Welcome in TOUM. Bears Weekly, a Chicago Bears Network production download the Chicago Bears Official Act, brought to you by Verizon to follow the team on the go. Fears Weekly is brought to you by African Healthcare, Athletico Physical Therapy, bet Rivers, CD Telling, Connie's Pizza by Gens Energy, and Miller Likee Kierra. Your hosts Jeff Chioniak, aka the Mayor of Bearsville and his sidekick Tom the Surfaster. There.
It's the end of the line, but a bright beginning to what promises to be a memorable off season. The Bears a completely different unit with a fresh attitude, developing players and the number one overall pick in the upcoming draft. Excellent draft capital, strong salary cap heading in to the twenty twenty four free agency period. So this is the place to be. It is Bears Weekly on ESPN one
thousand of the Bears Ready and Network. I'm Jeff Jonnyank with Super Bowl Bear Tom Fair, thanks to Jordan tread Up and Dan Burley the Birthday Boy from the Bears and Today out of the ESPN one thousand studios, Kevin z Pack and Sean Greeney spending the dials. Our executive producer the Bear's Radio Network is Eric Ostrotski. Coming up at six ' ten. Bears Rookie Wright tackled Darno right to sit down with me earlier this week and Tom Happy birthday to Bear's owner Virginia Allis McCaskey.
Wow, what a what a what a benchmark, What a great person? What just a beautiful person in this world. And if there was more people like her in this world, it would be a better world. I'd say that with
all sincerity. And she's a beautiful person. And you know, I know throughout my mom's lifetime when they had the Mothers and Girlfriends and Wives luncheon, my mom used to look forward to going to that and being able to have a conversation with Virginia McCaskey, because if you if I think of two mothers with similarities, both of those people going to church every day and raising a family and that being the most important part of their lives. You know, I can't say enough about her.
Right on the eve of the Packer game, basically the Packer week, think she's a little excited about this one.
As much as I am, as much as you are, as much as I think anybody that's an NFL football fan, you don't necessarily just have to be a Bears Packers fan. But it has so much history, so many dominating personalities, so much importance in the role in the NFL, and I don't know why it is. It just adds such angst to my weeks of the years of my life, whether it be a player or a broadcaster of the Bears Packers week.
Well, I mean it makes total sense. I mean it makes I was just now with Wada and Sylvie talking about this very topic. I was with Hampton today talking about this very topic. I mean, there's there, It's just it's ingrained in you guys, well got the guys who played the game and the fans certainly. And I don't think it ever, I don't ever want to have anybody kind of mute the rivalry or pooh pooh or Tampa down or you know. It is what it is. And the fact is we're sick of losing to the Packers.
Well it's even you know, stretches beyond that. Because so there's a golf tournament this weekend that starts a PGA tour and it's in Coppola. It's in Coppolua, which is on the island of Maui. Of course that I played plenty of times, but I watch it just to get
the visuals of Maui. And so Berman is out there playing our good our good friend, Chris Berman, and so I talked to him about who he's gonna play with yesterday, and he played with Wyndham Wyndham Clark and Jordan Speith and one of my best buddies, Sean Saint Clair is Berman's caddy. But with all that, he brings up the Bears Packers game. So it's not it doesn't. It's not far removed from people's minds who aren't directly, you know, with their feet on the ground in Green Bay or Chicago.
It stretches the love of the game of football far beyond, you know, this close radius of Chicago Green Bay.
Yeah, and I'm glad this game has value beyond just the fact that, hey, it's the last regular season game. The Bears have won seven of their last twelve games. They have a different football team on in all three phases, frankly, but no teams resting starters. Nobody's preserving themselves with the playoffs because the Packers haven't been they haven't had their ticket punched yet, and now I'd like to have a different kind of punch, punch them right in the face.
And then the story here of this nine game losing streak to the Green Bay Packers. So I believe emotions are going to run high in this game.
They were.
We were talking about this in the lead up to week but as you sit here as an analyst of the game, what the Bears were working themselves into week one against the unknown of Jordan Love And now we got a pretty good glimpse of what Jordan Loves becoming and what your Justin Fields was gonna do in the second year of an offense, and the improvements personnel wise on both sides of the ball, what was gonna happen
over the course of the season. I made the comment to these guys earlier in the hour that game feels like five seasons ago, a lot's happened to the Bears and a lot's happened to the Packers, And now I you know, it's a fair fight. It's gonna be a good fistfight.
