WEBVTT - Tom Waddle on Bears productive preseason, former playing days | Bears, etc. Podcast 0:00:00.640 --> 0:00:06.040 Shut over that Dj Moore nisode Touchdown touchdown Pairs. 0:00:06.080 --> 0:00:09.040 I am Jeff Joniac, glitz us on dot. 0:00:08.960 --> 0:00:10.800 E co UKs her. 0:00:11.960 --> 0:00:13.800 What was like playing for coach Boddom. 0:00:14.520 --> 0:00:16.439 I don't want to answer any questions like that pressure 0:00:16.480 --> 0:00:26.280 coming is a big trouble. Donnie cos Montes Sweat Many Bears, 0:00:26.320 --> 0:00:28.639 et cetera. Brought to you by Miller Light with the 0:00:28.720 --> 0:00:33.160 voices of the Bears Jeff Joniac and Tom Sayer. Well, 0:00:33.200 --> 0:00:36.680 it's over as quickly as it started and participants in 0:00:36.720 --> 0:00:38.600 the first preseason game in Katon, Ohio. 0:00:38.680 --> 0:00:40.239 The Bear is one of the first to end the. 0:00:40.159 --> 0:00:43.800 Preseason with a convincing victory in Kansas City thirty four 0:00:43.800 --> 0:00:45.680 to twenty one to wrap up what is a four 0:00:45.680 --> 0:00:49.440 and oh preseason for the first time since nineteen ninety four. 0:00:49.640 --> 0:00:51.520 Welcome in everybody. I'm the voice of the Bears Jeff 0:00:51.560 --> 0:00:54.000 Joniac with Super Bowl winning Bears guard Tom Sayer and 0:00:54.000 --> 0:00:57.320 our special guest. For episode number eighty seven, which is 0:00:57.400 --> 0:00:59.760 brought to you by Miller Light, we had. 0:00:59.600 --> 0:01:01.960 To have the former Bear number eighty seven. 0:01:02.000 --> 0:01:05.399 It's play I'm at nineteen ninety four playoff team. Tom 0:01:05.440 --> 0:01:07.560 Waddle from Wattle and two and he has been on 0:01:07.560 --> 0:01:09.640 a thousand of the Bears radio network, but also our 0:01:09.880 --> 0:01:13.080 good good friend, a member of that team that went 0:01:13.360 --> 0:01:16.480 to the playoffs and had two playoff games. Tommy, I 0:01:16.520 --> 0:01:18.600 never thought i'd see the day we're doing a podcast 0:01:18.600 --> 0:01:19.480 with us hosting you. 0:01:19.800 --> 0:01:21.960 I am thrilled, I'm honored, and you know I love 0:01:22.000 --> 0:01:24.880 you guys, So it's my pleasure to be with you. 0:01:25.160 --> 0:01:25.720 Pey Wattle. 0:01:25.760 --> 0:01:27.600 I want to hear one thing though, so I hear 0:01:27.640 --> 0:01:30.080 the introduction about you being a member of the All 0:01:30.160 --> 0:01:32.760 Madden team at one time. Do you still have the 0:01:32.760 --> 0:01:33.840 Madden sweatsuit? 0:01:34.160 --> 0:01:34.720 Yeah? 0:01:36.080 --> 0:01:38.880 Is it wearable or is it like an archive? 0:01:39.400 --> 0:01:42.600 No. I tried to put it behind glass and hang 0:01:42.640 --> 0:01:45.880 it up at one point years and years ago, and 0:01:45.959 --> 0:01:48.400 my oldest daughter said, hey, that looks really cool. 0:01:48.440 --> 0:01:50.080 Is there any chance I can wear it to school 0:01:50.200 --> 0:01:50.720 one day? 0:01:51.240 --> 0:01:53.400 And I was like, This was years and years later, 0:01:53.440 --> 0:01:55.600 and I said, absolutely, you can wear it now. It 0:01:55.640 --> 0:01:58.160 has I have four daughters. It has been passed down 0:01:58.280 --> 0:02:01.680 from daughter to daughter to daughter. It's still in really 0:02:01.720 --> 0:02:07.840 good shape. But yeah, it's it's not the behind glass 0:02:08.240 --> 0:02:11.600 memento that it was years and years ago. It's really 0:02:11.720 --> 0:02:14.880 I mean in John Madden fashion. It's really you know, 0:02:15.040 --> 0:02:17.959 I mean it was durable. It really durable. 