Bears-Patriots TNF preview | Bears Weekly

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Here are your hosts, Jeff Jolniak, a.k.a.

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Your Bears are 4-2 headed into a short week matchup with the New England Patriots after a 31-23 win in Atlanta.

A four-phase win.

With Bears fans making a significant impact on the game. And we discuss tonight a special edition this Monday night on Bears Weekly on ESPN 1000 and the Chicago.

Bears Radio Network.

With Super Bowl-winning Bears guard Tom Thayer, I'm Jeff Jonagak. Dan Barilli, Jordan Treadup, Katie Fox, our producers, including Kendra Smith in the ESPN studios, and the executive producer of the Bears radio network, Eric Ostrowski. Coming up in tonight's program, our player profile this week with Bears running back Kyle Munungi, the voice of the Patriots, Bob Sochi, and the coordinator spoke today at Hallis Hall. We're also going to play our Ben Johnson interview from our Bears Etc.

Podcast.

Tommy, I mentioned it in our podcast, only seven NFC teams above. 500. Through six weeks, San Francisco playing tonight. There are 5-0, so they'll be included in that NFC picture. But all the other teams in the NFC North, all over. 500. The Bears right now, the sixth seed in the NFC. I know it's way early, but it's kind of interesting.

No different than a year ago.

Well, if this was a Kentucky Derby, I think the noses of the horses would just be around the first turn. And then you got to get to that second turn. Then you got to come down the stretch. So we always refer to it as a marathon. To me, this is almost like a horse race. Because when you look at a horse race after those gates are open, you see a lot of guys that are sprinting nose for nose.

And that's kind of what we have now.

And then who's going to be trying to win that position? And it's going to be the talent of the jockeys. And I'll analogize that to the head coach. But everybody's going to have a hand in this race. And it's going to be interesting down the stretch.

Really impressive that this coaching staff, again, is getting the entire roster ready to play in a pinch for big moments. And every one of those guys yesterday in Atlanta rose to the occasion. Guys that we have not seen yet. We saw them in the preseason or new players that come aboard. I was blown away. I think I think what they did, that coaching staff deserves a ton of credit.

They sure do, because I think you got to keep the players that are going to play for the first time emotionally intact during the week. You don't want them to get too excited too early. You wanted them to be studying what their assignments are going to be, whether they're included on special teams, regular offense and regular defense.

And that takes a lot of discipline for some young guys during the week. I know this from my first start in the NFL against the Washington then Redskins. My feet were 10 feet off the ground all week. I had a hard time sleeping. I was just excited about the opportunity, but I had to make sure that I was prepared. And I know that hasn't changed in the NFL.

Every one of these guys that are getting a game day jersey, maybe for the first time of their life or an extended period in their life, It's an exciting week, time, moment, and game.

All right, let's listen in. Ben Johnson, the Bears head coach from our Bears Etc. podcast earlier today. All right, thanks, Ben, for joining us as always. That's an impact road win, I think you'd agree. Any road win, but something that you've had many already in your time coaching the Bears. This team has a bounce-back ability to it, I think six and two after a loss now. What is the significance of that ability to bounce back and just– Make sure you're not digging into the deep losing streaks.

It's certainly on the road against an NFC opponent.

Yeah, I think it's the same as what I said last night.

I'm not surprised whatsoever that they responded the way that they did. And yet, because it's the first time this year that that's happened to us, you don't know for sure. And so it's really good to see. I thought they handled the week extremely well, very focused. And then they came and they played with their hair on fire that all 60 minutes. And so I'm really proud of them and how they handled it. And once again, we're writing a new chapter in terms of our story and this year's different than it was a year ago. And, and yet these guys are really determined to make the most out of it.

And with a bunch of new bodies, fill in some roles and how much credit do you give the position coaches for getting them ready?

Yeah.

I mean, it's not just this week either. It's, It's a culmination of the development over the last few weeks where ever since we got done with training camp, guys go to show team, and yet our position coaches continue to coach them up each and every day just as if they were playing that week. And so that pays dividends on weeks like this where some guys go down, other guys got to step up and carry the load for us.

Can you get a feel from a defensive player, especially a secondary, when they know the game plan is they're going to blitz the hell out of somebody? And they're going to have a chance at the line of scrimmage. And we could go down the list, but there's a lot of different guys. Is there a different edge to a defensive back that week when he's going to have that ability to go and get after the quarterback potentially?

Yeah.

And it's one of those things. I feel like D.A. 's got those in his arsenal every week. So the guys know that that's there.

And yet, yeah.

