Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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The premier locker room show in Chicago. Inside the locker room.
Oh my goodness. You know, because you've never heard of that show before, Inside the Locker Room. And it's a little different from the show that has the theme that we're listening to right now. Those are completely different shows. And while I like to make all these jokes because they're funny, and we like to have bits here at The Score, Mark Grody goes and messes up our bit.
Because then you, what do you do on Saturday? You did host Inside the Clubhouse. Way too much credibility now for actually being part of inside the clubhouse with Bruce Levine. That's instant credibility. You faced your friend and nemesis, Bruce Levine.
This is baseball season. It's my season.
Yes, that's right. It is Bruce season. Bruce Bruce with it, if you will. He warned me to keep my Bears football talk out of it on Saturday. He did. Get lost with it. Get loose with it. So here we are. Don't stop with it. Bruce Bruce with it. That's not exactly the lyrics, but those are the ones that are safe to play at home. Bruce. Don't silence of the lambs this. No, I won't. I'm not going to.
But the point is you did all of this work on Thursday. I'm pretty sure you had like an 18 hour shift. Pretty much. It started with the Bears assistant coaches who are rarely available. It's true. Being available. Yes, and here's the thing.
It was a really good availability for us because they basically had all the assistant coaches in one of the big rooms at Hallis Hall and downstairs, and they were all at their own tables with chairs around the tables. So for reporters, which I am, we all got to sort of choose our own adventure. We could sit down with... You know, a JT Barrett for a couple minutes.
Get him when you feel like your recorder is filled on that. I think I'll move over to Al Harris here, see what he knows. Maybe I'll go talk to a Jeremy Garrett, who is the Bears defensive line coach. So that's what I did. Got to go table to table. And I would like to say that as an old school reporter, Bravo bears to be able to do this. This is real press availability.
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Chapter 2: What insights did Mark Grote share from conversations with Bears' assistant coaches?
Like they're all on the same page. Exactly. So while it's nice that he did that, I don't know that it's his fault that Tyreek Stevenson didn't get interceptions on every single play. It's not, but given the performance of the secondary and the turnovers that they created, I see why Al Harris would think that.
I 100% see why you think that you can get the most when it comes to interceptions out of your players. At the end of the day, though, the elements of feeling like he failed him felt like it was more about just interception numbers. I there is something there and it was reflected in playing time in the latter parts of the season, especially with Kyler Gordon being injured.
Yeah, that's we all ask the question. What about Tyreek Stevenson? How does he fit into this? Why isn't he playing even in X times in the playoff games? Weird. And that's where my mind went when I heard him say that. How did how did you fail him? Yeah. Yeah.
And I asked the follow-up, but I don't think it was, it wasn't like, I'm not mad at Al Harris's answer, but it was not a satisfactory answer unless he really thinks he's a bad coach. And I don't think Al Harris thinks he's a bad coach because that's essentially what he's saying is I'm falling on the sword. I failed Tyreek Stevenson. Um,
Well, in your title that you said about him, he got a promotion, passing coordinator and defensive backs coach. I was shocked to see that he didn't leave for a defensive coordinating job. As were other players as well. I think I talked to Sean Wright. We both thought that he was getting a job as a DC after this. Yeah, I mean, his name did pop probably more around here than obviously nationally.
You brought up Deshaun Wright, and I asked him about that as well. And he did admit, he said, quote, I was bummed we didn't retain him. Wow. I mean, he just admitted it. He's like, yeah, I mean, he understands the way the business, the world works, but I would imagine, and I probably should have followed up with this as well.
Surprisingly, we got $5 million and a one-year contract and the bears couldn't bring him back for that. Um, but that may be also a point in the favor of the confidence of the coaching staff that we can make another guy like that. Um, I also asked, can Malik Muhammad be a starter, the Bears' rookie cornerback? And he kind of generalized it.
He said every single player can start, that everybody in that room can start. But he did glow about Malik Muhammad, saying that he's got all the traits that we like in a cornerback.
Well, that's interesting because there are a lot of people who think that Malik Muhammad, even though he was drafted in the fourth round, has starter potential, especially when there's a lot up for grabs in the secondary. Okay, listen to how he talked about Tyreek Stevenson, who's injured right now again. Unfortunately, I report, and thanks to Brad Biggs, we all know it's Kyler Gordon. Yeah.
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Chapter 3: How does the Bears' coaching staff evaluate Tyreek Stevenson for the upcoming season?
You saw that. I think what he does really well from pass, even what we want to get to is, you know, as an inside rusher. Like, you know, I think... Maybe it was three years ago in Indy. I think he had a good amount of – two years ago maybe. Good amount of pressures, good amount of hits, good amount of sacks. I think he had eight sacks that year, seven or eight sacks. Don't quote me on that.
But I know he was effective in there. And I think, you know, you get – That's probably where he's best as a rusher.
At a risk. At asking the risk of a dumb question, he was signed here, billed to be a defensive end. He had a lot of money to be a defensive end. When you're telling us he's better as an interior rusher, is there something that's not lining up there, or is it just that?
