Bears Prepare to Welcome Tampa Bay on Sunday Night Football and Sammy Paydirt's Weekend Bets

Fox 32 Chicago Sports. This is Chicago Sports Tonight. Good night. People don't know that the cornerback position is like, it's super hard. Like, it's one of the hardest positions. I'm not giving him an out or anything. Obviously, he knows he's got to play better. We all know he's got to play better. That's rookie Malik Muhammad putting the pressure on his teammate, Jalen Johnson. Welcome into a Friday edition of Chicago Sports Tonight. Cassie Carlson alongside Sam Paniatovich. We're going to be with you for the next 30 minutes leading up to Illinois-Nebraska on a Fox College Football Friday. Sam bears on a short week. They are playing their third straight primetime game. They are looking for their fourth straight win, and they've got to quickly forget about all the hype that's surrounding them after that Monday night win because the Bucs. Are a legit team right now. They are. But the Bears are extremely well coached. I think the one thing that a lot of Bears fans are concerned about is a letdown spot. After beating the AFC champs and the Super Bowl champs. Now you take on a three-and-five football team, but they are tough, they are physical, and they can run the rock. And you want to head into the bye week sitting at 7-2. This segment is brought to you by Old National Bank, where relationships and results matter. Get old. Let's check in with Devin Caney up at Hallis Hall during the final day of practice. Let's start with the health of the team. Kyle Mnungai back at practice in a limited fashion. Do you think there's a chance that he plays this week, or do they allow him the extra week of rest with the bye week next week? You know, it's a really good question, Cassie. I think the turf toe injury is, and stop me if you've heard this one before, a lot more serious than it sounds. So it can be a pesky injury. Ben Johnson mentioned that when he spoke to media earlier today as well. But it is still very encouraging to see Kyle Menongai out there warming up. He had his helmet. He was listed as limited and is officially listed as questionable for Sunday. But I think that the Bears could certainly use Kyle Menongai's help in the run game. DeAndre Swift has been getting the bulk of the kick. carries and has been doing great, especially in the red zone. But like Press Taylor told us yesterday, you know, you want to keep a guy like DeAndre Swift as fresh as possible. So getting Kyle Menungai back and then he has an extended break to rest and recover after Sunday night football with their bye week. I think it's doable for sure. I cannot get enough orange leaves content, Devin. I want to know more about 99 for the Bears. What have you seen this week from Jeffrey Simmons that we haven't seen? So I've seen him out there practicing, guys. He talked to media briefly. He's been Busy getting himself caught up with this defensive playbook. And I think it's amazing that even though he was just with the team for, what, 72 hours before Monday night football in Seattle, we saw him go out there and do what he does best, which is basically, you know, a Hulk smash type mentality, where now we're going to see him get more integrated in that defensive playbook of Dennis Allen's. We're going to see him be more versatile. And every other player that I've talked to, whether it's Neville, whether it's Kyler Gordon, whether it's Malik Muhammad, Ahmed, who you just played, They say that he elevates everyone around him both on the field and off. They said he's already stepping up into that leadership position in the locker room. And you can just tell his presence in the locker room is always felt even when he has those orange sleeves on, Sam, they're hard to miss. He's just such an infectious guy as far as his energy goes, his leadership goes, and then, of course, his skills on the field. Yeah, Ben Johnson said his impact has been fairly dramatic, even though it's only been a week since he's been in Chicago. Let's talk about the Bears' defense. That's going to face an offense that's attempted just 14 passes. Over the last two games with just seven completions, obviously the Bucks overtook the Bears for the top ranked rushing offense in the NFL. What's been the emphasis against this Bucks offense led by Baker Mayfield? I mean, I think it's stopping the run, Cassie, and it's kind of hard when you look back at the tape. Of course, they're going to look at tape from the last four games, but they haven't had Baker Mayfield for all four of those most recent games. He came back. They've won the last two that Baker Mayfield has started. He is still wearing a brace, a cast on that thumb that he injured, and then they played in a monsoon basically last week, so they didn't throw the ball a single time. Still got a pretty dominant win like you just mentioned. They have Bucky Irving. They have Kenneth Gainwell. Well, their run game is not something to be. to be taken lightly, and I think Dennis Allen is preparing this Bears defense accordingly. It is very, very rare to play on Thursday night, then Monday night, and then Sunday night. What have some of the guys on the team said about three straight prime timers? I think that they are treating each and every game, Sam, the same exact way. Ben Johnson kind of echoed that this morning when he spoke to us as well. They