Speaker 1: The following is a presentation of the Chicago Bears Network
Speaker 1: and Chicago Bears dot Com. Download the Chicago Bears official
Speaker 1: mobile app for up to the minute Bears content every
Speaker 1: day and now welcome to Bears All Access. You're All
Speaker 1: Access passing to Chicago Bears football. Bears All Access is
Speaker 1: brought to you by IGS Energy and sponsored by Athletical
Speaker 1: Physical Therapy and Art Van Furniture and Mattress. An hour
Speaker 1: long conversation of Bears football things NFL about to unfold.
Speaker 1: I'm Jeff jonnyak a lot with Tom there and welcome
Speaker 1: into another edition of Bears All Access, brought to you
Speaker 1: by IGS Energy and joining us as well as the
Speaker 1: man from sirius XM NFL Radio, Mister Jim Miller. Jim,
Speaker 1: how are you doing? Maybe not quite yet, but we
Speaker 1: got there? Are you there? He can't hear us? Adam Stazinsky,
Speaker 1: Brandon Arlaski our producers tonight as we get you set
Speaker 1: for conference football weekend. But a lot of things going
Speaker 1: on obviously this week, and we're gonna hear from jimbo
Speaker 1: cover in Inibo. I did with him on WBBM earlier
Speaker 1: this week about his Hall of Fame induction. So party
Speaker 1: you was in there, buddy, Yeah, well it's been fun
Speaker 1: because you know, like I we are talking, I became
Speaker 1: aware of Jimbo covert in his high school days and
Speaker 1: then I was, you know, parallel with his time at
Speaker 1: Pitt and knew what Pitt offensive line and what their
Speaker 1: production there, what their position coach was all about the
Speaker 1: success he had. And then my senior year in college,
Speaker 1: we went to Pitt and played pit They were number
Speaker 1: one in the country. We are awful, but we ended
Speaker 1: up beating them so and then we played in the
Speaker 1: Hula Ball together, a college All Star game. So I
Speaker 1: knew a lot about Jimbo before he ever became a
Speaker 1: member of the Chicago Bears. And I think there's a
Speaker 1: couple of guys you meet throughout the course of your
Speaker 1: career that you recognize early that they are going to
Speaker 1: be super successful. And at Sprinkle goes in as well.
Speaker 1: A player from the forties and fifties, certainly a very
Speaker 1: difficult assignment for the staff that I was put together
Speaker 1: the Hall of Fame Committee, the Blue Ribbon Panel, and
Speaker 1: to get him elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Speaker 1: Passed away several years ago, but Jim Miller. When you
Speaker 1: get those guys that a lot of folks don't have
Speaker 1: a video of, or don't recall or ever even had
Speaker 1: a chance to see them play, very difficult assignment when
Speaker 1: you're comparing eras and so forth. Yeah, go back to
Speaker 1: forty four through nineteen fifty five when he played, and
Speaker 1: this again, it tells you how different things were as
Speaker 1: a pass rusher. Obviously, Papa Hallis thought he was one
Speaker 1: of the best pass rushers in the league. But he
Speaker 1: was six one, two hundred and six pounds. Far different
Speaker 1: than what it is today in terms of what do
Speaker 1: you look at at the size of players. But hey
Speaker 1: had all the heart, had all the intangibles. I love
Speaker 1: what the Blue Ribbon Panel put together. They had great
Speaker 1: historians on there, like Bill Belichick that really studies the league.
Speaker 1: So guys were getting elected back in the nineteen twenties.
Speaker 1: You know, I had the opportunity to talk to Dave Baker,
Speaker 1: the president of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I
Speaker 1: honestly wish he would open it up every five or
Speaker 1: seven years where they allow more players into the Pro
Speaker 1: Football Hall of Fame. But this is the centennial class,
Speaker 1: he said, Jim, this is it this is it will
Speaker 1: never do it again. And so a couple of Chicago
Speaker 1: Bears make the list. And why the Bears have the
Speaker 1: most Hall of famers, you know at Pro Football Hall
Speaker 1: of Fame, I know, whatever era that you're talking about
Speaker 1: in the NFL. I don't think size dictates courage because
Speaker 1: you look at some of the guys that we have
Speaker 1: seen throughout our career, before our career and that have
Speaker 1: come sense. I don't think Terre Colin lacks any courage
Speaker 1: at all in the game. Darren Sprawls never shied away
Speaker 1: from contact. And that's when you talk about these older
Speaker 1: guys of different sizes. I imagine they had as much
Speaker 1: courage as anybody in the history of the league, no
Speaker 1: matter what size they were. Maybe a lot more, Yeah,
Speaker 1: given the equipment that they were wearing back in the day.
Speaker 1: This is Bears All Access. We're gonna take a break.
Speaker 1: When we return, we'll be joined by the brand new
Speaker 1: offensive line coach of the Chicago Bears, one Cass Steele,
Speaker 1: looking forward to the conversation ahead here on Chicago Sports
Speaker 1: Radio six seventy the Score. Welcome back to Bears All Access,
Speaker 1: brought to you by IGS Energy. At prompt partner of
Speaker 1: the Chicago Bears, providing electricity, natural gas, and home warranty
Speaker 1: products to over one million customers across the country. Learn
Speaker 1: more about IGS Energy at igs dot com. Jeff Tom
Speaker 1: and Jim Miller with you on Bears All Access. Get
Speaker 1: you sent for what's ahead for the Bears throughout the
Speaker 1: course of the year this offseason. It's it's moving quickly,
Speaker 1: that's for sure. I mean it's already conference championship weekend.
Speaker 1: We'll break into those games a little bit. We'll hear
Speaker 1: from jimbo Covert in our following segment. We're gonna talk
Speaker 1: to the offensive line coach of the Bears, One Caste
Speaker 1: in a few minutes. But there's also reports about the
Speaker 1: Bears adding a new quarterback coach and John D. Philippo
Speaker 1: and not to know him a little bit well regarded
Speaker 1: in that role. Yeah, a lot of experience, a lot
Speaker 1: of experience both in offensive philosophy and the way you
Speaker 1: think about scheming and then also how to develop players.
Speaker 1: I think everywhere from anywhere in the backfield, from you know,
Speaker 1: the running backs to the quarterbacks, to the production of
Speaker 1: the tight end position. So I think one thing you
Speaker 1: have you look about, look about what the moves at
Speaker 1: the Bears of May. They brought in tons of coaching experience.
Speaker 1: When you talk about having your eyes on the product
Speaker 1: that you're gonna coach and you're gonna teach, I think
Speaker 1: you're bringing in, you know, decades of experience with the
Speaker 1: coaches they're bringing through here. Yeah, And I just think
Speaker 1: the style of offense, you know, obviously being with Doug Peterson,
Speaker 1: you know, for a couple of years there in Philadelphia,
Speaker 1: and granted Frank Reich and other coaches moved on and
Speaker 1: d Philippo got his opportunity to move on to become
Speaker 1: the OC of the Minnesota Vikings. Then obviously this past
Speaker 1: year down in Jacksonville, I think again he shares. He
Speaker 1: comes with knowledge with what coach Naggi is trying to
Speaker 1: accomplish on offense. And we could say that about a
Speaker 1: few of these coaches. Whether it's Bill Laser, who they
Speaker 1: edited as the OC. I think you think about those
Speaker 1: years in Philly and the years that he developed kind
Speaker 1: of you know, athletic quarterbacks. Whether it's Ryan Tannehill down there,
Speaker 1: I thought he had a very efficient year under Bill Laser.
