June 4, 2025 • 35 mins
Former center Olin Kreutz joins Jeff Joniak and Tom Thayer on Bears, etc. to reflect on his life after football and share what stands out to him about the Bears' revamped offensive line.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Cut open that DJ Moore end zone touchdown touchdown pairs.
I am Jeff Joniyack Blitz is not Donny go.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
R. What was like playing for Cody Goodgoh.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
I don't want to answer any questions like that pressure
coming is a big trouble. Donny Goes Montest Sweat.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Bears, et cetera.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Brought to you by Miller Light with the voices of
the Bears, Jeff Joniac and Tom Thayer. Well you can't
get wrong at all with a pair of fifty sevens,
a pair of Super Bowl offensive linemen and iron men
with a combined three hundred and thirty one starts in
Bear uniforms. With Super Bowl winning Bears guard Tom Thayer,
I'm Jeff Joniac. We're brought to you by Miller Lights.
Tom Thayer one hundred and thirty three games, including one
(00:49):
hundred and thirty straight starts at right guard and one
of the best centers in NFL history, Six time Pro Bowlder,
OH six First Team All Pro olden CRUs number twenty
seven of the Bears one hundred list our guest one
hundred ninety eight games on hundred ninety one starts in
a Bears uniform. First start against the Packers season finale,
Soldier Field finished on a streak of one hundred and
(01:10):
thirty six straight starts. And this is episode one on
the Bears Et Cetera podcast. Good to have you, Onen.
The only reason I'm bringing up all that stuff is
because it's rare, certainly in today's game, and I'll give
you some statistical proof of that. But uh, you guys
were both iron man. Thank you for taking the time
to join us talk a little ball talk about what's
(01:31):
going on in your life and Chicago Bears football.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Well, I got an email, I said, Jeff, Joni I
could talk there, and I said, Matt, it'd be my pleasure.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
To jump on with you guys.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
I mean, you guys were doing it when I was there,
so it's always honored to be on with you guys.
You guys are real as you guys know, I do
some of this analyst stuff nowadays, and you guys are
the real o gs of this this work and guys
that I've listened to and learned a lot from.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
So it's a pleasure for me.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Honestly, we we were looking forward to it, believe when
we found out this was going to go down, I
bring up the iron Man angle. For this reason, Detroit
Lions last year were by far the only team in
the league they have the same starting five offensive linemen
for the most snaps. They were at eighty percent of
snaps and the next closest team and I don't remember
(02:18):
what it was like fifty five percent in this league. Now,
you guys wouldn't have it back in your day. I mean,
you had you had appendic appendix removed, you were in
the lineup the next week. Oland. Do you find that
one of the biggest changes in offensive line in the
current NFL landscape?
Speaker 3 (02:36):
Yeah, I mean, I mean guys playing every week, playing
through injuries. I mean you could say guys are a
lot smarter nowadays, right, the doctors know a lot more.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
I remember playing through a high ankles frame.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Probably shouldn't have, right, basically I was useless that game,
but we did Detroit in the last game of the
year play with a high ankles frame. Couldn't really walk
on LA. I don't know if they'd let you do
that nowadays. So a lot of times people are always
talking to you about in your career, your life after football. Uh,
you know, in my day and especially in Tom's day,
we weren't smart enough to talk about those things. I mean,
(03:08):
guys nowadays know the name of every muscle on their body. Right,
if you would have told me olin work on your
so as. Back I talked about the dinosaur. I didn't
know what that was a so as. Maybe there was
some kind of food at a buffet somewhere.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
But what is it?
Speaker 1 (03:22):
What is it?
Speaker 3 (03:23):
By the way, educating, it's your hit flexer. It's your
hit flexer runs from your hip to the middle of
your spine.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Right. But see, even I know that nowadays, and an
idiot like me knows that, means.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Everyone knows it. I went to this Gridiron Greats. It
was a great event. Uh, they put me in their
Hall of Fame. But you know they helped players in
dire need. And my daughter actually said, what are you
doing dad? In my I was in my office and
I said, I'm working on giving a speech at Gridiron
grat She looked at me, she shook her head. She goes,
chat GBT, Dad just punched your name, and sure enough, man,
(03:54):
you do that. And they came up with a speech
for that exact event. And I only tell you that
because that's what these have nowadays, right, Google, What do
you have? What's wrong with you? Should you play with this?
Should you play with that? We didn't know those things.
Took a lot of pride and playing every game. Honestly.
I remember we played the Minnesota Vikings one year. I
think it was two thousand and five. Remember we had
to buy we were going up there to play in Minnesota,
(04:17):
and we already were set in we're gonna buy and
we're gonna play the next week, and love You called
me in. He said, we're not going to play this week.
You have a straight anchor. I said, the hell you're not.
The hell you're not going to play men this week?
Especially with you guys knew how I felt about Pat Williams.
Didn't really like him when I played, and really wanted
to play against him. And I said, I am not
taking myself out of a game against Pat Williams. And
there was an argument there for a while, right, and
(04:37):
really just really my argument to love You was, this
is why I train all year, this is why I
work so hard in the weight room. I want to
play every game. If the starter's out there, I want
to be out there. And like you're saying, Jeff, things
are changed.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
It's your opinion whether it's better or for worse.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
Old timer like me, I like to see guys play
every game, get on the field with their teammates, get
out there. And you know, the Bears talf a lot
about culture, and you're talking about culture.
Speaker 4 (05:01):
You know, Ohen, there's a few guys in the history
of my broadcasting career, which is twenty nine years, that
I admire as much as you. And I'm only telling
you this because we're on Zoom, But the reason is
the reason is ollen and you talk about the culture,
the requirements you put on the rest of the offensive
line room, and the kind of filtered over to the
rest of the team. But that whole all for one
(05:23):
and one for all attitude. I think that's what's missing
from the game today. And if they could have someone
that led by example like you did. Because when I
would sit on the bus and I'd be watching the
team getting ready to travel or being in a game
and watching all you guys come out, I really appreciated
that man, and I think that's something that's missing in
(05:43):
the game today, and for all the guys that we've
been around for what you did for this organization, this
team in terms of the culture and the requirements that
you put on their back. I think that's something that's
hard to replace nowadays.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Oh well, first of all, I appreciate it and be respected,
as you know, Jeff, I guy like Tom. It means
the world to a former football player like me. But
you know, we also had a great locker room, as
you guys know. You guys are there, man, We had names.
We had Roberto guards that we had, Ruben Brown, Brian
Urlac or Peanut Tilm and Lance Bridge, Mike Brown. There
were so many leaders there that leading on that team
(06:17):
was easy, right, and saying the temple every day and
is getting guys who followed because you had so many
guys who believed in the same things and believe in
playing football. And like you're saying, it's changed, right. I
coach a lot of little league football, coach high school
football the last three years.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Some of these high school guys are getting paid now, right.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
I got two sons who play for Illinois once who
started center on one's ballet for a linebacker job.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
They get paid over there at Illinois.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Keeping them moving in the right direction, keeping them worried
about the right stuff. I always tell them, we're about
being good in football and it nothing else really matters
and everything else will fall into place. So it's a
different it's a different world we live in now with
social media and the culture and the way things are done.
But like you're saying, Tom, the same thing, still winning football,
and can you find it? Can you find it? Can
you go out there and find somebody? And I always
(07:03):
say this, I don't know if you guys agree. When
you talk about culture. Players build your culture. You have
to draft culture, right. You want guys who lift weights,
You better draft someone who lift weights, right. You want
guys who hit people on every play, They better be
hitting guys on every play on the film, Like you're
not going to create that when they walk in the building.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
I think players make your culture. Obviously, coaches do to.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
I know the Bears have a new coaching staff up
there to try and get things moving in the right direction.
But man, I appreciate you saying that, but we really
really had a good locker room, good coaching staff. Love
He really really empowered us to lead, really gave us
a locker room and let us let us go from there.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
This podcast brought to you by the official beer partner
of Your Chicago Bears tastes like Middle Time Chicago. Go
to middle of Light dot com slash bears spot to
find delivery options near you. Celebrate responsibily. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Ninety six calories and three point two carbs per twelve ounces.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
Oh and what you know, the dedicated player that you
were and now you're a father of dedicated football players.
What's what game is harder for you to watch the
film of you playing or the live action of your
kids playing.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
The live action will wear me out, man, I mean
the film with me, I just think it's funny Tom,
because I always realized I wasn't as good as I
thought I was. Whenever I turned the film, I'm like, hey, well, hey,
I didn't even know I got beat there.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
I don't remember that, right, So I only remember the
good plays.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
And I you know, my uh my kids always laughed
at me because I'll turn the film on and my
boys will be like, I tell you said, he never
got beat.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
And I said, my mind, you know that didn't even happen.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
But I remember last year the Illinois starting linebacker went
down and James, my young little boy, started at Mike
and so he plays on every special team too, and
he ended the year started about the last five or
six games at middle linebacker with Josh Lang center. I thought,
that's what I always wanted, right, I was like, I
gotta get James on the field, and it is what
you want. But man, was I exhausted me and my wife,
(08:52):
Voe said after the game, because there was never a
play where one of them weren't in there playing. And
every time I thought, okay, you know the offense is
going to pun I'm a take a break here, I
forgot James is coming out on the punt team.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
And then he was playing middle linebacker.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
You just you know, like you're you're like, okay, like
don't screw this up, right, like like going there and
you like the whole time. I'm an old ball player,
like you guys know, and everything to me is wrong,
right yeah, because you're foot in the right place, Like.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Why didn't you do this? Why didn't you do that?
