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Speaker 1: I am Tom Bear. I'm gonna be joined by Jim Miller,
Speaker 1: who is at the owners meetings, and it's a big
Speaker 1: day for us. We don't have Jeff Joniac, but I
Speaker 1: think Jim and I are going to be able to
Speaker 1: get it done. I do want to hear some stuff
Speaker 1: about the owners meetings, But Jim Miller another award for
Speaker 1: the Chicago Bears and gm GM, Ryan Pace and Ted
Speaker 1: Phillips sending the paper with the GM. You need someone
Speaker 1: you can trust, you can build relationships in the building,
Speaker 1: and Ryan Pace does that so well. That is the
Speaker 1: idea when they went out on a limb and hired
Speaker 1: an inexperienced guy like Ryan Pace, they were going to
Speaker 1: need him to provide an interior spark from the building
Speaker 1: and interestingly enough, Jim Miller. Last year he was ranked
Speaker 1: twenty nine. This year he's voted number one by his
Speaker 1: peers to be the general manager or in his position,
Speaker 1: GM of the Year. So, I mean, it's it's a
Speaker 1: pretty impressive display what Ryan Pace has done in a
Speaker 1: short time as a GM of the Bears. Absolutely, and
Speaker 1: you got to remember, you know, and originally when he
Speaker 1: took over as general manager, you know, of the Chicago Bears,
Speaker 1: they had to overhaul the roster. They were one of
Speaker 1: the oldest rosters in the NFL. Now we are one
Speaker 1: of the youngest rosters. And again to target a new
Speaker 1: head coach in Matt Nagy diagnosed have the same vision,
Speaker 1: the ability to connect, the ability to target the right players.
Speaker 1: In free agency, We've gone through the list from from
Speaker 1: Trey Burton working a trade for Khalil Mack. The vision
Speaker 1: it takes one to seal to see that deal, what
Speaker 1: impact he would have for your football team, and then
Speaker 1: the ability to go out and make the trade happen,
Speaker 1: along with other players like Gallen Robinson, certainly Taylor Gabriel,
Speaker 1: and then the draft focusing on Roquan Smith and players
Speaker 1: that they have drafted Territ Cohen that have had the impact.
Speaker 1: And I think no person more deserving than what Ryan paced,
Speaker 1: the turnaround that he has engineered for the Chicago Bears
Speaker 1: and why he was elected the Executive of the Year
Speaker 1: in the NFL right unanimous. And you think about what
Speaker 1: the Bears free agents were able to do for this
Speaker 1: football team last year, and I think that the second
Speaker 1: round of free agents for the Bears, they have that,
Speaker 1: you know, the same equal obligation to the Bears, because
Speaker 1: the guys they brought in last year had very positive
Speaker 1: working attitudes towards the betterment of the Chicago Bears. And
Speaker 1: when you look at the guys they brought him this year,
Speaker 1: you know, a couple of guys from within their own
Speaker 1: division in Patterson, in Clinton Dix. But now you have
Speaker 1: Buster Screen, you got Marvin Hall, you got Ted Larson
Speaker 1: back in the mix. And it's interesting to see what
Speaker 1: the free agents that Ryan has brought on board, how
Speaker 1: much they have complimented, the players that he's kept here,
Speaker 1: and the draft choices that they've amassed in the last
Speaker 1: couple of years. Yeah, you could do it in a
Speaker 1: fiscally responsible way. Certainly they had you know, a spending
Speaker 1: spree a year ago. We've teams seen teams already go
Speaker 1: through that spending spree this year. Look at what the
Speaker 1: New York Jets have spent in free agency obviously to
Speaker 1: what have a turnaround. You want to engineer a turnaround.
Speaker 1: And now it's more selectively targeted because they've hit on
Speaker 1: their draft picks. The Bears have hit on their free
Speaker 1: agents from a year ago, bringing in players, like you said,
Speaker 1: have the character that they want Chicago Bears players to demonstrate.
Speaker 1: And I think it always translates well to the field
Speaker 1: and just how players, you know, really conduct themselves and
Speaker 1: really have the ability to compete. So it is selectively targeted,
Speaker 1: and this year it just doesn't have to be that
Speaker 1: splash like what happened a year ago. They can be
Speaker 1: selective in the guys they bring on board, whether it's Ajaha,
Speaker 1: Clinton Dix, who I think makes a lot of sense.
Speaker 1: He's got a lot of interceptions. He knows the player
Speaker 1: in the back end of the safety very well. In
Speaker 1: Eddie Jackson, plus he comes with a lot of experience.
Speaker 1: And unfortunately Callahan will be returned. But they bring on
Speaker 1: Buster Screen and I think he's had good years not
Speaker 1: only for the Cleveland Browns, but the New York Jets
Speaker 1: is a very excellent blitzer in what he can bring
Speaker 1: to the table. If the Bears want to apply pressure
Speaker 1: more from that standpoint, and then of course resigning your
Speaker 1: own your players perform, well, you want to resign players
Speaker 1: that mean a lot to your program, demonstrate and reflect
Speaker 1: everything the organization stands for. And it sounds like Bobby
Speaker 1: Massey has really been the star pupil from that standpoint.
Speaker 1: Why they brought him on board to really keep the
Speaker 1: offensive line in tech for a young quarterback, everybody expects
Speaker 1: to take big steps here in the near future. Well,
Speaker 1: our telephone number here is three one two sixty four,
Speaker 1: four sixty seven sixty seven. If you want to come
Speaker 1: on board, give us a call. We got a couple
Speaker 1: of things, Jim, I want to pick your brain about.
Speaker 1: You know now it's setting Stone Bears Green Bay opening
Speaker 1: week after the commercial. I want to come back with that.
Speaker 1: But Jim, me and you have to talk a little
Speaker 1: bit about the Michigan State against the Notre Dame Femaleity.
Speaker 1: Are the ladies teams playing in the nca A tournament,
Speaker 1: So we might have to dig into that a little bit.
Speaker 1: And looking forward to it. All right, we'll be right
Speaker 1: back on Chicago Bears All Access. We have Buster Screen
Speaker 1: coming in at six oh eight, New Bears free agent.
Speaker 1: He's got a big role ahead of him, so we'll
Speaker 1: be right back after this commercial. Welcome to Bears All
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Speaker 1: I am Tom there. I'm along with Jim Miller, and
Speaker 1: we have a newly signed Buster screen with us, you know, Buster,
Speaker 1: Welcome to Chicago, Welcome to the Chicago Bears. I'm Tom there,
Speaker 1: former offensive linement, and I want to go back just
Speaker 1: a couple of a couple of months ago, before the
Speaker 1: Bears were getting ready to play the New York Jets,
Speaker 1: I heard a really positive scattering report about you, saying
Speaker 1: this guy is very good at his position. He really
Speaker 1: adds a big spark to the Jets. Is it's kind
Speaker 1: of impressive that they had you kind of picked out
Speaker 1: that far in advance. For the opportunity that was presented
Speaker 1: to you, and was it a difficult decision for you? Oh,
Speaker 1: it definitely wasn't a difficult decision to come to Chicago.