Speaker 1: And I think Andy Dalton when he was the OC
Speaker 1: there in Cincinnati for Marvin Lewis's last stretch run there,
Speaker 1: I thought Andy Dalton was more efficient and that offense
Speaker 1: got a lot better. So bringing him on board, and
Speaker 1: then of course we'll talk to one castile because obviously
Speaker 1: he brings a mindset that is very much like Kansas
Speaker 1: City football and Andy Reid, and I'm sure that's something,
Speaker 1: is something why Matt Nagee brought that on board as
Speaker 1: well at the old line spot. Yeah, and again the
Speaker 1: Bears have not officially made these made these official, you know,
Speaker 1: publicly or whatever, but Dave were Gone as a pass
Speaker 1: coordinator getting a promotion from quarterback coach after you know,
Speaker 1: being here in Mitch's loan quarterback coach these last three
Speaker 1: years and still understanding exactly what Matt's trying to hear. Well,
Speaker 1: you know, the thing about it is is Mitch is
Speaker 1: going to affords new relationships with the new coaches that
Speaker 1: come aboard on the offensive side of the ball. But
Speaker 1: he's got a good relationship with Dave were Gone. He's
Speaker 1: got a sounding board, he's got a person that he
Speaker 1: can speak to because he already knows and he can
Speaker 1: speak to him confidently. And I think he'll be able
Speaker 1: to do the same thing with the rest of the
Speaker 1: coaches that come aboard. But until you really get to
Speaker 1: know him, you get to understand what the way their
Speaker 1: personalities work day in and day out of a long season.
Speaker 1: From OTAs to the conclusion of the regular season, I
Speaker 1: think Dave are gone. It can really be a real
Speaker 1: positive person in the backfield. Also, Jim, when you were
Speaker 1: quarterbacking and all your different spots did you have. I
Speaker 1: know there's new positions being created every year by coaching
Speaker 1: staffs to create them as money assets as you can.
Speaker 1: What did you prefer as a quarterback? Yeah, well, back
Speaker 1: in the day, it kind of it wasn't like that.
Speaker 1: I don't want to say back in the day, like,
Speaker 1: oh yeah it was back in the day. Well, if
Speaker 1: you're looked in the mirror yet, well, I mean I
Speaker 1: was with a grizzled OC that had done it a
Speaker 1: long time in Ron Harry heard. I always bring him up,
Speaker 1: and I was so fortunate to have him as my
Speaker 1: coach and know it was just you heard it right
Speaker 1: from the horse's mouth. It went from the offensive coordinated
Speaker 1: rate to you. But now because football has become more
Speaker 1: mechanical and specialized. That started kind of the infusion of
Speaker 1: a lot more quarterback coaches. We could work on mechanics.
Speaker 1: And Ron Erhardt never even believed in that. And I'll
Speaker 1: tell you why he goes he goes when he because
Speaker 1: when he drafted, he goes. I never tried to draft
Speaker 1: a quarterback who was mechanically inefficient, you know, he said,
Speaker 1: I wouldn't even want to deal with that as a coach.
Speaker 1: So because it was more about the bigger pisher picture
Speaker 1: and things like that, and anywhere I went. Chris Palmer,
Speaker 1: who had been a long time OC in the NFL,
Speaker 1: he was oro OC in our quarterback coach in Jacksonville.
Speaker 1: And even when we arrived with the Barris you know,
Speaker 1: pretty much John Shoe became the quarterback coach. But then
Speaker 1: once he was elevated to uh OC, he became the
Speaker 1: quarterback coach inn OC by you know, by by default.
Speaker 1: And so it used to be like that, but now
Speaker 1: you see a lot of teams wanting to work by
Speaker 1: more mechanics. The OC can't spend amount the amount of
Speaker 1: time because he's bounced around with other meeting rooms and responsibilities.
Speaker 1: And now the quarterback coach has become kind of a
Speaker 1: more of a central figure, especially when you're trying to
Speaker 1: bring along young guys by and large. Do you view
Speaker 1: this and in your circles and both of you guys
Speaker 1: jump in, do you view this as a positive development
Speaker 1: for young quarterbacks? Is it a necessity? Yeah? I think so.
Speaker 1: But I think you got to challenge him, you know,
Speaker 1: you and I had a conversation, Jeff, I mean, you
Speaker 1: know about learning defense? Anytime, I'll just tell you what
Speaker 1: Ron Earhart used to do with me in Pittsburgh. Literally
Speaker 1: every time we watched the meeting room. He already knew
Speaker 1: Neil Donald and Mike tom Zac knew those guys had
Speaker 1: played in the league eight to ten years at that
Speaker 1: point already. When I got in those meetings, he made
Speaker 1: me physically in front of Neil Donald and Mike tom
Speaker 1: Zach call out every defense in front and every coverage
Speaker 1: for every down of every game that we ever watched. Jim,
Speaker 1: what's the front? What's the coverage? All right? If I
Speaker 1: were to call this play, what's your read versus this?
Speaker 1: And he challenged me, oh, what blitz? If they blitz this,
Speaker 1: what are you checking to? And he kind of put
Speaker 1: you on a spot and you had to know it.
Speaker 1: I mean, already throw you up on the board. Hey,
Speaker 1: draw up an under front. You know Sam Mike's grape blitz.
Speaker 1: What are you gonna do against it? When I call
Speaker 1: out this play and he'd put you on the spot,
Speaker 1: and I'll tell you what my ass got in the playbook,
Speaker 1: and I learned my protections. I think that's a challenge
Speaker 1: of any position coaches. They call your name out with
Speaker 1: immedia seeing you better pay attention, you better be able
Speaker 1: to answer correctly, or it's just an indication that you're
Speaker 1: really not absorbing or paying attention the way that is
Speaker 1: expected of you in those meetings. And one of those
Speaker 1: veteran position coaches of note that is now a Chicago
Speaker 1: Bear assistant coach offensive line coach, Juan Castillo, kind enough
Speaker 1: to join Bears all access get even iguana, how you doing?
Speaker 1: Is here? You go? How you doing? One? Welcome to Chicago.
