N'Keal Harry on first touchdown with the Bears | All Access Podcast

back to back weeks after four trips in five. Absolutely, we're previewing Week nine, the matchup tomorrow at Soldier Field. Our pregame at nine, kickoff at noon on WBBM. Coming Up. We'll joined by Coming Up. We'll be joined by wide receiver Nakil Harry and then later in the program Joe Rose, the outstanding analyst and former Dolphin tight end as we break down Bears and Dolphins. Thanks for our producers Dan Barelli and Jordan tread Up and the folks here at

the score. So let's not dwell on it because it's happened early in the week and we want to focus on the game tomorrow. But what are your impressions of basically a swap of Robert Quinn Roquan Smith to Philadelphia and Baltimore in exchange for future draft compensation, wide receiver

Chase Claypool and linebacker A J. Klein. I think you have to look at everything in regards of the future, and I think it's trying to set up a roster that's going to come in here and be able to compete, compete for division championships and then ultimately go deep into the playoffs. And if you wanted to look at guys or at the end of their contracts or at the guys that wanted a new contract, you really didn't know

how those things we're going to work themselves out. So if you could get some draft capital to bring in some young men that's going to help the future of this roster, I'm all for it, all right. Chase Claypool is the intriguing person right now. He's got every tool in the shed. He's got experience, he had success in Pittsburgh, certainly in his rookie year with Ben Roethlisberger. Here's more

insight from Bario's wide receivers coach tit Toober. Here has a lot of physical traits you like, he's big, he's fast, he has a has a Fordians burd cool. Um, it's a big hands. Um, he's paid in this region before being a Notre dame. So the cold weather to win, now that would bother him as much. So here's a lot of positive things we're looking for. How about his personality and attitude towards the game. It's been good since

he's been here. Um, you know when he first got here, you know, we sat down how to talk with him about how we do things here and this last couple of days in practice, you know, how we practice hard, how we finished hard and everything. You know, had to remind him a couple of times. Um, he said, yeah, yeah, gotta get used to doing it, you know, this way all the time. So all that's been positive. Just finishing

on every play, whether you have the ball or not. Now, sometimes it's easy for a receiver to go out for a pass play or we're gonna run play somebody else carrying the ball. He's kind of stopping watch, But we don't stop and watch here. We finish every play with or without the ball. What have you seen that tape of Clay Pools run run blocking prowess because of his size and in his in his strength, he's good at it.

You know, he can finish better, you know, and we'll he'll conform to what we're doing because we're finishing with this group. So and I think he's gonna get so much better and what he is, well, you can count on that because October, we've talked about this before. He'll he'll show these guys. They're great blocks over they're great catches.

You're right, six four, two thirty eight, biggest wide receiver in the NFL when you talk about the bodies, He's going to be blocking against our undersized cornerbacks and safeties. So the immediate advantage goes to Chase Claypool. And then when you look at comparative staffs between he and Darnell Mooney, Clay thirty nine games, Mooney forty one games. Clay's got one hundred and fifty three catches. Mooney's got one hundred

and sixty seven catches. So he's a great compliment to the opposite side of what Darnell Mooney can still offer the Bears than what Chase Claypool can bring aboard. And I don't know how you think about this either. You know, I keep mentioning a basketball team and you kind of want that on your offense. Right, Well, you've got you've got two backs that are feisty and we'll fight for

every inch in our good pass catchers. You got Cole Cometz still untapped in terms of getting him the football and feeding him the football certainly in key leverage situations on third down in the red zone. And now you got two six foot four athletic receivers nikkil Harry and Chase Claypool with Darnell Mooney can move all over the formation. I know Luke Getsy wants these guys to play all these positions and they want to spread the ball around.

And then you got Dante Pettish, you got Pringle coming back, you got Ryan Griffin, and Equomenius Saint Brown at six five also proving himself as well. So it is a basketball team pretty much in this case. Yeah, of course, you know, it's all about continuous first downs. And if you don't have Pro Bowl receivers, you have a quarterback back down the custom of being a Pro Bowl quarterback. But you think of over Chase his time in Pittsburgh, of his fifty three catches on third down forty three

of them I've won for first downs. And that's the key ingredient here is keep your offense on the field and keep those first downs going. You know that you can get him on the running game, but you need him in the passing game equally as well. All Right, we're gonna take a break. When we come back, we'll be joined by one of those six foot four receivers, nikkil Harry here on Bears All Access on Chicago Sports

Radio six seventy the Score. Welcome back to Bears All Access here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score. Tom there will be along in our next segment as well. We're here with a Bear's wide receiver, nikkil Harry, his first touchdown as a Bear. We got to start there right. Welcome in and thank you for taking the time. It's always good to get that first one, right, Yes, break that one down for us. Um, so notice pre snapped man coverage. Um, you had no help inside, So I

just try my best to get him his toes. Um, you know, get a get out of my breake whale. And you know, justin delivered a nice ball and and this man you can't see it, folks. We've got a big smile on his face, right, because the thing is he did throw a nice ball. But you're so big at six four, you can shield off that defender and you're showing him as your numbers, right, so he can see that. He sees the color. And I often hear and a lot of people don't understand sometimes the nuances

of route running, which is very specific. But when you say you get on a guy's toes, I mean you're you're complicating his ability to shift his feet. Correct? Is it explain that in more detailed. So basically, on a route like that, the further away from him that you break, the easier it is for him to break on the ball.

