Kiran Amegadjie Getting Reacquainted to Ryan Poles with First Team Reps

Summary

Forward Progress: Kiran Amegadjie Getting Reacquainted to Ryan Poles with First Team Reps

Podcast: Forward Progress – A Chicago Bears Podcast

Hosts: Dan Bernstein & Matt Abbatacola

Date: July 31, 2026

Episode Summary by [Your Summarizer]

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Episode Overview

This episode zeroes in on Chicago Bears training camp developments—most notably the rotation and competition at left tackle, with rookie Kiran Amegadjie apparently back in the mix for first-team reps, and how those decisions fit into the broader context set by GM Ryan Poles and the coaching staff. Dan and Matt analyze early camp impressions, roster competitions, and how off-season changes are manifesting on the field. The hosts also riff on NFL media narratives, social media clickbait, and take a fun detour into NFL training camp "rise" stories before closing with lighter fare about player/team personality and training camp dynamics.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Bears Training Camp – Offensive Line Battle

Timestamp: 01:25–06:29

• First-Team Reps Shuffling at Left Tackle

  • Kiran Amegadjie seeing majority first-team reps, with incumbents Braxton Jones and Jedrick Wills rotating behind him ([02:14]).
    • Matt: "Amagaje took a majority of the first team reps with Jones and Wills rotating behind him." (02:51)
  • Dan jokes about the front office "forgetting" Amegadjie in previous discussions, possibly giving him a "last gasp, last chance." (02:51–03:05)
    • "We were making fun of the fact that Ryan Poles forgot to mention Kiran Amegadjie ... maybe, okay. Here you go. Let’s see what you got." (02:51)

• Early Impressions – No Pads Yet

  • Movement and agility look good for Amegadjie and Wills, but full-contact assessments will begin when pads come on [03:19].
    • Dan: "Can they hold their ground? Again, they're not in pads." (03:19)
    • Matt: "It's set up that way. But if you have multiple guys showing well early, that's great ... It could be very different with pads on." (03:23)

• Roster Construction and Positional Versatility

  • Coaches prioritize O-linemen who can play multiple spots; swing tackle prospects and backup center value discussed.
    • Dan: "Is there anybody in that group ... your most talented offensive linemen who then could swing to a guard position." (04:06)

• Other Notable OL Developments

  • Theo Benedict worked at right tackle—potential swing tackle in the making [05:14].
    • "Theo Benedict playing some right tackle ... If you can move him over and then you start to build a little line of strength on the left side." (05:14)
  • Garrett Bradbury credited by media for unexpectedly good movement, but hosts dismiss early movement grades without pads ([06:00]).

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2. Tempo and Offense Efficiency Under Ben Johnson

Timestamp: 06:29–09:04

• Offense Picking Up Practice Tempo
  • Press Taylor remarks (via Adam Johns tweet): Play tempo and efficiency improving, running more reps in same periods as compared to last year ([06:43]–08:23).
    • Taylor: "If we had 15 plays in a 10 minute walkthrough, we were probably getting nine ... yesterday we got to 13" (07:36)
  • Dan likens it to "choreography" and emphasizes how preparation allows more creativity and play variation [08:32–09:04].

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3. National Media – The Caleb Williams/Jaguars "Disrespect" Story

Timestamp: 10:05–18:19

• Liam Cohen’s 'No Respect' Comments

  • Jaguars HC reportedly says NFL media focuses solely on Caleb Williams, ignoring the Jags; Dan and Matt note it's not a slight to Williams himself, but rather commentary on media focus ([10:06]–12:04).
    • "Having someone else's picture there is not tantamount to being told that you suck." — Dan (11:05)
    • "Caleb's the most popular quarterback in the league right now." — Dan (12:02)

• Media Spin and Algorithmic Clickbait

  • Hosts read headlines mischaracterizing the situation, criticize aggregation for twisting Cohen’s words into a "shot" at Williams ([13:38]–14:20).
    • "Now, I get it about Caleb Williams. That is the desire to put Caleb Williams in a headline for ... the algorithm, all that ... this is why algorithmic stuff sucks." — Dan (13:56)

• Ben Johnson’s Response & Regression Talk

  • Bears’ HC Ben Johnson’s level-headed answer cited as refreshing: "We're the number one regression candidate, so I think we've got plenty of motivation ourselves." (15:14)
    • Dan: “That’s a smart guy aiming higher, pointing out a statistical truth ... the Bears are very likely statistically to have fewer wins than last year, and that’s okay. But the fact that Ben Johnson can say that... I was going to applaud that.” (15:14–16:46)

• NFL's Cyclical Nature and Team Motivation

  • Bears’ need to prove themselves; the difficulty in sustaining success year-to-year; historic context given by Dan and Matt ([18:19]–19:10).

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4. NFL Preseason Risers – History and Heartfelt Examples

Timestamp: 19:10–32:44

• ESPN's List: "Preseason Risers"

  • The Bears’ Mark Anderson (rookie, 2006) highlighted for going from little-known rookie to 12-sack Super Bowl contributor ([19:46]–21:44).
    • “He was unknown as far as on ... draft pick boards. ... 12 sacks. ... Franchise record by a rookie." — Matt (20:27)
  • Jack Sanborn and Nishan Wright as contemporary Bears examples (21:44–22:12).

• Other Team Examples

  • Discussion of various teams’ best-ever camp success stories:
    • Wayne Chrebet, Malcolm Butler, Antonio Gates ("after playing basketball at Kent State...pursued football” (30:08)), Victor Cruz, Arian Foster, Mick Tingelhoff, Marquez Colston, Doug Baldwin, etc.
  • Playful critique of the subjectivity in defining a "riser" — does a second-round pick like Lavonte David really count? (32:12–32:23)

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5. Camp Culture, Social Media & Player Personalities

Timestamp: 32:44–41:09

• Fun Around the League

  • Cardinals rookies doing local weather spots for a Phoenix news station; light-hearted behind-the-scenes stuff the hosts hope to see more of ([33:58]–35:53).

