All Episodes

July 29, 2025 • 56 mins
Sports Illustrated NFL reporter Albert Breer joins Jeff Joniak and Tom Thayer on Bears, etc. to share his early takeaways from training camp. Plus, get a full breakdown of standout moments from the Bears' first day in pads.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Gout open that DJ Moore zode touchdown, touchdown Paars. I
am Jeff Joniack Blitzes.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
On Donnie go R.

Speaker 1 (00:11):
What was like playing for Cobe goodgo I don't want
to answer any questions like that pressure coming is a
big trouble Donnie Goes.

Speaker 3 (00:19):
Mottest Sweat Bears et Cetera, brought to you by Miller
Lighte with the voices of the Bears Jeff Joniac and
Tom Thayer.

Speaker 1 (00:32):
With two of the Bears twenty twenty five training camp
got underway with Monday's first padded practice and a more
realistic view of what to expect in the days to come.
We discussed today at episode one five of the Bears
et Cetera podcast. We're brought to you by Middle Light
with Super Bowl winning Bears guard Tom Thayer. I'm Jeff Joniac.
In this here podcast, we visit with Sports Illustrated's Albert Beer,

(00:53):
who writes the popular Monday Morning Quarterback on All League Matters.
He's at Hallisaw last week to preview the Bears and
Johnson a big topic of conversation, but no better man
to ask than Tom Thayer about the first padded practices
and the intrigue and the build up to it. Tom
after a little run up the last week in the heat, Man,

(01:16):
it was oppressive out there. He got worse as the
day went out. This is dropping here on Tuesday. But
yesterday was the first day of padded practice. And you're
a sweater, so you notated the intense humidity.

Speaker 4 (01:31):
Oh my god.

Speaker 5 (01:32):
I went and stood outside and was talking to some
of our brethren out there, and I was sweating so bad.

Speaker 4 (01:37):
I said, look, I had enough.

Speaker 5 (01:38):
I got to go upstairs and watch it back in
the air conditioned confines. But I think it's everything what
a head coach wants out of a first padded practice.
He wants it chippy, he wants it hot. He wants
to start producing this word callousness that we always hear about.

Speaker 4 (01:56):
But sometimes.

Speaker 5 (01:58):
It doesn't come up to you know, how we want
to see it formed. And today was Monday was the
perfect day. Man.

Speaker 4 (02:06):
It was hot, there wasn't any.

Speaker 5 (02:08):
Air moving, and because of they had a ramp up
period that I think was really important leading up to today.
They were able to get some great work. And I'm
super encouraged by the first day of the padded practice,
and I'm even more encouraged to watch the second day
of a padded practice.

Speaker 1 (02:25):
And by the way, we're gonna hear from some of
the guys from the podium on Monday. Jakwan Brisker is
one of them, and also Drew Dolman and then special
teams coordinator Richard hight Tower. But before we get in
any of that, I want to know what stuck out
to you, and then I'll throw my two cents in.

Speaker 5 (02:42):
You know, first of all, starting the most important part
on the of the football offensive defensive line, of course,
and so I.

Speaker 4 (02:50):
Was super encouraged.

Speaker 5 (02:52):
But what I saw out of the veterans at Ryan
Poles brought in here, Joe Tooney is the real deal man.
He is fundamentally as a sound as an offensive guard
as I've seen in a long time. He never gets
too excited or gets out over his skis where he's
off balance, out of position, out of balance. I really

(03:14):
encouraged the same thing with Dollman, the same thing with
Jonah Jackson. The interior of these guys that were brought
in here to be what they are, they are everything
so far. Initially we asked of Ryan Poles in his staff,
super encouraged by Karanamagaji. I had a little bit of

(03:35):
concerns because you talk about the upgrade and the type
of talent you're playing. He wasn't included in contact practices
at the beginning of camp last year and he lost
a lot of time. He's strong, he's physical, he's got
good balance, and he's got good retaining balanced. A lot
of times, offensive lineman they can go out there and
they can have the initial contact and sometimes they fall off.

(03:58):
They fall down because of bad they can't work against
the pressure that they're getting from the defensive lineman. U
Karan has the capabilities of doing all of that. Now,
if I'm Dan Rashard, the offensive line coach, I'm gonna
give this kid as many reps as I possibly can,
and I'm gonna put him in some of the most
difficult circumstances that he can possibly grow through, and I

(04:20):
like to see it. I like to see the strength
of Ozzie Trapillo.

Speaker 4 (04:24):
This guy.

Speaker 5 (04:26):
If he is convertible from right tackle the left tackle,
that competition over there is going to be intense because
I have That's the position that I kind of focused
on today and one on one.

Speaker 4 (04:36):
Drills because you know, when you go to a one
on one drill.

Speaker 5 (04:41):
The defensive line knows exactly what you're doing against them,
so it's a lot easier, a lot easy easier for
them to anticipate exactly what the offensive lineman is going
to do against him, and then as that offensive lineman
capable of doing what's expected of them. So that's why
I'm so encouraged and sitting here talking. You know how
fun it was to sit out there and watch him,

(05:04):
and then having the opportunity to watch the last couple
of days of Colston Lovelin.

Speaker 4 (05:09):
Big guy man.

Speaker 5 (05:11):
He's a big receiver, he's a big tight end, and
I think he compliments the tight end room. He's not
expected to be the number one guy on the totem pole.
He's part of a group of tight ends that can
really help Ben Johnson increase his creativity from the tight
end point of view on any offense, which is exciting

(05:32):
to see. You see DeAndre Swift. Here's a guy that
I think he's got a little bit of pressure on him. No,
you know, because of what Ben Johnson said about the
running back room, but also the way he's working, the
way he's productive. He's got Eric b Enemy one of
the toughest running back coaches in all the NFL. And

(05:53):
so just initially a couple of things that are really
exciting to see on the offensive side of the ball.
The defense hasn't disappointed me either. Dennis Allen has these
guys playing at a high level. Grady Jared is the
real deal. He is going to make life difficult for
whomever he's playing up against in games and in practices.

(06:14):
So I'm excited to see what we have going on there.

Speaker 1 (06:17):
Initially, ditto on the coast in leveland the first thing
that strikes me runs like a deer. He runs like
a deer. He's a huge middle of the field target.
And Caleb Williams with a nice connection to him. And
then Jakwan Brisker flying around. I mean, and we'll hear
from him. He knows he's going to be deployed, as
we like to say by this, said defensive coordinator Dennis Allen,

(06:39):
and Brisker great work on the back end of the defense.
He feels he should have intercepted a past you'll hear
from him, but he knocked away a pass trying him
late on a route. And then the return of wide
receiver Luther Burden the third after a soft tissue injury.
So he's back first time really since Ricky mitiicamp. So
they gotta slowly work him in. And you know, we

(07:00):
talk about the Colston Lovelent, the dynamic with him and
Cole and durham smythe Stephen Carlson, there's others that are
going to be competing for a roster spot. It's going
to be really interesting how many tight ends they keep.
The competition is fierce, but I think it's really going
to play pay dividends for both Colston and Cole. It's

(07:21):
going to help each of them how they perform.

