Speaker 1: The following is a presentation of the Chicago Bears Network
Speaker 1: and Chicago Bears dot Com. Download the Chicago Bears official
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Speaker 1: And now welcome to Bears All Access, your all access
Speaker 1: passing to Chicago Bears football. Bears All Access is brought
Speaker 1: to you by IGS Energy and sponsored by CDW, Miller
Speaker 1: Lite and Hulu. So happy you can join us for
Speaker 1: Bears All Access. Jim Miller top Thayer with you. We've
Speaker 1: got a terrific program in store for you tonight. Hopefully
Speaker 1: should be joined by Jeff Joni, a voice of the
Speaker 1: Bears as well. As we roll along, and plenty to
Speaker 1: talk about. Is the draft just around the corner. Ryan
Speaker 1: Pace obviously doing his due diligence of what players will
Speaker 1: be drafted. Don't have a selection until the third round.
Speaker 1: But as we roll along in this program, gonna be
Speaker 1: joined by Kyle Long, tremendous offensive linemen of the Chicago Bears.
Speaker 1: Gonna be joined us. And how about former longstapp for
Speaker 1: the Chicago Bears, Patrick Manley. He'll be calling into the
Speaker 1: show as well. Plus we'll take plenty of full calls.
Speaker 1: But right now, let's welcome in my partner for the
Speaker 1: next sixty minutes. None better than welcome in one top there, Tom,
Speaker 1: how are we doing tonight? But big Jim, I'm doing good.
Speaker 1: You know. It's kind of I think it captivated an
Speaker 1: audience around the football landscape before the draft is really
Speaker 1: Kyler Murray? And I say that, you know, yeah, because
Speaker 1: of the Bears picking the third round, there's no of
Speaker 1: these top five, top ten picks that you're really investigating
Speaker 1: the top fifty picks to see where they would pick. However,
Speaker 1: when you look at this Kyler Murray scenario, it's really
Speaker 1: interesting because you know, Cliff Kingsbury, the new head coach
Speaker 1: of the Arizona Cardinals. His passing coordinator coach that he
Speaker 1: hired is Tom Clements, formerly with the Green Bay Packers
Speaker 1: and been out of coaching for a couple of years now.
Speaker 1: When I see him being attracted to Kyler Murray, I
Speaker 1: see Tom Clements more of a passing coordinator coach for
Speaker 1: Josh Rosen, who they drafted last year. So I think
Speaker 1: it's kind of weird, how, you know, the the size
Speaker 1: of Kyler Murray as opposed to every other quarterback that's
Speaker 1: being considered in the NFL is over six foot, Kyler
Speaker 1: Murray is not. And it's kind of weird that that
Speaker 1: it's almost that one sentence or that one thought has
Speaker 1: captured a lot of people's you know, thinking in which
Speaker 1: direction the quarterback position will go. Teams with high draft
Speaker 1: choice where they will go, and will this create any
Speaker 1: you know, crazy or not crazy trades, but trades that
Speaker 1: guys really want to jump up for. Yeah, it's it's interesting.
Speaker 1: You know, you almost think Arizona could trade back out
Speaker 1: of that number one spot and still be able to
Speaker 1: select Kyler Murray because you just don't see him as
Speaker 1: a fit in the other NFL offense. I mean, realistically,
Speaker 1: if he gets past Arizona, where could you place Kyler Murray?
Speaker 1: You just wonder who would really, you know, have an
Speaker 1: upheaval at their position of quarterback in the NFL and
Speaker 1: would they transition of their offense suposy. What's out there
Speaker 1: is Arizona reported that they have been offered a second
Speaker 1: rounder for Josh row And I don't know if if
Speaker 1: that's the case, but what's being reports that potentially could
Speaker 1: go down, but you would think that his stock has
Speaker 1: devalued as it's kind of been rumored for a long
Speaker 1: time that Cliff Kingsbury would take Kyler Murray number one
Speaker 1: over a wool. We're gonna welcome in our third team mate.
Speaker 1: He's gonna be leading the show, taking over his captain ship.
Speaker 1: So let's welcome in Jeff Joniac to the program. Jeff
Speaker 1: doing great, doing great, excited about the week. Got the
Speaker 1: gremlins out of the way, so we're ready to rock.
Speaker 1: Got a big show. I didn't hear the beginning, but
Speaker 1: we are your watch. Stop. No, it's just a little
Speaker 1: gremlins in the in the system here, so we got
Speaker 1: it all worked out. Gremlin. Yeah, we got Kyle Long
Speaker 1: joining us coming up here in moments. We've got Pat Manley,
Speaker 1: the long snapper, e extraordinaire and one of the longest
Speaker 1: tenured Bears in their team history, all coming up. It's
Speaker 1: his Bears All Access brought to you by IGS Energy.
Speaker 1: It's Draft week. We got to pick out awards. Tomorrow.
Speaker 1: Ryan Pace will discuss what he's willing to discuss about
Speaker 1: the Bears picking from round three and beyond in the
Speaker 1: draft tomorrow morning, as with reporters, so we get a
Speaker 1: little insight tomorrow. This is Chicago Sports Radio six seventy
Speaker 1: to score. Hey, welcome back to the Bears. All Access
Speaker 1: brought to you by IGS Energy, a proud partner of
Speaker 1: the Chicago Bears, providing electricity, natural gas, and home warranty
Speaker 1: products to over one million customers across the country. Learn
Speaker 1: more about IGS Energy at igs dot com. Welcome back
Speaker 1: to the program, Jeff Joniac, Tom There, Jim Miller, and
Speaker 1: Chicago beart Kyle Long jumping on the phone with us.
Speaker 1: The offseason program well under way, back in the weight room,
Speaker 1: back with teammates. Good to have you back at Haisa
Speaker 1: High feeling. I'm feeling great. How are you guys doing fantastic?
Speaker 1: Tell us about your journey this offseason to where we
Speaker 1: are now. Man, it's been a you know, it's been
Speaker 1: a quick one. We went a little bit further than
Speaker 1: I have gone before. You know, obviously get into the
Speaker 1: wild card. Stayed around Chicago this offseason and really enjoyed
Speaker 1: my time getting to see the new facility you get
Speaker 1: put up and now obviously getting underway at House Hall
Speaker 1: with the Spring football residents and great, Hey, Kyle, in
Speaker 1: your lifetime, you've had the opportunity to see other professional facilities.
Speaker 1: Maybe when your dad was an Oakland or your brother
Speaker 1: was with the Rams and Saint Louis. What what are
Speaker 1: your first impression of that palatial state that you pulled
Speaker 1: into the new Hollis Hall when you showed up. You know,
Speaker 1: palatial is the word on us as well. It's it's
Speaker 1: incredible the things that the mccass season, you know, the
Speaker 1: Bears as a team have been able to put together
Speaker 1: there for facilities, it's everything that you know you'd wanted
Speaker 1: a player, and obviously it's what free just want to
Speaker 1: be a part of as well. So that's going to
Speaker 1: be a great recruiting tool for us. Well, Kyle, I'm
Speaker 1: wondering if they got enough weight in it. Did they
Speaker 1: get enough weight for you to throw around in that thing?
