Can Roschon Johnson take the Bears' starting running back job?

Let's start with the beat brought to you by Chevy driveschicago.com. I have two of the best in the business with me today, guys, very excited. Josh Schrock Mark Grody, thank you so much for being here, how are you doing, you're doing great, you're doing well. Ready, we are on the eve of another OTA, the three of us here tomorrow, so yes, we will be sitting in the sun. Put on the lotion and enjoy 99 guys playing soccer on field four. It's an honor to be sitting next to you two for my first football. night in Chicago very excited about it um guys I don't know if you can believe or not the NFL season is 100 days away but it's actually earlier for us we were talking about what training camp is really like when the season starts season for us, but for fans watching at home, they will get to see their first NFL game in a hundred days.

We've narrowed down the five biggest stories for the Chicago Bears 100 days from now. Okay, I'll see what you guys think. start with the first one chemistry 101 fields and more of course Justin Fields DJ more this has been all the talk since the first OTA was the release that everyone will build statues so guys I want to know your opinion, why is this story so crucial? And what do those two have that will be the key to Joshua's serving season? Well, that's why they brought DJ Moore here, it's to make Justin Fields

take

that leap as a quarter

back

last year.

Justin Fields actually led the NFL in completion percentage. between 10 and 19 yards DJ Moore has run the second most routes in that area, there's a clear connection there. I think what he saw in the OTAs the first time was that it's

starting

well, there are little crumbs that are working, they are working there. a good deep shot beat the Kindleville gate a couple more short finishes, I think as long as that connection is made week one, everything else fits into how you guys felt watching the OTA, but just watching him, just his presence, yeah, even when he wasn't necessarily making plays, throwing, catching, um, he just has this, okay, here's a guy who knows what he's doing, brings that credibility to the entire practice field, to that wide receiver room, to which I know we will talk about. and then two saw it, I thought it was important that we see that play, although you know what I say, eventually it didn't have to be on his first OTA, but it was important that we see a connection made and To see the can, we call it a move famous double.

It is not famous if it was the launch and it was the reception. There was a famous double move and he went to catch the ball, so I think there was something very symbolic about it and I like it. that came on the first day of the year, I think you make a good point last year, the first OTA, the ball was on the ground the whole time, it was horrible, it was a whole message from Jump Street, it was like, oh, this could to be bad. This is all going to be bad and I think the presence of DJ Moore as an elite player like you mentioned just gives the whole team a different tone, like having in the Bay Area Fred Warner George Kittle and they put like these players that just have gravitas and it just gives them credibility, yeah, and just to

take

a really quick bow to what you said about last year, Justin Fields and the offense seemed like I'm just talking and in relation to an OTA, Yeah.

It was a disaster, this year, even though they seem to be very conservative, maybe they learned a lesson that of course we in the media are going to talk about it, oh Justin Fields didn't look good, but he fed DJ Mark, he fed more to DJ, yes. so I mean, real quick, I think we're giving a lot of credit to DJ Moore. I think Justin Fields deserves some of this too, you know, and obviously having more DJs there gives Justin even more confidence to be who everyone wants to see. he be and I think he also has to receive some love there not only came out isn't it what is the cat right? it wasn't just the cheating oh no oh that's how it is and he's still the most important person Totally, totally and obviously, it relates to all of our story lines, right, let's get to story number two, Darnell Wright and the offensive line and its improvement Obviously, who everyone wanted to see more protection for Justin Fields this upcoming season, Darnell Wright, really.

I hope he's the guy and it's fun to see him out there when we were at that first OTA, you know, he's just a big kid out there and, but he's big, yeah, he's a huge individual and what I really liked was that he didn't they put in Over there they put him at right tackle whereas last year we saw them, you know, Ryan's polls put him together, the surprise that Braxton Jones replaced Tevin Jenkins at left tackle last year, so seeing that I thought it was important for the credibility of this. offensive line throughout training camp, now what they're going to do, the fact that Nate Davis wasn't there was a little disappointing, yeah, I think he's a right guard.

I liked seeing Jatari Carter, the second-year seventh-round pick, get some time. I mean, that shows you what they're thinking in the

back

of their heads: Carter is a depth guy this year, he's not going to take Nate Davis' job, Tevin Jenkins, we know he was really good last year and they're moving forward. with Braxton Jones at left tackle, I think there's no doubt about that, hopefully he'll be better in his second year despite playing all those games. I'm a little worried about that part, but this is what they're doing. I think it's interesting all the Other rookies are in this in the B camp, right, Tyler Stevenson, he broke up with Secretary Darnell right now, you're here, we can't waste time with this, it can't be played.