You get in this rhythm and I don't want to speak for D.A. And yet when you see things are working like they were yesterday, you really don't want to don't.

Want to leave it.

And so he just continued to lean into that. You could tell how effective it was being over the course of the game. Once again, the key to that game for us was making sure we could get them out of their normal down situation.

Because that run game was so potent. And so being.

Able to knock them off schedule a little bit, getting them in second and long, and certainly the third downs is where DA could unleash those for our DBs. And, of course, Kyler and Clark got right around the quarterback, too, when his number was called. But, you know, he didn't quite finish the same way that Kyler did.

But we affected that quarterback.

I thought, early on in that game, and he felt our presence throughout.

What makes Kyler such a great blitzer?

Yeah, he's twitchy, and he's got a really good feel for angles. There's not many players that can dip the way that he can dip either, so he doesn't give much surface area for running backs.

To punch at.

And even when big guys look to slide to him, he's so small and shifty that he can find a way to bend and contort himself to get around that and just make it really challenging.

And so, you know, one of the things you didn't see, he drew a– you saw, of course, but he.

Drew the holding call there, and that was a huge play for us because– Once again, he's so difficult to block one-on-one.

That it's liable to draw some of those calls.

Incorporating the Loveland-Burden angle, it felt like mid to late last season. Would you say that was a similar situation, just feeding them the ball?

Yeah, that was certainly the case last season. It was not in the intent.

This year, and yet I suppose there are some similarities here at this point, but those guys are all capable and capable.

When you throw for 300 yards in a game, I think you.

Can leave most weeks feeling like everyone's pretty happy. You know, we'd love to do that week in and week out. And yet we're going to do whatever it takes to win the ball game. So some weeks, especially with the rushing attack that we have, it might be a 200 yard rushing game and we don't throw for as many yards.

And we're fortunate that those guys are very unselfish. They just love to win. They love the feeling of that locker room after a victory. All those guys do. And so, you know, we are conscious of it. We're trying to get them involved as a coaching staff. And yet some weeks will be better than others.

Let's talk Ozzie Trapillo. I interviewed him after the game, and he couldn't stop smiling. It had to feel almost a relief. I don't know how you would describe it, but how he played and the fact that he's back.

Yeah, we talked about it.

He had looked so good here for the last couple weeks that– regardless of where he felt like he was, what we had seen had convinced us that it was time. It was time to jump in the deep end and let's get some reps in a game and we'll go from there. We'll continue to get better from there. So I think that was a huge hurdle for him just to get over that. And now we can just focus on where we can get better from here on out.

And Luke Newman getting some snaps, the rookie center getting some snaps.

All those are valuable, I'd imagine, no matter the circumstance, right?

No doubt.

And we had a padded practice after our walkthrough for the young guys or the low rep guys on Wednesday.

And that whole O-line stood out.

And Logan, Luke, Caden Barnett, certainly Ozzie was a part of that, Christian Jones, like all those guys, they really looked So good. I was talking to Dan Rouchard afterwards. He's just done a phenomenal job, him and Kyle Devan, developing. And they just keep coaching. It doesn't matter who you are or what your role is. You just keep coaching them up. And, you know, like you said, at some point you're going to have to count on these guys.

And they'll be ready because of that.

New England, your first thought on what we should expect.

The great ball team. I mean, shoot, they were in the Super Bowl last year. Talent on in all three phases. Really well coached in all three phases as well. And we're going to have our work cut out for us. We're still sifting through.

The film.

That's the biggest challenge here on a short week like this is making sure that your guys can play fast and yet you're sound and you're giving some challenging looks.

There to the opposition.

Top five defense, right?

Yep.

And you know, they, they just, they do a great job shedding blocks.

They tackle really well. And they have talent at all three levels.

Psychologically after the performance like that, is it good to play right away again?

Just, it feels so good. Hey, let's do it again. Or not.

I mean, I've seen it both ways. So I, I don't know that.

I think, I think these short weeks are challenging for, for both teams and, And yet it's going to come down to who can just focus in and tough through this thing because no one feels good.

Tom flat out bends on to New England. Has to be.

He'll address the media tomorrow at Halas on this short week. A lot to do and limited time to do it.

I just think for a guy like yourself that gets together for Ben on this interview specifically because he's so gracious with his time and the way he answers questions. But for a coaching staff that's already on to New England, you got to go.

Yep.

Coming up, our player profile on Bears running back Kyle Monongai. This is ESPN 1000 on the Bears Radio Network.

Welcome back to Bears Weekly on the Bears Radio Network.

