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I am Jeff Joniack whitz.
Is on Donny go Ho. What was like playing for coache Good done.
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What's Sunday stroll for justin Field? Bears et Cetera with the voices of the Chicago Bears Jeff Joniac A lot of developments after a road win in Washington for the now one in four Bears getting ready to host the one in four Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Fields Sunday at noon. Hello everybody, Jeff Joningac along with Super Bowl winning Bears
guard Tom Thayer. Welcome into episode twenty four The Bears et Cetera podcast, going to be with you every Tuesday and Thursday of the regular season, and today's guests include the play by play duo Paul Allen and Pete Burst to the Minnesota Vikings Radio Network, No Doubt, some lively conversation, Tommy getting ready for another NFC North battle with those two guys.
Yeah, you know, we hate you.
Have a lot invested in our teams and our organizations where we come from, how much we love our teams, the investment in time that Pete and I have with each of the teams, and you and Paul have in the business. So it's a lot of fun because it rarely happens that all four guys get a chance to get together and kind of speak freely about the experiences they've had so far.
All right, we'll take a look at that, but first to take a very long injury report today Tommy on Wednesday, No Kalo, Herbert, Travis, Homer, Lucas Patrick Roshawn Johnson or e Q Saint Brown. Three of those guys with hamstrings, two concussions in an ankle, Kyler Gordon, Eddie Jackson, Cole Comet, Jalen Johnson, Terrell Smith Limited, and they have a variety of different ailments coming back from We're going to talk mostly about Kyler Gordon and then Doug Kramer full goal
as he recovers from a thumb injury. But it's Kyler Gordon. Kyler Gordon, according to Matt Ebraflush will hear some of his comments, Let's play him right now.
Yeah, I mean it's a couple of things you got to evaluate. First of all, it's the conditioning level. We'll see where he is there, and we got to look at his movement. You know, his movement should be good, but really just with his conditioning, you know, and then how the use of the hand. You know, how he's going to use that hand. How does he feel good in terms of his position? You know, at that position, you have to take on blocks. You have to take on stock blocks, you have to take on fan blocks.
You got to be able to fold in there and make plays in the in the run game, uh, you know, in certain gaps inside. So you know, how does he feel that way? And then really just executing his coverages, you know, and I think that he's always done well with that. He's always been quick, He's always been instinctive. We anticipate seeing that as well. But just really how he's going to use that hand in its job.
Yeah.
You know, one thing about being a defensive back, you have to be able to disengage from offensive linemen that are coming out to the edge to block you. You have to be able to engage and disengage against receivers when they're trying to block you. You have to be able to use your hands when you are going to approach the line of scrimmage and tackle a running back, or you're going to approach a wide receiver a end and try to make a tackle.
To me, he talked about his conditioning, but when you.
Go through the process of having a hand injury, your conditioning is the one thing that you can take care of. So to me, I expect Kyler Gordon to be an equally as good condition when he got hurt up until you know, coming back Sunday.
And he was having a great start to camp. In that first game of the season against Green Bay, I was very excited about him at the nickel spot. He was going to focus on the nickel and I assume that will remain the case.
Tommy, Yeah, you know, but the Bears and John Hope and all the defensive backs coach, they have to evaluate some of the impressions left on from the guys that have had an opportunity to play. Is that going to increase the versatility of the defense, the versatility of the defensive backfield. Is it going to allow you to attack more from different angles if guys got certain experiences against the teams that they've been able to play so far.
So I think It's kind of exciting for the Bears when you have a chance to develop depth and then you get good players to come back.
All right. One of those good players right now is Terrelle Smith. Played some really physical football. Here's Matt eberflu sound the impressive play of the young man at a University of Minnesota.
Yeah, we love where he is right now. He's really growing, really improving, you know. We like where his tackling is, his coverage ability, his competes, his takeaways, all those things are really good and he's just got to continue to improve. He's going to play for us, you know how much, and all that will work through the week on that, but we certainly like where he is just in terms of his overall skill. I think John Hope is doing
an excellent job with those young corners, you know. And we're excited to get Gordon back in there, you know, and Jalen as well. So it's nice to have guys in there. And we'll see where all those guys are this week, the guys that are coming back. But excited to see those guys back for sure.
And I know we talked a ton and I did specifically about Tyreek Stevenson throughout training camp. But Terrell Smith has really made an impression. I love his physicality too.
Yeah, me too.
You know, I think sometimes when you're introduced to the game of NFL football after you play college football, it kind of takes you a little time to say, Okay, I do belong here. And I know if I continue to study, if I can, you know, get in better shape, get a better understanding of opponents, offenses, and the routes that are going to be run against me, I can improve as rapidly as I did through my college career
into my NFL career. And I think those are some of the growing opportunities, the growing pains that every young player has got to find their way to and through.
Good news Chicago United Airlines getting brand new planes with all the bells and whistles, like Bluetooth connectivity screens at every seed in room for everyone's rollerbag, int nighted Proud to fly the Chicago Bears and you too, Jeff and Tamma the Bears, et cetera. Podcast, So big news coming out with I didn't I mean, this guy's never missed a game. He didn't want to come off the field. The other day when Minnesota played Kansas City, but Justin
Jefferson goes to ir Tommy with a hamstring. Here's Maddie briffluesound adjustments a defense has to make without facing Justin Jefferson.
