Speaker 1: Cut over that DJ Moore episode Touchdown Touchdown Pairs. I
Speaker 1: am Jeff jonihat Witz is.
Speaker 2: On Dottie go up.
Speaker 1: What was like playing for Coche Googdom.
Speaker 2: I don't want to answer any questions like that.
Speaker 1: Pressure coming is a big trouble Doti gos motest Sweat.
Speaker 3: Bears, et Cetera brought to you by Miller Lighte with
Speaker 3: the voices of the Bears, Jeff Joniac and Tom Thayer.
Speaker 1: Well cut down day of the NFL is a very
Speaker 1: personal matter, tough day for a large number of players
Speaker 1: who go through a wide range of emotions from the
Speaker 1: expectation they might be let go to absolute shot. This
Speaker 1: episode eighty eight of the Bears et Cetera podcast is
Speaker 1: brought to you by Miller Lte. Assistant gm Ian Cunningham
Speaker 1: did an interview with the thirty third team balancing the
Speaker 1: excitement of the final fifty three in the season and
Speaker 1: thirty seven guys that essentially Tom Thayer would be getting
Speaker 1: fired sixteen could be back on the practice squad. It's
Speaker 1: not fun. He was released. You've been cut before. It's
Speaker 1: the toughest conversation you have to go through. But at
Speaker 1: the same time you're excited for the season if you're
Speaker 1: in the front office, so it's a weird feeling in
Speaker 1: the building. Can you relate to all that emotion right there?
Speaker 2: You know?
Speaker 3: The incredible sense of accomplishment when I was with the
Speaker 3: Chicago Bears was leaving Platteviell, Wisconsin and looking at the
Speaker 3: campus in your room rearview mirror and thinking, Okay, I
Speaker 3: got over the first hurtle and I made the football team.
Speaker 3: But the head coach will come into the room after that,
Speaker 3: fifty three assembles for the first time, and they're going
Speaker 3: to give the speech, and everybody gives it, and the
Speaker 3: same speech every year is look, this is not a
Speaker 3: finished product. This is not a finished roster. So if
Speaker 3: you think you've made the team for now and forever
Speaker 3: and you don't continue to work, we'll look to replace you.
Speaker 3: So there's always a little bit of apprehension with the
Speaker 3: good news of making a football team, but there's a
Speaker 3: certain sense of accomplishment when you walk out of training
Speaker 3: camp and you've kind of earned the opportunity unity to
Speaker 3: have a position on a football team.
Speaker 1: The practice squad will be put together announced later on Wednesday.
Speaker 1: Among the cuts that we're not going to go through
Speaker 1: each and every one. Is there anything that sticks out
Speaker 1: to you, I'll jump in right away before you give
Speaker 1: a give us your thought, but not a surprise. But
Speaker 1: I would have really loved to find a place for
Speaker 1: Reddy Stewart, the young cornerback. My guess is he'll be
Speaker 1: on the practice squad. Micah Baskerville has done a nice
Speaker 1: job both as a linebacker, but the Bears are really
Speaker 1: strong at linebacker, and he's a very good special teams player.
Speaker 1: And then at the tight end position Steven Carlson, Brendan Bates.
Speaker 1: Those are the areas that I was going to look at.
Speaker 1: But again, it's a numbers game time because as a
Speaker 1: matter of how many offensive linemen you want to keep,
Speaker 1: how many defensive linemen you keep, those are the big
Speaker 1: numbers right there.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, guys like Strohman who had some game
Speaker 3: action understand what a contributor is on special teams. He's
Speaker 3: a multi talented kid and can play a couple different positions.
Speaker 2: Carls Jones Junior. I thought it was a guy.
Speaker 3: That puts some ability on display in the Hall of
Speaker 3: Fame game and throughout training camp.
Speaker 2: He runs really well.
Speaker 3: But maybe he's the type of guy that could come
Speaker 3: back to a practice squad Brendan Bates, like you mentioned,
Speaker 3: I thought he really had a chance to make this
Speaker 3: football team. And if he doesn't get picked up by
Speaker 3: somebody else, maybe he will come back to the Bears,
Speaker 3: because he's definitely a guy that I would like to
Speaker 3: invest some time, some coaching, some weight room, some dietitians
Speaker 3: in because I think he could grow into a quality
Speaker 3: tight end. And we know how many injuries there are
Speaker 3: in that position. And I'm confused about the quarterback position.
Speaker 3: You got rid of ripping, you got rid of read,
Speaker 3: and so you have two guys on the roster.
Speaker 2: Who was that third guy gonna be?
Speaker 3: Do they target a guy with as on another roster
Speaker 3: on another team that they fill can come in here
Speaker 3: and fill the void, or do they still have one
Speaker 3: of those two guys as a Canada come here and
Speaker 3: be that practice squad quarterback.
Speaker 1: Yeah, there's possibility both could be on the practice squad.
Speaker 1: The veteran influence in the young developing quarter back and read.
