Previewing the Vikings | All Access

into another show. Jeff Johnny, Act, Top Bear, Jim Beller with you as we got a full line up once again to tackle the Bears this week. Good to have you alongside fellas brought to you by g Energy. Thank for listening to everybody. Whove got Tris Dickens handling the controls and our score studios, our producer Jordan tread Up, Dan Briley helping us out as well. Coming up at six ten Dieter Iceland. He is an undrafted free agent guard prospect and he is going to join the program.

Interesting journey to the NFL because all roads lead to the NFL on metterwhere or what country? And then at six thirty times good Buddy and Pete Bursch, who played his high school football at Providence New Lennox the Minnesota Vikings radio analysts who join us at six thirty. Jim and Tom, how you guys handling things and house? What's going on in your worlds right now? Big Tom and Jim? Well, you know, like you said, we're getting ready to tackle

a little football information. I like how you threw that little play on words, because that's kind of what it's about right now. You kind of in the hopes that the training camp is going to go on and then you kind of take steps Accordingly, that's not necessarily the guaranteed case, but in my world, I got both fingers, are all my fingers crossed and hoping it happens. Yeah, we'll get a lot of news hopefully tomorrow. The owners

are going to meet. Sounds like, you know, they've come up with some of the agreements on the protocols from the NFL and the NFLPA side of things. You know about you know, players won't be put on NFI, say if a player test positive for the virus, it'll just be essentially what could be a three week i R process and almost like roster exemptions that we brought up on the show as well, So teams are able to combat this, and it's it's going to be a juggling act.

There's there's no doubt. I think everybody's wondering how this is all going to work out or even if, even if it will kick off. So I think a lot of clarity will happen tomorrow after the owners meet and the clarification on that football injury list versus non football injury list is that they would still get full pay if they are COVID nineteen ineligible, and that's really the key thing, and I think that's fair given the environment

right now. Fellas you agree, Oh, I agree one hundred percent with you, Jeff that if you're gonna go out there and you're gonna put yourself out there with the possibility of contracting the virus by you know, rubbing elbows, having collisions, doing everything that you need to do in football in order to be prepared, I do think they

need the protection. But Jim, then you have to be responsible though off the field, and you got to be accountable to your teammates and the building, and you know, it's it's a it's a sacrifice, you know, for five months to get your your team and and your ability to get through the season. Yeah, I really do. I

think players got to be accountable. And you know, every and I've brought this up that every coach asked players with you know that initial missions, the initial mission statement by every coach is just about, hey, can you make the commitment the dedication to this organization your teammates. We know it's basically essentially a five six month deal, and I think players will have to approach it differently, say hey,

you know, I'm well after I leave the facility. You know, I just know for myself personally, I actually had this conversation with my wife. I said, live if this was happening when I played, could you make would you make the commitment where I stayed away, whether it's at a hotel or somewhere in a bubble and I just FaceTime the kids? She said absolutely. And I'm wondering if guys will make that type of commitment and dedication because I

personally know I would. And I saw JJ Watt's tweet tonight from the Houston, Texas He's like, hey, players want to play, and he reiterated three times that the players want to play, and I think a lot of players do and we'll just see how commit committed they are and how they can be to make the type of commitment they're going to need to make in order to be pulled off. Man, Tom, you made that commitment as a player. I mean you put aside certain things in

order to get through a season. Yeah, you know you have to, you know, Jeff, whether you have an injury early in training camp, and you know I can play with this thing. It's gonna have some pain involved in it, but I think I can get through to the end of the season. I think everybody and a lot of guys that I played with, you know, struggled with that

part of football. So this is a completely different type of health commitment because you kind of know what you're possibly getting into when you commit yourself to the sport. But this is unlike a knee injury. That's there's a you know, more things that can happen with this. But again, I would if I was a young man, I know that I would have to and I'd be willing to

commit to it. And just while we're hearing on Twitter and whatnot, you know, J. J. Watt, you mentioned that you know they don't have all the information yet, and I know some teams could start actually bringing guys in on Saturday rookies or even next Tuesday for rookies, and then if it all goes well, nobody's really got a set date the NFL's eyeball in the twenty eighth, whether that is or not the case. They don't have all the info yet on exactly the infectious disease protocolls they will.

Teams have been working on this for months, the testing protocolls, what happens financially if somebody does get the positive COVID, But nothing has been created upon as Gym pointed out, But it's not as if for the fans out there, it's not as if this is a complete in the dark. Oh, we're just going to throw it at you. This will be a discussion and the owners will have that opportunity tomorrow to kick it around and present it to the union.

