YOUTH MOVEMENT: Chicago Bears Retool Roster With Coby Bryant, Devin Bush | CHGO Bears After Dark

0:00I guess I'll try to talk a little football back from the United Center for straight days, for straight wins for my Purdue Boilermakers. So I'm full-fledged into March madness as Purdue started to turn the corner here a little bit. I am your host Greg Bragg Jr. alongside me as always here on CACO Bears after dark is Shane Marso and Philatotian from the tape Never Lies Network. And we're going to be talking about a lot of things from free agency kind of now that the dust is settled. It seems like the Bears are going to start turning their attention towards the draft. So we'll still have some clips I brought in looking through from last week from Ryan Poles and Kobe Bryant and Devin Bush and Cleef Raymond

1:02Neville Gala Moore, some different topics that we'll get through here today. So hit the like button, subscribe to the channel. If you haven't already, we appreciate every single one of you here hanging out. How are we doing fellas? Good. Ready to get going. You know, the off seasons over that the roster is set. The bears have regressed and you know, four wins here we come, set in stone. The bears are broke. Yeah, we have a lot of headlines to get into. There's a lot to get into. Well, I mean, let's just get right into it then. I mean, we'll hear we'll play through some different clips to give the perspective from the organization. But I mean, you guys, you guys haven't had a chance really here on these airwaves to give your thoughts. A lot of moves have been made here since two weeks ago that we dove deep into combine talk. And so, you know, Shane, I'll just start with you, but, you know, it's been a flurry of moves and it started with

2:04Drew Dolman announcing out of nowhere his retirement. And now here we are a week later with a completely retooled roster and a new look bears. Yeah, you know, you bring up the center position and Phil broke it down better than than anybody. And I understand you know, you come out of the gate last year, signing Drew Dolman and he makes the parole ball. But if you sit back and anybody that has access to do that, you don't even have to just watch the tape. You can see it even on the broadcast copy, Drew Dolman struggled. And if he probably had his worst game of the year versus the Rams and the playoffs, you go out and surprise retirement and they trade for Garrett Brad Berry. Is it a massive step down? I don't think so. Is it an upgrade? I will see. I'm not there. I know Phil probably has a difference of opinion there. You know, can it, can it be a wash or you know, you just about stay the same? Sure, but I

3:06love the moves that the bears have made. Have they been big and splashy? And if you see in the Max Crosby, you know, addition, no, but Phil and I have been preaching for years on this team on both sides of the ball, how critical it is to to improve team speed. And you can see that with every single addition that they've made that it's a speed increase in its critical. Yeah, I know Phil, I know that you were a big proponent of some pretty sweeping changes as we got to the end of the year. And I think it's, you know, human nature for fans, to be loyal to the ones that bring the dearest memories at least the most recent memories. And last year was filled with a lot of great memories, but, you know, they jettison both safeties, Kevin Byard and Juquam brisker certainly didn't get big time deals neither did Nashon Ryder CJ Gardner Johnson.

4:08And they couldn't brought any of those guys back any in all of them. And instead they chose to let them walk the door and bring in some different names that bears fans, you know, maybe our familiar with and aren't used to, but maybe bring a different element of what you were talking about, you were looking for at the end of the year. Yeah, I've taken a different approach now, I'm tired of the drama of fans holding on to players because, you know, they love the player. I'm tapped into being an analyst to the extent where the tape is the truth and that's it. The players, there's great people everywhere. But when you popped on the tape, Greg, the biggest issue happened to be the secondary, the inability to tackle, get third down stops, a Tremaine Edmonds was atrocious. And, you know, they

5:11just kept rolling them out there and went to Marco Jackson, when in you saw extremely big difference in the ability to get to third and longs because he was instinctively and as Shane is talking about way faster to the football, just on his instincts and speed alone and finishing a wrap up tackler. So you made it a priority and he will be your green dot linebacker, your inside backer. You still have to wait on TJ Edwards, but I thought to Marco Jackson is the perfect fit. And if it's going to be a credit to DA, then shout out DA for bringing them over here because that was critical. Yes, you wanted buyered back, I think because of his veteran leadership and his ability to be in the right place at the right time, but he had his warts to entacling and down the stretch, you could see some miss tackles

6:15and assignments, but I would have been glad if they had taken him back. Everybody else, nation right, brisk or in that secondary, all needed to be moved on. What they did with Kobe Bryant was upgrade the safety position immensely. It's not even a debate. And I haven't gotten to Devon Bush. So now the Marco Devon and Kobe in a triangle, down the middle of your defense, you've improved in football acumen, intangibles and instincts and speed and speed. And did I mention speed? Because that's the reality of how you win in this league championships on defense with guys that are flying to the football is shutting people down. The Bears fan gets to attach to the person that you see it today with Justin Fields. He's

7:18going to be rekindled. You'll see it just always goes back to that. But you got to remove yourself from that and look at it from the sense and it goes both ways. I understand the players angle from it. But the reality is they've improved immensely with those three. And I haven't even talked about Neville, who I believe is another improvement there. I broke his tape down to show every patron, the difference of what he's going to be able to bring. So I know I'm giving you the long answer. But this was, I don't know what fans are you're the 29th ranked defense Greg. If I had doubts about Ryan Poles, it would be him retaining brisker, right? Then I'm like, oh boy, we're dealing with Ryan pace again. We're just going to regurgitate what it is to keep something going that's about to fall off a cliff. Well, let's get into that

8:21because you know, I think over the last course of the last year, especially since Ben Johnson has entered the building and saved many in this organization to all of a sudden, looking like there's some competency competency going on at Hallis Hall. And I think Ryan, you know, deserves his own credit. I've pushed for that in the last year. I'm not a big proponent of only attributing the good moves to Ben and the bad moves to polls. They're all a part of this. They're all a part of the team and 100% and polls is is hopefully turning the corner. So let's hear from him here because I think there was there was a couple of things I pulled that I think think stood out. And this is kind of one of his opening remarks from yet last week when he spoke to the media, where he talks about what their priority was in free agency, but also what you're talking about Phil. And this is where I do think he's turned the corner in terms of that sentimental, sentimental value he

9:25holds because we've seen it in years past with players that he's either kept or you know, let go and you know, he wears his heart on and sleep for some of these guys, but trying to, you know, understand that it's got to be a little more cutthroat, even if you feel strongly about certain players, we talked about that and he talks about here's what's talking about their priority in free agency. I think there's a common theme with the guys that we brought in. One, we wanted to get faster and more explosive. And I think we did that. I know we did that. What guys that are passionate about football that play our style and our brand of football. And I know we did that. And then especially the leadership to continue to enhance our roster so that we can continue to push forward, be a championship caliber team. I know we got better through through this phase. Obviously, there's a lot of things that are unexpected that happened in this job. Drew being one of them. That

10:27retirement was a little bit of a pop up on us. I want to respect him and his decision. So the reasons why and all that, I'll let him answer those things at his time. But I'm proud of our organization for adapting and adjusting, which allowed us to bring in Brad Barry here to help us solidify our offence of line and continue to play. Also, tough decisions is when you got to make those business decisions and make moves like trading DJ. DJ is one of my favorite players will always be one of my favorite players. I knew that that was going to be tough for our organization. I've mentioned this before, my son is a passionate fan of the Chicago Bears. He was not very happy with me at all. I think it was cool DJ sent him a video telling him not to be mad at dad. It's part of the business. So like I said, I appreciate everything. Those guys that aren't here did for our organization to help us

11:27ascend and get better and get us on the doorstep of again, being a championship caliber team. So there it is from Ryan Poles and as I mentioned before we played the club, I think that was very telling in terms of where Ryan Poles is at for roster building. I mean, this is a guy in polls that gave DJ more what was the biggest contract ever given to a veteran on the Chicago Bears ever. And so he had his fingerprints all over not only trading for DJ, but paying DJ. Well, that very quickly became a bad contract on the roster based off of the usage, you know, they had wouldn't Ben Johnson comes in in the way the offense is ran. And so yeah, he loves the guy, but he knew it was time to move on. And luckily for the Bears and for DJ, I think both sides were able to kind of get the best to both worlds where DJ gets to go to Buffalo and play with a great