Speaker 5 (07:23):
Yeah, you know what portions of the field are we
talking about? We're talking about shortyard's goal line? Are we
talking about two tight end sets? Are we are we
talking about the red zone? So when you think about
the value of big receivers against competition that you feel
that you're better built for than you kind of slide

(07:46):
into the mind and the creativity of Ben Johnson and
his fellow offensive coaches. And they're maneuverable, they're versatile. You
can move them from the backfield to the line of scrimmage,
to the wide receiver position, and so I think you
and I were sitting out there talking and we are
looking at different things going on on the practice field,
and I said, I guess we should grow to expect

(08:07):
the unexpected. Yeah, And it's kind of fun to see
that because there is no monotony. There's a certain sense
of pay attention at practice every day because there's gonna
be subtle differences and something else you have to look at.
And I know you mentioned we have coach high Tower
coming up, but when you look at the group of
athletes he has a choose from, especially the tight end position,

(08:29):
it's going to make some of those special team decisions
really difficult.

Speaker 1 (08:32):
Join us for a day of fun, family and football.
Bears Family Fest tickets are on sale now. Visit Chicago
Bears dot com slash Family Fest for more details. All right,
let's start with an offensive lineman. To listen to Drew Doman,
you're starting center number fifty two. You know they asked
about the running game and how the pads make a difference.
Let's listen in to what the veteran from the Atlanta

(08:55):
Falcons in his first four years had to say after
practice on Monday.

Speaker 6 (09:00):
I mean, there's a lot to the run game.

Speaker 7 (09:01):
You know, there's there's a lot of cohesion, there's a
lot of communication all those things, as well as the
physical piece, which which was on more display today. But
we've been working on all facets of it since April
seventh or whatever our first day was, So this this
feels like a step in a long process that we've
already undergone or we've been undertaking.

Speaker 8 (09:20):
How's the chemistry going with you and Caleb?

Speaker 6 (09:22):
It's been good.

Speaker 7 (09:23):
Yeah, CAB's awesome. Great to work with them, great to
work with the other O line guys. And it's one
of those things where you know, every day something gets
better and then you always have new things to patch
up and fix and work on. And it's been a
pleasure to like work on those things like, oh, I
need to do this, he needs to do this, and
kind of work together on those.

Speaker 9 (09:42):
Obviously, building a rapport with the quarterback, there's always a
bit of a process there. But is anything different when
Caleb is, you know, not as I guess, familiar with
the under centered stuff as he is with the shotgun stuff.

Speaker 4 (09:53):
Is there anything different like.

Speaker 9 (09:54):
Building that report with the guy who was also learning
the under center at.

Speaker 6 (09:57):
The same time.

Speaker 7 (09:59):
I mean, honestly, I haven't really noticed. He does a
great job with it. We we've had like plenty of
learning moments where we're kind of getting a feel for
each other. Every quarterback and center exchange is like a
little different. Yeah, it's been great and he's done a great.

Speaker 10 (10:13):
Job given his ability to throw on the run kind
of going both plays. What what would a good run
game just do to kind of unlock his strengths in
the past.

Speaker 7 (10:24):
Yeah, I think I mean kind of football one on one.
The more stress you can pull on the defense, being
able to run the ball, that that opens things in
the past game. And when you're a team that can
attack as an offense from multiple directions sort of like
run and pass and stuff like that, that that makes
you really effective. So I think it all ties together.

Speaker 10 (10:44):
There's something about what do you know about Caleb today
that you didn't know when the camp started? Just working
with day to day anything has anything jumped out.

Speaker 6 (10:52):
At the spot?

Speaker 8 (10:55):
Yeah, it's tough like.

Speaker 6 (10:59):
Football.

Speaker 7 (11:00):
I mean, like we're learning new installs together, so we're
learning things at the same time. So we know we
know more now together than we knew at the very
beginning as a guy. I mean, we're just becoming good
friends and learning. I don't really thought about it, like
what do I know now.

Speaker 11 (11:13):
Versus then the other day that he's only been four
through twelve, four of twelve terms of installs so far,
how would you kind of characterize where the offense is
in terms of still thinking and not being able to
just play fast because you know everything?

Speaker 7 (11:28):
Yeah, I think, yeah, as you're alluding to it, it
is a process, and I mean you need hundreds and
thousands of reps to build a master things and we're
doing everything we can to chunk away. And we always
focus on is today better than yesterday? And do we
understand it a little bit more than we did the
last time we ran it? And hoping to have everything

(11:49):
perfect right now is like going to distract us from
the goal of just being a little bit better today
than the.

Speaker 6 (11:54):
Last time we ran to play.

Speaker 11 (11:55):
What's your experience been like working with Joe and Joe onbles,
I think figure brains wreathing in particular.

Speaker 7 (12:00):
Yeah, they're awesome, two super knowledgeable, olignment, great players, great guys.
So yeah, just like using their eyes and their knowledge
to see the whole picture and kind of get that
and get all that communication happening is like incredibly helpful
from from a center's perspective, and then just good for
the offense as a.

Speaker 11 (12:17):
Whole against free good question.

Speaker 7 (12:24):
Yeah, I mean any alignment can learn a ton from
going and it's greated. He's a phenomenal player with tons
of strengths, and I don't know if he has any weaknesses,
So yeah, I mean everything can be better, you know,
like someone that's a good pass rusher like that and
a good run player is going to test your fundamentals
and your technique and not let you get away with
any kind of issues you have in your game. So

(12:45):
he definitely applies that pressure and makes us better in turn.

Speaker 8 (12:49):
Could feel in Atlanta when you're with them in Atlanta like.

Speaker 6 (12:51):
Could well imagine sometimes you probably annoying maybe to go
against some practice, but could you do you have.

Speaker 11 (12:57):
Moments Atlanta where you can kind of like high out
tiers today?

Speaker 6 (13:01):
Oh? Absolutely? Yeah.

Speaker 7 (13:02):
I mean having excellent players, of which we have many
on defense to explore your weaknesses and teach you to
overcome them is like, in my opinion, one of the
best teaching tools, and so having him and the whole
defense as the resource is awesome.

Speaker 1 (13:17):
All right. Drew Dolman veteran influence. You touched on it
at the outset. One of the three interior guys are
going to make a difference, and I got to watch.
I mean, really, you know, just kind of scratching the
surface on his talent. This is your five. But he
appreciates a true representation of the run game when the
pads come on, and the chemistry with Caleb on snaps.

(13:38):
All these are things that you're going to keep an
eye on. It's a rhetorical question, is today better than yesterday?
And that's what they're looking at. They just continue to
is today better than yesterday?

Speaker 5 (13:48):
You know, we talk about a lot about the tight
end position, and they have a variety of responsibilities. You
talk about a center that has a variety of responsibilities.
Ever since you know, you sit there and you listen
to the huddle, You listen for your catchphrase, you listen
for the snapcount, you listen if it's under center or shotgun,
and then you break the huddle, turn and you go
to the line of scrimmage, and then your hard work starts.