Speaker 1: I feel like when I was on the Jets, I
Speaker 1: played Nicol and you're asked the lat to play Nicol
Speaker 1: in that defense like Blitz lat play safety, sometimes you
Speaker 1: play corners. We're a max defense, So it's a being
Speaker 1: in that role and the older guys and the defense.
Speaker 1: I had to take on a lot of responsibilities, but
Speaker 1: I was definitely up for it. Buster Jim Miller here,
Speaker 1: welcome to the Chicago I echo what Tom said, and
Speaker 1: just you know, let Bears fans know what type of
Speaker 1: player you are, what they're going to see, and what
Speaker 1: your abilities are. I know what they know perceptually, what
Speaker 1: they've read that, hey, this is a very aggressive Nicol
Speaker 1: slot corner. But what to you makes you a special
Speaker 1: player that maybe can take the Bears to the next
Speaker 1: level here in twenty nineteen. Well, I definitely think I
Speaker 1: have an aggressive mentality. And one thing you want to
Speaker 1: see on film is David play. I compete, so I
Speaker 1: could be backside and facing it, got down from the
Speaker 1: other side of the field. That's just one of the
Speaker 1: things I've always carreed with you to do, you know,
Speaker 1: high school, college and the NSA. Just a highly competitive guy.
Speaker 1: And I also when I was in Cleveland, I played
Speaker 1: corning and I didn't started playing Nichols. I got to
Speaker 1: the get so I'm versatile. I played inside and the outside.
Speaker 1: So I feel like that's what I bring to the table.
Speaker 1: You know, last year, Vic Fangio, the defensive cording to
Speaker 1: the Bears last year said the fifth starter talking about
Speaker 1: Bright the fifth defensive back, talking about Bryce Callahan is
Speaker 1: as important as any starter on any position in defense.
Speaker 1: And when you look at yourself, you're a fifth round
Speaker 1: or two thousand and eleven with Cleveland. You've increased the
Speaker 1: value of your position by your ability and what you
Speaker 1: talk about, being able to play corner, being able to
Speaker 1: line up at safety and emergency, being able to play
Speaker 1: over the slot receiver. It's it's interesting, Buster, how you've
Speaker 1: been able to increase your value and also sustain the
Speaker 1: longevity that's difficult for for NFL players. Yeah, I feel
Speaker 1: like the game is definitely changed, and my my nineties
Speaker 1: of my career, um ninetybody's spreading it out. I feel
Speaker 1: like the value of Nichols is going up just because
Speaker 1: they're always on the seat and the quickest throw or
Speaker 1: the closest throw to the quarterback is the slot receiver,
Speaker 1: so you can't get out to see them on third down.
Speaker 1: That's that's you know, that's always a problem. So I
Speaker 1: do to like if Nickel is very valuable um the
Speaker 1: first time, obviously, agent, I'll consider the highest pay you
Speaker 1: niggle in the NFL. And just to be able to
Speaker 1: you know, come to Chicago a great defense and be
Speaker 1: able to play with those guys, it's definitely well, what's
Speaker 1: what's from your standpoint? What what really intrigued you the
Speaker 1: most about Chicago? Just here the one year turnaround that quarterback,
Speaker 1: how special the defense can be, or just you know,
Speaker 1: maybe just your talks with Ryan Pace and the head
Speaker 1: coach Matt Naggie wouldn't treat you so much about Chicago
Speaker 1: where it really was an easy self to bring on
Speaker 1: board to get you to agree to signing the contract. Well,
Speaker 1: I actually played with coach Tabor my rookie years special
Speaker 1: teams coach there, and I remember before the game he said,
Speaker 1: now I love it here, he said, the atmosphere. He's
Speaker 1: good you know, everybody's positive, like we got something good
Speaker 1: going here, and then as a season went on, they
Speaker 1: ended up winning a lot of games. But coach Nage,
Speaker 1: the first time I met him, I kind of felt
Speaker 1: that energy. I felt it from mister Pace and I
Speaker 1: felt it from Chuck. So I just felt like a
Speaker 1: special you know, like a special field when I did
Speaker 1: walk in the building. You know, sometimes those things are
Speaker 1: kind of hard to explain because you have to kind
Speaker 1: of be there to experience experience it. But he's just
Speaker 1: playing nine years so far, Like you know, the difference
Speaker 1: between like a good coach of bad coach here and
Speaker 1: what you're looking for and to play and what you're
Speaker 1: looking to be a part of buster Was this a
Speaker 1: tough season for you because you got to play your best?
Speaker 1: You don't know what your future is, but you know,
Speaker 1: just everything that we've seen from the outside in with
Speaker 1: the Jets its face this year had some issues. But
Speaker 1: how was it for you personally in terms of making
Speaker 1: sure that you're playing at an extremely high aggressive level
Speaker 1: because you know, obviously your future and your preparation led
Speaker 1: you to the Bears here. Well, one that I can't say.
Speaker 1: I'm definitely a team player so regardless of like what's
Speaker 1: going on with the team or the record and things
Speaker 1: like that, I'm always one of those guys that be
Speaker 1: out there and motivating guys around. And I think just
Speaker 1: the way I carry myself of being professional every day
Speaker 1: and being competitive even on the little things, it helps
Speaker 1: like the younger guys around me. But you know, I've
Speaker 1: played for some teams that I've been in like rebuilding processes.
Speaker 1: I played for coaching in Cleveland. I played under the
Speaker 1: coach Bowl. I think it is a great coach. It's
Speaker 1: just you know, sometimes with certain quarterbacks, which is a
Speaker 1: little harder to win in the NFL. But I just
Speaker 1: feel like Chicagolo is the right fit. I mean, they
Speaker 1: have good, something good going. I definitely want to add
Speaker 1: to it and just become part of the coaches and
Speaker 1: if anything, just do whatever I can do to health organization. Well,
Speaker 1: nine years in the NFL really says it all in
Speaker 1: terms of your preparation and how you you play the
Speaker 1: game and prepare yourself and maybe over the years, what
Speaker 1: have you done differently And now you know you've moved
Speaker 1: on to from Cleveland to say the New York Jets,
Speaker 1: and now you're moving on from the Jets to Chicago.
Speaker 1: Do you approach anything differently this time around as you
Speaker 1: try to acclimate yourself. I mean, I feel like as
Speaker 1: a player, you can always just become a smarter player,
Speaker 1: just learn more about the game. Um. For me, I
Speaker 1: played in a lot of defenses, a lot of different defenses,
Speaker 1: a lot of different teammates. But for me, it's just
Speaker 1: you know, come in learning defense. You have to help
Speaker 1: the guys around me, and uh, just be good teammates.
Speaker 1: Hey buster, Yeah, Like looking at your high school, so
Speaker 1: you're a good defensive back, you're a good running back,
Speaker 1: you got receiver qualities. When was the deciding factor at
Speaker 1: which side of the ball you were going to play on?
