Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts DC Matt Eberflus hired as Chicago Bears head coach

Episode Date: January 28, 2022

On today's episode, Locked On Colts' Evan Sidery is joined by Locked On Bears' Lorin Cox to discuss some massive breaking news impacting both organizations. Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus has officially been hired as the Chicago Bears' new head coach.How will this impact both the Bears and Colts moving forward? Evan and Lorin break it down from every angle.Stay tuned for a big offseason in Indianapolis, folks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome into this Locked On Podcast Network crossover, Locked On Bears, Locked On Colts. Not so much our regular Locked On midweek crossover Thursday. We don't have a game to preview, but we do have a major coaching change. Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus going to the Chicago Bears. I'm Loren Cox from Locked On Bears alongside Evan Sidery of Locked On Colts, breaking down one of the big moves of the NFL offseason so far.

Certainly we've seen other coaching staff changes, other general manager moves, but both of our fan bases, of course, intimately curious on how these moves will pan out for both teams. Evan, thank you so much for joining us today, for doing this crossover. I know it's kind of a last minute breaking news thing, but I guess give all of us your thoughts on Matt Eberflus as not only a defensive coordinator for the Colts, but a head coach candidate for any team. How do you sort of view him heading into this offseason cycle?

Yeah, absolutely. I appreciate having me on, Lauren. And quite honestly, for Matt Eberflus landing in Chicago, I was a little bit surprised, just because I thought the Bears, especially with Justin Fields as their quarterback, would go out and try to get an offensive guy. But their finalists outside Jim Caldwell were Dan Quinn and Matt Eberflus, defensive guys. You have to wonder what's next for them with the offensive coordinator.

We've heard some rumors already about Petullo from Philadelphia, who was formerly on the Colts staff when Eberflus was there in 2018. He followed Nick Sirianni to Philadelphia. We'll have to see what happens there. But Eberflus, I think he's a very solid hire. He's a guy that's very much into culture, very much into fundamentals. He's not really a guy that's going to win the interview, so to say, like win the press conference, but he's a guy that's really strong on the little things. I think that's going to make a big

difference compared to what Matt Nagy, I think, didn't do. I think he won the press conference, but the little things in Chicago really weren't there with Nagy, so to say. So I think Ibraflux is the polar opposite of Nagy as far as that goes. And I think honestly the defense i think chicago's gonna have a really good defense moving forward now with ibra flus in place because we've seen the last three years when maddie reflux the coltsman top 10 in defense they've led the league or they were second this year in takeaways it gotten better each year that darius linder has a lot to do with that of course with his takeover machine ability but if i was a bears fan i was like a roquan smith i'd buy all the roquan smith stock i could right now because he's gonna be darius linder 2.0 and maddie

plus's scheme he's gonna have a lot of a lot of tackles a lot of turnovers he's gonna be a turnover machine for eberfuss in that system i think the bears it's been kind of a down year for them but him for chicago having a defense with roquan smith having kalil max still on the edge like still very slept on now in the NFL. I know he's getting a little older, but he's still a legitimately top-good edge rusher. You have great secondary pieces as well. Ibrafluse, I think, saw the opportunity in Chicago.

I think the Bears saw the opportunity as well to get a legitimate defense back in the Windy City. I think it's a very solid hire. I'm still a little bit – we'll dive into it more throughout this episode, but Ibrafluse has been very consistent as far as the defense production goes. You saw it in week 18 against Jacksonville where Trevor Lawrence kind of sliced through that defense. But as far as fundamentals go, as far as the little things go and the talent in place in Chicago, I think Chicago did very well getting Ibrafluse. He's been a guy in the head coaching circles for the last two or

three years already. So he's been wanting to get a job. I think he landed a really good spot in Chicago. I think we've heard a lot on the outside about fundamentals and culture and leadership, those type of things from Ivo Fluss. And all of that is not X's and O's. And all of that is not scheme. And I know a lot of that can be, especially defense, can be so hard for us to really get the intricacies on the outside. But it just seems like reading between the lines here,

it doesn't sound like it's a particularly, not that it's a bad quote unquote scheme, but just that it's not a particularly like new or innovative defensive operation. And I'm curious how Colts fans have thought about that over the last few years. I mean, the numbers in terms of where they rank seem to be doing well enough. So it's like, it's not, it's not working, but is it, is it simplistic? Is it, is it predictable at times or how, how has it been so successful, even though we don't seem to hear it described as complex or innovative? Yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head with the word you use there, Lauren, which is simplistic. I mean, the Bears, I think are going to learn very quickly.