(14:11):
You're identifying the responsibility of the linebacker you're responsible for.
You kind of understand whom you're working with and then
you have to understand what do you have to accomplish
on your specific block runner pass in order for the
play to be successful. So there's a lot more that
goes into the mind of a center than a lot

(14:32):
of the other offensive line positions. Look, sometimes we have
a singular responsibility and that's all we have to do.
Make sure we get off the ball in the snapcount.
It's a little different because of he's working with the quarterback.
He's got a variety of responsibilities, and I think it
really excites what this interior, this offensive line can offer

(14:53):
you because they have a lot going.

Speaker 1 (14:56):
Tom As we talk about Domini, he's the first thing
you see sprinting out of the suddle to the line
of scrimmage, and that's the tempo and kind of urgency
that Ben Johnson wants. What's the benefit of that for
an offense and what is uh the negative for a
defense when they see these guys sprinting out there, they
could snap the ball quickly or they could back off.

Speaker 5 (15:17):
Exactly, Well, you said it, you answered the question. You
just get to the you get the break the huddle,
everybody gets into play. So are they going on quick count?
And now the defense is thinking about their responsibility. Okay,
I know we have a different defense called according to
what their prestat movement can be. But if they snap
the ball immediately, I have to stay in the position
I'm in. And maybe we're trying to attack what we

(15:38):
feel is a vulnerability in what what your scheming is.
But you know, then maybe it's getting to the line
of scrimmage with time on the clock, so you know
you're going to make a change later in that countdown,
so you're waiting for the defense to kind of show
a sign. Give me a tell, see if I can
get a defensive lineman to jump a little bit throughout

(15:58):
my cadence and those there are things that can really
help in the structure of an offense will play a lot.
But since they've been in practice in whether it's no
pads or pads, the efficiency and the speed in which
they break the huddle is I think all the fans
you're gonna have to pay attention from as soon as
that huddle is it breaks, because there's nothing better than

(16:22):
an offense that feels confident going on the quick count
because you know, defenses they're not accustomed to that, they're
accustomed to trying to get a couple tells themselves.

Speaker 1 (16:32):
Yeah, well, you know the first thing that pops into
my head defenses that like to disguise late. They won't
have time to make those shifts and so forth and
try to rearrange the picture for the quarterback if it's
a passing down, for example. So I like it. I
like the way it looks, am I right on that,
you know what I'm trying to say one hundred percent.

Speaker 5 (16:52):
So a couple of podcasts ago we had on we
had Andrew Billings on and we're talking about how he
can really disrupt the floor of an offense by him
calling the signals for the defensive line to move and
shift up and down the line of scrimmage.

Speaker 4 (17:07):
That puts all that to bed.

Speaker 5 (17:09):
If you're an offense that can break the huddle and
go on quick count, you don't give the chance for
the defensive lineman to make that shift. Now, you get
them in a position that you feel most confident in,
whether it's a protection or a run play that you're running,
and you feel that you have the advantage with something
of that deception.

Speaker 1 (17:27):
This podcast is brought to you by Middlelight, the official
beer partner of your Chicago Bears tastes like middle Time Chicago.
Go to Middlelight dot com slash Bears Pod to find
delivery options near you. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Ninety six calories and three point two cards per twelve ounces.
Let's hit Richard Highttower, the Bear Special Teams coordinator, basically

(17:48):
spreading the news that he's got a lot of different
people to work with, the new additions, the drafted rookies,
the undrafted rookies, the free agents, the veterans, guys trying
to make this roster added to the mix, and now
looking to find additions to his very good Special Teams unit,
and he's looking for very specific individuals.

Speaker 12 (18:07):
We talk about mentality from the very first start, like
what we believe in, what our core is, exactly, what
our beliefs are, what our philosophy is, and the scouting
department does a really good job of bringing those type
of guys in. So from day one, if you don't
have that, then probably not gonna last in our room.

Speaker 6 (18:27):
But we judge that by the way they work.

Speaker 12 (18:31):
We evaluate everything they do, so we evaluate the way
they watch tape, the way they come back.

Speaker 6 (18:38):
All right, from the tape after practice.

Speaker 12 (18:40):
How hard they work in the weight room, how they
walk around, how they treat people. All of that is
part of being a pro. And then ultimately it's about producing.

Speaker 6 (18:49):
So if they.

Speaker 12 (18:50):
Don't have the right mentality, they can't play here anyway,
because that's how being is like. They can't play here,
and they damn sure can't play in my room if
they don't have the right manue.

Speaker 8 (19:00):
What are you looking for in the punt returner that
you end up picking.

Speaker 12 (19:04):
Yeah, So, first and foremost, looking for a guy that's
going to secure the football for us. That's the first
The first goal is to secure the football and I
always give it back to our offense once we catch it.
We're looking for a guy that can make plays, game
changing plays, not just a first down. We want guys
that can make people missing space and that can take
it to the house.

Speaker 6 (19:22):
That's what that's what we want.

Speaker 2 (19:23):
Anyone standing out.

Speaker 12 (19:25):
They're all competing right now. I mean I would say
they're working hard. All of them are working hard every day.
I tell you what, Tory is doing a phenomenal job
challenging them all right, making it hard on him. A
lot of specialty kicks out there that he's worked on
over the summer, so that's challenging a lot of our
punt returners. We're fortunate here because Randall Ell, you know,

(19:45):
was a punt returner in this league, and we got
all our coaches back there helping and obviously we're coaching them,
but they're coaching them too, So we're fortunate.

Speaker 6 (19:52):
To have to have Antwine back there, and he loves it.

Speaker 2 (19:55):
People change play calling for you company season with all
the different kinds of putts than to can do. We've
seen him break out so many different numbers. Is it,
you know, at a certain yard and distance, just the
kind of pump we need here.

Speaker 12 (20:07):
Yeah, so yeah, that's another great question. So he has
worked on a number of things over the break. You
know how it is when you're a rookie, you coming in,
you're drinking out of fire holes. He's had a chance,
you know, to really train, not train for the combine,
not those type of things, you know where you're always
doing something in preparation for the draft. So he's come

(20:27):
back with a lot of different kicks and we're excited
to work with those through our camp.

Speaker 11 (20:32):
When you get in the next week and you have
to put the puzzle together on how to use the joint.

Speaker 6 (20:36):
Practices and the actual preseason game.

Speaker 9 (20:38):
What's what's your balance knowing how much you have to
learn about so many different guys our teams.

Speaker 6 (20:42):
Yeah, it's a tough task.

Speaker 12 (20:43):
You know, we're up for it, but we're going to
try to get as many guys evaluated and looked at
as possible to joint practices or tell us a lot
added practices and tell us a lot ultimately preseason games,
or tell us tell us what we need to know
about those young kids.

Speaker 10 (21:00):
Film with Burden, when he returned punts at Missouri, what
do you think of him as a punk returning?

Speaker 12 (21:04):
What stood out the same thing that stood out on
offense that when he gets the balling Because I watched
his punk return tape and his offensive tape.

Speaker 6 (21:12):
Any tape that he has, I'm gonna watch it.

Speaker 12 (21:14):
So we watched all that tape, and what what stands
out to me is when he has the ball in hands,
he's a different dude.