I think you're talking about first and second down versus third down. So first and second down, you know, what's the role? Defensive end. So we're not – nobody's saying, you know, on first down he's going to line up inside. We're saying on – and they do this across the league. Like there will be defensive ends that move inside that go rush on third down. Saying on first and second down –
Here's a defensive end that can play the nine, five, six-eye, four-eye, all of those. And then on third down, man, he can create a mismatch on inside. So you're talking about, you know, a person role. You know, you define that. Here's a guy that's a first and second down. Big end is how you would define it. with flexibility to rush inside on third down.
Not to say you can't rush outside, but saying if we're going to put the best grouping out there, then the possibility you got to look at him going inside to rush and passing downs.
Yeah, it was, Layla, in 2023. That's Jeremy Garrett, the Bears defensive line coach, and he was trying to remember. 2023 was the year in which Dio Dangbo did have his career best, and that would be eight sacks, also a career best, nine tackles for loss as well. But it sounds like they want to use him differently than maybe he was originally intended.
But then again, they did say when he first came here that they're going to use him all over the line, but he sounds like interior more than anything, right? Dyer Dangbo signed a three-year $48 million contract. $29.5 million of it was guaranteed.
And what I don't want to hear is when somebody is getting paid that much money to rush the quarterback, which he was signed based on his pressure stats, that you need to move him on third down. Exactly. I owe the dang bow. The dang bow. Him too. Yeah. And that's why the original question I asked, like, what does he do best? Well, and Courtney Cronin followed up. Yeah.
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Chapter 4: What are the expectations for rookie cornerback Malik Muhammad?
We had little things that we had to tweak, as we talked about, as a player to coach and what he wanted to work on and things that I saw. And the biggest thing about him is that, like, he receives it. Okay, let's go work on it. And that's been showing up on the film. So the progression is there. It's happened in everything we talked about. So I expect him to...
you know, have a big year for us too.
Layla, isn't this a must-have big year for Roma Dunzay? For lack of a better term, yes. Undoubtedly. Like, this is his time to step up. Wide receiver one has left the building and gone to Buffalo. You should be wide receiver one next. Should. Yeah.
Somebody will emerge, and I've talked about this, you know, that could be a tight end as well as we saw last year yards-wise, but theoretically that should be Rome. That's his job. 17 games in his rookie year, 2024, where he was targeted 101 times, 54 receptions, 734 yards, and three touchdowns. That was his rookie year. Last year, 2025, 12 games started.
Of course, he had the foot injury, so missed those games, missed seven games. 90 targets this year, 44 receptions, 661 yards, six touchdowns along the way. So... He had a really nice start, promising start to his year, and then just whether injury and then just ineffectiveness. I mean, he dropped some key balls. He was not great last year.
Yeah, I mean, the drop touchdown comes to mind, but then I also think about the catch on fourth and eight. It's not like he's not capable of making some great plays.
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Chapter 5: How do injuries impact the Bears' cornerback lineup during OTAs?
It's just what is the consistency going to look like for him? I do think the injury, I feel like he pushed himself too far. Maybe. I feel like he pushed himself too far to get back too soon, and that also hurt him. Yeah, and him and Caleb are close, so they will continue to, in earnest, develop that chemistry and hopefully he has that breakout year. Okay, good.
We do have time for the Dan Rochard because you brought up the left tackle stuff. Guys, I'm not going in the exact order. I'm going to go with, I think people would probably like to hear, these are the opening statements about left tackle. Let's put it that way. The opening statements about the competition for left tackle with your Chicago Bears.
There are at least, at least for right now, Layla, there are at least four participants in the left tackle competition. You will hear about all of them, and I'll fill in the blanks where we need to hear from your offensive line coach, Dan Rochard, on the left tackle competition. What's the left tackle competition? Is there a favorite off the top of your head or is it starting from scratch?
We're starting from scratch. I think you see the offseason investment in really the three guys. There's four of them, but there's three guys that we had experience with last year with with Braxton, with Caron, and with Theo, those guys all had really good off-seasons. You know, there's certain things we can and can't do. We can't get our hands on them.
Well, Braxton and Theo both went and invested some time with Teron Armstead, who's a former player in our system, or with me, and I trust him. You know, some of these guys are going and looking for opportunities
people to work with them and you don't know what's being coached asked of them i felt really good about both the guys invested they invested in in in improving and and i see that already um karan he stayed locally but he was here every day and and he's gotten bigger and stronger and there's a lot of positives we've seen although not working against the defense just the fundamental things and then
you would certainly throw in the idea that Jedrick will get in the mix. So we have a great deal of competition. I don't think anybody goes in as a lead. We certainly put value in the veteran in Braxton. So we'll let that thing play out. But they're all pushing each other. They all make each other better. And I think it's a really good situation from that aspect.
Layla, I think that when it's all said and done, we're going to be right back where we were to start the season last year, and Braxton Jones will be the starting left tackle. That's my early, early favorite. Nobody's the lead. Nobody's in the lead. Nobody? Again, they must have somebody in mind, and I think it's Braxton.
Listening to him, especially at the end where he says, we certainly value the veteran in Braxton Jones. Braxton didn't have the lead when Theo Benedict got it from him. You're right. That's why I said there's four now. Weider and I were talking about something. Who's going to be the Theo Benedict this year? Who surprises everybody? Theo Benedict could be the Theo Benedict.
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