• Bears Social Media Team Praised

  • Behind-the-scenes glimpses—players arriving at practice, interacting with camera crews (e.g., Rome Odunze’s Bob Ross impression; the viral Caleb Williams field-level pass to Colston Loveland) [35:57–37:59].
    • Dan: “If you don’t come close to a football boner from that ... your heart’s not beating properly.” (36:54–36:59)
  • Noting rookie Dylan Thienaman’s workmanlike, no-fuss approach: “Didn’t react to the camera ... that dude is all about playing football.” — Matt (38:34–38:47)

• Old-School Training Camp vs. Modern Style

  • Dan and Matt reminisce on the difference between old-style, grueling, away-camp approaches and today’s home-based camps. Ben Johnson’s personality and approach to camp are analyzed, with jokes about coaches enjoying all-control environments ([39:50]–41:19).

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6. Notable Quotes

• “Good is better than bad.” — Dan Bernstein [04:59]
• “That’s being dumb on purpose. Don't do that.” — Dan Bernstein on media twisting Cohen/Williams story [12:04]
• "We're the number one regression candidate, so I think we've got plenty of motivation ourselves." — Ben Johnson, recounted by Dan [15:14]
• “He just walked. Didn't react to the camera. ... That dude is all about playing football.” — Matt on Dylan Thienaman [38:34]
• “If you don’t come close to a football boner from that ... your heart’s not beating properly.” — Dan on the viral Williams-Loveland throw [36:54]

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Additional Memorable Moments

• Brief detour into the podcast hosts’ experiences at memorabilia and trading card shows; musings on sports fan culture.
• Light banter about possible actors to play coaches in fictional movies (Billy Bob Thornton for Todd Monken) ([43:10]).

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Key Timestamps

| Segment | Timestamp | |---------|-----------| | Bears OL training camp battles | 01:25–06:29 | | Practice tempo, offense efficiency | 06:29–09:04 | | Jaguars/Cohen media firestorm & Ben Johnson on regression | 10:05–18:19 | | NFL's best preseason risers (ESPN list) | 19:10–32:44 | | Social media, team culture, player personality | 32:44–41:09 |

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Closing Summary

Dan and Matt deliver stats, sharp observations, and jokes in equal measure, breaking down the Bears’ most relevant camp storylines: OL competition, coaching culture, offensive learning curves, and the swirl of modern NFL media. They urge listeners not to buy into clickbait outrage and instead track real football progress—especially as pads come on and the "pajama games" give way to hard-hitting practices.

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This summary omits ads, introductory/outro segments, and focuses solely on the football talk and Bears/NFL analysis the hosts delivered.

Transcript

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[Dan Bernstein]

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[Dan Bernstein]

I mean, if you're a Bears fan, you're thinking Forward progress.

[Matt Abeticola]

Come on. Forward Progress a Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt abetic cola on 312Sports.

[Dan Bernstein]

Forward progress on 31 2Sports is brought to you by Giordano's Back to school means back to busy between practices, homework and everything in between. Give yourself a break with Giordano's. Treat the kids and yourself to a Chicago Style Pizza. Everyone can agree on. Make tonight at giordano's night@giordano's.com or visit your local Giordano's restaurant. Today Giordano's the one for Chicago style Pizza. And as we speak, the Bears are on the field in front of fans at Hallis hall, not yet in pads. That's going to be Monday, the first padded practice. But there are some notable decisions that have been made as far as who's running with whom and where do you want to start on that?

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, what I saw yesterday from Bears training camp, some interesting names that got first team reps, including new tight end Sam Roush, Xavion Thomas, the wide receiver getting some first first team reps. And then yesterday in practice, Jedrick Wills replaced Braxton Jones on the final play with the first team and then he continued on with second team reps. But today as we're reading, Amagaje took a majority of the first team reps with Jones and Wills rotating behind him.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, this might be last gasp, last chance. We were making fun of the fact that Ryan pulls Up forgot to mention Karan, I'm a God. J. When he. When he mentioned the battle at left tackle and maybe was like, okay, okay, all right. I remember you. Here you go. Let's see what you got.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, because some of the things that I've seen from reporters that were out there watching the commentary around Amagaje and Judg Wills moving much better, quicker, faster than anticipated or expected.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay. That's part of it. Can they hold their ground again? They're not in pads.

[Matt Abeticola]

No, they're not in pads. They're, you know. Yeah, they're in underwear. So, yeah, it'll. It'll make a difference when you get the pads on. But preliminary results here, that's good. Now, I. I know it's Braxton Jones's job to lose here in camp. It's set up that way. But if you have multiple guys showing well early, that's great. Now, again, it could be very different with pads on. Very different pads on and guys hitting and going a little, little faster with the. With their full equipment on, it could look different. But early on, that's a positive sign to hear multiple guys being able to perform and look good, at least in workout clothes.

[Dan Bernstein]

No question. The next thing you look at as far as roster spots is who's multiple. Is there anybody in that group? You like to think that the guys you keep at tackle are your most talented offensive linemen who then could swing to a guard position. And obviously, you have to keep an interior offensive lineman who also can play center in an emergency. So that all comes down to some of the final numbers right here. But if I'm Dan Roshar and Ben Johnson, this is the time, man. But give. Give people chances. Let's see if they know every assignment and everybody is moving in lockstep the way they're supposed to, to slide some of these protections where they have to. There's. That. We can't make too much of anything that happens in the. In the pajama games, but no, I mean, we're not. Good is better than bad.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. Good is better than bad. And we're certainly not talking about, you know, it's not. We're not getting, you know, ahead of our skis here with contract extensions or things beyond that. But it's a positive thing. It's a positive thing.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes.

[Matt Abeticola]

Let's see how it develops when they get pads on. Another interesting area on the offensive line was Theo Benedict playing some right tackle as well to see if they could develop him as a. As a swing tackle? Possibly. If you can move him over and then you start to build a little line of strength on the left side of things. It's always a positive thing for, for the offense. One other comment I read, I can't remember who, who put it down, but talking about Garrett Bradbury, remarking that he moved a lot quicker and smoother than anticipated. Now I don't know if that was just this one reporter who wrote that down, but I, I didn't have like lower expectations for him. But for them to point out that he's moving faster than expected, again, that could have just been that individual.

[Dan Bernstein]

Expected by whom?

[Matt Abeticola]

That's what I'm saying.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't really have an expectation for the movement of Garrett Bradbury at this point.

[Matt Abeticola]

Right. I'll find who wrote it down. It could have just been their singular individual expectation. Because I was going to ask you, I don't recall a, you know, scouting report on Bradbury as being slow or heavy footed at all. But, but to have that, that just kind of stood out in something that, that one of the reporters wrote.

