Speaker 1: Good to be with you. Bears fans wantcome into another
Speaker 1: edition of Bears All Accesses who wind up the month
Speaker 1: of May headed towards June July. In the offing at
Speaker 1: the start of training camp, I'm Jeff Joniac along with
Speaker 1: Tom There former Bears quarterback Jim Miller from Serious x
Speaker 1: M NFL Radios moving the chains as well thanks to
Speaker 1: our producer Jordan Trdup and all the folks here at
Speaker 1: the score. Coming up at the bottom of the hour,
Speaker 1: a conversation with Bears fullback Carrie blasting game fellas. Good
Speaker 1: to talk to you. I know these days are flying
Speaker 1: by Tom, but I honestly cannot wait for the start
Speaker 1: of training camp. Yeah. Well, you know, the coaches are
Speaker 1: starting to get indicators from every single position that they coach,
Speaker 1: because now information is starting to be repeated, and if
Speaker 1: they get a chance to sit there and filter through
Speaker 1: information that happens a couple different times, you get an
Speaker 1: indicator of how they're taking it from the classroom to
Speaker 1: the playing field. So the compliments and the comments that
Speaker 1: you hear from the coaches, it's because there's you know,
Speaker 1: they have enough time spent with these guys in meeting
Speaker 1: rooms and they see how it transfers to the field. Hey, Jim,
Speaker 1: they're they're talking like things are maybe a little head
Speaker 1: of schedule, even offensively. And they have some guys from
Speaker 1: Green Bay, I like the Lucas Patrick, Equomania, Saint Brown.
Speaker 1: Of course Luke Getzi and the people he brought in
Speaker 1: on his staff ease that transition. Then you flip it
Speaker 1: on the defensive side of the ball. You got Matt
Speaker 1: Ebertflews and all those assistants coming over from the cold.
Speaker 1: So what do you think about the possibility that they
Speaker 1: can really hit the ground running. Not to say that
Speaker 1: they don't have a lot to learn and a lot
Speaker 1: to grow in terms of what they have on the field,
Speaker 1: but from a coaching perspective, what you envision, Yeah, I
Speaker 1: think it's gonna take time. You know. I think it's
Speaker 1: good to have players that have been in the system before.
Speaker 1: They can really disseminate information. Say, you know Lucas Patrick,
Speaker 1: who you mentioned, he can get all those offensive linemen
Speaker 1: caught up to speed. They're going to him for that
Speaker 1: information the nuances of the offense. Luke Getzi obviously spends
Speaker 1: a lot of time with justin field, so he's going
Speaker 1: over the material over and over again, same with a
Speaker 1: Saint Brown at the at the receiver position. Then defensively, obviously,
Speaker 1: when you've got the head coach, this is really his
Speaker 1: defensive system, and coach Williams certainly echoes everything that coach
Speaker 1: is saying, but they can probably spend a little bit
Speaker 1: more time with those players to get them caught up
Speaker 1: to speed. And as Tom mentioned, now it's translating into
Speaker 1: the field, you're gonna start to get honest evaluations. And
Speaker 1: this is like a horse race, right There's gonna be
Speaker 1: guys that you know, start out fast and then maybe plateau,
Speaker 1: and then there's gonna be guys that start out slow
Speaker 1: and maybe finished strong. And so those evaluations are ongoing
Speaker 1: right now. The key is from a player's standpoint, be
Speaker 1: consistent about it, keep going about your work, honing your craft,
Speaker 1: doing what you need to do, and eventually you want
Speaker 1: it to be full speed where everybody's in unison and
Speaker 1: in sync, where it comes together, and that still is
Speaker 1: going to take some time. Again, justin fields, getting a
Speaker 1: lot of compliments from the coach, staff and teammates. This
Speaker 1: one from Matt Eberflus, I would say, man, he throws
Speaker 1: a good deep ball. I would say that he's I'm
Speaker 1: excited about that, and you can see it in the
Speaker 1: seven on seven and eleven on elevens and we're gonna
Speaker 1: take you know, we're gonna take our shots down the field.
Speaker 1: And man, he does a nice job doing that. And
Speaker 1: that's what stands out to me. And what that means
Speaker 1: is time with the running game and this kind of
Speaker 1: passing game, the horizontal and vertical component of putting stressers
Speaker 1: out of defense because they'd have to defend every blade
Speaker 1: of grass, right. You know, That's one of the things
Speaker 1: that's always stood us stood out to us about watching
Speaker 1: Justin early in his career. And he does throw a
Speaker 1: really nice deep ball, and I think he's got the
Speaker 1: arm strength to supply this offense with a lot of
Speaker 1: firepower when you're looking at the speed they brought in.
Speaker 1: But it is about a complimentary atmosphere on offense. You
Speaker 1: got to have that strong running game out of David
Speaker 1: Montgomery and the running back crew and then incorporate the
Speaker 1: speed they brought in. So yeah, I think the continuous
Speaker 1: evaluation of Justin's development is going to be one of
Speaker 1: the most interesting aspects for all Bears. Fans to pay
Speaker 1: attention to accuracy component is the big one for Jim right,
Speaker 1: no question. You know they always say, I mean, I
Speaker 1: don't know. You tell me they can't teach accuracy. So
Speaker 1: if he's accurate, he was accurate at Ohio State, buying.
Speaker 1: Larger quarterbacks aren't accurate in the college game, even if
Speaker 1: it's a short passing game. They're not going to be
Speaker 1: accurate in the fastest paced NFL. Yeah, you know. To me,
Speaker 1: the accuracy has always been about balance and your mechanics
Speaker 1: of throwing a football. Your feet got to be in balance,
Speaker 1: shoulder with the part, and how you deliver the football because,
Speaker 1: like you said, if you're just a hair off, that
Speaker 1: can determine whether it's a ten yard game or a
Speaker 1: twenty yard game. You know, it's really about the ball
Speaker 1: placement to lead the receiver run after catching all those
Speaker 1: type of things. His arm strength is not a problem, right.
Speaker 1: He was throwing to Chris Alavy and Garrett Wilson. They're
Speaker 1: both those guys are four three guys and they can
Speaker 1: absolutely scoot at Ohio State, and so armst ring hasn't
Speaker 1: been his his issue at all. He has that accuracy
Speaker 1: because his footwork has been pretty good. Now it's how
Speaker 1: his footwork marries up with what he's being asked to
Speaker 1: do within the Bears system. Some will be from shotgun,
Speaker 1: some will be from underneath the center, and that's got
Speaker 1: to marry up for justin fields, He's just got to
Speaker 1: keep plugging away and as I stated, honing his crap.
