Speaker 1: Welcome into another edition of Bears All Access with a
Speaker 1: broadcast partner from news Radio one oh five nine WBBM.
Speaker 1: Tom There, I'm Jeff Joniac. We'll break down the week
Speaker 1: eleven matchup between the Bears and the Ravens at Soldier
Speaker 1: Field our pregame and nine kickoff and noon on WBBM.
Speaker 1: Thanks to our producers Jordan trut Up, Dan Burrelli and
Speaker 1: the folks here at the score. Coming up on the
Speaker 1: program tonight, We'll be joined by rookie right tackle Larry
Speaker 1: Borham and also the voice of the Baltimore Ravens Jerry Sandusky.
Speaker 1: Lots to break down coming out of the bye week time,
Speaker 1: and I thought it was interesting today up at allisall
Speaker 1: the coordinators speak. So you got Sean Decai, you got
Speaker 1: Bill Laser, and you got Chris Tabor, all being asked
Speaker 1: questions something that happened ten eleven days ago in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 1: They're on the Baltimore and I get it. Writers want
Speaker 1: to fill their stories and fill in the blanks to
Speaker 1: their stories for the week about what happened in that
Speaker 1: Steelers game, and a lot happened, and a lot happened
Speaker 1: good in the second half, especially offensively that we hope
Speaker 1: we'll carry in past the bye week into the final
Speaker 1: eight games of the year. But you know, from a
Speaker 1: player or a coaching perspective, to go back at a
Speaker 1: game before the buye we can break it down how
Speaker 1: difficult it is that and how difficult would be for
Speaker 1: you because you want to talk about the next thing. Yeah,
Speaker 1: but it's fresh in the memory of every one of
Speaker 1: those coordinators. So if there's a question that someone wants
Speaker 1: to answered, yeah, they can ask him. But it is
Speaker 1: about moving on to the next event. And when you
Speaker 1: look at all three of these guys, Tabor's going against
Speaker 1: a head coach who's a special team's coordinator by trade.
Speaker 1: They have the most exciting and explosive quarterback in the
Speaker 1: game right now that Sean Decid, first time defensive coordinator
Speaker 1: has to get prepared to go against. And then you
Speaker 1: have Bill Laser, who's calling the plays for a blitz happy,
Speaker 1: blitz heavy, physical football team. It's unbelievable what all these
Speaker 1: guys have at stake and what this game really means.
Speaker 1: To get a judgment of where you're at, well, there's
Speaker 1: a lot to unpacking that team. They're in first place
Speaker 1: and they are coming off a loss to Miami and
Speaker 1: the Dulphins really through the kitchen sink at him. That
Speaker 1: really got our attention as well. Do you feel that
Speaker 1: the Bears can do anything related to that against Lamar Jackson?
Speaker 1: I hope they at least attempted, because when you go
Speaker 1: back and you look at that Miami game, you know
Speaker 1: from last Thursday, they had a defensive game plan that
Speaker 1: I've never seen before. You don't go up there in
Speaker 1: line everybody up in the line of scrimmage. Then you
Speaker 1: have a row of three or four defensive backs and
Speaker 1: there's a separation of space in between because there is
Speaker 1: no linebackers at the linebacker depth. It was an unbelievable
Speaker 1: game plan that the Miami Dolphins went and chanced their aggressiveness,
Speaker 1: their approach, and they were really able to confine the
Speaker 1: explosiveness of a guy like Lamar Jackson. All Right, so
Speaker 1: let's listen in the Shawn to site earlier today and
Speaker 1: just what they have in their sights. Lamar Jackson. He's
Speaker 1: a unique and special talent, and you see why he's
Speaker 1: in the MVP conversation. He's, you know, deserving that his
Speaker 1: game has developed so much. They've done a great job
Speaker 1: there with him. Obviously, he can beat with his feet,
Speaker 1: he can beat you with his arm, and he's throwing
Speaker 1: the ball accurately, you know, over the top of the defenders,
Speaker 1: and he's hitting a lot of underneath throws also, So
Speaker 1: I think he's playing the full component of what you
Speaker 1: want a quarterback to play like in this league. And
Speaker 1: he can extend plays obviously, and even when he's extending it,
Speaker 1: he's not like some some other guys where he's looking
Speaker 1: to run right away. You know, he's still looking to
Speaker 1: kind of gash you in the pass game, and he's
Speaker 1: got the confidence of Beach in the run game. Well,
Speaker 1: the bigger thing about that all is that when he
Speaker 1: gets out, and he will, he'll get out of the
Speaker 1: pocket a little bit, or he'll make a play. The
Speaker 1: yards after contact and yards after the catch. That makes
Speaker 1: a difference. Because they got a kicker over there. They
Speaker 1: can kick sixty six yard field goals. So when you
Speaker 1: get your chance to make these tackles, make these plays defensively,
Speaker 1: you got to make him in this game. Yeah, you
Speaker 1: have to make the tackles when the opportunity is presented,
Speaker 1: but you also have to condense the size in the
Speaker 1: space where these ball carriers, the receivers, and most notably
Speaker 1: the quarterback has a chance to escape too. So you know,
Speaker 1: it's exciting when you hear Sean Decide talk about Lamar Jackson.
Speaker 1: That's the way I hope we're talking about justin Fields eventually,
Speaker 1: because he has those types of talents where he's going
Speaker 1: to hold the ball a little longer to try to
Speaker 1: make you pay in the long run, either throwing it
Speaker 1: or running on you. So it's a really exciting opportunity
Speaker 1: to watch these two quarterbacks at this two stages of
Speaker 1: their careers. And I brought it up to you earlier
Speaker 1: this week justin Fields final drive in Pittsburgh, because of
Speaker 1: the environment, what was at stake, they had a lead,
Speaker 1: they could have won the game on the final kick.
Speaker 1: If they had had that offsides on Pittsburgh call, then
Speaker 1: maybe that kick would have been good from sixty. It
Speaker 1: was right down the middle as it is, And I thought,
Speaker 1: you know what, this team has lost four in a row.
Speaker 1: Can they maintain focus where they want to go to
Speaker 1: work with eight games to go, because it's a lot
Speaker 1: on the schedule yet. But I think that was answered
Speaker 1: when to Sean Gibson was asked about that final drive
Speaker 1: about his the offensive teammate justin fields because they think
Speaker 1: these guys time are going to be engaged. Oh yeah,
Speaker 1: I think that energies everybody seeing a drive like that.
Speaker 1: You know, obviously that's huge, that's shoes for him, that's
Speaker 1: hused for his momentum. That's huge for the team when
Speaker 1: you can have a quarterback that that that, you know, man,
Speaker 1: longest we give him enough time, longest we give him
Speaker 1: the ball back, we know that good things gonna happen.
