Speaker 1: Welcome into Bears Weekly, a Chicago Bears Network production del
Speaker 1: moved the Chicago Bears official adam brought to you by
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Speaker 1: is brought to you by Advocate Healthcare, Beef Revers, CD Twould,
Speaker 1: Connie's Pizza, and Miller. Like now, it's time for Bears
Speaker 1: Weekly with the voice of the Bears Jeff Jodiatonia on
Speaker 1: the New Bears Radio Network. Nine nine new Bears added
Speaker 1: to the Bears roster after the first week of free agency,
Speaker 1: taking care of some needs, boosting the offensive weaponry and
Speaker 1: moving two new starting linebackers into the mix, and hopes
Speaker 1: of repairing the defense. Thanks for being with us here
Speaker 1: on Yes Ben Chicago and the Chicago Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 1: This is Bears Weekly. My name is Jeff Jonahiak and
Speaker 1: Sirius x MFL Radios. Jim Miller, the former Chicago Bears quarterback,
Speaker 1: joins us tonight, Big Jim. Bears getting a lot of
Speaker 1: rave reviews so far on what they've done so far.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna go through them with you when we well,
Speaker 1: we have a minute here, But what's your overall impression?
Speaker 1: And good evening to you. Buddy, Hey, good to be
Speaker 1: with you, Jeff. Yeah, I think there's a lot of
Speaker 1: genuine excitement. One about the trade from one to nine
Speaker 1: and how they were able to pick up Dj Moore
Speaker 1: and adding other pieces. Even when we did Bears all
Speaker 1: Access last week, you know, even that day from and
Speaker 1: New Billions, big run stuffing, defensive tackle. We know about
Speaker 1: the off the ball linebackers that are tremendous I mean
Speaker 1: Tremaine Edmonds and t J Edwards Edwards going to join
Speaker 1: us later in the program. I mean the guy who
Speaker 1: just has a breakout year last year, but the guys
Speaker 1: who are good fits in the defense. Tanyan also added,
Speaker 1: we know a couple of years ago he had double
Speaker 1: digit touchdown reception. So I think you've got a good
Speaker 1: inline blocker and commit, you've got a good movement tight end.
Speaker 1: And Robert Tanyan and what he brings the table, not
Speaker 1: that Cole can't be split out and do the things
Speaker 1: that he does. He's a versatile guy as well. So
Speaker 1: I think overall, yeah, there's there's a lot of excitement.
Speaker 1: And of course you had an offensive lineman who probably
Speaker 1: comes in it as a plug and play player, and
Speaker 1: Nate Davis now how they put all those pieces together
Speaker 1: and where they're gonna fit. I mean, I think that's
Speaker 1: really the fun of it all, because I do think
Speaker 1: they got better as a football team here in free agency.
Speaker 1: Yes they did, Jim. We've got to others helping us.
Speaker 1: Of course, We've got our Bears Radio Network executive Eric Ostroski,
Speaker 1: our AM one thousand producer Kendrick Smith, Nick Mogzilla helping
Speaker 1: us out as well. Bears producers Dan Brilli and Jordan
Speaker 1: tread Up. As we break down the Bears first week
Speaker 1: of free agency and a lot more to do. But
Speaker 1: as I indicate, Larry Mayer from Chicago Bears dot Com
Speaker 1: pulled everybody, everybody that's been writing about what the Bears
Speaker 1: have done so far. Jeff Diamond from the thirty third team.
Speaker 1: DJ Moore grade A t J. Edwards A A minus
Speaker 1: for Tremaine Edmonds, B for Nate Davis. Vinnie Eyer from
Speaker 1: Sporting News, A plus for DJ Moore, A for t J. Edwards.
Speaker 1: DeMarcus Walker got an a field, They got an inexpensive,
Speaker 1: versatile pass ross Pop there for their defense. The athletics
Speaker 1: Mike Jones A TJ. Edwards. Let's let's talk about because
Speaker 1: we're gonna talk to him shortly. But everybody keeps saying
Speaker 1: this is an underrated player, and he really came on
Speaker 1: strong after you know, he had to work to get there, man. Yeah,
Speaker 1: he was not given this job any means. This is
Speaker 1: a self made player working his way up from special teams,
Speaker 1: a guy who grew up idolizing Erlacker and Briggs. Yeah,
Speaker 1: well and he should. Those are good guys to idolize
Speaker 1: and emulate your game after and obviously being a local
Speaker 1: kid and you're going to focus on at that point,
Speaker 1: or Lacker when I was here in Chicago was arguably
Speaker 1: between him and ray Lewis the best at their positions,
Speaker 1: you know, and obviously both in the Hall of Fame,
Speaker 1: and obviously Erlacker being a first ballot Hall of Famer
Speaker 1: says it all about his legendary career. So you try
Speaker 1: and follow the best at what they do. And for TJ.
Speaker 1: Edwards and how he's worked his way up this list
Speaker 1: as an undrafted free agent, has a breakout year, as
Speaker 1: I mentioned, one hundred and fifty nine tackles that was
Speaker 1: seventh overall in the National Football League. So this is
Speaker 1: a very active player that we that we know in
Speaker 1: Maddie Refluss Hits system, you need to fly to the football,
Speaker 1: and I think both he and Edmunds are really surefire
Speaker 1: indicators what their careers have done in a respect of
Speaker 1: whether it's in Buffalo or whether it's in Philadelphia, of
Speaker 1: what these players have been able to generate and what
Speaker 1: they've been able to do. And I think you hit
Speaker 1: on it last week about body types. You know, we
Speaker 1: all know for guys like Lance Brigg, he's an undersized,
Speaker 1: running hit linebacker, and that's kind of what TJ. Edwards is.
Speaker 1: Tremaine Edwinds is the longer angular guy like Erlaker who
Speaker 1: is really good in coverage down the middle of the field.
Speaker 1: And I think that's those are kind of roots of
Speaker 1: this style of defense. We talk about Maddie Refluss defenses,
Speaker 1: and those are kind of the body types that fit
Speaker 1: with this defense and why it's had tremendous success in
Speaker 1: the NFL. Yeah, I was listening to you guys a
Speaker 1: little bit on Serious XM earlier today and Pat went
Speaker 1: through the signings at the different positions, and so number
Speaker 1: one was linebacker thirty five players, he said full back
Speaker 1: for but running back twenty one running backs. Bears got
Speaker 1: a couple of um Travis Homer, who put on the
Speaker 1: Special team's tape of Travis Homer. He is insane. He's
Speaker 1: a really good a big guy and Deante for him
Speaker 1: and also a big back. He has confidence in himself,
Speaker 1: said said as much he goes, Hey, I'm I'm competing
Speaker 1: to be the guy. Yeah. Well, I mean we all
Speaker 1: know when you're your second fiddle to obviously King Henry.
Speaker 1: You know his time in Tennessee and then went on
Speaker 1: to Carolina, and I thought he played extremely well for
Speaker 1: Carolina when he's had his opportunities to play, he's run
Speaker 1: like a bigger back and it is tough to bring down.
Speaker 1: Think about the Bears last year, they had five one
Speaker 1: hundred yard rushers, all right, but it was broken up
Speaker 1: between all the running backs on the Bears. I believe
Speaker 1: Khalil Herbert had one. I believe. I think when you
Speaker 1: look at David Montgomery, I think he had two. If
Speaker 1: I don't quote me on that, but I believe I'm
Speaker 1: right on that. Uh. Dante Foreman, he had five yard
Speaker 1: rushing games alone in Carolina since Week six. Yeah, he
Speaker 1: said five of them. So this is a bigger back.
