Speaker 1: Welcome in to Bears Weekly powered by IGS Energy, a
Speaker 1: Chicago Bears Network production. Bears Weekly is brought to you
Speaker 1: by Advocate Healthcare, Athletico Physical, Effaicly CD, Jawad, Connie's Pizza,
Speaker 1: IGS Energy, and Meller Liked. Here are your hosts, Jeff
Speaker 1: Chilneact aka the Mayor of Bearsville and is Sidekicked, Tom
Speaker 1: the Surfmaster Thayer.
Speaker 2: Well, we are one month from the NFL Draft and
Speaker 2: another hal of player additions to a roster that is
Speaker 2: the talk of the off season of the NFL.
Speaker 3: We tackle all of it.
Speaker 2: Tonight here on Bears Weekly on ESPN one thousand and
Speaker 2: the Chicago Bears Radio Network with Super Bowl winning Bears
Speaker 2: guard Tom Thayer.
Speaker 3: I'm Jeff JONINGYC.
Speaker 2: Jim Miller unavailable Tonight coming up on the program, we
Speaker 2: begin a series of shows introducing you to the new
Speaker 2: members of the twenty twenty five Chicago Bears coaching staff,
Speaker 2: and we begin with offensive line coach Dan roschar Our
Speaker 2: Producers Tonight, Dan Berrilly and Jordan dread Up of the
Speaker 2: Chicago Bears and the ESPN Studios. Charlie bevins Our, Executive
Speaker 2: producer of the Bears, radio network is Eric Ostrowski, tom
Speaker 2: good Day. We got a quick turnaround from last week's show.
Speaker 2: Not a lot of news made since that last show
Speaker 2: other then getting a really good kick return punt return
Speaker 2: guy in Devin Duverne. Tommy, he's a two time Pro
Speaker 2: bowlder and an outstanding addition to the roster. Not only that,
Speaker 2: but he also can play that receiver position as well,
Speaker 2: So more competition with a Lamide Zacchias, Tyler Scott, maybe
Speaker 2: even Maurice Alexander who comes over from Detroit as a
Speaker 2: free agent in the offseason as well.
Speaker 4: Listen, punt returner is one of the most important positions
Speaker 4: throughout the NFL season, whether you're gonna play a majority
Speaker 4: of your games indoor or you're gonna play in some
Speaker 4: outdoor hostile conditions.
Speaker 5: And I think it's a key ingredient in.
Speaker 4: The success of the special teams and Coach High Tower
Speaker 4: is always a guy that's doing is R and D
Speaker 4: about these guys that can come in and help you immediately,
Speaker 4: get you a lot of reps in the open practice
Speaker 4: atmosphere of Ellis Hall and kind of see.
Speaker 5: Where the chips fall.
Speaker 4: But I think still it's one of the most important
Speaker 4: positions to become decisive on. You don't want to question
Speaker 4: Mark for seventeen weeks in the NFL season, who's going
Speaker 4: to be your punt returner? Or do you have confidence
Speaker 4: in certain conditions? You got to be confident in every
Speaker 4: single time you send that punt return team out on
Speaker 4: the field.
Speaker 2: Would you also consider Josh Blackwell in that position?
Speaker 4: Listen, I don't think there's anything Josh Blackwell can't do
Speaker 4: or wouldn't do. He showed up so many times on
Speaker 4: the game film in terms of special teams or regular
Speaker 4: defense and has done a great job. So I think
Speaker 4: that you know, Jeff, when we go out to training
Speaker 4: camp and you see how long some of the lines are,
Speaker 4: you see the guy at the end of the line
Speaker 4: just waiting for his opportunity to get to the front
Speaker 4: of the line. And I think that's kind of unique
Speaker 4: about the special teams because sometimes your only opportunity to
Speaker 4: open the coach's eyes immediately is what you can do
Speaker 4: on special teams and what they believe your every game
Speaker 4: contribution can be. And I stood at the back of
Speaker 4: that line at one time, and I just waited for
Speaker 4: my opportunity to get to the front of the line
Speaker 4: and when you get to the front of the line,
Speaker 4: make the most.
Speaker 5: Out of it.
Speaker 2: At last training camp, we saw room with Dunesday and
Speaker 2: DJ Moore collecting punts, So those are emergency options obviously,
Speaker 2: but you know you can't discount roam in a key pinch.
Speaker 2: You know everything's down the table. With a new coaching
Speaker 2: staff as well, Ben Johnson is creative. Will that creativity
Speaker 2: extend to defense and special teams with his input over
Speaker 2: the course of the season. That's a great question to ask.
Speaker 5: Listen.
Speaker 4: I think if you're a new head coach and you're
Speaker 4: as creative as what you've shown on the offensive side
Speaker 4: of the football, you're going to explore the creativeness of
Speaker 4: all of your coordinators and you're not going to close
Speaker 4: a suggestion box. It's going to be open to against
Speaker 4: every team you play in all year round.
Speaker 5: And we might see some fun things.
Speaker 4: In training camp this year, like developmental plays, plays that
Speaker 4: they may have in their back pocket until that very
Speaker 4: specific instant and time when they need it. So we're
Speaker 4: going to have to pay attention as much as the coaches.
Speaker 4: But I think creativity is going to be in an
Speaker 4: all time high from all coaches.
Speaker 3: Look at you you know, a guy who's never been
Speaker 3: in a boardroom.
Speaker 2: You're using words like rn D, putting things in your
Speaker 2: back pocket for future use. You're using a lot of
Speaker 2: business terminology today. What's going on with you?
Speaker 4: No, I'm just taking where we're at this point in
Speaker 4: the season, where we're at with the coaching staff, the
Speaker 4: exploratory surgery that all these guys are doing to try
Speaker 4: to what players are going to fit best, who can
Speaker 4: we give them opportunities to and then what cream is
Speaker 4: going to rise to the top. It's all those things
Speaker 4: you have to take in consideration. When you're a month
Speaker 4: out of the draft. You got to go in there
Speaker 4: with Ryan Poles and his staff, the assistant coaches and
Speaker 4: every one of the guys that are position coaches here,
Speaker 4: and now you've got to get very specific about what
Speaker 4: do you feel you need to target in the draft?
Speaker 4: In college free agency, you.
Speaker 2: Ever in your career jump in line and get reps
Speaker 2: that maybe it was somebody else's rep in training camp?
Speaker 3: Did you jump in front of the line ever?
Speaker 4: Listen, the only reason in my career I was ever
Speaker 4: on kickoff return is because Steve Kazar, the special teams coordinator,
Speaker 4: had Jimbo cover in that position.
Speaker 5: Believe it or not.
Speaker 4: And I went up to Steve and I go, Steve,
Speaker 4: I'm not playing I can do that. Take Jimbo out
Speaker 4: and give him the rest and let me do it.
Speaker 4: And if I think, if you volunteer and then you
Speaker 4: do good at it, then you know you're going to
Speaker 4: have a jersey in your locker every game. And I
Speaker 4: played a really important role of me getting on the field.
