Bears-Falcons preview with former OL Mike Kenn | Bears, etc. Podcast

0:00 Caleb throws, middle of the field, lovely catch, lovely 20, lovely 10, lovely 10.

0:06 Touchdown Bears!

0:08 Mighty Monungai, another touchdown run!

0:11 What was it like playing for Coach Dicka?

0:13 I don't want to answer any questions like that.

0:16 Cairo Santos is up, it's good! Bears win it! No way!

0:20 And take it out, and take it out, and take it out!

0:25 Now, Bears Etc. brought to you by Chevy Drives Chicago, the official truck partner of your Chicago Bears. Onward and upward should be the battle cry as the Bears head to Atlanta to meet the Falcons Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. We discuss in episode 254 of the Bears Etc. podcast with Super Bowl-winning Bears guard Tom Thayer. I'm Jeff Joniak.

0:44 Bears Etc. is brought to you by Chevy Drives Chicago, Chicagoland, and Northwest Indiana Chevy dealers. Coming up with the program, we visit with former Atlanta Falcons legend Mike Kenn. The big offensive lineman, 17 years in the league, from Evanston. Grew up a Bears fan. Many, many games at Old Wrigley Field watching the Bears and a good friend of Tom Thayer. And we're also going to hear from head coach Ben Johnson and former Atlanta Falcon defensive tackle Grady Jarrett. Tom, let's hit the news first. Montez Sweat, two-game suspension for PED use. Big blow, obviously. And along with news from Ben Johnson, the Dio Adengbo, Going to miss some time here with a quad injury. So two key players in

1:28 that defensive front. Opportunity knocks now for guys like Shamar Turner, and who knows who else will come off the practice squad or play that hasn't played on this team so far. I think at Jared Loving, the undrafted rookie free agent may find himself on the field.

1:43 What about Croma?

1:44 Yeah, that's been inactive, and he's shown that he's got some outside stretchability.

1:49 So we'll see what happens.

1:50 Listen, football is a business that you get unfortunate news almost weekly. And then there's got to be that guy that's waiting in the wings for his opportunity. He's got to relish the fact that he's going to get a chance to play in an NFL game. And then when you have a chance to either be on a defensive line where you're brought in and out of the game, you don't play every snap, you're part of a rotation, then.

2:16 You got to go out and you got to give your best.

2:18 You have a chance to impress the coaches that let them see that you belong. And we'll see how it goes. Unfortunate, Dio Dangbo was playing a really solid brand of football. He was versatile inside, outside. But like you said, there's going to be someone there that's Going to put a jersey on this weekend that may be doing it for the first time.

2:38 And in addition, TJ Edwards, his hamstring is considered week to week. Tyreek Stevenson, day to day with his hamstring. So we'll see. Caleb Williams, they did not practice on Wednesday. This was in the plan for weeks because of what the schedule is going to be like coming up. So if he would have had a full practice, he would have been considered a full participant. We'll hear from Ben here in a moment on the particulars of that. As they go through their walkthrough on Wednesday, the first real practice will be on Thursday when this podcast drops. So a lot of unknowns right now.

3:12 Yeah.

3:12 A lot of unknowns, which is the NFL week. You know, it's funny. When Ben was talking the other day, I asked, you know, he mentioned you're always fixing something as a head coach. Always.

3:23 Always.

3:23 And this is the case. This is the case.

3:26 You know, whether you're general manager or you're head coach, you're looking for guys out there that maybe can come in and help your roster as a head coach. You're thinking of the best laid plan that can help your offense or defense. And I'm glad that Ben has made mention that he's not deviating from this plan that he's been installing now for a couple of years, because that's the way you have to go about business. It's up to the players making sure that they're aboard, not that the coach is going to make any changes.

3:55 Get your operations across the goal line with Granger count on nearly 1.5 million products from the brands you trust and distribution network that delivers in the clutch call, click Granger.com or stop by Granger for the ones who get it done. Let's, let's listen in to Ben Johnson as he sets the tone for the week at his Wednesday newser.

4:13 Atlanta, really good football team, uh, really in all three phases. And, uh, of course going down to their place is going to be a huge challenge in and of itself. Um, Sure, you guys all heard about Montez and his suspension. Obviously, we're disappointed whenever we lose a player of his caliber for multiple games, but really not a whole lot for me to add on to that.

4:36 So I'll go ahead and open it.

4:37 Up from there.

4:38 Is he planning to appeal that suspension?

4:39 Do you know?

4:40 Not that I'm aware of.

4:41 And what kind of communication have you had with Tez since yesterday?

4:46 Since yesterday?

4:46 No.

4:48 What's your level of frustration whenever you lose a player of his caliber?

4:53 We want all of our guys available and playing in ball games to help us win. So, you know, that's really what it is. And next man up and we keep it moving.

5:03 Where do you see those snaps being distributed, obviously, with the guys that have been with you and obviously Shamar coming off too?

5:09 Yeah, Shamar is certainly playing to the equation, we hope. Now that he's on the 53, you've got a guy like Booker who's certainly on the up right now in terms of snap count and production.

5:21 So that's good to see.

5:24 You know, the shame of it is a guy like Dio going down in the game and unknown quite yet how long he could potentially be out. We don't feel like it's serious enough to warrant IR, and yet it is likely he'll miss some time here. So, you know, the good thing is we have really planned for this. You know, we've got some guys on the active roster that haven't even been active yet, some defensive linemen that we feel strongly about.

5:50 Ben, what's your message to this defense as a whole, as banged up as they are right now, coming off a tough game.

5:55 In Green Bay?

5:57 Yeah, I mean, we're going to get right back on the horse and we're going to keep working. We've got to have a great week of preparation. We've got talented players at all three levels, and I know we're a little bit dinged up. The reinforcements will come when it's time, but we've got a lot of talent still. And so the expectation is that we play better brand of football than we've done. We've got a big challenge coming up in terms of the running game. This is an elite running game in the NFL led by a guy that might be leading the charge for MVP right now. And so that's first and foremost. And then, of course, we've got to clean up some of the issues that we put on tape last week with the explosive plays. And so,

6:39 you know, it's not going to be a talent level issue or anything like that. We've got plenty of guys and, uh, and now we just got to play together as one unit and all 11 on the same page.

