Speaker 1: Welcome in Tough Bears Weekly powered by IGS Energy by
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Speaker 1: chilliac Ka, the Mayor of Bearsville and is sidekick Tom
Speaker 1: the Surfmaster.
Speaker 2: Thayer Tatus Hall popping once again with phase one of
Speaker 2: the off season program underway and the draft just weeks away.
Speaker 2: We tackle all of it tonight on Bears Weekly on
Speaker 2: the ESPN one thousand and the Chicago Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 2: Good to have you here tonight with Super Bowl winning
Speaker 2: Bears guard Tom Thayer and shortly the former Bears quarterback
Speaker 2: Jim Miller from Serious XM NFL Radio. I'm Jeff Jonaiyak.
Speaker 2: Coming up by the program. We visit with passing game
Speaker 2: coordinator Press Taylor, one of the new editions on Ben
Speaker 2: Johnson's coaching staff. I want to thank our producers tonight,
Speaker 2: Dan Brilly, Jordan Treadap and in the ESPN studio Kendra Smith,
Speaker 2: Executive Pretty Serre. The Bears Radio Network is Eric Ostrotski.
Speaker 2: Good even the everybody, Tom, how you feeling.
Speaker 3: I I feel good, Jeff, for you know, a lot
Speaker 3: of excitement this week in terms of the NFL as
Speaker 3: a whole, but for the Chicago Bears most certainly.
Speaker 4: And I think the players.
Speaker 3: And the staff kind they got a taste of each other,
Speaker 3: and I think the seriousness of what is the journey
Speaker 3: that's set ahead of them, all the new opportunities for
Speaker 3: a guy like Ben Johnson and his staff, and a
Speaker 3: lot of new opportunities for the growth and the potential
Speaker 3: of a lot of players on this team. So I
Speaker 3: think this is gonna be an exciting spring to watch
Speaker 3: step by step as this team develops.
Speaker 5: All Right, so we heard the podium.
Speaker 2: You and I discussed it a little bit on bears
Speaker 2: Et Center this week. Caleb Williams, Darnell Right, Jermaine Edmunds,
Speaker 2: Jalen Johnson over off. You had to congregate all the
Speaker 2: different answers they gave.
Speaker 5: What was the common theme out of the four in
Speaker 5: your opinion?
Speaker 3: You know, I think the way the season ended last
Speaker 3: year and the guys visited the podium, and that word
Speaker 3: accountability was brought up by a bunch of players, and
Speaker 3: I think the players want the accountability.
Speaker 4: To transfer into the locker room.
Speaker 3: And you know, it's almost like Jalen Johnson, if you
Speaker 3: see something, say something. If you want guys to have
Speaker 3: more dedication or a better effort in the practice field,
Speaker 3: in the meeting room and the weight room, showing up
Speaker 3: on time, that hold each other accountable in those terms.
Speaker 3: And I think when you bring the leaders up to
Speaker 3: the podium in the early portion of a new league year,
Speaker 3: you kind of get a taste of what these guys
Speaker 3: want and where they want to go, because, like Ben
Speaker 3: Johnson said when he took this job, this is not
Speaker 3: a five year project. This is a win now project.
Speaker 3: And I think that's really an important message that he
Speaker 3: got out there early and these players got to understand.
Speaker 5: Also, what do you think of the demeanor of Caleb.
Speaker 3: Listen man. You know that's the thing about it. You
Speaker 3: and I talked about it. Caleb has never disappointed me.
Speaker 3: Some to some of the most difficult podium visits he
Speaker 3: had throughout last year, to the early portion of when
Speaker 3: he came aboard, and how confident of a player he was,
Speaker 3: but he also understands there's gonna be some new parts
Speaker 3: of his job that he's gonna have to get fundamentally
Speaker 3: at ease with and it's gonna have to become second nature,
Speaker 3: and it's gonna have to be like he's taking a
Speaker 3: breath of air from some of the aspects of his
Speaker 3: job in terms of working under center. The footwork that
Speaker 3: you need according you know, so all that works accordingly.
Speaker 3: So listen, Caleb has never disappointed me, and he didn't
Speaker 3: with his first visit, all.
Speaker 2: Right, So it can be no other way to frame it.
Speaker 2: The excitement that we've been discussing from the outside in
Speaker 2: is now starting to bubble up and outside inside out
Speaker 2: of the building. Tom, would you agree that is exactly
Speaker 2: the case from everything you're hearing. The people you talk
Speaker 2: to here are the players of the podium, just the
Speaker 2: little scraps on the bread crumbs that we're putting together.
Speaker 3: You know, everything that I've heard come out of Ben
Speaker 3: Johnson's mouth from the time he was introduced as a
Speaker 3: new head coach in Tallas Hall to what he said
Speaker 3: at the combine, what he's done at every one of
Speaker 3: his podium visits in front of the media. He's never
Speaker 3: disappointed me as well, and he always said something that's
Speaker 3: kind of refreshing in terms of the responsibilities of the
Speaker 3: players get comfortable being uncomfortable, the different things that he
Speaker 3: wants to do to a quality quarterback and a great
Speaker 3: athlete quarterback like Caleb, and how he can expand his game,
Speaker 3: the differences that he sees within this offense.
Speaker 4: What he can do with and for a guy like
Speaker 4: Cole Kamet.
Speaker 3: And then the different difficult choices that the competitiveness of
Speaker 3: these players is gonna help those decisions. And then I
Speaker 3: like everything that I've heard out of Dennis Allen, and
Speaker 3: I'm excited to see this new philosophical thinking of the
Speaker 3: defense and the different types of coverages he likes to play,
Speaker 3: what he likes to do at the line of scrimmage,
Speaker 3: how he deploys the defensive assets he has. Like I said,
Speaker 3: from right now through the spraying portion and into summer camp.
Speaker 3: I think it's gonna be really fun to watch it develop.
Speaker 5: All Right, you raise a good point. So Tremaine, Edmunds
Speaker 5: and TJ.
Speaker 2: Edwards, some of the drafted players all came here under
Speaker 2: a regime of Matt Eberflus in a certain style of defense.
Speaker 2: Now you bring in Dennis Allen. Tremaine is still a
Speaker 2: young player.
Speaker 5: Even though he is.
Speaker 2: He has spent a lot of time in the NFL
Speaker 2: with both Buffalo Now and the Bears. But players like
Speaker 2: that across the board. Let's even throw in Montese Sweat
Speaker 2: coming to board a couple of years ago. Does this
Speaker 2: revitalize each and every one of those players, the veterans
Speaker 2: that are coming in because they haven't worked with Dennis Allen,
Speaker 2: they don't they know exactly how he's going to coach
Speaker 2: them or what he has to offer. Now they're learning
Speaker 2: it up there this week, little pieces of it. But
Speaker 2: will this revitalize that defense?