Speaker 1: And I was just one of those things where you know,
Speaker 1: I just feel confident that whole drive, that one gonna
Speaker 1: make a play. That's that's some of my own offense
Speaker 1: gonna make a play. And they did just that. So,
Speaker 1: like I say, that's just a testament to the growth
Speaker 1: that he's making from weeks three to now. And you
Speaker 1: can be more happy about that. Man, he's trending up
Speaker 1: in a right direction, and you know it's it's in
Speaker 1: a perfect time and for us to catch their stride
Speaker 1: and and you know, we got some tough games ahead
Speaker 1: of us, man, but I wouldn't want him to catch
Speaker 1: this stride any other time than right now. So he's
Speaker 1: doing what you gotta do, man to put us in
Speaker 1: position to win football games. We just gotta play complimentary,
Speaker 1: complete football, right now. That's it, and that is a
Speaker 1: good point. Guys got to play complimentary football. But do
Speaker 1: you agree with my premise that this team will be
Speaker 1: more engaged as long as and if Justin Fields continues
Speaker 1: to rise. Of course, you know, the first of all,
Speaker 1: they know what's at stake individually for all of their jobs. However,
Speaker 1: when you have that type of effort, that type of future,
Speaker 1: and the explosiveness and the excitement he can contribute, oh yeah,
Speaker 1: I think if these guys are playing selfishly, then they're
Speaker 1: not going to worry about the big picture of this team.
Speaker 1: But I think he really is an element that is
Speaker 1: bringing a sense of excitement here that, like you said,
Speaker 1: it carried into the second half of the Pittsburgh Steeler game.
Speaker 1: And that's one of the things that's most impressive because
Speaker 1: he never lost faith after some poor field position to
Speaker 1: start the game. Justin Fields coming up as two best
Speaker 1: performances as a Bear quarterback now goes up against the
Speaker 1: guy he's watched and study, Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore
Speaker 1: Ravens coming up next, We'll be joined by Bears rookie
Speaker 1: right tackle Larry boorm It's all ahead here on Bears
Speaker 1: All Access on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The Score.
Speaker 1: Welcome back to Bears All Access, brought to you by
Speaker 1: IGS Energy. Choose clean energy for your home at igs
Speaker 1: dot com because every good choice adds up to a
Speaker 1: better world. With my broadcast partner Tom Fair, the Super
Speaker 1: Bowl Bear Guard, I'm Jeff Johnnyak. Welcome back to Bears
Speaker 1: All Access here in Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to Score.
Speaker 1: Please to be joined by a fifth round pick, a
Speaker 1: starter in his first year in the National Football League
Speaker 1: at right tackle, Detroit's very own and Missoo's Larry Born. Larry,
Speaker 1: thanks for taking the time out after practice here today
Speaker 1: to talk to Tom and I. We we became aware
Speaker 1: of you at rookie minicamp and we were like hmm.
Speaker 1: We kept looking at each other like, hey, this guy,
Speaker 1: this guy, now, hold on, now, this is this is
Speaker 1: gonna be interesting to see. And that has been the
Speaker 1: case for you. Has been a steady climb, a couple
Speaker 1: of blips along the way, with some injuries and the
Speaker 1: COVID situation, But Larry, how has this journey been from
Speaker 1: the time we got to the Chicago Bears to where
Speaker 1: we're at right now. Oh, like you said, I mean,
Speaker 1: I kind only do a couple of things. It's kind
Speaker 1: of like a roller coaster has been Honestly, it's been greater.
Speaker 1: I really wouldn't change anything. I'm gonna believer that everything
Speaker 1: happens for a reason. So I've enjoyed. I'm home. I mean,
Speaker 1: I love everything about it. You know, Larry, Back in
Speaker 1: the day, Jeff, here's this all the time, I was
Speaker 1: a fourth round draft choice, and I was really disappointed.
Speaker 1: I was drafting in the fourth round. When I first
Speaker 1: got my eye, when I first saw you, I was going, Wow,
Speaker 1: this dude's a fifth rounder. Were you disappointed at being
Speaker 1: chosen in the fifth round or you know where? Did
Speaker 1: you have your sight set at that time? Honestly, I
Speaker 1: don't really think I thought too much of it. Always
Speaker 1: I felt like I just need to get my foot
Speaker 1: in the door, and I was just the first step
Speaker 1: of being able to do that, to be a drafted period,
Speaker 1: no matter where I was to go. So I wouldn't
Speaker 1: be disappointed. I want to say that. So you know,
Speaker 1: the offensive tackle, that's the money position. But I heard
Speaker 1: a lot of people talking about you possibly being an
Speaker 1: offensive guard and how they were evaluating you. Did you
Speaker 1: ever consider that you could be coming out of college
Speaker 1: as a guard or were your sight set an offensive
Speaker 1: tackle from the time you got here. Honestly, I always
Speaker 1: said to play anything they needed to be to play.
Speaker 1: But coming out of college, I mean I knew what
Speaker 1: I could do personally, and just seeing different things about
Speaker 1: like athleticism and stuff like that, I kind of just
Speaker 1: didn't even really pay too much attention to it. I
Speaker 1: felt like I still come out and play. Well. What
Speaker 1: about the weight fluctuation, because you know, it's something when
Speaker 1: you see a guy get as big as what you
Speaker 1: were described as being. To the point when we saw
Speaker 1: you the first time in shorts in a jersey, he said, Man,
Speaker 1: this guy's this guy's physically gifted and physically fit. Was
Speaker 1: it a challenge to change the weights or can you
Speaker 1: do that easily? Um? When I first started it, I
Speaker 1: feel like it was just a mental challenge trying to
Speaker 1: really get into a strict diet. But now I feel
Speaker 1: like I learned my body that I can I can control.
Speaker 1: It shouldn't be It's not gonna be issue. Again, how
Speaker 1: strict was it, Larry, because hey, we all can use
Speaker 1: a little advice. I wouldn't necessarily strict being out in
Speaker 1: California training. I mean the options were there are a
Speaker 1: lot of good options. Um. So really it was just
Speaker 1: me doing a lot of extra as far as like
Speaker 1: extra conditioning and stuff just before workouts. So maybe after
Speaker 1: a workout, just trying to get an upper hand on
Speaker 1: what I need to hand them. You know, when you're
Speaker 1: doing something like that and you're looking at a career
Speaker 1: as opposed to a sport, because there is a difference.
Speaker 1: Now it is a business and you're you're bankrolling your
Speaker 1: future by getting yourself in the most perfect condition that
Speaker 1: you're possibly able to be and then to perform on Sundays.
Speaker 1: So but we all have weaknesses, man, I mean we
Speaker 1: all have things to cheat on all the time with
Speaker 1: food and so forth. As you began to lose that
Speaker 1: weight and at how it translated to your athleticism then
Speaker 1: on the field and through your workouts. Was that the
Speaker 1: motivator then to keep on going? I run a marathon
Speaker 1: and you know I've run two as a matter of fact.
Speaker 1: But to get there, you know, and to stay there
Speaker 1: required really some significant discipline that frankly, I don't have
Speaker 1: right No, I'll say when they when I first started
Speaker 1: training and would not really have my mind on it,
Speaker 1: it became addicting, like seeing the results. Seeing routine in
Speaker 1: good results to me is always like a pleasure. So
Speaker 1: at that point, I just I can't wanted to do it. Hey, Larry,
Speaker 1: So Jeff mentioned that y're from Detroit, Michigan, and I'm
Speaker 1: not getting ahead of ourselves, but it's a game that
Speaker 1: I played in quite a few times, the Thanksgiving Day
Speaker 1: game in Detroit. Were you ever aware of that game,
Speaker 1: the role, the importance of it growing up as a kid,
Speaker 1: or were you a fan of a different NFL team
Speaker 1: growing up? I mean I knew there was a Thanksgiving Game.
