Examining the Bears' need for a pass rusher (Hour 1)
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Why do the Bears need to improve their pass rush?
This hour is brought to you by The Great Escape.
Rahimi Harrison-Grody, 10-2 on 104.3 The Score.
Tony in Downers Grove has been waiting over an hour. Tony, what is your grade on the Bears draft?
Really? Like, thanks for making me the loser of all time, saying I hold on for over an hour, but that's okay. So I'm not going to lose her?
Oh, honey, you're not a total loser. I said, so I'm not going to lose her?
Oh, you have, wait, so your perseverance is now losing, sir?
No, to be on with you three, I feel like a winner for the day. Okay, now you're talking like a winner. You ready? Okay. A, I give him an A, and here's why.
What are the expert opinions on the Bears' draft class?
First, no one else is going to give him an A, but mostly... Can I interest you in a B-minus? What's going on, B-minus? What's a heps? No, no, no, no, okay, that's the second thing. There is no damn B-minus, B-plus. That's like grade school. When you get your grade point average, do they say, you know what? My grade point average was 3.95. No. I mean, this is a fourth grade participation medal for soccer. It's literally a medal for sucking. Now that is a medal for trying.
Let me tell you something. This guy was always a great tryer.
My grade point average was 3.95.
How does free agency impact the Bears' roster decisions?
It is kind of a cop-out.
You're right.
And at ExxonMobil, they won't hire you unless it's over 3.85. So, yeah, it comes up.
Yeah, but, well, Layla, you went to North Texas State.
What was your GPA?
Mine was only 3.2. Hey. What is the deal with the smart car? How smart is that? Those things are tiny. Can you even drive them in traffic? I'm so smart. E equals MC squared. I drive a smart car.
What are the implications of the Bears not drafting an edge rusher?
That's not smart in my book. Ray, put Tony back on hold for another hour, and then we'll get back to him on this.
Layla Rahimi, Marshall Harris, Mark Grody. Midday's 10 a.m. to 2 on Chicago Sports Radio 104.3 The Score.
We'll be right back. On social media, I definitely got a couple of tweets, a couple messages. I love it when people slide into my DMs about sports because I like to answer questions. And I got a lot of that over the weekend. And a name that kept popping up, for example, was... Is now the time to call Cam Jordan? I'm like, listen, I don't hate the idea. And I feel like, Marshall, you were also percolating on this thought as well.
Time for the percolator? It's time for the percolator.
Which free agents should the Bears consider for their defense?
It's always time for the percolator.
You're damn right it's always time for the percolator. You know what should be percolating right now at House Hall? Can we make sure that we can restructure people so that we can add, I don't know, a defensive end, an edge rusher, someone to get to the quarterback? Because look... It's interesting that we got through free agency. There was a lot of talk about maybe they'll go do this. Maybe they'll go do that. Whether it was trades, whether it was figuring something out where they could bring one of the top of the line guys in, Trey Hendrickson, or go out and get a Max Crosby. That didn't happen, right? And the whole time we're thinking, okay, that's okay. You don't overpay for the edge. The draft is right around the corner.
And in the draft, it is a deep edge rusher class. And even though you don't have any picks between 25 and 57, surely you can find someone to at least give you a little bump, if you will.
How does the Bears' defensive strategy compare to other teams?
That clearly did not happen. They did not take one edge rusher in their seven draft picks. And so I started thinking on the back end, and I know what they're telling us. The Bears have been very adamant that they feel like they have enough already in-house to improve as they get healthier, When you're looking at Shamar Turner, when you're looking at Dio Odingbo, players who are respectively coming off a torn ACL and a torn Achilles. But I got to tell you, after giving it some serious thought, they need to go out and get one of these guys who are still floating around out here in free agency because... At worst, they need to add a little depth, a little bump. Because even if you expect Austin Booker to take a big step up and it's him and Montez Sweat, you need depth behind that.
And at best... Those two guys I just talked about, Turner, Odingbo specifically, there's no guarantee that they will be, one, ready for the start of the regular season, two, the same player that they were a year ago from a physical standpoint.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why do the Bears need to improve their pass rush?
0:01–1:04
2
What are the expert opinions on the Bears' draft class?
1:04–1:40
3
How does free agency impact the Bears' roster decisions?
1:40–2:10
4
What are the implications of the Bears not drafting an edge rusher?
2:10–3:17
5
Which free agents should the Bears consider for their defense?
3:17–4:11
6
How does the Bears' defensive strategy compare to other teams?
4:11–5:33
7
What are the potential risks of the Bears' current roster?
5:33–6:43
8
How did the Cubs perform in their latest game against the Padres?
6:43–43:07
Speakers
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