It sounds like they've had pretty good talks, you know, over the last couple of days, doing framework and stuff like that. It's going to be a process like these other sports have been. And everything you've heard, Jim is pretty much in that vein. Yeah, yeah, I do, and I you know again, I think ultimately the players do want to play. We already know some players with underlying issues. Mark Andrew's a tight end for the Baltimore Ravens. He's got diabetes. Said, yeah, he goes. I think this could

be a special year for the Baltimore routings. So you know, he does have some legitimate concerns, and I don't think anybody would be upset if any player did elect to op out. But as as I mentioned, for these gms, is kind of be going to be a juggling act. You have to have players available, because I think everybody understands if there are and luckily they've gone down, whether it's in the MLS, Major League Soccer, or even the NBA,

you know, the positive tests have gone down. Teams are going to have to have a reserve to tap into, you know, say before a practice or a game, a tight end or a running back goes down. You can better have a stash of players that you can tap into to fill those roster spots. Right now, the Union releasing seventy two known cases of players through last Friday, July tenth, about two point five percent of the twenty eight hundred player NFL Coming up next, one of the

newbies of the NFL for the Bears. Dieter Iceland, off African native, former rugby star and Olympic weightlifter, now a Chicago Bear trying to win a job on the roster at offensive line. He'll join us next on Bears All Access here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to Score. Welcome back to Bears All Access, brought to you by IGS Energy, a proud partner of the Chicago Bears, providing electricity, natural gas, and homewarrnty products over one million customers across

the country. Learn more about IGS Energy at igs dot com. Jeff Jonny Yakolong with Tom Thayer and Jim Miller former Bears, Here on Bears All Access on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The Score, and a warm welcome to one of the new Chicago Bears, undrafted, a rookie offensive lineman, Deeter Iceland. Good evening, Welcome to the program. We've read your story, We've followed your path to the National Football League. It's

quite the journey and certainly not traditional. From South Africa to rugby, to Olympic weightlifting to Yale and a few stops in between. How does it feel to be in the National Football League. Gater, thank you so much for having me on. Guys are really appreciate it. It's definitely a dream come true and something that I didn't think was possible six or seven years ago. So I'm really fortunate to have this opportunity in front of me, and

I'm ready to seize it. You know, one of the things about you is that people should know because many players don't have direct paths. Obviously they don't have the pedigree necessarily as a first or second round pick. But you wanted this so badly. You made decisions growing up where you did to come to the United States, play in a high school football camp in Virginia, get recruited without even planning a game from Yale, and then become a three and a half year starter on the offensive line.

You had to make a lot of self sacrifice. Why so much self sacrifice to come into this league when you could have played many other sports? What was it about football that caught your attention? I just love football the moment that I actually sat down and watched the game when I was sixteen, I just loved the strategy that's involved with it, how every single person has a specific responsibility that they have to pull in order to achieve success as a team. And I just love the

physicality of football. I mean, I played racbe grown up all my life, but the physicality and football is just unmatched, and I really relish the physicality of it and punishing people. Well. Dater is a former offensive lineman. I couldn't be pulling for you anymore. I'm so happy and I look forward

to your journey. But you know, when you start playing in a sport football that we're all accustomed to since Pop Warner, but then you start playing it later and be more around in college, what's harder for you the actual athleticism of the sport or the language and terminology you have to learn and use to play the sport. I think for me, originally coming in the ladder, the language was definitely a little bit harder. I mean I soon realized the disparity that exists between water football and

actually trying to play it. I mean, when I went to that camp in Virginia, I didn't know what the E and B gaps were, so I had a far way to go. But luckily I was a good athlete and a really good athlete for my size, so I was luckily able to figure it out once I knew what to do mentally, and luckily I was able to do that during my freshman year, where I felt like

I was forced to develop a lot really quickly. So I think just getting thrown into the fire by my offensive line coach that I had at Yale and my freshman year was really a key turning point for me as a player. Well, Jeff mentioned you got thirty four starts at Yale. Was there ever a time at Yale that you were tempted to can maybe go to that next college level to challenge your skills? Or were you

always content with being at Yale. Well, I think that I really loved the Yale experience, and I'm really fortunate for what the school did for me in the position that it put into me and got me a great degree. I think that if I had the opportunity to grad transfer to another school, if I had not played my freshman year, I think that I probably would have taken

advantage of that. I think that I had the talent and the size and the physicality and the athleticism to start at a lot of schools, a lot of FBS programs around the country, so I think that's something that I would have taken advantage of. But I'm really fortunate for my Yale experience and it's it was just a dream the past four years. Well, Deeter, you've worked hard, and congratulation for working yourself. It's been at an accelerated pace to get to this opportunity and now it's you

know you. Look, you haven't even been able to practice yet with your teammates, and maybe just talk about what is your mindset heading into training camp, your first one of your young career. Yeah, obviously we're in a very unique situation, but I feel like our meetings that we've had over Zoom starting in May have really been productive. I've really enjoyed getting to know the coaching staffs and especially Coach Castillo and my fellow rookies. And it's not

like we were slacking the whole time. We were really working hard. I had to adjust to the new techniques that Coach Castillo was teaching us, and I really trying to ingrain that into my body, and I sent him videos on a daily basis, just doing the same thing over and over and over again until it's second nature. So obviously it's a very unique situation with everything going on right now with the novel coronavirus, and we don't know necessarily what's going to happen in terms of training

camp being delayed or unique protocols or all that. But all I know is that whatever opportunity is put in front of me, whenever that is, whether that's next week or a month from now, I'm going to seize it to the best of my ability. Well, let me followed up. Can you give maybe an example of a technique, like you said, because once it becomes rope memory, you know, that's when it when it sinks in and you're just

