Ryan Griffin on toughness instilled by Eberflus | All Access

talk to you. This is the downtime, as it is every year, the quiet time of year. But it's still not quiet, is it. Jim, No way, no, how no. You know, players, you know they got to be smart. You know, this is when you got some free time, some money in the bank, and you got to make some wise decisions. You know. This is I always bring it up that this was a point where I kind of cranked it up in terms of my training. You're expected to be in shape when you arrived to camp.

A camp isn't sometime that you you're starting to get in shape. You've already built this foundation. So for me, I want to crank it up. But you know, again, time on your hands, be careful, just spend it with family and friends and no foolishness. I mean, the task at hand is just around the corner. And Tom the league would love twenty four to seven NFL headlines, and they still do. There's always something going on, something either inside the game or outside the game, and that has

been the case again this week. And then you know, you talk about the unveiling of the training camp schedule. That's another milestone, so fans are gonna get eleven shots at seeing the Bears up at hallisall. We all agree that it was a wonderful experience to have a home camp without having to pack everything up and go a lot more efficient. Fans are up close, great opportunity. The first one they'll be able to see for themselves is July twenty eighth, so we're a little more than a

month away from that. But just to reflect on what training camp and there's adjustments to another Bear is going to tweak how and the interactions with the players are going to be back with autographs and everything. Just what it would be like at house. On the efficiency of it all, well, you know, continue the familiarity that you've been able to build upon by bringing this whole rookie

class in the Hollis Hall. They know how to get there, they know how to get home, they know where their locker is, they know all the inner workings of the building. That's so no one's ever late for meetings or trying to transition from one area to the next, and they

know the distances in between. The one thing about it, and I think in the next six weeks is everybody was up in arms when they asked Justin about is he ready to play a game, and Justin said, no, I'm not ready, but I'll be ready in ten weeks when it's or however many weeks September eleventh. Is so when Jim talks about what you have to do during this next six weeks, yeah, it's time off from being required to be in the building every day, but it's

not time off from your football responsibility. That's physically and mentally. So I think what Justin Fields can do with the information that he's been able to put on the video and where he's going to go when they start up again, I think it can be as big as a building block as anything that he's faced since he was introduced to Matt Eberflus and this whole coaching staff in this offense.

Tammgat injury, so we knew that Dakota Dozier, the veteran offensive lineman, suffered a leg injury in the minicamp and now had to be placed on injured reserve. He was getting first team reps at right guard. Does that impact you in any way at what the end result will be with that starter at that right guard position. Oh, significantly, because it's rookies or a converted center trying to play

right guard. To me, I hope that they still keep in the consideration that Lucas Patrick may be the best to play right guard if the rookies don't pan out, or Sam Mustaffer is better fit for center than he is offensive guard. You gotta keep at an open mind when you're talking about developing five guys that can play alongside each other for the long haul. And Lucas Patrick has experience at right guard, Sam Mustaffer does not have

a experience at right guard. So you got to keep an open mind, Jeff, when they bring these players aboard. If you don't have a rookie that is really impressing you from day one. You may have to make some veteran moves to put the best offensive line out there, or like I said, consider Tavin Jenkins. Here's a guy that if he can't play right or left tackle, can he play right guard. Jim, how do you feel about it and are you okay with having a super young

offensive line versus some veterans that are thrown in the mix. Well, I think it's it's going to be crucial for Justin Fields. He's got to know his blitz packages and he's got to know his hunts, so you know, if a block is missed, he's got to get the ball out of his hands. So normally you like with a young quarterback, you like a veteran offensive line, but that may not

be the case here with the Bears. So I think it puts added pressure on Justin Fields to know the ins and out so the past protections, way to check plays, you know, to and from, to put his offensive lineman in the best position. And as Tom mentioned, I mean the real you're gonna find out how it really sorts out once the pads come on, once the live bullets, when they go through blitz period and blitz pick up and inside run. It's gonna sort itself out. It always

does on the offensive line. But I do think it's gonna be imperative if they do go young, that it's going to put more pressure on Justin to really know where his blitz pickups are. And it's some and at some point you know they're gonna they're gonna have to go with what they go with at the tackle position while keeping an eye and they will because this is

how it's going to be. Ryan Poles would be constantly having his guys look at seeing what's out there, who's still available, and if things aren't going in the right direction at some point in camp, So Tom, for example, there's some tackles out there still available, guys like Dwayne Brown, Eric Fisher and Riley Reef, two veterans that come to mind that have played the tackle position for a long

time in the NFL. Would that be an area that you'd be okay with if you're not comfortable with what you're getting at the tackle position and the development of those young tackles at the moment, you know, Jeff, what at all three of us experienced last year. Eleven days ten days before camp, they bring in an eighteen year vet who said he's been sitting on a lake shore fishing. So if you look at those players that you just mentioned,