Yeah, you know, the first game of the year. I got to be perfectly honest with you as a Bear alumni. I was frustrated because I didn't think the Bears did enough during training camp to be prepared for the speed and what the regular season offers you. And my attitude is completely changed from Week one to week eighteen. I think the development of the linebacker position, Trumaine, Tremaine Edwards
and TJ. Edwards and Trumaine have completely changed the fact that they're starting rookie cornerbacks of the first game of the year. How much my attitude of the defensive backfield has changed, bringing in Montes Sweat and the rotation of the defensive line and how powerful they can be and how much of game changers in defensive production they can change.
What the offensive line has been able to accomplish, and how Chris Morgan has kept that group together, what Justin has done, and how the running back stition and the running game has been able to develop. I have a completely different attitude today about this game than I did Week one.
And since debuting with the Bears in Week nine, Montese Sweat and the Bears defense fifth in the NFL in points per game allowed. Before that, they were twenty eighth in the NFL, averaging nearly twenty eight points a game. It's a ten point drop in points. Man is significant, hint, and it's not all him, it's not all him. But he makes a difference.
He well, he does. He makes a difference because now the offensive coordinator or the opponent with Montese Sweat and the and the cast of characters, now he thinks football completely different. He thinks the speed of the game differently. He thinks the ball out of the quarterback's hands in the passing game differently, he thinks point of attack against the running game differently. There's so many things that the offensive coordinator has to think differently with the emergent. Listen,
I think TJ. Edwards and and Tremaine have as much as much improvement as the defenses as Montese Sweat coming aboard, because I think the way those two guys are playing in the passing game in the running game is all is pro Bowl deserve, all pro deserving. I'm not gonna say the words Pro Bowl anymore. All Pro deserving from that position and what Montes has been able to accomplish.
Right because's no longer a Pro Bowl game. It's Pro Bowl games. We're not gonna get you going, We're not gonna get you going, but we'll come back. I'll tell you what we'll get you going. Darnell Right, who's had a terrifics first start, big first step as a rookie for the Chicago Bears at right tackle. He has improved, Devin Jenkins has improved. The Bears offensive line in general has improved over the course of the season as well.
We'll dip into all that. It's coming up next here on Bears Weekly on a ESPN one thousand and the Bears Radio Network.
This is Bears Weekly with a voice of the Bears for twenty three years, Jeff Jony on the Bears Radio Network.
All Right, welcome to the Bears Weekly. Jeff joniyaglong the top there, he'll be along in just a while here with Bears starting right tackle Darnell Right. Wrap up what has been a very impressive rookie season. I'm not going to put words in your mouth. Would you tell me? How do you think it's gone.
I think it's been good. I think it's been good.
It's been fun, yeah, fun. And I'll tell you everything that was said about you turned out to be quite accurate.
I know.
Sam Summerville, the Scout that I bought you for a long time coming out of Tennessee, said that you were violent, aggressive, physical, great on your feet. All that has really come to fruition over the course of the season. How did you think it went in terms of all of that in this offensive line?
I think it was some good stuff and some bad stuff. A lot of stuff I can learn from going into your two and stuff, but there was some good stuff as well.
Yeah, which is always going to be the case right the rest of your career. I almost cringe when I hear reporters ask offensive lineman in particular, Hey, what do you gotta work on With the kind of coaching you got from Chris Morgan this year? How did he help you elevate your game?
The main thing that really helped me at the beginning was, you know, he just he let me.
He told me when I was coming in, you know, I can be whatever I want to be, you know what I mean, Like there's college is over, you know, whatever whatever he was in college, you know, you get to be whatever you could be here. And you know, never put a ceiling on anything I could do. You know, I just want to help me be as good as I could be. So Yeah, he was. He was a good coach for that.
Yeah, he did a heck of a job. Just I mean it's a lot of changes with injuries and whatnot. What did you think of his coaching style and how he kept that group together? And you guys, I love it because you guys are right at the top of the charts and rushing in the NFL and that's it's got to start at the offensive line. So what do you think of the job he's done.
Yeah, it's been good.
I mean he's the only thing he really cares about, Like it is obviously football and all that, but like just the people in the room, you know, all of us just being as close as we can and as good as we can and that's really just the main focus. That's everything else is whatever it is.
Yeah, yeah, I always felt that. You know, when you're a top ten pick, the expectations are crazy. Did you did you personally feel any pressure with that and any new point during the season or if you just take me back to when you were drafted, because we we've met on day after you're drafted, man, you had an ear to ear grin. You were loving up the fans. Remember we went to the fan. Oh that was awesome. So you have a great personality, But how did you handle all that?
Yeah, it was it was a little bit crazy.
Uh, obviously coming to Chicago with you know, or just NFL in general, with the media and stuff. You know, you have to be you know, you have to do it, you know what I mean. In college I kind of didn I kind of ducked the dogs.