kind of reacting from that standpoint. But what specifically do you feel you've had to work on in terms of those techniques from Coach Castel. Yeah, So, Coach Christillo is a great pass protection technique that's very different from what I used to do in college. That is preset to the different defensive alignments of the defensive lineman, and it's just something new that I had to learn that's a lot more detailed and specific. But I think it makes

a lot of sense. And all the film that we've watched of his past guys who have followed that same pass protection technique. It works, so I've just fully dedicated myself to learning it every day and really just getting used to It. Was very feign at the beginning, but I feel like I've become so much better technically, and I wish that I had learned that while I was in college because I feel like it would have elevated my game even more. So I'm really excited to put

it to the test and on the field. Bears rookie guard Deeter Ice led our guest You're on Bears All Access on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy score, Jeff Tom and Jim Deeter tell us what Stellenbosch, South Africa's like, and there are are a lot of kids playing football over there. Unfortunately, I think I'm the only player from there, but hopefully hopefully can inspire some other South African kids as well.

But Sellembosch is a great town. It's really beautiful, very close to Cape Town that's a little bit more famous. But Sellinbosh is just a little bit north and it's got beautiful mountains and vineyards and it snows on the mountain peaks a little bit in the wintertime that it is there right now, so it's It's a really beautiful place with a lot of rich history. So I love to go back and visit my family and I hope to see them soon, barring everything that's going on in

the world right now. So, Dieter, I have a two part question read about your Olympic weightlifting background. Are so you still able to incorporate in your football strength training number one? In number two, have you ever served in South Africa? So luckily I am able to incorporate Olympic

wa lifting into my strength program. I love doing hand cleans and power cleans and snatches and all of that, so luckily I have I've built the foundation in order to succeed in those things, and I think they're great movements to build your explosiveness and your speed and your power and all of that. So I love Olympic way lifting and I owe a lot to the sport. And unfortunately I have not served as much as I would like to, but I would really love to in the future.

So I think that once I don't weigh three hundred and twenty pounds, I'll tick. I'll tackle that endeavor. Well, give the listeners an example, because obviously the weight room and you've probably done a lot of max lifts in the weight room. Say the Hank clean. What you're just about? What what type of weight we're talking about that you could max out on? So my max that I've done Hanklean is three eighty five. That's my best that I've

ever done. And when I was competing when I was seventeen, eighteen years old, and the full clean and jerk I did three sixty five and in the full snatch I did three hundred and fifteen. So I'll tell you what, nobody was better in the weight room than Tom Thayer back in his day with the Bears of Tom. How did those numbers stack up with a young guard out of Notre Dame back in the day. Well, Dieter, I think the first time you get into Hollis Call, I

think those lifts are impressive. But I want to tell you about Clyde Emeric who's up in Hallis Hall waiting to greet you. He's one of the greatest Olympic lifters in the history of the sport. He's read about you and he wants to meet you. So when you do get a chance, go out and seek the oldest guy in the building. And that's Clyde Emrick because he wants to, you know, hear about your weightlifting venture over the your lifetime. Yeah,

that sounds great. I'd love to and fully us some tips so I can hopefully add some twenty pounds or so. That'd be great. Well, the big part of it is it's all about want to when you're in the weight room, and you know Tom's taught me and Jim has taught

me many times. Off seasons are really where a team develops the bond and the chemistry and the desire to be a winner and before any media gets their eyes on them, before any fans get their eyes on them, and even before frankly coaches do, and it's in that weight room or as Jim's team in two thousand and one, they knew they were going to be a winning team, and they did. They go, they won the division, they

go to the playoffs. Short of that, this is your first experience in your football playing life not to have that type of offseason, and you're a rookie and you're undrafted, and you're relatively in terms of experience level, new to the game in many respects, Does that create an opportunity In addition to the challenge for you that you're you're

basically something that's going to be molded into an NFL player. Yeah, I mean I think that I've I've faced long odds before, and I'm truly a believer that you are responsible for the opportunities that are created in front of you, and you're responsible for seizing it to the best of your ability. So I think that those are true things, but I don't look at them as negatives. I just view them

as obstacles to be conquered. So I know that it's one thing that's lacking with the offseason now is just the ability to actually run place together and get that team chemistry that's so key. But I think that a lot of guys have been really been studying diligently on their iPads, so hopefully once we get there, everyone will be on the same page and we can just get the ground running. So that's definitely what I'm vidden happening,

and hopefully it can come to fruition. Hey Dieter, are you do you have the ability to do the proper conditioning to get ready for training camp? Excuse me, because you know, I don't know if there's things you've learned in your past to get you prepared for the conditioning part of it, or has coach Uanca Steal been able to tell you or encourage you to do any type of specific conditioning drills. Yeah, so I mean for the

conditioning itself. I think that what I do is I usually simulate running twelve to fifteen play drive and I just pick random plays in my head and I simulate it on air, and then every twenty five or thirty seconds, I just run it again and go over again. So I do that in conjunction with actually running the conditioning for the conditioning tests that we've been doing, and that's always really good to get yourself into that top end shape. But I think just simulating those drives is what I've