they do have experience. Will they take a responsible amount of money or because they know it's a desperation sign? Are they looking to break the bank one more time? If that's the case, I don't want to bring in a guy that's money hungry. I want to bring in a player that's hungry. So, yeah, the veterans are nice to mention Dwayne Brown. He's been a heck of a

player and he's had a heck of a career. But I'm going to exhaust every single guy that I have on this roster to tell me, Okay, you cannot play. Then we got to look to make a change him. One team that's out there that I think Bryan Poles is very familiar with is Kansas City. They've got linemen to give, all right, They're gonna have Orlando Brown's probably gonna be the highest paid left tackle in the league. Joe Thuney is the highest paid left guard. Creed Humphreys

an All Pro as a rookie as a center. Trey Smith started every game and playoffs as a right guard, and then you've got they've got penciled in Andrew Wiley at the right tackle. But Wiley is competing against Lucas Niang, who they drafted a couple of years ago. They are loaded at their offensive lines, So maybe there a deal can be struck with Kansas City that have more than enough guys to give at both guard and tackle. Jim Miller, Jeff Johnny Act, Tom Fair, We're gonna take our first break.

Coming up, we'll take a look at the defense or the Bears and the status of Robert Quinn. It's all ahead here on Bears on Access on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to score. Welcome ack to Bears All Access brought to you by IGS Energy. Choose clean energy for your home at igs dot com because every good choice adds up to a better world. With Jim Miller toomp there, Jeff Jonahac, good to have you alongside as we break things down. We'll be back with you on Monday as well.

So a quick turnaround, well, Jim, as much as we can in to discuss the Bears of twenty twenty two. We'll start looking into the division as well. Take a trip around the NFC North to see what's going on

with our friends in Minnesota, Detroit and Green Bay. Fellas before the break, I said, we're gonna talk a little defense, but you know, the elephant in the room really is Robert Quinn right now, a veteran pass rusher who said a single season sack record for the Bears last year and an unbelievable bounce back year should have been a candidate as well for Comeback Player of the Year in the NFL. By far the most consistent pass rusher around the team, and he still has a lot of value

to him. Missed the minicamp, missed the entire offseason. Jim, where does that put him in your eyes? And what he may or may not want to be. I mean, we don't have all the details of exactly what is going on or if he will be counted on for the Bears in twenty twenty two, and how does that impact the Bears moving forward? Yeah, I mean, certainly he's a veteran. His role is going to be his role if if he elects to report and shows up in shape, you know he's going to be counted on, I think,

to be a leader of the defense. But you know from that standpoint. He's been in both A four to three and the three four. He's had production in both of those. He obviously is coming off a monster year and probably a little upset that he in a defense that he had a lot of success in. They're going to change it up and do some different things, so he has to be a professional about it. He may not be happy. He may ultimately not be with the Bears.

I personally think he's a trading chip. If some younger guys emerge, they're going to have an opportunity and maybe they feel comfortable where the Bears can move on from Robert Quinn. So I think it's there's a lot of things still up in the air, but hopefully he'll come in, be a professional about it and play is hard and be prepared to lead a team and bring a young defense along. But we'll see where it ends up. I think it's it's open ended, is where this could go.

Tom I'm torn on it personally, because you never can have enough good players, certainly in the front seven. You want to have rotating bodies in there, have fresh waves and go at him and the way they want to attack defenses. You know this guy, this guy is a turnover maker too. It's not just the sex, it's the

force fumbles. Where are you sitting on it? You know, I always think about Mike ditka Ace attitude, character, enthusiasm, and that's the approach I need in this locker room with a new coaching staff, with the young guys on this roster. We mentioned that he and Ryan Griffin are the only two guys with double digit year as a service. So I need to hinder him to come into the locker room every day, go out to the practice field

with a positive attitude. That's going to carry over to Dominic Robinson, that's going to carry over to Travis Gibson and the rest of his defensive ends. That's the attitude I need him to have. And then if I'm looking at Robert Quinn, I'd be licking my chops to stay in this division. This is a group of left tackles that are there's so much uncertainty in this division that he could have another huge year just within the division. And then you talk about the other teams are going

to play around the league. When you talk about the Jets and the Giants and teams like that, So you know, Robert Quinn It's all about attitude. If you come in here and you have a sour attitude from the first day you have to report, I think that really creates a negative vibe in the defensive preparation room, especially in the defensive line room. So I've totally impressed what Robert Quinn did last year, and I hope he comes in

