Ben Johnson AND Ryan Poles Join to Talk Caleb Williams, NFL Draft and More | Hoge & Jahns

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owners meetings in Phoenix over Florida which I'm not sure like 20 years ago something I would have said but the desert is growing on me it definitely is you ready for this Hogan John's is brought to you by old national bank every play matters whether it's on the field or in your financial life the best teams win by delivering excellence at every level old national bank where relationships and results matter member FDIC and courtesy of old national bank allowing us to be here as we think all of our sponsors we got a big show for you guys today we sat down with both that coach Ben Johnson and Ryan bull separately and it's not together so two different interviews from Arizona also the chance to talk to Ben at the annual NFC coaches breakfast that feels like a whole day ago but this all happened on the same day it's been a busy day and for those that can survive the busy day there's also a little shindig we get to go tonight there's a party so we'll see if Larry mayor behaves himself this is Monday correct yeah you're listening to this on Tuesday well check in with us yeah we'll keep you updated later on the week on that development but we don't want to keep you waiting we will react to some of the stuff and chime in but let's get right into it fun conversation with Ben John's got into a lot of quarterback conversation a lot of Caleb Williams not that wasn't I think it was 12 minutes into the breakfast this morning before the first Caleb question was even asked so we took the opportunity to really dive in in the quarterback play the offense where Ben Johnson sits in all of it in this conversation with the head coach so here it is all right Ben the first thing I'd like to start with is I'm just curious your your first season as a head coach ends how quickly do you jump into the self scouting process and what is that all entail especially as you are looking through the lens of your offense and your quarterbacks play well yeah it took a little bit of time you know got a little got out of the building a little bit but you know we had exit meetings with players want to meet with all the coaches all the support staff and then really needed to get a jump on the free agent evals when we finally did get the coaches back in the building and so it took a little little bit of time before we got on to the self scout but we've made a lot of headway particularly defense is ahead of the offense right now I think that they're almost done offense we still have a few more cut-ups that we got to make it through some situational stuff but it's been it's been a lot of fun there's there's a lot of good there's a lot of areas where we can get better as well which we've had some cut-ups I remember getting done with them with the staff that Cali it leaves a bad taste in your mouth and yet when you go back and you reflect on it a little bit you know what it's actually it's a great thing because boy how much better can we get going from last year to this next year and so I think I'm really encouraged with where that stands specifically with the quarterback he did so many good things on tape and I tend to view it from the start of the season all the way through the end and that you get you that gets lost a little bit when you do the self scout because everything is more situational and so you might have a clip from the first game mixed in with the clip from the last game and you lose sight of how much better it got as you went and so that's what that's what gives me the most encouragement is the growth that he made from before the bi-week to the last month or two of the season and so I think that's the best part of it him coming in April 20th we're gonna have a great plan in place we'll have a few bullet points of areas that we're really gonna emphasize this offseason and I think he's gonna be able to sink his teeth into it one of the most interesting things from last season was him saying maybe halfway through the season that he didn't know if you like them or not like when you look back on that like what do you think of it and when did you see your relationship maybe start to click behind the scenes in those meetings like what happens in those meetings like when did you see you guys starting to come together well it's not the first time someone is I think I think Drew petzing actually when we were Boston College together he's now you know the coordinator at Detroit but he was in your wedding yeah he had been really good friends and so I don't know I guess that's just the character flaw of mine perhaps but he you know he it's it's one of those things with a coach player relationship you know some some things take a little bit longer than others but I think there's a healthy amount of respect that's that's been there from day one all the way up until the day and and will continue to go forward where I really respect with what he's done to put himself in this spot as a leader of this franchise and I really got a lot of confidence in the direction that he's going as well and so they I think that's that's just as you get to know somebody and and some of their quirks you know none of us are perfect we all have certain things that that we aren't necessarily proud of but that you work through it and the best thing that's happened to us is that the time we spent together the communication that we've had it's all added up and so we both know I think when you look at it we're really we're really wired the same way we want the same things and because of that I think this thing's really starting to blossom so in those meetings are you talking about anything and everything are you looking at defensive players defensive coverages are you looking at plays from his past like what goes into those almost daily meetings that you had with him throughout here I mean it's a number of things when you get into a game week it's a little bit more specific to that opponent it's the practice tape the intent of the play where our eyes need to be so it could be any number of things as we look at it and and yet this offseason it's gonna be a little bit more of a broad scope and then in that same lens too we also try to have a little levity and enjoy each other's presence a little bit so it's that's the fun part of that can't give you all the secrets I'm trying here well you know I the other day the your playoff win over the Packers was on NFL Network and just flipping through and I I noticed this the second to last score when you get before you guys took the lead but you got closed he Caleb's on the sideline he's just seems a really rain a low was staying in there too and he but it seemed like Caleb was sort of leading the conversation about like what you guys are gonna do next when you got the ball back how much did you see him grow as a leader as the season went along because just from my eyes and we don't get to see every parts of the game you know and either as you're you know looking towards the field but what's going on behind you like it seems like especially from year one of your two as we witness him and went for more of him just sort of sitting there on the bench waiting to be sort of told versus it seemed like by the end of last season he was really taking charge there on the sideline yeah well I think that's the confidence that he had and what he was doing what we were doing