Speaker 1: But those things are going to be paramount. This is
Speaker 1: an interesting one from Matt Eberflus. He was asked this
Speaker 1: week what he's come to appreciate about Luke gets you
Speaker 1: the Bears offensive coordinator, and listen closely, Jim, and tell
Speaker 1: me what you think. I really appreciate all the coaches,
Speaker 1: you know, and Luke, and I'm in the quarterback meeting
Speaker 1: you know, every morning, and you know, I really appreciate
Speaker 1: the way he coaches and the way he sympathies it
Speaker 1: for the for the players, and uh, it's it's really
Speaker 1: neat to see and need to interject in there as
Speaker 1: well from a defensive perspective, but he's doing a bang
Speaker 1: up job in there, and you can see that in
Speaker 1: the execution on the field. I mean, the guys know
Speaker 1: what they're looking at and understand how to operate and
Speaker 1: the offense is looking good to this point after this
Speaker 1: short period of time. I think we're ahead a little bit,
Speaker 1: maybe because we have guys that are in the system
Speaker 1: and we have smart players, you know, you know, Justin
Speaker 1: is a very smart player. Those other quarterbacks are very smart,
Speaker 1: and we have guys that have been in that system.
Speaker 1: The key for me there, Jim the head coach who's
Speaker 1: defensive minded, has been in the quarterback meeting every day.
Speaker 1: How significant, Audien. You know, it's a good thing. You know,
Speaker 1: sometimes coach Giron would come in and check on our meetings.
Speaker 1: I've been with other coaches like Bill Belichick that will
Speaker 1: do that as well. And you know, these are defensive
Speaker 1: minded coaches that have to pay attention to the offensive
Speaker 1: side of the ball. You know, I think, you know,
Speaker 1: coach Eberflews has to be in tune with how players
Speaker 1: are being coached and what they're being presented, and then
Speaker 1: he can make an honest evaluation of how they're executing.
Speaker 1: Because again, as he just explained right there, there's going
Speaker 1: to be certain code words that Luke Getsy is gonna
Speaker 1: say that is going to mean certain things to the
Speaker 1: offensive linement. It's going to mean certain things to the receivers.
Speaker 1: It's going to mean certain things to justin fields as
Speaker 1: a quarterback of what he needs to execute, and he
Speaker 1: could throw out say box numbers, Hey man, look at
Speaker 1: your box. You know that's just something that he's going
Speaker 1: to know that he's got to count certain bodies in
Speaker 1: order to get the offense in the best play. So
Speaker 1: that's just a coach being on top of everything. He's delegating,
Speaker 1: he's trusting his assistance to do their job. And right
Speaker 1: now it's, uh, you know, this is the honeymoon right now,
Speaker 1: you know, the right now, we'll see how it unfolds
Speaker 1: come the first month of the season with what these
Speaker 1: players are being learning, what they're trying to hone to
Speaker 1: get ready for the season. Tom I like it because
Speaker 1: he's gonna have his hand and just about he got
Speaker 1: he's got to be the CEO, you know, the football team,
Speaker 1: So be in as many rooms as you can. But
Speaker 1: you take Matt's career into consideration, he's probably watched more
Speaker 1: offensive tape and he has defensive tape. You kind of
Speaker 1: see how all your us fit together when you're evaluating
Speaker 1: your own talent. But on a week to week, game
Speaker 1: to game basis, throughout his career, he's studying the opponent's offense.
Speaker 1: So he's in there listening in a quarterback meeting under
Speaker 1: and kind of thinking of what how they're teaching, justin
Speaker 1: feel from the mind of a defensive coach that studied
Speaker 1: hundreds of quarterbacks throughout his time. So when you have
Speaker 1: that type of rolodex of information in your mind and
Speaker 1: your memory bank like he has, he's kind of at
Speaker 1: an interesting, you know, kind of an interesting end of
Speaker 1: the spectrum to sit in there and listen to an
Speaker 1: offensive coach as a defensive minded guy. All right, coming
Speaker 1: up next, we'll focus on Cole Commet as he begins
Speaker 1: his third year. Also look at safety with a position
Speaker 1: coach Andre Curtis in terms of Eddie Jackson's all coming
Speaker 1: up next with Jim Millerman. Top There, I'm Jeff Joningac
Speaker 1: on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The Score. Welcome back
Speaker 1: to Bears All Access, brought to you by IGS Energy.
Speaker 1: Choose clean energy for your home at IGS dot com
Speaker 1: because every good choice adds up to a better world.
Speaker 1: This is Bears All Access on Chicago Sports Radio six
Speaker 1: seventy To Score with Tom Thair and Jim Miller former Bears.
Speaker 1: I'm Jeff Joniac coming up at the bottom of the hour.
Speaker 1: Karrie blasting game joins us as well. Fellas. Gary Fensick
Speaker 1: made a great point talking to him and Jay Hilgan
Speaker 1: bring the other day up at Hollis Hall. Oh, we
Speaker 1: always talk about it, and Ryan Poles has stated this,
Speaker 1: and Matt Eberflus has as well, and I brought it
Speaker 1: up that you know, you're building a home basically from
Speaker 1: the foundation up. You got to attend to every detail
Speaker 1: to make it perfect at the start, to build the future.
Speaker 1: But you know, Gary's point was a house stands for
Speaker 1: thirty forty fifty years, but in the NFL, the home
Speaker 1: zon't stand that long. And that's a great point because
Speaker 1: while this is a transition roster right now with new
Speaker 1: leadership and new coaches, there's other factors free agency, injuries,
Speaker 1: did your quarterback develop like you thought he did, the
Speaker 1: high demand assistance that may leave you after one year,
Speaker 1: or financial considerations. I think you just hope to find
Speaker 1: the foundational pieces Tom, to find that sustained success. And
Speaker 1: that's why this year to me is so important. Right
Speaker 1: you know, Jeff, you live in a house that was
Speaker 1: built one hundred years ago, right of that foundation, And
Speaker 1: I think those are kind of the foundations that you
Speaker 1: want to build within an organization that lasts from years,
Speaker 1: the year's generation, the generation. You know. I know this
Speaker 1: is Bears all access, but when you look around the
Speaker 1: NFL as a whole and you look at Baltimore Ravens
Speaker 1: or you look at the Pittsburgh Steelers and stuff, those
Speaker 1: are the foundations that those teams have been successful with.
Speaker 1: And I think when you look at the Bears, that's
Speaker 1: where you want to get to. You want to get
Speaker 1: to the building blocks of a foundation that is successful
Speaker 1: for generations to come. Jim, does every decision impact that
Speaker 1: from this day forward? Yeah, I think, well, I'll just
Speaker 1: keep it to the analogy of a house. I think
Speaker 1: we all know when you purchase a house or you
Speaker 1: build a house, there is going to be homeowner maintenance
Speaker 1: that needs to be done right. You got to take
Speaker 1: care of the gutters, you got to take care of
Speaker 1: the windows. You know, certain things are are going to
Speaker 1: get weathered over time and they've got to be addressed
Speaker 1: for maintenance to keep it at a high level and
Speaker 1: looking good in the in the neighborhood. So happens. That
Speaker 1: happens with free agency. Right, you may lose a part
Speaker 1: you've got to add apart, you know. So I think
Speaker 1: you're you constantly got to do the maintenance required to
Speaker 1: keep it looking at a beautiful level. I'm not thinking
Speaker 1: you're cutting your own lawn. No, I of course cut
Speaker 1: my own laws. I need high and you may as
Speaker 1: well get off my lawn. Yeah, and I can picture
Speaker 1: Jim on a ladder on the gutters. I love it.
