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Justin Fields traded to Pittsburgh LIVE reaction

Justin Fields traded to Pittsburgh LIVE reaction

Released Sunday, 17th March 2024
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Justin Fields traded to Pittsburgh LIVE reaction

Justin Fields traded to Pittsburgh LIVE reaction

Justin Fields traded to Pittsburgh LIVE reaction

Justin Fields traded to Pittsburgh LIVE reaction

Sunday, 17th March 2024
Good episode? Give it some love!
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Episode Transcript

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Young guys got a new book coming out

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those are is on the table right now.

1:30

Is. No.

1:32

Good chance lot so welcome in you

1:34

get the coffee music the star. It's

1:37

been awhile since I'm been to a

1:39

long time. Live on a mutt with

1:41

a morning show which we usually do

1:43

a live shows for post games, But.

1:45

This just and feals straight certainly calls

1:48

for. A.

1:50

Big Live episode with you on a

1:52

Sunday morning. A happy St Patrick's Day!

1:54

Everyone. Same. the oh i'm

1:56

sure others quite a few people listening or

1:58

a an hour energy Enjoying a cup of

2:01

coffee or something like it after

2:03

a late night in the city. You know, it

2:05

was a beautiful day. Are you talking about me

2:07

right now? Is

2:09

that a McLovin mug? Actually,

2:13

I got this when I was in Hawaii. Oh, I thought it

2:15

was a McLovin mug. It'd be a lot cooler. It would be

2:17

a lot cooler if it was McLovin. Yes.

2:21

Yeah, I would have set the odds of me

2:23

actually being up and having showered before the show

2:26

started. Maybe plus 1000 last

2:29

night. But no,

2:31

we're good. We're showered. We're we're

2:33

we're I'm feeling great. Maybe

2:36

still feeling some adrenaline from yesterday because I was wild

2:38

trying to cover even though we kind of knew the

2:40

trade was coming. Like

2:42

perhaps I mean, I don't know about you. I

2:44

was kind of red alert all day. It seemed

2:47

like there was something to the Steeler stuff and

2:49

it might actually go down and I'm

2:51

just happy it happened in about 545 and not 845. Well,

2:56

some of us went out at like 130. Yeah,

2:59

you went to true St. Patrick's Day. Right

3:02

after the Keenan Allen press conference. And I

3:04

think there's a lot of us in

3:06

that media room who accepted some of the risk.

3:08

But we are human. We are

3:10

Chicagoans. We are allowed to enjoy a 55

3:14

degrees sunny day on St. Patrick's Day with the

3:16

river dyed green. Yeah.

3:19

Had a little fun. Changed my afternoon a

3:21

little bit, but here we are ready to talk about

3:23

it. Yeah, we are. And if you

3:25

missed it, we did go live on CSGO last

3:27

night. So you can always go back and check

3:29

out like for the rawest of raw reaction to

3:31

the trade. But we're happy to be here on

3:33

Hogan Johns with you this morning to

3:37

further digest this trade and what it all means. I

3:40

want to start there too. And make sure you're following

3:42

us on Twitter at Adam Hogue at Adam Johns. Our

3:44

show account is at Hogan Johns. Of course, you can

3:46

get all of our merch, which both of us are

3:49

wearing today instead of St. Patrick's Day colors. Check

3:51

out the walking bear t-shirt, the walking bear

3:53

polo. Today you

3:56

can get it all at hoganjohns.com. We always

3:58

appreciate the support. Please hit that. like

4:00

button, please subscribe because you can

4:03

check out the show on YouTube every time we have

4:05

an episode. We

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appreciate if you do that even if you're an old

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school podcast listener listening in the car or through your

4:12

phone or whatever you're doing. Please

4:15

rate and review the pod if you do listen that way. Thank you

4:18

very much. Let's just start

4:20

with the train itself here. A

4:24

six-round pick next year

4:27

that could go to a fourth

4:29

depending on playing time parameters which

4:31

we don't necessarily know. Hopefully

4:33

at some point we'll have that. 51%

4:37

of the playing time, is it not?

4:39

Oh, is it? Yes. Okay.

4:41

Yes. Keep talking. I'll

4:44

get it up for you quickly. So basically if he ends

4:46

up playing more than Russell Wilson.

4:49

Long story short, it's a

4:51

six-round pick. Yeah. Russell

4:54

Wilson has to get hurt to change the

4:56

dynamics of the Steelers QB situation. Yeah, we'll

4:58

see. I mean, maybe we get into that

5:00

a little bit later on the podcast, what

5:02

Justin Fields could do. But

5:06

the Steelers did make it clear apparently to

5:08

Russell Wilson, there's been multiple reports out including

5:10

this morning, kind of double downing on that

5:12

that before this trade was made official and

5:14

public, Mike Tomlin called Russell Wilson

5:16

and said, hey, you're still our starter. Russell had

5:18

a nice tweet out there last night with the

5:20

picture of him dapping up Justin.

5:24

He had it ready to go. Yeah.