Speaker 1: Who's very productive, who can wear down defenses. And then
Speaker 1: you know, and I don't want to stick with the cliches,
Speaker 1: it's going to be the typical thunder and lightning. You know,
Speaker 1: Foreman is definitely the thunder. And I think Khalil Herbert
Speaker 1: with his burst, you know, you're gonna bring Foreman in
Speaker 1: as the meat grinder. He's gonna wear down defenses. Then
Speaker 1: you're gonna mix in Khalil Herbert. You got some speed,
Speaker 1: and then you bring in Foreman again, you'd start to
Speaker 1: wear him down a little bit more. And then by
Speaker 1: the end of the game. You know, I think you
Speaker 1: got you know, the meat tender riser in the speed
Speaker 1: that just kind of wears down defenses. And I think
Speaker 1: they'll be able to do that. Foreman is a very
Speaker 1: good signing for the Chicago Bears in my opinion, at
Speaker 1: the right price. And that's doesn't mean the Bears didn't
Speaker 1: like David Montgomery just the money h you know, got
Speaker 1: out of it. You know, he gets a great deal
Speaker 1: there for the Detroit Lions and what he signed for,
Speaker 1: But here I think he got a good bang for
Speaker 1: your buck, so to speak. With Foreman and what you're
Speaker 1: gonna be able to do in Chicago running the football
Speaker 1: and trustin Emner's in the mix too, And of course
Speaker 1: I love a little Kyrie blasting game. He did not
Speaker 1: have a touch last season. I remember, Jim, we talked
Speaker 1: about it, how many times that wheel route at training camp?
Speaker 1: Deadly right? He went, I think on one or two
Speaker 1: wheel routes all season. But that's something that he's a
Speaker 1: leader to. That guy's an underrated signing. I love Karrie
Speaker 1: blasting game. All right, We're gonna take a break. When
Speaker 1: we come back, we'll be joined by Wisconsins and better yet,
Speaker 1: Lake Villas, Lake's high school product t J. Edwards Now
Speaker 1: is Chicago Bear Later out of the program as well.
Speaker 1: Sit down with a Bear's new offensive lineman Nate Davis.
Speaker 1: Talk about our road greader on the offensive line. He
Speaker 1: loves them mix it up inside as well, blocking for
Speaker 1: a guy like Derrick Henry back in the day over
Speaker 1: with the Tennessee Titans. This is Bears Weekly on the
Speaker 1: Chicago Bears Radio Network. This is Bears Weekly with a
Speaker 1: voice of the Bears for twenty three years, Jeff Joniak
Speaker 1: on the Bears Radio Network, Getting you ready for what
Speaker 1: promise is to be one heck of a season for
Speaker 1: the Chicago Bears. Jeff jonny Ac along with Jim Miller
Speaker 1: from Sirius Sex and NFL Radio's moving the chains the
Speaker 1: former Bears quarterback, and again thanks to our producers and
Speaker 1: most of all, to you for listening tonight here on
Speaker 1: ESPN Radio Chicago and the Chicago Bears Radio Network. I
Speaker 1: don't know, I don't know that I made my parents
Speaker 1: ever cry big Jim, but t J Edwards did, the
Speaker 1: brand new Bears linebacker coming aboard on a free agent deal.
Speaker 1: Got to meet him last Wike and just had a
Speaker 1: great conversation with him. He's joining us now live here
Speaker 1: on ESPN. T J. Good evening. How are you doing,
Speaker 1: May what's going on, guys? I'm doing great. How are you?
Speaker 1: I'm fantastic and excited for you, excited for your family.
Speaker 1: Sometimes the family is well, we don't focus on everybody's
Speaker 1: only thinking about what happens on the field on Sundays
Speaker 1: and what what the Bears are adding, or any team
Speaker 1: in the league for that matter. But I am right right,
Speaker 1: you made your parents cry with the phone call that
Speaker 1: you're a Chicago Bear. Tell me about that conversation. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it was definitely, definitely a special moment. Um. I called
Speaker 1: my mom first, just kind of hinting at it. I
Speaker 1: told her, you know, it's not it's not done for sure,
Speaker 1: just one of the UM make her away in case
Speaker 1: she saw it before before it kind of happened. And
Speaker 1: then UM, you know, once everything was setting done, I
Speaker 1: gave him that call and they were just they were
Speaker 1: just excited. Man. I think, Um, you know, obviously, anytime
Speaker 1: you get to come back and you know, play for
Speaker 1: your hometown team, it's it's great, you know, and it's
Speaker 1: it's a big deal for um everyone that supported me
Speaker 1: along the way and now off my job to go
Speaker 1: play good football and UM helped his team win for sure. Well,
Speaker 1: TJJ Miller here, congratulations. It is always great playing for
Speaker 1: the home team. But you're you're not moving back in right,
Speaker 1: You're not going to live in the basement or anything
Speaker 1: like that, right, Hey, rant would be cheap. It's not
Speaker 1: a terrible idea. But I'll be uh, I'll be getting
Speaker 1: I'll be getting my own place for sure. Okay, good,
Speaker 1: three hots and a cot and your laundry done. You
Speaker 1: know that's it is a good deal. There's no doubt
Speaker 1: about that. But you know. But seriously, congratulations and what
Speaker 1: a breakout year for you last year, and just take
Speaker 1: us through your journey of how you've just you've kind
Speaker 1: of earned it the whole time, you know, and the
Speaker 1: times you get on the field, you've always made plays
Speaker 1: and then here one hundred and fifty nine tackles last year.
Speaker 1: Unfortunately you're a runner up in the super Bowl. But
Speaker 1: what a dream come true. Yeah, it's it's been special
Speaker 1: for sure. I mean, um, honestly, my whole journey, I
Speaker 1: can you know, give credit to my parents and that
Speaker 1: that was something that was just filling us at a
Speaker 1: young age, was just you have to earn every single
Speaker 1: thing in this world. You know, nothing's given, you know,
Speaker 1: honestly on or off the field. And uh, you know
Speaker 1: I took that mindset coming coming out of college and
Speaker 1: just ran with it. Man. I just scratching claude to
Speaker 1: try to find something to get better at every single day,
Speaker 1: try to, um do anything that's possible to you know,
Speaker 1: kind of show myself day in and day out. Um.
Speaker 1: You know that's just kind of doing all that, doing
Speaker 1: all the right things. And then you know, in that
Speaker 1: opportunity knots um as you know, it's It's one of
Speaker 1: those things to where you got to be ready for
Speaker 1: your moment to kind of take advantage of it. And
Speaker 1: I just thought I did a pretty good job of
Speaker 1: that for sure, TJ. When was your moment? Um, Honestly,
Speaker 1: I felt like, you know, this year, this past year, um,
Speaker 1: kind of getting the you know, the green dot and
Speaker 1: being the mic from day one where I can kind
Speaker 1: of you know, assert myself in that role and just
Speaker 1: try to do anything in my power to be the
Speaker 1: best that I could be at it. And UM, you know,
Speaker 1: I think for me, it was just one of those
Speaker 1: things where I just wanted to be the same guy
Speaker 1: every day. You know, I'm wanted to be reliable and consistent,
Speaker 1: and UM, I knew that would be that would be
Speaker 1: big things, you know, being in the middle of the
Speaker 1: field and just honestly, again, take advantage of those opportunities
Speaker 1: for sure. And it certainly doesn't certainly doesn't matter where
Speaker 1: you come from or how you get there, because it
Speaker 1: is how you finish. And you know you've paid your
Speaker 1: dues on special teams and you still I talk to
Speaker 1: you about this last week. Playing special team snaps clearly
Speaker 1: is a coaching decision, but for starters. It's somewhat rare,
Speaker 1: not not in every franchise here here in Chicago, they
Speaker 1: do like to do that as well. They did in Philadelphia.
