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Speaker 1: Now it's time for Bears Weekly with the Voice of
Speaker 1: the Bears, Jeff SHODYA tonya on the New Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 3: Well metum building towards the start of the twenty twenty
Speaker 3: three NFL season with Phase three of the offseason program
Speaker 3: getting out Away this week up at Hallisall. It's ota
Speaker 3: season and we're here to break it down tonight on
Speaker 3: Bears Weekly. Here on ESPN Chicago one thousand and the
Speaker 3: Bears Radio Network. Good to have you alongside. I'm Jeff
Speaker 3: Jonahack and as always my broadcast partners Tom Thayer and
Speaker 3: from Serious XMNFL Radios moving the change former Bears quarterback
Speaker 3: Jim Miller. We're here until seventh tonight. Our producers Dan Brilly,
Speaker 3: Jordan Treadip, William Bridgeforth, and we're also joined by Executive
Speaker 3: producer Bears Radio Network, Eric Ostratski. Thank you for taking
Speaker 3: care of business at the PN one thousand studios. Fellas,
Speaker 3: how we feel in Tommy, you're almost back. You get
Speaker 3: a couple couple of days left in MAUI will be
Speaker 3: looking forward to it and get you out there at
Speaker 3: some OTAs. But you've heard about it, You've read about it.
Speaker 3: You know exactly what goes into these things, and I
Speaker 3: will say the optimism is high just watching everybody pretty
Speaker 3: good turnout too well.
Speaker 4: You know, optimism from the other side of the desk
Speaker 4: or the podium where the players and coaches are being
Speaker 4: interviewed are different from those of us that look at
Speaker 4: it from the.
Speaker 2: Front of the table, because you know this is a
Speaker 2: second time.
Speaker 4: Around for Matty Eberflus. We all have a better understanding
Speaker 4: what he's about. I think they brought in some free agents.
Speaker 4: I love listening to Edmunds. I think he's a super
Speaker 4: talented football player, but he means as much in the
Speaker 4: locker room, and so I think you have to you know,
Speaker 4: the expectations have to be increased significantly, Jeff. There's no
Speaker 4: way that because they were three and fourteen, you can't
Speaker 4: have that mentality going in at the start of OTAs.
Speaker 4: Everything has to be expectations, you know, of division winning
Speaker 4: football team that you're gonna come out here and you're
Speaker 4: going to turn this thing around quickly, improvements significantly in
Speaker 4: some key positions, and we'll see how it goes. But
Speaker 4: I like listening to Matt, and I like listening to
Speaker 4: the other players at the podium.
Speaker 3: Hey, Jim, this is not a typical three and fourteen
Speaker 3: team coming back because so many games were close last year.
Speaker 3: The feeling was very strong in that locker room. There
Speaker 3: was competitiveness, guys undrafted fighting for jobs. Those guys now
Speaker 3: are in year two fighting for jobs again and maybe
Speaker 3: walking around with a little bit of chest out that Hey,
Speaker 3: you know what, I earned a few stripes last season
Speaker 3: in my NFL? Is that all fair? You've been on
Speaker 3: teams that haven't done well and come back the next
Speaker 3: year and have really stormed everybody. Do you do you
Speaker 3: since despite some still areas of need here, that this
Speaker 3: could be that type of team?
Speaker 5: Yeah? I think this team, you know, they're not starting
Speaker 5: from square one, you know, that's for sure. They've laid
Speaker 5: a foundation. There is an expectation. They know, as Tom said,
Speaker 5: going into the second year of Matt everflus what those
Speaker 5: expectations are, and now you can quick you know, quickly
Speaker 5: bring the other players along who they drafted and anybody
Speaker 5: knew in free agency. They'll pretty much fall in line
Speaker 5: pretty quickly because everybody else has that base underneath them
Speaker 5: of what the expectation is, how the practice, how the
Speaker 5: meetings go, all the routines that have been put in
Speaker 5: place last year. So it could should go much quicker,
Speaker 5: but in the same sense, you're still starting from square one,
Speaker 5: because every year is a new year. You know, it
Speaker 5: starts over the install from the play, the techniques, how
Speaker 5: they're done, all that to Yeah, will be repetitive, but
Speaker 5: that has to be you know, gone over with a
Speaker 5: fine tooth comb so that guys understand what they need
Speaker 5: to do to execute. And so you know, it's you know,
Speaker 5: it's a lot of hard work, it's a lot of effort,
Speaker 5: and hopefully it's worth it to all those players because
Speaker 5: I think they understand where they want to get to.
Speaker 3: We bring this up every year with OTAs the value
Speaker 3: of them. The union obviously is adjusted and agreement with
Speaker 3: the NFL on off season work and how much you
Speaker 3: can do and how intense it can be. But I
Speaker 3: was talking with Jimbo Colvert at practice yesterday. The Hall
Speaker 3: of Fame left tackle was there observing, and I just
Speaker 3: let them go. Man, it was fun to talk to
Speaker 3: another offensive lineman with his opinions on how things are
Speaker 3: done today. But you know, he was talking about his
Speaker 3: time Tommy and Jim in the mid eighties and into
Speaker 3: the early nineties. You know, there was no OTA program.
Speaker 3: Obviously we've discussed that with you guys in the past.
Speaker 3: But he goes, these guys they need this, and he
Speaker 3: was impressed by the type of drills, the intensity of
Speaker 3: the drills, the speed of the drills, the different types
Speaker 3: of things. Even saw the offensive lineman doing with the
Speaker 3: medicine ball, hitting it back and forth using quickness of hands.
Speaker 3: He goes, he kept saying, interesting, Interesting, I like that.
Speaker 3: I like that, and I like it too.
Speaker 5: It.
Speaker 3: I do think it's important to get these guys acclimated.
Speaker 3: And yes, there's gonna be a month of day Tommy
Speaker 3: after mid June until mid July, and you'll have to
Speaker 3: refresh again. But just to get them get their feet
Speaker 3: wet and bring them together, ninety guys to get to
Speaker 3: know each other and get to know what the expectations
Speaker 3: are to practice.
Speaker 4: Yeah, you know the thing about OTAs, especially a seasoned
Speaker 4: you know X NFL player like Jimbo Cobra, Hall of
Speaker 4: Fame and one of the greatest players in the NFL
Speaker 4: the minute he walked into the building.
Speaker 6: You know.
Speaker 4: Yeah, we didn't have OTAs, but we also went through
Speaker 4: a month and a half of double day sessions eight
Speaker 4: full past So I would take the alternative. If I
Speaker 4: was a modern day player, I would rather go to
Speaker 4: OTAs to have the training camps that these guys go through,
Speaker 4: because I think you have a chance to get stronger,
Speaker 4: put more effort into the weight room, and be prepared
Speaker 4: when the regular season starts. Whereas we went through an
Speaker 4: atmosphere in Plattville that we were beat up so badly
Speaker 4: at the end of training camp, you know, and then
Speaker 4: you don't have any time for recovery. So, you know,
Speaker 4: Jimbo's a unique guy because you know, you think of
Speaker 4: Jimbo Kobert being a Hall of Fame left tackle, and
Speaker 4: you think about all the different structures.
Speaker 2: Jimbo played left tackle out of a right handed stance.
Speaker 4: He didn't, you know, it wasn't There's always a change
Speaker 4: the balance and your push off league is going to
Speaker 4: be different in all these little changes that they try
Speaker 4: to make to college players.
Speaker 2: It's not a necessity. You know, you go and you
Speaker 2: do it.
Speaker 4: But Jimbo Kobert, the reason he's in the Hall of
Speaker 4: Fame and what he was able to accomplish in that position.
Speaker 4: You know, he's he's one of the oddities, but he's
Speaker 4: also one of the best.
