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Ther NFL writers and analyst Field.
The NFC North is arguably potentially the most competitive and challenging division of the NFL.
Here in twenty twenty four? Is it true? Will it proved to be true?
We dig into that conversation tonight on Bears Weekly here on ESPN one thousand and the Chicago Bears Radio Network with Super Bowl winning Bears guard Tom Fayer. I'm Jeff, Joniake and from Serious XMNFL Radios moving the chains, we have former Bears quarterback Jim Miller. Thanks to our producers Dan Brilly and Jordan Treadap and of the ESPN Studios. Tonight, Kendris Smith, the executive.
Are you sure?
The Bears Radio Network is Eric Ostrotski coming up. We visit with Vikings radio analyst Pete Burshitch Lions play by play man Dan Miller of the Voice of the Packers, Wayne Lereviv Fellas. Good to talk to you, rookies report next week to Hallis Vets come in training camp begins.
We are on tom it is time to go.
Yeah, So do we visit the topic of contracts yet or do we wait till next week when we see all these guys walk in the building with the hard.
Knocks cameras rolling.
Yeah, So I think it is something that you can't ignore, but you hope in the modern day of the collective bargaining agreement, they can come to a contract resolution and Jeff day one, everybody is on board and ready to go.
Jim, obviously they're talking about the Caleb Williams and Roma doone day contracts still yet unsigned?
What are your thoughts at this point? Yeah?
I think you know, you got the you know, two of the top ten, you know, and obviously when you look at Caleb Williams, his was an unusual situation and how he was drafted and how he was interviewed and all that, and so I would think his contract is going to be different. He's going to have certain demands that he wants. But I think we know from the
rookie page scale that's pretty much slotted and slated. So if they do get a little bit more, it's not going to be out of the realm of what pickoverall number one had last year plus inflation and pick number nine overall last year plus inflation. That's how these contracts will be reflected.
Jim in terms of that, what is the and JJ McCarthy is also unsigned in Minnesota?
What are they.
Looking for the Vikings Dallas Turner also unsigned. There's several in the first round. What are the little nuggets that agents and teams have to negotiate that kind of sneaking.
Yeah, well, I think for quarterbacks it's different. You go back to even when Brady Quinn I think, was taken twenty two overall by Cleveland and he and he held out. He held out because he felt he was a quarterback and quarterbacks make premium money that he could have got
more money. And that could be the case for you know, Caleb Williams right now, he's the number one overall pick the guaranteed money, what's it going to be plus, there's probably going to be some incentives in there as well, and I would assume Roman doom Day is thinking the same thing. You know, he's brought in to be a major key weapon of the future in his is probably going to be incentive based as well.
Tom.
The good news is this salary cap and the discussions over the years have eliminated long term holdouts, and I think that's very important, not only for the player itself, the rookie, but for the team and how they can set course right out of the gate and not have
that distraction. It hasn't been a big topic of conversation in recent years, and I felt it was an important thing because so much time and effort and energy was spent on a first pick negotiating and an agent holding out for the absolute best possible deal that those distractions dominated the start of training camp.
We rarely have those anymore.
Yeah, you know, That's why I kind of hope Caleb Williams signs before Roma doonsay, because I think Caleb Williams can kind of set the bar of exactly what does the maximum you're gonna make and what is the trickle down effect after that? Because if you go and you have roma Doonesay sign first, then the first pick in the draft is still an unpredictable amount.
So I think if you can.
Get those top couple guys signed, then you're gonna start understanding how that money's gonna flow downhill.
Jim, what are you gonna be looking for?
You're coming up to camp, I think the weekend after and we'll sit down with serious x MNFL radio and that's always a good time at havisaw. So what will you be looking for or your eye is going to take you to the field when you arrive.
Well, I think for the Bears, where there's really competitive action, I would think at the center position, you know, with Shelton with Baits, you know, how's that competition going to work out? Certainly the young quarterback, you know, gonna be studying him his mannerisms. Is he mixing up his snap count? How is his mechanics, the timing of the livery because I think we know sacks have been a problem in the past. You know, is he in a good rhythm
throwing the ball? And then just the overall talent that's drafted, you know, the growth of Jeron Dexter, you know, because He's going to be a key component on the defensive side of the ball. And I think for all those guys, the second year players and just how much they've grown.
Tom, what are you going to be looking at.
I'm going to see how Kevin Byard fits into the secondary.
It's going to be interesting to see.
I'm going to see if Nate Davis is on the field participating in his position and that he will hopefully be at day in and day out. Kind of looking where Braxton Jones and Tevin Jenkins are and Jim talked about the center battle. But you know, I was looking up this morning and I know it's a topic I'm always.
Interested as in first downs?
So what type of offense is Shane Waldron developing in the passing game? Is it the big play strikeability with Keenan Allen Romadoonza and Dj Moore or is it first down opportunities with DeAndre Swift, Cole Comet, Gerald Everett and the receiver. Because when you go and you look at the numbers, I think the Bears were fourth and the division and first downs and they were number one in the division in first downs given up, And to me,
I know, I kind of dwell on that. But when you look at the overall performance, especially with a young quarterback, and like Jim says, getting the ball out of his hands, I'm interested to see where that's going.
Yep, first downs lead the touchdowns, Jim.
And if this goes the way I envision, or at least I hope I envision, I mean, he's going to have opportunities with open receivers.
There's going to be somebody open.