Speaker 1: So a lot of folks are wondering what was going
Speaker 1: to happen with Vaylis Jones.
Speaker 3: He kind of always wanted He left me wanting more
Speaker 3: because when Vaylas Jones Junior came aboard the Chicago Bears,
Speaker 3: we knew that he was a mature guy coming out
Speaker 3: of college.
Speaker 2: He was older than most of the guys.
Speaker 3: He has some really good qualities about him in terms
Speaker 3: of side speed, a thick body. But you know, when
Speaker 3: they gave him an opportunity as a wide receiver, he
Speaker 3: never came up with a big catch. When they allowed
Speaker 3: him be a punt returner, he made more you know,
Speaker 3: fumbles and drops than he did good secure catches. And
Speaker 3: we all know what the return game wasn't last year,
Speaker 3: but what it's becoming this year. And there's a lot
Speaker 3: of body styles that are changing in the returner and
Speaker 3: another running back.
Speaker 2: I don't think it's just.
Speaker 3: A plug and play type of position. I think you
Speaker 3: need to develop the instincts and the sight lines of
Speaker 3: a running back that can really help you turn the
Speaker 3: corner or become the running back that's expected of you,
Speaker 3: especially at this level.
Speaker 1: Well, one of the guys that I'm super happy for
Speaker 1: is Daniel Hardy. He makes the football team at least
Speaker 1: right now with Montes Sweat, Austin Booker, DeMarcus Walker, Darryl Taylor,
Speaker 1: dom Robinson, and Daniel Hardy. Daniel really put forth some
Speaker 1: great tape this preseason. Was one of the NFC leaders
Speaker 1: in sacks with three and a half. I know it's
Speaker 1: just preseason, but he had to play that way to
Speaker 1: make this football team and he did. He hustles. The
Speaker 1: guy hustles, and he could play special teams, you know,
Speaker 1: And I'm glad you said that, because the first thing
Speaker 1: that comes to mind when you talk about Daniel Hardy
Speaker 1: is israel A Donaja.
Speaker 3: Israel A Donaje was a guy that kind of could
Speaker 3: play up and down the defensive line of scrimmage. But
Speaker 3: he is one of the greatest contributors on special teams
Speaker 3: of all big guys that I think I've ever been around.
Speaker 3: And I know kickoff coverage has changed a lot, but
Speaker 3: Daniel Hardy has the size, the athleticism, the escapability, the
Speaker 3: tackling ability to go out there and be a contributor
Speaker 3: at that position and probably on punt team on the
Speaker 3: interior as well. So that's the one thing about Daniel Hardy.
Speaker 3: He created his own opportunity because when Jacob Martin got
Speaker 3: hurt early in training camp, that kind of moves everybody
Speaker 3: in that line up one person, But I mean, how
Speaker 3: do you react to that advancement in that line? Do
Speaker 3: you duck your head in the sand and hope you
Speaker 3: don't get seen, or do you raise your hand like
Speaker 3: the smartest kid in the class and provide the right
Speaker 3: answer every time?
Speaker 2: And that's exactly what he did.
Speaker 1: And Martin he would be an ir with a chance
Speaker 1: to return as he continues his rehab. Same story for
Speaker 1: Larry Borum at offensive tackle. Others on the injured reserve
Speaker 1: list symbol Webster Dante Pettis do one.
Speaker 2: Thing to interrupt you do we know the story of
Speaker 2: Colin Johnson.
Speaker 1: He's been cut, yes, so he could be signed back
Speaker 1: to the practice squad. He could be signed back.
Speaker 3: You know, he would be the type of guy that
Speaker 3: if I felt through a training staff that he's the
Speaker 3: type of guy that could stay healthy for the long term,
Speaker 3: that I would possibly bringing back on the training camp
Speaker 3: because I know that he didn't contribute until late in
Speaker 3: the season last year. And if that's the guy you
Speaker 3: always need waiting in the wings when conditions deteriorate and
Speaker 3: maybe you start running the ball a little bit more.
Speaker 3: He is a good blocker from the wide receiver position.
Speaker 1: So right now, wherever you want to categorize Dayless Jones,
Speaker 1: maybe just as a utility man. There's six wide receivers
Speaker 1: on the roster and they all are unique in their
Speaker 1: own way. Obviously with more Alan Aduonsay Tyler Scott, DeAndre
Speaker 1: Carter was a good chance to be the punt return
Speaker 1: man or the kickoff for turnman or both, and Vayless
Speaker 1: Jones the corners, heavy heavy corner. All of them can play.
Speaker 1: Jalen Johnson, Tyreek Stevenson, Kyler Gordon, Terrell Smith, Jalen Jones,
Speaker 1: Josh Blackwell all play roles. There will be several of
Speaker 1: those guys that are impact players on special teams, and
Speaker 1: it gives you a lot of depth at all three
Speaker 1: of those cornerback positions, including nickel Tommy.
