Speaker 1: Hope you're having a great Monday night. Beautiful couple of
Speaker 1: days here in the Chicago area as July approaches. Can't
Speaker 1: believe it, hard to believe how fast the calendar's flipping.
Speaker 1: And we're talking Bears tonight on Bears All Access here
Speaker 1: in Chicago. Sports Radio six seventy The Score with my
Speaker 1: buddy from Sirius XM NFL Radio is moving the chains.
Speaker 1: The former Bears quarterback mister Jim Mellery's down in Mobile, Alabama.
Speaker 1: Tell us what you're doing down there, and you're we're
Speaker 1: pinch hitting because no time there tonight he's on VACA.
Speaker 1: How about that? Yeah, well day Tom well earned on
Speaker 1: his parts from a little vacation. But no, I'm down
Speaker 1: here at the Resa Senior Bowld their Hall of Fame induction.
Speaker 1: So it's really a special night last night. Guys like
Speaker 1: Philip Rivers von Miller, tremendous linebacker, obviously two time world champion.
Speaker 1: Other guys like Kevin Falk who I played with the
Speaker 1: New England Patriots, so tremendous player, who's a running back
Speaker 1: from LSU. So they all got inducted last night. And
Speaker 1: how about the Rookie of the Year Creed Humphrey, who's
Speaker 1: a starting center for the Kansas City Chiefs. He got
Speaker 1: inducted for the Rookie of the Year. Was a tremendous player,
Speaker 1: left handed center. He's the only left handed center I've
Speaker 1: ever seen can snap the ball and he'd snaps at
Speaker 1: every time. Clean to Patrick Mahomes. So truly a great night.
Speaker 1: They're out golfing right now today, and so a nice
Speaker 1: round of golfing. It's a beautiful day here in Mobile.
Speaker 1: All right. Did you get a chance to talk to
Speaker 1: Humphrey by the way, Yes, I did, any any change,
Speaker 1: any insights, any insights on maybe the Ryan Poles connection.
Speaker 1: Well no, I think for him one him and Trey Smith,
Speaker 1: imagine him. Both those guys got drafted last year by
Speaker 1: the Kansas City Chiefs. Made every single regular season game.
Speaker 1: Both played all the way through the playoffs. Didn't miss
Speaker 1: a snap. So think about that, the impact of young
Speaker 1: draft picks and how they can instantly come in and
Speaker 1: impact your team. So two five guys of their offensive
Speaker 1: line never miss a snap as rookies. So yeah, it's important.
Speaker 1: Drafting doesn't matter what round you go in, whether it's
Speaker 1: the first through the last round, the seventh round, these
Speaker 1: guys were impact, impactful players for the Kansas City Chiefs
Speaker 1: coming up at the bottom of the hour. Tom and
Speaker 1: I did catch up last week with second year cornerback
Speaker 1: Thomas Graham. You'll enjoy that interview. He's got great character
Speaker 1: and he's very excited about his royal Jimmy, you are
Speaker 1: not involved in that interview, but when we hear it
Speaker 1: later on, you're gonna hear a confident guy and he
Speaker 1: has a great opportunity here and maybe maybe maybe one
Speaker 1: of the underrated stories possibly of training camp will be
Speaker 1: Thomas Graham. Well, he's got an opportunity. I think he's
Speaker 1: gonna have an opportunity to carve out a nickel slot role.
Speaker 1: You know, you think about him late in the year
Speaker 1: for the Bears, he got some you know, to me,
Speaker 1: it's invaluable when you get in there, every snap, every
Speaker 1: snap that you get is valuable. And I thought he
Speaker 1: had impactful snaps for the Bears last year. Now you've
Speaker 1: got a new coaching staff evaluating him. He's from the
Speaker 1: old regime and already obviously he's made a good first
Speaker 1: impression and going to have an opportunity this fall in
Speaker 1: camp for the Bears and He'll tell you that this
Speaker 1: defense is more reflective what he played in his junior
Speaker 1: year at Oregon, and so he loves the idea of
Speaker 1: eleven guys going after the football. Yeah, well, I mean
Speaker 1: that's the key. I mean a coach Matt Eberflus has
Speaker 1: really preached that that that's the standard. Guy's got to
Speaker 1: be able to run. They've got to fly to the football.
Speaker 1: And you know when good, good things happen when you
Speaker 1: do that. You know, the ball, you never know when
Speaker 1: the plays over, could it be a forced fumble? You know,
Speaker 1: if you're just flying to the ball almost like a
Speaker 1: swarm of bees, you gotta be almost like a killer
Speaker 1: bee mentality. And it sounds like that that's what they're
Speaker 1: trying to generate for the Bears this ball. Now, the
Speaker 1: old Dolphins had some killer bees right now, but hey,
Speaker 1: you know, maybe you just we got the new version
Speaker 1: of the killer bees, hopefully. I told any I started
Speaker 1: coaching flag football with my son Manny, and I had
Speaker 1: all the kids buzzing like bees. For that very reason,
Speaker 1: I go, hey, what do bees do? They go towards
Speaker 1: the honey right these so they all before the snap
Speaker 1: of the ball, you hear them all just buzzing, right.
Speaker 1: It's that ball snap. You gotta be a killer bee
Speaker 1: and fly to the honey. Now I like it. I
Speaker 1: like it. We had barking back in the Otis Wilson days.
Speaker 1: Now we're buzzing for the Bears of twenty twenty two. Jim,
Speaker 1: you're onto something here. See you're an idea man, just
Speaker 1: like there. Got to keep it simple, right, and the
Speaker 1: kids they loved it. They followed it, and they did
Speaker 1: they always got the honey, and good things were gonna happen,
Speaker 1: all right, little honey for Cotter Gordon in terms of
Speaker 1: his first pro contract, that helping over the weekend the
Speaker 1: second round pick side his four year contract. You know,
Speaker 1: you don't realize these things until you think a bottom
Speaker 1: more in context for what's ahead. You know, on draft
Speaker 1: day we all have notes on players, but you know
Speaker 1: what occurred to me that last year was the first
Speaker 1: time he was a full time starter, and now he's
Speaker 1: an expected sixteen game starter in the National Football League
Speaker 1: as a rookie. He's got to earn that job. But
Speaker 1: you know, everybody's kind of penciled him in at the
Speaker 1: other cornerback spot opposite Jalen Johnson. There will be competition, however,
Speaker 1: and he's gonna have to earn it. But that's a
Speaker 1: big ask for a guy, isn't it. Yeah, I mean
Speaker 1: certainly for him. You know, obviously, expectations are gonna be there.
Speaker 1: He's gonna make his sure of mistakes. This is a
Speaker 1: big corner. Now. He's six foot two hundred pounds, so
Speaker 1: the physicality's there. Now, he's got to learn the nuances
Speaker 1: of the position. He's gonna have to grow from the
Speaker 1: mental side of the game. Again, He's gonna make his
Speaker 1: share of mistakes, and as a player, you can't get
Speaker 1: intimidated by that. You've got to have that short term
Speaker 1: mentality where you just shelve that play, put it behind you,
Speaker 1: and go on to the next. So every rep in
Speaker 1: practice in training camp is going to be important for him.
Speaker 1: The walkthroughs are going to be important. It's learning, learning, learning,
Speaker 1: and it's gonna come at him fast, all right. But
Speaker 1: you know, for him, he's got to be able to
Speaker 1: have thick skin, put it behind him and move forward.
Speaker 1: It's always about the next play. And I'm excited for him.
