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- [00:00]
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Ted 219, 219.
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Forward progress. A Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abeticola on 312 Sports.
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Never a doubt.
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Never a doubt ever.
- [00:21]
A
There was absolutely never a doubt in anyone's mind. In my mind, in Maddie's, in yours. I know for sure I that you were 100% certain that the Chicago Bears would win this battle of the Blob. That was this. This game tape is not going to be sent to Canton, but the Bears have evened their record heading into the bye week with a 2524 victory over the Raiders. And you know what? You get four takeaways, you better win the goddamn game.
- [00:55]
B
Yeah, you better. Despite what might have happened with your offense, you, you know, you get four takeaways. Geno Smith just wants to throw to Kevin Byard. I mean, I think, I think the Bears had maybe half the number of interceptions that the wide receivers had for, for Las Vegas. I mean, it was just really tough. But two teams entered the Blob. One team leaves victorious and luckily enter Blob.
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A
One team leave, but both still in Blob. But it's still in Blob.
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B
Yeah.
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A
And you know, less than the Blob. Give Caleb Williams credit because when the Bears got the ball down 24, 19 at their own 31, he manufactured a touchdown drive.
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B
He sure did that. It was an 11 play drive that went 60 some yards, took up over five minutes on the clock and they got the ball in the end zone. It's all you had to do. You have to, you know, and that's not the first time he's done this. He did it last year. He was able to manufacture some game when he drives or put the team in position to win games. And it worked out today. Las Vegas came back, had a chance at the end, and then you got a huge blocked field goal attempt from, from Blackwell to end the game 25, 24. So, you know, a win's a win. The Bears are 2 and 2. The Baltimore Ravens are 1 in 3 on the season. Who'd have guessed it, right?
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A
The Bears are better right now. The record says you are what your record says you are. And the records say the Bears are better than the Ravens.
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B
But you know, like you said earlier, this, you know, this tape is not going to Canton anytime soon. And it was a really ugly game. No, it was really interesting. Max Crosby was the massive difference in the first half of the game and he disappeared in the third quarter and then reappeared about midway through the fourth quarter of the game. So whatever Adjustments the Bears did.
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A
Oh, I know what they did.
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B
And I think. And Tropillo and moving Benedict over to the left made a huge difference. And he, he blocked Max Crosby. Not every time, and you're not going to block Max Crosby every time one on one, but he did a really good job. Tripillo did one on one against Max.
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A
Crosby and the broadcast did not pick.
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B
It up because Spiro Deeds had no idea what side he was playing on.
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A
And they were late. This change was made around the two minute warning of the first half. This, this was not a second half change. This was.
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B
Yeah, they didn't even say it until, Until.
- [03:12]
A
Right. They didn't do it until later. This change was made. I not. And noted the tackles were changed just around the. With two minutes left in the second quarter, I'm like, well, wait a second. That's. That's not right. And there's a 75 over there and a 79 over there. Well, the benching of Braxton Jones did make a difference in this game. There is absolutely no question. And going forward, I don't know what the Bears are going to do this year, but if this was Ozzy Trapillo saying, I'm going to be ready when you put me in the game, I'll be damned if that rookie didn't stand up and play like he wants that job and he wants to keep that right tackle job.
- [03:52]
B
Well, not just Tropilla, but I think both guys today showed up to play and I think they have really moving forward with a team that has difficulty running the football and pass protecting. And it wasn't great today, but it was better. But more importantly, they took a guy and they shut Max Crosby down again. You're not going to do it every single play. He's. He's too good of a player and he still impacted the game late late in the fourth quarter, but it made a significant difference in what he was doing because he owned the first half of that game.
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A
It's a big game for Ben Johnson, too, because of I'm sure what he told them at half and what he had to do at halftime. This move, moving both tackles on the road and say what you want about it not feeling like a road, it's still a road game regardless of the composition of the crowd. To move both tackles on the road and have your offense and particularly your run game improve well enough into the second half speaks very highly about the job that Ben Johnson did. And boy, you saw the red ass on him too at halftime.
- [04:56]
B
Yeah.
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A
When Adidi Kinkoballa Said you. You need to change what you're doing. He goes, I don't know. You think so?
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B
Yeah, it was so funny. It was so obvious, too. I'm watching the game, and we're all watching the game together. And Hank was like, is he mad?
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A
Yes. Yeah.
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B
Yeah, he's very mad.
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A
Yeah, coach, he's very mad. He's. He was. But. And we saw him try the. The fake flea flicker. Do you think that these. The Caleb Williams stumble was a. Was it a fake stumble?
- [05:31]
B
Yes, I kind of do. I don't know. I'm 50. 50 on it, Dan, because it looks.
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A
He almost put the ball down.
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B
He almost put the ball in the ground. It was really close to touching the ground.
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A
That's why I wasn't sure. That's the only thing that made me unsure was of. That had to be a hell of an acting job if that was an acting job.