And you know, make a play on the ball. So when you step on his toes like that, you're kind of like you're you're limiting that space and you get all up in his space and dbs feel uncomfortable when you get all up in their space. So kind of made it hard for him and you know, hopefully made it easier for the quarterback. I can hear whispering, I get out of my area code where you get out of my zip code? But it is good to have

you on the field. And I don't know when the last time you played forty five snaps in the game, right. Unfortunately missed the first six this year, so you didn't get a ton of targets. But you know, it's a slow process when you're reintroduced to especially at a a new system like this one. But I did the fifth feel good to you to be on the field for forty five I think it was forty five snap? Yeah, No, absolutely,

it feels good being out there. Um. You know, I wasn't too worried about how much I got targeted, how many catches I had. Um, you know, I got a lot of opportunities to block last game. So you know, I really enjoyed that getting the smile. The man's got the killer instinct in the blocking game. I saw that back at Arizona State and New England. Why do you love that so much? Um? I guess it's just getting to impose your will. You know, there's not a lot of sports out there that you get to impose your

will on somebody else like that. I mean, I'm a big guy, so you know that's that's a role that I take pride in. And you know, however, I can help this team win, which run blocking is an important, very important part of the game. Um, you know, so I take a lot of pride in now. You know, a lot of teams want to run the ball, they say they want to run. We have to establish the run with this team. This team is just going out there doing it and number one in the league. Is

there a pride factor in this? Now? For all you loving tight ends Cole Comet. You know, people always want to say, oh, you know he loves blocking, like he's worked on that. You know, Darnell Mooney throws his body around like that. He'sn't as big as you. Prideful though for the whole unit to see the production in that aspect, Yeah, absolutely, because when it comes to blocking, um, you know we kind of feel like that's having your brother's back. Um. You know, it's easy to go out there and run

a bunch of routes. And I wouldn't say easy, but um, you know, it's a lot more difficult for receivers to go out there and just you know what I'm saying, just laid the body on the lines. There's a lot of receivers that don't like to block. But everybody in our wide receiver room. You know, we take a lot of pride in that, and you know our coaches are honest about that. So we we we we try to make sure we come through every game. Heck on you

about it. October told me he cuts up the clips of the blocks before he ever puts the big catches on there. Is that true? And then how serious is he about it? Because he's pretty transparent. That guy tells you exactly how he feels. Yeah. Absolutely, Well, first of all, we love we love coach Tyke, all of us do. Um. But yeah, you know, I think he takes just as much pride as we do. And blocking, um, you know, it's it's it's a very important part of the game

and then an important part of our offense. So you know, he makes sure we know how important it is for us to go out there and not only just give the effort to block, but have the right technique and have the right position on certain blocks. Nikkill Harry our guest here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to score time. There will be along as well, the Bears getting ready to meet the Miami Dolphins. So now you're receiving corps

basically a basketball team. Okay, you got big Cold at six six, you got Griff the other tight end in there, you got yourself at six four, and now you get another six foot four, two hundred and forty pounder and Chase Claypool. You guys could be twins, so there's gonna be twin towers out there. I don't know if your pads have crossed prior to this. He was a twenty twenty draft pick. I believe number forty nine. You were number thirty two and twenty nineteen, so you had two

top fifty receivers who can run, who can jump. He had a forty vertical I think yours was thirty eight, and you got the site. What does this mean for the Chicago Bears? And if you ever crossed passed with him priorum, I haven't really crossed passed with him prior. But you know, we're excited we get another talent to wide receiver coming here help us win games. So you know, we're just gonna try to get him acclimented to the offense as fast as possible. And you know we're we're

super excited to have him. The mind starts, you know, it's amazing how the addition of one I consider you a major addition right now because you missed the first six unfortunately with an injury. But you just added two top fifty players in their respective drafts. At this kind of size, now you could maneuver Darnell in different ways. You got the number one rank rushing offense. Justin starting to feel it is the final nine games of this more like almost a new set of games with the additions.

I think Pringle will be coming off soon. I mean, everybody healthy, it's pretty healthy football team. Cody might be coming back this week. Do you feel like this is a kind of a new floor set up here? Yeah, definitely. So you know, just having getting him added into our offense, you know, opens up a lot. You know, it's it's another um threat that defenses have to take seriously and will take seriously because he could take the top off

UM and then we get BP back. So you know, we have a lot of depth at receiver, so god forbid somebody does go down, we have we have that depth here and you know, if coach wants to keep us fresh, you can rotate thiss in and out. So um, you're excited, We're excited. You got the double whammy, you get moved, and that was a good thing for you.

I think you would agree, And then you get the injury where you're crushed or is it just part of the game, you know what a lot of guys get, you know, getting up a little bit and I gotta restart a little bit. Um, I'll definitely crush, Yeah, especially figuring out that I had to get surgery and I was gonna miss um, you know, six seven weeks. Um. But at the end of the day, you know, my teammates, my family, coaches, you know, they did a great job, you know, keeping my spirits up, helping me see the

the positive of this situation. So you know, the initial reaction was definitely I was definitely upset and I was definitely crushed. But um, you know they did a great job helping me bounce back and keep my head into it. Do you think it helped you'll learn the offense better on the sideline? Just maybe let's let's look at some really silver lining to it, because you were you're very much engrossed in that I knew I knew from hearing the people. You know, you were really picking it up good.

