DeAndre Houston-Carson on staying prepared to play | All Access Podcast

Blood and Guts How tight Ends Say Football. Substantial time with Mike Ditkill will get into that first eighteen pages of the book about coach and how tight end position kind of revolved around him in the sixties and beyond, and we'll get into that. But right now, big time, we're talking Bears Packers meeting two o six, and it looks like Justin Fields and Aaron Rodgers will share the

field on Sunday. Well, definitely trending that way, and I think the crowd is excited both on a national scope of the NFL and whomever is gonna be at Soldier

Field on Sunday, And I'm excited for myself. I want to see Justin get back on the field, and I want to see him go out there play a high profile opponent like the Green Bay Packers in the division and Aaron Rodgers, and I hope this is super motivating to the defense to make sure that they have to be on their best and take care of business according

to what Aaron Rodgers offers them. But I think it complicates the situation for the defensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers because you have a formula of how you want to play against Aaron Rodgers. There's net not necessarily a formula how you play against Justin Fields. And they just played against Jalen Hurts who put up a big rushing number against them. Joe Berry's under attack up there. For sure. The three sixty three is a crazy number.

It has happened before, but it just seems weird to keep here in that number, that three hundred and sixty. But when you watched the tape of how the Packers played it, there were a lot of runs that Jalen Hurts made that we've seen from Justin Fields. There's creases that open up, there's green grass, and he's going to take it. You can't stop him from taking it if he sees it. The invitations too great. Just get out of bounds, try to avoid the hit. That's one way.

But second, what did you think of the tackling of the Packers Because I thought that defense heading into this year was going to be really good. Obviously, Rashine Garry out with an ACL takes away the pass pressure. But are you a little surprised at what they've given up? You know? So, Jeff, I heard earlier on a broadcast you talked about the importance in the role of David Montgomery and the running backs according to the Running Game, which I still believe that is a super point of emphasis.

But you know, Jeff, when you look at hot do you a tackle Jalen Hurts Hottia tackle justin fields? There is no formula because these guys can have a two and a half to four yard separation and you're not going to hit them. So to say, okay, you know, they used to have this term for playing Barry Sanders back in the day, and they said, oh man, you gotta fire. You gotta fire when you go to tackle Barry Sanders. There you can't because he's gonna you miss in space. The great Gael stairs. If you try to

fire on him, you're gonna miss in space. It's the same thing with Justin. You better be able to have a condensed area in multiple bodies around him to slow him down or escort him out of bounds. And that's still not a guarantee because Justin is so fluid on his feet that if there is that I talked about, that separation of distance between him the nearest defender, he can turn a four yard separation into a forty yard run. So it's a hesitation that kicks in then and now.

It's a little bit though, isn't it if you're thinking you're beat? Because if you're thinking how about how to approach him instead of firing, your canon so to speak, as you say, that puts you in major conflict. Is that what you're suggesting here? It slows down a defense because they got to think about how they're going to attack him, right, It's probably more if you slow your reaction,

you're guaranteed you're gonna get beat. And that's the thing about just firing and trying to make a tackle is that you got to commit to it, and then you hope that if you commit to him, and then you slow him down or you make him take an alternate direction that there's teammates near you that can help you limit the success of the run. But you know, again, I'm glad you brought that up if you think you're beat, because if you slow your reaction, you're guaranteed you're gonna

get beat. All right, Where are you in the risk reward category with this, if at all? Because there's a camp out there that says, hey, you know, why rush him back? Why do this? Let him get some risk, get the bye week, come back finished the final four. What's your take on all that? Football's a risk always, whether you're healthy or you have some type of in some type of setback issue that he had when he

didn't play against the Jets last week. But to me, it's you give him a week to get his legs back to the freshness that it was when this whole journey started. That would scare me as much as anything. And I know it's his left shoulder, and I would be cognizant of that. I would try to put him in a play calling position that he's not exposed to getting pounded to his left side. And you can't guarantee

that because it's a reactionary sport. But I'm not gonna sit there and dwell on why he missed the game last week as opposed to why he's playing this week. And even from a personal standpoint, he's a twenty three year old kid who is the future of the Bears. It appears as that's the case, and he wants to face some of the greats of the game. Those days are dwindling with Aaron Rodgers. So if you're gonna have another crack at Aaron Rodgers, I say go take it

right as he is. You know, at home, you're in control of the volume of the snapcout. You can have a variety of formations now that Chase Claypool has been more involved in the mix and they got some speedback with Pringle, And then you think of where Cole Commet is at from the first time they played Green Bay

into where he's at right now. There's a lot of different weaponry that you can use this goal around against the Green Bay Packers that you are still trying to figure out your formula the last time they played them. Still a signific number of injuries obviously on this football team and in the secondary. As if this show. We're not sure what the situation is in that regard, but it's a young secondary right now, A couple of three year veterans and you got DeAndre Houston Carson back there.

But these are guys that, no question, Aaron Rodgers will be zeroing in on. Yeah, you know, I don't look for mental mistakes out of the defensive backfield because I think guys like Jalen Johnson and DHC DeAndre Houston Carson will get everybody in the right place and if someone if there is a mistake that's being present, sometimes they can make up for that. All Right, we're gonna step away our first segment in the books as we get ready to meet DeAndre Houston Carson here on Bears All Access.

We're brought to you by IGS Energy, and this is Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the score. Back to Bears All 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. Jeff Joniak here with DeAndre Houston Carson, our guest, Thank you've taken the time. Thanks for having I know it's valuable time.

