Right justin middle of the field forty five to fifteen. Bring Russ in front of a leading Lions in his way. I am Jeff Jonahyack. Liz Is on Dotty God host.
What was like playing for Coachy Bogdom.
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 Jonyac. All right on to another matchup at Sodier Field with the Las Vegas Raiders coming up on Sunday on noon kickoff at Sojier Field. Welcome into another version of the Bears et Cetera podcast, Episode twenty six with Tom There, the Super Bowl winning Bears guard. I'm Jeff Jonahac from HALLI Songs. We get you set for the breakdown of the Bears
and Vegas Raiders coming up. Our guest is former NFL executive Amy Trask, the former CEO of the Raiders, now of CBS Sports and has had a great career post football on television as an analyst and all sorts of things. One of the most powerful women in the NFL while she was in there with al Davis and the crew and Tom. That's a rare visit from the Raiders. I think this is only the eighth time at Soldier Field,
so that series started back in nineteen seventy two. But the history of that organization is such that it's always a fun arrival when you get one of those teams that just carry with it a great tradition of winning under the Hall of Famer Al Davis Lade al Davis and now known as the Vegas Raiders that I still haven't gotten used to, but they pose a big threat to the Bears on Sunday because of that defense and one particular pass rusher in Max Crosby.
Well, just going back in my memory bank of this rivalry. So we played the Raiders in the preseason in Lyle Alzado's last game and Lyle Alzado got a tipball interception in the game.
And Lie Alzado back in the day.
From Yankton College was kind of one of my unsung here because when you think about the journey that Tyson Baigen is about to begin from Shepherd, how many other players have you heard from Yankton College. It's not about the college, it's about the person. And I just always admired the Raiders from Afar as a kid growing up, because of Al Davis, because of their success, because of their.
Bad boy image. You know.
Having a chance to play against Lyle Alzado at the end of his career was a big thrill for me. And now to update it, Yeah, this is a different Raiders. This is a Las Vegas Raiders. They're no longer a part of the they are a part of the Al Davis footprint, but now it's run by his son.
Obviously they're in Las Vegas.
All right. As of this taping, we don't know who the quarterback is going to be for the Raiders. Jimmy Garoppolo probably unlikely. Brian Hoyer probably going to be the starter, but he had an injury earlier when he got a chance to play but finished up that game against New England, and Aidan O'Connell kind of rooting. If it's not gonna be Jimmy g I'd love to see Aidan O'Connell just
because of the local factor. Right Stevenson High School, he was ninth string and managed to make it on the team and then walk on it Purdue and he becomes a fourth round pick, and he started Week four against the LA Chargers in his rookie season, and he had.
Proved significantly throughout his college career.
But if we go back and you would say that he you know, the two quarterbacks that could possibly start this game, it's not what you thought about when you looked at the schedule and you started thinking about what the record of the Bears could be. Look at the different types of matchups who will be playing at that time, and yeah, you know, I'm not really excited to see
Brian Hoyer play. I've been there, done that. So I would like to see a couple of young kids come out and play on a Chicago Sunday afternoon and go out there and battle and give it their best because you imagine the hunger that's just dripping in their mouth to prove everybody wrong, but to prove themselves right. So I think there's a lot of exciting factors to look at when you look at the pursuit what the quarterback battle could be.
Yeah, well let's look at toyt tysonvaging. Because I know the media on Wednesday up here at hallis all toown. We're really trying to underscore the fact, Hey, you know, did you ever dream of this moment? Did you ever think you were ever going to get here? Listen, he did, He knew he was going to get here, and his plan was like yours. I'm going to be a football player and I don't care where I came from. And yeah it is unorthodox, but all roads lead to the NFL.
We've seen so many guys from different kind of colleges quarterback position, not as often clearly Jimmy Garoppolos from Eastern Illinois. Tony Romo was from Eastern Illinois. Those are bigger, obviously than Division two Shepherd. But if you've got the talent and you've got the mind and the ability to process get rid of the football like he does, you're going to have it chance. And he worked himself into this chance.
But I'm intrigued because we can make it seem like Tommy his dad is a professional arm wrestler and world famous and one of the best ever. And he gives a lot of credit to his dad. I'm sure his dad instilled a ton of confidence. You are a product of your environment, good ways and bad and that man I've seen some of the videos. That's a man with confidence. But this guy walks with a mature confidence. It's not bravado. He's not walking around like he owns the place. I
think that did have a lot. You know, if people believe in you, you start to believe in yourself.
You gotta believe in yourself. I had no backup plan.
I was all in on the NFL, on professional football, and that's the only route I was taking after college. He did talk about his backup plan about going back and being a teacher at his high school, and you know.
He would probably been a huge asset to.
His high school, bringing his in his life experiences and being able to pass it along to some of the kids.
That he would have had a hand in touching their life.
But I really think down deep, his plan was full steam ahead.
I'm gonna be an NFL player.
I don't care where I came from, but I know where I'm going.
Yeah, let's listen in to some of his thoughts about becoming the starting quarterback and by way of injury to Justin Fields this week, as Tim and I have been discussing, so here's one of the one of the sound bites about always believing Boom.
