# The Insiders Podcast: Hall of Famer Mike Ditka passes away at 86 + Lamar Jackson out, Jayden Daniels back

An episode of [NFL: The Insiders](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1543090622), 10 Oct 2026, 43 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/0414225e-5167-477f-9f83-ae390070e4d2/8dc4e768-e8fe-47ce-9150-b4df000236ae/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=3e412703-0644-468e-9001-ae390070e4db

Patrick Claybon is joined by NFL Insiders Ian Rapoport, Judy Battista and Jeremy Fowler to talk about the latest headlines. Hall of Famer Chicago Bears head coach Mike Ditka passes away at 86. Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (ankle) is out for Sunday Night Football against the Falcons. Backup QB Tyler Huntley will start. Eagles RB Saquon Barkley (hamstring) is out Sunday in the London game against the Jaguars. Bengals WRs Chase and Higgins are both questionable for Sunday against the Dolphins. Rams DT Aaron Donald (back) is set to play MNF against the Bills. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:09] Speaker 1: Hey, everybody. Welcome to The Insiders, a show that aspires
[0:11] Speaker 1: to tell stories about the NFL and its people and
[0:14] Speaker 1: their connection to the game of football. It would be
[0:16] Speaker 1: next to impossible to tell that story without telling you
[0:19] Speaker 1: about Mike Ditka, who passed away this week. He was
[0:22] Speaker 1: unparalleled as an NFL player, world-renowned as a head coach.
[0:26] Speaker 1: Let's take a look back at the careers and life
[0:28] Speaker 1: of Mike Ditka. We like our people. For those who
[0:37] Speaker 1: don't like our people, that's tough. We like them. Mike,
[0:39] Speaker 1: why are you in such a bad mood? What do
[0:41] Speaker 1: you care?
[0:42] Speaker 2: I know I'm smarter than that son of a bitch.
[0:44] Speaker 1: If you were two and seven, you'd be in a
[0:45] Speaker 1: bad mood, too. See that? That's your IQ, buddy. Zero.
[0:49] Speaker 1: I'd rather talk to him.
[0:53] Speaker 3: They called him Iron Mike, as much for his demeanor
[0:58] Speaker 3: as for his leadership style on the football field. All
[1:01] Speaker 3: you got to do is want it as much as
[1:03] Speaker 3: we know we want it.
[1:04] Speaker 1: We don't want it that much. Let's go.
[1:08] Speaker 3: There were few tougher than former Chicago Bears player and
[1:11] Speaker 3: coach Michael Keller Ditka.
[1:19] Speaker 4: 1957, as a high school football player, went to the
[1:21] Speaker 4: University of Pittsburgh, and my life has been a miracle
[1:24] Speaker 4: since because of this game.
[1:27] Speaker 3: He played his college ball at the University of Pittsburgh,
[1:30] Speaker 3: as a tight end and putter, then signed with the
[1:33] Speaker 3: Bears after they took him fifth overall in the 1961
[1:36] Speaker 3: NFL Draft. He quickly showed that a tight end could
[1:41] Speaker 3: be more than just a hard-nosed blocker, racking up more
[1:44] Speaker 3: than 1,000 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns.
[1:48] Speaker 5: Iron Mike France is home to record a 67-yard scoring strike.
[1:53] Speaker 3: That earned it a Rookie of the Year honors and
[1:56] Speaker 3: the first of five straight trips to the Pro Bowl.
[2:01] Speaker 3: He and the Bears were NFL champions in 1963. After
[2:05] Speaker 3: trades to Philadelphia and then Dallas, he was on top
[2:09] Speaker 3: again when he scored a touchdown in the Cowboys' 24-3
[2:13] Speaker 3: Super Bowl VI victory over the Dolphins. Ditka would enjoy
[2:21] Speaker 3: continued success as a Cowboys assistant before taking over the
[2:25] Speaker 3: reins for the Bears for 11 years. Ditka had a
[2:29] Speaker 3: 631 winning percentage with Chicago and masterminded one of the
[2:33] Speaker 3: NFL's greatest teams, the 1985 Super Bowl Shuffle Bears, who
[2:38] Speaker 3: went 15-1 and steamrolled through the playoffs.
[2:42] Speaker 4: The players we had in 1985 are the greatest collection
[2:46] Speaker 4: of guys I've ever been around.
[2:50] Speaker 3: His later stint as coach of New Orleans didn't go
[2:53] Speaker 3: as well, marked by his decision to deal the team's
[2:56] Speaker 3: entire 1999 draft for the right to choose Texas running
[3:00] Speaker 3: back Ricky Williams. But Elyse Ditka, as always, had a
[3:05] Speaker 3: sense of humor about the widely criticized trade, posing while
[3:09] Speaker 3: wearing a tux standing next to Williams in a bridal
[3:13] Speaker 3: gown for the cover of ESPN the magazine. He was
[3:19] Speaker 3: enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in 1986,
[3:22] Speaker 3: and two years later became the first tight end to
[3:26] Speaker 3: be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He
[3:29] Speaker 3: was named to the NFL's 75th anniversary team in 1994
[3:33] Speaker 3: and the 100th anniversary team in 2019. The man known
[3:40] Speaker 3: as Leader of Da Bears went on to make cameo
[3:43] Speaker 3: appearances on TV shows and in the movies, own a
[3:46] Speaker 3: popular Chicago restaurant, and he became a top NFL analyst
[3:51] Speaker 3: for us here at ESPN.
[3:53] Speaker 6: I am living proof that an out-of-control coach can get
[3:57] Speaker 6: out-of-control players under control if he wants to.
[4:00] Speaker 3: He was often imitated, but never replicated. He was truly
[4:05] Speaker 3: one of a kind.
[4:07] Speaker 7: Thank you, thank you, thank you, and go Bears!
[4:16] Speaker 1: Mike Ditka is survived by his four children and grandchildren.
[4:20] Speaker 1: He was 86.
[4:22] Speaker 8: Years old.
[4:23] Speaker 1: We'll have more on Coach Ditka, including some thoughts from
[4:25] Speaker 1: those he impacted throughout his career throughout this episode of
[4:28] Speaker 1: the Insiders. But now to the game that Coach Ditka
[4:30] Speaker 1: loves so much in the fifth week of the NFL season.
[4:33] Speaker 1: With that, let's welcome in NFL Network Insider Ian Rappaport,
[4:36] Speaker 1: Judy Batista, and Jeremy Fowler as Week 5 got its
[4:39] Speaker 1: start last night on Thursday Night Football. We look ahead
[4:43] Speaker 1: to some Sunday action with the Baltimore Ravens, who will
[4:46] Speaker 1: not have Lamar Jackson against the Atlanta Falcons in Atlanta
[4:50] Speaker 1: for Sunday Night Football. They ankle injury that came late
[4:52] Speaker 1: in the first half against the Titans. We'll once again
[4:55] Speaker 1: have Tyler Huntley coming in in relief of Lamar, the
[4:57] Speaker 1: first start for Huntley in the Declan Doyle era, his
[5:00] Speaker 1: head coach Jesse Minter on his quarterback.
[5:04] Speaker 9: It's always going to be like in the best interest
[5:06] Speaker 9: of the player and the timing of it, just knowing,
[5:10] Speaker 9: you know, probably today that this was probably the scenario.
[5:14] Speaker 9: And again, to Lamar's credit, this dude's working his tail
[5:17] Speaker 9: off to get back.
[5:18] Speaker 1: He's in there all the time.
[5:20] Speaker 9: And so I think, you know, don't know the specifics
[5:23] Speaker 9: of next week, but I know he'll be doing everything
[5:26] Speaker 9: in his power to get back.
[5:28] Speaker 1: So, Ian, an honest evaluation from the head coach there
[5:30] Speaker 1: as they try to figure out how long-term this could be,
[5:32] Speaker 1: but we do know it's at least going to be
[5:34] Speaker 1: one week. Yeah, that is the Ferris assessment.
[5:37] Speaker 10: Simply, the Baltimore Ravens do not know if Lamar Jackson
[5:40] Speaker 10: will be on the field next week to play. Now,
[5:43] Speaker 10: we know he is not going to be on the
[5:44] Speaker 10: field this week. Really, not much of a surprise.