Speaker 1: I mean, finally, you know, healthy for you to be
Speaker 1: able to utilize that, that's got to be a great thing,
Speaker 1: because I gotta believe for you, it's got to be
Speaker 1: refreshing to go into an offseason that maybe you're not
Speaker 1: in the training room so much and you'll probably be
Speaker 1: the one who's really contributing from that beautiful new weight room.
Speaker 1: You know, it's awesome. We've got a beautiful training room
Speaker 1: as well, So I'm going in there and get massages
Speaker 1: whenever I want. So that's a good thing. But the
Speaker 1: weight rooms incredible to Clyde Hemrick weight Room, and it's
Speaker 1: you know, obviously named after somebody who's legendary in Chicago
Speaker 1: and especially with the Chicago Bears, somebody who means a
Speaker 1: great deal to our franchise, and it's just, you know,
Speaker 1: a real honor to go in there and work out
Speaker 1: every day in that facility along our guest here on
Speaker 1: Bears Out Access with Jeff, Tim and Jim on Chicago
Speaker 1: Sports Radio six seventy the score. You're entering year seven.
Speaker 1: You've been through a lot in your career, no question
Speaker 1: about it. A lot of a lot of things to overcome,
Speaker 1: and there are times in a player's career where they
Speaker 1: feel they got to do a little bit different training
Speaker 1: and so forth. And clearly you issued out on your
Speaker 1: Twitter Twitter account recently that you lost a bunch of
Speaker 1: weight this season, kind of remade the body a little bit.
Speaker 1: Tell us about that, why you're doing it and how's
Speaker 1: it felt. Well, obviously, you know, I had a really
Speaker 1: major ankle thinging a couple of years ago, ankle injury,
Speaker 1: and that took away from my ability to really take
Speaker 1: advantage of cardio and keep my way down in that regard.
Speaker 1: And I like to eat food and I'll have a
Speaker 1: couple of beers like anything, like any guy does. So
Speaker 1: you've got to make sure that you're working out on
Speaker 1: the other end of that. And now has the ability
Speaker 1: to do that being healthy. So it's nice to be
Speaker 1: able to do that. I was about, you know, damn
Speaker 1: near three fifty or Darden here, sorry, darn her three
Speaker 1: fifty for the wild card game, and now I'm down
Speaker 1: to about three twenty five. So I'm feeling good and
Speaker 1: the body's able to do more than it was before.
Speaker 1: You know, Kyle, we've seen you all up and down
Speaker 1: the line of scrimmage. You can really play any position.
Speaker 1: But now after a few years and having the experience
Speaker 1: to play the different positions, what stance are you most
Speaker 1: What position stance are you most comfortable with? You know,
Speaker 1: I've really fallen in love with being on the right side.
Speaker 1: I'm left handed and my inside hand is my dominant one,
Speaker 1: and that's my left handed It's something that I've grown
Speaker 1: comfortable with playing that position so much. And you know,
Speaker 1: whether it's a right tackle or right guard, I feel
Speaker 1: like I can get the job done. And obviously under
Speaker 1: the tutelage of Harry Heastand anything's really possible for a
Speaker 1: guy early or late in his career. And James holds
Speaker 1: true with my case. Well, from I remember earlier we
Speaker 1: talked to Bobby Massey, your your teammate and right tackle,
Speaker 1: your cohort there, and he just talked about the drill
Speaker 1: work of what Harry Heastand pretty much runs every day
Speaker 1: he goes. Not that you get sick of it, but
Speaker 1: you go through those drills every day where it's it's
Speaker 1: like rope memory and how how have you taken to
Speaker 1: that and where do you feel that you've made improvement
Speaker 1: in strides under Harry Heastand well, I think just in
Speaker 1: regard to consistency, and you know, if you're changing. You
Speaker 1: know a lot of people say change is good, but
Speaker 1: I think if you're changing what you're doing all the time,
Speaker 1: then that's not a good thing. The one thing that
Speaker 1: Harry does a great job of is just hammering over
Speaker 1: those technical points and you know offensive line, that's it's
Speaker 1: all about doing the same thing over and over again
Speaker 1: very well. And Harry does a great job with coaching
Speaker 1: that we really appreciate having in and we love having
Speaker 1: areas above it. Guy Along our guest here on Bears
Speaker 1: All Access on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score
Speaker 1: entering year seven, You've been one of the guys that
Speaker 1: have been here at the longest one of them anyway,
Speaker 1: in this group of young Bears that have come along
Speaker 1: and proved to be a winning team, a whole different mindset,
Speaker 1: a whole different concept to what we've experienced and certainly
Speaker 1: you experienced early in your career. The new additions. What
Speaker 1: can you tell us about him and what did Matt
Speaker 1: nag you have to say to you guys on the
Speaker 1: fifteenth at your first team meeting of twenty nineteen versus
Speaker 1: what do you have to say a year ago at
Speaker 1: this time. You know, I've seen so much turnover in
Speaker 1: my years here, and we've undergone a lot of renovations
Speaker 1: with the roster and staff. But the great thing about
Speaker 1: this year is you don't have to learn a lot
Speaker 1: of new names. There are some new names, and there's
Speaker 1: some marquee new names, but at the same time, most
Speaker 1: of the core of our team is the same. And
Speaker 1: that's what's beautiful about the whole thing. In regard to
Speaker 1: coach Naki. I think it's just you have to understand
Speaker 1: year one with him, you wanted to establish what foundation
Speaker 1: was and what our identity was, and that was just
Speaker 1: to continue to film on that identity. You know, one
Speaker 1: of the results of being a famous team with a
Speaker 1: great record is you have a roller coaster schedule. Like
Speaker 1: I said, last week, Thursday night, Sunday night, Monday night,
Speaker 1: Sunday noon, Sunday afternoon, and you got to London start Now,
Speaker 1: how will you have to adjust the way you go
Speaker 1: about your business? Will you have to make an adjustments?
Speaker 1: Are are you okay with any starting time that you
Speaker 1: have that week? You know, I had a coach one time.
Speaker 1: We said, you know, we can play him at six
Speaker 1: am or eleven at night and we can play in
Speaker 1: the Walmart parking lot and be like And there wasn't
Speaker 1: a lot of things I agreed with that coach who
Speaker 1: wouldn't regard to what he had to say. But that
Speaker 1: was one of those things where I could take with me.
Speaker 1: And you know, whether we're playing in London or we're
Speaker 1: playing in Chicago, it's still gonna be football. It's on
Speaker 1: under yards and they got the hashes right, will be okay,
Speaker 1: but you know you got to get your sleep. That's big.
Speaker 1: Making sure that you're eating the right things and doing
Speaker 1: the right things from a schematic standpoint, and you'll be okay.
Speaker 1: But I trust in the staff to get us in
Speaker 1: position to do the right things regardless aware or when
Speaker 1: we play well. Kyle too. Part of that is just
Speaker 1: the maturity of the team. And I've said this to
Speaker 1: other guys and yourself included, just how this team prepares.
Speaker 1: I mean, have you been in an a locker room
Speaker 1: or experienced to a locker room with the maturity level?