Yeah, oddly, I always thought it was gonna happen. I think that, you know, me and my dad really were the only ones that really thought that this was going to happen. And then you know, after that, it was just figuring out how I could outwork everybody that you know, maybe had maybe had more things, that maybe had more things than I did, had better facilities, and you know
all that stuff. So it was just really just trying to you know, get it out the mud, putting a lot of work in the in the in the shadow, and just so I'd be ready for you know, this week backup.
Plan if you didn't get a shot.
In the NFL.
Yeah, I was going to.
Just basically just CrossFit my life away, get as ripped and jacked as I possibly could, and be a teacher at Martinsburg High School.
A dream being realized for Tyson, beaging it means everything.
I think.
After the last game of my college career, I was talking to a good buddy of mine and just kind of, you know, we were kind of talking about like, hey, you know, no matter how good or bad this goes at the next level, you know, there is a there's a very big chance that you know, maybe you make the team, but you might never get to start a game ever again in your whole life. You might never get you know that that that QB one role ever again.
And that's just kind of you know, how the how the apple falls from the tree sometimes, But to look where I'm at and to look how everything is kind of falling into place, just nothing, but you know, extreme uh gratitude and just feeling super blessed to you know, be able to beat at that kind of motivational role in the the younger people in my in my family kind of be that person they can look up to and just really just motivation for everybody that, you know,
maybe at a smaller level and all the people back home.
In time, he had a decision to make because I'm sure people were in his ear. And I haven't talked to him about this directly, but he looked into other colleges before his last year. Notre Dame was one of them. He wanted to go to Notre Dame, but they didn't offer him anything, and so you know what he just said, forget about it, I'm staying here. And they asked him if he would be worried at that time about making the wrong decision, because you know, were you going to
get drafted, Were you going to get signed anywhere? If you're playing at Sheppard College, a competition is different. But he stuck to his guns. Believed he was being coached as well as anywhere he'd be getting coached, and he knew the system very well and he was very successful when it worked out. This one worked out well.
You know, a football development, especially at the quarterback position, is live reps and how many of the how many of the coaching points that they can give you over a four year period, you know, understanding the timing of the understanding your accuracy, how to develop your body along the way, and then you're going to bring that to
the next level wherever you are. I think he made the right choice in staying at Shepherd rather than going to a program that maybe they went and recruited a freshmen that they believe that they should start getting him involved in the program immediately and leave this transfer kid behind. So I think he made the right decision. I think he's proved the coaches here in Chicago that he has and now I mean shoots the opportunity of a lifetime to start the game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Yeah, the only difference I guess is he could have played himself into a draft selection and get a contract of some sort other than an undrafted free agent. But hey, that's just that's history. Now he's earning his opportunity. He's earned his opportunity by being a well mean, well meaning drive to get here number one, prove in practices what he's learned. He's taken it from the classroom to the
playing field. They're not just going to make him the number two just because they had to believe in him. And believe me, there were a lot of high grades on Tyson pagent in this building. For all your journeys ahead, go with a partner who's been on your team from the beginning, the one members and communities have trusted for over eighty five years, Blue Crossing, Bluefield of Illinois, always standing by you, with you for you threw it on.
It's gonna be about one thing about Tyson.
No, it's equally as a gutsy call for him to be a free agent and come to Chicago, giving where Justin Fields is in his career as a was gutsy for him to stay at Shepherd. So there's been a couple of decisions in the last couple of years in this football life that have been the right decisions for him. And listen, when Justin comes back and he's healthy, he
is going to be the starting quarterback. However, to take the chance and come here as a free agent, you never know how things are going to work out.
Here's a question he was asking why he's not overwhelmed details.
You know a lot of details. Obviously, the team I'm going against Sunday is a little bit better than west Chester. But yeah, other than that, the other teams a little bit smarter than than they were a year ago, and there's quite a bit more details than there where a year ago. So other than that, you still just, you know, play hard and operate and sync with the with the guys you got. You know, I think my life has
been planned out for me ahead of time. I think that everything that happened, that has happened and will happen was already setting stone to happen. And I think that, you know, coming more up from where I come from, you know, I've pretty much beat every odd that there was for me, So you know, I got nothing to lose. I'm just you know, I'm gonna go out there and you know, fight with these guys to the death, and you know, try to stack up as many wins as I can till till we get justin back.
And it's a great answer, Tom, And to piggyback on what you said about you know what his plan was, high school teacher. That's after he was gonna quote cross fit his life away and just get all yoked up and muscled up. I'm sure he was doing push up two with that that dad of his right.
Well, you know, I think that he's been around the weight room. He understands the important of physical fitness. And you know, if he would have put the same effort into being a CrossFit ripped guy at a young age you know that he did in football, he would have probably been equally as successful.
But I'm glad it worked out for him.
And he's he's earned the opportunity that he's going to get.
