Bears vs. Browns Week 15 Game Preview | Bears, etc. Podcast

Right justin middle of the field forty five fifteen bring Russ in front of a cleaving Lions.

In this way, I am Jeff Jonahacklitz.

Is not Donny go up.

What was like playing for Coachy boddom Ah.

I don't want to answer any questions like that. Sixty one yards?

What's Sunday stroll for?

Justin field?

Ye Bears et cetera with the voices of the Chicago Bears Jeff Joniac. But it's gonna be a big game Bears and Browns in Cleveland, an important game as it awaits the Bears. They are back in the conversation, albeit a long way to go to get into the playoffs, but plenty of ways to get there and plenty of discussion with Tom Thayer. I'm Jeff Jonahak and this is the Bears et Cetera podcast. The Bears travel to Cleveland

Oh, I mean a non divisional game at this point in the season. How much it matters to the possible playoff future of the Bears. What happened the last time that Justin Fields went into Cleveland and played. There are so many tentacles to this game that it's not It's not as meaningful as a divisional game to me. However, for where the Bears are going, it has as much meaning as any game the season.

Yeah, you're shoving all the chips in the table, you know. If this is Polker, you're putting them all on the table right now. One of four games left, and you're right and high a little bit here. You got a two game win streak, you have three out of your last four, five out of your last nine. There's Rodderie brewing in the locker room. Across the offense and defensive

How about for you?

You know, the unfortunate thing for me right now looking to Sunday's game is the fact that they've lost you On Econ Gockway to an injury. And you know, he was part of a rotation of defensive linemen that were really effective. And I think when if you have guys of a pass rusher with his reputation, what Montes Sweat has done for this team, how the rookies are developing, and how every other defensive defensive lineman is contributing. He

Yeah, Tom still the status from hallis in Ikeon Gockway broke an ankle.

I was surprised to hear that, as I.

You know, I didn't think I never saw an injury that seem ass severe, and then when I read the injury report, I was really disappointed that you know, you know, there's a possible well he will be out for quite a while. And just again to see where this defense was going. I think he was as important part of it as not as anybody, but he was an important part of.

It, no question.

Can't have too many defensive pass rushers. I broke it in the game, requires surgery out for the year. I happened in one of the last two minute drives of the game. Four sacks he winds up with, and eber Flush says on Wednesday could have had at least three or four that slipped out of his graphs. So a great opportunity here. Again, DeMarcus Walker's been playing a lot. He'll probably play a lot more. Will Dominique Robinson get back into the mix. I'm not giving up on this

Reps are a little.

Limited for guys right now, but I hope he can maybe have just one last kick in the end of the season.

You never know what's going to happen.

Well, you really have to evaluate every position and how they factor in in the specific part of the team play, how they fit into special teams. Where the receiver position is at right now with an injury to Saint Brown, so you know it is it is about, you know, how they factor in on special teams if they're not if they're not a true starter, and Dominique Robinson is not going to be considered a true starter. So what else can he do for this team?

Justin fields at the podium every Wednesday, addressed a number of things, won, the hits that he's taking and what Jacon Brisker had to say about maybe teams are you know, zeroing in on Justin and the and the flags aren't flying. He took it in stride. He's not making a big deal about it. But he has played well, and he has played differently in his return. Obviously, the pocket play is something that we're always going to discuss. He thinks he's developed significantly.

Yeah, I think just you know, learning from past mistakes. I think that's the biggest thing. Where last year, at some points I would just you know, escape the pocket or you know, just.

Run for no reason.

So you know, just trying to move in the pocket, fill out the pocket, and throw the boat up too.

So that's interesting that, you know, he felt last year he just sometimes left the pocket for no reason.

Now he's trying not to do that.

And boy when he does run though, and I caught some of your stuff on Marquee with the Dan Hampton this week, just watching some of those runs. They have a hard time reaching him when he he just feels the juice.

You know. We talked about the podcast the other day.

Yeah, you know, it's interesting his escapability over time because a lot of times we saw him move to the exterior of the pocket and then when things opened up, he took off down the sideline. But a couple of the runs he had in the Detroit came were right through the center of the defense. And it's not you know, like I said in that show, because you can't spy Justin, because there's no one out there that's fast enough to

But now the Cleveland Browns are the opponent. He gave us a little thumbnail Scott and report on what he is facing.