6:48 And, and we'll take it from there.

6:51 As you've weighed the last three games, even when, even in the winds, what do you think the offense has been missing without Caleb being a part of it?

6:58 Well, I, yeah, I mean, I think each, each week's been a little bit different in terms of where our struggles have occurred. Um, you know, we, we talked at length there for a few weeks about our red zone issues and, uh, We really made that a point of emphasis, felt like that was a little bit better last week, and yet we were still one for two. A lot of work to be done there. I think as a whole, it's just consistency. Our play style needs to show up on a regular basis.

7:32 We've had more.

7:32 Three and outs than we would like. The turnovers were a major issue last game. It's getting back to what we did all through camp and how we started the first week of the season. Um, I don't know that we've done that at a consistent level since then.

7:47 I know you said on Monday that you weren't even really factoring in the tight turnaround between the Atlanta game and new England just yet with Caleb. Have you given that some thought just about when he might be ready and whether those four days to get ready for the next opponent would factor into whether he can play this week?

8:02 Yeah.

8:02 Yeah.

8:03 Yeah.

8:03 You know, in, in regards to the quarterback situation, a lot of things have, have, uh, gone through our, our minds and, um, first and foremost health is, is the number one priority for, for all three guys. I don't know that all, any of them are exactly a hundred percent at this point of the season. And so that's something that we certainly look at and we want whoever's out there to have a good rapport with the offensive line, with the operation, with our pass catchers. And so we want to make sure that we can get in a rhythm, which we weren't able to do last week as an offense.

8:37 And so sure, it all, It all goes into account here. What do we need to do first and foremost for this week? And then big picture view beyond that.

8:47 Are you preparing and planning for him to be quarterback on Sunday?

8:51 Or is it truly fluid right now?

8:52 Yeah, it's still fluid.

8:54 But, you know, I feel good about the plan that we have in place at this point.

8:58 Is it safe to presume that so long as he is full in practice throughout the week that that means that he's good enough to play on Sunday?

9:04 Or is that then a different conversation?

9:06 We're going to figure out what's best for this football team to win this game on who plays on Sunday.

9:10 And do you have additional clarity on the pecking order or the depth chart below, Caleb, on what you're doing there?

9:16 What's factoring into that?

9:17 And I guess, how do you reconcile what you saw from Tyson for three hours Sunday versus what you believed in for 18 months prior to that?

9:24 Yeah, no, I think, once again, I put our struggles on myself more than anything else from the game the other day, and I have to do a better job making sure we get in a rhythm on offense, regardless of who's playing the quarterback position.

9:36 Without a spot on the 50, are you anticipating another week waiting with Kyler to see if you can get him off pup, or is that something that could be in play this week?

9:44 Yeah, I mean, we're considering all options. Our intent with Kyler from the get-go was to make it through these 21 days to make sure that he's physically where he needs to be to help this football team.

9:55 You're going to get questions from the media about the quarterback situation, let alone who starts. but who's the backup now? Who's the number three? Ben's not letting anybody know any of that right now. He says he's comfortable with the plan that they have put together for this week. And whether it includes Caleb Williams or not is irrelevant to the situation. There's no way he's going to put any of that out in the atmosphere until he has to.

10:20 And so we'll just see. Caleb, you watched Caleb's workout at Soldier Field the other day.

10:24 Yeah.

10:25 I thought he looked good.

10:26 Or at Lambeau, at Lambeau, at Lambeau.

10:28 Yeah, Lambeau.

10:28 He looked good. He looked good on his feet. He looked athletic. He has a lot of arm strength. He threw probably as many passes in that workout that you would throw in a game. And I think when you look at this game, Atlanta versus Chicago, we're going to go into this game, Jeff, and we don't know who's going to start a quarterback for either team. And I think that's the kind of the secretive measures that you want to take against your opponent so they don't know exactly how to prepare. And I think that's the way to go about business, whether it's going through an era where Jim McMahon had injuries throughout his career or what they're facing right now.

11:06 So there's no.

11:07 Information that you're going to send across enemy lines to help them out. And I'd like to hear the head, the response to Stefanski when they ask him down in the Atlanta.

11:17 Media, who's going to start a quarterback.

11:20 So no one's going to help anybody, but I think either of the three will be, and I know they are going to be prepared to go down there and play.

11:31 You're putting a lot on the table for Jeff Albrecht and the defense to prepare for all three quarterbacks.

11:37 And every one of them provides you something different. And that's the crazy thing about it. You've got all the experiences of a guy like Case Keenum. You have a little bit of experience, but athleticism by Tyson. And then you have the dynamic Superman-type plays of Caleb Williams.

11:51 Tell you what, Ben mentioned it. He's impressed with that defense. It flies around. That's one thing he says, and it comes from everywhere, all three levels. So they've generated a high pressure rate, especially when they send five or more rushers. they've been doing a lot of damage in hurrying the quarterback, hitting the quarterback. If they don't get the sack, they're causing disruption. They got a lot of athletes on that defense.

12:18 Yeah, they sure do.

12:19 And they're good athletes that could use at multiple levels, like you said, but then you put the dynamic of crowd noise, especially when you play inside that dome, roof open or roof closed.

12:31 And so I think.

12:32 That's an added element of instantaneousness of getting off the ball by the defense a little bit before the offense, because the offense really can't hear the cadence from tackle to tight end. And you can hear it on the inside, but you know, that's the discipline of playing in hostile environments like this upcoming weekend.

12:53 I think it's going to be a pretty big bears crowd though. There's a big travel contingent going down to Atlanta.

13:01 Guaranteed. I agree. I think there will be two.

13:03 And there's a lot of people that have moved down there over the generations. And so, you know, we'll see how it goes. But it's still there's still a supportive Atlanta crowd that's building there with guys like Drake London and Abidjan and, you know, the quarterback position, Penix and some of the defensive stars that you mentioned. So they do have a fan base there that's supporting the Mercedes dome.

13:29 And a guy going home, Grady Jarrett. I think he's really jacked up about it. Here he is at the podium on Wednesday with the media.

