Speaker 1: The following is a presentation of the Chicago Bears Network
Speaker 1: and Chicago Bears dot Com. Download the Chicago Bears official
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Speaker 1: day and now welcome to Bears All Access. You're All
Speaker 1: Access passing to Chicago Bears football. Bears All Access is
Speaker 1: brought to you by IGS Energy and sponsored by CDW,
Speaker 1: Miller Lite and Kulu. I am good even to everybody
Speaker 1: in Jeff Johnny Econong, my broadcast partner Tom there from
Speaker 1: News Radio seven eighty and one oh five point nine FMWBBM,
Speaker 1: and Jim Miller from Sirius XM, NFL Radio, Bears Preseason
Speaker 1: TV and the x Bears quarterback get evening. Fellow is
Speaker 1: good to be back with you. You got your camp
Speaker 1: fases on. Oh yeah, now for the last yeah, the
Speaker 1: last couple of weeks before camp starts. It kind of
Speaker 1: starts taking shape. And now it's down to that Defcon
Speaker 1: one or five, whichever is the worse, because it's here
Speaker 1: and you better be ready. Well. Deva Brocco's already reported
Speaker 1: at the first practice today, a couple other teams had
Speaker 1: their first year players, like the Baltimore Ravens and Cardinals
Speaker 1: are showing up. So football's back. Excited about it. Jeff,
Speaker 1: Good to have you back for vacation. You should be
Speaker 1: well arrested for next Friday, well arrested, ready to go.
Speaker 1: That internal clock keeps on ticking. You get a little
Speaker 1: more less congenial as you get ready to get into
Speaker 1: the grind, the great grind of the football season. I
Speaker 1: actually told my kids that today, if I'm a little grouchy,
Speaker 1: don't get upset with me. It's it's that time. It's
Speaker 1: that time to get focused. Well, you know, I'm a
Speaker 1: little edgy. You know, Vic Fangio going back to back,
Speaker 1: the two longest seasons you can have, going back to
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame games, So it's gonna be, you know,
Speaker 1: quite a workload for him in the two years and
Speaker 1: his first year as a head car. Yeah, but nobody,
Speaker 1: nobody loves it more than him, guys, nobody. Yeah. Well,
Speaker 1: they got a long camp, they got nineteen nineteen public practices, right, Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: they do, they do well. He commented on that today.
Speaker 1: And you know, I hate to see that the team's
Speaker 1: doing this too. A lot of teams are lessening the
Speaker 1: public to come out. And I've always stayed this that
Speaker 1: what greater atmosphere than NFL training camps. No other major
Speaker 1: sport allows you to get up close and personal with
Speaker 1: the players. You know, sometimes not everybody can afford going
Speaker 1: to the games, and that's really their access. And so
Speaker 1: hopefully the NFL at some point maybe mandates how many
Speaker 1: open practices you can, whether it's ten, whether it's twelve.
Speaker 1: Dallas Cowboys they don't regulate anything, they have twenty open practices.
Speaker 1: There are some teams like the Raiders, they don't offer
Speaker 1: the public. They can't even see one. So you know,
Speaker 1: it's uh, you know, I think the NFL is making
Speaker 1: a big mistake. You know, I like that set up
Speaker 1: in bourbon A for the Bears. The Bears fans show out,
Speaker 1: show up in droves. It gives them great access now
Speaker 1: that it's centrally located in Illinois, not that drive what
Speaker 1: it once was up to Platteville, Wisconsin. Not that that
Speaker 1: wasn't great, but you know, it's nice to see it
Speaker 1: local there in you know, in Illinois where everybody can
Speaker 1: come out, whether the southern fans or east or west
Speaker 1: of Chicago and the northern fans can make that drive
Speaker 1: down to bourbon A and get close access to the chic.
Speaker 1: I'd rather have the roar of the crowd and the
Speaker 1: fans surrounding the fields, and I would the music at
Speaker 1: this new generation they play out there, and I think
Speaker 1: it could be motivating to see the fans as you're
Speaker 1: going through the gates to get ready for practice. Well,
Speaker 1: and that's part of the support. Tom, what about in yours?
Speaker 1: You know, I kind of liked it having the fans.
Speaker 1: Are you kind of as a player, you wanted to
Speaker 1: put on a show. Hey, here, they've out of respect,
Speaker 1: They've made the trip in the journey to come here
Speaker 1: to this practice. Put on a show. Make it worth
Speaker 1: their while is what I always thought. And it really
Speaker 1: I think provide a lot of extra juice for practices
Speaker 1: because I don't think any of the players wanted to
Speaker 1: let the fans down. Yeah, you don't want to let
Speaker 1: that go because and especially this year, I believe they're
Speaker 1: you know, obviously given the one hundred and what we
Speaker 1: saw at the convention in June, Tom and Jim, the
Speaker 1: buzz about this football team, I think the turnout could
Speaker 1: be real good this year in Bourbon at OH it
Speaker 1: would be packed every day because this has superstar power
Speaker 1: they want to get up close to Khalil, They want
Speaker 1: to look at a team. They want to see Roquan develop,
Speaker 1: they want to see Mitchell Trubisky in his development at
Speaker 1: the quarterback position. They want to see Monmory and you know,
Speaker 1: every one of these guys. I'm just you know, pointing
Speaker 1: out the guys in the roster. But this there's a
Speaker 1: lot of star power that well everybody can gravitate and
Speaker 1: have something in common with. If you wanted a player
Speaker 1: coming off the field, whether they throw them a wristband
Speaker 1: or a glove or something. As for the NFL, they
Speaker 1: should be concerned because if that happens, or an autograph,
Speaker 1: you got a fan for life, a fan for life.
Speaker 1: And that's really what vic Fanje was talking about. Who
Speaker 1: doesn't want a Jim Miller wrist band. I've got many
Speaker 1: on my shelf. It all opens on Saturday, July twenty seventh.
Speaker 1: Through August Tent Bears training camp open to the public
Speaker 1: seven thirty in the morning till noon on those days,
Speaker 1: and then throughout the month of August, the first portion
Speaker 1: of August leading up through the Bears preseason opener against
Speaker 1: the Carolina Panthers, and then it's off to meet the giants,
Speaker 1: and it's here quickly. Coming up. Next, we'll be joined
Speaker 1: by our rookie tight end, Dex Raymond, the undrafted guy
Speaker 1: out of Utah State. He'll join Jim and Tom and myself,
Speaker 1: Jeff Joni at herb Lawrence helping us out along with
Speaker 1: Julio Rosseo. Today this is Bears All Access on Chicago
Speaker 1: Sports Radio six seventy. The score blung back end. The
Speaker 1: Bears All Access are brought to you by Igs Energy
Speaker 1: and Jeff Joni acc along with Tom Thayer and Jim Miller.
Speaker 1: Joined now by tight end Dex Raymond, the rookie tight
Speaker 1: end out of Utah State, joining a long list of
Speaker 1: tight ends trying to make their way into the fifty
Speaker 1: three man roster. Just about a week from now. In fact,
Speaker 1: the rookies will report a bit earlier, along with quarterbacks
Speaker 1: as the Bears get going on what is exciting to say,
Speaker 1: an outstanding potential season for these twenty nineteen Chicago Bears.
