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There, It's Bears Browns and thank you for joining us. A big matchup Sunday along Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio for the week fifteen Bears Brown's Matchup. And this is Bears Weekly with Super Bowl winning Bears guard Tom.
There.
I'm Jeff Jonniack.
Thanks to our producers Jordan tread Up and Dan Burrily from the Bears And Tonight at the ESPN one thousand Studios, Jack McGrath and Sean. Our executive producer of the Bears Radio Network is Eric Ostrowski Coming up tonight we visit with Bears cornerback Jalen Johnson and later in the program big time former Browns quarterback Brunie Kosar from Our Bears, Etc.
Podcast that we tape this week tonight. All right, So the Bears going to Cleveland as underdogs as they've been all season long, but that line keeps shrinking, Tom, not that we're into that, but the Browns have nine starters out if you take out guys like Deshaun Watson, Nick Chubb and some really good defensive players losing Grant del but its safety, twelve players of note on their injured reserve, and their their top three tackles are out.
Yeah, but you know, I think everybody's accustomed to that in the in the football business, because you know that everybody's not going to have a perfect rosser at this time of the season. I mean, it's just like the Bears, you know, just a mid stride and Yannick and Gotaway comes up and he's injured and he's out of the lineup, So how do you make changes accordingly? And I think everybody is faced with those types of injury issues throughout the course of the season. To me, did Cleveland win
last week. I mean, they got a quarterback that's thirty eight years old that's just come aboard. They have injury issues up and down their roster, but they still go out there and play a super brand of competitive football. And they're playing at home where they get great support. So just because there's injuries on the side of the Cleveland Browns, I wouldn't take them any less seriously than I would if they had a healthy roster Week one.
Right now, this will be the fourth consecutive game.
It just occurred to me if I had my math straight, the Bears played the Lions twice and.
The Vikings and now going to play Cleveland.
Those are currently as the season ends today, there's four playoff teams. The Bears have a chance here. Should have beat Detroit the first time, beat Minnesota, beat Detroit. If they beat Cleveland, they will have beaten What now if the season ended today and it doesn't December?
Football is weird that way. I mean, what perspective.
Does that give you about how these guys have come together?
You know?
I just like the whole fact that they've been improving throughout the course of the season, and Matt Eber flew the head coach has never lost the locker room. They're working in a positive direction in segments and team and aspects of this group are making significant improvements week in and week out. So you look at the Minnesota Vikings, they had a backup quarterback in the mix and the
Bears were able to take advantage of them. Now the Cleveland Browns, they have a backup, well, a newly a board quarterback that's in the mix, and they have to do the same the Joe Flacco. But when you look at what they did against the Detroit Lions and a quarterback that was probably playing as good as any quarterback in the league, the Bears were able to take advantage of him as well.
We're going to break this thing down with our coordinators every Thursday. They speak at Hallisaw so we get snippets of it. Luke Getzi right in your alley, asked about the offensive line. This will be the fourth straight game that the Bears offensive line is it's currently constituted, it has played the other That seems odd, but you feel them, You feel the difference they're making.
Here's the offensive coordinator.
You're definitely seeing that chemistry, communication, the different styles of defenses, that we've play put some some put extreme circumstances out there that the communication has.
To be on point.
And when you play next to each other, you know, sometimes you don't have to speak those words.
You just know what each other are gonna do.
And so I think that's the long term benefit of those guys playing next to each other, that that well, even that will happen even more. But what you know, the short term part of it is absolutely we're seeing the benefit of it, you know, and you have the just that free play.
Just take that play alone.
Yeah, that play alone was the fourth and thirteen free play conversion to DJ Moore. You played it, and you played it well at a level that's beyond expectations. These days, seven straight years, you guys barely miss a snap together. You're same five. I mean, this is this is baby steps in terms of continuity with four.
How encouraged are you?
Oh, I'm super encouraged.
You know.
The first game I was getting ready to start for the Chicago Bears, Jay Hilgenberg the center came up to me and said, remember, you do my job first and then you do your own. And it's kind of just chemistry type of talk because when they had the discipline to stay on sides when the defensive lineman from Detroit jumped and it gave him the opportunity for that free play.
I don't think people understand how much discipline that takes, because the first thing you want to do as an offensive lineman is if you get a guy jumping off sides is kind of overreact to them. They didn't do that. They kind of fell into place with their protection and justin read it accordingly saw DJ down the field for a touchdown throw and it became one of the biggest plays in the game.
But Tevin Jenkins has been graded out very high during his time this season, moving on both sides of the line eight games, and then Darnell Wright with really maybe his best game of the season last week.
But you know, I think when you talk about chemistry, and I joke about Jay saying do my job first, I think this is what I was kind of getting at, as the fact that Tevin Jenkins and Nate Davis they have to really pay attention to the offensive tackles in this game because first of all, they have to identify where Miles Garrett is lined up, and they have to understand and if they have any freedom, if they have a bubble over them, they're gonna have to have all
eyes approach on Miles Garrett. And so when you look at Tevin Jenkins and you look at Nate Davis, you're gonna have to really take into account where Miles is so you can help these offensive tackles the most.