Speaker 1: This is a talented young player that's going to have
Speaker 1: an opportunity for the Chicago Bears, and we'll see how
Speaker 1: he stacks up. But physically he can stack up against
Speaker 1: the best. It's how quickly he learns the mental part
Speaker 1: of the game. The other stuff I love about him,
Speaker 1: the intangibles. Of course, he is a competitor. He competes,
Speaker 1: he's tough, and he's very smart. Okay, So Jiquon brisk
Speaker 1: are the only unsigned rookie in that twelve man class
Speaker 1: that'll get taken care of. And I was just going
Speaker 1: through what was written today this morning about the Bears
Speaker 1: from over the weekend, because you know, even though it's
Speaker 1: this dead period, there's always kylemnches being written, and so
Speaker 1: there was a lot about Jakwan Brisker from our own
Speaker 1: Larry Mayor from Chicago Bears dot com. Patrick Finley did
Speaker 1: a whole piece on Mattieberflus's desire to limit penalties. That
Speaker 1: was a topic at the end of the veteran minicamp.
Speaker 1: Two of the last three seasons, the Colts were the
Speaker 1: least penalized defense in the NFL. And interesting to note, though, Jim,
Speaker 1: that these two rookies were just talking about Brisker and Gordon,
Speaker 1: they did not have a single penalty in their final
Speaker 1: two years in college. So well that'll transition. Well yeah,
Speaker 1: that well, one, it talks about their discipline, right, and coaches, right,
Speaker 1: I mean, people forget about the penalties because that's what
Speaker 1: we call hidden yardage, right. I mean anytime say when
Speaker 1: a kickoff return, say is to the twenty yard line
Speaker 1: or the twenty five yard line. Anytime you get a
Speaker 1: yard further or say if it's the twenty six, twenty seven,
Speaker 1: twenty eight yard line, all the way up to thirty
Speaker 1: one percent. Every time the yard it leads to points,
Speaker 1: that percentage always increases. And so if you don't give
Speaker 1: up the hidden yardage, you get better opportunities where you
Speaker 1: can lower that percentage. I mean, it's just cheap yardage
Speaker 1: that you're giving an offense, and it gives them more
Speaker 1: of a percentage to score. So I think it tells
Speaker 1: about how discipline these players are and what they were
Speaker 1: in college. And yeah, I do think it'll translate to
Speaker 1: the NFL because they've already trained themselves not to do
Speaker 1: though with such foolish things. Yeah, you think about the corners,
Speaker 1: the safeties and a deep play. Maybe it's third and
Speaker 1: sixteen and Aaron Rodgers has just throwing it up there
Speaker 1: to see what he can get, and you get that
Speaker 1: first down off a third and long and a Those
Speaker 1: are the ones that rip your heart at or on
Speaker 1: the offensive side of the ball. The potential here for
Speaker 1: two young tackles, maybe even a rookie tackle. Those guys
Speaker 1: get their share of holding penalties. Well, you bring up
Speaker 1: a good point. I mean, think about that. I mean,
Speaker 1: I thought the NFL was going to address the past
Speaker 1: interference rule, because you're right, that becomes a spot foul,
Speaker 1: you know's what it is. I wish it was just
Speaker 1: a fifteen yard due, which is still a killer. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's a killer killer, but I hate it. I hate
Speaker 1: it the other I mean, imagine me as a quarterback.
Speaker 1: He brought up Aaron Rodgers. If I'm at the fifty
Speaker 1: yard line and I throw it up to the one
Speaker 1: yard line, that ball, if it's a pass interference call,
Speaker 1: it goes to the one yard line. It's a spot foul.
Speaker 1: It's devastating to what it can do not only for
Speaker 1: your football team, but the psyche of your team. All Right,
Speaker 1: we got a bunch of stats to throw you coming
Speaker 1: up at our next segment here about justin fields from
Speaker 1: other analysts out there that do all the analyticals and
Speaker 1: throw some interesting comments in there about what's next for
Speaker 1: Justin Fields and the Bears, which Jim Miller. I'm Jeff Joniac.
Speaker 1: This is Bears All Access here on Chicago Sports Radio
Speaker 1: six seventy the Score. Welcome back to Bears All Access,
Speaker 1: brought to you by IGS Energy. Choose clean energy for
Speaker 1: your home at IGS dot com because every good choice
Speaker 1: adds up to a better world. Former Bears quarterback Jim
Speaker 1: Miller from sirius XM NFL Radios, Moving the chains with
Speaker 1: us from Mobile, Alabama. Who else did you rub shoulders
Speaker 1: with over the weekend. I had a great conversation with
Speaker 1: Brett fav this morning. He looks in great shape. He's
Speaker 1: into triathlons now, he's into biking and all that stuff.
Speaker 1: But he brought up great things about you know, when
Speaker 1: he played and how to play through things, and you know,
Speaker 1: just his sheer toughness. Obviously we know the toughness of
Speaker 1: Brett Fire. The guy started consecutive over two hundred games.
Speaker 1: And I talked to Philip Rivers as well. Think about
Speaker 1: Philip Rivers started two hundred and forty consecutive games in
Speaker 1: the NFL, just that availability that they're always there for
Speaker 1: their teammates. They just want, you know, their fellow teammates,
Speaker 1: their coaches to know that, Hey, I'm going to be
Speaker 1: the guy. I will be here every single Sunday. And
Speaker 1: I think that's something that Justin Fields He's gonna have
Speaker 1: to prove that, right. He got a little beat up
Speaker 1: last year, took some big shots. He's got to be
Speaker 1: smarter and how he approaches his game because he's got
Speaker 1: to be there every single week for his teammates and
Speaker 1: hopefully for all Bears fans that he's able to line up,
Speaker 1: say over two hundred consecutive games. All right. I saw
Speaker 1: this on sports social media, something called sis football, and
Speaker 1: they did some analytics on Justin Fields. When he was
Speaker 1: contacted behind the lines scrimmage, he got a first down
Speaker 1: twenty nine point four percent of the time, that's first
Speaker 1: in the NFL. And then his stuffed percentage was thirty
Speaker 1: five point three, that was second lowest in the NFL.
Speaker 1: So the idea here is Jim, which we certainly know
Speaker 1: from that forty nine Ers game on that memorable play,
Speaker 1: that's a glimpse of the future being able to create
Speaker 1: something out of nothing, and that will be one of
Speaker 1: the intangible elements that will continue to shine as he
Speaker 1: gets more and more comfortable back there, won't it. I mean,
Speaker 1: these stats are interesting given his frankly small amount of
Speaker 1: playing time ten games or so last season. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: think is his improvability is special. You know, It's something
Speaker 1: that you can't coach, whether it's you know, the coaches
Speaker 1: Luke Getzi or Mattieberflus. You don't want to coach that
Speaker 1: out of him. That's what makes justin Field so special.
Speaker 1: But at the same point, what you can coach in
Speaker 1: him is the risk reward. No, when to go down.
Speaker 1: It's okay some times to take a sack. You can't
Speaker 1: make a play every single play, you know, because it
Speaker 1: could be a negative play, whether you're you know, because
Speaker 1: he's so strong physically, it could lead to a fumble
Speaker 1: or things like that. So there are times where he's
Speaker 1: gonna have to know, hey, I just need to get
Speaker 1: down here. You know, the take in the sack is
Speaker 1: the best play, it's the only play. Or if he
Speaker 1: decides to take off and scramble and utilize his skill
Speaker 1: set which are so special, when to get down, when
Speaker 1: to get out of bounds. You know there are certain
Speaker 1: situations where he's gonna have to give up his body.
Speaker 1: Maybe it's a third and one where he scrambles and
Speaker 1: has to lower his shoulder and get a first down.