with that same determination and that same attitude. All right, Tom, let's have some fun here, because you you just said something that kind of opened You said there's uncertainty at the tackle position in the division. So now why do you say that? And I trust you because you know offensive line so well. So in the division you got Taylor Decker at left tackle in Detroit and a suet right tackle David BACHTIERI assuming in Jaredy. He's got to be helping now, right he recovered that Now there that

there's I was just reading a report. They're still uncertainty about his health status. Elton Jenkins is assumed right tackle. He played left tackle. Christian Derris saw the young tackle at Minnesota, Brian O'Neill pretty good right tackle at Minnesota. So where where are you? How are you feeling about these Why do you feel this way. I guess because Kirk Cousins and Jared Golf are slow quarterbacks. They get out to their descent and they're not the fastest of

decision makers are on their feet. If you put pressure on Kirk Cousins, he's liable to throw an interception or just you know, get in his own way. Same thing with Jared Golf, Aaron Rodgers. He's the best player in the division, but if you can disrupt his flow because of the other offensive lineman, So if Robert Quinn's here, they're gonna have to focus their slide to the left so they can have multiple eyes on Robert Quinn. So that should open up the other pass rushers to the backside.

And we've seen Robert Quinn being able to compliment the rest of the defensive lineman. But to me, I still think that Robert Quinn is a better pass rusher than the talent at left tackle within our division. Jim, do you have any thoughts on Tom's analysis there? No, I you know, I think a lot of things gotta scored itself out. You know, when you look at Bactieri, you know he was basically practicing all the way up to the end, and then his knee blew up on him again.

So I'm with Tom. I don't think he's one hundred percent healthy yet. Yeah, they're going to say all the right things in the timetable that he'll be ready to go week one, but there's not a certainty in that. So he's already had a cleanup surgery and for an I understand, still really hasn't been on the field for the Green Bay Packers. I think Christian Derrisau is going to be a really good left tackle for Minnesota, and Brian O'Neill's pretty good, but was going on his second year.

He was injured early, much like Tevin Jenkins. He had to get a core muscle surgery so really didn't play. Got his feet went last year, but didn't play top tier football. But I do think he's going to be a solid tackle when it's all said and done. But Tom's right, you can take advantage of him because he's young. He's still a second year tackle in the NFL. Taylor Decker, they were probably the Lion's strength to me is their offensive line, and they ran the football and were committed

to running the football a lot more. Penney Sewel's a stud Taylor Decker's getting up there, and he came back from shoulder surgery last year. But Detroit's new theme is running the football. They want more balance, and I think you just got to come in with those expectations. But they're still young tackles, whether it's derrisau Penney Sewell, and if Bok Tier he's not in there, you're going against backup. So but that's a savvy quarterback who can normally negotiate

it up there in the Great White North. All right, Now, how does impact Travis Gibson if Quinn moves Because he had seven sacks, five force fumbles, and I think less than five hundred snaps last year, so seemingly he's going to get more snaps, or maybe that the rotation is good enough where they have enough depth to keep that

in that same wheelhouse to keep him fresh. But Pro Football Focus Tom just named him a top five breakout player projection for twenty twenty two, likely because he's gonna put his hand down, he's gonna go get the quarterback. He don't have to drop into coverage like he used to and those sorts of things. So there's a great expectation for Trevis Gibson that's it. Yeah, there's great expectation for Travis Gibson mentally and physically. That puts a lot

more pressure on you as a player. As we stood on the sidelines of training camp last year and we saw the improvement in Travis Gibson, you were going, Wow, I hope this relates to the field, and it did in the limited amount of snaps. Now, if he's the bona fide starter and now the offensive coordinator, the offensive line coach, they devise a plan, a scheme of how to slow him down. It's a bigger challenge for Trevis

out of his stance weekend and week out. And if he has to carry a load from a guy that just set Chicago Bears sack record for one season, that's a tremendous amount of responsibility. So everything that we hear from Trevis, it's what you want to hear out of a guy that's climbing the veteran ladder. So hopefully he has another offseason of improvement like he showed and proved to us last year. He's gonna yeah, he's gonna get opportunities. If Quinn is in camp and the opposite starter, he's

gonna get all the slides. As Tom mentioned, so Gibson's gonna have opportunities, one on one opportunities to get to the quarterback. This is a show me league. You've got to see it to believe it. You've got to show me, and I think the coaches want him to show them as long as well as his teammates. Who'll get those opportunities. And as Tom mentioned, he's got to take advantage of

those opportun when he's too. Date he has, but now he's going to be required to do it potentially down in and down out on a consistent basis, and we'll see if he can earn that. Jim Miller, Jeff jony Yac, Tom Fair here on Bears All Access. Let's take a break on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the score. The segment of Bears All Access 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 Fair, Jim Miller, two former Chicago Bears, Jeff jony Aac here getting excited about the start of training cap at the end of July. We'll see out there fans. No question about we got also the family fest that is always a popular thing, going to be ten thirty five in the morning on a Tuesday. I believe it Soldier Field in August. So that'll be exciting for the young folks to come out and watch the new version

