Cut over that DJ Moore end zone touchdown, touchdown Bears. I am Jeff Jonya Litz his ho Donny go R.
What was like playing for Coachi Good.
I don't want to answer any questions like that pressure coming is a big trouble. Donnie Goes Montest Sweat.
Now.
Bears et Cetera brought to you by Geico with the voices of the Bears Jeff Jonyac and Tom Thayer with Super Bowl winning Bears guard Tom theyre. I'm Jeff Joniak and this is episode one of the Bears et Cetera podcast is brought to you by Geico. We recap at thirty to twelve lost in the Minnesota Vikings with an eye on the banged up Detroit Lions and their arrival
at Soldier Field on Sunday. We also have our weekly visit with Bears head coach Thomas Brown just around the corner Tom good Day, which see on tape.
Uh.
You know, effort and that's the thing that was the most encouraging thing to me is my thoughts. You saw an aggressive front on the defense. Eric Washington did a nice job of bringing a bunch of different personnel groupings in he kind of alternated their kind of expected lineup spots inside this defense that made the offensive line adjust and exposed Darnold to some big hits, got an interception by Tarik and you know things that to me is the effort that's encouraging. It's not a team that has
their car started and their U hauls pack. They're ready to go on the field and give the effort that's needed. And then when you look at the offensive side of the ball, we're still talking about a developing rookie quarterback that has a tremendous upside. Notification that the offensive line has to make another adjustment twenty four hours before the
start of the game. And I've been in those same shoes as Toronto Maagaji, a Coronamagaji, and it's it's not an easy adjustment, but with a you know, a couple of plays that if they would have gone the other way, the whole outcome of.
The game would have been different.
Concerns at all about the frustration that Caleb may be feeling, he doesn't show it necessarily, as you'll hear in an interview with the head coach Thomas Brown. There are snapshots that people post that you can define it as frustration. Of course he's going to have some, but just playing the role of survivor at times with the pressure he's facing from defenses, and there was pressure. It wasn't a lot of doubt of blitzes, but there was still pressure by the vikings.
So when you go off the field, the first person they're going to put a camera on is the quarterback, especially on Monday Night football, and whatever he does on the sideline, you're going to get a reaction from somebody in the media on that. But you could probably go to six or eight plays during the course of the game and you can watch an offensive lineman limping back to the huddle. You can watch a defensive lineman that has to get some assistance to get off the field,
but two plays later he's back on the field. But the quarterback is such a high file position, and Caleb is such a high profile guy right now in the NFL, every move he makes is gonna be on the camera.
And yeah, if you.
Show a little discomfort coming off the field after a season, someone's gonna highlight it and they're gonna talk about it. But I think when you take every one of these guys, some of the hits that we see DJ and Keenan in Rome take some of the you know, the other offensive lineman, defensive players, linebackers, dbs. Everybody is exposed to those instances of pain, but they don't have a camera on them every move they make.
Tastes like Miller Time. Go to Miller lite dot com slash bears pod to find delivery options near you. Celebrate responsiblely Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Ninety six calories and three point two cards for twelve ounces. Competing, Yes, executing consistently. No, that's the piece that can be fixed correct.
Of course. I think when if you know Magaji is a left tackle moving forward, I think he'll be able to implement different types of protections under the difficult down and distance, the third and extremely long and this week he's going to have the opportunity to be a completely different reacting football player because he's going to be able to hear the count out of Caleb and I think you'll see a more aggressive, more athletic left tackle than an offensive line that's an eighth of a second slower
off the ball than the defensive line. Because of the contributing crowd noise, and to me, if Karan uh is going to play again, I'm excited to what he'll do in front of a home crowd rather than one of the most difficult atmospheres in the last thirty five years to play at in Minnesota.
Yeah, as a rare first experience as an NFL starter.