Speaker 1: You're a self made Hey, you're a self made man
Speaker 1: from day one. And I know Tim is so Tom
Speaker 1: sows his own clothes for crying out loud. So that's
Speaker 1: that's impressive. All right, Let's talk about Cole Comet because
Speaker 1: I'm excited about him. He looked genuinely thrilled about what's
Speaker 1: about to transpire this season with this offense and where
Speaker 1: Justin Fields is, but for himself. In addition, you know,
Speaker 1: he's not taking anything for grand whatsoever, and he does
Speaker 1: feel like he's starting over. Yeah for sure, Yeah he's
Speaker 1: starting over again. But I'm optimistic. I'm totally bought into
Speaker 1: what's going on here. Coachi Refluss coming with a great
Speaker 1: mindset that I think is is really good for this team.
Speaker 1: You know, obviously we're young, but you know, I'm totally
Speaker 1: bought into what's going on here and I'm excited for it.
Speaker 1: He's also taking the cue from his uncle, Jeff Skania,
Speaker 1: who played a long time of the National Football League,
Speaker 1: about being nothing guaranteed as a football player. My uncle
Speaker 1: played seventeen years and I asked him, this is when
Speaker 1: I was young. I remember it was my dad asked him, what,
Speaker 1: how how did you play for that long? And he's like,
Speaker 1: you feel like you're getting cut every day and that's
Speaker 1: a tough feeling, but like that's how you got to
Speaker 1: come here every day. So like regardless it was the
Speaker 1: old scheme or old regime, new regime, whatever it is,
Speaker 1: it's this gonna felt like, you know, I got the
Speaker 1: jobs are on the line every day, so you gotta
Speaker 1: come to work like that. If I don't come in
Speaker 1: here thinking every day I'm gonna get cut like necessarily,
Speaker 1: but I just like you have that it's it's go time.
Speaker 1: You know, this is not you know, there's no reason
Speaker 1: not to study the night before. You gotta know your
Speaker 1: stuff when you come in. You gotta know your stuff.
Speaker 1: Like there's no excuse for not knowing what to do
Speaker 1: on a play, whether they installed it correctly or not.
Speaker 1: You got all the sheets, you got everything. You gotta
Speaker 1: be a pro. Note you're doing so that. It's just
Speaker 1: being a pro every day, Jim, We're on zoom looking
Speaker 1: at each other. Tom's head was bobbing up and down
Speaker 1: in affirmation because Tom speaks that language every day. Well,
Speaker 1: that's what I'm saying, Jim. And I came from an
Speaker 1: era where you could be cut at any day. You
Speaker 1: didn't have a contract that had a salary impact, that
Speaker 1: you were uncuttable. And I walked in the house hall
Speaker 1: every single day when Mike Dicko was my head coach,
Speaker 1: thinking this is the day I could be cut. And
Speaker 1: I never felt secure walking in there. And I think
Speaker 1: that's a good thing. I don't think it's necessarily creates
Speaker 1: an insecurity in you. It creates a work ethic that
Speaker 1: the coaches are looking for. Jim. It sounds like leadership
Speaker 1: right there too, about telling guys, hey, every detail matters.
Speaker 1: I like hearing that from Cole. Yeah. Well, I played
Speaker 1: with his uncle, Jeff Skannina in Pittsburgh, So Jeff was
Speaker 1: a very hard worker, very diligent teammate and took care
Speaker 1: of his business because he because that's what it is.
Speaker 1: You're you got to be conduct yourself as a professional
Speaker 1: and be prepared for what you're you're asked to do
Speaker 1: and buy contract required to do. And I think Cole's
Speaker 1: serious about it, and I think he's a serious professional,
Speaker 1: and I think he needs to have a bigger impact
Speaker 1: in this offense. I thought his numbers increased last year,
Speaker 1: but touchdowns it didn't. I want to see a bigger
Speaker 1: red zone presence. This is a two hundred and sixty
Speaker 1: pound tight end. He was legit six six. I think
Speaker 1: he needs to be a force down there and make
Speaker 1: his presence known a little more. So we'll see how
Speaker 1: it emerges for him. He's diving into a new scheme
Speaker 1: and he'll be counted on here in twenty twenty two.
Speaker 1: Funny you should bring that up. It was a big
Speaker 1: topic this week on the red zone. Lack of opportunities. No,
Speaker 1: that was obviously an area that was lacking for me,
Speaker 1: and so I look at it, and you look at
Speaker 1: what opportunities you had in the red zone. So the
Speaker 1: two that I really look back that I kind of
Speaker 1: wish I had back were the one against San Fran
Speaker 1: against Um Warner and the ends o where honestly it's
Speaker 1: the timing thing between justin one at one place I
Speaker 1: went the other. That's something that I think Wenha figured
Speaker 1: out this year. You know, that's that's one of them.
Speaker 1: And then the same thing. There was one in Green Bay,
Speaker 1: a lowball that just skipped off the ground. But so
Speaker 1: those are the two I look at that I wish
Speaker 1: I would have had back, And that's really all that
Speaker 1: all all I can look at and kind of assess
Speaker 1: myself on. And here's what he's working on in advance
Speaker 1: of his third season. Everything hands catch. I think he's
Speaker 1: got to be handsketched, that's one thing with that, and
Speaker 1: then it's hard to do not without pads on, but
Speaker 1: really craven violence through my blocks. That's kind of a thing,
Speaker 1: you know, especially on double teams. So those are the
Speaker 1: two things I'm kind of focusing on. Obviously, the hands
Speaker 1: catching stuff, I can really work on that now. The
Speaker 1: other thing not so much about pads, but you do
Speaker 1: what you do it, all right, Let's talk the hands
Speaker 1: with Jim and the blocking from Tom. Go ahead, Jim. Well,
Speaker 1: first I'll just say what disappoints me there is that
Speaker 1: he says there's only two red zone opportunities. All right.
Speaker 1: He needs to be called upon more to create red
Speaker 1: zone opportunities, not just for himself but for others. So
Speaker 1: more targets need to go his direct shit is my
Speaker 1: take on that. I think he'll be better at it.
Speaker 1: I think the new play calling will gear things towards
Speaker 1: him and maybe he can be like a Travis Kelsey
Speaker 1: and open up some other opportunities for other players. I
Speaker 1: like his hands. I think he's gotten better. I think
Speaker 1: his hands are softer. And again, the timing and rhythm
Speaker 1: of how it comes out of Justin's field's hand, and
Speaker 1: the rhythm and the temple of the ball that Justin throws,
Speaker 1: that's going to become seamless in my opinion. And again
Speaker 1: I think Cole Comet's too good of an athlete not
Speaker 1: to do it. He needs to be called upon more,
Speaker 1: not less. You know one thing about the tight end position.
Speaker 1: First of all, the last coaching staff when they developed
Speaker 1: the game plan for the red zone, they gave all
Speaker 1: those practice reps and all those game reps to Jimmy Graham. Well,
Speaker 1: it's gonna be Cole Commett. He's going to be the
Speaker 1: guy who's involved in practice and he's gonna get those
Speaker 1: reps and he's going to develop that timing with Justin.