of the Chicago Bear. So I've been racking ahead to try to find a couple of guys that are kind of under the radar, not discussed a lot, but may have to make much bigger your impact, And maybe people are counting on and maybe maybe I'm off on these, but I'm gonna throw a couple of names at you. Let's start with Tommy as you stick on the defensive side of the ball. He only signed a one year contract. He was injured with an ankle injury missed all of

twenty twenty one. Nicholas Morrow is expected to be a starter where they put him exactly. He worked out a lot of inside linebacker at the middle linebacker position now in the new defense, could be the green dot guy and let Roquan run wild over there on the week side. All yet to be determined, but would you count him among those high expectation as well? Despite signing a one

year contract here in this defense. Well, Jeff, you know you just said something that kind of wasn't alert to me when we were talking about Nicholas Morrow and allowing

a linebacker to run wild. Because as an offensive guard, if I was preparing to play against a linebacker that was six foot two twenty five, I would be encouraged throughout the course the week to run right at him and see if he can withstand the abuse of having three hundred and thirty pounders from three hundred pounders running at him or two hundred and sixty five pound tight ends.

If Nicholas Morrow stays healthy in this lower body and he can run to the speed that he's capable of running, and then I give him the advantage if he ever has to take on blockers at the isolation place with blasting game of fullback or you know fullbacks around the league, and then that's where I see the challenge is going to come from. But if you're gonna get a team that's gonna try to run sideline to sideline against the Bears Morrow Roquan Smith, I think they're two of the

fastest best interior linebackers within the division. It's gonna be to see how teams are to determine to run at him. You think of the first regular season game of the year and talking to some guys from San Francisco, they believe Trey Lance is going to be the starter. What does that do to the game plan of the San Francisco forty nine ers. Is he gonna be attacked with George Kittle? Is he gonna be attacked by offensive linemen?

So to me, it's how does this Nicholas Morrow disengage from being attacked or how is he able to run sideline? The sideline when you talk about linebackers running free. Jimmy had a couple of seventy plus tackle seasons there with the Raiders before suffering that injury last year. So he was he was on the rise, and you can't you can't replace the speed. And he's born with the speed. He's got speed, Yeah, I mean, and that's what Matt Aberflus, head coach of the Bears, has talked about that that's

got to be the standard. Guy's got to be able to run and fly to the football. And Morril has that type of speed and I think we all have seen it in Roquan Smith. That guy's the heat seeking missile. You know, part of it is their instincts and they have to use their speed to their advantage. Is as Tom mentioned, sometimes you're taking on a three hundred pound

three twenty pound off on some linemen. You got to be able to weed through the trash and sometimes beat those offensive linemen before they can even get to the second level. Some of it has to beat with the guys up front, guys like Kiris Tonga that really need to keep those linebackers clean so they can fly and fill and do all the things that they need to do.

And some other times it'll just beat with their keys, their key and diagnosis, the recognition of a play where they're going to become unblockable just by getting to the spot where they believe the ball's going before the running backs able to get there, say on an outside zone play. So they'll beat it with a little bit of both

sheer speed. They got to be savvy to shed blocks and weed through the trash, and then of course have to count on the guys up front to do their jobs as well to keep them as clean as possible. You know, just to clarify this, I'm not saying Nicholas Morrow cannot do it because one of the best linebackers I've ever played against in the history of the USFL and the NFL with Sam Mills and so this guy was a multi time All Pro, multi time Pro Bowlers.

So I'm just saying, if I was an officsive lineman and I was studying my opponent and I saw that I would like I would have a great deal of confidence me personally running at him. All Right, we're gonna take him another break. Coming up next out of the break, we'll be joined by the bears new tight end, the ten year veteran Ryan Griffin, who's helping out with a unit that is going to be counted on to do a lot of work both in the pass and run

game for the twenty twenty two Bears. This is Bears All Access on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score, getting a close view of practice and your favorite Bears players at hadis off. The twenty twenty two training camp schedule is out. Go to Chicago Bears dot com for more details. Welcome back to Bears All Access here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score, Tom there, Jeff Joni at Jim Miller will be along in a while. And now joined by Bears tight end Ryan Griffin kind

enough to join us. I'm your time off in this moment after the mini camp and the start of training camp. You're an experienced guy ten years in. What do you do with this time? Have you adjusted it over the course of your career in any way from when you first started? Were you at right now? Oh? Sure, Yeah, there's been a lot of growth, you know during this time as a rookie. I remember my first you know,

