Dan Pompei on Devin Hester's future HOF bid | All Access Podcast

last night. I went to the Mike Dicka party and now I've joined you guys at seven thirty in the morning out here. So I really love YouTube Tom. Jeff, good to be with you. Well, Happy birthday, big Jim. I'm feeling good. It was a great night. It was a really fun time. Brian Irlacker was there, so I talked to her Lacker last night. It was a lot of fun. That's great. It's great to you know, it's great to still have this continuous support of Mike Dicka.

You're continuous support of the Chicago Bears, and hey, you're a major media marketed you know, baby, so every where you go, it's the party of the night. Well, last night was a better than usual party. Brian knows how to throwing me, let's put it that way. Dick always good and Brian really followed up pretty well. So Brian had his own party. Yes, okay, well that is home turf right now in Arizona, so uh first and foremost and Dika that that famous party, you know, for the

for the injured veterans is always an important one. It draws a lot of big names, a lot of support from Mike. How's Mike doing. He's doing great. Rod Droworski was there. They've done it for years and Brian, you know, because Mike's you know, coach Dick is going through some health issues and Brian has kind of taking that Moniker

and taking it forward. So it's a great thing. All right, We're gonna thanks our producers as always, Dan Brilliant, Jordan Trentup and the folks here at the Score were brought to you by IGS Energy. So let's start with the awards night last night. And obviously the big drop was is going to be in that Hall of Fame class Chicago Bear fans obviously wanted to know what the situation was with Devin Hester did not make did not make it? Tom and Jim, I'll start with you guys on your

reaction to that first and foremost. Later in the program, we'll be talking to Dan Pompey, who's on that forty nine man committee to select the Hall of Fame class.

You know, I'm disappointing, You know, Jeff, We'd have the opportunity and the privilege to broadcast every single one of Devin Hester Hester's game, So this is not somebody that we're hearing about or listening to stories that people had, eyewitness accounts of what he was able to accomplish his day to day detailing of how he worked at his

craft in order to be the best in its disappointing. Well, I think for me, anytime any of these voters, and I talked to a lot of them out here, from Jeff Hobson to you know, you look at Alex Marvez, all these voters who vote for the Hall of Fame, it's always about who changed the game, who has made an impact on the game and changed it, And I think Devin Hester has done I mean clearly as a

statistics proven but as Tom says. The further you get away from it, now you start to get into the senior class and all those type of things, and it gets pretty political. Those guys get in a room and they kind of get to the point where if you vote for my guy, I'll vote for your guy, and they're kind of trading how do you say it, They're they're they're kind of basically using votes in order to get their guy in and it becomes very political at

that point. But at the end of the day, it's got to be who's who's the guy that changed the game, Who's the guy who went back to the game more than anyone that has ever done it. And I think Devin Hester has done that personally. Yes, Devin Hester did revolution ice how teams prepare for the kickoff return and the punt return. And it still puzzles me to this day why why they even bothered kicking to him because he made something happen and that group was so invested

in getting him to the end zone. It became a fury. It just a furious fury to get him to the end zone. And it happened to him any times. Again. We'll talk more about Devin in particular coming up in a segment later on tonight. Also the class itself. Let's break that down. So it's defensive heavy. In fact, the last two years, eight of the ten modern day finalist Fellas are defensive players and offensive players dwarf the number

of defensive players in the Hall of Fame. But Joe Thomas, the left tackle of the Cleveland Browns over ten thousand consecutive snaps on a team to not win a lot. Durrell reevs. Revis Island, one of the best corners in NFL history. DeMarcus ware As a pass rusher, no question, Ran Day Barber underrated, Nicole loved as Nicol Blitz has had plenty of those and interceptions in his career for

a great defense. And Zach Thomas. Many people might look at that one and say, well, wait a minute, how Zach Thomas the middle linebacker the Miami Dolphins Dallas Cowboys. But fellas he gets into the Hall of Fame probably a name that a lot of folks may not even wrap their head around a little bit. Even though we enjoyed the way he played, I think he was kind

of an underrated player. Tim and Jim, I'll start on Zach Thomas, because one he did it in a three four defense, and he did it in a four three, and his numbers are up there with Brian Erlackers. And the amount of tackles. I actually think Zach Thomas has more tackles than Brian Urlacker. But it was interesting coming out of college, Zach and I signed with the same agent, Joe Lenta Sports, and Zach, as we know, was an undersized guy, a high energy guy, just kind of an overachiever.

