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Welcome in Tumble Bears Weekly, a

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the team on the go. Bears Weekly is

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Physical Therapy, Beth Revers,

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Moore, Connie's Pizza, Fi, Gas Energy,

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and Miller Life Kira. Your hosts

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Jeff Chilniak, aka the Mayor

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of Bearsville and his sidekick Tom

0:27

the surf Faster There.

0:29

Championship Week Get Ahead in the NFL,

0:31

the Bears working towards getting back there, something

0:34

they've done only five times since nineteen

0:36

seventy. A new takeout of the Bears offense

0:38

with the hiring this week of Shane Aldrin, his offensive

0:40

coordinator from Seattle, where he called plays for three

0:43

seasons.

0:43

So it's time to rock and roll.

0:45

My broadcast partner Tom Thayer, the

0:47

Super Bowl winning Bears guard and former Bears quarterback

0:49

Jim Miller from Serious x MNFL Radios moving

0:51

the chains thanks to our producers Jordan Trudup,

0:53

Dan Brially from the Bears and Tonight at the SPN one

0:55

thousand Chicago Studios, Jay Cantu

0:58

and Sean Greeney, executive Bears

1:00

Radio Network, Eric Ostrosity, Good evening,

1:02

one and all, thanks fans for listening.

1:04

Tell me how you feeling today, buddy, Oh, I'm

1:07

feeling good. You know.

1:08

I'm excited about the week that took

1:11

place up at Hallas Hall. You know, the

1:13

most interesting thing I think if you have a career

1:15

in professional sports is what's your

1:17

first opportunity at the highest

1:19

level is gone?

1:22

How quickly does that next opportunity come?

1:24

And when you know, I get cut

1:27

as a player, you kind of hope that your phone

1:29

rings again to give you another opportunity.

1:31

And I think the same thing goes along with the

1:33

coach.

1:34

And I'm glad that the Bears

1:36

have identified Shane Waldron to be the

1:38

next leader of the offense.

1:40

And I'm excited to see what he can do with

1:42

this group of guys.

1:43

What's your vibe about him? What are you what are you

1:45

thinking? You know?

1:47

I like that he has experienced in calling

1:49

plays.

1:50

I like the experience that he's had in the

1:52

difficult division. I like the fact

1:54

that he's taking a guy like Geno Smith

1:56

that a lot of guys have given up on and

1:59

he turned him into a Pro

2:01

Bowl player. And I think that

2:03

is really interesting to me because

2:06

the difficulty of the movement of the.

2:08

Quarterback position in Seattle.

2:11

You know, he never lost his conviction

2:14

to the type of system he wanted to run,

2:16

no matter who was playing quarterback for

2:18

him, So whether it's Drew Locke,

2:20

Russell Wilson, or Geno Smith, and

2:22

the program was successful the whole time he

2:25

was there.

2:25

Yeah, last two years, Gino thirty two games,

2:28

seventy nine hundred passing yards, fifty

2:30

touchdowns, twenty interceptions, a

2:32

ninety six y five QBR, five

2:35

hundred and twenty one yards rushing, two touchdowns,

2:39

and Pro Bowler Comeback

2:41

Player of the Year and a playoff game. So

2:46

right, well that's a lot of good math. And

2:48

you got to give a lot of credit

2:50

to Gino too, because he always believed in himself.

2:53

He never doubted it.

2:54

And this was just a perfect mix of

2:57

coaching and guy give Dave Canalis his

2:59

quarterback. She became the head coach of

3:01

the Carolina Panthers. Now credit as well

3:04

for working out the math and getting

3:06

everything done surrounding with the right people.

3:08

Well, you know, that's the psychology of coaching.

3:10

You have to make sure no matter who you're

3:13

coaching in the depth of the

3:15

position, you have that you can

3:17

convince whomever you're trying to coach to

3:19

get ready that they can be successful

3:21

within their system and they have

3:24

the ability as the player to

3:26

go out there and play at an NFL level.

3:28

So I like that as

3:31

much as any aspects about Shane.

3:33

All right, we haven't met him yet, we haven't talked to

3:35

him, but you know, you put two and two together about

3:38

what he comes with him. Sean

3:40

McVay obviously somebody that's

3:42

significant to him, and that

3:45

system carries over in many different

3:47

cities now in the NFL. But it

3:50

is a system that includes running the football

3:53

zone, rushing to set up some deep shots.

3:55

And they had some really interesting characters

3:57

there, and Metcalf Lockett and Jackson

3:59

and Jay and and two really good young

4:01

running backs and KENNETHA.

4:03

Walker and Zach Charboney.

4:05

A lot of motion, got a quick

4:07

release, find the open short to intermediate

4:10

and make something happen after the catch, and

4:12

the use of the tight end former tight end himself

4:14

at Toughs where he played his college football.

4:17

Also, Tom, you'll be happy you know he's a launch snapper.

4:19

He was a launch snapper.

4:21

Was a launch snapper.

4:22

Let me tell you something.

4:23

My first roommate in the USFL was

4:25

a guy named Mark Buben who graduated

4:27

from Toughs University. And I never

4:29

thought I'd hear of another football player from

4:31

Toughs. And then when I started reading his

4:33

bio, not only is he born on August

4:36

seventeenth and I'm August sixteenth,

4:39

then I see the Toughs University in

4:41

his background.

4:42

So it's it's fun. It's fun

4:44

to see that.

4:45

And yeah, it seems like the

4:47

tight end position and the long

4:49

snapping position used to go hand in hand

4:52

back in the back in the NFL days,

4:55

and and so I like

4:58

that with his you know, his building

5:00

blocks to where he's gotten, you

5:02

know, have been a lot of different coaching

5:05

personalities, a lot of different

5:07

elements of trying to learn

5:09

the different aspects of what you said,

5:11

motion and you know the use of the tight

5:13

end, good running backs, good wide

5:16

receiver.

5:16

But it's all according to the talent

5:18

that you're offered.

5:19

And so I don't think that you can come in here and

5:22

have a system and say, Okay, I'm gonna

5:24

put I'm gonna use this specifically.

5:26

Okay, let me study my assets.

