Welcome in Tom Bear's Weekly, a Chicago Bears Network production. Download the Chicago Bears Official Act, brought you by Verizon to follow the team on the go. Bears Weekly has brought you by Athlecute Healthcare, Athletico Physical Therapy, Beth Rivers, Cdtailing, Connie's Pizza, by Gens Energy, and Miller Like Kira. Your hosts Jeff Choniack aka the Mayor of Bearsville, and his sidekick Tom the Surfaster. There.
The guys are here, and they're joining us, Waddle and Selby for a very special Bears Weekly Live at hallis All.
We've done this a time or two.
Our first show together was at the Bears draft at Soldier Field, and we love being with the voices of the Bears, Tom Thayer and Jeff Joniac.
I feel like I have to be my best on my best behavior.
You do a little bit, yeah, a little bit?
Yeah. How are you guys doing?
This is new for us? Yes, I not not that we haven't been all together certainly, but this here particular show kind of a formula hit all the buttons, but now we got a couple of wrinkles and toms a player.
Why do you just why do you look at me and say we have wrinkles like something physically.
You gotta adjust, We gotta adapt and overcomes.
That's what we need. That's what the Bears need to do right after week.
One hundred percent. Heard a lot of good things today and yesterday, so we'll see how it all adds up. Assistant coaches, the offensive coaches just were available to the media, so they rotate last week defense, this week offense. So everybody obviously wanted to talk to offensive line coach Chris Morgan, but also to take Tobert just where Chase Claypool's at. And with Claypool, he said he's hustled and worked harder than any of the receivers this week first to show
up at meetings and hopefully it'll translate. So, uh, and Tommy, I don't know what any of that means to you as next player, but that's oude of the mouth that tech over.
But tom this is the perfect spot for a player that you can't wait to get to the next Sunday, right because you want to make good on what transpired last Sunday.
Yeah, you know, it's it's kind of weird because if you look at the player, the plays that they're criticizing Chase Claypool for. You know, there's reasoning behind it. You know, the first outside screen, that the lateral screen, the ball was tipped by an unblocked rusher at the line of scrimmage, so it interrupted the flight of the football. There's no guarantee you're going to catch it anyways, because the defenders who were already in pursuit of the pass when you
when they saw it. Then the next one that he comes in, he has a crack on a linebacker, hits the linebacker really good, but Darnell Wright doesn't have enough depth on his poll and then he hits Claypool and his block knocks him off and then they make then they have the play, and so everybody's blaming Claypool. You know, when you have a design of an offense, you know it when you have eleven guys trying to do one specific job. Everything's got to fit perfectly and there's an
ex act to everything. It's not trying to get to a general area and then see how the block unfolds. Because you know, on the fifteenth play of the game, Robert Tunyan he had a block. He was an exterior wide receiver and he got run over by a defensive back. That'sn't as egregious as any of the Claypool plays that everybody's highlighting. And the thing about it is is all these social media evaluators they come and they look at a couple plays and then they put it out there
and then it's the blame game. And so that's just not the case because I can sit here and go through my notes on every single play and you can talk about how do you improve it? And so I think that's the thing about the offensive coaches going forward and the defensive coaches. When you look at a tape, you got to have thick skin because you're gonna get criticized in front of your peers whether you like it or not. And so what do you do with it?
Do you put your head in the sand like an ostrich or do you go out in the practice field and do what you need to do to improve in when Matt Iberfluss was talking about the technique things that every it's every single guy's job has to get better at their technique. And to me, when you go from training camp, when you go from like seventy percent max to one hundred percent on game day. It's almost impossible to catch up on week one. So we'll see how it is week two, week three, and going forward.
And how much do you think that they'll be able to go from seventy to one hundred here in week two. You've talked about the heat a lot time, right, and it's not and we talked to Jeff yesterday and the show. It's not like it's going to be one hundred degrees, but they're eighty six or eighty nine with a.
Lot of humidity.
It's and when the sun peeks out from behind the clouds. I set out there in the crowd in on a cloudy day two years ago when Tom Brady threw six hundred touchdown against the Bears, and for the ten minutes the sun came out, it felt like I was sitting on the sun.
That's how hot it's out out there.
So right now six o'clock, it's eighty six degrees on Sunday, there's a thirty percent chance range, so that means it's going to be humid, and it's ninety degrees, which probably be a little bit higher than that. When you have a blue helmet on, you know, there's a lot of heat absorbing the orange.
Well, same things dark color.
Those orange helmets too.
Yeah, no Dora helmet like uh, you know, I'm a traditional blue guy, you know. I want to see the Bears come out in the uniforms that they've been wearing since nineteen twenty, although they do have the other you know uniforms, like the blue with.
The white low You like the blue with the white logo. Yeah, yeah, I like that.
We used to sweat like we stole something, right.
Your head would come out fielding like a raisin at the end of the game with those blue helmets on the you know.
And that's why Tampa wears white aad homes exactly, you know.
And then they have the sideline that that doesn't get shaded as the sun moves, so you sit in the sun off game.