This is what Ibrahim was mentioned in 2018 when when he was hired the defense he runs is all about the zone coverage you play cover two cover three shell and you just have your zone and whoever gets in that field of that blade of grass you just go out and tackle them you gang tackle them it's all built around speed it's all around fundamentals and I think you're going to see Chicago play a lot of heavy zone this year a lot of cover two a lot of cover three Ibraflux is mixed up a little bit the last couple years playing a little bit more man as well late in the season but it's very predominantly about 70 percent zone you're going to see a lot of that this year in Chicago and moving forward but surprisingly to I know Colts fans were very frustrated with the way their defense played

a little bit against very elite quarterbacks because we've seen it before a couple years ago Drew Breesman that football he had one incomplete pass the game. I think he threw for five touchdowns as well. Gardner Minshew, season opener last year, had two incomplete passes, threw for 400 yards on this Colts defense. When this Colts defense is not doing well, they get sliced apart, and it's all about that zone defense. And if the quarterback is able to find those soft zones, he exploits it pretty well.

I mean, elite quarterbacks who have gone into this Colts defense the last couple years consistently over 70% completion percentage, it's really a bend but don't break defense that relies an awful lot on turnover luck. And luckily they had Darius Leonard the last couple years, but if they didn't have Darius Leonard in this defense, quite honestly, Lord, I don't think they'd be

an above average defense at all. I think they'd be more so just straight in the middle there. So I'm really curious to see who steps into that Darius Leonard type role. Like I mentioned, maybe that is roquan smith who i think is very slipped on the nfl so i know you've mentioned that a lot in your podcast as well roquan is one of those guys that i think is going to be very deserving of big money very soon but roquan smith could be that guy but outside of that you have better pass rushing in chicago which the colts have not had the last couple years you have the forest bupter in the middle but khalil mack on the edge is going

to help out a lot there. But like I mentioned, I think it's very inconsistent what they've done. And a lot of Colts fans, surprisingly to me, from my interactions on Twitter, they wanted Mattie Berthelus gone. They wanted him to go and just get fresh life in this Colts defense because it was so simplistic. It was very readable from good quarterbacks, where if you find those soft zones you're going to get

up a lot of yards it's all based on if you can keep out of the end zone there so i could see bears fans getting frustrated with ibrahim's scheme but he's a guy who mentioned the top of the show lauren he's very much culture fundamentals the small things i think he's going to help a locker room he'll be very respected in that locker room there was nothing but glowing things that darius linder deforest buckner kenny moore all these leaders on defense has said about you He'll be very respected in that locker room. There was nothing but glowing things that Darius Leonard, DeForest Buckner, Kenny Moore, all these leaders on defense, has said about Ibrafluse the last couple years. But I hope from the Colts side of things, Colts fans that want to let him go,

it might not be grass is greener on the other side, so to say, because I think Ibrafluse is legitimately a top-ten defensive coordinator in this league. I think a lot of it might be due to the talent he's had on there. I know they had Buckner, they had Leonard, they had Moore, but everyone else, very young. I think this Bears defense is a lot more ready to go, so to say, for what I the talent he's had on there. I know you had Buckner, they had Leonard, they had Moore, but everyone else, very young. I think this Bears defense is a lot more ready to go, so to say, for what Iberflues is looking for there.

