Then to Bears Weekly, powered by IGS Energy by Chicago Bears Network production. Bears Weekly is brought to you by Advocate Healthcare, Athletic Goo Physical Therapy, C D.
Kellaghan, Connie's Piazza, IGS.
Energy and Men are live.
Here are your.
Hosts, Jeff Childe act aka the Mayor of Bearsville and is sidekick Tom the Surfmaster Thayer.
Optimism popping at hallis Hall after what is being framed as a positive step forward and towards enhancing the offensive and defensive lines with the twenty twenty five season and beyond for your Chicago Bears, stealthy strikes on the trade market and free agency by general manager Ryan Poles and his staff, supplementing a promising roster of skilled position players now under the care of head coach Ben Johnson. We
discussed tonight on Bears Weekly. You're on ESPN one thousand of the Chicago Bears Radio Network with Super Bowl winning Bears guard Tom Thayer and former Bears quarterback Jim Miller from Serious XMNFL Radio. I'm Jeff Jonahyat. Good to have you alongside. Coming up on the sit down with a new Bear Center Drew Dollman, thanks to our producers Tonight, Kendri Smith, Dan Brilly, and Jordan Treadip for the Bears, and the executive producer of the Bears Radio Network, Eric Ostrotski.
Good evening, fellas, Tom, Jim, how we feeling We now a new looking ruster.
For the Bears. You're in twenty twenty five.
Well, it's about time we're talking about the offensive line before any other position for the Chicago Bears, because I think if you think of the shortest route to success and winning a division, it's the improvement of the offensive line. And when you look at the statistical performance of the line last year and what these guys bring aboard, they bring years of success, they bring a position, changes systems that they've thrived in. So I'm super excited where the Bears stand before the draft.
And I'm not going to ignore.
The defensive line guys that they brought in because that brings me a lot of excitement as well. But when you think about what Ben Johnson needs out of an offensive line, this is a great way to start.
Yeah, Jeff, I probably should defer this whole show to Tom because I'm glad they're attacking the line and Tom will have a lot to say about these guys, but you get two Pro Bowl guards. Obviously, you signed probably one of the best centers in free agency and Drew Dolman, and it needed to happen. Again, I think you know, just since the inception of football, the game is won or lost in the trenches. Yeah, the skill positions got to do their jobs and they've got can't turn over
the football. But it's a lot of it is predicated on the old line, in the d line and how they really dominate that's really going to tip the scale in the course of a sixty minute game. And I again I think you just look great at Philadelphia, what they did on their old line, what they've done on their defensive line, and how they dominated the Kansas City Chiefs, who've been somewhat of a dynasty right now.
So hopefully good things to come for the Bears.
But Ben Johnson has really attacked at heart, and you give Ryan Poles a lot of credit because young Caleb Williams in this offense, they got to get going here. It's been lackluster for many years. And really I think this is really the kind of where the line is drawn in the sand a little bit, where the Bears start to play some offensive football.
It's interesting that you bring up Philadelphia again because I keep hearing it right from everybody. These are cliches now right, copycat league recency bias. The game has always been about the line of scrimmage, tom So the fact that Philadelphia shored it all up over the years, drafting very well, using free agency when necessary, and making moves, trades whatever, they're movers and shakers. Their lines of scrimmage have been too deep. You give them the credit. They won the
Super Bowl. That's not the only reason they won the Super Bowl, obviously, but it's a major reason. But every team's goal, I would think, would be to get the line of scrimmage all zipped up both sides of the ball. Not always easy to do, Tommy, but it is what football and the foundation of football is all about.
When you talk about the lines being too deep, you have an opportunity here to create depth on the offensive defensive line of the Bears that maybe we haven't seen for quite a while.
Still waiting for a couple.
Guys to come into their own Austin Booker and Amagaji. But we have some veterans guys that are seasoned enough that are being considered veterans, and then we bring in some talent here that may have the most alpha presence in both rooms, which I think is a key ingredient for the change of culture and the continuity when you talk about the lines of scrimmage.
When you look at Philadelphia, yes, guys that they've drafted, but think a lot. Think about Jordan Malatta, their left tackle. He was developed into a left tackle. You know, this guy's a former rugby player. That needs to happen with Amagaji, Who's got all the traits that you're looking for. He's got the arm length. You know, he's going to get stronger. But I mean that is a mammoth left tackle and who can move, in my opinion, much like Malatta. You know,
Malatta was developed into a left tackle. Yeah, they drafted Lane Johnson, other guys that were the Cam Jurgens who took over for Kelsey. Has developed into a pretty darn good center. But am Agaji could be a key now whether the Bears draft a young left tackle, but all those guys were developed. Now, you invest a lot of money in the center and the two guard positions where you can really pound it up the middle and secure
the pocket for young Caleb Williams. You got a strong right tackle and Darnell Wright, who I think what everybody feels very good about. Now let's see what the left tackle position holds, you know, and then all five potentially
could be solidified. But I think you've seen other teams develop guys and that's why to me, Amagaji becomes a very interesting guy to see what he can do from year one where he didn't do a lot because he was hurt, and now what he can develop into maybe for years to come because Malata did not start right away. It took some time for him. But look what he's doing now as a left tackle for the Philadelphia.
