Speaker 1: The following is a presentation of the Chicago Bears Network
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Speaker 1: and now welcome to Bears All Access. You're All Access
Speaker 1: passing to Chicago Bears football. Bears All Access is brought
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Speaker 1: Lite and Kulu. Best to your Bears fans. We now
Speaker 1: have the template for the twenty nineteen season. This schedule
Speaker 1: release last night, the script with which to work off
Speaker 1: of now and here for the evaluation. My broadcast partner
Speaker 1: on News Radio seven eighty and one h five point
Speaker 1: at FM, Tom Fair, Welcome into Bears All Access, brought
Speaker 1: to you by IGS Energy here on Chicago Sports Radio
Speaker 1: six seventy of the score. A good evening, Big Time.
Speaker 1: How you doing, Big Jeff. You know, when the schedule
Speaker 1: comes out, there's always a little search points depending upon
Speaker 1: what position you play in the different things. Okay, you
Speaker 1: look for these, and you know me, I'm gonna look
Speaker 1: for the extremely hot weather games first, what are the
Speaker 1: ones that are going to be the most uncomfortable to
Speaker 1: get through? And then maybe you look, are you going
Speaker 1: to have an extreme cold opportunity out there, and then
Speaker 1: who are you playing and when do you play them?
Speaker 1: What type of advantages do you have at home against
Speaker 1: some of the better players you're gonna play against, But
Speaker 1: where are some of the disadvantages you're gonna face when
Speaker 1: you're playing in an opponent stadium and you have to
Speaker 1: face some of the best players in the most hostile environment.
Speaker 1: So the players they do go through, you know, searching
Speaker 1: how it's going to affect their opportunities this season. Also,
Speaker 1: do you do that more now as a broadcasher than
Speaker 1: you did as a as a player? Noway? I mean
Speaker 1: as a player, I would as much as anything, because
Speaker 1: we played Tampa twice a year then, so you had
Speaker 1: to see where you're gonna get them out of the
Speaker 1: way early in the season when it was extremely hot
Speaker 1: down there, and then they would come to Chicago hopefully
Speaker 1: on a colder day or vice versa, where you gonna
Speaker 1: be a fat, happy team in December and then have
Speaker 1: to go down to Tampa in catching eighty five degree
Speaker 1: day in suck air through the whole thing. So and
Speaker 1: then you had to look for guys like Keith Millard
Speaker 1: at times in his career, or the Reggie Whites you know,
Speaker 1: or you know, just the great players that would come across.
Speaker 1: You know your schedule. Jim Miller unable to join us tonight,
Speaker 1: but we have a full hour with you and some
Speaker 1: special guests tonight had coming up. Shortly, Zach Miller joined
Speaker 1: us for his first interview following his statement released last
Speaker 1: week that he's going going to stop playing football. Then
Speaker 1: around six thirty one of the most popular and certainly
Speaker 1: tom one of the hardest hitting safety's and players ever
Speaker 1: in Bear's history, but one and only Doug Plank joins us.
Speaker 1: We're gonna get the ball rolling on that Bears one
Speaker 1: hundred years celebration event coming up in Rosemont in June,
Speaker 1: the days of seventh, eighth, and ninth. That's going to
Speaker 1: be a fun interview and a fun event indeed, town.
Speaker 1: You know, the one thing that catches my eye right
Speaker 1: from the get go is mcmannon Trubisky on the same
Speaker 1: stage because I've got to or not understand. I get
Speaker 1: to know Mitch a little bit from his a podium opportunities,
Speaker 1: and he's so well spoken in answers are thoughtful, and
Speaker 1: Jim is the opposite end of the spectrum. It's gonna
Speaker 1: be awesome, But you have to Jim is one of
Speaker 1: the most intelligent football minds that you could have an
Speaker 1: opportunity to put on stage with the young quarterback of
Speaker 1: the future because the game that Jim came from in
Speaker 1: college is more used now in the NFL than it
Speaker 1: was when Jim came into the NFL. Yeah, lots to
Speaker 1: break down during that weekend. You're going to have your
Speaker 1: best opportunity ever for the most collection of Bears players
Speaker 1: past and present. That will be a heck of event.
Speaker 1: We're looking forward to it and it's coming up rapidly
Speaker 1: as a matter of fact. All right. Before we get
Speaker 1: more into that, back to the schedule and where you
Speaker 1: break it down, and I'll give you my thoughts as well.
Speaker 1: What are some flashpoint areas that has caught your attention
Speaker 1: in terms of just how it stacks up and where
Speaker 1: you got to be at a certain point in a season.
Speaker 1: When you're the Bears in twenty nineteen, it's it's the
Speaker 1: roller coaster of starting times, practice changes, um, late nights,
Speaker 1: getting back from a game that you've got to get
Speaker 1: right back on the on the practice schedule, and sometimes
Speaker 1: the first couple of days are exhausting and m you know,
Speaker 1: and just see how all the how the travel is
Speaker 1: gonna work itself out in you know, there's just a
Speaker 1: lot of different elements to it, but it is you
Speaker 1: know that when your divisional games are going to take place,
Speaker 1: they're still the most important, but you also have a
Speaker 1: schedule of success. They're not going to put you in
Speaker 1: that roller coaster starting times all over the map trying
Speaker 1: to capture a national audience's attention because the Bears are
Speaker 1: so popular. It's just that you have to be able
Speaker 1: to um, you know, have a mature team inside that
Speaker 1: locker room that can get their energies organized at the
Speaker 1: right time and the different starting times, they're going to
Speaker 1: find something they certainly have, you know, and that they're
Speaker 1: one of they had the most right now along with
Speaker 1: several other teams. They're all playoff can enders, all believed
Speaker 1: to be Super Bowl contenders, that have five primetime games.
Speaker 1: Then you throw in the London game, Thanksgiving games. So
Speaker 1: it's a lot of attention on the twenty nineteen Bears
Speaker 1: from my money, dang healthy as you entered December because
Speaker 1: that final month of the season and how that all
Speaker 1: stacks up to me, it's always after Thanksgiving. You've heard
Speaker 1: me say many times. That's when the season actually begins.
Speaker 1: If you're a contender, it doesn't really start until then,
Speaker 1: and that's when you want to hit. You hit your straight.
Speaker 1: If the Bears have the same success rate and the
Speaker 1: health that they did last year, it's going to be
Speaker 1: a really big season for all Right. That's top there.