as an offense and as a team and certainly what what his job his responsibility was for each and every play and I think that confidence really showed on on game day it was no secret that we made his body language his demeanor on game day a point of emphasis last spring when we came to the building and because of that he was conscious of it you know I think he took a lot of pride in trying to make an improvement there and I think he did for the most part we you know there's still plenty of room to grow but he made a tremendous step forward in terms of being a leader being a positive influence on the people around him I know his teammates respect the heck out of them they know exactly what they're gonna get particularly when the game's on the line like that he's gonna be at his best and so I really look at for that relationship with him and his teammates continuing to go forward you know personally I really like that you made that an emphasis the body language thing why why does that matter to you like why why do you feel like that is something that I because I think maybe some other coaches would just be like oh you know it just wouldn't really matters on the field not necessarily what a guy is showing to the camera to whatever what but why does that matter well I think when you are in a leadership position which I think almost every quarterback naturally at the NFL level that they're looked to by their teammates he's in command of the huddle each and every play you know he's the only one speaking in the huddle each and every play so because of that people look to you and if you've got moments of weakness or looks of despair on your face or palms up like you're blaming the officials or somebody else it's just you don't want that because it just trickles down to the rest of the crew it's I think he's getting to the point where hey I'm always in control this thing we're never out of it so it's all good man it's all good just as long as there's time left on this clock we're gonna we're gonna find a way and we're gonna figure it out and I think he kind of as a season went he started to believe that himself and and I think that's what you saw earlier you said the passing game leaves something to be desired like what do you desire next from the passing game like and how are you measuring that progress well when I watch the self-scout I would still say that rings true you know it showed up you know the easy thing and something I've been talking about all day here is the easy thing is the completion percentage you know we're at 58 to 59 I made it a statement last year that we really if we want to be elite we want to be that 70% marker and so we fell short of that and you know we don't shy away from that I think when you look at it for us to get to 65% completion even cut that in half we need to find 40 more completions over the course this season well let me tell you something when you watch the self-scout there's 80 90 100 completions we left out on the table and I'm not just talking about passes dropped I know that's the first thing that probably comes to mind but every team's gonna have some some passes that are dropped on the ground by their their route runners and catchers so that that's gonna happen but there's a number of things when you watch this tape that we're gonna continue to get the timing down our footwork down our ball location down I put a lot of stress on our coaching staff myself at the forefront of that of where we can coach this stuff better not just to get the primary receiver open more but to where our route details more defined when Caleb creates on his own we have the proper reaction on the back and we come alive on the back end and uses an opportunity to get a big play down the field we didn't feel like that happened nearly enough and so I think there's more than enough opportunities on the tape and when the guys get back in the building that's something that we're gonna really stress like when you factor in say throwaways or a scramble some of those could be positive plays but when you look at the self-scout like there's potentially a completion there and that's something that needs to be discussed with yeah and I'll be honest with you that the throwaways aren't even something that I'm really to me that's part of that when you talk about 70% that's part of the 30% is the throwaways I think that's gonna happen as well so you want to get to 70 with all that factored in expected drops that you're always gonna have oh yeah that's the throwaways all that if you want to be elite in this league you're gonna have your top five to three quarterbacks in the league completing that that clip at this point and so that's where we want to be that's where he wants to be he wants to be one of the best ever so what why are we shying away from that goal and when you watch the tape that there's there's that to be had to so it's we're all in it together and and we're gonna find a way to make significant jump here this season so when it comes to ball placement like what's the what's the number one thing that you feel like you start with to start to get that to be just a little bit sharper well I think mechanics is where it starts and so of course we changed the footwork a little bit last offseason you could tell it become more consistent as we went through the season the comfort level grew just being aligned towards the target makes a major difference with him that's one and then the other one is is having complete trust in where your route runners gonna be and so that took some time as the season went I think we we have a lot better feel now for what we're coaching as a coaching staff our consistent consistency in our how demanding we are in terms of getting that done on on the field and so I think we're gonna be in a really good spot here going forward between how we're coaching it what we're seeing from our route runners being able to get them on the same page as Caleb earlier here in this offseason my last question for you is like how would you describe Drew Dahlman's impact on your offense success but also Caleb's development and then how does that maybe affect expectations for Gary coming in yeah it's significant there's a reason why we targeted him last year in free agency and you know like I said before he's a big reason why we were able to get the plane off the ground not just as a team but certainly for us as an offense because I mean this is this this thing is really driven through the center we load them up they have to be very smart they got to be able to understand what looks who we want to identify and they need to be able to problem solve when naturally on game day something gets thrown at us that we weren't anticipating and so he was able to do that I know he was certainly he felt that pressure each and every week and he took a lot of pride in it and so he is essentially the quarterback of our run game and our protection system and I don't think that's going to change going forward now with Garrett fortunately you know we'll get a good feel as we go through spring and camp what Garrett is capable of but he comes across as a very very smart guy as well so I'm hopeful that we're not going to miss a beat there he's played a lot of football in this league and he's seen a lot of different offense the systems himself so I think that the transition is going to be fairly safe and seamless for him all right I'm in with a selfish question and we usually ask at