You know, That's the thing about it is, so he had twenty four hours notice that he was going to be the starting offensive lineman, and I'm just the comparable to what my first experience was in that same Minnesota stadium. The old one was when Kurt Becker got injured in the offensive line. Coach Stick Staffold comes up and says, hey, you're in the game. So we and you and I
have talked about this a lot. When you're you're the depth of a position, there is not notification that you have to go in and you have to be ready in an instant's notice. Karan I completely believe that he's ready to play mentally, physically and everything that he's worked through when he showed up with an injury. But and I do think that he has a tremendous upside when he finally decides what position he's ultimately gonna play.
HAVENUW or gently used coach land around well. Head to your local jewelasco until February tenth and donate one of your new or gently used coach to the thirty sixth annual Chicago Bears Coach Drive helped keep Chicagoans warm this winter time. Now for our status at House with Bears intermed coach Thomas Brown. All right, thank you very much Thomas for joining us once again a status at House with the head coach? Hey, what's what's this for you right now?
Yeah?
I'm not gonna lie. I'm always an honest person.
It's frustrating because I feel good about the prep that we put in, the messaging in the building and then not being able to get the desired result on the football fields always a frustrating part. But I am also still encouraged by the flight of our football team, the fact that we still continue to keep showing up. Our guys are positive in the building and in the mix of everything that's going on, we're still find ways to stay united.
How do you find ways to diffuse your frustration and not let players suffer the same kind of affliction? You know, and something like.
This, Yeah, I mean I get it. Out of my system.
I'll talk about it, and I think being able to have games kind of back to back help with that process. Got to be able to move on and get ready for the next opponent, so you can't dwell on it. That's one of the beauties of the NFL when you're in season because it's a week to week process, So you try to figure out what you can make the corrections from from the previous week, but also what you can build upon that was positive and pay it forward to the next game.
Kind Of a strange question since I've never been in a team meeting with the entire team. So when you start a season in your position as passing game coordinator and move and see all the elevation, So when you look out, do you see the same reaction on the faces of the players at this point in the season when you know their own frustration is bubbling up and some guys are vocal about it, some aren't, so they
kind of keep it inside. I mean, do you have to take almost a psychological approach to your job as well as you scan the room?
Yeah, well, I think I got did a really good job since the moment I've had an opportunity to step into this entimal role a few weeks ago of always been engaged in meetings. Every time I started meeting, I have everybody's eyes, nobody's looking around and wondering, and so I do appreciate that attention and focus, but I think it comes to me being able to be consistent with
the message but I delivered to those guys. But again, I'm always gonna be upfront and honest person, believe in clear, open and honest communication as we continue to try to find ways to work through potential problems but also prepare for the next opponent.
Do you still have the leadership Council meetings?
Yes, we have a Captain's meeting every week, So I meet with those guys before special Teams meetings start every Wednesday, so I'll meet with them again tomorrow morning.
And so in those meetings they kind of.
Just kind of give a recap of not recap, but preview of the of the coming week when it comes to the schedules, what the plan is and thought process is. But also I preview with those guys what the message for the group is going to be for this coming opponent. And also that time I always open the floor for those guys give any feedback or communicate with me back and forth about if there is anything on their minds, which they've done a great job of for the most part,
you know. So it's kind of a collabortive effort when it comes trying to find ways to help lead this football team.
This is a crazy situation because you know you'd like to keep this head coaching job here. Do you feel that different a little bit now that you're in this position or are you just a veteran that knows, Hey, everybody's looking at me anyway, so I'm gonna keep being me.
Yeah, honest, I don't just peru. I've had that same thought process most of my career. I think I learned early on my first couple of years in coaching that everything you do is evaluated by somebody. Obviously, now it's on a bigger stage because you're in an interim head coach role with everybody listen to your press conferences, watches your body language, you're message in front of the group,
They watch how you organize, communicate with players. So of course there's more scrutiny when there's coings with more responsibility, which is it's part of the course but I started to just think about it from the standpoint of what I can control and be locked in on that. And I don't control the future, never had, never will know do I try to concern myself control in the future. I think any time you have an opportunity to take over in any capacity, it's obviously normally not for a good reason.