Speaker 1: So the risk rewards or what he's gonna have to weigh,
Speaker 1: and how the coaching is. You know that they're communicating
Speaker 1: to him or when those situations are, and he will.
Speaker 1: He's too smart of a player, he's too special of
Speaker 1: a player. And he's got all the speed, he's got
Speaker 1: all the toughness. We know that about him, and I
Speaker 1: think he'll just continue to learn and get better. So
Speaker 1: last year he ran the Boss seventy two times, whether
Speaker 1: these are scrambles or design plays four and twenty yards
Speaker 1: five eight three to carry in a couple of touchdowns.
Speaker 1: What do you envision in this style of offense with
Speaker 1: Luke Getzy for justin fields in terms of maybe design runs.
Speaker 1: We know what he can do on the scramble. But
Speaker 1: do you see less of that, more of that or
Speaker 1: about the same. No. I think you're going to see
Speaker 1: more of it. It It will be more incorporated than what
Speaker 1: it was a year ago. I think you'll see an
Speaker 1: RPO influence that he'll be able to attack the line
Speaker 1: of scrimmage with his legs. I do think you're going
Speaker 1: to see a lot of the bootleg game because they're
Speaker 1: focused on that outside zone run. The bootleg is really
Speaker 1: just a natural play action that comes off of that,
Speaker 1: and you can do half rolls and things like that
Speaker 1: that will set up the play action passes with the bootlegs,
Speaker 1: whether it's waggle routes and things like that, or even
Speaker 1: dash plays out of the shotgun. I think they'll all
Speaker 1: be incorporated, and they need to be consistent throughout an
Speaker 1: entire game, no matter what the score is. I think
Speaker 1: the Bears have to be consistent with their play calling
Speaker 1: to let that, to let the opponents know that that's
Speaker 1: going to be a threat throughout an entire game. He's
Speaker 1: a weapon that they need to utilize. Now, you had
Speaker 1: a long career in the NFL. What challenges await a
Speaker 1: second year quarterback? We always know what challenges await a
Speaker 1: rookie quarterback, and certainly one that did play now and
Speaker 1: he knows what the feel and speed of the game is. Granted,
Speaker 1: new offense seemingly more comfortable in it. What challenges await
Speaker 1: justin fields for me, my second year was getting to
Speaker 1: know defenses a lot more. You know, really your rookie ye,
Speaker 1: you're kind of focused on your offensive side of the ball,
Speaker 1: and here Justin's learning a new offense and it will
Speaker 1: have changes to this offense, but there'll be things that
Speaker 1: carry over. But now it's about learning the defensive side
Speaker 1: of the ball. Cover three, what's a cover two? What's
Speaker 1: single high? Safety's a man and man? What's blitz zero?
Speaker 1: All these things that he's going to have to learn it.
Speaker 1: You know, if you learn it, now you know where
Speaker 1: the weaknesses are and you can start to attack those
Speaker 1: weaknesses on the defensive side of the ball. So knowing
Speaker 1: his offense like the back of his hand, now he'll
Speaker 1: be able to get in a lot of things that
Speaker 1: maybe he can check to understanding what defenses are doing
Speaker 1: and how to attack them. Then kind of year three
Speaker 1: is where it all comes together. You know the offensive
Speaker 1: side the ball, you know the defensive side the ball.
Speaker 1: In year three, that's where you should kind of be
Speaker 1: coming into your own as a quarterback, where you really
Speaker 1: know the game very well and how to attack it.
Speaker 1: So I expect big things from Justin fields, but it's
Speaker 1: really on the defensive side of the ball. He needs
Speaker 1: to know what they're doing in order to take advantage
Speaker 1: of it. I know he's a worker. I mean, there's
Speaker 1: videos already this morning about him in the weight room
Speaker 1: working out. Somebody took videos of him working out here
Speaker 1: in this downtime, which is important for everybody. Stay, stay ready.
Speaker 1: But I think the conquered part, the intangible part of
Speaker 1: understanding what it takes to be a pro at this level.
Speaker 1: There's no way he didn't get to know that last season.
Speaker 1: So that part of it, Okay, that's already to me,
Speaker 1: you know, tail lights like, okay, we're moving forward, right Yeah,
Speaker 1: well yeah, I think any player you got to get
Speaker 1: in a routine, you know, and me, the routine was,
Speaker 1: you know, you shall say you play on Sunday. You've
Speaker 1: got to shelve that, put it behind you. It's onto
Speaker 1: the next week, it's onto the next ref, it's onto
Speaker 1: the next game. You've got to stay in the now.
Speaker 1: And every day when you show up at hallis Hall,
Speaker 1: you've got to attack that day. Every meeting's important, you know,
Speaker 1: getting all the things that the coaches want to accomplish
Speaker 1: in terms of the game plan, and you're kind of
Speaker 1: got to compartmentalize everything. But it's getting in that routine
Speaker 1: of how you study, how you prepare, because again, preparation
Speaker 1: is everything, and I think he's he prepared himself well
Speaker 1: in college. Now it's getting the preparation for the pros
Speaker 1: weekend and week out. That's really a big part of
Speaker 1: what a quarterback needs to do. Bears Running Game and
Speaker 1: Cole comment our next topic when we return with Jim
Speaker 1: Milleri'mjeff Jonny Ac. Thanks to our producers Jordan Trudup, Dan
Speaker 1: Brilly and the folks here at the score for producing
Speaker 1: tonight stick around More ahead here on Bears Out Access,
Speaker 1: brought to you by IGS Energy on Chicago Sports Radio
Speaker 1: six seventy The Score. This segment of Bears All Access
Speaker 1: is brought to you by a Letico Physical Therapy. Visit
Speaker 1: Athletico dot com to requested employment in clinic or virtually
Speaker 1: and start feeling better tomorrow. Former Bears quarterback Jim Miller
Speaker 1: our guest here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the
Speaker 1: Score from Sirius XM NFL Radios. Moving the chains down
Speaker 1: in Mobile, Alabama, Rub and elbows with Heck former teammates,
Speaker 1: Hall of Famers, Future Stars how many people there today
Speaker 1: for this chair. There's a ton think about former NFL
Speaker 1: linebacker Robert Brazilsils here. Yeah, Robert Brizi play a great linebacker.
Speaker 1: Ozzie Newsom's here, obviously, he's a Hall of Fame tight end.
Speaker 1: He's a Hall of Fame GM. He's a little bit
Speaker 1: of like Charlie Chaplin on radio, though silence is golden
Speaker 1: with him. But Ozzie's always a great guy to talk to.
Speaker 1: So you led me in right into a topic of
Speaker 1: tight ends. A tight end you wrapping up over the week,
Speaker 1: and I guess and they had a good time with it.
Speaker 1: But Scott Pioli, a former NFL executive and now does
Speaker 1: a tremendous job with his analysis work. This was a
Speaker 1: comedy said about Cole Comet. This guy has all the
Speaker 1: tools and is a complete tight end. He's one of
Speaker 1: the top young talents at the position in the league.
Speaker 1: High praise obviously, so there are expectations, and we've talked
Speaker 1: a lot about Cole Commet being an integral part of
Speaker 1: this growth process with a young quarterback. What would in
Speaker 1: your opinion, a breakout year from Cole Commet mean for
Speaker 1: the Bears right now? I think it'll be huge. Again.
Speaker 1: I go back to the outside zone run play, you know,
Speaker 1: because that's the foundation of the Bears and what they're
Speaker 1: trying to do. He's going to be key on the edge,
Speaker 1: you know, we talked about it last week, depending on
Speaker 1: the techniques or the end man on the line of scrimmage.