Is that seriously why the Bears are probably wearing the orange because they don't want to wear the dark blue and makes a lot.
Of sense, but you know, you got to pick a couple of games a year to alternate, so that's one of the but.
You know, get you getting back to the heat.
It is a factor because when you go out for pregame warm ups, it's about eleven o'clock East Coast time zone. And so now you're out there for a couple hours before actual kickoff, and when you go into the locker room after warm ups, is there's sometimes that you're already so drenched in sweat that the game hasn't even started yet.
It could be soupy, but I think it's worse in Miami. That's really you do. Yeah, humid in Miami, and they got the sun. They put you on the sideline when the sun's just baking you.
You remember, yeah, and then they have a dark green tarp down that absorbs even more heat. You stand on the grass and you stand on the tarp at Miami, it's fifteen degrees hotter on the tarp than it is on the natural.
Howl effect what you guys are wearing in the in the booth.
It doesn't it does not end. And you looked at you looked at me serious with that question. Yeah, No, we're gonna go shirt listen and.
This so listen.
So so for the TV show that we have to do on the sideline, this half hour live.
So I called the guy for the camera guy from Fox.
And I go, hey, do you shoot us from just the waist up, or do you see our legs at all?
He goes, no, it's pretty tight from your wear shirt.
Yes, no, no, I'll wear shoes, but there is a good chance that I will be in shorts.
Uh, shorts and the jacket for the no, we don't.
We used to? Well I did, he never did it, and the contrast got to be to the point where I look ridiculous, or he does one of the two and I'm gonna stop, shoot and tie. Wait, there's a case could be made we should look the same. So a couple of years ago we started wearing a bear shirt and there we go. That's not you know, aside from the heat and Clay point that the biggest news
of the day is Kyler Gordon. Yeah. I mean you knew he's probably not gonna play, but now he's on ir to what extent is the injury and not sure? But uh, that's a big loss. They Jeff, I think it could be a combination of guys. I mean, Blackwell obviously is on the depth chart as the backup. But you know, I think when they bring Stroman up on the practice today, yeah, yeah, see that's that's just it. Yeah,
I got the injury report here too. Yeah, so that's you know, so hey, all hands on deck because they put good Godwin in that slot and he's he's a rugged, outstanding receiver, one of the best duos in the league with him and Mike Evans, so that that is a major position to address. Tom.
So you you talked a lot about the the armchair film guys, you know, and I like to watch a lot of that stuff, you with the trained eye, a guy who knows what he's watching. I I compared it to I said earlier, it's like taking a boat ride. Like sometimes you want a captain who will explain it to you, and those are the people who narrate it. You don't need a captain because you know how to navigate the waters.
So if your analy.
Seeing the sixty minutes of filmed us, what are your big takeaways from watching those sixty minutes that you would tell us and Bears fans that you the biggest takeaways in your mind, not from anybody else.
The Tom Thayer took off.
Before you answer, say I'm the captain, Now go ahead, all right, that's good.
I'm not rack Gil again.
You know, it's it's just more of I I really think if if you're gonna have football timed up to the exact way it's gotta be designed, and the rhythm that you need and the act exact whereabouts after a
receiver's running aroute at one hundred percent. I just don't think that you can have you can come out of training camp with that when you have so few reps at one hundred percent together, and whether it's an angle by a wide receiver going to hit a dB so that dB who Green Bay said before that might have been one of the most physical training camps I've ever had.
So now if these guys are going through training camp and they're working eighty five to one hundred percent and you've been working at seventy to eighty percent, Now you have to get to a specific angle on a crack block or wherever you got to be. Maybe you're not exactly in the right spot because you really didn't do it at the game expected speed. So to me, you know, there's a lot of things. Let me because I do have, you know, notes on my.
Fall you look for that. Let me, let me add this, Let me add this. Though, because you know the chemistry or the offensive line, we always say it's got to be great but that also matters to the defensive line. It matters to the secondary. So Eddie Jackson Jakwan Brisker didn't play that much in the preseason together. They were both banged up, so that matters. All of it matters in.
The end route combination for receivers and tight ends and also is important for them.
You.
Tom will hold your notes. We'll get well back to get back to them. And Bears Weekly. We've got Colt coming up.
Conversation I have with him today, so he'll address some of these topics. Ye coming up.
He's the son he always wanted.
All right.
So it's Wattlein' Sylvie in with the guys, Tom Fair and Jeff Joniac and this is Bears Weekly on ESPN one thousand.
Thiscus Bears Weekly with a voice of the Bears for twenty three years Jeff on the Bears Radio Network.
The segment of Bears Weekly has brought to you by Athletico Physical Therapy is at Atletico dot Com or Passion in Clinic or virtual appointment at Start feeling better tomorrow.
That's right.
It's uh Wattle and Sylvia along with Jeff, Joniack and Tom Fair.
Your hometown call for the Chicago Bears. We are live at Hallis Hall.
It is our pleasure to join the guys today, and we saw cool Kombat. He popped in here into the studio looking for you earlier.
As he was, he was very disappointed when he saw us.
I could show there some appointment, yes in his face, and I immediately.