Speaker 1: Is that important for you also to do that aspect
Speaker 1: of your job on special teams just to be a
Speaker 1: all hands on deck kind of guy. Yeah. I mean again,
Speaker 1: it's it's one of those to where whatever whatever those
Speaker 1: coaches see fit, you know, if they think that, um,
Speaker 1: you know, me playing on on special teams in some
Speaker 1: in some role will help the team win, and I'm
Speaker 1: all for it. Man. I just think you know, I'm
Speaker 1: you know, I'm in this thing. You know, I got
Speaker 1: you know, I got the deal sign and everything like that.
Speaker 1: So I trust these coaches to put us in the
Speaker 1: right position in order for our team to be successful.
Speaker 1: And that's you know, my job and earth of the
Speaker 1: team's job and kind of follow that lead and then um,
Speaker 1: you know, make those roles our own and just just
Speaker 1: own those things. And um again man, it's it's all
Speaker 1: about the trust and trust and the whole organization trust
Speaker 1: and your team major coaches. Um. So that that definitely
Speaker 1: was big for me for sure. So I didn't I
Speaker 1: didn't blink an eye at that at all. Well, I
Speaker 1: think when you look at Matt Everfoods, they'd laid a
Speaker 1: good foundation. You even saw it later in the year.
Speaker 1: You were able to pull out the victory twenty five
Speaker 1: to twenty over the Bears. But they play hard, man,
Speaker 1: they play hard and leadership like like you, leadership like
Speaker 1: Tremaine Edmonds. Take us in that Philadelphia Eagle locker room
Speaker 1: and why it was so special for you guys last
Speaker 1: year because even in that Bears game, you guys gritted
Speaker 1: it out. You know, you look at Jalen Hurts, he
Speaker 1: gritted it out in that game. He got banged up
Speaker 1: and just said, no, we we ain't coming out of
Speaker 1: here with with a without a win, you know, and
Speaker 1: what that takes to to be able to do in
Speaker 1: the belief of every player in the locker room in
Speaker 1: order to get it done on Sundays. Yeah, no, no doubt.
Speaker 1: I mean that was again that that was a that
Speaker 1: was a tough game. Man. We uh again, we knew
Speaker 1: it was gonna be hard. Fad just you know, watching
Speaker 1: the watching the tape on the Chicago team last year
Speaker 1: and just kind of understanding how they played and you know,
Speaker 1: all the all the players that they have on that
Speaker 1: team that can that can do some special, special things.
Speaker 1: So he knew it was gonna be a um, you know,
Speaker 1: kind of a hard file game and things like that.
Speaker 1: But for us, I think the biggest thing last year, UM,
Speaker 1: that I truly felt was a huge you know, key
Speaker 1: to our success was just the chemistry that we had
Speaker 1: and um, you know even that that kind of started
Speaker 1: in an off season workouts of just getting to know
Speaker 1: one another just so you know, as you know, to
Speaker 1: get on that field and some things start to go
Speaker 1: you know bad, which which happens in a year, Um,
Speaker 1: you have to be able to rely on those guys
Speaker 1: and be able to you know, talk to your teammates
Speaker 1: us out um you know, eagles and things getting in
Speaker 1: that way because you know it's coming from a coming
Speaker 1: from a good place. And I think that's something that
Speaker 1: we really had. And again I think that you know,
Speaker 1: the leaders on that team are are special. You know,
Speaker 1: Jason Kelsey, Lane Johnson, you know, Brandon Graham, Fletcher Costs,
Speaker 1: those guys who who have you know, been to the
Speaker 1: been at the top of the mountain, So I understand
Speaker 1: what it takes and that that that really helped us
Speaker 1: towards the end of the year when those those must
Speaker 1: win games. You know, I mean, it might not have
Speaker 1: always be pretty, but you've got to find a way
Speaker 1: to get it done. And um that that really helps us,
Speaker 1: no doubt. Well let me let me follow up with it.
Speaker 1: And then here Jeff brought up you know, I know
Speaker 1: you watched like Erlacer and in Briggs. I was fortunate
Speaker 1: enough to play with Erlacer and to have that type
Speaker 1: of bond as linebackers. And obviously Briggs and Irlacer had
Speaker 1: that bond. And how does that start between you and
Speaker 1: Tremine Edmonds. I don't know if you've ever crossed paths before,
Speaker 1: I've talked before it, but now your teammates and are
Speaker 1: working together as co workers in order to have that bond. Yeah, no,
Speaker 1: it's it's it's big time. Um again. And you know,
Speaker 1: I just kind of met him, you know last week
Speaker 1: when we were in our physicals and stuff. That was
Speaker 1: the first time I met him. So it was talked
Speaker 1: to him for a bit and talked to him, uh,
Speaker 1: kind of out the day when we were signing and
Speaker 1: stuff like that. But I mean, seems it seems like
Speaker 1: a really good dude, and you know, just knowing you know,
Speaker 1: his game a little bit, big big fan of what
Speaker 1: he does, and um, you know what he can do
Speaker 1: on the football field. So I just excited to get
Speaker 1: in that room, uh together, to start building that thing
Speaker 1: along with the other linebackers in there and the defense
Speaker 1: and the team as a whole. Um. But yeah, I
Speaker 1: think it'll be, you know, one of those where it's
Speaker 1: just you know, kind of understanding how we see the
Speaker 1: game and um, you know how how we play to
Speaker 1: kind of you know, pair off each other and things
Speaker 1: like that. So I'm really excited, man. I think just
Speaker 1: talking to a bunch of the coaches, man, I think,
Speaker 1: you know, we're gonna have a good plan and I'm
Speaker 1: just excited to get in there and get this thing going,
Speaker 1: to be honest with you. T J. Edwards our guest
Speaker 1: here on Bears Weekly with Jim mill Rahim Jeff Jonny Act.
Speaker 1: The crazy thing about it is, I almost had a
Speaker 1: look a second time. I didn't know this, but your
Speaker 1: new linebacking mate. There was a team captain for the
Speaker 1: Buffalo Bills at age twenty one. Now, I don't know
Speaker 1: that I've ever heard of a twenty one year old
Speaker 1: outside of the quarterback position, being a team captain that
Speaker 1: does speak volumes about what he brings to the table.
Speaker 1: Do you feel his presence a little bit as a
Speaker 1: leader even in the initial conversations a meeting with him
Speaker 1: and and do you have those same traits? Yeah, no
Speaker 1: doubt I think. Um, you know again both you know
Speaker 1: guys who have played you know inside linebacker. UM, you
Speaker 1: know you're you're captains of the unit. So it's your
Speaker 1: job to you know, the be the stability, be the um,
Speaker 1: be the guys that you know that the team, the
Speaker 1: defense looks to. UM. You know when when things are
Speaker 1: maybe not going so well and um when things are
Speaker 1: going great. You know that has to be that that
Speaker 1: stability that um, you know, that consistency that that guy
Speaker 1: that you know will get things going when it's needed
Speaker 1: and also keep everyone calming, um, not going too well.
Speaker 1: So again, I mean a huge fan of his game.
