Robinson talks rookie debut | All Access

with Bears rookie defensive end Dominique Robinson. W Also here from Packers radio analyst Larry McCarron, who spent some fifty years in that organization as a player and broadcaster. Not unlike Tommy over here, I always tease you, but it's a reality though too. You do get your game face on for this week. You're tired of getting beat twenty one and three. The Packers are over the Bears in

the last twenty four games. Yeah, it's crazy to think about because even the preaching points by Mike Ditk in the eighties when we are dominating this series, he always mentioned, you know, a week in advance, you can ever take these guys lightly. So it is that cliche, you can the records can go out the window. Yeah, they can. Because both teams play hard. It means a lot to both fan bases. There's a lot of excitement that goes along with one franchise that's either sustained a bunch of

victories or a franchise up and coming. And may you turn the page. So, I, honestly, I don't know what to expect. I'm encouraged from what I saw to San Francisco. I still think Aaron Rodgers is a great football player, but I think they have a lot of vulnerabilities that the Bears as a coaching staff can take advantage of.

What are they And before you answer that part of it, can you explain to people, because you're born in Brett Chicagoan, you grew up hating the Packers, you grew up playing them, and while respecting them, you dominated them most of your career. And then you become an announcer and you are getting dominated by Brett Favan, Aaron Rodgers. They thrown one hundred and twenty one touchdown passes by the two of them

against the Bears. But so when you see green you really see red in your ice just because the people that are involved in the rivalry. When you know Mike Dicka hated Forrest Gray, and then you had a late hit of Walter Payton out of bounds. You had the seconds after the play was over, late hit against Matt Suey. He had Charles Martin at the end of a play grabbed Jim McMahon around the shoulders and slam them to the ground and injured his shoulders. And there's a lot

of other things. And I remember the first game I ever went to as a Chicago Bear fan was Chicago Bears against the Green Bay Packers. But it's the violence and the voices of the fans from either team, and then for us, the disappointment of walking out of that radio booth down to the team bus and you look at the negative expressions on every single person's face over

the course and the career of those losses. So I mean, I just want to walk out of that stadium with my feet ten feet off the ground with a smile. That's gonna last the entire drive home, and it's going to carry me through the whole week. But you never know the outcome. You saw what happened this past week.

And when I talk about the vulnerabilities and you talk about the offensive line of the Green Bay Packers, if they have substitutes in there for Jenkins and Boti Are you never really know how they're gonna play and they're gonna react. They gave up some pressure with the Minnesota Vikings.

But if they take these two guys and they insert them in the lineup, so now you think that bat the Ari after not playing for a couple of years and Jenkins after not you know, playing the last few weeks, they're going to be right back to where they were and they're all pro lives of their career. And then obviously it's hard to ignore Davante Adams. He was targeted so many times by Aaron Rodgers that it's impossible to ignore when he leaves the football team. That's a relationship

that takes years to develop. It's not just something that's going to take plays over drafting a kid a couple months ago, in putting him on the field and all sudden he's gonna be Davante Adams. That's impossible. You need thousands of reps between a quarterback in a receiver to know what you're thinking against every single coverage. Well, Sunday.

As regards Baktiari, six hundred and twenty five days since he tore his ACL in a practice, and it'll be two hundred and fifty two days since he made an appearance. Late last season. He had twenty seven snaps in the finale at Detroit, but he's had complications. He was seen gingerly walking around at practice, and Matt Lafleur this week said he did not have a setback, and even during the season, he's not going to practice three straight days.

This is going to be you know, he's highly regarded. Obviously, everybody thinks he's arguably one of the top left tackles in football. And then on the other side of it, you're looking at Elton Jenkins. I mean that ACL tear was week eleven last year, So you're right, these guys are not going to be a hondo mentally. Even having those guys back, does that give your quarterback a different

comfort zone? No, it gives you concern because when you look at what you have to do, the multiple jobs at an offensive lineman is required to do their side to side movement. They're back with a little bit of force to be able to stop the rusher, the understanding how they have to work with the tight ends to their left. If you're a left hack on the guard to your right. You know, there's so many aspects of

offensive line player that takes years of developing. Just like we talked about Davante Adams and Aaron Rodgers, the five guys on the offensive line, it takes time for those guys to develop their relationships and they're understanding how each other works. And it's impossible just to insert a player at any position after a significant time off and think they're gonna pick up right where they left off. I think you can take advantage of it. First of all,

you got to stop the run. I think coming into this game, Jeff, before I said okay, we got to stop the relationship of Aaron and Davante, this is stopping the running game. And you can do it as a pass rusher. I had a defensive line coach, John Tierley that always used to say, stop the running back while you're sacking the quarterback. And so that means make sure you play your run responsibilities and you have to hold up to that end of the job, but make sure

you're almost rushing the passer every time. And when you talk about four defensive ends, and when you talk about Robert Quinn, al Quentin Muhammad, Travis Gibson, and Dominique Robinson, there's a variety of rushers there. There's a big arsenal that these guys have to be ready for so and then you're going to be able to hear the snap count from Aaron Rodgers and it may give these guys a better jump with secured footing after last week, but