Speaker 3: Probably the most important position to have depth on in
Speaker 3: the modern day NFL of any other position that you
Speaker 3: can talk about, because to me, cornerback outs of quarterback,
Speaker 3: is the most difficult position in the NFL to fine talent,
Speaker 3: and when you talk about those number of guys that
Speaker 3: are that talented, if there is any type of hiccup
Speaker 3: with injury during the course of the season, you have
Speaker 3: a plug and play cornerback that's difficult to find.
Speaker 1: Jeff, Joniak and Tom there with you here on Bears
Speaker 1: et Cetera, Episode eighty eight. It's brought to you by
Speaker 1: Middle of Like Taste Like Middle Time, Celebrate Responsibly, Midder
Speaker 1: Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Ninety six calories and three point
Speaker 1: two cars per twelve ounces. Okay, take me back to
Speaker 1: your time. What that moment is like from your own
Speaker 1: experience and what you've heard from others over the years
Speaker 1: when they do get that call or when you were
Speaker 1: called into Coach Wantstat's office and you know what we're gon,
Speaker 1: we're gonna move on, and you landed with the Miami Dolphins.
Speaker 1: What was your personal emotion.
Speaker 3: Such disappointment, such failure, self self failure. I was coming
Speaker 3: off of back surgery and I did I probably did
Speaker 3: and live up to what the expectations were of Tony Weiss,
Speaker 3: the offensive line coach, and Dave Wanstead and you know,
Speaker 3: Girling going with a younger group of guys. I hold
Speaker 3: no grudges before because of that. The difference is they
Speaker 3: always used to get you get a phone call from
Speaker 3: the secretary and Mary called me up and she said
Speaker 3: Tom coach Wantstead wants to see you and bring in
Speaker 3: your playbook. So there I carry in my three hundred
Speaker 3: page playbook that's in a binder that after you give
Speaker 3: it to that secretary, you know exactly what's coming next. Nowadays,
Speaker 3: they just whitewashed you from the.
Speaker 2: Tablet and you're not carrying anything in with you.
Speaker 3: So the difference in the modern day trimming down the
Speaker 3: rosters different than the old school trimming down to the roster.
Speaker 3: But like I said, I was proud of what I
Speaker 3: accomplished with the Chicago Bears. I held no grudges. By
Speaker 3: the time that I was cut, I got home and
Speaker 3: I already had calls from four teams that wanted me
Speaker 3: to fly in for a tryout, Washington Redskins being one
Speaker 3: of them, Redskins at the time, Miami Dolphins being one
Speaker 3: of them, and Miami Dolphins needed help immediately. And so
Speaker 3: when you think about the fantasy of playing on a
Speaker 3: football team that's not in the Midwest, that you see
Speaker 3: these players that are ten all year round, I was going, Wow,
Speaker 3: that may be a chance to explore the AFC passing
Speaker 3: game football that I'm not really familiar with from playing
Speaker 3: in the NFC, So I went down there and had
Speaker 3: a great opportunity to play there for a year. But
Speaker 3: that initial call that you get one of the secretaries
Speaker 3: on the other end of the phone, it kind of
Speaker 3: gives you that nervousness and the pit.
Speaker 2: Of your stomach.
Speaker 3: Whether you get a call the hey, the doctor wants
Speaker 3: to see you, or Hey, your principal needs to see you,
Speaker 3: or the dean of students needs to see you, it's
Speaker 3: one of those calls that gives you an immediate queasy
Speaker 3: feeling in your stomach.
Speaker 2: And it did.
Speaker 3: I was thirty three, thirty two years old, and I
Speaker 3: felt like I was being called into Dean Roads office
Speaker 3: at Julia Katholic.
Speaker 1: There's a great article on the Tribune on a Tuesday
Speaker 1: of my Brad Biggs. He repurposed a story he did
Speaker 1: long time ago with Jeremy Snyder, a friend of ours
Speaker 1: who used to work in the Bears video department and
Speaker 1: now in the scout for the Canadian Football League. And
Speaker 1: he was the Turk and guys would hide. They try
Speaker 1: to find veterans that may have known it was coming.
Speaker 1: You couldn't find him, but he had They had to
Speaker 1: find him. Was a face to face thing it wasn't
Speaker 1: a phone call. You had to face him face to face.
Speaker 1: So just extraordinary stories. Indeed, and I'm certain it's not
Speaker 1: that way now and it's more of a congenial conversation
Speaker 1: and you know, come to the office and here we go, Jeff.
Speaker 3: Back in our day, before the invention of cell phones
Speaker 3: and text messages and emails and that type of contact,
Speaker 3: you could hear a faint knocko ound in the platt
Speaker 3: filled dorm room at five o'clock in the morning, at
Speaker 3: five thirty in the morning, and it would be the
Speaker 3: turk of that time, would open the door, aren't say, hey,
Speaker 3: coach wants to see you, and you'd see that poor
Speaker 3: guy walking down the hallway with his playbook in hand,
Speaker 3: and then coming back to his dorm room, no playbook
Speaker 3: in hand, and with the door open inside their packing.
