Ben Johnson is coaching for more than just the 2 seed in the NFC in week 18

Summary

Forward Progress – A Chicago Bears Podcast

Episode: "Ben Johnson is coaching for more than just the 2 seed in the NFC in week 18"

Hosts: Dan Bernstein & Matt Abbatacola
Date: December 30, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the crucial final week of the NFL regular season, examining the Chicago Bears and their approach under head coach Ben Johnson. The discussion focuses on strategic decisions for Week 18, the value of playoff seeding, Ben Johnson’s transparency with the media, player development—especially at quarterback—and the impact of injuries on the roster. Throughout, Dan and Matt balance sharp football analysis with signature humor and candid fan-driven reactions.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Stakes in Week 18 and Playoff Seeding

• The Bears are “playing to win” in Week 18, with the potential reward of the #2 seed in the NFC and accompanying home-field advantage until the NFC Championship—something both hosts agree is far more valuable than dropping to #3.
  • “But two seed is a lot more valuable than the three seed.” – Matt (01:48)
• Scenarios around other NFC games (Eagles, Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers) are debated, but both hosts largely dismiss the relevance to the Bears’ goals.

2. Ben Johnson’s Approach and Relationship with the Media

• Ben Johnson’s candor stands out. When asked about a late-game play, he admits, “Shoot, I. Yeah, you got me stumped on that one.” (05:52)
• Matt appreciates Johnson’s honesty, suggesting it’s refreshing compared to typical coach-speak.
  • “It's great to hear. Instead of a guy being offended… he was like, yeah, you're spot on, man.” – Matt (09:56)
• Dan posits that Johnson’s transparency is good, but wonders how long such openness can last in the NFL pressure cooker.

3. Offensive Growth, “Training Wheels Off,” and Trust in the Roster

• The show features excerpts from Ben Johnson’s press conferences, highlighting how the Bears’ playbook and offensive precision have advanced:
  • “I would agree… We've taken the training wheels off. These guys are doing a phenomenal job... It’s just every week you just see them go about their business.” – Ben Johnson (13:22)
• Johnson’s trust in his offensive players is explicit, leading to more creative and complex play-calling, such as a recent hook-and-ladder.

4. Play Design/Execution: Case Studies & Strategic Nuances

• The hosts dissect several real in-game moments:
  • Caleb Williams to Colson Loveland (Touchdown on a free play):
    • “There are certain, like, coverage-hunting… Here they deliberately practice a play with a hard count, knowing that [defenders] may have a tendency to jump...” – Matt (21:13)
    • Johnson: “We walked through… with a hard cadence… if they jumped, then we wanted to take a shot.” (19:59)
  • Hook and Ladder Play:
    • Johnson acknowledges the execution, yet remains critical: “The precision on a play like that is really the starting point… would have loved to scored a touchdown, would have loved to got it, get it out of bounds.” (14:30)
  • The importance of practicing “off-menu” plays; Ben Johnson’s philosophy centers on only calling plays that are “executed at the highest level.”

5. Caleb Williams’ Growth and Performance Metrics

• Matt studies the effect of even marginal accuracy improvements on Williams’ end-of-year numbers, showing the real impact of a few additional completions per game.
  • “If you [add] one completion per game… that would put him at 61%... not last among starting quarterbacks.” (45:48)
  • “Three more [completions per game]... 67%... puts him in the top five.” (46:50)
• Both agree that incremental improvements would elevate Williams into the league’s MVP conversation next season (50:06).

6. Injury Management & Its Effect on the Lineup

• In-depth analysis of injuries to key Bears: Rome Odunze, Grady Jarrett, Kyler Gordon, Jalen Johnson.
  • Specifically, for Odunze: “His catching percentage in those five games, sorry. Was 32% ... The previous seven games... 52%. So I'm wondering when did this, like, I have to go back and look when he came up on the injury report, when this injury occurred, how long he tried to play on it for, and why wasn’t anything done sooner?” – Matt (36:42)
• Dan offers medical context, explaining the gray areas and complexity in diagnosing and managing soft-tissue injuries (41:25).
• They stress the challenge between pushing through injury as a leader and risking long-term health.

7. Bears Wide Receiver Usage & Historical Comparison

• Matt and Dan discuss the Bears’ unusual equal distribution amongst their receivers, comparing it to teams like the 2013 Broncos for context (57:31).
• They playfully debate whether the Bears have a true number one receiver, with Dan loving the balanced approach.

8. Memorable, Light-hearted Banter

• The duo famously detour into Olive Garden jokes, RuPaul Drag Race touchdown celebrations (Luther Burden’s “head pop”), and culinary tangents, adding comic relief (10:33–12:25, 43:20).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“Shoot, you got me stumped on that one.”
— Ben Johnson (05:52)

“We've taken the training wheels off. These guys are doing a phenomenal job…”
— Ben Johnson (13:22)

“If we go down, we're going to go down swinging like that.”
— Ben Johnson (14:42)

“Three more [completions per game]... 67%... puts him in the top five of those 13 quarterbacks…”
— Matt (46:50)

“His catching percentage in those five games... Was 32%. The previous seven games... 52%. So I'm wondering when did this, like, I have to go back and look when he came up on the injury report, when this injury occurred, how long he tried to play on it for and why wasn't anything done sooner?”
— Matt (36:42)

“It's just, it's football. That's the answer. Every week's a car accident, multiple car accidents for sure. And then you pick up the pieces and you see who could walk.”
— Dan (40:58)

“I must not have installed that play very well then if you felt that way. He was certainly part of the read... yet Caleb felt like he could see. It was more of a layered concept there... Outstanding throw. Outstanding catch.”
— Ben Johnson (31:21)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Playoff Seeding Scenarios & Week 18 Importance – 00:51–04:03
• Ben Johnson's Press Conference Honesty – 05:52–07:13, 09:24–10:07
• Offensive Growth: “Training Wheels Off” – 13:15–14:42
• Hook and Ladder Play Execution – 13:15–16:22
• Caleb Williams’ Growth & Advanced Stats Deep Dive – 44:04–50:16
• Injury Management & Roster Impact – 35:02–43:11
• Receivers Usage & Historical Parallels – 56:25–58:23
• Comic Relief: Olive Garden & RuPaul – 10:33–12:25, 43:20

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Summary Takeaways

• Bears’ Philosophy: Aggressive, with an emphasis on the importance of playoff seeding.
• Coaching Transparency: Ben Johnson’s style is refreshingly candid—admitting faults, celebrating progress, and building trust within the organization.
• Quarterback Progress: Even small improvements in Williams’ accuracy would put him among the league’s best, shifting the Bears’ offense to potentially elite status.
• Injury Uncertainty: Like most NFL teams, injury management remains both a science and an art, with no easy answers.
• Receiver Usage: The Bears lack a clear top receiver, which the hosts view as a strategic asset.
• Entertainment: The podcast balances in-depth football talk with humor and relatable fan perspective, making it engaging for both hard-core and casual listeners.

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For Bears fans eager for Week 18 and the playoffs, Bernstein and Abbatacola deliver a nuanced, passionate, and highly entertaining breakdown—reminding listeners that under Ben Johnson, Chicago has not only “forward progress,” but also a clear identity and future to believe in.

