Hard Knocks star Austin Reed talks undrafted free agent life and favorite TV shows with Cole Kmet

Intro [Music] all right guys welcome back to the 85 uh I'm your host Cole KT we're we're back for week two and we're going to keep going this keep chugging along here uh Adam how we doing we're good Cole yesterday was was fun as we record this on Sunday uh preseason game at Soldier Field more Caleb Williams highlights I know we're going to get into all that uh but it must have been an exciting day and of course as always the 85 powered by ankin law injury law made personal they're here to help visit anken law to learn more Cole we got a hit on the joint practices too at some point but I don't know how we don't start with the Here and Now with what was going on yesterday I'm assuming that's the direction you want to go in to start here yeah we can start with the game um obviously uh it Caleb Hanie Highlights was a we we had some Highlights Highlights there to from Caleb which was cool to see and you know cool that he was able to show that at home in front of the fans for the first time so um yeah I thought it was a good first home opener for him and you know for the squad it was good um a little bit of a slow start there for us but um we got things going and um you know I obviously saw the highlight plays the the spin out throw to Rome down the sideline was really cool uh the the the roll out where he where Rome accidentally little missed step there but that was still a sweet throw by Caleb and then and then obviously the scramble to finish there at the end was uh was a really cool highlight so you know all in all I think we're we're still trending the right direction Caleb's making some highlight plays and uh I like where we're at I think we better uh also thank all the listeners and and fans from for the uh love and support for the first episode too the YouTube channel taking off and uh a lot of people watching that was that was awesome to see I don't know notic Co that was super cool that was super cool I mean unbelievable um you know obviously this is something that we kind of just put together here and you know we're excited about doing but to to able to see the reaction from it was really awesome and you know just kind of makes us and makes me want to deliver you know good content all season long so excited for what's to come about it but definitely a good first premiere for for the 85 there so I don't I don't know if he'll be as competitive as you probably are you know compared to how you are on the football field but I don't know if you saw on those podcast charts the 85 with Cole Kad it was like right behind the Kel brothers that's pretty good that's pretty good saying for the first episode hey you know what that also that's just uh a testament though to the the fans here in Chicago as well you know just how passionate they are about their football and you know obviously you understand that being around this for so long and you know me growing up here um I've seen it my whole life so it's a passionate fan base and you know they're starving for a winner here and there's obviously a lot of excitement about the team so um you know got a lot to attribute to that as well all right so I I got to ask you about the start of the game yesterday um what do what do you attribute to kind Austin Reed on slow start of that slow start the first three series were all three and outs and then I'm also curious because you know Ryan poles and and matlu kind of made it clear that there was sort of a decision made there on the sideline to put the starters back out there that maybe like you Caleb the original plan wasn't for Caleb to go out there for another series but based on how the game was going they made that decision obviously it paid off yeah um oh I'll start I guess I'll start with that I mean we the original plan I think was to go three about three series with Caleb um you know we wanted to get good work in there and then and then be able to get off so just a another series longer than what we did in Buffalo um obviously with the 3 three Nots to start that's not what we wanted but um I thought that was actually a good thing to happen and I know you know you want everything to look perfect all the time but I thought it was a a POS just to be able to kind of fight through that a little bit and and have Caleb experience that and you know be on the field get off field quickly and then do that a couple more times and you know obviously you don't want to ever have a situation where we were going 33 and Out start a game but um just a good thing to kind of persevere through and kind of work through so I thought that was good um but in terms of the first three series uh quite frankly I mean the first with the first play to Keenan and I think it was just a Miss between those two guys and you know something they'll get iron out you know I don't think anything too too big to worry about but um you got to give them credit too I thought they defended some of the stuff that we had up pretty well and you know I just want to remind everybody again like this is really vanilla stuff that we're doing right now and it's it's still training camp uh type of deal so we're not we're not in full game plan mode per say um so we just kind of want to go out there execute the offense correctly and you know to Caleb's credit I thought he did that for the most part um it just that sometimes you know things are there things aren't and and look these guys get paid too so they they know what they're doing out there and and and they did a good job to defending some of the things but uh like I said earlier it was cool to see Caleb take over there towards the end of the end of the first half and make some really cool throws to Rome and you know obviously cool to get Rome involved as well with the you know first with the sweep around the edge and then the catch down the sideline and then the almost 2B touchdown there yeah let's talk about that so the that because that was Austin Reed on Rome Davis end zone interception probably I thought the best play that Caleb made the whole day and there were there were a few and then obviously Rome's feet were just barely out of the back of the end zone and I know you I think you want to defend him a little bit yeah no I'm I'm going to defend because right when that happened I said oh he thought the other white line was the back of the end zone and he probably got that mixed up um where I had a similar thing happen my rookie year and now nothing happened where I got the ball thrown to me but I or it might have been even my second year and I remember running around in the end zone and you like lose when you're running that fast and you're you know you're just playing as fast as you can you kind of lose track and you're you know you're trying to pren where the lines on the field are and there's that secondary line behind it and I don't really know what it's for but um I think he might have been tripped up with that so if that's my defense for Rome there it's a look rookie mistake and it you know it happened but uh it was good that it happened to preseason game and something we can learn from but also I mean could we get it painted a different color well usually it's painted the whole thing's painted white between those two lines right so and I know they were obviously having some issues with the field getting it ready with the concerts that were going on yeah they just had Metallica out there yeah right yeah it was like they ran out of time and just couldn't paint the the back of the end zone um but I do have to say Cole like that's exactly how they're painting it on the pra your practice fields yeah and it's tough on the practice field no that's a fair that's a fair argument back to it um that's a fair argument back to it for sure I think you know you're in the game setting you're at Soldier for the first time you know you may lose lose a little bit of track of where you're at and um definitely not something he's probably seen back in college so um yeah look that's just my defense for him it's a good thing it was a pre it's a preseason game I'm sure he won't ever let that happen again and he he'll be a little bit more aware next time he he runs to the corner like that well and also I think because it's preseason we could still you know kind of Mark it down as a a a plus play for Caleb Williams and a touchdown throw um yeah well and plus if that play happen if if that was a touchdown you wouldn't have seen the next play yeah scramble touchdown yeah which was a sweet play too so you kind of got a two for one there I thought I'm still amazed at um I know you're not an offensive lineman so you don't have to worry about you know going too far down field but I Austin Reed on Tevin Jenkins interception still don't quite understand how T Jenkins knew when the Hang back if Caleb was going to throw that ball and when to just go forward that he was going to run because he had his back to him so I don't know if they're like somehow communicating there but I was just really impressed with them being on the same page in that moment because that's not as easy as it looked see I wasn't looking out for that on film so he took off right when Caleb took off Tevin took off as well yes because you could see he's like