5:28

Let me see where I can start. Is

5:31

this system teachable enough

5:33

where you can include those motions and

5:35

do you have the practice time to

5:38

have all those Yeah, but it

5:40

has to be it takes a while, you

5:42

know, when you have specific motions

5:44

that fit according to listen,

5:48

looking coverages and trying to give some

5:50

defense, to give you some clues, it's

5:52

it's super specific and it's got to be

5:55

perfection, not general,

5:58

not general.

5:59

Error, is Right's yeah,

6:01

Speaking from an offensive lineman's perspective,

6:03

the same goes there.

6:05

It's got to be specifics right.

6:07

Right, right.

6:09

But you know, there's just a lot of things that go hand

6:11

in hand when you talk about motion and an offense,

6:14

and nobody will be able to tell us

6:16

that better than Jim Miller.

6:17

So you know, I just think it's something

6:19

we watch.

6:20

And then the.

6:21

Big thing too is you know, I was

6:23

just on with Wada and Sylvie for a little bit

6:25

and the idea that this is maybe

6:28

not gonna be that much of

6:30

a departure scheme wise

6:32

from what the Bears had, and I'm I don't

6:34

know for sure.

6:35

I mean, the language could be different.

6:36

I'm sure it's different, the play calls and how

6:39

they're how they're charted. How they're

6:41

called is an art that has to be a

6:43

feel. It's got to be a setup. But I

6:45

don't want to. I mean, I'm glad

6:47

it's not like a complete redo and

6:49

everybody's got to take a couple of years to learn it.

6:52

I mean, that's not that's not gonna help

6:54

a team that's ready to take that next step

6:56

with the hall they're gonna get from the draft and

6:58

free agency and the further development

7:01

of the current players.

7:02

But the language is gonna be different, different,

7:04

different.

7:04

And that's the most difficult aspect of

7:07

making sure that all eleven guys are

7:09

always on the same page. And no matter

7:11

what system you're talking about, there's gonna be eleven

7:13

guys on offense, there's gonna be eleven guys on defense.

7:16

And everybody sitting in that room is not an a

7:18

student. So it's gonna take different

7:21

levels of learning when you try to incorporate

7:25

the new, a new language into an offense

7:27

that.

7:28

You know everybody else.

7:30

Everybody has the responsibility

7:32

of spending a little bit of extra time studying.

7:35

All right, Well, they're putting together an offensive staff

7:37

around Shane Waldron and the Bears

7:40

also looking for defensive coordinator help.

7:42

A couple of known reported candidates,

7:45

Chris Harris, our good friend obviously

7:47

the defensive passing game coordinator of Tennessee

7:50

and the former Bears cornerback, assistant head

7:52

coach and defensive line coach in Tennessee, Terrell

7:54

Williams. Also a

7:56

report that the Bears asked to interview. Eric

7:59

Washington was with Lobby Smiths staff

8:01

here for several years. He's the assistant

8:03

head coach d line coach for a Buffalo. I'm

8:05

sure there'll be doing more names. We're gonna take our first break

8:07

down me when we come back. We'll hopefully be joined

8:09

by Jim Miller. We'll break down what's

8:11

going on with the Bears in terms of what they

8:13

have to offer. Look at many different aspects

8:16

of things as it relates to Shane Waldron and

8:18

I look around what's news right now in the league,

8:21

and that's the head coaching carousel. Only

8:24

two jobs left Seattle and Washington

8:26

as we speak. This is Bears Weekly on a

8:28

ESPN one thousand and the Bears Radio

8:30

Network.

8:31

This is Bears Weekly with the voice

8:33

of the Bears for twenty three years, Jeff

8:35

Ji on the Bears Radio

8:38

Network.

8:42

This segment of Bears Weekly, brought to you by IGS

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Energy. Jeff and Tom with you, and we'll have Jim Miller

8:47

along in just a while as

8:49

an aside. Check out our Bears et cetera podcast

8:51

wherever you get your podcast YouTube, Apple, Spotify,

8:54

Episode.

8:54

Fifty two already, Tommy, I have enjoyed

8:57

it.

8:57

We got Bears Kicking legend Robbie Gold on his

9:00

career and playoff kicking pressure.

9:02

Obviously a lot of discussion on Tyler Bass the

9:04

breakdown there some really good stuff and

9:07

Tom, we had a good time.

9:09

Yeah, that was you know, Robbie's a super intelligent

9:11

guy, and until you listen to the podcast,

9:14

I don't think he can really understand

9:16

how much information

9:18

that he tries to digest to help

9:21

the special teams coach. But his way

9:23

of thinking, whether it's on a kickoff, on

9:25

an extra point or field goal, to

9:28

help the punter, to help the snapper, and it's

9:30

really it's interesting in the specific

9:34

details that go into

9:37

the condition, the field conditions, the

9:39

outside conditions, the wind and

9:41

the weather, and then trying

9:43

to get the punt

9:46

return guy or the kickoff return guy

9:49

that's placed in a disadvantage

9:51

position.

9:52

All Right, we got Jimmy on board now from serious

9:54

x MNFL radios move in the chains. He'd

9:56

been watching the coaching carousel

9:59

spinning out of control. I didn't realize

10:01

this, Big Jim, and good evening, thanks for joining

10:04

us.

10:04

Atlanta settling on Raheem Morris.

10:06

But one of fourteen candidates

10:09

that they interviewed for the head coaching job,

10:12

and one of those candidates was Bill

10:14

Belichick, and so fourteen

10:17

talk about doing due diligence, we

10:20

start there. Some of this has been surprising

10:23

in terms of the volume of interviews

10:25

by some of these squads and what's

10:27

happened so far in this round

10:29

of head coaching hires.

10:30

Yeah, I think it's by no surprise.

10:32

I think for Carolina that they get

10:35

a first time head coach in Dave Canelis.

10:37

I mean that, you know, I don't know any veteran

10:40

coach that was going to deal with

10:42

an owner that obviously is very involved

10:45

in his team, somewhat meddling at

10:47

times. So I think we understood it was going

10:49

to be a first time coach. So good luck to Dave

10:52

Canelis and what he has going there in Carolina.