[5:46] Speaker 1: Didn't feel early in.
[5:47] Speaker 10: The week that Lamar Jackson really had a legitimate chance,
[5:50] Speaker 10: and the team was open to it, that he could play.
[5:52] Speaker 10: without practicing, but really it was pretty clear that he
[5:55] Speaker 10: was not going to play this week. Not a high
[5:57] Speaker 10: ankle sprain, not a low ankle sprain, kind of an
[6:00] Speaker 10: unconventional type sprain, a rare sprain really where it just
[6:04] Speaker 10: depends on his rehab and how well he can actually function.
[6:08] Speaker 1: The fact that he's such.
[6:09] Speaker 10: A good athlete, the fact that he moves as well
[6:11] Speaker 10: as he does, has so much elusiveness, actually makes it
[6:14] Speaker 10: a little harder to get him back on the field
[6:16] Speaker 10: because he's got to be the complete package, the Lamar
[6:19] Speaker 10: Jackson that is one of the best in the NFL
[6:21] Speaker 10: when he plays TBD on next week, but we know
[6:24] Speaker 10: this week, Jeremy, it is going to be Tyler Snoop
[6:27] Speaker 10: Hundley capably stepping in.
[6:30] Speaker 4: Ian Hundley steps in, and the Ravens know him well
[6:32] Speaker 4: over the years, and they are hopeful that this offense
[6:34] Speaker 4: can function with O.C. Declan Doyle pulling the strings for Hundley,
[6:38] Speaker 4: and that he can do most of what they do
[6:40] Speaker 4: with Lamar Jackson running the helm. Now, they know that
[6:42] Speaker 4: Hundley can't do a lot of those crazy cool Lamar
[6:45] Speaker 4: things that he does when he gets off running and
[6:47] Speaker 4: throwing on the run, so we have limitations that way,
[6:50] Speaker 4: but The Ravens still want to try to create explosive play.
[6:54] Speaker 4: The Atlanta Falcons are expecting a lot of window dressing,
[6:56] Speaker 4: a lot of motions and shifts, change of direction before
[6:59] Speaker 4: the snap so they can try to create explosive plays.
[7:02] Speaker 4: They will do that with Huntley. You're going to see
[7:03] Speaker 4: a lot of Derrick Henry as well in support, both
[7:06] Speaker 4: running between the tackles and running on the perimeter. So
[7:09] Speaker 4: their goals remain the same. It's just a matter of
[7:12] Speaker 4: how much Huntley can give them with his tool set
[7:15] Speaker 4: not being that of Lamar Jackson.
[7:17] Speaker 1: Let's get to another game coming up on Sunday. The
[7:19] Speaker 1: Giants and the Commanders, the current first-place team in the
[7:22] Speaker 1: NFC East. The Giants in taking on the Commanders coming
[7:27] Speaker 1: up on Sunday. They're going to have their starting quarterback
[7:29] Speaker 1: back on the field with a new and larger brace
[7:31] Speaker 1: on that now thrice-dislocated left elbow. It would seem to indicate, Ian,
[7:35] Speaker 1: that this is something he's just going to try to
[7:37] Speaker 1: play through and manage.
[7:40] Speaker 10: Yeah, not ideal, not 100%, but no doubt Jaden Daniels
[7:43] Speaker 10: is going to be out there, and we're going to
[7:45] Speaker 10: see what he is going to end up giving them.
[7:47] Speaker 1: Now, for the.
[7:47] Speaker 10: Washington Commanders, one thing is very clear. A not 100%
[7:51] Speaker 10: Jaden Daniels is better than, well, better than a lot
[7:54] Speaker 10: of people, certainly better than Marcus Mariota, who is injured
[7:56] Speaker 10: and would not play any way any quarterback on their roster.
[8:00] Speaker 10: This is the guy you want out there. How functional
[8:03] Speaker 10: is he? How much like the Jaden Daniels that we
[8:06] Speaker 10: usually see? Can he escape and trust his body if
[8:09] Speaker 10: he does? There's a lot of questions going forward for
[8:13] Speaker 10: Jaden Daniels. The early word was that this injury, Jeremy,
[8:16] Speaker 10: would bring him back sooner than the previous times that
[8:19] Speaker 10: he dislocated his left elbow.
[8:21] Speaker 1: That is true. Only misses a couple games.
[8:23] Speaker 10: But how close is he to 100% is a very
[8:26] Speaker 10: fair question when we're going.
[8:27] Speaker 7: To be watching.
[8:29] Speaker 4: Yeah, and not only that, but who is he going
[8:30] Speaker 4: to be throwing to in this game? Because you have
[8:32] Speaker 4: Stephon Diggs now ruled out with a hamstring issue. We
[8:35] Speaker 4: know those hamstrings are tricky, so that could linger a
[8:38] Speaker 4: little bit. And then they have Terry McLaurin coming back
[8:40] Speaker 4: from a hamstring. He is officially questionable for this game.
[8:44] Speaker 4: I am told that he's looking more like a game-time
[8:46] Speaker 4: decision at this point, but the team will know more
[8:49] Speaker 4: on Saturday whether he can really give it a go.
[8:51] Speaker 4: And they want to bring out Daniels and McLaurin together.
[8:54] Speaker 4: They're sort of a package deal. They felt like throughout
[8:56] Speaker 4: training camp, those two had serious chemistry. We're locked in
[8:59] Speaker 4: scoring touchdowns throughout camp. So they want those two guys together.
[9:02] Speaker 4: They just haven't been able to get off the ground
[9:04] Speaker 4: in that regard. And watch for rookie Antonio Williams, too,
[9:07] Speaker 4: because they really like him stepping up with Daniels.
[9:09] Speaker 1: They have chemistry as well.
[9:11] Speaker 4: If Daniels can't run or can't take hits, he's going
[9:13] Speaker 4: to have to be able to dump it off to
[9:14] Speaker 4: somebody in a hurry.
[9:16] Speaker 1: More injuries in that division as we look to London,
[9:18] Speaker 1: the second game there in as many weeks. The Eagles
[9:21] Speaker 1: and the Jags, a lot of eyes on the backfield
[9:22] Speaker 1: of the Eagles. Tank Bixby just went to IR. Saquon
[9:25] Speaker 1: Barkley has just been ruled out after this injury in
[9:28] Speaker 1: week four that ended his day against the Rams. We'll
[9:31] Speaker 1: have more from London coming up later on. The Cincinnati
[9:35] Speaker 1: Bengals have two big potential absences this weekend against the Dolphins.
[9:40] Speaker 1: Both star wideouts Jamar Chase with a concussion. Tee Higgins,
[9:43] Speaker 1: who had an adductor injury against the Jags in the
[9:45] Speaker 1: second half. They are both questionable for the game against
[9:49] Speaker 1: the Dolphins on Sunday. More injuries as we get a
[9:52] Speaker 1: look and see that Caleb Williams still questionable, still eyeing
[9:56] Speaker 1: a return for the Bears quarterback. Also questionable for Justin Jefferson.
[10:00] Speaker 1: Ashton Gentry, and Zay Flowers. We do know that Devonta
[10:03] Speaker 1: Smith and Brees Hall will be out for their teams,
[10:06] Speaker 1: as are Christian Gonzalez of the Patriots, Trey Hendrickson of
[10:10] Speaker 1: the Baltimore Ravens. Pastor Tan also out for the Denver Broncos.
[10:14] Speaker 1: We will get Quinion Mitchell in London and Aaron Donald
[10:17] Speaker 1: on Monday Night Football. Let's look back to how week
[10:21] Speaker 1: five got a start. Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys
[10:24] Speaker 1: taking on the undrafted rookie Jalen Daniels. We go to
[10:28] Speaker 1: the third quarter. The Bucs up 14-10. Bucky Irving had
[10:32] Speaker 1: a huge night. That was the second touchdown of the game.
[10:34] Speaker 1: Had a career-high 165 rushing yards as well. In that
[10:38] Speaker 1: fourth quarter, Cowboys down 14. Dak Prescott. Missed George Pickens
[10:43] Speaker 1: on the play before because he wasn't in the game.
[10:46] Speaker 1: He got back in the game, went back to George Pickens.