I mean, yeah, they have a lot of talented players, you know, on defense, of course, their D line is a talented group. Shoot their linebackers, they're very athletic, very fast, they have very good instincts in zone coverage on the back end. Safeties and corners of course are definitely top of the league. So it'll be a great test for us this week, and everybody's excited for the opportunity. But definitely a talented defense for sure.

So a lot there athletic linebackers all three levels, but they are banged by injuries. In the last question, how do you prepare for Miles Garrett? Man, you got to have a plan, just you got to have a plan, got no where he is.

Yeah, but it's Justin's responsibility. That's the responsibility of the offensive line coaches, the offensive coordinator, and the guys who are assigned to him. As far as blockers, Oh yeah, Justin. Justin can't be responsible for Miles Garrett and everybody else. So the plan of attack against Miles Garrett is gonna be, you know, the creativity of Luke Getsey, of Chris Morgan,

Well, how would you conteract that? If he's going to do that late game shift, late snap shift?

What do you? What do you? How do you counteract it?

I have a good blocking back in the backfield, and so if I break the huddle and I come out in my strength, my tight end is to the left, then I move my right, my running back to the right hand side if that's where Miles Garrett is lined up. So now my chipper is right off the shoulder of the offensive tackle, and then I tell my offensive tackle, maybe cut down your split a little bit. Makes understand that you have outside protection, so don't give up that

The new Chicago United air Lines is getting brand new planes with all the bells and whistles, like Bluetooth connectivity screens at every seat in the room for everyone's rollerbag. United Proud to fly the Chicago Bears. And you too, just looked at some stats here on the Browns. You know they do blitz They blitzed at a pretty higher rate thirty percent of the time. Their pressure rate second best in the league. That's an ode to the great skill of Miles Garrett at forty two point one percent.

But when you talk about a great pass rusher like Miles Garrett, you talk about a team that it says, are they gonna push him? Are they going to allow his escapability to the shortest part of the field where they have multiple bodies. Are they gonna give him the full fifty three to you know, take off and challenge the defense.

It'll be interesting.

And I think though, if you're gonna play a lot of man coverage against a guy like Justin fields Man, you're playing with fire. And if he can, you know, create escapability through that, I think you're gonna see some big quarterback runs by him.

So this Browns team is number five right now in the AFC. Tom Grant Delpit out for the year, just signed a thirty six million dollar contract. He's got a groin injury suffered against Jacksonville when he sacked Trevor Lawrence. Outstanding player having his best season so far. Seventy seven tackles, Jedrick Wills Jedrick Willis goes on injured reserve with a knee.

Yeah, you know, and a large large part of that is they have a good defense. Even though they're missing a couple of key parts to that defense, they can still pressure a quarterback, young quarterback, maybe a quarterback that doesn't have great athleticism. Maybe there's a deficiency on the offensive line that they can take advantage of repeatedly. So

For all your journeys ahead, go with a partner who has been on your team from the beginning of the one. Members and communities of trusted for over eighty five years, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Villinois, always standing by.

You, with you, for you through it all.

All right, a long conversation and in a very in lightening conversation. Ahead, Well, we have two weeks ago Eric Kramer or last week Eric Kramer his battles. Now we got Bernie Kosar. We were seemingly going to talk Brown's Bears and his unique perspective on his hometown team growing up in Youngstown, but it traveled many different ways. Tom, I was blown away by the conversation and some of your questions and some of your thoughts on it as well.

Bernie. How you feeling.

I'm still great, Jeff Tom Great to be with you guys as your Chicago Bears come in to take on our Cleveland Browns this weekend.

The actually, the health and wellness of myself, it's a.

Lot better than some of our our Cleveland Browns and some of our our Cleveland Brown quarterbacks of late.

Yeah.

Well, hey, I think a second team now. The Browns have already done it. Minnesota is going to be the second one since nineteen fifty to start four quarterbacks in one season and win games on top of it. So your guy right now is Joe Flacco. Hey, we'll take your lead here and start talking about that. I mean, he's a Bernie co start type quarterback, pocket passer and been around a long time at the tender age now thirty eight.

Yeah.