Speaker 3 (09:18):
This year, James set me film and I was watching
it with him and it's some clips to him playing
middle linebacker, and I said, James, I've told you a
million times I want you to blow that center's head off.
In the spring springball and he like goes quiet, and
I'm like, I'm telling you, I said, James, are you there?
Speaker 2 (09:35):
I want that guy's head blown off? Right?
Speaker 3 (09:38):
And he like and like no said he like. Finally
he goes Dad, I go, yeah, he goes, that's Josh.
I go, don't maybe not maybe, don't blop your maybe,
don't blow your brother. I'm sorry, you know, so I said,
I don't want too much brother in law going on.
But I said, I understand, man, You're not coming down
here and try to take that guy's head off.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
That's funny because we're interviewing some folks yesterday. Well you Dolman,
his dad Chris Dowman, former forty nine er, Tom asked
him a great question. You know, who's the first person
you call after a game? He calls his dad and
they break it down. Do you do they call you
as well, first thing after a game.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
Yeah, they do, and we talk and I'm in most
games there in Champagne and we talk after every game
and it's awesome.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
Man.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
I mean, like, you guys know you can't force him, right,
You can't force him to play this game.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
You can't force them to love it, but they do.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
So I got lucky there and I get to talk
to them after every game and learned the game from
a middle linebacker's position, right.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
And sometimes I.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
Called Bob Babbage and talk to him about you know,
he's retired now, so I think he's a perfect guy.
He talks about linebacker playing what he should be doing,
what they shouldn't be doing, and just really enjoying that
part of it.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
Even my daughter plays a volleyby.
Speaker 3 (10:46):
Mina, Ohio. Now I get to learn that game, right.
Of course, I'm an expert at I just trust me.
She's rolled her eyes a million times a week. So
the more I've learned about that game of volleyball, the
more I realized, like the first three years, boy was
I strewing her up?
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Was wrong?
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Well you are a I mean it's it's your father
of six, like you got you got some of the
pipeline yet, So James six two twenty five. I checked
on the u OFI website. I don't know if that's accurate.
Junior linebacker had a twelve tackle game against Rutgers last
year in common young guys, so you could tell us
about that guy. And then Josh.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
Man, I watched it before that game and I was
like James, you better buckle up this guy.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
I mean, you never seen one guy tackling my long
guy man.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
I mean he was tough on film in college, so yes,
I have watched him play and he is tough.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
He's a tough football player.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Heck of a pass pro guy. And then Josh six
ninety is that about right, playing the center position, team captain,
senior season two time All Big ten.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
And then daughter Grace freshman at Miami Ohio, one of
four daughters. So you can fill us in on the
other ones.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
But uh, yeah, pray for me.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
I had two in it about killed me.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
I don't care what religion you are. Just pray for me.
And they don't have religion, then do your breathing breed
for me. Just do something for me because I suffer.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
So they so what are there? They love the game.
NFL is in their cards.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
We'll see, We'll see.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
They have to improve, right, they have to keep getting better.
They have to keep working on their game. And you
guys know what it takes to play in the NFL,
and you know how few guys do it. And you know,
like the transferring your college game to the NFL game
and making the corrections and adjustments and working and getting
to where you got to be. I would say they
have a chance. I don't think either of them are guaranteed,
(12:38):
and they still have a.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Lot of work to do.
Speaker 4 (12:39):
Hey, Olan, does the NIL complicate the process for these kids?
Are they always thinking of what could possibly be out there?
Or are they trying to be Are they being enticed
by somebody else? Or is that they're settled in at
Illinois They're ready to roll until they get done.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
Of course it does. It does for everybody. Right, The
money is out there. It's it's extraordinary how much money
is out there. Josh is you know, he's a cruise.
He wants to be where he is, right, He never
even thought about it. He's gonna play for his team.
He's standing in Illinois. You know, he went to play
high school football Loyola. He's all in there, so and
(13:17):
so is James, and they just believe in that. But
as far as his NIL goes, Man, it's crazy out there.
I don't know what parameters are going to put around it.
The game is still great, right, The game is still great.
Just tells you how much money the people involved in
college football are making and have been making and a
lot of times these guys who are yelling about it's
broken and are once who broke it, right, he's saying
it too long. He's in a system too long that
(13:39):
just you knew it wasn't gonna work. There was you know,
once you start making what is the NFL, man got
a fifteen billion. The college is making something close. Man,
there's just a lot of money out there. They got
to find a way to put parameters around it and
make it fair for everybody. But also stop acting like
you don't have to pay the players and the coaches
just gonna get paid. And now they're in a system
that's a while wild west, And really the coaches who
(14:02):
were in there the longest, the coaches who are watching it, administrators,
the NCAA, they're really the ones who broke it. It's
not the kid's fault, right, the kids just going through
the process of the rules and everything that's going on there.
So the same people who broke it now scrambling to
fix it and say, wow, I mean it's unfair and
these kids are crazy, they're hard to coach.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
You're making so much.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
Money that was now, that's why, that's why when most
of these coaches are driving to their ten million dollars
home in Florida. They're worried about the system that's broken
his dominoes.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
I mean the transfer portal. I'm sure the cret was
dangled to both your sons. I mean, you don't have
to say.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
It's all the ways there, right, it's always there out there,
and you always know.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
It's an option now. And that's that's it's it's.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
Hard even as a parent, right because you want to
teach stick it out, work through it, get better, stick
where you are, stop complaining about things and all these stuff.
But you know, I'll tell you a little story about
even Joshua's now going to his third year starting. You know,
they were bringing in some portal guys, some portal centers,
and we talked about it and I called coaches around,
(15:02):
and you know, josh ended up staying there. And I
just told them, I said, well, if you're going to say,
then you got to go there and beat these guys out.
But you know, I called coaches that I was highly
respect the guys and I said, look, I tell my son,
you should stay, you should work, you should compete.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
And they said it's not like that anymore.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
Older it's not you got to watch because if they
bring a guy in to pay them, they got to
play them.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
So it's just there's a lot. There's a lot going on.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
There's about this other side of story that a lot
of Duodle don't hear. A lot of times you hear
like the school side, the coaches side hard is to recruit.
There's also the player's side too, that they're going through
the same process of dealing with something that's brand new
for everybody that.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Either of you ever would have imagined in your wildest dreams,
with life progressing as rapidly as it does on an
annual basis, that there would be actual general managers going
out and scouting and getting players for colleges like like
this is blown up and that's big money. I mean,
both of you guys could get the call, Hey help
(15:59):
us out. I mean you could have never imagined.
Speaker 4 (16:01):
I could never imagine it because I'm so far behind
with being drafted in eighty three that it was never
even a process.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
You consider.
Speaker 4 (16:09):
You just wanted to stay eligible, graduate and get into
the NFL. Those words, we'll get into the NFL graduate,
and that was my goals.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Anyways, you could I mean if you were watching, you know,
if you watched it played in it, you kind of.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
Felt something coming after a while when culture were getting
a hundred minute dollar contracts and what was it?
Speaker 2 (16:29):
You wasn't the guy who went to USC yet. I
mean he got like a house, his private jets.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
From the school Lincoln Riley, Like.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
Yeah, that's Lincoln Ryland.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
It's kind of like, okay, Like eventually with all this happening, guys,
what are you going to do for the players? Right
What are you gonna do for the guys that are
actually playing out there in the stadiums getting the TV contracts?
Speaker 2 (16:49):
It just was interesting and it's interesting.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
To watch right now how they're going to do all
this and how they're going to get their arms around
it and get it moving in the right direction.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
Again, We're brought to you by PNC Official Bank of
the Bears. Our broadcast teammate is your old teammate, and
I guess your boss is at Carmel High School, Jason McKee. Jason,
how first of all, how proud you are of j
Mack and the other guys, Rashid and anybody that has
gone into coaching and helping out these young guys it's
(17:20):
quite quite a thing. I think j Mack loves it
and he's thriving in it. And you work with him
firsthand in that, How would you assess that? And how
proud are you of him?
Speaker 2 (17:29):
You guys work with j Mac, Jason McKee man.
Speaker 3 (17:31):
I don't know if there's a better human being out
there who helps kids, who works in his family. I
know his wife's a big part of Carmel Catholic too.
The amount of work he does up there at Carmel
Cathley and a number of things he deals with from parents,
from administrators, from getting that football program moving in the
right direction, training kids at six in the morning, getting
guys who are calling kids, meeting with colleges for kids
(17:53):
to go to college, working with them, mentoring them, helping
them with their life problems. Look, I just go up
there and install power row man, I go up there,
I yell at people, right. I mean, J Mac, he
lets me just do my thing. I enjoy coaching with him.
