LEFT TO ADDRESS: Could Offensive Tackle be the Chicago Bears 1st Round Priority? | CHGO Bears

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And then you did jumping jacks in the studio? I did. With you. Synchronized jumping jacks. Perfectly synchronized. Hope you missed it. It was the weirdest but most impressive thing I've ever seen in my life. Why was I not invited? It was an impromptu moment in time that Greg and I just seized because I felt fat and I don't know if he felt fat but I just, you know, I just jumped in. We do need to and I don't want to do rail us off the top. Actually I do. There's a controversy going on here between two members of this show and it's really weird. Have you noticed, I mean, Greg since we've known him, I don't know since we've known him but certainly the last year has been on an orange kick. Like we've never seen. Like the guy brings in some big orange. You know, there's a guy who covers the bears named Jason Leisure who I enjoyed a nice baseball game with last week in Arizona. He has an apple in his hand like all the time. Large apple. I always point out. Greg has like done that with oranges and he does this weird thing where he actually bites the peel. Yeah. That's how I peel it. Yeah, but that's not the controversy. That is controversial but that's not the controversy. The issue is all of a sudden out of nowhere, Stephen has started bringing in his own oranges. On a daily basis. Look at this thing. And in perfect Stephen form. It's very large orange. He gets the biggest orange ever. There's no way that's an accident. He's trying to make a point. Yeah. Compensating for something. I think so. It's a very large orange. Can I eat this? Absolutely not. Yeah. Stephen's got some religious thing going on this week so he can't have his steaks. It's totally weak for Greek people so I can't have my typical eggs so I have to compensate. Here's the compensation brags. Have to compensate eggs with a giant orange. Okay. Next week you could have your oranges back. Eggs are disgusting. Mine will always be bigger. Stephen's doing great. I do have to say for a guy who only eats steak and eggs to not be able to eat those things this week is tough. He's hanging in there. Yeah. Yeah, behind the scenes I'm not hanging in there. It's just been a struggle. The word on this. Well you could just go Pat Norton's route where he gave up alcohol for Lent and just drank the entire combine anyway. Yeah, it didn't count on certain days. Well it didn't count because it was the combine. Oh that's what he said. It doesn't count when you're at the combine. Pat Norton did a great job with the combine. Bill J. Frye same way. Bite the peel. Clean her hands. Boom. Yeah, but okay. We don't need to have that discussion. Well we do need to. It's just Stephen Nicholas wants Greg to know that he's got bigger oranges and bigger everything. Bigger everything. I think that's what's going on. He's just bigger. Smarter, better. I agree on everything. Yeah. You nailed it. Alright, let's get into the draft here. Better golf. Did you have a- Oh, now I went too far. That's way too far. Greg, I just want you to know that I like your oranges. I think you do a great job with them. The eating the peel thing's a little bit weird, but I've learned to support it because I support you in everything you do. In your 30 years in the industry, the amount of oranges you've had in your mouth. That's really going down a dark road of weirdness on an odd day. Let's talk draft. Let's go to the draft. Nutrition. You've got to stay healthy. You've got to stay hydrated. Have citrus. It's good. Alright, Mockdraft 3.0, Hogue, you versus Johns. How about big citrus? NFL draft prospect. How's that for a segue? That's pretty good. Dominique Orange. Defense if you have no idea who big citrus is. Get in the beast. By the way, happy beast day to all who celebrate, including Fran Duffy. Don't think that we're cheating on Fran. Fran Strafgat is definitely something you should invest in if you're not already at diehard. But everybody in the industry, including Fran, enjoys the beast coming out. Dane Brugler's enormous document, 300,000 words. So that's out today. I guarantee you big citrus and the reference there is, you know, it's waiting for you, Carm, whenever you want to start reading the beast. Well, I can't wait to get involved today. I'm, excuse me, a little bit distracted because, well, we'll talk about that later. But you guys really picked some doozies of names here. What a tease. Well, it's good though. Stayed on track. Don't do that. That was good. Allseeshow.com bears Mockdraft 3.0. Johns, if you're wondering how Johns wrote a Mockdraft while he was on vacation, it's because he actually did it a week ago and took all the players before I could even get in there. Yeah, but quick complaining about that. There's a lot of options. You don't, you know, Johns doesn't know what he's talking about. You're the guy. You're the draft guy. Don't, don't, don't give him that much. Like, oh, you know, yeah, I need to take my pick. That was actually more 2.0. This one's fine. Okay. I'm excited about this one. All right. So, so do you want to go with, do you want to roll through exactly? Well, we're not giving away the whole Mockdraft because that would defeat the purpose of being a diehard and being able to have access to this concept. What we are going to talk about though is first round, Johns, he goes, so he's coming around on this thing because we argued about this maybe a month ago where, and I've been pretty firm on this where I'm not ruling out an offensive tackle or really any offensive player in the first round. You and I argued about that yesterday. I was right. Right, Greg. Thank you. We'll find out on April 23rd, but Johns has come around and I know something Ben Johnson said last week in Phoenix. Help that because Ben Johnson did say when he was talking about the offensive tackle competition, you can't rule out the draft either. So he ends up going with Caleb Lomu, offensive tackle out of Utah, who is certainly projects as a left tackle and I like him. So he's the, the other Utah tackle in this draft, but I think they both have a chance to go in round one and there's a chance Lomu is there for the bear. So I, this is definitely something in my mind bear's fans should be aware of going into draft night. How do the bears value Lomu on their draft board? Because if he is there, there's a chance where we keep talking best player available. If that's really going to truly be the mindset, this could be attempting pick at number 25 and that's the route that Johns went. Yeah. I had a chance to talk to Lomu at the combine really mature, you know, and still young too. Yeah. Younger prospects. Yeah. Super young. Another thing that stood out when you talked to some of the defensive linemen, you asked like, well, what were some of the tough, toughest matchups that you had or one that you can recall? You know, anytime somebody that a team that played Utah, that was the first team they brought up. And so like that tells you something on the other side of the coin of that perspective. So I wouldn't be as high on him at 25, but I certainly, you know, and we'll get to my big board here in a little bit, but I'm definitely gravitating. If you've watched over the last week, gravitating towards the idea of the bears using this first pick for offensive line and left tackle specifically. So I'm all for that. I understand they have big needs on the defensive side of the ball. But I would like to see this offense just be secured for the next five years. Leave no stone unturned. And like you said yesterday, you know, creating an offense that can be a juggernaut. I think Stephen here has a little bit of. Yeah. Since you brought up Loma, I looked and there it was. He had two different clips from this one's him about him playing left tackle versus right tackle and how he fell in love with the game. I fell in love with the game at a very young age, you know, being able to watch the NFL and college football since I was young, you know, I played black football. And then when I was able to play tackle football in the fourth grade, you know, I already had a love for the game. I just grew up and I was able to get out there and, you know, just hit someone and be able to play the game and that love has been growing every year since. Here in South Africa, Houston, Texas. Yes, I have. You have a tackle preference, left tackle, right tackle? No, I've played left. I'm more comfortable out left. Very comfortable out right as well. You know, I know there's a chance I could get switched and I'm very like, I'd use with them comfortable out both positions. You know, if coaches need me out right, I'm very happy to play it right. I'm pretty sure that was Fran Duffy asking that last question. I think it was too. And Fran's amazing. And we'll hear from Fran a little bit later in the show and the discord at 230. Listen, just for the record, we're winding back yesterday. I'm not ruling out the offense. I just don't think they will. So we'll