[10:48] Speaker 1: 17-yard touchdown. They were down 24-16 after a failed two-point conversion.
[10:53] Speaker 1: Next Bucs drive. Jalen Daniels has Emeka Buka, but Deron
[10:57] Speaker 1: Bland could have had six points there like he did
[11:00] Speaker 1: so many times in his record-breaking season a few years ago. Instead,
[11:03] Speaker 1: he drops it. Cowboys win. Final drive on offense, second
[11:08] Speaker 1: and one. Dak looking for Ferguson. It goes off his hands,
[11:12] Speaker 1: off his face mask, into the hands of Alex Anzalone,
[11:16] Speaker 1: and that will do it. The Buccaneers get their first
[11:18] Speaker 1: win of the season, improve to 1-4, 24-16 over the
[11:23] Speaker 1: Cowboys on Thursday night football. Primetime road win, Judy, for
[11:27] Speaker 1: an undrafted rookie quarterback in his second career start.
[11:32] Speaker 11: Yeah, part of what made this so stunning is we
[11:34] Speaker 11: all know how hard it is for players to get
[11:36] Speaker 11: ready for short week games, especially short week games on
[11:39] Speaker 11: the road. And Jalen Daniels has very little experience with
[11:42] Speaker 11: his own offense and no experience facing the Dallas Cowboys defense.
[11:47] Speaker 11: So what did the Bucs do to get him ready? Well,
[11:49] Speaker 11: they had extra cram sessions. They had extra quarterback meetings.
[11:53] Speaker 11: Extra walkthroughs for him, including, I'm told, on the back
[11:56] Speaker 11: patio of the hotel they were staying at in Dallas
[11:59] Speaker 11: on Wednesday night. Wednesday night into Thursday before they left
[12:03] Speaker 11: for the game, they were out there walking through. I'm
[12:06] Speaker 11: told one staffer was coming back from dinner on Wednesday night,
[12:10] Speaker 11: looked out the window and saw... Baker Mayfield in motion.
[12:14] Speaker 11: The coaches were out there. Baker Mayfield in motion. And
[12:17] Speaker 11: Jalen Daniels pretending he was under center. And they were
[12:20] Speaker 11: running the plays.
[12:21] Speaker 1: And they did that all.
[12:22] Speaker 11: The way up until they got on the buses to
[12:23] Speaker 11: go to the stadium. By the way, this all tracks
[12:26] Speaker 11: with what they have been saying about Jalen Daniels since
[12:28] Speaker 11: this summer. They love his personality, his ebullience. They also
[12:32] Speaker 11: really love that he is a grinder. It's his work
[12:34] Speaker 11: ethic they really love.
[12:37] Speaker 1: Say what?
[12:37] Speaker 10: Did not look like an undrafted free agent rookie out
[12:40] Speaker 10: there last night. Some big plays, some big throws, and
[12:42] Speaker 10: it was evident early on that this Cowboys defense was
[12:46] Speaker 10: going to have its hands full. And, yeah, obviously the
[12:48] Speaker 10: Cowboys defense is getting shredded online and locally in Dallas. Today,
[12:52] Speaker 10: after every loss, that basically is what.
[12:54] Speaker 1: Is going to happen in a place like Dallas. But
[12:56] Speaker 1: a couple things.
[12:57] Speaker 10: I would want to bring up here, one, Joey Porter Jr.,
[12:59] Speaker 10: the big-time, high-priced acquisition, did not play, got sick at
[13:03] Speaker 10: the stadium, just wasn't able to play. That is a
[13:06] Speaker 10: player they acquired to help improve this defense. You were
[13:09] Speaker 10: not able to see it last night. The other thing is,
[13:12] Speaker 10: this looks like a team, Cowboys offense was driving. Obviously,
[13:15] Speaker 10: they had the interception off Ferguson's fingertips. We saw that,
[13:18] Speaker 10: but before that, This defense had made a big stop
[13:21] Speaker 10: on fourth down, stopping.
[13:22] Speaker 1: Sean Tucker on fourth and one.
[13:24] Speaker 10: The defense had its moment, and if you look kind
[13:27] Speaker 10: of sideways a little bit, you can see this Cowboys
[13:29] Speaker 10: defense improving.
[13:31] Speaker 1: Offense needs to just do its thing as well.
[13:34] Speaker 10: A little early to be talking about the Cowboys in
[13:37] Speaker 10: the way, you know, Patrick, people are talking about them.
[13:39] Speaker 1: Yeah, leave the Cowboys alone. They've got a long season.
[13:42] Speaker 1: We'll see how things go. Thanks to Judy and Ian. Consecutive,
[13:46] Speaker 1: three consecutive late game winning drives for the Browns. What's
[13:49] Speaker 1: behind the improvement there in Cleveland? And two teams seemingly
[13:53] Speaker 1: going in different directions. Yeet up in London appearances, though,
[13:57] Speaker 1: in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Haven't deceived before. We look ahead
[14:01] Speaker 1: to Sunday morning coming up next on the Insiders. We
[14:06] Speaker 1: welcome you to London.
[14:07] Speaker 3: Come out here and do what you do. Be the team.
[14:09] Speaker 1: We call the beat. That's the fun, man. Go out
[14:11] Speaker 1: there and hit him in the mouth. He is a weapon.
[14:15] Speaker 2: How good is that?
[14:17] Speaker 1: Are you kidding me?
[14:18] Speaker 6: What a play.
[14:19] Speaker 1: I don't know how he did it.
[14:25] Speaker 5: What a catch.
[14:26] Speaker 1: Jaguars all day long. Let's go. That's not real. Must
[14:33] Speaker 1: see NFL TV. Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles face
[14:39] Speaker 1: off against Travis Hunter and the Jacksonville Jaguars from London Sunday,
[14:42] Speaker 1: 9.30 a.m. Eastern on the NFL Network, also streaming on
[14:46] Speaker 1: the ESPN app. Let's say good evening to our friends
[14:49] Speaker 1: Stacey Dales and Cam Wolfe as they look ahead to
[14:51] Speaker 1: our second London game of the season. We've got to start, Stacey,
[14:54] Speaker 1: with what second-year head coach Liam Cohen is doing with
[14:57] Speaker 1: Trevor Lawrence in this offense. Yeah, it's really special.
[15:01] Speaker 12: The Jaguars landing this morning over in London as we
[15:04] Speaker 12: look forward to the 9.30 Eastern kickoff on Sunday. Make
[15:09] Speaker 12: no mistake about it, gentlemen.
[15:11] Speaker 1: These guys were no.
[15:12] Speaker 12: One-hit wonder last year when they won the AFC South
[15:14] Speaker 12: and went 13-4 in the regular season. What's really interesting
[15:17] Speaker 12: about them is the relationship between Trevor Lawrence.
[15:19] Speaker 1: And Liam Cohen, the head coach.
[15:21] Speaker 12: And Liam Cohen's pulse on this team, you see there
[15:23] Speaker 12: on the lower third of your screen, they are currently
[15:26] Speaker 12: the 12th-ranked scoring offense in football. They're the second-ranked scoring
[15:28] Speaker 12: defense in football. But going back to last season, which
[15:32] Speaker 12: I've shared this week on air, they've won 11 of
[15:34] Speaker 12: their last 12 games. And in the span, that span,
[15:37] Speaker 12: they are the number one scoring offense and the number
[15:40] Speaker 12: one scoring defense in the NFL. And it is all
[15:42] Speaker 12: about Liam Cohen. I spoke with a high ranking source
[15:44] Speaker 12: this week about this football team and specifically this football coach.
[15:48] Speaker 12: His sharp, cutting-edge approach is so uniquely a part of
[15:53] Speaker 12: why this team is successful. In terms of hiring Liam
[15:57] Speaker 12: Cohen with this organization, they hired him because of his
[16:01] Speaker 12: prowess as an offensive coordinator to pair that with the
[16:04] Speaker 12: quarterback in Trevor Lawrence, whom he, from the ground up,
[16:08] Speaker 12: changed mechanically last season before our eyes Trevor Lawrence is
[16:11] Speaker 12: playing at an ultimately high level right now but Liam
[16:14] Speaker 12: Cohen they quickly learned his communication Cameron with this team
[16:18] Speaker 12: and how he impacts with that cutting edge all three
[16:21] Speaker 12: phases the entire organization Liam Cohen is special and I
[16:25] Speaker 12: cannot wait to hear your breakdown of this game because
[16:28] Speaker 12: we're going to see this team once again excel at
[16:30] Speaker 12: a high level on both sides of the football.
