Khalil Herbert expecting the unexpected, Buccaneers preview | All Access

get to the playoffs. In fact they know they did. So that turned out for the Bears. They did not go anywhere past New Warnings in the playoffs, but the Buccaneers had brought everybody back and they're ready to go. We'll break that all down for you. We'll also talk to a couple of individuals, one the veteran voice of the Buccaneers, Gene Deckerhoff, their radio analyst and play by

play man. And then we'll also we'll be joined by Khalil Herbert, the Bear's sixth round Bunny back, Tom, how you doing and where you're at and where the Bears are at three and three? After that loss to the Packers headed down to Tampa. You know, I was still lingering effects from getting beat by Green Bay Packers. It's always a tough loss to take emotionally. But you know, the more I think out this game, I think this is one of the landmark games in the history of

the Bears. If history I'm gonna I'm gonna explain myself. I think when you go down to Tampa Bay and you're playing the Super Bowl champion, if you beat them, it's gonna be one of the most talked about games around the NFL for weeks to come. Jeff. Since the beginning of the week, we've been twelve and a half point underdogs. It could be a landmark game and maybe one of the worst defeats ever. So what I just

look at the opposite end of the spectrum here. It could be one of the greatest victories in the history of the Chicago Bears, or it could be one of the most devastating losses in the history of the Bears. Because again, I don't know how many teams I've been a part of that have been twelve and a point twelve and a half point underdog since the beginning of the week, right, Tom Fair. How do they go about

doing it? You got to focus all your attention on making it the most uncomfortable afternoon for Tom Brady you can possibly put on his shoulders. You know, Tom Brady is not elusive. He's not going to run outside the pocket. He's gonna recognize your defense and try to attack it immediately. You gotta make that phone booth size area very uncomfortable. If he's trying to follow through a Keem Higgs has got to be pushing an offensive lineman into his lap,

or any of the defensive lineman. If he's gonna try to set back there, one of those outside rushers has to get near his feet. They just have to make an uncomfortable form. If you can disrupt his timing, that's where you're gonna get that interception, that word, that's where you're gonna get that big incompletion. So it's about how you attack Tom Brady, and it's very difficult to do.

Even watching him against the Eagles, he just hangs in that pocket as long as he possibly can, and he knows exactly where to go with the football, gets rid of it quickly. What he has to uses the screen game, which I think is deadly. They're using that a lot more. They'd like to go up top, but they're taking away things in that regard because they got playmakers to do it. But they lead the league in yards after the catch and they got three outstanding receivers. All could be Pro

Bowls for Antonio Brown, Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. Sean Desai had a conversation with the media earlier today, as he does every Thursday, and one of the big topics was tackling. Tackling in general. I know Eddie Jackson's gotten a lot of that to Sean Gibson at the safety position in terms of critiques, but he says this is up to him, It's up to the guys and it's team Why no, you're not. I don't believe in As a teacher, I'm believing threatening anything. I don't think threats

are the way to go. So as a leader or a teacher now, I think as a leader and a teacher, you got to find unique ways to teach and make sure your message getting across to your players. We do that in a lot of different ways, whether it's in the film room or in practice, and we got to continue to do a better job of it. Like I said, from a teaching and coaching perspective and an execution perspective, right, this is not This is not just on one party

in terms of player or coach. It's a collective effort. And ultimately, between the lines, we got to execute, and we got to give them a chance to execute, put them in good positions, and give them the proper techniques. In training well Sean's design, the coaches can try to put the players in the most perfect position they possibly can be at. However, when it comes down to a tackle, it's not the coaches have nothing to do with it.

It's about your willingness, your desire, and your commitment to make that tackle, to run through that offensive player with the football, to make sure that you're fundamentally in or the right position if you're facing a running back through the line of scrimmage or a wide receiver downfield. This is about player commitment. This is coach's preparation. Once they hand the ball off to you on that Saturday night team meeting or that Sunday morning meeting, then it's in

the hands of the players. All right, So as of right now, we're not certain what the status is of Robert Quinn. What a great start to the year here in Khalil Mack the most dangerous do right now. In terms of sacks in the league, they haven't had a ton of pressures. Others have had more, but they're getting big plays and getting to the quarterback, which certainly does make things more challenging for an offense. But if they don't have him, it's an opportunity for a guy like

Trevis Gibson. Oh, it's the biggest opportunity in a young man's lifetime because if Gibson's get the opportunity to go down to Tampa Bay and start a game and he gets his myths on to Tom Brady. A couple times we talked about a landmark type of game this could be. That could be a landmark type of performance for Trevis Gibson and Jeff I like you like, and I like what we've seen out of him since the beginning of

training camp. Now to be able to parlay that into a productive start that could mean big things for the Bears. Sukeners are getting some stuff done on the ground with Leonard Fournette Ronald Jones Junior, but it's Fournette the guy right Now, the Bears run defense did get hit a little bit by Aaron Jones and the Packers last week as the game wore on. They didn't earn the right to rush the passer. But it has to be the case against Tampa Bay. Although Brady's gonna throw it forty times.