But there's no doubt in his productivity. Like I said, if you were to go look at his numbers, they're up there with Brian Urlacher. And he did it in both, like I said, two different defensive schemes and was very productive. And everybody questioned because he was an undersized guy. And I actually talked to Zach. I said, Zach, did you

prefer playing in a four three or three four? He preferred a three four because when you have a three four, you basically have five guys who lead you unblocked, which led him to make even more tackles because of his quick twitch and you know, just sux ability to hit and you know his love of the game. So I thought Zach Thomas was deserving. I don't think it would. It shouldn't be a note, shouldn't be questioned because if you go look at his numbers, they're right up there

with Brian Urlacker. Well, you know, Zach Thomas, he did what his ability and then what he was gifted with. He was a great studier of the game. He had great initial reaction, you know, kind of similar in size to a Mike Singletary rather than a guy like Brian Urlacker. So Zach Thomas, what is he? A five time All Pro? And uh, you know, like Jim said, he's successful on every system he's played in. And think Zach Thomas deserves it. Forty eight pass breakups in his career, sixteen forced fumbles.

He had twenty and a half sacks, seventy four tackles for loss in his career and interceptions seventeen. So Zach Thomas gets in eleven hundred plus solo tackles, all right. And then the veterans Ken Riley, Uh yeah, they called the Snake Cincinnati. This one shot me fifty something years of Cincinnati Bengals football. Anthony Munio's and Ken Riley the only two Hall of famers from the Cincinnati Bengals to this point anyway, Joe Burrow on TRACKAB, that's for sure.

Kenny Riley, you look at his interceptions. You know, this is why I think Peter Tillman is going to have a good case to make the Hall of Fame as well, the ability to cause turnovers because Kenny Riley, I mean it's a log jam. You know. We know with the you know, there's so few guys that are able to get in, you know, basically five guys a year. That becomes a log jam. And Kenny Riley has been deserved. He's been on the block for for a long time, and I'm glad to hear that he finally got in.

I think Ken Anderson the quarterback, deserves to get in. Joe Cleco, Chuck Holey, Don Correale, Tim the guy who kind of invented modern day passing football, and I'm glad he's in there. Yeah. Don Correal, he deserves the recognition of what he's done for the NFL, because I think when you come into the NFL and you bring your system that you think can be successful, and then forty years later, fifty years later, they're still using it and

even creating more from it. From the offense that Coryell design. And you know Joe Klecko. He's an interesting guy because when he played with the sack exchange with the New York Jets, they were as dominant as you could possibly be from a pass rushing defensive line. But he was physical up and down the line of scrimmage and had the luxury of playing against them, and we beat them

when we played against Cleckown Gastino. But it's nice to seize an older guy like that at the recognition he deserved. This is Bears All Access. We'll take our first break. We'll take a look at Awards night and find out the thoughts of my partners here, the former Bears here on Bears All Access were brought to you by IGS Energy on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score. Welcome back to Bears Old Access, brought to you by IGS Energy.

Choose clean energy for your home at IGS dot com because every good choice adds up to a better world. With Jim Miller and Tom thare former Chicago Bears here on the show, taking a look at super Bowl Week. We'll get into the game in a moment. We'll also hear from Damn Pompeii from the Athletic one of the Hall of Fame voters on Devin Hester's absence in his second track, at his second crack, I should say at getting into Canton, Ohio. All right, the awards ceremony last night,

it is a national television extravaganza for two hours. I thought it was an excellent program and a couple of things, but first and foremost the one that just had me choked up was Damar Hamlin the Buffalo Bill safety walks out on stage dramatically after all the medical first responders, University of Cincinnati Medical Center personnel, everyone there that helps saved his life, probably fifty people on stage, and then he talks to America about, you know, getting back and

ready to go. It was moving, fellas. I don't know if either of you were able to see it at all, but quite a moment and quite a statement standing ovation. There wasn't a dry eye in that place, and players are very serious when the camera hand. The audience looking at him and just giving him a round applause, intently

listening to what he had to say. You know, for me, Jeff, I'm glad the first responders and the people behind him had the chance to get recognized for what they were able to accomplish, because I think when you look at the seriousness of the issue, the immediacy of the response, when you have that end result of him standing up in front of that stage talking to the audience, it just sends a positive message out to the world. You know.

It's it's to the accomplishments of the medical field, their dedication, to the immediacy of they have to make decisions. So I'm glad that is as much as de Mars up there recognizing the people, that the people get the recognition that they deserve. And what's what's going to be great and it's going to happen again because like you said, there's that going to be a dry eye in the house.