So do you think that helped. Yeah, definitely in a weird way. Yeah, definitely, because there's a lot of moving parts in this offense. You know, it's not I wouldn't say this is an easy offense to grasp. Um, you really have to put in not only time in the building, but extra time by yourself if you really want to understand the offense how you need to to be able to go out there and do everything that you need to do correctly. So yeah, those those first six weeks

being out, it definitely did help me. But um, you know, getting back on the practice field actually helped a lot more. I feel like this because there's no substitute for getting out there and getting real reps with with the team. What makes this offense challenging in your opinion? Um, well, the first thing I was challenging for me is some of the terms we had where the same terms I had in New England, but they meant though, Oh no, they meant a whole different thing. So I don't jumble

the brain a little bit. Yeah, I had to get you to that first. And then you know, like I said, there's just a lot of moving parts. You know, there's a lot of thinking, there's a lot of things that you need to know pre snap post snap, you know. So it was a bit difficult that first but nothing that you know, nothing that we can't handle. Yeah, it'd be it'll be a great feeling when the moment comes. You can just let it rip, right. You don't have to think yeah, you know right, yeah, Which is kind

of how I felt last game. You know, the first game, I feel like I felt pretty comfortable. But last game, um, you know, I feel like I knew the script from top to bottom. So it's the challenge of change and meaning going from one organization to another. You're still a young player, long career left ahead of you. But what is the challenge of that for us who don't really understand all that, Um, you know, kind of finding your place. You know, you're on a whole different team. You have

to make new relationships with guys. You have to kind of just figure out your spot on the team and try to find a way to bring the most value to that new team. Um, you know, I was pretty acclimated in New England, so I kind of knew what I was getting into going into the season, but this time I didn't really know what was going on. I didn't know where I would fit into the offense, also learning a completely different offense um, so it was it was kind of difficult at first, but, like I said,

nothing that I couldn't handle. Will you be able to help chase them? Because he's never been traded either. I know he's got a big personality, so he's probably gonna light up the room a little bit, But can you help him with that in terms of maybe closing the gap. Yeah? Absolutely, you know we'll be able to help him on the field. If he has any questions, we'll be able to hap

us back on that. But also as the wide receiver room, I feel like we're very close as a group, and you know, I feel like he'd come and fit right in. Kail Harry our guest here on Bears All Access on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score or one more segment to go with the veteran wide Receiver first a time out here on six seventy the Score. This portion of Bears All Access is brought to you by CDW. People to get it learn more at CDW dot com.

Jeff Joni act tomp there along with and Kill Harry, the Bears, a veteran wide receiver getting ready to meet the Miami Dolphins. I read you said you feel like you have to be an enforcer in this offense because of the run game and clearly because of your size and your physicality that fits your game. Have you always excelled in that? We touched on at early in the segment if people are just joying to us. We did talk on the run game. But even at Arizona State, Yeah,

you know, I've been away since high school. Um, you know, my coaches have always made sure that it's because of my size that I do block like that and DB's hate like that. Do you hear it? That's start you're hustling you a little bit. Yeah, definitely, they don't. They don't like it at all. So I take I take. Ah. It's just pretty fun out there to get the message those guys. So if they're talking, are you talking? Are you? You seem like a reserved, quiet guy, are you? Um?

It depends nine game day, It kind of depends. Yeah. Sometimes, you know, I tend to get a little bit chippy in there. I try not to. I try to, you know, keep it within the within the line, you know, keep it with him. I play, But sometimes it's just too. Yeah much. You know, I don't think this coaching staff

would love it, right if you man? You know, I brought it up to him because I do a coaching show with them every Monday night, and I brought up Hey, you know, it's it's interesting because his teams were not penalized very much in Indianapolis and the same as as the case here. But this team last year had they led the league in personal fouls, you know, like twenty nine of them, right, and that would not fly with coach jib flues Wooded. No. Yeah, there's there's no point

in going out there and getting penalties like that. At the end of the day, all it does is hurt the team. So you thought you have to kind of compartmentalize that because there are some dbs and I'm not gonna name who they are, but you kind of know who they are. To get the rep in the league, they're gonna get under your skin just to agitate you, to create irritates you to the point and hey, what did I do? I didn't do anything, but then you

know you draw the flag. That's not cool. Yeah, No, absolutely. The way I look at it is um you know, I feel like I do that on the other end, Um, you know, I just try to block them as hard as I can, um, try to get a reaction. I did it to Trayvon Diggs last year when when we

played them, Okay, a penalty out of him. So I feel like, yeah, they could, they could try to get under our skin, but I feel like, um, you know, I could probably do it better job of getting under their skin because of your physicality, because of what Chase brink Coal can do the same thing. Maybe in the

red zone as well, or work in that slot. Can you draw flags for these pis and so forth, because well that is that coming with the chemistry adjustin do a back shoulder and you know, maybe these guys get tangled up and you get you get a first down out of it. Definitely, that's I don't go out there, you know, trying to draw. Yeah, I um, but you know what, Yeah, yeah, we'll take it. Yeah, we'll take it. Yeah. Aaron Rodgers get set all the time up and there

