Bears bye week recap with Dan Pompei | All Access

what to look forward to in the final eight. We're gonna do that as well, joined by Pro Football Hall of Fame writer Dan Pompey from The Athletic to get his thoughts on a variety of topics. But Tommy, what was your approach as a player for the bye week and what is it now as an announcer? Jeff, we never had a bye week because we practiced during the

bye week. Coach Diffka dangle the carrot in front of our faces that if we practiced well during the bye week, in which we are in full pads every day, that we would get Saturday off. We did not have this luxury of the collective bargaining agreement making sure that you gave a responsible amount of time off for the players to recover. So as much as you know they wanted to call it a bye week, it was only a bye week in the sense you didn't have a game

on Sunday. Do you think it's worthwhile now though, of course I do. Yeah, I think anyways that you can benefit these players to get a little rest, recovery to their bodies. I don't want them to leave the game mentally, because you can forget a lot of really important information quickly if you stay away from your iPad or if you're a player that's on the cusper, on the verge

of understanding what every one of your assignments is. But a guy like a Kiem Hicks, a guy like Khalil Mack, a guy like Eddie Jackson, Allen Robinson, these guys can recover during this week of not being on their feet to the point where they can play when they get ready to practice next week. I went on interesting and it probably doesn't shock me, but justin Fields basically, according to man Naggie at his news news conference on Monday, said yeah, he's not going to get away from the game.

It's just not who he is, you can't. Yeah, which is a good thing for him though, that's a good thing. But I think it is equally as much for Larry Boram or you know, um, Travis Gibson, from all these you know, Kendallville Door, Jalen Johnson, Duke Shelley, all these guys that are still learning the information to master their craft.

It's equally as important for those guys at that position, justin fields after the game on the w BBM postgame show, after the Lawson Pittsburgh was very pleased with certain aspects of things. Frustrated with another slow start with the offense in terms of penalties and field position of the first half, but he says, those chunk plays started to happen. We've been trying to, you know, create more explosive plays from the get go, and you know, just I mean, we're

just going to continue to do that. And just just like I said before, when we start the game, we're gonna start fast and you know, finished fast. Don Did you see significant steps in development for Justin in that second half? Yes, Jeff, I want to go back to say I think this was the most important game the Bears played this season, because when you heard the Bears come out of the tunnel and that stadium was about half full, it was as loud as any stadium that's

you know, completely full. And so for the Bears, even though they had such poor starting field position early in the game, they never let that compound into such a lead by the opponent that they couldn't overcome that. I think there's so many building blocks that you can take from this game, whether it's the performance of Justin or the performance of you know, the line making sure that they stayed in tune with what they are going to try to accomplish, how well the defense played up front

early partitions of that game. I think this game has a chance to play dividends going forward, even though they ended up losing the game. And Naggie and the Bears Coaches Show on Monday night on news Radio one oh five nine w bbm Abot fields getting the ball to his playmakers. I think what's happening is you're starting to see just and feel more and more comfortable with these reps he's getting with these particular receivers and running backs,

and now we got to grow off of that. We're kind of finding a nice little balanced schematically with what we like to do with them. We're finding out what his strengths and weaknesses are and we're trying to put it all together to make it the best for us. And part of that time, in addition to keeping that running game rebin it is the best thing they do as a team on any unit right now. That's the

number one thing. They run the ball extremely well. Montgomery back using them in the wildcat, but the emergency cole commet here is something to keep an eye on. And frankly, the week before it was Jesse James and then Jimmy Graham what Naggie called probably the best throw that you're gonna see anybody make on an NFL field that Jimmy on that twenty eight yard play. I mean, these are developments Darnell Mooney as a big play threat developing. Yeah, you know, I do like to keep the older the

veterans incorporated in the game plan. That play you talk about to Jimmy Graham, but I was equally as impressed by the third down throw that he made to Alan Robinson because if you look at the flight of the football, the location of the defender, it was a pass that there's not a lot of guys that can make. But the thing that impressed me most and is, listen, man, Dave Montgomery. I'll stand up and shout from the highest mountain, how he important. He is the success of this team.