Eagles, dipping back into what Joe Toney and is at the news conferences and the break interviews at Hallis Hall this week and Jonah Jackson tone he called it a great fit. I heard Andy Reid on our radio show saying that, yeah, we dealt him. It's hard to do, but he wanted to be in Chicago, so it was
a special place in his opinion. Jonah Jackson, his first start in the NFL came it right carried against the Bears in Detroity feels that it was the best time of his career under Ben Johnson, who says he calls the game to the strength of your players.
So this is where the exs and o's come in. I'm going to start with Tom. Go to Jim.
What's the exes and o's impact and perspective from your opinion with those three interior offensive linemen and whatever else they're going to do. But let's just focus on the offensive line right now. What's that done for Ben and how he likes to call a game and the Bears offense overall running the football and protecting the quarterback.
Listen, the top nine teams that had past win rates associated to the performance other offensive line all were in the playoffs. And so you got to think one thing for any offense in the NFL, whether it's a Ben Johnson offense or Andy Reid offfense, you need to have pass protection success. And I think that opens a lot of opportunities for you because you got to say, Okay, we're still going to have point of emphasis on running
the ball. Then if you're successful on first down running the ball, then it gives you a wide variety of things you can do. In the passing game, and to me, because Ben Johnson has always used the play action passing game as one of the success elements of an offense. To me, as an offensive lineman, listen, play action pass as much as you want a game that gives me a chance to be super aggressive and deceptive at the
same time. And if you get a player peeking in the backfield on the defense or off balance, you're talking about a big play. And then listen the downfield passing game incorporating Cole kmet so you open opportunities for DJ Moore and Roma Doonza. So I think everything goes hand in hand. First of all running game, then you got the play action passing game, and then you have the threat of a downfield passing a passing game itself.
I think when at least for me, When I interviewed at Eliford, the defensive tackle of the Buffalo Bills, he said the best interior three was in Kansas City. You got Creig Humphrey as the center. You had Tray Smith, who's been given the franchise tag at the right guard for the Kansas City Chiefs, and Joe Tooney was their left guard. He said that was the toughest interior three that he's faced in his NFL career, and that's saying a lot and Kansas City obviously went in there and
beat Buffalo again. Part of it is on the quarterback getting rid of the football, but part of it is these guys give the quarterback rooms. So even if you say you call the quick game, say the quick passing attack, that's going to be a three step dropped by the quarterback and Patrick Mahomes is getting the ball out of his hand in like two point four seconds. But those front three give you room. They give you space where you don't feel that that pocket is encroaching on you.
Where that should be one hundred percent completion in my opinion, if the quarterback's doing his job and the receivers doing their job, but he'll have the protection in the space to get rid of the quick passing game. Tom brought up the run game that goes hand in hand and
what it can do with the play action. But their interior runs should be a lot better, and we'll see how it all comes together at tackle, because you want to attack every single hole from sideline to the sideline, so that eight hole all the way to the right and the ninth hole all the way to the left for the outside. Make the defense run in space. But it's all got to be covered, and you gotta have
tackles that can move. And we'll see if the Bears will be able to do that with their tackles on the outside.
Love hearing Ben Johnson at the podium on Wednesday talk about what he got at the offensive line. Tough, gritty, dirty, I mean, that is exactly what I'm talking about here, and smart on the interior. Also that Hey, if we got a block that we're particularly good at, we're gonna keep going to it and we're gonna keep going to it till you can stop it. That's what I like to hear. We got to take a break. When we come back, we sit down with a Bears new starting center,
the free agent from the Atlanta Falcons, Drew Dollman. It's all coming up next here on Bears Weekly on ESPN one thousand and the Chicago Bears Radio Network.
Well, welcome back to Bears Weekly on the Bears Radio Network. Here's your host, the voice of the Bears, Jeff Show.
Year.
This segment of Bears Weekly is brought to you by CDWs people to get it with Tom Thayer and Jim Metal Rhyme, Jeff Jonahak Drew Dalmond, the Bear's new starting center.
Great background from Stanford. We're in twenty twenty.
He was part of an offensive line that did not allow a single sack. Believe it or not, he also didn't allow any pressures for that year. A mechanical engineering major and the son of a former NFL player, Chris Dalman, a San Francisco forty nine or an eight year player, also became his offensive line coach in high school, and his dad won a Super Bowl with the forty nine ers in nineteen ninety five. Our sit down with the starting Bears center from hallis Hall.
It's awesome something I'm really looking forward to understanding. Fully, I think you always hear about it someone on the West Coast. You hear about the Bears fans and all that. So the other experience at first sand it's going to be great.
What have your emotions been like since this signing and the free agent period for you?
Yeah, it's exciting. I feel like it's a it's a big challenge to undertake in a lot of new transitions and all that, and so there's there's work and some planning that needs to go into the works. But the underlying thing with all this is I'm happy to do it. I can't wait to get ahead and get here and get to work and all that. So a ton of motivation to get this thing going and to improve myself and and also just add value to this team.
It is an exciting moment for a player because sometimes you know you're going to reach free agency and it's your first bite at the apple, so to speak, in that regard, but it's the next stage of your life and it requires leaving something you're used to and all that, but you know it is important. How did you go into this mentally in this free agent period?
Yeah, great points. I've definitely been a person that kind of just wants to bury their head in the sand and just focus on football and the daily tasks and that kind of thing. So this was a time when I had to step back and evaluate more of those things and kind of just figure out, you know, what was going to be important for the next phase and
all that. And this is the place that was super exciting to me, in a place that I think is a great fit, and I'm happy to work towards and work to improve, and so I'm really grateful for that.