13:37 Well, obviously, everybody kind of knows what that means to me. But at the end of the day, I think the most thing I'm excited about is going out here competing, getting back on the right track, and doing what we need to do. So it's going to be a heck of a crowd out there. I think the Bears fans are going to show up big time. I think they're excited to see us get back on the right track, and we need to go out there and do what we need to do.

13:59 Will you allow yourself a moment Sunday just to be a human for 15 minutes or so when you get back in that building?

14:05 I mean, yeah, but my time in Atlanta was well served. Ten years, a lot of success, some struggles, but I mean, I gave it his due time and respect. I think all my focus is here right now, doing what I need to do and getting this team back on the right track.

14:23 But I definitely think it's special.

14:24 Anytime I go back and play in a stadium like that and around those fans that I've been around for so long. I definitely got to acknowledge how special that is to me. And it means a lot. But I don't think there's much need for me to take a big reflection day and hit my knee and think about this and that. I mean, I'm grateful to God to have me where I am right now, taking me through everything I can, been through there to make me who I am, to be the best me for this team here now. And I acknowledge that. But the main focus is getting this team on the right track, back in the winning column, and going out there and competing our tails off.

14:57 Expect the response to be from the defense this week just after last week?

15:00 I expect the response to be extremely well.

15:03 And we need to take our performance last week personally because that's not our best version of ourselves.

15:08 And we absolutely need to put a better.

15:12 Product out there and a better effort because we have everything we need to be to be a top unit in this league.

15:17 I believe that truly and wholeheartedly.

15:20 And if we go out there and do what we need to do, we will be. But if we don't and we hope for things to happen and not make them happen, It's going to be a hard day.

15:27 So we've got to go make it happen. We've got to play with edge.

15:30 We've got to play with effort and a relentless technique, you know what I'm saying, a relentless desire to have just success, you know. And we've got to compete just undoubtedly. Like the compete's got to jump off the tape, you know what I'm saying, at every level, you know. And that started with me going out there doing what I need to do as a captain of the defense and setting the tone.

15:51 With Austin Booker, what changes have you seen in him in the media room, on the practice field?

15:59 I think Austin's been extremely consistent in his work ethic. Whenever his number's called, he shows up, and I think he's just having an opportunity to shine a little more and show what he can do when matchups are favorable for him. He's a young guy that's only going to continue to get better, and he's hungry to be a top player. player at his position, not only on this team, but in the entire league. And I'm excited for him to continue to get the opportunity that he's getting to show that week in and week out. And I think the thing with him is just being consistent every day.

16:29 You know what I'm saying?

16:29 Doing your job, being where you're supposed to be, where you need to be, whether it's in a run game, pass game, and doing what we need him to do to be the best for this team.

16:37 And I think he'd definitely be up for the challenge.

16:39 We haven't gotten to see a lot of Shamar in his brief time here.

16:42 He comes back at a time when you guys lose Montez and perhaps lose Dyle for some time.

16:46 What type of player are you expecting to get in Shamar kind of joining that group up front?

16:50 I mean, I think the type of player, the reason why they, why they brought him here, man, a guy who plays with extreme edge technique. Um, I think, um, obviously he'd been hurt, uh, for a long time. He'd been working his tail off. He's, he looks in great, incredible shape. He looks powerful at the ball. And, uh, I think he's excited to whenever his number is called to get an opportunity. Um, so whoever we put on the field, um, for this game and going forward, I'm sure that they've earned their right to be out there and, um, As players and coaching staff, we'll trust whoever.

17:19 Go out there.

17:20 And the expectation is the expectation, regardless of who it is. The job got to be done. And there's not much leeway to say, oh, we got to give this person time. But we need it now. We need it now. And the urgency is there. And we're not waiting, you know, warming up like we're going now. And that's the expectation.

17:39 And I think that's how we want it.

17:40 What's the defensive lineman need to know about B.

17:42 John?

17:44 That it's going to take everybody doing what we need to do and attacking a line of scrimmage, not playing passively, not playing selfishly. And it's a, it's a, it takes a whole unit to attempt to slow down a special player like Bijan, God-given ability to see, to burst, to separate, to contact balance.

18:09 I mean, this is a really, really special player, special person.

18:13 And, um, he knows he's the bloodline of that organization.

18:17 And so we got a heck of a challenge ahead of us.

18:21 When you were seeing him as a young player, what were the first things that kind of told you?

18:26 I mean, you could see him as he's different.

18:28 You know, I remember one of the questions they asked me when we drafted him in Atlanta, what sticks out about him. I said, just the way he moved, the way he carries himself, the guy's different. You know, it's like he's floating on air when you see him run.

18:38 I mean, it just looked like so fun and careless.

18:41 But it's the things like that when it's, so far ahead, the effort make it look easy, but it ain't easy.

18:48 You know what I'm saying?

18:50 And so, I mean, he's a special player and he's peaking at the right time and we need to go out there and put our best foot forward.

18:55 Grady is doing exactly what a leader should do. He's a captain. He owns it and he owned it at the podium on Wednesday. Tom, you know, there was a lot of what you would hear from any 10 plus year veteran who still can play the game at a high level. I think he's playing very well. He had a You know, he's got these guys' attention, and I think he's pulling that rope, like, okay, guys, follow me, and taking that role seriously, as you heard him right there. So, yeah, he's not looking at this as a homecoming. He grew up in Georgia. He played his entire career in Georgia.

19:34 He gets all that, and that'll be cool for him, I'd imagine. But, you know, here's an example. I do the marquee post-game interviews after the game, At Lambeau, it's a tough setup. Guys are going through security. They're going to go through security. Go visit their family. It's hardy. So I'm standing there and Grady goes, do you need me?

19:54 Classy move. And he gave a great interview. It wasn't gloom and doom. It was positive. It was, here's what we got to do. This hurts, but we're going to get back on the, you know, everything you'd want to hear from a captain. I'm impressed with Grady and how he's, he couldn't be Grady Jarrett. He couldn't be Grady Jarrett.

20:09 He was injured the whole year. He really was.

20:12 When I listen to Grady talk, he really takes a high standard of accountability. And it's not because of the number, but it's because of the way he speaks. He reminds me a lot of Mike Singletary.