But but you're, you know, like on the ground floor. Something special brewing here. I know that everybody in that locker room feels it.
I've heard it.
I've talked to so many guys off the record, on the record. Do you feel the same way about what's coming?
Yeah, I mean we've been we're doing really good.
I think we just I think it's a credit to all the guys and a team that just you know, obviously it's not the season that we wanted.
We wanted.
I mean, if it's not a super Bowl, it's not the season that you want, really, you know what I mean. But I feel like it's a credit to everybody. You know, just keep keeping on fighting, not worrying about whatever somebody's talking about.
Or this, and that.
It's just just try as hard as you can and see how the chips late.
You know, talking to general manager Ryan Poles throughout the course of the season, we love talking ball and x's and o's, and we agreed on something significant. Devin, You a lot of these guys, Braxton. When you when you are pulling, it's a beautiful thing. You're so athletic and you do it the right way. And the guy on the other end of that poll, God bless him because they're gonna they're gonna feel you. Is that something you really love doing?
It's fun? Yeah, it's fun. It is fun.
Do you do you feel your strength and power in that moment you get ahead of steam. I mean, you're an athletic guy for your size, big time, and when you're motoring like that, I can't think much gets in the way of Darnel right in that moment.
Yeah, it's just fun. Yeah, it's just fun pulling, of course. I mean it's just you get to run a little bit and then make contact.
Who were some of your football role models?
Uh?
I was I was playing like linebacker, like safety, so I was watching like Ray Lewis and uh and then I wish I was too big to run the ball, but I wanted to be like Devin Hester.
I love it, but it was really just Ray Lewis and Devin Hester.
I would watch their highlights and then not get the ball in the game.
But yeah, while you have the mentality and the and the and the seriousness of a Ray Lewis and the power and the and the passion for the game, I could see it on tape. I don't even need to talk to you to ask you about it. The Devon angle. That's just pure clean fun right there. And I had the opportunity to call nineteen of his twenty returns in his NFL career, so you know, I missed that part of the game. It's all about kicking it out of the back of the end zone now right, as.
A football I wouldn't kick it to him either.
No, I know.
But even today though now right, like as a football fan, the kick return is like a home run in baseball. You know, everybody gets up and wait, can't wait, especially if it's a great returner, even for players. Do you think that's missing a little bit now?
A little bit, Yeah, it could be missing.
It's fun to see some of my first opening player even just any play kickoff, they take it to the house. But I guess if you can mitigate that, I would probably do it.
Yeah, after a while, they don't want to kick to Devin, that's for sure. It frustrated him. I I just met with him in Orlando before our Tampa game and I did We did like a four hour interview in his house. It was unbelievable week two before the Tampa game, and I learned things that I never knew about Devin and stuff and just an amazing I mean, do you believe he belongs in the Hall of Fame?
Oh?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. Yeah. Yeah.
Well hopefully on his third try, you'll get in this year, because that would be some kind of story. There's great demands in this NFL level meetings galore. It's a full time job. You're always thinking ball. What comes with that? How did you handle that? How did you handle that? The new kind of workload for football being a rookie.
Uh, I think, you know, I try to get back into a routine, you know, see what the routine will be for me here obviously with the new schedule, not going to class and all that, and then just relying on some of the guys in the room asking them what they do, how they some of the things they do. Obviously, everybody's different, So some of the things I took from some people.
Some people I took this and.
That, and then just kind of crafted my own routine and how I approach it and uh. But yeah, as far as handling it, I think, you know, just diving into it when I need to. And then also there's on the flip side of that, you know, getting away from it, not just chasing ghosts and sitting there too much into it.
Just you know that my instinct.
Play Darnell Right, our remaining moments here on Bears Weekly. You're on a SPN one thousand of the Bears Radio Network. Now just a quick five pack of fun stuff ready, favorite TV show, Bena Time. All Right, would you rather give up appetizers or desserts for the rest.
Of your life? I say desserts.
What would be the title of your autobiography? I think that's my name, all right, Darnell Right and big bull letters. That's that speaks of strength, deepest fear. Uh could be none.
Oh, I have some fears.
Animals and a bucket list vacation spot when you do find the time to get away from it.
All the beach something like that.
Yeah, all right, well, Darnell, we appreciate you. You have had a wonderful year, great start point for your career, and now the best is yet to come for you in the Chicago Bears appreciate it, darn all right, our guests, We'll continue with Tom Tayer after this break on Bears Weekly on ESPN one thousand and the Bears Radio Networks.
Bears Weekly with a Voice of the Bears for twenty three years Jeff on the Bears Radio Network.