Speaker 6 (21:20):
He's dynamic. So that's what stands out to me.

Speaker 12 (21:23):
And obviously we're excited about that draft choice and we're
excited about ways that he can prove that he can
help this football team, but he's got.

Speaker 6 (21:30):
To prove it.

Speaker 10 (21:31):
You have another rookie in JP Richardson, who I think
pretty highly.

Speaker 6 (21:36):
Return Yeah, eleventh in the country. Yep.

Speaker 11 (21:38):
But what does he need to do to get in
that mix, because you know, a guy like that, that
type of job could be something that else make.

Speaker 12 (21:46):
Yeah, he's in the mix. He's on the chart just
like everybody else. He'll get his opportunities or they'll come.
And we discussed that at length and excited to see
what he can do because he made some plays and
in a league in college that was they played some
really good pet so he made some place.

Speaker 2 (22:01):
He stood out in any ways outside of just returning,
as he's been on any gunner and different duties on
special teams.

Speaker 12 (22:06):
Yeah, he's been. He's been working hard, just like all
the rest of the guys. I mean, we're getting outstanding
effort right now from all of our players.

Speaker 6 (22:14):
But he's doing a nice job. Is it where we
wanted to be?

Speaker 12 (22:18):
No, Because being talked to us about continuous improvement and
that's what we're all trying to do as as players
and as coaches.

Speaker 6 (22:24):
So that's what we've been focused on.

Speaker 8 (22:26):
When would have no history work have been prior to this.

Speaker 11 (22:30):
Uh that I know, right, Well, what's it what's it
been like being on his staff, being on a new.

Speaker 6 (22:36):
Staff for you?

Speaker 12 (22:36):
Yeah, it's been awesome. It's been phenomenal. I mean, I
love picking his brain. He's picking my brain. We talk
about situations, we talk about players, we talk about special teams.

Speaker 6 (22:48):
He's heavily involved.

Speaker 12 (22:49):
He's in meetings at times, and and and for a
lot of times, and meetings a lot, and he's he's
at every drill during special teams, watching each and every
which is impressive. I've been on a number of different staffs.
I can't say every staff I've been on all head
coaches that they don't do that. But all you gotta
do is study his path. Right, If you study his path,

(23:13):
he's been around top notch special teams his whole career.
He came from a place they had really good special teams.
He was around good special teams when he was in Miami.
So he intuitively understands the value of field position and
of changing games, and he understands how important it is
to us for a football team, and he understands how

(23:34):
important it is to the city of Chicago.

Speaker 6 (23:36):
So he's been phenomenal With that.

Speaker 1 (23:39):
What he had to say about a couple of things,
the return game, the competition there. Obviously, Devin Druvene is
a pro bowler. Maybe the guy the leader in the
clubhouse for both the kick and punt return game, but
they may be two different Maybe he's the kick returner,
maybe somebody else's department, I don't know yet. And Tory
Taylor in the punt game. I think Tory Taylor is
gonna again elevate his game, and he was very good

(24:00):
last year as a rookie we anticipated. I think he's
headed into a very different realm. He kicks the bass
so many different ways.

Speaker 5 (24:06):
Tom, Yeah, you know, Yeah, Tory Taylor is a weapon.
He's only going to continue to improve. He gets better
understanding of the climate and the conditions and where he's
kicking at a different weeks.

Speaker 4 (24:18):
Into the season.

Speaker 5 (24:20):
Coach High Tower, he's got a super difficult job because
he's trying to identify where a blocker can fit into
a tackling position and where a tackler can fit into
a blocking position, and that's not always easy to identify,
and so he got to have all eyes approach.

Speaker 4 (24:37):
He talked about.

Speaker 5 (24:38):
Antoine randalll being able to help out the returners. What
I really liked he talked about Ben Johnson being in
the special teams meeting because now you've got Ben Johnson,
he may be looking at how a receiver fits into
his offense, but look at the effort he's giving as
a flyer on the punt team. Look at the results
you're getting out of him. So now when you're trying

(24:59):
to a dent five guys that are going to fill
in the depth of this roster, he may somebody may
catch his eye in a special teams meeting that elevate
them on the offense offensive depth charter, even the defensive
depth chart.

Speaker 4 (25:12):
Because it's the.

Speaker 5 (25:13):
Same thing when I was with the Bears and Mike
Di Cassatt and all special teams meeting because he started
as a special teams coach. He made suggestions, he made corrections,
he identified people that were correct for the right position.
And whenever you have a guy like Coach high Tower
that's gained a lot of valuable experience throughout his time

(25:34):
in the NFL, and now you got a first time
head coach that's sitting there in the meetings or standing
next to the drill on the practice field, the information
and the advice is invaluable and.

Speaker 1 (25:46):
It you know, Ryan Post talked about it the very
first day of camp that we talked to him. Here,
it's gonna be harder to make this roster. It seems
to be every year when you when you're building, and
you know, you look at the special teams unit from
black Woe to Hardy to Agbang Bamiga to other positions
across the line of script, it's gonna be hard to

(26:09):
make that special teams unit.

Speaker 5 (26:11):
Of course, I mean listen, making a special team's unit,
Jeff isn't exclusive or specific. You have to do a
wide variety of details and assignments because there's rarely is
there one I'm going to keep this one guy for
punt return. No, you got to be in punt return.
You got to be in kickoff return. You got to
be on the punt team.

Speaker 4 (26:32):
You gotta be.

Speaker 6 (26:32):
You know.

Speaker 5 (26:33):
Also, there's a bunch of different skills you have to
have to get into that special teams race. And that's
why my first year as a professional with George Allen,
he said defense is number one, special teams is number two,
in offenses number three, and he was one hundred percent
serious about that because of the enormity of the ground

(26:55):
gaining or ground losing plays that you can have on
special teams.

Speaker 1 (27:01):
Very interesting. I don't know how that's it with you
as an offensive lineman.

Speaker 4 (27:05):
You know, I was so young, you know at that time.

Speaker 5 (27:09):
I just respected everything he said, and he kind of
gave an explanation of what he was trying to say,
and yeah, and it filtered up to us.

Speaker 1 (27:18):
You know, a couple of wide receivers. Keep an eye
on those guys in special teams. Certainly somebody who is
getting a lot of attention for the catches he's been
making so far, and that is the undrafted free agent J. P. Richardson,
because he was an outstanding punt returner as well in
college at TCU. And then keep an eye on jday Walker,

(27:42):
a rookie out of Texas A and M couple punt
blocks in college. So using his link to black punts,
he's an outstanding athlete with a big vertical jump. He's,
you know, just a very good athlete. So you never
know how some guys like that that can make an impact.
Six three two oh six. Our aches pains are injuries

(28:03):
keeping you on the sidelines Athletico's movement experts are here
to help you turn your setbacks into comebacks and create
a personalized game plan for your recovery with no prescription
or referral needed. Athletical physical therapy is where your comeback
story begins. Athletico proud to be the official physical therapy
partner of the Chicago Bears. All right, let's move into

(28:23):
Jakwan Brisker just hoping upon hope that he can play
as much as possible here every practice and play through
the season. It's something of a goal for his He
mentioned that first day in pads. Let's get his reacts
after our first day in padded practice.