5:27

So that'll be a, that becomes

5:30

now, this is not a Steelers podcast, but

5:32

that becomes an interesting story in the NFL

5:34

this season without a doubt. I'm sure we'll

5:36

be paying attention to it throughout the season,

5:39

especially if it ends up affecting next year's draft

5:41

capital too. So my most

5:44

instant natural reaction as

5:46

the news was breaking and I'm on my phone

5:49

exiting this this family house party that we're at

5:52

is it's just a sixth round pick. Like

5:54

it's kind of shocking, like absolutely shocking in

5:57

a sense. That's all they were able to

5:59

get. for quarterback who

6:01

has been electric in moments numbers

6:04

don't look great in certain situations especially in

6:06

third quarters in four thousand two

6:08

minute situations but who had with

6:13

so much potential and hope not

6:15

too long ago like even answering this

6:17

past season so much potential so much

6:19

hope all that it

6:21

was shocking in a sense like that's it

6:23

like that that's my honest reaction like that was it

6:26

and sometimes the market just you that's

6:30

it and I think the Bears eventually

6:32

had to act on that market like to me

6:35

doing right by Justin Fields is

6:37

not dragging this out because

6:40

the mate debate which team would be

6:42

best but not dragging this

6:44

out into April

6:46

into draft during the draft that's

6:49

doing right by Justin Fields by the

6:51

Chicago Bears yeah I agree

6:54

with you there and you

6:56

know I could they

6:58

have gotten more for Justin there's this

7:00

you know there's this question about could they have

7:02

gotten more if they moved earlier I don't I

7:06

think they would have if they you

7:08

know would

7:11

have gotten more earlier I just I just think they

7:13

didn't now could they've got more

7:15

if they held on to him longer and maybe

7:17

this got closer to the draft or during the

7:19

draft when the team strikes out on a quarterback

7:22

maybe but

7:24

for what like is that six-round pick

7:27

next year gonna suddenly turn into a third this

7:29

year I

7:31

mean that's a big gap so

7:33

I I'm with

7:35

you that just sort of

7:38

stunning how this ended up playing out

7:40

you know at

7:42

one time there was talk about if Justin Fields

7:44

could get you get a first-round pick for him

7:48

but the can I'm looking back at

7:50

that probably there's some silliness there I

7:52

agree but multiple times Adam

7:54

Schefter came out was like yeah teams

7:57

are saying second or third And

8:00

that seemed to be what was the

8:02

consensus so the fact that There's

8:06

and it's not only what happened in this trade. It's

8:08

these other trades too, and I think we I think

8:10

Kent has some of these ready so

8:13

Desmond Ritter goes to Arizona

8:17

in straight a player for

8:19

player trade Atlanta gets Rondell

8:21

Moore back who's been I guess the productions

8:24

with somewhat disappointing But he's still a pretty

8:26

electric player like I would

8:28

have taken a run down more on the Bears Kenny

8:31

picket in a fourth to

8:34

Philadelphia and Pittsburgh got back

8:36

a third and a seven so they move

8:39

up an entire round for moving can't for

8:41

moving Kenny picket That's in this

8:43

year's draft Sam Howell

8:45

plus a fourth and a sixth to

8:48

Seattle Got Seattle a

8:50

third round pick back and a

8:52

future fifth Matt Jones

8:56

Went for a six this year Train

8:59

Lance remember that one fourth

9:02

round pick for train Lance to go do nothing

9:04

in Dallas and just sit behind Dak

9:06

Prescott and then the one that

9:08

we've been bringing up for months now because

9:10

we thought there was a comparison for Justin

9:13

Fields was the Sam Darnell trade two

9:15

years ago and he went to Carolina and the

9:17

Jets got back a Sixth

9:20

but then also a second and a fourth rounder in

9:22

the next draft in 2022 so

9:25

all of these I think

9:27

we can agree on our Better

9:31

values or better returns

9:35

Than what the Bears are getting for Justin Fields and

9:37

I'm sorry But Justin Fields is better than every single

9:39

one of those quarterbacks that we just put up on

9:42

that graphic. I Would

9:44

think now the graphic would suggest that some

9:46

around the lake probably disagree with you though,

9:48

apparently It's

9:50

one of the hard realities of this is it not I

9:53

mean I Guess

9:56

it is. I I guess it is I and I think

9:58

there is a lesson here in maybe

10:01

a bigger lesson in what

10:04

teams prefer at

10:06

the quarterback position. Which quite

10:08

frankly has me wondering about Jayden Daniels actually going

10:10

in the top three all of a sudden. You

10:13

know like some of that trade

10:15

conversation like it deals with timing, leverage,

10:18

there's a lot of factors that come

10:20

into play like different draft classes, different

10:23

veteran quarterbacks that move. So there's a lot

10:25

of maybe

10:28

extra context to all those different

10:30

situations but if I'm drawing like

10:32

anything out of this it's that

10:35

the league feels

10:38

at this point in Justin

10:40

Fields career that that he's a

10:43

backup and that's a hard reality

10:45

I think that the Bears had to realize

10:48

and that has to be very

10:50

humbling reality for Justin Fields

10:52

that I imagine knowing him knowing we know about

10:54

him it's gonna be extremely motivating for him but

10:58

it's the hardest truth the ruthless

11:01

business side of the NFL rearing

11:04

its ugly head right now. I

11:08

don't you think there's got to be some teams like

11:10

let's say the Cardinals right now going wait we could

11:12

have had Justin Fields for a future six-round pick maybe

11:17

but if you're the Bears you want to do

11:19

him right like the further this conversation you

11:23

have Callar Murray they're kind of locked into

11:25

a contract at least with Pittsburgh there's

11:28

no quarterback under contract beyond this season.

11:30

So do you think that the Bears

11:33

did you know perhaps did turn down

11:35

some other offers? I

11:38

can't say that for certainty but if

11:42

if you want to do right

11:44

by Justin Fields. Yeah sending him to

11:46

Arizona probably wouldn't have been great. No

11:48

no no you're sending to an

11:51

organization that has been consistently just like stable.

11:53

Yeah I mean they've had three coaches over

11:55

the past what 100 years? Well,

12:00

what about only light exaggeration there

12:03

Seattle, but did they just trade for their

12:05

own backup quarterback? What's what I'm saying? That

12:07

was that we're saying there was

12:09

that the key put the graphic back. That was the same

12:11

dot Sam Howell trade, right? He's the one that went to

12:13

Seattle. So Yeah,

12:15

so Sam Howell fourth and six to

12:18

Seattle I

12:22

Think that actually we had the graphic wrong. I

12:24

think Washington got the third right? Washington

12:27

got the third round regardless

12:31

Yeah, so it sells Washington getting back to third

12:33

round pick so they moved up

12:35

an entire round Regardless, it's like

12:37

I mean that could have been an interesting

12:39

spot for Justin to compete against the Geno

12:41

Smith and again, I'm

12:44

just like At

12:46

one point though Sam, how led the league in passing? And

12:49

ours and that's just gonna be a matter of

12:51

situation like here's another interesting thing about least if

12:54

I'm gonna criticize the

12:56

Pittsburgh destination His

12:59

offensive coordinator Arthur Smith was

13:01

part of an Atlanta regime

13:04

that passed on fields The

13:07

top 10. Yeah in 2021 It's

13:10

almost like there is no perfect situation for Justin Fields out

13:12

there Like even the one that he's it now Where

13:15

you have Omar Khan who believes in him? You

13:18

have Russell Wilson a? mentor

13:21

like there now in the same room as him, but

13:24

now you have Arthur Smith who was part of the

13:27

Atlanta brain trust that passed on him

13:29

in 2021 and You

13:33

know was it Josh Kendall we had on before

13:36

the Falcons game? It was I was just

13:38

thinking about and I think about that interview

13:40

a lot whenever the Steelers were coming up

13:42

as a destination Because he was Josh Kendall

13:44

covers the Falcons for the outlet athletic We

13:46

had him on late in the season before

13:48

the Bears played the Falcons and

13:50

he you guys listening might remember this

13:53

I mean he was adamant that Justin Fields

13:55

was not a fit for Arthur Smith

13:57

because it was at that point we were talking about

13:59

hey Justin getting traded to the Falcons this

14:01

offseason is a possibility. And then Arthur

14:04

Smith got fired, ended up as the OC

14:06

in Pittsburgh. So every time the

14:08

Steelers have come up, I'm like, well, if

14:10

what Josh was telling us was right, I don't know. And

14:13

maybe that maybe what he was saying, you

14:16

know, was accurate and why they didn't

14:18

like him as the starter, but perhaps

14:21

different conversation is the backup. Well,

14:24

circumstances change too, right? The

14:26

D picket was

14:28

apparently pissed off. Also

14:31

Wilson has arrived. Don't want this

14:33

competition. Trade me. He's

14:36

gone. Quarterback spot opens up. And now

14:38

the market is

14:40

just like the Steelers. And

14:43

you're not trading a second round pick. You're not trading a third

14:45

round pick. You're not trading a fourth round pick or

14:48

fifth round pick. You're trading

14:50

a 2025 conditional six round pick.

14:54

To me, that's an easy decision for even Arthur

14:56

Smith, despite his potential

14:58

criticisms of Justin Fields to

15:01

get behind. Now

15:03

one point I did want to make on

15:07

what year this

15:09

pick is coming in. Because

15:11

at first you're like, and I certainly was too.

15:13

I was like, wait, wait, this draft pick's not even going to

15:15

be for this year. They only have four picks

15:18

right now. We've been assuming

15:20

this entire time that Justin Fields was going

15:22

to get the Bears at least another pick this year. Important

15:25

point to remember though, if we're talking about a six round

15:27

pick, having

15:29

a six round pick next year, especially

15:31

one that could potentially get bumped up to a fourth

15:34

conditionally is more valuable than

15:36

having that same pick this year. The

15:39

draft this year universally

15:42

is considered weak in

15:44

the later rounds this year because of an

15:47

extreme lack of underclassmen, a

15:50

low number of underclassmen that declared

15:52

this year. Part of that

15:54

is the COVID years that still count. Part

15:56

of that is NIL money. It's sort of changed

15:58

the landscape. now the expectation.

16:01

Sometimes this changes, but right now the

16:03

expectation is next year's draft class is

16:05

going to go back to how it

16:07

normally is where you can get

16:10

more depth in the later rounds. Now,

16:12

I'm not telling you a diamond in the rough isn't

16:14

going to hit this year in the draft. It will.

16:16

There'll be a puka nakua for the fifth round or

16:18

something like that. There always is. But

16:20

when you're projecting probability

16:23

of hating on a draft pick,

16:26

I'm guessing that the bears part of the reason why

16:28

they were okay with this deal is

16:30

because that six round pick has more value

16:33

next year, especially if it ends up getting

16:35

bumped up two rounds. Well, I'll give you

16:37

the future draft capital counts

16:39

a little bit more, but I don't see that

16:41

bumping up to fourth round. Like

16:44

I need to see something

16:47

change in Pittsburgh for that to

16:49

come to fruition. Well, what

16:51

if something changes is just. I

16:57

mean, again, we're not doing a Steelers podcast here, but I have thought

16:59

about this a lot in the last 12 hours

17:01

or so. Like what

17:03

does Russell have left? What if

17:06

he's struggling? Justin's probably

17:08

going to end up being a fan favorite

17:10

there. Every team loves their backup and

17:14

we kind of know Russell's a sort of a pain

17:17

in the ass to deal with,

17:20

especially seems like more late in these

17:22

later years. We also know everybody

17:25

loves Justin. His teammates are going

17:28

to love him. I just, I

17:32

wouldn't be shocked if there's a

17:34

movement to get

17:36

Justin on the field. If

17:39

Russell's struggling at all in the first quarter

17:41

of the season, I know what you're saying,

17:43

but like, if we're just going based off

17:45

of like the most recent production, you

17:49

know, I talked about Justin Field, this

17:51

passing production, not being too difficult to

17:53

replace even by rookie quarterback. It's just

17:55

not right. Right. Where it ranks. Russell

17:58

Wilson was. significantly better

18:01

passer than Justin Fields in

18:03

2023 even with a head coach that

18:07

was just waiting to get rid of him. Yeah.