been doing to prepare myself well. And in my experience, it's just how quickly you can make a routine for yourself. I know you've probably been in a routine for the Zoom meetings and how you go out on and get your work done to apply it. But for training camp, you know a lot of it is about getting a routine and just really get into the grind of things. How quickly did you sell into that routine at Yale where you could excel at which you did, and how quick you know, do you think you'll be able to

quickly be able to do that here in Chicago? From that standpoint, yeah, I think that routine and self discipline is so key to success. I think that that's something that I've tried to apply to everything that I do in my life because I think that it prevents you from giving into your moods or your feelings of that day, and you just given to what your self discipline is and allow that to dictate what you need to do,

which is the hard work. So I think that that's something that I did throughout my time at Yale and why I was able to succeed as a students and as an athlete. It's just by controlling my time effectively. And I look forward to doing that in Chicago now that football is my sole job. So now I have twenty four seven to dedicate to it, and I look forward to dedicate all my time to it. Get better every day. Theater before we let you go, and we really appreciate it all the time you've carved out for

us here. We hope to have Beyon again someday real quick We're very thrilled that you watched that Notre Dame Stanford game in twenty twelve, because maybe he never would have played the sport. Is that far fetch to say? Or No? I don't think so. I think that that was such a great game and it was really just

a thrilling experience for me. I just I remember just passing through channels and seeing it on there and just giving it a chance to watch and they couldn't stop watching it, and out of that, my obsession with the sport grew. So I'm really fortunate for that, and I'm really lucky because of where I am at the moment. Well, our guy time here is a Notre Dame grad as well. I'm sure you did your homework on that one. Does you sound like you got everything button up ready to go?

And what'd you major in? By the way, what did you get your degree in? I double majored in economics and political science. Very good, Well, congratulations is a story. I think a lot of people and a lot of Bears fans are gonna be interested in watching you develop every single day at camp. And a big smile on Tom Thare's face right now is a fellow offensive lineman and former starting guard for the Super Bowl Bears and eighty five theater. Good luck to you and now we'll

see you soon. I'll pin Chicago, Thank you so much theater. Iceland from Yale undrafted rookie free agent joining the program. Calling up at six thirty. Pete Bursich, another local product making good. The vikings analysts will break down the vikings for twenty twenty with Tom Fair, Jim Miller. I'mjeff Jony Echo. Let's take a break here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy. The score back with you on Bears all Access. This segments is as I try and find my copy brought

to you by All Access. Excuse we brought to you by CDW. People will get it learn more at CDW dot com. I was in a conversation with Tom during the break, so I got distracted Jim Miller talking about different sport sport obviously, but Shambo today the Memorial Ublin had a four hundred thirty five yard drive and a four hundred and five yard drive today, and Tom was giving me the rundown on his strength. He wasn't gain strength because he saw these young guys that were hitting

the ball so far. So he said, this is the way to golf. Now hit it as far as you can off the tea and then play golf from there. But he was won over for today, so the whole thing of drive for show right. But I'll tell you he is he is at of a golfer, all right. Joining the program, a good friend of ours, home grown from Providence, New lex High School and Notre Dame, seventh round pick of the Minnesota Vikings in his playing days, and now the veteran analyst on the radio for the

Minnesota Vikings. We've begin our series of previews on the rest of the division as we await the twenty twenty season and start a training camp. Pete Burstitch, Pete, thanks for taking the time. How you doing and what is going on up there in Minneapolis? Well, I don't know what's going on in Minneapolis. I'm out in Windfield. I can't take me for a baseball game, fiance. Yeah, I've been hanging out in Hinsdale lately. It's a nice little

nice talent. Have you ever been there? Yeah, nice little bird, nice little bird. A guy of your ilk can afford those kinds of sounds. Yea, are you coaching are you watching somebody play baseball? No, just watching just watching my steps on to be. My fiancee lives in Hinsdale, So I'm out here. I mean, I just it's it's just awesome to be out here in a beautiful day just watching baseball. I mean, this is what you're supposed to do in the summer, and this is uh, this is fabulous,

beautiful day. Everything's everything's great. Man. Well that Cantiny golf course eric beautiful area, great track. Uh. Now, Tom and Jim and Pete. Are we gonna be watching football? That's the big question, you know, I think so, I mean the question of whether or not the fans are in the stands. You know, I don't know the one thing about football though, and I've been to as many professional type sports as I can, from nash car to PGA

to tennis to everything. It's the only sport that's as good, almost as good, if not better at home then when you're actually there. So I think, if if it's just played on the field with no fans, it's still you know, it's still going to be a pretty entertaining product. It will be really odd for the players. But I don't think I mean I still think it'll be very very successful and highly watched if if that's in case, if that's indeed what happens, And that's about where I think

it's going to be. Hey, Pete, But when we're watching the new Minnesota Vikings, it seems like they have a lot of veteran player loss and they're filling it with a lot of young guys. How is that transition gonna go? Because they have the veterans to break some of these young guys in. But you know you're doing a lot when you're counting on a lot of young players with this type of offseason. Yeah, and that's in time. You're exactly right. I mean, they drafted fifteen guys this spring

