Speaker 1: Right justin middle of the field forty five fifteen, bring
Speaker 1: Russ in front.
Speaker 2: Of a leading Lions in his way.
Speaker 3: I am Jeff jonahad.
Speaker 4: Liitz is on dot go r What was like playing
Speaker 4: for Cochi?
Speaker 1: Good done?
Speaker 2: I don't want to answer any questions like that. Sixty
Speaker 2: one yards?
Speaker 3: What's Sunday Stroll for? Justin field?
Speaker 4: Bears et Cetera, brought to you by Miller Lte with
Speaker 4: the voices of the Bears, Jeff Joniac and Tom Thayer.
Speaker 3: It's business season on the National Football League.
Speaker 1: This is dollars and cents extensions, re signing, free agent tampering,
Speaker 1: opening next Monday, all while preparations for the late April
Speaker 1: draft continue. We tackled all here on Bears et Cetera.
Speaker 1: I'm the voice of the Bears, Jeff Joningac, my broadcast
Speaker 1: partner super Bowl winning Bears guard Tom Fair. This is
Speaker 1: episode number fifty eight, and we have no shortage of
Speaker 1: topics and never enough time to get on top of
Speaker 1: it all.
Speaker 3: And our special guest joining us after.
Speaker 1: One grinding week in Indianapolis as pro always the very
Speaker 1: very busy Stacey Dale's from NFL Network, their outstanding NFL
Speaker 1: reporter has been there, I believe for a decade now.
Speaker 1: When I say she works hard, I observe this every combine.
Speaker 1: But Tom, you're not there to put eyes on it.
Speaker 1: You're only watching the end result. But the work that
Speaker 1: goes in is impressive. And we're going to get into
Speaker 1: that today as we break things down and also talk
Speaker 1: about the Chicago Bears. But first of all, Tom, how
Speaker 1: are you feeling and welcome in Stacy?
Speaker 3: Will you?
Speaker 4: Oh?
Speaker 2: Feel good? I'm welcome in Stacey. It's a great to see.
Speaker 5: I did watch you all weekend on the NFL combine
Speaker 5: and I became aware that you would be a tight
Speaker 5: end if you did play in the NFL. You know,
Speaker 5: it must be your versatility because you look at what's
Speaker 5: required out of the tight end position nowadays, from the
Speaker 5: h back to the full back to the online tight end,
Speaker 5: shortyardage and goal line.
Speaker 2: You must be one heck of an athlete because I
Speaker 2: know you like.
Speaker 5: Set screens and blocking is not setting a screen. You
Speaker 5: gotta get some movement when you block.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think I would go tight end because it's
Speaker 4: kind of weird. Tom. My actual favorite position group is
Speaker 4: the O ligneman, so you're in that category and the
Speaker 4: reason I love the OL lignment is because I just
Speaker 4: I think they get all lumped together. But there's such
Speaker 4: unique specialty parts to every single one of those five
Speaker 4: spots on the offensive line, and if one guy doesn't
Speaker 4: do his job, then everything fails and falls apart. And
Speaker 4: so I love those guys. Plus they're super smart and
Speaker 4: they tell me things that a lot of other players
Speaker 4: don't and teach me things. But I love tight ends
Speaker 4: because they actually get to catch the football and block too,
Speaker 4: so they kind of have that little hybrid in the
Speaker 4: middle in between thing. And yeah, so those are those
Speaker 4: guys on my faves.
Speaker 1: I guess now, if I'm not mistaken. Your brother played
Speaker 1: in the CFL.
Speaker 3: Correct what it was? He an offensive lineman?
Speaker 4: Yeah, he was a punter.
Speaker 3: Actually, oh okay, don't tell yeah. Tom's not a big
Speaker 3: fan of kickers.
Speaker 2: Don't say that. Don't say give me a bad name.
Speaker 4: Yeah, he should have been like I don't know, and
Speaker 4: he should have been a tight end or you know,
Speaker 4: an outside linebacker type guy who was huge, six three
Speaker 4: two forty. But he when he was in college, he
Speaker 4: pulled his biceps or something in his arm, and I
Speaker 4: picked up. We grew up playing soccer. So he picked
Speaker 4: up a ball and started kicking, and they made him
Speaker 4: a punter. So he was the hardest hitting punter in
Speaker 4: CFL history.
Speaker 5: Hey, so stas as hard as I see you work
Speaker 5: at the NFL Combine. Now go back to nineteen eighty
Speaker 5: three when I came out of college. We had three combines.
Speaker 5: We had one in Tampa, one in Seattle, in one
Speaker 5: in Detroit, and they were all equally as exhausting as
Speaker 5: the one combine that you go to. Could you imagine
Speaker 5: traveling around the country a week apart and doing three
Speaker 5: different combines with the same group of guys that you
Speaker 5: saw one in two weeks ago.
Speaker 4: Hell no, and nor what I yeah, I mean what
Speaker 4: we deal with in India. If I had to think
Speaker 4: it would extend beyond what you're talking about coming out
Speaker 4: of Notre Dame, I'd be like, no way, no shot
Speaker 4: in hell I'm going to all those Uh. That's why
Speaker 4: we got Pro Day's and that's why we have all
Speaker 4: those breakdowns. But the Combine has become a super Bowl.