To see to see Joe Flacco in a Cleveland Brown uniform and playing in the old Cleveland Brown Stadium is a little unique and challenging to some of us CTED or TBI cancust old quarterbacks, but seeing him on the Brown side of things as opposed to the Ravens and our last year. We were mortified when he was playing for the Jets and had that miracle comeback against the Browns last year. The way our defense is playing, the way our offensive line is playing, and to see Joe Flacco, who literally two.

And a half weeks ago was sitting on his couch and.

Now to see now's the se him throwing. And to see him throwing and I'm not trying to say this guy is to be a homer or to strike up this Browns Bears thing. I'm really just talking about it from the ultimate respect of an old quarterback watching another

The league that he's still able to make those type of.

Throws and away Coach Stefanski and our offense and Coach Callahan's been handled We've had a ton of injuries on the offensive line, and with Tom on the call here, I'd love to see what he thinks about our offensive line. I mean, we're throwing the third level of third string,

Ernie.

Before I get into the Cleveland Browns and Bears game, I got to ask you a question. When I heard you were going to be on, I could not wait to ask you. So, you've taken your career from consideration.

You take it. You look at the tough guy image.

Of that era of football, You think of the quarterback position, and then you think what Tom Brady said two weeks ago and the state of the toughness in preparation of the modern day NFL. Do you have any reaction towards what he said and do you agree or disagree with it?

Well, Tom, the old school, the old school QB. Now, I probably could get a little long winded on this answer, you know, and as I look at some of these old cranium inflating pictures of me behind me and stuff of the old days, we were joking, you know, me and you and Jeff joke on air and off air for more than the last decade about some of the health issues that we've gone through, that we go through

Barbari gladiator days of it. But I am super.

Proud to be sitting here, to be healthy, to be cognitively present, you know, after forty surgeries, eighty broken bones, hack one hundred concussions, had fifteen seizures. I had my last two seizures at the O'Hare Airport. I was in a coma for ninety six hours coming from a concussion

Heck, the great quarterback Jim McMahon I've been looking at his ankle.

And some of the stuff that you know, he's going through with his with his rehab and us trying to be healthy now on that God, one of your old teammates that you used to block, Steve McMichael, you know, and what he's going through. So there's so many of those type gladiator issues that some of our friends aren't doing well with that, you know.

I'm I'm super proud to be.

Cognitively present and to be basically physically pretty good. But boy, Tom, you know, some of the stuff that we went through and some of our friends are going through. Now, it's awesome that you and me are able to be on air today and decently articularly, but God, so many of our friends aren't able to do that. So when I hear statements like that, I kind of feel proud to be here, but yet I feel bad for a lot of the guys that we played with and what they're

Okay, But one of the things that.

Maybe he's made referring to is because they don't maybe practice as much and actually see this a little bit in the development of Justin Fields in Chicago.

I'm a big, big fan of.

Your QB there, and I love his athleticism, I love the way he plays in his presence. But maybe Tom your question, and what tom Brady's may be referring to is his level of coaching and the system that he got early in his career, and the attention to detail and almost the obsessiveness that we had.

With knowledge and back in the day.

You know, yeah, I was on top of that gladiator targ killer be killed attitude from the physical side, but boy, from the mental side, it was a masters program of practice and intelligence from the x'es and o's. And I see that kind of lacking a little bit in what they're teaching the younger quarterbacks, and they're asking them really to not on learn the whole field, in the whole game, like Tom Brady, like myself, was kind of groomed.

And that's kind of limiting to young quarterbacks.

And I see guys like you know, Justin Field's kind of struggling early in his development because of I think some of those statements like that Tom Brady's making about maybe the development of the coaching of it isn't what it's what it's up to part all right.

So now let's move to the modern day Cleveland Browns. You talked about your offensive line a year ago, two year and a half ago, they had a reputation of possibly being one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. When you talk about those types of practice adjustments and the lack of fundamental training because you can't be in full pads as much as we were throughout our career. Is it the offensive line coaches that's doing a nice

Has for the whole roster. Well, that's a great question, Tom, and that's it's someone.

I think a combination of all three of the points you're brought up, But it would be it would not be proper. And I'll give coach Callahan.

A success credit for it.

And I don't want to minimize the athleticism and toughness and awesomeness of the players. But there's been about ten players playing about five physicians so far this year.