Rashid Davis another former teammate who I enjoy coaching with
big cats over there at Lake Forest High Steel.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
We train in my gym. We talk about it.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
But as far as Jason McKee goes man the amount
of work he does for the community getting things moving.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
In the right direction.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
At Carmo, you can't help but respect it and love
to go up there and try to help them in
any way you can, you know.
Speaker 4 (18:28):
Oh, and I think in every community. My brother's been
coaching the freshman program for thirty years at JOEYACAFN. My
nephew's the offensive coordinator. But in our community, we have
a gym it's called Rudy's Gym that brings in all
the high school athletes around the area, both boys and girls,
and they do an incredible amount of work developing the
(18:49):
confidence with these kids. Is that the kind of the
same program that you have going in your weight room
or how do kids get attracted to you your gym?
Speaker 3 (19:02):
Mostly is from kids I know, and they're a little
older because with my family and stuff, but mostly only
over there in there in the morning. Right But I
have kids, And during COVID time and Loyola had a
ton of kids in there obviously training and there wasn't
a lot of places to go, and then there was
in school going on, so we had those kids in there.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
But right but right now, most of it's old. I
get a lot of college kids.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
I get some high school kids in the summertime, but
mostly it's just a word of mouth and people I
know and.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
They come to the gym and to help them train
and develop.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
And it's more of like an offensive line friendly system.
But we also have running backs and wide receivers and
like you know, strong and strong in the weight room
teaches you all kinds of things. If you're not a spot,
put weights away, put things where they belong, how to
pay attention. One one thing I ask these kids nowadays, Tom,
you'd be amazed. I say how much weight is on
that bar? And they don't know?
Speaker 2 (19:55):
Right?
Speaker 3 (19:55):
They go, they go into your phone, Like I said,
you know how to get your phone.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
Right, We're not adding the weight. Stop right? And then
I'll say put a quarter on. They don't know.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
That's twenty five, right, Put twenty five? Put two cent five,
one thirty five? What's one eighty five? They don't know,
They have no idea. I always tell them I have
weight room and chicken fight math. That's what I do, right, dude.
My math is from those two things, and it seems
to work pretty well. But the weight room is great
for everybody we do have some young kids. J I
wouldn't say I'm like a you know, I'm not an
open gym to the public where everybody come in. But
(20:23):
if someone asked me and I know them and we
have time, we.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Will help them trade.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
And it's good because my two boys are in there
and they're made, you know, they're thinking about those kinds
of things, what they want to do after football and stuff.
And everyone trains in there, and we have you remember,
for former Bear center Sam Muster, for his brother PJ.
Muster for bid me a long time. We have a
bunch of big cats in there with his son and
he's playing at Quincy. And we actually have a bunch
of people in their training j Max son Jordan was
(20:47):
in there today with another alignment that I've known at Carmel.
So just a just a good place for guys to
come and really more of like you know, former players
too need somewhere to go. And you know, mental health
sometimes is punching each other in the face. So we'll
do that boxing and wrestling and everyone will leave feeling
a little bit better about what they're doing. It's amazing
you talk about loading the bar, because I always said,
(21:08):
if I was a general manager in the NFL and
I had a guy that I was thinking about drafting.
I would say, hey, let me follow you on around
the weight room and put on two seventy five and
see if you're thinking about it or you know how
to do it, or show me the fifty pound dumbbells
and see if they can walk right to them. And
that's kind of funny that you bring it up. Whether
it's your generation or my generation, the weight room can
(21:29):
really tell a big story about what your percentage of
being successful is going to be.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
Right.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
And then, like what you're saying at the end of
the workout the other day, I said, guys, probably you
know a lot of these guys are going off to college.
I say, probably the best way I can help you
is this. I watched a lot of guys today. I
explained an exercise three guys did and the last guy
did it wrong. I see your coaches are watching that, Like,
make sure you're not doing that. If someone's in front
of you or if somebody explaining it, make sure you're
watching it doing it correctly.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
And then I said, they're time.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
To put the weights away, take weights off, make sure
you're helping make sure, you're spotting most guys nowadays. I
mean someone goes to work out there looking at their phone, right,
and it's just like okay.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
Like someone has to spot this guy.
Speaker 3 (22:11):
So, like you're saying, Tom, you can learn a lot
from somebody just watching them in the weight room, what
they care about, what they think about, and what the
weight room teaches an athlete and the kind of guy
you're talking about, Like all these football teams, I hear them.
I always hear him say they want culture. I never
hear him define it. I never hear you them tell
me what is their culture? How do you create culture?
(22:31):
And what's the kind of guy you're looking for? Where
do you look for culture at? And what's usually said, Tom,
is what they need to know. Where do you look
for culture? You look for it in the weight room.
You look for the guy you want and what's he
doing in there?
Speaker 1 (22:41):
You know?
Speaker 4 (22:42):
Ohen the great client Emeric, he never allowed chalk in
the weight room because it made the weight room dirty.
So does an Owen Cruise Does he allow chalk in
the weight room? And the chalk is something that you
put on your hands for a better grip on the bar.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
We do use chalk.
Speaker 3 (22:59):
I'm always say like, they'll go in there and I'll
be Okay, we're not chalking for one hundred pund dumbbells.
Guys like we canet show for the one forties to
one fifties and stuff.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
But we have it. But but we do have to
wipe down and mop after.
Speaker 3 (23:10):
And that's one of my favorite teasts to do is
I had a mop to like a young kid or a.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
Player and to washed in try to use a mop
is hilarious.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
And usually what I'll do is I'll film the first
time in some on mops because that's the number one
thing they can approve on is their mop. And you know,
you you have to control the mop. You can't let
the mop control you. He's a saying in our.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
Gym and my oldest daughter Kelly, which you you know
olin is a competitive weightlifter. Now she tells me that
that talk is anti bacterial, So yeah, she's away ahead
of the curve on the biology of the floor. Dirty
Hey Bears. Fan steinoffls, a proud partner the Chicago Bears,
(23:49):
are now opening in Orland Park. Steinoffles the Chicago Dands,
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shopping storing online at Steinhoffels dot com. All right, Owen,
you're an analyst on six seventy of the score outstanding
of what you're doing there and in season offseason, your
analysis is right on the money. How do you feel
(24:12):
if this were a stock right now? The Chicago Bears.
And let's begin at the offensive line, because we interviewed
several of those guys yesterday and I said, you know
that interior three is kind of the billboard for the season.
That's where it's going to start. And you guys got
to be the leaders, and let's go.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
Yeah, you cannot be excited about Tony Dolman and Jonah Jackson, right,
and Jonah Jackson.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
We all want to.
Speaker 3 (24:35):
See him when he was in Detroit. Man, I don't
know about you, Tom, but I was a really big
fan of this. I thought he'd moved guys off the ball.
I thought he came off the walk that I got
after guys. I actually at one point he was playing
the best football at all the guys on the Lions
offensive line. I'm surprised they let him go. So excited
for him to be there. Interesting to see what he
looks like at right guard. Obviously we know the professional
(24:55):
that Joe Toney is an in dollmen man is a young,
good young center lay on outside zone right funneled watch
play football over.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
There in Atlanta.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
So they really put spent a lot of money there,
which you know is music to my ears right to
rebuild that offensive line, and Darnelle Wright keep taking another step,
and I think he's gonna be I think it's chanced
to be a really good football player. And I have
a lot of stress for coach Roschar and what he
does and the things he believes in and the fundamentals
and the waylegs guy's coming off the ball and the
drills he uses. So I am excited about the offensive
(25:27):
line and see what they can do with it after
putting those assets in there. And we'll see which direction
they're going. And let you guys know, that's the unit
that leads right, that's the unit that you win late
in the year at at Soldier Field in late December.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
That's the unit ass to take over the game.
Speaker 4 (25:42):
You know, It's funny because I think about the Bears
offensive line and the kind of the rebuilding process. Then
I think about the offensive lines around the division. So
you got Frank rag Now who retired yesterday, and you're
going to try to make a guard into a center
at green Bank. You're going to try to make a
guard into a center at Detroit. The difficulty of that,
I've listen. I was a backup center, but I was
(26:04):
no good. I was just doing it because I could
do it, and I don't I don't think it's that
I don't think it's that easy. So it's gonna be
interesting if you just look at the center position in
the division. That how it's all gonna work itself out.
Speaker 3 (26:16):
Yeah, it will be interesting, right and and just you know,
to throw it back at your toime. I was a
backup guard my rookie year and I was no good.
So I think I was supposed to be a center.
But uh, that that'll be interesting, right. I know the
Packers would after Aaron Banks Notre Dame Prospect and added
him and the movie Elton Jenkins over which Manstein. He's
a big guy. I think he's a really good guard.
(26:37):
So HD's choice by them. And then uh, like you're
talking about with Frank right now, I think they draft
the Lions drafted a kid, Tate Rutley is gonna try
and move him to center, and I'm sure it was
kind of surprise for them, right, But Frank's studling showing
with injuries over the last two or three years, and
nowadays with the money these guys are making, you can
see early retirements more and more coming your way.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
Right.