the breakfast but forgot we're getting any joint practices this year that's that's the hope right now we got a couple on the docket that we'd love to get week one and week two so you like to have until last year we loved it yeah we will all that thought it was a good change up for our players at that point of camp and I think we'd like to do that again the real question is how many more Cubs games have you been able to slip into one completely unnoticed yet yeah yeah last year last year was in and out no one said a word that was great and then really I didn't get you I went to the playoff game last year during our bye week and I really did not get bothered at all yeah it was great that was one of the best games I've been to too that was so cool which one was it though that might have been I don't care man that might have been game three before they went and played they want that walk yes yes they won that yes yeah that might have been game three I think it was game three yeah I don't have a good memory like that I just know I just know it was pretty free I was I was having that problem with your season at the end of the week which game was that happen there's too much to happen this year Ben Johnson back on Hogan John's thanks we really appreciate you thanks Ben yeah I don't know about you Adam and again thank you to Ben for his time but every word that he was saying about Cale Williams I just had this thought that there was just so much more potential left to be tapped into on the field with his quarterback I think that's how they feel in general about the whole team and in his offense too you know when you share the story this morning which you guys because this wasn't in that interview maybe didn't hear this but he said that a couple of the new coaches on the staff they're going through they popped up the family fest film which was one of let's say many ugly practices they had in training camp and and he didn't name who the coaches were but they're basically like how did you guys you guys made the playoffs how did you win games I thought that was a little fun anecdote that Ben shared with us this morning and you know it we went through that process to just covering this team and it was kind of a remarkable turnaround I had I remember hearing that during camp like from people that were in there like like this might be a rough start to the season and by the way it was they were oh and two they got blown out by the Lions so it's it is pretty remarkable the progress that was made and and yet I know Ben you heard it in that conversation still feels like there was so much left out there like the running game it was good wasn't consistent didn't start season well didn't end the season all that well but in the middle it was really humming Philly was the peak that game on Black Friday was the peak and I feel like they feel like they can find that what they did in Philadelphia against the Eagles and do that more consistently going forward and that would really be I think Ben's obviously got extremely high standards you heard in that interview with the completion percentage and all that stuff which I want to talk about here too and then they didn't come closer reaching those standards even with all the success they had last year when he was sharing that story about the training camp best at Soldier Field the first thing that I thought over some of the practices that we saw at Hell saw where you had seven on seven drills with the with cable name scrambling throwing the ball away where you would go 0 for 3 or 0 for 4 during his reps in your left wondering like okay when is this going to click for Caleb when are things going to work in Ben Johnson's offense and like we just said like you just said it took 3-4 weeks into the regular season for us to see success and everything changed after the bye week obviously it did and now part of the challenges they they are but this is the right mindset to have the starting over this idea that Ben's put down right away and it is a new team and you lose pieces like Drew Dahlman that you have to replace I think that they you know they feel like Garrett Bradbury can do that but I also think it's pretty big shoes to fill at the same time it would be a little bit of a threat he's in charge of the run game yeah welcome to the team new guy a little scary you know a top five run game but you're in charge of it but he does have I will say this about Garrett Bradbury maybe some of the consistent play over the course of his career hasn't been in the same level as Drew Dahlman but he is a very smart guy too and he you know I think that experience with Joe Tooney too will pay off and it'll be all the handle but they're gonna have to adjust and the coaches are gonna have to absorb absorb some of that and I think one of the big questions is how much is Caleb absorb some of that loss of because he's he's the one with his hands under the center's ass right like it's one way to put it he's you know he's got he can as his career goes along he's going to instinctually learn more and understand more and be able to make his own calls at times and the in the same thing with the leadership which we talked to Ben about in that conversation he I thought he grew tremendously as a leader throughout the season from at times quite frankly looking somewhat lost early you know early on to really taking charge of things in those in those playoff games I think he grew tremendously on the field as well let's I think some context is just needed here because I think we all got excited about what 2025 was it was an immensely impressive year with a lot of dramatic come from behind wins but this was still a quarterback learning a new system under a first-time head coach with new players up front new players that he's throwing to and you still had the success that the Bears had so I think you if you encapsulate it the right way and set the expectation the level the right way from from that vantage point like there was tremendous growth had by Caleb Williams last year baby steps is how Ben Johnson put it earlier at the breakfast now what do the teenage steps look like what are the adult steps look like together and your two now couple things we learned in that interview that I think are important going forward and not just our schedule with the joint practices which sounds like are going to happen again you just don't know with who and it's never a good level but the idea of getting two of them again which would be great don't necessarily know if they both be at house all but I imagine at least one of them would be so the wait time out so the Bears have the Bears only have one preseason home game this year right I'm processing this live because they have nine regular season home games so you would think that one if they do have two joint practices one of them will be on the road then which is fine it would have to be that would have to be the case so unless they there are times where they practice and they don't play the Bears haven't been a part of that but they there are such teams that do that though there's practice and then not and that's usually the week before the game starts so it's possible we don't know all the specifics Ben wouldn't tell us all that but we tried fans I I know Greg Braggs will appreciate that nugget now then one nugget he won't appreciate it because this shuts down his consistent throwing out of the I think the stat is and Caleb had the most throwaways