Speaker 3: Jim At the same time, he had a top coach,
Speaker 3: did Gey in Dick stanfell into it though, this is
Speaker 3: what I'm going to do, and they didn't necessarily let
Speaker 3: even the footwork drills. He said, hey, you know, how
Speaker 3: about how about something a little different that we did
Speaker 3: over at pitt And eventually some of that trickled into
Speaker 3: the to the plan. But I would imagine it's a
Speaker 3: harder sell for today's young players to make that kind
Speaker 3: of a pitch to a coach or a position coach.
Speaker 5: Right, Yeah, well, especially when you don't have any experience
Speaker 5: plane you know, it's hard for coach to buy into that.
Speaker 5: But you know, this part of the year, it is
Speaker 5: so important because everything's alignment an assignment. Yeah, they're not
Speaker 5: out there hitting. Yeah, it's still intense, but this is
Speaker 5: where you go over all the different looks. You know,
Speaker 5: as Tom knows, you know you're going to have an
Speaker 5: outside zone run that could be run against multiple fronts
Speaker 5: or what if the defense stunts, or what if they
Speaker 5: slant a certain way or they pinch or all these
Speaker 5: things that they can do, and you're trying to get
Speaker 5: all those assignments and how they can change for the
Speaker 5: same play. It still maybe outside zoned run thirty six,
Speaker 5: but is blocked differently against all those different fronts, whether
Speaker 5: it's an over, whether it's an under, and so it's
Speaker 5: more assignment driven to where you know your assignments and
Speaker 5: what you're going to do. Of course you're working on
Speaker 5: your techniques as well, but that those techniques really don't
Speaker 5: come in to play until you put the pads on.
Speaker 5: You know, where you can get all these reps and
Speaker 5: now you hope all that technique kicks in that you
Speaker 5: know from the red site reps that you've gained in
Speaker 5: OTAs and it really hopefully will carry over.
Speaker 3: Jim, one of the things I noticed yesterday and Tommy
Speaker 3: is that the communication between players, forget about the coaches
Speaker 3: for a minute, was very different than a year ago.
Speaker 3: The veteran players, even a guy like Chase Claypoole trying
Speaker 3: to explain a couple of things to Robert Tunyan the
Speaker 3: new tight end, and I written, Justin was very very
Speaker 3: different approach, meeting guys off the field, putting his arm
Speaker 3: around the guys talking, talking the offense. They're talking business,
Speaker 3: the business on the field, and that was that's a
Speaker 3: very strong direction that they're taking right there.
Speaker 5: Jim, Yeah, I think you know all those things. You
Speaker 5: know for Robert Tanian, maybe it's a certain look or
Speaker 5: a certain coverage defensively and say it's a two man,
Speaker 5: all right, and you say he's supposed to take the
Speaker 5: middle read, but maybe he's got the option on two
Speaker 5: man to turn it out, which is a good way
Speaker 5: to get uncovered in that specific coverage where he may
Speaker 5: look like he's taken the middle. All of a sudden
Speaker 5: he makes a sharp book and maybe Justin's going over
Speaker 5: something like that. I'm just using this as an example.
Speaker 5: Hey man, we get that two man coverage again, This
Speaker 5: is what I'm expecting, especially if that guy's right in
Speaker 5: your trail hip of your pocket. Here's a good way
Speaker 5: that we can uncover. But we've got to be on
Speaker 5: the same page. We've got to read it the same
Speaker 5: way and see it the same way. And that's those
Speaker 5: are the things you're communicating of maybe certain expectations versus
Speaker 5: coverages or fronts or whatever.
Speaker 7: It could be.
Speaker 5: Anything that they're discussing offensive lineman, two tight ends, or
Speaker 5: offensive line to quarterback, you name it, all those discussions.
Speaker 5: This is a great place for it to happen and unfold.
Speaker 3: Hey, Tom, real quick, I got to tell you, the
Speaker 3: offensive line is the law is the tallest. I can't
Speaker 3: remember any listening to these numbers now, and everybody was
Speaker 3: talking about it on the sideline yesterday, even jimbo So,
Speaker 3: Darnelle Wright six ' five, Dieter Iceland six y four,
Speaker 3: six ' six, Josh lug He's out of Notre Dame,
Speaker 3: undrafted rookie free agent, six ' eight, roy and Betetica
Speaker 3: out of Nigeria. You got a six ' five Braxton Jones.
Speaker 3: You got a six five and seven eighth USC undrafted
Speaker 3: Robert Haskins tackle. You got a six y five Alex Leatherwood.
Speaker 3: Lorenz Metz he is six ' nine three sixteen playing
Speaker 3: guard at Cincinnati. Out of Cincinnati, a six six ' five.
Speaker 3: Larry Borham a six almost sixty six Tevin Jenkins, a
Speaker 3: six to seven Kelendish, an undrafted player a year ago
Speaker 3: that came to the Bears out of Arizona State, and
Speaker 3: a six six Gabriel Houey out of Pittsburgh. What is
Speaker 3: going on?
Speaker 2: You better have bendability.
Speaker 6: You know.
Speaker 4: The height doesn't impress me because it's not. It doesn't
Speaker 4: all sudden make you a good offensive lineman. And if
Speaker 4: you're running to the line of scrimmage in your six whatever,
Speaker 4: if you don't have vendability and striking power and feet
Speaker 4: and balance.
Speaker 2: You know, sometimes that can be a detriment to your success.
Speaker 4: If you play tall out of your stance and all
Speaker 4: of a sudden, you're losing leverage to these guys and
Speaker 4: then you're getting pushed around. So it's something you know, Yeah,
Speaker 4: obviously there's guys all over the NFL that aren't getting
Speaker 4: bigger and stronger and all that stuff. But you know,
Speaker 4: you better accompany weight room strength with that type of height.
Speaker 4: And so I don't mean to be a downer. I'm
Speaker 4: just saying you better to put your athleticism on display
Speaker 4: if you're going to bring in, you know, guys that
Speaker 4: are that tall.
Speaker 3: Coming up next, one of those offensive linemen first team
Speaker 3: left guard at the moment, Tevin Jenkins and joined the
Speaker 3: program with Tom Bayer, Jim Miller, Jeff Joniak. This is
Speaker 3: Bears Weekly on ESPN one thousand and the Chicago Bears
Speaker 3: Radio Network. Welcome back, everybody to Bears Weekly here on
Speaker 3: esp in Chicago and one thousand and the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 3: Jeff Joniyak joined by Tevin Jenkins, the third year offensive
Speaker 3: lineman for the Chicago Bears. I mean it goes fast,
Speaker 3: my friend.
Speaker 6: Yeah, it does.
Speaker 8: I mean just yesterday I felt I just got drafted,
Speaker 8: especially with the draft just came back in a couple
Speaker 8: of weeks ago. You know, it's like a lot of
Speaker 8: feelings happen when it happens. But uh, looking back at it,
Speaker 8: now ton does really obob very fast, like it's it doesn't.
Speaker 8: It doesn't slow down for anybody, but you know, like
Speaker 8: had it happened in the blink.
Speaker 6: Of an eye.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it forces you and only to adjust to a
Speaker 3: new lifestyle, a new environment. But maturity, I mean you
Speaker 3: got to you gotta be a man in a hurry
Speaker 3: in this league, don't you.
Speaker 6: Yeah.
Speaker 8: Yeah, especially like coming with now you know we're trying
Speaker 8: to be more of a vanced football team and war
Speaker 8: last year. You know, you gotta mature a lot faster
Speaker 8: than you think, and I'm trying to fill that role
Speaker 8: where they can, where it could be accountable.
Speaker 3: We often refer to year three as a takeoff yere
Speaker 3: for guys rookies. You know, when you come in, you
Speaker 3: get your feet wet, you get adjusted. Second year, you
Speaker 3: make a rise started games, and now the year three
Speaker 3: is taken. Do you look at it the same way
Speaker 3: if they've impressed upon you this year three's takeoff here?