Speaker 1: And another thing is when you talk about his blocking ability, well,
Speaker 1: when we talk about the tight end from the San
Speaker 1: Francisco forty nine ers, the thing that really put him
Speaker 1: on the map early in his career is the ferociousness
Speaker 1: of his blocking, whether he was pulling, whether he was
Speaker 1: in a stance on the line of scrimmage, how he
Speaker 1: challenged first and second level defenders, and how he drove
Speaker 1: them off the field or into the ground. That's why
Speaker 1: he's considered one of the better tight ends and all
Speaker 1: the NFL. But that's the same mindset that Colt command
Speaker 1: has developed, is the driving feet, the inside hand placement,
Speaker 1: and being able to block on multiple level levels in
Speaker 1: multiple movement tight blocks. And he even mentioned it tight ends.
Speaker 1: It flourished in this particular scheme. He talked about Robert
Speaker 1: Tonyan in Green Bay, Kittle himself and the guys in Minnesota.
Speaker 1: All Right, we gotta take a break. Jim Miller, Jeff
Speaker 1: Jony Actemp there on Bears on Access here on Chicago
Speaker 1: Sports Radio six seventy the Score. This segment of Bears
Speaker 1: on Access is brought to you by Athletical Physical Therapy.
Speaker 1: Visit Athletico dot com to request an employment in clinic
Speaker 1: or virtually and start feeling better tomorrow with Tom There
Speaker 1: and Jim Melihim Jeff Joni aac Here on Chicago Sports
Speaker 1: Radio six seventy the Score. Defensive Assistance this week, talking
Speaker 1: up at hallis hawfellas up. Let's listen in to defensive
Speaker 1: line coach Travis Smith because Robert Quinn has not been
Speaker 1: a part of the offseason program right now, leaning on
Speaker 1: his veteran preparation, He's been in the league a long time.
Speaker 1: This is a new scheme, but one that he flourished
Speaker 1: in under Rod Marinelli in Dallas. And that is a
Speaker 1: talking point for Travis Smith. So like a lot of
Speaker 1: our tapes are shown our room, are a lot of
Speaker 1: skill development progression tapes of him Dallas that I had
Speaker 1: cut up already from Marinelli that we set it for
Speaker 1: the young guys especially, it's good for them to see
Speaker 1: how he works his pass rush progression and so and
Speaker 1: same with Quen. I worked out Quan when he came
Speaker 1: out of Miami. Muhammad when I was in Oakland and too,
Speaker 1: so I've already known him. I've got to meet him,
Speaker 1: and I've spoken to him on the phone. You know,
Speaker 1: Robert Quinn does most of his stuff individually. He's just
Speaker 1: a dynamic pass rusher. In talk about his flexibility as
Speaker 1: bendability and what he's able to do with all of
Speaker 1: his experience. If why, if Robert Quinn was an offensive lineman,
Speaker 1: I would be concerned because you've got to work those guys,
Speaker 1: all five got to be working together with the tight
Speaker 1: end and with the fullbacks and stuff. But Robert Quinn,
Speaker 1: as long as he's in the way room, as long
Speaker 1: as he's in shape, as long as he's in good condition,
Speaker 1: what's going to be required from him in training camp?
Speaker 1: I'm okay with that. I don't I really don't care.
Speaker 1: If Robert Quinn doesn't show up until the mandatory mini
Speaker 1: camp and then training camp, I would think. So he's
Speaker 1: been in a four three defense before, he's been in
Speaker 1: a three four. This guy's been a pros pro. He's
Speaker 1: had highs he said lows. There's no doubt about that,
Speaker 1: and last year wasn't extreme high. And I think he's
Speaker 1: a very humble, hardworking player that wants to continue to
Speaker 1: do well. You know, he was actually frustrated a couple
Speaker 1: of years ago he didn't think he lived up to
Speaker 1: the billing from from his standpoint, Well, he came back
Speaker 1: and rebounded big time. I think that says a lot
Speaker 1: about his character. I think it says a lot about
Speaker 1: his work ethic, and I think he'll continue to conduct
Speaker 1: himself at that way. And the benefit, though, is for
Speaker 1: young guys to grab the attention of the coaching staff.
Speaker 1: And Mattyberflus is very impressed with Dominique Robinson, the rookie
Speaker 1: out of Miami, Ohio. You can see the movement skills,
Speaker 1: the ability potentially to really turn the corner, and we'll see,
Speaker 1: we'll see as we go. You know, Bill Polly used
Speaker 1: to say, boor you got to have at the top
Speaker 1: of the rush. You got to be able to boor
Speaker 1: and get underneath and turn the corner. And that takes power.
Speaker 1: And you're not going to really see that until until
Speaker 1: we get the pads on. But fellas, he's got elite athleticism,
Speaker 1: tom elite athleticism, and it's showing up more than one
Speaker 1: guy talked about him yesterday. Yeah, you know that's why
Speaker 1: he's drafted, that's why he's been able to make position
Speaker 1: changes throughout his college career. However, he's the type of guy,
Speaker 1: unlike Robert Quinn, that needs to have these endless amount
Speaker 1: of reps that you have throughout OTA's mandatory minicamp and
Speaker 1: then on the training camp. That's the way you're going
Speaker 1: to see the development of his skills. And it's kind
Speaker 1: of unique to the position that you have to repetitiously
Speaker 1: practice your defensive pass rushing moves just as many times
Speaker 1: as you could possibly get in a stance. And Trevis
Speaker 1: Gibson and we talked to him last week, Jim. They're
Speaker 1: impressed by his awareness of the quarterback position. That means
Speaker 1: going after the football forced all those fumbles, and if
Speaker 1: that becomes his thing, especially for this bunch that wants takeaways,
Speaker 1: that's gonna be good for Trevis. Yeah, well, I think
Speaker 1: you know, part of playing football sometimes guys get just
Speaker 1: too robotic out there. They get to you know, they're
Speaker 1: thinking about their assignment so much that they forget sometimes
Speaker 1: about the their awareness. You know, the point is is
Speaker 1: to get the football right and be able to read
Speaker 1: the quarterback, whether it's a play action pass whether he's
Speaker 1: handing off to the quarterback night not biting on say
Speaker 1: a play fake where a quarterback then takes it out.