Just find your completion, protection, holds, get rid of the football, and as the season goes on, or as a game goes on, the flare that Caleb Williams is entering the NFL with what he did in college, that instinctiveness, that spatial awareness in the pocket, his ability to operate within and around the pocket is going to come to fruition when a big play is needed in the clutch.
Yeah, and hopefully Bears fans give them time to develop. You know, there's gonna be some growing pains. I think Bears fans, you know, kind of got a little unrealistic, you know, thinking last year was probably going to be a Super Bowl year. There were some that even had you know, justin Fields listed as the league MVP, and look at where we are now. So just give young Caleb Williams the time to develop. He's got all the
pieces around him. And I'm with you, Jeff. If he just goes through his reads, even if he doesn't know the coverage, he'll get to the right guy. And so he's got to keep his cool about him and understand he's going to make mistakes as well.
So in the intro, Tommy I said, you know a lot of people in the lague think this is now the toughest division. And toughest doesn't always mean the best, but toughest division.
I'll go to war with that.
With these four teams remade in different ways over the course of time, in short periods or long stretches.
So do you agree with that assertion or were you looking.
At things and Jim can follow, you know, toughest, most competitive, Yeah, maybe toughest in terms of physical stature of these football teams.
I think it goes along with the Steelers in the Ravens in Cincinnati and Cleveland. So yeah, I think it's going to be a super competitive division. And I think the Bears, you know, when they can climb over Detroit and they can climb over Green baythe and that's going to give them the opportunity of the hope that we're all talking about here in the early portion of the show.
Yeah, I think to me, it's the second toughest division in football. I'm with Tom. I think the AFC North is just a bloodbath. You look at the quarterback play. You got the league MVP there. Now, Russell Wilson's in there. You look at Joe Burrow and we'll see where it goes with the Deshaun Watson. But I think for the NFC North, how these rosters are built, and granted a lot is going to be determined by the young quarterbacks,
whether it's JJ McCarthy or Caleb Williams. But this is a tough, bruising division and I think, much like last year, it'll come down to potentially the last week of the season. And so did the AFC North.
All Right, we've heard the all right, we've hit the first mile post, and coming up next we hear the Vikings talk from Pete Bursich, Chicago area man and the analyst for.
The Vikings on radio.
As we get you set for NFC North football here in twenty twenty four.
This is ESPN Chicago and the Bears Radio Network.
Is Bears Weekly with the voice of the Bears for twenty three years, Jeff Junia on the Bears Radio Network.
Good segment, The Bears Weekly is brought to you by Igs Energy, Tomtey or Jeff Joniak and Jim Miller from Serious x MNFL Radio. Now look at the Vikings as we break down the twenty twenty four NFC North and what many Pete is being described as one of the best, if not the best or the toughest.
We've had our opinions on that.
We're you sitting as the analyst of the Minnesota Vikings, Chicago area man and certainly excited to hit the season going. It's going to be fun, Pete, Yeah it is.
And you know, you have two teams from the division who you know, the Lions, I hate to say that they disappointed. I mean, obviously they had a good football team, and then that the run the Packers had at the end of the year, you know, then that's that's the NFL, right, you carry that success over to the following year. And then there's Chicago who obviously through the draft has made some improvements and I'd like to think that the Minnesota Vikings have done so as well.
So this time of year, everyone thinks are getting better.
And you know, when you have two teams out of one division winning games in the playoffs, Yeah, it's gonna be. It's gonna be a tough, tough road this year for for all teams in this division.
Hey, Pete, when you look at the history of the running back position with the Minnesota Vikings before you got there and since you've been there and beyond, when you think of what they're going to have this year, and Aaron Jones, to me, he's been one of the best running backs in the in the division for quite a while. What is Minnesota's expectations, especially.
When you're breaking in a new quarterback.
Yeah, he's you know, the running game obviously helps a younger quarterback.
And you know, Tom, you this team.
If there's been areas where this team has been deficient since Kevin O'Connell has been here, short yardage and third down and one fourth down on one and goal line as well.
And shortyard is a tight goal line, tight red zone.
And that's where I think Aaron Jones can help the most. And if he and so we're not asking for a ton here. But if he's able to convert some of these third and shorts, able to push, you know, be able to let the Bikings just run the football from the deep, deep red zone, that's gonna make a huge difference. And so we're not we're not asking for much. What my thing is is what's the identity of this running
game going to be? You know, last year with Alexander Madison, we started running some more counters and some of those other things. From what I've seen out of Jones, he's his own guy. He's a long cut back kind of guy. He has great vision, he can set up blocks. Will the Vikings have you know, that type of a running game. I think from schematic standpoint, our running games and flux. So I'm really looking forward to That's gonna be one of my preseason things is just what's our running game
going to look like? What's our identity going to be with the running game? And they're going to have to build it around Aaron Jones, But I guarantee you if he can help us in those short yardage situations. I mean, we lost the game to Cincinnati last year. Whereas third and run Quebec, you know, quarterback sneak. Then they tried it again out of fourth and one, we didn't make it, turn it over, and then you know, the Bengals go down and score a touchdown, right, you know, right soon
after that. So these situations, these situations have come back turnovers did in the beginning of the year. And then you know that shortyardage running game needs to improve, and so Aaron Jones is going to be a big part of that.
