Chicago Bears Special: TRAINING CAMP PREVIEW with SAMMO

Chicago Bears Special: TRAINING CAMP PREVIEW with SAMMO

[Music] What’s up, guys? Back with good friend Samo. Samo, how you doing today, man? We’re on the eve of training camp. How you feel? What’s up? What’s I’m good. I’m good. What’s up, Swift? I see you with the new intro. Doing big things. Getting ready for the new year. Getting ready for training camp. J2K made that man. You know the guy. Um, but we’re on the EVA training camp and I’m excited for this year, man. I think it’s now that we got a new head coach, finally gonna see some fruits of the labor of all the young talent that’s been brought in over the last couple of years. What are your expectations for this year’s training camp, man? Man. So, let me just start by saying I came into this year, well, I ended last year extremely pessimistic about this team, this organization, and just everything as a whole, the organization from top to bottom. Uh, and I was one who was calling for Ryan Pose’s head because I didn’t think that he would be able to secure a good head coach. uh seeming like a a lame duck GM himself after firing of Matt Eva flukes. So I was extremely pessimistic about it and as time went on though, you know, the dominoes just started falling into place, falling into place, falling into place. And man, I became more and more op optimistic about this team. We get we land the best head coach available to me uh which was uh Ben Johnson. you know, the perfect marriage between him and Caleb Williams. We got to get Caleb going. That’s the main thing. This is that’s absolutely gonna get this team going and he lands Dennis Allen, one one of the best defensive minds in the game. So, it’s just like, man, then things just spark all into place with the coaching staff. Boom. Then, you know, we we get some pretty good free agents, I think, man. out the trades, the trades for uh the offensive lineman. Then we end up signing uh Grady Jared and we end up signing Oangbo and you know we solidified the trenches. Boom. You know, things looking better from there. And uh you know, the draft didn’t go as expected, but the more I dive in to the players that we did get, man, I I like exactly the players that we that we got and where we got them. Uh I think you know I was no one expected us to draft coaster lovely. I always say that I don’t know anyone really expected us to draft co for anyone that we know but if you think about what Ben Johnson likes to do man with 12 personnel and what lovelin is as a player man what he was uh not last year but the season before man the dude is a monster. He’s a matchup nightmare, you know, for too big for DBs, too fast for linebackers. So, he’s going to be a matchup nightmare. Then, you know, you go further down in the draft, we get an Azie Pillow, you know, who looks like a guy that could possibly be a uh competitor for left tackle. We get a Shamar Stewart, a guy who I liked in the draft, but I never thought that we would draft. Uh, and then Kyle Manungai. You know, we wait and wait and wait and Kyle Manungi falls to us in the seventh round. just like and Luther Burton and I didn’t mention Luther Burton but you know it was like getting a second first round pick at the top of the second round at pick 39. So it’s like man things fell into place for us. I think uh with the coaching staff we have and the mix of veteran players and young players and everything. I think this team has the potential to be really good this season. I’m just excited to see it all come together in training camp and having those two practices with uh joint practices with who was it? The Bengals and the Bills and Dolphins. Uh Bills and Dolphins. Bills and Dolphins. Bills and Dolphins this year. The Bengals last year. Yeah, Bills and Dolphins. I think those are going to be beneficial for this team, man. So, I think that the arrow is pointing up for me again. I’m excited about it. Poles gets an extension. So, we have continuity. We’re going to have that continuity. So, these guys have to work, learn to work together. They have to figure it out. You know, you got the GM, you got your coach, and you got your quarterback all together. And and we haven’t had that in so long, man. That but that’s that I think that’s extremely important to the success of this team, man. Man, I’m glad they got the deal done. You know, no one has to worry about anything and worry about their jobs. Now, it’s just execute. Go out and execute. Now, you said it, man. I mean, the GM, the head coach, and the quarterback. Those are the three most important parts of a football team. And we haven’t I don’t know if we’ve hit one of those in the last 15 years. And we could potentially have all three right now. And I you just nailed it on the head about as good as you can for what position we could be in. Obviously, all three of those guys are still a bit of an unknown. Like Caleb Williams still hasn’t proven himself. Ryan Poles still has to get some wins. He has a terrible record, one of the b worst in Bears history. Ben Johnson hasn’t coached a single game yet. But me, I’m a I’m optim I’m as optimistic as anybody on those three. Caleb Williams checks every box for a franchise quarterback. Ryan Poles has hit so many home runs in my eyes. And Ben Johnson, he’s as perfect of a coaching candidate as I believe we’ve ever had in my lifetime. So, I think we’re ready to go. We’re on the eve of training camp setting here today. One of the biggest questions now that Azie Trapillo has signed his contract or what do you expect out of that three-way battle for