Speaker 3 (26:59):
But it's Pine School instead of Taylor Decker, and they
still have Glasgow and they're still very good up the front,
especially you got Pane Seowel and Decker as your book ends.
But center is an important position, right And I know
that the Vikings through money at Will Fries and brought
over the coach center too, and they've revamped their offensive
line and drafted a guy and everyone knows that eventually
right now, man like you have to win that the
(27:21):
Eagles have shown us there's a way to win this
game is fight front at the line of scrimmage, either
stopping or run gain after the passer or protecting your
quarterback and running the ball. So interesting the where the
North has gone here, but it's good to see the
Bears have have a young guy and Darnell right who
can maybe a send and be their culture center, their leader.
Have a young guy and dolmen there at center. Same thing,
(27:44):
Jonah Jackson, Tuney can show them the way a little
bit right to see some develve someone over there at
left Tapple and try to compete the way they want
to compete there with the way they put money in
that offensive line.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
Interesting, every every division team has a new center here
in twenty you know, and I listen. The idea is
they got to see the game through the eyes of
the quarterback. You guys got to be on the same
page in that regard, and the play caller in this case,
the head coach as well. So it's not a position
of insignificance by any means. I know people don't think
it's sexy. Olen, I mean, I gotta tell you, I
(28:17):
gotta have a good center. I gotta have a bad
man at center. I got it. And Tom and I
were talking about this today too, about size. What do
you prefer?
Speaker 3 (28:25):
Like?
Speaker 1 (28:25):
What's the ideal center in terms of size? Not necessarily
you're going to be about three hundred, little under three
hundred to play the position nowadays. But does the hype
matter to you? What do you think?
Speaker 2 (28:39):
No, if I turn a film on.
Speaker 3 (28:40):
If he's blocking somebody, I'm good, right, if he's blocking somebody,
if he gave these moving in the right direction, if
he can point out where blitz is coming from, he
can help the quarterback organize circtain aspects of the football game.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
Right, and they call it.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
They always tell about quarterbacks processing information. Centers have to
do the same thing. Right, Centers at the process information,
at the pivot. In a matter of twelve to fifteen seconds,
everybody lined up, everybody moving in the right direction, especially
in a run game. Right, if you look at a
coaching staff, you always have an OC, a pass game coordinator.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
And a run game coordinator on the field.
Speaker 3 (29:11):
The quarterback is the pass game quarter and the center
is the run game coordinator. Right, you're the guy coordinating
the run game side. In the run game siding where
a matchup store, where to get the point, where to
get the double team's moved to, how to get an advantage,
how to get a plus one on the defense. So
centers are really important to Obviously I'm a former center.
But as as far as size goes, I mean, Jony,
you give me over six feet if you're over two
(29:33):
hundred and seventy pounds. I'm good to know Jason Kelsey
just showed you that he can a smaller center can do.
But now listen, it's like a basketball team to me,
and Tom can disagree with me if he wants. But
if you get a small center, get him a big guard. Right,
you get a big center, get a small guard. Right,
you're trying to make like you're trying to be a
power forward a small forward. Someone's got to be on
a second level blocking linebackers. And then you've got to
(29:54):
be strong enough. And that's where small centers. The weight
room comes into play. Everyone said, well, why did you
love the way? I need it to be in there, right,
I need to be in there getting stronger, straining through weights.
If you get a guy who's three hundred and thirty
pounds sixty six sixty seven, guys say, oh.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
He doesn't train.
Speaker 3 (30:09):
I say, man, if you have his genetics, yeah, fine,
don't right if you're if you're that kind of monster, right,
I always tell my kids, Dad, we're working out there.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
I say you are because you have to.
Speaker 3 (30:18):
Right, Well, your genetics, you better get in that weight
room and you better work out and you better get strong.
So as far as the size goes, whatever you have
there at the pivot, whoever you think is a good
football player, just make sure you're building around him that's
matching whatever his weakness is. My best years, we're always
with the Ruben Browns, the big Roberto guards as the
Chris Valarios, the Todd Perry's right. When I walked out
(30:40):
one time, I remember telling Jerry Angel I said, Jerry,
I'm the tallest guy in the middle walking to the
line of scrimmage.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
Do you see that as a problem? Right?
Speaker 3 (30:47):
I love Josh Beekman, but me and um sure to
be walking together to the line of scrimmage.
Speaker 4 (30:51):
Hey, oh, I wasn't going to ask you this, but
I'm going to ask you this. So in my forty
years of being around the Bears, I think I've seen
two centers that I believe that can run the tush push,
and that's you and Hilgey. When you look at that
play from this point of view of the center, is
the mandatory job that has to be done by the center.
(31:12):
You have to have a quick snap, you have to
earn leverage and then get some movement.
Speaker 1 (31:16):
How do you what do you think about.
Speaker 4 (31:17):
The center position and the specifics of that play.
Speaker 3 (31:22):
Yes, Pat under pad right, can you keep your feet
moving forward like you're saying at that height right? So
to get most guys can dive and they're done, right.
They can't keep moving, keep digging their feet forward. So
that takes a lot of athleticism. By letters, I mean,
I mean we can go into it right, like your
ankles have to be able to move in that direction.
It takes it takes a guy who can do that,
(31:43):
like you're saying, and when you really start that play
like you guys probably have. I mean, I remember watching
jac Kelsey's hands are actually on the ground. I thought
to myself, but if you want to stop the place,
step on their hands.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
But I'm sure they can't do that right.
Speaker 3 (31:54):
So but it's just a it's a cool it's a
rugby play right. As Tom knows, I grew up in Hawaii.
I've watched a lot of rugby. Polynesians are huge on rugby.
It's you know, it's that pile play again, a moving
and they have a six hundred and fifty pounds squatting
quarterback like, I mean, I don't know, I don't know
what you're gonna do there? If the center and the
(32:15):
guards and keep their feet moving with that pad level.
Speaker 2 (32:18):
And your quarterback is that strong.
Speaker 3 (32:20):
And I don't know what sa Kwon Barkley who backward
jumps over guys, I don't know what he squats. So
that play seems very specific to the Philadelphia Eagles and
what they're capable. And I think, like I think you
guys probably noticed. But Kelsey, he scouted Cam Durgons, right,
He had them draft Cam Durgens and bring them in
and then taught him how to play center.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
And there's another thing that the Eagles do right.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
They don't let the guys leave like Fletcher Cox, Todd
Jalen Carter. Right, Kelsey taught Cam Jurgens how to play center.
So when they have someone great, it's a smart thing
to do. When you have someone great, amazing at a position,
why not draft somebody and let them teach them how
to play that position.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Excellent point.
Speaker 2 (33:00):
Good news.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
Chicago United Airlines is getting brand new planes with all
the bells and whistles, like Bluetooth connectivity, screens at every
seat and a room for everyone's rolder bag. United proud
to fly the Chicago Bears. And you two handicap the
left tackle because I think it'll be the number one
story of training camp. Who wins that job.
Speaker 3 (33:17):
Who wins that job? At left tackle? I haven't seen
any of Ozzi Trapillo. I haven't seen him play. I'd
be lying to you if I told you I did,
and I don't.
Speaker 2 (33:26):
Let you. Guys know.
Speaker 3 (33:27):
You have to see him against this level of competition,
and then you guys see him in pass and then
you guys see week one, and then you got to
see how he adjusted the week two. And when they
figure out what he's bad at, can he adjust it
at right? Those are the things we all know what
it is takes in the NFL. Man they study all
of a sudden that guy's abildings for nine hours, study
just how to beat you.
Speaker 2 (33:46):
So that's one thing we have to watch with him.
Speaker 3 (33:47):
But with Audit Trapillo, they're Braxin Jones, Karanamagaji. They have
three guys who can go after I don't know what
Braxin's health is light Karanamagaji. I know I saw him
a couple of times in my gym twice exact, and
he had that quad and he was just trying to
get a strong and get that leg moving in the
right direction and for him to kick straight back and
reload that leg and that hip and.
Speaker 2 (34:08):
That ankle and get moving.
Speaker 3 (34:10):
I don't know where he is now, so it is
a question mark dret left out on it. And then
it's a good question. And if I told you I
knew who was gonna win that job, I don't know.
Maybe we can e motion coach and leveling over and
have him chip over there all day long.
Speaker 1 (34:24):
Well, I tell you we could. We could go on
for hours with you. Olen, that just scratched the surface.
I knew it would be good, and you delivered in
a big way. So we appreciate your time. Thank you
so much for joining us.
Speaker 2 (34:37):
It's an honor man. You guys are the best.
Speaker 1 (34:39):
We'll have you on again sometime.
Speaker 2 (34:40):
Thanks. Alan, appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (34:41):
Guys, appreciate it. Olen. We're brought to you by PNC
Official Bank of the Bears and our aches, pains or
injuries keeping you on the sidelines. Athleticos moving experts are
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physical therapy partner of the Chicago Bears Special Thanks again
(35:05):
to Olin Cruits and for Tim There. I'm Jeff Joniac.