Speaker 1: Good evening decks, How you doing and welcome to our program. Hello,
Speaker 1: I'm thank you for having me on. I'm excited to
Speaker 1: be on tonight and you gotta be thrilled beyond belief
Speaker 1: that you are an NFL rostered player at the moment, given,
Speaker 1: given you know the journey that everyone has some guys
Speaker 1: our first, second, third round picks, and they pretty much
Speaker 1: got a lock out a roster spot when you when
Speaker 1: you start the festivities. But guys like yourself started right
Speaker 1: from the bottom. I mean, gott to work your way up,
Speaker 1: don't you exactly? But hey, you know, I wake up
Speaker 1: and I'm playing in the NFL right now, I'm living
Speaker 1: the dream. So I couldn't be any happier with the
Speaker 1: situation I'm in right now. You know, Dax, I think
Speaker 1: everybody pulls for free agents and it's interesting to hear
Speaker 1: the story. Why are you with the Bears? Was this
Speaker 1: a system related decision? Or did the Bears went out
Speaker 1: over other teams that wanted to your services? Yeah, so
Speaker 1: at the combine, I actually I had a formal interview
Speaker 1: with the Bears, so they had shown interest in me
Speaker 1: before the draft, and after looking through after going undrafted
Speaker 1: and realizing I was going undrafted, looking through what options
Speaker 1: I had, I feel like the Bears would be a
Speaker 1: good fit and it was a great team. So after
Speaker 1: speaking with my parents and my agent, you know, we
Speaker 1: decided that we thought the Bears would be the best fit,
Speaker 1: and I said, you know, let's go for it. Well,
Speaker 1: Dax's Jim Miller here. Pleasure to talk to you and
Speaker 1: just talk about the bloodlines. I believe your father is
Speaker 1: a longtime player, your brother is a longtime player, you know,
Speaker 1: And how did you end up playing for the Aggies?
Speaker 1: And certainly you know your measurables at the combine. People
Speaker 1: don't realize you got big hands, man ten and a
Speaker 1: quarter in chance rants, a good speed there at the
Speaker 1: combine running posting a four seven. We cover every single player,
Speaker 1: and certainly your number stood out. Yeah. So my dad
Speaker 1: he ran track at BIU. He's still on the record
Speaker 1: board for high jump. He's still in the top ten
Speaker 1: over at BIU. My mom was a dancer at Cougar
Speaker 1: att at BIU. My older brother he played basketball for
Speaker 1: a year at a small school in Virginia and at
Speaker 1: a small college. And my little sister she runs track
Speaker 1: and she holds the state record for long jumps. So
Speaker 1: I think we just have a bunch of athletes in
Speaker 1: our family. You know, we just loved playing sports. It's
Speaker 1: what we've been doing since we were kids. Jack's ram
Speaker 1: and our guest here on Bears All Access on Chicago
Speaker 1: Sports Radio six seventy score with the Indel seven o'clock tonight.
Speaker 1: Scout David Williams, who handles the West, called you a smart, competitive,
Speaker 1: versatile player. And anytime the word smart, competitive, and versatile
Speaker 1: are in the same sentence, that does check many boxes
Speaker 1: for this Bears organization and what the front office wants
Speaker 1: and a player, would you say that's an accurate description
Speaker 1: of you in a simple way. There's certainly the xs
Speaker 1: and o's and the other aspects of your fundamentals and traits,
Speaker 1: But would you say that's something you can wrap your
Speaker 1: arms around. Absolutely. You know, I pride myself in knowing
Speaker 1: the plays and knowing the offense and the you know,
Speaker 1: in the back of my head, and at the end
Speaker 1: of the day, it's all about winning in my brain,
Speaker 1: and that's you know, I want to compete, and you know,
Speaker 1: I want to be as competitive as anyone out there
Speaker 1: on the field. So I agree with that statement one percent. Hey, Docson,
Speaker 1: near system you you came from in college? Did you
Speaker 1: line up on the hash next of the tackle or
Speaker 1: in an h back position? Where did you line up
Speaker 1: the most Honestly, I did it all. It was pretty balanced.
Speaker 1: That was something that we did a lot at Utah State.
Speaker 1: Was you know, I'd be out on the hash and
Speaker 1: then the next play I was, you know, in an
Speaker 1: H back position for the run play. So I'm comfortable
Speaker 1: with it all. I'd say I was mostly hash and
Speaker 1: H back. Putting my hand in the in the dirt
Speaker 1: was a little more rare. It was more suttered in
Speaker 1: short or goal line. But I definitely did it all well.
Speaker 1: All Mountain West Honors in twenty seventeen and twenty eighteen
Speaker 1: for the Yaggies. And have you always played tight end? Like? What?
Speaker 1: You know? What? What won? What drew you to football?
Speaker 1: Since your family is just for an array of athletes
Speaker 1: and obviously or did you play all sports growing up? Yeah? So,
Speaker 1: you know, growing up, my dad obviously pushed track because
Speaker 1: that's what he did. But my older brother and I
Speaker 1: we really just loved football and basketball. I mean, my
Speaker 1: greatest memories growing up for you know, shooting in the
Speaker 1: driveway with my older brother and all of our friends.
Speaker 1: So we all we played football and basketball growing up.
Speaker 1: My brother went with basketball and I just love football,
Speaker 1: so I chose football again. We have Dax's Raymond our
Speaker 1: guest on Bears All Access to Night in Chicago Sports
Speaker 1: Radio six seventy to score twenty seven catches, three hundred
Speaker 1: forty five yards two touchdowns last season at Utah State.
Speaker 1: Kid who hailes from Provo Utah and at any tight
Speaker 1: end in your position would love to have those bigger
Speaker 1: numbers the college game, though, tight ends don't always get
Speaker 1: used the way they are in the at National Football League,
Speaker 1: and particularly the blocking aspect of things. Where are you
Speaker 1: add at that level? You know, I feel like I'm
Speaker 1: still improving of the blocking tight end. You know, I
Speaker 1: only played tight end in college, and I only played
Speaker 1: three years of tight end, so I still feel like
Speaker 1: I have tons of room to improve. And I don't
Speaker 1: like the work potential because that means I'm not there yet.
Speaker 1: But I still feel like I'm have so much that
Speaker 1: I can learn, and that's why I'm excited to get
Speaker 1: in this program with these great coaches that can teach
Speaker 1: me and coach me up well. Das Jeff asking about
Speaker 1: the blocking, what about the routes you ran in college?