You know, as your pro man, you're a pro through and through, and so your workday continues all the way to who knows when, and it's not just about the meetings and the practice, it's getting your body right and everything. What is your typical week like in terms of post practice preparation for Sunday? Yeah, so post practice, obviously, I'm trying to do some stuff to recover, getting the training room and do some massage or whatnot. But I typically trying to do all my film study when I'm when

i'm in the building. That way, when I go home. I got two kids, my daughter she's almost three, of my sons eight months, so there's not too much time to be watching too much film when I get home, so I try I do my work when I'm not working that way, when I go home, I could just be a dad. I always joke with it with the guys that say me they see me leaving at five o'clock with a coffee and he's shaking coffee. I'm like,

I'm going to my real job, you know. I like, Yeah, kids don't care what I did to day, so that's typical. And then once they go to sleep, I might watch a little extra family spence some time my wife. You know, I watch a lot of tape too, certainly not as much as a player, but that that pad is always there calling your name, right, you know, and do you think you know, God, maybe I should watch a little more. Is that happen a lot. It's like a magnet and

it does. It changed over the course of your career. Kids aside, I mean, as a pro, how much tape are you actually diving into? Arla Carya should tell me, you know, I can't watch too much to night start overthinking that that was his way? What's your way? Um? That is a reality. You can watch too. You can watch too much or get to start thinking too much

about it. I would say, you know, I try to watch a lot of film in the morning times, so maybe an hour or so in the morning, and obviously whatever we're watching during the day, and then post practice all in all, maybe another maybe another hour and a half, so probably a day, you know, by myself, you know, two to probably two to three hours. Had it ever

burned you when you have looked into it too much? Yes? Yes, because sometimes you can get to guessing, you know, you think you know what they're gonna run based on their formations. It can help you make a lot of players book. It can burn you, you know, if you think they're gonna run a slant. In the next team they run a slant and goal or give a memory in your career, even college where you know you're so glad you did it because you know you saw it. It just came

to life and you made a big play. Yeah. So we were playing James Madis universally. Actually my senior year is a big game Halloween. I think we won like forty four to forty one, so we weren't stopping too much. But there was one I knew. I just knew he was gonna run a slant and I was in the post and U I mean, I just jumped the slant and they ran a goal ball and just completely left my corner out the dry. He dropped a touchdown. He

dropped it. So then the very next play they come back and they run the slant and I picked I ended up picking it off. So I was happy. You know, That's that's what I'm saying. That's a that's a risk in some reward, but um, yes I was. I was happy on that one. DeAndre Houston Carson, our guest here, on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to score. I love how you laid out the day and then you're going home to your your family, because I'm certain a lot of folks don't think of it in terms that way.

And now you got a young team. While of those guys are not married, they don't have kids, they're rookies, they're young guys in the locker room, they've seen you're basically you're briefcase and it home to work after a day at the office. Right You don't visualize that as a football fan, you know, I don't think so. I think I think it's just something different. I don't know, but I kind of like it because you are one of the senior members of this football team, as young

as it is. I don't think you played on a younger team right in your seven years. Yeah, I don't know if anyone has played on a younger team right right now in the second arry, I just counted up. I think it's six rookies knock out woods. Some guys are gonna come back who knows, but injured or otherwise. There's six rookies, two new guys just picked up a month ago, two three year vets, in Villedoor, who's limited

as of this taping this week for practice, Jaylen and yourself. Yeah, no, it'll be exciting an opportunity for a lot of guys. But I had that experience one time. I can't remember who we're playing, but we're when the kickoff holder before the kickoff, and I'm looking around, it's like there's literally seven rookies out here in the kicker. So it's just me and you know, two other guys who are Yeah,

have any you know, specialties? Yeah? Yeah. Do you do you drive some energy from these guys because their wide eyed, they're excited, this is their big chance. You know, I'm sure some of them don't feel like rookies anymore. That's deep in the season. But how about that you do drive some juice from that? Oh? Yeah, for sure. A lot of guys bring a lot of energy, and it's always fun being around the rookies day. You know, they keep you young. It's funny saying that, right because you're

still a young guys exactly. You're a young guy in the in the bigger picture for sure. DeAndre Houston Carson our guest here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The Score brought to you by IGS Energy. So I said this on the TV show that we had on Sunday Night recap in your nine tackles. I know you're a team first guy, but we have to individually, you know, go through you know, highlights of the game and whatnot. And I said, this is a guy and I said

this at the outset here, you're a professional. You just there's so much trust and belief when you're on the field, no matter what you're asked to do, how in frequent or frequent you're asked to do it. I think that could possibly be some of the most complimentary thing you can hear as a player. Is it not even from your coaches they speak the same way about you. Yeah, no, I'd say so. Obviously you want to be someone who's trustworthy in life in general. That's the way I look

at it. And then football is just an extension of you know, just another aspect of life that I want to be trustworthy in and to be in. To be completely frank, there's there's times where you know, I make mistakes out there and I think it hurts me. Um might hurt me a little bit more because I do pride myself a lot in that, and I have a reputation, you know, so then when I when I do make a mistake, it's like I was, you know, I just

gotta make a mistakes. So I had a few in the game, to be honest, that that I wasn't proud of, but because it's just part of it, you know, learning from learning from those as well. And frankly, you haven't had a ton of defensive snaps this year. Is it is? It takes some time to get comfortable out there. No, I want to sound so, I mean that is something

that a couple of people have asked me. You know, like I've played a lot of football, but I haven't started or play, you know, a whole bunch on defense. But I don't think you can really account for all the accumulated reps over time practice, you know, preseason, all those reps of playing football, watching a lot of tape, seven years worth of tape. Um. So although you know, having started a whole bunch, it doesn't feel like I

have to go in and get a groove or anything. Well, I know this, you're one of the one of if that's the first guy on the field every day. Oh yeah, why is this? Um? So really everyone likes doing extra work. UM, and I know I know myself, I'm I'm more likely to be inconsistent if I do it after after practice every day. I might have a hard practice and I'm tired and I'm like, okay, I'm gonna skip. I'm gonna skip the jugs today. So I just decided I started

doing it probably two years ago. I decided to start doing all my extra work before practice. That way, I knew, um two things. I knew I was gonna get that extra work, and then I could I can direct call one of my practice to go. You know, say you're wearing pads, you might go a whole day you're wearing pads, but you haven't you still don't hit, just because you know the play didn't come. So then I go out and do my tacles before. That way, I know that