Here's your host, the voice of the Bears, Jeff Joniak.

This segment of Bears Weekly is brought to you by Athletico Physical Therapy. Visit athletico.com to request an in-clinic or virtual appointment and start feeling better tomorrow. There is no immediate timetable on the return of running back Kyle Mungai from his toe injury. Had the pleasure, though, of sitting down with him recently. It is the NFL's crucial catch month of October, and the commitment shown by the league to increase cancer awareness and early detection impacts all of us.

We tackle that as well as his season so far and his work with Ben Johnson, the play caller, and that tremendous offensive staff. But all of this means a great deal to Kyle as well, as you'll learn in the conversation.

To think who you're running behind and the guy who's designing all these runs, your head coach, has this made the game even that much more enjoyable? Because you don't know what's coming next or what they have up their sleeve up there in the run game.

Yeah, I mean, we're having fun, if nobody can tell. It's fun.

On game day, of course, but even the day-in, day-out grind of it. At practice, we're having fun at the end of the day. It's what we all love to do. And then, like you said, when he's calling the plays and we're all having fun the way we are and bringing energy and bringing the plays to life, it just makes it enjoyable for everyone. You guys get to see the hard work paying off on game day. We kind of see what went into it and then, being able to perform in front of, you know, all those people.

When, when he's not getting what he wants, but doesn't give up on the run, what does that mean to you? What does it mean to those guys up front? Because a lot of coaches, they don't have the patience.

Yeah.

No, I think, um, it says that he obviously trusts me and Swift, but I think even more so it means he trusts the guys up front, you know, like a lot of, like you said, a lot of coaches would shy away from that, uh, give it a couple of tries and then probably transition to something else, change their whole game plan. But, um, No one believes more in those guys probably right after or more right before us or right after us.

It's him.

He's going to keep running the ball no matter what's going on. If we feel like they're stopping us in the beginning, he's still going to keep at it, and then we'll fix it, adjust, and then eventually we'll get it right.

You know I love your style because I've told you. I think the world of the way you run. But what I really appreciate really all came to life in that 161-yard run in Carolina, and that's your vision, your accelerations, your contact balance. And, you know, to finish something like that was wonderful. Manung gone.

Love that.

I was waiting and sitting on that.

I love it.

I hope there's more.

Is that summarized pretty much what you're all about and how you protect the ball?

I mean, you run.

Like this until you get through the hole. And a lot of backs don't do that.

Has that always been your style or have you adjusted to this level?

I think ball security was preached to me at a pretty young age, and that's something I just always have in the back of my mind, and as you get older, like, you hear about ball security, ball security, and sometimes guys just forget about it, hunting the big play, and sometimes the ball gets loose, and defenses nowadays are all coming for it. You know, everybody's trying to punch the ball out, get a takeaway, and yeah, so that's definitely something I preach to myself and I harp on, and then just, you know, I play like that, like Carolina, like you love stuff like that.

Great blocking by the.

Guys in the perimeter, good guys up front and, uh, sandal green grass and just taking it.

I met your mother a couple of weeks ago at a soldier field after a game. And I introduced myself and I said, nice things about her son. Oh, thank you so much. Wonderful lady. Wonderful lady. Um, how, how thrilled are they with, uh, what's going on with you?

Yeah.

Um, they're over the moon.

Um, I tell people, my mom, my dad, my brother, sister, they're just a reflection of who I am and great representations of our family.

They're over the moon, like I said. They love it. They love every second of it.

They love watching my highlights and stuff like that, coming to the games when they can make it.

So, yeah, they're embracing every second of it.

I've never asked a player this, but I see all the families gathering outside the locker room, especially at home. What happens after? Is everybody going out to dinner? Do you talk about the game? Do you get asked about the game? Do you want to talk about the game or do you just want to relax?

I think it depends. Sometimes it's a different vibe depending on what it is. Sometimes we all hang out. Sometimes we all go our separate ways with families in town. For me, I like to watch the game right after. I watch it. I watch it right away just to kind of watch it from another lens and then Then I'll probably calm down. If I have people in town, I go spend some time with them.

Then, you know, you go to sleep and go do it again. Yeah.

Family is very important.

I know Cameroon-based, right?

Parents, grandparents from Cameroon.

How has that impacted your professional life, that tight-knit family?

Yeah. Like you said, we're very tight-knit.