12:29quarterback in the NFL. And the bears somehow some way Shane, we're able to get a second round pick out of it. That's probably one of the best moves Ryan Poles has made in his tenure as a G was a second round pick as well, Greg, not a third. Did I say second? You did. I just I'm clearing it up for Sylvie. And yeah, it's an actual second round. It's close, it's close to the third round, but it's still a second round pick, you know, when you put in the fifths, right? Right? Right. Here we go. I forgot about the pretty boiler maker. Yeah, I'm not aware of it. It's a second round pick that the big I was shocked. And when it went down, gray out my and I were my initial. Yeah, my initial thought was I would love to get a four. We're probably going to get a five. My nephew and one brother-in-law are a rabid Buffalo bills fans. And I was

13:31talking to them. They wanted to know if I knew the compensation. I said, I'm assuming it's going to be a four or five. And then about 15 minutes later, I looked down it says a second rounder. And I'm like, I couldn't believe it. I was stunned. You know, with them taking all the money on top of it. And so yeah, it's huge props to Ryan Poles and a Jeff King in the front office for getting that, you know, legitimate of a of a draft pick compensation back in return, because it's huge. It's it's what we need. I mean, it's why we're so upset about not getting the the picks for you and cutting him. This roster needs those picks because they have that, you know, they have places that they can upgrade everywhere, but which by the way, I didn't cut it, but he was asked polls was asked about those picks. And he's still you can tell he's still in the fight. Oh, yeah, he's like, I'll talk to you guys all about it at the owner's meetings, but I'm not going to speak

14:32on it right now. Yeah, I'm wondering he's still fighting on it. I'm wondering if maybe they didn't, they weren't in contact and maybe the league said, hey, we'll be face to face at the at the owner's meetings. You know, we can talk some more there, but yeah, no, I was proud of Ryan polls for the way that he handled that because he was clearly irritated. He needs to I need to see more of that from Ryan polls rather than the he, you know, he comes off so passive and he comes off like he's so he's thinking about every single word that leaves his mouth. And I like to see an aggressive Ryan polls and pissed off Ryan polls in the moment like that, but I think it's critical. But just one thing that I want to say, Greg, and while we're talking about free agency and I think that fans need to realize this, free agency is never the key to building your roster. It never has been, it never will be you can supplement it. You can add pieces there. It's always about addressing your biggest issues in the draft. Those are

15:37the those are going to be the foundational pieces of you moving forward. And and fans default to what? Falling in love with the with the big names. And I mean, we had some patrons when the bear signed Neville, Galamore that who who's that guy? And they just default to him not being good because they may not have ever seen him play. And like what we said and Phil broke it down, when you put him side by side with Jervon Dexter, the speed, the explosion off the line is going to change. Big, you know, in a big way for the bears, because Jervon is slow, very slow off the line. And Neville is like, he's like an edible. There's no off switch. He's exploding off of the line. Those things help your defense. Just that the the common fan doesn't see the big name. So they assume that he's not good. You also want to talk about him addressing there. I think I've been very hard rightfully so on polls because I feel like he

16:43wasn't ready to be the GM. And he was too nervous and emotionally attached. So when you address it and you you saw him cry and get emotional about the safety from Kansas City. It's string safety. So and then here's a test for you in empathy and business and compassion and all of it where you got to trade a player that you realize is a good football player and what he brings to your football team. But you have to do what's best for your team and you have to be savvy about it. I like his authenticity. I think he's growing more so. I want to see how he drafts. But I think bears fans. I've put my name to it. And I broke Garrett Bradbury down on tape for anybody to challenge me in regards to what he

17:44is versus Dolman. And I rank him higher than Dolman. I it just shows up on tape. Now Dolman might be a better athlete in regards to some movement. But Bradbury is outstanding. You're not going to see a bad snap. You're not going to see those. You're just not. They're consistently back there in the strike zone. And that's what you want from your center and his ability to reach and do these zone schemes. It's like you're protected yourself. You filled in a pothole that was you weren't expecting to be there. And you did it in a major way. It was like, OK, this isn't quite almost even kind of trade offs. And that deserves a lot of props, in my opinion, because you could have been paying the Lyndon bomb, who I believe is the best center in the NFL and been in that wheelhouse and kind of not hit on

18:45some of these fabric pieces for this football team. So another tip of the cab, I know Jeff King is very involved in this kind of stuff. He communicates well with everybody around the league from what I'm told. So get you user, a good GM uses all his assets, his scouts, his coaches, and then he has to ultimately make those choices. I don't know Ryan Poles except for the Rubin Hippolyte moment and drafting punters and doing this kind of stuff in the draft. So that's where I want to see his growth. Where is your scouting eye? Everybody knows that the bears are weak at past rush. They didn't address it. And everybody watching or everybody that knows the bears can be upset about it. Rightfully so you have every right. Yep, that's the biggest need. They

19:46didn't go out there and try to get a big name I would have because I know that's a piece of the Holy Trinity for me. And he didn't. So now you're going to have to address that either with a trade or in the draft. And that's really going to be a measuring stick for me for Ryan Poles. But so far, I have like this Ryan Poles without even cutting him there. Be authentic. Be demonstrative. Be the guy that is that title because I know it's Shane and I were talking this afternoon. I know if I and Shane went in, I feel as though without all the assets that they have, I could do a better job than they have done with this football team. And that I don't I've proven it. It's all out there. And I don't have the medicals, the 16 scouts at my demand, all these little

20:48nerds running around giving me analytics. I don't have all of that. So if we could do it, why aren't you doing it? That's the problem I've had with the bears. You look at a guy in the ramps, they understand it, get dogs in here. They make trades for dogs, Philadelphia. Let's keep draft in the lines. Let's keep doing it. We got our quarterback. We know we got him in the second round, bro. We're going to keep building these D and all along. Okay, you want a wide receiver? We'll get one. We'll make a trade for one. That's how they do it. And so we'll see with this guy. I'm sorry. No, you're fine. Well, because I was just going to say when you talk about Poles kind of telling it like it is. I mean, I think the other clip that I have a couple more but more in terms of the big picture. You know, polls wasn't faked out by the league leading takeaways or even the defense playing above what they had

21:51shown during the regular season in the postseason. This was Ryan talking about what was clear to him at the end of the year, despite it felt like the defense really showing up in moments in playoffs. Yeah, it's something I noticed. We all noticed, I think especially in the postseason and really down the last part of the fall. In order to play the style, we need to play, we need to be able to close on the football a lot faster than what we have been doing. So that was emphasis going into it. And again, watching these guys tape, we answered that. So that's been my point in terms of no has Ryan polls earned our trust yet in terms of their personnel decisions on defense. No, this is the off season to do that. They last year identified Dio Dango as part of their past rush solutions. Grady Jared, who I like, but you know, wasn't exactly I don't think they were I don't think they got what they wanted

22:51out of him on the field, even if he was one of the main leaders in that locker room. And I think that veteran presence was important in year one of Ben Johnson. It shouldn't be completely downplayed. But at the same time, this is where it gives me hope a little bit is that they weren't resting on their laurels. They weren't falling for the the emotions of last year and how special it was for everyone in that organization, the team, the fans, it was a special team. And I think your first instinct is to say, let's keep the band together. And let's finish the job. But Ryan clearly is seeing, OK, this is what we need for Dennis Allen's defense. And you saw some of those moves made in the middle of the year with the Marco Jackson, as you mentioned earlier, Phil and CJ Gardner Johnson, who came in and were guys that were instant impact. And so that leads me to hope that this offseason, they have a better idea of what Dennis Allen needs