in Green Bay, whine at us. All right, we're gonna go back in your history a little bit, the ninth true freshman at the time. I don't know if it's happened again in Arizona State history. To start your season open, you put up great numbers with the sun Devils. Pair of one thousand yards seasons, over two hundred receptions, twenty two touchdowns. How much fun did you have over there in the desert. It was so much fun. You're glad you went there. Yes, absolutely, you know being home, you know, um,

having my family be able to come and watch the games. Um, you know that was a point in my career where, um, you know I felt like I couldn't be touched. You know, they would just throw the ball left to me. Um. You know, the coaching staff had had a great deal of faith in me, and when also many Wilkins. You know, I feel like him and I had a different kind of chemistry out there, you know, to where we would kind of we would look at each other and we would know what was going on. Um, you know before

they've always even snapped. And you know he had he had the faith out there a lot to just let it rip, throw it up to me and you know, trust me to make a play. Gosh, won't that be nice when that happens? Right? That does take time? Right, No, absolutely absolutely, And you know the NFL is a completely different game. Um, you know those deep balls are are it really is a chance? You know, yeah, taking a

chance down there. But you know, I feel like I have the frame and you know, the ball skills, the ability to go up and you know, make more of those plays than I don't make. Yeah, at your time in New England, and I know you don't love talking about that that is, but but just did you learn things that you say, Okay, I'm not gonna do it A, B and C. This is how I'm gonna do it

from now on. I learned some things. You know, there's different personalities, different issues that you know, relate to different things. Because you know, when you get a first round tag. Yeah, I find it always interesting. You never asked to be You'd love to be a first round pick, but you don't ask to be a first round pick. Somebody projects you to be that, and then there's so much expectation that comes with it. It just brings a lot of people out of the closet so to speak, and starts

getting on you. Yeah, you know, I learned a lot just from my three years there. You know, at the end of the day, I have to go out there and play my game. Um, I know what I do well. I know my strengths, aren't know my weaknesses are so um, you know, it's just the biggest thing I probably learned is, you know, just play my game. I know the type of player I am, and you know I had that confidence to go out there every game and show what I could do. You know, it's interesting I keep hearing

madd even Fluce. I'm sure you already I understand that he says a lot of the same things every single week because that's the foundation of it. So you know his first rule of leadership, lead yourself. So are you doing that? Yes? Definitely. Um. Like I said, you know, I learned a lot about you know, myself as a person. Um for my past three years in New England. I grew a lot as a person in my past few years. So you know, I feel like I'm at the point in my career and at the point in my life

where I know myself very well. I know what I need to do on a day by day basis to get myself ready for a game mentally and physically. This is my fourth year, so I'm at in this league. So um, you know I need to carry myself that way, and I have been carrying myself that way to kill Harry. Our guest here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score, Jeff Joniac Here Tom there will be along as well. We start breaking down the Miami Dolphins. Our pregame begins

at nine, kickoff at noon on WBBM. I gotta go back. I saw an old video when you were drafted. It actually made me cry. It put tears in my eyes because the embrace, now was that your mother was at your grandmother on draft day. Um, the first person I hugged was my grandmother. Okay, that that embrace. I know. There's deep history here if you want to get into it a little bit. It's it's a very interesting and great story. But so your grandmother, Felna, is that how

you pronounce your name? What did that moment signify? Um? Every thing? Just because my grandmother, UM, you know, she had a pretty rough upbringing. Um, she had to fight through a lot. You know, she went through so much, um, not only as a child, but you know as a grown woman. Um. She was a single mother that had four kids, UM by herself, and you know she had been retired back into Sint Vince and my whole family's from Saint Vincent and Grenadines. So she had retired back there,

and you know, she took a chance on me. Um. She felt like it would have been a way better opportunity for me in the States. So she packed up, you know, started working again, um, you know, and then started all over um, which most people wouldn't even had the guts to do, especially in a completely different country. Um. So that moment of getting drafted is kind of like every thing came out, all the emotions over all those years, and you know, I told myself I was I wasn't

gonna cry, man. Yeah, as soon as as soon as I heard my grandma start crying. It just it was just so emotional, like they came from deep down. You could feel it in the in the video clip. Yeah. Yeah, for everybody there, you know, friends, family, there's a lot of people. There's a lot of tears that came out that night. So that was definitely definitely a special night. So Saint Fincent and the Grenadines a Southern Caribbean and they just recently at that time anyway, received their US visa.

So as the bulk of your family now here, um no, so it's not it's not quite that okay, simple, Um they have UM, they don't have their citizenship. They can come and stay for I believe it's six months at a time, go back and interesting they go back. It's kind of like a reset. So didn't they get another six months? So it's um. They try to they try to make it out. And then my mother's UM, you know, she tries to come to as many games as she can, but you know, it's it's not that easy at the

end of the day. So how old were you when you got here? Um? I was I believe four years old when I first got to the States. Um, I had my green card for a while. I didn't get my citizenship until I was about I believe it was fourteen. Okay, So I mean that's a that's a lot to dive into. We don't have enough time to get into that one. But heck, you probably learned a lot about yourself, oddly, even at the age of four. Yeah. Do you even

remember it real clearly? Yeah, especially first coming to the States. Yeah, and especially because I had an accent when I first really, so it was it was difficult. Man. You know, kids tend to be oh yeah, you already meant kids when it comes to place. Yeah, different. So, yeah it was it was rough at first, but I um or you're

already tough. I feel like my my my upbringing was already a lot tougher than a lot of my friends that I had, just because my grandmother was a lot more strict, you know that Caribbean background, especially old school Caribbean. So it was it was tough at times, but it was the best thing for me. Why would you define old school Caribbean? Um, okay, there's no there's no debate, there's no gray area, no no arguing back, nothing like that.