Your name, and however, stuff gets out, your name was linked to the Bears for quite a while right free agency open, and there were reports that you maybe turned down maybe a more lucrative offer to be with the Bears. You can tell me that if you want, yes or no, but it clearly means that this is a place you really want to be. What was that all true?
I'd probably prefer not to talk about any of that stuff, just because my main focus now is just what I'm going to do here, help and improve, helping to add to the room and help learn to be a part of this O line room and kind of do all that. So that's my main focus and anything else is kind of in the past for me at this point.
So Ben Jon and I say the name, everybody's face lights up all of a sudden, you know, lighten up scoreboards.
What's your impression of his offense?
Yeah, I haven't watched Detroit super closely, just because like divisionally, it didn't didn't play him a time, But yeah, you hear all the stuff, and then in my few interactions with him, he's awesome, seems like a great guy. Seems like very tons of tension to detail, tons of energy and motivation for this. So that's all really exciting and
things that you want to hear about. And I've heard nothing but good things from the people that I know well that have crossed over with him, and so it's it's really excited to play for The first.
Thing I feel is passion. He's dialed in and ready to go.
And I think every player appreciates a coach and a staff that carries that emotion into the locker room, onto the field during practice and so forth.
Don't you agree?
Yeah, No, definitely, and it trickles through the building.
Describe the type of player you are. Everyone else can describe what you are from the outset, and what would you say the type of player you are?
Yeah, I feel like the things that that I kind of identify with and focus on the most are the front end stuff. So my my preparation, I want to be the most prepared and that that's physically, mentally all those things. So stacking the deck in my favor by by doing everything I can control on my own, so when the game comes, I've I've checked a few boxes.
So someone's prepared, someone who's gonna play hard every play, someone who's gonna give their best effort to improve and learn and try to not make the same mistake twice. Somebod who's good communicator and it's going to work to facilitate what's going on with the old line and communicate it with anybody who needs to know. And then someone who's just gonna play every down like it like it' said the last, and give their best effort.
So the interior has been redefined here in Chicago. When you've heard about Joe Toney on one side, Jana Jackson on the other, how excited does that make you to be a front wall for this up and coming quarterback by the name of Caleb Leaves.
Yeah, it's very exciting. And I've been four enough to play some great players in the past and learn a ton from them, So I feel really grateful that I kind of have a new batch of guys that I can learn even more from, learn different things from, and build those relationships with them. So I think it's a great challenge and something I'm really looking forward to, and I think it's fun.
We got a bunch of Hall of famers here in this town right most in the NFL. But there's a bunch of centers even back to the nineteen twenties and nineteen forties. Clyde build log Turner in the Hall of Fame. Jay Hilgenberg was a seven time consecutive Pro Bowl as an undrafted free agent out of BIOA and Olan Cruits outstanding six time Pro bowler as well. So the center position in Bear's history carries out some pretty good significance.
How cool is that to play for a franchise with that kind of history, even at that position.
Yeah, No, it's great, and I feel like I do really well, and I'm very motivated by by having things to aspire to and people to chase and all that. So you hear those names and they're absolutely incredible players, and I'd love to be able to take little bits of knowledge from them and kind of add its my own game. So yeah, it's awesome to have a legacy like that to chase.
And do you like the concept of working with a veteran offensive line coach like Dan Rochark he's for a long time.
Yeah, yeah, same, same theme that's kind of running through this whole thing is like there's just so many people to learn from and so many people. It's great expertise, and I feel like he's another one that's added to that that's going to make this better.
What other pieces are you excited to work with here?
I'm assuming everybody.
Yeah, yeah, I mean I today has been my first day, so I can't even begin to say I know who's in the building or who's on the roster or anything like that. So I got to learn a lot of new faces.
To me.
You come into the league with a bit of an advantage as a player, being the son.
Of a player.
Your dad played for the San Francisco forty nine ers and has been a coach and high school and the NFL level with the Falcons. Did that do a lot for you to make that transition and just following its footstepisode.
Be yeah, yeah, No. He's always done an excellent job of separating the dad and the coach aspects, but having someone with shared perspective that understands these things that I'm going through that for me, they feel like the first time and they feel like a huge deal or a huge issue, and I can go to him and he's like, yeah, I remember doing that. I remember experiencing the same things. So having someone who can relate to like that has
been really invaluable for me. And then also just a fun to have a fan that truly understands what's going on. So you can talk shout.
With Chris domand the football player, Chrisdalmond, the dad. What's the best advice in each scenario has he given you in your life?
It might be.
Kind of one piece, but I feel like he's always emphasized how important just like the daily traits and how you're doing things. And so whether it's school, you know, being a partner or a friend or a football player, whatever it is, you really are only what you're exhibiting daily. And I feel like he did that by example, and like what hard work looks like on a daily basis, what being a good father looks like on a daily basis,
and all those things. So just taking that with me and knowing that I have to show what I'm about every day to be able to be who I want to be.
And lastly, let you go, best thing you want to tell Bears fans right now, we'll give him a little message from from Drew Dolmon, a new starting center for the Chicago Gras.
Yeah, just that we're going to do absolutely everything we can to stack the deck in our favor and work hard and prepare and kind of do all the little things right so that when the game comes, it's about performance and execution and aggression and speed and not worrying and thinking too much and all that. So we're going to do everything we can to lay the foundation well right now.