Speaker 1: I never really understood the really the why behind it,
Speaker 1: why it was so important, But I mean now I
Speaker 1: understand it. So when when you go to these atmospheres,
Speaker 1: like you know, Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, one of the
Speaker 1: loudest environments that you'll go through, and some of the
Speaker 1: other opportunities, how has that transition been for you in
Speaker 1: terms of making sure that you understand the snap count,
Speaker 1: knowing that you're not going to be able to hear
Speaker 1: when you're at that exterior position on the offensive line.
Speaker 1: How has all that learning process been for you and
Speaker 1: do you get advice um from Jason about you know,
Speaker 1: the subtlety of perfual vision or watching your guard or
Speaker 1: the different aspects of staying on time. Oh yeah, everyone's
Speaker 1: been been really helpful as far as tips and how
Speaker 1: to get off the ball in an environment that, like
Speaker 1: you said, you can't hear anything um to me, I
Speaker 1: really just trying to focus on it that whole week
Speaker 1: of practice beforehand, even if it included me jumping off
Speaker 1: maybe a little bit, but I just wanted to make
Speaker 1: sure that was my main focus because that's one of
Speaker 1: the key things to being a tackle, of being able
Speaker 1: to get off the ball. What one what was a
Speaker 1: bigger thrill for you know? You see you get it,
Speaker 1: you get the goal against t j Y, You go
Speaker 1: against Nick Bosa, but shoot man, you go to training camp,
Speaker 1: you line up again Clill Mac one of the first
Speaker 1: couple one on ones you go to. Did that help
Speaker 1: you process of the from the guys that you were
Speaker 1: gonna play against in regular season games? Oh yeah, it
Speaker 1: was definitely. It was like a wake up moment kind
Speaker 1: of for me, like every week weekend and when we
Speaker 1: got it's gonna be super sorry going against you know
Speaker 1: when you face these guys when Larry Boram the Bears
Speaker 1: starting right tackle, getting ready for the Baltimore Ravens on
Speaker 1: Sunday at Soldier Field. We'll have it on WBBM starting
Speaker 1: at nine am with our pregame noon the kickoff. Tom There,
Speaker 1: Jeff Joning at here in Chicago Sports Radio six seventy
Speaker 1: the score. When when you are facing veterans and you're
Speaker 1: in your early twenties, can you feel their strength? Can
Speaker 1: you feel the difference in their body types? I mean,
Speaker 1: you've got you've got youthful exuberant and youthful enthusiasm, But
Speaker 1: when you face technicians that have worked their craft for years,
Speaker 1: can you feel that difference? Um, you can't feel a difference.
Speaker 1: To me personally, I don't try to make it something
Speaker 1: bigger than It's still a game of football. And at
Speaker 1: the end of the day, I just fall back on
Speaker 1: my technique and they're just gonna they're gonna have to
Speaker 1: be me. Yeah, And it's a tough guy to get around,
Speaker 1: that's for sure. You know, you have a basketball background,
Speaker 1: obviously that was your first love of We've talked to
Speaker 1: you about that before in the past. It's almost like
Speaker 1: giving up one dream to chase another here, But has
Speaker 1: that basketball agility, the light on your feet, the way
Speaker 1: your feet move clearly is an athlete that has played
Speaker 1: other sports. Has it translated to football for you in
Speaker 1: ways that you could describe me? Oh? Yeah, most definitely.
Speaker 1: And one I mean, I'll say past chasing is all
Speaker 1: about full work. Basketball is all the ball. Full work.
Speaker 1: That's helped me a lot. I can say that's one
Speaker 1: thing that's really translated back and forth. So now you
Speaker 1: know you're playing on both sides of the ball, which
Speaker 1: is really unique for a rookie. You get the personality
Speaker 1: of Cody, you get the personality of James Daniels, who
Speaker 1: in the process of the game talks to you more
Speaker 1: or are you just kind of staying you know, they
Speaker 1: maybe fill in a phrase or a sentence. But is
Speaker 1: do one of those two guys talk to you more
Speaker 1: frequently than the other? No, I would say we all
Speaker 1: tried to have that open line of communication, just being
Speaker 1: able to talk, whether it's a call or whatever it
Speaker 1: may be. Just have the open line. I would say,
Speaker 1: it's about about even. How about on the sidline, you know,
Speaker 1: you go back right to you sit on the bench,
Speaker 1: you sit in your position, and then coach Castillo is there,
Speaker 1: you know, in your face with a tablet and all
Speaker 1: the information. How was that relationship between you and he developed?
Speaker 1: And Donnie for that matter, Um, you know, how is
Speaker 1: that relationship helped guide you in the early part of
Speaker 1: you know, what could be a ten twelve year career
Speaker 1: for yourself. Um, it's just grown a lot. He say,
Speaker 1: he trust me as faith in me, and that's that's
Speaker 1: the best thing you could add for it. So being
Speaker 1: able to come to the sideline and him talking to
Speaker 1: me and coaching me up. I mean, I take it
Speaker 1: taking indeed, Larry, what has this line gone through? If
Speaker 1: you could describe to us, because you've had certain situations
Speaker 1: developed obviously with injury and Jason coming right before the
Speaker 1: season and just to come together as you have with
Speaker 1: a rookie quarterback in justin fields making that change, and
Speaker 1: just the dips and and peaks of a season, how
Speaker 1: could you describe what that group has gone through. Um,
Speaker 1: definitely went through some banks, but I mean we came
Speaker 1: together where a little mini brotherhood and our of physition group.
Speaker 1: I mean, everyone's just prepared to have their jersey, did
Speaker 1: number call it? And when they do is you gotta
Speaker 1: make the most of it. And you got another rookie,
Speaker 1: your buddy in the twenty twenty one class now getting
Speaker 1: back on the field, and I don't even know how
Speaker 1: to describe what he's gone through. Tevin Jenkins him getting
Speaker 1: back out there. Man, I'm happy for him. He's my
Speaker 1: guy and that's that's that's that. I'm happy for him.
Speaker 1: All right, Well, he'll be back soon and we'll see
Speaker 1: where he winds up as the Bears get ready with
Speaker 1: the Ravens. Here for Week eleven, back with more Larry
Speaker 1: Boram with Tom There. I'm Jeff Joniac, first to break
Speaker 1: here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy. The score the
Speaker 1: Bears match up with the Ravens is brought to you
Speaker 1: by Signa, the official partner of the Bears Salute to
Speaker 1: Service initiatives. Jeff Joniac Tim there with our guest today,
Speaker 1: right tackle Larry Borham, Tommy Larry. Right before the break,
Speaker 1: Jeff talked about the development of the offensive line, and
Speaker 1: you guys have seen now four different running backs of
Speaker 1: the different styles of running. But you're the quarterbacks specifically.
