Speaker 1: Welcome in Tumble Bears Weekly, a Chicago Bears Network production.
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Speaker 2: Beth Rivers, CD Dowing, Connie's Pizza by Gens Energy, and
Speaker 2: Miller Life Kierra. Your hosts Jeff chilneyak aka the Mayor
Speaker 2: of Bearsville and his sidekick Tom the surfask.
Speaker 3: Ther NFL writers and analyst Field.
Speaker 4: The NFC North is arguably potentially the most competitive and
Speaker 4: challenging division of the NFL.
Speaker 3: Here in twenty twenty four? Is it true? Will it
Speaker 3: proved to be true?
Speaker 4: We dig into that conversation tonight on Bears Weekly here
Speaker 4: on ESPN one thousand and the Chicago Bears Radio Network
Speaker 4: with Super Bowl winning Bears guard Tom Fayer. I'm Jeff,
Speaker 4: Joniake and from Serious XMNFL Radios moving the chains, we
Speaker 4: have former Bears quarterback Jim Miller. Thanks to our producers
Speaker 4: Dan Brilly and Jordan Treadap and of the ESPN Studios. Tonight,
Speaker 4: Kendris Smith, the executive.
Speaker 3: Are you sure?
Speaker 4: The Bears Radio Network is Eric Ostrotski coming up. We
Speaker 4: visit with Vikings radio analyst Pete Burshitch Lions play by
Speaker 4: play man Dan Miller of the Voice of the Packers,
Speaker 4: Wayne Lereviv Fellas. Good to talk to you, rookies report
Speaker 4: next week to Hallis Vets come in training camp begins.
Speaker 3: We are on tom it is time to go.
Speaker 5: Yeah, So do we visit the topic of contracts yet
Speaker 5: or do we wait till next week when we see
Speaker 5: all these guys walk in the building with the hard.
Speaker 6: Knocks cameras rolling.
Speaker 5: Yeah, So I think it is something that you can't ignore,
Speaker 5: but you hope in the modern day of the collective
Speaker 5: bargaining agreement, they can come to a contract resolution and
Speaker 5: Jeff day one, everybody is on board and ready to go.
Speaker 4: Jim, obviously they're talking about the Caleb Williams and Roma
Speaker 4: doone day contracts still yet unsigned?
Speaker 3: What are your thoughts at this point? Yeah?
Speaker 7: I think you know, you got the you know, two
Speaker 7: of the top ten, you know, and obviously when you
Speaker 7: look at Caleb Williams, his was an unusual situation and
Speaker 7: how he was drafted and how he was interviewed and
Speaker 7: all that, and so I would think his contract is
Speaker 7: going to be different. He's going to have certain demands
Speaker 7: that he wants. But I think we know from the
Speaker 7: rookie page scale that's pretty much slotted and slated. So
Speaker 7: if they do get a little bit more, it's not
Speaker 7: going to be out of the realm of what pickoverall
Speaker 7: number one had last year plus inflation and pick number
Speaker 7: nine overall last year plus inflation. That's how these contracts
Speaker 7: will be reflected.
Speaker 4: Jim in terms of that, what is the and JJ
Speaker 4: McCarthy is also unsigned in Minnesota?
Speaker 3: What are they.
Speaker 4: Looking for the Vikings Dallas Turner also unsigned. There's several
Speaker 4: in the first round. What are the little nuggets that
Speaker 4: agents and teams have to negotiate that kind of sneaking.
Speaker 7: Yeah, well, I think for quarterbacks it's different. You go
Speaker 7: back to even when Brady Quinn I think, was taken
Speaker 7: twenty two overall by Cleveland and he and he held out.
Speaker 7: He held out because he felt he was a quarterback
Speaker 7: and quarterbacks make premium money that he could have got
Speaker 7: more money. And that could be the case for you know,
Speaker 7: Caleb Williams right now, he's the number one overall pick
Speaker 7: the guaranteed money, what's it going to be plus, there's
Speaker 7: probably going to be some incentives in there as well,
Speaker 7: and I would assume Roman doom Day is thinking the
Speaker 7: same thing. You know, he's brought in to be a
Speaker 7: major key weapon of the future in his is probably
Speaker 7: going to be incentive based as well.
Speaker 3: Tom.
Speaker 4: The good news is this salary cap and the discussions
Speaker 4: over the years have eliminated long term holdouts, and I
Speaker 4: think that's very important, not only for the player itself,
Speaker 4: the rookie, but for the team and how they can
Speaker 4: set course right out of the gate and not have
Speaker 4: that distraction. It hasn't been a big topic of conversation
Speaker 4: in recent years, and I felt it was an important
Speaker 4: thing because so much time and effort and energy was
Speaker 4: spent on a first pick negotiating and an agent holding
Speaker 4: out for the absolute best possible deal that those distractions
Speaker 4: dominated the start of training camp.
Speaker 3: We rarely have those anymore.
Speaker 5: Yeah, you know, That's why I kind of hope Caleb
Speaker 5: Williams signs before Roma doonsay, because I think Caleb Williams
Speaker 5: can kind of set the bar of exactly what does
Speaker 5: the maximum you're gonna make and what is the trickle
Speaker 5: down effect after that? Because if you go and you
Speaker 5: have roma Doonesay sign first, then the first pick in
Speaker 5: the draft is still an unpredictable amount.
Speaker 6: So I think if you can.
Speaker 5: Get those top couple guys signed, then you're gonna start
Speaker 5: understanding how that money's gonna flow downhill.
Speaker 3: Jim, what are you gonna be looking for?
Speaker 4: You're coming up to camp, I think the weekend after
Speaker 4: and we'll sit down with serious x MNFL radio and
Speaker 4: that's always a good time at havisaw. So what will
Speaker 4: you be looking for or your eye is going to
Speaker 4: take you to the field when you arrive.
Speaker 7: Well, I think for the Bears, where there's really competitive action,
Speaker 7: I would think at the center position, you know, with
Speaker 7: Shelton with Baits, you know, how's that competition going to
Speaker 7: work out? Certainly the young quarterback, you know, gonna be
Speaker 7: studying him his mannerisms. Is he mixing up his snap count?
Speaker 7: How is his mechanics, the timing of the livery because
Speaker 7: I think we know sacks have been a problem in
Speaker 7: the past. You know, is he in a good rhythm
Speaker 7: throwing the ball? And then just the overall talent that's drafted,
Speaker 7: you know, the growth of Jeron Dexter, you know, because
Speaker 7: He's going to be a key component on the defensive
Speaker 7: side of the ball. And I think for all those guys,
Speaker 7: the second year players and just how much they've grown.
Speaker 3: Tom, what are you going to be looking at.
Speaker 5: I'm going to see how Kevin Byard fits into the secondary.
Speaker 6: It's going to be interesting to see.
Speaker 5: I'm going to see if Nate Davis is on the
Speaker 5: field participating in his position and that he will hopefully
Speaker 5: be at day in and day out. Kind of looking
Speaker 5: where Braxton Jones and Tevin Jenkins are and Jim talked
Speaker 5: about the center battle. But you know, I was looking
Speaker 5: up this morning and I know it's a topic I'm always.
Speaker 6: Interested as in first downs?
Speaker 5: So what type of offense is Shane Waldron developing in
Speaker 5: the passing game? Is it the big play strikeability with
Speaker 5: Keenan Allen Romadoonza and Dj Moore or is it first
Speaker 5: down opportunities with DeAndre Swift, Cole Comet, Gerald Everett and
Speaker 5: the receiver. Because when you go and you look at
Speaker 5: the numbers, I think the Bears were fourth and the
Speaker 5: division and first downs and they were number one in
Speaker 5: the division in first downs given up, And to me,
Speaker 5: I know, I kind of dwell on that. But when
Speaker 5: you look at the overall performance, especially with a young quarterback,
Speaker 5: and like Jim says, getting the ball out of his hands,
Speaker 5: I'm interested to see where that's going.
Speaker 3: Yep, first downs lead the touchdowns, Jim.