Appreciate the time, Thank you so much. Yeah, because of time constraints, could not ask him questions about Grady Jarrett, but what he said at the podium with Bears reporters, Jared's the guy who exhibits what a pro is every day, takes care of his body, studies hard, and you get a feel for how important it is in the locker room. Credible player, incredible guy, and they'll be practicing against each
other again. Drew Dolman says he made him look silly dozens of times, but an invaluable resource letting them know also about their tells and tendencies on the offensive line, So a savvy player and on the defensive side of the ball that can be a resource for offensive lineman for the Bears. Here in twenty twenty five and beyond, time to take a break here on Bears Weekly on the ESPN one thousand of the Bears Radio Network.
This is ESPN Chicago, WNVP WTBC HD two Chicago, a Good Karma Brands radio station. Well, welcome back to Bears Weekly on the Bears Ingio Network. Here's your host, the Voice of the Bears, Jeff Joey.
This segment of Bears Weekly is brought to you by IGS Energy with Tom Thayer, Jeff Joniak, and Jim Miller from Serious XMNFL right to the former Bears quarterback.
Okay, so listening to Drew Dohman.
Enjoyed speaking with him up in allasall earlier today getting here because, as he was described by Grady Jackson yesterday, smart, big, strong and quick with hat speed to reach the nose tackle the three technique hat speed.
What's he referring to there?
You know the center.
Nowadays they have a variety of assignments inside the offense itself. So if you're facing a guy directly over the head of you, you got to show that you have the ability to snap with power, get your hands inside, win the point of attack and create that separation for a running back to read or to secure your past blocking assignment, say you have an even man line where the center's uncovered.
Now you're looking at two defensive tackles and say you have one that's on the head up to the outside shoulder of the right guard, and you know you're having a zone blocking play that way, and you still have to have the ability to have speed to snap and
reach athleticism to get to the outside. And that's one thing when you look at Dolman, you look at all the requirements of a center in the modern day offense to have the power to play a guy over the head of you, to make sure that you can reach of the difficulty of the running game when you're playing an even man line, or then your responsibilities with a wide variety in the passing game, because if you're uncovered, you're moving to the right or the left and you're helping,
or you're going to a linebacker. If you're covered, you got to make sure that you can hold up against any type of bull rush and any type of attack on the center.
That they're going to try to have.
So that's the most interesting thing about Dolman is he's got that variety arsenal arsenal that that he can use against everything that's asked of him and Jim.
He's physical and done mine a little trash talk, according to a guy who would know, and that would be Grady Jareded.
Yeah, Grady Jareded is a great player. But Tom's right, that's probably one of the most difficult blocks to make is that reach block. You know, especially you know when you're snapping the ball with your right hand and you've got to make that reach block to your right. And I also think you know, he's got the nimble feet.
You know, say a lot of teams run those mug looks where maybe the center at the snap of the ball he's working to his right, but then maybe there'll be a snatch blitz, a blitz by the backside backer and he's got to get come off and maybe help out in those situations. I remember when Olin Kreutz he used to pop out and even you know, pick up
a nickel blitz. So I think Drew Dollman has the ability because he's got nimble feet, and we know the style of offense that they run, and they ran the football really well where he comes from, and I think that type of mentality is going to help out. But he's very very quick on his feet, it can make all those blocks that are required, and that's why he was rated the highest center in free agency. He really has worked himself into a really good player. You know too, Jim and Jeff.
A certainty of protection when you have a center that's been around the league and he's seen every type of blitz or all the pressures that can be offered to you, and he has the ability after he hears in the huddle to go to the line of scrimmage and take that thinking away from Caleb. Now Drew identifies the responsibility, everybody knows where they're going, and then Caleb is immediately
alerted to where the vulnerability of the protection is. So I think that's super beneficial and it takes seconds away from the quarterback having to think it and identify and gives us center the opportunity to get all all blockers, all offensive lineman, tight end and running backs all on the same page immediately.
Here's our friend Matt Bowen who analyzes all this in free agency for ESPN dot Com. Technician athletic Easy Moover wins with assignmon and leverage good fit for the zone run game under Ben Johnson registered a past Black win rate of ninety five point one percent in twenty twenty four. That's excellent. They're down in Atlanta for Drew Dolman. All right, let's now flip it to the defensive line, so we talk about some of this now. Also talk to Dio
Odengbo earlier today. The defensive editions of great Jared at the three technique, the veteran presence, the fire he plays with, and then this twenty five year old really everything's in front of him.
He's got the body that you would.
Love as an outside edge rusher who can also kick inside and did so with the Colts and still you know, working on reaching his potential. But I believe he had thirty seven combined sacks and pressures the last two years. That's a pretty good number pressure in the quarterback. Jim will start with you on the impact of both of these gentlemen in the rotation of what already is a defensive line that has guys like Montese Sweat and Jabon Dexter Senior.
Obviously.
Yeah, Well, first I'm going to talk about Grady jareded I remember interviewing Doabo Sweeney where he played it in college for Clemson. Doabo gives him high praise. He said, if he were to ever start a football team, the first player he would draft is Grady Jarrett because, like you said, Jeff, this guy gets down and dirty. He's a good leader, and he doesn't have to talk a lot.
