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00:00You know, we had an interesting discussion earlier in the show about, I didn't know we
00:05got plenty of time here, but, you know, sooner than you realize a week from now we'll be
00:11in Canton at the Hall of Fame game and the Bears will be playing Houston and, you know,
00:18I don't know that, you know, Daniel Hunter wants to play much of that game or if they're
00:23going to use Will Smith Jr., but just the idea that they have guys like that and the
00:29Bears, I'm not sure if Braxton Jones will be practicing by then.
00:33I don't know.
00:34I mean, I don't know if you want to be getting your rookie starter up and running at that
00:40point and I wonder if you do.
00:43Yeah, it'll be interesting to see how Matt kind of navigates this and the one caveat
00:47that he said all throughout with his target range of reps for Caleb in the preseason is
00:51you have to take a look at the health of your offensive line.
00:54The Bears will get into pads tomorrow.
00:56They'll have padded practices on Friday and Saturday.
00:59They'll continue kind of the ramp up toward the Hall of Fame game and you have to kind
01:02of hope that you come through in good shape health-wise and pretty injury-free so that
01:09if you do want to get Caleb and that starting offense a little bit of work early that they're
01:14behind an offensive line that's intact and reliable and so that's kind of going to be
01:18a fluid situation in the next week and obviously with four preseason games they've got an extra
01:23game to distribute the reps and we'll just kind of wait and see how it all shakes out.
01:28So Dan, the other day you said that Caleb Williams still has a long way to go to become
01:34a top-tier NFL quarterback but man, oh man, some of the QB feel stuff he shows, yep, it's
01:40in there.
01:41Special is in there.
01:43So my sense is that after four practices he looks the part.
01:49At times.
01:50You know, it's still bumpy in patches as it would be to be expected for a rookie quarterback
01:55trying to learn a new system and get timing and rhythm down with new pass catchers but
01:59there are things in the quarterback feel element, David, that you and I have talked about in
02:03terms of getting the ball out quickly, understanding how to progress in a rapid and decisive fashion
02:09and then obviously the throw that we talked about in the Take the North podcast and then
02:12the Bears highlighted on social media was a play the other day in practice where he
02:16just showed great pocket feel, sensed pressure, felt it, climbed the pocket quickly and decisively
02:21and ripped the ball over the middle, 20 plus yards to DJ Moore who makes a great catch
02:26and you say, well, there, there's the express lane to passing for over 200 yards in a football
02:31game which hasn't always been something that's been possible for the Bears in the last few
02:35years and so as you're watching day by day and you're seeing a kid who clearly has good
02:41instincts and clearly understands how to throw the football to different parts of the field
02:45with different touches, you say, yeah, there's absolutely the potential for everything that
02:50the Bears dream of here and now it's just about adhering to this developmental plan
02:54in a way that brings him along as quickly as possible but also doesn't rush him as the
03:00urgency and the expectations in the outside world kind of ramp up.
03:03Where are they at with their offensive line and the players that you hope to line up there?
03:10So right, like that's what we're talking about here, Molly, where you did bring up Braxton
03:14Jones and how quickly he's going to be able to go and then so you've got Larry Borham
03:19taking a lot of first team reps at left tackle.
03:21You still have what Shane Waldron has called a healthy competition at center with Ryan
03:25Bates and Coleman Shelton alternating days with the ones at the center position.
03:30Nate Davis has been practicing during the early stretches of camp but again, the first
03:33padded practice is Friday and then there's another padded practice on Saturday and so
03:37you really want to see several consecutive weeks of grueling practices in the books with
03:42Nate Davis still on the field to feel like you can count on him every single day at right
03:46guard and so that is one position that I think as a group you want to see get some
03:51stability before we get into mid to late August so that you feel like everything is kind of
03:57stair-stepping upwards instead of taking a pause and waiting to see who's going to be
04:01available for you and so that is certainly worth keeping an eye on here in the week's
04:04ahead.