He's gonna play football again. You know, even Tom Mayor, the doctor from the NFLPA doctor David Sills of the NFL, and even our guy, doctor David Child, they believe he's going to step on the field and he'll be able

to play football again. I mean, that's that's gonna be another instance where you know, everybody's just gonna be It's incredible what he has gone through and what he has overcome and all the people that have been involved for him for the love of game and to play football, and he will step on the field again and he will play football. It's just a matter of time when that happens, and it's gonna be another field good story

that he'll be able to accomplish. All Right. The awards, well, we just run him down because obviously we faced these guys. The Bears did. Offensive Rookie of the Year Garrett Wilson, the teammate of Justin Fields had a great year of the Jets, and Defensive Rookie of the Year Sauce Gardner. So quite one two punch put together by the Jets there on an offense and defensive side of the ball.

Offensive Player of the Year Justin Jefferson with one hundred and twenty eight catches and eighteen hundred plush yards, a legit receiver right now in this league. And somebody the Bear's gonna have to deal with we you know, twice a year. Nick Bosa the Defensive Player of the Year, No surprise at eighteen and a half sacks. Just run through those real quick, Jim. Any surprises there, and what do you think about it? No? I voted for Justin Jefferson for Offensive Player of the Year. What I mean,

he truly is the best receiver in the NFL. Probably him and Jamar Chase would be my top two guys. But Justin Jefferson just had an incredible, incredible season all the way around. I thought a good debate for defensive Rookie of the Year. Sauce Gardner did have a great year for the New York just but Aidan Hudginson. Look what the Lions have done. I mean, look what the Detroit Lions have done. They finished with their winning record. They knew what their fate was before they even stepped

on the field with Green Bay. And I thought Aiden Hudson had a great year. Nine and a half sacks, you know, just continue to get better and better, and that defense got better as a season win long. So I personally voted for Aden Hutchinson. You know, I would have picked Frexon Jones and Stena Wilson the rookie for Braxton Jones, yeah, of the Chicago Bears, the left tackle. I like it. He wasn't a nominee, but I think

it's ridiculous. I think you get a guy that comes in here and plays every single snap of the entirety of a season, has the amount of pressure that he was willing to take onto his shoulders, the accomplishments of the running game and the history of the Chicago Bears, and you play every single snap of every single game, no matter what the conditions are, and you think from the monsoon he played in Week one against you know, Bosa and his team, I didn't even know if Bosa

was there, but the San Francisco forty nine ers, and then the cold the element of the cold game that he played in later in the season, and I think Hassan Reddick he could have got recognition for Defensive Player of the Year from what he's been able to do to really be able to take that defense into division competitive to a super Bowl. Chap Peyton Man of the Year is Dak Prescott of Dallas, moving speech from him as well. Humble beginnings, no easy path to the National

Football League. But I gotta say this again, because Jared Peyton and Brittany Peyton get up there on stage every year they are they look fantastic and powerful up there representing their father who retired thirty five years ago. Last month, one hundred and seventy straight games is certainly something that Roger Goodell pointed out, didn't miss a game, a benchmark to this day for the running back position, Big Tom, and you help block for him. But hats off to

the Peyton family obviously. Connie Peyton as well, observing from the stands, couldn't be prouder of those two children now adults and representing that family in a very professional and

high character way. Yeah, you know one thing about Brittany and Jared, really when you see these kids running around in diapers around Platteville, maybe when they're up there for practice or it's the inner squad game or whatever the case may be, and then you talk about what these two people have matured into and developed into and the legacy that they're leaving behind after the legacy their dad

left behind. Connie Walter's wife is a great woman, and Jared and Brittany have turned into two great people that really support all of their communities equally as well as they're at their dad. Well, here's what I'll say, because I interviewed Jalen Johnson who was out here. He was the representative for the Chicago Bears, and you know, all all thirty two. Players that were nominated, like Jayalen Johnson do a great job and what they do in their

communities is tremendous. But I will say this about Dak Prescott, the guys following legends. When you follow a guy like Roger Stallbeck, a guy like Troy Atman and Dad comes under a lot of criticism, you know, because he's under a microscope. And even Tony Romo obviously who we took over the job from, I thought he represents not only

himself but the Dallas Cowboys in a great way. And then the tentacles of the Chicago Bears continue to reach through every single day and path in the league, including this ceremony last night time your teammate Ron Rivera, the head coach of the Washington Commanders, at the mic introducing the Ukrainian football players that some that made it to that arena last night. They all got a standing ovation. Another moving moment as they showed video of the war

in Ukraine and that football team. Uh many have lost their lives that played in that Ukrainian Pro football league, which is a big deal there. Uh that league, you know, complete with cheerleaders and everything you'd see in a in an NFL field and it hits you in a certain way what they're going through there, and that that battle with Russia and Chico at the at the mic was