Speaker 1: At times he's gonna have to skate that guy out
Speaker 1: and put him on roller skates. At times he's gonna
Speaker 1: have to hook him. And he's two hundred and sixty pounds,
Speaker 1: I mean, let's be honest with Cole Commet. But he
Speaker 1: can move, so that bootleg game for him on over
Speaker 1: routes or shallow crosses. And you think a guys like
Speaker 1: George Kittle that play in this exact offense out there
Speaker 1: for the forty nine ers, it's going to be in
Speaker 1: an impactful position for the Bears. So I expect him
Speaker 1: to be heavily involved in the run game in terms
Speaker 1: of the point of attack at the line of scrimmage
Speaker 1: and block. But I expect him to be a big
Speaker 1: part of the Bears play action game. The ball is
Speaker 1: going to be force fed to Cole Comet. He's going
Speaker 1: to get a lot of opportunities, and he's too athletic
Speaker 1: not to make plays. He's got nice soft hands, he
Speaker 1: can run after the catch, and he's allowed to bring down.
Speaker 1: I mean, this guy truly can be a special player,
Speaker 1: and I think the Bears and Luke Getzi are going
Speaker 1: to try to attack that and really force feed him
Speaker 1: to football. All right, Luke Keetzi in Green Bay with
Speaker 1: the Green Bay Packers bringing some of that and his
Speaker 1: own touch on this offense. And Tom wanted us to
Speaker 1: talk about this. You wanted me to look at what
Speaker 1: they did on the ground last year and what the
Speaker 1: Bears potentially could do and what you'd be happy with.
Speaker 1: So went through the statistics with a fine toothcomb. So
Speaker 1: Packers average twenty six point two rushing attempts a game
Speaker 1: last season. Not obviously this is a little bit apples
Speaker 1: and oranges. Because they got Aaron Rodgers, they could do
Speaker 1: whatever up there, and one hundred and eleven yards on
Speaker 1: the ground four point three Kerry Bears ran it more
Speaker 1: twenty seven point nine a game, that's eleventh most. And
Speaker 1: the other big running teams that relate to this offense.
Speaker 1: San Francisco ran at four hundred and ninety nine times
Speaker 1: So the Bears in that ballpark green Bay four forty six.
Speaker 1: As I said Philly, it's not the same system, but
Speaker 1: one fifty nine and seven rushing yards per game that
Speaker 1: was number one in the league. Thirty two carries a
Speaker 1: game with a running quarterback Indie Baltimore Cleveland, Tennessee all
Speaker 1: one hundred and forty plus yards per game. Bears had
Speaker 1: one eighteen point seven, green Bay one eleven point eight. Okay,
Speaker 1: before I go any further, what would be the wheelhouse
Speaker 1: and if you know you're winning with this running game
Speaker 1: in terms of attempts per game and average yards per carry,
Speaker 1: what would be a wheelhouse hope for the Bears in
Speaker 1: twenty twenty two. Yeah, I like that number. About twenty
Speaker 1: eight carries a game because you know, again, normally in
Speaker 1: a game you're gonna get about roughly sixty to sixty
Speaker 1: five offensive snaps, all right, So that tells you it's balanced.
Speaker 1: If you're getting say twenty eight to thirty rushing attempts,
Speaker 1: then you factor in the play action, which will be
Speaker 1: another fifteen to twenty play actions, and then you're gonna
Speaker 1: have your other fifteen to twenty which are going to
Speaker 1: be the just straight dropbacks situation. So the key what
Speaker 1: you brought up about, Say, if you're comparing them to
Speaker 1: Green Bay, green Bay has Mercedes Lewis, right, he's their big,
Speaker 1: burly blocking tight end. They lost Robert Tannyan last year.
Speaker 1: Who if you go back the year prior to him
Speaker 1: tearing his ACL, the guy head close to double digit touchdowns.
Speaker 1: I think he had eleven. When you look at Robert Tanyan,
Speaker 1: Robert Tonyan's more the more the in line, Plus he
Speaker 1: can run routes, Cole combats all that, and one he's
Speaker 1: Mercedes Lewis and Robert Tanyan together, so he's probably legitimately
Speaker 1: he shouldn't come off the field. He's in every down
Speaker 1: tight end that you can split out. You can put
Speaker 1: outside the numbers, you can put him in the flex position,
Speaker 1: or you can put him in line for the Bears
Speaker 1: to run their play action in the bootleg game that
Speaker 1: I mentioned. So legitimately, I think you're onto it. Jeff,
Speaker 1: twenty eight to thirty rushes a game, and then about
Speaker 1: fifteen plays should be play action. Then you're probably gonna
Speaker 1: have another fifteen to twenty in straight dropbacks. That should
Speaker 1: be the formula for the Bears. But that support in
Speaker 1: running the football needs to be there for Justin fields
Speaker 1: to take advantage of all those things that we just
Speaker 1: talked about, his ability to move, the play action game,
Speaker 1: the bootleg game, the rollout game, all those things will
Speaker 1: be incorporated, but it's going to stem from those rushing attempts.
Speaker 1: Even though the offense struggle to score points, they did
Speaker 1: run the ball well as compared to the rest of
Speaker 1: the league, and again, you know, compared the Packers. So
Speaker 1: the Bears last year tied for twelve fifty four runs
Speaker 1: of ten plus. Justin had something to do with that too.
Speaker 1: Green Bay had only thirty six and no touchdowns. Bears
Speaker 1: had thirteen twenty plus yard runs a couple of touchdowns,
Speaker 1: tied for seventh and the league. Green Bay had seven.
Speaker 1: So that speaks well obviously to David Montgomery and killing her.
Speaker 1: So where are you at on those two guys as
Speaker 1: compared to that duo in Green Bay Aaron Jones and
Speaker 1: AJ Dillon. Yeah, I've said this. I do think Montgomery
Speaker 1: is the tougher runner meeting between the tackles. So if
Speaker 1: they do the inside zone stuff or say they're going
Speaker 1: to do some power football with the power plays or
Speaker 1: say duo action. I think David Montgomery is the guy
Speaker 1: that can get the tough yards. He's the AJ Dillon,
Speaker 1: so to speak. And then Cleo Herbert is a change
Speaker 1: of pace. He's got probably a quicker step for the
Speaker 1: outside zone game, much like say Aaron Jones. Not that
Speaker 1: they can't do the cutback game, because that'll be there too,
Speaker 1: because he's able to jet and has that other gear
Speaker 1: to really hit it when the Bears want to hit it.
Speaker 1: But that to me is how it sets up. Montgomery's
Speaker 1: the AJ Dillon and you look at Clio Herbert. To me,
Speaker 1: he's the Aaron Jones in this offense for the Chicago Bears.
Speaker 1: And if you're into it, you know, one hundred yard
Speaker 1: backs or quarterbacks, they usually usually result in wins if
Speaker 1: things are going off. Colts for nine and one last
Speaker 1: year with that, San Francisco five and one, Cleveland five
Speaker 1: and two. So those are some teams that really run
Speaker 1: the football. And we get the idea of the Bears
Speaker 1: are gonna run the football more with Jim Miller. After
Speaker 1: a interview with Tom Thare and I and Thomas Graham,
Speaker 1: the Bears second year cornerback, it's all ahead here on
Speaker 1: Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The Score. This segment of
Speaker 1: Bears All Access is brought to you by CDW People
Speaker 1: to Get It with Tom Thayer, Jeff Joni Yac, Jim
Speaker 1: Millerver Loong as well as we are joined by Thomas Graham,
Speaker 1: the young corner for the Chicago Bears. Good to talk
Speaker 1: to you again. Thanks for taking the time off during
Speaker 1: your time off, and I simply got to say, how
Speaker 1: excited are you right now about the potential for twenty
Speaker 1: twenty two and you being heavily involved in it. I'm
Speaker 1: very excited just because, like you know, playing football has
Speaker 1: just come to something that we all just want to
Speaker 1: do it, just like this out there and just like
Speaker 1: now just kind of feel like right now I'm just
Speaker 1: going out there and like being able to enjoy a
Speaker 1: way more than I felt like I did last year
Speaker 1: kind of was more focused on the bid inside instead
Speaker 1: of playing, and now it's just kind of just like
Speaker 1: being able to just go out there and play. Just
Speaker 1: it makes you play and feel different. It's interesting you
Speaker 1: refer to as the business side. Why do you say
Speaker 1: the business side, because you know, frankly, you had to
Speaker 1: be climbing the walls staying on the practice squad, just
Speaker 1: biting your time. But what was the business element of it?
