FIXING THE DEFENSE: D-Line & Linebacker Fits for the Chicago Bears in the NFL Draft | CHGO Bears

Trevor Sikkim, a grace to start the show, Adam Hogue, Greg Braggs, but I would like to rewind. I wasn't planning on opening this up, but last night at the Courtney Cronin event, I won my raffle hit, and I've been graced with Tatcha, apparently very, very, very expensive lotion. Emma, our social media is legit on fire for me. Did I say it wrong? She says it's worth over $300. Over $300, Hogue. How is that possible? What the hell is it that it's worth that much? Are you starting a bid? No, I just want to show everybody. When my number got called last night, I was like, do I walk up to the front of the, what was the event exactly called? Please tell, woman of the NFL combine. Do I walk up to the women of the NFL combine to collect my. You just made Emma so mad, by the way, that you couldn't remember the name. It sounded like it had like a crazy name. Listen, I thought you were about to like start auctioning this off. I mean, this really feels like more of a D-block thing. It does. Here you are. I'm so happy I'm here for this. When you heard your number called, would you have walked up first of all? There's no other answer other than to as confidently as possible walk up there. I did not walk confidently, and then Courtney stared at me. He's like, you won. And then I was handed. I'm like, what did I win? And then I was handed this Tatcha thing, which, again, look at the – Okay, that's great. It's amazing. You really ruined Corny Crony's life. What is that, like hand lotion, skin lotion? It's like it's for the face. It's for the hands. You need it in Indianapolis. We got some – There's a rice polish classic in here. There's a caramelization of a chameleon cleansing oil. Can we talk about the draft now? Yeah, we can. There's the bulk cream. I got bulk cream, Ho. All right. All right. Am I going to have to comp prospects to these items? That's a great one. Who is the most well-moisturized defensive tackle that can get to the quarterback? There we go. That's a great job of you, Trevor. Who is the slipperiest defensive tackle? Man, Grayson Hall in the Oklahoma defensive tackle, he's pretty slippery. So I'm actually going to go with that. That's going to be my answer. See, we're on to something here. That is why you're the professional of this program today. Thanks, guys. I'll see you later. Meanwhile, those listening to the podcast right now not watching this have no idea what's going on. But Trevor Sikama from BFF is here to talk, not moisturization, but draft. If we can do that. So I asked Daniel Jeremiah was over there at the podium earlier, and I basically asked him, all right, so who are the Bears picking with every pick? So I'll just ask you the same question. At 25, they're going to pick one of my guys, somebody who I reference as my fully adult son, Akeem Mesador, somebody who I love a ton in this draft. He's one of my guys in this draft, and obviously, tongue-in-cheek, call him my fully adult son because he is much older. He's 25 years old. I have this conversation with everybody all the time. Do you pick an older prospect in the first round? I think specifically for Chicago, that's one of the spots where I go, yes, because I think that they need pass rush help. And the thing is, he is ready to help someone right away. He is a win-now type of a player. You don't have to draft him and then, okay, it's a little bit of a slow burn. It's developmental. I mean, his coach at Miami is the great Jason Taylor. That is how he is so technically refined. That is how he is so good at what he does. And it's not like he's got to get into the NFL and, all right, we've got to work with his technique and we've got to fix his stance and all this kind of stuff. He's seen it. He knows it. So, like, there aren't many teams where I would say that he is worthy of a first-round selection. Chicago is actually one of those. I don't know how Mendoza survived that national championship. Oh, my goodness. I think there's a lot of people that maybe are casual college football fans that like, all right, yeah, I'll watch the national championship. And they go, Miami. How did Miami get here? What's Miami got to boast? And then you watch that defense. And a lot of people were like, oh, Indiana's going to win by 20, 25, 30 points. And then you watch a little bit of that game and you realize why it was a close one all the way to the end. It's because of that defensive line. So catch everyone up on the history, you know, that he's kind of battling the fact that he is 25 years old, which would be a reason why he would fall to the Bears. Right. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, he started his career at West Virginia. And what I like about him, honestly, is that he's been all over the place on the defensive line. He was a defensive end slash defensive tackle recruit, goes to West Virginia, starts his career as more of a three-technique defensive tackle. Then the next year, they threw even more weight on him. He played nose tackle at West Virginia, transfers to Miami. And really, I think the year following that, he didn't play nose tackle. He played more of that three-technique again. And they lost a little bit more weight. They had him playing as sort of a tweener, odd front, defensive end, defensive tackle. And then he kept kind of losing more weight, but not in a bad way, in a good way, just really trimming fat. Now he's around 6'3", 265 pounds. And he's this player who can be an edge rusher for you where he's got interior pass rush reps. Now he's got great outside edge rush pass rush reps as well. He's got that power from when he was holding around 300 pounds on his body. That is still there. Anybody who's been out there, done the classic bulk and cut kind of a thing, you know you still maintain the power even though you cut the body fat a little bit he's got that experience because he's been in college so long he's been working with Jason Taylor for the last three years and so I actually love the journey of how he has gotten to this point this is not a player who yeah okay he's been through some injuries and he's dealt with some things I think it was a little bit of a knee injury and then maybe an elbow injury he had a little bit earlier if I'm remembering it correctly in his career but it's not like this guy's like so damaged goods of why he's a little bit older. It really was just a, hey, it took him a while to get to this point of his body composition and the position on the field where he plays the best. And now I actually genuinely think he's putting his best foot forward to the NFL. How well do you know Jason Taylor on a slight side note of what you're talking about? Because I feel like he should be the Bears defensive line coach or some defensive line coach in the NFL. I mean, he has been unbelievable. And I think obviously he's a Miami guy, right? Dolphins legend, Miami legend. And so he's been there for the last three years. But you better believe if he's ever wanted to get back into the NFL, he will now have opportunities for as much as this is a factory, how polished Reuben Bain Jr. is, how polished Hakeem Mesador is, Moten's their defensive tackle who could have been eligible for this class, who ended up going back, who I think is going to be another potential first-rounder next year on that defensive line. And so I don't know if he has aspirations to be an NFL coach. Maybe he's just happy really helping Miami because he's a Miami guy. But that dude can coach his ass. Yeah, I'm just looking at, like, Dan Roshart helped change the Bears' offensive line. And you sort of need the defensive line guru. This is not happening right now. What do you think of Lee Hunter? Because he was very, very, very entertaining about two hours ago over there. And he's a massive guy who can move. And that would be your – I mean, the Bears obviously could go defensive tackle too. So I actually missed his podium session. So I'll have to hear about that and go back and watch it. But obviously a really great year from him. Texas Tech, if Miami wasn't the best defensive line in the country, was in Texas Tech, and Lee Hunter was a big part of that. He started at UCF. He was a little bit more of a run stuffer, and he was a great run stuffer this past year at Texas Tech as well. The majority of the year, he was kind of that bowling ball in the middle who was a great run defender who really set up the edge rushers of Romello Height and David Bailey to really tee off and show what they can do, keep Jacob Rodriguez clean behind him. But then you got sort of towards the end of the season in the college football playoff, and they gave him some chances to pin his ears back and get after the quarterback, and he's got those fast hands and man I saw those up close and personal at the senior bowl as well he was one of the top senior bowl players of anybody at any position he is also somebody that I think you consider there at the back end of the first round too what um I mean there seems to be a lot of different opinions on how especially some of these defensive tackles but even some of the edge rushers are gonna and maybe the whole draft in general not just those specific I'm just seeing a lot of different rankings, I guess is what I'm saying. There doesn't seem to be a lot of consensus this year. And do you think that that's how it's seen on the NFL side of things, too, between the teams? Yes, and as a draft analyst who's been doing this for a lot of years, like, I love it. It gets boring to me when it's so consensus, when there's a lot of, oh, yeah, we agree about everything. You know, the way that I would explain this class is that there are absolutely guys who are going to be difference makers and starters and things like that, but it's not as easy to point to as many players and say, no matter where you land, you're going to be good. A lot of these players, it will come down to a great evaluation of strength and weaknesses and scheme fits for these guys. So, yes, I think that not just defensive tackle, but a lot of these positions are sort of all over the place. Like, for example, I know some people who would take David Bailey from Texas Tech at number two overall to the New York Jets. I have him edge four in this class, so I like him much more as like a back end of the first round type of a player. So I think that those differences of how you see players and do you think their weaknesses will get exposed a little bit more at the NFL level? How much do you think that their strengths actually make a difference? And then, of course, the scheme fit of where these players are going to land. I started doing this last year, and I'm excited to do it again this year. I do team-specific big