Speaker 1: Right justin middle of the field for fifteen bring Russ
Speaker 1: in front of a leading.
Speaker 2: Lions and his wife.
Speaker 1: I am Jeff Jonihac, which is not done.
Speaker 3: What was like playing for Coachy Boddom.
Speaker 1: I don't want to answer any questions like that. Sixty
Speaker 1: one yards? What's Sunday stroll for? Justin field? Yes.
Speaker 4: Bears et cetera brought to you by Miller Lte with
Speaker 4: the voices of the Bears, Jeff Joniac and Tom Thayer.
Speaker 1: Well, we have reached the pinnacle of podcast numbers. It
Speaker 1: is the Tom Thayer, Olden Krutz, Jack Samborn, Episode fifty
Speaker 1: seven of The Bears et Cetera podcast with Super Bowl
Speaker 1: winning Bears guard Tom Thayer. I'm Jeff Joniak. I'm coming
Speaker 1: to you from the scouting combine in Indianapolis. Tom. I
Speaker 1: believe this is my twenty seventh combine out of the
Speaker 1: last twenty eight years. It's been crazy. I've enjoyed it.
Speaker 1: I've learned a lot. Wish you were here. You were
Speaker 1: a player, so you've been involved with plenty of combines.
Speaker 1: Today was a big day for the Bears media and
Speaker 1: the fans. They heard from general manager Ryan Poles. We're
Speaker 1: gonna hear that entire fifteen minutes with the media. I
Speaker 1: wish he had a decision, wish he had news, but
Speaker 1: there's a long way in Tom. Frankly, it would be
Speaker 1: egregious to just say, Okay, this is what we're doing.
Speaker 1: They gotta meet these guys, they gotta explore, they gotta listen,
Speaker 1: they gotta listen, probably twice as much as they speak
Speaker 1: in these situations, and see what's offered out there. How
Speaker 1: do you how do you put that on a bundle?
Speaker 2: Well, I'm going to analogize it for you. And I
Speaker 2: don't know if you're ever a fan of watching the
Speaker 2: World Series of Poker. Now, when you get down to
Speaker 2: the final table and you have all these guys that
Speaker 2: are competing for millions of dollars in first place position,
Speaker 2: there's a lot of conversation there and nothing has ever said.
Speaker 2: I'm not gonna tip you on my hand, I'm not
Speaker 2: gonna keep you any information. I'm not gonna tell you
Speaker 2: what card I'm looking for. And that's when I was
Speaker 2: listening to Riot Poles and listen, I really respect the
Speaker 2: heck out of Ryan Pulls and the way he speaks
Speaker 2: to the media because he's never searching for words, he's
Speaker 2: never looking for answers, he's never avoiding eye contact. But
Speaker 2: he's not gonna tell you anything. And I think that's
Speaker 2: the way every general manager rides through the combine, unless
Speaker 2: you're at the bottom of the barrel and you're trying
Speaker 2: to pick everybody's brain to see if there's any information
Speaker 2: that can help you. But Ryan is not going to
Speaker 2: help anybody until he does his due diligence. He does
Speaker 2: he you know, he's got his representatives that do nice
Speaker 2: investigative work, and then it'll all come out on the
Speaker 2: day of the draft.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, or much before that, involving if they're
Speaker 1: going to stick with Justin or are they're gonna draft somebody?
Speaker 1: Are they gonna keep both and work their way around that.
Speaker 1: But you know, he's as transparent as they come though
Speaker 1: at the general manager position. From my experience, he doesn't
Speaker 1: need to tell you everything. But he does tell you
Speaker 1: his process. He's not shy about that. There are others
Speaker 1: that don't even give you that much detail. And by
Speaker 1: the way, this episode of Bears, etc. Brought to you
Speaker 1: by Miller Lite, So like you, I have a ton
Speaker 1: of respect for him and his staff. And what they're
Speaker 1: doing here. This is rare, it's happened. Jacksonville the most
Speaker 1: recent one to have first round picks back to back
Speaker 1: years that are the number one pick in the draft.
Speaker 1: But in terms of also having to make a decision
Speaker 1: on a former number one quarterback that has done a
Speaker 1: lot of nice things in the National Football League and
Speaker 1: is one of its most dynamic athletes that is still
Speaker 1: in your possession and what you could possibly do in
Speaker 1: many different cases. I know Ryan used the term hundreds
Speaker 1: of scenarios, and there may be there may be that
Speaker 1: many scenarios, right.
Speaker 2: You know, what I really liked is the line that
Speaker 2: he referenced Jeff King, one of his scouts, is using
Speaker 2: when he's describing the quarterback.
Speaker 1: Artist or surgeon, you can kind of see who's the
Speaker 1: artist that's really creative, doesn't draw within the lines. And
Speaker 1: then there's more of the surgeons who are like the
Speaker 1: Brady's and the Peyton's Peyton Manning reference there, and that
Speaker 1: is true. And he does talk about a little bit about,
Speaker 1: you know, justin fields and Caleb Williams, the comparisons there
Speaker 1: and arm angles and where they throw the ball from
Speaker 1: a lot of ad lib in both of their games.
Speaker 1: But we see on tape at USC and Oklahoma in
Speaker 1: his two and a half seasons there at those two
Speaker 1: colleges that this quarterback does have some magician to him
Speaker 1: for sure. And I don't know where's the value in
Speaker 1: the magician of the surgeon Towny.
Speaker 2: Well, you know to me. And when you look at
Speaker 2: Caleb Williams in his last year of college, he played
Speaker 2: with a very passive offensive line, so protection was never
Speaker 2: a guarantee. So a lot of times when you're looking
Speaker 2: at a surgeon, you're trying to make the best of
Speaker 2: what's offered to you, and so it wasn't going okay,
Speaker 2: I can guarantee myself in a hostile environment that I'm
Speaker 2: going to have five or six seconds to look at downfield,
Speaker 2: I'm gonna have to get out get the ball out
Speaker 2: of my hands immediately, and sometimes it can be with
Speaker 2: pressure in my face. So then we add, you know,
Speaker 2: computes to what type of arm angle you're going to use.
Speaker 2: And again just the reference by Jeff King, I thought
Speaker 2: it was it was a good explanation of what a
Speaker 2: quarterback can be.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, why don't we take a listen right now?
Speaker 1: The fifteen minutes with Bear's general manager Ryan Poles here
Speaker 1: from Indianapolis or the scouting combine, dressing all topics, including
Speaker 1: kicking off with congratulations to the newest Bears Hall of famers.
Speaker 3: All right, so I'll jump right in kind of update
Speaker 3: on topics that have happened since the last time I spoke.
Speaker 3: So first, I just want to congratulate all of our
Speaker 3: guys that got into the Hall of Fame. I know
Speaker 3: our fans have been waiting, and they've been waiting for
Speaker 3: a long time, so I know the entire organization's really
Speaker 3: excited for them. FLU hit it yesterday. Excited about our
Speaker 3: coaching staff we've put together moving forward. Shane and Eric
Speaker 3: and the rest of the crew were in good hands.
Speaker 3: They're going to do a really good job and coach
Speaker 3: hit on all the topics, teachers, communicators. Shane's got a
Speaker 3: really good feel for both the run in the past game.
Speaker 3: I really do adapt and adjusting the things that we're
Speaker 3: looking for. So we're I'm really pumped about that. Cody
Speaker 3: and Eddie, I know we put out a piece on them,
Speaker 3: but just want to say thank you to them for
Speaker 3: what they've done for the Bears. We felt like it
Speaker 3: was the right time to give them opportunity to go
Speaker 3: test the market see what's out there for them. I
Speaker 3: want to do right by them and do it as
Speaker 3: early as possible so they can put their plans in place,
Speaker 3: but really thankful for their leadership and everything they've brought
Speaker 3: to the organization Jalen Johnson. In the process of getting
Speaker 3: Jalen Johnson done, conversations are going well at this time.