Speaker 1: I'm Jeff Jonahak and this is Bears All Access producing
Speaker 1: tonight Chris Dickens and also Hearb Lawrence. Coming up next,
Speaker 1: we'll be joined by Zach Miller bere on Bears All
Speaker 1: Access in Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The Squad fling
Speaker 1: back to Bears All the Access brought to you by
Speaker 1: IGS Energy, of proud partner of the Chicago Bears, providing electricity,
Speaker 1: natural gas, and home warranty products to over one million
Speaker 1: customers across the country. Learn more about GS Energy at
Speaker 1: igs dot com. Welcome back to the program, Jeff Jonnyac
Speaker 1: along with Tom Thare, and this is Chicago Sports Radio
Speaker 1: six seventy the Score. Please to be joined now by
Speaker 1: a good friend of ours and a good friend of
Speaker 1: Bears fans, number eighty six, Zach Miller. It's one week
Speaker 1: from tonight is the NFL Draft, and how quickly time
Speaker 1: has flown, big big Zach from a sixth round pick
Speaker 1: in two thousand and nine with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Where
Speaker 1: you are? Now, what's going on, guys? We're doing all right, Zach.
Speaker 1: Last week, obviously you issued a statement on social media
Speaker 1: that your football playing days have since passed. And have
Speaker 1: you digested all that since I'm slowly I'm slowly doing that.
Speaker 1: A bittersweet moment for me, obviously, just because it didn't
Speaker 1: quite end the way that I would envision it. And
Speaker 1: but as I look back at it and I see
Speaker 1: all the support that I've got, you know, not only
Speaker 1: in the last two days, but really over the last
Speaker 1: ten years, it makes you reflect on all of that
Speaker 1: and see how blessed I am to really be in
Speaker 1: the position I am and I wasn't for ten years.
Speaker 1: So it was a bittersweet day. But I'll tell you what,
Speaker 1: I had a good run, hey, Zach. Within your statement,
Speaker 1: one of the things I like you said, chase your dream,
Speaker 1: never stop, never settle, and you know, I kind of,
Speaker 1: you know, think about that through are my opportunity to
Speaker 1: play football? And the way you come out of it.
Speaker 1: I would do it all over again, every single thing
Speaker 1: I had the opportunity. When you consider what you've been
Speaker 1: through but really where you're going, would you do it
Speaker 1: all the same? I think I'd run it all back
Speaker 1: just the same way. And partly just because for me,
Speaker 1: my love is the journey. It kind of made me
Speaker 1: who I am. Maybe I changed the ending, I changed
Speaker 1: the outcome, but as far as everything up leading to
Speaker 1: that point, I think I do all the same way
Speaker 1: because I learned so much through the hardships, UM, in
Speaker 1: the in those moments where I was down for a while,
Speaker 1: out of the league, you know, and not playing for
Speaker 1: a number of uh almost three and a half years
Speaker 1: being on IR, and I learned. I learned just so
Speaker 1: much about never giving up, UM, continuing to believe in
Speaker 1: yourself and really believing your abilities regardless of outside perception
Speaker 1: or what other people may think. UM. If you have
Speaker 1: that confidence in yourself and in your abilities and you
Speaker 1: continue to push and grow, you can you can ultimately
Speaker 1: reach those goals. And I think for me that journey
Speaker 1: and learning all those things is probably one of the
Speaker 1: most important part of it. You know, it isn't it
Speaker 1: amazing that you can play the game and affect a few,
Speaker 1: you can have a scenario that you've faced and you
Speaker 1: can affect thousands and people all over the world. It's
Speaker 1: it's it's an amazing how positive of effect you can
Speaker 1: have on so many young and old. It is, and
Speaker 1: that's something that's still it kind of touches my heart
Speaker 1: just because I've had so many people reach out to me,
Speaker 1: whether near far, whether Bears fans or NFL fans across
Speaker 1: the globe, and people that are kind of going through
Speaker 1: the same stuff that I'm going through injury wise, similar injuries,
Speaker 1: and then people who have other obstacles, but they find
Speaker 1: a little bit of inspiration in my story. And for me,
Speaker 1: it's that's the pool is part about it, because other
Speaker 1: people are getting a little bit of positivity from and
Speaker 1: they're gaining some light and it's continuing to help them
Speaker 1: push through the stuff that they are struggling with on
Speaker 1: a daily basis. So it's almost a little bit of
Speaker 1: a blessing for me to be able to kind of
Speaker 1: provide that positive influence on people all over the world
Speaker 1: that we've never met, but we connect on a certain level.
Speaker 1: Is Zach Miller our guest here on Bears All Access
Speaker 1: brought to you by IGS Energy, Jeff Jonny Act, Tom
Speaker 1: Bear on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score And
Speaker 1: I'm struck by the photo you It placed down in
Speaker 1: your Instagram account, and I'm not an Instagram person, but
Speaker 1: it did come up. Uh it's just your your arms
Speaker 1: spread wide. You're back to the camera and you're dwarfing
Speaker 1: Soldier Field and the and the and the great city
Speaker 1: of Chicago in the foreground. Um, when you look at
Speaker 1: that photo and you see that photo, what what? What
Speaker 1: are you thinking? What are you what are you feeling
Speaker 1: when you see that? It's something that I put together. Um,
Speaker 1: you know, I took a couple of pictures and I
Speaker 1: thought it through and it was one something of what
Speaker 1: I wanted to put out there for everybody to see
Speaker 1: and embody my time in Chicago, and it was the
Speaker 1: appreciation for a every single person inside of that Chicago
Speaker 1: land area, inside inside Soldier Field, people inside the stadium
Speaker 1: that are now perched up above the city. And it
Speaker 1: was just a big giant thank you and a and
Speaker 1: a giant of you for having my back. And that's
Speaker 1: just kind of what it meant for me putting it
Speaker 1: together that way, So I thought it was city and
Speaker 1: hopefully everybody else thought the same. Zach, you know you
Speaker 1: mentioned that. Sorry time you mentioned that. Uh you know,
Speaker 1: in time mentioned the impact in in thousands around the
Speaker 1: world that you have made because of eighteen months ago.
Speaker 1: But in a broader scope, like you mentioned, three and
Speaker 1: a half years of lost time due to injury. Did
Speaker 1: a change who you are in any way? And well
Speaker 1: how you look at life and how you looked at
Speaker 1: the game? Yeah, I think it changed me. I think
Speaker 1: any all these obstacles kind of changed people, whether good
Speaker 1: or bad. For me, it proved a point not only
Speaker 1: to everybody else, but most of poorly took myself that
Speaker 1: I was able to pick myself up. Um, you know,
Speaker 1: through those loads, I was able to continue on an
Speaker 1: upward slope to really get to where I won to be.
Speaker 1: And was the other half of the question just you
Speaker 1: know how you looked at the game? Oh yeah, so
Speaker 1: I mean for Jeff, Jeff, for me, man, that just
Speaker 1: made it more special and not a lot of guys
Speaker 1: are not active for three and a half years, whether
Speaker 1: they're on our eye or I are, or out of
Speaker 1: the league or doing whatever. There's a that's a big window.
