Speaker 2: Out there playing with them. So really cool to see.
Speaker 10: And obviously, you know we got to continue making steps here,
Speaker 10: and you know, we got to be able to put
Speaker 10: put six on.
Speaker 2: The board instead of field goals in those situations.
Speaker 10: But you know, I've liked that, Like I said, I
Speaker 10: liked the progress we've made so far, and you know,
Speaker 10: I still think we got a little bit of waste
Speaker 10: to go, but definitely in our way to being ready
Speaker 10: for Week one.
Speaker 5: And you know, he also was asked about Caleb compared
Speaker 5: to other quarterbacks he's played with, and he goes Yeah,
Speaker 5: he is different. He's different, and he just left it
Speaker 5: at that. We're gonna see how different as the season
Speaker 5: goes on. But we've seen a lot of highlights so
Speaker 5: far and a lot more to come to. Tommy final
Speaker 5: thoughts before we kicked off at noon, what do you
Speaker 5: want to see?
Speaker 4: Give me three things quick. We only have about fifty seconds.
Speaker 3: You know, I just want to see a repeat performance
Speaker 3: by Caleb, maybe a couple of extra reps to keep
Speaker 3: on that positive building with this offense that he's had.
Speaker 3: I want to see the defense play as aggressively as
Speaker 3: they did and as it doesn't come from Hardy and
Speaker 3: Austin Booker again. If it does, so be it. And
Speaker 3: then you know, you.
Speaker 6: Know, red zone.
Speaker 3: If they get in the red zone, like Cole said,
Speaker 3: we need to see six. Can't be satisfied with three,
Speaker 3: and you'll be happy to know I saw both episodes
Speaker 3: of Hard Docs know a little bit more about the
Speaker 3: Bears after I've seen them.
Speaker 4: Oh, you buried the lead, time, you buried the lead.
Speaker 5: We're out of time for Dan Burrilly Jordan tread Up,
Speaker 5: Kender Smith and thanks to our guests as well. Bears
Speaker 5: Weekly on the new Radio, the Home with the Chicago Bears.
Speaker 5: We appreciate you listening Black get them data or next.
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