0:02:18.800 --> 0:02:23.480 Well a taboo story about that. So Jay Hilgemerg made 0:02:23.520 --> 0:02:25.919 the All Madden Team a couple times. So one day 0:02:25.919 --> 0:02:27.840 I was at his house looking for a sweatshirt and 0:02:27.840 --> 0:02:29.360 he goes, just put that sweatshirt on. 0:02:29.880 --> 0:02:32.400 I go, no way. If you don't make it, you 0:02:32.440 --> 0:02:33.160 don't wear it. 0:02:33.200 --> 0:02:35.560 And so I would never put on an All Madden 0:02:35.600 --> 0:02:38.240 Team sweatshirt if it wasn't my own. 0:02:39.120 --> 0:02:40.799 You got you got to be friendly with him. 0:02:40.800 --> 0:02:43.640 Tommy, did you ever bring up the fact that you 0:02:43.680 --> 0:02:46.400 know wears a little love for Tom Thayer a grinder 0:02:46.440 --> 0:02:47.120 inside there? 0:02:47.560 --> 0:02:49.880 No, but he mentioned me in one of his books 0:02:50.240 --> 0:02:53.160 One knee equals two feet, and he gave me some 0:02:53.280 --> 0:02:56.399 props about playing in the USFL and the NFL back 0:02:56.440 --> 0:02:59.919 to back. So I felt vindicated. No sweatsuit, but it's 0:03:00.120 --> 0:03:02.560 in print. But you guys are made men. When John 0:03:02.680 --> 0:03:05.560 Madden acknowledge you, you know you guys are made men 0:03:05.600 --> 0:03:07.840 in the NFL, right, it's lingered for the rest of 0:03:07.880 --> 0:03:08.440 your careers. 0:03:08.639 --> 0:03:10.960 Yeah, you realized that that year I made it was 0:03:11.080 --> 0:03:13.160 ninety one. I think I think it was me. 0:03:14.240 --> 0:03:19.840 Jerry Rice Michael Irvin. I think maybe one of the one, 0:03:19.880 --> 0:03:21.480 maybe Art Monk was on that list. 0:03:21.720 --> 0:03:22.280 It was the. 0:03:22.320 --> 0:03:25.760 Typical, their prototypical, Jeff, one of these things is not 0:03:26.000 --> 0:03:29.080 like the other one. You all pro, all pro, all pro, 0:03:29.160 --> 0:03:31.160 all pro me which was cool. 0:03:32.600 --> 0:03:35.040 So nineteen ninety four, we're only bringing it up. 0:03:35.080 --> 0:03:38.120 And I tried to get coach Eberflus to bite in 0:03:38.160 --> 0:03:40.160 the pregame interview. I said, man, kind of cool to 0:03:40.200 --> 0:03:42.840 go four and oh, and he wouldn't bite it. You know, 0:03:43.160 --> 0:03:45.520 I know it doesn't mean much. He didn't say that, 0:03:45.560 --> 0:03:47.960 but I did. But I just feel any kind of 0:03:47.960 --> 0:03:50.600 winning is important for this club right now. This has 0:03:50.640 --> 0:03:53.160 been an organization, has been on a roller coaster ride 0:03:53.600 --> 0:03:56.480 and has had so many dips that they're trying to 0:03:56.600 --> 0:04:00.440 establish a winning culture. And maybe it started next year 0:04:00.480 --> 0:04:02.440 with the end of the season and is carrying into 0:04:02.520 --> 0:04:05.920 and it certainly feels that way. But I put some 0:04:06.000 --> 0:04:08.560 importance on it, and they just didn't go into these games. 0:04:08.760 --> 0:04:12.280 They whipped some tail a little bit. They went the blitzing. 0:04:12.560 --> 0:04:13.240 Are you kidding me? 0:04:13.320 --> 0:04:15.680 I love it. I love the blitzing. I love that 0:04:15.760 --> 0:04:17.160 they ran the ball. I love the balance. 0:04:17.320 --> 0:04:19.800 Tommy Thay or what you do you feel what I'm 0:04:19.839 --> 0:04:22.440 saying or doesn't matter because that foreign o Bearstem went 0:04:22.480 --> 0:04:24.479 to the playoffs and went into the second round. 0:04:24.839 --> 0:04:27.880 Yeah, you know, but the story of the NFL the 0:04:27.920 --> 0:04:30.080 preseason is so individualized. 