and drops when you combine them in terms of why that completions percentage was down at 58% instead of the goal of 70 well Ben Johnson just kiboshed all that he he's factoring that in like and I feel guilty as part is the 30% how much that how much time did I waste in training camp trying to adjust it completion percentage I feel like we have a few colleagues if they watch this listen to this will be chuckling right at you right now yeah well you know they're jealous of my math skills I know and the fact that I chart every throw well maybe I could save myself time you know I don't have to do that it doesn't matter it it Ben I really truly thought that was interesting like nah no we want to see that above 70 like the actual completion percentage we know there's going to be drops we know there's going to be throwaways and it's a fair point because Jared golf who he had in Detroit he was over 70% with all of those things yeah but it took him a couple years to get there one I think that's important too and and he did throw in you know even if we just get to 65% what did he say that's 40 something more completions I got to find oh boy he said in a self scout that they saw what 80 to 100 yeah that's something I agree I mean I didn't count that up but that sound that tracks to me yeah well as good as it was a year was it felt like there's so many of those you know you yeah like what is that somewhere between five and ten a game when you're talking about some chunky I guess when you factor in the place so we're talking about a handful plays a game that tracks to me that it was that that it was that many yeah a handful of of throws every single game that could have been completed for whatever reason it's not always quarterbacks fault like he talked a lot about the timing of the routes and I think that whether anyone wants to come out a minute like that is at least someone it's on the pie chart somewhere of why DJ more was straight I think the best way to interpret what Ben Johnson just said about completion percentage really a lot of the stuff that he said in our interview with them is that he's holding Kale Williams to such a high standard that not only 2025 but but going forward and maybe that's how we should view this is through the lens of Ben Johnson and the standards that he's keeping we could argue all about completion percentage that we want but Ben Johnson wants that better he wants that to be around 65% with eventually reaching the goal of 70% so we could argue about how those incompletions happen but Ben Johnson himself wants that better wants that higher for Kale Williams that's the standard he's holding him to I like it I like it and I think that that's the adjusted standard that everyone else be holding him to as well as especially in year two now which I remember going on this rant at some point in the middle last season was like this isn't criticism of Kale this isn't any conversation in the lens of like he's not going to make it it's just no the bears have their guy now let's get to the point where they're talking about you know a top three quarterback which is that well then you stored elite yeah exactly if he's going to be elite he needs to get that completion percentage up and that's hard for all of us as Chicagoans bears fan to comprehend which is something I brought up in our interview with Ryan polls to very good you're good at this the idea that you know a superstar quarterback and another quarterbacks that other teams actually want to like it just seems so hard to fathom but that is actually the case so Ryan polls is coming up next but we do have to take our first time out thanks for our sponsors to come back we'll bring you that full conversation with the general manager as well but first Adam what if you could have reliable intelligent Wi-Fi and what if you keep it at the same price for five years Xfinity we need you here in Arizona five years Xfinity that's the Xfinity five year price guarantee imagine Wi-Fi that makes everything in your home work together that finds and fixes problems before you even notice them like super intelligent Wi-Fi with a sixth sense all your devices working in perfect harmony for five whole years here's the best part no annual contracts no hidden fees and Xfinity's best equipment included take it from me a lot can change in five years championships are one records are broken dreams grow bigger just like with the Chicago Bears but your Wi-Fi it should stay reliable and the price should stay put lock in your price and unlock the possibilities with Xfinity learn more 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Okay from the head coach to the general manager had about the same exact time maybe actually a little more I'm not sure with Ryan polls to discuss look we went a little bit more draft heavy with the GM as you should this time of draft is next everybody so draft bunch of stuff, Bayesian trade talks all kinds of things Ryan polls once again joins Hogan Johns. Alright Ryan so your your head coach earlier today was talking to us about finding trained killers on defense I know Bears fans just reacting to that loved it as the GM has to be the one to go some fines those guys like how does it is that an actual scouting term how do you how do you go about doing that? Yeah it's not a scouting term we might make it a scouting term but yeah we're looking for guys that play our style of ball when they are trained killers you can see it on tape it stands out. Is there some other questions you gotta ask after that to make sure everything's good but yeah we're looking for guys that play our style and we've had some really good conversations when we get back we'll jump in the draft room and tighten the board up and even watch them tape together to make sure we have that alignment and we're bringing those types of players. So with a full year in the books like how much really changes when you have coaching changes Benzin, now Dennis Allen's in like from a scouting perspective how much change is just in terms of like the players you're looking at certain traits you're trying to identify? Yeah thanks when you go through the year and we go through our weekly meetings to evaluate our roster certain topics and things come up you know over and over if that's versatility if that's range if that's just overall speed match ups we're constantly taking those things in and making sure that we're adding into our scouting reports and what we're looking for in a player those kind of factors that we're looking for for each position so the more time you have together the more clarity you get on that and I really like where we're at we've had some really good conversations especially at the end of the year we've had some opportunities to go back and watch more tape of guys and it's giving us some pretty Dennis Allen strikes me as someone who's probably very vocal and adamant about certain characteristics that he wants on defense. Yeah yeah and I think you could probably put all those together in the tranquill area with what would come out but yeah just play speed I think is that's one thing we talked about a lot playing faster being able to cover in space that's going to give him the ability to be really aggressive what he needs to. As you went through the process last year and kind of realized what Ben wanted up front the physicality now going you know kind of doing a little bit more this year with the resources you have on defense now for what