Clay Harbor: Fixing Bears' run defense should be a 'massive' priority
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Rahimi Harrison-Grody.
The great Kevin Harlan.
I just pulled through the Taco Bell drive-thru, and I've got a couple of big, nasty Supreme Burritos right here waiting to be eaten. You know, the first thing they ask you now, are you using the app? The app? No, I just want my burritos. I don't want to use an app. Bring a lot of mild sauce, because I'm going to squirt it all over the place. put some hot sauce on my burrito baby rahimi harris and grody middays 10 a.m to 2 on the score time consumed only one yard take the snap at 52 and now they've got him it's hendrickson one play after nearly getting to him this time he completes the deal i don't know jim
I got Ray Diaz. You got me. Did you spill your drink?
Almost. A little bit. A little bit worse.
That's CBS, in case you were wondering. That's Jim Nance. This is Rahimi Harrison-Grody on 104.3 The Score. And that is a call of Trey Hendrickson. And I keep laughing the whole time because of Kevin Harlan into the Trey Hendrickson into I don't know, Jim. Story of my life. I want to ask you, Clay Harbor, who is in the studio with us, The reason you picked your top three free agents. Each time you said something about run fits. How much is fixing the Bears run defense a priority to you this offseason?
Oh, it's massive. I think when you look at the Bears, they're not going to survive another year with the defense they had like they did last year. You can't count on 33 turnovers. As much as you think, yeah, where does a team that gets turnover? Takeaways. Every team I've been on, everybody's saying takeaways, takeaways, takeaways. I know you emphasize it. I know you practice it. Everybody does. They're fickle. You can have guys that can intercept the football, like Kevin Byard, help you out a little bit more. Guys that go after the ball, force some fumbles. But Usually there's some regression to the mean in the takeaways. So how do you win football games? And you look at the Seattle Seahawks. I want to keep going back to the Seahawks, the Eagles.
These teams that are able to stop the run without having eight guys in the box. You can sit there and play cover two at times, stop the run. That makes your defense so hard to beat that it's almost like an unfair advantage when you see what the Seahawks are able to do. than versatile pieces. Mike McDonald, you're able to really see his genius because he has Nick Emanuari, because you have Devin Weatherspoon, because you have all these guys in the defensive line that can move around and do all these different things. It makes it hard for an offense to really pick up who these guys are as far as your rule set goes. So Devin Weatherspoon or Nick Emanuari can be a safety. He can also be a Sam linebacker.
He can be anywhere. So it just makes it really hard for identification. You put your mic point, find your linebackers. Okay, is that the DB? Is that the linebacker? It's just very difficult when you have these versatile pieces.
Is that why Kyler Gordon is so important when you talk about next season? Is that enough, a healthy Kyler Gordon? Or do they need more in terms of the run fit, in your opinion, than what's actually current on the roster? How much can we expect to bounce back from the guys they already have?
Kyler Gordon's going to be huge. If he can stay healthy, obviously he hasn't shown that he can do that yet, but once again, that's one of those guys to where you don't want to have to go base defense to stop the run when they come out with two tight ends. You want to be able to stay nickel like the Seahawks did. That's just going to be my quote of the day, like the Seahawks did. They go dime, they go nickel, they never play base. If you can still stay out there, and Kyler Gordon's a guy that's physical enough that he can take on a tight end and still get to his run fit, he can still tackle the ball carry, he's really good at that, that changes things for offenses. If you don't have that matchup problem where you can motion your wide receiver and get him on a backer, motion your running back, get him on a backer, motion your tight end, get him on a backer, that changes things.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:02–5:03
2
What is the primary concern for the Bears' defense this offseason?
5:03–5:22
3
Why is fixing the Bears' run defense considered a massive priority?
5:22–7:28
4
How do takeaways impact a football team's success?
7:28–7:42
5
What defensive strategies can help stop the run effectively?
7:42–10:27
6
Why is Kyler Gordon crucial for the Bears' defensive lineup?
10:27–12:05
Speakers
4 identifiedMore from Rahimi & Grote Show
Full Show — September 23, 2026
Jed Hoyer talks Cubs' postseason outlook, Alex Bregman's push to play (Hour 4)
Transition with Spiegel & Holmes
Jed Hoyer talks Cubs' postseason outlook, Alex Bregman's push to play
5 On It & Herb Howard shares a Bears report (Hour 3)
Mike Florio talks Bears' quarterback conundrum, Caleb Williams injury discourse (Hour 2)