that snap count's dangerous as we know. Yeah, that's not there. I'm Jeff Joniya Coming up next. We visited with one of those defensive ends. He came on the scenes strong in his first game, Dominique Robinson. Coming up next. This is 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. Jeff joni Act Tom there here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to score our special guest this week before the Bears meet the Packers, Dominie Robinson. The six five two hundred and fifty three pounder. We've had you on the show before, but not face to face. So it's good to meet Canton McKinley, Canton Timpkin product. And that's Tom Fair of course, super Bowl Bear. I usually lead off the questions, but you know I'm gonna I'm gonna defer to the vet right here. I'm gonna

defer to Tom there to lead the conversation here. So Tom, you get first crack at Domedy. Throughout my career in the NFL, I used to play against the player for the Detroit Lions. His name was Eric Williams, and he did a double hand slap and it was almost so much mentally in your mind that you had to think about it because he was so good at it. Your first sack against mc lynchi was that double hands flap he got off balance. Boom, you turned it into a sack.

Did you know you were gonna use that move before you did it? Because it's a reusable move that you can use multiple times in your career. Yeah. So when I moved to d N that was the first thing that I worked on, the double hand swipe. So that's something that's I've been I've been repping for two years, two or three years now, so I'm that's like my go to. I don't even have to think about it whenever I get close on the guy that's coming out.

So yeah, when that when he overset, it happened immediately. So now let's talk about your other sack. So you're going against Trent Williams. He doesn't give up sack man, he's a bad guy. Did you know what you were gonna do or did you just kind of fall into the rhythm of the play in your vision? I fell into the rhythm. The tight end was so close that I thought he was going to chip. They showed on tape that when they're that close, they chipped. So I took a step down so that I don't get chipped.

But he didn't. He didn't chip me. So after that, I just converted into my pass rush, put two hands on him. He overset a little bit, and then the quarterback stepped up and I just felt fell back. You mean, I know this, but he didn't give up a sack last year. You certainly know it's a nine time consecutive Pro bowler. But coach Eberflus on The Coaches Show Monday, night.

We were discussing that very play, and he goes the level rush as opposed to going way outside beyond the quarterback like a lot of great pass rushers do, you know, feed him to the wolves in the middle of the defense. But that level rush made total sense with me as tim as an offensive lineman. A level rush the dominique did there forced that quarterback to just kind of, you know, stand in there, and then Trent Williams had to make a decision too, right, right right. So that's something I've

been working on ever since I got here. Coach Trive has been on us about level rushing. For d lineman has one you know, don't get too high on the quarterback and open up a huge B gap to let in a quarterback escape. And you know that's gonna be big this week. As you know Aaron Rodger loves to escape through the B gap, especially with these running quarterbacks. We learned I with Justin throughout camp and everything, so I can always keep that in the back of my mind.

I try not to get too high and loop around to open up a be gap. That makes the job harder for the two inside guys and the guy on the other side. Rushing. So you know, I try to I try to incorporate everything that I learned time with a level rush for an offensive lineman. What does that do to you? It makes me paranoid if I'm not

kicking inside er know where my help's gonna come from? Yeah, because as you mentioned there, I think the play before you got that sack, there was multiple tight ends lined up over you, and the two tight ends locked you. So I like your process of thinking, making sure you know where where the tackles help can come from, or where the chippers can come from against you, right right?

I just you know, I'm to the point where I'm like, I know my role in this team, and I going into the game, I was like, as long as somebody gets to quarterback, I'll be good, you know, whether because I know I contributed to at some point, you know. That's that's how my mindset is. I know, if I don't get past the level of the quarterback and I don't let him escape, somebody else is gonna get to him. That's how I trust my guys, and that's how we are in the room. So when you had the one hand,

I was talking about it today with Dan Hampton. One of the Hall of Fame defensive linemen in the history of the Chicago Bears. When you had that one handed grip on Trey Lance, where you're going, okay, I can't let him go, And I got a good grip because you think of your gloves a little wet, the jerseys of the opponents are tight. You don't have a lot of material in your hand. So tell me what you

are thinking. Once you had a grab on him. Yeah, So I literally hooked on to the little cuff in the back where his arm comes out of the shoulder. So I my fingers, two fingers literally just hooked onto that. And in my mind, I'm like, I just got to hold on. I was like, even if I accidentally let him go, I know I held him for a long enough time to wear. My boys can rally and we'll get somebody's gonna get the sack. So I was like,