[16:34] Speaker 6: Yeah, Stacey, Liam Cohen is a culture changer. And Travis
[16:37] Speaker 6: Hunter has been a star at cornerback. That's been the
[16:39] Speaker 6: buzz I've heard around the league coming.
[16:41] Speaker 1: Off that game.
[16:42] Speaker 6: He played all of his defenses, all of his snaps
[16:44] Speaker 6: on defense this past week. And all summer, we talked
[16:47] Speaker 6: about the offense-defensive split. He will play more offense as
[16:50] Speaker 6: the year goes on, I'm told. The plan is staying
[16:53] Speaker 6: the same. But they are excited about his potential at cornerback.
[16:56] Speaker 6: And I had one source text me, Jalen Ramsey 2.0,
[17:00] Speaker 6: when he's making– plays against the Bengals. They see his athleticism.
[17:04] Speaker 6: They see his playmaking ability.
[17:05] Speaker 1: And I had a.
[17:06] Speaker 6: Jazz coach tell me this offseason, you're going to be
[17:08] Speaker 6: talking about Travis Hunter as a top five player at cornerback.
[17:12] Speaker 6: This time next offseason, he looked like it this past week.
[17:15] Speaker 6: Watch him this Sunday against the Eagles. The Jaguars defense
[17:19] Speaker 6: loves to play physical. I talked to their cornerback, Jordan Lewis.
[17:22] Speaker 6: He said, we plan the blitz. Jalen hurts a lot.
[17:24] Speaker 6: We plan to press their receivers and try to jump
[17:27] Speaker 6: their short passes. That's what the Rams did, and we
[17:30] Speaker 6: think that is our mentality as a defense. The Jags
[17:32] Speaker 6: are here to stay, and they're hoping to make people
[17:35] Speaker 6: feel them as they watch them on national TV on Sunday.
[17:38] Speaker 1: An integral part of the Jags being able to get
[17:41] Speaker 1: Travis Hurd, the team that traded the pick to Jacksonville,
[17:44] Speaker 1: those are the Cleveland Browns, the AFC North leading Browns.
[17:47] Speaker 1: As we look at the most consecutive game-winning drives in
[17:50] Speaker 1: the fourth quarter overtime since the merger, Deshaun Watson just
[17:54] Speaker 1: had three for the Browns. Want more? You'd be up
[17:57] Speaker 1: there with Tim Tebow and Vince Young as they pass
[18:00] Speaker 1: the eye test recently. The execution looks vastly different, Judy,
[18:04] Speaker 1: in the regular season than it did in the preseason.
[18:07] Speaker 11: Well, probably not a surprise. He is chipping off the
[18:10] Speaker 11: rust week by week. And so he's looking better week
[18:13] Speaker 11: by week. But one of the things that he's doing
[18:15] Speaker 11: more now is using his legs mostly to extend plays. Now,
[18:19] Speaker 11: he is not Deshaun Watson from Houston, who was a
[18:22] Speaker 11: true dual threat quarterback.
[18:24] Speaker 1: At that point.
[18:25] Speaker 11: But they are happy to see him using his legs.
[18:28] Speaker 11: with the Cleveland Browns because certainly there were questions about
[18:30] Speaker 11: how confident he would be doing that coming off two
[18:33] Speaker 11: Achilles tears. Todd Munkin said he's never hesitated about it.
[18:37] Speaker 11: He's always been willing to do it. What they want
[18:40] Speaker 11: to see going forward is holding onto the ball more.
[18:43] Speaker 11: He's already had three fumbles this year, but certainly from
[18:46] Speaker 11: where things looked, as you said, in the preseason, the
[18:50] Speaker 11: performance on the field has been much improved. This is
[18:53] Speaker 11: what the Cleveland Browns.
[18:54] Speaker 1: Were seeing today.
[18:55] Speaker 11: The seeds of during practices.
[18:57] Speaker 1: Over the summer.
[18:58] Speaker 11: This is what they thought they could get out of
[18:59] Speaker 11: Deshaun Watson if he can remain healthy.
[19:03] Speaker 1: More to come here on the Insiders as we do
[19:05] Speaker 1: have reactions still pouring in from around the world regarding
[19:08] Speaker 1: the loss of Mike Ditka today. One aspect about his
[19:11] Speaker 1: playing career that helped evolve the game of football itself.
[19:14] Speaker 1: Coming up next on the Insiders. Swagger is another word
[19:28] Speaker 1: for confidence.
[19:29] Speaker 9: All you got to do is want it as much
[19:31] Speaker 9: as we know we want it.
[19:33] Speaker 2: I'll tell you what, this defense has been incredible. They
[19:38] Speaker 2: knocked your socks off just to watch it.
[19:40] Speaker 1: Total decimation.
[19:41] Speaker 5: When you're a confident footballer and you know what you're
[19:44] Speaker 5: doing is right and you know that you're good in
[19:47] Speaker 5: a positive way, not in a fawning way.
[19:50] Speaker 10: You know that you can execute against anybody, and you've
[19:53] Speaker 10: got swag, and you've got confidence.
[19:54] Speaker 1: That's all it is.
[20:01] Speaker 13: Sad news here this morning. Obviously, as far as I'm concerned,
[20:05] Speaker 13: Coach Ditka is the gold standard in terms of– this place.
[20:11] Speaker 13: He's a legend around here as a player, as a coach.
[20:15] Speaker 13: His impact is still being felt to this day. As
[20:20] Speaker 13: the head coach of the Bears, I feel humbled to
[20:24] Speaker 13: be in that same chair that he was once in.
[20:29] Speaker 13: It's a sad day just hearing he's passing on.
[20:34] Speaker 14: I always want to embrace this rivalry, but Sometimes in
[20:38] Speaker 14: life there are things that happen that are more important
[20:41] Speaker 14: than football, so I just wanted to offer my condolences
[20:44] Speaker 14: to the Bears and to the Dicka family in memory
[20:47] Speaker 14: of Mike Dicka. Obviously a true legend of the game
[20:51] Speaker 14: as a player, as a coach, and just wanted to
[20:55] Speaker 14: throw that out there.
[20:56] Speaker 1: Did you know him at all?
[20:57] Speaker 14: Did you ever get to meet him at all?
[21:00] Speaker 1: I never got to meet him.
[21:01] Speaker 14: I've been to his restaurant once when I was a
[21:03] Speaker 14: little kid, but no, I mean... the things that he
[21:06] Speaker 14: accomplished in this game are legendary.
[21:11] Speaker 8: Somebody I, you know, just loved growing up, man, and
[21:16] Speaker 8: Ditka was it. And, you know, huge fan. And so
[21:22] Speaker 8: when I'm able to come out, you know, I'm getting
[21:25] Speaker 8: drafted to go to the combine, well, the Saints want
[21:28] Speaker 8: to meet with me, in particular Mike Ditka, right, tight end.
[21:33] Speaker 8: a hell of a player, hell of a coach, all
[21:35] Speaker 8: the whole thing. And so, um, so I'm already, you know, like, okay. And, uh,
[21:42] Speaker 8: I go in, well, I think it's going to, I
[21:44] Speaker 8: know he'll be in there, but it's going to be
[21:45] Speaker 8: a little bit, no, no, no. I go in and it's, it's,
[21:48] Speaker 8: there's one little light on, it's like a little lamp
[21:50] Speaker 8: in the corner, you know, it's at the train station
[21:54] Speaker 8: and there's nothing in there. There's no couches. The room
[21:57] Speaker 8: is totally cleaned out and there's one little table and
[22:00] Speaker 8: the room is full of smoke. I mean, you can't
[22:03] Speaker 8: hardly even see him. You just see this image off
[22:05] Speaker 8: in the corner of this little lamp and smoke everywhere,
[22:07] Speaker 8: and he's got that big, fat cigar. And it was
[22:13] Speaker 8: one of the best times of my life and most
[22:18] Speaker 8: intimidating times of my life, sitting across from Mike Ditka.