Speaker 1: UM obviously I just kind of seeing what he's what
Speaker 1: he's done on the tape and some highlights and things
Speaker 1: like that. But um man, I think it's gonna be
Speaker 1: awesome to get to work with him and all along
Speaker 1: with all the other guys as well. Is it possible
Speaker 1: that this will be an interchangeable position at the either
Speaker 1: inside week side or is that yet to be laid
Speaker 1: out to you guys, because you guys could both do
Speaker 1: both positions. Clearly you could really make some matchup issues
Speaker 1: for offenses. Yeah, I think, um again, just kind of
Speaker 1: going off of UM, you know what we know so far,
Speaker 1: don't really know the specifics of you know, kind of
Speaker 1: each spot that we're playing and things like that. But UM,
Speaker 1: you know again, I think I think there's there's nothing
Speaker 1: on the football feel that and neither of us you know,
Speaker 1: Canna can't do so um and again, I think that's
Speaker 1: just exciting. So we just kind of let the coaches
Speaker 1: take it from there and kind of play how how
Speaker 1: we see how how they see it fit. UM and again, Man,
Speaker 1: I'll be excited no matter where I'm playing and UM
Speaker 1: playing alongside him and it'll be it'll be great. So
Speaker 1: I trust those guys again and to put us in
Speaker 1: there into the roles that will help this team win,
Speaker 1: and that's all that matters to me. Well, I love
Speaker 1: that that you talk. Both you and Edmunds have been
Speaker 1: the green dot guy as you talk to let our
Speaker 1: listeners take them into what that is. When you're much
Speaker 1: like me. How I'm a quarterback and I say a
Speaker 1: play on offense, you're the guy guiding the defense as
Speaker 1: the green dot. To communicate what you're trying to execute
Speaker 1: and how you say it and how you convey it.
Speaker 1: I guess it is important you know that the energy,
Speaker 1: the leadership, the command of it, and why you enjoy it.
Speaker 1: Because for me, I always enjoyed that being able to
Speaker 1: do that, and I believe as well, you gotta way
Speaker 1: that and embrace that when you're the green dot guy
Speaker 1: on the defensive side of the ball. No big time. UM,
Speaker 1: you know, as you know, I think, I think it's
Speaker 1: it's nice to again and um, wasn't wasn't the tier level.
Speaker 1: But I I played quarterback in high school, so I
Speaker 1: kind of been used to that. UM just kind of lead,
Speaker 1: leading the huddle and things like that. UM. But you know, again,
Speaker 1: when you know you're you're getting the call from the
Speaker 1: decordinator and you're you're giving it to the to the
Speaker 1: whole defense, and um, as you know, those those scenarios
Speaker 1: sometimes get a little wild when you know the team's
Speaker 1: on the ball are doing hurry up and you gotta
Speaker 1: get you gotta get the call out, get the get
Speaker 1: the front set, make sure that the front end, back
Speaker 1: ends all kind of playing the same thing. Um. I
Speaker 1: actually love that part of the game just because for me,
Speaker 1: you know, helps me understand kind of what's going on
Speaker 1: around me, you know, either behind me or in front,
Speaker 1: and then um allows you to kind of play fast
Speaker 1: and and you know, make those plays when they come
Speaker 1: to you. So to me, that's gets a huge part
Speaker 1: of playing the play in the middle is that communication aspect.
Speaker 1: And UM, I've really embraced that role as my time.
Speaker 1: It's kind of gone on and it's it's exciting, man.
Speaker 1: So I'm interesting see how it plays out. T J.
Speaker 1: Edwards the newest Chicago Bear on this free agent Hall
Speaker 1: nine new editions. He's one of them, and a big
Speaker 1: one because he bleeds navy blue and orange. And I'll
Speaker 1: let you go with this. Uh So you were five
Speaker 1: when Big Jim Miller led the Bears to a playoff
Speaker 1: game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Any chance, I know you
Speaker 1: were looking at the linebackers, but yeah, you remember you remember,
Speaker 1: you know, pretending to be a you were a pistol quarterback. Jim.
Speaker 1: I don't know that uh could have done that? You
Speaker 1: know I'm not selling you short, might Jim. Uh No,
Speaker 1: I couldn't. I couldn't throw a party letting load of
Speaker 1: football right now either, TJ. So we're all good. Oh,
Speaker 1: but I say it must be uh more than we
Speaker 1: can even understand. How much of a thrill this is
Speaker 1: for you and your family. And it's gonna be fun TJ.
Speaker 1: On the on the ground floor or something special. Oh,
Speaker 1: it's gonna be. It's gonna be great. Man. Like I said,
Speaker 1: those those offices in Worth House can come soon enough
Speaker 1: to meet every morning. Um, get into it, man, get
Speaker 1: into the good stuff. Time to go exactly now. I
Speaker 1: lied one more quarterbacks take wide receivers. They go down
Speaker 1: to Florida, they go out to Arizona. Where do linebackers do? Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's a good question. You see all those uh you
Speaker 1: see all those big off season trips and everything like that. Um,
Speaker 1: it'll be it'll be interesting to see. I Uh, I'm
Speaker 1: a big golfer, so I'm thinking we gotta get the
Speaker 1: linebackers on the golf course, you know, on the off season,
Speaker 1: kind of see what's going on. Tremaine said, it is
Speaker 1: his games on the way. So I'm interested to you
Speaker 1: what that looks like I started out playing basketball. You know,
Speaker 1: I'll start the five, start the linebacker. You you can
Speaker 1: if the tight ends can do what you can too,
Speaker 1: not just for the specialist and side ends, we can
Speaker 1: do it exactly. Thank you so much. We appreciate it.
Speaker 1: Congrats again, Thank you guys. Man awestin talking to you
Speaker 1: to J Edwards, Wisconsin's finest Here on Bears Weekly, We're
Speaker 1: gonna take another break more on what is going on
Speaker 1: in the division. Gotta take a look at seeing what's
Speaker 1: what's the latest on Green Bay to Trait Minnesota. From
Speaker 1: a man Jim Miller here on Bears Weekly. Here on
Speaker 1: the Chicago Bears Radio Network. Excuse Bears Weekly with the
Speaker 1: voice of the Bears for twenties. We hear is Jeff
Speaker 1: Julian on the Bears Radio Network. This conversation with TJ. Edwards.
Speaker 1: You could feel the energy from the young man when
Speaker 1: you meet him face to face, a big grin out
Speaker 1: of his face. This is an awesome experience for a
Speaker 1: Chicagle area product, and there's several of them on the
Speaker 1: team now. Of course, Cole Commet also prominent in that regard.
Speaker 1: Jeff Joni actlong with Jim Miller. Welcome back to Bears Weekly, Jim.
Speaker 1: We gotta look around the division a little bit. I'll
Speaker 1: tell you the team that's really got my attention right
Speaker 1: now is Detroit. They're making a ton of moves, They've
Speaker 1: got good draft capital, including two first rounders, and everybody's
Speaker 1: got needs. But right now, if they truly believe Jared
Speaker 1: Goff is going to be fine moving forward here uh
Speaker 1: and not likely in this spot again to be high,
Speaker 1: you know, do they still go for a quarterback of
Speaker 1: the future or they just find the very best players
Speaker 1: and try to go and win a division and get
Speaker 1: into the playoffs. Yeah. I think when I talked to
Speaker 1: Brad Holmes, their general manager down at the down at
Speaker 1: the Combine, I think they golf their guy and they
Speaker 1: got him at a really good price over the next
Speaker 1: three years that he's there. I do think potentially they
Speaker 1: would draft one to develop them, but I can see
Speaker 1: them signing a veteran backup, you know, whether it's a
Speaker 1: Teddy Bridgewater who spend time down there in New Orleans
Speaker 1: with Dan Campbell, or say even a guy like Matt
Speaker 1: Ryan who would have to go there as a backup,
Speaker 1: but as a midline pass or similar to to Jared Golf.