Speaker 3: I do think it's gonna re idolize the defense. But
Speaker 3: you know, I also think that when you're playing for
Speaker 3: a new position coach, you're playing for a new coordinator,
Speaker 3: you're playing for a new head coach, there's a certain
Speaker 3: sense of seriousness that goes along with that. Is you
Speaker 3: have to allow the coaches to see your work ethic,
Speaker 3: your approach to professionalism, what you do to make sure
Speaker 3: that you're mentally and physically prepared for what's at stake,
Speaker 3: because you know, you, I guess you have a reputation,
Speaker 3: but you haven't earned anything in front of this new
Speaker 3: coaching staff. That is That's what's at stake is if
Speaker 3: you have a reputation that precedes you, can you live
Speaker 3: up to it. If you're a guy that has potential,
Speaker 3: can you show this potential and the signs of growth.
Speaker 3: So there's a lot of things that every one of
Speaker 3: these coaches, position coaches and coordinators are going to be
Speaker 3: looking at to see how you can put all the
Speaker 3: right pieces in place.
Speaker 2: All right, Joining us now from NFL Radio Serious XM,
Speaker 2: the former Bears quarterback Jim Miller back with us. Jim,
Speaker 2: how you feeling. What's what's the word in the league
Speaker 2: right now? What's the big news today? I know Abdul
Speaker 2: Carter had his medical recheck, So that's big news for
Speaker 2: the Arguably that the top player regardless of position in
Speaker 2: the NFL drafted in many people's minds, but a player
Speaker 2: that you know, you got to keep an eye on this.
Speaker 2: The stress reaction in his foot is healing, improvement, no surgery,
Speaker 2: according to his agent Drew Rosenhaus.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think he's a big part.
Speaker 6: We had you know, I'm not going to name the name,
Speaker 6: but a former general manager they questioned whether Abdull Carter
Speaker 6: can really hold up against the run, you know, so
Speaker 6: it's not only his health. They questioned, you know, how
Speaker 6: strong is he? How good is he with his hands?
Speaker 6: Can he shed the blocks? And everybody just assumes he's
Speaker 6: going to be the surefire, you know, best pass rusher
Speaker 6: in the in the draft that is drafted, and he
Speaker 6: comes with a medical history and then probably you know
Speaker 6: Shador Sanders, the Colorado quarterback. He's probably been the most
Speaker 6: polarizing player had into the draft, and other guys seem
Speaker 6: to be gaining his steam, like Milroe from Alabama. I
Speaker 6: think Milroe is he really played well down at the
Speaker 6: Reese's Senior Bowl. He showed all his skills, a big arm.
Speaker 6: There are college players that said he's probably the toughest
Speaker 6: quarterback they had to play against. But I think it's
Speaker 6: Milroe rising and it seems like Sanders is dropping is
Speaker 6: leading up to the draft.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's interesting, Tom. What's your take on Jaylen Milroe.
Speaker 2: I mean, when you see him at the Senior Bowl
Speaker 2: as we did up close, boy, the body looks tremendous.
Speaker 2: He's got the size, he's super smart, he's a great leader,
Speaker 2: he's got the athleticism. They're just things in his overall
Speaker 2: toolbox in terms of technique and fundamentals that need to
Speaker 2: be short up a bit, and you get him with
Speaker 2: the right team, the right coach man, you're tapping into
Speaker 2: a gold mine potentially.
Speaker 3: You know, Jeff, let me analogize this because you and I.
Speaker 4: Last year we're talking about Joe Milton, and.
Speaker 3: Remember we saw him throw some passes that were sixty
Speaker 3: five seventy five yards and what an athlete he looked like,
Speaker 3: and you kind of go, Wow, what is the potential
Speaker 3: of this guy in what can ultimately happen to him
Speaker 3: throughout his career. I kind of think of the same
Speaker 3: thing between these two guys. They're dynamic athletes, they have
Speaker 3: incredible traits. They played at major programs, they showed signs
Speaker 3: of athletic brilliance. But now when you're into the pro
Speaker 3: level game, can everything develop according to the template that
Speaker 3: we see that's running forty throwing footballs, doing everything that's
Speaker 3: asked of them to show off their athleticism and that
Speaker 3: cannect compute into quarterback play.
Speaker 5: Jim, what are your thoughts?
Speaker 6: I like Milrow to me, he reminds me a lot
Speaker 6: of Jalen Hurts, not only you know his production running
Speaker 6: the football, and that's where a lot of different defenses.
Speaker 6: Defensive players like Hunter Wooler, the safety for Wisconsin, came
Speaker 6: on our airways and saiday, he said he was by
Speaker 6: far the toughest quarterback they played against because they couldn't
Speaker 6: tackle him in space what you can. And I guess
Speaker 6: his think about this time his ten yard split. I
Speaker 6: guess that his pro day was like one four to one.
Speaker 6: It was something ridiculous. I mean that he basically ran
Speaker 6: a sub four four forty, so he's in the four
Speaker 6: to three ranges where he's at. He's my point, and
Speaker 6: he's not a polished passer. I think you saw it, Jeff,
Speaker 6: and you were plays in the game where he's not
Speaker 6: accurate because his feet don't marry up with his arm.
Speaker 6: But he's got a big arm. He can spin the football.
Speaker 6: He's just got to become a more polished passer, like
Speaker 6: say Jalen Hurts, and that's Jalen Hurts.
Speaker 4: You know.
Speaker 6: He transferred from Alabama to Oklahoma, played really well. He
Speaker 6: won a lot of games, but then he kind of
Speaker 6: sat in the NFL and they were kind of develop
Speaker 6: him behind Carson Wentz and then he bursts onto the scene.
Speaker 6: He plays well. Now he gets the big contract. Now,
Speaker 6: he wins a super Bowl and we'll see where he
Speaker 6: can go. But I think a lot of teams think
Speaker 6: that that would be the path for Milroe from Alabama
Speaker 6: because he is extremely talented.
Speaker 2: Well, one of the interesting thing is Henterer Wohler Hunter
Speaker 2: roll a Batman. So if he said it was the toughest,
Speaker 2: I love that player for sure. All Right, when we
Speaker 2: come back, we'll be joined by the new passing game coordinator,
Speaker 2: the Chicago Bears assistant coach, Press Taylor. Here on Bears
Speaker 2: Weekly on ESPN one thousand and the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 1: Well, welcome back to Bears Weekly on the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 1: Here's your host, the voice of the Bears, Jeff Jonian.
Speaker 2: This segment of Bears Weekly is brought to you by
Speaker 2: IGS Energy. Welcome back to Bears Weekly on ESPN Chicago
Speaker 2: and the Bears Radio Network. Jeff Joniek with one of
Speaker 2: the new members of the Bears coaching staff and our
Speaker 2: get to Know You series, Press Taylor, coming over for
Speaker 2: his first year with the Bears, but an extensive career
Speaker 2: in coaching with Philadelphia. I know I'm gonna miss a few,
Speaker 2: but last stop was Jacksonville and the brother of Zach Taylor,
Speaker 2: the head coach to the Cincinnati Bengals, And yes, there
Speaker 2: will be a Pro Bowl again this year. So on
Speaker 2: the road at his place. I don't know what your
Speaker 2: records are facing each other. I bet you know, though,
Speaker 2: I think we're tired. Actually all right, played up there,
Speaker 2: but I think we're tired.
