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The aftermath that will went over the Green Bay Packers at lambeau Field yesterday moved the Bears into twenty twenty five planning. So tonight I'm Bears Weekly. We take a look back at the five and twelve season, what transpired, where the franchise is heading, and as it prepares for twenty twenty five. Go to be back with you on this Monday night on Bears Weekly with Super Bowl winning Bears guard Tom Thayer.
I'm Jeff Joniac.
Joining us as we will throughout the offseason, will be former Bears quarterback Jim Miller from Serious XM moving the chains and of the ESPN studio spend at the Dows Tonight, Justin Pottinger and thanks to our producers Dan Brillly, Jordan treadap from the Bears and the executive producer the Bears Radio Network is Eric Ostrotski. Coming up, we'll have the end of season news conference with interim head coach Thomas Brown a portion of that and quarterback Katab Williams reflecting
on his rookie season. On Tuesday ten am news conference with general manager Ryan Poles with his end of season review. End of season with a win time for the first time. I didn't realize this first time since the twenty nineteen season.
Yeah, it's been a while. I Nevertheless, it kind of was fun walking out of lambeau Field because there's been so many disappointing walks from the press box down to the team bus, which is a long walk. I know it wasn't a cure all, but its shre sent twenty five off to a much better start than what the finish could have been. If it disappointingly, would have led to another loss.
And another expat Jim Miller now joining us. First win at Lambo since twenty fifteenth Thanksgiving Day, it's a long time that we were all talking about it. Caleb Williams was fourteen years old the last time the Bears won at Lambeau.
Really crazy, and you know, you give the guys a lot of credit. I thought they played hard, you know, all the way till the end. You know, had the unfortunate fumble, but they overcame that as well and able to knock in the game winner. But it just, you know, to really end a season against your rival when you know, you just have a bad taste in your mouth. So it really kind of just relieves a little bit of that. And I think that you know, to end that on
a high note. And the guys had some professional pride, so you give them a lot of credit with the effort and getting a win on the road when it really didn't matter. So glad they didn't check it in.
Yeah, I keep folks on this word resolved. They had the resolve, and you know that they could have just folded up after that fumble again, you know, like, oh, not another scenario or you're not going to be able to get the job done on the fourth quarter. But that drive, that throw to DJ Moore by catob was outstanding, and so you conquered adversity after the fumble, and you do you just kind of wipe out all that streak stuff that's done now forget about it now, fresh clean slate.
Tommy, Well, you.
Know the thing about it is it's a divisional opponent at home, and I think it's a really good learning experience for every one of these young guys that are going to be here for a while. You know what it's like in Minnesota, you know what it's like in Detroit, and now you know what it's like in lambeau Field. So now mentally and physically you know what to prepare for when you're getting ready to play those games in the future. You're going to play in a lot of
hostile environments, but there's nothing like divisional opponents. And hopefully that puts a little bit of spark in Soldier Field. So the next time the divisional opponents come back there to play, they expect the Bears to win.
Forty five wins in the division.
Jim crazy number Hey, Detroit went six and zero, Minnesota six and four and two, and Green Band of Bears both one and five. So they're a black field goal away. The Packers were going zero to six in the division. Tim, I find that Tom, Tom and Jim I was calling you.
I mixed, I mixed you guys.
Tim is my new you guys, that's that's the author ego of Jim Miller.
In town, there is Tim.
We agree with what Tom said about learning your opponents on the road, Yes, but these are all playoff teams, right, These are playoff teams. So you know what you're looking at in division. You know what Green Bay has done, what Minnesota has done with Donald and obviously Detroit, I mean Detroit, what they did with Minnesota yesterday to take
you know, home field advantage. It's looking right at you in Division of what you've got to do and what you're going to be competing against and what client or what hill that you need to climb to achieve this.
Yeah, and and you know, and it's gonna it's going to be an interesting exercise because as these teams continue to build their resume in terms of success, there's a financial component that will come back to haunt all that greatness, right like in Detroit or you know you at some point the salary cap also screams a little bit, so you know, you just got to keep pound of that rocket. Hopefully that you can get into that conversation as a premier team in the division as well.
But it's not going to be simple.
No, you know that.
You know that's the business side of it. That's for other people to figure out. To me is when I look at the upcoming schedule already, we don't know when they're going to happen, but we know who they're going to be. And so as a player, whether you're a rookie or you're a guy that's been around for six or seven years, and then you start thinking about where and when you're playing these different opponents, I think it kind of sets a little.
You know, the ball is moving.