10:55

Atlanta's somewhat baffling because you already

10:57

had Raheem Morris in the building. You

10:59

know, he was there. They had him as an

11:01

interim head coach, and he did fine. He's a leader of

11:03

men, he's all those things. He went out to the Rams

11:05

obviously got another Super

11:07

Bowl there, and then they bring him back

11:09

when they could have hired him in the first place, you

11:12

know, And it just seems like the same type

11:14

of move there for Atlanta. You've got

11:16

other coaches that were decorated coaches

11:19

that have done it for a long

11:21

time and ben world champions, like a Bill

11:23

Belichick who was interviewed

11:25

there. So you thought that maybe they were going to

11:27

go in a different direction because that owner

11:30

wants to win. Now there's you know, I

11:32

think there's a lot of other pushback there.

11:34

There's a lot of status quo in

11:37

that building. I think some higher

11:39

ups there as well did not want to shake up

11:41

the apple cart there because you

11:44

know, they have a lot of control, so I can

11:46

you know, it's kind of surprising that they went in the direction

11:48

that they didn't. I'd like Raheem. I've spent time with Raheem.

11:51

He's a great coach, there's no doubt about that.

11:53

But they could have hired him the first time around,

11:55

so that's somewhat baffling and hardball.

11:58

Obviously, landing out there for the Chargers

12:00

I think makes a lot of sense. You know, he's

12:03

got ties there when he coached Pacific

12:06

obviously Stanford and had success there

12:08

and obviously moved on to San Francisco

12:10

and was successful there and then of course

12:12

going back to Michigan and went in the National

12:14

championship. So I think there was a big, you

12:17

know, uproar that for them

12:19

to land him, to really see what he

12:21

can do with Justin Herbert, so that's

12:23

not a surprise. He'll probably add a GM

12:25

here soon. I think it could be that Brandon

12:28

Brown from the New York Giants. I

12:30

think he and Jim have already talked, so I

12:32

would think that's going to be an as soon coming

12:35

announcement as well, and then we'll see what happens.

12:37

He got two spots open right Seattle and obviously

12:40

Washington, and I would think for the Washington

12:43

group, I think the leader in the clubhouse

12:45

is Ben Johnson of the Detroit Lions,

12:47

and they've had him both Aaron Glenn

12:49

in there now. Whether they can wait two weeks. It happened

12:52

last year, right, Arizona waited two

12:54

weeks and they signed Jonathan Gannon,

12:56

so you know, don't be shocked if that happens.

12:59

And then we'll just see with the Seattle

13:01

what direction they going. I think Dan Quinn

13:03

would probably be the leader in the clubhouse there, and I wouldn't

13:05

rule out Mike Vrabel up there in the Great Northwest,

13:08

as he and John Schneider have really crossed

13:10

paths before. So all around pretty interesting.

13:12

And Belichick could be shut

13:14

out unless there's a, you know, a

13:16

coaching move that we're surprised about, a

13:18

late firing that could surprise us.

13:20

And if Bill does not land a position

13:22

of any kind short of head coach, I

13:24

don't see him being interested in

13:26

anything else. But it would end a forty

13:29

nine year stretch of coaching consecutively

13:31

in the NFL, whatever position was for Bill

13:34

Belichick. So quite the run,

13:36

and I'm certain we haven't heard the last

13:38

from Bill, no matter if it's a different hiring

13:40

cycle or whatever the case may be. But Tom,

13:43

I know you and I both feel very strongly about

13:45

Iron Glenn, and the reason

13:47

I do is because of what people

13:49

have told me about him in the past. People

13:51

have worked with him and have

13:54

studied him. He is a great head

13:57

coaching candidate, but

13:59

again, offensive coaches

14:01

get up most of the love right now in the modern

14:03

day NFL.

14:05

Yeah, but you know that doesn't always mean it's

14:07

the right decision, you know. I you know, Will

14:09

Bell Bell, will Bill Belichick leapfrog

14:11

a guy like Ben Johnson because maybe

14:13

they thought they never had an opportunity to

14:15

get a guy like Belichick, so maybe

14:18

he jumps to the a

14:20

candidate in that group. And then you

14:22

know, my our experiences

14:24

with Raheem Morris in the NFL, you

14:27

know he yeah, he was in Atlanta,

14:29

he got fired by Tampa Bay,

14:32

he did some front office work, and then

14:34

he went to be a coach on the West

14:36

coast. If you've got to tell me that

14:38

a guy like Aaron Glenn is not

14:41

a better fit for Atlanta when he has

14:43

just been an observer

14:46

of what Detroit had to do to

14:48

turn that organization around, the

14:51

role of the front office, the role

14:53

of the emotions and the commitment of the head

14:55

coach. And then his

14:58

the way he you know, kind of addresses

15:00

his players in game type

15:03

of an attitude to me, I would

15:05

like, I hope Aaron Glenn gets

15:07

an opportunity because if I had

15:10

the choice between Raheem Morris

15:12

or Aaron Glenn to go to Atlanta, I would have gone

15:14

to Aaron Glenn just because he's been

15:16

a part of what it takes to build

15:19

a franchise that's been on its knees

15:22

for twenty five to thirty years

15:24

to give himself into a

15:26

possible, you know, Super Bowl opportunity.

15:29

And but you know, you never know,

15:32

like Jim says, you never know that if people

15:34

are trying to shy away from meddling owners,

15:37

like in Carolina or Atlanta,

15:39

they felt that they knew enough about Raheem

15:41

Morris that he was easy to come and

15:44

plug and play. And it'll be interesting to

15:46

see how all this goes to me, you

15:49

know, as Ben Johnson a candidate, because

15:52

he's living off of the personality

15:55

of a guy like

15:57

Dan Campbell, who is so emotion

16:00

so personal with the players.

16:02

He's got total control of that locker

16:04

room.

16:05

And so I'm interested to see if he

16:07

has that personality, those personality

16:10

traits that can go from the sidelines

16:12

of a play caller to addressing

16:15

a team in a team meeting to open up

16:17

training camp.

16:18

And I want to add one thing just about because

16:20

you're right, I mean these guys, you know, even

16:22

Brian Callahan getting signed there

16:24

by Tennessee. I mean, yeah, I think we understand

16:27

it's to bring along the young quarterbacks or Canalis

16:29

down there, to bring along young Bryce

16:31

run But let's not forget Bill

16:33

Belichick's a defensive guy who developed Tom

16:35

Brady.

16:36

All right.