Speaker 8 (28:38):
It felt great.

Speaker 13 (28:39):
I just felt great, just put on the pass things
like that, getting back to hitting and you know it,
just again used to run around with the pads.

Speaker 14 (28:46):
Would have been your early impression of Dennis Allen's defense,
Like do you feel like the trickery and stuff?

Speaker 8 (28:51):
Do you see that already?

Speaker 2 (28:52):
Since that already?

Speaker 8 (28:53):
Yeah, we're going. We're playing a lot of different coverages
and things like that.

Speaker 13 (28:56):
And as you see, like we're in and out with
a lot of different gather real team, a lot of
different guys and but it's fun it's fun. We're flying
around and making plays, and we're actually playing faster than
I think they they die in to what I thought.

Speaker 8 (29:10):
So I feel like we're in a good position.

Speaker 2 (29:13):
You've been very vocal on Twitter ex whatever they're calling
now with how much you want to come back and
prove okay anything that all y'all said.

Speaker 6 (29:23):
Let me show y'all what I really can.

Speaker 2 (29:24):
What are you looking to prove this season?

Speaker 13 (29:27):
Uh?

Speaker 8 (29:28):
Die courage? Just play all twenty one games.

Speaker 13 (29:30):
When I say twenty one plus playoffs and super Bowl,
but just really I could play all twenty one games
and that I mean. I'm a playmaker. I make plays,
you know, I'm a hit. I'ma tackle cover you know,
play on play, make plays on the ball, things like that.

Speaker 2 (29:45):
So are there any tweets that you've had to make
to how you play to try and stay on the field.
Maybe a little bit longer because you played the play
right and it still ended in a concussion.

Speaker 13 (29:54):
Yeah, probably just not lead with my helmet. I'll say that,
not lead with my head.

Speaker 8 (29:59):
I learned.

Speaker 13 (30:00):
I mean that was my first you know, injury that
I had content like tackling somebody.

Speaker 8 (30:04):
So I'll say that.

Speaker 10 (30:05):
When we talked to you about DA What have been
your impressions of Al Harrison and Matthew o'donald as repect, I.

Speaker 13 (30:12):
Feel like they're both great coaches. They're both smart, and
they work together good. In the meeting room, they feed
off each other. Even on the field, they feed off
each other. So I feel like they are two great coaches,
and I'm looking forward to keep working with them this year.

Speaker 11 (30:26):
We're so we know how you love to bring the
energy when you're out there, or some of the other
guys that you think to kind of join you in that.

Speaker 8 (30:33):
Regard, Grady uh and Caler, what's the doubt about Brady
to Farrow, how do you kind of feel this the
first day? The first day, he was talking a lot
of stuff. He was talking a lot of stuff to
the office linemen, and when we heard it, I heard it,

(30:54):
I was like, Oh, I'm like, damn, I mean yeah,
I like it.

Speaker 13 (30:58):
Though I like it, I'll say that he was talking
a lot, and you know, I definitely heard He's like,
I'm not no rookie.

Speaker 8 (31:04):
I know why y'all running over here. I'm like, all right,
I like that.

Speaker 6 (31:07):
Yeah, let's go.

Speaker 2 (31:09):
Been a way that Dennis Salad has utilized you that
maybe was different than how you've been utilized before.

Speaker 13 (31:14):
Yeah, I'm in a different I'm in a lot of
different packages, so I'm studying other positions too, So which
is perfect. That's exactly what I wanted. I've been waiting
for so long, but now here it go. So yeah,
I'll say that, which is good for me?

Speaker 1 (31:30):
What are you looking forward to most?

Speaker 9 (31:31):
You're obviously really excited to be using these different packages?

Speaker 6 (31:34):
Like what are you excited to show or to do?

Speaker 13 (31:37):
Just showed that I could just play everywhere and that
I can make plays anywhere on the field, so they
see it.

Speaker 11 (31:43):
So it'll come when you talk about different packages that
you're talking about using just all over the field, different roles,
different downs, different like how do.

Speaker 8 (31:51):
You Yeah, just different roles. I'm gonna be close to
teil line of scrimmage.

Speaker 13 (31:55):
Sometimes i'na be back, but I love being closer tail
line and scrimmers. So just have me anywhere where you
got to count from in chase where I'm at and
things like that. Just like Ben said the other day,
you gotta know where none is and that's true. So yeah,
I'll say I'll be close. I'll be in the back.

Speaker 8 (32:10):
I might be outside corner, I might be in the slot.
You never know.

Speaker 6 (32:13):
You feel like that'll be.

Speaker 2 (32:14):
A big improvement in the run game this year. That
was something that really after you went.

Speaker 11 (32:18):
Out, it seemed like the run game kind of fell off.

Speaker 2 (32:20):
And yeah, I feel like that'll that'll bring up improvement
to the run game this season, which are being close
to the line.

Speaker 8 (32:26):
Yeah, I think so.

Speaker 13 (32:26):
Anytime I'm closer to the ball and in the run game,
I know how to fit, you.

Speaker 8 (32:30):
Know, I know how to play the run like that.

Speaker 13 (32:33):
That's simple and easy for me, and it makes everybody
else play faster, so and I'm very effective.

Speaker 1 (32:38):
I just love how it flies around back there. As
we know. We spoke to a group earlier on Monday
and I said, hey, you know, listen to practice because
if you get the chance, no question about it, you'll
be hearing Jaquan Brisker moments into the beginning of practice
after calisten X, guess who's hooting and holler and it's
Jawan Brisker. He just has energy. He appreciates the energy

(33:01):
the affore mentioned Grady Jarrett brings to the table and
the confidence, which you need more of that on this
football team. Can't have too much. But I just love
his approach right now. It's very measured, it's very thoughtful,
and Jaquan Brisker knows that this coaching staff sees a
lot of potential in him being a playmaker.

Speaker 4 (33:23):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (33:23):
I think when you look at Jakwan Brisker, we all
know that he has the capabilities of being a superstar
safety in the NFL. But when you look at him
and Kyler Gordon, they're kind of a dynamic duo because
I watched that same excitement, enthusiasm, that encouragement the going
you know, Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker running thirty yards
downfield when they're not even in the drill, just to

(33:45):
congratulate a defensive back that made a nice play. And
Jaquan is a special guy.

Speaker 4 (33:51):
Man.

Speaker 5 (33:52):
He's got all the skills in the world. And if
he can have a run of some hell a few
healthy years, no telling what his upside will ultimately be.
Because his athleticism, his intelligence, his willingness to hit people,
all those types of things that are hard traits to find,
all of them in a defensive back or a guy

(34:14):
like that. Chakwan has all of them. And I tell you.
I sit there and I think about him, and I
hope for him every day because if he's on the field,
the Bears are a better defense than a better football team.