Speaker 1: So for me, it really made me appreciate being there,
Speaker 1: being in that seat, being able to walk out on
Speaker 1: the field and continue to do what I loved. It
Speaker 1: made me appreciate it so much more because when you're
Speaker 1: in it, it's just what you're doing, and sometimes you
Speaker 1: can be taken for granted. And after that three and
Speaker 1: a half year period, I never took it for granted.
Speaker 1: Not a day that I stepped on a football fire
Speaker 1: that I didn't love what I was doing. There were struggles,
Speaker 1: you know, you're going through training campus, you're doing the
Speaker 1: dog days of things where it's not exactly fun, But
Speaker 1: I never took those opportunities for granted, and I think
Speaker 1: that's probably the biggest thing that it was taught to
Speaker 1: myself through that window. You know, Zach, I think last year, though,
Speaker 1: I think you inspired a lot of people around Hollis
Speaker 1: Hall when you would make that daily trek from the
Speaker 1: weight room back to the facility. It was inspiring because
Speaker 1: people understood what your commitment was to it. So now
Speaker 1: you know this football team inside and out better than
Speaker 1: anyone this one that's coming up. When you look at
Speaker 1: the roller coaster schedule, Are you a player that would
Speaker 1: like straight now starts or are you okay with this
Speaker 1: team having the alternate starting times of this roller coaster year.
Speaker 1: I'm okay with us having the roller coaster only because
Speaker 1: I know that we'll be well prepared for it. If
Speaker 1: you look at it and kind of as a player
Speaker 1: from a weekly routine, would you like everything to kind
Speaker 1: of be the same. Yeah, probably, But when you substitute
Speaker 1: that for prime time, you substitute that for under the lights,
Speaker 1: you substitute that for division rivals, um and and big
Speaker 1: big moments. With with what we're putting together, with what
Speaker 1: Ryan has done, with what coach Knas has done in
Speaker 1: the last year, and how he prepares these guys, I
Speaker 1: think it's gonna be exciting because they're going to show
Speaker 1: up on prime time and this he up to be
Speaker 1: a lovely display for everybody to see the Chicago Bears
Speaker 1: kicking some butt. Zach Miller our guest here on Bears
Speaker 1: All Access with Jeff Jonny Akin town Fare on Chicago
Speaker 1: Sports Radio six seventies score. It's brought to you by
Speaker 1: IGS Energy. Uh just looking at your career, I saw
Speaker 1: this Pro football Focus said, and they evaluate every snap
Speaker 1: in the NFL. Um they're gaining in popularity and so forth,
Speaker 1: certainly around this time a year with the draft, but
Speaker 1: a stunning stat especially for a tight end and a
Speaker 1: guy that was in several different systems. They said that
Speaker 1: you only had four drop passes in your career. That's
Speaker 1: pretty good. That's some good hands. It is not bad.
Speaker 1: I'll tell you what, guys, I took pride in catching
Speaker 1: the football. I worked on it. It was it was
Speaker 1: something that and it's funny that you say that because
Speaker 1: I was just talking to one of my best friends
Speaker 1: last night about it, and because I made that transition
Speaker 1: from quarterback to tight end. I never really did catching
Speaker 1: drills and I got into the NFL and I worked
Speaker 1: on it. I did tennis ball drills with one eye open,
Speaker 1: one eye closed, bouncing stuff off the wall. I worked
Speaker 1: on one hand. It catches every single day over the shoulders.
Speaker 1: So those were something that I kind of took pride
Speaker 1: and catching the football, and I wanted that I didn't
Speaker 1: I didn't want. I went one of the lowest drop
Speaker 1: rate in the entire league. So, um, it's cool if
Speaker 1: they do that for you know, they put those stats
Speaker 1: together for guys to kind of see some off the
Speaker 1: wall and statistics, but that's pretty sweet, you know, Zach.
Speaker 1: When I so you play tight end, h back, fullback, split,
Speaker 1: tight end, short yardage, tight end on short yardage and
Speaker 1: goal line during the expansion of your career, what was
Speaker 1: more challenging for you? And I'm kind of for thinking
Speaker 1: for Adam sheheen, but I need to hear from your experience.
Speaker 1: Is it what's more challenging at an NFL level? Is
Speaker 1: it the online blocking or is it the route running
Speaker 1: and timing with a quarterback with the creativeness of Mitchell.
Speaker 1: I think it was the inline blocking, just the physical
Speaker 1: nature of what it is for me specifically, because I've
Speaker 1: never really had my hand in the dirt and I
Speaker 1: had to kind of learn that skill for the first
Speaker 1: three four years and I probably wasn't even really good
Speaker 1: at it and maybe ever, but there was a period
Speaker 1: where I was able to do that and I started
Speaker 1: to kind of find a little niche and you use
Speaker 1: more quickness opposed to being overpowered. So for me, it
Speaker 1: was the inline just understanding the strength and how I
Speaker 1: could use my quickness and agility to kind of, you know,
Speaker 1: hold off the bigger, stronger dudes. Now when you get
Speaker 1: into the route running and the timing thing. I was
Speaker 1: fortunate enough to play quarterbacks, so I understood timing in
Speaker 1: my own head. There was times where you may run
Speaker 1: her out and just my internal clock already knows where
Speaker 1: Mitchell is going to be at and what he kind
Speaker 1: of needed. So I feel like I had an advantage
Speaker 1: from that standpoint. And speaking specifically of Adam, I think
Speaker 1: just the more that he plays, the better he's going
Speaker 1: to get. Obviously has all the physical tools. He's a giant.
Speaker 1: His catch radius is huge, and he is a very
Speaker 1: very good athlete. Now is he just he's strong enough
Speaker 1: to really be a dominant inline blockers just got to
Speaker 1: learn some technique. He's very tall, so the lower pad
Speaker 1: level for him and things like that. The sky's the
Speaker 1: limits really for where he is and what he can
Speaker 1: do talent wise. So I'm excited to see him grow.
Speaker 1: Jack Miller our guest here on Bears All Access with
Speaker 1: Tom There Jeff jonny Ac on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy.
Speaker 1: The Score brought to you by IGS Energy. One thing
Speaker 1: for me and it'll be last one for me and time.
Speaker 1: If you have something else you can chime in as well.
Speaker 1: But I have a good question. I heard something. What's that?
Speaker 1: I said, I have a good question. Okay, now go ahead.
Speaker 1: I was sorry. I heard something about Bill Belichick today
Speaker 1: on the radio and just how the lack of practice
Speaker 1: time with players and installing offenses is such that it
Speaker 1: shifts for a coach in terms of what he can
Speaker 1: put in and how quickly the entire offense can get downloaded.
Speaker 1: I only bring it up because Mattneggie keeps talking about
Speaker 1: Mitch and the offense at one on one level last
Speaker 1: year now two oh one. This year is the expectation
Speaker 1: and beyond and it's going to grow like that every year.