[Commercial Voice 1]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

I bet movement without pads is pretty meaningless Anyway.

[Matt Abeticola]

You're again 100 correct on that. Another area that I wanted to mention is this was a tweet from Adam Johns and he actually had some comments from Press Taylor.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, okay. Well, you notice it. We, we talked about that. Press Taylor yesterday said the things that we've been saying about Ben Johnson and he actually put it out there. It's like we. Because of. We expect to win.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yes. Because Ben's out there. Yep. And this is what press Taylor had to say. He says, I think kind of like we were just talking about, you've seen growth every day. And this is from yesterday. And it comes out we were able to do a little bit more in the off season. Just the way we operated the tempo we're at, we operated with. If we had 15 plays in a 10 minute walkthrough, we were probably getting nine plays by the time we had to repeat everything. Now, I think yesterday. So this is today's Friday. Thursday. This is Wednesday he's talking about. Now, I think yesterday we got to 13. We didn't quite get the 15 yet we got the 13. We're able to move a little bit quicker. And that's not just necessarily on Caleb, but that's everybody in the offense. The way we operate, the way we communicate, the urgency we've had. And that's a big thing in this building. You feel urgency every single day. So him talking about the progression of the offense as a whole, not just Caleb. So you have a 15 play diagram and a 10, 10 minute window and last year they're getting to eight, nine plays. Wednesday they got to 13 plays out of the 15. Not the 15 they want but certainly

[Dan Bernstein]

showing growth and progression without happening, having to have to run it again which

[Matt Abeticola]

is what we talked about yesterday in Caleb's growth. And now this is the whole offense in being able to see pre snap quicker, get calls in quicker, the terminology is understood better where he's not taking time to get the plays out.

[Dan Bernstein]

They were trying to break the huddle last year.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

They, they had a way. They wanted the huddle broken like this was they're teaching a dance. That's what this is.

[Matt Abeticola]

He stopped practice last year.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes. Multiple times.

[Matt Abeticola]

And he took, he took the first team offense out.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes. They're, they're, they're, it's, there's dance instruction going. It's choreography is what it is. It's big violent choreography and it's really complicated. So to be already that far ahead in the in practice time efficiency should be a good sign. It should mean they can do more or maybe do more fancy stuff. Maybe they've got time for more tricks and things and fun.

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so

[Matt Abeticola]

there was something I thought was really interesting too that came up and I'm curious to know your take on this. And this is what happened with Jaguars head coach Liam Cohen and he was, I think doing a radio interview with a local station on there. And this is, this is what he said. You don't have to make up the fire. You don't have to make it up. It's given to us every day. It's a gift from the heavens. I just go pull out my phone, look up the NFL Network website, and just pop it up here. And I'm curious if I see any photos or anything about the Jacksonville Jaguars. I think I'll just scroll right on through. Hang on. Sorry.

[Dan Bernstein]

This is your White Sox fan?

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. So he continues on. He says, I think I'll see 40 pictures of Caleb Williams and I won't see a single thing about any players on here. So it's beautiful. I'm gonna tell these guys how much you think they all suck and we'll keep going.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, hold on. Having someone else's picture there is not tantamount to being told that you suck.

[Matt Abeticola]

Okay, here's. Here's where I took this. And I think people have taken this as, oh, he's taking shots at Caleb Williams and. No, he's not taking a shot at Caleb Williams. He's talking about the lack of spotlight or attention to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

[Commercial Voice 2]

Yeah, he's.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's not a shot at Caleb Williams at all.

[Matt Abeticola]

This is the.

[Dan Bernstein]

Caleb Williams is famous and popular.

[Matt Abeticola]

They were. They were a playoff team last year and they're not on the radar in the big picture of things in the NFL world. Okay, so he's going to use that as motivation. I look up NFL dot com. Guys, there's nothing here about us ever. But here, you know, but that's a Caleb Williams, though.

[Dan Bernstein]

Not at all.

[Matt Abeticola]

No, it's. It's very. It's very lame, but people have twisted it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, silly.

[Matt Abeticola]

He's taking a shot at Caleb.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, he's not. That's.

[Matt Abeticola]

Caleb's the most popular quarterback in the league right now.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's. That's being dumb on purpose. That is just being dumb on purpose. Don't do that.

[Matt Abeticola]

Okay, so you didn't see any of that?

[Dan Bernstein]

No, that's not fair.

[Matt Abeticola]

I've seen it in multiple. Multiple places.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's not a shot at Caleb Williams.

[Commercial Voice 3]

That's.

[Dan Bernstein]

I see Caleb Williams. You know what you see? He knows why. You see Caleb Williams there? He's popular. He's on the COVID of Madden.

[Matt Abeticola]

He's the most popular player in the game right now.

[Dan Bernstein]

He's the IT guy in the league. And he's nice and smart and handsome and funny. What? Don't you. What's not to like about him? Like, come on. No, that's not a shot.

[Commercial Voice 1]

That's.

[Dan Bernstein]

Come on. We got to grow past that. If you're a Bears fan looking for reasons to think you're being slighted. Take all of that and direct that at your own ownership. Don't waste time with silliness like thinking Liam Cohen is worried about somehow taking shot. Stop. That's.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, I think, I think his motivation of what's not on, like NFL.com for example, as he pointed out, that's weak. Like, he can do better if he's, if he's, you know, he's a good coach. Do better than that with your team.

[Dan Bernstein]

That socks and stuff. That's like, I'm measuring the column inches and the Cubs get written about more often than the white. White. Like that. You know, that's stuff. Come on.

[Matt Abeticola]

But I told you, I, I get, I get you know where he's coming from on it. But, like, you could. You can do better than that. And if you think you're being disrespected because the NFL.com or whatever other website isn't mentioning your team enough like you were zero sum. Right.

[Dan Bernstein]

You can. They can put up pictures of whoever they want. It's a website. They got pictures of everything. So they can put pictures anywhere.

[Commercial Voice 1]

Come on.

[Matt Abeticola]

So here. These are just three. These are just three headlines that I'll read to you. Ben Johnson responds to Liam Cohen's comments on Bears Caleb Williams. Jaguars coach takes subtle shot at Caleb Williams. Bears head coach Ben Johnson reacts to Liam Cohen's viral quote about Caleb Williams.