And I think my parents coming here when they were younger kind of just taught us the work ethic. you know, making something of themselves when they came here and not knowing anybody, not really knowing the language as well, kind of just assimilating in as they went on with life, working their way through college and eventually to get a job and settle down in New Jersey and start a family. And, you know, they preached to us about the way to treat others and the way to respect others and respect ourselves. And, you know, nothing's handed to you. And I think that kind of just carried with all of me and my siblings.

I know crucial catch is, uh, a big, big thing here in this organization and in the NFL. And I, I understand you have lost your grandmother to breast cancer, um, maternal or paternal grandmother.

This is my paternal.

Yeah.

So how long.

Ago and what is in your mind when we, uh, honor those survivors and those who passed, you know, usually this.

Month, my grandmother passed, uh, July of 2019.

So, uh, it's been seven years now and, uh, yeah, breast cancer, like you said, and, you know, she was a fighter.

She fought it for a long time.

And, uh, this month is, it's, it's, you know, you hear about it growing up and when you have people that, you know, personally that were affected by it, it definitely hits you a little harder. Um, but I love the awareness that's brought to it. I love the attention that's brought to it. And I love to speak on my grandmother cause I feel like speaking on those who have passed allows them to never die. And, you know, you, you carry on their legacy with you. And, um, Yeah, I love the fact that we honor those who were affected or are currently being affected by it because it still goes on.

And I just love the whole movement of it.

What impact did she make on you?

How close were you to her?

I was very close.

Not in proximity because she still stayed in Cameroon, but we were close in the sense of always.

On the phone, calling.

She had actually, when I was born, came to America to help raise me with my parents there. Um, so we had that connection, but, um, she was just an example of like, just, just being able to fight through a lot of pain.

And, uh, she never really complained.

Um, she would just, you know, the woman that everyone loves, you know, she was more, she was a mother to many. I had only, you know, a couple of kids, but a lot of people called her mom, you know? So, um, you know, my grandmother was, was an angel to me still.

What did you call her?

Grandma?

I called her mama.

Mama. Yeah.

What would she think about this, being here and the man you've become professionally?

I think she'd be shocked to see the Monongah name plastered everywhere. But, yeah, 2019, I hadn't even been to college yet, so she didn't get to see me play college ball or obviously make it here. And, you know, I hope that she'd be proud of the man I've become. And I know that she'd definitely be happy to see me.

see how far we've.

Come maybe some of that resilience that you became aware of you take with you every day because you gotta have it in this league yeah you think that's true what else you think your grandmother left you.

Resilience for sure um and just to to lead with love um to lead with love because like i said a lot of people call her mom that you know she did not birth and that just goes to show like how much love she had for everyone and just how sweet and caring of a woman she was. And it sucks that, you know, cancer has to, you know, take people like.

That from us.

But like I said, I think everything happens for a reason. And like I said, she taught me so much and I love to carry her with me.

Tommy, grandmother Catherine passed away from cancer during the summer of his senior year in high school.

Served as one of his greatest life inspirations. You could hear it and feel it.

Yeah, listen, we saw the emotional reaction to Crucial Catch Month Breast Cancer Awareness this weekend in Atlanta, and it kind of leaves a mark on your heart.

And then you hear other guys.

Talking about actual account stories and how they affected their life in almost... The telling the story is almost cathartic. It almost gives them the opportunity to relive their memory in a positive way. So all admiration to Kyle Monongai. And then his support that he gets from his family and the support he gives back to his family. That's one I really admire that about a lot of these guys.

Coming up next, we get a bird's eye view of the defense from Dennis Allen as recap of the win in Atlanta. Coming up next here on Bears Weekly on ESPN 1000. and the Bears Radio Network.

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Tom Thayer, Jeff Joniak, Kyler Gordon's return for 17 snaps yesterday in Atlanta produced some impressive numbers. The four tackles, three sacks, two forced fumbles. He drew a holding penalty. and made a tough day for Falcons quarterback Michael Penix.

Here's Dennis Allen's review of the game.

Look, it was exciting to see because I think he did some things that we've always felt like he could do for us.

And so.

I've always thought that there was a way that we could utilize him, that he could really help us win games and and he was big in the game uh this week and you know we'll see how things play out moving forward you know he's really kind of a limited role last week i i would kind of expect you know something very similar um and yet we're just getting into the game plan process now so um you know there's a lot that has to happen over the course of the next three days Just.

What you make of Drake May and kind of like this Jekyll and Hyde season that he's had and what you have to be on guard for.

Yeah, look, I mean, you know, when I watch the tape, I still see a lot of really good.

Things, you know.

And so, you know, I tend.