And this segment of Bears Weekly is brought to you by Igs Energy, Jeff Joniac and Tom Thayer. After John al Wright, here's Luke Gatsi today on the rookies season.
The veterans have done a really good job in this building to guide people like Darnell his work habits, his structure, of his schedule, you know all that stuff. Like you can see a guy becoming a pro his work ethic on the football field is outstanding. His mentality, like, the guy's a competitor, Like it doesn't matter what we're doing. The guy wants to compete and he wants to win. And I think you know you put all that together, you give yourself a chance and then you match it
with his athleticism the power. Now you know, you have the potential to have a pretty special player. And it's and uh, you know, a credit to Simo and Steck and those guys, you know, getting him where he is now.
But uh, you know, we're really.
Excited about where he can go and and uh, you know, it'll be up to him how far he wants to take this thing.
Yeah, you know he mentioned that Tom it's up to him. That was told him by Chris Morgan, the man they call Simo. And you know what I like about it, because you've taught the offensive line, uh on those polls, is he hits his landmarks. There's there's a track. There's a track to wipe out the guy, whether it's a pull off to the right or a pull across the formation. That to me is one of the most beautiful things an offensive lineman could do. And you taught me you
got to have that landmark. You gotta, you gotta, you gotta make it tight.
Yeah. Well, the key ingredient that he pull is not showing off your poll before you do it, because that is a lot of evidence that you give away to an opponent, to an opponent's defense to the linebacker position and the defensive line, and if you do show your pull too much and you're uneven in your balance and you're giving a lot of pre snap indicators that are
harmful to the play. And Darnell doesn't do that. And I think that he's come aboard initially that he's a lot more mature in his playing ability than a lot of you know that a lot of people see because he's only an offensive lineman like all of us. It's not a high profile, you know, attractive position. It's a lonely position that that you know, it's a great position
when you play it. However, I really like the interview with Darnell because I don't want to hear a rookie, a guy that's drafted as high as he is and he's been productive as he has been in his rookie year to be tooting his own horn. I think the more that you interview through him throughout his career, the trust he's gonna gain in the more outgoing he's gonna become. So I think Ryan Poles and his staffed at a nice job evaluating the who's going to afford the longest
successful career and it is Darnell right. And listen, I was one of those guys that was thinking about Carter, the defensive lineman from Georgia, maybe the right pick. But now at what I've seen out of Darnell, I'm happy that Ryan Poles stuck to his decision and made the right choice.
Brian did his homework big time, and of course the workout that happened is almost legendary down down in Knoxville at the University of Tennessee. Just how hard he worked him to find out if he was going to have any quit in him, and there was none, and that's what he wanted to find out. He found out. Now, like you always say, if you want to find out about a guy, you'd put him in the weight room and you sit there and you'd work out with him to find out, you know, find out what they're all about.
And we're learning also what Braxton Jones is all about as well. Second year fifth ront pick out of Southern Utah. Here's Getsy's analysis earlier today, So.
That's reflective in his play.
I think there's a guy who you know, he got here, you know, he's kind of quiet, you know, didn't run off the ball. Wasn't real physical, but then he got this confidence about him last year and started believing in his game and and that showed up this year. I mean, you see the way he runs off the rock. I mean he got called for a false start in the game. That's because he was anticipating the snap counting. Maybe Lucas was just a tick leg with it. That wasn't like
a false start because he's ready to go. He's ready to go, like he's ready to run.
You know.
We talked about a couple weeks ago in Cleveland when we had that we were using him to get out on a perimeter and he's burying a dB like all that stuff. Has just been really cool to see him him grow and have that mentality. He's super smart guy, so he can handle a lot, but the mentality part of it has been really the coolest part about his game and the way his game is translating.
And would you agree one hundred percent he's a super athlete. He uses his length well, He's got good body control when he is a run blocker or when he's pulling to the outside. However, I will say this, and I've always said, Braxton needs to invest time in the weight room. He needs to become that offensive lineman that puts power on display in his pass blocking as much as he does is athleticism versatility in his run blocking, and I think that's gonna be the deciding factor in any offensive
tackles long career. And you and I had a chance a couple weeks ago when we talked to Mike Ken, who an offensive tackle that played seventeen years for the Atlanta Falcons, and he was six seven. He was also enormously strong weight room guy, and so just because you're
long doesn't mean you can't be strong. And so to me, that would be one of the things that I would encourage Braxton Jones the most is to invest time in that weight room to try to set your goals that may be unrealistically obtainable, but you try to climb for them, and it's gonna get you stronger in the long run.