Yeah, I mean, you certainly adjust your your scheme, you know, to a great player like that, you know, and it's uh, you know, it's always there's a handful of guys in the league that you would do that for. So it allows you to play more basic, more more more solid on both sides as opposed to, uh, you know, tilting your coverage one way or the other. So that's the that's the basic way of saying it without giving too
much away. But I do believe that, you know, it certainly allows you to play your your base way that you normally play against a normal guy, normal people, rather than playing against a guy that's elite in the top three two or three guys in the league.
Which he is.
So he's the elite tom that that takes a huge weapon off the field. How would you then approach this team Because Kirk Cousins is the second leading passer in the NFL in terms of passing yards and he just lost his big gun.
I know, but you know what Jeff scares me about that is if I was playing against the team and they lost a premier defensive lineman. It's not like you can just have, you know, have a siar relief and say, Okay, everything's gonna be okay and we're gonna be able to control this game. Because Justin Jefferson isn't there. There's other
guys that are going to stand up. There's other ways that the offensive coordinator is gonna see the field, and he's gonna change the way that he attacks it, the opportunities he gives Kirk Cousins, how they'll use the tight end, how they'll use the other receiver.
So it's almost like you have to have a little.
Bit of emphasis of more seriousness when you don't have a superstar, because gosh dang, when Justin Jefferson's there, you know that he's gonna get twelve to eighteen.
You know, targets a game.
Right, and he's been averaging six first down receiving a game. His catch rate is very high. He gets a ton of yards after the catch. He puts you on your heels a little bit. So, yeah, you're losing a lot, but you know, I'm thinking the Hockinson's gonna get of evolvement, and I know these receivers they're pretty good, but they're better with him. They're better with that guy than alone. And maybe maybe one emerges. I don't know, but hopefully it's not against the Bears.
Justin Jefferson was great before Jordan Addison got there.
How do you know Jordan Addison doesn't.
Take advantage of an opportunity where he gets targeted six to eight more times a game and all of a sudden he shows his explosiveness, you know, and then you know what, they have a quandary when Justin Jefferson comes back, going, oh,
but you know, this Addison kid's pretty good too. So I'm just saying, you know, jeff you have to be on high alert when a superstar is missing because the analytics are all screwed up and you can't just go by all they're going to do this on this down because Justin's on the field.
You know, we had to come up with ideas to preview this game for the TV show for Bears Game Day Live and some other things that we do. And you know, one area that I think we should touch in this show as we preview. The matchup is pressure. How pressure will affect Justin Fields when it's gonna be coming at him potentially with four, with five, with six, with seven, they're gonna bring pressure with that coordinator, Brian Flores.
But opposite to this is what kind of pressure will they dial up against Kirk Cousins Because right now, and this is an NFL jenstats, I just saw this before we started the show, Kirk Cousins leads the NFL and TD passes in rhythm through the first five weeks of the season. Whatever their analytics define a rhythm, He's got ten and that's defined as dropbacks with the time to
throw between two and a half and four seconds. I don't know who he's got four seconds to throw in this league anymore, but two and a half seconds, you know that's about right. But he's throwing one hundred and nineteen touchdowns in rhythm since twenty sixteen, the only quarterback in the league over one hundred. Just for comparison sakes this year, Fields is number four in that list with
six in rhythm. My definition of rhythm is either if you're taking it, I'm under center, you set you throw on your backstep, whether it's three, five or seven in the shotgun, you step up a little bit, you have time in the clean pocket that Justin had, and you let it rip. Yes, kirk Cousins is a rhythm quarterback. So what aspects of the Bears defense do you feel can disrupt that rhythm? Starting Sunday afternoon a soldier field.
Kirk Cousins is a rhythm thrower because he doesn't have escapability or the athleticism that some of these other quarterbacks are blessed with. So if you can keep him in the pocket, don't give him him any escape route. If you can condense the area of his throwing rhythm and then either put your hands up and try to take up some throwing lanes or interfere with his throwing foundation, that's the best way that you screw up Kirk Cousins.
And when you don't have that rhythm of Justin Jefferson, knowing how quickly he wins the route in every time you break the huddle, sometimes your vision is going to have to take that half the second three seconds longer, which in the life of a play is eternity.
So you know you got to.
Close that two to four seconds down to one point three eight to two seconds maximum, and that's why it's going to be important to use the creativity the Bears did on defense by bringing the extra blitzer, be willing to bring the linebackers from the line of scrimmage, and the defensive linemen have to continue to win their rushes, and I think that's a key ingredient when you're playing against a guy like Kirk Cousins.
That's top there. I'm Jeff Joniyak. Let's now segue into our conversation with the voices of the Minnesota Vikings Paul Allen and Pete Persich. We've never done this before. We always have the analysts on Paul and occasionally the play by play guys, so I thought this could be interesting. We're going to have the two half of the NFC North broadcast crew together on this podcast to chop it up in preview Bears Vikings Sunday at Soldier Field. Paul has been in the booth what since twenty.
Oh two yep bo two two thousand and two.
And Pete was the Vikings quality control coach, then assistant d line coach, then assistant linebacker coach through two thousand and five. He couldn't hang on to one position. You just kept moving him around. Maybe you were moving up the decordinator, but then you come up, you go to the booth in two thousand and sevens you guys have been together for seventeen years.
It's been crazy. It's been a long time. Twenty it's twenty eighth season with the with the franchise. So don't like, I don't like to bring that up because somebody might just say, yeah, you've been here for too long.
Well, Tom and I are twenty seven. But Tom's got you know, he's got nine years of the Bears on top. So Tom's approaching forty years.
But you know what's crazy about Pete is because we just saw Ron rivera Ron rivera kind of climbed the same ladder you did, Pete. But when that why in the road came, he stayed into the coaching and you see where he's at now where yeah, you know, you stayed in the radio part of it, where Ron was in the radio part initially.