Speaker 1: Even though there's a lot of young guys there here,
Speaker 1: you're the one of the older statesmen now, but just
Speaker 1: the maturity that guys go about their business in their
Speaker 1: preparation for winning football on Sundays in your experience, Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's been great to be a part of this team,
Speaker 1: and I'm really lucky that coach Nagi and Ryan Pace
Speaker 1: have wanted me back. And you know, I've played with
Speaker 1: a lot of events in my career, but i haven't
Speaker 1: played with a lot of guys that are similar to
Speaker 1: this group. You know, use Roquan Smith for example, or
Speaker 1: a guy like a Team Hicks and the whole defense
Speaker 1: is just littered with guys like this just are obsessed
Speaker 1: with their craft. And you know, I hate to have
Speaker 1: a team here this because we're supposed to hate each other,
Speaker 1: and I do hate him. But you know when when
Speaker 1: you when you have a guy like a team Hicks
Speaker 1: is in the weight room carrying it up every day,
Speaker 1: and who's at practice just bullying guys. That's the kind
Speaker 1: of things that that's the kind of things that really
Speaker 1: emanate throughout a locker room. And a Roquan Smith I mentioned,
Speaker 1: he's just such a tireless worker and he's so serious
Speaker 1: about his craft. And the list goes on and on
Speaker 1: and on and on with our team, and I'm just
Speaker 1: lucky to be a part of a group of guys
Speaker 1: like that. Kyle along our guest down Bears All Access
Speaker 1: on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The Score with Tom
Speaker 1: Thare and Jim Miller. I'm Jeff Joniak Kyle back to
Speaker 1: the wait thing? What is it? Kyle Long? At three
Speaker 1: twenty five do differently on the field? Do you feel
Speaker 1: versus what you said last year at that weight when
Speaker 1: you still you know, came back, you came more productive
Speaker 1: at the end of the season. What do you anticipate.
Speaker 1: How's that going to translate on game day? Well, you know,
Speaker 1: it's not like I didn't think I could play football.
Speaker 1: I can still play football. Um. I think being three
Speaker 1: twenty five will just help me in regard to my joints,
Speaker 1: you know, taking less of a beating. Um. You know
Speaker 1: Tom's been heavier in his life and now he's lean
Speaker 1: and lean and mean, and he can tell you that
Speaker 1: he feels better now than he did before. Um, you
Speaker 1: know the same. I can excho that same sentiment. Hey, Kyle,
Speaker 1: have you had any guard conversations yet with Cody Whitehair any?
Speaker 1: Have you had any Guard center conversations yet with James Daniels,
Speaker 1: who we have been told that there probably is going
Speaker 1: to be a position change there. Well, you know, it's
Speaker 1: it's like Area fifty one. There's a lot of secrets,
Speaker 1: but you know it's been good. Uh. We we all
Speaker 1: just want to make sure that we're prepared to do
Speaker 1: whatever has asked of us, whatever position that is. I
Speaker 1: think one thing I can count on is not being
Speaker 1: asked to place there for me, because I don't think
Speaker 1: they trust me to make the mic calls. You got
Speaker 1: to remember the snap count every time. Yeah, we're going
Speaker 1: on one, bud, But yeah, it's been great And like
Speaker 1: I said about those guys, we have a great group
Speaker 1: and um, we're lucky to have Harry Leda and obviously
Speaker 1: we have tremendous character in this room. It's Ted Larson
Speaker 1: back in the weight room. Because you talk about a
Speaker 1: guy that's got a little something in his neck, there's
Speaker 1: a guy that you know, plays with the whistle a
Speaker 1: couple of training camps and go and made it hard,
Speaker 1: you know, made it physical for a Key Nicks. Yeah. Well,
Speaker 1: you know, Ted is somebody that takes his craft very
Speaker 1: seriously and we love having him. And obviously you alluded
Speaker 1: to the fact that we've had him before and a
Speaker 1: lot of the guys in this room know him well.
Speaker 1: You know, Letto white Hair myself, we're all buddies with Ted.
Speaker 1: You know, I've trained with him in the offseason before.
Speaker 1: So it's Bobby Massey played with him in Arizona and
Speaker 1: Brad Sow and you know, we love having him and
Speaker 1: he's an absolute he's a monster. We're happy to having
Speaker 1: Kyle Long our guest tonight on Bears All Access. Appreciate
Speaker 1: you taking the time. We'll see us soon, Kyle, Thank
Speaker 1: you so much. Thanks Kyle, Kyle Long. What are the
Speaker 1: starting offensive line for a Bears offensive line coming back intact? Yes,
Speaker 1: maybe a little position change, but the same five guys
Speaker 1: should be rack and roll and ready to go when
Speaker 1: we come back. More of Tom there and Jim Miller
Speaker 1: as we continue on Bears All Access on Chicago Sports
Speaker 1: Radio six seventy The Score twenty nineteen Middle Night Chicago
Speaker 1: Bears Draft Party held Saturday, April twenty seven, Soldier Field
Speaker 1: noon to six. It'll feature on field activities, locker room tours,
Speaker 1: player autographs, and of course, live draft coverage and analysis
Speaker 1: from Bears football experts like Tom Thayer. Get your tickets
Speaker 1: today at Chicago Bears dot com slash Draft Party time.
Speaker 1: It's going to be a big crowd over there. Gonna
Speaker 1: have damn pomp paid David Hoff in Chicago from the
Speaker 1: Morning Show. Rather, we're gonna have hub Barkish. Yeah, hub Barkish,
Speaker 1: that's right, hubar Pope Yepkay. So it's gonna be a
Speaker 1: good time always, is uh. Even though it's Saturday of
Speaker 1: the draft and the Bears will have not had a
Speaker 1: first or second, will know that they had a third
Speaker 1: round pick, unless Ryan Pace has something else up to sleep.
Speaker 1: But it'll be a good time, I'm sure. And a
Speaker 1: different way to look at the draft this year for
Speaker 1: US well, I you know, I think they're looking at
Speaker 1: the Bears team with high expectations and then hopefully they
Speaker 1: get some players, some pieces to add to the puzzle.
Speaker 1: So I think that the team in which they're entering
Speaker 1: the draft with they're really positive about. And Jim and
Speaker 1: I mentioned at the start of the show, you know,
Speaker 1: when you have a first rounder within the first five
Speaker 1: or ten draft picks, you know there's twenty five to
Speaker 1: thirty guys that you dream about coming to the Bears. Here,
Speaker 1: it's not necessarily dreaming or hoping for some miracle rookie
Speaker 1: coming in. It's about getting these guys that can come
Speaker 1: in establish themselves on their their first year, but also
Speaker 1: be competitors. And I'm still excited about the draft, but
Speaker 1: you know, I'm more excited about the Bears football team
Speaker 1: than I am the draft. Yeah, I mean, well, you
Speaker 1: just look at areas of focus. I mean, you know,
Speaker 1: you still have the ability to get good players even
Speaker 1: if you're selecting in the third round. I think Ryan
Speaker 1: Pace has been really an example of that of players
Speaker 1: that he's picked in the later rounds of the draft.
Speaker 1: And who knows, you say this every year, good good
Speaker 1: guys fall. You know what happens all the time. I
Speaker 1: don't know the A is the Penn State running back?
Speaker 1: Will he potentially be available there in the third round
Speaker 1: because I do and believe that the Bears are looking
Speaker 1: for a bigger back, and uh, you know that those areas.