Speaker 1: But I think he's their guy. They made that clear
Speaker 1: that he's their quarterback, but want to upgrade their their
Speaker 1: backup spot and then develop a young quarterback. But yeah,
Speaker 1: I think one it says a lot about what they're building.
Speaker 1: Guys are siding on for this project. Guys have resigned
Speaker 1: there like John Kaminski, ALEXANDZELONEI his resigned guys from the outside,
Speaker 1: like Cam Sutton. He signed a three year, thirty three
Speaker 1: million dollars deal. He's a versatile slot corner who he signed,
Speaker 1: and he pretty much made it clear that Dan Campbell
Speaker 1: was made Detroit kind of a really good landing spot.
Speaker 1: Would just word out of around the league from players
Speaker 1: that have really praised Dan Campbell, how he's really straightforward,
Speaker 1: he's upfront with them, treats him as men. But you know,
Speaker 1: he's a hard nosed coach. I think everybody knows that,
Speaker 1: and he wants hard nosed guys and so those type
Speaker 1: of guys are on board for that type of stuff.
Speaker 1: And you know they landed CJ or Chauncey Gardner today.
Speaker 1: That guy, he is trouble with a capital T. He
Speaker 1: gets under everybody's skin and now you get him twice
Speaker 1: a year in the division. He is, He's a tough,
Speaker 1: hard nosed player that does. He ruffles a lot of feathers.
Speaker 1: And guys have come back. You know. Here Graham glass Scott,
Speaker 1: who signed a good deal out there with Denver, that
Speaker 1: was a free agent. And why do you resigned with
Speaker 1: the Lions? Here was his reasoning. Yeah, I just wanted
Speaker 1: to be back with my buddies. How about this one?
Speaker 1: How about this one though? How about this one? Romeo
Speaker 1: Aquara took a nine million dollars pay cut essentially, And
Speaker 1: again some of this financial gymnastics tell different stories. But
Speaker 1: Charles Harris, he took a three million dollar cut. Guys
Speaker 1: are taking pay cuts to stay that. I think they
Speaker 1: feel something's brewing there in Detroit. And and you know
Speaker 1: what's preventing them say say that, you're you're you're saying
Speaker 1: what is true from Brad Holmes. They don't try to
Speaker 1: get a young quarterback with one of these Well, certainly
Speaker 1: with the sixth pick. You know, a guy like the
Speaker 1: Georgia defensive tackle could easily wind up there. They they've
Speaker 1: remade that defensive front already. They could use. You know,
Speaker 1: you always can have a great player. I mean, they
Speaker 1: could be really in a great position at the number
Speaker 1: six pick or yeah, you know, we'll move out of
Speaker 1: it and get something down deeper. Yeah. I don't see
Speaker 1: Jalen Carters still getting out of the top ten, you know.
Speaker 1: I know is a tragic event that that happened out
Speaker 1: outside of football. Um. But even though he kind of
Speaker 1: was winded and out of shape on his pro day, Yeah,
Speaker 1: there's gonna be some question marks about that. Hey, you
Speaker 1: knew your prode was going to happen, you didn't do
Speaker 1: anything at the combine, then you show up out of shape.
Speaker 1: But he's still go go put on the tape. Man.
Speaker 1: The guy is the best defensive tackle in this draft,
Speaker 1: and the coaches and gms that that need one and
Speaker 1: believe that they can coach him to get it out
Speaker 1: of him at the end of the day. Um. So
Speaker 1: he will not have to be under any discipline from
Speaker 1: the NFL because it happened while he was in college,
Speaker 1: and so there won't be any limitations on him other
Speaker 1: than you need to know about him his work ethic
Speaker 1: and that you can coach him up and you're going
Speaker 1: to get the most out of him. And teams will
Speaker 1: still believe that they can do that, because again, it's
Speaker 1: the planet theory. There's only so many men that big
Speaker 1: with his talent that are that are walking the planet.
Speaker 1: And he is a really good football player when you
Speaker 1: when you are on the tape. So I don't see
Speaker 1: them falling out of the top ten. And you're right,
Speaker 1: what would stop the Lions from taking them there at
Speaker 1: six where they're picking, because I do believe they need
Speaker 1: a defensive line help as well. All right, let's look
Speaker 1: at the Vikings. Eleven and oh and one score games
Speaker 1: in the regular season last year. Eight fourth quarter comeback
Speaker 1: wins tied an NFL record. They got a new number
Speaker 1: one corner, they found an edge rusher, Marcus Davenport. I
Speaker 1: did some things on the offensive line. They've got the
Speaker 1: number twenty three pick, and they've got Kirk Cousins. They
Speaker 1: are they okay, Yeah, I think they're Offensively, they can
Speaker 1: put up points. It's all about the defense. I mean,
Speaker 1: they finished twenty eighth and scoring. I believe defensively, it
Speaker 1: just was not good enough to me. You know, I
Speaker 1: saw him just rework their their safety. Harris renegotiated his deal.
Speaker 1: He took a haircut there. They lose some other guys. Obviously.
Speaker 1: Patrick Peterson moves on to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the
Speaker 1: reason why, I just think they're old, you know, no offense.
Speaker 1: I love Patrick Peterson as a player, but he does
Speaker 1: not run like he used to. Harris is a safety
Speaker 1: and the reason why they probably asked him to take
Speaker 1: a pay cut. They don't want to insult him, but
Speaker 1: he can't run anymore like he used to it. He's
Speaker 1: been beat up as a safety in the NFL. So
Speaker 1: you bring in Flores as their defense. According to me,
Speaker 1: they have still more work to do on the defensive
Speaker 1: side of the ball. But their offense is legit with
Speaker 1: you know, Jefferson on offense, and it looks like Delvin
Speaker 1: Cook is going to make his way out where he
Speaker 1: doesn't have to take a haircut. I believe they approached
Speaker 1: him on it and he told him no. So they may,
Speaker 1: you know, think about doing something there, but I doubt it.
Speaker 1: I think that time has come and gone for him
Speaker 1: and he's going to be safe. But they've got a
Speaker 1: powerful offense, but defensively, they've still got some work to do.
Speaker 1: You being out with all eyes on the national focus
Speaker 1: every day, what's the latest up in Lambeaux. Well, I
Speaker 1: think everybody seems to think that because Green Bay has
Speaker 1: this option, right, they can. They've got this fifty eight
Speaker 1: million dollars option that basically they can activate at any time,
Speaker 1: and they're going to choose not to activate it knowing
Speaker 1: that at some point that Aaron Rodgers is going to
Speaker 1: be traded. Supposedly they're holding out for compensation. Everybody thinks
Speaker 1: that all the leverage is on their side, but at
Speaker 1: some point in time that's going to have to be activated.
Speaker 1: It can be all the way up to week one
Speaker 1: that they're going to have to work out a trade
Speaker 1: with only one trade partner, and that trade partner is
Speaker 1: the New York Jets. Right, no other team has approached
Speaker 1: the Jets. I don't know why. The Jets, while they're
Speaker 1: flying out to see Aaron Rodgers out in California, you
Speaker 1: stop into Green Bay and you say, hey, what's the
Speaker 1: trade compensation? We need to agree to that before we
Speaker 1: make a trip out to talk to Aaron Rodgers. So
Speaker 1: somewhat clumsily handled by the New York Jets, and why
Speaker 1: now they're in this waiting game. Okay, And so I
Speaker 1: think the Jets are not going to give up their
Speaker 1: thirteenth overall. If green Bay's asking for one, I don't
Speaker 1: think that's going to happen. I think ultimately the compensation
Speaker 1: package will be two twos to a year, second round
Speaker 1: pick this year and possibly a second round pick next year.