Speaker 1: Um just understanding that, like you know, like there's a
Speaker 1: reality check and like that's the business side. There's so
Speaker 1: many people that are can only be on the team.
Speaker 1: There's so many people that can be dressed up. So
Speaker 1: it's just like I wasn't a starter. Since I wasn't
Speaker 1: a starting, I wasn't the main contribute on special teams
Speaker 1: last year, like you know, it didn't put my value
Speaker 1: as high. So it's just like this year, it's just
Speaker 1: like contributing as much as I can on special teams,
Speaker 1: doing what I can defensively. It's just like kind of
Speaker 1: just like telling like going from a position like in
Speaker 1: college where you didn't play as much special teams to
Speaker 1: where it's just like you got to change your mindset
Speaker 1: and and understand your value to the team and give
Speaker 1: it as best as you can anything you do. Hey, Thomas,
Speaker 1: even though there's a new head coach, new GM, did
Speaker 1: you feel different, maybe more confident when you walk on
Speaker 1: the field during this session of OTAs and mandatory minicamp
Speaker 1: than you did a year ago? Yeah, because I feel
Speaker 1: like last year I was just really focused on like
Speaker 1: like learning the playbook like this and that, and it's
Speaker 1: just like this year, even though it's a new scheme,
Speaker 1: it's just like, yeah, I'm learning it, but it's just
Speaker 1: like I was trying to do everything in chunk. So
Speaker 1: it's just like when you do everything smaller and progressively,
Speaker 1: it just kind of just like it's a it's a
Speaker 1: different mindset you come in with. So like I was
Speaker 1: coming in with just attacking and learning like a little
Speaker 1: step by step instead of trying to learn everything at once,
Speaker 1: because you know, we all go make a mistake if
Speaker 1: I'm a rookie or a VET. So it's just like
Speaker 1: you go in there and knowing that it's just like
Speaker 1: your mindset, it's different, just you don't repeat that same stake.
Speaker 1: That's how you become a VET or you stay at rookie.
Speaker 1: You know, I gotta say, being around the Bears for
Speaker 1: thirty five years now, I've never seen a defense approach
Speaker 1: the offseason with the speed and which you guys were playing.
Speaker 1: And is that transferable from out of pads to impads, yes,
Speaker 1: because it's just like it helps certain things, Like it's
Speaker 1: the little things that it helps, like it teaches everybody
Speaker 1: to pursue to the ball, so like that one play
Speaker 1: like it's a tip in the air. But then it's
Speaker 1: just like it's a difference between you being that one
Speaker 1: step away and then you already being there, because it's
Speaker 1: just like a happy that you already created or you
Speaker 1: feel me you're running to the ball the way you're
Speaker 1: doing and doing everything full speed, like it's able to wear.
Speaker 1: Like now you feel more comfortable with the knockback when
Speaker 1: you when you make tackles. So it's just like certain
Speaker 1: little things that like not all fans, not like everybody
Speaker 1: that doesn't really truly though football can see. Is like
Speaker 1: what makes that so important? Thomas Graham, Junior, our guest
Speaker 1: here on Bears All Access on Chicago Sports Radio six
Speaker 1: seventy to score with time there Jeff Joniac. Does this
Speaker 1: new defensive style suit your personality better than the old style?
Speaker 1: And did you practice and play like this in college? Uh?
Speaker 1: I say this reminds me more of the defense that
Speaker 1: I have my junior year of college. Okay, so it
Speaker 1: is I feel like it's broken down in a more simpler,
Speaker 1: complex way, easier to learn. Um, I feel like, really
Speaker 1: you can only run like six or seven courages. It's
Speaker 1: kind of just like, really what the coach likes to
Speaker 1: run more of. So it's just like I felt like
Speaker 1: certain other things are different. But as a whole um,
Speaker 1: I think I can play a whole lot faster, mainly
Speaker 1: just from just being in the having the year of experience.
Speaker 1: You gotta feel fresh too, because let's be honest, you know,
Speaker 1: you did not play in twenty twenty due to the
Speaker 1: pandemic at Oregon, and then you don't get to play
Speaker 1: until what week fifteen? I can't and so, and you
Speaker 1: played every snap, so you had to be mentally and
Speaker 1: physically and emotionally and spiritually ready to play that game
Speaker 1: because there were nobodies to play in addition to that,
Speaker 1: so you gotta you had to play. But do you
Speaker 1: feel rush because of all the circumstances and how the
Speaker 1: domino's fell for you? Yes, Personally, Like my whole life,
Speaker 1: I've always done like and no matter what season it was,
Speaker 1: I was always doing the sports, So like that was
Speaker 1: kind of like definitely with the COVID years, my first
Speaker 1: real year also going into like the year, I felt
Speaker 1: like I felt better, but I think like in the
Speaker 1: aspects of it hurt. It hurt me with more of
Speaker 1: like the edds, like the everyday drills, just to cutting
Speaker 1: all the time, and I think that showed up majority
Speaker 1: of the year, definitely during camp. So like by the
Speaker 1: time I really got the hang of things again, like
Speaker 1: my time was ready to sign and I made the
Speaker 1: best in my opportunity. It looks like you're running first
Speaker 1: team with Nickel during the entire off season here, and
Speaker 1: how does that suit your skill setting? How do you
Speaker 1: see this playing out for Thomas Graham Jr. Um I
Speaker 1: just feel like it's it's a high competition in that
Speaker 1: room just in general. You gotta tell young Event teaches
Speaker 1: me and helps me all the time, like we were
Speaker 1: talking and pass a little notes, so it's like competitive edge.
Speaker 1: And then with Duke the same thing. So I just
Speaker 1: felt like it's just going in there. I wouldn't say
Speaker 1: anybody just started, because we all got rested with the ones,
Speaker 1: but it's just all going in there. It's just like
Speaker 1: a high competition. I think, like people talk about our
Speaker 1: secondary and things like that, but if you see the
Speaker 1: guys that we got, I think it's way better than
Speaker 1: what you people say to realize, and if you want
Speaker 1: to go look at the stats to go look at
Speaker 1: duke stats two hundred and forty snaps, start giving up
Speaker 1: a touchdown in the slot, and then Tay Young has
Speaker 1: already been proven to be one of the best nickel
Speaker 1: pointers in the NFL already with this pedigree. So it's
Speaker 1: just like, I know his past, he's gotten hurt, so
Speaker 1: just stay in, stay healthy for him. And just kind
Speaker 1: of me just going out there being a young gun balling.
Speaker 1: So it's just like you get three different players, but
Speaker 1: three great players no matter what. Well, kind of piggybacking
Speaker 1: off that question a little bit. I remember you at
Speaker 1: the podium last year after your first start and you said,
Speaker 1: you're getting better. You're understanding the defense better, You're understanding
Speaker 1: your leverage a little better according to the defense called.