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, everybody,
Cut open that DJ Moore end zone touchdown touchdown pairs.
I am Jeff Joniyack Blitz is not Donny go.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
R. What was like playing for Cody Goodgoh.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
I don't want to answer any questions like that pressure
coming is a big trouble. Donny Goes Montest Sweat.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Bears, et cetera.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Brought to you by Miller Light with the voices of
the Bears, Jeff Joniac and Tom Thayer. Well you can't
get wrong at all with a pair of fifty sevens,
a pair of Super Bowl offensive linemen and iron men
with a combined three hundred and thirty one starts in
Bear uniforms. With Super Bowl winning Bears guard Tom Thayer,
I'm Jeff Joniac. We're brought to you by Miller Lights.
Tom Thayer one hundred and thirty three games, including one
(00:49):
hundred and thirty straight starts at right guard and one
of the best centers in NFL history, Six time Pro Bowlder,
OH six First Team All Pro olden CRUs number twenty
seven of the Bears one hundred list our guest one
hundred ninety eight games on hundred ninety one starts in
a Bears uniform. First start against the Packers season finale,
Soldier Field finished on a streak of one hundred and
(01:10):
thirty six straight starts. And this is episode one on
the Bears Et Cetera podcast. Good to have you, Onen.
The only reason I'm bringing up all that stuff is
because it's rare, certainly in today's game, and I'll give
you some statistical proof of that. But uh, you guys
were both iron man. Thank you for taking the time
to join us talk a little ball talk about what's
(01:31):
going on in your life and Chicago Bears football.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Well, I got an email, I said, Jeff, Joni I
could talk there, and I said, Matt, it'd be my pleasure.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
To jump on with you guys.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
I mean, you guys were doing it when I was there,
so it's always honored to be on with you guys.
You guys are real as you guys know, I do
some of this analyst stuff nowadays, and you guys are
the real o gs of this this work and guys
that I've listened to and learned a lot from.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
So it's a pleasure for me.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Honestly, we we were looking forward to it, believe when
we found out this was going to go down, I
bring up the iron Man angle. For this reason, Detroit
Lions last year were by far the only team in
the league they have the same starting five offensive linemen
for the most snaps. They were at eighty percent of
snaps and the next closest team and I don't remember
(02:18):
what it was like fifty five percent in this league. Now,
you guys wouldn't have it back in your day. I mean,
you had you had appendic appendix removed, you were in
the lineup the next week. Oland. Do you find that
one of the biggest changes in offensive line in the
current NFL landscape?
Speaker 3 (02:36):
Yeah, I mean, I mean guys playing every week, playing
through injuries. I mean you could say guys are a
lot smarter nowadays, right, the doctors know a lot more.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
I remember playing through a high ankles frame.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Probably shouldn't have, right, basically I was useless that game,
but we did Detroit in the last game of the
year play with a high ankles frame. Couldn't really walk
on LA. I don't know if they'd let you do
that nowadays. So a lot of times people are always
talking to you about in your career, your life after football. Uh,
you know, in my day and especially in Tom's day,
we weren't smart enough to talk about those things. I mean,
(03:08):
guys nowadays know the name of every muscle on their body. Right,
if you would have told me olin work on your
so as. Back I talked about the dinosaur. I didn't
know what that was a so as. Maybe there was
some kind of food at a buffet somewhere.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
But what is it?
Speaker 1 (03:22):
What is it?
Speaker 3 (03:23):
By the way, educating, it's your hit flexer. It's your
hit flexer runs from your hip to the middle of
your spine.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Right. But see, even I know that nowadays, and an
idiot like me knows that, means.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Everyone knows it. I went to this Gridiron Greats. It
was a great event. Uh, they put me in their
Hall of Fame. But you know they helped players in
dire need. And my daughter actually said, what are you
doing dad? In my I was in my office and
I said, I'm working on giving a speech at Gridiron
grat She looked at me, she shook her head. She goes,
chat GBT, Dad just punched your name, and sure enough, man,
(03:54):
you do that. And they came up with a speech
for that exact event. And I only tell you that
because that's what these have nowadays, right, Google, What do
you have? What's wrong with you? Should you play with this?
Should you play with that? We didn't know those things.
Took a lot of pride and playing every game. Honestly.
I remember we played the Minnesota Vikings one year. I
think it was two thousand and five. Remember we had
to buy we were going up there to play in Minnesota,
(04:17):
and we already were set in we're gonna buy and
we're gonna play the next week, and love You called
me in. He said, we're not going to play this week.
You have a straight anchor. I said, the hell you're not.
The hell you're not going to play men this week?
Especially with you guys knew how I felt about Pat Williams.
Didn't really like him when I played, and really wanted
to play against him. And I said, I am not
taking myself out of a game against Pat Williams. And
there was an argument there for a while, right, and
(04:37):
really just really my argument to love You was, this
is why I train all year, this is why I
work so hard in the weight room. I want to
play every game. If the starter's out there, I want
to be out there. And like you're saying, Jeff, things
are changed.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
It's your opinion whether it's better or for worse.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
Old timer like me, I like to see guys play
every game, get on the field with their teammates, get
out there. And you know, the Bears talf a lot
about culture, and you're talking about culture.
Speaker 4 (05:01):
You know, Ohen, there's a few guys in the history
of my broadcasting career, which is twenty nine years, that
I admire as much as you. And I'm only telling
you this because we're on Zoom, But the reason is
the reason is ollen and you talk about the culture,
the requirements you put on the rest of the offensive
line room, and the kind of filtered over to the
rest of the team. But that whole all for one
(05:23):
and one for all attitude. I think that's what's missing
from the game today. And if they could have someone
that led by example like you did. Because when I
would sit on the bus and I'd be watching the
team getting ready to travel or being in a game
and watching all you guys come out, I really appreciated
that man, and I think that's something that's missing in
(05:43):
the game today, and for all the guys that we've
been around for what you did for this organization, this
team in terms of the culture and the requirements that
you put on their back. I think that's something that's
hard to replace nowadays.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Oh well, first of all, I appreciate it and be respected,
as you know, Jeff, I guy like Tom. It means
the world to a former football player like me. But
you know, we also had a great locker room, as
you guys know. You guys are there, man, We had names.
We had Roberto guards that we had, Ruben Brown, Brian
Urlac or Peanut Tilm and Lance Bridge, Mike Brown. There
were so many leaders there that leading on that team
(06:17):
was easy, right, and saying the temple every day and
is getting guys who followed because you had so many
guys who believed in the same things and believe in
playing football. And like you're saying, it's changed, right. I
coach a lot of little league football, coach high school
football the last three years.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Some of these high school guys are getting paid now, right.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
I got two sons who play for Illinois once who
started center on one's ballet for a linebacker job.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
They get paid over there at Illinois.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Keeping them moving in the right direction, keeping them worried
about the right stuff. I always tell them, we're about
being good in football and it nothing else really matters
and everything else will fall into place. So it's a
different it's a different world we live in now with
social media and the culture and the way things are done.
But like you're saying, Tom, the same thing, still winning football,
and can you find it? Can you find it? Can
you go out there and find somebody? And I always
(07:03):
say this, I don't know if you guys agree. When
you talk about culture. Players build your culture. You have
to draft culture, right. You want guys who lift weights,
You better draft someone who lift weights, right. You want
guys who hit people on every play, They better be
hitting guys on every play on the film, Like you're
not going to create that when they walk in the building.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
I think players make your culture. Obviously, coaches do to.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
I know the Bears have a new coaching staff up
there to try and get things moving in the right direction.
But man, I appreciate you saying that, but we really
really had a good locker room, good coaching staff. Love
He really really empowered us to lead, really gave us
a locker room and let us let us go from there.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
This podcast brought to you by the official beer partner
of Your Chicago Bears tastes like Middle Time Chicago. Go
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Speaker 4 (07:54):
Oh and what you know, the dedicated player that you
were and now you're a father of dedicated football players.
What's what game is harder for you to watch the
film of you playing or the live action of your
kids playing.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
The live action will wear me out, man, I mean
the film with me, I just think it's funny Tom,
because I always realized I wasn't as good as I
thought I was. Whenever I turned the film, I'm like, hey, well, hey,
I didn't even know I got beat there.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
I don't remember that, right, So I only remember the
good plays.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
And I you know, my uh my kids always laughed
at me because I'll turn the film on and my
boys will be like, I tell you said, he never
got beat.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
And I said, my mind, you know that didn't even happen.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
But I remember last year the Illinois starting linebacker went
down and James, my young little boy, started at Mike
and so he plays on every special team too, and
he ended the year started about the last five or
six games at middle linebacker with Josh Lang center. I thought,
that's what I always wanted, right, I was like, I
gotta get James on the field, and it is what
you want. But man, was I exhausted me and my wife,
(08:52):
Voe said after the game, because there was never a
play where one of them weren't in there playing. And
every time I thought, okay, you know the offense is
going to pun I'm a take a break here, I
forgot James is coming out on the punt team.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
And then he was playing middle linebacker.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
You just you know, like you're you're like, okay, like
don't screw this up, right, like like going there and
you like the whole time. I'm an old ball player,
like you guys know, and everything to me is wrong,
right yeah, because you're foot in the right place, Like.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Why didn't you do this? Why didn't you do that?