Speaker 1: So you got to be aware of the ball and
Speaker 1: have your eyes on the football at all times. And
Speaker 1: that's really paramount in order to get the turnovers the
Speaker 1: Bears are looking for as a defense. So it's not
Speaker 1: only playing fast and yes, still executing your assignment, or
Speaker 1: you've got to take it to another level and have
Speaker 1: the awareness of understanding what's going on around you to
Speaker 1: really disrupt what you're there to disrupt, and that's to
Speaker 1: get the football when it's all said and done, whether
Speaker 1: it's tackling it, whether it's tipping the ball, whether it's
Speaker 1: disrupting it by penetrating any which way you can. You've
Speaker 1: got to be aware of the situation and what you
Speaker 1: can do to affect the play. Eddie Jackson has been
Speaker 1: a turnover machine in his career with the Bears. His
Speaker 1: position coach, Andre Curtis, was Seattle's defensive pass game coordinator
Speaker 1: of the last four years, also coach safeties and was
Speaker 1: the dbat coach there for three years as well. Influenced
Speaker 1: by Steve Spagnolo with the Rams and then the Saints
Speaker 1: conversation with him at Eddie Jackson. Once you're in the
Speaker 1: right position, that's when the good stuff usually happens. So
Speaker 1: that's when you get comfortable and knowing the ins and
Speaker 1: out of the defenses. You know the stress and weaknesses
Speaker 1: of the defense, and then you know where you need
Speaker 1: to be to make the type of players that you
Speaker 1: want to make. So right now, at this point, it's
Speaker 1: kind of like feeding them everything. Right now, you know
Speaker 1: the whole menu, pressures, coverages, you know, all that stuff.
Speaker 1: You know, and he's just recepted to learning. We haven't
Speaker 1: gotten to that phase where it's like, okay, you place
Speaker 1: them here that type of stuff. I think that stuff
Speaker 1: will come the closer we get to the season. Right now,
Speaker 1: we're just teaching our fundamentals and the base defenses, so
Speaker 1: everybody's well around it. Anybody can set a tone on defense.
Speaker 1: But if your safety sets a tone from the physicality
Speaker 1: standpoints or whether it's brisk or ready, how do you,
Speaker 1: as a coach and this staff feel about that coming
Speaker 1: from the back end of the defense to help set
Speaker 1: a tone. Well, I mean usually most good defenses have
Speaker 1: good secondaries. It starts there, you know, because the more
Speaker 1: you can eliminate explosive plays, I mean, no safety. Sometimes
Speaker 1: you only make four or five tackles a game, but
Speaker 1: you gotta make you know that free safety, you're in
Speaker 1: a position in the middle of the field where you
Speaker 1: gotta make it one on one tackle, if not as
Speaker 1: a big play. Well, he's had plenty experienced coaching DB's
Speaker 1: good ones too, in both New Orleans and also in Seattle. Well,
Speaker 1: you know, to me, you may not get the indicator
Speaker 1: of the physical commitment of Eddie Jackson until the regular
Speaker 1: season gets here. You know, Jim, how those defensive backs
Speaker 1: fly around training camp and they act like they're in
Speaker 1: position and they're going to deliver a big hit. But
Speaker 1: you know, they just they don't have that luxury and
Speaker 1: training camp and that I don't know how many reps
Speaker 1: the real starters will get throughout the preseason games. So
Speaker 1: when the San Francisco forty nine ers come in the
Speaker 1: Soldier field on September eleventh, that may be the first
Speaker 1: indicator of the physical commitment of some of these defensive players.
Speaker 1: So you know, I'm going to be sitting on the
Speaker 1: edge of my seat as much as anybody watching Eddie
Speaker 1: Jackson because He's really got to be the guy that
Speaker 1: brings that element to that position. Yeah, I totally believe that.
Speaker 1: I mean, when you look at this defensive system, I mean,
Speaker 1: obviously the safeties are a big part of it. I've
Speaker 1: talked about Cary Willis for Indianapolis Colts and really the
Speaker 1: safeties there that they've kind of overhauled and really molded
Speaker 1: the way Coachieberflus wanted this secondary to perform. And now
Speaker 1: the Bears are going to have the opportunity to do that.
Speaker 1: How quickly can Eddie Jackson transition? He's going to be
Speaker 1: asked to do different assignments. You know, certainly as a player,
Speaker 1: you have to be tuned in to what you're facing offensively,
Speaker 1: what personnel groupings, what's the formation are the you know,
Speaker 1: what are the tendencies of what they can do out
Speaker 1: of that certain formation That will give you clues in
Speaker 1: order to be a more instinctive player of how you're
Speaker 1: going to play things defensively. Coming up next, Bears fullback
Speaker 1: Karrie blassing Game joined us here on Chicago Sports Radio
Speaker 1: six seventy The Score. This portion of Bears All Access
Speaker 1: is brought to you by CDW people to get it
Speaker 1: Jeff Joniac along with Tom Fair and Jim Miller from
Speaker 1: Serious x MNFL radios moving the chains. We'll take a
Speaker 1: time out from them and join one of the newest
Speaker 1: Bears Kyrie blashing game full back. And we've talked about
Speaker 1: this and welcome, welcome, thank you, foremost world school football guys.
Speaker 1: So Tom's an offensive lineman for the eighty five Bears,
Speaker 1: w want a Super Bowl as a starting guard. And
Speaker 1: Jim Miller is a quarterback here when the running game
Speaker 1: was really good. Fullback though it's they always talking about
Speaker 1: being a dying breed, and that's awful to say, because
Speaker 1: I think it's such an important piece if you want
Speaker 1: to really run the football like I think the Bears
Speaker 1: want to do here in twenty twenty two. And beyond
Speaker 1: helping a young quarterback, how do you feel about him
Speaker 1: a lot of position, you know, just coming out of college,
Speaker 1: being a running back in college and then making the
Speaker 1: switch it was new, but uh, you know, learning throughout
Speaker 1: the years and you know, just picking up techniques and
Speaker 1: trying to go as hard as I can at it.
Speaker 1: I really embraced it, and I really liked playing it,
Speaker 1: and I'm I'm excited for this year, and I really
Speaker 1: hope we can do some great things on the ground
Speaker 1: through the air, just as an offense. As a team.
Speaker 1: You used to doing that in Tennessee with a guy
Speaker 1: by the name of Derrick Henry so uh and traditionally,
Speaker 1: you know, you think of guys the big Burley guys
Speaker 1: are never going to touch the ball and they're just sledgehammers.
Speaker 1: While you can do that, you're also going to be
Speaker 1: used in a variety of ways. You get that feeling
Speaker 1: from Luke Ketsi. There's a lot of different things that
Speaker 1: that that Luke can do with the officers just being
Speaker 1: as creative and from the sister that he comes from them.