Speaker 1: So now when you ready for this defense, are you
Speaker 1: a right or left cornerback or I, like Jeff said,
Speaker 1: the reps that you're taking at nickel. What is the
Speaker 1: one two three process of Thomas Graham at this point
Speaker 1: in the upcoming season with corner is kind of just
Speaker 1: kind of playing both sides, But right now it's probably
Speaker 1: going to be more nickel the dominant And I think
Speaker 1: me personally like I think this is a stepping stone
Speaker 1: on where I kind of want to go with my
Speaker 1: career eventually. I just want to be kind of just
Speaker 1: being able to follow somebody. A person I really look
Speaker 1: up to is Darius Slay, and I like watching his
Speaker 1: game because he doesn't just play outside. He doesn't play inside.
Speaker 1: He just follows like the number one receiver, And that's
Speaker 1: kind of like where I want to do have my engo.
Speaker 1: But if I can't play in the slot, I've already
Speaker 1: shared I can play outside, Like if I can't consistently
Speaker 1: play in the slot, then I can't accomplish my goal.
Speaker 1: So it starts here in I feel like playing in
Speaker 1: the slot, no matter what, helps your game as a
Speaker 1: corner or a dB in general, just because like you're
Speaker 1: going to against litter dudes that are like quicker and
Speaker 1: stuff like that. So makes your film study more more
Speaker 1: in detail, more in debt, because you feel you got
Speaker 1: to make sure that you're anticipating things, but you're not assuming,
Speaker 1: because if you assume, you make me nothing. It's like
Speaker 1: you got to be able to put yourself in those
Speaker 1: positions because you do have the Tarik Hills, the jailing waters,
Speaker 1: and I can keep going on and knowing that just
Speaker 1: like you feel me. You see, if you want to
Speaker 1: be on ESPN, they get way of the bad way.
Speaker 1: So you know, we've every player that Jeff and I
Speaker 1: have talked to you since Matt Eberflus has been hired.
Speaker 1: We talked to about the comedy made about the running shoes,
Speaker 1: but no corners. Corners and wide receivers. They run all
Speaker 1: the time anyway, So it's not it's it's a big
Speaker 1: adjustment to us offensive linemen or defensive linemen in positions
Speaker 1: like that. Do you feel that you're running a lot
Speaker 1: or do you just have to be in shape so
Speaker 1: you can run a lot? Um. I feel like it's
Speaker 1: more like we are running a lot, but it's not
Speaker 1: like what he's asking us to run for, like it's
Speaker 1: no reason, Like it's the what I talked about before
Speaker 1: is like the little things like we're not running, like
Speaker 1: he's not making us run just to run, like we're
Speaker 1: running majority of and all the times. Is to create
Speaker 1: good habits, like for a team, like if we want
Speaker 1: to be the defense that we say we want to do,
Speaker 1: we have to always be able to swarm to the ball,
Speaker 1: like you know, like feel scary when you've seen on
Speaker 1: film eleven dudes in the picture every time you watch
Speaker 1: this defense compared to seeing five or six dudes. Because
Speaker 1: you see five or six dudes, you feel me running back,
Speaker 1: do the right thing, or receiver get behind the coverage
Speaker 1: in this in spot like it maybe a good it's
Speaker 1: most like there'll be more supposed to play. But it's
Speaker 1: eleven guys to the ball, you know that, Like it's
Speaker 1: always somebody coming and running there. Hey Thomas, in your
Speaker 1: football life, when's the last time that you've ran conditioning
Speaker 1: after practice? I will say my freshman year of college,
Speaker 1: all right, And I think that's part of the run processes.
Speaker 1: He they're asking you to run so fast and individual
Speaker 1: work in the team works in seven on seven that
Speaker 1: you don't have to do conditioning after practice because you're
Speaker 1: you're doing conditioning the entire practice exactly, and it just
Speaker 1: kind of like it builds your workload too. And like
Speaker 1: we you know, you understand Beffy from being a player.
Speaker 1: It's just like we sometimes like be like, oh, this
Speaker 1: is a lot, but like when we go play that
Speaker 1: game and like it's the fourth quarter and you see
Speaker 1: that person across from you super tired and you're just like, dang,
Speaker 1: this is just a normal Tuesday, like it just it's
Speaker 1: it's a different film than that. That builds confidence for
Speaker 1: you to do things that you didn't think you can
Speaker 1: do before. You know. Thomas grahamar guest here on Bears
Speaker 1: All Access on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to score.
Speaker 1: It's funny he asked you about that because when I
Speaker 1: first started covering sports, it was Tom's eighty five team
Speaker 1: that won the Super Bowl, and I was at that
Speaker 1: training camp and these guys after practice at a run
Speaker 1: sprints and they were dying after double days. So he
Speaker 1: still has nightmares, that's what. But I like your routine
Speaker 1: more than the old thing. That's why I asked that question.
Speaker 1: No question. So you mentioned Tavon Young. Now what does
Speaker 1: this tell you about the business of the National Football League.
Speaker 1: Tavon Young was once the NFL's highest paid nickel and
Speaker 1: now not a part of the Baltimore Ravens anymore. Finds
Speaker 1: a home here. Hopefully it's an impactful one with the Bears.
Speaker 1: But you know, it's things change so quickly, Like you
Speaker 1: mentioned Thomas, maybe some injuries here and there, but you know,
Speaker 1: once he's on top of the mountain. Is this something
Speaker 1: you can learn from as a young player, just how
Speaker 1: important it all is. Yeah, it's just like, um, he'll
Speaker 1: tell you he's already talked to me about it. But
Speaker 1: it's just like kind of just like you got to
Speaker 1: just be able to enjoy each moment. Like you know,
Speaker 1: like football is a is a contact sports, so you're
Speaker 1: you're one serious injury away from not being able to
Speaker 1: play again. And also like a lot of the stuff
Speaker 1: isn't avoidable, but you can do your best to work
Speaker 1: on things to avoids. So it's just like you gotta
Speaker 1: like do little things and take care of your body.
Speaker 1: I think the person that's done it best to show
Speaker 1: us professionally is Lebron James, like you from me, he
Speaker 1: invested so much money into his body early, even though
Speaker 1: like some people be like why you're spending that much
Speaker 1: money in your body and then look how it pays
Speaker 1: out for him. So it's just like when you take
Speaker 1: care of your body and pays it. So it's just
Speaker 1: like that's one thing you got to do. And sometimes,
Speaker 1: like with the sport that we play, some freak injuries,
Speaker 1: some freak things happen, but it's just kind of more
Speaker 1: just like putting yourself in a position to where a
Speaker 1: lot of those things don't happen. All right, We're just
Speaker 1: starting to get to know some of the new coaches
Speaker 1: on the defensive side of the ball. Your DUB coach
Speaker 1: James Row, and you have a nickel coach David Overstreet.
Speaker 1: Coach Row and the kidd last month when we met
Speaker 1: with him, that you meet with coach eaver Street every
Speaker 1: morning at seven am. What do you guys discuss? What's
Speaker 1: that been? Like? What's that relationship? Help? Um? It showed
Speaker 1: me a lot. Um. It's something that it was a
Speaker 1: routine that I did in college with my DV coach
Speaker 1: and helped me understand the defense process certain stuff. And
Speaker 1: then also just like kind of ask questions without being
Speaker 1: in the room with everybody else. And I think something
Speaker 1: for some people it's bigger than others because like you know,
Speaker 1: sometimes some people, you know, he might get stage fright.