kind of hanging at the line of scrimmage because he doesn't want to go down field in case Caleb throws it cuz then it's a penalty right and then you know I think he kind of said post game that he sort of was able to take a peek back and I think he saw maybe Caleb put the ball and I'm not really sure but it was it just I was impressed with that because that's not an easy thing to do in that situ no that's not I you know give a credit to T there for doing that um that's pretty impressive I mean obviously we you know playing with Justin the past few years you know we're used to you know guys being able to get out of the pocket and C Caleb's able to do that as well um but yeah that's that's really good awareness there by te to be able to do that and you know it's things that those are the things that we're going to have to continue to get used to um as we as we play with Caleb here because I mean Caleb's always looking to throw it still I mean even on that scramble he was L he was looking to throw that thing to the last second and I mean guys were Shou on the sideline run run run and he's still looking to throw the thing so you know you got to respect him that he wants to he wants to throw it in for the touchdown but um it was cool to see him take off there and and get the seven yard gain after running around for probably about 80 yards to get in the end zone and then the one play we haven't talked about yet was the in insane throw deep downfield that Rome caught um I think it was for 45 yards did you the coolest part for me on that was hearing later that they actually weren't on the same page to start that play did you hear about that no so I I was getting checked out there with my shoulder uh once once I came off the field for a second so I heard the the crowd erupt with it and obviously I watched it on tape but no I didn't hear that they weren't on the same page yeah so um essentially because the I think it Austin Reed on Caleb Hanie was a safety who came down to cover Rome in the slot um had outside leverage so Caleb wanted him to take it over the top of the defender and instead he cut in on that corner route he cut inside him which basically covered him up right so if you like if you watch Caleb's especially the end zone angle you could see like he's on him like he's going to he wanted to throw that corner but because Rome didn't take it high and it's instead went low he came off it so that's why he came off it in the first place and then he just somehow does that little Spin and to Rome's credit the second you could see it on film the second he sees Caleb spin out he went down the sideline on the scam scramble drill and then Caleb just hit him it was great yeah that was a great point I mean I saw the replays on television I was watching some of the preseason games last night and his ability to spin out like that and then throw a perfect spiral up and down in the in the Bread Basket is it's really impressive so um yeah hopefully we see just a lot of these this this upcoming year yeah I think uh the fans are certainly excited about it right now um I I have to ask you about one thing about your defense too because Kyler Gordon like he hasn't even Austin Reed on Kyler Gordon really been practicing he came back this week and like instantly it seemed like he was noticeable on the practice field and then he was just all over the field yeah yesterday so what I wanted to ask you like when he comes back to practice this week you know this past week how quickly do you feel that on the offense because you're going up against the ones like you're like his presence because he just seems to play the game like with his hair on fire all the time yeah no you feel that when that group especially in the back end is at 100% and all those guys are together whether it's you know Kyler jaquin KB um Tyreek Jaylen like you get all those guys clicking together was one um it's a it's a f last physical group um so you know adding Kyler back is was big time and I think he plays the ball really well and does a good job of punching out when guys are trying to bring the ball down um and then obviously the blitz off the edge that was a big hit man that was a big hit oh yeah I wish he would have stripped it but like that was a big hit that was still a sweet hit you know I felt like he could have like came in like and punched it I mean I'm not a defensive guy you know what I mean but um that was a sweet hit and you know he's not the biggest guy by any means but he can definitely lay the wood when needed so um you know you definitely feel those guys though when they're all when they all when they're all back together when they're 100% healthy and clicking so it's a good group there on the back end and um it definitely challenges Us in practice day to day it it's funny because there were some fans that were like oh you could have gotten that ball out he didn't have to hit him as hard he could have gone for the ball and yeah that's the greedy take but I still like the I mean the physicality is awesome yeah but your coach your defensive coaches are greedy too they want that ball out so my guess is they probably they probably said that to them they definitely Flo definitely did yeah flu definitely did he wants that ball Flo wants the ball yeah yeah a course so I uh and I saw it was also on the TV uh when they almost down the punt at the one but I think veis just barely went the endone yeah um you know that guy in the Bengals actually made a really subtle nice play to block him at the last second which kind of pushed veus into the end zone now he maybe the coaching points probably to just tap it to a teammate but um I noticed Flo right away like was was coaching veis up on that too yeah like I know I know I know you as a special teamers like love that [ __ ] you love it yeah you gota hey especially with Tory Taylor on this team now you gota have to down those punts inside the that's a that's a weapon man you you get a team that has to drive it you know 95 90 yards uh instead of you know 80 or 75 yards like that's a big deal you know those are that's just another first down another first down and a half that A team's got to get in order to score so um yeah definitely a weapon and definitely thing that we got to take advantage of when we get punts like that well and what I always tell our kids is like I I know everybody wants to down the ball at the one it looks really cool but I'd rather have it at the four than at the 20 so absolutely you know if you have to tap it back a little bit for you know farther just to make sure it's in play then do that right um right yeah that was actually a nice play by the Bengals um all right Cole Kmet on Austin Reed well anything else from the game that you want to to get in before we we bring in your your new teammate who I know you've gotten pretty close to in Austin Reed yeah well nothing nothing really else with the game I mean it was exciting it was good to be back in Soldier um it was a good time good time to be out there with the fellas um yeah know we're excited we obious got one more here in in Kansas City on on Thursday coming up here but um excited about the game in in Soldier the other day and excited to get back there uh for the regular season but um yeah Austin yeah he's been kind of like the darling of Hard Knocks here so I think I think everyone's going to enjoy this one just bear with the first couple minutes here of us talking about our TV show stuff but we get into the football stuff pretty quickly and some of the stuff that he did in college and then and then going on into the NFL now and what what his thoughts are on that so good interview with Austin here and um it was a lot of fun to do it all right coach welcome on thank you Cole Kmet on Hard Knocks thank thank you for coming on I appreciate this my man yeah man I'm excited man excited yeah I know I know we were talking about the past couple days so I wanted to get you on um it seems like now you're like the the darling of Hard Knocks right now based on the based on what's been shown for the past couple weeks no I don't know about all that man I think I think it's definitely a couple other people you know you got J and Simone biles and all that stuff I don't know if it's whole Austin Reed man but yeah but you're like the I don't like you know how they follow like all the I mean just calling your situation what it is like the undrafted like undrafted guys throughout Camp yeah I mean they've kind of highlighted you they've uh they've definitely been fond of us in the in the stretch lines that's for sure yeah they definitely have gotten their content that they want you know from from our little pow WS in those stretches when I turn around probably unwillingly against what you're what you're trying to accomplish in that stretch but yeah we get after a little bit Yeah well I it definitely takes away from the stretch a little bit but the uh the glue mentality that we got going on there I think is pretty nice listen we're just trying to like build team camaraderie glue guys are always just looking for a chance to to reach out and connect the teammates man so that's all I'm trying to do Flo was like what is with you and Austin always doing that during the stretch lines I'm like flu man we're just trying to have a good time before