Brought to you by PNC Official Bank of the Bears. Let's transition to our interview with sports executive author and lawyer Amy Trask, the former CEO of the Oakland the then Oakland Raiders and now they're known as the Vegas Raiders. It's a long, long list of accomplishments and participation in a variety of projects. One right now with Susie Schuster on What the Football Podcast? Find it anywhere you get
your podcasts down the rich Isen Show YouTube channel. Also on the crew of the that Other pregame show NFL on CBS dot Net. Find ex Bears Kyle Long and Brockveren, Tom remember Brockveren, a safety for the Bears, and Adam Schein. Of course that's just scratching the service, but the big picture the first female CEO in the National Football League with the Raiders, Amy Trask, Thanks for joining us. I know there's a lot to you, so we're going to
try and hit all these different things. But I enjoying the post CEO life.
Well.
You are very very very kind to have me on and extraordinarily gracious in the introduction. Thank you in both regards, and I'm enjoying it a lot. You know what I'm doing the things which scare me the most, and that's kind of fun.
What scares you? Podcasts, a microphone.
Well, television cameras, cameras of any sort. As you can see, I'm doing this without video. Cameras have scared me since I was a kid, if you go back and look at home movies.
Google it.
Kids, we had movies back in the day like those actually little movie cameras, and your family would take movies in any home movies. I'm not in any home pictures, family pictures. I just I don't like cameras, and so being on television is facing my biggest fear and it's kind of fun, you.
Know, Amy, It might be kind of weird because I was born in nineteen sixty one if you're familiar with that year, and I didn't grow up with a family with a lot of cameras and a lot of movies. So I wasn't a big part of myself. And I think that was a part of my upbringing at that age, and so I don't think it's uncommon for people to shy away from that.
You know. My first question is about being a CEO.
Did anybody ever discourage you from being a CEO in this business?
No?
Now that said, I didn't begin my career. I didn't embark upon it with any particular goal of being a CEO in.
Mind, or you know.
I joined the Greater Organization as an intern, and I was relled to be part of the team any responsibility I could have had, any role I could have had. If my job was to stand on the sideline and pick up those scrunched up cups that players throw on the ground, I would have been thrilled to do that. So yes, I was given an opportunity to grow within the organization, and that speaks to volumes about al Davis. But I didn't join the organization with any specific goal or planned in mind.
So I went to college with Hannah Storm, and the very first day I met her on campus, I said, well, what are you going to do after college? She goes, I'm going to be a sportscaster, and I go, wow, that's super ambitious, considering there wasn't a lot of females
in the role at that time. After that, you were a part of the Raiders organization, did you immediately set your sites on this as your profession or were you still looking at the outside possibilities or did you know that it was kind of hook line and sinker into the world of professional sports.
Oh, once I joined the organization, that was the dream come true. As I said, I joined as an intern during grad school. I started grad school and I heard all these students who were about a year ahead of me, sitting around one day talking about internships and externships. I'd never even heard the word externship before, but I picked up the phone and I called the Raider Organization and asked if I could be an intern. And the gentleman
with whom I spoke said, what's an intern? And I told him and he said, come on down.
And I started.
And there was no full time job available for me when I graduated grad school, so I took another job for about a year. Got a phone call from the Raider Organization saying, we have an opening. Would you like to join us? And I ran so fast to give notice where I was working that I was going to leave for the Raiders that seriously had al seen me.
I ran so fast he might assign me to play corner.
Well he did like speed, Oh yeah, yep.
And as Cliff Brant said to me, for years and years and years and years, speed.
Kills it certainly does.
So you know, I joined the organization, and as I said, I was so thrilled to be part of the team that my specific role was not of import to me.
Contributing in any way I could was what I wanted to do.
Amy Trask our guest here Around Bears, et cetera with top dayer Jeff Joniac. Interesting insights as the Bears. You're ready to meet the Raiders Sunday twelve oh two at Soldier Field. Tom and I have the call on ESPN one thousand and the Bears Radio Network. All right, this is a very specific question and it's short. What did Al Davis c in? Amy Trask?
You know, I'm not going to speak for him. I will say, however, that I think we shared a few things in common.
We're both contrarians.
I've always been a contrarian, and there's nothing contrary about being a contrarian.
It can be a good thing, you know.
The biggest misconception about Al is that he wouldn't tolerate anyone who disagreed with him, or he wouldn't tolerate disagreement. If that were the case, I would have been fired. Roughly two two and a half weeks into my job, he walked into a room where I was sitting with a co worker.
Ripped into that guy. I mean just ripped into him.
The analogy I often use is it's the way I can imagine a velociraptor ripping into flesh. And I listened for a little bit and I realized al was wrong. So here I am, you know, two two and a half weeks into my job, and I said, excuse me, you're wrong, and I had to say it loudly because he was shouting, and so I kind of shouted, you're wrong. And I will never forget the look on his face when his head turned and looked at me.
Like, what did you just say?
And I went on to explain to him, Look, if you were basing your conclusion on accurate data, accurate information, that would be a fair conclusion. But you are basing your conclusion on an accurate data, and your conclusion is wrong.
He hollered.
And when I say hollered, I mean we were having a spirited debate and we both were speaking loudly, and he said something and I said something, and we went back and forth, back and forth. And I didn't realize until I was told much, much much later. Apparently people in the building were like, what is going on? You know this girl who's been here like two weeks?
What?