AND's a Darius Smith. He may be on the other side of thirty, but he's still a threat. As Luke Getzi outline, it's not just Miles Garrett, it's also big Z.
It's not just him.
I mean they're it's they give us a report each week and I think they were like number one, and like every defense is statistic in the league.
So I was like, this is gonna be fun.
Right, And then then you go out there and you have ninety five and ninety nine staring down at you at the same time. But they're no, that's it's fun. And I think this is this is like, this is why you do what you do. You want to play against the best, and I think this is, yes, you have those two, those two you have to account for
at all times. There's no question about it that when you're when you're going up against some guys like that that your game plan has to be fit centered around those two guys.
Yeah, they are number one in eight different categories, but in recent weeks they're giving up a lot of points.
Right. You know, when Jeff So, when Reggie White was in the NFL, who was the defensive end that played on the opposite side of him? You don't know, You can't remember anyway, you weren't concerned about that defense was on the opposite side. It was he played here for
a while. I'll think of him in a minute. However, I'm just saying back to Miles Garrett, you have to be one hundred percent assured that you have as many hands and eyes on Miles Garrett as you can have in that sometimes you're going to have some difficult circumstances for the opposite offensive tackle who's going to have to block the Zadarias Smith by himself. So again, it's about all due respect to Smith, but it's about Miles Garrett that you're going to have to have complete awareness of.
All Right, we're going to take a break our first here on Bears Weekly. When we come back, we'll hear from cornerback Jalen Johnson, My sit down interview with him for our Bears Game Day Live show. Now you'll see and hear on Sunday from Cleveland on Fox thirty two Chicago. With Tom There, I'm Jeff Joniak. This is Bears Weekly on ESPN Chicago and the Bears Radio Network.
You were tuned into Bears Weekly with Jeff Jona on the Bears Radio Network. This is Bears Weekly with a voice of the Bears for twenty three years, Jeff jon on the Bears Radio Network.
This segment of Bears Weekly is brought to you by IGS Energy. Jeff in Tom with you on Bears Weekly getting ready for the Cleveland Browns.
Coming into the break, Tom was trying.
To figure out who played opposite Reggie White, and you say it was Clyde Simmons.
Yeah, as one of.
The man he was one of them because Reggie played at Green Bay, Reggie played, you know, in other places. However, I'm just getting back to the Miles Garrett comparison with a guy like Reggie White, that when you're that awesome, that's where your focus begins.
All right, We got to talk about Ja Kwon Brisker before we get to Jalen here real quick, because he is hitting and.
Playing like a linebacker.
He's playing as his inspirational and motivated and loud defensive players.
You can get.
They gave him eighteen tackles from the coaches. See they don't give those stats out anymore. Once upon a time you'd get the league stats and then on Tuesday you'd get with the defensive coaches gave and the numbers were usually elevated, which helps the player out know those are kept secret. But when a guy gets seventeen tackles like that, the coach eber Flues said, yeah, we had him for eighteen. This is Dave Borgonzi on Jakwan Brisker's impact on the defense.
Just the physicality and the tempo that he sets for the rest of the guys. I mean he's a safety, but I mean he plays like you said, the way he hits and how physically is it's like a linebacker.
We've had safeties in the league.
That have played like that.
But he's also a good cover player, So I think he's got the unique combination of can play in the box, he can play the run, he's physically can tackle bigger backs, and he can also cover and just Jakwan's mentality I think is awesome.
Again.
I talked about TJ and Tremaine about how they prepare in Jaquan's the same way. Football is important to him and how he prepares I think positively affects him how he plays on Sunday.
All right, So there's a lot on the table for him on Sunday. Actually, because the Browns are physical, they like to run the ball. How they running it the way they did with Nick Chubb. No, but they have capable running backs and Kareem Hunts the change up to Jerome Ford right now, everybody knows what Hunt is like. And David and Joku. We don't talk enough about David and Joke with the tight end position. Uniquely gifted athlete.
Kind of makes me, gives me the most concerns for a quarterback that's just come aboard because if you want to talk about matchups, that it's difficult to match up against in terms of a linebacker with tight end speed or defensive back to the size that cover a line or a tight end. You know that's you know, Joe go to guy right now. And so it's going to be interesting to see what the Bears do. But you're not going to do anything without getting pressure on the quarterback.
So everything has to match up with each other. And I think when you look at a guy like Jakwan Brisker, because he's not exclusively a defensive back, he can play at the first, second, or third level that I think that's why you know he's the guy that creates interesting matchups because he never gives away actually who he's going to cover.
And I wonder who Jalen's gonna cover.
Jalen Johnson Amari Cooper is the guy that's the most targeted so far with Flakley at fourteen targets only seven catches last week out of those fourteen, but on an array of different types of receivers. But overall, Jalen Johnson's been playing at a very high level this season. Pro Football Focus says he's the number one cover corner this point in the NFL. Here's my conversation with a Bears starting corner. Would you agree this is a dangerous team right now?
Yeah? For sure.
I mean forget about that. I mean, it's a handful of games and see what happens.
Do you feel that way?