at the draft. I mean, and if they all make the team, theoretically, you're talking over a third of your foster, you know, being rookies. And you know, I just don't I just don't see you know, that happening. And I think where we're really really young is going to be, you know, at the at the wide receiver position. And we hope that Justin Jefferson is able to come in

and give us some juice with Adam Feeling. But still, I mean you know, outside of guys like Braylon Addison and some others, we you know, Taj Sharpe, you don't have a lot of veteran depth. And you know, are we we've we we we hit we hit it right in the wide receiver draft in nineteen ninety eight, but it's been a kind of a mixed bag since then for us and drafting wide receivers. We've drafted more wide receivers in the first round in the last ten years

than any other team in the NFL. And so hopefully, you know, they get Justin Jefferson correct, you know, get him right. And you know, losing Diggs was big, and what was big is his explosiveness and his ability to, you know, to get behind a defense. And when you have Dalvin Cook and you're hurting teams at Dalvin Cook, they've got to do something to stop him. And you know Diggs, you know, Diggs went. Diggs averaged about eighteen yards a reception last year. Two years ago he averaged

about ten. That eight yard jump was the biggest in the NFL on an average per catch basis. So you know, we need someone to be explosive and get behind defenses. And I guess we'll see if Justin Jefferson can do it. Well. You know, you see you keep talking about getting behind defenses, and I kind of want to go to your defense. This is a Mike Zimmer led football team that usually defense is highlighted. And is Harrison Smith now the most

important leader on that entire defense? Because you had a selection guys on the defensive line of scrimmage linebacker, but Harrison Smith I think he was voted the second best defensive back in the league. But is he your team leader? Now? Yeah, he's he's going to have to be. And we are going to be very very very young at ther you know, at the cornerback position. Mike Hughes will be our other veteran or our veteran corner and he has not been around,

you know, for too long. Holton Hill has been around a little bit, but he's you know, he's been in trouble. He was he had some issues off the field coming into the draft which allowed him to fall. He had some you know, he missed about half the season last year. And that's why we drafted really three cornerbacks, I believe in the first three rounds. So I mean, you have to find bodies to put out there, and it's going

to have to be simple. And I think you're absolutely right time when you look at the division, whoever's fielding the most veteran teams, you know it was already bad enough with how much camp was cut down or really it's not a training camp anymore as you know it, Tom, but you know it's really you know, the veteran teams and the guys who have been played and no defenses, and when they step in there, those are the guys that think that are going to have a much better

shot even if we go to a limited especially if we go to a limited preseason with only a couple of games instead of all four and everything else. So we'll see Pete, Jim Miller, thanks for joining us, and I love Jeff Glady. I loved both your first round picks. But how how has he progressed? And I know everything's been virtual, but he you know, this guy's a tough guy. Played basically the entire year at TCU with the torn meniscus, and then he waited till after the combine to get

the surgery. I mean, is there any updates on where he's at healthwise in order to return and be ready to go for the Vikings. Unfortunately, no, I mean we you know, we haven't. We haven't been allowed anywhere near a facility and that you know, and that's so we haven't been able to see him on the hoof or you know, do anything. But you know, having a number of those surgeries on my knee, it all depends on,

you know, the nature of the injury. If it's if it's just a little repair where you have to take some out, and I think he'll be just fine. If it's a detachment, you know, that's usually something a little different. But to have an entire this amount of time for the meniscus to heal, I think, you know, I think he'll be just fine. You know, he's he's going to be a good player. I think the other guy's got in Cameron Danceler that we drafted. Now, Cameron Danceler did

not do. He didn't have a great combine. He had a bad forty times somewhere in the four sixes. But when you watch him on film, he's a lot faster

than that. He never had a chance to have a pro day, and I think this year you're going to see a ton of that with the draft picks is the guys that didn't do great at the Combine but didn't have a chance to have a pro day and they felt because you know how the draft works, it's all about the numbers really, and you're gonna see I think some guys that are picked in the third round

the fourth round really step up mp starters. And Cameron Dancler's, you know, six foot two, ninety pounds, played in Mississippi State, but he's he's more of your stereotypical corner that Mike Zimmer likes, more like an Xavier Rhodes type player. Let me ask you. I know we'll probably get more clarity as the owners are meeting tomorrow, but players have thrown out some of their protocols that would like they don't even want to do eleven on eleven during training camp.

But just your experiences, right in my experiences, I mean,

this is kind of a leash. And that has nothing to do with COVID by the way, Yeah that's a good point too, But you know, I'm just thinking, yeah, I'm just thinking, how can you a coplist, say, for a young receiver like Justin Jefferson, how's it going to know when to break hot if you're not even do a live blitz period, say well, you know what, here's here's the thing, and I think we've hit that precipice is you know, training camp is there for a reason.