20:24 Yes, he does.

20:25 And I've been in those speeches when we are in a winning locker room or a losing locker room. And his words carried clout. And so does Grady. And so when I do listen to him talk, he's a super well-spoken person. Speaker to a team. It's different speaking to a business group than it is talking to a team because you got to carry that clout inside the locker room that those kids, those guys, the elder statesmen, they're all willing to listen. And that's what I see out of Grady that reminds me a lot of Singletary.

20:59 Good news, Chicago. United Airlines is getting brand new planes with all the bells and whistles like Bluetooth connectivity. Screens at every seat and a room for everyone's roller bag. United, proud to fly the Chicago Bears and you too. And how do you tell a cashier you're a Bears fan without telling them you're a Bears fan? With the Chicago Bears PNC Bank Visa Debit Card, which gets you exclusive discounts on Bears merchandise. Find out more at pnc.com slash bears card. Mike Ken, three-time All-Pro, five-time Pro Bowler, 17 years with the Atlanta Falcons, 251 NFL starts out of Evanston Township High School. He was the number 13th pick of the 1978 draft by the Falcons. Kind enough to join us on our podcast to look at the Bears-Falcons,

21:41 but more so a little walk down memory lane. Mike, how you feeling, man? Everything good?

21:45 Yeah, I'm fine.

21:46 I mean, I should be an absolute wreck with all the games I've played, but, you know, other than some low back problems, I'm doing good, and I'm 60 pounds lighter than I was when I was playing, so that.

21:57 Helps, too, you know.

22:00 251, right?

22:00 Am I right? 251 games? Yeah, 251 starts, yeah.

22:02 251, three-time All-Pro, five-time All-Pro.

22:07 A pro bowler, 17 years in the National Football League. I mean, that offensive line, the way you guys played, you guys were nasty up front. Nasty.

22:18 Well, I had the luxury of playing on two good lines.

22:21 In the early 80s, the one that included myself, Jeff Van Noten, R.C. Tillman, three pro bowl guys. And then later in my career, the offensive line, it was me, Bill Freilich, and Chris Hinton, three all pros.

22:36 On that line.

22:36 Wow.

22:37 Yeah.

22:39 You forget about those. That's incredible.

22:42 But, you know, you think of Van Nood playing almost 20 years, but it's insane that Mike's not in the Hall of Fame. I know. It's absolutely absurd when you look at some of the names that come up. But it must be something about the left tackle position at Atlanta. They must protect you guys because you look at the run that Jake.

22:59 Matthews is on right now, Big Mike.

23:02 It's amazing that you can take two guys to play that long in an organization and play that many games at one position.

23:12 It is.

23:13 I mean, there's the only other player that started as many games as I at the left tackle position actually was Lomas Brown, played for Detroit. And then if you actually look at Jake Matthews' dad, Bruce Matthews, he's got more games started as an offensive.

23:33 Lineman, but They're all at guard and center.

23:37 He played left tackle maybe one or two years because of injuries or something like that.

23:42 But he was a guard and left tackle.

23:43 And as you know, Tom, it's much easier to play guard than it is left tackle.

23:49 Well, let me ask you this, Mike, because we got a guy that is, I believe, is a future Hall of Famer, Joe Tooney. and then he goes out at a moment's notice and he slides from guard to left tackle. What do you think about his ability to be able to do that?

24:06 He's got to have good footwork, for one thing, because the left tackle has the best player on the defensive side of the ball rushing the passer. It's not the outside right linebacker. It's the one that's over the left tackle. If he has the ability, now that you've said that, because I don't know the Bears personnel that well, I'll watch him on Sunday and see how he's doing.

24:32 But no, he's back to his left guard position. But throughout the course of his career, whether it was Kansas City, an emergency notice, they slid him out the left tackle and he played good. Last year, the Bears playoff game, they had an injury situation at left tackle. So for the playoff game against the Rams, they slid him out the left tackle and they brought in a left guard.

24:54 So You know, I played left tackle for a year in college, and I know the difficulty of that position. So when I see him being able to slide out on a moment's notice and play at a high level, it's impressive to me being a guard. But I think for tackles looking at him around the league, it's got to be equally as impressive just because you guys know the difficulty of it.

25:17 Yeah, that's not common.

25:18 I mean, the guy's got to be a really good athlete because you're playing out in space at left tackle. You know, when you're playing guard, you know, the widest a guy can get on you on a pass rush is in the gap between you and the left tackle. You know, you don't get guys that are two- or three-member group on the outside playing.

25:36 On the edge.

25:37 Yeah, you mentioned Jake Matthews. He's, what, 201? He did get banged up in the last game. He expects to play against the Bears. That family, I mean, Tom has talked many times about– being with Bruce Matthews at the Combines and stuff. Just the lineage from Clay Sr. to Clay Jr. and that family is a football-playing family, man.

26:03 Yeah, and speaking of Clay, Clay and I actually go way back. He was at New Troy East High School, and we played in the Mythical State Championship then. on a muddy field that, in fact, the head coach, I ran into him up in Chicago a number of years back and asked him, he said, you watered that field that game.

26:25 He said, hell yeah, I did.

26:26 You got it fast.

26:28 So I played against him in high school. We lost 3-0. Oh, my.

26:33 There's certain games that you play at every level that really bug you. So we finally got to the point where we were able to kick a field goal, too, and it was good.

26:44 And then there's a flag in the air.

26:46 And so the umpire or referee underneath the goal poles went ahead and threw a flag on our kicker, Jim Skinner, because he had his mouthpiece. He didn't have his mouthpiece in, and so he had to walk his back, and then we missed it.

26:58 Oh, my. The little things. The little things that break your heart.

27:02 Yeah, and then Clay and I played against each other in the Rose Bowl. Clay and I played against each other in Cleveland, and then he came– uh, to, to Atlanta and we finished our careers together in Atlanta.

27:17 Oh yeah.

27:17 I forgot about that.

27:18 Nice.

27:19 So, uh, was the, you came out in 1978. So you were a rookie in 1978. Did the bears ever look at you to your knowledge? Uh, was that ever a possibility?