No, definitely, I think honestly, I think teams are I won't even say scared, but it's a little unknown I think of what type of team we are because I think we've given teams plenty of problems and I think it's always about us not finishing. And I think that it can be scary for teams to go into scout because it's like you look at the record and just naturally you want to think like, Okay, they're not that good, but then you kind of watch the game, it's like, nah,
they're good. They just don't finish it. They just find ways in a sense to lose the game. But I think now when you start kind of changing that narrative towards the end of the season, now it's like, Okay, now this team.
Is pretty good.
They just had a rough start. So I mean, just for us, just got to continue to find ways to finish. And I think that after we do that, I think we'll be a very dangerous team.
Yeah.
You know, I went back before the season and looked up everybody's record on this roster and there ain't been many guys that had a winning record.
And I think over time that.
Will get better.
Yeah, I mean, I think it just comes with experience. I mean even I think if you look from the top down, I think everybody's in newer positions. I mean, even start with Ryan Poles. He is the first year
GM coach. Flues is the first year head coach. So it's like there's a lot of people that are in newer positions that are still that have been around winning, but for like you said, being in it yourself and actually having to drive that boat and be the leader and be that that dude that shows teams how to win or show your players and things like that, and we're all I think we're all building it together. I think it's just a matter of getting the right pieces.
And I think we have the right pieces. We just got to continue to gel together and continue to go through these experiences and then really just have to kick the door down mentality, because I mean, we've been knocking out the door so many times, and just throughout this season it's knocking out the door. But at some point we got to take that step to kick the door down.
I love your confidence. You came in the league that way, honest.
You have to.
Yeah, right, like you're twenty four, right, you don't look you know what I'm saying.
I'm just saying you just have a way about.
You and your confidence of going to a podium, and you know it can be looked at many different ways, saying yeah, I think I'm the best corner in league. I'm going to be the best corner in the league. I think there's a few guys in this league, this is what you said over the most of your career that could cover better than me.
But I've got the truth is the truth.
The truth is the truth.
Right, Like your catch.
Rate all four years is in the fifty seven to fifty four percent range, which is outstanding. Guys are catching the ball when it's thrown in your direction.
They have a battle with you. How I mean the.
Facts or the factions four years of it right, right? Do you agree?
Yeah?
I mean, honestly, that's what That's what I prot myself in doing. I think when it comes to covering, coming to challenging and really going getting after wide receivers, I mean that's what that's what I've always wanted to do. I mean, just in college, that's what I did, and I think just coming down to the league, nothing nothing
for me. Changes, continue to perfect my craft, continue to get smarter and learn offenses, learn different concepts, and I think that's what has took me over the top this year, really learning and what the offense was to do, learning situational ball. But I mean, honestly, just all comes down to them of just being a dog and competing.
How about this too this year.
It hasn't been much over the course of your career, but less than one hundred yards. You after the catch, alout what's going on there?
I mean sticky covered. I mean if they do catch it.
A few times that they do catch it, I think it's one of those I'm right there on them, so just being able to get them down right away. But I mean, honestly, you just got to be in the right position. I mean sometimes you're gonna get them the catches and then just when you do, you got to get them down.
Or you had a two interception game against Vegas, you had the interception against Minnesota.
That's been a big, a big point right.
For you too?
You think you too, And you know you made a comment a couple of weeks ago like I don't know what's going on with a couple drops and you're gonna go back to you know, is it is it a Darnell Mooney hit the jugs gun every day type of situation. Well, I mean it's a little different when you're a receiver in a corner.
But what have you learned about that part of it? About your game in your hands?
Honestly, really just getting in that point. I mean I feel up until this year, I have had too many of those opportunities.
Really in the game.
Slowing, slowing down when you get to that point.
I think that's the biggest part.
I mean, sometimes, especially as the DV, you got to react, you got to go fast, but just in that moment of catching, because I mean I have I have pretty good hands, but at times, I know, especially its Minnesota, thinking about the end zone, to think about what I'm gonna do after It's like now you just got to see it all the way in first. So it's like not getting those game reps. I think I feel like we're shown clearly, but just as the project is just
continuing too. Every time I catch, make sure I'm looking the ball all the way in. And honestly, speaking of the morning he we are catching a few weeks ago, and he showed me this thing that he does, and he was like, every time he catches it, he calls what he sees, and it's like, does he sees spaces or laces? So I mean, even so we've called a few times out of practice and just when I am catching with the quarterbacks and things, I just always want to catch it and in a sense call out what
I see. So definitely credits to him and giving me some of those wide receiver tips. But I think that's the biggest thing, just being able to focus and slow, slow down in that catch porn and just call out what I see.
Best moment that's happened to you as a Bear and you're worst.
I would probably say, Walter Payton, man you nominee. Yeah, I'll probably say that one worst moment, I would say my rookie year we played actually with Detroit. We played Detroit and if I'm not mistaken, I gave up I want to say, maybe.
Two touchdowns.
One of them was a scrambled drill fifty fifty he caught it whatever, and then the second one crunch time in a sense, just wasn't in the right position reading the concept, ended up throwing the ball. I felt in between me and the safety, but it was supposed to be my coverage. And then they scored and then I think that and I ain't even think they ended up winning that game, so I would probably say that was I would say my worst moment.