Speaker 3: We feel like we've done a really good job kind
Speaker 3: of coming to the table strong, showing the respect that
Speaker 3: he's due just in terms of his production jew his career,
Speaker 3: and really an emphasis on the turnovers that he created
Speaker 3: this past year. Our expectation is that's going to continue
Speaker 3: to go as he's with the Bears. When it say
Speaker 3: coming strong, it means cash flows are strong, guarantees are strong,
Speaker 3: the term is strong. For him being hit with his age,
Speaker 3: there's a really good opportunity for him to go back
Speaker 3: to the market again and continue to earn money and
Speaker 3: play well, and hopefully that's what it bears for a
Speaker 3: long period of time. So I'm excited about that. Like
Speaker 3: I've said about those deals all the time, it takes
Speaker 3: two to tango, and you got to find a place
Speaker 3: that everyone feels comfortable with. So I feel really good
Speaker 3: about that situation. Now the hot topic the first pick
Speaker 3: quarterback situation. Contrary to reports out there, I have no
Speaker 3: master plan to present everyone today. This is opportunity for
Speaker 3: us to continue to gather information, learn about the different
Speaker 3: players in the draft, listen to what opportunities could come up,
Speaker 3: and then at the end of the day, we're gonna
Speaker 3: make the best decision that we can for the Chicago Bears.
Speaker 3: It will not be based on fear of what could
Speaker 3: happen with this and what could happen with that. We're
Speaker 3: gonna put our information together and make the best decision
Speaker 3: because at the end of the day, we'll always throw
Speaker 3: our decision making against kind of our core kind of deal,
Speaker 3: which is win championships in sustained success for a long
Speaker 3: period of time. There's a lot that goes into that,
Speaker 3: but we're excited to gather that information and create clarity
Speaker 3: as you go along.
Speaker 5: What is what is your if you decide to draft
Speaker 5: a quarterback? What is your motivation to trade justin before
Speaker 5: free agency starts, knowing that there might be a premium moment.
Speaker 3: Yeah, again, it just depends on what opportunities pop up,
Speaker 3: I will say this. I think you guys know me
Speaker 3: well enough now I do if we go down that road,
Speaker 3: I want to do right by Justin as well. No
Speaker 3: one wants to live in gray. I know that's uncomfortable.
Speaker 3: I wouldn't want to be in that situation either. So
Speaker 3: we'll gather the information, will move as quickly as possible.
Speaker 3: We're not gonna be in a rush, and see what
Speaker 3: presents itself and what's best for the organization.
Speaker 4: Did you talk to him, I know he've made those
Speaker 4: comments last week about kind of living in limbo on this.
Speaker 4: If you had conversations with him about where you guys
Speaker 4: are at right now in that process.
Speaker 3: Yeah, So I've always felt and I told told him
Speaker 3: this after the season when we had our exit meetings,
Speaker 3: that you know, transparency and communication is key in these moments,
Speaker 3: and I told them we will do that. So I've
Speaker 3: been in contact with his team and it kind of
Speaker 3: let him let them know like what we're looking at,
Speaker 3: how things might play out, and that will continue to
Speaker 3: communicate as we move forward. Again, I understand how uncomfortable
Speaker 3: that is for him, But again, like I told him,
Speaker 3: and he understands. I think he said it the other
Speaker 3: day too. It's part of this business. It is a
Speaker 3: unique situation, but yeah, I'll continue that communication, right.
Speaker 6: I've been part of the evaluation process in Kansas City
Speaker 6: in twenty seventeen with my homes. How does that experience
Speaker 6: helped shape the way you go about evaluating quarterbacks and
Speaker 6: things you do in that regard.
Speaker 3: Yeah, My background is I'm really fortunate to kind of
Speaker 3: see multiple phases and different types of processes put in
Speaker 3: place with you know, bringing a quarterback in from a
Speaker 3: trade to drafting. So again, just there's a process that
Speaker 3: we've learned in terms of tape watching and getting the
Speaker 3: know guys and bringing them in and spending time with
Speaker 3: them and feel comfortable with that setup. So I can
Speaker 3: definitely tap into that experience.
Speaker 7: In terms of Jal with Johnson said things are going
Speaker 7: well with him, do you think it's more likely that
Speaker 7: there is a long term deal with him than the
Speaker 7: franchise tag?
Speaker 3: I hope, So I'd like to avoid the franchise tag
Speaker 3: for him. I think there's a really good space for
Speaker 3: us to find a middle ground. Again, we always have
Speaker 3: the tag to use, but I really would like to
Speaker 3: get something done long time with them. Ran.
Speaker 8: How do you view philosophically, how do you view the
Speaker 8: draft assets you'd have picking first and nine, you would
Speaker 8: theoretically be targeting star players if you catch those picks, yep,
Speaker 8: versus converting those into more picks, but they are lesser picks.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that goes into the equation, right, I mean you
Speaker 3: gotta look at what's there in that area. In terms
Speaker 3: of drafting, again, you gotta listen to the trade Like
Speaker 3: you don't trade back one, trade back, two, trade back fifteen.
Speaker 3: Like that changes the dynamic based on where the board
Speaker 3: is set up. I think I talked about that last year.
Speaker 3: Wind up counting the guys in certain spaces that we
Speaker 3: feel like can be impact players for our team. So
Speaker 3: that goes into equation as well. But I think it's
Speaker 3: a really good opportunity to improve our football team. And
Speaker 3: the other thing is like very open and understand that
Speaker 3: draft picks are just opportunity, right, you got to capture that.
Speaker 3: You got to be right with your draft picks. So
Speaker 3: we understand that as well.
Speaker 9: The process of evaluating the quarterbacks obviously at the top
Speaker 9: of the draft, but we've done a lot of misses
Speaker 9: a quarterback. Yeah, what have you maybe learned about what
Speaker 9: goes into making a player, you know, a great quarterback
Speaker 9: at the next level.
Speaker 3: Yeah, there's a lot there, right, It's like, what's the
Speaker 3: infrastructure look like, what's around the player? I think that's key,
Speaker 3: and I think that's probably mess with the numbers a
Speaker 3: lot when you're talking about the top of the draft.
Speaker 3: I think that's what makes our situations unique and why
Speaker 3: we have to really do a deep dive into it.
Speaker 3: I think the person is a huge part. I've talked
Speaker 3: about that a lot. What's the makeup the leadership? How
Speaker 3: do they handle pressure? How do they handle pressure in
Speaker 3: a big city like ours? So a lot of those
Speaker 3: factors go in.
Speaker 7: You weren't going to make a big reveal today in
Speaker 7: terms of I have you nothing?
Speaker 3: Yeah, no, I wish I did.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I know that's.
Speaker 3: I totally understand that.
Speaker 7: But do you have an idea like how what's the
Speaker 7: percentage of what you think you know right now ahead
Speaker 7: of the combine? Like how important is the combine in
Speaker 7: making the decision right now?
Speaker 3: It's like one hundred different scenarios that you go down
Speaker 3: and try to plot out, and you're forecasting forward to
Speaker 3: see what's gonna work out and probabilities and and things
Speaker 3: like that. But at the end of the day, the
Speaker 3: human being part of getting to know someone, getting to
Speaker 3: know a group of people is really going to determine
Speaker 3: it and out There's gonna be options that pop up
Speaker 3: all the time that you don't see coming. I think
Speaker 3: I said it last year, like something will happen at
Speaker 3: some point in the next few months that no one expects,
Speaker 3: So you got to be on your toes for that.
Speaker 3: So the picture will change as we go.
Speaker 4: You trade that mindset this year with the number one
Speaker 4: overall picks and what you had last year at this time.
Speaker 3: No, I mean, it's it's unique, right, but I would
Speaker 3: say our approach is exactly the same in terms of
Speaker 3: we got to look at every option and determine what
Speaker 3: is best for our team. Obviously, we chose to trade
Speaker 3: back last year and I think that that helped our
Speaker 3: team out a lot. So again, we'll do a deep
Speaker 3: dive and see how it plays out.
Speaker 5: Would you evaluating the prospects if you can gathering information,
Speaker 5: Do you have any concern at all that Caleb Williams
Speaker 5: or the team around you don't want to playdom.
Speaker 3: No, No, no concerns about that at all. I would
Speaker 3: love to know why if that was the case. Like
Speaker 3: I said, I think as a young quarterback and I've
Speaker 3: been around it, the infrastructure is important, and I think
Speaker 3: we've made really good progress in terms of having really
Speaker 3: good infrastructure for whoever were to come in or justin
Speaker 3: Worth to stay here as well.
Speaker 10: In terms of your quarterback evaluation when you were in
Speaker 10: Kansas City, Cliff Kingsbury said that, you know, Patrick Mahomes
Speaker 10: and Caleb Williams are eerily similar.
Speaker 2: When you watch the tape, do you see.
Speaker 3: That there's pieces, there's pieces that are similar. Obviously the
Speaker 3: one that sends out to everyone's just different arm angles.
Speaker 3: That's a unique trait. Not a lot of guys can
Speaker 3: do that. I give Jeff King, he's not my team credit.