Speaker 1: Is it smart for coaches now to take the approach like, okay,
Speaker 1: don't panic and training camp. If you get you can't
Speaker 1: get it all in, get enough to get it done
Speaker 1: the first couple games of the season that puts you
Speaker 1: in a position to win and still download and installed
Speaker 1: throughout the course of the first six weeks of the
Speaker 1: season or so. Yeah. I think so. I think that's
Speaker 1: just that's the right approach, only because you don't want
Speaker 1: to have information overload. You can get you can get
Speaker 1: a playbook that's so diverse and so complex and a
Speaker 1: lot of guys are moving different positions, and if you
Speaker 1: throw it all at them at one at one time,
Speaker 1: it can be we're learning everything at an average level,
Speaker 1: or we can kind of limit it, pick out the
Speaker 1: most important things, all our key concepts, what we're gonna do,
Speaker 1: become great at those, and then grow from that kind
Speaker 1: of as the season goes, and then you take that
Speaker 1: conglomerate and then it's changed week by week. So I'd
Speaker 1: say early on for that approach is right on, and
Speaker 1: that's coming for me. I think Coach Belichick and Coach
Speaker 1: Nagging a heck of a lot more than what I
Speaker 1: would do, So I'd follow in their footsteps for sure. Hey, Zach,
Speaker 1: last question for me. You know, you've had some amazing
Speaker 1: experiences in your life in the NFL. You've come from
Speaker 1: one of the grumpiest postgame locker rooms to one of
Speaker 1: the craziest postgame locker rooms I've ever seen in my life.
Speaker 1: Isn't it weird how fine line it is between those
Speaker 1: two postgame locker rooms. I'll tell you what man night
Speaker 1: and day differences just from you know how it's a
Speaker 1: challenge to win in the NFL. It really is from
Speaker 1: week to week and they're special and coach Naggie does
Speaker 1: such a great job of understanding that and really pushing
Speaker 1: that narrative to his entire team and enjoying it. So
Speaker 1: there's nothing wrong with having fun and really soaking up
Speaker 1: that entire sixty minute battle that you just had, and
Speaker 1: then you come inside and you get to have a
Speaker 1: little bit of a party with your with your family
Speaker 1: in there. It's a it's a pretty cool thing that
Speaker 1: he set up. And I think you're starting to see
Speaker 1: it kind of trend now trickle down effect out the NFL,
Speaker 1: but you know where it started, and that's a that's
Speaker 1: a live party in there. I'm glad you allowed the
Speaker 1: fans the exposure because it's really cool for x has
Speaker 1: beens to see it going on, and it's fun to
Speaker 1: see the young guys enjoying the opportunity of success. It's
Speaker 1: so fun. Man. He's he knows exactly what he's doing.
Speaker 1: And uh, like I said, it's been a privilege for
Speaker 1: him to kind of take me in and then allow
Speaker 1: me to be in that position for that entire year.
Speaker 1: So I love that guy. That's the aspect of sports
Speaker 1: that is lost, is the aspect that when it is over,
Speaker 1: you missed the room, you missed the day to day
Speaker 1: grind with teammates. I'd like both of you to talk
Speaker 1: about those experiences. Are what you know you might be feeling,
Speaker 1: Zach and Tom, what you did when it was time
Speaker 1: to move on, I think, and I mean, just just
Speaker 1: like you said, that's probably the biggest thing that you
Speaker 1: missed being around your brothers on a daily basis. And
Speaker 1: then when you get into the grind, there's just a
Speaker 1: certain amount of like it's just like a prideful thing
Speaker 1: to go through a training camp. And it's different for
Speaker 1: us now come than it was for you guys back
Speaker 1: in the day. I mean, you guys were that was
Speaker 1: a that was a grind for you. It was strenuous
Speaker 1: and I know it because I did it for two
Speaker 1: years when it was real to it is. And when
Speaker 1: you get through that and you come together, you grind
Speaker 1: through crank camp, you got some fights, I mean, you
Speaker 1: got some family stuff going on, and then it ends
Speaker 1: and you're like, you know what, man, we just made it.
Speaker 1: We came a little bit closer, and it's a bomb
Speaker 1: that you can't really describe when you go through something
Speaker 1: like that, and then now it shifts to the greater
Speaker 1: goal that you move forward together. It's just a special
Speaker 1: feeling and I'm gonna miss out the most just daily
Speaker 1: being there, hanging out, putting in the work and appreciating
Speaker 1: what the guy next to you is doing, you know,
Speaker 1: for me, you know, I know the Bears hunting your anniversary,
Speaker 1: the event that's coming up in Roll's mind. It's gonna
Speaker 1: be interesting because you went to training camp and you
Speaker 1: competed with so many guys that you're going to be
Speaker 1: able to see. But you know, Jeff and I have
Speaker 1: had the opportunity to do these broadcasts now, so some
Speaker 1: of the guys that are going to cross our path
Speaker 1: that we really didn't get an opportunity to talk to
Speaker 1: very much because they were in the midst of their career.
Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to that opportunity as much as seeing
Speaker 1: the guys that you play with, because the guys you
Speaker 1: play with you have a tendency to see a little
Speaker 1: bit more. But the generations of players that have come
Speaker 1: throughout the Chicago Bears and been on the roster, it's
Speaker 1: going to be an awesome chant to be able to
Speaker 1: see these guys for an extended period of time. Yes,
Speaker 1: I agree, I think that's a cool That's just a
Speaker 1: milestone for really everybody who's been involved with our franchise,
Speaker 1: like it's a brotherhood and never expires. So to be
Speaker 1: there and kind of see the history of in Martini
Speaker 1: and the greatest franchise in the NFL. To have that
Speaker 1: all come together and have guys there to share stories
Speaker 1: and share history and kind of support one another'd be
Speaker 1: pretty cool. Glad you are the Jeersy of Chicago Bear Bigs.
Speaker 1: Take care of my friend. Thank you for joining us
Speaker 1: on Bears All Access. Appreciate you, Thank you. The pleasures
Speaker 1: all mine. I love you, guys. To Zach Okay, Zach Miller,
Speaker 1: our guest here on Bears All Access. When we return,
Speaker 1: we'll be dialing up another Bear that had to this day.
Speaker 1: The fans love them. There's no way you can put
Speaker 1: it any other way. The great Doug Plank, one of
Speaker 1: the hardest hitters in football history, joining us next on
Speaker 1: Bears All Access on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The Square.
Speaker 1: The twenty nineteen middle A Chicago Bears Draft party will
Speaker 1: be held on Saturday, April twenty seventh at Soldier Field
Speaker 1: from noon to six pm. The event will feature on
Speaker 1: field activities, locker room tours, player autographs, and of course,
Speaker 1: the live draft coverage and analysis from Bears football experts.