I'm you know I'm hitting. UM, So that that's really the only reason. Um, I don't really do any reason. Have others followed you, have others asked about especially these young guys, and then they say, can we work with you? Yeah? For sure. Um. Before it was me and my boy Dion Bush, we'd be out there, we'd be out there early. Um, a lot of a lot of Jurkis asked me about it. Just we're not just Wurkies but guys in general. And I just explained that to him. And you know, some

guys try to come out early and stuff. I've actually adjusted a little bit this year. Um, adjusted a little bit. I still try to get out early, but I'm not a slave to it. I used to kind of be a slave to it, where if I if I wasn't able to do it, then I would just feel like completely unprepared. Um. But now you know, it's really nice. Actually I'm not a slaved to that, to that ritual anymore. Yeah. I still get out there early as much as I can,

but I've definitely adjusted as the years I'm talking about. Yeah, does it also signal to these younger guys? And again Coach keeps talking about building a foundation, and he made a point of the Coaches Show on Monday Night, this is not a rebuild. This is a building building. So building something fresh from the foundation that that guys get into a routine that they feel works for them. It doesn't have to be replicated. I mean, it could be

the same thing on Sundays, you know, ottawalle Guli. I used to come in are in defensive end and he'd take three showers before kickoff. I mean that that was his route he had to he'd go out there getting the shower. Yeah, I mean why, I have no idea, but it worked for him. Do you kind of counsel guys, hey,

do what works for you? Um? I have I have. UM, Like, if they do ask me about my routine specifically, it's like, you don't have to, you don't have to do this, Yeah, you know, but it is very important, I think to have a consistent schedule. Um. So something that was told to me, Um, you know kind of the pre draft process is, you know, you want to kind of do the same thing every day of the week. So like on Monday, I do the same thing every Monday. I

do the same things every Tuesday, Wednesdays. It's just stills routine as far as you recovery your body. Also watching the film. That way, you have less things to think about. It's just taking some of that mental energy away, you know. Sometimes exactly, I eat the same breakfast every morning. That way, I don't have to think about okay for breakfast, you're not eating the same way how you eat the same breakfast?

What do you eat? Yeah, so typically I do two pancakes, a couple pieces of bacon, three four piece of bacon, and some eggs. Put some hot sauce on it, Sir. Doesn't get boring? No, I mean sometimes it does. But you are a man of routine. So I'm messing up your vibe right now because you're ready to get home

to be with the kids and Mama. Yes, DeAndre Houston Carson our guests another segment to go here with the veterans safety and special team star back with you after this break on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score. This segment of Bears All the 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 with Bear safety DeAndre Houston Carson, just talking

about life and football. You know, it's funny some of these interviews. You have a couple of questions or ideas and then you just start a conversation. You never get to the questions. Those are the best ones. I had one recently with Cole Comet a couple of weeks ago on television, and you know, I think players get a kick out of that too. You know, we're just talking. We're just talking about things that relate to the game,

and those are always, to me the best interview. So I appreciate you being open and talking about you know, just stuff stuff right here. I don't like using the interview voice that you know, what is the interview interview voice and someone asks you a question and you just have to turn on that, you know, it's that voice. I gotta go watch the tape. Yeah, yeah, right, you know, yeah, you can't give him all the all the info right right yet. Um, this is not an easy year. Uh,

but it's weird. I had a conversation Mike Pannell in the locker room and a veteran who has been on many many teams, some very successful teams, Packers Kansas City, and you know, he's another veteran guy who guys come to him for information on the defensive line. And I said, I'm in the locker room the other day and it's bustling. I mean, I've been in here and you have to there. There are there are guys who come in there on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and meet the media, and they do

so diligently. But in the past, you know, at place with crickets, sometimes you know, guys don't want to answer questions about losing. What's different about this team because it doesn't feel like a losing season. I'm just that's from my perspective. Maybe you guys are internally looking at it a different way, but I just hear it. I feel that there's energy in that room. What are you What is your guess? I guess do you feel that? Or am I? Or am I just making it up? No?

I do feel it, Okay, I do feel that. I think there's a couple of things. Um. One, it may be it may be just the fact that we kind of guys we have in the locker room. You know, we have guys who care about each other. I said this the other day, so want to ask me this question. We have guys who care about each other and guys who, um, you know, it's not just it's all about them. You know, when you're when you're losing it, it's all about you,

and you know you're just so self centered. Then it's it's hard to find really any joy in what we're doing. I think we have guys who care about each other. You know, we have good chemistry. Another thing that's been brought up, which I think is true, is the way that Flus kind of handles wins and losses. Like it's very consistent, you know. You know, there's not too much really high after winning, not too really low after a loss.