They like throwing the football, that is a fact. They don't run it as much as they throw it. But that run game, they've leaned on it a little bit here. Yeah, I think it simplifies what Tom Brady has to do in order for Tampa Bay to be successful. But if you attack a running back like Leonard Fournette, how you would go up and try to attack Derrick Henry from the Tennessee Titans. You got to stop him before he

starts his momentum. If you can get him to backtrack him in the backfield, you'll limit the success of Leonard Fournette. All right. So last year, Tristan Worf's the tackle for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out of Iowa as a rookie. He gave up one sack all year and he has not given up a sack since. The only sack was to Khalil Mack. And we remember what happened on that play afterwards, remember Khalil talk. Yeah, I mean that was

some kind of power shown by Khalil. But something like that sticks in the mind of a rookie a year ago and now a season vet and a Super Bowl champion. But overall, that offensive line has some real good, nasty guys in there, including Jensen at center. Ryan Jensen will play through and to the echo of the whistle. Yeah, you know, they kind of compliment the commitment of Tom Brady. Tom Brady has high expectations on his offensive line. They need to be physical when they're run blocking, and they

need protective when they're throwing the ball. So I just think that, yeah, some of these guys get a great reputation because they're playing with a quarterback as good as Tom Brady. However, when you think of Jensen the center and you look at the rest of those guys, yeah, they got a real nasty disposition about the way they go about their business. All right, So a lot of

head here we'll talk to coming up next. Coming up next, we'll talk to Khalil Herbert, the Bears rookie running back, and then later in the show will break down the defense of the Buccaneers, coordinated by one of the best. He has done a great job over the course of his career time Bulls. With Tom There, I'm Jeff Joniac. This is 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.

This is Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score. This segment of Bears All Access is brought to you by CDW people who get it. With Tom Fair, Jeff Joniak please to be joined by sixth round rookie running back Khalil Herbert playing some great football little how you doing man? And how much fun has this been? Here for the last couple of weeks and frankly the whole season because it's dream come true to make it to the NFL and you're taking advantage of every opportunity. Yeah, definitely is

definitely is It's great. Um, you know, I'm really enjoying the opportunity to be here, you know, play here. So just making the most of it, trying to make the

most of you. You know. One of the things I watch is this Pro Football Focus, and they do a lot of detailed analysis and It's not always accurate in terms of how a team looks at it, but what you're getting after context speaks to your ability as a guy rides low to the ground, so to speak, gets small all the whole and then can break tackles with

a low center of gravity. But they have you at two point eight eight average yards after contact, six forced miss tackles in one hundred and eight yards total here in the last couple of weeks. Does it feel like that, you know those numbers did they reflect how you feel on the games that you've played so far. I'm not even sure. I have to go back and watch the film and count. I don't know how they're counting that stuff. But I'm just being able to break tackles and make

people missing something we work on every day. So just going back to my roots and doing those kind of things, well, you know, it's pretty cool. As a play you ran in the Las Vegas game where you were running up the middle and you were continuing to churn your legs, but right alongside you was Jimmy Graham. You know, a guy that's been around for you know, fIF fifteen or plus years now in the NFL al and you know that's kind of cool, man, is when you get that

immediate respect by a veteran like that to push alongside you. Yeah, it definitely is. You know, me and Jenmy mess around every day, but just to see how him in the time it ends. They attack blocks and you know, they open up big holes for me and they help out anyway they can in the run game. You know, I'm very appreciative of them. Hey Clill, do you Number one? Do you play fantasy football? Number two? If you don't,

are your friends playing fantasy football? And they gotta be on you about you know, you know, patting your stats to help them out? I did, I always did before, but this year, you know, I decided to take a break. But all my friends they play UM and the and there. Last week it was funny they're talking about picking me up and stuff. So just listening to them, it's kind of funny. It's kind of surreal. Hey, I want to circle back on Jimmy Graham because that's a great topic,

great story. And the reason I bring it up because the Tampa Bay Buccaneers they set out their team notes and you're going through all the notes and you're seeing the big bold colors. Rob Gronkowski's career and right there and all the career statistics is Jimmy Graham. I mean we're talking about catches by a tight end, yards, touchdowns, red zone and you say you mess around with him every day. What's his role over that rob blocker room? Definitely that you can tell he's been around along a

long time. But he's definitely that vet leader in the locker room, you know, brings along the old the younger guys like me. Um, just kind of getting used to that day to day stuff, taking care of my body, um, you know, kind of getting my mind right before the game. Um. You could even see him in the interview with Mooney out of the mic. That would movie just again everybody ready to go smack him pretty good energy every day. Yeah, he smacks it pretty good. Oh yeah, liked it too much. Yeah.