Speaker 1: Get your tickets today at Chicago Bears dot com Slash
Speaker 1: Draft Party. Jeff Joniac, Tom Thair and joined now by
Speaker 1: a twelfth round draft pick when the draft was longer
Speaker 1: than seven rounds back in nineteen seventy five. I'm sure
Speaker 1: he remembers what number he was drafted at because it
Speaker 1: sticks with guys for the rest of their careers and
Speaker 1: it's a little chip on the shoulder. Please welcome former
Speaker 1: Chicago Bear safety Doug Plank. Doug, do you remember what
Speaker 1: number you were drafted? Jeff, Tom, Nobody forgets that. I
Speaker 1: think it was two ninety one. And I know there's
Speaker 1: more more numbers like on that now, you know, more
Speaker 1: teams and stuff like that, But um, it was, you
Speaker 1: know it was, and it was a surprise because you
Speaker 1: know when I when I was at Ohio State, you know,
Speaker 1: I was mostly a special teams player, and you know
Speaker 1: a lot of teams came into town. I remember the
Speaker 1: Cowboys and the Rams, and they all had you you
Speaker 1: run and tested and all that sort of thing. But
Speaker 1: I have to tell you there wasn't one team that
Speaker 1: came to Columbus Ohio at Ohio State and tested me
Speaker 1: on doing anything. I didn't have to run, I didn't
Speaker 1: lift weights. So when it came the day of the
Speaker 1: draft and I found that they got drafted by the
Speaker 1: Chicago Bears, nobody was more surprised than Doug Plank. You know, Doug,
Speaker 1: It's a good thing that you were number forty six
Speaker 1: because I was kind of thinking, you know, that can
Speaker 1: be dialed into the four defensive lineman six, you know,
Speaker 1: on the second level. But just think if you were
Speaker 1: number like twenty seven or thirty one, they would have
Speaker 1: never named the defense after you. So you know, that's
Speaker 1: the two ninety one your draft choice. But forty six
Speaker 1: has worked out well because across the football landscape, everybody
Speaker 1: knows Doug Plank number forty six, you know what. And
Speaker 1: I was one of those stories too. I was the
Speaker 1: rookie that had a jersey number. I couldn't get my
Speaker 1: college number, which was twenty eight, but I got number
Speaker 1: twenty five. So I had twenty five for like two
Speaker 1: or three weeks. But they traded for an all Pro receiver,
Speaker 1: Ron Shanklin's the Pittsburgh Steelers. And when he saw my number,
Speaker 1: that was his number in Pittsburgh. That only took one
Speaker 1: day from him to take that jersey off me and say, hey, kid, rookie,
Speaker 1: I'm taking his jersey. And I went downstairs and I
Speaker 1: went to any Early, one of the equipment managers. You
Speaker 1: got what you have any jerseys left? He goes, how
Speaker 1: about forty six? Oh? Good for you. I mean that's
Speaker 1: a good That is a blessing in disguise, you know,
Speaker 1: Doug going through the draft process right now, just and today,
Speaker 1: as a matter of fact, I was working on behind
Speaker 1: cornerbacks and safeties in you know, because the Bears don't
Speaker 1: have a first or second round pick. When we're doing
Speaker 1: our draft show on Saturday, Tom and I and UH
Speaker 1: and Dan POMPEII and David Haw and Habarks, we're gonna
Speaker 1: be looking at guys that you know, you analyze, okay,
Speaker 1: And there are a few guys today that I was
Speaker 1: looking at. You know, they only had a handful of
Speaker 1: college starts. And I was shocked to learn that you
Speaker 1: only had five college starts at Ohio State. Yeah, it
Speaker 1: was you know, it was very humbling, but you learn
Speaker 1: how to work hard when you're in an inferior position,
Speaker 1: and you're always trying to get to the top. I
Speaker 1: was behind a first round draft pick, a kid by
Speaker 1: name of Tim Fox that played twelve years in the NFL.
Speaker 1: So it wasn't like I was behind somebody that was
Speaker 1: not talented, are capable or qualified, and you know, you
Speaker 1: get the big places like you know, Ohio State, Wow,
Speaker 1: there's always somebody in front of you. So I love
Speaker 1: the fact that I learned how to work hard and
Speaker 1: be conditioned and you know, expect the unexpected. You know,
Speaker 1: don't don't wait for your opportunity to come and knock
Speaker 1: on the door. Be ready. So when that opportunity came in,
Speaker 1: it did for me. My senior year against Northwestern, Tim
Speaker 1: Fox got hurt the first play of the game, and
Speaker 1: I played a game of my life. Interceptions, forced fumbles,
Speaker 1: and you know, there was a Chicago Bear scout at
Speaker 1: the game, and that's in fact, how I got to
Speaker 1: the Bears. You know, Doug, before I ever got to
Speaker 1: the NFL, when I dreamed about playing in the NFL,
Speaker 1: You're a guy that intimidated me before I ever got here.
Speaker 1: And then I signed in the USFL, and I was
Speaker 1: glad that you're in the NFL and then you signed
Speaker 1: in the USFL. Were there guys that you that when
Speaker 1: you approached the NFL that intimidated you or you're anxious
Speaker 1: about either being hit by or hitting you know what, Tom.
Speaker 1: You know, it never dawned on me that I was
Speaker 1: ever going to get drafted, that I was ever going
Speaker 1: to play in the NFL. So literally, when I came there,
Speaker 1: I came with this, you know, Jeff, I know you
Speaker 1: mentioned like a chip on your shoulder or whatever the case.
Speaker 1: I didn't have any of that. I was just a
Speaker 1: twelfth round draft pick. I you know, I felt like,
Speaker 1: you know, I led the Ohio State Buckeyes in kickoff tackles.
Speaker 1: I felt like if I line up every time at
Speaker 1: safety and I treated like a kickoff, somebody is going
Speaker 1: to pay the price. It's going to be alignment of
Speaker 1: running back somebody, because you know, when I run twelve
Speaker 1: yards and hit the line of screamage, somebody's going down.
Speaker 1: And that's the philosophy I brought with me in training camp,
Speaker 1: and I became the starter before you know. Fortunately, there
Speaker 1: were six games back then, so I had plenty of
Speaker 1: opportunity to prove myself in exhibition and I was starting
Speaker 1: my rookie year. I couldn't even started Ohio State. You
Speaker 1: know why, because no one really ever gave me the
Speaker 1: chance to show what I could do. You know, Doug,
Speaker 1: speaking of that, you know you think of the of
Speaker 1: the defensive the defensive backfield now, I think the safety
Speaker 1: responsibilities have changed more than any other because they have
Speaker 1: to have the ability to cover, they have to tackle,
Speaker 1: they have to support the run near the line of scrimmage.