Speaker 1: You just look at the guys that they've visited with
Speaker 1: the kid out of Temple Armstead, he's the guy that's
Speaker 1: been in there. He was down at the Reesas Senior Bowl.
Speaker 1: Sanders is a back that, granted he may be a
Speaker 1: one year wonder at Penn State, he performed pretty well
Speaker 1: in the place a sa Quon Barkley. So there's there's
Speaker 1: gonna be good players there that they'll be able to
Speaker 1: target pick up and will definitely add value to the
Speaker 1: to the team and potentially could be impactful players. Jim's
Speaker 1: like a tarikohen who was a later on. Sorry Jim
Speaker 1: and Jeff, I mean, when you look at the assessment
Speaker 1: of the backs, is it gonna be their ability to
Speaker 1: catch or is it gonna be their size? Because to me,
Speaker 1: I just keep thinking of coach Naggy and the running
Speaker 1: back position is such an important key to the influence
Speaker 1: of this offense and the influence of the defense. So
Speaker 1: when they're looking for a player, what is the assessment
Speaker 1: that they're looking for, And to me, I think it's
Speaker 1: past catching ability. Yeah, I definitely think it's a triple threat.
Speaker 1: I think that's what they need. And not that you
Speaker 1: know nothing against um you know mister Howard, but he
Speaker 1: really wasn't a factor out of the backfield in my opinion.
Speaker 1: You know, more of a downhill runner, and he was
Speaker 1: a great one, don't get me wrong, and hopefully he'll
Speaker 1: do great things in Philadelphia. But I think it's a
Speaker 1: triple threat, a guy who could run, block, and catch
Speaker 1: the football. And that's what Sanders has done, you know
Speaker 1: at Penn State. That's kind of how that offense is structured.
Speaker 1: He's a bigger back, but yet it's a spread attack
Speaker 1: where he gets the ball quite a bit out of
Speaker 1: the backfield. I think'll just a lot of these running
Speaker 1: backs are geared this way, you know, even you know,
Speaker 1: you look at Kareem Hunt, what he did you know
Speaker 1: from his college days and how he had a huge
Speaker 1: impact in the Kansas City Chiefs as a third round
Speaker 1: pick is pretty amazing. So there is some things that translate.
Speaker 1: And obviously these bigger backs that can catch the ball
Speaker 1: in the backfield I think is almost a necessity now
Speaker 1: in the NFL. Well then, and the other important part
Speaker 1: of that is, yeah, you can guys that can get
Speaker 1: in the flat and make a catch and tear in
Speaker 1: their shoulders, get square and get upfield, break tackles, get
Speaker 1: a mismatch on a linebacker or whatnot. Is great. But
Speaker 1: also the untold story of how they run those routes,
Speaker 1: what types of routes are they equipped to run in
Speaker 1: this particular offense. I think the more they can do
Speaker 1: in terms of their route running and their ability to
Speaker 1: be used will be of interest to Matt Naggie. And
Speaker 1: the good news also is you quite the buffet of
Speaker 1: sizes and shapes and types of backs with speed, power guys,
Speaker 1: breakaway speed, or just a thumpers, So they'll have a
Speaker 1: lot to choose from if in fact they go in
Speaker 1: that direction. All right, that's our traveling music to another break.
Speaker 1: When we come back, we're gonna be joined by long
Speaker 1: time bear and now long snapper Award Name recognition guy.
Speaker 1: He's getting a lot of reputation from that. Right now
Speaker 1: it is Pat Manneley will join us on the program.
Speaker 1: You're on Bears All Access, brought to you by IGS Energy,
Speaker 1: Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to square IF, TUGO, Bears
Speaker 1: Networks Present Inside the Bears brought to you by Verizon.
Speaker 1: Anthony Adams and Lauren Screeden cover the world of Bears football,
Speaker 1: on and off the field, every Sunday night, ten to
Speaker 1: thirty five pm on Fox thirty two Chicago, or watch
Speaker 1: anytime at Chicago Bears dot Com. Around the Bears Official
Speaker 1: app Back to the program, Tom Thayer, Jim Miller, Jeff
Speaker 1: Joniac and now joined by the longest tenured Bear, Pat Manneley,
Speaker 1: sixteen year Bear. We bring him on to talk about
Speaker 1: what's going to be a heck of a celebration, Pat,
Speaker 1: the one hundred years celebration of Bears football and this
Speaker 1: the one hundred anniversary of the founding of the National
Speaker 1: Football League. And when you go back and you look
Speaker 1: at it, you're in the top fifty one of games
Speaker 1: played of any NFL player in history. That's crazy, it is,
Speaker 1: and it still blows me away. I mean, just to
Speaker 1: have the honor of saying the most games and Bears
Speaker 1: history still is something that you know, as you get older,
Speaker 1: Jeff and Jeff and you guys know that when you
Speaker 1: get older and you look back at your career, you
Speaker 1: just start to marvel at some of the things that
Speaker 1: you were able to do, the friendships you made, games
Speaker 1: you got to play in, and to say that as
Speaker 1: well the top fifty one players in NFL history just
Speaker 1: still blows me away. But thank god I was a specialist,
Speaker 1: you know, Pat, When you when you look at your career,
Speaker 1: you know, throughout your career, uniquely enough, you probably had
Speaker 1: more teammates than anybody else in the history of the Bears.
Speaker 1: And when you look at this hundred year anniversary party
Speaker 1: coming up, is there anybody that stands out to you,
Speaker 1: star or not that maybe you had a different type
Speaker 1: of relationship just because of you know, being teammates, being
Speaker 1: in the locker room and you have such longevity. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's funny you just said that. I was thinking about that.
Speaker 1: That's the one that I just loved playing with was
Speaker 1: Mike Brown. You know, obviously I was close with Oland.
Speaker 1: We are the same draft class, played many many years,
Speaker 1: Robbie Goldbrad Maynard or lacker Land, all those guys. But
Speaker 1: Mike Brown just brings a certain energy like he did
Speaker 1: on the field. He brings that to like the social scene.
Speaker 1: So it's always fun to sit around with him and
Speaker 1: share stories and just pick his brain and be around
Speaker 1: that uh, that energy. He is just an absolute blast. Well,
Speaker 1: always good to talk to you, Pat, And I love
Speaker 1: the Pat YouTube. Jim Well, that long snapper award you
Speaker 1: got goings unbelievable. And I've brought this up in Pat
Speaker 1: and I've had conversation. Remember I when I mentioned to
Speaker 1: you that I played with Adam Schreiber long snapper for
Speaker 1: the file, because that guy snapped for seventeen years, uh
Speaker 1: in the NFL. And here you're a long time long
Speaker 1: snapper and for you, like when was it early in
Speaker 1: your life? He said, you know I got a shot
Speaker 1: at this in terms because you know, I remember playing
Speaker 1: high school football. We couldn't find anybody did this, you know,
Speaker 1: snapped the ball to pun or kick or anything. Jim,
Speaker 1: I owe a lot to my brother, five year old
Speaker 1: or five years older. He went off to play Notre
Speaker 1: Dame and came back after his freshman year and this
Speaker 1: was nineteen eighty eight when they won the national championship,
Speaker 1: so they had a flew of four and five star
Speaker 1: recruits and he wanted to get on the field as
Speaker 1: quickly as he could. So we were in the front
Speaker 1: yard trying to teach him how to long snap and
Speaker 1: he threw me the ball. He's like, hey, man, give
Speaker 1: this a shot, and I've been over and did it
Speaker 1: better than him, and I was like, wait a minute,
Speaker 1: and he was a little upset because it came a
Speaker 1: little bit more easy. But from that, from that moment,
Speaker 1: I kind of took pride in doing it and wanting
Speaker 1: to be a long snapper on that eighth grade team,
Speaker 1: ninth grade team all the way throughout, and I had
Speaker 1: to compete against the guy in high school. His name
Speaker 1: was Bill Brightville, So every offseason I was always trying
Speaker 1: to perfect the craft and get better. And then it's
Speaker 1: something that took off at Duke as well. They needed
Speaker 1: one and to do it and was able to do
Speaker 1: it all four years there as well. Pat Manneley, I
Speaker 1: guess the Bears, a veteran long snapper, and now the
Speaker 1: Patrick Manneley Award, honoring the nation's best FBS long snapper.
