Kevin Fishbain looks ahead to Bears' offseason
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Kevin Fishbane. I got fishy business. Okay, Fishbane. Bears beat Ryder for the Athletic. Are you talking about how the Bears had 10 days off between games after their two best passing performances in the first play from scrimmage against an all-blitzing defense was to let a blitzer come free? Kevin Fishbane talking Bears. Hey, Kevin. Kevin Fishbane from the Athletic. I love your name. It's a great name. Yeah, great name. On Chicago Sports Radio, 670 The Score.
Kevin Fishbane, he is the senior writer at The Athletic. He covers the Bears. He hosts the podcast Breaking In with Kevin Fishbane, a sports media podcast. He is the NSMA Sports Writer of the Year for the state of Illinois yet again. And he is at Kevin Fishbane at kfishbane.com. on x kevin fishbane we're always happy to have you on we wanted you on a little bit earlier this week because of the big day that was bears locker clean out at hallis hall your colleague at the athletic dan weir described it as somber kevin we're always happy to have you on thanks for joining us and what do you think about the mood that you saw yesterday
Yeah, thank you for having me. It was, you know, I've covered 12 locker cleanouts and they're always low key. They're always a little somber. This one was this like, oh man, we were that close. We don't know. If we'll be back, we don't know how hard it's going to be to get back. We don't know who's going to be here next year to try to get back. So I think you felt a lot of guys really coming into terms with the finality of what was just an incredible run that nobody predicted. And guys just kind of sitting there being like, wow, it's over. They've got to watch the Rams now continue on in the conference championship. And they have to sit there and think about like, well, what's this thing going to look like?
But I will say, you know, you talk to guys and like they acknowledge what's okay, we've got a lot of guys still under contract. We clearly have the coach. We have the quarterback. This is obviously going in the right direction. The trajectory is where it needs to be. But yeah, I mean, I think guys were understandably pretty bummed that their season came to an end.
I think the biggest thing, because they have so much under control as far as offense is concerned, is looking and seeing what the priorities are when you talk about the offseason and the turnover that is inevitable after the first season of a head coach, whether he's successful or not. And what would you say is the direction you think the Bears need to focus on and make the priority heading into this offseason?
Yeah, I think it's the pass rush. I think it just has to start there. You can look at the fact that Ryan Poles revamped the offensive line in as successful as we've seen a GM revamp a position group, certainly here. It's time to do that on the defensive side of the ball. It's going to be trickier. You have a lot of money already invested there, and you've got guys. It's a funny thing to say, But theoretically, if the Bears wanted to, they could have the exact same starting defensive line and top two reserves for week one next year that they had this year. I don't think that's really the best strategy, but at least you have some flexibility. You can create a deeper group and a more effective group.
What insights does Kevin Fishbane share about the Bears' locker cleanout?
You just have to figure out how are you going to get to the passer. They did a pretty nice job against Matthew Stafford, but I think Dennis Allen was in his bag, as the kids say. I mean, he was cooking on Sunday night with all those different exotic looks and blitzes and moving guys in and out. And they did a really nice job. But I think that so much of this offseason is going to be how can they better impact the opposing quarterback and what are ways they can do that. And I think it's going to have to start with that defensive front.
Kevin Fishbane joins us on Twitch, twitch.tv slash Chicago670, the score, and he is on the Circus Sports Illinois hotline. Download the Circus Sports app today. Kevin, that was where we started our show, just talking about at what point did you have confidence in the defense in that game?
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:05–3:31
2
What insights does Kevin Fishbane share about the Bears' locker cleanout?
3:31–10:21
3
What are the Bears' offseason priorities according to Kevin Fishbane?
10:21–12:16
4
How does the Bears' pass rush need to improve this offseason?
12:16–13:14
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from Rahimi & Grote Show
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