Speaker 1: You know, when you talk about Justin and his athleticism,
Speaker 1: is creativity, your responsibilities and pass protection? Is there anything
Speaker 1: you guys got to talk about to make sure that, hey,
Speaker 1: we got to sustain the block a little bit longer
Speaker 1: or he could possibly get outside with such immediacy. And
Speaker 1: you don't have eyes in the back of your head,
Speaker 1: how do you kind of develop an understanding of Justin
Speaker 1: fields at the quarterback position. I want to play two
Speaker 1: games behind him, well in front of him, but with
Speaker 1: him being a quarterback man, he can make a play
Speaker 1: out of anything. So I mean, personally and as a whole,
Speaker 1: we're all just we haven't understanding that we got a block,
Speaker 1: We got a block forever. Anything you could happen, you
Speaker 1: could take off and run, you could throw it to
Speaker 1: prepare for it, you know. So are you content with
Speaker 1: your body style right now or is this something that
Speaker 1: you know next year when we see you again. Not
Speaker 1: getting ahead of myself, but are you content with the
Speaker 1: body weight and the structure you're at right now? Or
Speaker 1: is there something you want to invest in the sports
Speaker 1: science department with Jen Gibson or going to the weight
Speaker 1: room with Jason or even footworker and technique with coach Castillo.
Speaker 1: I mean, technique, footwork, that's all. That's all wait has
Speaker 1: to get better for me personally. I find that's a
Speaker 1: big thing to work on, to continue to work on.
Speaker 1: Body Wise, I'm content, but I want to just continue
Speaker 1: to tone up. I mean, that's fine about it. Larry
Speaker 1: borm Our guest here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy
Speaker 1: to score of the Missouri Product, the Native of Detroit. So,
Speaker 1: you know, digging back into your past a little bit,
Speaker 1: tell me about that faded blue Chevy Venture because that
Speaker 1: was what you drove every day, I guess from your
Speaker 1: sixteenth birthday to your graduation from high school. But tell
Speaker 1: me the history of that what that kind of symbolize
Speaker 1: A little bit um that just symbolizes man, the struggle,
Speaker 1: the hard work that I mean I had to put
Speaker 1: in driving that thing from point A to point B.
Speaker 1: It was literally just for point A to point B.
Speaker 1: It was not anywhere else. It lasted me from when
Speaker 1: I first got my license to literally the last day
Speaker 1: of high school my senior year, that last week up
Speaker 1: until then when I would put it in park and
Speaker 1: go to turn the car off it would start smoking
Speaker 1: from the front and never understood why. I never really
Speaker 1: cared to figure it out. I was like, man, I'm
Speaker 1: out of here a week or two. So after that,
Speaker 1: it was. That was it. And the backstory of it
Speaker 1: is the significance is is your mom Joel it might
Speaker 1: pronounce it right, hersham persan pershman okay, saved it from
Speaker 1: the scrap yard for eight hundred bucks and it was
Speaker 1: probably the hardest eight hundred bucks she could scrap together
Speaker 1: and the best eight hundred bucks that you could possibly imagine. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that was definitely that was it was. See, we had
Speaker 1: to get it as he found a way. Thankful for
Speaker 1: that opened up a lot of doors too for me. Man,
Speaker 1: they were taking my sister to school before I went
Speaker 1: to school and just different stuff like that. So it
Speaker 1: was it was well needed. What happened, what happened to
Speaker 1: it in the long run, what happened to it? I
Speaker 1: think it gave out. He gave out, and I forgot
Speaker 1: what we did with it. But definitely after that last
Speaker 1: week at school, like I think it had a couple
Speaker 1: more weeks and that was it had like some thousand
Speaker 1: miles on it. Larry It's kind of funny because when
Speaker 1: first rounders get interviewed at the being and a all say, hey,
Speaker 1: what are you gonna buy? You know you're finally gonna
Speaker 1: come into some money. But when you're a fourth and
Speaker 1: fifth rounder, that questions rarely asked exactly have you have you, um,
Speaker 1: purchased anything? Have you like rewards yourself or even something
Speaker 1: practical that you know that hey man, you've you've really
Speaker 1: accomplished a lot in a short amount of time. Um,
Speaker 1: I got a car. But that's that's about it. That's
Speaker 1: about it, Durango. I was proud of that. That was
Speaker 1: my gift myself. And I mean, I'm not really into
Speaker 1: splurs in right now. Like you said, it's not a
Speaker 1: lot of worder to be done. When you think of
Speaker 1: seventeen games in an NFL season from what you've gone
Speaker 1: through in college and the amount of games you played,
Speaker 1: does seventeen in one year seem a lot to you mentally?
Speaker 1: Or you know, you're a young cat man, you should
Speaker 1: be able to go is you know as long as
Speaker 1: I personally, I was trying to taking one week at
Speaker 1: a time, So I don't really want to think about
Speaker 1: it as a whole seventeen, as far as this this
Speaker 1: game in the names Larry Boring our guest here on
Speaker 1: Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to score with Tom There
Speaker 1: Jeff Joniac. So I would imagine a guy of your
Speaker 1: size had a lot of nicknames. I saw a quiet giant.
Speaker 1: Was that a popular one in college? That was my
Speaker 1: mom's name. Your mom called you the quiet John. He
Speaker 1: tell us more about your mom and what impact she
Speaker 1: had on you, and man, why you're mat She's uh
Speaker 1: one of a kind of wonderful ladies. He worked seven
Speaker 1: days a week up as a waitress from six am
Speaker 1: to about two three. He was an open shift. Uh.
Speaker 1: Sometimes the word doubles man. He sacrificed every day just
Speaker 1: to be able to get me to a point where
Speaker 1: I could take it and run with it and they
Speaker 1: able to support them. So see, he means a word
Speaker 1: of me. You know, my mom was a waitress too
Speaker 1: when I was growing up as a kid. I come
Speaker 1: from a big family, a lot of kids, And I
Speaker 1: want to say, sometimes there were donkey backs that came
Speaker 1: from the restaurant. Yeah, that was some of the good
Speaker 1: food we got. Yeah, what's it like growing up in
Speaker 1: Detroit and we're you're a huge Pistons guy. Uh. Grown
Speaker 1: up in Detroit. I mean it's it's it's a tough city.
Speaker 1: It is what it is. I made the most of it.
Speaker 1: Uh growing up, I was a businessman, um until recently.
Speaker 1: But you know you're coming over to our side. Oh yeah,
Speaker 1: that's definitely. It's a fun team. If you watched the
Speaker 1: Bulls play yet this year, I haven't watched what I've
Speaker 1: been keeping up with it. They're they're going crazy right now. Wow,
Speaker 1: you gotta get yourself over the United Center or one
Speaker 1: of these days because they got something going on right now,
Speaker 1: that's for sure. Was it hard giving up your dream
Speaker 1: of basketball? Um Man? It was at first, just because
Speaker 1: I know like the background behind it, and I really
Speaker 1: that's all I knew. Still football is still relatively new
Speaker 1: to me, so basketball is like, I know what I'm
Speaker 1: doing right now. Having to give that up, it was.