0:04:30.520 --> 0:04:31.560 If you're a guy like. 0:04:31.560 --> 0:04:33.920 Tom Waddle, if you're a guy like Tom Pair, your 0:04:34.000 --> 0:04:36.680 only intent when you start training camp is to make 0:04:36.720 --> 0:04:40.360 the football team. So if I got twenty pancake blocks 0:04:40.360 --> 0:04:42.840 and the Bears lose every game, I'm okay with that 0:04:43.279 --> 0:04:47.039 because I'm making the team. And unfortunately, that's the only 0:04:47.160 --> 0:04:51.200 portion of the season that it can be individualized because 0:04:51.279 --> 0:04:54.760 the wins really don't matter. And I don't think coaches 0:04:54.800 --> 0:04:57.479 are gonna put a lot of out front stake in it, 0:04:58.000 --> 0:05:01.120 but I guarantee it behind the scenes the privacy of 0:05:01.160 --> 0:05:05.599 a team meeting. They'll complement the accomplishment, but they're not 0:05:05.640 --> 0:05:07.360 going to make a big deal out of it. 0:05:07.360 --> 0:05:09.600 It's such a great point, Tom, And look at some 0:05:09.640 --> 0:05:12.560 of the highlights from the preseason. The Bears had twelve sacks, 0:05:12.600 --> 0:05:16.320 they only allowed two. They had five interceptions, their quarterbacks 0:05:16.320 --> 0:05:20.680 through zero. Now I'm with you, like everything starts for 0:05:20.760 --> 0:05:22.640 real now and now it. 0:05:22.640 --> 0:05:23.479 Starts to count. 0:05:23.520 --> 0:05:26.440 But I think success breeds success in a lot of ways, 0:05:26.440 --> 0:05:28.960 and when you start to have some success, you start 0:05:29.000 --> 0:05:31.120 to expect some success. 0:05:31.200 --> 0:05:34.240 So I think most importantly, guys, to me was the. 0:05:34.240 --> 0:05:37.159 Fact that I thought they got better in a number 0:05:37.200 --> 0:05:40.279 of ways over the course of this entire training camp. 0:05:40.400 --> 0:05:43.080 And the list is long and the improvements, but I 0:05:43.120 --> 0:05:46.600 think overall that was the lasting impression I had from 0:05:46.640 --> 0:05:47.400 this preseason. 0:05:47.440 --> 0:05:50.400 You know, Dicka always says winning is contagious and losing 0:05:50.480 --> 0:05:53.360 is contagious, and so what you say, T Wattle is 0:05:53.560 --> 0:05:57.400 I do believe that, and so it has been a 0:05:57.400 --> 0:05:59.560 productive preseason. 0:05:59.160 --> 0:06:01.560 During the easier to build off a win than a loss, 0:06:01.600 --> 0:06:03.640 although there's a lot of lessons in both tastes like 0:06:03.680 --> 0:06:07.640 Miller time, celebrate responsibly, Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, ninety 0:06:07.640 --> 0:06:10.479 six calories and three point two carbs per twelve ounces. 0:06:10.520 --> 0:06:13.240 So you, guys mentioned improvement over the course of the preseason. 0:06:13.520 --> 0:06:15.839 Will each of you, at the top of your head 0:06:16.520 --> 0:06:20.039 come up with three major improvements that you saw in 0:06:20.080 --> 0:06:21.320 the preseason. We'll start with T. 0:06:21.480 --> 0:06:21.760 Wattle. 0:06:22.839 --> 0:06:25.440 I would say even the quarterback play. I think Caleb 0:06:25.440 --> 0:06:28.840 Williams showed progress. There were things that he did in 0:06:28.839 --> 0:06:31.839 his first action that I thought was spectacular in Buffalo. 0:06:32.120 --> 0:06:34.440 Some of the throws were fantastic. I thought the third 0:06:34.480 --> 0:06:38.200 down throw he made to DJ Moore in the first conversion, 0:06:38.279 --> 0:06:40.839 I thought was probably his best throw because it showed 0:06:40.839 --> 0:06:43.760 you how he plays the quarterback position in a really 0:06:43.800 --> 0:06:46.920 efficient manner and with a lot of knowledge behind it. 0:06:47.279 --> 0:06:49.919 So I thought that we watched him grow even in 0:06:49.960 --> 0:06:54.000 a short period of time. I would say, also, you 0:06:54.040 --> 0:06:57.440 saw some offensive line improvement over the course of time, 0:06:57.680 --> 0:07:01.560 and you don't have your five standard guys right now, 0:07:01.600 --> 0:07:03.240 but to only give up two sacks of it, of 0:07:03.279 --> 0:07:04.640 course the four games, I think is. 0:07:05.360 --> 0:07:06.279 Really really good. 0:07:07.279 --> 0:07:09.600 And I would say that some young guys rushing the 0:07:09.640 --> 0:07:13.080 pass are probably from you know, I call it improvement. 