This guy just goes to work every single day. And he's obviously overcomes significant injury with the ACL But this is a guy that you want to build your football team around. Guys like Grady Jarrett and what he stands for.
You know.
As for Dale, like you said, I think he's an ascending player. So if you can get twenty sacks from your two outside guys, you're cooking with gas. You're cooking with gas. And again, if you go look like Tom said, the teams that make it to the Super Bowl, or the teams that make it all the way to the championship game, they're normally going to lead the league in sacks. I mean, there is a read that sack total means something in the NFL, and everybody says, oh, yeah, it's
just about pressure in the quarterback. But when you sack a quarterback, it sends a message. One is demoralizing to the opponent, and bad things happen. You got sack, strip fumbles, things like that happen, and that's why those teams that really are high in the sack totals are typically the teams that are in the postseason and normally playing in the championship game.
You know, talk about the game itself, because when you talk about the offensive line, you talk about necessary reps, and so you're expected to go in there and play every snap of every game throughout the regular season. When you're talking about the defensive lineman, you got to get into a healthy rotation and whatever the predetermined amount of snaps, and sometimes it can't be predetermined. Every one of those snaps have to be full speed and you have to
be able to do what's expected of you. Is it a pass rushing down, then get to the quarterback. Is it a first down run? Stopping down to stop the running back. If there are seventy snaps per game, then these defensive linemen, they got to give me thirty good quality, hard.
Fought, physical snaps sixty seven percent of the snaps in Atlanta last season for Grady Jared as an example, the Eagles as a reference point, only had one defensive lineman do that. That speaks to their depth and the rotation. It happened to be the big fellow Jalen Carter. They only want to do that. But the fact that he overcame that acl and came back right ready for training camp. He missed eight games in the prior season twenty three. Again,
he talked about it. He just loves this, he loves playing this game, he loves being here.
It's different. He's in Atlanta, and.
I don't know if that's the proper way to say it, but he's a Georgian and he played his whole career in Atlanta. So this is a big change, a big change for the former two times Pro bowler. But I think what he's going to bring in and I texted somebody I know in Atlanta has said he instantly makes the locker room not only a fun place, but a
better place for a football player. The mindset that he will bring every day to the meeting room, to the practice field, and on Sundays, he's going to spread like wildfire.
Look, so when you look at a team Jim with no captains on the offense and defensive line, and then you bring in the offensive lineman that you have, and then you bring in a guy that has the attitude that Grady Jarrett has, as it was.
Evident in his podium visit yesterday.
Those are two guys, like Jeff says, their role inside the locker room is going to be so important from the minute they get there. And so I'm excited Ryan Poles kind of has reached out to couple couple alpha males that are going to be immediate contributors in that locker room.
Grady Jared will earn it just with what he does. And like you said, Jeff, I don't think that guy needs an alarm clock to show up for work. That guy is ready to go every single day, and the player see it. It's how he practices, how he prepares. When he comes in the locker room, it's for a purpose, and that's to get ready for the day of what he's going to do on Sunday. And it's every single day he's punching his card and there's you know that he knows the work that goes into it, and that
example does spread like wildfire. You want to be like Grady Jarrett. Other guys, hey man, the coach just got to do this. Just follow Grady, Just do what he's doing. If you do what he's doing.
You're going to be just.
Fine because that message will be sent every single day and every player in that locker room, everybody in that organization will see it and witness the work that that guy puts in.
One hundred and fifty two games, thirty six and a half sacks from that interior spot, seventy seven tackles for loss. He also as the all time record has he pointed out yesterday for pressures with the Atlanta Falcons. The funny thing, Jim, I know you at every Super Bowl. So you had that three sack super Bowl against Tom Brady, and it reminds me of the conversation we had last week with Great CoA Salt from the Combine when he said that Brady told him that ninety three to ninety five percent
of all sacks is the quarterback's fault. Here, Brady got sacked three times by Gary. I'm not taking a thing away from Grady. He earned those three sacks of Tom Brady and the Super Bowl.
He earns it every day. Man.
He's a pack of lunch, bring a flashlight type of guy, and he just doesn't stop. He's one of those all day suckers that you know, there's just no denying him. He's gonna work his way into earning everything that he gets, and he should be proud of that number. I mean, when you know you got great players. I remember when I played in Atlanta, guys like Jesse Tuggle and Biscuit and those guys, Grady Jared is up there with them. I mean Tommy Nobis, who should probably be in the
Hall of Fame as a linebacker. Grady is the guy that frees everybody up on the back end. But it all starts to stop with stops with him. He's the spark plug that gets everybody going funny.
You bring up Jesse Toggle that is Grady Jared's dad. Yeah, and he refers to your hero far from a tree. He refers to Ray Lewis as his uncle, even though they're not related.
He loves ray Lewis.
He's been around great news every day. He knows what it looks like.
We take a break here on hees been one thousand of the Bears Radio Networks is.
Bears Weekly with the Voice of the Bears.
For twenty four years Chef Joney Chef.
On the Bears Radio Network.
This segment of Bears Weekly has brought to you by Athletical Physical Therapy. Visit Athletico dot com the requested in clinic or virtual deployment and start feeling better tomorrow with Tom Fair and Jim Miller, two former Chicago Bears.
I'm Jeff Joniyak.
You're on.