Speaker 1: It was tough, but I mean it paid off. You recall,
Speaker 1: you the best game you ever had on the court,
Speaker 1: or a big moment, one you'll never forget one I'll
Speaker 1: never forget. Uh. I had two of the game tying
Speaker 1: tips to send us into the double overs on one game,
Speaker 1: and that was that's right. My most cool moment. I
Speaker 1: was like, what would you say is an adjective to
Speaker 1: describe what this draft classes? Like? Are you guys tight
Speaker 1: and and how do you guys look at because you
Speaker 1: got you got a franchise quarterback here in Justin Fields,
Speaker 1: So it's also about the future. So do you guys
Speaker 1: as a group I have that bond and do you
Speaker 1: even like talk about becoming the new new leaders down
Speaker 1: the road? Um, we're all just focused on this season
Speaker 1: right now, really just signing to work, that's it and
Speaker 1: put out what we can do. But we're definitely close.
Speaker 1: We're I caught him, my brothers, we're all close. We
Speaker 1: got Tod Ravens because they like the blitz now, so
Speaker 1: you prepare for this and what will be the challenge
Speaker 1: with that? They bring a lot of different things and
Speaker 1: they're funking defense. They'll like to do a different and
Speaker 1: a lot of different things. But I mean, excuse me,
Speaker 1: we have our our plan for it and he's gonna
Speaker 1: prepare for that and fall back on that. You know, Larry,
Speaker 1: when you have an opportunity to hear the cadence come
Speaker 1: out of Justin's mouth, there's an increase your ability to
Speaker 1: get off the ball or when you can't hear it.
Speaker 1: When you said you're just coming off on a time,
Speaker 1: Is there kind of a different flow to your game
Speaker 1: when you can hear the snapcot at home and you
Speaker 1: cannot on the road. No, No, I want to say, no,
Speaker 1: that's not necessarily. Um, it's definitely easier to get off
Speaker 1: the ball where you can hear, but also at the
Speaker 1: side account. I mean, I'm looking at the ball and
Speaker 1: it's kind of it's it's hard, but it's it's not
Speaker 1: that hard. Larry, we got five quick ones and we'll
Speaker 1: let you go. These are just quick hitters. Have fun
Speaker 1: with you a little bit. Who's your favorite hooper of
Speaker 1: all time? Jordan? Why? I mean he's used to go No,
Speaker 1: no debating. Is there a food you have to eat
Speaker 1: before a game because you just have to do it
Speaker 1: because it's your routine? No? Favorite comedian? Uh? Kevin Hart?
Speaker 1: Dream vacation spot, Dream vacation spot. Um. I have not
Speaker 1: been to any places. Uh. Where would I want to go?
Speaker 1: Probably an island or somebody that. How about the how
Speaker 1: about the Pro Bowl in Las Vegas? There you go,
Speaker 1: that's a good thing to whine. Appreciate taking them time
Speaker 1: today problem I appreciates Thanks Larry barn With Tom there
Speaker 1: and I coming up next, we'll join by the voice
Speaker 1: of the Baltimore Ravens, Jerry Sandusky here on Chicago Sports
Speaker 1: Radio six seventy The Score. This segment of Bears All
Speaker 1: Access is brought to you by Athletico Physical Therapy. Visit
Speaker 1: Athletico dot com to request an employment in clinic or
Speaker 1: virtually and start feeling better tomorrow. Tom There, Jeff Joni
Speaker 1: Act here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The Score
Speaker 1: kind enough to be joined by the voice of the
Speaker 1: Baltimore Ravens, Jerry Sandusky, man who wears many many hats,
Speaker 1: but working that microphone for the always talented and always
Speaker 1: dangerous Ravens is his specialty. Jerry, thanks for joining us.
Speaker 1: You know this team, first thing Matt Andeggie talked about is,
Speaker 1: you know, get ready for another punch in your face
Speaker 1: kind of game against an AFC North opponent, with the
Speaker 1: Bears already faced the first three in that division and
Speaker 1: now you're the fourth. And then yeah, you know this
Speaker 1: team has three overtime wins, so that sticks out to him.
Speaker 1: What sticks out to you about the twenty twenty one Ravens. Well,
Speaker 1: the biggest team, Jeff. The sticks out to me is
Speaker 1: that I never know what to expect, and thank god
Speaker 1: I'm not a better because I'm wrong every time. I
Speaker 1: never know what this team is going to produce. I mean,
Speaker 1: like sixty six yard field goal to beat the Lions,
Speaker 1: that didn't see that coming, getting getting upset in Miami,
Speaker 1: didn't see that coming, demolishing the Chargers, didn't see that coming,
Speaker 1: and getting demolished by the Bengals. So I just this
Speaker 1: is the most unpredictable Ravens team I think I've ever
Speaker 1: been around, and I'm hoping that as they get a
Speaker 1: little bit more healthy this week, they start to be
Speaker 1: the Ravens we expected, which is a ground first offense
Speaker 1: and a defense that's strong and takeaways because we just
Speaker 1: have not seen that consistently. Well, Jerry, you talk about
Speaker 1: being unpredictable, but the most predictable thing about your football
Speaker 1: team is Lamar Jackson's the most explosive player on your team.
Speaker 1: But do you think he has too much on his
Speaker 1: plate leading rusher, leading passer, quarterback of your team. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I'll be honest with the team doesn't put too much
Speaker 1: on Lamar. My concern is that Lamar puts too much
Speaker 1: on Lamar. And what I mean by that is if
Speaker 1: you go back and you look at his days at Louisville,
Speaker 1: he had a really bad offensive line, he had some
Speaker 1: inconsistent wide receivers, they were iffy in the backfield, and
Speaker 1: so he always felt like he had to do more.
Speaker 1: And Lamar can do so much, but he's no different
Speaker 1: than any other athlete. If you get outside of your
Speaker 1: window what you should be doing, invariably things break down.
Speaker 1: And so if you look at some of his turnover,
Speaker 1: some of his mistakes, it's never because he's just sloppy
Speaker 1: or he's he's careless. It's always because he's trying to
Speaker 1: push the boundaries a little farther than he should. And
Speaker 1: that's why this week they get Pat McCarry back and
Speaker 1: right tackled, they get Latavis Murray back in the backfield,
Speaker 1: and I'm hoping it gets Lamar back to just be Lamar,
Speaker 1: make the plays that present themselves and don't worry about
Speaker 1: trying to do more than one guy, even one guy
Speaker 1: named Lamar, can do. You guys have a lot of
Speaker 1: injuries or highly publicized around the league on your officive side,
Speaker 1: of the ball. If it was the offensive line or
Speaker 1: running back and he needed that position to be healthy.
Speaker 1: What's one of those two positions is it for you's
Speaker 1: offensive line? No. Over the years, we've seen a lot
Speaker 1: of guys is who were not a high draft picks
Speaker 1: become special running backs on teams and a great offensive lines.