0:07:13.200 --> 0:07:16.000 Maybe it's not improvement because they were getting after quarterbacks 0:07:16.000 --> 0:07:19.680 from the jump in preseason. But I love watching young 0:07:19.720 --> 0:07:23.400 guys define themselves, so I know, whether it was Booker 0:07:23.840 --> 0:07:26.920 or it was Hardy, I love seeing these guys actually. 0:07:26.560 --> 0:07:29.440 Go out there and get a little bit of notoriety. 0:07:30.240 --> 0:07:31.760 Yeah, I would agree with you. 0:07:31.880 --> 0:07:36.440 The complimentary pass rusher to Montese sweat, and whether it's 0:07:36.440 --> 0:07:39.520 Hardy or whether it's Booker, we still haven't seen enough 0:07:39.560 --> 0:07:42.920 of Jacob Martin to maybe possibly put him on the radar. 0:07:43.360 --> 0:07:46.080 Javon Dexter had a really good training camp and I 0:07:46.120 --> 0:07:48.640 think he's a big body that he can use his 0:07:48.720 --> 0:07:49.720 length as an asset. 0:07:49.800 --> 0:07:51.880 So the defensive line is better this. 0:07:51.840 --> 0:07:55.680 Whole team, on the whole roster, the development of depth, 0:07:56.000 --> 0:07:58.400 I think they're better off in a lot of positions 0:07:58.440 --> 0:08:01.080 that if you do have a hiccup during the course 0:08:01.080 --> 0:08:04.680 of the season, you can fill it with a legitimate 0:08:05.200 --> 0:08:08.960 veteran option. And there's some young guys that are developing 0:08:09.000 --> 0:08:11.720 along the way. And like you started with the quarterback position, 0:08:12.120 --> 0:08:17.000 there's no denying that Tyson Pagent is a good, solid backup. 0:08:17.080 --> 0:08:20.680 He's a good sounding board in the quarterback room. The 0:08:20.760 --> 0:08:25.600 complimentary that Shane Waldron is passing along to these quarterbacks 0:08:25.640 --> 0:08:28.840 with balance, and the way he calls the game and listen, man, 0:08:28.880 --> 0:08:31.400 the story is Caleb. When you can go out there 0:08:31.400 --> 0:08:34.400 and if it's like seeing a baby. If you see 0:08:34.400 --> 0:08:36.600 a baby every day, you don't notice the growth. 0:08:36.840 --> 0:08:37.520 If you see a. 0:08:37.480 --> 0:08:40.120 Baby maybe once every two weeks, it seems like he's 0:08:40.120 --> 0:08:43.079 turning into an adult before your eyes. And I think 0:08:43.160 --> 0:08:45.679 that's one of the cool things about Caleb. He has 0:08:45.720 --> 0:08:49.120 showed significant growth since the day he came aboard. 0:08:48.920 --> 0:08:51.439 That antidote from the only one of the three of 0:08:51.520 --> 0:08:53.640 us does not have his own child, but he's seen 0:08:53.679 --> 0:08:56.160 plenty of babies in your family, right right, That's the 0:08:56.160 --> 0:08:56.720 thing about it. 0:08:56.760 --> 0:08:58.560 And I don't see babies every day because I don't 0:08:58.559 --> 0:09:00.440 have one, but I see my niece as a new 0:09:00.480 --> 0:09:01.880 since I've been nine years old. 0:09:02.280 --> 0:09:04.560 Yes, and there are a lot of them. That was 0:09:04.600 --> 0:09:07.120 a great, great anecdote right there. So I'm gonna pick 0:09:07.160 --> 0:09:09.480 up at the baton there because the Caleb story. 