They were rushed up and they were standing in the hallway outside the room where we were having this argument. This disagreement. One person even brought a box because she figured I'd have to pack my fings. But at the end of this argument, he looked at me and he just said, oh, okay, I gotcha, I got it.
I got it.
And we went on to have a great conversation. And I learned at that moment, roughly two two and a half weeks into my career, you absolutely could disagree with al and I believed that when it was appropriate, I should disagree with him. I disagreed with him more than I agreed with him over the course of almost thirty years. And I think the fact that I did that only too so weeks into my job that stuck out to him as well. I think that, Okay, here's this girl.
She's been here roughly two two and a half weeks, and she's telling me I'm wrong. I think that got our relationship off on the right foot.
Well, I've got two daughters and they tell me I'm wrong every day, and they both want to be in sports, so they got a good head start.
Well wait a minute, wait a minute, how old are they?
How old are there grad school level women? So one at UNC and one at High Point University. So Tom's like their grandpa or their uncle. I don't know which, but it depends how what kind of crankiness he is.
I was about to say, if they were pre teens or a team, just buckle buckle up.
But they're obviously past that.
Yeah, I got through that. I got through that stage CEO of the Raiders, sixteen of twenty six years in the organization, and you know, I often hear that general managers or team presidents or whatnot during the course of my twenty seven years associated with this franchise, they don't want to have me. They use that term, yes, men, but it often has existed that way. Or coaches who leave their doors shut they don't want to hear anything from anybody else. And clearly that was just the opposite
in the Raiders organization under Al Davis. How important is that at every level of an organization to have good conversation and flow and challenge each other.
You just took the words out of my mouth because I was going to say every organization this just isn't with respect to sports teams. In my view, every single organization, every business, every organization benefits from an environment in which people feel not only free to but welcome to and encouraged to disagree with one another. Look number one, there can be very, very heated disagreements, but disagreement can be agreeable.
In other words, it doesn't need to be personalized, it doesn't need to be nasty, it doesn't need to be offensive. But disagreement is healthy. Agreement is good for a business. If you have any sort of business whatsoever, any organization whatsoever, and you don't encourage people to disagree, you're harming your business because the last thing you need is people simply saying yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, because yes might not
be the best answer. And by the way, it doesn't matter if you make a suggestion that's a bad suggestion, because even out of the worst suggestions can come good ideas.
You know, Amy, we had a guy that worked for the Bears for over forty years. He was the first straint coach in the history of the NFL. His name was Clyde Emerck, and he always used to say knowledge earned is greater than knowledge learned. So my question to you is did your education help or did the business educate you?
Yes?
And yes, I think the education was very important to me, both in terms of that which I learned and that which I was able to apply in business. But also I think having a graduate degree gave me a little bit of extra gravitas in the following regard. Remember, I started my career with the Raiders well before a lot
of people listening to this were even born. I started as an intern in like eighty three, and was there eighty three eighty five as an intern, and then you know, give or take, maybe it even went into eighty No, I guess it was eighty three eighty five, was an intern.
I joined full time in eighty seven. You know, these.
Conversations we're having now about women in sports, those weren't even conversations back then. So I think the graduate degree did one other thing for me, a little bit of extra gravitas that may have helped.
So all right, I was drafted in eighty three into the NFL, so we have a kind of a similar timeline.
But when I follow the Raiders, which I have my whole life.
You're talking about being in Oakland, being in LA being back in Oakland, having all this stadium, kind of discussions through Al Davis of all these different towns. Did that affect or interfere with the job or the Raiders or was it a process? Because there was so much uncertainty in the NFL in those days that it was good conversation that Al Davis continued.
To have that.
I guess yes and yes and no and no.
But before I answer that which I will, I just want to tell you I was smiling ear to ear when you told me to hear that you were drafted, because once during my career, at one point I was in Al's office and we were talking about a number of things, and Tim Brown's name came up, and Tim was drafted shortly after I began my career full time, not when I was an intern, but when I joined as a full time employee. And I said to Al, you know, Tim was drafted sort of shortly after I
began as a full time employee. So it's sort of like Tim and I were in the same draft class. And Al looks at me and says, all looks at me and says, Tim was a first round pick. You were a street free agent, And he, of course was absolutely right. Look, you know, Al, I was not with the organization when Al moved it initially from Oakland down to Los Angeles. I was in college at the time in the Bay Area, not far from Oakland. I was
up the freeway at cal Berkeley. I was with the organization when he chose to move it back to Oakland, and then I chose to leave the organization before the time that Mark chose to move it to Las Vegas because and this, and the reason I share that is it goes to your question. One of the reasons I did choose to leave the organization was I saw that
writing on the wall. I knew that he was going to make the decision to move the team, and having seen the impact of moving a team on the fans, that's not something with which I wanted to be associated again.
You know, I'm sorry, go ahead, no, No, you go ahead, you go ahead.
No.
I was sorry to interrupt, but I was thinking about Tim Brown because I also went to Notre Dame, and I know you went to graduate school at USC so you went to cal Berkeley, and you so where is your loyalty at this time in your college football life.
I am so glad you asked that, and you posited it. I think I just add too many ededs to posit it.
Did it?
Did it?