Speaker 4: Like our coverage on the Combine is it's so vast
Speaker 4: and extensive every day, I mean six to seven hours
Speaker 4: of live TV every day with Rich and Daniel Jeremiah
Speaker 4: and our crew and then all the other parts that
Speaker 4: go with it. Charles Davis, I mean the number of
Speaker 4: players that we prepare for. I mean, I'm not an analyst,
Speaker 4: but like before the Combine, after the Super Bowl, I
Speaker 4: spend two weeks doing a deep dive into the at
Speaker 4: least the top eighty five players, pulling all those names
Speaker 4: from all those different lists. And you know, it's important
Speaker 4: because you you ought to get to know players like
Speaker 4: Ben Sinnett, Kansas State tight end, who became my favorite
Speaker 4: when I met him at the Combine because of his personality.
Speaker 4: He's got like a George Kittle personality and his favorite
Speaker 4: thing to do is block, but he's you know, you
Speaker 4: can put him out running back if you want. Like so,
Speaker 4: you just you have to get to know all these
Speaker 4: guys because at some point I'm going to cover them
Speaker 4: on a national perspective in the league.
Speaker 1: Stacy Dale's our guest here on Bears, et cetera. And
Speaker 1: as always we are sponsored.
Speaker 3: By Miller Lte.
Speaker 1: Let me give you a behind the scenes for folks,
Speaker 1: because that was my twenty eighth combine and in the
Speaker 1: old days, there were maybe fifty reporters, and there were
Speaker 1: no NFL PR departments directing you what to do. You
Speaker 1: just had free access to every single scout, coach player
Speaker 1: walking through and it was crazy. I mean I remember
Speaker 1: interviewing Orlando Pace and I was thinking, how's this guy.
Speaker 3: Getting a stance? You know, he's like monster.
Speaker 1: But Odium four that's one of probably ten to twelve
Speaker 1: at any given moment in twenty twenty minute chunks that
Speaker 1: these players come through. So you have to pick where
Speaker 1: you want to go. And I'm sure Stacy, because you're
Speaker 1: working with the big names, you try and hit all
Speaker 1: those number fours at the podium. But it's the biggest
Speaker 1: group of people a bunch of and it's not just
Speaker 1: journalists anymore. It's podcasters, it's guys who just write or
Speaker 1: talk or do stuff on the NFL draftnicks, whatever. It's
Speaker 1: a very interesting collection of individuals. But Tom Stacy's got
Speaker 1: her notepat. She's feverishly writing, she's wedging her way in now.
Speaker 1: She was an outstanding All American basketball player at Oklahoma
Speaker 1: Boomer sooner and so she can work her way around
Speaker 1: the post a little bit and throw an elbow or two.
Speaker 3: But it's feverish work.
Speaker 1: And then she slides off and tries to get one
Speaker 1: on one with guys. It is an impressive job by you.
Speaker 1: And I'm not just saying that because I've written you texts,
Speaker 1: some of which you haven't responded to be because you're
Speaker 1: probably sick of me saying.
Speaker 3: How great a job you do, Because you really do.
Speaker 1: And there's so many great reporters out there, but the
Speaker 1: way you do it's different. So then you watch the telecast,
Speaker 1: which I didn't get a great opportunity to. I watched segments,
Speaker 1: I've taped it. I haven't gone him through. Tom says
Speaker 1: he's watched each episode three times. You really have this
Speaker 1: way with these players, these kids, they're kids, right, You
Speaker 1: really have a way of connecting with these players, Stacy.
Speaker 1: What do you think the reason is for that? Is
Speaker 1: it just your outstandingly social nicety that you are or
Speaker 1: what I mean?
Speaker 3: You know your stuff? Number one? Do you think they
Speaker 3: connect in that regard?
Speaker 4: I'm Canadian, so that's part of it. I don't know.
Speaker 4: I honestly, so my approach you guys, we've known each
Speaker 4: other for years, And thank you for saying that. I
Speaker 4: do see your text and if I didn't respond, I apologize.
Speaker 4: I can't stand it when people don't respond to mine,
Speaker 4: So I'm going to improve that.
Speaker 3: If I didn't, I'm no better.
Speaker 2: Believe me.
Speaker 4: We talk though in person, and I appreciate it because
Speaker 4: it is a grind and you got to be prepared
Speaker 4: before you go in and then you've got to just
Speaker 4: jump in. But I don't. I'm not entitled to anything,
Speaker 4: so that's for me. That's the difference. I don't think
Speaker 4: because of anything I've accomplished or anything I've done earns
Speaker 4: me the right or affords me the right. Just to
Speaker 4: get access to anything, you got to work for it.
Speaker 4: You got to plan for it and be grateful when
Speaker 4: it happens, and when it doesn't, maybe next time. So
Speaker 4: when I approach players, I approach them with respect. I
Speaker 4: have done my homework on them, and I give them
Speaker 4: that because they deserve it. And that goes for you guys,
Speaker 4: my colleagues and my friends and any coaches I cover
Speaker 4: in the National Football League. I do my due diligence
Speaker 4: and I always go in without an entitlement. And I
Speaker 4: think that mindset of humility allows me to connect with
Speaker 4: people at a different level. And I'm grateful for those
Speaker 4: moments like, I don't take it for granted for a second.
Speaker 5: Stace, You're an athlete by background.
Speaker 2: When you go out there and.
Speaker 5: You see a combine for a future your football players,
Speaker 5: because of your background and athletics, does it give you
Speaker 5: a chance to look at something, recognize something, notice something,
Speaker 5: pay attention to something that because of your past experience
Speaker 5: helps you.