Speaker 1: Pro football has evolved. This change has gone from running
Speaker 1: the passing difference teams. At the end of the day,
Speaker 1: you win every Sunday, starting with winning at the point
Speaker 1: of attack. When the Ravens win at the point of
Speaker 1: the attack, they dictate the terms. They get the running
Speaker 1: game going, the pass action flows off of that. Then
Speaker 1: Lamar becomes a nightmare. But when their offensive line breaks down,
Speaker 1: teams are trying to figure out how to contain Lamar.
Speaker 1: If the running game doesn't get going, they become as
Speaker 1: one dimensional as anybody else. So I think it's easier
Speaker 1: to find fill in replacements in the backfield than it
Speaker 1: is on the offensive line. Jerry Sandeski are guests here
Speaker 1: on Bears All Access. It's brought to you by Igs
Speaker 1: Energy Town. There Jeff Jonick with you here on Chicago
Speaker 1: Sports Radio six seventy the score. We were both and
Speaker 1: we've talked about it. Tom and I since the game
Speaker 1: last Thursday, just really impressed by what Miami did at
Speaker 1: the line of scrimmage defensively for the entire game. I mean,
Speaker 1: it was basically as Tom described, two level defense and
Speaker 1: really took away all the exits for Lamar and made
Speaker 1: him hurry everything and really shut things down. Did you
Speaker 1: see that coming? And do you now think that every
Speaker 1: team is going to be trying to do something like that?
Speaker 1: Not every team's scheme is equipped to do that or
Speaker 1: have the guts to do that, but they certainly did so. No,
Speaker 1: I don't. I didn't see that coming because on the Thursday,
Speaker 1: you know, you just never really sure what teams are
Speaker 1: going to do, and I think Thursday factored very much
Speaker 1: into that. And the Dolphins deserve a ton of credit
Speaker 1: for having a very aggressive package in place on Thursday,
Speaker 1: far more aggressive than they had been look their number
Speaker 1: two in the NFL and blitzes this year, so it's
Speaker 1: not completely out of character, but they did so much
Speaker 1: cover zero and because the Ravens had the combination. Again,
Speaker 1: Tyl and I were just talking about the idea that
Speaker 1: they didn't have Pat McCarry, who's their backup right tackle.
Speaker 1: Alejandro vien A wave left tackle is their right tackle.
Speaker 1: So they're three deep on the depth charter right tackle,
Speaker 1: and you're looking at all running backs who were not
Speaker 1: a part of the team's plan in training camp, so
Speaker 1: you're you're having all kind of blitz pick up issues.
Speaker 1: Lamar has no time, and the receivers did not do
Speaker 1: a great job of beating their man, so you know,
Speaker 1: those three things will will blow up in offense every time.
Speaker 1: To your other point, I think it's a little bit
Speaker 1: like a baseball player who gets elevated from Triple A
Speaker 1: to the majors, and if they figure out he can't
Speaker 1: hit the curveball, he's got to get a steady diet
Speaker 1: of curves. Until he does, raveels will probably see a
Speaker 1: lot of cover zero until they proved they can beat it.
Speaker 1: All right, So just tell me exactly what we're expecting
Speaker 1: from a defense that is really engineered to do the
Speaker 1: same thing to imposing quarterback, and that's blitz from all angles,
Speaker 1: because until he proved he can hang in there, evade,
Speaker 1: or make a big play down the field. I was
Speaker 1: concerned with justin fields being able to identify and deal
Speaker 1: with the blitzes. So I guess he should be ready
Speaker 1: for it. I would say so if you if you
Speaker 1: look at what Wink Martindale has done against rookie quarterback
Speaker 1: since Wink became the defensive coordinator four years ago, it
Speaker 1: is a steady diet of blitzes and it's not cover
Speaker 1: zero blitzes. Justin Fields isn't going to just see nine
Speaker 1: on the line and they're all coming. He's gonna see
Speaker 1: six on the line. He'll see seven on the line.
Speaker 1: They'll see three on the line and they'll rush five.
Speaker 1: He's gonna see blizz packages that he's not seen before,
Speaker 1: and they're designed to just kind of put a little
Speaker 1: brain freeze on a young quarterback. Now, it doesn't work
Speaker 1: in the second and third year, but these are He
Speaker 1: will see blitzes on Sunday that he hasn't seen before,
Speaker 1: and they're designed to build in a little hesitacy. He, however,
Speaker 1: has escapability. He's a great athlete. He reminds me that
Speaker 1: as I watched tape on him this week, he reminds
Speaker 1: me of a young, more slender version of Cam Newton.
Speaker 1: He's got the big arm, he can he can wing it.
Speaker 1: He's not afraid of all the tuck and run and
Speaker 1: he's a he's a straight line runner. Lamar is like
Speaker 1: an etch a sketch. He's all over the place. But
Speaker 1: Justin Fields is he picks his direction, he goes, and
Speaker 1: he runs with decisiveness. So, yes, the Ravens are gonna
Speaker 1: bring blitz packages, but they have to bring in discipline
Speaker 1: because Justin Fields is show now he can figure out
Speaker 1: what the escape routes are and he can get positive yards.
Speaker 1: You know, at the end of the Pittsburgh Steelers game,
Speaker 1: Matt Naggie trotted out Tyrol Santos for a sixty five
Speaker 1: yard attempt. You guys have the best kicker in the league.
Speaker 1: To me, I wanted to see him throw Hail Mary
Speaker 1: when you saw what he did with the sixty six
Speaker 1: yard or earlier this year. Are you okay with those
Speaker 1: types of attempts again for Justin Tucker or you know,
Speaker 1: does it depend on field conditions? You know, obviously if
Speaker 1: the weather was deteriorating at the end of the year,
Speaker 1: it may be different. But you got to have a
Speaker 1: lot of confidence in that kid from those types of distances. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean Tucker's he had seventeen game winning field goals.
Speaker 1: He hasn't missed a fifty yarder I think his last
Speaker 1: twelve tries. He hasn't missed in a fourth quarter overtime
Speaker 1: in some absurd length of time. So there's a huge
Speaker 1: built in factor. But when you go to look what
Speaker 1: Naggie did and what John Harball does in Detroit, the
Speaker 1: leadership decision in those situations is never, Okay, do we
Speaker 1: try to run a play here or do we eat
Speaker 1: burritos and call it a day. It's you know, it's never,
Speaker 1: it's always. It's always a choice between the unpalatable and
Speaker 1: the impossible. I Hail Mary realistically is virtually impossible. So
Speaker 1: you know, you gotta make that decision on the fly.
Speaker 1: And I have no I have no problem with what
Speaker 1: Naggie or Harball did and that Yeah, it's it's improbable
Speaker 1: that that Santos is gonna hit a sixty five yard,
Speaker 1: but darn if you didn't put it off the crossbar.
Speaker 1: It's improbable that Justin Tucker's gonna hit a sixty six yard,
Speaker 1: but darn if it didn't bounce it off a crossbar.
