Kap & J. Hood

7/29 9 AM: Courtney Cronin

Hour 3: Bears Training Camp: Inside developing Caleb Williams an article from Bears reporter Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Sun-times. Kap & Nick broke down the article. National Bears Reporter for ESPN Courtney Cronin Joined Kap & J. Hood with updates on the Bears and the latest NFL storylines. Plus, the Kap & J. Hood Cut of the Day. Nick Friedell was in for J. Hood.

Duration:: 47m
Broadcast on:: 29 Jul 2024
Audio Format:: mp3

(upbeat music) All right, 9 a.m. Rockin' and rollin' with Nick Friedel, who's in for hoodie, he'll be back tomorrow. Next week, we're gonna be out on the road at Bears Camp for a couple days, lookin' forward to that. And we got the trade deadline tomorrow, so keep it locked right here on the home of the White Sox, ESPN 1000, because Jesse will be checkin' in with Carmen York, Waddle and Sylvie, Black and Abdullah, anything that breaks. Plus, we got White Sox baseball tonight as well, so I'm sure Black and Abdullah will have something on their YouTube channels, really cool, so they'll have something there if anything was the break of major consequence. 3-1-2-3-3-2-3-7-7-6, the Chicago Tribune, Dan Wieder, did a really good, deep, deep dive on the process the Bears are going through to develop Caleb Williams. Really, really good stuff. He writes in there, "Williams is advertised "by his college coaches, shown a desire "for constant feedback and constructive criticism." And he starts with it by taking you to the dinner in LA, when the Bears took Caleb and a bunch of his teammates to the Birds Street Club off Sunset Boulevard for a get-to-know-you-gathering zero-ton on the consensus number one prospect. General manager Ryan Paul's reserved a private room with one table inside, another outdoors creating a casual setting to eat, mingle and interact, and they noticed immediately how comfortable Caleb Williams was. He ordered his favorite sushi roll for the entire table. He was engaging everyone in dialogue, not only breaking the ice, but effortlessly steering and commanding it. And Paul said he was impressed and stunned that Williams never once looked at his phone, never seemed tempted to respond to a text or check the time or fire off a photo for one of his social media accounts. That reminds me of when the Bulls did their homework on Derek Rose and Michael Beasley. And they took both guys separately to the same restaurant, Mortens. And Derek came, I think, at a gray suit with a tie. They said, "He looked like a banker." Beasley shows up with not one, not two, not three, not four, but five different cell phones in his bag and was texting at the table. - That's exactly what brought him Miami there. - No, he was texting at the table that I was told, "Pax said, 'Hey, this man "could make you the number one pick, put the phone down." Yes. - Oh, that is the wrong person to whip five phones out around Mr. Paxson. He would not stand for that. - He would not. And Caleb, they said, is just exceptionally mature and is all about ball. Like the question someone asked him not from the Bears during the camp combine. What's a big night out for you? He said, "My girlfriend and I, "we have a couple other couples that we hang with. "We play Lego." And they play Monopoly Deal. He's not a club guy. He's not an alcohol guy. He just enjoys life. Been in bars and all that. He was at Wrigleyville hanging out. But he's about football, man. - It kept on top of that being a huge takeaway and Dan's story, what I see after reading that is a guy who's a connector. - Yep. - And if you have that in your quarterback, in your number one guy, the type of leader who can connect with all types of different personalities on a team, you have a guy who has the potential to go a long, long way on top of whatever he does on the field. You and I have seen it way too many times, certainly in football, even more in basketball. If you have the guy who has respect of the entire room and has the ability to continue to build relationships throughout that room, you have a guy who you can have as the face of your team for years and years to come. So in the reporting there, if you're a Bears fan, that's what would make me feel good, is that you have this guy who has the ability to be there for all these different teammates who hopefully you can build with through the years. - The Bears, like other teams, have software on the iPad that has the playbook. You don't get a notebook like back in the old days, turn your playbook in. It's on your iPad. And they have tracking software. Because Johnny- - You know how much this is actually being used. - And Johnny Manziel, when he was in Cleveland, never turned it on. Admittedly, he admitted in a Netflix document. - Admitted, I never used it. Yeah, you just stopped sitting there. - Kyler Murray, very, very little. Caleb, I was told 17 hours in a day during mini camp. And he texted, "Carry Joseph." As reader writes, "As early as rookie mini camp in May, Joseph learned to have his phone nearby deep into the night, awaiting the next text buzz with a question or thought from Williams, the rookie want to know, why this specific play was being blocked as it was, why the progressions were ordering the way they were, why a certain route combination had been designed. Why, why, why? And I was told it was like 11 or 11.30. He gets a text about a blocking thing, and he goes, "Go to bed, I'm in bed. I'll see you in the morning." Yeah, I'd rather have that. - Absolutely, and those are