know that they have to get up equally no matter who the opponent is. It's kind of similar to that next man up mentality that they've adapted to so well throughout this season. And if you go back to training camp and to preseason, you remember it's pretty chaotic. And that was by design because they knew their schedule really starting what week six, week seven would get crazy from here on out. Like you just said, even I'm covering the team a little turned around. It's a Thursday night, it's a Monday night, now it's a Sunday night, and then a bye week. And then they have to come back and play on Thanksgiving as well. So they have short weeks coming up, they have longer breaks coming up, and they're ready to take on whatever scheduling challenges are presented to them because Ben Johnson... Had them conditioned for that with the two joint practices during preseason, the two different teams, two different opponents that they were preparing for. So hopefully we'll see that play out on Soldier Field on Sunday night. All right, Jalen Johnson has been critiqued for his play this season. It's been up and down. Malik Mohamed missed last game with a toe injury. I know you had a conversation with him this week. Is he going to play Sunday night? Well, that's a good question, Cassie. I asked Malik that, and why don't we just hear from Malik himself? Take a listen. I have been getting better, like, these days that I have been recovering. I have been getting better. What did you see from the rest of your guys on the secondary, and what did you see from Jeffrey Simmons and how he impacted the defense as a whole? Let's start with Jeff. Man, Jeff is a game changer. I never would have thought a D-tackle would, like, change the game in that way. Like, he can, he's a run stopper, he's a pass rusher. Like, even, like, the noise he talks on the field, like. It may not seem like it's getting to the, but it's getting to the team. Like, I think people are, of course, they're frightened of them. But as far as the guys, like everybody else around, like the other 10 guys, man, they really played their hearts out. I mean, they really played with some passion. What have you seen from the rest of the cornerbacks? I know Jalen Johnson has had a kind of up-and-down season. What is his outlook that you've seen when you guys are in the meetings, when you guys are breaking down tape? Yeah, he always stays with a positive mindset. He always asks me questions. He always wants to see how he can get better. But, man, people don't know that the cornerback position is super hard. It's one of the hardest positions. I'm not giving him an out or anything. Obviously, he knows he's got to play better. We all know he's got to play better. But, man, the position is hard, like, itself. Like, guarding somebody backwards, you don't know where they're going. 53 yards and a third, you've got to cover. And then 100 yards down the field, you've got to cover. So, I mean, but, I mean, he knows he's got to get better. And he's been in this league for a long time, so. So, going into Sunday night, I don't know what your status is going to be. I don't know if you know, but the Bucs coming off a game where they won but didn't complete a single pass, how does a secondary prepare for that? I mean, we know we've got to come down and get in the meat grinder, what Coach Allen said. We've got to come down and fit the run. It's fine. But, I mean, I think it should be nice outside on Sunday. I think so. Thanks Alan. We expect them to put the ball in the air, too. Are you going to play Sunday? We'll see. That's a good teaser as he flashed that big smile, Devin. Let's talk about Caleb Williams and this offense. He's second in completion percentage behind Joe Burrow. He's gone 27 games without throwing an interception. What is leading to the consistency on offense for the quarterback? I think the buzzword throughout Hallis Hall this week, Cassie, has been decisiveness. And when that comes to Caleb Williams at quarterback, you really see that play out. I think it goes back to the weeks that he missed with that hamstring injury where he said he learned a lot watching his backup quarterbacks in Tyson Bajan and Case Keenum. Case Keenum in particular, when you look at that week three win over the Philadelphia Eagles, he was getting the ball out quick. He was being decisive. I don't know if you've seen some of the mic'd up content of Case Keenum on the sideline these recent games. I'm talking to Caleb. He's basically like another coach down there on the sidelines during games. So I think Caleb is getting confident. He's getting more and more confident. The more games he plays, the less interceptions he throws, which hasn't been any. And I think he's making these quick and fast decisions and being confident in those decisions. And that's taking him a very long way. All right, Devin, we appreciate you hopping on Chicago Sports tonight. We're going to see you in studio Sunday morning for Bears game day live at 930. Everyone's going to be here for the show with the team playing another primetime game on Sunday night. We'll talk to you soon. Bright and early. Talk to you guys soon. I love Caleb Williams' quote of the week. It was like, decisiveness is a slogan that I live by. And we'll see what he looks like on primetime yet again. We need to take a timeout. Coming up, we check in with