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B
When it, when it happened in real time and I saw it, I was like, oh, shit, he almost put the ball in the ground. And then they, you know, the, The. The booth was like, oh, that's a. You know, that's what the. That's what Ben Johnson. That's what he did before with the Lions. And I'm like, I don't know if it's the same, but my brain only went there because they set it in the booth. But I thought in real time that it was a stumble and the ball almost hit the ground.
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A
And there's a couple people who are going to be real, real happy that the Bears pulled out this win, and one of them is 85, because Cole Comet was hot garbage in this game. That was one of the worst games I've seen him have overall as a Bear. He drops what could have been a touchdown pass. The false starts were potential killers. There were so many moments in this game where there could have been just anything circled. The number of times I circled, things that could have been devastating. The fact that fourth and one false start commit, then a late false start commit, the bad snap on third and five, minus 20 yards, putting him to fourth and 25. And there's man, Cairo Santos bailed them out. So, yeah, he had a hell of a game. Game ball for Cairo Santos, absolutely. And obviously for Kevin Byard. Tyreek Stevenson also played pretty well.
- [06:59]
B
And you know, Ashton Gentry can thank the Bears anytime he wants because they really let him shine the way that he was supposed to shine coming in the NFL. Had an unbelievable game. 130 yards rushing on 21 carries. And as a team, they rushed for 240 damn yards against the Bears, man.
- [07:18]
A
That I wish I had a grand conclusion to pull out of this thing. I still think the Bears are mid and there are winnable games left on this. And with every week that goes by, some of these games look more and more winnable.
- [07:35]
B
Yeah. No, absolutely. And as more injuries pile up for their opponents, these games will look more winnable. But there really are no grand proclamations to make about this team. This is a team that is right in the middle of the Blob, Dan. And they could, they could go anywhere from, from seven to nine wins. That, that's really, that's really where it sits. And that will be a huge positive from where this team was last year. Now, it still looks sloppy at times. There's still some throws that are wide open that Caleb Williams under throws or just flat out misses, which he shouldn't. But hey, it's going to happen and you have to get some good defensive plays. And we got really lucky with a lot of take with, with, with. With four takeaways today.
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A
You know, I'm not gonna let you get away with blithely saying it's gonna happen because I know what everyone says.
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B
I criticize him and I get on him. I hold to a higher standard. And everyone always says, oh no, you know, you can't expect to make every pass. Well, the wide open ones I do. The wide open ones I expect him to make.
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A
Okay, good. Because I know, I know you just said that as sort of a rhetorical crutch, but. Which is fine. But it can't just happen.
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B
He need, if he's going to happen.
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A
What he is, he needs to be more accurate. And there's so many of those mid range, some of those like 15 to 22 yard passes that are critical in the difference between being mid and being really good. And that's what you pay for is that kind of accuracy. The one that was a little too high for Roma Dunes A killed. So yes, some of the quick pressure release ones that are. That he ends up dirting instead of just getting to somebody. But it's. That's got to get better. But this is, man, this is one of those get out of there before they change the scoreboard on you kind of games. You know, get, get on that plane.
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B
Sure.
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A
Get home and celebrate this win while you can. And this will give the coaches all kinds of ways to kick their ass for, for a couple of weeks here. I don't know. Do you think the. In the past, usually coming off a win, a coach will give more time off to a team heading into the buy. I think with this team and this will be an interesting call on the part of Johnson to decide does he tell them you guys are in tomorrow and we are working a reasonable amount through the buy. I'm not giving you extra time off because we've said it before, there's maybe seven guys on this roster that are going to matter when the team is good. But right as far as sending a message saying you got the win, you're two and two. You strung a couple together here. But none of this was good enough to earn extra time off.
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B
Well, here, help me, help me remember. What, what's, what's standard protocol for going into a bi week. So they, they just finished their game today. They don't play again for, for two weeks. So they're off all, you know, next weekend obviously. What, what's, what's standard going into a buy.
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A
I don't remember specifically but I know there it is within the coaches purview to, for when they call them back to regular work. Do you, do you give them a full week with the exception of the guys who have to do treatment? I just think it's going to be interesting to hear what the call is and, and I don't, maybe somebody can help us in the comments about what because I remember, I think Eber Fluss coming off a win gave them the full time off.
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B
Gave them the full time off.
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A
Yes, I think he did.
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B
I, I, I hope Ben Johnson doesn't because this team A doesn't deserve it and B needs the time together. Like you can't give me all the bullshit about we're just getting to know each other. We're still coming together, it's only been four games. We're still learning each other and then be like, oh, take some time off.
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A
Because you, especially if you go ahead.
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B
And finish, as I say, especially because you, you beat a team that was very beatable at home. So you win a game on the road, that doesn't, that doesn't credit you any extra time off. Not in my book. Not, not for this team. Not right now.
- [11:27]
A
I would also think that if this is your new starting offensive line going forward, you can't just leave it here with a half a football.