Speaker 1: Are they relatable to the routes that you're seeing in
Speaker 1: this early installation of the Bears offense, and are there
Speaker 1: things relatable that you'll be able to take from your
Speaker 1: college routes to this level. Yeah, for sure. There's tons
Speaker 1: of routes that are really similar, which really helped me
Speaker 1: in the OTAs, just kind of understanding, you know, where
Speaker 1: we're trying to break off our stands or you know,
Speaker 1: identical routes where you know, I already ran this route
Speaker 1: for four or three or four years in college, so
Speaker 1: you know, I'm used to them. So yeah, I'd say
Speaker 1: there are a lot of similarities. There's definitely some new
Speaker 1: stuff that I have to work on, but for the
Speaker 1: most part, I was pretty comfortable with all the routes
Speaker 1: that we were running. How has the install period gone
Speaker 1: through the the OTAs and the mini camps and all that,
Speaker 1: and just the volume of the install just you know,
Speaker 1: you're going to see a lot more coverages, the array
Speaker 1: of coverages you're probably being exposed to as you arrive
Speaker 1: at the Bears. How's that been for you? Yeah? Absolutely.
Speaker 1: I Mean the playbook five times the size of any
Speaker 1: playbook I've ever seen, UM, which has been awesome. And yeah,
Speaker 1: the defense is, you know, there's defenses I've never seen before. UM,
Speaker 1: but like you guys know, I served a two yr mission.
Speaker 1: I learned the Russian language, and I pride that I
Speaker 1: can learn I can learn an offense because I've learned
Speaker 1: the Russian language, so it wasn't too bad for me. Yeah,
Speaker 1: let's say Bears win the Super Bowl in Russian? How
Speaker 1: can you? How can you fire that off at us
Speaker 1: right now? JEDDI good enough for me? Sounds good. Deck's
Speaker 1: Raymond here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the score.
Speaker 1: I'm sure. I'm sure your new teammates are gonna bust
Speaker 1: you on these things a little bit during training camp
Speaker 1: when everybody gets really acquainted, you know, getting away from
Speaker 1: Halla Saw and everybody's in the same boat up at
Speaker 1: training camp, it's got to be not only exciting and
Speaker 1: fun to think about what's coming next, but when the
Speaker 1: pads come on, things certainly change. Did you know from
Speaker 1: being a football player, is that aspect you mentioned how
Speaker 1: competitive you are and you love to compete, you love
Speaker 1: to win. Will that be when you get in the
Speaker 1: heat and you get on that field, you know, and
Speaker 1: the first time you throw on pads in the National
Speaker 1: Football League and you know what's coming at you. These
Speaker 1: grown men when you're you're a young man twenty four,
Speaker 1: but a rookie in the national football when it's all
Speaker 1: going to sound and feel real. Yeah, you know, it's
Speaker 1: crazy just hearing you say that. Right now. You know
Speaker 1: it's it's game day every day once you put those
Speaker 1: pads on, So you got to have the mindset ready
Speaker 1: to go game day every day. Hey, Dax, you know
Speaker 1: your quickest route to a jersey is through special teams.
Speaker 1: Did you have any experience of that in college? I mean,
Speaker 1: this is kind of a serious question because you're twenty four,
Speaker 1: you played a lot of football. Do you know how
Speaker 1: to tackle? Do you know the techniques and the fundamentals
Speaker 1: that go about it? Because when you're on punt coverage,
Speaker 1: you're on kickoff coverage. You know you gotta be on
Speaker 1: kickoff return, punt return. But you know, now you start
Speaker 1: doing some things that maybe you don't have a great
Speaker 1: deal of experience at Uh huh. Yeah. So last year
Speaker 1: I started on punt all year with Utah State, and
Speaker 1: I've been on kick return, so I am familiar with tackling.
Speaker 1: And like I said, like you said, for sure, I
Speaker 1: understand to get on this roster, I'm gonna have to compete,
Speaker 1: especially on special teams. And if I can start on
Speaker 1: four special teams, I would do that in a heartbeat.
Speaker 1: Whether it's running down on the kickoff or blocking on punt,
Speaker 1: I'll do whatever I can to make this team well
Speaker 1: for that two year mission, you just sound like you
Speaker 1: got you know, you're mature twenty four year old. You
Speaker 1: know a lot of young guys, you know, sometimes come
Speaker 1: in with the anxiety of training camp and it just
Speaker 1: doesn't sound like the case for you at all. Decks
Speaker 1: Maybe your point of view, because you know, I'm sure
Speaker 1: there's always that doubt in your mind, but you have
Speaker 1: the maturity to go out there and say, hey, I'm
Speaker 1: gonna go compete to make this team. Yeah. Absolutely, I
Speaker 1: pride myself that I'm more mature twenty four year old
Speaker 1: rookie because that's a little more rare and most rookies
Speaker 1: aren't twenty four. But yeah, I mean I see it
Speaker 1: at a differ print. There's a different aspect to it.
Speaker 1: You think, yeah, I'm twenty four. You know, I've had
Speaker 1: a bunch of football in my past. But you know
Speaker 1: those two years, I wasn't taking a beating, you know,
Speaker 1: I was I was walking around in Siberia. But I
Speaker 1: wasn't getting smashed every day playing football, so my football
Speaker 1: mileage really isn't. I'm more of a twenty one year
Speaker 1: old body, but just in a twenty four year old brain.
Speaker 1: And still, yeah, it does make sense and still a
Speaker 1: lot to learn at this level. You said tight end
Speaker 1: only three years in your football playing life, so you
Speaker 1: can look at that in a couple of different ways.
Speaker 1: You're this piece of multiple material right now to to
Speaker 1: adapt to this system, in this scheme, and you don't
Speaker 1: have a lot of bad habits right at the position. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: I hope I don't have any. You know, I hope
Speaker 1: that the coaches, if I do, they'll get those out
Speaker 1: of my system real quick. And you know, only can
Speaker 1: learn new things that will help me improve to be
Speaker 1: the best tight end that I can be. Well, we
Speaker 1: wish you, We wish nothing but the best. It's gonna
Speaker 1: be a fun training camp. Everybody's looking forward to it,
Speaker 1: as I'm sure you are as well. A week out
Speaker 1: here getting ready for Bears twenty nineteen. Dax Raymond, thanks
Speaker 1: for joining us. Thank you very much. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 1: Dax Raymond, our guest from Utah State, the rookie tight
Speaker 1: end will join the group along with Trey Burton, Adam Shaheen,
Speaker 1: Ben Bronicker, Bradley soul Ian Bunting out of Hinsdale Central,
Speaker 1: Jesper Horstead else, I'll excuse me, Ellis Richardson. The whole
Speaker 1: cast of characters ready to compete at training camp. We
Speaker 1: come back, we'll break down that tight end position a
Speaker 1: little more with Tom there and Jim Miller. I'm Jeff
Speaker 1: Jonik on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to score. Welcome
Speaker 1: back to Bears All Access brought to you by IGS Energy,
Speaker 1: a proud partner of the Chicago Bears, providing electricity, natural gas,
Speaker 1: and home warranty products to over one million customers across
Speaker 1: the country. Learn more about IGS Energy at igs dot com. Jeff,
Speaker 1: Tom and Jim joining us on Bear Access. Just heard
Speaker 1: from undrafted rookie Ted and Dax Raymond. Sounds like a
Speaker 1: really sharp guy, fellas. Yeah, you know, and he is
Speaker 1: mature beyond his years, you know, being twenty four and
Speaker 1: not having that abuse of football over the last couple
Speaker 1: of years. I think there's higher expectations for him because
Speaker 1: of that. You have life experiences, you have the experience
Speaker 1: of traveling around the world, the ability to adapt, the
Speaker 1: ability to master another language so you can survive in
Speaker 1: that area of the world. All those skills are relatable
Speaker 1: to football. So and then I was I was talking
Speaker 1: to some personnel people around the NFL today and running
Speaker 1: a four seven three forty, you know, having almost a
Speaker 1: two hundred and fifty two hundred and fifty five pound
Speaker 1: body weight, and then this position needing competition. I think
Speaker 1: all of those, you know, spell well for Dax and
Speaker 1: it's going to give him a true opportunity to come
Speaker 1: here and earn a roster spot, and he's got to
Speaker 1: be able to contribute on special teams. Yea seven one
Speaker 1: five in a three cone Droll talks about his change
Speaker 1: of direction. That's pretty good time for a player of
Speaker 1: that size. We look at six five, two hundred and
Speaker 1: fifty five pounds and like anything else you know, to me,
Speaker 1: he could be a perfect guy for the practice squad
Speaker 1: because he is so young, I should say at the
Speaker 1: tight end position, only play in three years, you know,
Speaker 1: but he's got these oily hips and he's a tremendous athlete.