Speaker 4: But you know I did it honestly to save Jimbo
Speaker 4: some wear and tearror and Abortsy and Bortsy and I
Speaker 4: were both in the same up back positions on kickoff return.
Speaker 2: I still can't believe from our conversation with Mike tom
Speaker 2: Zek and those who don't remember, he jumped in there
Speaker 2: and took on in the super Boy when I kick
Speaker 2: returned coverage, didn't he and.
Speaker 5: Got a penalty.
Speaker 4: And you know the thing about it is he wanted
Speaker 4: to go in the game. He volunteered, and he got
Speaker 4: in on kickoff coverage, got a face mask penalty. Dick
Speaker 4: brought him over to the sideline, yelled at him, but
Speaker 4: then kept him in the game as the quarterback at the.
Speaker 2: End, just so you could get that on paper right
Speaker 2: that he made the Super Bowl.
Speaker 3: Oh my gosh. Some great stories as always, so with the.
Speaker 2: Draft coming up here in a month, pro days are
Speaker 2: now top of mind with the coaching staff and gentlemenager
Speaker 2: Ryan Poles and his crew. So Ben Johnson signing at
Speaker 2: Dennis Allen signing at the Michigan Pro Day last week.
Speaker 2: It was on Friday, So certainly there's players of note
Speaker 2: there that that could be Day one picks, like Mason Graham,
Speaker 2: Kenneth Grant, the two defensive linemen. You've got Will Johnson,
Speaker 2: the cornerback and tight end, Coaston Lovelin, a bunch of
Speaker 2: running backs there, I mean, really good players on at Michigan.
Speaker 2: That won't be the last Pro Day that Ben Johnson
Speaker 2: will be sited at, but it certainly started a chain
Speaker 2: reaction of conversation on the internet. I mean, the web
Speaker 2: was exploding with the vision of Ben Johnson at Michigan.
Speaker 5: Right.
Speaker 4: But you mentioned those four guys. There's four guys that
Speaker 4: you really want to see and you could draft. You know,
Speaker 4: you're not going to draft them all, but you could
Speaker 4: draft any one of them. So I think it's really
Speaker 4: important to have an eyes on approach in a really comfortable,
Speaker 4: setting an atmosphere for these guys to go through their
Speaker 4: pro days and you know some of them. Yeah, I
Speaker 4: would like to see more of them at the Combine
Speaker 4: because I think it's a more competitive scenario and they're
Speaker 4: not in their comfort zone.
Speaker 5: But when they get dressed.
Speaker 4: In the locker room and then they have the teammates
Speaker 4: that they're throwing to and they understand the conditions of
Speaker 4: the stadium they're throwing in, all those things you have
Speaker 4: to take into account, but I think it's important in
Speaker 4: the reflection they leave on all NFL personnel who showed
Speaker 4: up to watch them.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and then you know, you might be able to
Speaker 2: sneak at dinner with one of these guys maybe after
Speaker 2: the pro day or.
Speaker 3: Something like that.
Speaker 2: I know there's a lot of teams that represented all
Speaker 2: the teams that are listed there at all these big
Speaker 2: schools obviously for the top players, but you never know
Speaker 2: what you might run into.
Speaker 3: You're doing information gathering at all times.
Speaker 2: Also, these videos that pop up, and there was one
Speaker 2: fans blew their minds when Montes sweat, Grady Jarrett, R.
Speaker 2: Von Dexter, Senior, Austin Booker all were working together with
Speaker 2: a pass rush specialist Tommy by the name of Brandon Jordan.
Speaker 2: He started something called Trench Performance back in twenty eighteen,
Speaker 2: so he's working with elite defensive lineman at high school level,
Speaker 2: college level, NFL levels. But it was just like a
Speaker 2: twenty second clip. But it just makes fans feel better
Speaker 2: when Bears are working together in the off season away
Speaker 2: from Haddish Hall. It's an interesting concept because any little
Speaker 2: bit right now, fans are thirsting for it.
Speaker 5: You said a mouthful.
Speaker 4: You know they're really I don't necessarily care who they're
Speaker 4: working with. I care that they're working together because now
Speaker 4: you start this camaraderie, You start these relationships that are
Speaker 4: going to be forged even further when you're tired and
Speaker 4: you're fatigue walking off the practice field. But you know
Speaker 4: that's that you put it in the off season. They're
Speaker 4: paying dividends during the regular season, when you're getting sacks
Speaker 4: or getting tackles for loss, you're running stunts on the
Speaker 4: line of scrimmage that you kind of have a better
Speaker 4: conception how to set the guy free that you're working with.
Speaker 4: And I was watching some tape this weekend of Grady Jarrett. Listen, man,
Speaker 4: this dude Not only does he have a motor, he's
Speaker 4: got leverage, he's got speed, he wins rushes against running
Speaker 4: pass He's able to chase down quarterbacks after he beats
Speaker 4: the offensive lineman at the line of scrimmage, and his enthusiasts.
Speaker 4: His enthusiasm is contagious and so listen. I'm glad these
Speaker 4: guys are all working together.
Speaker 3: All right. That's Tom theare I'm Jeff Joni. Yeah.
Speaker 2: Coming up, We're gonna have one of Tom's best segments.
Speaker 3: Of the entire year.
Speaker 2: We introduce you to one of the new coaches on
Speaker 2: the Bears coaching staff, offensive line coach Dan Rocharer. He's
Speaker 2: coming up next here on ESPN Chicago and the Bears
Speaker 2: Radio Network.
Speaker 1: Is Bears Weekly, with the voice of the Bears for
Speaker 1: twenty four years on the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 2: This segment of Bears Weekly is brought to you by
Speaker 2: Igs Energy.
Speaker 3: Welcome back to Bears Weekly, everybody.
Speaker 2: Jeff, Jonny Goat, along with Tom Thayer and our special
Speaker 2: guest is We're getting I Get to Know You series
Speaker 2: with the new coaches for the Chicago Bears, Dan Roeschier,
Speaker 2: the offensive line coach, Born and Brett and Clinton Iowa,
Speaker 2: but by way of Northern Illinois University, and the man
Speaker 2: played quarterback and now he's coached offensive lineman his whole life.
Speaker 2: Welcome to Chicago, Welcome back to the Midwest. Tell us
Speaker 2: how you got here from quarterback to O line.
Speaker 6: Oh, thank you, Jeff, I really appreciate it.
Speaker 5: You know.
Speaker 6: I played quarterback for a guy by the name of
Speaker 6: Bill Mallory at Northerndo University had a lot of success,
Speaker 6: and I grew up with the high school coach, my father,
Speaker 6: and always kind of thought I'd be interested in getting
Speaker 6: into the game of football. And when coach Mallory left
Speaker 6: for Indiana, Lee Corso came on and Lee Corso was
Speaker 6: putting together a young staff at that time, didn't have
Speaker 6: all the pieces in place, and he asked me if
Speaker 6: I would be interested in being part of it, and
Speaker 6: I certainly was, And in that time I started to
Speaker 6: work with the tight ends, which were very involved with
Speaker 6: the offensive line. And we had two really outstanding line
Speaker 6: coaches at that time that I learned a lot from
Speaker 6: and that began. That began my introduction to what these
Speaker 6: guys do up front. And then as you grow in
Speaker 6: the industry, you end up finding I think what your
Speaker 6: passion is, and I've always enjoyed working with the guys
Speaker 6: up front. I feel like we're kind of the heart
Speaker 6: and soul of any organization, and hopefully that'll be reflective
Speaker 6: in the style of play.
