July 31, 2025 • 39 mins
Jeff Joniak and Tom Thayer team up with ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler to dive into where the Bears have shown the most progress in training camp.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Cut over that DJ Moore ensode touchdown touchdown Bears. I
am Jeff Jonia.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Blitz us up done.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
Got what was like playing for Coche?
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Goodgo.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
I don't want to answer any questions like that pressure
coming is a big trouble. Donmi gos Mottest.
Speaker 4 (00:19):
Sweat Bears et cetera.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Brought to you by Miller Light with the voices of
the Bears Jeff Joniac and Tom Thayer. With each snap
each day, the Bears are getting better. We break it
down from Halusaw with the Bears deep in a week
two on a trip to Soldier Field for Sunday's practice
and FanFest, we discussed today an episode one of the
Bears et Cetera podcast, and we are brought to you
by Miller Light with Super Bowl winning Bears guard Tom Thayer.
(00:48):
I'm Jeff joningac Our guest today is the senior national
NFL writer from ESPN covering the entire league, Jeremy Fowler.
Stop by Haddisall today and we hear from defensive coordinator
Dennis on the weekly podium appearance by starting quarterback Kata
Williams and veteran linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. Padded practices producing some
great analysis from Tom there, but they'll be back in
(01:10):
pads on Thursday when this podcast drops. Tom, you've noted
some things that have caught your attention. I'm sure let's
get into some of those. What are sticking out to
you here and the live drills and more promised here
in the coming days.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
So when you start the first day of training camp,
even if it's a nod and padded practice, you look
at every single guy out there where, whether they're an
experienced veteran like Joe Tune or a rookie like Colston Lovelin,
their heads are spinning. They're going one thousand miles an hour.
Every single word drill, snap, huddle, they hear and they
(01:46):
take into account, they're thinking about it. And as you
see the process kind of click away from day to
day to day, and then things are starting to repetitiously
be repeated. Then you start watching them and they're looking
like an offensive football team. And I do think it's
different than defense the way that offense they have to
(02:09):
go through the learning process because it takes more, a
lot more terminology, a lot more bodies, a lot more thinking,
a lot more timing to make this thing look like
the offense it's ultimately going to be over a period
of time. And so I'm excited to see that because
Ben Johnson gets an indication of where and who is
(02:32):
as to where they're at at this point, who and
where they need more reps and who needs more reps.
So I like what I'm seeing, and I just want
to see the process continue to get better. And as
the process continues to get better than you start getting
understanding who's competing where, who's being a leader at the competition?
Speaker 5 (02:53):
What type of.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Versatility can Ben Johnson have in this offense with the
amount of weapons that he has.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Same story on defense, we can make no assumptions. Dennis Allen,
the defensive coordinator, making clear of the defense is buzzing
the windows of opportunity for Bears receivers, tight ends, backs
have been shrinking ever since the offseason program got in
a way. They're challenging every throw, they're getting physical, tayshim
Johnson and ninety five pounds rookie undrafted player out of
(03:22):
Oregon popping players the other day at practice. Tom it's
the mark they want to make. They want to be violent.
They want to be violent on both sides of the
ball and it's special teams, and that's starting to take shape,
especially on the defensive side.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Well, you know, you see a rookie. The rookie is going, okay.
I can see what Andrew Billings is doing, I can
see what TJ. Edwards is doing. So I better fulfill
exactly what's expected out of me, no matter if I'm
a first, second, or third team. So I think you
have some veterans that are setting the standard, and then
you have these young guys that have to live up
(03:54):
to it. When I look at the defensive front seven,
I look at a guy like Grady Jarrett. He changes
the whole defensive front. He has such a quick reaction
to the snapcount, penetration, leverage, and difficulty to block that
he can make other guys be in such a supportive
system that you know he's helping them. I look at
(04:15):
a guy like Javon Dexter being able to use his
length to separate from a blocker and make a tackle
three holes away to his right because of the way
he's using the efficiency of his athleticism. So all these
little counterparts that start working together on defense, I do
think they are on the cusp of having a special
(04:36):
group of guys, and you look at the depth of
the talent and the different ways that you can deploy
these guys. It's going to be interesting to see Dennis
Allen when the regular season gets here.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
This podcast is brought to you by Miller Lite, the
official beer partner of your Chicago Bears Tastes Like Miller
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to find delivery options near you. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Ninety six calories and three point two carbs per twelve ounces.
Dennis Allen at the podium today at Hallis saw on
some of the good things that are going on defensively
(05:10):
as Tom alluded to, and more including competition for that
number two starter at cornerback.
Speaker 5 (05:16):
Look, we're not married to any particular package.
Speaker 6 (05:19):
We're gonna explore a lot of different things, a lot
of different packages, and we're gonna throw a lot of
stuff up up against the wall. We're gonna see what
sticks and ultimately that's that's that's what we're gonna do.
Put our guys in the best position to be successful.
And I think I said this the other day. You know,
our job as coaches is to find the best eleven
to give us the best opportunity to play successful defense.
(05:42):
And whatever that package is, you know, is it three linebackers,
is it two linebackers, is it five dbs, six dbs?
And that could vary from week to week.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
What's your comfort level with your depth cornerback right now?
Speaker 6 (05:58):
Better than it was in the spring. You know, I've
seen a lot of improvement, uh from a lot of
different guys. You know, I think Nayshaun Wright's improved. Guy
that's really kind of staying stood out to me in
the last few days. Nick McCleod, here's a guy that
you know, in the spring, I wasn't sure exactly what
he was going to be. But he's come back in
great shape. He understands the defense, he's doing all the
(06:22):
things that Al's coaching him to do, which is allowing
him to be uh successful. So I feel much better
about that than I did in the spring. And and
yet look, we still got we still got some improvement
to do from your.
Speaker 5 (06:35):
Defense beyond dial set.
Speaker 6 (06:39):
As anybody jumped out, well, look, i think we're developing,
you know, some depth you know at the position. I
think we got a lot of guys that you know,
have the capability to playing in our league. You know,
obviously I got some experience with Tano. I think he's
been a good addition to our group. I think Dom
Robinson's a guy that's uh, you know, improved a lot
from where I saw him on tape last year to
(07:01):
what I'm seeing right now. And so but again with
all of these guys, you know, we're gonna temper our
you know, evaluations a little bit, and we're going to
get into a little bit more live action and just
let let this competition play out. I mean, uh, there's
really not any decisions that are going to be made
in the first you know, a couple of weeks of camp.
You know, we're gonna let this competition play out and
(07:23):
you know, see how it goes.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
Obviously, But where would you assess the pass rush from
what you saw in the padded practice?
Speaker 5 (07:29):
Yeah, I think I think the pass rush has been good.
And I think this.
Speaker 6 (07:33):
You know a lot of people talk about pass rush
or pass coverage. Those don't those those don't happen mutually exclusive.
They have to work together. And so for us to
have a really good pass rush, we have to have
good pass defense. Okay, we have to be able to
disrupt routes. We have to be able to change the
timing of the routes. So it's not just about our
(07:54):
ability to rush the pass or and vice versa. We
can be as good as we want to cover in
these routes, but if we can't win one on one
matchups up front and be able to get the quarterback
off the spot, we're going to struggle in past defense. So,
you know, I think those two things have to work together,
and I think overall throughout the course of camp, I've
been pretty pleased with where that's at is seeing with
(08:17):
his time out in what kind of setback is effort
we'll be trying to get established.
Speaker 5 (08:21):
Well, look, I mean, you know, it's it's difficult, it's
a challenge, you know.
Speaker 6 (08:27):
So the thing that he has to be able to
do right now is number one, attack the rehab and
try to get back out as quickly as he can.
And then he's got to make sure that he's focused in,
you know, and the things that he can do in
terms of the meetings, because when we're making corrections on
the field or in the meeting room, we're not just
(08:49):
making corrections for that particular individual that we might be
speaking to, we're speaking to the whole room, you.
Speaker 5 (08:54):
Know, and so his ability to.
Speaker 6 (08:58):
Comprehend those things in the meeting room I think is
going to be huge for his for his development and
his progression. And look, it's unfortunate that he had an injury,
and so you know, the game goes on, you know,
and so we've got to be able to coach the
hell out of the guys that are out there and
try to get him back out as quickly as we can.
(09:19):
And then once we get him out there, try to
get him caught up to speed as quickly as we can.
Speaker 7 (09:23):
I give that everybody's competing, but is the number two
spot completely up for grabs or does Tyreek or Dashaun
have a leg up on anybody.
Speaker 5 (09:31):
I think it's completely up for grabs.
Speaker 6 (09:32):
I think as you saw it out there today, you know,
you saw some guys, some different guys going out there
with the ones, and I think that's that's how you develop.
Speaker 5 (09:40):
The very best defense that you can is create as.
Speaker 6 (09:43):
Much competition as you can and let let the let
the tape make the decision.
Speaker 5 (09:51):
You're with me, and that's that's really, that's really.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
What it's about so much like they indicated before we
ever got to this point. No depth chart, right, There's
a lot of assumptions being made, but no depth chart.
And that number two battle, Yes, there were changes on Wednesday.