Speaker 6: Yeah? Yeah.
Speaker 8: For me, ultimately, I like to think it as my
Speaker 8: approval year, and I would assume everybody around me was
Speaker 8: think the same. And for me for this year, I'm
Speaker 8: expecting big things out of myself and so as the
Speaker 8: people in the front office and everybody around me.
Speaker 3: Can you outline it a little bit about your own expectations.
Speaker 8: Uh, expectations is to you know, last year, I feel
Speaker 8: like I gave up too many pressures, even like too
Speaker 8: many sacks. My goal for this year is always going
Speaker 8: to be zero sacks for myself in the old line.
Speaker 8: But going into this year, I just wanted to be
Speaker 8: a dominant force and somebody that could be accountable for
Speaker 8: my team.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know the running aspect of things though too.
Speaker 3: I mean, everybody focuses on past protection. Obviously we got
Speaker 3: this dynamic quarterback here justin fields you want to protect.
Speaker 3: But I mean, you guys led the league in a
Speaker 3: rushing in large part to what he did, but also
Speaker 3: on large part to what you guys did up front.
Speaker 3: Is that still a point of emphasis? I know coach
Speaker 3: Eberflus is changing things up a little bit in the
Speaker 3: OTAs and how you go about fitting up in the
Speaker 3: run game just to walk through as opposed to the
Speaker 3: way they did it last year, and he still making
Speaker 3: that emphasis. Do you feel that too, that they want
Speaker 3: to put it on you guys on the offensive line?
Speaker 8: Yes, yes, you know, we pride ourselves in our run game.
Speaker 8: You know that's gonna be our bread and butter. Basically,
Speaker 8: it's going to be who we are. It's how we
Speaker 8: set the tone. And the thing is, even though we
Speaker 8: led the league in rushing last year, we feel like
Speaker 8: we lost We left a lot out on the field
Speaker 8: last year, like we could have been a lot better
Speaker 8: than we were. There's certain things on the outside zones,
Speaker 8: inside zones that that could be fixed technique wise and
Speaker 8: instead of it could have been seven yard game could
Speaker 8: have been like forty. Now we had like two thousand
Speaker 8: yard rushers to set one like we could have had
Speaker 8: four thousand yards intead of three thousand, Like we could
Speaker 8: have been a lot better than we were.
Speaker 3: And we're with Tevin Jenkins bears up through to your
Speaker 3: offensive lineman making the switch as of right now, I'm
Speaker 3: right to the left side of the offensive line. It's
Speaker 3: not so simple for the layman to say, it's just
Speaker 3: you know, you're playing off Explain the differences.
Speaker 8: Difference is you know, once your body gets conformed and
Speaker 8: comfortable to a certain side, like with your footwork, when
Speaker 8: you start putting it towards the other side, it's like
Speaker 8: a whole new thing because now you got to shift
Speaker 8: your weight. Your muscles are used to going a certain
Speaker 8: way and pushing off a certain foot, so now you're
Speaker 8: basically doing that all over again to the other side.
Speaker 8: Now you're getting a little sore on your knees because wow,
Speaker 8: like I haven't pushed off this knee and since a
Speaker 8: couple of years ago, and now you're gonna start working it.
Speaker 8: And now you also have a new guy next to
Speaker 8: you because he wasn't gonna be on the same side
Speaker 8: because you got moved. So now instead of working right
Speaker 8: tackle with my right tackle, now I gotta work with
Speaker 8: my left tackle. So it's a whole different game going
Speaker 8: on there. And there's a whole bunch of communication wise
Speaker 8: that we got to get used to with each other
Speaker 8: as well.
Speaker 3: And he's learning too. You're referring to Braxton Jones, a
Speaker 3: kid who just impresses me every second I talked to him.
Speaker 3: We had him on and I think last week on
Speaker 3: our show, and just so such a delightful young man
Speaker 3: and cares about the game in a way that is
Speaker 3: almost rare. I mean, he just you know, you can
Speaker 3: hear it. You can hear the wheels turning. He's constantly
Speaker 3: trying to work on every little aspect of his game,
Speaker 3: which you know, this is a fleeting opportunity. When you
Speaker 3: think about a career in the NFL. If you can
Speaker 3: get to ten years, you know you've done well. How
Speaker 3: do you look at him and how you're going to
Speaker 3: help each other Braxton.
Speaker 8: Jones, I see him as a grateful player first and foremost,
Speaker 8: you know, I see him one dude who comes in
Speaker 8: and wants to work at the minute details that will
Speaker 8: make him not only a great player, but like an
Speaker 8: amazing player, Like I could see the potential in them
Speaker 8: myself and seeing what he can be and how much
Speaker 8: I can help him along with how much he can
Speaker 8: help me. You know, it's back and forth between guards
Speaker 8: and tackles. So as soon as I could be able
Speaker 8: to earn that trust in him that I could do
Speaker 8: it and he can trust me to be there on
Speaker 8: any slide sides, any double teams, I feel like we're
Speaker 8: me and him.
Speaker 6: We're gonna have a great year.
Speaker 3: He's a nice guy. You're a nice guy. You guys
Speaker 3: are nice guys, but on Sundays, Thursdays, Monday nights, you're
Speaker 3: not nice guys. On the field. Yeah, he's a very
Speaker 3: physical player too, playing that left tackle position, especially when
Speaker 3: he fires off and gets in that run mode as well.
Speaker 3: Do you guys have a similar mindset now on that
Speaker 3: left side.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I would like to think.
Speaker 8: So we have that that work work fund switch that
Speaker 8: always gets preached to us, even with or coach Morgan.
Speaker 6: Since we're on the radio, guys, you know, well, yeah.
Speaker 3: Some people don't know who seem away is right, So yes,
Speaker 3: Chris Morgan Chris Morgan.
Speaker 8: Yeah, yeah, So when we're on the field, you know,
Speaker 8: we know that it's time to work. We got to
Speaker 8: be on our stuff, me and him going on double teams,
Speaker 8: ripping off the ball as fast as we can, because
Speaker 8: that's our motto on the whole line, like we're trying
Speaker 8: to be the fastest people off the ball, and if
Speaker 8: we can do that with me and Braxton, there's a
Speaker 8: lot of people that get moved a lot faster because
Speaker 8: we can definitely move a lot of people just me
Speaker 8: and him.
Speaker 3: It's Tevin Jenkins with us here on Bears Weekly on
Speaker 3: ESPN one thousand of the Bears Ready a Network, Jeff
Speaker 3: Joniyak here. We'll rejoin Tom Thayer and Jim Miller in
Speaker 3: our next segment. What's different right now? What's different in
Speaker 3: this building? Some really talented players have come in by
Speaker 3: a way of free agency, trades and the draft. What's
Speaker 3: your perspective because you've been here for a couple of seasons.
Speaker 8: I say the perspective right now is very high. Of
Speaker 8: the people in the building. You know, we got a
Speaker 8: lot of optimistic views going on for us right now.
Speaker 8: We are very fine. We're getting fine Tooed in our techniques.
Speaker 8: We're getting great players. Like you said, we're trying to
Speaker 8: be all of our records we had last year, especially
Speaker 8: with the Russian record. You know, we have a lot
Speaker 8: of people that can and will do that this year,
Speaker 8: and I believe that we will go far.