Speaker 1: We welcome to Chicago, Chicago. Yeah, you know we're gonna
Speaker 1: talk Bears. But I gotta go. I gotta go way
Speaker 1: back for a minute because and the only reason I'm
Speaker 1: bringing this up right away is, uh, Steve Stable, who
Speaker 1: I had met one time at a Super Bowl NFL
Speaker 1: films and just elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Speaker 1: Passed away several years ago, but he did an NFL
Speaker 1: films piece on you called the American Dream, and I
Speaker 1: watched it today and I was just blown away by
Speaker 1: a few stories on there. That's your your doggedness to
Speaker 1: land NFL jobs and what you the extent to which
Speaker 1: by which you went to convince a guy like Andy
Speaker 1: Reid or a guy like Railroads to get a job
Speaker 1: to start your career. Uh, just a fascinating piece that
Speaker 1: I was unaware of just how how you went about
Speaker 1: doing that in this damn age. I mean, you know,
Speaker 1: you think that's what every young guy has to do,
Speaker 1: but you went way beyond it. The call well you look,
Speaker 1: you know the thing about it that that and I
Speaker 1: think all these things are important when you're coaching kids
Speaker 1: and and you're trying to take them to the next level.
Speaker 1: You know, my mom taught me work ethic I have
Speaker 1: a sister that's an internal medicine doctor. And neither my
Speaker 1: parents went to you in grade school. They came from
Speaker 1: Mexico that they did have papers. And my mom became
Speaker 1: my dad when I was in fifth grade. So my
Speaker 1: mom before she died became an American citizen, which was
Speaker 1: one of her greatest moments in her lives. You know,
Speaker 1: so so no, it's it is. And so I carried that,
Speaker 1: you know, as as a coach, you know, I wanted
Speaker 1: to learn. First of all, I started, you know, I
Speaker 1: played linebacker in the USFL, so I was on the
Speaker 1: defensive side of the ball. And what happened is when
Speaker 1: when my college coach wanted to get me on the staff,
Speaker 1: the only position open was coaching the offensive line. So
Speaker 1: that's how I kind of started. You know, what I
Speaker 1: what I did is I didn't know anything about offensive line.
Speaker 1: But what I what I did is I went to
Speaker 1: visit seven of the best offensive line coaches in the
Speaker 1: in the country. Five were in the NFL and tour
Speaker 1: in the were in college. And I went to see
Speaker 1: them every every every year for five years. And you know,
Speaker 1: the first couple of years, I was sleeping in the
Speaker 1: car because you know, you didn't have that kind of
Speaker 1: money too, So I would I drove to Indianapolis, and
Speaker 1: from there I would just take two weeks and drive
Speaker 1: to see all these guys, you know, all these coaches,
Speaker 1: and and it's crazy how they helped me. And what
Speaker 1: you find out is that those guys were the top
Speaker 1: at their profession at that time. And what I did
Speaker 1: is I just took the best on each one of
Speaker 1: those guys. And you know, the thing that they didn't
Speaker 1: know was that I never told him that I was
Speaker 1: going to visit another guy. They all thought I was
Speaker 1: their guy, you know. And you know that what's crazy
Speaker 1: is by the third year, I'm staying at their houses.
Speaker 1: You know, it was unbelievable how they started, you know,
Speaker 1: how they helped me because you know, they'd find out
Speaker 1: that I was sleeping in the car, you know. And
Speaker 1: I love the story. I love the story one with
Speaker 1: Andy Reid after a game he was rumored to be
Speaker 1: the Philadelphia you know, top candidate and you your your
Speaker 1: car was basically snowed under in the parking lot after
Speaker 1: a playoff game and he was told, hey, there's a
Speaker 1: guy named one because Steve in the parking lot wants
Speaker 1: to talk to you. I mean, that's that's commitment one,
Speaker 1: yes or well, you know, you know, sometimes it's it's
Speaker 1: hard to get to coaches and they may know who
Speaker 1: you are. But I just wanted to make sure that
Speaker 1: they coach, you know, I'm you know, I'm available, you
Speaker 1: know I'm willing to work, and they know your work.
Speaker 1: I think the hard part at the beginning is you
Speaker 1: have to have a resume. You know. Now it's a
Speaker 1: little different. I've coached twenty four years in the NFL,
Speaker 1: eighteen in Philadelphia, four and in Baltimore and then two
Speaker 1: in Buffalo, so you have a resume and people start
Speaker 1: knowing you, and so it's a little different now. But
Speaker 1: but at the beginning, you know, it's tough. It's tough
Speaker 1: getting an opportunity. But the thing that's that's that's amazing
Speaker 1: is those seven coaches that help me. That's how I
Speaker 1: was able to maintain, you know, twenty four years in
Speaker 1: the league because they were able to teach me the
Speaker 1: things that that I was able to teach players. And
Speaker 1: you know, every player loves the coach is going to
Speaker 1: make them better. And the thing that happens in the
Speaker 1: NFL sometimes is that you know, you have veteran players,
Speaker 1: so you have to know what you're doing, get those
Speaker 1: veteran players to listen so that they can get better.
Speaker 1: And I think that's one of my strengths is that
Speaker 1: is that I you know, there's a certain way I
Speaker 1: teach pass protection and certain things throughout the years that
Speaker 1: I think that the kids end up learning the eight.
Speaker 1: You know. You know, Juan's going to help me be better,
Speaker 1: you know, and I think that's important. Hey, coach jan
Speaker 1: I also played in the USFL for three years. This
Speaker 1: is Tom Fair. I played with the Arizona Wranglers and
Speaker 1: I actually our last game was against the San Antonio
Speaker 1: gun Slingers. How was How was for me? It was
Speaker 1: a positive experience because I got quality coaching, We had
Speaker 1: a good organization led by George Allen, and I know
Speaker 1: San Antonio did go through some difficulty. But how was
Speaker 1: that experience for you as a young man, but also
Speaker 1: as a player, Well, you know just exactly what you
Speaker 1: said it knowledge wise, you know, just as a coach.
Speaker 1: You know, I was getting coached. You know, his name
Speaker 1: was Jim Bates, you know, who was a hell of
Speaker 1: a linebacker coach at the NFL for a long time.
Speaker 1: So what it did, It helped me just to be
Speaker 1: able to learn more things. And I think what ends
Speaker 1: up happening is that people understand is that to be
Speaker 1: a better to be a good offensive line coach or
Speaker 1: be a good offensive coach, you better understand defense and
Speaker 1: vice versa. You know. So what helps me be a
Speaker 1: you know, a good line coach, which I'm gonna I'm
Speaker 1: gonna prove to you all is because you always have
Speaker 1: to prove yourself. Is that my ability to understand how defenders,
Speaker 1: how the defensive ends, and how the defensive tackles rushed,
Speaker 1: or they how they play the run because I coach
Speaker 1: over there. I've been over there, I coached those guys,
Speaker 1: so i understand exactly what they're doing. So I'm able
Speaker 1: to present the issues and the problems to the offensive
Speaker 1: players and explain exactly what they're doing. Well. Coach Jim
Speaker 1: Miller here, congratulations, Welcome to the Chicago Bears. And I
Speaker 1: just want to let the listeners know we always hate
Speaker 1: to play in the Philadelphia Eagles. I mean, you guys
Speaker 1: brought a tough, you know, tough minded brand of football.
Speaker 1: Just for the listeners out there here were they're starting tackles.
Speaker 1: When you look at Sean at or excuse me, the
Speaker 1: offensive line. Trey Thomas was the left tackle. John run
Speaker 1: you and it was probably one of the toughest guys
Speaker 1: to ever play right tackle. In my words, I'm good
Speaker 1: friends with Todd Herriman's because he grew up here in Michigan.