Speaker 3: And that's one of the most difficult things is friendships
Speaker 3: before cuts, because you don't necessarily make friendships before cuts,
Speaker 3: because you don't want to become close to a person
Speaker 3: that you're either competing against or you kind of feel
Speaker 3: that they're gonna get cut. And because that instant in time,
Speaker 3: that instant of uh, you know, you're not you you
Speaker 3: are on your way to adulthood, but you're still trying
Speaker 3: to compete to play a sport, and it's a it's
Speaker 3: a tough couple of minutes.
Speaker 1: Bears, et cetera is brought to you by a P
Speaker 1: and C Official Bank of the Bears and Busy Heart
Speaker 1: Seltz your flavors for every vipe ce Responsibly Most in
Speaker 1: Course Beverage Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Okay, let's take a look
Speaker 1: at the roster.
Speaker 2: Now.
Speaker 1: First of all, it's bigger, it's bigger, it's better, it's faster,
Speaker 1: it's deeper.
Speaker 2: Would you agree? You know?
Speaker 3: And okay, what's what's bigger, what's better, what's faster? The
Speaker 3: wide receiver position is faster. Defensive backs are fast. The
Speaker 3: linebacker position is gonna play faster because now they have experience,
Speaker 3: Tremaine Edmunds and TJ. Edwards and so those guys are
Speaker 3: going to play a faster brand of football along with
Speaker 3: Jack Sanborn and the rest of the crew. The defensive
Speaker 3: line is bigger. When you look at your Von Dexter,
Speaker 3: you will have what you have in Billings. You have
Speaker 3: what you have in Montes sweat. He's a big man,
Speaker 3: and you the rest of the crew that's gonna fit in, Uh, defensively,
Speaker 3: how they're going to fit in offensive line.
Speaker 2: Darnell Wright is a big man, so is Braxton Jones.
Speaker 3: They have some size on the inside with Tevin Jenkins
Speaker 3: and Hope you get consistency at the right guy, right guard.
Speaker 2: And you have Coleman Shelton right now at the center position.
Speaker 3: Uh. The tight end position is big with Mercedes and Uh,
Speaker 3: you know Cole and the rest of the the rest
Speaker 3: of the crew there.
Speaker 1: Matt Bryor on the offensive line, a big man who
Speaker 1: can play three positions.
Speaker 3: Huge man, big, big man. And you know the running
Speaker 3: back position's quality. I think DeAndre Swift is a great
Speaker 3: addition to this group of guys that came in here
Speaker 3: and made the position even more competitive.
Speaker 1: We always talk about players, but let's talk about the
Speaker 1: coaching staff. I think Maddie Refluse is in the right
Speaker 1: sweet spot right now for him. He's the head coach
Speaker 1: of this football team, but he's also going to be
Speaker 1: calling defensive plays and that's where his heart is. He
Speaker 1: just feels like it feels to me anyway, not from
Speaker 1: his mouth, these are my words. It just feels this
Speaker 1: is right in his wheelhouse. Okay, and he's managing the situation.
Speaker 1: He's got twenty five twenty six assistant coaches on this
Speaker 1: staff to help him out. And then you got the
Speaker 1: offensive coordinator, Shan Waldohn. He's impressed us both not only
Speaker 1: is in his demeanor, his understanding and explanation of what
Speaker 1: he wants to do, but also in what he's called,
Speaker 1: at least in the preseason balance. Yeah.
Speaker 3: You know one thing about Mattie Refluse, since he took
Speaker 3: over play calling last year, that's undeniable. The defense got better,
Speaker 3: and whenever you have the head coach that's making the
Speaker 3: calls on defense, you have a certain you capture the
Speaker 3: player's attention with a little bit more seriousness. I think
Speaker 3: the addition to Eric Washington, defensive coordinator, is a great
Speaker 3: addition to the intelligence of the staff. He's a really
Speaker 3: good person. He relates really well to these football players
Speaker 3: and they have a lot of respect for him. And
Speaker 3: that's all the other assistant coaches on defense as well.
Speaker 3: Matt Eberflus is also a good influence on a young
Speaker 3: quarterback because he knows exactly what a defense is trying
Speaker 3: to do to defense against the quarterback they're playing against,
Speaker 3: and so that relatable message to a young quarterback like
Speaker 3: Caleb Williams is super influential and educational in the development stages.
Speaker 3: And listen, I don't know Shane Waldron very well yet,
Speaker 3: but from what I see out of him and the
Speaker 3: way he calls the game in training camps and the
Speaker 3: training camp games and in practices itself, and when you
Speaker 3: look at the balance and the inclusion of everybody, I'm
Speaker 3: super excited to see where this regular season is going
Speaker 3: to go.
Speaker 2: In the first portion of the season.