Speaker 4: And if this goes the way I envision, or at
Speaker 4: least I hope I envision, I mean, he's going to
Speaker 4: have opportunities with open receivers.
Speaker 3: There's going to be somebody open.
Speaker 4: Just find your completion, protection, holds, get rid of the football,
Speaker 4: and as the season goes on, or as a game
Speaker 4: goes on, the flare that Caleb Williams is entering the
Speaker 4: NFL with what he did in college, that instinctiveness, that
Speaker 4: spatial awareness in the pocket, his ability to operate within
Speaker 4: and around the pocket is going to come to fruition
Speaker 4: when a big play is needed in the clutch.
Speaker 7: Yeah, and hopefully Bears fans give them time to develop.
Speaker 7: You know, there's gonna be some growing pains. I think
Speaker 7: Bears fans, you know, kind of got a little unrealistic,
Speaker 7: you know, thinking last year was probably going to be
Speaker 7: a Super Bowl year. There were some that even had
Speaker 7: you know, justin Fields listed as the league MVP, and
Speaker 7: look at where we are now. So just give young
Speaker 7: Caleb Williams the time to develop. He's got all the
Speaker 7: pieces around him. And I'm with you, Jeff. If he
Speaker 7: just goes through his reads, even if he doesn't know
Speaker 7: the coverage, he'll get to the right guy. And so
Speaker 7: he's got to keep his cool about him and understand
Speaker 7: he's going to make mistakes as well.
Speaker 4: So in the intro, Tommy I said, you know a
Speaker 4: lot of people in the lague think this is now
Speaker 4: the toughest division. And toughest doesn't always mean the best,
Speaker 4: but toughest division.
Speaker 3: I'll go to war with that.
Speaker 4: With these four teams remade in different ways over the
Speaker 4: course of time, in short periods or long stretches.
Speaker 3: So do you agree with that assertion or were you looking.
Speaker 4: At things and Jim can follow, you know, toughest, most competitive, Yeah,
Speaker 4: maybe toughest in terms of physical stature of these football teams.
Speaker 5: I think it goes along with the Steelers in the
Speaker 5: Ravens in Cincinnati and Cleveland. So yeah, I think it's
Speaker 5: going to be a super competitive division. And I think
Speaker 5: the Bears, you know, when they can climb over Detroit
Speaker 5: and they can climb over Green baythe and that's going
Speaker 5: to give them the opportunity of the hope that we're
Speaker 5: all talking about here in the early portion of the show.
Speaker 7: Yeah, I think to me, it's the second toughest division
Speaker 7: in football. I'm with Tom. I think the AFC North
Speaker 7: is just a bloodbath. You look at the quarterback play.
Speaker 7: You got the league MVP there. Now, Russell Wilson's in there.
Speaker 7: You look at Joe Burrow and we'll see where it
Speaker 7: goes with the Deshaun Watson. But I think for the
Speaker 7: NFC North, how these rosters are built, and granted a
Speaker 7: lot is going to be determined by the young quarterbacks,
Speaker 7: whether it's JJ McCarthy or Caleb Williams. But this is
Speaker 7: a tough, bruising division and I think, much like last year,
Speaker 7: it'll come down to potentially the last week of the season.
Speaker 7: And so did the AFC North.
Speaker 4: All Right, we've heard the all right, we've hit the
Speaker 4: first mile post, and coming up next we hear the
Speaker 4: Vikings talk from Pete Bursich, Chicago area man and the
Speaker 4: analyst for.
Speaker 3: The Vikings on radio.
Speaker 4: As we get you set for NFC North football here
Speaker 4: in twenty twenty four.
Speaker 3: This is ESPN Chicago and the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 1: Is Bears Weekly with the voice of the Bears for
Speaker 1: twenty three years, Jeff Junia on the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 4: Good segment, The Bears Weekly is brought to you by
Speaker 4: Igs Energy, Tomtey or Jeff Joniak and Jim Miller from
Speaker 4: Serious x MNFL Radio. Now look at the Vikings as
Speaker 4: we break down the twenty twenty four NFC North and
Speaker 4: what many Pete is being described as one of the best,
Speaker 4: if not the best or the toughest.
Speaker 3: We've had our opinions on that.
Speaker 4: We're you sitting as the analyst of the Minnesota Vikings,
Speaker 4: Chicago area man and certainly excited to hit the season going.
Speaker 4: It's going to be fun, Pete, Yeah it is.
Speaker 8: And you know, you have two teams from the division
Speaker 8: who you know, the Lions, I hate to say that
Speaker 8: they disappointed. I mean, obviously they had a good football team,
Speaker 8: and then that the run the Packers had at the
Speaker 8: end of the year, you know, then that's that's the NFL, right,
Speaker 8: you carry that success over to the following year. And
Speaker 8: then there's Chicago who obviously through the draft has made
Speaker 8: some improvements and I'd like to think that the Minnesota
Speaker 8: Vikings have done so as well.
Speaker 9: So this time of year, everyone thinks are getting better.
Speaker 8: And you know, when you have two teams out of
Speaker 8: one division winning games in the playoffs, Yeah, it's gonna be.
Speaker 8: It's gonna be a tough, tough road this year for
Speaker 8: for all teams in this division.
Speaker 5: Hey, Pete, when you look at the history of the
Speaker 5: running back position with the Minnesota Vikings before you got
Speaker 5: there and since you've been there and beyond, when you
Speaker 5: think of what they're going to have this year, and
Speaker 5: Aaron Jones, to me, he's been one of the best
Speaker 5: running backs in the in the division for quite a while.
Speaker 5: What is Minnesota's expectations, especially.
Speaker 6: When you're breaking in a new quarterback.
Speaker 8: Yeah, he's you know, the running game obviously helps a
Speaker 8: younger quarterback.
Speaker 9: And you know, Tom, you this team.
Speaker 8: If there's been areas where this team has been deficient
Speaker 8: since Kevin O'Connell has been here, short yardage and third
Speaker 8: down and one fourth down on one and goal line
Speaker 8: as well.
Speaker 9: And shortyard is a tight goal line, tight red zone.
Speaker 8: And that's where I think Aaron Jones can help the most.
Speaker 8: And if he and so we're not asking for a
Speaker 8: ton here. But if he's able to convert some of
Speaker 8: these third and shorts, able to push, you know, be
Speaker 8: able to let the Bikings just run the football from
Speaker 8: the deep, deep red zone, that's gonna make a huge difference.
Speaker 8: And so we're not we're not asking for much. What
Speaker 8: my thing is is what's the identity of this running
Speaker 8: game going to be? You know, last year with Alexander Madison,
Speaker 8: we started running some more counters and some of those
Speaker 8: other things. From what I've seen out of Jones, he's
Speaker 8: his own guy. He's a long cut back kind of guy.
Speaker 8: He has great vision, he can set up blocks. Will
Speaker 8: the Vikings have you know, that type of a running game.
Speaker 8: I think from schematic standpoint, our running games and flux.
Speaker 8: So I'm really looking forward to That's gonna be one
Speaker 8: of my preseason things is just what's our running game
Speaker 8: going to look like? What's our identity going to be
Speaker 8: with the running game? And they're going to have to
Speaker 8: build it around Aaron Jones, But I guarantee you if
Speaker 8: he can help us in those short yardage situations. I mean,
Speaker 8: we lost the game to Cincinnati last year. Whereas third
Speaker 8: and run Quebec, you know, quarterback sneak. Then they tried
Speaker 8: it again out of fourth and one, we didn't make it,
Speaker 8: turn it over, and then you know, the Bengals go
Speaker 8: down and score a touchdown, right, you know, right soon
Speaker 8: after that. So these situations, these situations have come back
Speaker 8: turnovers did in the beginning of the year. And then
Speaker 8: you know that shortyardage running game needs to improve, and
Speaker 8: so Aaron Jones is going to be a big part
Speaker 8: of that.
Speaker 7: Pat Jim Miller here and good to talk to you.