27:30 The bears actually, Gene Upshaw had orchestrated cause you know, I had nine losing seasons in a row and I was just getting really tired of going to work, you know, and I'm riding with, uh, with Tommy's brother-in-law, John Scully, to work to and from every day. I was finally said, I want to get out of here. I'm tired of this.

27:51 You know, I knew I had a number of good years left. And I think Marion Campbell was our head coach then, which was a big mistake. And the word got to him because the Bears actually called Marion and said that we're interested in training for Mike Kent.

28:09 So he pulled me up into his office and he says, you know, you want to get traded? He goes, yeah.

28:13 I said to the Bears, I said, yeah. He goes, well, I'm not going to trade you to the Bears. I'm going to trade you to Green Bay. No, I'm not doing that because they really sucked back then.

28:27 Well, that would have gone against all your beliefs and love.

28:31 Yeah.

28:32 My two teams are the Bears and the Falcons. I grew up watching the Bears when George Ellis was– the head coach, you know, in Wrigley Field.

28:40 You know, Mike, I was thinking about you guys back in the day, and I remember the necklace that he had made for you guys, William Andrews, that had over a 2,000-yard season at Atlanta back in the day when it was maybe a little bit more difficult. You know, then you look at updated, you think of a guy like Bajon Robinson. I got to assume, I think that he's capable of those William Andrews numbers to have a 2000 yard season. And from what you've got to know about them, is there any comparison between the two?

29:11 Are they completely different players?

29:13 Because the offenses are probably a lot different than the William Andrews days.

29:19 Well, three things they have in common. One, obviously they were both very gifted runners. William Andrews, wasn't as evasive as Bijan Robinson is.

29:32 They were both very good, you know, catching the ball out of the backfield.

29:37 The one thing that William was better at than Bijan, because I don't think Bijan's really asked to do it, was blocking. Because remember, when he was at Auburn, he was just a blocking fullback. And he was blocking, I think, for Joe Krips. But they're both exceptional. The thing that bothers me about the Falcons' offense, and it happened a couple of games ago, They're down by three touchdowns in this one game. There's five and a half minutes left in the game. And Bijan arguably is the best running back in the game right now. And he's still in the game and they're handing him off the football. I said, what are you doing? You can't win this game. You're exposing your best player to getting injured. And so they

30:17 did a stupid thing like that. Bijan's exceptional. He's fun to watch. He makes people miss. Maybe, you know, a little similar to Barry Sanders a little bit in Also, he's similar to Walter Payton, too, because he takes people on also.

30:32 He doesn't always avoid them.

30:35 Yeah, my comparison was Gale Sayers and Barry Sanders.

30:39 Yeah, I can't believe you said that because Tom has been banging, and I got this vision in my mind of what that entails in trying to derail that guy. And he's got a great sidecar in Brian Robinson also, a physical pounder, so.

30:53 Yeah, that was a good move.

30:54 It's good because they don't have to lean on him 100% during the game now.

31:00 They can put Brian Robinson in there and take some of the heat off of him.

31:04 Bears fans, people across the state are struggling to keep the lights on and put food on the table. That's where the Salvation Army steps in to make a difference all season long. Go to salarmychicago.org and make a difference today. Tommy?

31:14 When you think of Drake, London, you think of Pitts. You think of the other tight ends that you have on this football team. They got a good, solid arsenal of weapons for an unlikely draft choice last year in Michael Penix.

31:28 And I think when he's hot, he's hot. He's a good football player.

31:33 Yeah, he just hasn't matured for the position yet. I mean, he's got a very gifted arm. It's not as sophisticated as it needs to be. He doesn't know how to throw a little jump pass and stuff like that. And I don't think that mentally he completely understands the game as well as it needs to be understood to go ahead and be successful at his position. I mean, you see him making bad decisions a lot, and I think that's because he's a little bit immature. It's really only his second year. My concern with him is that he's got an injury history that's scary.

32:08 Yeah.

32:09 You know, and he got hurt again here. I don't know if it's bruised ribs or cracked ribs or what. And so I don't know if they've even made a statement about it. He's going to play on Sunday or not.

32:19 He's going to practice, so I think he's going to be all right. But, again, you know how much pain tolerance. Tommy always tells me the ribs are a tricky little thing to deal with. Not so little.

32:28 Well, back in my era, we took care of that. We were all taking the needles.

32:36 Yeah.

32:37 That being said, I know I've asked Tommy this many times, too, and I'm just amazed at that era of football, 70s. into the 80s and early 90s just the the tolerance of pain that you guys had to deal with to play because playing was a badge of honor and you didn't want to give it up do you remember a game when you cannot believe you actually got in uniform played the full game and lived to tell about it.

33:04 Yeah i uh it's an odd story.

33:07 Um, you know, I was on an extra point in field goal, but I wasn't at the tackle position for some reason. They put me at the right guard position because I think they did that. Cause you know, most field goals are not blocked by the edge or over the middle. And Fralick was on the other side, Bill Fralick.

33:25 And so, um, I'm sitting, so I got a plane inside with my left leg and, um, Freilich just gets asshole all the way over to me from the left guard position and falls on my leg. I got a first degree minor tear of my MCL ligament. Today's player, probably out four to six weeks. Me, I've got a brace on my knee and I played the next game.

33:52 I tore both of my calves at one time in my career. Did I miss the game?

33:59 No.

34:00 Back in the game the next week, they take my ankle into a locked position, and I went, you know, they don't do that anymore.

34:09 Well, you know, you talked about the threat of being traded to the Green Bay Packers. You know, we had so much less control with the old collective bargaining agreement. Sometimes, you know, with the fear of getting cut or traded to a location you didn't want to go to, it got us on the field more often than not.

34:28 Yeah, you know, there's an old saying, remember, this time you can't make the club in the tub, you know. And I think actually that's what happened here with Kirk Cousins because he bought the house next door to me. And then when they drafted Penix, he came to me and he goes, Mike, what the hell's going on here?

34:47 I said, it's the Falcons. And then he got hurt in the New Orleans game. in the New Orleans game, and he hurt his thrown arm and his thrown shoulders. And he was on the injured list for one day, and then he took himself off. I think he hid the injury because I could tell during the games that he wasn't throwing the ball as well because he was injured.