all great signs. But, Cap, there's that secondary part, and it's what we're gonna start to find out potentially in this first preseason game in Canton. How does the studying and all those questions relate to the performance on the field? I mean, everything we've heard, and everything we've seen so far from Caleb Williams, and Dan's story being the latest example of that, is it sure seems like on paper, the bear's got a hell of a guy who has an unbelievable amount of talent. But, the next step has to be, how do you showcase that talent and connect to guys on the field? And is he able to make it happen in short order to the point where the bears could actually do some damage this year? - Paul's experience in Kansas City, he was an integral part of the Chiefs 2017 quarterback hunt that landed three times Super Bowl MVP, Patrick Mahomes with the 10th overall pick, taught him important lessons about surrounding a young quarterback with a wide range of people across the building to help catalyze growth teammates, coaches, support staff. He brought in a new chief administrative officer, special advisor to bears present CEO Kevin Warren and Ted Cruz, who arrived from KC after spending 12 years with the Chiefs. He learned a little something about helping a star quarterback in the league's IT team manage the spotlight. He brought in Ryan Griffin, who is a 10-season career as an NFL backup, spent this spring earning MVP honors in the Italian football league, now is an offensive assistant to the bears. They brought in an assisted quarterback coach, passing game coordinator, new OC, new quarterback coach. Like, they've left no stone unturned. If it doesn't work, it won't be for lack of a plan. - And I give the bears a lot of credit for that cap because if you are all in, clearly they are with the number one pick and a potential generational talent, you have to go out of your way to make sure that he is comfortable in every facet of your organization. That is what big-time teams do. That is something that the bears might have thought they had done in the past, but they're doing everything within their power to make the landing soft for a guy who has proven, at least to this point, on the college level, that he has all the talent that he would need, but as far as lining up the staff and making sure that they're all good with Caleb Williams, good for the bears for taking any extra step that is needed. - During his playing days, Ryan Griffin spent two seasons with Drew Brees in New Orleans, two more with Tom Brady at Tampa Bay, gaining valuable insight into the preparation habits and mentalities of two of the best corics to ever play. Additionally, polls noted with a laugh. It was Griffin, who served as Tom Brady's crutch after the goat emerged in the Buccaneers to kill and loop Super Bowl boat parade a bit wobbly. Go find the pictures, Paul said. That's Ryan Griffin holding Brady up. - That's a good teammate right there. - That's a really good teammate. So, there you go. It's a really, really good article, number of things that they have done. It's lengthy, but it is well worth it. - Well worth it. And we'll see how this whole thing breaks out because this is, if this one doesn't work, I don't know what will. - The hype feels very similar though. And that's where I would get nervous if you are a Bears fan because I feel like they were in the same cycle a few years ago. I remember going out to a bunch of those training camp practices a few years ago for JD camp. And it was the same thing, all the eyes were on Mitch. Everybody thought that he was doing so well, building the relationships with his teammates. They thought he could be the guy, albeit not certainly to the talent level that Caleb Williams says. And he never was able to prove it. We're going to see what unfolds here soon. But as I read through these stories, and I think back to my own experience being out there and watching Trubisky those first couple of years, you think, all right, well, here we go again. So my question to you, having lived this now on a daily basis and talked to the people that I know you do, what is the biggest difference between where Caleb Williams is at and where Trubisky was at as the number two pick just a few years ago? - He ends the article saying, it feels like the perfect match poll said. It feels like it's all coming together at the right time. - And if it doesn't, but that's a see that I view this through a journalistic lens because that's been my life for the past two decades. What else is polls going to say? Of course, polls in this article that is hyping up Caleb Williams is going to say, oh, everything's great. And we expect a match to be a match made in heaven and everything's going to work. But that's why I ask from what you've gathered, why is it going to be different this time around given that as an organization, and certainly it wasn't polls that made the call before, but as an organization, they did all this before and it didn't happen. - But they've never had the guy at the top, like the pick of the litter, like Fields was what the fourth quarterback taken. Trubisky, they missed on, they absolutely missed on. - Jake Cutler, the epitome of mediocrity. Rex Grossman, Kade McNown, horrible. - The counter argument to that point though is nobody thought that Mahomes was the guy, aside from maybe Kansas City, and if you read these stories later on, Sean Payton loved him in New Orleans. So, okay, you have the pick of the litter, you can pick whomever you'd like, but