Yeah, I really want to dive into a little bit more specifically some of the Colts personnel and where that line is between roster building and the quality of coaching, helping get more out of some of those players. We'll dive into that and so much more about this Matt Iberflues hire for the Bears and what's going to be left for the Indianapolis Colts. Coming up next on this Locked On Podcast Network crossover, Locked On Bears, Locked On Colts. Our Thursday crossover brought to you by our friends at GetUpside,

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It's promo code touchdown when you download the GetUpside app. You know, it's interesting. Matt Iberflues was not one of the betting favorites for the Chicago Bears head coaching opening over at our friends at BetOnline.ag, the number one place we recommend for all of your sports betting deeds, whether you're betting on the prop bets for who's going to be the next coach of this team or where Aaron Rodgers is going to go in 2022. Plus, of course, not just football in the playoffs, but basketball, hockey, soccer, tennis, baseball, boxing, UFC, even your favorite online Vegas casino games, all available at BetOnline. So don't wait to take advantage of all their amazing offers for 2022, including ours. Sign up today for a free account and enter in our promo code LOCKEDON, and they're going to give you a free 50% welcome bonus on your first deposit. That's them giving

you free money to play with, with just our promo code LOCKEDON. It's at BetOnline.ag, the fastest and easiest way to wager on all your favorite sports. Like they say, BetOnline is where the game starts. The Chicago Bears hiring of Matt Eberflus for me starts with how he's going to be able to try and get more out of the players that the Bears have, really on both sides of the ball. And I'm curious, Evan, as you look at this Colts defense, it's not a group that strikes me as as having you know blue chip players top to bottom or even like a lot of household names but bears fans know i mean most nfl fans will know who darius leonard is bears fans will remember xavier rhodes from minnesota but he's certainly not the same xavier rhodes quite exactly and then trading for deforest buckner we kind of remember

him as a top draft pick maybe quitty pay for miche from Michigan, but it's like, there's like maybe a guy at each level that's recognizable. How much did the Colts defensive performance, I guess, fluctuate by the talent that was available and how well did Matt Eberflus take guys that maybe are a little bit less well-known, a little bit more unheralded and get better performances out of them? Yeah, this defense has been absolutely built from the foundation up since Chris Bauer got there in 2017. Obviously, Ibrafu's came on a year later once Chuck Pagano got fired. He joined Frank Reich on that coaching staff. But when they joined in 2018, this defense was completely different.

I mean, teared it completely down. They've had actually all 11 new starters since 2018. This defense is completely different than what it was when he first arrived and it's all built around young players that sans deforest buckner who they traded for with a first round pick it's been all about development all about retaining those draft picks and betting high on those upside guys in the draft like darius linder bobby okereke as well a middle linebacker who's definitely done a lot better in 2021 also kenny moore like i mentioned before is one of the more underrated slot corners in the nfl we finally got a pro bowl nod this year julian

blackman as well at safety carrie willis as well there's a lot of young guys in this defense and ibrafuse has really been instrumental in helping to develop those guys but there's one blind spot i would say and that's probably why you got let go with their defensive line coach brian baker and ibrafuse plays a little bit of a role in this too, I imagine. But there's been a lack of edge rush development in Indianapolis outside of Cody Pei, who was his rookie year this year, who kind of flashed in the second half of the season. But they spent all these second round picks on guys like Kamoko Ture,

Tyquan Lewis, Terrell Basham, Ben Banigou, and they've all flamed out. They really haven't done well in Indianapolis. So that's one thing I would say to watch out for in Chicago is how those edge rush guys develop because it hasn't happened much here in Indianapolis but it's all about young guys in development I do think in Chicago it's more of a ready-made system for Ibraflus where he doesn't have to worry about developing guys that much I know there's still some young guys in that defense but you'll be a lot of pro bowlers a lot of all pros on that defense. You can really step up right away into the roles that we saw multiple Colts players step up to into elite situations over the last couple of years.

So I really think this bears defense could be in line for a big jump this year. It's been kind of lagging behind the last couple of years. I think getting Ibraflues on board, it's going to be I think a really different defense we're used to in Chicago, but I think it's going to actually benefit them a lot. A lot of disciplinary stuff, a lot of turnover-heavy approach where it's going to be everyone has to go for the ball when you tackle. Everyone has to go out and get that as far as gang tackling.