Speaker 3: So on this offensive line. Right now, there are four
Speaker 3: drafted players not by this administration specifically, and while I
Speaker 3: look at Cody white Hair competing for that center job
Speaker 3: and the addition of Nate Davis at right right guard,
Speaker 3: Big Darnell at right tackle, I've always felt it was
Speaker 3: important to draft your offensive line and have that offensive
Speaker 3: line then grow, as opposed to a lot of free
Speaker 3: agent additions, even if they're veterans, it does take time
Speaker 3: to get chemistry. Is it cool that they're drafting their
Speaker 3: offensive line for the future. I mean it seems to
Speaker 3: be that's the case.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I think that's actually very cool.
Speaker 8: I mean it's very hard to do that because you know,
Speaker 8: people like this is a veteran, like we want to
Speaker 8: bring in a big name guy.
Speaker 6: He's gonna help us out. But you know, it's hard.
Speaker 6: It's hard for front offices.
Speaker 8: I've had talked before with other people, you know, around
Speaker 8: the league in of course, you want to bring in
Speaker 8: your own guys. You want to draft them, bring them in.
Speaker 8: You know, you want to build them up yourself, which
Speaker 8: is amazing. It's a great thought, I mean, but it
Speaker 8: will come down to it. You know, they're gonna do
Speaker 8: what they think is best as bringing in free agencies.
Speaker 3: Why are you going to be better this season? Beyond
Speaker 3: the x's and O is the understand of the offense
Speaker 3: now for a second year having worked with with Justin
Speaker 3: Fields in the past, but just mentally, physically and how
Speaker 3: you approach the game. If I keep it something, you
Speaker 3: do whatever you have to do, my friend.
Speaker 8: Just keep it basic just because I need to. Yeah,
Speaker 8: they need me to. I need to for myself.
Speaker 3: Sometimes it hasn't been that way. Sometimes it hasn't been
Speaker 3: that way for you.
Speaker 8: And not keeping it basic, yeah, I mean, you know,
Speaker 8: I'd get to try to get to fancy with certain things,
Speaker 8: you know, and it just I just need to be
Speaker 8: who I am and that's what the team needs.
Speaker 3: Get the guy across from you and clear some space.
Speaker 3: Right It's been a big off season for you and
Speaker 3: our remaining moments here with Tevin Jenkins. Congratulations on your marriage.
Speaker 3: I know this. This woman has been a big part
Speaker 3: of your life. You brought her up many times and
Speaker 3: interviews that we've done and with the media. How cool
Speaker 3: was it and you guys are down in Dallas getting hitched.
Speaker 6: Yeah, it was actually a lot of fun. You know.
Speaker 8: You know those stories that you hear about the groom
Speaker 8: doesn't do anything yet I didn't.
Speaker 6: I didn't plan like anything.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 8: She told me to get certain things done. When out
Speaker 8: my way got it done. I made sure I got
Speaker 8: my own suit pay for that. You know, I did
Speaker 8: the things I had to do. You know, she made
Speaker 8: it like a wonderful thing.
Speaker 6: You know.
Speaker 8: I saw the venue. I was like, all right, I
Speaker 8: don't see the vision right now. But she's like, just wait,
Speaker 8: hold on, let's just just trust.
Speaker 6: Me, you know.
Speaker 8: And and so the day comes I'm going in there,
Speaker 8: I'm over blown away by you know, we have lights
Speaker 8: everywhere that it's always It was all one dude who
Speaker 8: made like the lights happen, like floral decorations, all this stuff.
Speaker 2: It was.
Speaker 8: It was like we had a dance floor. It was
Speaker 8: really nice. There was like a little like farm land
Speaker 8: behind us. So they have like kind of like longhorns
Speaker 8: as well. So even if you take pictures like outside,
Speaker 8: you can get them in the background.
Speaker 6: We had like a nice little chap pastor Teddy, who's
Speaker 6: our team chaplain. Uh.
Speaker 8: He actually actually got him down there, and he got
Speaker 8: me and my wife married, so that was a nice thing.
Speaker 8: We we had those marriage talks with him and or
Speaker 8: like belief talks as well as all that. So we
Speaker 8: were more comfortable with him going with him because you know,
Speaker 8: we had those experiences that with him, so we felt
Speaker 8: more comfortable going with him instead of trying to find
Speaker 8: somebody down in Texas that we wouldn't know.
Speaker 3: Yeah, kept it in the family, and some teammates came
Speaker 3: down to I know Justin was there. I don't recall
Speaker 3: who else came down. But how did that make you feel?
Speaker 8: It made me feel really good inside that I actually
Speaker 8: have teammates that woul actually care to be there for
Speaker 8: me outside of football. Like you know, we we try
Speaker 8: to say we make great like teammates, great friends in
Speaker 8: the building, but once we get outside the building, are
Speaker 8: you still gonna be my friend?
Speaker 6: You know?
Speaker 8: But it's great to see them come all the way
Speaker 8: down to Texas. I didn't mean I didn't expect him to,
Speaker 8: but just to see them do have the like contents
Speaker 8: of the art to come down there and actually be
Speaker 8: there for me and be there for my wife and
Speaker 8: my family in that moment.
Speaker 6: I'm very appreciative of it. Awesome. Why.
Speaker 3: I know it's a lot of work yet to get
Speaker 3: to a week one of this season, but I know
Speaker 3: everybody in the building is bubbling with optimism. It's a
Speaker 3: young team again, and the competition is going to be fierce.
Speaker 3: Last question, do you expect it to be that way
Speaker 3: a training camp all positions? I mean, there's a lot
Speaker 3: of young guys that played last year, and those guys
Speaker 3: you know they walk around I want to play now, right,
Speaker 3: but there's a whole bunch of new guys are going
Speaker 3: to try and take those jobs. So what do you
Speaker 3: what are your expectations of that during training camp?
Speaker 8: A lot of competition, I mean, this is what's going
Speaker 8: to be. I feel like eight year at the years,
Speaker 8: what it is like you got to keep on fighting
Speaker 8: for your job, earn the spot that you're getting, and
Speaker 8: earn the right to be on that field. I mean,
Speaker 8: even if I was like an eight year VET or something,
Speaker 8: I would want to just keep on fighting for my spot.
Speaker 6: No, matter what.
Speaker 8: I don't care if you just brought in so and
Speaker 8: so from somewhere else. This is your This is who
Speaker 8: you need to be on the field, fighting for your
Speaker 8: spot and your well.
Speaker 6: Good luck.
Speaker 3: It's going to be fun. Great to see you, like
Speaker 3: the big smile on your face. You relax, You're ready
Speaker 3: to roll.
Speaker 6: Thank you. I appreciate you having me our pleasure.
Speaker 3: Devin Jenkins our guest here on Bears Weekly. When we return,
Speaker 3: Jim Miller, Tom Thayer rejoined me will break down what's
Speaker 3: ahead for the Bears during this ota session of the
Speaker 3: season here on ESBO one thousand and the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 3: Want VIP access to every Bears home game, Exclusive seating,
Speaker 3: sideline credentials, and more are now available to get the
Speaker 3: ultimate VIP fan package this season by visiting Chicago Bears
Speaker 3: vip dot com. Jeff Joniac Tom there. Jim Miller just
Speaker 3: heard the interview with offensive lineman Tevin Jenkins' overall thoughts
Speaker 3: will start with Tommy and head to Jimmy.
Speaker 2: You know what comes to my most. I like Tavin.
Speaker 2: I think he plays with a lot of power.
Speaker 4: But if you think of his throughout his time here,
Speaker 4: because you talked about being in this third year, there's
Speaker 4: been trade talks about him. He's had back issues. He's
Speaker 4: a positioned confusion because he was drafted to come in
Speaker 4: here and start at offensive tackle day one when they
Speaker 4: over assumed that he could play left tackle.
Speaker 2: But you know what I want for Tavin, this is
Speaker 2: all I want. I want a drama list year.
Speaker 4: I don't want any talk of just things behind the scenes.