Speaker 3 (09:18):
This year, James set me film and I was watching
it with him and it's some clips to him playing
middle linebacker, and I said, James, I've told you a
million times I want you to blow that center's head off.
In the spring springball and he like goes quiet, and
I'm like, I'm telling you, I said, James, are you there?
Speaker 2 (09:35):
I want that guy's head blown off? Right?
Speaker 3 (09:38):
And he like and like no said he like. Finally
he goes Dad, I go, yeah, he goes, that's Josh.
I go, don't maybe not maybe, don't blop your maybe,
don't blow your brother. I'm sorry, you know, so I said,
I don't want too much brother in law going on.
But I said, I understand, man, You're not coming down
here and try to take that guy's head off.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
That's funny because we're interviewing some folks yesterday. Well you Dolman,
his dad Chris Dowman, former forty nine er, Tom asked
him a great question. You know, who's the first person
you call after a game? He calls his dad and
they break it down. Do you do they call you
as well, first thing after a game.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
Yeah, they do, and we talk and I'm in most
games there in Champagne and we talk after every game
and it's awesome.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
Man.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
I mean, like, you guys know you can't force him, right,
You can't force him to play this game.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
You can't force them to love it, but they do.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
So I got lucky there and I get to talk
to them after every game and learned the game from
a middle linebacker's position, right.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
And sometimes I.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
Called Bob Babbage and talk to him about you know,
he's retired now, so I think he's a perfect guy.
He talks about linebacker playing what he should be doing,
what they shouldn't be doing, and just really enjoying that
part of it.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
Even my daughter plays a volleyby.
Speaker 3 (10:46):
Mina, Ohio. Now I get to learn that game, right.
Of course, I'm an expert at I just trust me.
She's rolled her eyes a million times a week. So
the more I've learned about that game of volleyball, the
more I realized, like the first three years, boy was
I strewing her up?
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Was wrong?
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Well you are a I mean it's it's your father
of six, like you got you got some of the
pipeline yet, So James six two twenty five. I checked
on the u OFI website. I don't know if that's accurate.
Junior linebacker had a twelve tackle game against Rutgers last
year in common young guys, so you could tell us
about that guy. And then Josh.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
Man, I watched it before that game and I was
like James, you better buckle up this guy.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
I mean, you never seen one guy tackling my long
guy man.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
I mean he was tough on film in college, so yes,
I have watched him play and he is tough.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
He's a tough football player.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Heck of a pass pro guy. And then Josh six
ninety is that about right, playing the center position, team captain,
senior season two time All Big ten.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
And then daughter Grace freshman at Miami Ohio, one of
four daughters. So you can fill us in on the
other ones.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
But uh, yeah, pray for me.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
I had two in it about killed me.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
I don't care what religion you are. Just pray for me.
And they don't have religion, then do your breathing breed
for me. Just do something for me because I suffer.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
So they so what are there? They love the game.
NFL is in their cards.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
We'll see, We'll see.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
They have to improve, right, they have to keep getting better.
They have to keep working on their game. And you
guys know what it takes to play in the NFL,
and you know how few guys do it. And you know,
like the transferring your college game to the NFL game
and making the corrections and adjustments and working and getting
to where you got to be. I would say they
have a chance. I don't think either of them are guaranteed,
(12:38):
and they still have a.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Lot of work to do.
Speaker 4 (12:39):
Hey, Olan, does the NIL complicate the process for these kids?
Are they always thinking of what could possibly be out there?
Or are they trying to be Are they being enticed
by somebody else? Or is that they're settled in at
Illinois They're ready to roll until they get done.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
Of course it does. It does for everybody. Right, The
money is out there. It's it's extraordinary how much money
is out there. Josh is you know, he's a cruise.
He wants to be where he is, right, He never
even thought about it. He's gonna play for his team.
He's standing in Illinois. You know, he went to play
high school football Loyola. He's all in there, so and
(13:17):
so is James, and they just believe in that. But
as far as his NIL goes, Man, it's crazy out there.
I don't know what parameters are going to put around it.
The game is still great, right, The game is still great.
Just tells you how much money the people involved in
college football are making and have been making and a
lot of times these guys who are yelling about it's
broken and are once who broke it, right, he's saying
it too long. He's in a system too long that
(13:39):
just you knew it wasn't gonna work. There was you know,
once you start making what is the NFL, man got
a fifteen billion. The college is making something close. Man,
there's just a lot of money out there. They got
to find a way to put parameters around it and
make it fair for everybody. But also stop acting like
you don't have to pay the players and the coaches
just gonna get paid. And now they're in a system
that's a while wild west, And really the coaches who
(14:02):
were in there the longest, the coaches who are watching it, administrators,
the NCAA, they're really the ones who broke it. It's
not the kid's fault, right, the kids just going through
the process of the rules and everything that's going on there.
So the same people who broke it now scrambling to
fix it and say, wow, I mean it's unfair and
these kids are crazy, they're hard to coach.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
You're making so much.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
Money that was now, that's why, that's why when most
of these coaches are driving to their ten million dollars
home in Florida. They're worried about the system that's broken
his dominoes.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
I mean the transfer portal. I'm sure the cret was
dangled to both your sons. I mean, you don't have
to say.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
It's all the ways there, right, it's always there out there,
and you always know.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
It's an option now. And that's that's it's it's.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
Hard even as a parent, right because you want to
teach stick it out, work through it, get better, stick
where you are, stop complaining about things and all these stuff.
But you know, I'll tell you a little story about
even Joshua's now going to his third year starting. You know,
they were bringing in some portal guys, some portal centers,
and we talked about it and I called coaches around,
(15:02):
and you know, josh ended up staying there. And I
just told them, I said, well, if you're going to say,
then you got to go there and beat these guys out.
But you know, I called coaches that I was highly
respect the guys and I said, look, I tell my son,
you should stay, you should work, you should compete.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
And they said it's not like that anymore.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
Older it's not you got to watch because if they
bring a guy in to pay them, they got to
play them.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
So it's just there's a lot. There's a lot going on.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
There's about this other side of story that a lot
of Duodle don't hear. A lot of times you hear
like the school side, the coaches side hard is to recruit.
There's also the player's side too, that they're going through
the same process of dealing with something that's brand new
for everybody that.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Either of you ever would have imagined in your wildest dreams,
with life progressing as rapidly as it does on an
annual basis, that there would be actual general managers going
out and scouting and getting players for colleges like like
this is blown up and that's big money. I mean,
both of you guys could get the call, Hey help
(15:59):
us out. I mean you could have never imagined.
Speaker 4 (16:01):
I could never imagine it because I'm so far behind
with being drafted in eighty three that it was never
even a process.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
You consider.
Speaker 4 (16:09):
You just wanted to stay eligible, graduate and get into
the NFL. Those words, we'll get into the NFL graduate,
and that was my goals.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Anyways, you could I mean if you were watching, you know,
if you watched it played in it, you kind of.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
Felt something coming after a while when culture were getting
a hundred minute dollar contracts and what was it?
Speaker 2 (16:29):
You wasn't the guy who went to USC yet. I
mean he got like a house, his private jets.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
From the school Lincoln Riley, Like.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
Yeah, that's Lincoln Ryland.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
It's kind of like, okay, Like eventually with all this happening, guys,
what are you going to do for the players? Right
What are you gonna do for the guys that are
actually playing out there in the stadiums getting the TV contracts?
Speaker 2 (16:49):
It just was interesting and it's interesting.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
To watch right now how they're going to do all
this and how they're going to get their arms around
it and get it moving in the right direction.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
Again, We're brought to you by PNC Official Bank of
the Bears. Our broadcast teammate is your old teammate, and
I guess your boss is at Carmel High School, Jason McKee. Jason,
how first of all, how proud you are of j
Mack and the other guys, Rashid and anybody that has
gone into coaching and helping out these young guys it's
(17:20):
quite quite a thing. I think j Mack loves it
and he's thriving in it. And you work with him
firsthand in that, How would you assess that? And how
proud are you of him?
Speaker 2 (17:29):
You guys work with j Mac, Jason McKee man.
Speaker 3 (17:31):
I don't know if there's a better human being out
there who helps kids, who works in his family. I
know his wife's a big part of Carmel Catholic too.
The amount of work he does up there at Carmel
Cathley and a number of things he deals with from parents,
from administrators, from getting that football program moving in the
right direction, training kids at six in the morning, getting
guys who are calling kids, meeting with colleges for kids
(17:53):
to go to college, working with them, mentoring them, helping
them with their life problems. Look, I just go up
there and install power row man, I go up there,
I yell at people, right. I mean, J Mac, he
lets me just do my thing. I enjoy coaching with him.