35:11 And I think it was a classic example. When they got a guy who just wrapped it in the first round to take his job, I'm not giving him the opportunity to do that.

35:21 That's what ended up, I believe, happening. But he's an old school player.

35:26 Read a quote. This was about you. I've never seen any offensive tackle with his agility and quickness. Simple and straightforward. Do you know who said that about you?

35:35 Yeah, the head coach for the Niners.

35:40 Bill Walsh.

35:40 Bill Walsh, the wizard.

35:42 Yeah.

35:43 Gray-haired wizard.

35:44 The gray-haired wizard, yes. Tell Mike, Ken, your story about the gray-haired wizard. But first of all, your reaction to that. I mean, your game was much more than that, but agility and quickness at left tackle certainly comes in handy.

35:57 Well, like I mentioned earlier, the best athletes on the defensive front are usually the right-end linebacker or right-end rush end-to-end. And the thing is, what a lot of offensive linemen don't realize, and it frustrates the crap out of me, is that You never play.

36:15 Everybody the same.

36:17 You have to adjust your blocking technique that fits in accordance with who you're playing against. Is the guy a bull rusher? Is the guy a speed rusher? There's three kinds of pass rushers. There's the predictable pass rusher like Pat Swilling. I could tell what he was going to do every time. Then there was the instinct rusher, which was like a Lawrence Taylor or Bruce Smith. They didn't know what they were going to do. They were going to react to you and just do something. And then there was the setup artist. You know who that was?

36:54 Richard Dent. Oh, wow. Richard Dent.

36:57 And you had to watch a lot of film on Richard Dent because he would slow rush you the most of the game. And you always had to wonder why he got the big sack at the perfect time during the game. Because he was setting the left tackle up all day and waiting for a time when it's time to go ahead and get the sack.

37:11 It's funny you're bringing this up in these details. I just did an interview with Austin Booker, who had a couple sacks last week. He's a long, lengthy, athletic, very violent player. Young, though, young. Third year in the league, and still, he's just 23 years old. So he's got a bright future, in my opinion, anyway. I don't know if Tommy agrees, but... I interviewed him the first thing.

37:34 I said, hey, have you ever played chess? He goes, yeah, I've played chess. I go, to me, a pass rusher versus a tackle, that's a game of chess. I just find it interesting how a defensive lineman thinks how he's going to attack, what moves he's going to set up. Is it a setup like you say with Richard did?

37:52 Would you agree that it is a game of chess in some regards?

37:55 Oh, absolutely.

37:57 And I There's similarities in past rushers, but then there aren't.

38:03 I mean, these guys are unique in their own special way.

38:07 And you had to watch a lot of film to go ahead and basically prepare yourself on what you were going to do to go ahead and get your job done on Sunday. I mean, you had to watch a lot of film, little nuances that you pick up in the film I think I watched more film than anybody I ever played with on.

38:30 The offensive line.

38:31 So would you say Dent was the most difficult assignment, or is there somebody else?

38:36 No, the in-state rushers are, you know, like LT and Bruce Smith.

38:40 Bruce Smith?

38:42 You know, yeah. But, you know, I played, you know, not to brag, but every outside rush and rushing they're in the Hall of Fame, other than the one from Miami.

38:56 I can't remember his name right now, but I didn't think he deserved to get in, especially not a first ballot.

39:01 Jason Taylor?

39:01 Huh?

39:03 Jason Taylor?

39:04 Yeah.

39:05 Yeah.

39:06 Yeah. I'm the only guy that's played against all of them.

39:11 So, and, you know, my average, I only gave up, on average, even though my rookie year, I think I gave up, I still don't believe this is that I gave up 15 sacks.

39:22 But I bet you remember every one of them.

39:26 Not anymore. So, uh, i i.

39:30 Averaged 2.8 sacks a year oh my that's stellar stellar yeah.

39:37 And i'll tell you i'll admit this too i held on every play.

39:42 Within the framework of the body right You know, the way.

39:46 They teach pass talk is that they have your hands out like this.

39:49 Actually, they should be up like this, your thumbs up, and that keeps your elbows down. And when you go ahead and hit a guy in the chest, you either punch him or release or sometimes you grab. You can get your fingers inside your shoulder pads when you do that like this. And now it's like holding onto refrigerator handles and they get so pissed.

40:07 Off beating your arms and everything like that, but they couldn't do anything.

40:13 I just, you know, you know, Mike, you had the feet to use your length. And I think that was one of the best things about your game. And I think when I go do a one-on-one against a guy like Hampton, who he had uniquely long arms, he was the same type of guy. He was playing you from his fingertips, uh, you know, where you almost offensive lineman would have a difficult time getting their hands to his body.

40:35 Like you, having the athleticism to use your length, there's not a lot of guys that nowadays in this game can do that.

40:44 They don't have the bendability. They don't have the flex.

40:47 They don't have the traits that you are able to incorporate being 6'7.

40:51 You know, 90% of the offensive linemen in the NFL now are too damn fat.

40:57 They just are. And they lose their mobility. You know, they asked me.

41:02 One time, I was the only guy, I think at the end of my career, I was 295, but I was a flat belly guy. So they wanted me to gain 10 or 15 pounds so I could be over 300 pounds and say that we've got an offensive line that our offensive linemen are over 300 pounds.

41:18 I said, why do you want to do that? And they said, I said, well, why do you want to? I said, are you unhappy with my work? No, you're the best guy that we got on the line. But I know it is, it's... The other thing, their stances are bad. Their splits are too small.

41:34 They don't fire off the ball on the run anymore.

41:38 The first move on a run is they stand up. It's like sumo wrestling in there now.

41:44 Mike, I know you told us before, but I don't recall. Did you ever go to a game at Wrigley to watch the Bears?

41:51 All the time. When I was growing up, my dad had two season tickets to the Bears.

41:57 Nice.

41:57 He took me to all the games.

42:01 You know, I went to all the games at Wrigley, and then I was going to the games before I got into college. Until then, I was going to the games at Soldier Field. You know, I remember watching Gale Sayers, and they played in the mud in Wrigley Field when he scored six touchdowns in the mud. And George Hellis took him out of the game, or he would have broken the record and got a seventh touchdown, but he was worried about him getting hurt.