Speaker 4: Absolutely. I think that's a huge part of it, Tom.
Speaker 4: You know when people have that hit factor with what
Speaker 4: they do, and so like when you're at a podium
Speaker 4: like Terry on Arnold and you've talked to people about
Speaker 4: them the cornerback out Obama and then you get the
Speaker 4: opportunity to speak with this guy, right, he's got the
Speaker 4: it factor. It's just there's something special there. You can
Speaker 4: feel it. And I think that comes from my days.
Speaker 4: I mean, you know, when you play with somebody like
Speaker 4: Shimiki holds claw like, you have to come to a
Speaker 4: different level of a standard and expectation. And so I
Speaker 4: think that in the NFL as well. You're around all
Speaker 4: of these incredible the NFL is, It's like pro sports
Speaker 4: are incredible. I mean, Tom, you played, you want us
Speaker 4: to bowl. There's something special about being around on just
Speaker 4: take Layman's terms of all eleven on a football field
Speaker 4: or all twenty two, Like, you can't play in this
Speaker 4: league if you're not extraordinary. So you just you have
Speaker 4: that mindset, but then you can pick out the guys
Speaker 4: that are really extraordinary and now you've got something special.
Speaker 4: And so I think, you know my days playing at
Speaker 4: every level and being an all star professionally and being
Speaker 4: a team captain on all my teams, I think you
Speaker 4: can kind of learn how each part works on a
Speaker 4: team and how all those personalities come together and then
Speaker 4: pull them out of people, bring out the goodness of people,
Speaker 4: you know, so that I kind of I kind of
Speaker 4: have a little bit of an advantage that way, because
Speaker 4: that's what I feel like I'm able to do with
Speaker 4: these players.
Speaker 5: Watching this combine specifically, and again I've watched every combine
Speaker 5: every year since I've been in and out of football,
Speaker 5: just I enjoy watching it. I really call my attention
Speaker 5: this yearide because I saw some dynam athletes in every
Speaker 5: single position, in more than one, in a lot of positions,
Speaker 5: And I don't know if it's something they're being more
Speaker 5: professionally prepared for the Combine or is this uniquely enough,
Speaker 5: a great group of guys that is gonna set the
Speaker 5: nineteen eighty three or one of the other standards that
Speaker 5: come into a draft and change the league for a
Speaker 5: few years.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think you're right on, Tom. I think this
Speaker 4: is an extraordinary offensive draft, like the lineman. When I
Speaker 4: was on the field Sunday watching these linemen, and I
Speaker 4: talked to gms around the league offensive line coaches because
Speaker 4: you know, it's just such great access. When you're there,
Speaker 4: they're just salivating. Like this group of tackles, I think
Speaker 4: we're going to see an unprecedented number of tackles get
Speaker 4: drafted in the first round. I mean the number that
Speaker 4: consistently I got back was eight.
Speaker 2: Wow.
Speaker 4: But you know, pick your poison with these guys, like
Speaker 4: and then there's going to be a wave that go
Speaker 4: later on too. As far as it's so deep the
Speaker 4: center position, I like, it's so good. Graham Barton, Jackson,
Speaker 4: Powers Johnson, Like, these guys are technicians, but they're maulers,
Speaker 4: and I am I cannot wait to see how these
Speaker 4: linemen impact their teams next year. Like when I think
Speaker 4: about the Bears, you know, maybe they're one starter away
Speaker 4: from really starting to put together that line, right, I
Speaker 4: love their bookends and think about how good Darnell Wright's
Speaker 4: going to be this year after playing basically the entirety
Speaker 4: of his rookie season and fighting for through a couple
Speaker 4: of things. But man, they got a good one there. Like,
Speaker 4: so I love the linement. The receivers are, I mean,
Speaker 4: save you're worthy. So I'm going to dinner. I'm going
Speaker 4: to Elmos on Sunday night, and I bump into a
Speaker 4: couple of the Chiefs coaches and they grab me. They're
Speaker 4: in stays for whatever, and we started talking because like
Speaker 4: Tyreek Hill, it's a real thing, like what are they
Speaker 4: gonna do with their They want him so badly they
Speaker 4: want Exavier, Like just coaches are gonna say that to you, right,
Speaker 4: But that young man just bumped himself, shot himself right
Speaker 4: up into the first round of the NFL Draft based
Speaker 4: upon his forty He didn't do even dude rollwork. So like,
Speaker 4: these receivers are fast. Romo Dunes is phenomenal to be around,
Speaker 4: Malik Neighbors, Like this group is outstanding. And then you've
Speaker 4: got six quarterbacks and how are they going to fall
Speaker 4: on the board and per you know, understanding Caleb Williams
Speaker 4: is probably going to be a Chicago Bear.
Speaker 3: Tastes like Middle Time.
Speaker 1: Go to middle Night dot com slash bears pod define
Speaker 1: delivery options near you, celebrate responsibly Middle Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Speaker 1: Ninety six calories and three point two carbs per twelve ounces.
Speaker 1: Let me pick up the baton there, because your interviews
Speaker 1: were worthy. He was out of breath on the four
Speaker 1: to two two and then it was dropped to a
Speaker 1: four to two one and past the record and the
Speaker 1: place blew up, and then Rome and Donesday's staying and
Speaker 1: repeatedly trying to master that three cone.