In addition of football, looks like you were a heck of a basketball player, and I would be disappointed if you weren't. At six to four and leap out of a gym, How good were you? I feel like if I would have I feel like, so I took a year off after my freshman year of basketball, and I feel like that's kind of when I started excelling, really excelling in football, and when I started taking steps back

in basketball. But I think I don't know if I would have made it to the league per se, but I feel like I could have gone a long way in basketball. Yeah you were au doo Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, all right, let's switch gears in our final. A couple of minutes with you here with kill Harry. Miami Dolphins. They're coming into town. That defensive secondary something. They got some really good talent in there. What your overall analysis as you get ready for the Dolphins? Um, you're a

talented team. Um. You know they're very confident in their dbs. Um, so you know going into that game, we're gonna have to win our one on one matchups. We're gonna have to make tough plays. Um, we're gonna have to play gritty, so you know. Bears football, Yeah, on the home turf after four trips in five weeks, it'll be good to be in front of the home crowd on what's supposed to be a great weather day. And you know, trading players, it was a record number of deals yesterday in the

National Football League for a trading deadline day. Obviously, ro Quan Smith a big name on this team. Do you feel there's enough leadership involved here the way coach Ebert Flus has intended it to be, as I mentioned earlier, lead yourself that you guys will pull together. No matter what, you got almost treated like season ending injuries, right. Yeah, so absolutely, it was definitely not easy with the new

part of guys like Roe Con Robert Yea. But you know, I feel like we have a lot of leadership on this team. You know, when we first even picked captains, I was like a lot of people. So I feel like we have a lot of leadership on his team, and you know we'll be just fun. Justin Jones and Eddie Jackson move in. Jalen Johnson the honorary this week, so go get him. Appreciate all your time, best to luck to you. You You got a great story and you know good things are coming for you. I appreciate it.

And kill Harry. Our guests coming back next. We'll be joined by Tom Thayre here on Bears All Access on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score. This segment of Bears All Access is brought to you by Athletical Physical Therapy. Visit Athletico dot com to request an appointment in clinic or virtually and start feeling better tomorrow. Welcome back to Bears All Access here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score. Jeff Joni, Act, tomp There and Joe Rose,

thirty year veteran, his analysts for the Miami Dolphins. But I always prefer Big Joe because you are a big personality. You're a media mogul down there. You've done television, you got the Morning show down there in the Odyssey family, You've got thirty years in the booth. But you know you caught Dan Marino's first touchdown, so I know that's

always tagged with you. You might as well after that, you might as well not play football because nobody cares anything to do with Marino is all anybody wants to hear about. So you're going, okay, you got me. I don't have the football I wish I did. I went through a divorce at that point. I could have used the fifty grand, but I don't have. Hey, what was it like playing with him? Certainly, and you put it in a contest a context and crant contrast to what

today's game has become with these mobile quarterbacks. A guy like Toa and a guy like justin Fields. He's got this dynamic running ability. But but Marino, he just stood there in the pocket and delivered it with probably the quickest release ever. He was good forty or fifty years ago, and he would have been just as good in today's game with a quick release, the toughness. I know he always and you probably hear this, he goes man, I'd like to have these rules of quarterbacks have right now

where guys can't hit me late, hit me low. Had like nine knee operations, So that'd be nice not to have some guy go around the corner and buck on my back on my knee. And yeah, you know those guys always talk about the numbers they put up in today's game. Obviously, if they could take Mark and Mark with them, or in this case Jalen and Tyreek, wouldn't

be a bad way to go either. But Joe, Joe, let's speed up to the modern day podium, because I don't know if Marino would be the type of guy that would like to go to the podium with such frequency and answer all these questions. However, Tua went out there and put this super Bowl word at the podium mid season. How does that sit with you? Does it sit well with the Miami fan base? And does it

all do just because of Chubb coming aboard? So all great questions, and so my take is this, first of all, we haven't won a playoff game in twenty one year, so we need to we need to calm down. And I know they're aware of it because it's been brought up. We're right behind the Lions for not winning a playoff game. Just to give you an idea in this league, I've done the homework, so you guys don't have to look this up later. I'm glad he's pumped up and he's

playing with ridiculous confidence and stuff. But hey man, let's get deep in the playoffs. See how far we can take this thing. You know, it's gonna be fun. And so I think everybody was caught a little bit by, you know, but the fact that, honestly, he's been kind of a reserve guy till his confidence and way he's playing right now, and and so I think everybody around here for the most part, was okay with it. But listen, we haven't won one of those Super Bowls since the

early seventies. We've been a couple of times we lost, but we haven't even been to one in a long long time since I played in Super Bowl seventeen and nineteen, So it's been a long time to hear it. But I've just taken and love to see this team in the playoffs. And and by the way, we're in AFC's where the Buffalo Bills, as you know so, and they are damn good. We beat them once, but they are

darned good right now. Well, one question to piggyback on that, because being with the Bears in nineteen eighty five, in understanding that you guys had an offense that could beat any defense, including the eighty five Bears. Now I see you guys having a super explosive offense, but is this a defense that can compliment what your offensive firepower is? They got they got some pretty good players on the defense, and they obviously added Bradley Chubbed for a pass rush.