very good good. You know, Ron Rivera is a good representation of what can happen to somebody when they dedicate their life to football and the difficulties that these guys are facing in their real and their home country. I'm glad they bring recognition to it because if there's people out there or ways that they can help the citizens all there, I hope everybody takes action and does us

so accordingly. And Jim the newly named Jim Brown Award, Jim in the audience health doesn't appear to be very good at the moment, but he was there and they renamed award. I love that Josh Jacobs of the Vegas Raiders earned that hot or what do you think about renaming that award? What a great year for Josh Jacobs yet won the renaming the award. I mean, Jim, Jim Brown's the greatest that's ever played. You know, everybody argues say is that Jerry Rice. A lot of people would

says Jim Brown. I mean for his numbers and his impact on football. But Josh Jacobs for the last FA Raiders, what a year that he had. They didn't put the fifth year option on him and the guy bowled out. I mean he had over sixty hundred yards and his ability to run the football, and he's gonna be a coveted running back here this offseason in free agency and

the MVP second time in six years. One of your Super Bowl quarterbacks, Patrick Mahomes gets that on or Coach of the Year Brian Dabo the Giants and Comeback Player of the Year Seattle quarterback Geno Smith. We gotta take a break. When we come back, we'll start breaking down the Super Bowl. Jim is right there in Phoenix with us with Tom Thare, I'm Jeff joni Acc. This is Bears All Access. We're brought to you by IGS Energy

on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score. This segment of Bears All Access is brought to you by Athletical Physical Therapy. Visit Athletic dot com to request an employment

in clinic or virtually and start feeling better tomorrow. With Tom Thare, Jeff joning Acc here in Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score Jim Miller with us from Arizona, and Jim, you know you've interviewed a ton of people here in the last several weeks, starting with the conference championship game, going over to the Senior Bowl and mobile and right to Phoenix. Did you get a chance to talk to Justin Field? He was making the rounds yesterday

on Radio Row just wondered if he had a chance. No, I did not have a chance. Like I said, I talked to Jalen Johnson and talked to a couple other guys. But I'm generally excited. I think everybody feels this offseason, the optimism that's there here. The Bears have the number one pick, They've got a lot of salary cap space, and you know, just even among his NFL peers, they believe his future is very bright, you know, and uh, you know, and I'm in that category as well. I'm

excited for the young man. I think he works hard, I think he's a good leader. I think he represents the Chicago Bears the way you want your star quarterback to represent an organization. And so hopefully it's just a bright future and nothing but good things to come. But this offseason is going to be a very critical offseason for the Chicago Bears, and I think for that young man's future and we'll see if he can take it

and run with it. So he's got that opportunity. What happens here, Tom, is the marketing reps of all these players. They take him to Phoenix and they take him around Radio Row. So Justin did a ton of interviews yesterday, but you know, he looks the part of your starting quarterback, your franchise quarterback. He handled the questions very well. He

was upbeat, very excited about his own potential. And one of the things he brought up with Rich Eyes and Tom on his podcast was that he really wanted to work on a short passing game, and it's something we've talked about and that's a significant thing. He says he wants to improve it and those little victories in the short passing game will pay huge dividends. Tommy, Yeah, you know they You know, those are the requirements of a quarterback that's trying to get better at Maybe his numbers

aren't that impressive, work on what your weaknesses are. And Jalen Hurst talked a lot about what he was going to work on last offseason. As soon as the season ended, and that's the same direction that Justin has to be

pointed in. But the psychological effects of being around a Super Bowl, I think it's more important for Justin right now because you've been around some big marketed football games in college and they toe and pull you in every direction you need to be to be out there as a player that gained as much respect as Justin Fields has done over this last season, and then for him to go around and get that feel of a Super Bowl. What you need to do in order to get there.

What happens once you do get there, The excitement, the respect, everything that you've tried to earn as a player, that's what you're being rewarded with as an active participant in the Super Bowl. So I don't think Justin ever wants to go back there as a member of radio role with the marketing team. He wants to go back to the Super Bowl as a member of the Chicago Bears football team, and I think this is a good experience

to get some exposure around the Super Bowl. Jimmy also talked about planning to talk to a Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young, to pick his brain about different things mobile quarterback. Indeed, I bring this up all the time, said Gilliam, tying his cleats together in practice so he wouldn't just jump out of the pocket as soon as