[Dan Bernstein]

Now, I get it about Caleb Williams. That is the desire to put Caleb Williams in a headline for, for clicks and page views and the algorithm, all, all that. This is why algorithmic stuff sucks. Because it's. This is bad faith. And I hate it. And I get it. And I hate the fact. Look, we're not immune to it either.

[Matt Abeticola]

No, we're not.

[Dan Bernstein]

We're not.

[Commercial Voice 2]

We.

[Dan Bernstein]

We've. We. We have Diana Rossini say, Diana put Diana Rossini on something and. And everybody gets paid, like. But it, it sucks to have to do that, but it's unfair to the people involved. That is not a shot at Caleb Williams. It's not. And I know that some of these things come with being famous and popular, that you are used to other people's advantages and you become a pinata. Hell. This is what Caitlin Clark on the wnba and they're dealing with all this too. But this is an unfortunate aspect of the algorithmization of, of news and aggregation because that is not a shot at Caleb Williams.

[Matt Abeticola]

It's not. But what did come out of it, though, was a response and a comment from Ben Johnson, which I know you Wanted to get to.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes, on its own. I saw the comment. Without that context.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yes. And that was the context of it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, on its own. I told you, and you can vouch for this, that I told you, I said this is a great comment. And the comment from Ben Johnson in response was, we're the number one regression candidate, so I think we've got plenty of motivation ourselves. Now that is the opposite of one of these stupid coaching acronyms that these middlebrow chuds use for their, their high school level shit. That is a smart guy aiming higher, pointing out a statistical truth that yes, based on a lot of interpretation of last year and a lot of what happens in the NFL, the possibilities and probabilities of churn in this league that the Bears are very likely statistically to have fewer wins than they had last year, that's okay. But the fact that Ben Johnson can say that and say, hey, we got plenty of motivation ourselves. We're the number one regression candidate. That, that's a computer science major. Understanding that. And he's able to share that with the players in a way that isn't reductive and, and aiming low. And I was going to applaud that, but I hope he wasn't forced to somehow defend the virtue of the poor put upon damsel that is Caleb Williams under fire from the, the, the knave that is Liam Cohen. Come on.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, let me, let me, I'll pull it up and see. So Ben Johnson responds, blah, blah, blah, don't have to make up the fire. Williams had the perfect reaction, choosing to share the post on his socials and use it as even more motivation. Again, it's not a criticism, Caleb. You're misreading that as well. Yeah. And then attaching the story, it just, they, they go right into Ben's quote. So he, and he says, well, comma, we're the number one regression candidate. So I, I don't know if he was asked about what Liam Cohen said.

[Dan Bernstein]

We got motivation too.

[Matt Abeticola]

Right. And then, and then his, his response was, well, we're the number one regression candidate, so we have enough motivation ourselves.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, good. But that, but the fact that that was his sort of touched nerve response. That, that, that's where his mind is. We're the number. And he's right.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

And it's, and it's okay.

[Matt Abeticola]

It is okay because it's true. And yes. Like don't, don't be afraid of it. Don't shy away from it because it makes perfect sense that this is how the NFL works. Yeah, that sucks. And becomes great. And then that great team sucks again.

[Dan Bernstein]

And he's. Because it's. That's how the league's designed. He's not, he's not angry with that fact, but he's aware of it and he should be. And if that gives you motivation, okay, if to say we have. We want to prove history wrong or prove probability wrong, he's. He's not proving haters or critics or anything wrong with that kind of motivation.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, it also, it just goes back to the way he ended last season. We didn't do anything. We were one of the 31 teams. Remember what he said? We one of the 31 teams that failed.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. That ended with a loss.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yes, that failed is what he said. And he knows how it works. That every year there are teams that suck, and then the next year they win their division or they compete for the division or they, they make the playoffs.

[Dan Bernstein]

Sustaining that is the hardest thing.

[Matt Abeticola]

Right. He does not want to be that one and done team.

[Dan Bernstein]

Sustaining that is the. Is what separates any number of Bears teams. Any number of them, whether it's a Dick Jaron team or a Matt Nagy team or any other that can spin the NFL wheel and have a decent season, that. That's different than being really good. And he wants to be the latter.

[Matt Abeticola]

ESPN put out a really neat little article. I got more intrigued as I started reading it. Outside of the headline, every NFL team's best training camp preseason riser ever. Ooh, yes, right.

[Dan Bernstein]

Preseason preseason riser.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

I gotta say, you know, Nishan Wright

[Matt Abeticola]

is on that list every NFL teams. I know he's a preseason riser ever.

[Dan Bernstein]

I know he's recent, but that's a very good name.

[Matt Abeticola]

That's a very good name to pull. But here's, here's what they have for the Chicago Bears. And this is written by Courtney Cronin, Chicago Bears preseason training camp riser. Mark Anderson, Rookie In 06.06, Anderson went from an unknown rookie during training camp to leading the Bears in sacks in their last trip to the Super Bowl.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, was he. I think they drafted him though, right?

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, it says unknown rookie.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, let me just see here. Yeah, he was a fifth round. He was their fifth round pick.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yes, their fifth round pick.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay. He was. He was. So he wasn't unknown. They picked him.

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, no, I mean, he was unknown as far as on.

[Dan Bernstein]

I get it.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. Like draft pick boards. I get it. He comes out of Alabama. Very, very little production in Alabama from what they saw in his college career. And again, a fifth. A fifth Round pick tells you enough yet. He was still drafted, but he was

[Dan Bernstein]

going to make the team anyway. Like that's, that's the difference is that I don't think Nishan Wright would have made the team. Like he was just in there as fodder. He was a late AD on like a million dollar contract.

[Matt Abeticola]

But he also had NFL experience though. It's not like he's, I mean, he, he played games before.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay. All right.

[Matt Abeticola]

So this is an undrafted, an unknown rookie coming out of the fifth round of Alabama with very little production to show what he would do.

[Dan Bernstein]

And he had 12 sacks, so.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. So last trip to the super bowl, his lack of production in Alabama caused him to fall the fifth round. He was then brought into a defense headline by linebacker Brian Erlacher. Alex Brown, Tommy Harris, he carved out a role for himself as a situational pass rusher in road to becoming one of the draft's biggest steals.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, let's, let's not forget Wally Gunlia on, On the Edge there. That was.