all those teams are still sitting there looking at Patrick Mahomes saying, all right, well, he could be good, we're just not sure. That's why, if you're a Bears fan, I would think there'd almost be some PTSD here in that, hey, all the hype is there, the showcase time is upon us, we think he can make all the throws and build all the relationships he needs. - What reason for skepticism is there other than it hasn't worked before? - You've got 3,000 yard guys. - Why come to the life of Nick Friedell? - A guy who had 1,400 yards in college in Roma Dunes, a 2,000 yard pro receivers, an offensive line that's better, you've added depth, it's a new front office, it's a new president, this is the same deal as like, Bengals fans being scared, Joe Barrow wouldn't work just because the Bengals had always been bad. - Like if you had never seen Michael Jordan play, and I said, Nick, you gotta come see this kid, he's the best player in the history of the sport, I've seen him play, he's been in a billion hours, would you wake up and go, I'll bet he gets hurt tonight? - No, I would say, I trust you, this goes back to the Dirk story from Northwestern, I trust you, and I trust from what you've seen and what you've evaluated that I would make that call and say, okay cap, I'm going all in with you. But Shay, the answer to your question is, at least for me, there's always a gap for any guy going from college to the pros. And that's what would be at least giving me pause going into this next phase of Caleb Williams career. We know he can do it in college, we know on paper he has the weapons around him to make a whole bunch of plays now in the pros, we just don't know how he's gonna adjust to that gap that every guy has to deal with. - Doesn't it feel like that gap's closing a little bit with Herbert and CJ Stroud and more college teams using more NFL style defenses? It does feel like the gap's getting small, I'm just making the point, nobody knows if it's gonna work or not, but for people reasons, there are very few for skepticism. - All right, we gotta take a quick time out. Courtney Cronin will join us. Great sit down with Caleb. We'll talk to Courtney latest on the Bears. Next. (upbeat music) - Follow Chicago's Home for Sports on Twitter at ESPN1000. Cap and Jay Hood are back. On ESPN Chicago, Chicago's Home for Sports. - Keep your beak out of there. Like Courtney Cronin, National Chicago Bears reporter for ESPN. - You have to temper expectations if you are a Bears fan, just given everything that this team had to kind of undo. - Breaking down the Bears and the latest NFL storyline. - Paul's was given the flexibility and the freedom to take this thing down to the ground floor, down to the studs to be able to build it back up. - Courtney Cronin with Cap and Jay Hood on ESPN1000, Chicago's Home for Sports. (upbeat music) - Courtney Cronin does just exceptional work, exceptional. I thought her sit down from what I've gotten to watch of it with Caleb was tremendous. And she joins us on a car X tire and auto hotline. Courtney, every day I tell you how good you are at your job. That interview with Caleb was stellar stuff. How is he before you turn the cameras on in the interaction? - He's loose. I think there's something very special about a 22 year old who can be that locked in and that attentive to anybody, anybody he's sitting down with. I first noticed that on the Friday that they brought the two draft decks into Hallis Hall where he went through another car wash after doing it the night before Detroit. And simple things like eye contact, body language, the way that he answers questions, verbal fonting. So like, you know, saying your name back in a response. That's like expert level stuff. So whether it's media training, whether it just comes natural to him, it's really impressive for a young player to be that good at doing this part of the job that early in his career. And I just wanna let you know, Cap, when you should see the smile, like how big it is on my face when I was made aware by Shay of who your cohost is today. Like I have not stopped smiling for like, believe eating grit right now on my face, driving up to Hallis Hall. Nick, I miss you. I am so happy that I get to talk to you this morning. - Courtney, it's great here in your voice always. Courtney and I, we're doing shows together. I mean, just a few weeks before my special day, but as far as Caleb Williams goes, Courtney, to follow up on what you were saying, you were on with the guys a few days ago. I was listening and you were talking about DJ Moore and kind of the heartbeat still of the offense for now. At what point do you think Caleb becomes the guy who has developed the voice for that entire unit? - I think that takes time. Of course, like you're gonna lean on your veteran now. And one thing that we gleaned on Saturday, I think it was either Vela Jones or Tyler Scott talking about the way that Caleb leads, that he's still learning to lead while leading on his own. So it's that fine balance that I sat down with him. We talked about that, was there a period of time where it felt like, okay, I'm comfortable implementing my style of leadership. And it's a learning process for somebody who, again, 22 years old, this is his team, the team's gonna go as far as he can take them. But I know that he views it as I'm still trying to learn from the vets that are ahead of me. We heard about how important that sit down that he had at the team hotel, learning the offense from Keenan Allen, like how important that