You know you're not going to the Hall of Fame game, you don't know if you're going to play internationally yet you know you're just getting ready for nine away games and eight home games, and you want to start off with a spark at home and left that ignite something big. But maybe the spark started yesterday at Lambeau.
Cleveland, Dallas, Giants, Pittsburgh and New Orleans. Coming to Chicago, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Washington, Vegas, and San Francisco are the road trips, Tommy.
It's so tough road trips, man. When you look at where Washington's going, how hostile the environment is in Philly. I think when you think of uh Las Vegas, it's gonna be seventy percent Bears fans.
So just put that one in the home column.
But again, I do think when the conversation amongst all these guys, whether they're traveling on the plane home last night or they get together within the next couple of weeks, it's, you know, kind of hard not to think about now that you're on to next year.
Yeah, it's funny, Jeff, because when Tom started he said, well, you know, I don't look at the financial things, And when I got done with football, I did not look at the offseason the way I do now. And there is so much going on in the off season with financials, with the draft, which free agency. I mean, we can go on and on of all the things that are going on, but money is a big part of it and how much you have to spend. In what's going
on in the NFC North. We know the Lions have committed to Jared Golf, all right, The Packers have committed to Jordan Love. There are now talks that the Minnesota Vikings may be committed to Sam Darnold and they're gonna commit a lot of dollars. The Bears have an opportunity here because they've got the rookie quarterback in Caleb Williams where they can surround him and build build around him with a lot of things like how Seattle did with
Russell Wilson. We can go through numerous examples, but the Bears could be the one unique team in the North that could be financially structured differently than those other clubs depending on what Minnesota does this offseason.
And that's what I was driving at a little bit. You know that you got to take advantage of.
That, right, Oh, of course you have to take advantage of it when you have two guys like Caleb and Rome and what you can put around.
But the question too, I don't I don't even know when the Bears are drafting, do you do?
We know that tent Okay, so now you're looking at the tenth picking the draft. But yeah, when you have a couple of assets that you just recently brought a board that aren't just you know, aren't killing your salary cap, you can really, you know, to make some significant strides within the next couple of years within the draft.
And of course this is the day when news breaks on on many fronts in the coaching universe. And so right now, to my knowledge, Jim five Openings and NFL Network and ESPN's Adam Schefter putting forth a bunch of names that the Bears are asking to interview permission. So these are all attributed to those guys, of course, the Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn, Anthony Weaver, Thomas Brown's gonna get
an interview. There's a request according to NFL Network, that Mike McCarthy, the Dallas head coach, before he has an exclusive negotiating window with Dallas that expires, I believe on January fourteenth. The name Drew Petsing, the Arizona offensive cordner, Tom Monkin, Baltimore offensive cordner, Arthur Smith according to Adam Schefter, the Pittsburgh offensive coordinator, and the Saint Rita alum Northwestern alum Mike Kafka.
According to the NFL Network, the Giants offense.
So again, they said it was going to be a broad scope view of.
How they're going to look at this, and so.
A lot of names there to work through, and we'll learn more tomorrow potentially from Ryan Poles about some of this.
Yeah, there's a lot of names there, but that'll get cut down pretty quickly. A lot of that stuff. The interviews are a lot of those are zoom calls where they can narrow in on, say, their top four candidates is what it'll be. And Pat and I had a good discussion about that, and Pat typically the guys that he is prepped for interviews, that's typically Helby'll do a lot of zoomans. When you hear that volume.
Of games, Well, tell everybody who Pat is.
Oh, Pat Kerwine for GM of the Jets.
Excuse me, your partner on Sirius xm NFL Radio. All right, when we come back, we're gonna hear part of the news conference from Thomas Brown, the Bears interim head coach, as we continue on breaking down twenty twenty four and looking ahead to twenty twenty five here on Bears Weekly on ESPN one thousand of the Bears Radio Network.
This segment of.
Bears Weekly is brought to you by IGS Energy with Tom pay Or, Jeff Joniak and Jim Miller from Serious XMNFL Radio. As we begin to break down the season and look ahead a little bit here. But first I'd like to play some of the fifteen minute news conference at Thomas Brown conducted up here at Hallisaul so broke off about ten minutes of it. We'll sit back and listen in right here to Thomas Brown.
Some stuff I said yesterday.