Speaker 7: Hope your summer is going well. I just want to
Speaker 7: know how patient can the Minnesota fan base be? You know,
Speaker 7: if if Sam, let's face it, Sam Darnold, this could
Speaker 7: be his last shot to be a starter, and if
Speaker 7: it doesn't work out, they're going to turn to JJ McCarthy.
Speaker 7: And I only bring that up because Bears Bears fans.
Speaker 7: They threw Mitch Trubisky in their way too early, and
Speaker 7: they threw justin Fields in their way too early. How
Speaker 7: patient can they be?
Speaker 8: I as fans going all depends on the record. If
Speaker 8: we're winning football games, I think they're gonna be pretty patient.
Speaker 8: If not, yeah, they're gonna want They're gonna want.
Speaker 9: To move on to the future. As soon as possible.
Speaker 8: I think for McCarthy, you know, and for Donald, what
Speaker 8: the advantage they have is is Kevin O'Connell and the
Speaker 8: fact that he played the quarterback position in college, he
Speaker 8: played it in the NFL, he coached that position. He
Speaker 8: was a quarter now he's a head coach, so he
Speaker 8: knows that position. I think the hard part for fans
Speaker 8: is we're not going to know the progress of JJ
Speaker 8: McCarthy right because we're not going to see him on
Speaker 8: the field. So as Donald could get out there and
Speaker 8: look okay or not look you know, not look great.
Speaker 8: But if McCarthy is behind, or if they don't, if
Speaker 8: they're and they're not gonna come out and say this,
Speaker 8: They're not going to say, hey, it's taking McCarthy a
Speaker 8: little bit longer to pick things up. We're not comfortable
Speaker 8: putting them in yet. They're not going to say that.
Speaker 8: They're just going to stick with darn right. That's the
Speaker 8: part that that that you know, is frustrating and that
Speaker 8: fans have to keep in mind is you have to
Speaker 8: have we know he's the future. You know, he's a
Speaker 8: top fifteen pick in the NFL. He's going to be
Speaker 8: the quarterback you just got to have patience and have
Speaker 8: trust that the powers that be are going to put
Speaker 8: him in when he's ready and when it's best for him.
Speaker 8: You know, for a lot of fans, that's good, that's
Speaker 8: today right. For a lot of fans, they want to
Speaker 8: they want to see him stay. You drafted them, might
Speaker 8: as well just throw him in there. But you guys
Speaker 8: have seen I think the other side of that coin,
Speaker 8: by what can happen if you put guys in too
Speaker 8: soon and they're not ready.
Speaker 4: Pte Bursts, radio analysts for the Minneso the Vikings, a
Speaker 4: our guest here on Bears Weekly on the ESPN one
Speaker 4: thousand of the Bears Radio Network. Let's look at your
Speaker 4: defense no more daneil Hunter wreaking havoc on the Bears
Speaker 4: that they meet him in week two against Houston again,
Speaker 4: what's that pass rush looking like? And how do you
Speaker 4: feel it stacks up in the division in terms of
Speaker 4: pass rushes.
Speaker 9: It's gonna you know, it's gonna have it was good
Speaker 9: last year.
Speaker 8: We got a lot of productivity out of our outside linebackers,
Speaker 8: you know, Jonathan Gernard.
Speaker 9: They're gonna have to replicate that.
Speaker 8: Right, uh Van Ginko will see how he's gonna be
Speaker 8: health wise going into the season. But the more those
Speaker 8: five guys upfront can rush, the better off that we're
Speaker 8: gonna be. Now, Dallas Turner, you're gonna throw him in
Speaker 8: there right away. We're gonna see what he's all about.
Speaker 8: These guys, though, have more position flexibility. They're true outside linebackers.
Speaker 8: So I think that's gonna change the floor as defense
Speaker 8: a little bit. It's gonna be a little bit easier
Speaker 8: to put certain guys in coverages. He didn't want to
Speaker 8: put the ney of the Hunter in coverage, right. Every
Speaker 8: once in a while he drop out and kind of
Speaker 8: take up space. You have guys at the outside linebacker
Speaker 8: position now that that can do that, that can cover.
Speaker 8: So it's gonna give flora As I think, a little
Speaker 8: bit more flexibility with with the guys that he has.
Speaker 8: But we're gonna, yeah, we're gonna We're gonna need to
Speaker 8: get after the quarterback. I don't think that's gonna be
Speaker 8: as much of a challenge. Iss just be physical and
Speaker 8: holding up to the run. Right, We've gained a lot
Speaker 8: of speed, but we've lost a lot of size, right,
Speaker 8: d Neil Hunter, you just you have a big body
Speaker 8: out there and he was key for us, especially against
Speaker 8: Atlanta and some goal line plays. So will those guys
Speaker 8: be able to hold up physically and hold up against
Speaker 8: the run?
Speaker 9: But we'll see, you.
Speaker 5: Know, Pete, I think our division has the best tight
Speaker 5: ends in the league when you look at every team.
Speaker 5: So I know there's a little bit of an injury
Speaker 5: set back to the tight end up in Minnesota. What's
Speaker 5: what's the status and if TJ does is not on
Speaker 5: board immediately, what is the tight end situation with you guys?
Speaker 8: But well, I think they're still trying. You know, they're
Speaker 8: still trying to figure that out, you know what I mean.
Speaker 8: And for Hockinston, they're not going to you know, they're
Speaker 8: not going to rush him back, but we need him
Speaker 8: as quickly as possible. And Tommy bring up a good
Speaker 8: point because there's still a lot of question marks as
Speaker 8: to who our number three wide receiver is going to be.
Speaker 9: And then so you kind of have that.
Speaker 8: Number three, number four wide receiver tight end snell group
Speaker 8: are you gonna use?
Speaker 9: Yeah, it'll be it'll be interesting.
Speaker 8: I don't have all the names, you know, right off
Speaker 8: the top of my head, but that's it's gonna be
Speaker 8: a key spot in one that we're gonna have to
Speaker 8: to keep a close eye on.
Speaker 7: In the preseason final one for me, Peters, you've talked
Speaker 7: about running the ball three or four times. Finally get
Speaker 7: back Dalton Reisner at the guard spot and basically the
Speaker 7: lines intact. And I guess your thoughts on Aaron Jones
Speaker 7: because we were sold to a bad bill of goods
Speaker 7: last year about Alexander Madison and he's a three down
Speaker 7: back and I thought they never should have got rid
Speaker 7: of Delvin Cook. But just the the infusion of Aaron Jones.
Speaker 8: Yeah, well it's again. I think the main thing is
Speaker 8: gonna be that short yardage thing. Getting Dalton and Reisner's back,
Speaker 8: you know, was important between he and and Ingram. We
Speaker 8: got some guys that are they struggle at times in
Speaker 8: pass protection for what they will do is hit somebody.
Speaker 8: And we tried this to Madison a little bit more
Speaker 8: toward the end of the season, especially with tych Handler
Speaker 8: played a lot ty Chandler.
Speaker 9: North Carolina ran a lot of counter and.
Speaker 8: Power, so we started pulling guards and Raisner is gonna
Speaker 8: hit somebody.
Speaker 9: Ingram's is just gonna they're aggressive.
Speaker 8: They'll they'll hit somebody, so that counterpower running game prepped
Speaker 8: in a little bit more towards the end. Again, that's
Speaker 8: why I go back to identity. But Reisner is definitely
Speaker 8: a leader. He's definitely aggressive. He's a kind of he's
Speaker 8: you know, he's like here, he's a guard. He's this
Speaker 8: guy that you you know that you want. It's just
Speaker 8: gonna grind things out, be nasty and do the you know,
Speaker 8: do what, do what the absolutely has to be done
Speaker 8: in order to win. But bringing that group together and
Speaker 8: and and again figuring it out, what is what is
Speaker 8: it that we're going to do in the running game
Speaker 8: and what are we gonna make teams stop? You mentioned
Speaker 8: Dalvin Cook. What Dalvin Cook brought was explosiveness. We saw
Speaker 8: it against Buffalo a couple of years ago. You know,
Speaker 8: seventy yard touchdowns. It changes a defense's attitude when if
Speaker 8: you hand the ball off that could be if they're
Speaker 8: gonna move the chains, it's like, okay, you know, first
Speaker 8: down on the run, you know.