16:36

Pete Carroll is a defensive guy who developed

16:39

Russell Wilson. John Harbaugh

16:41

is a special teams coach who developed Lamar

16:43

Jackson. Demiko Ryans is

16:45

a defensive coordinator who has the rookie of the Year

16:48

in CJ. Stroud. So the

16:51

guys who are developing the quarterback, you could make

16:53

a hard argument it's the defensive guys and

16:55

who they put is oc develop the

16:57

young quarterbacks. So doesn't always ring

16:59

true just because you hire the next

17:02

great offensive mine or what you deem to be

17:04

the next great offensive mine for a system that's

17:07

not going to equate success. It's defensive

17:09

guys have developed and had good quarterbacks

17:11

that they have developed and drafted.

17:14

In broad Wall well, Gared Mayo

17:16

and Antonio Pierce now and those roles

17:18

former defensive guys with the Patriots and Raiders

17:21

respectively as the head coach, and I

17:23

guess the Canalis one surprises me the most

17:25

of just having one year. And granted

17:28

he's had his hand in helping develop

17:30

two veteran quarterbacks get him back on their

17:32

feet, so to speak, in Baker Mayfield

17:34

this year and last year with Gino Smith, so you got

17:36

to give.

17:36

Him credit for it.

17:38

And then you know about Vic Vangil

17:40

leaving Miami and going over to

17:42

the Philadelphia Eagles. Tommy that one,

17:44

I don't know behind the scenes.

17:47

Jim probably has a better viewpoint of that,

17:49

but maybe it's wanting to get closer to home. Maybe

17:51

was not a good fit with the head coach there and Mike McDaniel.

17:54

Yeah, you know the thing that surprised me about Vic.

17:56

If Jim Harball would have been hired three

17:59

days earlier, wouldn't Dick Fangio

18:01

end up in LA with Jim

18:03

Harball Since they have a pass Vick

18:06

has coached on the West Coast, He's

18:08

familiar with the personality of Jim

18:10

Harball. It would have been interesting to see how

18:13

that would work itself out. But Vic

18:15

Fangio, if he's looking at a template

18:18

of defensive personnel,

18:21

it's hard to pass up an opportunity

18:24

to go and try to get the best out

18:26

of those guys. It would have been interesting to

18:28

watch Fangio re united

18:31

with Khalil Mack out

18:34

there in LA. So, you know, there's

18:36

a lot of interesting things that the coaching

18:39

carousel is gonna spit

18:41

out this year.

18:43

Jim, you have any insight on that Miami situation.

18:46

Yeah, I do think going back home to Pennsylvania,

18:48

that's where he's from, has family in the area,

18:50

and obviously him being a consultant the

18:52

year prior. I don't disagree with

18:54

Tom on the timing. Maybe if that would

18:57

have been a sure thing, that may have been

18:59

an opening where he gonna used as leverage,

19:01

obviously, but I think he felt good

19:03

about going back home to spend some time with

19:05

some family.

19:06

All Right, we're gonna take another break here on Bears Weekly.

19:09

We'll talk more Bears with Jim Miller and Tom

19:11

There.

19:11

I'm Jeff Joniak here on a ESPN one

19:13

thousand and the Bears Radio Network.

19:16

This is Bears Weekly with a voice

19:18

of the Bears for twenty three years, Jeff

19:20

Jonyik on the Bears Radio

19:22

Network.

19:27

This segment of Bears Weekly brought to you by Athletico

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Physical Therapy. Visit Athletico dot com

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19:35

Jeff Jony Act Tom There.

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Jim Miller from Serious XM, head of our radio's

19:38

Move in the Chains. Jim, you

19:40

know you're on the national skate stage, but here in

19:42

town every minute, this is only

19:44

discussing the future quarterback

19:47

position of the Bears. What Ryan Poles is going

19:49

to do, what does he need

19:51

to do? What do people want him to do? What's

19:54

Justin's future? Are you gonna move that pick?

19:56

Are you gonna package.

19:57

One and nine? What are you getting? I mean, we

20:00

have.

20:00

Four months of this and

20:03

we knew this was gonna happen, but just

20:05

scanning the globe of reactions

20:08

from Bears, Twitter or x

20:10

and fans and listening on the radio,

20:12

it's something, Jim.

20:14

Is exactly what we thought it would

20:16

be. Were it's unescapable.

20:19

Yeah, no, we get the calls on

20:21

Serious SEXM and you know it

20:23

seems like it's like split

20:25

that you got to do either or

20:27

like if you you know, trade out

20:29

of pick number one means you're sticking with

20:32

Fields and you know,

20:34

want to build around him and nobody

20:36

wants to draft a quarterback, or it's

20:38

vice versa. Draft the quarterback and get

20:41

rid of fields. You don't have to do that.

20:43

You can do both. You can

20:45

do both. And I brought this up numerous

20:48

times. I mean, they're gonna have to decide

20:50

on the fifth year option with Justin. If

20:52

they choose to slap the fifth year

20:55

option on them, it'll be about twenty three million

20:57

bucks, twenty to twenty three to twenty five million

20:59

dollars. Can still draft a quarterback

21:01

with one develop the young

21:04

player, and if Justin fields,

21:06

you know, plays well,

21:09

you know, you could potentially offer

21:11

him a long term and that could be the same

21:13

could be said if they don't put the fifth year option

21:15

on Justin, like what Daniel Jones happened

21:18

for the New York Giants. They didn't place the

21:20

fifth year option on Daniel Jones. They

21:22

let him play out the year he guided

21:24

them to the playoffs, had a good year, and they rewarded

21:26

him with the contract that has easy

21:29

outs. And I've been saying it doesn't. It's

21:31

not a contract like Lamar Jackson's,

21:33

like a Joe Burrows, like a Justin Herbert's,

21:36

or Kyler Murray or even like

21:38

a Deshaun Watson. You know it has an

21:40

outclause that yes, he's being paid, well,

21:42

he's being paid at the starting quarterback

21:45

level. And then you can continue to

21:47

develop the the young quarterback and if

21:49

Justin plays well, you can offer him a long term

21:52

contract there or franchise him

21:55

is what you could do, and you have his rights for another

21:57

year. Why you continue to develop a young

21:59

quarterback. Green Bay drafted

22:01

a first round quarterback who sat for

22:03

three years. And

22:06

it's happened before I say it about

22:08

San Diego. At that point, San Diego they

22:11

had Drew Brees. They drafted Philip

22:13

Rivers first round. Drew Brees was

22:15

the starter. They slapped

22:17

the franchise tag on Drew Brees.