Speaker 1: And then also how did track help you develop, you know,
Speaker 1: some of the trades or some of the things that
Speaker 1: you needed to become a more competitive football player. Well,
Speaker 1: in high school, I played running back, and when I
Speaker 1: got recruited and to go to college, I had all
Speaker 1: the big schools after me, but I only waited one
Speaker 1: hundred and forty pounds, So a lot of schools came
Speaker 1: to my school and everybody you don't look the same
Speaker 1: on film, So I ended up going on a lot
Speaker 1: of business, and people pulled the scholarships while I was there.
Speaker 1: So I remember one of my fourth business of chattan Ugle,
Speaker 1: my mom said you better committing because you know, weally
Speaker 1: had no money to paying for college. So I ended
Speaker 1: up committing to Chattanooga an hour and a half away.
Speaker 1: When I went to Chattanoogle, you know, they probably said
Speaker 1: getting number one. I ended up getting number forty one
Speaker 1: was my number with the Jets, and they put me
Speaker 1: a slight receiver. For the first couple of games, I
Speaker 1: was kissing screens and then the corner ended up getting hurt.
Speaker 1: They slip me out the corner and then it never
Speaker 1: looked back pretty much, but I did. And when I
Speaker 1: did go to or the Bay facility, I seen we're
Speaker 1: doing on retire how I was like, man, what am
Speaker 1: I gonna be? But I chose them because they aren't
Speaker 1: more retired, more retired numbers in the Chicago Bears than
Speaker 1: any other team in the NFL. Yeah, it was crazy.
Speaker 1: It was crazy. I've seen all the retire I said, man, yeah,
Speaker 1: but let me ask let me ask you this, because
Speaker 1: you just come from a tough division. You're dealing with
Speaker 1: Tom Brady twice a year. Even go back to the
Speaker 1: AFC North, what you're dealing there with Big Ben and
Speaker 1: at that point Flacco, you know, he's winning Super Bowls
Speaker 1: with the Baltimore Raiders. And now I don't know just
Speaker 1: your perception of the NFC North. You know, facing Rogers
Speaker 1: twice a year here, Matthew Stafford's thrown for a gazillion yards,
Speaker 1: and certainly Vikings fans they feel confident in their quarterback,
Speaker 1: Kirk Cousins gonna be a challenging you know, those challenges
Speaker 1: are there every single week in the division, in the
Speaker 1: NFC North, just facing some tough quarterbacks, right. I definitely
Speaker 1: have a lot of respect for all the quarterbacks in
Speaker 1: the division. I mean, the receivers are good. I'm definitely
Speaker 1: enough for the challenge. I feel like when I played
Speaker 1: in the AFC North feels more like a black and
Speaker 1: bloom type of division. Everybody ran the ball. Of course,
Speaker 1: things changed over the views I went to Jets, it's
Speaker 1: more finesse people just airing the ball out. But I
Speaker 1: feel like I'm right for it for the NFC. No,
Speaker 1: just because I played in both types of the division,
Speaker 1: past division and a running division sold and I've always
Speaker 1: played in the cold also, So I'm just excited to
Speaker 1: get out there playing soldier Sel and just show them
Speaker 1: the coaches the city what I got, hey Buster when
Speaker 1: I was It's interesting because we're talking to someone who
Speaker 1: is prepared to play against the Bears. Matt Nagy has
Speaker 1: a tremendous amount of respect for Todd Bowles, your head
Speaker 1: coach with the Jets, and understands he plays an aggressive
Speaker 1: style of defense. So what was the Jets philosophy when
Speaker 1: they were getting ready to play against an active offense
Speaker 1: with mobility at the quarterback position, playmakers around the field.
Speaker 1: What was the thought process and getting ready to play
Speaker 1: against the Bears offense. So we went into the game
Speaker 1: and going in there playing man demand because Ravensky can scramble.
Speaker 1: So like we went in, they're playing man to man.
Speaker 1: Then y'all hit us. We went cover to zero and
Speaker 1: y'all hit us with that screen. Our linebacker missed the
Speaker 1: running back Cohen and he ran for like eighty yards
Speaker 1: for a testdown. So he got outside of the man
Speaker 1: and we started going zone and they started picking apart
Speaker 1: our zone. So even though it was a close the game,
Speaker 1: the coaching was just great. We're in the red zone
Speaker 1: two yard line. We decided to go cover three and
Speaker 1: they ran the perfect route Indy seven, which is like
Speaker 1: the beater for Cover three in the red zone. But
Speaker 1: just playing him and uh, just playing agast the Bears
Speaker 1: last year. Our coaches like, no, they had some good
Speaker 1: players the cause that we had and you know that
Speaker 1: was a tough loss. Well, just in terms of the schedule,
Speaker 1: you're playing on being in Chicago pretty much most of
Speaker 1: the off season for the OTAs, the mini camps, and
Speaker 1: obviously you're a widely vet, but really just getting acclamated
Speaker 1: with with your to two teammates and the schematically, what
Speaker 1: the payers are doing, what's what's your scheduling? How how
Speaker 1: you know really how much will you be participating in
Speaker 1: the offseason approach. Well, I'm actually flying to Chicago tomorrow
Speaker 1: to look at a couple of houses. So starting tomorrow
Speaker 1: I'll look at a couple of houses and I'll move
Speaker 1: in at the beginning of April. But I mean that
Speaker 1: the cities I do playing, I like to get involved,
Speaker 1: like a lot of charity works. Um, I like to
Speaker 1: be at every workout, every ota. All that matters when
Speaker 1: you're trying to build something specials and I feel like
Speaker 1: if you aren't there, you're letting your peers down and
Speaker 1: you're letting yourself down. So I'm definitely guy's going to
Speaker 1: be there every day. I'll be there, got to get
Speaker 1: there early, all that good stuff. I mean, I enjoy
Speaker 1: doing that. I enjoy playing football. It's just a part
Speaker 1: of my life. It's a beautiful new facility, and you
Speaker 1: have great fans support here in Chicago. Buster. Best of
Speaker 1: luck to you to all of your you and all
Speaker 1: of your teammates, and welcome to Chicago. I appreciate that. Brother,
Speaker 1: Thanks for having me on today, Thank you for joining us.
Speaker 1: Jimmille and I. I will be right back after this
Speaker 1: commerce Chell and Jim dig into the owners meetings a
Speaker 1: little bit because I do have a couple of questions
Speaker 1: for you and just some of the stuff I've been
Speaker 1: taught I've been reading about, So we'll get to that
Speaker 1: right after the break. The twenty nineteen Miller Like Chicago
Speaker 1: Bears Draft Party will be held on Saturday, April twenty
Speaker 1: seventh at Soldier Field from noon to six pm. The
Speaker 1: event will feature on field activities, locker room tours, player autographs,
Speaker 1: and of course, live draft coverage and analysis. From Bears
Speaker 1: football experts. Get your tickets today at Chicago Bears dot
Speaker 1: com slash Draft Party. That's gonna be a good time
Speaker 1: interesting this year with the draft, Jim, because I know
Speaker 1: you have to cover the entirety of the league when
Speaker 1: you're basically a Bears fan and you're dedicated to following
Speaker 1: everything Bears. When you don't have the initial picks, it
Speaker 1: kind of takes a different tempo to it because it's
Speaker 1: hard to predict and for us outsiders to try to
Speaker 1: predict things that are going to happen three bounds into it,
Speaker 1: it's a little difficult, and you know, I guess it's
Speaker 1: got to be a time consuming for you and preparation
Speaker 1: for the draft, well, it is you're trying to anticipate.