Yeah. And what's interesting with Ron is is when I first got into co coaching after I was done playing, I spent two it was two thousand and one. I went to the Combine and Tom Alvadadi was my position coach. But Tom introduced me to Ron, and then Ron actually spent you know, he spent a ton of time with me and was great. And one thing you learn about the NFL and coaching is the hardest job to get is your second job.
Right.
So I was with the Vikings for four years. I interviewed with the Patriots before my fourth years, after my third year of coaching, and then about a year after I was out. Just it was just it was just before I took the job, I believe with the radio, but they were but Ron had called me because he was interviewing with the Dallas Cowboys and he said, Hey, if I get the job, do you want to come down here? You know, so getting that second job is
a tough one. I made the decision that I wanted to stay in Minnesota, and so the only way to be involved in football would be to do the radio. You know, they had you had to talk Childress and they're letting me do that because obviously he came in two thousand and six and fired everybody. And you know, I owe it to Bob Hagen, who was an im media relations guy who said you know what, he's going the radio route, so he's not trying to get back
into coaching. Don't worry about it. And they brought me out and I've been there ever since.
Well, we're lucky to have both of these guys as our analysts, ex players who are passionate about the sport, aren't we?
Oh, no doubt?
And and I had the privilege in O two of starting with a former Vikings tied end Joe Censer. And you know, it's like, you know, I don't know if it's old school or expectations or whatever, but like you know, when Mike Tye was the coach, I had known Mike through horse racing back to the nineties, so my first job in play by play at any level, Tye was the head coach. So you know, it's like I immediately got in in a way where the trust is going to be challenged. Is they want to make sure they
can trust you if you're watching practice. So as you guys know, man, it's very very important in this game. But like with Joe, it's when Childress came in. Well, then all of a sudden, nobody's watching practice. Former players, announcer guy, none of it. Well, I couldn't care less, quite honestly, But like with Joe, he just didn't feel like he could do the job or was enjoying the job the way he was two, three, four and five. So he left and then incomes Pete. And it was
Adrian Peterson's first year. It was his Rookie of the Year season, and I just never will forget how excited Pete was in that nice, low level One of my favorite calling angles in all of the NFL is at Soldier Field and you're about five both down to the right, so you know that low video game angle. Man, you guys are just so blessed with that. But Pete was so excited to call his first game in his hometown Chicago.
I mean, he went so out of body in an unbelievably exciting game where we'll never forget Devin Hester putting in a double move on Dwight Smith.
I'm still mad at him.
I'm just how do you get beat on the double move?
And I mean, yeah, the guy, I mean that was when he first started putting him a wide receiver.
Long well walked off and it was exciting because we never wanted Soldier Field, but I was excited for the analysts because he got to come home and get a w.
Hey, Paul, I just want to ask you one thing about your building. You have the new building you guys are playing in. To me, it's one of the nicest stadiums that I've been in the NFL throughout my career. But when you think of the old atmosphere at what Dicka one time referred to as the roller Dome, is there a difference in the atmosphere from the old stadium to what this new one has been able to develop?
Awesome question, and the answer is yes. Now, when we have the Minneapolis Miracle game, that's about as loud as I've was the loudest I've ever heard US Bank Stadium, uh nine, NFC Title game at Super Dome is the loudest I've ever heard any concert game stadium in our lives. And but with the Metrodome, you know it it was so intimate and and you know, I mean it's it's anti it was antiquated. So Metrodome was more intimate than the US Bank Stadium. And I'm not being Homer announcer here, guys.
I mean you guys have seen all of the stadiums like we have we got to that Miami thing last year with that awful cornerge awful that X sucks, you know, and you guys.
Were just there. Well, how about Meryl, Reese.
And Quick a few years ago after the pandemic. They just refused to go. That's how bad that booth is. But I I honestly believe because of the amenities, the lighting, the booth locations and just everything, it's the best stadium in the National Football League.
I would agree. I would agree everybody asked me about that. I also love Seattle. Just a different vibe there. It gets loud there and it's just you w yeah.
Booth right, and Jeff and Jeff. If I can piggyback on what Paul was saying when when when Tom was asking about the Metrodome, there was something to be said about having a place where people the other teams did not like to go.
Right.
The turf wasn't really great. It had a because of the painting for football or for baseball, and then the football it had this powder on it that made it like somewhat slippery. You know. The vis you had to walk down up all those stairs to get out long walk field. If you're if you're a visitor. So the opposing teams did not like coming to the Metrodome, and that's just the beginning, because then it was loud, and
then it was everything else on top of it. So I think everybody enjoys going in and out and being in US Bank Stadium, so it you know, maybe that's been a trend across the NFL, where you know, when I remember playing a candlestick and walking out to the field and there's water running off the field down the stairs into the locker room like it was a river.
I mean, you know, I'm sure Tom has a million stories about how bad, especially Philadelphia, how bad stadiums used to be, and how that used to be an advantage to the home team, whereas nowadays they're all, you know, pretty much all the stadiums are really, for the most part, fantastic. We know, you know, Homer Away doesn't matter. It's a weird place.
We had a TV show a Sunday night game before I think Colin Kaepernick's first NFL start against the Bears, and we're there, like, you know, ten, well, it's late at night, we're doing our show, and all of a sudden, there's a family of raccoons walking right behind us. They made the TV show unbelievable, unbelievable. But yeah, Tom's got a theory. You know, once we get a new stadium done with Kevin Warren, wherever it may be, Tom's got
plans make make the opposition feel uncomfortable. Right, Tom, what's the first thing you say?