I was excited for that locker room, of the filling of winning again, the fitting of a couple first, you know, beating the Packers in a while, first one in the year, but one that kind of just made a point of emphasis of a lot of those guys that finished the right way right. So we talked about the night before and team meeting about a couple of things that you know kill success. Are enemies of success, which ease is
one of them. Are the desire for things to be easy, so difficult game kind of and doing some difficult moments throughout this year. So it's good to better see those guys persevered and come through and you know, capitalize on some opportunities even the end of it, just how it ended, just to still believe the same mentality and so excited
for the group. I was excited for organization as well, and now having an opportunity to meet with those guys one on one for the most part throughout the day, haven't actually gotten through the whole roster yet, but about maybe a third of the way through, maybe less than that, but just to be able to give those guys feedback on what I felt about the season for them individually, but also advice moving forward, regardless of how it shapes out,
just for them their development, their growth, or any game of football. But what I cared probably the most about it is just their development and growth in life questions.
Lam said yesterday that you're going to interview for the job. Do you know what day you're going to do that? I do not yet.
Now we want to stress to him and Kevin George anything about anything about what you live five weeks and why you'd be the best candidate for the job.
Yeah.
I think having atentially had my whole vision of playing I have for this football team moving forward is going to be part of it. But I think them having a chance to see me in the building something that to me should be more impressed with everything else. The situation I kind of had a chance to take over having three different jobs in the same season, which I'm not sure that's happened before in the history of football.
They may have been.
It might be being dramatic, but can you guys can google that and look at it, which I.
Haven't heard of it.
But I think just the approach that I've had every single day in the building of the entire doy I brought to the group, and I understand.
The results that we're all hunting up. I understand the expert taking.
As far as everybody assumes stuff gets changed because you snap your fingers, that doesn't know how it.
Change happens. Change happens over time.
I think oftentimes when you're making radical changes, things get worse before they get better. But I think just being able to have him being my meetings, see how I conduct myself in a team meeting, see myself at practice with as far as how I am with the group, should be more beneficial than anything else. But it's gonna be just more about myself, my personality, but also the plan for this organization.
Times how challenging it was the situation you walked into for you personally knowing it, it's not something that you had set up all the pieces in place with staff and the way things have gone, and you inherited a team that was I can't remember the exact record at the time, maybe before ETCE a team that was really in bad shape.
Yeah, so it was challenging, but I learned a lot more about myself this year and I've probably grown more as a coast this year than the last maybe two three years combined, just because of having to wear three different hats in the same building and also have to adjust and adapt on the fly, which is.
A desire trait.
You should have a one a half to be in this position because the game has ever evolved, ever changing, and it's never consistent as far as what.
May happen from day to day.
But also having a chance to learn on the fly, adapt to the fly, and make adjustments on the fly
when it comes to how you communicate with players. They also being able to offer myself at a different light, and you go from being in the back of the quarterback room as a past game coordinator to being the coordinator to being the head coach give you a different respective as far as how the group views you, but also give a glimpse of what it looks like when you have an opportunity to do with the rightway from
the beginning. So difficult one thousand percent, probably more so than people are willing to admit and will ever put themselves in a spot.
That they actually ever do.
But difficult as a part of life and difficult to me is relevant.
Tomas, if you got a second year with Caleb, how different would the offensive.
A lot different? I think from one standpoint of he's going he's been through a season already won since obviously some growing page he's already worked through. But just from a foundational standpoint as far as uh the work and they all season, I think if you want to be a great team, want to be a great quarterback, want to be a great player in general, it's built in the off season, long before the cameras on you, but long before you play a football game.
So the foundational piece is going to be different.
Obviously, understanding more about him and how he learns and how to communicate with him, but also what he needs to be at his best will be different because I have a chance to uh to address that approach there from day one. But also it's overall his growth and development as far as the player will grow, So it.
Would not to be better because of that too.
Tell Us, whether you're the coach next year or somebody else's, what will your message be to Ryan and Kevin when it comes to addressing what this organization needs or this locker room needs. UH that you feel that you've seen from the inside to turn the corner and actually become a winning team.
Yes, I've already begun that dialogue started and five weeks ago when as we first took over the interim head coach role. As far as my thoughts of the roster, UH, the personal the other guys in the locker room, the ability to players, but also the intangiles we need to have.
UH.
As far as the collective us be on the same page, for sure, it's gonna be a big part of that, like the collaborative effort to move into kind of a one one focused mentality. But I've challenged every guy in a locker room to have a different perspective, have a different mentality, and ultimately, best teams are player led, so the more they control the locker room.
Of course, the head coach is important.
Of course it is important, the scheme is important, But in between those lines, players play, so have an opportunity for them to address issues in the off season, to command it and UH, to get the respect to need from a locker room standpoint is gonna be important. So we've already had those dial lagus to some degree. But I'll go in deeper detail in my in my interview.