Speaker 1: It's just for me. I just got to show that
Speaker 1: I can do it and that I can be consistent
Speaker 1: with it. And so hopefully throughout this process OTAs and
Speaker 1: camp preseason, I can show them that I can do
Speaker 1: those things and get those opportunities. In terms of the scheme,
Speaker 1: are you do you have some familiarity with it or
Speaker 1: is this a brand new thing for you? Definitely some familiarity, Yeah,
Speaker 1: definitely some familiarity from Art then from Todd, same same
Speaker 1: type of system. Yeah, all right, so let's go back
Speaker 1: to that Tennessee days, a couple of years there in
Speaker 1: Tennessee where you also went to college. You're a Southern
Speaker 1: guy from Alabama? Is that Alabama? Yeah, so it's kind
Speaker 1: of home, kind of cool to play in the area
Speaker 1: at SEC Country. Um, was it hard to leave that
Speaker 1: because you got a lot of family, a lot of
Speaker 1: friends probably down there, and enjoyed making a short trip
Speaker 1: over to Tennessee. Now it was time, you know, going
Speaker 1: to school there twenty fourteen and playing all the way
Speaker 1: up until twenty twenty twenty one season into twenty twenty two. Like,
Speaker 1: it was just it was it was fun. I enjoyed
Speaker 1: my time there, and I enjoyed all the connections that
Speaker 1: I made there in Nashville. But it's time for a
Speaker 1: new adventure. You know, my wife's excited to be in Chicago,
Speaker 1: be exploring new things, and you know, I'm excited. I
Speaker 1: was excited to get this opportunity, and we're both running
Speaker 1: into it full speed, you know, buying Other than just affect,
Speaker 1: it's you know, it's a great city. Chicago's, you know,
Speaker 1: to me, one of the best, if not the best,
Speaker 1: sports towns in America. The passion for football here is
Speaker 1: as equally passionate as it is down South or in Texas.
Speaker 1: Our kids play high school football and onto college. There's
Speaker 1: just something special about being a Bear and a very
Speaker 1: crowded market with all the big sports and entertainment whatever.
Speaker 1: When you're a Bear, they love you. They love you,
Speaker 1: and you know, when things are not great, they still
Speaker 1: of you, but they're passionate about the whole thing. Is
Speaker 1: that exciting to play in that kind of an environment. Absolutely? Absolutely.
Speaker 1: I mean just kind of being in the city and
Speaker 1: just kind of moving around and I might go and
Speaker 1: rent a truck because I got to move some furniture,
Speaker 1: and then I hand my ID to the guy and
Speaker 1: they know, you know, that's just kind of like a
Speaker 1: cool experience. And then you can feel that they love
Speaker 1: the history and the team like you can. You can
Speaker 1: feel it. You can feel it. So I'm very excited
Speaker 1: to be a part of this Karry Blasting game, our
Speaker 1: guest here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the score
Speaker 1: or with you until the top of the hour. Kind
Speaker 1: enough to spend some time with us. So when you
Speaker 1: come into this building, I always referred to it as
Speaker 1: an honor. I see George Hollis a statue outside of
Speaker 1: the building. When you walk in here, it's like a
Speaker 1: museum and you never can get enough of it. I
Speaker 1: love the NFL history. I feel my job is partly
Speaker 1: charting the history of the game as a play by
Speaker 1: play guy. How about yourself, Some young guys never even
Speaker 1: were in an NFL game before they came into the
Speaker 1: league or didn't really care about it. I care more about,
Speaker 1: you know, college football and whatnot. What's what's your background
Speaker 1: on it. When I first fell in love with football,
Speaker 1: the TV state on NFL Network. So I was watching
Speaker 1: NFL films and a bunch of different things. So I'm
Speaker 1: I'm watching Gail Sayers, I'm watching Walter Payton, like I'm
Speaker 1: watching Mike Singletary, all these guys, like these legends, you know,
Speaker 1: and so walking into the building and you see their
Speaker 1: numbers and their names up and then you see Walter
Speaker 1: Payton's locker and his picture and Mike Singletary and all
Speaker 1: just all these guys. And so I made the statement
Speaker 1: to my wife, I was like, this is like the
Speaker 1: football Vatican, you know what I'm saying. Like it really
Speaker 1: felt like a museum, and it felt like you walk
Speaker 1: into a place where there's a culture, there's a football culture.
Speaker 1: So I'm loving it. I ate it up on the
Speaker 1: first visit when we came and signed, and I just
Speaker 1: love coming to work every day. One hundred and two
Speaker 1: years of history. Man, you can't get better than that
Speaker 1: as the first franchise, right, you know? Right? So yeah,
Speaker 1: and you'll love it when you get the home crowd going,
Speaker 1: things go well, place goes crazy. You'll never forget. It
Speaker 1: gives you goose bumps, that's for sure. Um tell us
Speaker 1: a little bit about what it was like playing with
Speaker 1: a guy like a Derrick Henry, just a total beast
Speaker 1: of a running back. And then what you're learning about
Speaker 1: your new guys here, Well, yeah, I mean Derek has
Speaker 1: a work ethic that's you know, that's why he is
Speaker 1: who he is. And you know he came to work
Speaker 1: every day, did his job, and you know he's a
Speaker 1: good teammate. Love him, love playing with him. And to
Speaker 1: answer the second part of your question, I get the
Speaker 1: same vibe from from David and Khalil and Darrington's up
Speaker 1: here with me and both the young guys. So I'm
Speaker 1: excited to come to work with those guys. Those guys
Speaker 1: give me juice when I don't have it, and hopefully
Speaker 1: I can get them juice when they don't have it.
Speaker 1: But I love being in the room with him. They're
Speaker 1: all great guys. They all seem like they love the game, well,
Speaker 1: not seem like they all love the game. And as
Speaker 1: far as we've been here, it's been hard work and
Speaker 1: just you know, going at it. So I'm happy to
Speaker 1: be with these guys. I enjoy them. It's fun. It
Speaker 1: makes it easier to transition, I would think with new
Speaker 1: team when you got guys who love the game absolutely,
Speaker 1: you know, you know, guys, there's some guys in the league.
Speaker 1: They're here because they might be just they're football players,
Speaker 1: but some of them don't love the game, you know.
Speaker 1: But if you get a bunch of guys who love
Speaker 1: the game, are passionate about it as a teammate, do
Speaker 1: you respect that and welcome that as much as possible? Absolutely,
Speaker 1: I respected and welcome. And it just makes coming to
Speaker 1: work easy because, like you know, when you're if you're
Speaker 1: working out or running by yourself, you gotta you gotta
Speaker 1: bring your own juice. But if you got three or
Speaker 1: four or five six guys in close proximity proximity to you,
Speaker 1: and they're going, you gotta go. And there's there's a standard,
Speaker 1: you know, and so so David and Khalil and Darre's
Speaker 1: all those guys they carried themselves with a standard. So
Speaker 1: I'm excited to be a part of that standard and
Speaker 1: just keep raising the level. And Darren ton Evans also
Speaker 1: a former teammate. What can you tell us about him?
Speaker 1: And is it helpful to have somebody you work with before? Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's very helpful. I mean just having a familiar face
Speaker 1: and a guy who's one of my friends, is you know,
Speaker 1: just off the field, one of my friends, you know so,
Speaker 1: But you're getting a smart football player with him, very smart.
Speaker 1: It's gonna put the time in. It's gonna works explosive.
Speaker 1: You've got some twitch, So I ain't gonna put too
Speaker 1: much on him, but I'm gonna let him show y'all
Speaker 1: what he can do. But he's a good football player,
Speaker 1: all right. How about yourself? Do you put too much
Speaker 1: on yourself or you gonna I ain't gonna put nothing
Speaker 1: on money, nothing on yourself. Let the package be open
Speaker 1: as the season goes down, correct sir, Yes, sir, how
Speaker 1: far you've come? You're undrafted guy, Minnesota practice squad signed
Speaker 1: off by Tennessee, part of some winning teams there. What
Speaker 1: do you envision for yourself here for the next few years? Winning?