Speaker 7: Yeah, okay, Well that's it's a great story of the
Speaker 7: two of you.
Speaker 2: And I was I noticed on an old article that
Speaker 2: I was researching in the Florida Times Union, there's a
Speaker 2: picture of you both as little kids with coach did
Speaker 2: goat it was? It said after an NFL game, where
Speaker 2: you ad an NFL game.
Speaker 8: My first ever NFL game was nineteen ninety two. It
Speaker 8: was here in December. I think they beat I know
Speaker 8: this because they wrote an article about my brother playing
Speaker 8: Jim Harbor because Jim Harbo was the quarterback at the time. Okay,
Speaker 8: so in ninety two they beat the I think they
Speaker 8: beat the Steelers like thirty to six that weekend. That
Speaker 8: was my first ever NFL game.
Speaker 7: Do you remember how that all came about?
Speaker 1: Like?
Speaker 7: Why Chicago that weekend?
Speaker 8: So my dad coached at Kansas State and the strength
Speaker 8: coach at the time was a guy named Russ Reeder,
Speaker 8: O course strength coach here. Yes, yeah, so we came
Speaker 8: to visit his family and all that and had a
Speaker 8: whole weekend in Chicago.
Speaker 7: That's pretty cool.
Speaker 2: That picture will find its way back to the paper
Speaker 2: here because it's a great picture.
Speaker 7: Do you like the mix?
Speaker 2: First of all, do you like the mix of different
Speaker 2: influences and ages on this coaching except both sides of
Speaker 2: the ball?
Speaker 8: I love it. I mean that's kind of One thing
Speaker 8: is Ben didn't bring a ton of people to work
Speaker 8: with them. You know, there's two guys I think JT
Speaker 8: and Antoine that we're on a staff with Ben. But
Speaker 8: otherwise it's a lot of people that maybe know them
Speaker 8: through the through the graape vine or whatever that came
Speaker 8: to be just interviewed and decided to hire. So I
Speaker 8: think it's cool to just beat up be able to
Speaker 8: combine a bunch of different experiences and build something here.
Speaker 7: You guys are in the lab, so to speak at
Speaker 7: this point.
Speaker 2: So what is that experience been like with all these
Speaker 2: different minds, especially on.
Speaker 7: Your side of the ball.
Speaker 2: Obviously you're side of the ball because you've called plays,
Speaker 2: you've been an offensive coordinator, Just what is those breakdowns
Speaker 2: been like to kind of carve out what this scheme
Speaker 2: will look like.
Speaker 8: Yeah, that's the fun part about it right now, it's
Speaker 8: all kind of just learn what has been done, what
Speaker 8: Ben did in Detroit, what made them successful. Learn all that,
Speaker 8: and then as we get to know our players, we
Speaker 8: get to know what fits us. You start to even
Speaker 8: hear Ben's kind of evolution through their offense and his
Speaker 8: time is the offense corder in Detroit, And eventually it's
Speaker 8: gonna become whatever it becomes for us this season, and
Speaker 8: it ebbs and flows. Every single season. You thought you're
Speaker 8: gonna be something, you become something else. Your players are better,
Speaker 8: something different, and you pivot as quickly as you can.
Speaker 8: So you want to build something now that you're able
Speaker 8: to pivot quickly and seamlessly, and guys understand and grasp
Speaker 8: why it's called what it's called, or why we teach
Speaker 8: it a certain way.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I've made a big deal out of the point.
Speaker 2: I think Ben tried to emphasize it as well. Whatever
Speaker 2: happened in Detroit, happened in Detroit is gonna be the
Speaker 2: Bears offense. To your point, you're going to construct it
Speaker 2: to the strengths and traits of your players, and that
Speaker 2: roster is still yet to be determined before you get
Speaker 2: to training camp. How important is that so you're open
Speaker 2: minded to what this offense can be as a staff, Yeah.
Speaker 8: I think that's everything. You want to do what your
Speaker 8: players do well. You want to put them all in
Speaker 8: position to maximize their strengths, and a lot of it
Speaker 8: you're gonna buil around your quarterback. So you know, as
Speaker 8: we get to know Caleb and continue to grow with
Speaker 8: him and watch him grow and learn the system, then
Speaker 8: how can we put in the best situations possible?
Speaker 7: All Right?
Speaker 2: So that being said, you just got with your experience
Speaker 2: in Jacksonville and Trevor Lawrence, what was that like for
Speaker 2: you as you now continue your career in the role
Speaker 2: you are here with the Bears and just what you
Speaker 2: learn from that experience.
Speaker 8: Yeah, you learn a ton every single year, every single
Speaker 8: year of the game just continues to evolve and you
Speaker 8: want to stay in front of it. Really, But working
Speaker 8: with young quarterbacks it has been a lot of fun.
Speaker 8: I've been able to do it with a lot of
Speaker 8: different guys throughout the course of my career. But Trevor
Speaker 8: was no different Trevor. You know, I think there's a
Speaker 8: lot of growth still ahead of him for his game,
Speaker 8: but just working in connection with him and locks up
Speaker 8: with him, and the offense kind of goes as the
Speaker 8: quarterback sees it. And so you want to come up
Speaker 8: with new ideas you want to build and build it
Speaker 8: around him. But you really have to be in sync
Speaker 8: with the quarterback to be able to really maximize it.
Speaker 2: Press Taylor, our guest here on ESPAN Chicago and the
Speaker 2: Bears Radio network This is Bears Weekly. You mentioned some
Speaker 2: of those other quarterbacks, Carson Wentz obviously, Jalen Hurts who
Speaker 2: congratulations to him.
Speaker 7: Really love this football player, gritty as they come.
Speaker 2: As you know, Michael Vick even at one time, everybody
Speaker 2: does a little bit something different.
Speaker 7: I just mentioned a lot of guys.
Speaker 2: A are a mobile, Nick Foles was not right all right,
Speaker 2: but dangerous this can be and won a Super Bowl.
Speaker 2: Did it matter to you to as you embarked on
Speaker 2: this coaching career to try to get as many different
Speaker 2: types quarterbacks in your background? I mean, obviously it depends
Speaker 2: where you're at, but has that helped you form thought
Speaker 2: process on scheme and so forth?
Speaker 8: Yeah? I think that's certainly helped. Obviously, you want to
Speaker 8: be in one place with one quarterback for a long
Speaker 8: time have a lot of success. That's just not the
Speaker 8: way it goes for most people. But it's been great.
Speaker 8: You know you mentioned it, but Michael Vick, Nick Foles,
Speaker 8: Sam Bradford, Carson Wentz in two different stops, Trevor Lawrence.
Speaker 8: It's just cool to see how all of these obviously
Speaker 8: high level players, how they process, how they think, what
Speaker 8: hits their brain, how they handle certain situations because every
Speaker 8: offense changes. I mean, we went from a year where
Speaker 8: we had Carson Wentz to Nick Foles and won a
Speaker 8: Super Bowl and the offense changed over the course of
Speaker 8: a couple of weeks, and I think it just re
Speaker 8: emphasizes the need to put the quarterback in the best
Speaker 8: possible position.