Speaker 1: Tastes like middle time. Go to Middle of Light dot
Speaker 1: com slash bears pod to find delivery options near you.
Speaker 1: Celebrate responsibly. Midder Ruined Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Ninety six calories
Speaker 1: and three point two carbs for twelve ounces. So the
Speaker 1: owners passed a new rule that would have allowed a
Speaker 1: third quarterback to be elevated from the practice squad an
Speaker 1: unlimited number of game days. So the NFLPA rejected that.
Speaker 1: So the proposed change of a quarterback emergency role was tabled.
Speaker 1: So that impacts well you do now with the roster.
Speaker 1: So Bret Rippin, for example, he had one hundred and
Speaker 1: thirty one point four quarterback rating in the preseason look
Speaker 1: great and can look very very good, and is a
Speaker 1: veteran guy that can provide some help in that regard.
Speaker 1: So if you're going to choose address a third quarterback
Speaker 1: on game day, you got to keep him on the
Speaker 1: active roster. Now, you can be elevated off the practice squad,
Speaker 1: but you can only be done three times on game day.
Speaker 1: So how do you feel about this rule? Obviously it's
Speaker 1: about money the Union would like to pay a third quarterback,
Speaker 1: but this would have been a good move for the
Speaker 1: entire NFL given how many quarterbacks the league has gone
Speaker 1: through the last two years.
Speaker 3: One of the dumber rejections of a smart rule I've
Speaker 3: heard in a long time in the NFL. And you
Speaker 3: know me, I don't agree with a lot of these changes,
Speaker 3: But you know, just to analogize baseball, do you like
Speaker 3: to see a position player come in and throw batting
Speaker 3: practice when they're right?
Speaker 2: Okay, So that's the same thing with football.
Speaker 3: Do you want to see a clever wide receiver or
Speaker 3: a running back or whomever take over at the quarterback
Speaker 3: position if you have multiple injuries? So you have this
Speaker 3: third guy that's sitting on the sideline, and how about
Speaker 3: this put him on the roster. If he doesn't play
Speaker 3: in the game, you pay him whatever his practice squad
Speaker 3: salary is. If he does play in the game, then
Speaker 3: you elevate that week's check to a game day check Listen, Jeff,
Speaker 3: it's going to indeed multiple quarterbacks the game day roster,
Speaker 3: and like the rule says, once you put them in
Speaker 3: the game, they're there to stay.
Speaker 2: So again, just a dumb decision.
Speaker 3: I think that's failing the game day roster of the NFL.
Speaker 1: So let me say this about because people have asked
Speaker 1: me that you know, don't know all the interestcases of
Speaker 1: the salary capitold or what a paycheck is for a
Speaker 1: practice squad player. So the minimum salary is twelve thousand,
Speaker 1: five hundred a week. If you have two years experience,
Speaker 1: the minimum is sixteen eight hundred per week. Maximum salary
Speaker 1: twenty one thousand, three hundred per week, So over an
Speaker 1: eighteen week regular season, if you are on the practice squad,
Speaker 1: and if you get elevated three times your salary you
Speaker 1: don't have to be elevated three times, but your salary
Speaker 1: is anywhere between two hundred and twenty five grand and
Speaker 1: three hundred and eighty three thousand, four hundred dollars annually,
Speaker 1: more than I ever made.
Speaker 3: I mean right, got on the practice squad, never worried
Speaker 3: about playing in the games, go out there and give
Speaker 3: my great padded effort one day a week for fourteen
Speaker 3: weeks and get paid that salary.
Speaker 2: That's pretty handsome and so uh yeah, I mean listen.
Speaker 3: It creates a lot of incentive for these guys to
Speaker 3: go out there and put in the same offseason effort,
Speaker 3: in the same seasonal effort to make the practice squad
Speaker 3: as you do to make an active roster.
Speaker 1: A couple of other things, Since the twenty two quarterback
Speaker 1: class was selected, there's only two players left on their
Speaker 1: original teams at quarterback. So pick number two forty seven
Speaker 1: Skyler Thompson to Miami and picked two sixty two Brock
Speaker 1: Paridy of San Francisco League. Willis traded to the Green
Speaker 1: Bay Packers number eighty six. So this is the status
Speaker 1: of quarterback play. Twenty twenty one wasn't a heck of
Speaker 1: a lot better in terms of that too, So you
Speaker 1: really are swinging for quarterbacks. Much to your point about
Speaker 1: the rule, this league is thirsty for quarterbacks and that
Speaker 1: and three deep would be nice.