possible throw from the pocket. I guarantee if Steve Young is going to bring up that story to Justin Fields, of course, and uh, you know, like Tom said, you're up and elbows with some of the greats that I've ever played in the in the NFL. And what's always interesting too is like when I'm down on Radio Row, I always ask the players, are you going to the game? And as Tom mentioned, they never go to the game

unless they're playing it. They want to play him. And I think that's a good experience for Justice Fields because it's it's another goal that you know, he's gonna want to achieve in order to define his career. You know, let's face a lot of guys who do get in the Hall of Fame. They have multiple Super Bowls, they reached the greatest sights you could ever reach, but it's got to come with a ring, it's got to come with the Lobardi Trophy. And I think that's a great

experience for Justin Fields, for him to create goals for himself. Lastly, real quick here, the Bears obviously with the number one pick, they're gonna get a lot of play for that one. Adam Schefter reporting that the number of offers and the type of offers are going to border on the ridiculous side. It's gonna be very tempting. And Justin Fields was asked about that too, about you know, the idea that how they approached that number one pick, they got to do

their due diligence on other quarterbacks. And Justin, to his credit, handled that question very well. He says, hey, you know, everybody would love honesty in the process, and you know he just he's not. He says, his business and so whatever happens happens, you got to do your due diligence.

But we'll pick up that conversation coming up out of the break and look, take a look more in depth at the matchup between the Eagles and the Chiefs from the perspective of two former Bears, Tom There and Jim Miller. I'm Jeff Joni here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy

The Score. Welcome back to Bears All Access. Here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The score with Jim Meta from Serious x M NFL Radio is moving the chains and Tom, there, I'm Jeff Joniac and this segment of Bears All Access is brought to you by Athletical Physical Therapy. Visit Athletical dot com to request an employment in clinic or virtually and start feeling better tomorrow. All right, picking up that conversation before we went to break on Justin Fields, Tom,

the Bears have to do their due diligence here. This is a monumental foundational process this offseason given their unique assets both financially and draft capital wise. Day if I was Ryan Poles, I would have had a booth at the Super Bowl having every single team come up with

their offer. You know, if you want to really condense this thing down to the immediacy of the decision that you're ultimately you're gonna have to make, But just think about making this decision after Justin Fields has revealed himselves. I think if you are a year ago, there may be a little bit more uncertainty about where you want to go with this pick. And this choice to me, and I'm never going to derail from this. I want

them to trade him for more picks. I don't think there is that one standout guy that's going to be a team changer that you can pick with that first pick and then wait until the fifties. Half of that, I think, and I hope Bryan Poles is listening to every everybody and gets a majority of quality picks that he can get for that first pick in the draft. Yeah, I think the Bears are pretty committed to justin fields.

You know, just by everything that Brian has talked about, they're kind of in the driver's seat, and this is a critical point for the organization's future. You know, they're they're going to have the ability to really create you know, like we mentioned, teams can go from worst to first, and this is the Bears opportunity to do that. The Cincinnati Bengals of the prime example, they had Joe Burrow.

They were last in the division, they picked Joe Burrow, and they were in the super Bowl in their second year. And so how they structure this offseason and the decisions that they make are going to be critical at every moment.

And they got to make the choices for the right guys that build the team, whether it's through the draft, whether it's through free agency, it's a really monument as monumental moment in the organization's history where they can maybe change the trajectory of what has happened over the past few years. Jim, we were together at the Senior Bowl and so we saw a lot of players. Shrine Bowl had some good players as well. Where three weeks off

from the combine and started pro days. Did we see some bears on that field Inmobile Because at different positions across the board, I think I think we may have right, Yeah, I think certain teams really look at that Senior Bowl and they really only draft a lot of players. Dallas would be one the Seattle Seahawks, where they believe that those players are what they witnessed during that week of practice, they are going to be part of their future of

their franchise. Look at Tariq Wollam. I mean here we're talking about sauce Gardner. Here. Tarik Woollen is a later round draft pick. He was tied with sauce Gardner in terms of interception. It's actually led sauce Gardner. So a lot of teams view that game as a building block

for their team. And there's a reason why because one of the best talent in the country, and then they showed their wars during the week and all that scouting that's involved, and a lot of teams believe that you can get really good players because that that Bowl game, much like we're talking about the history of the game, that Senior Bowl is a proven track record of how you can build your team. Time. Did you fall in

at love with any players? You know? I again I refer to this team the office of Lineman, but you know, just because it's the versatility and the fact that you can make a pick and he can fit into one of three or four different spots and to make you know, a team relevant. But no, there was a couple of guys.