[22:21] Speaker 8: It was awesome, though, man, just him asking questions about
[22:26] Speaker 8: where you grew up, how you think, how you're wired,
[22:29] Speaker 8: the game. what you see, what you, it was just,
[22:33] Speaker 8: it was, it was awesome. And, uh, so man, thoughts
[22:38] Speaker 8: and prayers go out to his family. You know, he's
[22:40] Speaker 8: a legend.
[22:41] Speaker 1: He's a legend.
[22:42] Speaker 7: What amazing experience it was to, to be in the
[22:45] Speaker 7: same building in the same meeting room on the same
[22:47] Speaker 7: sideline or in the same practice field with my, uh,
[22:51] Speaker 7: you know, he was the most competitive person I think
[22:54] Speaker 7: you ever meet in your lifetime, a stripper, but still
[22:59] Speaker 7: a warm side of him.
[23:00] Speaker 1: Um, A warm, hard.
[23:02] Speaker 4: His first meeting with the Bears, he said, guys, I
[23:04] Speaker 4: got good news and I got bad news.
[23:06] Speaker 1: The good news is that we're going to win the
[23:07] Speaker 1: Super Bowl. The bad news is that half of you
[23:09] Speaker 1: guys are not going to be here. And it was true.
[23:12] Speaker 1: I mean, so he just told the truth. He told
[23:14] Speaker 1: it the way it was. And that's the way Mike
[23:15] Speaker 1: Ditka was.
[23:17] Speaker 5: And I said to him, you know, after a particularly
[23:19] Speaker 5: rough week, I said, you know, you really got after
[23:21] Speaker 5: our asses pretty good this week, coach. And he said,
[23:23] Speaker 5: you know, Ronnie, I would never ask you guys to
[23:25] Speaker 5: do anything I couldn't do. And that's when I realized
[23:28] Speaker 5: that his standard, the way he approached games, He raised
[23:31] Speaker 5: that on us. He expected us to do those things
[23:35] Speaker 5: mostly because he had done it before. And I think
[23:37] Speaker 5: that was one of the real arts to coaching is
[23:39] Speaker 5: that you can ask players to do things because you've
[23:42] Speaker 5: done it before. You can ask players to do things
[23:44] Speaker 5: because you know it's the right thing to do. And
[23:46] Speaker 5: that's kind of what I learned from him and I
[23:47] Speaker 5: took from him in my coaching career.
[23:50] Speaker 1: Back now with Judy Batista, just a small glimpse of
[23:53] Speaker 1: how Coach Ditka impacted a lot of these people as players,
[23:56] Speaker 1: as head coaches. But then you go back, Judy, you
[23:58] Speaker 1: think about the impact he had as a player where
[24:01] Speaker 1: entire generations of NFL fans really don't have access to
[24:05] Speaker 1: some of those moments where he left an indelible mark
[24:07] Speaker 1: on the game on the field.
[24:11] Speaker 11: Yeah, well, what you see out of tight ends now
[24:14] Speaker 11: is because Mike Ditka played tight end. I was lucky
[24:18] Speaker 11: enough to talk to him a number of times over
[24:19] Speaker 11: the years about how the tight end position was being played.
[24:24] Speaker 11: When he was with the Bears, he was very proud
[24:26] Speaker 11: to be blocking for Gale Sayers. But George Halas, their coach,
[24:30] Speaker 11: also recognized what a great athlete Mike Ditka was. He
[24:33] Speaker 11: was a multi-sport star in college. He also played baseball
[24:36] Speaker 11: and basketball in college, and he wrestled So he was
[24:39] Speaker 11: super athletic. And so George Hallis started to split him
[24:43] Speaker 11: out a little bit away from the offensive line. Not
[24:45] Speaker 11: the way you see tight ends being split out now,
[24:48] Speaker 11: like they're playing like wide receivers, but moving him away
[24:51] Speaker 11: from the offensive line so that he would be more
[24:53] Speaker 11: of a threat in the passing game. In his rookie season,
[24:57] Speaker 11: he had more than a thousand yards receiving and 12
[25:00] Speaker 11: receiving touchdowns. Don't forget, they were playing 14 games at
[25:04] Speaker 11: that time. A few years after that, he had 75 receptions.
[25:07] Speaker 11: Tight ends just were not playing like that. They were
[25:10] Speaker 11: still largely blockers at that time. So he really helped
[25:14] Speaker 11: revolutionize the position. He was amazed at what tight ends
[25:18] Speaker 11: are doing now. He said tight ends are so big,
[25:20] Speaker 11: that was the size of their linemen at that time.
[25:22] Speaker 11: But really, the way tight ends are playing now is
[25:25] Speaker 11: because of the way Mike Ditka played tight end.
[25:28] Speaker 1: Thank you, Judy. We'll have more chances to look back
[25:30] Speaker 1: at the life and times of Mike Ditka coming up
[25:31] Speaker 1: right after our show. His football life will be on
[25:35] Speaker 1: NFL Network. We've got some solid divisional matchups coming up
[25:39] Speaker 1: in the NFL this week, including a playoff rematch from 2025.
[25:42] Speaker 1: It is the 49ers traveling to Seattle to take on
[25:45] Speaker 1: the Seahawks. Could be one of those force versus object games.
[25:48] Speaker 1: Look at the pass rush win rate around the NFL.
[25:51] Speaker 1: Last 10 seasons, first four games, the 2026 Seahawks right there, 69.1%.
[25:54] Speaker 1: But on the other side.
[25:58] Speaker 1: The most consecutive games without allowing a sack since 1963,
[26:02] Speaker 1: the 2026 49ers. They're with just four games, no sacks.
[26:08] Speaker 1: As Jeremy Fowler is back with us, Brock Purdy's been
[26:11] Speaker 1: good everywhere this season, but from a clean pocket, he's
[26:13] Speaker 1: been surgical, Jeremy.
[26:16] Speaker 4: Yeah, the Seahawks are going to try to change that
[26:18] Speaker 4: sack streak in a big way this weekend. But Brock
[26:20] Speaker 4: Purdy right now knows how to navigate the pocket, and
[26:23] Speaker 4: he knows how to be elusive.
[26:24] Speaker 3: It was funny.
[26:24] Speaker 4: I was at training camp a couple months back. I
[26:26] Speaker 4: saw Brock Purdy moving around. I said, hey, man, you're
[26:28] Speaker 4: kind of sneaky fast. He said, well, I'm not a
[26:30] Speaker 4: 4-4 guy, but I am trying to emphasize more and
[26:33] Speaker 4: more every year. to utilize my legs to get 10 yards,
[26:36] Speaker 4: 12 yards when I can, move the chains and get
[26:38] Speaker 4: some first downs. He's doing that in a big way.
[26:41] Speaker 4: And also Patrick, when I talked to the Seahawks this week,
[26:44] Speaker 4: they said a big safety valve for Brock Purdy to
[26:46] Speaker 4: make sure he's not sacked and get easy yards is
[26:48] Speaker 4: Deebo Samuel. He has been rejuvenated in San Francisco. He's
[26:51] Speaker 4: looking like his old self. He's 30 years old. He
[26:54] Speaker 4: looked like he was regressing the last year or two,
[26:56] Speaker 4: but now it looks good. So they're giving him handoffs.
[26:58] Speaker 4: They're giving him easy touches on screen passes. That helps
[27:00] Speaker 4: protect Brock Purdy as well.
[27:02] Speaker 1: Yes, Shane's at the peak Devo season we had a
[27:04] Speaker 1: couple years ago. Oh, sorry. No, that's all right.
[27:08] Speaker 10: Everybody wants to talk about Devo Samuel. I had a
[27:10] Speaker 10: great chat with him when I was in San Francisco
[27:12] Speaker 10: for training camp. He was so excited about being back,
[27:14] Speaker 10: and he has done everything he wanted to do and
[27:17] Speaker 10: more with the 49ers. By the way, the Seahawks would
[27:19] Speaker 10: love to have those kind of options taking handoffs. It
[27:21] Speaker 10: has been a battle. at the running back position for them.