I say, make the most inconvenient walk from the locker room to the stadium that the stadium surface. You possibly can make the locker room itself super cramped, because when you think of old Candlestick Park, you think of old Cleveland Stadium, you think of some of those old archaic buildings that we had to go in as a full you know, a full game day roster, plus all the
trainers and all the other support staff. It's just a miserable three hours that you have to spend in there and can't wait to get out of there.
Tom. I'm saying, Tom, there's nothing like rolling into a stadium and sitting down at your locker and then having to share it with like one or two other people right when you're in the visual locker room. It's the worst of Jeff.
You said, the next Bear Stadium, wherever it's going to be and we both know Kevin Warren Bear's president incredibly well.
I got a lot of respect for Kevin. But but nevertheless, how's it.
I mean, it better be in Arlington Heights because being a thirty year racetrack.
Guy for Arlington Park to be eradicated and then there not be a stadium there.
Come on, man, hey, you know, it's a process, that's all I know, don't I know. There's a lot of discussions with Chicago once again and some other metropolitan area cities here, so we'll see, we'll see what's going to happen. But yeah, I think it's everybody's doing their due diligence here,
and every fan wants to know. We're on the Bears et cetera, a podcast and we're brought to you by a PNC official Bank of the Bears, with Paul Allen and our good friend and the guy who just won't go to dinner with me in suburban Hinsdale, Pete bur Stitch along with Tom Fair. I mean, I don't know why you won't.
Go my analyst right here, I don't know that's why A bad number or whatever you are, the word you there was a time of your life. You were the worst at returning text messages to the Vikings Radio network in the history of anybody.
We texted.
Who is that me?
Yeah?
That was you.
Yeah, hey, listen, it's not only it's not only the fellow broadcasters around the league. So a couple of weeks ago, we're playing in Tampa Bay and it's like three hundred degrees out and so I go on, I go on the super early bus and I sweat profusely.
So two hours before Jeff is.
Leaving his room, I text him a message and I go, hey, Jeff, if you get a chance, could you grab one of the towels out of your room so I have something during the TV show.
Never heard back, never got back.
To me, didn't bring the towel, And he goes, oh, I didn't want to answer my phone. So listen, it's no, it's disrespect to everybody, not only you.
Wow.
I knew it would flare into this. Oh yeah, there's yeah.
I thought we were special times.
I thought we were.
Now listen, I don't want to get into the Kansas City game where he forgot his sunglasses on the bus and then he left his cell phone in the toilet.
I don't want to get into that'll be for a whole.
You know, we are as close to each other as announcers as you possibly could be. Our crews they become family and you know, as you can tell, we're airing some laundry here and whatnot. But no, I've known Tom, you know, for a very long time, but the twenty seven years most impactfully, and we are like brothers. Unfortunately, I'm the little brother who gets pounded on what's your relationship like outside of the booth.
My part will be quick is I just love Pete and honestly, to have somebody else in the booth as long as I call Vikings games, I really don't ever want to have anybody else in the booth. I just I think we compliment each other beautifully with the way God gifted me to do it and his even keel demeanor. Yet he jumps up there, you know, because he genuinely cares and he gets the game better than me.
So I love working with Pete Man.
The funniest part is my first game in two thousand and seven, my first preseason game, I got zero in the way of anyone saying, well, this is kind of what you do and this is when you talk, and this is when you don't everything that I owe, everything that I am as a as a broadcaster, I owe to Paul because Paul, you know, love isn't given somebody what they want. It's given them what they need. And Paul has always been there to say, hey, you need
to do this. Hey, you know, even during a broadcast, to pull me aside and say hey, you know, and and he's you know, he's given me the he's a stickler on pronunciations, on names and things, and so I've made that my mission, my goal to make sure that that's you know, that's what I do. But he's always there to pull me aside and say, hey, when this happens, try this or this or this, and it's all, you know. So he's given me, he's learned, he's he's he's learned
everything the hard way. And because of that and his generosity, I don't have to learn things the hard way. And it's it's been an absolute I mean, Paul, we've been through. We've been through like just like you and you know, Jeff and Tom, we've been through a lot as far as this team goes, and uh, you know, the surviving it together and being where we are now. I mean, I couldn't I couldn't be happier. So and I don't think Paul enough publicly, and I want to thank him
right now. It's just he's been fantastic as a mentor and everything else.
Well, look, I.
Got to ask you a question about the modern day vikings because this is why I've been wanting to ask you guys. Yeah, I get up and I kind of start the same routine. I get up, get my dogs out, I walk them early in the morning, and I turned the sports TV show on and I just listen.
And every single day it seems like.
There's talk about Kirk Cousins one way or the other, whether the good or the bad, the trading or the not trading. Is that starting to kind of, you know, not upset or you know, kind of take over the narrative of the team, or is it something that's not talked about as much as I'm hearing it talked about.
Well, I mean it's it's a lot a lot of the origin of that Tom and I get asked a lot about it when I do interviews outside of the market or even just like in my life here it's functioning clickability for a lot of secondary type websites. So I'm like, when Tom Pellisero or Adam Schefter or somebody puts something out there that I will know is legitimate, well then I'll start thinking more about it. Because to
who much is given, much is expected. And when Kirk took that took that three year guaranteed piece into the twenty eighteen first time in the history of the NFL. Minnesota is a very habit state. I'm from Washington, d C. I've lived all over the world. Piet's from Chicago, but I've lived here since ninety eight so I've learned it's a habit state. And you know, they it's Kirk's worst season with us was twenty eighteen, so there are a lot of people who just never forgot the cash and
then the pick sixes. So that's from a fans standpoint, I think they're a little too hard on him. But now I don't really take it seriously until I either get steamed from the inside that it may be happening or a big dog sit out there on Twitter. You know, for Kirk too, he is what he is right, He's a pocket passer, he's unbelievably accurate, good arm strength doesn't move, you know, he's there easier to pressure him in that respect.