Speaker 4: And if I think he can leave that in his
Speaker 4: rearview rear view mirror, and he said he calls an
Speaker 4: approve it year. If he can come out here and
Speaker 4: prove the reason that he's playing in the NFL was
Speaker 4: drafted at a high level. I think the better the
Speaker 4: offensive line will be better because of it. But I
Speaker 4: just don't want him to go to the podium and
Speaker 4: have weekly or semi weekly issues of distractions outside the
Speaker 4: game of football. If he can do that, Tevin Jenkins
Speaker 4: has an opportunity to be, you know, have a long
Speaker 4: successful NFL career and a long successful career here at
Speaker 4: the Bears.
Speaker 7: And I did.
Speaker 5: I liked what I heard from from Tevin. I agree
Speaker 5: with Tom. You know, he's not bouncing around anymore from
Speaker 5: from position to position, and he's healthy now and I
Speaker 5: think he wreckedgnize that and you heard it in that interview.
Speaker 5: He said, Hey, I just got to compartmentalize everything and
Speaker 5: keep it simple, you know, and what he'd played at
Speaker 5: the right guard position, now he's got to convert it
Speaker 5: over to the left side. He knows the assignments now,
Speaker 5: it's just the repetition's doing it, you know, a different
Speaker 5: way at left guard and how they need to be executed.
Speaker 5: So I think the kiss mentality keep it simple, stupid.
Speaker 5: I think it'll work fine for him and that'll maintain
Speaker 5: his focus. And I think that's what he's trying to do,
Speaker 5: and he kind of relayed that in the interview.
Speaker 3: Tom, Is it possible or has it been your experience
Speaker 3: from watching all these last two decades plus as an
Speaker 3: analyst that young players don't keep it simple as he
Speaker 3: referred to, you know, he wanted to keep it very
Speaker 3: simple and not try to invent new ways to do
Speaker 3: all things. Maybe that's what he was referring to.
Speaker 2: I mean, first of all, you have to know your
Speaker 2: assignus perfectly.
Speaker 4: When you break the huddle, you know every single responsibility
Speaker 4: that you could have during that whole play call, even
Speaker 4: if they went to the audible and yeah, just keep
Speaker 4: it keep what is going to be required of you? Simple. Yeah,
Speaker 4: there's times that you're going to have a more difficult
Speaker 4: assignment because of the structure of the play. But when
Speaker 4: he's working alongside of the center, in alongside of the
Speaker 4: left tackle, I think Kevin has all the traits to
Speaker 4: be a dominating interior offensive lineman.
Speaker 2: So that's what he has to do.
Speaker 4: Break the huddle with mental confidence, competence, and he'll be
Speaker 4: a more physical player.
Speaker 3: A couple of great highlights yesterday fellas justin Fields hanging
Speaker 3: in the pocket waiting for a double move to be
Speaker 3: executed by DJ Moore, his new number one receiver, and
Speaker 3: then perfect placement for Dj to make the catch, stumbled
Speaker 3: into the ground and held out to the football against
Speaker 3: Kendallville Door. It is a sign of what DJ is saying,
Speaker 3: getting to know his new quarterback.
Speaker 9: Just understanding the game within the game, so understanding the
Speaker 9: quarterbacks footwork on different plays, and just being in the
Speaker 9: right spot when he comes back if I'm on the backside,
Speaker 9: just knowing that hey, I'm the backside reader. If I'm
Speaker 9: in the front side, understanding his footwork for different stance
Speaker 9: so just honing in on.
Speaker 3: That and Fields emphasizing he feels great right now in
Speaker 3: year two.
Speaker 6: Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 9: You know it's the first you know season I'm going
Speaker 9: into where it's you know, my second year knowing the offense.
Speaker 9: So definitely feel you know, more comfortable in it just
Speaker 9: with my reads and stuff like that, you know, just
Speaker 9: seeing what the defense is doing and stuff like that. So,
Speaker 9: I mean, it's it's truly amazing when you just have
Speaker 9: that feeling going in kind of you know, knowing where
Speaker 9: your guys are going to be more comfortable with the
Speaker 9: footwork stuff. So you know, it's been great. Got to
Speaker 9: work on stuff in the off season of you know,
Speaker 9: what I need to work on and stuff like that.
Speaker 9: So yeah, just having that you know, second year experience
Speaker 9: from last year and stuff like that, just with the
Speaker 9: same offense, it's it's great.
Speaker 3: Jim exactly what you need to hear from your quarterback, right.
Speaker 5: Yeah, you should feel more comfortable, and I think we
Speaker 5: all know because Ryan Poles has talked about it. Matt
Speaker 5: Eberflu said he's speeding everything up. And if I were
Speaker 5: the coaches and anybody around there and justin Fields, I'd
Speaker 5: want to press that even more. What I mean by
Speaker 5: that is for the timing and rhythm of every play,
Speaker 5: because you heard DJ Moore talk about front side and
Speaker 5: then the timing could be different on the backside. I
Speaker 5: would want a buzzer on every single pass play, a
Speaker 5: buzzer going off to make sure that Justin knows, hey man,
Speaker 5: you didn't get this one out on time. And it's
Speaker 5: going to force him with that buzzer as a mental
Speaker 5: note that hey man, I got to speed things up,
Speaker 5: and he'll know when he didn't get the ball out
Speaker 5: on time, and when he did get the ball out
Speaker 5: on time, that should always marry up. And it's going
Speaker 5: to force him and remind him every single play pass
Speaker 5: play what I need to get better at dropping back,
Speaker 5: quick feet, timing, rhythm, get the ball out. And it's
Speaker 5: just a constant reminder that he should challenge himself on
Speaker 5: every single pass play, and the coaches should challenge him too.
Speaker 4: You know, after the offensive line giving off fifty five
Speaker 4: sacks last year, and Jeff you talked about the side
Speaker 4: of some of the incoming offensive lineman. The worst thing
Speaker 4: that can happen for Justin is immediate pressure by those big,
Speaker 4: tall offensive linemen because also that puts that, you know,
Speaker 4: ejection into your head. So the offensive line is as
Speaker 4: much responsible for the passing success as Justin. For Justin
Speaker 4: as him learning the offense better, and that's what the
Speaker 4: offensive lion has to do.
Speaker 3: But I like Jim's thinking. He's got He's got the
Speaker 3: NFL version of the new pitch clock in Major League Baseball.
Speaker 3: I love it. Here was the quote of the day
Speaker 3: yesterday though, Justin Fields on this being a big year
Speaker 3: for other reasons than just wins and losses and the
Speaker 3: insinuation about the potential contract that could follow with a
Speaker 3: successful season or not.
Speaker 9: I think every years a big year, Every years a
Speaker 9: big year. So I mean, yeah, I mean that's I
Speaker 9: don't really have anything to you know, you know, expand
Speaker 9: on that. But for me, every year's a big year,
Speaker 9: and I'm excited.
Speaker 7: To show in particular sticks.
Speaker 6: I'm not worried about contracts.
Speaker 9: I'm worried about wins. I could care less.
Speaker 3: So yeah, okay, that quote is going to live with him.
Speaker 3: I think fans, media, they're going to jump on that.
Speaker 3: Fans are going to appreciate it. I do like the
Speaker 3: conviction with which he delivered that. Tommy, Yeah, but I
Speaker 3: don't think we need to.
Speaker 2: Hear him say it.
Speaker 4: It's an obvious in the NFL for a quarterback drafted
Speaker 4: as high as Justin, with the type of athleticism, the
Speaker 4: different quality of traits he has, it is going to
Speaker 4: come down are you improving, is this team getting better?
Speaker 2: And is it relating to wins?
Speaker 4: And then Justin's going to get a kings ransom when
Speaker 4: that opportunity comes. I'm glad he's not dwelling on it
Speaker 4: because the players that do it kind of effects. Where
Speaker 4: are they, how are they performing? Are they making business
Speaker 4: decisions out on the field.