In the secondary nay Sean Wright has been filling that
number one role with Jalen Johnson out Jalen Johnson. I'm
(10:15):
a mend Terrell Smith getting snaps by Tyreek Stevenson. Also
a feeling competition here, and so when I hear that
the number two dB spot, I think it's completely up
for grabs. There's some messaging in there too, I'd imagine.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
I'd love to hear that. There's nothing more than I
like competition in the defensive backfield, especially at the cornerback
position because to me, and I always say, and I'm
enunciated outside quarterback, cornerback is the most difficult position to
play in the NFL. And so if you have an experienced,
minded guy like Dennis al and feeling that there's competition
(10:51):
at that position, I really like that because I think
when you look at the amount of defensive backs you
need to have a success special teams and multiple defensive
backed defenses, it's a great thing to have yep.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
And other player he mentioned, Nick McLeod, he's been playing
well fifth year. He's a domer. He's a domer, Tommy
of course Nick McLeod, and of course Nayshaun Wright's been
doing tonight. Sean Wade who's also a factor in the
special team situation, and then everybody that I mentioned before.
So there were nineteen defensive backs when training camp started,
(11:27):
so something to keep an eye on moving forward. Good
news Chicago United Airlines is getting brand new planes with
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fly the Chicago Bears. And you too. Another defender and
somebody that's getting a lot of attention. I'm not sure
where he'll play. He's not sure to comment, added either.
(11:50):
Tremaine Edmunds a middle linebacker in the old system. It
could be that he becomes the weak sid linebacker with TJ.
Edwards going to the middle. But Tremaine Edmunds certainly a
lot of attention placed on him as he gets ready
for this his eighth NFL season and a third one
with the Chicago Bears.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
Offense is complicated as well. You know what I mean,
we're trying to get the formations down and we're trying
to just take all the different looks that they're giving
us and you know, put ourselves in position to make
those players out there. But you know, I think it's
going good so far. And man, the guys, you know,
everybody's out there working hard. You know, everybody's taking that
next step, and that's what we need together as a defense.
You like most about the A Yeah, I think just
(12:29):
his really, man, just his whole demeanor.
Speaker 5 (12:32):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
It's nasty as man.
Speaker 5 (12:34):
We're gonna we're gonna dominate.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
That's what it is. And you feel that when he talked,
You feel that the way that he coach, You feel
that the witted we practice out there as a competitor.
Speaker 5 (12:41):
That just make you like, yeah, let's do this. You
know what I'm saying, Because that's what we want.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
That's what we want to be. That's our identity, nothing less,
and you know that's what we pride ourselves on. So,
like I said, man, that's a long ways away. That's
what training camp is for man to master the playbook,
and that's what that's what our plan is.
Speaker 5 (12:56):
Right now, if you had guess right now and whether
you'll be playing or will.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
At thispointment said if I had to take a guess, yeah,
I mean that's how my control.
Speaker 5 (13:11):
Man.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
I'm gonna do whatever they put me out there, whatever
position i'm out there they want me to play, I'm gonna.
Speaker 5 (13:16):
I'm gonna.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
I'm gonna do my thing.
Speaker 5 (13:17):
So you know what I mean, I'm gonna be let
it up to the coach.
Speaker 7 (13:19):
Man, you have been playing a lot of down what
about that package at least as the only back. What
are y'all trying to get done when y'all bringing that
person ever?
Speaker 3 (13:29):
Yeah, I mean I'm a linebacker, man, so I want
my other line back on the field with me. But
I mean, you know it's different. It's just a different personnel.
There's something that we have in our built you know
what I mean. If we need to use it, we
can use it. You know, I'm pretty sure my gott
want to be out there too. But you know, as football,
you know what I mean. Obviously, it's a matchup type
of game. So whatever the coaches thing is the best matchup,
they'll put his in position to make the best plays.
But I mean, we got a lot of different guys
(13:50):
that can play a lot of different positions, you know
what I mean. I think it's just give somebody else
an opportunity to come out there and play a position.
But you know, whether it's Down, whether it's Nickel, I
got extreme trusting whoever's out there, you know what I mean.
So whichever one coaches think is best for us for
that for that particular play or that particular series, I'm
all for it. But like I said, man, it just
gives us the flexibility to do different things. You know,
(14:11):
obviously he has different calls and certain personnel groupings, but
you know what I mean, whatever one that he called,
I'm pretty I know that we got the guys that
can get it done.
Speaker 8 (14:18):
If you, Dennis to the anticipates you being an exceptional
playmaker in this defense, do you look forward to maybe
those opportunities and do you feel maybe at times the
past couple years you didn't have the chance to be
a playmaker as much as it could be.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
And I definitely look forward to it. Every time my
steff fut on that field, that's my goal. It doesn't matter,
you know, scheme, none of that stuff. Like I know
that I'm a play maker, and that's what the goal
is for me. Every time I step out there, you
know what I mean, I see myself making these plays.
Honestly when I go to sleep every night, you know
what I mean, and I wake up with that in
my mind, like, nah, today gonna be the day. Today
gonna be the day. It don't happen today, It's gonna
happen tomorrow. And you know what I mean, Like I said,
(14:53):
just his whole scheme, Uh, it's definitely gonna be good.
It's definitely gonna be good.
Speaker 5 (14:57):
Man.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
I'm looking forward to it, and uh, it's gonna it
definitely got me going for sure.
Speaker 8 (15:03):
This defense very specifically. Do you think it could get
more of a chance to be a playmer?
Speaker 3 (15:07):
I mean, I just not just me, like I said,
I think just the way that he calls it, you
know what I mean, it puts different guys in position
and make plays.
Speaker 5 (15:13):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (15:13):
Once we master that playbook, once we you know, practice
day after day after day, and we can come out
and really.
Speaker 5 (15:19):
Master this thing.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
I mean, I think gods can figure out, you know,
where that place is to make plays in his defense?
Speaker 5 (15:23):
You know what I mean?
Speaker 3 (15:24):
You know, Okay, this is a play where I can
do This is a play when I can do this,
and that goes across the board. So just putting guys
in position now is up to us and go and
make those plays.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
Tom. I think of Tremaine Edmonds. I think of let's
let's make some big plays. He's got the athleticism, the range,
the body, the movement skills to really pose a problem
for defense. We saw early in camp an interception of
Caleb Williams. You can underestimate his length and maybe playing
the outside linebacker position, even if they only have two
(15:54):
linebackers on the field, that is a role that may
fit his skill set better.
Speaker 5 (15:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
You know, he's got the length to defend the passing
the middle of the football field and does a nice
job of locating and finding the football. But I think
if you give him some freedom to slide left and
right and able to use his speed as athleticism and length,
you'll probably have a lot more chase tackles by him.
TG Edwards obviously is a very good, instinct, reactionary linebacker,
(16:23):
But then you have to put Tremaine Edmonds in his
most confident athletic position, So take advantage of his length,
take advantage of his experience, and like I've heard you
say the last couple of days, he's still a young
guy that's developing and you're probably going to see as
much development out of him this year. And this new defense,
defense and defensive style that you've seen in his first
(16:46):
six years in the NFL.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
DOMM he's twenty seven, right, so.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
Youngster kid hasn't even reached his podcast. I mean, I'm
excited that though the linebacker coaches and Dennis Allen are
kind of thinking outside the box of where his best
fitted position is. And we've been here long enough now,
we've had that argument about a lot of different linebackers,
and the coaches have always proved themselves right.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
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(17:32):
players missing practice on it what was a lighter day
and a shorter day of practice on Wednesday. Nobody expected
in terms of that to be anything significant and should
be back in the short order back on the practice field.
I'm talking about Practicon Jones getting a little break, also
a little leg injury for Jonah Jackson, but nothing appears
to be anything significant but a little refresher with the humidity.
(17:56):
Gone back at it on Thursday and getting ready for
the final days of this second week of the training
camp portion.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
So you go a couple padded practices in really hot weather,
then you have a non padded practice, then you go
back to the padded practice. It's a great barometer for
all the coaches. So do guys come out there sluggishly
looking to take their time getting ready, or do they
come out there and play and have the same physicality
that's attached to the style of full padded practices. There's
(18:28):
already been You go and you listen to Kyler Gordon
at the podium and he talks about tackling and live practice,
and they asked him, have you had that since you've
been here, and he says never, So okay, now you
had a couple you had a day off.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
How do you answer that?
Speaker 2 (18:43):
Come Thursday, can't wait for practice. Yeah, keep hitting, keep
it exactly, But it's not about what we're asking you
to do. It's how the players do it, and that's
what we're looking at.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
So that leads me to Caleb Williams, because that's the
piece of the puzzle for for this podcast, presented a
very confident approach to answering the questions about where he's at.
Let's listen in about that very topic. Where does he
think he is right now? Coming down in three two one?
You heard Caleb. He's always going to answer thoughtfully and
with some depth. What do you think what he had
(19:18):
to say and marry it with what you've seen.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
You know, Caleb is always great at the podium. He
answers things honestly, and he understands the question quickly and
he can tell the media exactly what he wants to
tell him in reaction and reflection of the practice. One
thing I wish, and I know that you're up in
that media room every day, and I would like you
(19:41):
to ask the media this, Please stop asking about last year.
Stop asking about everything that went on last year, because
it doesn't matter at all this year in going forward,
that's whitewashed that's out of your brain. And so everything
about Caleb is going forward, because when you talk about
(20:06):
a quarterback, you're talking about the mental absorption of the
system that he's using right now. If I'm a rookie
offensive lineman last year, I'm going to say, okay on
this specific style of play. I'm really confident in this technique.