You pose that exactly as I would love you to because one hundred percent of my college football loyalty lies with my California Golden Bears.
And by the way, in grad school, that was.
What I found to be the case with all my you know, co students, if you will, that if you went to an undergrad program where they had football, if you went to an undergraduate school with a big football program, your allegiance rested with your undergrad The people in grad school who gravitated towards rooting for that team were ones who went to college where they really didn't have big
football programs. And by the way, I'm still annoyed at the whole usc UCLA fleeing the Pac twelve because I believe that began its demise.
Amy Trask, our guest here on Bears, etc. Remaining moments, This is quite the label to go into the rest of your professional life. Named one of the top one hundred greatest game changers in NFL history during the commemoration of the one hundred year anniversary, which Tom and I were very much a part of. Here were the Bears franchise born in nineteen twenty, the original franchise of the National Football League. How impactful was that moment for you to be acknowledged in that regard.
When I found out, I cried, I didn't know about it, and it was the day that it happened, and I started getting all these phone calls and people started telling me about it. I had no idea whatsoever. And when I learned about it, I'm actually getting goosebumps right now. And I promise, I promised to try not to cry on your podcast, but I was so overwhelmed by it. I really was that I started crying and I picked And the reason I share that is I immediately picked up the phone and called my husband.
He was at his office.
And I'm now sobbing because when I cry, I cry, and I pick up the phone and I'm crying and I'm sobbing, and I finally blurt out the reason that I'm crying, and my husband says, wow, Wow, that's just magnificent. But next time you call me, could you not be sobbing like this? Because I thought someone die. That's not much I was crying.
Oh it's a it's a great story. And we both Tom and I we we are blessed to be in this game for as long as we have Tom as a player and a long time broadcaster and me, you know, just following the lead guard here on.
No, no, no, well, well, first of all, don't undertale yourself.
You are not simply following the lead guard.
But but but always, always, always follow the lead guard.
And I don't need to tell you this man.
Most games are one or lost at the line of scrimmage.
So follow that lead guard. That's a very smart idea.
It is.
It's it's the smartest thing I could come up with. But I was a pro for that one hundred. I was approached by Westwood one because of Devin Hester's opening kickoff return of the two thousand and six Super Bowl in Miami, and he said, hey, just so you know, that's going to be one of the top one hundred plays in Super Bowl history. And I too started crying. I couldn't believe. You know, that calls in the Hall
of Fame. And that's a little short, fat kid like me was never getting in the Hall of Fame any other way. So that was it. But before we let you go, so Karen Murphy, Senior Vice president of Business Strategy and CFO of the Bears, Tanisha Wade, Senior Vice President of DEI of the Bears Ashton Washington player personnel coordinator, one of the new wave of women getting involved in football operations. I could go down the list. The Bears
are very committed to diversity, equity and inclusion. What would be your advice to some of these women in high positions in this Bears franchise moving forward?
Well?
The same advice that I give the same advice to women in their career, starting out in their careers, or who will well into their careers that I give to men, which is work hard, work as hard as you can. When you think you can't work any harder, find a way to work harder. And as I said that applies
to women, that applies to men. The other thing that I will say is the best advice I ever received in my whole life was from my mom, who told me when I was a very little girl, to thine own self be true, and as moms can do, she told me that over and over and over again, and as little girls can do. I rolled my eyes when she did, But it's the best advice I've ever received.
To thine own self be true. And I would say to the women you just mentioned and to others, to thine own self be true, comport yourself, do your job, handle yourself in the manner.
That feels best to you, that feels right to you.
My only or, I should say, my biggest regrets have been when I was not true to myself.
Terrific advice, appreciate it. Only Gene Upshaw could have come up with a better line than the Hall of Famer and former head of the Players Association. She's not a girl, Tom, She's a raider. And that raider.
Are you guys trying to make me cry again?
Listen? That raider mystique? You know, well, I'm sure we'll feel it in some former fashion when the Vegas Raiders take the field on Sunday. I know Tom is very close friends with Chris Berman, and so nobody says al writers like uh like like mister Berman. I just you know we both love the history of football and the history of football because of Al Davis, because of individuals like George Hallis.
Uh.
Even though we don't play each other very often. It it's it's I'm looking forward to just seeing the silver and black on the field facing our beloved bears here. So it's it's important to the history of the NFL. Would you agree.
You stated that perfectly.
There's nothing I can add other than to very very storied franchises that are very very good for the National Football League, and it is terrific when they meet.
But you know, if you guys.
Lived closer to me, like if Chicago wasn't so far from Los Angeles, and if I didn't almost freeze to death when I was once in Chicago, I would say, if we were closer, we could bet ice cream on the game.
But we'll We'll just have to enjoy it.
You know what if the Raiders win, When the Raiders win, I should say, for Raider fans, I'm going to have some ice cream and toast you from Afar.
And if you should win, you should do the same.
Sounds like a plan. Sounds like a plan. Amy, appreciate all your time, really enjoy it and continued success. And you know, don't be shy of the camera.
You know what, well, thank you.
The camera loves you so love the camera.
Ban how about that.
But I'm a big fan of your work and I appreciate you having me on.