23:56to execute this defense. And they've already gotten off to a pretty good start here. And we're going to hear from some of these different guys from Kobe Bryant, Devon Bush. And then, of course, Neville, Neville, Gala Moore, who you mentioned here a minute ago, Phil. So, you know, that's where I'm like, OK, it feels like they have a better understanding. Maybe it took them a year and maybe they should have known better last year. But they did, you know, they were one play away from, you know, an NFC championship. So I think they did a pretty good job last year, all things considered. And so I will give them a little leeway where a couple of years ago, I don't think we would have given them any benefit of the devil. I want to pat you on the back because you're eloquently organizing this years past. And this is where I'm raising polls. Let's keep the band back together. We got nation right. I mean, we got them for nothing. We got to pay this guy. Gotta keep, see how many? Well,

24:59really, when you look at the tape, he's getting burned left and right on third and, you know, eight. And the receivers just running away from him. And it's a for another first down. So these kind of things where you're absolutely attacking the truth, you weren't fast. Termine Edmonds wasn't a good fit. But that's the problem, Phil. Well, the guy like they shine right fans are falling in love with the story and not the evaluation of the player. Exactly. And that's what it comes down to. That's what we do. I mean, I, I played well. And I was like, we got to bring back CJ. And the bears were like, no, we don't. Yeah, yeah, you, you, you have young talent that you have to assess a lot of these future deals, guys that were on the practice squad, they're not just there to practice. They're there to be appraised if they're going to grow into something that's going to help your

26:00football team. That should be the goal. That's why every pick matters. And every signing those for undrafted free agents, there's more undrafted free agents in the Hall of Fame than there are first overall picks in all of NFL history. These evaluations matter always setting yourself up to get the best football players. And I want to just say one thing before you play your clip, I just get worried with Dennis out, Dennis out length, length, when you start doing that. And I was talking with Owen. And I felt like I quoted him because I felt like it was such a great quote, like being tall or length doesn't always mean strong. And, you know, long doesn't always mean lengths that's going to be helping you. And I found Dexter. That's all you need to say. Yeah, you got to look at, especially when you're

27:01looking at the past rushers in this draft, Greg. And I know I'm jumping there, but there's several guys that might not fit the length and that arm length tree. But when you pop on the tape and the bend and the motor, those matter more, can they play the game of football at a high level? Can't pass those guys up because of scheme fits. And that's why I worry, the GM's going to have to stand strong. The head coach, like at the end of the day, get a great football player at 25. Yep. Okay. Well, now that we've reached the bottom of the hour here, let's take a quick time out reset. And then we'll go through some of the different new arrivals for this team. And get into some of those, you know, opinions you guys have of, you know, these guys specifically. So we'll come back here two minutes away. Please hit the like button,

28:02subscribe to the channel, we appreciate everyone hanging out here. And one of the one of the slower times right now is we're gearing up towards NFL draft free agency starting to die off. So everyone tuned in, you guys are the real ones. And we appreciate you guys always. So two minutes away, we'll come back. We'll hear from Kobe Bryant, hear from Devon Bush, Khalif Raymond, Neville Gallimore, maybe have a little left tackle conversation as well. Hey, guys, I want to give you a quick reminder that now is as good a time as ever to become a die hard at CHGO sports head to all cio.com slash die hard to sign up, you get a ton of exclusive written content, Adam Hogue, Adam Johns, Mark Carmen, Patrick Norton, our writing stuff daily on your Chicago Bears, as we head towards the draft, we are getting closer and closer, ladies and gentlemen, that means also with a die hard subscription, you get full access to Fran Duffy's die hard draft guide. That's right. Fran Duffy's been working hard

29:05on this all year round. You might be familiar with his all NFL draft newsletter. That comes out every single Friday. That's free. You get that for free. But when you sign up to become a die hard, you get access to the draft guide, which is a full database that he's been working on since the start of the college football season, detailing every single player you need to know about in the draft written stuff that comes with it, what he learned from the combine about these guys, what he learned about the senior ball from these guys. And obviously some video content that's attached with it, give you some visual with some of the written stuff that they put on it. Fran Duffy is as detailed as they come and as good as it gets. So if you want to get ready for the draft as best you can, you make sure that you hop on board with Fran Duffy and becoming a die hard here. And when you become a die hard, you get a free shirt right out the gate, we've said that many times. And we've got some pretty great designs that you can start yourself out with. And so you get a shirt, you get exclusive written content, you get the draft

30:06guide, you get discounts on events, we're going to have a draft party here coming up in about a month here for the NFL draft and everything else in between tailgates during the season, discounts on future merchandise after you get that free shirt. So it pays for itself, basically as soon as you sign up, so make sure you use the code J a H and S, you get 36 bucks for the entire year. We appreciate your support. Alright, we're back here on CHO Bears after dark, the bottom of the hour, HL presesking isn't at the middle of the hour, it's the bottom of the hour, that's a, that's a radio term when you look at the clock, the hand is pointing down at the 30 mark. So the bottom of the hour, and then when we get to the top of the hour, that's when we'll go another 30 minutes when we shouldn't. So players let this guy go. Still waiting. The great one T shirt Greg, the great one. Yeah, shout out to Eric, he does some great designs. He is the great one. And me and Shane are

31:09waiting for ours. Yes, I know. Well, you'll have to be patient for a new one, Shane. Yeah, let's, yeah, I definitely would love a pretty one, but let's hold off until they win six more games. And if they don't, no one talked to me now that they brought my hope back. So, but hey, you know, Purdue has certainly found a way to build a winning culture. And I think a lot of it, obviously, with college sports, you know, you're always going to be rotating guys in and out from youth to veterans and and part of that is what the Bears are trying to do here, right? And trying to get young and faster. And, and you know, you're going to roll over some of the guys that had success. And then the next guys that come in are young and have to assert themselves as leaders. So let's hear from Ryan Poles first on what they saw from Kobe Bryant when they watched his tape. When we watched Kobe's tape, he was a guy that got a

32:11excited because again, he played our style of ball. He played fast. He played physical. Those are the things that DA is looking for that we're looking for. We thought there was leadership there. He's young. And, you know, we had to kind of adapt to to that. And we had an opportunity to bring a really a player in and that's the decision that we made. There it is. I know you guys are big proponents of the tape. Shane, I mean, that was that's that's their their bell kind of care at Bradbury. You can make the argument. Obviously, that was in a trade as opposed to was signing in free agency. But this, you know, and also Bradbury only being a one year deal, you know, if there was any big move that they made in free agency, you feel like the Kobe Bryant move was it? Totally agree. And I think that that's the pebbin bush or the big I think that that's the proper approach. How you should look at free agency. Now, if you're if you are, you know, one step away and, you know, a big signing can guarantee you, you know,

33:12or put you over the top. But listen, you have to go into free agency and you look at guys like Devon Bush, like Kobe Bryant that are, you know, 26 years old that still have upside. Now, and the Kobe started out as a corner. And he's only been playing safety two years. So to me, and it's clear that there's still a lot of upside there. And that's why you see Tremaine Edmunds getting a contract from the from the giants because he's still only 27 years old. That's how you have to approach free agency. You can't go out and pay 31 and 32 year old guys. That's why I was so mad when the bears were connected to Alex Anzaloni. It's good player. Why are you paying a 32 year old linebacker in Chicago? Why it makes no sense to me? You go out, you pay Devon Bush. He's betting a little bit slower in his progression to be in the first round pick that Pittsburgh drafted him up. But he got hurt. He's, you know, a couple of years removed from his from his

34:14knee injury. But getting back to Kobe, Greg, you can just, you can see the effortlessness that he moves across the field with. Now it's, it's a glaring issue with Chicago all over the place. Nation right wasn't the, the, the, the, the, the fledest of foot for a for a secondary player. And Phil said it once guys got you always saw him trailing always. Now if he had to make a poll, a, a played directly, you know, on the ball, like during the push push and stuff like that. And he had some amazing one handed interceptions. I get it. Is this sustainable? The market told you what they thought of nation right? One year, five million for the jets. The Bears could have afforded to do that. But they, they, they chose to go in a different direction, can't fall in love with the story. But Kobe, there, there's a lot of upside there. And you know, you listen to him talk and