Speaker 1: Tell us how that all got going in the right direction,
Speaker 1: and how honorable is it that you're using your name
Speaker 1: touched to it. You there's few debates about the best
Speaker 1: long snapper in your generation, and that definitely is you. Well,
Speaker 1: there's a lot of great guys, but you know what's
Speaker 1: need about this award is just long snappers are finally
Speaker 1: going to get some notoriety. They don't want the notoriety
Speaker 1: during a game or anything like that, or during the
Speaker 1: season because that means they messed up. But the long
Speaker 1: snapping position is now a position. All thirty two teams
Speaker 1: have a guy designated just to be a long snapper. Jim,
Speaker 1: you were just talking about Adam Schriver. He also played
Speaker 1: Old Lions, so he was a backup. Now there is
Speaker 1: a fifty third position on every NFL roster that is
Speaker 1: allocated towards a long snapper. In college, and I believe
Speaker 1: these numbers are correct. In two thousand and four, one
Speaker 1: percent of long snappers got scholarships. Now it's almost up
Speaker 1: to eighty percent. So now colleges are understanding the importance
Speaker 1: as well. And I think you're seeing kickers reap the
Speaker 1: benefits of it, but their percentage is going up. Punters
Speaker 1: are you know, a little bit better just because they're
Speaker 1: catching a more accurate ball. And it's an honor anytime
Speaker 1: to have your name associated with with with any award,
Speaker 1: but it's pretty cool to have this as well. But
Speaker 1: this is about the kids to get the recognition then
Speaker 1: also compete against each other during the season and they'll
Speaker 1: try to win this award. You know, Patrick, in preparation
Speaker 1: for a game, I bet you probably snap like two
Speaker 1: hundred balls to the kicker for extra point field goal
Speaker 1: during the course the week of practice before you get
Speaker 1: one attempt in the game. And here's my question. Is
Speaker 1: there a tempo, a sound, a kicker's rhythm that you
Speaker 1: know whether it's a good kick or a bad swing
Speaker 1: just by your ability to hear thousands and thousands of
Speaker 1: kicks over your time. Yeah. The one thing is you
Speaker 1: know in practice you're not getting hit. So I would
Speaker 1: sit there and could see Robbie's foot hit the ball
Speaker 1: and I could tell if it was good, and I
Speaker 1: wouldn't have to look up at the uprights. I'm like, oh,
Speaker 1: he made it, he made it. He made it. In
Speaker 1: the games, you don't get the opportunities you're getting blown off,
Speaker 1: you gotta take you know, block somebody, but you really
Speaker 1: can't hear it because the crowd. But during practice, for sure,
Speaker 1: Tom you could. I never even looked up. I would
Speaker 1: just snap it, see Robbie's foot ball hit the foot,
Speaker 1: and then walk over the next position where the ball
Speaker 1: was placed for the next kick. But the game you
Speaker 1: couldn't hear it. All you could do is hear the crowd.
Speaker 1: And that's when he knew it was good. Well, Pat
Speaker 1: if he could break down the position of the ideal
Speaker 1: long snapper, because there's more to it than just snapping. Granted,
Speaker 1: snapping is a big part of it, and the accuracy
Speaker 1: and in all those things, but in terms of coverage, athleticism,
Speaker 1: style of body, body type that is that you've you know,
Speaker 1: require to be a long snapper, and what coaches and
Speaker 1: maybe gms are looking for in that position, as you mentioned,
Speaker 1: has become so critical in both college empros. Yeah, I'll
Speaker 1: start with the body size. It's changed, Jim backing, you
Speaker 1: and I were playing. They used to be able to
Speaker 1: line up head over the long snapper and running over,
Speaker 1: so you had to be big or now you don't
Speaker 1: have to be as big. You still have to block,
Speaker 1: and they can still hit you, but it's about a
Speaker 1: half count or a second count before they can hit you.
Speaker 1: So the body sizes are a little different, so I
Speaker 1: think there may be a little more athletic um. And
Speaker 1: the three things are, like you said, snap, protect, and cover,
Speaker 1: and they're in that order. You can snap an accurate ball,
Speaker 1: that's great, but you've got to be able to protect.
Speaker 1: I know, a special team coach's nightmare is hearing that
Speaker 1: double thud um. So if you can't protect, you're not
Speaker 1: going to get on the field. And I think just
Speaker 1: kind of the the extra credit is when you can cover,
Speaker 1: and you got to take pride in all three. And
Speaker 1: the one thing about the coverage part is actually when
Speaker 1: you get to become a real football player. And that
Speaker 1: was probably my favorite part of it, was being a
Speaker 1: rundown the field and try to tackle somebody. Yeah eighty
Speaker 1: one career special teams tackle. I'm not if I'm not mistaken,
Speaker 1: right where I'm somewhere around now? Yeah, somewhere around there
Speaker 1: the umber more when I was younger, Hey, so you're
Speaker 1: gonna be a part of this one hundred celebration, and
Speaker 1: you know it's it's it's this is it like, this
Speaker 1: is the chance for everybody to get together one one time.
Speaker 1: This will never be done again. And it's just something
Speaker 1: that because of the history of this team that I think,
Speaker 1: as you just alluded to at the outset of your
Speaker 1: conversation here, is that you appreciate it more now looking
Speaker 1: back as opposed to when you're in it and it's
Speaker 1: it's work. It's a job and you loved it, but
Speaker 1: you know, it's a different type of feeling. And I
Speaker 1: always feel it takes a while to step back and
Speaker 1: take a broad view of what you accomplished and so forth,
Speaker 1: but to get together with the history. And that's what
Speaker 1: this is going to be. June seventh to the ninth.
Speaker 1: There are going to be a ton of current and
Speaker 1: former Bears players there. Make sure you get your tickets.
Speaker 1: Go to Chicago Bears dot com to get all the details.
Speaker 1: But what's it going to mean to you to be
Speaker 1: a part of this? You know, I only know one organization,
Speaker 1: So I got a question for you guys. After I
Speaker 1: answered this, Tom and Jim that sixteen years of one
Speaker 1: organization is amazing. And then the history of the organization,
Speaker 1: the number of Hall of Famers, the great players, the
Speaker 1: guys that should be of a Hall of Fame that aren't.