This is something that I worked with with my offensive
tackle and I know it will work any type of
(20:26):
point of attack play or whatever. There's a lot of
relatable and transferable type of techniques and fundamentals as alignman,
but as a quarterback stop because you asking him a
question about last year is a waste of time, and
so you know, I think Caleb understands that let's talk
(20:46):
about the future.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
That's just like I heard Jared Goff the other day.
Last season is flushed. No matter how good they were,
it's flushed matters, not brand new season. Time to get
back after it.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
Well, this is a whole yeah exactly. You know, in
regards to Caleb and being a rookie with a new
head coach, a new system, all the stuff that he
has to digest, it doesn't help them to think about
last year. It only helps them to think about what
plays they're going to install tomorrow and installation.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
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Hallisaw this week, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN had a chance
(21:38):
to catch up with him looking at all things NFL
and the rankings that he put together polling different coaches,
administrators and scouts around the National Football League, top tens
and eat position around the NFL. There's some Bears in there.
We discuss all right, we change gears here and we
got a lot of national writers and broadcasters coming in
to check out on the Bears of the do every
(21:58):
training camp. This one seems different though, with Ben Johnson's arrival.
We welcome Jeremy Foler from ESPN, one of the NFL
insiders traveling around the globe. It looks like covering training
camps and he's in Chicago today. Am I right on
that about the Ben Johnson intrigue here?
Speaker 4 (22:14):
Yes, for sure. I'm eager to see that, maybe more
than some other camps I've been to, just because what's funny.
I started in Detroit and talking to them about their
offense and the absence of Ben Johnson, you can tell
that they really didn't want Ben Johnson to stay in
the division, you know, in the NFC North. I mean
that's an issue because they know how good of a
coach he is, and how he's in the whole people accountable,
and how he's going to have some young players drinking
(22:36):
through a water hose a little bit early on until
they figure out what they can handle what they can't,
and he can always scale it back. But it sounds
like early in camp has been a full court press
as far as information and overload. So I'm curious to
see if that's starting to even out, if Caleb Williams
is starting to get more comfortable with the coaching and
kind of ease into the situation a little bit more.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Yeah, no question, And that's part of the process, right,
it is. And I think it's something that as a
professional football player you're going to deal with that several
times in your career, so many changes and so forth.
But over the years, did you get to know Ben
in anyway a little bit.
Speaker 4 (23:12):
I didn't know him too well, but We've had a
couple of conversations when I've been in Detroit, just saying
hello and talking to a little football and you know,
maybe ask him about a fun play ran, you know.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
So he loves that because those.
Speaker 4 (23:22):
Are plays that take all week to figure out and run,
you know, like you got to work it out, work
out the kinks, and it takes a lot. And I
think that's why he's hard on these guys, because you
have to every detail matters.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
Yeah, you've been traveling around what's going to be nine
camps in nine days. It is how the heck are
you pulling this out?
Speaker 4 (23:42):
And I'll probably add some more too. So it's I
got lucky that all the teams I was visiting, they
happened to have a practice day arrive. A lot of
times you have a roof day somewhere, which is good
for rest purposes. But I tried to get as many
day as I could consecutively so I have the option
to go home and see the family. But it's good
it's good. You want to just be on the go
(24:03):
at these trips and see as many people as you
can and move on to the next stop. And that's
kind of how it is. I'm working the AFC and
NFC North for the most part. I'll go to Green
Bay and Minnesota, so I'll check out the whole Division'd
be a good insight for me.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
You know, there's a symmetry with that because all these
teams in those divisions just the way they go about it.
Emphasis on a run game, emphasis on nasty defense, emphasis
on specialty.
Speaker 4 (24:27):
Some of the teams I visit are in pads, some aren't.
I happen to go to the Lions when they were
in pads and you could tell how eager they were
to get some actual hits in. There was a couple
helmets that were flying off. Not physical fighting. It's not
the eighties anymore right right now people aren't knocking each
other out. But there was that element of callousing your
body to get ready for the season. And Dan Campbell
(24:49):
was telling his team after practice like, hey, if you're
not ready to be physical in a practice setting, your
teammates are going to notice and they're gonna wonder if
they can count on you or trust you in a
game setting, you know. So I think that's the message
throughout those two divisions in particular, but they each camp
takes on a different tenor Like the Browns when I
visited them seventy minute practice, just a lot of throws
for the four quarterbacks, that's what I noticed, And that's
(25:11):
partly because they have an issue there. They got to
figure out who they're going to play, so others will
do some heavy, heavy work, some hitting, and I was
a Colts camp yesterday that was pretty physical, so you
see the full gamut, but definitely early in camp when
teams put on the pads, they're eager to do so
to let out some of that aggression for sure.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
Best evaluation. Indeed, one of the things that you've been
writing about of the top ten players by position, it's
through the whole month of July. And this is a
unique one because it's coaches, it's executives, and its scouts.
So there's some really good information here and we'll dive
in it. I'm gonna start with the quarterbacks because the
Bears are going to play a lot of these on
(25:51):
the road. Mahomes Allen Burrow Jackson, Jaden, Stafford, Herbert Goff,
Hurts Mayfield the top ten, Love with an honorable mention,
Perdy Prescott, Rogers on the Bear schedule, but Burrow, Lamar, Jaden, Hertz,
Goff obviously Love all on the road. What did you
think of that list? By the way, and actually the
inclusion of Stafford at thirty seven in that list still
(26:14):
pumping and getting the attention of those who make evaluations
and decisions.
Speaker 4 (26:18):
Yeah, my first reaction to the list when I compiled
it and it crystallized, is that we're in sort of
a golden era of quarterbacks at the top those four guys.
There was a huge drop off after them, you know,
after Lamar, Jackson, Burrow, Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes and these
guys in their late twenties combined, I believe five MVPs
between them. They'll probably add to that collection. So really
(26:39):
good group of future Hall of famers. You would think,
you know, Jade and Daniels being at number five was
a mild surprise, but he was so good and made
such an impression league wide that it wasn't shocking. And yeah,
you know, you look at the the NFC North he
got two guys there in Jared Goff and Jordan Love
who are at the top or at least in that
sort of top eight to twelve range, which is a
(27:00):
pretty exclusive club. After that, there was a big drop
off in the voting. So those are guys that have
good weapons around them and are going to be right
in the mix in the north. So yeah, and you
look at Kayleb Williams. He didn't get much traction this year,
I think because of the up and down rookie year,
But he is a He's a guy where if he
was in the top ten next year wouldn't shock me.
If he had another season where he struggled, it wouldn't
(27:22):
shock me. It feels like anything's possible right now because
the ceiling with him is so high. So I think
next year, you know, assuming he takes to Ben Johnson's
coaching and he has enough around him, I could see
him being in the mix next year.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
Yeah. Do you feel that the weaponry is is more
than satisfactory. We can get the two tight ends obviously
in Cole and Colston, continuing excellence of DJ Moore, you
got Roma Dunzas on the precipice and hopefully Luther Burden
the third as well, plus DeAndre Swift. I mean, there's
one ball, many weapons kind of philosophy going on. B
I saw. I think it was the thirty third team
(27:55):
put this up all the division, the quarterbacks, the receivers,
of tight ends back. It's the divisions loaded with.
Speaker 4 (28:01):
Talent, no doubt, but they have the pieces for sure.
You know, the offensive line, A couple questions maybe about
left tackle. I think Braxton Jones will'll be okay and
working his way into that job. But yeah, as far
as the skill positions and what the Bears can be,
you know, the possibilities do feel pretty endless. And with
the two tight ends especially, that's what I'm curious to
(28:22):
watch today because when I was in Pittsburgh, you know
they added John new Smith with Pat Fryermoths, you have
two really good tight ends and you could feel the
difference like they were going to those guys early. They
were moving them around everywhere. There's just so much you
can do with two good tight ends. So I like
the Cole Comet Colson Loveland pairing. Loveland had. He was
one of those guys that pre draft was the hottest name.
(28:43):
He ended up going really high, higher than maybe the
media thought, but you were here in that league circles
of just he was just a premier guy. So the
fact that you can maybe go third and eight and
run two tight ends twelve personnel like that gives you
flexibility that you can throw teams off a little bit.
So I'm eager to see that. And then, you know,
it seems like from all that I've read and seen
(29:03):
that Romadunze is working his way into if not at
number one, yet a one, A or B type, you know,
so I'm curious to see that connection.
Speaker 1 (29:10):
And then on the offensive line, obviously the additions on
the interior Joe Tooney coming in at number six interior
offensive lineman, so many good qualities to him. Is that
the maybe the biggest move that Bears made in your opinion,
if you are evaluating.
Speaker 4 (29:24):
It, it's probably the safest bet they made. I would say,
you know, probably the steadiest move. But he's just one
of the best technicians in the NFL.
Speaker 1 (29:31):
R technique is impressive, it's really good.
Speaker 4 (29:33):
I mean, his hands are elite, you know, like he's
one of those guys where he he might not look imposing,
but when he gets his mits on you, you're done.