Speaker 3: I mean, take me there. I've never seen that before.
Speaker 4: I'm glad you brought this up because I've never seen it.
Speaker 4: So I'm all the way down at the other end
Speaker 4: and we're about to I'm about to log my final
Speaker 4: report for the day. So everybody has finished, and I
Speaker 4: look down and I'm always kind of surveying the field,
Speaker 4: you know. I'm the eyes and ears for so many
Speaker 4: fans that they want to know what's happening. They want
Speaker 4: to know these guys. And I look down and I
Speaker 4: see Rome and what is he doing? He's like huddled
Speaker 4: over because he's winded on his shorts, kind of like
Speaker 4: if you know you're down on your knees you've just
Speaker 4: done something. It's really intense. And I looked at my
Speaker 4: crew and I said, what what is Rome still doing
Speaker 4: droll work for? And I was, you know, I was
Speaker 4: working with one of my colleagues, Jamie was there, and
Speaker 4: she goes, oh. So then I got in my producer's
Speaker 4: ear and I said, guys, I'm seeing this player who's
Speaker 4: going to be probably a top ten pick down doing
Speaker 4: the three cone drill. What the hell's happening? Why is
Speaker 4: he doing this? So I said, let's go. So I
Speaker 4: was like, let's go into production mode. So I walked
Speaker 4: the end of the field and I watched him and
Speaker 4: he was pissed. He was like, he was trying to
Speaker 4: hit below a six six. He kept hitting a you know,
Speaker 4: hitting the cone, so you have to start over. You're
Speaker 4: not allowed to hit the cone with your foot or anything.
Speaker 4: And he's trying to get below a six to six
Speaker 4: and he landed on a six ' eight by the
Speaker 4: end of it, and they had to stop him like
Speaker 4: the combine had ended. And so they said, dude, you
Speaker 4: know the guys that do the testing, like the every group.
Speaker 4: They're like, dude, you're gonna have to do it your
Speaker 4: pro day. What great job. You know, you did a
Speaker 4: really good job today, man, So you know I talked
Speaker 4: to him. He's like, he wanted to be faster, he
Speaker 4: wanted to be on it. This is going to be
Speaker 4: a top ten pick. Models his game after DeVante Adams
Speaker 4: and his route running, and he is going to be
Speaker 4: really special at the next level. That's what that whatever
Speaker 4: team gets them, they're going to get that type of
Speaker 4: a work ethic.
Speaker 3: Tom.
Speaker 1: You contrast that to players that elect not to participate
Speaker 1: for whatever the reasons are, and there are many and
Speaker 1: nets happen over the years. It seems to be growing
Speaker 1: in many of the combine activities, including bench press across
Speaker 1: the board outside of the forty in a vertical jump,
Speaker 1: maybe a broad jump, some.
Speaker 3: Of those drills.
Speaker 1: It's not one hundred percent par dissipation as much as
Speaker 1: we would all like it, and I, you know, I
Speaker 1: get it, it's not for everybody for a variety of
Speaker 1: different reasons and maybe the representation that is in their ear.
Speaker 3: How do you feel about it?
Speaker 5: Well, when I came out in nineteen eighty three, John
Speaker 5: Elway didn't do a lot of stuff at any of
Speaker 5: the combines, and so he was kind of, you know,
Speaker 5: got the behind the scenes whispering of all the other
Speaker 5: players being.
Speaker 2: Envious of the fact that he's got so.
Speaker 5: Much confidence in himself, but also going, wow, I can't
Speaker 5: believe this guy is not going to do anything, because
Speaker 5: you know, this is what we're here for. So you
Speaker 5: have some past experiences, but you know, times have changed,
Speaker 5: and I'm and il money has changed the thinking process
Speaker 5: a lot of a lot of players. But you know, states,
Speaker 5: when you talk about these guys who did well or
Speaker 5: didn't do so well, are there any pro days that
Speaker 5: you're super interested in because you need to see more
Speaker 5: from somebody, or you need to see a little improvement,
Speaker 5: or you just want to see what they're going to
Speaker 5: offer you on their college site.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean everybody who didn't do anything at the combine, right,
Speaker 4: Caleb Williams didn't participate, obviously, Drake May didn't participate. Michael
Speaker 4: Pennix did he participate?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 4: I loved him. Actually, who Jane Daniels, didn't you Daniels? Yeah,
Speaker 4: Michael Pennox was my favorite quarterback just generally overarching my takeaways,
Speaker 4: I loved him.
Speaker 2: The Ohio State receiver.
Speaker 4: Marvin Harrison was a complete no show, a complete note show,
Speaker 4: didn't even do is media availability. I want to hear
Speaker 4: from him. I want to know kind of what went
Speaker 4: into that decision.
Speaker 3: Are you going to Annie, I don't.
Speaker 4: We're actually covering fewer this guy this year, guys just
Speaker 4: because of our budget, I'm guessing. But we'll probably be
Speaker 4: at the quarterbacks. We'll be at all the top quarterbacks,
Speaker 4: I'm guessing. But yeah, I want to I want to
Speaker 4: be at their pro days. I want to see them work.
Speaker 4: Some of the injured players I definitely want to see
Speaker 4: or at least be able to talk to on a
Speaker 4: different level that are going to be top picks or
Speaker 4: maybe that got hurt and are going to come back.