It's it's so you condition your body to take the beating that it does every Sunday, and then you're able to come back the following Sunday and be at ninety nine percent of what you were the week before. And they've already I mean you I've already seen preseason games where you know, it's it's middle of the field, it's second and two and teams can't even run a deep route because the receiver's tongues are hanging out of their

mouths because they're not in shape. You know. So I think that if you, if you do something like that, it's just going to make it tougher on these guys to stay healthy. And you know, you can't throw the baby out with the bathwater. I mean, I don't know. I mean, that's just my two cents, and you know, take it or leaving Pete Bursa's Vikings analysts on Radio up in Minneapolis. Johning us Here on Chicago Sports Radio

six seventy to score. Jeff joni Ac tamp there, Jim Miller, let's tuck Kirk Cousins because after the first month of the season, he flat out toward up. You can make a case that he put up some of the best numbers, if not the best numbers in the NFL. I think it was twenty three and four in the TDD interception ratio and things started to liven up offensively. Where is his head is at? And a new offensive coordinator with

a familiar face and a familiar nameing Gary Kubiak. Yeah, and I think the Kubiak sticking around is going to be huge because nothing's really going to change as far as you know how the offense works, what you call certain motions, and you know it's the learning curve. It's going to be, you know, a lot more flat. And he usually takes two seasons to really get a system fully installed. So I think in that respect, you know,

Cousins is going to be just fine. I think what they have learned with Cousins, and we tried to do this in the green game, in the Green Bay game at home when Dalvin Cook was injured, and that make him make Cousins a pocket passer. He's he can't sit in the pocket thirty five times forty times a game and you're not you know, you're not gonna win. You have to have a good running game. You have to have him on the move with the bootlegs and the

play actions and things like that, you know. I think I think really across the NFL quarterbacks passer ratings with play actions have all been you know, a lot of them have been north of a hundred. Quarterbacks are just better when there is the threat of a running game and we have to have that. And I think from an attitude standpoint, I think Cousins has taken a little bit more on his shoulders than he has in the past. You know, he's not he's not that physical type leader

type of a guy. He's not a tough guy, right, So I don't know how well he do in Chicago. He's just not a tough guy. But he does have unbelievable down the field accuracy, and that's you know, off the play action, thrown it deep. I mean, that's the kind of stuff that that he does well. And I think it's going to be huge advantage for the Vikings, you know, and the Packers. Uh, having veteran quarterbacks coming

back into this fall. Hey, Pete, you know I played in the USFL, so I know what it's like to have no crowd at the opponent's home stadium. So what about you know the weapon of the You know, I actually might have been at one of your games. You know that right when you were with the USFL. Well, you are the person in the stands then so can That's kind of my point because when you think about when we travel to Minnesota or teams go to Seattle and they have these crowds that are supportive as anybody

in the league, and that really helps the defense. How do you think football will be this year when you're you can you can transfer your signals to any stadium you play, and or the offense can hear the cadence in any stadium they Marion, Yeah, I mean those things that's the minutia of the game. That's that's definitely going to change. You know, the hard counts, um, you know you go down. I'm especially places like New Orleans where you can't even hear yourself. Think, uh, these places like

you said Seattle that are just so loud. Um, you know that that's definitely you know, that's definitely gonna gonna change the way defenses operate. Um, I think it's gonna, you know, allow guys to hear a hell of a

lot more, but already mentally taxed. How much more that you can hear, you know, I don't know, Uh, it will be it'd be interesting to see what players respond and don't respond, because Tom, you know this, it's the it's the like the late Fred Zambroletti, who was the trainer for the Vikings for fifty years, said, it's the roar of the crowd. That's what That's what gets you going, That's what gets you pumped up, and you know, makes this thing all worthwhile. And when you get out there

in that atmosphere, isn't that way. Certain guys I think are gonna actually do better, and I think other guys just aren't, are not going to respond well to the fact that there might not be any crowd noise, you know whatsoever. And so I think hopefully at the end of all of this, the players will walk away with a lot more appreciation for the fans and what they do in the noise that they provide, not that they take them for granted, but in the NFL the fan.

There's such a distance between fans and players, you know, there's no not down on the fields. There's this big distance and without the fans being in there, I think the players are going to walk away, you know, after a couple weeks of it, and be like, listen, this is this is no fun. We want you know, we want fans back in the stands, because that's what makes all of this worthwhile. Well, how old your step son Pete uh twelve? Alex Rudeger watching h watching the Hinsdale

Hinsdale Traveling baseball team out here against Winfield. Got me heard they're pretty good. I got I bet the I bet the overtime, so hopefully they'll get more. I fourteen runs scored in this game. So there's a really shady guy taking bets. You got me excited because I just signed my six year old up for fall flag football, so I'm hoping that without a problem. But it's good to see sports are up and running and it's starting

to come back. And hopefully despite it is to stop the NFL players from playing, no, absolutely not, And you know this thing positive and keep going. And I'm you know, I just with all with this gap that's been in athletics.

If the NFL can get this thing going and hit it right, I don't I don't see how it couldn't be one of the more profitable years that the NFL has a Man, I know, baseball is about a third of their income is on ticket sales and all that, but my god, I mean, the TV ratings are going to be off the charts if the NFL can get this together and put a product out there, and hopefully that'll be the case, because I if I'm not calling games in the fall, and it's gonna be it's gonna

be tough. You know, I might have to hang on a Joni X house and just watch the film, and you know, we can, we can yell each other and you know, maybe uh, you know, maybe Thayer and I can take turns being the play by play guy because we both that's all we want to be, you know, a guy like Thayer and me, all we want to be is the play by playboys. But we're relegated. We're relegated to filling in dead airtime in between plays. Yeah nothing, but you guys are you guys are pros, you guys

are experts. Um, all right, before we let you go, and I know you got things to do, so appreciate it. Um. What's what's a Vikings view of the Bears, a team that has really been a difficult opponent for the Vikings over the years and again last season. What's your view? Yeah? Especially, yeah, especially you know, especially at your place. I think, Um, the one thing that I noticed or that we saw and we talked about and with with the Bears is what have you guys done to address the guard position?