Speaker 3: He painted a picture of you know, there's two types
Speaker 3: of quarterbacks. There's artists and then there's surgeons. So within
Speaker 3: that group you can kind of see who's the artist
Speaker 3: create that's really creative. It doesn't draw within the lines
Speaker 3: where there's more of surgeons who are you know, like
Speaker 3: your typical like the Brady's and Peyton So we kind
Speaker 3: of branch them out of those buckets and go from there.
Speaker 3: So that's where they're they're similar percentage. You prefer with
Speaker 3: artists and surgeons, no winners.
Speaker 4: You do move off the number one pet. We've heard crazy,
Speaker 4: you've heard history and all those adjectives used for the
Speaker 4: amount of compensation you need.
Speaker 7: What what are you looking for?
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's hard to say right now, but it's it's
Speaker 3: got to help our organization significantly to to move around
Speaker 3: because we saw what it did last year and I'm
Speaker 3: looking for that type of return to continue to improve
Speaker 3: a football.
Speaker 2: Would you want to know what you're going.
Speaker 3: To do tomorrow.
Speaker 2: Before?
Speaker 3: I would love to know as soon as possible. I mean,
Speaker 3: I mean I would love to know, But I know
Speaker 3: that's not how the process works. You know, there's sure
Speaker 3: before phagency would be good. Like I said, I'm also
Speaker 3: taking you know, if we were to do something with
Speaker 3: Justin like I want to do right by him, and
Speaker 3: I know, again living in that gray space, you would
Speaker 3: want to do something sooner rather than later. But just
Speaker 3: like I talked about contracts, it takes two teams to
Speaker 3: figure that out. But at the same time, we're also
Speaker 3: trying to figure out the draft process as well, So
Speaker 3: there's a lot of different things with different timelines going
Speaker 3: and that's what makes it a little right of your
Speaker 3: process over the next six weeks.
Speaker 9: What do you see as the best ways for you
Speaker 9: to evaluate the wiring of quarterbacks.
Speaker 6: And what what do you like to do to learn.
Speaker 3: Who they are? Yeah, spend time. Spend time. That's I
Speaker 3: mean any type of relationship, you know, it's it's time
Speaker 3: on task and just kind of getting to know the personality.
Speaker 3: There's been a ton of information gathering from my team
Speaker 3: just in terms of teammates, coaches, things like that, but
Speaker 3: you got to spend time with another person really understand
Speaker 3: the wiring are What are you trying to feel out
Speaker 3: in that practice? What are you looking for from that? Yeah,
Speaker 3: you look for examples of dependability, You're looking selflessness, leadership, ownership,
Speaker 3: you know, like I think it's hard these days to
Speaker 3: find people that you know, pay this is wrong and
Speaker 3: it's like, yeah, it was wrong. This is what I
Speaker 3: have to do to correct it rather than just kind
Speaker 3: of besing your way through it. So, yeah, with time
Speaker 3: on task and spending time with these guys, who'll get
Speaker 3: to know some of those things.
Speaker 8: Are you expecting Are you expecting a busier combine than
Speaker 8: usually Like I'm imagining you're gonna be a pretty popular guy.
Speaker 8: So everybody wants to buy your dinner, and you talk
Speaker 8: about all these different assets that you like trade. I mean,
Speaker 8: is it going to be a different combine for you?
Speaker 3: Yeah, it feels that way. Yeah. Has it already started?
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, my phone will stop because.
Speaker 9: As people how aggressive are people with fishing for information
Speaker 9: from other teams to see what.
Speaker 1: You know to do with that?
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's you know, it starts slow. We were at
Speaker 3: Senior Bowl. I know people are kind of poking around that.
Speaker 3: I haven't had like big time conversations with anyone, but
Speaker 3: everyone wants to, you know, take a temperature of what's
Speaker 3: going on here. Yeah. Yeah, How would you.
Speaker 6: Say last year's trade worked out for you guys?
Speaker 2: For the Panthers and even Houston that didn't get the
Speaker 2: number one dat.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'll only comment on us. I thought it worked
Speaker 3: out really well, just adding two good players like Darnelle
Speaker 3: and DJ. Had no idea this would work out where
Speaker 3: would be the first overall pick? But I would say
Speaker 3: that's successful and then you know a future too as well,
Speaker 3: So it worked out well for us. You will keep
Speaker 3: growing up with that.
Speaker 4: Universally loved Justin and by this team. Have you thought
Speaker 4: about what that conversation is going to be like if
Speaker 4: you do train and what you're gonna like delivering that
Speaker 4: message to the team.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, he's a leader. Every everything our guys
Speaker 3: have said, it's true and not surprise our guys have
Speaker 3: said what they have said. I feel the same way,
Speaker 3: and I think sometimes this whole thing gets you know,
Speaker 3: justin versus another person, and I have to look at
Speaker 3: it a little bit differently. I take that into a fact.
Speaker 3: That's why the person is so important when we evaluate
Speaker 3: other people that would come in that position. But also
Speaker 3: it's my job to think of the long term and
Speaker 3: and a lot of our guys kind of don't don't
Speaker 3: see that that's not their job to do that, and
Speaker 3: they defend their guy, which I think speaks volume volumes
Speaker 3: about our culture and our lock correct.
Speaker 4: They've made traits before with that causes their anxiety that
Speaker 4: comes with that for someone who wouldn't have to deliver
Speaker 4: that sort of news.
Speaker 3: No, because I have faith in our ability to communicate
Speaker 3: with our guys, and when we do that, I think
Speaker 3: they'll know that it's in the best interest of the team.
Speaker 3: And I think as we've moved along here. I think
Speaker 3: that the trust factors there that clear in good hands
Speaker 3: with However.
Speaker 5: We decided when wise for the college quarterbacks, do you
Speaker 5: really need to get all the way to private workouts
Speaker 5: putting them in the building to know and how would
Speaker 5: that impact your decisions with.
Speaker 3: Justin Yeah, so you know again the different there's a
Speaker 3: lot of different timelines going. So being creative with finding
Speaker 3: time to spend with the different prospects and and if
Speaker 3: we can get a private workout things like that, that
Speaker 3: does help come to conclusion and kind of fill in
Speaker 3: all the boxes that you need.
Speaker 10: If you identify as quarterback prospect as your guy, is
Speaker 10: there any price that can move you off of.
Speaker 3: Your guy would be our guy? Right Like it's it's
Speaker 3: not about me at all. That's hard to answer right
Speaker 3: now because I need kind of the whole puzzle put
Speaker 3: together to to figure that out.
Speaker 1: Ryan Poles of the podium seemed relaxed. He seemed vibrant, energetic,
Speaker 1: He was direct. It wasn't somebody that looked like he
Speaker 1: had the weight of the world on his shoulders despite
Speaker 1: the fact he does, but in a good way. Because
Speaker 1: whatever happens, whatever happens, the Bears are going to get
Speaker 1: better from this. They're going to be a better football team.
Speaker 1: They're going to cash in on some assets. And this
Speaker 1: team that got better as the season were on a
Speaker 1: year ago and now have filled many holes but still
Speaker 1: some to go. They're going to be a better team.
Speaker 1: And the bottom line is you got to get the
Speaker 1: quarterback right. There's a quote today from Andy Reid, Tommy
Speaker 1: Kansas City Chiefs head coach of the podium, what advice
Speaker 1: would you give to a young person trying to break
Speaker 1: into the business of coaching, Work hard, be honest, dot
Speaker 1: dot dot, and get a good quarterback. Well, he had
Speaker 1: Donovan McNabb and now he's got Patrick Mahomes. He also
Speaker 1: had some really good quarterbacks Alex Smith and some others
Speaker 1: along the way. But without it, you're now winning.
Speaker 2: But you know one thing about Ryan Poles, I think
Speaker 2: Ryan Poles has learned from every one of his football
Speaker 2: experiences life is a football player, as an offensive lineman
Speaker 2: and through the different front offices he's worked with, and
Speaker 2: when you think about the time that he had in
Speaker 2: the front office with the Kansas City Chiefs, I think
Speaker 2: he learned a lot about the process of picking a
Speaker 2: quarterback from the process that he lived through with the
Speaker 2: Kansas City Chiefs. So hopefully a lot of the information
Speaker 2: he learned the details of that quarterback evaluation class will
Speaker 2: pay dividends. This year.
Speaker 1: Matti Riflusoso spoke to the entire media in the convention
Speaker 1: Center up here in Indianapolis, and so he answered some
Speaker 1: of the same questions. One of them was what he's
Speaker 1: looking for in an ideal quarterback.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 11: The wiring of a quarterback, obviously is number one is leadership.