Transcript

[A]

I mean if you're a Bears fan, you're thinking forward progress. Come on. Forward Progress. A Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abaticola on 312Sports.

[B]

We give you forward progress on 31 2Sports a Chicago. And this is seems like relatively recently that we began talking about the Chicago Bears and in the blink of an eye, the absolute blink of an eye, it's week 18. It is week 18. Unbelievable. Unbelievable.

[C]

We're playing to win this week.

[A]

There you go.

[B]

I'm glad.

[A]

Asked and answered.

[B]

However, there's a lot of wiggle room in that.

[A]

How so?

[B]

You can play to win and then also that can change as the game goes on. You can be playing. What are you playing to win? Are you playing to win the championship? Are you playing to win this game? Is the outcome of this game important? May the outcome of the game and its importance change as the game goes on, depending on what the Eagles might be doing in their matchup against the Commanders.

[A]

Commanders. Correct. I don't believe Ben Johnson will Scoreboard. Watch it all. He's out to win this game and he's going to play this game to win from start to finish. Now, if they're up, you know, by three touchdowns in the second half, do you take Caleb out?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Do you bring the Baidency in?

[B]

Yes, sure.

[A]

Maybe he does that.

[B]

No, you better.

[A]

But they're playing to win this game. Oh, that's fine because there's a lot to ride on this game.

[B]

Fine, fine.

[A]

But two seed is a lot more valuable than the three seed.

[B]

Did anything change based on the unexpected outcome last night with Atlanta beating the Rams?

[A]

No, because the Rams, if they were going to move up to the two seed, they were going to need a lot of help. And losing last night just kind of put them in that, that six spot.

[B]

It does affect though. If Tampa Bay were to beat the Panthers, they need the Falcons to win.

[A]

If.

[B]

Yeah, if the Falcons, because of common opponents.

[A]

If the Falcons win and the Buccaneers win, it puts a three way tie in the NFC south, that is by.

[B]

Tiebreakers, then won by the one of those three Panthers.

[A]

No, one of those teams then.

[B]

All right, okay. Yeah, I don't care enough.

[A]

Yeah, I don't care enough either because I mean, and maybe I'm discounting them quickly but I figure them to be one and out. So. Okay, whoever it is, I think honestly I think Carolina has the best chance to win a game.

[B]

Yeah, I don't think of those three. I don't think it's three teams. I think it's the two teams. But then you have the effect of the common. As you go down the tiebreakers. The effect of the record of a common opponent could be affected.

[A]

Yeah. No, what I'm saying is that if, if Atlanta wins and if Tampa Bay wins, then you have three teams that at nine and eight. Or is it eight and nine?

[B]

No, it's eight and nine.

[A]

Nine. Hang on a second here.

[B]

Yeah, I, I thought it only had to do, but I thought it was only between the Bucks and Atlanta can't make the playoffs.

[A]

They're eliminated. Correct.

[C]

Right.

[B]

So it's only.

[A]

So even they were to. But even if they were to win, it would get them to three teams to a three way tie. Eight and nine. Eight, nine, eight, nine. Which is pathetic. And then one of those teams makes. Right.

[B]

But I think they're already out.

[A]

Atlanta's already eliminated.

[C]

Correct.

[B]

So it'd be the.

[A]

So it's between the Carolina and Tampa.

[B]

Right. And I, so I forgot which one it affects and I still don't care. It's been another minute and a half since we started talking about it and in that minute and a half I ceased to care more.

[A]

Yeah. Because what happens then is. So that would go to a. Yeah, I'm done.

[B]

Good there. Yeah, I think we solved that.

[A]

Let's go back to this.

[C]

We're playing to win this week.

[A]

So that's what they're playing to do because the two seed is valuable. Like we've talked about this now a few times that you're the one seed losing away from having home field throughout and that's what you want. Great. So let's go for it. So we were curious how Ben Johnson would handle it and he said, hey, we're, we're playing the win.

[B]

I just like to know which players he has available for this game that we didn't get any update because they stayed over.

[A]

They stayed over in San Francisco. They got back yesterday and then he met with the media. It was around 4 or 4:15, so it was later in the day than normal. So he didn't have a chance to do.

[B]

But they haven't checked. They haven't come in and been looked over by everybody. He hasn't sat down with their trainers and medical people to give them any official reports. So he's not going to speak out of turn.

[A]

Correct. All right, so let's get into some audio here from Ben Johnson and just going to go down the list and these all the questions are included here. This week the Bears media did a really good job.

[B]

Is it all Kevin Fishbane and Courtney Cronin.

[A]

Again, it is not. Yeah, that was, that was only the post game show.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

The postgame press conference after the Niners game, it was just Fish and Courtney. They were asking questions.

[B]

Like I say, perfectly capable.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

Handling.

[A]

Yes. It just stood out because that's not. That's not normal. So all the questions are here for you. I'll just let you go through. This is Ben Johnson meeting with the media yesterday, early, early evening. Hey, Ben, I know you said last night that, you know, you got that last playing a little later than you wanted to. Knowing that, acknowledging that as you went back and watched it. What are kind of some of the other options to that that could have, you know, helped make it a better result?

[C]

Shoot, I. Yeah, you got me stumped on that one. Yeah, I think we really needed to line up in the, in the right formation and, and get the execution of it down. Right. To have a chance, in my opinion.

[A]

Earlier in the fourth quarter, Caleb hit Colson on the kind of an out and up on the left sideline for big play. Just obviously those two have really connected well throughout the last couple months. That play specifically, what was notable to you about it?

[C]

Yeah, well, I mean, they've got a lot of time on task now at this point. They spent a lot of time after practice perfecting their craft, just the two of them. And I think it's really starting to pay off for us. Really accurate ball there by Caleb. He had to put that right on the money. I thought the linebacker did a nice job rallying and making it a contested play. And yet Colson's length really showed up. And you put that ball out in front, he runs right through it. He's like a big wide out in a lot of ways. And then you see him blocking and it's like, oh, he's a six lineman sometimes as well. So he's doing a phenomenal job for us and he's just going to continue to get better and better.

[A]

So you've been around this team, covering the team, a lot of different teams. You've heard a lot of coaches. Have you heard a guy as honest and willing to talk like Ben Johnson, like, who says to a reporter, oh, you stumped me on that one?

[B]

Well, he didn't really answer the question.

[A]

He didn't because he was stumped. And he's not going to. He's not going to make up an answer where I think. I think other guys would just make up answers just to say, I don't.

[B]

Think he was actually Stumped. I think he didn't want to go into exactly what went wrong in there. He wasn't going to start calling out players or.

[A]

I heard it differently.

[B]

I think he could have if he. If it were just the two of you sitting down and he's pointing at film.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

He would definitely say, oh, he thought this was X jet 6, 4 and this was X jet 7.

[A]

I don't know. I just. I heard. I heard the tone differently, and I think that he just hadn't had the time to really go through the film like he wanted to. He wasn't in his regular situation at that point.

[B]

He's your coach, and what you hope is he stays this way.

[A]

And it showed a couple times in that game on Sunday, too.