Rashid Davis another former teammate who I enjoy coaching with
big cats over there at Lake Forest High Steel.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
We train in my gym. We talk about it.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
But as far as Jason McKee goes man the amount
of work he does for the community getting things moving.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
In the right direction.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
At Carmo, you can't help but respect it and love
to go up there and try to help them in
any way you can, you know.
Speaker 4 (18:28):
Oh, and I think in every community. My brother's been
coaching the freshman program for thirty years at JOEYACAFN. My
nephew's the offensive coordinator. But in our community, we have
a gym it's called Rudy's Gym that brings in all
the high school athletes around the area, both boys and girls,
and they do an incredible amount of work developing the
(18:49):
confidence with these kids. Is that the kind of the
same program that you have going in your weight room
or how do kids get attracted to you your gym?
Speaker 3 (19:02):
Mostly is from kids I know, and they're a little
older because with my family and stuff, but mostly only
over there in there in the morning. Right But I
have kids, And during COVID time and Loyola had a
ton of kids in there obviously training and there wasn't
a lot of places to go, and then there was
in school going on, so we had those kids in there.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
But right but right now, most of it's old. I
get a lot of college kids.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
I get some high school kids in the summertime, but
mostly it's just a word of mouth and people I
know and.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
They come to the gym and to help them train
and develop.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
And it's more of like an offensive line friendly system.
But we also have running backs and wide receivers and
like you know, strong and strong in the weight room
teaches you all kinds of things. If you're not a spot,
put weights away, put things where they belong, how to
pay attention. One one thing I ask these kids nowadays, Tom,
you'd be amazed. I say how much weight is on
that bar? And they don't know?
Speaker 2 (19:55):
Right?
Speaker 3 (19:55):
They go, they go into your phone, Like I said,
you know how to get your phone.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
Right, We're not adding the weight. Stop right? And then
I'll say put a quarter on. They don't know.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
That's twenty five, right, Put twenty five? Put two cent five,
one thirty five? What's one eighty five? They don't know,
They have no idea. I always tell them I have
weight room and chicken fight math. That's what I do, right, dude.
My math is from those two things, and it seems
to work pretty well. But the weight room is great
for everybody we do have some young kids. J I
wouldn't say I'm like a you know, I'm not an
open gym to the public where everybody come in. But
(20:23):
if someone asked me and I know them and we
have time, we.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Will help them trade.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
And it's good because my two boys are in there
and they're made, you know, they're thinking about those kinds
of things, what they want to do after football and stuff.
And everyone trains in there, and we have you remember,
for former Bear center Sam Muster, for his brother PJ.
Muster for bid me a long time. We have a
bunch of big cats in there with his son and
he's playing at Quincy. And we actually have a bunch
of people in their training j Max son Jordan was
(20:47):
in there today with another alignment that I've known at Carmel.
So just a just a good place for guys to
come and really more of like you know, former players
too need somewhere to go. And you know, mental health
sometimes is punching each other in the face. So we'll
do that boxing and wrestling and everyone will leave feeling
a little bit better about what they're doing. It's amazing
you talk about loading the bar, because I always said,
(21:08):
if I was a general manager in the NFL and
I had a guy that I was thinking about drafting.
I would say, hey, let me follow you on around
the weight room and put on two seventy five and
see if you're thinking about it or you know how
to do it, or show me the fifty pound dumbbells
and see if they can walk right to them. And
that's kind of funny that you bring it up. Whether
it's your generation or my generation, the weight room can
(21:29):
really tell a big story about what your percentage of
being successful is going to be.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
Right.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
And then, like what you're saying at the end of
the workout the other day, I said, guys, probably you
know a lot of these guys are going off to college.
I say, probably the best way I can help you
is this. I watched a lot of guys today. I
explained an exercise three guys did and the last guy
did it wrong. I see your coaches are watching that, Like,
make sure you're not doing that. If someone's in front
of you or if somebody explaining it, make sure you're
watching it doing it correctly.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
And then I said, they're time.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
To put the weights away, take weights off, make sure
you're helping make sure, you're spotting most guys nowadays. I
mean someone goes to work out there looking at their phone, right,
and it's just like okay.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
Like someone has to spot this guy.
Speaker 3 (22:11):
So, like you're saying, Tom, you can learn a lot
from somebody just watching them in the weight room, what
they care about, what they think about, and what the
weight room teaches an athlete and the kind of guy
you're talking about, Like all these football teams, I hear them.
I always hear him say they want culture. I never
hear him define it. I never hear you them tell
me what is their culture? How do you create culture?
(22:31):
And what's the kind of guy you're looking for? Where
do you look for culture at? And what's usually said, Tom,
is what they need to know. Where do you look
for culture? You look for it in the weight room.
You look for the guy you want and what's he
doing in there?
Speaker 1 (22:41):
You know?
Speaker 4 (22:42):
Ohen the great client Emeric, he never allowed chalk in
the weight room because it made the weight room dirty.
So does an Owen Cruise Does he allow chalk in
the weight room? And the chalk is something that you
put on your hands for a better grip on the bar.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
We do use chalk.
Speaker 3 (22:59):
I'm always say like, they'll go in there and I'll
be Okay, we're not chalking for one hundred pund dumbbells.
Guys like we canet show for the one forties to
one fifties and stuff.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
But we have it. But but we do have to
wipe down and mop after.
Speaker 3 (23:10):
And that's one of my favorite teasts to do is
I had a mop to like a young kid or a.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
Player and to washed in try to use a mop
is hilarious.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
And usually what I'll do is I'll film the first
time in some on mops because that's the number one
thing they can approve on is their mop. And you know,
you you have to control the mop. You can't let
the mop control you. He's a saying in our.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
Gym and my oldest daughter Kelly, which you you know
olin is a competitive weightlifter. Now she tells me that
that talk is anti bacterial, So yeah, she's away ahead
of the curve on the biology of the floor. Dirty
Hey Bears. Fan steinoffls, a proud partner the Chicago Bears,
(23:49):
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shopping storing online at Steinhoffels dot com. All right, Owen,
you're an analyst on six seventy of the score outstanding
of what you're doing there and in season offseason, your
analysis is right on the money. How do you feel
(24:12):
if this were a stock right now? The Chicago Bears.
And let's begin at the offensive line, because we interviewed
several of those guys yesterday and I said, you know
that interior three is kind of the billboard for the season.
That's where it's going to start. And you guys got
to be the leaders, and let's go.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
Yeah, you cannot be excited about Tony Dolman and Jonah Jackson, right,
and Jonah Jackson.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
We all want to.
Speaker 3 (24:35):
See him when he was in Detroit. Man, I don't
know about you, Tom, but I was a really big
fan of this. I thought he'd moved guys off the ball.
I thought he came off the walk that I got
after guys. I actually at one point he was playing
the best football at all the guys on the Lions
offensive line. I'm surprised they let him go. So excited
for him to be there. Interesting to see what he
looks like at right guard. Obviously we know the professional
(24:55):
that Joe Toney is an in dollmen man is a young,
good young center lay on outside zone right funneled watch
play football over.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
There in Atlanta.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
So they really put spent a lot of money there,
which you know is music to my ears right to
rebuild that offensive line, and Darnelle Wright keep taking another step,
and I think he's gonna be I think it's chanced
to be a really good football player. And I have
a lot of stress for coach Roschar and what he
does and the things he believes in and the fundamentals
and the waylegs guy's coming off the ball and the
drills he uses. So I am excited about the offensive
(25:27):
line and see what they can do with it after
putting those assets in there. And we'll see which direction
they're going. And let you guys know, that's the unit
that leads right, that's the unit that you win late
in the year at at Soldier Field in late December.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
That's the unit ass to take over the game.
Speaker 4 (25:42):
You know, It's funny because I think about the Bears
offensive line and the kind of the rebuilding process. Then
I think about the offensive lines around the division. So
you got Frank rag Now who retired yesterday, and you're
going to try to make a guard into a center
at green Bank. You're going to try to make a
guard into a center at Detroit. The difficulty of that,
I've listen. I was a backup center, but I was
(26:04):
no good. I was just doing it because I could
do it, and I don't I don't think it's that
I don't think it's that easy. So it's gonna be
interesting if you just look at the center position in
the division. That how it's all gonna work itself out.
Speaker 3 (26:16):
Yeah, it will be interesting, right and and just you know,
to throw it back at your toime. I was a
backup guard my rookie year and I was no good.
So I think I was supposed to be a center.
But uh, that that'll be interesting, right. I know the
Packers would after Aaron Banks Notre Dame Prospect and added
him and the movie Elton Jenkins over which Manstein. He's
a big guy. I think he's a really good guard.
(26:37):
So HD's choice by them. And then uh, like you're
talking about with Frank right now, I think they draft
the Lions drafted a kid, Tate Rutley is gonna try
and move him to center, and I'm sure it was
kind of surprise for them, right, But Frank's studling showing
with injuries over the last two or three years, and
nowadays with the money these guys are making, you can
see early retirements more and more coming your way.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
Right.
Speaker 3 (26:59):
But it's Pine School instead of Taylor Decker, and they
still have Glasgow and they're still very good up the front,
especially you got Pane Seowel and Decker as your book ends.