DA wants has your own like style which you're what you're looking for has that evolved over the last four now going into year five. I think yeah I think the front office myself we're always evolving especially when you have you know Dennis who's had a ton of experience in this league and and then obviously Ben for the success that he's had and how intelligent he is you're always learning you're always adjusting and adapting to make sure again the players are bringing in the building match it also gives us some direction on how we're going to build the team as we move forward both short term long term extensions trades um all those things you know are a ton of learning lessons there I think the cool thing is how line Ben and I are just in terms of building a roster that is sustainable over a long period of time it is very encouraging for us as a front office that we had coached understands like even draft like take the best available and we saw the benefits of that just I know it's on the offensive side of the ball but taking Colson you know was was it a need wasn't like a top need but we took best player and I think we could see that play out the way that it is so it was an extension of that that that bears box when you put that on a player on your draft board like how much is that maybe crystallized with Ben at your side now yeah I think there's the the beautiful thing is that's stayed consistent so when you talk about the mental toughness the grit the passion for ball all those things were always a part of it and then as we've kind of evolved and gone through this first year there's some things we want to continue to lean into even more which we'll do and hopefully that turns out to be some some really good players so I'll give him some credit for this I think he noticed with the GM photo I mean you got Brett Veach out there you got Chris Ballard and you got Ian Cunningham you know moving on to his job it seems like Jeff King it's only a matter of time for him to and only interest a couple years ago from the Chargers just use sit back ever and kind of reflect on that and how you're sort in the middle of that now and and a veteran and at this point in the GM role yeah it's crazy how fast time goes by I'll say this one kind of a legacy thing for me obviously winning football games championship caliber team but I've said this before one thing I want to do is be really good at developing my staff and and the more GM's we have leaving means we're having success and I want them to have success too we spent a lot of time making sure that Ian was ready to go so he could hit the ground running and didn't have many blind spots and I know he's doing a great job and I know he's very thankful for the Bears for what we put into him and the opportunities we gave him through delegation which was which is great and then the other thing is I saw Andy Reed walking out he introduced me to somebody and Sam a GM and I said I wouldn't be here if it wasn't you know it wasn't for you and and that's the truth both I mean Pat's success as a quarterback Andy's success in his leadership I've watched him and how he moves and leads and that rubs off on you so you can see a lot of that start to bubble up when you get the GM's from all these you know really not a lot of clubs but from a few clubs start to to bubble up and that's what I want I want to happen from Chicago I want you know the success for a quarterback and head coach to help elevate and move guys up to have an opportunity to lead other organizations as well. So going off that I mean you experience Andy Reed connect with Patrick Mahomes what was it like watching Caleb connect with Ben this season especially with all those dramatic finishes felt like every single game. Yeah they just they start acting the same they start speaking the same you see the amount of time and intensity that they have with each other start to go up you see their body language as they're preparing improve and increase it just they start to become really in sync and you can feel that my wife just sent me a picture of something Caleb made a comment about Ben's like photo out there because he wasn't smiling so he looks serious yeah so I think that relationship just gets deeper and deeper and that means they Ben can coach him harder and and Caleb will want the standard to to go up even higher in terms of expectations for himself so those are the things I saw in Kansas City obviously it's not a cookie cutter setup things will be a little bit different but I love the relationship that I'm seeing right now and you know Caleb has a ways to go but you can tell he's ready to accept that coaching and then apply all the things that he learned from this past year to next year. They had a moment last year in the locker room where where Caleb's well he's emotional himself yeah like about giving I think he was giving the game ball right to Ben's for someone who's so close to both of them yeah what was it like being in the locker room in that moment seeing that almost come to fruition the way it has where good better best has gone viral so many times but now here's your your quarterback had coached relationship now going viral itself yeah incredible moment in a pivotal moment for for the organization just because you know when you start a relationship you know it's it's not all smooth like Ben was hard on him will continue to be hard on him but when you saw that acceptance of that hard coaching and then success start to happen and result from that relationship and and it was because Ben saw what he was capable of and and then I think when Caleb understood that and then got some positive reinforcement from success on the field that relationship just got stronger and stronger like I said I think we are just at the surface we have a lot of a room to grow and Caleb has a ways to go too but that beginning phase that had to happen to get to where we are today so really cool moment and and and we'll continue to build off of it I got two more for you but since we're on the topic of quarterback for those of us that grew up in Chicago but covering this team as long as we have it is and I think to people watching listening to this it's pretty wild to think the Bears might not only have one like potential superstar quarterback but also a backup that other teams are actually interested in trying to acquire it's it's pretty remarkable I guess hey how proud of you are you for finding Tyson Bayesian even your scouting staff identifying him developing him and how tough is it that actually been this offseason sort of weighing what type of offered you might be getting for him understanding but also understanding his importance to the team right now yeah Austin Reed's ball and two yeah I saw that beginning over you know he's set a record um no really listen a quarterback position that that's the hardest position to to to hit and to evaluate there's a lot going on in that position and to feel like we've we've made some good decisions and brought some really good players with Caleb um and Tyson that's that's everything um without them it's very hard to have success um very two different quarterbacks but really proud of our staff for for doing that and also you know you have a new staff come in that wasn't part of that and and lean into to both guys and and also to see Tyson grow and continue to get better um in terms of weighing it you know it it takes a lot um because if something were to happen