Speaker 1 (34:27):
You know. I approached him, I saw him after the podium.
I just asked him something quick because I heard an
interview with Derwin James the Chargers, and I'm just now
looking up his stats here as we're talking about this.
Because Derwin James, he's deployable. This is one of the
premier safeties in the NFL. He's been rocking back and forth.
He started his career at free safety, that's where he

(34:49):
made his starts, and then now in the box a
box safety, so he can be used in many different ways,
including as a linebacker and so forth. Derwin James has
seventeen sacks and they've been piling up here in the
last few years. Five and a half sacks last season.
So I said, hey, Derwin James takes He takes a few,

(35:11):
but he liked to take more. He takes pass rush reps.
I go, do you ever take pass rush reps? He goes, hey,
I took one today. I go, okay, I like that.
You know, in the individual period, why not and Derwin James.
Apparently he's always asking, hey, can I do indy? Can
I do indy? Which means individual drills with the pass rushers.
You pick up things, you learn things, You learn how

(35:31):
to use your hands, you learn how to attack when
you're an undersized player versus a big, strong defensive lineman.
But and then I noticed this, Tommy to hold that thought.
Derwin James started all sixteen games as a rookie, went
to the Pro Bowl. Next year, he suffered an injury,
only played five games, and then he missed all of
twenty twenty. In his third year, fourth year, came back

(35:55):
to start fifteen games, fourteen games, and then back to
back sixteen seasons in his production is skyrocketed. I'm not
suggesting that's the exact path that he could be taking,
but if you stay healthy and you stay in the field,
look what you can be done. Throwing James is a
perfect example that a veteran of what six years in
the NFL.

Speaker 5 (36:16):
You know one thing about Yakwan Brisker that I think
that can help them the most is rarely when you
blitz as a defensive back that's going to be blocked
by an offensive lineman.

Speaker 4 (36:24):
Is it obvious.

Speaker 5 (36:25):
You're always disguised, you're always coming for an angler from
the outside, where you're all of a sudden in the
advantage because you're a better athlete going against a lesser
athlete in an offensive lineman that's trying to cover a
lot of ground to get their body in front of you.

Speaker 4 (36:42):
And like you see.

Speaker 5 (36:43):
Kyler Gordon and Jakwan Brisker, they have great bendability on
the aggressive so they can come and rush at an
offensive lineman. They can bend and still make progress a
field where the offensive lineman don't have a chance to
get down that loan get hands on them, and a
lot of time it's.

Speaker 4 (37:00):
A complete miss.

Speaker 5 (37:01):
And then is if that defensive back can redirect its
energy and get back under balance, that's when sacks like
that happen. So the reason I like Jaquan Brisker the
blitzer is because they never count you as part of
your responsibility as an offensive line. They're gonna say, yeah, man,

(37:23):
this guy might come. He's kind of pulling my chain.
And if he decides to come, now you got an
offensive lineman that's taken four slide steps to get out
of him. Advantage defensive back and so That's why when
you see a guy like Kyler or a guy like
Jaquan Brisker, they can win sas reps because they're the

(37:44):
better athlete going against some time an out of balanced
offensive lineman.

Speaker 1 (37:48):
Hey Bears fan Steinhoffels is a proud partner of the
Chicago Bears are now open in Orland Park. Steinhoffels is
Chicago Dan's furniture and mattress leader with the largest election
if at every style and budget and as one hundred
percent employee owned shapins going online at Steinhoeffels dot com.
And good news, Chicago United Airlines is getting brand new
planes with all the bells and whistles, like Bluetooth connectivity
screens at every seat and room for everyone's roller bag.

(38:11):
United proud to fly the Chicago Bears and you too.
Stopping by at Hallie saw many national writers and NFL
network enthusiasts, you name it, they're coming. They're coming to
see the Bears. They hear a lot of great things,
and one of those was Albert Breer, the longtime writer
Sports Illustrated, former NFL Network and does that Monday morning

(38:32):
quarterback that Peter King got started. The baton passed to
Albert Breer, who had time over the years to get
to know Ben Johnson, sat him down and had a
lot of great things to say about the Bears new
head coach. All right, Albert Breer, are our guest here
as we look at Bears training camp twenty twenty five
Monday morning, Quarterback Sports illustrated outstanding first of all, going

(38:53):
into that role, which was so popular because of Peter King.
I mean, do you feel blessed and honored to do that?

Speaker 4 (39:00):
Yeah, it's awesome.

Speaker 14 (39:00):
I mean I I you know, I'd known Peter for
years before he hired me, and I, you know, it's
it's one of those things like where when I was
looking at the idea of leaving NFL network, I I.

Speaker 4 (39:13):
Really wanted to.

Speaker 14 (39:14):
I got kind of sick of standing in front of
stadiums and giving weather and injuries, you know, in forty
second bites, and so it's kind of like looking like
what's the next step for me? And I I, you know,
Peter kind of came out of nowhere with it like
a ways before, like, hey, would.

Speaker 4 (39:31):
You be interested in this?

Speaker 14 (39:32):
And you know, it took it took a little bit,
but when we started talking about he was like, yeah,
how about you, you know, there's two years left in
my contract, how about you take over for me?

Speaker 4 (39:45):
So I was kind of floored by that. And it's
obviously been a great experience.

Speaker 14 (39:48):
It's given me a chance to, you know, work with
a lot of great younger people too, you know, people
like Emily Kaplan and Kayle and Kaylor and Robert Klemko
and you know, like that I've I'd like to think
I've helped you know.

Speaker 4 (40:01):
So it's been it's been an awesome experience.

Speaker 14 (40:03):
But yeah, beginning to take over for Peter was was
pretty flattering and humbling for sure.

Speaker 1 (40:08):
And it just opens up a whole world that you
probably wouldn't have otherwise appreciated, the in depth look at
big moments in the NFL.

Speaker 14 (40:18):
Yeah, and it's it's just it's I've always said this,
like when you know, people ask about my job, it's
you know, the fundamentals of it to me are pretty easy.

Speaker 4 (40:28):
It's you know, get to.

Speaker 14 (40:30):
Know people, build relationships with them, build trust with them,
and be able to know what the hell is going on.
And you know, you can't tell stories, you can't report news,
you can't you can't do any of that if you
don't know what's going on and so so yeah, I
mean like some of my job is reporting the news,

(40:51):
some of my job is storytelling. There's a competitive element
to all of it, obviously, you know, but but yeah,
I mean like that part of it, like being able
to go in depth on some things, being able to
report things in the moment on others, being able to
move fast, I think has always been kind of something
that I prided myself on.

Speaker 4 (41:10):
And uh, you know, it's it's just for me.

Speaker 14 (41:13):
It's just about building the relationships with the people say
they trust you to tell their stories, you know, and
I I you know, like some of my favorite stuff
is like the draft stuff. And I remember, you know,
writing about the Bears process with Caleb a bunch, you know,
when they were going through it. So that stuff's always
been you know that that's I think that's something that
Peter did exceptionally well.

Speaker 1 (41:34):
So it's great to be the post super Bowl, the
big moments. Yeah, I covered twenty seven to straight super Bowls,
but you know, I couldn't wait to read what really
happened all for sure, after God knows when to get
and I think like that.