Speaker 11: You know, you have to be a great leader. You
Speaker 11: got to be resilient, you got to be able to
Speaker 11: handle criticism, you know. And then obviously the physical traits.
Speaker 11: You know, that's a big part of it, you know,
Speaker 11: you know, the accuracy, the timing, the platform, all the
Speaker 11: things you talk about with that, and then being a winner,
Speaker 11: you know, that's what That's what it comes down to.
Speaker 11: All these teams that do things at the end of
Speaker 11: the season, they have winners at the quarterback spot. Yep.
Speaker 1: So leadership at the beginning of that, and you got
Speaker 1: to be a winner. That was his final aspect of it.
Speaker 1: Everything else is an obvious. It's the accuracy, it's it's
Speaker 1: how you play the game. It's how you execute the offense.
Speaker 1: It's how you move the chains, it's as you always say,
Speaker 1: it's how you get those first down. So that's a
Speaker 1: blanket statement about it, about what he wants. It doesn't
Speaker 1: give you any insight into who they're going to go
Speaker 1: with or what their direction is going to be. But
Speaker 1: this is what every head coach is looking for. This
Speaker 1: is what every general manager is looking for. And not
Speaker 1: everybody has one of those guys in their building.
Speaker 2: But you know, sometimes the evidence in the description of
Speaker 2: what you're looking for in a quarterback is not evident
Speaker 2: until you get on the football field. But leadership you
Speaker 2: can see in a lot of a lot of different ways.
Speaker 2: You can see it as how you transfer information from
Speaker 2: the meeting room to the field, What do you do
Speaker 2: inside the weight room, what is your attitude like inside
Speaker 2: the locker room? How how do you incorporate your teammates
Speaker 2: to make yourself a better football player? And how do
Speaker 2: you make them better at their skills. So there's a
Speaker 2: lot of different details when you look at the qualifications
Speaker 2: of a quarterback, but leadership is obviously right there up
Speaker 2: at the top. And you know, from the Dan Marino
Speaker 2: area to the Peyton Manning era. You know, leadership is
Speaker 2: a qualification that oozes out of them when you see
Speaker 2: what their success and their track record became.
Speaker 1: You know. The other thing, too, is leadership is to
Speaker 1: me defined in many different ways. So there's a visual
Speaker 1: aspect to it. How they carry themselves, their body language,
Speaker 1: and I take great value in that. It is how
Speaker 1: you are at the podium because when you're talking, you're
Speaker 1: talking to your team nowadays because of the Internet and
Speaker 1: because of X and Twitter and Instagram and whatever, but
Speaker 1: you're also talking to your fans. You're answering questions like
Speaker 1: a CEO. But it's also that unwavering belief in each
Speaker 1: other that you're going to pull the very best out
Speaker 1: of your teammates. And whenever you hear NFL films and
Speaker 1: you got these quarterbacks miked up or on the defensive
Speaker 1: side of the ball. Some great players from your era
Speaker 1: and Mike Singletary and hamp and those guys to the
Speaker 1: current modern day players, there's certain guys and there's only
Speaker 1: so many that say, hey, follow me, we're gonna get
Speaker 1: it done. Let's go. And that's also hard to find
Speaker 1: and rare to find. And you know, Patrick Mahomes is
Speaker 1: that right now. He is that guy. He is not
Speaker 1: scared one bit of the bright lights in the biggest moments,
Speaker 1: and he just finds a way. And he's doing it
Speaker 1: not necessarily with all pro talent at every single position.
Speaker 1: He's doing it with a seventh round running back, He's
Speaker 1: doing it with probably a bunch of number three wide receivers,
Speaker 1: and he's doing it with an all pro tight end.
Speaker 1: He's doing it because he's great at what he does
Speaker 1: and they believe in him, and he believes in that.
Speaker 2: You know, one thing about being a leader a quarterback
Speaker 2: player in the NFL, you can't be an introvert. It's
Speaker 2: not something that you're going to walk around the locker
Speaker 2: room and just keep it to yourself, you know, fortunately
Speaker 2: or unfortunately, in order to accept that leadership role, you're
Speaker 2: going to have to be a little extroverted. And I'm
Speaker 2: not saying a guy like Dj Moore, who doesn't seem
Speaker 2: to be the most extroverted type of guy. But he
Speaker 2: can be a leader by example, and he can be
Speaker 2: a leader by his toughness, his dedication, his ability to
Speaker 2: rebound from a hard hit and go out and make
Speaker 2: a difficult catch. But uniquely enough. When you're the quarterback,
Speaker 2: you're working, you're tugging the rope in a lot of
Speaker 2: different ways.
Speaker 1: I'll tell you another thing. I think it would really
Speaker 1: help if a true leader on the offensive line emerges,
Speaker 1: a guy that everybody looks to, they respect, they know
Speaker 1: they're going to get the best from this guy. They
Speaker 1: know he's going to show up every day and he's
Speaker 1: going to keep that cobble deck group together and be
Speaker 1: there for his quarterback. And whether that's the center or
Speaker 1: if it's a star tackle or if it's the it
Speaker 1: doesn't matter who it is. And they can all be
Speaker 1: that guy too. But I think that's necessary also, Amen, Yeah, there.
Speaker 2: Has got to be a guy that they're The role
Speaker 2: of the offensive line is important to the success of
Speaker 2: the team and the role of the offensive linemen and
Speaker 2: their success. It transfers from the practice field to the
Speaker 2: weight room, to the meeting room, to the camaraderie that
Speaker 2: they develop amongst each other. That includes all of the
Speaker 2: offensive linemen on the team, just not one to two
Speaker 2: to five of them. And I think that, you know,
Speaker 2: extroverted alpha male is is really needed on this team.
Speaker 1: Whatever direction the Bears go. Here at center and whatever
Speaker 1: direction they go at quarterback. Tommy I initially thought this
Speaker 1: was my feeling like, Okay, there's some really good young centers.
Speaker 1: It appears, and there's one I already you know, circled
Speaker 1: and we've talked about them, the kid from Oregon. He's
Speaker 1: twenty years old. But is there something to be said
Speaker 1: for having a veteran center that's been around the block
Speaker 1: that can help alleviate and close the gap? Again, it's
Speaker 1: another new offense. Yes, it may be similar to the
Speaker 1: last offense, but it's there's going to be different language,
Speaker 1: there's gonna be different, it's going to be a different offense.
Speaker 1: It's a collaboration of a bunch of people. Here what
Speaker 1: it would help to help identify defense? Take one more
Speaker 1: layer away from whomever is quarterbacking the Bears in twenty
Speaker 1: twenty four and beyond, Where would you go here?
Speaker 2: That's not a necessity to me. I want ability, I
Speaker 2: want growth, I want potential. I want to develop the
Speaker 2: relationship between who amever the quarterback is in the development
Speaker 2: of the offensive line. And we've seen guys come aboard.
Speaker 2: You know Linderbaum from the rookie quarterback that plays for
Speaker 2: the Baltimore Ravens. When he came out of Iowa, everybody
Speaker 2: knew that no matter where he was drafted, he was
Speaker 2: going to be the first guy to line up on
Speaker 2: the first day of practice Kansas City. Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2: And I think they're those guys that can come aboard
Speaker 2: a football team and they know what their role is immediately,
Speaker 2: and they are willing to absorb all the pressure that
Speaker 2: goes along with it because they know how to perform
Speaker 2: and listen. You know you're gonna go from college football
Speaker 2: playing with eleven guys to go into the NFL playing
Speaker 2: against eleven guys, and you're not gonna you know, you're
Speaker 2: gonna have a lot of similarities in the calls that
Speaker 2: they make from their college years to their NFL years.
Speaker 1: Here on your journeys ahead, go with a partner who's
Speaker 1: been on your team from the beginning, the one members
Speaker 1: and communities have trusted for over eighty five years, Blue Crossing,
Speaker 1: Blue Shield of Illinois, always standing by you, with you,
Speaker 1: for you through it all. Mattyberflus Also, this is now,
Speaker 1: it's a thing, it's a trend. It's not going away.
Speaker 1: The Bears now have twenty five coaches, twenty five coaches
Speaker 1: on both sides of the ball. There's a run coordinator
Speaker 1: in a pass game coordinator. Throughout the league, almost every
Speaker 1: team has populated. And that was a subject for Matti
Speaker 1: Berfluse at the podium today. Why this angle, particularly on
Speaker 1: the offensive side of the ball, when you have an
Speaker 1: offensive coordinator, you have run game coordinator, and you have
Speaker 1: a pass game coordinator.