boards over at PFF.com where I look at the coaching staff, their tendencies, what they regularly do, how they line these guys up, And then I take a look at their strength and weaknesses, and I say, okay, you know, like, all right, this player, maybe he'd be ranked in the 70s for, like, the Packers, for example. I'm just naming a team. But, okay, for the Bears, though, I'd maybe take them top 30. Like, that's sort of the way that we get to customize these team big boards to sort of talk about a little bit more of what you're saying and predict it a little bit better. I mean, that's cool because that really does matter. I mean. Totally. Because you just look at, we talk about Dennis Allen-style defensive ends all the time. Right. He likes the bigger, longer. Yes. And I'm actually struggling with that looking through a lot of the edge rushers this year. A lot of them seem like they're more like 6'3 and maybe not as long. 100%. And I just wonder how many of those guys the Bears will just, I'm not, maybe they don't have them completely off their draft board, but farther down just because of that. Yeah, 100%. And it was really, this project kind of stemmed from me getting sick of saying like, ah, you know, it depends where he lands. If he goes to this team, he'll be good. But it's so true. But that's the thing is that it's 100% true. So I wanted to be more tangible about having an answer for that with some of these prospects. So, like, for example, a Dennis Allen type of a player, Keldrick Falk from Auburn is somebody who immediately would jump off the screen to you because he's 6'5", 6'6", 270, 275 pounds. He is the type of player that plays that, like, five technique or sometimes four eye position that Dennis Allen has really gravitated towards. I think Aki Mesador also checks that box with him being 260, 265 pounds and being above 265 pounds. And I think that you can find some of these edge rushers a little bit later. Like Ja'Sean Barham from Michigan is somebody who is more of a heavy-handed, you know, Sam type of on-the-line-of-scrimmage, outside linebacker. Tyreek Sapp from Florida is another one of these big, strong, run-defending, setting-the-edge type of edge rushers that you go, all right, for some teams that might not be super valuable. For Dennis Allen it might. That might be the key to keeping the linebackers super clean, allowing them to float the ball, letting them make plays at the line of scrimmage. So, yeah, I think that it matters for a lot of these guys. Do you feel like the trend, like when you see the teams that were in the AFC and NFC championship games and the Eagles last year and how they bolster the interior of the defensive line, obviously pass rush is always going to be, outside edge is always going to be a priority. But now nose tackles being a first-round priority, priority are you feeling like the league's kind of coming back to that based off of where we've gone from a passing to more of a running nfl that we've seen the last no 100 because football as much as it is about like physicality and and great athletic gifts and everything like it's a lot of times it comes down to a math equation right you hear offensive line coaches and defensive line coaches talk about you know run fits and it's a hat on a hat and it's like okay i got one guy for this one guy whether it's blocking or holding them at the line of scrimmage what you want to do is you want to find players that help change the math for you and there's no more common way to change the math than on the interior defensive line because if you have a player who can line up as a two eye as a three technique as a nose tackle where all of a sudden you are commanding multiple eyes multiple bodies to watch this player you are changing the math you are then getting more one-on-ones elsewhere whether it's on the edges whether it's linebackers coming free uh whatever it is and so for interior defensive line it's not always the sexiest position right everybody wants to talk about the guy who's going to get off to the passer on the edge and all that stuff but a lot of defensive coordinators will tell you you build your defense from the inside out it's defensive tackles it's middle linebackers it's those guys that allow you to then really have a lot more flexibility and i would say like confidence and freedom that you get to play elsewhere once the backbone and the spine of your defense is really solid so i right and that's how i think the bears should do it is go inside out but we'll see and also there's the Max Crosby a little dangling out there too. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I see a little bit of that. Who knows if they'll dial in on that. But let me ask you this. If the Bears don't like anybody in the front four at their spot or their guys are gone, is there any linebacker that you like at 25? Some people push back on me like, hey, give me a good player, best player on the board. Polls talk about it. I'm just curious. If you look at any linebacker that would be worthy of that pick. Oh, 100%. Sonny Stiles is not going to be there at 25. If he was, I think he's a sprint up to the podium type of a player. I mean, if you get that value. I mean, I think he's going to be phenomenal in the league. But I think that C.J. Allen from Georgia is not too far behind. And I think talent-wise, you're going to see a lot of boards with him as a top 20 player in this class. But you might be able to get him at 25 just because the value of linebacker is a little bit less, I would say, from perception or the narrative. But, man, C.J. Allen, I mean, this is a 20-year-old, 21-year-old kid who, you know, he was at his podium, and I was reading some of the answers that he had of people asking him questions of, like, they gave him almost full freedom to call the defense as a 20-year-old. And, I mean, he is big enough. He is powerful enough. There are plays in coverage where, okay, it's a lapse in judgment. He didn't read this exactly correctly. But then there are other plays. That Auburn game that he played in specifically, there's a couple of coverage plays that he has where I think it's a tight end. Maybe it's a wide receiver. But it's almost like a three-break route that this guy has. Normally, anytime you have a three-break route on a linebacker, they're cooked. There's so very few linebackers that you could expect to keep up with any receiver doing that. C.J. Allen did, was like hip pocket the whole time. And I go, okay, if you've got that in your wheelhouse and you do everything else at a really high level, that's a first-round caliber type of a linebacker. So he's the first one that I would think of. Well, sticking to linebackers, obviously, I mean, this is a tricky position group for the Bears when you consider today been reported that they granted permission for Tremaine Edmonds to seek a trade. And then you have T.J. Edwards who had an injury. You had Noah Sewell who had an injury. And so they've got a lot of holes to fill on the defensive side of the ball. Kyle Lewis out of Pittsburgh, you know, you talk about sticking to receivers, obviously really made a name for himself at the Senior Bowl, like put himself on the map of this offseason. You know, where are you seeing where he can fall in his ability? I have never seen a linebacker play that drill better than he did at the Senior Bowl. I mean, when you have a linebacker and a running back in the coverage drill, running backs are coming out of the backfield. They already have a full seam of momentum against you. They have full two-way goes. They can go wherever you want. And linebackers just generally. I mean, they're not corners. They're not super springy. And if you're a linebacker in this drill, what you're really hoping for is, hey, you're bumping them a little bit. You're being confident. You're looking at whether they're going to break inside or out. You're trying to get a PBU. If you get a PBU in that drill, you feel pretty good. Kyle Lewis not only got a couple of PBUs during those sessions throughout the week, he had multiple interceptions in that drill. It's one of the best weeks I've ever seen at any player playing in that drill. And the thing with him that makes it interesting is he's obviously a little bit smaller, right? He's about 5'11", 6' tall, somewhere in between there. And he weighs in about 225 pounds. Okay, 225 pounds, you don't want a guy like that in between the tackles all the time. But the beauty of today's NFL game is you hear the phrase all the time, okay, nickel is the new base. Well, what does that mean? Well, it means that you want to try to get more speed onto the field, and that's exactly what Kyle Lewis is. To me, he can play a little bit of that will linebacker slash slot overhang defender for you that's playing in space because he did that for a handful of his games when he was at Pittsburgh. So there's a lot of ways that you can play nickel. You can have a third corner as your slot player. You could have a faster, lighter linebacker as that player. You could have another safety on the field sort of as that player. There's a lot of different ways to do it. But if you want to go more of that linebacker way about it, I think Kyle Lewis is a great option for you in this class. That was the last thing I was going to ask you too is because I spent half the season just raving about how – or ranting more like that the Bears need more speed on defense. And Ryan Poles came out yesterday and said that exactly. Like that's a big focus for them is just adding speed. are there any other guys just when i when you think pure speed that pop off like hey that's that's this player in this draft class so linebacker specifically i mean if we want to talk about linebacker because i think when you let's be honest when you talk about team speed yeah you're really talking about getting younger at linebacker because corners are always fast safeties are always i mean yeah you get a little bit safe the faster safety but like what coaches you're translating what they're saying they're saying we want to get younger at linebacker. We want to get faster at linebacker. So I think that Kyle Lewis is an option there. Jake Golday is a little bit more of a hybrid on-ball, off-ball linebacker, but I think he's going to test like a hell of an athlete here, and he's going to showcase some really good athleticism. You've got guys like Deontay Lawson and Anthony Hill Jr., who are a little bit lighter. Deontay Lawson at Alabama, the Anthony Hill Jr. at Texas, a little bit lighter, but those guys are great athletes, great sideline-to-sideline players. They might struggle a little bit with some of the in-between-the-tackles, true downhill responsibilities, but I think Anthony Hill Jr. is a little bit better at it. But