Speaker 1: I think ultimately we will spur the deal because who knows.
Speaker 1: Rogers is a quirky cat. Now he can say his
Speaker 1: intentions are to play for the Jets, But the last
Speaker 1: thing green Bay needs is for the opening day of
Speaker 1: offseason program, Aaron Rodgers finds himself up in the building. Hey,
Speaker 1: I'm under contract, I want to be protected for injury,
Speaker 1: and I'm just gonna go ahead and work out here.
Speaker 1: That's the last thing that green Bay Packers want is
Speaker 1: him in the building because they want to rid themselves
Speaker 1: so that sixty million dollars salary. So I think cooler
Speaker 1: heads will prevail and it'll get done before the draft.
Speaker 1: But it'll be for two twos, a two this year
Speaker 1: and a two next year. Oh interesting stuff we look
Speaker 1: in the division, Not that we care so much about that.
Speaker 1: Bears gotta do what they gotta do, full steam ahead
Speaker 1: on what they'd like to see their future look like,
Speaker 1: and so I look at it that way as well.
Speaker 1: I don't know if you look at that Wayne. When
Speaker 1: you look in with a division, you gotta win your division.
Speaker 1: You gotta beat the teams in your divisions first and
Speaker 1: foremost to go to the playoffs. But I care about
Speaker 1: what my team is doing, what they want to be
Speaker 1: in the bigger picture. Yeah, I think that. You know,
Speaker 1: the NFC North is wide open. A lot of people
Speaker 1: are kind of favoring the Detroit Lions right now. Everything
Speaker 1: seems to be going in the right direction that they're
Speaker 1: scoring points, but they still got more work to do
Speaker 1: on defense. Bears will be right in it. In my opinion.
Speaker 1: A lot of things need to come together. They still
Speaker 1: need more pieces to the puzzle. And that's why you
Speaker 1: go out and acquire the assets that you have and
Speaker 1: why everybody's given Ryan pulls the A plus that he's
Speaker 1: had here this offseason, you trade down. They still have
Speaker 1: a lot of needs they need to fill. And again,
Speaker 1: the young players that played last year they need to
Speaker 1: build on that, and the young players that are coming
Speaker 1: in this year, they need to start their ascension pretty
Speaker 1: quick because they're going to be thrown out there too now.
Speaker 1: And a lot is going to be expected. There's a
Speaker 1: lot of pressure on those kids last year, and they'll
Speaker 1: be pressure on the young draft picks this year to
Speaker 1: come in and perform. So they'll be competitive and just
Speaker 1: like they were last year. They really the only blowout
Speaker 1: game was Dallas, and that was a game until the
Speaker 1: until the fumbled return for a touchdown that it became
Speaker 1: eventually came a twenty point blowout. But the Bears were
Speaker 1: pretty much in every game but one. I thought they
Speaker 1: were competitive, just didn't have the horses necessary for the
Speaker 1: full sixteen minute battle, and that's what they're in the
Speaker 1: process of acquiring right now. Tiber a break. Coming up.
Speaker 1: Out of the break, we'll have a conversation with fifty
Speaker 1: year guard the newest Chicago Bear offensive lineman, Nate Davis.
Speaker 1: This is Bears Weekly with Jim Melihim Jeff Joniak here
Speaker 1: on the Chicago Bears Radio Network. Is Bears Weekly with
Speaker 1: a voice of the Bears for twenty three years. Jeff
Speaker 1: Joniak on the Bears Radio networking seventeen games in twenty twenty,
Speaker 1: final fifteen, and nineteen and made thirty seven of his
Speaker 1: forty starts in college and the University of Charlotte. Last week,
Speaker 1: I sat down with the newest Chicago Bears guard Nate Davis.
Speaker 1: All Right, Nate, first of all, welcome to Chicago. You
Speaker 1: big smile and that's what you know. Free agents coming in? Uh,
Speaker 1: what are your initial impressions of being a Chicago Bear? Gratitude? Happy?
Speaker 1: UM's excited. I can just I can feel the energy here.
Speaker 1: I can, you know, just being around as new facility,
Speaker 1: seeing all the things they put in here just for players,
Speaker 1: me and some of the players, mean the staff, you know,
Speaker 1: I can't ask for anything better. Yeah, that's the first
Speaker 1: thing I always hear from guys. Wow, this place it
Speaker 1: does look like a museum. Right, So charter franchise in
Speaker 1: the National Football League? Do you get that impression? And
Speaker 1: that kind of stoked the flames a little bit. Yeah. Percent,
Speaker 1: Like you walk in and you know, before you get
Speaker 1: into the team room, we see the super Bowl trophy.
Speaker 1: You know, that's that's what we work for. So as
Speaker 1: what I'm saying, you see all the you know, the history,
Speaker 1: you know the guys who you know have put the
Speaker 1: blood and sweat and tears it before us. You just
Speaker 1: kind of look around It's like, Wow, I'm really I'm
Speaker 1: really here. I'm really in a Chicago bear. What is
Speaker 1: your story? What is the big takeaway and how you
Speaker 1: got here? Uh, someone who is very determined, who's one
Speaker 1: resilient guy. That's that's the That's the easiest way I
Speaker 1: can say. You know, a lot of things have been
Speaker 1: thrown at me, but every single time, the able to
Speaker 1: accomplish what I need to accomplish to get to what
Speaker 1: I need to get to. So it's it's very you know,
Speaker 1: it's very so real. You know, one of the most
Speaker 1: difficult things for players in schemes is the change of coaches.
Speaker 1: And you had five different offensive line coaches in college,
Speaker 1: You're now going to have your second different offensive line
Speaker 1: coach here in the NFL. How'd you get through that
Speaker 1: just to get to the league, Because that's a lot
Speaker 1: of different teaching. Everybody's got a little something different they
Speaker 1: want to teach it. Yeah, I would definitely say a
Speaker 1: support system. Um, having you know, the right people around
Speaker 1: your circle. That kind of keeps you on that straight
Speaker 1: narrow path. I really do have to give him a
Speaker 1: lot of credit for that, because it is tough having
Speaker 1: a new coach every single year, not knowing what to expect,
Speaker 1: but it makes anybody person when you come out of it.
Speaker 1: What's your best attribute? If you were to tell Bears fans, hey, this,
Speaker 1: this is who I am as an offensive line, the
Speaker 1: first word comes mine's physical. Um, bring a different type
Speaker 1: of asic count of the game. Consistency too. Um. I
Speaker 1: really like that us to ask for one word. So yeah,
Speaker 1: just because a county that's good, don't get fulled by
Speaker 1: the big smile right here in a nice demeanor, right
Speaker 1: when it's Sunday and you're ready to go put the
Speaker 1: hand in the dirt. It's it's trouble, isn't it. We
Speaker 1: got we got some guys on this team that way already,
Speaker 1: so I know there's gonna be more additions probably, But
Speaker 1: this team led the NFL and rushing last year, and
Speaker 1: you're familiar with that too down in Tennessee. What did
Speaker 1: you and that maybe you've already seen some things on
Speaker 1: tape that you know showed what kind of physicality this
Speaker 1: team wants to bring in the tape, right, I mean
Speaker 1: obviously just watching Oline, I was here before it pops
Speaker 1: out of the field every single time you watch it.