Speaker 1: I've always been a big I do think the draft
Speaker 1: is neat based. You know, just when you look at
Speaker 1: free agency, teams are already right now signing players, and
Speaker 1: now you go into the draft, say hey, where are
Speaker 1: we weak, where we need holes or holes that need
Speaker 1: to be filled. And really the draft is a big
Speaker 1: part that can supplement that. I'm not saying that you
Speaker 1: know you're not going to take the best player if
Speaker 1: surely the player is there, you're going to take him.
Speaker 1: I e. The Green Bay Packers, Aaron Rodgers falls to
Speaker 1: twenty four and they just say, hey, his value is
Speaker 1: too good on the board. Let's just take Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 1: We feel he's the best player, and they take him.
Speaker 1: So things like that do happen. But with where the
Speaker 1: Bears are selecting, you know, the first pick is until
Speaker 1: the third round and then subsequent rounds later. Yeah, they
Speaker 1: may target a certain guy, move up and get the
Speaker 1: guy that they want. But you know, I always go
Speaker 1: down to this. Every team has the thirty visits, right
Speaker 1: they can is it with thirty guys? So you're going
Speaker 1: to bring in most likely players. You think you're going
Speaker 1: to have a shot at players that maybe you'll take
Speaker 1: a chance on that maybe blow your socks off, but
Speaker 1: you're gonna have So you know, if the draft is
Speaker 1: seven rounds, you got basically four guys, four to five
Speaker 1: guys that you're targeting in every round. So how do
Speaker 1: you get up? You know, say two guys are gone,
Speaker 1: how do you move up move back to really get
Speaker 1: the guy that you've targeted? And I'm sure Ryan Pac
Speaker 1: and the whole staff there are the Chicago Bears. That's
Speaker 1: what they're gonna do, that's what they're gonna hone in.
Speaker 1: And let's face it, last year they nailed it in
Speaker 1: terms of their draft, and I would say the year
Speaker 1: before when everybody was crying and screaming about them trading
Speaker 1: up one spot for Mitchell Turbisky, that's going to turn
Speaker 1: out to be a great pick. Yes, we'll see where
Speaker 1: it goes for Mitchell Turbisky, but remember all the screaming
Speaker 1: and hollering and what the Bears gave up and then
Speaker 1: lo and behold, Ryan Pace was able to recoup a
Speaker 1: fourth round draft pick. So you just see GMS today
Speaker 1: there are not more aggressive. I think they're more selectively
Speaker 1: targeted to where they draft to complement their football team
Speaker 1: and in the areas of impact or where a team
Speaker 1: can grow at crucial positions. Three one, two sixty four
Speaker 1: four sixty seven, sixty seven is the phone number if
Speaker 1: you want to jump on with myself and Jim Miller. Jim, so,
Speaker 1: can you set the scene a little bit from the
Speaker 1: Arizona owners meetings, because it seems like the more I
Speaker 1: read about them, it seems like the new debate this
Speaker 1: year is the replay language and it last year or
Speaker 1: the last few years. It was the catch, no catching,
Speaker 1: the other debatable issues. What is Can you fill us
Speaker 1: in a little bit about the scene at the owners meetings? Yes,
Speaker 1: first off, it's the hundredth tier anniversary, right centennial of
Speaker 1: NFL football. They had a big party last night. They'll
Speaker 1: have a big party tonight with the media, with all
Speaker 1: the owners, the coaches. They'll be out there kind of
Speaker 1: rubbing elbows. And I think it is a big deal,
Speaker 1: and I do think in Tom I'm sure we'll get
Speaker 1: into it as we roll along. It's only fitting that
Speaker 1: Paris Packers really line up week one. You know, this
Speaker 1: is the most storied rivalry in the NFL. It's only
Speaker 1: fitting that they should kick off the NFL season. But
Speaker 1: in terms of the rule and the proposals, you know,
Speaker 1: historically the Competition Committee has always kind of, you know,
Speaker 1: tapped their foot on the on the break a little bit.
Speaker 1: You know, they are concerned about the game, is it
Speaker 1: changing too much? Is it changing too quickly? And a
Speaker 1: lot of these proposals that are out there, some have
Speaker 1: even been called gimmicky. When you look at Denver's proposal
Speaker 1: for their version of the on side kick, which would
Speaker 1: allow an offense to convert a fourth and fifteen if
Speaker 1: they want to come back in a game. I'll get
Speaker 1: to that in a moment. Concerning your question concerning replay,
Speaker 1: great question ask, because I just had on Stephen Jones,
Speaker 1: who's on the Competition Committee, and I think it's very hesitant.
Speaker 1: He said he'll have an open mind and he'll listen
Speaker 1: to all the proposals because they're fluid, just because they're
Speaker 1: written in black and white and what we're presented. There's
Speaker 1: a lot of talking and negotiating that's going on in
Speaker 1: that room, or questions that are brought up by a
Speaker 1: coach or GM or even an NFL owner that talks
Speaker 1: about the quote unquote unintended concept quences. And I do
Speaker 1: think this historically when things come down like this, because
Speaker 1: here you've got Sean Payton, who's been very vocal. He's
Speaker 1: also on the Competition Committee, and certainly everybody feels bad
Speaker 1: for the Saints. Everybody feels bad for football because you
Speaker 1: just want to get the call right. You want the
Speaker 1: play to be right, and for a team not to
Speaker 1: get quote unquote you know, cost us ball due to
Speaker 1: a bad call or a non call. What I've seen
Speaker 1: in the past. Time is historically plays like that don't
Speaker 1: happen enough for the NFL to feel like they need
Speaker 1: to step in and make a change, meaning that plays
Speaker 1: like that are happen so minimally. When you go back
Speaker 1: and you look at a whole year's worth of tapes,
Speaker 1: a whole year's worth of games, and you say, well,
Speaker 1: we're complaining about one call. You know, that's kind of
Speaker 1: what it comes down to. And I think how they
Speaker 1: look at it, the you know, the the adverse reaction
Speaker 1: is Sean Payton, Well, we've got all this technology, we've
Speaker 1: got all this new opportunities to get the game right
Speaker 1: and get the call right. But ultimately, you know, if
Speaker 1: anything happens at all, Washington Redskins, to me, have put
Speaker 1: together the best proposal, and I'll read their proposal. By
Speaker 1: the Washington Redskins, they believe that a coach should be
Speaker 1: able to challenge that type of call, even if a
Speaker 1: flag is not thrown on a play. But they believe
Speaker 1: that a coach, if the official comes over to the
Speaker 1: coach on the sideline, he better cite the jersey number
Speaker 1: of the player, and he better cite the infraction specifically
Speaker 1: to the official in order for the NFL to look
Speaker 1: at it again, it would be a challenge call by
Speaker 1: the official. The NFL's Competition Committee didn't propose anything like this.