those are two guys that I think of that get you a lot faster on the defense as well as with other names. Well, Anthony Hill was Stephen's guy. He earmarked, he was like, go talk to him. If he's there at 57, that's Stephen's guy. So I go over there and go to his podium. And not to give a segment away later when you talk about your guy, like a couple years ago Jordan Addison to me was like the most impressive person I talked to all week. And obviously this is the first day we're talking to players on the podium. But Anthony Hill, by far and away of anyone I talked to today, was like the most impressive person you spoke with, just talking about his game, his personality, where he's come from. He feels like the total package. Yeah, and Texas put a lot on his plate. You know, again, like I talk about modern defenses. You sometimes get these linebackers that are just asked to do so much. Like, hey, fit the run, but also watch this tight end if he's in the slot. Hey, fit the run, but also watch this running back. He's coming out of the backfield. Hey, be a pass rusher here, but also don't be a pass rusher if the running back's coming out of the back. So, like, there's just so many things that you have to think about if you're a linebacker. It's an incredibly difficult job to do. But they put a lot on Anthony Hill Jr.'s plate. And where it wasn't the most consistent to where I think that he'd be, like, a first-round pick, yeah, you start getting into the second-round range. This is the type of athlete that you take chances on, especially one who it seemed like a kid who really loved the game. And if you really love the game and you're a great athlete, exactly, then I think that that's somebody that you take a chance on that day too. Trevor, we love all the draft coverage. I'm looking forward to those team-specific boards. Thanks, guys. Appreciate it. Boy, time out. Because last year you got me so fired up about Cam Scadaboo. Okay. Then we ended up drafting Kyle Menungay, and I absolutely love Kyle Menungay. Okay. With all of my heart and soul. As you should. As you should. So I have to know what you thought of his season because I just – he is like my favorite player ever now. So it's funny because – I had to drop Menungay in here because last year talking running backs with you was great. Favorite player ever. I love Kyle Menungay. R.I.P. Devin Hester. So it's funny. He's still alive. The NFL Stock Exchange podcast, which is why I cover the draft with my co-host Connor Rogers. Connor loved Kyle Minungai throughout the whole process Summer scouting all the way through And the whole narrative the whole time was look I know he not fast You don have to tell me he not fast I get it But he's somebody who will constantly run through his pads. He's just so hard to tackle, so hard to bring down. And he is just he's going to be a great power player for the position. And when I saw him land in Chicago, I was like, all right, I kind of like that landing spot for him. I'm not going to lie, guys. He looked faster in the NFL. He did. than he did at Rutgers, which I don't think I'll ever say that statement again. I think that's a visual Rutgers thing, though. It might be. Normally, if you play at Rutgers, I'll do respect, you're probably going to look really fast if you're an NFL player. And when I watched him at Rutgers, I was like, yeah, he's just not that fast. Then I watched him at Chicago, and the first 15-yard run I saw from him, I was like, is this the same guy? What does he weigh? Did he cut weight? Did he get faster? So I love Kyle Manonga. Our NFL Stock Exchange are big fans of Kyle Manonga. He's great. He did last season. He's the lead draft analyst, pro football focus, and the show, the NFL Stock Exchange, is dynamic. I was watching it, just getting ready for it to talk to you, Trevor, today. It was awesome, so you guys are killing it. I appreciate it, guys. And now, yeah, all the Monunga love for you, Greg. Yeah, we'll talk Monunga later on the air. Trevor, thanks. Cassie Carlson, Fox 32 is coming up in a little bit, but first. All right, Carm. Yes, Adam. What if you could have a reliable and intelligent Wi-Fi? 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Restrictions apply. Knock it down. And shout out to our friends at Old National Bank, where they believe that every play matters. I believe that every play matters. I believe that every trade matters. Even the special teams plays? Not as much. I'm really more just trying to talk about Tyson Bajan, honestly. But let's talk about everyday checking. Let's talk about long-term planning. These are all the things you need. Let's talk about commercial banking. You might be in that game as well. The team at Old National is here to help you build some momentum, help you move the ball forward. to financial victory. So listen, it's a great way to make the switch. You'll feel the special touch going to Old National Bank. You're not going to get that at the huge corporations. Go Old National. You'll feel at home, whether you're celebrating a win, rebuilding after a tough loss, or gearing up for whatever comes next. They've got your back with the tools, with the insights, and an expert crew that's always in your corner. Old National Bank member, FDIC, where relationships and results matter. All right, I believe this is a debut. It is. All right, so that's what I thought. I've been trying to get Cassie on the show for like three years, and today she said— Have you? Yes! I believe I have. There's got to be some text record in this, but Cassie Carlson, Fox 32, with us, who gets all the big interviews, Hoag. I mean, she just was sitting down there with Jeff Joniak forever. And yes, that's not a big interview. Ben Johnson was over there yesterday. Whoa, whoa, whoa. What can I say? I'm a lucky girl. Why don't we just start there, though? Because you did get to talk to Ben and Ryan. What was the highlight of what you were able to figure out yesterday, if you will? Yeah, the highlight, I would say Ben Johnson's had a good story about Tyson Bajant because obviously he's in the trade talks. Who would have thought? He said he always recycles his preseason game plan every single year. And for the first time this year, he had a quarterback, a backup quarterback with a 70 percent completion rate with five touchdowns and an interception. He was like, wait, do we need to come up with a new preseason game plan with Tyson Bajent playing these preseason games? So that was a highlight for sure. He's so easy to talk to. I think like that's something that's definitely different from I've now covered Matty Berfloos and Ben Johnson. Just like so easygoing, especially like small talk beforehand, which is sometimes interesting with coaches. He's like taking any vacations. He was telling me about how he went on vacation when it was really cold. He hit the cold front in Florida. So that was good. And then a lot of other things just about Caleb. Like he said, just like Caleb said on the Max Crosby podcast, like he's itching to get back in the building and wants to get back to work. And so I think everyone has this feeling in themselves after losing in the divisional that they want to get back to work and do everything it takes to get back to where they were next year. It was kind of a silly thing yesterday, but I actually think it matters. Ben Johnson and Caleb like publicly trading shots at each other. Yeah, that was amazing. Feeling comfortable enough to do that, like in a big setting, too, in front of all these reporters at the NFL Combine, that tells me that their relationship is in a really strong place going into year two. Yeah, same. You don't do that if you feel, remember when, what was the word that Caleb used? He was like, it was a fragile relationship in training camp, and he didn't know how to feel about it. And now clearly, I think it's like a respect thing that they have for one another, which I thought Caleb made pretty clear on the Crosby podcast. that he just, he respects and noticed how much work not only Ben Johnson put in, but the entire coaching staff put in as soon as they got hired to try to bring the Bears back to relevancy. And it was them working both ways of Ben respected Caleb. He pushed him the hardest he's ever been pushed. Caleb in return respected Ben because they saw the results on the field. And I think that's why that relationship now works. And you love the shots, right? Like you don't heckle someone. Jeff Joniak doesn't heckle you unless he respects you. Right, Mark Harmon? Did we not just have this conversation? It is amazing that somehow, someway, somewhere in all the heckling, he does respect me. Somewhere in there. Somewhere in there. I like to think of it as a healthy rivalry between you two. It is interesting. And he's dominating. Yeah, well, I'm battling. I'm battling. Go ahead. You'll make it. Thank you. Thank you. I got your back. It is interesting where you say he is easygoing, and obviously you guys work with him more on a daily basis. And I can see that side of it. But just yesterday, just in a vacuum, he was intimidating. Like, when he stepped to the podium, like, I'd never seen a more angrier person. Like, I was like. He just looked tired, I thought. I think he's, yeah, he's aged a lot in the last year because of all the work and hours he had to put in. I would say, yes, it's like the dichotomy between when he's, like, off camera, he's super chill, easy to talk to. As soon as you're like, you ready? He's like, yeah, let's go. And then he's locked in. And so like that, but I think that's what the players have told us too. It's like he jokes around and sometimes they're like, is he joking or is he not joking? He has to be like, dude, it was a joke. Like, it's okay to laugh. Like that's kind of just his personality and who he is. But he is an intense guy. Do you feel like it challenges you guys as reporters to ask better questions, you know, like versus maybe somebody that's a little more loose at the podium? I think he always gives you something. I give him credit for that. I feel like I learned more this year because he didn't see us as we were going to let out all the secrets of the Bears in the offense. If anything, him and especially Declan Doyle, who is a good extension of Ben Johnson, would let us into more of their philosophy and why they do things a certain way. So I actually appreciated that. I always try to ask different questions. It's hard because it was the third time we had talked to him in the matter of 40 minutes. So you're like, I feel like everything's been asked. But I just think more like if you listen to him, he will give you something. And so that's kind of like the interesting thing with Ben Johnson. He's not coach speak, I don't think, most of the time. Not