Speaker 4: Dan, do you think the technique has changed since the
Speaker 4: beginning of your coaching career on the offensive line to
Speaker 4: the way they're coached.
Speaker 6: Now, Tom, I think that's a great question. I watch
Speaker 6: a lot of football at all levels. I'm still of
Speaker 6: the mindset that you know, blocking is leverage. We define
Speaker 6: the leverage with our hands being underneath the defender, our
Speaker 6: pads being under their pads, and then it's acceleration and
Speaker 6: leg drive. I listen to guys talk about things that
Speaker 6: I just have no interest in exploring because I don't
Speaker 6: think it's blocking. I think it's tilting, it's pushing. It's
Speaker 6: these things that just in my opinion, don't bring strongline play,
Speaker 6: whether that's run or protection. There's certainly things out there
Speaker 6: being taught that I think are really cool to listen to.
Speaker 6: But Tom, like you, over my years, you end up
Speaker 6: developing philosophy mainly because of trial and error. You believe
Speaker 6: in something, you teach it after time you're like, that's
Speaker 6: really good, or man, we're struggling with this, and if
Speaker 6: you really believe in it, you adapt to what you
Speaker 6: believe in. I think back to I left Butler University
Speaker 6: in nineteen ninety one to go to the University of
Speaker 6: Rhode Island. I was the offensive line coach. I was
Speaker 6: the offensive coordinator. Who were a penn and pole wide team.
Speaker 6: We're a power counter team, and we ran a week lead.
Speaker 6: Those are really the concepts we ran. I had never
Speaker 6: been exposed as his own football. In nineteen ninety one,
Speaker 6: Bob Wiley, who was a Jim McNally disciple, I was
Speaker 6: going to the University Rhode Island. He was from there,
Speaker 6: and he came and spent three days with me and
Speaker 6: taught me inside and outside zone exactly the way McNally
Speaker 6: and exactly the way he was coaching it. And I
Speaker 6: coached it exactly the way it had been taught to me,
Speaker 6: and we were getting our fannies kicked. We were going backwards,
Speaker 6: not forwards. Well, I believe in the concept. I love
Speaker 6: wide zone, but I wanted to find better ways to teach,
Speaker 6: instruct and get what I thought we should get, and
Speaker 6: that was going forward and attacking the target or laterally
Speaker 6: to attack the target, and you know, you just kind
Speaker 6: of adapt and adjust. So that's a long answer to
Speaker 6: your question, Tom, But I believe in just basic fundamentals.
Speaker 4: You're just coming from college. Do you coach college the
Speaker 4: same as you do pros or is there a significant
Speaker 4: difference in what pro guys know as to what college
Speaker 4: guys know?
Speaker 6: So, Tom, when I left Michigan State in twenty twelve
Speaker 6: to go to New Orleans, you know, you spend at
Speaker 6: that point twenty eight years in college football and you
Speaker 6: feel like you've been exposed to a lot. When I
Speaker 6: got to New Orleans, I had a great transition. I
Speaker 6: started with the running backs, and Sean had hired Sean
Speaker 6: Payton had hired a couple of former offensive line coaches
Speaker 6: to coach that spot, and I saw the game differently
Speaker 6: from that perspective. And then you know, through time moving
Speaker 6: to the tight ends and then into the offensive line
Speaker 6: room and having those guys for six years, I learned
Speaker 6: an awful lot before I got a chance to go
Speaker 6: into the room from the player, watching how the player
Speaker 6: did it, how we communicated, and you know, you watch
Speaker 6: a guy that maybe's not a super talented athlete play
Speaker 6: at a high level, and you go up to him
Speaker 6: and you're like, Hey, what do you do? Why do
Speaker 6: you do that? Well, you certainly pick up a lot
Speaker 6: of things. The more gifted athlete, there's probably less conversation
Speaker 6: because he can do things that are unique to the player.
Speaker 6: I went into the college game for the last two seasons.
Speaker 6: I went back after leaving New Orleans and spent two
Speaker 6: years at Tulane. And Tom, to answer your question, I
Speaker 6: coached him exactly the way I coached the New Orleans saying,
Speaker 6: and there's an adaptation for all of us as coaches.
Speaker 6: We find ways to help a player become better. If
Speaker 6: a guy can't take a step or can't get in
Speaker 6: a stance that you think's functional because of limitations, you
Speaker 6: find different ways to help him get the job done
Speaker 6: to the best of his ability. But no, I didn't.
Speaker 6: I coached him exactly the same way.
Speaker 2: Dan rochar our guest here on Bears Weekly at a
Speaker 2: NFPN Chicago, Jeff Joniak and Tom Thayer please to be
Speaker 2: joined by this veteran offensive line coach and during his
Speaker 2: five seasons as offensive line coach, the Saints had one
Speaker 2: of the highest ranking offensive units in the NFL. Points
Speaker 2: were popping, Drew Brees was offering a Hall of Fame career,
Speaker 2: and now I got Ben Johnson that brought you in,
Speaker 2: who put up numbers that were I popping over there
Speaker 2: with the Detroit Lions.
Speaker 3: What what has that been like?
Speaker 2: As you guys are creating a Bears offense, it's not
Speaker 2: necessarily going to replicate exactly what they did up there.
Speaker 2: You're going to adapt to the players you have and
Speaker 2: the new ideas that have brought in here. But your
Speaker 2: backgrounds and everything has it I'll mention it well.
Speaker 6: Jeff, It's been fantastic. When I came to interview, I
Speaker 6: didn't know Ben. I had spoken with him on the phone.
Speaker 6: We had mutual relationships, but he and I had never
Speaker 6: been together. And I've interviewed with a number of play
Speaker 6: callers and they're all unique in their style. But Ben
Speaker 6: was the first guy that I've been around that spoke
Speaker 6: offensive line language. He knew technique, he wanted to understand technique,
Speaker 6: and I've found it from the day I've gotten with
Speaker 6: him too today very consistent. He has a strong vision.
Speaker 6: When I watch his team's play, you certainly see the
Speaker 6: physical aggressive style of play. But there's a lot of variance,
Speaker 6: and I think for Tom he'd appreciate it. You know,
Speaker 6: in New Orleans we were really a unique style of
Speaker 6: team because Drew was a dropback, shotgun quarterback and we
Speaker 6: were limited in the run game with him, so our
Speaker 6: runs came from underneath center more downhill, if you will,
Speaker 6: And that was a challenge in itself. Now when you
Speaker 6: put it all together, our ability to move the launch point,
Speaker 6: to have guys be aggressive in their set patterns or
Speaker 6: their run action patterns and their or poll or that's
Speaker 6: all related to the run game. And if I were
Speaker 6: an offensive lineman and I was looking around for what's
Speaker 6: gonna what's gonna help my game the most, it's gonna play.