Said, you're looking for Jeff.
Yeah. Yeah. They brought them to the wrong thing, so you yeah, yeah. Col Comet brought up with col Comet covered a lot of topics, current, future, present, you name it. Let's hear what you have to say.
All right, how bad did it hurt Sunday?
Yeah, that was tough.
That was probably probably the hardest one of the ones I've played in.
Yeah, all games or just Bears Packers.
All games for sure. I mean that game means the
most I mean to me personally. You know, I still think guys that you know aren't from here may not necessarily understand the truth, like really what it means to guys who are from here and the fans it means from I mean, that's a game where you know, if I you know you're twelve, thirteen, fourteen years old, you know you're crying at home after the game, you know, that's what that game means, you know what I mean, And you know I definitely felt that, and I was
super emotional for a couple of days about it. So a hard one to get over, but uh, but one we got to move on from. And you kind of just have to take the perspective that even though it's it really isn't only one game, you know, because that game doesn't mean it, but it still is one of seventeen. And we got to be able to move on here and and get going here against Tampa.
Yeah, the the whole cliche of don't make one loss equal to absolutely that really is confronting this team this week.
We agree, Yeah, absolutely, I think you know, there's a there's gotta be a balance of taking what happened into the practice week and using it, you know, for good and but also moving on from it and creating a positive attitude of locker room going forward, because there's a lot of football left and it's week one, and you know, I was watching tape around the league, like there's a lot of teams.
That didn't come out ready to go. So at the end of the day, we gotta we got.
To use this week of preparation, get ready to go here and get a win against Tampa.
How about your role in the offense.
Uh, this Tampa team is going to be pretty dangerous with the pressure packages up.
But you know it could you can make them pay too.
Can't you?
Absolutely?
Yeah, So they're embering pressure, So we got to be good about our checks and you know, just justin will get us in the right calls.
And you know, if.
I got a block, a block of defender, block of blitzer, you know, those are the type of things I have to do, you know, in third down situations. And we got to hold up so we can dish out the ball to our playmakers here. So we're looking forward to doing that this week. And you know, we're excited about the plan and and we're looking we're looking forward to get a good rebound game here.
You're so well spoken, you're engaging, You communicate extremely well your thoughts about the game. Are you that way with the fellas in the locker room? Do you? Are you now comfortable now in your fourth year with a young team to speak your mind?
Yeah?
Absolutely, I think you know, I feel like I have to speak my mind on things now because I want to win I want to win, and you know, I'm going to say what needs to be said, and like I'm going to be respectful about it obviously and all those things. But you know when I when I think something needs to be said, I'll say it. And at the end of the day, though, I think it's just about going to work every day of practice and treating those practice reps like like game reps, and and making
sure we're on it there. So you know, just telling the guys like making sure we're prepared throughout the week, making sure you're at practice doing the right things, and taking care of your body and so we can get wrong here, you know, starting starting on Tampa.
All right, you got Levante David, you get, Devin White, you get and.
You got you got that little guy who is just like his dad was, Antoine Winfield Junior. Those could be guys that attract your attention. What do you think of those three guys and how do you how do you handle that? Because they they gave up a lot of catches last week to Hokinson.
No they did.
Yeah, they're they're physical. I mean they give up catches, but they didn't give up a lot of yards there. So they're they're they're uh, they're quick trigger guys. You know, they're fast, they're speedy side to side, and they're hard hitters too, so they've shown that on tape. So I just think at the end of the day, we just got to show our show our physicality towards them and and do that and in the run and pass and I think it'll be all right.
You know, watching you catch the balls there in the second half, you get chopped down.
Man, you have to be aware of that.
You know they're going low, your tall timber, you know, Uh, is that automatic to you or can you never really relax that part of the idea that that guy's coming low for me because he could really hurt you.
Yeah, I think, yeah, there's a balance with it, you know. Some I think like the first one when we had in the ren zone in the in the first half, Gyre made a good play because he was getting depth on the slam and I threw down thinking I had more room to him than I did turn around, and he triggered pretty well. So I mean, that's a veteran, veteran guy knowing what he's doing.
But yeah, you know, you.
Just got to feel those things out and and be able to, you know, get that stiff arm down when you can and kind of protect your life a little bit. But it's definitely hard. You know, they're trying to chop you down as they know they can't get you up top.
All right, Chase Claypool, he's a lightning ride right now for whatever the reasons may be. But you know him better than any tell us about him.
What we for this?
Yeah, I think I think. I think that's what it is.
It's his passion and you know, sometimes it gets it gets out of him a little bit and and you know, it becomes a thing, and but he knows, you know, he knows is what he's got to do, all those type of things. And he's frush. He wants to win too. No one wants to win more than Chase. And I know he was he was frusher with some things, uh this past week, but I know he's looking forward to have a good rebound week coming up here. Like coach says, I for I Ford, Yeah, I got it.
I'm gonna ask you this and I may have before, so answer it again if you can, But you know, I know what you're gonna answer.
But I'm gonna throw it out there anyway.
What is the most underrated aspect of your game that doesn't get talked about enough.