I don't want our success to be derailed because of you know you know miss couple weeks and and the guys stepping in can't can't handle it so we have a ton of faith in and Tyson not a player that you know we think is is smart to just walk out the door it would have to enhance our team significantly and even at that it would be there would be some risk involved so the beautiful thing about Tyson Tyson still wants coaching too I'm pretty sure if you asked him he would want to continue here to continue to learn from Ben um because he's growing as well and at some point he'll get his opportunity and it'll be fun to see but um I think the the Bears are in good hands in terms of the quarterback position both um for our starter and our backups it's crazy to think did you want your last two questions here can I get my last question sure go for it I wanted to ask about having a head coach who embraces Rylevroy like like Ben Johnson does I just find that so unique just not only like buying into it but encouraging I don't want to say hatred but back and forth like what do you make of of that as a former player and now someone in charge of the team I think that's what you want to play for I think you want to play for a guy that's not scared um I got it's aggressive um someone that wants to compete I think it raises the level of probably both organizations to be completely honest with you um we needed that I think you needed to jump start because you know what I first got here was all about just getting beat by them a lot and it was just my own the climb and and Ben's like screw it like we're just going to take this head on and and take this rivalry over and we're not going to be scared to talk about it um so I think that's what you need and I think that's what you need to make a shift um so the way he approaches that really approaches every game that way to be completely honest with you but a little bit more vocal about our rivalry and I think it makes it exciting I think it makes the NFL exciting I think people want to see that um I'd be shocked if those games are in prime time and everyone wants to be tuned into that game so I love it well we'll be looking forward to that again if there are anything like last year's games for sure um gotta ask you about the pass rush or we're gonna get yelled at by the people watching and listening at this they're probably already yelling in their cars listening to this ask about the pass rush uh you have invested quite a bit actually in the defensive line if you look at draft capital money all those things do you feel like you've gotten enough out of what you've invested so far and and how do you get more out of it in 2026 to really become a team that's really always affecting the quarterback yeah uh I would say just you look at the draft you know when I've been here I think we've we've taken the right mentality and taken the best available and that's been very offensive um centric and and I think that's paid off for us we had all pro tackle um I think you know Colson's gonna be all pro tight end um so we've we've done some really good things there and it just hasn't lined up to be defensive line um in terms of afraid to see we've we've at in trades we've added guys that I think have improved our our D line um I think with the shift in in staff year two has opportunity to be better um I'd like to see Montes continue to grow and make more impact plays as we move forward uh I was a little bummed obviously with Dio and Shamar's injury I thought um Dio was gonna have a impact for us and and he's pushing hard to get back and to help us and I think Shamar was gonna be on the same track is Ozzy Luther and Colson so uh really need both those guys to continue to get healthy and step up same thing for you know decks um and I think books coming along too so maybe a little bit slower than what we all want um but I think we're on the the right path um and again we'll see how the draft lines up to see if that's a player that can come in to make an impact for us I know there's been a lot of teams the ones that I look to in terms of sustained success like Baltimore and Pittsburgh that have done a really good job in that space picking guys that have helped them um at the D line position so we'll see what's available for us I think the biggest mistake you can make is is forcing something just because that's what you need um that's what I was gonna ask you you got to stay disciplined I'm best player available even if it's still offense you do yeah um I truly believe that and and the cool thing has been and I are lined up that way too um so we'll hit at the right time um unfortunately all drafts are a little bit different and it doesn't always kind of whatever group of rookies are coming into the NFL it's uh it's different every year so we'll say opportunistic for things that happen outside the draft um like we've been doing but in terms of you know allocating the draft capital there um we're really gonna take the you know best player available approach to it so it'll take a little bit of time hopefully it happens this next year but um now we'll just keep doing having a disciplined approach all right Ryan polls always love having you on appreciate it and we'll see in a couple weeks of the draft already yes crazy first question Adam Hogue how much did Mark Carmen pay you to ask that question about Tyson Beige you know I gotta be honest with you he didn't pay me anything I didn't even go into that conversation thinking I was gonna go go that it was a pivot we pivoted um I thought it made sense in the conversation though just and I like that he shouted out austere read by the way lighting up the game the other day um because it just it is it is it continues to be remarkable to me that um look I get it and I and we touched on it at the end because I did want to make sure we hit on an area that um hasn't been a home run yet and that's the pass rush but I don't think you could discredit what they've done at the quarterback position it is the most important like if let's you say this if the Bears go on to win a Super Bowl and Caleb Williams ends up being an MVP like those things actually happen like Ryan polls is the GM they did that absolutely like that that instantly probably makes them like a I don't know they don't have a Bears Hall of Fame and every number and also that the trade puts you in that conversation right it was decision to trade the first pick prior to the your drafting Caleb Williams it's just the is the gift that keeps on giving to that that's not done that's part of the draft class this year too right and like I get that they're not there yet and there's certainly other things we talk about all the time on the show and on CCO of areas where I think Ryan polls can can still do better but I mean that's not nothing to come up with seemingly two quarterbacks right now on the team uh and one that teams did inquire about and we don't know the extent of what actual offers were obviously it didn't make sense as Ryan put it in that interview to pull the trigger on because of what it could mean to hurt you at the same time if you were to lose Caleb for any extended period of time so I get it but I still think it's worth the discussion since he so openly talked about talked about the idea of trading Bayesian the last time he spoke publicly which was well I guess there was the free agency involved but you know what I mean at the combine when he talked well here's