Let's talk about that length as it pertains to the weight room, in particular the bench press, which is the level that these guys are graded at how many times you can throw it up in the air at the combine. But the idea is that longer arms make it harder to be a good bench presser. What is your opinion about that?
Hey, listen, I'll quote Clyde Emrick, the greatest strength coach of all time. Speed is strength and strength to speed. It's how quickly you try to move the weight. Listen, Jeff, you know Dan Hampton as well as anybody, and you when you look at Dan Hampton's frame right now, he's a big man. He's a long guy. He's one of the best and strongest power cleaners in the history of the Bears organization. And it's because of the speed he
moved the weight. And so when you look at him, do you say, oh my god, this guy's not gonna bench five hundred, but he's gonna power clean over three hundred pounds, three hundred and fifteen, three hundred and twenty five, three hundred and thirty pounds, which is an enormous weight.
So I'm not saying Braxon Jones has to live under a five hundred pound bench, but the more repetitions that he can do at a heavier weight is gonna make his body stronger, which is going to compute to football strength. And it's the same thing as squats. He's got a really long frame, so it's not easy for him to squat it. It is for somebody like me that's a tad under six y four and because I have a
shorter distance, I have to move the weight. But when you try to treat achieve the numbers, it just gives you a lot of confidence in the strength part of the game.
Want VIP access to every Bears home game, Exclusive seating, sideline credentials, and more are now available. Get the ultimate VIP fan package this season by visiting Chicago Bears vip dot com. Let's stick on the offense thirty seven points last week, Arrow up, Luke Getz.
I wouldn't even look at it like that as far as points, really, I really don't try to do that.
You know, you want to look at your execution.
You want to make sure that you're you're doing things that are fundamentally sound, or your players fundamentals where they're supposed to be. Are are you giving yourself a chance in every situation? And there's areas we got to improve on. These areas we're doing well, and I think as long as we continue to get better at those things and start to you know, continue to eliminate the things that we're not doing so well or do we need to get a little bit better.
At that's that's the track, right.
The points make it look better, but the wins are what we're trying to get and you have to win games a bunch of different ways in this league. It's not always you know what Baltimore and Miami had last week, that's like whatever you dream of that for every game, but that's not realistic in this game. When you're going to lambeau Field, like you know you're going in for a grimy game.
Yeah, well they're gonna be facing a zone, a heavy attack with an elite front, as he indicated, and can the Bear's court that kind of point total on the on the on the home standing Green Bay Packers who have given up a lot of yards, their numbers aren't great on the defense side of the ball, but individually they've got players that turn your head certainly on the front and jay r Alexander on the back and some others.
But I but I thought that was such a great answer by Luke, one of my favorite answers of all year, because it's not the amount of points you score, it's about how well organized of an attack that you have from all the players. Their jobs where they're supposed to be,
the decision making process, everything that computes the points. And I think it was a really a super educated answer by the offensive coordinator, Luke Getzi, and to make sure that it's more important of the function of the offense than it is the points you score.
All right, So what he's going to encounter justin fields against these packers a topic as well.
That's the big thing that they do.
They have an elite front, right, and so you have this elite front that makes you, uh, not be able to hold the ball very long, and then you have these zone defenders that are their eyes are on you and play into your game.
So that's that's what they play into.
And then you know, and then like the few number of explosives that these guys give up too, so like you're not getting behind them.
So you got to be detailed. You got to be in timing and.
Rhythm is critical when you play zone defenses like this, and then the rest of the guys have to be on too, right, violent to the tuck, drop step, getting vertical, all that stuff. But you know, making sure we have good ball security because that's what that's what we can play These teams that have the vision to the ball. They're going to be you know, the context is going to happen right away.
Yeah, And in five games against the Packers, Justin as throwing a pick in each of those five games. Nine giveaways in five games. And that's my emphasis this week from my perspective, is the takeaways. I mean the takeaways and the turnovers. You need the takeaways and you can't have the turnovers on the road in that place with the team trying to get in the playoffs.
Well, you only have this luxury one game a year and it's the last game of the year. If you don't like the throw, then run. If you think that you can put the team on the defensive if you can make them change their thinking process, if you can make the defensive coordinator sit up on that booth or on the field curious of what the quarterbacks next decision is going to be, then you're starting to create a
confusion that affects the way they play defense. You're always thinking about the next week, staying healthy, and I'm making sure that you're on the field. Just this is the type of game that Justin can be the most threatening, dynamic athlete in the NFL. That he is that can change the thinking process of players and coaches alike on the defensive side of the ball.
