Welcome to the latest installment of my weekly "Lunch with Larry," which features wide-ranging conversations with Bears-related guests about their lives and careers.

This week my special guest is former quarterback Jim Miller, who spent five seasons with the Bears from 1998-2002. In 2001, he helped lead the team to the NFC Central championship with a 13-3 record (that he predicted).

Miller currently co-hosts the "Movin' the Chains" podcast on SiriusXM NFL Radio with Pat Kirwan from 2-6 p.m. (CT) Monday through Friday and 1-4 p.m. Saturday. Miller also serves as color analyst on Bears preseason TV broadcasts on FOX 32 Chicago and appears regularly on the Bears Weekly radio show on ESPN 1000 with Jeff Joniak and Tom Thayer.

Every week I will select the best "Lunch with Larry" fan question, with the winner receiving a Connie's Pizza gift card. The question of the week can be found at the bottom of this article.

Selected by the Steelers in the sixth round of the 1994 draft out of Michigan State, Miller appeared in five games with one start with Pittsburgh in 1995-96. He didn't play in another NFL regular-season game until 1999, though he signed with the Bears late in the 1998 season after Erik Kramer was injured.

Miller admitted to being "a little out of shape" when he signed with the Bears after spending his days in Michigan working for a plumbing company and his nights playing on a beer league softball team.

One highlight of Miller's career came in 1999 when he passed for 422 and 357 yards in back-to-back games against the Vikings and Chargers. In the latter game, he opposed quarterback Jim Harbaugh in San Diego.

Miller quarterbacked the Bears during their magical 2001 season. Although outside expectations weren't very high for that team, Miller saw something special in training camp and accurately predicted the Bears would go 13-3.

Miller started the Bears' playoff game against the Eagles but was knocked out of the game with a shoulder injury that eventually required six surgeries. He's convinced that the Bears would have reached the Super Bowl had he not been hurt.

Miller left the Bears following the 2002 season. In 2004, he served as the Patriots' third-string quarterback, watching in awe as coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady led New England to a Super Bowl championship. Miller recalls that Brady was uber focused on preparation and all he thought about was football.

Here's this week's "Lunch with Larry Fan question of the week, submitted by Tino M., who asks: What is the biggest difference between the nfl now compared to when you played?

Jim's answer: They've changed a lot of rules since I've played and the game's a lot more wide open. All the rules are geared towards scoring and excitement and all those type of things."

I'd like to thank Jim for joining me. I enjoyed covering him when he played for the Bears and feel fortunate to remain friends with him years later!