So what do you what do you feel is missing?
It's not really short answer to that question. So I'm not gonna I can't. I'm gonna have the time to go through everything. I think it's kind of missing. But I think from the standpoint of the the culture being about the people, uh, the foundational pieces that start for using the all season with the mentality of expecting in the belief to win, in approaching that way every single day. As far as how you go about your business, that's one thing that's missing.
Do you think that that was the disconnections that everybody wasn't.
On the same page. You know, I can't.
I can't speak to that because I wasn't here before, and I wasn't here at the beginning when the foundation was set.
I just speak to my perspective.
Of being around winning organizations, uh, and the ones that haven't been at this one missing piece just not being a line as far as everyone moving in the same direction. But also think I think shared accountability throughout the building, right, So we are all here because of the ball and so we all get judged because of how the ball is, but we all in the building have to operate with the mentality of my job is important. I got to be excellent every single day for this whole thing to
function the right way. So from how you deal with everybody, uh, and from a in the cafeteria to the janitorial service, everybody has to have mentality of winning and being excellent and be held at that same standard.
As you reflect what your perspective of why this team wasn't able to activate the parachute.
During that ten year extreme.
Uh, you know, I think it's it's all the foundational issue from the very beginning of the mentality you have and expecting to win and also not shying away from the adverse moments, and the understanding of every guy in that locker room, every guy in that field, and every every single phase expecting and being demanded and held accountable to be at his best. Because most most games in this league, you know, bore down to one score game, so that's not like it's a big shock of a projects.
Rather just have multiple blowouts in back to back games.
So that's kind of an understanding, But just the mentality of how not to fall apart in the critical moments.
It's got to be talk from the very beginning, and he said about.
Months of coaches going to challenge him. He talked specifically about what it's been like for you when you got when the head coach, how does someone how do you get through to him the most? What have you learned about just like what buttons he needs to have pushed to get the.
Most out of him? To me as honesty, I think one of the difficult parts about the quarterback position that I found is people baby the quarterback too much and they worry more about being liked by the quarterback than telling.
Them what he needs to hear.
Uh.
It is a it is by falling away to the most difficult persis in play.
We all know that.
But to whom much is given, much is required. And so I think one of the things we connected on at the beginning was I was honest from the gig go about what I wanted to bring to the table, but also what issues I saw in him. But my overall goal, my goal being about making and the best he can be. That is my goal in that role and the roles moving forward. So I think it starts with that first, I think the understanding of how every player learns and how you can have to do a
really good job of being innovative and creative. As far as how you approach that, it's always important, particularly that position. But I think it's honesty, just being open honest from a communication standpoint, you know, taking feedback, but also your coach for a reason, So coach them and don't pass the buck, don't overlook issues because it won't just go away by itself. And I think the more time it goes by, of course he'll grow and mature more, which
is normal for any play, not just him. But I think the understanding of how to teach guys, not expecting guys to come in from day one and just have all the answers like that's not realistic and it.
Shouldn't be the expectation.
So, like I said before, from the very beginning, from a foundational standpoint, putting those things in place. I think collaboration piece is something you kind of get to is from a down the road as far as we work together, but the beginning different any other position.
You coach. THEMM accountable. He showed us God how to be better.
So that's a portion of Thomas Brown today, very frank conversation. That's been the consistent theme from Thomas and there's a lot there that I appreciate coming from that head coach. And during that process, Jim Thomson, I have had some technical problems.
So we're gonna stick with you.
Jim.
What's your takeaway when you hear that?
You know, especially the things that he identified as something you know, and that is like, okay, the belief that you're going to go in every week and win a game. And he felt that that was was not something that the team felt coming into, you know, when he was taken over.
So that's that's a big thing. That's a big thing.
Well, yeah, and he well, he touched on it, and it put him in a difficult spot because, like he said, he's wearing three different hats. You know, at one point he's the passing game coordinator. All of a sudden, he's thrust into these different roles as the as the play caller and then the interim head coach. That even more is put on his plate, So it's tough. I think he said a lot of good things there and maybe why the Bears until this year hadn't let go a
coach early. Look at the coaches who have been fired this year, did there was there any positive change, whether it was you know, Robert Salah or what happened with Dennis Allen or the situation with Matt Eberflus. If anything, it compounded the issues because then you lost play callers on both sides of the ball. You had already fired Chane Waldron, and then once you relieved Matt Eberflus, really their top play caller for the defense was gone, So
you affected both sides of the ball. So very rarely like what Thomas Brown was talking about, does radical change work, you know? So maybe it's a caution to the win that people think about, Hey, I just fire the coach and everything will get better midseason, and it really doesn't. So now they've cleared the deck and where it goes.