And all of them have played.

Above above pretty good and stuff from that perspective, But the system and the system and the attended that zone blocking scheme as where the five offsets the line are really moving in unison together. Actually, I think has really helped development of the whole line.

But being able to play in unison like they're capable of.

Ernie kosar Our guest here on Bears, Etc. With Tom Thair, Jeff Jioniek. We're brought to you in Part five PNC Official Bank of the Bears. It's Bears and Browns in Cleveland and it should be a very interesting affair. You've got a hot Bears team playing great defense. You've got a Browns defense it's ranked number one, and a lot of key categories third down and preventing first downs, and

For you?

And what awaits the Bears when they take on that rounds front four?

So I love, of course We love Miles Garrett.

There's no denying his awesomeness and how he's been playing the Bears.

And Miles is a tough guy.

He's not complaining at all, you know about his injuries and stuff.

But he does have a shoulder injury that the Bears know about and the world knows about.

And he's been playing probably at eighty is percent. So the last week or two, you know, getting an eighty percent Miles Garrett given one hundred percent effort, but physically that's maybe not as dominant as we saw.

A month ago. When you have a.

Tom you remember the old fresh legs perspective and good, good health and stuff of it.

You know.

The but you mentioned the Justin Fields.

First game against Miles Garrett in the four and a half sacks to fifteen hits.

Again, I'm not alling to.

Pick on that system, okay, but that system on set up at all for success for Justin Fields as a young quarterback. I think it's actually sinful to put that young man in that spot back then, and that really retards his potential chance and growth.

Right then. So again I'm a Browns.

Fan, so that bears that bodes well for us, But I don't like to see young man like that be stunted in his development. And we put kind of in a system back then that man he should have been and you got You're still suffering of the ramifications of the repercussions of that system and those hits because Livan, I'm looking at you, Jeff.

Right in the eyes as we're on screen now. But us qbs, you.

Know, I don't want to goofy you on camera here, but us QB's gonna look up.

We're looking past the Mike Liberterers.

They're looking in almost to the screen, and we're trying to see the whole picture.

That's easier said than done. And I'm still doing that now.

But when the play starts and guys are covering around you and stuff and that.

Old system and justin Phil's that.

Day got hit fifteen times and I got four and a half sacks by Miles Garrett, Man.

The eyes have to drop, they have to come down.

And when you're a QB and now I'm hovering and I see Tom Pair's backside, Okay, that's a negative sign for US quarterbacks.

We want to we don't and I mean this in the most.

Respect that Jay Hildebert, who who blocked next to Tom Also, I got the honor and put my hands.

Under his backside and stuff.

I never saw those guys because they were so good you knew they You didn't.

Have to drop your eyes out.

Justin Phil's early in his career, when he's developing his confidence, his self esteem. You know I've used I used the phrase you matter a lot here in Cleveland. It's not from the universe seat in Miami, it's because you matter in us quarterbacks. We were acting like we're always calm and we have our self belief, but just self confidence and self esteem. And if you don't have it, your eyes drop. You don't have a belief that the play is gonna hold up. You don't have a belief that

Take a look for Miles Garrett. And that makes for it a horrible day if you're a Bears fan, and make sure a great day if you're a Browns fan. Slowly love the slew, We love the NFL.

Hey Bernnie. My last year in Miami, Steve de Berg and I came aboard the same time in Miami. He practiced for four days and then he was able to start a game. You look at the similarities with the age and Joe Flacco's experience. So does Joe Flackell come in and tell Stefanski the plays, the types of patterns he likes the most, and then you build upon that, or does Joe Flack go have to invest himself in the terminology of the Cleveland Browns playbook in play by their rules.

So I'm gonna get to that ladder question, my man.

But I wanted to get back to that nineteen ninety three Steve de Berg coming and learning that system in for.

Four days and play that.

Awesome guard Tom Fair and stuff. Because Bertie Kosar gonna whack that year too.

Okay.

So I was getting to talk to by the Dolphins too. So as me and Steve de Berg were debating between the Dolphins and the Cowboys and stuff, Steve ended up at the Dolphins and stuff I could have handled I got from.

I gotta went from Jay Hilgeberg taking snaps down. That helps out.

