00:00As a Titans fan, what kind of emotions did you have last night watching that guy wreak havoc?
00:06First of all, Dan, good to see you, even though that was definitely salt in the wound.
00:09But yeah, no, it's as we were discussing off air, he's the best defensive tackle in football.
00:16He has been for the last two years, in my opinion, and he's been elite for the last four.
00:20So it's nice that he's finally getting the stage to do that.
00:23He did actually go to the AFC Championship game with the Titans back when he was a rookie.
00:27So he's been on the national stage before.
00:29It's just been a few years, and he has now turned into, as you said, and I agree, that he's
00:34the best defensive tackle in football, bar none.
00:36I think he has a good chance to maybe even push to win the Defensive Player of the Year right
00:39now.
00:39I think that's still a nice investment if you want to get invested there.
00:42But I said this when he got traded, Dan, and you know this as someone who's been in an NFL
00:46locker room,
00:47and you're trying to build culture, especially on a team that's a little bit lost at sea right now with
00:53the Titans.
00:53And that's why I was so disappointed that they lost a player like this.
00:56It's not because of his elite-level skill talent on the field.
01:00Like, again, he's the best, maybe arguably the best defensive tackle in the game.
01:03But to me, what he brings to the table from a culture perspective, his attitude, his work rate, what he
01:10does to the locker room.
01:10I mean, even Ben Johnson was talking about it, how just his energy is infectious with these guys.
01:16He barely even knows some of these guys on the roster's name, and he comes out and makes an immediate
01:19impact.
01:20I have a stat for you that I want to read from the game last night that Ian Rappaport posted
01:24this morning.
01:26Jeffrey Simmons, we saw it all with our eyeballs, right?
01:28Like, we saw how effective he was on the field.
01:30He was wreaking havoc.
01:31He, you know, caused a sack.
01:33He was in the backfield the entire time.
01:35And as you said, if you've watched Titans games like I have, that's not something new.
01:38This guy is a game wrecker.
01:39But the Seattle Seahawks were held to three yards per play, and Jeffrey Simmons had three sacks and forced an
01:46interception in 48 plays where Simmons was on the field.
01:49In the eight plays where he was off of the field, Seattle averaged 13.3 yards per play, almost 10
01:55more yards per play when Simmons was off the field.
01:58The other thing about it, too, Dan, is that from all the defensive tackles, I mean, you know he's a
02:02big boy, a lot of big boys out there.
02:04He's got incredible conditioning.
02:06He played over 80% or 90% of snaps for the Titans this season.
02:10He's probably going to do the same thing for the Bears.
02:12And he wreaked havoc last night, and he doesn't even know the playbook.
02:15So as he gets more and more involved with this team, it's going to be really fun to watch in
02:20Chicago.
02:20And as you said, as a Titans fan, I'm sad to see not only the player go, but the man
02:25as well.
02:26So I'll see how the Titans respond.
02:27They had a good response last week in the organization, but the Bears got one for sure.
02:31And I think that they have a chance to make a deep run, especially with a move like this.
02:36This is why I say he's the best DT, and it's not close.
02:40So I watch a guy like Jalen Carter, and I watch that front seven in Philadelphia falling apart.
02:45Dude, that Montez Sweat deal that the Bears made a couple years ago was a horrible move it looked like.
02:51He was an okay player.
02:52I couldn't believe I was watching Montez Sweat.
02:55I know they played together at Mississippi State, and they know one another well.
02:59But that was a completely different football team last night, the way they played.
03:04The Bears front seven, now along with Dennis Allen, man, he's one of the best D coordinators in the NFL.
03:11Like you said, I mean, I think if Chicago continues to run the ball well, and that defense plays on
03:17that other side,
03:19they've got to be the odds-on favorite in the NFC, them and the 49ers, to go to the NFC
03:23championship game.
03:25Yeah, no doubt.
03:26I mean, we saw on display.
03:28I mean, the other thing about this, too, is this offense and this team has actually been playing really good
03:32football over the last month.
03:33And now you add the best defensive player, I mean, the best defensive tackle,
03:37and one of the best defensive players in the entire NFL to this defense.
03:41And, yeah, look out.
03:42Since Caleb Williams has returned from his hamstring injury, Dan, they played three games.
03:46The Chicago Bears have led 158 minutes and 33 seconds of those 180 minutes in those games.
03:54The only times that they weren't leading, they were tied 0-0.
03:58They have not been down in a deficit in the last three games since Caleb Williams' return from injury.
04:03And, oh, by the way, now you add, again, a force on defense like Jeffrey Simmons.
04:07So, I mean, the thing I love about Simmons, and then obviously we can move on from this,
04:11and I know you know this and you mentioned this as well,
04:13the difference between him and a guy like Carter or a guy like Sexy Dexy in Cincinnati
04:17is not only what he's able to do on the defensive line, getting double teams,
04:22wreaking havoc in the run game, obviously getting after the quarterback,
04:25but it's his motor.
04:26It's his work rate.
04:27The guy is an elite tackler outside of the line of scrimmage.
04:31Like, sometimes he makes plays like a linebacker.
04:33I saw him run down Deshaun Watson two weeks ago against the Browns.
04:36Jeffrey Simmons is like 6'7", almost 300 pounds, like, and he was outrunning Deshaun Watson.
04:42That's what, to me, what makes him the best player on the defensive line,
04:45his athleticism, and the Bears are going to be able to, as you said,
04:49I mean, Dennis Allen is a great schemer of defenses,
04:51obviously known a little more for the back end side of things,
04:54but you give a guy like that with Montez Sweat,
04:56they'll get the Mississippi Dogs running.
04:58They're going to be running some games on the front, man.
05:00They are going to be wreaking havoc.
05:02They didn't even have to blitz last night, Dan.
05:04They were able to rush four guys and get all up in Sam Darnold's grill for that game,
05:08and as we saw when Sam Darnold's under pressure, it's a struggle.
05:11So, yeah, you've got to feel great as a Bears fan right now, especially in the NFC.
05:15I think that if you want to take a stab for them to win the Super Bowl,
05:18I would not doubt you.
05:19If this team keeps playing elite-level football on both sides
05:22and have obviously help from the special teams,
05:24I think they're the odds-on favorite right now in the NFC.
05:26You