Speaker 6: It's gonna be playing for a guy like Ben.
Speaker 3: Very good to hear.
Speaker 2: And I bet you the three and two year guys
Speaker 2: that are now here too by trade one, by free
Speaker 2: agency to shore up the inside feel the same way.
Speaker 3: When they when they when they're able to get with you.
Speaker 2: Guys, they're gonna be excited and the leadership they bring,
Speaker 2: how important is that going to be?
Speaker 6: I think it's it's huge. It's everything for us having
Speaker 6: been part of helping organizations turn around, it's start with culture.
Speaker 6: And in those three guys, you've got great fits there.
Speaker 6: They're phenomenal human beings. You can just tell that they
Speaker 6: walk and talk the way you want people to. They
Speaker 6: treat people with respect. They're all humble in their own ways.
Speaker 6: Joe Thuni just jumped off with his humility. I was
Speaker 6: just taken back by it for all the things he's
Speaker 6: done for such a high level. And I do believe
Speaker 6: that they know what Ben's done and they want to
Speaker 6: be a part of that. I think it's Look, this
Speaker 6: is an iconic organization and if we could if we
Speaker 6: could get ourselves close to what was replicated in the
Speaker 6: eighties with that guy, With that guy, we're going to
Speaker 6: be going in the right direction. And there were there
Speaker 6: were a number of them.
Speaker 4: Well, you talk about the separation between tune a and
Speaker 4: a rookie, and then you talk about you teaching and
Speaker 4: learning because the offensive line with the terminology and understanding
Speaker 4: what the terminology means so specifically and then being able to.
Speaker 5: Go out there and teach the techniques.
Speaker 4: Is it difficult to do both or the more you
Speaker 4: learn incrementally, do you always have the teaching in the
Speaker 4: back of your mind how it fits to what you're learning.
Speaker 6: One hundred percent. I think one of the things that
Speaker 6: we at New Orleans made a significant commitment to wide zone.
Speaker 6: Tom and I brought Alex Gibbs around quite a bit.
Speaker 6: I felt like he was the father of it, and
Speaker 6: I thought if I could learn from somebody, it would
Speaker 6: be him. So I have a lot of lessons good, bad,
Speaker 6: indifferent through his eyes in teaching us that series. Well,
Speaker 6: that would be the staple with Ben's offense. Wide zone,
Speaker 6: So we'll have the terminology and there will be an adjustment.
Speaker 6: But like I said to Joe Toney, I said, Joe,
Speaker 6: you've played in New England for Dante, and you played
Speaker 6: in Kansas City for Andy, and I said, you've never
Speaker 6: majored in that scheme. So like right away, he's excited
Speaker 6: about something new coming to his career, and I think
Speaker 6: that we'll be able to put it all together and
Speaker 6: hopefully very quickly.
Speaker 2: Well, it's great having guys who played the offensive line
Speaker 2: and coach the offensive line getting together, in this case,
Speaker 2: not face to face, but on zoom with Tommy here,
Speaker 2: because we could talk to you all day time. Is
Speaker 2: of the essence, though as we are getting set for
Speaker 2: twenty twenty five. Great to meet you, Dan, heard a
Speaker 2: lot about you, all great things and can't wait to
Speaker 2: see your coaching style and your teaching style and can't
Speaker 2: wait to see a great offense bloom here in Chicago.
Speaker 3: Thanks for taking the time.
Speaker 6: Thanks Jeff, appreciate it. Thanks Tom.
Speaker 3: That's Dan Rochar, our guest.
Speaker 2: Bears Weekly continues after this on ESPN one thousand and
Speaker 2: the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 1: Well, welcome back to Bears Weekly on the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 1: Here's your host, the voice of the Bears, Chef Joian.
Speaker 2: This segment of Bears Weekly is brought to you by
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Speaker 3: Visit Athletico dot com the request and in.
Speaker 2: Clinic or virtual deployment that start feeling better tomorrow with
Speaker 2: Tom Thayer. I'm Jeff Joniyak. This is Bears Weekly on
Speaker 2: ESPN Chicago. Just heard the interview with Dan Roschauer in
Speaker 2: our last segment, tom Time to reflect on that a
Speaker 2: little bit, because as important as the interior three have
Speaker 2: been signed, the importance of Darnell Wright having a big
Speaker 2: third year with the Bears, the recovery of Braxton Jones,
Speaker 2: whatever else might be added in the draft or yet
Speaker 2: in free agency, the rotation of players that you get
Speaker 2: there to be the eight or nine that are going
Speaker 2: to be active on game day. He's as important as
Speaker 2: a higher as any member of the coaching staff, and
Speaker 2: after meeting him face to face talking to him, I
Speaker 2: feel his excitement. He's back in the Midwest after his
Speaker 2: time at NIU, both as a player and a coach.
Speaker 2: And as you heard, he was a quarterback at NIU
Speaker 2: and became an offensive line coach of note in the
Speaker 2: National Football League. After your conversation as part of that,
Speaker 2: how did you feel about Dan roschar In, a Chicago
Speaker 2: Bear offensive line coach.
Speaker 4: Well, first of all, he has roots as a quarterback,
Speaker 4: so he understands the little intricacies of an offense and
Speaker 4: how they all have to work together in order for
Speaker 4: them to work efficiently.
Speaker 5: So I did admire that.
Speaker 4: Then time on task forty one years of coaching, the
Speaker 4: dude's been everywhere. But what I enjoy most about meeting
Speaker 4: Dan for the first time is the people that have
Speaker 4: reached out to me. Guys that I have a lot
Speaker 4: of respect for that both coached in the NFL and
Speaker 4: college football, and they want to brag about his character,
Speaker 4: what a good person he is, how diligent he is
Speaker 4: about the specific techniques and fundamentals of the offensive line game.
Speaker 5: And I'm excited to see that. But one thing when
Speaker 5: I think about Dan.
Speaker 4: Coming to the Chicago Bears is there's three guys Jeff
Speaker 4: Board that he doesn't have to hold their hands, and
Speaker 4: that's the three free agents he brought in here. Now,
Speaker 4: what he can do is he can focus his attention
Speaker 4: on the corrections of a guy like Darnell Wright, what's
Speaker 4: going to happen to left tackle or every guy in
Speaker 4: a backup role, or what he talked about during the
Speaker 4: course of the interview cross training. You have to make
Speaker 4: sure that you get players that can play multiple positions,
Speaker 4: and then you can pay attention to those details. And
Speaker 4: then when you look at Jackson, Toney and Dollman, you
Speaker 4: got these guys that can come in here and really
Speaker 4: help either improve the guys that are in line behind
Speaker 4: them or the guys that are playing next to So
Speaker 4: I think this offensive line is their arrow is pointed
Speaker 4: up already, but it's also the assistance that the offensive
Speaker 4: line coach with a tremendous amount of experience will be
Speaker 4: able to get from his really experienced veterans they've already
Speaker 4: brought aboard.