Speaker 1: You know what you're playing for when you put put
Speaker 1: that helmet on. And so it's all I knew, and
Speaker 1: it's something I just came to love and still love obviously.
Speaker 1: But I'm just excited to get around all those guys
Speaker 1: and relive those memories and and kind of get that
Speaker 1: locker room feeling back. You know, all retired guys talk
Speaker 1: about how they missed the locker room and yeah, you
Speaker 1: can do that when you get around the table some
Speaker 1: food and some boots and you can have a good
Speaker 1: time and do that. But you know, Jim, you played
Speaker 1: for other organizations. Where where do the Bears ranks in
Speaker 1: the ones you played for, in the history that they
Speaker 1: have and what it means to you. Oh, I think
Speaker 1: for the family owned organizations, Yeah, they're incredible. You know.
Speaker 1: I had the opportunity to get drafted by the Steelers
Speaker 1: obviously the Rooney family. Well shoot, I was on the
Speaker 1: Steelers when the Bears and the Steelers played in the
Speaker 1: Irish Bowl over in Dublin, Ireland, and so you know,
Speaker 1: but I've I've had the opportunity to play for family
Speaker 1: owned businesses that you know, have those traditions that carry on,
Speaker 1: have the loyalty for you know, I know people of
Speaker 1: the Steelers organization that still work there that I when
Speaker 1: I worked, her work there, you know. And that's the
Speaker 1: same for the Chicago Bears, whether it's Kenny Murrock and
Speaker 1: and people also that's a you know, that loyalty is
Speaker 1: an unbelievable trait. And there are great people and there
Speaker 1: are great organizations in the NFL that have that family history,
Speaker 1: and that definitely the Steelers and the Bears are two
Speaker 1: that that stand out. And I had the opportunity to
Speaker 1: play for the for them both and loved them both
Speaker 1: for that very reason, you know, Jim, Jeff and Pat.
Speaker 1: You know, I think when the guys walk in that building,
Speaker 1: it's it's kind of a hidden not a hidden secret,
Speaker 1: but unless you go into the building. I think there's
Speaker 1: so much respect for Virginia McCaskey for the being the
Speaker 1: historian of the game, for having incredible understanding of the
Speaker 1: trials that her dad went through in order to build
Speaker 1: the NFL to what it's become. In her everyday involvement
Speaker 1: in the program, I think it's you know, there's a
Speaker 1: few owners that that have that credibility. But when you
Speaker 1: talk to Virginia about football, when you talk to her
Speaker 1: about the history of the game, she has such respect.
Speaker 1: That's why the guys have so much respect for her
Speaker 1: when they have an opportunity to be in front of
Speaker 1: her in conversation or seeing on the team charters or
Speaker 1: at the facility itself. Pat Manley, I guess here on
Speaker 1: Bears All Access with Tom and Jim Jeff Joniac. All right, Pat,
Speaker 1: you're gonna be on the Scores Draft show on opening
Speaker 1: night Thursday, So it's gonna be weird not having eight
Speaker 1: to Bears picks. But you've done your homework as well.
Speaker 1: Give us a little snippet of what you're looking at
Speaker 1: in terms of what you think the Bears might be
Speaker 1: looking at. And then what's your opinion on the kickers
Speaker 1: in this draft. Well, I'll start with that. Obviously, I'm
Speaker 1: gonna go with my specialist roots number one as a kicker,
Speaker 1: and that's gonna be figured out. It might be somebody
Speaker 1: that's that's not even you know, draft eligible. I think
Speaker 1: what they're gonna do is exhaust all efforts and have
Speaker 1: everybody come through Hollis Hall and bourbon A and then
Speaker 1: you know, the best man wins. Other than that, Ryan
Speaker 1: Pace has done such a nice job of building this
Speaker 1: roster that you know, there's no glaring holes. So it's
Speaker 1: kind of weird to, you know, forecast what's going to
Speaker 1: happen late in the draft. But you know, I think
Speaker 1: if you if you're looking at it, you say you
Speaker 1: need an extra another running back. And then one thing
Speaker 1: not many people talk about and I believe in and Tom,
Speaker 1: I'm sure you do too, is building through the trenches
Speaker 1: that I think they needs some more depth on that
Speaker 1: old line, some young depth. You know, you had Kyle
Speaker 1: Long earlier. He's not getting younger, but he's still playing
Speaker 1: the high level. And I think that's a position that
Speaker 1: you can, Like Tom, I think you said you're a
Speaker 1: fourth rounder, you can find some great players on those picks,
Speaker 1: and that's where you're going to build your team and
Speaker 1: sustain the success. He's within the trenches, and I think
Speaker 1: that's a position they should really look at. And coach Harry,
Speaker 1: the offensive line coach, is a heck of a teacher,
Speaker 1: so I think young guys can benefit from the experiences
Speaker 1: he's developed through his college years and end of the NFL. Yeah,
Speaker 1: all right, Pat, Well, we're gonna miss you on our
Speaker 1: draft coverage on Saturday, but good luck with the entire
Speaker 1: process over the course of the week. Fun week always
Speaker 1: in the National football and we're looking forward to see
Speaker 1: you soon. Thanks Pat. All right, all right, great sixteen
Speaker 1: year Bear Patrick Manneley on Bears All Access will continue
Speaker 1: with Tom and Jim after this on Chicago Sports Radio
Speaker 1: six seventy The Score. So join us for Bears one
Speaker 1: hundred celebration weekend in Rosemont, June seventh through the ninth.
Speaker 1: Player autographs, photo ops, football panels, and some really good
Speaker 1: football panels. The collection of people that are going to
Speaker 1: be there, it'll be the largest collection of Bears Bears
Speaker 1: players ever and activities for all ages. So kids are
Speaker 1: gonna love it, the the long time season ticket holders
Speaker 1: are gonna love it. The modern day fan is gonna
Speaker 1: love it. Get tickets today at Chicago Bears dot Com.
Speaker 1: Be sure to check it out. Jeff John Act, I
Speaker 1: think the players are gonna Jeff, I think the players
Speaker 1: are gonna love it. Also, I mean they love interacting
Speaker 1: with the fans of the Chicago Bears. They also like
Speaker 1: interacting with each other and there's gonna be guys that
Speaker 1: are separated by generations that may be meeting for the
Speaker 1: first time, or you know, get a chance to have
Speaker 1: a conversation with one of your former Chicago Bears heroes,
Speaker 1: because there's a lot of guys grown up here as
Speaker 1: a kid that we're need to listen to or watch
Speaker 1: on TV that you know, you may have a chance
Speaker 1: to come across this that weekend. Hey, if you got
Speaker 1: any draft questions or anything about the upcoming convention. Threety
Speaker 1: four sixty seven sixty seven with you for another twelve
Speaker 1: minutes or so here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy
Speaker 1: The Score, Herb Lawrence, Mike Chant, our producers tonight, Thanks
Speaker 1: as always to Jordan trut Up for getting this thing
Speaker 1: all lined up. Three one two six four four sixty
Speaker 1: seven sixty seven. One of the mention one thing about
Speaker 1: offensive line play, and I don't remember where I saw it.