Speaker 11: Yeah, that's a great question, and I really think it's
Speaker 11: it's important. So they're all cohesive, you know. I really
Speaker 11: sat down and met with all three of those guys
Speaker 11: individually and at the same time. And our offense is
Speaker 11: going to be a direct reflection of those threes of relationships.
Speaker 11: How we coordinate the run, the pass, you know, and
Speaker 11: overall coordination of those in situations during the course of
Speaker 11: the game. So I think that's why we did it,
Speaker 11: and and I know that's why we did it, and
Speaker 11: that's it's going to be exciting to watch going forward.
Speaker 1: And coach is referring also to you know, in game
Speaker 1: is important as well. He is going to be calling
Speaker 1: the plays on defense. That's a preoccupation of importance also
Speaker 1: in the greater scheme of things. But you wanted more
Speaker 1: communication and more continuity and how do you feel.
Speaker 2: About so Okay, if I disagree with it, Oh.
Speaker 1: You could do Tom, I'm not telling you what to say.
Speaker 2: Well, let me give you an example. So earlier in
Speaker 2: the year, right around the first game of the year,
Speaker 2: second game of the year, they had an interview with
Speaker 2: Justin who Justin said something at the podium about too
Speaker 2: many voices in his head. Then he had to go
Speaker 2: right and meet the media right after the practice and
Speaker 2: kind of re reference what he was trying to say.
Speaker 2: When I go back and I look at the team
Speaker 2: picture of the eighty five Bears, and there's coach Dicken.
Speaker 2: He's got nine assistant coaches, and they had things done
Speaker 2: more archaically in that day when they were drawing things
Speaker 2: by hand and they were doing all the work themselves.
Speaker 2: And I don't want to get too many voices in
Speaker 2: the same room. That creates mass confusion, and then there's
Speaker 2: too many topics of discussion that could go down different
Speaker 2: avenues by in different ways. And listen, I understand it
Speaker 2: is the way that the modern day coaching staffs are
Speaker 2: put together. But when you go back and you look
Speaker 2: at the George Allens and the Chuck Knowles and the
Speaker 2: Tom Landry's and the Don Shulas and the guys that
Speaker 2: were super successful well throughout their ears of coaching. It
Speaker 2: was their mantras. Too many guys makes a confusing facility,
Speaker 2: and so I don't mean to offend anybody, but I
Speaker 2: just don't agree with it.
Speaker 1: Also, iber Flusch had a lot of conversation with Pete
Speaker 1: Carroll about Shane Waldron after that Seattle situation moved in
Speaker 1: a different direction. He talked about that and what he
Speaker 1: learned from Carol.
Speaker 11: Yeah, I had a real long conversation with Pete, you know,
Speaker 11: when that whole thing went down. We were in the
Speaker 11: interview process and he just gleaned about Shane and talked
Speaker 11: about him at length, about his ability to adapt and
Speaker 11: adjust and what he did with the quarterbacks that were
Speaker 11: there in Seattle. So I was very comfortable moving forward
Speaker 11: with Shane in that. And it's really about his track record, right,
Speaker 11: you know, So when you have a current head coach
Speaker 11: or his his head coach that was with him say
Speaker 11: those words about him and talk to me at length
Speaker 11: about it, and then me watched the tape and then
Speaker 11: what he actually did with all those quarterbacks TV that's proof.
Speaker 1: And then a lot of those quarterbacks. Gino Smith one
Speaker 1: of them. I certainly made him a whole heck of
Speaker 1: a lot better of a quarterback getting rid of the ball.
Speaker 1: Quicker Drew Locke also had some success, did so with
Speaker 1: Russell Wilson as well. You know, one of the things
Speaker 1: that I really like about this whole situation with Ibraflus
Speaker 1: right now, they interviewed so many guys, They learned a
Speaker 1: lot of information. They took something out of everything they
Speaker 1: went through the process. And it wasn't just a handful
Speaker 1: of guys he plays phone call. They did their due diligence,
Speaker 1: it sounds like, and in a really deep way. This year.
Speaker 1: I mean, they interviewed a lot of guys for every position,
Speaker 1: and here is where now they pull it all together,
Speaker 1: and they got a couple of months to figure it out.
Speaker 1: Once the offseason program begins April fifteenth, goes to about
Speaker 1: June fourteenth, and we'll see how they get ready for
Speaker 1: a training camp, which could be a long training camp
Speaker 1: this year if they go to the Hall of Fame game.
Speaker 1: But I like at least that they are doing everything
Speaker 1: they possibly can to overturn every stone and rock to
Speaker 1: make sure they are setting up the players for success.
Speaker 1: And now let's pull it all together, everybody pulling on
Speaker 1: this rope, as you just said, and let's go to town.
Speaker 1: Let's see see what we get.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, to me with him, you look at
Speaker 2: a guy like Shane Waldron, the evidence is what they
Speaker 2: are able to accomplish with the position and the person
Speaker 2: that they coached. And to me, and we've talked about
Speaker 2: this before, as you know, I kind of lost the
Speaker 2: little faith in Geno Smith and then he was a
Speaker 2: hard guy not to pay attention to over the last
Speaker 2: couple of years because he was at performing at such
Speaker 2: a high level in such a different confidence level. And
Speaker 2: so I'd love to see what this Shane Waldron was
Speaker 2: able to do and accomplished with Geno Smith. And that
Speaker 2: tells me all I need about a coach. If I
Speaker 2: never had the opportunity to talk to coach Pete Carroll,
Speaker 2: who I think is a heck of a coach. But really,
Speaker 2: Shane is the reflection of what he did with Geno
Speaker 2: Smith to tell me what I want to see out
Speaker 2: of the quarterback position development.
Speaker 1: Usy Heart Selzer Flavors for every Vibe, Celebrate Responsibly, Molson
Speaker 1: Coors Beverage Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Jeff and Tom on fifty seven.
Speaker 1: How about five to seven of the podcast already you're
Speaker 1: feeling probably you're walking tall today.
Speaker 2: Hey, listen for the other guys that wore in the
Speaker 2: jersey fifty seven. Throughout the history of the Chicago Bears,
Speaker 2: I'm always proud to see that number on the back
Speaker 2: of someone's jersey at a game, whether it's Sanborn Krutz
Speaker 2: or myself.
Speaker 1: According to ESPN Stance and Information, Bears became the first
Speaker 1: team of the Common Draft era since nineteen sixty seven
Speaker 1: to be the number one overall pick one season after
Speaker 1: trading it. That's a little nugget. I think we've heard
Speaker 1: that before, and in reference to what's going on about
Speaker 1: Justin Yes, you have to be you have to put
Speaker 1: the team first. You have to think about what's best
Speaker 1: for the franchise, and you also also at the same
Speaker 1: time want to be respectful and transparent to Justin Fields
Speaker 1: whether you're going to be back with us or we're
Speaker 1: going to move in a different direction. And here's a
Speaker 1: great quote we heard from Pole. I think it's my
Speaker 1: job to think of the long term, and a lot
Speaker 1: of our guys kind of don't see that it's not
Speaker 1: their job to do that, and they defend their guy,
Speaker 1: which I think speaks vimes about our culture in that
Speaker 1: locker room because every time DJ Moore gets a microphone
Speaker 1: in his face, the first question is, like NFL Network
Speaker 1: did just on Monday, you know what do they expect
Speaker 1: these guys to say? They're not These guys are tight,
Speaker 1: They're not gonna They're not gonna bash their quarterback. They're
Speaker 1: not gonna bash their teammate. That's not how this works
Speaker 1: around the league. But Ryan knows what he knows and
Speaker 1: he's got to do his best for the franchise, right.
Speaker 2: But you know the thing about it, too, Jeff, is
Speaker 2: you can't give Justin Fields a conclusive answer because the
Speaker 2: first thing they're gonna do is go on to social
Speaker 2: media and tell everybody what he was told. And then
Speaker 2: it's just going to play the hand early by Ryan Pole.
Speaker 2: So you know, it's just the business. It's the business
Speaker 2: process of the NFL and the draft and talent evaluation
Speaker 2: and try to make sure that you're in the best
Speaker 2: position for your team to succeed. They're not looking at
Speaker 2: things from the individual part. They're looking at it from
Speaker 2: the team part.
Speaker 1: All right, So their interviews started already this week before
Speaker 1: these guys start doing interviews with the media on Wednesday.