All right, So the Bears do have two Pro bowlers. The Packers one of what four teams that did not have a Pro bowler named. Their record and their numbers are eerily similar to last season when they had Aaron Rodgers. But this year they've got Jordan Love throwing thirty touchdowns in twenty nine of those touchdowns going to first or second year targets. Amazing, Yeah, it is amazing. But some of the guys that will be wreaking havoc, hopefully against
Jordan Love. One of them is Montes Sweat. This is a compilation of his comments today of how he learned about becoming a pro bowler. He was called in the house hall, as was Jalen Johnson. You can check it out on the Bears website for the video. Told them they want to talk about some things and here sprung it at them and it was a surprise, your sweat.
Yeah, it was pretty surreal. Coach hitting me up, tell me you got to go over the game player, I'm like, what so, yeah, I kind of figured something was up, but yeah, man, they presented me the Pro Bowl.
I was.
Really uh, lots of words. Man, I'm blessed to get my first one. I mean, it's a lot. It's my fifth year in the league. It's something that every player aspires, the kids. I've been working a long long time to get to to get to this point where I am, and I'm still not satisfying. Things that definitely started slow down as as the as the year is coming to an end. Uh, you get to analyze the whole the whole year from start to finish, and uh to say that I'd be a Pro Bowl and I would, I
wouldn't have guessed it. But I'm nothing. I'm never but thankful. I'm blessed for even though the things that I've done on taping, the things that we've been been able to do as a group, I just feel like it's a lot more on the table. It's a lot more goals I want to reach in. It's a lot more things I want to do. Yes, definitely, it's definitely a relief. It's definitely a respect thing. It's nice to get noticed by the league and by your teammates. But yeah, I'm still it's a what you've done late.
For me league.
So yes, it's pretty cool, but I don't I don't really want to take take credit for what these guys have been able to do around here. Man, these boys really stepping up. They've been playing their asses off, so credit to them. I'm the one getting the credit now, but it's it's really all because of those boys. Yes, all, I'm really worried about right now, just ending the season on a good note. H I understand it's a it's
a rivaly game around here. I'm kind of new to it, so yeah, I'm just looking forward to helping them do that.
Yeah, help helping it stop a nine game losing streak to the Green Bay Packers, the last Bears winning green Bay can on Thanksgiving in twenty fifteen. Week twelve, a seventeen thirteen Bears win. Still the first player in NFL history to lead two teams in sacks at any point in this season. So if he finished the job and no one springs to life in Washington, I think it'll be a cool thing. I've never heard of anything like this, and he's got that lead right now, and I hope he does get it.
Nobody trades pass rushers in the NFL, especially guys with his brightest of the future and in their twenties, like a guy like montes Sweat. I'm super proud of him, and I'm happy for him for what he's done with his attitude and for this team since he's come aboard, because we were out we played the Commanders this year, and we are out there and we saw that atmosphere of what they were facing in Washington, and so I
couldn't be happier for Montesen. He's not a secret to us because he's the same guy that we talked a lot about after what he was able to do in the combine, in how much we talked about him at that point to follow and track his career, and I hope he's only scratching the surface of how dominant that ultimately he's gonna be in the next five, six, seven years.
All Right, coming up, we'll here Jalen Johnson's reaction to be in a pro bowler. It's all coming up next here on Bears Weekly on ESPN one thousand and the Bears Radio Network.
This is Bears Weekly with a voice of the Bears for twenty three years, Jeff jony Aik on the Bears Radio Network.
The second of Bears Weekly brought to you by and let it Go. Physical therapy visit athletic Don Tom the requested in clinic war virtual appointment to start feeling better tomorrow. Jeff and Tom getting you ready for Bears Packers. The injury report today and no work for Jalen Johnson's shoulder injury, but he did an interview in the locker room, says, yeah, he's gonna try and go. He wants to play in
this game. He also explained his reaction when he found out from coach Eberflusen general manager Ryan Poles that he was headed to the Pro Bowl.
I would just honestly just blessed, fortunate to be in a position to have the voting to have the favor go my way. But I mean, honestly, just just blessed. Guy's been doing here, Guy's been doing this stands this year for sure. I mean I've always wanted some things to go a little differently, but I think everything has worked out perfectly this year. And I mean hopefully I got I got one more award and left in me, and I think that it's very tangible and I believe it's on his way.
So I mean just.
Really looking forward to this end of this year off right and hopefully getting some more accolades. No, I mean never downplayed it. One just out within the other one. But I mean both of them are still good, prestigious have for like awards, So I mean, as far as I mean all Pro Go, that's definitely still the one I want. I want more, but it was definitely still a good feeling to have. I think I'll I'll be
able to soak it in more. I think after season's over with and then when I start playing it to actually get down there. But I mean right now, I haven't, like I haven't seen too many graphics or anything really come out about it, so it's like it hasn't it hasn't truthfully hit me yet. I kind of just soak it in internally, but I haven't seen too much externally.