time off. We had the Rookie Symposium and got to travel out to Canton and you know, meet some of the greats of all time and the bus and stuff. Unfortunately they don't do that anymore. I wish they would continue that. But that being said, that was ten years ago. Now, you know, my break consists of a lot more training. It's almost like I used to treat this as kind of a break, whereas now I'm just kind of ramping up into a training camp. So I don't want to

come to camp out of shape. So this time I'm using while away from the facility, it's more about getting my body ready for my NFL season. Yeah, and I'm sure this is a message you pass on to the younger guys, they can't get it confused, right because they're younger, they feel, you know, indestructible as you once did. But this camp sounds like it's going to be something special in terms of getting on your heels and being on

the hoof the entire time. Have you had a toughest camp in your career moment that you could share that maybe you could pass on to the younger folks and what they might expect, because this sounds like it's going to be a tough one. Yeah, sure, I would say always camps with first year head coaches are a little bit tougher. The urgency is there, a lot of young guys who are hungry, really want to make a name for themselves in front of this new staff, really looking

forward to the competition coming in August. You know that being said, the toughest moment in camp for me, it

was probably as a rookie out in Houston. For those who don't know, I was drafted in twenty thirteen by the Texans and Houston's camp are notoriously sweltering, hot and heavy, and you know, while we do play inside, we did practiced outside out there in the in the Houston heat again, and as a rookie, I was going up against the legs of you know, J. J. Watt and Brian pushing just legends of the game, and that was no fun. But that being said, I did improve a whole bunch

in one month, learned a lot. And I consider those camps the start of you know, my career as a building blocks of my technique and just the culture that I came up with really has helped me improve, you know, individually, So I credited a lot of those practices to you know, my skill. Now, Ryan, first of all, let me congratulate you on your ten year career because when you look at the roster of the Bears, you look at you guys that have double digit years of service, yourself and

Robert Quinn. And that's one thing that always impresses me, the perseverance of no matter where you came from, you have the determination where we're taught. We're interviewing in your ten season. So I saw an interview with you at the party and me talked about the building and the vision of the Chicago Bears. So now at the conclusion of OTAs and mandatory mini camp is the building and the vision what you thought that attracted you to the Bears. Yeah,

i'd say so full stop coming in that. You guys even alluded to it. You know, with this upcoming camp, it's going to be a tough one. We're going to be running a lot, We're gonna be well conditioned, we're going to be violent. All these things was said to me when I sat down on my visit. So all these things I see are transition coming to fruition here leading up into camp. So I would expect nothing different

during the season. You know a lot of times when we see a guy in an elder statement, a guy with experience, and they draft a guy or they have guys in this position. Oh, it's not my job to coach or teach these guys. You're kind of being a unique position. You've been able to get over plenty of hurdles in your career, and you have some young guys

in the tight end room. So do you take the experiences that you've lived with and kind of share them with a cold command or even a guy in a different position that can benefit them or are you Are you a guy that kind of keeps to yourself and you know it's not necessarily their responsibility or you just kind of keep to yourself. Yeah, I try to take

that is. I'm just trying to be a great teammate for everyone on the Bears roster right now, So whatever, even in my position, not in my position, I'm just

trying to help these guys out on the field. Off the field, I've just come to realize that, you know, time in this league is cut short all too often, so i want to make sure that every single one of my teammates has you know, you can use me as a resource to fully realize the talent and the time and the opportunity that they're presented with, you know, in such a great organization with with the Bears. So

that's not going to be me. You know, I'm holding off any tips or anything, and I'm there for coal or whoever in the tight end room or even in the offensive unit room. Coaches even can come to me if they have something they want to discuss with me. I'm an open book for sure, and I've seen a lot in my ten years. But I'm also you know, hugely willing to learn, and i know as soon as you stop learning, you stop growing. So I'm there to just help this team get to where we want to

be and I'm really looking order to doing that. Ryan Griffin our guest here around Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to score. This is Bears All Access and it's brought to you by IGS Energy, with Tom There, Jeff Joniak, Jim Miller will be along in just a moment as well. I have to laugh because Tom always has a little smirk when he brings that up. Because when Tom was a rookie, he played in the us the original USFL, played an entire season, playoffs, got on his motorcycle, went

to training camp double days with Mike Ditka. It was brutal in the heat and the northern in Wisconsin, and then played a Super Bowl season. So he played what forty four consecutive games, which is incredible. He really is in one calendar year he played and we talk about

a lot. But I don't know how willing he would have been, because this guy is an unbelievable competitor to this minute, that he would be sharing tips for a guy to take his job, right, I mean, he just sounds almost foreign Tommy, Right, Yeah, Well you know for me, I mean I learned, I learned more from a guy like Steve McMichael, who I was practicing against every day through his experiences than I was at some of the fellow offensive lineman because we were competing against each other.