Speaker 4: Wiggins like, he's the guy who ran super fast for
Speaker 4: the d backs at out of Clemson, and see if
Speaker 4: he's healthy by his pro day. So they're important days.
Speaker 4: I mean, they're really important. And you know, the whole
Speaker 4: Caleb Williams thing not doing the medical I a lot bothered.
Speaker 4: A lot of people didn't bother me, And my takeaway
Speaker 4: was that he wanted to do medical for medicals for
Speaker 4: the teams that are interested in drafting him, and I
Speaker 4: actually don't have a problem with that.
Speaker 1: What were your overall impressions of him talking to him
Speaker 1: and watching at the podium.
Speaker 4: I thought he was very charismatic, Yeah, extremely charismatic, extremely confident.
Speaker 4: I would say he was very purposeful in his public address,
Speaker 4: he actually said I wanted to talk to you guys
Speaker 4: to kind of put together or put to bed some
Speaker 4: of the noise that's out there. I thought he answered
Speaker 4: questions without any reaction, Like as far as emotional, you know,
Speaker 4: when people said, are what you know? Talk about him
Speaker 4: as a competitor, why he, you know, got so emotional
Speaker 4: after a loss? Like I don't. Part of me and
Speaker 4: you can chime in on this as part of me
Speaker 4: doesn't understand why people were so upset that he was
Speaker 4: so upset after he lost, Like when you put everything
Speaker 4: into this thing as a former athlete, I lost games
Speaker 4: where I was in the locker room sobbing, like it's
Speaker 4: like it's your whole life, you know, and is it
Speaker 4: Are we saving lives? No, we're not emergency doctors. But
Speaker 4: when you put your whole life into something and it
Speaker 4: doesn't work out, it's really hard. And whether you're on
Speaker 4: teams that lose a lot, which I've been on, or
Speaker 4: teams that win a lot, which is joyous. You go
Speaker 4: through a lot as an athlete or a coach or
Speaker 4: somebody who's been in the trenches. And if you've never
Speaker 4: been a competitor like that, you just don't know what
Speaker 4: it's like. So I get it. I don't know Tom
Speaker 4: like you've been there, Like I don't get like people think,
Speaker 4: you know, criticizing the guy for being emotional after he
Speaker 4: doesn't perform.
Speaker 5: Well, you know, one thing I fit people don't take
Speaker 5: into account and the fact that he won a Heisman
Speaker 5: Trophy as junior year.
Speaker 2: Now every time that they have they.
Speaker 5: Suffer a loss of lessons as chances of winning that
Speaker 5: Heisman Trophy again his senior year, which has an enormous
Speaker 5: impact because it's daily conversation.
Speaker 2: And for me, going back five years after.
Speaker 5: The Super Bowl when we lost the NFC Championship game
Speaker 5: at Hall to the San Francisco forty nine ers, it
Speaker 5: still haunts me. So it's not something that's ever going
Speaker 5: to lead the player. You and your basketball experience and
Speaker 5: me and my football experience. It's something that's it's always
Speaker 5: going to haunt you. And one thing I was I
Speaker 5: was interested so last year when I would watch the Combine,
Speaker 5: when I would see Bryce Young stand around the other
Speaker 5: quarterback candidates, and he looked obviously small to me, and
Speaker 5: just something that's always kind of impacted my evaluation of him.
Speaker 5: When you see Caleb stand around the other quarterback six's
Speaker 5: one and one eighth, I think Jeff was telling me,
Speaker 5: is he does he look the size?
Speaker 2: Did he? Did anything strike you about that?
Speaker 4: Just extremely athletic even in his street clothes. I mean
Speaker 4: he's I'm not concerned about his size at all. He's
Speaker 4: got a nice he's got a broad build up top,
Speaker 4: he's got a nice lower base. You know, I'm six
Speaker 4: feet and I know what you're talking about with Bryce
Speaker 4: because I went over and talked to him. We were
Speaker 4: just kind of on the field watching stuff at the
Speaker 4: Combine last year, and he is a little bit smaller,
Speaker 4: even his frame is a little bit smaller, whereas you're
Speaker 4: standing with c. J. Stroud and like that guy's that
Speaker 4: guy's gonna be able to take a few hits, you
Speaker 4: know what I mean. Uh, Anthony Richardson was a free
Speaker 4: like unlike anything I've seen him. By the way. He's
Speaker 4: doing really well. I was talking to Chris Ballard. He's
Speaker 4: throwing again. He looks outstanding. Yeah, I'm not concerned about
Speaker 4: Caleb Williams is six to one. I think he gets
Speaker 4: a great offensive line. He can playoff schedule so well.
Speaker 4: I did. I did talk to Lincoln Riley about him,
Speaker 4: because obviously my Oklahoma ties to Lincoln. We have the
Speaker 4: same birthday, little little fact toy. I talked to him
Speaker 4: this past couple couple days ago just so I could speak,
Speaker 4: uh intelligently about Caleb, and I just kind of asked
Speaker 4: him what, you know, what what he's loved about coaching
Speaker 4: him over the years, And obviously he reminded me he
Speaker 4: still really young. So many these guys lost time from
Speaker 4: the COVID season and then they transitioned out about Oklahoma
Speaker 4: together they went to California USC. One thing he said
Speaker 4: to me that I really appreciate and I believe, is
Speaker 4: he is fixated on his weaknesses and he is such
Speaker 4: a natural link and told me such a natural confidence
Speaker 4: about himself that because of that natural confidence, which is
Speaker 4: just this innate it thing, right, he's aware more so
Speaker 4: of his weaknesses than his strengths. The strengths just happened.