There, okay, But as it pertains to the play calling and the system and with Joe Flackem's gonna want to do. There were some cute things that happened towards the end of our Browns game. We had a fourth and two where we went forward on a plus forty yard line ended up hitting it for a touchdown when they blew the coverage last week and stuff, And you can see the excitement of coach the fans get running on the field.

Watch Bernie Cosar our guest here on Bears, et cetera. So before we start talking about how you're doing, and I see your co star coffee sweatshirt, your hoodie and the and the old number nineteen, had that ball cocked and ready to throw just like it coffee.

Wait, just like it is, okay, but it looks just.

Like on a passive forward.

It looks just like.

You throwing it and having that ball cocked on that poster that I had as a kid as well. So and we're at the same age. So I loved I loved Bernie Costar, believe me.

But I did take the Iowa state with you.

I certainly did, buddy, I certainly did. Here's what I didn't know. Here's what I didn't know though. So I was keenly aware of what was going on with the supplemental draft back in nineteen eighty five. But what I didn't know that the vice Vikings traded with the Oilers to obtain a top pick and they wanted to draft you. I only thought that you were like I didn't know this for short, I never did the research on it. I thought you wanted to play in Cleveland so bad.

But it got ugly.

And also there were legal lawsuit threats and all that from the Oilers, and can you put that all in context force and as minimal amount of time as you can.

It's it's humbling to talk about that and bringing that up chess, you know, And actually it was.

They actually did suit me.

The vice they did.

Yeah, Kasha Roselle, the Oilers and stuff.

And I am a mommy's boy Northeast O High. I want to play at home. You know.

I'm like, I'm like de Vito in the Giants right now, come cooking. My mom did my laundry and stuff.

I was only I was.

I was joking with Michael Vick last night, We're the youngest quarterbacks to start in the NFL. I'm only twenty twenty one years old. So I really wanted to be there. But I was a huge Bud Grant fan, and Bud Grant came down to University of Miami and said, Hey, I'm going to draft you I'm going to trade I'm going to trade the tick And I go, oh, coach, please don't do that.

Please. I'm not even sure I want to leave University of Miami. We were really lock and loaded. It's going to be a really good team.

And the only way I could possibly leave is if I could come home play for my boyhood team. And the general manager and he was a good guy, Mike Lynn, he was a little hard nose back then, said you don't have a choice, son, You.

Know, you don't have a choice, and he left and yeah, you ended up assuming before it, and my mom was mad at him. Okay, so I'm still a good little Catholic boy. Listen to mommy, you know. So I wanted to come home.

Hey, Bernie, you know, when you think about the Miami days, you think of everything they went through. You know, I had some great games against them, and I had some awful games against them. You know, what do you the legacy of the Miami now What do you think about what they've gone through since the uber successful, the reputation you guys had, the star quality players you put out there.

What do you think about Miami nowadays?

So I really like Mario crystal ball and the old school kind of mentality that we're trying to bring back from the Jimmy Johnson, Howard Snellenberger, Dennis Erickson days when we got our four of our five national championships and stuff.

So whether people like.

The nil world or not, Miami's playing the nil world. So we're able to you know, really attract high, high end, you know, good players and stuff. We haven't caught up yet with maybe our system matching them with the results and stuff.

But you know, the God the memories of the.

Old school Miami and God Tom from you and your Notre Dame days to you know, me and my Miami days and the old school. I played the first night game they brought to portable the portable lights into Notre Dame Stadium to play the first night game there.

I'm on ESPN back in nineteen eighty four.

Wow, yeah, mus skull lighting system.

Yeah, that was actually that was actually the first fight in the tunnel.

Okay, Jerry Foles came running up to me and yellow, we're gonna kick care but bleep, bleep bleep, and he touched me and you were a little too close then, and all of a sudden, there went okay, the fight.

Started, so.

Oh my gosh.

I mean, there's so many similarities between your arrivals.

Just you know, Tom never left Chicago.

He played well USFL first, but he played his whole career NFL mostly with the Bears for nine years now, broadcaster for almost thirty years. So it's been unbelieve when you've been so closely tied to the Browns as well as you are right now. But nothing's been easy for you, has it? And I mean you look fantastic number one, number one, just look really good and healthy and happy.

So first and foremost are you? Are you?