18:10

No I mean like there's no question Russell's the

18:13

better quarterback and has been for

18:15

a long long time obviously. You know he's got a Super

18:17

Bowl ring, he's had a hell of a career but

18:23

we know how these things go. To me

18:25

it's like for

18:27

ending this part of the conversation like doing

18:29

right by Justin Fields. I

18:32

just think going to like if you're

18:34

the Bears and you really want to do it I

18:37

don't know if that's Philadelphia.

18:41

Jaylen Hurts is under contract like Jaylen Hurts is the guy.

18:43

I know they changed things quite

18:45

quickly there in Philadelphia but still same

18:48

thing with Arizona. Now Seattle was interesting

18:51

until they made their trade. We'll

18:54

see if I'm Justin

18:57

Fields you try to embrace it a bit. It's

18:59

a hard reality to accept but the

19:02

Steelers have been consistently good at

19:04

everything they do. Mike

19:06

Tomlin is a Hall of Fame coach. Their

19:09

defense is gonna be one of the best. They

19:11

have a knack for drafting great receivers

19:13

like seemingly every year. Yeah. Like

19:16

they know what they want to be and they know what they want to do in

19:19

Pittsburgh so maybe embrace it and see what

19:21

happens in 2025. Well

19:23

I mean I'm certainly gonna be following

19:25

along but well

19:30

let's close let's try to close the book a

19:32

little bit on Justin Fields in Chicago and

19:35

some of our favorite moments. You know the funny thing

19:37

is I think

19:40

one of his best moments one of his best

19:42

games came in

19:44

Pittsburgh. That Monday Night Game

19:46

that throw over the middle. It's a Cole

19:48

Komet incredible grab. Of

19:51

course the way that game ended with

19:53

Cassius Marsh getting

19:55

called for taunting when Tony

19:58

Carrente bumped into him. you

20:00

that we talked to Cassius Marsh at the Super

20:02

Bowl? I still

20:04

remember it. He was, I mean, I was like, of

20:06

all the people on Radio Row, it was like, that's

20:08

Cassius Marsh. And he was

20:11

kind of vague enough of an NFL player

20:13

that he

20:16

could sort of walk around and people would be like, who's

20:18

that guy? And we were one of

20:20

the few that knew because like Cassius Marsh

20:22

was here for five seconds, certainly

20:24

made an impact. And Justin

20:27

was recently when he did that interview on the

20:30

St. Brown Brothers Podcast, he couldn't even

20:32

remember Cassius Marsh's name. But

20:35

he was talking about that game. So

20:40

that's always going to be one of the memories that sticks

20:42

out to me is actually a loss on Monday Night Football

20:45

because, and I remember getting up in the hotel room in

20:47

Pittsburgh the next morning and get up

20:49

and good morning football. As

20:52

much as the storyline was about the referees,

20:55

and it was, but there

20:57

was also a ton of optimism about

20:59

Justin and the way he played in that

21:01

game on national television. I remember, you know,

21:03

and I think it's why a lot of

21:05

people for a while now had been like,

21:08

Justin's pretty good, keep him. So

21:10

that was one of definitely one of the memories that stood out to me.

21:13

There's a few things for me. One is

21:15

it's telling the behind the scenes story of

21:17

his draft selection. I

21:19

got to do that for the athletic a

21:22

few years ago. Talked to Ryan

21:24

Pace at length about it, just

21:26

how everything came to be, like

21:28

how they were actively ready

21:30

for that move. Like the trade was

21:32

already made for the draft started if

21:35

Justin Fields happened to be available with

21:37

that selection. So

21:40

telling that story and then like the,

21:44

that run in was, it would

21:46

be last year, right? Like the

21:48

Mike McDaniel stop it moment when

21:51

you started getting these

21:53

absolutely amazing plays like

21:56

these wild plays when you

21:58

got this, anything can happen. with

22:00

him. I never had that

22:02

covering a bear's quarterback before and I've covered a

22:05

lot. Like in those moments

22:08

you're thinking the bears have their

22:10

guy finally. Right? Like that's

22:12

what you're thinking. That's what I'll remember is those

22:14

feelings. Like thinking those thoughts at that time. Like

22:17

they have their guy. Get

22:19

him some help. Give him some time. I'm

22:22

not talking about like time behind the pocket but some time

22:24

to develop and

22:26

the passing will come along. But

22:29

the stuff he's doing right now is

22:31

absolutely dynamic. Full

22:34

lightning in the bottle you know tight moments.

22:37

Like those feelings I think

22:39

I'll always remember about Justin Fields. So that

22:41

was that four-game stretch in 2022 where the

22:45

Bears actually only went one and three in

22:47

that stretch. But they were scoring they

22:51

scored they led the league in scoring

22:54

I believe over that four-game stretch. So

22:56

and it's been so long for

22:59

a Bears offense to even you know talk about

23:02

leading the league and scoring for an entire month.

23:06

And that was that was that stretch where it

23:08

was like anytime Justin took a snap he

23:10

didn't know if he was gonna break off

23:13

like a 60-plus yard touchdown run against the Lions

23:15

in that game when he outran

23:18

his former teammate Jeff Fucuta to

23:20

the end zone. You're

23:26

right I mean and that was when that was

23:28

like when we had J.T. O'Sullivan on the show

23:30

and he was like yeah you guys got your

23:32

quarterback it's done you got him. I

23:35

think there was an afternoon show in the city

23:38

that said the guys on the square threw a

23:40

party. Had a QB one party declared. Fields

23:43

the guy and honestly that all

23:45

seemed justifiable at the time. So

23:48

and I think that it was that stretch and

23:51

that and those feelings that Bears fans

23:53

are just not used to having that

23:55

we're not used to having covering this

23:57

team. Is

24:02

why so many fans were still clinging on

24:04

to that even in this off season, hoping

24:06

he would still be the quarterback next year.

24:08

And I get it like I totally understand

24:10

that. I'm and that's

24:12

why. I think

24:14

last year was so disappointing to me that

24:16

not only did he not take that step

24:18

forward. But. From.

24:22

The passing standpoint from the numbers as you've

24:24

brought up a lot on the show. Third

24:26

down, Fourth, Quarter

24:29

money down situations. He

24:31

actually took a step back. As

24:34

much as as general Qb

24:36

statistics yeah, I think the.

24:39

The. Expectation that only and house hall but

24:42

around the league that going in a twenty

24:44

twenty three is this is going to be

24:46

the year. Were. Just feels take

24:48

that next step. Along the

24:50

same lines as Dion Hurts and

24:53

Josh Allen. Mike. History

24:55

says if you're quarterbacks gonna hit this

24:57

is the year he takes off. Like

25:00

forget the. Electric stuff at

25:02

his legs, but as a passer. Lead.

25:06

To takes off as a quarterback

25:08

as a passer in the Nfl.

25:10

It just. It

25:12

didn't happen. Yes, there was some

25:14

like individual improvement sack rate in

25:16

a separate. those both improved for

25:19

him. But. Where he

25:21

ranked among his peers. By.

25:24

nearly every single quarterback measurements.

25:27

Were. Still bottom third of the league. Or.

25:30

Worse. And. I

25:32

think that's why we're. Here.

25:34

Talking about this on St. Patrick's Day. In.

25:38

The. Expectation was it meant. And.

25:42

Became. Sound The Move On. As

25:44

a we go back to. What?

25:47

We talk a lot about last summer. Which.

25:50

Was like the number one thing, the season.