the thing if you have your quarterback figured out if you have your head coach figured out like everything it's not secondary pass rushers are important receivers are important quarterbacks are important those are premium positions left tackle that's linked to be figured out by the bears but things do become a bit easier especially when you have a quarterback who can make you look good if mistakes happen even if it's a bad play call to allowing some pass rush up front like things change when you get that quarterback position right and I think we can all agree that the bears this is crazy to say have the quarterback position right for the first time that I could ever yeah ever so to hear Ryan polls almost appreciate what he was watching this season unfold that relationship with Ben Johnson blossom to see all the heroics late in games from Caleb Williams and to be in the locker room to see those moments like that was cool to hear from him yeah and it really was and I thought that was a great question about you to bring up the the game ball situation with Ben I'd like how that interview ended though I thought it was insightful to what could potentially be coming up in the first round next month you know really only like what three weeks away from the draft at this point I mean words are just words and actions are you know more important but so far I am willing how how much are you I'm willing to buy it a little bit at least a little bit how much are you willing to buy the idea that like explaining why higher draft capital has not been used on the defensive line it's just sort of how the the the board has fallen over the years and truly drafting best player available has turned into offensive guys and then I'm glad we were able to squeeze that in there because my immediate follow-up was like at what point do you have to deviate from that just because you've spent too much on the offense but he says no it's got to be best player also a quick thought on that it's an offensive league it's a quarterback driven league you got to score points this isn't the 1980s anymore I get that we have an affinity for defensive football I still do I love defensive football there's a lot of players that I like in this draft who are under the defense beside the football but this is an offensive league you got to score points to win games and I don't know I know what the Seahawks did they had an outstanding defense but having that quarterback in place erases so many other concerns on your roster so and at the same time too if the bears can flip things this quickly under ben johnson offensively like I'm kind of excited to see what his input brings Dennis Allen's additional input brings under the defense side of the football where the the roster concerns are pretty laid out pretty clearly yeah well I think all that being said I think pass I think we're still where we're at we've been talking about the draft pass rusher definitely in play defensive tackle definitely in play safety I think is in play um and if it turns out that the best offensive tackle left tack I still think it's a possibility and Ben kind of said the same thing this morning too no I think it's very much on the table so all right well anything else from polls you want to hit on no watch it again a lot of stuff in there yeah and we still got more things as well uh there's a busy busy day here in Arizona so we have more thoughts especially from the breakfast this morning too with ben johnson all of that is coming up but first our friends at sunny side dispensary are here to elevate your baseball season your draft season nfl season I feel like it's always in season it's hey we're talking in the sun about sunny side too pretty 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working pipe drive is a simple CRM it's easy to use so you can focus on closing get 30 days free at pipe drive.com forward slash audio savings seekers we hear you seeking energy savings always keep your energy prices under the price cap with next pledge your energy prices are guaranteed to always stay below the price cap satisfy those savings cravings check out our full range of tailored energy solutions at eonnext.com forward slash save eonnext we make energy savings work next pledge is a 12 month fixed time truck tariff with variable rates lower than off chance price cap for standard variable tariffs direct debit required teas and sees apply all right johnsy time to wrap this up with our big takeaway this is the big takeaway presented by xfinity imagine that so adam we had 30 minutes with ben johnson in the morning at the annual breakfast no one eats breakfast there anymore until after i think larry may or a two-brack breakfast this did i say that right yeah i mean people are getting there earlier and earlier i feel like maybe this you start putting the breakfast out like before it starts i might have i might have had a pre breakfast too half a bagel yeah but little coffee yeah because it comes out during they're probably trying to they probably actually that trick probably works on a couple of reporters pulls them away from the interview to go eat yeah you know you never know but yeah um the point is we did have 30 minutes with that coach and there's still a lot to talk about from that so my big takeaway is that the bears are now looking for trained killers trained killers yeah you heard it in the ryan pulls interview too i love it i mean they need they need tenacity is another word i would use like they just need more of that on defense guys that are a little bit faster hit a little bit harder the takeaways are great but you got to set the tone on the football field and i think you can do that especially on defense and but also on special teams at times too with a big game changing play where you knock the ball out and and sometimes even if you don't knock the ball out just you send a message and over the course of the game those body blows start to affect the offense so that same type of physicality i thought that they successfully established on offense it feels like that's a goal this year on defense to find those trained killers and to start playing that same way on the defensive side of the ball kobi bryant the bears new safety fits that devin bush the bears new linebacker fits that it's more than hitting it's like an attitude that comes with it as well and i just think back to what denis allen said about cj garner johnson about needing that attitude some of that well sometimes you need a pest sometimes you need a jerk sometimes you need someone to yell at the opposition and get in their face and bring some of that bravado and some of that swagger and it also helps if they're very talented now cj garner johnson's probably on the later stages of his career kobi bryant and devin bush and i'm guessing a few draft picks to be named later will fit that immediately this year yeah and i think so i think you're starting to see that but i think once the draft yeah once we get through the draft and really see what the draft class looks like i have a feeling when they're you know when ryan polls comes to the podium each each day of the draft and talks about the guys it's going to be a lot of of that type of talk how it fits that that physical mindset that speed mindset on defense as well we also i think learned a little bit more about um jude the jude alman retirement and how garrett bradbury is going to try i know we touched on that a little bit earlier in