Speaker 3: And so I like what Justin said, Jim, it is
Speaker 3: a fair question to any quarterback right now, given the
Speaker 3: way the salaries are going. I mean, my goodness, you
Speaker 3: might want to start warming up that arm, buddy, warm
Speaker 3: it up.
Speaker 5: Yeah, those things will take care of himself, and certainly
Speaker 5: Justin is a part of that. He has to take
Speaker 5: care of business. Right Look at what the Giants did.
Speaker 5: They didn't put the fifth year option on Daniel Jones.
Speaker 5: They said, hey, dude, we haven't seen enough, go prove it.
Speaker 5: And that's the way what he had to do. And
Speaker 5: I think that's all Justin has to do is just
Speaker 5: focus on what he needs to do, and that's to
Speaker 5: get better every single day. He's got all the talent
Speaker 5: in the world and that'll, you know, that'll all come
Speaker 5: to Bear when it's time to do those things.
Speaker 7: But he's got to take care of his business right now.
Speaker 3: That's Jim Miller TMP. Theyre I'm Jeff Joniya time for
Speaker 3: a break when we come back. An adjustment to the
Speaker 3: kickoff return rule in the NFL will get the reaction
Speaker 3: from coach iber Fluss and my partners here on Bears
Speaker 3: Weekly on ESPN one thousand and the Bears Radio Network one.
Speaker 3: This segment of Bears Weekly is brought to you by CDW.
Speaker 3: People will get it. Tom Thayer, Jim Miller, and Jeff
Speaker 3: Joniak with you on Bear's Weekly. Good to have you alongside,
Speaker 3: all right, a lot of anger out there. Fella's a
Speaker 3: lot of anger from fans, no doubt. Special teams coordinators
Speaker 3: around the league. League weading meetings this week in Minneapolis,
Speaker 3: revealing a change in how the kickoff returns will be
Speaker 3: handled at least for one year. Anyway, to me, it
Speaker 3: eliminates a lot of exciting plays similar to NCAA rules
Speaker 3: a fair catch made before the twenty five puts it
Speaker 3: at the twenty five, no matter if you catch it
Speaker 3: on the five to ten, to fifteen. And what this
Speaker 3: will do initially, if I'm not mistaken, Jim, this whole
Speaker 3: thing was about discouraging touchbacks, and touchbacks have gone way
Speaker 3: up to begin with with the boss set at the
Speaker 3: twenty five, and then this would lead to what I
Speaker 3: would imagine are many different approaches we'll hear from coach
Speaker 3: Eberflus in a moment, but just your first overall reaction
Speaker 3: to it and then to Tom, Yeah.
Speaker 7: I personally don't like it.
Speaker 5: I think it's just another step closer to basically ridding
Speaker 5: the NFL of the kickoff return in general, the most
Speaker 5: exciting play in the game. Think of last year in
Speaker 5: Buffalo when DeMar Hamlin was back at the stadium and
Speaker 5: nihem Heims returns two in one game. That stadium was electric. Man,
Speaker 5: it was electric. So this is going to affect the game.
Speaker 5: You'll see more teams that don't really have good kick
Speaker 5: return ability that they'll just say, hey, fair catch every
Speaker 5: single one. You know, a team like Atlanta, because they've
Speaker 5: got Corderoll Patterson, they're probably still going to let him
Speaker 5: green light and bring it out whenever he can, and
Speaker 5: think about even the middle of the line guys. I
Speaker 5: talked to Brad Sealey yesterday, former NFL special teams coach.
Speaker 5: He said, you know, when I was in New England,
Speaker 5: we specifically drafted Matthew Slater for his special teams. We
Speaker 5: actually traded up to get him. And now if those become,
Speaker 5: you know, a run of the mill where the returns
Speaker 5: aren't happening, teams are going to gear it diffult differently.
Speaker 5: They won't be gearing it to draft kick returners, they
Speaker 5: won't be gearing it to draft kick coverage guys. So
Speaker 5: I understand it's the safety of the game, and we
Speaker 5: understand that for players, but you know, there are certain
Speaker 5: lines of work that are just more dangerous than others,
Speaker 5: and football is one of them. And I think to
Speaker 5: take one of the most exciting plays out of the
Speaker 5: game is for me, you know, because I'm more of
Speaker 5: a traditionalist.
Speaker 7: I think it's pretty sad.
Speaker 3: Quite frankly, Tom, I agree with that, and it's the
Speaker 3: counter opposite of what happened when Devin Hester emerged in
Speaker 3: his two thousand and six rookie season. Drafts after that,
Speaker 3: teams were loading up and figuring out ways to make
Speaker 3: that special Teams coverage unit significantly different, which is the
Speaker 3: total definition of what a Hall of Famer is, that
Speaker 3: you revolutionize the game in some fashion. And he was
Speaker 3: the best and will be the best ever. Because I
Speaker 3: don't see it going backwards. I don't see more returns
Speaker 3: in superstar returners emerging from this. Tommy, this is not well,
Speaker 3: not something I love to see.
Speaker 2: I think it's a garbage football decision. Whoever made it.
Speaker 2: I think it's ridiculous because you know, I I played
Speaker 2: that position.
Speaker 4: I was in the wedge from my first game in
Speaker 4: the NFL to my last game in the NFL, every
Speaker 4: single game, so I know what the collisions are like.
Speaker 4: But I know what the threat of having a guy
Speaker 4: like Willie Galt back there is to a team that's
Speaker 4: trying to put their fastest guys on kickoff coverage.
Speaker 2: So what are you going to do now?
Speaker 4: Encourage fair catches and then put a bunch of extra
Speaker 4: offense and defensive lineman on kickoff coverage because you.
Speaker 2: Know they're not going to return it anyways.
Speaker 4: So I just I just think it's it's ridiculous that
Speaker 4: you're taking away that the excitement, the excitement of that
Speaker 4: play from the fans, and I'm not for it.
Speaker 7: I don't.
Speaker 4: I don't think it's really going to decrease injuries, and
Speaker 4: so I don't know, you know how I feel about it, Jeff.
Speaker 5: Yeah, And here's the caveat what what's next? What's the
Speaker 5: next most dangerous play? Is where it's going, because there's
Speaker 5: always going to be most dangerous play. And after you
Speaker 5: take out the kickoff return, what's next? Is it the
Speaker 5: punt return?
Speaker 9: Yeah?
Speaker 2: The punt catcher?
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think you know. And you bring up a
Speaker 5: good point too, Jeff, what about players like Steve Tasker.
Speaker 5: I mean, that guy's pretty much a Hall of Famer
Speaker 5: in my mind with what he did, and he may
Speaker 5: get in I don't know, but guys like him, they're
Speaker 5: gonna go by the way of the Dodo Bert and
Speaker 5: there'll never be guys like him.
Speaker 7: Again.
Speaker 3: Here's coach eber Flush yesterday on the topic.
Speaker 10: Yeah, that's a great question, you know. You know, I
Speaker 10: think it'll change tactically what teams are gonna do because
Speaker 10: the rule is in now there's nothing you can do
Speaker 10: about it, but it will change, you know. I think
Speaker 10: you'll get more squib kicks. I think you'll get more
Speaker 10: drop kicks, you know, more drive kicks, those types of things,
Speaker 10: and make guys return it.
Speaker 6: And I suspect you'll see more.
Speaker 10: Returns and less and but that's just what I'm thinking
Speaker 10: right now.
Speaker 3: But we'll see what happens. Thing he thinks more returns
Speaker 3: than fewer returns. And those squid kicks, though, can they
Speaker 3: get through the pick offence of eight guys? You know
Speaker 3: that's the other thing.