22:20

Then he had the unfortunate injury to his shoulder.

22:23

Then they turned it over to Philip Rivers. Dallas

22:26

had Troy Aikman. They drafted

22:29

Steve Waalsh's supplemental draft first round.

22:32

They had two first round quarterbacks and

22:34

Troy Aikman. Obviously it was

22:36

one in fifteen his rookie year, and then the

22:38

rest is history. Obviously

22:41

Walsh never essentially touched the

22:43

field. You can do both, and

22:45

there's nothing wrong with having a competitive quarterback

22:48

groom.

22:49

Now we all agree with that for sure. But I'll tell you

22:51

one thing, Tommy, if I may, Yeah,

22:54

after watching all these playoffs, one

22:57

deniable word just keeps popping into my.

22:59

Head off the line.

23:02

The word is special. That's two words.

23:05

To get to where you want to go, you gotta

23:07

have special.

23:08

All right, how about this? Let me ask special.

23:10

Let me ask both of you guys, your reaction.

23:12

All right? Now, Shane Waldron comes.

23:14

Into the building and then in

23:16

three to five weeks, he's got a very

23:19

specific opinion of how

23:21

he feels about the.

23:22

Quarterback position in going forward?

23:25

Would your respect what he wants

23:28

to do and say he doesn't want

23:30

to take it with the first pick in the

23:33

draft, but he's willing to, you

23:35

know, find a quarterback.

23:36

What do the Bears have the ninth pick in the draft? Also?

23:39

Yeah, so and so they they get

23:41

they bring in a special guy at number one,

23:43

and then they say, hey, we can we can go down

23:45

to number nine and get this other quarterback

23:48

and still have high too high, still

23:50

have a high first round pick quarterback to

23:53

get into that developmental seat. So

23:56

are you going to take from

23:58

a guy you just hire to come in and

24:01

develop this offense and respect

24:04

his opinion after he gets a chance

24:06

to study what the Bears did in the last

24:08

couple of years. Or is

24:11

this a Ryan Poll's decision

24:15

exclusively.

24:17

I think they probably vetted his opinions

24:19

about it all already in the interview process.

24:21

But well, you can't just.

24:23

Listen he doesn't have enough time to

24:25

study the product at the interview. I

24:27

need him to sit down and look

24:30

at the reps, to look at the seven

24:32

on seven reps in practice, look at

24:34

the game reps, look at study

24:37

a bunch of in

24:39

you know, you know, you understand

24:41

the play call, you understand the situational football,

24:44

just everything that takes in evaluating

24:47

a quarterback.

24:50

Jim, Well, what do you think?

24:51

Yeah, I think they'll They'll all have an opinion.

24:54

Obviously, Ryan Poles will have the

24:56

decision. Plus the ownership for the first

24:58

round pick will have a big say in it as

25:00

well. Obviously the owner last year had

25:02

a big say in drafting Bryce Young, who I

25:04

don't think Frank Wright was on board with. He wanted

25:07

c. J. Stroud. Okay, but all

25:10

I'm saying is this, you

25:13

passed up Deshaun Watson,

25:16

you passed up Patrick Mahomes

25:18

right, because basically Kansas

25:21

City traded up from twenty eight to ten

25:24

to get Patrick Mahomes. They knew who he was,

25:27

and they knew Cardinals and the New

25:29

Orleans Saints also knew who he was because

25:31

they were trying to trade up to get him. You

25:33

just passed up c J. Stroud. I

25:36

don't think you want to pass up the next one.

25:39

Yeah, with

25:41

that, we're going to take a break. That's a good

25:43

exclamation point right there by. Jim Miller was

25:45

not there. I'm Jeff Jonny ackwa we got a break?

25:48

Is Jim saying Caleb Williams is

25:50

the one?

25:51

Well, we don't know.

25:51

We'll find out on the other side, the

25:54

good old fashioned tease. Big Jim Miller here

25:56

on Bears Weekly on ESPN one thousand and

25:58

the Bears Radio.

25:59

Networks Bears Weekly

26:01

with a Voice of the Bears for twenty three

26:03

years. Jeff on the Bears

26:06

Radio Network.

26:10

Want VIP access to every Bears home

26:12

game, exclusive seating, sideline credentials

26:14

and more now available. Get the Ultimate VIP

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26:19

Bears vip dot Com. Jeff Jonniac, Tom

26:21

Bear, Jim Miller, Jim, since we teased

26:23

you, you got to

26:25

take it from there, and then we got to get into something with

26:27

Tom because Tom is just letting me have it in

26:29

the break.

26:30

So go ahead, Jim.

26:31

Yeah, I think a lot of people do think Cable

26:33

Williams is a special guy. You know, not

26:35

only is he talented with his

26:37

legs, he's everybody is talented throwing

26:40

the football. Now the other

26:42

things matter, the intangible side of it.

26:44

How good of a teammate is he? You know,

26:46

how does he treat people? What type of person

26:48

is he? All those things matter because you want to

26:51

draft the right guy, right he is the face of the

26:53

franchise, you know, if they were

26:55

to draft him. But all those boxes

26:57

have to be checked. And that's true for Drake may or

26:59

Daniel or any other quarterback that's

27:02

drafted. You know, let's not forget when they traded

27:04

to or when they got picked up Mitchell

27:07

Trubisky when they selected

27:09

him. You know, he did take the Bears to the

27:11

playoffs two years. You know,

27:13

coaching changes all those things, new offenses,

27:16

that all the things that Justin has been

27:18

fighting as well. You know, this is a change for Justin

27:21

so but nobody questions the

27:23

talent of Justin Fields.

27:25

I've said that. I mean, he's tough, he's a good leader.

27:27

People love him in the building. You

27:30

know, he's everything that you want. It's just got to be

27:32

more consistent. Right, it hasn't been

27:34

there yet. But who knows this more than

27:36

Ryan Poles. He was in

27:38

Kansas City when they traded up

27:41

to get Patrick Mahomes. They

27:43

knew who he was when they traded

27:45

up to get him, and he sat for

27:47

a year behind Alex Smith.