Speaker 2: Now He's had a long coaching career, a lot in college,
Speaker 2: also in the pros. But at New Orleans when they
Speaker 2: drafted Ryan Ramchick, Will Clap, Eric.
Speaker 3: McCoy, Caesar Ruiz.
Speaker 2: They are all still active in the NFL and one's
Speaker 2: a Pro Bowl another an All Pro in Ramchick. So
Speaker 2: there was an big impact right then and there into
Speaker 2: the college game. And I know you asked him about
Speaker 2: that last couple of years. Being at Tulane gives them
Speaker 2: insight into guys that he trained in the college game,
Speaker 2: what he saw in the college game throughout those last
Speaker 2: two years, which should also benefit any instance of help
Speaker 2: in terms of scouting for Ryan Poles and his staff. Hey,
Speaker 2: you know, everybody's looking for touch points for guys, making
Speaker 2: sure that they have every box checked, every I dotted in,
Speaker 2: every tea cross. I loved talking to him about all
Speaker 2: of his experience, not just with the Saints.
Speaker 4: You know, nowadays, when you go to college, you have
Speaker 4: to understand things socially and physically, because this is these
Speaker 4: college kids are on a completely different level than a
Speaker 4: thirty plus year old Tony So I think you can
Speaker 4: learn a lot about the young developing up. You know,
Speaker 4: these kids that are coming up the ladder that are
Speaker 4: waiting for their NFL opportunities, and then you think about
Speaker 4: the fundamentals and the techniques of the professional game. They're
Speaker 4: a little bit different because a lot of these college
Speaker 4: teams don't huddle up. So now you have to say, Okay,
Speaker 4: how can I transfer the importance of the huddle in
Speaker 4: such a subtle way to make sure that these college
Speaker 4: kids know that what we do in the.
Speaker 5: NFL comes out of a huddle.
Speaker 4: It's not from pictures that they're showing on the sideline
Speaker 4: and you're trying to speed up the process at the
Speaker 4: line of scrimmage.
Speaker 5: You are in some instances, but for.
Speaker 4: The most part, you're talking about flow that starts in
Speaker 4: the huddle and transfers to the line of scrimmage. All
Speaker 4: of his experiences through coaching the NFL is always going
Speaker 4: to help him at his next stage.
Speaker 3: I got a question for you about the meeting room.
Speaker 2: Obviously, fans, there's a there's a team meeting after games,
Speaker 2: maybe maybe more than once throughout the week for a
Speaker 2: few minutes anyway, but the most of the time is
Speaker 2: spent in your position group meetings. So you know, coaches
Speaker 2: run those meetings, but in some cases they allow the
Speaker 2: players to also run those meetings, and you know, kind
Speaker 2: of take accountability that way. Is that the case in
Speaker 2: an offensive line room or is it just one voice?
Speaker 3: Oh no?
Speaker 4: All right, So I'm gonna give you an example. And
Speaker 4: it was always kind of interesting to see how how
Speaker 4: it all worked out. So as long as guys before
Speaker 4: I got there, Van Horn and Hilgy and Becker and
Speaker 4: then Jim Bow and Boorts and stuff. The first thing
Speaker 4: Dick Stanfel did, here's a hall of fame player, a
Speaker 4: hall of fame coach, and so we have a binder
Speaker 4: that was our playbook, Jeff.
Speaker 5: That was probably in between.
Speaker 4: Six and seven hundred pages, but the very beginning of
Speaker 4: the offensive line segment was about two and a half
Speaker 4: pages of printed out material that explained Dick's philosophy in
Speaker 4: terms of offensive line play.
Speaker 5: So man demand, Jeff.
Speaker 4: We went around the room and every single guy read
Speaker 4: a paragraph out loud in front of the next guy.
Speaker 5: So now you take this into account.
Speaker 4: So the guys like Horn and Hillgey and Jimbo and Becket,
Speaker 4: those guys have already done in a number of times,
Speaker 4: so they're just reading through it and they know it's coming.
Speaker 4: So then like I'm there for the first time, and
Speaker 4: some other offensive linemen are there for the first time.
Speaker 4: Now you're a little bit nervous in front of your
Speaker 4: peers because it hasn't been a common occurrence throughout your life.
Speaker 4: And now you're in your professional life and here I
Speaker 4: am reading a paragraph out loud to the rest of
Speaker 4: my teammates about a three point stance. So after your
Speaker 4: first year, you get through it and you are a
Speaker 4: little bit nervous, but then after that you know it's coming.
Speaker 4: So now you're nervous for the rookies who are in
Speaker 4: the room because it's.
Speaker 5: Always a little uneasy and a little unsettled.
Speaker 4: But is there one voice in the room, Yeah, it's
Speaker 4: Dick Stanfeld, But Dick Stanfeld wants to hear from everybody
Speaker 4: because he always used to make this comment. Look, I
Speaker 4: can only coach you for so long. Then eventually you
Speaker 4: got to start coaching yourself. And I do think that's
Speaker 4: a really important lesson for a lot of these guys.
Speaker 4: And like I said, the three veterans that are already
Speaker 4: in that self coaching specifics of techniques because of.
Speaker 5: The experiences that they went through. But now as they
Speaker 5: learn new terminology.
Speaker 4: And new offensive philosophies, you know, they'll go right back
Speaker 4: to ground zero with that.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 2: One of the things I appreciated about training camp over
Speaker 2: the years is the acknowledgment that the five offensive linemen,
Speaker 2: or the whole group for that matter, but the five
Speaker 2: that start that are at least penciled in as the
Speaker 2: starters when you start training camp. They eat together, they
Speaker 2: move together as one. They're packs, They're packs of players,
Speaker 2: and when you don't see that, you start to wonder why.
Speaker 2: I hope I see that, and I'm assuming I will,
Speaker 2: And it's gonna be It's going to be those three
Speaker 2: interior guys that you mentioned and the younger tackles that'll
Speaker 2: be right there at the front of the line leading
Speaker 2: this football team.
Speaker 3: I don't recall, honestly.
Speaker 2: In my now almost thirty years with the organization in
Speaker 2: some form or fashion, and certainly now heading into twenty
Speaker 2: fifth year as the play by play team here, that
Speaker 2: as much discussion about offensive line play has been had
Speaker 2: already and we haven't even gone to a mini camp yet.
Speaker 2: The offseason program hasn't even begun yet. It is really significant.
Speaker 2: This is you know, and football fans who love this
Speaker 2: game and know this game, they know it. This is
Speaker 2: this has to be the year that the offensive line
Speaker 2: comes together and does something significant. And there's a first
Speaker 2: step in that right direction. But do you recall in
Speaker 2: recent vintage and our time together as much discussion on
Speaker 2: offensive line play.
Speaker 5: No, and let me tell you why.