Pat Jim Miller here and good to talk to you. Hope your summer is going well. I just want to know how patient can the Minnesota fan base be? You know, if if Sam, let's face it, Sam Darnold, this could be his last shot to be a starter, and if it doesn't work out, they're going to turn to JJ McCarthy. And I only bring that up because Bears Bears fans. They threw Mitch Trubisky in their way too early, and they threw justin Fields in their way too early. How patient can they be?
I as fans going all depends on the record. If we're winning football games, I think they're gonna be pretty patient. If not, yeah, they're gonna want They're gonna want.
To move on to the future. As soon as possible.
I think for McCarthy, you know, and for Donald, what the advantage they have is is Kevin O'Connell and the fact that he played the quarterback position in college, he played it in the NFL, he coached that position. He was a quarter now he's a head coach, so he knows that position. I think the hard part for fans is we're not going to know the progress of JJ McCarthy right because we're not going to see him on
the field. So as Donald could get out there and look okay or not look you know, not look great. But if McCarthy is behind, or if they don't, if they're and they're not gonna come out and say this, They're not going to say, hey, it's taking McCarthy a little bit longer to pick things up. We're not comfortable putting them in yet. They're not going to say that.
They're just going to stick with darn right. That's the part that that that you know, is frustrating and that fans have to keep in mind is you have to have we know he's the future. You know, he's a top fifteen pick in the NFL. He's going to be the quarterback you just got to have patience and have trust that the powers that be are going to put him in when he's ready and when it's best for him. You know, for a lot of fans, that's good, that's today right. For a lot of fans, they want to
they want to see him stay. You drafted them, might as well just throw him in there. But you guys have seen I think the other side of that coin, by what can happen if you put guys in too soon and they're not ready.
Pte Bursts, radio analysts for the Minneso the Vikings, a our guest here on Bears Weekly on the ESPN one thousand of the Bears Radio Network. Let's look at your defense no more daneil Hunter wreaking havoc on the Bears that they meet him in week two against Houston again, what's that pass rush looking like? And how do you feel it stacks up in the division in terms of pass rushes.
It's gonna you know, it's gonna have it was good last year.
We got a lot of productivity out of our outside linebackers, you know, Jonathan Gernard.
They're gonna have to replicate that.
Right, uh Van Ginko will see how he's gonna be health wise going into the season. But the more those five guys upfront can rush, the better off that we're gonna be. Now, Dallas Turner, you're gonna throw him in there right away. We're gonna see what he's all about. These guys, though, have more position flexibility. They're true outside linebackers. So I think that's gonna change the floor as defense a little bit. It's gonna be a little bit easier
to put certain guys in coverages. He didn't want to put the ney of the Hunter in coverage, right. Every once in a while he drop out and kind of take up space. You have guys at the outside linebacker position now that that can do that, that can cover. So it's gonna give flora As I think, a little bit more flexibility with with the guys that he has. But we're gonna, yeah, we're gonna We're gonna need to get after the quarterback. I don't think that's gonna be
as much of a challenge. Iss just be physical and holding up to the run. Right, We've gained a lot of speed, but we've lost a lot of size, right, d Neil Hunter, you just you have a big body out there and he was key for us, especially against Atlanta and some goal line plays. So will those guys be able to hold up physically and hold up against the run?
But we'll see, you.
Know, Pete, I think our division has the best tight ends in the league when you look at every team. So I know there's a little bit of an injury set back to the tight end up in Minnesota. What's what's the status and if TJ does is not on board immediately, what is the tight end situation with you guys?
But well, I think they're still trying. You know, they're still trying to figure that out, you know what I mean. And for Hockinston, they're not going to you know, they're not going to rush him back, but we need him as quickly as possible. And Tommy bring up a good point because there's still a lot of question marks as to who our number three wide receiver is going to be.
And then so you kind of have that.
Number three, number four wide receiver tight end snell group are you gonna use?
Yeah, it'll be it'll be interesting.
I don't have all the names, you know, right off the top of my head, but that's it's gonna be a key spot in one that we're gonna have to to keep a close eye on.
In the preseason final one for me, Peters, you've talked about running the ball three or four times. Finally get back Dalton Reisner at the guard spot and basically the lines intact. And I guess your thoughts on Aaron Jones because we were sold to a bad bill of goods last year about Alexander Madison and he's a three down back and I thought they never should have got rid of Delvin Cook. But just the the infusion of Aaron Jones.
Yeah, well it's again. I think the main thing is gonna be that short yardage thing. Getting Dalton and Reisner's back, you know, was important between he and and Ingram. We got some guys that are they struggle at times in pass protection for what they will do is hit somebody. And we tried this to Madison a little bit more toward the end of the season, especially with tych Handler played a lot ty Chandler.
North Carolina ran a lot of counter and.
Power, so we started pulling guards and Raisner is gonna hit somebody.
Ingram's is just gonna they're aggressive.
They'll they'll hit somebody, so that counterpower running game prepped in a little bit more towards the end. Again, that's why I go back to identity. But Reisner is definitely a leader. He's definitely aggressive. He's a kind of he's you know, he's like here, he's a guard. He's this guy that you you know that you want. It's just gonna grind things out, be nasty and do the you know, do what, do what the absolutely has to be done
in order to win. But bringing that group together and and and again figuring it out, what is what is it that we're going to do in the running game and what are we gonna make teams stop? You mentioned Dalvin Cook. What Dalvin Cook brought was explosiveness. We saw it against Buffalo a couple of years ago. You know,
seventy yard touchdowns. It changes a defense's attitude when if you hand the ball off that could be if they're gonna move the chains, it's like, okay, you know, first down on the run, you know.