27:51

That's what I'm saying. It can happen in

27:53

Chicago too. You know, you

27:55

can develop two guys. Shoot, even

27:57

when Washington they drafted Robert

27:59

Griffin the third they traded up to number one,

28:02

and they still drafted Kirk Cousins in the fourth

28:04

round, who wally pipped him.

28:08

Okay, which which don't forget your

28:10

thought, Tommy, because you know, you think

28:12

back about that Washington coaching staff,

28:15

because if I'm not mistaken, was that was

28:17

that twenty twelve because all

28:20

these guys were talking about all were coaching

28:22

on that team with Mike Shanahan, that

28:25

whole Washington brigade, Kyle

28:27

Shanahan, Sean McVay was

28:29

the tight end coach man Lafleur was

28:31

the quarterback coach. Mike McDaniel

28:34

was on the staff. Raheem Morris was on

28:36

the staff. Bobby Slowick the

28:39

Houston Texans, he was on the staff.

28:41

And I'm probably missing some guys. Wow,

28:44

that was Beck. That's that's ten years ago anyway

28:47

to get something.

28:49

You know, So you're talking about the evaluation

28:51

of the quarterback position, and so you

28:53

look at Patrick Mahomes when there's no nil

28:56

deals and so you're in you're a poor

28:58

college player back then and you're not

29:00

leaving college with any money.

29:02

And then you have speed up.

29:04

To the modern day quarterback of Caleb

29:06

Williams and now you're leaving college

29:08

with a few million dollars in your pocket

29:10

already. Do you think that affects the

29:12

evaluation or the way

29:15

they're liked or disliked by their players?

29:18

And you know, then Patrick Mahomes, he

29:20

has to come out of college and he has to make

29:22

money, whereas you have some of these

29:25

guys that are leaving college with a

29:27

pocket full of money, and so they

29:30

you know, you don't come out as desperate as

29:32

you do as a poor player.

29:34

Yeah, and I think that goes into evaluation.

29:36

How much does a guy love football. You

29:39

know, because I agree with you. I think he he had

29:41

a lot of success there at USC and

29:44

then this year it didn't go so well. He had a couple

29:46

of moments. You know, I think that Notre

29:48

Dame game that did not go well, and

29:51

I think he's going to have to answer for those things.

29:53

So what type of person are you entering

29:56

having entered into your building? Those

29:58

things matter, you know, they're there's a reason

30:00

why the Lions are having the success that

30:02

they're having With general manager

30:04

Brad Holmes, every one of those

30:06

guys knew what they were signing

30:08

up for. The players that they drafted

30:11

are hard nosed football players

30:13

that love football. Every one of them had impact.

30:15

Brian Branch, the safety out of Alabama,

30:18

Laporta, who's like a mini George

30:20

Kittle out of Iowa. You know, you look

30:22

at Gibbs. Everybody poo pooed the Gibbs

30:24

pick. You know, Gibbs is

30:26

a great player. I mean, every

30:29

one of their draft picks love football

30:32

and they know that Dan Campbell

30:34

is a hard football coach. Those

30:36

two guys from Alabama knows what hard

30:38

coaching is. They were under Nick Saban. I know

30:40

Nick Saban well, he was at Michigan State. He's

30:43

a prick, okay. And

30:46

Dan Campbell he can be that way too. And

30:48

every pre agent that signed there. The

30:50

word on the street was Cam Sutton, who came

30:52

from Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Steelers, which

30:55

is another hard nosed city. He wanted to play

30:57

for Dan Campbell. Every one of those

30:59

guys signed up in new ones

31:01

that was expected in the building. They know

31:03

it's no nonsense and they love football.

31:05

Let's go get it. Look where they are. And

31:08

if you don't have those guys, forget it. I don't

31:10

care if it's Caleb Williams whoever the Bears

31:12

draft. If those guys don't love football,

31:14

I don't want them. You don't want them.

31:16

Bears fans don't.

31:17

Want boy Jim that boy.

31:19

You hear Mattifle talking about all the time, and so

31:21

does Ryan Poles. They want guys who love football,

31:24

love football, and nothing else matters.

31:26

Love football. And and yes,

31:29

there needs.

31:29

To be additional alphas brought to the team too,

31:32

and that quarterback position's got to be

31:34

an alpha also.

31:35

And listen, when you look at DJ Moore and

31:37

you look at Montes Wett and you look at TJ.

31:40

Edwards, and you look at Tremaine Edwards,

31:42

you look at you know, Tyree

31:45

Skirson, Brisker, Kyler

31:49

Gordon, you look at you know these

31:52

Darnell right, all these types of guys.

31:53

You look at them and your that process is changing.

31:56

And I think the more of those alpha

31:58

males that are positive of influences in

32:01

the locker room, the more competitive

32:03

you make the whole building from the way to

32:05

the practice field.

32:06

And listen again, Ryan Pole's experience

32:08

that they knew that about Patrick Mahomes.

32:11

That's why they traded up from twenty eight

32:13

to ten to get them.

32:16

So if he's at one, or he's at

32:18

nine or wherever you

32:21

get him, period.

32:24

Right, we can again I say this, we

32:26

can close our eyes and see which teams

32:29

draft and bring in players like you

32:31

just described, and we know where they

32:33

exist.

32:34

We know they are in the National Football League. That's

32:36

all there's to it.

32:37

And in this city, I think it requires

32:39

it, It requires it to move forward.

32:42

All right, Listen, you're a

32:44

quarterback. I'm just some short,

32:46

fat guy. Tom is an offensive

32:48

lineman. I think he's

32:50

feeling lonely.

32:51

Jim.

32:51

We only are talking about quarterbacks

32:54

and how you need a quarterback to win and to be

32:56

special, but the guys up front

32:58

protecting them and clearing the lane for the run game.

33:01

He wants to embrace it a little more. Tom,

33:03

don't be offended.

33:04

I'm not.

33:05

It's the time to talk quarterbacks. But let's

33:07

talk the offensive line.

33:09

Jim Miller's do it.

33:10

Jim Miller instigated this topic a couple

33:12

of weeks ago. And when you talk

33:15

when you talk about how

33:17

many sacks the Bears gave up last year

33:19

and how many sacks that they gave up this

33:21

year, and the whole, the whole sack

33:24

process of the offensive line, you

33:26

know, the short yardage,

33:28

the important third and one and fourth and ones

33:31

that you know, factor in the outcome

33:33

of a game when you have a you

33:35

don't have the bread and butter. When you're talking about

33:37

the end of that Detroit game, when you

33:39

needed to get that last first down to

33:42

put yourself in an opportunity to

33:44

beat a team that's playing for the NFC Championship

33:47

game this week at home. That

33:49

could be another stepping stone, improving

33:51

point to where your team is going.