Speaker 4: So leading up to the Super Bowl, the two weeks
Speaker 4: leading up to the Super Bowl, every commercial, every topic,
Speaker 4: every conversation, every interview you hear is about Patrick Mahomes
Speaker 4: And that's just the way it's going to be, because
Speaker 4: he's got greatness all over them, just like Steph Curry
Speaker 4: and the NBA and a baseball player.
Speaker 5: But when you look at the reason for the.
Speaker 4: Outcome of the Super Bowl, it's because of the offense
Speaker 4: and defensive line.
Speaker 5: And I think it's.
Speaker 4: Really hard to ignore that because when you go back
Speaker 4: and you look at the two Super Bowls that Patrick
Speaker 4: Mahomes lost, the first one was because he was getting
Speaker 4: chased down by the defense of Tampa Bay and that
Speaker 4: affects his offensive line. And then when you look at
Speaker 4: the dominance of the Philadelphia Eagles. It's because of the
Speaker 4: offensive line and the defensive line. So I think if
Speaker 4: you ignore the role in the importance of Super Bowl
Speaker 4: success and you don't first look at the offensive line
Speaker 4: and equally as important as the quarterback, I think that
Speaker 4: you're missing something in terms of what these two segments
Speaker 4: can do for your Super Bowl chances.
Speaker 2: And we carry that into our next segment when we return,
Speaker 2: we'll discuss this impact on Caleb Williams and as he
Speaker 2: gets the terminology and the playbook from Ben Johnson to
Speaker 2: the offensive staff. It's all coming up next here on
Speaker 2: Bears Weekly on ESPN Chicago and the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 1: Welcome back to Bears the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 5: Here's your host, the voice of the Bears, Jeff Jonian.
Speaker 2: This segment of Bears Weekly is brought to you by
Speaker 2: CDW People to Get It with Tom Fayer, Jeff Joniyact
Speaker 2: Jim Miller off this week as we get you set
Speaker 2: for the start of the offseason program, which is coming
Speaker 2: up in the first week of April. Here as the
Speaker 2: Bears get everybody together and start learning what's ahead, especially
Speaker 2: the offense, and I gotta say the defense too. Obviously,
Speaker 2: we've got a new defensive coordinator Dennis Allen. But the
Speaker 2: offense and the magnitude of it, with Ben Johnson's creativity,
Speaker 2: what they've been doing in the lab, I keep saying that,
Speaker 2: But it is the lab.
Speaker 3: A lot going on.
Speaker 2: We talked to several coaches, and the angle of this
Speaker 2: is just not the players learning this offense again.
Speaker 3: It's going to be a Bears offense.
Speaker 2: I keep emphasizing that because Ben Johnson keeps emphasizing that,
Speaker 2: and the coaches keep emphasizing it's not a replica of Detroit.
Speaker 2: Will there be pieces, will there be elements? Will there
Speaker 2: be concepts? Certainly some of the coaches have to learn
Speaker 2: this offense too, to reach a level where they can
Speaker 2: teach it to the players. Different position groups, guys who
Speaker 2: have never known Ben Johnson, and as we know, he
Speaker 2: did not hire people necessarily that he was best friends
Speaker 2: with that he knew all from Detroit. There's a handful,
Speaker 2: but a lot of guys are going to have to
Speaker 2: teach the offense back to the players. So you're counting
Speaker 2: on these coaches obviously ingesting this and understanding it. And
Speaker 2: these guys have been around a long time, pretty much
Speaker 2: a veteran staff and then the rest of the crew
Speaker 2: that may be younger Tommy are known as very smart
Speaker 2: football coaches football minds.
Speaker 3: So this is an.
Speaker 2: Interesting concept to grab that the coaches also have to
Speaker 2: learn it.
Speaker 4: Well, one thing you can guarantee about every one of
Speaker 4: these coaches, they know how to learn football. And that's
Speaker 4: really kind of a process. When you get into the NFL,
Speaker 4: you and get to a new team, you get to
Speaker 4: new terminology and new philosophical beliefs in what you're the
Speaker 4: points you're trying to get across. But every one of
Speaker 4: these guys they can kind of look at some new
Speaker 4: terminology that they're learning and then they can say, okay,
Speaker 4: this is relatable to the terminology that we used at
Speaker 4: this Stay okay, and now they're calling this type of
Speaker 4: route this is what we called in my last day,
Speaker 4: or blocking philosophy, or you know, different terminology in terms
Speaker 4: of the types of blocks. So during my football career,
Speaker 4: there's probably five or six different ways that we called
Speaker 4: the same combination block, but every offensive line coach had
Speaker 4: their own spin on it. But guarantee you from the
Speaker 4: young guys that are ex players, they know how to
Speaker 4: learn football because they did it throughout their career, and
Speaker 4: now they know how to teach it because they've been
Speaker 4: experienced coaches ever since. And then when you have a
Speaker 4: guy like Dan Roshar who's been around for forty one years, darn,
Speaker 4: there's probably not a football terminology that hasn't heard or
Speaker 4: doesn't know already. And Dennis Allen, same thing for him.
Speaker 4: So all these guys they know how to teach it.
Speaker 4: But now it's about the players taking what they're learning
Speaker 4: and investing some personal time in knowing what they're going
Speaker 4: to hear the next meeting session.
Speaker 2: All right, which brings us to quarterback and catab Williams.
Speaker 2: Last season, you had to put together a plan for him.
Speaker 2: He knew he was going to be drafted number one.
Speaker 2: There were plenty of conversations about that from team to
Speaker 2: player and whatnot. But there are NFL rules you can't
Speaker 2: you can't do certain things. So I guess your expected
Speaker 2: time of arrival on the terminology and the playbook may
Speaker 2: have been the first of May for Caleb Williams.
Speaker 3: Does he expect it sooner? You know?
Speaker 4: To me, I do expect the learning curve of Caleb
Speaker 4: Williams to be expedited because he's going to have his
Speaker 4: hands on information a lot.
Speaker 5: Quicker than he did last year.
Speaker 4: Take everything into consideration that Caleb went through last year
Speaker 4: from the end of his college season. Then you start
Speaker 4: meeting agents, and you start meeting the different representations. You
Speaker 4: talk about all Star games, yes or no. You start
Speaker 4: thinking about the combine and what you're gonna do, what
Speaker 4: you're gonna try to accomplish there, and then you talk
Speaker 4: about your pro day, and then everything after that is
Speaker 4: still exhaustively until you go to the night of the draft.
Speaker 4: And then in the night of the draft, you're all
Speaker 4: dressed up, you got your family there, You're trying to
Speaker 4: make sure everybody's in the right place. Then you hear
Speaker 4: your name called. Then you kind of sit there for
Speaker 4: a couple more hours. And then we saw the way
Speaker 4: he embraced Roma Doonza when his name was called. Okay, Boom,
Speaker 4: let's stop it right there, because now you're completely exhausted.
Speaker 4: But now is when the seriousness starts. So now you're
Speaker 4: going to go from Detroit and you're gonna come to Chicago.