We can we can survive.
But when you have a guy that can break a fifty sixty seventy yarding and start scoring touchdowns, then the defense has to schematically respect the running back and we haven't seen that and quite you know, we didn't see that at all last year. But you're right, our running game was disappointing, especially in key moments.
All Right, last one for Pete Bursich. What's your view of the Bears as you sit over there in Minnesota.
You know, I'm excited to see the changes.
You know, Chicago is a very difficult place to win, right, It's different in that respect, it's you know, it's outdoors, it's on grass. Yeah, you have that in Green Bay, but we've had more success in Green Bay over the last couple of years, at least the last two seasons. I think then we've had you know, then we've had in Chicago. So you know, I think for you guys, just it's just, you know, can you develop the quarterback in time?
And what's that offensive line going to look like?
I think defensively you're going to be you know, your four man front, which is kind of an oddity now you know nowadays those guys move, you know, really well. We've I know, our front has had a lot has had a lot of trouble blocking.
That defensive front very aggressive and.
It's gonna it's just gonna come down as can you guys sustain drives on offense?
Can you you know, move the ball on the ground and run it.
And then Caleb Williams is he going to be able to you know, just make it, make defenses, keep guys back in coverage in the wide receiver position. You guys have you know, every one of these positions I brought up. You guys have brought in big names. So it's going to be interesting to see if they can tie all that together. And uh, you know again, Bears are going to be better than they were a year ago, no question about that.
All right, Pete, appreciate the time, buddy, Thank you. Enjoy the rest of your days before camp too, Thanks Bate. All right, Well, continue our discussion on the NFC North and the Bears traineing camp after this BREAKO on Bears Weekly on ESPN one thousand and the Bears Radio Network.
Is Bears Weekly with a voice of the Bears for twenty three years, Jeff Tony on the Bears Radio Network.
This segment of Bears Weekly has brought to you by Athletico Physical Therapy because at Athletico dot Com to request and in clinic or virtual deployment at start feeling better tomorrow Jeff and Tom and Jim Miller, with Wayne Lairvie, the voice of the Green Bay Packers, joining us in our NFC North preview segment. We already heard from Pete Bursich, Wayne about the Vikings and Brian Flores. What is paramount right now with the Green Bay Packers as you head into your training camp?
I think, Jeff, it's just the step the second year and third year players are going to take on this team, especially skill position players. The other factor is the defense. It's new, it's different. A lot of the same faces you're familiar with will be playing, but in a different formation and in a different defense under new defense coordinator Jeff Hafley.
You know, Wayne, it seems like you got to take the best pieces and put them in the perfect place. To me, I think Kenny Clark is one of the best defensive players in the division. Is this a style of defense that will, you know, allow him to be the player that he's been as you know against the Bears and all other teams, or are they going to try to divide as a scheme that fits the back half of the defense to protect inside this division?
Well, I think Kenny is mentioned at least during the OTAs in mini camp that he's really excited to play this defense. So I assume it's going to be something that allows him, as he said, to kind of get up field. They're going to play the run on way to rushing the passer up front of this defense. It's their philosophy and Kenny, I think, will be freed up a little bit more in this defense. It's going to be interesting to see, really, because you know, you do
have a nose tackle type and TJ. Slayton, you have a interior pass rusher and Devonte Wyatt, and then you have Kenny Clark who can kind of do both things. It'll be interesting to see how that mix works. I don't think we're going to see that until we get to training camp. I know they had a lot of experimenting moving people around that kind of thing during OTA's and MIDI caamp.
I'm anxious to see.
When the pads come on, when training camp really begins as to what they do now. The back end of the defense I thought got tremendously better when they signed Xavier McKinney. That was a big one, and then when they drafted Javon Bullard Bullet's a rookie. He didn't start in their alignments during OTA's.
In MIDI camp.
It'll be interesting to see how quickly he's in that lineup though, once we get to training camp. But I think from a safety standpoint, they're going to be better in the middle of the field, downfield, and I think that's really important. Up front, they feel like they have the horses to convert to this four to three.
Base Wayne Jim Miller here, always good to talk to you, and really I want to focus on the quarterbacks because Matt Lafleur. You think about when Aaron Rodgers was there, it was big that he wanted to be able to audible place, you know, and you know they were kind of button heads a little bit. And now Matt Lafleur with these young quarterbacks, this is probably one of the youngest quarterback rooms in the league with Jordan Love, Sean Clifford,
and Michael Pratt. The coach has taken it upon himself to kind of bring these young quarterbacks along with Tom Clemmens, and I just want to talk about that dynamic. Because they didn't sign a veteran to back up Jordan Love. They basically drafted Shan Clifford out of Penn State and said we're going to roll with these young guys.
Yeah, and then to Michael Pratt.
I think when you're talking about Clifford and Pratt, you talk about guys they're trying to develop and not necessarily to start for them, but to start for someone else. And maybe these are It's kind of like what Ron Wolf did in the nineties drafting Matt Hasselback and that type of thing. You draft these guys late, you develop them over the course of three four years, and then you make a play, you know, get it for another
draft pick. Maybe they're part of a deal that brings a veteran player to your football team, that type of thing. But they like these two guys for a couple of reasons. Seawan Clifford number one, he's a gamer type. Okay, all these guys. It's amazing today that people who cover teams have to write about practice like it's a game and you know.
A.
Row En route.