[B]

But what I mean is, as far as his relationship with the media, I hope so that everybody who takes this job says, I'm going to be different. I'm going to not. I'm not going to be as confrontational or contentious or adversarial.

[A]

Although we saw a little bit of that on Sunday when he asked him about.

[B]

We talked about it yesterday. Weren't you? Yeah. Weren't you?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Or the way he is at some halftime interviews where he sounds a little short, a little sharp.

[A]

Yeah, for sure.

[B]

And that's okay. It's your workplace. I don't. Generally, it's like talking to a baseball manager in the middle of a game sometimes. Or, you know, if you're trying to talk to a coach in the middle of a game, it's all right. They're busy. They're in coach mode. They're not in talk to the media mode at that point. But usually that starts to wear away. I'm not saying everybody turns into John Fox.

[A]

Right.

[B]

But. But after a while, you just hope that people can remain themselves.

[A]

Yeah, I think he will. I think he's. I think he's pretty comfortable with. With who he is. I wanted to play these. These two cuts first, because to me, it showed that honesty and transparency of. Of Ben Johnson. And I heard that tone differently than how you heard it, which is fine. But here's the next one from our guy, Herb.

[B]

You're better at it than I am, though. Let me say this, that throughout this season, I think on record, your instincts at interpreting Ben Johnson have shown to be more in on his frequency than I have been.

[A]

I've worked towards it. All right, here's one from our buddy Herb.

[C]

Coach, I want to go back to the. The field. Go drive. I know that the run game wasn't Prolific, but it was efficient. When you guys got down to the 10, and hindsight being what it is, I know you had the middle screen set up. What'd you like more about the. The passes there as opposed to going through? I. I think you hit the nail on the head. I'm not very out of that whole game. That, that field goal drive. Once we got in the res, I wasn't very happy with how I called that. 100% right?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Why not?

[A]

I like it. Yeah, it's great to hear. It's great to hear. Instead of a guy being offended because some reporter is questioning the way I ran my game, he was like, yeah, you're spot on, man.

[B]

But it's also because it's Herb.

[A]

Uh huh.

[B]

I think if that's just some rando he doesn't know, the answer might be different. But I think Herb is also coming from a point where everybody on that team knows that he knows what he's talking about.

[A]

And you notice how Herb addressed him, Coach?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

He's the only guy. The only one I should say.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, I've got my feelings about. About that. Sort of like, yes, Chef, which I hate.

[A]

Oh, you do? When I make dinner at home, I require the family to call me chef.

[B]

Now that I'm absolutely behind, without question. I made a Tuscan white bean soup last night, and I kind of.

[A]

Oh, cause. Oh, you're doing multiple meals again.

[B]

Yeah, but I made the Tuscan bacon. It's supposed to be done with pancetta, but I substitute smoky American bacon, white bean and chicken stock, and garlic and escarole. Oh, my God.

[A]

Oh, so it's like the white soup from Olive Garden. I know you love that. You copy that. Is that what you're.

[B]

Oh, you know, I'm trying to make everything. This is my Uncle Mario from Italy.

[A]

I think it was Luigi. No, I think it was. I thought it was Uncle Luigi who burned the house down because his family took him to Olive Garden.

[B]

It's the best in the commercial. They're trying to make it like, Uncle Luigi's here, and therefore, look, he loves it. So, therefore, it is quintessentially and perfectly Italian. It is so the stamp of approval from Uncle Luigi from Italy, because for authenticity, he flew in from the old country. He flew in from the old country, and here he is putting his knee. The stamp of authenticity. Meanwhile, what would actually. What did you say? He took a flamethrower to the place.

[A]

Yeah. He burned the house down.

[B]

How you say. How you. What is this horseshit right yeah.

[A]

Uncle Luigi, try a bite of this lasagna Tini, right?

[B]

What the fuck is Alfredo?

[A]

That's why he throws it across the room.

[B]

Who fucks Alfredo? And what is this?

[A]

Try a breadstick.

[B]

Seriously, it's my uncle.

[A]

It's bread, but it's in the form of a stick.

[C]

What?

[A]

Italian man kills family, Burns down home.

[B]

After dinner, returns to Italy, will not be extradited. Right. Italian government has his back.

[A]

Yeah, he's accustomed like, do you believe this shit? He took me to a place called Olive Garden.

[B]

They said it was a never ending soup bowl of minestronk.

[A]

I like the lasagna tv. It's my favorite form of pasta. All right, here's another question. This is Ben Johnson. Ben, the second to last play that you guys had yesterday with the pitch from level into swift, just watching it looked like it was tremendously, it looked precise. And I was thinking back to the off season when you raised issues about the sloppiness and in the preseason saying these guys aren't ready yet to run.

[C]

The full playbook that I have.

[A]

It seems like you guys have come a long, long way in that, in that area.

[C]

I, I would agree with that. I would 100 agree with that. We, we are, we are. We've taken the training wheels off. These guys are doing a phenomenal job coming into the building each week and taking a plan and bringing it to life. I can't say enough good things about whether they're rookies, undrafted, you know, veteran players, it doesn't matter who it is on offense right now, but they've, they've really bought into how we go about our business. I agree with you. The precision on a play like that is really the starting point. And it's been something that we've done all year long and yet just haven't felt good enough to call it in a game. And then when you see it this week in practice, you, you know, it gives you confidence. And so obviously I'm not happy with the result. Okay. Would have loved to scored a touchdown, would have loved to got it, get it out of bounds. And yet, you know, I think the guys did a pretty good job with the execution of the play.

[A]

For you to have a trust level to call that in that moment, I mean, that must really, they must really have changed the way you can call.

[C]

A game now if you are confident.

[A]

Enough that they can run something like that.

[C]

Oh, yeah, yeah. I mean, it's, it's. I've got immense amounts of trust for everybody, for everybody on that, on the offense. Right now, I think, like I said, it's just every week you just see them go about their business. And, you know, I'm not going to call play that I don't fully believe in, that we're not going to execute at the highest level. And so we'll always. If we go down, we're going to go down swinging like that. All right.

[B]

Okay. First of all, that is a really carefully asked, artfully asked, leading question by Jason Leisure. He did a wonderful job with that question because you saw what Jason Leisure wrote today for the Sun Times that was about that. But he said, well, you got to have a lot of trust in those guys. Oh, you bet I do. Because what's he gonna say? No, not really. But I called it anyway because we had to. So that was great job by Leisure.

[A]

Yeah, really good.

[B]

Walking him right into his story for today.

[A]

And then did you hear, though, how he described the execution of that hook and ladder?

[B]

Well, here's what I hear.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Swift's gotta cut outside. Yeah, you gotta go outside. Because at least if you're not gonna get in, get, get out, get out.

[A]

Because he cuts back in.

[B]

Go in. Yeah. And I. And I know that unless you absolutely are certain you're going to score, if you're like, I beat this guy and I've got a clear path, you can make an excuse. But I think when he says, it sounded to me like you're going to have a talk with DeAndre, like, come on, man. Like, no, no. The scoring situation.

[A]

Yeah, I think. I think positioning needs to be better. I think the pitch could have been delayed, that we took that longer.