Speaker 9: We can we can survive.
Speaker 8: But when you have a guy that can break a
Speaker 8: fifty sixty seventy yarding and start scoring touchdowns, then the
Speaker 8: defense has to schematically respect the running back and we
Speaker 8: haven't seen that and quite you know, we didn't see
Speaker 8: that at all last year. But you're right, our running
Speaker 8: game was disappointing, especially in key moments.
Speaker 4: All Right, last one for Pete Bursich. What's your view
Speaker 4: of the Bears as you sit over there in Minnesota.
Speaker 9: You know, I'm excited to see the changes.
Speaker 8: You know, Chicago is a very difficult place to win, right,
Speaker 8: It's different in that respect, it's you know, it's outdoors,
Speaker 8: it's on grass. Yeah, you have that in Green Bay,
Speaker 8: but we've had more success in Green Bay over the
Speaker 8: last couple of years, at least the last two seasons.
Speaker 8: I think then we've had you know, then we've had
Speaker 8: in Chicago. So you know, I think for you guys,
Speaker 8: just it's just, you know, can you develop the quarterback
Speaker 8: in time?
Speaker 9: And what's that offensive line going to look like?
Speaker 8: I think defensively you're going to be you know, your
Speaker 8: four man front, which is kind of an oddity now
Speaker 8: you know nowadays those guys move, you know, really well.
Speaker 8: We've I know, our front has had a lot has
Speaker 8: had a lot of trouble blocking.
Speaker 9: That defensive front very aggressive and.
Speaker 8: It's gonna it's just gonna come down as can you
Speaker 8: guys sustain drives on offense?
Speaker 9: Can you you know, move the ball on the ground
Speaker 9: and run it.
Speaker 8: And then Caleb Williams is he going to be able
Speaker 8: to you know, just make it, make defenses, keep guys
Speaker 8: back in coverage in the wide receiver position. You guys
Speaker 8: have you know, every one of these positions I brought up.
Speaker 8: You guys have brought in big names. So it's going
Speaker 8: to be interesting to see if they can tie all
Speaker 8: that together. And uh, you know again, Bears are going
Speaker 8: to be better than they were a year ago, no
Speaker 8: question about that.
Speaker 4: All right, Pete, appreciate the time, buddy, Thank you. Enjoy
Speaker 4: the rest of your days before camp too, Thanks Bate.
Speaker 4: All right, Well, continue our discussion on the NFC North
Speaker 4: and the Bears traineing camp after this BREAKO on Bears
Speaker 4: Weekly on ESPN one thousand and the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 1: Is Bears Weekly with a voice of the Bears for
Speaker 1: twenty three years, Jeff Tony on the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 4: This segment of Bears Weekly has brought to you by
Speaker 4: Athletico Physical Therapy because at Athletico dot Com to request
Speaker 4: and in clinic or virtual deployment at start feeling better
Speaker 4: tomorrow Jeff and Tom and Jim Miller, with Wayne Lairvie,
Speaker 4: the voice of the Green Bay Packers, joining us in
Speaker 4: our NFC North preview segment. We already heard from Pete Bursich,
Speaker 4: Wayne about the Vikings and Brian Flores. What is paramount
Speaker 4: right now with the Green Bay Packers as you head
Speaker 4: into your training camp?
Speaker 10: I think, Jeff, it's just the step the second year
Speaker 10: and third year players are going to take on this team,
Speaker 10: especially skill position players. The other factor is the defense.
Speaker 10: It's new, it's different. A lot of the same faces
Speaker 10: you're familiar with will be playing, but in a different
Speaker 10: formation and in a different defense under new defense coordinator
Speaker 10: Jeff Hafley.
Speaker 5: You know, Wayne, it seems like you got to take
Speaker 5: the best pieces and put them in the perfect place.
Speaker 5: To me, I think Kenny Clark is one of the
Speaker 5: best defensive players in the division. Is this a style
Speaker 5: of defense that will, you know, allow him to be
Speaker 5: the player that he's been as you know against the
Speaker 5: Bears and all other teams, or are they going to
Speaker 5: try to divide as a scheme that fits the back
Speaker 5: half of the defense to protect inside this division?
Speaker 10: Well, I think Kenny is mentioned at least during the
Speaker 10: OTAs in mini camp that he's really excited to play
Speaker 10: this defense. So I assume it's going to be something
Speaker 10: that allows him, as he said, to kind of get
Speaker 10: up field. They're going to play the run on way
Speaker 10: to rushing the passer up front of this defense. It's
Speaker 10: their philosophy and Kenny, I think, will be freed up
Speaker 10: a little bit more in this defense. It's going to
Speaker 10: be interesting to see, really, because you know, you do
Speaker 10: have a nose tackle type and TJ. Slayton, you have
Speaker 10: a interior pass rusher and Devonte Wyatt, and then you
Speaker 10: have Kenny Clark who can kind of do both things.
Speaker 10: It'll be interesting to see how that mix works. I
Speaker 10: don't think we're going to see that until we get
Speaker 10: to training camp. I know they had a lot of
Speaker 10: experimenting moving people around that kind of thing during OTA's
Speaker 10: and MIDI caamp.
Speaker 11: I'm anxious to see.
Speaker 10: When the pads come on, when training camp really begins
Speaker 10: as to what they do now. The back end of
Speaker 10: the defense I thought got tremendously better when they signed
Speaker 10: Xavier McKinney. That was a big one, and then when
Speaker 10: they drafted Javon Bullard Bullet's a rookie. He didn't start
Speaker 10: in their alignments during OTA's.
Speaker 11: In MIDI camp.
Speaker 10: It'll be interesting to see how quickly he's in that
Speaker 10: lineup though, once we get to training camp. But I
Speaker 10: think from a safety standpoint, they're going to be better
Speaker 10: in the middle of the field, downfield, and I think
Speaker 10: that's really important. Up front, they feel like they have
Speaker 10: the horses to convert to this four to three.
Speaker 7: Base Wayne Jim Miller here, always good to talk to you,
Speaker 7: and really I want to focus on the quarterbacks because
Speaker 7: Matt Lafleur. You think about when Aaron Rodgers was there,
Speaker 7: it was big that he wanted to be able to
Speaker 7: audible place, you know, and you know they were kind
Speaker 7: of button heads a little bit. And now Matt Lafleur
Speaker 7: with these young quarterbacks, this is probably one of the
Speaker 7: youngest quarterback rooms in the league with Jordan Love, Sean Clifford,
Speaker 7: and Michael Pratt. The coach has taken it upon himself
Speaker 7: to kind of bring these young quarterbacks along with Tom Clemmens,
Speaker 7: and I just want to talk about that dynamic. Because
Speaker 7: they didn't sign a veteran to back up Jordan Love.
Speaker 7: They basically drafted Shan Clifford out of Penn State and
Speaker 7: said we're going to roll with these young guys.
Speaker 11: Yeah, and then to Michael Pratt.
Speaker 10: I think when you're talking about Clifford and Pratt, you
Speaker 10: talk about guys they're trying to develop and not necessarily
Speaker 10: to start for them, but to start for someone else.
Speaker 10: And maybe these are It's kind of like what Ron
Speaker 10: Wolf did in the nineties drafting Matt Hasselback and that
Speaker 10: type of thing. You draft these guys late, you develop
Speaker 10: them over the course of three four years, and then
Speaker 10: you make a play, you know, get it for another
Speaker 10: draft pick. Maybe they're part of a deal that brings
Speaker 10: a veteran player to your football team, that type of thing.
Speaker 10: But they like these two guys for a couple of reasons.
Speaker 10: Seawan Clifford number one, he's a gamer type. Okay, all
Speaker 10: these guys. It's amazing today that people who cover teams
Speaker 10: have to write about practice like it's a game and
Speaker 10: you know.