Speaker 3: It's well, it's one of the most difficult positions to scout,
Speaker 3: along with cornerback, because you don't know on cornerback if
Speaker 3: athleticism is going to compute to what you need in
Speaker 3: order to perfect the position. Same thing with quarterback. So
Speaker 3: from cornerback to quarterback. From what the college day offers
Speaker 3: these guys nowadays, they hold up a poster on the sideline,
Speaker 3: they look to the sideline, everybody gets their assignment. The
Speaker 3: quarterback collaps his hands and they run the play accordingly
Speaker 3: the terminology that you have to master as an NFL quarterback,
Speaker 3: and then how it relates to vision, and then how
Speaker 3: it relates the decision making and then accuracy. It's such
Speaker 3: a difficult position to scout because if you think of
Speaker 3: some of the guys that were less than caliber athletes
Speaker 3: of the Peyton Mannings or the Tom Brady's or the
Speaker 3: Marinos that ran a five plus forty, and now you
Speaker 3: get these guys that ran four four forty, you think
Speaker 3: that's going to compute to be in a great quarterback.
Speaker 2: That's just not the case.
Speaker 1: We are brought to you by PNC Official Bank of
Speaker 1: the Bears. All right, Tom, I gave you a homework assignment,
Speaker 1: camp balls. You're the king of the camp balls. We
Speaker 1: used to give those every day during training camp. So
Speaker 1: I asked you to do some homework here. So camp
Speaker 1: ball on offense this year, and then we'll hit defense
Speaker 1: in special teams.
Speaker 3: You go first, Okay, And I know it's going to
Speaker 3: disappoint you so much, but I have a lot of
Speaker 3: joy in this. And it's yeah, Caleb is the easy choice.
Speaker 3: But my offensive campboy ball is going to Coleman Shelton.
Speaker 3: And I'll tell you why, Doug. Listen to be easy
Speaker 3: to go to. You know, to Caleb Williams obviously, but
Speaker 3: to me, Coleman Shelton has done the most for this
Speaker 3: offensive line than any other offensive lineman. Has uncertainty at
Speaker 3: the quarterback position, uncertainty at the center. Now after Ryan
Speaker 3: David Ryan Bates had to go over and play right
Speaker 3: guard a little bit, then Coleman Shelton came in and
Speaker 3: played center.
Speaker 2: He gave consistency to the position, consistency to the rhythm
Speaker 2: of the offensive line, the responsibility of understanding how to
Speaker 2: call out all the protections when you approach the line
Speaker 2: of scrimmage, and then how to change the protection responsibilities
Speaker 2: if the quarterback has to change play during the cadence,
Speaker 2: and then just giving the quarterback some veteran leadership of
Speaker 2: a guy that knows how to play the position. So
Speaker 2: Coleman Shelton come on down.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I like it. Why wouldn't I like it? He
Speaker 1: played seventeen games for the Rams last year. He knows
Speaker 1: this system very well. Mine's going to go to Keenan
Speaker 1: Allen because his reputation preceded himself and it was everything
Speaker 1: I thought it would be. He's a magnificent route runner.
Speaker 1: He creates separation as well as anybody ever has, and
Speaker 1: he made players on the other side of the ball better.
Speaker 1: I thought we saw Jalen Johnson elevate his game because
Speaker 1: of Keenan Allen. Keenan Allen gave him props too, and
Speaker 1: so I thought they hold iron Sharpen's iron thing. That
Speaker 1: was a no brainer for me. Keenan l and I
Speaker 1: think as camp wore on, he got better and better
Speaker 1: every day, gave full effort throughout training camp. How about
Speaker 1: the defensive side of the.
Speaker 3: Ball, I'm gonna go with Daniel Hardy And this is
Speaker 3: why he's another guy that they had. He had multiple
Speaker 3: bodies in front of him, and he was in the
Speaker 3: back of the line, not in the front of the line.
Speaker 3: Now he's still in the line. And if that's what
Speaker 3: you want to accomplish at the end of training camp,
Speaker 3: there's nothing more gratifying than taking a former basketball player
Speaker 3: that puts skills on display and then repeats that performance
Speaker 3: every training camp game.
Speaker 2: Then they have a team come.
Speaker 3: In and he does equally as well on one on
Speaker 3: ones against the Cincinnati Bengals in practice and then carries
Speaker 3: it out to the game field. As soon as there's
Speaker 3: someone that's injured in front of you. In the sport
Speaker 3: of professional and professional football especially, how does that next
Speaker 3: guy in line do? Do you have to go out
Speaker 3: there and look for another body or is that guy
Speaker 3: filling the void in Daniel Hardy congratulations.
Speaker 1: On the defensive side of the ball. I'm gonna go
Speaker 1: with Jalen Johnson. The leadership aspect is popping for him.
Speaker 1: He has the ear of those guys in the secondary
Speaker 1: and as that goes, as he goes, they go, And
Speaker 1: I think his emotion spreads his confidence, his cockiness, not
Speaker 1: in a negative way, in a positive way. Believes in
Speaker 1: himself more than anybody else in the world. He looks
Speaker 1: in the mirror and likes what he sees. I think
Speaker 1: that spreads throughout a football team special teams.
Speaker 2: You know, the easy choice would be Tory Taylor.
Speaker 1: Now that's my choice.