[Matt Abeticola]

No, let's not. But the 12 sacks he, he collected in 2006 remain a franchise record by the rookie. So it's just.

[Dan Bernstein]

Rookie record.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

Great. That's a great name. Probably would have taken me a while to get to that one.

[Matt Abeticola]

No, I didn't think you would. I, I wouldn't have remembered Mark Anderson.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, I'm just trying to think of, of guys because we will give out and have given out. I don't know if I'm allowed to give them out anywhere. Didn't we talk about this last year, the Ken Mastroly thing? I, I don't think I own the intellectual property, even though I made it up. So the. There's always Jack Sanborn could be one of those guys.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

You know, Jack Sanborn has made a nice little NFL career back with the Bears. Now undrafted out of Wisconsin, who has made himself a solid NFL backup. Did so with the Bears under Matty Berfluse.

[Matt Abeticola]

Are there, Let me see, any other, any other teams you want to hear?

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, yeah. Any other, any other names that are interesting to you? I absolutely do. If there's something that raises your proverbial eyebrows.

[Matt Abeticola]

All right, here, I'll just run through the teams for you real quick. Buffalo Bills, Tyrod Taylor, Miami Dolphins, Zach Thomas, New England Patriots, Malcolm Butler.

[Dan Bernstein]

Wait, okay. What? I just, I would need to get the, the rubric for this about somebody who. Okay, keep going.

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, I can tell you I can read any one of them. And again, these, these are the ESPN reporters that Cover these teams.

[Commercial Voice 2]

I get.

[Dan Bernstein]

I know how they do their stuff. Yeah, they farm it out to the be. But. But how do they define it?

[Matt Abeticola]

So here, I'll give it to you. Which NFL players best use training camps in the preseason to catapult their career?

[Commercial Voice 1]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

There's a lot of leeway in that.

[Matt Abeticola]

There is.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay. Because you could be a first round pick, but also use what you showed in training camp to, I don't know, maybe get another opportunity at a different position or a different responsibility. There's a lot of leeway in there.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. But I, I would think, though, if. If you're a first round pick, you're expected to do something. Training camp, right or wrong, I guess.

[Dan Bernstein]

Unless, you know, you're good enough to take a bunch of veterans days and it doesn't matter, I guess.

[Matt Abeticola]

All right, so Tyrod Taylor, Zach Thomas, Malcolm Butler, Wayne Crabette from the Jets.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's a. There you go.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, did you see that? The picture of that business that. One of our listeners sent us an email outside of Rate Field. It's called Sticks and Bricks or Bricks and Sticks.

[Dan Bernstein]

I know the owner.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, you do? Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, the. That's. That's owned by Mario Scalise.

[Matt Abeticola]

No, it's owned by.

[Dan Bernstein]

Great guy. Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Commercial Voice 1]

The.

[Dan Bernstein]

The. Our what? We have Brick and Stick. I hadn't thought of that too. Yes, no, but Sticks and Bricks. A really good pizza. Wood fired pizza. The owner, Mario is a terrific guy, and his son Joey and Jason played hockey together.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, nice.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. If you're going to, if you're going to a Sox game, great, great place to stop for. For a little bit of beer and pizza or whatever your food of choice is before or after a White Sox game.

[Matt Abeticola]

When we were at the convention yesterday, the memorabilia card thing, there's a Slice pizzeria right outside of Donald Stevens. And a lot of these vendors, I saw them walking in with box, you know, because they go get food, they bring it back. So they're all sitting around selling their memorabilia, eating, Eating sliced pizza. It was one after another. Coming in with, you know, six, eight, nine, ten pies. Geez. Well, you know, you're sitting there selling car, man. It was interesting, buddy. I gotta tell you, it was something. Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

This is worth like its own podcast, I think.

[Progressive Commercial Announcer]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Your experience at Donald D. Stevens Convention center, the international collectible show.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yes, it was, it was something, man. That, that, that entrance, walking into the Donnelly Stevens where they're. They smoke right outside the doors and not just cigarettes. There was a lot happening as I got all four boys with me, I'm like, let's keep it moving. Keep it moving here, boys.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, that's. That smells. That smells everywhere.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, it was.

[Dan Bernstein]

Try. Try walking the lakefront during Lollapalooza.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, well, that's. Yeah, that's expected, but like an area where, I mean, you're expecting a lot of younger people. Kids tonight, man. I know. It is.

[Dan Bernstein]

Stop. Being a narcissist is really strong.

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, no, there's no narcing if it's legal.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, but you're on someone you got a problem with. Look, if you're going to be an adult autograph seeker, and that's your life, and you're just human vermin.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. I would think cigarettes are your thing.

[Dan Bernstein]

Not the least we can give those people is. Is an escape from their miserable existence.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, I figure like, you know, you know, a pack of reds and a big jug of Mountain Dew. That's what I'm expecting.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, you're coming into Chicago. As soon as you land at o', Hare, you go somewhere and you, you. You get yourself a little indica hybrid and you take a. Take a fiver and you're a 10. And you walk around and get autographs.

[Matt Abeticola]

Baltimore Ravens. Will Demps, Bengals. Damian Willis, Cleveland Browns. Joshua Cribs.

[Dan Bernstein]

Josh Cribs. Yeah.

[Matt Abeticola]

Steelers. Donnie Shell.

[Dan Bernstein]

They're going all the way back to Donnie Shell. Who's that?

[Matt Abeticola]

Beat writer, Brooks Prior.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't know.

[Matt Abeticola]

Brooks Prior. Rich tradition of unknowns morphing into standouts through off season workouts. Had no one as a better example than Ronnie. Donnie Shell, undrafted free agent from South Carolina.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, but he played okay. Whatever. Started in 74.

[Commercial Voice 2]

Yeah.

[Matt Abeticola]

Did he end up in the hall of Fame?

[Dan Bernstein]

No. He did.

[Matt Abeticola]

Did he really?

[Commercial Voice 3]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

He is in the hall of Fame and the College hall of fame. Three time first team all pro, second team all pro, five time pro bowler. On the Steelers all time team. Four time Super bowl champion. 51 interceptions, 19 fumble recoveries, four defensive touchdowns.

[Matt Abeticola]

See, look, here's another. Here's another good name for the Houston Texans. Arian Foster.

[Dan Bernstein]

Perfect.