Speaker 1: Maybe just a little bit more development is there, because
Speaker 1: when you look at the depth at the tight end
Speaker 1: and the dependent on roster cuts and you know numbers
Speaker 1: are going to come into be a factor. You can't
Speaker 1: think about that as a player, But with Bradley Soul
Speaker 1: making that transition to tight end, you know that's gonna
Speaker 1: change some things and how that position. So Dax to
Speaker 1: me would probably be a perfect person for practice squad
Speaker 1: as it sits right now. You know, Jimmy like about him.
Speaker 1: Jim and Jeff when we talk about Bradley Saul and
Speaker 1: we talk about Dax, who really has the advantage from
Speaker 1: this moment on a person that's young with three years
Speaker 1: experience and limited or a person that understands the blocking
Speaker 1: schemes and how to block and fundamentals of blocking but
Speaker 1: has never played the position. And I'd like to get
Speaker 1: both of your take on that. Well. I mean, well,
Speaker 1: coach Snaggy spreads it out a lot more than some
Speaker 1: other teams around the league in terms of goal line personnel.
Speaker 1: But I think if you're just looking for overall blocking,
Speaker 1: if you're going to go heavy personnel and obviously short
Speaker 1: yardage and goal line command it when you kind of
Speaker 1: want to just stuff it up in there, And I
Speaker 1: would think Bradley Swells has the advantage, you know, and
Speaker 1: I would think when you look at those guys on
Speaker 1: the roster, Trey Burton's more of a movement guy. Dax
Speaker 1: is probably a movement guy until he improves his blocking ability.
Speaker 1: But then the bigger guys, when you look at Adam,
Speaker 1: Sheheen and Bradley probably would probably provide a better benefit
Speaker 1: and heavy personnel in those positions, which I think would
Speaker 1: give them an advantage if the Bears want to play
Speaker 1: smash model, I would agree with what Jim saying, maybe
Speaker 1: two different types of position players here. And in addition
Speaker 1: to that, knowing that Matt Naggey loves a buffet, he
Speaker 1: loves an offensive buffet of different options. As we all
Speaker 1: learned and will continue to learn, this is not just
Speaker 1: lip service. He actually this is how it's going to be.
Speaker 1: One guy's not getting all the touches is going to
Speaker 1: be creative based on matchups each and every game, each
Speaker 1: and every series, for crying out loud. So I'm interested
Speaker 1: to see where Bradley's at as we continue to break
Speaker 1: down this tight end position in terms of his wait
Speaker 1: and so forth, because he was freaking down. I wanted
Speaker 1: to see what he winds up here at training camp
Speaker 1: and how he handles that weight, how he feels, you know,
Speaker 1: being able to run routes or just putting his hand
Speaker 1: in the dirt and being that blocking tight end. You know,
Speaker 1: he's got a lot of energy, and that's the I
Speaker 1: think that's one of the reasons you even consider moving
Speaker 1: Bradley too with the tight end position from an offensive lineman,
Speaker 1: because he's got the athleticism to play up and down
Speaker 1: the line of scrimmage. He's a really good long snapper,
Speaker 1: so obviously he's got the traits to adapt and learn
Speaker 1: any other position. But I think at this stage of
Speaker 1: his career this will be the biggest hurdle that he'll face,
Speaker 1: and trying to learn more than just attachment to a
Speaker 1: player in front of you. You got to be able
Speaker 1: to disengage and then still file the flight of football
Speaker 1: as you're reading coverages bells. Given the nature of a
Speaker 1: sports hernie operation that Trey Burton had and he missed
Speaker 1: the offseason program because of it, what do you project
Speaker 1: his status to be when they get to work. That's tough.
Speaker 1: I've had hernie on both sides. One for me took
Speaker 1: six months. I mean where I finally felt well, I
Speaker 1: felt really good, you know, and you know, and I
Speaker 1: don't play, you know, playing the quarterback wasn't the movement
Speaker 1: position of what Burton is going through other guys. You
Speaker 1: know that everybody heals differently certainly uh that, and you
Speaker 1: know he's a professional. But I just know it didn't
Speaker 1: feel right for me. I was out there moving and
Speaker 1: doing all the things I needed to, but you just
Speaker 1: didn't feel right untill about six months after that surgery.
Speaker 1: Some of those sports hernie surgeries can be complicated, you know,
Speaker 1: some of them have ended careers. Look at Vernon Davis
Speaker 1: that ended his career as a corner having that sports
Speaker 1: hernie is surgery. Well, you know, the thing for me
Speaker 1: is selfishly looking at the development of Mitchell Trubisky last
Speaker 1: year when Alan Robinson came here and he was recovering
Speaker 1: from a knee injury. And you don't have the chance
Speaker 1: to run these guys at one hundred percent of practice
Speaker 1: tempo in order to get the timing down, that is
Speaker 1: such specifics in order to get it done right. I
Speaker 1: don't want to, you know, I hope Trey is ready
Speaker 1: to go and can contribute in some way, shape or form,
Speaker 1: and I've never had a hernia, so I don't know,
Speaker 1: But I'm just I'm hoping for the selfishness of the
Speaker 1: development of the offense, that he has the opportunity, even
Speaker 1: if he's out there for seven on seven and you
Speaker 1: limit his contact downfield or exposure to re injuring you know,
Speaker 1: the hernia. So I hope he does for all all
Speaker 1: players involved, including Trubisky. I meant I'm at Vante Davis. Sorry,
Speaker 1: I want to correct myself, Joe, I think I said Vernont.