I think that set off alarm bells for me. even though Nate David isn't there, they're so thin that if a person goes down, you're looking at Lucas Patrick to the right and there's a cooler, yeah, he was a left, he was at left guard, so I mean, the offensive line is going to go down all over. time. Right time Kevin Jenkins, famously talented, can't stay healthy, so I think the Bears need to add a piece or two just to give him depth. I think obviously a big piece that we want to see in that second OTA is Nate Davis out there. right, I think it's amazing, we can all agree that I was surprised that he wasn't there, I don't know how they were very shocked, that's fine, the new Right Guard, I mean, it's voluntary, yes, it's voluntary and literally we can't get angry. to these guys, but I was surprised, okay, let's move on to the next story, uh, who's going to get to the quarterback?

We've talked about our quarterback, let's talk about the other quarterback because we have to beat him. How do you feel about the class? of the moves they made in terms of the pieces that are going to rush the QB he didn't do enough he didn't do enough I think at least I think they need two more guys I think they need Young has been talked about for a long time the last two months they need just do that, he doesn't help you and run the defense, but he'll get you eight nine ten sacks and then maybe he got, like Dwayne Smoot, just another little piece so they just have to rely on one of Travis Gibson Dominique Robinson orishime green on place now it's all three yeah or it's Javon Dexter and Zach Pickett where they are you know the plan to really improve and dent the pockets so much that the lead rushes It won't matter because you just mentioned these guys like it's just volume, it's just quantity in terms of what they have with these guys, there's no one scary and they were devastatingly bad at getting to the quarterback last year.

The horrible Tervis Gibson led the team. in pressures with 30. Robert Quinn played seven games, finished the season fifth in pressures, played seven games, it's incredible, yeah, I don't know if you saw this, obviously, he made the rounds, but Devon Dexter's tackle on Maddie. Reflus that was a little scary, you don't want a scary guy that was a little scary, so you know, those are big guys, maybe they can figure out how to be a little more, at least they should defend

running

better because Javon Dexter Zach Pickens these are big guys in run defense so at least that will help them cover the back end.

They can mix it up a little bit because they were all very bad against the run last year, yeah, we talked a little bit about uh, the only number one wide receiver, DJ Moore, uh, let's talk about another guy that I think maybe has been written off by a lot of people. Bears fans, maybe some Bears media, Chase Claypool, this is a make-or-break season for him and I think everyone wants to. Watching this guy make some big jumps. Chase Claypool was unprovoked. Justin Fields talked about it. I thought that was a very, very interesting moment in his press conference where he mentioned Chase and talked about how proud he is of the attitude adjustment.

These are big. great words coming out of Justin Field's mouth. I thought that might have been one of the most telling moments of the entire press conference, because not only is it not just the part where Justin Fields says that he got better because he, of course, he will. I say it's relative to last year and that's confirmation that last year was a disaster for whatever reason and I'm not judging Chase Claypool because last year he told me I need the OTAs, he said that and you know, none of A these players like OTAs, so hearing that was important to confirm that yes, there was something wrong last year, but there is a serious effort to improve it this year and I don't know if it will be better, but it has to be as much as possible. you said right, I think the two things that Justin pointed out correctly, the work ethic and the attitude are different, which tells you that Chase came in and got depressed, right, he was depressed, the Steelers attacked him, he was depressed, he came in and people were just killing it, but it's not Plug and Play, right, you're not going to get a right-handed bullpen reliever or a three-and-d Wayne, it's the NFL, you need time.

I think Chase understands the Bears. They are his best chance at a big paycheck, if the Bears don't pay him he will be in that three million dollar jump from one team to another in a year and he doesn't want to be there in a big transition to our last La story we want to get to is Roshan Johnson, first day as

starting

running

back, it's an interesting question, a lot of pieces in that room, who fits, who plays, what role, what do you guys think, oh you know. I have been kind. from sitting on this shot that will be the day one headline, I think Ryan Pulse has shown us that he likes his guys, he doesn't care about the guys that he inherited, but he really likes his guys and the second Roshan Johnson was selected, a cultural setter, he is a pillar of the franchise, he sweeps the sheds, cleans the water bottles, he does everything and the poorest leader, he can protect the pass and he can catch the ball into the backfield.

Two things I like, Khalil Herbert, he doesn't do those things well. It's more of a change of pace backwards. I disagree. I think I think it's going to be Khalil Herbert. I think Khalil Herbert will be the one and he was and we're not using the only OTA for all my information, but Quail. Herbert was definitely the number one guy. You bring in Dante Foreman, you sign Travis Homer, who I know is more of a special teams guy. I think Roshan Johnson will eventually get that opportunity and can contribute, but no, I think it's Khalil Herbert than Dante. form and then Roshan Johnson we like a little bit of disagreement oh absolutely, we can always know what he's talking about, you know, I just have to have it, yeah, 500.

It's a learning moment, yeah, two of the best in the business, Josh Schrock, Mark Brody, guys, thank you. Thank you very much for joining us, it was great, thank you, great job, incredible foreigner.