Illini head coach Brett Bielema. Physicality showing up on defense and his quarterback's miraculous recovery all ahead of their primetime game against Nebraska tonight right here on Fox. Welcome back to Chicago Sports Tonight. I'm Cassie Carlson, Illinois hosting Nebraska tonight right here on Fox with kickoff coming up at 7. The Illini have won three straight games and with a win tonight can become bowl eligible for a third straight season. I caught up with Illinois head coach Brett Bielema to preview tonight's matchup against Nebraska. Over this three game streak that you guys have had, what do you feel like has shown most when it comes to the identity of the football team this year? You know, I've always said, right, I think you define by more moments of adversity and moments of success, and we've kind of had them individually, some guys. You know, obviously we had a quarterback that got injured, battled back. We had our quarterback that came off the bench come in and did a great job. We had another quarterback come in and do a nice job. Defensively, obviously, have been through a lot of struggles and have persevered the last couple weeks. Our special teams, they have a walk-off field goal last week with a kicker that missed a field goal earlier. I think just a lot of battle through an adversity and coming out on the right side. When you talk about your quarterback and Caden Houser, I mean, what happens when he gets hurt and is told, oh, the timeline could be four to six weeks, and then he only misses two games, and he's back at practice, and he goes out there and helps you win a game? You know what, Cassie? I think it says a lot about who he is. I tell you, it's kind of like he's a Southside Chicago guy. He's raised in Cali. He's named after a surf shack, of all things. Caden was his dad's favorite surf shack growing up. But he's just a really tough, gritty kid. As soon as we got a hold of that doc out there on the West Coast and he said he thought he could get him back within two to three weeks, I just was, like, amazed and just a lot of perseverance. And he really did a great job that week of Oregon game, helping Michael and Carson. Get ready for that game as a veteran quarterback that knew his team really needed to win. And when you see his connection with Colin Dixon, I mean, like, what have you seen from those two working together for Dixon to be one of the top receivers in football right now? Yeah, just a true testament to those two. But Colin, especially, he's a guy, you know, came in and registered his first year. Then he became a starter. He's a three-year starter. Hope to get him for another year back. Love to get Kate back, too. But those two guys definitely made a special connection going all the way back to last January. They're always throwing together all spring, all summer. You saw them working off one another. The thing I loved about when he went down, Colin right away went and got with Carson and Michael and just kind of continued to do the same things with them that he had done with Kate. And it's just really fun to watch. You use the word gritty when talking about all the different ways that you guys have been able to win. Your defense has been talking about physicality, especially over the last three games. And there was a crazy stat that I want to read you. Over the past three games, they've combined for 25 pressures, four sacks, and 10 TFLs. What do you attribute that to for the ability for them to rush and create pressure altogether at this point in the season? Well, again, in its own way, kind of the perseverance. You know, obviously the first four games didn't go. the way we wanted them, but kind of made a switch in how we were calling things, why we were calling things. I think they really concentrate on their fundamentals. I tell our guys all the time, good football plays are usually the result of good fundamentals, and even though those sacks show up a little more statistically, the pressures and a couple turnovers, it's the individuals that make those plays that made it happen, and there's no magical call, there's no magical gimmick, right? It's how they play the game, and fortunately for us, they've been playing it better and better each week. You've talked about how good your team has been and your defense has been at the end of half and right at the end of the game. Is that a mentality thing you think or where do you think that comes to life most? You know Cassie we actually put a lot of time in in our odd season in those situations. We call it situational football. You know the game is played down a distance right but it's also played you know by where the ball is on the field and what the time is on the clock and I think our guys understand that urgency. Last week you know You know, it was a case in point, right? We were down 7-0. Going into the end of the second quarter, we get a defensive three and out. They punt the ball, and then we monopolized about five minutes and hit the back of the end zone touchdown to Braden Trimble. That tied it going into half, and it really felt, I think, good for our guys going to halftime knowing we made it a game. And then really when it came down to the end of game, I don't think there was anybody that doubted what we were going to do. I think people were wondering our game management, right, because we took a knee on the four-yard line. I