Bears coach Ben Johnson details vision for rookie tight end Sam Roush

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Rahimi & Grote Show 14 min 5 speakers 8 chapters transcribed 4 months ago

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What insights does Ben Johnson share about rookie tight end Sam Roush?

Leila Rahimi 0:01

Rahimi Harrison-Grote. Middays 10-2. On 104.3 The Score.

Sam Roush 0:06

Blocking's a huge part of my identity as a player. That's something that I take immense pride in. That's something that I've worked on every day in college.

How does Sam Roush's blocking ability define his role on the Bears?

Sam Roush 0:13

That's obviously where a lot of my value is in the league. Obviously, Chicago's a place that's going to value that. I'm going to do everything that I can to play my role on this team. All I want to do is help the team be successful, and I'm going to do whatever it takes to make that happen.

Ben Johnson 0:31

That is Sam Roush. He is considered the best blocking tight end in the draft, and I think the Bears sure think so. Rookie minicamp is underway at Hallas Hall. This is Rahimi Harrison-Grody on 104.3 The Score. Sam Roush, 69th overall pick. Dramatic pause on a Friday.

Mark Grote 0:50

Absolutely.

Ben Johnson 0:50

I'm going to let you fill in the gaps.

Mark Grote 0:52

He's the new Durham Smythe, ladies and gentlemen. You never realized how important Durham Smythe was until we needed to figure out exactly why the Bears... They drafted a tight end in the third round. What exactly is going on?

Ben Johnson 1:06

It is of no offense to Sam Rauch, but I did not think that the third round at pick number 69 would be where the Bears replaced Durham Smythe.

Mark Grote 1:15

Yeah, exactly. 6'6", 267. He's a short-arm guy. What about the short arms? Yeah, he's got a short-arm problem.

Ben Johnson 1:22

I was never anti-short arms, and then unfortunately I saw what happened to our dear Will Campbell as a rookie last year.

Mark Grote 1:28

Poor Will got exploited.

Ben Johnson 1:30

Super Bowl in the AFC Championship game.

What expectations does Ben Johnson have for Sam Roush in the upcoming season?

Mark Grote 1:31

49 catches last year, 545 yards, two TDs. He was a three-year starter at Stanford, Sam Roush. So in theory, he's a smart guy to add to the locker room as well. But, yeah, I feel like, as I was saying earlier, Dylan Thienemann is the only guy who I could look at, and I pretty much know exactly what he's going to have or how he will contribute this year. Second on the list would be Sam Roush because I think it's pretty –

Ben Johnson 1:58

easy and safe to say that yeah we think we could put you out there for 30 to 40 percent of the snaps and be a good blocker and catch a couple balls every once in a while right now did i layla rahimi think after the season ended and i saw durham smith do that interview with uh jeff jodiak for the last playoff game did i think that i would be talking about durham smith this much no in may

Mark Grote 2:22

It's hilarious.

Ben Johnson 2:23

I did not. But you know what? Sam Rauch did his thing to get drafted where he was and to impress the Bears. So Ben Johnson, why don't you share me your vision? I will yee.

Leila Rahimi 2:37

There were a number of really good players coming out this year, and we were fortunate to get one that we feel really highly about that can contribute, run game, pass pro, catching down the field. We feel like we got one of the more complete tight ends that this draft had to offer. In regards to big picture and just where the league is going, obviously teams have had success with the two tight end, three tight end sets. Things kind of always go full circle, it seems like, and it wasn't that long ago that three receiver sets were kind of the norm and now it seems to be transition on over a little bit more but I think the more you can you can look to attack the defense whether it's you want to give them a base defense or you feel comfortable competing against them when they're in their sub defenses it just the flexibility that tight ends give you I think it adds a dimension to your offense.

Mark Grote 3:34

It almost feels like the Sam Rauch and Zavion Thomas picks were exclusive Ben Johnson. They're like, okay, we're giving you two. We're giving you two picks. Go get your tight end because you are obsessed with tight ends and justifiably so. And then you want a guy with a 4-2-8 who can return kicks and be a gadget guy in Zavion Thomas.

Ben Johnson 3:54

Yeah, I feel like this is like the guy on a movie or a TV show. They cut to the genius who's just working away in some lab. And then he's like, I need these things for my vision to come into place. Like, I must have this explosive or this computer or this piece of software, like an Ocean's Eleven almost type of deal.