Speaker 4: Now you're going to be introduced to the facility and
Speaker 4: brought all around this campus style facility that the Bears
Speaker 4: have now not only it's not there to impress you.
Speaker 4: It's showing you what's offered to you to better your career.
Speaker 5: And all those things are good.
Speaker 4: You get a bunch of swagged Tony medlins there, you
Speaker 4: get me all this kind of bear's gear you hope
Speaker 4: you wear the rest of your life. And then boom,
Speaker 4: reality starts. Here's your playbook, here's your tablet. Let's start
Speaker 4: learning now. And so when you talk about a young
Speaker 4: quarterback like that that's guaranteed to be a starter in
Speaker 4: his first NFL game, that learning rocket is going straight
Speaker 4: up in the air. There's no learning curve to it. It's,
Speaker 4: you know, forge ahead. But I think this year known
Speaker 4: a little bit about learning, know a little bit about
Speaker 4: how things are going to be taught. I do expect
Speaker 4: Caleb to have a faster spring than he did a
Speaker 4: year ago.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and even though there as they said, they're going
Speaker 2: to tear him down to the studs. Now, it'd be
Speaker 2: silly to think any other way, no matter how mentally
Speaker 2: tough a player is, and I do believe Caleb Williams is,
Speaker 2: but to think what he went through last season, and
Speaker 2: just the change alone in season change more than one
Speaker 2: the amount of pressure he had on him and during
Speaker 2: a ten game losing streak. The mental part of this
Speaker 2: had to be exhausting. And I have not spoken to
Speaker 2: him other than one time when Ben Johnson was hired.
Speaker 2: I did sit down and talk to Caleb Williams, but
Speaker 2: I just wonder how much of a refresh do you
Speaker 2: need and how exhausting that was mentally well physically.
Speaker 4: We know he's tough because we saw what he did
Speaker 4: on the practice on the game field last year. And
Speaker 4: you know, I even had with sympathetic form towards the
Speaker 4: end of the season because I don't know how much
Speaker 4: more physically he could have taken.
Speaker 5: But he's a mentally tough kid. And I think we.
Speaker 4: Learned a lot about Caleb Williams last year that a
Speaker 4: lot of us didn't know, even though we watched him
Speaker 4: throughout his career in college. And Ben Johnson the reason
Speaker 4: that he I'm sure that he had some excitement and
Speaker 4: coming to Hallas Hall because of the one player in
Speaker 4: Caleb Williams. So you imagine if Caleb Williams takes thirty
Speaker 4: percent less of the abuse that he took last year,
Speaker 4: and how much fresher mentally and physically he could he
Speaker 4: could be and what the results of that freshness will
Speaker 4: relate to on the game field. So everything has got
Speaker 4: to be about the learning process for Caleb, and I
Speaker 4: think he's got good support in the quarterback room with
Speaker 4: Tyson and the rest of the coaches and the fellas.
Speaker 5: So I'm really.
Speaker 4: Excited to see how Ben and all the quarterback coaching
Speaker 4: staff matches up with the physical gifts of Caleb Williams.
Speaker 2: You know, next Gen Stats had this stat on catob
Speaker 2: face the most unblocked pressures one hundred and five and
Speaker 2: the most unblocked sacks thirteen in the NFL last season.
Speaker 2: The reasons why it could be many, but that's too much.
Speaker 2: So I'm hoping your thirty percent is actually fifty percent
Speaker 2: less hits and less.
Speaker 4: But I'm I'm just trying to be a little bit
Speaker 4: more realistic about it because it is a new system,
Speaker 4: a new quarterback, a new coaching staff, And maybe it
Speaker 4: is fifty percent, But if you take away some of
Speaker 4: those abusive hits and sacks that he faced last year,
Speaker 4: and you turn those abusive hits and sacks into completions,
Speaker 4: now you're talking about points scored for the Bears in
Speaker 4: a little refresher for the Bears defense.
Speaker 2: And I think, you know, seeing the offense through Drew
Speaker 2: Dolman's eyes at center, then through Catob Williams eyes, through
Speaker 2: Ben Johnson's eyes, and that will be the significance when
Speaker 2: that all clicks, when they are seeing the offense the
Speaker 2: same way through the same lens.
Speaker 3: And how quickly does that happen?
Speaker 2: Tom, should we have quicker expectations from this given how
Speaker 2: Ben Johnson does teach an offense and what he has
Speaker 2: planned for an offense and Caleb second year.
Speaker 5: One hundred percent.
Speaker 4: But you know the thing about it is it's nice
Speaker 4: and Drew Dallman has two experienced guys to his right
Speaker 4: and his left. So now if Joe Toney sees something
Speaker 4: out his periphial vision to the far left and he
Speaker 4: starts alerting the guys about a possible blitzer, or they
Speaker 4: do it on the right side with Jackson, and then
Speaker 4: he alerts everybody that, look, we could possibly have free blitzers.
Speaker 4: And so just that alert can help the quarterback's decision
Speaker 4: making process. It can help the hot reads that the
Speaker 4: receivers are committed to if they see a blitzer coming
Speaker 4: to their side. So all those types of things not
Speaker 4: only on Dolman's plate, but also on the two experienced
Speaker 4: yards that are already in place.
Speaker 2: That's Jeff Joniac one segment ago here on Bears Weekly
Speaker 2: this Monday night, stick Around.
Speaker 3: This is ESPN Chicago and the Bears Radio Network.
Speaker 1: Is Bears Weekly with the voice of the Bears for
Speaker 1: twenty four years, cheffon Chef on the Bear's Radio Network.
Speaker 2: This segment of Bears Weekly is brought to you by
Speaker 2: Igs Energy. Final segment with Tom Thayer, the Super Bowl
Speaker 2: winning Bears guard.
Speaker 3: I'm Jeff Joniac. Tom. A buffet of topics you've delivered
Speaker 3: my way through email this morning.
Speaker 2: So let's dig into some of them. Let's begin on
Speaker 2: the defensive side of the ball. And you know, maybe
Speaker 2: one of the most underrated question marks that we all
Speaker 2: have because we have not seen him. We believe he's
Speaker 2: ready to go, but it's Jakwan Brisker. You know I
Speaker 2: love this player. I know you love this player. We
Speaker 2: love his tenacity, we love his physicality, we love his deployability.
Speaker 2: He's an outstanding sacker. He's an outstanding tackler, and he'll
Speaker 2: get around the football. He seems to all always be
Speaker 2: around the ball. Guys like that I want on my
Speaker 2: football team. Are you still concerned in any way, shape
Speaker 2: or form, and what are your expectations as he enters
Speaker 2: a very important year for himself.