So if you are really really low after loss and then you lose four or five in a row, then it's just five weeks of being really really low and then you can kind of just get stuck there. So I think that's another thing. And then maybe I think another thing may be the youth, yeah, aspect of it. Again, we talked about how we're young, like just bringing excitement to the locker room. Young teams. Man, they're dangerous. I mean,

there are five more games left in this season. You're probably looking forward to that bye week because it's the latest bye week I ever recall, right for you too, Probably everybody needs a little break. But every game's gonna be tight. It doesn't matter how under man the Bears may look on paper or what the other teams may

be coming in. I just think, and it's been that way all season, with rare exception a couple of instances, but it speaks to the coaching staff and the belief in each other and the opportunity he's being given here across the board, to many different guys in many different positions. Would you say that's also part of this puzzle a

little bit? I think so, yeah, I think so. Um. That's the NFL in general, Like, there's not too many just no, not this record right this year, it's a record like this one score game has never been this many. I don't know why, you just the parody. Everyone's on scholarship, you know, everyone plays good ball, and then somehow, I maybe it's something they need to do. They need to do a study on why that is. Like we all

just come down to the wire here. Look at this. No, you know, when you watch tape, you're not watching it, at least I'm not watching it in the progression of the game. It's one side of the ball, Okay, so unless you watch the TV version, you're not seeing it that way. So the Philadelphia Eagles run for three hundred and sixty plus yards, which I mean it's like high school level, right, three hundred and sixty six yards against the Green Bay Packers. But the green Bay Packers lost

by a touchdown. Now, if you looked at that and said three sixty six, I don't even need to know the score. There's no way Philadelphi's losing that game, right, Well, I don't know. You'd have to look at the turnover as well as to well, I don't know all that. I'm just saying that's that's really the stat Yeah, you know, it's takeaways, right if they have three six may turn

them all over three or four times. It's like it seems like such dominance at the line of scrimmage, like holiday even, you know, But it's that's why you know. You need balance, you need you need to score touchdowns. You need to score touchdowns. And I know the takeaways are are obvious. And then the return game, you know, stretch of four straight games where you guys were victimized by return touchdowns and those return touchdowns way back to

the days of love you Smith. He said, you know, you get one return touchdown, you're likely going to win. You have a greater chance of winning that football game. That's how tenuous it is. For sure. You heard this also, I think up is maybe, which is crazy. Yeah, but it steals a possession, so that that's what you're always trying to do as well. DeAndre Houston Carson our guest here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to score. Uh, all these new guys coming in, Um, how good of

a job in your opinion? Are these coaches doing teaching and getting guys ready to play and a moment's notice, Yeah know these I mean these are great coaches, honestly, really good teachers, and I'm sure they have their work cut out for him. But are you know what we do is also schematically not It is detail, but it's not extremely complicated. So it is a system that you can come in and pick up the basis curely quickly.

But I think they're doing a good job. Tell me about Brisker mentality, big body seven a heck of a year. I hope he comes back soon. But what what have your been impressions of him? Well, for one, like you said, he's extremely athletic, can cover, can cover anybody. The main thing that I noticed about brisk being around him for a little bit is just his competitiveness, Like he's a true competitor. Um, he hates to lose, obviously he likes winning. But I think he hates to lose money, right, Yeah,

he's just a competitive, very physical guy. And he's just like really all of our rookies. I've noticed that their pros already as rookies. You know, they take care of the bodies, to watch a lot of film. Those are the two things I think that really go into being a pro. And he has those two already. A couple of weeks ago, I get on the team plane and I'm walking two guys behind Brisker. He sits down, bam, iPads out, not even can I have something to drink? Boom,

he's working. Sure did you find that seven years in that that has also been kind of a new newer thing at every opportunity, right after the game getting into it or I guess it just depends on the guy. Yeh. Some guys just can't be easy until they see the plays,

whether they be good or bad. Okay, I want to know what they're waiting to hear from exactly exactly, you know, I've seen I've seen some some real examples of guys who are obsessed with film, you know, to where you'll be out with dinner with them and they'll they'll have their iPad they're watching well member Kyle Fuller, Yeah, it's always and that thing open locker room. That thing was

open one hundred percent of the time. Challenges facing Aaron Rodgers, who's banged up, looks like he's gonna play on Sunday, coming in here where he's had so much success. What still are the challenges with him and his crew? Yeah, obviously probably the number one thing is very smart. You know, we have to try to do a good job of giving him some looks he hasn't hasn't seen. Um, I'd say I'm talent. Obviously, he can make any throw, make any throw, and I mean he's one of the best

of all time. You know, we just gotta he doesn't turn the ball over much, you know, historically, so i'd say those poppy three things. I'm assuming you get jacked up for something like this. U I heard Justin Jones in the locker room. He's all wound up about it.

The rivalry thing, you know, that's kind of dissipated over the years from my perspective, from players bringing it up, because you know, you're not homegrown here, You're from all over the country, all over the world in some place in some case is with our locker room, and you know that has to take time to develop. But he did not like how it wound up in week two and it's still bugging him. And uh, you know you've

had plenty of them. You had to leave the game last year, in that game and that that ended your season. I'm sure that rings in your ear a little bit too. What what is your impression of that match up with the Packers and you know, yeah, and and just it's it's it's been uneven you know, yeah, it's been uneven. I'm sure you're sick of it. Yeah, everyone in Chicago, Yeah, is it rightfully? So? Um, yeah, I think every guy's different. I'd say, you know, someone who just got here two

weeks ago, they might not feel it as much. But I think if you've been on the team and once you like justin you playing one time and you start to feel it already. He's just like, Yeah, the energy, the history behind it, and just that game is really special. Um, it's really an honor to play in it. Think about it like, heck, yeah they've met how many times? Yeah? To us six especial to be a part of that.