was to his ability to grasp what they've asked him to do so far. And hearing from Cole Comette, from DJ Moore, from the other vets on this team, about how it just feels natural, the way that he's able to command the huddle, even the other day, like when he gets in the middle of the little kerfuffle, if you wanna call it that, between the offense and defense, and gets into Marcus Walker's face. I'm not so sure that every rookie would be comfortable doing that, going up against five, six year bet, and asserting himself. But there's something magnetic about him that his teammates continue to bring up, just how at the early part of camp, he's been able to galvanize them. And even on bad days, like, Saturday's practice wasn't good. So I'm really curious to see what happens today as far as the bounce back ability, 'cause we really haven't seen too, too much of that so far. And in Saturday's practice, I would say, was probably the floppiest we've gotten in training camp to this point. How Caleb gets everybody in and out of the huddle, everybody to where they need to be. That's a sign of leadership that I think is still, like the box that we're waiting to see get checked and see how they're able to do that today, coming off of the top practice two days ago. - In terms of Nate Davis, when we hear Iber Flue's whole Nate Davis accountable by saying availability, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. He kicks Montes sweat out of a drill, and then goes over and engages with him, and says that cannot happen. And how would you feel if you injured Caleb Boy? - Like he looks like he's totally in control. Is there any chance they release Nate Davis if he's not playing up to their level of commitment and go get Connor Williams to back up at center and play Ryan Bates at guard? - I mean, the health for Nate Davis, and Iber Flue's called it a strain the other day when he was talking about what happened. It's something that occurred during one-on-one. So offensive line, defensive line. We never saw him in team drill on Saturday. And we don't know how long he's going to be out for. Iber Flue said day to day, but again, at this point of training camp, they're not going to disclose much. So day to day, as we know from years past, could mean week to week. But they've got to make sure that they've got people who are available to play that spot, which is why I think it's good for them. Ryan Bates, I mean, heck, if Nate Davis is out for a while, Ryan Bates is more of a guard than he was a center in Buffalo. That might be their best option for now unless they want to go out and spend. And maybe that's the reason that we haven't seen them, utilize any of their financial resources right now to upgrade the roster in any certain spot, because they're waiting to see if there's any injuries and the issues that they could not have predicted. But I thought Iber Flue's, I thought it was a pretty telling answer just about him. And he's not solely speaking to Nate Davis. Obviously, Bayless Jones Jr. has had hamstring issues before that have cost him time. I think he's speaking to the guys, 'cause there is, there's this perception in the NFL that soft tissue injuries are more on the player than they are on anything else. And whether you believe that or not, that's the perception in the league. So if there's a strain, if it's something that coaches will look at and say, well, you weren't conditioned properly, or this is more on you than anything else, then maybe that is a chance to read between the lines, see how they feel about the situation. But to this point, he had practiced every single day, but two days and pads, and before they get to the team period, he's out, it's not a good sign for Nate Davis. And I guess we'll see how it plays out, how soon he's able to get back before determining whether they're, if he's a roster bubble guy, I mean, right now, I don't think he is, just because he's year two of the contract, they guaranteed him a significant portion of that $30 million contract. They're gonna try to give him every opportunity to live up to it before, you know, making any declarations on whether he's on the team or not. - Gordon E. Ebert Flus has been coy about it to this point, but when Thursday rolls around, do you think the starters get a few snaps in that game? - You know, I'm starting, like, just from some things I've been hearing, I don't think they will play on Thursday, whether I agree with that or not is a moot point. They're practicing Wednesdays, but here might be a tell in all of this. So, you know, typically a day before a game, they have a day off and they're doing this a couple of times, you know, in the remainder of the preseason schedule, but they've got to practice on Wednesday. So I would imagine that's probably, you know, it's a 90-man roster, it's a good chance to check on your depth that like the most of the starters will get their worked on on Thursday. And I don't think we're gonna end up seeing anybody in Canton, but probably no Caleb Williams, none of the other starters. And that's, you know, I think that you look at how other teams have utilized that Hall of Fame game. I mean, I don't know the last time we saw a rookie quarterback. I can't think off the top of my head, the last time we had a rookie quarterback in that game, but at least we know Caleb Williams will have three other opportunities between Buffalo, Cincinnati, and Kansas City, depending upon how they wanna split up those reps to see the field, but I do not believe we'll