Speaker 1: It was a couple of weeks ago, but it's stunning
Speaker 1: given that you Tom your offensive line played together for
Speaker 1: a very long time with nary a lost snap among
Speaker 1: the group of you guys that won the Super Bowl,
Speaker 1: and you did it for several years since two thousand
Speaker 1: There have only been five projected starting offensive lines that
Speaker 1: have spent at least five years together. It was the
Speaker 1: Steelers of last year or heading into this year, I
Speaker 1: should say, the Giants of nine to ten, the Patriots
Speaker 1: in two thousand and nine, or the twenty oh four Packers.
Speaker 1: So the turnover and the loss of snap time because
Speaker 1: of injuries and just change is so prevalent. How do
Speaker 1: you think, fellas it impacts the game today with so
Speaker 1: much turnover in the offensive line position? Well, you know
Speaker 1: what's you know? I was thinking about this. I was
Speaker 1: thinking today, Jeff and Jim what the Bears can accomplish
Speaker 1: in NOPAD football this year. When the get out of
Speaker 1: the weight room, they start bringing it to the field.
Speaker 1: You know one thing when you have the group of
Speaker 1: guys that are together for a period of time and
Speaker 1: then you start teaching and reteaching. When you start reteaching Alston,
Speaker 1: you see the element of their game playing faster, and
Speaker 1: the faster they play, the more difficult they are to defend.
Speaker 1: So not only in the offensive line, but everybody on
Speaker 1: the offensive side of the ball. I expect this offense
Speaker 1: to be able to learn more, learn it faster, and
Speaker 1: play faster and that's the key ingredient there, Jeff, is
Speaker 1: that you have. You know, That's why I was asked
Speaker 1: Kyle about the conversations he has with James Daniels or
Speaker 1: what does he talked to Cody white Hair about playing
Speaker 1: guard because the communication in between the five has to
Speaker 1: be uninterruptible, if that's a word, because you have to
Speaker 1: be able to communicate under the loudest of experiences, sometimes
Speaker 1: never exchanging a word. But it's all about preparation and
Speaker 1: experience together. So you know, I think that's one of
Speaker 1: the things that could benefit the Bears the most at
Speaker 1: the speed in which they'll be able to play with
Speaker 1: and then the continuity upfront to be able to make
Speaker 1: changes and have a wider variety to your offense because
Speaker 1: guys are being reintroduced to it for maybe the second, third,
Speaker 1: and fourth time. And we always talk about Mitchell Trubisky
Speaker 1: about going from one on one to two oh one.
Speaker 1: The offensive line will have the ability to go from
Speaker 1: one on one to three oh one type just with
Speaker 1: their experience together. Yeah, I mean that cohesion is big time.
Speaker 1: It's got to be a concert the way those guys
Speaker 1: work together, the nonverbal communication that Tom just mentioned and
Speaker 1: I said it even when we were talking Super Bowl
Speaker 1: time two years ago was Atlanta. They made it to
Speaker 1: the Super Bowl. They didn't have one offensive line injury
Speaker 1: all five I started all sixteen games last year. Who
Speaker 1: else did that? Granted they lost the Super Bowl, but
Speaker 1: they were right there the LA Rams. That's a cohesive
Speaker 1: unit that lined up every single stamp. And I'm glad
Speaker 1: Pat brought up offensive lineman about, you know, because in
Speaker 1: the third, fourth, fifth round, there's good offensive lineman that
Speaker 1: are there. You know, go check out the Michael Jordan
Speaker 1: kid from Ohio State University. His dad name was was
Speaker 1: Kevin Michael Jordan, so one son was named Kevin. He
Speaker 1: was given Michael Jordan. This is what his name was.
Speaker 1: But this guy, he started as a freshman, goes into
Speaker 1: Ohio State, plays every game. So guy's got forty starts
Speaker 1: and he's not even twenty one years old. And this
Speaker 1: guy's six six, three hundred twelve pounds, has played center
Speaker 1: and guard and probably has the length to play tackle.
Speaker 1: I interviewed him. He says he believes he could play
Speaker 1: tackle if neeby He scheduled to be at late third
Speaker 1: to fourth rounder. Michael Dieter, both the Wisconsin guys can
Speaker 1: play guard, Michael Dieter and Ben Benshaw. I mean, those
Speaker 1: guys are really good players. And last guy I would
Speaker 1: bring up, also scheduled to be rate in those fourth round,
Speaker 1: fifth round, would be Drew Samia out of Oklahoma. They've
Speaker 1: got four offensive linement that are gonna be drafted the
Speaker 1: same thing. This guy's played center, he's played guard, and
Speaker 1: he's played a lot of games on a team that
Speaker 1: has gone deep into college football playoffs. And Jimmy has
Speaker 1: a nasty disposition. Yeah, he's real five he does. He
Speaker 1: plays nasty now when he's athletic and agile. So there's
Speaker 1: there's some good offensive linement that would be rate in
Speaker 1: the Bears wheelhouse if they do want to get better
Speaker 1: at the at those positions to really get some depth.
Speaker 1: Threety four sixty seven, sixty seven and remaining moments here
Speaker 1: on Bears All Access in Chicago Sports Radio six seventy
Speaker 1: to score. Jeff, Tim and Jim with you. Tom, You've
Speaker 1: been all over this in the kicking situation. You were
Speaker 1: looking at the aff and seeing, you know, are there
Speaker 1: any kickers. You were when it was it was when
Speaker 1: they were operational, you were identifying them, and in fact,
Speaker 1: the Bears, you know, did bring in one of those guys,
Speaker 1: so they got three am a roster right now, Redford Jones,
Speaker 1: Chris Blewett, and Elliott Fries. The guy I'm talking about,
Speaker 1: who knows what happens if they're going to look at
Speaker 1: the draft for this or what's going to be available
Speaker 1: on what else in terms of a veteran because none
Speaker 1: of these guys have attempted a kick in the NFL,
Speaker 1: how do you value you know what? I like to
Speaker 1: see that they're you know, they went and picked up
Speaker 1: quite a few of the guys from the AAF to
Speaker 1: give them the opportunity to come and compete in the NFL,
Speaker 1: whatever team, whatever position they pick. But when you talk
Speaker 1: about Fry the kicker, that was a game that I
Speaker 1: was watching maybe Week three of the AAF season and
Speaker 1: they were playing up in Utah in the conditions were
Speaker 1: so Chicago like it was a blizzard. The field was
Speaker 1: covered with snow, and he was banging forty plus yarders
Speaker 1: out there, and you know, Patrick Manley is not snapping
Speaker 1: to him, and you have there's differences in the velocity
Speaker 1: of the snap and the holder and everything. However, I
Speaker 1: you know, that's that's what's amazing about Ryan Pace and
Speaker 1: his staff is that if there's a guy at a
Speaker 1: position that he feels can come in and compete at
Speaker 1: the Bears, he goes out and he gets them, And
Speaker 1: you know, I'm gonna be really be interested and see
Speaker 1: how Fry reacts this, you know, and being a USFL guy,
Speaker 1: I kind of pull for these guys because they took
Speaker 1: advantage of an opportunity and they tried to grow it
Speaker 1: into even a better opportunity. Yeah, you just wonder would
Speaker 1: they take a shot on one of the guys that
Speaker 1: are there in the draft, whether it's Matt Gay from Utah,
Speaker 1: big guy's got a big leg, and Tracy also well
Speaker 1: regarded from LSU. You gotta believe if those guys sneak
Speaker 1: through don't get drafted, you would think that the Bears
Speaker 1: would want more competition, potentially bringing in one of these
Speaker 1: college kickers as a priority priority free agent, or if
Speaker 1: they think well enough of them that maybe they take
Speaker 1: a late run flyer on one of these guys in
Speaker 1: the draft. Draft coming up on Thursday night, Bears will
Speaker 1: pick on Friday night right now, the eighty seven pick
Speaker 1: tomorrow we'll hear from general manager Ryan Pace. He's not
Speaker 1: gonna say a whole lot. I'll give you some context,
Speaker 1: I guess, but that's about it. These general managers, Jim
Speaker 1: and Tom do not like doing these a pre draft
Speaker 1: interviews other than, you know, maybe setting the course for
Speaker 1: some some misinformation, which certainly is happening right now around
Speaker 1: the league. Jim there, you're trying to get, you know,
Speaker 1: act your information. It's almost impossible. I've never seen so
Speaker 1: many more conflicting reports out there prior to a draft.