Speaker 1: Being my best self. I know what it feels like
Speaker 1: to to to not be at that peak performance and
Speaker 1: best self, and I'm just excited to have another opportunity
Speaker 1: to just go perform and go work and go compete,
Speaker 1: you know, go test myself every day. That's kind of
Speaker 1: what I'm here to do. And so I'm excited about it.
Speaker 1: And if however long it lasts, I just hope I
Speaker 1: can just do that every day, stack days and be
Speaker 1: the best football player I can be. There's one ball.
Speaker 1: You haven't had that many touches obviously in your NFL career.
Speaker 1: Is that something you really have a taste for, an
Speaker 1: appetite for more touches or if I mean, if it comes,
Speaker 1: it comes, you know, but whatever, whatever works and whatever.
Speaker 1: If we run the ball from the eye twenty times
Speaker 1: a game and we're winning games and we're smashing people
Speaker 1: in the face, I don't care. Like that's I want
Speaker 1: to win. So if they throw me the rock, cool,
Speaker 1: if they hand me the rock, cool, As long as
Speaker 1: we win and them cool. You know, there was an
Speaker 1: old Bear here linebacker named Doug Buffone. He has since
Speaker 1: passed away, but he was the last player that George
Speaker 1: Hallis coached and he was very popular figure. He got
Speaker 1: into broadcasting and whatnot, and you know, he was the
Speaker 1: type of guy that'll always say, hey, listen, if we
Speaker 1: don't win. I love that team to know they were
Speaker 1: in a dog fight, in a fight. I think that's
Speaker 1: kind of mentality. Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus would love
Speaker 1: this team to have, like you're gonna you're gonna be
Speaker 1: in for a long day no matter what happens when
Speaker 1: you face the Bears. Do you think this team, in
Speaker 1: the early stages of what you're learning about everybody will
Speaker 1: carry that mentality and are bringing guys in that have
Speaker 1: that mentality. Yeah, there's a lot of guys here that
Speaker 1: just you can tell they love to compete, and it's
Speaker 1: gonna be a competitive camp. It's gonna be a physical camp,
Speaker 1: and we're just gonna build it to be. That's gonna
Speaker 1: build the team to be physical and competitive and nasty.
Speaker 1: And yeah, So to answer your question, yes, I really
Speaker 1: do think that we have a lot of guys with
Speaker 1: that demeanor. And who want to be that and want
Speaker 1: to show up as that. So there are a lot
Speaker 1: of fullbacks that played high school you know, they played
Speaker 1: running back, but I played linebacker. You played safety. I
Speaker 1: think you played linebacker. Two yep, linebacker. So is that
Speaker 1: beneficial to bring that defensive mentality to the offensive side
Speaker 1: of the football a little bit? I think so? Yeah.
Speaker 1: I think I think it helps to kind of know
Speaker 1: what's going on on the other side, like when you
Speaker 1: see it a little bit. Uh, I think it helps
Speaker 1: a little bit, yeah, to put it to put it lightly,
Speaker 1: all right, you had a wonderful experience at Vanderbilt. Tell
Speaker 1: us a little bit about it, because you know, I
Speaker 1: don't know if you know this or not, but Ian Cunningham,
Speaker 1: the assistant general manager, is a relative of Arthur Ash. Okay, So,
Speaker 1: and in twenty nineteen, you were named the Arthur Ash
Speaker 1: Junior Male Sports Scholar Athlete by Diverse Issues in Higher Education. Um,
Speaker 1: what did that mean to you? What did your experience
Speaker 1: at Vanderbilt mean to you? That carries you into your
Speaker 1: professional life? So that that that award that, I mean,
Speaker 1: that was really cool, Arthur Ash. It's like it's a big,
Speaker 1: big figure, big legend, you know, so just to be
Speaker 1: recognized for, you know, my scholar achievements in the classroom,
Speaker 1: because that's something I went to school to do, is
Speaker 1: to really do both be a student and an athlete.
Speaker 1: Um So, so I'm it feels good to be recognized
Speaker 1: for those efforts. And then just my time at Vanderbilt,
Speaker 1: like just being on a team with guys that that
Speaker 1: you care about, they care about you. Just being able
Speaker 1: to work with those guys and push through the tough times,
Speaker 1: enjoy the good times, you know, going to some bowl games.
Speaker 1: I enjoyed it. I enjoyed playing for coach Mason. I
Speaker 1: played safety, A played linebacker, I played running back. So
Speaker 1: being able to adapt and do all those things, it's
Speaker 1: just it's a cool, unique thing that you know, not
Speaker 1: many people can say they played three different positions in college. So,
Speaker 1: you know, I enjoyed it, and you know it was
Speaker 1: it was cool. A couple more questions, Well, let you
Speaker 1: go Curry blasting him. Our guests here in Chicago Sports
Speaker 1: Radio six seventy to score. This is Bears All Access,
Speaker 1: brought to you by Ags Energy. What advice now that
Speaker 1: you've been in the league a few years, would you
Speaker 1: have for a young quarterback like Justin Fields, I mean,
Speaker 1: never have played, never having played the position, I don't
Speaker 1: I don't know what what type of advice I would
Speaker 1: give them, but just from a football players and point,
Speaker 1: I wouldn't give him no advice that he doesn't already do,
Speaker 1: you know. Just work hard, keep your head down, put
Speaker 1: to work in. And he does that. So I'm excited
Speaker 1: to play with him and see what he does because
Speaker 1: he works hard, he really puts it in. So that
Speaker 1: would be that would be the only thing I could say.
Speaker 1: I couldn't say anything about QB because I've never played it,
Speaker 1: you know, so I don't know, not even in the
Speaker 1: youth youth game. I played a little play. I played
Speaker 1: it a little bit in high school, but like completely
Speaker 1: different levels, so I would stay away from that trying
Speaker 1: to give me any advice on that. But just the
Speaker 1: way he comes to work, it's just cool to see.
Speaker 1: So I'm excited for him this year. All right. Last thing,
Speaker 1: we really appreciate the time. Coach Hebert Fluch said last week.
Speaker 1: You know, he's looking leadership, leadership, leadership, and it's got
Speaker 1: to be organic, you know, it's gotta be organic. Doesn't
Speaker 1: have to always be the star player. It could be anybody. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I've been told you have natural leadership ability, natural lead
Speaker 1: leadership skills. Do you agree with that assessment? And do
Speaker 1: you do you look at yourself as a leader no
Speaker 1: matter how what form that takes. Doesn't have to be vocal,
Speaker 1: could be by actual, could be a number of different ways.
Speaker 1: How would you I mean that, I would say that's
Speaker 1: a true statement about not having to be vocal and
Speaker 1: you know, be what everyone would think a leader looks like.
Speaker 1: But we all have our own circle of influence that
Speaker 1: we can lead in that So whether that's leading in
Speaker 1: the running back room, leading on special teams, just through
Speaker 1: how I show up every day and my work ethic
Speaker 1: and my intention and just being consistent. I mean, that's
Speaker 1: what I want to do. I hope I can lead
Speaker 1: that way through my actions. And it's not always about
Speaker 1: what you say, it's how you show up every day.