And Thomas Brian will get his bite at the Apple for an interview, and I'm sure he has good perspective of insights where he's been previously to what he's experienced as a Chicago Bear coach, of where he feels that they need to go.
All right, that's Jim Miller. Tom, We'll rejoin us on the other side We'll take a break here. Bears Weekly on ESPN one thousand of the Bears Radio Network.
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Or virtual appointment at start getting Better Tomorrow And Jeff and Tom and Jim Miller from Serious x MNFL Radio. Tom's reconnected Tom listening in to Thomas Brown today.
What's your takeaway?
Well, you know, I like Thomas Brown. I like the way he approaches the podium. I like his serious approach and his ability to communicate with the.
Press and the players.
And one thing about you think about every coach they're going to interview, the things they're gonna ask every coach that comes in the building, they already know those things about Thomas Brown. There are questions are not necessarily going to ask have to ask him because they've been around him for that long period of time. The one thing that they need to hear from Thomas Brown is what is your offensive philosophical beliefs? What are you gonna do,
What are you gonna change about the offense? What are you going to install? And how can you make Caleb that you know that decade star, that franchise quarterback, whatever you want to call them, and in the high regards, that's what you need to learn, and from Thomas Brown, because I do think all the details of what they need out of a head coach they already know about him. But what is your offense going to include to help Caleb in the entire offense be the guy that you want him to be?
And Jim the other big component of this also is who's going to be on your staff all these guys that come in, you know, because that's as important as anything.
Yeah, it really is gonna be key no matter who they hire as a head coach, who is going to be the key guy to bring along Caleb Williams. And it's hard to believe that we now are a year past that that we thought that this was going to be solved when you draft him and you try to court and work that out with with Shane Waldron. But here's where they are. So whatever coaches, you know, who they hire as the head coach, the offensive coordinator is
going to be crucial for Caleb's development. I don't want to say this was a completely wasted year for Caleb because it wasn't. He saw a lot of looks. Defensively, he did learn a lot of things. He worked with people, sees the professional level, how the preparation it takes. All those things are bonuses. But how this new head coach and where this offenses is going to go and what vision they have for it is going to be crucial for his development.
Yes, some of the things he accomplished franchise rickey records, obviously a ton of them. Completions, passing yards, touchdowns, total yards number one in franchise history at four thousand, when you had in the run game the fourth fewest interceptions by a Bears quarterback minimum ten starts in franchise history. But Tom, for me, the biggest one of all, for all that math's great is he started all seventeen games,
and he finished all seventeen games. Other than kneel downs or I think one time Tyson came in for a couple of plays here, but that's it. I mean, he he made it, and that en't happens in two thousand and nine.
Yeah, it wasn't easy because unfortunately he took a lot of sacks. But when you take a lot of sacks, you also take a lot of hits that aren't countered as sacks. So I think Caleb really showed a lot of resiliency to his teammates that, look, you may not be one hundred percent week in and week out, but if you can play, come and contribute to every way possible. And you know he ran when it was necessary. But I think life behind the line of scrimmage is what
you really want to see out of a quarterback. You don't want the threat of getting hurt because you're running more than you're throwing the ball. And you know he was successful when he threw the ball, and I expect that. You know his air is pointed up. And the thing about it is is the records and the good things you talk about him doing. Our expectations are even greater
for the future than just saying, oh, he's a good quarterback. No, he's a really good quarterback that has a chance to be a great quarterback.
Jim was, I don't know, the number seems high so and I know the Bears threw the ball more than they ran it this year, different than a year ago or the year before. But five hundred and sixty two pass attempts most in a single season in Bears history.
I didn't. I didn't think that that would happen this year.
I thought, you know, but hey, when you got a quarterback who's drafted number one overall, I think you get used to it, right, you're gonna throw the football.
Well, yeah, I don't think that was the game plan. I really don't. I think they found themselves behind in some games and then try to get in track meets. But there's a lot to like. Like like you said, Jeff about Caleb Won is toughness. Yeah, he takes We know the sack totals can't happen, but even with those high sack totals, he didn't throw a lot of interceptions. He does take care of the football, you know. I think he saw a lot of positives for him that
he has really can work on and develop from. And like you said, to line up all seventeen games, I think that says a lot about him, right. There is dedication, his commitment, his preparation to get himself healthy every week to line up, and he wants to go compete and so but it's going to be you know important. They need a quarterback developer and a great play caller to really bring this young man along very good player.