at all. He doesn't want to do it. It's like he wants to like even the way he started yesterday with the whole three point thing. OK, I just did this again. Let's talk about let's talk about Caleb shooting buckets versus whatever you guys are going to ask. What's your Caleb prep like when you get to talk to the QB? because I feel like it's also like a different cat that you're kind of trying to have something organic hit, I guess. Totally. I've talked to him a couple of times one-on-one. I mean, I think if he knows you, which a lot of the players I feel like are like this, if he knows you and you're around all the time, he starts to trust you. And so I think with him, it was more so, when I talked to him in training camp, it was a lot about everyone had counted him out and he said that he keeps all the receipts. He kind of just laughs when he turns on the TV He admitted that he hears it all. He sees it all. And also talked about, you know, just wanting to be coached hard. And I think Caleb, like, is okay to put himself out there and put his goals out there publicly. Like, he wants everyone to know that he wants to be the best. He wants everyone to know that he wants to have the number one offense in the league. And that's a way of, you know, putting his goals out there and also kind of holding himself accountable. He's a confident guy. Like, I think that shows every time you talk to him that he definitely has that athletic arrogance. that I know a lot of scouts want in their quarterbacks and their players especially. So that definitely comes across that he's not really phased by anything. Like truly, I think he's kind of like grown up to be in this position. Winter is here and is your home's heating up for the challenge? Now is the time to schedule your four seasons furnace tune-up. Are you thinking about a whole home generator? 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But that's also, I would say, the same way you would talk about Ben Johnson in the coaching world right now. Because he's also straddling that line between confidence and arrogance sometimes. But I think that's another – but I think that's why, like, it's exciting to think about that pairing continuing to get better together, especially since they're obviously – there's way more trust between them now than there was, like, back in August. You know what I mean? No one knows how either of them truly felt about each other back in August. I mean, it's crazy to think about. It was Fred Jule. He said it. Well, remember he got kicked out of the first drill in training camp day one, and we're all like, oh, whoa. So, like, he hasn't proven anything to Ben Johnson. Ben Johnson doesn't care if he's the number one pick. Ben Johnson will do anything he needs to do to win games. That was a wild time, but he wasn't, you know, some of his practices we've talked about a lot on the show, that, like, this does not look good. And then all of a sudden it just started to, you know, move along. And, I mean, he couldn't have ended the year any better. And then I honestly, I mean, you guys talked about the Crosby podcast when I was off. I thought that was a different guy. Like, I feel like there was a huge level of maturity going up the food chain. So, like, it's like how, you know, you would think that's only just going to keep going. Well, since we're going down the line of, you know, Ben Johnson, Caleb Williams, Ryan Poles yesterday, he just came off very transparent about their game plan, whether it was talking about Tyson Bajan or talking about, you know, Tremaine Edmonds or Brisker. Now the news comes out today that they've granted permission for Tremaine Edmonds to seek a trade. You know, based off of what you heard from Ryan Poles yesterday, like what is your perception on how he's going to go through this process? Everybody wants him to duplicate on the defensive side of the ball what they did on offense. Yeah, I think he tried to make it clear that it's not really possible this year. Like what they pulled off last year with first the trade for Tooney and then the Jonah Jackson, the Drew Dahlman, like they are not in the same financial situation to do that this year. So it might not be the same splash moves. And I think he wanted to reiterate, too, that they want to have the flexibility. A lot of people are like, is the window two years now? Or do you want to make it five years? Like, how do you kind of keep it both ways? That was my in a vacuum. In a vacuum. He would love to live in a vacuum. I don't think he understands what the saying means. I think he just hears people around her saying in a vacuum that he just wants to say in a vacuum. He just wants to say in a vacuum. That sounds cool. I want to put that in. It's the theme of the week so far. Sorry. But go ahead to your point. I think Ryan Pouls, obviously this is a different challenge for him, being with the cap constraints that he has. I think he is very delicate with how he treats the relationships that he's already formed with a lot of these players. And I think he mentioned that with Jaquan Brisker. He was his second draft pick ever when he was hired as GM, and he's like, I love the guy. Sometimes you have to make tough decisions. I think the whole Tremaine Edmonds, go seek a trade. Yes, it's beneficial for the Bears to see if they can get something in return for Tremaine Edmonds, but it's doing right by Tremaine Edmonds to say, hey, this is going to be the inevitable thing that's going to happen. Let's go see, you know, what's available for you out there instead of just cutting you right off the bat. So I think he is, I mean, he tries to do it the right way, which I think is a credit to who he is as a person, and it's a cutthroat business. But, yeah, I think he's like, all right, well, we don't have the money that we had last year. We know there's still a handful of positions that we need to address. Like, this team is not complete by any means. And so I think he's in a tough situation where you could say, all right, they need a defensive lineman, they also need a safety, they need a linebacker, they need a left tackle, suddenly you're like, they need a lot, they need a lot. Yeah, well, there's a whole long list of players that have expiring contracts. There's going to be a lot of turnover here, and we were talking about it on Hogan Johns earlier today, too. It's just, I don't, thank you. I don't, there's no chance you watched it, but thank you. I didn't, but you will later. I will, thank you. He's never seen Hogan Johns. That's not true. Go ahead. My point is, Johns and I both agree that we're struggling to remember an offseason where there's this much fluidity, where, like, we can go down the line, we were kind of doing this, like, do you think Tremaine Evans is going to be on the team next year? I probably would lean towards no. DJ Moore, I'd probably lean towards yes, even though it's come up. Tyson Bajan, I'd probably still lean towards yes. But, like, there's a lot of moving pieces within this roster. There's so many players that need to be figured out contractually. contractually yeah and i think it's like it's that and i think you can get locked up in you know wanting to keep the locker room the same right because it got them to where they were last year and everyone complimented how good that locker room was how great of guys were in that locker room and that might be the case but i don't think you want to get caught up in that too and then it holds you back from making a right move that could get you to the nfc championship or to the super bowl and so i think that's kind of in the the weird space he's in where people don't want to see change because they got to the playoffs, but they're going to have to see change probably to get back there and to have the chance of getting back there year after year after year, which I think is the tough position that pulls it now is figuring out how they do that. Because he mentioned the restructuring of contracts and I'm not too privy to all that contract talk, but he seemed to be like, well, you're gonna have to pay eventually. So you don't want to handcuff yourself for three years down the line. Like, so I think that's where he's like trying to figure it out right now. Well, the credit card bill always has to be paid. That's the way to think about it. At some point, you've got to pay it. What he's saying makes a lot of sense. And then also, well, I do want to win next year and I might do this that I don't really want to do but I have to do it. Let's talk about Cassie real quick. You grew up in Palatine, correct? And you worked in Memphis before this, correct? Yeah, I worked in Memphis before Chicago and then Lubbock, Texas before Memphis. Yeah, I miss Patrick Mahomes, everybody. Everyone wants to know. That kind of, but yet you. What's Lubbock like? Yeah, what is Lubbock like? I actually love Lubbock. I mean, for a first job, I was straight out of college, worked with all, like, 22, 23-year-olds. So it was, like, grad school, great college town. It was fun. I mean, I got there. It looks like Mars. Like, it's very dry, desolate, and then it's just like a college town, like, plopped in the middle of a desert land. But it's so much fun. And I got there at such a good time because I got there Cliff Kingsbury's final season before he got fired. Basketball was in the Elite Eight my first year I was there with Chris Beard. And then they went to the Final Four and played in the national championship my second year. So it was just like a cool time to be there when it became a basketball school all of a sudden. That's awesome. It was fun. Yeah, Lubbock is a good town. I would say if you want to visit, it's a college town. You're going to drink and have fun. I've been around Texas. from I did Austin, Houston, and then we would St. Edwards University basketball. We'd travel all across. I'm sure we were El Paso. Yep. Horrendous, but yet amazing all at the same time. West Texas is a thing. And then you get your dream job, right? Yeah. You're back here in the city. I mean, how cool is that? It was really cool. That was one of those, like, pinch me moments where everything has to align. You know, TV, it's like these jobs don't open up all the time. So I was lucky. Right place, right time. I remember my interview was here on like Valentine's Day and I crashed my parents Valentine's Day. I was like, can I come to dinner with you guys? And they're like, this is great because when you're away from home for so long that you just like you sometimes think you're like, am I ever going to get back home? And you go into this business a lot of times thinking that you probably won't. And so grew up a Bears fan to cover the Bears. Dream come true. I just think there's one thing that's really cool