There's obviously some.
Issues that need to be fixed, and so I understood kind of walk it into it.
It wouldn't be an easy task at all.
I think it's also totally different when you have a chance to, you know, get high as a head coach, have the entire offseason, you know, build a staff, you know, pour into the players bitter thing, from the foundation, from the ground.
Depth is a little bit different than the world that I'm in right now.
But have complete confidence and the prep that I've done, but also the guys around me, So I'll continue leaning to them and we'll just work at one day to.
Sound all right, let's look at some things football wise.
Something struck me when you met the media earlier in the day about a fourth and one, a third and one, the importance of just getting that one yard in the NFL, what it does for the mindset of a football team from a physicality point of view, to what the offensive line is feeling when you entrust them to get that one yard and the and the opposite of when it doesn't happen, because those can be as big a play as any in the NFL, as much as a big play and explosive play.
Yeah, I betely.
I think football is a game of inchest Sometimes life is the game of it is when it comes to how close things already having success and working out but still getting have no regrets about the thought process behind it. Talk to those guys kind of going into the game about call them more aggressive game and taking some so
called chances. Still standing by the thought process and believe that we should better get a yard in the NFL when it comes to how we execute, and I can continue to try to find way to be creative with the play call and put us in the best spot so we can execute. But definitely, we had two opportunities for fourth and wares we stopped on both of those and that's something we've got to do a better job of.
Correcting and fixing.
But also we talk about being a physical football team, you can't really talk about being a physical if you don't run the football, and also are gonn to be committed to going forward?
And when we have this a yard of the game.
Because Troy Aikman did the game, I've always remembered his rookie season and he brought it up in the broadcast. I believe just reading about it. Started eleven games as a rookie, lost them all. Two years later he was a pro bowler six in a row. So there's some wisdom, aar and some explanation of how hard this is. Peyton Manning led the NFL and interceptions his rookie year, So it is a tool an instrument say hey, listen, man, this is not There's nothing easy about this, and I'm
certain that Caleb understands that anyway. But is it a good reminder.
Though, that definitely is a good reminder.
I think, you know, most guys have an opportunity when they come in have high expectations for themselves, especially when you're drafting them one overall and you're starting quarterback, to have the bigts of being the champion, of leading the football team, of making miraculous plays and and going on winning streaks, which is somebody he's definitely capable of and we'll be doing for a long time of my opinion. But also it's still a rookie in the NFL. It's tough.
It's hard deal, and to me, I think it's even harder in today's world because the expectations places though rookie quarterbacks by the outside world is like completely unrealistic and it's.
Part of problem. In my opinion.
It won't stop, it's gonna continue to be. How is fruit and is highly hyped up. But I think the understanding of what it takes to play the position, what all goes into it, or the development that it takes, and it actually takes time to grow and be the best version of yourself, and you have an opportunity to live it out in front the entire world weekend and
week out. So I think it takes a lot of you know, mental capacity to be able to stay strolling, to ignore the outside and know where to focus almost the most important thing in the team, to try to find ways to now be h be harding yourself, but also give yourself some grace so you have time room to grow.
You know, And because of the way the world is now with with social media, it can take a clip off a TV broadcast and it's posted immediately. And so the hit on Kala by Jahi Ward as a pretty vicious hit goes to the sidelines and he looked like he was in pain for whatever the case may be. But a lot of conclusions are drawn from just that three second shot of what you know, Yeah, you're gonna have to shake that off, but it kind of paints a different picture and the reality.
Yeah, I mean, perception is reality even when there's not. And that's the difficult thing sometimes when it comes to life in general. But you mentioned obviously with it be in a social media generation, I think a lot of times misery loves company. So I think when people have issues in their own lives, it makes it easy to go to the internet and voice their pages about other people's lives that they don't live and can't live. And
so that's why I just ignore it altogether. As I mentioned several times, whether it's positive or negative, those things don't matter. Literally affects unless you're allowed to affect you. So I think being able to always understand the perspective and being with your feet are and always trying to find ways to seek out growth is always the most important thing.