Speaker 2: So what has been added to this point As the
Speaker 2: timing of this conversation with the interior three this league
Speaker 2: and those who cover it, it focused only on the left
Speaker 2: tackle being significant. Then all of a sudden, oh, you know,
Speaker 2: you got to pay a right tackle too. Now wait
Speaker 2: a minute, you got to have three and two year
Speaker 2: guys so the guy can have a nice pocket to
Speaker 2: step up into the fact of the matter is you
Speaker 2: need five really good offensive linemen that play as many
Speaker 2: snaps as they possibly can together to make an offense
Speaker 2: motor right.
Speaker 8: Exactly, And you got to keep them healthy, which is
Speaker 8: the biggest battle I think in the NFL throughout the
Speaker 8: course of a season. But yeah, now, with how good
Speaker 8: these defensive tackles are, and just the speed of the defense,
Speaker 8: the size of the defense as well, you really can't
Speaker 8: have a weak spot. You're gonna get exposed, especially with
Speaker 8: how good these defense cordinas are and creating those matchups.
Speaker 2: I saw this stat I mentioned it to my broadcast
Speaker 2: partner Tom Fair the eighty five Bears.
Speaker 7: Starting the right guard. I was shocked. I guess I
Speaker 7: shouldn't be.
Speaker 2: We've had a lot of issues with offensive line stability
Speaker 2: here with injuries and whatnot. Last season, there was one
Speaker 2: team in the league that had eighty percent of the
Speaker 2: snaps offensively with the same five, and eighteen teams less
Speaker 2: than forty percent of the snaps with the same five
Speaker 2: offensive line. Now at the top down, most of those
Speaker 2: teams went to the playoffs, So I'm theorizing, then, hey,
Speaker 2: this is important as much as possible.
Speaker 7: But apparently hard to.
Speaker 5: Do, hard to do.
Speaker 7: How hard is that for a coach?
Speaker 8: I mean, that's tough, but that's what comes with the job.
Speaker 8: I mean, you have to be able to nobody cares
Speaker 8: the game. The schedule comes out in April and we're
Speaker 8: gonna play all those games no matter what. So you
Speaker 8: figure out who's available, You pivot as quickly as you
Speaker 8: possibly can. You put a plan together, and then you
Speaker 8: react to whatever happens south of the course of the game,
Speaker 8: because a lot of times you're losing guys first second,
Speaker 8: third play, first second, third quarter, whatever that is. The
Speaker 8: game goes on, so you gotta figure out how to
Speaker 8: put everybody in position.
Speaker 7: Your title is passing game coordinator.
Speaker 2: But I do believe the Bears are going to run
Speaker 2: the football too, are So is that going to be
Speaker 2: a big part of this?
Speaker 4: You believe?
Speaker 8: I think so. And again it's what are we doing well.
Speaker 8: I mean, there's a lot of different ways to win
Speaker 8: a game, and those ways change each week, they change
Speaker 8: within a game, but I think we want to be
Speaker 8: able to establish that sort of identity that we can
Speaker 8: run the ball if that's what it takes to win
Speaker 8: that week. So we're not going to say we're not
Speaker 8: gonna be able to do anything exactly.
Speaker 2: There's a lot to discuss on Caleb Williams just from
Speaker 2: your review to this point. Any thoughts on how his
Speaker 2: first year went and what his future looks like.
Speaker 8: Yeah, obviously a super talented player that just jumps off
Speaker 8: the film as you watch and some of the plays
Speaker 8: he makes, some of the you know, scrambled throws he's
Speaker 8: able to make as well in the creation he has,
Speaker 8: but you know, at times, to be a great play
Speaker 8: in this league got to be consistent and that's something
Speaker 8: that is tough for a lot of quarterbacks, but rookie
Speaker 8: quarterbacks especially, And so that's just something being able to
Speaker 8: work with him, get to know him, learn him a
Speaker 8: little bit, and how can we help him be in
Speaker 8: a position where he's able to just repeat things over
Speaker 8: and over and over. What's play calls concepts throws, trying
Speaker 8: to make everything look as similar as possible for him
Speaker 8: so that he's ever really thrive and take off.
Speaker 2: You know, it's challenge calling his games because you think
Speaker 2: he's running out of bounds on a scramble at the
Speaker 2: very last second, he's ripping off a beautiful throat of
Speaker 2: the end zone. For a touchdown, so he keeps you
Speaker 2: on your toes. He does for a fan announcer and
Speaker 2: probably a coach as well. Final moments here with Press
Speaker 2: Taylor Bears passing game coordinator, one of the new members
Speaker 2: of the Bears coaching staff here for twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2: I want to touch on your influences a little bit. Obviously,
Speaker 2: you're the son of a coach. Your dad, Sherwood, was
Speaker 2: a coach in college. You grew up in Norman, Oklahoma,
Speaker 2: daughter a graduate of OUs, so I got a feel for.
Speaker 7: What that's like over there.
Speaker 2: You grew up in a neighborhood with just amazing athletes apparently,
Speaker 2: and had some amazing influences from all those different athletes
Speaker 2: and sports. But you also worked with guys like Jim Kelly,
Speaker 2: Frank Reich, Doug Peterson. Is it helped to find who
Speaker 2: you are as a coach or are you charting your
Speaker 2: own path so to speak?
Speaker 8: I'd like to think. I mean, I think you're influenced
Speaker 8: obviously by the people you're around, and I'm thankful that
Speaker 8: the people I have been around have been great. People
Speaker 8: have been open to sharing their thought process, their ideas.
Speaker 8: But you're gonna take what fits you and what Again,
Speaker 8: each year changes, so you reserve the right to change
Speaker 8: every single year as well. So what I believe probably
Speaker 8: ten years ago, I probably don't believe as much now
Speaker 8: or I've pivoted through. And then there's some things that
Speaker 8: these are foundational elements of your coaching philosophy or how
Speaker 8: you view offensive football, whatever that may be, that are
Speaker 8: time tested. But things change, the game changes. You just
Speaker 8: want to grow every single year and get a little
Speaker 8: bit better.
Speaker 7: True or false? You kind of came up with the
Speaker 7: Philly Special true or false?
Speaker 8: I get credited with putting it into our playbook. That
Speaker 8: it was actually stolen from the Chicago Bears. Yes, the
Speaker 8: direct one was a steal from Matt Barkley. That that
Speaker 8: was the one we decided to go with and put
Speaker 8: into our playbook.
Speaker 7: That's when you're a young coach and you're scanning the
Speaker 7: globe for tabet.
Speaker 8: A random two point play and a week eighteen meaningless game.
Speaker 5: Well, how about what ben Jonson's created.
Speaker 2: You know, every player that's come in here from either
Speaker 2: side of the ball have mentioned the first thing they
Speaker 2: mentioned about benja He's creative.