But you know, Ryan's in a different seat. You know, all the experiences through changing from organization, organization, philosophical thinking of different coaches, and now all that experience that he

can add to um. You know, these young tight ends or a young offensive tackle's career and guys like I truly I love the game right so it's if it's not going to be me, I would hope if somebody's out there at the tight end position, they would have all the tools available to make to make the play, to get the sixth technique blocked, to run the right route I think against a different defensive technique. So I mean, at the end of the they we're all on the

same team. So if Pole's out there, I'm not I want him to be ready to make a play to you know, to help us win. So I guess that's my mindset, and that's a good one. The modern day players, I mean, I've I've heard of some horrible stories and we're not gonna believe it at this point, but just you know, guys were just thirsting for information and nobody would give it to them, and so they had to figure it out on their own, and it didn't benefit. It was not a tight team. Now Tom's team was different.

It was a super super I mean it's this eighty five Bears. They were a personality all of its own. Now, you mentioned you loved the game, New Hampshire born and bread, right, that's right, Yukon guy. So you got that tough Northeast to you. How were you viewed coming out of the draft or coming into the draft? Where you disappointed where

you were selected? And have you ever taken the time to see how many guys are no longer playing at that position in the draft, because that was the Kelsey draft, That was zach Ertz Draft twenty thirteen was a pretty star studded tight end class. Oh sure, yeah, I keep track of it daily. So how many of a year left? Uh? Like you said, you know, Earth is still there, Kelsey's

doing his thing. Um. Jack Doyle actually just retired. You know, me and him, I used to compare only because he was a undrafted free agent and I might as well

have been. You know, it was a sixth round. I think it was two oh one overall, so um, yeah, you know that's uh, that's a big chip on my shoulder that I hasn't really left to be honest, never got an invitation to the Combine, which really hurt at the time when I was a rookie coming in UM and I was kind of a fifty fifty not sure whether I was going to get drafted or be an unsigned or assigned undrafted free agent. So I try to

keep that with me. Like I said, it's just a big chip on my shoulder, and try to carry that that fire with me. You know, some people still doubting me, and a lot of those guys that were chafted over me are no longer in the league league, So I'm just trying to do my thing and you know, help out the team along the way as well. Brian. You know, I find it interesting because back when I was playing, you know, we had the last game of the season, we had our exit physical, and we never had to

show up until the mandatory minicamp. So now, you guys, when Matt eber Fleus got introduced as a head coach and he said these guys better have their running shoes, it kind of gave me an indication that you're better be in shape or else. When you lost in OTA practice, after all the OTA's you've been through throughout your career,

were you surprise you lost one? Because when I was out there watching and I was looking at the tempo you guys were playing at, I was thinking it's beneficial for the young guys to get a meal more realistic feel of the speed of the game. Were you surprised when you guys got docked an OTA? I don't know if I was surprised. Uh, Like like you, I think it was detrimental to our team, however, us losing an

opportunity to get better. You know, you only get what's I think, fourteen of them, and uh, you know with the new staff and new offense, especially at UM, you know, on the offensive side of the ball, I think we really lost an opportunity there to to get better and improve.

U Was I surprised? No, I don't think so. I think after this pandemic situation, having OTAs canceled for a whole year, a lot of guys got to, you know, look look back on that and say, you know, we are here voluntarily, and uh, you know, for the tempo to be you know, a little bit higher, and guys um, you know, hitting without pads on. You know, guys are

just looking at it different. You know, it's a different end I felt today, And uh, you know, I've been a part of OTAs that have gone much harder than what we did you know, last month. But that being said, it is it's a different league. And uh, you know, the Pas really trying to cut down on off season injuries. Unfortunately, we had Dakota you know, go down, but it is part of the game. We're just trying to make it safer for everybody. You know. I forgive me if I'm asking,

if I'm so wrong my timeframe. Did you ever play with Jeff Scanina, because it's kind of funny that he was down with the Houston Texans. He's the uncle of Cole Comet, and I was thinking, Wow, what a generation gap filler you would be if you were one time a teammate with Scanina and now you're playing with his nephew Cole. I think I just missed out playing with Jeff.