Thank you so much. Thank you all right, Tom, A wonderful journey that she shared with us has been so impactful and that's certainly breaking down some barriers as a female executive in what at that time was definitely a male driven sport in all levels. So now we're seeing more and more women in all aspects of football, behind the scenes, marketing, executive level, training room, practice, field coaches, you name it.
They are a part of football, and I think they're having an impact on the game, whether it's Sarah Thomas officiated the game this weekend, or the you know, the female executives that have been become a part of the front office, to the training staffs all over the NFL. So I think it's a remarkable journey and I think it benefits the NFL to have that type of growth in its infrastructure.
Right now, when you spend over twenty nine ninety nine dollars at Steinhoffels, you'll score a one hundred dollars Bears Pro Shop gift card. Visit any one of their four Chicago land locations in Vernon Hills, Crystal Lake, Downers Grove, and Hartwood Height, or shop online at Steinhoffel's dot com. All right, so we mentioned a lot about Tyson Beijen. What are your expectations as you look at the tape and know what kind of defense the Vegas Raiders are
going to present on Sunday at Soldier Field. What would what would you like to see him do within the context and the framework of the of the Bears offense.
You know, I think he has to understand the timing in his head in the type of pressure that the Raiders can provide or put on you. But only work within the structure of the play. Don't don't try to
make an unrealistic play, an unrealistic throw. Make sure that you kind of get out there at the beginning of the game, get your second wind, and I think the tempo the game will slow down for you a little bit, and then it's going to be you know, maybe even you know, talking to Luke Getzi about his most confident plays to start the game with, where he feels the best, and you know who we would like to throw the ball too, because I think Tyson's been here long enough
that he knows every one of these receivers. He's had a lot of time with the starting guys throughout the course of this week and the backup guys that are going to play a role in this game.
Now that you're getting into depth.
Like Tyler Scott and Dayles Jones Junior, and even Deonta Foreman for that matter. So go out there and play football like you've been learning and preparing for your whole life, and just cut it loose man, and understand the down and distance, the field position of every play so you have a better understanding if you got to just get rid of the ball harmlessly out of bounds.
Not to keep belaboring his performance or how he's looking at it, but one more if I may, I was impressed when he said he told the coaches last Sunday against Minnesota and he was going to be put in the game. Hey, don't hold anything back. I know the game plan. I got it. So whatever play you want to, I got it. I mean, that's impressive. And they knew that though, because they're watching these guys prepare and he's prepared like a starter. It's the cliche, but it's the reality.
As the backup quarterback, you're one one bad hit away from being in the game, and that turned out to be the case last week. Does that give you confidence that he's going to execute this game plan at a high level.
Heck yeah, listen, man, Jeff, I've been I've been in this game before. Mike Tomzach was an undrafted free agent out of Ohio State when he came to the Chicago Bears in nineteen eighty five.
He made the.
Team and he played, and he won his first ten starts in the NFL. So this is not untapped territory for the quarterback position for the Chicago Bears. For my experiences that I went through and now what the Bears are going to go through with Tyson beagent. So that's why he you know, he's eye to eye contact with the coaches on the sideline telling them, look, I know what I'm doing. I know, let's go to work and
let's put this plan of an attack in place. And you know, I think whatever position you play, you know only because I was an offensive lineman and I didn't have any notification, but when I was going to go into the game, it was injury you're in.
And that's the same thing with Tyson.
And I think that he performed admirably, But I think when you have a chance to have a full week of coaching under your belt, I think we're going to see even a better performance out of Tyson.
Tom.
We talked to Deontay Forman this week for our Bears Weekly Interview that you can hear on ESPN one thousand and six o'clock on Thursday nights. And I hope that they do have a pretty steady diet of run game against the Raiders, run at Crosby, kind of mute the pass rush if they so desire. After watching how the Blitzes have affected this team over the course of the season, hopefully they will be toned down a bit on that. In that regard run the ball and that guy he's
ready to get lathered up. I got that impression. And from sitting next to them, how about you, Yeah.
You know you're gonna have to run the ball because that's the traits, that's the mo of the Chicago Bearris football team.
You're not going to become a.
Sixty pass a game team because you're starting Tyson Baja. No, you're going to have the carry blasting game in there, car blocking for the ball carriers. You're going to have a slew of guys that can carry the ball, starting with Deonta Foreman. But I would like to see more opportunities from the running back position from Dayles Jones Junior and when you look at the Raiders, though, Jeff, this is a different pass attacking team than the Minnesota Vikings.
So the timing and the protection is going to be a lot different than it was against Minnesota. And those are the things that the guys in front of them that have those responsibilities are going to have to understand how they need to perform to put Tyson in that comfort zone.
He tell me, what sense? What's the difference?
All right?