I always think about you transferring because you know, you really, you know, kind of go all in in the poker terms when you transfer from one school to the next and then you contribute immediately. How did that process help you be more ready for this year? Because you come in as a rookie, you see who's in front of you. You you know, you don't know how it's gonna go. Then. Also, now you're the starting running back of the Chicago Bears. How did that go through that process of transferring and

producing immediately? I say, just being ready expecting the unexpected. You know, especially with COVID happening last year. You know, we didn't know if we're gonna have a see and so the little film that I had, I had to produce and put something on film if we were gonna play, if we were if we're not going to play. So just really trying to produce and you know, expect unexpected and be ready to go immediately when my numbers called, I think helped me a lot. You always talk about

is this running back? You know his vision? You know this running back canny pick up. Let's this running back Kenny catch. I think you need a more exposure in the passing game. You did a really nice job of the catch you made this week, converting into a first down, but it wasn't necessarily a real ready position to make the catch. So let's got to elevate your opportunities in the passing game. What don't you think? Oh yeah, definitely, um,

you know that's all. It's the coaches. But you know, I'm ready to I feel like I could do everything out of the backfield. So just being ready and you know, getting ready for when my numbers called. Because well, Herbert our guest here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to score. This is Bears All Access and it's brought to you by IGS Energy with Tom There, Jeff, Joni Clue. I gotta go talk about number, the number twenty one. It's

seems to be significant in your life. And you brought this up I think during the draft or prior to the draft, but you always wore number twenty one because if I'm not mistaken with Dani and Tomminson, right, yeah, yeah, And what did you love about his play? His I mean obviously the Hall of Fame back so I think you guys are probably pretty similar in height and weight too. Just his ability to do everything, you know, um short yardage.

You know, he could take the ball at the distance, he can catch the ball at the battlefield, pick up puts is just whatever you need him to do, he was able to do it, and he did it at a high level. So just really that in a lot of his moves, you know, he did some stuff that a lot of people can't replicate. So and still to this day a classy guy, a guy's humble, and despite being in the Hall of Fame, do you still pop on his tape every now and again? Just for kicks? Definitely?

Just you know, if if I'm wondering what I can do to set somebody up on a route, or if I'm if I'm one on one with somebody in space, just trying to add different things to my game that that you know, he may have used to help me out. Here's the other weird thing. So if you're a numbers guy like me, I find I find it interesting. So you were born on the twenty first, correct, you were twenty one, and you were pick two one seventeen. I know you'd like to be a lot higher, but did

you did? I bet you didn't even see that number buried in the two seventeen. I didn't realize that one. But it's creepy. So yeah, but why not. We're twenty one now. I mean somebody had it when I first got here, you know, so, and I'm not really it's still available. I just took. I just took the number that they gave me. I kind of like the two board now you know, it's growing on me. I like it. I'm gonna stick with it right, commit to the number. Man, It's got a lot of years in there for you,

so you could always make the change. But this is what you got. Kind of an aggravating question. So all right, I'm a Bears alumni, you're a Bears player. I'm a season ticket holder. I've grew up in Chicago and my whole life and I've been a Bears fan. So when I see the Rogers what he said in the end zone, and then I see it carried over to Tom Brady, to me, it frustrates me because I don't want the Bears to be the butt of anybody's joke. Do you guys talk about that? Do you not pay attention to it?

Is it a topic inside the locker room that says, hey, man, we got to write the ship. I didn't. I don't know what happened with Tom Brady, but um from Rogers. Yeah, that's something that you know, we we try not to let happen. We try to We definitely try to fix that and change that so things like that can't be said. Um. You know, we don't want to be taken as a

joke to anybody. So it's definitely something you know, we take with a grain of salt and we try to you know, come back and you know, hopefully next time we played and we'll be ready. So at this stage of your young career, you look into the eyes of a guy like Jason Peters, you think, man, this this guy's thirty nine years old. He's seeing everything in football. Do you ever, you know, have a question or an opportunity to talk to him, to pick his brain about

something that may be so far in the future for you. Yeah, especially you know with passpro just you know, seeing what he sees. Really, just any type of advice I can get, I try and you know, pick his brain and he's great with helping me out, slowing things down for me and allowing me to know who I got or you know, be aware of certain things that he might he might point out for me just to help me play fast

and you know, pick things up. Honestly, it's like a coach on the field and not a bad guy to run behind her on that left side, right, Yeah, definitely, Yeah. Khalil Herbert our guest. We're gonna step away take our first break here on Chicago sports Radio six seventy The Score. Welcome back to Bears All Access here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score. This segment of Bears All

Access brought to you by Athletical Physical Therapy. Visit athletical dot com to request an appointment in clinic or virtually and start feeling better tomorrow. Joined by Khalil Herbert, the Bears rookie running back. I'm no longer even gonna put around on yet, because once you're here, it doesn't matter. And you are proving that every single day, starting out with a kick return game and finding a way to

get on the field. And that's really the first step in the processes, and it finding a way to get on the field and impressing your coaches and they all tell me how hard you work every day, one of the first guys in here, always on the field, working extra I mean, this is that's something that you're born with. I feel it's not something that you just automatically show up and do. Hey, some guys do, but it sounds like this is always what you've always been about. Yeah,

that's I feel like that's how I got here. Um, I was never like the most talented um, you know this freakish athlete. I just always had to put in extra work and always had to do things, you know when people aren't watching that to be where I am today. So just continuing it with that mindset and you know, trying to get better every day, trying to find something that I could get better at each day. You know,

it's helping me out. So you know, Khalil, when Jeff and I saw you for the first time out of practice, you know you had development that you are either naturally gifted or you're dedicated to the weight room. When when we see it from the outside, what is it just something you've been blessed with or are you a weight room guy from years back? Definitely a weight room guy. When I was younger, I was, I was chubby, h