Speaker 7: Players dig that, don't they absolutely?
Speaker 8: I mean it's something that keeps them all their toes.
Speaker 8: Something's fun and when they hit, especially to the success
Speaker 8: level that the Detroit Lions had, that's a lot of
Speaker 8: fun to see and a lot of fun to be
Speaker 8: a part of.
Speaker 7: Why is your first name Press?
Speaker 8: My middle name is actually Press, but I'm named after
Speaker 8: my dad was a diehard Pepe Marritage fan. Ooh, it's
Speaker 8: so beat yep. And he was coached by his dad
Speaker 8: and his dad is Press.
Speaker 7: Marriage So Okay.
Speaker 8: Before I was born, my dad was telling my mom
Speaker 8: the story, heard the name and she just said, that's
Speaker 8: his name.
Speaker 7: Okay. That's a great That's a great one to have.
Speaker 2: Anybody who has never seen this young audience that we have,
Speaker 2: go YouTube pistol Pete Maravich and his ball handling mastery.
Speaker 2: I loved that player. Anyway, Welcome to Chicago. Great to
Speaker 2: be a part of the Charter franchise. I'm sure that
Speaker 2: has a lot of meaning for a man who loves
Speaker 2: football like you do, and we look forward to great
Speaker 2: things moving forward.
Speaker 7: Thank you for your time.
Speaker 8: Thank you appreciate it.
Speaker 7: That's Press.
Speaker 2: Taylor will continue with Bears Weekly, Yes P in Chicago
Speaker 2: and the Bears Radio.
Speaker 9: Networks Bears Weekly with the voice of the Bears for
Speaker 9: twenty four years Chef Chef on the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 2: This segment of Bears Weekly is brought to you by
Speaker 2: Athleticophysical Therapy is at Athletico dot com to request at
Speaker 2: in clinic or virtual deployment that start feeling better tomorrow.
Speaker 2: Jeff and Tom and Jim Miller from Serious x MNFL
Speaker 2: Radio just heard Taylor in our last segment, the Bears
Speaker 2: passing game coordinator. So many things to talk about their
Speaker 2: Tom number one, he brought up that ninety two Pittsburgh game.
Speaker 2: That was Tom reminded me that that that was Mike
Speaker 2: Singletary's final game. And and I talked to Zach, Taylor,
Speaker 2: Jim and Tom about that game as well at the
Speaker 2: owners meeting the other day last week, and he said
Speaker 2: all he remembers about coming to Soldier Field was, I mean,
Speaker 2: they had sideline passes the whole bit. Russ Reeder, the
Speaker 2: former strength coach of the Bears, whom we all know
Speaker 2: very well, but he said, we remember is the fights
Speaker 2: in the stands.
Speaker 5: Was the first NFL game they ever went to.
Speaker 4: You know one thing about that game?
Speaker 3: So we started out really hot that season and so
Speaker 3: we started out like four and zero, and then we
Speaker 3: went on a losing streak. Dan Hampton got hurt and
Speaker 3: we lost like maybe eight or nine in a row,
Speaker 3: and Dick des said to the press, I don't think
Speaker 3: this team is good enough to win another game the
Speaker 3: rest of the season. And then they had the last
Speaker 3: home game and the celebration of Mike Singletary's career, and
Speaker 3: we had no business beating the Steelers, but we went
Speaker 3: out there and beat the Steelers. And I remember that
Speaker 3: game like it was yesterday, and he brought it up.
Speaker 4: I you know, I have still photos from it.
Speaker 3: I have a bunch of pictures, but just that whole day,
Speaker 3: I remember like it was yesterday.
Speaker 4: Because we got threatened with our jobs.
Speaker 3: We went out and won that game. It was a
Speaker 3: great sendoff for Mike Singletary. And then now you got
Speaker 3: Press Taylor, the new Bears passing game coordinator, was at
Speaker 3: that game and takes a picture with Mike Ditka.
Speaker 5: Just and Zach Taylor. Jim.
Speaker 2: Yeah, the veins and arteries of football. I mean, you
Speaker 2: never know what you're gonna learn. You know, these guys
Speaker 2: at the University of Oklahoma were just toddlers when their
Speaker 2: dad was an assistant coach there and the neighborhood they
Speaker 2: grew up in and maybe Jim, you've heard about this
Speaker 2: story from talking to Zach Taylor over the years or whatever.
Speaker 2: It was called the Trails neighborhood there in Norman. It
Speaker 2: was thirty three kids were in this cul de sac,
Speaker 2: most of them were boys. So they created so many games.
Speaker 2: They did something called cutthroat football on a forty yard
Speaker 2: field they made up. They videotaped their games and broke
Speaker 2: down the tape as kids. I mean, they had the
Speaker 2: Ryan Broyles, Zach Selman from this, you know, the famous
Speaker 2: Selman family, Kellen Sampson who just was in the National
Speaker 2: title game assisting his father, the Houston Cougars basketball coach.
Speaker 5: So I mean crazy stories like this, Jim.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean, well, you know, I just think you know,
Speaker 6: when you grow up in it and it's a part
Speaker 6: of your family and it, you know, it just became
Speaker 6: comes a party. You know, when you're around it and
Speaker 6: you experience it, and you know, those are probably all
Speaker 6: the stories at the dinner table and the big games,
Speaker 6: you know, in the upcoming game and what you're watching,
Speaker 6: what you're doing, what you're participating in it. It all
Speaker 6: has an effect on you, and it's you know, obviously positive.
Speaker 6: For him, it's something that he wanted to be a
Speaker 6: part of, to make it a part of his life,
Speaker 6: to be in it in one way, shape or form,
Speaker 6: because he was around it so much. And that's you know,
Speaker 6: I just know for me, I know Tom Thayer is
Speaker 6: because he's a football lifer.
Speaker 4: Jeff.
Speaker 6: Here, I just hear you know, as we welcome you
Speaker 6: know back to you know, or get reacquainted with the show,
Speaker 6: and they welcome back. You're twenty four years with the Bears.
Speaker 6: Now it's a part of you.
Speaker 5: You know, it's yeah, this will be twenty five for us.
Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah, And you know I'm a lifer. You're a lifer.
Speaker 6: Tom's a lifer. And when you get that football bug.
Speaker 6: And for me, it was when I first started playing
Speaker 6: and Pop Warner and you kind of never look back,
Speaker 6: and I kind of knew it was something that was
Speaker 6: going to be a part of my life. Even when
Speaker 6: I retired from footb well, I knew in one way,
Speaker 6: shape or form, it was going to be a part
Speaker 6: of my life. You know, here, I am fifty four
Speaker 6: now when it literally has been a part of my
Speaker 6: life out of the fifty four years on this earth,
Speaker 6: basically forty five of them, you know, forty five of them,
Speaker 6: and so that's you know, it's just becomes a part
Speaker 6: of it.
Speaker 5: Yeah. I mean, it's the greatest sport.
Speaker 2: I don't care what anybody says, and people who are
Speaker 2: in it try to stay in it for as long
Speaker 2: as they can until somebody says, you know, we can't
Speaker 2: use you anymore.