Yeah?

I am?

Thanks Jeff, you know you mentioned you know, you mentioned the co star coffee and stuff.

I don't do that for a shameless.

Plug and that what's in it?

But well, you know what's.

In it is I infuse and I have a patent with some great partners and stuff, and I've become a holistic kind of healer in the late third quarter early fourth quarter of my life.

I mean I joked about it.

So we infuse vitamin D and resveratrol, so I'm not a drinker anymore. Resveratroll is the top antioxidant that you find in red wine. So as a moderate vitamins juicer. Now as a guy who's had forty surgeries eighty broken bones, I say earlier the hunter concussions, fourteen seizures, that last one in Chicago that I was telling me about earlier in a comb.

For ninety six hours.

I mean that was five and a half years ago, twenty seventeen. About twenty seventeen, I was told that I have four years left a cognitive brain function. You guys remember when you and me we used to do the shows six.

Seven, eight years ago, nine years ago.

I was okay, but man, I couldn't really annunzia, articulate tomunikey, any.

Multiple syllable words.

So four years ago, when I was told I had five years left a cognitive brain function, Bros, I couldn't.

I couldn't say cognitive.

I couldn't get out those multiple syllable words. So when the doctors in the Chicago hospital said, hey, man, you're a tough guy. You're doing great. Keep up with your prescriptions and protocols. Man, I was on like sixty some pills a day. I was close to a thousand milligrams

And physically I've been really feeling good.

So, you know, some of the things that I just mentioned wasn't isn't easy to say, But we've had in Ohio this last week, we've had one hundred and twenty five people dive the overdose desks. In the last twelve months, we've had almost one hundred and ten thousand people in our country.

The veterans.

Combat veterans have a lot of the same issues as US NFL players. Twenty two veterans will commit suicide today.

It's so emotional for me, Tom to even talk about it. One of our brothers, one of your Notre Dame.

Graduates, Sagrin High School graduate, Notre Dame national champion, uh.

Believe the Brown offensive linement with me.

In nineteen ninety two and nineteen ninety three, Bob Dogg committed.

Suicide just two months ago. It's tough stuff for us to talk about. I don't say that now for shock value.

I absolutely don't say it to all move product or something like that. But there's a sense of awareness out there now that for us guys. You know, and we mentioned what what Steve McMichael's going through.

We see what some of.

Our other brothers, Wolver Marshall, you know, some of the concussion issues that you know some of us do, Ernest Byner one of my great great teammates, you know, some of the cognitive things that we have to wrestle with now. I was talking earlier about you matter, telling guys that they matter, just telling people that we believe in them, showing them now that there's hope.

You know, Jeff, I love how you point it out. You know.

I don't say and thank you for saying I look better and maybe sound better. I don't say it and sit here today to get the stroke of compliment and stuff. And I absolutely don't say it to sell Costar coffee that's launching this week. But a lot of the money that we're making, that's the money that I'm making, the supplements that I'm using.

It's really to give back to.

A lot of our brothers, a lot of our teammates, a lot of our military guys that and let them know.

And I'd love for you guys to keep spreading the word, not.

Just to move like our products and stuff, but to let people know there is hope out there.

There's things you could do that are natural. Right now, I haven't.

Taken a pill and five years and I'm constantly present. I'm not really in pain either, and I'm not you know, I'm taking digestive enzymes on a trace mineral's fullvic assets, fermented super greens, opt in my D optimizing my D level.

He can my co star coffee haven't res veratral.

I'm getting an antioxidant in my coffee, the black coffee bean. I didn't know this because us NFL guys, we don't sleep a lot, so sometimes we get afraid of coffee. Doctor Michael Roysen, the head of Cleveland Clinic, says the black coffee being it's the number one thing to flush in detox our brain and liver. So there's a big connectivity between our stomach and our brain.

A lot of us really struggling.

Yeah, we save physical issues a lot of us are struggling in society with anxieties and depressions.

I was one of those guys.

And again, I'm just trying to let people know that you can come out the other side, and there's things you can do healthy that you can live in the late.

Third quarter, early fourth quarter of my life.

I'm a fun, happy, cognitively productive lifestyle.