35:16his pressur. It's, it gets you, you know, excited. He, he was excited about Dennis Allen getting a hold of him very early in the process, you know, and it's a, um, coming into a really still a defense first city, I think we're in the transition transition phase of make it, you know, Chicago would be in a quarterback town. None of us have even know how to grasp that because it's, it's going to be it's coming. But there's still so much upside in Kobe Bryant. And that's bears fans should be excited about that. Yep. Given you, given you a lot of speed, an instincts and the willingness to tackle, you keep hearing pole saying leadership. And you know, you look at him, Neville was a captain with the cults, a guy that came over from the cowboys, no one really knew him in Indy and worked his way in

36:18his personality. And you could see through his effort, each and every down, he plays like it's his last down. He was a captain with the cults. Yes. Yeah. I didn't know there to be a captain with the cults. Should we become a patron? We would have told you. Yeah. You would have seen his breakdown. There was a new patron named Greg. I was like, is this our boy? No, I know it was, but I'm not telling anybody. But you have, uh, I don't believe in him. He ends tonight. Evan Bush comes in and he plays with the personality that I like. He's an arrogant, true prick that is not Luke is Patrick. This is a guy that goes out there and competes, jaws is going to set the tone for his defense. But he has the ability to cover and lock down and he gives you versatility because of his speed and because of his

37:20toughness, he likes to get involved. He's not afraid to tackle and that's why you get excited. It's a huge upgrade to remain Edmonds in your linebackers with stool and who else did they put out? Amen. Uh, like I smocked the mega. Yes, Demarco clearly, if you know football was the best linebacker last year. If you watch it and see it, and it wasn't close, and that gave me pause on Dennis Allen because you kept, okay, now it's remained starting over. He earned it. But anyway, they did the right thing. They got two animals there at their linebacker position. The kid came Lewis that they signed. I know Shane has some knowledge of him over there in Buffalo. But this kid's versatility, he could be involved in the safety position opposite

38:23Kobe Bryant. That no one's really talking about his ability and versatility. Another guy that undrafted out of Buffalo works his way is the leader and loves the game of football. And that signing right there, he's not a household name. He's just played the last, what, eight years in Buffalo, earning a roster spot there. I know Buffalo fans are upset that he's gone. And that's a positive for the Bears, too. They don't always have to be named. That's why it's so important that you watch the tape. And if you don't know how to watch it, become a patron. And I'll show you why Brad Berries just as good if not better than Dolman. What Neville brings to the table? Am I not, I'm not talking about highlight film. I want to see what they do each and every down to make a difference. And so far, Greg, I'm very impressed with what

39:23Ryan Poles has done. Now, there's some holes. And I got to mention this because I saw one of the Lions fans, but Khalif Raymond's 32. Well, let me talk about Khalif Raymond for second. Why don't you hold that? Okay, good. We are going to get to Khalif. I had predicted this sharpen your knife, by the way, for Don Burr. And he was giving you credit earlier. He said, he finally, I think it was Shane, he said he finally agreed with for Wonson, in terms of the Bears, you know, Gordon Klein being Shane are the same. Yeah, you guys are packing. You guys are, I don't know which one, why you said it? So you're a hundred percent of package deal. And so that's, that's been my thing for a long time with you too. So anything you guys say, you both get credit for anything that you get me in trouble for it, you're both blame. But here's Kobe Bryant, because this is the interesting part of it. I'm on play Kobe Bryant, then we'll move over to

40:23Devon Bush, then we'll get to Khalif Raymond, or maybe we'll do that. I promise we'll get to Khalif. We have to get things in order here. Let me, let me write the ship underrated signing of the year. Yeah. And here's Kobe Bryant talking about, you know, his experience here in the league and how he is bringing some youth to this locker room. I'm just scratching the surface. Like I said, it's only here to play safety. I'm still young, turn 27 and two weeks. So I would say that's still young. But definitely, you know, just I'm excited to be here. Like I said, and I feel like the coaching staff is definitely going to prepare me to be not just a better player, but a better leader for the team as well too. So I'm excited. Yeah. And then there's Kobe Bryant. And I think we've talked enough about it. It's jawline. Like he chews on steel. There's no. It's all facial structure is just dog. Well, and then to move over to Devon Bush, which you guys certainly have already touched on, but maybe we'll get a little deeper on it. But here's Devon Bush talking about his experience

41:25because he's a year older than Kobe Bryant. But maybe brings a different level of experience where Kobe might feel a little younger because positionally, he's only been a safety for a couple years. Here's Devon Bush talking about his experience may be being a little more advanced, even though his age is still closer to where Kobe Bryant is. Man, my experience probably is probably a big thing. If they didn't already talk about that, you know, I'm going to year eight. I came into this league. I 20 years old. So you can kind of say I grew up in this league. So I mean, there's nothing I haven't seen practice against Big Ben for three years, played against Aaron Rogers twice a year for two years. So played against Phillip Rivers. So I mean, I didn't I didn't see a lot of things been through a lot of different situations. So I think I bring that type of experience to this team. You know, eight years, right? He said he came in the league at 20, you know, and so grew up in the league. This is now his fourth team that he's played on. So even though he's

42:27younger, you know, he feels more like a grizzled vet because he's been around the block been through a few different organizations. So I like the dynamic with these two. And obviously anybody that follows Big 10 football knows Devon Bush. I mean, I immediately got texts from guys like, you got yourself a dog with this dude. And Shane, I think that's that's important to have a defense with some attitude. The bears need more of it. The bears roster needs more of it overall Greg. And that's the that's the thing. You know, I remember when the bears played the Packers and the kickoff and Demarco Jackson jumped on top of the pile. And immediately Greg was, you can't do that. And I was mad too. And I'm like, this is, you know, you're trying to take you trying to kill the Packers and finally make a dent and do all of that. Devon Bush is the guy that's going to go through it and take four guys out in that pile. He's not going to jump on the pile. And

43:30he's he's going to be a tone setter. And you talk about growing up in the league. It's this, it's the same type of deal with, um, Tremaine Edmonds being so young coming into the league. You know, Tremaine's still only 27 years old, just like Devon Bush, moving on, you know, to the giants. And I think it's critical because a lot of these young guys, former first ground pick in Pittsburgh, I believe Pittsburgh traded up for him. And in that moment, you're like, Oh, I'm going to be a Pittsburgh stealer for the rest of my career. You know, they they thought that much of me to trade up for me. Pittsburgh's never been a team that that makes a move like that to trade up, especially for a linebacker. And they did didn't work out they they traded him and then he gets, you know, he's injured and stuff like that. So he's he's been very, very high. And then he's, you know, falling off of that perch and worked his way back with all with the ball teams, the Cleveland Browns. And

44:34I think he hit for agency at the at the perfect time. And I'm I am very, very excited about Kobe Bryant, but even beyond Kobe Bryant, I think Devon Bush can be a tone setter for this entire defense that the Bears have not had in a very, very long time. And I'm not saying that he's going to go out there and be an all pro. I'm talking about attitude. Like you just said, when you're talking about him being a dog, that's the mentality that this team needs. The Bears didn't have, I can remember years ago, Phil and I did an interview with that Phil who was Josh Woods, the Bears backup linebacker. Into the lions for a few years. Yeah. And I asked him, who was the who's the the leader on defense? And he was, you know, at the time, he's throwing out names immediately. And I said, now who's the leader on offense? He's like, oh, you know, that's a

45:38that's a good question. And he went, he was fighting himself for like 30 seconds and couldn't come up with a name, not one. And that's an issue that tells you everything you need to know about your the offensive side of the football. Now this roster, like I said, you have a dog on the offensive side of the ball. In Caleb Williams, your quarterback, you have a dog at the wide receiver position in Luther Burton, Colston, Loveland, Joe, you know, Joe Tune isn't going to be the demonstrative guy that goes out there and, and he's just going to let us play do the talking. And he's going to be the ultimate pro. So that, that matters. The Bears need to bring in more guys. That's, that's why I had Kobe Bryant and Neville Gallimore all meet those criteria. And that's where you even, that's where you've improved so many people have said, the Bears haven't improved. No, they have just not maybe in the way that you think they should have