really didn't want to give that ball back to their offense, and I knew we could have it be pretty much a chip shot, two-point or an extra-point shot. So I thought they managed and understood it really, really well. You obviously are around this team every single day. You've known them for a long time now. But did you notice anything the way the Oregon win changed maybe belief in the locker room, or is that all that people see that and inside it's always been the same? You know, I say this all the time, you know, volume reflects confidence and people a lot of times think volume is strictly by the way you hear things. But volume to me, a lot of times is shown by how you see things. And I think when you have your number one quarterback on the sideline and a true freshman comes off the bench. And your number two quarterback comes in and literally orchestrates a couple drives that win and make a touchdown happen in the end zone. When the defense sits back and watches that, that inspires them. Then the offensive guys see the way our defense has begun to respond and get some three and outs. I'm going to tell you, last week at Maryland, our defense had to really rally to help our offense that was struggling a little bit at times. So I think when you've got that yin and yang going on, like there's a little bit of a good feel, good juice coming out of that. Bottom line, Friday night, East Memorial Stadium in Champaign. Hopefully, everybody's going to be in Navy at night. We're going to demonstrate some new unis and some lids. Should be an electric environment. I want Nebraska to hear it pretty good. All right, yeah, what's the whole helmet story? I'm sorry. Yeah. Yeah, you know, I laugh all the time. When I first got here, I told Josh, listen, I'm not going to be asking for new helmets and new uniforms every year. Well, hey, guess what, right? But last year, it really stemmed from the Navy in Nashville. Basketball went there play. I got that idea when I was kind of over there like hey, they got both oranges We need to stand out right and we were the road. We were the home team. We could be in blue So I said let's go all Navy and I tell you when I showed those kids those helmets the night before the game I wish I had waited till five minutes before the game. They went absolutely bonkers. So This year we did that it did cost my wife and I a little bit We we didn't have a build into our budget, but I told her ad I volunteered to buy those helmets. So My wife and I bought the helmets, and we're going to get those back because hopefully they're going to be used again if we have a good feel out of them. I love that. Yeah, new gear always goes over well. It doesn't matter how old you are. It could be college kids. It could be adults. Everyone always loves it. Finally, Brett, what are going to be some of the keys to a win over Nebraska? Yeah, I think, you know, offensively, they're very dynamic. They're led by their quarterback. He's a very explosive player. I think you've got to control his arm and understand what he can do with his feet. Defensively, they're statistically one of the best in the country, and they're very, very deserving of that. They're, you know, I think scored only 11 touchdowns against them this year. So I think they're a very stingy defense. We've got to be very opportunistic. And then the kicking game is always going to be important. I think we've got to capitalize on the moments we're given and obviously do well against us. All right, Sam's back on set with us now to talk some more college football. When you look at the matchup tonight, Illinois-Nebraska, Illinois riding this three-game win streak. Nebraska has not had it gone their way over the last three games. What's going to be key? Run the ball. That's the B-L-M-A regime, right? Run the ball, protect the football, and then they have to do a really good job against Nebraska's quarterback, kind of containing him inside the pocket. He's very good at making plays on the move outside the cabin. Keep him in the pocket. Run the ball. And protect the ball. Let's get the crowd involved. Yeah, maybe at night. And you know Nebraska fans travel. So Memorial Stadium, be loud for Sam and I. News out of Northwestern today ahead of their matchup against number 19 Iowa quarterback Aiden Childs is out with an upper body injury. There is no timetable for his return. This Wildcats offense is averaging 438 yards per game. Sam, Iowa has a top 15 defense. This is a huge impact for this Northwestern team. Oh, the line moved six points. So Iowa was a three-point favorite. Now, or three-point dog, excuse me. Now it's Northwestern that's a three-point dog. So the money has already moved in Vegas. It's Markey, all the backup quarterback, who's okay. He's more of a game manager than a dynamic quarterback. Because Childs has been really, really good throughout his career at being mobile and getting upfield. But it's been the accuracy this year inside the Chip Kelly offense. He's been completing like 65%, 70% of his passes in a ton of these games. Western has a very, very physical battle, though, with Iowa, because they are so good in the trenches, and they never make mistakes. This will be Mark Yield. First start for Northwestern. He has played in 27 games at West Virginia. That game is right here on Fox tomorrow night at 630. All right, the marquee matchup of the weekend. It's