04:05Eric Washington, the defensive coordinator at least in title, spoke yesterday.
04:10What was the most impactful thing you think he said?
04:13Two days ago.
04:14We were off yesterday.
04:15Welcome, welcome, welcome.
04:16I'm glad you got a day off.
04:17You've been going through hell.
04:18That's four days.
04:19I mean, four consecutive days.
04:20That was four consecutive days.
04:21Life has changed on the football beat.
04:22That's all I think.
04:23Even since I started, it has changed dramatically with the way that they layer these days off
04:24in.
04:25But look, one of the things that caught my ear with Eric Washington was, number one,
04:26he's talking about having a pass rush that can win with four.
04:27He's talking about having a pass rush that can win with four.
04:28He's talking about having a pass rush that can win with four.
04:29He's talking about having a pass rush that can win with four.
04:30He's talking about having a pass rush that can win with four.
04:31And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
04:32And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
04:33And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
04:34And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
04:35And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
04:36And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
04:37And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
04:38And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
04:39And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
04:40And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
04:41And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
04:42And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
04:43And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
04:44And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
04:45And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
04:46And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
04:47And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
04:48And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
04:49And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
04:50And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
04:51And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
04:52And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
04:53And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
04:54And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
04:55And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
04:56And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
04:57And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
04:58And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
04:59And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
05:00And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
05:01And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
05:02And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
05:03And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
05:04And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
05:05And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
05:06And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
05:07And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
05:08And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
05:09And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
05:10And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
05:11And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
05:12And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
05:13And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
05:14And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
05:15And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
05:16And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
05:17And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
05:18And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
05:19And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
05:20And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
05:21And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
05:22And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
05:23And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
05:24And with that, he sort of made an insinuation that they are experimenting with Montez Sweat.
05:25to his willingness to adapt and his willingness to learn to try to figure out some things
05:30here throughout the offseason and now in the training camp about how he can be utilized
05:35in a way that turns the whole defense loose in a different manner that allows them to
05:39be as productive as they were down the stretch until last season.
05:41I'm all for that.
05:42I got no problem with that.
05:44I do wonder about where whom else will be getting pressures on the quarterback.
05:51And I know they like their group.
05:53And they are content with their group and perhaps there are internal solutions to problems.
05:58But I also know this, that if you don't look externally, then those answers dry up quickly.
06:06And I'm not saying that they, you know, should gulp or anything because Yannick Nkakwe went
06:14down to Miami to work out and they signed someone else.
06:17I'm just saying they did sign someone and these things, you know, you don't know what
06:22you need till you need it.
06:24And sometimes having too many is just enough.
06:28So that's where I think this next stretch of practices is really, really telling because
06:32for the first time since last January, the Bears are going to have linemen being able
06:36to do linemen things in practice.
06:37When you get to the padded practices on Friday and Saturday, you can turn guys loose.
06:41You can see, okay, are the flashes we saw from Austin Booker during the spring and summer
06:46real?
06:47Do they apply when he's taking on one-on-one battles against full-fledged physical offensive
06:51linemen in the NFL?
06:53Do you have enough faith in Jacob Martin to believe that he can be a starter slash rotational
06:58guy for you off the edge?
07:00We've seen DeMarcus Walker bumping inside a lot on obvious passing situations where
07:05then you feel like you've got a guy that can rush from the interior alongside Jaron Dexter
07:09alongside Sweat.
07:10And then that other end position has to just be a complimentary part.
07:13And so there's a lot to study here and there's a lot I think that Ryan Poles and Eric Washington
07:17and Matt Iberflus are looking to see when they finally can get into the pads on Friday
07:21and Saturday.
07:22And you guys know as well as anyone, that's a big day during training camp for the football
07:26football-y people because you do finally get a chance to see things that you've just been
07:31guessing about during, you know, OTAs and mini camp and the early parts of training
07:35camp.