Yeah, I think it's been my blocking coming out.
Ding ding ding ding ding ding. I know he's gonna say that, but I got a different one, but go ahead.
Yeah, I think it's been my blocking.
I think people kind of start taking use of that this past year a little bit more, especially with our ground game doing so well. So yeah, I'd say that that's kind of always been a come out of college.
And you know, I've always had a physical element to me.
It's just a matter of, you know, getting the technique down and and I just get been getting better and better at that as as my career progressed.
Yeah, you know, you get, you get very you get a little at you about when people start to question your blocking. Yeah, right, don't you like, I don't. I don't know why this thought is out.
There, but yeah, I think, well, I think it's just to me if you're going to say that, At least for me when I was coming out, I thought it was a little bit of a lazy analysis. I don't think you're really watching the film and doing your homework on it, and not to say that I didn't.
Have a lot to improve as a blocker, but that's constant.
Yeah, but you could definitely see that, you know, idle willingness and it was there, and that that physicality part of my game has always been there.
See I'll take the physicality part and now this is mine.
Is that when the ball's in your hands and you have time to either your you're catching it on the run or you have a chance to turn and get your shoulders upfield, good luck tackling Cole comeback because you are tough with the ball in your hands.
To me, that's underrated.
And guys just slip off when you have a chance to get the winds going right.
Yeah, would you agree with that?
Yeah, I know that's something I know that loves about me.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
So you know, I tell these guys, I mean, even if you just get me on a screen pass and you know, get eight to ten yards to start a series off, like they bring some juice and you know, I'm always always gonna be falling forward whether I'm getting tackled or not. And yeah, I do think that's part of my game that I've done pretty well at and look to continue to excel at.
You know, talking to Ryan Poles a couple of weeks ago, and I didn't think of this, but it's the.
Draft driven team.
You're a draft drafted bear, and a lot of teams are now starting to look at that because you have to pay a franchise quarterback. You're blowing out the budget, so you got to draft, Well, you gotta draft guys. But organically they they kind of take over the locker room. So you're on the first phase of that, obviously pre
dating Ryan Poles with Ryan Pace drafting you. But do you feel that natural progression where the younger guys are starting to own that room with no disrespect to the veterans that've been here a while, You agree, Yeah.
No, absolutely.
I mean I think there's something to say about guys who are in the same locker room for a long time.
And I remember when Jason Peters is here.
You know, the main thing with people in the league love guys that have been in a certain area the whole time, and there's something to that. So you know, you kind of listen to those older guys when they say those type of things, and yeah, and it's it's important to have guys that you've you know, drafted be here and and be able to excel here and and and be you know, eventually become leaders.
In the locker room, all right, you know, the homegrown thing.
And you know we sat down with your other homegrown brothers, the Hometown Heroes piece we did back late in the spring. Yeah, and the reaction that I got from it, and me being a hersy guy a little guy too, helped, you know.
But these guys are really like, genuinely loved being Bears, and well, yeah, well would you expect they grow up? All you guys were Bears fans.
So when we said for that, I mean, you learned probably something about those guys that they didn't know about you, and vice versa. But you know that says a lot about what's in your heart and mind.
About the Bears asolutely agree, absolutely, And I think they're just something about it. You know, the guys that you bring here, they kind of understand the environment here in Chicago, how to deal with things, and you know, how people think about things here and and all those type of things.
So they know how important Chicago is. The Bears are to Chicago and to these people here, and you know, I know all of them, you know, We're honored every every moment we get to step on the field with to see on our oland.
You know, you wouldn't want it any other way.
You will want to play in a place that the fan base has no passion, right. You know there there are Bandwagon fans out there in certain cities. When things are going well, they flock and they bring it and they buy the merchandise.
Here, you know what you get, absolutely what you can.
There's some guys that I think have come in here that you know, whether they hear the booze early after you know, it's drive or whatnot. But like, I'd rather play that knowing what the outcome can be when we do our part and do the things right.
Because the atmosphere, uh, it can't be beat, you know.
I think you know, we're the largest market that has that has only one one team in the city, and you know, the people want to rally around the Bears. So when we get this thing going and the atmosphere and the environment in Chicago is going.
To be incredible.
There you go.
There's Jeff Joniac with Col Kobat. I think he does want to adopt Col Cobat.
And really good stuff. I love the way you have a conversation with them. It's not just Q and A, Q and A.
They are conversations. It's what Wattle and I tried to do on the Wattle in Sylvie show. I want to talk about it as a group with Cole Comett. We also got to get Thayer's notes from watching the game film. We are live at House Haltz, Wattle and Sylvie joining. Theyre in Joniac. This is Bears Weekly on ESPN one thousand and the Bears Radio Network.
This is Bear's Weekly with a voice of the Bears for twenty three years. Jeff jon on the Bears Radio Network.
That's right.
We're live at Hallas Hall for Bears Weekly. Usually there Jona Jammeller right for Bears Weekly off season, off season, just off season, and then you during ind season. Correct, usually after our show. But we've got White Sox baseball on early, so we've joined forces with the guys and we just heard the Cole Comett interview.