So I think a lot of a lot of the criticism and things that people come up with, they just dwell like, they fixate on those things that he can't do. And I'm sure you guys see that in the same thing in Chicago is that everybody wants to talk about what the quarterback can't do, but what they forget are all the things that he can do. And oh, by the way, go ahead and bring somebody else in here and see how bad it can be, you know what
I mean, It just bothers it. That's the part I think that bothers me is is just you can't make them into something they're not. So you have to find a way to live and learn and win with where you know who they are and what they're about.
You know, one of the big things with Justin Jefferson being sidelined right now, and as a broadcaster, I'm always bummed when the stars the superstars aren't to play because you only get so many opportunities in our career to call the superstars. So he's not going to be there. But you know, fifty I looked it up fifty nine of kirks one hundred and twelve completions of twenty five plus since twenty twenty when he became a board of
gone to Jefferson. So that connection is something that we see brewing right now, at least in the last couple of weeks with Dj Moore and Justin Fields. How rare is that to embrace and miss when it's not there?
Well, whomever was the first person, jeff In, you know, before the pandemic in twenty twenty, we're we're at the combine in what February of twenty twenty, and then you know, a month later everything changes. But being at that combine, whomever the first person was to say this wide receiver draft is the best is going to be the best in the history of the NFL.
Yeah.
I mean we're old schoolers, so I'm like, all right, cool, talk to me. After twenty five games. Well, they were right, it was you guys got Darnell Mooney out of it. And you know, I can tell that there's an adjustment with Darnell game and Justin still growing, and now DJ's there and and comets. He was a problem before and
now he's more of a problem. So Jefferson came out of that draft, and and you know, Pete and I knew nearing the end of the twenty twenty season and then twenty one two and this year he seemingly cracks a Randy Moss record, either Fankings related or NFL related every two weeks. And it's like when you're when you're passing Randy Moss and Lance Alworth and Michael Thomas when he was hot, you just know you're onto something. So
he and Kirk very comfortable together. But but this is a pass first team where the tight end gets a ton of gets a ton of opportunity. This USC rookie Jordan Addison has three touchdowns. Osborne will sneak up on you if you're not paying an attention. And you know, Kirk Swivel is very apparent. He is a pocket guy, but he's not a one read guy. And Kirk, it's an equal opportunity quarterback, but he knows where the metaphorical bread is buttered and is with number eighteen.
You know, you think of the Vikings going forward, the contract status of Kirk Cousin, the contract status with Justin Jefferson wants you know you got rid of Dalvin Cook, who was supremely respected in one of the top running backs in our division.
How is this team gonna fix the gap?
You know, I mean the contract to Justin Jefferson or the quarterback future. Is the future quarterback on your roster or is it you know, thinking outside outside the room.
Yeah, that that's an awesome question. I mean I handled that a lot with my KFA and radio show. I'd be curious to get Pete's thoughts on that, because I'm quite quite honestly into the season, I was surprised that a quarterback of Kirk's caliber is going to be most likely no, he will be a free agent after this year, to which my initial response is, I mean, seriously, if you think finding a quarterback as good as Kirk Cousins is easy, okay, May God be with you and best
of luck to you. And maybe they obviously have something up their sleeves that a I'm not asking about, or be we don't see.
And again, when you pay somebody, you're not you know, yeah, what you've done in the past, you say you get paid for what you've done. It's like, no, you're getting paid for what you can do and what you've done in the past should be an indicator of what you can do, which is why we're paying you so much. But he's not getting any younger. So the question is is how much can he command at his age with
what he's done now. If that's palatable and the Vikings can keep them there, I'm sure justin Jefferson would be very, very happy about that. But if it becomes an issue where you know his expectations are up here, you know, the Vikings are saying no, I don't think in three years you're going to be, you know, making that amount. And that's a tough decision that they have to make, and you know that's the thing. It's it's the business.
I'll say this though, I have the utmost amount of confidence in Kevin O'Connell to find and develop a quarterback, no matter who that is. That I mean, really, that's it's the most difficult position in all pro sports. It's the most important position in football. You have a guy that played it, that's coached it, and you know, I trust what he does and what he says, and I think that you have the right guy in place to handle this transition if it comes sooner than later.
Take a chance download the Bette Rivers app. Today here in the Bears et Cetara Podcast, we've got time for two more questions. I'll start with one in time you can wrap it up. Brian Flores loves the pressure, so it's today. Matty briefly said, Yep, you guys bring it sixty one percent of the time. What should Justin Fields and company expect the offensive line expect from Brian Flores with this NFC North matchup Sunday.
Pete is much more equipped answer that question than me. I'm just gonna get this out of the way. There now have been in my twenty twenty two calling Vikings football. There now have been two things this year that I don't think. I mean, here is the early week stages of the game calling depth chart.
Yeah, so we still got a lot of work.
To do with it.