It's a lot more – Matt Iberflues has this little chart he made in 2018. It's really taken off in the Colts' land, so to say. It's the loaf chart where Iberfluse, each week, he puts together, you watch the tape of the game, and he'll put down how many quote-unquote loafs you have, which means you're not really trying much in the play. And it's really changed the entire defense. When they first arrived in 2018,

there was multiple moments where Colts weren't really trying to tackle much. It was a lot of just laziness. But when Ibracluse really installed that loaf chart, you've seen so many guys all on speed, just trying everything to make things happen. And it's more of a culture thing. We can come back to the same words of culture and discipline, but that's why it's worked out so well in Indianapolis,

because Iberclues has had those guys drilled into their head where once you have those situations, it's just those two or three things you have to look out for, the game easier on the field so that's what you need to send the watch out for there is just those little things like we mentioned before it's the polar opposite again of matt nagy i think you'd probably agree with that lauren which is where where they're going for in this direction maddie reflux that's gonna be really interesting what happens there because i and his defense is ready made for eberflux type defense the question is for me how does he galvanize the entire locker room?

What do they do on offense? Because Justin Fields, I love Justin Fields in the draft. I hope that the Colts were in the Bears' position. The Bears were right behind the Colts in last year's draft. They should have traded up for Justin Fields. Obviously, one guy, Carson Wentz. We know what happened there. But now I want to see what they do with a guy like Justin Fields, a quarterback.

I think Ibraflux is a really good hit on defense. The question is what happens on offense now. But I think overall, the defense and the strategy in place and the players in place in Chicago, I think they have a really solid infrastructure in place to where the Bears can be a top 10 defense next year. Yeah, since you mentioned the offense there and what Ibrafuels might do, let's go there briefly. He's looking really at both sides of the ball of poaching from the Colts we've heard Dave Borgonzi and and Alan Williams floated as potential defensive coordinator candidates for the Bears to poach more members of that Colts defensive coaching staff if they may end up if they want to promote one of them to

that job there might be some competition there but offensively we've heard uh the former Colts wide receivers coach who's now with the Philadelphia Eagles, the passing game coordinator, whose name, it keeps escaping me. And I think you mentioned it earlier and I'm struggling to try to filibuster and find it as I'm scrolling through on my computer right now. Kevin Petullo.

Yes, Kevin Petullo. The other name that's been floated out there is Mike Groh, the former wide receivers coach, who was also with, I believe, with the Colts. But there's been sort of this idea of like, you know, that they might try and bring parts of Frank Reich's offense. And I'm curious, you know, we see Justin Fields needing to be more of a downfield vertical passer.

And I don't know that, that, that certainly Philip Rivers a couple of years ago with, with, with those members of the Colts coaches that with Kevin Petullo and stuff in there were quite so vertical of a quarterback, but how has that Frank Reich offense sort of functioned the last few years? Where have they sort of looked the last few years? Where have they sort of looked to put receivers in position where the Bears might be able to, if they end up picking members of that coaching staff to come to Chicago, what might that start to look like?

Yeah, I think honestly, Justin Fields is a perfect fit in a Frank Reich type of offense. It's all about the simple things like he'll scheme up guys open in the middle, like crossing routes, shallow routes. He'll have a guy going deep as well. More often than not, it's all about the quarterback and how he reads the field i mean we saw it in 2020 with philip rivers we saw the connection you already have with frank reich in san diego and now in indianapolis he was very efficient almost a career high in completion percentage his yards per attempt jumped up andrew luck had a career best year 2018 when patula was there as well 2019 image of a competent starting quarterback which is while he is in miami now it's a pretty good thing to do it for frank right have that feather in his cap so to

say but then this past year we saw carson wentz and when you don't have a quarterback who can read the field it does not go well they've turned a one-dimensional offense and i don't think that just the fields is one-dimensional i think he's actually a legitimately good franchise building block where he can read the field we saw it at ohio state he. I think he's actually a legitimately good franchise building block where he can read the field. We saw it at Ohio State. I think he could be a legitimate top 10, top 15 quarterback in the next couple of years. In a Frank Reich type of offense, I think he's a perfect fit. He has a strong arm. He has the velocity to fit it in the small windows. He can read the field. He's very accurate when need be. I think if they bring a Kevin Petullo or a Mike Gross, so to say, will be a Frank Reich offense for sure, probably 80%, 90% like a Frank Reich offense.