the left tackle job? I think that uh it’s all going to hinge on the health of Braxton Jones to be honest because if Braxton Jones is healthy, of course he gets the first shot at the job, you know, so he’ll be getting all those first team reps. However, if Braxton isn’t healthy or he is healthy and he comes back and he’s a step slow and you know trying to get his his foot his footing under him and you know you know get his movement back and all of that stuff then that opens the door for Azie Trapillo I think man more so than Karan Amagaji uh simply because you know Ben Johnson had a a hand in drafting Azie Trapillo so I’ll give him the the upper hand over Karan McGaji, but I’m not counting Karan Magajji out either because I think that he’s also a massive individual, man. He’s extremely smart. Um, he had some rough moments last year when he was injected into the offense uh that week to start, but it didn’t seem like they he received much coaching. So, uh, all of those guys have the opportunity to start, but I think that just due to the health of Braxton Jones and the draft pick in the second round of Azie Chapello, I think that, you know, Aussie Aussie may end up winning this job, man. And that might not be a bad thing because Braxton Jones could become an opportunity that could become an opportunity to trade a Braxen Jones man who’s going to be a good left tackle in this league. And if if we can get something for him and not have to pay him 20 plus million, you know, to be a starter on this offensive line that we’ve already invested a lot of money in, I think that’s that’s also plays a big part in the Bears hoping and wishing that Azie, you know, can get the job done. So, hey, that that seems like the perfect situation for me. Uh, you know, we get into training camp, Aussie wins the job, Braxton still looks good. And, you know, then we get teams calling for Braxton, you know, saying, “Hey, we need a left tackle on our team.” And, you know, Brax, we get a second round pick for a Braxton Jones. And then we just spit on Elijah Chapill and not have to pay that 20 million plus dollars that are going to cost to sign a Braxton Jones after this year. because what people think about Braxton. Braxton he’s going to command that type of money just because he’s he’s been there. He’s been a starter in this league. And honestly, that’s the only reason why he’s not in this team’s future right now. If left tackles didn’t get paid what they got. Braxton might have got signed to a long-term deal by now, but no, no one’s, especially with his struggles he’s had in coming off seasonason ankle injury and never being never never playing for Ben Johnson. It’s clear that he’s not in the team’s future plans right now. And we’re not going to pay him that 20 million. But Braxton is going to get paid next off season. And if a team does come and blow us away with an offer, you got to make that offer. But I can’t rule out Braxton as a guy who if Azie gets a slow start or Karan Amagaji doesn’t live up to the expectations as well, Braxton can still come in here and solidify the position for one more year for us as well and at least be a solid option at left tackle. So, I like that he’s our floor at the position, but if someone beats him, I think that’s better for us right now because I mean, I think that means someone outperformed Braxton. If someone else is a tackle, that means they came out there. They showed that they can hold up their anchor in the NFL and do what Braxton hasn’t done the last couple of years, what Ben Johnson’s looking for. And then if they need a little bit of help with the speed rushers, that’s what you got people to chip for. Hopefully you can get him a little bit of help on that. But yeah, I’m ready for it. It’s a little bit different when guys are getting taken all the way around the pocket and beat on a speed rush. You know that Caleb has a chance to step up now with Drew Dolman here. Hopefully he’s going to have that chance to step up. So you’re not as worried about those speed rushers, but when the left tackle is getting bull rushed back into the quarterback’s lap, there’s nothing you can really do about that. So that’s why to me Azie and Karan are one and two right now with Braxton being the long shot. But it is going to be a real battle for sure. It is and it’s that’s going to make training camp extremely interesting and just to figure out how they divvy up the snaps too. You know, it’s going to be interesting to see how they divvy up the snaps. And I I fully expect probably the entire first team offense and defense to play a lot in the preseason as well so they can figure some things out. So, you know, it’s going to be a good a good training camp. It’s going to be a good uh preeason to watch the Chicago Bears because like them, we’re trying to figure out exactly what this team is. like us. Well, let’s say they like us. They’re trying to figure out what they have in these players, you know, and they’re uh they’re going to actually allow these guys to play because that’s the best way to uh, you know, evaluate a guy is by putting them on the field. So, in a real game situation and you mentioned a couple of our additions to the defensive line with Deo Odangbo and Grady Jarrett. I I know you you’re one of one of the guys out there that do watch does watch a lot of tape. What do you how do you think the defensive line is going to play out this year? Do you see do you see Grady uh do you see Grady Jarrett being the leader there? Do you see Javon Dexter taking a big step forward? And h just how do you see that defensive line