There are two things that have been put on that game calling depth chart this year that I've never put on in my life. When we were in Carolina and A Bryce Young's yards per attempt was four point two with seventy one throw So I'm like, wow, I've never put that down before. And really, with all due respect because he's still maturing and he played fifteen last year in five this year, seventy five sacks and twenty games. I mean, I've never ever put anything like that on
the game calling depth chart. So that's all I have to offer on that commentary, Peter.
It's our coloss, right, it's kind of what the defense does. And I think if there's something for Flores, you take a look at what went on in the offseason with free agency with everything else, there weren't there weren't a lot of moves made on defense. So you had a thirty first ranked defense a year ago that with the same guys, maybe a couple undirafted free agents, but for the most part, the same guys playing much better there.
It's their philosophy. We going into Week five, there were only three players in the NFL that it blitzed thirty or more times, and all three of them were on the Vikings team. Now, you're gonna show blitz all the time, but are they gonna blitz all the time? No, they're gonna drop. They're gonna send five sometimes sometimes they'll send six, sometimes four and sometimes three. And it's that cat and mouse.
It's that cat and mouse in that chess game that you play with putting guys on the line of scrimmage and then dropping some off or sending them so the quarterback doesn't know exactly what he's going to get. He's going to take the safe bet quick throw to the outside and then you just have to rally and tackle. I think with fields, if you can get to him early, then his eyes don't go down the field, they go to the rush, and I think that's that's really what
you have to do. I think we have the athletes now that can do a better job of chasing him down. If he does decide to run, he's gonna get his yards one way or the other. The thing is is if he gets it dropping back, pulling it down and then scrambling. I think the Vikings can live with that, right Well, you can't live live with is letting Dj Moore catch a hitch and then breaking it for fifty You can't, you know, you can't live with with fade
routes and the big explosive passes. So I think for the Vikings defense and for Flores, they're going to want They're going to say, Okay, that's that. That's our game plan going into this, And you know, I don't know what the what the what the status if your running back room is But you know that running, you know, the running, the ability to run the football is going to be important for you guys. And we'll see if
that's going to be handicapped or not. Because if it's on, the more it's on fields and him throwing, the more we're gonna blitz. Let's just put it that way, you.
Know, guys, I was looking at one of the stats that the Vikings are minus nine and turnovers in a couple of weeks ago, Kevin O'Connell said, look, if who ever turns the ball over there, I'm gonna look to replace him. Does he carry that kind of cachet into the locker room because I know throughout the difficate era he gave us a lot of you know, threats and they and he was willing to make a change at the drop of the hat. So is that message clear to the players about how serious he is about it?
Well?
Absolutely, I mean cam Akers is here and nobody knew he'd be here a couple of weeks ago. Madison still getting a fair amount of carries. But you know, you you you, yes, he is serious. Yes, he is very well respected. I get the opportunity weekly to do a sit down, one on one interview with him, tape it every Tuesday called Ex's and O's. Pete's also there to take it in because he does a film study with
O'Connell right after. And man, we've been from Mike Tye to Brad Child, trus Leslie Fraser, Mike Zimmer.
Now this with Kevin.
I mean, he's won one of our absolute favorites. We adore him. He cares, he wears the losses and is upset for the fans on his sleeves. So and he's an e lead offensive mind, and he's also an elea leader.
So you don't you know.
What what the team did last year going eleven to zero in those one score games. It's so disrespectful to coaches and players to say that they got lucky repeatedly and all the work they put into it, with the execution, Hey, I'm a horse racing guy, mam. Every photo finish we got last year, our nose is getting down second this year. And again we're not homerrific announcers here.
We Kansas.
They should have beaten Kansas City, quite honestly, they should have beaten Philadelphia. They should have beaten the Chargers, and they should have beaten Tampa Bay and they didn't. That minus nine and Pete giggle when you brought it up because he just knows it's working on my last and I get nappothletic, and I'm getting loud with some of them because I'm just getting pissed off seeing I understand
seasons or snowflakes. No two are the same. However, what we've seen in twenty twenty, I've never seen in my life. Losing eight bumbles through five games. And where they are on the field down at the goal line against Philly, at the two against Tampa. We're rolling down the field against the LA Chargers like the twenty seven Yankees man Hockinson on the run, middle of the field at the
twenty eight drops it. Madison had a screen last week against the Chiefs that was set up so beautifully it would have been a first down or get to the house, just.
Quiet, look look like a friend.
Adrian Peterson, with all due respect, trying to get the bran of it.
It just is so frustrating.
Man, Hey, hey, Tom, Here's the other thing too, is is you say you know you fumble the ball we're going to replace you. Keep in mind, we've had six different people players fumble the football. There are five offensive linemen on the field, so you only have six other people that touch the football. Yeah, well all six of them would have been replaced. We wouldn't have a quarterback, we wouldn't have a running back, we wouldn't have either of our tight ends, and we wouldn't have Justin and
we wouldn't have Powell. I mean, we wouldn't have anybody. So it's almost mind boggling. And part of me thinks it's guys now all of a sudden, trying to do too much. It's gone to a level that, like I said, Pa and I are just like incredulous to it. So if we come out of the back, if we come out of the gate and we start moving the chains, don't panic, Tom, Yeah, don't panic, you know, Jeff, don't
plan it well, don't panic. Don't panic until that ball crosses the goal line, because we've been known to get rid of it all at every point down the way along the way.
But Jeff and Tom just just to put a fifteen second wrap on this. It's the other side of the ball too that we've never seen, at least in my life where Chargers game right in the hands of second year corner of Caleb Evans, and of course you off into the awaiting arms of Josh Palmer, so he scores.
Of course he scores a touchdown.