So when you look at the Minnesota bike, he's from the very first play of the game. The Chicago Bears had five blockers. They're all offensive linemen. Minnesota had six linemen at the line of scrimmage. Some of them are outside linebackers, but they're still on the line of scrimmage. So when you have guys jet that are block coming from the line of scrimmage, everybody knows who their responsibility is. They don't do that in the raid of The Raiders
are a multi level blitzing team. So now if you have a guy in a three point stance in his hand down, he's automatically the responsibility of an offensive lineman. If you have a blitzer that's coming from the second level, if you don't point them out and you tell the offensive line so and so is Mike. He's our responsibility. And there's another blitzer that comes from the second level, that's the responsibility of the back. Sometimes they come from
the third level. So it's a lot easier to identify responsibilities when everybody's lined up on the line scrimmage. When blitzers come from the second level, you got to make sure the running back understands his assignment according to the protection and how everybody's everybody is identifying their responsibility.
Patrick Graham is the defensive coordinator. I'm certain then, coming from the New England program with Josh McDaniels. Is this going to be a special game plan then, because that's what Belichick does, special game plan each week.
Well, it's going to be special because they're going to feel that they can take advantage of a first time starting quarterback.
It's gonna be a special game plan.
Because they're going to look at what the changes are, if there are any on the offensive line, and then how they can take it and take advantage of the new matchups. But they're going to do what they do well. They're gonna do what is their main influence, and that's Matt Crosby and so on down the line. But they're not going to start all of a sudden lining up differently than they have.
Since Josh McDaniels has got there. It's just gonna be.
They're gonna come from different levels, and they're gonna see if the Bears are have the ability to identify that, like I said, identify their responsibilities.
He definitely tends the blitz more on third and of course fourth down, so and zone defense is his primary. But it's a three four with the linebackers in a two point stance. So that's that's Patrick Graham and the three and three raiders. Let's talk offense because again we don't know who the quarterback is going to be, but they they have Josh Jacobs. He was the NFL rushing
leader last year and he's an outstanding pass receiver. He's been targeted thirty times more than any other back in football this year, but his rushing yardage is way down. What have you seen on tape that leads you to believe that what's going on there? Because he was outstanding a year ago.
You know, the offensive line, they're not guys, you know, they're not the hogs from the Washington Redskins.
They're not the Bears offensive lines from nineteen eighty five.
They are an offensive line and because of changes are so frequently made nowadays in the NFL, you don't get a group of guys that have played forty fifty sixty games together. You have a lot of interchangeable bodies there, and so I don't think they really developed a good relationship yet with Josh Jacobs, and so they're kind of said, Okay, we related the league in rushing last year, We're going to do it again because Josh signed a new contract, And that's.
Just the way it's going to be.
No, it isn't because you put every single defensive team on high alert and they know, look, if you stop the running game, you're going to put the game into the hands of Jimmy Garoppolo.
And he's a good quarterback.
But he's also the guy if you put that, you put enough pressure on him, he may be a guy that gives you one a game. So don't let the running game beat you and make them rely on their pass blocking ability and rely on the quarterback.
Yeah, they've been pretty standard up front in terms of personnel. Four starters have played all six games, the fifth starter at the right tackle position, Illuminator. He has played two starts and he's played all six games. So that's really the only change. I was unaware of this. I knew the Bears had a lot of different rotations last year because of injury and performance, but heard in the news conference on Wednesday, thirty games, twenty three changes on the
offensive line, twenty three different changes. That is not good.
It's almost impossible to develop that chemistry that we talked about since OTAs began, and when you have that many changes over the course of a season, over the course of a short amount of time that Matty eber BLUs has been here, it's almost impossible to develop a relationship with your running back and your fullback, your pass protection
in your quarter back. And I said, if there was ever a chance where this offensive line could get twenty five games together, I think you'd see an incredible an incredibly well performing offensive line. But it's about you know who can stay in there and who can when they get put in a position, who can hold it down and be in there multiple weeks. And that's so I say, when you go back and you look at our offensive line, when five guys started seven straight seasons.
It's something that will never happen again.
I agree, but let let's get let's get one whole season together, and I think you'll see a more highly performing offense.
Yeah, it'll be a different look this week for the sixth time this season. So it's going to happen again. Darnell right in the injury report with a shoulder. He was limited on Wednesday and as of this taping him not heard about Thursday's practice. All right, one last thing about the Raiders. Let's let's talk Tovantae Adams because I think we brought it up on the TV show Bears Game Night Live, and you I had fun with me a little bit because Devontae Adams without Aaron Rodgers, you know,
it's a different kind of animal. But he's still very good, he said, team record last season, hunter catches over fifteen hundred yards. He's still dangerous, and it'll be a great matchup for Jalen Johnson. I think that's something we're going to enjoy watching that battle, and Jalen's certainly looking forward to it.
I'm only going to enjoy watching it if Jalen Johnson gets his hands on a couple tip balls and maybe an interception. I don't want to come in here and see a Green Bay Packer performance by Devonte Adams. So it is going to be about what type of pressure can the defensive line and the linebackers continue to put on whomever's playing quarterback to make the timing of their
offense look dysfunctional. And then if they want do want to go to Devonte Adams repeatedly and Jalen Johnson is following him around the field, then eventually Jalen's got to come up and make the big play. And so I guess we'll see what the combination of offensive linemen can
do for the Raiders pass per Ti. But how this continuously improving defensive front of the Bears can continue to stop the run, make him getting second and third and long, and then really be able to be the spark of putting pressure on the quarterback because Brian Hoyer, if he is a starting quarterback, he's not very elusive. So you're going to be able to put pressure on a spot. And then if you do put in a young rookie quarterback, you don't know how he's going to react to pressure.