I really wanted to see the Northwestern defensive tackle Adam all Right, Yeah, yeah, And I wanted to see him in game conditions, you know, when you're reacting to the down, the distance in the play, not necessarily a one on one drill or an inside run period. So I don't know, you know, Jeff, we've we've never been around this first pick in the draft before, so I think it kind of changes the way that you have to evaluate every single person in the draft this year. All right, before

we get into the big game on Sunday. Hendon Hooker Tennessee. He was there all week, Jim. He's intriguing to me. He had an unbelievable year going at Tennessee before the knee injury. He's working his way back to a video of him making throws. Where do you think he will ultimately slot? Will teams? You know that the thinking was he's going to fall out of certain levels because of

the injury. But he's an intriguing player. Yeah. Hey, there's been first rounders that have been drafted with toward a seals. Jeffrey Simmons of the Tennessee Titans would be won. He filled a seventeen in Tennessee. Took him and look at Jeffrey Simmons today. We could go through running backs all that I interviewed head and Hooker one. He's got big hands, he can spin it. He's very talented and I like him. He's a leader, you know. So I think a lot of teams as he continues to heal and all that

will will show itself. But I think he's going to be a high draft pick in my opinion. He's got all the intangibles you're looking for at the position a quarterback. All right, let's talk about the game, super Bowl fifty seven. It's it's a beauty, the weirdest thing of all. If you're into numbers, like our statistician Doug Colletti is, it's

amazing the context of numbers. But how these two teams through nineteen games are both sixteen and three and have scored the exact number of points offensively is beyond me. There are many others that are also tied together, but this is a colossal matchup and I believe it still will be one of the trenches. Jim, what are you

your keys to victory and whom? Well, I think Steve Spagnole, the defensive coordinat Kansas City, is gonna have to be really aggressive on first and second down, meaning he's gonna have to blitz blitz to stop the run. Because if you look at Philadelphia when they're in third and two, in third and four and third and five, there's still one hundred percent that they could run the football and they get first downs. So I think that's going to

be the key. Because you mentioned the trenches. They've got to stop the run game because they've got a young secondary, they've given up more touchdown passes than any team in the league when you look at Kansas City. So if Kansas City can be productive defensively and stopping Philadelphia on first and second down, then they'll have a chance. If

they cannot do that, it's gonna be Philadelphia. In my opinion, all the way, they are the better team, They're the better built roster, they have more depth, and they got a ton of town. You know, to me, I think the game boils down to the Kansas City offensive line and you know that levels of defenders at Philadelphia that they can put out there. They could put fresh bodies in the middle of a drive and I would turn

Travis Kelsey into a blocker. I wouldn't let them be a receiver in this game because they have different potions in different ways that they can formulate their defensive personnel and the line of scrimmage, and you can make that tight end come inside the formation to be a blocker on a guy. And if you can create matchups like Hassan Reddick against the tight ends, then that's a winning matchup. And I think it kind of spells disaster or puts

Patrick Mahomes in a retreat position. So I think This game boils down in the Kansas City offensive line as much as any other element, including both talented quarterbacks. One thing that I see here Eagles jumped on teams ferociously, got the lead and then ran the ball in the second half. Jim, is that possible here? Is that? Is that their pathway to victory because that's been their formula.

I looked this up or I read this somewhere. Jalen Hurts only through twenty two passes trailing in the fourth quarter, so he hasn't been used to it, while Mahomes has and Mahomes has been the dramatic come from behind guy. Let's face it. I mean, Philadelphia has had the easier path to get here. You'd have to go back five games where they lost to Dallas. Dallas put up forty points on Philadelphia. This defense can be scored upon him, you know. But as Tom mentioned the blocking for Kansas City.

You know we saw two years ago in Super Bowl fifty five, Patrick Mahomes was running for his life and it wasn't a winning recipe, you know, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So it's gonna be critical. As talented as he is, you still got to protect him and obviously seventy eight Sexs says it all from Philadelphi Eagles. Oh my gosh, I mean, it's just ten guys deep, including Robert Quinner gets about twelve snapsy game. They're ten deep,

and they come at you in waves. And then you know you got Chris Jones in Kansas City and a sound reddick of the Eagles fourth quarter and overtime pressures, each with twenty seven pressures, including the playoffs type for second most of the NFL. I think it's gonna be one of these fourth quarter dramas. I really think it's gonna be an amazing game. You know, if a Domica Sue gets a chance when if he's hitting you, he's

hitting you to hurt you. He's not hitting you for you get up comfortably after the play he did at last game. And so if he does get one of those fatigue shots from an offensive guard that's already wore out from Fletcher Cox and the other guys, and all of a sudden, Sue gets a rush that he wins immediately. I mean, watch the way that he falls or he hits, or he has bad intentions. Going back to justin fields and in the backup quarterback against San Francisco, and Jim