Speaker 3: I'm not taking him, okay, But you know the by
Speaker 3: guy though, is Josh Blackwell. I would because he's another
Speaker 3: guy that plays every special teams. He could be the
Speaker 3: special teams captain every week. He makes big open field tackles.
Speaker 3: He's every every team contributor outside of being an interior
Speaker 3: lineman on the extra point and.
Speaker 2: Field goal block. So Josh Blackwell a guy.
Speaker 3: That's coming to the NFL and now he's made it
Speaker 3: multiple years because he's a top special team performer.
Speaker 2: Come on down, Josh Blackwell.
Speaker 3: You're getting the practice, you're getting the official team's ball
Speaker 3: of camp.
Speaker 1: Let's make a deal.
Speaker 2: Uh huh. I like it.
Speaker 1: I like it recent Taylor not just because of his
Speaker 1: reputation as just an outstanding pun our great leg. You
Speaker 1: heard the kicks, you heard the booms, the placement, the accuracy.
Speaker 1: He led the NFC in net average here in the
Speaker 1: preseason at forty eight plus. So that's just part of it.
Speaker 1: It's his personality, it's his ability to handle snaps, which
Speaker 1: from a different long snapper than Patrick Scales required some adjustment.
Speaker 1: He managed that situation in weather. He managed that situation.
Speaker 1: So Tory Taylor and play a lot of football until college.
Speaker 1: None as a matter of fact. So we're just starting
Speaker 1: to see the best of this player. I think he'll
Speaker 1: be a weapon this year. Best rookie at Camp and
Speaker 1: you can include Caleb Williams, you have to. I know
Speaker 1: some people are doing this exercise and excluding him, but
Speaker 1: best rookie.
Speaker 3: At camp, best rookie at camp. You know, Brendan Bates,
Speaker 3: he's a guy.
Speaker 2: I liked him. I know he's not here anymore.
Speaker 1: But I think he'll be on the practice squad, you.
Speaker 2: Know, hopefully, so hopefully.
Speaker 3: So I I do like what I what I saw
Speaker 3: out of him, because again we talk about the versatility
Speaker 3: of the tight end position, the multiple roles that they
Speaker 3: have to present themselves in order to catch catch the
Speaker 3: coach's eye.
Speaker 2: You know, hopefully he's going to be a guy.
Speaker 3: That's either going to be in the NFL or he's
Speaker 3: going to be part of the Bears, because I do
Speaker 3: think that he's got a few a contributing future.
Speaker 1: Well, there's only so many six four, two hundred and
Speaker 1: fifty five pounders that run for six and wants to
Speaker 1: hit you and catch the football and railroad through you.
Speaker 2: And can play special teams.
Speaker 1: That's what I'm saying, to hit you. Yeah, I mean yeah,
Speaker 1: I like that player quite a bit. And you've heard
Speaker 1: me say it time and time again. Okay, last couple
Speaker 1: of things we hit was the kickoff return. Oh, I
Speaker 1: gotta give you mind. So I'm picking Caleb, and here
Speaker 1: are my reasons. He's the real deal in terms of
Speaker 1: his per What we read, what we heard, what we
Speaker 1: what we have experienced, more importantly, face to face is
Speaker 1: what I'm gonna take my evaluation on. First of all,
Speaker 1: he never flinched. He never will. I just this man
Speaker 1: is never gonna flinch, and that's why he has the
Speaker 1: potential to be great. He grew as a quarterback throughout
Speaker 1: this whole process. I think you would agree, never rattled
Speaker 1: by that aggressive defense, and I think they gave him
Speaker 1: an earfull throughout preseason entraining camp. He talked recently in
Speaker 1: an interview about competitive stamina, reaching out to various leaders
Speaker 1: in sports. Sitting down with Michael Jordan's trainer and good friend,
Speaker 1: of ours, which we hope we can get on this podcast,
Speaker 1: Tim Grover to find out what was it about Michael.
Speaker 1: You know, he read about Kolby. He was more of
Speaker 1: a Kobe experienced guy at a younger age, didn't get
Speaker 1: to watch MJ firsthand. But are those are decisions made
Speaker 1: by somebody who understands what he wants to be and
Speaker 1: he wants to be great. So I'm going with that.
Speaker 1: And then the actual play experience, the official movements in
Speaker 1: and around the pocket, the instinctual awareness to see what's
Speaker 1: coming and keep your eyes downfield to throw the football.
Speaker 1: I just I still go back to this, the weapon
Speaker 1: way around you. Hopefully the offensive line stays together. If
Speaker 1: you just find first downs, the touchdowns are going to follow.
Speaker 2: That's right.
Speaker 3: Hey, listen, I'm not disappointed by Caleb in any way,
Speaker 3: shape or for him.
Speaker 2: I think he's been a cool teammate.
Speaker 3: And as much as I didn't want to see hard knocks,
Speaker 3: I like to see a little bit about the behind
Speaker 3: the scenes of Caleb Williams in practice and in meetings.