Miller Lite, the official Beer of the Chicago Bears tastes like middle Time Chicago, and take a chance download the Bette Rivers app today. All Right, a couple of things this week. Steve McMichael turned sixty six, your head coach Mike Dicket turned eighty four. Happy birthday to both. Ming is a superhuman tom Yeah.
I mean, he's fighting an incredible battle.
And you know a guy you know that is just as tough as nails as a player and as a person. He's shown the same resiliency in the battle he's fighting with als. And you know, we could say the same thing about a guy like Mike Ditka. You know, you've got a guy that has a reputation from the NFL when he's your head coach about being one of the toughest of the toughest, and you know he's still thought of in the same way.
Roger Goodell gets a new contract extension to twenty twenty seven, so that's another four years. He's sixty four years old, So that's kind of in the wheelhouse range now of when some of the greats that have impacted this game in Pete Rosell and Paul Tagliabu decided to move on, but that's that's big news from the NFL owners meetings. Also the idea that they are trying to get rid of or legislate out the the hip drop tackles, the one that hurt Geno Smith on the sidelines a couple of weeks back.
You with that, So, Jeff, tell me how many times that you've seen it this year.
You've seen it one time.
Jeff, and they're talking about making a rule change because of it. It's the unfortunate incident of reactionary sport. It's not something that these guys are trying to grab a player from behind and drop their body weight on the back of legs.
It's impossible to try to do so from the You know, all.
These guys in suits talking about changing the push play by Philadelphia or changing that one tackle that some head coaches complaining about on the sideline.
My gosh.
Sometimes it's just the unfortunate part of a sport that you're getting paid millions and millions of dollars to play.
Congussions down the lowest in training camp in seven years. I think they believe that's a big reason for the Guardian Caps. Do you suspect that they will make everybody where those in.
The in the near future in training camp.
Yeah, yeah, I mean I I would assume they would, you know, if if it is creating a safer head atmosphere for the practice and the fundamental teaching of the sport. Yeah, I do think, you know, hopefully they will. But you know it's you know, I'm glad, I'm glad it is it is becoming a safer practice atmosphere, all right.
I want to go back to one thing we talked about in the Tuesday Bears, et cetera, about the passage of flag football, and in twenty twenty eight Olympics in La and I said, Rob Grongngowski wants to play, and all these guys want to play. I hope no pro athletes will play in flag football. To really grow it, I'd like to get I'd like to have people that are not NFL caliber or NFL, USFL, XFL Canadian Football League caliber, a group of people that love the game,
are great athletes, but are not that. But I would love them to be able to play, be Olympians, to represent the United States in flag football. What's your thought on my idea? So you're somebody like.
Me something you're against the Dream Team yes, so the Dream Team went and won the Olympics. You're against that. No, well, listen, I'm in agreement with you, Jeff. I want to say that I'm just becoming antagonistic right now.
No, I think there's a lot of great athletes.
For some reason, they don't have the physical gift to play NFL football. But I think there's a lot of great athletes that are physically gifted to go out there and play flag football and an Olympic type of a level. So, yeah, I'm in agreement with you. I guess it would be like going to New Zealand or Australian stuff saying I hope I don't take their best Australian rules football or rugby players and all of a sudden turn them into flag football players.
Yeah.
So I think there's a lot of dynamic athletes in the world that I would like to see them a part of the flag football rather than you know, giving because I listen, I saw Chad Johnson and I saw some guys on TV last night talking about how they would they would like to play.
All right, so I wouldn't mind you going out there one more rupbian and offensive line and get an Olympic gold medal. But you know, I don't want to ex players playing.
Not a chance I could, Like I say, I could get in my stance, but I couldn't get out of my stands.
Good news, Chicago United Airlines getting brand new planes with all the bells and whistles, like Bluetooth connectivity screens at every seat and room for everyone's ruler bag. United Proud to fly to Chicago Bears, and you too, Tom, Thanks again, I appreciate it. We'll talk to you next week.
All right, that'd be number twenty seven.
Yeah, they're adding up. Can you believe we've done this many?
Why?
Well, I was always curious, why do you say that number before? Then? Because you know it.
Well, it's kind of the thing to do in podcasts, and hey, we're newbies, so I think it's kind of cool that we've already done twenty six episodes.
Yeah, me too, Me too.
But you know, I hope that we're we get into the hundreds and then the five hundred. You know, I don't want it to be a short lived exactly. So you got to bring it every show, buddy, and we got to get creative.
Oh hey, I'll be here.
I can be as angry as you want angry by talking about rules committees and all this other baloney.
Yeah, but you're an idea man, so you got great ideas. So we got to get we got to get. You know, once the off season hits, we'll get some new stuff in here too. So all right, Tom, that's going to be it for us. Thanks again, everybody. Our Next Bears et cetera podcast drops Tuesday for our week seven recap. Thanks for listening, everybody. Please subscribe now in the Chicago Bears official app, Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get
your podcasts. Bear Down, Everybody, Most Strange stupidsste