He has been one thousand of the Bears radio network. We touched on it in the last segment. Tom, you brought up Joe his impact in the locker room, Jim the impact of Grady Jarrett. And I'm sure there will be others, including others that have been here that maybe now with a little more seasoning, can emerge as leaders. But just the addition of those two gentlemen alone, what will that.
Do for the locker room?
For the locker room, It's going to see how professionals prepare on a daily basis from OTAs all the way through the regular season, and how they prepare mentally in the meeting rooms, and how they take it out physically to.
The practice field.
And then if you have a player that's on the verge of kind of needing his learning curve sped up a little bit. You're talking about conversations of experience. You have a guy that played left tackle, but he's an All Pro left guard, so he can talk about every single position out there, from tight end to center.
And when you have veterans.
In here that of all this, the leadership qualities that they brought in the last couple of days, it expedites the learning curve of every young guy coming in here to compete. But it makes the offensive line immediately better and you get an understanding of what this offense can offer. And then you're gonna have some important conversations between offensive linemen and quarterback.
And I think that does a lot to help.
A quarterback's confidence and an understanding of what he's saying and in the huddle and how it pertains to everybody in front of him.
Yeah, I love.
What Tom just said there. Allen Kreutz used to challenge me all the time. We would see who would get the blitzes right, who would get the calls right, who would get the blitzes wrong? And Olin be like, hey man, I got you there. You're slacking a little bit, Miller.
You know.
He challenged me. He challenged me, and I challenged him, you know, and that's going to be important for Drew Dolman, for you know, Joe Toney who knows has been around greatness, and Patrick Mahomes and Joe Toney can say, hey, Caleb, maybe this will help you. This is what Patrick does in this situation.
You know.
But I think Drew Dollman has really got to be a key because he's really got to help Caleb with his protections. Caleb has to know them inside and out, and he has to know how Drew Dolman is going to call certain calls because they've got to be married up. They have to think the same way. Caleb should be going to line of scrimmage. I don't care if he's in shotguns saying hey, here's the defensive front, here's the backers. I already know we're doing this. They're showing nickel Blitz. Hey, guys,
we're making a ringo call. We're making a ringo call. And Drew Dolman and they should all be calling it out so that they're in unison, so that they're thinking the same where everybody's on the same page. It sounds simple because it is. If you get a hat on the hat, you have a chance. You have a chance. And I think if Drew Dolman really challenges Caleb to really know his protections inside and out and every day when they're in blitz period. Hey, man, I see it
this way. This is why we should call it this way. Here's the best scenario of how it will work out. Maybe you got to recall all the mic and they got to get on the same page.
There.
Hey, guys, we're gonna make a Louie call. Here, We're gonna go left. This guy's say number fifty five's a mic. We're making him the mic. Now, hey, we got a five down, five down, five down. Everybody should be calling it out, and Caleb has to see it where eventually he's calling it out and he's leading the offense because that way he's thinking faster.
So let me let me break down some of that language, the QB language. So we are we talking about lefty Louis, righty tdy?
Is this what you're telling me? Yeah?
So if I'm making a ringo calls.
What's ringo?
What's ringo? What's a ringo call?
Yeah, ringo, I'm gonna slide the line right, Ok, Louis, You're gonna slide the line left or I just you know, like when I say a five down, say if they throw a five down look, meaning another defensive lineman comes in over the center, five down, five down. That means the five offensive lineman have the five down lineman. You know, we could be in a you could be facing a
three to four defense. Well, guess what we're facing A three four where typically your your your guards are gonna fan they're gonna fan out, and Tom can get into that. But maybe you make a down guy there. Maybe you've got your four to three rules where hey, man, I'm gonna make this backer down. Fifty six is down. I now have made it a four to three front. Okay, even though we're in a three there were facing a three to four I have made it a four to
three front by making fifty six down. And now we've got our four to three rules.
Okay.
So if we're in sixty two protection and it's four to three rules, and I know my right guard is uncovered.
If they bring too Strong, I'm hot. I'm hot.
If they bring Mike Sam, I'm hot, and he has to know all these things. They have to make all these calls. And that way you're speeding up, you're speeding up your play. That means you identified the front, you've corrected any problem areas. Let's roll, boys, It's time to play some football. All the all the maintenances out of
the way. Now, let's go get it done with what we need to do to execute because I've ident to fight everything and how we need to block up this front in order to have success.
Tommy, you're ready to block for Jim millerk as I am.
Yeah, if you listen, you know, it's kind of it's funny how the language is a little bit different on every offensive line, but everything means the same thing. You can go Ringo and you can go Louis. We went east and west. East was to the right and west was to the left. We had a variety of where we could go up. If someone forgot the snap count on the line of scrimmage, we could get some secret call words to tell where you know, borts, you could say what's the count?
What's the count?
And you know, you could you know blue, so you know, you could have red, white and blue as one two three.
So that's that's kind of the neat thing.
Inside an offensive line, especially an offensive line that has years of experience together every year they kind of have these conversations how to expand the language that they're going to have on the line of scrimmage because a lot of times you go up there and you make these fake calls in the in the defensive line, thinking, oh man, I'm reading this.
I know exactly what they're saying. You really don't.
So it's about the experiences that these guys have together that yeah, Joe Toney can maybe introduce something that they get in Kansas City or the Rams or the Falcons, you know. So there's gonna be a lot of that kind of a neat you know, subway conversation that the offensive line will have on the practice field and in the meeting room.