25:52

the matter what happens, Is

25:54

you gotta know just some fields as the guy. And

25:57

if there's any question about at the end of the year.

26:00

Is your answer? And.

26:02

It sounds simplistic, but that. Sometimes.

26:06

In. Football we get too complicated with everything and

26:08

I think if you actually zoom out and

26:10

look at this from right, pauses, perspective. I.

26:13

Didn't draft this guy. Gave.

26:15

On two years. Or. Two

26:17

years into it. I'm. Talking about

26:19

the Ryan Polls Two years now with

26:22

Justin. Twenty eight days, three right, and

26:24

then thirty eight overall To go back

26:26

to the year before this regime got

26:28

here. Given

26:30

him his hands med given him to Seasons

26:33

in. We. Still don't know if he's

26:35

for sure the guys. Now we have the

26:37

number one pick. With.

26:39

One of the best talents has ever come

26:41

out. right? There at number

26:44

one. Like, if you really think about it that

26:46

way, For. Ryan pulls his perspective.

26:49

It's a noble. Hope. It's

26:52

just a no brainer in how the

26:54

Nfl operates is certainly, even if you

26:56

don't agree with that, been a no

26:58

brainer. Send peace Surprise Yeah, that this

27:01

is what they did. One

27:03

of the. One

27:06

of the criticisms that I didn't like

27:08

that emerged from all this is that

27:10

the help was just like god awful.

27:13

For just fields, especially like this past

27:16

season like. It. Wasn't like

27:18

look at the contract, Darnell Modi?

27:20

Yeah, despite his off the production.

27:22

This year. Like. That and

27:25

as itself. Still,

27:27

Yes, Yes! And also there's a bunch of drops.

27:30

And some for just the feels like I get

27:32

that I do. But

27:34

a lot of quarterbacks. Have drops if

27:36

you look at the. The. Info: Draft

27:39

Leaders: The Bears aren't. Among.

27:41

Them think the Kansas City Chiefs actually

27:43

where they want to freak and Super

27:45

Bowl of. Ah

27:47

I think at some point like I

27:49

felt like I had higher expectations. For.

27:52

Just feels than some of his, like

27:54

most ardent supporters. Which.

27:57

was kind of surprising to me a minute to

27:59

different conversation. But

28:01

it was. Yeah,

28:03

just in terms of wrapping this up.

28:07

Like The Fields era. I

28:10

think what I'll remember most is just the.

28:13

The excitement, the electricity.

28:17

That. He produced right. And I

28:19

think it it is. It lingers.

28:21

I think that's why these conversations.

28:24

Or the conversations up to this point.

28:26

Now it's over. I hope that so

28:28

nasty in a sense because Just Feels

28:30

Zip provides so much hope at some

28:32

point. One hundred percent. I'm.

28:37

And it was all justified. But

28:41

now it's Caleb time. And

28:44

I think that. I'm.

28:47

Really going to be fascinated. John's

28:49

how these next six thirty nine

28:52

days now. Plays.

28:54

Out. Ah, I'm from the

28:56

sort of what you're just touching on

28:58

their. The fan

29:00

aspect. And support. Because.

29:04

There's. Been such a up effort

29:07

to. Sort a tear down,

29:09

Taleb, During all his vitriol.

29:12

And I am. I think this trade

29:15

happening when it does will allow for

29:17

the proper sort of turn around on

29:19

that. The by

29:21

the time the Pickett's made. That.

29:27

I'm. Just interested to see if the perspective

29:30

on Kill Williams from those are like

29:32

so it's I t le bride now

29:34

will change. The.

29:37

Bears must feel I tweeted this yesterday

29:39

like not only really good about tail

29:41

Boy hims least whether evaluation is. At

29:44

right now. A March

29:46

Seventeenth, but also about others in

29:49

his quarterback Last, because so many

29:51

things can happen between now. And.

29:55

The Draft with at twenty six, twenty fourth, Then

29:57

there's there's more than a month. right

30:00

So many things can happen where

30:02

you're like, oh no, I can't take Hale Williams now. So

30:05

if you're trading Justin Fields, and I agree that you

30:07

have to do right by him, but you

30:10

must also feel really,

30:12

really good about other quarterbacks

30:14

in this draft class just in case. Just

30:17

in case something

30:19

happens and you have to pivot off number one. Doesn't

30:24

that make sense to you? Yeah, and if you want to do that, I

30:27

have a couple thoughts on that. But let's remember,

30:30

if you do end up in that situation, as

30:34

long as it's not something, whatever scares you

30:37

off of Caleb doesn't scare three other teams

30:39

off of Caleb too. Theoretically,

30:41

you can still get that quote unquote haul

30:43

that these fans have

30:46

been talking about for so long and draft somebody else.

30:48

Theoretically, it's still possible. I

30:51

also look at it like this though. It's

30:56

gone so far down this road. This

31:00

trade's still controversial, even if it only ended

31:03

up being for what it was and the

31:05

league kind of told you how Justin's

31:07

really viewed. It's still controversial here in

31:10

Chicago. I just can't

31:12

believe they would get this far with

31:15

a lottery ticket that they got and

31:18

pivot off of Caleb Williams. That would be

31:20

so risky. I

31:23

mean, taking Caleb and missing on

31:25

Caleb would be

31:28

way more easy to swallow than

31:30

passing on Caleb and

31:32

missing on whoever else you draft while

31:35

Caleb's off winning Super Bowls.

31:38

I'm just saying, for

31:40

all the nice things you said about Justin Fields, now that

31:43

he doesn't matter anymore,

31:45

he's traded. If

31:47

that's no longer your fallback option,

31:50

if something crazy comes out about

31:52

Caleb Williams, I'm

31:54

just saying, it doesn't seem far fetched that there might

31:57

be other quarterbacks that appeal to

31:59

the Bears. Well after Caleb Williams, yeah

32:01

are better than Justin Fields. That's what I'm saying

32:03

Yeah, and I agree with you We talked about

32:05

that coming out of the clock Combine like that

32:08

was one of our biggest takeaways was that plan

32:10

B had become something other than Justin So

32:13

it's obvious that they like more than one quarterback

32:16

in this in this draft The

32:18

question then becomes how big is the gap? And

32:22

I think we both agree Caleb's clearly number one right

32:25

now not only you know in our eyes but also

32:27

in the Bears eyes, but you

32:29

know it's a big week by the way pro day

32:31

on Wednesday and We'll

32:34

have coverage from that because I'm going Caleb

32:37

Williams pro day. I know

32:39

the athletic is gonna have other coverage as

32:41

well So we'll have all

32:43

that covered and then I don't know the exact

32:45

date, but Caleb's expected to come Visit

32:48

a house hall shortly after the pro day. Yeah,

32:51

so It's They're

32:55

gonna get a lot of information here like in the next

32:57

10 to 12 days if you're and you know what like

32:59

in terms Of these pro days sometimes teams go out early

33:01

and they host these prospects for

33:03

dinner Or they stay a day later

33:05

have dinner with them And then

33:07

two weeks after that becomes the visit where they

33:09

meet everybody in the facility and everybody almost gets

33:12

to say And how they feel

33:14

about the certain quarterback as a person but

33:17

yes just in terms of What's

33:19

on the calendar coming up? Wednesday

33:22

you have USC pro day along

33:25

with Ohio State and Alabama,

33:27

but obviously USC is number one Friday.

33:31

I believe you have Michigan with

33:33

JJ McCarthy and then the week after

33:35

that you have LSU in

33:37

North Carolina I imagine

33:39

the Bears will be all four of those in

33:42

mass. Yeah And

33:46

now they can do that without the

33:49

Justin Fields thing hanging over Like

33:52

I think the timing that that matters Kind

33:54

of bringing closure to that all

33:56

I Mean, I know

33:58

that they saw I I think that

34:01

matters for Fields more than anyone.