Speaker 1: So I think you went with some creative ideas. I
Speaker 1: went with the chalk you know. Oh, that's the kind
Speaker 1: of how we roll because you're you're a thinker. You're
Speaker 1: a thinker, all right, gentleman by the name of Ted Winn,
Speaker 1: he writes for The Athletic, did his own research. Since
Speaker 1: twenty twenty, the average starting position after kickoff twenty five
Speaker 1: point two. This preseason, the average starting position was twenty
Speaker 1: seven point nine. Little improvement with the new role. Again
Speaker 1: with no nobody's showing anything since twenty twenty, only fourteen
Speaker 1: percent let's call it fifteen percent of kickoffs we return
Speaker 1: for thirty plus in the preseason and went up to
Speaker 1: twenty two percent. And the thing he really realized is
Speaker 1: that speed on the back end, obviously, boss security has
Speaker 1: always got to be number one, even on this kick return. Now,
Speaker 1: especially if there's going to be bouncing balls and pop
Speaker 1: ups that are in bad weather and you happen to muffet,
Speaker 1: you gotta be on it. Speed is going to threaten
Speaker 1: that line of scrimmage a lot quicker. So you're going
Speaker 1: to see speed back there almost every time, with some
Speaker 1: variation in terms of guys can break tackles to just
Speaker 1: execute a running play. So it's trending in the right direction.
Speaker 1: Would you agree to these stats, albeit preseason encourage.
Speaker 2: You, yeah, I do.
Speaker 3: I like to see the kickoff return back in the
Speaker 3: game of football. But to me, if I was a
Speaker 3: special teams coach, the first thing I would do is
Speaker 3: put offensive linemen on my kickoff return because I think
Speaker 3: you can have more organized types of blocking plays that
Speaker 3: are blockers at the point of attack. They know how
Speaker 3: to sustain a block longer than defensive players do. And
Speaker 3: that's the thing about it, is the proximity of the
Speaker 3: kick returner to where that confrontation takes place. If you
Speaker 3: get an offensive lineman that can sustain a block maybe
Speaker 3: three quarters of a second to a half a second longer,
Speaker 3: you're talking about the ball carrier breaking a play for distance. Now,
Speaker 3: if you try to repetitively teach a linebacker a defensive
Speaker 3: back to have a sustained block and something that they
Speaker 3: don't do for the process of their career and their job,
Speaker 3: they're just not going to be as familiar with it
Speaker 3: as offensive players were. So tight ends offensive linemen, I
Speaker 3: would have them on my front line of blockers.
Speaker 1: Well, let me just ask you this question. There's always
Speaker 1: been a real hesitance in today today's game to put
Speaker 1: starters on special teams. Would you have starting offensive linemen
Speaker 1: on special teams.
Speaker 2: And golf return my whole career.
Speaker 3: And the answer if you're doing if you're not doing
Speaker 3: something out of fear, then you know, you know that's
Speaker 3: that's super destructive. And I'm not saying that you have
Speaker 3: to use your starters on there. You know you have
Speaker 3: backup tight ends, you have backup offensive linemen, and to
Speaker 3: keep those guys actively involved in the game is get
Speaker 3: them on kickoff return and then so so so you
Speaker 3: create a you know, we used to have a blocking
Speaker 3: scheme and offense in on in college we played a
Speaker 3: quick side and a strong side. So there was a
Speaker 3: year that I played quick guard, so that means I
Speaker 3: played both right and left guard, and I did a
Speaker 3: lot more maneuverability. And then you play strong side where
Speaker 3: there's a little bit more point of attack and a
Speaker 3: little bit more strength influence to that side. You can
Speaker 3: do it on as an offensive line and offenses back
Speaker 3: in the day. I think nowadays you can get equally
Speaker 3: as creative with the types of blockers that you have
Speaker 3: a valuable to you on kickoff return then any new
Speaker 3: part of the game.
Speaker 1: So you're telling me from play to play on a series,
Speaker 1: you'd go you the right or left?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 1: Wow, didn't miss up. Nope, it's trunk side, quick side,
Speaker 1: coming out of your stance. Nothing right hand, left hand,
Speaker 1: none of that matter.
Speaker 2: Right handed stance all the time, even at as the
Speaker 2: left guard.
Speaker 1: Did it tip off though what you guys might be doing.
Speaker 1: Was there a trend? Or if you're okay? That's again,
Speaker 1: every time I talk to you, there's something new I learned.
Speaker 1: I never knew you did that, So that's pretty cool.
Speaker 2: Hey.
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Speaker 3: What do you got you don't have to shy away
Speaker 3: from I'm telling Coleman that I did pick him for
Speaker 3: my offensive player.
Speaker 1: I'm sure you'll tell them anyway. You will tell them
Speaker 1: for sure. For tent there, I'm Jeff Joniack. Thanks for listening. Everybody.
Speaker 1: Please subscribe now on the Chicago Bears official app, Apple, Spotify, YouTube,
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