You mentioned Caleb giving himself some grace with the same apply this morning, this afternoon for Karanai Magaji.
I mean one thousand percent.
I think again, people just don't understand the mental gymnasts that go into finding out twenty four hours before that you're about to go start your first NFL on top of that on the road, and on top of that versus top opponent that is, you know and clearly and clearing in the playoff picture in a loud environment. So my head goes off to him because there was never any flinch or doubt or hesitation on his part. Obviously
he'll continue to go. He went to some growing paints as well, which is again is part of being at ricky. I don't care what position you play, but what do you playing quarterback or play on left tackle. It's not gonna be easy. Wasn't meant to be easy. If it was it was easy, we just pick anybody to go do it. And so there's only a select field guys that can be able to do it from a physical standpoint, but also mentally.
I got to give a tip of the cap to Dominique Robinson because you speak about playing violent football. He was violent on that punt block. I mean that was a bang bang violent play and a guy who has not had many opportunities but has kept up pretty pretty positive mindset about about himself.
That's a great example of being in your best when your best is required. As you mentioned, not having a ton of opportunities. But when his number got called, he made the play in the game. It actually led to us being able to get a score on that same drive. Whi's also why is baffling. I mean when people talk about the football team quitting, right, you don't block punts in the fourth quarter and sport touchdown in the fourth quarter.
The football team quits, are we not getting a result we desire? Of course not.
Is that frustrated, absolutely, but the label somebody as a quitter to me is a completely different deal which is egregious, which is why shout this guys on if you believe that poor the tape, I'm gon show me an example of that of who you say is quitting and when we're quitting. So but definitely kudos to him to being able to to rise at the moment, make a critical play in the game and give us some life.
Oh we mentioned this earlier. Now the Lions, and that'll be the tape Dan Campbell's watching, so I'm sure he's gonna remind these guys, say, hey, this Bears team's not gonna gonna fold up the tenth anya and they're wounded too.
Definitely are.
I mean, they're still a very competitive football teams still battle last week even though they end up losing.
But he's a.
Gutsy head coach when it comes to taking chances and making some you know what. People will call it Tom's critical calls throughout the game. But it's gonna be a tough opponent for us. We batted against him the first time with their place, put ourselves in a deficit, say to go battle back to the end of it. Had twenty points in the second half and we're driving. Had server opportunities to close the game out and we didn't
capitalize on it. But looking forward to the opportunity to come back at home and go to battle.
All right, appreciate your time as always, Thank you, Thank you. I really enjoy speaking Timmy. He's very polished as a speaker, but he also just tells you what he feels. There's no there's nothing more than that he just he's very direct and as he's indicated many times, but I like the way he is handling this. I mean, this is his shot too. You got to remember that it's not
just about the Bears. It's also his shot too, And so he's trying to compartmentalize all of that and be the leader of this football team for the remaining games.
Well, you know, you can tell about Thomas Brown. He's a super intelligent guy because these are not pre prepared answers or questions given to him beforehand. He is speaking from the heart and off the top of his head throughout his other experiences in his coaching life, whether it's an example from another head coach that he played for, or the development of him as a position coach throughout
his career. And I like the seriousness of his voice in the tone that he's not going to let these players just cash it in, that he's expecting effort and he wants to see better effort out of him. And I do think that in Minnesota we saw a better
effort out of the football team than San Francisco. I just think that these guys went into Minnesota and they knew what happened in San Francisco, and they kind of respect what the coach is doing for them, and they came out and they showed they had a better example of a more physical, energy guys brand of football.
You know, he mentioned about the aggressive decisions and he category them with us in the postgame show on Monday night, but also afterwards. But I get what he's saying. Yeah, there's got to be a spark of some sort to light a fire in this first half, first quarter. Three straight games no points in the first half. That's rare five times this season, so that there's got to be something that ignites it. And it all it takes in many cases, is that just that yard or in the
you know, like the touchdown that was wiped out. The details, the details matter.