Speaker 1: He was their left guard. Yeah yeah, yeah, Jamal Jackson,
Speaker 1: he was a great center. I mean, just to have
Speaker 1: that tough mindset coach college free agent, you know, and
Speaker 1: and usually we had we would have one or two
Speaker 1: college free agents. But you know, that's a good point
Speaker 1: that you that you talk about because you know what
Speaker 1: I found out being a defensive coaches. You know, everybody
Speaker 1: talks about in the offensive line room. You know, you're
Speaker 1: fortunate if you have one or two guys that are
Speaker 1: that are tough guys or guys that that might play
Speaker 1: on defense. And people say, well, you know, what is
Speaker 1: it with line? I said, if all the offensive linemen
Speaker 1: were like that, they would be playing defense. You know,
Speaker 1: offensive linemen are different. It's a different mentality. But as
Speaker 1: a coach, you have to teach them and talk about
Speaker 1: being physical and finishing. And that's what we did in Philadelphia,
Speaker 1: you know, and and then your players it's like when
Speaker 1: a fight breaks out, you know, well, you know what,
Speaker 1: when a fight breaks out, your old line coach. You know,
Speaker 1: I'm the old line coach. I better be in there
Speaker 1: trying to break it. Up because when you talk about
Speaker 1: being physical and tough, you have to walk to walk
Speaker 1: to you know, you have to be that. And you
Speaker 1: know when you talk to your kids about you know,
Speaker 1: thirty minutes before practice. That's what we did in Philly.
Speaker 1: You know with coach Reid, since he was a line guy,
Speaker 1: you know, he played line he would let me start
Speaker 1: practice individuals thirty minutes before practice, so that you know,
Speaker 1: offensive lineman, you can yell all you want. The only
Speaker 1: way that they get better is by doing something, doing
Speaker 1: a skill over and over and over till it becomes natural.
Speaker 1: That's the only way it's going to happen. Yelling doesn't
Speaker 1: get it done or cussing or that's not the way
Speaker 1: it happens, you know, And so coach Reid understood that.
Speaker 1: But again for your players is if you're gonna want
Speaker 1: them to work like that, then you better be the
Speaker 1: first one in the building and the last one in
Speaker 1: the building. And then you don't have to tell him that.
Speaker 1: They just know because they know who you are. Hey,
Speaker 1: coach one, so you better you know, being in the
Speaker 1: NFL for twenty four years and seeing the game change
Speaker 1: a little bit, so you get a linebacker like Levon
Speaker 1: Kirkland six one two, seventy two sixty whatever he was.
Speaker 1: Is there Could those guys play in today's game or
Speaker 1: is there so much of a speed coverage responsibility with
Speaker 1: RPOs in the past happy league that maybe the game
Speaker 1: has changed a couple of those bodies out of the game. Well,
Speaker 1: you know what the thing about those kind of guys
Speaker 1: is those you know, those guys could run two. You know,
Speaker 1: you go back and you talk about some of those
Speaker 1: great linebackers. Part of the reason they were great was
Speaker 1: because they were big, but they could also run four, six,
Speaker 1: four or five or some were even you know, you
Speaker 1: look at Hollywood Henderson, you know, you talk about guys
Speaker 1: like that. You know there's some of those guys they
Speaker 1: could run two for the for those days. You know, so,
Speaker 1: I think still abilities ability, but you had some some
Speaker 1: really good players back then. They could still play in
Speaker 1: this day and age. Well, coach, let let me ask
Speaker 1: you this, because you mentioned about doing a skill set
Speaker 1: over and over and over again, how do you maximize
Speaker 1: it in modern day football? Because you know, training camp
Speaker 1: is pretty much only one practice a day. It's not
Speaker 1: like in the old days where you could get you know,
Speaker 1: a ton of reps in the morning and run and
Speaker 1: play action, then come back and work on the passing
Speaker 1: game in the afternoon. You got to get it all
Speaker 1: in really in one practice, come training camp time and
Speaker 1: maximize it. Here's here's here's what you find out that's
Speaker 1: really important is that what you have to do is
Speaker 1: you have to sell the kids. You know. That's what
Speaker 1: we did in Philadelphia with Coach Reid. And what we
Speaker 1: did is that it was important to sell our kids
Speaker 1: that they understood that the only way that they're going
Speaker 1: to get better is by doing a certain skill that
Speaker 1: they need to improve on over and over and over.
Speaker 1: And so what ends up happening then those guys when
Speaker 1: they go home in the spring, when they're away from
Speaker 1: us for four or five weeks, what they end up
Speaker 1: doing is they end up working on those skills because
Speaker 1: they learned the drills and they it's not about how
Speaker 1: many drills you do. It's about doing the right drills
Speaker 1: and doing them over and over and over until you
Speaker 1: master the drill and then it starts carrying over. But
Speaker 1: for us, it was the key was selling our kids
Speaker 1: and to believe in that you gotta do things over
Speaker 1: and over and over. Some kids can do it a
Speaker 1: hundred times and now they got it. Some kids may
Speaker 1: have to do it a thousand times before they get it.
Speaker 1: But that's the only way that's going to happen. It's
Speaker 1: not going to happen by hoping or yelling or cussing.
Speaker 1: Is just a matter of having to do it over
Speaker 1: and over and over till you master the drill. All right,
Speaker 1: Wine Castillo, Bears offensive line coach, kind enough to join
Speaker 1: us here for a few minutes on Bears All Access
Speaker 1: before let you go. Obviously, you have connections through Andy
Speaker 1: Reid and Matt Naggie, and there's a lot of symmetry there.
Speaker 1: What have you seen from Matt in the course of
Speaker 1: his career since the time you met him back I
Speaker 1: think it was what nineteen ninety five. You know, the
Speaker 1: thing that I've seen is a passion. And that's why
Speaker 1: I'm excited to be to be back with him, is
Speaker 1: because I think we both have passion for the game.
Speaker 1: We have passion for winning, you know, passion for being successful.
Speaker 1: And I think that's what I really enjoyed. You know
Speaker 1: that I was. I was happy the first day I
Speaker 1: was here, first day that I came to work basically
Speaker 1: you know, uh Mad and I said and talked for
Speaker 1: about four and a half five hours about just different
Speaker 1: schemes and players, and you know, that's that's the way
Speaker 1: it used to be with Coach Read and I. You know,
Speaker 1: Coach Read and I were you know, we were we
Speaker 1: were good friends. But we weren't good friends because we
Speaker 1: hung out out of the building. We were good friends
Speaker 1: because we were always there working together late at night,
Speaker 1: you know, so we did things. He was basically the
Speaker 1: coordinator and I was a line coach, so him and
Speaker 1: I always did things. You know, we game plan together
Speaker 1: and things like that. Kind of like Matt and I
Speaker 1: were talking and and it was kind of it was
Speaker 1: kind of neat because you're reminded me of Coach Reading. I. Well,
Speaker 1: we could probably talk to you for a full two
Speaker 1: hours because you got a wealth of experience and a
Speaker 1: lot of great stories, I'm sure. But we'll catch up
Speaker 1: to you down the road. So welcome back to the game,
Speaker 1: welcome to Chicago, and we're looking forward to talking to
Speaker 1: down the road. Well, thank you all very much. I
Speaker 1: really appreciate it. Offensive Line Coach go Bear's winecast Steel
Speaker 1: Bears new offensive line coach when we come back well,
Speaker 1: revisit the Hall of Fame election of Jim bow Covert.