And fourth quarter throwing yards and Tom you've been big on this too. He's really he's done some great stuff in the fourth quarter. He finished fifth in the NFL with eleven hundred yards throwing the ball in the fourth quarter, with ten touchdowns and just two interceptions ninety five quarterback rating. Joe Burrow was number one with thirteen hundred yards and
twelve touchdowns. But I mean that's that was you know, obviously you're in you know, you're scrambling, You're still going to try to get something done.
But I still think it's impressive.
Yeah, it is. It is no doubt about it. So is Joe Burrows season.
But when you look at the numbers of both those guys, the reason, like Jim said, is because they were in a catchup mode and they had to throw it more than they would have liked to have run it. And you and both teams are in the same situation right now. And but you know, I think it's all about what can you do to this offense to make sure that they get off the faster starts.
Ye, so then they're a little bit more in control.
Of what the quarterback has to do out of necessity in the second half, and you would like to have a couple of running backs that are getting the majority of the carries in the second half because you have a lead and you're you know, you're trying to move the ball and move the clock at the same He.
Actually wound up throwing the most passes in the fourth quarter hundred and eighty of any quarterback. So yeah, all that all that makes sense. Ah, that makes sense. Third rookie since twenty twelve with one thousand plus completions. Andrew Luck did it in twenty twelve, Carson Wentz in twenty sixteen.
This is what you do at the end of a season. You look at all this stuff.
Right, the sixteen turnovers fewest in a single season since at least nineteen forty one for the Bears, and protecting the football is always going to be a top order of business. You can't get Willie, you can't. You can't can't be Jameis Winston just throwing the ball up right.
You can't get reckless with it.
And that's the thing about Caleb is, you know, he bought a lot of time behind the line of Scrimma's trying to find that open receiver. And then if he found it necessary to throw it out of the bounds delive another play.
He did it.
He didn't try to put it into harm's way where you gave the opponents another possession or two possessions per game. And so, you know, safety with the football I think has preached any quarterback.
And I think Jim will tell us that as much as much as anybody.
I just think for him, you know, you want to be on an offense and agree that can dictate. You know where you can dictate things? You know you can dictate. You know the four minute dro where you run out the clock, you can dictate. You know the line of scrimmage on first and second down, running the ball, you can dictate on third downs. Do you know your protections where you can audible or pick it up or throw hot?
Can you dictate and really dominate you know, clock management, time of possession things at the end of the the game. I think we saw Jaden Daniels do that this year. You know, I think we saw this game in the win over the Packers from Caleb Williams. So there's a lot of things. These are great records for Caleb, but man,
there's a lot of things to get better at. They need to have an offense where they can dictate things rather than you know, just kind of you know, be in games, but not you know, ahead, like what the Lions did last night. Look at the Lions. They dictated that game to Minnesota is what happened in Minnesota. Had to settle for field goals early. That's what you want to be able to do. And hopefully the Bears will
get there. Offensively, they need to get the right guy to do it with the quarterback who's very talented and could be great for years to come.
Two Bears with over one hundred targets, receiving DJ at one hundred and thirty, which is in line with what his the last four years he's averaging like one hundred and thirty five or over the course of his career.
Keenan Allen got one hundred and eighteen.
Rome got ninety nine, so they were just one target shy of three players with one hundred targets, Cole with fifty three, DeAndre Swift with fifty and then.
The leader of course was DJ with eighty.
Nine catches for his season, So pretty impressive that he got up to that number one, you know, and it was a different kind of year obviously for DJ, a lot of behind the line of scrimmage, bubble screens, getting the ball in his hands and having to make plays with his feet after making the catch, and he did a great job of that over the course of his over the course of his season.
That's the one thing I want to see out of Caleb is I want to see his vertical development and again and listen, I'm just so impressed with his horizontal passing game, how efficient it is, how quickly he puts the ball into the hands of his playmakers and gives him time to create. But when you have guys like DJ and Rome and Cole and whomever else is going to be here, you have guys that have the ability to speed, the catch, ability to stretch the field vertically.
So going forward, I want to see numbers, you know, I want to see that four thousand yard number that it seems like we talk about every year with a Bear quarterback, because I do think that is easily obtainable. If they give him the vertical opportunities.
It's going to happen. For sure, It's gonna happen.