I don't disagree with his decision to go forward on fourth down. I do think that when as a head coach, as a staff, you probably go back and you re evaluate, all right, what are we seeing on screen from what the defense is offering us? What is a do we have a better option than the plays we called? And that's the exploratory that you go through every single week,
every single tape that you study against your opponent. So Listen, I'm all for Thomas Brown making those decisions to be aggressive and go for it, because you get those two fourth and ones, you get Kramer to go in there and report to the official. You and I are sitting here right now talking about a completely different outcome. So listen, don't stop being aggressive, because I think that's one thing that endears you to a football team in the final few weeks of the season.
Time now bar Geico gives you more football stat of the weak catab Williams. This is from Doug Coletti, our directive of Research and Statistics. He did this yesterday. The only quarterback in NFL history with four hundred and more passing attempts, a second percentage greater than eleven percent, but only five interceptions. Insane math when you get right down to it, Tommy, and we've seen a lot of insane
math and our career together. But when you think about it and the eight straight games without an interception, which a rookie quarterback has not done since at least nineteen fifty, it's.
An amazing stat you know, because Doug is the stats He's the king of pre predicted numbers. What can happen to a football team, offense, defense or special teams. And Caleb has ignored the number man. He keeps just going and throwing the ball and making sure that he's buying time behind the line of scrimmage, delivering the ball accurately, making some big plays, but again being super protective of
the football. And I do think when you're a Bears fan, like I have been my whole life, I'm super encouraged to see where.
This kid's going.
And I'm, you know, like Doug is emphasizing the point that he's having some remarkable success in some difficult circumstances.
He Bears fan. Steinhoffel is a proud partner of the Chicago Bears. This Bear season, Steinhoffels is partnering with Special Spaces Illinois to create dream bedrooms for children battling cancer. For every false start consed by the Bears defense during a home game, Steinhoffels donates one thousand dollars to Special Spaces Illinois shop in storing online at Steinhoeffels dot com. I got to talk about Dominie Robinson. I've always appreciated Dominique.
He he never you know, you talk about Caleb at the podium. We mentioned last week there's never any you know, woe is me? Look to him, there's always a positive out look. He's not he's hurting inside. I'm sure the losses are mounting. He's never experienced such loss in his career at the high school or college level, and nor do many of these players ever experienced something like this. But but Dominique has not been able to get on
the field much and the opportunities are rare. But boy, that that as I mentioned with Thomas, that was a violent play. Wait, I couldn't stop watching it.
You know one thing about Dominique Robinson, the reason I pulled so hard for him, is because there's evidence in his desire and a lot of that started when he showed back up this year after spending the off season away and he looked like a completely different sculpted body. And that's the effort that I want out of all these players, is what Dominique Robinson did to himself to
be more prepared physically for the game of football. And no matter what's they're asking him to do, to run sixty yards and make a block, make make a play, make a tackle, He's willing to do it. If he's lined up on the line of scrimmage and they're asking him to go after the punter, and then he wins and he gets into the punter's body and blocks that punt. I love to see him as an example of a self made success and I pull for him and I want his best yet to come.
Guy I pull four two all the time? Is DeMarcus Walker?
Oh yeah, you two?
I do de Marcus. You know, he's got these bursts of dominance, and he had it in Week one against Tennessee and he did it again yesterday with four pressures, four hits on the quarterback and he's now got twenty five career high, career high in pressures in a single season. He still had three games to go. We're talking about an underrated impact.