You know, when to try to uphold the standard of Chicago basketball, and each team has the samon number of wins. Are you aware of this? Yes, And it's exact day, December fourth, one hundred and one years ago when the Bears got their first NFL win, and they've never trailed the Packers. It's even now, but they've never trailed. Sunday will be exactly one hundred one years ago. It's fate. It's gonna be fun to go get it. Let's hope it's it's a fireworks it's firework show. Thank you so

much for taking the time. Have a great game and good luck this weekend. That's DeAndre Houston Carson, our guest here on Bears All Access. When we return, I'll be joined by Tom Thare once again, and Ti Dunne will join us. He's written a book about tight ends and spend a lot of time with the one and only Ironed Mike Ditgo. We'll talk about that next here on

Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The Score. Welcome back to Bears All Access here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score 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 kind enough to join Tom and I. Ty Doune outstanding writer. You know you know I mean it, Tyler.

I've told you for years you write great stuff. You're working now formerly on the Packers beat, you're living in Buffalo. Tell us about what you're doing with golong td because it's a great newsletter. It talks about all things NFL and if you're a Packer fan, it's heavily slanted in that direction. Our old friend Bob McGain also working with you. We're gonna get into that and the book you've written. But welcome to the program. How's it going two years now?

This newsletter? You gotta Jeff, Hey, thank thanks so much for having me. It's great to see you, to hear you. It's it's been a bit. So I always love when we can connect like this. Um. Yeah, launch golong td dot com two years ago about last week, so I just had the two year anniversary. Just wanted to really

kind of zag where. I guess a lot of sports media's ziggin right, a lot a lot of fast food, a lot of memes and takes and gifts and tweets, and I've always kind of gravitated toward the long form, toward profile writing, feature writing, and just felt like I was in a place with enough relationships around the NFL to cover the NFL through that lens. So substack as a platform was perfect. Could just you know, write my features, report on them, do what I love to do, and

see if people want to pay to read stories? Right, And that's the big I know, does anybody actually want to financially support this endeavor? And in two years in I'm in a really good place where you know, we've got a free list, so people want to just you know, plug in golong tv dot com and hop on that free list. You can always upgrade to become a paid subscriber, which is just eight a month or fifty a year, and it's it's been a lot of fun. And try

to get into Bears country here and there. You're right, we've got a lot of Packer fans. I remember those Milwaukee Journal Settle days. But we've got a decent Bears grew too. I know Oland Groups came out one of my happy hours once. He was great. Um, we've examined the quarterback situation. Tim Jennings had him on for a Q and A once. So if if people subscribe, I'll listen to you and give you which you want. Funny you said substack, and Tom there quickly and wait, wait,

that's something that sounds like a play. So I don't know what substack is easier either, Tom, But you heard substack, You're like, Okay, let's go what are we doing? Line up and go? What the heck is a substack? So it's a it's a newsletter platform basically, So if you want to just basically, it's a homeworker writing. It's it's an alternative to social media if you want to take your brain back. They've got a lot of newsletters on there.

You know, sports, music, politics, culture, everything. Um. A lot of people kind of broken off of corporate media, and you know, for one reason or another, if they want to be your own boss and start your own company, you can do that. So I created go Along. It's it's my own company. But the substack is like the

host or to disperse the stories. In addition to the uro Hey, ty, give me a little bit of your feeling about the NFL today, because you got older quarterbacks into their late thirties and forties, and then you've got a star driven group of quarterbacks, you know, like your Joe Burrow or your Justin Fields and some of the young, star studded quality quarterbacks you have. What is your feeling

of the NFL today? That's a great question, because I feel like the NFL today, if you're going to excel with your young quarterback, you've got to create an infrastructure that allows that quarterback to shine, like take advantage of

what that quarterback does well in it. It sounds very elementary to speak in those terms, but I mean, I just did a series on two a ton of my own earth ludown in Miami to figure out why he's in the MVP conversation and got life under Brian Flores in that offense with where he was at terrible, miserable, just treated poorly in meetings and schematically, it just didn't suit his gifts. And he didn't have Tyreek Hill around him.

That helps as well. So I just think to get a head coach and Mike McDaniel to get a receiver in Tyreek Hill for him to show him seven hundred plays of him doing something well. It just took his confidence to a whole new level, and he remembered who he was at Alabama, who he was out in Hawaii, and he was that quarterback all along. So I think

the coaches that get that. It seems like the Bears get it with Justin Fields, right, who GETSI and everything they're doing with him to take advantage of his athleticism, his mobility, his armed talent, and just creating an offense that works for him. And they'll get around and using one hundred million to find him some players. But I think he's in a really good spot because this is a coaching step and a team that's gonna take advantage of what he does best, which I just implows my mind.

The more coaches and more teams don't just do that. It seems simple, but so lots to look at Green Bay Bears. You think this was the most opposite under the spectrum of a talent like Aaron Rodgers and the other side of talent like Justin Fields, that they're completely two different quarterbacks. Yeah, I mean, on the flip side, and I've been pretty opinionated on this subject to go along, I think Green Bay just completely botched this missed a

golden opportunity. You trained Aaron Rodgers at the peak of his powers. You know what he is personally, you know what he is professionally. You know everybody this side of Tom Brady. They're gonna lose a little cleticism. They're gonna lose a little on their fastball. It's inevitable. Father Time is undefeated, and you had an opportunity to just get what three first three seconds, Jerry Judy Patrick's curtain, whatever you wanted, a piece of paper. He was the MBV.