And I like what I see a Khalil Herbert. But there was a couple plays that reminded me of Russell Wilson of talking about justin fields, because he's really cognizant of where the line of scrimmage is. And even when he was scrambling outside the pocket and it looked like he was trying to put a grab on the football that he was going to run, he was able to readjust it and find a target down field. One of

them was Darnell Mooney for the touchdown. So now, if we want to make these comparisons to Russell Wilson and what he put on display early in his career when he was going through the learning stages, I think this is a game in this type of environment that we saw out of Justin all right. Coming up next, we'll be joined by Dan Pompeii for about a half hour three different segments with the Hall of Fame writer from the Aletic he'll join the program, Tom and I will

be back in just a second. Here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The Score. Welcome back to Bears All Access brought to you by IGS Energy. Choose clean energy for your home at IGS dot com because every good choice adds up to a better world. Please to be joined with Tom Thare, Jeff Joni, Act the Athletics, Dan Pompeii at Dan Pompeii on Twitter and here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to Score. Dan, thanks for taking

the time to join us. Let's get into the history because we lost a piece of history this week with the passing of legendary strength coach Clyde Emrick a friend to everybody, and as you wrote in a great piece in March of twenty nineteenth, you profiled him in the Athletic a revolution mary figure in pro football, and you only have so many people that can carry that label. He truly was a revolution every figure. It wasn't you know, true pioneer as you guys well know somebody. I mean.

He was the elder state statesman of the Bears organization, having spent close to sixty years or maybe even more than sixty years when some affiliation with it and you know, there's nobody left like him. Really. You talk about a guy who started out working with Stan Jones, you know, and then he went to Doug Atkins, and then he went to Buckis and Sayers and you know, on and on buffone, and then he moves into the Super Bowl

era with guys like Tom Thayer. He bragged about fair squatting seven hundred and five pounds and uh, you know, all the way to the you know, to the Bryan or Lackers and then the current regime. You know, he worked with Cody Whitehair and and guys on the team now and and uh an addition of working with people and making them better, I think he touched human beings and made their lives better and was such a special man to be around. Always had time for you, had

a good word for you. He even helped me with with weightlifting at one point, and h helped George Hallis at one point. How about that? Uh So, I mean, you know you're not gonna see the like of of Clyde Emrick ever again. You know, he just a truly special man and God rest his soul, Danny. He tried to help me as Tommy knows, and he always called me fun coachable, but you know I gave, I gave

the college try. What's unmistakable boh boh about him obviously is the resume, but from a human point of view, just as a guy, the handshake every time, and the excitement to see you, Hey Jeffer. Yeah he's hey Jeffer and firm handshake into his eighties. I would love to know what that grip strength was all about. You know,

it's just years of being a dedicated weightlifter. Some of the stories he tells me as him being a high school kid when he got introduced to weightlifting, and he was kind of an introverted soul and his activity after school was going to a weight room, whether it was inside of his house in the most primitive of conditions to when he started going to the YMCA, And he

didn't attract attention because of his personality. He attracted attention because of what he did in the weight room, his physique, the way that you took what was weightlifting back in the fifties to where it became in this generation. And I think when you have an footprint in the NFL like he left behind and like Dan mentioned, you're handpicked by the guy that started the NFL, George Hallis, and it's carried a legacy to every strength coach from now

into the past. All has some type of Clyde Emrick, you know, handprint on him. I just think that it's amazing because he treated everybody equally, whether he was trying to rehab a guy like Ed McCaskey during his time with the Bears, to trying to give help and inspiration to Virginia McCaskey when she was recovering from injuries, and then to the modern day players how he inspires them and the conversations you had with him. If you listen to what he had to say, you came out a

better person because of it. And I think every single person that's come across that is inspiring. And I always used to ask Clyde as a joke. I always say Clyde, who's your favorite player? And I wanted I wanted him to say me, but he always say Doug Plank. I love that guy. Ever got to know what that guy's all about. So you know, Clyde didn't pull punches. He told you exactly and as honestly as he could answer

whatever question you asked him. And uh, you know, I'm just super happy in my life that I got to know and become and stay friends with a guy with a man like Clyde Emrick. I think Danny was struck by just the individual accomplishments, because you know, I read in that story that you wrote that Brian Urlacher used to do a bear crawl backwards down steps. Was that a Brian original or was that a Clyde induced idea?