The four man pass rush hasn't been good enough, the five man hasn't been good and it's hard to do those all out blitz is when you don't have Byron Jones on the other side like we did last year. So they've been real careful on that. It's a it's it's a fair question for sure. We got a lot of good players. Like to see some guys play better.

We have not put a complete game together yet where we've seen both sides of the football play well, but I think obroad, defensively, we have to play a lot better if we're gonna make a run at going deep into the playoffs. Former Miami Dolphin tight end and thirty year veteran analysts down a rag getting old, man, You're getting old down here's getting old now. But once a Dolphin, always a Dolf. And you know that that group, and you guys are you know you guys for whatever the

comparisons could possibly be. H Obviously, the eighty five Bears are a group untouched in terms of personality and swag. But you guys down there had some pretty big personalities. Well, listen, I'm down here with Jimbo, and Jimbo and Danny are very close. And I know Tom played with Jimbo and so uh and and I've had a chance to do Ditka's event down here as well. I love the stories. Listen the Buddy and Mike stories. Some of the best NFL stories. Tom, you were there to see him and

hear him. Uh, those are classics. So one day, can I tell the story or is this not cool? If I if I tell this? So it has to do it that Monday night football game. So Mark Clayton was always the last guy in the locker room. It happened, you know, Mark Clainton kind of he just did his own things. So he's coming in to late. He says, Man, I'm at the Orange Bowl and I hear this noise and two guys going at it. So he said, I

looked down to the right down the tunnel. He said, Buddy and Mike are getting ready to square off, and they actually got the police or breaking them up. He goes, if you don't change that f and defense and put another I'll do it. You run your offense, I'll run my defense. And they like they're ready to go at it. And so Clayton comes into and he tells the team, goes, I've never seen him like this. These guys they're getting ready to square off. The police and Miami police had

to break them up. And I was like, oh, this is Tom. I don't know. Like it was an amazing store at halftime of a freaking game. Know when you guys are gonna come out and make it a good game in the second half. Yeah, Sensic was one of our saviors that night. He was the one that kind of got in between him initially and said, all right, you guys, let's calm down, let's make our twelve minute halftime adjustments and go out get beat in the second half.

So you know, nothing got solved that night at half tigh. I gotta tell you, man, Chicago Bear stories from that team are maybe the greatest I've ever heard. I heard about a backup quarterback that wouldn't go in because Ditto is yelling at him. He was the only thing they had left and he refused. So Tom, I'm hearing this story and I'm going no way, and he goes, I'm not going in less. Mike tells me right now, he's

gonna be really nice to me. And all the other quarterbacks are down, and so Jimbo's telling this story and I'm crying. I'm crying like I've got trying to get this picture of God. You promise you're not going to yell at me. I'll go in, but you promise, And He's like, yeah, I promise. You know, just tell him whatever you need to hear. I mean, you just don't get some of those stories and stuff. And then to

hear the stories from the offense and the defense. You know, the average fan doesn't know that back then you're what, they don't have all that stuff we have now and coming out on social media to hear all those great stories between the offense and the defense. You put it together. It's one of the greatest football teams of all freaking time. You know, my jail my first start for Mike Dick and we were playing the Redskins and I was playing

against Dave Butts. We're winning by forty points. I get a holding call in the fourth quarter and he pulls me, brings me the sideline and yells at me like I just you know, killed my dog. So yeah, there's every story. Believe it. It may sound bizarre, but it's true. I tell people how shoes used to talk on the sideline. The guys go no way, I go no way. You got confronted before you got to the sideline. He was already he was already matched up with you, man, and

you were going to hear about it. And it wasn't over because you still had film study on Monday or Tuesday morning, and that's when he calls you out in front of the whole team. Nothing more embarrassing being called out for whiffing on a block or dropping a key football in front of the whole team, where he'd run that projector back and forth, back and forth. Man, It was like how much more can humiliate a man? In front of all his teammates And most of them were

a lot better players than I was stopping. Tom says that all the time about Dinka. Here with Joe Rose, our remaining moments, we're trying to break down Bears Dolphins, but the stories are better than the game. Honestly, that's the case. All right, let's talk about a cheetah the Blur brothers. I don't know who coined the name, but I found it interesting in my statistical analysis. And I was on the score early yesterday morning and I said, gosh, they don't have a lot of yards after the catch.