[27:24] Speaker 10: Jadarian Price, the first-round running back. He is on IR
[27:28] Speaker 10: right now. Zach Charman has not yet been activated. He
[27:31] Speaker 10: is still trying to come back from that torn ACL,
[27:33] Speaker 10: which is why you saw Emmanuel Wilson get 21 carries
[27:37] Speaker 10: or whatever it was last week, which is why for
[27:39] Speaker 10: this week's game, What you really need to see is
[27:41] Speaker 10: Sam Darnold have one of those games that remind you
[27:45] Speaker 10: of why he is the Seahawks franchise quarterback. One of
[27:48] Speaker 10: those games where he reminds you of we can make
[27:50] Speaker 10: this work even without the kind of running game that
[27:53] Speaker 10: we are built on.
[27:54] Speaker 1: This is going to be a fascinating one on Sunday.
[27:56] Speaker 10: The Seahawks a little bit shorthanded, but I'm not sure
[27:59] Speaker 10: the San Francisco 49ers really will be feeling sorry for them, Patrick.
[28:03] Speaker 1: That's the rivalry continues. Looking forward to that coming up
[28:05] Speaker 1: on Sunday. The Raiders traveling to Foxborough this weekend to
[28:08] Speaker 1: take on the New England Patriots who are dealing with
[28:10] Speaker 1: some significant injuries on their own. Chris Gonzalez, Colton Davis,
[28:14] Speaker 1: both corners out. Matt Collins out as well. Jalen Naylor
[28:17] Speaker 1: out with a concussion. Ashton Gentry listed as questionable dealing
[28:21] Speaker 1: with that ankle injury. Let's see if we can get
[28:22] Speaker 1: some more insight, Ian, in a less nebulous manner. Tell
[28:26] Speaker 1: us about Ashton Gentry's ankle.
[28:28] Speaker 10: Well, it's still going to be a little nebulous because
[28:30] Speaker 10: the Las Vegas Raiders have generally tried to keep things
[28:33] Speaker 10: pretty quiet on injuries. We saw that the week Brock
[28:35] Speaker 10: Bowers was returning. We always knew Brock Bowers was returning, and.
[28:38] Speaker 1: Then no one really said anything about it.
[28:40] Speaker 10: Similar situation for the Raiders, but here's what we know.
[28:43] Speaker 10: Ashton Gentry was a full participant earlier in the week. Wednesday,
[28:46] Speaker 10: no big deal. Foot and ankle injury was very limited
[28:50] Speaker 10: on Thursday and then.
[28:51] Speaker 1: Was not able to practice today.
[28:52] Speaker 10: The fact he's listed as questionable means at least He's
[28:55] Speaker 10: got a shot, but he is one of the best
[28:58] Speaker 10: young runners in the NFL and a linchpin of their offense.
[29:01] Speaker 10: So his availability was huge when.
[29:04] Speaker 1: It's a big-time game for the Raiders, Fowler.
[29:08] Speaker 4: Yeah, Ian, and the Patriots are trying to build off
[29:09] Speaker 4: the sliver of momentum they had with Drake May playing
[29:12] Speaker 4: better last week. And let's be honest, there was relief
[29:14] Speaker 4: in that building that he did play better. He was
[29:17] Speaker 4: on the wrong track and looked shaken for a few
[29:19] Speaker 4: games there, just playing really poorly. But talking to people
[29:22] Speaker 4: with the Patriots, they said, Look, it was just a
[29:24] Speaker 4: poor decision making issue, maybe a little bit of confidence,
[29:27] Speaker 4: but they weren't trying.
[29:28] Speaker 1: To overplay it.
[29:29] Speaker 4: It wasn't a scheme related issue. It wasn't an injury
[29:32] Speaker 4: related issue. So they felt like if he could just
[29:34] Speaker 4: settle down and make some good decisions, he would get back.
[29:36] Speaker 4: And one thing they noticed last week is he was
[29:38] Speaker 4: doing a better job of throwing his wide receivers open
[29:41] Speaker 4: throwing with anticipation being more decisive and accurate in that
[29:45] Speaker 4: way that helped get them on the winning circle and
[29:47] Speaker 4: then look eventually they will have A.J. Brown back in
[29:50] Speaker 4: the coming weeks to help Drake May.
[29:53] Speaker 1: A resurgent performance from Drake May, perhaps giving some hope
[29:56] Speaker 1: to other teams that need their quarterbacks to bounce back
[29:58] Speaker 1: trouble for both the Broncos and the Chargers. A litany
[30:01] Speaker 1: of injuries. Pat Bryant, Pat Sertan, and Rowley Moss both
[30:04] Speaker 1: starting corners, both starting tackles for the Chargers. Familiar situation
[30:09] Speaker 1: for them. Quentin Johnston out as well. Sean Sutter gets
[30:13] Speaker 1: placed on IR and Ian, a couple of offenses that
[30:16] Speaker 1: maybe need some help, some changes as we get a
[30:19] Speaker 1: chance to see Sean Payton watching the former quarterback call
[30:23] Speaker 1: the plays. How long does Davis Webb have left calling
[30:26] Speaker 1: the plays? No, it is over for Davis Webb.
[30:30] Speaker 10: He is not going to be the plate caller this
[30:32] Speaker 10: week for the Denver Broncos.
[30:33] Speaker 1: That one shouldn't say over.
[30:34] Speaker 10: There's always a chance that Sean Payton goes back to it,
[30:36] Speaker 10: but Payton made it very clear.
[30:38] Speaker 1: He's running the show this week.
[30:39] Speaker 10: Davis Webb talking to reporters earlier today, basically saying it
[30:43] Speaker 10: was less than ideal, which is an extremely nice and
[30:45] Speaker 10: classy professional way of saying it. There's no bones about it.
[30:49] Speaker 10: I mean, this is a rising offensive coordinator who's one
[30:52] Speaker 10: of the brightest minds in the NFL, was a head
[30:54] Speaker 10: coach candidate, and Sean Payton took play calling from him.
[30:57] Speaker 10: The problem with all of this, Fowler, is that Sean
[30:59] Speaker 10: Payton is one of the best play callers in the NFL.
[31:01] Speaker 10: The Broncos held on to Davis Webb by giving him
[31:04] Speaker 10: play calling, knowing that Payton was there and could take
[31:07] Speaker 10: it back. The fact that he is will provide a
[31:09] Speaker 10: little bit of a bounce for the team.
[31:12] Speaker 1: And it sucks to be Davis Webb. It definitely sucks.
[31:14] Speaker 1: But how can you.
[31:15] Speaker 10: Argue with letting Sean Payton do what he has done
[31:18] Speaker 10: maybe better than anyone else.
[31:20] Speaker 1: In the NFL for the last 20 years or so?
[31:23] Speaker 4: Yeah, and it's a tough deal because they saw how
[31:25] Speaker 4: bright Davis Webb was as a coach, but he was
[31:27] Speaker 4: still relatively green just three plus years as a coach
[31:29] Speaker 4: in any NFL capacity coming off his playing career. So
[31:33] Speaker 4: they had to decide, do we continue to try to
[31:34] Speaker 4: develop a play caller knowing we're trying to win a
[31:37] Speaker 4: Super Bowl? Or do we go back to, like you said,
[31:39] Speaker 4: one of the very best play callers that we've ever
[31:41] Speaker 4: seen in the league? in this generation. And so here
[31:43] Speaker 4: are a few things I'm told the Broncos are trying
[31:45] Speaker 4: to sort out in real time with this switch. They're
[31:48] Speaker 4: trying to get Bo Nix more comfortable taking more shots.
[31:51] Speaker 4: They feel like he's aggressive by nature, but hasn't quite
[31:54] Speaker 4: been playing that way. And it could be because the
[31:56] Speaker 4: sequencing of things and how they're calling the game and
[31:59] Speaker 4: setting up the run in the pass, they feel like
[32:00] Speaker 4: will help Bo Nix. And also just from a simple format,
[32:03] Speaker 4: they want to get the running game and specifically the
[32:05] Speaker 4: running backs going. Their trio of their three backs, J.K. Dobbins, R.J. Harvey,
[32:10] Speaker 4: Jonah Coleman, just a total of 68 rushes for those
[32:14] Speaker 4: three players in four games. That's simply not enough to
[32:17] Speaker 4: try to establish the run.