Speaker 1: But remember the former corner of the Colts, he went
Speaker 1: up to the to the Buffalo Bills and he just
Speaker 1: said he just never felt right. You know, he played
Speaker 1: a whole season and you know he said it just
Speaker 1: was not good for him. His sports turneer surgery. And
Speaker 1: I know that we've all talked about Adam Shehen on
Speaker 1: this show quite a bit. We all have high expectations
Speaker 1: for Adam and it's one of Tom's collection of players
Speaker 1: that he's got circled in terms of making that next
Speaker 1: big step, making a big impact based on their experience level.
Speaker 1: What are your respective expectations right now with a healthy
Speaker 1: Adam Sheen. My expectations for Adam shehen is when they
Speaker 1: do the introduction of the starting lineup that's including the
Speaker 1: big tight end that for sixteen games. He's the guy
Speaker 1: that lines up, the guy that gets introduced. He's the
Speaker 1: guy that can make a difficult catch and pop up
Speaker 1: off the ground. He's the type of guy that can
Speaker 1: be instrumental in the blocking scheme of the outside edge
Speaker 1: or even plays that are under the interior, and he
Speaker 1: can handle some guys one on one. He knows how
Speaker 1: to work with the offensive tackle, with the other tight ends,
Speaker 1: the h backs, and the different members of the blocking
Speaker 1: schemes that he's going to have to work with. He
Speaker 1: needs to take that X step in the evolution of
Speaker 1: player development in terms of the mentality you have to
Speaker 1: have in terms of toughness to be on the field
Speaker 1: under every and any situation that's called for him. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm you know, I'm not expecting Travis kelcey. But he's
Speaker 1: an athletic player. I mean, this is a former basketball
Speaker 1: player who can play above the rim, has the ability
Speaker 1: to make big plays, stride and run after the catchability
Speaker 1: with his movement skills. So I'm with Tom, I think
Speaker 1: it's time it's time to come out of the shell.
Speaker 1: I know part of it was due to injury and
Speaker 1: the ankle and and all that, the foot injury that
Speaker 1: I was dealing with, But I think it's time he
Speaker 1: does need to take an X big step and really
Speaker 1: be a huge contributor I think here for the Bears.
Speaker 1: And because if not, if not him, who right? And
Speaker 1: that's that's the that's a big question mark. And you
Speaker 1: talk Jeff about Matt wanting a buffet, Listen, he's he's
Speaker 1: part of the prime rib. He's part of the meat department.
Speaker 1: He's you know, he's not you know, secondary consideration of
Speaker 1: putting a little on your plate. And then we got
Speaker 1: Ben Naker has been here a while now, so outstanding
Speaker 1: special teams player. He'll get some work in as well.
Speaker 1: Looking forward to the tight end breakdown throughout the course
Speaker 1: of training camp when we come back home. About some
Speaker 1: phone calls, folks three one two six forty four sixty
Speaker 1: seven sixty seven three one two sixty four four sixty
Speaker 1: seven sixty seven, Herb Lawrence Julio Rosso, our producers tonight
Speaker 1: and this is Bears All Access on Chicago Sports Radio
Speaker 1: six seventy. The score back with you on Bears All
Speaker 1: Access on Chicago Sports Radio. Another twenty minutes in the program,
Speaker 1: Jeff Joniac tap there, Jim Miller with you, and our
Speaker 1: phone number is three one two six forty four sixty seven,
Speaker 1: sixty seven. Let's go to the phone lines. We got
Speaker 1: a Tom and Lincoln Square kind enough to join the
Speaker 1: program big time. Yes, I wanted to talk about Adam Rachinin.
Speaker 1: And what I noticed about Shakin is that you seem
Speaker 1: like a big guy sixty eight who was still a
Speaker 1: little awkward. I see him basketball all the time, these
Speaker 1: seven twitters. It takes him a while to get coordinated,
Speaker 1: and I just I thought that was a case with Sigheen.
Speaker 1: And I noticed that he was doing some martial arts
Speaker 1: working out this year. So I really think that he's
Speaker 1: gonna have a breakout here, just because it's physically I'm
Speaker 1: assuming he's going to put it together more like when
Speaker 1: he got hurt. Someone tackled him at the legs and
Speaker 1: he fell real awkwardly. And anyway, I just think that
Speaker 1: that's going to be the difference between Adam and this year.
Speaker 1: And I think I think it's gonna be a big
Speaker 1: party office. Yeah, you know, Tom, I hope you're right.
Speaker 1: Because you know, I think we all like what we
Speaker 1: see out of Adam Sheen when you look at his structure,
Speaker 1: the width of his shoulders, his overall size. Jim mentioned
Speaker 1: of his basketball background, we as the ability how to
Speaker 1: understand and how to use his body. And it was
Speaker 1: a freak incident. I think it happened last year during
Speaker 1: the Hall of Fame game. But it's you know, that's
Speaker 1: what everything has to come together, where he is out
Speaker 1: there on a regular basis, and like I said, every
Speaker 1: time that he's part of the personnel package, he's the
Speaker 1: tight end that goes to the front of the line,
Speaker 1: and he's got to start setting the example for the
Speaker 1: position because I know there's he's got really lofty expectations
Speaker 1: by the Bears fans and by the personnel department up
Speaker 1: there at Hollis Hall. We've seen a lot of this
Speaker 1: of players who really that's what he is. He's a
Speaker 1: former basketball player making the transition to tight end. And yeah,
Speaker 1: he played at a smaller college in Ashland, so things
Speaker 1: are a lot faster for him right now when he
Speaker 1: arrived in Chicago. There. Hey, there are players that have
Speaker 1: been formed basketball players converted to tight end that still
Speaker 1: haven't mastered the position. I e. Jimmy Graham up there
Speaker 1: in Green Bay. He really still hasn't perfected his blocking
Speaker 1: ability and one of the reasons why Seattle shipped him off.
Speaker 1: He's kind of been a flex guy more in the
Speaker 1: receiving end of things, and really burst out of the
Speaker 1: scene in New Orleans, than continued up there and didn't
Speaker 1: go as well in Seattle and now starting to catch
Speaker 1: on in Green Bay. But still the blocking part part
Speaker 1: of it hasn't been a part of his game. So
Speaker 1: you know, it's it's a tougher transition to make it,
Speaker 1: but I think she can do it. He's a good athlete.
Speaker 1: He just got to work at it, that's all it is.
Speaker 1: He's got the athleticism to do it. He really out
Speaker 1: that he was about to come on strong with that
Speaker 1: injury was pretty significant, I'll even tell you that. And
Speaker 1: so back at the minicamp and the OTA sessions when
Speaker 1: he was available to the media, you're gonna hear about
Speaker 1: chasing Great if you've forgotten about it. That's the theme here,
Speaker 1: chasing Greade. So what is Adam Shoheen's chasing Great? Yeah?
Speaker 1: I mean my chasing Great is chasing you know, being
Speaker 1: on the field all sixteen. So guy said, I'm when
Speaker 1: I'm I'm confident in what I can do when when
Speaker 1: I'm available, and that confidence has to really come to
Speaker 1: fruition here. And you're three fellows. All right to the
Speaker 1: phones again, Wayne and Pontiac. Thanks for hanging on. You're
Speaker 1: on Bears all Access pay. Thanks for taking my call. Um.