Speaker 1: It doesn't even address what happened in the Saints Rams game,
Speaker 1: but the Washington Redskins proposal does. But ideally, and like
Speaker 1: I should say ironically what I just said, NFL owners
Speaker 1: are hesitant to do so, so I don't think it'll
Speaker 1: pass tom So, I don't think anything will be done
Speaker 1: on instant replay. And these meetings are time consuming for
Speaker 1: the owners or is it social as much as professional? Yeah?
Speaker 1: I think it is social, but there is a lot
Speaker 1: of work being done, you know, a lot of you know,
Speaker 1: say the interviews I did today for a serious sex
Speaker 1: of NFL radio, Doug Morone was supposed to join us
Speaker 1: like an hour into the show. He didn't come out
Speaker 1: for two hours later. So that means they were in
Speaker 1: a room hammering out disagreements on whatever proposal that they
Speaker 1: were you know, disagreeing on or arguing about or trying
Speaker 1: to hammer out in order to approve it. And then
Speaker 1: the GM, the coach, all the coaches, the owners get together. Hey,
Speaker 1: this is how you know, we believe in this we
Speaker 1: should we should vote yes on this, and they state
Speaker 1: the reasons why and those votes will come down tomorrow.
Speaker 1: But yeah, it is part of a social gathering. But
Speaker 1: you know, if everybody thinks that work isn't getting done here,
Speaker 1: it happens at the crack of dawn and it really
Speaker 1: continues all the way through the night. Right. You know,
Speaker 1: these owners that bouts with their other business concerns outside
Speaker 1: the NFL. When you look at all the officials that
Speaker 1: are at the meetings, that kind of empties the facilities
Speaker 1: of all the high ranking officials before the actual season
Speaker 1: and the meetings get underway, it just seems like, you know,
Speaker 1: there's so much business that takes place, but when you
Speaker 1: start reading about the issues they're talking about, they're small
Speaker 1: in terms of topics. And if that if some of
Speaker 1: these replay issues happened in a half sold out stadium
Speaker 1: between two losing teams, or it happens under the biggest
Speaker 1: magnifying glass of the NFL, you know, those issues kind
Speaker 1: of create lives of their own. Yeah, well it does,
Speaker 1: like you said, well, think about that that rule by Denver.
Speaker 1: You know, their rule is to implement what is essentially
Speaker 1: a fourth and fifteen. Say a team is behind, they
Speaker 1: drive down offensively, they score touchdown, they're still down by
Speaker 1: a touchdown. They want the ability to have, you know,
Speaker 1: have an opportunity to score again. I e. Because of
Speaker 1: the new kickoff rule has created an issue. There's a
Speaker 1: new rule, say the kickoff rule that was tabled and
Speaker 1: then implemented for one year, which was twenty eighteen. Now
Speaker 1: that new kickoff rule has been implemented from here on out.
Speaker 1: It's official. Now that's a new rule. But what is
Speaker 1: the unintended consequences of the new kickoff rule? Yes, it's
Speaker 1: helped health and safety, but what is hurt? What is
Speaker 1: it hurt? It's hurt the on side kick. There's no
Speaker 1: there's no overloads. The percentage of onside kicks recovered in
Speaker 1: twenty nineteen or twenty eighteen just plummeted. I mean, it
Speaker 1: was down less than eight percent that team's recovered an
Speaker 1: onside kick. So John Elway and the Denver Broncos propos Hey,
Speaker 1: we want an ability after we score to have an
Speaker 1: opportunity to get back in the game. Thus they proposed
Speaker 1: this new proposal this year to go for it on
Speaker 1: fourth and fifteen. The initial report was the ball was
Speaker 1: going to start at the thirty five. Not true. Stephen Jones,
Speaker 1: who joined us on moving the chains, said hey, more
Speaker 1: like it's going to start at the twenty five. So
Speaker 1: if you get fifteen yards now, that's going to take
Speaker 1: you upwards to the or forty yard line. Now that's
Speaker 1: a legitimate, you know, two minute drive if you get
Speaker 1: the first down on a four within fifteen. But again,
Speaker 1: what are the unintended consequences of that? You know, all
Speaker 1: it takes is one defensive holding by defensive back that
Speaker 1: we know has increased in the NFL, and all of
Speaker 1: a sudden you got a first, a first and fifteen
Speaker 1: and they didn't even run a play and essentially they
Speaker 1: would get a first down. So again you got to
Speaker 1: be concerned of the unintended consolace that it sounds cliche,
Speaker 1: but it can go in numerous directions where these rules
Speaker 1: could fail. Already, like I said, the new kickoff rule
Speaker 1: that has affected the onside kick, which historically has been
Speaker 1: a big play in terms of getting yourself back into
Speaker 1: a game in NFL history, and under those circumstances, they
Speaker 1: definitely would be play specific trying to get that individual
Speaker 1: coverage on a long pass just to invite the opportunity
Speaker 1: for that pass interference. It'd be interesting to see how
Speaker 1: it work things out. But for me, I love the
Speaker 1: anticipation of the onside kick. I don't know. Sometimes it's
Speaker 1: the most exciting play at the conclusion of the game,
Speaker 1: and sometimes teams start out with it, or even they
Speaker 1: bring it out at halftime in some big games. It'll
Speaker 1: be interesting to see what happens down the road. More.
Speaker 1: I want to talk about after we come back from
Speaker 1: the Bay, come back from the break, getting ready for
Speaker 1: the first team meeting a lot different Jim last year
Speaker 1: than it is this year. We'll get to that topic
Speaker 1: right after this. The Chicago Bears Network presents Inside the Bears,
Speaker 1: brought to you by Verizon Double A, Anthony Adams, and
Speaker 1: Lauren Screen and cover the world of Bears football on
Speaker 1: and off the field, every Sunday night at ten thirty
Speaker 1: five pm on Fox thirty two Chicago, or watch anytime
Speaker 1: at Chicago Bears dot Com or on the Bears official app.
Speaker 1: Man I saw a presentation on the app of that trip,
Speaker 1: and I saw a double A Anthony Adams head fake,
Speaker 1: Jeff joniak off his feet so badly a couple times
Speaker 1: that I was thinking, Jeff watched the midsection and you're
Speaker 1: not gonna get head fake by double A with the
Speaker 1: little shoulder and head Bob. Well, you know what, we
Speaker 1: have a guest on the line with us, and I'm
Speaker 1: really excited to talk to Chase because Chase an obviously
Speaker 1: our guest. Chicago Barrett quarterback and Chase, you're getting ready
Speaker 1: to go on a USO tour and we are joined
Speaker 1: by Jim Miller, also Chase. And when I was a
Speaker 1: little kid, and I used to watch the commercials of
Speaker 1: the NFL, and I used to watch the salutes of
Speaker 1: the USO shows that Bob Hope used to run, and
Speaker 1: they had the starlets, and they had the pro athletes
Speaker 1: and they are at all these sites entertaining the troops.