0:09:09.520 --> 0:09:11.000 And I had a message this. 0:09:10.920 --> 0:09:15.840 Morning from an unnamed NFL scout that said, you guys 0:09:15.880 --> 0:09:19.280 are going to be just fine. You got him, And 0:09:19.320 --> 0:09:23.600 that's referring to the quarterback, obviously, but also mentioning the 0:09:23.640 --> 0:09:27.840 fact that the depth across the board is substantially different. 0:09:27.920 --> 0:09:30.800 And I can close my eyes now and I can 0:09:30.840 --> 0:09:33.120 see the Bears offense and I can see the Bears 0:09:33.120 --> 0:09:35.600 offense making plays because there are weapons. 0:09:35.720 --> 0:09:37.079 We said that there were going to. 0:09:37.040 --> 0:09:40.360 Be, and Caleb is going to prove that these weapons 0:09:40.520 --> 0:09:42.960 can be thrown open or they can get open and 0:09:43.000 --> 0:09:46.160 create the separation that may have been lacking over the 0:09:46.240 --> 0:09:49.679 years and it's not just going to be Dj Moore. 0:09:49.720 --> 0:09:51.160 It's going to be a lot of different guys. And 0:09:51.160 --> 0:09:54.760 then I revert to the secondary. I've just fallen in 0:09:54.800 --> 0:09:58.360 love with almost every one of those guys. They're all 0:09:58.400 --> 0:10:00.640 not going to be on the team. But how about 0:10:00.679 --> 0:10:04.120 the play of this Ready Stewart, undrafted out of Troy, 0:10:04.280 --> 0:10:07.040 plays with his hair on fire. Physical from the time 0:10:07.120 --> 0:10:10.160 camp started, he was intercepting passes and then put on 0:10:10.280 --> 0:10:16.200 that command performance last night in Kansas City, just terrific 0:10:16.320 --> 0:10:19.199 reads on the ball and trusting himself and being a 0:10:19.200 --> 0:10:20.720 little bit patient there at the goal line. 0:10:20.720 --> 0:10:21.559 And then the pick six. 0:10:22.120 --> 0:10:24.640 And I don't know if Adrian Kilbert's going to make 0:10:24.679 --> 0:10:27.880 the team, but he can blitz anytime for me at safety, 0:10:27.920 --> 0:10:29.880 and he laid out and knocked the ball, that ball 0:10:29.920 --> 0:10:31.839 away that was going to be a big play. It 0:10:31.880 --> 0:10:33.480 was one of the most exciting plays I've seen in 0:10:33.520 --> 0:10:37.920 a long time. And then Booker, I mean, Tommy there, 0:10:37.960 --> 0:10:40.720 I gotta make sure I differentiate the two of you now. 0:10:41.320 --> 0:10:45.440 T Squared t WAD has been all over the development 0:10:45.480 --> 0:10:48.560 of Booker from the jump, and albeit twenty one years 0:10:48.559 --> 0:10:51.800 of age, this guy's going to be an animal. I 0:10:51.840 --> 0:10:54.160 don't know if it's how it's going to work out 0:10:54.160 --> 0:10:56.320 over the course of this first year, but in the 0:10:56.360 --> 0:10:58.840 big picture, this guy he could be really something. 0:10:58.880 --> 0:10:59.920 He's just getting stuck. 0:11:00.800 --> 0:11:04.400 You know, one thing about Booker, which another compliment is, 0:11:04.400 --> 0:11:06.240 is when I first saw him on one on ones, 0:11:06.320 --> 0:11:09.200 you can just see a naturally gifted pass rusher that 0:11:09.240 --> 0:11:11.959 doesn't need to be repeatedly coached how to get better. 0:11:12.600 --> 0:11:15.760 My curiosity was how he's going to play the run, 0:11:16.360 --> 0:11:19.160 and because of his pass rushing skills, he plays the 0:11:19.280 --> 0:11:22.320 run equally as well. And so that's what probably at 0:11:22.360 --> 0:11:24.800 the end of the preseason I'm most excited about in 0:11:24.840 --> 0:11:27.400 Booker as much as I am just being a naturally 0:11:27.440 --> 0:11:28.559 gifted pass rusher. 