see. All right. Who would make a bet that it was going to be me and Gary line? He said detackle edge or safety. I think that's what it was in general. I'm the point is sounds like you're hedging now. No, that kind of sounds like you're flipping. There's no. A little flipper. Little flipper. You want to throw a hedge in there? That's fine. You could you call me a hedger. Oh, well, it's a little slight hedge. Who did you put at the 3.0 here? Because I know you want to talk about Mr. Mestador. So why don't we get in? Yeah. So I've been struggling with this edge class and because it's look this this edge class is in my opinion is not very top heavy, but it's but it's deep. But the deepness, the depth is like, I just feel like there's going to be somebody that merges from the second or third round. This, this, you know, in this draft class that is the guy that ends up becoming a star. And so it puts a lot of stress on, you know, your scouting department to find a little bit of that diamond in the rough, because I just feel like let's talk about David Bailey, for example, who's probably going to go pretty high. He's a 6'3, 253. He's very twitchy. He can bend. He's one of the fewer guys, I guess in my opinion, that sort of fits more of the size requirements with the twitchiness being able to get around the edge where some of these other guys like Azayan Young out of Missouri, 6'5 and a half, 265. But he just seems stiffer to me. He, he honestly, I'm looking at him and I'm going, this kind of is Montes sweat. Well, the Bears already have Montes sweat. I want the disruptive force who's getting off the ball, explosive, can bend, get around the edge consistently, except most of those guys I feel like even in the first round are smaller. So they're like even Reuben Bain. I mean, Reuben Bain, who I like, and I think if he fell to the Bears, which I don't think is going to happen, the Bears would jump and get him. But he's got 30 inch arms just to shade under 31. He's basically one of the biggest outliers we're going to see in the history of edge rushers in this draft. So to me, it's just a very difficult class to evaluate and find, you know, feel totally comfortable that you're drafting an absolute stud. Like I'm talking like Hall of Fame pro, you know, all pro level guy, because they all seem to have, you know, a catch to them. So here's a key message or is catch. But why I still took him here in the first round. So message or it's got two things against them. He's old. He's, he's 20. He's, he just turned 25 on Sunday. Happy birthday to a key message or Hans Kaleva Hans Kaleva Hans Kaleva. Hans Kaleva. Hans Kaleva. Hans Kaleva. Hans Kaleva. Hans Kaleva. Hans Kaleva. Hans Kaleva. Hans Kaleva. Happy birthday next week. Let's just stay at 39. We don't, we don't need to go. We don't need, we don't need to hit 40. Um, and he's had a history of foot injuries, but let me tell you something. Mess it or, and I'm not just trying to pass that off because he very, he very well maybe because of those two things off the bear's board completely. And if he is, I can respect it. But to me, he has the size, he has the length, um, at least good enough length and the explosiveness getting around the edge. He has a motor that just runs hot all the time. I like him a lot. So you look, you're picking at 25. If you want a top 10 talent, there's going to be a catch. And a lot of people seem to think Mestador is still going to be around at 25. Well that catches. He's older. And he might have some foot issues. So obviously medically, your staff needs to clear him. So that's a big if, but if the bears have cleared him medically, I'm willing to be okay with the age thing here in order to get, in my opinion, a guy who's plug and play and can be disruptive right away, help the bears pass for, like, I don't care if he's 25 right now and we can help him win a Super Bowl next year or the year after that, while Kayla Williams is still on his rookie contract. Well, yeah, just to remind people and myself who needs the same reminder on the age thing, it's not so much that he's older. It's just that when you're 24 and you're competing against 19, you should have an edge. You should be beating guys. It's how Indiana won their national championship. It's harder to make the evaluation when you have that level of edge. It's not that he's old and that he's going to like not have a productive career. It just makes it a tougher evaluation, which of course. You could also argue it makes him more ready. You could, yes, you can, but then, you know, he's, and four years ago he had 10 and a half tackles for loss and seven sacks. That was four years ago. Yeah. For, look, I don't, he's been a very productive player and last year he really produced with 17 and a half tackles for loss and 12 and a half sacks. I think he's a beast. Last time I checked, he will be playing football. So I used to get very nervous with guys that have injury histories. It's, it's you're, you're taking, it's a big risk. You want me to read you the injury history? Yeah, go ahead. All right. This is from the beast. I mean, I've heard, but a lot of people talk about mess it or so play through, play through a right foot injury back in 2022 tried to play through it again in 2023, but it was forced to shut things down after two games and undergo surgery. Same thing back to back years suffered a similar injury torn ligaments to his left. Left foot, which required surgery in 2023. Avery one, the other one gets messed up. Yep. Offseason shoulder surgery before he enrolled at Miami back in 22 missed one game because of injury as a super senior in 2025, but I'd be out. I would be, I am. Okay. He's also, but I get that that doesn't sound great. He's also started, he started 15 games last year, 13 games the year before that. There seems to be a lot of evidence and said someone, the stuff behind, I understand. So that's what I'm saying. Look, if the Bears doctors looked at the foot and said, we're out, then you're out and I can respect that. But if they passed it, I'm in there. Sure. There's, listen, there's a million cases where guys have had injury histories. They come into the NFL. They stay healthy. They have a long career. Eddie Jackson was a fourth round pick for pick one guy out, but that was like a broken leg, like a broken leg. It heals. This is more sort of seems a little more systemic. So there's the other side of it too, where you take somebody who's got a huge history injury history and then he plays five snaps for you last year, inch of our Turner. So you know, it's, it's a risk. How much do you like him in the first round? It's tough. I just think he's polished. I think he's explosive. He gets off the ball fast, which I'm tired of the Bears drafting guys that don't have a good get off. He gets off his motor. He's has more because he's older, he has more experience. He has like, he has a deep bag of pass rush moves that show up. And so I just think that there's a lot of things here that to me, if you're drafting it 25 and here's another thing, polls has made reference to this. The Ravens and the Steelers who have consistently drafted in this area and they just let the guy with the concerns or maybe they're older or whatever it is fall to them and they take the good player. To me, this is just a good football player. You take that guy at 25. I like that particular angle that you're bringing up because what I don't like in any draft is when you're trying to be the smartest guy in the room. Let somebody else be that dude. You pick a solid dude who you like has a high floor and like, you know, you're not sure exactly if he's going to be the most I know, but I'm telling you this dude can play. I think that's a great philosophy going into any draft because trying to hit home runs very hard to do. So that part of it, like, you know, if he stays healthy, he's going to be a productive player. I mean, I get I get your excitement about that fully. So good job, Steven. Just one thing that stood out for me from Mestador was he was extremely late to the podium at the combine and that was because the medical testing goes on before that. I don't know if that's something that should be a red flag for me. Maybe that that was normal because of the medical history that teams wanted to make extra sure that every little thing was, you know, up to par. But when that when that happened, and I think it was like close to an hour late when that was going on, my first thought was, oh, this can't be good. And maybe that's not fair. Maybe that's wrong. I don't know what goes on. Yeah, it's hard to decipher. I get where you're coming from, especially it would make sense logically, though, that his physicals took longer because of his injury history. Yeah, they had more to check. But yeah, and again, that might not be a fair, you know, evaluation by me, but it is something that stood out. Yeah, those the process of how they get through all those guys, you know, there's you got to take that into account as well. And so hit the like button for a message or hit the like button