46:39improved. That's where a lot of these beat reporters are getting it wrong. In the football tape department, Devin Bush is your weak side lightbacker. Stop. I see the Lions fans in the chat thing. Well, you got to protect them. He's going to be your Mike. Your Mike is DeMarco Jackson. And if it's not and TJ Edwards is back healthy or whatever. And there's a competition there than the best man wins there. But DeMarco then goes the Sam linebacker. And Devin Bush will be your will linebacker and your nickel backer. And he will dominate there. And that is what Dennis Allen was in search of. And that's what remain Edmunds failed. Tremaine Edmunds cost you four games just by not handling his responsibility. The San Francisco game, the Rams playoff game, arguably him and DJ Moore, you can battle back and

47:40forth. But I could show you the, what was the other game? There was another game off the top of my head. I just had it. But the Lions game, he just couldn't get to his landmark on third and 17, you're six foot four, you're covering grass. There's no one there. Get some depth. Here comes the deep in your golf, got to pull it down and get sacked because he's awful. That's you got to get rid of that. And then this stuff is going to wait to see him blitz. I mean, I'm excited about what they did there. They got dogs because the Marco Jackson to me is a dog. Kid plays with his hair on fire, hit you with his pads, knocks people down. Don bird, don't know, but I do. Well, don bird doesn't know, but let's fit. Let's put a bow on the

48:42defensive discussion here and end it here with Neville Gala Moore. Another guy that's had a ton of experiences, you guys mentioned, which I wasn't even aware of was that he was a captain with the cold. So I think that certainly speaks to any leadership questions that the Bears may be missing now with Tremaine Edmonds and and Kevin Byard and DJ Moore leaving this locker room. So let's hear from Neville Gala Moore and his mindset and approach to the game of football. I think the biggest thing for me is like, you know, like I've told any player, you got to love it. You know, I love the process. I love the opportunity to see you. I don't take this for granted. I was seeing it being a being a part of different teams, you know, it's better sweet. And I say better because, you know, the transition from one to another, you know, when you build a relationship with certain guys and you ground a certain guys, you know, it hurts a little bit. But then you get an opportunity to grow. It causes you to demand more of it itself from a mental standpoint, you know, being able to still be effective, employing knowledge and the different systems while still trying to build something special with

49:42the guys. So I feel like that's allowed me to continue to prove and kind of reestablish that love, you know, that you got to have, you know, when it comes to the process. So once again, you know, talking about Kobe Bryant, then moving to Devon Bush, each one kind of moving up a year and age. And here's Neville Gallimore at 29 years old. And instead of Devon Bush on his 14, since he's entered the league, here's Gallimore on his 15, right? And talking about that experience and how that kind of calluses you up to be prepared and take what you've learned with each organization. So I mean, you guys have talked, we've talked about it here for the last 50 minutes, but it just feels like these guys, they're not going to make front page headlines. But by the end of next year, could be guys that, you know, are some fan favorites because of the effort and the physicality that they play with. Yeah, you watch this football player on tape. It's

50:43night and day different than watching Jervon Dexter. Uh, Billings or any of them, just in his pursuit angles to the football, he has high football acumen. He's got a great sorry Ryan pace. He's got a great get off. I know he loved that. But he does. And he could penetrate playing that three tech and that under tackle where his versatility to penetrate is there. But the thing that really stands out about this football player is his effort in past rush when quarterbacks alleviate the pocket. He does not give up on a play. He will run from the opposite side of the field all the way and catch the quarterback on the other side with a proper angle. That to me says a lot about his character about the love of the game

51:43and about it goes along with what Ryan Poles was saying, you know, we're looking for leadership. So just in these three guys, these three pieces that we looked at here, Bryant, Bush and Neville Gallimore, you're seeing that kind of leadership, that kind of hustle and those intangibles that might not track for PFF and the blog boys and their analytical crew. And that, but the tape shows just complete utter reckless abandon to stop the offence from getting a first down. And at the end of the day, that's what football is about. You got to start going after football players, not high ceiling, rubin, headlights, you got to get football players. That's what you've gotten so far in free agency. And I just hope it transitions to the drafts because there's some really good football players, where you have positions of

52:44need in offensive tackle, pass rusher safety, you can see a starting safety picked at 25. I'll support it. I understand it. You could see a pass rusher at 25. I'll support it because you're doing the right thing and getting what it is you need there. Well, let's switch gears here and move over to the offensive side of the football. And maybe before we finish with Khalif Raymond, because there's some couple good things in there. And I know, Phil, you're yours. I'm going to keep you scratching and clawing to get this out because I know you're excited about that addition. But I think the left tackle position is one of the biggest decisions this organization has had to make here with the obstacles you talked about drew dormant retiring. But as he trepilo's injury was just as catastrophic to what they're, you know, ongoing plans are for here. So let's hear from Ryan polls and what is

53:46expectation is here for the summer. And then I'll get your guys's thoughts on and I'll start with you Shane on on if this approach is going to work or if the confidence you have in it. So here's Ryan polls talking about the left tackle position and where they're going to go with it this summer. Create competition. There's kind of there's a lot going on at the left tackle position. You got guys that are playing the position this this year in terms of Theo Braxton that, you know, had a crack at it early was dealing with some things I like to see him get back healthy to compete for that spot. It would judge it. You know, if you go back to early in his career before the injury playing at a really high level. He's a guy that we want Dan and Kyle to lean into. I think we have phenomenal offensive line coaches. Two really good ones that do a fantastic job developing players. So they're going to lean into Jesuit to Jesuit spent time with them. We think there's a

54:47connection there between our coaches and him. He's willing to put it in the work. We have an unbelievable performance staff that's going to help him get his body right so he can compete at a high level. And at the end of the day, like any position we want competition, we want guys to rise to the level. And at some point when we get to September, someone's going to take that job. And I'm excited to see how that works out. I'm really. Yeah, go ahead. I'm just upset that no beat reporter in the building asked about third round pick, Karan Amagaji, is he in competition there? You've only heard rumors that they're moving him to guard? And that's a third round pick. And it's important to get that answer. Is he in the competition? Because at one point, Bashar was talking about how he is the best one in the building for the position. And that was prior to him. And then he started working and then he got hurt again. So he's always been I think it's fair to ask or say

55:50that maybe it should have been asked. But I also think the moves they've made and the decisions they've had throughout the year kind of lead competition at it. Yeah, the kid you drafted in the second round. Well, he also didn't mention them there too. So I think that's telling, but you know, we'll see time will tell. I mean, Shane, they're really leaning on this offensive line coaching staff to, you know, develop what they're hoping they can get out of that position. They they piecemealed their way through it last year and it worked. But obviously it ended with their second round pick, Ozzie Trepillo, starting to elevate. And now you're hoping a guy in Jedrick Willis, who's had injury issues, some serious ones in Braxton Jones, who's not not only had injury issues, but has flaws to his game that, you know, I think the three of us have always kind of said the last years, cannot necessarily be fixed. So how worried are you about the offensive line or the left tackle position? Well, it's always a worry because you don't

56:51know, there's just so much of an unknown. But when I saw them, you know, the initial report that came out when they resigned Braxton was one year 10 million. I'm like, ooh, I don't like that. And then it came out that it was, you know, one year five with incentives. And then when you look into it, even further, I think it's either three or three point five guaranteed. So that's swing tackle money. Now going back to my original thought on what you do in free agency is gambling on young guys that still have upside that may have fallen out of favor for whatever reason or injury. Entered Jettrick Willis, a top 10 pick at offensive tackle in Cleveland and, you know, it got hurt still 26 years old. Now to me, if you're, I know he's been out of the he's been out of the game didn't play last year that the got to see how healthy he is according to