[32:20] Speaker 1: Thank you, gentlemen. Looking forward to the Bears and the
[32:23] Speaker 1: Packers coming up this weekend. We're a Green Bay team
[32:27] Speaker 1: looking to bounce back from some rough performances on the ground.
[32:30] Speaker 1: That's coming up next on The Insider. Back on the insiders,
[32:36] Speaker 1: the Bears and the Packers. Week five matchup sees Caleb
[32:39] Speaker 1: Williams listed as questionable along with Javon Hargrave of the Packers.
[32:45] Speaker 1: But Kyle Menungai will be out for this game, and
[32:48] Speaker 1: DeAndre Swift is expected to play with hip and knee
[32:52] Speaker 1: injuries as we go back to Stacey Dales, who was
[32:55] Speaker 1: there at Hallis Hall today where the flags were at
[32:57] Speaker 1: half-staff Stacey in honor of Coach Ditka.
[33:02] Speaker 12: Yeah, sad day across the Chicagoland, the state of Illinois,
[33:05] Speaker 12: the football landscape, our condolences to the Ditka family, certainly
[33:09] Speaker 12: into the Chicago Bears. You know, I can remember seeing
[33:12] Speaker 12: clips of Coach Ditka who called it an absolute the
[33:16] Speaker 12: greatest honor of his life to coach the Chicago Bears.
[33:19] Speaker 12: And he showed us why tight ends are so important.
[33:22] Speaker 12: And as Ben Johnson said, the gold standard for coaching.
[33:25] Speaker 12: There will be a game on Sunday between these two franchises,
[33:28] Speaker 12: the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers. And for
[33:31] Speaker 12: these Bears, Kyle Menunga is a huge injury. We just
[33:33] Speaker 12: saw him run for 30 carries against the Jets, nearly
[33:37] Speaker 12: 150 on the ground, two touchdowns. He's got that toe
[33:40] Speaker 12: injury or the foot injury, which means DeAndre Swift is
[33:43] Speaker 12: going to carry a massive load. Ben Johnson is not
[33:46] Speaker 12: concerned at all about the two lost fumbles for DeAndre
[33:49] Speaker 12: Swift this year. I do believe he's going to get
[33:53] Speaker 12: a massive load. And Tyson Bajent looks to be the starter.
[33:56] Speaker 12: It was interesting that Caleb Williams popped up as questionable
[34:00] Speaker 12: on the injury report. I know he's gotten back into
[34:02] Speaker 12: some running. They have a plan in progress with this quarterback,
[34:07] Speaker 12: Caleb Williams. and certainly throwing a little bit. But when
[34:09] Speaker 12: you think about the run game, 196 yards leads the
[34:13] Speaker 12: NFL per game, nearly 200 yards rushing. Jonathan Gannon has
[34:16] Speaker 12: his hands full, the defensive coordinator this week, Patrick, for
[34:20] Speaker 12: these Packers, and trying to figure out how to defend
[34:23] Speaker 12: what Ben Johnson does. He called it this week just
[34:25] Speaker 12: so schematically and technically sound, and he is working feverishly
[34:30] Speaker 12: to put together a game plan to slow this thing down,
[34:32] Speaker 12: even without Kyle Menungai.
[34:33] Speaker 1: Stacey, what we're used to seeing is a stylistically sound
[34:38] Speaker 1: offense in Green Bay. It's had its struggles, but they
[34:41] Speaker 1: did get a win in Tampa Bay last week. Jordan
[34:44] Speaker 1: Love now has eight touchdowns, three interceptions. How do they
[34:46] Speaker 1: get this offense going against the Bears at home?
[34:50] Speaker 12: Got to protect it. He's been getting the ball out
[34:51] Speaker 12: super quickly. Got to protect him. And we saw 13
[34:55] Speaker 12: personnel last week for Jordan Love and Company. 16 plays
[34:58] Speaker 12: they rented. I think it's probably the highest number, if
[35:01] Speaker 12: I had to go back and look at our research packet,
[35:02] Speaker 12: in next-gen stat history in the last decade. And so
[35:07] Speaker 12: Dennis Allen, the defensive coordinator there, is preparing for that.
[35:10] Speaker 12: But listen, let's just be real here. Jordan Love has
[35:15] Speaker 12: been so historically successful against the Chicago Bears.
[35:18] Speaker 1: 11 games.
[35:19] Speaker 12: Or excuse me, 13-2 in terms of his touchdown to
[35:23] Speaker 12: interception rating. He has a 113 passer rating.
[35:26] Speaker 1: Listen to this.
[35:27] Speaker 12: Against the Bears, historically, that is the best against this
[35:30] Speaker 12: franchise of any quarterback ever.
[35:32] Speaker 1: I thought Aaron.
[35:33] Speaker 12: Rodgers would be there, Patrick. But his, historically, has been
[35:36] Speaker 12: a 107 passer rating. Passer rating is all about efficiency.
[35:39] Speaker 1: Dennis Allen.
[35:41] Speaker 12: Is going to prepare to blitz the heck out of
[35:43] Speaker 12: I think Jordan Love because that's what the Bears do
[35:46] Speaker 12: this year they have an outstanding defense their blitz rates
[35:50] Speaker 12: six in the NFL right now it's coming from all
[35:52] Speaker 12: different places at the line of scrimmage and the second
[35:55] Speaker 12: level and so I think you know to get him
[35:58] Speaker 12: off rhythm that's the focus for Dennis Allen how can
[36:00] Speaker 12: we break the rhythm of Jordan Love and disable how.
[36:05] Speaker 1: Good he has been against the Chicago Bears.
[36:06] Speaker 12: That'll be the key in quite a contest on Sunday.
[36:09] Speaker 1: Yeah, a couple good teams in a really good division
[36:11] Speaker 1: where both of those teams are looking up at a
[36:14] Speaker 1: undefeated Minnesota Vikings team with Kyler Murray at quarterback. The
[36:18] Speaker 1: trouble is they've got some wideouts battling injuries. Justin Jefferson
[36:21] Speaker 1: missed last week against the Dolphins. He's questionable with an
[36:25] Speaker 1: ankle injury. Also, Jordan Addison, questionable with a hamstring injury. Elsewhere,
[36:32] Speaker 1: a game where there could be more than a few touchdowns.
[36:34] Speaker 1: The Lions and the Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur said
[36:36] Speaker 1: rookie running back Jeremiah Love is trending in the right
[36:39] Speaker 1: direction regarding his ankle ahead of the game. And the
[36:42] Speaker 1: Lions defense has been missing big pieces of its secondary
[36:45] Speaker 1: all season. But the 21-day practice evaluation window has returned
[36:49] Speaker 1: for safety Brian Branch as he recovers from the Achilles
[36:52] Speaker 1: injury that ended his 2025 season. The Baltimore Ravens going
[36:58] Speaker 1: into Sunday night football without Lamar Jackson on the road.
[37:02] Speaker 1: How things will look for Snoop Huntley in his first
[37:03] Speaker 1: start in a new offense. A report from Owens Mills
[37:06] Speaker 1: coming up next on The Insiders. We're back on The Insiders.
[37:11] Speaker 1: The Baltimore Ravens having to go with their backup quarterback
[37:13] Speaker 1: as Lamar Jackson could miss multiple weeks with a left
[37:16] Speaker 1: ankle injury. Jamison Hensley reports ahead of Sunday night football
[37:20] Speaker 1: from Owens Mills.
[37:22] Speaker 2: I asked Ravens coach Jesse Minter, what's the difference with
[37:25] Speaker 2: this offense when it's Tyler Huntley at quarterback and not
[37:28] Speaker 2: Lamar Jackson? Minter told me, Lamar is one of one,
[37:32] Speaker 2: but this is the Ravens offense. They will build around
[37:35] Speaker 2: their playmakers and their offensive line. For the Ravens, the
[37:39] Speaker 2: challenge will be producing explosive plays. Jackson ranked fifth in
[37:43] Speaker 2: the NFL with nine passes of 25 yards or longer.
[37:47] Speaker 2: In two starts last season, Huntley totaled just one pass
[37:50] Speaker 2: over 25 yards. But the players inside this locker room
[37:53] Speaker 2: insist they have a lot of faith in Huntley. Wide
[37:56] Speaker 2: receiver Rashad Bateman told me, Huntley has Lamar's back, and
[38:00] Speaker 2: he's going to carry us along the way. The Ravens
[38:03] Speaker 2: don't have an exact timeline on when Jackson will come back.