practice we're just getting ready to roll here coacher he always talks about you know be one and and that's what we're trying to do as bears and I'm just trying to be one you know I'm just trying to connect with my teammates only you know just got here a couple months ago I'm just trying to get to know my guys man so I mean full transparen here I don't think I've watched an episode of Love Island since we talked about it that day and I Know It air so everyone's like oh what do you think of the rest of the season I haven't watched the rest of it have you seen any any any any more of it dude what are you doing yeah I uh I watched I watched a good amount of it and then we came back for Camp I didn't watch the rest of it and I got like clued in from my fiance on like hey here's what is going on here's who won here's who like it's going far here's who broke up all that kind of jazz but I haven't had a chance to watch it man but I'm I'm up to date on how the season went for sure oh okay well I need to probably catch back up here I've been watching some other shows like um I started Presumed Innocent I don't know if you've heard that one on Apple TV yeah you were talking about it with with big dog on the plan yeah so big dog finished it uh Jim Dre was watching it he was the one that recommended it um but yeah like I said big dog watched it and then I cranked that thing out in a couple days Caleb was talking about I don't know if Caleb ever finished it I think he's got like one or no he did finish it one episode left he had one episode left the other day and he finished it and then uh and Brett was also watching it but um that's that was kind of like my cam show for a little bit there and uh highly highly recommend that one that was a good one for sure yeah yeah I heard you guys talking about another one that Caleb and I were talking about was uh sance have you had a chance to watch I haven't se I haven't seen that one no what is that on it's on Apple TV um oh it is oh okay yeah so it's is that the Sci-Fi one it's like a little more like futuristic or whatever it's like it's like about these people that like go into work and every day before they go into work they wipe their memor and then they work and then they wipe it at the end of the day so they don't know what they're doing at work and oh wow and so then they like one of the guys is like I got to figure out why they're doing this and is it is it just like a single season or is it multiple seasons of it I think season two either just came out or is coming out oh so it's not just like like you know um Presumed Innocent is like one season it's just like a mini series yeah like I like those cuz it's like it's almost like a long movie that's split up between like six or seven or eight episodes you know what I mean um so those are fun to watch I think uh those are those are good just the mini series because you're able to just I mean it's like a movie and then there's a a clear start and a clear end I hate when there's like always Cliffhangers at the end of each day I now you don't have to wait like another couple months for another like season and now you're like just all right I get to know like how it ended and how it went yeah I totally get that yeah okay so let's go over you got a top top give me top three Camp shows to watch all time gosh of all time yeah like we're in Top 3 TV Shows during Camp Camp long day get out at what you're there from 700 to 7:30 you know you obviously just want to veg out on the couch yeah what what give me a top three television series to watch during Camp okay so one that I got into really heavily when I was at Western Kentucky was snowfall I got into that one either I got into snowfall it's on FX uh I think you can get watch it on Hulu but I got into snowfall really heavily like you know like the story like Franklin s like how he kind of like starts selling yeah certain things uh but uh that was a really good one I watched um trying to think of like another one that I got a big on Ted lasso one year that was a Ted lasso is a great pickme up that was that was a huge 7:30 at night I'm burnt out I'm not trying to do this and Ted lasso hits you with a quote that makes you want to go to Camp the next day man he he was motivational for sure he was motivational for sure that was huge Game of Thrones for sure um third one uh I watched Chernobyl have you watched oh yeah Chernobyl sweet on HBO yes yeah Chernobyl sick that was Unreal that's really well made really well made have you you ever did you ever get in a Game of Thrones dude so Payton's like the biggest Game of Thrones has watched like Game of Thrones like watch like House of dragon all that good stuff I've never watched it oh yeah you got to check it out House of dragon I was a little upset with how the season 2 ended but um the rest of the stuff is is good like the the true Game of Thrones series is the best television series I think of all time it's unbelievable is that number one for you dude I think in total Series yeah it has to be number one um the last season kind of disappointed me a little bit uh like I didn't love how they ended it partially was because they uh the dude George Martin the guy that wrote the books um he didn't he hasn't he never finish the series yet he hadn't finished the series at the time so they were kind of just going off script with the writing and you could tell it wasn't it wasn't where it should have been oh they just made up their own crap yeah it was kind of ridiculous and you know like dais you got to watch I don't want to give it all the way to you but like a lot of the character development just like went to [ __ ] at in the last season and just like really pissed me off but it it was still cool a lot of cool action scenes like you know all the dragons and stuff and all that I'm a nerd for so I thought that was really cool I do think though so that that' be True Detective probably number one for me number two um True Detective season one only season one were we talking about that one already have you seen that one is is that the one where old boy is in Louisiana yeah MCC yeah so it's MCC and Woody harelson are the two main guys in it um holy cow that that that first single season is unbelievable unbelievable uh that that would be my that would probably be my two and then three like for just pick me up like you have to have something a little light-hearted I have to go with the office I that's like I can turn on any episode of the office when uh Michael Scott is still in it and thoroughly enjoy that show I would get I'm gonna say I'm gonna get a lot of hate I'm not a big office guy bro what I just can't get into it man like I just can't I can't get like into it I'm like oh this is all right like so what what like sitcoms do you like what I guess Favorite sitcoms like Tad lasso was the one that you said but you got to have others I mean I don't I don't know I don't get I don't know how much I get into shows um like friends or like How I Met Your Mother you never watched yeah I think my one like guilty pleasure show along those lines is One Tree Hill you ever seen One Tree Hill man dude you are crazy you are crazy bro bad man but I watched like all nine seasons of One Tree Hill man well you were just saying you started Friday Night Lights again I don't think I've seen Friday Night Lights twice the show over before how many times have you rewatched that Friday Night Lights yeah oh God bro I'm probably on like time three or four get out of town bro it's so good though bro oh my God that's ridiculous ridiculous I know you're I know you're a big Tim Riggins guy growing up playing tight end and I mean yeah Everyone likes Tim rins yeah I mean yeah I mean I like the show for sure it's definitely Training camp um you know it's definitely a little girly I would say but it you know it's more of like a love a love story type deal than it is more about the football no dude coach Taylor's out there coaching up ball you're Tri oh my God coach Taylor dud turned around two programs in the span of five years man that's crazy that's a ball coach the the shows definitely helped bypass a little bit I think at night at least and take your mind off football so it's a long um It's a Long training camp how do you feel like your first NFL training camp has gone so far with everything considered reporting early and and all that stuff how how's it felt dude I'm not going to lie you it's been long bro yeah I think you and I were talking about it like you said this was the longest you've like done a camp in your five years like this is this is like yeah no I mean I was at breakfast with uh Bates the other day and you baits his head like he he was feeling it you know rookie year like you know getting a little beat up here and there at times day and day out he's like his head was down he's like man this is a lot I go Bates I'm just going to tell you right now like this is a lot for me too like this is a Long Camp like and I been felt like the practices you know going back Mental grind past couple years with flu like we had some really freaking hard practices in the two years prior and I don't think we've really had many of those this camp and I think that's intentional just because of how long the camp has been but man just the mental grind dayto day from