I came in in thirteen. But yeah, it's it's great to play with with Cole, someone who you know, hometown kid and you know his dad obviously, you know, play for the Bear, so really excited for him for the opportunity that he has um And yeah, it's it's kind of funny. You know, I'm thirty two, he's what twenty three now, and you know, I just try to give him, you know, as much knowledge of the game, you know,

as I can and help him out. All remaining moments with Bears tight end Ryan Griffin here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy score with Tom I'm Jeff, all right, let's final moments. Just talk about the team because what seed, in your opinion, has been planted by this head coach

Mattie Broflus in his first goal round. I would say toughness if I had to boil it down to what it's gonna be, mental toughness and h you know, like you said, we're going to have the track shoes on, so we're gonna be a better conditioned than our opponent.

And at the end of the day, we're gonna have to make plays when when the time gets tough, you know, at the end of the at the end of the game, and we're certainly going to be in shape to do so it's if we had the mental fortitude and the preparedness to execute, you know, in the fourth quarter, because our bodies are going to be there, Our lungs are going to be there, that's for sure. Coaching Refluce is going to make sure that happens. So we're gonna have

the toughness, you know. It's it's gonna come down to can we execute, Can we beat the man across from us? Can we win eleven individual matchups on the same play? You know? So I'm really looking forward to it. I think we have the guys to do it. In the locker room. We just gotta, you know, put the work in and looking forward to Week one. This has been a team that has been challenged to score touchdowns even

while winning over the years of late so touchdowns. You gotta have this underrated offense, I'm certain from the outside looking in about what is put being put together. As a veteran who's seen a lot of camps, a lot of players, twenty other quarterbacks in his career now twenty one, do you have a good feel for what this might look like for the twenty twenty two Bears, for the fans going Soldier Field this year. You know, what. I'm so excited to see what Justin Fields can bring to

the offense. I don't think, like you said, we're going to be underrated, and that's fine, that's okay with us. Nobody is really expecting us to do much. But I think a lot of people will be surprised. Like I said, if we put the work in in August, we do have the skill at skill positions to make some waves and score some score some points. We're going to be excited to watch coach even flews his defense out there

and make plays. And you know, I again, I cannot wait for number one to get out there and let it lose. You know, Ryan, I think in the last ten years in the NFL, the tight end position has changed more than any other position in the NFL. When you're at the front side point of attack, when you're the backside, when you're an h back in motion, or you're at the full back position. Now they said, okay, this is going to be an outside zone running team.

In your career, how much have you been a point of attack tight end as opposed to backside, h back or fullback. You know, it's funny you said that time because I was actually drafted, like I said, down in Houston with coach Kubiak, and he was running a similar system, the wide zone scheme with the tight end the y at the point of attack on the front side and even honestly on some of the backside runs when we go a wide zone to support, the backside ends up

being the front side. So that being said, the tight end position is very important in terms of the run game here. So my experience I started here in thirteen and this was my role coming in as a rookie. Is there to be the point of attack to help Owen Daniels, you know, do his thing as the u back bath, the move guy, and this was my role, so it kind of comes full circle. I played every position since then, know that the full back guy, the

move guy. I've been you know, split out sometimes and now here I am back at the the what you want to call the y spot, you know, the move tight end, you know, at the front side of the run. So I'm looking forward to getting back to it, uh, you know, bringing some toughness and violence to this, to this offensive line, and really looking forward to running the ball here. Music to our ears, trust me, music to our ears. We love here. On the violence we love

here in the running game. All right, we really appreciate your time. Thank you so much for joining us. We're looking befoward to watching your work and help lead this team and looking forward to talk to you down the road again. Appreciate it. Yeah, same guys, thanks for having Thank you Ryan. That's Ryan Griffin, Bears tight End. When we come back, we'll wrap up the show with serious x M NFL Radios Jim Miller with Tom There. I'm Jeff Joniac on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to score.

This segment of Bears All Access is brought to you by CDW people to get it with Tom There and Jim Jeff Joniac as we break down the Bears are twenty twenty two. We'll be back with you on Monday night as well. Tom will be on assignment and be a big Jim Miller and I taken the controls. Jim, Are you ready for just a duo show without the big guy? No time to get scared now, Jeff, I'll be ready exactly all right. So, uh, great listening to Ryan Griffin. Great personality. Uh, and he hit it on

the head. He plays violent, wants to play violent. The bears want to play violent, but I was really encouraged. You here how that tight end position is going to be used Tommy. Uh. And it's it's fitting that this week is tight end school, right, or what do they call it? Tight end you? So there's twenty eight guys, including Cole Commet to participate. Jim's got a big smile on his face. Why are you laughing? I know how

Tom Tom said there was a guard camp he wouldn't go. Yeah, well, I mean I talked to George Kittle, I mean probably an honor Rob Gronkowski. Oh yeah, I mean I believe it was George Kittle last year said it was just hilarious. The guy wakes up and they saw him at the the bar having a shot of vodka before they go out for a round of golf. So I wonder what it's going to be like this year with robbery tiring, So,

god forbid, that's gonna be a blast out there. Somebody's gonna have to take the baton right, no question about it. But you know, time dominant tight endplay can really affect and impact what a defense has to do, put you in conflicts. So if these guys can do both catch and block of course, and the different personnel packages. I mean, you're you're talking about creating mismatches for success no matter where your offense is at in terms of its development.