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B
You can't say how is it possible that they played so well together when they haven't played together before? They don't, they don't have another yet.
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A
You can't have a new left tackle and a new right tackle and then say, okay, take a Vacation, go fishing for a week. I don't think you can do that. It's too important if maybe they found something here if it took them this long. And to their credit, Johnson said with, with all of the, the rhetoric that was spouted about the competition at left tackle involving Benedict Amagade and Braxton Jones, they did, as it went on, admit that this was going to be ongoing, it was going to be week to week, and hell, it was play to play. If in fact they stumbled on their tackles in this game, then that's a reason to circle this game, regardless of whatever that was we had to sit through.
- [12:27]
B
Yeah. So for me they have work tomorrow. They get for me a regular, regular off day Tuesday. I would like to see them work Wednesday, Thursday, give them Friday, Saturday, Sunday off and then switch your Monday and Tuesday so you have Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, you're back at it on Tuesday for your regular week. I'm cool with that. I would swap those days off, but you're in Wednesday, Thursday and you have a long weekend with Monday as well. One play I want to talk about, and it was in the first quarter, the Bayard interception. I want to say that Montez sweat impacted Geno Smith on that throw. Coming around the edge, he may have if he didn't touch his arm, he at least distracted him enough to hesitate on pulling the trigger. And then he threw that pass. Although Bayard sitting there in center field waiting for it. And the following drive, the bears go to third and 14. Ben Johnson takes his first time out. They come out of the timeout and remember it was that quick pass, it.
- [13:23]
A
Was batted down by Crosby, that it.
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B
Was the exact same play that Van Ginkel saw and read and knew in the Monday Night Football game. He ran right up the line, stuck his left hand out and then Max Crosby did the same exact thing and that was both of them coming out of timeouts.
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A
That is a great catch on your part.
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B
That.
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A
That was indeed the exact same one. Yep, the same one he jumped. Why don't, why don't we look at that one in the playbook where we do this this week of self scouting and, and maybe recognize that there's some giveaways there that maybe you're telling something.
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B
Yeah, because in my notes I wrote in capital letters and I circled it a thousand times, stop this play. Because Van Geekle knew it. And it was the first game of the season. Max Crosby knew it right now on the fourth game of the season and nearly had interceptions. Both guys same exact play.
- [14:11]
A
I believe this is the case. Please correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't Ben Johnson now have more Sunday road wins as a head coach than Matt Eberfluss did?
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B
I'm going to say yes without even confirming that.
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A
I think, I think I'm right on that.
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B
One of our commenters will tell us. I think, I think you're right.
- [14:32]
A
I think I'm right. I think Ben Johnson has surpassed Matt Eberfluz in Sunday road victories and to their credit again to win a sloppy ass game like this, to come out of there with everything that you were trying to do, all those. Every. Every speed bump that you were setting down in front of yourself to still get out of there with a win is. It's testament to something. To some level of resilience. I hate to credit a team for resilience from being when they're able to respond to their own self created headwinds.
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B
Right.
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A
But whatever it was. And credit to the quarterback for holding them together and marching them on that drive, that 69 yard drive starting at their own 31. That was a mixture of passes, runs, opportunistic scrambles. I don't know why they were in man defense turning their backs to the play on some of that stuff. But the other than the two point conversion that failed everything else was. It was grinding clockwork, nothing spectacular but they were able to get it done and that's. That is something on which you can build.
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B
Yeah. And I think Dan, you. I think in that regard you have to credit the coaching and you have to credit whatever kind of work and preparation they're putting into rip rip in into repetitive things that they can bring back out onto the field because you know it is very sloppy. Caleb didn't really look comfortable at all in the pocket. He was flush from the pocket more times than I expected against the Raiders rush because it wasn't existed really the first three games of the season and they really got to the Bears. But there's a play in the fourth quarter. It's after the Vegas takes a lead 24:19 and you have Cole Comet with a second false start so puts the team back and then you get a huge first down run from Caleb Williams to get a first down. At that point in the game the Bears had had 11 plays for negative yards to Las Vegas is four. And yet you still find a way to win the game. You have multiple opportunities in the red zone and you come out with either nothing because you get, you get sacked and you lose yards. You take yourself out of field goal range. You get no touchdowns. I think their first three red zone possessions were for field goals so. And you're able to do that. To me it just, it says a couple things that there is good coaching going on there. Recognizing what needs to be adjusted as the game is moving through and you're. And again you're playing a bad team and that's fine because it's on the schedule and you can't fault the Bears for who's on the schedule. That's who they play. Last week they took advantage of a really bad Cowboys team. This week this is not a very good Raiders team. Yet the Bears allowed them in this game by giving them 240 yards rushing. A team that was dead last in rushing or at least towards the bottom in yards per carry. And you let them rush for you for 240 yards.