I knew something was kind of fishy though, because they try to call me in for an exit interview early and the inclusive talking about watching game like going over game film and going on with game plan. I'm like, we're too late in the year for us to just be trying to do and do different things. So I mean, I knew something was up and then I kind of had a feeling. I was like, and then they told me to bring my family, so I'm like, you can't be talking about nothing. So it was a good moment.
Yeah, happy for Jalen once that All Pro title as well, with you always say is the one you really want to get, the notification if you're an All Pro, especially first team All Pro, you've done something really well.
Listen, all first team, All Pro, All Pro, second team All Pro. That's the legitimate award that shows you've accomplished quite a bit in whatever scenes it is in the NFL. And it's funny that Jalen kind of sniffed out the deal that they were calling him in to watch film with his family, because the only time they ever called me to walk in early is when they were gonna
cut me. So you know, I'm happy though for Jalen because he's had an enormous amount of pressure on him since the beginning of the season because of the contract situation and everything, and he's had a great season and John Hoak has done a great job with the cornerback position specifically, and you know, he's rewarded with what his he set out to accomplish.
Yeah, look what he's done, Jalen. And you look at Kyler Gordon's second best slat coverage defender in the league according to Pro Football Focus, and they're grading that came out today. Tyreek Stevenson since Week fifteen, four forced in completions plus three interceptions, quarterback rating of under forty eight against Atlanta. Two catches twenty eight yards, two interceptions on six targets. The unit overall defensively seventeen turnovers since Week eleven,
number one in the NFL. All of it lovely, very impressive.
One thing I like about Tyreek Stevenson is I think three times this year he's had to leave the game because he's been nick up. Every single time he's returned to the game. He's the most physical cornerback that the Bears have, and I admire his courage. I admire his willingness to come back on the field even if he gets, you know, a little bit off center for a minute or two. But he's answered the bell, and I think the Bears coaches have done a great job of getting him prepared since training camp.
The linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi was the defensive coach to talk today at the podium to address the development and what Jordan Love is getting done right now for the Packers.
Really effective passer. I think he's got thirty touchdowns this year.
Balls come out on time, does a really good job moving in the pocket, really distributes the ball well to his receivers in the box.
He's been he's been really good.
Obviously aware of a year and how many with and turns and turbulence it was within it. When you see where this team is emerged going into two week eight team, what are your takeaways in terms of why this team wasn't derailed and now it's.
Finishing the year the way it is.
Yeah, I think it speaks to the leadership from the head coach, so the general manager to the you know, the leaders on the team, just to stay the course, trust the process, and it's a resilient group and proud of I think everybody's proud of what we've you know, accomplished to where we started to you know we're right now.
Yeah, I think that's all true. Sometimes it's hard to stick to the process, especially when you know if things keep backfiring, it's hard for players to accept the process. But they have, they've stayed together tight completely different football team.
Yeah, like Dave says, everybody has a hand in it, but nobody has a more important hand in it than the role of the players, because they're the ones that spend the most time together behind closed doors, whether it's waiting for your coach to get there for meetings or sitting in the locker room when you're getting ready or
getting undressed after practice. There's a lot of conversation that goes on that can either keep the narrative positive or create an extremely negative narrative that can completely collapse an
entire organization. And that's never been the case. And so when you look at some of the free agents that Ryan has brought in and how positive of a you know, effect that they've had in the locker room, what an important role the rookies have played in the locker room, and just the fact that Matt has been able to keep this group together and have just just a really good constructive working atmosphere in that locker room.
The rest of the injury report, by the way, still know darn Al Muny type and page ins under the weather, Patrick scales with a foot, so they have a long snapper came in Matt Overton. They did work out some special teams players today in Tallisaw. Cole Comet limited today, so it looks like he's getting better. Khalil Herbert also limited, and he got a lot of praise from Joe Berry, the defensive coordinator of the Packers. He spoke glowingly about
Khalil Herbert. They have respect for him, and they respect him in the passing game, in the screen game as well, but the run game respect you must you must respect the Bears run game. Over the last two seasons, it's been very good, very productive, and I get it Justin's had a big hand in that as well, certainly more last year than this year. But the Bears like running the ball and they do a nice job of running the ball. In the last two weeks, have done.