Speaker 1: They're already physical guys already. And then obviously got Justin
Speaker 1: Fields back there who will do anything, you know, put
Speaker 1: his body in the line to winning game. And that
Speaker 1: means a lot just as someone who's blocking for him,
Speaker 1: but also the teammates. So, like I said, it shows
Speaker 1: all over the film already the type of team that says,
Speaker 1: you blocked for Derrick Henry and put up over six
Speaker 1: thousand yards rushing just by himself with with you guys
Speaker 1: up front, and you are part of that. Was that
Speaker 1: special for such a unique player like that. Yeah, that's
Speaker 1: something that you know, that's something you can't take away
Speaker 1: from from us. And it was a special moment. Uh,
Speaker 1: definitely a lot of gratitude, a lot of great moments,
Speaker 1: and just something proud of. Something was that when you
Speaker 1: get a guy like that, it can get a lather
Speaker 1: going throughout the course of the Game's harder to bring
Speaker 1: down as a game where he's on. So that make
Speaker 1: you guys just more dominant. I mean, you don't feel
Speaker 1: the fatigue so to speak, because you got a guy
Speaker 1: back there just tearing it up right right, you're in
Speaker 1: the huddle, you see him, you know, don't he doesn't
Speaker 1: never get tired, you know what I mean. So you
Speaker 1: can't get tired. It's what I'm saying. If you keep
Speaker 1: on turning those wheels, you gotta keep on doing it
Speaker 1: with them. So just being able to kind of upload
Speaker 1: to each other no matter what and continue, it's telling
Speaker 1: that path of h you know we're gonna dominate. You know,
Speaker 1: you can't be the one, you can't be that one
Speaker 1: guy out of that. How exciting will it be to
Speaker 1: block for Justin? I mean now he wants to throw
Speaker 1: the ball more and be in the pockets, so he
Speaker 1: just din't want to run all the time. But boy,
Speaker 1: dynamic and unique. You gotta say he's the most dynamic
Speaker 1: runner in the league right now, with all do respect
Speaker 1: to the other mobile quarterbacks. He just did it differently
Speaker 1: with a big body, and that probably changes a lot
Speaker 1: for an offensive lineman who's not used to that. For
Speaker 1: a guy just sitting in the pocket, that's just somebody
Speaker 1: who you want to block for, you want to play for.
Speaker 1: And like I said, he is a leader and he's
Speaker 1: just easy to be around, just by talking to him
Speaker 1: just for a little bit today. So yeah, I'm excited.
Speaker 1: I'm definitely looking forward to it, and you know, I'm
Speaker 1: just I'm just happy to say, he's my quarterback. So
Speaker 1: you started on a ground floor opportunity at the University
Speaker 1: of Charlotte. You know, started football I think in the
Speaker 1: four restarted football in twenty fourteen and you I think
Speaker 1: we're red shirt of that year, right, So this is
Speaker 1: another ground floor opportunity with a team that you know
Speaker 1: obviously finished three and fourteen. They're trying to build something here.
Speaker 1: What'd you learn from that over the all that time
Speaker 1: in college age you can apply now in the NFL.
Speaker 1: Just you know, the dedication in the coast city that
Speaker 1: takes day in and day out to become successful, especially
Speaker 1: in this league of NFL. Every nothing was given to you,
Speaker 1: everything's earned. That's a you know, easiest way I can
Speaker 1: really say. It's not gonna be easy, but it's gonna
Speaker 1: be fun. And you did a heck of a job
Speaker 1: at the senior boat to get you here. It's often
Speaker 1: strange for me when a guy just built like you,
Speaker 1: but he's a lot of good football can get overlooked
Speaker 1: a little bit. But do you think that process put
Speaker 1: you on the map for teams to say I can
Speaker 1: I can play at this level. And you've proven that
Speaker 1: obviously as a long time Starner. Yea percent, because you know,
Speaker 1: come from a small school, especially an unknown school. You
Speaker 1: can see Charlotte, I didn't know if I can play
Speaker 1: with guys who were, you know, the bigger D one schools.
Speaker 1: So being out there and being able to compete with
Speaker 1: them and honestly being able to dominate while I was
Speaker 1: there definitely helped me out. I could definitely say that, well,
Speaker 1: we're excited to have you. I couldn't think of a
Speaker 1: better opportunity right now. Congratulations, nothing but success to you
Speaker 1: and rest your family as well. You're gonna love Chicago.
Speaker 1: I appreciate you, Thank you, thank you. That's big name.
Speaker 1: Davis Jim Miller out of Charlotte, the fifth year six
Speaker 1: three three out six crazy to hear, you know. You
Speaker 1: know he faced in at least in his early days
Speaker 1: because Larry Ogan Jobey with the Steelers was also at
Speaker 1: Charlotte at that time, so they were the best two
Speaker 1: players on that team. And boy, he learned a lot
Speaker 1: from that. And he also he arrived here in the
Speaker 1: NFL with like a frogman stance. He didn't yet. He
Speaker 1: had to get his butt up in the air a
Speaker 1: little bit, but he learned over time to adjust and
Speaker 1: look he just got a thirty million dollar contract. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and this a rugged blocker. Right. We know the style
Speaker 1: of football at Tennessee, and the Bears are going to
Speaker 1: continue to run the ball, right. They were number one
Speaker 1: in the league last year and want to try to
Speaker 1: improve and be even more effective here in twenty twenty three. Uh.
Speaker 1: You know, certainly when you get a big back like
Speaker 1: Foreman into the mix, he's used to blocking. He's been
Speaker 1: blocked with Foreman obviously there for Tennessee, and that style
Speaker 1: of rugged football is going to continue. You know. I
Speaker 1: just think also too, it just gives the Bears flexibility
Speaker 1: up front on their offensive line. You know, I know
Speaker 1: everybody's got him plugged in at the right guard position.
Speaker 1: Maybe Tevin Jenkins kicks out to right tackle. But part
Speaker 1: of me thinks that you could plug Nate Davis in
Speaker 1: it at left guard, kick Cody back to center if
Speaker 1: need be, and they could be formidable that way as well.
Speaker 1: Because I thought I thought Tevin Jenkins played pretty well
Speaker 1: last year. I don't know about you, Jeff. I really
Speaker 1: thought he was muscling some guys and he was playing
Speaker 1: some big boy football too. So you get to two
Speaker 1: big guards and then you could always kick Cody back
Speaker 1: in the center and then go out and probably draft
Speaker 1: a right tackle. You look at Dawan Jones from Ohio
Speaker 1: State and everybody he was dominant there. He was dominant
Speaker 1: down at the Senior Bowl, and everybody believes he'll be
Speaker 1: a starting right tackle day one in the National Football League.
Speaker 1: All right. Also, lastly, Davis played for current Bears assistant
Speaker 1: offensive line coach Luke Stackle in Tennessee. So familiarity also
Speaker 1: breed success often with coaches. So that's a that's a
Speaker 1: big addition to the Bears offensive line. One break to
Speaker 1: go and then we'll wrap things up with Jim Miller.
Speaker 1: I get a quick spin around the league, see what's
Speaker 1: going on with the commissioner of the NFL. That's all
Speaker 1: coming up next here. I'm Bears Weekly here on the
Speaker 1: Chicago Bears Radio Network. Excuse Bears Weekly with the voice
Speaker 1: of the Bears for twenty three years, Jeff Julian on
Speaker 1: the Bears Radio Networks. Thank you joining us tonight, everybody.
Speaker 1: Jim Miller from Serious X and NFL Radio's moving the chains.
Speaker 1: The former Chicago Bears quarterback. I'm messing with fire, big Jim.
Speaker 1: I'm Jeff Joniac when I often put you on the spot.