To look at the positive things that the other team does and the things that can really hurt you. You know, they do an excellent job of throwing the ball down the field. They got some speed at the receiver position. They take their shots. I think, you know, Drake Mays, one of those guys that does an outstanding job with his feet, you know, and then so there's been times where you watch it and and there's pressure on the quarterback and he he makes people miss and create some plays down the field. So I see him doing a lot of good things. I see especially his athleticism showing up.

And his ability to throw the ball down the field has been exceptional.

Dennis, with some of the.

Guys that were out yesterday, your depth was obviously tested and used. And I'm just curious how you saw the entirety of the group kind of respond to everything that you had to throw at them.

Yeah, listen, I was pleased with the way that the group played. I mean, you know, you had guys that had to come in and step up and make plays. And, you know, Clark Phillips came in and did some good things. You know, obviously Kyler did some good things. You know, James Lynch played, you know, a significant portion of the game and.

Had to do a really good job for us.

I thought Daniel Hardy did a good job when it got to the, you know, some of the rush stuff. I thought there was a couple of really good rushes that he had. So I think everybody understood that they had to step up.

And up their game a little bit.

And I thought the guys responded.

With Kyler, through your expert eyes, how do you describe what makes him so elite as a blitzer?

Well, he's got outstanding quickness and and he's really elusive. I mean, his ability to, you know, stutter his feet and then accelerate or his ability to dip the tip.

And turn the corner.

Just he just has a knack for it and an innate ability to find the quarterback. And some guys really have that and some don't.

And I think he does.

I think he's got a natural instinct for it.

Dennis, were you curious whether that would show up right away with Kyler? And was there a moment yesterday where you said maybe we'll up his playing time a little bit because he was flashing kind of so immediately?

Well, I certainly didn't go into the game thinking that he was going to come away with, you know, three sacks and two cause fumbles. That wasn't, you know, what I thought, you know, would happen. And yet that's the way the game played out. That's that's what how the game was dictated. And then, yeah, I think certainly knowing that he was playing at the level that he was playing at, we probably played him a few more plays.

There at the end.

And put him in those positions.

And look, we'll see how it plays out this week.

Dennis, when it comes to formulating a plan in a short week, during your time in the league, what have you learned about kind of streamlining your own preparation and then being able to feed that to the players in a way where it's digestible with so little time?

Yeah, well, look, it's challenging.

It's really challenging because You know, when you play good teams in this league, it's hard to just say we're going to play training camp one on one and think that you're going to go out there and be really successful. So, you know, you have to come up with a plan that that that the guys can go out there and execute.

And so, yeah. If you guys let me go, I'll go in there and start formulating that plan. But, yeah, the biggest thing that our guys have to understand is we have certain rules– with which we operate, you know, defensively certain things that we just, these are the things that we do based on what the offense shows us.

And so, uh, I always look at these as kind of rules games because, you know, you don't really know what the offense necessarily is going to do. It's really hard to, you know, put in a lot of like crazy stuff, you know? So, um, you know, you try to have some, some things that, that, uh, uh, you know, maybe the, maybe the opponent hadn't seen and, and, and kind of go from there.

Yep. Getting ready for Drake Bay and the Patriots. Nothing easy about it. Tom, you hear him talk about it. And I alluded to it earlier about it being a rules game.

What does that entail?

You know, New England does things very specifically, especially when you're Dennis Allen looking at the experiences of their offensive coordinator, multiple coaching stints in New England. And they do things very specifically from the eyes and the talents.

Of the quarterback.

You're not going to see anybody freelancing routes. You're not going to see anybody trying to cut away from the initial point of attack by their running back position. They are going to call a play in the huddle, and everybody's going to follow the exact specific rules, how it pertains to their assignment.

And so you have to.

Take that into account, and you've got to play a disciplined brand of football, just like on the defensive.

Side of it.

You can't freelance. You can't say, oh, I thought I saw this.

No.

There's going to be a defense called in the huddle. Play your assignment according to what you see across the line of scrimmage.

All right, we find out the offensive side and special teams, the coordinators, coming up next here on ESPN 1000 or the Bears Radio Network.

Bears Weekly is back, and so are Tom Thayer and Jeff Joniak on ESPN Chicago.

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Big day for Caleb Williams in the offense.

They got their runs in, Tommy, and they completed 30 passes. 26 for 26 when feeling no pressure. Here's offensive coordinator Press Taylor.

I think he just did.

A good job of taking what the defense gave. It didn't feel like there were forces. I mean, a couple of our– I think we had, what, five or six incompletions, and most of them were throwaways. And there were times, too, honestly, like we felt like some of the throwaways, we had a completion there, even the primary or at least the secondary option that for one reason or another.