0:11:29.040 --> 0:11:30.760 I think with him as well, and Tom, you could 0:11:30.760 --> 0:11:32.800 speak to this better than I because I was never 0:11:32.840 --> 0:11:35.480 at the point of attack. But I think a player 0:11:35.559 --> 0:11:38.040 like him who doesn't have a ton of experience, like 0:11:38.080 --> 0:11:40.720 you go back to his college days and there's not 0:11:40.960 --> 0:11:44.280 you know, seventeen hundred reps there, I think that he 0:11:44.360 --> 0:11:47.079 would best be best suited, in my humble opinion, of 0:11:47.120 --> 0:11:50.199 being somebody that you rotate in and you allow him 0:11:50.200 --> 0:11:51.080 to grow at his. 0:11:51.160 --> 0:11:53.200 Rates, which I think will be very quick. 0:11:53.480 --> 0:11:55.480 But I just don't think you could take a player 0:11:55.600 --> 0:11:57.640 like him, stuff him in there and ask him to 0:11:57.880 --> 0:12:01.160 or expect him to do too much. Let him dictate 0:12:01.640 --> 0:12:04.120 his growth rate, and I think that you'll be just 0:12:04.240 --> 0:12:06.000 fine with how he does that. 0:12:06.400 --> 0:12:07.600 It's like I equate it. 0:12:07.480 --> 0:12:10.440 To you know, you see quarterbacks that you know, bow 0:12:10.520 --> 0:12:14.160 knicks in Denver's had a really good training camp as well. 0:12:14.360 --> 0:12:17.719 Nobody's played more snaps in college football than bow mixed it. 0:12:18.240 --> 0:12:18.480 You know. 0:12:18.679 --> 0:12:21.120 It's why I think Brock Purdy came in and the 0:12:21.120 --> 0:12:25.800 acclamation process wasn't very difficult because he played so much 0:12:25.800 --> 0:12:28.400 football regardless of the level. And by the way, at 0:12:28.400 --> 0:12:30.439 Ohio Iowa State, I believe Jeff Right. 0:12:30.480 --> 0:12:31.080 Isn't that where. 0:12:31.040 --> 0:12:33.000 Robert, Yes, you definitely know that. 0:12:33.120 --> 0:12:34.360 God, Now you know the. 0:12:34.320 --> 0:12:37.600 Point that I'm making is is that he's still getting 0:12:37.640 --> 0:12:40.760 ramped up with regard to playing football and now you're 0:12:40.800 --> 0:12:44.000 playing at the highest level. And I share your guys, 0:12:44.200 --> 0:12:47.520 you know, appreciation for how well he has. 0:12:47.440 --> 0:12:49.920 Showed himself so far in training camp. 0:12:49.960 --> 0:12:52.000 I just think the process now when it gets real, 0:12:52.360 --> 0:12:54.760 he'll see it'll speed up, it'll get more physicals. 0:12:54.840 --> 0:12:58.960 So one thing to you, wile don't sell yourself short. 0:12:59.040 --> 0:13:01.480 I've seen you at the point of attack a couple 0:13:01.480 --> 0:13:04.280 of crossing routes and the Tampa Bay Bucks in the 0:13:04.320 --> 0:13:05.280 bottom of your chin. 0:13:05.760 --> 0:13:09.200 Has the proof, has the proof to show it that's true. 0:13:09.200 --> 0:13:11.160 But I was, you know, I was on the receiving end. 0:13:11.200 --> 0:13:13.640 I wasn't on the delivering end ever, So. 0:13:13.640 --> 0:13:15.559 I just tried, you stuck your nose like they said, 0:13:15.600 --> 0:13:16.880 they put you put your face in there. 0:13:17.440 --> 0:13:18.880 Yeah, chi chin first. 0:13:19.480 --> 0:13:20.959 Yeah, who hit you or who? 0:13:22.040 --> 0:13:25.200 It was so funny too, Joey Thomas ever Tom, I 0:13:25.280 --> 0:13:26.839 was out there. It was in the first half, and 0:13:26.920 --> 0:13:27.800 I'm balling, you know. 0:13:27.840 --> 0:13:30.760 It said nineteen ninety four, I think, And I hadn't 0:13:30.760 --> 0:13:31.480 played a ton. 0:13:31.960 --> 0:13:33.080 I was the third receiver. 0:13:33.240 --> 0:13:34.920 We had a I think we had an injury and 0:13:34.960 --> 0:13:36.800 I got to start and I was out there. 0:13:36.840 --> 0:13:38.200 I think I had three or four catches in the 0:13:38.200 --> 0:13:39.600 first half of whack. 