I believe it was a Brian original. But I think I did that a few times too, after a night out late night, kept getting home, you know, but I wantn't doing it to get better though. Yeah, but you know you mentioned to Tom mentioned Doug Plank too. He used to take Clyde told me this story. Planks probably told Tom the story too. Used to take one hundred pounds dumbbells and power clean them ten ten times for reps. He said, I didn't know of anyone else who can

do that. You know, Doug Plank is a normal size human being, and he had this incredible power, incredible will, and you know Clyde had a way, I think of bringing that out of everybody. And that's really the point that he made so many Chicago Bears better than they could have been had he not been part of their lives. And I know Tom you would say the same that he probably made you into a better football player. Well,

you know that was the unique quality. You know, Clyde constructed your body however it was meant to be constructed. I was a different weightlifter than Steve McMichael. Steve McMichael was a different weightlifter than Jim Morrissey. And so no matter who you were and how your body was shaped, Clyde designed whatever needed to be done, which was the

best for you. And when you talk about those power, clean dumbells, and when I became a member of the Bears, Clyde was as active in the weight room as any player in there. And he was the type of guy that would do one arm snatches with one hundred and twenty pound dumbell and it was always it wasn't approving ground, it was inspiration. And that's just the way he carried himself in the weight room. He was so unique about the way that he went about his business in a

really undersized weight room. But I think it was the most important development of team camaraderie was the way he led the guys when they got to the weight room. It was different than what we did on the field, but what we did in the way room was equally as important to the construction of the Bears for generations.

Dan POMPEII from the Athletic the Hall of Fame writer in the Pro Football Hall of Fame for his years of outstanding work, coverage and reporting, joining us here in Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to score Walter Payton deadlifting six twenty five. Dan at two o eight. That doesn't seem humanly possible, does it? Well, again, you're you're talking

about a player who was, you know, beyond human almost right. Uh. The strength and the power that that Walter had was was truly incredible and part of what made him who he was. You know, he's love I love the story about him that he used to go up to trees and just wrapped his arms around them and uproot them. I mean, who who could do that? You know, who could who could walk on their on their hands across

the field. You know, we've all seen him do many things that just made you stop and stare, and that that strength that he had was surely you know one of those things. The other interesting thing that Clyde used to tell me is he never he never did those things in the weight room, like like you just talked about Jeff, when the others were around during a team lift, he'd do them when everyone was gone. He'd say, hey, Clyde,

look what I can do, you know? And that's just just so Walter, you know can I want to give you three instances of the weight room with one was Walter Payton. Somebody was doing deadlifts and they had about five hundred and something pounds on there, and Walter walked in and it's just as great personality. How much is that? And Clyde told him how much he was. He told a guy who goes get away, gets over there and does a couple reps with it, sets it down, and

walks out of the weight room. One day after practice, there was four hundred and five pounds on the bench and Richard Den comes in after practice and he gets underneath it and Clyde goes, wait, wait, Richard, you gotta warm up. You gotta warm up, Clyde get away. Clyde goes, okay, gives them a lift off. Richard does a four hundred and five pound bench press, sets it back on the rack, walks out of the weight room. So we are in there, and Johnny Morris was in there with us, and we

are filming these heavy lifting segments. And so we used to have this table that was about three and a half feet high, and William Perry had fifty pound dumbells in each hand and did ten reps up and down, a cliometric exercise that Clyde used to have him do all the time. I actually still have a VHS copy. It was these types of guys between Fridge, between Richard, between Walter that were inspired because Clyde was in the weight room and they didn't have to put this stuff

on display all the time. It was just the inspiration of Clyde in that room. It was these guys kind of wanted to show Clyde, not everybody out. They weren't for people to gather around. So and I was in there and all three of these times with these guys walking in and it was inspiring to me. But it was also supported and inspired to buy Clyde. Talk Bears Football with Dan Pompey coming up after this on Chicago

Sports Radio six seventy the score. This segment of Bears All Access is brought to you by Athletico Physical Therapy. Visit Athletico dot com to request an appointment in clinic or virtually and start feeling better tomorrow. With Tom There, Jeff Joniac and Damn Pompeii from the Athletic, the Pro Football Hall of Fame writer joining us parts unknown on a job. I'm sure, Dan, let's let's dig into this