Second few as yards after the catch by the Dolphins. So is this because to his accuracy is just getting the ball where it needs to be when it needs to be there on time. So I gotta start with this. I was lucky enough to see Mark and Mark lay Clayton and duper Um, and I used to think they got they got open. I've never seen anything like Waddle and Tyreek and how open they are. You watch it on TV and I'm waiting, and it's clear everybody said,

don't get beat deep. I mean, I get it. My ears are screaming, Oh they got to where don't get beat deep because they blow by the corners and the safeties are just running back. You're not gonna run by us. They're running square ins and and post patterns that they're catching at seventeen eighteen yards. We just got Every time you turn around, we're three plays and we go from our own twenty twenty five into the team we're playing against his thirty thirty five yard line set up for

at least a field goal. Um, I've never seen two guys that open. And I gotta start with Tyreek because he has been sensational, loves to practice place hard, wants to be and we'll tell you he's the best and back it up. And he's got eight hands. They run great routes, they catch the ball in the middle of the field. UM, I now know and I forgot. It's been a long time with two number one wide receivers look like and those two U, one A and one B are special, both of them. It's two of the

perfect quarterback for these guys. Because listen, Tua is better than what I thought he was gonna be coming out of college. So is he the perfect guy for the complement of these two number ones. So so they're all in on him right now. And when I say they the team, I see him last weekend and let's telling the show. And I got home on the plane and in the hotel and see the way the guys like, oh yeah, and Tua is he didn't act like this the last couple of years of Brian Flores. It's a

Brian Flores football team. It's it's a different situation. I think we still need to see more though. Dryce fans nuts when I say this, he's gotta stay he's got stay healthy. He can throw it. And when they told him we're getting a new coach of believes in you and we're going to get you more weapons around it. Toront Armstead never practices, and he just choose guys up and left tackle. I mean, the last two weeks, two of the best pass rushers one I think they each

had one solo tackle in the game. So he's really helped. But adding that guy on the outside that we traded a lot of picks for and making the highest paid receiver has made all the difference in the world for him to go out and Mike is sicky in the middle starting to catch footballs. We got backs it can catch it. So he's got a lot of weapons. It's it's a lot easier to have a little big time strut to you when you've got that kind of horsepower

around you like he does right now. No one thing is one hundred million dollars plus the chubb and you guys really don't know a lot about him other than seeing him from afar? Are you kind of um torn? You gave him one hundred million already without watching a practice play in his attitude in training camp, A are you okay with that? So so I'm guessing I'm giving those guys in the front office has benefit of the doubt because he's been injured a lot. But when he's

not injured, he seems to be really productive. Has been the take. But I think they looked at our defense. We got there's two ways to fix this. You either got to cover better or you got to put more pressure on the quarterback. And then those guys, by the way, nothing against it was like the Chicago Bears when you played the dey five Bears nothing against those guys. They weren't great cover guys. As you know, when we put our game plan together, Nat More, Mark Clayton, and Mark

Duper like guys. If we can block him for a second with Nax's protection, they can't cover our three guys, and that ended up being the difference in the game. Tom, if you're all right with me seeing that here? Oh yeah, But um so we decided, you know, we're hoping that Byron Jones come back at some point. We got some good corners that are young, that are going to get better, but I think they're just like, we got to get pressure on the quarterback and it will help those guys

at the back end. All right, Final question for Joe Rose, our guest here on Bears All Access in Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the score. I'm very intrigued by two players on defense. Javon Holland, a second year player who saw him a training camp and I was like, Wow, this is this is his I love safeties. I think you got to have a safety to be a playoff team. I love saying I want one bad, bad man back

there at safety. And then where's Zavian Howard at I know he's twenty nine, he's a ballhawk, but he's been targeted quite a bit. It Is there a reason for that or is it just because they're staying away from somebody else. No, he's he's a number one guy, and so he tried to play through this growing and they redid his contracts to make sure his money stayed up

at the top where it should be. Off of what he's done is growing, hasn't been he took a week off, he hasn't played as well as he played the last couple of years. There's no question about it. He's still our best guy out there. But the other guy, Javon Holland glad you said it. Man, he can cover, he can blitz, and he can hit. He hits like he's about two twenty five or two thirty. He's got a

lot of confidence. I think he's a little limited the way they can use him right now because he's playing with a lot of young guys that don't have a lot of experience the last couple of weeks, and I think he's, you know, you stry trying to help everybody else and you forget your own assignment and it can look bad. But he is special. Man. They hit a jackpot on this guy when he gets everybody back. For sure, everybody's taking the over, Big Joe, everybody's taking the over

all right, let's do it. I'm in on that one too. I try to think how I was gonna handle it all right, I'm on that. I might already been there with on that one. Rose. Quite the entertaining guests here on Bears All Access. Appreciate you time. We'll see you Sunday. Hey, Tom, Jeff, Thanks you guys, man. It's great being with you guys. We'll see you in a couple of days. Very good. Thank you. JAF travels, Tom and I back with one final segment to wrap things up here on Bears All

Access on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The Score. Welcome back to Bears All Access, brought to you by IGS Energy. Choose clean energy for your home at igs dot com because every good choice adds up to a better world. With Tom Thayer, Jeff Joni back here on Bears All Access on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score. Some great conversations with Nikkil, Harry and Joe Rose. I know we could have talked to Joe for the full hour. So many great stories, but you know the guy's on

the score on Friday morning. Did I have it right that you were on a houseboat with Steve Debergh or did I blow it? No? I did live on a house fault when I was down in Miami, because you know when you get when you get cut by the Bears and you go down to Miami, you have about

a six or eight hour notice. You pack a bag of equipment, you bring a bag of shorts and T shirts, and you head down to my Emmy and Steve and I happened to get brought aboard in Miami on the same day, so we just kind of more were roommates on the road as well. So yeah, I had plenty of time out in living the harbor life. I felt like Gilligan for a minute. It was Shula more similar to Ditka than maybe we realize. Yes, my first game I was dressing, So I played ten games in Miami.