wonder what's great? You wonder what's great? Tom? He's a free agent. War daddies. The Bears need war daddies, right hey, and listen, if this isn't that the best lesson of all. The Eagles were four eleven and one a little over two years ago and completely remade this thing with Doug Peterson moving on, and they've done it with a young coach. So hey, the faith remains for the Chicago Bears and every team out there that is not in a situation

loaded with talent like some of these teams. Jim, enjoy the game, Enjoy the rest of your week, Happy birthday, behave yourself if you can in Phoenix, and we will talk to you next week. Jim. All right, guys, good to talk to you. Damn Pompey from the Athletic joining us next here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the score. This segment of Bears All Access is brought to you buy CDW people to get it. Wrapping up our show tonight,

we saved the best for last. Mister Damn Pompey, a Hall of Fame writer for the Athletic and on that committee of forty nine, right, forty nine that put together the Hall of Fame class of twenty twenty three. Good evening, Dan, how you feeling, Jeff, Jonny Act, Tom there with you here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the score. Disappointment reigns though among Bears fans here this afternoon in the eve. He'll always be good to talk with you, guys, and glad to be here, but I wish we had better

news to talk about. Obviously, Devin Hester did not get in second year of eligibility. Second year he did not get in. And actually backtrack a little bit this year. Last year he made it to the top ten, and this year he did not. So there's a big disappointment for me as a voter and someone who believed strongly in his qualifications. But you know, I think part of the processes that we have many different voices and many different opinions and we have to listen to them all.

Clark Judge, real quick, timmy, let me just say this. Clark Judge, who writes for a Hall of Fame publication online a website called Talk of Fame. He actually broke down how long each argument was for every single nominee, and I believe Devin's was thirty three minutes in length. And was it a hearty discussion? Were there was it a tough sell to get him into this, uh the finalist role? Or how did this all work out in terms of that that? Does that time frame mean anything?

Is what I'm saying, Um, it does because there was back and forth. It was it was a little contentious because there were a number of selectors who believe that a special Teams player shouldn't be as validated as a player who plays sixty five snaps in a game, and there was there was some back and forth about that. I know there are a number of voters who believe strongly in Hester's candidacy, as I do. But but there is a group that came out this year that really

didn't we didn't hear from a much last year. This year, they came out and there were a number of them who said, look, you know, he only played so many snaps per game. How do we value that against somebody like DeMarcus Ware who played many more snaps per game. So that's the battle that we're fighting with Devin Hester. You know, he's unique in NFL history there's been nobody like him who's been inducted in the Pro Football Hall

of Fame who's been a specialist. Only very few special teams players have been inducted in the Hall of Fame. And then the other thing. I mean, I think he's unique in the fact that he returned football's better than anybody ever. So I think you know, that's that's why this is not as clean a case as it would be if he had been a wide receiver or a

cornerback or a linebacker. Dan, what's next though, I mean, as eric continuous process to keep his name in the rolodecks of possible candidates, is it onto the next person for the Chicago Bears, Dia? I mean, how do you keep his name in the conversation but not be an over type of presence where people become numb to it. Well, I would be really surprised if he did not make the finalist list again next year, Tom, because I said there is a number, there are a number of voters

who support him strongly. So I'm going to be shocked if he's not in the top fifteen again. Now it's just a matter of whether or not you could advance him beyond that. And you know, I think as you have these conversations in the room, it helps you understand what the hurdles are that you have to get over this year. You know, I really didn't know how strong some of these people felt about the fact that a special teams player is not on the same ground with

a player who's an offensive or defensive player. So now I know that. I mean, I think the thing that I've been emphasizing with him, will continue to emphasize, is that even in a few snaps or a fewer amount of touches, had greater impact than the large majority of players in the history of the National Football League. And you know, it just comes down to I think trying to find ways to illustrate that and went over some

of the people who might feel otherwise. You know, Dan the argument of being an every snap player to not you know, DeMarcus Ware on the list of the guys that are going to the Hall of Fame this year, probably played the least amount of snaps per game, because when you look at cornerbacks and linebackers and offensive tackles and stuff, they are mostly every down type of players.