- [17:28]
A
Well, you needed four takeaways to do it. It's. I don't know if there's anything larger to be learned from this game. I think we said that as sort of the thematic statement when when we just jumped on. And thanks to everyone for joining us. By the way, if you are new to what we do here on Forward Progress we welcome. We're very happy you're here. I'm Dan Bernstein. That's Matt Abaticola & 312 Sports is a brand new Chicago sports podcast network as part of Hubbard Broadcasting here in Chicago. And if you missed Dan Bernstein Unfiltered we did a little special live version of that this morning just on a whim. We woke up and decided to pop on. It's one of the cool things about doing this live on YouTube when we want but other than that Dan Bernstein Unfiltered is always Monday through Friday usually comes 11 forward progress comes out thereafter also Monday through Friday and always immediately post game. And you know what? Either show whatever the hell else we want. We can do that too and love doing these things. I'm able to come you know right in with my. My crazy person notes that I always take that I I don't know that I can make hide nor hair of them later on when I go back and look at them and it's sort of like reading my homework that is stuck in the pages of my high school textbooks. If you ever try to do that. I did that with my calculus textbook and it was. It was honestly like someone else existed.
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B
Have textbooks from high school.
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A
They're at my parents house. Yeah yeah. And I and I there were through.
- [19:01]
B
The school year so there's all these.
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A
Pieces of paper with my old homework in it of things that I. Not only can I not begin to understand the homework, it's even in general. The concepts of anything are completely lost on me. I have no idea what any of it was.
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B
Well, try taking a look at the way they teach middle school math now.
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A
Oh, no, I tried. I gave up. I told him. I told both kids are on their own. Just forget it. I was too busy trying to teach what it is to be a Chicago Bears fan. And believe me, the texts have been flying around to hear. My little group chat was going on. The number of times people wrote off the Bears and in this game was, I think, 12 different times. @ least somebody in the group chat said, that's it, I'm done for the day, or that's it, this is over.
- [19:43]
B
Well, I texted you after the first quarter and said, you want to start? The game's over.
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A
Well, that's the joke. And I notice every time I put on Twitter and Blue Sky a reminder that we're going to be doing this when the game is decided. There's always a wag out there who or two will just say, oh, you mean now. Oh, you mean it. Halftime. Yeah, I get the joke. You think that the Bears are bad. I understand. I want Ben Johnson to tell us why he, upon winning the toss, wanted to receive. Because I just. I. He's too smart for that.
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B
Why? What do you mean?
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A
Because you defer. You always defer. Always, always, always, always, always defer.
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B
He wanted his offense to go out there and show what they could do.
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A
Yeah.
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B
And they went three and out. So, you know, I don't.
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A
I don't. I know that this is. It reminds me too much of Powdered Toast, man. Too much Eber floofs in that. And, you know, I wanted my offense to have the ball. Well, your offense had the ball and they were bad and they punted because Drew Dahlman got beat. Very, very, very bad.
- [20:45]
B
Very bad. Yeah, at the start of the game, like it was the pressure up the middle, that was. That was the issue Again. Again, a couple of guys I do want to highlight. There's a play, first quarter about, I don't know, less than nine, nine minutes ago in the first quarter, Vegas, oh, Vegas had that third and short. They went for it on third and third and short. And then again on fourth and short with two awful calls. Didn't make it. But that first play, Chris Williams took an offensive lineman and threw him into the backfield was unbelievable. And then the fourth and short, Billings had an unbelievable play to Create pressure and to stop that third and short and fourth and short. So I want to highlight those two guys. You have the. Oh, the game by Stevenson, too. Tyreek Stevenson, hell of an interception, recovers a fumble, made some really good plays. I thought at the end there, it was almost him that blocked that field goal. When I first saw that, I saw the nine and the body flipping over. But I thought he had a good enough game. As we're trying to talk about writing the narrative for going into the Washington.
- [21:45]
A
Oh, absolutely, absolutely.
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B
He had a good enough game here to say, you know what, here's the story two weeks in a row now against the Cowboys, has the play of the game early in the game to shut down a drive. You go on it and you kick the Cowboys ass. And then had a really good game with an unbelievable interception. I mean, that's a, that's a highlight interception for the year in the consecutive game. So he's, he's written the story for himself.
- [22:06]
A
He's earned himself a good couple of weeks because of the quality of play in these last two games. And you know that we're going to see a lot of that play leading up to the next time the Bears play. But he, he can stand proud and say, I've recovered from that. And the Bears can say, look, we didn't throw the baby out with the bathwater in that one. They could have cut him any number of times. It could have said that. We can't have that. There's too many bad memories. We can't have the ghosts of that awful play around. But they trusted themselves and they trusted their, their own coaching and development and ability to reach this guy. So, so far, so good. That's kind of a win. I was a little disappointed we didn't see more of Luther Burden, and I understand that Cole Comet wasn't there as they're trying to keep track of the rookies. It was too bad that coming off of 100 yard breakout performance that Luther Burden got what, just the one touch on the. The play that went for negative yards, I believe.