Speaker 5: In whatever regard it is on the field, they're off. Tom.
Speaker 2: Let's look at from an offensive passing game coordinator perspective
Speaker 2: here his quote of offense goes as the quarterback sees it.
Speaker 2: We hear that from Ben Johnson that from the coach
Speaker 2: to the player to the center, they all have to
Speaker 2: see the game the same way.
Speaker 5: But the truth in that is so significant.
Speaker 2: The offense goes as the quarterback sees it, and yet
Speaker 2: on the other side of the ball, the defense continues
Speaker 2: to make it hard to see what you're looking.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, the first thing, the mental part of
Speaker 3: seeing the game correctly and how efficiently what you're saying
Speaker 3: that you're able to see.
Speaker 4: And then there's the evaluation.
Speaker 3: Process that they go through with these individual players in
Speaker 3: what Caleb does well, What are his true gems, what
Speaker 3: are his assets? How does he throw the ball against
Speaker 3: these different patterns that you already have design and that
Speaker 3: you put him on a blackboard, But now you have
Speaker 3: to take him out to the field of play. And
Speaker 3: it's a continuous evaluation process of the quarterback, what his
Speaker 3: traits are, what you think he can do well, and
Speaker 3: then how the offensive line is going to complement the protections,
Speaker 3: and then how the offensive line complements the protections, and
Speaker 3: how the receivers threaten the downfield opportunities.
Speaker 4: And that's one to me. What I like about Ben
Speaker 4: the most is he.
Speaker 3: Talks so passionately about play action passing because I think
Speaker 3: that can really do the most to benefit this offense
Speaker 3: because play action feeds off the running game. You have
Speaker 3: to run the ball well in order to be deceptive
Speaker 3: about the play action passing game. And I think with
Speaker 3: the athleticism and the talents of Caleb, He's going to
Speaker 3: flourish with a play action passing game, and I think
Speaker 3: it's going to open up more opportunities. And I think
Speaker 3: I was looking at stats as last two years ago,
Speaker 3: Cole Kaman had seventy three catches two years. Last year
Speaker 3: he had forty seven.
Speaker 4: It was something like that.
Speaker 3: So, I mean, you know, he's a guy that really
Speaker 3: hads a real upside from play action passing as much
Speaker 3: as anybody does in this offense. Just like all the
Speaker 3: tight ends, not only Cole, but I think all the
Speaker 3: tight ends can benefit for the vision that Ben Johnson has.
Speaker 2: Jim, I don't know how you feel about this, but
Speaker 2: I've said this a time or two over the course
Speaker 2: of my career, just meeting so many coaches in my
Speaker 2: life already, and you experienced it from inside the huddle
Speaker 2: and inside of the room. But uh, there's a tendency
Speaker 2: for offensive coordinators to become stubborn. Now that could be
Speaker 2: a good thing and a bad thing. The good thing
Speaker 2: is that you got to believe in you and what
Speaker 2: you believe in, and you got to stick to it
Speaker 2: because if you're wishy washing, no one is, no one
Speaker 2: in your room is going to believe what you're saying
Speaker 2: the next day. The other part of it is, though,
Speaker 2: do you take input or do you adjust that will
Speaker 2: allow you to put yourself in a position to win
Speaker 2: the game. And I like what Press had to say,
Speaker 2: you will do what we need to do to win
Speaker 2: a game. So if you go on to the game plan,
Speaker 2: it's just not working.
Speaker 5: You go to plan B. You gotta do whatever you
Speaker 5: can to squeeze out that win.
Speaker 2: Do you believe that that stubborn factor sometimes haunts offensive
Speaker 2: play callers?
Speaker 4: Yeah, I do.
Speaker 3: I do.
Speaker 6: I specifically remember games where you know, where we would
Speaker 6: run on first down and then if you get no gain,
Speaker 6: they are calling to pass. Really the second play they
Speaker 6: you know, the call play caller will lose the confidence
Speaker 6: in it, and you know, and I always bring up
Speaker 6: that example oftas I remember being on the road at
Speaker 6: the Oakland Raiders were out in Oakland. The place was
Speaker 6: just you know, it's Steelers Raiders. It's a big matchup.
Speaker 6: It's a rivalry game type of you know for the
Speaker 6: AFC because of great postseasons, you know, the the great
Speaker 6: postseason games that they've been in. So there was a
Speaker 6: lot of passion, there's a lot of excitement. The crowd
Speaker 6: was loud. But I remember going into the game where
Speaker 6: Bill Kawer said, we are going to have a lot
Speaker 6: of negative plays. Their defense was so good. He said,
Speaker 6: they're going to penetrate. He goes, but we will wear
Speaker 6: them down. It will be the second half where we
Speaker 6: will run the football well, but we have to stick
Speaker 6: to it and we have to be patient and you
Speaker 6: can't get to lose your confidence, so to speak. And
Speaker 6: he preached it all week and so much so that
Speaker 6: we believe that player. And it was it was ugly
Speaker 6: the first half.
Speaker 5: It was ugly.
Speaker 6: We'd rush for no yards and then it'd be minus four.
Speaker 6: But we were calling the run. We were calling the
Speaker 6: run plays and we can we would wear them down,
Speaker 6: and a lot of play callers would not do that.
Speaker 6: If you get a negative play right away on second
Speaker 6: and fourteen, they're throwing a pass, but not the Steelers.
Speaker 6: We were second and fourteen, well guess what, well, let's
Speaker 6: go draw play here. You know, we're calling run plays
Speaker 6: because we knew over time we were gonna do it.
Speaker 6: So that was stubborn by Bill Cower. But they knew
Speaker 6: the game the game plan was going to ultimately work,
Speaker 6: but they had to tell the players, you need to
Speaker 6: believe in this. This is going to happen and it'll work.
Speaker 6: And I've been in other games where you know, we
Speaker 6: did think the game plan was going to work, but hey, coach,
Speaker 6: they're not rushing the way you thought, or they're not
Speaker 6: playing it the way you thought. We need to go
Speaker 6: to this play or that play, and this is what
Speaker 6: they're doing, and the coach would adjust, because that's what
Speaker 6: coaching is, is making adjustments. You've got to adapt and adjust.
Speaker 6: They're not, you know, playing the defenses that we thought
Speaker 6: that they were going to play on down into and
Speaker 6: we had to change up the game plan. We went
Speaker 6: off the script and right away we're onto something new
Speaker 6: because we knew what we had practiced was not going
Speaker 6: to work. And so you've got to be able to
Speaker 6: do that, and you have to listen to your players.
Speaker 6: You know, in terms of receivers coverages that they're playing. Hey, coach,
Speaker 6: yeah they're playing press coverage, but it's a press bail.
Speaker 6: You know, at the snap of the ball, he's not
Speaker 6: playing me hard as a hard corner. He's bailing right away.
Speaker 6: So we will have a hitch route on the outside.