You know, Bernie, your name is recognized around our country. You know, whether you say Bernie or you say Kozar. And everything you were able to accomplish on the football field. You may looked offward throwing the ball, but you threw it in the right spot. Everything that you have accomplished over the last few years, and as well as Jeff and I know you, it overshadows everything you were able to accomplish on the football field. And I have nothing

Thank you, brother. I appreciate you.

Guys, Bernie, real quick if you got a couple of more minutes. So it's almost been a almost a miracle transformation, right, And is the background by which you strove to be great as a football player all the way from high school to college to the NFL and and being a member of the Super Bowl team for the Dallas Cowboys reaching that pinnacle? Did all of that discipline that required that you're required to put in to get out of

You know, Jeff?

Really beautiful How you asked that or piece that together? Well? For a lot of people, a lot of kids, a lot of parents ask hey, do you think we you should let your kids play football?

Do you regret playing football? If you had to do it all over again, would you do that again?

And I absolutely the life lessons the football taught me, This is absolutely playing football right.

Now, Jeff, I'm not trying to grandstand.

This is absolutely the greatest comeback of my life. This is harder than the football part of it. I really feel like I'm blessed. I would absolutely I'm glad that I had the injuries. I'm glad that I played in that era. I'm glad I actually went through that stuff because I actually believe that there's a purpose for me

We knew that this issue was going.

Then COVID hit and it really amplified the issue.

But we had the COVID. Now we're kind of.

Getting back into it now, and these are the type of things now that have happened that I really believe I've been put here and had to learn so that I could kind of help people again, not just sit here to say hey, you could you could sound good and do a cool podcast or something, but that here's the things you could take, you know, to You don't have to take the twenty five pills a day. There's a stat with I think at fifty years old in America, we averaged taking eight pills of person.

At seventy years old, we averaged about twenty five pills of person.

There's some simple things letting the body heal itself that you're able to do.

All right, lastly, and we'll let you go. I know you got other things going on. You just got back from Atlanta. You were with Commissioner Goodell. Are you apparently going to be at the game on Sunday? And the former Ambassador of the UN Andrew Young. What was going down there in Atlanta? What was Bernie Cosar doing with these heavyweights?

Wow?

To be with Ambassador Young and being down in Atlanta with Michael Vick, James Harris, and Doug Williams doing the history and legends of black NFL quarterbacks in the NFL was super inspiring for me to be with three of those three guys, then to be with the diversity programs with a commissioner and ambassador young and to see it and actually show my baseball my baseball background Alex Strodriguez and Reggie Jackson were there, so be able to see

Be talking about that awesome stuff. Tom. We're not doing much, are we We're just calling football games.

I mean, Bernie's Bernie's changing lives and changing his own so tip of the cap Tom said it best.

But I just so impressed, Bernie.

I admire you so much for everything that you're doing, what you have accomplished, and where you're going.

I appreciate you guys, bro You've always been great friends and you know what for guys like for the again this trilogy, the Threesome on here to you guys who have seen this journey and specifically because you know all the Browns Bears preseason games, there's all the charity events we've done, so to kind of see the evolution of this and to kind of be disciples to no friends

With that, Brothers, keep going, keep grinding, My friend, good to talk to you.

It should be a.

Fun game along the lake front at Lake Erie at First Energy Stadium. The Cleveland Browns and the Chicago Bears on Sunday, we'll have it for you, starting with a noon kickoff from Cleveland Chicago time. Of course, Bernie, thanks for joining us, buddy, Thank you all right, Tom, what's your big takeaway?

Me and Bernie could have been teammates at one point, Yeah, because when I went down to the Miami Dolphins, it was between Bernie Cozar and Steve de Berg and they ended up signing Steve de Berg and Bernie went to the Dallas Cowboys. However, my main take is is we've known Bernie for a long time and he's always been a type of peculiar guy because he doesn't have the standard quarterback throwing looker style. He's got that awkward approach

One hundred percent, he's a new man right now. I does a lot of motivational speaking and the seminars and all sorts of good stuff, and he's he's living what he's selling to to folks about their health, and not just the average Joe, but fellow NFL players from the past and the present and seemingly for the future as well. So great stuff from Bernie Costar. Always enjoyed his conversations.