If that's the case, I think it's a home run fit for what they're trying to do on offense because I think Justin Fields is a prototype for that. That's why I was so high on Justin Fields in the draft and why the Colts, I think, should have traded up. They kept Phillip Rivers around for another year because he's the exact type of guy you want in a Frank Reich offense, a mobile quarterback with a strong arm who's very accurate. He checks all the box you want for that type of guy you want a Frank Berg offense a mobile quarterback with a strong arm who's very accurate he checks all the box you want for that type of offense I'll be very curious to

see if they go out and hire a Patula or a Groh or someone from that same coaching tree because Fields does make a lot of sense there I think he does check all those boxes well certainly Bears fans are encouraged or looking forward to how this change is going to positively affect this franchise while Colts fans are left kind of thinking okay what's going to happen to this defense what's going to be next for the. While Colts fans are left kind of thinking, okay, what's going to happen to this defense? What's going to be next for the Indianapolis Colts trying to replace Matt Iverflues and maybe whatever assistance he might bring with him to Chicago.

We'll take a closer look at what this is going to leave for the Colts and what the future might be in Indianapolis. Coming up on this Locked On Podcast Network crossover, Locked On Bears, Locked On Colts. Let's go ahead and talk about our other sponsor of today's show, which is Bilt Bar. It's the New Year, so that means New Year's resolutions. If yours is about getting fit or eating healthier, make sure you include Bilt Bar in your plan.

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Again, use promo code LOCKED15 at low CK8015 for 15% off at built.com. Let's go ahead and dive in now, like you mentioned, Lauren, into the Colts side of things. And like I mentioned at the top of the show, you saw, I mentioned to you, many Colts fans wanted to move on from Matty Rufus, and I don't know if that's a smart idea from the Colts fans because I like we've been talking the last 15 or so minutes I think Rufus is a great fit for what the Colts want to do and now with Rufus gone they might hire someone in-house but you have to wonder what this does for the Colts because they've been internally planning for this according to Albert Breer you mentioned a couple

days ago the Colts been preparing for this so that he was probably gets a job in chicago or jacksonville this offseason so we'll have to see what happens next year but i do wonder they probably won't go much away from the eberflues tree you have to imagine because they have all these guys in place i can't see the forest buckner fitting much in a 3-4 same for darius leonard i can't see him being a guy off the edge that much so i i imagine they probably keep someone-house but really quickly we brought before as a potential DC with Matty Rufus in Chicago I think Dave Borgonzi is actually a really great fit for Chicago because he's he's been instrumental in developing Darius Leonard and Bobby Okereke EJ Speed Zaire Franklin all these great young linebackers for the Colts is mostly in part due to Ibraflus and Borgonzi and Borgonzi has been

wanting to be a DC for a very long time. He's been well-deserving of it. I think if Ibraflux left, he was the guy who wanted to go to Indianapolis and be the DC to get that promotion. But it sounds like, according to multiple reports, Borgonzi might be the guy that follows Ibraflux to Chicago. So what's your thoughts on that, Warren? Because from my standpoint, I think Borgonzi would be a home-run fit.

He's a young guy, very, I would say, forward-thinking as far as defense goes. I think he'd be a home run fit he's a young guy very i would say forward thinking as far as defense goes i think it'd be a perfect fit there in chicago so what's your idea of borgonzi following iberflues there because obviously iberflues still calls the plays on defense but i think borgonzi is sort of iberflues 2.0 and he'd be a great fit there yeah it feels like the bears and the colts are going to be just competing for defensive coordinator candidates at this point right i mean they're both looking for the same. I mean, obviously, Iberflues is looking for his guys, and Colts are probably going to be looking for a similar style of Iberflues coaches.

And so somebody like Borgonzi would definitely be that name that I would have circled right away. I mean, when you coach the linebackers and somebody like Darius Leonard to play, I mean, obviously, Leonard came in with some very real talent there, but, you know, fell to the second round for a reason too. I mean, a smaller school prospect. So it wasn't like he was guaranteed to be this home run when they brought him in. But of course, like he has been, and the coaching staff deserves some credit for that. I mean, he's also just inherently talented as well too.