[B]

We talked about that, that if you're really running it, that becomes almost an option.

[A]

Rewatching it again, though, I think the positioning on the field can be a little bit better. And, you know, he described it, that they executed it pretty, pretty good. And that's not at the highest level. I think that he's. He's expecting right there also. And we had this discussion on Ford Progress or on DBU about the training wheels coming off for a full playbook. I would love to hear Ben Johnson's perspective on how that progression happened for him. When he saw it, was it one moment, was it a sequence of weeks of practices where it was like, was it really all hinging on Caleb?

[B]

Let me bring up another question then. When he said seeing it in practice, we know that he's got, like we talked about yesterday, the reserve wine list.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

How many of those are practiced every week?

[A]

I'm guessing a lot because it's not the first time it's come up.

[B]

I am, too. So does he say, look, we put these in in July, but let's run it again. How often is something used in practice a predictor or is it already having watched game film, do they then say, you know, let's say the reserve list is 20 deep. Do they then after a first pass at film, say, you know what I want to do 6, 13, 18, and 19 off the reserve list, what we're calling it, the off menu, wine list, or whatever he's got. Put those in this week just in case. Is that how it works? I'd love to have this conversation with him. Or do they practice 1 through 20 every week?

[A]

I think there's a certain number of plays that they practice every week that they walk through every week and they go through. And I don't think they go through multiple times. Maybe they do, but I think he designates a portion of their week to go through these particular plays. And then based on how they're executing in practice, how confident he feels and.

[B]

The personnel he's got available and how.

[A]

It matches up to who they're playing, if he feels that he's seen opportunities in their defense to run.

[B]

Right. So let's say he looks at it. You know, they do a lot of single high in between the 20s, or it's a lot of two man within the 20. Right. Or basic tendency. And say if we, you know, if we get that. Look, if we do a quick count, like a false snap and we see this guy take a couple steps in, I want to kill to this.

[A]

Right. Or this defense, based on what they do typically in the red zone, would open up this particular play to have for us.

[B]

That's what I mean.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So.

[A]

Yeah, I don't know. I would love to have that conversation with him and ask him.

[B]

Yeah, but you're. But you're. When he says, I saw how it looked in practice, the recency effect said, all right, yeah, it's time for this.

[A]

Yeah, they're there now. We're executing it like, I'm glad.

[B]

I'm glad he let us in that way.

[A]

All right, and then here's one about the touchdown pass to Loveland, which I, again, there's more in here to get out of Ben Johnson, which I love.

[C]

Hey, Coach, on the touchdown to Colson Loveland, what impressed you about Caleb being able to keep that alive on the.

[A]

Free play and then the throw that he made.

[C]

Yeah, no, I thought it was just really well executed by the entire Offense, you know, we walked through those. Those plays, the early plays in the game that morning for a night game like that. And so we kind of talked it through that we would work a hard cadence on that particular play, and if they jumped, then we wanted to take a shot. And so it was. It was really well done. It was really well done. And, you know, Colson kind of broke off his route when he felt Caleb extend the play a little bit. The guys up front, you know, they. They kind of felt the D line go slack a little bit, which can be the tendency at times on free plays. And so Caleb was able to find a little bit of extra time and threw a great ball down the field. I don't. Once again, he has these throws every week that you're just like, I don't know how many quarterbacks in the NFL can. Can really do that on a regular basis.

[A]

So I just, I loved, like we heard it about a few weeks ago, that they're. They're play hunting. There are certain, like, coverage hunting. And here they deliberately practice a play with a hard count, knowing that they may have a tendency to jump on this particular counts in this particular situation. And if so, here's how. Here's what opens up downfield for us.

[B]

The way he described it, that's crazy to me. Feeling the defensive line go slack a little bit.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

You can see them just like, maybe stand up a little bit, relax.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

Caleb had plenty of time to drift back and wait for Colson, who was breaking left and then broke out right and gave him a beautiful ball. But I just love that he's so specific and detailed in a particular moment of a game.

[B]

Well, when you think.

[A]

How satisfying do you think that would be? Because I know on a much smaller, insignificant level of coaching youth football, when you see something in film on, against the defense, and then you're able to put something in and then execute it, like the feeling of satisfaction. But to do that at the professional level.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

How crazy is that?

[B]

Let me take it a step further to one of the great movie moments of all time. Will you buy the premise that football specifically is a simulacrum of war? Sure. It's about gaining territory from your opponent, beating your opponent, and driving into his home area.

[A]

Right. I don't subscribe to the whole, you know, we're going to war battle thing, but yeah, I get it. Yeah, for sure.

[B]

Do you remember in Patton when they're fighting in North Africa, okay. And Patton defeats Rommel?

[A]

All right.

[B]

It's what the battle of El Alamein. Is that right?

[A]

Adam Amin?

[B]

No, not the battle of Adam Amin. Oh, no, that's different. The winner gets to do a DJ set at a local club. Gets a great sort of life restoring hug. But no, the battle of. I think it was the battle of El Alamein. And Patton in the movie, George C. Scott as Patton in the cinematic moment, he goes, rommel, you magnificent bastard, I read your book. And he did. He apparently had read the book that Rommel wrote about desert fighting tactics and got the drop on him. And I don't know the military explanation or the jargon or exactly what he did. Outflank him or trapped him or pincer movement, whatever he did, but that was like the ultimate satisfaction of defeating the great German general. Because he read his book. Yeah.

[A]

And you're kind of saving lives, too, so that would be a little more significant.

[B]

Well, yeah, you're defeating fascism back when it was cool.

[A]

But I just. People wanted that, like. Yeah. When. When they did a good thing to do. Yeah, Yeah. I just. I love that aspect of it, though, you know, And I just. I would love to hear, just on a personal level for him, like, how satisfying that is. It's like to target and identify something and then call it and recognize it and then it's executed.

[B]

Shouldn't we know as Bears fans how he felt? Remember Stumblebum? Remember the play that he designed against the Bears where they did a fake. Oh, my. My klutzy quarterback is being klutzy again. And they did it on purpose. Same thing. Hunted the coverage, knew the behaviors. The Bears have been on the other side of that, and it's probably all he could do to not do a dance over there, to just, you know, have his.

[A]

Well, because he has to be steady Eddie.

[B]

Have his serious steady Eddie face over there instead of being like, what the rest of us would be doing.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Gotcha. Got him. You know?

[A]

Yeah. I just. I would love to have a conversation with him about stuff like that, about coachy stuff.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

All right, here's another one. This is about the last play of the game, and then he gets asked about Roma, dunes, Ben going back to.

[B]

To that final play. How realistic of an option is swift in the flat there? I know Caleb's looking down the middle of the field, but how realistic is it to. To expect him to see that type of play?

[C]

Yeah, I mean, with everything that was going on, I don't see that as. As a potential option. I think there was a little bit more chaos than. Than what you would. You would like in A situation like that. And so, you know, I think Caleb did what he could to make, make chicken salad out of it, you know.

[A]

Ben, how's Roma Dunste coming along and is there a chance that you guys see him on Sunday?

[C]

Yeah, he's, he's right on track with where we have him slotted. And so we'll kind of go through the course of the week here and see what his availability is in terms of practice.