because like you and Caitlin Sharkey are very close friends. Yeah. And Cassie replaced Caitlin at Fox 32. That's a great story. And, like, normally in this world, those two people do not get along. And you guys are friends, good friends. Best friends. Right. Actually best friends. And, like, best friends. And, like, the whole scene, like, you and Courtney and Carmen. It's Carmen. Yeah. I would say it's the complete opposite of all the men on the beach. It is. It is. Yeah, because we have to put up with all you, so we have to have our little cohort. But they go on vacation together. And I think, like, you're the coordinator. Is that right? Have I heard that? Who opened me as the coordinator? Somebody told me that. Okay. Like, Cassie is the leader of the whole thing. That feels like a lot of pressure. I do like planning vacations, though. See, there you go. Because that would make sense. No, it's a great story. So, Caitlin left Fox. I got hired. She got a job at WGN. We were sitting in a White Sox press booth and press box. She was sitting behind me. I'm like, oh, my gosh. Like, she hates me. Like, I'm so scared. Like, whatever, whatever. It was, like, my first couple weeks on the job. and she dropped her sunglasses, and they were at my feet. And I'm like, well, I'm going to pick them up. So I pick them up. I'm like, oh, my God, I have these same sunglasses from Amazon. And it was like we were just so similar, and then we sit next to each other at Bears. We live down the street from each other. It's just all worked out. She's the best. So it was a blessing in disguise. Well, as somebody new to the media circle here in Chicago. No friends. Wait, wait, what point can you stop saying? He's new. And I want to fight like half of them. I feel like you've been here for like five years. That's not new. You can't be new anymore. Sorry, I'm new. And but I think you guys are kind of showing the example that you guys can coexist and compete against each other, but also be friends. I feel like we all have like our dream jobs in some way. And so it's cool that like we're all in Chicago together. We live the same lifestyle. We're all traveling for work all the time. We understand the business, which not everyone does. So it's like a blessing. And it really is the first time, though, that I've been in a market where the women are so supportive. And shout out Courtney Cronin, who had her Woman of the Combine event last night with like 225 people. It was a great conversation. Now, I was actually going to bring this up. All of the men who showed up to support the women ended up winning all of these great raffle prizes. And Mark Carman wins this Tatcha skincare, which I saw him walking out. And I was like, do you know the value of that? Do you know the value? He found out at $300. Yeah, and I was like, one, you better savor it. Don't use it all at once. Like, you know, you only need, like, a pea-sized face moisturizer. Right, of course. Did you use it last night? No, I didn't, but I can't wait. Your skin would have been glowing today. That's right. That's right. Well, yeah. I said gift it to someone very special because that's very nice. Yeah well I might keep the silk serum for myself because that Remember you got it like on the neck Yeah yeah see there we go See i was gonna say like this is the much more logical time to do this than when we had trevor sick him at the start of the show well this was this was the biggest news of the comic that i won the tatcha so far because we walked in and we're like oh my gosh these prizes are crazy they were so good and that event just keeps growing every year i'm like the prizes are itself are insane every this is true every number courtney called out i was terrified i did not want my number called because i like i don't want to be the man that walks up there and wins the prize we shouldn't be it was like four in a row yeah and carm's like i got it he got the luggage well i sheepishly walked up there and then but i but i then you know walked and took a gift as i always do steer it back and and have to squeeze one more question and obviously the stadium talk i'm just Oh, yes. Go for it. Everybody loves talking about the stadium. Like, I think we might get some news here. I was actually. Oh, is there news? There's a little bit of news that Illinois is making a rally here. That's what it sounds like. That doesn't surprise me. Yeah. I mean, I'm biased, I will admit, because I grew up a mile away from Arlington Park. And so that plot of land, like, I grew up going to the racetrack there every weekend in the summer. Like, that was part of my childhood. I think it would be so cool to have the Bears there. I think it'll still end up being there. I mean, I think I keep thinking back to the legacy of not only Virginia McCaskey, George Hallis, now Lupin, George McCaskey. I can't foresee him wanting to be the person that allowed the Bears to go to Indiana. That plot of land is ready made to have shovels in the ground. I don't even know if they can build on that Wolf Lake area that they have in Hammond. They've said that about so many different locations, whether it be on the lakefront or elsewhere, and they found that it's not even suitable for the mixed use development. So that to me is kind of the indicator that I still think Arlington Heights. See, you're from Arlington Heights, and I'm from Northwest Indiana, so I'm right down the street. Oh, got some beef. But I am fully willing to acknowledge that the Arlington Heights site for the Bears is 100% the better option. I just don't like when Mark starts hating on Northwest Indiana. It's not hate. I've never even been to Northwest Indiana. Thank you. I mean, I drove through it on my way here, I guess, and I was like, oh, that's Hammond. Yeah. The Bears just don't belong to Northwest Indiana. Do you have any producers that want to kill you when you just ignore their break signs for like three straight minutes? All of them. Yeah. All of them. And I tell them they can edit it in post. Yeah, you are new still. We do have to break. Well, we have to do the lotion bit every interview. It was a good bit. We should do that the rest of the week. It was done twice, for the record. Skincare routine coming soon. All right. Cassie, you're the best. By the way, tell our audience real quick about your show. Yeah. The offseason. It's on Fridays at 6 and 9.30 on Fox Chicago, Fox Local. You can watch it on YouTube, and you can watch all of our extended interviews that we're doing here at the Combine all week. And Chicago Sports Tonight, which is a daily show on YouTube as well. Let's go. Awesome. All right, we have to take a break. Thank you so much for being here, Cass. Appreciate it. We've got a lot more coming up, but first. Hey, shout-out to our friends at Game Day Men's Health, where they've literally changed my life with their personal touch as I go in there and they do the shock wave therapy on my hips. They do the same thing on my weak, pathetic calves and Achilles. It's somehow, someway. You need hoed calves. 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They've been serving the community since 1963. three together let's drive race carpelli shout out trevor sycamore trial cassie carlson and shout out you gregory you know you're battling today you you've gotten what how many two hours of sleep in two days no i got i got good sleep last night i was yeah i the first night i didn't get any sleep um so the sleep hasn't been a problem today it's just i've been talking so much too much talking it's too much talking you know we we i got to the point when you realize I got to the podium at 8 a.m. The podium started at 8 a.m. this morning, and we've just been firing away. And then, you know, outside of the podium and the show, I just got to stop talking. But I can't. It's a sickness. We know. We know. But we love you. We do. And we're proud of you. You know, and then the other thing, too. The other thing, too. He just blew through his own stop sign. The other thing. Keep talking. It's like, you know, we're out late, obviously. And it's not about the drinking or the party or any of that, because that's not going crazy. It's just turn the music down so people can hear each other. Honestly, that was the biggest reason why I was totally ready to leave Prime and go back to the hotel last night. I can't have a conversation here right now. That's how old. It's just sounding like an old man now. I thought that Prime was dead. There's no more Prime. No more Prime. No more Prime time. It's a... Yeah, we don't need to get in on all that. Okay. I mean, if people are coming down, they're going to know where to find you, Hogue. What still hasn't made the show. That's not what he wants. What was I going to say now? Oh, what we still haven't addressed and we need to talk about was our newest... The guy who's actually new with us, Adam Johns, makes a dinner reservation at Elmo's Elmo's, where we've had dinner, I don't know how many times I've eaten at Elmo's over the years. It's probably a frightening number. And that is where I'm eating tonight, in case anybody does want to find me. So he makes a reservation, and we end up in a private room that I didn't even know existed. Yeah, it was very nice. Upstairs. It was very, very, very exclusive. The office. The literally used to be their office for the restaurant that they've now converted into a private dining room. Now, there's a couple different ways to think about this. I think they were just trying to hide us from the rest of the restaurant. Which makes sense because I talk to everybody. Not a bad move. And the whole thing made Greg lose his mind because he just kept getting up. I've never seen you more antsy at dinner ever. Yeah, I was moving around. Than that dinner. I don't have time. I don't have time for that. But also, like, the server was like, yeah, this is like where Caitlin Clark eats. Right. That's where Roger Goodell should have been eating in there, not Greg Braggs, Mark Harmon, and Adam Hogan. Right. So I'm like, how disappointed must this guy have been when he learned that this reservation was just Adam Johns? And then I tried to compare him to a politician because he looked like James Tolerico. And he's like, I don't know who that is. He's like, I don't get into politics. That was his response. It literally was James Telerico. Then he did the old man thing where he's like, this is James Telerico. I did. I showed him the picture because I wanted to prove that you look like this guy. It was a great dinner. By the way, Hogue picked up the check out of it. The Hogue, I mean, it was very nice of you. I like to do that once every year at the combine. Yeah, and Stephen ordered the tomahawk, which is a $150 steak. It was very impressive. Fred Flintstone, Brontosaurus