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B
Yeah.
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A
And I'm. I may need to settle in and I'm. I want to watch the Loveland situation carefully because the knock on him in the scouting reports in large part always hurt. And that's what Michigan people were saying about it. Yeah. Enjoy that. He's hurt a lot. And the hip injury initially was not believed to be a big deal, but it did keep him out of this game. We saw way too much Durham Smythe. I don't need to see Much more of him and it affects the personnel packages that they want to use. But it was, it was interesting to me that Luther Burden did not have feature opportunities because there's a lot of guys to feed here. There really are. There are, there are a lot of, a lot of people to keep happy and they're trying to do that with DJ Moore. We saw Roma Dunes A obviously took advantage of some strange safety play and a hefty ball from Caleb Williams to score that one, the touchdown. And this is, it's going to be an ongoing puzzle to solve to make sure that these, these weapons are properly deployed.
- [24:10]
B
Somebody in comments said that Williams didn't play. He was inactive. Did I have. Did I not have 91? I thought I saw 91 make a play in the backfield.
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A
No, Chris Williams was in it. The inactives were Gordon Edwards, Loveland Wright, Jarrett Williams and Keenum.
- [24:24]
B
Okay, then who did I see in the. Make the play in the backfield because on that third down play, the third and short when they stopped him and then they went for it in fourth and short it was Billings made the play on fourth.
- [24:34]
A
Are you talking about the first quarter?
- [24:35]
B
Yeah, in the first quarter.
- [24:36]
A
Odangbo.
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B
Oh, it was really.
- [24:38]
A
It was Odangbo. That's who I had. I wrote down 91 then. Okay. I wrote down Smith no gain Odengbo.
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B
Okay.
- [24:49]
A
That's just what I had. I could be wrong.
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B
I'm going to check it again. I'll correct my notes. Yeah, thanks for the comments there. Appreciate it. There's another comment here. Tyreek is not a. He's a good not cut guy as.
- [25:00]
A
Opposed to not dead guy. Understand?
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B
That's what he said. No, that is his next. His next comment was like not dead guy.
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A
See, I knew where you were going. Who said that? Archibald. Meat pants. Lunatics. Idiots.
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B
Yeah, you know what? And the Bears had five possessions that started in Raiders territory. It shouldn't have been a one point game. It just. It really shouldn't have been with, with the takeaways with the field possession, especially in the first half. It should not have been a one point game. But that's what a team in the Blob does.
- [25:32]
A
I'm perfectly happy getting any kind of a road win. As ugly as this was. It was like this. This is not something you're going to hang in the, in the museum of football aesthetics. But it's a road win against a team that apparently wanted to get beat and a Bears team that decided after a half that it was going to do everything it could do to stop getting in its own way. With the exception of Cole Comet. God, he was just terrible.
- [26:02]
B
He was really bad.
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A
He was.
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B
Two false start penalties, some drops.
- [26:08]
A
You'd think with. With Loveland out, understanding that, look, you're the guy now. You're gonna. You're gonna have every opportunity. And. And truth be told, on a couple of those, they love him on that long crosser, like that long looping crosser behind the second level. And there were multiple times where he was open and just because of the breaking out of the pocket when he did, trying to avoid the rusher, not being able to reset his feet. And it. I didn't think that Caleb Williams was quite able to take advantage some of the times when his tight end was open.
- [26:42]
B
Yeah. But I will give him credit for the soft coverage that the Raiders were in a lot of the game. He was able to find some nice pockets, make some nice throws. But that's what's really frustrating about Caleb Williams is that some of the throws he makes, you're just like, all right, there aren't many guys that make those throws. And then it's those wide open ones that he throws two feet short. I just. Like, I screamed at the tv. I just. I want to see him be more consistent with the easy ones, and the hard ones are the ones he comes through and he makes. If you notice, when he's. When he's running to his right now, he's becoming less accurate as he's rolling to his right. He's making less and less accurate passes rolling out to his right, which you would think would be a strength, obviously.
- [27:24]
A
And there's one that he threw across his body that should have been picked correct. I don't know what that was. And he was running right. Yeah, Don't. Don't do that again.
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B
Oh, I think it was the one that. It was eventually to Comet, and Comet was open, and then he threw a couple seconds later and allowed the defense to recover a bit. And it was funny because Arch, they showed the replay and he was like. He showed commit coming around. He's like, well, you had Cole commit, was wide open, and then eventually he threw it downfield, and he didn't realize that actually threw it to commit still.
- [27:58]
A
Why am I holding two pens?
- [28:01]
B
One doesn't write.
- [28:02]
A
No, they both write. I'm holding one of my left. I don't know what happened.
- [28:05]
B
Do you have sushi? Are you using those chopsticks?