number one ranked Miami on the road at number 11, Notre Dame. Major playoff implications. What does this mean for Notre Dame? They need to get a win. If they don't win, they don't deserve to be in the college football playoff. How do you have two big games and lose them both and get in? It just doesn't make any sense. Now, Malachi Toney. Heisman caliber player, wide receiver for Miami, not going to play in this game. He has an ankle injury. So Miami's coming in to South Bend without their best player. You've got to win this game, Notre Dame. You've got to win it to get in. If you get in. Get him with a win. You're going to make it into the field. Highest ranked matchup between the two since the Catholics versus Convicts game in 1988. Notre Dame 10-1 against Miami at home. We have to take our final break. Still to come, Sam's best bets as we enter the midway point of the NFL season. The Bears take on the Bucs Sunday night but we're getting you ready for a Sunday full of football leading you up to the game on Bears game day live. Tune in Sunday morning from 930 to 11 a.m. Ant and I breaking down the matchup. We're going to have Jeff Joniak and Tom Thayer in studio with us and Devin goes one on one with Neville Gallimore to talk about the Jeffrey Simmons effect. So we'll see you Sunday morning. We'll see if the Bears can get to. 7-2, heading into their Week 10 bye. All right, that brings us to Sam's Best Bets. We are at Week 9. We are at the midway point of the NFL season. And now our time to talk about who might get into the end zone this week. Hand up. I told people to bet Sam Roush. Yeah, you really were confident in that. I think that was your best bet, too. Your bold prediction. Semantics. I did say it was a decent play, given the odds. You see some of these guys right now. DeAndre Swift, all he does is score touchdowns. He's the NFL. You've got to lay that to win 100, though. The books have caught on. That's very expensive at minus 195. And then here are the big three. Burden, Loveland, and the Dunes. They're all about plus 160. A little bit more bang for your buck on a Dunes. And then Roush is down to 6-1. He was 8-1 last week. I don't even think he had a target. Yet, his price went from 8-1 to 6-1. People are betting him, at least at FanDuel. He didn't really play much last week, at least in the passing game. But people can't stop betting them. They can't quit. They want more Sam Roush. That's surprising. He will obviously have a huge role. I like the Roma Dunzay number. We haven't seen him get as involved in the red zone as much. He's had a couple drops in the end zone. But the chemistry and the trust between him and Caleb Williams over the last three games has been evident. Definitely. And it's because he's been making these grabs in big moments. That's how trust elevates, right? You deliver in big moments. And that's what he's done. Again, the books are basically saying, we like all three of these guys. That's why they're all shy of 2-1. All right, let's talk about the MVP. odds. Caleb Williams has to be in the conversation. He has the second best completion percentage just behind Joe Burrow. He's gone 27 games where he hasn't thrown a single interception. What do they look like now? He's been unbelievable. So Caleb, the fourth favorite right now at FanDuel. So eight to one, he's five to one at a couple other books in Las Vegas. So depending on where you shop for your odds, he's either the third or the fourth guy. Josh Allen is the favorite everywhere. Other books have Burroughs second, and then it's either like Purdy Caleb three or four. I'll tell you what, Cass. Mid-December, the Bears go to Buffalo. It's a Saturday night game, national television. If 18 outduels 17, this MVP talk is going to get serious. Wow. I mean, just worth saying that the Bears are what? They have not lost a game with Caleb Williams starting and finishing a game. And they have never trailed in a game since he's come back from his hamstring injury. And they've never had a quarterback like that. I mean, it's crazy. I've been betting a long time. I have never seen a Chicago Bears quarterback in the conversation for MVP. All right, let's get to your best bet of the weekend. You are 5-1. Well, since you asked, yeah, 5-1. I told Jake, put it on the screen. I also like how Jake put Sammy Paydirt on the graphic. The P is for Paydirt now, apparently. Look, this is the traditional NFL fade spot. Denver at home just beat Kansas City. Had that big stand on fourth and goal. They stuffed them. They kept them out of the end zone. Denver wins that game. Denver's 4-0 at home. But now you go all the way across the country and take on a middle-of-the-pack Carolina Panthers team. The line is only two and a half. It looks so easy. That's because the Panthers are going to win and knock out all those parlays on Denver. Denver goes down to Carolina. Wow, you think the Panthers still have it in them. They fire their D.C. Bryce Young has been up and down, but you believe him. I think this is a great spot, and when this line opened at three, it got bet down to two and a half right away. That is respected money. All right, we'll keep tabs and see if you're six and one next week on the bye. That's going to do it for us on Chicago Sports Tonight. For Sam Paniatovich, I'm Cassie Carlson. We have kickoff from Champaign coming your way next. ILO. I&I.