I just got to hold on, you know. And then it was lucky enough that he failed that at that moment, I just gotta hold on, just hold on. Well, you made people think that you have super strong hands, and maybe you do have great grip, because that guy is not exactly a tiny quarterback at six four two thirty. Yeah, I wouldn't say my hand grip is that okay crazy, but you know, just tell people about Yeah, you know what's it's not hilarious but funny though. How quickly in

the NFL you can become somebody. Right, you were a draft pick right, twenty eight reps, you get seven tackles, a sack and a half. You can arm Russell real quand for the full sack if you'd like. But so, there's an interview that's gonna be played later on in our show Tonight with Larry McCarron, the veteran analyst on radio does time's job for the Green Bay Packers, and he goes, I got a question for you. You gotta tell me about ninety one this guy Dominique Robinson. Wow,

he lashed. But you know, and I was reading through your bio from other um articles written about you, and it's always been that way. Yeah, whatever position, Dominique Robinson flashed. Coaches you know, uh, you go to camps. They didn't know what to do with you. You're such an athlete. But when I told him that you were a former quarterback turned wide receiver and have not played the position very long, he was flabbergasted. Yeah, yeah, I'll I'll take

a transition. Man, it's been a it's been a journey, and you know, God has different things that had different things in store for me, and I'm just trying to go along with it. Dominique, your dad was a great basketball player. Did anybody ever discourage you from playing football? Because you know, there's a lot of different influences in the course of our lives. You know, when you're when you're kind of built like an offensive lineman, that's kind

of your only choice in life for you. You're blessed with athleticism, size and structure and everything. Did anybody ever try to talk you out of it? Man, that's a funny story. So, uh, I went to Tempken first for two years. They closed my school down and they forced everybody to go to McKinley in high school. That first year that we moved over, I wasn't going to play football. I was gonna play basketball because I thought, you know, I was solid at basketball. Don't get me wrong, but

I thought I was. I thought I was trying to make it in basketball. So I literally was not gonna play football that season season. I was not gonna play football. Got a couple of guys that, you know, no football. I thank him to this day. He texts me every once in a while. Um he was like he texts my dad and was like, Yo, this guy doesn't play football, Like he'll get a scholarship for football. At that point, I was like, you know, I gotta put my pride aside and you know, go out here and do this.

So you know what then happened though at Foston Stadium, Tammy, where we did our first game, just you and I together in Canton at the Hall of Fame game. You played the final game October thirty. First you're a quarterback and you flipped into the end zone. There's a still shot of you in mid air, you know, your head head, head over heels type of thing. It was twenty eight seconds left. I think we did. We scored. I think they kicked off and they tried to go you know,

a long bond. But other than that, that was the last touchdown. I had a lot of touchdown But growing up there, does that mean something to you? And you certainly saw a lot of great players come through that building. You watched a lot of those games, didn't you. Yeah, yeah, yeah, My brother played, Um, I think from he graduated two two thousand and six. So great, great teams came out of camp. McKinley honestly got a lot of great players, you know, many more that should have made it, but

you know, uh, just circumstances. Yeah. Yeah, So I'm blessed to be here and represent the city and everybody there. So were you blessed with the body you have or did you have to get into weightlifting from the basketball transition to get the size that you that you have it. I'm surprised at the way that Jeff introduced you ask because everybody as they get to know you, you know, they it's hard to see your size when you're in the jersey and stuff up against the other football players.

How did that transition go for you? Yeah? So my dad is six six. As you said, he played basketball. Uh, you know he was. He was a solid basketball player. I coming out of high school, second team All American coming out of high school play basketball. BG had a shout out the NBA. You know, things and work out for him. So I got my frame from him, honestly, So putting on and taking off weight, it's not hard for me. While I played quarterback coming came out of

high school. I think at two twenty five. When I moved to right receiver, I got up to two thirty four. When I moved to d N I got up to two fifty two, and now I'm at two sixty. So two sixty yeah, smoking, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's feel good. Does it feel good? It's up in Oh yeah, yeah, I feel I feel normal. Nice. All right, we're gonna take a break. We got one more second to go.

With Dominique Robinson sack and a half and seven tackles in the opener against San Francisco, will tap his brain on how he feels about heading up to legendary lambeau Field to take on the rival Packers. It's all just ahead here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the score this second of Bears All Access. It is brought to you by Athletico Physical Therapy. Visit Athletico dot com to request an employment in clinic or virtually and start feeling

better tomorrow. Tom There Jeff Joni act with Dominique Robinson out of Miami of Ohio. The rookie defensive lineman showed out against San Francisco and his twenty eight reps. It leaves you hungry for more, I'm certain, But you know, they want the rotation, they want fresh bodies. They'd love to have a two deep of guys just coming at the offense and making it really difficult for those offensive linemens.

So you know, whatever the role becomes, whatever it is, it's going to be partially that captain mind, right, that you guys got to stay fresh. Yeah. Yeah, So you know, it was a lot of people didn't didn't like the decision in college that I wasn't the starter. But I knew my role on the team, you know. I we did the same thing in college, were looking forward defensive ends that were great at the position. They didn't do anything wrong, they were capable of playing the position, and

we rotated well. So I came into this year and knowing that I wasn't going to start, and I knew my role, and I know my role now. So you know, it's great that I had that experience in college to come into this and knowing that when I get on the field, I gotta you know, handle my business. Bull tank you well, yeah, you know, Dominique. So the first game you play at home, you got a really supportive crowd, you really can't hear the cadence of the opponent's quarterback,

so you just got to watch the ball. It's gonna be the exact opposite in lambeau Field. It's gonna be a quiet crowd when Aaron Rodgers is going through his cadence and he's got one of the most difficult cadences that have discipline against. Have have you talked about it yet in meetings? And is it something that you've ever experienced in your college life with a quarterback that really can take advantage of a silent crowd, so you don't

listen to the count, you just watch the football. I have not experienced that in college, and we have talked about that in the meeting. And you know, our our keys, our main thing on defensive lineman assignment, key and technique. So our key as d lineman, we try not to watch the ball. That's what our coach teaches us. We watched the opponent, you know, So when I'm in my stance, I watched the knee of that opponent and whenever he moves, I move. So I try not to even listen to cadence.