[A]

I like, I just like the chicken salad.

[B]

Where do you have him slotted? What does that, you know, is it. He's not going to answer that.

[A]

No, he's not.

[B]

Playoffs would be my guess.

[A]

Yeah. And yeah, we'll get more into that too in just a little bit about Rome and other injuries on the Bears. We'll continue on Ben Johnson audio. Hey, Ben, you gave up six touchdowns yesterday. What do you need your defense to improve on between now and the start of the postseason?

[B]

Stop.

[C]

Yeah, well, I mean, it always comes back to fundamentals and so it's gap integrity in terms of the run defense. You know, we're playing a really good offense right now. Okay. So that, that's, I do think that has to be stated because they're averaging about 35 points over the last five weeks. All right, so they're hot. I didn't feel like our offense did our part in the first half. You know, we did not possess the ball. We had a couple three and outs, you know, and you look at our defense, they got a pick six, they got a couple punts. And if we bow up in the red zone, I think we feel better about the performance. And that's not to take anything away from, from San Fran. They did a great job. But there are certainly things fundamentally that we can improve on and, and we're going to look to address here this week.

[A]

You talk about red zone defense. You were really good against the packers in the red zone. What typically carries over from week to week in terms of what you need to do to be good down there?

[C]

Yeah, well, I, yeah, that's a, that's a little bit of a loaded question because I don't want to, I don't want to give away philosophy how I see it, but each, each week's a little bit different. You know, every offense has, has a different red zone story to them. And, and so, you know, they, they simply executed better and we did with their plan.

[A]

And remember, they did have a red zone takeaway.

[B]

I would like to hear what fundamentally. Well, they had a red zone. Take it when it's called Back. But, yeah, I would like to hear. When he says fundamentals, what fundamentals? Are you talking your shoulder angle on tackling? Are you talking about your pad level when being blocked or trying to defeat a block? Are you talking about hand placement? There are a lot of things that can fit into fundamentals. There are.

[A]

And your split. What I took that was as far as their alignment and their positioning and understanding their assignments. That's. That's what I took that as. I didn't take it as like, actual physical body movements or how to play a particular way. I just. I took that as knowing your assignment better and executing it.

[B]

Are you shifting under or over and why? And then if you're disguising who the mic is, I mean, a lot of this stuff is. I would. I'd like to know what fundamentals.

[A]

Yeah, a couple more here. Hey, Ben, looking back at the first half, I think you guys ran the ball five times, like, as you watch the game back. Was that. Did that stick out to you as an anomaly, something that you weren't expecting. Were expecting. I know you were in a shootout, but was that. I guess how. What do you think about that as you look back at it?

[C]

Yeah, I haven't had a chance to look at the exact numbers. My. My guess is we probably had less than 20 plays in the first half, and a handful of those would have been second and longs and third downs. And so if you take those out, we're probably about 50, 50 run, run to pass, which is probably what we typically average. So that's just off the top of my head, though.

[A]

And then as far as Detroit and game planning for week 18. I know. I don't know if Dan's talked about if starters or not, what he's doing, but how do you view just like, what's that still ahead of you, the two or the three seed and how decisions that you'll make. Like, how do you weigh the importance of seeding in this game?

[C]

Yeah, we're playing to win this week.

[B]

He was right. 19 plays to 47. I believe it was 47 and 19 total plays run in the first half. San Francisco had more first downs with 22 than Bears did. The Bears had plays with 19. So, okay, he already sort of fell on his sword when it came to play calling late and passing rather than running. So I didn't know he was going to do it twice, but he's just saying he didn't have enough place.

[A]

He didn't know. And I thought that was a fair answer that he gave because you certainly didn't. You just didn't have enough place. You didn't have the ball long enough. You didn't execute to keep drives alive. But I think he knew going into it though that he was me passing more than running anyway. I mean, he's talking about a team that's, that's scoring, that was averaging 35 points a game the last five weeks. Going into that game. You're not going to run the football 30 or 35 times.

[B]

And they scored 38 points because.

[A]

Oh, well.

[B]

Yeah, well, I mean, 31 as far as their, the offense.

[A]

Yeah, 31 for the offense.

[B]

But still, like I'm not, I'm not quibbling about play calling in this game with the exception of that last drive.

[A]

Yeah. You know, and thinking back through the season as well, they've given up. 42, 42, 52. That's. Yeah, can't do that.

[B]

That's trust, Mini.

[A]

Yeah, that's, that's. I'm going to say this, that that's probably too many points to give up.

[B]

I think you're probably right there.

[A]

Last one.

[B]

That's why they pay you the big bucks.

[A]

That's correct. And I like this one too. He kind of chuckles about it too. It's funny, Ben. I wanted to start with the long touchdown to Lutheran after the game. He told us that he wasn't supposed to even get the ball on that play. He was running a clear route. What did you see when you watched it on film with Caleb and like what did you. Obviously the result you like, but just the way he went through his progressions to get to Luther on that.

[C]

Yeah, I must not have installed that play very well then if you felt that way. He was certainly part of the read. He was, he was probably less likely to get the ball but yet Caleb felt, felt like he could see. It was more of a layered concept there. We had Colston low, we had DJ in the middle and then. And then Luther was high and they just dropped him a little bit. He got a step on him and so it was good. It was great for Caleb to see that. I thought the protection was outstanding. You know, that was, it was a drop back pass where, you know, you're holding it for a good seven step timing there from the gun and so you needed to make sure you had plenty of time and I thought those guys did it up front and that's really the key to the play in my opinion, to give Caleb enough time to get that ball out. Outstanding throw. Outstanding catch.

[B]

Well, I understand if there's A discrepancy between him saying he's in the play and Ben saying, well, I didn't design it properly. Almost always that's the clear out guy. He's only there to pull stuff away from DJ Moore middle or the shallow cross. So how does Tim Jenkins phrase it when he talks about a read like that? He'll say, you gotta ask the hot girl to the dance sometimes. By which he means even though it's. You're. It's not necessarily designed to get the deep guy. If you think you got it, go ahead and throw it.

[C]

Right.

[A]

But I think that's why there's like, I heard a little bit of a disconnect there then from his young player to what his scheme calls for. Because you are part of the play. And while you might be a clear out guy, you're still an option to receive the goddamn ball. You're in the play like if you're running. So I'm wondering how often does that happen with a wide receiver where they're running a route just for the sake of running around all the time? Like that shouldn't be happening with Ben Johnson because if you're on the field and you're one of the four or five guys going out for a pass, you might get the pass.

[B]

I think it's probably. Well, we know that from the numbers.

[A]

Yeah. And obviously he creates opportunities for mismatches and he's going to create opportunities for Caleb to be most successful with a. Most with a. With a passing play that's going to be executed at the highest level.

[B]

I think it's semantic. I think it's probably semantic in that, you know, there's a 90% likelihood based on the number of times this play has been running where the ball is going.

[A]

And it could just be the fact that when they've run it in practice, Caleb just doesn't throw to Luther and Luther hasn't gotten the ball either at all in practice or not much. So, yeah, I'm clearing out. I'm going to run. Oh, yeah. So obviously he's ready to catch the ball. But it's like I want all my guys to be in their mindset on every play. Every play. I'm the number one guy regardless of what the play's calling for.