At one point I said on Twitter to one of the guys, I said, you know, he was going into great detail over this tremendous catch that was made in Minichem. I said, we're talking about practice here, right, not a game practice, okay. And so the Clifford's kind of kid that he shows up in games, very resourceful, smart, understands defenses, that kind of thing. Michael Prats a guy who in four years at Tulane had four different offensive coordinators, played
a lot of college football. They really like him. You know, they got him in the seventh round. A lot of the draft experts had him middle rounds, like fourth maybe fifth round. So they feel like they got value there. They have two quarterbacks, young guys that they feel like they and develop the veteran guy Jim that you mentioned. Those teams that I guess are on the verge of the Super Bowl if you look at them, they have a veteran in place, a guy who has started and
won a couple of games in his NFL career. That's generally the case, but not all the time. Ted Thompson never had that under Aaron Rodgers. And there were a couple of times where almost burned them, like in twenty thirteen when Rogers went down. You know, they tried a couple of quarterbacks they had on the roster. They had to go back and get Matt Flynn to save the season. So you know, it's interesting how that works. But I think when a front office feels like it's on the
cusp of the Super Bowl. I'm not talking about the Packers now, but normally you got a veteran in there backing up your starter that you could win a couple of games with if your starter goes down.
Wayne Larvy, our guest here on Bears Weekly on ESPN one thousand of the Bears Radio Network. Wayne, in your opinion, how impressive was it the Packers did what they did offensively? Is the season war on with young receivers first or rookie year players at all the skill position receiving positions, including tight end. To me, I didn't see that coming, but boy, I was impressive. And who emerges as the number one guy out of that group, especially a wide receiver?
Yeah, a good point. Who emerges That's the thing that people are wondering about here. Christian Watson certainly could be that guy if he can stay healthy and stay on the field. Jaden Reid's got a great quality to him. Kid out of Naperville, Illinois. Romeo Dobbs is a solid red zone, crafty receiver in the middle of the field. Bo Melton made some plays late in the season. Jeff, I got to tell you, I was shocked as well watching the development of that team. They start out two
and one, they won that opener in Chicago. They feel pretty good about themselves in two and one, and then they go into a four game losing street. They're the youngest team in the league. They don't win a game for forty two days. I'm saying to myself, you know, I've seen some bad teams Kansas City, even the Wanstead years in Chicago. You know, especially young teams. They go into the tank when they lose four in a row, they haven't won and over a month.
But that team, I think.
And I talked to la Floor about this briefly, because he only talks to me briefly. Yeah, typical head coach, play by play guy. The head coach is gonna give you maybe a minute. But I talked to him on the way into practice one time and I said, you know, that's amazing what happened down the stretch. He said, you know, I think the fact that those young guys had no
idea what they were supposed to do. They just showed up and kept playing, and they got better and when the guys around Jordan Love got better, he got better and they built some momentum. They had very good chemistry, those young guys, and you know, now there's a belief that they can do this, and they proved it down the stretch in the last six games of the regular season, last eight games of the season itself, they accomplished a lot and they feel like they're a team on the rise.
They don't really care what the outside is thinking. Their expectations inside that locker room have changed this year.
Hey, Wayne, I was a big fan of Aaron Jones.
I think he's a great player, But I don't know about the Green Bay running game out Do you guys know enough about it?
Did the coaches know enough about it?
Because it seems like when you have a guy like Aaron Jones, you know how it's going to fit in your offense. When you have a new running back, do they know exactly what your running game is gonna look like?
Yeah? Absolutely.
I think they gained that in this spring and during the MIDI camp. Josh Jacobs said spent the whole offseason in Green Bay, and they gave him some time off at the MIDI camp. I think they know what they've got with this guy. He's not as dynamic as you know Aaron Jones could be, but he's probably a little more durable. In five years, he's missed ten games, four
of which came last year. He didn't have a good year in Las Vegas last year, but you know what, he this the last four games rushed for over eight hundred yards. They feel like they've got a workhorse kind of running back in Josh Jacobs. Now they retained A. J. Dillon and then they drafted Marshaun Lloyd. Lloyd is a guy who might be able to give them that big play dimension if Jacobs doesn't.
But Jacobs, hey, two years.
Ago when he led the league in rushing, you know, he led the league in ten plus yard runs, I believe with forty.
One that year.
Final one for me, Wayne is about your special teams coach Rich Bisacia. Obviously, with the new kickoff rule, I don't know can you get can you glean anything on what your discussions with Bisacia and how they're going to attack this new rule.
You know, they did a lot of work and experience, try to get some experience in that regard lining up and that kind of thing. Couldn't really tell a whole lot Jim from the mini camp or even the OTAs as to how they're going to approach this. It's gonna be very interesting.
You know.
I've been going over that rule and there's so many different things that can happen.
Okay, the kickoff.
Lands in the landing zone, you got to return it. If it bounds hits in the landing zone into the end zone and you don't return it, you know, where does the ball come out?
Comes out?
I guess to the thirty yard line, that kind of thing. So there's a lot of things going on with this rule. They feel like Keishawn Nixon, who's kind of built like a running back, and maybe it's a running back type of thing that you're going to need with this because as you've got everybody in the receiving zone except for the kicker, everybody's right there, and so you maybe need more of a running back type mentality on that return. But it's going to be very interesting to see what
teams do and how they work that. But needless to say, I think it's going to have a I don't know what you guys think. It's going to have a major impact on offense in this league, because I think in many respects you might be seeing teams come out with much better field position on average than they did off a football kickoff return of a year ago.
