Montez Sweat reacts to criticism of Bears’ defense
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What did Montez Sweat say about the Bears' defense criticism?
Layla Rahimi, Marshall Harris, Mark Grody, Rahimi, Harrison, Grody on 104.3 The Score. The Bears get it back. Stafford and Trent got hit as he threw it. And that ball is recovered for the moment by Kyron Williams. They'll roll it down. We'll see if it's an incomplete pass or a fumble as Montez Sweat, the top sack man, got to Stafford's off.
Lower in the field is a fumble recovered by the offense who gave himself up. It's third down.
That's the playoff game against the Rams right there. Sweaty with a sack. A sweaty sack. Not a sweat. Mike Tirico with the call.
Watch your profanity.
On NBC. Marshall. I heard Ben Johnson, I was not out at House Hall yesterday, but I did hear Ben Johnson say that he thought Montez Sweat had the best year of his career last year. Do you think that was the best year of his career? In a career? 10 sacks, 18 quarterback hits, and 53 tackles last year. I immediately, my brain went to, and that was a fine year. He got it going after a slow start last year. My brain immediately went to the first year with the Bears in the 2023 season, where in nine games with the Bears, he had six sacks. and he also had, I think, six and a half with Washington. So it was as big as sack season, but the Tez effect was in effect in a big way when he first came to the Bears.
So I'll take 2023 over what I saw last year, but he did get the engine revving eventually last year. Are you arguing with head coach Ben Johnson? A little bit. It's a dangerous game I'm playing. Very dangerous game. He'll rip your cell phone right off and slam it. Only if it goes off while he's at the podium, I believe. I don't think he just goes unsolicited looking for cell phones to slam down or anything. Did I tell you cell phones are no longer allowed out there on the lectern? because of that. So you have to have an actual recorder recorder? Yeah, most people do. There aren't that many reporters that put cell phones up there anyway, I don't think. I'm not sure because I never do because I plug in. I feel like a lot of people put cell phones up there.
Maybe they do. Maybe there's more that... But no, you did not tell me that. Oh, wow. So punishment was... It was swift. It's been handed out. At least when Ben Johnson's up there. Okay, so that was a Ben Johnson specific. I don't know, like, say, if Jervon Dexter would have gotten as angry while the cell phone went off. If you have an iPhone, you should know that you can pull down the top right corner, and it gives you an option of do not disturb, put it on, and then you don't have to worry about these things. It's the moment, man, that sometimes you just forget. You just forget. I guess you do. But yeah, for Montez Sweat, I think last year may have been his best year, and here's why. Because even though they didn't do a great job up front in terms of stopping the run or getting to the quarterback, they did make the conditions ideal to lead the entire NFL in takeaways.
So... You take that with those 10 sacks compared to the year where he has 12.5 sacks and you ask, what does he have to show for it?
How did Montez Sweat's performance compare to previous seasons?
The Bears had a lot more to show for what he did on the field with the winning that came later in the season. It was a huge rebound, if nothing else, from 2024 where over 16 games he had just 5.5 sacks. And keep in mind, as we discuss and dissect Montez Sweat, and we should because he's a moneymaker in the NFL and they deserve the scrutiny. This has been a very durable player. He played through a bunch of injuries in 2024, and I think there was only one season where he had a somewhat significant injury and was with Washington and he played 10 games. So this guy stays healthy or at least manages to play through it. But I loved hearing Montez Sweat yesterday talk about, among others, Ben Johnson. Take a listen to this.
Obviously, the team's success last year was more than you'd experienced previously. When you got distance from the season, what do you think brought that all to life here last year?
Ben.
What specifically struck a chord with you about the way he led?
I mean, he just worked the s*** out of us.
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Chapters
2 chaptersSpeakers
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