Speaker 1: So I hope that I can be that type of
Speaker 1: leader and that type of teammate. Awesome way to end
Speaker 1: our interview. Nice job, thank you, thank you for joining us,
Speaker 1: talking to you again and having a great season. Yea, sir,
Speaker 1: thank you Karry Blast and give our guests here on
Speaker 1: Chicago Sports Radio six seventy score Back after this break,
Speaker 1: Chicago Bears single game tickets on Say get yours at
Speaker 1: Chicago Bears dot com, Slash tickets with Jim Miller in
Speaker 1: Tom There, Jeff Joning act here in Chicago Sports Radio
Speaker 1: six seventy the Score. Let's talk Tevin Jenkins. She was
Speaker 1: at the podium this week up at hallis All after
Speaker 1: the OTA on Tuesday, readapting to right tackle after starting
Speaker 1: his rookie season at left tackle mid year. It's like
Speaker 1: anything that you're when you're most comfortable, say you outside,
Speaker 1: like like smoking food for a while, you don't do
Speaker 1: it for like a year and a half. You might
Speaker 1: have like a little mess up, you might burn your food,
Speaker 1: you might do something like that. It's like trying to
Speaker 1: get back into the regularity of it and trying to
Speaker 1: figure out how can you get back there as fast
Speaker 1: as you can, Like it's just trying to perfect your stuff,
Speaker 1: like all your stuff, like your craft. He reflects also
Speaker 1: on how that slow start last year slowedest progress. It
Speaker 1: was a hard thing from me being out for that
Speaker 1: whole year before as well, like I was out since October,
Speaker 1: had the surgery and then I didn't have all those reps.
Speaker 1: But like I said, the urgency to come back can
Speaker 1: say that I need to be getting these ramps. I
Speaker 1: need to show something that just says I deserve to
Speaker 1: be where I'm at is. It was very pressing to
Speaker 1: me and was making sure my mental was good enough
Speaker 1: to push myself to be the best I could be
Speaker 1: out there and now just lastly trying to prove it
Speaker 1: to the new guys. For me, it's about earning trust
Speaker 1: and earning their belief that I deserve to be on
Speaker 1: this team still. So I'm working for that trust. That's
Speaker 1: what that's ultimately my I'm doing. But more of that
Speaker 1: trust that they have and to me will make me
Speaker 1: feel more comfortable and I'll start playing like more comfortable.
Speaker 1: I guess I don't know well the proof of being
Speaker 1: the pudding when it gets down the field in pads.
Speaker 1: But Tom as an offensive lineman, do you like where
Speaker 1: his mindset is at? After hearing those thoughts? Um, I do.
Speaker 1: I like what he says. But now I got to
Speaker 1: see how that relates to the yam field performance. And
Speaker 1: that is Jeff and that's being there every day, that's
Speaker 1: maybe fighting through a little nick or something that you
Speaker 1: may maybe you're not one hundred percent comfortable, but I
Speaker 1: can take it to the practice field because this is
Speaker 1: going to be a super competitive scenario from the offensive
Speaker 1: coordinator to the offensive line coach to see it. Deser
Speaker 1: ability what they scouted you a couple of years ago.
Speaker 1: Because he talked about opting out the last years in
Speaker 1: college and then what he went through last year, there
Speaker 1: are still you know, a lot that they have to
Speaker 1: see and he's got approved to the coaches he see.
Speaker 1: He keeps using the word trust. Yeah, but you know
Speaker 1: he has to show considerable development over time to show
Speaker 1: that he can play, you know, offensive tackle in the NFL.
Speaker 1: Jimmy's jump he was at three forty five last year.
Speaker 1: It is his biggest. That was something that the previous
Speaker 1: offensive line coach wanted. His body fat. He said it
Speaker 1: was thirty three percent. He's now down to three twenty
Speaker 1: five with a much lower body fat, working in many
Speaker 1: different things to try and get himself ready. Would you
Speaker 1: prefer now he just stay at right tackle as opposed
Speaker 1: to moving him around. I know they want to get
Speaker 1: the best five, but would that change be of concern
Speaker 1: at you at off they move him around well, I
Speaker 1: think first is I think it's a start to start
Speaker 1: him at right tackle. Let him get comfortable there before
Speaker 1: you start moving him around. Let him as Tom just mentioned,
Speaker 1: he hasn't played a lot of live football. Now you
Speaker 1: know here he gets drafted by the Bears. He mentioned
Speaker 1: the surgery in October. Then he gets his feet wet
Speaker 1: late in the year, as he was had the three
Speaker 1: week window from being on ir right, so I looked
Speaker 1: it up. He played a total of one hundred and
Speaker 1: sixty snaps. He had seven penalties, all right, so that's
Speaker 1: one and he had a penalty one out of every
Speaker 1: thirteen plays. So let him get his feet wet, let
Speaker 1: him get comfortable at right tackle. Then when you feel
Speaker 1: and evaluate that, hey he's got this position under his belt,
Speaker 1: then maybe you start playing with him. Yet, he's got
Speaker 1: to settle into one position right now, is my take,
Speaker 1: and it's probably a good thing. He's down to three
Speaker 1: twenty five. I think four or three forty five is
Speaker 1: just way too big for him. What he's going to
Speaker 1: be asked doing able to take pressure off his back.
Speaker 1: But let's just let him settle in to one position
Speaker 1: right now. Ash I didn't realize only one hundred and
Speaker 1: sixty snaps. But you know, if you stop and think
Speaker 1: about it, yeah, it was really late. And to think
Speaker 1: about it, I think how small of live football that
Speaker 1: he's actually seen the last two years. You know, he
Speaker 1: hasn't seen a lot, you know. And one thing about
Speaker 1: Tevin Jenkins, if you talk about moving him around, I
Speaker 1: don't think it's necessarily a right tackle to left tackle.
Speaker 1: I think it's right tackle to right guard, and I
Speaker 1: do think that is gonna be Tevin's position. Mobility is
Speaker 1: probably going to be decided in those terms. If they
Speaker 1: feel that there's somebody performing better at right tackle, can
Speaker 1: he come in and challenge for that open right guard spot?
Speaker 1: All right, boys, we're out of time. Another week OTA's
Speaker 1: coming up. We'll be back at HAIs Hall on one
Speaker 1: of those days next week. Did a great job today, guys.
Speaker 1: Keep up the good work. Jim Miller, Tom, We'll be
Speaker 1: seeing you back in town as soon as you return
Speaker 1: from your hot spot in Maui. Safe traffic. Good night, guys,
Speaker 1: Jim Miller, Tom Thayer, thanks as well to our producer
Speaker 1: Jordan trut Up and the folks of the Score and
Speaker 1: for our guest carry blasting game. That'll do it for us.
Speaker 1: We'll talk to you next week here on Chicago Sports
Speaker 1: Radio six seventy to score. Goodnight, everybody,