for my socks. Sorry, Kevin, if it's messing with you, we got a very busy show. Dave wants that's coming up, but we are not going to postpone this anymore. Are you ready? I'm ready. The Greg Braggs big board, which has been postponed for three days now because we just wanted to build it up so much is next. First, as a proud Xfinity customer and have been for years, our family is very blessed to have Xfinity in our house. And you can too with the five year price guarantee getting reliable and intelligent Wi-Fi at your fingertips and for the same price for five years. That sounds amazing to anybody that knows what they're doing. And if you're the type of family and household that's got a million people trying to stream all at once, do not fear because with Xfinity, you're going to stream cleanly and without having any kind of lagging or anything of that nature. And here's the best part. No annual contracts, no hidden fees and Xfinity's best equipment included. So lock in your price and unlock the possibilities with Xfinity. Learn more at Xfinity.com Xfinity. Imagine that select plans only restrictions apply. Make sure you get on and shout out Xfinity and bears fans. Maybe specifically one of my left. Keep your eyes up when you're driving. Always do. Yeah, I'm famous for that. Yep. That's what you're known for. Stay alert for pedestrians. It's part of every single driver. Whether you're on the road, even car, even car, watch for pedestrians, especially car and be ready to stop. Cyclists are out there too. And in Chicago, they have no rules. They just, they don't stop. So you need to stop. You need to be aware for them. They're riding alongside traffic, sometimes in front of traffic. They're sharing the road. You got to give them space when you pass. Check your mirrors. Always look twice before turning. Let's make sure everyone reaches the end zone safely. Of course, this is a message from the Illinois Department of Transportation. I dots proudly sponsoring our draft parties. As you're walking around Weed Street, because we're on Joe's on weed. Yep. As you're driving in there, Greg, he's safe. Taking Uber. Have your eyes up. So stop for pedestrians. Share the road. It's not a game. Appreciate all our friends at the Illinois Department of Transportation. I dot on board here with us for our draft party. Looking forward to it at April 23 and 24. 10 bucks to get in. $65. All you can drink. If you're doing that, I dot extremely wants you to get that Uber on your way home. Or the L runs right by good old Joe's on Weed Street. All right. We've got some synergy here with your big board and Hogue's mock draft, which is a beautiful thing. That's another reason why we waited on this. Yep. Also because we were having amazing shows early in the week that everybody loved. But so here you go. The dance floor is yours. Well yeah, after a long, long wait, I appreciate everyone in the chat. I know how much you guys have been itching and scratching for this. I know this is going to change the complete complexion of everyone's NFL draft boards at this point. I know that I'm sure I'm going to get calls from Dane Brugler and Fran Duffy and you waited for the day of Brugler to put out the beast. And I'm not the tight like, yeah, could I break down all 400 prospects? Of course I can. But I just thought I'd keep it. Keep it simple. Stupid. I say that to myself all the time. And I just want to kind of really itemize this for you guys in the chat in a very simple fashion and how I'm looking at this. So let's pull up my big board without further ado. And I'll kind of walk you through my mindset when it comes to this. Number one on my board, we're doing best player available. And so this is how it breaks down to me. Give me Dylan Thiena, man. If he is on the board and I understand for a lot of fans, you're going to say he's not going to be on the board. And that would be a very, very fair thing to say. But until we see how this draft breaks down, you just don't know. So I have to have him on my board. The Bears want speed. This guy has it in droves. And not only that, between obviously his Purdue connections and then moving to Oregon for his final year, he's played in a lot of different variations of what they ask him to do. He can get down in the box. He can be your center fielder. He has insane closing speed. He has great ball skills. He's had some pretty remarkable interceptions. If he killed it at the combine from a testing thing, which I don't put as much stock into, but that's why he probably was hovering. I mean, I think Daniel Jeremiah's first mock draft he had, Dylan Thiena, been going to the Bears at 25. And now he's shooting up boards because clearly the guy is as talented as they come. So he may not be there at 25, but he has to be number one on my list. Number two, and the reason I'm sticking with safety is because that's kind of where I'm circling around. If we're going to stick with defense because the defense certainly has a lot of holes to fill and we're going to prioritize that ahead of left tackle, which I'll get to here in a minute. Emmanuel McNeil Warren was by far the most impressive person I talked to at the combine. There is nobody, Carm analysis. I really like it. There was nobody that was more impressive in an age of transfer portals and NIL. This guy stuck to loyalty with Toledo and bet on himself, you know, in this day and age, how scary that would be for a young man to do that. That speaks to his character first and foremost. Then you get his play on the field. And I've seen a lot of people trying to figure out what the comp is, but I've drawn it to peanut Tillman. I always thought peanut could be a safety. He ended up being an all time great corner, should be in the hall of fame. But I used to say back in the day, put him at safety. I thought he would have played been a great safety. And I think Emmanuel McNeil Warren is going to be a great safety in my comp for him, small school, big, physical, long. Those are all the intangibles that Emmanuel McNeil Warren has. Number three, as I roll through this quickly, we got a big guest here coming up. Dave Wonsted joining us here in just a few moments is Caden Proctor. You heard it from Baldy. You heard it from Phil and Shane on after dark. This guy should be left tackle one out of Alabama, you know, a dancing bear as Phil calls them. And I'm all for securing this offense for the next five years and for years to come for Ben Johnson. I think it's a no brainer. I think there's more than a few different left tackles that you have to consider or even offensive linemen in general to secure what Ben Johnson's plan is for making this the most explosive offense in football. They had the most touchdowns in franchise history last year go a long way of securing that with your left tackle. And then you figure out Ozzie Trapillo a year from now. And if he becomes a surplus, that's a good thing. And then finally, as Hogue just had in his mock draft, give me Mesador. If we're looking at defensive linemen, the thing I struggle with the most is these detackles do not scream to me as players that are worthy of that 25 pick. And so yes, at 25, a guy that is the age of 25 in a key, Mesador, you would say, well, slow down now. You took so many of my talking points right out for my mouth and I'm glad we're on the same page. That's a good thing. That's called symmetry. I'm not worried about year six, seven, eight with a key, Mesador. If the bears are trying to win a Super Bowl in the next four years, that's all I'm worried about. You draft a key, Mesador, because you're trying to win now. Now that's the caveat. If you're drafting him, he has to be ready to play right now. And the thing that impresses me the most is when you look at Fran Delfi's draft guide, I'm going to give you a little peek behind the curtain of some of the things he does. He breaks it down so extensively from what he's heard from the combine, from the measurables, from the statistics, you know, and all the different things that he's done. But what I like the most is he'll do this little segment called Word on the Street, where he'll talk to different coaches, different scouts, different people that have been a part of each individual player's life over the last five, six, seven years, depending on the player. And this is the stuff that you hear from this guy. Here's in 2000, 2021 from Victor Tadondo, from the owner of Gridiron Academy. Some guys will impress coaches through their 40 yard dash. They'll impress with their measure measurables. But this kid is different. One of the reasons he wasn't highly recruited. He didn't run a good 40. He didn't look like a physical specimen, but he has a football IQ. He understands the game of football better than anyone else. The measurables, I'm not worried about it. I loved that quote. Then you fast forward to 2025 with Cristobal, the head coach for Miami. He's becoming something special. And his high school coach said about him in 2025. I only had him for one season, but from the minute he got there, he was a pro just in terms