And yet you bent the knee at every turn from the offseason that he held you hostage all through that offseason into the next offseason. So now they're screwed. I mean now he's making fifty miles. It's contracts and albatross. You've got a lot of bad contracts. You've got a young quarterback cooks pretty good to pick that started the song during Love has developed. He showed this some stuff.

What an opportunity to get him some reps. But if we've learned anything through this whole charade, it's I don't need the matt with words the head coach in writing. Gouda Kins is the GM and but Aaron Rodgers can just do what Aaron Rodgers wants. If he wants to play, he's gonna play. If he wants to play in twenty twenty three, he'll play in twenty twenty three. It just kind of blows my mind that they had this opportunity

and they missed it. And we'll see what happens. I mean, maybe maybe Love is able to be the guy and they can't put the pieces around him. But if they go that route, it's gonna be a really, really tough Whereas in Chicago, justin fields, there a position to put the pieces around him and really build for the future. Tyler Dunn our guests here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to score from God on td dot com. Check him out. Great newsletter indeed, and he's written a book.

It's called The Blood and Guts. How ti it ends and big capitol letters tie save football. Certainly, you got to talk to the coach because he was Iron Mike before he was the coach, and the first eighteen pages dedicated to a guy that kind of kicks off the

book as changing the way the position was played. A big reason why he's a Hall of Famer because when you get guys that revolutionize a position or a scheme or a trend in the league, you're likely bound for Canton, tell us what was the genesis of this book and about your conversations because you went down to Naples to visit with Iron Mike. Absolutely, the genesis I think is, you know, a big picture. I've always wanted to write a book, just didn't really know what the topic would be.

And when you think about the sport and everything we love about the sport, the blocking, the tackling, the big plays, and this is all it's all still to that tight end position. And I think you know when you watch the game today, it's like the league is trying to find this utopian middle ground with violence that doesn't really exist with the flags and the fines. If you look at last night DeMar Hamlin, I mean he hits the receiver in the end zone. I don't know what he's

supposed to do on that play. So I'm kind of an old soul in that regard. I feel like the NFL is trying to operate in both the safe space and the octagon. Just own your violence, Own what you are. Nobody's maiming receivers today, right, It's not like it used to be in Dica's day. So when you know it, you see it. So I guess it came from a place of just being at miss stop and trying to run to write a book that preserves the game and everything we love about the game. And you get that

at tight end. You get it in Mike Dicka. He started the position from square one. Nobody even used the term tight end before he broke onto the scene with John Mackey in the sixties. So yeah, absolutely had to go down there right to Dica's world, hang out with him in the club house, and it was wild. I think that there's a lot about Dicka that you guys certainly know, but I think a lot of common bands

don't really remember him as a player. They don't remember him as that apex predator on the field, taking names, kicking butt, like just really asserting himself at the top of the food chain in a way nobody had really

done in the sport before. And then schematically, you know, George Allis obviously had a lot to say about the tight end and offensive football, but the name he brought up again and again is Nuke Johns's his coordinator and just kind of teaching him to line up a little bit off of the tackle, a little bit off, and then that gives you the ability to have a two way release, to run left, to run right right. And then once he caught a pass, it was, you know,

hell on wheels. He just ran over everybody that moved. I had the opportunity to visit with him several years ago just to catalog his history for preservation with the Bears, with the grates of the game. Gail Sayers also was privileged to do that, and he had me in stitches because the storytelling is with still a toughness bent to it, right, So he's not laughing. He's serious boss stuff. But don't

say yeah because we got Bears Packers. It's the Nichky battle, the Niche He and Nichky hated him and they became friends. But boy, the collisions in the nastiness of those two is also profiled in it. And then I'll lead you to Tom who actually played for the guy. So, but how about those Nichki Dika battles. I mean, that was that was really the era, the decade that made American

football the number one sport in America. I mean, I think the ratings, the numbers, every everything you'd want to look at suggest that the sixties is when football was modernized and became the real American pastime. And you can say Mike Dicka was the number one reason for that. If you're going to create like a Jerry West silhouette logo, it's probably iron Mike because of the way he played it, because of those battles with Niche. He had me in

stitches too. He can remember, like, you know, getting clotheslined, you know, getting blindsided, just getting just drilled by Nichky and those those packers bear games and not thinking it's a dirty play, right, It's not like, oh, this is out of bounds, you know, uncalled for. No, it's he got me, I'm gonna get him, and he would, and it's stilled into you know, everyday life. They're outside of

a restaurant in Milwaukee and going at it. It's and like you said that, they became friends there, you know, And I think that's the cool thing. I bought it. You can beat the hell out of each other on the field and be perfectly fine to each other off of it, whether it's Dicka, John McKee, even a Jackie Smith. He had so many stories as well getting into it with Dick Buckus, you know, on the other end of the spectrum. Um, I just can't get enough in the air.