Didn't go there.

But I think he's just– you've watched him mature and grow in the system and he was seeing things well the other night and it just came together pretty well for him in terms of putting the ball in play and putting the ball where our guys were able to do something with it that was a big thing too we had a couple catching run opportunities in there early on that that helped us out and part of it too unfortunately was we're calling some passes because we're getting behind the six a little bit you know we had way too many penalties that's not something um we want to live with uh but we were able to get ourselves out of some of the situations just because the pass game was going a little bit.

Hey, Press, what impressed you most about his performance?

And as an offensive coordinator, what's it like for you to watch a quarterback who's rolling like that? I think the most impressive was just, you know, he hasn't played in since week two. So to come back and to to be on point, to be on rhythm. um to be as accurate as he was in his first outing in a while the you know credit to him credit to the to the skill guys and being able to get get open be available be on time really be where they're supposed to be when they're supposed to be there for him that was a big part of it and like i mentioned we needed every one of those i mean it was critical that we built an early lead they had you know we talked about him and rome their early hook up on a third and extra

long that kept a drive going that we end up converting into points and building a 14 nothing lead and kind of being able to control the pace of the game and the way it was flowing and you know not let Bijon get 35 carries you know we we felt like as an offense we were a part of the game plan there to limit their offense and so that was very critical that we had some efficiency we we got a lot of completions in the past game and you know overcome some of the penalties that we created for ourselves as well so All of that was very critical. And, you know, when a guy's in rhythm, you kind of just let him go. And I think the way it was, it didn't feel like he was forcing things. It didn't feel like he was, you know,

going off script too often.

So you're able to work through the call sheet.

You're able to spread the ball around. Everybody's involved.

That's that's good for, you know, guys getting completions or catches early in the first half. you know, is going to help them in the third quarter, in the fourth quarter, whatever that may be, because they've been involved in the flow of the game.

So all of that's big.

All of that allows for you to get a number of plays in, spread the wealth, and really eat up the clock a little bit the way it was going as well.

Press staying on the offensive line.

First impressions of Ozzie's return yesterday.

Yeah, it was good to see him mixed in there.

I mean, that's the biggest thing is, like Caleb, we haven't seen him play in a while. So it was, you know, what's his wind look like? How does he keep his legs underneath him? Obviously, we've kind of been going with that, rotating the left tackle a little bit, giving everybody some exposure in there and keeping guys fresh.

And we think that is, you know, a good way for us to keep those guys fresh and keep them playing and keep them at their best. And it was good to see him get going.

The Ozzie Trapillo return.

He mentions this Back before many analysts anticipated, but you got to credit his own hard work and you got to credit the transformative work done by the rehab staff from the weight room to sports science.

Tremendous group effort here. It sure is.

But, you know, the first thing is you got to have personal confidence in yourself that you can tell yourself and convince yourself that you can get back on the field. And when I was watching Ozzie play some actual game snaps, one I was encouraged by was sometimes when he fell down awkwardly, his body got an awkward position, but he was able to pop to his feet and get right back to his assignment. Those are the things that Ozzie needed to see because you don't necessarily get to do that in practices, whether you're in training camp or regular season practices. It only can be experienced on a game-day field, and I would think that his confidence is through the roof right now.

Ear-to-ear smiling after the game yesterday in Atlanta. And so was Richard Hightower this afternoon at Hallis after the work put in by the special teams unit. Kyler Gordon's first snaps came on teams, the work by Khalif Raymond in the punt return game. and the overall impact of some new contributors in coverage. Here's Richard Hightower.

Unbelievable mindset and work ethic this week going into it. He's very involved with teams and wanted to be a part of it. And when Coach gave us the green light, you know, and said that he would be available, it was awesome to see him get out there and rock and roll and a selfless individual that really helped the.

Team in a major way yesterday.

Contributed on special teams, on defense, contributed in a major way for us on teams as well.

So good to see him do what he did.

You had a number of your guys contribute or make contributions on defense. In particular, Daniel Hardy, if you could just talk about his day, both with teams and defense and the development that you've seen in him and any other guys that you want to note their contributions to defense.

Yeah, Phil, I mean, I'm so proud of Daniel Hardy and where he's come. You know, two years ago, you wouldn't even think that this guy was going to be active.

He's a practice squad guy, you know.

So the maturation process and development to one of our leaders, he, along with Blackwell, you know, all of those guys, you know, Blackwell was at home, Buford, Georgia, making those plays in.

