I had the chance to ask a few questions about the Chicago Bears with Jeff Dickerson of ESPN Chicago. He's a Bears beat writer, weeknight host on ESPN 1000, and a writer for the ESPN Chicago Bears Report. My main focus was to talk about how the Bears played against the Seahawks.
Below is a partial transcript of our ten minute conversation. A link to the complete interview is at the bottom. I interview about one person per year, so the result is that I'm a rambling, stuttering fool, while he is a true professional for putting up with my amateurish ways. The good news is that he does most of the talking.
On the playing surface at Soldier Field: "Oh it's terrible. Absolutely, it's bad every single week...It's brown grass spray painted green."
On TE Greg Olsen: "Olsen was a factor in those games [against the Packers] especially in the one at Lambeau because Cutler had to get rid of the ball so quick and the receivers have a tough time getting open against Woodson and Tramon Williams. Olsen is a natural safety valve that Cutler looks to use."
On the Bears offensive line: "This is never going to be a dominant offensive line...but I think they've been serviceable...there's a difference between knowing who to block...and a difference between actually making the blocks and keeping your quarterback upright...Mike Tice is a very good offensive line coach. He is going to have these guys prepared to play Sunday. Whether or not they execute, we just don't know."
On Tommie Harris, who had two sacks against the Seahawks: "The old Tommie Harris, 05 and 06 Tommie Harris before he suffered the injuries, the key with him was I have never seen a defensive tackle do a better job at anticipating the snap count...I actually saw him getting off the football quick against the Seahawks...it was just great to see him have some burst and be a little bit explosive."