42:24 It's almost like the kiss of death, you know. So, but no, I was at all the games.

42:28 We sat in the temporary stands in right field that were built with scaffolding and two.

42:33 By 12 boards on them.

42:34 Oh my.

42:35 I can always remember that they were cooking these hot dogs right down below us and we.

42:39 Could smell them all day.

42:42 And then as a young kid, I saw all these different apparatuses that these adults would use to go ahead and sneak liquor in. They had binoculars, they screwed the top off.

42:52 One guy who had a cane, he hung the cane in. Little bottles would come out and stuff like that.

42:58 So if you were the kind of kid that would have a poster of a player on your wall, who would it have been?

43:04 Let me think about that.

43:10 And it can't be the Bears' offensive line.

43:12 No, they weren't very good back then.

43:14 I mean, you strike me as a Butkus-type guy.

43:18 Well, yeah.

43:19 The thing is about Butkus and how tough that SOB was is that, you know, He didn't have any cartilage in his one knee when he started in the NFL because he lost it when he was playing at Illinois. In fact, remember, he ended up suing the NFL because they kept shooting his knee up all those years for every game and everything, and it actually shortened his career.

43:40 But Butkus couldn't play in today's game because he'd be getting a personal foul almost every time he made a tackle.

43:48 You know, picking guys up and throwing them on their head, you can't do that anymore.

43:52 Right.

43:53 There's an NFL Films video I just saw online the other day, and he's mic'd up. It's pure theater. I'm laughing my rear end off about it. Just was the grunting and what was coming out of his mouth, but he's giving the marching orders, telling everybody what to do, and he knew his football. Any thoughts, Mike, on the passing of Mike Ditka?

44:18 Yeah, I got to know Mike because the Bears came down and practiced with us a few times here in Atlanta. You know, and actually it was the 85 season when that happened because nobody had an indoor facility back there. And they had come down to our training camps a couple of times. So they said, let's go to Atlanta.

44:35 I think, Tommy, you came, about five or six or seven guys came to my house.

44:40 For dinner one night, I think, that week. Yep.

44:44 In fact, you guys gave me and Jeff Van Note sideline passes for the championship games.

44:51 Against the Rams.

44:53 And I had blown my knee out, so I was on crutches with a splint on my knee. And we're on the sidelines, I'm on crutches, and it's colder than hell out there, and I'm freezing my ass off.

45:03 Yeah.

45:04 You know, Mike, that NFC championship game, I remember because you guys were sitting with us in our pregame meal that morning, you and Jeff.

45:11 But one, it's not.

45:14 Funny, but it's funny because everybody that knows Jeff Van Notte, he's pretty tight with his money. But Jeff Van Notte that day, Jeff, at Soldier Field got pickpocketed.

45:27 No.

45:28 In the men's room.

45:30 Yes.

45:31 He got pickpocketed in a men's room and he was always a.

45:34 Guy that wore these loose khaki pants and stuff. So I can see a professional probably target, but he has, I remember cause after the game is we all got in the car and drove out of there. Then Jeff Van note realized that his, his wallet was gone.

45:52 So You know, that's because, you know, guys from Chicago know that you always keep your money in your front pocket. Right.

46:01 So that was just one of the things that.

46:04 My money's in my front pocket right now.

46:06 Right.

46:06 Funny, not funny.

46:08 Yeah.

46:09 I'll wrap it up with this because Northwestern has a brand new stadium. You grew up in that area. I don't recall if you ever considered Northwestern. I know you're a Michigan man, but. You'd be amazed at what it looks like. It's pretty special.

46:24 Well, actually, you know, uh, I got, well, they invited all of us cause, uh, Evanston and Nutri East are playing there this weekend or was it last week?

46:32 Oh, okay.

46:33 They're actually playing in a new stadium, you know, so, and it's sold out by the way.

46:38 Wow.

46:39 That's huge. Wow.

46:41 Uh, back when I was in high school, Northwestern wasn't very good. Yeah.

46:46 Uh, And, uh, for whatever reason, I had a friend of mine, a high school classmate of mine, he's, and I always, uh, appreciated his point of view on things. He said, if you got a chance to play football and you want to get a good education, you need to.

47:01 Go to Michigan.

47:03 So when I said, okay, his name was Roger Prabilski. And, uh, that kind of just stuck with me, but you know, when I wanted to get out of, you know, Evanston, um, and then to, um, Michigan is where I wanted to go.

47:18 I almost ended up going to Arizona, though. But that's another story. Probably won't have time to talk about that.

47:25 I was the last man chosen for Michigan because supposedly there was a quarterback that both Arizona and Michigan were trying to get. I didn't get a letter of intent until six weeks after they came out. I only weighed 198 pounds, and I was 6'6.

47:40 Oh, my.

47:42 That's a beanpole right there.

47:44 Now you'd be a tight end.

47:46 So then, yeah.

47:47 So, and then after my, my freshman year, I dislocated my elbow and then I went home and not to be crashed or anything like that's the summer that my, uh, my nuts dropped and I put on 45.

48:01 Pounds in one summer.

48:04 You had your growth spurt over a summer.

48:07 One last thing is, uh, with the Atlanta Falcons modern day, what's more important, their offense or their defense?

48:15 What holds the team together?

48:17 You know what?

48:19 Defenses win championships. They just do.

48:22 Um, and, uh, offenses can lose championships because they can turn the ball over. Uh, but D and you know, your team, your Superbowl team, you guys had a hell of a defense and I know they told Jim McMahon just not to throw an interception and we're going to win.

48:39 So, you know, it was kind of like that.

48:43 Um, but, uh, I think the defense still has the most impact on the game if you've got a really good one. Your offensive line is pivotal to any offense, whether it's run or pass. If you can't protect the pass or you can't win, if you can't run the football, you can't win. So, you know, 50-50, one or the other.

49:04 If you've got both, you can go all the way.

49:07 All right, Mike, you going to be at Mercedes-Benz in Greenwich on Sunday?

49:12 I actually have 24 people going to the game.

49:15 I got family from Chicago coming down.

49:20 For the game. I got friends here and everything.