burger-sized meal, and just crushed it. Brontosaurus. Well, it was. I mean, it's a huge piece of meat. It was. It was a very, very large, very significant. I don't know what else would you say it was. He doesn't know what he said. I said it was a big piece of meat. That's not what you said. What did I say? What did I say? You said penis. No, I did not. No, I did not. No, I did not. Oh, my God. That didn't happen. I wish we had another break. And then his explanation of it. Yeah. Now we're making it. It just got more graphic. I mean, if I did, I did. But I don't think I did. Did I really? Yes. I did. All right. What's the chat saying? Everybody. Yeah. Everybody. Where is the penalty box? I'm crying. Oh, my God. I'm actually crying. It was a great dinner filled with lots of things. And then another thing, too. Stop talking. Of all the people that, like, you know, I've had, like, a list growing of people I'm going to punch this week. No. It's really epic. We talked about the list, and shockingly, I'm not on it. You two are not on it this week, which is a shocking turn of events. Normally, it's just you two. But this week, it's not you two. There's so many other people I want to punch. And today, to add to the list, was the Uber driver. I put it in, and he's, like, circling a block two miles from me, like, toying with me. Oh, I can't see that. Like, for, like, 20 minutes. I'd never had that happen. I mean, I don't take Ubers that often. This morning? Yeah. And I'm like, are you coming or what? And I'm just standing on the steps outside. And then they ended up sending me a different Uber. I was going to – oh, man, that guy. Okay. That guy's on my list. That's the top of the list of everybody else that you – No, he's not at the top. He's just on the list. Okay. There's other people on the list that are much higher. You seem to keep looking at Sylvie. All right. Can we play some of the stuff from today? Well, we need to take the temp, which I think we just accidentally did. as we took the temp on who Braggs wants to punch, but that's not what we're actually taking the temp on. So let's take the temp, guys. Brought to you by Four Seasons, your trusted local experts for heating, air conditioning, plumbing, sewer, and electric. They've been serving Chicagoland for over 50 years. Visit fourseasonsheatingcooling.com for all their special offers and money-saving coupons. That's fourseasonsheatingcooling.com. And what we were going to take the temp on was something Ryan Pohl said yesterday about we've talked a lot about the defensive line. I feel like there's a couple guys we have probably not talked enough about because for all the players that we were talking about earlier that may or may not be on the team next year because their contracts are whatever, these two guys we know are going to be on the team. And it's Dio Odangbo. Oh, dang. And Shamar Turner, who they drafted last year, and he got hurt, obviously, but they had put him on the edge more. and that's when he started to play well and he was having more success before he got hurt so um we're gonna take temp on these players here but let's play what polls had to say about those two because they are part of the plans for 2026 and this is what the gm said yeah so dial was a little bit unfortunate he was the guy we brought in that we wanted to work inside and outside um and due to some of the injuries i thought book was coming along in training camp. He had, I think, a knee injury at some point in the beginning. So we really didn't get to flex as much as we wanted to, to try to improve our rush for the interior and exterior. But he was coming along. There was a lot of positive things there, both in the run, which I know we don't talk much about, but getting the third down is a huge deal. So I thought he was coming along and we're looking forward to him coming back. I know he's training and in his return to play protocol. Shamar was another one, has flex, that we were trying to find out where he was going to be the most productive. And it was coming along at end, which was great because he would have versatility inside and outside, which is what we want. And so it was a bummer, kind of a freak deal with him and his knee. Both guys are on track, training hard. Again, you know, I'm hoping in the spring, But if anything, training camp will be the spot where they'll come back. And there's a process through that of playing the game and getting comfortable and healthy that we'll go through. But I expect both those guys to help us next year. Well, they better help you. Well, I guess, but what level of confidence do you have that either of them will be able to help the Bears next year? Well, you have no choice. I mean, but it is a concern because you heard it yesterday when talking to polls at the podium about, like, man, And you guys, you know, it's not just pass rush. There's holes on all three levels that you guys got to fill. And obviously they have time to do that. But he banked on, well, they weren't, you know, healthy at corner. And they expect Kyler and Jalen to play a full season. So you have to go into next season expecting Jalen, Kyler, Dio, Shamar Turner all to play. But you didn't have them here this last year in a defense that led the league in takeaways. ways so it's just hard to obviously you're putting them back into the calculus but it's a case-by-case basis on which ones it's reasonable to expect they'll come back and be healthy and then also be productive well like i like shamar turner um but that was like the question when they drafted him was about him staying healthy um but i thought he was somebody that could contribute pretty quickly he was showing signs of that i thought it was interesting how he actually talked about how Booker, Austin Booker being hurt in camp early on. And remember, he wasn't there for the first, what, four games of the season, right? Because he started the season on IR. It's more than that. What they really wanted to do was play Dio inside more. But because Booker wasn't available, they played him. They had to play him more outside. So I think it's all fair for him to bring up. But at the same time, like, I don't know. I hope he proves this wrong. But so far, the Dio gamble, because it was a gamble. And that's what you want to be. You don't want to be paying for past performance. You want to be paying for future projection. But you want to be right, obviously, when you do that. So I get the chance they were making. But coming off injury now, I guess I'm higher on Sharmar Turner's future. Maybe that's just because he's younger. But he did show some things. And I liked his motor coming out last year. I like the pick. Yeah, I mean, with Odangbo, Bears took a swing. I get it, I suppose. Like, it's not the worst contract of all time. But you didn't see much, and I get that maybe they wanted to play him inside more. But the concept that he's going to come back from a torn Achilles and make him, you know, a significant impact next year. You know, the Achilles injury, the injury happened in November, So I guess he has enough time, but that's a tough injury. And you got to get to the quarterback. He was having trouble doing it before the injury. I just have a hard time believing he'll be able to do it. Well, my frustration is obviously both are going to be on the roster. I'm kind of against you on this whole guy. I don't like either move of those guys. Now, after the fact, obviously, Dio Dangbo on the outside, you could see it at camp. Like, his pass rush moves are limited, in my opinion. And so then you find his home on the inside where he starts to get a little bit of production. Well, that's not what you got paid for. That's great that you found a way to make yourself have a role. And Shamar Turner, same thing. You drafted him to be on the inside. Now you get him on the outside. He gets production. He's able to set the edge. Cool. But they're still looking to not replace you, but have to get somebody else to put ahead of you. And you already have Austin Booker and Montez Sweat. So where does he fall in the pecking order? I'm fine with having rotations, but that's not exactly the level of draft equity they gave up for him. So, you know, I have higher hopes for Shamar Turner than I do Dio Dangbo, but that's only because of age. As we hit the top of the hour here on the CHCO Bears podcast, make sure you hit the like button, subscribe to the channel if you haven't already, become a diehard and whatnot at rchco.com slash diehard. We do have a combine deal. We always have the Johns deal. If you just use the code J-A-H-N-S, you get $36 for the year. Exclusive written content. I know you and Johns are collaborating on a piece that will come out next week of all the things you've heard. I know you've started to take some meetings and kind of get into the weeds of all things Bears. Yeah, hearing some things. We're going to be continuing to work on that, and some of it will probably get shared on the shows here too. I might have like one sentence on it. No. Right now it's looking like I'm going to have to get off this show and work on maybe a stadium-written piece. Let's talk about that coming back. No, we already did that. We did it? Yep. There was no pause. Nobody ever stopped talking. It's because it's overtime. I love how you still can't figure this out. You told me to stop, and we played the thing. It's overtime. That was when we're on StreamYard, remote shows. It's a different software, and when he hits the thing, it does not let us talk over it. Ah, we'll have to have a reconvene after the thing. All right, great. Reconvene after the thing. You should have just been like, what, big, and then said what you said earlier. He's signaling to stretch, so I'm thinking we're stretching to a moment in time. Stretch, talking about becoming a diehard for overtime, so we hit it right at the hour mark so that it takes it off the TV. We'll explain this to you off the air. We'll have to do it off the TV. Yeah, a million times. No, you've done a bad job. All right. You guys have podium stuff. It's funny because our viewers that watch every day know this better than Carm. Yeah. That's fine. You guys have podium stuff you want to talk about. Okay, let's do the podium first. Let's have some fun here. Well, Stephen, why don't we – let's play something, and we'll get you in on the conversation too if you want. I mean, I have a thing over here. But we'll play some things. Where do you want to take it to next? Because we do have some stuff for today. I mean, obviously, we can save it for tomorrow as well. I know we're starting to run a little over. But there is some really good stuff. I mean, all the conversation this week has been about linebacker. We haven't talked about the news