Just last game, rookie corner Makay Blackman had one, couldn't bring it in. They got third and eighteen Man and we're gonna beat Mahomes and he chucks one over the center of the field to a wide receiver named Justin Watson. Our safety can find him right there, but he missed time just jump and it went through his hands. So I mean we're seeing that too on defense.
Well from our perspective, we certainly hope the ball continues to bounce away from your good hands and into ours. That thing up again, Yeah, yeah you will, Yeah you will. So I heard one say apoplectic. I heard the other one say, what was it? Incredulous? So we got a lot of big words from the big guys from Minnesota, And hopefully after all these you remember the day's time when we'd run into Pa underneath Soldier Field before the game.
We say, can't take it easy, And I said today I know that you guys are from the big city. This is what he would do to me in his early days. He would just be giving me the business.
But I love it.
No, it was prophetic because I was teasing you before you have leaving Pete and I on Red with these text message, Hey, hey, before we go. I do want to say this because I play from the heart. Your quarterbacks coach Andrew Jinoco is one of my all time favorite people in football. I love that man. We pray on the field before every game when we get the opportunity.
We did that here with the Vikings. And I had a chance to meet Matti Eberflus last March here in Minnesota at a church function called a Rise with the guys and man, we chatted a lot, and I know things ain't great right now, but that man has a heart of gold. He is an elite football mind and I really really pull for Matt to do well.
A lot of people do. All right, we got a run. We'll see you on Sunday. Bring it and as you always do. You guys are outstanding, some of the best.
Aswayne Larabie and Dan Miller. Mote.
Hey you got you gotta try me, You gotta try me.
Hey, this is gonna end.
We can this, this is this is the coffee pot. We just need the coffee pot out of your booth. Oh yeah, can we get Can we.
Get there as much as you want? Donuts? Donuts are there too.
That's all I'm worried about.
Love you guys, Love you guys. To Paul Allen Pete Bursts. You'll see you Sunday.
Thank you.
All right, Well that was a lot of fun, Big Tom. That was fun with those two guys.
Well, I'm glad I still have my college thesaurus around because I did have to go up and look at a couple of words that they used. And we'll talk with listen, man, we're talking football. We're talking to a couple of c students here, So you can any word that's over eight or nine letters, I'm gonna have to look.
Oh god, they're fun. But you know, that's what we love about the division. We certainly we're very close to Wayne Larvy up in Green Bay and Dan up in Detroit and Lomas Brown. Just fun. Guys get to see him twice a year, and that that adds up over the course of our NFL careers. So it's good to hang out with those guys.
That was a great idea by you, and I wish we could do it more because I think with all four of not being specific to the game, you know, not being moments before kickoff, and having a chance to talk a little bit about of experience because each year we get to talk to Loemus from up in Detroit, and I love that dude, and he's a fun guy to talk to, and he's so gracious and happy and he's got such a great.
Disposition that you know.
And I was messaging Pete and I said, maybe this is an invention of a new podcast where you know, to every team in the NFL, but most certainly your guys in your division.
Yeah, it's it's fun in the division, and it's a scheduling thing. You know, you got to get everybody's got everybody's got other things going on, so it's hard to put together for all your journeys ahead, go with a partner who's been on your team from the beginning of the one members and communities have trusted for over eighty five years. Blue Cross and Blue Shield if Illinois always standing by you, with you, for you through it all. DJ Moore NFC Player the Week offensively. Now, I was
shocked by this one. I would have lost this bet the last Bears receiver to be player of the week. I know, it's just it's an out of reward. It should reflect the entire offense and the way that offensive line protected justin fields and fields with the on target throws. But the last you know who the last one was. If you already seen this, you're not on Twitter, so you wouldn't have seen it. Take a guess the last Bears receiver to be offensive Player of the Week in the NFC.
Brandon Marshall.
See that's what I would have thought. No, and nope, it's not Brandon Marshall. Then I went to plan B al Seon Jeffrey al Seon Jeffrey had a two hundred yard game in his career. The last one was nineteen ninety nine and it was Marcus Robinson.
Yeah, Marcus Robinson.
You know he ran a lot of street routes, so I used to call it nine routes back in the day where he was so big, so talented. You could use the sideline and then use his size, throw it up and put it in a position where only he could catch it. And if a tips off off of his fingertips, or he misses it, it harmlessly falls out of bound.
So but in the course of then double checking that, I noticed something unique and I'm glad it happened. And I don't know if you remember the game. I know I'm bringing this stuff at you cold here. But nineteen ninety season of which you were a part of on the offensive line, you guys are gray beards. At that time, I saw the ages of everybody. You were twenty nine. The entire offensive line of the Bears was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week. Do you remember what
game that was in nineteen ninety? Because I went to look, there was nothing extraordinary like that. I didn't see any statistical craziness.
Do you know Arizona? Out in Arizona?
Why what happened?
It was really funny because that morning Jay woke up with the flu. No, when Jay gets the flu, his all in. They actually he came on the early ride to the stadium with me. He was thrown up in a plastic bag. He got there and they tried to get him ready to play the game. And whenever Jay gets the flu, man over the edge. And so he came on the early transportation with me to the stadium,
and he was thrown up in a plastic bag. We got to the stadium, he tried to recover and he couldn't recover, and so they shipped him out the back door in an ambulance.
And took him to a hospital.
And so Jerry Fonteau ended up starting the game and we went out there and we crushed him.
We had like two hundred and fifty yards rushing.
And then we flew back home and Jay had to pay.
For a flight and fly back on his own later that night.
And so we got home and as we are gathering the next day, Dick said, hey, remember Wally Pip and.