I'll a bit. I mean, I was pretty ignorant when it comes to football in the sixties and seventies. I'm thirty five, that's before my time. I'm just thinking, he got a bunch of you know, shoemakers and you know melkmen in there and there as their day jobs, and they're just kind of playing football as a hobby. All right. You look at some of these guys dick Us running over. Well, granted, some of these guys Dick was running over, maybe they

did look very small compared to the players today. But the rule book was about as thin as a brochure. You could do whatever the hell you wanted to out there. So I think that we had to take that into consideration. Ty, I would love your feedback on this. So I played for Mike Dicka for eight years and he was the template of toughness in all aspects of football special team's offense and defense. But he really didn't feature the tight end as a main key to offensive success. It was

Walter Payton offensive line. Then let's bring you to the modern day NFL with Andy Reid, who was a former offensive tackle and now he features the tight end of one of his main positions of success. Doesn't surprise you that a former tight end doesn't feature it, but then a former offensive tackle does feature it. That's a great question because that does come up year to year, decade

to decade, er to erra. Where As I'm heying, I would with everybody from Dicka to Bronk and Kittle today and everybody in between, Ben Coats, Tony Gonzalez, Mark Bruners in there, we've got run the whole game, and add Mark Bavaro. Off course, Mark Vavarro, Jeremy's Shocky, I mean three backs and drinks with Shocky and Miami Beach, which is every every bit as crazy as you can imagine reading this book. But I feel like it was a very small group of innovators that kept the position evolving

over time. It wasn't like like a dick or you know, pick your tight end that became a coach or a coach who coach tight ends. It wasn't like it. It became this wave, right, this tightle wave of people who understood what the tight end can do. It was a Luke John So's. It was Don Korea with Kelen Winslow. It was Mike Mike Pope, you know, the position coach for Bavaro and Ben Coates and Jeremy Shocky, Sean Payton,

Bill Parcells. It kind of was sporadic with coaches who realized, Okay, this is a this is a big dude who can both lock and run up the scene, makeup play down the field, and it is impossible to cover for a corner,

a safety, a linebacker. All the way to Tony Gonzalez, I mean, he's really I mean, you can make the case that he's the best tight end ever if you want, because he opened up the door for a completely new type of athlete, you know, a select group of coaches to realize what this player could do, to the point now where if you're not hunting for an athletic tight end, you'll probably be out of a job. All right, Our final moments here with Tyler Dunn, who's written the book

The Blood and Guts How tight Ends Save Football. So let's get back to the title to wrap us up before this great Bears Packers matchup it Soldier Field on Sunday, Why do you feel they save or is it, just like you said, the preservation of the sport as we remember it. Why why will tight end say football right? It's present tense. You're absolutely right. You're in the trenches. You have to roll up the sleeves, you have to

block still. Yet it's third and eight. There's seventy thousand streaming fans, millions of people watching at home, the quarterbacks going to you. I mean, you're the quarterback's best friend. Peyton man In and Dallas Clark. The hours they put in in saying Drew Brees, Jimmy Graham, Tom Brady, Rob Burnkowski, right down the list, ru Bledsoe and Ben Coates. So you have to do a little bit of everything. So

that's football in a nutshell. But yeah, I just feel like we're so offended by everything today and I don't like it. I don't get it. I think it's weird to that society has gotten softer and is offended and then applies to the football field. I think we have to reach an agreement that if you are on that field and the players get this, they do offense defense. Everybody gets this. If you're on that field, you are subscribing to a certain element of a risk. You understand

the inherent risk that's involved with football. And guess what, so many of these guys in the past, they didn't know the risks. You know, they didn't realize the head trauma and even ligament damage and everything that it could do to you later in life. Lotted, I mean that I've talked to today. The knowledge is through the roof, so you can make that decision. Is this for me or is this not for me? And if it's for you and you step onto that field, I don't understand

why we have to. You know, have the rule book that's you know, this thick now as opposed to the brochure, and nobody knows what it catches, nobody knows how to tackle, nobody knows how to hit. We're all this kind of dazed and confused. And I think that if you siphon out of that, if you siphon that violence side of the game, you're gonna lose football. It's going to become something different. But the tight end you still have to hit, You still off the catch, you have to do everything.

As Rob Gronkowski, George could, a lot of these guys break down in detail. We can preserve the game at that position, the blood and guts. Where can people find it? Anywhere? You get books Amazon, Barnes and Noble. Indie books also go along TV dot Com. I'm always running deal so if you sign up, there's a good chance you'll see a deal where. Hey, come on, annual subscriber, you'll get a book. All right, Hey, nice job, number one of many. Right,

we're gonna have volumes of this stuff. Tyler Donne, our guest, Thanks so much for joining us. Appreciate it. Love the conversation, fellows. Thanks so much for having me. All Right, Tyler, we'll talk to you down the road. We'll have you on again for sure to talk about the rest of the league. Coming up next, Tom and I finish our thoughts on Bears Packers Version two h six, coming up at Soldier Field here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the score.

This segment of Bears All Access is brought to you by CDW people who get it, Jeff Joni Act, Tom Thair wrapping things up in our final segment to take a look at the matchups and Bears Packers Version two a week two justin fields and the offense through for just seventy yards. He ran the ball eight times. That could change drastically on Sunday. There are different parties involved here.

No rashone Gary. Now the Bears have Chase Claypool. There's no Darnell Mooney, no Eddie Jackson, no Robert Quinn, no ro Kwan Smith. They've got changes. Justin Watson's become a instant star. Six touchdowns in last three games. Crazy how much in just from week two to now that these two teams, the complexion of them has changed. What hasn't changed. They both lost seven to eight. Yeah, and they're both

trying to figure out where their quarterback is. You know, you don't know, you know as much there's been as much conversation about Aaron Rodgers over these last couple of weeks as there has been about the emergence of Justin Fields. And I think that's the point of success for both football teams. They need Aaron to play like he once did, and they need Justin to continue on that road of improvement.