on Tremaine Edmonds. Obviously, we talked a little bit about it in the interviews. Yeah, I mean, Tremaine Edmonds granted permission to seek a trade. If I was him, I'd be like, I don't want to be traded. I don't want to seek a trade. Well, but they're trying to do right by him. Like, hey, man, if you can find the landing spot that you want to be in, that's what we'd like for you because you've been a first-class guy all the way through here, but you're too expensive and you got to go. So where do you want to go? And for the Bears, you know, where they could go is obviously into this draft. And we talked to Trevor Sikma about some of this stuff. But we can hear from Jacob Rodriguez himself, right? and this is somebody that I thought was really interesting to listen to the podium. So let's hear from him and we'll come back and we'll have a little bit of a conversation. Did you have a chance to talk to Chicago? I've had a chance to talk to him. I've talked to him in the Super Bowl and I've talked to him here. How are those meetings going for you? They're great. They're great. I think a lot of their core pillars as a team align with everything that I believe in as well. I had a really good conversation with them I hoping Chicago will be future In Chicago they known for the peanut punch right And you had 13 forced fumbles in your career seven last year Can you talk about how you were able to master that technique? Yeah, a lot of it has to do with practice and preparation. I think there has to be a purpose to take the ball away. Everything you do should be wanting to take the ball away. You shouldn't want to be on your heels as a defense. You should be attacking, trying to take that ball away. And I actually got to meet Charles Tillman this past week, you know, where I was training. And so it was a huge blessing to get to meet him and, you know, hear some of his knowledge that he wanted to extend to me. And I know he'll be here, so I'm looking forward to seeing him again. But, shit, it was awesome, you know, getting to meet him and everything. We'd watch it, you know, every day of every week. You know, we'd watch somebody take the ball away. We'd watch a lot of clips of him and everything that he did to change the game for us. And, yeah, I was just trying to do the best I could to help my team win. So there's Jacob Rodriguez, linebacker out of Texas Tech, was the Buckus Award winner, so best linebacker in college football. You heard it there talking about the peanut punch and the forced fumbles. Steven did some great work yesterday to kind of get us the roadmap of where we were going to bounce around to today in terms of the podium because a lot of these guys are going at the same time. So you've got to kind of pick your battles and divide and conquer in terms of our resources here. And it was really interesting to hear that he already had a conversation with Charles Tillman. Like, if you're the type of guy that's going to get forced rumbles, you've already watched his tape. But for him to already have personal conversations with him, it's like, well, you know, hey, why don't you just come to Chicago and make this come full circle? It makes a lot of sense. They've got, obviously, a significant need there. Can we move on to Lee Hunter? Are you down? Or what would you like to do? Well, I mean, I think the final, yeah, I mean, we can. Absolutely. I just think just to keep it tight with the linebacker conversation, what was just a final thought of DeMarco Jackson? I know this was something that we were going to talk about here. And to me, that's one of my top guys I want to see brought back. To me, if I'm ranking who I'm trying to bring back here, I think Kevin Byard certainly is at the top of that list. C.J. Gardner-Johnson is another one. But DeMarco Jackson, especially now when you're looking at how this linebacker room is, I think of all the ones, because it depends on money, when you look at Bayard, that's a lot more money we're talking about. C.J. Gardner-Johnson, where are you going to put him with Kyler back? And depending on how you're going to fill the safety role, C.J. has played safety, but I don't think that's what they'd have in mind. DeMarco Jackson, to me, is maybe the number one person that makes the most sense that is the easiest person to bring back to this defense. Yeah, and I'm well on record as saying I like DeMarco Jackson. I think potentially re-signing him and drafting one somewhere in there, and I thought Trevor brought up a number of guys that would be more like middle-round picks, would be a good way to increase the speed. And another thing I'm going to say is I think it would be premature to totally rule out Reuben Hippelite contributing at some point. Like, you've got to let these guys develop at least a little bit. Noah Sewell is an example of that. 100%. Noah Sewell, we went into camp last year thinking Noah Sewell was just going to get cut. Right. And now people are bringing him up like, oh, he had this big injury, and now they're not going to have him going forward. Like, you know, so a lot can change. I'm not saying that Ruben Hippolyte is going to ever become more than even Noah Sewell is now, but my point is I don't think it would also be right to just dismiss him completely No, he's going to be on the 90-man roster. He's going to be in camp, but he's going to have an opportunity to show that he learned a lot and can use his speed. That's the thing. They want to get faster at linebacker. Well, he's fast. One thing I know about Reuben Hippolyte is that he will put in the effort. So whatever is in the Hippolyte tank, he will find it. I just don't know if there's anything in the tank. I hope there is. I would be surprised again with Reuben Hippolyte. That went pretty south pretty fast. Well, and I think another big key for him is, you know, how do you respond to the adversity right you come to a team you have a certain expectation of maybe you're going to get on the field and you don't at all right and so how do you respond to that now you have an opportunity right Noah Sewell had an opportunity last summer look at how he responded to that with his back against the wall we've talked about it Corey Wooten's talked about it so many times that his story of when he finally woke up in the league where it was like hey if I don't get my stuff together right now you know i might find myself off this roster and and have trouble making another one and so reuben hippolite here this offseason it goes without saying but it is i think important for him to take what happened last year and respond to it in a positive way shout out wu shout out reuben hippolite shout out my guy my new favorite guy hoag his name is Lee Hunter we talked about him earlier we asked Trevor about him if you don't know about Lee Texas Tech enormous 350 maybe even more he stood out on the podium like just a straight monster and uh he started talking about how he bought his brother two 18 wheelers and I was like we what? You bought your brother two trucks? So I followed up on the trucks and what all that had to go down. So this is one minute of not necessarily family friendly conversation about trucks and football and Lee Hunter. Here we go. You bought your brother two 18 wheelers did you just say? Yeah he got two 18 wheelers. He got his CDL. He got his 18 wheeler cover. So you're helping him start his business? Yeah. How's that feel? Nah it feel It's still more. Now I'm working to get him a bigger one. He can get a bigger truck, so that's my goal to keep him from my family and the people I love. What's he putting in his truck? What's he putting in his truck? What is it called? The Tucker Family Foundation? It's in the, I think what it's called, not a CDL or fucking, I can't think right now, but it's in the business. He got it as a... LLC? Whatever. Yeah, yeah. LLC. Yeah, LLC. I got you. Do you know what he's hauling? What's he putting in that thing? Nah, he's just moving stuff from city to city. I don't get into it. I'm a footballer. I got it. That's hilarious. Don't you think we want that guy? I mean, when I was over there, so it's great you pulled that out of him, and that's what makes you great is being able to pull that. I love it. It's just like, hold up, hold up. You bought your brother what? Have you ever heard anybody say that ever? I bought my 218 wheelers? Because you got to, like, when he explains it, though, it makes sense. You got to, like, learn how to drive them, right? You know? So, I mean. Starting a business. CDLs, LLCs. You were really pushing what was in the trucks, though. Well, you know, as a former transportation logistics professional back in the day for D&D. Okay, now I'm going to do the same thing for you. One of his many random jobs. You're what? Game show host. That was before I was a game show host. You know, in my late 20s, I decided that this industry was not for me. Many people would have hoped that I would have stayed on that path. but unfortunately for them, I came back. But at that time, I felt like I needed to make money and do all the things that normal 28-year-olds were doing. So I ended up somehow, someway in the transportation logistics business. I sat with a headset on, and I asked people where their trucks were, and I learned about 53-footers and tandems and sliding them and all the things. Worst job ever. You do make a lot of money, but you're doing the same thing every single day in an office with nauseating people who you like some of them. and so when he started going 18 wheelers i uh i was interested and then also i'm also getting nervous for the guy like hey your nil money is not your family's money it's your money but we didn't have time for that conversation i'll do that again but he's got a great personality live wire uh and i don't know if the bears will be interested or not obviously i'm not privy to that but if he did come to chicago people would love him well i think he would i think the bears will be interested in him uh i definitely think there's a potential that depending on how he tests this week and seeing how things go with visits that he could find his way to 25 uh on the bears radar if you watched our after dark last week with fran duffy phil and shane phil is this is his guy right and and so when you talk about uh dominant force a guy that can be the anchor of that middle of that defensive line you know and and how he gets through double teams like this is the type a guy that the Bears certainly need to look at. This is what they were missing when, you know, all the different injuries that happened were, you know, Andrew Billings, what's he going to be going forward? I've always been a big Andrew Billings fan, but you got to get younger, you know. This dude is massive, but when you're younger. You