0:13:39.760 --> 0:13:43.240 Thomas Evert, Steve Steve Walsh, who I love dearly, threw 0:13:43.280 --> 0:13:45.760 me a medicine ball, as they like to say. When 0:13:45.800 --> 0:13:48.000 he clows it up, you definitely you're gonna You're gonna 0:13:48.000 --> 0:13:49.120 find yourself in trouble. 0:13:49.800 --> 0:13:53.040 And Thomas Evert lowers his helmet hits me right. 0:13:52.720 --> 0:13:55.320 Here on the chip and just exploded in my face 0:13:55.400 --> 0:13:58.760 and actually had an MCL issue on the way down 0:13:58.800 --> 0:14:02.000 as well. But I think they asked Wannie who Thomas 0:14:02.000 --> 0:14:03.920 ever played on Jannie's Dallas. 0:14:03.559 --> 0:14:05.080 Defense years and years prior. 0:14:05.760 --> 0:14:07.640 I think they asked Wannie after the game if he 0:14:07.679 --> 0:14:09.440 thought it was a dirty hit, and he goes, no, No, 0:14:09.520 --> 0:14:12.800 I thought it was clean. The following morning in the newspaper, 0:14:12.840 --> 0:14:15.240 there's a picture, you know, on the sports page of 0:14:15.280 --> 0:14:19.120 the tribute Thomas Everett's got his helmet down and hits 0:14:19.160 --> 0:14:19.840 me right on the. 0:14:19.880 --> 0:14:23.160 Chin with beer. It was just one of those moments. 0:14:23.400 --> 0:14:27.400 Have you ever interviewed Thomas Everett on your show? You 0:14:27.480 --> 0:14:30.240 know his whereabouts? Would you like to have a would 0:14:30.240 --> 0:14:32.160 you like to take a meeting? Would you like to harbor? 0:14:32.480 --> 0:14:34.880 Jeff I harbor no, ill will. It was part of 0:14:34.920 --> 0:14:36.080 the job description. 0:14:36.760 --> 0:14:37.080 Uh. 0:14:37.280 --> 0:14:39.680 We are brought to you by as well, Visy Heart 0:14:39.680 --> 0:14:44.840 Selzter Flavors for every Vibe Celebrate Responsibly, Most Corps Beverage Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 0:14:45.200 --> 0:14:50.240 You're referring to the Madden recognition each of you, and 0:14:50.440 --> 0:14:53.640 I hope Tommy says what he's going to say, But 0:14:53.840 --> 0:14:57.800 I hope he is. But you guys have secured many 0:14:58.000 --> 0:15:00.440 momentos over the course of your playing career, whether it 0:15:00.520 --> 0:15:02.040 be at the high. 0:15:01.840 --> 0:15:04.400 School level, college level, or the NFL level. 0:15:04.840 --> 0:15:08.240 Do you have a favorite momento that you still cherish 0:15:08.440 --> 0:15:12.560 that is in your possession in each of your lives? Tommy, 0:15:12.680 --> 0:15:15.560 you better say the right right one here, But I 0:15:15.640 --> 0:15:15.920 don't know. 0:15:16.000 --> 0:15:18.560 Now I'm kind of not saying it because I'm worried 0:15:18.600 --> 0:15:21.560 that if I don't say the right thing that it better. 0:15:21.360 --> 0:15:22.800 Be your super Bowl ring. 0:15:23.920 --> 0:15:24.360 Correct. 0:15:25.320 --> 0:15:27.160 Oh well, yeah, I mean I thought that was an 0:15:27.160 --> 0:15:29.320 obvious you know, you know what, I and I. 0:15:29.320 --> 0:15:31.760 Always with you, with you because you're a minimalist and 0:15:31.840 --> 0:15:35.200 you do not that's not your thing is to collect 0:15:35.400 --> 0:15:39.040 mementos or look back on your fine career. 0:15:39.080 --> 0:15:42.480 But yeah, so it's not an obvious for me. 0:15:42.680 --> 0:15:45.640 Well, no point, So let me just clarify that because 0:15:45.720 --> 0:15:48.480 when I was watching Hard Knocks this past week and 0:15:48.840 --> 0:15:51.720 Ryan Pole's they are filming in his office and he's 0:15:51.760 --> 0:15:54.200 sitting in front of his super Bowl trophy. 