← Forward Progress - A Chicago Bears Podcast
Forward Progress - A Chicago Bears Podcast
Brian Wacker - Baltimore Sun / Chicago Bears - Baltimore Ravens Preview
00:48:01
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Transcript157 lines
- [00:01]
Dan Bernstein
Ted 219219.
- [00:08]
Matt Abeticola
Forward progress a Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abeticola.
- [00:14]
Dan Bernstein
On three one two Sports. We give you Forward Progress on three one two Sports. Brought to you today on this Friday, as we always are by Beer Church Brewing New Buffalo's Brewery Pizzeria in a historic church wood fired Neapolitan Pizza small batch craft beer brunch every visit beerchurchbrewing.com and here to go behind the scenes with the Bears upcoming opponent, the Baltimore Ravens, is our guest. He is Brian Wacker. You can follow his work on socials. Ryanwhacker1 he is the main beat writer and reporter for the Baltimore sun covering the Baltimore Ravens and we're happy to have him here on Forward Progress. How are you Brian?
- [01:01]
Brian Wacker
I'm great. Thanks for having me guys.
- [01:03]
Matt Abeticola
Well, thanks for taking the time for this morning, Brian. And I know you just came off viewing the practice field for the Baltimore Ravens. What's the latest that you can share with us about where the Ravens are at going into this weekend's game?
- [01:16]
Brian Wacker
Well, they look to be largely healthy. Two big question marks though, of course. Lamar Jackson, he was out there for third straight day on the practice field. He was limited the past two days so it'll be interesting to see when the injury report comes out what his status is today. Was he a full participant? Was he limited? Again, I think if he's, you know, either way you would think this gives him maybe the chance to play on Sunday against the Bears. I think it's also guys worth remembering that four days later they turn around and play the Miami Dolphins down in Miami. So you know, there's some, they've got to weigh that, right? Like is he ready to play? Is, is Lamar Jackson ready to play? And you have to consider the fact that they have another game four days later. So on the flip side of that, Ronnie Stanley, left tackle was interestingly not out there today. He's been dealing with an ankle issue. He was a full participant in practice on Thursday though, so we'll have to get to see what sort of the situation is there. But he's been dealing with an ankle issue really going back for the bye week. So you would think he would be able to play on Sunday and I would probably expect him to at least try to give it a go on Sunday. But we'll have a better sense that I think later on today looking at.
- [02:31]
Dan Bernstein
The remainder of this season. Obviously the math now is daunting and the, the possibilities, the percentages of making the playoffs are threatening Further than that, after 1 and 5 are certainly not good. How is the organization on all levels dealing with that? How much is there a reckoning with that idea and an understanding that maybe there's opportunity in that and a chance to start perhaps looking at some younger players or developmental players on the roster? And how much of it is just, look, head down. It's a weird league. It is. There's a ton of parity this year. Keep grinding. You never know what's going to happen.
- [03:13]
Brian Wacker
Yeah, I think certainly it's the latter. I think that's the viewpoint within the organization and, you know, part of the reason that they're in this position. You mentioned kind of getting a look at younger players. You know, they had so many injuries the first month of the season that they actually, some of those younger guys were pressed into duty probably sooner than they were expected to be. So I think the focus right now, you know, look, you've got to play, as Derrick Henry said yesterday, you've got to play every game like it's your last. And I think that's how the Ravens are sort of treating this, is that, look, we're in playoff mode one week, playoff mode every week. As you mentioned, the margins are slim. They just don't have a lot of room for error here. The margin is very thin. Only one team since 1970 has ever made the playoffs after starting one six. That was 1970 Bengals. Of course, back then there were only 26 teams and they finished, I believe, eight and six, 14 game season. So a little bit different now. You know, 10 wins probably gets, I would think, is probably the target. I don't know that they're necessarily looking at it that way. I think they kind of have that in the back of their mind. But you certainly want to start now with coming off a bye week as a team. You know, John Harbaugh, 13, 3 in his career off of bye weeks. So that bodes well. But of course, a lot of that will depend on Lamar Jackson. They do get a number of other players back pretty. Pretty much healthy. You know, obviously we'll see about Ronnie Stanley, but everyone else seems to be pretty healthy. They do get Pat Ricard back, the fullback. I think that makes a difference in their running game and some of the things they like to do with blocking, even in the passing game. So it's desperate times, but I don't think they're quite treating it as desperate, just in the sense of trying to win, you know, one game at a time.