Because you know, the offensive line has been I think has been the problem, so to speak, because you're not you're not actually letting your quarterback play the way I think he's best at playing. I mean, obviously people aren't disappointing them what he's done and how he's playing, which is why he brought folds. But at the same time, I don't care who you put back there if if he's going to be getting pressured because guards and pass

protection now are so important. I mean, Thayer would have made millions now instead of tens of thousands of dollars had he played right now and been able to pass protect because some of your best pass rushers are interior defensive linemen, so you know for us, I think for

the Bears. I mean, if you guys stay healthy on defense, you know obviously you're going to be really really good, and then offensively just should you know, showing up that offensive line all right, Pete, can't wait to break it on down when it actually starts up again. Thanks for joining us, man, have a great time here. I hopefully, hopefully we'll get to see you in a couple of weeks, a couple of months, or whatever time it is. I just hope we get to see it. Sounds good Man,

good to talk to Pete. Stay healthy, stay good. Say had everybody Pete Versus King's analyst down radio joining us? We have more Jim Miller and Tom there after this break on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The Score. Fans with Tide Cleaners at home pick up in delivery, Cleaning your clothes has never been easier. Simply sign up at your local store, sit out your journey clothes, and one of our Tide Cleaners professionals will come directly to your

home for a totally contactless experience. Visit tide Cleaners dot com to learn more. Jeff Joni act top there, I'm laughing. Jim because Tom goes old school. Now he does his laundry, he hangs it out on the clothing line outside. That's how he drives it. That's like the good old days like Mama used to do. That's right. Yeah, you know you need that breezy wind. But it does smell better when a tongue outside like that and you get that breeze through the wind, so your clothes smell good. I

used to love that as a kid. My recently departed mom would be so proud of me to carrying on what she did my whole life. And it's still the same clothes line, same clothes pins and everything. So when I do it, I think of her. Yeah, good idea looking down and seeing her son take care of business. All right. Coming up this week, and it's been started since Tuesday, the Bears launching their three part documentary series

Meet the Rookies, brought to you by Mercedes Benz. It's a sixth year in a row that this has been done a little different obviously this year Laurence Greedon joined me and remotely obviously doing it by zoom. But it tells the story of three players and their journey to the NFL and their own words, and these are all going to be combined on a Fox thirty two show coming up on Saturday at nine thirty pm and on Sunday at ten pm this week, So meet the rookies.

Check it out. Those rookies include Cole Comet, Jalen Johnson, and Trevis Gipson. Fellas, and I know you guys have seen some of the pieces online they've been coming out, and Tom Trevis is really a driven young man. He's a fifth round pick and you can't get him off the topic of what put that chip on his shoulder, and it's that he got one division college offer and

it still bugs him. And we asked him over and over different ways of saying what motivates and what drive It came back to that simple fact and if that's enough to carry a guy to be successful and a star player of this league, then so be it. Oh. I think Khalil Mack is kind of the same way because he didn't have a lot of scholarship offers either coming out of high school and then you look what

he transformed into. Trevis Gibson, you know, Jeff, when I watched the rookie thing that you and Lauren did, so'm I. You know, I'm always impressed with guys that have an athletic bloodline, and he does. Man, his dad is a big athlete, like you mentioned, his grandfather played for the Raiders, his brothers basketball player at six to eight, and so yeah, this guy is driven by positive athletic influences in his life. And I really hope he gets a chance to flourish.

But when I was, when I after it all was over, Jeff, I was wondering, are we looking at Khalil or are we looking at Robert Quinn? So, I mean, in terms of stylistically a little bit of everything. Are we looking at a defensive van that's going to be in a three point stance? Are we looking at a linebacker that's gonna be rushing out of a two point stance? Are we looking at a guy that has a lot of different instincts than Robert Quinn or a guy that's as

destructive as Khalil Max. So I can't wait to actually get my eyes on him. Jim. I'm thinking they're gonna start him out an outside linebacker and see how he grows. I mean, we're talking about a two hundred and twenty pound kid. When he showed up at Tulsa. Yeah, and he has. He has grown into his body. He's got tremendous athleticism. But hey, whatever drives you, Jeff Well, I mean, if it's being overlooked, so be it. Use it to the best of your ability, and dig deep in that

tank to fulfill what you want to get done. If that's what drives you, go get it. Jim Miller, tomp there, Jeff Jonny Act. One more segment to go Where to the top of the Hour and Bears All Access with Chris Dickens, our producer on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to score. Sometimes nothing beats the classic Miller Light the original light beer proved with great taste and only ninety

six calories available for delivery. Celebrate Responsively Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, ninety six calories, three point two cards for twelve ounces. At PNC. We're Bears fans just like you. We know that no matter how far below zero the temperature drops, your passion keeps you coming back for more. And you can get certain discounts at the game and online that help you show your passion with the Chicago Bears. P ANDC Bank Visa debit card because with PNC Passion pays.