of his work ethic, kind of a magnetic personality. And he's obviously unbelievably athletic. I remember him being able to do a standing backflip at 250 pounds. And so for me, that's where I'm at. Give me a football player, a guy that knows how to be, know what his job is on that defensive line. If he ends up being a rotational piece, so be it. He's going to be a guy that's going to bring that athleticism and tenacity and that work ethic, most importantly, and in my opinion, be a plug and play player. So that's my fourth on my list. I'm looking at safety. I'm looking at left tackle as my priorities in the first round, but if I had to go D line, I'm looking at mezzador. Mel Kuiper, we're sending that clip to you so you can go through it before you get it back out there. And you know, anybody else you want to name in the NFL draft word, Dane Bruehler. I'm sure Dave Wantsett, who's in the waiting room, enjoyed that breakdown thoroughly. Great job by you, Gregory. It's perfect timing with Wanny coming up next. We talk to the master of media, the sidelines, all things football. Dave Wantsett next, but first, It is baseball season and that means it's time to elevate your summer with our good friends over at Sunnyside. Sunnyside dispensary. Sunnyside is your home for judgment free shopping and they have a crazy selection with over a hundred different strains to choose from with easy online ordering and in store pickup to make it as convenient for you as humanly possible. 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They got the original, the icon of celebrations. They've got the trophy. That's for the legends on and off the field. That's for you, Hoag. And they've got the mini for the small but iconic moments. That's what you do every single day. You bring small but iconic moments. Small iconic moments. That's you. Take home a special edition of the Don Julio 1942 that honors the artistry of Tequila making a symbol as timeless as the beautiful game itself, inspired by the FIFA World Cup trophy. Whether at your favorite spot or stocking up at home, make it Don Julio 1942 from Stadium Street Parties. This is the bottle you're looking for. Don Julio 1942. All right. All right. As promised, you know, outside of being the head coach of the Chicago Bears and everywhere else, Miami and Pitt and basically just own the NFL. Dave wants that. Can I call you Mr. Media Coach? Because Big Ten Network, Marquis, ZHSN, the score. Take it time for us at CHGO Bears. If somebody had told you, Coach, that you would become this media maven, if you will, in the latter stages of your career, what would you have said? Well, no, I would not have thought about that. And obviously, I wouldn't have really thought that was a reality at one time, to be quite honest with you. I figured I'd coach till I couldn't do it anymore. And I just got to the point where it was kind of winding Don. I was up here at Tampa just for a guy that was like six months. Greg Shion was in his last year and he called me up and asked if I could come up and help him. And I said, yeah, you know, I'll come up and try to help you. And obviously, we never got to go in that last year. And that's when my wife said, you know, this is kind of getting crazy. Haven't we had enough 40 years of this thing, 39 years, I think, at that time? And so I actually, in Chicago, Brian Harlan, who's my agent, I called up Brian, we were talking and he said, well, why don't you get on and audition at the Big Ten? You know, Mark Halsey, the general manager down there, I've got a report with him. So I went on and did the audition thing and they liked it and they offered me a job. And then they, you know, Fox owns the Big Ten. And so they called up somehow the word got out to Fox and LA. And then Jimmy called me and said, hey, you know, the guys at Fox want to fly out there. They're kind of impressed with you. I said, really? Okay, Uncle Ott. So I went out and auditioned with them, I guess you call it. And next thing you know, I'm eight years working in LA every week doing NFL and college football. So and then the thing in Chicago kind of snowballed, you know, that I started picking up a little bit of some of the stuff on the score and some of these other things. And so it's really, I'm very fortunate. I'm very blessed to be able to do it. My health has been great. I feel good. And, you know, there's really good people that I deal with in Chicago and that's the deal with me. I mean, yeah, we all like making a little buck, but I, it keeps me busy. And if I'm with people that I want to be with, it's kind of how I am on the golf course. I'm not going to play golf with anybody that I, you know, don't want to be with for four hours and have a cigar and enjoy the day. So that's kind of how I treat the media. Yeah, a tear just went down my eye. And it'll get here. But I just want to say, coach, you, you literally put a smile on everybody's face. At least I think I can speak for everybody when people see you. So it's, we appreciate the time. Go get in there. Yeah, coach, I miss seeing you over when we, you know, we're doing shows at NBC Sports Chicago. I think the last time I was in that green room with you, I walk in and just, of course, North Turnals just sitting there next to you. And then we, and we just started talking football for like 30 minutes. So those, those were the days, but you know, coach, we're getting into draft season here. I'm curious, you know, what you think about how the Bears have handled. They, we're all talking pass rush with this team and how do they get after the quarterback more? I'm curious your thoughts on how they handled it or didn't handle it in free agency. And if there are any guys as you, as you look at the draft that you feel like our answers here for the Chicago Bears to get after the quarterback more. Well, one, I would say that I thought the Max Crosby stuff was a little bit too expensive. I really did. I wasn't a fan of that. I was a fan of Trey Henderson, Hendrickson, okay, from Cincinnati. I mean, I thought that he might just be perfect for a year or two if they could make that thing work out being that he was going to be a free agent. But, you know, the thing that I think is a little bit different with the scheme of the Bears, you know, different than what Matt Eberfluth ran, really kind of different than Vic Fangio. If you look close at Vic last year or two years ago, I guess it would be now when they won the Super Bowl at Philadelphia. If you remember, the guy had what eight stacks and he didn't blitz one time the entire game, four man rush. So, you know, that's a four man rush philosophy. Matt Eberfluth was four man rush where Dennis Allen will like four men, but he likes more pressure. We know that. Okay. And when you're bringing guys, when you're just rushing for, you have to have dominant defensive linemen that can get home by themselves and they can win the one on ones and the two on ones and the three on ones to make the defense go. When you are not a dominant rush for team and you're going to bring safeties and you're going to bring linebackers and you're going to bring nickel backs. Now, all of a sudden you can get by with an undersized guy, a fast guy, somebody that can be a playmaker. And so I think that's kind of the where the Bears are at right now. And I'll tell you what, my biggest thing, and I said this from the first week of training camp when no one knew who he was. I was standing next to Ryan Poles. He was a rookie and his kid, I'm going to tell you his name. And he did a pass rush move and I said, see that? And I said, Ryan, that's the kind of stuff you don't coach. And when we were going back to our University of Miami days before the Dallas Cowboys and on and on, all we used to talk about was Jimmy Johnson, one of his great lines was, let's get players that do things that we don't have to coach. And we all laughed about it. But the reality is Austin Booker was that guy. And he came up and the tackle stuck him and he did a spin move and went up underneath him. Coaches in clinics, they'll say they work on that stuff and they probably do. But that I put that in the clinic talk. Okay, that's that sounds good on a blackboard or on a whiteboard. But it's the reality is guys that do things. And every time you put him in a game, he makes things happen. You keep saying he's undersized. Okay, so he's undersized a little bit, but the guy makes plays. So I got, I got some faith in that kid. And I think they got a couple other young guys, you know, hopefully they'll draft somebody. But I don't know. I don't know if it's as dire straight as what people think it is, at least in my mind, at least in my mind, I think that they took a defensive tackle that was a dominant defensive tackle that was a playmaker. And I keep coming back to the playmakers. You know, when I, when I recruited and I had Russell Maryland, Chicago kid, we had him at Miami. When I was with the Bears, Chris storage was following that category. When I was at Pitt, I recruited Aaron Donald, coached Aaron Donald at Pitt, six foot