[B]

But like, but they've run it in that regard when you run it as much as they do.

[A]

Yeah, I know.

[B]

They're like muscle memory.

[A]

Right. He's running because he's clearing out space. He's crawling attention and being a distraction. So Loveland or DJ get the ball and I'm going to run. I'm going to get. Oh, shit, the ball's coming.

[B]

And sometimes you see that when you see somebody have to accelerate late because they maybe did break it down a little bit too early. They did gear down. That's one of those things that a trained eye can watch well late in the game or late in the season, see how hard you guys are trying.

[A]

With DJ A couple times earlier in the year, it was there Every once in a while.

[B]

Yeah, every once in a while guys have their moments.

[A]

Yeah, they do. That's fine. All right, so lots of, lots of cuts there from Ben, Ben Johnson. I thought a lot. A lot of good questions. A lot of good stuff from Ben.

[B]

All good stuff as well. So where are we on who's playing? That's what I want to know. Because if Roma Dunes is probably not coming back. We had conflicting reports. We were terrified about what happened with Luther Burden. And then after the game he seemed to say, well, I was just tired. And then Schefter reported that it, the quad injury was not serious. So we don't even know where he's going to be on the report.

[A]

Yeah, so like Rome is my focus here on this because I'm wondering with Roma Dunes a and we've talked about this a little bit briefly. When did this injury occur and how long did he still play for?

[B]

Well, they said it was heel initially, correct?

[A]

I think so.

[B]

And then it turns out it's a stress fracture. I guarantee you after the season he'll have a procedure.

[A]

So how long, like when did they the injury show up? When did he start being put on the injury report? How long did he continue to play for when maybe he shouldn't have. So I just went back to look at some of Rome's game. So he's played 12 games this year and leading up to the Cincinnati game, remember the. He had the Baltimore game where he had the 10 targets and seven catches. Then we go to Cincinnati, the Cincinnati, if you remember, he was over three, three targets, no catches after that. The Giants, 10 targets, six catches. Minnesota six targets for two. Pittsburgh nine for three. Philadelphia six for two. And then he's out. So his catching percentage in those six games, in those five games, sorry. Was 32%. 32% the previous seven games, his catch percentage was 52%. So I'm wondering when did this, like, I have to go back and look when he came up on the injury report, when this injury occurred, how long he tried to play on it for and why Wasn't anything done sooner?

[B]

Did that exacerbate something?

[A]

That's what I'm wondering.

[B]

Because a stress fracture can develop over time. Often if there is a previous stress to the area, I believe, because they'll talk about a stress reaction first. That can develop into a stress fracture. I don't know.

[A]

And if you're just not feeling your best. I know guys play all season long without being 100. I get that. But a receiver with having a foot issue like that, that's significant to me. Like, is he, like. I know he's on the sidelines, obviously, for these games.

[B]

Oh, we know. Because he's got one of the great hairdos going.

[A]

Right?

[B]

It looks great.

[A]

It looks fantastic.

[B]

It's so good.

[A]

Is he like. Obviously, I haven't seen him. He's not on crutches at all. And he's standing and walking around participating in the games.

[B]

No walking. Boot.

[A]

There is no boot. That's what I was gonna ask. We haven't seen a boot, right?

[B]

I haven't.

[A]

So I don't know. So I just wonder. Could. Could something different have been done? So he's not.

[B]

We're not going to get an answer until after this.

[A]

Oh, I know. I know we won't. But then I started thinking about other guys with injuries. So. Great. We know Grady, Jared had a knee thing that he was dealing with, and we've seen his production level has increased since the Green. The first Green Bay game. And I've highlighted him a couple different times where I thought he's played rather well. Moving. Moving a lot better than the start of the season. So then we find out he had a knee thing, that he was rehabbing this knee thing to get back to health. So there's a real fine line there between rehabbing an injury and being the guy that's brought in to be a leader. It's your first year with the team to be out on the field to do your job. Like, how well can you rehab while you're out there trying to do your job?

[B]

He can't usually.

[A]

You usually can. Now, obviously, he's found some success where he must be feeling either much better or back to 100% health.

[B]

It also depends who's behind you.

[A]

He's playing better as well, too.

[B]

And whether or not you at 75% is better than your backup at 100.

[A]

Look at Kyler Gordon, who's played three games this year. Okay, he played. Where's he played? He played Washington, New Orleans. So here's what he did. He missed the first four Weeks of the season. Then there was the bye week. So he came back after the buy. He played Washington and New Orleans. Then he missed five games. Then he played one game, which was the Philadelphia game. And then he's been. Got hurt the following weekend in pregame against Green Bay. So he's played three games.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Got hurt in pregame warmups, missed four, came back. He's out again. He's back. He's out again. So it's just, I'm just wondering, like, what's happening there with Kyler Gordon. Another guy I look at is Jalen Johnson, and we saw there's a little bit of controversy there over the weekend. He gets benched for Tyreek Stevenson. And then his quotes, which you read yesterday on the show. I'm 100%. Are you going to split time? I don't know. I'm 100%. So I'm just wondering what these injuries that guys are dealing with and how it's being. And I'm not questioning anything about the medical staff, the training staff.

[B]

Yeah, we're not talking about the Bulls.

[A]

Right. I mean, I don't, I don't know enough of that stuff to, to talk intelligently about what they're doing. But it just, you're. You have key players that are going in and out and back and forth, and a guy rehabbing while trying to play and not really being very effective. So how effective is it to have him on the field? And then you got Roma dunes a who you have relied on, and we saw his play drop significantly. Trying to play through this injury, was it the best approach to take? So I'm just wondering how they're dealing with injuries and the approach to it. That's all. Well, you know, you know what? It's a. It's a piece of red meat, Doctor, and I'm throwing it in your cage and I want you to go after it.

[B]

The problem is, I think if you went to any NFL team and you looked at all the injuries and all the man games missed and asked and.

[A]

The Bears were one of the tops at one point. If they're not, I mean, they're still in the top of games missed, this.

[B]

Is not a cop out. But the answer is it's football. That's the answer. Every week's a car accident, multiple car accidents for sure. And then you pick up the pieces and you see who could walk.

[A]

Yeah, I know. I get that. I do. I get it. And guys aren't healthy throughout the entire season. But, like, I question a guy like a wide receiver With a foot injury, a guy who's a defensive back that's. You count on a lot to do a lot of running and back and forth.

[B]

There's also gray areas and he's got groin. And diagnoses for soft tissue are really difficult. And sometimes you don't get a definitive look at ultrasound, at mri, at X ray, at everything you've got. Sometimes you've got to trust the patient to describe everything just right. It's science, but it's not always an exact science because of the number of bits of information and points of data that you're trying to assimilate into every decision that you make. And you hope guys aren't going to hurt themselves further. Not to mention all of the Hippocratic hypocrisies that you have about doing no harm, about actual doctors whose job it is to make sure people are safe. And are they safe enough to go out and injure themselves and injure other people? It's like watching an episode of MASH where every couple episodes the meatball surgeons say we spend all this time putting people back together just so they can go out and get killed and kill other people. That's what NFL team doctors are always dealing with.