Asking more question in this vein, how long does it take? Because I keep hearing this over the years. You want your quarterback to see the defense through the eyes of the play caller, in this case Ben Johnson, and that also goes to the center as well. So how long does that take for a center quarterback play caller to see the I'll see the same thing down in and down out.
I think months into a season that they can get it. But you know, the luxury is being in front of the same terminology for a couple of years because if you can there and Ben Johnson can say two words and then Caleb can finish the sentence. In the play call or the offensive line, here's the formation call from the quarterback's voice, and they know exactly if he's calling the right formation or the wrong formation.
I think it's beneficial.
The more reps that you get together, the more time under terminology, the better it makes every position.
Ben Johnson is going to install this offense here this spring during the OTAs, and it's just the base stuff. It's the base, you know, to get to the second level of where you want to be. Look at his time in Detroit. You know that offense. Look at it this year. It was really humming, right, it was really humming because they've had a couple of years experience with Ben Johnson as a play caller nowhere near Remember when Dan Campbell took over calling plays, it was a struggle.
I mean, the head coach took it over and he obviously then said, hey, at the end of the year, I'm going to defer this to Ben Johnson. So they had a little bit, they had their base under their belt, and then Ben Johnson started to take it to the next level. And so you're you're creating like I said that Encyclopedia Britannica, where then by year two. Hey man, that's a bridge you've already crossed. Hey Man, we've already
crossed this bridge before. This is nothing. Let's move on to something more difficult and wait till we see those looks and they'll they'll keep on add in to that roll of decks as they see that as they roll along.
A couple of other nuggets before we move on to a commercial break here.
Jonah Jackson.
I love what Sean McVay said about him just with his one year in LA called him a stud, human stud, physically, mentally tough, blue collar guy, great in the locker room, an all time great dude. That's from other people in Detroit. So there's a lot to love about Jonah Jackson and Joe Tooney. You know, Tom brought up that stat about the Matthews family, the great football playing Matthews family, seventy
seven years of experienced one Super Bowl win. This guy's got four super Bowl wins and six Super Bowl trips in his nine years. Jim this up on Our Bears et Cetera podcast with Tom this week. His career record has won twenty five and forty two that includes playoffs, a seventy five percent win percentage, Magna cum laude in college Campbell Trophy finalist, that's like the academic Heisman. He was the president of his senior high school class at
NBA from Indiana. We got a smart football player here and a guy who's durable and tenacious.
So I love the package.
Yeah, I bring it up all the time. They signed him as a guard for tackle money for a reason. You know, this guy is a really good player, and you know, believe it or not, former Chicago Bear Andy Heck, he coaches the old line down there in Kansas City. And so I've talked to Andy just how you know his football IQ, just how smart Joe Tuney is. And you know, I think he showed his versatility kicking out the tackle and it didn't put him in the best position.
But he's gonna do what's good for the best for his football team. And so I do. I think he's gonna he's gonna help Caleb Williams a lot with maybe to teach him some things that maybe how Kansas City did it, how Patrick Mahomes specifically handled certain situations, and that's gonna help the growth of Caleb Williams. And it doesn't hurt Jeff when you wake up out of bed every morning. You just roll out of bed and say, hey, seventy five percent wins. Yeah, I think I'm gonna win
again today. You know, I plan on winning again today. And he's you know, he's got that attitude about him that he just wakes up a winner.
You got, And that's a belief that the locker room here absolutely need a belief that you're gonna go out there, we're gonna win.
We're gonna win today. We got to take a break so we can win.
That's Tom there, Jim Miller, Jeff Joniyak, and he has been one thousand the Bears Radio Network.
Well, welcome back to Bears Weekly on the Bears Radio Network. Here's your host, the Voice of the Bears, Jeff Joey.
This segment of Bears Weekly is brought to you by Igs Energy, Jeff and Tom and Jim Miller. As we wrap things up on our our show, we'll look into the division here a little bit. But I've loved the conversation of the passion by which you guys are grabbing the baton here. Really from Ryan Post to Ben Johnson to the new additions.
Everybody.
This is what the building feels like. There's a lot of fire going on. So let's let's look at the division champion. The Detroit Lions re signed Derek Barnes. Marcus Davenport re signed as well. Those are the big ones. They invested three years, forty eight million in Dj Reed, the veteran cornerback, and other than that, Quiet re signed Dan Skipper as well. Let's talk Lions football. You know, very few holes on that football team, but they lost two key coordinators.
That is going to be the impact right there.
You're right, Jeff, You know, I understand the personnel that they brought aboard. It's the coaches they lost and how replaceable are they in such immediacy. They're fortunate they have the quarterback that stayed there and he understands the system that he just ran, But I don't know if it's going to be the next system he runs.
And it's the same thing on the defensive side of the ball.
And I think when you look at Detroit, as much conversation there was about Hutchinson, he's almost like a free agent because he was injured all of last year. Even though he's had the success that he's had, but you can't ignore the fact that he's coming back.
Yeah, they lost a lot of continuity. It wasn't just the coordinators. I think, you know, the Bears got their share of coaches, and then Aaron Glenn took anything left over that left in the cupboard over to the New York Jets.
So with you know, JT.
Barrett and Antoine randall Ell arriving in Chicago, their coaching staff was rated significantly. With Hutchinson coming back from a very significant injury, sounds like he's ahead of schedule, but will he be the same player and they still have to find guys opposite him, and Marcus Davenport really hasn't lived up to the billing at this point. So Detroit has a lot more work to do.
