Bears take on Steelers Sunday — Will Aaron Rodgers play? | Chicago Sports Tonight

Bears take on Steelers Sunday — Will Aaron Rodgers play? | Chicago Sports Tonight

THE BEST WHEN YOU WHEN YOU PLAY AND HOPEFULLY GET TO, YOU KNOW, SAY WHAT’S UP TO HIM, SHAKE HIS HAND AFTER. >> I WANT TO SHAKE HIS HAND AT THE END OF GAME. TELL HIM GOOD GAME. YOU KNOW WHAT I’M SAYING? OBVIOUSLY HIM CONGRATULATING US ON THE WIN. >> LET’S HOPE SO. AARON RODGERS, WHETHER HE WANTS THE ROLE OR NOT, IS THE ULTIMATE CHICAGO SPORTS VILLAIN FOR THE WAY HE HAS TORTURED EVERYONE THROUGH THE YEARS, WINNING 24 OF 29 MEETINGS. HI EVERYONE. WELCOME TO A FRIDAY NIGHT EDITION OF CHICAGO SPORTS TONIGHT. SHE IS CASSIE CARLSON. I AM LOU ELLIS. TIME FOR THE CHEVY DRIVE CHICAGO NFC NORTH PREVIEW. ALL RIGHT. WE’RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE DIVISION IN A FEW MINUTES. BUT WE HAVE TO BEGIN WITH THE LATEST ON AARON RODGERS OFFICIALLY LISTED AS QUESTIONABLE FOR SUNDAY. HERE’S STEELERS HEAD COACH MIKE TOMLIN. EARLIER TODAY. >> I THOUGHT I SAW A SOLID EFFORT. >> BUT IT’S. >> FRIDAY AND SO. >> WE STILL GOT SOME TIME. HE WAS LISTED AS. >> A PARTIAL PARTICIPANT. AND GIVEN A QUESTIONABLE DESIGNATION. >> AND WE’LL. SEE WHAT WEEKEND. >> LEADS US. >> IF THE GUY CAN WALK I THINK HE WILL PLAY ON SUNDAY. >> YEAH. MOST DEFINITELY. I MEAN, GOING INTO THIS WEEK, AS SOON AS WE HEARD ABOUT THE LEFT WRIST FRACTURE AND THE FACT THAT HE WAS GOING TO GET BACK ON THE PRACTICE FIELD ON THURSDAY, THEN HE WAS TALKING, REMEMBERING ALL THE TIMES THAT HE WAS A PACKER IN CHICAGO AT SOLDIER FIELD, 25 AND FIVE AGAINST THE BEARS. LIKE THIS GUY, KNOWING, TOO, THAT IT’S PROBABLY THE LAST TIME THAT HE’S GOING TO PLAY IN THIS STADIUM, IS GOING TO MAKE SURE HE’S OUT ON THE FIELD ON SUNDAY. >> AND I THINK THAT HE CAN ACTUALLY I MEAN, IT’S NOT HIS THROWING HAND SO HE CAN THROW THE FOOTBALL. HE’S CHANGED THE WAY HE PLAYS THE QUARTERBACK POSITION. NOW AT THE AGE OF 41, HE GETS THE BALL OUT QUICKER. AND THE BEARS WITH SOME INJURY CONCERNS. NOW THERE ARE THREE STARTING LINEBACKERS GOING UP AGAINST A 41 YEAR OLD, FOUR TIME MOST VALUABLE PLAYER WHO’S HAD INCREDIBLE SUCCESS AT SOLDIER FIELD. THAT WORRIES ME. >> YEAH, AND I THINK THAT’S WHY TWO, YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT AARON RODGERS AND BEING ABLE TO GET THE BALL OUT FAST. IT COULD ALSO JUST RUN THE BALL BECAUSE THE BEARS RUN DEFENSE HAS A LOT OF HOLES IN IT TO BEGIN WITH. NOW YOU’RE NOT GOING TO HAVE TJ EDWARDS, TREMAINE EDMUNDS OR NOAH SEWELL, WHO STEPPED IN VERY NICELY WITH TJ EDWARDS OUT FOR A LOT OF THE GAMES THIS SEASON. SO YOU’RE GOING TO RELY ON GUYS LIKE ROOKIE RUBEN HYPPOLITE, DEMARCO JACKSON AND AS WELL AS AMEN OGBONGBEMIGA. SO IF I’M LOOKING AT THE STEELERS AND THEIR GAME