Yeah, no more bathroom breaks or coffee breaks for fans. You gotta watch no way know how. It's gonna be fun to watch.
Wayne. Appreciate the time as always.
We'll see you soon, all right, guys, take care.
That's Wayne Lravie coming up next, Dan Miller of the Detroit Lions Radio Network. That's next on Bears Weekly on ESPN one thousand of the Bears Radio Network.
Is Bears Weekly with a voice of the Bears for twenty three years, Jeff Jonia on the Bears Radio Network.
This segment of Bears Weekly is brought to you by CDW people who get it, Jeff and Tom and Jim Miller from Sirius XMNFL Radio and our good friend Dan Miller, the voice of the Detroit Lions, a playoff team, super Bowl contender a year ago and a favorite to contend again for the Super Bowl here in twenty twenty four. Big Dan, how you feeling? And I see that big Lion in the background. We're on zoom fans, so we could see that roaring lion. The roar is definitely restored in.
Yeah, it feels good. You know what, it was a fun season.
It was something that these fans had never been able to enjoy, which was a playoff game at Ford Field and then to win two playoff games at Ford Field to get to the NFC Championship game. Obviously a disappointment there, but it's something to build on. And I think that's probably the biggest key, guys, is we're dealing with something that we haven't dealt with here before, and that's watching this team try to build on success. You got to start all over again, do it all again, have some
luck with injuries, execute win things like that. So you know, really it is I look at this team, it's a really talented team. I think they're really good on paper. But now it's go out and prove it on the field again.
You know, Dan, when you look at sustained success for a football team, to me, because I'm an ex offensive lineman, I think it starts with the consistency at the offensive line. You guys invested some big money in the offseason and you got that group back. How is important is that group, specifically to the swagger of the locker.
Room, Thomas everything. It's every every thing. And I've said this before. It's like when you're in high school and you walk into a party with the baddest dude in the world and you know nobody's messing with you. That's what they feel like when they walk on the field with this offensive line.
I mean, they just feel like that group that is the face of the team.
You can talk about other guys, and there's other terrific players on this team, but that group collectively is the face of this team.
It's the engine. It which makes them go.
It gives them confidence, it gives them a running game, it gives them time for Jared Goff to do what he does. They've put a lot of assets into it. There's three number one picks there and all pro they signed from Baltimore and Zeitner this past offseason, and a former third round pick who went to Denver and came back. So this isn't by accident. This is something that they wanted to build around. But your point is dead on,
because this is what makes them go. That's what gives them confidence every week that they can control the line of scrimmage.
Dan, Jim Miller here, always good to talk to you. The perception of Jared Goff when the trade was going down, and then the perception now of Jared Golf, because I think it was midway through the season that Dan Campbell in that postgame prescot which said, Jared Goff, You've earned the right to be the quarterback of the Detroit Lions. Just the perception of Golf.
No doubt, Jim, good talk to you.
It's look, when he was brought over from the Rams, I think there was a feeling in Detroit like, Okay, you traded Stafford, you're going to start over again now, and he was going to be and this word's been used a lot and now it's kind of laughed at here in Detroit.
A bridge quarterback.
But the one guy.
That absolutely didn't think he was a bridge quarterback was Brad Holmes, who was the guy that was drafting him in Los Angeles before they know, fell out of favor there and came to Detroit. So he always believed that he could be the starting quarterback. Now he had to prove it. He had to show that he was still the guy that helped the Rams get to the Super Bowl. But look, I think in Detroit there were no huge expectations, under any circumstances that Jared Golf was going to be
this guy, this good. When they traded Matthew Stafford, I think it was more about trading Stafford starting over getting a first round pick, and then the feeling was, oh, you got a second first round pick because you took on Jared Goff's contract. But I think this organization always had faith in him that if they surrounded him with the right people, he could be the guy. And I think he's proven to this point that that is the case.
So yeah, the perception has absolutely changed. You heard it before the Rams game last year in the playoffs, where.
These fans ninety minutes before the game are chanting Jared Goff.
They're doing it in super in grocery stores, They're doing it in Wings games, they're doing it at Pistons games. It's unbelievable just the way this guy has kind of adopted Detroit and they've adopted him.
Yeah, that bridge, Dan Miller, our guest here on Bears Weekly on ESPN one thousand of the Bears Ready to netwhere that bridge has been reconstructed towards.
Higher aspirations.
That's for sure a possible super Bowl for the Detroit Lions.
I'm going to say hard knocks for Tom.
Tom's intrigued by this hard knocks, so I know he's got a hard knocks question.
I'm sure he.
Does, because you guys have lived it. But what is the most pressing issue from your perspective for the lines as they enter training camp?
You know, I think it's what can that defensive line do? What can that how much improvement can they make in terms of making quarterbacks uncomfortable.
They've flipped that whole secondary.
It's gonna look the cornerback room looks completely different. Safety's probably gonna look different because Brian Branch is gonna get a lot of time back there. They went out and got Carlon Davis, went out and got Meek Robertson first two draft picks were corners. So those guys, I think, especially some of those young guys. Two of those rookies are going to be playing their way into it. But what can help them is the defensive line. We know who Aiden Hutchinson is, we know who Ali McNeil is.