33:54

I just don't think that you

33:56

know, you can only talk,

33:59

you know, emphasize what the court of

34:01

the importance of the quarterback position, but

34:03

not emphasize if you don't

34:05

have a good offensive line, it doesn't matter who's

34:07

playing quarterback, because I think

34:09

it's gonna get even more difficult for

34:12

that guy to come in, whether you're experience

34:14

like justin or inexperienced by

34:16

whomever they could pick and think that they're

34:18

gonna be the reason the offensive line

34:20

is better.

34:22

Looking for five pillars or you know, or

34:24

developing guys. Let me ask you this question

34:26

because I heard something about another

34:28

team and I can't remember what it is now, but you know,

34:31

some of the analysts are, well, they can

34:33

hide this guy.

34:34

He's good enough, but he's not.

34:36

You know, there's always somebody you're targeting on an

34:38

offensive line to kind of.

34:40

Beat and you

34:42

know, maybe do you believe in that for better

34:44

it better be a guard.

34:46

Yeah, and I'm a guard. It can't be a

34:48

center.

34:48

You can't have inefficient snaps, you can't

34:50

get beat up, you can't be pushed back into

34:52

the lap of the quarterback.

34:54

It can't be an offensive tackle.

34:56

Look at the left tackle for Buffalo

34:58

getting pushed back into the of

35:00

Josh Allen. He tries to make a touchdown

35:03

throw, but he can't follow through because

35:05

his left foot's getting stepped on. So yeah,

35:07

you know, and I'm talking about the position

35:10

I played. So you can you have a guy

35:12

that's good and capable and is

35:15

a tough guy and he's he'll play

35:17

hurt and he'll play hard and you

35:19

know that tight that he can have that type of role.

35:22

Yeah, but it can't be the edge

35:24

and it can't be the center.

35:25

Jim.

35:26

It did it ever affects you when you and your

35:28

you're teammate, you're you're you're loving up

35:30

your guys up front? Did it

35:32

affect you on certain play calls

35:34

that it made you think more about is he gonna

35:37

block this guy? Is he going to do his assignment

35:39

right? Is there gonna be a mental air more than

35:41

you focused.

35:42

On the play? Did that ever leak into your psyche

35:45

a little bit of.

35:46

You have to be oblivious to the past rush.

35:48

But you but you believe, you believe though it

35:51

does affect some.

35:52

Quarterback yeah, you yeah, you trust

35:54

that those guys are going to do their job and you have

35:56

to be oblivious to that. You're trying, but you've

35:58

got to be able to feel it. You know, if a

36:00

guy comes free, if I know I can see color

36:03

when I'm dropping back. My eyes are downfield, but I

36:05

see maybe the right guard is slipping up

36:07

on the tackle and he's got a swim

36:09

move coming at me. And you got to feel that.

36:11

And so what I'm going from one to three dumping

36:14

the ball down. Look look at the teams

36:17

in the playoffs right now. Brock Purdy's been

36:19

sacked twenty eight times all year, twenty

36:21

eight times out of four

36:24

hundred and forty four dropbacks.

36:26

All right.

36:27

Look at Jared Golf He's been sacked thirty

36:30

one times all year. And

36:32

they throw the ball quite a bit. But you know, you got

36:34

Penny Sewell, you got Taylor Decker, you got

36:36

Frank greg Now is probably one of the strongest centers

36:38

in the league. We recognize out there in

36:40

San Francisco Trent Williams, but that

36:42

the rest of that group are not so

36:45

special. I don't think. I don't even think there's

36:47

as good as the old line that I had with the Chicago

36:50

Bears. There is a certain rhythm and

36:52

timing that you have to get rid of the ball.

36:54

Those guys cannot win every single

36:56

block. They cannot, you know,

36:59

pick up every single blitz. Sometimes

37:01

they are gonna win defensively, and you're

37:03

the last line of defense to get rid of the ball.

37:06

You have to get rid of the ball and make

37:08

decisions, and so that's

37:10

a big part of it too. But having a good

37:12

old line is a part of it. Absolutely.

37:14

You got interested that can play.

37:16

I saw this Inside Edge as a stat

37:19

company. They sent some stuff the top

37:21

blitzed offense in the NFL this year

37:25

to Detroit.

37:25

Lions thirty

37:27

one sacks.

37:29

He gets rid of the balls.

37:30

Top blitz team Chargers were second, Packers

37:32

were third, Saints were four, and the Vikings

37:35

were fifth. So three teams in our division.

37:39

We're the most blitzed in the NFL. All right, we

37:41

got to take a break. That's top there, Jim Meller,

37:43

I'm Jeff jonnyak. One final segment to go here

37:45

on Bears Weekly on ESPN one thousand and the

37:47

Bears Radio Network.

37:49

This is Bears Weekly with a voice

37:51

of the Bears for twenty three years Jeff

37:53

jon On the Bears Radio

37:55

Network.

37:59

Segment and the Bears Weekly brought to you by CDW.

38:01

Be able to get it and get the ultimate VIP fan

38:04

package this season by visiting Chicago Bears

38:06

vip dot Com I guess we should say

38:08

next season because this season is down to four teams

38:11

and the championship games this weekend before

38:13

we dip into that. Because forty nine ers playing

38:15

host to Detroit, and the Bears

38:18

tied San Francisco for the most interceptions

38:20

with twenty two, tied for fifth and total

38:22

takeaways. It was the first time

38:25

since twenty ten Bears had three players

38:27

with four or more interceptions.

38:29

And I just want to talk defense because we're only.

38:31

Focused so far this whole

38:33

offseason already in almost a month, and talking

38:35

about the quarterback play, but things that are

38:38

needed defensively, and

38:40

obviously Jim and Tom the first

38:42

thing that pops in him.

38:44

You absolutely have.

38:45

To find another edge rusher of significance,

38:47

whether it is through the draft where

38:49

there doesn't seem to be a huge cachet

38:52

of talent in that regardless high end,

38:55

or in free agency.