see him on Thursday. - Last thing before we let you go, any nuggets of info, intel that you wanna impart on the audience? - Well, I'll say this about the center competition 'cause it's been interesting to, it's the biggest position battle right now. We did not think there would be one going into training camp. We were kind of under the impression that Ryan Bates was the starting center. It was Andrew Billings, I believe, the other day, who talked about, you know, I'm paraphrasing here, but like, you know, they've got, you can tell the differences in the center, but the really strong, powerful one and more athletic one. And I guess you can kind of determine on your own who he's talking about there. You didn't differentiate between Coleman Shelton and Ryan Bates, but this should be the week where I think we start, you know, you'd think that they're eventually, at the end towards the end of the week, you're gonna start to see, okay, especially with Nate Davis out, if it ends up being Coleman Shelton in that spot, that probably means he's gonna have the edge on Ryan Bates, and certainly if it flips and it's different, then you put the situation in a vice versa mix, but I think that pretty soon we'll start being able to tell who's got the edge there, but it's been really intriguing to hear some of the defense, the interior defensive linemen, whether it's Billings or Gervon Dexter talk about it. And, you know, we know that the cadence has been, you know, they've been mixing some cadences in. The defense got the edge on the offensive line on Saturday. They, you know, jumped off sides. They, you know, had, I believe it was five fall starts to my count, there may have been another one in there. And it's been, it hasn't been the cleanest of operations. So I would imagine whoever's got the edge on that starting center spot and who can make sure that they don't get baited into jumping off, you know, jumping early, then that will be somebody who has the edge there because the defensive line has had their number in that respect. - Courtney, have a great rest of your day. - Thanks guys. - Nice to see you. (applause) - There she is, Courtney Cronin on the CarX Tire and Auto Hotline. We will get into a bunch of our callers. We got a lot of calls that have been at hold. So if you're on hold, you will be on the air. We're talking bears. We're talking trade deadline and more. Oh, and I want to talk a little bit about Caitlin Clark. Hmm, sounds like the selection committee realizes they have stopped. Be right back. - Here's todays headline, headline with Captain Jay Hood. - Cubs made big news on the trade market yesterday sending Christopher Morellen prospects, Ty Johnson and Hunter Biggie to Tampa for all-star third baseman, Itzak Parades. President Jed Hoyer said the goal is to add players that will help the Cubs not just this season, but into the future, Parades under contract through the 2027 season. The Cubs took two or three beating their royals again. On Sunday, they're in Cincinnati tonight. White Sox were swept away on the south side over the weekend by Seattle. The losing streak for the second time this year is at 14. Sox are the third team since 1920, doing their multiple 14-game losing streaks in one season. Garrett Crochet allowed five runs, but three earned and three innings of work yesterday. That's his final start before the trade deadline, but he has made it clear. If I'm traded to a team going to the playoffs, they must extend my contract, or I will not pitch in the postseason. The team USA basketball 110-84 win over Serbia in their opening game at the Olympics. LBJ at 21, Katie had 23, yet three-time first team all-NBA player Jason Tatum never got off the bench. J-board. - You capping, J-hood, I'm back. - I want to thank both of you guys, man, for the great season of bad information. And I just want to say, I appreciate you guys, and I love this story. - Ojigago's home for sports, ESPN Chicago. - All right, full lines are hopping. Let's get to them. 3-1-2-3-3-2-3-7-7-6. We've been hit talking to baseball and a lot of football here on the show. I do want to get into the Caitlin Clark stuff, so we'll find time for that as well. We'll start with Pauli and Palm Beach. Pauli! - Hey, great show. What's up, man? - Hopefully, you took my advice, Cappy, before the season began and are fading the socks on every game. A $100 players of 3,000. - Wow. - Okay, you're up almost 30 units. - So you would bet the money line, right? - Money line, every game. And you're only laying about 172 on average. It's not even two to one, but we allow two to one. - And they tonight, they play Kansas City, looking for their 15th consecutive loss. - You just got to keep playing it. You just keep playing it every game. Use your discipline at the same units. Like I said, $100 players up 3,000. That's enough to cover your football bets. - There you go. There's the whole season paid for. - It's done. I like it. - So this is what Jerry wants to do. I don't know if Gex will do it or not. They're not going to sit here and let crochet dictate the terms to this trade, right? He doesn't want to, that's fine. You want 5 million, or five years, 110 million. That's what he's going to ask for. So you shut him down. You shut him down right now, and you eliminate your risk entirely. Actually, you make him more a better, you'll make a better trade for him in the off season. He'll have three or four more months of rest on that arm. Nobody will be worried about it. And you'll get better value for