Yeah, well it was a shutout, and I think that's what they're looking at. He had a good performance against the Bears the week before, and so he came up and he had another another performance. But yeah, you know what, Jakwan Brisker, it's almost like Justin Fields. These guys haven't earned the respect that the deserve around the league. Yet in the bigger games that Jakwan Brisker has, the more notoriety I'll receive. And it's just like Justin or Jakwan

Not in a way that they're.

Doing too many things. It's just that he's an athlete that runs with the ball and he deserves the protection that everybody else is getting.

Well.

Like he says, he goes to the officials before every game. He says, listen, I'm not trying to get hit. I'm going to give myself up. And he's been doing it. He's sliding tremendously well early in his career, didn't do that as well. But he's given himself up and they're still whacking him.

Well.

Listen in the Detroit game in Detroit. At this game this past week, he's gotten hit multiple times and there's now one time that only needs one flag to come out for the put the other team on notice. It's ridiculous that he hasn't does I don't know if he's you know, I think he's gotten one flag this year, but he's got he hasn't gotten what he deserves.

Busy Heart Seltzer the official Heart Seltzer of the Chicago Bears. Tom The NFL has had their owners meeting that they have several throughout the course of the year. They are doubling the number of games in Europe and in South America, and the first time next year it'll be in South Pelo, Brazil. What are your what are your impressions?

You know me, Jeff, I know, I like I like the games to be played in the United States too. I like that the fact that you know, you you health, the economy in the cities that they're being played in here. I'm not sure how much it builds the brand of the NFL when you go to these other, you know, exotic locations, but uh, you know, I got nothing to say it. And wherever the Bears play, I'll be on the charter and I'll see you there.

Yes, you better be.

You better be, Big Tom Bears fans, you can be there for live NFL action all season long. As the official ticket marketplace of the Bears and the NFL, Ticketmaster has a wide selection of tickets available for every game. Find tickets today at ticketmaster dot com. Slash Bears Tom. I sat down earlier on Wednesday with Montees Sweat for the first time. First time I met him, Piers. That handshake is something else. What a delightful guy though he

Know, listen you see some of those That one tackle that he had in the game this past week where he had a handful of jersey, I think it was Dave Montgomery and he kind of brought him to a stop where the other teammates can. That shows you're right there that he's got incredible strengths about him. And when you bring in a guy like minta sweat and you

And one last thing, quarterbacks. Justin Herbert now out easton Stick is quarterback. The players of the week in the NFL were both from the city of New York, Tommy DeVito and Zach Wilson. We got Joe Flaco at thirty eight quarter back, and we had Tyson baiging and undrafted quarterback in for four games. They're all they're dotting the landscape. Minnesota going to Mullins now Nick Mullins at quarterback. This has been something this year. I don't recall unless I'm forgetting.

I'm sure it's happened before. But you know, we're so involved with the NFL and the teams that were that we broadcast for and the teams that we broadcast against. You know, Kyler Murray didn't start the Arizona season. That was Joshua Dobbs. So I mean, listen, that's part of football. You know, it's only because we talk about quarterbacks because

Browning for the Bengals tearing it up. Yeah, yep, you know you mentioned offensive linemen. We'll leave on this.

Albert Breer from Sports Illustrated suggesting that we have an offensive line problem. There's not enough of them, and they're getting hurt. And the impact is the quarterbacks are getting hurt. That's the implication. So he wrote about it this past week. I mean, it's the sport. I don't know what's the answer. I mean it's hard to find. Yeah, there you go.

That's that's it's a one word sentence and that has your now and near verb and everything that involved in it.

Well, you know, you could take clay and mold it into something really well, right if you teach him the right technique in front of meents yep. So we'll leave it at that big time. We don't want to get ourselves out in deep here.

Our next listen, I'm open for debate. Anytime you want to debate it. Let's get it. Let's get some film on a chalkboard and we'll talk about it.

Our next Bears et Cetera podcast drops Tuesday. We put a wrap on week fifteen the game against the Browns, and join us at AGUINESPN one thousand for Sunday's noon kickoff from Cleveland. Mark Silverman, Lance Briggs dmler with a pregame at ten and Tom and I take over at twelve two. Thanks for listening for time there and special guest Bernie Kosar, the great Cleveland Brown quarterback. I'm Jeff Jonahac.

Bear Down, Everybody,