A nice job, oh no doubt. Chris Morgan has got to be complimented as well, because he's kept this offensive line together even though there's been some changes, you know, throughout the whole year. And yeah, Khalil Herbert is a heck of a compliment to the offensive line. Ro Sean and Deontay form and you can't ignore what he has done with when he's had his opportunity. So when you have, you know, a staple that you believe that you can go into any environment and still have that as your
main asset. If it is your running game, you're always gonna have a chance to win the game.
Packers injury reports long, Tom, they got five guys, did not practice, six limited, A bunch of guys were full today. Again, but it's a pretty it seems like it. Ever believe it. Don't believe.
Don't believe the hype that is. I tell you that is. You know, there's an exact opposite that some coaches don't want to put anybody on the injury report even though they are banged up, and then there are some coaches that want to list their entire team even though they're
not bad. So you kind of you're kind of a trying to pull the old Hoboken hustle where you're trying to sucker the team into thinking that someone's not going to be there, and then all of a sudden, play one, there comes that player trotting on the field.
Yeah, I see that Packer love coming through right now, Tom, I see it. Remember that time you wanted to go, you wanted to hunt down Brett Favre in the locker room.
Uh huh, all times. I have a couple of times I still would like Aaron Rodgers I do this right. Uh well, yeah, it's the laydown for Mike Strahan that's completely offensive to all offensive lineman in the history of
the game. And then the other one was is when Warren Sap went and passed up hitting Brett Farb after he threw an interception and went and hit I think Chad Clifton, one of their offensive linemen, and then Brett Farb was walking off the field kind of smiling and laughing, and I was completely offended as an offensive lineman and Chad Clifton, I think it was I it could have been somebody else by it, Thigos, Chad Clifton. He kind
of had his pelvis displaced because of that hit. And so any time that quarterback takes you know, that type of relationship with the defensive lineman from the opponent, I'm always personally offended.
As a broadcaster. Have you ever told another player or coach to say, hey, go tell somebody, I want to talk to him. I want I want them out here, I want to talk to him. Have you ever done that?
I told Doug Peterson when he was the assistant on the quarterback coach for the Green Bay Packers. Okay, if you could go go and get Brett Farva, I'd like to tell him what I think of him about laying down for straight hand.
Oh my, that's hilarious. All right, we'll continue our last segment ahead here on Bears Weekly a Esponca Gowork.
Is Bears Weekly with a force of the Bears for twenty three years Jeff on the Bears Radio Network.
This segment Bears Weekly brought to you by CDW. People to get it, Jeff in Tom of the final moments before we turned over to Blacken up Dalla, Thanks for listen everybody. So, if I'm not mistaken, Week one, DJ Moore at two targets that will not happen, cannot happen.
In week eighteen, we need to re We need to look at the game plan because DJ Moore is knock going to end this game with two targets. He's a guy that has got snubbed for the Pro Bowl and he deserves multiple targets near that ten mark weekend and week out.
Yeah, that Pro Bowl thing we keep talking about TJ Edwards, but Dj Moore. I mean, wow, he had a career year and it's not over yet. Thirteen hundred yards and eight touchdowns plus one run of the football. So it's been a tremendous season for DJ Moore in many, many different ways. The leadership component and what the quality guy is in the locker room as well. A couple quick nuggets before we go, Tom, I know you appreciate the
high school level. NFL gave the nominees for the twenty twenty three Don Shula High School Coach of the Year Award. Rick Leonard, who led Rochester to a fifty nine to thirty eight four A title win over Saint Lawrence, is the Chicago Bears nominee for the Don shul And you played for coach Shula for one season in Miami, so a good recognition there for that program.
That's awesome. Congratulations, quite an accomplishment to get recognized like that. You know what a just a great thing it is for your players in your program.
And Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren and his wife Greta announcing their family foundation one million dollar pledge to Lurie Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders and support of Chicago families with a childhood cancer or serious blood or disordered diagnosis. Honors hit mister Warren's late sister, Carol and Elaine Warren Knox's legacy. She passed several years ago from brain cancer. Quite the Hey, he's amazing.
I saw that today on the Bears website. So what a gracious couple that they are, and what a program to add financial assets.
All right, Tom, don't peak too soon for Bears Packers three twenty five to kickoff right here at ESPN. Thanks to all of our producers and you for listening, and to Darnell right, our guest. This has been Bears Weekly on the new radio home of the Chicago Bears, the ESPN Chicago.
Good night, everybody, Thank you for listening to the Chicago Bears Network presentation of Bears Weekly, hosted by the Mara, Bearsville, Jeff Junia and Surfmaster Tom Thayer. Podcasts are available on the Chicago Bears. Bears Weekly has been brought to you by Apple Podcasts, Ben Rivers, Igs Energy, and Miller Lite