him in the off season. But you shut him down right now. - Yeah, I right now. - I think that's a very, very valid point. And I don't blame him for demanding an extension either, as I've said. - I don't know, it's not personal, it's only business. - That's it, that's it. Paulie, have a great day, man. Play the Bears over 'cause they're going to win 10. - I've thought you're bad. - I've heard that before. We'll see it. That's our guy, Paulie and Paulie. - I've heard that somewhere. - Well, he's a book. - Oh, well, hey. I think he has family that's part of the White Sox ownership. - Yeah, oh, yeah. He's a great dude, great dude. Lewis and Morten Gump, looking good, Lewis. - Really good. Good morning, man. - How you doing? - I am awesome. May number one, the last couple of times I've caused, I've always wanted to say this, but I keep forgetting. I miss Danny, I hope he's doing good. Congratulations on the promotion and all of that stuff. I didn't waste, I don't know what's going on with Danny, but I hope he's listening, I miss him. I love him, good job. Love you guys. Y'all my favorite, obviously, you know. And listen to you guys every morning. - Appreciate you. - They show it in the morning. Then I ain't having a good day. But anyways, I wanted to touch on some of the topics that you guys are discussing here this morning about the bears. So let's be honest, since the times that I've been watching the bears play, I've never been excited for an offense. Every time, because the last time I got this feeling and excitement was when we got to Little Mac, when we got to Little Mac, I was excited. I was like, man, this is a year. We got a deep and we've always been known for defense. We finally got a great defense, but now I'm excited for this offense. This is the first time since I can remember being excited for our offense. The last time we had a good offense was Devin Hester, that's it. And then our defense. But now we have a leader with Keenan Alley. Keenan has enslaved one snap with the Chicago Bears and he's already, he showed up for Caleb Williams before the draft. He started talking to him. Like you could tell his leadership in this locker room is there and his presence is known like this. And then Caleb Williams is shocking everybody with weight. He's cuddling everything. And man, I'm excited for the Bears team. Let's go, Bears, Bears down. This is our year. We're gonna beat the packing too. Ain't no more talking, man. Ain't no more losing to the packers. They no more losing to division. Let's go Bears, man. Cap, you be good. You be safe. You know, you say you do what you doing. Cap, I'll talk to you guys later. - You're the man. Thanks, Lewis. Appreciate you, buddy. - There he is. Our guy, Lewis, out, Morton Grove. 312-332-3776. I kept saying it from like December on. You see that light down in that tunnel? - Yeah. - That's the Bears coming. - Oh, cap. Didn't we learn our lesson from a few years ago? Can't we just, can't we just take a breath? - No. - Like, you've, can't we just, have you not learned? You fan how you want a fan. - Oh, man, that's cuddling. - I love you. I've learned the ways of the cap, man. But then I don't want to be talking to the goldfish in a couple of years, and I'm going through all that. It's periodic to come with talking to all that. The circus animals, and how things didn't work out the way everybody hoped. Let's just take a deep breath and hope for the best this time. - Frank, yes. - Yes. - Thanks, Anthony Edwards, my guy. - Why can't you just let the sunshine hit your face a little bit next? - I've learned, I've learned. - I've learned. - I've learned the ways of Chicago sports for the entirety of my life, but certainly in the last 15 years. And I just want my man over here to take a deep breath heading into this season and hope that it can happen. - That is no fun again. - Well, wait a minute, wait a minute. I'll tell you what else is no fun though. For years hearing Mitch is the man, Mitch is the best, Ryan Pace is the best, and then having to, you turn off that. That is also not fun. - It's not, but guess what? When I wake up tomorrow, I'm optimistic as always. Those are my teams. And as I had battled several years ago with Sylvie, he's like, "You gotta let people fan how they want to fan." I learned. I let you fit, you want to live a life of negativity? Wake up, dig its raining every day. - I want to live a life of realism. - But you're not living a life of realism. Like there's a nuance to, for me, I don't think the Bears are ready to compete for a Super Bowl because I don't believe in their defensive line enough and I don't buy what they have up front on offense enough, but I think they're building a legitimate modern NFL offense with a quarterback and skilled players. They're going the right direction. There's a difference between realism and pessimism and you're all pessimism. - I will cop to some pessimism because of what my experience has shown me being around these teams. - Realism is like, these are things I can point to that make me concerned. What you are doing is, - What you are doing is, this is what makes me concerned. I don't think you either flew this to the guy. - That's fair. - That's a point that you don't have the right coach. If we all acknowledge that having the quarterback is number one, one A is having the right coach in place. And there is nothing that I've seen in these first two years that leads me to believe no matter what kind of players you've put into place that this guy will be able