Front of it.

It was four high school coaches there that he had never seen him play, you know. So great moment for him. Great moment for Hardy. Getting sacks, you know, DeMarco starting on defense. Noah played a lot. All of those guys were our guys that had been in the core a ton. You know, Roshan carrying the ball was a was a key contributor for us. We lost all of those guys to offense and defense and we're happy for them. But you know what happened? Xavier Scott stepped up, made three tackles.

Buddy Johnson stepped up. He made three tackles. you know, in the ball game. And the list goes on and on. Jack Sanborn had made phenomenal plays, big hits on kickoff. And those guys, they just, it's just next man up mentality. You know, next man up. Elijah Hicks had two tackles and played a lot of defense too. Cam Lewis contributed for us. So, and Nick McLeod obviously recovered the fumble.

He did a phenomenal job by, you know, getting to the active, the other two call-ups with Xavier and Buddy. I mean, guys just, made plays and our identity showed. So we just got to find a way to do that again this Thursday and stack, you know, stack another win is what we're focused on.

And yes, again, the attention turns to the Patriots very quickly, but he's got to feel good that he tapped some other names, guys that just got there, like Buddy Johnson. guys that weren't playing yet this season, and he got a lot out of them.

You know, one thing about playing inside a dome with a protected roof, the conditions are going to be perfect for special teams. You're not going to get a returner that has sun in his eyes. You're not going to get a kick returner that's affected by the wind and the flight of the football. You're going to get conditions out there that's going to play every single special team snap from start to finish. And when you have guys as talented as Torrey Taylor right now with his foot, as talented as Cairo, and the aggressive nature of the special teams that are on the attacking teams, you know, I'll do credit to Richard Hightower in getting his guys ready to play in perfect conditions.

Coming up next, we look at the Patriots through the eyes of the voice of the Patriots, Bob Sochi and Tom Stocks. It's coming up next on ESPN 1000 and the Bears Radio Network.

Welcome back to Bears Weekly, a Chicago Bears production on the flagship home of the Bears, ESPN Chicago.

Welcome back to Bears Weekly on ESPN 1000 and the Bears Radio Network with Tom Thayer, Jeff Joniak, my good friend from the New England Patriots, their longtime voice, Bob Soshi, is joining us to talk Bears and Patriots Thursday night football.

I love the headliner. How about you, Bob?

I do too, and I think it's going to be a great matchup of the two quarterbacks to see how they both... You know, square off classmates from the same draft, of course, guys who really, I think, last year elevated their.

Play, their teammates play.

And now coming into this season with such high expectations for both, Drake got off to a shaky start, but of course, Caleb had the injury issues. and came back on Sunday with a terrific performance. And Drake has kind of found his rhythm and I think has regained his confidence of quarterback for the Patriots. And they need him to elevate the people around him, Jeff, because they're going into this game on a short week, short-handed, especially up front.

Is Vrabel the right guy for the job to weather the storm of a young quarterback like Drake May?

Yeah, Tom, I absolutely think so. And it's funny because.

A couple of weeks ago, there was a narrative that started to emerge here in New England going into the Buffalo game that Drake May was unhappy with Mike Vrabel as his coach. Some were starting to suggest that, coming close to that line, so to speak, on talk radio. And Mike was asked about Drake May and whether or not he was the quarterback that Mike wanted in the first place. In fact, it was a host of a morning segment that Mike appears on one of the local radio stations, WEI, broach that topic with Vrabel. And Mike said, the reason I'm here, I had other opportunities elsewhere, believe it or not. The reason I'm here is because I wanted to coach Drake May. And I think what we've seen in the last couple of years has been Mike

Vrabel helping Drake May develop in areas of leadership, I think he's handled him and his personality like he does, I think, with the players on the roster from one to 90 in training camp and from one to 70.

On the current roster.

You include the practice squad guys and they have an international pathway player.

So they got an extra guy there.

I mean, I think the way he deals with them, just his his personality knows what buttons to push.

He knows how to reach his players.

I think they get a sense that he really cares about them as players and people, too. And I think with Drake last year, he really challenged him to be a leader in and challenged him to take command of the team and I think during the course of this season I think he knew when to lift him up when Drake for example commits a mistake in a game early in the year he goes off to the sideline and Mike Vrabel is the first guy there on the bench trying to lift him up now when Mike when Drake is playing well Mike is holding him to a higher standard and he's been in this three-game stretch where he's played exceptionally well for them.