July you guys reported what July 16th till yeah dude whatever it is now is pretty crazy I think that's the biggest thing really is the mental grind everything's been man because it's like like you said like I flew in to Chicago the 15th of July we started the 16th everybody reported what was it the 19th MH um and I think I think it's just been that because like if you think about it we've really done camp for a month straight and for obviously the people that don't know at home like we show up in the morning practice in the morning and then from like legitimately 1:30 until 5 o'clock we're in meetings and we're like film Playbook installs this and that and that is three and a half hours of just like a mental grind and then you get a little break and then you have to go out to an hour walkthr it's the rain it all for the walk through and every day for the last month has literally been 7 to 7 o' in ball yeah obviously it's like a great job like what a blessing your job yeah I know I know it sounds like I'm complaining and maybe you're complaining a little bit but like and we were talking about this too the other day like it is such an honor to be able to do this and like we are so grateful to be able to do this and like the fact that we can go in the facility every day and just like shoot the [ __ ] with each other like go play football and you know know do what we have to do obviously there's a lot of pressure to it but man are we lucky to you know to be able to do this dude it really is unreal and it's like something that's like an unbelievable opportunity like our job is football and I mean there's a lot of stress that comes with it and now it's obviously like the NFL and it's stuff that's like you know Amplified to a thousand but still at the end of the day that being your job is it's crazy and it's something we're definitely lucky to do bro but yeah dude it's it is it is a lot of fun have you felt like you know coming in from college to now like the difference in the Difference in the Playbook Playbook how how has that been yeah dude it's been crazy um you know I mean at the end of the day like at Western we were so air raay bro and like yeah it was like let's line up four wide and like let's go Ace 95 and that was like a play call and then now you got play that was it it was just four wide Ace whatever Ace 95 ace5 said that was God's play at Western Kentucky bro that was that was it if you're if you if you know any air raid guy Ace 95 or a65 they'll know what I'm talking about and to go from that to now like formational names that the formation itself is like four words and then the play call is like six words and it definitely was an adjustment and something I knew I was going to have to adjust to when I got to the league um but yeah man like Shane and Carrie have done such a good job with like aspect of this offense and like those guys are such good teachers of this offense and what we're trying to do and obviously grinding through like OTAs and then like that month off and then when I got back here in training camp and like really like diving into what like it took to be an NFL quarterback and you know rip has been a huge help also in that aspect because rip is just like a veteran who like knows how to do this and like was a youfa and knew how to like hang around and so a lot of things I've taken from like them all of them and just like how to like operate like a pro and how like what requires at this level is it was definitely overwhelming at first but now feel like I kind of got like a hang of it a little bit and it's it's it's cool now when you're in this offense and like you really see like how much you're capable of doing though when you open up every aspect of what like we can possibly do compared to like maybe what I was doing in college and how you're kind of limited and what you can do with that yeah like I felt like I don't know for me in college like I didn't pay much attention to the defense that was in Learning the Defense front of me like you just kind of run the route that was called for the play and like obviously in the NFL there's so many route iations with in a play based on the coverage and then for you guys like knowing if there's a if there's a run a run we have a run play and then you got to check it to a pass play knowing the structure of the defense that you got to check it into is is all the crazy stuff um was that something new for you coming in from college like did you have to know all that in your offense like def defensively and all that stuff or yeah I mean I think I think there was times where you could like check plays um but normally you were just checking something you're like hey I got like a 4-1 box I know we can run inside side Zone really well to this box will combo up to that single like Mike backer so hey let's just check it real quick I think that was like what I would do the extent of college but like here it's like okay what personnel are they in if they're in base or sub like that's a big difference on what play calls we can even call like we can't call certain plays against Basse can't call certain plays against like sub so now in base or sub now like if I have an alerted Run play to an alerted Run play what's the thing I'm looking for like am I looking for a third L third level Defender that's unblockable am I looking for some sort of like box issue or like rotation to the run you know like and that's all generic stuff that's like across every offense so it's like I don't mind like sharing that but it's like those like those things are like things that you had to like all right like the Nickels number 24 the safeties are 30 like in 32 that's a big deal because you have to know like who could possibly be where and and so like yeah I mean I think this offense requires you to have to look at everything that's going on but like once you kind of get that idea of like what's going on it also makes the picture clearer because you're like not just reactionary like that's something that Brett and I talk about all the time is like go up to the off go up to the line like every play with a plan like a preet like okayy I'm hunting for man did I get man no I didn't get man okay now am I getting like one high Fu rotation or am I getting like a two high kind of structure I could get Tampa or I could get some sort of quarters boom I'm getting too high here's where I need to go right and instead of instead of just dropping back and now you're like oh where's the open guy let me react like you actually have a plan with everything sure has definitely been like a new way to look at it something that's like I enjoy doing and again I think our offense is awesome to play with obviously it's from that you know La McVey tree and yeah I think it's a fun offense to play quarterback in and a fun offense to play really any position in yeah well you got to be super you know it's the Run game are so detailed um but it's it's wild like if you're off by a point like it screws up the whole deal so you know there's just a lot of detail and Nuance that I mean for me that I wasn't used to coming from college to the NFL just how much you have to know like your talking like body types and you know guys were going against and my first year I don't know if you knew this but I'm sure you did but they they used to like your numbers were coincided with your position so like you know uh a linebacker couldn't wear number five or four in the NFL my first year but then they were able to switch it so it kind of confused everything and that first year after that it was kind of tough cuz you had some linebackers that were wearing like 20 something and you had to no going into the game like Scout like when you're scouting this team like oh number 23 is a linebacker like we're counting him as a linebacker he's not a safety so like and those are all things that affect affect the Run game you know what I mean so you know those are just all things you have to be queued into um also did you did you huddle up in college as well or did you guys go all singals from the side everything was no huddle everything was signals so like I'll probably get I'm not gonna say what play it was but like a s like a typical play from like Western Kentucky would be like hey hey here we go like Ace Ace Ace Ace Ace and then that was a play I'm telling all the receivers that that was it that's it that's it then obviously then I would walk up to the offensive line tell them what we had protection wise um and then yeah like so was it a little intimidating coming in and having to do a huddle for your first time yeah you know I had a little taste of it when I went to the Shrine Bowl um and I kind of had like a little taste of that but in the least cocky way I can say this I think you like know how I am like you know like I'm a very personable dude like I like I'm I can really like walk up and like just take control like pretty easily I kind of enjoyed like going into a huddle and like looking guys in the eyes and like hey here's what we got hey we're this this on this snap count let's go and then like kind of just like and then it's like now there's definitely not going to be any communication laps because hey I sat here and I looked you all in the eyes I told you to play and like then obviously you can do more now so