Everybody's got a good, no worse, that's for sure.
You know, it's amazed me when I listened to that interview and you say you look older, I because he's still a young man twenty four years old. Then you think of how young Jaquan is, how young Carl Gordon is, how young Tarique Stevenson is, how young Terrell Smith is. This is a young defensive backfield. And then I because as we are sitting here, I was looking up the age of Eddie Jackson. They say he's thirty years old.
I don't. I it's hard for me to believe. But it's a young defensive backfield, and it's a talented defensive backfield. So I guess when you throw out the statistics of the way Jalen is playing, you know the proof is in the number. So he's having a great start of his career, and you know he should be proud of himself because there's a lot of responsibility at the defensive back, in the cornerback position, specifically to go out there and be able to play in the NFL.
Yeah, it is crazy, this whole age thing, especially when you talk about a thirty eight year old quarterback. The Bears will be facing in Joe Flacco on Sunday, and he's thrown to guys like David Bell was seven years old when Flacco got drafted in the first round. So that's the weirdness of having these veteran quarterbacks. All right, when we come back, we'll listen into the special teams component of this matchup between the Bears and the Cleveland
Browns with Tom Tahre. I'm Jeff Joniac here on Bears Weekly on ESPN Chicago and the Bears Radio Network.
You were tuned into Bears Weekly with Jeff Joniak on the Bears Radio Network.
This segment of Bears Weekly is brought to you by CDW. If people to get it with Tom Jeff Joniac as we get you said for Bears and Brown's heard from Richard High Tower this week, the NFL, I guess is concerned about the kick returns.
They're way down, way way down.
The biggest number of a single return, guys, sixteen returns. They usually get into the thirties. We know how we feel about it. It's ruining it.
Don't put me on an open mic about that topic because you know where I'm gonna go.
Here's Richard high Tower, the Bear special teams coordinator.
Yeah. I mean, I think it's something we got to look at in the off season.
Obviously.
I think Troy's desired result and the leagus desired result is we wanted Lee wanted to kick returns to go down, which has happened. I still feel like it's a phenomenal play. Is very exciting. Hopefully Devin gets in the hall soon because he made that play what it is today. Because it's just a phenomenal football play. We want to keep the foot.
In the game.
I mean, they call it football for a reason because you kick the ball. So we want to look at it, and we want to look at it in the off season and see how we can make the play even better. And I think everybody wants to keep the foot in the game, so that's the way I would address it. And as the weather changes, I mean, I think the returns that went down early, but as the weather changes, the returns are going to start to go up. Now, so we'll just see how it is. What we're visited after the season.
Troy Vincent of the NFL office says the kickoff rule change is gone too far in terms of reducing the returns. They want to find a better middle ground. I think also those who don't recall the great Gail Sayers man, he was unstoppable returning kicks. Devin revolutionized how teams tried to defend the kick return coverage.
Billy Whites, Shoes, Johnson, Ricky up Church, There's Gail Says, Dante Hall, Dante Hall, There's Carderio Patterson, Desmond Howard. I mean just just you know, Tim Brown. So there's there's tons of guys. You know, it's the most difficult running play to be taught by a coach. And that's what is. You catch the kickoff and then you have assignments to every one of the other ten guys, and you're designed a running play point of attack, creating a lane, sustaining
a block head placement and all that. It's difficult to coach and for them to try to take it out of the game, it's just embarrassing.
Well it is, and it's deflating because you think about it, you start the game, crowds to rock you kick on the sales out of the back of the end zone or on a few occasions because there haven't been many a fair catch.
It just it's a buzzkill.
And coming out at halftime, same thing, keep pointing the game. I mean, it's strategy that's going out the window. Remember the game against the Vikings with Adrian Peterson.
It was an unbelievable game. He had a great.
Game run of the play and they put him back the return of kickoffs, right, I mean the DJ Moore could do the.
Same Walter's done. Walter did it in his career.
And it's on the name of safety.
Don't you think in a punp return is not as safe as a kickoff return?
Uh?
Yeah, I mean if listen, if you're gonna put the blame game on an aspect of football that you say is too dangerous, I don't think kickoff return is the way to go about it. Again, I don't know what's the difference. One. I played on every single kickoff return throughout my whole career, and that's when you could have the wedge. So yeah, then they took the wedge apart. Now they try to dissect the process of the return
to make it safer. It's just just a ridiculous, ridiculous way that people that have never played the game are trying to make make the game.
Say for Eric Metcalf, yeah, I mean he was so exciting. It's the excitement factor. It's something strategy in your pocket.
One of the greatest games in Chicago Bear history was an overtime kickoff return by David Williams against the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving. Yeah, and it was a kickoff return that decided that game. So we have a lot of different complaints, but I guess the.
Kicking game is going to be big.