Speaker 14 (41:46):
Starts with just being you know, being curious about like
that stuff in general to begin with. I mean, I
there's it's a for me at least, it's it's it's
interesting listening to people tell those story and it's a
great feeling knowing that you'll be you'll be able to
you'll be the one that'll be able to tell that story,

(42:07):
you know, And.

Speaker 1 (42:07):
So that's one of one.

Speaker 14 (42:09):
Yeah, And it's it's it's just it's it's it's cool
because it's like, you know, I'm I'm a pretty competitive
person and I I like, probably to my my own
like mental detriment, like I measure myself against other people
and everything else, and I I, uh, you know, like
that's something to be really competitive with, you know, the
same way breaking news is competitive like all that stuff.

(42:30):
Like you just you find a way to compete with
it and you try to be the best you can,
which hopefully is better than everybody else.

Speaker 1 (42:35):
All Right, So you you stump by house saw in
Lake Forest? What are you learning?

Speaker 14 (42:39):
Yeah, I mean it's certainly Ben's building now, that's for sure.
And you know you can see it like throughout and can't.
Part of it is they're just trying to get him
to see everything faster and they're trying to speed him up,
and they're trying to get him in a position where
when he gets out there, it's gonna seem easy, you know.
So I know what they're trying to do is is
get him to drink through a fire hose and almost

(43:01):
overload him with stuff. They did that through the spring,
they're doing that early in camp, and I think the
hope is that over time, like now we got this
big volume of stuff we've worked with him on, We're
going to get through all of that. And then when
we get through all of that, we're gonna be able
to start pairing it down. And so I think it's
going to look better over the next month. I think
it's just right now, it's like, how can we increase

(43:23):
the volume of things he's seeing from defenses. How can
we see how he's applying the things he's doing on
offense to the defense. How can we see how he's
picking up the offense in general, and what works for
him and what.

Speaker 1 (43:33):
Doesn't you know?

Speaker 14 (43:34):
And then I think you kind of go from there
and figure out what the guy does well, what he
can't do yet, what maybe it's gonna maybe some stuff
that like maybe you can do that in October November,
and then you come up with a plan.

Speaker 1 (43:45):
You clearly had some time to spend with Ben Johnson
when he was in Detroit. Did you have the same
idea that every team in the league that wanted him
had that this guy, you know, yeah, is the uniqueness
of him, his intelligence and all that, But how he'd
be in front of a team even I mean, yeah,
it was a blown away.

Speaker 14 (44:05):
That was always the biggest question. You know, It's like,
how he was going to be in front of a team?
And I think a key to that, Like, look, you
know there are certain guys, and this especially goes for
the guys that played in the league, you know what
I mean, like a Dan Campbell, Mike very Able, Admiko Ryans,
Like there's no question how a guy like that's going
to look in front of the team. Of course that's
gonna work, you know what I mean. Like, and there
are some guys who didn't play in the league, like

(44:26):
Sean McVay who are really good at.

Speaker 1 (44:27):
It, you know.

Speaker 14 (44:29):
I And and then there are other guys who've been
successful who aren't aren't forces of nature in front of
the room, like Andy Reid isn't, like I mean you're like,
he's not tearing people's faces off in the in the
in the meeting room. But you know, like, I think
the key with all of this is just to be yourself,
you know, and to find a way to be yourself.
And I always think of Mike McDaniel as somebody who

(44:51):
nobody thought could be the guy in front of the room.
Matt Lafleur is sort of the same way. But those
guys became comfortable enough in their own skin where they
can be genuine and they're so smart that they were
giving the players the answers to the test. And so
if you're yourself and you can give the players the
answers to the test, and you can build the relationships

(45:14):
with them so when it doesn't look right right away,
you can ride out some of the stuff right like,
because there are lots of smart guys where they weren't
able to teach it fast enough to get results fast
enough to keep the guys sold. So part of it
is keeping them sold in your system, and that's building relationships.

Speaker 1 (45:31):
And honestly, yeah, I found what offensive minded coaches or
offensive coordinator in particular, maybe you feel the same way.
They might be the most stubborn people on the planet
at times. Yeah, so they don't even listen to other
coaches to be flexible. Yeah, you know, and I think
Ben has that. I think he's creating this as it's going.

Speaker 14 (45:51):
Yeah, he's really smart and he and I do think
I think from the perspective of like timing, I think
waiting the extra couple of years really helped him because
he knew where he was headed, Like if he had
taken the Carolina job, and I think it was it's
a twenty three. If he had taken the Carolina job
in twenty three, I think I think that might have

(46:14):
been tough, you know, But because he knew he was
on the precipice, because he knew he was close, he
was able to spend the last two years really refining that.
And you know, I think I think he's found his
voice in front of the room. I think that piece
of it is just it's just a matter of being yourself.
The one thing you can't be is phony, like let's
see three well and the players most importantly, and I

(46:37):
always say it's about NFL players, like the one thing
they all have And I don't know why. Maybe it's
because they've been lied to so much over the course
of their lives. But they all have an incredible meter
for bs, and they all can see right through it
if you're lying to them. And when you lie to it,
when when when you if you get in front of
the room, you start lying the players, you're done. You
a chance and so like or you're trying to be
someone else, you're done, you know, So you got to

(46:58):
be yourself. And I think I think that's a process
for some guys, just finding their voice in front of
the room. And I think Ben's there.

Speaker 1 (47:03):
The fact that he didn't hire a lot of his
friends or associates. Yeah, and he really took a broad
view of what's out there and got a lot of
experience purposely to help him, you know. Across that that
canyon is really the sign of somebody that gets it again.

Speaker 14 (47:20):
Like self the self awareness to me is the big
piece of it. You know, it's it's it's do you
understand where your blind spots are? You know, a lot
of guys are going to feel like a lot of
guys are gonna like a lot of guys feel like
I'm ready for this, you know, and and and and
and and they all work so hard I mean most
of them. Do they work so hard to get there?
Do you have the self awareness to like look in

(47:42):
the mirror and know where you're going to need help
and where, because like in the end, you can't do everything,
and you have to have people you trust around you
and you have people that you have to have people
that are going to be able to do things that
maybe aren't your strength, you know. So I think that's
a big piece of it too. I like bringing in
down denis sound like a two time.

Speaker 1 (48:02):
Heck, was just going to bring that up.

Speaker 14 (48:04):
Like DA has seen a lot, Like the DA went
through it, you know, in Oakland and went through it
in New Orleans, and he's just got a ton of
experience having seen so many different things, and you know,
so you know, I when they're talking, I mean I
know this, like when they're talking about how how they
present things, like DA a lot of times has been

(48:24):
part of that conversation because he's had experience doing it.
So I think there's a certain self awareness to it.

Speaker 4 (48:30):
Like I I've seen.

Speaker 14 (48:31):
Younger coaches get in trouble where their staffs are just
way too unexperienced, you know, and sometimes you see those
groups dub their toe early on because they just didn't
build it into the staff and Ben didn't make that mistake.

Speaker 1 (48:48):
Toughest division in football would yeah, for sure.