I I think you know I I don't I didn't really find it I actually kind of enjoy it yeah no it's uh it's actually cool I think the whole room has that type of personality you know I think you know obviously you and Caleb are new to the Huddle stuff and and doing all those things and you guys have grown with that um since OTAs but you know like Tyson I mean Tyson didn't do any of this until he got here you know last year and you know he's he's pretty Flawless at it at this point and obviously Brett has been in the league for quite a bit so um he he do a good job with all that was a big thing like Tyson and I talked about when I first got here because you know when I first got here I I saw like Tyson had so much command in the Huddle and I told him I was like Hey like what are you thinking like when you go up there and call play like how like at what tempo are you talking to these guys like how are you almost even using your hands sometimes to kind of help these guys out with like what you're doing and he was a big help to me at first with that too as was Brett but that just kind of speaks our QB room as a whole as like just a bunch of really good dudes and guys who operate really well as a whole yeah I mean shoot for me I think this is the best you know from one to four you know QB Room quarterback room I've been a part of since I've been in the league I think you guys have been awesome um I think we've been operating really well in Camp and in the preseason games I mean you know I I know they're preseason games but we're kind of like blowing these teams I know the first game got cut short by the by the rain by the by the pissed rain that we were talking about lucky us huh I know right but uh no I I feels like you know we were talking about our depth but at you know at all the positions but even at quarterback like we got all all the all you guys can operate the offense really well and um it's been cool to see us put up points you know no matter who's been in yeah like you watch how Caleb operated against Buffalo which is really impressive considering it was his first action obviously how Brett operated against Houston like how impressive that was and then what we just saw from Tyson um this last game against Cincinnati um and then I feel like we did a really good job when we got in there in the fourth quarter against Buffalo and so um yeah I think it's cool I think it's a testament kind of just how hard like the guys work and how dial they are and yeah but I mean I think it's been really impressive and obviously it's like a great learning experience for me watching Tyson and and Brett and Caleb and two uh operate you know and then I get to watch that and say okay what can I take from that when I get out there and so yeah it's definitely a very healthy and good QB room we have do you have anything that since you've you know How the NFL works been in the league now for all of a couple months that that has surprised you uh you know maybe your thoughts before coming in that has surprised you about what it really is and and how it all operates yeah I mean I think the biggest thing that I had Learned was how much like just you got to control what you can control um I I I talking to Veterans especially and you and I have talked about this a bunch of times like like the the only thing that you can do every single day is you can show up and you can handle your business the way you can operate the Reps that you get if you get two reps you get 20 reps you got to operate those reps the way that you can and then eventually everything will play it out itself out because like you and I talked about like this League's so unpredictable and like you walk in one day and somebody's there and the next day they're not and you think oh this is going to happen this way and it doesn't happen that way and so I think that's kind of been the biggest thing is like dude like with this league like just go out there and handle what you can handle and don't think about anything else don't think am I like doing what I need to do for these like for what like they're asking me to do am I like are they happy with what I'm doing are they this or that like how does this compare to what this guy's doing and like none of that like matters it's just really like taught me like to like handle what you can handle and like everything else is like everything else like if you control what you can control at the end of the day it'll work out it might not work out the way you thought it was going to work out but like it'll work out in the end so mainly that to be honest bro yeah um Gods play okay wait funny enough we have Ace 95 drawn up on here do you see it let's go dude dude talk me through the play let's talk through this thing talk through this thing I don't know how we got this uh but we have it so let let's talk through the play here God's play all right let's start off with this right first thing you're missing first thing you're missing you're missing way too many dotted lines all right the Western Kentucky Hill Toppers had way more hot checks on this play love it receivers so first off that XM mandatory outside release go ball get out of there we get some sort of one high like man you can take that go ball um you get Tampa and you like or not Tampa you get like two and you really think like hey I can fit this whole shot you can but that's not really going to happen most of the time then you got H right here gosh s xh YZ oh my gosh um is the a is the H the half back the H is a receiver bro get out of here this is 10 Personnel like let's go play ball um dude brother you would you would you would have been sitting there over on the pine just watching these boys get after it if I would have been oh you guys can work me in somewhere I mean come on this is 10 Personnel tight ends go take a break for a play we're about to throw we're about to AB we're about to play some ball uh you got the 10 yard out you got your y cross you know it can sit down versus like a Tampa two it can safeties in the two in the true two structure and then you got your post curl that can turn into a post dig versus man oh coach so that was the that was the go-to play for you coach I got called nine 10 times a game at Western Kentucky how many touchdowns you think you scored on that thing oh coach oh man that a lot yeah dude that do you know how many passing yards you had throughout College um between West Florida and Western Kentucky I had a good amount yeah I had a pretty good mouth you you you were throwing that thing you were throwing the pill at Western we we were definitely like just throwing that thing like 40 50 pass attempts a game like let's go play ball and they and obviously defenses knew you guys were throwing it they bro three2 box three double Cloud drop every game bro and you're like [ __ ] it we're still throwing it we still wereth throwing it bro you could have you could have played us in the most exotic like 325 defensive structure like Drop everybody out of there and the tops were still going to throw the ball that's hysterical I mean the receivers must have loved it receivers and quarterbacks love loved it uh we had our fair share of running backs transfer out after a year or two I mean I I mean I can't blame them they wanted to go get some more touches but yeah I mean I think there's good and bad to it I mean I think when we talk about our offense at Chicago and we talk about what I think such the advantage of like our Run game is uh I think that may have been lost at times yeah and I think that's something that when we talk about complimentary football and we talk about like the Run game setting up the pass game I think we lacked in that and that was something that made it hard not only on our defense but made it hard then like also like on like every phase of the game and now like hey you go three and out really quick now we're punting from our own 25 and defense is back out there after literally a minute and 15 and so I mean and part of that too though in college is the Personnel you got like I mean I don't I didn't watch College career any of you guys but uh um like if you're struggling at o line you know and you guys you know they're not heavy run blockers like you're going to have to get in the gun and get rid of that rock pretty quickly coach there was no Joe Al or Quinton n walking around Western we had we had a we had o lineman that did a great job and were back there holding up in the past game but yeah we we knew what we had at Western and we made it work man so where uh so just your journey to now you started where where did you start again dude so I have like the weirdest just Journey so I went to for a year to Southern Illinois University in Carbondale Illinois oh okay yeah go I went there for a year was there for a year extremely home sick wasn't liking it so I transferred back home to Florida I went to division 2 school called the University of West Florida MH was there for three years total uh only played in two we played in 2019 2020 we did literally nothing because of Co and then in 2021 and then in the spring of 2022 entered the transfer portal that's when I transferred to Western Kentucky and played two years at Western Kentucky so you were how many years total then in college I was six total but I had a red shirt year