Speaker 5: Yeah, Brad Seely said it's tough to do a squid
Speaker 5: kick like that, but he already knows. He goes, here's
Speaker 5: what I would do. I would be top kicking the
Speaker 5: ball to like the or the eighteen or the nineteen
Speaker 5: yard line. Get that the next set of returners. So
Speaker 5: if the returners out back at the one, kick it
Speaker 5: to like the nineteen or the twenty, and you're still
Speaker 5: gonna have guys screaming down there. Granted that guy will
Speaker 5: have to decide whether he's gonna fair catch or not.
Speaker 5: That's what I don't understand. All those collisions are still
Speaker 5: happening until the guy raises his hand. So how have
Speaker 5: they made it safer?
Speaker 6: And so?
Speaker 5: But anyway, he said, I'm gonna popkick it down there,
Speaker 5: and if that guy elects to return it, thinking he's
Speaker 5: going to get to the twenty eight or thirty, you're
Speaker 5: going to see a lot of returns and they are
Speaker 5: going to be physical with how they're going to be defended.
Speaker 3: It adds a layer of strategy, Tom, no question. Now
Speaker 3: we've been disappointed because you almost accept the idea, well,
Speaker 3: they're going to kick it out of the back of
Speaker 3: the end zone, and I know how down you get
Speaker 3: when it's five four, six, seven yards deep in the
Speaker 3: end zone and guys taking a knee or just let
Speaker 3: it fly over the shoulder and put out the arms.
Speaker 3: I mean the days of you know, going to run
Speaker 3: to the beer stand and sitting in line and you
Speaker 3: might miss the opening kickoff and you might miss something
Speaker 3: that you're going to regret. I mean for fans and everything.
Speaker 3: It is. It is the NFL version of a Grand
Speaker 3: Slam in the bottom of the night. Think it is.
Speaker 4: Just then decrease the salary of the special Teams coach
Speaker 4: by one corner. Wait, because that's an element of coaching
Speaker 4: that they're taking off of their plate. And so you know,
Speaker 4: and to me, I like what Matt Eberfleu said. I
Speaker 4: like the fact that you get an aggressive slip kicker
Speaker 4: because they're significant amount of space that if you if
Speaker 4: you hit a ball so quickly at a guy that's
Speaker 4: a defensive player or not ready to make a catch
Speaker 4: like that, now all of a sudden it carms off
Speaker 4: of it and it's an open football, and then you're
Speaker 4: going to get those types of.
Speaker 2: Collisions that are more like the old on side kick.
Speaker 4: So I like Matt's way of thinking, but I still
Speaker 4: don't like what they're talking about.
Speaker 3: Hang on time. It's Dave tob out there in Kansas City.
Speaker 3: He wants to have a word with you about his salary.
Speaker 3: Hey all, thirty two of these guys did not want this, right.
Speaker 3: How come we don't listen to some of those people.
Speaker 5: John Harbaugh is you know, former special teams coach. He's
Speaker 5: the head coach Bill Belichick started out on special teams.
Speaker 5: They came out very strongly against this. I think when
Speaker 5: you've got owners who are listening, not listening to the coaches,
Speaker 5: and more than listening to you know other well, how
Speaker 5: should I say this politely? Personnel that are at the
Speaker 5: tops that are changing the game drastically in ways that
Speaker 5: I think that is happening too fast, because this has
Speaker 5: been going this direction for quite some time.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and they insinuated that potentially more news on these topics.
Speaker 3: And it's about the return game, and we get it
Speaker 3: that the health of the players is paramount, but as
Speaker 3: Jim and Tom have indicated, it's a collision sport.
Speaker 2: I would say, you know.
Speaker 4: The XFL and the USFL gave a couple of interesting
Speaker 4: options to be able to keep the kickoff return into
Speaker 4: the game and maybe make you know, less distance between
Speaker 4: collisions where there is more blocking strategy in the kickoff return.
Speaker 3: So I'm just hey, listen, the one thing I know
Speaker 3: about Tom Thayer, Jim Miller. Tom's an idea, man, So
Speaker 3: put pen to paper and get those wheels and gears turned.
Speaker 6: Buddy.
Speaker 7: I'm with you.
Speaker 5: The XFL, how they decrease the collisions, maybe that's a
Speaker 5: better option. You know, Hopefully they go through this year
Speaker 5: and they reevaluate and maybe they come up with a
Speaker 5: different strategy.
Speaker 3: All Right, we got to take a break head to
Speaker 3: another segment here on Bears Weekly with Tom Thayer Jim Miller.
Speaker 3: I'm Jeff Joniak here on ESPN one thousand and the
Speaker 3: Bears Radio Network three to two one. Want VIP access
Speaker 3: to every Bears home game, exclusive seating, sideline credentials, and
Speaker 3: more are now available To get the ultimate VIP fan
Speaker 3: package this season by visiting Chicago Bears vip dot Com.
Speaker 3: My guys Jim Miller tomp they are with us here
Speaker 3: on Bears Weekly final segment of the program. One thing
Speaker 3: I got to bring up about yesterday too. I mentioned
Speaker 3: Chase Claypole early in the program, meeting of vetterman off
Speaker 3: to after a play on the sidelines talking Talking the game.
Speaker 3: Got a lot of compliments from Justin fields Field saying, quote,
Speaker 3: he's improved tremendously from the end of last year to now.
Speaker 3: That's one thing I'm truly proud to say. Seeing his work, ethic,
Speaker 3: his attitude change. That's big and it's going to be awesome,
Speaker 3: especially when Mooney comes back as he works through his injury.
Speaker 3: He's not out there just yet. I think Bears fans
Speaker 3: and all of us would be thrilled with a impact
Speaker 3: player like DJ Moore, Chase Claypool finding himself in this
Speaker 3: system and excelling. Darnell coming back and then everybody else
Speaker 3: falling into place in terms of the pieces at that
Speaker 3: wide receiver position. Tommy, Yeah, and you.
Speaker 4: Know, emphasize Robert Tayan too, because I think the improvement
Speaker 4: of Cole Kmet but also a tight end that you
Speaker 4: really don't lose anything when you bring in two tight
Speaker 4: end sets and those types of things. So again we
Speaker 4: talk about the size that was needed by the Bears.
Speaker 4: They were able to accomplish that well with Darnell Mooney
Speaker 4: and DJ Moore. I do think you give a little
Speaker 4: bit of interesting target opportunities for Justin.
Speaker 7: Yeah.
Speaker 5: For me, I just think if they can run the
Speaker 5: football like they did last year, their play action game
Speaker 5: should be deadly.
Speaker 7: It should be really good at this point.
Speaker 5: With adding Dj Moore, having a big guy like Claypool
Speaker 5: who the threat of the block's always there, they should
Speaker 5: be able to block the outside and then start chucking
Speaker 5: guys where they can get the play action game going,
Speaker 5: and then you got the speed of Mooney and of
Speaker 5: course Tanyan and other pieces to the puzzle. But their
Speaker 5: play action game that needs to be their focus. That's
Speaker 5: an area of the Bears offense that they lacked a
Speaker 5: lot of production last year and it really needs to
Speaker 5: take hold this year.
Speaker 3: Jim, with that in mind, I'm a big middle of
Speaker 3: the field guy, and have your quarterback just kind of
Speaker 3: eviscerated defense because the running game is so good, these
Speaker 3: guys are pulling up in the middle of the field,
Speaker 3: gets exposed. You put it underneath the safeties, over the
Speaker 3: head of the linebackers. Is this going to be available
Speaker 3: to Justin? And will his eyes be able to handle
Speaker 3: between the hash marks middle of the field. How deadly
Speaker 3: is that to a defense?
Speaker 6: Yeah?