Bears team. I gotta ask you, though, from a professional point of view, when you wrap up a Bears game in the Athletic every Monday morning, it's very succinct comments. Is it harder to write that series of thoughts the way you're doing the way you crafted versus a longer, longer form Story's what's harder? Well, thank you, Jeff. I What I do after the game is completely the almost the opposite of what you guys do, because what you're

doing is reactionary in its instant right. So I try to take a step back after the game and say, Okay, what did we just see that matters, that's significant, that maybe has something to say about what's going to happen moving forward, And you know, I think it's it's not terribly difficult. It's just a matter of honing in on the right pieces and kind of looking at what some of the other reactions to what just happened were. And

you know, it does. It does. It's not something I've had some people say to me, some critics say to me, They're like, oh, what did you just do that in two minutes after the game? And no, it's it's not like that. It's it's it's thought. You know, it takes some thought and it takes some kind of deliberation, but um, you know, it's uh, it comes out when you when you really try to focus in on what you just saw and what it means. Sometimes two days after the fact,

it's it's old news. But but Dan, I can't help because you have such a long history with the Bears. You you wrote a book about the hundred years of what this team has gone through. So the immediately following the game, like Monday night, and the officiating is such a big part of the story. Can you separate the two of football from officiating? Because it's it's kind of picked up steam where it's become a national story and

it's a topic from everybody. You know, I was listening to Buckus on the Rich Eyes and Show talking about the officiating. I've listened to ten national you know, correspondence talking about the officiating. So how do you separate the two of the this instance, and do you think if the story stays as long as it is that helps

or hurts the Bears? Well, I think it's it's certainly something that you don't ignore because it was part of the game and part of you know, what's happening with the Bears this week after the game, and as you said, it's it's become a story with some legs a little bit even nationally. So um, you know, I think there were other parts of the game though, certainly that that demanded our attention and you know, required analysis. So you know, you don't you don't want to have that one aspect

kind of eclipse everything else that happened. But you know that the officiating was certainly a factor and something that people love to focus on officiating. You know, I think anytime almost any time a team loses, there's usually a call or two they say, we'll look at that call. If it had gone the other way, you know, would have been different. In this case, there were several of those calls, right, and you know, um some calls that

really left people scratching their head. It was interesting, you know. The one that seemed to get the most attention was the taunting call against Cassius Marsh, which you know, the NFL has pretty much said, no, that was that was the right call, and it was one that I really

didn't understand all the craziness about that. Either. I know, he didn't go, he didn't do something that was that was flagrant, but I thought he took a risk by kind of standing and looking at the other sideline or whatever he did, or you know, put his hands on

his hips. Um. You know, one of the points I made in my column after the game is, you know, if I were coaching a team now with all this kind of uh ambiguity about this taunting call, I would tell every one of my players after every play, you need to walk back to your sideline. Don't dance, don't do don't spike, don't you know, don't look at just go back to the satellite. And if you're incapable of

doing that, you get a problem playing for me. So they call a couple roughing the quarterback penalties against the Bears when there was kind of in the momentum of the play. And then you go back and you watch that tape, no matter what angle you want to look at, there's a couple of hits after the fact that Justin took that he got no respect on the call. Do you think this can change and start giving him the calls that he deserves, or do you think the officials say, hey, look,

I'm not responsible for protecting this guy. It's that's the job of the team, the offensive line or whatever. Because I think in a game like the other night, some of those calls that Justin should have gotten could helped the outcome of the game on behalf of the Bears, where the taunting call really helped benefit the Steelers, and some of the other calls against Roethlisberger that weren't as

as egregious as we saw happen to Justin. Those calls certainly could have should have gone the other way with Justin. But you know, he's got two things working against him. First, is that, as you say, you know, he's on the opposite end of the experienced spectrum of Ben Roethlisberger. So you know, until you kind of get that level of respect I think sometimes the officials look at you a

little different. And then the other thing is, you know, he is kind of a mobile quarterback, and if you look at the history of mobile quarterbacks, guys who take off and run with the football, they often do not get the same kind of calls that the more stationary quarterbacks get. Lamar Jackson is complained about it repeatedly even this year, that you know, he gets treated more like a running back than a quarterback. That that seems to be,

you know, a difficulty in officiating from that standpoint. You know, sometimes I think it's hard to look at a quarterback with that kind of athleticism and mobility as the quarterback that he is. Both will be honest. Play at Soldier Field and the Bears come out of the bye week on the twenty first should be a fun game to call. Indeed, Damn pomp pay along with Tom there Jeff Joning aac here in Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to score. What's

your takeaway Dan on number one right now? Well, you know, the last two games have really been impressive, and you know, he's made steady progress and it's exciting to watch the growth and he's come such a long way in such a short period of time. We didn't see what we've seen in the last game or two in the early outings of Justin Fields and makes you wonder if he can continue to, you know, accelerate his growth the way