34:04

Again, that's the closure I think he deserves

34:06

in a sense, right? That the Bears wanted to provide

34:08

him doing right again. But

34:11

I still think that diving all

34:16

the way in here to what is essentially the final

34:19

stages of

34:23

the draft process, not having to

34:25

worry about trading just and not

34:27

having that hanging over any

34:29

part of your organization, even outside

34:32

the football part of

34:34

it, marketing, all

34:39

these types of things, you don't have to

34:41

deal with it. Public relations, you don't have to deal with

34:43

it. It's now everybody

34:45

can focus just on these quarterbacks that are

34:47

available to draft and the Bears have the

34:49

number one and number nine picks. And

34:52

they got to get it right. They absolutely have

34:54

to get both of these picks right. And

34:59

having that ninth pick is part of this too

35:01

because think about all the work they did just

35:04

on landing Darnell Wright last year. They

35:07

had that same pick again. So it's not just the

35:09

quarterbacks they got to deal with. And

35:11

they have been obviously you do this every year, you vet

35:14

all these players, but you're going to have access to two

35:16

top 10 players. You got

35:18

to make sure you get those picks right. There can't be any guessing. Yeah.

35:21

Yeah. So the ninth pick is

35:25

another blue chip player potentially

35:27

on your roster. And

35:30

I think we need to reemphasize this point. This

35:33

Bears roster is

35:35

as good as we've ever seen it in

35:38

terms of being ready for any

35:40

quarterback. Now it's going to be a

35:42

rookie quarterback, but it's a good

35:44

roster. And

35:47

right now your QB one is Tyson Bajan. One

35:51

of the best receiving combos they've had in over

35:54

what, 10 years. The defense

35:56

that should be top five, top 10 in a lot

35:59

of categories. getting better with the number

36:01

nine pick. That's a darn

36:03

good roster. If

36:09

I had to set the odds at

36:12

do the Bears actually pick at number

36:14

nine, I

36:17

would think the favorite would be no. But

36:23

with your lack of draft picks, it's like, okay,

36:26

obviously it's like, oh yeah, trade back. Maybe

36:28

you can get a second round pick then. Maybe you can add another third

36:30

round pick. Ryan Poles has been doing pretty good

36:33

with those second rounders. That's potentially

36:35

another blue chip with

36:37

the way that they've been drafting there. It's at

36:39

least a chance to get another long-term starter. On

36:43

the other hand, with lack of draft capital,

36:45

do you get tempted to say,

36:48

F it. Let's

36:50

trade up. Let's

36:53

go get the next guy we need at five

36:56

or six or something like that and

36:59

just make sure you're getting a blue

37:02

chip wide receiver or the best

37:04

offensive tackle possible for this

37:07

quarterback you're getting. I don't know, man. After

37:09

bringing in Keaton Allen, I think the Bears

37:11

have now

37:14

made it less of an emphasis. I

37:20

think they're telling us they'd be okay if

37:22

those top three receivers are gone. We

37:25

can look at a pass

37:28

rusher. If I'm

37:30

tearing the premium positions, I'm looking at the passer than

37:32

the pass rusher. To

37:35

get a Dallas

37:37

Turner to go opposite, not

37:41

that sweat, talk

37:44

about two amazing receivers. How about two

37:46

amazing pass rushers on your defense? I

37:49

don't know. I can't lean that way in a

37:51

sense instead of trading up. That first defensive player

37:53

could be available at nine the way things might

37:56

be shaking out and that might make

37:58

it hard to trade back. If

38:01

you're sitting there and the best defensive guy on your

38:03

board is right there he's the edge rusher to Or

38:06

he's a three technique that can kind of complete your defense

38:09

right now Be

38:12

very interesting to see how it plays out All

38:15

right any final thoughts before we get out of here no

38:18

we got hit some super chats. I think here Oh, we

38:20

got some supers Let's do it Marlin

38:24

Harris 499 the

38:27

league didn't want Lamar Jackson either last

38:29

year. No one wants a running quarterback

38:33

it's a little bit of a different situation because you had

38:36

to give up to first round picks and Sign

38:39

him to the biggest contract

38:41

in football To

38:44

get Lamar last year, so it's There's

38:48

some truth to that but also it's a

38:50

completely different situation and like Lamar

38:52

Jackson is a good pass Thank

38:55

you His second season wasn't he

38:57

the NFL MVP like I get it like

38:59

what he does with his legs is exciting

39:01

But I just pull up his passing number.

39:03

Yeah, the passing number is in the tape.

39:05

It's not even comparable. Yes Yeah, they're not

39:07

the same player 36 touchdown passes, you

39:10

know sixty six point one completion percentage 83.0

39:13

QBR 113.3

39:16

passer rating I mean that like

39:19

that's Lamar Jackson's second season and we're

39:21

talking about Justin Fields going into his

39:23

fourth Season I'd never liked that

39:25

comparison and now two pigeons

39:27

be moaning the fact you can stream direct

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TV satellite free Hey Frank a little birdie

39:32

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39:34

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39:36

What's it Jimmy the spiral? It's a figure

39:38

of speech Point is you

39:40

can stream direct TV over the internet now

39:42

Oh sure next you're gonna tell me those

39:44

big birds are made of metal and filled

39:46

with people right? You

39:48

mean airplanes stream direct TV without

39:51

a satellite dish call 1-800 direct

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Hogue, Mr. Johns, Is

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there any chance The Bear. The Like: Another

42:00

quarterback in the draft other than Williams

42:03

at one still seen trade one for

42:05

a hall. By. Some Bears fans.

42:08

Every kind of just address that. Ah, But.

42:13

You know, I think I think our minds

42:15

are open to it. But. Only

42:17

at a scenario where. Something.

42:20

Comes up here in the next forty days.

42:22

That just. Forces

42:25

you. The. Not draft Caleb,

42:27

Lambs and I personally don't see that

42:30

on Foley in here's the risk Like

42:32

in that? like if you start. I.

42:35

doing another quarterback. Us.

42:39

To be sure to get him. And if

42:41

you're passing and Kale blames. At.

42:43

One you just take the other quarterback. it

42:45

won't even though. Certain.

42:49

Grades and and your board doesn't reflect such

42:51

a selection Like and then like how far

42:53

back to you trade down it's really want.

42:56

An old say Gg Mccarthy because he's rising

42:58

up the draft board like how far back

43:00

to you go look at the Minnesota Vikings

43:02

they have now to to first round picks

43:05

and appear very poised. To move

43:07

up into the draft to take some quarterback

43:09

right? Right

43:11

Because. I got news for you. As.

43:15

Of Five Forty Five yesterday

43:17

whenever this trade was completed,

43:20

You know the biggest need on the Bears roster as.

43:24

Quarterback. West's

43:27

when the the second they removed Justin

43:29

Fields Austin's magnet from the board yesterday

43:31

when they're looking at their roster. They

43:35

got Tyson Baigent and Brett rip it

43:37

right now. Like

43:39

that's it. I'm.

43:42

So. If you're not gonna

43:45

draft tail blonde. You better make

43:47

sure whoever else common in there's are

43:49

starting quarterback because otherwise you have this

43:51

great roster and know quarterback. I was

43:54

a know quarterback but I debated the

43:56

back up with says be honest about

43:58

the so. It

44:01

you can have that up now here. the a

44:04

said this idea of training back and get the

44:06

whole. World. That was a little.

44:08

You could stomach that a little bit more. When

44:10

you adjusted fields, you're still on your roster. That.

44:13

That That's incredibly risky. To.

44:16

Do now like I keep eyes. He could

44:18

see the doing it. For

44:20

more the moving back once now as as despite

44:23

said there's only one team you make their move

44:25

for. It's these the

44:27

scenario in which Tail Boy was

44:29

once good washington. And was

44:31

in want him. To. Trade back

44:33

one spot in, that is it. And.

44:36

Then you take your guide to cause you know

44:38

you can get yes and you hold them. On.

44:41

The phone for as much as you can get.

44:43

I play hardball. I know you don't have much

44:45

leverage if you're right Posner Situations. But.

44:47

Yeah, to get something. The I get something. I.

44:51

Don't know in this draft because you go

44:53

to use your Jeff Capital for other guys

44:55

harasser. but. Yeah.

44:58

I don't know, I'm that's the only.

45:01

It's. It is now snowing in Chicago

45:03

on. Said. Pets they? Anyway, it was

45:05

a million, yes least in the city itself.

45:08

Anyway, like. If that

45:11

scenario, Comes. To fruition in you have

45:13

to pivot off. Kale Blames and I'm saying they're going

45:15

to do it. Is. The number one quarterback

45:17

right now we're talking but if you have do you

45:19

can only go back one. I don't.