So yeah, that he's going to be a stallwart. You
know what you're getting. He's durable, he's going to play
all seventeen. You know, obviously don't want to have to
put him at left tackle, you know, you don't want
to have to be in that kind of buying like
the Chiefs were in last year, but really solid. So
(29:54):
I like they got adults in the room, so to speak,
in that interior offensive.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
Line and the highest rated players on the Bears outside
of Touney Tremaine Edmunds at number six linebacker and Jalen
Johnson the eighth corner. So two big pieces right there,
especially with way you know Dennis Allen and what he
wants to do, pressing up, being physical, being very much
a get after it knocked back defensive front. How this
(30:20):
impacts a guy like Tremaine Edmonds as well? But what's
your view of Dennis Allen's defense and those two key
components right there.
Speaker 4 (30:26):
I think the Bears staff had been pleased, especially in
the spring and early on, that Edmunds had used his
range in athleticism and get his hands on some passes.
They're like, okay, we got something here. I think ideally
they'd like to have him involved in more ball disruption.
The talent is so immense, and you can really put
him in any scheme, true three down linebacker, just the range,
(30:49):
length and speed, you can't.
Speaker 1 (30:50):
He's still young, jeez, still very young. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (30:53):
So I think the if you're you know, building a
team from scratcher, you're picking ten players at a position.
He's always going to go high for like the scouts
who see everything I need to see.
Speaker 1 (31:03):
With that guy, anything bruin in terms of big stories
and o Trey Hendrickson, is he going to be a
hold in? So is he going to actually suit up?
Speaker 4 (31:13):
Trey is I would be surprised if he went out
to practice today. I think part of the strategy will
be that you know he's there, He's visible. These holdings
are becoming more effective. I feel like, yeah, you know, Michael,
if you're fifty a day, right, Yeah, the money's crazy. Now,
if the Bengals could have got a deal done in
short order, they could have put some sack incentives in there,
he would easily made that money back. But yeah, it's tough.
(31:36):
So like Jamar Chase last year did it and that
was a good playbook for Trey Hendrickson. He just was
hanging around in sweats all day and he's visible in
the media season every day, you know, So that's uh,
maybe that entices the team will but to get something done.
But the Bengals are They're tough, many, yeah, they are.
Historically they are comfortable being uncomfortable when it comes to money.
So I just don't know. It's a guaranteed money issue.
And but but the actual money they're offering him is
(31:58):
pretty good. So we'll see, uh see if you exit eventually.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
All right, last question, So you're looking at your watch.
I respect your time.
Speaker 5 (32:03):
Oh you're good.
Speaker 1 (32:04):
What what what are you most cure? You mentioned one
thing you're curious about about the Bears, But what are
you curious about learning from the from your visit here
to hallis Hall.
Speaker 4 (32:12):
So part of my intrigue is sort of like lessons
learned from a number one pick a little bit and
what the changes are, you know, because I'm looking at
the landscape. We talked about Cincinnati, Joe Burrow had success,
the Bengals surrounding number the right things and year one
for a number one pick, the last two number one
picks for km Ord, it's been a struggle, right, Bryce
(32:33):
Young you saw it, Caleb Williams, you saw it. Bryce
Young is able to turn the page a little bit.
Kayl Williams is trying to do that now, and then
the Titans f cam Ward. So I'm kind of looking
into that common thread of number one picks and what
a struggle that can be if you don't have the
right voices in their ear or maybe just one voice,
you know, Synergy with the coaching staff all that's so important.
(32:55):
And so you know, Ben Johnson has a reputation is
a great offensive coach, and I want to kind of
see that firsthand and then try to identify what the
difference was from last year, you know, because you heard
so many stories coming out of Chicago, and you know
now it seems to be streamlined and maybe more about
the football, which is good.
Speaker 5 (33:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
Well, we appreciate you being here and covin our Chicago Bears,
and good luck with the rest of your training camp journey.
Speaker 4 (33:18):
Yeah, thanks so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
Appreciate it. A bunch of things to look at. Everybody's
coming in. They want to see the Ben Johnson Caleb
Williams connection, where the improvements are coming and that that
is the big visit that's why they're coming. They want
to see Ben Johnson go to work and help Caleb
in the offense. But there's so many other things also
going on, and they're intrigued. They're intrigued by what is
(33:42):
happening here in Chicago with the Bears on both sides
of the ball.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
Yeah, it's hard not to be. You know, a guy
like Jeremy Fowler, he comes up and the first thing
he wants to do when he looks at practice is
from the moment they break the huddle to either the
ball is handed off by Caleb or thrown by Caleb,
And how does the whole often interact with him in
terms of motion, snap count, you know, making sure that
everybody understands their assignment. Yeah, it's easy to recognize that
(34:09):
Joe Toney is a premier technician and one of the
best at his position with all of his experience, and
he's proven to be great. But I think anybody from
the people that we get to see on a daily
basis that are coming to practice to the first time
for the first time, to a guy that has a
lot of NFL experience and he's been around a bunch
(34:30):
of camps, even the guys like that their eyes gravitate
towards the quarterback, and that's what they're going to come
to look at every day, every practice.
Speaker 1 (34:39):
They have a chance. Here's with those analysts, Well, they're
not analysts, they're the guys in the professional seats around
the NFL said about Joe Touney, one was an AFC executive.
Complete package speed, athletic ability, hand placement, toughness, instincts. Coaches say,
he's got elite grip, strength, wants attached to a d Lemmon.
He's hard to shake, all technique instincts and smarts with Joe,
(35:03):
said one AFC executive, among other things. But everything that
you saw, that tech we both commented about the technique
that he has is very evident and outstanding.
Speaker 2 (35:14):
Now, the thing that could probably help the Bears the most,
and Joe regard, you know how impressed that I've been
by all of the fundamentals and the techniques and everything,
is how much that he can expedite the learning of
the three offensive tackles. When you have Braxton, you have Kuran,
and you have Ozzie all fighting for that spot, you
(35:35):
know they can have conversations with Joe Toney, not only
because he played the position, but he's been playing left
guard for all those years. And there's so many instances
of explanation that Joe can give these guys that can
expedite their learning curve tenfold on a daily basis.
Speaker 1 (35:53):
How do you tell the cashier you're a Bears fan,
but I'm not telling him you're a Bears fan. Well,
with the Chicago Bears PNC Bank visa debit card, it
gets you exclusive discounts on Bears merchandise. Find out more
at PNC dot com slash Bears card. Tom story that
the Chicago Sun Times broke about the Bears, and the
Bears have since also put out they're going to honor
(36:16):
the matriarch, Virginia McCaskey, Chairman George McCaskey telling us sometimes
a uniform patch similar to the eighty three GSH tribute,
and that will be a football shaped patch with Virginia's
initials inside for every game this year. The patch will
be placed on the players jerseys above their hearts. The
football is orange with navy stitching and a white outline.
(36:38):
The navy M outlined in white and larger than the
other two letters V to the players. Right H for
hallis to the left. Outstanding, great great and no throwbacks.
That's another thing. No alternate jerseys. The Bears gonna go
standard navy, white, navy helmets at home, white jerseys, navy
pants and navy helmets on the road.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
Thoughts, every single day that I walk into Hallas Hall
and I see the picture that they have there of
Virginia McCaskey, you know, it gives you that such a
reminder that we should salute her every day. She's not
only you know, the former you know, owner of the Bears.
She's just an incredible human being, and she did so
(37:18):
many things behind the scene that she never wanted attention for.
But she's just absolutely such a sweet person and she
will be missed dearly, but she'll be remembered every day.
Speaker 1 (37:31):
The stitching now can be there. She there every snap,
every snap now, every snap for perpetuity. The Bears also
honoring your good friend Steve McMichael, the Als finally taking
him in April a helmet sticker and that will be
the same design on the turf at Soldier Field this
(37:52):
year for seventy six. Big time well deserved.
Speaker 2 (37:55):
You know, this guy gave his life to football and
he was one of the kindest girl, greatest teammates, toughest
committed football players that anybody would be happy to be
a teammate of, and nobody more than me. I just
love the guy the death.
Speaker 1 (38:11):
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. Yeah,
we'll be there Sunday. Hopefully the weather cooperates and all
the lallapalooza. Oh weather has beautiful no lallapalooza traffic. We'll
wait too after practice so we can get there and
enjoy the day. How about it.
Speaker 2 (38:31):
They can be coming in when we're going out, So
I think it'll all work.
Speaker 8 (38:36):
The thing.
Speaker 2 (38:37):
The Sunday night game against Buffalo is the same day
as the Aaron Water Show, so that's gonna be. That
is going to be the crazy one.
Speaker 1 (38:48):
Thanks for the heads up, Big Tom. All Right, you
got any final thoughts or we're out of here? Which one?
Speaker 8 (38:54):
Now?
Speaker 2 (38:54):
My final thought is I can't wait to do the
podcast next because I think we're going to get an
indicator of where the Bears are. When you have a day,
you know, every single coach I ever played for my life.
The biggest indicator was the football team is how they
reacted full pads after a day off. And we're going
(39:16):
to see a man punching the face Thursday and I
just cannot wait for that practice.
Speaker 1 (39:21):
All right, Tommy, we'll see you up here for time there.
I'm Jeff Jonihak. Thanks for listening, everybody. Please subscribe now
on the Chicago Bears official app, Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or
wherever you get your podcasts. Speared out, everybody,
Cut over that DJ Moore ensode touchdown touchdown Bears. I
am Jeff Jonia.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Blitz us up done.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
Got what was like playing for Coche?