57:52him. He's healthy. And if he wasn't healthy, I don't think the bears would sign him. But to me, just based on on raw talent, he's your guy. Just based off raw talent. Braxton, Jones, I get it. He's familiar with with, you know, Chicago, he's he was here last year. But what's Braxton's issue? The same issue of when he came into the league, the anchor. And it's not surprising that they, I thought he was done here. So the fact that they were willing to bring him back, I think tells you that they saw enough from him last year to at least give him another shot. Yeah. But the investments, the investment is in that of him being a swing tackle. And the way that I wanted the bears to address left tackle was you, you wipe clean ozzie tree, you build your roster out like ozzie trapello doesn't even exist. Right. You know, if if, if a guy fell into

58:56your lap at 25 and you haven't high enough, you, you simply draft them. Real quick, we're going to head over time here on the CHO bears podcast. Appreciate everyone. Always on time and on target here on the CHO bears pack podcast at the like button, subscribe to the channel. That's how we do things here. We keep it orderly. But go ahead and finish your thought here for those that are remaining on the YouTube and and watch a lot. We appreciate you. Yeah, you know, just to get back to Jedrick Will's, to me, it's a high upside, no risk move for the bears. And that's something that they were the bears are always the team, you know, limited ceiling high risk. That that seems what they've done forever. And like I said, I'm very interested to see in OTAs and listening to Jedrick talk,

59:56I think he's, I think he's motivated to get back and they they asked him how he felt, being away from football. And he said, it was really boring because he's he's never, you know, live the life of not being around football. And this, like I said, this guy's 26 years old, 64312, former top 10 pick, he's, he can still earn a big time contract based on how he plays. I know who Braxton Jones is. Braxton Jones. Like you said, I'm surprised he's on the roster for it's for it's like I said, for swing tackle money. But to me, right now, will I be surprised if the bears go offensive tackle at 25? I would be at this point because they've they've seemingly said, we're going to take, you know, whoever comes out on top and the, you know, between Braxton, Theo and Jedrick Will's and we'll see what happens with with Amagaji, you know, is he on the

1:00:57outside looking in? But I think that's going to be the approach, like he said, but to me, my, and that maybe feel feels different. My money's on Jedrick Will's. No, I, I thought you hit it out of the park. I think you're taking a chance more so not even a chance you're giving an opportunity for somebody to have a comeback. And I'm big on that with football, as long as they love the game and listening to him, you could see that he does. It's hilarious because it's like, Darnell Wright, Jonah Jackson and him all look like they could be family at their pictures. It's true. Okay, you got to type now, Ryan Poles, I guess. No, but in seriousness, this is a shot. This kid was a starter and a consistent left tackle with Cleveland prior to getting injured. I know there's more complications with injury, but if you're back and you're competing, there's a lot of talent to

1:02:01like there. And an opportunity, we've seen it many times before in the past where players, I just want off the top of my head was Matt Sloss and comes here plays for a year and gets a, an extension becomes a part of the cohesiveness of the offensive line. It's very important to have that when you get an opportunity to get a young talented Alabama offensive left tackle coming back and wants to prove a point. Hey, sign me up for that. As long as you can stay healthy, you're good. I think Theo needs to obviously take a look in the mirror and really work on your deficiencies. What do you need to get better at? Your body needs to be stronger. And so he's got to get working. I don't think he's out of the equation. There's things I like about Theo. I thought Theo was better than Braxton, offered better than Braxton. So he's got to improve on

1:03:02some of his things. So to have a real battle there, and I'll stand by what I said, you drafted the kid from Yale, he's not a guard. I'm just telling you right now. So there's so much talent with that kid, Amagaji, that if it's a mental thing, because obviously there's some sort of mental with when guys are nicked up Greg, the whole locker room knows like you could be playing. Look at DJ Moore and Roma Dunes, they're out there with a broken foot on and it's freezing cold. And then that kind of pushes you off. It turns you off, so to speak. So I'm glad they got McFadden back. I was disappointed. It felt like he was leaving. And then they got him back. I think he's an underrated football player that could compete with Jonah Jackson, even, or starting time. And can jump in there and a pinch proved it in the

1:04:04playoffs, we really handled himself really well. That was another under the radar resigning. Robert Lee here in the chat asked, do you guys think our starting left tackle next year is already a bear? Or will we bring in a new player? I think that both of kind of already answered that for this year. But let's let me try to fast forward this. You could see them. You believe the long term solution is on the roster, or are we still waiting for Ozzie Trepillo to return? Like, where are you guys at? Like, I know you just said, hey, Jedrick could be the guy here at left tackle Shane. Do you believe that he is just somebody that could win the job for this year or could be a long term solution for the bears at that spot? I don't think we can answer that question for sure. And March, I mean, if you came to me in November, yeah, if you came to me in November, I'd have a much, you know, better feel. I can't wait to wear here. No, remember doing the show. Let me just say, right? Yeah, no, absolutely, I'm talking

1:05:07about I'm having a lot of fun. But I can't wait to get to if you're if you're asking me to to push 10 K to push 10 K into the middle of the table. And who if I had to pick one that's currently on the roster, I just said it. I'm I'm pit I'm picking Jedrick wills because I think overall, if you remove injury from it, I think he's the most talented night off like that's close. Yeah, well, and if you listen to Dan Rochart's interview on on arm studs podcast, you know, I think that I did you guys both have a chance to listen to that. I mean, Rochart's the best. Just if you go back, you played that clip of Ryan Poles talking about wills. He specifically said there was a connection between wills and the coaching staff. Yep, that's critical. Yeah, well, I mean, because on

1:06:10that show on the interview, I don't think they had had wills yet. And and and and Rochart said on to our arms says podcast that I know what a love tackle looks like and we don't have that. And now all of a sudden, then they bring in, you know, Jedrick wills who like you guys mentioned was a I want to say son like as a coach, I know I would put that out there to motivate. Yeah, my players that are there, that would be a message to them to get to where they know I want them to be. So sometimes that's a little motivating nugget Greg. So he might not necessarily believe that wholeheartedly. And that's a message to Theo Braxton, like I can tell you a story about Braxton, Shane and I know where he had an opportunity to work with Olin Krutz showed up for two sessions and then bounced because it was too difficult. Like that gives a red flag. Like,

1:07:14you got to work to be the best. Now I'm not saying he isn't gonna mature. But at some point, some of these veterans need to get the message to some of these young kids that come into this league playing football, like your body's your brand. That's your trademark. You got it. Don't forget they had, you know, they could have brought Braxton back in season. And they pushed Joe Tony out. Yep. And played McFadden. So, yep. on the rubber met the road. That was their choice. And you could see, I could see them taking a left tackle at 25. Great. They good. It's not off the table, not off the table. I like several of these tackles. Yeah. And we talked a little bit if you caught our last episode of C.H. Geo Bears after dark two weeks ago, we did a pretty in-depth dive on a lot of different position groups, including left tackle. So if you're enjoying what you're here, now go back and listen to that show and all of it's itemized in there. So you can find it conveniently. And

1:08:18these guys did a great job of breaking down kind of some of the guys I heard from from Indianapolis. And we'll continue to look at these position groups as we get closer to the NFL draft, not too far away. Got a Purdue national championship to get through first. But final thing, yes, they've they've pulled me back in. I wasn't even going to say the the word national championship. And then they rang off for it or the last four days. So now I'm ready to be heard again. And I can't wait for it. That's what sports are all about. It's coming. Yeah, it's coming. Yeah, come on. Yeah. Okay. All right. And enough that by the way, we keep bringing up to Ron Armstead's podcast. I guess Cam Jordan was on it today and said that he has three options that he's considering. I know I would like him here, Greg. I don't know how you can't be involved if you're Chicago at this point. This point. Yeah, leadership check gets to the quarterback consistently with an attitude to make

1:09:22production last year. So and he knows the defense leadership there's a lot of going for this with the young quarterback is talented. The most talented quarterback, maybe in the entire NFL, definitely in the North Don. So the reality is you've got to push your chips in and make some of these strategies. I think it gives you somewhat of a safety net too. You know, because you're still can draft whoever you want and draft and develop here in a year, who better to learn under. Yep. Right. Yep. Absolutely. So well, let's without further ado, we've been here we go here for a while. My boy, I will give you the floor. I have a couple clips from Khalif Raymond, but they're more about his experience with Ben Johnson that I enjoyed. I think we all kind of understand who Khalif Raymond is the player and and special teams guy and punt returner and what he brings to the table. If you follow the NFC North and what they've been doing and Detroit the last few