49:23 I got a buddy of mine and his wife coming out of Bradenton, too. I grew up with in Evanston. So we did this the last time the Bears played down here. And I said, oh, let's do it again. So I got around an 18 passenger bus or something like that to get everybody's butt down to the stadium.

49:40 So yeah, we'll be there.

49:41 Sounds good.

49:41 Thanks for coming on with us, Mike.

49:43 Appreciate it very much. Thank you.

49:45 You're hilarious.

49:46 Love talking to you.

49:49 All right, Mike.

49:50 See you Sunday.

49:51 Thank you.

49:51 See you, Mike.

49:53 What a delightful guy to talk to. As tough as nails as an NFL player, really enjoyed him. And you know him better than us. because of John Scully and being a part of that. John's your brother-in-law, but played center for the Atlanta Falcons after Jeff Van Notte. So really impressive guy and impressive credentials. He definitely should be in the Hall of Fame for a lot of reasons.

50:16 He made it to the semifinal round twice in 15 and 17. And I know a lot of time passes and you got voters looking at different things, but put him in, put him in the Hall of Fame.

50:28 Mike's a lifer.

50:29 I mean, from his upbringing in Evanston to his going to University of Michigan, to where he was drafted and his commitment to being on the field every single week, he was committed to the NFL PA during his playing career. Mike has got a tremendous amount of experience in the world of football. And when I was a When my brother-in-law got drafted by the Atlanta Falcons, I used to go down there and spend the whole training camp down there.

50:59 And I got to know all these guys. And I was kind of still in my hero worship days because I was a punk college kid and all these guys were out there fighting just tooth and nail in these training camps in Suwannee, Georgia.

51:16 That was so hot.

51:17 I just couldn't.

51:18 Imagine these guys and how they did it every day, twice a day practices. And so I have all the respect in the world for a lot of the guys in that team. But specifically, when you talk about Mike Cannon, his commitment to football, there's not a lot of guys that have accomplished as much.

51:36 This podcast is brought to you by Miller Lite, the official beer partner of your Chicago Bears. Tastes like Miller time, Chicago. Go to MillerLite.com slash BearsPod to find delivery options near you. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs. per 12 ounces. All right, let's take a deeper dive as we wrap things up here on the Atlanta Falcons. Let's go to the defense. They're missing two of their best pass rushers in James Pierce. He is in currently suspension, Jalen Walker. He's injured. I can only imagine what they would be like defensively with those two guys.

52:10 The safety play has been very high. And what's your overall attack point on this Atlanta Falcon outfit?

52:20 You know, I'm going to run at the inside of the defense. I'm going to let these guys see if I can put a lot of the trust and power in my offensive line in Jonah, Garrett, and Joe.

52:34 And then I'm going to let the.

52:36 Tight ends and the offensive tackles complement my interior running position.

52:42 With his time with Atlanta after that trade. All right, let's look at the offense.

52:47 Whew.

52:49 This is a hard one to figure out. I know they're going to put the ball in the hands of the playmakers. That's the simple part of it. But these guys are very difficult to defend. And we're talking about Drake Long. We're talking about B. John Robinson. We're talking about Brian Robinson Jr. We're talking about their slot receivers.

53:09 They have a lot of weapons to get the ball to. And Michael Penix with convicted throws, he's got heat on the missile. Um, he is a very athletic quarterback. If he should start, if not Tua is in there, that's a whole different conversation. Uh, but we'll see.

53:25 Yeah, I mean, yeah, Michael Penix is I think he's just scratching the surface of ultimately where he's going to be if he can put together a healthy stretch. If he's coming into a game and he has any reoccurring rib discomfort and you got to get it shot up or you got to do something to get him out in the field, it could mess with his fundamental throwing ability, his his quick twitch left handed throws. And so you're going to have to try to put, if he does start the game, you're going to have to try to put pressure on him immediately and then take a view of his escapability, how he's throwing the ball, or if he's trying to favor or maybe get the ball out of his hands a little bit quicker to keep from

54:05 getting hit. That's... You're going to have to do exploratory on the quarterback position. But when you talk about all the big weapons they have, yeah, they have them. But they all have to be handed the football or thrown the football first. So I think you can affect the quarterback position the most.

54:22 Yeah, Pitts. I forgot about Pitts. But they don't really throw to him as much. I'm so shocked at that over the course of his career. It's very interesting.

54:29 Yeah.

54:30 Yeah, you know, I see him, and I know he's a tight end, but, you know, he's almost a guy that's a wide receiver, but they put him at tight end because that's where he was drafted.

54:41 High alert on kickoff return. Zachariah Branch. is an outstanding speed weapon from Georgia. Also has a receiver. He's had a 66-yard return, but that was erased by penalty. And then they put Brian Robinson Jr. back there as well. He's averaging almost 30 return. He's got a 40-yarder. So either one, you've got to be really on your P's and Q's.

55:06 Who runs a faster 40, Branch or Zavion?

55:10 Zavion.

55:10 When you talk about the kickoff return, I like what we saw out of Zavion last week. He is a wide receiver. He is a rookie. He's that added element, too, to the Bears' offense. But no matter who he's back there with, I think if he's committed to his intentions of last week, you might get a chance for him to break a big one as well.

55:32 On a fast surface.

55:33 Correct.

55:34 On a fast surface. A little nugget about Zachariah Branch. High school teammate of? Roma Dunzey and a college teammate. Briefly, he got a couple passes thrown to him from Caleb Williams because he transferred from USC. A little nugget.

55:48 Holy smolies.

55:50 A little nugget, Tommy.

55:51 That doesn't surprise you in the modern day of transfer port.

55:54 On an IL.

55:55 Yeah, nothing. Yeah, exactly, exactly. All right, that's going to wrap us up. As we appreciate it, as always, you are listening. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Chevy Silverado, the official truck partner of the Chicago Bears. Check out a Chevy Silverado at your Chicago and a Northwest Indiana Chevy dealer, Chevy Drive Chicago. For Tom Thayer and our special guest, Mike Kent. the former star of the Atlanta Falcons on the offensive line. I'm Jeff Joniak.

56:19 Thanks for listening, everybody. Please subscribe now on the Chicago Bears official app, Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. And bear down, everybody.