- [28:07]
A
What are you doing? I look down and I have a pen in each hand. I don't Know what I'm trying to do here? I don't know. A nice Bears victory makes me confused and weird. We need to credit Kyle menungai for averaging 4.5 yards per carry, breaking a couple of tackles and running hard because we've given him a lot of flat. I have. I just. I believe I said I was done with him. I still don't think he's really any good. But he ran hard when they needed him to run hard. After a first half that saw The Bears have 12 rushes for two yards.
- [28:38]
B
Yeah, Dan. I mean, you take away Caleb Williams scrambling yards and their running backs finished with 56 yards.
- [28:50]
A
Not great. Not great. And enrolled Dunes a one catch in the first half for just 12 yards. Finished with four receptions for 69 yards and that touchdown.
- [29:01]
B
Yeah. So first Bear to do that since Silky D have a touchdown in the first four games of a season.
- [29:06]
A
Yeah. It was great to hear his name get mentioned. Right. At least we had somebody with a number 85 we can think well about today.
- [29:13]
B
Yeah. So at the end of the first half, Bears had 35 plays and 90 total yards. And the turnover differential was 3 to 1 at that point. That was halftime. Yeah. You know, again, it was just. It was. It was a game that the Bears somehow found a way to win because Geno Smith wanted to throw interceptions. I mean, you gave up the longest rushing touchdown of the season so far. I think they said for Ashton Genty. Not just for him, but they said for the season. So you find a way to win on the road and you credit the team to do that. And they climb out of a.02 hole and they're two and two now. They went against two teams that were very beatable and had a chance to win. They came out and they won. They dominated the Cowboys, who were awful, who probably are going to get just motorboated tonight by the Packers.
- [29:59]
A
And then they raised.
- [30:01]
B
No motorboat.
- [30:02]
A
Motorboated.
- [30:02]
B
No motorboated.
- [30:06]
A
Motorboating is different.
- [30:08]
B
No, motorboating is when you beat the shit out of somebody.
- [30:11]
A
No, that's boat raced.
- [30:13]
B
Okay. So I don't have it wrong.
- [30:16]
A
I know you've been doing it on purpose for a while and waiting to see if somebody notices, but I gotta call you on it because motorboat, it is different. It's not. It's. It's. You know, I would wish it upon them if they. If they. If they want it. I mean, maybe some big fat linemen. No, I don't know. I don't know exactly how a football team would end up doing that. Or what exactly the idiom or the metaphor would be in this case. But we should. Yeah, they're. They're going to get killed.
- [30:45]
B
They're going to get killed.
- [30:46]
A
Yeah.
- [30:46]
B
But, hey, you know what good news is the bears are 2 and 2, and it's. It's not what I anticipated to see after four games when the games, the first two games of the season, I would have never thought this team was going to be 2 and 2.
- [30:59]
A
One way or another, they've ended up kind of right where they should be. I think it's about right. I think that's. If you said, looking at the teams that they've played that I don't know that you would have drawn it up quite like this year that anybody really would have. But it's all right. It could be worse. It could be worse. Your young coach has got consecutive wins, and I'd love to know exactly what was said at halftime and what challenges were out there, but they. They did something. We always ask of the Bears, and it's something that's always made me crazy, and we've talked about it, but you're the coach. Do something. If something's bad, act on it. Do something. Don't be fatalistic. And I really think that this end of first half move with both tackle positions, it goes against it, is really risky because everybody in this league in coaches, players will always say, never make two moves when one will suffice. You never want to change two positions when it's possible to only change one. And they said, screw it, we're changing two. And it worked.
- [32:12]
B
Yeah, it worked great. It worked great. I mean, it made a significant difference in what Max Crosby was doing from the entire third quarter. And how about halfway through the fourth and then he got back going again, do you think? I think he's a guy that rides a motorcycle to work and he's shirtless and no helmet. Max Crosby. Crosby, yes.
- [32:32]
A
Oh, yeah, right.
- [32:33]
B
100% correct.
- [32:34]
A
Yeah. Although it would be better if it were like the. Have you seen the pictures of Dan Campbell with that tiny little dog on his lap? No, you haven't.
- [32:43]
B
I have not.
- [32:44]
A
He's got. I don't know what kind of dog it is.
- [32:46]
B
He eats it or what is it?
- [32:47]
A
No, it looks like Les Grobstein's. Remember Les Grabstein's dog, Moose? I ever meet Moose?
- [32:54]
B
I never did. No.
- [32:55]
A
Okay. And I generally can't stand little dogs. Yeah. I think anything smaller than like £60 is. Is a cat. And. But Dan Campbell, of all people, while he's in the drive thru at Starbucks getting his giant, you know, seven shot, whatever it is. The dog is. Is a tiny little puffball of a dog and he just has the thing sitting on his lap. So I would picture either Max Crosby is exactly what you say, like he's eating light bulbs and driving around shirtless on his bike where he's got like the. The biker gang vest and no shirt on.
- [33:30]
B
Okay, that works too.