Speaker 1: A conversation with him with Tom Bear, Jim Miller. I'm
Speaker 1: Jeff Joniac. This is Bears All Access on Chicago Sports
Speaker 1: Radio six seventy The Score. Back with you on Bears
Speaker 1: All Access here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The Score.
Speaker 1: Jeff Joniac, Tom there, Jim Miller with you and you
Speaker 1: can win an unforgettable trip to Mexico in March with
Speaker 1: your favorite Bears. Play Inside the Bears hosts and Apple
Speaker 1: vacations entered. De Bears De Beach Sweepstakes now at Chicago
Speaker 1: Bears dot com slash de Bears de Beach sweep Steaks.
Speaker 1: As we get you set for the season coming up,
Speaker 1: interesting conversation with one. A whole lot of different areas
Speaker 1: could have gone into there, but still gonna get acquainted
Speaker 1: session with the roster and whatnot. But any initial thoughts. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know one thing about Wan Costio. I think he
Speaker 1: understands the tempo of what Matt Naggie wants to play
Speaker 1: at both of it's controlled temple where they're huddling or
Speaker 1: a fast temple because he's used to it from Andy Reid,
Speaker 1: and he talks about Andy Reid being an ex college
Speaker 1: offensive lineman, but he is the coordinator of the offenses
Speaker 1: that he's been running since Juan Castillo has been there.
Speaker 1: So a lot of the things that Matt Nagie is
Speaker 1: trying to emulate of the way Andy Reid does it.
Speaker 1: I think Juan already has a solid understanding of what
Speaker 1: Matt is going to try to accomplish with the speed
Speaker 1: of the offense. And I think he knows tough guys.
Speaker 1: I didn't even finish with the other guys that they
Speaker 1: had on their line. Sean Andrews, I was tough as nails,
Speaker 1: Hank Fraley, Steve Everett. I mean, there's just he knows
Speaker 1: the type of mindset you need as a football player
Speaker 1: up on the offensive line. And I think all the
Speaker 1: things I just echo what Tom said. I think he
Speaker 1: shares a brain. He knows what Matt Naggie is looking
Speaker 1: forward because Matt, obviously his mentor is Andy Reid, and
Speaker 1: they know that Formula has worked in the NFL for
Speaker 1: for a long time and why he tapped into a
Speaker 1: resource he knows so well in Wanca Steele, you know
Speaker 1: some of those guys that he was talking about that
Speaker 1: he went and sought out year after year. I know
Speaker 1: some of them. Tony Wise was one of them. The
Speaker 1: late bomb At McKittrick, who is San Francisco, Jim Hanniffin.
Speaker 1: We got to know doing Rams games. Brother in law
Speaker 1: for ten years in Atlanta, John Skelley. So those were
Speaker 1: names that that I know he did talk to. So
Speaker 1: you're talking about I know he's really you're Dick Staffeld too,
Speaker 1: because when he was a younger guy, I did cross
Speaker 1: path pass with him at one time and talked about
Speaker 1: Dick Stanfeld's coaching philosophy. All right. Another outstanding offensive lineman
Speaker 1: in the the lifespan of a Chicago Bear that covered
Speaker 1: nine seasons was Jimbo Coverts and Tom's teammates in nineteen
Speaker 1: eighty five. This week, elected to the Pro Football Hall
Speaker 1: of Fame. Here's a conversation I had with him earlier
Speaker 1: this week. You think about if you ever get a
Speaker 1: call like that, how you would react, And you know,
Speaker 1: just everything flashes before you, your whole career, and you
Speaker 1: know your family and your parents and you know all
Speaker 1: that kind of stuff, and it's pretty emotional. So I mean,
Speaker 1: I I was speechless but I made it through. How
Speaker 1: do you put your career in context? Uh? You know what, Jeff,
Speaker 1: I think when they had the regular voting process, you know,
Speaker 1: I kind of slipped through the cracks because I think
Speaker 1: they kind of years ago when I first came out,
Speaker 1: I was kind of valued, you know, longevity, longer career,
Speaker 1: and it was more on you know, a longer career
Speaker 1: and maybe not I was maybe more valued out than
Speaker 1: maybe quality of the career. And when this whole you know,
Speaker 1: centennial class came out and then they picked this blue
Speaker 1: ribbon panel which was coaches and players and personnel directors
Speaker 1: and the voters. Um, you know, Damn pomp Pay thought
Speaker 1: that I had a better shot at that, and I mean,
Speaker 1: I can't take up a better guy to have, you know,
Speaker 1: up there completing my case. And Damn pomp Pay did
Speaker 1: a phenomenal job. So I mean that's kind of how
Speaker 1: it all came together. The Hall of Fame players you
Speaker 1: faced in the in the production you had against them
Speaker 1: was was really something. So you got to have that
Speaker 1: guy in an island that's going to be able to
Speaker 1: stop the great pass rushers. Do you feel that was
Speaker 1: your greatest value? Yeah? I think that and I think
Speaker 1: that you know, some of the Hall of famers that
Speaker 1: I played against, and you know, the NFC when I
Speaker 1: played was a strong tackle Aaron, a strong left tack wear.
Speaker 1: But it was also a strong pass rushing here, and
Speaker 1: that's why you had all those great tackles. So when
Speaker 1: you played against the guys, you know, like I did
Speaker 1: with Lee Roy Selman and you know Lawrence Taylor and
Speaker 1: Chris Doleman and you know Charles Hayley and that, I think,
Speaker 1: you know, I always played pretty well against them. And
Speaker 1: I think they know. The committee took that under consideration,
Speaker 1: and I think Dan did a great job presenting that,
Speaker 1: and I think that was a factor. And I also
Speaker 1: think when you have coaches and player personnel directors and
Speaker 1: ex players in there, that changes the dynamic of the voting,
Speaker 1: because I think prior to that there were probably some
Speaker 1: of those guys that were just you know, if you
Speaker 1: have a long career and uh, you know, you got
Speaker 1: to play a certain amount of minimum time, or you
Speaker 1: just kind of fall through the craps. And I think
Speaker 1: that's what happened to me. So do you feel blessed
Speaker 1: that this Blue Ribbon panel even existed? Yeah? I mean maybe.
Speaker 1: You know, I think I had a little bit of
Speaker 1: momentum according to Dan in the Senior Committee prior to
Speaker 1: this centennial class. So I think maybe that had something
Speaker 1: to do with it, because I know Dan and you know,
Speaker 1: Rick Goslin and some other people wrote some really nice
Speaker 1: things about me, and think that was helpful, very very helpful.
Speaker 1: So I think I had a little bit of momentum.