Tell us more, Jeff All.
We want VIP access to every Bears home game, Exclusive seating, Tommy Sideline credentials and more are now available. To get the ultimate VIP fan package this season by visiting Chicago Bears vip dot com, which you think I was looking at Wattle right right.
Well, you've already got the game.
I like how you you call him t Wattle. You're teeth Thayer, but you're Tommy to me.
You know what, I think, Cole Comett is one of one of my favorite people up here. And I think Cole Comet is a guy you want on your football team. And I think last year Luke Getzi finally put him in position to take advantage of the stuff that he
does well. Not to be overly critical, but I never thought that Cole was one of these tight ends that you split out like George Kittle or even Hockinson, the kid that plays up in Minnesota now and we'll threat in the middle of the field with his speed and athleticism. To me, he's an in line white tight end who's really good in the run game. At times he can give you something in the red zone and just they.
Use him correctly, or they used him correctly last year.
I thought that, you know, you know, the whole game has to speed up for the Bears offense, and Cole included, you know, the first play of the game, they have a lateral point of attack. So they got Cole lined up to the right hand side outside the right tackle. He comes across the formation and he's going to cut
Preston Smith. You know, you really can't cut in the hole because then Preston Smith is able to push him down with his hands, and now you have a body in the hole, and then you have a tackle for a one yard loss. To me, I want to use Cole power going straight ahead. I think he's a great athlete, and it's like, you know, there's another play, the thirty
second play of the game. If you throw it to Cole Kmet two seconds sooner than you threw it to him, now he's going to be in an advantage of me running over Sylvie and I just mean a big guy against the defensive back you put Cole.
Can you actually can you do that? Can you show us up? I would like to see a live demonstration.
I think you know it's like that one the one throw they threw to him down in the red zone. The advantage was to the defensive player already, And when Jeff asked him about these low shots on him, I kind of win speed before it in during his call.
But you know, when Justin started talking about making quicker decisions and thinking sooner even you know there's there's a play the you know, the thirty second play was to coal and then they had one to blasting game that if he throws it three seconds earlier to an outlet past the blasting game, it's a completion for a fifteen
eighteen yard game. Instead it was an incompletion. So when you talk talk about what can the Bears do within a week's time to make sure there are a much better offensive football team than they were just a couple days ago, it's just the timing of plays. You know, for the opening play of the game, you're at home. Rather than having a lateral point of attack, you have a point of attack.
The best block on that play was by Nate Davis.
And I know that te Watta, you know that the guys are being critical of him, but I think it's a little but bit unfair. If I was going to have a designated point of attack going into the next week, a lot of the times I would want to follow behind Nate Davis and Darnell right, because you got to give these guys the off, the opportunity to explode straight ahead.
If you think you're gonna do it Laterally, you're playing right into the hands of a quick defense like Tampa Bay or what Green Bay was this past weekend.
At home.
You can hear the snap count, so that's what should be ingrained in the head. But it's got to be a cadence that they've become accustomed to listen to Justin so they can almost anticipate it. Just an instant, just an eighth of a second quicker than a defensive lineman can get off the ball, and just subtle things like that can change it. And you can take advantage of the power blocking of Cole come out on the line of scrimmage, or you know, just a quarterback seeing the
play an instant quicker. So you got a lateral point of attack on the first play of the game, the first play of the third quarter. Now you say, okay, you guys are got twelve minutes. We're going to make some adjustments. The first play of the third quarter, Justin playfakes with his back to the line of scrimmage and they have an unblocked tackler coming right at him and it results in a sack. So anytime you're going to take a chance of throwing the ball with the quarterbacks
back to the line of scrimmage. There's things going on that he's not even aware of. And it happened a couple times in the game that you know, you got to allow justin to be able to see what's in front of him.
I have a two part question about Braxton Jones. What happened in.
Game one with him with the penalties and because I love the dependability, I loved his rookie year, So what what happened with the uneven performance? And then the second part of that question Tom for you is there was a play when they sort of pulled him which some people on on these film breakdown said they pulled a left tackle, which some said they've never seen before.
Oh, that's crap, that's a pet Joe tu you saw Joe Gibbs made a living off that play. Oh God, Joe Jacoby pulling from the tackle. That is a bunch of bologney. So so, no, Braxton Jones can pull. You can have a right guard or a left guard and a left tackle pulling leading a sweep. They have a counter O T that's Oh is the guard? T is the tackle? There's a there's plenty of play. Is where tackles pull excuse me to me Brex and Jones and the penalties that he did.
He was trying to.
Get that that just if of a second jump on the count in a couple of times he just jumped half a second early, and the official note.
Mortgan said only one of those or a false start. The snap didn't happen on the second.
Exactly, that's exactly right. One of it wasn't his fault, you know.
So it's when when you because of they don't have And that's one of the things you talk about chemistry, is the chemistry of the offensive line is understanding the tempo of the cadence and how it is to the center quarterback exchange, and if there is any hesitancy by the center, the other offensive linemen are gonna look, you know, ill timed, off timed and stuff. And so that comes with reps, and that comes with going out there and
using the cadence as a weapon, especially at home. Now on the road, it's probably not going to be the same because Tampa has a supporting crowd.