You know, you can make a case because it's a Russ Belt town, Cleveland by the Lake like Chicago, that that stadium and that stadium is it's challenging, but the wins that Soldier Field are definitely harder to navigate. The turf which has changed in a very positive way with the Bermuda grass now. But they got a really good kicker in Dustin Hopkins. The Bears have a really good
kicker in Cairo Santos. Their special teams coordinator, the former player Bubba Van Trone, says absolutely Hopkins should be a pro bowler. He's hit eight of eight from fifty plus, but he's forgetting the Cairo is seven for seven, So you know, they're both having great years. And hey, this could be the type of game because of the wild card, with injuries on their side of the fence, this could be a game that decides by a field goal.
The whole end of the season, they're all outdoor games, and you know, kickers, they become a different, you know, type of a kicking animal when conditions get unfavorable. So whether it's the footing for the punter, the plant step for a kicker, or whatever the case may be.
The Bear special teams unit has improved over the course of the season. Tom and there you talked about the young secondary. Some of those guys are playing on special teams. They've gotten defensive snaps like Elijah Hicks. Elijah Hicks is a very emotional player on special teams. He was pointing that out by Richard high Tower. You've got Blackwell, he's outstanding, very very good player.
I mean, we can go down the list.
Eric Stevenson fumble in the Detroit.
Game, Oshawn Johnson, he's out there, he's you know, this is a very this is the beginning of something.
It is really with all these young.
Players right well, you know, listen, if you are a starter, you have to be willing to contribute on special teams, whether you're in a starting role or in a backup position, and probably during the course of the season, your number is going to be called just because out of a need in numbers in a game. So I think it's as equally as important role. Even if you're only designed to do one play, you gotta do it right and you have to understand what your assignment is.
Coming up next to our sit down with Bernie Kosar from our Bears et Cetera podcast. A portion of that thirty seven minute interview coming up next here on Bears Weekly on ESPN Chicago and the Bears Radio Network.
You were listening to Bears Weekly on the Bears Radio Network.
This segment of Bears Weekly brought to you by Athletical Business with Therapy. Visit Athletico dot com to request the name clinic or virtual appointment and start feeling better tomorrow. He was one of the best quarterbacks during an era where the Cleveland Browns were you know, they were contenders until the Denver Broncos and John Elway took it away from them several times, but Bernie Costar was the guy running the show. He's got perspective, he watches a lot
of football. He is very close to Tom and I from his days coming over in our booth and Tom obviously playing in the same era. Bernie was a nineteen eighty five draft pick out of the University of Miami down in Florida, and we've had some really good times. He's also battled a lot physically and emotionally. Some of that here in this interview on Bears Weekly.
To see Joe Flacco in a Cleveland Brown uniform and playing in the old Cleveland Brown Stadium is a little unique and challenging to some of us CTEED or TBI Kincustle quarterbacks. But seeing him on the Brown side of things as opposed to the Ravens and our last year. We were mortified when he was playing for the Jets and had that miracle comeback against the Browns last year.
The way our defense is playing, where our offensive line is playing, and to see Joe Flacco, who literally two and a half weeks ago was sitting on his couch and now to see now, to see him throwing and to see him throwing.
And I'm not trying.
To say this guy's to be a homer or to strike up this Browns Bears thing. I'm really just talking about it from the ultimate respect of an old quarterback
watching another quarterback play. To see him throw on the skinny bangate post that he threw a couple times against the Rams two weeks ago, and then what he was doing last weekend's game, and to have that sense of timing to be able to hit those balls now, with that sense of timing now, it's really impressive after all those years in the league that he's still able to make those type of throws and away coach Stefanski and
our offense and coach Callahan's been handled. We've had a ton of injuries on the offensive line, and with Tom on the call here, I'd love to see what he thinks about our offensive line. I mean, we're on the third level of third string, yet our offensive line is dominating and given Joe Flacco with the running game time so the.
Play action pass and being an.
Old school quarterback, drop back pocket quarterback with offensive line play with guys that you have only been there as a little amount of time as Joe Flacco.
It's actually really impressive, Hey, Bernie.
My last year in Miami, Steve de Berg and I came aboard the same time in Miami.
He practiced for four days and then he was able to start a game.
You look at the similarities with the age and Joe Flacco's experience.
So does Joe Flacco come in and tell Stefanski.
To plays the types of patterns he likes the most and then you build upon that, or does Joe Flacco have to invest himself in the terminology of the Cleveland Browns playbook in play by their rules.
So I'm gonna get to that ladder question, my man. But I wanted to get back to that nineteen ninety three Steve Denberg coming and learning that system in.
For four days and play that.
Awesome guard Tom Fair and stuff, because Bertie Costar gonna whap that year too. Okay, So I was getting to talk to by the Dolphins too.
So as me and Steve de Berg were debating between.
The Dolphins and the Cowboys and stuff, Steve ended up at.
The Dolphins and stuff I could have handled.
I could went from I gotta went from Jay Hilgenberg taking snaps down.
The cover out there, okay, but as it pertains to the play calling and the system, and with Joe Flaccom, he's gonna want to.
There were some.
Cute things that happened towards the end of our Browns game.
We had a fourth and two where we went forward on a plus forty yard line ended up hitting it for a touchdown.
When they blew the coverage last week and stuff.
And you can see the excitement of coach the fans get running down the field.
You can see the excitement Joe Flaccom fetching.