- [33:32]
A
Or. Or he's got an old fashioned penny farthing bicycle with a big wicker front basket on it.
- [33:40]
B
With a flower on it?
- [33:41]
A
Yes, with a flower.
- [33:42]
B
He puts his dog in the basket.
- [33:44]
A
Right. It's. It's either. Either it's completely against type or it's not, because I don't think it's anywhere in between here.
- [33:50]
B
I'm gonna throw something more frustrating at you. Imagine the Vikings fourth quarter doesn't happen on Monday Night Football, and The Bears are 3 and 1.
- [33:59]
A
We can't play these games. Sure we can. No, we can't. Those. These don't get you anywhere. I don't.
- [34:07]
B
You know, they were in that game. That was their game. They gave that game.
- [34:11]
A
All these games. All these games come down to bad calls and people falling down and. And just.
- [34:17]
B
Yeah, like, you're like your. Your tackle prospect who dramatically falls down to the ground on his own.
- [34:22]
A
Yeah.
- [34:22]
B
Alexey.
- [34:23]
A
If you missed DBU this morning, I was talking about number 71 on Oregon, the right tackle who I really like, but apparently the scouting reports say he randomly falls down in space just on his own and. No, the general. Max Crosby does not ride a unicycle, but that would be cool. Or he's one of those weirdos that. You ever see the guys in the city on the tall bikes? No, like the extra. Like a double frame or triple frame bike. You never that.
- [34:50]
B
I haven't. No.
- [34:50]
A
It's. It's a thing. In Chicago, there's like. I don't know how they get on or off the bike, but I don't know if it's like. If you stop that bike, you have to kind of ride the. It's like a falling tree to get down. I don't know how they do it, but. You never seen guys on, like, those weird bikes?
- [35:08]
B
No, never have.
- [35:09]
A
Okay, we'll keep your eye open for him. I don't think I made it up. I might have dreamt it, but I don't think so. I don't know. I'm sure there's a name for them, but they're. If he rides one of those at whatever he is, 300 pounds or 280 pounds or whatever he is. Good luck to you, sir.
- [35:22]
B
All right, have a look at some scores for today around the NFL. Steelers, they beat the Vikings this morning in Dublin, so 24, 21. Falcons over the Commanders. Bills beat up on the Saints. Lions just took care of The Browns pretty easy, 34 to 10. The Patriots over the Panthers 42 to 13. Giants beat the Chargers 21 to 18. Jackson dark. It's his, his first win, his first career start.
- [35:46]
A
Yeah, he's an excitable young man.
- [35:48]
B
And then Malik, neighbors tours, acl. So no good for the Giant.
- [35:53]
A
Yeah, I saw the video of Kayvon Thibodeau finding that out from a reporter.
- [35:59]
B
Oh, really?
- [36:00]
A
Yeah, it was really sad.
- [36:03]
B
Eagles beat your Buccaneers 31 25. Texans all over the Titans 26 00. Rams beat the Colts, gave them their first loss, 27 20. And the Jaguars with an upset over the 49ers 26 21. Chiefs beat the Ravens 37 20. And then of course, the Bears over the Raiders in the, in the blob game 25.
- [36:24]
A
Is Brian Callahan fired yet?
- [36:26]
B
Not yet, but he should be. He should.
- [36:28]
A
He should be absolutely fired tonight or tomorrow morning because not only is his team awful, but now he's fighting with reporters. And I think it was Paul Kuharsky that mentioned something that Callahan said at his initial press conference, that this team is going to be tough and resilient. It's like, I thought you said your team was going to be resilient. I was like, I know what you're doing there. I know what. I've got to compose myself before I say what I'm thinking right now. I thought Callahan actually handled it maybe better than some would have, but if we're already into that, it's. It's time for, for that guy to be. To be gone.
- [37:02]
B
Yeah, probably. Probably should go. So, and then taking a look at the standings here real quick. So that puts the Lions at three and one on top of the division. Packers to beat the Cowboys tonight. So we'll put them at 3 and 1. Also Minnesota 2 and 2, along with the Bears, who should be 3 and 1.
- [37:22]
A
You can't be this guy. I'm noting some of the reporters that we follow in the post game in the Bowels of Allegiance Stadium. Kevin Fishbane from the Athletic tweets that Bears head coach coach Ben Johnson said he could hear Richard Hightower in his headset narrating before the Raiders field goal. He said, quote, blackwell's gonna block it.
- [37:43]
B
Unquote oh, that's funny because Henry must have been talking to Coach Hightower because Henry said that they're going to block this field goal too.
- [37:52]
A
Before it happened, Ben Johnson said he told Caleb Williams, this is what you're built for before leading the game winning drive. I didn't see the game winning drive though, until the guy.
- [38:04]
B
I did see the. I saw a quote from Cam Ward at postgame. He said that his team is ass. Yeah, Natalie showed me the quote and I had no idea what he was saying about something about if he's. He said something like if we're going to keep it a buck, then our team is ass. So I took something negative.