- [05:04]
Matt Abeticola
I know with every NFL team, overcoming injury is really what marks a good team or a playoff team, a championship caliber team is. Is this 1 in 5 start just a byproduct of all the injuries or has there been more going on with this team outside of the injuries as well?
- [05:22]
Brian Wacker
Well, certainly the injuries play a huge part, right? You take Lamar Jackson off the field, you take really any starting quarterback of that caliber off the field, and it's going to present some problems, some challenges. And you know, Cooper Rush, I think we've seen certainly he had some success in Dallas, but this is a different system really tailored to Lamar's unique skill set. So just always sort of felt like a square peg in a round hole and it sort of played out that way. Then you add in some other things. As we reported on kind of earlier in the week, you know, there's been some disconnect from players on offense where they feel like they're. Some guys feel like they're, they're maybe not being as creative as they could be, doing a lot of the same things they were a few years ago. And teams now have tape on that. Then there's guys maybe potentially being a little disgruntled at their role or lack of role.
- [06:13]
Dan Bernstein
Who.
- [06:13]
Brian Wacker
Then you look at the, Well, I just think, right, you take any, any team when you look at this, and if guys aren't getting the ball in a losing situation, they're not going to be happy, right? Like we see this all the time across the NFL, certainly not unique to here. And then you look at the defensive side, you know, as I said, the injuries played a lot. You got a second year coordinator in Zach Orr, who I think is still kind of finding his footing a little bit in that regard. John Harbaugh has been a staunch supporter of his really since day one. But again, we have to remember this is a guy who is only in his second year calling defenses at any level. So there was growing pains last year. I think there's still been some growing pains this year. And then you just look at some of the guys just not, you know, being out there. Roquan Smith, you know, then you're, you're suddenly forced to have a fourth round rookie and Teddy Buchanan playing inside linebacker and calling the defensive plays with the green dots. So I just think it's been this kind of personal perfect storm of all of these things, whether it's been trying to find your identity on offense, trying to find, you know, feed all of these star studded hands on offense and then defense, trying to find a scheme there. They of course lost guys like Nami Matabike, I think was a big blow on the defensive line. He's out for the year with a neck injury. And you know, all of these things have a trickle down effect. And so I think it's just been like any sort of big, complex issue. You know, it's usually a number of things. And I think that's the case here.
- [07:44]
Dan Bernstein
How much capital is John Harbaugh used up at this point? And we know John Harbaugh by any, any estimation is a good coach. He's, he has proven enough that he's, he didn't become dumb overnight and everybody knows that. I know he's generally well liked, but how much has he had to kind of rely on some of that goodwill and trust that he's accrued over these years to this point of getting through this bump in the road?
- [08:12]
Brian Wacker
Yeah, look, no question, when you're an 18th year head coach, you're going to get some leeway. And as he should. And to your point, he's got a very impressive resume. He's won a Super bowl consistently. This team is year in, year in and year out. And even going back to last year when they had some similar struggles early in the year, managed to turn things around, win the AFC north, win a playoff game, and we're kind of right there, you know, on the doorstep of the AFC title game again. So look, I think the, probably the biggest question I, or the most asked question I get is, is John Harbach's job in jeopardy either now or at the end of the season? And I don't, I don't think it is. Honestly, I. Certainly not during the season. I mean, you just don't do that. Like, what's the solution if you do that? What's the, and I always go back to that. Like, okay, if you're going to get rid of John Harbaugh, like, what's your solution? Because you're just blowing the whole thing up. You know, you're getting rid of your coordinators, you're kind of starting again with a quarterback, Lamar, who's very unique and in his ninth, will be going into his ninth year next year. So what's the solution now? Like, who, who's the replacement? So that said, look, if it were to go sideways down the stretch here, the second half of the season, I, you know, certainly I think the seat would be warm. I still don't think, given his track record and given some of the injuries, you know, that they've really incurred over the course of the year, I think that would buy him Some time you might see some other coaching changes, but I, you know, I don't feel like his job is, imit, certainly not imminently in danger and probably not even at the end of the season. And he's, he's proven that he can turn these things around. So, you know, if he does that again, I think that that, that bodes well.
- [09:53]
Dan Bernstein
I just want the record to show. I did not ask that question.