So if you're watching the knee of the opponent. How do you dissect pass the run so quickly? Because I think that's one of the determining factors of what your overall ability can be throughout your career. You got to play the run as much as you're a pass rusher. A lot of that has to do with stance. Some of that has to do with the formation. You know, you gotta kind of look at diagnostic formation to see what they can do from certain formations. But I mean

there's a lot of tell a lot of tips. You look at the don't give us an age, just no, I'm not. You gotta look at the yardage. You know, if it's third and eight, you know us they're gonna pass, so you know certain things. Uh, but they get off is still the same they get off doesn't change. Um, you still have to strike if it's run and if he's if it's passed and you get into your pass rush.

You know what. I tell you what. I love that answer, and I didn't know how you were going to answer it because it's one of the most difficult things for defensive linemen of being disciplined to pay attention to that. Yeah, our coaches, I've been on a coach Drivis taught since we got here. He tried to tell us, don't watch the ball, you know, try to watch your man, because you know, sometimes the ball doesn't the move, the man typically moves first. Uh, if you watch a lot of

a lot of players, they get out of there. Man, those tackles get out of there, and the ball hasn't even moved yet, but the refs aren't calling it. So if you watch your man, you move on your man, you move when when when somebody else moves? Oh? Dommedy Grabbinson our guests here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy score. This is Bears All Access. They went into the locker room today and talk with Robert Quinn about a lot of different things. But he was unaware that you played

wide receiver just a couple of years. I mean, you would think that would be coming up in the meeting room. Hey did you did you know that? This guy? You know? But no, it didn't. As an offensive guy in a quarterback, you had to know the game. You gotta you gotta know defenses. So I'm assuming that transition to defense and how you look at offenses started way back when when

you were a QB. Yeah, it's slowed thing down. Its slowed things down a lot for me and made things a little easier, especially with tight ends and how they're set in the formation with them coming back and stuff like that. It's easy tells. So, I mean, that's that's really the most with it. Nothing easy about going up to lambeau It's kind of cool when you're in a Bears Packers rivalry for the first time. There's gets a lot of attention out of the longer year here. It

becomes more meaningful time he's angry already on Monday. He's got a smile on on the zoom call right now. But believe me, he takes these things seriously because he was in the war so to speak with the Green Bay Packer for so many years. I know Flus's big messages, don't you worry about us? Right? And it does begin there. But you'll appreciate this more as you're in this much longer, you know, not just your rookie year, but you'll never

forget the first time going to Lambeau Field. Are you excited about facing a future Hall of Famer and a legendary QB. Of course. I think it was during one of the combine interviews, I said that I wanted to sack Aaron Rodgers. There was one of the questions like which quarterback do you want to sack the most, and I said Aaron Rodgers because at the time time Bertie was, I think, was about the retire so I said the next best and now I got a chance to do it,

So it'll be cool, happy hunting. What were you what was going through your mind in the pregame warmups. Did you feel you had the right cleats on? Did you have good footing? Were you confident in your getoffs? Because one thing about Lambeau they got the most perfect playing conditions that you may ever be a part of. So what were you thinking pregame in Chicago on Sunday, I had everything right. It was it was perfect. I mentioned

I stood out there. It was raining. I was going out to, you know, do my regular pregame warm up. They're pulling the tarps off the field, you know, and it's porn it's coming down and I think it's me, Brian Pringle and Pettis We're kind of just standing there watching the rain come down, and I was like, man, this is crazy. It was this is crazy. And then once they got the tarp stuff and I stepped out there and I got the moving around. It was perfect. You know, I knew, I knew I had had a

good feeling. I talked to Khalil Herbert too today, Tommy as well, and you know, I didn't see anybody slipping even with the puddles. That that thing, it really held up. So it's going to be a good service for you guys. Yeah, the puddles, I mean, that's that's a whole I mean, you guys did look like a bunch of kids playing out a slipping slide. Right did you go? Did you go? Full body? I went full body on one of the players that uh Trey Lance got out the got out

of the pocket. Me and uh Row kind of doubled up on him, try to hit him on the sidelines. That's one of one of them. And then I did at the end of the game. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Yeah, I did. I did. Once I tried to see I can't I can't swim, so I don't like, I don't like water getting in my face. So when I did mine, I like turn my shoulder and went kind of on the shoulder so the water didn't splashing my face even a puddle. May you crazy? Oh man? Yeah,