Jeff, that you mentioned you talked to Morgan abouts.
Not me, It was it was all the media.
Did you get a feeling for how he felt his group played as a group.
You know, he basically says the same thing every time he talks because he is an offensive line coach. He's an offensive lineman. It's everything I asked him about, you know, the kid darn all right, and what's he need. He went through every single down and distance situation, past blocking, run blocking time, and the game all you gotta work on it all. It's all so he doesn't pinpoint anything like that. But uh, I I like the way he
approaches it though he doesn't really he doesn't spill the beans. Yeah, you know, but he does. He does. Uh, he does coach well. I do believe that.
You know, if I looked at the offensive line, I would say, Okay, the right side to me displayed they have the ability to be a run behind offensive line point of attack style run. You know, I need to see more power out of the left hand side of the offensive line in Braxton to me. And there's some pass protect since he needs to play lower and and then that's the think about it. I asked Jeff to ask him, please stop admitting what your weaknesses are at
the podium. Just keep that to yourself and work on them in practice, because I don't think Pracxicton Jones has ever shied away from any work that he needs to do on the practice field. So I'm not sitting there going to make wholesale changes with the offensive line. I'm just gonna, Like I said, you've got to go back and you watch tape and you correct them.
This is an acute need though on Sunday, an acute, acute need to have proper identification on all these blitz package wherever pressure package they got, or what kind of stunts they do, because they all they they're great at stunts and twists inside too, every one of those guys up front and then most importantly in my opinion, but I'm not an offensive lineman. Be de Beya. Yeah, but you know, Beavey has got to be slowed down because he can collapse the whole game.
Play right on pass protections.
If you don't know it by now, then I have some concerns because you should know all of your assignments by now, especially these guys have been around for a couple of years, well, not Nate and Darnell, but you know, direction of protection is pretty obvious.
I want to talk to you guys when we come back about how the defense gets more pressure on Tampa coming up next, all right, so Joniac can there with us.
It's Wadalin Sylvie.
This is Bears Weekly on ESPN one thousand and the Bears Radio Network.
Is Bears Weekly with a voice of the Bears for twenty three years, Jeff on the Bears Radio Network.
This second of Bears Weekly is brought to you by CDW. You'd be able to get it out of Mark Silverman, the host of tonight's Bears Weekly.
It's an honor. It is an honor too.
We've had fun so far with the game day and the pregames and everything that we do.
And you haven't told Tom something though. You might as well try no, you know what.
So so I didn't know that you had that step stool.
Yeah, and so I perfectly.
I could see someone and I thought Keith was in the booth or I thought I'm going.
Like a tall guy, who is that?
And and I look and then finally I go, I gotta look, and I look, and I oh, it's it's Sylvie.
And something to tell you? Not ask you tell me?
No, No, I'm going to ask you tell I got to ask So I'm taking the family to Kansas City with my wife and my two kids of a nine and a seven year old.
They can't come in the booth.
No, no, no, no.
And nor would I ask that, nor would I tell you.
Sylvie wants you to babysit the kids on Saturday night so he can go to dinner.
I hear you're great with the nephew's.
Baby sitting in my great nephew tomorrow night.
They see. I hear you're great with that. Nor would I ask you that. I would not impose that.
So they're going to be out and doing their thing because they know that I gotta work.
It's best cut through the chaser.
So I gotta work. So I'm gonna be with them. It's a bucket list item for me to go to Kansas City. You have never seen Arrowhead. I want to see what this is all about and the tailgating and everything like that.
So I've got to host pregame in Kansas City.
In Kansas City, so I we'd like to host the pregame show from the booth.
Don't look at me.
I'm gonna be on my couch.
What the what he told me? He's asking you that's a sign of love. That's gonna be.
Better and brisket or something.
What do you want, I'll take your or you want?
So that means so the four hours before two hours.
Now think about this.
Let's do this analytically, all right, You are on half the segments. You're on with me when we talked to you, Dion and Lance. You are on when we cross talk with Jeff and you and Jay Mack. And then there two other segments when joniak is interviewing uh Ryan Poles and man Eberflus. Those are four segments right when I'm not even in anybody's way.
You are a heck of a salesman.
So now we're.
Only talking about like three or four other segments where I'm sort of stepping on your toes.
Have you ever have you ever met little Z?
Of course?
How big is the booth?
It's not big there, it's pretty small windows.
Have I bothered you yet? Have I have I sort of?
Well you don't. You don't want the answer to We'll pick it up. You're pick We'll pick it up another.
We listen, Sylvie, listen, he started hyper listen. We're all part of.
Each other now hundred percentage.
I will bring the brisket.
No.
You know what, I have a buddy in Kansas City that owns a place that was featured on Diners, Drivings, and Dives, and we're gonna go there the night before the game. So I'm gonna still be full from that.
Wow.
Okay, So the answer is still know it's.
Not you're all good good.