To learn more in for details on discounts, visit p ANDC dot com Slash Bears card visas a registered trademark of Visa International Service Association and used under license copyright twenty nineteen. P ANDC Bank National Association Member FDIC. For over thirty years, IGS has been helping consumers take control of their energy. The IGS family of companies provides natural gas, electricity, green energy options, solar power, lighting solutions, and home servi

products to over one million residential and commercial customers. We can help you make energy choices that fit your needs, and we are inspired to make an impact in the communities where we live and work. We are IGS broad partner of the Chicago Bears. Learn more at IGS dot com. Pain or injuries can happen anywhere, from going on a run or doing chores around the house. But no matter

where your pain starts, Athletico is where it ends. During these uncertain times, Athletico remains open as an essential service to deliver safe, affordable and effective treatment options, both in clinic or virtually through a secure online video chat. Don't delay treatment. Request an appointment today at eight seven seven Athletico, or go to Athletico dot com and start feeling better

tomorrow Athletico Physical therapy better for everybody. A hyper converged infrastructure simplifies your data center, simplify storage, and simplifies maintenance and scalability. However, implementing all that simplicity can get rather complicated. That's why CDW has solution architects to help you cut through the clutter and determine the right workloads to move to a hyper converged infrastructure to maximize productivity, increase efficiency,

and deliver simplicity. Visit CDW dot com Slash Data Center to learn more about hyper converged infrastructure solutions. CDW people who get it. Sometimes nothing beats the classic Miller Light the original light beer, brewed with great taste and only ninety six calories available for delivery. Celebrate responsively, Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Ninety six calories three point two cars for twelve ounces. Hey Bears fans. It's important to stay connected now more

than ever. In at Motorola, we love making that possible. With a new razor, you can enjoy staying connected a little bit more. It's a phone, it's an accessory. It's an icon reinvented. Hello Moto, Jeff, Joni Actim there, Jim Metal, rapid things up, another edition of Bears All Access. All right, some quick hitters, fellaws, I like doing it. In the final segment, we've got about three minutes to go. What position needs preseason more than any other? And I'm not

talking about practice, I'm talking about game action. I don't know if it's gonna be zero, one, two, three or four, but we're gonna find out shortly. We'll start with Jim, Jim, what position group? I'll just say the whole offense, because I think we know what's That's no fair. You got to pick a position group back up. I mean in mesh points is what i'd say. The run game specifically, Tom take it away, Well, Jim, I'm following your I'm

going with the quarterback position. I don't want a decision to be made during the regular season, if there is no preseason games, I don't want, you know, I want some clarity in this competition because it's the most high profile competition of the off season. Now, I'm gonna go with offensive line. I really think, as we heard from Pete Persis, and that's where the game is won or lost in many cases, so I think it all starts

up front. Got to get that thing ironed out. Okay, in terms of Riley Ridley against Javon Wims, and it's more than that, there's more bodies now competing for jobs at different assets. You want a basketball team playing receiver all shapes and sizes. These guys are similar in their style and so forth. Who needs to and who will have a bigger impact, Tom, I'm going to Riley Ridley. We have a lot of experiences, a lot of plays, a lot of training camp that we've been able to watch.

Javon Wims he has the ability, the talent, the athleticism to play. But I think with skills, bloodline of the position, you know, I think Riley Ridley can be the benefactor this year. Yeah, highly touted in terms of his route running and stuff. I expect a big jump from Riley Ridley. I know where the offseason has been the way it is, but I think he's counted on to really make a contribution.

All Right. When you talk about a guy like Rashad Coward, he's trying to win the starting job at right guard. He's gonna compete with jam Jermaine Efetti, who's got a lot more experience, not necessarily at the guard position, but he's built to play that powerhouse position. Rashad is still raw. He did get those starts last year. He works extremely

hard at what he does. The value of this still young player, even if he doesn't win that starting job, He's what tim there seven offensive lineman on the game day activation. You have to be able to play multiple positions, James Daniels. He can play guard, center, Cody Whitehair garter center. Rashad Coward's got to be able to play garden tackle, but he's got to play all four of them. We've

seen that he still has some experience to live through. However, he's got to be mentally sharp as anybody out there. Jim Hay, He's played, he's got some work in. That's money in the bank, all the experience he got last year, so he's got to build from upon that as well, and I think he will. All right, fellas, we gotta run, Thank you so much, stay safe, have a great weekend.

We'll talk to you next week for Jim Millard, Tom there, Jeff Jonihacs saying good night, Chris dickens Our producer Dan Brilly, Jordan dread up Our producers as well, and thanks to Pete Burschen Dieter Iceland the undrafted rookie guard. I have a great night, everybody. Thanks for listening to Bears All Access on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy. The score good eight. Thanks for listening to this Chicago Bears Network presentation of

Bears All Access. Podcasts are available on Chicago Bears dot com and on iTunes, or download the official Bears mobile app. Bears All Access has been brought to you by IGS Energy and sponsored by Miller Litte