I played online in Little League. So just continuing to you know, lose that and keep my weight off and um, lift weights is something that's helped me out a lot. So just definitely a weight room guys. Something I pride myself on and you know, I feel like I I love to lift, especially squads. So yeah, I was gonna ask you do you have a favorite lift? Yeah, yeah, that's it. I don't know. I just something about it,

just I don't know. I love. We had big squad Fridays at my school and it was this whole big thing. So it was fun. What's your pr Oh? When I squat? We did two rep maxes so I think I did five thirty five twice A very good Yeah. It's a lot of weight moving a lot away. Hey, clear, I would just want to ask you a question about your kickoff return experience. When I'm a football fan, so I watched a lot of college football up and aggravates me more than the frequency of fair catches in college football

on kickoffs. Yeah, so you really did you never your standard was set man if if I got a chance to catch it and I'm going, which I think that's what we have grown to admire around here. You know, what did you learn from that process? You know you were doing so well at it. Does it help you as a running back or is it completely different than a carry from behind center? Um? I feel like it definitely helps just especially that was my kind of first

taste of real NFL speed in the real NFL game. Um, just getting the field for that speed, you know, getting the field taking those hits. So just getting me ready for when I'm when I'm behind center, just knowing what it feels like to be an NFL game. So just I say, from that standpoint, it does. And then it's kind of just like running the ball inside zone. How

we blocked things so well. Then backtracking, I don't know if you're a fan of college football, if you were in college and you had kickoff returned opportunities, would you'd be a fair catcher or would you would be a guy that would take it off? Oh? No, I would. I'm taking it out every time, and all right, especially at VT. My coach he was very aggressive and he's like,

if you're able to catch it, bring it out. So you know, I feel like coach Taves has the same mindset, and you know, I feel like we do a really good job return blocking. So Khalil Herbert, our guest here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score. I don't know if you watched College Game Day before your day gets started, but to me, it's one of the best shows on television. But last weekend they had JJ Weaver

of Kentucky. If you've seen this feature that they did on him, because he was born with six fingers on his right hand. We know your story. You're born with twelve fingers. You have a sixth toe on the left foot, three R webbed. And the feature was about the abuse he took as a kid. You know, he was always heckled, he was bullied and said they used to call him an alien. So he went to an elementary school. Did you see this feature? I didn't see the feature, but

I did see the picture. Yeah, So he went to an elementary school. One of the teachers there also had a similar condition. And I don't know what it's called. I can't pronounce it. Turns out one in every one thousand berths in the world, this this happens, but it was to these third grade kids who are also getting bullied. So my question, did you ever have to deal with that as a kid or and did you how did you handle it and what would you say to kids

that have that same situation? Um, yeah, I did, But when I was younger, A lot of the time, you know, especially in Florida, like if somebody says something to you, kind of you just kind of figure out a way to say something back, or like something happens. But I mean, you mean you took care of business. You threw them out of the club, right. But you know, as I got older, you know, I kind of realized that it's

something special about me. Um. You know, not many people have the same thing, so I gotta I kind of took pride in it and realized that, you know, I'm unique in a different way. Um. So that's how i'd say people to take to to think to think of that. It's just too you know, you're different in a good way. So hey, Claire, when you get ready to go into this atmosphere that you're gonna be down on Tampa Bay, you know it's gonna be another hostile environment. It's gonna

be tough to hear at the line of scrimmage. How has that timing been between basically where it transfers from Sam must defer to the quarterback to you depending upon your role per play? Has the volume of crowds been you know it affected you at all? Or is it just you know you wait for the momentum of the play to start and then get your get going. Um, I don't think it's it's been a it's been. I

don't think it's it's messed me up at all? Really, Um, we do a great job in practice of communicating and practicing, um under loud volumes and they blast a speaker and practice, so we have to practice communicating in that type of scenario. But um, you know, the old line does a great job of community, communicating to me and justin and relaying whatever is going on up front, so we're able to you know, get the playoff in time and have a

successful play. Coel Jeff will not give me any reason back for the next topic I'm gonna bring up because as an offensive lineman, we used to play down in Tampa every year and the first thing I did I would look up when do we play him? And how hot is it gonna be? And so I look up it's eighty six degrees for a highest game. Is that completely out of your mind already? Are do you ever think of those types of football issues? I mean, I'm from Florida, so I love that, right, I love that?