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Goodgo.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
I don't want to answer any questions like that pressure
coming is a big trouble. Donmi gos Mottest.
Speaker 4 (00:19):
Sweat Bears et cetera.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Brought to you by Miller Light with the voices of
the Bears Jeff Joniac and Tom Thayer. With each snap
each day, the Bears are getting better. We break it
down from Halusaw with the Bears deep in a week
two on a trip to Soldier Field for Sunday's practice
and FanFest, we discussed today an episode one of the
Bears et Cetera podcast, and we are brought to you
by Miller Light with Super Bowl winning Bears guard Tom Thayer.
(00:48):
I'm Jeff joningac Our guest today is the senior national
NFL writer from ESPN covering the entire league, Jeremy Fowler.
Stop by Haddisall today and we hear from defensive coordinator
Dennis on the weekly podium appearance by starting quarterback Kata
Williams and veteran linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. Padded practices producing some
great analysis from Tom there, but they'll be back in
(01:10):
pads on Thursday when this podcast drops. Tom, you've noted
some things that have caught your attention. I'm sure let's
get into some of those. What are sticking out to
you here and the live drills and more promised here
in the coming days.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
So when you start the first day of training camp,
even if it's a nod and padded practice, you look
at every single guy out there where, whether they're an
experienced veteran like Joe Tune or a rookie like Colston Lovelin,
their heads are spinning. They're going one thousand miles an hour.
Every single word drill, snap, huddle, they hear and they
(01:46):
take into account, they're thinking about it. And as you
see the process kind of click away from day to
day to day, and then things are starting to repetitiously
be repeated. Then you start watching them and they're looking
like an offensive football team. And I do think it's
different than defense the way that offense they have to
(02:09):
go through the learning process because it takes more, a
lot more terminology, a lot more bodies, a lot more thinking,
a lot more timing to make this thing look like
the offense it's ultimately going to be over a period
of time. And so I'm excited to see that because
Ben Johnson gets an indication of where and who is
(02:32):
as to where they're at at this point, who and
where they need more reps and who needs more reps.
So I like what I'm seeing, and I just want
to see the process continue to get better. And as
the process continues to get better than you start getting
understanding who's competing where, who's being a leader at the competition?
Speaker 5 (02:53):
What type of.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Versatility can Ben Johnson have in this offense with the
amount of weapons that he has.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Same story on defense, we can make no assumptions. Dennis Allen,
the defensive coordinator, making clear of the defense is buzzing
the windows of opportunity for Bears receivers, tight ends, backs
have been shrinking ever since the offseason program got in
a way. They're challenging every throw, they're getting physical, tayshim
Johnson and ninety five pounds rookie undrafted player out of
(03:22):
Oregon popping players the other day at practice. Tom it's
the mark they want to make. They want to be violent.
They want to be violent on both sides of the
ball and it's special teams, and that's starting to take shape,
especially on the defensive side.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Well, you know, you see a rookie. The rookie is going, okay.
I can see what Andrew Billings is doing, I can
see what TJ. Edwards is doing. So I better fulfill
exactly what's expected out of me, no matter if I'm
a first, second, or third team. So I think you
have some veterans that are setting the standard, and then
you have these young guys that have to live up
(03:54):
to it. When I look at the defensive front seven,
I look at a guy like Grady Jarrett. He changes
the whole defensive front. He has such a quick reaction
to the snapcount, penetration, leverage, and difficulty to block that
he can make other guys be in such a supportive
system that you know he's helping them. I look at
(04:15):
a guy like Javon Dexter being able to use his
length to separate from a blocker and make a tackle
three holes away to his right because of the way
he's using the efficiency of his athleticism. So all these
little counterparts that start working together on defense, I do
think they are on the cusp of having a special
(04:36):
group of guys, and you look at the depth of
the talent and the different ways that you can deploy
these guys. It's going to be interesting to see Dennis
Allen when the regular season gets here.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
This podcast is brought to you by Miller Lite, the
official beer partner of your Chicago Bears Tastes Like Miller
Time Chicago. Go to Millerlike 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 carbs per twelve ounces.
Dennis Allen at the podium today at Hallis saw on
some of the good things that are going on defensively
(05:10):
as Tom alluded to, and more including competition for that
number two starter at cornerback.
Speaker 5 (05:16):
Look, we're not married to any particular package.
Speaker 6 (05:19):
We're gonna explore a lot of different things, a lot
of different packages, and we're gonna throw a lot of
stuff up up against the wall. We're gonna see what
sticks and ultimately that's that's that's what we're gonna do.
Put our guys in the best position to be successful.
And I think I said this the other day. You know,
our job as coaches is to find the best eleven
to give us the best opportunity to play successful defense.
(05:42):
And whatever that package is, you know, is it three linebackers,
is it two linebackers, is it five dbs, six dbs?
And that could vary from week to week.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
What's your comfort level with your depth cornerback right now?
Speaker 6 (05:58):
Better than it was in the spring. You know, I've
seen a lot of improvement, uh from a lot of
different guys. You know, I think Nayshaun Wright's improved. Guy
that's really kind of staying stood out to me in
the last few days. Nick McCleod, here's a guy that
you know, in the spring, I wasn't sure exactly what
he was going to be. But he's come back in
great shape. He understands the defense, he's doing all the
(06:22):
things that Al's coaching him to do, which is allowing
him to be uh successful. So I feel much better
about that than I did in the spring. And and
yet look, we still got we still got some improvement
to do from your.
Speaker 5 (06:35):
Defense beyond dial set.
Speaker 6 (06:39):
As anybody jumped out, well, look, i think we're developing,
you know, some depth you know at the position. I
think we got a lot of guys that you know,
have the capability to playing in our league. You know,
obviously I got some experience with Tano. I think he's
been a good addition to our group. I think Dom
Robinson's a guy that's uh, you know, improved a lot
from where I saw him on tape last year to
(07:01):
what I'm seeing right now. And so but again with
all of these guys, you know, we're gonna temper our
you know, evaluations a little bit, and we're going to
get into a little bit more live action and just
let let this competition play out. I mean, uh, there's
really not any decisions that are going to be made
in the first you know, a couple of weeks of camp.
You know, we're gonna let this competition play out and
(07:23):
you know, see how it goes.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
Obviously, But where would you assess the pass rush from
what you saw in the padded practice?
Speaker 5 (07:29):
Yeah, I think I think the pass rush has been good.
And I think this.
Speaker 6 (07:33):
You know a lot of people talk about pass rush
or pass coverage. Those don't those those don't happen mutually exclusive.
They have to work together. And so for us to
have a really good pass rush, we have to have
good pass defense. Okay, we have to be able to
disrupt routes. We have to be able to change the
timing of the routes. So it's not just about our
(07:54):
ability to rush the pass or and vice versa. We
can be as good as we want to cover in
these routes, but if we can't win one on one
matchups up front and be able to get the quarterback
off the spot, we're going to struggle in past defense. So,
you know, I think those two things have to work together,
and I think overall throughout the course of camp, I've
been pretty pleased with where that's at is seeing with
(08:17):
his time out in what kind of setback is effort
we'll be trying to get established.
Speaker 5 (08:21):
Well, look, I mean, you know, it's it's difficult, it's
a challenge, you know.
Speaker 6 (08:27):
So the thing that he has to be able to
do right now is number one, attack the rehab and
try to get back out as quickly as he can.
And then he's got to make sure that he's focused in,
you know, and the things that he can do in
terms of the meetings, because when we're making corrections on
the field or in the meeting room, we're not just
(08:49):
making corrections for that particular individual that we might be
speaking to, we're speaking to the whole room, you.
Speaker 5 (08:54):
Know, and so his ability to.
Speaker 6 (08:58):
Comprehend those things in the meeting room I think is
going to be huge for his for his development and
his progression. And look, it's unfortunate that he had an injury,
and so you know, the game goes on, you know,
and so we've got to be able to coach the
hell out of the guys that are out there and
try to get him back out as quickly as we can.
(09:19):
And then once we get him out there, try to
get him caught up to speed as quickly as we can.
Speaker 7 (09:23):
I give that everybody's competing, but is the number two
spot completely up for grabs or does Tyreek or Dashaun
have a leg up on anybody.
Speaker 5 (09:31):
I think it's completely up for grabs.
Speaker 6 (09:32):
I think as you saw it out there today, you know,
you saw some guys, some different guys going out there
with the ones, and I think that's that's how you develop.
Speaker 5 (09:40):
The very best defense that you can is create as.
Speaker 6 (09:43):
Much competition as you can and let let the let
the tape make the decision.
Speaker 5 (09:51):
You're with me, and that's that's really, that's really.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
What it's about so much like they indicated before we
ever got to this point. No depth chart, right, There's
a lot of assumptions being made, but no depth chart.
And that number two battle, Yes, there were changes on Wednesday.