07:36And so far you're evaluating and basically being guided by a lot of things you hear more
07:40than what you see.
07:41And I thought you made an interesting point on the podcast the other day, Dan, about how
07:45this Bears season, this Bears team does have a collection of veterans who are actually
07:51leaders, guys who have high characters, guys who have high football IQs, guys like Tremaine
07:58Edmonds and TJ Edwards and Montez Sweat.
08:00And then you go to the secondary, Kevin Byard.
08:03The list is longer than it has been in a while of guys you actually think you can talk to
08:10and want to hear from.
08:11Yeah, you kind of go back to the end of the Luddy era where you just felt like there were
08:15faces and voices all over that locker room that were valuable and had insight to share
08:21and experience to impart on younger players.
08:24And you think of that whole core of that group back then, and now you see things starting
08:29to come together defensively.
08:30You know, you've got talkers and leaders on the back end of that defense.
08:33You got Tremaine Edmonds, you got Montez Sweat.
08:35You talk about on the offensive side of the ball, Cole Komet and Mercedes Lewis back for
08:39season 36 or whatever it is for him now.
08:43There are guys on this team and there are guys who understand how difficult it is to
08:48win at a meaningful level in this league and understand just what it takes to sort of bring
08:53out the best in an individual and then by extension a team.
08:57And so you hope that that sort of creates a momentum here in July and August that the
09:02Bears can utilize.
09:03Because listen, you guys know as well as I do, City of Chicago is not waiting around
09:07for the Bears in the month of September.
09:09They're expecting to see direction immediately in those first few games of the season.
09:15And so you have to be able to arrive there ready for that moment.
09:19And we know, we've seen it in years past where there's been an anticipation building and
09:23expectation building and we get into that season opener and it's a total fizzle.
09:27And all of a sudden the entire air comes out of an entire city and it's hard to come back
09:31from.
09:32And so the hope is you're not there.
09:33And the hope is that some of these leaders and these guys that can provide that energy
09:37and juice do just that.
09:39It's fascinating, Dan, because obviously we're not up there, but you're reading everything
09:45and you're watching everything.
09:46And I see all the lovely stories written about Javon Dexter and he's got the sprinter's body,
09:53the marathon body, and that's all great.
09:55And he looks different.
09:56Stop eating the honey buns.
09:57Yeah.
09:58Yeah.
09:59I love just, I mean, I want to be called honey buns, but at any rate, Tyreek Stevenson is
10:04making plays and he made plays last year and you know what you got with him.
10:08And Tyler Scott, every time I turn around, it seems like he's developing a pretty good
10:13rapport with the quarterback that you forget because they got such a deep, talented trio
10:21that he's even a guy that's still there and he had some drops last year, but no, he's
10:26going to catch some balls.
10:28So that's wonderful to see.
10:30I just wonder, I haven't heard a lot about Zach Pickens.
10:35Where is he at?
10:36Is he on the way to him?
10:37The whole draft class led by Darnell Wright.
10:41Are all these guys going to play?
10:42Roshun Johnson is another guy, now they haven't, you know, we haven't been privy to seeing
10:48any contact.
10:49So he's more a guy that will show up when they run the ball.
10:53But you know, I wonder about Noah Sewell, what's his situation?
10:58I thought they got a lot out of Terrell Smith last year.
11:01I'm just saying, is that whole draft class ready to take another step?
11:06Because we're talking about a lot of different names from some of these guys.
11:09That is a lot of different names that you just threw out there.
11:11And I think you understand why Ryan Poles is getting more sleep and better sleep these
11:17days because you look at a roster that feels fortified.
11:19You look at a roster that seems to have quality depth behind the frontline starters and you
11:24feel like you can now take that step to being competitive against anyone you play.
11:30And so I think they feel really good about the talent they've assembled.
11:34Now, as you guys know, it's all about how do you develop them and how do you find the
11:38right role so that guys can be at their best and contributing to a football team that can
11:41be a winning football team.