1:10:25years, I think I think we all kind of understand who he is the player. But Phil, I know you kind of earmarked this a few weeks ago that this would have been a big time pickup for the Chicago Bears to kind of fill out this wide receiver room now that it's retooled. And you got your wish. Yeah, I'm excited about this. I can't I can't wait to see the clip. Do you want me to talk about him before the clip? Yeah, no, well, why don't you give your thoughts? Cause like I said, the clips that I have are more about his experience with Ben Johnson and less about like what he's going to bring to the wide receiver room. So over here in the East Coast, I remember him coming from Holy Cross getting a shot and a friend of mine had brought him to my attention who scouts in the league. And he's like, I know you love these kind of football players that give their heart their soul, their body each and every rep. This kid just keep an eye on him wherever he lands. That was before he signed with the Lions and took his journey. And sure enough, this guy has

1:11:29done nothing but improve. And he for his age, because people are going to talk about he's got limited miles on those legs because he has not been used because of the depth that Detroit has had. But when he has had his opportunities and believe me, he is a sponge. You saw his personality when they're interviewing him. He's a sponge for the game loves the game of football reminds me a lot of my former teammate Wayne Crabette. When you have a guy that's the suction cup for the football, he catches everything that's thrown to him. He doesn't slow down in his route. He catches eyes and hands catcher that is going to be unlimited at the stem of the route. So when you get these guys in the slot that are able to just accelerate out of the break and get themselves open, I don't care how tall they are. They're the quarterbacks best friend. And you apply

1:12:32him with the likes of burden and love land, working the interior of your offense. Oh my God, the bears got someone I know why Ben went right out there to get this kid because his personality, his leadership and his ability to do the things that he's going to do, those trail routes, shallow crosses with a safety trying to catch him. I mean, this kid is a legit explosive football player out of his stance. We have not seen that from the slot. I remember just saying Shane, why can't we get like a Victor Cruz, a guy that explodes out of the slot catches everything. And then I haven't even talked about him in the return game, where everybody was clowning me and Shane and Duvernet, yeah, Duvernet did some good things. But the Minnesota return that everyone talks about, my son could have taken that ball and returned it to the way it was blocked. It was not like

1:13:34this amazing return. It was just the parted seas take off, run down the field. This kid though, is an elusive, he's not Devon Hester. I know that's your boy Greg, all time. But he is a very aggressive catcher of the football and explosive returner pot and kick. So he gives you that as well. So you're getting several layers of football for your football team that Ben is going to be able to just reward your offense with his ability to return. He's that guy, Greg, that understands, okay, my feet are at the 10. Here's the punt that's going over my head. I'm going to trail to the right, let it drop, go inside. If it drops at the one, well, the punter did his job. And or he's going to sprint up and catch the ball at the 38 yard line and not let it

1:14:35hit. He's that kind of dude. So very comfortable and excited about his addition here, not only to the the return game, but also to the offense when they go in those sets, one other thing about him. And everybody's going to see it. It's going to show up in summer camp. He will take a bubble pass and be that same returner. He will take a bubble pass and go. He will find the crease. And he's short, but tough. And he will alleviate that crease. And what it looked like was going to get three all of a sudden's 43 because of his ability. And you look back at those lion's games, verse bears. If you really look at the game, Raymond on third downs was running 50 miles an hour down the field clearing out for his teammates that goes unnoticed. And

1:15:38you talk about DJ Moore, Lofan doing these things, you're not going to have that. And so that'll be the last thing I said, I'm so excited. I know you're excited. Well, let's hear from Clefram. And because he revealed something in the press conference that I wasn't aware of. And John, you know, Don Burr and Jim Ritzel's as big a lion's fans as they are. And they never put this on our radar all year either. So I questioned how much they're paying attention to what's going on in Detroit. Because Cleframen revealed that there was a tradition that was going on in the Detroit locker room that I think some of us are familiar with here in Chicago. Not man, that's that's who he is, man. I never forget the first day he had everybody say it. And everyone, you know, it's good better best. You know, you know, you're not used to doing like chance to like that. And then we started winning. And then you start doing it here. And everybody's winning. So I'm like, well, we better be good. Better best than so. No, it's a it's a testament to who he is, man. He's not taking a shirt off because he wants to look. He's taking a shirt off probably because he probably slipped three hours that week. And they to

1:16:39go to put all the work in to go win the game. So it's a testament to who he is. And I'm proud of you feel you feel that, right? Like you know, you know, that like to me, I love hearing that stuff. The more players bend coaches, the more that kind of word is going to get around, not just for guys that did play for him, but that want to play for him, you know, and then as Shane likes to say, and that, you know, that matters, you know, that's that's that's a big deal. And so, but I also was like, wait a minute, you were doing this in Detroit since when, you know, but we've made it. He made it a rally right here in Chicago. So I'm sure he only did it in the offensive room. Yeah, Dan ran the team. Yeah, yeah, no, I completely understand, but just still surprised. And I'm like, okay, fine, you got a good cricket. Yeah, it's a good nugget is a good nugget. Shane, did you have anything on that? No, I think Phil hit it out of the park. It's just a it's when you're comparing him to Devon Duverne Devon

1:17:43Duverne was almost just strictly a return guy. You know, I know he had a couple of big catches for the Bears this year. And I was just looking up some, some stats, you know, just in terms of targets, Duverne as a wide receiver has over the past three seasons has 30 target targets as a wide receiver. Khalif Raymond had 30 in 2025. So this is an underrated guy that's going to come in. Is he going to come in and lead your team in receiving? No, but he's going to be he's going to upgrade the the bottom of your wide receiver core. And you upgrade, I think he's more of a speed threat than Duverne was. To me, Duverne could have been better, but he had lost he had lost a set no matter what some beat reporters say. Yeah, well, we've got one more story here from Khalif Raymond. And I thought it was a good one. And I think speaks to the way I just enjoyed and I clipped this because I enjoy hearing stories like this

1:18:46from the locker room. And the way Ben communicates with his players and how they respond to that. The time that I knew who Ben was, he had this picture. Literally, I bring it up all the time. He talks about his time. He's in Miami. Just went through a transition where he's like, it's the picture of the beach. You think I'd be really, really happy. But it's one of the hardest times of my life. But to understand that kind of guy to go through something like that and then to watch his work at the end of building, that's when you know somebody has something in them that's either a little different. Whether it's competitive spirit, whether it's the will, whatever it is. So, you know, somebody has something like that in them. And when somebody has that, it doesn't matter what role they're going to take. It's going to be a, they're going to do very well for themselves. So he has a picture of him. Yeah, it was like, I think it's a picture he posted a while. He just, he brought up to the group one day. He's like, man, this is a, you know, it's a picture. I'm going to beat everything. But I'm just going through a coaching transition right now. So, you think I'd be happy. But my mind is what I have in front of me, what I have to achieve. And you take that kind of guy with that kind of

1:19:47work ethic who you can't get to sleep because he's doing so much work. That's when you know he's got it, man. So you got a guy that'll work like that and who's been through something like that. That's kind of got you follow anywhere. So there it is. I love that story. And it really speaks to Ben's intensity and the way the players respond to that. And, you know, it just, you know, you understand why guys want to go to war for this dude. Well, I've never heard any player talk negatively about him. Everybody loves him. And I think it's refreshing to see a guy that could be a hardass. Get the love because at the end of the day, no matter what anybody tells you, players want to be coached hard. You heard it from Caleb. They have to be coached hard by a actual coach. And that's the difference. That's where the respect comes in because he's doing the work. And he's Duke following it up with the proof being in the pudding.