Speaker 1: You just feel like that might be a little bit
Speaker 1: too but too much off topic. So I think it's
Speaker 1: been just like a great job of being able to
Speaker 1: to kind of dissect the defense in other ways and
Speaker 1: then like we don't just talk about the nickel or
Speaker 1: like even like some days we won't even just come
Speaker 1: in and talk like film on the defense. We'll talk
Speaker 1: about just like my my everyday drills. He calls them
Speaker 1: edds and those little things and playing and focusing on weaknesses.
Speaker 1: I remember one of the first times we met, he
Speaker 1: went in there and put in, uh showed me. He
Speaker 1: put in three good plays, three bad plays of last year.
Speaker 1: And it's just like those three bad plays we need
Speaker 1: to we need to fix that, and us three good
Speaker 1: plays we need to keep and make those three six.
Speaker 1: It's just like it's a good thing and he's willing
Speaker 1: to be honest with me. And I think that's like
Speaker 1: one thing you need out of the coach. Every time
Speaker 1: you go to the line of scrimmage and you think
Speaker 1: of your train of thoughts. I'm this roster. You got
Speaker 1: receivers from five to eleven, Darnell Mooney to six or
Speaker 1: five eq. Saint Brown. Do you have the same philosophical
Speaker 1: thinking once the ball is snapped or do you have
Speaker 1: a different approach to that size difference? Oh? Yeah, most
Speaker 1: definitely you have a different approach. But it't for me.
Speaker 1: It's not really too big on the size. It's like
Speaker 1: the style and type of receiver you are, like EQ
Speaker 1: has sneaky speed like you feemy Mooney, I put him
Speaker 1: in that same category at sneaky speed. Like when I
Speaker 1: say that, it's just like you're running with him and
Speaker 1: it's just like you right there. And then next thing,
Speaker 1: you know, like the ball in the air and you
Speaker 1: look over. Now they one or two stripes ahead of you.
Speaker 1: But then you got like you got somebody like Veless
Speaker 1: that you already know has that speed on them. And
Speaker 1: then let's see what you got. You got somebody like
Speaker 1: Pringlehood that's not as fast, but he's quicker. So it's
Speaker 1: just like you kind of just like you got to
Speaker 1: know who you learned enough against, no no matter what.
Speaker 1: And I think it does a good job, like definitely,
Speaker 1: like with the person at A difference with this year
Speaker 1: is because like we don't have all the same receivers
Speaker 1: and that's good because now it kind of teaches you
Speaker 1: how to when we actually start getting into the season,
Speaker 1: like just like in camp, you weren't treating every receiver
Speaker 1: to say, you can't treat every receiver you play against
Speaker 1: the same. All right, We'll let you go one final
Speaker 1: thought and again appreciate your time. Thomas so what do
Speaker 1: we got nearly an All Pac twelve secondary. I mean,
Speaker 1: that's what we're looking at here. We kind of Gordon Washington,
Speaker 1: Jalen Johnson, Utah, you out of Oregon. You guys face
Speaker 1: a lot of air attacks for sure back in your
Speaker 1: college days. But you know, you mentioned maybe people don't
Speaker 1: think a lot about this secondary, Tom, and I think
Speaker 1: it's one of the strengths of the team because there
Speaker 1: is a lot of depth, and there's young talent, and
Speaker 1: there's a veteran in there and Eddie Jackson Tavon. I
Speaker 1: mean there's depth. There's a lot of different ways you
Speaker 1: can go here. Uh, and all of you may be
Speaker 1: called upon. So you know, is that what you're referring to,
Speaker 1: because it is a very talented secondary that has to
Speaker 1: grow and have the chemistry, but it is talented. Um, Yes,
Speaker 1: that's that's That's really what it's it's about, Like I
Speaker 1: feel like there's really no drop off if you're going
Speaker 1: from the top to the bottom. So it's just like you,
Speaker 1: I could I could speak on every single one of
Speaker 1: them and just to throw this out there, you feel me,
Speaker 1: I do have it. I ended off with a win
Speaker 1: against Kyler and Jaylen in college. So I'm a hold
Speaker 1: on the doct decks, but it feels real. It feels
Speaker 1: real good when you have that because Um, like pose
Speaker 1: Um said earlier, he's building a team based off of competition. UM,
Speaker 1: And I feel like he's doing a great job definitely
Speaker 1: in a room that that people talked about last year,
Speaker 1: we give a thirty one passing touch them, so it's
Speaker 1: just like, um, we got to do do our best
Speaker 1: to change that end. The first thing he did was
Speaker 1: bring competition to the room, and I think that's great,
Speaker 1: like definitely for the team because I think that, well,
Speaker 1: the only thing we can do is get better now exactly,
Speaker 1: And that's a great thought. To wind this up, Enjoy
Speaker 1: the balance of your summer. We'll see a back at
Speaker 1: training camp. Appreciate the time. Yes, there go beers. Thomas
Speaker 1: Graham Junior, our guest here on Bears Out of Access.
Speaker 1: Back with more with Jim Miller after this on Chicago
Speaker 1: Sports Radio six seventy The Score. Get an up close
Speaker 1: view of practice and your favorite Bears players at hamus All.
Speaker 1: The twenty twenty two training camp schedule is out. Go
Speaker 1: to Chicago Bears dot com for more details. Hope to
Speaker 1: see you guys at training Cambino Jim's headed over to
Speaker 1: training camp this year. First couple of days when the
Speaker 1: fans are going to be there, and it was a
Speaker 1: great environment during the pandemic period here. Now all those
Speaker 1: restrictions are lifted. Knock on wood, they stay that way.
Speaker 1: Fans are going to get a better view of things
Speaker 1: and interacting with their favorite players. You know, I've said
Speaker 1: this about all sports. For NFL training camps, it's a
Speaker 1: great up close and personal view where the fans are
Speaker 1: so close the rate there on the field, they're able
Speaker 1: to ask for autographs and players want to put on
Speaker 1: a show. Well, like I said, they want to entertain
Speaker 1: and they want to show their best every single practice
Speaker 1: and you get juice as a player when when the
Speaker 1: fans are there. So it's going to be great for
Speaker 1: a family environment for young uh you know, young kids
Speaker 1: to go and experience when an NFL training camp is about.
Speaker 1: And it's really just a great event from that standpoint,
Speaker 1: and you know, it's just good to have the fans
Speaker 1: back out. I know the players enjoy it speaking from
Speaker 1: personal experience, and I'm glad they're able to enjoy it
Speaker 1: this year. So a lot of fans are asking you
Speaker 1: this though too of me, and I'm sure they're doing
Speaker 1: it to you as well. You run into people how's
Speaker 1: this team going to look in twenty twenty two, And I, Jim,
Speaker 1: don't have an answer for you right now because it
Speaker 1: is a great unknown. There's so many new moving parts
Speaker 1: and a new system that until we actually see it
Speaker 1: in Week one against the forty nine ers will get
Speaker 1: a true flavor of what the intentions are. We know
Speaker 1: what the plan is, but what it ultimate looks like
Speaker 1: is another thing. So I just go with okay. Fields
Speaker 1: commit explosive run game. Mooney reaches another level. Vayalis Jones
Speaker 1: becomes an impact rookie offensive line comes together, becomes a
Speaker 1: strength defense, flying around, force and turnovers, having fun scoring touchdowns.