Well, I think more of people don't appreciate his versatility because when you're talking about a guy that can play inside outside, it's two different characteristics. If you're playing on the outside, you have to have get off speed and you have to have the hand fighting ability to disengage from an offensive tackle that at the arm length, that's you know what they always have to fight through, and
he has the ability to do that. But then you also have to have the strength and the stoutness to be able to play on the inside, to being able to go physical against physical, strength against strength against some of the bigger offensive guards in the in the league. And he has that ability. So I like DeMarcus Walker because he's always chattering at practice and I like that kind of ankst that he creates, and he it's kind of an inks that it creates encouragement, and that's what
I like about him. But you know, what he's able to do on the field, I think it's super helpful to the defense if you do have injuries, no matter inside or outside. He can fill the role effectively at each of those positions. And then I like a football attitude, and I think it's super important to have those guys on the team.
Good new Chicago United Airlines is getting brand new planes with all the bells and whistles, like Bluetooth connectivity screens at every seat and room for everyone's rollerbag. United Proud to fly the Chicago Bears and you too. Let's start dipping in to what the week ahead lies. A short week, they're going to adjust the practice schedule accordingly and get ready for a Lions team That is kind of an interesting position. They're getting reevaluated by the analysts and experts
out there on top. Are they really going to maintain their Super Bowl contending status given the degradation of a defense in particular has lost so many key players, and maybe arguably outside of Aiden Hudginson, one of the most
valuable players in that team is David Montgomery. The mindset he brings and the toughness that this team is labeled with, that grit they talk about out for the year, Aleem McNeil, torres acl very good defensive tackle, out for the year, Carlton Davis has a chance to return, he's out on injury reserve, maybe able to return late. And then Koaldil Dorsey an underrated special teams player in corner. So are
they positioned to whether that storm. Not that we really care because we're Bears fans, but going into this battle here in Chicago on Sunday.
Well, you know, you talk about a couple of key players that are going to miss the remainder at the time. Montgomery, McNeil, the just two guys. Now the guys that are standing in the line behind them, are they going to be able to withstand the increased role at this stage of the season because there's going to be more required of them. Jamar Gibbs, is he going to be able to take
fifteen carries to thirty carries? Is the defensive tackle that's playing in a backup role part of a rotation as a defensive lineman, is he going to be able to go from fifteen reps to thirty five reps? And that's the uncertainty in the unknown when you have some of these replacements come in late in the season in their role is increased, but they're also at the downside of the physical approach that the season. You know, the physical toll that takes on all these guys, and that's yet
to be seen. I was listening to an attitude with Dan Campbell and he's the guy that gets up to the mic and says, there are no excuses and we don't have We're not thinking anything less goal oriented than we were with every one of those guys. And that's the right message to send and get into your locker room. But you know you're taking a warm weather team. I almost said, but you're taking a team that plays a majority of his games indoors or in the warm weather.
Now you're going to bring him out outdoors on a thirty degree day on natural grass. So there's a lot of evaluation that's going to go into this Detroit Lions team. And I'm excited to see the Bears take Soldier Field and see what they do to Detroit well.
Crossing blue shield of Illinois right here at home, driving access toward healthier communities through it all, the Buffalo Bills put up five hundred and sixty two yards a total offense. Everybody is now giving the MVP to Josh Allen for that performance and what he's done all season long, eight point two yards per play, and they were forced to punt only one time. So that's what happens when you lose so many players on defense and so many game
changers on that side of the ball. But we'll bring it to you a noon start from Soldier Field on ESPN one thousand of the Bears Radio Network time.
I hope you'll be there early.
As always, I'm you know what, I'm already jacked up for this game and I'm excited to talk about it later in the week with you because you know, the Bears have some work ahead of them. Detroit has them uncertainty ahead of them. But the Bears need to get back home, man. They need to get back home and do something exciting in front of their fans. Get the fans on their side immediately, and get this thing jacked up and going hip.
Yep, yep. They're brought to you by a PNC official Bank of the Bears. We'll talk to you again on Thursday, drop another podcast, deeper Preview into the Lions and a special guest. As always, special thanks to Bears head coach Thomas Brown. For Tom There, I'm Jeff JONINGHAC. Thanks for listening. Everybody, please subscribe now in the Chicago Bears official app, Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Bear it on, everybody,