to hit the right buttons to make it work. - The way you're talking this morning, I feel like in 2016 when the Cubs won 100 games, he were like, "Oh, well, the playoffs are going to be a disaster. They always are." - I believed, but you know why? - In 2016, when they hit a little skid, he was like, "Here we go." - No, no, no, no. Do you know what the difference is? And it's a perfect segue because in capital attest to this because I lived it with him. I believed completely in Theo Epstein. I thought it was a fantastic hire. I believed completely in Joe Madden. I thought it was a fantastic hire. And even more, I knew that they had finally gotten the right players in place to finally make it work. And it did. But when you don't have all of those pieces in place first, then you start to worry. And as far as the bears go, I still have questions about polls because they haven't won a damn thing yet. And I have major questions about Ebert Flus because nothing has shown me yet that he is the God. But as your main tips always likes to say, I reserve the right to change my mind. - I don't have a problem with you being skeptical. I just have a problem when the reason is, well, it's always been bad so it can't be good. - No, it can't. - 'Cause that to me is bogus. - No, you're right about that. It can change and things can change. What I would tell you is that having watched how the organizations in this town have been run for years and years until I see it differently, I will always have this cloud of skepticism because I don't believe that they've been run the way they should be. - All right, I do want to get the Kate and Clark stuff in, but we can probably do that tomorrow 'cause I want to ask you about a particular player who did something exceptionally unselfish. You'll get it on the back end, but we've been debating it here. I thought it was super cool. You're right in the middle of it. We'll get into that in the cut of the day. Next. - Kevin, Jay Hood are back. - And you know this, man. - Chicago's home for sports. - ESPN Chicago. (upbeat music) - Captain Jay Hood on ESPN 1000. You got Greenie coming up, then Carmen, your waddle, Sylvie. And then White Sox Royals at 630 weather permitting here on the home of the Sox. ESPN 1000. So, I love Jalen Bronson. I love-- - He's a hell of a player. - Watching him play, he grew up five minutes from my house. He was in my high school event and when he took the contract that he signed, he left like 112 million on the table. Now, he'll make that back down the road, but he said I talked with and studied Brady, Mahomes, and Jeter and all of them said, I'm happier that I took less because I could keep guys on my team or attract guys on my team and one championships. And you'll get your money on the back end. But if you do this and take the big deal now, they're not gonna be able to bring all those dudes in. And he went, I'm in, let's do it. Now, he's made well north of 250 million in his career ready and as he said, if we can't, he and his wife can't live on that, we got problems. So, I loved it. Would you rather be on the Charlotte Hornets and make a lot more money or you wanna be on the Knicks in this epicenter? - Well, would you rather planche cargo and make a really solid living or go to Denver and be on a team nobody cares about? - That's like Chris Bray. - And live on the deal. If you're Jalen Brunson and the Knicks, it makes a hell of a lot of sense because Cap, you and I both know if he actually can pull off a title there with Tibbs, he's a king until the end of time in that place, which is different. I mean, winning in New York is different. Playing there is different. It is unlike any other place that there is for pro athletes. I give him a hell of a lot of credit because a lot of guys talk about leaving money on the table. He did. I just don't believe when you look at the Knicks, when you zoom out that they're good enough to win it all. But as we know, during the course of the season, a lot of things can change. There are variables in play. But if you wanna play with your buddies, Mikhail Bridges, he'll get paid now on top of the deal he came in with off that trade from the Nets, Josh Hart, Steven Chenzo, all the Nova guys, you want all of those guys to be happy while you're happy, you take a little less and it will all make sense in the end. - Shane was like, he got- - What'd you call it? He got punked? - He got duped. - He got duped. I disagree. - Everybody on that team, having been around that team enough the last few years, they all know what the deal is. And everybody is aligned on the same page. It's Leon Rose bringing Tibbs in. It's Rick Brunson being on Tibbs staff knowing him for so, so many years. It's everybody being well aware of Jaylen's game and how much better he's gotten. And it's finding players that fit the way Tibbs wants to play. When you look at the New York Knicks, it is Tibbs and a bunch of mini Tibbs. There's no wonder why they've had the success because they're all wired the same way as the crazy man. And once that happens, a lot of good things are possible, even for a team like the Knicks that has been so mismanaged for the better part of two decades. - And it'll all culminate in second round exits. - And that's what I was just telling your pal here, Mr. Kaplan, because I think the Knicks are really good. They're gonna win a lot of regular season games. In the postseason, you need guys who can put the team on their back game after game after game after game. And for better or