Speaker 1: But there's that's a large number of guys and there, Jeff,
Speaker 1: you know, so I mean to get to get out
Speaker 1: of there. Um, you know how that senior pool is difficult,
Speaker 1: and you know, like I said, I just think they
Speaker 1: ended up phenomenal job. So I mean, I'm just I'm
Speaker 1: just throwed, and you know, I was trying to brace
Speaker 1: myself for maybe it not happening, and uh, you know
Speaker 1: when I got to call static talk to players all
Speaker 1: the time about how they feel about today. You see
Speaker 1: your body of work in the rearview mirror and you
Speaker 1: hope it's recognized. Is that the case here? Because I
Speaker 1: don't think you go in thinking you're going to go
Speaker 1: to the Hall of Fame. You'd like to be considered
Speaker 1: for that, But a lot of time obviously has passed yeah,
Speaker 1: you know when I retired, I retired so early, and
Speaker 1: and you know, I just I you know, I don't
Speaker 1: regret anything in my career. I don't regret coming back
Speaker 1: too quick in nineteen eighty eight, you know, you know,
Speaker 1: six weeks after surgery and trying to play, and you know,
Speaker 1: and then going on IR and then finishing the rest
Speaker 1: of the year. I mean, probably a you know, smarter
Speaker 1: guy would have stayed out the whole year and maybe
Speaker 1: had a longer career. But I don't regret it. You know,
Speaker 1: I don't regret anything I did in my career, So
Speaker 1: I'm not uh you know, I'm not. I wasn't concerned
Speaker 1: about that. So um and uh you know, I just
Speaker 1: let the tips forward they may so when I didn't play,
Speaker 1: you know, uh twelve years, thir teen years, you know,
Speaker 1: it just it is what it is. But you know,
Speaker 1: I started from the very first game game I got
Speaker 1: in the universe, excuse me, the very first day at
Speaker 1: mini camp. I started, um in nineteen eighty three. So um,
Speaker 1: you know, I take a lot of pride in Nat
Speaker 1: coming in and earl I'm playing a difficult position, and uh,
Speaker 1: you know, I think maybe that had something to do
Speaker 1: with it as well? Are those other four guys media,
Speaker 1: I mean those Uh, it's a team game, it really is.
Speaker 1: And you know four Tea and hill Gee and Tom
Speaker 1: and and Keith. I mean we're like a family within
Speaker 1: a family. And you know when we play, we were
Speaker 1: obviously a lot closer than we are now, but we
Speaker 1: still talk. Um and I got text from other guys
Speaker 1: and uh, it was meant really really a lot to me,
Speaker 1: um to get that. And again, it's a team game,
Speaker 1: but when you can get recognized in that team game,
Speaker 1: it's it's pretty special. So I'm looking forward to having
Speaker 1: all those guys to Canton and celebrating with them, and
Speaker 1: it's gonna be hull of the party. So that's what
Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to. Do. You have a great feeling
Speaker 1: about the Bears organization as well, because you played your
Speaker 1: whole career one place, and that's even become more and
Speaker 1: more rare in this world. Yeah it is, you know.
Speaker 1: I mean I was really really fortunate, you know, to
Speaker 1: play play for the Bears and and for my dick
Speaker 1: gun you know. Um, I mean I got in there
Speaker 1: and I you know, I got the job right away,
Speaker 1: but I was expected of me as well, and you
Speaker 1: know I had you know, it was my struggles early
Speaker 1: on when I was a rookie and um, but you
Speaker 1: know I I centered myself pretty well and there was
Speaker 1: a lot of expected to meet. But you know that
Speaker 1: that whole you know, franchise and you know, I tell what,
Speaker 1: you didn't miss a lot of the things. And when
Speaker 1: I got hurting eighty eight was a really special When
Speaker 1: I was telling someone out today like I hurting eighty
Speaker 1: eight now, you know, it was doing training camp and
Speaker 1: I was down at Rush Pushbyterion Saint Luke's and Ed
Speaker 1: McCaskey came to have lunch with me every day, and
Speaker 1: I mean I think back on things like that and
Speaker 1: it was a really special. Meant a lot to me.
Speaker 1: And you know, he had the racing form out and
Speaker 1: ask a couple of horses, but he, uh was a
Speaker 1: special person and meant a lot to me. So I
Speaker 1: mean I just was kind of recollecting on those things
Speaker 1: the other day and pretty special. You know. I don't
Speaker 1: think the expectations for Jimbo Cover coming out of college
Speaker 1: were ever too big for him. He understood what he
Speaker 1: was going to be up against because everybody kind of
Speaker 1: knew where and that he was going to be drafted
Speaker 1: early and it was not going to be a development player.
Speaker 1: It was going to be draft and play. And so
Speaker 1: you know, Jimbo, he fulfilled everything that that the Bears needed. Um.
Speaker 1: He was a high profile draft choice, came from the
Speaker 1: same college as the head coach, and I think Mike
Speaker 1: Ditka put a little bit of pressure on him to
Speaker 1: be as successful as he envisioned Jimbo to b and become.
Speaker 1: And so I do think when you have a great
Speaker 1: offensive line coach in Dick Stanfeld, who was a great
Speaker 1: player himself, he recognizes talent, he understands how to develop it.
Speaker 1: But really the momentum and the ferociousness of that team
Speaker 1: was built on the personality of Mike Ditka and because
Speaker 1: they had the Pittsburgh common ground, I think it was
Speaker 1: a great brotherhood mentorship in relationship for Ditka and Jimbo.
Speaker 1: Jim Quit thought well, like Tom said, I think, just
Speaker 1: tough minded. I think he knew what was expected him
Speaker 1: because Dicka from his same area in PA. There of
Speaker 1: what was expected. I know Damn Renope had a lot
Speaker 1: to do with the two of really pushing Jimbo. But
Speaker 1: a plug and play player you're blocking Hall of famers
Speaker 1: like Lawrence Taylor and he can't get a sack against you.
Speaker 1: He's one of the all time greats. Ever in, Jimbo
Speaker 1: Covert shut him out. This is Bears How Access Time
Speaker 1: for a break on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score.
Speaker 1: This segment of Bears Had Access is brought to you
Speaker 1: by CDW. People to get it learn more at CDW
Speaker 1: dot com. Jeff and Tim and Jim Miller with you
Speaker 1: the big news this week about training camp. I'm sure
Speaker 1: you guys already did some stuff on it on the
Speaker 1: course of the week. But training camp at Hannis All. Yeah, Well,
Speaker 1: it kind of reminds me of being a little kid
Speaker 1: because when I was a little kid and I was
Speaker 1: driven to Bears training camp practices at the old Hollis
Speaker 1: Hall and they had much less of a facility for
Speaker 1: the fans and the people to, you know, to get
Speaker 1: a look at what the practices were all about. And
Speaker 1: that's what you thought was the luxury of the NFL.