playmaker. Obviously Aaron Donald, maybe the greatest ever play. But at that point, he was a playmaker. It wasn't 6465. So I kind of like that. And those defensive tackles movement guys, guys, he can get off blocks. So, you know, if we got a great defensive tackle that was a playmaker, I think it could make just as much impact and help those edge guys is, is anything. So that's, that's kind of how I look at that position. You're the perfect person to ask this question to them because, you know, a lot gets talked about with Dennis Allen's preference for these bigger, longer defensive ends. The downside of that is a lot of times they don't, they can't bend the same way. They can't get around the edge the same way. They're not maybe quite as explosive. They're stronger. They, they, you know, they got length to go up against those tackles, which is a good thing. How much do you care about that? Because in this year's draft, I'm seeing a bunch of guys that might be undersized by Dennis Allen standards, but man, they get off the ball and they can, they can get to the quarterback quickly. Yeah, I, it does. I mean, you know, speed kills and so, you know, I was, that's just a philosophy. Now this is, this is just what, what I've kind of come up with everywhere I've been. Defensive tackles, whether it was Miami, I said the hurricanes. I mean, we drafted Jimmy Flanagan. I think he was six one for the Bears. Remember how to know their name? Yeah. Jimmy Flanagan played a long time, had a great career. I mean, Jimmy was a playmaker type of guy. So I just always lean toward the playmakers as compared to the bigger, oversized guy. It's just a philosophy thing. So I get what Dennis Allen did, Bill Porcells for years back in the day. All he wanted was the giant defensive tackles, you know, and, and so different coaches, different philosophies. There's a lot of different ways to do it. Obviously, you know, being closer here in the Midwest to the Big Ten stuff, I don't know if you have any thoughts on, you know, the defense of Lyman out of Illinois gave Jackus, I have seen his pronunciation kind of change here, you know, in the beast. It's, I guess it's Jackus now, but he's certainly grabbing a lot of attention, 64-260. Is that somebody that, you know, maybe wasn't initially a guy that was in the first round, but might creep up there? He could. He could. I think the consensus, and I've been, I've been getting ready. I'll be coming up to Chicago doing a bunch of draft shows, by the way, on the score in Big Ten, and obviously NBC. And the names that are consistent with people that I'm talking to, you know, it's everybody's got this Peter Woodson Clemson is the number one guy. These guys are probably be gone. Then they got the Banks kid at Florida, Lee Hunter at Texas Tech. Everybody likes, they're kid in the Big Ten that everyone talks about is McDonald's from Ohio State, K-Tron McDonald, the defensive tackle. So when you're talking defensive tackles, guys like the Miller kid out of Georgia Tech, but they're kind of the five names, not that somebody else couldn't slip in there. Everybody has a little preference, but these are the names and talking to a lot of people that keep surfacing up over and over again as far as first round type of possibilities, first round type possibilities. So could your guy at Illinois be there? Sure. You know, I haven't studied him. I'm going to have to get on him a little, so all those Big Ten guys, I'll start zeroing them before I come up there. But, but, but I did McDonald, obviously, you know, Ohio States playing, you know, in the playoff games. And so you get a chance to see those guys a little bit more. So I'm a little bit more familiar with him. What's your when, when you're talking about defensive tackle play, when you talk about a guy that is more of a run stuffer versus a guy that gets to the quarterback, where, where are you starting with trying to build your interior defensive line when you were coaching? Well, you know, we were, as I, as I said, just a second ago, you know, I was always one that I wanted guys that weren't just going to take up blocks. Nothing would frustrate me more than a guy got a guard comes off and he gets blocked and he, he's battling to get off the block. You know, I always wanted guys I used to use the term, I want you playing on the edge. I want you playing on the edge. And if they're going to block you, we're going to make them double team you. We're going to make two guys block you. And if one guy thinks he's going to block it and you've got leverage on them, you're going to be in the backfield and you're going to make a play. So I was, you know, the philosophy was always be aggressive, try to make plays aggressive, try to make plays. And I remember when, when we drafted Dexter, okay. And I remember being up to practice and talking with Eber Fluss and the defensive coaches. And if you remember, he was having a very difficult time because he came from that, you know, Florida scheme of taking on blocks and, and squeezing the blocks and big body type of guy and flutes. And then we're trying to get them to play on the edge and get penetration and make more plays. And the guy has done that. I mean, he has gotten better in the last couple of years. He's getting some sacks. You see him making some tackles for losses. So he's, he's gotten better. He's gotten better. So, you know, I thought that probably doesn't really define your answer, but I would always look for guys that if they were one on one, they were going to win. They were going to get a sack. They were going to make a tackle in the backfield. He wasn't going to get hung up on a one on one block. They were the guys that I looked for. And I'll tell you what, when we drafted somebody and I won't bring up his name because I ended up coaching him. But the first thing that we would do, and I was going to go work this kid out because he was getting a lot of play. I was the assistant head coach at the Cowboys at the time. And I said, you know, I think I need to fly up to this school and see this kid. And Jimmy says, okay, if you think, you know, I said, he might be a guy we want. And Jimmy said, how, how, how were his numbers? How did he play? And I said, you know what, let's, let's take a look. So we would keep in the draft room, a big board, and we could flash up on that board. We could put up his tape if we wanted. Jimmy didn't want to waste time with tape at that point. So that we could flash up their statistics and just see how many plays did this guy make. And I remember us both looking and we looked at each other and Jimmy said, we got a guy that makes that many plays and tackles in one, in one season, not his whole career at Miami. We just come from Miami. And so I never went and visited the guy because he didn't make enough plays. Okay. So that's my point. And same thing with linebackers. The Zach Thomas undersized linebackers. Can the guy make a play? You know, I mean, that's the purpose. You defensive guys got to make tackles. You got to win, get off the block, react quick and make a tackle. It's defensive football is not that difficult. Dave, we, yeah, Dave, we really appreciate the time. We just keep it for like two more minutes here and once you get it now. But I'm just curious from your experience, you know, you all the way back to when you're, you know, head coach of the Bears working with Rod Graves. What do you, how should this go in a draft room with Ben and Ryan? Like who, how do you think those conversations, when they're deciding on who they want, what, what they're going to do? Well, most teams will set up a draft board by just best player to worst. So what is their 500 some players in a draft, whatever it is. So they'll have a board and it'll start with the best player in the draft. Throw out a name. Who's the number one player in this year's draft? Game end those are made because he's a quarterback. He might not be the best player though. You know, it might be one of those kids at Ohio State. It might be Caleb Downs or something. I don't know. But just, they would rank him from best player regardless of position all the way through. And then we had another board and we had, we would rank him by position, you know, a quarterbacks top quarterback to, you know, the worst, not worst, but the bottom top, the bottom. Okay. And we did that with every position. And then as we're going through the draft, now we got them all graded and the coach in the, you know, Scott's have seen them for a couple years and you get the coaches involved with watching some of the key guys. And in that, and now here comes the decision. You know, we're sitting there with the Bears drafting 25th, right? Is that right? Bears are sitting there at 25. And let's say that, I don't know, you know, what's a not major, major need. Let's just say that an offensive guard is sitting there. Okay. And he's the best player on the board right now. But he might not be the biggest need on the board right now. So you take a lesser player and these are the discussions that you work out