Speaker 12: A.
Speaker 11: Row En route.
Speaker 10: At one point I said on Twitter to one of
Speaker 10: the guys, I said, you know, he was going into
Speaker 10: great detail over this tremendous catch that was made in Minichem.
Speaker 10: I said, we're talking about practice here, right, not a
Speaker 10: game practice, okay. And so the Clifford's kind of kid
Speaker 10: that he shows up in games, very resourceful, smart, understands defenses,
Speaker 10: that kind of thing. Michael Prats a guy who in
Speaker 10: four years at Tulane had four different offensive coordinators, played
Speaker 10: a lot of college football. They really like him. You know,
Speaker 10: they got him in the seventh round. A lot of
Speaker 10: the draft experts had him middle rounds, like fourth maybe
Speaker 10: fifth round. So they feel like they got value there.
Speaker 10: They have two quarterbacks, young guys that they feel like
Speaker 10: they and develop the veteran guy Jim that you mentioned.
Speaker 10: Those teams that I guess are on the verge of
Speaker 10: the Super Bowl if you look at them, they have
Speaker 10: a veteran in place, a guy who has started and
Speaker 10: won a couple of games in his NFL career. That's
Speaker 10: generally the case, but not all the time. Ted Thompson
Speaker 10: never had that under Aaron Rodgers. And there were a
Speaker 10: couple of times where almost burned them, like in twenty
Speaker 10: thirteen when Rogers went down. You know, they tried a
Speaker 10: couple of quarterbacks they had on the roster. They had
Speaker 10: to go back and get Matt Flynn to save the season.
Speaker 10: So you know, it's interesting how that works. But I
Speaker 10: think when a front office feels like it's on the
Speaker 10: cusp of the Super Bowl. I'm not talking about the
Speaker 10: Packers now, but normally you got a veteran in there
Speaker 10: backing up your starter that you could win a couple
Speaker 10: of games with if your starter goes down.
Speaker 4: Wayne Larvy, our guest here on Bears Weekly on ESPN
Speaker 4: one thousand of the Bears Radio Network. Wayne, in your opinion,
Speaker 4: how impressive was it the Packers did what they did offensively?
Speaker 4: Is the season war on with young receivers first or
Speaker 4: rookie year players at all the skill position receiving positions,
Speaker 4: including tight end. To me, I didn't see that coming,
Speaker 4: but boy, I was impressive. And who emerges as the
Speaker 4: number one guy out of that group, especially a wide receiver?
Speaker 10: Yeah, a good point. Who emerges That's the thing that
Speaker 10: people are wondering about here. Christian Watson certainly could be
Speaker 10: that guy if he can stay healthy and stay on
Speaker 10: the field. Jaden Reid's got a great quality to him.
Speaker 10: Kid out of Naperville, Illinois. Romeo Dobbs is a solid
Speaker 10: red zone, crafty receiver in the middle of the field.
Speaker 10: Bo Melton made some plays late in the season. Jeff,
Speaker 10: I got to tell you, I was shocked as well
Speaker 10: watching the development of that team. They start out two
Speaker 10: and one, they won that opener in Chicago. They feel
Speaker 10: pretty good about themselves in two and one, and then
Speaker 10: they go into a four game losing street. They're the
Speaker 10: youngest team in the league. They don't win a game
Speaker 10: for forty two days. I'm saying to myself, you know,
Speaker 10: I've seen some bad teams Kansas City, even the Wanstead
Speaker 10: years in Chicago. You know, especially young teams. They go
Speaker 10: into the tank when they lose four in a row,
Speaker 10: they haven't won and over a month.
Speaker 11: But that team, I think.
Speaker 10: And I talked to la Floor about this briefly, because
Speaker 10: he only talks to me briefly. Yeah, typical head coach,
Speaker 10: play by play guy. The head coach is gonna give
Speaker 10: you maybe a minute. But I talked to him on
Speaker 10: the way into practice one time and I said, you know,
Speaker 10: that's amazing what happened down the stretch. He said, you know,
Speaker 10: I think the fact that those young guys had no
Speaker 10: idea what they were supposed to do. They just showed
Speaker 10: up and kept playing, and they got better and when
Speaker 10: the guys around Jordan Love got better, he got better
Speaker 10: and they built some momentum. They had very good chemistry,
Speaker 10: those young guys, and you know, now there's a belief
Speaker 10: that they can do this, and they proved it down
Speaker 10: the stretch in the last six games of the regular season,
Speaker 10: last eight games of the season itself, they accomplished a
Speaker 10: lot and they feel like they're a team on the rise.
Speaker 10: They don't really care what the outside is thinking. Their
Speaker 10: expectations inside that locker room have changed this year.
Speaker 6: Hey, Wayne, I was a big fan of Aaron Jones.
Speaker 5: I think he's a great player, But I don't know
Speaker 5: about the Green Bay running game out Do you guys
Speaker 5: know enough about it?
Speaker 6: Did the coaches know enough about it?
Speaker 5: Because it seems like when you have a guy like
Speaker 5: Aaron Jones, you know how it's going to fit in
Speaker 5: your offense. When you have a new running back, do
Speaker 5: they know exactly what your running game is gonna look like?
Speaker 11: Yeah? Absolutely.
Speaker 10: I think they gained that in this spring and during
Speaker 10: the MIDI camp. Josh Jacobs said spent the whole offseason
Speaker 10: in Green Bay, and they gave him some time off
Speaker 10: at the MIDI camp. I think they know what they've
Speaker 10: got with this guy. He's not as dynamic as you
Speaker 10: know Aaron Jones could be, but he's probably a little
Speaker 10: more durable. In five years, he's missed ten games, four
Speaker 10: of which came last year. He didn't have a good
Speaker 10: year in Las Vegas last year, but you know what,
Speaker 10: he this the last four games rushed for over eight
Speaker 10: hundred yards. They feel like they've got a workhorse kind
Speaker 10: of running back in Josh Jacobs. Now they retained A. J.
Speaker 10: Dillon and then they drafted Marshaun Lloyd. Lloyd is a
Speaker 10: guy who might be able to give them that big
Speaker 10: play dimension if Jacobs doesn't.
Speaker 11: But Jacobs, hey, two years.
Speaker 10: Ago when he led the league in rushing, you know,
Speaker 10: he led the league in ten plus yard runs, I
Speaker 10: believe with forty.
Speaker 11: One that year.
Speaker 7: Final one for me, Wayne is about your special teams
Speaker 7: coach Rich Bisacia. Obviously, with the new kickoff rule, I
Speaker 7: don't know can you get can you glean anything on
Speaker 7: what your discussions with Bisacia and how they're going to
Speaker 7: attack this new rule.
Speaker 10: You know, they did a lot of work and experience,
Speaker 10: try to get some experience in that regard lining up
Speaker 10: and that kind of thing. Couldn't really tell a whole
Speaker 10: lot Jim from the mini camp or even the OTAs
Speaker 10: as to how they're going to approach this. It's gonna
Speaker 10: be very interesting.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 10: I've been going over that rule and there's so many
Speaker 10: different things that can happen.
Speaker 11: Okay, the kickoff.
Speaker 10: Lands in the landing zone, you got to return it.
Speaker 10: If it bounds hits in the landing zone into the
Speaker 10: end zone and you don't return it, you know, where
Speaker 10: does the ball come out?
Speaker 11: Comes out?
Speaker 10: I guess to the thirty yard line, that kind of thing.
Speaker 10: So there's a lot of things going on with this rule.
Speaker 10: They feel like Keishawn Nixon, who's kind of built like
Speaker 10: a running back, and maybe it's a running back type
Speaker 10: of thing that you're going to need with this because
Speaker 10: as you've got everybody in the receiving zone except for
Speaker 10: the kicker, everybody's right there, and so you maybe need
Speaker 10: more of a running back type mentality on that return.