They signed DJ Reader. He's probably going to be a late start here. He's coming off an injury. I don't think he'll be ready to go at the beginning of camp. He might be pushing the beginning of the regular season before he's ready to go. So it's it's a question of who else can get it done. They signed Marcus Davenport. Look, he hasn't played particularly well in his NFL career, but you got coaches here that were with him in New Orleans that.
Believe that they can get something out of them.
James Houston is back and healthy again, so there's a number of guys.
That are candidates.
They've got two first second round draft picks, excuse me, that haven't played particularly well over time in on Zerique and Pascal. Those guys are going to get another opportunity. But Jeff, to me, it's they haven't made quarterbacks uncomfortable very often outside of Hutchinson.
They've got to do that.
That can really be the missing piece on that defense and lift everybody else up.
You know, Dan Dan Campbell is the most Dica like head coach that I've ever seen. After playing for Ditka are you can you appreciate the fact that he doesn't hide from the cameras, that he shows his emotion and then he shows the leadership type traits to his job that he has.
Yeah, he's been the exact guy that this franchise in this city needed. Literally from the moment he walked in the door from his opening press conference that everybody's already talked a lot about.
He is who he is.
He's exactly the same guy when he's standing at the podium as if you were standing in the corner drinking a beer with him, just you know, shooting the ball. He doesn't change, And I think that's what players appreciate about him. He gives you exactly what you deserve. You know where you stand with him.
There's just a.
People quality about him that resonates with players, and it resonates with people just you leave a conversation with him and you think that's a good dude. Now, look, he's serious, he is intense, he is driven. But the core of it all is this is a good guy who's a good leader, who players want to play for.
You've seen that here in Detroit.
And I think it's been a big part of what's allowed this team to kind of take off and endure the tough times early because look, when they were three thirteen and one and then one and six to start the next season. You know, some but then Campbell's equity that he had bought was helping him there because there were some questions about, man, is this the right guy? But certainly he has proven after that that he is.
Let me follow up with that, Dan, because he's been aggressive for this team to win, you know, going forward on fourth down and situations, and some would even say even in the championship game, you know how aggressive he was. Do you think he'll grow as a coach? You know, now that he knows he's probably got a more talented team, will he be as aggressive as he's been going on?
Yeah?
I think inherited that question, Jim, is whether or not that requires growth, because that would indicate that you disagree with what he did, and I understand that all that's up for argument.
I don't know that he feels that way.
I don't know they necessarily feels that coaching the other way would be growth, or that it would be him maturing as a coach or anything like that.
I think this is the way he wants to play it.
His best unit on this team is his offense, and it's one that he.
Trusts the most.
Look where there are times where I thought they should have gone for three points here, there were, but there were other times as well. You can look at a fourth down against the Rams touchdown, fourth rown against the fourth down against the Bucks touchdown in the playoffs, where if they don't make it, he probably gets criticized. They did make it and it's like, all right, touchdown and there's not a lot.
Of talk about it afterwards.
There's talk about the misses, but there have been some big moments where he's been able to do that roll the Dice opening game in Kansas City last year, fourth down, fake punt inside your own twenty. So I mean, yeah, he's different than other guys. I don't know if he's going to change, because I think that's in part who he is. If they get a little more consistency, maybe in a little more trust in the field goal game,
maybe that changes some thoughts. They've got Jake Bates, the kid who blew up the UFL this past season, and we'll see if he can come in and win a job against Badgeley. But I think it's something we're all going to find out together. But I will say this, Jim, I do think he's extremely comfortable in the decisions that he makes, and I don't think that there are necessarily ones that he looks back on and.
Has great regret for.
So I'm gonna learn as you learn as we watch this thing unfold. But in my conversations with him, I've just grown to believe.
That that's who he is.
Final moments with Dan Milder Dan Tom doesn't have time to give this question. So what are we bracing for our first go around with Hard Knocks?
You know what, guys, I went into this and I will tell you the organization for years avoided that. They made it clear they didn't want anything to do with it. Is I know a lot of teams have and when they.
Got here, I will tell you it was really cool.
And the people that are there from NFL films and Hard Knocks are phenomenal at their jobs.
You don't even know they're there. I'll tell a quick story.
We were reporting a training camp special the first day of training camp when they were there, and somebody sent me a picture afterwards and there were two Hard Knocks guys like laying on their bellies somebody else with the boom mighty hanging over the top.
I never knew they were there. I mean, these.
Guys just understand how to stay out of the way. The content is terrific. I think your fans are gonna love every Twoday night watching the show. I think you guys will enjoy watching this show every Tuesday night. We got to see things that we never got to see before. So going in I thought it would be intrusive. I wasn't comfortable with it, and I don't know how the organization this regime felt, because I think this time they kind of sought it out and said, heck, let's do it.
In the end, I think.
It was a huge, huge plus for Detroit because people saw Dan Campbell and what he is, Brad Holmes and what he is in this organization, and how it had changed and changed a lot of the ways that people had thought of the Detroit Lions before. So I got nothing but good things to say about it.
Good stuff.
We'll be looking forward to that and seeing you not until Thanksgiving, so it's a late start for the division for the Bears this year. We'll jam into over the holidays, though, So that'll be yes, yes, all right, big Dan, Mitt, appreciate your time.
We will talk to you soon. Thanks for joining us.
Let's take our final break and we'll rejoin Jim and Tom after this break on ESPN one thousand of the Bears Radio Network.
This Bears Weekly the voice of the Bears for twenty three years. Jeff Jonyaik on the Bears Radio Network.