I know about defense, right, I was hoping you weren't bringing the family along, and you know, all of a sudden, we're you know, playing uh you know, hula hoopers.
Yeah, absolutely all right.
So the defense very little pressure, very little pressure in game one. How do they get more pressure in Baker Mayfield in Tampa in game two?
Well, you know what, he loves getting in rhythm number one. That's so get him off his rhythm, get off his spot. He does make plays on the move, but he certainly is not the threat of a of a legitimate mobile quarterback. But he does just enough with a little bit of grit to uh annoy you a little bit when he he scrambles.
So he's got a couple of nice targets out there as well, Mike Chris Godwin.
So you do definitely have to harass him.
Listen, You're you're gonna have to be willing to take some chances. Eventually, you're going to try to have to get them off balance. When you evaluate the Tampa Bay Bucks offensive line, where are their vulnerabilities? Is a Tristan Wurfs who had a real hard time mentally going from right tackle to left tackle? Is he perfectly in place like he was as a right tackle in this league for as long as he's been here?
You know?
Is Ryan Jensen, who is their most physical, their leader of that whole offensive unit at center, who's on IR for the year. Are they vulnerable up the middle right there? Can you put in a linebacker that you feel can anticipate the snapcount, because now that you're gonna be able to hear the rhythm of Baker snapcount, if you can go out there the first series and say, Okay, he's pretty consistent with with this snapcount. Now let's see if we can bring a blitz, you know, from the corner.
Jeff's a big fan of the corner blitz. You know, they did it against Kirk Cousins the second play of the game with Winfield and he was a sack fumble. So eventually you're gonna have to try to think outside the box and bring something from an unexpected area. You know, you know, And the thing about a Baker is not
the best athlete at quarterback in the NFL. So if you get him into a chase and now you stress his fundamental throwing positions, and if he does have a bad shoulder, you're gonna have to take a chance.
Can I flip the around as well?
Because we know Todd Bowles is a very aggressive defensive mind. Do you believe that that may lead to some big plays from this Bears offense? Because if you are blitzing but you're not staying disciplined in what you're trying to do, there are opportunities, whether it's justin in a design quarterback run or even in man coverage, there may be some opportunities that exist against the Bucks that maybe didn't show up against the Packers.
Well, I hope it would come on first and second down because I think one thing about Dj Moore, Cole Kmeto or whomever else is playing wide receiver. If you do have a suspected blitz coming and you have a pass called on first and second down to get yourself out of those third and super.
Longs that you have no chance.
That's where I would like to see him come and then justin talk about maybe he has to take a chance and that you're not necessarily have a huge window of opportunity, but give your give your receiver a chance. And who is gonna cover Cole? I mean they don't have defensive backs. If you can get Winfield in a coverage responsibility rather than a blitzer responsibility, you're always gonna win the size matchup with e Q, with Cole, with
DJ Moore or you know whoever else. And I think Roshan Johnson and the running backs should have more immediate opportunities out of the backfield.
Yeah, you know that's another one too, uh, because the running backs coach was asked about you know, does he earn more reps now because he let them in reps? But it was all it was fairly even, and that was a plan. The plan was to spread it out. Will they continue to spread it out? That'll be an interesting discussion, is gonna be. I think it was twenty seven, twenty six, twenty one, Rochean had the most carries, followed by Khalil Herbert and then down to foreman.
So when when you look at all the backs, though, there was three occasions during the course of the game that the ball should have went to the back immediately. It's listen, it's No. One two th repassing. Yeah, yeah, in the passing game. And if you can do that, okay, Now you got to spread the defense out a little bit. Now you can have seven or eight in the box. Now you got to make sure that you have more of an effort to stop these guys.
I got a question because Minnesota didn't even try to run the ball, didn't even try to run the ball. The fewest rushing attempts. And it's not like they were down twenty five nothing or twenty seven nothing. No, they just chose Is it because of idevea? Is it because of those front seven? The linebackers are swift, they can move, they have range, even though you know they're you know, obviously Levante David's getting a little older on the other
side of thirty. And then the bigger question to me is are you going to survive the field position battle? Because if you're starting drives inside your twenty or you're getting a first down sack. Again, he led the league in first down sacks last year justin at twenty had won in this last game. Or you're getting these first down penalties or a special teams penalty, which they didn't have many last year, but they did have one to start the game. You can't. Position's gonna be vitally important.
You get that place worked up and those guys lathered up on the front, it's gonna be hard.
Yeah, you get backed up to one of those end zone or by the pirate ship.
And if I have to hear, you know, I didn't realize this all the years we've been there. That cannon for a touchdown goes off seven times. Three times for the field goal, Yeah every time. Yeah, No one hear the no fun No seven. I don't want to hear seven. Cannon chucked him before always. Yes, he's a very very nice gentleman.
Yeah, Tom, I don't know that you can play a must win game in week two of the NFL season, or can you.
Yeah, listen, I don't want anybody to come to the podium after the game and say, oh, this is only the second week of the season. We lost, so we got fifteen more games.
I think.
With Detroit beating Kansasity at Kansas City, Green Bay already beating you at home if you go down zero to.