And then that's when you bring in the defense. How is the defense of Green Bay going to react to Justin and how is the defensive pressure and defensive backfield going to react to playing Aaron Rodgers, and I think it's a it's gonna be an unbelievable game. And to just imagine that with the storyline behind the quarterback position, that it comes down to be in Green Bay in Chicago, the oldest rivalry in the NFL, in two quarterbacks that couldn't be on if on two different roads there of

where their their football life is going. It stuck with the backs because they've got two good ones. And they did do some damage to the bearer. Aaron Jones is an outside zone runner. He is absolutely fantastic. I love how he plays the game. There are questions about how much they give him the football sometimes not enough. They don't incorporate him all the time the way you would

think in the passing game. But uh, and then there's David Montgomery who right now, aside from the runs in the in the yard from scrimmage, he's second in yards per catch among running backs behind Derrick Henry in Tennessee. Now he's up over eleven yards at catch. And you've been on this for a while about getting him involved

in the passing game. And it's not just okay, he's got good hands, it's what he does with it after he catches the football right, because you know, most of the time that he gets a catch outside the box, outside the framework up tight end to tackle, he's usually facing a third level defender. And there's not a lot of defensive backs that are volunteering to tackle David Montgomery one on one in space. And you know Daved Montgomery

does not want to go out of bounds. If he has a challenge of a tackle or near the edge of the field, He's going to take the challenge and not the edge. And I know that Doug Colletti could probably figure it out. There's a great stat of how many yards that Walter Payton had in his total of not going out of bounds rather than staying in the field to play. And that's what Dave Montgomery does with the great challenge to the when he does able to

catch the ball on the exterior. At the same time, Packers have given up the thirty first most runs of ten yards and more. They've allowed seventy points on first possessions of each half, of which the Bears have scored I think eighty total points than the first drives of each half. There's things here the Bears do well. That they're scoring drive percentage is higher than the Packers, who are twenty sixth in the league offensively doing that. It's it's a lot of interesting math for a lot of

different reasons. Where are your focuses on keys to the game? Okay, let me ask you a question, though. If the Bears go out there and they win the coin toss, do you defer it to the second half or do you take the kickoff and hopefully you can get up saving and nothing, and then you can give your defense a little bit of a chance to be aggressive on that first drive, trying to get at Aaron Rodgers and trying

to limit their success. It's something that you really have to contemplate because I'm a big believer you win the coin toss, you defer, but I don't want to see Aaron Rodgers with the ball into his hands that first drive and then do something with it. So you know, you're kind of adding some confusion with the question you just brought up with their lack of success at and

the halves, right, I kind of with you. Let's take out the Louisville Slugger and go right down the field and get on the board, get on top because the Packers haven't proven they could do much with that. They've had a couple comebacks, but they like playing on the lead, and he's always had the lead on the Bears. This is how he works. And sometimes it's a you score a game and you're not you're not getting back. Um. Maybe it's different now because of justin fields and the

way this offense has been able to score points. How About how about defensively? What should the Bears be bracing for? Be worried about Aaron Rodgers throne a deep pass the

Watson the very first offensive play they get. You go back to the first play of the season, Watson dropped the ball that was delivered perfectly by Aaron Rodgers against the Minnesota Vikings, and they they failed to have any type of comeback opportunity after that, and it really, uh, you know, kind of fractured a little bit of the relationship. Throughout the early portion of the season. However, Watson has

really come on. So if they go out there and they say, okay, they have a tough time getting pressure on the opponent's quarterback, and I have a guy that tell me it's forty time because I know, right, I know you know, right at the top of ear I don't know enough the top of my head, but it's it's in the four to three range. Yes, it's in the three range. So that's what I'm saying. You know, you get a guy like Watson who they've been able

to take advantage of. Even when Jordan Love came in the other night, they hit him with a slant route and he took it to the house. So my biggest fear is that first play, challenging the Bears defense to see if anybody can stick with wattson the speed start four three six, big time, I know you four three six m. Yeah, he's been he's been outstanding, and he's owning it too. He enjoys being in the spotlight. You can see him when he scores touchdowns. He folds his

arms and stares at the crowd. And he's got that and number one receiver type attitude as as a rookie. Right now, he does have five drops this season, and the Packers have had a lot of drop passes this year, more than more than you might expect. All Right, offensive line, let's talk about it. Of the potential that Alex Leatherwood could be involved in some fashion. He is getting paid a lot of money because of that deal that the

Bears did taking him off waivers from the Raiders. Would you like to see him at some point this season or even as soon as Sunday? Oh, I need to see him. I need to what this guy's gonna offer the Bears. Listen, you know you talk about the Bears Green Bay game. He's fortunate to be able to play at home. To listen, to be able to hear the count from justin fields. This guy has played in big games throughout his career. There is no bigger program in

college football than Alabama when he played there. So he's not going to come in there and be shocked at sixty one five hundred because he's played on both sides of the ball and an away crowd in a home crowd one hundred thousand. So listen, if Alex Leatherwood can play, and you put him wherever whatever ted you know, I assume he's gonna play right tackle, then allow him to be physical, watch his feet on terms of past blocking responsibility. So I'm excited and I want to see Alex Leatherwood

finally get his opportunity. We'll see that you started every game last year for the Raiders. This Bears matchup with the Packers brought to you by PNC, the Official Bank of the Bears. Want to thank our guests here today, DeAndre Houston Carson, that Bears nominee for the Sportsmanship Award. The Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award recognized as players who exemplify

outstanding sportsmanship on the field. So great guest. Thanks to Tyler Dunn who's written a book about the tight end position called The Blood and Guts from golong td dot com. Check him out as well. Thanks to our producers, and most of all to you for listening. Tom. We'll see you Sunday. I'll be there, be angry, all right, that's top there. I'm Jeff Joniac. Thanks to everyone for listening tonight. This is Bears All Access, brought to you by IGS

Energy on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The Score. Goodnight,