Speaker 5: Yeah, it should because it puts the defense in a
Speaker 5: conflict of interest. You know, when you're running say thirty
Speaker 5: four lead, you know, four or five times a game,
Speaker 5: and then you start pulling in the play actions. Hey
Speaker 5: let's go one thirty four x in. Let's go one
Speaker 5: thirty four comeback, let's go one thirty four z in.
Speaker 5: And those guys see that same action of that thirty
Speaker 5: four lead coming, those linebackers, they're going to come up there,
Speaker 5: they're going to suck up. Everybody's going to commit to
Speaker 5: stop the run. Because the Bears were number one in
Speaker 5: the league and all that stuff behind it, there's nobody. Man,
Speaker 5: it's wide open and it's there for the pickings. So
Speaker 5: to me, that's an area that they sorely, sorely lack
Speaker 5: production last year that needs to be much bigger in
Speaker 5: their game plan this year.
Speaker 2: You know, the.
Speaker 4: First sack that Justin took last year, he should have
Speaker 4: been simply thrown to David Montgomery on a checkdown route
Speaker 4: and David would have had significant area to run for.
Speaker 4: That's where I think Justin has to become confident and
Speaker 4: comfortable by throwing that.
Speaker 6: Okay, all the.
Speaker 4: Coverage downfield is matching what the routes are. Well, there's
Speaker 4: a simple checkdout, and I think the more Justin is
Speaker 4: willing to take those types of throws rather than putting
Speaker 4: himself in a position where he gets a sack or
Speaker 4: he gets hit awkwardly as he's running towards the sideline,
Speaker 4: That's what I want to see out of the self
Speaker 4: preservation portion for Justin is that willingness to take those
Speaker 4: types of throws.
Speaker 6: Jim.
Speaker 3: As offenses continue to spread out the defense and expand
Speaker 3: the field horizontally as well as vertically, well things two
Speaker 3: of my favorite throws are are skinny posts or you know,
Speaker 3: not everybody's Jerry Rice with Joe Montana and Steve Young,
Speaker 3: but the quick slant and boom, just run the middle
Speaker 3: of the field untouched to the end zone. A guy
Speaker 3: that wasn't super fast but played the game so aggressively
Speaker 3: and ran routes so perfectly. Is that available in this
Speaker 3: offense for this group of receivers. Can we see some
Speaker 3: of that that rip off big chunks or you know,
Speaker 3: inside the forty become inside the forty touchdown?
Speaker 5: Yeah? I think those are those throw all in the
Speaker 5: game plan if they were to go empty, and you know,
Speaker 5: you attack the coverage.
Speaker 7: That's you know that that you're being shown.
Speaker 5: And typically when you're an empty typically most offense they'll
Speaker 5: have man beaters and zone beaters. So if it's coverage
Speaker 5: and maybe I can signal the slants out there, maybe
Speaker 5: Justin can elevate his game. Hey man, they're in single
Speaker 5: high pressman coverage. All right, you guys, let's get I'm
Speaker 5: gonna give you the go route here to DJ Moore
Speaker 5: on the outside, or hey, I want you to keep
Speaker 5: the slant on and work the defensive back and come
Speaker 5: across his face. So a lot of that stuff is
Speaker 5: built in, but I think a lot of that stuff
Speaker 5: also should be up to Justin to really take advantage
Speaker 5: of the coverage that he's seeing.
Speaker 7: Say, even if.
Speaker 5: It's press man, but the corners got outside leverage. Hey man,
Speaker 5: give me the slam, let's go. That's the that's the
Speaker 5: leverage you want that. You know you got a winner
Speaker 5: every time you go up there when you're just signaling
Speaker 5: the routes like.
Speaker 3: That, Hey, Jim, did you like working outside the numbers
Speaker 3: or did you like working inside? Where did your eyes
Speaker 3: take you? Yeah?
Speaker 5: I like both, depending on the coverage, because you got
Speaker 5: to remember a lot of the stuff carried over from
Speaker 5: Gary Croton's offense, so the quarterback was in control of
Speaker 5: a lot of it. And shoot, when we went empty
Speaker 5: out of that stuff, I just signaled to guys. Yeah,
Speaker 5: we had some built in routes when we called some
Speaker 5: empty plays, but a lot of it was the leverage
Speaker 5: and the technique of the corner what I saw coverage wise,
Speaker 5: and then I just signaled what I wanted. I could
Speaker 5: do two man combo routes. I could signal three man
Speaker 5: combo routes where they knew right away. Hey man, we
Speaker 5: got single high. Give me the ditch. What the ditch was?
Speaker 5: You had a post with an end cut. So and
Speaker 5: then distill all presented it. It was all determined by
Speaker 5: the coverage we're being presented.
Speaker 3: Tom, You're big on injuries and how the difficult ones
Speaker 3: are to come back from. You experienced plenty of played
Speaker 3: through things and never missed games. A fractured ankle, which
Speaker 3: is what Darnell Mooney suffered in Week twelve last year
Speaker 3: and that loss to the Jets. Working his way back
Speaker 3: not out there yet? Is that just a matter of
Speaker 3: healing and so forth. For a guy that you know,
Speaker 3: use an ankle flexion to make crisp route cuts for
Speaker 3: a guy who wants to master route running, is a
Speaker 3: significant challenge, honestly.
Speaker 6: Yeah.
Speaker 4: I mean, first of all, it's from the doctor himself
Speaker 4: and how they repair the injury, and then the rehabilitation
Speaker 4: process that he goes through. But to me, what I've
Speaker 4: seen out of Darnell Mooney, I have the same expectations
Speaker 4: for him then before the injury ever happened, and it's
Speaker 4: happened before in the NFL, and I think Darnell will
Speaker 4: recover and he'll be all. He'll be an asset to
Speaker 4: this football team's receivers, all right.
Speaker 3: A couple of quick hitters, guys, real quick all right, Jimmy,
Speaker 3: Aaron Rodgers participating in jets OTAs something they could have
Speaker 3: used for Romeo Dobbs and Christian Watson last year to
Speaker 3: get those young receivers acclimated. I think those folks in
Speaker 3: Green Bay turning a snarl at that.
Speaker 5: Well, of course area. But you got to give it
Speaker 5: up to Rogers. He's such a great team player. I mean,
Speaker 5: that's that's you know. Unfortunately it dis didn't happen for
Speaker 5: the Packers.
Speaker 7: Tom the guy now though.
Speaker 3: Tom tom Brady investing in Vegas the first day, Yeah,
Speaker 3: he did. Tom Brady investing in the Vegas Raiders as
Speaker 3: a limited partner needing NFL approval. What pops into your
Speaker 3: head when you hear that?
Speaker 4: Now, I mean it's a conflict of interest being a
Speaker 4: broadcaster and a team owner.
Speaker 2: So I don't want Tom Brady.
Speaker 4: Broadcasting the Las Vegas Raider Chicago Bears game.
Speaker 5: Jim Yes, especially, is what is he going to go
Speaker 5: in division? Is he going to be at those practices?
Speaker 5: Because I gotta believe Andy Reid and the rest of
Speaker 5: the Chargers and all them Denver. No, No, he's the
Speaker 5: owner of the Raiders. He's not coming to our practice.
Speaker 5: I don't care if he's calling the game or not.
Speaker 3: All Right, we're out of time. Guys, always fun. Appreciate you.
Speaker 3: We'll talk to you next week. The executive producer of
Speaker 3: the Bears Radio Network is Eric Ostrotski. Thanks to our
Speaker 3: producers at ESPN, Dan Billy, also Jordan Trendup and William
Speaker 3: bridge Forth for helping us out today. Appreciate you listening.
Speaker 3: Thank you to Tevin Jenkins. That has been Bears Weekly
Speaker 3: here on ESPN one thousand and the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 3: We'll talk to you next week. Good night, everybody.
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