he has been accelerating it. And he clearly has special talent, and I think the Bears coaches have continued to find ways to help him bring it out and show it. You know, it's it's gonna be fun to watch for the rest of the year or to see where he goes with this. You know, for me, it's the stage. It was Monday night in that place. My ears were ringing all the way into yesterday. Honestly, from that stadium, it was loud, and you know, granted I keep my

headphones up high, so that doesn't help. But it was just the moment. It was the stage, that second half and the comeback and the belief that he showed. I just think that's gonna pay dividends. I think that probably turned some veterans heads around a little bit, Dan if they were thinking, like, this is the season where it's not going anywhere. You know, we got a lot to play for because this guy could help US win games, you suspect that that could trigger that thought out of

the bye week certainly as possible. I think the thing about any great young quarterback is he is a harbinger of hope, you know, And I think that's what we've felt with Justin Fields ever since the Bears moved up

to draft him and shocked everybody. You know, I think if you look at the fan base and which usually the media, which usually have reflections of the team, right, you've seen a lot of hope, and I think, you know, for a while there it looked like, well, you know, maybe people were too hopeful or you know, to expect too much too soon. But now after these last two games, it kind of gives you a little reset and pushes everything forward again. It makes you think, yeah, you know,

he can do some things. You know, maybe he can even get this team out of some jams and carry them in certain situations. You know, you don't want to put too much on him because he's still a young player, but uh, you know, if the Bears continue to be committed to the running game, if their defense can get back on track a little bit, if they come up with some takeaways, you know, that's the thing that really could help quarterback right, give them, give them some added

possession possessions. And they've really you know, interceptions. I mean they've been they've been really deficient at that all season long, and they shouldn't be because they could rush the passers. So I think, um, you know, it's like I said, it's gonna be fun to watch this kid moving forward and the kind of impact he can have on the team. Damn pomp Pay with us from the Athletic with Tom Theyra,

I'm Jeff Jony Act. One more segment to go. We'll dig into that defense a little bit with Danny here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score. Download the Chicago Bears app to play our new predictor game Risk It brought to you by Bette Rivers for your chance to win two hundred and fifty dollars in free bets

and a custom Bears jersey. With Tom There, Jeff joni Ac, Damn pomp Pay from the Athletic, our guest Pro Football Hall of Fame writer Tommy, you got the first question of this last segment with Dan, Go ahead, okay, I know we're going to talk about the defense a little bit more. But Dan, I'd like to pick your brain.

So at the halfway point in the season last year, Alan Robinson point four targets per game this year five point five at the halfway point this year, are responsible for seventeen first downs at the end of last year responsible for sixty eight. Are you surprised the trading deadline? Trading deadline came and went without any movement here because I listen, I love Alan Robinson. I love this commitment

since the day he got here. But you know that I don't know, and there maybe there are some guys that you know, you know, could have been you know, baited in front of other teams, and it's just, you know, Alan Robinson, the numbers stick with me right now. You know, I get what you're saying, and I guess I wouldn't have been shocked if something happened, But it made sense to me not to trade him or not to make

any big moves from this standpoint. First of all, you're trying to develop justin Fields and you want to give him every opportunity to develop. And even though the numbers the production have been down with Ellen, I think you know, he still is your most reliable target out there. And a guy who I frankly expect every week to do more than he's done in the past. In the first half of the season, Um, there's no reason why he

shouldn't be doing more. And then I think the other thing is, you know, you've got everyone is out there, you know, coaching for their lives and playing for their jobs, and I think, um, you know, you'd kind of send a bad message to the entire organization if you said, yeah, we're gonna, we're gonna go trade Alan Robinson and a Keem Hicks or you know whoever it is you're gonna you're gonna trade because everyone's out there trying their best

and trying to make this work. And I think I think that would be that would have been the wrong thing if I were the general manager. Oh so, now going to the other side of the ball. You know, you think about the defensive backfield and it's continuous and needs to continuously develop. Is Jalen Johnson a good a good guy to start the development of your defensive backfield with. It seems like he's been you know, up to covering

the team's best receiver. He can move to each side of the field, but you know, the other guys alongside of him probably need to increase their play. Yeah, absolutely, Tom. I think you know, the secondary has been an issue pretty much all season long for the Bears and an area where they need improvement, you know, whether it comes internally or externally in the off season. Probably going to