Speaker 1: And then they moved at the Platteville, and then they
Speaker 1: moved it down to Kankakee and now back to the facility,
Speaker 1: and I think this has been something a couple of
Speaker 1: years in the making. When they expanded the facility, they
Speaker 1: built more practice fields and they have a much more
Speaker 1: working space for the players, for the Bears to be
Speaker 1: able to hold a training camp. Jim, you could talk
Speaker 1: int legently about this, because you go to a lot
Speaker 1: of camps and you've seen a lot of them that
Speaker 1: I've been staying in there. Not intelligent, no, no, but
Speaker 1: I'm saying no. Well, you know what I mean, Here's
Speaker 1: what i'd I'd say. I just think it becomes the
Speaker 1: normal workday. You know, so many teams have invested so
Speaker 1: much in their facilities, and the Bears obviously have invested
Speaker 1: a lot, not only in the in the training room,
Speaker 1: the weight room, the front office, so many things. It
Speaker 1: just becomes a normal workday. You know, you're just more efficient.
Speaker 1: You know, the front office doesn't go to have to
Speaker 1: go down to bourbon A. Now, remember I remember the
Speaker 1: first one we did a plat at bourbon A. We
Speaker 1: literally had to pack up the whole weight room to
Speaker 1: take down there, and the training room and part of
Speaker 1: the front office. So it just to me, it is
Speaker 1: it's more efficient. More teams are doing it. I look
Speaker 1: at you know, basically what the McCaskey families have done.
Speaker 1: A McCaskey family has done with Hallisaw I see. You know,
Speaker 1: obviously the owner is Steve Shotti of Baltimore. He's done
Speaker 1: the same thing. They'll bring in grandstands. They'll still be
Speaker 1: able to accommodate the fans that will come and VIPs
Speaker 1: that will come out to the practice and things like that.
Speaker 1: But you're just I think teams feel that they can
Speaker 1: accomplish a lot more and it becomes a normal workday,
Speaker 1: just working out of their own I think the health
Speaker 1: and safety issue is also a significant They have a
Speaker 1: tremendous setup right now and they put the players first
Speaker 1: in that issue. Well, you know, again, I mentioned my
Speaker 1: brother in law, John Scully played eleven years for Atlanta Falcons.
Speaker 1: And Atlanta Falcons they held their training camp at the
Speaker 1: same facility. They practiced that all year. So they've been
Speaker 1: doing this now for thirty something year, so it's not
Speaker 1: new to the NFL. It's just then when you can
Speaker 1: provide your team with the hundred and one hundred and
Speaker 1: five whatever guys that can come through training camp, plus
Speaker 1: you have all the extra trainers, all the extra water people,
Speaker 1: all the extra staff that is, you know, working training camp.
Speaker 1: You know, just the amount of hours they put in
Speaker 1: every day. I think it's you know, the right call
Speaker 1: to keep them housed in that facility all year long. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm sorry, And Jeff, I think you said something that
Speaker 1: was important, like we I actually did. Remember when the
Speaker 1: New Orleans Saints went to the Greenbrier in West Virginia
Speaker 1: or even the Houston Texans. Health and safety is the
Speaker 1: biggest thing you mentioned. They didn't even have an MRI machine.
Speaker 1: They literally had to fly a helicopt copter and bree
Speaker 1: and they had to build a helipad so if a
Speaker 1: player got hurt at practice, they had to fly him
Speaker 1: forty five minutes via helicopter, you know, to Richmond, Virginia
Speaker 1: or wherever was the nearest facility. So I think that's
Speaker 1: a big part of it as well. And what Tim
Speaker 1: touched on there, I mean, it's just it's just all
Speaker 1: around more efficient from that standpoint, all right, So Tim,
Speaker 1: every now and again, he's didn't have much going on.
Speaker 1: You know, you're in the off season now, but you're
Speaker 1: still thinking football every day, right. I like it. So
Speaker 1: I get I get these arbitrary texts. Jim you know,
Speaker 1: for show topics and so forth, But he's done some
Speaker 1: statistical research about Khalil Mack and the impact on the
Speaker 1: pass rush. Yes, the sacks went down from fifty to
Speaker 1: thirty two for the team, but it was illustrative time. Well,
Speaker 1: so if you go to the Bears website and they
Speaker 1: put these interesting packages of different films. So one of
Speaker 1: them was the all the sacks the Bears had throughout
Speaker 1: the season. So I was watching it and just trying
Speaker 1: to pay attention to when Khalil was on the field
Speaker 1: and when he wasn't how they were attacking Khalil Mack,
Speaker 1: but what were the other guys trying to you know,
Speaker 1: what were they trying to accomplish. And so, out of
Speaker 1: the thirties two sacks, Khalil Mack was on the field
Speaker 1: for twenty nine of them, and he factored in whether
Speaker 1: he got the sack or someone else did because there
Speaker 1: was all always multiple blockers on Khalil Mack. So he
Speaker 1: was productive when he was in there. He added production
Speaker 1: to the defensive line. Yeah, the Bears fans want to
Speaker 1: see him as a double digit sacker year in a
Speaker 1: year out and let everybody else come across. But I
Speaker 1: think when you really go back and you go to
Speaker 1: the Bears website and look up the sack reel and
Speaker 1: just pay attention to see the direction of the blockers there,
Speaker 1: how many bodies were surrounding Khalil and then when they
Speaker 1: didn't surround him buy extra help, he got the sack.
Speaker 1: So it was it was clearer evidence that going into
Speaker 1: this season they're still going to try to figure out
Speaker 1: a way to put multiple bodies on Khalilmack. You have to,
Speaker 1: but the other guys are gonna have to step up
Speaker 1: and make more plays and get more pressures. You know,
Speaker 1: you think of you know, last in two thousand eighteen,
Speaker 1: they had one hundred and eighty seventeen pressures. Last year
Speaker 1: they had one hundred and fifty eight. So you know
Speaker 1: that that's that's less. You know. In in two thousand
Speaker 1: and eighteen, Khalilmack had forty seven pressures. In twenty nineteen
Speaker 1: he had he had forty five, so only two less pressures.
Speaker 1: So the production there is out of Khalil, but it's
Speaker 1: about the other guys stepping up and trying to devise
Speaker 1: a new scheme how to move Khalil Mack around and
Speaker 1: become less predictable where he's gonna line up. Adam Czinski,
Speaker 1: Brandon Orlanski are producers here tonight on Chicago Sports Radio
Speaker 1: six seventies. Score one more segment to go with Jim Miller.
Speaker 1: Intent there. I'm Jeff Joniak. Back a minute. You can
Speaker 1: help deserving families by donating a gently used winner coach
Speaker 1: of the Chicago Bears jewel Osco coach driver the participating
Speaker 1: jewel Osco locations now through February twenty eight. Donations benefit
Speaker 1: the Salvation Army. Remaining moments with Tom Thayer and Jim Meta,
Speaker 1: I'm Jeff Joniak, and this is Bears All Access brought
Speaker 1: to you by IGS Energy. Jim at scouting season, Buddy,
Speaker 1: you got East West Shrine game? What are you hearing?