Is of course, of course everybody knows Wally Pip. So he got Wally Pip by Jerry.
Yeah, I got Wally Pip by Jerry fonte And yes, we are the NFC offensive player of the week.
See heart Seltzer, the official Heart Seltzer of the Chicago Bears. All right, got a couple other random thoughts, Tommy, the team right now is third in the NFL and explosive plays. So they made a huge jump here. I went back looked at the statistics one week ago they were twenty first in offensive points scored. Now there's seventh third downyards. They've gone from twenty second to fifth. They got one hundred and eighty yards on third down on Thursday. Dj
Moore at one hundred and forty of those. He's now the NFL's number one receiver on third down and he's averaging twenty one point three yards to catch on third down. That's the big play football. But you know, you think about all this holy kW Justin on twenty plus yard throws number one in the NFL and completions of twenty plus yards. It can it fix that quickly? Is my point? Can this be sustained?
Well, I mean it's got to everything's got to work together. You have to have the proper protection for Justin where he's not hassled. He'd he doesn't have interrupted vision and he's always had long ball accuracy and if you give him that opportunity, he can be successful. And then you get the combination of Luke Getzi calling the right play at the right time. I don't know why it's not sustainable, but that's going to be interesting to see this week.
And it's a good thing you're playing at home because you're going to have a lot of things at your advantage the game. You're coming off of the ability to use a verbal snapcount, and it's up to the protection of the offensive line.
I mentally, a defense goes in facing a team that knowingly they passed the ball seventy percent of the time, they run it less than thirty percent of the time. So they're not, as Paul Allen indicated, they're not committed to running the football. So are they already one dimensional when you walk in the building.
No, because the Bears have been giving up some yards to the run. So I think you're going to have to investigate the opportunity if you're the Minnesota Vikings, and because you don't have Justin Jefferson, and you can use multiple tight end sets to see if if you can gain some susceptibility to success at running the ball. But I don't think they'll like nor throwing the ball as
much as they have. But maybe they'll get down to fifty five forty percentage rate rather than throwing it so often to Justin Jefferson.
All Right, I got thoughts on Cairo Santos. We rarely talk about him, and that's a good thing because it was a time not that long ago when we were obsessing about who is going to be the Bears kicker. But he's done a great job as a Bear. I think you'd agree. This season, all twenty five of his kickoffs have reached the end zone. So we haven't spoken till We don't know what he's done in the offseason. But they used Trent and Gill a lot last year
kicking off the football. That's one thing right there. He's number ten now among active kickers and field goals made in the NFL, and since joining the Bears tied for the highest field goal average as a kicker at number five, and as a team, the Bears are tied with Vegas at number one during his time as a Bear. Is this an underrated weapon that we're not given enough love.
To well early portion of the season.
Is I wish I had the schedule memorized and I could know exactly where and when the Bears play outdoor in difficult weather conditions, because sometimes that's what haunts Cairos the most. And you know, I guess that's what I that's kind.
Of my way and see about him.
Okay, brock Purty in San Francisco, first quarterback in the Super Bowl Era to start five to zero in both his first and second season. Some are saying he's now on the MVP watch list. This is some kind of story. I gotta tell you.
Well, I mean, listen, it's an extremely versatile offense and you have to have the right quarterback to run the offense. It's not because it's not because of the head coach that Perty's playing great. Perty's playing great because he's got a lot of weapons and changes and unbalanced play calling, and he's he's really making great decisions.
And now I'll leave you with this as we wrap things up. Right now. When you spend over twenty nine to ninety nine at Steinhoffels, that's two nine hundred ninety nine dollars. You score a one hundred dollars Bears Pro Shop gift card. Is it any one of their four Chicagoland locations in Vernon Hills, Crystal Lake, Downers Grove, and Harwood Heights, or shop online at Steinhoffels dot com. You're
gonna love this one. Bill Snyder, the former head coach at Kansas State, was there a long time, turned that program around. We all know who he was. This is a quote I picked up. He said, the weight room is the heartbeat of your team. It creates its mindset, and you are not consistently going to beat anyone without gaining advantage in that area of the program. That would have made Clyde Emerick very happy and proud. Is that the truest statement of football you've heard in a while.
There's never been a more truer statement ever made. And I'm glad a guy with his experience and his lineage in made it. I could wear a metal around my neck with his face on it because of it. And to me, when all these people want to look at excuses why a lot of injuries are happening in the NFL, it's not because of field conditions or the surface they're
playing on. It's because a lot of these players don't attempt to get as strong as they can possibly humanly be to protect all elements of their body.
And so Bill Snyder, thank you.
Yeah, that was a statement to end on for sure, Big Tim, good luck on your preparation for the Bears and Vikings. It's fun to be back in the division and I know you'll be there bright and early on Sunday.
Buddy, good luck. What the heck, do you give me good luck for?
Hey?
You know what? We all need a little good luck, look to prepare.
I got it right, I got it right here as I point to my heart, Nagi, that's right.
And I got my high of strong T shirt on.
Yes, yes, indeed behind them.
Aw.
We don't forget about the Hawaiian fires.
Right, we got We got so much in this world to worry about right now, big time, so much. But you're right, let's not forget what happened.
Never.
Never. That's a long way from finding a conclusion and getting on the right track. I'm sure. All right, Tom, We'll talk to you soon. Thanks for listening to everybody. Our Next Bears Etc. Podcasts drops Tuesday for our Week six recap. Thanks for listening, everybody. Please subscribe now in the Chicago Bears official app, Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Spared out, everybody,