Speaker 1: Trevis Gibson becomes a double digit sack guy, Roe quant
Speaker 1: and All Pro. Jalen Johnson becomes a lockdown guy steps
Speaker 1: up in his third year. Eddie Jackson back to being
Speaker 1: dangerous Eddie in a quick six Jackson as I used
Speaker 1: to call him, when he's putting the ball in the
Speaker 1: end zone. And of course the overridings stay healthy. That's
Speaker 1: a really big, big view of But is that all
Speaker 1: gonna happen at once. Hard to say, but if it did, yeah,
Speaker 1: they could surprise a lot of folks. Yeah, I think
Speaker 1: you're looking for effort in competitive competitiveness from a very
Speaker 1: young team. You know they're gonna make their share of mistakes,
Speaker 1: but I think it's about incremental improvement and how it
Speaker 1: starts again, is not how it's gonna finish. You know,
Speaker 1: you want to see that incremental growth over the entire season,
Speaker 1: and there's gonna be changes. You know, there's gonna be
Speaker 1: guys in and out of the line up that they're
Speaker 1: going to have to evaluate. They're going to learn from
Speaker 1: their mistakes. But I think if you see a team
Speaker 1: that's out there that's competitive, that puts forwards that effort
Speaker 1: and is extremely tough, that's what Matt Everflus has talked
Speaker 1: about the standard. Can they meet that standard? Because if
Speaker 1: they don't meet that standard, there will be changes throughout
Speaker 1: the entire season. So I think those are things that
Speaker 1: are going to be worth evaluating as the season goes along.
Speaker 1: But the process, the growth of a young quarterback in
Speaker 1: justin fields you mentioned the young players, whether it's Kyler
Speaker 1: Gordon in there, Jalen Johnson and a new style of
Speaker 1: defense Roquan Smith. Evaluate these players and see where the
Speaker 1: growth is from the start of Week one to where
Speaker 1: it finishes in Week seventeen and beyond this year. Pro
Speaker 1: Football Focus a couple of weeks ago did a whole
Speaker 1: analysis of the salary cap. The Bears have the most
Speaker 1: effective cap space in the NFL over the next three years. Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1: I mean next year the Bears are going to have
Speaker 1: over one hundred and twenty million dollars to spend in
Speaker 1: free agency. So there's teams like at the Chicago Bears.
Speaker 1: I think Atlanta is really the comparable for the Bears.
Speaker 1: Right They're going to go in a different direction at quarterback,
Speaker 1: They've changed moved away from Matt Ryan, who's now an
Speaker 1: Indianapolis Colt, and they're playing a lot of young players.
Speaker 1: Last year was their foundational year. But look at that team.
Speaker 1: They were seven and nine. You know, they were a
Speaker 1: competitive team that was right there in the mix, that
Speaker 1: had an opportunity to make the playoffs a season ago.
Speaker 1: So I think that's how Bears fans need to look
Speaker 1: at it. You know, I think we're looking at delusions
Speaker 1: of grandeur if we say, hey, this team's going to
Speaker 1: the Super Bowl, but can you be a competitive team
Speaker 1: and lay that foundation? Because much like Atlanta, the Bears
Speaker 1: will be in a similar spot where they're able to
Speaker 1: have one hundred and twenty million dollars and really go
Speaker 1: out and sign some impactful free agents next year. But
Speaker 1: this is a foundational year where they'll have the opportunity
Speaker 1: to do that. All right, a couple quick hitters on
Speaker 1: a broader scope, and an interesting question for you to
Speaker 1: answer as well. All right, we're going to talk quarterbacks.
Speaker 1: So Deshaun Watson reported league gonna have his hearing tomorrow
Speaker 1: at the National Football What might happen there, What happens
Speaker 1: at Baker Mayfield? And Jimmy Garoppolo offseason shoulder surgery beginning
Speaker 1: to throw soon, which could then start potential discussions of trades.
Speaker 1: Where do you see these three things going? Guys like
Speaker 1: Ben Roethlisberger, he got six games. He wasn't convicted of
Speaker 1: anything either, but minimum he got six games. I think
Speaker 1: it's going to be more than that for Deshaun Watson.
Speaker 1: I think everybody's bracing for a year suspension is it's
Speaker 1: what it's going to be for Deshaun. And I still
Speaker 1: go back to this Cleveland. They have the rights to
Speaker 1: Baker Mayfield. And if I'm Baker Mayfield, I'm just putting
Speaker 1: myself in his shoes. The best opportunity is with the
Speaker 1: Cleveland brown He knows this offense. They own his rights.
Speaker 1: They don't have to trade him anywhere. There's been teams
Speaker 1: that I think that they're just going to release him.
Speaker 1: Why would the Browns do that. They're on the hook
Speaker 1: for eighteen point eight million regardless. All right, so Carolina
Speaker 1: has consistently tried to work a trade for Baker Mayfield.
Speaker 1: They want Cleveland to pick up more than half of
Speaker 1: his contract, and that may be the point where he
Speaker 1: could be moved if say, you know, Cleveland's willing to
Speaker 1: pay nine million dollars of the eighteen million. But I
Speaker 1: don't think it's going there, you know. To me, for Cleveland,
Speaker 1: Baker Mayfield's the best option. I think he's the upgrade
Speaker 1: to Jacoby Brissette, who's the backup right now. But for Baker,
Speaker 1: he should want to go in there and play, not
Speaker 1: accrue the fines and suspensions because they could find him
Speaker 1: for conduct detrimental if he decides not to show up
Speaker 1: for a training camp. Plus, it would put him in
Speaker 1: the best position to get traded to another team by
Speaker 1: the trade deadline. Okay, if he's got out there and
Speaker 1: he plays and plays well, potentially he could be a
Speaker 1: chip that could be moved. So there's still a lot
Speaker 1: that needs to to unfold in the minimum. What needs
Speaker 1: to unfold first is what is going to be the
Speaker 1: punishment for Deshaun Watson, because I think that is really
Speaker 1: going to dictate where it goes for Baker Mayfield this season.
Speaker 1: How about Jimmy G quickly, Jimmy G. I do expect
Speaker 1: him to be a trade chip, but if I'm San
Speaker 1: Francisco again, I own his rights. We don't know about
Speaker 1: Trey Lance. I mean, think of Trey Lance from North
Speaker 1: Dakota State. We have not even seen him in a
Speaker 1: two minute offensive situation. Can this guy lead a team,
Speaker 1: you know, in a two minute where it's strictly on
Speaker 1: his arm. He got his feet wet last year. He's
Speaker 1: one and one as a starter. There's a lot of
Speaker 1: growth that needs to happen there. So Jimmy G still
Speaker 1: could be the best option. If say Trey Lance falls
Speaker 1: on his face the first four weeks of the season,
Speaker 1: they may want to put Jimmy g back in in
Speaker 1: the lineup once he's healthy. So I think again. I
Speaker 1: think San Francisco is gonna slow play it, let him
Speaker 1: get healthy. Trey Lance is a quarterback. If he falls
Speaker 1: on his face, they've already got a guy on the
Speaker 1: bench that has led that team to the super Bowl
Speaker 1: in an NFC championship game a year ago. All right,
Speaker 1: I add a real special question for you, just you know,
Speaker 1: as it relates to you. But I'm gonna have to
Speaker 1: wait till next week. We're out of time, so all right,
Speaker 1: I will not forget it. I can't wait to hear
Speaker 1: your answer. Jim, thanks very much, enjoy the rest of
Speaker 1: your time and mobile. All right, we'll do Jeff, always
Speaker 1: good to be with you. Thanks for listening, Everybody that's
Speaker 1: gonna do it for Jim, Metta, Hime, Jeff, joni Ac,
Speaker 1: Thanks again to Bears quarterback Thomas Graham, our producers tonight,
Speaker 1: including Jordan Trudup, and thanks of all to you for listening.
Speaker 1: This has been Bears All Access on Chicago's Sports Radio
Speaker 1: six seventy to score. Good night, everybody,