45:21

I am and I see the chat already.

45:23

Lars is guys even talking about to trade

45:26

him back where we had a nice superchamp

45:28

from a nice list through as a nice

45:30

question, supporters hit us again. I guess that's

45:32

the only reason why we're entertaining this don't

45:34

twist is that we are. We are on

45:36

the same page here and what's not only

45:38

most likely to have them but you know

45:40

what what we would do to our aid

45:42

zoo abroad or five hours. I keep reading

45:45

how his draft is top heavy and not

45:47

deep. you guys feel that way and how

45:49

far does that extend to the third round?

45:51

Yeah, I bet a couple value waiters

45:53

tell me that. This. Might

45:55

even be like a three round draft. Certainly.

46:00

More than a for round draft and

46:02

I think that's why. The.

46:05

Bears draft picks while they you know. Okay,

46:07

so they both first pick the nice pack,

46:09

a third round pick and fourth round pick

46:11

right now, and that's it. But.

46:13

I think they're comfortable with that because of

46:16

how this draft has played out. The it

46:18

would be great if they somehow going to

46:20

moved up around. With.

46:22

The just feels trade even if they had a you know.

46:25

Give. Back there third to get up to

46:27

the second. That would be nice but obviously

46:29

has a how the market played out. Ah

46:31

I'm. So. I tend to agree with

46:33

it. But. There's.

46:36

Always players. I go undrafted every year

46:38

so you still gotta do your homework

46:40

and find a way to. Get

46:43

somebody in that fourth round and

46:45

somebody who's undrafted. That contributes into

46:47

your points though. About. The.

46:50

Lack of depth. Maybe.

46:53

That's why another reason why he trade a

46:55

fifth round pick for Ryan Bates. Who

46:57

is probably better. This. Year

46:59

and next year. And some

47:02

of the lime and that you bring in in

47:04

that draft United. I know that they trade that

47:06

last year or next year, right? I think that

47:08

specific to this year and I guess that they've

47:10

hit on fifth round picks there. I Breasts Jones.

47:13

Great. Example: what the as it's have taken

47:15

like a bunch of other linemen. And

47:18

a three that haven't exactly panned out and

47:20

since aimlessly or even two three years into

47:22

their career like this is what. Happened.

47:25

So he trade deficits round pick to

47:27

get a gag tribute immediately and your

47:29

ass or twenty twenty four hundred kind

47:31

of build around a quarterback an. Ice

47:34

at. I. Get that the Bears only

47:36

have four. Draft Picks: The Seer: Can we

47:38

all just remember that one of them we use the

47:40

Matter smith. Yeah

47:43

right, Like you might as

47:45

sweat. I'm. right?

47:48

Bates. Com

47:50

is is what your fifth round pick turned in

47:52

do. We just got another super to add. on

47:55

this from farming their bring this one up right

47:57

away $9.99

48:00

I think it's important to remember that we already

48:02

took players with the picks we don't have can

48:04

you get sweat in the second Alan? in the

48:06

fourth Yeah,

48:09

that's right Keenan Allen's a fourth. Yeah. Yeah, so

48:11

you You can look

48:13

at it that way your second round pick

48:15

became Montes sweat your fourth round pick became

48:17

Keenan freaking Allen Your fifth round pick became

48:19

Ryan Bates Who

48:23

who might be starting on your line, I

48:25

just think if you're now going all in

48:27

on this QB

48:31

development you need a

48:33

roster full of Guys

48:35

who could contribute like guys, you know for

48:37

sure Are going to

48:39

be ready on day one without the unpredictability of the

48:42

draft You know you're getting something out of key to

48:44

nail and you know, you're getting something out of my

48:46

sweat and you're pretty optimistic about Ryan

48:48

Bates to what that's a good way to look

48:50

at it. Like let's say I

48:52

could tell you that you're guaranteed to

48:55

have Roma doomsday at nine That

48:58

sounds pretty good, right? And

49:00

maybe that could still happen but What's

49:04

better for Kayla Williams in his rookie year

49:08

Keenan Allen one of

49:10

the most quarterback friendly wide receivers that exists

49:12

in the league who you know is Savvy

49:14

it's sitting in open zones one of the

49:16

best slot receivers in the past decade, right

49:19

and his veteran presence everything He knows the

49:21

knowledge he was talking about his press conference

49:23

yesterday Roma doomsday

49:26

might be a Hall of Fame player for

49:28

you for years and years and years and

49:31

that would be great but

49:35

You got Keenan Allen for fourth round pick who

49:38

you know is going to be Kayla

49:40

Williams best friend For his

49:42

entire rookie season like and maybe you could fill

49:45

out both That's the thing but I'm at the

49:47

point I'm trying to make is a receiver like

49:49

Keenan Allen the savvy veteran Who's

49:52

in like this upper tier of? Guys

49:55

that you know are just gonna be so quarterback

49:57

friendly to help your rookie quarterback is gonna be

49:59

more valuable to K.L. Williams

50:01

development in year one. I'm not

50:03

talking about beyond that, but just in year one as a

50:06

rookie, then another

50:08

rookie wide receiver would be. Whoever

50:10

it is, no matter how

50:12

talented they are, just Keenan Allen is bringing all

50:14

that to the table. And that's huge. To

50:17

me, it's a matter of certainty. You

50:19

know you have Keenan Allen right now. You don't know

50:21

how the draft is going to play out. The

50:24

draft is amazingly unpredictable. You

50:27

don't know if one of those top three receivers is going to be there

50:29

at number nine. But you know what? You know

50:31

Keenan Allen is on your roster right now. You

50:34

know you have one of the best slot receivers who's coming

50:36

off a career best season. Despite injuries, I get it. He

50:39

may not play a full 16, full 17 games. But if

50:41

he gives you a 13, 14, 15, and he helps your

50:46

rookie come along, helps him build

50:48

confidence, helps K.L. Williams be the K.L. Williams

50:50

we think he can be. Yes.

50:53

Sign me up for that level of certainty going

50:55

into this draft. Alright, let's

50:58

fly through these remaining Super Chats. Mike Eversly with the

51:00

$20 Super Tank. Thank you very

51:02

much, Mike. Really appreciate it. You just mentioned Dallas

51:04

Turner, but who is your top rated defensive end

51:06

that could be potentially

51:10

drafted at nine and why?

51:13

Mike right now, Dallas Turner,

51:15

is that guy. I'm not

51:17

completely done with that evaluation

51:20

and specifically want to compare

51:23

him very closely to Jared Vers

51:25

who at first glance

51:28

when you first turn on the tape, to

51:30

me Jared Vers looks like more of a

51:33

prototypical 4-3 hand in the

51:36

ground defensive end for this

51:38

Bears defense. Dallas

51:40

Turner's length is unbelievable. We know the

51:42

Bears value that. But when

51:45

you turn on Alabama's tape, Dallas Turner's

51:47

usually lining up sort of like Khalil

51:49

Mack does, sort of all over but

51:51

always in a two point stance. He's

51:54

certainly not as big as Khalil Mack. I'm just

51:56

bringing up kind of how they use him. Sometimes

51:59

he'll line up. Almost like remember Brian

52:01

or lacquer walking up into the a gap

52:04

When he and Lance Briggs would mug they

52:06

gaps like they move him around a lot

52:08

at Alabama. I'm talking about Dallas Turner now,

52:10

so Just the way

52:12

but that doesn't mean he can't transition and you

52:14

know become that player on the Bears defense It's

52:16

just I got to work through that a little

52:18

bit more but between now and the draft I

52:20

think you're looking at three players at number nine

52:23

or slight trade back if that scenario

52:27

Look at the Dallas Turner Byron Murphy

52:29

the defensive tackle from Texas. I'm liking

52:31

him more and more and Jared verse

52:34

Right. Those are your three all

52:36

different types of players. I think

52:38

Jared verse in terms of the

52:40

physical profile The

52:42

long arms fits what Mattie before

52:44

loose wants. I think his story in

52:47

the way he plays completely

52:50

Fits what the Bears want again like everything about

52:52

Jared verse strikes me as a Matt Eberf loose

52:54

like player I could see like

52:57

flus bang in the table for Jared verse

53:00

I can see him bang in the table

53:02

for Byron Murphy to yeah the engine of

53:04

his defense That's three technique a rookie who

53:06

could come in and be

53:08

immediately disruptive on his defensive

53:10

line Byron Murphy is like

53:15

Giving me Darnell right vibes

53:19

From last year's draft And what

53:21

I mean by that is like a guy that when

53:23

you first started this process and we always dive in

53:25

late, right? Like we're not doing this year-round with the

53:28

draft try to watch as much college football as I

53:30

can I did watch a lot of Texas last year

53:32

actually But you're not really diving

53:34

into this until you kind of take Dane Bruegeler's

53:36

top 50 in January and you try to start

53:38

to sort it out for yourself and like

53:42

Last year that's happened with darnell right where okay.