Speaker 4: The weaknesses, you know. I remember Ryan Poles telling me
Speaker 4: at the combine when we were interviewing him on camera
Speaker 4: over six minutes. We talked about his assessment and evaluation
Speaker 4: in Kansas City when he was there for thirteen years,
Speaker 4: but the period of time when they evaluated Patrick Mahomes
Speaker 4: and how they fell in love with him and the
Speaker 4: football was always there, and he said there were some holes.
Speaker 4: There were some holes, and he had a whole year
Speaker 4: with Alex Smith that quarterback to kind of started seeing
Speaker 4: these flashes in practice. But you know, my point is
Speaker 4: is there are holes in all of these quarterbacks. And
Speaker 4: I think if he does go to the Bears, he's
Speaker 4: going into a good situation with a good defense, a
Speaker 4: very experienced offensive coordinator in Shade Waldron who's won a
Speaker 4: couple of Super Bowls, who's worked with Bill Belichick, Sean mcphay,
Speaker 4: Pete Carroll, some of the greats he's worked with, and
Speaker 4: Caleb Caleb. For Lincoln to tell me that he's fixated
Speaker 4: on improving his weaknesses, I think that was that's pretty
Speaker 4: telling about his desire to be a winner.
Speaker 1: For all your journeys ahead, go with a partner who's
Speaker 1: been on your team from the beginning, the one members
Speaker 1: and communities have trusted for over eighty five years. Blue
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Speaker 1: with you, for you through it all. Remaining moments with
Speaker 1: Stacy Dale's here on Bears, et cetera, Podcast number fifty eight.
Speaker 1: So I know you're Midwest based, so you hit a
Speaker 1: lot of the division opponents and so forth. What have
Speaker 1: you come to I love about living in Chicago, a
Speaker 1: member of the Chicago Sky and the WNBA at the
Speaker 1: end of your pro basketball career. But the jumping off
Speaker 1: point to other areas around the country. But do you
Speaker 1: love living here and do you love covering the Bears?
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean that's my home. Of course, I love
Speaker 4: living here. This is my place. I mean, this is
Speaker 4: my this is where you know. I'm originally from Canada.
Speaker 4: I went to Oklahoma, and I went to DC, then
Speaker 4: down to Florida and over to LA and California, and
Speaker 4: I ultimately came back to Chicago. I originally came here
Speaker 4: because I played here. But this is just blue collar
Speaker 4: with a little finesse, with dynamite restaurant and a sports
Speaker 4: town that is crazy about whether their socks, their Sox
Speaker 4: side or cubside, or their bears. I love the debate, right, like,
Speaker 4: you got half this city, that's like, why the hell
Speaker 4: aren't we bringing Justin Fields back and half of them? Like,
Speaker 4: let's go get Williams. Because of the passion and the
Speaker 4: depth of that passion in here and being a sports fan,
Speaker 4: so I love it. I travel all over the place,
Speaker 4: but this is absolutely my home, Stace.
Speaker 5: I grew up with Ali Quigley and her family, who
Speaker 5: had great success with Chicago's guy. I would not let
Speaker 5: you get off this podcast without talking about Caitlin Clark.
Speaker 2: Oh what what her success is gonna be?
Speaker 5: And you know, I've loved watching her the last couple
Speaker 5: of years because I think she's one of the most
Speaker 5: talented athletes of any sport around the country. So what
Speaker 5: is your future feelings for her in the w NBA
Speaker 5: she'd I hope.
Speaker 4: She would go on my team. I hope she's my
Speaker 4: teammate because she's a good teammate. Number one. The thing
Speaker 4: that to me she does and watching her play is
Speaker 4: you know we talked earlier about that it factor. Well,
Speaker 4: obviously she has it, but I mean is she has
Speaker 4: a really nice change of speed on the court, which
Speaker 4: is it's the difference when you go to the pros
Speaker 4: as far as basketball is concerned. If you understand like
Speaker 4: crafty basketball on how to change your speed and walk
Speaker 4: into cuts and then burst out of cuts and then
Speaker 4: just create separation with your foot skip, with your foot
Speaker 4: movement and your foot skills and your footwork, you can
Speaker 4: do so much. It doesn't matter who you are. She
Speaker 4: just has it. Like her ability to separate just to
Speaker 4: shoot the ball is really special. So she's going to
Speaker 4: be She's just plug in play and be a star
Speaker 4: at the next level. I think, and I mean she
Speaker 4: passed the great Pistol Pete.
Speaker 3: One of my favorite players growing up, Pistol Pete Maravitch.
Speaker 4: My gosh, give me a highlight reel of Pete Mariviage.
Speaker 1: The dribbling, the dribbling and the passing, which you also,
Speaker 1: if I'm not mistaken, we're a outstanding passer as a
Speaker 1: as a what you wing.
Speaker 4: Right, I was like a point guard one two three.