And we are not going to know where this offense is at in its development until pretty far along, I would think, in the regular season. So I'm anxious to see how these tight ends and blasting game as that full back h back contributes and what this will look like with the new additions at the tight end position veterans and cole commit Well, you know, Jeff, the two points of emphasis that I got for Motier is if it doesn't happen, the Bears are gonna have a hard

time improving. And if they're gonna run the outside zone as much as they're talking about, the tight end is going to be instrumental in the success of that play because you're not always going to run it to the

weak side where there's no tight end. You're gonna run it a lot of the times to the wide side of the field, to the tight end and the three point stance or a tight end coming from over the h block blocking the end man aligne of scrimmage up to the second level, so you have to have a high performing, high blocking tight end, kind of a Mark bavaro ish or a George Kittle ish. That's the type of performance you have to have out a tight end. But Jeff, let's not let the topic escape us before

the season gets going. The red zone. If these tight ends don't accomplish some big numbers in the red zone, it's gonna be difficult for justin fields and the rest of this offense. So to me that the instrumental outside zone tight end, blocking in the red zone performance by the tight end are the two biggest obstacles that we're going to have to see improved throughout the preseason and

into the regular season. You know, the key is, like what Tom said, if you want to run that outside zone, play the tight end, if it is to his side, he's going to be the key player at the point of attack. As Tom mentioned, say there's a wide nine technique, Well, that's not going to be an ability for Cole Commit

to get a hook block right. He's going to have to really sustain it and string it out and be able to be able to muscle it and hold it for a long time where the running back can get his read whether he still will take it outside, or whether it'll take it inside. If it's say a seven technique, the end man's on the endman a line of scrimmage just kicked down over the tight end, or just shade it just outside. Now you'll have the ability to hook him where it'll be an easy read for the running

back to just take it to the outside. So Coal's going to be able to do all that, and all the tight ends are going to be able to dictate end at some point, there are going to be really the key player at the point of attack to really set up that run play that the Bears wanted to make a foundation of their offense, all right, and that out listen that outside zone play at home, it's going to be different than on the road because, as Jim mentioned, the tight end is not going to be able to

hear the snap count, so he's going to have to have timing in his block. At home, it's a different story, all right. Throw a name aty. I mentioned Nick Morle earlier in the program as a guy that the Bear's gonna need to have counted on for that position. But I'm gonna throw one on the offensive side of the ball that maybe he's under the radar. Does he have the skill, He does have the speed, and he has experience in the system. We haven't talked a lot about

Equimenius Saint Brown. We're talking about Byron Pringle obviously, Darnell Mooney, and we got Vellis Jones. What are you what are your expectations for Equimedius Saint Brown? Is there untapped potential here? Jim Millery, that'll wrap up the program tonight. Yeah, you know, you just you look at his time at Notre Dame and he was a true X. They've had some good

X receivers coming out of there. You know, Miles Blinkin kind of has been a failure, but Chase Claypool has certainly been a solid X I think for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and I want to see Equinimus Saint Brown really emerged. I think that's his role. He's a big guy. He can be a red zone present six five two one and fourteen pounds. You know, he can be a jump ball guy, where Justin Fields has to have the competence that any fifty fifty ball he's got to feel comfortable

throwing it up there. For Saint Brown to come down with it, and he's had limited opportunities. You know, you look at you know, Aaron Rodgers. He kind of it was kind of a fast break with him and Davante Adams, and really the ball wasn't shared to a lot of players. It was kind of Randall Cobb at the time. Tanyan

stepped up a little bit, and of course Adams. Those other guys, whether it's Valdez Scantling who's now at Kansas City, or even Saint Brown really haven't had a lot of opportunities because Rogers clearly was favoring knows other targets over Sat Brown. He's got the size, he's got the skill. We'll see if he can take advantage of the opportunity that he could be the true X for the Bears

this year. Tom, give me fifteen seconds on the topic. Hey, if he plays up to a size and he develops a bigger catching radius, I think he can be a real asset for justin Fields. If you're six to five, you gotta play like you're six seven. All right with Tom there, Jim Miller, thanks everybody for listening. Thanks as always to the folks at the Score. Our producer, Jordan Trutup, Dan Billy and our guest Ryan Griffin. That'll do it

for us. Have a great night, everybody. This has been Bears All Access, brought to you by IGS Energy on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score. Good night, everybody,