playing out this year? Anything to watch? I think he did a I think Ryan Poles did a really good job, man, this offseason. I know a lot of people were calling for an additional defensive lineman to be added, but we got to remember we did draft Austin Booker last year with a pick from this year year’s draft. So, he’s really a pick from this year draft that we just got early and he showed a lot of promise, man. The guy just was small. He needed to uh get a little bit heavier, get a little bit stronger and but he showed that he can he can get around offensive tackles and get to the quarterback. He showed some combination of moves. He just has to be consistent and be a little bit stronger uh against the run. So, I’m excited about about seeing Austin Booker, you know, in his second year and with another defensive uh line coach as well because wasn’t very fond of uh our last defensive line coach. Didn’t feel like he did enough to develop players. uh we see all guys like Javar Dexter get better, but outside of that, I didn’t see many players just developing and really get better. Uh but as far as the rotation goes, man, I think, like I said, I feel like Poles did a masterful job. We have good veterans, a good veteran and Brady Jared and Billings. You got two really good veterans and then you got the Odango who can also play on the inside. So, that’s a really good rotation of defensive tack. Then you you bring in we also still have uh Javon Daxter and then we bring in uh Shamar uh Turner. Shamar Turner almost says Stewart, but I think those five guys that can rotate on the inside are just going to be really good. And I think that’s going to help Odangbo on the outside and uh Sweat on the outside. Man, that’s what we really were missing was that push from the inside, man. That presence and having a Grady Jarrett to teach the younger guys how to get it done, you know, and him, you know, Grady’s past his prime, but Gertie still has a lot left in the tank and he doesn’t have to play every down for this team. I know a lot of people are like, “Why aren’t we getting him? He’s past his prime. He’s old.” Dude, this is the perfect situation for him because we have all these players around him, younger players around him. You know, he’s going to be fresh. We can keep him fresh. That’s key. And then on top of that, man, we haven’t had a player as talented as Grady Jarrett with Montes Sweat on this defensive line yet. Montes Sweat is a guy I think a lot of people are overlooking Sweater. Maybe they’ve written him off a little bit after he had a down year last year, but he’s in the prime of his career, and to me, he’s a top 10 pass rusher in the NFL. He he always gets doubleteamed. He’s a great player. He can play the run. He’s extremely athletic. He’s a guy who’s, man, he can get after quarterbacks. If he’s not getting doubleteamed and getting as much attention as he has in the last two years, he’s a guy who can get 12 to 15 sacks. And man, I’m really excited to see what he can do. And Dennis Allen’s also going to move him around that defensive line, probably have him rushing from all over the place with those NASCAR packages. So, I’m excited for Sweat. And Grady Jarrett’s the guy who he’s going to unlock that because Grady Jarrett, he command you have to double team Grady Jarrett. And if Javon Dexter’s on the you got Grady Jared and Jervon Dexter on the inside, all of a sudden Sweat’s not getting as much attention. And I’m excited for this Dline, man. For real. Yeah, I I am as well, man. I I know a lot of people are calling for us to sign another defensive end, which I’m fine with either way, but I really want to see what Booker has to offer and I don’t want someone to come in and take snaps away from Booker because you can’t get better from the sideline, man. You got to get out there and you got to play. And we just signed a guy in No Dango for what was it 15 17 million a year. So, he he has to play as well. So, I think we have a really good rotation. We don’t know who that fourth defensive end is going to be. So, that’s going to be a battle. But, but Don Robinson, who coach talked about before the end of mini camp. And, you know, we got who is it? Uh, another guy liked who we signed. Jamry Croman. Jamry Croman. That’s the guy who I’m excited to see, man, because he is the prototypical Dennis Allen defensive end size, man. and and ability, you know, he can move to the inside. He’s played up and down the the defensive line. I think he had a lot of ability, man. And even when he left the team last year and went to uh New England, he went there and he made some plays, you know, and then we ended up getting him back. So, I’m excited to see what he could bring this season as well. So, man, I think the defensive line is set. Um, that’s why I think they haven’t signed anyone because they want to make sure and see what we have before we go out and, you know, spending more money on some on a problem that’s probably not even a problem because we may have exactly what we need. Awesome, man. Yeah. And as we head into training camp, do you have your eyes on anything in particular, something to watch or maybe a breakout player that um, not as many people are talking about that you’ve been thinking about? man just let me see a breakout player man big season from Javon of course I think I expect Javon Dex my guy man to elevate yeah and especially with better coaching man he’s just coming into him his own man as a leader uh and he’s gonna have Jared to next to him to learn from and so I’m expecting big things from him man but our seventh round rookie