- [38:22]
A
I didn't quite get it.
- [38:23]
B
But yeah.
- [38:28]
A
Our team is. That's better than we stinks. Yes, that's, that's, that is up there. That's like dick. I don't think we're going to win another game.
- [38:38]
B
We're keeping it a buck. We as ass.
- [38:41]
A
Yeah. Callahan said that's, that's over. He is. He is.
- [38:44]
B
Yeah. If your rookie quarterback is calling the team out like that. Yep, that is.
- [38:48]
A
That, that is old coaching coach. Be cooked, toasted, finished. Drizzle little olive oil on him and sprinkle some parsley and parmesan. Serve him.
- [38:58]
B
You know, the Raiders return game wasn't as bad, I think. I think Hightower was onto something when he said it's a pretty good, pretty good, pretty good team that he sees on film.
- [39:06]
A
Well, until the last one. Who's that little white guy?
- [39:10]
B
I don't know.
- [39:11]
A
Ran it out to the 42.
- [39:13]
B
It was a fan they took out of the stands. I think it was like some kind of Vegas thing. Chance to return one and then. What's that run the running back that his first game today, long time was a 49er guy.
- [39:24]
A
Raheem Mostert.
- [39:26]
B
Yeah. So he had, he had some nice returns. Also a nice 38 yard run helping the Raiders run the football. So yeah, their return game didn't look nearly as bad as it looked on paper, that's for sure. And apparently I think their numbers were very skewed from that Washington game last week. It was really, really just kicked the shit out of them. So maybe they're not as bad as it looked on paper. Looking at their, at their numbers, it.
- [39:48]
A
Should be noted Raheem Mostert, a one time Chicago Bear, I believe years ago he was a practice squatter who just kind of never made his way out of the roster and then had some pretty spectacular seasons with the Dolphins. And I used to Joke with Paul Charchian about him. The number of times that Raheem Mostert's name would come up.
- [40:08]
B
Yeah. Didn't he have like 20 some touchdown runs for the Dolphins at one season?
- [40:12]
A
Teen. I want to say something like that. Okay.
- [40:15]
B
Yeah. Anyway, so there's got to win.
- [40:18]
A
Yeah, 2 and 2, 24. Yeah, 2 and 2, 25, 24. It's. It wasn't pretty in any way, but it doesn't matter. It doesn't have to be pretty to count as a win. So the Bears, you may have found your tackles. They head into the bye week and we're going to have plenty to talk about on both forward progress and Dan Bernstein unfiltered throughout this week. And what we're going to do, we should mention that people say, well, what do you do for your Friday when you always try to figure out the top 10 of the Bears opposing team all time. Well, this week we're going to self scout this week. Friday, the top 10 Bears of all time.
- [41:04]
B
You know, there's a comment here. Maddie's over hit. But the Bears. No, the Bears got a point and a half this morning. I did it on my bookie. The Bears got a point and a half. So they were receiving a point and a half and it was. Yeah, that's what I had on my bookie.
- [41:19]
A
You sure?
- [41:19]
B
Yes, that's. I said it in our special DBU episode too. That's why I took it because I looked at it this morning and it had the Bears plus one and a half and the over under was 48. So I hit on both. So my streak is back on.
- [41:32]
A
All right. I need, I need help because I did not my Cole come at touchdown. He, he dropped and then I believe Travis Kelsey, who I said would get 50 yards receiving, got 48. So I am.
- [41:46]
B
I said 40. He'd get it 49.
- [41:47]
A
Yeah, you did. Yes. Yep. You know me. Yeah, I'm so. I, I, I, I need a win. I need something because what, what are.
- [41:55]
B
We going to do for the top the top 10 list this week?
- [41:58]
A
We're doing the bears.
- [42:00]
B
Yeah. Top 10 bears.
- [42:01]
A
Top 10 bears for the bye week.
- [42:03]
B
I already have my number one, so.
- [42:06]
A
Oh, I, I think I might have.
- [42:08]
B
My working on my list already, so.
- [42:10]
A
No, you can't sound aloud.
- [42:12]
B
Why is it allowed? I'm the committee.
- [42:15]
A
That's true. You are.
- [42:15]
B
The committee can do whatever they want.
- [42:17]
A
All right, that's going to do it for our live post game. Thank you for being a part of this and make sure that you subscribe and that way you'll get alerts once you configure your alerts to make sure whenever we go on. And you should get these alerts for both shows, both for if you subscribe to Forward Progress and to312Sports for Dan Bernstein Unfiltered, because, like I say, this morning we did a special dbu, and you want to be aware of that, of when you can tune in and find everything. Usually it's Monday through Friday. And we thank you for being a part of it and joining us today. We will talk to you tomorrow. Bye. Bye.
- [42:53]
B
Bye.
- [42:54]
A
Bye. Bye, Sam.