Speaker 1: I really like Ryan Nall. I know he's on the
Speaker 1: practice squad and he was all last year. I really
Speaker 1: with all the running backs we have, i'd like to
Speaker 1: know on all three of your opinions what you see
Speaker 1: him being a bigger part of the team. Thanks, and
Speaker 1: go Bears. Yeah, you know, Wayne and I like Ryan Nall.
Speaker 1: He catches the ball well, he's a big back, but
Speaker 1: whether he's running the ball and he has blocking ability, yeah,
Speaker 1: it's gonna be a tough position to earn your way
Speaker 1: into the carries during the year. However, is if we
Speaker 1: learned anything from coach Naggy last preseason. I don't know
Speaker 1: how much the starters are going to play during the
Speaker 1: game itself, so he may get his exposure, whether for
Speaker 1: the Bears or for another team out there. But he's
Speaker 1: got all the physical attributes you look for in a
Speaker 1: running back. He's tall, he can lower his shoulder pads,
Speaker 1: he's got power, he does a great job in the
Speaker 1: practice squad and when he's showing the opponent's offense, and
Speaker 1: he's got good versatility in his skills. Yeah, definitely well,
Speaker 1: and he's still practice squad eligible. Yeah, to polish his game,
Speaker 1: as he mentioned, because I do think it'll be tough.
Speaker 1: You know, you're probably looking at four guys on game day,
Speaker 1: and with the acquisition of Mike Davis, the drafting of
Speaker 1: David Montgomery and Terrico and Mazzelle. Mazelle kind of spells
Speaker 1: terric in his role, uh, you know, in terms of
Speaker 1: the receiving side of it. And I think for Ryan
Speaker 1: Knowle is just polishing his game. But I agree with
Speaker 1: you for a bigger back. You know, he had that
Speaker 1: big run a season ago in preseason and showed the
Speaker 1: versatility that I think the Bears are looking for. You
Speaker 1: can definitely see that he plays hard in football is
Speaker 1: important to him. But I think it'll be tough to
Speaker 1: crack the game day rush. But we never know what
Speaker 1: happens with injuries. Yeah, he had a sixty. He had
Speaker 1: a sixty nine yard run. You're you're right about that, Jim,
Speaker 1: and he turned the corner and a thirty two yard touchdown.
Speaker 1: And he had a lot of long touchdown runs, a
Speaker 1: lot of long runs at Oregon State, so he does
Speaker 1: have burst and when he turns the corner, he's a
Speaker 1: big body back. And in this conversation, where are you
Speaker 1: on special teams with a guy like this with Ryan Al? Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's the other part of it. Yeah, exactly. I think
Speaker 1: that's you know, for all the guys that don't have
Speaker 1: a guaranteed jersey, and there's not you know, there's not
Speaker 1: a lot of them, So you're gonna have to be
Speaker 1: able to contribute, but you're gonna have to show some
Speaker 1: type of special knack. What what do you do above
Speaker 1: and beyond All? Elson? You know, I always refer to
Speaker 1: Neil Anderson because here's a guy, as a first round
Speaker 1: draft choice running back, he was the best special teams,
Speaker 1: punt team tackler I've ever seen since I've been around
Speaker 1: the Bears. And he created that niche for himself that
Speaker 1: he was not going to be denied. And if Ryan
Speaker 1: All could do something special like that, it would it
Speaker 1: would hard, It would be hard to deny him the opportunity.
Speaker 1: I played with Fred McAfee. He was a long time Saintan.
Speaker 1: He played with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He literally lasted, you know,
Speaker 1: forever in the NFL. He was always the fourth running
Speaker 1: back and he was always the league or he was
Speaker 1: always not only our team leader in tackles that time
Speaker 1: just mentioned, but he played around the NFL a long time.
Speaker 1: Fifteen year career. Fred McAfee just was fourth on the
Speaker 1: depth chart, but number one in special teams every single year.
Speaker 1: We opened up the running back conversation, and I've been
Speaker 1: asking a ton about David Montgomery, and I still feel,
Speaker 1: and I said it on this show before, he feels
Speaker 1: like a first round pick, even though he's in a
Speaker 1: third round body right now, you know, until further notice,
Speaker 1: he's a third round pick that comes to the National
Speaker 1: Football League. But he's got he's got a charisma to him.
Speaker 1: He's got a competitiveness and a and a versatility in
Speaker 1: the past game, including some really terrific route running that
Speaker 1: I just have a really strong feeling about this. And Tom,
Speaker 1: you know you texted me today about the running back position.
Speaker 1: Will the rushing yards be collectively higher in twenty nineteen
Speaker 1: than it was in eighteen. Will the receiving yards at
Speaker 1: that position be higher in nineteen versus eighteen. So it's
Speaker 1: a good topic to discuss. You know, when you talk
Speaker 1: about Montgomery being a third rounder, we all think we're
Speaker 1: first rounders, you know, and I you know, I still
Speaker 1: argue about it now. I know I wasn't. I was
Speaker 1: a fourth rounder. But you got to have that faith
Speaker 1: in yourself and you have to have that belief that
Speaker 1: maybe you're underdrafted and you deserve better and you're gonna
Speaker 1: earn better. So that's what I'm looking for out of Montgomery,
Speaker 1: interviewed him at the combine. I think you're right. I
Speaker 1: think he is a very confident young man and he
Speaker 1: should be. You know, he's been highly regarded with his
Speaker 1: ability to run and how he can run routes and
Speaker 1: ability to come out of the backfield just to provide
Speaker 1: more versatility. So I think you're right. I think one
Speaker 1: of those guys that you know, you want him to
Speaker 1: have his tongue hanging out at the end of the game,
Speaker 1: much like a Tarik Colon, because he is that dangerous
Speaker 1: of a weapon. And there were more teams than just
Speaker 1: the Bears that were interested in David Montgomery, you know, Jeff,
Speaker 1: and that question about more receiving yards or more running
Speaker 1: yards out of the running back position specifically, I almost
Speaker 1: feel if they are looking for more rushing yards out
Speaker 1: of the running back position, that Jordan Howard would still
Speaker 1: be here. I think when you're looking for the exposure
Speaker 1: of what ultimately this offense can be, how you can
Speaker 1: benefit the quarterback position and how you can put more
Speaker 1: threat downfield, maybe it is more receiving yards out of
Speaker 1: the running back position, where you get to the edge faster,
Speaker 1: you start counting on the running back to be the
Speaker 1: primary receiver, and a route called out of the huddle.