Speaker 1: And what's going on this year. All the Jets are
Speaker 1: trading down. They want to get Ed Oliver, the defensive tackle.
Speaker 1: They don't want Josh Allen, one of the better pass
Speaker 1: rushers in the league. They don't want him. They want
Speaker 1: to trade out at number three. So there's a lot
Speaker 1: of disinformation going on right now, well, including the rate.
Speaker 1: How about the Raiders situation, Yeah, Raiders with the scouts.
Speaker 1: And I love Dave Gelman's quote today. He had some
Speaker 1: pretty funny quotes when he addressed the media. The Raiders
Speaker 1: got a lot on the line though, because they brought
Speaker 1: Mike Mayok, who is presented himself on TV as a
Speaker 1: well educated scout player identifier, and now he's got to
Speaker 1: step up to the play and make these picks for real.
Speaker 1: It's easy for all of us to sit here and
Speaker 1: tell you about the quality players or that they're sir,
Speaker 1: and traits that make them attractive. But now when you're
Speaker 1: sitting there picking for a team that has one hundred
Speaker 1: million dollar head coach that's trying to get in the
Speaker 1: midst of a transfer of their organization to Las Vegas.
Speaker 1: If they go out there and they fail on this draft,
Speaker 1: I think it'll it's going to have some pretty heavy
Speaker 1: duty repercussions on that team. What are we focused on
Speaker 1: in terms of your expectations, the two of you on
Speaker 1: what Ryan is going to be able to pull out
Speaker 1: of this draft. Do you have any particular positions that
Speaker 1: you're hoping for other than we alluded to the offensive
Speaker 1: line position for depth and whatnot, Because it seems to me,
Speaker 1: with the high prevalence of impact potential impact defensive players
Speaker 1: at the top of the draft, that it's going to
Speaker 1: shove a lot of different positions down into the middle rounds,
Speaker 1: namely running back, maybe cornerback, tight ends, all areas that
Speaker 1: you know we all could look at and say, well,
Speaker 1: this could be an area that they could go in.
Speaker 1: You know, Jeff, I still feel that there's a need
Speaker 1: for a contributing outside linebacker. I know Kylie Fitz has
Speaker 1: a good future ahead of him. They signed Aaron Lynch,
Speaker 1: they signed Isaiah Irvin, and you know the big two
Speaker 1: they already have in Leonard Floyd and Khalil Mack. I
Speaker 1: still think there's a guy out there that can be
Speaker 1: attractive to the Bears coach Chuck Bagano in this new
Speaker 1: style or this well this system they're gonna run. And
Speaker 1: when you have aggressive guys on the inside like a
Speaker 1: Kiem Hicks and Eddie Goldman and stuff, man, if you
Speaker 1: could just kind of maybe a reach at that guy
Speaker 1: with that has an explosiveness that's almost unmatchable. But you know,
Speaker 1: maybe he's not the biggest guy, but if he has
Speaker 1: that explosiveness to get around the corner and create sacks
Speaker 1: when they're worried about Khalil or Leonard Floyd or the
Speaker 1: other guys on the line, I still think there's a
Speaker 1: need at that position for some help. Yeah, and there's
Speaker 1: there's guys that are there, they're gonna be available. How
Speaker 1: about Christian Miller, the edge rusher from Alabama eight of
Speaker 1: his eleven sacks. We're in twenty eighteen alone. I mean,
Speaker 1: so this guy, I know it's a talented defense down
Speaker 1: there at Alabama, but this guy's kind of a high
Speaker 1: cut edge rusher is what he's been able to do.
Speaker 1: There's other guys that are out there. O'Shane Zimonez from
Speaker 1: Old Dominion. A lot of people like him. Some have
Speaker 1: him going earlier, some have them going in the mid rounds,
Speaker 1: fourth round. You look at the two Oregon edge rushers,
Speaker 1: there's a couple out there that have some intriguing qualities.
Speaker 1: So I do think from that standpoint, whether if it
Speaker 1: was a backup offensive lignment, there'll be guys their fourth
Speaker 1: fifth round that you can develop that will be a
Speaker 1: good player. Edge rushers I think will be there. There's
Speaker 1: a lot of good nickel corners potentially I think the
Speaker 1: Bears can look at. And of course we've diagnosed running
Speaker 1: back and you know, the even kicker if they elect
Speaker 1: a draft one of these kickers that we just mentioned.
Speaker 1: So they've got five later round picks, and I do
Speaker 1: think there's players in every round the potentially they'll target
Speaker 1: and guys that they bring in and willing to give
Speaker 1: a shot at him. All right, Well, we could talk
Speaker 1: about the draft for another sixteen hours and have fun
Speaker 1: doing it, and there'll be plenty of that conversation here
Speaker 1: on the Score all week. And well, Tom and I
Speaker 1: will be at the Bears Draft party at Soldier Field
Speaker 1: on Saturday and we'll hear that on the score as well.
Speaker 1: So be a fun week for everybody, and Bears fans
Speaker 1: will be out in force because everybody loves the draft,
Speaker 1: everybody loves the fantasy football portion of it, and love projecting.
Speaker 1: Where everybody's gonna go A real shout out to the
Speaker 1: Bears organization today as well, in honor of the one hundred,
Speaker 1: are donating a total of a million dollars and increments
Speaker 1: of one hundred thousand dollars to ten different charities nominated
Speaker 1: by fans today. They're in the Lawnville neighborhood in Chicago today.
Speaker 1: Chairman George McCaskey terricoing out there today again. The community
Speaker 1: work done by the Bears organization top notch. Big Tom
Speaker 1: and Jim fully support their community, fully support the Chicago
Speaker 1: land area and the whole state of Illinois for that matter.
Speaker 1: Absolutely so been involved for many years, and we'll continue
Speaker 1: to do so. All right, appreciate you guys. Have fun
Speaker 1: this week. Jim, You're gonna be down in Nashville, Thomas,
Speaker 1: see you Saturday. Very good, Jeff. This has been Bears
Speaker 1: All Access thanks to Mike Chat and Herb Lawrence. Have
Speaker 1: a great night, everybody. This is Chicago Sports Radio six
Speaker 1: seventy the Score. Thanks for listening to this Chicago Bears
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