Speaker 1: I think you got a better shot with a strong
Speaker 1: leg kicker than you do with hail Mary, just so
Speaker 1: you know it didn't hit the crossbar they were When
Speaker 1: you watch it from a different angle, it looked like
Speaker 1: it did, so I thought I missed it too. I'm
Speaker 1: like the next day, I'm like, oh please, Mother Mary, No,
Speaker 1: because you know, it's a big story if you know
Speaker 1: it was five yards short. But the beauty of that
Speaker 1: play Jerry and Tom is that the Bears really did
Speaker 1: deserve an offside's penalty on number ninety TJ. He was
Speaker 1: lined up offside. That would have been five yards and
Speaker 1: I believe that kick would have been good and we
Speaker 1: would have been talking about a whole different coming out
Speaker 1: of the bye week with momentum story on the Bears Tommy,
Speaker 1: because that would have made it. It It was right down
Speaker 1: the middle. He would have made it if he had
Speaker 1: that kick. And Jeff Brain was a great point when
Speaker 1: you're when you're trying a hail Mary. I've never seen
Speaker 1: a defense jump offside and hail Mary because they got
Speaker 1: eight guys dep But in a game winning field goal,
Speaker 1: even though it's a sixty five sixty six yarder, guys
Speaker 1: are amped up. I mean those guys, those guys are
Speaker 1: trained to just hand in the dirt, come flying in
Speaker 1: and if you can get one guy to flinch all
Speaker 1: of a sudden, now you're in a better situation that
Speaker 1: a hail Mary is not going to put you in.
Speaker 1: You're tight End's pretty explosive. It seems like they're trying
Speaker 1: to get Cole commet to the point where Mark Andrews
Speaker 1: is right now. Because Mark Andrews the most important guy
Speaker 1: out there. I would say he is because he's the
Speaker 1: most diverse. He can he can do a lot of
Speaker 1: different things, whether it's over the middle, whether it's on
Speaker 1: the flat, whether there's blocking and releasing. He's extremely gifted.
Speaker 1: And Mark Andrews has has a talent that I don't
Speaker 1: know you can coach. And I remember the very first
Speaker 1: Mini camp practice I saw of him, and look, what's
Speaker 1: more misleading? Right there watching guys in mini camp the
Speaker 1: first time as rookies, and I looked to a scout
Speaker 1: and I said, what did you guys see in that
Speaker 1: Mark Andrews. He there's nothing about him. It didn't look explosive,
Speaker 1: it didn't look there was nothing that really jumped out.
Speaker 1: And he said, you're not going to see it when
Speaker 1: they're in shorts. You gotta wait until they're in pads
Speaker 1: and helmet, and you're gonna see this kid has the
Speaker 1: most uncanny ability to find the hole in the defense,
Speaker 1: whether it's man to man, whether his zone, whether it's
Speaker 1: cover two, cover three, cover four. He just has a
Speaker 1: knack for finding the open space. And darn I thought
Speaker 1: scout wasn't right. And that's what makes Mark Andrews so dangerous.
Speaker 1: It's not like he's got good size, he's got good speed,
Speaker 1: he's got good hands, but he has this intangible and
Speaker 1: he's on the same wavelength with Lamar. He just knows
Speaker 1: sometimes where to break off the route where the defense
Speaker 1: is going to be vulnerable, and he knows how to
Speaker 1: get there, and Lamar knows how to get him the ball.
Speaker 1: So I would actually say he is more valuable than Hollywood.
Speaker 1: As good as Hollywood is, you can go to Mark
Speaker 1: Andrews first and ten, second and five, third and three,
Speaker 1: and he's going to find a way to get open.
Speaker 1: All right, last question, we'll let you go. Jerry appreciate
Speaker 1: it all the time. What from a Ravens perspective, as
Speaker 1: you're analyzing this and watching the tape of the Bears,
Speaker 1: what things do you circle about this team that would
Speaker 1: concern the Ravens. I think you got I think you
Speaker 1: got a good pass rush. I think you're really athletic.
Speaker 1: In the second area, I think you're going to do
Speaker 1: a lot. I think we'll see a lot of Cover one,
Speaker 1: especially after the success the Dolphins had with Cover zero,
Speaker 1: and so I think some of your corners are going
Speaker 1: to match up really well. And look, the biggest thing
Speaker 1: I see is six and three verses three and six.
Speaker 1: I understand at three and six now he's probably under
Speaker 1: a lot of job pressure and people are down on
Speaker 1: the Bears, and I got all that, But when you're
Speaker 1: three and six, you're almost playing with house money. When
Speaker 1: you're six and three and you're in first place and
Speaker 1: you haven't been playing that great and two of your
Speaker 1: last three games, the pressure starts to build a little bit.
Speaker 1: So I think the Ravens are going to see a
Speaker 1: very aggressive Bears team that whether they think they have
Speaker 1: anything to lose or not, they're not expected to win
Speaker 1: this game. And to me, the most dangerous opponent is
Speaker 1: the one who has nothing to lose, and that, to
Speaker 1: me is what concerns me about the Ravens going to
Speaker 1: Soldier Field. Nice synopsis, appreciate your time, Jerry will see
Speaker 1: on Sunday. All right, sounds good. Guy's great visiting with it.
Speaker 1: That's Jerry Gardski, the voice of the Baltimore Ravens, Tom
Speaker 1: and I with one segment to go to put finishing
Speaker 1: touches on the matchup. Be back after this on Chicago
Speaker 1: Sports Radio six seventy the Score. This segment of Bears
Speaker 1: All Access is brought to you by CDW. People to
Speaker 1: get it with Tom Thayer Jeff jony Ak wrapping things
Speaker 1: up in our final segment tonight, getting ready for the
Speaker 1: Bears and Ravens. The headliners obviously Lamar Jackson and Justin
Speaker 1: Fields because of their similarities mobility, athleticism, speed, what they
Speaker 1: can do to create plays. And I've been impressed with
Speaker 1: Lamar becoming a passer because you always wondered if that
Speaker 1: was going to be an area that he was going
Speaker 1: to excel in. But he's looking to throw the ball
Speaker 1: even when he leaves the pocket Tom and looking to
Speaker 1: go deep. He's using that tight end, Mark Andrews, he's
Speaker 1: using Hollywood Brown, He's using everything to his disposal. He's
Speaker 1: got a great arm, you know the thing about it.
Speaker 1: He's got a strong arm that can be precise, to
Speaker 1: be accurate, can throw a fireball to a lofted ball
Speaker 1: down field. He's got such escapability that he can run
Speaker 1: away if there's a loose defender coming at him. Miami
Speaker 1: kind of took a little bit of that away from
Speaker 1: him and didn't give him the luxury of time. But
Speaker 1: if you have a defensive game plan that gives him
Speaker 1: any luxury of time, he'll make you pay with the arm, feet, mind, ability,
Speaker 1: anything that he needs at that moment. Till Bengals did
Speaker 1: something like that as well, not exactly like Miami. Hey, Detroit,
Speaker 1: they held him the fifty eight rushing yards in sixteen
Speaker 1: to thirty one passing. So he loves to check down.
Speaker 1: He loves to go to the bubble screens. He did
Speaker 1: it nine times at or behind the line of scrimmage
Speaker 1: against Miami. Miami was reading every bit of it, though,
Speaker 1: So now Bear's defense got to be on their guard
Speaker 1: because but he so. In Detroit, you're saying they held
Speaker 1: him to fifty eight yards. I know that's the quarterback.