But um no, I never did think about it. But it's you know, guys are hydrating getting ready for that heat. You know, I don't think you ever really could get ready for it. You just gotta be hydrated. And you know it's a mind thing. Well you know, he'll think about the snow maybe you know right, Yeah, that's a different scenario if you played in a snow game in your life. I've played when it like not deep snow,

but i've played when it's been snowing. But I played in really cold games too, So yeah, well, get ready, that's coming. That is coming. The wind whips off of Lake Michigan. Pretty good there and sold your field, as you're gonna find out, you build up a resistance to it. Yeah, yep, yep. A couple of things and that will let you go. We'd like to have fun with the guys and we'll do a five packup of interesting questions. Whatever pops in

your mind. Let her rip. But before I do that, I gotta go back to your English teacher five years ago, before the draft. I think it's a fantastic story. She had you write letters to yourself where you might be in five years. Without knowing all the details of that letter you wrote to yourself, I'm sure it was a list of goals. One of them was being in the NFL. So now does it give you goose bumps? You know

that that letter came to Fruition, It definitely does. It's It's something I forgot about and I got in the mail and I didn't even know, Like, I'm like, who is this? My dad and my stepmom they decided that they were gonna wait to read it till draft day, so I didn't even read it. I had got it a couple of months before when I was training back home, and I didn't even read it, so I completely forgot

about it. And then they brought it out. So it was those kinds of surreal And it's one of those things you know, you just keep in mind as you go through day to day and it gets a little hard. M just you know, this is something you always dreamed of being here. Um, you know, don't take it for granted. You know it's a blessing. So maybe you'll keep writing yourself letters every five years. Ye right right. I meant to do another one for another five years. I haven't

done it yet. Yeah, I'll get to it. Yeah, all right, Here we go, first of the five Okay, most embarrassing moments in your life, and maybe you're lucky enough to never have had one. No, I can't think of one most embarrassing moment. We'll pass. We'll pass, all right. If not football. What I'd like to be probably run track, favorite book, favorite book, the Bible. There you go. Hey, you know what, I'm still waiting. I read one book like every ten years. So any hobby, any hobbies, probably

just games. I really just watch TV and movies a lot. There you go, and then your most memorable moment. Most memorable moment probably beating UVA at BT. All right, back to the college game. Hopefully you make many, many, many big moments here in the national football We appreciate all your time and thank you for joining us. Continued success. Kalil, thank you, appreciate it. Bears and Buccaneers on Sunday, it's in Tampa, Khalil Herbert a big part of that picture

for the Bears offense. Coming up next, we had a bird's eye view of the Bucks from their veteran play by play voice, Gene Deckerhoff. It's all just ahead with Tom There. I'm Jeff Joniac and this is Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The Score. Welcome back to Bears All Access. It's brought to you by IGS Energy here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The Score. Please to be joined by the veteran voice of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The

inimitable Gene Deckerhoff nineteen eighty nine. I believe it started. He's also a voice of Florida State seminole football and basketball. I think that started in nineteen seventy nine with Tom there. I'm Jeff Joniac Jean Do I do I have the numbers right? Yeah, the numbers are right right on target. I started basketball in seventy four in Florida State, and

then five years later started fu football. To ten years after that, Tampa Bay Buccaneers come a calling, and we've been able to put together Saturday Sunday weekends for the last thirty three years. And I crossed my figures and say a little prayer, Jeff, because you know, airline travel is not what it used to be. No, it's not, and we're experienced it for the first time flying without the charter. We didn't go anywhere last year except driving up to Detroit. So my guy Tommy's lost all his

hair because of commercial travels. It's been a challenge, but United staking good care of us well hopefully you know. Knock out on Wood. I don't know how you've pulled it off, Gene, How have you done this over all these years about the dual weekend trips, it's been it's been tough to The trip to London has always been

especially tough. I did at one quarter of a Clemson Florida State game two years ago and then got a little play food to Atlanta, called the Big Plane and food to London and arrived at uh to Tottenham Hops for Arena about an hour before kickoff. So that was that was one of the toughest way. Hey, Tom, stay out of middle seats on airplanes. You talk to talk to the general manager of your network. Be sure to get a first class seat. Will you Your hair will

grow back, Tom, I promise you no middle seats. First class hair grows. When we think up here and we admire the Tampa Bay Bucks from far. I started the admiration I think in the last year's defensive effort because I think everything you want to hear about Tom Brady, Bruce Arians and how great and the weapons you have

on offense. I think the defense played such a huge role in winning that Super Bowl that you know is that still is that still the lifeline of your football team even though you have Tom Brady, Well, Tom Brady, it begins with Tom, and he's the goat. He is the absolutely it is almost he's surgical in at forty four years old, he plays like he's twenty two. And he is the reason why the Buccaneers won Super Bowl fifty five and the reason why the Buccaneers are five

and one. Without Tom Brady, we're probably average, even though the defense is exceptionally good. You know, defending the ass has been a problem this year because of injuries. Our defensive numbers would be a whole lot better if we could stop with the team's passing attack. But when you lose Sean Burphy Bunning on the first game, Carlton Davis goes out, we played the last two games without Antoine Winfield. Those are three. Those are the three best defensive backs.