PLAN GOING INTO THIS GAME, WHY NOT TRY RUNNING THE BALL WITH JAYLEN WARREN WHO IS QUESTIONABLE HEADING INTO THIS GAME. SOUNDS LIKE HE’S GOING TO PLAY BECAUSE HE WAS BACK ON THE PRACTICE FIELD ON FRIDAY. AND KENNY GAINWELL WHO NOT ONLY CAN RUN, BUT HE CAN CATCH OUT OF THE BACKFIELD AS WELL. SO I THINK THAT’S GOING TO BE AN EMPHASIS. AND IT’S SOMETHING THAT DENNIS ALLEN TALKED ABOUT THIS WEEK ABOUT AARON RODGERS. HE’S ONE OF THOSE CEREBRAL QUARTERBACKS. HE REMINDS YOU OF JOE FLACCO IN A LOT OF WAYS. MATTHEW STAFFORD WHO CONTINUES TO PLAY AT A HIGH LEVEL AND ALMOST AN MVP CALIBER BECAUSE THEY JUST KNOW THE GAME SO WELL. NOTHING FOOLS THESE GUYS WHEN THEY’RE OUT ON THE FIELD. >> ALL RIGHT TINA WYNN WAS AT ALICE HALL TODAY. I WANT TO HEAR FROM THE BEARS. BEFORE WE GO ANY FURTHER. HERE’S TINA TODAY IN LAKE FOREST. >> AS THE BEARS ENTER THE TOUGHEST PART OF THEIR SCHEDULE, THEY’LL DO IT SHORTHANDED WITH THE SECONDARY ALREADY BANGED UP AND NOW WITHOUT THREE OF THEIR TOP LINEBACKERS IN TREMAINE EDMUNDS, T.J. EDWARDS AND NOEL SEWELL, DEMARCO JACKSON AND ROOKIE RUBEN HYPPOLITE WILL BE CALLED TO ACTION WITH LIMITED REPS. >> DOING WHAT I’VE BEEN DOING SINCE TRAINING CAMP, SO, YOU KNOW, I HAVE A GREAT RELATIONSHIP WITH ALL THE GUYS ON DEFENSE, SO IT’S ALL GOOD. I’M READY TO GO. IT’S ON ME, YOU KNOW? I’LL BE THE ONE OUT THERE PLAYING. SO YEAH, THOSE GUYS ARE GREAT. THEY SUPPORT ME AND ALL THAT. BUT I MEAN AT THE END OF THE DAY, NO ONE’S GOING TO BE PREPARED BETTER THAN THAN, YOU KNOW, THAN ME. >> WE’RE GOING TO BE REALLY SMART WITH WITH ALL THESE GUYS THAT ARE OUT THERE. YOU KNOW, WE GOT GUYS RETURNING IN THE NEAR FUTURE HERE. AND GUYS WITH THAT ARE PLAYING ON SUNDAY. WE KNOW IT’S GOING TO BE A QUICK TURNAROUND. SO EVERYBODY IN THE LEAGUE DEALS WITH THIS. YOU KNOW FORTUNATELY FOR US IT’S A FIVE DAY SPAN. MOST TEAMS HAVE TO DEAL WITH A FOUR DAY SPAN. IT’S EASY TO FORGET WHAT HAPPENS IN SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER REALLY QUICKLY. SO WE’RE WE PUT OURSELVES IN A GOOD SPOT RIGHT NOW. BUT REALLY THE SEASON IS JUST NOW STARTING AS FAR AS WE’RE CONCERNED. >> IN OTHER INJURY NEWS, JALEN JOHNSON AND KYLER GORDON OFFICIALLY LISTED AS QUESTIONABLE ON SUNDAY. BOTH WERE A FULL PARTICIPANT AT PRACTICE ON FRIDAY. BEN JOHNSON SAID ABOUT JALEN JOHNSON HAS BEEN RECEIVING A LOT OF COMPETITIVE REPS OVER THE COURSE OF THE WEEK. >> LEWINKSI BEARS DEFENSE WILL REALLY BE TESTED IN THIS FOOTBALL GAME, NOT ONLY BY AARON RODGERS, BUT BY THAT RUNNING GAME THAT THE STEELERS FEATURE AS WELL. I FEEL A LITTLE BIT BETTER COMING OFF THAT MINNESOTA GAME BECAUSE I THOUGHT WE SAW MAYBE GRADY JARRETT HAVE HIS BEST GAME AS A MEMBER OF THE BEARS, AND ALSO AUSTIN BOOKER SINCE COMING BACK OFF OF INJURED RESERVE. HE’S PLAYED