Speaker 1: I mean, we're not talking about holding Barry Sanders the
Speaker 1: fifty eight yards rushing or Walter Payton. You're talking about
Speaker 1: holding the quarterback and a stick is still a heck
Speaker 1: of an effort by him. Yeah, indeed. All right, So
Speaker 1: Bill Laser this week on The Bears Coaching Show on
Speaker 1: Monday Night basically said how the Bear stopped the Ravens
Speaker 1: pressure package. Like we alluded to in the first segment. Tonight,
Speaker 1: we'll say a lot how successful or not the Bear's
Speaker 1: passing game will be. To me, all those things are
Speaker 1: going to keep developing for him, you know, and week
Speaker 1: to weeks can be a little bit different. Challenges guys
Speaker 1: will they'll be challenging and his ability to defeat the
Speaker 1: blitz and that'll be the number one thing both and
Speaker 1: how we protect it and then how he handles it.
Speaker 1: So it'll be interesting to see. And that's true every week,
Speaker 1: but for some reason, against Wink Martindale, it just has
Speaker 1: my attention a lot more. Yeah. You know, the thing
Speaker 1: about it is if you're not successful running the ball,
Speaker 1: you have no success that you're not gonna have any
Speaker 1: chance at all. Because if you're sitting there trying to
Speaker 1: get third and sevens and third and eights all afternoon, Jeff,
Speaker 1: they're gonna open up and they're gonna explode into your
Speaker 1: backfield because they're gonna try to take away that time
Speaker 1: for Justin, like we talk about taking away time for Lamar.
Speaker 1: So this is one thing, you know, one of those
Speaker 1: game plans where it Bill's gonna have to be committed
Speaker 1: and get the running game to help you as much
Speaker 1: as possible. You know what it really impresses me. Darnell Mooney.
Speaker 1: We've talked him plenty of times, but here in Justin
Speaker 1: fields this week say that he's got to maybe step
Speaker 1: up his game of preparation because he watches Mooney and
Speaker 1: how much he gets ready and he's getting ready every
Speaker 1: day at home on the practice field. That is a
Speaker 1: leader brewing right here, and I like where his mindset
Speaker 1: is heading into the final eight games. Definitely feel you know,
Speaker 1: a little motivated, you know, going into the second or
Speaker 1: the half. The second half of the season is put
Speaker 1: in the first half behind me and just try to
Speaker 1: you know, start this second has as if it's a
Speaker 1: totally different new season, and in some respects you have
Speaker 1: to do it that way. But for these young guys,
Speaker 1: these young guys on this team, guys that know they're
Speaker 1: going to be here because of their draft status, their
Speaker 1: contract status or whatnot, they are still building for a
Speaker 1: future which includes justin Field does the quarterback and on
Speaker 1: the defensive side of the ball, guy like Roe Quant Smith,
Speaker 1: who at some point we've got a long term contact
Speaker 1: extension twenty five years of age. These two guys are
Speaker 1: becoming the faces of your franchise moving forward, and I
Speaker 1: think there is plenty to play for here. No matter
Speaker 1: what the rumor mill or any other things that go
Speaker 1: on around them, they gotta focus and play elevated football
Speaker 1: here in the final eight games beginning Sunday. I guarantee
Speaker 1: you this, Larry Baum, Sam Mustafer, Cody white Hair, James Daniels,
Speaker 1: that whole group of guys Cole come at. They're not
Speaker 1: thinking about anything other than improving their efforts weekend and
Speaker 1: week out that lead to wins that get them into
Speaker 1: a division opportunities where they go to the playoffs. If
Speaker 1: your sites are set on anything else than that, then
Speaker 1: you're kind of waste in all of our time. So
Speaker 1: I like the attitude. I like with the reflection of
Speaker 1: the way they need to work during the week to get,
Speaker 1: you know, to put these guys in the best possible position.
Speaker 1: And the exciting part of it is is to watch
Speaker 1: the continuous development of Justin Fields and how he factors
Speaker 1: and every one of those other guys I just mentioned.
Speaker 1: All right, So special teams, you know it's going to
Speaker 1: be an important part of this. So Devin DuVernay at
Speaker 1: twenty four point six and kick returns sixteen point three
Speaker 1: and punt returns, he's number one in the NFL. It
Speaker 1: has the attention to Chris Taber, does it have your attention?
Speaker 1: And Justin Tucker and Sam Cook the punter, they're very
Speaker 1: good ninety three percent chance to rain on Sunday. Special
Speaker 1: Teams is always a concern to me because you talk
Speaker 1: about the different types of you know, windy, you know
Speaker 1: lakefront wind at this time of year, if it is rainy,
Speaker 1: and John Harball is an ex Special Teams coach, who's
Speaker 1: their head coach, I think there's a lot of little
Speaker 1: dynamics to the Special team's battle that could, you know,
Speaker 1: happen on Sunday if those types of points matter. Are
Speaker 1: you considered about the health of the Bears defense right now? Again,
Speaker 1: Khalil Mack and Akim Hicks and Eddie Jackson still working
Speaker 1: through some things. I am, I am you know, I
Speaker 1: am probably most about Khalil because I'm a little underwhelmed
Speaker 1: by Trevis Gibson and Sam Kamara what they've contributed from
Speaker 1: a real, you know, pass to quarterback type pressure that
Speaker 1: Khalil is always expected to have. So, you know, if
Speaker 1: Khalil can't play, I want to see better out of
Speaker 1: those guys. Because what I saw out of Trevis Gibson
Speaker 1: that training camp, I have higher expectations for his ability
Speaker 1: anything on the offensive side of the ball that you
Speaker 1: feel the Bears can exploit on the Baltimore side of
Speaker 1: the defense to wrap us up today. You know, I
Speaker 1: still think using multiple tight end packages and somehow get
Speaker 1: Jimmy Graham involved in red zone a little bit if
Speaker 1: you get yourself down there, because it you know, when
Speaker 1: a Rob talked about chemistry a couple of weeks ago,
Speaker 1: with or without Justin, you know, it doesn't seem like
Speaker 1: there's a lot of chemistry with Justin and Jimmy in
Speaker 1: the red zone. So you give him one or two
Speaker 1: opportunities and you make teams aware of him, it's going
Speaker 1: to open it up for everybody else. That's certainly opening
Speaker 1: up for Cole Comet. Indeed, Bears have their two pronged
Speaker 1: running a tech and maybe Damian Williams back in the
Speaker 1: mix as well, and the offensive line ready to roll
Speaker 1: as the Bears get ready for the Ravens. Time and
Speaker 1: we'll see you at the field. I'll be there all right,
Speaker 1: Tom there. Thank you for joining us, Thank you for
Speaker 1: listening to everybody. Thanks again to our producers Dan Really
Speaker 1: and Jordan Tredap and the folks at the Score. We'll
Speaker 1: talk to you next time on Chicago Sports Radio six
Speaker 1: seventy to Score. Good night, everybody,