Speaker 1: It was something as a little kid that aspired to
Speaker 1: be a professional athlete. He said, Wow, that would be
Speaker 1: cool if I ever had the opportunity to go out
Speaker 1: there and give the troops the respect they deserve and
Speaker 1: go to some of these foreign territories. And how how
Speaker 1: did you get involved in a chase? And welcome, thank
Speaker 1: you for coming on with us. Yeah, thanks for having me. Guys,
Speaker 1: really appreciate it. I didn't talk to you guys in
Speaker 1: a while, so it's good to be back back in
Speaker 1: your graces. But now we're we're excited about it. You know,
Speaker 1: I got I got invited to go this year, and
Speaker 1: you know, I'm one of five guys or four guys
Speaker 1: I believe going and and uh like you. Even when
Speaker 1: I was growing up, I saw you know, commercials of
Speaker 1: the USO and the NFL and NFL and just their
Speaker 1: longstanding relationship, and I've always been interested in going just
Speaker 1: because I'm a huge military guy. My dad was in
Speaker 1: the Navy and same with my grandpa, and so for
Speaker 1: me to be able to get a chance to be
Speaker 1: able to go over there and try to get some
Speaker 1: smiles on those troops faces and bring a little bit
Speaker 1: of home, you know, football to them is something that
Speaker 1: I'm really excited about and I actually take pretty seriously. So, um, yeah,
Speaker 1: we're going over there April first, and we come back
Speaker 1: to seventh. So it's a quick trip in South Korea,
Speaker 1: and we're excited about going. Well, Chase Jim Miller here, Yeah,
Speaker 1: hey man. All I can tell you is this, my
Speaker 1: sister was a lifer in the Air Force and you
Speaker 1: mentioned your father being a ball This is I mean,
Speaker 1: it'll blow your mind. I had the opportunity to go
Speaker 1: over to Baghdad in Iraq and just to see the
Speaker 1: young men and women and how they work and how
Speaker 1: they serve this country. It's something that was life altering
Speaker 1: for me and blew my mind. It never it makes
Speaker 1: you so proud, you just I can't even tell you
Speaker 1: until you experience it first for yourself. But when when
Speaker 1: you go over there and you go out to these bases,
Speaker 1: you and you visit the troops and and there, you'll
Speaker 1: find out that I mean, they love football. I mean
Speaker 1: and very rarely do they get the opportunity to sit
Speaker 1: down and watch their games and enjoy the game. You know,
Speaker 1: it's got their radios going and all that. But I mean,
Speaker 1: this is a huge football fan base that you're about
Speaker 1: to go into their in Soul, Korea. Yeah, and listen,
Speaker 1: we're super excited about I know some of the guys
Speaker 1: that are going. Obviously Cam Jordan is one of the guys,
Speaker 1: Miles Jack and Stephen Gaskowski. Um so listen, we're bringing
Speaker 1: everything football that we got over there, and a lot
Speaker 1: of Bears gear. I've I've heard there's in the South
Speaker 1: Korean basis, there's actually a lot of Bears fans, so um,
Speaker 1: hopefully bring some some good spirited and uh conversations and
Speaker 1: fun over there. But we're just we're so excited. Um.
Speaker 1: It's just they're they're so selfless and the sacrifices that
Speaker 1: they make. I mean, you know, listen, I don't forget it,
Speaker 1: but it's but it's easy to forget sometimes that they're
Speaker 1: they're risking their lives every single day just to protect
Speaker 1: our freedoms here in the United States of America, And that,
Speaker 1: to me is the most arcrificial thing you could do.
Speaker 1: You know, Chase, looking at your itinerary you have on
Speaker 1: base lodging, you have canine unit tours, you tank unit tours,
Speaker 1: jet tours, aviation simulators, all the things that you kind
Speaker 1: of look at from the outside in that you're going
Speaker 1: to get a firsthand experience. I did notice though, three
Speaker 1: of the mornings you got breakfast on your own, and
Speaker 1: Stephen Gaskowski's gonna be there. Hey, you know, maybe you
Speaker 1: could afford a little bit of courtesy breakfast form and
Speaker 1: you know you're a negotiator. Eddie Jackson did it with haha.
Speaker 1: Clinton Dix. What about yourself? Hey, you know, you never
Speaker 1: know what can happen over there. You know, we might
Speaker 1: be rooming together, might be next door, might become best friends.
Speaker 1: You never know. So that's that's definitely up in the air,
Speaker 1: no questions about it. Well, I gotta know this if
Speaker 1: you're going to represent. I did a tour with coach
Speaker 1: Mike Smith. You have former head coach of the Atlanta Falcons.
Speaker 1: We were down at Fort Benny, and nobody knew this
Speaker 1: because they made us do the zip line where you
Speaker 1: got to go up however high the tower was. Who
Speaker 1: knew that Mike Smith was scared of heights? All right?
Speaker 1: He gets more to go, okay, So you got to
Speaker 1: represent and all these activities. So if you're scared of dogs,
Speaker 1: I don't care. You're doing the K nine unit, you're
Speaker 1: doing everything over their chase. You gotta represent. I know.
Speaker 1: So I'm actually buddies, pretty good buddies with Mark Ingram
Speaker 1: and everyone remembers the viral video on social media last
Speaker 1: year when they went over to Italy and Germany of
Speaker 1: him getting literally fun around and tackled by it by
Speaker 1: the K nine unit. So I might give out on
Speaker 1: that one. However, I'm sure there will be other challenges
Speaker 1: and experiences that I can do. But that looked pretty narly.
Speaker 1: So South Korea, do you know anything about the conditions,
Speaker 1: about the temperatures of the facilities in the area you're
Speaker 1: gonna be in. Did they have you prepared for that? So? Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean, actually they've they've done a really good job,
Speaker 1: the USO in the NFL just really getting us prepared
Speaker 1: and I've already started packing. It's it's gonna be, you know,
Speaker 1: a little bit warmer than normal time of year. It's
Speaker 1: gonna be like or like light sixties, uh in the
Speaker 1: afternoon and uh, you know, really low in the forties
Speaker 1: probably so twenty degree spread not bad. So most likely
Speaker 1: we'll be wearing pants and all Bears gear, Bears hats.
Speaker 1: Maybe I'll bring a Bears hoodie to giveaway or whatnot.
Speaker 1: So yeah, we're we're we're really excited. Obviously. Um, I've
Speaker 1: actually watched a bunch of documentaries on South Korea and
Speaker 1: actually North Korea and just the tensions there. Obviously that exists,
Speaker 1: we all know what happens there. But um, the DMZ,
Speaker 1: the militarized zone, is something that a lot of documentaries.