leading up to the draft with the general manager and the head coach. And you start work and we used to call, you know, everyone calls it massage in the board. And you start moving players over, what about if this happens? What about if he's gone? If these are our four guys, who do we like? And I've never been in a draft room, all the ones I've been in, where there's been a, an argument or a big dispute on draft day, you know, particularly with the early guys, when you get down to the bottom guys, sometimes there's, there's difference of opinion. But the early first couple rounds, these guys are good. They haven't worked out. They've all seen the same tape. And I'll tell you what, if I remember talking to Ron Wolf when he was the GM up at Green Bay one time, we were sitting at the combine and, and Ron said to me, you know, you think I would draft the guy at the first two picks at Mike Holmstrom and his coaches were excited about he says, because if they're not excited about them, they're not going to put the effort in, they're not going to develop them. And then he's not going to help us and we're going to lose games and we're all going to get fired. So, you know, Ben and I think Ryan, they're on the same philosophy of what the needs are and the type of players. Now who's the best players? And, you know, then, then you just pull the plug. So, I mean, that's, that's the way that I've always done it. And I'm sure that Ryan and do the same way. And, and they, and fortunately they've been through it once before and the coach has been through. So this should be a lot smoother draft than what has been in the past, just because they've been there. And, you know, we're talking past rushers and D linemen. I mean, I think we could use another offensive linemen. I mean, we were so fortunate last year guys, we got nobody hurt virtually, nobody. And we, we are between the center and two guards and tackle. I mean, you know, I miss a game or two. I'm talking about a serious injury. And right now our left tackle, you know, Ozzy, maybe beginning of the year, who knows. And, you know, we're solid. Yes, we're solid. But boy, I mean, if we took a great offensive linemen I love this kid out of Utah. Fanna, is that his name? He's a guard and tackle. I think I'm pronouncing his name correctly. I hope I am. Yeah, you're thinking of Spencer Fanno. Yes, he's a guard and tackle. And I've watched them some and he, he's one of those guys that's going to line up and play for you. And he could play a couple of different positions, you know, as I guess is the point that I'm saying if, if something happened. But, and, and, you know, let me just, if we got a minute here, let me just hit on this. The left tackle position, okay, back in the day was always, oh my God, gotta have a left tackle, gotta have a left tackle, gotta protect the backside of the quarterback. That's when we were running the ball and doing play action pass, which was the NFL, how everybody did it. And then about seven, eight years ago, the NFL started picking up the college, uh, spread stuff and getting the ball out quick. So for about five, six years, the left tackle position was not really any different in my opinion. This is me, then the right tackle or the guards, because the ball was coming out so quick. Everybody was going from the shotgun. Nobody even running the ball. The guy's off set. I mean, it's ridiculous. You know, no, you're not going to run the ball effectively that way, in my opinion. So it wasn't as big a deal. Now all of a sudden in Ben's offense, which I love, oh God, I went to first practice last year and I was on Ben called up and because I said, I don't want to come up and see you in shorts. You tell me when you're going to hit somebody, I'll be there. So he says, coach, this is going to be a great practice. So I went up and I'm standing there in the first play. Caleb goes under center. They get in the eye formation and they hand the ball off. I could have went home. I saw enough. That's all I needed to see. I was happy. I was, I was on my way. But the point is now we're doing so much more play action, right? Think about it. We're, we're lining up whether it's eye or one back, but he's dotted and it's play action and it's the roll passes with Caleb left tackle in that style of offense is a lot more valuable. We, you know, he can't let Caleb be getting whipped and getting hit from the blind side where the guy's not coming. Yes, he's athletic and he feels it, but still you get what I'm saying. So I think you can't slight this tackle position because of the philosophy. I don't know if I'm, if I'm matching the two left tackle and offensive philosophies of them making sense. Yeah, but my point is that in the bearers offense and this is for Detroit, the teams that run the eye and do play action passes a left tackle position when your quarterbacks right handed is important. Yeah, you're on the same page with us. We've already got side bets, tracking, carbs, taking the defense, me and one of our chat guys, Gary, we're taking offense. We think left tackle is going to be the pig. I did not enjoy that at all, Dave. You just made a great point. I feel my bed feels, my bed feels a little more flimsy right now, but now you're more than hedging. Dave, you're the best. Appreciate the time. We, we, what do you got the rest of the day out there? You hitting the golf course. What do you got? No, I'm done with the golf today. I went up and worked out a little bit and you know, not much today. I played yesterday. I'm going to play tomorrow in a cigar tournament here in Naples, but tournament. Wow. Well, well, if you know, guys put some money in and we play then afterwards have a dinner and have a little bourbon and cigars. I mean, it's no, it's, it's guys, 40 guys play. It's just kind of a fun, friendly thing. You know, love it. No, so, so that's all good. And then like I say, I'll be up there in a couple weeks for the draft. So maybe we'll cross past at some point, somewhere at that point, you know, I'll, I'll hit the links with you and share a cigar. That sounds like fun. Dave, he's coming down in Naples tomorrow and act like he's a part of the group. Just just that's, that's what we're dealing with over. We hope to see you when you're up here, David. We always appreciate the time. So thanks so much. Okay guys, any time. Good talking to you. Bye bye. Appreciate it. Love him. Juan is my idol. Guys, the greatest. Just talk to football, drink bourbon, play golf and smoke a cigar. That is the dream. Tells the greatest stories. Yes. You could talk to him for an hour. Hopefully we'll get to do it again. I do have a big takeaway from that interview. Yeah, go ahead. The big takeaway. The not just any big takeaway, of course, presented by our friends at Xfinity. Imagine that my big takeaway though, and I'm sure we're getting repetitive here, but it's what he said there at the end. Because if there's, but the way he said it was way better than the way we've put it, because he's totally right about the, one of the best parts about the NFL is the ebbs and flows over like a six, seven, eight year span. But I do agree because we were having those conversations like five years ago. Almost, you know, maybe the right tackle matters more than the left tackle. I think that's part of the reason why Darnell Wright, that was three years ago now, right? Got drafted and they were totally fine taking him as a right tackle instead of a left tackle. Well now they have a different coach. They have a different offense. They're doing a lot more play action. The quarterback looks good doing it. There's nobody in that building that knows all of this better than the head coach in Ben Johnson. Right. There's nobody that is probably more worried about the left tackle situation, the left tackle competition right now, then the head coach in Ben Johnson. So if he's looking at tape and he's watching these guys and who might be available in the first round and he sees his answer, the hell with the competition, let's just draft this guy right now on April 23rd and get it over with. Yeah. And I don't think anybody would push back on that. We feel like this is going to be our left tackle for the next whatever. If we, you know, get him going the way we think he can be, why would you, I mean, who would have a problem with that? And regardless of any of that, I think also when you look at it, and I get it was year one of the offense. So like there's that important context. But those first four games, them trying to figure out who their left tackle is. I mean, you draw a direct line when things turn the corner was once they finally solidified that, and then they had that continuity the rest of the year again granted. So you're one of an offense. So there's a lot of things they had to work out. But that left tackle, that that was a point of contention from day one of camp all the way until week four. And then once they hit the bye week and made their decision on the configuration of what their offensive line wanted to be, they were off and running. We're also as