[38:06] Speaker 2: Minter told me he doesn't know if Jackson will return
[38:09] Speaker 2: next week, but he does know he will do everything
[38:12] Speaker 2: in his power to come back.
[38:15] Speaker 1: Let's look at the Steelers and the Colts injury status.
[38:17] Speaker 1: Jalen Ramsey is out. Rico Dowdle is out. Michael Pittman Jr.
[38:22] Speaker 1: out as well as we've got Jamel Dean. So we've
[38:25] Speaker 1: got a cornerback. We've got wide receivers that are out, Judy.
[38:29] Speaker 1: But we also get a lot of reaction shots of
[38:30] Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers. Are he and Mike McCarthy okay?
[38:35] Speaker 11: Everything is kumbaya back in Pittsburgh.
[38:37] Speaker 1: They're fine. This is how people.
[38:39] Speaker 11: Who have been together a long time talk to each
[38:41] Speaker 11: other sometimes.
[38:42] Speaker 1: When they are frustrated.
[38:43] Speaker 11: Actually, these two sat down multiple times to talk about things.
[38:47] Speaker 11: Mike McCarthy said that Aaron Rodgers thinks it's really good
[38:50] Speaker 11: to have this much passion among players. Remember, you saw T.J.
[38:53] Speaker 11: Watt also screaming at defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. Aaron Rodgers
[38:57] Speaker 11: thinks that is the indication of a player-led team, and
[39:00] Speaker 11: that is good. They did spend some of the mini-buy
[39:02] Speaker 11: self-scouting and looking at how they can clean up their
[39:05] Speaker 11: missed tackles, which were a real problem last week, Patrick.
[39:08] Speaker 1: The frustration is a little more internal for the Houston Texans,
[39:11] Speaker 1: who have seen things really go poorly at the start
[39:14] Speaker 1: of the last two seasons, but notable differences in points
[39:17] Speaker 1: per game and opponents' points per game, but helps on
[39:21] Speaker 1: the way. We're back with Ian Rappaport as another team
[39:23] Speaker 1: gets a good play caller back. That's right.
[39:27] Speaker 10: D'Amico Ryan's taking back play calling this week. Now, it's
[39:29] Speaker 10: a fascinating situation because Matt Burke rose to one of
[39:32] Speaker 10: the better assistants, one of the more decorated assistants in
[39:34] Speaker 10: the NFL, helped the Texans become the best defense in
[39:38] Speaker 10: the NFL last year. Four games in, communication issues, players
[39:42] Speaker 10: just simply not making enough plays, allowing big plays. Next
[39:45] Speaker 10: thing you know, to streamline things, D'Amico Ryan steps in.
[39:49] Speaker 10: That's just how it goes sometimes. We're going to see
[39:51] Speaker 10: the impact he can have on this defense and the
[39:54] Speaker 10: fact that they're playing the Tennessee Titans in an offense
[39:56] Speaker 10: that has struggled.
[39:57] Speaker 1: Surely will help his cause. 0-4 versus 0-4, but it's
[40:01] Speaker 1: a matchup of two very good offenses in SoFi Stadium
[40:05] Speaker 1: on Monday night. It was a great one the last
[40:07] Speaker 1: time Josh Allen came to take on Matthew Stafford of
[40:10] Speaker 1: the Rams. We'll look ahead to this matchup next on
[40:13] Speaker 1: The Insider. Back on Insider Saturday, it's the SEC on
[40:17] Speaker 1: ABC First. Texas A & M travels to number 14, Missouri.
[40:20] Speaker 1: Then the Red River rivalry, number one, Texas, versus Oklahoma
[40:24] Speaker 1: from the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. And the nightcap, number two, Georgia,
[40:28] Speaker 1: heads to Tuscaloosa to take on number six, Alabama. And
[40:31] Speaker 1: speaking of University of Alabama. I can turn up the
[40:36] Speaker 1: world wind.
[40:37] Speaker 10: I can see it.
[40:38] Speaker 4: Nick did a very good job of hiding the total
[40:40] Speaker 4: human being.
[40:41] Speaker 1: Hello!
[40:43] Speaker 14: I'm driven to make ordinary people want to do extraordinary things.
[40:48] Speaker 8: Genius.
[40:48] Speaker 1: Traitor. Champion.
[40:49] Speaker 3: I just recall the ass-chewings.
[40:50] Speaker 9: He didn't get it.
[40:51] Speaker 14: There was a method to that madness.
[40:53] Speaker 1: Seventh National Championship. Right now is the time.
[40:57] Speaker 2: We fight.
[40:57] Speaker 9: We fight. We fight.
[40:58] Speaker 3: We fight.
[41:00] Speaker 1: Saban, presented by Verbo, the man, the coach, the process.
[41:03] Speaker 1: Six-part series available to stream now on the ESPN app.
[41:08] Speaker 1: Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles face off against Travis
[41:11] Speaker 1: Hunter and the Jags from London Sunday, 9.30 a.m. Eastern
[41:14] Speaker 1: on NFL Network streaming on the ESPN app. Then don't
[41:16] Speaker 1: miss Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills taking on Matthew
[41:19] Speaker 1: Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium Monday
[41:22] Speaker 1: at 8 o'clock Eastern on ABC ESPN and on the
[41:26] Speaker 1: ESPN app. In that game, the Rams will get a
[41:29] Speaker 1: chance to get future Hall of Fame defensive tackle Aaron
[41:32] Speaker 1: Donald back as he missed that game against the Eagles
[41:36] Speaker 1: with a back injury. He'll be back against the Bills
[41:38] Speaker 1: right across the street on Monday night football. Ian, what
[41:41] Speaker 1: can you tell us about Aaron Donald and that backing?
[41:45] Speaker 10: Aaron Donald being a full participant today in practice, a
[41:47] Speaker 10: good sign that he is on track to be back
[41:50] Speaker 10: Monday night. And this is essentially what the team thought
[41:52] Speaker 10: that it would be. One week with a back injury,
[41:54] Speaker 10: feel a little better, heal up a little bit, then
[41:57] Speaker 10: get back on the field. And slowly, very slowly, Patrick,
[42:00] Speaker 10: this Rams defense is nearing completion. Just need Myles Garrett
[42:04] Speaker 10: to get out there as soon as he possibly can
[42:06] Speaker 10: to do it.
[42:10] Speaker 6: And the Bills X Factor on Monday will be receiver
[42:13] Speaker 6: Keon Coleman, who is rewriting his narrative as a reliable
[42:16] Speaker 6: playmaker for Josh Allen.
[42:18] Speaker 1: The last two years, people have been calling him a bust.
[42:20] Speaker 6: GM Brandon Bean told me he's coming to year three
[42:22] Speaker 6: with a different purpose. He had 118 yards in the
[42:25] Speaker 6: touchdown last week.
[42:27] Speaker 1: So I dived into why.
[42:28] Speaker 6: Turns out Coleman knew this was a make or break year.
[42:31] Speaker 6: Went to San Diego to work with Bill's great Stevie Johnson.
[42:34] Speaker 6: He went and worked on his release with his trainer
[42:36] Speaker 6: Mo Wells. And he came back playing free and in rhythm.
[42:39] Speaker 6: He's sleeping better, which was a previous issue. He's blocking
[42:43] Speaker 6: with a defensive basketball mentality. And with DJ Moore aggravating
[42:47] Speaker 6: his AC sprain up in the air for Monday, Coleman
[42:50] Speaker 6: has become the guy that Alec can trust.
[42:52] Speaker 14: On Monday.
[42:53] Speaker 1: Looking forward to that game on Monday night. Looking forward
[42:55] Speaker 1: to a nice early start here on Sunday on the
[42:59] Speaker 1: NFL Network with the game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for
[43:02] Speaker 1: Ian Rappaport, Cam Wolfe, Stacey Dales, Judy Batista, Jeremy Fowler.
[43:06] Speaker 1: Thanks for watching the Insiders. Mike Ditka of Football Life
[43:08] Speaker 1: coming up next on the NFL Network.

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