Qbs and the respect they the coaches tend to have for us older qbs. I could see them really tailoring game plans now that are really in Joe's sweet spot, stuff that he really feels good at doing.
And again, not the bear see these things.
But again he's thirty eight years old, and whether he's the Browns quarterback or.
Not, I'm not smiling.
I'm not giving these glowing statements. I'm massively impressed. Tom As we were waiting for you to get on air here I was joking with Jeff and stuff off air. I can't believe how he's throwing the skinny post. I mean, he's sitting on the couch two and a half weeks ago. Now he's throwing Bang Aids off off of a five step drop, throwing him like he's a twenty three year old guy with what such arm talent.
It's super impressive.
To watch Miles Garrett though he scares us now. He scared us in Justin's first NFL start, and Tom has many opinions on what happened in that start, but he was hit fifteen times, sack nine times. Garrett had four and a half of those sects and hit him six times. I think he's healthy, but is he having an MVP type season?
For you?
And what awaits the Bears when they take on that rounds front four?
So I love, of.
Course, we love Miles Scarett. There's no denying his awesomeness and how he's been playing the Bears. And Miles is a tough guy.
He's not complaining at all.
You know about his injuries and stuff, but he does have a shoulder injury.
That the Bears know about and the old knows about.
And he's been playing probably at eighty ish percent. So the last week or two, you know, getting an eighty percent Miles Garrett given one hundred percent effort, but physically that's maybe not as dominant.
As we saw a month ago. When you have a.
Tom you remember the old fresh legs perspective and good health.
And stuff of it. But you mentioned the Justin Fields.
First game against Miles Garrett in the four and a half sacks to fifteen hits.
Let's see again.
I'm not allowing to pick on that system, okay, but that system on set up at all for success for Justin Fields as a young quarterback. I think it's actually sinful to put.
That young man in that spot.
Back then, and that really retards his potential chance and growth.
Right then. So again, I'm a Browns.
Fan, so that bears that bodes well for us, but I.
Don't like to see a young man like that bet in.
His development and we put kind of in a system back then that.
Man he should have been.
And you guys, you're still suffering of the ramifications of the repercussions of that system and those hits. Because Livid, I'm looking at you, Jeff right and the eyes as we're on screen now, but thus QB's you know, I don't want to goofy you on camera here.
But thus QB's gonna look up. We're looking past the Mike climberriers. They're looking in.
Almost to the screen, and we're trying to see the whole picture.
That's easier said than done. And I'm still doing that now.
But when the play starts and guys are covering around you and stuff and that old system and Justin Field's that.
Day got hit fifteen times and I got four and a half sacks by Miles Garrett Man, the eyes have to drop, they have to come down. And when you're a QB.
And now I'm hovering and I see Tom Payer's backside.
Okay, that's a negative sign. Quarterbacks we want to we don't.
And I mean this in the most respect that Jay Hildelberg, who who blocked next to uh Tom.
Also, I got the honor put my hands under his backside and stuff.
I never saw those guys because they were so good.
You knew they You didn't have to drop your eyes out. Justin Field's early.
In his career, when he's developing his confidence, his self esteem.
You know I've used it. I used the phrase you matter a lot here in Cleveland.
It's not from the University of Miami it's because you matter. And us quarterbacks we were acting like we're always calm and we have our self belief, but their self confidence and self esteem, and if you don't have it, your eyes drop.
You don't have a belief that the play's gonna hold up.
You don't have a belief that the offensive line is going to hold up together.
So you drop your eyes down and you.
Take a look for Miles Garrett. And that makes for it a horrible day if you're a Bears fan, and make sure a great day if you're a Browns fan.
Sw we love the slew, we love the NFL.
So you've taken your career from consideration.
You take it.
You look at the tough guy image of that era of football, You think of the quarterback position, and then you think what Tom Brady said two weeks ago and the state of the toughness in preparation of the modern day NFL. Do you have any reaction towards what he said, and do you agree or disagree with it?
Tom of the old school, the old school QBS.
Now there's I probably could get.
A little long winded on this answer, you know, And as I look at some of these old creatium and flaming mixtures of me behind me and stuff of the old days. We were joking, you know, me and you and Jeff joke on air and off air for more than the last decade about some of the health issues that we've gone through. The we go through and proudly what we did when we played. And I don't want to see guys get hit like we got hit, and
it's kind of the Barbari gladiator days of it. But I am super proud to be sitting here, to be healthy, to be cognitively present. You know, after forty surgeries, eighty broken bones, hack one hundred concussions, had fifteen seizures. I had my last two seizures at the O'Hare Airport.
I was at a coma for.
Ninety six hours coming from a concussion evaluation with the NFL docs.
So I don't want to see these younger quarterbacks.
Go through some of the stuff that I'm going through health wise and kind of what I've been doing on my health and wellness journey to come out of it. Heck, the great quarterback Jim McMahon, I've been looking at his ankle and some of the stuff that you know, he's going through with his rehab on us trying to be healthy now on that God, one of your old teammates that you used to block, Steve McMichael, you know, and
what he's going through. So there's so many of those type gladiator issues that some of our friends aren't doing well with that.