I get further and further into my own draft study, studying like there's questions about the defensive tackles that are available there. I just went through the edge rushers and how I'm not sure the right fit is going to be there. And maybe the diamond in rough in the rough is really in the second or third round. So to me, that makes it even easier to take a tackle on the first. Now you're neglecting safety, but safety is also not a premium position. So would not shock me to see them address that later on. You can find a starting safety in the third and fourth round. Even if you don't forget, they spent a lot of money on Kobe Bryant, too. So to spend a lot of money in free agency, he was the highest paid free agent they signed this year, right? And then they're going to turn around and use the highest draft capital. So two safety spots, not a premium position. Like that doesn't really add up to me either. So it lets them take the best player available. So anyway, that was the big takeaway presented by Xfinity. Imagine that and it is time to head to overtime. Absolutely. Become a diehard and whatnot. Become a diehard. Head to allchio.com slash dire and use the QR code on your screen. Use the code johns J H N S. You get access to our discord channel, which means that you will have access to our Q and A that we are doing here in 30 minutes on this, you know, on our discord. That's at that is for diehards only as we've officially reached overtime on the C H O bears podcast. All right, we have more friends actually going to join us here shortly. Do you want me to share some stats with you? Or what do you know, let's get caught up here real quick. Right, Stephen? Well, let's get the friend a second here. We also have a break. We have to get to that. That's what I'm saying. Let's let's let's let's get the fran in a second. We'll set you up. What's going on at the bottom of the hour. Ho's got a couple extra notes before we do that. But first a shout out to our friends at Ray Chrysler dies Jeep and run new vehicles are in store home. Could be time for the old upgrade here. I actually I'm having lunch with Ray on Friday and I my lease is up on my Cherokee, which I love, but I'm we're going to be talking some Wranglers. Well, there you go. There's great deals. By the way, at the declaration of deal sales event head to Ray C D J R. It's on route 12 today up at Fox Lake and you could choose from their huge inventory of new Chrysler Dodge Jeep and Ram models right now. Gregory. Yes, sir. 0% financing for 60 months on new vehicles. How long is that? That is six years. That would be five. Almost had it. He was right there. He's only off by one team. I think he was seriously to the friendly team of brand experts. The team at Ray C D J R is here to help you during each step of your car shopping journey, which I went through beautifully at one of their other locations. Go check out our partner today shop out one of Chicago's areas largest inventory is the right vehicle is there for you're going to drive home happy for more information. Visit Ray C D J R today on route 12 and Fox Lake or Ray C D J R.com. They've been serving the community since 1963 bang bang. Hey, and if you are a regular viewer, a listener of this show, we need your help or like any C H. Show. We want to hear from you. Take a short survey and let us know what you love and how much you don't like car. If you do that, you'll have a chance to win a 100% amazon gift card. We created this for you, Pizzatola. This is your moment. It all says no. We're trying to build a case. This is your chance all C H O dot com slash survey today to get signed up. And if you're watching us, you can scan the QR code right there on your screen. Everyone who completes the survey will be entered to win a $100 gift card. So you know, don't you wish your favorite front office was open this type of feedback? If the rise sort did this is be great. Take the survey today. Scan the QR code on the screen. Head to all C H O dot com slash survey. That's all C H O dot com slash survey. Well, all right, we got a special, special something for the people that have supported us today. Fran Duffy joining us right now. But more importantly, he's going to be joining the discord today to talk draft 230. Was this your idea? Oh, right, Greg, because this was above my pay grant. I'm honest. This is good stuff. This is an all city thing. Obviously, we're doing things across all five cities and Fran's been killing it here, you know, since even before college football season started. And so, you know what, we're 15 days away from the draft and die hard. You know, obviously are extremely loyal to everything we do. So we're trying to give back here as we get closer. So yes, 230 p.m. Central, a discord Q and a where you can ask your questions directly to Fran. It's going to be a lot of fun. Fran, what do you what? Yeah, what can you add? Yeah, it's been a lot of fun jumping in in all the different markets and just kind of, you know, jumping in with the die hard and asking, you know, it's been cool because it's, you know, obviously, look, I jump in the C H G O discord from time to time and you know, and jump in it, you know, whether it's with Gary Ross or you know, anybody that's over in that day in the in the community there and you know, you got questions about Indiana players and Illinois players and Notre Dame guys and like, you know, whatever it is, like, and who the bears are going to draft with or looking at. So if you've got questions about a prospect, you're a diehard, you jump into the discord and we'll, we'll chat it up for about an hour. How many hours would you say if you could rough estimate the amount of hours you have put into your draft research since the start of the college football season? He didn't start then he started probably before the season started. It started it started in May of last year with this class. I mean, look, I with pretty much every report that I write, it's, you know, I usually try and watch two or three games of a guy and it usually takes that's not, you know, at least 90 minutes, a couple hours, then you write the report on top of it. So, you know, multiply that by hundreds of players. Some of those got a lot of those guys multiple exposures. We're talking all star games and combine and like, it's a lot of time. And so honestly, that's why it could be, you know, 20, 2030 and someone will ask me a question about, you know, Chris Johnson, the corner from San Diego state and I'll be like, Oh yeah, like I remember this and it's, you know, those things get stuck in my brain. Do you ever completely forget where guys went to school? Because I have that problem. It doesn't matter how many times like, I'm not saying everybody, but there'll be just for some reason I have this thing where once they get in the league, like a season passes and I'm like, wait a minute, where did that guy go to school again? Even though I should know that, because I spent so much time watching their film. See, no, those things stick in my brain. So I can, you can like, roll me a random player on the bears and I can tell you like where he went to school, but it would be the, you know, when my wife says like, Hey, make sure you grab this at the store, that stuff goes in one and out the other. And so that's those are the things that, you know, fly over my head. Yeah, this is a weird question. Probably not surprising coming from me right now, but did you grow up as a, as a draft guy? And this was always your dream to be like a Mel Kuiper, whoever your hero was back then, or did you sort of me and like, Oh, this is an angle with people really care about it. And I care about it too. So I'm going to, I'm going to pick this lane. You know, it was, and it's funny because I've had this conversation with Dane, with Dane Brugler, the athletic and he and I are the same age. And we both fell in love with the draft literally the same year. It was the 1999 NFL draft and the Browns were an expansion team that year. They had Tim, they had the number one pick. They took Tim couch. The Eagles had the number two pick that year. And it was a big debate between, you know, Donovan McNabb and Achilles Smith. And, but the big one was Donovan McNabb versus Ricky Williams. And I remember all the, the consternation around that selection and the debate in the city and the Eagles were not a good team when I was growing, you know, I was a little kid. But that was, you know, they had just hired Andy Reed and obviously all this excitement around that pick. And from that point on, I was like, Oh, like, I'm going to start like kind of following the draft and college football is not big in the Northeast. So, you know, started to kind of pay attention there. And from that point on, I would say like early 2000, like 2001, 2002, started to pay more attention and you started having takes. I'm like, I can't believe they took LJ Smith, the tight end from Rutgers over this guy, Jason Witton, the tight end from Tennessee in the third round, he ends up going to the Cowboys and becomes a Hall