have to be some externally in the off season. But I think Jalen really has fulfilled the hope that Ryan Pace and Matt Nagee and Sean Decide had for him. Really has come on, you know, had a good rookie season obviously, and has been capable of stepping up into more demanding, more difficult role this season, which you know, from that standpoint, uh, kind of justified them for letting go of Kyle Fuller. Now, what didn't justify Kyle Fuller's departure is the play of Fildor on the other side,

who has struggled all season long. So you know, they need they still need some help. I think in that secondary, ro Quan Smith is having a good year, that's for sure. Damp On pay our guest here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the score and remaining moments, he will get a contract, how much that is will be determined here in the in the months and weeks to come. But the future of a twenty five year old being a face of the defense, to me, it's it's him and

on the other side it's fields on offense. Is that fair? And you know, we see how he plays. He plays with a very aggressive style. How do you feel about rolle quantities he stacks up among other NFL linebackers that recently are in those big pay days. Yeah, I mean, I think he's he's right there with him. You know, there's a lot of good young inside linebackers off the ball linebackers in the league and um, you know, he's he's right there with them. And I think he's certainly

stepped up this year. I think he's playing with more confidence. I think he uh, you know, the value of a little experience that he's had is is very evident in his play, the way he reads, the way he moves to the ball. Um, you know, his his speed, uh is coming out more this year. Right, He looks faster this year because why because he's reading more, he's more confident, Um, he understands more, and um, you know, I think the

future is very bright for him. Obviously he's a guy who should be the face of this defense for a number of years. Now, let's talk Hall of Fame because you're you're a part of that mix. You're on that board that helps select those class members. Jimbo Covert at Sprinkle this year's version, I was an honor for Tom and I had to be on the field to introduce them in front of the fans a couple of weeks ago and get their Hall of Fame ring and portraits.

The chance is a Devin Hester. We talked about Revolutionary, We talked about Clyde Emeric. We want to throw him in there too. Are there going to be more categories for people like Clyde Emrick like there was for Bill Nunn, the scout that went in from the Pittsburgh Stealers. Well, he would fall under the contributor category. You know, we've been getting one contributor in every year, and yeah, it'd

be wonderful to see Clyde considered for that. There's there's a lot of competition for that one spot over you. You're competing with general managers for instance, you're competing with scouts. I mean there have been people talked talking about trainers who who belong or you know different Ed Sable was a contributor from NFL films. Um there's you know, it's it's a broad category with a lot of a lot

of different people in it. So you know, yeah, maybe at some point uh Clyde would be considered certainly is worthy. Like I said, as far as Evan his first year of eligibility, you know, I have no doubt he is a Hall of Famer. I have no doubt he will be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, just a matter of when he gets in. As I told Devon when I talked, don't be disappointed if you don't get

in the first year, because it's tough. You know, there's there's so many qualified candidates from across the NFL, number of whom have been waiting for many years to get in. And the other thing that is unique about Devon's case, or not unique, but rare, is that he's a special teams player. And we see how special teams players have been treated by Hall of Fame voters. You know, it's

taken them a long time to get in. The few who have gotten in, and you could count those on one hand, and then many others have not gotten in. But you know, Hester is different from any of them, and that you know. To me, he's the Tom Brady of return men. So I think, you know, if only he had like a radio announcer who could have given him a signature call, you know, then then he'd be a slam duck. Right, Yeah, go ahead, Tim, you're ridiculous,

something like you are ridiculous. Yeah, well, if it AMMS, it'll feel like a piece of me went in there. I will tell you that, go ahead, you will be you will be the your call in the Hall of Fame forever. Dan the conversation when you try to present or you do a great job of presenting a guy like Jimbo Covert because he's a little bit farther removed, but his production is undeniable. When you when you talk to the rest of the members of the group that

you talk to on behalf of Jimbo Covert. What is the point that you have to make for some of these guys to recognize how talented of a guy he was immediately, not two or three years into his career. You know, I played in the College All Star Game, was a senior in college the same time Jimbo was, And he's the type of guy when you shook his hand for the first time that you knew that he was going to be a starter the day whatever team

drafted him. Yeah, Tom, I think, you know, the challenge with Jimbo is he had two things that were kind of people that made people overlook him. The first is that he only played in two Pro Bowls. Second, was it in ever real long career. But anyone like you or Jeff who saw him play would tell you that, you know, he was. He dominated everybody. So I think the challenge with him was just to get past that hurdle, which which took something like how many years did it take?