and then like a true like Co year we literally didn't play so oh that's right yeah like we literally didn't play even a single game and during Co when I was at West Florida so like it was almost like if I had had like a red shirt and a medical red shirt wow yeah wow so you're I mean wow that's crazy yeah that Co year definitely um was definitely an interesting year and you know didn't help a lot of guys and and that was your what that was your first year in the league yeah man I uh crazy enough I was Staying at Notre Dame I was thinking about staying so I I finished my third year uh at Notre Dame yeah and I wanted to stay to play baseball that that spring with my brother who was coming in to be a freshman so I was like you know I want to stay I want to I want to do this thing and then I wanted to see like where I would fit uh like where my future could have been baseballwise too like there was there was an Avenue for that so like I wanted to maybe explore that as well um and I I didn't think I would be like a high draft pick going in that season like where I'd be eligible to come out and uh and be drafted high but I had some I had some people tell me that like I I could have a chance if I had a good year and I was like oh all right I mean you know not realizing like you know my body types like Prime for NFL and all that so yeah anyway go through the season um I have a good year I have a really good year I missed the first two G oh no I'm sorry I miss uh yeah no I missed the first two games this season because I broke my collarbone third day of training camp so like I'm totally not thinking you know NFL at this point yeah and then uh we played Georgia on a on a Saturday night game I don't know if you watched that game um but it was a CBS night game Georgia at Georgia yeah in Athens yes I know exactly the game you're talking about yeah oh I was talking about this Going to the NFL with Caleb actually too a couple weeks ago Caleb was like I was at that game I was I was like I got to go to Georgia after this game but um anyway so we play that game um um and I I mean I I balled out I did I did really well I caught I had like over 100 yards receiving and a touchdown and um yeah definitely like showed out on on a good stage against a really good team and then all that like NFL stuff started to pick back up again and finished out the year I did really well um and then I got my grade for uh for the draft and it was uh I got I got a two back and there was a I had a couple first round grades and then a lot of second round grades and then a few like third fourth round grades but um like they the grade they spit out to me was a second round pick so um yeah I go up to talk to uh Brian Kelly and a few other coaches and they were like you know Brian's like yeah I think uh I think we can get this to a one here we can get this to a one if you come back for another season you go play you go play baseball we'll let you just play baseball in the spring you don't have to come to Spring practice so I'm like oh this is awesome no spring practice for me um so like I'm like okay I want to come back because all my best friends were still coming back for another season you know all the guys that I came in with and you know we'd become really close so and look we were going for National Championship like we wanted like we definitely wanted that and that was something that I aspired for when I when I decided to go to Notre Dame so um yeah definitely wanted to do that and then uh once we got in the weeds with it and you know I had conversations with my dad and uh a few other people I realized you know was like do you want to go to the NFL and it was yeah no I want to I want to play in the NFL and it was like this is your chance to go do it like yeah you're taking a risk to For What and like you know you put in perspective like especially at tight end like you know depending on the year you could be and I was I was the number one tight end coming out uh in my draft but even if I played a really great season like just positional value alone like you may not really increase your draft stock that much right um so yeah I I ended up going out and then um we do the combine and all that stuff and and Co hits um get drafted and then I go through the year through Co year where we're getting tested every day in empty stadiums it was a crazy first year for sure crazy crazy first year but um no definitely Bengals QBs definitely happy that I made the decision to come out when I did and you know obviously it all worked out where I was able to get drafted here and you know now they they decided to keep me around last year which is which has been nice so I'm excited about it coach your that don't hurt does it no no it don't it don't but no I've seen a lot of uh I've seen a lot of change here in the you know the going on five years I've been here um because this is this is what QB number three for you right with with Caleb well no no this is QB like 10 I mean like starter yeah I played with 10 different starters yeah oh Lord yeah oh Lord is right yeah uh I played with I think it's 10 different starters someone probably fact check me on that but I think it's 10 different starters I've played with could you name them all okay let's see uh Nick fos Mitch trabis Andy Dalton um Justin Fields obviously now Caleb other and then other quarterbacks I've played with would be like Tyler Bray Nate Peterman Trevor Simeon Tyson bent big God I gotta be I gotta be forgetting one more because old old old py started a game right he started a game oh and um I can't believe I'm forgetting his name he's at he's with Houston right now he's with the Jets last year come on we were talking about him on the S Bo not boil boil yes Bo I've caught I've caught a pass from Bole yes caught an NFL pass from Bole yeah this Le man yeah crazy so those are the 10 guys 10 guys I've played with yeah wow yeah it's pretty crazy but it's it's cool to see like where the team is now Bengals defense and you know where it's trending and um it it looks like it could be a it looks like it could be a good deal here I mean I mean you've been seeing seeing it firsthand now I know you haven't I mean I guess you got to see a couple teams now and Cincinnati come to practice but like even thoughts like give me your thoughts on our defense our defense is crazy I I think I was telling you about this the other day when I first like got there and we were doing like OTAs and then we eventually got to mini camp um I just thought that like okay like our defense was what like NFL defenses look like like this is what this is what it looks like at this level and and this is what these guys do and then I was talking to someone on another team who I won't name and I was like Hey like and they had seen our defense and I was like yeah like our defense is impressive he was like no like that's like a that's like an elite defense in this leag mhm and I was like really like they're like that good he was like like awesome like they're Elite like that's like as that's like an elite defense in this league and I the more I watch him then obviously the more I understand ball and understand this game like what those guys do is freaky and like at every position it's like super talented and as a quarterback like I I even like appreciate watching our defense play because it's just like fast and they hit and everyone on the field tackles and no one's afraid of contact and the way they run after the ball and swarm the ball but I think that's kind of like I think that's just how Flo coaches and that's like what Flo demands of guys and it's like evident in the way our defense plays yeah well that's the thing like flu with all the running after the you know running to the ball and all that stuff when he first came it it was a little weird for everybody cuz you know you're doing these things even offensively like you know you you run the play but then you got to finish to the ball like there's that mentality of finish finish finish and you can see like where that really plays in on on this defense and you know especially the Tampa two you know swarming of the ball once once it's caught underneath punching at the football creating turnovers you know how he talks about all that stuff and you got a bunch of guys that I think have really bought into it um you know but you look like up front with with montz obviously leading the way at at defensive end and then the linebackers we got I mean I don't I know you don't take hits often like you you don't have to go fill in a hole on like 15 split or anything like that but TJ Edwards TJ Edwards he knew where you were going he hit he can hit you he hit me uh last camp and I literally felt the hit through my spine like through my spine and I was like holy [ __ ] that was a big hit he's like that was a big hit I that was crazy man he can he can lay the wood and then obviously in the back end you got all those dudes like you know Kyler brisker uh KB that that just got added uh Tyreek and then um I mean I you know what I think of Jaylen I think J an absolute stud stud dude watching that dude every day I don't think people understand like not one of the first and the the the top 100 thing absolutely blows my my mind yeah you just got to take all that for a granted S I love how I love how he