0:15:55.000 --> 0:15:56.360 The super Bowl trophy to. 0:15:56.400 --> 0:16:00.560 Me is as equally as important than my super Bowl 0:16:00.640 --> 0:16:02.080 ring because I never wear that. 0:16:02.720 --> 0:16:05.920 But if the super Bowl trophy was in our. 0:16:05.840 --> 0:16:08.600 Restaurant when we had a restaurant, or people get to 0:16:08.640 --> 0:16:11.280 see it for the first time. I recently brought it 0:16:11.320 --> 0:16:14.040 to an appearance and people that never got to stand 0:16:14.080 --> 0:16:17.360 next to a Super Bowl trophy did so. I like 0:16:17.440 --> 0:16:20.000 the Super Bowl trophy as much as I do the 0:16:20.040 --> 0:16:22.560 Super Bowl ring, just because I don't wear a lot 0:16:22.600 --> 0:16:26.000 of jewelry and it basically sits in a box in 0:16:26.080 --> 0:16:29.040 a cabinet and rarely sees the light of day. 0:16:29.640 --> 0:16:34.280 Wow, Jeff, I would say, obviously, the Madden sweatshirt is 0:16:34.360 --> 0:16:36.320 something that I'm very, very proud of. To be in 0:16:36.360 --> 0:16:38.760 the company of those great receivers I mentioned and to 0:16:38.800 --> 0:16:41.840 be recognized by, you know, one of the greatest coaches 0:16:41.880 --> 0:16:43.920 of all time was very special to me. But I 0:16:43.920 --> 0:16:47.240 would say, you know, I was the recipient of the 0:16:47.240 --> 0:16:49.960 Piccolo Award my last year in the league, and it's 0:16:50.040 --> 0:16:52.240 voted on as the veteran or the you know by 0:16:52.240 --> 0:16:55.560 your teammates. And the fact that my teammates saw enough 0:16:55.600 --> 0:16:58.320 of me at that time, knowing that I wasn't contributing 0:16:58.400 --> 0:17:01.280 at the same level of a Curtis cop Jeff Graham 0:17:01.400 --> 0:17:03.360 or some of the other players. I was at the 0:17:03.400 --> 0:17:06.639 tail end of my career, but always considered myself a 0:17:06.680 --> 0:17:09.280 professional and how I went about doing my job and 0:17:09.720 --> 0:17:12.320 always gave it everything that I had. That's probably the 0:17:12.400 --> 0:17:15.920 thing that I most treasured from my time in Chicago. 0:17:16.240 --> 0:17:18.560 That is awesome recognition. I mean, you look at the 0:17:18.600 --> 0:17:21.399 Piccolo Award, you look at being named the All Madden Team. 0:17:21.840 --> 0:17:25.719 Those are some awards that are not duplicated by a 0:17:25.720 --> 0:17:28.240 lot of people. And when you have it and then 0:17:28.240 --> 0:17:30.960 you have evidence of it, that's pretty cool. 0:17:31.400 --> 0:17:33.000 We're going to get back to the Bears. But this 0:17:33.119 --> 0:17:36.760 is a flow in this podcast. So whatever as top 0:17:36.800 --> 0:17:42.080 of mind, did you guys both envision a career in 0:17:42.160 --> 0:17:45.400 broadcasting while you were playing your thinking I might want 0:17:45.440 --> 0:17:45.880 to do that? 0:17:46.400 --> 0:17:47.000 Was that ever? 0:17:47.640 --> 0:17:50.720 Were you ever thinking about that as you were winding 0:17:50.720 --> 0:17:52.240 down your careers respectively? 0:17:52.280 --> 0:17:53.120 Why do you can start? 0:17:54.040 --> 0:17:56.439 Jeff, I have a finance degree from Boston College. And 0:17:56.480 --> 0:17:58.760 I don't say that as a flex I'm not flexing. 0:17:58.800 --> 0:18:00.520 What I'm saying to you is, as I went to 0:18:00.600 --> 0:18:04.760 school and studied this, you know, portion of the economy 0:18:04.840 --> 0:18:08.000 to to actually my thought was is I was going 0:18:08.080 --> 0:18:10.680 to be in the finance world sooner rather than later, 0:18:10.760 --> 0:18:12.400 because it was a long shot that I was ever 0:18:12.440 --> 0:18:14.200 going to be able to actually live my dream. 0:18:14.320 --> 0:18:17.520 So I was I was more than ready to go 0:18:17.560 --> 0:18:18.320 to Wall Street. 0:18:19.960 --> 0:18:24.320