WELL THE LAST COUPLE OF GAMES. >> YEAH, KEVIN BYARD SAID HE ACTUALLY HAD TO GO UP TO GRADY JARRETT AFTER THAT GAME ON MONDAY OR TUESDAY BACK AT HOUSE HALL AND SHAKE HIS HAND FOR THAT INTERCEPTION, BECAUSE HE DID GET THE PRESSURE OFF THE INTERIOR. IT’S SOMETHING WE’VE BEEN ASKING FOR TO SEE FROM THIS DEFENSIVE LINE. I STILL THINK YOU WANT TO SEE MORE FROM MONTEZ SWEAT, BECAUSE HE WAS ON A STREAK OF GETTING FOUR STRAIGHT GAMES WITH THE SACK. LET’S SEE IF HE CAN PICK THAT UP AND HAVE SOME MOTIVATION AGAINST AARON RODGERS. WE TALKED ABOUT THIS YESTERDAY. ONE OF THE INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT TALKING TO PLAYERS ABOUT GOING UP AGAINST AARON RODGERS, THE OLDER, MORE VETERAN PLAYERS KNOW WHO HE IS, RESPECT HIM A TON AND I THINK ESPECIALLY ON DEFENSE, WANT TO GET AFTER HIM. THE YOUNGER PLAYERS ARE KIND OF LIKE, YEAH, WE’VE HEARD OF AARON RODGERS, BUT HE’S NOT THE QUARTERBACK TO THEM THAT HE IS TO US, FOR EXAMPLE. SO THAT’S ALWAYS AN INTERESTING DISPARITY. >> ALL RIGHT. BEARS NEED TO RUN THE FOOTBALL IN THIS GAME. IN MY OPINION. THEY NEED TO KEEP AARON RODGERS OFF THE FOOTBALL FIELD DO WHAT THEY DO BEST. NUMBER TWO IN THE NFL IN RUNNING THE FOOTBALL. THEY’VE HAD GREAT SUCCESS. BOTH THEIR RUNNING BACKS ARE HEALTHY DEANDRE SWIFT KYLE GAY AND USE IN MY OPINION THE MVP OF THIS TEAM THROUGH THE FIRST TEN GAMES. THAT’S THAT OFFENSIVE LINE. >> YEAH THE OFFENSIVE LINE DESERVES A TON OF CREDIT. WHEN BEN JOHNSON TALKED ABOUT THE RUN GAME TODAY, HE SAID IT’S SOMETHING THAT REALLY STARTED WITH HIM AND RYAN POLES. WHEN THEY STARTED ENVISIONING WHAT THEY WANTED THIS FOOTBALL TEAM TO BE ABOUT. AND OF COURSE, WE KNOW THE RUN GAME IS THE QUARTERBACK’S BEST FRIEND BECAUSE IT OPENS UP THE PASSING GAME. SO BEING ABLE TO ESTABLISH THAT EARLY IS GOING TO BE CRUCIAL AGAINST THE STEELERS DEFENSE ALSO, BECAUSE THEY’RE SECONDARY DOES HAVE HOLES, AND THE BEARS WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO PUT UP SOME PASSING YARDS AGAINST THE WORST PASSING DEFENSE THAT THE STEELERS HAVE. BUT I THINK WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE RUN, THE RUNNING GAME IN PARTICULAR AND WHAT BEN JOHNSON WANTS TO DO, HE TALKED ABOUT STICKING TO CALLING RUN PLAYS MORE FREQUENTLY EARLY IN GAMES, AND THAT’S SOMETHING THAT HE’S GOTTEN AWAY FROM AT TIMES IN SOME OF THESE GAMES EARLY ON IN THE SEASON. AND HE SAID HE’S JUST GOT TO WEAR DOWN THESE DEFENSES. AND SO I THK WE’RE GOING TO SEE AN EMPHASIS ON THE RUN GAME THIS WEEK. >> ALL RIGHT. CALEB WILLIAMS HAS HAD HIS OPPORTUNITIES TO THROW THE FOOTBALL DOWNFIELD. I LOOKED AT SOME NUMBERS. AND CALEB WILLIAMS HAS THROWN THE FOOTBALL 20 OR MORE YARDS 50 TIMES SO FAR THIS SEASON. THAT’S SECOND IN THE NFL. HE JUST HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO HOOK UP WITH HIS TARGETS. HIS TIMING HAS BEEN OFF A LITTLE BIT. THE ACCURACY, OBVIOUSLY WITH THE LONG BALL HAS BEEN AN ISSUE SINCE HE’S COME TO THE NFL. HE COULD HAVE SOME OPPORTUNITIES, ESPECIALLY IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT STEELERS DEFENSE. PITTSBURGH HAS HAD A TOUGH TIME DEFENDING THE TIGHT END HAVEN’T THEY? >> YEAH. AND I THINK IT’S SOMETHING THAT WE’RE STARTING TO SEE. WHILE THERE ARE ACCURACY ISSUES AD HE HAS NOT BEEN ON THE SAME PAGE AS DJ MOORE FOR EXAMPLE, I THINK IT’S SOMETHING THAT COACHES AREN’T REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT AT THIS POINT BECAUSE THEY’RE SAYING THOSE THINGS TAKE TIME AND THE CHEMISTRY IS NOT SOMETHING THAT JUST HAPPENS AND IS BUILT OVER TRAINING CAMP. IT’S GOING TO BE BUILT OVER THE COURSE OF THE SEASON AS WELL. SO THEY’RE GOING TO KEEP TAKING THOSE DEEP SHOTS AS WELL, NOT ONLY JUST IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FIELD. AND I THINK WE’RE STARTING TO SEE THE TRUST BUILD BETWEEN THE COACHING STAFF AND SOME OF THE YOUNG PLAYERS LIKE COLSTON LOVELAND AND LUTHER BURTON. BOTH CAN BE REALLY GOOD IN THOSE SCENARIOS. BUT THE INTERESTING NOTE, I THOUGHT THE BIGGEST THING THAT WE LEARNED THIS WEEK ABOUT THIS OFFENSE AND WHAT BEN JOHNSON THINKS ABOUT WHEN SCHEMING AGAINST TEAMS, IS THAT HE DOESN’T WANT CALEB WILLIAMS TO THROW THE 5050 BALLS. HE IS TRYING TO SCHEME THESE RECEIVERS OPEN, SO THEY’RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO WORK ON THAT. AND I THINK CALEB WILLIAMS HAS MENTIONED, TOO, THAT HE’S A FAN OF THAT BECAUSE HE’S A FAN OF KEEPING THE BALL SAFE AND NOT THROWING INTERCEPTIONS. >> ANY OTHER NEWS NUGGETS THAT YOU LEARNED OVER THE COURSE OF THE WEEK THAT YOU BROUGHT BACK HERE TO THE STATION? >> I MEAN, THE MOST INTERESTING THING THAT WE’RE GOING TO HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE LEADING UP TO THE GAME ON SUNDAY IS GOING TO BE THE STATUS OF JAYLON JOHNSON, WHO IS A FULL PARTICIPANT FOR THE FIRST TIME BOTH ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. BUT I THINK THE CONCERN WITH HIM COMING BACK FROM THE SOFT TISSUE INJURY, AS WELL AS KYLER GORDON, IS THAT THEY’RE PLAYING TWO GAMES IN FIVE DAYS. SO WITH THE SHORT TURNAROUND PLAYING BLACK FRIDAY IN PHILLY, NOT SURE YOU WANT TO PUT JAYLON JOHNSON BACK ON THE FIELD FOR THIS GAME. MAYBE YOU WAIT THE EXTRA FIVE DAYS AND MAKE HIS HE MAKES HIS DEBUT OR RETURN ON BLACK FRIDAY. >> YEAH CONDITIONING AS WELL. I MEAN HE HASN’T BEEN OUT THERE ON THE FOOTBALL FIELD SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON. AND AS YOU TOUCHED ON, THE LAST THING YOU WANT TO DO IS BRING THESE GUYS BACK TOO EARLY, HAVE THEM RE-INJURE THEMSE

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