really bad experience or what happened? No, you're just you're just afraid to go in there. Oh yeah yeah. Interesting. Interesting. Hey, listen, not everybody knows how to swim. I'm another one who's in that category. So but but the funny thing is watching Justin. I just thought he was running to the locker room when I'm calling the game and finishing up,

and there he goes, and then it's just one afternoon. Yeah, everybody's going So everybody needs that still photo and keep it for posterity, because that was a snapshot moment that you guys are never gonna for the statement. What was the statement we were having. We knew, we knew from the jump that we were gonna win. You can say, oh, you don't do that, you don't do that if it was an upset, you know, if it was one of those things where it's just like, oh man, that was

supposed to happen. They knew, we knew. It's kind of like a big exhale, you know, because everything you guys went through and OTAs and throughout training camp and Matt never took it easy on you. Guys. Then you go out there and play in those conditions. No one picked you, guys to win. You win the game, and that's kind of what it's like. Okay, let's exhale, let's have our twelve twenty four hours of celebration and then get back on track for Green Bay. So I'm glad you guys

were able to do that. If I would have done it, I would have probably hit face mask first and stopped writing. So you know, the lot goes through your money, and you may never in your career. You may never play the game under those conditions again. Yeah, that is You're right, very unlikely. So can you bottle that potion and reserved for the other sixteen games this year? That feeling? Oh yeah,

I've been telling people all week. I didn't do anything throughout this throughout that game though, it was like strat out of the ordinary. You know, I did. I do the same thing in practice. Um, it wasn't that wasn't nothing new. You know, I didn't have to do I didn't have to go to this level to play the way I did, you know, So hopefully, you know, prayerfully I can do I can put to put that together

each week and I'm even talking about the team. You said, you know, you guys just knew you had to win. You guys knew you were gonna win. Can you bottle that up? Honestly, this is the most levelhead of team I've been on sore where it'll it'll be bottled up. Where do you think that comes from? All the coaches? Yeah? You know, since since since I've been here, we've been preaching the same thing over and over and over again, taking it one day at a time, be where your

feet are. It is interesting because I even Tevin Jenkins the other day, everything Maddieberflus has been telling us is starting to come true. Yea, literally, you know that's Tommy. That's a powerful statement. Yeah, you know That's why I like when we got to see Matt Aberflus in the locker room after the game. That I wasn't an overreaction of excitement. It was just, hey, congratulations, count on each other.

This is a foundation of what we want to build here, and let's move this thing forward and increase our in the expectations of the team. And so I think it's a great opportunity to get back to work and nationally televised Sunday night game, Dominique. Everybody that you know in your past is going to be watching this game and watching for ninety one specifically. It'll be fun. It'll be fun. I'm looking I'm looking forward to the experience and being able to be a part of this drivery all right.

Last thing, I know you're a few credits away from your master's in educational psychology. I like to give a shout out to that. You know, the whole COVID. You know era, you guys didn't play a lot of game, but you guys could still go to school and you know, and was that a big reason that you're able to add the masters to the mix? And what do you want to do with that one day? So yeah, that was a huge reason. Um, because I my last year,

that last season, I only played three games. You know, the COVID they granted us another year, so I was like, I might as well started, and you know, I'll be able to finish it at some point. And what I played on doing with it is getting back into schools. You know, I see back home, I just see how much being a male in the schools or and being able to talk to kids and help them understand life. You know, it's because it's it's it's not easy. It's not easy. And I had I had so many people

in my corner that helped me out. So I kind of want to be that guy that's, you know, in the schools, helping people out, being that guy in the corner when they don't have anybody. And I'm certain, because you alluded to it earlier in this interview, that there were a lot of guys, maybe as talented as you were, as athletic as you were, that that did not find the right path right And it clearly bothers you that that's the case too. Yeah, I mean, it's so much,

it's so much talented. It's crazy, it's so much talented camp but you know, you can't you don't see it all the time. It's been good talking to you, Hope. We talked to you down the road again. You got it all put together. You're a married man with a college degree, looking for a master's and in your first NFL game. You're a story. Whether you say you know it's nothing I haven't done, didn't expect to do, you're still a story. And congratulations, good luck keep it going.

That is Dominique Robinson. Coming up next, Tom and I talk with the color analyst of the Green Bay Packers. That's coming up next with Larry McCarron. This is six seventy the Score and this is Bears All Access back in a moment. Game Day is Guac Day, Bears fans and good foods. Guacomaldi uses hand scooped perfectly ripened avocados available at Jewel pick up Da Guac Today. Welcome back to Bears All Access here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score. This segment of Bears All Access is

brought to you by CDW people who get it. With Larry McCarron, the legendary figure in Green Bay Packer's history both as player and analyt, I gotta tell you, I saw what the Packers did for you for fifty years of service to that organization. I don't know them during training camp to share how it made you feel as a former player, but also as somebody who's been a

part of that for over five decades. No, Jeff, it was right at the end of training camp, kind of their last training camp practice, and they kind of gave me a game ball. They didn't kind of they gave me a game ball because all of a sudden had donned somebody that that was my fiftieth Packer training camp, and maybe it means I'm not such a swallow guy, but I have no life, but it was my fifties. So they had a game ball painted up and everything like that, and Matt Lafleur said some kind words. And

then here was the hard part. Jeff like, I had no idea this was going on. And one of the public relations guys says, coach wants to see after practice. I said, what's he need? He goes, well, you just want us to see you. So I said, well, okay, I'll wait over here, you know, and you know they're having the team huddle. That's none of my business. That's private, and he goes, no, no, he needs to talk out here.