[A]

I get it. I think just for me, the two that really stood out were Grady Jarrett, I mean, first year guy, you bring him in and try. And I understand his perspective of trying to play through while rehabbing. I get that. But then Rome, he's trying to set.

[B]

An example because that's why he's here.

[A]

That's why he was, you know, he gave the speech and the team leader and did all that. And then Roma Dunes A is your number one receiver. You know, and it's like, how. How long do you let that guy.

[B]

They don't have a number one receiver. And that's good.

[A]

But he was though. I mean, yeah. I mean from targets and production level for scoring touchdowns. He was at the start of the season.

[B]

They don't. I love the fact that they don't have one.

[A]

I know that what you pointed out.

[B]

I love it. Yes.

[A]

And I actually have an answer for you on that too. I'll get.

[B]

Oh, about the number. Because everybody on The Bears has 40 catches and 600 some yards.

[A]

Yeah. So I found a team.

[C]

Good.

[A]

It took me a second.

[B]

Let me just mention while we mentioned the name of another injury, Luther Burden, A quick follow up. We were talking about his touchdown celebration.

[A]

Oh, yeah, that's right.

[B]

We got an answer. Apparently it is a TikTok dance based off of Rupaul's Drag Race. And it's a RuPaul head pop. Remember what I said? That was like this dramatic lean. That's what it is. It's the RuPaul Drag Race head pop.

[A]

Well, there we go.

[B]

Is what he was doing. Well done. So at least we know we got.

[A]

An answer for it. All right. I did a quick little exercise on Caleb Williams and his completion percentage because it's been a topic of conversation.

[B]

Would you want to do the wide receiver thing, too? You said you found a distribution.

[A]

Yeah, okay. I'll get into it. Yeah.

[B]

It's just a team.

[A]

No, it's all right. No, I just want to go through this. So I went through and. Because we talked about it a lot and there was a lot of criticism geared towards us about the criticism of Caleb Williams and is missing some open, open passes at times. Okay.

[B]

Yeah. Nitpicking the fact that sometimes he was inexplicably inaccurate.

[A]

We're talking about opportunities where a receiver's there. He has a clean pocket and a firm foundation and still makes a bad throw.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Chris Collinsworth pointed out a couple in detail over the broadcast on Sunday night, which Bears fans didn't like. So I just want to look at Caleb because I kept saying that it's not his whole game. It's two, three, four passes a game. There were opportunities to be completed that he was failing on that. I didn't think he should be. So I looked at Caleb's numbers and I went through and kind of repurposed with some completions in them. If you were hitting those passes, what his season might look like, does that make sense?

[B]

I can guess where we're going to be here. I know we're over 4,000 yards.

[A]

So Caleb Williams currently is at 58% complete percentage and he's at 37,33,730 yards, 25 touchdowns, six interceptions, has done a fantastic job taking care of the football, throwing away when needed. So not. Not criticizing those. Those are necessary. So 270 from 4,000. Yep. So he's currently has 310 completions on 535 attempts at 60 or at 58%. Okay, so what I did at the bare. I did. I did three different levels. The bare minimum, I added one completion per game. Make it fair, make it simple.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

Real conservative. 16 extra completions for the season would put him at 326 for 535 and would put him at 61%.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Which would have him not last of starting quarterbacks. I looked at all the starting Quarterbacks who have played all 16 games.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

There are 13 of those guys. 61% would put him ahead of Cam Ward and Trevor Lawrence. Okay, so then I went back through and I added two completions per game. So giving him 32 more completions. So that would give him 342 for 535 for a completion percentage of 64%.

[B]

That is a big jump.

[A]

It is a big jump, but that puts him ahead of Bo Nix, Baker Mayfield, Trevor Lawrence, Cam Ward. Okay, so he jumps up a couple more guys. Then I went ultra, like, really, really crazy with it, And I added three completions per game.

[B]

Whoa.

[A]

Which gave him 48 more completions, which put his completion percentage at 67%.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

Okay. So 67% would put him in the top five of those 13 quarterbacks who've started all 16 games.

[B]

Three more games.

[C]

A lot.

[A]

It is. It is a lot. That's why. Even conservative. Okay, so then I looked and I thought about it, Dan. I said, all right, that is a lot. And if he would have done that, if he would have. If he would be at 358 completions right now at 67%, where would that put him in the league? Like, is that. Is that unreasonable? Is it too far fetched? Am I asking too much of Caleb Williams or. The flip side of it is, is this possible? That this is what we could see of Caleb Williams as the Bears?

[B]

That's what I would say. Like, if you're talking about next year. Okay. Is this a reasonable approximation for where he should be next year?

[A]

I think it is.

[B]

Okay. Okay.

[A]

So I think it is. So here's how it goes. If you add the 48 more completions, it gets him to 67%. That puts him at 358 completions, which would put him fifth in completions of those 13 quarterbacks.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Okay. So that's reasonable.

[B]

Totally.

[A]

It's not far fetched. It's not asking too much. Now I added yards to it. So he's completing each completion this season.

[B]

By his yards per completion is 12. Okay.

[A]

12 yards per completion is his average this year.

[B]

That's per completion, not per attempt, per completion. Okay.

[A]

So now I'm adding those yards to it as well, too. Okay, so if he had 16 more completions, that is. And again, I know it's not exact, but it's, you know, roundabout that that would add 192 yards.

[B]

Not enough.

[A]

And he would be at 3,922 right now. Okay. Which would be really close to that 4,000 with one game to go, he would pass that. But on yardage, that would put him fifth in the league right now.

[B]

Well, we know that he is a slugger.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

That he, he swings hard to hit home runs. Yes.

[A]

If we add two more completions a game, that's 32 more completions for the first 16 games. That would add 384 yards. And right now he'd be sitting at 4114 with one game to go. It would also have him fifth in the league in yards and it would.

[B]

Be through 16 games the most productive passing season in Bears history.

[A]

Correct. But still fifth, though. Then take a look at that. That going extreme 48, adding three completions per game, 48 more completions, that would add 576 yards, which would put him right now at 4,300, 306 yards with a game to go would only have him third. He'd still be behind two quarterbacks in the league right now. So I think he continues to progress and grow as a quarterback. And even adding a conservative amount of 16 or even adding 24 more completions, it's a more of a realistic view of what we're going to get from Caleb Williams under Ben Johnson's offense.

[B]

You're talking MVP votes.

[A]

That's. That's what, that's what caliber of level that that is for sure.

[B]

Yeah. With those numbers, you're talking about somebody who would be in the conversation for most valuable player.

[A]

Yes, absolutely.

[B]

Especially after watching what Matthew Stafford did last night when that's the guy they're chanting mvp.

[A]

And he had one of the worst games in a Rams uniform.

[B]

He was horrible.

[A]

He had two pick sixes and I think three interceptions and.

[B]

And he missed the game winner.

[A]

Guy was wide open.

[B]

He missed him.

[A]

There was a. He had the game missed coverage and I think, oh, I can't remember who it was at Wall was the other guy that got the pass interference that wasn't called. Yeah.