Speaker 4: I was a big guard at that time. But now
Speaker 4: these kids are bigger and she's awesome. She's going to
Speaker 4: be great. I don't you know. People have asked me,
Speaker 4: is she the best of all time. I know, I
Speaker 4: don't go there. You know, I played against too many
Speaker 4: greats that Sue Bird and Diana Trossi and Lisa Leslie
Speaker 4: and Cheryl Swoops and Tamika Catchings and I mean the
Speaker 4: list goes on. I've played against so many incredible players
Speaker 4: that you can't generationally the players change, right, Like ye,
Speaker 4: people want to have the debate that my bibbleheads Kobe
Speaker 4: and Kobe and MJ they're the best of their generations. Yeah,
Speaker 4: you know, I mean you can do the same thing
Speaker 4: in football. Who are you going to compare Lawrence Taylor to.
Speaker 1: Or Yeah, any number of guys, any number of guys. Hey,
Speaker 1: so you're an expert at NFL, you're an expert at basketball.
Speaker 1: And you were the first female at ESP to work
Speaker 1: as an in studio men's basketball analyst. There's a lot
Speaker 1: of women doing that right now. Do you still have
Speaker 1: a love of the game of basketball? Do you ever think, ah,
Speaker 1: maybe one day I'll go back and analyze that as well,
Speaker 1: or do you just love football the way it's structured
Speaker 1: and what you're doing in it.
Speaker 4: I'm I'm obsessed with the NFL. I love it like
Speaker 4: it's an obsession for me. I love it. I need
Speaker 4: a break right now. I'm tired. Yeah, Like every time
Speaker 4: I see you guys right when training camp or whatever,
Speaker 4: games like to stand and talk shop with Tom Thayer.
Speaker 4: It doesn't get like now and get little nuggets about
Speaker 4: things where I learn stuff. And every time I'm covering
Speaker 4: the league, it's like that. I love hoops. March Madness
Speaker 4: is coming up. I can't wait to watch it. As
Speaker 4: a fan, I get invested in it playing it. There's
Speaker 4: no greater experience than being in the NCA Tournament. It's incredible.
Speaker 4: But like I love football. I love the league, and
Speaker 4: it's just so cool when you're at the combine and
Speaker 4: you see coaches that you've just covered over the season
Speaker 4: and had great talks. On Sundays. I love football Sunday
Speaker 4: because everybody's so relaxed. Right by the time you get
Speaker 4: to Sunday, everybody's like, are they nervous? No, the game
Speaker 4: plans in, They're just ready to get this show on
Speaker 4: the road. And those are when I have my best
Speaker 4: conversations with coaches and they're relaxed and the game plans
Speaker 4: set and let's go roll. So and then you get
Speaker 4: invested to in the winning and losing, like I was
Speaker 4: at the NFC Championship when Tom brought up that loss
Speaker 4: five years after the Super Bowl, right, it's got wrenching.
Speaker 4: You never forget it. Like I was in the locker room,
Speaker 4: I covered the NFC Championship, Lions and Niners, and to
Speaker 4: see the tiers in those guys' eyes, you get tears
Speaker 4: in yours. For them, it's to get all the way
Speaker 4: eighteen game season and to get all the way to
Speaker 4: that pinnacle, and to not win, it's devastating. So I
Speaker 4: get invested with them.
Speaker 3: One last thing.
Speaker 1: We'll let you go because the Bears on this day
Speaker 1: that we're up taping this podcast now, it's the strategic
Speaker 1: appointment of Karen Murphy to the newly created position of
Speaker 1: Executive VP of Stadium Development and Chief Operating Officer. Karen's
Speaker 1: been with the Bears a long time, a quarter of
Speaker 1: a century in the organization, has a lot of experienced
Speaker 1: leadership for this what they call an elevated role in
Speaker 1: this women's history month and a major focus by the Bears.
Speaker 1: A lot of women in that building in all departments,
Speaker 1: not to mention on the field and the coaching department
Speaker 1: and operations and whatnot.
Speaker 3: How does that resonate with you a woman in sports?
Speaker 4: It's incredible. I mean they just added my girl Jen
Speaker 4: to the staff. I think she's the assistant running back Stitch. Yeah,
Speaker 4: Jen King, And like, I'm just so proud when I
Speaker 4: see that. And the more and more I'm around the
Speaker 4: league and I walk into the combine and I see
Speaker 4: all these female coaches and staff members, you know, it
Speaker 4: makes me proud. It's important. And you know, Callie Brown's
Speaker 4: a friend of mine. She's one of the coaches over
Speaker 4: there in Cleveland, and she's a hell of a coach.
Speaker 4: And it's not just the coaches, it's it's the medical staffs.
Speaker 4: It's now we're getting front office. You know. I've talked
Speaker 4: to a couple of gms and I'm like, I would
Speaker 4: love to be in personnel. And they're like, oh, you
Speaker 4: could do it. You've been doing this thing for so long,
Speaker 4: Come come do it with us. And I just think
Speaker 4: there's an open mindedness to it now and there should be,
Speaker 4: Like we fifty this is my fifteenth year cover in
Speaker 4: the NFL. Like I'm invested, you know, it's proud. I
Speaker 4: love the relationships that I have and I do my
Speaker 4: homework to make sure I represent just like I know
Speaker 4: all the other women do. We work a little bit
Speaker 4: harder just to make sure that we are ready and
Speaker 4: that we do it the right way.
Speaker 3: Well, you certainly do. I think I speak for Tom
Speaker 3: on this one.
Speaker 1: You are always always well informed and ready to roll.
Speaker 1: Your questions are targeted and very important questions that you
Speaker 1: asking these news conferences or in these one on ones.