Speaker 1: Nat Geo has a great one out on it, but
Speaker 1: I've actually watched a lot of those, and we actually
Speaker 1: get to go to the DMZ though, which is which
Speaker 1: is pretty spectacular, I think. So I'm looking forward to
Speaker 1: that as well. Chase, you got to you gotta pack
Speaker 1: all Bears clothes and you got to come home with nothing.
Speaker 1: I mean, this is a trip that you have to
Speaker 1: go out there and as soon as you walk away
Speaker 1: from an event, that shirt, that sweatshirt, that hoodie, those
Speaker 1: shoes they got, they got to stay behind. There's no question.
Speaker 1: I've already talked to Team Ed and he's already sending
Speaker 1: over a budget of a Bears gear over there, so
Speaker 1: we will be fully represented over there. No questions about us. Well,
Speaker 1: are you doing anything to video record? You know, because that's,
Speaker 1: like you said, just something to experience that not a
Speaker 1: lot of people would get to experience, like you said,
Speaker 1: to see a different culture. And I don't know, it
Speaker 1: sounds like even the weather, that's nothing, man, that's like
Speaker 1: a Thursday night Bears football game against the Ramps. I
Speaker 1: mean that's nothing. Yea, that's all said, Doe. That's great weather. Actually,
Speaker 1: So I'm looking forward to that um, you know, it's
Speaker 1: it's uh, it's an experience to say the least. And
Speaker 1: so definitely, you know, I've been talking to the social
Speaker 1: media people over at the Bears and between my Instagram
Speaker 1: and and the Bears Instagram, you guys might want to
Speaker 1: watch out for maybe some live videos or maybe some
Speaker 1: Instagram stories or some Instagram posts because I think we're
Speaker 1: going to work together and try to give you know,
Speaker 1: fans that can't make it over there obviously, which is
Speaker 1: everyone behind the scenes look and tour of everything that
Speaker 1: we can show on video. You know, when you come
Speaker 1: back into town, you're going to be right back in
Speaker 1: the mix of things. Last year, for that first team meeting,
Speaker 1: we as Bears fans, Bears supporters, we didn't know anything
Speaker 1: about Matt Naggie, We didn't know anything about the team.
Speaker 1: Do you think when you go into that second team
Speaker 1: meeting this year it's going to be drastically different or
Speaker 1: is it going to be similar to last year? But
Speaker 1: now the players that have been in that room before
Speaker 1: know what to expect. I think it'll be different and
Speaker 1: a good different, and that's what you want. You know,
Speaker 1: there's stages to new coaches and new takeovers. Of teams.
Speaker 1: And this is our second year, right, So first year
Speaker 1: twelve and four did some amazing things, but in the end,
Speaker 1: we really didn't do anything. We lost the first round
Speaker 1: playoff game, and obviously ultimate goals to win, win the championship,
Speaker 1: to win the ring, the Lombardi Trophy, and something that
Speaker 1: we are excited about doing and understand that it starts now.
Speaker 1: And I just think there's a level of expectation around
Speaker 1: the Bears, on offense, on defense, special teams, everyone in
Speaker 1: the building, the GM down to the janitor staff. It's
Speaker 1: just something that we expect to win, and we obviously
Speaker 1: know what it takes to get there, but obviously what
Speaker 1: else it takes to get to that ultimate goal? Well
Speaker 1: last one for me, chase for that drive that you're
Speaker 1: talking about there, that's you know, everybody to hold each
Speaker 1: other accountable, and Moore's expected, certainly because everybody wants to
Speaker 1: accomplish more. Just from your perspective, You've been on a
Speaker 1: lot of teams. I personally, as an outsider looking at
Speaker 1: the Bears locker room, coaches, everybody, I just get a
Speaker 1: sense that and I've said this in Tom and I
Speaker 1: have discussed it. The maturity of This team is different
Speaker 1: than others I have witnessed store that I've been upon.
Speaker 1: You know, good teams that I've been on have been
Speaker 1: a mature team and it's reflected it in terms of
Speaker 1: the wins and losses on the field. I'd like to
Speaker 1: get your perception and what you've seen being a part
Speaker 1: of the Chicago Barrison in that locker room. Yeah, there's
Speaker 1: no question. It's something that people are excited. People want
Speaker 1: to come to Chicago to play. And it starts with
Speaker 1: you know, I go back to Matt Naggie and everything
Speaker 1: he's done and the culture he sat and the man
Speaker 1: he is, and and obviously Ryan Pace and our ownership
Speaker 1: up to the mc caskeys, mister Phillips, everyone involved has
Speaker 1: made this an organization that people want to be at
Speaker 1: and once people are there, even though we are a
Speaker 1: very young locker room right our core nucleus is very young,
Speaker 1: the leadership there is unreal It's it's one of the
Speaker 1: better teams I've ever been a part of. Obviously, you know,
Speaker 1: me being the oldest guy on the team gains a
Speaker 1: little perspective to see these young twenty five twenty six
Speaker 1: year old guys going into a leadership perspective, in point
Speaker 1: of view you, and it's just it's fun to watch man,
Speaker 1: it's fun to be a part of. It's sort of
Speaker 1: rejuvenated me and listen, I'm more excited than ever for
Speaker 1: this upcoming season. A chase last question for us. Last week,
Speaker 1: I was up to look at your new facility. It
Speaker 1: is incredible. It is insane. But there's got to be
Speaker 1: a message that goes along with that. But it's got
Speaker 1: to come from experienced guys like yourself. It can't be
Speaker 1: the twenty two twenty three year olds. It's about how
Speaker 1: do you accept the new facility, don't be late because
Speaker 1: of space all those other things that have to be said.
Speaker 1: It's impressive, but it also is gonna take a little
Speaker 1: bit of growing into a facility that large, beautiful and
Speaker 1: spread out. Yeah, no question, Listen, a lot of guys
Speaker 1: haven't really seen it, so we'll be seeing it the
Speaker 1: first time when we started on April fifteenth, for the
Speaker 1: first time really since it's been done. I know it's
Speaker 1: supposed to finish here pretty soon, and we're excited about Listen.
Speaker 1: We understand that there's a lot of work that went
Speaker 1: into it that you know, it wasn't only the success
Speaker 1: on the football field that led to this, but the
Speaker 1: ownership that said, hey, we want to have the best
Speaker 1: facilities in all the National Football League. And I truly
Speaker 1: believe that's what we're getting. And I understand that that
Speaker 1: guys maybe coming in that are rookies or second year guys.
Speaker 1: This is not the norm, right, this is the bar standard.
Speaker 1: Nothing's ever given to you. You have to work for it.
Speaker 1: And we understand that that's part of the next progression
Speaker 1: of this team, and so we're looking forward to it. Well, Chase,
Speaker 1: from all the Chicago Bears fans and supporter, thank you
Speaker 1: for supporting the us the USO and the NFL, and
Speaker 1: have a great time and tell those guys that they
Speaker 1: have a lot of support from the Chicago Bears and
Speaker 1: the Chicago Bears audience. I will thank you guys so much.