You know.
I'm super proud to be cognitively present and to be basically physically pretty good. But boy, Tom, you know some of the stuff that we went through and some of our friends are going through now. It's awesome that you and me are able to be on air today and talk decently articularly, but God, so many of our friends aren't able to do that. So when I hear statements like that, I kind of feel proud.
To be here.
I hear Tom Brady make those statements. The physical thing I think is okay. But one of the things that maybe he's maybe referring to is because they don't maybe practice as much. And actually see this a little bit in the development of Justin Fields in Chicago. I'm a big, big fan of your QB there, and I love his athleticism.
I love the way he plays in his presence. But maybe Tom your question and what Tom Brady's may be referring to is his level of coaching and the system that he got early in his career, and the attention to detail and almost the obsessiveness that we had with knowledge and practice back in the day, you know, yeahvs on top of that Gladiator target killer, be killed attitude from the physical side, but boy frim the mental side. It was a master's program of practice and intelligence from
the x'es and o's. And I see that kind of lacking a little bit in what they're teaching the younger quarterbacks, and they're asking him really tonant learn the whole field, in the whole game, like Tom Brady, like myself was kind of groomed, and that's.
Kind of limiting two young quarterbacks. And then I see guys like you know, Justin Field's kind.
Of struggling early in his development because of I think some of those statements like that Tom Brady's making about maybe the development of the coaching of it isn't what it's what it's up to.
Part.
Nothing's been easy for you, has it? And I mean, you look fantastic, number one. Number one, just look really good and healthy and happy. So first and foremost are you are you.
Yeah, I am, thanks Jeff.
You know you mentioned you know, you mentioned the co Star coffee and stuff.
I don't do that for a shameless.
Plug in that what's in it?
But well, you know what's.
In it is I infuse and I have a patent with some great partners and stuff, and I've become a holistic kind of healer in the late third quarter, early fourth quarter of my life.
I mean I joked about it. So we infuse.
Vitamin D and resveratrol. So I'm not a drinker anymore. Resveratroll is the top anti that you find in red wine, so as a moderate vita mixed juicer. Now as a guy who's had forty surgeries eighty broken bones, I was saying earlier the hunter concussions, fourteen seizures, that last one in Chicago that I was telling you about earlier in a comb for ninety six hours. I mean that was five and a half years ago, twenty seventeen. About twenty seventeen, I was told that I have four years left a
cognitive brain function. You guys remember when you and me we used to do the shows six seven, eight years ago, nine years ago. I was okay, but man, I could really annuncia, articulate, tommunikey, any.
Multiple syllable words.
So four years ago when I was told I had five years left a cognitive brain function, when the doctors in the Chicago hospital said, hey, man, you're a tough guy. You're doing great. Keep up with your prescriptions protocols.
Man, I was on like sixty some pills a day.
I was close to a thousand milligrams scripted of oshi contin's adderalls by Vance. So now to not have taken a pillm five years, to have figured out how to be juicing and stuff and how to do smart supplementation kind of with my Coasar wellness, my coas Art coffee, I've really been able to almost slow down the deterioration of my cogitate decline, and physically I've been really feeling good.
So your name is recognized around our country, you know, whether you say Bernie or you say Cozar. And everything you were able to accomplish on the football field, you may looked offward throwing the ball, but you threw it
in the right spot. Everything that you have accomplished over the last few years, and as well as Jeff and I A know youa it overshadows everything you were able to accomplish on the football field, and I have nothing but admiration, and I can't wait for the people to be able to hear your story and to listen to you and understand what you've overcome and how your arrow is pointed up. And I tell you what I can't say enoughing tell you how much I appreciate you for it.
Thank you, brother, I appreciate you.
Guys, Well you didn't hear there.
He was in Atlanta this week with Commissioner Goodell, who will be at the game on Sunday along with Michael Vick and some other quarterbacks as they inspire Change, which is an NFL initiative here this month. So he's doing a lot of different things. He's not sitting around, that's for sure.
You know, there's a lot of people that aren't athletes that are going through struggles in their life. And if you could ever pass on an interview to a person that needs some quality advice or some assurances that if you do the right things, you can turn things around. I think that's what Bernie impressed me most with because we saw him at times where we are looking at him going wow, is everything okay with him. Listen, everything
wasn't okay this interview, everything was okay. Yeah, he was a clearly speaking, intelligent guy that is really on the right track to recovery. And I just couldn't be more happy for a guy that I really enjoy his company.
That's Tom There. I'm Jeff Jonniak.
One more segments to go as you break down the Bears and Browns on ESPN Chicago and the Bears Radio Network. Want VIP access to every Bears home game, exclusive seating, sideline credentials, and more now available to get the ultimate VIP fan package this season by visiting Chicago Bears vip dot Com. Jeff and Tom our final segment before we get you sent for Bears and Browns. Dave Borgonzi talked a lot about the linebackers and that's his position of strength.
He's the guy at the podium this week without the true defensive coordinator that is a Matt Eberflus's job. But he's got a trio of guys that we love, and I love Noah Suwele's potential as well. But Tremaine Edmunds flashing some really good play as a heavy investment in free agency.