Fifth Bears rookie to win in Green Bay the first and twenty five years. Joins a group of quarterbacks since nineteen sixty seven, also with at least twenty touchdowns and six or less interceptions. Among those on that list, Dan Marino back in eighty three, Prescott in sixteen, and c J. Stroud last season with Houston R. We're gonna take a break. We'll hear from Caleb when we come back. This is Bears Weekly and the SPN one thousand of the Bears Radio Network.
Bears brought you back.
People to get it. Jeff Joni accom there, Jim Miller. We'll hear from Cayleb Williams.
In just a moment.
I got to make a correction because I had some wrong stats and the last segment about so DJ got to one hundred and forty and ninety eight catches one twenty one for Keenan and seventy catches and Rome did get a one hundred and one targets to fifty four, call it fifty five to forty seven. So I want to get that out there because I was looking at the wrong thing from last week, not this week. So yeah, so that was the distribution, all right, without further ado.
Caleb at the podium today. It was you know, about fifteen minutes or so, ten twelve minutes. But we're gonna chop that down a little bit and get the essence of what he had to say today about his twenty twenty five season coming up and how he looked back at twenty twenty.
For obviously you learned a little bit more about that.
That everybody has to have the same common goal and it has to be uh, you know, time, it has to be right. So I think those have been the you know, the the two most important things that that I've learned talked from the.
Last week, and they get less sight about wanting to be challenged by whoever the next coach is.
And Thomas was up here a little bit earlier saying that sometimes it can be difficult for certain coaches to challenge quarterbacks the way they need to be challenged. What would you express to whoever it is coming in here about how you would like to be challenged and what they need to do to bringacistatic.
Yeah, I would just say, I mean, just challenge me, you know, whether it's you know, pulling me aside, whether it's you know and saying whatever, or you know, I haven't talked consistently or maybe not or uh maybe having you know, a list of things that you know, we want to accomplish, you know, myself first and then you know, because that that helps helps team and then you know, from there, you know, help find ways to you know
that other goals and things like that. So however however may work out, you know, just a challenge and uh, you know, just to find ways to help better myself, but also you know better, you know better.
The team, and so you know, really excited about that.
But yeah, I would say, you know, any way, anyway, any shape form.
You know, I don't have a I don't have an issue with being challenged.
I don't have an issue with you know, speaking truth between the coach and I or you know, whoever it may be. And so uh yeah, just whichever way that that happens, whichever way it shapes is the way it goes.
You talked about how just like things that you want to work on the off season and just for next year, whether it's on the field or off the field.
You mentioned like.
Maybe eliminating distractions, having fewer people around you. What did you learn about being the face of a franchise that goes beyond. Just like being a football player in between the.
Lines, playing quarterback in the NFL is fun as can be. It's it's the adrenaline, the time, effort, and energy that you.
Put into it.
And you know, to to have the chance to be able to go out there and execute and win games with guys that you know, you know is doing the same thing, working out, working hard, showing up and and things like that consistently throughout the year. And and you know, to have that collective goal and and and to be able to go out there and you know, try and win the game. Like I said, have the opportunity to win the game is one of the best feelings that
you can have. And so, you know, i'd say I'd say, I'd say being able to have those moments, being able to understand, understand what it takes to be in this position, Understand that you know, it's a tough job. Understand that you know there's a lot at stake, you know, being in this in this position of of you know, being a football player and trying to you know, help turn things around.
You know.
So I think there's been a lot of learning lessons. I think, you know, I think they were needed for myself, but also for uh, you know, this team and can't wait for you know what's.
Now though about the magnitude of what's expected from you in this position that you didn't know coming in.
I mean I knew, I knew that it was, you know,
a big task at hand. I knew that, you know what what you know were some of the things that I couldn't do from college, some of the things that I could do, a bunch of things that I needed to learn on and off the field, and you know, I'd say there was there was more lessons this year and I would say that I've had And one of the things was, you know, all of the all of the you know, different things throughout the week that is needed to you know, take for you know, me to
be able to go out there and play well, for the team to play well. You know, want something I learned early on and finding ways to you know, be better at those things throughout the year and you know, the years come.
Thomas also said it's unrealistic to expect a quarterback, UH in your position to come in and have all the answers. Was there more to learn here than you anticipated?
No? I I so though, how I mean, how well.
Were you guided through that given you were being coached by guys that were fired mid season.
Yeah, I wouldn't I wouldn't say, uh, what was the first part of that that one?
Was there more to learn here at the NFL level than you anticipated?