Speaker 1: So outside of all your illegal hits, how would you
Speaker 1: have changed your game to fit it into today's atmosphere.
Speaker 1: You are so right, Tom Number one, eliminate the helmet
Speaker 1: first contact. You know that was a devastating way to
Speaker 1: knock people out or knock them down. I can't tell
Speaker 1: you how many times I heard the oxygenes come out
Speaker 1: of their their lungs. I would have to become you know,
Speaker 1: I studied film a lot. I anticipated what formations were
Speaker 1: and what likely plays they were going to run. As
Speaker 1: a result of that, I would not be nearly as
Speaker 1: effective in today's football because you know, the recklessness of
Speaker 1: the way I tackled there would not be regarded very
Speaker 1: well here. And it was surprising when I first got
Speaker 1: to the NFL, I could not believe how late the
Speaker 1: whistles were in comparison to NCAA. You know, those whistles
Speaker 1: were fast, they were quick. If you know, when that
Speaker 1: running back was going down, they were almost blowing the whistle.
Speaker 1: The NFL A thousand and one, you know, the guys
Speaker 1: down the ground, you know, then all of a sudden
Speaker 1: you hear like a thousand and one, a thousand and two,
Speaker 1: one thousand and three, and all of a sudden you
Speaker 1: start realizing, Wow, this is a totally different game. Doug
Speaker 1: Plank our guest here on Bears All Access, brought to
Speaker 1: you by IGS Energy with Tom There. I'm Jeff Joniac
Speaker 1: and Doug will be a part of the one hundred
Speaker 1: years celebration as the Bears welcome fans into Rosemont and
Speaker 1: the first weekend in June. It's June seventh, eighth, and ninth,
Speaker 1: and we're going to be talking to former Bears players
Speaker 1: and current Bears players about what that's going to mean.
Speaker 1: It's going to be the largest Doug collection of Bears
Speaker 1: players passed in present that has ever been put together before.
Speaker 1: And that has to even be exciting for a guy
Speaker 1: who has been in the thick of it and have
Speaker 1: been in that locker room. No, you know, honestly, it's
Speaker 1: so exciting. I mean, I do broadcasting now, you guys
Speaker 1: know that on radio national radio, and I love talking
Speaker 1: football to players, coaches, especially people that I played played
Speaker 1: against or played with all those sort of things. I
Speaker 1: just think, you know, football is such a great game,
Speaker 1: and you know because you're giving everything you can, You're
Speaker 1: sacrificing your body for your teammates. And you know, I
Speaker 1: still you know every time I see Dan Hampton and
Speaker 1: Steve McMichael and Singletary, Gary Fensick, you know those guys,
Speaker 1: I know they gave everything they could to help me
Speaker 1: make plays. And if it wasn't for those guys in
Speaker 1: front of me as a safety, you know, your career,
Speaker 1: who you are as a person is nothing without those
Speaker 1: guys taking out everybody in front of you, and your
Speaker 1: job is easy. Hey, Doug, as you are finishing your career,
Speaker 1: you had a chance to see some really great draft
Speaker 1: choices coming a ball and you see half, and you
Speaker 1: see Otis, and you see Singletary, Todd Bell, Van Horn,
Speaker 1: Jimbo McMahon, just just to name a few of the
Speaker 1: draft choices. Did you start seeing a change of belief
Speaker 1: for culture inside the locker room when you start to
Speaker 1: do a mass the quality of talent that I've just mentioned.
Speaker 1: You know what, let me just say this, Tom, I
Speaker 1: felt like the defensive side of the football. Not only
Speaker 1: did the talent increase, but you know, they also were
Speaker 1: willing to go the distance. They would do anything, They
Speaker 1: would sacrifice themselves just so you could make a play.
Speaker 1: And I just think the whole mental aspect of the
Speaker 1: Chicago Bears changed over those years. It wasn't just about
Speaker 1: forty times in bench press and vertical jump and all
Speaker 1: those sort of things. Those guys all bought into the program. Tom,
Speaker 1: and man, oh man, was it fun to play on
Speaker 1: that team. I mean, you would run back to the
Speaker 1: huddle and I'm speaking now defensively because I felt so
Speaker 1: bad for Walter Peyton. I mean, the guy was literally
Speaker 1: trying to beat a loving guys on the other team.
Speaker 1: And when they started bringing in all these offensive lineman,
Speaker 1: quarterbacks in two receivers, it exploded. I mean, and now
Speaker 1: all of a sudden, you had team both a defense
Speaker 1: and an offense that we're playing for each other. It
Speaker 1: was it was like being at the playground. Doug plankard
Speaker 1: guest here on bear Zell Access. Doug, you have time
Speaker 1: to stick around for one more segment If we'd take
Speaker 1: a couple commercials here, Sure, we'd love to talk to you.
Speaker 1: He's got time. He's got me so fired up, right,
Speaker 1: I got a couple of good questions left too. I
Speaker 1: want to ask too many questions. No, you can't have
Speaker 1: too many for dot playing. This guy's unbelievable. All right,
Speaker 1: We'll be back in a second here on bear Zell
Speaker 1: Access on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to Score. The
Speaker 1: Chicago Bears Network presents Inside the Bears, brought to you
Speaker 1: by Verizon. Anthony Adams and Lauren Screeden cover the world
Speaker 1: of Bears football on and off the field every Sunday
Speaker 1: night had at ten thirty five pm on Fox thirty
Speaker 1: two Chicago, or watch anytime at Chicago Bears dot Com
Speaker 1: around the Bears Official app. Another segment with former Bear
Speaker 1: Doug plank number forty six, kind enough to join us
Speaker 1: here on Bears All Access with Tom There, I'm Jeff Joniac. Doug,
Speaker 1: you do do games for USA Radio and that outfit
Speaker 1: and NFL games. You've done some Bears games. You did
Speaker 1: some last season. What about Matt Naggie's vision, his style,
Speaker 1: his substance as a head coach at the age of
Speaker 1: forty resonates with you? And what the culture is like
Speaker 1: now for the Chicago Bears and their fans moving forward
Speaker 1: here in twenty nineteen. Well, let me just first say this.
Speaker 1: You know, as an announcer, I'll tell you that. I'll
Speaker 1: tell you why teams lose. Bad coaching, bad calls, putting
Speaker 1: players in the wrong positions, calling the wrong place at
Speaker 1: the wrong time. I'm sorry, I've watched enough games. You know.
Speaker 1: Everyone tries to blame it on the players. But that's
Speaker 1: why I give Matt a lot of credit. I mean
Speaker 1: I first met Matt. He was a quarterback for me,
Speaker 1: a backup quarterback in Arena football, and the starter got hurt.