Same with t J.
Edwards having a Pro Bowl year and Jack Sanborn makes plays.
Uh.
Just a great trio. As we listen in the Dave Barganzi explain.
They're really close. Really, the whole group is close. And then Tremaine and TJ. Uh, you know, coming from different places last year, the bond really started when they got here.
Uh, it's really there.
Their love for football, they love competing, they love practicing. Uh, they love getting ready for the games. So and they are competitive with each other, which which really works for the whole room. So right now we're gonna take away competition amongst the linebackers. So they're they're competing against each other, which is great and that's and really that's the formula win games. You know, what we talk about is hustle, intensity, takeaways,
smart situational football. Uh, and the takeaways that's the best at and ball that correlates the most to winning.
And it's something that we practice and it's something we take.
A lot of product.
What do you think of this trio?
You know, they're super inspirational to this football team because I think they came aboard the beginning of the year. They were receiving some criticism, but they never let the criticism get them down. And then when you look at them through mint season, they started to approve at such a high rate that they started to be talked about around the league as one of the better segments of the Bears defense. Now you look at their performance late in the season, they are one of the bet best
linebacking trios in all of the league. But then the influence they have on the younger guys that are in the room, because Borganzi said, this is a good room, and you have to have a positive atmosphere from the veterans to make sure the rookies and the young guys
keep included. Because I do think that you know eventually when you get your rep or you're going out there, you're competing, you're working the show team, and you're playing at a high level because the guys in front of you are committed and playing at a high level themselves.
And Dylan Cole veteran also in that group as well. He also talked about the speed of Tremaine Edmunds and that's starting to show.
They're cutting him loose a little bit. On the blitz.
I was teasing coach Eberflus on the on the Bears, a set of a podcast on Monday. Hey keep coming, you know, because you bring him down the middle of a blitz against a quarterback with his hands up, he's six ' five plus the range. And then if you happen to Stunt Montes, who's almost sixty seven with thirty six inch arms, and then oh, by the way, Gervon Dexter is sixty six with length your cloud and vision, you're taking away lanes, aren't you.
Well, anytime you give a linebacker that big a running start at an offensive lineman that has a one on one, you're gonna create some type of advantage. You talk about the height that's gonna throw take away a throwing lane. If the offensive lineman over commits and the defense of the linebackers able to avoid him, then he's bringing pressure
on the quarterback and putting him on the run. So there's a lot of elements of a blitz by interior linebacker that can be effective as the defensive lineman out of his stands.
All right, let's go into the game real quick here before we go.
So obviously, Miles Garrett, the Brons defense very good. It's all it all starts with him really and the guys up front, and then Greg Newsham out of Northwestern playing some good corner along with Martin Emasher and Junior. Last week they combined for three interceptions and three pass breakups in addition to those three. So they're playing some good ball, but they're they're losing their their safety. Grant Delpit right now, I mean, that's that's big. He's out for the year.
How do you attack this defense?
First of all, have awareness of Miles Garrett. Then you have to make sure that you don't have a rhythmic snap count to give them the advantage off of the line of scrimmage. And then I think you have to have a similar game plan approach like you did against the Raiders, when you have to think of those guys having a dynamic, full effort at defensive end. So how
do you run plays away from him? How do you make them, you know, have no responsibility inside of a play when you get the ball out of the quarterback's hands immediately, how do you run those types of design sweeps to DJ Moore that you're basically running away from Miles Garrett. So I think it's the creativeness and the design of the plays by Luke Getzi to make sure that you don't put Miles Garrett in the position to succeed.
Darn Harmon is going to play for the Browns too. He was here, he was in Detroit, and now he's in Cleveland. This league is stunning.
Well, you know the thing about it is, you know, Cleveland has a lot of faith in the pressure that they can put on the quarterback. So no matter who they have in the defensive backfield, they believe that they can make up the time with the pressure, so they don't have to add the time to the defensive coverage.
So their offensive tackles their fourth and fifth string.
That's just the honest truth about that. Right now.
Joel Atonio, thirty two year old guard, and Wyatt tell her he's a nasty guy at guard. He knocked down one guy with two guys with one punch. He got the linebacker and the safety in one. He's a little nasty. But you got Joe Flacco. So if you can get him off his spot and make him be the mobile quarterback that he is not, then I think you're going to have a good day.
Make him rely on his athleticism, which is not his strength, but you also have to try to challenge his conditioning. I don't care how much work that he's done in preparation of waiting to get his number called. There's nothing like being fatigued, and then that kind of affects all of your fundamentals of being a football player. Now, if you throw the ball awkwardly, if your arm's moving slow, if you don't have a lot of juice on the pass, those types of things you can take advantage of.
Brown's play well at home, and they also have done a nice job beating teams in close games. So something to keep an eye on. We'll have it for you starting at twelve o'clock our kickoff Bears and Browns in Cleveland.
That's going to do it for us.
I want to thank you and our guest Bernie Kosar, also the Jalen Johnson for Tom there, I'm Jeff Joniyek.
Thanks to all our producers.
Coming up next Black and Abdala here and ESPN Chicago and the Bears Radio Network and