Speaker 10: But it's going to be very interesting to see what
Speaker 10: teams do and how they work that. But needless to say,
Speaker 10: I think it's going to have a I don't know
Speaker 10: what you guys think. It's going to have a major
Speaker 10: impact on offense in this league, because I think in
Speaker 10: many respects you might be seeing teams come out with
Speaker 10: much better field position on average than they did off
Speaker 10: a football kickoff return of a year ago.
Speaker 4: Yeah, no more bathroom breaks or coffee breaks for fans.
Speaker 4: You gotta watch no way know how. It's gonna be
Speaker 4: fun to watch.
Speaker 3: Wayne. Appreciate the time as always.
Speaker 11: We'll see you soon, all right, guys, take care.
Speaker 4: That's Wayne Lravie coming up next, Dan Miller of the
Speaker 4: Detroit Lions Radio Network. That's next on Bears Weekly on
Speaker 4: ESPN one thousand of the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 1: Is Bears Weekly with a voice of the Bears for
Speaker 1: twenty three years, Jeff Jonia on the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 4: This segment of Bears Weekly is brought to you by
Speaker 4: CDW people who get it, Jeff and Tom and Jim
Speaker 4: Miller from Sirius XMNFL Radio and our good friend Dan Miller,
Speaker 4: the voice of the Detroit Lions, a playoff team, super
Speaker 4: Bowl contender a year ago and a favorite to contend
Speaker 4: again for the Super Bowl here in twenty twenty four.
Speaker 4: Big Dan, how you feeling? And I see that big
Speaker 4: Lion in the background. We're on zoom fans, so we
Speaker 4: could see that roaring lion. The roar is definitely restored in.
Speaker 12: Yeah, it feels good. You know what, it was a
Speaker 12: fun season.
Speaker 13: It was something that these fans had never been able
Speaker 13: to enjoy, which was a playoff game at Ford Field
Speaker 13: and then to win two playoff games at Ford Field
Speaker 13: to get to the NFC Championship game. Obviously a disappointment there,
Speaker 13: but it's something to build on. And I think that's
Speaker 13: probably the biggest key, guys, is we're dealing with something
Speaker 13: that we haven't dealt with here before, and that's watching
Speaker 13: this team try to build on success. You got to
Speaker 13: start all over again, do it all again, have some
Speaker 13: luck with injuries, execute win things like that. So you know,
Speaker 13: really it is I look at this team, it's a
Speaker 13: really talented team. I think they're really good on paper.
Speaker 13: But now it's go out and prove it on the
Speaker 13: field again.
Speaker 5: You know, Dan, when you look at sustained success for
Speaker 5: a football team, to me, because I'm an ex offensive lineman,
Speaker 5: I think it starts with the consistency at the offensive line.
Speaker 5: You guys invested some big money in the offseason and
Speaker 5: you got that group back. How is important is that group,
Speaker 5: specifically to the swagger of the locker.
Speaker 13: Room, Thomas everything. It's every every thing. And I've said
Speaker 13: this before. It's like when you're in high school and
Speaker 13: you walk into a party with the baddest dude in
Speaker 13: the world and you know nobody's messing with you. That's
Speaker 13: what they feel like when they walk on the field
Speaker 13: with this offensive line.
Speaker 12: I mean, they just feel like that group that is
Speaker 12: the face of the team.
Speaker 13: You can talk about other guys, and there's other terrific
Speaker 13: players on this team, but that group collectively is the
Speaker 13: face of this team.
Speaker 12: It's the engine. It which makes them go.
Speaker 13: It gives them confidence, it gives them a running game,
Speaker 13: it gives them time for Jared Goff to do what
Speaker 13: he does. They've put a lot of assets into it.
Speaker 13: There's three number one picks there and all pro they
Speaker 13: signed from Baltimore and Zeitner this past offseason, and a
Speaker 13: former third round pick who went to Denver and came back.
Speaker 13: So this isn't by accident. This is something that they
Speaker 13: wanted to build around. But your point is dead on,
Speaker 13: because this is what makes them go. That's what gives
Speaker 13: them confidence every week that they can control the line
Speaker 13: of scrimmage.
Speaker 7: Dan, Jim Miller here, always good to talk to you.
Speaker 7: The perception of Jared Goff when the trade was going down,
Speaker 7: and then the perception now of Jared Golf, because I
Speaker 7: think it was midway through the season that Dan Campbell
Speaker 7: in that postgame prescot which said, Jared Goff, You've earned
Speaker 7: the right to be the quarterback of the Detroit Lions.
Speaker 7: Just the perception of Golf.
Speaker 12: No doubt, Jim, good talk to you.
Speaker 13: It's look, when he was brought over from the Rams,
Speaker 13: I think there was a feeling in Detroit like, Okay,
Speaker 13: you traded Stafford, you're going to start over again now,
Speaker 13: and he was going to be and this word's been
Speaker 13: used a lot and now it's kind of laughed at
Speaker 13: here in Detroit.
Speaker 11: A bridge quarterback.
Speaker 12: But the one guy.
Speaker 13: That absolutely didn't think he was a bridge quarterback was
Speaker 13: Brad Holmes, who was the guy that was drafting him
Speaker 13: in Los Angeles before they know, fell out of favor
Speaker 13: there and came to Detroit. So he always believed that
Speaker 13: he could be the starting quarterback. Now he had to
Speaker 13: prove it. He had to show that he was still
Speaker 13: the guy that helped the Rams get to the Super Bowl.
Speaker 13: But look, I think in Detroit there were no huge expectations,
Speaker 13: under any circumstances that Jared Golf was going to be
Speaker 13: this guy, this good. When they traded Matthew Stafford, I
Speaker 13: think it was more about trading Stafford starting over getting
Speaker 13: a first round pick, and then the feeling was, oh,
Speaker 13: you got a second first round pick because you took
Speaker 13: on Jared Goff's contract. But I think this organization always
Speaker 13: had faith in him that if they surrounded him with
Speaker 13: the right people, he could be the guy. And I
Speaker 13: think he's proven to this point that that is the case.
Speaker 13: So yeah, the perception has absolutely changed. You heard it
Speaker 13: before the Rams game last year in the playoffs, where.
Speaker 12: These fans ninety minutes before the game are chanting Jared Goff.
Speaker 13: They're doing it in super in grocery stores, They're doing
Speaker 13: it in Wings games, they're doing it at Pistons games.
Speaker 13: It's unbelievable just the way this guy has kind of
Speaker 13: adopted Detroit and they've adopted him.
Speaker 4: Yeah, that bridge, Dan Miller, our guest here on Bears
Speaker 4: Weekly on ESPN one thousand of the Bears Ready to
Speaker 4: netwhere that bridge has been reconstructed towards.
Speaker 3: Higher aspirations.
Speaker 4: That's for sure a possible super Bowl for the Detroit Lions.
Speaker 3: I'm going to say hard knocks for Tom.
Speaker 4: Tom's intrigued by this hard knocks, so I know he's
Speaker 4: got a hard knocks question.
Speaker 3: I'm sure he.
Speaker 4: Does, because you guys have lived it. But what is
Speaker 4: the most pressing issue from your perspective for the lines
Speaker 4: as they enter training camp?
Speaker 13: You know, I think it's what can that defensive line do?
Speaker 13: What can that how much improvement can they make in
Speaker 13: terms of making quarterbacks uncomfortable.
Speaker 12: They've flipped that whole secondary.
Speaker 13: It's gonna look the cornerback room looks completely different. Safety's
Speaker 13: probably gonna look different because Brian Branch is gonna get
Speaker 13: a lot of time back there. They went out and
Speaker 13: got Carlon Davis, went out and got Meek Robertson first
Speaker 13: two draft picks were corners. So those guys, I think,
Speaker 13: especially some of those young guys. Two of those rookies
Speaker 13: are going to be playing their way into it. But
Speaker 13: what can help them is the defensive line. We know
Speaker 13: who Aiden Hutchinson is, we know who Ali McNeil is.
Speaker 13: They signed DJ Reader. He's probably going to be a
Speaker 13: late start here. He's coming off an injury. I don't
Speaker 13: think he'll be ready to go at the beginning of camp.