So Sochi, our guest, the New England Patriots play-by-play voice here on ESPN 1000, the Bears radio network. So you opened the door with the offensive line banged up. We're talking about a bunch of game-time decisions on Thursday night.

Well, you know, Jeff, they're bringing back guys that they cut during training camp to put on the practice squad going into this game. And they had the ultimate game time decision, it seemed, on Sunday that surprised, I think, many of us around the team, even though we had seen Will Campbell out of practice last week, that he was able to come back after being eliminated. diagnosed with an mcl sprain in last week's game and it did not look good and yet he went the distance at left tackle he was one of the guys that was left standing in the end they wound up playing everybody that was available on the offensive line they lost three starters from that game they'll be on to their fourth right guard in this one they brought back as i

said some guys that they cut in training camp to put on the practice squads are they going in to this game. I think, you know, try to be as resourceful as they can. They have three offensive line coaches.

Maybe they activate one of them, you know, but absolutely it's going to be a real challenge for them in this game.

I think to, to deal with the bears defense, Dennis Allen's defense up front.

All right.

Last question before we let you go just quickly on defense, your star of the defense is a Christian Gonzalez.

Well, he's the best player on defense, without question, Jeff.

But he's a guy who's been absent for two of the last three games with a shoulder injury. And, you know, for me, I think the secondary is the strength of the team, but they've been together, the forecast secondary coming into the season, for only one game.

Carlton Davis has been out.

He's the other corner along with Marcus Jones, I think is a very underappreciated player.

With this Patriots team.

A guy who's a terrific punt returner and has really become a very versatile slot outside cornerback for them. The two safeties, Kevin Byard is having a good year for the Patriots, exerting his leadership. Craig Woodson is, I think, one of my favorite players on this team, second-year player out of Cal.

But they've got an undrafted free agent.

In the second year, Elijah Ponder, who on the midpoint of last season started to emerge. And he's a guy who's producing a sack of game, it seems. And then there's Gabe Atkins, who came from Illinois, second-round pick. He's continuing to play more and more, and he's showing, I think, not only is he a great athlete, but he's a quick learner.

All right, Bobby, nice recap. Thank you for the preview, and we'll see you Thursday night.

Looking forward to it. Thanks, Jeff. Thanks, Tom.

Thank you.

All right, appreciate Bob's thoughts on the Patriots. Gave us a good look at it. Time for Tom's thoughts now. What are you looking at?

Okay, listen, my first one is don't overbook, but get in the book. What I'm saying there is we got a short week. Refresh yourself mentally, physically, hydration, diet, everything, and get ready for Thursday. But getting in the book is making sure that you study because you're playing an uncommon opponent. You don't have a lot of background in these guys. So don't overbook your time, but get in the book.

Number two.

Congested defensive line of scrimmage will create new opportunities. And so this is, this is Dennis Allen. You look at their line of scrimmage. They got seven, sometimes eight, sometimes six guys in there. And so everybody is getting stacked. Clark Phillips had an opportunity early. We know what Kyler Gordon was able to do. We know what other safeties.

But when you look at the sacks by the defensive ends, they got by stunts. And usually defensive linemen help each other run stunts. These stunts were created and the openings were made by linebackers helping the defensive ends.

It's not seen a lot.

It confuses the offensive line.

They're sticking for their responsibility and then all of a sudden they're out of position. So Dennis Allen is creating opportunities. And number three, turn the fight around. into a team strength. And what I mean by that is there's going to be a lot of guys that are going to look for game day activation. If you got activated and you performed at a high level, you're going to have a chance.

To get activated again.

But it's going to be about the way you go and fight and practice. Ben always refers to it as what they do in practice. It shows them if they're ready for the game. So, If you're fighting for opportunities in practice, maybe you'll be rewarding in the game, but you've got to show fight in practice.

Outstanding stuff, Big Tom.

We're out of time.

As we wrap things up, we want to thank all of our producers and our guest, Bob Sochi.

From the New England Patriots. For Tom Thayer, I'm Jeff Joniak.

This has been Bears Weekly on the radio home of the Chicago Bears, ESPN Chicago. Coming up next, it is game six of the Cleveland Guardians and the Tampa Bay Rays.

Coming up here. in progress on ESPN Chicago. Have a good night, everybody.

Thank you for listening to the Chicago Bears Network presentation of Bears Weekly, hosted by the mayor of Bearsville, Jeff Jodiak, and surf master Tom Thayer. Podcasts are available on the Chicago Bears official app, brought to you by Verizon and Apple Podcasts.

Bears Weekly has been brought to you by Miller Lite.

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