53:44

He looked pretty good at the senior bowl You're

53:46

like late first round second round pick and then

53:48

the more and more you start to work on

53:51

this guy. It's like Man

53:54

he kind of is a perfect fit for what the Bears need

53:56

and He

53:58

kind of seems like it's Not

54:01

necessarily a sure thing, but a relatively safe

54:03

pick as a right tackle. Maybe

54:06

he can move the left tackle eventually for you,

54:08

but he sure as hell

54:10

looks like a plug and play right tackle, exactly

54:12

what they need right now. Why

54:15

take a risk? And then you hear

54:17

all the stories later about how much they like them. Byron

54:21

Murphy to me, there was so much

54:23

focus on Tavandre's sweat because he's just

54:25

this big massive guy in the middle of that defense

54:27

when you watch Texas games this year. The

54:30

more and more you turn on Byron Murphy, you're like, this

54:32

guy's the better player. And I

54:36

don't care if the rest of the league views him

54:38

as a later first-round pick right now. He's

54:40

what the Bears need. He's twitchy

54:43

and explosive in the get-off. And yes, he's a little

54:45

bit small. And ultimately, the Bears do value length and

54:47

things like that, so they're going to have to sort

54:49

all that out. But to me,

54:52

for where the Bears are right now, I would

54:55

value that over getting the second edge rusher when

54:57

you already know you have sweat on the other

54:59

end. I feel like every

55:02

year, there's players like,

55:04

oh, darn all right, picking

55:06

the 20s, late first round,

55:09

that makes sense for them. But every year, one of

55:11

those guys, oh, the

55:13

league sees him as a top-10 player, top-10

55:16

potential. It's always about that projection,

55:19

right? And the situation

55:21

he goes to, being such

55:23

a perfect fit for what the Bears want

55:26

to do and want to be. Like, that's how I

55:28

see Byron Murphy, right? I

55:30

don't know if it's just because Aaron Donald

55:33

just retired. I just remember that story, like,

55:35

oh, he's too small, this, that, and the

55:37

other. Dude, one of the best players of

55:39

all time, true after what, number 12? Was

55:42

it 12? Right? 13,

55:45

one spot ahead of the Chicago Bears. We

55:48

know the Bears loved Aaron Donald, too.

55:52

I'm not saying Byron Murphy

55:55

is the second coming of Aaron Donald, but

55:58

let's look past certain measurements. Just

56:01

look at the football player in a sense. Byron

56:05

Murphy could be immensely disruptive for

56:07

the Bears defensive line. Like

56:09

instantaneously. Yeah. Bear down

56:12

Omaha, $2 says Chicago had a top 5D

56:14

without a second edge, go wide receiver at

56:16

9. And you can justify that.

56:18

You do have a pretty good defense regardless and maybe

56:21

you want to get Kaleb more help. I get it. Sonny777

56:25

closing us out here, $5, keeping

56:27

Justin out of sense of mentality

56:29

while other teams, keeping

56:32

him, I got it, while

56:34

other teams wouldn't give up a third round

56:36

pick would be a typical Bears move but

56:39

polls is different. Trust him. Oh,

56:41

that's the suggestion. The

56:45

league is telling you what he is and

56:48

we'll just keep him because of it. Yeah. That

56:51

never made sense to me. No, right.

56:53

No. You know,

56:55

to the point of learning

56:58

about evaluations and, you know, I

57:00

think this experience for Ryan Poults

57:04

as a young GM, just

57:06

in terms of maybe feeling better

57:09

about his own QB evaluations, like

57:12

those conversations have to be pretty unique for Ryan Poults

57:14

to walk into. Hey, you know, what about the

57:17

Sam Darnold deal? No.

57:20

We think Justin Fields is worth

57:24

a lot less than that. We think he's a backup.

57:26

Like those conversations have to be very, very unique for

57:28

him. Yeah, yeah, definitely. All

57:31

right. Well, that wraps it up for Super

57:33

Chat. So it's just one more thing that

57:36

we wanted to address on the back end

57:38

of this because we did see it go

57:40

somewhat viral on social media and I wasn't

57:42

completely surprised by it but obviously we had

57:44

Josh Lucas on the show the other day

57:46

and if you missed it, please go back

57:48

and listen. It was a fun conversation, some

57:50

interesting stuff on Keenan Allen and then what's

57:52

going on with the quarterbacks. And when we

57:54

talked about Caleb Williams, he made a reference

57:57

to, you know, some rumors that have been

57:59

going on. And we've heard him,

58:01

we've heard him throughout this draft process.

58:05

And he even admitted in his clip, and I

58:07

don't know if that made the clip that ended

58:10

up on social media that was sort of going viral,

58:12

I'm not sure if that was included, but he admitted

58:14

that what he was bringing up could

58:16

be unsubstantiated. So

58:20

a lot of people, and I honestly

58:22

think fairly, were wondering why we didn't

58:24

follow up to what he said, because

58:26

he was basically saying that some teams

58:28

could be scared off if they lose

58:30

Caleb because of these rumors. And

58:33

so I get why people are like, why didn't you follow up

58:35

on what those were? One

58:37

thing about this show that we've been pretty

58:39

consistent on over the years is like, we

58:41

don't necessarily go down the road of unsubstantiated

58:44

stuff that's out there. And

58:47

meanwhile, as much as people want to

58:50

accuse us or others of not wanting

58:52

to dig on Caleb Williams, we

58:55

have been digging in on Caleb Williams for

58:57

months now, going back to when Bears regular season

58:59

was still going on. And I had a story

59:01

come out Super Bowl week that I encourage you

59:04

to read, allchu.com, on

59:06

a lot of this stuff that's just

59:08

sort of been floating out there. And

59:11

to this point, and maybe this changes,

59:15

okay, I'll give you that. I mean, maybe

59:17

something does get substantiated. But at this point,

59:19

all this stuff that's sort of been floating

59:21

out there, let me be very clear on

59:24

this too. Because

59:27

none of it actually has to do with Caleb Williams. Like

59:31

this stuff that people are

59:33

worried about, it's

59:36

the behind the scenes stuff. It's more of

59:38

like what's real about what his dad might

59:41

do or try to change. It's all been

59:43

out there. It's all been reported, right? And

59:46

to this point, to

59:48

me, none of it, from all

59:51

the people I've talked to, is real. So

59:55

that's where, when we can't control what guests

59:57

come on here and say, when that stuff

59:59

gets brought up. up, my

1:00:01

initial reaction is like until something

1:00:03

becomes more real or I hear it from

1:00:05

my own digging that I've been doing, we

1:00:09

don't need to draw more attention to it. That's kind

1:00:11

of where I am on it and I think that

1:00:13

that's why, that's the best way I can explain why

1:00:15

we didn't necessarily poke on that because we've all sort

1:00:18

of heard it and to

1:00:20

this point I just, I think it's a lot of nothing.

1:00:24

It's full steam ahead with this evaluation if

1:00:26

you're the Chicago Bears, right? Like this is, they're

1:00:29

still digging. Yeah, like

1:00:32

Cale Williams hasn't been

1:00:34

through Halis Hall yet. Like he hasn't

1:00:37

met every vice president there is, like everyone who

1:00:39

wants to get a feel for him. But

1:00:43

now I feel like this is the conversation.