No, I wouldn't say there was more to learn. I knew that there was gonna be a lot that I had to learn on a fast amount of time, Uh to be able to go out there and uh play and and and and try and play well, play efficient, play efficient football, and try and win games. So I knew there was gonna be you know, a tremendous amount and you know there's still a tremendous amount.
And I'm really excited about that.
And there's many things that you know, throughout this reason that I didn't know or didn't do well, and you know, to be able to have the time now and you know, most of those things is things that I didn't know.
And so to be able to have the time.
Now to go back and you know, look at myself, look at other qbs the way they've done it. And then also just you know, sit down and you know, get in the books and learn you know some of the things that you know, I didn't know throughout the year, some of the things that I really want to know by next year to be able to help the team.
All right, that's a portion of it.
Uh for time purposes, we got to cut that a little short. But uh yeah, a lot there because there is a lot on the table for a quarterback.
So the learning is never going to stop.
Right.
So at the beginning of that interview, they use.
The word challenge.
I don't I don't like the word challenge because it's not a coach's job to challenge your quarterback. It's a coach's job to develop a quarterback. The challenge comes from the opponent or the down in distance, and just so what you want to do for a coach to challenge you, that's that's not what a coach does. You know, whether it's Dick Stanfeld, my offensive line coach, he teaches you fundamentals and techniques, and then the challenge comes when you
line up against your opponent. And that's what it is. So I want to see the guy that's going to take everything that Caleb learned from this year, everything that he.
Brought with it from college and high school.
And continue that development to his traits and his talents and what he needs to do to best fit the formula of his next offense.
Jim, take us through quarterback from your one to year two, because you did it.
Yeah, and it's not difficult. What time's asking. I mean, you've got what he did at USC, Now you've got this year what he did for the Bears. What did he do well? What did he what he did he not do well at? You know what? What parts of the game did he manage well? What parts of the game did he not manage well? From coming out backed up to in an offense? I can go on and
on and on. It's on tape, and whoever they hire to bring him along from year one to year two, I'm gonna be able to look at the tape and say, oh, he's struggling against this coverage. Maybe it's I don't know, man free, I don't know whatever coverage he struggles with. But all right now, this offseason, I'm gonna write down a note that I watched Caleb all year and I
think he struggles with man free coverage. Let's write down this and we're gonna have a little class session about man free coverage and go through things that can get him better. So all the areas he's weak you want to strengthen, and then with the new offense, you're gonna continue to bring him along. But he's already got a lot of good stuff on tape. Retain all that, and now you're gonna try and weed out the bad while incorporating a new offensive system.
All right, Jim, we got to take another break.
Final segment coming up next here on Bears Weekly on ESPN Chicago and the Bears Radio Network. Have a newer gently use coat laying aroundhead of your local Juele Losco until February tenth to donate one of your newer gently used coach to the thirty six annual Chicago Bears Coat Drive and help keep Chicagoans warm.
This winner. All right, fellas, we're in less than.
Two minutes to go, so you got to run the two minute offense here when he quick answers real quick. Though, eighteen different Bears hit the quarterback this year, thirteen forced to fumble, seventeen at least a half a sack.
Who's your defensive player of the year? Top there?
TJ Edwards, Jim same, I'm going same, Okay, clean, sweet, but Kevin byarn edgited him by one solo tackle to lead the team in tackles. Special Teams Player of the Year Tory Taylor has a lot of records, thirty four punts inside of the twenty Bears rookie record, a lot of good stuff on Special Team's time.
Who he got Josh Blackwell, Jim, I'll.
Go with Taylor. Buddy's right about Blackwell?
All right, I'm gonna go with Taylor with a one eight to Agbang Bamiga and Daniel Hardy. They shared the set Special Team's tacklee with eleven. Offensive Player of the Year for the Bears Tommy.
One A, Caleb one beat Coleman Shelton, Caleb Nice.
I'm going Caleb as well. I'm gonna give a one a to DJ Moore as well in that bunch.
All right, great stuff. We look forward to what's next.
Ryan Poles to speak on Tuesday to give us some clarity on where they're headed in terms of the next head coach of the Chicago Bears. Appreciate you, guys, Jim, We'll talk to you next week.
Thank you.
Sounds good, guys.
That's gonna do it for us special thanks too, Big Jim Miller for Tim There, I'm Jeff Joniac. Thanks to Eric Ostrowski, Dan Brilly, Jordan tread Up, and Justin Pottingsher for helping us out tonight. This is the radio home of the Chicago Bears. ESP and Chicago. Have a great night, everybody. Thanks for listening. Black and abdalla Our next, have a good night everybody.