In the secondary nay Sean Wright has been filling that
number one role with Jalen Johnson out Jalen Johnson. I'm
(10:15):
a mend Terrell Smith getting snaps by Tyreek Stevenson. Also
a feeling competition here, and so when I hear that
the number two dB spot, I think it's completely up
for grabs. There's some messaging in there too, I'd imagine.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
I'd love to hear that. There's nothing more than I
like competition in the defensive backfield, especially at the cornerback
position because to me, and I always say, and I'm
enunciated outside quarterback, cornerback is the most difficult position to
play in the NFL. And so if you have an experienced,
minded guy like Dennis al and feeling that there's competition
(10:51):
at that position, I really like that because I think
when you look at the amount of defensive backs you
need to have a success special teams and multiple defensive
backed defenses, it's a great thing to have yep.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
And other player he mentioned, Nick McLeod, he's been playing
well fifth year. He's a domer. He's a domer, Tommy
of course Nick McLeod, and of course Nayshaun Wright's been
doing tonight. Sean Wade who's also a factor in the
special team situation, and then everybody that I mentioned before.
So there were nineteen defensive backs when training camp started,
(11:27):
so something to keep an eye on moving forward. Good
news Chicago United Airlines is getting brand new planes with
all the bells and whistles, like Bluetooth connectivity screens at
every seat in room for everyone's rollerbag. United Proud to
fly the Chicago Bears. And you too. Another defender and
somebody that's getting a lot of attention. I'm not sure
where he'll play. He's not sure to comment, added either.
(11:50):
Tremaine Edmunds a middle linebacker in the old system. It
could be that he becomes the weak sid linebacker with TJ.
Edwards going to the middle. But Tremaine Edmunds certainly a
lot of attention placed on him as he gets ready
for this his eighth NFL season and a third one
with the Chicago Bears.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
Offense is complicated as well. You know what I mean,
we're trying to get the formations down and we're trying
to just take all the different looks that they're giving
us and you know, put ourselves in position to make
those players out there. But you know, I think it's
going good so far. And man, the guys, you know,
everybody's out there working hard. You know, everybody's taking that
next step, and that's what we need together as a defense.
You like most about the A Yeah, I think just
(12:29):
his really, man, just his whole demeanor.
Speaker 5 (12:32):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
It's nasty as man.
Speaker 5 (12:34):
We're gonna we're gonna dominate.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
That's what it is. And you feel that when he talked,
You feel that the way that he coach, You feel
that the witted we practice out there as a competitor.
Speaker 5 (12:41):
That just make you like, yeah, let's do this. You
know what I'm saying, Because that's what we want.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
That's what we want to be. That's our identity, nothing less,
and you know that's what we pride ourselves on. So,
like I said, man, that's a long ways away. That's
what training camp is for man to master the playbook,
and that's what that's what our plan is.
Speaker 5 (12:56):
Right now, if you had guess right now and whether
you'll be playing or will.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
At thispointment said if I had to take a guess, yeah,
I mean that's how my control.
Speaker 5 (13:11):
Man.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
I'm gonna do whatever they put me out there, whatever
position i'm out there they want me to play, I'm gonna.
Speaker 5 (13:16):
I'm gonna.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
I'm gonna do my thing.
Speaker 5 (13:17):
So you know what I mean, I'm gonna be let
it up to the coach.
Speaker 7 (13:19):
Man, you have been playing a lot of down what
about that package at least as the only back. What
are y'all trying to get done when y'all bringing that
person ever?
Speaker 3 (13:29):
Yeah, I mean I'm a linebacker, man, so I want
my other line back on the field with me. But
I mean, you know it's different. It's just a different personnel.
There's something that we have in our built you know
what I mean. If we need to use it, we
can use it. You know, I'm pretty sure my gott
want to be out there too. But you know, as football,
you know what I mean. Obviously, it's a matchup type
of game. So whatever the coaches thing is the best matchup,
they'll put his in position to make the best plays.
But I mean, we got a lot of different guys
(13:50):
that can play a lot of different positions, you know
what I mean. I think it's just give somebody else
an opportunity to come out there and play a position.
But you know, whether it's Down, whether it's Nickel, I
got extreme trusting whoever's out there, you know what I mean.
So whichever one coaches think is best for us for
that for that particular play or that particular series, I'm
all for it. But like I said, man, it just
gives us the flexibility to do different things. You know,
(14:11):
obviously he has different calls and certain personnel groupings, but
you know what I mean, whatever one that he called,
I'm pretty I know that we got the guys that
can get it done.
Speaker 8 (14:18):
If you, Dennis to the anticipates you being an exceptional
playmaker in this defense, do you look forward to maybe
those opportunities and do you feel maybe at times the
past couple years you didn't have the chance to be
a playmaker as much as it could be.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
And I definitely look forward to it. Every time my
steff fut on that field, that's my goal. It doesn't matter,
you know, scheme, none of that stuff. Like I know
that I'm a play maker, and that's what the goal
is for me. Every time I step out there, you
know what I mean, I see myself making these plays.
Honestly when I go to sleep every night, you know
what I mean, and I wake up with that in
my mind, like, nah, today gonna be the day. Today
gonna be the day. It don't happen today, It's gonna
happen tomorrow. And you know what I mean, Like I said,
(14:53):
just his whole scheme, Uh, it's definitely gonna be good.
It's definitely gonna be good.
Speaker 5 (14:57):
Man.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
I'm looking forward to it, and uh, it's gonna it
definitely got me going for sure.
Speaker 8 (15:03):
This defense very specifically. Do you think it could get
more of a chance to be a playmer?
Speaker 3 (15:07):
I mean, I just not just me, like I said,
I think just the way that he calls it, you
know what I mean, it puts different guys in position
and make plays.
Speaker 5 (15:13):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (15:13):
Once we master that playbook, once we you know, practice
day after day after day, and we can come out
and really.
Speaker 5 (15:19):
Master this thing.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
I mean, I think gods can figure out, you know,
where that place is to make plays in his defense?
Speaker 5 (15:23):
You know what I mean?
Speaker 3 (15:24):
You know, Okay, this is a play where I can
do This is a play when I can do this,
and that goes across the board. So just putting guys
in position now is up to us and go and
make those plays.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
Tom. I think of Tremaine Edmonds. I think of let's
let's make some big plays. He's got the athleticism, the range,
the body, the movement skills to really pose a problem
for defense. We saw early in camp an interception of
Caleb Williams. You can underestimate his length and maybe playing
the outside linebacker position, even if they only have two
(15:54):
linebackers on the field, that is a role that may
fit his skill set better.
Speaker 5 (15:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
You know, he's got the length to defend the passing
the middle of the football field and does a nice
job of locating and finding the football. But I think
if you give him some freedom to slide left and
right and able to use his speed as athleticism and length,
you'll probably have a lot more chase tackles by him.
TG Edwards obviously is a very good, instinct, reactionary linebacker,
(16:23):
But then you have to put Tremaine Edmonds in his
most confident athletic position, So take advantage of his length,
take advantage of his experience, and like I've heard you
say the last couple of days, he's still a young
guy that's developing and you're probably going to see as
much development out of him this year. And this new defense,
defense and defensive style that you've seen in his first
(16:46):
six years in the NFL.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
DOMM he's twenty seven, right, so.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
Youngster kid hasn't even reached his podcast. I mean, I'm
excited that though the linebacker coaches and Dennis Allen are
kind of thinking outside the box of where his best
fitted position is. And we've been here long enough now,
we've had that argument about a lot of different linebackers,
and the coaches have always proved themselves right.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
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(17:32):
players missing practice on it what was a lighter day
and a shorter day of practice on Wednesday. Nobody expected
in terms of that to be anything significant and should
be back in the short order back on the practice field.
I'm talking about Practicon Jones getting a little break, also
a little leg injury for Jonah Jackson, but nothing appears
to be anything significant but a little refresher with the humidity.
(17:56):
Gone back at it on Thursday and getting ready for
the final days of this second week of the training
camp portion.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
So you go a couple padded practices in really hot weather,
then you have a non padded practice, then you go
back to the padded practice. It's a great barometer for
all the coaches. So do guys come out there sluggishly
looking to take their time getting ready, or do they
come out there and play and have the same physicality
that's attached to the style of full padded practices. There's
(18:28):
already been You go and you listen to Kyler Gordon
at the podium and he talks about tackling and live practice,
and they asked him, have you had that since you've
been here, and he says never, So okay, now you
had a couple you had a day off.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
How do you answer that?
Speaker 2 (18:43):
Come Thursday, can't wait for practice. Yeah, keep hitting, keep
it exactly, But it's not about what we're asking you
to do. It's how the players do it, and that's
what we're looking at.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
So that leads me to Caleb Williams, because that's the
piece of the puzzle for for this podcast, presented a
very confident approach to answering the questions about where he's at.
Let's listen in about that very topic. Where does he
think he is right now? Coming down in three two one?
You heard Caleb. He's always going to answer thoughtfully and
with some depth. What do you think what he had
(19:18):
to say and marry it with what you've seen.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
You know, Caleb is always great at the podium. He
answers things honestly, and he understands the question quickly and
he can tell the media exactly what he wants to
tell him in reaction and reflection of the practice. One
thing I wish, and I know that you're up in
that media room every day, and I would like you
(19:41):
to ask the media this, Please stop asking about last year.
Stop asking about everything that went on last year, because
it doesn't matter at all this year in going forward,
that's whitewashed that's out of your brain. And so everything
about Caleb is going forward, because when you talk about
(20:06):
a quarterback, you're talking about the mental absorption of the
system that he's using right now. If I'm a rookie
offensive lineman last year, I'm going to say, okay on
this specific style of play. I'm really confident in this technique.