And then I think you mentioned earlier the way they've been able to slowly kind of bring along Bobby Okurike. I can never pronounce it. Bobby, is it Okurike? Yeah, he's actually changed the pronunciation multiple times himself. It was Okurike, and now it's Okurike, according to him. So it's Bobby Okurike. Yeah, so like between him and Okurike, and they've been able to at least, you know, get some talent slowly sort of developed there in addition to how well Darius Leonard has played. The name that I'm curious here for, and of course, I'd love to see Borgonzi work with Roquan Smith, and the Bears are going to be in a position where they need to find at least one running

mate for Roquan Smith, really, for the long-term future. So to have a linebackers coach with some developmental talent there to be able to sort of grow under Ibraflus in the defense would be super attractive. But I'm curious if Rod Miranelli ends up in either of these discussions, because he and Ibraflus worked pretty closely in Dallas for a while there, and of've, they've studied under a lot of the same types of coaches. And for the Bears, of course, Rod Marinelli was the Bears defensive line coach and defensive coordinator under Lovie Smith. Lovie Smith is the other name too. The Bears fans are kind of looking at it as like, okay, it's not necessarily like directly like Ibraflux coached over this person in terms of being in the quote unquote tree, but at least in the same sort of family of schemes or family of coaches who have worked

together, whether or not Marinelli or Lovie Smith, depending on if he's going to be available and want to make that jump either to Indianapolis or Chicago, if those could be guys that might shake things up as more of like a veteran defensive coordinator to pair either with Eberflus as a young head coach or a veteran defensive coordinator to, to come to Indianapolis and, and write the ship a little bit more and not let things get too, too shaken up. Having just lost the, the really like the cultural leader of that defense. Yeah, I believe I'm not mistaken. Uh, I forget who it was from the athletic or some other media outlet, but someone mentioned

that Rod marinelli might be following mattie reflux wherever he went if it was staying in indianapolis or going to jackson or going to chicago as a defensive line coach and i would love marinelli in indianapolis i think he'd be a perfect fit for what they're trying to do but i do wonder at this stage of his career i think he's in his mid-70s if he wants to be a full-time defensive coordinator having all that pressure on him again so i imagine he'll probably stay in that defensive line role and he'd be a full-time defensive coordinator, having all that pressure on him again. So I imagine he'll probably stay in that defensive line role, and he'd be a homerun for Chicago. Like you mentioned, he already has a connection with the Bears.

He worked with Ibracluse before. That'd be a great fit with him, Borgonzi and Ibracluse. Kind of a perfect trio to build out your defense there. So that's something to watch out for. I think it's a super homerun fit right now. Talk about just the Bears situation. From the Colts' side of things, I do wonder exactly what they will do because we've

heard already maybe Alan Williams who's our safeties coach could be promoted to DC was the Vikings coordinator about eight years ago I believe he's the only guy on their staff with DC experience but outside of that the Colts might be looking externally to find that answer for Ebert Flus but I mean we're talking about Chicago here and I'm kind of talking myself a little bit into Ebert Flus, Borgonzi and Marinelli. I mean, what's your thoughts on that? If that were to happen, that's kind of a home run situation for that defense. Yeah.

It's interesting what they want to do schematically, right? Because we know that Iberflues over the years has worked in both 3-4 and 4-3 defenses and the Bears, I mean, not that it's, especially nowadays with Iberflues' defense in the nickel, the majority of the, you know, 70, 80% of the time. Anyway, the line between what truly 80% of the time anyway, the line between what truly is a 4-3 and 3-4 base defense is so blurred where it's maybe not as big of a deal. But Rod Miranelli has pretty consistently been

a four-down lineman, defensive line coach. And of course, Ibraflus coming from that with Indianapolis, it might be easier for Ibraflus to adapt to more of a 3-4. If he brings in guys, they're a little bit more 3-4 base. But I'm just curious what that'll look like if they want to have Khalil Mack and Robert Quinn go back to putting their hands in the dirt