Minnesota's done a lot and there's all sorts of rumors floating out there about Aaron Rodgers, Aaron Jones back, Jonathan Allen though coming aboard at defensive tackle three year sixty million, also Javon Hargrave and then Will Fries at offensive guard their five years eighty eight million. Ryan Kelly will be their new center. Those are some big ones right there. Byron Murphy re signed at corner, three year, sixty six million. They did a lot, and then there's the JJ McCarthy angle.
Now, you know, I'm kind of a little suspicious about JJ McCarthy injury because we don't know a lot about it. And why is his recovery taking so long? And are they just kind of blowing a smoke screen evaluating his recovery or is he ready to go Day one of
OTA's and he's going to take over that position. And that's not necessarily going to be the case if you do bring Aaron Rodgers a board, because Aaron Rodgers isn't going to come here to play back up to JJ McCarthy, especially when you have a super talented tight end Aaron Jones re signing, and then two of the best wide receivers in the division. And that's what the coaching staff there is going to want to take advantage of. And you're bringing a new guard and a new center to
help solidify a pretty decent offensive line. Al I think he's a really good defensive tackle. Hargrave I don't know about because he signed an enormous free agent deal when he left I think Philadelphia to go to San Francisco.
Is Harrison Smith coming back.
You know, he's another guy that's a super intelligent player, but you know now what you're talking about a thirty six or thirty seven year old safety.
Yeah.
I think for Minnesota those are good signings in the trenches because if you look at them down the stretches where Sam Darnold has had his worst games, their Owen d line kind of got their fannies handed to him and that led to some of those turnovers. So they
want to get better in the trenches Minnesota. A lot of Minnesota fans, at least when they call into serious XM, they they cannot stand Garrett Bradbury, their center, who I think is a good center, but he was only scheduled to make three and a half million dollars a year. They wanted the upgrade with Ryan Kelly, give him a bump and pay. He gets a two year, eighteen million dollar deal, and they pay the guard Will Fries because they're losing one of their guards and free agency. The
d tackles speak for themselves. But I think that's really what it came down to to Minnesota. Their playoff games, or at least their last two games of the year Week eighteen, and in the playoffs they're trenches. They kind of got their fannies handed to them, and that's where they want to invest their money.
Green Bay quiet so far.
Isaiah McDuffie resign their kicker, Brandon McManus. Aaron Banks comes aboard though four year, seventy seven million dollars deal from the forty nine ers, and Nate Hobbs four year, forty eight million at corner. So they're a draft driven team and so they're they're pretty solid with their youth and they're going to continue to bang the drum for the draft. So that's the Green Bay Packers. And he thought on that real quick before we take off.
Well, you know, I was kind of surprised they lost AJ Dillon. He went signed with Philadelphia. So their running back position gets a little bit thinner, and they have that battering ram type of guy hitcking block and carrying shortyard situations. Josh Jacobs, the guy they brought in last year. He's got to, you know, still continue to carry the
load with some other teammates he has there. You know, Green Bay, I don't know if we ever expect him to make a splash signing just because they never do and they're content with the guys they brought in.
Aaron Banks.
I don't know he's I don't know if he's kind of.
A reach because he struggled through his rookie year and he's gotten better since, you know, give that kind of money to an interior offensive lineman in Green Bay. I don't know if they overreached or you know, that was the best option he was offered in San Francisco with you know, was willing to let him go.
Yeah, they're gonna lose Jayira Alexander so Nate Hobbs to me is a is a really good signing. What I'm waiting for them to do. They need to land an X receiver. You know, the young man who they drafted out of North Dakota State I believe is Christian Watson. He's been a slow role man. There was rumors that they were going to trade for DK Metcalf, But they need to add an X receiver. I'd like Jalen or Jayden Reid their kid out of Michigan State who they drafted.
Dobbs and the other players have really come on, but Watson their form her first round pick.
He has been a dud right now.
So I expect them to add a surefire solid X receiver or they have to draft a surefire solid X receiver somebody who's a true coverage dictator, because that's where really Jordan Love has had issues and why he's maybe had a couple interceptions, and I think a surefire X would clean up a lot of the reads for Jordan Love.
Before the draft even happens. The NFC North is still powerful, That's all I got to say. And it's going to be very interesting as the season rolls on here in twenty twenty five. To address all these matchups, you got to win your division, all right. That's gonna do it for us, fellas. Nice job. Thanks to everyone for listening. The executive producer of the Bears Radio Network is Eric Ostrowski.
Thanks to our producers Kendrick Smith, Danbridy, and Jordan Treadup, and our guest Drew Dolman for Tom Theayre and Jim Miller.
I'm Jeff Joniyak.
This has been Bears Weekly on the radio home of the Chicago Bears, ESPN Chicago.
Please enjoy the ACC basketball.
Tournament coming up in progress on the ESPN one thousand and The Bears Radio Network.
Good night, everybody, Thank you.
For listening to the Chicago Bears Network presentation The Bears Weekly, hosted by the Mara, Bearsville, Jeff Jodiac and Surfmaster Tom Thayer. Podcasts are available on the Chicago Bears offishal Ad brought to you by Verizon and Apple Podcasts. Bears Weekly has been brought to you by Miller Lite