man. Oh, Kyle Manungai, man. Kyle Manungai, man is going to be a dog, man. Kyle Manungai is first of all a great pass protector. You know, Kyle Manungai has great vision. Kyle Manungai being a smaller guy, too, is going to work to his advantage a little bit because he’s going to be able to hide behind those offensive linemen and get some yards. though, us also having an offense with all these weapons on the outside, you know, defenses aren’t going to be able to stack the box against us because Caleb’s going to tell you apart if you try to stack the box against us. So, you know, you have to you have to be the defense is going to have to play straight up with us. So, you know, he’s going to have some room to run and I think, you know, he doesn’t have that burner speed, but I’ll take a 20 yard run. I’ll take three, four, 20 yard runs in the game. you know, and that’s what I think he can offer, man. He’s going to have some big runs in these games. He’s got ball security for sure, man. No fumbles in his career. No fumbles. He’s just like, man, he’s the sneaky good back, man. And he’s he’s the muscle hamster. He’s he’s comparable to the muscle hamster to me as well. So, um he’s not a small guy, you know. He’s small. He’s short, but he’s not small. That’s what Who was that? John Fox. He’s short, but he’s not small. Yeah, he’s Well, he’s he has that thickness to him, man. He He He’s a workout warrior, man. And I just think that he’s a a hard worker as well, man. That blue chip type player, man. I think he’s going to come in and surprise some people. I fully expect him to be our number two back behind DeAndre Swift and, you know, getting a lot of carries this season, man. Because, like I said, he can he can he can pass. He can catch the ball out of the back field. there’s nothing that he can’t do, you know. So, and he is a uh he’s a hard worker, man, for by all mean everything that I’ve learned about him, you know, through the pre-draft process and, you know, watching coaches and people talk about him and how he played at Rucker, man, it’s just like, hey, you know, we may have found a gym, a hidden gym in Kyle Manung, guys. So, I’m excited to see him this preseason. We know he’s going to get all of the opportunities to play, so we’ll see. We’ll see, man. We we got an undrafted free agent rookie too as well, Deion Henkins. I like him. But I agree with you for sure on Kyle Manungai. He’s a guy he has a similar running style as Ashton Genty does. So all the people love Ashton Genty. He runs the same way. He’s not as talented, but he’s a similar style of runner. you throw him a little maybe a mixture of a little bit of Ashton Genty, a little bit of um Isaiah Pacheco, and then you just downgrade him a little bit. And he’s a budget type of those two players. And I love what you you get from him. I think he’s a guy who can make this roster. He’s going to be battling Roshan Johnson for that change of pace role, short yardage. I won’t completely rule out Roshan just because Roshan’s very talented. But yeah, I do also believe Kyle Manungai is gonna end up being that change of pace guy with DeAndre Swift this year. So, I’m I’m excited to see him. Yeah, I think Rostein still has a place on this team, man. Like you said, short yardage situation. I think we we we’ve seen Ben Johnson put running backs in the best position to be successful. We’ve saw Jamal Williams have like what 20 touchdowns one season, two seasons ago, and go on to New Orleans and and uh earn a contract. Uh so, you know, did got paid. Ben Johnson has a plan for running backs with the style of a a Roshan Johnson, man. You know, put him in that goal line situation, short line situ, short yardage situations, man, and let him thrive. I think that’s where he’s most successful. And so, and that’s what I like about this entire coaching staff. They’re going to put players in position to be successful. You know, allow them to do what they’re good at while working on what they’re not good at. You know, a good coach can make a good player great and a bad player play well. You know, and that’s what I’m expecting from this coaching staff. Uh I think they’ve done a masterful job, man. just all around at every position. So, as far as the position coaches go, who are, I think, extremely important to the development of some of these younger players who I’m banking on to have some uh some growth. We want to see some growth. That’s where we haven’t seen a lot of growth. We want to see some substantial growth from these guys. And I think we’re going to see that this year. Yep. I do too, man. It’s an exciting time to be a Bears fan. And uh Samo, I’m I’m excited about training camp. I’m as always, man. It’s it’s been a little bit since we’ve talked, so it was good to chop it up with you. We’ll definitely have to chop it up again soon. We have training camp coming up. The season is on the horizon and this long long off season. It’s it’s been it’s been an exhausting one, man. But this off season is finally coming to a close and football is around the corner. Man, I can’t wait. Neither can I. Nor can I, fella. Hey It’s time to get excited about it again, man. What is it? They say like every 15, 20 years, the Bears are good again. I think this is our time, man. I think the stars are aligning and you know, let’s get excited, Bears fans. I’m ready, man. Bear down for sure. [Music] Down. [Music] Down. [Music]

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Previewing Chicago Bears Training Camp With Special Guest Sammo
@ChicagoBears Special

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