38:56

Would you guys say.

38:57

You collectively, do we agree that you got I

39:00

have another edge rusher of

39:02

note?

39:04

Yes or no? Yes, I do, I

39:07

think you know. I think you know.

39:09

I like DeMarcus Walker. I like the

39:11

enthusiastic approach he has the game.

39:13

But I think if you're gonna have an

39:16

ability to dictate protection,

39:19

especially if you play against an offensive

39:21

line that has an exposure

39:24

to it, it's got some vulnerability.

39:26

I think that you need an extra special guy.

39:29

I think your guy opposite Montest

39:31

Sweat needs to be a double digit sack guy

39:33

there.

39:34

Period. Yeah, you know it.

39:36

Chase Young, who was traded obviously

39:38

opposite Montest Sweat, he's

39:40

only I think he's at three and a half sacks or

39:42

four and a half sacks for San Francisco. Don't

39:44

pull up the numbers, but he's got seventy three pressures,

39:47

all right, seventy three pressures, all

39:49

right. So you need a double digit

39:51

sack guy. You're you're, you're, you're cooking with

39:53

gas when your two edge rushers are getting double digit

39:56

sacks period end.

39:57

And the engine in this defense, of course

39:59

is three technique. And Justin Jones did a very

40:01

nice job this year. I would look

40:04

to retain him, but also have

40:06

another because I want

40:09

rotation. I want I want fresh guys coming up

40:11

there. I want a bunch of bed you know what's

40:13

ombres in there to to recavoc

40:15

with the young kids they got last year. So

40:18

three technique defensive tackle. If there's

40:20

somebody special, out there. That's going to make a world

40:22

of difference.

40:22

Also face to do this.

40:25

Well, you see that sack that that rookie for Tampa

40:27

Bay had against the right guard for Yeah,

40:31

I'm beautiful. It was a beautiful

40:33

move. It was textbook and

40:36

it resulted in a sack. I mean, you

40:38

know, you need that type of efficiency,

40:42

ability, quickness and pressure

40:44

by that position in order

40:46

to allow those exterior rushers

40:49

to capitalize on that.

40:52

Hey, Jim, guess who leads the NFL in

40:54

pressures this year? Who is the number one

40:56

pressure team?

40:59

Was the right?

41:00

Yeah, Detroit, And there I was gonna

41:02

say, well, Baltimore is up there with the sacks. But

41:05

and they may get they may get Houston

41:08

back this week. He's been practicing full

41:10

speed, so they may have.

41:11

A little bit.

41:11

Really, a lot of people are under Yeah.

41:14

So Houston had eight sacks last year, you

41:16

know, and they threw him into Trump's middle of the

41:18

year. It's played, has started the last

41:20

six out of eight games, and they had eight sacks.

41:23

Yeah, I against the Bear.

41:24

Sadly he was He's

41:27

got a dangerous little spin move like Aiden Hutchinson.

41:30

All right, well, let's let's let's start there with let's let's

41:32

break it down a little bit. We only have a few minutes to go,

41:34

Jim. Uh, we'll keep it short

41:36

on these games. But at San Francisco,

41:39

Detroit at San Francisco. I know, uh,

41:42

you got a lot of Michigan love out there, but where

41:44

are you going in this one?

41:45

Yeah?

41:46

I do like San Francisco. I think they

41:48

were you know, the weather last week, but perty

41:50

put it together when it mattered the most.

41:52

He is, They're both top five in scoring. I

41:54

expect I would take the over uh

41:56

in this game because I do think uh

41:59

uh San Francisco as of late they've given

42:01

up running wise, and so I

42:03

do give Detroit a chance out there, but

42:05

I will take San Francisco. They're even in the run game,

42:08

so Detroit's got I think twenty five

42:10

or twenty seven touchdowns, san Francisco

42:12

twenty five rushing touchdowns, but both their

42:14

passing games are on part. But I think it's a high scoring

42:16

matchup.

42:17

Tom.

42:18

You know, I never heard the crowd louder in any

42:20

San Francisco game, whether it's an old candlestick

42:23

or the new park than it was last week.

42:25

And I think crowd noise will have you

42:28

know, kind of hurt the efficiency

42:30

of Detroit and their their ability to

42:32

communicate if.

42:33

They have to make a play change. So I'm going

42:35

with San Francisco.

42:36

Last time Detroit won a real playoff game

42:39

nineteen fifty seven at Kizar Stadium

42:41

that was San Francisco's original stadium

42:43

back there, Okay, AFC, I think it's going

42:46

to be some kind of a war. Lamar Jacksonvain's

42:48

Pat Mahomes, two former MVP quarterbacks.

42:50

Gym where you going? Got a minute ago, minute

42:52

minute left in the show.

42:53

I will take Baltimore. I like them better in the trenches

42:56

on both sides. But Kansas

42:58

City do. I mean, he's special, But give

43:01

me Baltimore at home.

43:02

And a home conference game for Baltimore

43:05

Town first time since Johnny Unitas was

43:08

quarterbacking against George Blanda and the Raiders

43:10

fifty one years ago.

43:11

Or you just talked about edge rushers

43:14

and the worst part of the offensive line

43:16

for Kansas City as their offensive tackles,

43:19

So look for that defensive line to play

43:21

havoc up for Patrick Malmes.

43:23

Yeah, I'm going with Baltimore in San Francisco

43:25

as well. I mean, the point differential for the Ravens

43:28

this year is plus two to three. They

43:30

only trailed for eighty five snaps

43:32

in the second half all season,

43:34

so they've been they've been flying high. All right,

43:37

boys, we got to run. Thanks to everybody

43:39

once again, all our producers and

43:41

thanks specifically to Jay

43:43

Canto and Sean Graney. A

43:46

lot of good football to come here as the Bears

43:48

offseason rolls on, and we'll be talking about

43:50

a Super Bowl duo for the next two weeks after

43:52

this Ben's game. That'll do it for us. Blecking

43:54

a down coming up next here on es been one thousand

43:57

and the Bears Radio Network anight, everybody, Thank.

43:59

You for listening to the Chicago Bears Network

44:01

presentation of Bears Weekly, hosted

44:03

by the Mara, Bearsville, Jeff

44:06

Juniac and Surfmaster Tom

44:08

Thayer. Podcasts are available on the Chicago

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