Speaker 13: He might be pushing the beginning of the regular season
Speaker 13: before he's ready to go. So it's it's a question
Speaker 13: of who else can get it done. They signed Marcus Davenport. Look,
Speaker 13: he hasn't played particularly well in his NFL career, but
Speaker 13: you got coaches here that were with him in New
Speaker 13: Orleans that.
Speaker 12: Believe that they can get something out of them.
Speaker 13: James Houston is back and healthy again, so there's a
Speaker 13: number of guys.
Speaker 12: That are candidates.
Speaker 13: They've got two first second round draft picks, excuse me,
Speaker 13: that haven't played particularly well over time in on Zerique
Speaker 13: and Pascal. Those guys are going to get another opportunity.
Speaker 13: But Jeff, to me, it's they haven't made quarterbacks uncomfortable
Speaker 13: very often outside of Hutchinson.
Speaker 12: They've got to do that.
Speaker 13: That can really be the missing piece on that defense
Speaker 13: and lift everybody else up.
Speaker 5: You know, Dan Dan Campbell is the most Dica like
Speaker 5: head coach that I've ever seen. After playing for Ditka
Speaker 5: are you can you appreciate the fact that he doesn't
Speaker 5: hide from the cameras, that he shows his emotion and
Speaker 5: then he shows the leadership type traits to his job
Speaker 5: that he has.
Speaker 13: Yeah, he's been the exact guy that this franchise in
Speaker 13: this city needed. Literally from the moment he walked in
Speaker 13: the door from his opening press conference that everybody's already
Speaker 13: talked a lot about.
Speaker 3: He is who he is.
Speaker 13: He's exactly the same guy when he's standing at the
Speaker 13: podium as if you were standing in the corner drinking
Speaker 13: a beer with him, just you know, shooting the ball.
Speaker 13: He doesn't change, And I think that's what players appreciate
Speaker 13: about him. He gives you exactly what you deserve. You
Speaker 13: know where you stand with him.
Speaker 12: There's just a.
Speaker 13: People quality about him that resonates with players, and it
Speaker 13: resonates with people just you leave a conversation with him
Speaker 13: and you think that's a good dude. Now, look, he's serious,
Speaker 13: he is intense, he is driven. But the core of
Speaker 13: it all is this is a good guy who's a
Speaker 13: good leader, who players want to play for.
Speaker 12: You've seen that here in Detroit.
Speaker 13: And I think it's been a big part of what's
Speaker 13: allowed this team to kind of take off and endure
Speaker 13: the tough times early because look, when they were three
Speaker 13: thirteen and one and then one and six to start
Speaker 13: the next season. You know, some but then Campbell's equity
Speaker 13: that he had bought was helping him there because there
Speaker 13: were some questions about, man, is this the right guy?
Speaker 13: But certainly he has proven after that that he is.
Speaker 7: Let me follow up with that, Dan, because he's been
Speaker 7: aggressive for this team to win, you know, going forward
Speaker 7: on fourth down and situations, and some would even say
Speaker 7: even in the championship game, you know how aggressive he was.
Speaker 7: Do you think he'll grow as a coach? You know,
Speaker 7: now that he knows he's probably got a more talented team,
Speaker 7: will he be as aggressive as he's been going on?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 13: I think inherited that question, Jim, is whether or not
Speaker 13: that requires growth, because that would indicate that you disagree
Speaker 13: with what he did, and I understand that all that's
Speaker 13: up for argument.
Speaker 12: I don't know that he feels that way.
Speaker 13: I don't know they necessarily feels that coaching the other
Speaker 13: way would be growth, or that it would be him
Speaker 13: maturing as a coach or anything like that.
Speaker 12: I think this is the way he wants to play it.
Speaker 13: His best unit on this team is his offense, and
Speaker 13: it's one that he.
Speaker 12: Trusts the most.
Speaker 13: Look where there are times where I thought they should
Speaker 13: have gone for three points here, there were, but there
Speaker 13: were other times as well. You can look at a
Speaker 13: fourth down against the Rams touchdown, fourth rown against the
Speaker 13: fourth down against the Bucks touchdown in the playoffs, where
Speaker 13: if they don't make it, he probably gets criticized. They
Speaker 13: did make it and it's like, all right, touchdown and
Speaker 13: there's not a lot.
Speaker 9: Of talk about it afterwards.
Speaker 13: There's talk about the misses, but there have been some
Speaker 13: big moments where he's been able to do that roll
Speaker 13: the Dice opening game in Kansas City last year, fourth down,
Speaker 13: fake punt inside your own twenty. So I mean, yeah,
Speaker 13: he's different than other guys. I don't know if he's
Speaker 13: going to change, because I think that's in part who
Speaker 13: he is. If they get a little more consistency, maybe
Speaker 13: in a little more trust in the field goal game,
Speaker 13: maybe that changes some thoughts. They've got Jake Bates, the
Speaker 13: kid who blew up the UFL this past season, and
Speaker 13: we'll see if he can come in and win a
Speaker 13: job against Badgeley. But I think it's something we're all
Speaker 13: going to find out together. But I will say this, Jim,
Speaker 13: I do think he's extremely comfortable in the decisions that
Speaker 13: he makes, and I don't think that there are necessarily
Speaker 13: ones that he looks back on and.
Speaker 11: Has great regret for.
Speaker 13: So I'm gonna learn as you learn as we watch
Speaker 13: this thing unfold. But in my conversations with him, I've
Speaker 13: just grown to believe.
Speaker 12: That that's who he is.
Speaker 4: Final moments with Dan Milder Dan Tom doesn't have time
Speaker 4: to give this question. So what are we bracing for
Speaker 4: our first go around with Hard Knocks?
Speaker 13: You know what, guys, I went into this and I
Speaker 13: will tell you the organization for years avoided that. They
Speaker 13: made it clear they didn't want anything to do with it.
Speaker 13: Is I know a lot of teams have and when they.
Speaker 12: Got here, I will tell you it was really cool.
Speaker 13: And the people that are there from NFL films and
Speaker 13: Hard Knocks are phenomenal at their jobs.
Speaker 12: You don't even know they're there. I'll tell a quick story.
Speaker 13: We were reporting a training camp special the first day
Speaker 13: of training camp when they were there, and somebody sent
Speaker 13: me a picture afterwards and there were two Hard Knocks
Speaker 13: guys like laying on their bellies somebody else with the
Speaker 13: boom mighty hanging over the top.
Speaker 12: I never knew they were there. I mean, these.
Speaker 13: Guys just understand how to stay out of the way.
Speaker 13: The content is terrific. I think your fans are gonna
Speaker 13: love every Twoday night watching the show. I think you
Speaker 13: guys will enjoy watching this show every Tuesday night. We
Speaker 13: got to see things that we never got to see before.
Speaker 13: So going in I thought it would be intrusive. I
Speaker 13: wasn't comfortable with it, and I don't know how the
Speaker 13: organization this regime felt, because I think this time they
Speaker 13: kind of sought it out and said, heck, let's do it.
Speaker 12: In the end, I think.
Speaker 13: It was a huge, huge plus for Detroit because people
Speaker 13: saw Dan Campbell and what he is, Brad Holmes and
Speaker 13: what he is in this organization, and how it had
Speaker 13: changed and changed a lot of the ways that people
Speaker 13: had thought of the Detroit Lions before. So I got
Speaker 13: nothing but good things to say about it.
Speaker 3: Good stuff.
Speaker 4: We'll be looking forward to that and seeing you not
Speaker 4: until Thanksgiving, so it's a late start for the division
Speaker 4: for the Bears this year. We'll jam into over the holidays, though,
Speaker 4: So that'll be yes, yes, all right, big Dan, Mitt,
Speaker 4: appreciate your time.
Speaker 3: We will talk to you soon. Thanks for joining us.