11:42And there's a lot of young players in this roster that have promise.
11:45I think we're going to hear from Tyreek Stevenson today.
11:47And I'm here to talk to him because he really did have an encouraging rookie season, weathered
11:52some of those downs that you expect from a young corner and found ways to be productive
11:57with the football and taking it away.
11:59And that's going to be a huge weapon to have when you also have, by the way, Jalen Johnson.
12:03Oh, by the way, Kyler Gordon.
12:04Oh, on the back end, Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker.
12:06And now you feel like you've got a secondary that's ready to roll.
12:10And so like you go position by position and you say, yeah, there's competition here.
12:13Yeah, there's depth here.
12:14And now we just need to see some of these guys emerge into leading roles and key backup
12:18roles where you feel like, OK, every single week we take the field, we can win this football
12:22game. And we're not just hoping that everything breaks our way.
12:25We have a legitimate chance and we have the pieces in place that our coaches can utilize
12:29accordingly to get that done.
12:30And so that's where the optimism is building.
12:33And then obviously, you guys know it's a long grind through August.
12:36Health is the great mitigator of progress in this league and injuries can can bite you
12:40at any time. But certainly they feel really good about the roster construction and where
12:44it's gone from day one, Orion, to now starting year three.
12:48Dan, who affects Sundays more, Darnell Wright or Javon Dexter?
12:54Good question. I think your hope is that it's Dexter.
12:58Look, I think they know what they have in Darnell Wright and they feel like they've got a
13:02guy who can start at the tackle position for a decade and be just an absolute
13:06lockdown wall for you at the tackle position.
13:11He's currently at Wright. I know there's been some thoughts internally that eventually he
13:14could make a move to left if necessary.
13:17Dexter is the guy that just feels like the guy you've bet on.
13:20And Molly just documented a few minutes ago about all the things that we've heard about
13:24Javon Dexter. And he looks better and he's sleeker and he's got to do all this.
13:27Well, let's get into pads on Friday and Saturday and let's see it.
13:30Let's watch in these preseason game reps.
13:33Let's watch when they have the crossover practice with the Cincinnati Bengals and and judge
13:36with our own eyes whether this progress is real or whether it's just kind of that leap of
13:40faith of excited optimism that this city often takes.
13:44And so like great, Javon Dexter looks like he's ready, but it's
13:49a see it to believe it proposition.
13:50And I think the Bears really need him to be an every week difference maker for
13:55this defense to be what they've said they want to be, which is a top tie.
13:58Top five defense in this league to be that Javon Dexter has got to be that guy.
14:03Yeah, I what I'm trying to say is that a couple of these draft classes are
14:09there are a few draft classes and strong couple look pretty good.
14:13I mean, they look like that's how you get better in the NFL.
14:16You bring in young players and they get better as you go.
14:19And that's what I'm really looking forward to with the Bears.
14:24No, I agree with you.
14:25And then this current draft class obviously he's got some meaningful guys, not just Caleb and Rome.
14:29But Austin Booker is going to be a guy that you're really watching during his rookie
14:34season to see if they found a true diamond in the rough and whether he can contribute right away.
14:38And so, look, I think they've done a lot of good work on this roster.
14:42And they also understand that there's more to go.
14:44Look, on the Caleb front, that is the linchpin of everything.
14:49You know, he has to be a top tier quarterback.
14:51He can't be the 14th best quarterback in the league in three years.
14:54And you're still dreaming of contending for Super Bowls every year.
14:58And so that's the next step is this very thought out,
15:00layered developmental plan that they have for Caleb Williams.
15:02It has to be put into effect that that creates progress early because, again,
15:07like he's not going to be given that runway of forgiveness that Mitch was given,
15:12that Justin was given.
15:14It's going to be show us, show us right now and show us at a high level.
15:18Otherwise, we're all going to be screaming to high heavens that they got it wrong again.