Two, Minnesota playing the night Philly.
Yeah, you know it's I I do think that, you know, No, but.
Yes, right now I get what you're saying.
Like if I see a significantly different team that's flying around out there, that they got.
Energy to boot and they get beat by one, yeah, and it's different.
Right Yeah, Yeah, it's good stuff. You guys brought up Roshan Johnson. I want to I want to build on that a little bit more. What did you guys like and what you see in him? Because it turns out I think we liked it at the time. The draft pick for Ryan Poles looks really good right now, and what we all like about Roshan Johnson. We'll build on that conversation. Coming up next.
This is Bears Weekly on the Bears Radio Network.
This is Bear's Weekly with a voice of the Bears for twenty three years, Jeff Jony on the Bears Radio Network.
The segment of Bears Weekly is brought to you by Athletical Physical Therapy. Visit Athletico dot com to request an clinic or virtual poetic draft. Feeling better tomorrow? I know I'm feeling better.
How about you, I'm starting to feel better. Yeah.
Can I do some injuries real quick?
Yeah?
So Carlton Davis outstanding corner, he hasn't practiced, got toe, got a toe, so he's got ten of them. Yeah, I know, but you know those aren't those aren't fun, right to play with, and he's considered their number one corner.
A Walter Payton's the history, right, and then I I don't want to see him, but I think he's gonna be a really is Elijah Cantsey the rookie only had eleven snaps and he caused some havoc and those eleven.
Snaps a calf and he's got a calf and he's in practice all week. So that's uh. An Aaron Donald wanna be because he ran faster at two eighty out of the combine the right. Yeah, he's he's a good player. He's a good player. So you guys that maybe out So here's hoping he doesn't. He's right, That's what I'm saying.
Yeah, he's he's like, I'm not, Jeff, I'm not one of these guys.
Is gonna beat the best?
No, if half your team can't play because you're sick, Fine, let's go.
Let's roll.
I'm just looking for a dumb to hard to get to the cams for everybody.
Let's go kick it off.
What makes Roshan Johnson good, especially so like as far as a rookie early in his career.
He can do all three things. He can play first, second, third down. He can pick up blitzes, he can catch out of the backfield. If he's designated receiver, he can line up with wide receiver and still be an option. And you saw what he did to a third level defender coming up and trying to lay a shoulder to him.
Runs behind his paths, and he finishes runs. That's what I love about him. I love his attitude, his desire to be great, and they're never more important than what you're gonna tell you.
Well, yeah, I mean I thought that the interception that that Justin threw obviously very unfortunate. But if you look at the play closely, Roshawn Johnson tries to make the tackle early. Obviously he needs to wrap, okay, but he's not a defensive player. The point I'm making is is he didn't get I think it was Kuay Walker, Rightwalker couldn't get him on the ground.
He didn't quit.
He got up and sprinted his tail off all the way to the end zone and put another hit on kuay Walker. So just you know, in the middle of a bad play, to see a young player do what he did was was I thought was inspiring and something I hope the coaches pointed out to everybody in that building.
And he was wide open. They should have thrown it.
Absolutely, he was standing by himself on the left side.
What do you like about him?
Mark?
Like everything? Like, what what have you said?
Uh?
Since he's become a Bear, that what he he uses his body as a weapon.
He says it. Yeah, he's doing it.
Yeah, it's what he likes, is like and and just the book on him since he's come out of Texas is is what.
He stands for too?
Right that everyone always said that he could have transferred and didn't. He was still a leader even though he was back up there.
He was playing behind b Jean Robinson like and I.
Saw like after he started to run, even though the Bears were losing, I kept my eye on him, Jeff, when I was in the booth and he went to the sideline and was trying to get the guys into the game, trying to get the crowd back into the game. It was it was the makeup of him seems good in a train to what he does tangibly on the field.
Little thing like I may have told this story before during rookie minicamp meeting room. Uh, everybody leaves, They left all their bottles of water. He cleaned up the whole room, didn't ask anybody, just did it. I mean that those little things tell you about the man.
Are you're going to clean up after us here?
Absolutely says a lot about you, says everything about you.
I washed clothes this morning.
I gotta go home and do laundry as well. My wife's out of town again. It's about time I do it while I'm drinking though.
So it all works, guys, Thank you for letting us in today.
It's always fun, all right, Kansas Citank, all.
The producers, Yes, we were so, Dan Barelli.
Dan BARRELLI, Jordan tread Up, TALLERACKI who's spinning the down.
Brolly and Justin back at the station. Thank you very much, White Sox Baseball.
Thanks coping up next for.
Jeff Joniac, Tom Thayer, Tom Waddel. I'm Sylvie. It's ESPN one thousand and the Bears Ready Network.
Thank you.
Chicago Bears Network presentation The Bears Weekly, hosted by the Mara, Bearsville, Jeff Juniat and Surfmaster Tom Thayer. Podcasts are available on the Chicago Bears Official Bears Weekly has been brought to you by Apple Podcasts, Bet Rivers, IGS Energy, and Miller Lite