Speaker 6: He'll be seven yards off and I can just hook
Speaker 6: it up at four yards and we'll be good. And
Speaker 6: if the play callers listening to the players, you can
Speaker 6: get a lot of information about down in distance and
Speaker 6: things that maybe you should be focused on that maybe
Speaker 6: you weren't earlier, and it just as a game goes along.
Speaker 3: Sorry, Jimmy, you know that's one of the things that
Speaker 3: I was encouraged by Press Taylor when you asked him
Speaker 3: Japan you brought up the statistics of the offensive lines
Speaker 3: is because he immediately said, look, everybody's gotta be ready
Speaker 3: to play.
Speaker 4: You never know when you're gonna lose a player.
Speaker 3: So when you talk about concerning a game plan, you're
Speaker 3: talking about making sure everybody is on the same page.
Speaker 3: So if they have to go in and play, you're
Speaker 3: not gonna skip a beat and you're not changing your
Speaker 3: game plan and you're not changing the thinking of the
Speaker 3: game plan that you went into that game accordingly. So
Speaker 3: you know, it was like a off the tip of
Speaker 3: his tongue question that fit in perfectly, and there was
Speaker 3: no hesitation about that.
Speaker 2: All Right, we're gonna take a break. When we come back,
Speaker 2: we delve into the draft and different ideas. And I'm
Speaker 2: not joking. Tom's brought it up many times. He keeps
Speaker 2: going to the thirty year mark. I don't know if
Speaker 2: it's true, if it'll be true. The most challenging interesting
Speaker 2: have no idea what's gonna happen kind of draft for
Speaker 2: the whole league, let alone the Bears. We discussed next
Speaker 2: on Bears Weekly here and he has been one thousand
Speaker 2: have a Bears Radio network.
Speaker 1: Well, welcome back to Bears Weekly on the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 1: Here's your host, the voice of the Bears, Jeff Jody.
Speaker 5: This second of Bears Weekly is brought to you by CDW.
Speaker 2: People do get it Jeff and Tom and Jim Metif
Speaker 2: from Serious x MNFL Radio. So let's let's discuss some things.
Speaker 2: First of all, Tom had some some starters. I asked
Speaker 2: these guys, Hey, you got any topics. Jim, he's got
Speaker 2: some starters. You ready for his starters?
Speaker 5: Here we go.
Speaker 4: Let's hear it.
Speaker 2: Man three no pad priorities. As we start the off
Speaker 2: season program Phase one. Tom take the floor, buddy, I mean,
Speaker 2: what do you got, Tom?
Speaker 5: Three? No pad priorities.
Speaker 4: Well, go ahead, you read the first one.
Speaker 2: Because Caleb Williams getting comfortable under center with his footwork.
Speaker 3: Right, Because I hear a lot of conversation, that's questions
Speaker 3: asked him at the podium day one. And when I
Speaker 3: was growing up and Jim was mentioned, and you know,
Speaker 3: football has been.
Speaker 4: A part of his existence for forty five years.
Speaker 3: The same forty five years of football has been a
Speaker 3: part of my existence. In the first fundamental aspect that
Speaker 3: any quarterback ever learned throughout the starting point of their
Speaker 3: career is how to take a center quarterback exchange from
Speaker 3: underneath center, and they ran the entirety of their offense
Speaker 3: from there, and then things started to pan out the
Speaker 3: more experience that you got throughout your time at the position.
Speaker 3: I don't think Caleb will have any difficulty at all
Speaker 3: mastering the under center quarterback exchange in being able to
Speaker 3: run an entire offense if that's the way it was
Speaker 3: for him.
Speaker 4: So I think those are one of the things that
Speaker 4: you can.
Speaker 3: Master with no pads on, is the footwork that is
Speaker 3: relatable to every single play action, every single run play,
Speaker 3: every single dropback, roll out, whatever you're asking the quarterback
Speaker 3: to do. I think you can master the fundamentals with
Speaker 3: no pads on. And on that one fundamental development.
Speaker 5: Jim, what's the adjustment?
Speaker 2: Obviously, if you're going to pass off at under center
Speaker 2: snap and you turn your back to the defense, it's
Speaker 2: like an I just sketch. Everything changes from what you
Speaker 2: saw at the line of scrimmage. That's that part. But
Speaker 2: the footwork, the technique, what's the biggest adjustment.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean I agree with Tom, like a three
Speaker 6: step drop, five step drop, seven step drop. It'll become
Speaker 6: rope memory where you don't even have to think about it.
Speaker 6: It just you know, when you take the snap from
Speaker 6: underath the center and say ninety hitch is called one two,
Speaker 6: three balls out of your hand. You know when the
Speaker 6: five step timing and seven step timing comes out, and
Speaker 6: then when you mix in the play actions one thirty
Speaker 6: four and then if it's one thirty five, you know
Speaker 6: it's going to be different because your back is to
Speaker 6: the defense, So getting that coverage before you leave the center,
Speaker 6: you get that last peak. Are they rotating anything? Because
Speaker 6: right now I'm seeing cover three, But when I turn
Speaker 6: my back to the to the defense, you know, when
Speaker 6: I come back to set up, are they Are they
Speaker 6: in cover three?
Speaker 8: Like I thought?
Speaker 6: Did they rotate the safeties? You better look and take
Speaker 6: another and it all happens quick. You know, they could
Speaker 6: go from cover three to cover two or to quarters
Speaker 6: or whatever, and so, but your indicators are when you're
Speaker 6: in your snapcount, you know red eight, red eight. All right,
Speaker 6: here's what they're showing me now at the snap of
Speaker 6: the ball, are they rotating to anything different? And you
Speaker 6: have to trust that your footwork that has become rope memory.
Speaker 6: You can't be thinking about that anymore. Your focus is
Speaker 6: on the defense and what they're presenting you. And for
Speaker 6: some guys it's tough because when you drop back from
Speaker 6: underneath center, you get that initial push of the defensive
Speaker 6: line and it feels like that offensive line is starting
Speaker 6: to come in your lap. You've got to get that separation.
Speaker 6: You better explode away from there so that you can
Speaker 6: get back to separate yourself, to survey and confirm what
Speaker 6: you thought from underneath center, and so all those things
Speaker 6: are important. I don't think quarterbacks do it enough. I
Speaker 6: go up to the local high school. Everybody's running shotgun,
Speaker 6: everybody's running RPO. Everything's a wide receiver screen. It looks
Speaker 6: cookie cutter to me. You don't see underneath the center.
Speaker 6: Because in professional football it's still a part of the game.
Speaker 6: And as much as the college game is infiltrated up,
Speaker 6: you're gonna have to be able to do that in
Speaker 6: short yardage, in goal line. And it it bothers me
Speaker 6: when teams are down at their one yard line and
Speaker 6: they're in shotgun. All it takes is one bad snap.
Speaker 6: That center's got to get low to the earth because
Speaker 6: those defenders are still getting low, they're going to respect that. Hey,
Speaker 6: they could still hand off to the back. So it's
Speaker 6: about leverage down there. One bad snap and you know,
Speaker 6: first and goal at to one could become second and eleven,
Speaker 6: you know, and you're outside of the ten yard range.