[Matt Abeticola]

Undrafted his rookie season. Lands on a practice squad to start the season, but eventually becomes the most productive back for the team, Dominic Rhodes. For the Colts, Alan Hearns from Jacksonville.

[Dan Bernstein]

Alan Hearns. Yes, sir.

[Matt Abeticola]

Mark Mariani from Tennessee. All right now. Okay, let's see here. Let's see what they say. This is about Terrell Davis. The Broncos have decorated history of players who've launched successful careers with good camps, including Carl Mecklenburg, Rod smith, Chris Harris Jr. Shannon Sharp. But the guy who likely made the most of his August was sixth round draft pick in 1995.

[Progressive Commercial Announcer]

Okay.

[Matt Abeticola]

I didn't realize he was that low of a pick. And then Mike Shanahan, blah, blah, blah. Oh, okay. Yeah, this is a good one because I, I didn't realize that he, he was a six round pick.

[Dan Bernstein]

I thought he was higher.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

And it was the, the reputations for Alex Gibbs and Shanahan, this idea of being able to create like a 1500 yard back, it kept happening because they had Davis who was followed by Orlandis Gary and then I think Mike Anderson might have had the, you know, another, I think he was over 1500 yards in the season. And that's when they got this reputation is, you know, just get a guy with two legs who can run with decent enough speed and, and it's, that system is going to get you the yards. And then they kind of started part of the argument of the, you know, current fungibility of running backs.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, he is rookie season, 1100 yards, finished as the league MVP. Super Bowl MVP.

[Commercial Voice 3]

Wow.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, that's a good one.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yep. Chiefs, Brian Waters, the Vegas Raiders, Max Crosby.

[Dan Bernstein]

I guess that's probably right.

[Matt Abeticola]

Fourth round pick in 09.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, we didn't see the camp. We don't know. We don't know what. I got to trust these guys because if we're not there during, you're not going to read about some. It's not going to be a national story until the guy's doing things in the NFL.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, here's a great one too. For the Chargers, one of the most famous training camp stories in league history. After playing basketball at Kent State for four seasons, decided to pursue football. And that's Antonio Gates. Brandon Aubrey from the Cowboys, the kicker Cruise of the Giants. He has a kicker, right?

[Dan Bernstein]

Brandon Aubrey.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's getting like kicked 70 yard field goals in his sleep.

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, that's pretty good. What can he do when he's awake?

[Dan Bernstein]

90 yard field goals. Oh, wow. Watch him.

[Matt Abeticola]

He's unbelievable. Victor Cruz, the Giants, Vince Papali of the Eagles.

[Dan Bernstein]

They made a movie about Vince Papali

[Matt Abeticola]

which I'm sure you've never seen, right? Hell no.

[Commercial Voice 2]

Yes.

[Matt Abeticola]

That's too dumb for you.

[Dan Bernstein]

Mark Wahlberg.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yes.

[Commercial Voice 1]

Yeah.

[Commercial Voice 3]

Okay.

[Matt Abeticola]

It's not good, but it's good. Joe Jacoby, the Commanders. We did. Mark Anderson.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yep.

[Matt Abeticola]

I'm on. Ross St. Brown for the Lions. Fourth round pick in 2021.

[Dan Bernstein]

Famously motivated by those drafted in front of him.

[Matt Abeticola]

And pictures of Caleb Williams. Yep. Break franchise records for the most receiving yards Most receptions in a season by a Lions rookie. J. Ron Elliott from the packers, undrafted out of Toledo 2014. I don't even remember.

[Dan Bernstein]

I remember Jamin Elliott from the Bears.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. A J, a Y, R, O, N E. J Ron Elliott received a five thousand dollar signing bonus as a rookie free agent. Five grand.

[Dan Bernstein]

Hey, man, better to poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

[Matt Abeticola]

Here's a great name for you from the Vikings. Mick Tinglehoff. Mick Tinglehoff.

[Dan Bernstein]

Under a drive. Yes.

[Matt Abeticola]

One of the great names.

[Dan Bernstein]

Here comes Mick Tinglehoff.

[Matt Abeticola]

Ryan Schrader, offensive tackle for the Falcons. Andrew Norwell, Panthers. Marquis Colston from the Saints. Do anything for you.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yes. He was a late pick. I want to say a sixth or seventh round pick. Marcus.

[Matt Abeticola]

Marcus Colston.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, is it tall?

[Dan Bernstein]

Wide receiver?

[Matt Abeticola]

Yes, yes, yes, yes. And then here's a second round pick. So Levante David.

[Dan Bernstein]

Come on. It's a second round pick.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. I mean, he should do something in camp. Dennis Gardeck from the Cardinals, linebacker and kicker Greg Zurline from the Rams. Jeff Garcia of the Niners. Doug Baldwin for Seattle.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, that was fun.

[Matt Abeticola]

And I thought the Mark Anderson. That's a really good. Well, because of course you have a very smart beat reporter putting it together.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, but she was like three years old when it happened.

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, yeah, I mean, she can still read though and learn things about the past.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes, that's true. I can read too. You know, backpacks are packed, schedules are filling up, and somehow everyone is hungry at the exact same time. Yes, it's back to school season. So amid all this, when you need an easy win, make it a Giordano's night. Treat the kids and yourself to the Chicago style pizza everyone loves. Whether you're celebrating the first day back or you're celebrating just surviving the first week. Dine in, pick up or order delivery. Visit giordano's.com or visit your local Giordano's restaurant.

[Commercial Voice 3]

Today I'm Kiana, and I leveled up my business with Shopify. Once I figured out that Shopify was a thing, I never turned back. I can create a site with my eyes closed. Shopify thinks ahead of us, you know, and it thinks about the customer more than anything. Every day I'm thinking about some other new business, but Shopify is doing it to me because it's so easy to use. It's like I can't stop. I'm addicted.

[Dan Bernstein]

Start your free [e-mail].

[Matt Abeticola]

all right, one last thing I have for you. I don't know if you've seen this online. If you haven't our listeners as well, too, go. You go find it online, social media. It's super easy. I'm sure. Arizona Cardinals rookies were brought into a Phoenix news station and were their own coach. No, they were. That's right. They still don't know who the coach is.

[Dan Bernstein]

They've never met Mike LaFleur. They're like, Whoa, I. I got to meet the coach. Yeah, you're on the team.