Speaker 1: Matt came in and was unbelievable. I mean, he had
Speaker 1: the immediate respect from everybody. You know why, because he
Speaker 1: did everything out there. He would die for first downs,
Speaker 1: he put the ball on the mark, and he was
Speaker 1: a leader. And no one really wants to talk about
Speaker 1: leadership in sports, but I'm telling you it's so much
Speaker 1: more valuable than even knowledge and you take knowledge and
Speaker 1: you got leadership in the same guy. That's Matt Naggie,
Speaker 1: and I look forward to great things happening because you
Speaker 1: know what, he has the respect of the players and
Speaker 1: also the coaches. Doug. When you think this year's draft,
Speaker 1: you got Kyler Murray who's under six foot. Every other
Speaker 1: meaning every other evaluated quarterback is six foot plus six
Speaker 1: two and beyond except for the quarterback at Penn State.
Speaker 1: You've had indoor coaching opportunities, You've seen the fast approach
Speaker 1: of the game. Where are you on the quarterback thinking?
Speaker 1: You know when you are you thinking? You know six
Speaker 1: foot and under or six foot and over? You know what?
Speaker 1: You know? You start looking at some of the quarterbacks
Speaker 1: around the league, and you know the Da Dak Prescott's
Speaker 1: and guys that are you know, not really real tall
Speaker 1: or receiver I'm sorry, quarterbacks like you would have the
Speaker 1: vision a six four or six five, the Jim Everett
Speaker 1: type quarterbacks that stand back in the pockets, strong arms.
Speaker 1: It's a different game now, you know, I think, especially
Speaker 1: where the Bears are right now, their offensive line. You know,
Speaker 1: I know, I know it's good, but you know, I
Speaker 1: love quarterbacks that have the ability to roll out and
Speaker 1: buy some additional time, because every defense breaks down after
Speaker 1: five seconds. And I think if you can keep the
Speaker 1: play alive somehow, some way, you know, whither whether with
Speaker 1: the quarterback or you know, with great teap players around them,
Speaker 1: good things are going to happen. And so, you know,
Speaker 1: it's one of those situations that I think the Bears
Speaker 1: are fantastic right now where they are. You know, I
Speaker 1: think they've got a great belief in each other as
Speaker 1: far as you know, their their vision on what they
Speaker 1: want to do. I think Matt does a great job
Speaker 1: of interpreting the other team's defense and offense and makes
Speaker 1: all the changes accordingly. And I give the Bears a
Speaker 1: lot of credit, you know why, because a lot of
Speaker 1: teams would not would have not pulled that deal with
Speaker 1: Khalil Mack, and they got it done somehow, some way.
Speaker 1: Trubisky they got him, you know, drafted early in the draft.
Speaker 1: You know, I give them a lot of credit. They
Speaker 1: are aggressively going after a championship, you know, just to
Speaker 1: get you know, just to steer back kind of the
Speaker 1: history of the Bears, because it's just in my thought,
Speaker 1: you know. Recently, there's an article written by Dan Pompey
Speaker 1: about Clyde Emrick and then you talked about the preparation
Speaker 1: in the offseason when you were a player, And in
Speaker 1: that article he said, Doug Plank is my favorite player
Speaker 1: all time of the Bears. Can you tell me what
Speaker 1: a compliment that is, first of all, and the importance
Speaker 1: in his role in the history of the Bears, in
Speaker 1: the preparation of the just the decades of teams that
Speaker 1: he prepared. You know what, Tom, You know he does
Speaker 1: a great job of training people. And you know he's
Speaker 1: a very he walks the walk. Also, I love these
Speaker 1: coaches said, I want you to run down to kickoff,
Speaker 1: and I want you to wipe out all these guys
Speaker 1: and then go get the running back and kill him
Speaker 1: and put him on the ground. When is the last
Speaker 1: time you did that? Right? And but with Clyde Embry,
Speaker 1: he did it. He did all the weightlifting. And I'll
Speaker 1: tell what Clyde Emery made me somebody I wasn't I
Speaker 1: got there. I'm not saying undersize I didn't have the
Speaker 1: strength or weakness or whatever the case might be. But
Speaker 1: he more than just the muscles they put on my body.
Speaker 1: You know, every day talking with him about his philosophy
Speaker 1: of life. You know what, the expectations are one hundred
Speaker 1: percent effort, one hundred percent of the time. You know
Speaker 1: you love your teammates. You know that's you just go down.
Speaker 1: You're willing to do anything for each other. I felt
Speaker 1: like Clyde Emery, as much as any other coach they
Speaker 1: have on that staff, was part of the success of
Speaker 1: the Chicago Bears through the eighties. I mean he helped
Speaker 1: and mold that team and turn those players into guys
Speaker 1: that they weren't when they showed up one of the
Speaker 1: most feared hitters in NFL history. Doug Plank, our guest
Speaker 1: here on Bears All Access, kind enough to give us
Speaker 1: a chunk of time tonight in advance of the Bears
Speaker 1: one hundred celebration. It's going to be a great time.
Speaker 1: One hundred Celebration weekend in Rosemond, June seven through the ninth,
Speaker 1: player autographs, photo ops, football panels, and activities for all ages.
Speaker 1: You can get your tickets today at Chicago Bears dot com.
Speaker 1: I strongly urge you to go and get some tickets.
Speaker 1: Up to two free tickets for kids tenant under when
Speaker 1: accompanied by a paid adult for the weekend or a
Speaker 1: one day pass free kids tickets do not have access
Speaker 1: though to autograph and photograph sessions. But it's brought to
Speaker 1: you by doctor Pepper Hundy and Midwest Dairy. Okay, I
Speaker 1: just described you as one of the most feared hitters
Speaker 1: in football. Does that ever bother you that sometimes that's
Speaker 1: how you referred to as opposed to a great safety
Speaker 1: or the position itself. Do you ever take it? Do
Speaker 1: you ever take umbradge with that? Jeff, No, not really.
Speaker 1: I mean, because you know what, coming out of the
Speaker 1: twelfth round, coming on sitting on the bench at Ohio State,
Speaker 1: I just showed up one. If I would have just
Speaker 1: been on Ohio Saints punt team, I'm sorry, Chicago Bears
Speaker 1: punt team for eight years, I would still be happy
Speaker 1: and nobody knew anything about me. But you know, believe me,
Speaker 1: I took everything that came my way with gratitude and thankfulness.
Speaker 1: And you know, yes, I worked hard and I gave
Speaker 1: a lot of effort, but you know what, so did
Speaker 1: a lot of other players and never really were recognize.
Speaker 1: I mean to be part of this forty six defense,
Speaker 1: even though I didn't go to the eighty five championship,
Speaker 1: you know, I felt like I was still part of it,
Speaker 1: and I knew everybody on the team, the coaches, the players.