the show but that was another takeaway from today and also the expectations are going to be greater for roma dunge and luther burton i thought it was interesting to hear him uh ben at breakfast describe the the playmaker that he strongly believes that luther burton can be and then he throws in a little nugget that hey luther burton and colson love them they're at hails hall all the time working out putting in the work so i think that's some a little message sent out to everybody currently on the team that hey hails hall the doors are open come work out yeah and and that's a good point you know i think that that's a big theme here is that guys are going to have to step up whether it's leadership whether it's it's you know just the production lost and losing a guy like dj more there's both of that you know he was one of the tougher players on the team too i think so you know that's garrett bradbury trying to replace jude dolman these younger receivers trying to step up to replace some of the big plays that dj more had last season and then the one thing we talked about on defense that i asked ben about the takeaways i mean they they they got they lost their takeaways in free agency they just did um but i love how we actually kind of interrupted my question to be like yeah but we didn't lose al-haris and he was worried about losing al-haris he admitted that as he should have been so and i think so you bring in a certain pedigree of a player to match with al-haris and they feel like those takeaways will come naturally and uh if you happen to see ben johnson at a cubs game at a blackhawks game don't pet him in the back anymore don't don't say good job in 2025 don't say thank you for all the memories and what an amazing unforgettable season it was he's done he's passed that so this might be my biggest takeaway of the big takeaways is that 2025 is over the bears around the 2026 starting with ben johnson i thought that was an interesting message i think it helps too when you have new players coming in turning the page uh with that newness whether it's kobe bryant devin bush and again more draft picks to be named later well you know when they get in that building on april 20th it's going to be the same thing as last year i mean there's there's going to be yelling there's going to be accountability um i think they're going to make it very clear from day one that this is a a new year in a new team and um i think that's what you need in this league but i disagree though my biggest takeaway is that somehow ben johnson uh got in and out of reggae field during the playoff game without being noticed i think it's just a bad job by by chicago fans no he went to opening a and there wasn't like an overflowing amount of pictures on social media no i they what did they catch i was out of town they catch them on the broadcast tag ruber yeah no no i i don't know if they found them on the broadcast but i know one long time listener ted um saw him in the stands okay that's good job by ted that also like you said it's okay to leave below to leave yes yeah but i i appreciated him sharing that i thought that was funny so he has gotten in and out of rift we've wondered that have you have you gone to more cubs games than we think it sounds like it i think it's going to continue winter in the bi way unless we knew that we just forgot it i'm not sure go ahead all right that was the big takeaway presented by xfinity imagine that in a world of noise and uncertainty ig is the investment platform the back sheath take a reflexable stocks isa which gives you the freedom to withdraw funds anytime and replace them in the same tax year all without losing your 20 000 pounds tax free allowance and if that's not enough pay no commission on your stock shares and etfs when you invest with ig ig trade invest progress your capsules at risk other fees may apply tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and is subject to change all right uh fun day busy day we've got over an hour's worth of time with the general manager and the head coach so appreciate that from the bears today uh between the breakfast and getting him here on hogan john's i'm sure some of this will be shared on chco bears tomorrow um i think we're both going to be on chco bears i'm actually that's today and as this episode is released on tuesday we're talking today but we'll continue to have you covered you might see me in a different location yeah stay tuned for that yeah john's is leaving me he's had enough of me we've been reunited for 24 hours and it's been enough it's been enough for him so he's gonna fly home see you and now he gets to go on his vacation see how we time that up for you guys i leave come back for a big super episode with the head coach and gm and then you leave for extended vacation and then the draft will be here before you know it's good work it's almost like we know what we're doing like we plan this i did but not really it also just sort of it worked out for us it worked out uh we're not done here though this week um because i am sticking around we'll have coverage on chco and uh we'll have another hogan john's later on this week where we're gonna hear from the owner and the president stadium talk that is all you my friend well it's literally gonna be all me well and them and them and a whole yeah a lot of a lot of cranes a lot of questions about cranes indiana maybe we'll fly drive tonight i'll look how many cranes are in the sky here in phoenix i don't see any right now i don't either see a bunch of palm trees though stop hitting the table it's a small table it is all right uh anyway uh john says the column up already from here use code jahns become a dyart if you're not already you can scan the qr code on your screen if you're watching on youtube um i will also have a couple things up uh both this week and another ten bears things column coming early next week our mock draft 3.0 is coming next week and uh so as always a lot of good dyart content and you always get a you get a free shirt when you sign up you get 20 off merch defense all the time when you are cshio dyart so more than p pays for itself make sure you sign up today and on the way out of here hit the like button hit subscribe we appreciate each and every one of you good to be back together and uh hopefully if you if you appreciate the interviews with ben johnson and ryan poles please hit that like button on the way out subscribe send the link off to a friend say hey go watch this interview with ben johnson and uh have them subscribe to we we appreciate and rate review the podcast as well if you're listening that way any final thoughts no all right enjoy your i'm done enjoy good for you i was there i was i was right where you were a couple weeks ago i was ready to turn the screen off and go enjoy some time with the family so he's going to go get refreshed like i am i'll be back later this week can't wait to talk to you again thanks for watching listening see ya in a world of noise and uncertainty ig is the investment platform that backs you take a reflexable stocks isa which gives you the freedom to withdraw funds anytime and replace them in the same tax year all without losing your 20 000 tax free allowance and if that's not enough pay no commission on your stock shares and etf's when you invest with ig ig trade invest progress your capital's at risk other fees may apply tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and is subject to change