takes it so personally because it like it drives him but that's what you want DB to think 100% but that dude bro like from from two guys who watch him every day like yeah bro like yeah yeah like it's he's a dog he's a dog he's fun to watch yeah all right well I got a couple more things for you before uh before I let Training with Will Grier you go I know let's do it man just kind of going back to so you finished up college and you started training and I know you trained with will we were talking about this the other day um so how did you get into that what has that been like kind of working well with all those guys in Florida if you can kind of run down like who you who you work out with in the offseason and and how that's worked for you yeah so I mean obviously you know I got in contact with will when he moved up to like North Florida and uh he was working with a guy that I had worked with forever named Denny Thompson and I was working with him and and as I got like closer to like draft prep I started working more with like will and then eventually I did my draft prep with Will um and I mean this dude's this dude's legit obviously like the names that come through Northeast Florida now to train quarterbacks is crazy you know like you got Caleb obviously and that's where Caleb and I met was down there in Jacksonville back in January um and then you got you know Brock pie um Anthony Richardson um Nate Peterman Sam Ellinger Mason Rudolph Matt Jones bunch of guys to learn from Kyle tras like I can I can so many guys that come through there nowadays and there's guys who have come through for only a week that yeah I wouldn't I don't know if I consider him like a regular so I'm not going to drop their name but like like the amount of guys that him will and now this guy and also the guy he works with Tom Gormley um who those two guys like what they do down there is Elite and like what they're building down there and and like the Excellence that they're like kind of like developing down there at the quarterback position is is crazy and it's like it's lucky for me because you know I grew up in St Augustine which is 15 minutes from Jacksonville and so I have it like right in my backyard and I enjoy like that part of the country anyways and so it's nice to have that for like an offseason spot yeah I uh I met will at Ian books wedding uh just this past summer I was telling you and I didn't know much about it and then he started like I was like oh wait no because I know Nate well obviously too and and then I knew he worked with Caleb and then my brother who plays quarterback in high school he went down to do like a little thing with will uh for a couple days um so I mean obviously he's had he's got something cool going on down there and um Ian was his first draft prep oh was he yeah the first oh I didn't know that yeah I think the first time they ever did draft prep was with Ian because Ian was before Brock right yeah uh had to be had to be so Ian Ian was the first guy that they ever draft reped and so that's cool yeah that makes sense that he was at his wedding I didn't know that well I appreciate you have coming on my man uh this has been great you're you're always even I'm glad that our uh I'm glad that we've grown a friendship here over Camp uh this is kind of the fun stuff that we get to do and um I think it's cool to like we had DJ on last week so like obviously DJ's like the Superstar I'm not saying you're not a superstar but DJ's like leg you know what I mean it's cool I think it's cool for people to talk like hear from you like because 90% of the league is is you yeah you know what I mean 90% of the league is glue guys glue gu come on man is glue guys grinding away trying to make a team you know doing their thing coming in day and and day out like just loving the process all those things but this is most of the league here and um I think it's it's cool for for people to hear from you I know everyone's kind of fall in love with you from from the Hard Knock stuff which has been really cool to see um and I know you were bummed the other day not being able to get in but I I I have a feeling you're going have a lot of good opportunity this this upcoming week in Kansas City yeah man I like you and I talk about man at the end of the day it's a process and yeah you take what you can and you grind and whenever that opportunity comes you're ready to go but at the end of the day things work out the way they're supposed to brother I believe that wholeheartedly yeah well let's continue to you know not take each day for granted and enjoy these days even though they're they're long and grueling but um let's have fun with it and we'll see where it takes us no doubt brother all right man appreciate you all right my Sponsor guy great stuff there with Austin Reed uh we're gonna have to talk about some of those TV choices though I think here in a minute um of course the 85 of Cole KET is brought to you by anken law Howard ankin is a third generation lawyer in Chicago and has built one of the largest injury law firms in the state Howard Anin is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association Illinois Trial Lawyers Association the American Association for justice in Washington DC and president of the UIC law Alumni Association ankin law has over 90 attorneys and staff and is based in Chicago with offices of course in the city in Rosemont shamberg and Orland Park the leading filer of workers compensation and personal injury cases in Illinois inkin Law practices Auto Truck ride share accidents slip and fall premises liability workers comp medical malpractice Social Security disability and wrongful death cases when it comes to ankin's commercials the inin law brand has been aligned with Chicago sports for over a decade they especially like to 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sports book you can do that yourself and you'll find Circa is the best plus all aspects of their app are being run by the same team that runs the main circus sports book at Circle Resort Casino in Las Vegas download the circus Sports Illinois app at Circus sports.com Illinois apppp to sign up today also be on the lookout for circa events watch parties and tailgates and they're with us for all Cubs Friday 120 clubs if you are someone you know may have a problem with gambling called 1800 Gambler that's 1800 426 2537 text G mb2 833 234 or visit are you really winning.com all right uh really enjoyed that long conversation with Austin Reed Cole um you guys really went deep into your TV choices and to start there yeah well that's that's what when we're going home from cam that's what mostly consists of is what TV show are you watching to get your mind off football for the few hours before you got to wake up the next morning so yeah that was a that was a good deal there well I'm definitely going to defend him on Friday Night Lights excellent TV show I think i' I think I've been through it twice the whole series um and this might surprise some people but I'm gonna back I might be the only one but I'm gonna back him up on One Tree Hill yeah that's crazy that's crazy I mean I get the Friday Night Lights thing uh One Tree Hill One Tree Hill is crazy that's for sure crazy yeah see I think I was in high school though when that show came out so that's probably why it was I can't remember hits home for you there maybe I don't know yeah of course they high school life is completely not real high school life they're all all having kids and also they're all they were all like 30-year old actors at the time too um no but and I don't know what this whole love Island thing is I don't think I want to know but that was one of the funnier moments of heart knocks last week yeah that that show just kill your brain cells and I'm not and look if you're in the mood for your brain cells getting killed go for it but yeah it's a cringe show and like I said in Haro it's like watching a car wck but um it it's sometimes good to to take your mind off other things so um and then I I have to I should probably credit we found that Ace 95 play basically while you guys were talking I I just Googled it and found it on like some Mike Leech website that's awesome and it's that was really cool hearing you guys talk about that but yeah he was like no no no our play was way more advanced we got all these option routes he was geeked out about it for sure that was for him to kind of get in depth to talk about what he was doing um back in college so that yeah that was really cool 100% hey um as we move the conversation kind of towards what's coming up this week um we welcome in Circus Sports as our keys to the game segment here now because we're still in the preseason and I don't know we're talking about keys to the game we're GNA kind of call this keys to the week this week presented by circus sports but just as you go in the short short week Cole um couple quick practices go to Kansas City like what what are you guys trying to what's the key to this week for you guys to have a successful week yeah well I think uh well we got to find out what the what we'll be doing this week exactly in terms of the game um so I'm sure we'll meet with flu here uh tomorrow when we get back in to to see what the playing time might look like uh for this week ahead but regardless