Speaker 14 (48:50):
For sure, the Vikings are loaded. I mean mostly what
happens with the quarterback. Like I think JJ's got a
chance to be really good. The question is how fast
it happens and how that comes together. But that's an
absolutely loaded team, and Kevin O'Connell's got that program humming him.
Detroit's obviously got the questions for coordinators, and I think,
you know, what Ben did is so specific to Ben himself.

(49:14):
I think they know it'd be a mistake to just
try to replace him. So there's gonna be some change
on the offensive side of the ball. You know, with
Johnny Morton there is the offensive coordinator. There's a little
bit of a smoother transition or an easier transition going
from Aaron Glenn to Kelvin Shephard just because Shephard was
there the whole time. And then losing their center is
a big deal too. But there are so many players

(49:35):
in that roster that are in year three, years four,
year five, that are still as sending, that are already
really good players. Piney Sewell Aman Ross, Saint Brown, Jamira Gibbs,
Brian Branch, Aiden Hutchinson looks great coming off the broken leg.
Jack Campbell, Like, these guys are already good players and
they have a chance to get better. So the hope
is that that helps them ride out the transition and

(49:58):
coordinator and coordinator and then Green Bay to me is
the one And I was just there where it feels
like they've got like a really good balanced roster, a
lot of good players, and their question is now who
can elevate to great?

Speaker 1 (50:12):
So they got the young.

Speaker 14 (50:13):
Receiver group, you know, is you know with Wix and
Watson's coming off the ACL and Reid and Dobbs, and
then they're bringing in you know, Matthew Golden and Saving Williams,
who are both top one under picks, and they've got
Tucker Kraft and Muskrave. These are all good players, but
who's going to elevate same thing on the d line
four first round picks Rashaun Gary, Devonte Wyatt, Kenny Clark,

(50:35):
Lucas van Ness. Is there a guy there who's going
to become a real dominant player. And it goes to
the quarterback too, Like in the quarterback elevate from good
to great. So I think that that's the question for them.
But all three of those teams should be right in
the playoff mix, and we'll see how the Bears fit
into last questions.

Speaker 1 (50:51):
Just schedule related, Bears played some great quarterbacks. They happen
to play almost all of them on the road. How
challenging is that for a defense when you got know
the Joe Burrows, Lamar Jackson's, Jaden Daniels, Brock Purty golf Love. Yeah,
I'm missing a few, but they're gonna get a built
in advantage immediately they're playing in their own stadium. But

(51:11):
the Bears are getting all these considered.

Speaker 14 (51:14):
Yeah, it's obviously tough, like when you're going into their
environment and having competing against those guys and you know
it's it's going to be challenging. The good news is
they do have some experience in the defensive side of
the ball. Now, it's funny, like I've heard good things
over the course of the day on Tremaine Edmonds and
the off season that he's had and he's got eight

(51:37):
years experience, he's still like and you know, so you
know guys like Edmunds and sweat and you know, on
the back end with Jalen Johnson, and you know, and
and and Kyler Gordon and Brisker, like You've got like
guys that are still young but have experience, and you know,
I think that should help at least, but there's no

(52:00):
question it's a tough road to he.

Speaker 1 (52:01):
So, yeah, words traveling, tom Wards, traveling things are changing,
and Ben Johnson the familiarity with coordinators from a lot
of these writers and insiders. They get to know these
guys long before anybody else in a way that allows
them to travel to camps and they're working the phones
all the time. And so I appreciate some of those comments.

Speaker 5 (52:23):
Well, you know, I like when you and Albert Breer
were talking about the division because Albert Breer, he's got
his hands on the pulse of the league, understands what's
going around, the different stories that maybe the media never
gets to talk about because it's a hushhust story or topic.
But when you guys were talking about the division, he's

(52:45):
really up to speed on all the different names within
the division and how it makes it competitive and where
different teams are going. He's got a lot of good
things to say about Ben Johnson, and his whole career
development over time. You talked about Ben not hiring a
group of buddies, but a group of good coaches, and
so I think that is that's a really important topic

(53:07):
because when you go out there and you look at
the Bears coaching staff, yeah, you know, you develop a
sense of camaraderie, but it's also a sense of work
ethic that you get to understand about guys. Maybe you
haven't been around in a while. So I like Albert
Brear's take on the league, and I like you guys.
Is your guys' take on the division.

Speaker 1 (53:27):
That Monday Monty Quarterback column is excellent. You get really
behind the scenes information that not everybody does is not
able to get, so the story behind the story, that's
what I appreciate. One thing, you know, you mentioned the division,
and you and I were talking to a group a
couple of days ago last week, and I mentioned the
thirty third team listed all of the weaponry in the division.

(53:49):
And when you look at it on paper, not just
in your mind's eye, quarterbacks, receivers, running backs, tight ends,
it's a wow division. Man, it is. Yeah. Again, all
due respect to the AFC West and that great foursome
of head coaches that are some of the highest paid
in the National Football League and the quarterbacking in that division.

(54:09):
But this is weaponry plus black and blue, because that
I mean, it's a combo. This is going to be
a rough and tumble division. Tom.

Speaker 4 (54:20):
But you know, it's when you look at the division.

Speaker 5 (54:22):
The guys we know already, we know DJ Moore, we
know JJ Jefferson, we know the tight ends, but you
think about the up and comers.

Speaker 4 (54:31):
You think of a guy like Roma Dunes.

Speaker 5 (54:33):
You know, really, as successfully he was in college and
where he was drafted last year, I don't think we've
really even scratched the surface of Roma. What Roma Dunes
can be great red zone catch the other day at
practice talking about developing a relationship with Caleb Williams. But
as many of the known weapons there are in this division,

(54:55):
you just go back to the running back position alone,
there's guys like Rome that haven't even scratched the surface yet.
You know, we don't even know what he's about. And
so I'm excited to see what the future holds for
a guy like Roman DJ as a combo.

Speaker 1 (55:13):
And the tight end combo. So I mean, there's some
good ones in the division. But theoretically, I mean, we
believe they're going to be used a lot more. It's
going to be fun to watch.

Speaker 5 (55:25):
Cole Comet like you know, me, most underutilized offensive weapon
the Bears had last year. But when I start to
get to see and get to be around and get
to watch Colston loveling a little bit more, I would
just be a love to be a mad scientist offensive
developer and being able to You want to talk about
deployment for Jaiquan and Kyler, you talk about deployment for Colston.

Speaker 4 (55:49):
Dude's going to be all over the field.

Speaker 1 (55:51):
How do you tell the cashier you're a Bears fan
without telling them you're a Bears fan? Well, with the
Chicago Bears PNC Bank visa debit card, which gets you
exclusive disc outs on Bears merchandise. Find out more at
PNC dot com slash Bears Card. That's gonna wrap us
up for our podcast too again every week now throughout
the rest of the season, so we'll be back with
you later in the week. Thanks to our guests. Albert

(56:13):
Breer of Sports Illustrated MMQB for time there. I'm Jeff Jonahak.
Thanks for listening to everybody. Please subscribe now in the
Chicago Bears official app, Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get
your podcasts. Bear Down Bears
Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.

The Breakfast Club

The Breakfast Club

The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!

Crime Junkie

Crime Junkie

Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.