And I'm walking out there and I've seen some people look at me, and then I see one of our digital camera people kind of buy me, and I'm thinking, oh, this this may not end well. And so they have, you know, the coach the floor says some really nice things, and the guys you know, I've been around forever. I mean, you know, they're good at me and they got involved. Then they go speech speech, speech, so I blurted out whatever came to mind. I hope it wasn't too stupid.

I'm not sure, but it was a thanks for bringing it up, Jeff. It was a very humbling moment. And I didn't I couldn't, Jeff, to be honest with you, I really couldn't get over it for quite a while. Like I just I was walking around in a days. They can I can't believe they just did that. I just can't believe they just did that, because you know, a lot of these kids, they have no idea if you were a player, if you've been around, or if you're just a pain in the net fucking them after

games or after practice. So it was real nice. I appreciate acknowledging it, but very humbling as well. And h it's been a privilege. It's been a great ride. As you know, it's it's not something everybody has access to or or the opportunity to be around all the time. So it's very nice. I've learned more and more every year. Some of these guys, you know, just in passing in the lunchroom or whatever. You know. I've never been to an NFL game. You know, I don't watch football. I

mean there's a lot of players. I mean, Pean at Tillman for years used to tell me, swear to me that he never watched a football game. I tell on television, you know, growing up. And I'm like, gosh, you know, we have such passion for it. They have passion to play it, but we assume too much because a lot of them, ay didn't have the means to go to an NFL game. It is costly. And secondly, you know, you just assume they have that kind of love of the game. But they love playing the game. They love

the competitive aspect of it. But I'm sure you've run across that too in your career, from just casual conversation. That's another humbling thing. You know, you think you you've made some kind of mark. And after this is burial, Jeff, after something like that little ceremony, you know, I had more than one young fella come up to me. I didn't know you played really? Wow, Yeah, when what's that? And I say, when were you born? You know, tell me the year And I say, but twenty years before

you were born. So don't worry about it. We'll just move on Larry mccarre and our guest here the veteran analyst of the Green Bay Packers. So this is a meeting two oh five, they tell us, hard to imagine the longest running rivalry in the NFL, and I always feel it's the best whether it's there or here. Well, what do you think the theme of meeting two oh five might be? I think, Jeff, already we're at the point where they got to worry about the team in

the mirror. And we cannot assume because last year they laid an egg in their opener and got hammered by New Orleans and then repeated that this year got hammered by Minnesota, that we cannot assume that all things will work out because we did it last year. No, you can't assume that. You got to look at the team

in the mirror. And I appreciate the rivalry and I agree with everything you say about it, but they got to look at the team in the mirror and fix their problems and right their wrongs before they can worry about meeting. What'd you say to five? Hey, terrific? Some of these guys that they don't know anything about the previous two four But I'll tell you what we're reading two o five. You got to take care of your own business, do your own job well, and try to

get this thing back on track against the Bear team. Hey, I started watching the table. They were impressive. They were opportunists against the San Francisco forty nine ers and a wonderful, wonderful win for the new regime. I mean, you couldn't ask for a better scenario. So they're gonna have a you know, a tiger by the tail. So we say, as the Bears come in here in your tape review, what caught your attention about the Bears? You know what?

I've got number one, Jeff, and and this is kind of a selfish thing for our business, as Wow, they have a lot of new guys, you know, before you get down with the lineup and it's like, oh I remember this, I remember that, and and and in the just preliminary stuff I've done Dominique Robinson, Now, is that young fellaw for real? I want to know, Jeff, just

between us, does that get for real? Because we we had issues, We've got hurt people up front, and at this point, you know, I don't know if they're gonna be back, but we allowed four sacks and number of hits against the Viking. So this Dominique Robinson is he for real? Well, if you haven't done your total homework yet, you may be surprised to learn that he's just three years removed from being a quarterback. He was a quarterback and wide receiver, so he's raw. He has played very

little defensive line, but he's got some natural stuff. Now. As a former offensive lineman, you had to appreciate going up against Mike McGlinchey at right tackle, the hand swipe, the cut across your face, get to the quarterback, and then taking out a nine time consecutive pro bowler, getting him on his heels a little bit and getting a half a sack with real quant smith. Yeah, he impressed. And I think he's just scratching the surface, to be

honest with you. No, he just kind of jumped off the table, just jumped off the table, and I'm thinking, and I had no idea of the backstory that he is just a kid, just a babe when it comes to rushing the passer and playing defensive line. Had no idea And I'm sure I'll steal that for during the brook comes to you tonight, it's all yours, buddy. This is Larry McCarron, Green Bay Packers analyst here on Bears All Access in Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to score.