[B]

But he had the game winner.

[C]

Right.

[A]

So again, just that quick exercise, just adding some completions to it on the yards, kind of see where it sits. And is it realistic? And it certainly is in. When you're looking at the, the landscape of the NFL right now, he would.

[B]

Tell you that immediately. I have no doubt in my mind that he would say, oh, yes, absolutely, that. Or that. And beyond. No question in my mind.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

While we mentioned last night, they were down 21 and then I went back to the Bulls and then the Bulls game was essentially over and miserable and I left and I said, oh, all of A sudden this is a game and they just scored a touchdown. When I tuned back in.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I stuck with it for a while. And it was worth it just to hear. To hear those guys gushing over Bijan Robinson was really amazing. And he deserved it.

[A]

He deserved the whole game. Y.

[B]

To hear Troy Aikman in the same breath compare him to Barry Sanders and Emmett Smith mentioned Emmett Smith.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And Barry Sanders.

[A]

Well, do you see that 93 yard running?

[B]

I saw all of it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So there are certain guys, and I think this is a. The rule of thumb for me has been the speed guys look cooler in slow mo. The power guys look cooler in full speed. Because you see, you can appreciate the impact of the collisions, like Earl Campbell. You want to watch him at full speed because you can actually see how brutal some of these collisions are that he's able to just run through and deliver. And somebody like Barry Sanders, when it looks like a slowed down. You ever see a fly in a fly swatter? Yeah, super slow, where the fly swatter is coming down and it's like the fly is sitting there doing his nails and he's like, oh, there's a fly swatter headed for me. I'll fly away now. And how they see it and how slow it looks to the fly when you see Barry Sanders in slow mo and watch how quick his movements still are while the defenders are. Bijan Robbins is a little bit of both.

[A]

Yeah, he's. He's a good running back.

[C]

He's.

[B]

He's a little bit of both. And the. The jump cuts and the re. Acceleration after the jump cut and then he splits out wide and he. His hips swivel and his. The way he sinks his hips into some of these route breaks is incredible.

[A]

Wait, are you. Are you saying he's a good, good football player?

[B]

I think, I think. I think he might be a good football.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Don't. Don't look now.

[A]

Yeah, the. Then the officials missed on a pass interference call, which would have been important for the Rams. And then there was one play where Rams offensive lineman, his face mask is being pushed up and there wasn't a flag called, but he was pushed up so far. Dan. His helmet came off his head.

[B]

There's a defensive lineman. It was Puna Ford.

[A]

Oh, yeah. It was defense line.

[B]

It was the nose tackle.

[A]

It was a nose tackle and his helmet got pushed so far it came off his head and he still was in on the play, still made. Went in on the tackle, but there was no flag. Like the helmet is actually on the.

[B]

Ground that ripped his helmet off.

[A]

Ripped his helmet off with illegal hands of the face and no flag. It was really bad. I thought they missed a couple, couple big important ones there.

[B]

I thought that kick also when Zane Gonzalez hits one right down the middle, it is, it's just, it's perfect, man. When he. Dean Gonzalez, that's kicker number three, I think, because they had young coup and then they had another guy in there and this, they finally settled on a dude. And I think it's a rule. You have to have Michael Badgley in at some point if you're going through kickers. One last note. I have Aaron Glenn, who may be one and done as coach of the Jets. He came out of that most recent loss just yelling about his team's effort and about how they try harder. Didn't play hard enough. And I think somebody got to him and said, hey, you know, Aaron, if you're calling out your team's effort, you're kind of pointing the finger at yourself.

[A]

As a coach, 100%.

[B]

Because usually when a coach is about to get fired, what do you hear? Well, it's not the effort. My guys, they play hard. For me, it's not the effort.

[A]

Yeah, they're not playing hard for you.

[B]

Maybe it's the tactics, maybe it's the strategy, but if you actually say as a coach, yeah, well, they just didn't play hard enough. He then walked it back and said, I watched the tape and I take that back. They are playing hard. So I don't think things are looking real good for Aaron Glenn. Right?

[A]

No, it doesn't. Doesn't sound very good. You know, the, the Bears were not the only team in Week 17 to utilize a hook and ladder play.

[B]

The Bills did it.

[A]

The Buffalo Bills in their game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Now they ended up losing 13 to 12. They went for a two point conversion and the win instead of the tie. And they failed on a really bad pass opportunity from Josh Allen. But they did execute a really nice hook and ladder. Fourth and 10 pressure. Allen gets rid of it, is caught.

[B]

Little slip for first down.

[A]

Oh, a beauty to Johnson. Oh, was that sweet. Shavers caught it, flipped it to Ty.

[B]

Johnson and they get it into a blitz. It's all five guys coming.

[A]

I mean, what a play call and execution in these conditions, but a fourth and 10 and they executed perfectly with all five guys coming at him, but he gets it. Yeah, it was great. Really good. Thanks to Fox there. Thank you.

[B]

Thank you, Fox.

[A]

Yes. All right, I got some receivers here for you. Found a team.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

This team had.

[B]

Just give me the team. Tell me that. Tell me the team. Tell me the year.

[A]

Okay. Denver Broncos.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

2013.

[B]

Oh, geez.

[A]

Yeah. There you go, smarty pants. Now what do you got?

[B]

Emmanuel?

[A]

No. No.

[C]

Nope. Was.

[B]

Brandon.

[A]

Nope.

[B]

All right, good.

[A]

Demarius Thomas. Demarius Thomas was their leading receiver.

[B]

That's it.

[A]

With 1,430 yards.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Eric Decker, 1288. Julius Thomas, the tight end, 788. And Wes Welker, 778. So four guys over 700 yards, that's pretty good.

[B]

But my point was the equality distribution.

[A]

I know.

[B]

That does nothing.

[A]

No, it does. It does do something. I wanted to find a team that had four guys with over 600 yards.

[B]

That's not what I was looking for.

[A]

Doesn't matter.

[B]

I was looking for everybody within the exact same range to show an equitable distribution. I know.

[A]

I know.

[B]

This does nothing.

[A]

It does. It does a lot.

[B]

Credit is nothing.

[A]

All right, here's my final trivia question for you then. Yes, you might know this one.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

So we know that Kyle Menungai has 769 yards.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

DeAndre Swift is over 1,000 with 1047. Last time the Bears had two running backs. Dan. Over 800 yards in the same season.

[B]

Was Walter Payton and roland Harper in 77.

[A]

You are wrong. You got it wrong. You're wrong. Dude, it was 78.

[B]

Okay?

[A]

Yeah, but it was Harper.

[B]

Yeah, Harper had 920.

[A]

That's wrong, too. Jesus Christ. It was 992. It wasn't 920 something. It was 992.

[B]

992.

[A]

Damn, you're bad at this. I got it. How did you know that? You saw it somewhere?

[B]

No, that's. That's. That's meat era for me. That's your. That. That's wheelhouse for me, talking about Peyton and Harper. And that's going to do it for today's forward progress. A Chicago Bears podcast on 312 Sports.

[A]

Forward progress has stopped.

[B]

Ted. 219.

[A]

219. Forward progress. A Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abaticola on 312 Sports.