[Matt Abeticola]

You should, because Carson Beck also has access to the coach line of the story. Man, that's perfect. But they brought these Arizona Cardinals rookies in to this new station, Phoenix, to do the weather. And it's. It's really funny.

[Dan Bernstein]

Green screen did the whole thing.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. One guy was like, well, this. What's this green thing behind me? It was really funny. And all the rain coming through and the temperatures, and it's like, it starts out as 86. It'll be 100, you know, 108 today in Phoenix. And one guy's like, just stay indoors. You don't need to go out. If you have to go out, go out early. It was. It was just really fun.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, I see. Give it. I would have done the Letterman thing, you know, famous. You heard that story famously when Letter was like, wandering around some local news station, Indianapolis or wherever he was. I forget he was doing the weather and he would just make up and, and, and he got. He goes, they're telling me there's hail the size of canned hams, and it set off a panic. People are like, bringing their cows inside to their living rooms and stuff.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, God. Yeah. There was one. One weather report. I've seen this on social media a ton. Guys doing the weather report. I think it was in Arizona as well. And there's a temperature in some city that on the screen, it's listed at like 1100 degrees.

[Commercial Voice 3]

It's hot.

[Matt Abeticola]

And he mentions it and he's like, everyone's dead. Everyone's dead in this city. I don't even like, you know.

[Commercial Voice 1]

Really?

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, yeah. He. He played it really great in stride. It was fun.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's good. I also, while we're talking about some of these funny things that they do with players, shout out to the Bears social media team. They do a really good job of, you know, having the camera. Just little things like the players taking the field and the fact that the players are now. The relationship they've built up. There's clearly some trust where they're used to the people who are. Who are behind the cameras and behind the phones. However, they do it and they're there. There's buy in on behalf of a lot of these veterans and rookies are willing and able to be a part of the shtick. Like we saw with Roma Dunes A doing the Bob Ross thing.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

When you get a team that's willing to be a part of them, I don't have time for any of this crap. Right. They don't do it.

[Matt Abeticola]

Did you have, like, one specific thing to point out or did you like in general.

[Dan Bernstein]

You're saying in general. But the. Whoever got that camera angle of the Caleb Williams pass to Colston Loveland yesterday.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, God.

[Commercial Voice 3]

Like that.

[Matt Abeticola]

That angle.

[Dan Bernstein]

That is. If you don't come close to a football boner from that.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yes. You. Your.

[Dan Bernstein]

Your heart's not beating properly. You have to go to your doctor if that didn't give you a football boner because. Oh, man. Like, it's second. It's one thing to do the sidearm around a guy to get the first level. Watch that pass again.

[Matt Abeticola]

Because it's to the second level.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's to the second level.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's like you think it's going to the first guy. Ooh, how does he squeeze it in there? But somehow it's sidearm and the angle makes it look like he's throwing a slider and that the ball's coming around right into the hands of a covered Colston Loveland on the next level.

[Matt Abeticola]

Because I'm watching it the first time and I'm like, why are they showing this? Because he missed the guy. Oh, yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. Like, oh, it's an incomplete pass. But he got.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, yes. You're not the same thing. It was athletes.

[Commercial Voice 3]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'm like, why are they really cool?

[Matt Abeticola]

But he. Oh, he didn't miss.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. Oh.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, that's who he was throwing to.

[Progressive Commercial Announcer]

I'm not.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'm not reading anything into it. I'm not. I'm not talking about the meaning of it, but just. It was awesome at that angle. Like the NFL films kind of field level feeling to it. Some of us are. Are hardwired to follow the spike rolling ball and. Ooh.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yes. More of that.

[Dan Bernstein]

More of that, please.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, I didn't know if you're going to. Because you did mention, you know, one of the examples showing guys walking to the practice field. So they. You saw that one. And every player reacted positively. Some, like, danced and they all smiled at the camera. Except for one. I don't know if you saw this guy.

[Dan Bernstein]

No.

[Matt Abeticola]

Dylan Thienaman.

[Dan Bernstein]

What's.

[Matt Abeticola]

He just walked. I walked Off. Didn't. Didn't react to the camera. He meant that dude is all about playing football. Yes, all about playing football.

[Dan Bernstein]

Football.

[Matt Abeticola]

Not even a look at the camera where, you know, a couple guys did some side steps. They, you know, had some fun with it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. One guy said happy birthday to his wife. I didn't see who that was, but,

[Matt Abeticola]

yeah, Thinnerman just back to the camera. Didn't even look back. Just walked right to the practice field, head down.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's great.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, it was really funny.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, this guy likes football.

[Dan Bernstein]

See, the thing is, though, it's all fun and games in July. What you want is. I want a bunch of surly bastards by the end of August. I went. When you. When this. When training camps over and you still see. I guess it's different when you're sleeping in your own bed at night and you're with your family. It's different than. Than the, the restlessness of old school, being away. Training camp, sleep away camp. The restlessness of the end. Like when you're just. And the coaches know it and the coaches kind of feel it building up. And then there's the. Everybody races to get home. It's got to be different now. That's okay. I just following the. The arc of the emotion of the players over camp is important.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. It's interesting you bring that up, because I was thinking this morning, reflecting back on what Ben Johnson said about the opportunities to get away for these. These combo practices and to not be at home and to be. Yeah. Bunked up. And I was just thinking about what he would feel like if they were doing like, the old, you know, Olivet Nazarene thing where they're. They're down there staying in rooms. I think he would like that. I. I think he would really. Because I don't know what they. What they did in Detroit, if they practice at their facilities and they were at home or not. But he seems to me. I don't know if you disagree or agree.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, I think all coaches like it.

[Matt Abeticola]

He seems, but he seems like a guy that would really get off on control and not being home and, and just being all about football, never having to leave the office and going back to that. I'm like, just sleeping in the office or like, okay, closest dorm room to the office, whatever it would be. Oh, yeah, I think he would love that.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. It's.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's.

[Matt Abeticola]

It's the practice.

[Dan Bernstein]

Practice field, cold tub, weight room, meal, sleep, football, repeat and maybe an occasional meal there. Yeah. Maybe they break it up with making the Rookies sing their college fight songs or something, but. Oh, coaches.

[Commercial Voice 2]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Because they're in charge.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. I don't know what his history is.

[Dan Bernstein]

You know what they get to be. A coach at training camp isn't really all that different from a cult leader.