Speaker 4: Let's take our final break and we'll rejoin Jim and
Speaker 4: Tom after this break on ESPN one thousand of the
Speaker 4: Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 1: This Bears Weekly the voice of the Bears for twenty
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Speaker 4: with Chicago Bears VIP. Down to our final stretch of
Speaker 4: Bears Weekly This week. Tom hearing a lot of great
Speaker 4: things about the NFC North, but let's shift it back
Speaker 4: to the Bears here as they fit into division. Just
Speaker 4: hamm an Eggadan here, toughest defensive coordinator to the three
Speaker 4: that the Bears are going to face here in twenty
Speaker 4: twenty four in the division.
Speaker 3: That they have to decodify, so to speak.
Speaker 5: Well, the you know, the attacking ability of the Minnesota.
Speaker 6: Defensive coordinator floors.
Speaker 5: You know when you talk about is he facing an
Speaker 5: offensive line that has some deficiencies.
Speaker 6: With the first year starting quarterback.
Speaker 5: Now, if you're going to try to take advantage of
Speaker 5: that and you put the offensive line in the worst
Speaker 5: position possible when you play in Minnesota and you have it,
Speaker 5: you know, to me is my biggest concern. I think
Speaker 5: when I look at what that defensive coordinator is willing
Speaker 5: to do to young, inexperienced quarterbacks. And listen, Caleb is
Speaker 5: going to be inexperience until his second year. So it's no,
Speaker 5: I'm not saying anything disrespectful to the quarterback position. It's
Speaker 5: just one of the most difficult positions to master, and
Speaker 5: especially under the circumstances that he's going to see in
Speaker 5: the NFL's first year.
Speaker 7: Yeah, for me, it's going to be Brian Flores because
Speaker 7: he provides a lot of different looks, a lot of
Speaker 7: different blitz packages. You got to know your pickups things
Speaker 7: like that. So that can be challenging for a young
Speaker 7: quarterback because now again you don't have two days, you're
Speaker 7: only doing walkthroughs. You're not doing things full speed and
Speaker 7: live and how you're gonna react to a certain blitz
Speaker 7: in order to get the timing down. So it's just
Speaker 7: it's much more difficult. But I would I would think
Speaker 7: it's Floras of the Minnesota Vikings.
Speaker 5: Yeah, you know what, Can I just say one thing, Jeff,
Speaker 5: two is when you look at the schedule and you
Speaker 5: think not starting the division games until week ten, there's
Speaker 5: gonna lot of be a lot of exposure to what
Speaker 5: Caleb is doing well and what he's not doing so
Speaker 5: well at the first time they start playing these division teams,
Speaker 5: so they're gonna know a lot more about him. Caleb
Speaker 5: will know a lot more about himself, but you're still
Speaker 5: facing a guy that's gonna have a lot of film
Speaker 5: to look at.
Speaker 4: That's a great point. Yeah, I keep saying it's actually
Speaker 4: a week eleven. Week eleven is when the season starts, right,
Speaker 4: I mean that stretch is gonna be nasty and it's
Speaker 4: gonna be fun. Though, It's gonna be fun to see
Speaker 4: how everybody grows together, and who emerges.
Speaker 3: Out of that bunch. I mean, I already know what
Speaker 3: Keenan Allen DJ Moore can do. But who's that next guy.
Speaker 4: Maybe it's a DeAndre Swiff, Maybe it is a Roma Dunesday,
Speaker 4: Maybe it's Gerald Evertt in combination with Cole Comet.
Speaker 3: Just so many options.
Speaker 4: I'm jim, I'm interested to see what kind of defense
Speaker 4: Jeff Hafley is gonna call in Green Bay.
Speaker 3: And I was gonna use some really good pieces there
Speaker 3: right now.
Speaker 4: And again they look they reloaded in the secondary, They
Speaker 4: got linebacker depth, a little bit, little faster at the
Speaker 4: linebacker position.
Speaker 7: Now, yeah, when you look at Green Bay, I thought
Speaker 7: it was a good pick by them taking the Edger
Speaker 7: and Cooper because he provides a lot of speed. He's
Speaker 7: a good off the ball linebacker. But they're going to
Speaker 7: an entirely different defense. They were a three to four
Speaker 7: defense now with Jeff Hafley there, they're gonna be a
Speaker 7: four to three defense.
Speaker 9: At times.
Speaker 7: They'll kick Lucas Fantas inside, They'll have Rashan Gary obviously
Speaker 7: Preston Smith As are outside defensive ends. But coverage wise,
Speaker 7: he'll mix up the coverages more than say the last
Speaker 7: defense coordinator who was there, Man, I'm blinking out of
Speaker 7: Joe Barry. Joe Barry who was there pre So he'll
Speaker 7: he'll man up, say Jaira Alexander, So he'll go against
Speaker 7: Dj Moore, he'll line up. You know, a lot of
Speaker 7: times in their with their last defensive coordinator, they didn't
Speaker 7: go straight man to man, and that's what Jaira Alexander
Speaker 7: and a lot of secondary players were complaining about.
Speaker 11: For the green Bay Packers.
Speaker 7: So whole new defense, all new coverages, and there'll be
Speaker 7: a lot of different looks from Green Bay this year.
Speaker 3: Let me ask you this.
Speaker 4: Did anybody see the Giants on HBO Hard Knocks the
Speaker 4: off season with the Giants? Have you seen any of
Speaker 4: those clips?
Speaker 9: A little bit of that?
Speaker 3: Yeah, yep, Tom. I don't know if you can see
Speaker 3: that in your world.
Speaker 4: Of detachment from society, but there's some clips out there.
Speaker 4: The behind the scenes interviews Roma Dunes and Caleb Williams.
Speaker 4: Takeaway is they were both very impressive in the Giants,
Speaker 4: as many teams were very intrigued by both. If you
Speaker 4: meet Roma Duneesa, you're going to be impressed with the guy.
Speaker 4: There's no way, you're not. He's mature and that maturity
Speaker 4: showed in that interview with Joe Shane and Brian Dable,
Speaker 4: the and the New York Giants, and same with Caleb Williams.
Speaker 12: Tom.
Speaker 4: They had Caleb, if you had to take one snap,
Speaker 4: one play your favorite pass playing run, it's seventy times
Speaker 4: in the game despite the coverage, which one would it be,
Speaker 4: and he'd put it on the board.
Speaker 3: Dable's throwing a bunch of coverages at him. Boom nailed it.
Speaker 3: It was impressive.
Speaker 5: Yeah, well, you know, that's the thing about it is
Speaker 5: when you have Caleb.
Speaker 6: Williams and Roma Doonsa and all the you know, kind of.
Speaker 5: Difficult interviews that they are facing and kind of knowing, Okay,
Speaker 5: I'm never gonna get to this football team because I'm
Speaker 5: gonna be one of the first guys picked in the draft.
Speaker 5: In terms of Caleb Williams, so you kind of have
Speaker 5: to respect the fact that he pays attention and really
Speaker 5: understood and respected the interviews that he was going through
Speaker 5: even though he knew realistically he wasn't gonna get there.
Speaker 5: But my hope is that some of the Bears and
Speaker 5: some of the people that know those microphones are live.
Speaker 5: They kind of look at this hard knock of the
Speaker 5: giants and understand the scrutiny they could possibly be under.
Speaker 5: Because what I've seen of the giants is some some
Speaker 5: of the comments that they weren't making behind the scenes
Speaker 5: because the microphones.
Speaker 6: Are in the room.
Speaker 5: So just be aware when you're going through your same
Speaker 5: experience on hard novel, the inside the building personnel.
Speaker 3: Right, all right, fellas we're out of time. That's going
Speaker 3: to do it for us.
Speaker 4: The executive producer of the Bears Radio Network is Eric Ostrowski.
Speaker 4: Thanks to our Bears producers Dan Brilli and Jordan tread
Speaker 4: Up and Kender Smith in the studio for Tom Fair,
Speaker 4: Jim Miller and all our guests. Tonight, thanks for listening.
Speaker 4: This has been Bears Weekly. I'm a new radio home
Speaker 4: of the Chicago Bears. A guess be in Chicago. Good night,
Speaker 4: everybody blacking of data our next.
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