But you know, I think that's kind of the argument that's going to repeat itself every year that Devin is a candidate, But it's about his his performance, and you know what he was able to accomplish what kind of speaks for itself over and every down player. Yeah, I agree, and you know, I think another thing that came up was, well, why didn't he play offense? Why didn't he excel on offense? You know, one person even brought up, well, why didn't

he play defense? You know, the point that I had made was that he was a defensive player primarily at the University of Miami and never really played wide receiver before the Bears tried him at the position in two thousand and the two thousand and eight, I believe it was two thousand and nine, so you know, he was basically trying to learn a position for the first time

in his life at the age of twenty six. You know, I don't think there are many busts in Canton of people who started to learn a position age of twenty six, So you know, he was really just kind of born to return kicks, and obviously he did that better than anyone ever, and I think that's something that certainly is worthy of induction. So now the point of emphasis on kick returns is dropped dramatically with the change in the fair catch and everything. Is that something that's going to

hurt him or help him? I'm not sure, you know. I think you know, there probably is not going to be another kick returner right who we discuss, although certainly Cordarol Patterson has putting up some some great numbers as a kick returner, only he wasn't a not a punt returner like Devon. But because of the rules changes, I would think it's unlikely that we'll ever see another returner who's considered it in the same category as him. I don't know that that affects his case one way or another.

I think, you know, basically his case every year is going to come down to Devin Hester versus the other fourteen guys who were discussing that year. If it's fourteen guys and seeing where he stacks up, I think over time, you know, time is going to be his friend in this process, as it was the friend of Zach Thomas, for instance, who had to wait. I think he was a finalist times maybe something like that, I forget off top of my head. Ronde Barbour was a finalist number

of times. I think what happens is, you know some voters tend to see this is you're in a queue, You're getting the line, and over time, you know, finally you come to the front of a line. And I think there's gonna be a day when Devin Hester, hopefully in that too distant future, comes to the front of a line. This is Bears All Access, brought to you by IGS Energy and Calling. All Bears fans get the

ultimate VIP fan package with Chicago Bears VIP. Secure a game ticket and appearance from Bears legends and more by visiting Chicago Bears vip dot com. Remaining Moments with Dan Pompey, a great writer, Hall of Fame NFL writer at the Athletic. Have you spoken to Devin. I have not spoken with him yet. No, okay, because last year he said if works from me, though he might he might because honestly he was very upset a year ago, and so I have not spoken to him either. I just got a

thumbs up when he became a finalist. He sent a thumbs up. And the amazing part of this, if I'm not mistaken, this was all done by January, right, sometime in January. And how did this stay so secretive? Well, you know, we're kind of sworn to secrecy. I think the Pro Football Hall of Fame wants to do it this way for a couple of reasons. First of all, there's a television announcement and you know, they're they're getting money from the NFL networked to do this and exposure.

And the other thing is they want to have ample time to be able to notify all fifteen finalists, you know, are you in? Are you out? And they want to do it in a dignified way so that everyone can kind of digest this and not be you know, just hitting face by something. You know, in past years, what they used to do is they flew everyone to the site of the Super Bowl and then you know, they had the meeting the day of the super Bowl, right after the super Bowl, or knocking on everyone's door saying

you made it or you didn't make it. If you didn't make it, you know, here's your plane ticket home, see you later, you know, And that was kind of a kind of a rough way to do it. So this is a, like I said, it's a more dignified, personal way of doing it. All right. So, our last question with Dan Pompey. So next year, some of the names Julius Peppers, Antonio Gates, the great tight end safety, Eric Berry, they become a part of this mix and then the great class of finalists this year, there's a

lot of receivers. This was a defensive lean. Eight of the last ten Modern Day finalists, our inductees, our defensive players. It's a little warped in terms of the entire hall with offense defense. So as you, again, like Tom's question, where do we go from here? How do you think that impacts Devin And once you're a finalist back to back years, do you kind of stay in that realm for a while or not? Yeah? I expect him to

be in the mix again next year. You know, as you said, Julius Peppers is a strong first time candidate. Antonio Gates might be candidate. We've got three wide receivers that have been sitting there for a number of years that eventually the log jam might break with them, Andre Johnson, Reggie Wayne and Tory Holt. And then there's a number of other guys who are turning like Jared Allen, you know who is going to get him one of these years, I think, and you know it's but he's going to

be in the mix without a doubt. Next year. I'm gonna be pulling for him, all right, Dan, thank you so much for taking the time. Great job as always on that Hall of Fame committee charting the history of the game and preserving it. Thank you so much. All right, thanks for having me, guys. That's gonna wrap up our show tonight. Four time there, Jim Miller and Dan Pompey. Thanks to our producers as well. Have fun this Super Bowl weekend for the Eagles and the Chiefs in Arizona.

Will talk to you next week here on Bears All Access on Chicago Sports Ray six seventy. The Score,