And then we pick up Richard Sherman who comes up with a hamstring issue. So the Buccaneers we may be last in the league and defending the past all season long until we get some healthy bodies back there. The linebacker crew, I wouldn't trade them for anybody in the world. They look like those Chicago Bears linebackers crews in days gone by. But Devin White is the real deal in Levante David's he's hampered with a high ankle injury, although coach Bruce Arian said in his presser on Tuesday that

he has hopes he might be able to play. But those two together or as good as any tandem of inside linebackers in the conference. And what we're trying to figure out without front five why we can't get more sacks. We should have double the sacks that the Buccanteers have had. Maybe it has to do with the quarterbacks we have faced, but your mobile quarterbacks to to sack, and you know, by the time you get up to them, it's like, you know, what's Patrick Mahomes. Every time he's almost sacked,

he throws the ball away. And so that may be the reason why our sacking numbers are down, but it should be way up there. But yeah, the secondary is gonna be. That's gonna be. I hate to use the term Achilles heel because we have a tight end coming back off of achilles injury, but that's the Achilles heel of the bucket or defense. You know, you talked about the quarterbacks you face so far, but what about the

quarterback you're gonna face this week? Because opposite the end of the spectrum where you have a rookie that's trying to develop his skills along the way. I mean, is this the you know, the perfect quarterback for your defense to play against on her these circumstances. Well, I don't know if there's a perfect The only quarterback that's beaten the bucceteer, there's yours, Matthew Stafford. You know, he's like a statue backer. He's not mobile, but he's the quarterback

that beat the bucceteers. You know, we both have played. Bears have played and the Bucks have played the La Rams. They beat us. It was really a two touchdown score. They beat They beat the Bears obviously handily at Los Angeles. That's a tough venue to go in and win, particularly we have to go east coast or the Midwest to the far far West, i'd call it. But that's the only lost the Bucks have and at five and one,

the Bucks have never been six and one. A chance to do that on Sunday, So the Bucks will give the Bears a really good fight, I would imagine. And uh oh, by the way, I have a feeling the memes are all over the place in Chicago Land about what down is it it's third down, fourth down is the fifth down? You know, I'm sure that's flying around because I'll promise you this, Tom Brady has not forgotten that he forgot what down it was. And now you know that was one of those nail biders. We won

games like that last year. And for some reason on that Thursday night at Chicago, number one, we turned the ball over number two. We had about a million penalties. If we'd had one more penalty, that put the whole team in jail. But those were the reasons why you know we lose twenty to nineteen. Oh, by the way, Jimmy Graham does it. They he always beats the Bucks and Nick Foles for some reason. Nick Foles, as I'll

promise you he's got a wedding record. Well, I had a fear that Brady is not going to forget that the only loss was last year. Right, He's going to remember that one for sure. Gene Decker haff Our guest here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to score. This is Bears All Access brought to you by IGS Energy

with Tom Fair. I'm Jeff JONAHAKA. Let's talk more about Brady because there's one ball but there's many weapons, and that's always a fear when you have a team with a lot of great players, and especially at that receiver position, they've got big, some big egos. Not necessarily your guys down to Tampa, but in general we've experienced that over the course of time. But he is, as you say,

surgically deciphering exactly what defenses are trying to do. But he's extremely accurate right now, and they're basically letting him pick away because they're not allowing you to get the big, big, big, big play. They're playing defense with everything in front of him. But you're making everybody happy. He's spreading it around almost perfectly across the board. How do you come well, Jeff

and Tom, there's a reason. There's a reason why everybody that started against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl fifty five resigned to play with the Buccaneers. Here. That's dounheard of generally. You know, you lose four or five guys, they take the big money go as a free agent. Don't blame him. But everybody returned from the team that beat Kansas City and won the Super Bowl and they want to play one for head coach Bruce arians and two. They want to play with a winning quarterback and they

feel like they got they got the right guy. And Tom Brady I agree with him, and about the weapons. Think about this last year, going into the season, you didn't have Antonio Brown, you didn't have any four net Rob Gronkowski had committed, but he'd been retired for a year and Antonio Brown was not. But those guys came around later in the season. The Bucks were seven and five going into the bye week, and something happened either the rest to get away from the grind, maybe maybe

a little more work in the playbook. But the Buccaneers then went unbeaten throughout the month of December, ran the table in the playoffs, won the Super Bowl, and started this year with a big win, two big wins before we sort of stubbed our toe at Los Angeles. But this team is still I don't think this team is playing at the level it played out to win the Super Bowl last year, but I think it's getting close.