Speaker 1: Now you can dictate pass rushing ability of your opponent,
Speaker 1: and you can dictate a lot of different things in
Speaker 1: personnel groupings against your opponents. Eleventh in the National Football
Speaker 1: last year, one hundred and twenty one point one years
Speaker 1: per game in the first year in the Matt Naggie offense,
Speaker 1: but it's always about route running with Matt Naggie at
Speaker 1: that position. Yeah, well, I think because the game we've
Speaker 1: seen it change, where you see the spread out sets
Speaker 1: that the Bears run, the creativity on offense and that's
Speaker 1: kind of who David Montgomery is. You know, we look
Speaker 1: at size, his speed, how he played for the Cyclones,
Speaker 1: And this is nothing against Jordan Howard because we all
Speaker 1: love him. The guys. I mean to back to back
Speaker 1: over a thousand yards seasons. The guys is an absolute truck.
Speaker 1: But the creativity kind of isn't there in space and
Speaker 1: it's you know, I think we all know that he's
Speaker 1: not going to have the wiggle to be creative, and
Speaker 1: David Montgomery kind of has. He has the calmness and
Speaker 1: the creativity when chaos is going around him in space.
Speaker 1: That is pretty special, I think is what people think
Speaker 1: about him. Don't forget Mike Davis Fellas. Oh yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: here's why. Here's why. I think he's got a grittiness
Speaker 1: to him, and I think he is going to be
Speaker 1: just just been in talking to him in his belief
Speaker 1: and how he's he'd been overlooked so far in the
Speaker 1: National Football League out of South Carolina. I just think
Speaker 1: that aspect in the running game will also benefit the
Speaker 1: other guys. You look at the versatile offense that he's
Speaker 1: already been a part of. So he's a guy that's
Speaker 1: coming into the Chicago Bears with an experience of playing
Speaker 1: with a mobile quarterback that you know, like you use
Speaker 1: the word buffet, there's a lot on the plate where
Speaker 1: he's come from. And I think when you look at
Speaker 1: them Seattle, they were number one in the NFL rushing
Speaker 1: the football, they kind of you know, you look at
Speaker 1: those pass plays by Russell. Granted it was a great
Speaker 1: year for him, thirty five touchdowns, only seven interceptions, but
Speaker 1: when it came time to run the football, this is
Speaker 1: who they turned to and it was Mike Davis. He
Speaker 1: really came out strong for that group. And that's a
Speaker 1: lot of power runs of what Seattle because Pete Carroll
Speaker 1: just wants to go smash mouth, so he does have
Speaker 1: the grittiness you're talking about. Jeff three two, four, sixty seven,
Speaker 1: sixty seven, one more segment. We come back, we'll talk
Speaker 1: Mitch Traubisky with Tom Fair and Jimmer. I'm Jeff Joniac
Speaker 1: and this is Chicago Sports Radio six seventy score. The
Speaker 1: Chicago Bears Network presents Inside the Bears, brought to you
Speaker 1: by Verizon, Anthony Adams and Lauren Screeden to cover the
Speaker 1: world of Bears football on and off the field. Every
Speaker 1: Sunday night, ten thirty five pm on POX thirty two Chicago,
Speaker 1: or watch anytime at Chicago Bears dot com or on
Speaker 1: the Bears official app. Remaining Moments with Jim Miller and
Speaker 1: Tom There Jeff Joni acc here on Chicago Sports Radio
Speaker 1: six seventy to score three, two, four, sixty seven, sixty seven.
Speaker 1: If you've got a thought before we go, fellas we
Speaker 1: all check out Pro Football Talk the headline today Ken
Speaker 1: Mitchell take the Bears to the next level? That seems
Speaker 1: to be a popular question now that the Bears were
Speaker 1: a playoff team in eighteen with a terrific start under
Speaker 1: Matten Naggie in an offense ready to take off? Or
Speaker 1: it should be plenty of weapons to work with offensive
Speaker 1: line intact? Is he ready to take off? You know? Jeff?
Speaker 1: This seems to be the off season of lists comparison.
Speaker 1: Where are you in the Madden Game? Where is the
Speaker 1: Bears as a team? Where his coach Naggy as a
Speaker 1: you know, as a head coach? Where is Mitchell Trubisky
Speaker 1: rated as a quarterback? It's unbelievable that how this downtime
Speaker 1: in sports has created all these lists that they have
Speaker 1: you know and Mitchell Trubisky just has to have a
Speaker 1: better understanding of the offense that he had last year
Speaker 1: that he can play more naturally, be the athlete that
Speaker 1: he is, you know, work on his long ball accuracy,
Speaker 1: have knowledge of the offense. So he's due doing things
Speaker 1: more naturally. You know, we're not there's not gonna be
Speaker 1: huge changes. It's just him getting better at at how
Speaker 1: good he got last year. He needs to get better
Speaker 1: than he was last year. And that's going to be
Speaker 1: the key element for the growth of this football team
Speaker 1: because they will be as good as Mitch has an
Speaker 1: understanding of this offense. And like Matt said, last year
Speaker 1: one oh one to two oh one, that's the step
Speaker 1: that Mitch has to take. Yeah, he's already taken the
Speaker 1: next step, you know, from first year, and then he's
Speaker 1: already got a playoff experience in year two. And it's
Speaker 1: just just the growth last year all through the season
Speaker 1: is so impressive. And not to give any way anything away.
Speaker 1: For the preseason broadcast, I was asked that question and
Speaker 1: I will pull up specific tape of Mitchell Trubisky during
Speaker 1: the broadcast of what he couldn't do at the start
Speaker 1: of last year and what he was doing at the
Speaker 1: end of the season because that game, that week seventeen
Speaker 1: game against Minnesota, you have no idea how many times
Speaker 1: Mitchell Trubisky beat the Blitz. It was an impressive performance
Speaker 1: and I'll played an eighty four million dollar quarterback of
Speaker 1: the Minnesota Vikings in clutch moments of the game and
Speaker 1: just buried the Minnesota's Vikings defense that is a top
Speaker 1: ten defense. That was impressive stuff. And then follows it
Speaker 1: up as a finishing act forty six seconds left on
Speaker 1: the clock, you got no timeouts and got to get
Speaker 1: in field goal range to try and beat the Philadelphiagles,
Speaker 1: who are tremendous football team. He did it great throw,
Speaker 1: dropped a dime over the corner to Alan Robinson to
Speaker 1: put him in position, then came back and throws a
Speaker 1: stop route and then they basically clock it on third
Speaker 1: down to put him in position for a field will.
Speaker 1: That's all you can do, and he showed up big
Speaker 1: in big moments that he couldn't do earlier in the year.
Speaker 1: But by the end of the year he definitely had
Speaker 1: grown as a quarterback. That's definitely the hook for me.
Speaker 1: That final drive against the Eagles, that that is a
Speaker 1: great platform to build on here in twenty nineteen. Also,
Speaker 1: let's look at some other key players at the receiver position.
Speaker 1: Pick one guy that you're ready to see. I don't know.
Speaker 1: It could be it could be the number one guy,
Speaker 1: could be the last guy on the list. Who's the guy,
Speaker 1: who's the guy that you're most intrigued by, that you
Speaker 1: feel is going to take off here in twenty nineteen.