Speaker 1: I mean, there isn't a day that goes by I
Speaker 1: don't think something of a Chicago Bear memory in my life. Hey, Doug,
Speaker 1: who hit you know? I think of Earl Campbell, I
Speaker 1: think Larry Zonka. I think of Pete Johnson, the fullback
Speaker 1: from Cincinnati, or maybe some of the huge tight ends
Speaker 1: you played. Again, give me Giles, who hit you know?
Speaker 1: Who hit you hard? You know what I was doing
Speaker 1: three sixties Tom all the time. Once I went into
Speaker 1: the first year, we were in the Silver Dome up
Speaker 1: in Detroit, and we walked in there. It was our
Speaker 1: first year. They were open and they had my picture
Speaker 1: up on the wall with five hundred dollars under it,
Speaker 1: and I got the idea, right then, hey listen, somebody
Speaker 1: is coming after me. So I just kept trying to
Speaker 1: tackle everybody I could. That really running into some of
Speaker 1: my own players. I still say the hardest hit I
Speaker 1: ever had was against Otis Wilson against Alliance. Him and
Speaker 1: I were breaking on a guy that had just done
Speaker 1: a little stop route like a ten yard button hook,
Speaker 1: and he sewed on With the last second I ran
Speaker 1: into Otis. It was lights out. I broke my nose.
Speaker 1: That was probably the hardest hit I ever had. You know,
Speaker 1: poor Brian Baschnagel, because he tells me horror stories at
Speaker 1: practice where you would hit him harder going downfield than
Speaker 1: he would get hit in any games. And you know,
Speaker 1: those are some of the thoughts before coming to the
Speaker 1: Bears that are ingrained in my memory about your reputation,
Speaker 1: are watching you and Fensic before I ever had a
Speaker 1: chance to play for the Bears? Was that reputation that
Speaker 1: preceded you? Tom think about this though. I every coach
Speaker 1: what he used to say, you practice the way you play,
Speaker 1: you know, so you're gonna of course they're gonna practice.
Speaker 1: I believe me. My hardest hits were on Tuesday, Wednesday
Speaker 1: and Thursday because you know why I just turned it loose.
Speaker 1: I know, nobody else was playing in the game. I
Speaker 1: was playing in a game. And finally when Dickie became
Speaker 1: the head coach, it was a game for Tuesday, Wednesday
Speaker 1: and Thursday because just going against the offense was suicide.
Speaker 1: I mean it was literally anything goes and but you
Speaker 1: know what, you got to the game time, you're go ahead,
Speaker 1: this is easy. I've done this all week. There's nothing
Speaker 1: to this, and you don't even have to think about it.
Speaker 1: Your body would just go hit somebody as hard as
Speaker 1: it could. I promise you you don't even have to
Speaker 1: think about it. It was already locked into your mindset. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I agree. You know, practicing in against Hapton or McMichael,
Speaker 1: when you'd play against some of the slower opponents, there
Speaker 1: would be a second of hesitation sometimes because the Bears
Speaker 1: defense was so aggressive one hundred per cent of the time.
Speaker 1: Practice in games that you know, sometimes you played against
Speaker 1: a lesser opponent and you could see a significant difference
Speaker 1: between the two. Doug Plank, our guest here on Bears
Speaker 1: All Access. We're gonna let you go, my friend, but
Speaker 1: we'll see you. We'll see at the Benk in June.
Speaker 1: You're gonna be on a panel with some other great
Speaker 1: Bears safeties. I'm sure Mike Brown and Gary Fencik and
Speaker 1: others will be there, So it's gonna be a position
Speaker 1: specific and you're always a delight to talk to you.
Speaker 1: We really appreciated Doug. Thanks Doug, thank you so much
Speaker 1: for having me on. Guys, Doug Plank, don't miss opening
Speaker 1: ceremonies and that Friday evening June seventh, covering one hundred
Speaker 1: years of Bears football. We've got Hall of Famers, all
Speaker 1: the living Hall of Famers, and the unveiling of the
Speaker 1: new Classic Bears Jersey. Doug Plank is some kind of guy.
Speaker 1: We always enjoys talking with him. You know, I'm equally
Speaker 1: as excited to see a guy like Mike Brown because
Speaker 1: he's one of the guys that you would like to
Speaker 1: be friends with, but because there was a separation between
Speaker 1: broadcaster and player, you never had that chance, and it
Speaker 1: would be fun just to have some loose conversation with them. Heck,
Speaker 1: how many plain chips do we we visit with Mike Brown,
Speaker 1: and there's a there's a There's just generations of guys
Speaker 1: like that. That's going to be exciting to see. Well,
Speaker 1: drafts next week. It's even impossible to kind of guess
Speaker 1: exactly what direction the team's going to go, but we
Speaker 1: will be talking about it as usual on that Saturday.
Speaker 1: It'll be a fun event to look at it from
Speaker 1: a different perspective. Tom Oh, I know it is. It's
Speaker 1: just it's hard to anticipate you know, the first and
Speaker 1: second round excitement. But again you never know because the
Speaker 1: greatest poker face I've seen in the last four years
Speaker 1: is Ryan Pace. But you know, you still have to
Speaker 1: see what decisions are made within your division because the
Speaker 1: Bear success, there's a lot of division teams that are
Speaker 1: still good, that have some high opportunities, high draft choice opportunities.
Speaker 1: And Tom condolences go out to the Copic family for
Speaker 1: Chet Copick passed away after injuries suffering in a car
Speaker 1: accident last week in South Carolina at the age of seventy.
Speaker 1: We worked with him, we listened to growing up. Obviously
Speaker 1: one of the showmen in our business. So condolences and
Speaker 1: how you had a great relationship with him. Yeah, you know,
Speaker 1: he was a state You know, he was one of
Speaker 1: the main guys in the market, in the media here
Speaker 1: on TV and radio, and as a young kid growing
Speaker 1: up here or you knew a Chet Copic and you
Speaker 1: kind of admired his flamboyancy because not a lot of
Speaker 1: other people could pull it off. But that was Chet's
Speaker 1: persona all the time. Sixty eight consecutive home openers as
Speaker 1: a Bear season ticket older, you had gobs of tickets
Speaker 1: and the Bears apparently are going to have a press
Speaker 1: box seat emptied Downer Chet at the season opener against
Speaker 1: the Packers. Tom, We're out of time, okay, but we
Speaker 1: appreciate all the conversation tonight, joined by Zach Miller and
Speaker 1: also Doug Plank here on Bears All Access, brought to
Speaker 1: you by IGS Energy. That'll do it for us. Have
Speaker 1: a great night here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy
Speaker 1: the Score. Thanks for listening to this Chicago Bears Network
Speaker 1: presentation of Bears All Access. Podcasts are available on Chicago
Speaker 1: Bears dot com and on iTunes, or download the official
Speaker 1: Bears mobile app. Bears All Access has been brought to
Speaker 1: you by IGS Energy and sponsored by Cdwathletico Physical Therapy
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