And you add those defensive players who had big plays defensively in our run to the Super Bowls championship, and then you get robbed back. I mean, Tom I think is still trying to find to find his way without having Rob Gunkowski in there. He was a much better quarterback when Rob was in there during that Super Bowl run than he has been without Rob Runkowski. Rob had a rib injury in the LA game. Don't think you'll see him on Sunday, and I wouldn't be a bit

surprised that he misses another game. But you can't fiddle around with fractured ribs and punctured lung. Just take it easy, Rob, And all of a sudden, O J Howard and starting to get back into the flow of thing. Had a touchdown catch last week, and so maybe he can fill that tight in slot until we get robbed back. But yeah, big keys to the big keys to the rest of the season. Rob Wronkowski healthy and secondary healthy, and oh, by the way, keeping Tom Brady vertical, upright and throwing

the football. We're facing two of the best sack artists in the league this weekend, and the offensive line is going to answer the bell. They've got to protect Tom Brady. Your running back position is kind of unique because Fournette came on and it has really burst on the scene, especially this year. But Jones was a good running back last year. So most of the running backs that Jeff and I have seen so far has been kind of a two headed monster. Or is this a one running

back team? No, this is this is this is running back by committee. We even saw Jivanni Bernard run the football. He had been primary the third down pass catching running back, but two games ago we had a chance to see him run the football against the Minamie Dolphins. He had Blaine Gabert at quarterback and so the second unit was in there, but Geo he could run the football. So I think that Rojoe is the home run hitter. Leonard Fournett's the guy that's going to get you the first down.

He's gonna get you a touchdown when you need one, and you hit up his yards. I mean, he's having a he's having the best game he's had since he left jack the best season he's had since he left Jacksonville. Five hundred and sixty five all purpose yards of rushing and receiving combined. That's almost one hundred yards a game. And the last three he's had over one hundred yards from scrimmage and those ball game and they have all

resulted resulted in Tampa Bay wins. So yeah, he's he is the guy that keeps Tom Brady safe in the backfield. He's a pretty good blocker, I'll tell you this. He's the best blocker of the running backs. So he's got a job to do to protect Tom, a job to do to run and score touchdowns. He's got three of them this year. And oh, by the way, get us another one hundred and twenty yards total from scrimmage and that's a winning formula for the Bucks. Keep getting Leonard

Fournette in the ball. Playoff Lenny. We called him, make this a playoff game against the Bears, and left playoff Lenny go to work. So yeah, it's Rojoe's not going anywhere he was. He was drafted to be the prime time Bucketeer running back, and all of a sudden, you got to gather's hot reliantly. Without Lenny Fournette, the Bucks don't win the Super Bowl. Without Lenny Fournette, the Bucks don't even get the Super Bowl. Rojoe took a handoff

and went ninety eight yards against Carolina last year. I'd like to see him do that again. Well we wouldn't. We want to play some DEFENSEE Gene We're gonna see you on Sunday. Always good to see you and good to talk to you, and good luck the rest of the way. Luck's Bears. That doesn't get a whole lot better, No, it does not. We'll see in Tambo with Gene Deckerhoff, Tom There, I'm Jeff Joniac. One more segment to go tonight and Bears All Access after this time out on

Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score. Download the Chicago Bears App to play our new Predictor game or Risk It, brought to you by Bette Rivers for your chance to win two hundred and fifty dollars in free bets and a custom Bears jersey with Tom There Jeff Joniac. Our final segment tonight, We're gonna focus on the Buccaneers defense and now the Bears and rookie quarterback Justin Fields will

attack that defense. Bears have run the ball as much as anybody in the league, think third in the league since the last three weeks in terms of rushing attempts. People don't run on the Buccaneers. They are thirty second and runs allowed through over the course of this season so far. I don't know how you break that downtime as if they don't want to run it, they haven't tried to run it. They fall behind, so they don't run it. But teams are not running on the Buccaneers.

Is it out of fear? Is it out of fear that there's no way you can do it because you got the big guy Vitavey in there and Domkan Sue and that aggressive front. I think it's a combination of both. I think when you talk about vitave and Domica Sue, there's a lot of power up front. So to me, if I was going to run the ball, I wouldn't run directly at him. I would make him chase from sideline to sideline every pay. I would have pitches, I would have sweeps. I would have immediate you know, on

the line of scrimmage screen. So those guys are running and you're trying to create fatigue, but you have it's so inviting to throw the ball downfield because they've had so many injury issues in the defensive backfield. So I think some of these great inventors of offensive game plans, they look at Oh my god, they got third stringers. They got a vet a thirty thirty seven year old guy they picked off on the street and inserted him

in starting lineup, talking about Richard Sherman who's injured. So it's inviting for these guys to say, Okay, we can protect man, we can beat these guys down field, and so it's just that invitation. You can answer it. But he's still got to run, all right. Offensive coordinator Bill Lazier talking about Vita Vea earlier on Thursday, Oh, just's such a great job holding the point in the run game.

I mean, he's usually when you double team someone, you feel like, well, if we double team him, at least we can get a little bit of movement. We can control him. It's just a matter of how long do we have to stay on to get it before someone can get up to the linebacker. But he can destroy double teams so well that it's hard to get off for the linebackers. And then in the past game, I think he has a rare ability to push the pocket.