Speaker 1: And Senior bower East West, East West? Yeah, East West
Speaker 1: is this weekend? Well, Jess Burro Harstad was in that
Speaker 1: game last year. Yeah, I mean well, a lot a
Speaker 1: lot of times they do carry over if there's some
Speaker 1: really good players. Jim Nagee always carries over a lot
Speaker 1: of guys that will be able to have the opportunity
Speaker 1: in the Senior Bowl. I just know specifically disc getting
Speaker 1: ready for the Senior Bowl. This is a really good
Speaker 1: class that he's got here, just the guys he invited,
Speaker 1: the guys that are coming to this game. Obviously, getting
Speaker 1: Jalen Hurts at the quarterback spot is big one Herbert
Speaker 1: out there from Oregon. I hope for all I hope
Speaker 1: that you know, when you look at Brewer goes to
Speaker 1: the Senior goes to the scene role. He doesn't have
Speaker 1: to practice, he doesn't have to do anything. But I
Speaker 1: think he should want to talk to the Cincinnati Bengal
Speaker 1: staff and Zach Taylor Um. Obviously he's had a great
Speaker 1: year he you know, and he got banged up in
Speaker 1: the National Championship Games. Supposed to get a little rip Carlage.
Speaker 1: But if I were him, I would go. But this
Speaker 1: is really just a stellar class of wide receivers. That's
Speaker 1: we're hearing a lot about hearing a lot about the receivers.
Speaker 1: It isn't really that top endy. Yeah. Remember Michael Pittman
Speaker 1: was a running back for Tampa. After I got released
Speaker 1: by the Bears, I went down and played with Tampa.
Speaker 1: Michael Pittman was there. His son out at USC six
Speaker 1: foot four, two hundred and twenty eight pounds he'll be
Speaker 1: in this game, and I'm like, that's Pittman. And Pittman
Speaker 1: was only like I don't know, five to seven, five eight.
Speaker 1: You know, he was a rock he was Yeah, he
Speaker 1: was built up and rocked up. But man, it's there
Speaker 1: were some excellent wide receivers, big defensive backs, and I
Speaker 1: think a really good offensive line class that'll be there.
Speaker 1: But I hope that Brewer goes, and you know, he
Speaker 1: probably doesn't have to, but I would if I were him,
Speaker 1: I'd want to get to know that Cincinnati Bagel's staff.
Speaker 1: You know, would you rather be Pittman and grow bigger
Speaker 1: than your dad or b DK Metcalf and grow smaller
Speaker 1: than your dad being a former offensive lineman here in
Speaker 1: Chicago Metcalf's dad. But so you know, you look at
Speaker 1: the size Andy Heck's son is going to be draftable.
Speaker 1: And same story with John Running's kid. Yeah, I say, yeah,
Speaker 1: I see Runnions kid at Michigan and Andy Heck is
Speaker 1: this the triplets that he had while he was a
Speaker 1: player here for the Bears. Tom I know, you know,
Speaker 1: you look at some of the names of these guys
Speaker 1: that are coming up through the ranks and you start, um,
Speaker 1: start getting to know, you know, just to remember their
Speaker 1: family names and you know, just some of the success
Speaker 1: that they've had in the bloodlines. All Right, Title game time,
Speaker 1: we'll start with Big Jim Yet Chiefs hosting Tennessee. Chris
Speaker 1: Jones miss practice again with that calf injury, so he's
Speaker 1: still if he Yeah, but unlike uh, you know, at
Speaker 1: least for me, Baltimore last week. Baltimore, in my opinion,
Speaker 1: can't play from behind. You know, the three games that
Speaker 1: they fell behind, they lost every single one of them.
Speaker 1: We saw Kansas City they were able to do that, right.
Speaker 1: They were down twenty four to nothing, and they they
Speaker 1: took the lead before halftime. It was twenty twenty four
Speaker 1: and the blink of an eye. I don't think this
Speaker 1: is they're blowing Tennessee out by any stretch of the imagination.
Speaker 1: Tennessee's beat them before they know. They've got the formula
Speaker 1: to do it. They've got to you know, deflate the football,
Speaker 1: run it slow, or grind the clock, those type of things.
Speaker 1: But I just think that offense is just too powerful
Speaker 1: for Kansas City, I really do. And I think Mahomes
Speaker 1: has the right quarterback to really expose a good secondary.
Speaker 1: I think is a good secondary with Kevin Byrd and
Speaker 1: they just got a Dory Jackson back. But I just
Speaker 1: think it's too much for Tennessee to go in there
Speaker 1: and do it really, do you know. I'm trying to
Speaker 1: look up the weather for Kansas City for this weekend
Speaker 1: because you know, so they play Sunday afternoon. It's eleven
Speaker 1: for a low, twenty five for a high, but sunny,
Speaker 1: so that won't hurt the passing game. If you were
Speaker 1: going to have really do deteriorated conditions in Kansas City
Speaker 1: on that natural grass field, I would give more of
Speaker 1: an advantage to the Tennessee Titans just because of their
Speaker 1: ability to powerfully run the game and take away possessions
Speaker 1: away from Kansas City. But I think the weather conditions
Speaker 1: are going to be favorable for both teams. I'm still
Speaker 1: kind of pulling for Tennessee just because I like to
Speaker 1: see old school football prove itself, even at this stage
Speaker 1: of the playoffs. And you know, I'm run for Derrick
Speaker 1: Henry right now. I mean, you know, the offensive line,
Speaker 1: the mentality Derrick Henry, he never reduces his speed once
Speaker 1: he gets the ball into his hands and he's getting
Speaker 1: the line full speed. All right, I'll give you the
Speaker 1: leadoff on this one. The forty nine Ers hosting Green Bay.
Speaker 1: I think two losing teams a year ago. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: think that what what San Francisco can put up up
Speaker 1: front against Aaron Rodgers and their defensive line, their constant pressure,
Speaker 1: and what they can do on the offensive side of
Speaker 1: the ball. I am going to go for San Francisco.
Speaker 1: They beat them pretty handedly earlier in the year. I
Speaker 1: think Aaron Rodgers almost had less than a hundred yards
Speaker 1: passing green Bay. Green Bay will play better, but they're
Speaker 1: not the better football team, Sam France, the better football team.
Speaker 1: We'll see Aaron Rodgers can make it different and we
Speaker 1: know that he's a fantastic quarter Valleys think overall, San
Speaker 1: Francisco in all three phases is the much better team
Speaker 1: than the Green Bay Packers at defensive front. If you
Speaker 1: want to see the Packers go down the defensive front
Speaker 1: of the forty Niners gotta get after him. All right,
Speaker 1: that's gonna wrap us up, Jim. We'll talk to you soon.
Speaker 1: Tom there. Thank you, Adam Zaczinski and Brandon Orlowski. Thanks
Speaker 1: for listening to everybody. This is Bears All Access on
Speaker 1: Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The Score. Thanks for listening
Speaker 1: to this Chicago Bears Network presentation of Bears All Access.
Speaker 1: Podcasts are available on Chicago Bears dot com and on iTunes,
Speaker 1: or download the official Bears mobile app. Bears All Access
Speaker 1: has been brought to you by IGS Energy and sponsored
Speaker 1: by Miller a Light