and make Roquan Smith more of that true like middle linebacker, as opposed to like 4-3 middle linebacker, as opposed to just the sort of off-ball linebacker of the 3-4 and how they see this Bears personnel fitting into some of those moves. Because I think they have guys that are versatile enough in the front seven

to be able to line up in a lot of different places. You know, like you talked about earlier, where, you know, Buckner doesn't really feel like a guy who can be a true 3-4 type player. And I don't think, like, I don't know, as far as Quiddie Paye being able to fit in some of those spots or like Darius Leonard, like you said, like, it feels like Indianapolis is a little bit more locked in personnel wise

in terms of how they want to align in that front seven. And I think the Bears, I mean, when I first think about the Bears, I think, no, I think they're pretty locked into their three, four alignment. But I do think perhaps there could be some potential here for like enough of a scheme change that the players could start to fit into just, just a little bit more. And if you had the, the Marinelli defensive line coaching to help them adjust to being another gap over, I think it could go a long way towards having the right coaches in that

transition. If the players are going to be the ones transitioning, or if the coaches are going to have to adapt their way to fit the bears talent more to a three, four, you know, would you want a defensive line coach and maybe a linebackers coach that's more inclined schematically to some of the other things the Bears might want to do? So that's what I think Bears fans are eagerly waiting to see how this new coaching staff might weigh it. Yeah, I think honestly, that you mentioned, I think they'd fit perfectly if they want to move to a 4-3.

I mean, Roquan Smith fills a Darius Leonard role. I think Khalil Mack and Robert Quinn, hands in the dirt, bookends opposite sides is absolutely terrifying in a 4-3 defense. I also wanted, before we wrap things up, Lauren or i want to just go over for bears fans that are curious maybe some iverflus connections and free agency because i think the bears have around 30 million dollars in cap space according to over the cap and i imagine iverflus want to bring some guys from the colts over or at least have some colts connections and i want to name off a couple for you on defense yes please i want to hear your thoughts on them. Yeah. Anthony Walker is a linebacker.

We were talking about who could make sense. He played for the Colts a couple of years, or last year, or before this past year, Bobby O'Kerrick took over his spot, but Anthony Walker was an excellent fit next to Darius Leonard from 2018 through 2020. I could see him being a guy.

He played for the Browns this past year, mostly on rundown situations, but I could easily see Walker and Roquan Smith being a good duet linebacker. Al-Qaidi Muhammad is a free agent edge rusher for the Colts. He had six sacks this past year, career high. Ibrahim absolutely loves Al-Qaidi Muhammad. He's a guy who fits the system perfectly. He loves guys who set the ads on the run. He likes guys upside in the pass rush. I believe he's only 26 years old as well. He's not going to break the bank either. He'd be a great rotational edge rusher. And then the guy we talked about just a few minutes ago,

Xavier Rhodes, I would not be surprised at all if they went out and tried to get Xavier Rhodes because Matt Iberflues is in love with Xavier Rhodes too. The main reason why the Colts signed him two years ago is because he coached him in the Pro Bowl a couple of years ago. And he said, I can get the most out of Xavier Rhodes. Obviously he's a little longer in the tooth now, going to be 31 years old, but I could see me and a guy who could maybe mix in the rotation on secondary so there's a couple guys there on each level of defensive defensive line linebacker and corner who i think can make sense in that defense yeah i appreciate you bringing those up and i'm sure you know once we get into more free agency mode on both of our podcasts here if we have any crossover of of talent going from one way or the other,

we'll definitely have to reconnect like this and get back on and break down some of these guys a little bit more in depth. But that's going to do it for our crossover Bears-Colts lockdown podcast network, breaking down the Matt Eberflus hire for the Bears and what's going to happen next for the Indianapolis Colts. I hope everyone will keep tuning in five days a week to the Locked on Bears and Locked on Colts podcast, making them your first listen every day. We will be back for you next week to break down what's going to be in the uncertain futures for

both of these two teams, what's going to be next. So much more to get to. And thank you for tuning in and I hope you'll keep joining us all week long, every day, all offseason long, right here on the Locked On Podcast Network.