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Bears Weekly This week. Tom hearing a lot of great things about the NFC North, but let's shift it back to the Bears here as they fit into division. Just hamm an Eggadan here, toughest defensive coordinator to the three that the Bears are going to face here in twenty twenty four in the division.
That they have to decodify, so to speak.
Well, the you know, the attacking ability of the Minnesota.
Defensive coordinator floors.
You know when you talk about is he facing an offensive line that has some deficiencies.
With the first year starting quarterback.
Now, if you're going to try to take advantage of that and you put the offensive line in the worst position possible when you play in Minnesota and you have it, you know, to me is my biggest concern. I think when I look at what that defensive coordinator is willing to do to young, inexperienced quarterbacks. And listen, Caleb is going to be inexperience until his second year. So it's no,
I'm not saying anything disrespectful to the quarterback position. It's just one of the most difficult positions to master, and especially under the circumstances that he's going to see in the NFL's first year.
Yeah, for me, it's going to be Brian Flores because he provides a lot of different looks, a lot of different blitz packages. You got to know your pickups things like that. So that can be challenging for a young quarterback because now again you don't have two days, you're only doing walkthroughs. You're not doing things full speed and live and how you're gonna react to a certain blitz in order to get the timing down. So it's just
it's much more difficult. But I would I would think it's Floras of the Minnesota Vikings.
Yeah, you know what, Can I just say one thing, Jeff, two is when you look at the schedule and you think not starting the division games until week ten, there's gonna lot of be a lot of exposure to what Caleb is doing well and what he's not doing so well at the first time they start playing these division teams, so they're gonna know a lot more about him. Caleb will know a lot more about himself, but you're still facing a guy that's gonna have a lot of film to look at.
That's a great point. Yeah, I keep saying it's actually a week eleven. Week eleven is when the season starts, right, I mean that stretch is gonna be nasty and it's gonna be fun. Though, It's gonna be fun to see how everybody grows together, and who emerges.
Out of that bunch. I mean, I already know what Keenan Allen DJ Moore can do. But who's that next guy.
Maybe it's a DeAndre Swiff, Maybe it is a Roma Dunesday, Maybe it's Gerald Evertt in combination with Cole Comet.
Just so many options.
I'm jim, I'm interested to see what kind of defense Jeff Hafley is gonna call in Green Bay.
And I was gonna use some really good pieces there right now.
And again they look they reloaded in the secondary, They got linebacker depth, a little bit, little faster at the linebacker position.
Now, yeah, when you look at Green Bay, I thought it was a good pick by them taking the Edger and Cooper because he provides a lot of speed. He's a good off the ball linebacker. But they're going to an entirely different defense. They were a three to four defense now with Jeff Hafley there, they're gonna be a four to three defense.
At times.
They'll kick Lucas Fantas inside, They'll have Rashan Gary obviously Preston Smith As are outside defensive ends. But coverage wise, he'll mix up the coverages more than say the last defense coordinator who was there, Man, I'm blinking out of Joe Barry. Joe Barry who was there pre So he'll he'll man up, say Jaira Alexander, So he'll go against
Dj Moore, he'll line up. You know, a lot of times in their with their last defensive coordinator, they didn't go straight man to man, and that's what Jaira Alexander and a lot of secondary players were complaining about.
For the green Bay Packers.
So whole new defense, all new coverages, and there'll be a lot of different looks from Green Bay this year.
Let me ask you this.
Did anybody see the Giants on HBO Hard Knocks the off season with the Giants? Have you seen any of those clips?
A little bit of that?
Yeah, yep, Tom. I don't know if you can see that in your world.
Of detachment from society, but there's some clips out there. The behind the scenes interviews Roma Dunes and Caleb Williams. Takeaway is they were both very impressive in the Giants, as many teams were very intrigued by both. If you meet Roma Duneesa, you're going to be impressed with the guy. There's no way, you're not. He's mature and that maturity showed in that interview with Joe Shane and Brian Dable, the and the New York Giants, and same with Caleb Williams.
Tom.
They had Caleb, if you had to take one snap, one play your favorite pass playing run, it's seventy times in the game despite the coverage, which one would it be, and he'd put it on the board.
Dable's throwing a bunch of coverages at him. Boom nailed it. It was impressive.
Yeah, well, you know, that's the thing about it is when you have Caleb.
Williams and Roma Doonsa and all the you know, kind of.
Difficult interviews that they are facing and kind of knowing, Okay, I'm never gonna get to this football team because I'm gonna be one of the first guys picked in the draft. In terms of Caleb Williams, so you kind of have to respect the fact that he pays attention and really understood and respected the interviews that he was going through even though he knew realistically he wasn't gonna get there.
But my hope is that some of the Bears and some of the people that know those microphones are live. They kind of look at this hard knock of the giants and understand the scrutiny they could possibly be under. Because what I've seen of the giants is some some of the comments that they weren't making behind the scenes because the microphones.
Are in the room.
So just be aware when you're going through your same experience on hard novel, the inside the building personnel.
Right, all right, fellas we're out of time. That's going to do it for us.
The executive producer of the Bears Radio Network is Eric Ostrowski. Thanks to our Bears producers Dan Brilli and Jordan tread Up and Kender Smith in the studio for Tom Fair, Jim Miller and all our guests. Tonight, thanks for listening. This has been Bears Weekly. I'm a new radio home of the Chicago Bears. A guess be in Chicago. Good night, everybody blacking of data our next.
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