Twenty five years of eligibility wherever it was, and you know, and then we were fortunate to have a centennial class where we examined a lot of players that you know, had kind of slipped through the cracks of time, and fortunately the committee members were able to look at what Jimbo did and how we dominated dominated against great players like Lawrence Taylor for instance, and just did it consistently over his career and was part of this incredible offensive

line that you know, led the league in rushing for so many seasons. And obviously it was a part of great team success too, so it was it was great to see Jim Bow recognized. We appreciate all your time and insight as always, you know, we think the world all you. Danny, appreciate my pleasure. It's always good to

be with you guys. Thank you for thanks Dan the Athletics, Dan Pompeii, our guest, Tom and I will continue our conversation on what looks like a very challenging second half of the season for the Bears, beginning with the Baltimore Ravens coming to Soldier Field next Sunday at a noon start. We'll talk about that and more coming up here on

Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The Score. This segment of Bears All Access is brought to you by CDW People to get it Jeff, Joni Eck and Tom Thayer our final segment tonight on Bears All Access and hope you're enjoying your bye week all across the globe as we get you set for the second half of the season. First, though, as we touched with Damn pom pay earlier this evening, the death of Clyde Emrick at the age of ninety.

The Bears and NFL's first strength coach passed away this week, and it was back in two thousand and eight when the Bears honored Clyde Emrick by naming their weight room the Clyde Emrick weight Room, and it was an impactful moment for Clyde, as he told Lauren Screeden of Inside the Bears. Vin McCaskey called me and says, we're going

to have a meeting with Ted on some accamp. I say, okay, So I got stuff together because I helped him on some accamp with him, and so we go into Ted's office and I put my stuff down and Vienz and Ted zeven. First thing, Ted says, well, he says, well, he says, this building is named after George Hollis. I think that, I says to River, Yeah, absolutely it should be. And the training center the as we called the Bubball that is named after wald Up and I said, oh absolutely,

I said it should be. Yeah. Absoltainly and says, well, what do you think if we call the weight room the Clyde em You know, I'm like, okay, I'm in with a total suffice, and obviously it's it's an enormous compliment. So what did it mean. Jim had that room named in his honor and it will always be there now. You know, Clyde's a humble guy, and I think it's a reflection of his dedication to the Bears as an organization.

I don't think outside ownership, there's anybody that's ever walk in that building has been more fair in his approach and how he treated everybody in that building, from a first rounder to a front office member. Clyde treated you the same, and he wanted to listen to you, He wanted to help educate you and whatever you were asking about his experiences in life, and he was able to do that. But I think it more important rather than

his name on the side of that building. In the last twenty four hours, I talked a couple of strength coaches around the NFL that worked directly with Clyde Emrick. The way they go about their job is the way that they learned to go about their job from Clyde Emeric and I think when he can carry on his legacy to other NFL teams and means a lot to the Bears organization, but it means a lot to Clyde Emrick because he's inspired these guys that do the same job he does, and they want to do it like

Clyde Emrick. And I think if you can inspire anybody in the world of whatever you do, if there's a broadcaster that goes on that wants to be like Jeff Joniak, or there's a guy that wants to be like Clyde Emrick, that's inspiring. And here's how it all started. The first Chicago Bear that I met with a fellow named Stan Jones, who happen't been the Football Hall of Fame now super

super guy. Anyway, he happened to go to a place that I did a little working out at and San Jones came in him and asked who was working out there, and this fellow said, well, Clyde Emish worked out there. He said I'd like to meet him, so we met.

So then I took stand to the oving Parke, Why, well, I did all my training through the years, started working with him, and this isometric Craze came out and, like I said, Coach Hallis wanted to know anything that would help improve the team, so he inquired about it as Stan Jones, and Stan said, well, I'm working out with a guy that knows about that. He said, well, can you bring him up? So he did so. I met George Hallis on supple occasions and discussed procedure and what

the results would be. And what I liked about him was, you know, I'd say, Okay, here's what this is all about. Okay, He'd write it down, and I'd say something else, he'd write it down. He's writing everything down. I say that that would prettyny. But it so happened that they won the world championship that year, in nineteen sixty twenty. I don't know. I can't say that there was much because of the isometric because as all knew, But the point