Speaker 4: So my expectations for Jaquan Brisker is to be an
Speaker 4: all pro. He's got the physical tools, he's got the gifts,
Speaker 4: he's got the willingness, he's got the intelligence, everything that
Speaker 4: it takes to be a dominating safety in the modern
Speaker 4: day NFL because there's a lot of different d job
Speaker 4: requirements that come to the safety nowadays that maybe didn't
Speaker 4: ten to fifteen years ago. So the sky is a
Speaker 4: limit for Jaquan Brisker. But the last thing I have
Speaker 4: in my memory is him coming up hitting the tight
Speaker 4: end from Carolina and the Carolina tight end laying there,
Speaker 4: and then him going back to the huddle and finishing
Speaker 4: the game, and then later that night concussion getting put
Speaker 4: in concussion proto call. And that is disturbing to me
Speaker 4: because I admire and I think that Jaquan can be
Speaker 4: one of the better safeties in the league. But then
Speaker 4: when he didn't come back to play any more football
Speaker 4: last year, that's where my concerns are.
Speaker 5: I'm more concerned for the.
Speaker 4: Human So I'm the football player, but I still want
Speaker 4: him to think and through the support of his family
Speaker 4: and the decisions they make, if he's healthy, ready to go,
Speaker 4: then come out here and play and give it at
Speaker 4: your all. Listen, Chikwan, maybe you have to wear one
Speaker 4: of those guardian helmets the rest of your career and
Speaker 4: if you do find because the other guys worry him.
Speaker 4: But when I look at how gifted of a young
Speaker 4: man he is, darn and being a selfish Bears fan,
Speaker 4: I want to see him on the field as much
Speaker 4: as he can possibly make it.
Speaker 2: Tyreek Stevenson outstanding talent, as you say, probably the best
Speaker 2: tackling player in the secondary, a guy willing the most
Speaker 2: willing for sure, Tyreek Stevenson always gets a lot of
Speaker 2: tackle numbers. What will be the impact of a guy
Speaker 2: like Al Harris, who players are going to know right away?
Speaker 3: This guy means business.
Speaker 2: He had a great career in the National Football League,
Speaker 2: A real tenacious player as well.
Speaker 3: And what kind of competition do you expect from Terrell Smith?
Speaker 4: I expect a lot of competition at that cornerback position
Speaker 4: because you're talking about two different types of bodies. But
Speaker 4: I do think Treike Stevenson is the most physical and
Speaker 4: willing tackler in the secondary. But I think both of
Speaker 4: these young men got to go and read the resume
Speaker 4: of Al Harris because he's left a lot on the
Speaker 4: field and he's got a lot of information to give.
Speaker 4: But you also have to have that discipline with inside
Speaker 4: yourself that you can never let the emotions capture you
Speaker 4: on the field more than what your responsibilities is on
Speaker 4: the field. We'll see going forward if Treike Stevenson lives
Speaker 4: up to what he can be, because listen, he's got
Speaker 4: the traits, the willingness, the desire, the enthusiasm, everything that
Speaker 4: it takes to be a cornerback in the NFL. And
Speaker 4: if he scratches the surface of what he still has
Speaker 4: left to give, I think he's gonna make it tough
Speaker 4: for Terrell Smith. But I think it's Terrell'smith is going
Speaker 4: to make it tough for Terry Stevenson. It's going to
Speaker 4: be an interesting battle over there to see how it
Speaker 4: all works itself out.
Speaker 2: Dennis Allen, in his history, expects a lot from the
Speaker 2: defensive backs. He's one of the best, as Jim Miller said,
Speaker 2: probably the most three level blitzers in the National Football
Speaker 2: League among defenses that comes from a Dallas Allen scheme.
Speaker 2: Whether or that will be the case this year yet
Speaker 2: to be seen, but and it asks a lot of
Speaker 2: man coverage. So those are two things to keep an
Speaker 2: eye on during training camp. I know, you know, we
Speaker 2: all love Jack Sanborn. Tommy love again. He's just a
Speaker 2: pure football player. He's off to the Dallas Cowboys. But
Speaker 2: he did a lot of great things on the defensive
Speaker 2: side of the ball and in special teams. So there's
Speaker 2: a position there to be to be one. Do they
Speaker 2: have a candidate on the roster. We don't know that
Speaker 2: just yet, but you know, the draft may bring another linebacker.
Speaker 2: But there's also a former Kansas City linebacker that's on
Speaker 2: this team, Swayze Boseman, six one, two twenty four out
Speaker 2: of Southern Mississippi. Undrafted by the Chiefs last year. He
Speaker 2: really had an impressive athletic resids to make at that
Speaker 2: pro day. He did not get invited to the combine,
Speaker 2: but he would have had one of the best among
Speaker 2: the linebackers in the bench. The broad jump, shuttle, three
Speaker 2: cone drill ran a four five to five. A very
Speaker 2: athletic player that we don't know a lot about yet.
Speaker 2: So you add these pieces to your puzzle every off season.
Speaker 3: Could that be one?
Speaker 6: Oh?
Speaker 5: For sure.
Speaker 4: I like Bozeman's athleticism, and I like what you said
Speaker 4: that he would have done at the combine because here's
Speaker 4: a guy that, to me, that's invested in football, that's
Speaker 4: invested in the weight room, that plays an important role
Speaker 4: in the overall long term success as a player. Jack
Speaker 4: Sanborn was a free agent. Bozeman as a free agent.
Speaker 4: So because of where they came from doesn't mean they
Speaker 4: can't do what we're expecting all of them. When we
Speaker 4: looked at the sideline before the start of every game,
Speaker 4: Sanborne stood there next to Kyler Gordon, and depending upon
Speaker 4: the personnel that came on the field, that's kind of
Speaker 4: what we looked at of who was going to start
Speaker 4: the game. And the Bears never shied away from using Sanborn,
Speaker 4: and I don't think they would shy away from you
Speaker 4: a guy like Bozman or the competitiveness of the position. Now,
Speaker 4: does Kyler Gordon get a few of those extra reps?
Speaker 4: Do they believe that he has the ability to do
Speaker 4: what a linebacker could do on first down and be
Speaker 4: more deployable, like you said, Dennis Allen likes to do.
Speaker 5: And I think it's going to be a super interesting.
Speaker 4: Decision because Sanborn's not sitting in the back of the
Speaker 4: mind Dennis Allen. Dennis Allen is looking at a blank
Speaker 4: board and trying to fill in the pieces accordingly. So
Speaker 4: you know, we talk about that line over there of
Speaker 4: who can be linebackers. Everybody's going to be fighting for
Speaker 4: the front of that line for the third linebacker.
Speaker 2: All Right, Tommy, job, well done. Thanks for doing this
Speaker 2: on a Monday night. That's going to do it for us.
Speaker 2: Thanks for listening, everybody. The executive producer of the Bears
Speaker 2: Radio Network, Eric Ostrowski, Thanks to producers Dan Brilly and
Speaker 2: Jordan Dreadup and in studio Charlie Bevens. And thanks to
Speaker 2: Dan Roscher. Our guest tonight, the Bears Offensive line coach.
Speaker 2: Four to top there, I'm Jeff Jonniek. This has been Bears
Speaker 2: Weekly on the new radio home of the Chicago Bears
Speaker 2: ESP and Chicago. Adam Abdada is next. Good night, everybody.
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Speaker 1: The Bears Weekly, hosted by the Mayra Bearsville, Jeff Judy
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