Speaker 1: Thank you. I have a great trip. All Right, we'll
Speaker 1: be right back for our last segment and Jim and
Speaker 1: I will talk a little bit more about the beginning
Speaker 1: of the Chicago Bears season. And we can't forget about
Speaker 1: green Bay Chicago Thursday Night win tickets to every twenty
Speaker 1: nineteen Chicago Bears home and away game with the schedule
Speaker 1: prediction challenge brought to you by United Airlines enter at
Speaker 1: Chicago Bears dot com. I'd be a heck of a
Speaker 1: thing to get right, as hard as the NCAA bracket.
Speaker 1: Jim Miller Tom therel on Chicago Bears All Access. So, Jim,
Speaker 1: I got a question that can probably take you the
Speaker 1: final of the show to answer it. So we talked
Speaker 1: about Chase and I was interested in his answer, what's
Speaker 1: going to be different than last year? And he says,
Speaker 1: there's gonna be a lot of things different. So last year,
Speaker 1: going into it, we didn't know a lot about coach Naggy,
Speaker 1: his game thinking process, his use of personnel, the multiple
Speaker 1: levels to this offense, Mitch's continual improvement throughout the season,
Speaker 1: week in and week out. So I'm asking you from
Speaker 1: from what you've experienced with the Bears, do they have
Speaker 1: a number one influence on this offense? You know what
Speaker 1: I'm saying? Do I think you know just the impactful players?
Speaker 1: You know, Mitch is going to take another step forward.
Speaker 1: He's gonna take controls or the rains of the offense.
Speaker 1: He's gonna feel much more comfortable. I think he'll take
Speaker 1: the much more initiative to be more assertive. I think
Speaker 1: a lot of players on offense even felt that way,
Speaker 1: lasting towards the end of the end of the year.
Speaker 1: And again I go back to when the head coach
Speaker 1: challenged him. I think about that jet scheme the second half,
Speaker 1: Matt Naggie walking down to that end zone saying, hey,
Speaker 1: we need you. It's time for you to step up
Speaker 1: right now, young man, and you gotta you know, we
Speaker 1: need you right now. And I think that happened numerous
Speaker 1: times and really to me a huge growth point for him.
Speaker 1: You could see it was at the end of the season,
Speaker 1: week sixteen, or the final week, week seventeen, I should say,
Speaker 1: against the Minnesota Vikings. That's a big game on the
Speaker 1: road that really had a huge impact the following week
Speaker 1: or for the Bears to make the playoffs and seal
Speaker 1: the deal. So I thought Mitch stepped up huge. So
Speaker 1: I think he is going to have a huge opportunity
Speaker 1: to assert himself even more and have more confidence doing
Speaker 1: in time. I really believe that. Say. So, you know,
Speaker 1: back in our days we watch Randy Moss, what an
Speaker 1: influence he was with Minnesota, or Adrian Peters and his
Speaker 1: prime Barry Sanders all these guys. So as NFL changed
Speaker 1: where it's not about the number one receiver, the number
Speaker 1: one running back, it's about a number one offensive player.
Speaker 1: In today's evalation evolution of the game, it could be
Speaker 1: Mitchell Trubisky. No, I think he's got to be the leader.
Speaker 1: He's got to be the one running the show because
Speaker 1: he just he touches the ball so much in his
Speaker 1: decision making could really, you know, affect the outcome of
Speaker 1: a game so quickly. You know, there's a reason why
Speaker 1: Blake Bortles is out of Jacksonville. You know there's there's
Speaker 1: a reason for that. Okay, And they need a certain
Speaker 1: level of play, and every team that's going to go
Speaker 1: postseason time to make a run at the super Bowl,
Speaker 1: you need a certain level of play out of the
Speaker 1: quarterback position. I think Mitch is capable of doing that.
Speaker 1: I still think you need your stars to be stars.
Speaker 1: You know, whether it's an Alan Robinson, I think for
Speaker 1: for Trey Burton to have his impact for Tarik Coo
Speaker 1: and to make the plays that he makes, your star
Speaker 1: players need to be stars, both on offense and defense.
Speaker 1: And the other guys need to obviously supplement that with
Speaker 1: their level of play and their dedication and how they
Speaker 1: supplement you know, the big play impactability of certain guys
Speaker 1: on your team. It's definitely a total team effort, but
Speaker 1: I definitely think certain guys definitely need to raise their
Speaker 1: level of play, and normally that's your special players on
Speaker 1: your team. All right, going back again a year before
Speaker 1: all this got underway, you know, looking at the division
Speaker 1: a year ago, it was probably Minnesota one, green Bay
Speaker 1: to Detroit, and the Bears somewhere tied up there. Going
Speaker 1: into this year, the perception is probably the Bears number one.
Speaker 1: Who's number two in the division? I think, well, green Bay,
Speaker 1: you're going to say the quarterback, they feel that they've made,
Speaker 1: you know, dived into free agency. Why can't they have
Speaker 1: a turnaround much like the Bears did a season ago.
Speaker 1: I think Minnesota keeping that team intact, you know that,
Speaker 1: I think that is a huge ability for them. Detroit
Speaker 1: I think still has a level of growth period. You know,
Speaker 1: here you have Matt Naggie and everybody has bought into
Speaker 1: his culture, so to speak. The changing of a culture
Speaker 1: that is yet to happen up there in Detroit. I mean, shoot,
Speaker 1: there were articles and I live in Motown there were articles,
Speaker 1: you know, three quarters away through the season a players
Speaker 1: bitch and that they had to practice outside. Are you
Speaker 1: kidding me? I mean, I mean, so they go out
Speaker 1: and they sign a whole bunch of X New England
Speaker 1: Patriots players that don't have a problem doing that, Guys
Speaker 1: that are more tough minded, pack of lunch, bring a
Speaker 1: flashlight type of players that I think there's more work
Speaker 1: to do for the Detroit Lions. But Minnesota remains intact.
Speaker 1: Now their quarterback, this is a big year for him.
Speaker 1: He signs a three year deal a year ago guaranteed. Heck,
Speaker 1: he could be renegotiating his contract how well Minnesota does
Speaker 1: at the end of this year. And green Bay always
Speaker 1: feels like they have a shot with Rogers and they
Speaker 1: feel they've done enough in free agency. But I agree
Speaker 1: with you. The best built roster I think would be Chicago, Minnesota,
Speaker 1: then green Bay, then Detroit. There you have, We'll see
Speaker 1: how it all unfolds. The producers Tonight, Mike Change, Jackson,
Speaker 1: Jack Savio, and Herb Lawrence. Thank you for guys for
Speaker 1: sending all of this up for me. Thanks for Jim Miller,
Speaker 1: Thanks Chase Daniel, Thank Buster Screen, everybody here and we'll
Speaker 1: see you next week on Chicago Bears All Access with
Speaker 1: Jeff Joniac