But you've played against guys like this, how difficult would it be to churn out Vita Vea and make sure he doesn't get off of those double teams. Well, you know, reg, I'm not gonna you know, if I have forty running plays during the course of the game. Thirty of them aren't going to be point of attack. Vita vey my point of attack. It's gonna be a Donica sewer to the outside. So you know, when you're talking about sustaining a double team, you know you're not talking about a

half hour job. You're talking about maybe two and a half seconds to make sure you stabilize him and get that next flock to the second level. So don't it's not unrealistically it can be done. However, you're not gonna move him a significant amount of space if you do double team him. But that's not what his job is. His job is just to hold the point of attack. Suffered a nasty injury in Week five last year at Soldier Field, found a way though the comeback to play

two playoff games, including the Super Bowl. Justin fields the rookie quarterback getting the start once again, it'll be facing a blitz happy defense, a pressure pack defense, and there is growth in areas of importance. According to Laser, with

a rookie quarterback, the quarterback's opinion matters. You know, it's just a fact that there's veteran receivers and they have the ways they've done things, but in the end, the quarterback has the ball in his hand that has got to be the one to trust it to throw it. So I think he's just as as he goes, has grown in his confidence and his ability to communicate it to the players, and I think that's that's been good

to watch. I think his play speed over time just keeps getting better and better, and it shows up obviously in practice quite a bit, and sometimes on game day, you know, we can check off boxes and sometimes we see things that we still need to pick up the play speed, But that's that's the process. Everything is this incremental development that we all see and we understand it happening. But sometimes you have to match incremental development with the

team you're playing. So if Justin Fields is not going to drop directly behind center for a majority of the passes and then get rid of the ball, he's going to have to use his athleticism like the runs I say, and get outside and get away from B to bay. The protections they got to meet, you know, moving pockets.

That that play that was so simple last week, that early bootleg to Cole comet I, you know I would run that five or six times until they stopped it, until they figured out a way that they were gonna, you know, have an interruption of the success of that play. So to me, Justin has to be on the outskirts when he's throwing the ball, and I think it challenges these defensive backs who are inexperienced to cover even longer

outstanding linebackers. The stellar play of Devin White. Their tackle leader. Shack Barrett has four sacks on about David. David working back from an ankle injury. Joe Tyron, a draft pick in the first round, Joe Tyron Shoyinka. He's shown some burst as well. Overall, Cole Comet likens this front time to the Cleveland Browns. Yeah, I mean, obviously they both got really good defensive fronts. Um Tampa's best in the league. Got stopping in the run, and you know, it's something

we've been really good at. So that'll be interesting to see how that goes. And you know, for us, just about you know, it's tight ends really really affecting the front anyway we can, whether it's CHIPsters, you know, same protection to help Justin and things like that. So we just gotta be active on the edge, like that and you know it should be should work out well for us. And the other thing about that too. Justin admits, Yep, I gotta be smarter about it when it comes to pressure.

I can't take sex that are going to result in you know, ten twelve thirteen yard losses against a team like Tampa Bay. Well, you know, if cole come out in the tight end position, is gonna compare Cleveland defensive Tampa Bay defense. The tight end position really didn't come

alive until the next game. So I'm interested to see how the Bears coaches incorporate the tight end position in blocking the Tampa Bay Buccaneers because to me, Todd Bowles is one of the most creative defensive coordinators in the league, being able to use the multiple facets of talent he has in that defense. I know he's hindered because of the defensive backs, but creativity upfront, he's still one of the tops in the league. And they got to score points.

It's a big emphasis. It always has been, always will be. You got to score points to win games. You can't count on the defense shutting teams out, no matter how good it may be. They're gonna have some days when they're gonna give up points, especially in this league right now and against good teams. Mannaggie's emphasized it, and Alan Robinson even before the season began, way back in the offseason,

he keeps reiterating the need for explosives big time. Those are plays of twenty or twenty five yards or more.

Being able to stay ahead of the sticks is definitely important and I always think important, which I feel like we were able to do on some of those jars, and be able to get some explosive runs, able to get some explosive passage, you know, and being able to kind of shorten the field in that sense, you know, because again, if you get an explosive, explosive run or pass, you know, that's a fifth of the field, you know, if you get a twenty yarder, you know, So being

able to get a couple of plays like that, you know, it really shrinks the field down. You really start to put the fresh on the defensive and which Tampa is really good at. They get a lot of explosives offensively, but you know, it's about the Bears and that's what

they need. For Bears Game Day Live. My key to the game is explosive chunk plays because I think if you could ever be invited to expose the speed that you have on your team, Marky's good when Damon Bird, Darnell Mooney and a Rob for that matter, can you get multiple chunk plays though, Jeff the campy one or two, it's got to be five or set. All right. We'll break it down for you throughout the course, so the

rest of the week you'll do so as well. Here on the score and we'll bring the game to you from NewsRadio one oh five nine w BBM, starting with a noon pregame with Ron, Jim and Jay, Tom and I take over the controls for the kickoff at three twenty five. That's gonna wrap us up for today's show. I want to thank our guests Khalil Herbert, the Bears rookie running back, also the voice of the Buccaneers, Gene Deckerhoff, for our producers, Jordan Trutup, Dan Berilli, and the folks

here at the score. I'm Jeff joni Ac for Tom Thayer. Thanks for listening to everybody we'll talk to down the radio Sunday. This has been Bears All Access, brought to you by IGS Energy on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The score, good Night, everybody,