you know with the two practices that we had before the game uh it's still important to kind of to keep elevating our game I like where we're at offensively speaking and we got to continue to up that and continue to get better with our operation and all those things and then um defensively these boys they just got to got to keep going and and you know hopefully we get 100% healthy there before week one here so that we get all those guys clicking together but definitely like where we're at so far and um kind of taking it day by day still and and we'll see where we're at come Thursday in terms of the playing time do you feel like with what you've been able to accomplish in these last two games that you know if the starters don't play that you guys would be ready to go for week one I do yeah I think uh we've been in Camp long enough here and you know we've gone through the game process twice now which I think was was needed um so I feel like we're in a good spot in that regard um and look there's still things that we got to get better at with the time that we got before week one and there's still there's still a couple weeks here before before that happens but I don't think that's anything that we can't get done um during the practice time uh so but that being said you know makes the decision that we got to that he thinks we need another another another go at it here this coming Thursday then you obviously we're going to go ahead and do that but um like I said I think I I feel good about where we're at right now and I think uh we can get what we need to get done during practice uh before that week one hits well selfishly I think the rest of us just want to see momes and Caleb kind of go back and forth with their High because it was like you know I I don't know if I don't know if Patrick saw what Caleb was doing yesterday but then he goes out there he just I'm going to throw it behind the back behind the back pass yeah do you think that was scripted that was crazy he said it wasn't did you hear what he said no I didn't did he did he talk about the play he said Travis ran the wrong route and he was mad at him that he wasn't running the right route so like almost out of frustration he like threw the ball behind his back like out of spite just that's hilarious see we always joke in meeting room like you run the wrong route you always get the ball like it always happens like the one guy that run runs the wrong route ends up getting the ball in his hands and it's a like it's a big explosive play um it it it some it just works like that at times which is kind of funny yeah that was but that was crazy um well it my my guess is that doesn't play out I have no idea what the Chiefs are doing but you know I I I think they're at a point where they don't need to play their starters uh for too much on Thursday night but it is one last preseason game and then I think you guys can probably start focusing on you know your your Titan Scout yeah stuff like that in practice um um so yeah um good stuff Austin was was really interesting to it was fun hearing you guys talk ball for as long as you did and and obviously this this week will be big for him I'm sure he'll get some planes on yeah I hope so you know obviously I'm sure he was bummed out the other day with how things kind of panned out not being able to get in but and then obviously that first game in in Canton um getting cut short from the rain so hopefully he gets a good amount of playing time here this upcoming week to show what he can do and um you know like I said in the interview what I mentioned is that's most of this league is is is guys like Austin um you know fighting to make roster spots and being new to the league undrafted you know those are all the type of guys that that make this league to what it is and you know obviously we see all the superstars and all the all the crazy talent and that's what that's what makes this thing go but you know th those guys are those guys are the root of all this and um it's always cool to highlight them and and root them on so definitely cool to have Austin on and wish them nothing but the going forward here yeah and uh as this week plays out of course we'll have you covered on CH on the chg Bears podcast every single day with episodes after practice uh breaking everything down and um of course we'll have you covered for pre and post on Thursday night as well um you know last week you asked me a question at the end of the show I'm actually surprised I didn't get more [ __ ] than I did for it um John's John's was insulted by that you didn't give him his uh that you didn't mention him as the guy that could drop cover to okay was he cuz he didn't say anything to me oh okay so he went behind your back on it wow yeah so he he was a little he seemed a little salty about that one so that was um that was exactly who I was afraid of because when when I answered that question and then because you put me on the spot and then later I was like JNS can definitely draw that up too and yeah I should have mentioned him and he's my teammate so that was that was a bad moment for me yeah that's yeah that's that that's no good all right I got I do have one for you though this week if you want to hear it um so since being on I guess you guys call the beat or or doing all this covering the Bears how has that changed your fandom oh yeah yeah I get asked that a lot and it's a fair question because um believe it or not like there was a time in my life where I was probably um as wild and crazy of a fan as Greg Braggs Jr currently is really yeah like where you know do you remember try to I I'm not sure how old you would have been at the but there was a game in Atlanta like 2008 where um the Bears Kyle Orton hit Rasheed Davis in the back of the end zone to take the lead like 11 seconds left yeah and they didn't win because they didn't execute the squib kick and then Falcons ended up in the walk-off field goal yeah like that was back when my wife and I were just like early stages of dating like within the first year of us being together and I'm surprised she stayed with me after that really because I was just like really angry in the uh in her Milwaukee apartment back then but yeah like when you now I'm in my 14th season covering the team and you have to kind of like put that stuff aside to be objective um and when you're watching these games so it's just kind of something that I think like evolves over time but it has yeah it's definitely changed that because you just not only do you not get as emotional about it but you just you really can't right right yeah oh that's good that's good I know like for me like since being in the NFL it's changed my perspective on so many things about the NFL in general um obviously the team like I obviously grew up a Bears fan um but when you're in it you know it changes a lot you know your perspective on things and and all that stuff not not saying it's bad you know I you know but it it definitely takes away the fandom of some sort so um was interested interested to hear your side of side of that it's a job now right like it's a job yeah absolutely yeah it's job like were you that same way growing up watching Bears games like would you get I wouldn't say I was like cuz I know fan like I have buddies who are crazy crazy be fans and I wouldn't I was never like that because I think just of my family background like my dad who played and then my uncle who played so like you know it wasn't as crazy into it now I was a crazy Cubs fan like that's what I was into like I was a huge Cubs fan growing up like that was kind of like my big fandom but um yeah it wasn't it wasn't as much but I was you know I was obviously a Bears fan growing up so um and it's changed you know as as it becomes your job and in your profession and um you know there's things that you have to ignore and not listen to as much because you know it's not not not really reasonable to be listening to that all the time but um yeah know it does change some things but uh I mean I wouldn't change it for the world obviously yeah no it's uh yeah and same thing on my end like it's you know it's always this is what I always want to do as a job so yeah you know it's it's it's awesome to be able to just be around football every single day and that's the that's the plus side even though there are some times where um brags will actually get mad at me during games sometimes because they'll be like I don't understand why you're not mad about this right now you're just like I can't be I'm just being objective yeah I'm just in my notebook I'm just work I'm just trying to get through the you know do do the do the best we can for you know covering whatever the outcome of the game ends up being but uh yeah for sure yeah um awesome well great stuff uh hope everybody's really enjoying these first couple episodes and uh we're we're going to keep them coming yeah we uh we'll have more to come here more interviews more talks about the games um and obviously lean up to the regular season this will be a lot of fun so a lot of excitement going forward and um it was cool to see the reaction to episode one and hopefully that continues on going forward and again the 85 is powered by anken law injury law made personal they're here to help visit ankin law.com to learn more [Music]