can move, though. You can move. You're faster, exactly. So, you know. See, that whole conversation, and everybody gets into the he's 25, he's 21. We started that with Trevor. I don't care. Give me four good years of a guy. Give me five good years. We'll figure it out from there. I don't worry about the, well, I don't know if he's going to have a 10-year career. Can you come in and play and be good and do that for a couple of years? That would be sweet. I mean, these things change awful rapidly. I like that guy. I like him a lot. I like you a lot. You are adorable. Do you want to do a second on the stadium today? Sure. He's got to write an article. I literally need to go make a phone call right now. Okay. So Marianne Ahern, who does a phenomenal job covering the stuff for NBC, she's a goat of news people. She tweeted out today, New, while Illinois lawmakers are expected to pass pilot legislation out of Revenue Committee for the Bears tomorrow, a lawmaker close to the negotiation says the Bears have, quote, a Chicago problem and doubts Chicago lawmakers will approve a plan that gives the Bears incentives to leave the city. Yeah. Now, I did some following up on that, Hoag, and, you know, in essence, what I'm getting is that JB's going to get it done and that the lawmakers are going to use this to make some, you know, deals that will benefit them, and that's how it all comes together, and this will eventually, you know, be wrapped up, and they'll end up back in Arlington Heights. That's my assessment of the news of today, that it's us seeing there was some significant momentum back to Arlington Heights going on right now. Yeah, so we're right back to where we were last week. Okay, it's Wednesday. There's this House committee meeting tomorrow. Meanwhile, here in Indiana, the Senate is expected to vote on the Senate Bill 27 here in Indiana tomorrow too. So you got the simultaneous thing potentially happening again tomorrow. But yeah, these two sides have gotten back on the same page this week is what I would say. Now what Marion Ahern's talking about when it comes to the city is a real thing. I've mentioned this and talked about this many times on the show about how you still have so many votes from city lawmakers that they do have power in this whole thing. So the specifics of all that, that'll come out over time. But yes, for Chicago to get on board with Arlington Heights, there's still going to have to be some of that worked out probably as they try to advance this bill but yes I do think I do think we're going to see some movement here in the next 24 hours positive movement towards Arlington Heights as simultaneously in Indiana they try to pass the legislation you know potentially simultaneously yeah you know I would just bet that there will be some solid backroom deals getting done here, and there is a reason why people attain the levels that they attain in life. And say whatever you want to say about JB. That dude knows this game. And so I would imagine that he will be able to find a way to the finish line here. That would be my prediction. I do think Chicago would have gotten more out of the whole thing if this had been done a year ago. That may be. That very well may be. All right. You're not getting any more out of me today. That's it? This is it. All right. You were great today. I thought you were great. Thank you. Everybody clap. Yeah, good job, Greg. Way to go. Everybody clap. Clap. We're proud of you. We're proud of you. Everybody clap. Yeah, all right. We got PH and X is clapping. I don't know why they're doing that for you, but that's respect. I think they're waiting for us to move. We're out of here? Okay. Bo and Johnny and Shane. I'm just clapping at random people Do you have the YouTube up? We have a super chat Oh we do You bet your sweet Bippy we do And I'm not talking about the guy in the chat Joseph San Giovanni $10 Cheese Franks I'm getting hungry Carms become my Cheese Franks Carms become my food mentor and his first step is starvation. He's not allowing me to eat. I think it's a good move. I told Greg because he was up there and there was no more food in the lunchroom and he's like looking around and I'm like, you need to tell. Don't look at it. You need to tell yourself that there is no food coming. Quit looking at my belly. There is no food coming. Joseph Sangiovanni cheese franks, $10. Great. It starts with a double dip. Makes me think of Italian beef. Double dip at defensive tackle. Rounds one and two. Lee Hunter and D. Orange take the D. N. from Penn State. Close to D.A. dimensions. It was a journey to get through that. Yeah, you did a good job. That's great. You did a good job. Do you have any thoughts on that super chat? Well, I mean, we already talked a lot about Lee Hunter, but I am looking forward to getting the double-dipped Italian beef here in a little bit. Yeah. No. Here, I'll help you out here a little bit because Dominique Orange, what was his nickname again? Big Citrus is his nickname. Big Citrus. That's why I want him on the Bears, just for the nickname. Big Citrus. That's a good nickname. You know where I look that up? In the draft guide. Fran Duffy's draft guide. I watched Fran do his work today. He's incredible. Guy was phenomenal. He was fantastic. And to put a name on whatever you, however you put it, the Penn State dimensions. D-A dimensions, Dennis Allen dimensions, like the prototype for a defensive end. Yeah, I believe he's talking about Danny Dennis Sutton is who I believe he's talking about. 6'5", 268. So he's definitely got the length there. I hope I'm saying that. Denny. Yeah, Denny. Here's the other thing. Denny Dennis Sutton. Denny Dennis. Denny Dennis. Here's the other thing I'll say, too, when everybody always points, and I get why you should, you know, the roadmap of what a defensive end in most of Dennis Allen's defenses has been and go to that prototype. But would you say Austin Booker is a Dennis Allen prototype? No, I would not. Would you say that when he – Well, he's got the length. Not too thin. Yeah. Would you say when he came onto the defense the second half of the season that each game he made an impact? Yes. Each game's strong, but overall, yeah, go ahead. So I just think, like, we also don't have to overthink this. And as Ryan Pohl said yesterday, football players, okay? And this coaching staff should be able to get the most out of good football players. And so I'm fine with following prototype to try to see, you know, the roadmap of where this is going to go. Well, you know who solves all this? Max Crosby. Yeah. Don't do it. He's the prototype and the all pro. Don't do it. So one more super there, super friend. Is it about food? Cornell Bryant. Cornell. My favorite guy to talk to yesterday in our chat. $10. No cheese francs. Why wasn't Ben asked who will be the passing game coordinator, you morons? Yeah. If you say it don't matter, well, history will show you it does, dummies. Okay. should be a shoo-in for interviews for OC's head coaches these days. Coughs, press Taylor. I don't know what the second part of that means, but Cornell, they already announced the coaching staff. There is no passing game coordinator because Will Lawlin was just named the offensive assistant. So it's Will Lawlin. We didn't ask the question because they already told us. So what do you think of that, Cornell? two days in a row where you just piss us off. Well, you just made Greg's list. Cornell, you're doing a great job. I appreciate you. My goal the rest of the week is to stay off the list. I think I can do it. You're halfway there. Well, you're doing everything you can to make Greg's life better on the daily, and eventually I think you will. I am making efforts behind the scenes here. You are. You are. I think you've done. I helped last night. I said, Big Cat wants to talk to you. Get your ass over here. He's a nice guy. Big Cat paid for our whole meal last night. He's a nice guy. Go Big Cat. He didn't even eat at the meal. He's a really nice guy. 30 people at the meal? It wasn't 30. It was... Joseph Sangiovanni drops another 10 cheese franks in there. He says they're Swiss franks and love you guys. That's the joke. Swiss cheese. Although I'm not actually sure... No, I did not make that correlation. I thought that's what... We know. I was trying to give him credit. No. I thought that's why you were saying cheese franks. I saw CHF. Oh, CH. In a vacuum, you did not make that correlation. See, I knew it was Swiss francs, and I thought that's what the cheese joke was. No, I just, I'm hungry. All right. There is no food coming. There is no food coming. We got to get off the set. All right, guys. Do we? You guys can do it. For who? Actually, I think for Hogan Johns. I believe. You're doing another show? I believe. Do you ever just shut up and not do a show? We're doing an interview for Friday's show. Oh. Oh. You got Kaharski? Is it Ben Johnson? Who? Kaharski. Just randomly point to some random dude. It was funny. You got Stapleton? Where's Art Stapleton? Can we talk about how there's actually all these tables that are just someone's name? It was funny. I break the rule, but, like, at the podium, you're not supposed to, like, ask. Why don't you have a table that just says Greg Braggs Jr.? I will do this. But Paul Kowarski, we were at the podium. People ask, did you talk to the Bears? Did you talk to the Bucs? And somebody did it right next to Paul. Paul was like, oh, no, don't do that. It's done at every stop. And I don't want to. Lee Hunter thought that was really funny. Like throughout his whole podium when I was over there, so I wasn't over there for the 18-wheeler conversation. But he would just crack up every time. Like people were just peppering him with, who did you meet with? But Lee Hunter thinks, I think a lot of things are funny. And that guy. Just end the show, Stephen. That guy's fantastic. We have reached a portion of the program where we can honor. Bring him to the Bears. I don't think he's the locker room fit they're looking for, but I hope it happens. All right. For the great Greg Braggs, who's going to get his voice back between now and 1 o'clock tomorrow. My voice is fine. It just has to get off the runway. Stop talking and your voice will be better. For the great Greg Braggs, who's doing everything perfectly. The amazing Adam Hogue who's doing his third show of the day. Are we doing his second? The incomparable Stephen Nicholas. You don't get a second applause. We already did that 10 minutes ago. Social media, Emma. The amazing Katie. Johnny and Bo. The women of the NFL. Shane and Fran. Really the event made a huge impact. The Carb who couldn't remember what it was called. The lotion. The women of the NFL Combine. The word you said earlier. All right, we'll talk to you tomorrow.