But center is an important position, right And I know
that the Vikings through money at Will Fries and brought
over the coach center too, and they've revamped their offensive
line and drafted a guy and everyone knows that eventually
right now, man like you have to win that the
(27:21):
Eagles have shown us there's a way to win this
game is fight front at the line of scrimmage, either
stopping or run gain after the passer or protecting your
quarterback and running the ball. So interesting the where the
North has gone here, but it's good to see the
Bears have have a young guy and Darnell right who
can maybe a send and be their culture center, their leader.
Have a young guy and dolmen there at center. Same thing,
(27:44):
Jonah Jackson, Tuney can show them the way a little
bit right to see some develve someone over there at
left Tapple and try to compete the way they want
to compete there with the way they put money in
that offensive line.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
Interesting, every every division team has a new center here
in twenty you know, and I listen. The idea is
they got to see the game through the eyes of
the quarterback. You guys got to be on the same
page in that regard, and the play caller in this case,
the head coach as well. So it's not a position
of insignificance by any means. I know people don't think
it's sexy. Olen, I mean, I gotta tell you, I
(28:17):
gotta have a good center. I gotta have a bad
man at center. I got it. And Tom and I
were talking about this today too, about size. What do
you prefer?
Speaker 3 (28:25):
Like?
Speaker 1 (28:25):
What's the ideal center in terms of size? Not necessarily
you're going to be about three hundred, little under three
hundred to play the position nowadays. But does the hype
matter to you? What do you think?
Speaker 2 (28:39):
No, if I turn a film on.
Speaker 3 (28:40):
If he's blocking somebody, I'm good, right, if he's blocking somebody,
if he gave these moving in the right direction, if
he can point out where blitz is coming from, he
can help the quarterback organize circtain aspects of the football game.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
Right, and they call it.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
They always tell about quarterbacks processing information. Centers have to
do the same thing. Right, Centers at the process information,
at the pivot. In a matter of twelve to fifteen seconds,
everybody lined up, everybody moving in the right direction, especially
in a run game. Right, if you look at a
coaching staff, you always have an OC, a pass game coordinator.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
And a run game coordinator on the field.
Speaker 3 (29:11):
The quarterback is the pass game quarter and the center
is the run game coordinator. Right, you're the guy coordinating
the run game side. In the run game siding where
a matchup store, where to get the point, where to
get the double team's moved to, how to get an advantage,
how to get a plus one on the defense. So
centers are really important to Obviously I'm a former center.
But as as far as size goes, I mean, Jony,
you give me over six feet if you're over two
(29:33):
hundred and seventy pounds. I'm good to know Jason Kelsey
just showed you that he can a smaller center can do.
But now listen, it's like a basketball team to me,
and Tom can disagree with me if he wants. But
if you get a small center, get him a big guard. Right,
you get a big center, get a small guard. Right,
you're trying to make like you're trying to be a
power forward a small forward. Someone's got to be on
a second level blocking linebackers. And then you've got to
(29:54):
be strong enough. And that's where small centers. The weight
room comes into play. Everyone said, well, why did you
love the way? I need it to be in there, right,
I need to be in there getting stronger, straining through weights.
If you get a guy who's three hundred and thirty
pounds sixty six sixty seven, guys say, oh.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
He doesn't train.
Speaker 3 (30:09):
I say, man, if you have his genetics, yeah, fine,
don't right if you're if you're that kind of monster, right,
I always tell my kids, Dad, we're working out there.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
I say you are because you have to.
Speaker 3 (30:18):
Right, Well, your genetics, you better get in that weight
room and you better work out and you better get strong.
So as far as the size goes, whatever you have
there at the pivot, whoever you think is a good
football player, just make sure you're building around him that's
matching whatever his weakness is. My best years, we're always
with the Ruben Browns, the big Roberto guards as the
Chris Valarios, the Todd Perry's right. When I walked out
(30:40):
one time, I remember telling Jerry Angel I said, Jerry,
I'm the tallest guy in the middle walking to the
line of scrimmage.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
Do you see that as a problem? Right?
Speaker 3 (30:47):
I love Josh Beekman, but me and um sure to
be walking together to the line of scrimmage.
Speaker 4 (30:51):
Hey, oh, I wasn't going to ask you this, but
I'm going to ask you this. So in my forty
years of being around the Bears, I think I've seen
two centers that I believe that can run the tush push,
and that's you and Hilgey. When you look at that
play from this point of view of the center, is
the mandatory job that has to be done by the center.
(31:12):
You have to have a quick snap, you have to
earn leverage and then get some movement.
Speaker 1 (31:16):
How do you what do you think about.
Speaker 4 (31:17):
The center position and the specifics of that play.
Speaker 3 (31:22):
Yes, Pat under pad right, can you keep your feet
moving forward like you're saying at that height right? So
to get most guys can dive and they're done, right.
They can't keep moving, keep digging their feet forward. So
that takes a lot of athleticism. By letters, I mean,
I mean we can go into it right, like your
ankles have to be able to move in that direction.
It takes it takes a guy who can do that,
(31:43):
like you're saying, and when you really start that play
like you guys probably have. I mean, I remember watching
jac Kelsey's hands are actually on the ground. I thought
to myself, but if you want to stop the place,
step on their hands.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
But I'm sure they can't do that right.
Speaker 3 (31:54):
So but it's just a it's a cool it's a
rugby play right. As Tom knows, I grew up in Hawaii.
I've watched a lot of rugby. Polynesians are huge on rugby.
It's you know, it's that pile play again, a moving
and they have a six hundred and fifty pounds squatting
quarterback like, I mean, I don't know, I don't know
what you're gonna do there? If the center and the
(32:15):
guards and keep their feet moving with that pad level.
Speaker 2 (32:18):
And your quarterback is that strong.
Speaker 3 (32:20):
And I don't know what sa Kwon Barkley who backward
jumps over guys, I don't know what he squats. So
that play seems very specific to the Philadelphia Eagles and
what they're capable. And I think, like I think you
guys probably noticed. But Kelsey, he scouted Cam Durgons, right,
He had them draft Cam Durgens and bring them in
and then taught him how to play center.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
And there's another thing that the Eagles do right.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
They don't let the guys leave like Fletcher Cox, Todd
Jalen Carter. Right, Kelsey taught Cam Jurgens how to play center.
So when they have someone great, it's a smart thing
to do. When you have someone great, amazing at a position,
why not draft somebody and let them teach them how
to play that position.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Excellent point.
Speaker 2 (33:00):
Good news.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
Chicago United Airlines is getting brand new planes with all
the bells and whistles, like Bluetooth connectivity, screens at every
seat and a room for everyone's rolder bag. United proud
to fly the Chicago Bears. And you two handicap the
left tackle because I think it'll be the number one
story of training camp. Who wins that job.
Speaker 3 (33:17):
Who wins that job? At left tackle? I haven't seen
any of Ozzi Trapillo. I haven't seen him play. I'd
be lying to you if I told you I did,
and I don't.
Speaker 2 (33:26):
Let you. Guys know.
Speaker 3 (33:27):
You have to see him against this level of competition,
and then you guys see him in pass and then
you guys see week one, and then you got to
see how he adjusted the week two. And when they
figure out what he's bad at, can he adjust it
at right? Those are the things we all know what
it is takes in the NFL. Man they study all
of a sudden that guy's abildings for nine hours, study
just how to beat you.
Speaker 2 (33:46):
So that's one thing we have to watch with him.
Speaker 3 (33:47):
But with Audit Trapillo, they're Braxin Jones, Karanamagaji. They have
three guys who can go after I don't know what
Braxin's health is light Karanamagaji. I know I saw him
a couple of times in my gym twice exact, and
he had that quad and he was just trying to
get a strong and get that leg moving in the
right direction and for him to kick straight back and
reload that leg and that hip and.
Speaker 2 (34:08):
That ankle and get moving.
Speaker 3 (34:10):
I don't know where he is now, so it is
a question mark dret left out on it. And then
it's a good question. And if I told you I
knew who was gonna win that job, I don't know.
Maybe we can e motion coach and leveling over and
have him chip over there all day long.
Speaker 1 (34:24):
Well, I tell you we could. We could go on
for hours with you. Olen, that just scratched the surface.
I knew it would be good, and you delivered in
a big way. So we appreciate your time. Thank you
so much for joining us.
Speaker 2 (34:37):
It's an honor man. You guys are the best.
Speaker 1 (34:39):
We'll have you on again sometime.
Speaker 2 (34:40):
Thanks. Alan, appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (34:41):
Guys, appreciate it. Olen. We're brought to you by PNC
Official Bank of the Bears and our aches, pains or
injuries keeping you on the sidelines. Athleticos moving experts are
here to help you turn your setbacks into comebacks and
create a personalized game plan for your recovery with no
prescription or a referral needed. Athletical physical therapy is where
your comeback story begins. Athletico proud to be the official
physical therapy partner of the Chicago Bears Special Thanks again
(35:05):
to Olin Cruits and for Tim There. I'm Jeff Joniac.
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, everybody,
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