Speaker 1: Here at the Combine, I'm talking about the three hundred
Speaker 1: some players here for their job interviews, and a lot
Speaker 1: of it then is meeting with teams at night. And
Speaker 1: I never asked you this before. We only think about
Speaker 1: you throwing up two hundred and twenty five pounds or
Speaker 1: whatever it was, or I don't know, did you run
Speaker 1: a forty? I don't even know. Did you Okay? But okay, listen, listen,
Speaker 1: I got to ask this question. Did you sit like
Speaker 1: did you have the interviews? The speed dating interviews with
Speaker 1: multiple teams are not yeah, okay, I've never had so
Speaker 1: did what kind of things did they ask you? Did
Speaker 1: they ask you to go on the board and draw play?
Speaker 1: And did they ask you? Did they test you and say, okay,
Speaker 1: here's what we run this particular play in this particular
Speaker 1: down in distance and they it let it linger and
Speaker 1: want you to think about And then half hour later, Hey,
Speaker 1: tell us what that play was. Do they did they
Speaker 1: do that to you? And if so, do what do
Speaker 1: you remember anything stick out?
Speaker 2: It was more of hey, time you played a lot
Speaker 2: of different positions during your college career. You played defensive
Speaker 2: line to center, to both offensive guards, to left tackle.
Speaker 2: Why do you think you moved around so much? What
Speaker 2: you know? What did you learn from each of your positions?
Speaker 2: What is your What is your commitment to the game?
Speaker 2: Do you see yourself being a football player for the
Speaker 2: next ten years? Are you going to graduate on time?
Speaker 2: How do you feel about you know, the the fact
Speaker 2: that you know you had a losing season at Notre
Speaker 2: Dame and what was contributing to that? You know, it's
Speaker 2: all of them investigating at that time your commitment to
Speaker 2: the game.
Speaker 1: Did they ask you to drump plays? No, they didn't
Speaker 1: ask you about stuff like that. Well did they ask
Speaker 1: you to did they? Did they challenge you in any way?
Speaker 1: That kind of got your blood up a little bit?
Speaker 2: Just one offensive line coach, uh, that made me do
Speaker 2: some footwork drills in front of them. And as soon
Speaker 2: as I got done, he looked and he goes, I don't
Speaker 2: think he got it?
Speaker 1: Oh what, yeah, I don't. Now, I'm not asking you
Speaker 1: to name the guy. Don't do it.
Speaker 2: I tell you, I'll tell you what team it was.
Speaker 1: Are you willing to spill the beans.
Speaker 2: Now it was jerry Wanmfler, and he was the offensive
Speaker 2: line coach for Philadelphia at the time, and since I
Speaker 2: had some experience with playing offensive tackle, he had to
Speaker 2: do these offensive tackle footwork drills at the combine. And
Speaker 2: then after I did all these footwork drills, he just
Speaker 2: sugar his head and he goes, I don't think he
Speaker 2: got it.
Speaker 1: Wow, And I know how gosh darn sensitive you can be.
Speaker 1: Wait at that moment, were you ready to just were
Speaker 1: you thinking, oh my god, if he thinks that, then
Speaker 1: possibly twenty other teams think that, or did it make
Speaker 1: you so mad like this guy?
Speaker 2: I said, I don't think you're right. And then why
Speaker 2: did you make me do the drills for so long?
Speaker 2: If this was what you were going to tell you,
Speaker 2: this is what you're going to say.
Speaker 1: Interesting, Wow, I wouldn't want to be in the room
Speaker 1: when that happened with you.
Speaker 2: Well you know what, Jeff, Again, we went to three combines.
Speaker 2: Yeah we didn't get everything one so yeah, I all say,
Speaker 2: we went to one in Tampa, one in Detroit, in
Speaker 2: one in Seattle. And so you did it multiple weeks
Speaker 2: in a row, so that one is the only time
Speaker 2: that they caught me off guard because I came in
Speaker 2: and was super confident in the way I was walking
Speaker 2: into these interviews. Because we were walking in in a
Speaker 2: T shirt and a pair of gray shorts. You know,
Speaker 2: it wasn't you know, it wasn't like it is today.
Speaker 1: Let me ask you this then, if you're a modern
Speaker 1: day player today and you know you're kind of advising
Speaker 1: some offensive linemen, these kids, you've been working with them
Speaker 1: for the past couple months since season ended, and they're
Speaker 1: going to go in today's interviews, which can be a
Speaker 1: little different. They're asking you if you're a dog or
Speaker 1: a cat or blah blah blah blah blah. They're asking
Speaker 1: some weird stuff as well. What advice would you give
Speaker 1: today's players about what to say about themselves and not
Speaker 1: be programmed like their agents do program them if they've
Speaker 1: had something in their past, or if they didn't play
Speaker 1: and they didn't start a game until their senior year,
Speaker 1: or whatever the case may be.
Speaker 2: What would you advise be over enthusiastic of every team
Speaker 2: that you're walking into and don't think of that. If
Speaker 2: I'm a kid from Cincinnati and I don't want to
Speaker 2: go to Seattle, then go in there. With the Seattle
Speaker 2: Seahawks and act like you have a piss poor attitude
Speaker 2: or poor attitude because they talk talk about it amongst
Speaker 2: themselves after meetings. Going there and tell them that you're
Speaker 2: definitely committed to the NFL for as long as you
Speaker 2: can possibly play, how much you love the game of football,
Speaker 2: the support of your family, and just you know how
Speaker 2: important it's been, you know, to the to get you
Speaker 2: into position in life of you know, your college degree
Speaker 2: and how much you've been able to accomplish, and just
Speaker 2: paint them a picture of you know, over you know,
Speaker 2: over enthusiasm. And you know what I got to tell you.
Speaker 2: So my brother in law, who I learned a lot about,
Speaker 2: was going through the combine process a little bit two
Speaker 2: years before me, and he kind of portrayed the opportunity
Speaker 2: to rely account on his education or his music ability
Speaker 2: and that football, maybe not was the most important thing
Speaker 2: in to his future and it affected him and rather
Speaker 2: than being a first rounder, he slipped down to the
Speaker 2: fourth round. And so he you know, one thing I
Speaker 2: learned is he said, look, no matter who you're talking to,
Speaker 2: you paint an enthusiastic pitcher like this is the most
Speaker 2: important thing to you and your future.
Speaker 1: Well, what's the number one thing Matt Eberflues talks about
Speaker 1: all the time. Love of the game. Got I love
Speaker 1: the game. I love the game. And he's trying to
Speaker 1: find those guys. We know it's hard to find fifty
Speaker 1: three of them. You hope you find twenty two of
Speaker 1: them at least to start on Sundays. But it is
Speaker 1: hard to find those guys and to try to weed
Speaker 1: through their emotions, their thoughts and not only their tape,
Speaker 1: but you know how they approached the game. You could
Speaker 1: be a great athlete and not love the game, and
Speaker 1: you're not relying on your just your athletic traits. But
Speaker 1: if you don't love the game, you're not going to
Speaker 1: invest yourself and be absolutely passionate about it. And that's
Speaker 1: my thing. I'd say, Hey, I'm obsessed with football, I'm
Speaker 1: obsessed about being great, I'm obsessed about winning. That's what
Speaker 1: needs to come out of my mouth if I'm one
Speaker 1: of these guys today, And then I got to show
Speaker 1: them and give them examples of that being truthful.
Speaker 2: I reference this all the time, and I don't realize
Speaker 2: the importance until Mike Ditka had the word inscribed in
Speaker 2: the side of our Super Bowl Ring eights. Attitude, character enthusiasm.
Speaker 2: And you think about that, Jeff, and what's your attitude?
Speaker 2: And you know, attitude, character, enthusiasm, you know. And I
Speaker 2: just remember watching Hard Knocks one time, and I was
Speaker 2: watching a rookie that had the worst attitude I've ever
Speaker 2: seen on Hard Knocks. And he had to be walked
Speaker 2: to the practice field every day and kind of encourage
Speaker 2: and brought this bad attitude out of him and try
Speaker 2: the coaches try to convince him how important football was
Speaker 2: and everything.
Speaker 1: And I just don't.
Speaker 2: I didn't.
Speaker 1: We don't have we don't have time for that in
Speaker 1: the NFL. We don't have time to like it's it's
Speaker 1: about now. For all your journeys ahead.
Speaker 2: I laughed, because that player ended up playing for the Bears.
Speaker 1: Don't say I don't. For all your journeys ahead, Go
Speaker 1: with a partner who's been on your team from the
Speaker 1: beginning of the one Members and communities of Trusted for
Speaker 1: over eighty five years. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois,
Speaker 1: always standing by you, with you, for you through it all.