1:00:46

Let's just go with it. The

1:00:48

Justin Fields conversation is now

1:00:50

over. I'm sure his name will come up every

1:00:52

now and then but now it's focusing

1:00:54

on Cale Williams. We know what the tape says. Absolutely

1:00:58

dynamic. There is no one

1:01:00

like him in the draft. He is special on the

1:01:02

field but as Ryan

1:01:04

Poles once said, what, in January? Kind

1:01:07

of figure out the person too. That's

1:01:09

the next step. And I'll leave with

1:01:12

this because it's, the

1:01:17

draft process is what it is and

1:01:21

you sort, the draft process is

1:01:23

unique for especially a player like

1:01:25

of Cale Williams talent

1:01:28

because you basically spend months trying to look for

1:01:30

any reason, every reason not to draft the guy.

1:01:32

That's dangerous. Right? That can get you in trouble.

1:01:35

Yeah. Ryan Poles will tell you you have to

1:01:37

focus on what he can do instead

1:01:39

of what he can't do. Like focus on

1:01:41

the positives instead of negatives. Right. So I'm

1:01:43

gonna give you the fact that Caleb, Caleb's

1:01:46

gonna be different than most players

1:01:48

you draft. He's already got

1:01:50

television commercials. He's already a superstar.

1:01:53

He shows up at the players championship on

1:01:55

a Thursday morning and it blows up the

1:01:57

internet. Right? Like... This

1:02:00

is going to be different. The

1:02:02

presence of his dad, which I've already written about

1:02:04

in the address, go read it at all csto.com.

1:02:06

It's different. And I

1:02:08

understand in this very structured

1:02:11

NFL world where they want you to only care

1:02:13

about football and only be a football guy, love

1:02:16

football, all that. I mean, Fluce talks about it

1:02:18

all the time, right? They're not going to draft

1:02:20

players who don't love football. There's

1:02:26

going to be extra stuff with Caleb

1:02:28

Williams. But to this point, all

1:02:31

the digging I've done on the kid, he loves football.

1:02:34

And a lot of this extra stuff is just stuff

1:02:36

that's around him that he can't necessarily control all of

1:02:39

it. He can probably control some of it, but

1:02:41

it's just going to be part of drafting

1:02:44

Caleb Williams. But instead of looking

1:02:46

at it like a reason not to draft him or

1:02:48

being scared of all that, well

1:02:51

this franchise has been down the road of let's draft

1:02:53

the nice guy. Let's draft the guy that there's

1:02:56

no headaches with, that everybody loves.

1:02:59

They did it with Mitch Trubisky. They did it

1:03:01

with Justin Fields. Maybe take

1:03:03

a chance for once. Maybe embrace

1:03:06

everything that comes with Caleb Williams and

1:03:09

the hype and the attention and being

1:03:11

on national television probably a ton next

1:03:13

year. All these, heck, how

1:03:15

about this? Maybe embrace being

1:03:17

on hard knocks. Nah, they will never

1:03:19

do that. Yeah, I know. I know.

1:03:24

But my point of all this is, maybe if they actually

1:03:27

started looking at things that way, this

1:03:29

franchise would get out of the funk that

1:03:31

they've been in for a hundred years. I'll

1:03:33

say this about like superstar quarterbacks. There's

1:03:36

a level of celebrity with them that

1:03:40

just comes with it, right? Like even Josh

1:03:42

Allen's dating a movie star now,

1:03:44

right? Like Aaron Rodgers has dated

1:03:46

movie stars. Dated Danica Patrick. Like he's a headache all the

1:03:48

time. I feel like he's in the news for every

1:03:51

day. I'm waiting to see what happens today with Aaron Rodgers,

1:03:53

but that's kind of what happens with him. Well,

1:03:55

he might be running for vice president. That's what can happen.

1:03:58

Like Tom Brady. You know? Movie

1:04:02

star, the supermodel. Like in the

1:04:04

news all the time, a bunch of conflict of

1:04:06

time. Anybody want. Now some of these are like

1:04:08

just bad comparisons but just like

1:04:10

speaking in generalities like quarterbacks

1:04:14

the really good ones. Like

1:04:16

Russell Wilson, Sierra. Like there's

1:04:18

a level of celebrity that comes with them

1:04:21

and I'm trying to

1:04:23

wrap my mind around that a little bit. There

1:04:26

was even with Jake Cutler there was some of that

1:04:28

right? Oh

1:04:30

yeah Kristin Cavallari. Going up a training camp with

1:04:32

an honor. It's not a reality show. It's

1:04:34

not her own training camp. Like these are things.

1:04:37

Like Jake Cutler was on a reality

1:04:39

television show. Like these are things that happened with

1:04:42

quarterbacks and Cale Williams is already kind

1:04:44

of in that world already because of

1:04:46

how college football has changed. You

1:04:49

know and I think draft evaluations have to change

1:04:51

with how college football is changing a

1:04:53

bit. Like I think we should do a

1:04:55

podcast later but like yeah

1:04:58

it comes with it. Embrace

1:05:01

the challenge of at least evaluating it because

1:05:03

it is different than every quarterback you've kind

1:05:05

of evaluated before. Like

1:05:08

I understand. My

1:05:11

point on that is just

1:05:13

like you want to be

1:05:15

in that world where there's some distractions with

1:05:17

your quarterback because they're so famous. That means

1:05:19

they're really good. The

1:05:22

Bears haven't had that problem because they haven't had that guy.

1:05:26

So you shouldn't be afraid of drafting that guy is

1:05:29

my point on all that. Now if

1:05:32

there really is something serious that ends

1:05:34

up coming out of this that you

1:05:36

just cannot justify then that's different. But

1:05:38

to this point haven't heard that,

1:05:40

haven't seen that and if there's one thing

1:05:42

I'll leave you with this. Look

1:05:46

our track record here I think

1:05:48

is pretty good. I'm not saying

1:05:50

we've been right about everything. We certainly haven't. But

1:05:54

maybe this latest episode

1:05:57

with all the Justin Fields stuff if you've been listening

1:06:00

into this show or CHEO recently,

1:06:03

there's been a lot of lack of

1:06:05

trust for whatever reason, but

1:06:09

it played out the way it did. So I just

1:06:11

asked this, like trust us on

1:06:13

this Caleb Williams stuff for now. Because

1:06:15

if either one of us comes up with something

1:06:17

that's real, that's substantiated, that is a problem, trust

1:06:19

me, we'll be talking about it on the show.

1:06:22

We'll get it to you. You probably would have read it

1:06:24

about it first. Yeah.

1:06:26

Well, yeah. Or you read it in the athletic.

1:06:29

It probably would already be out there too. True. So,

1:06:32

but there is this process, the bears are going to go

1:06:34

through it. I'll be at the pro day on Wednesday. We

1:06:37

got NFL owners meetings coming up. We'll

1:06:41

hear about these visits. It'll all

1:06:43

be sorted out by draft day. But

1:06:46

there's nothing that anybody's trying to hide right now.

1:06:48

We're just trying to be responsible about the

1:06:50

reporting and we will continue to be. That's

1:06:53

all. Good show.

1:06:55

We're on

1:06:57

to the draft. And,

1:07:01

yeah. Thank God. Thank

1:07:04

God. And I'll be

1:07:06

following Justin in Pittsburgh.

1:07:09

I said all along, I'm fascinated to see where he

1:07:11

ends up and I won't be surprised to be a

1:07:13

success there. The problem

1:07:15

is now he's got to figure out how to get on the field. That

1:07:17

part I was not anticipating. But,

1:07:20

okay. Follow

1:07:22

us on Twitter at Adam Hogue, at Adam Johns.

1:07:24

Thank you so much as always for the support.

1:07:27

Thank you for watching live today. Thank you for

1:07:29

being in the comments, the super chats, everything like

1:07:31

that. If you're watching right now, please. It's not

1:07:33

that hard. Hit that like button. Hit subscribe. Send

1:07:36

the link off to a friend. We appreciate

1:07:38

your help in growing the channel. And of

1:07:40

course, everybody still listens the podcast version. It's

1:07:42

always been there for you. It'll always be

1:07:44

there for you. So hit

1:07:47

subscribe wherever you listen to your podcast to. Spotify,

1:07:50

Apple, wherever. It's all there for

1:07:52

you. And we'll continue to be

1:07:54

here throughout this process. Appreciate the

1:07:56

support as always. And we'll

1:07:58

be back, I believe, on Tuesday. morning in between. Can

1:08:00

we talk to you then? Yeah. In

1:08:11

the ad stories of

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