Speaker 1: You know, I kind of killed you earlier that you
Speaker 1: couldn't have been a pistol quarterback with the threat of
Speaker 1: a you know, maybe some some running around back there,
Speaker 1: some rpo. Now, Hey, you were drafted major League Baseball
Speaker 1: as I learned, U did you play basketball? Yeah? I
Speaker 1: play Oops. Any good small scholarship offer wasn't really you.
Speaker 1: You you're telling me you got small scholarship offers for
Speaker 1: that too. Yeah, yep, I completely underrated your athleticism. Buddy,
Speaker 1: yell you you got to take me into the woodshed.
Speaker 1: That's what you gotta do. Anyway, I'm just having fun
Speaker 1: with you. I love I you'd be a point guard.
Speaker 1: I don't know, but I loved watching you play Bears
Speaker 1: football because you were gritty and you handle that position
Speaker 1: the way it needs to be like a leader that
Speaker 1: you were. And that's that's what I that's my hopes
Speaker 1: for for Justin Fields. You know, continue to bang that
Speaker 1: drama being a leader and he got better over the
Speaker 1: course of the season, and take control of the situation.
Speaker 1: Once you experience a little success, I think you kind
Speaker 1: of settle in a little bit. Now it's his team yeah, no,
Speaker 1: he will. I mean I like him because he's tough,
Speaker 1: and that's you've got to, you know, in order to
Speaker 1: earn respect in the in the locker room and amongst
Speaker 1: your teammates and your coaches. I think when you show
Speaker 1: you your tough and you put that out there for everybody,
Speaker 1: that they respect that. And I think Justin does that,
Speaker 1: you know. And it's not just you know, his toughness
Speaker 1: as a player, meaning taking hits and all those type
Speaker 1: of things. It's just his approach. He's got that that
Speaker 1: toughest nails attitude that he's going to work day in
Speaker 1: and day out to get better and there's a resolve
Speaker 1: about him. And I think that about say Jalen Hurts,
Speaker 1: you know, whenever you see Jalen Hurts speak, you know,
Speaker 1: post game, and just how he conducts himself, how he
Speaker 1: how he commands himself, and how he carries himself. I
Speaker 1: think carries a lot of weight where people believe in you,
Speaker 1: and I think Justin has a lot of belief in
Speaker 1: him because he's earned that. He's earned that and he's
Speaker 1: going to continue to improve. He's going to continue to
Speaker 1: get better. But he's got all those intangible qualities so
Speaker 1: to speak, that you know that you're looking for at
Speaker 1: that position. It's not just at that position, it's at
Speaker 1: every position. You've got to have the heart of the desire,
Speaker 1: you know, the willingness to get better every single day,
Speaker 1: and also have the humility when you make a mistake
Speaker 1: that hey, I need to improve this, I need to
Speaker 1: get better at this, And I think justin displays all
Speaker 1: of that. All right, a little whip around time here
Speaker 1: in our final moments, Jim, if you had to pick
Speaker 1: one pro day this week to go to, Iowa had
Speaker 1: their's today, you got, let's see, Ohio State is Wednesday,
Speaker 1: Alabama Thursday, Penn State Friday, Notre Dame Friday as well.
Speaker 1: Which one would you want to go to? Oh? Well,
Speaker 1: all of them, of course, but I mean I would Allama, right, Yeah,
Speaker 1: I would have liked to see the van Esque kid.
Speaker 1: I mean, here's as a pass rusher. The guy's never
Speaker 1: a starter. I think we know what's about earning it,
Speaker 1: and the senior who played ahead of them obviously gets
Speaker 1: the nod. But this is a very interesting guy that
Speaker 1: everybody has going in in the first round, certainly Alabama,
Speaker 1: Ohio State, everybody's there because of the quarterback in the
Speaker 1: tackles right, both the tackles Johnson and Jones, who we
Speaker 1: talked about earlier, those guys are going to be top
Speaker 1: picks as well. C J. Strout, I personally think he
Speaker 1: will be the first quarterback taken Alabama. Take your pick.
Speaker 1: They got all kinds of positions there that are going
Speaker 1: to be great, and you know they've got a great
Speaker 1: coaching staff that comes through. But certainly Bryce Young is
Speaker 1: going to be the guy everybody's raven back. Because here's
Speaker 1: what you like about Bryce Young as he's well coached
Speaker 1: under Bill O'Brien, who was there for two years. He's
Speaker 1: called an audibles at the line of scrimmage, multiple plays protections.
Speaker 1: But his frame, his frame does scary. I mean he's
Speaker 1: five ten, and let's face it was kind of manufactured
Speaker 1: weight at the combine, right, he weighed in at two
Speaker 1: or four. He played at one ninety. And everybody thinks
Speaker 1: he's a dual threat. I watched tape on him today.
Speaker 1: He is not a dual threat quarterback, and I don't
Speaker 1: think you want him to be. I think you know
Speaker 1: when you watch him play, I mean, he would get
Speaker 1: bent in half if they were to do an RPO
Speaker 1: type of game with him at the at the next level,
Speaker 1: he he a lot. He reminds me a lot when
Speaker 1: I watched tape on him today. He reminds me a
Speaker 1: lot of Ten Bridgewater. Even though he's not as tall
Speaker 1: as Teddy. That he's got that slight frame like Teddy.
Speaker 1: And I think that's what got people concerned. It's got
Speaker 1: It's nothing against his ability to throw the football. He's
Speaker 1: got uh, you know, he can throw the football. He's accurate,
Speaker 1: he's got the acumen. He makes really good decisions. That's
Speaker 1: what you love about him. But man, that that frame
Speaker 1: has got to be concerning, and he does not run
Speaker 1: as well as what everybody thinks he can. Is it Quickly?
Speaker 1: Roger Goodown and the owners backed to make a multi
Speaker 1: year contract extension for the commission next week. It'ld be
Speaker 1: his fourth extension. Uh. And he's he has certainly done
Speaker 1: a heck of a job making a lot of dough.
Speaker 1: There's labor piece and there's people making money, so everything's good, right, Yeah, Yeah,
Speaker 1: two labor deals that you get done. And to have
Speaker 1: him ten years long, you know, it's you say this
Speaker 1: about the NFL is kind of a dot com bubble
Speaker 1: that that just doesn't seem to want to burn. And
Speaker 1: they continue to really build the game internationally, obviously with
Speaker 1: the games in Germany now, and that's going to continue.
Speaker 1: So the game is growing and Roger Goodell has really
Speaker 1: done a a nice job to keep that labor piece,
Speaker 1: to keep it intact. Yeah, don't talk about a bubble
Speaker 1: in the NFL. Gosh, I mean, it's this sport is uh,
Speaker 1: it's it's a great sport. Let's keep it. Let's keep
Speaker 1: it humming, big Jim. Let's keep it humming. All right,
Speaker 1: let's get in a pandemic. Think about that. Not one
Speaker 1: game during the randem right crazy that they were hold
Speaker 1: it off. All right, Thank you, buddy. We'll see at
Speaker 1: the NFL owners meeting next week. How about its good friend,
Speaker 1: all right, Jim Miller our guest here tonight Tonight was
Speaker 1: a T. J. Edwards. Thanks to our producers. We got
Speaker 1: Nick Astrotski, the Bears Radio Network producer, along with Kendra Smith,
Speaker 1: Nick mcdala, Dan Burrelli, and Jordan tread Up from the Bears.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, everybody on the new radio home of
Speaker 1: the Chicago Bears, AM one thousand, the ESPN Chicago Black
Speaker 1: and Abdalla Our Next. We'll talk to you next week. Goodnight, everybody.
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