of Famer, you know, our Hall of Fame Calibre player. And so to me, like I started to fall in love with like the team building aspect of things. And from there, it just kind of went off. And I started writing as soon as I got into college, you know, covering the draft was writing pieces for like Yahoo and pro football weekly. I think that actually this is funny. The first scouting report that I ever wrote that ever got published was on a quarterback from Purdue, Kyle Orton. That was the first that was the first scouting report I ever wrote that got published. So Kyle Orton was the first one. So that was what that was the that would have been the 2005 draft, right? Yeah. So that was ball security issues fumbles too much against Wisconsin. Scotty Stark's taking it the other way ruining the Heisman moment. Well, I would have led with when you watch the Kyle Orton tape, I can almost guarantee one of the games you watched was him torching Notre Dame. I think you draw. I think you put 55 on him at Notre Dame. I can't remember the wide receiver. There was one slot where there was a few good ones back in the day, but I can remember Kyle Orton hitting his guys in stride. Did you like him for real or no? Yeah, like I, you know, I thought he was like a sleeper guy sleeper to watch. I thought he had the ability to stick in the league and he did stick for a bit. You know, it's it's it's funny though, just the you know, because back then like, you know, I wasn't watching like tape tape, it was like, oh, you know, watching TV and I'll write notes on guys. And it was a couple years later, and I was still in college, got a job working for temples football teams, Temple University's football team. And that's where I first started watching tape. And I was like, Oh, my day to day, I had access to our coaching staff. And that coaching staff 2006, you know, Al Golden was the head coach. But Ryan Day was the receivers coach now at Ohio State Matt rules that was the defensive line coach. He's now, you know, obviously at Nebraska, it was in the NFL, it was a bunch of great coaches on that staff that have gone on to the NFL and be a big time college football. So, you know, was was really lucky, like right place, right time, and was able to learn a lot. But today's discord for the record at 230, which you should you can join if you're a Dio is 29 years, 27 years in the making. Excuse me. One time I was at a concert at the tweeter center, walking around with a massive blunt. And I can't remember the thing who was playing, but I'm walking around going to get a drink and there was Kyle Lorton. He had just been drafted by the Bears. You were 10. How old? It was like 20, 20 something 20. I don't know. I don't know how it was, but I ran up on him. Did you offer him a I didn't know. No, no puff. He's got he's got, you know, he's got to worry about winning games. Your first blunt was that it? What? What? How old was I? Yeah. No, I was a late bloomer. I was like a sophomore in high school. Oh, late bloomer. Oh, shit. Kids in my area, we were getting started in seventh grade. I waited. I was still working on my basketball career at that point. Anybody else would have said that story is I was at the tweeter center and I bumped into Kyle Lorton, but you got that call with the tweeter center, which of course Fran is no. Yeah. We had a tweeter center when I was there around the same age. So it's gotten renamed like 18 times since then, but that was the tweeter center growing up. All right. So obviously Donovan McNabb went to Syracuse, but where did he go to high school? I know he's from Chicago. Come on. I forget the high school. Yeah, I forget the high. Come on. Mr. Research. Mount Carmel Mount Carmel. Okay. I was nice was on the same team. I think. Yeah, they were loaded Illinois. So still loaded. Jordan Lynch is their head coach now for him to 30. You can become a diehard right now if you want to get in here. And right after Fran's done talking draft, Braggs will tell all his blunt stories at the tweeter center and everywhere. I rolled the best blunts. I did. I still I still can prove it. First one. I will report. I will. I will prove it. What was your wacky tobacco to tobacco ratio? What does that mean? What are you saying to me right now? Isn't a blunt a combination of both? I'm so sorry. Lord. All right. So 230 on the discord. It isn't. Yes. 230 B. M. Central diehard Q and A with Fran Duffy. We're gonna be talking football. Not blunt. All right. And we're looking forward to it. So code right there on your screen. And you can scan if you're not a diehard and you can get in that fast and be part of the discord all C H. G. O. Dot com slash diehard. Use the code johns for 36 bucks for the whole year. So looking forward to it. Fran, I know you're excited. I know we're your favorites of all the cities. We'll see you guys in a bit. It's gonna be it'll be a fun hour for sure. All right. So you gotta learn my my my my my my my blunts and my other things. Take you over to sunny side and get you a little education. Oh, we gotta go. You want to scream up the newspaper before we go? Anyone do that? No, that's a that's a that's a tomorrow. I had a newspaper thing. Well, I need more time. Okay. It's a deeper discussion. Braggs. Do you have any last three second thought because we have Fran Duffy? Oh, Steven's produced in Blackhawks and and and in 18 minutes we'll be in the discord hanging out with Fran. So we'll see you there. Diehards come on in a quick couple supers here. Five bucks from K pack nine. Garrett Bowles was 25 by the time he started his first season in the NFL. Age doesn't matter if you have the traits and production. We agree. No pushback there and brand Brandon, Brandon Sorg. Brandon Sorg. There you go. Right. Hey guys, I've been a fan for me four years now, but a cheap ass and not a diehard yet. Sorry. Just want to say I love you guys. You're a very essential part of my days. Bear down always. Brandon, you're the man. Thank you, Brandon. I was just going to say to Wani's point about play action. Here's some stats to back up Wani comes Braggs William. About Caleb Williams took snaps under center 46% of their plays in 2025. A jump from 28% the year before. So obviously things got better. One of the tops in the league in yards passing yards from under center. And then with play action on approximately 32% of drop backs per PFF shut up PFF rest in peace, maybe PFF a little bit. And they were ranked among the highest in the league in play action attempts. So I mean, like to that, to that point, I mean, like it was just a really good point from Wani there. I'm going to go home and smoke a spliff and think about those stats. The spliff or a spleef is a great segment. Spleef X's and hoax. That was a good segment. I was telling you guys that all season. That had a great song intro. Remember that? Then we should bring that back. We should. All right, we got to go. I had fun today. Do you have fun? If yesterday you were like at a one out of 10. Are you at least at a three out of 10 today? Yesterday. Yeah, you were like, what was wrong with yesterday? You were you were remote. You missed us. No, it was the opposite. I was very happy. I was remote. I did not miss you. So yesterday it was a 10. What's today? It's like a two and shout out Gary seven and a half. You're a hundred percent right on Taylor stubblefield. Good call out Gary. Where'd he go? Gary, I'm in great mood this week. How's your mood over there? Greg, you got some things that have happened that have been good. I've had some amazing things happen. By the way, talking about sex. No, easy. I am wearing my fab lettix today, and I was going to do the 20 minutes on this, but we had a busy show, so I don't have time. But tonight is the big match with the Drake passage. Last time he beat me 616 0. And on the final point of the match, he screamed yes. As he spiked the ball down my calm, pathetic performance throat. So I've already worked out today once. I did jump in Jeff with Braggs. I'm going to be going. I'm going to get mentally focused at tonight. We're going to battle. That's not a workout. No, no, I did. I worked out for the show. So I'm like, I did hard workout. It's doing crazy. All three of us did, I guess. And were we all working out during that meeting? I was. I was. I was at the gym. So, yeah, all four. Did you slam down 14 put 14 pound balls onto the ground, pick them up and rip them off the walls. I bet you didn't. That's right. No show tomorrow. 1pm. Big show tomorrow. Something's going to happen. Florida bear 6161. I'm coming for you too. Thank you. Calm, sweet, Bippy. 15 minutes away from friend Duffy live Q&A on the discord. If you're a diehard, you get access to that. Can ask all the questions you want to friend. We're going to be in there excited for it. All CHGO.com slash diehard. If you haven't signed up yet, use that code, johnsjhns. I'll get you. I'll get you footage saying, man. I don't know about tonight, but one of these days, Jacqueline will come out and film me. And she loves me. Talk to you guys tomorrow. Thank you.