This is something that I worked with with my offensive
tackle and I know it will work any type of
(20:26):
point of attack play or whatever. There's a lot of
relatable and transferable type of techniques and fundamentals as alignman,
but as a quarterback stop because you asking him a
question about last year is a waste of time, and
so you know, I think Caleb understands that let's talk
(20:46):
about the future.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
That's just like I heard Jared Goff the other day.
Last season is flushed. No matter how good they were,
it's flushed matters, not brand new season. Time to get
back after it.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
Well, this is a whole yeah exactly. You know, in
regards to Caleb and being a rookie with a new
head coach, a new system, all the stuff that he
has to digest, it doesn't help them to think about
last year. It only helps them to think about what
plays they're going to install tomorrow and installation.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
Hey Bears fans. Steinhoffels is a proud partner of the
Chicago Bears and now open in Orland Park. Steinhoffels is
Chicago dands, furniture and mattress leader with the largest selection
to fit every style and budget and as one hundred
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dot Com. One of the veteran reporters to drop by
Hallisaw this week, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN had a chance
(21:38):
to catch up with him looking at all things NFL
and the rankings that he put together polling different coaches,
administrators and scouts around the National Football League, top tens
and eat position around the NFL. There's some Bears in there.
We discuss all right, we change gears here and we
got a lot of national writers and broadcasters coming in
to check out on the Bears of the do every
(21:58):
training camp. This one seems different though, with Ben Johnson's arrival.
We welcome Jeremy Foler from ESPN, one of the NFL
insiders traveling around the globe. It looks like covering training
camps and he's in Chicago today. Am I right on
that about the Ben Johnson intrigue here?
Speaker 4 (22:14):
Yes, for sure. I'm eager to see that, maybe more
than some other camps I've been to, just because what's funny.
I started in Detroit and talking to them about their
offense and the absence of Ben Johnson, you can tell
that they really didn't want Ben Johnson to stay in
the division, you know, in the NFC North. I mean
that's an issue because they know how good of a
coach he is, and how he's in the whole people accountable,
and how he's going to have some young players drinking
(22:36):
through a water hose a little bit early on until
they figure out what they can handle what they can't,
and he can always scale it back. But it sounds
like early in camp has been a full court press
as far as information and overload. So I'm curious to
see if that's starting to even out, if Caleb Williams
is starting to get more comfortable with the coaching and
kind of ease into the situation a little bit more.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Yeah, no question, And that's part of the process, right,
it is. And I think it's something that as a
professional football player you're going to deal with that several
times in your career, so many changes and so forth.
But over the years, did you get to know Ben
in anyway a little bit.
Speaker 4 (23:12):
I didn't know him too well, but We've had a
couple of conversations when I've been in Detroit, just saying
hello and talking to a little football and you know,
maybe ask him about a fun play ran, you know.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
So he loves that because those.
Speaker 4 (23:22):
Are plays that take all week to figure out and run,
you know, like you got to work it out, work
out the kinks, and it takes a lot. And I
think that's why he's hard on these guys, because you
have to every detail matters.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
Yeah, you've been traveling around what's going to be nine
camps in nine days. It is how the heck are
you pulling this out?
Speaker 4 (23:42):
And I'll probably add some more too. So it's I
got lucky that all the teams I was visiting, they
happened to have a practice day arrive. A lot of
times you have a roof day somewhere, which is good
for rest purposes. But I tried to get as many
day as I could consecutively so I have the option
to go home and see the family. But it's good
it's good. You want to just be on the go
(24:03):
at these trips and see as many people as you
can and move on to the next stop. And that's
kind of how it is. I'm working the AFC and
NFC North for the most part. I'll go to Green
Bay and Minnesota, so I'll check out the whole Division'd
be a good insight for me.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
You know, there's a symmetry with that because all these
teams in those divisions just the way they go about it.
Emphasis on a run game, emphasis on nasty defense, emphasis
on specialty.
Speaker 4 (24:27):
Some of the teams I visit are in pads, some aren't.
I happen to go to the Lions when they were
in pads and you could tell how eager they were
to get some actual hits in. There was a couple
helmets that were flying off. Not physical fighting. It's not
the eighties anymore right right now people aren't knocking each
other out. But there was that element of callousing your
body to get ready for the season. And Dan Campbell
(24:49):
was telling his team after practice like, hey, if you're
not ready to be physical in a practice setting, your
teammates are going to notice and they're gonna wonder if
they can count on you or trust you in a
game setting, you know. So I think that's the message
throughout those two divisions in particular, but they each camp
takes on a different tenor Like the Browns when I
visited them seventy minute practice, just a lot of throws
for the four quarterbacks, that's what I noticed, And that's
(25:11):
partly because they have an issue there. They got to
figure out who they're going to play, so others will
do some heavy, heavy work, some hitting, and I was
a Colts camp yesterday that was pretty physical, so you
see the full gamut, but definitely early in camp when
teams put on the pads, they're eager to do so
to let out some of that aggression for sure.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
Best evaluation. Indeed, one of the things that you've been
writing about of the top ten players by position, it's
through the whole month of July. And this is a
unique one because it's coaches, it's executives, and its scouts.
So there's some really good information here and we'll dive
in it. I'm gonna start with the quarterbacks because the
Bears are going to play a lot of these on
(25:51):
the road. Mahomes Allen Burrow Jackson, Jaden, Stafford, Herbert Goff,
Hurts Mayfield the top ten, Love with an honorable mention,
Perdy Prescott, Rogers on the Bear schedule, but Burrow, Lamar, Jaden, Hertz,
Goff obviously Love all on the road. What did you
think of that list? By the way, and actually the
inclusion of Stafford at thirty seven in that list still
(26:14):
pumping and getting the attention of those who make evaluations
and decisions.
Speaker 4 (26:18):
Yeah, my first reaction to the list when I compiled
it and it crystallized, is that we're in sort of
a golden era of quarterbacks at the top those four guys.
There was a huge drop off after them, you know,
after Lamar, Jackson, Burrow, Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes and these
guys in their late twenties combined, I believe five MVPs
between them. They'll probably add to that collection. So really
(26:39):
good group of future Hall of famers. You would think,
you know, Jade and Daniels being at number five was
a mild surprise, but he was so good and made
such an impression league wide that it wasn't shocking. And yeah,
you know, you look at the the NFC North he
got two guys there in Jared Goff and Jordan Love
who are at the top or at least in that
sort of top eight to twelve range, which is a
(27:00):
pretty exclusive club. After that, there was a big drop
off in the voting. So those are guys that have
good weapons around them and are going to be right
in the mix in the north. So yeah, and you
look at Kayleb Williams. He didn't get much traction this year,
I think because of the up and down rookie year,
But he is a He's a guy where if he
was in the top ten next year wouldn't shock me.
If he had another season where he struggled, it wouldn't
(27:22):
shock me. It feels like anything's possible right now because
the ceiling with him is so high. So I think
next year, you know, assuming he takes to Ben Johnson's
coaching and he has enough around him, I could see
him being in the mix next year.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
Yeah. Do you feel that the weaponry is is more
than satisfactory. We can get the two tight ends obviously
in Cole and Colston, continuing excellence of DJ Moore, you
got Roma Dunzas on the precipice and hopefully Luther Burden
the third as well, plus DeAndre Swift. I mean, there's
one ball, many weapons kind of philosophy going on. B
I saw. I think it was the thirty third team
(27:55):
put this up all the division, the quarterbacks, the receivers,
of tight ends back. It's the divisions loaded with.
Speaker 4 (28:01):
Talent, no doubt, but they have the pieces for sure.
You know, the offensive line, A couple questions maybe about
left tackle. I think Braxton Jones will'll be okay and
working his way into that job. But yeah, as far
as the skill positions and what the Bears can be,
you know, the possibilities do feel pretty endless. And with
the two tight ends especially, that's what I'm curious to
(28:22):
watch today because when I was in Pittsburgh, you know
they added John new Smith with Pat Fryermoths, you have
two really good tight ends and you could feel the
difference like they were going to those guys early. They
were moving them around everywhere. There's just so much you
can do with two good tight ends. So I like
the Cole Comet Colson Loveland pairing. Loveland had. He was
one of those guys that pre draft was the hottest name.
(28:43):
He ended up going really high, higher than maybe the
media thought, but you were here in that league circles
of just he was just a premier guy. So the
fact that you can maybe go third and eight and
run two tight ends twelve personnel like that gives you
flexibility that you can throw teams off a little bit.
So I'm eager to see that. And then, you know,
it seems like from all that I've read and seen
(29:03):
that Romadunze is working his way into if not at
number one, yet a one, A or B type, you know,
so I'm curious to see that connection.
Speaker 1 (29:10):
And then on the offensive line, obviously the additions on
the interior Joe Tooney coming in at number six interior
offensive lineman, so many good qualities to him. Is that
the maybe the biggest move that Bears made in your opinion,
if you are evaluating.
Speaker 4 (29:24):
It, it's probably the safest bet they made. I would say,
you know, probably the steadiest move. But he's just one
of the best technicians in the NFL.
Speaker 1 (29:31):
R technique is impressive, it's really good.
Speaker 4 (29:33):
I mean, his hands are elite, you know, like he's
one of those guys where he he might not look imposing,
but when he gets his mits on you, you're done.