worse, what has happened with all these Tibbs teams in the past is they give everything they possibly have, but they just completely run out of gas at the end. - Memo to C-Red Fred out there, C-Red, they just gave him three for 45 Tibbs. - This is making a bundle where it's $600 huge. (laughing) - Crazy. Here is the Kappa J hood cut of the day brought to you by Chicago cuts. - Steakhouse. (upbeat music) - Yo. - Yes, it's boring, but it's a sport. - Oh! - Whatever. - It's not boring. - Okay, then you're boring. - All right, cut. (upbeat music) - I'm not the biggest college football fan. Che and hoodie are. They, like, that's, watching college football for them on a series of better than sex. (blows raspberry) - True. (laughing) - Not lying. - It's not lying. - No, no. - I mean, I think they're insane. - No. - No. - Yes, twice that I agree with them. - Damn. - And on that? - Damn. - Oh. - Yeah. I mean, it's disgusting. - Take me away. - Disgusting. (laughing) Yeah. Like, literally. - Oh my God. - Like, literally. My wife showed up in some great lingerie. I'd be like, game on. You know what that guy would do? Hey, Kinsey. He's married. Hey, Kinsey. The new college football EA sports game came out. - Oh. - Can we put this on hold? I'll get a rain check. - Oh. - I know I can pause the game. (laughing) Listen. - Wild stuff that goes down here now, huh? - Some believe. - Oh my God. - You will see a Notre Dame balls on the goal line, honey, hang on a moment, please. (laughing) - The balls are always on the goal line. - Yeah. (laughing) - Well done, Jay Moore. (laughing) - And that's all, folks. - The cap of Jay Hood cut of the day brought to you by our friends David Flom, Nat Moore Chicago cut steakhouse best burger in the city, and it is spectacular. Weather's not patio day today, so sit inside or sit at the brand new bar. It's awesome. Awesome. Love it, love it, love it. My friend, John Eldape says, love Nick Friedal, but that pessimism about the bears needs to stay right there in his head. Hey, I know, John. Yeah, I think there's two-- - Is that Westtown bakery? - Oh yeah? - Yeah. - I was just there the other day. When you see the hype that is around this team, that is what scares me. And Jay's right, things can change. You get the right people in place, especially at quarterback, it can change in a hurry. But when you've seen it run the way it has for so long, I just choose to believe that I'll believe it when I see it. And I still haven't seen it yet with that organization while I've been here. Downtown Dean. - Good morning Nick Friedal. Welcome back to Chicago. I hope McMahon's bachelor party was the success. - It was good, dude. We had a good time. We had a good time. - Talk about out kicking your coverage, my own. (both laughing) - Well, the first time you shared that one, that is for sure. - In the words of Tom Wattle, guys, more than one thing to be true. So yes, your hesitation, Nick, an apprehension to jump completely on board is understandable. But you gotta be excited. If not for anything else, just the maturity level of Caleb, others in addition to the stuff on the field. But somewhere between you and Kath is a happy medium. It reminds me of a story my uncle used to tell me about a father bowl and a sun bowl on a hill. And they're looking down at a field of cows and the sun bowl says, hey, let's go down there and have fun with one of those cows. Let's walk, let's run down there. And he goes, no, son. Let's walk down there and have fun with all of them. We can have it all fellas. Take that! - Indeed, that guy, he's something else, man. Hey, ESPN Chicago streaming on Twitch and YouTube brought to you by the Chicago Ducky Derby. On August 7th, adopt the doc, support our special Olympics athletes. - Caitlin Clark discussion tomorrow. hoodie, he'll be back, we'll get into this. Because all those haters out there, including the one up on the seventh floor, who's going, I'm not a hater, Maggie. It's all about just winning the gold, she tells me. Caitlin deserved to be on there over some of the old women that are on the team. - Well, Don Staley's answer on that was also pretty ridiculous. Like, oh, well, we only counted the first few weeks of the WMBACs and I, Kath, for all the people that love women's basketball, I'm happy that it has entered the conversation. The reason it has entered the conversation is because of Caitlin Clark. - No question. - As a committee member, you're charged with putting together best team of players, the best talent. Caitlin is just a rookie in the WNBA. Wasn't playing bad, but wasn't playing like she's playing now. If we had to do it all over again, the way that she's playing, she would be in really high consideration of making the team because she is playing ahead and shoulders above a lot of people shooting the ball extremely well. I mean, she is an elite passer. She's just got a great basketball IQ and she's a little more seasoned in the pro game. - In a couple of months. - Yeah, in a couple of months that she was two months ago. - Take that Maggie sketch on the seventh floor. Nick, love you, man. Great to have you here. - Love you too, my man. - You're being taught her a few more days, maybe? - Who knows? I was supposed to leave a week ago after the McMenderman bachelor party and you're still here. - The city keeps pulling me back. So I move back. I love it. I miss it every day, but it was great being with you. - You too. That's our guy Nick Friedel hoodies back tomorrow. Have a great day. Take that from Chicago.