is it kind of opened a door. And in nineteen seventy one and I became the strength coach here and he loved every minute of it. Tommy listen. I hear so many stories about the Irving Park YMCA where Clyde started his weightlifting, and how he had grew attachments to Stan Jones. I sat with Stan Jones and talked to him for two days about what Clyde Emrick meant to him. The other stories along the way, the rehabilitation of GAYL Sayers after his horrific knee injury. What he did for

other members of the Chicago Bears playing family. It is you know, Clyde never took an approach where he was bigger than the game or he was bigger than what

he wants you to be. And that was the most important thing about Clyde because he tells me stories about, you know, working out with Doug Buffone, and by the time Doug Buffone went to put a suit on, he couldn't fit anymore because Clyde turning into a bigger player the first time that Jim Thinks asked him to go look at Dan Hampton to see if he thought he could become a player, and just the reflections that he had on appearance and what he could do for into

a player if he just had him in the weight room for a couple months. And then you threw guys and that people are more familiar with nowadays. You know, obviously Olan Crouch was always going to be in the weight room no matter what, but just that Roberto Garza, Cody white Hair of today, and you're probably familiar with a little bit more of the guys that are so dedicated in the weight room up there right now that

Clyde touched. So it's it's great history, great great lineage that links so many generations of Bears football with the passing of Clyde. Emrick is you know. I talked to Clyde last Thursday and we are sitting in the room and talking. He was so inspired because within a twenty four hour period, Doug Plank called him, and Olan called him, and he was just so thankful that he could live leave that impressions on these types of guys that are the stalwarts and the stars and the history of the Bears.

All right, So what's ahead? Matt Naggie and the Bears Coaches Show Monday Night says, yeah, it's it's not going to be an easy second half. You know the schedule better than anybody. Every week we got we got some really good football teams ahead of us, so and that's how it should be. We get that we need to be able to beat all of those teams that are in front of us, and we really feel like with who we have and getting getting some of our guys back is going to be crucial. But it definitely makes

you better, that's for sure. And I think really for again looking at Justin for him to be able to play some of these defenses that he's seeing us. He's done a really really good job of, you know, making the games slow down a little bit on defense, but yet still making plays and being great Monday, you know, through Saturday. And that's where we want to keep growing. And that hopefully is the case. They got nine games to do it, and it starts with Baltimore a week

from Sunday. Yeah, nothing's easy in the NFL, and that's the great thing about competition, and that's the great thing about the development of a team that every everybody's pointed in the same direction. And I do think there's building blocks from that Steelers game that you can turn them into a positive that will help this team down the stretch.

All Right, some quick hitters. Here most impressive play from a Bears player in the first nine games of the season that maybe you didn't see coming the bendability in the corner of Robert Quinn. Here's a guy that really took you know, there's a lot of question marks about what he's really going to add to the team. Was he getting older? No, I think this year he looks better and I would go in the same direction. And I'm also pleasantly surprised with the play of Khalil Herbert.

This guy can play in the league for a long time. He's got the instincts to do it, and he's got the quickness to do it. Defensively, you know, you needed the stars to play at a star level. Injuries have obviously muted some of that. If these guys can get healthy,

they can still be a dangerous defense in the second half. Yeah, I think you still have to experience with the creativity of new defensive coordinator Seawan, decide allow these guys to be in the most threatening positions they can possibly play in. And how is pressure on the opponent's quarterback in a computer into interceptions in the second half of the season as the weather deterior and if they can get some turnovers. If they can create turnovers, this is a defense that

have a different power. Are you worried about the way they've handled the run game lately? You know, that's always a concern because, like I said, as conditions deterior eight in the second half of the season, team's role they will want to run the ball more often. What I saw out of the defensive front against the Steelers to me, I think Eddie Goldman is playing a better brand of football. I think a team Hicks can still be as powerful

as anybody on the defensive line. If you can get Blow Nichols, Mario Edwards, Junior Angelo Blacks and Tyro or Chiras Tonga, if they can all continue to elevate their play, I think this is a team that can still play the run pretty you know, pretty good. All right, Tom, We'll let you go appreciate it. It's gonna wrap up tonight's show with Tom There. I'm Jeff Joniac. Thanks to Damn Pomp paying, Thanks of all to you for listening. Thanks d our producers Dan Bally and Jordan Trudup, and

the folks here at the Score. That'll do it for us. This is Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score. Good night, everybody,