All right, So you got a young group of receivers and he got a veteran quarterback, and it's always painted as though he doesn't have the patience for the development. Is that real or imagined? Oh? I think some of it is real. It's not like he doesn't provide positive reinforcement to him. He does. He gives them a lot of individual attention. It's not like he just seeks his head, walks away and throws up his hands and say, why can't they get some people in here that I can

work with? Now? He's not that way at all. He's really a good leader in that regard. But every once in a while he will say something and say it publicly because I think it encourage his accountability. Like they're aware of what's being said. They know what number twelve says because it's all over the place. So if he's not happy with an individual or a group's approach, and that's what gets the more than anything. It's not so much production, it's the approach. Are you a professional? Are

you doing the little thing? Are you coming to work prepared? Do you take time on your own time and look at film and do everything possible that you can to be ready for that moment when it comes. And for Christian Watson and as I'm sure you're right, that moment came on the very first play. And Jeff, you know, it's just one play, but it's not just play. It might have been a little different game. Who knows, you know, it could be a crazy thing. And momentum's an interesting commodity.

It could have been a different game. I don't know that Minnesota. They beat us in a lot of different ways, but on that very first play, I think I think Christian Watson kind of knew it was going to come to him. I think it had been better off if you knew, you know, they were just going to be a read. They thought they had something, they went after it. It was their beautiful throw in the drop. What are

you gonna do? Hey, you subscribe to the theory as a veteran NFL analyst and player, at five or six plays determined every outcome And you're right, that's seven off the board. And at what would have been a tight game from the stretch, from the start, and instead it became something other than that. So are the Vikings a problem right now for the NFC North? Oh? I think they're better than folks give them credit for because they've had a couple of losing seasons and they had a

big regime change. Jeff, I didn't realize this that this is one of those dorky stats I come up with when I didn't see what happened or something. But the Vikings on that team, they got eleven guys who've been to the Pro Bowl one year or another. And yeah, it's one of those dorky stats that I realize that they've got a lot of players and I don't think that end of it is given enough credit. And you look at their offense. They got a quarterback. Yeah he may not be he may not be Tom Brady, but

he's not bad. They got a running back, they got a receiver, and their offensive line they've invested two number ones, three number two's that has a chance to get better, although I'm not totally sold on it yet, but that has a chance to get better. And then defensively they've got some players there too, So add it all up, and I think the Vikings are a little bit better than given credit for. How do you feel about mobile quarterbacks these days and how it impacts the Packers defense?

How do they handle those those guys more and more coming into the league, and what's your opinion a Justin Fields. Justin Fields, I was watching him because Luke Getsy. I'm sure brought a lot of the Packers offensive package. I'm sure he put his own wrinkles on it, but a lot of the Packers offensive package with him. But the thing I noticed is taking advantage of Justin Fields athleticism, mobility, that that's a bigger part, a significant part of the offense.

And that's a dimension you can't help but appreciate. You know, when you talk about defending the entire field, I mean that's a whole another You're not playing against ten guys, you're playing against a full eleven. Because the quarterback is not going to be a stationary target. He's you know, he's in the mix when it comes to running the ball, when it comes to gadget treat he's in the mitch. He's a piece of the puzzle that you have to account for it. You just can't say, well, this guy

can't hurt us with his feet, justin fields can. And I remember watching him last year. I mean the consistency maybe not there yet, but there was times when he threw that ball It's like, Wow, that is a big time throw. And he's still got that going for him. So he is like, is he the finished product? As I'm sure you'd agree, Jeff, Not by a long shot. But does he have some tools that are really fascinating

and intriguing and for a defense can be challenging. You bet, Jeff, appreciate it as always, and we'll see you up there Lambo. All right, Jeff, thanks for having me every good week. Larry McCarron our guest here on Bears All Access. Coming up next, we'll break down what it's going to look like potentially on Sunday night in Green Bay. Tom rejoins the show. This is Bears All Access on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The Score Calling. All Bears fans get

the Ultimate VIP fan package with Chicago Bears VIP. Secure a game ticket and appearance from Bears legends and more by visiting Chicago Bears vip dot Com. Tom there, Jeff Joniac just heard from Larry McCarron, the color analyst for the Green Bay Packers, who was very impressed with Dominique Robbinson.