Speaker 2: So yeah, you know, je Tommy's champing at the bit
Speaker 2: because he's an offensive line.
Speaker 4: Well, it's because of Jim, you know, Jim and Jeff.
Speaker 3: The stumble play that Detroit pulled on us this year
Speaker 3: was from under stumble bump.
Speaker 4: The stumble bump that was from under center.
Speaker 3: So as Jim is saying, the footwork of a quarterback,
Speaker 3: you know, yeah, if you lose it, you still have
Speaker 3: to gain control. But if you're losing it on purpose
Speaker 3: to be in control, that's also part of it as well.
Speaker 2: All right, well, listen, we gotta take a quick break
Speaker 2: out one segment ago. I don't want to rush the
Speaker 2: last segment, so let's take a break right here. This
Speaker 2: is Bears Weekly any ESPN one thousand of the Bears
Speaker 2: Radio Network.
Speaker 1: Well, Welcome back to Bears Weekly on the Bears Wineo Network.
Speaker 1: Here's your host, the voice of the Bears, Jeff Jogi.
Speaker 2: This segment of Bears Weekly he brought to you by
Speaker 2: Igs Energy. We have about five minutes to go tonight's show,
Speaker 2: So time of the whip A round round, guys. So
Speaker 2: many things to touch base. Larry Mayor of Chicago Bears
Speaker 2: dot com just wrote an article on All the Right.
Speaker 2: He's picked twelve writers and their mocks. It almost made
Speaker 2: me crack up. Tom and Jim. Ten different choices for
Speaker 2: the Bears at number ten, Shamar Stewart at the edge
Speaker 2: out of Texas, A and m Kenneth Grant, the defense
Speaker 2: tagle Onan of Michigan. Cornerback Will Johnson Michigan, Tyler Warren
Speaker 2: tight end Penn State, Will Campbell, tackle Lsu Ashton Genty,
Speaker 2: the running back from Boise State, Nicknam and you the
Speaker 2: safety out of South Carolina, armand Membo, the right tackle
Speaker 2: out of Miszoo, Calvin Banks, the offensive tackle out of
Speaker 2: Texas and Abdul Carter.
Speaker 5: Is this what we're looking at here?
Speaker 2: This is a potpourrie of choice's, Jim, I mean, my goodness,
Speaker 2: there so many different ideas. Let's throw in Mason Graham
Speaker 2: as well in that mix, Mikel Williams, Josh Simmons, these
Speaker 2: are all names that people have been mocking.
Speaker 6: Yeah, and they all good players in their own right.
Speaker 6: I mean, I think we know, like the first round,
Speaker 6: there's probably about seventeen guys that are true first rounders,
Speaker 6: is what it is. But where the Bears are picking,
Speaker 6: they're gonna get a marquee guy. So it's really take
Speaker 6: their pick and some will you know, I remember, oh, shoot,
Speaker 6: why am I forgetting the defensive tackle where they Jacksonville
Speaker 6: took a defensive tackle and everybody said, oh, that's a reach,
Speaker 6: that's a reach. But they were kind of pigeonholed, and
Speaker 6: so they selected the d tackle because that's what was
Speaker 6: their kind of their need, and they ended up the
Speaker 6: guy ended up playing played for the Stea Dealers. He
Speaker 6: ended up playing like fourteen years and so like it
Speaker 6: wasn't a bad pick at all where he was picked
Speaker 6: by Jacksonville. And so, you know, I just think the
Speaker 6: Bears are a prime opportunity. I do think some good
Speaker 6: tackles will be there, some of the top pass rushers
Speaker 6: will be there, and a lot of it is because
Speaker 6: I don't think quarterbacks are going to be driving the
Speaker 6: top of the draft. So I think what the Bears
Speaker 6: if they truly want to take what they feel is
Speaker 6: the best player on the board, whether it's tight end,
Speaker 6: whether it's tackle, whether it's a defensive tackle, whether it's
Speaker 6: an edge rusher, or say either of the top safeties
Speaker 6: that you just mentioned, a couple of them, me Man
Speaker 6: Worry and obviously Starks out of Georgia. But there's going
Speaker 6: to be good players right there with where the Bears
Speaker 6: are selecting, no matter where they're picking, and they will
Speaker 6: be a true first round back draft pick is what
Speaker 6: they'll get.
Speaker 3: One thing about this draft I'm looking at is after
Speaker 3: the first three picks, are is every team after that
Speaker 3: going to be looking to move? Is every team after
Speaker 3: that beginning look in the trade to see if they
Speaker 3: can increase the amount of picks they have round two
Speaker 3: through seven or three through seven. And so this is
Speaker 3: the confusing thing about this draft is because there is
Speaker 3: no you know, bonafide top tens. There's a bonafide top couple,
Speaker 3: and then everybody else is looking to maneuver, move or
Speaker 3: see what their biggest need is.
Speaker 2: Tom and Jim when I first started working with the
Speaker 2: Bears in ninety seven, and shortly after that Jerry Mark Bright,
Speaker 2: the Chicago native. He retired from the NFL in nineteen
Speaker 2: ninety eight after twenty three seasons. He had twenty five
Speaker 2: playoff assignments, four Super Bowls. Used to write a weekly column,
Speaker 2: if you might remember, for the Tribune. So it was
Speaker 2: brought to my attention by Tom. Today the NFL cracked
Speaker 2: down on accountability among officials. Three were relieved to their
Speaker 2: duties and sent to the college Football Power Five Conferences
Speaker 2: by the VP of Officiating Training and Development, Ramon, George.
Speaker 5: Is this a good thing? Is this a sign of
Speaker 5: the future? What do you think, Tom? I think it's
Speaker 5: a good thing.
Speaker 3: I think there's accountability for every single official that has
Speaker 3: retained their job in making sure that hell do a
Speaker 3: different set of circumstances, that times are changing, that because
Speaker 3: of the public accountability for the outcome of these games
Speaker 3: or miss calls, that every one of these guys are
Speaker 3: going to face a different scrutiny.
Speaker 2: And Jim, we only have thirty seconds. But Mark Bright
Speaker 2: used to come in and analyze the other officials watching tape,
Speaker 2: and Tom.
Speaker 5: Would come in there red faced after. In the world
Speaker 5: of podcasts, I wish that was one of them. Jim.
Speaker 6: Yeah, well, hey, I think everybody just wants accountability and
Speaker 6: it's been far too long. Players get released, coaches get released,
Speaker 6: and for officiating, they got to be held to test too.
Speaker 6: They've got the responsibility and if they need to move
Speaker 6: on or move to a different league, so be it.
Speaker 2: All right, boys, great show, Thanks you Jim, Thank you Tom,
Speaker 2: Thanks everybody for listening.
Speaker 5: Thanks to our producers, including Kendrick Smith in studio.
Speaker 2: This has been Bears weekly on the new radio home
Speaker 2: with the Chicago There's ESPN Chicago Blecking.
Speaker 5: Of Donna our next. Have a good night, everybody,