1:20:48And that's where I see Ben Johnson bringing this football team. And you could see he's now in the building dressing it up now. He's putting up the curtains. He's putting up the pictures now in his football team. And you're just going to see more of that in the coming weeks as you lead up to in free agency and the draft because I don't think the bears are done in free agency just yet. I really don't. And I think they could add a couple more pieces on the offense. They're down a tight end because Smythe went. I'm a big fan of Carlson. He just can never stay healthy. I know he's back on the roster. I've kind of earmarked the tight end spot as something that I think they'll look at in the later rounds like they did the running back spot last year. The prime spot to draft and develop when

1:21:48you've got Cole Komet and Colson Lovelin in front of them. There isn't a high leverage of pressure on whoever they bring in. He'll be able to take his time. And obviously you have two really good tight ends in front of them. It's a deep tight end class like it was a deep running back class last year. That's where I think they might address that third tight end spot as Smythe went back to the Ravens. There it is ladies and gentlemen running through some of this free agency that's taken place over the last week, getting these guys opinions on and insights and analysis. Obviously we appreciate that. I think that's going to wrap things up for tonight. We'll be back tomorrow. I know. Carms working hard on some big guests here throughout the week. And we're going to try to bring in to you guys. And you know, it's March Band is too. So I'll have a bunch of more produce takes. If we if I could just tomorrow just he's got to be tired out from all the the big 10 tournament in life. Right. Northwest. Yeah. Squashed. Yeah. He got one day,

1:22:55you know, with Northwestern, but he's not too tired because he didn't, you know, he didn't have to go to the UC for it. Jets full. Here in the chat says, Braggs, can you wish my daughter Denver a happy birthday? Happy birthday, Denver. Awesome name. Man, it is birthday to you, Denver. That's great. Greg is naming his next child Chicago. I got to listen to Greg yell at his daughter live in the green room for stuff in the cat and the fridge. Greg my sleeper tight end in the draft. John Michael Gellinborg. Okay. John Michael Gellinborg Wyoming. Did you say that was your sleeper tight end? Yes. Yeah. I'm giving you I'm I'm earmarking it now. It's going to have to be a blocking tight end, don't you think? He can block and run. Okay. The smith wasn't just a blocker. Don't forget about

1:23:59the clinic tight end though that they kept on bringing back up. I think they like him. That's right. The kid that transferred in from model Russia. Yeah. All right. Well, it's been fun and you know how much I appreciate your guys' analysis and guys, you know, I know we do a lot of shameless promotion on here for becoming a diehard and making sure you're subscribed and and following Fran Duffy's coverage who he'll be back to joining us here in a couple of weeks. I love it. Yeah. Fran is a great dude and I know you guys have been big fans of him for a long time here. Well, before he was a coworker of mine. So but I also want to make sure to give the proper due to these two fine gentlemen who do a lot of hard work every offseason to get you ready for the draft. So make sure you're heading over to the tape, never lies network for all their coverage. Have a Patreon channel. They're breaking down film. They're doing a lot of different things that add to the analysis and some of the things we're

1:25:02talking about here tonight. So plenty of content to go around. No doubt about it. Challenge for you. Let's see if we're putting them on the spot, Shane, the head of the show. Who did I say? Stay away from. Oh, I know. You don't want me to get in love with Zion Young. There you go. Even the big guy like four times like we started to develop a friendship. Yeah. Well, Michael Haines called you big guy too. And how'd that work out? Shane and I are both T T and L is in unison. No, Zion Young. I have been. No. Yeah. When we are in New York, what about mezzador? What about mezzador? We didn't talk about him a couple weeks ago. Any, any, any, I know he's older, but like, man, I like him. I like him. Again, I have to be 25 years old. I Shane, we're trying to win it now. It's 25 year old.

1:26:05I'm not coming out. No, there's going to be enough. There's going to be guys available. I like what I gave you. I have all they're going to show on Friday or whatever day. Friday, give you a shout out Shane of your, your stat that you've brought up a million times the one that you butchered first that back. I did butcher. Well, because you hadn't responded to me yet. I was in him. I was in a meeting. Hey, well, I was in a meeting. You have to be ready. Now I'm seeing like people on 670, like Eureka Ryan Pulse hasn't dreamed of any. Oh, Brett Coleman at it today. Yeah. I got I got even more for you, Greg. I'll give you some info that you can, you can share. Okay. Give it to you right now. Yeah. I mean, well, obviously, well, I don't talk but go ahead over the last 20 drafts. This is the NFC North. How many total draft selections have the Chicago Bears? They're in fourth place, which they know all about in Chicago. They have the least amount of draft picks over the last 20 drafts in the NFC

1:27:09North. Do you have do you have any idea how many? How many total draft picks in the last 20 drafts? The last 20 draft. How many total draft picks? You say the Frank's fourth? Fourth in the NFC North. Oh, your last quote. Yeah. Jesus. But this is when you're talking about building a sustained roster and why it's critical in the NFL draft. So I'll just give it to you because you're not going to get it. So Chicago, the Chicago Bears, 154 for the Bears. In first place, the Green Bay Packers, how many do you think this is what you should be 242? 201. Okay. So that's it. The Minnesota Vikings 181, the Detroit Lions 162. And if you break it down even more, the Bears have went defensive end 10 times in the last 20 drafts rounds one through seven 10 defensive tackle 13 times in rounds one through seven offensive tackle 14 times offensive

1:28:17guard 12 center three times in 20 drafts rounds one through seven. I'm going to say this much because that is a really good stat. And two weeks from now, when we get back into this draft coverage, I'm going to make you start our show with that stat because anybody that made it to the hour and a half mark, you're the sickos. You're the most loyal. We love you very much. You're the diehards. But there are just too many people out there that may not make it this far. They have to hear that stat because that I think really illustrates what we're doing. It's clip it and make it a real over these 100%. But I have so much work to do in covering Purdue, winning a national championship. Don't add work to my plate, but you have almost 50 more bites. The Apple for Green Bay. And that's the point, right? When we're talking about the extra third round picks that they, you know, yes, we are at the bottom of the hour, HL priest, you're learning. You're learning. Thank you. We knew we'd make it here too. I wanted only to an hour. Overloaded on content. And

1:29:23that's a good thing. We were only doing shows every other week. So we want to make sure we fill fill it up for you guys and give you as much as great real quick. Let me put this out there too. You brought up third round picks. I, I have so much knowledge here, Greg. Listen to this and throw this out there too. So in the last 20 years, do you know how many third ground, how many times the bears have had a third round pick in the last 20 years? Six times 11. Wow. Yep. 2025. None. 2024. None. 2021. None. 2029. 2018. None. 2017. None. 2013. None. 2012. None. 2009. None. 2007. None. 2006. None. Third round graphics. Those should be, you know, guys that are on the break of starting and ultimate contributors. Tina Tillman 11 out of 20. I mean, so between those

1:30:25two stats, which are just mind numbing and then the stat you, you've brought up a few times that, yes, I butchered on Friday and then corrected. Yes. Is that Ryan Poles? Adam Polk was stunned. In Ryan Poles, five years as GM, they've drafted two defensive ends and two punters. And the highest of the four is Tori Taylor in the fourth round. So when you talk about allocation of looking at defensive ends in the draft, they haven't done it. When you talk about the amount of draft equity and currency they've had over the last 20 years, they're at the bottom of the barrel. And then ultimately, you know, the third round picks, I think illustrates it as well. But I just think when you look at this big picture, we're just so used to the bears operating differently. And so that's why this off season is something for bears fans to get adjusted to. And I think now that Ben Johnson last year was laying the foundation, putting it stamp on this organization.

1:31:27And now I think he has the full trust of everyone in that building in House Hall. And obviously, the fans as well. And so now we get to see how they're going to operate through this off season. So exciting stuff and excited to see what the bears can do over the next month. So we're going to we're going to take it from here and call it a night. Obviously, CHO bears will be back tomorrow at 1 p.m. Central. I believe there's a Hogan John's that will be airing tomorrow morning as well. So plenty of bears content for all of you here in the thick of the off season. So thank you once again to Phil and Shane for all your coverage and your contributions here to CHO bears after dark. And we will see you tomorrow night. And as I always like to say, keep your head up. And always bear down.