Speaker 1: Jeff and Tom here, episode fifty seven. Some other nuggets
Speaker 1: so very significant. One is Jalen Johnson, and I thought
Speaker 1: Ryan Pols was outstanding, came right to the eight listen.
Speaker 1: We want him. We're giving him an outstanding offer. It's
Speaker 1: going to check a lot of boxes for him and us.
Speaker 1: We hope we can meet and get this thing done.
Speaker 1: He can. Also, he's young enough we can have another
Speaker 1: bite of the apple later in his career. So if
Speaker 1: you're getting a chance at a third contract with the
Speaker 1: same team or whatever the case may be, you're gonna
Speaker 1: make yourself a lot of money. In the NFL, corners
Speaker 1: are getting paid a lot of money. And Matt Eberflus
Speaker 1: also very high on where they're at right now. With
Speaker 1: Jalen Johnson and his impact on this football team, Yeah,
Speaker 1: a lot, you know.
Speaker 11: So I'm so proud of Jalen the way he improved
Speaker 11: and the way he really took the challenge to to
Speaker 11: be a ball guy, and he certainly did that. He's
Speaker 11: a great leader, and not only in our defensive back room,
Speaker 11: but in our whole defensive room too, and he's really
Speaker 11: starting to be a really good leader on our whole
Speaker 11: football team.
Speaker 2: So I'm excited about him.
Speaker 11: Again, Like Ryan said this morning, you know, we obviously
Speaker 11: want to get him to a long term deal. I
Speaker 11: hope they're close. I hope it works out, but certainly excited.
Speaker 11: We'll be excited to have him back.
Speaker 1: Well, they're trying to avoid the franchise tag here, which
Speaker 1: you know is it would pay him a lot of money,
Speaker 1: but you know that players don't love that. Obviously. It's
Speaker 1: it's the it's in the holster in case you need it.
Speaker 1: But a long term deal would send a nice message
Speaker 1: to the rest of the defense. He is well liked
Speaker 1: in that locker room, key part of a very aggressive
Speaker 1: young secondary, which we think, until further notice, is the
Speaker 1: strength of this football team. It is. I mean, it's
Speaker 1: the strength of the football team. Uh. And they're going
Speaker 1: to be adding another safety here to the mix, but
Speaker 1: I think it would be a bit thing.
Speaker 4: You know.
Speaker 1: I'm looking at the cornerback market out there, and you know,
Speaker 1: you never can have enough corners, and he's right near
Speaker 1: the top of the Jerry Sneed of Kansas City is
Speaker 1: in that mix. A bunch of guys from the Patriots,
Speaker 1: Stefan Gilmour, Stephen Nelson, There's a bunch of them, but
Speaker 1: Jalen Johnson is right there at the top.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but you know the thing about it is leadership
Speaker 2: role he's going to have to accept. When you get
Speaker 2: rid of Eddie Jackson and now you're elevated to the
Speaker 2: senior most member of that defensive backfield with a bunch
Speaker 2: of young kids by your side. Now Jalen Johnson has
Speaker 2: to lead by example. You know the workout, you know
Speaker 2: the meeting room work ethic, the practice field work ethic,
Speaker 2: the game day seriousness. So you're not only paying Jalen
Speaker 2: Johnson to come out here and be a Sunday cornerback.
Speaker 2: You're asking Jalen Johnson to come into that facility each
Speaker 2: day and be an example of leadership to a really
Speaker 2: young group of defensive backs.
Speaker 1: Safety position Brisker, we know what he's all about. He
Speaker 1: is a guy that plays with passion. He's a guy
Speaker 1: who loves the game. He loves to hit you. He
Speaker 1: loves to be around the football. He's always around the football.
Speaker 1: I know he missed some interceptions a year ago that
Speaker 1: he probably still thinking about. He watches a ton of
Speaker 1: tape and he does throughout the offseason. Maddy Berflus on
Speaker 1: what type of safety they're looking for.
Speaker 11: Yeah, you're looking for a guy that pairs well with him. No,
Speaker 11: Jakwan is the guy that's a strong safety. He comes
Speaker 11: down man's tight ends. He's a big hammer. The guy
Speaker 11: that we'll be looking for has got to have athletic ability,
Speaker 11: he's got to have range, he's got a great communication skills,
Speaker 11: and he's got to have ball skills. You know, we
Speaker 11: want all of our guys to have the ability to
Speaker 11: take the ball away and he has to have that too,
Speaker 11: and then eventually growing to a leader. You know, if
Speaker 11: it's a free agent, he's gonna have to feel the
Speaker 11: temperature of the room and then and dive into the
Speaker 11: leadership role. And if it's a rookie, he's gonna have
Speaker 11: to develop that with the other guys.
Speaker 1: Yeah, they could go two ways here. Hearing just from scouts,
Speaker 1: the safety group is maybe not the greatest this year
Speaker 1: coming out of the combine. There is a number of
Speaker 1: veteran safeties tom least ten or twelve they're on the
Speaker 1: free agent market that would get your attention. But what
Speaker 1: kind of safety you hear what Matt says about it,
Speaker 1: what kind of safety do you envision back there?
Speaker 2: Versatile? I think when you look at what Kyler Gordon's
Speaker 2: capable of, what your Kwan Brisker is capable of. If
Speaker 2: you could have another interior safety that can allow you
Speaker 2: to shift and change and attack from different angles from
Speaker 2: that defensive back position, including the corner blitz as I know,
Speaker 2: your favorite. But you got to have a guy that
Speaker 2: has that versatility. You know, talented tight ends, talented running
Speaker 2: backs out of the backfield, talented third receivers. You know,
Speaker 2: we talked about it before. I think if they do,
Speaker 2: if there's a corner back out there that they had
Speaker 2: special interest in, and you could take a guy like
Speaker 2: Tyreek Stevenson and move him to that free safety position.
Speaker 2: I still love his tackling, willingness, his talent. It's sometimes
Speaker 2: convenient to take a corner and move them to safety
Speaker 2: because you add that element of speed to the interior
Speaker 2: of your defense. But if the Bears go out there
Speaker 2: and identify that there is, you know, a veteran out
Speaker 2: there that fits this defense, I perfectly I think Ryan Poles,
Speaker 2: you know, would be willing to take a feeler on
Speaker 2: that contributor.
Speaker 1: Game day snacking calls for good foods. Chunky guacamaldi made
Speaker 1: with has avocados, tomatoes, onions, sidantro and a squeeze of
Speaker 1: lime juice. It's the perfect snack to watch while the
Speaker 1: Bears win. Score one today at your local grocery store,
Speaker 1: game day is guac Day. There's also a priority to
Speaker 1: get another edge defender, and we all know it. Everybody
Speaker 1: knows it. Montesa Sweat had a great year and now
Speaker 1: another dangerous player on the outside is something Maddie bruf
Speaker 1: LUs is looking for.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we have.
Speaker 11: We have several other priorities for sure, so orderum is
Speaker 11: really not We're not there yet, but you know, certainly
Speaker 11: pass rusher is one of them. You know, we've got
Speaker 11: to make sure that we have somebody opposite you know, Sweat,
Speaker 11: and make sure we can never have enough of those guys,
Speaker 11: because that they affect the game most.
Speaker 1: No question about it. They affect the game most. No
Speaker 1: truer words they're spoken, Tommy, We discuss it all the time.
Speaker 1: Just watch playoff football. Edge rushers, pass rushers, interior rushers
Speaker 1: affect the game in a big way.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: But you know, Jeff, you know, given the amount of
Speaker 2: money that they've just given Montese Sweat to me, if
Speaker 2: I'm going to look for an edge rusher, I want
Speaker 2: to find a young guy in the draft because it's
Speaker 2: almost resetting the financial commitment to the quarterback position. You
Speaker 2: don't want to go out there and get that free
Speaker 2: agent that's an expect an enormous amount of money. Tell
Speaker 2: me a guy that I can bring here from the
Speaker 2: college football game, bring him into my team and kind
Speaker 2: of grow him into the system from the very beginning.
Speaker 2: So to me, if I'm going to look at that
Speaker 2: edge position, I'm going to go out there and find
Speaker 2: a college guy that, Hey, maybe you're not countered on
Speaker 2: to come in here and play first or first and
Speaker 2: second down immediately, but can you give me pass rush
Speaker 2: on third down? Second long If I can find that
Speaker 2: guy that's gonna piauk my interest from the college game,
Speaker 2: maybe you do both. Again, I'm taking financial consideration into
Speaker 2: account as much as I am. You know what the position,
Speaker 2: what the productivity is going to offer me in the
Speaker 2: long run.