Tom as, we were let's peel back the onion a little bit because we've got perspective here while we've analyzed Aaron Rodgers and you've known people that have worked with him in that building in the past, former friends, Bears, whatever, Tom Clement's back there as quarterback coach. The former quarterback coach Luke gets he was asked about doing that peel back the onion a little bit on what Aaron Rodgers is all about. He challenges you every day to be

on it right your details. There's no like maybe kinda sortas you know, you gotta bring in, you gotta know it, and the dude's intelligence level is really high, so you better bring it at the same time, but he loves to have fun and so do I. So that was refreshing to like, here's the best in the business. I'd like to have fun and can always kind of come back and be centered and focused and stuff, and so

like that was really cool. You know, he's a young coach getting up there early on in my career and being able to you know, just be that's really cool. You can do this and I still have a lot of success and people, you know what the good teammate that he was like all that stuff is just I

relate to that a lot. So what he's trying to do, and that was in reference in context to what he's trying to do with Justin Fields, right, And you know, it's all about the know when we always talk about we probably joke about it every show if you think you're beat, and that's the no part for a guy like Aaron Rodgers. And he developed that relationship with Davante Adams where he's trying to go through those countless amount of practice reps to develop that knowing relationship with all

of his receivers. So when you're Luke Getzy and you're a young quarterback coach that's coming in to work with the mind and the brain and the arm talent of Aaron Rodgers, it's got to be super beneficial. But you got to know every single guy you coach is not going to be like Aaron Rodgers. Earlier in the week, the topic of tackling and finishing your blocks at Big One for Matt Eberflew so despite how well the Bears finished and beating the forty nine ers, there was a

lot of meat left on the bone. Is he getting all the way up to the runner, okay, hitting with the proper pad level, rapping and running his feet three hard steps, you know, pulling in the hamstrings and then finishing the tackle. Well, we saw a couple of those yesterday. We didn't see enough there. There was some lunging going on. There was some some things going on there. So we have to improve that. And that's typical of the first game. You know. It's like guys finishing blocks, you know, when

you finished blocks on the backside. Great example that would have been EQ on the touchdown with Dante Pettis. He finished that block, came all across the field and finished and it was legal. You know, he did it a legal way, you know. So and Dante set it up with a nice stem inside into the pylon. So you know, this thing's like that. It's just fundamental those details to that. And no, we want to get better. And there is an unbelievable example almost Matt by example. So on the

sideline they throw a pass towards Jalen Johnson. Jalen Johnson hits the receiver with the right shoulder and hits them out of bounds. If you look right on the sideline, there's Matt Eberflu's telling him to wrap up and come through. It's almost like he's coaching and teaching all his fundamentals constantly. And that's what you need to beat a team like Green Bay Packers. Jeff, you're not gonna do it with

a half hearted effort. You're gonna do it by doing every single thing they've been teaching you since they got here perfectly. All right, let's tick down four or five things, real quick, short answers from both of us. Here. I got to throw the turnover thing on the table. Obviously, the Bears want to take the ball away. That is their culture now. They want to hang out of the football, But Green Bay has an interesting way of making it difficult.

So against the Bears of late major theme with the turnovers, they are plus twelve against the Bears with thirteen takeaways and giving a ball away once. Do you need to win the turnover battle or at least stay even with

them on Sunday Night. You can't give Aaron Rodgers extra opportunities to leave his offense on the field because that's a recipe for a disaster, and I think the running back's got to secure it the wide receivers and tight ends after they make the catch in Justin with his downfield vision, Where do you rate that home field advantage because they've won thirteen in a row at home, significant it's a hostile environment unless you're beating the Green Bay

Packers by double digits. Towards the end of the game. The crowd is going to stay in the game. They are going to be loud and violent. This is gonna be an unbelievable look into the line of scrimmage disciplined by the Bears, both on the offensive line and the defensive line. I don't want to steal your thunder because typically in this matchup, you give a number that has to be obtained by either the Bears or what the Packers can't do. And I'm thinking it's going to be

related to the running game for both teams. What do the Bears have to get to and what do the Bears have to do in terms of yards for scrimmage because frankly, all four running backs that will be involved from both sides of the fence, Montgomery and Herbert, maybe Ebner and then Dylan and Aaron Jones. All can catch the football, all can pile up pretty significant yards from

scrimmage throughout the course of a game. What do you need to see on paper at the end in the run games of stopping it and then also producing and it by the Bears, David Montgomery has to trust the point of attack and be able to hit holes like Justin Herbert did to get those significant six to eight yard games. So the Bears need one hundred and twenty five yards rushing minimum, and they need to keep the Green Bay Packers down to sixty to eighty yards rushing

between the two of them. Give me one more key. Eddie Jackson's got to get an interception. You set it as soon as he got It's the first interception he's adding a long time, and the Bears are eleven at all when he picks off of the quarterback. So Eddie Jackson, give us one from a rob You know you don't have to take it to the house. Just give the Bears an extra possession, All right, big time, we'll talk

down the radio. Our pregame gets underway at four o'clock with Ron, Jim and Jay kickoff at seven twenty on WVBM. Thank you so much. Thanks to our producers. We got Dan Billy and Jordan Trent up the folks at the score. Also to our guest Dominique Robinson the Bears defensive end, and Larry McCarron up there and north of the border with the green Bay Packers Radio Network. This has been Bears All Access. It's been brought to you by IGS Energy.

We'll talk to down the radio Sunday night from green Bay. Thanks for listening to everybody. For Tom Thayer, I'm Jeff Joniak. Have a pleasant evening.