Speaker 1: You do a heck of a job. You got a
Speaker 1: unique way of connecting with people. So congratulate sound a
Speaker 1: great career. Can't wait to see you more on NFL Network.
Speaker 1: Stacey appreciates you.
Speaker 4: Thank you you guys rock thanks for having me.
Speaker 1: Thanks Stace, all right, Stacy Dalls can't throw her enough compliments.
Speaker 1: Tom just outstanding, all right. Some news franchise tag deadline
Speaker 1: day on Tuesday, so Jalen Johnson gets the non exclusive
Speaker 1: tag so he can still negotiate with teams if they're
Speaker 1: going to sign them. The Bears have a chance to
Speaker 1: match it. Otherwise they get two first round picks. Now
Speaker 1: that's not going to happen. No team's giving up two
Speaker 1: first round picks, but it gives the Bears some time
Speaker 1: about four and a half months to continue to work
Speaker 1: on getting a deal that seemed to be headed in
Speaker 1: the right direction when we heard from general manager Ryan
Speaker 1: Poles of the scouting Combine, Tommy.
Speaker 5: Yeah, Jalen Johnson has played an important role in the
Speaker 5: defensive backfield success of this team and how the defense
Speaker 5: played in the second half of the season. And as
Speaker 5: you mentioned, Ryan Poles gave him a vote of confidence
Speaker 5: that he hopes something would get done. And I think
Speaker 5: all the Bears fans wants to see Jalen back in
Speaker 5: the uniform and get the deal done for him.
Speaker 1: All right now, it's like a nineteen point eight amount
Speaker 1: of money for one year. Game day snacking calls for
Speaker 1: good foods. Chunky guacamodi made with has avocados, tomatoes, onions, soilantro,
Speaker 1: and a squeeze of lime juice. It's the perfect snack
Speaker 1: to watch while the Bears win. Score some today at
Speaker 1: your local grocery store. Game Day is Guak Day and
Speaker 1: Busy Heart Seltzer flavors for every vibe Celebrate Responsibly. Molsen
Speaker 1: COR's Beverage Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Ryan Bates comes aboard tom
Speaker 1: In twenty twenty two, he was targeted by Gentlem manager
Speaker 1: Ryan Poles just months into the job and was given
Speaker 1: a restricted free agent tender offersheet, the contract he ultimately
Speaker 1: is playing under right now with Buffalo. The Bears give
Speaker 1: up their fifth round pick this year to get a
Speaker 1: guy who's had only seventeen starts in his career, but
Speaker 1: a utility swing man at guard and center could be
Speaker 1: competing for that starting center job as well. A big
Speaker 1: guy with athleticism. What are your impressions.
Speaker 5: Versatility to the interior of the offensive line, And I
Speaker 5: think it's a really important role that you have to
Speaker 5: find somebody for Chris Morgan, the offensive line coach, to
Speaker 5: have become a guy that's reliable on game day activation,
Speaker 5: whether you're a starter or you're in a backup role,
Speaker 5: and you can play multiple positions. He's got an understanding
Speaker 5: of offense up in Buffalo that's been run efficiently. He
Speaker 5: can play in the most inclimbate up condition. So I
Speaker 5: think he is going to fill a really important role here,
Speaker 5: like either as a starter or a multiple position backup.
Speaker 1: When it's time to tackle game day deals. Then go
Speaker 1: with the grocery who has been a part of Chicago
Speaker 1: since eighteen ninety nine. Jewel Osco, the official grocery store
Speaker 1: of the Chicago Bears. A lot's going to happen between
Speaker 1: now and next Monday time free agency. I do believe
Speaker 1: the Bears will be active to a point. Obviously they
Speaker 1: want to be a draft driven ball club, but there
Speaker 1: are holes that can be filled. You think about the
Speaker 1: number of safeties, for example, a position that they are
Speaker 1: interested in are growing by the minute. The guys are
Speaker 1: not getting re signed, release cap cuts, veterans of all ages,
Speaker 1: all styles. You may want to head that direction in
Speaker 1: free agency and settle for other things in the draft
Speaker 1: because that and you just I mean, there's just a lot.
Speaker 3: There's a lot out there right now.
Speaker 5: Well, you can't close your eyes with the fact that
Speaker 5: rookie safeties can start in the NFL.
Speaker 2: And we've been a part of the Bears long enough now.
Speaker 5: That we've seen some great safety safeties coming here and
Speaker 5: start their rookie year, whether it be Mark Carry or
Speaker 5: Mike Brown, Eddie Jackson, whomever it may be. So I
Speaker 5: don't think that's out of the realm of possibility. Like
Speaker 5: you said, though, there's some talented veterans that are going
Speaker 5: to be looking for work.
Speaker 1: All right, Tom, that's going to wrap us up a
Speaker 1: great job. As always, we thanks Stacy Dale's. We thank
Speaker 1: you for listening, of course, and thank you Tom. Please
Speaker 1: subscribe now in the Chicago Bears official app, Apple, Spotify, YouTube,
Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 3: Again.
Speaker 1: We're sponsored by Miller Lite tastes like Miller Time, celebrate responsibly,
Speaker 1: Midder Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Ninety six calories and three
Speaker 1: point two carves per twelve bounces. Have a good day, everybody.
Speaker 1: I'm Jeff Joniek for Tom Thayer and Stacy Dale's. Thanks
Speaker 1: for listening, and bear down.
Speaker 4: Risers last mm hmm