Speaker 1: Each guy, for me, I want to see the explosiveness
Speaker 1: of Taylor Gabriel, and I think that it's in concert
Speaker 1: with Mitchell Trubisky because if they have any ability to
Speaker 1: connect on passes that our twenty five yards are longer
Speaker 1: in full speed, it's going to compute to scoring. But
Speaker 1: it's gonna change the way you're going to cover the Bears.
Speaker 1: You're gonna have to have guys off the line of scrimmage,
Speaker 1: and it's going to open things underneath for more players,
Speaker 1: more position players. However, you know, Taylor Gabriel is still
Speaker 1: blessed with great speed and man, if they can just
Speaker 1: use that, you know, once or twice a game to
Speaker 1: an explosive play, it's gonna be points in coverage, changing
Speaker 1: ability ability. I could say something about all of them,
Speaker 1: because I think Robinson now with two years or coming
Speaker 1: off the second year of that ACL, I think he's
Speaker 1: gonna be much much better and more explosive with his
Speaker 1: acrobatic catches. But you want to know who's the most
Speaker 1: intriguing to me, Quardarel Patterson. I think that guy is
Speaker 1: gonna surprise what he's because he's got return ability, right.
Speaker 1: He can us be used in so many different ways
Speaker 1: with as a running back, all the different things he's
Speaker 1: been asked to do, and it's been what every team
Speaker 1: has used him differently, whether he was in Minnesota, how
Speaker 1: the Raiders used him, and how Bill Bill Belichick used him. Shoot,
Speaker 1: the guy led the team in rushing three weeks in
Speaker 1: a row for the New England Patriots a week ago.
Speaker 1: I think Naggi has got some intriguing things he's gonna
Speaker 1: do with Cordarrell Patterson or quarter I should say, and
Speaker 1: mines Robinson with a one eighth to Anthony Miller, because
Speaker 1: we know how competitive he is. He was productive in
Speaker 1: terms of touchdowns and limited targets and so forth, but
Speaker 1: just his desire and if he matures just a little more,
Speaker 1: I really think that could be something to be very
Speaker 1: explosive as well. Let's touch down the offensive line before
Speaker 1: we get out of here. Because Kyle Long time, he's
Speaker 1: experienced great success as a Bear, three time Pro bowler,
Speaker 1: but he rolls in here completely healthy. Now what does
Speaker 1: this mean for him and the line of scrimmage in general?
Speaker 1: You know, I'll say a bold statement about Kyle because
Speaker 1: he's had a healthy offseason and they moved. They made
Speaker 1: movement where they have the James Daniels playing center, Cody
Speaker 1: at left guard. If Kyle Long can go to the
Speaker 1: lineup sixteen games after having such a quality off season
Speaker 1: where he's spent time, invested time in the weight room,
Speaker 1: invested time on the field now is invested with an
Speaker 1: offensive line coach has been around a couple of years.
Speaker 1: He could be the best interior offensive lineman in the league.
Speaker 1: He's got unique power, he's got uncanny balance, he's got
Speaker 1: ability to get to the second level. There's not a
Speaker 1: defensive lineman out there that's gonna compete with him. Strength
Speaker 1: for strength, Yeah, you have your Aaron Donald who has
Speaker 1: a certain amount of explosiveness that can win the snap
Speaker 1: count at times and make any offensive lineman you know,
Speaker 1: look like the competitors they are. But to me, Kyle
Speaker 1: Long is the guy that he could be. He could
Speaker 1: be the offensive line changer because of his health and
Speaker 1: just like I said, his freakish type of talents. Who
Speaker 1: wants to talk old line. I will talk Mitchell Trubisky
Speaker 1: because here's what I'd say. If I'm Mitchell Trubisky and
Speaker 1: I've got that offensive line in front of me, I'm
Speaker 1: sleeping pretty good at night. That's all I'm saying. That's
Speaker 1: a good group of offensive lineman coach by a great coach. Right.
Speaker 1: Let me ask you this then, before we get away,
Speaker 1: what are you most concerned about heading into training camp
Speaker 1: or your biggest question marks? And let's leave kicker aside
Speaker 1: a minute, because we all agree that's obviously everybody's biggest question.
Speaker 1: I don't want to to me, Jeff, I don't want
Speaker 1: to have unrealistic expectations of the outside linebacker position. I
Speaker 1: read a report the other day that they're saying Khalil
Speaker 1: Mack seventeen sacks, and you know, we looked at the
Speaker 1: sack total that could possibly happen for Leonard Floyd. You
Speaker 1: gotta be realistic about the position because every one of
Speaker 1: these offensive coordinators there's been all offseason devising a scheme
Speaker 1: how to put their personnel in a spot where they
Speaker 1: can dictate the whereabouts of Khalil Mack So I, you know,
Speaker 1: I expect great things from him because he's a great player,
Speaker 1: but it's got to be about the contribution of everybody
Speaker 1: surrounding him. Let's just not go to the game and
Speaker 1: only watch Khalil. You know, Kim Hicks has to have
Speaker 1: double digit sacks. You don't know what Balal Nichols is
Speaker 1: capable of. You may even see more sacks out of
Speaker 1: Roquan Smith. So I just want to see realistic expectations
Speaker 1: out of that outside linebacker position. I think, for me
Speaker 1: probably the most point you want to come out of
Speaker 1: camp healthy. I mean, you just you know, you see,
Speaker 1: you know, nobody will make excuses. You know, teams like Atlanta,
Speaker 1: they're not gonna make excuses that Dion Jones. They lose
Speaker 1: him in their top safety of you know, Kean O'Neill.
Speaker 1: But it matters. They're starters for a reason. These guys
Speaker 1: are star players that went down for Atlanta and their
Speaker 1: season spirals out of control early in their season. And
Speaker 1: I just want to see this group come to Week
Speaker 1: one everybody's ready to go, and everybody's healthy, because this
Speaker 1: is gonna be a pretty devastating group here in twenty nineteen. Hey,
Speaker 1: Broncos lost Todd Davis, their starting linebacker today with a
Speaker 1: partial calf there. It's three to four weeks, but it's
Speaker 1: that lack of momentum that you know, somebody gets something
Speaker 1: early that affects him throughout the whole season. You don't
Speaker 1: want that either, But the Bears were extremely healthy last year. Tommy,
Speaker 1: you and I are headed the Dedicator on Sunday. That's
Speaker 1: really when it all kicks off, going back to the roots.
Speaker 1: Have some good times with Matt Nagee and Ryan pacing
Speaker 1: some of the Bears along with Lands Briggs down There
Speaker 1: no turning back now, big Jeff, and go to time.
Speaker 1: Time to go. Thanks Jim, we'll see you at camp
Speaker 1: this weekend too. Sounds good man, all right, that's gonna
Speaker 1: do it for us tonight on Bears All Access. Thanks
Speaker 1: a lot for listening, everybody. Thanks to Dak's Raymond and
Speaker 1: for Tom Bere, Jim Miller, Herb Lawrence and Julio Rosseo.
Speaker 1: I'm Jeff Joniac. Have a good night everybody. Thanks for
Speaker 1: listening to this Chicago Bears Network presentation of Bears All Access.
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