So yeah, that he's going to be a stallwart. You
know what you're getting. He's durable, he's going to play
all seventeen. You know, obviously don't want to have to
put him at left tackle, you know, you don't want
to have to be in that kind of buying like
the Chiefs were in last year, but really solid. So
(29:54):
I like they got adults in the room, so to speak,
in that interior offensive.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
Line and the highest rated players on the Bears outside
of Touney Tremaine Edmunds at number six linebacker and Jalen
Johnson the eighth corner. So two big pieces right there,
especially with way you know Dennis Allen and what he
wants to do, pressing up, being physical, being very much
a get after it knocked back defensive front. How this
(30:20):
impacts a guy like Tremaine Edmonds as well? But what's
your view of Dennis Allen's defense and those two key
components right there.
Speaker 4 (30:26):
I think the Bears staff had been pleased, especially in
the spring and early on, that Edmunds had used his
range in athleticism and get his hands on some passes.
They're like, okay, we got something here. I think ideally
they'd like to have him involved in more ball disruption.
The talent is so immense, and you can really put
him in any scheme, true three down linebacker, just the range,
(30:49):
length and speed, you can't.
Speaker 1 (30:50):
He's still young, jeez, still very young. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (30:53):
So I think the if you're you know, building a
team from scratcher, you're picking ten players at a position.
He's always going to go high for like the scouts
who see everything I need to see.
Speaker 1 (31:03):
With that guy, anything bruin in terms of big stories
and o Trey Hendrickson, is he going to be a
hold in? So is he going to actually suit up?
Speaker 4 (31:13):
Trey is I would be surprised if he went out
to practice today. I think part of the strategy will
be that you know he's there, He's visible. These holdings
are becoming more effective. I feel like, yeah, you know, Michael,
if you're fifty a day, right, Yeah, the money's crazy. Now,
if the Bengals could have got a deal done in
short order, they could have put some sack incentives in there,
he would easily made that money back. But yeah, it's tough.
(31:36):
So like Jamar Chase last year did it and that
was a good playbook for Trey Hendrickson. He just was
hanging around in sweats all day and he's visible in
the media season every day, you know, So that's uh,
maybe that entices the team will but to get something done.
But the Bengals are They're tough, many, yeah, they are.
Historically they are comfortable being uncomfortable when it comes to money.
So I just don't know. It's a guaranteed money issue.
And but but the actual money they're offering him is
(31:58):
pretty good. So we'll see, uh see if you exit eventually.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
All right, last question, So you're looking at your watch.
I respect your time.
Speaker 5 (32:03):
Oh you're good.
Speaker 1 (32:04):
What what what are you most cure? You mentioned one
thing you're curious about about the Bears, But what are
you curious about learning from the from your visit here
to hallis Hall.
Speaker 4 (32:12):
So part of my intrigue is sort of like lessons
learned from a number one pick a little bit and
what the changes are, you know, because I'm looking at
the landscape. We talked about Cincinnati, Joe Burrow had success,
the Bengals surrounding number the right things and year one
for a number one pick, the last two number one
picks for km Ord, it's been a struggle, right, Bryce
(32:33):
Young you saw it, Caleb Williams, you saw it. Bryce
Young is able to turn the page a little bit.
Kayl Williams is trying to do that now, and then
the Titans f cam Ward. So I'm kind of looking
into that common thread of number one picks and what
a struggle that can be if you don't have the
right voices in their ear or maybe just one voice,
you know, Synergy with the coaching staff all that's so important.
(32:55):
And so you know, Ben Johnson has a reputation is
a great offensive coach, and I want to kind of
see that firsthand and then try to identify what the
difference was from last year, you know, because you heard
so many stories coming out of Chicago, and you know
now it seems to be streamlined and maybe more about
the football, which is good.
Speaker 5 (33:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
Well, we appreciate you being here and covin our Chicago Bears,
and good luck with the rest of your training camp journey.
Speaker 4 (33:18):
Yeah, thanks so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
Appreciate it. A bunch of things to look at. Everybody's
coming in. They want to see the Ben Johnson Caleb
Williams connection, where the improvements are coming and that that
is the big visit that's why they're coming. They want
to see Ben Johnson go to work and help Caleb
in the offense. But there's so many other things also
going on, and they're intrigued. They're intrigued by what is
(33:42):
happening here in Chicago with the Bears on both sides
of the ball.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
Yeah, it's hard not to be. You know, a guy
like Jeremy Fowler, he comes up and the first thing
he wants to do when he looks at practice is
from the moment they break the huddle to either the
ball is handed off by Caleb or thrown by Caleb,
And how does the whole often interact with him in
terms of motion, snap count, you know, making sure that
everybody understands their assignment. Yeah, it's easy to recognize that
(34:09):
Joe Toney is a premier technician and one of the
best at his position with all of his experience, and
he's proven to be great. But I think anybody from
the people that we get to see on a daily
basis that are coming to practice to the first time
for the first time, to a guy that has a
lot of NFL experience and he's been around a bunch
(34:30):
of camps, even the guys like that their eyes gravitate
towards the quarterback, and that's what they're going to come
to look at every day, every practice.
Speaker 1 (34:39):
They have a chance. Here's with those analysts, Well, they're
not analysts, they're the guys in the professional seats around
the NFL said about Joe Touney, one was an AFC executive.
Complete package speed, athletic ability, hand placement, toughness, instincts. Coaches say,
he's got elite grip, strength, wants attached to a d Lemmon.
He's hard to shake, all technique instincts and smarts with Joe,
(35:03):
said one AFC executive, among other things. But everything that
you saw, that tech we both commented about the technique
that he has is very evident and outstanding.
Speaker 2 (35:14):
Now, the thing that could probably help the Bears the most,
and Joe regard, you know how impressed that I've been
by all of the fundamentals and the techniques and everything,
is how much that he can expedite the learning of
the three offensive tackles. When you have Braxton, you have Kuran,
and you have Ozzie all fighting for that spot, you
(35:35):
know they can have conversations with Joe Toney, not only
because he played the position, but he's been playing left
guard for all those years. And there's so many instances
of explanation that Joe can give these guys that can
expedite their learning curve tenfold on a daily basis.
Speaker 1 (35:53):
How do you tell the cashier you're a Bears fan,
but I'm not telling him you're a Bears fan. Well,
with the Chicago Bears PNC Bank visa debit card, it
gets you exclusive discounts on Bears merchandise. Find out more
at PNC dot com slash Bears card. Tom story that
the Chicago Sun Times broke about the Bears, and the
Bears have since also put out they're going to honor
(36:16):
the matriarch, Virginia McCaskey, Chairman George McCaskey telling us sometimes
a uniform patch similar to the eighty three GSH tribute,
and that will be a football shaped patch with Virginia's
initials inside for every game this year. The patch will
be placed on the players jerseys above their hearts. The
football is orange with navy stitching and a white outline.
(36:38):
The navy M outlined in white and larger than the
other two letters V to the players. Right H for
hallis to the left. Outstanding, great great and no throwbacks.
That's another thing. No alternate jerseys. The Bears gonna go
standard navy, white, navy helmets at home, white jerseys, navy
pants and navy helmets on the road.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
Thoughts, every single day that I walk into Hallas Hall
and I see the picture that they have there of
Virginia McCaskey, you know, it gives you that such a
reminder that we should salute her every day. She's not
only you know, the former you know, owner of the Bears.
She's just an incredible human being, and she did so
(37:18):
many things behind the scene that she never wanted attention for.
But she's just absolutely such a sweet person and she
will be missed dearly, but she'll be remembered every day.
Speaker 1 (37:31):
The stitching now can be there. She there every snap,
every snap now, every snap for perpetuity. The Bears also
honoring your good friend Steve McMichael, the Als finally taking
him in April a helmet sticker and that will be
the same design on the turf at Soldier Field this
(37:52):
year for seventy six. Big time well deserved.
Speaker 2 (37:55):
You know, this guy gave his life to football and
he was one of the kindest girl, greatest teammates, toughest
committed football players that anybody would be happy to be
a teammate of, and nobody more than me. I just
love the guy the death.
Speaker 1 (38:11):
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. Yeah,
we'll be there Sunday. Hopefully the weather cooperates and all
the lallapalooza. Oh weather has beautiful no lallapalooza traffic. We'll
wait too after practice so we can get there and
enjoy the day. How about it.
Speaker 2 (38:31):
They can be coming in when we're going out, So
I think it'll all work.
Speaker 8 (38:36):
The thing.
Speaker 2 (38:37):
The Sunday night game against Buffalo is the same day
as the Aaron Water Show, so that's gonna be. That
is going to be the crazy one.
Speaker 1 (38:48):
Thanks for the heads up, Big Tom. All Right, you
got any final thoughts or we're out of here? Which one?
Speaker 8 (38:54):
Now?
Speaker 2 (38:54):
My final thought is I can't wait to do the
podcast next because I think we're going to get an
indicator of where the Bears are. When you have a day,
you know, every single coach I ever played for my life.
The biggest indicator was the football team is how they
reacted full pads after a day off. And we're going
(39:16):
to see a man punching the face Thursday and I
just cannot wait for that practice.
Speaker 1 (39:21):
All right, Tommy, we'll see you up here for time there.
I'm Jeff Jonihak. Thanks for listening, everybody. Please subscribe now
on the Chicago Bears official app, Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or
wherever you get your podcasts. Speared out, everybody,
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