The first game I was dressing, I used to wear a really tight uniform because I swept so bad it would loosen up. I was sitting at the bench with my pants up above my knees, and he came up and made a point of yelling at me before kickoff. He said, so you can't wear your pants like that. They got to be covering your knees. And now you see it, no one was a cover. I was paying attention to me day one, start dressing for my first game.

So it was an immediate example of he wasn't gonna play any favorites and he had an eye on everybody on the team offense, defense, special team. So I kind of felt proud that I got yelled at before I ever took the field for Don Shula, and I admire him.

You know, my opportunity to play for a guy like that, I just still you know, I know this is not previewing the game, but and you've said it many times, and for those who don't know, just the lineage of your touchstones in your life going back to Joliet and you know a famous coach there, famous coach in Mike Ditka playing for a famous Papa Bear his franchise, the start of the National Football League to the USFL, and George Allen was on the staff of George Hallis at

one time. To Mike did get to Don Shula. It's unbelievable what you've been coached by honestly, yeah, you know, even going back back to some of the assistant coaches when I was at Notre Dame for Dandy Vine. You know John Gruden's father, Jim Gruden, Jim Johnson, the great defensive coordinator who passed away too early, Jean Smith, who was now the athletic director of Ohio State. So you've

met all kinds. I've had the opportunity to meet all kinds of personality in every single one of them have left an oppression on me, and including the legend Clyde Emrick, Yes, which is just another one. You know, You've been touched by so many people, right, the first strength coach in the history of the NFL. I think he's the type of guy that should be brought up, should be put in the NFL Hall of Fame, because what now, all these other guys are flourishing within the terms of strength

and conditioning and hydration and everything. Clyde was years ahead of his time, and I know he was a high school coach and a college baseball coach. Gordy Gillespie, did he teach you things about offensive line play that you used? Oh? Of course. Yeah. First of all, we only ran the ball. So it was it was, you know, do your things right. You know what his idea was, if you're on the offensive line, just remember if you're on the back side of a play, your blocks are equally as important or

as if you were the front point of attack. And so some of the scheming that he had as some of the areas of responsibility we had as a backside tackle, you'd think, oh my god, these will never factor in the successible play. But then all of a sudden, you're blocking a defensive back down field from the opposite side of the field in the running back runs you know, alongside of you. So yeah, the importance of every single one of the offensive linemen, including the tight ends. Everybody

played a big role. The Bears matchup with the Dolphins brought to you by Doctor Pepper, the one Bears fans deserved. Jeff Jony Actom thare here as the Bears and Dolphins get together tomorrow nine mr pregame noon kickoff on WBBM. Certainly pre end post game here on the score as well. All right, let's just do some quick hitters here to wrap us up about how this game is to be won. Got an explosive team that can put up a lot of points. Their defense a little suspect. Though Chubb comes in,

he can rush the passer right away. You don't need to tell him too much about their defense to get that done. They are sixth against the run, stopping it. The Bears have the number one. That's the that's their bread and butter. What tips this game, honestly, it is the running game. It's how do you keep their offense all the off the field. If you can go for those time consuming drives that you know, don't allow the opponent's offense to be on the field, that's when you're

going to increase your opportunity for success. And then you don't allow Chubb to be a pass rusher. So when you put Chubb in the game, and you do have a huddle of call to where to line up, what your responsibility is in the run game, you do have to have some knowledge of the defense. If you put him on the field this third and fifteen, he knows

exactly what he's gonna do. So I think the continuous support of the running game the justin fields being a dynamic double threat where he doesn't the defenders don't know whether to rush him or cover. I do think the Bears offense this week has an opportunity to have running

game success like they've had throughout the season. Calling all Bears fans get the ultimate VIP fan package with Chicago Bears VIP, secure a game ticket at appearance from Bears legends and more by visiting Chicago Bears vip dot com. Given what we heard from Joe Rose and what we've seen on tape of Tyreek Hill and Jalen Waddle. But you know, the other aspect of this is that eleven different guys have touched the football, six different guys have

scored touchdown to them. They do have a running game in Raheem most start, and he is also a guy who can catch the football. They have matchup issues that is going to put the Bears defenders in conflict. Here. You got some new guys are gonna get a lot more snaps. I would think Jack Sanborne particularly, But also what waits those defensive backs here and what do you do with the safeties? Do you play him deepest of the deep and just make sure you keep everything in

front of you even make tackles. You're gonna have to play him deep and you're gonna have to tell the cornerbacks the smallest window is an opening for TWA. He's got great accuracy. That's one thing that surprises me most about the emergence of Tuah is the fact that he doesn't have superior arm strength like Dan Marino, but he's got superior targeting from the quarterback position. All Right, Tom, that's gonna wrap us up. Good show, Thank you so much.

We'll see you tomorrow. Yeah, Big Jeff, that's Tom there. Thanks to our guests Nikkil, Harry, the Bears veteran wide receiver, Joe Rose, the analysts of the Miami Dolphins Radio network. Thanks to our producers here at the Score, Dan Brilly and Jordan trade up as well. We'll talk to you next time on Bears All Access here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The Score