Speaker 1: All Right, some other notes on the division. Tommy is
Speaker 1: popping up today. Tuesday is all about the coaches. They'll
Speaker 1: do some tomorrow as well as the start of the
Speaker 1: players on the defensive side of the ball. But in Minnesota,
Speaker 1: there's growing talk that the Vikings may in fact try
Speaker 1: to keep Kirk Cousins, who's coming off of that achilles injury.
Speaker 1: He just started working again. There was some video of
Speaker 1: him taking some snaps and so forth. I mean, if
Speaker 1: I'm them, I got you know, it's something I got
Speaker 1: to really consider because where they're at in the draft,
Speaker 1: are they going to be able to get somebody that
Speaker 1: they feel comfortable with that can step in and start
Speaker 1: at this point, and their number one goal this offseason
Speaker 1: according to their general manager, and it's by far is
Speaker 1: getting a deal done with Justin Jefferson. He called him
Speaker 1: the best receiver in the NFL and he should be
Speaker 1: compensated as such, adding that Jefferson, he believes is also
Speaker 1: the best non quarterback and could be I should be
Speaker 1: compensated as such. I do believe, and I think I've
Speaker 1: said this many times. He's the best single player regardless
Speaker 1: of position, in my opinion in the division. I don't
Speaker 1: know if you share that opinion. But Justin Jefferson is
Speaker 1: when he when he's he's uncomfortable at times, he is
Speaker 1: that good of a rout runner and that threat.
Speaker 2: He is, and with a complimentary receiver like Addison, I mean,
Speaker 2: I think it makes him even more dangerous. However, would
Speaker 2: make me nervous. If I was a Minnesota Vikings and
Speaker 2: I was going to resign Kirk Cousins, I would always
Speaker 2: have always have a re injury concerned in the back
Speaker 2: of my mind. And their tight end got hurt late
Speaker 2: in the year, so it's not like you're gonna have
Speaker 2: to be Jay Hawkins in there on the field immediate lea.
Speaker 2: So now, yeah, if you had Kirk Cousins coming back,
Speaker 2: with an offensive line that was good at pass protection,
Speaker 2: you had those two outside wide receivers that are very good,
Speaker 2: very fast, very clever, and you have the tight end,
Speaker 2: then I would say, wow, you know, this veteran quarterback
Speaker 2: is a no brainer. However, when you got to think
Speaker 2: of all the you know, moving parts to those decisions,
Speaker 2: if they feel Kirk Cousins is the best, then that's
Speaker 2: what they got to believe in.
Speaker 1: Backers are the youngest team in football last year, they
Speaker 1: did a great job drafting and they've got position flexibility
Speaker 1: to do so. Again, I know they need a safety,
Speaker 1: so we'll be we'll be battling for safeties, whether it
Speaker 1: be on the free agent market or in the draft.
Speaker 1: With the Green Bay Packers, Tommy, Yeah, what is Jordan.
Speaker 2: Love's contract situation. When did they happen, Well.
Speaker 1: Well, they gave him an extension last year, not long,
Speaker 1: not a long one, but enough to Yeah, they'll they'll
Speaker 1: have to address it down the road, but not immediately.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but that's not an immediate concern. So they do
Speaker 2: have the luxury of this year of making some decisions
Speaker 2: whether they want to go into the veteran market for
Speaker 2: a position they need, maybe offensive line or you know,
Speaker 2: you know where they're going to set their sights on,
Speaker 2: if they feel their new defensive coordinator wants to bring
Speaker 2: in a specific type of you know, enhancement to their
Speaker 2: defense of what they're going to pla how they're going
Speaker 2: to play defense.
Speaker 1: Taste like Miller Time, Celebrate Responsibly Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
Speaker 1: ninety six calories and three point two cars per twelve ounces.
Speaker 1: Maddyberflus likes doing things a little different in the interview process.
Speaker 1: So a year ago it was challenging the individuals to
Speaker 1: pick darts or putt and when he was asked how
Speaker 1: that is going to transpire at the combine circuit twenty
Speaker 1: twenty four, and it looks like he's going back to
Speaker 1: the same Well.
Speaker 11: Yeah, it'll be the same process. You know, we'll take
Speaker 11: them into the room. In this particular case, we'll do
Speaker 11: the I'll ask them if they want to do darts
Speaker 11: or putting. You know, I like putting pretty good at both.
Speaker 11: But but yeah, then we'll they'll decide that, and then
Speaker 11: we'll just teach him something about the offensive offensive play,
Speaker 11: and then we'll show him their tape and have them
Speaker 11: you know, talk about their tape and kind of checking
Speaker 11: their FBI out there, and then recall at the end
Speaker 11: to give us back what they learned in the beginning.
Speaker 11: And it's the same process for all the players.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so a little fun then, you know, get him relaxed,
Speaker 1: and then let's see some of your tape, and then
Speaker 1: we're gonna give you one of our plays and we're
Speaker 1: gonna talk about your life and then oh yeah, tell
Speaker 1: me about that play. So that's the process. Would you
Speaker 1: do it?
Speaker 12: Be the dart guy or the putter? Oh, I throw
Speaker 12: darts against him all day even now. I'm I'm you know,
Speaker 12: those kind of college no brainer games, whether it's be.
Speaker 2: Pool or bumper pool or darts or ping pong, let's go.
Speaker 2: I'm ready. And if that's gonna elevate my draft status
Speaker 2: because I just beat you in darts all day.
Speaker 1: I love how Flu says he's pretty good at both.
Speaker 1: I know, with a putter in his hand, he's damn good.
Speaker 1: He loves the game of golf and he's very good
Speaker 1: at it. That's for sure. Anything else on your mind
Speaker 1: before we wrap things up, it's going to be a
Speaker 1: heck of a couple of months, going to be a
Speaker 1: heck of a week here at the Combine. Rumors are
Speaker 1: going to be flying across the board, not just for
Speaker 1: the Bears, but for the entire league. And then, you know,
Speaker 1: we've got to see some of these guys. You know,
Speaker 1: some of these guys are not going to work out.
Speaker 1: That's the case, including Caleb Williams. He's not going to
Speaker 1: work out, not going to be involved in the drills.
Speaker 1: He will meet the media, of course, Marvin Harrison the same,
Speaker 1: Jaden Daniels the same. I'm sure there'll be more. However,
Speaker 1: the plan is guys like JJ McCarthy of Michigan, Oregon's
Speaker 1: Bone Nicks, Washington's Michael Pennix all planned to throw. USC's
Speaker 1: pro day is set for March twenty at LSU's is
Speaker 1: March twenty seventh anymore. I'm not surprised by anybody not
Speaker 1: participating or participating, so I get it, But what are
Speaker 1: your thoughts?
Speaker 2: You know, I really don't care about the guys that
Speaker 2: are at such at the high end of the draft
Speaker 2: that they're not going to do anything because they don't
Speaker 2: need to. But that's not how successful football teams are built.
Speaker 2: They're a built by the guys that are going to
Speaker 2: be on their feet doing the drills. A guy that's
Speaker 2: going to blow our minds by having some sub four
Speaker 2: or some unbelievable forty that's all of a sudden puts
Speaker 2: them on the chart.
Speaker 7: I e.
Speaker 2: Montes Sweat, and then you're going to start seeing the
Speaker 2: foundation of football teams that these guys play, the eight
Speaker 2: to ten year careers that we always recall their performance
Speaker 2: in the combine. So I'm excited to see those guys
Speaker 2: because even in the combines that I went to as
Speaker 2: a player, there were the lways and stuff that didn't
Speaker 2: want to play at the combines, and I didn't care
Speaker 2: about them. I only cared about how I was doing.
Speaker 1: For all your journeys, ahead, go with a partner who
Speaker 1: has been on your team from the beginning of the
Speaker 1: one members and communities have trusted for over eighty five years.
Speaker 1: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, always standing by you,
Speaker 1: with you, for you, through it all. All right, that's
Speaker 1: going to wrap up our podcast, number fifty seven. We're
Speaker 1: back with you next week post Combine conversation. Appreciate all
Speaker 1: your time, Tom, be well, enjoy the Combine from your perch.
Speaker 2: Well our next podcast. Our next podcast will be next
Speaker 2: year or last year's first rounder. It's number fifty eight.
Speaker 1: It's right, that's right, darn all right, tenth pick overall
Speaker 1: for Tom.
Speaker 3: There.
Speaker 1: I'm Jeff Jonihah. Thanks for listening everyone. Please subscribe now
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