[Matt Abeticola]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's what you get to be. You get to essentially be a comp. You're David Koresh or your Jim Jones and Guiana that you. You have your true believers on a compound where you are the most important person.

[Matt Abeticola]

All right, we're gonna start. We'll call him Ben Koresh during the screening camp period.

[Dan Bernstein]

You know, the feds are gonna come in and bulldoze you. Janet Reno is gonna come in and start throwing flashbangs at you.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, they're all dead. Listen. Yes. Yeah. They love it. I'm not sure what his history has been as an NFL coach as far as training camp, but I, I, He. I just. He strikes me as a guy that would totally love that opportunity just to

[Dan Bernstein]

be aware of coaches. These coaches want to drag him into the woods and hold him at gunpoint. Are you kidding?

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, except I think Todd Monken. I think Todd Monken wants to be in his own bed.

[Dan Bernstein]

Somebody asked me who would play Todd Monkin in the movie in which he falls in love with an AI Chatbot played by Scarlett Johansson. That was an email that came in, so I did. I did, like, a Todd Monken image search, and I cannot come up with the definitive casting choice. You're better at it than I am.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Just do. Look, it's really hard to fight it. It'd be some aging character actor. Yeah, somebody's probably been on from the 50. We gotta find who plays Todd Monken in the movie where he. He ends up romancing an AI Chatbot, and he gets his biggest distraction on the season, and he's trying to impress this chatbot that he ends up thinking is real. It was an emailer's idea.

[Matt Abeticola]

That's a good. All right, give me. Give me one second here. Let me just take a quick, quick peek at Todd Monkin. Who would play? Right.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's not William Forsyth, but it's like a. It's a. It's a. It's a William Forsyth type level of actor.

[Matt Abeticola]

Could we do, like, a. Oh, could. Could we do. Oh, I think this might be. This might be good today. A current. Like today's Billy Bob Thornton.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, that's. That's a lot of money.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, are we. We going cheap here?

[Dan Bernstein]

No, I know Billy Bob Thornton's kind of weathered enough.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. He's weathered enough and wrinkly skin, kind of saggy enough and. Yeah. And apparently enough with his hair. He can do that.

[Dan Bernstein]

And apparently taken a lot of commercial opportunities lately.

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, he's the. He's the new T Mobile guy, I think.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right.

[Commercial Voice 3]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

And. And more. And doing some voice work. I wonder what he just. Did he just buy something?

[Matt Abeticola]

No, he. No, no, no. He's a. He's a superstar again with that. That series. Landman, the title. The Taylor Sheridan Landman.

[Dan Bernstein]

I know, I know. I just. I always wonder when you start seeing somebody with a lot of commercial opportunities, it might mean like, they. They bought a couple of houses or they got divorced or something.

[Matt Abeticola]

No, that's a very, very fair thought to have. But. Yeah, I think he's not. That he's not. I've been a star, but he's back in the popularity, you know, the current realm of. Of series with. With Landman, so. Which is actually a really good show, by the way.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'm sure it is. Beth said she gave Little House on the Prairie a watch last night, and because she grew up with the original.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

And they watched it in there, and I'd never seen it. She said, I got to give it a try. And then she said, well, I kind of feel like I'm cheating on the original. And her overall take at the end of it was. Was, no, thank you.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, I've never seen. I don't. I don't want to see it. I want to keep that streak alive. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

I was just in, you know, within earshot, doing a crossword puzzle, and I think at one point, and I said, look, I said, what the fuck are you watching?

[Matt Abeticola]

I think that's the only proper response to your spouse watching a reboot of Little House on the Prairie.

[Dan Bernstein]

I didn't know what it was. I just heard they were like these. These child actors who were really bad, and I was trying to figure out what was going on, and.

[Matt Abeticola]

No, well, that's doing work for all

[Dan Bernstein]

of us by letting us know she was out. She's like, you know, I felt I had to because it was important to my childhood and.

[Matt Abeticola]

All right, well, just confirmed it for me. No need to watch.

[Dan Bernstein]

Still glad I've never seen it.

[Matt Abeticola]

All right, well, that'll do it for forward progress for another week. But we are in training camp. We are in real football time and

[Dan Bernstein]

in pads by the. When we reconvene on Monday, the bears will be smashing into each other on a practice field. And as I've mentioned on the other pods Today we got a special announcement coming. I think it's going to make you very very excited on Monday. So you don't want to miss 312 Sports on Monday. I think I'll probably mention it first on a Man with Sherman and tingle at 8:15. But but yeah, we got cool things coming. Also, this is your last day in July so go to the 312 Sports app that you've downloaded and use the promo code Summer to get in on the rewards page for dinner at Little Bob Ariba for dinner at wildfire for two a four pack of tickets Bristol Renaissance Fair AC DC tickets for September 4th at Notre Dame Stadium. The promo code Summer on any reward and then we're going to reload all that and also get your swag. Get all your 312 sports and DBU swag at the pro shop on the app. I got some cool new stuff I'm going to be rocking and if I see you wearing it, I'm going to come up and hug you. So you're you've been warned. There's that. We have been brought to you today by Giordano's Back to school means back to busy between practices, homework and everything in between. Give yourself a break with Giordano's. Treat the kids and yourself to Chicago Style Pizza. Everyone can agree on make tonight a giordano's night@giordano's.com or visit your local Giordano's restaurant today Giordano's the one for Chicago style pizza. Forward progress has stopped.

[Matt Abeticola]

4 progress Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abeticola on 312 Sports

[Dan Bernstein]

on the under three dollar menu at McDonald's. A McChicken is 150 because when you're craving a McChicken you deserve a McChicken. And now that McChicken is just 150

[Matt Abeticola]

with McValue limit time only. Prices and participation may vary. Prices may be higher for delivery.

[Commercial Voice 2]

What's the secret recipe to making money? Topics interesting that you start off by relating money to your everyday life. Like more vacations, more living, less worry about your next paycheck. And that's how we built the Stacky Benjamin show. The personal finance show that's full of good times, great laughs and big lessons. Whether you're paying off debt, building wealth or just trying to stop hemorrhaging money

[Dan Bernstein]

at the grocery store, we got you.

[Commercial Voice 2]

Find the Stacky Benjamin show wherever you get your podcasts.

[Matt Abeticola]

The greatest Money show on Earth now

[Dan Bernstein]

part of the Gamut Podcast Network.