- [09:57]
Brian Wacker
You did not. You.
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Dan Bernstein
That I didn't specifically. But you very deftly turned it to the fact that you do get that question a lot. I just want to clear that I. That I asked around it, but I didn't ask it.
- [10:08]
Brian Wacker
Yes.
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Matt Abeticola
Yeah, go ahead. Sorry.
- [10:11]
Brian Wacker
No, I just think, you know, as I said, I mean, this is a guy who I always start with. Okay. If you're in any scenario, you getting rid of a coach, who are you replacing with, particularly with an organization that feels like it is built to win now and has this window with Lamar, with Derrick Henry, with some of the other pieces, Kyle Hamilton, etc. Now, maybe some of this roster was overrated, overvalued. You can certainly make that argument in some spots. You know, we've, for example, we've seen a guy like Jair Alexander, not really factor since they brought him here. Obviously he's had some injury issues and has that history behind him. So. Did not play well in that Buffalo game. Was not really healthy in that Buffalo game. It's kind of been battling the same stuff that he's battled the last few years. So, you know, so I do think there's. There's pressure, certainly, but I just don't see that as the likely outcome.
- [11:06]
Matt Abeticola
Now, while I do think there are appropriate times to fire a head coach even without a foreseeable solution, and particularly here in Chicago, I've experienced that. This certainly is not one of those cases with, with John Harbaugh, but taking a look at the Ravens schedule you mentioned they play four days later after the Bears game in Miami. What do you expect to see from Lamar Jackson and his ability coming off that injury and time off the field in this game Sunday with the Bears?
- [11:35]
Brian Wacker
Yeah, look, if Lamar plays Sunday, I think it's because he feels like he. He can give it a go and he's not going to go out there if he doesn't feel healthy. Certainly. I would certainly expect him to be out there by the Miami game. As long as there aren't any setbacks, you know, I'm probably leaning again. We'll see what the injury report says later today. We'll see what John Harbaugh has to say. But I would sort of lean having seen him out here for like three straight days, even though he's been limited the past two. You know, I kind of tend to lean towards him playing slightly on Sunday. That said, I wouldn't be shocked if he didn't play Sunday. I just think it's odd optics maybe if you've got a Guy Ltd. For three straight days practicing and then all of a sudden, you know, is not playing. So that said, I, you know, when he's on the field, I think that dramatically improves this offense because Lamar Jackson's.
- [12:25]
Dan Bernstein
Lamar Jackson, you mentioned a lack of imagination perhaps in some of the, of the play calling and or play design. I'd like to know more about what those, what the internal grumbling may be about changing things up and in large part because and I've got a follow up on that regarding Todd Monken, but when you start talking about maybe some of their looks have become a little stale. Which ones?
- [12:50]
Brian Wacker
Well, first, you know, to be fair, like that's, that's what some of the players are saying. Some of the guys have told us and they feel like one player, for example in the story, and I'm paraphrasing a bit from the corner, but essentially said, look, three years ago, Todd Monken's first year as the offensive coordinator here, teams did not have tape on this team in terms of what they like, what they don't like, etc. And what their tendencies are. If you fast forward three years, the gist of it is that, you know, they're doing a lot of the same stuff, certain play calls and we've seen it with certain run plays and so forth where yeah, there's plays that they like. And look, that's true of any team. Any team's going to have certain plays that work well for them most of the time and they like to keep and they don't necessarily maybe change that. But I asked Todd Monk about that yesterday in terms of looking at breaking some of those tendencies and he said look, it's something you look at all the time, certainly during the bye week and every week. And I think the other half of it is that's interesting is you know, he's talked about having all of these weapons that is disposed all these players, whether it's Shau Bateman, Zay Flowers, Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, DeAndre Hopkins, Derrick Henry, Lamar Jackson, you know, that's a lot of hands to feed, obviously a lot of high end talent that is produced on the field. And so it's a very delicate balance, I think, to try to manage that, to make sure guys are getting the ball that, you know, can impact the game. Now if you're, if you're a coach, obviously you don't really care. You just want to score and it doesn't really matter how you get there. And I think if this team was 5:1 versus 1 and 5 and guys weren't getting certain catches or whatever, you know, weren't getting the ball, there wouldn't be that grumbling. Right? Because winning cures all. So we saw that a couple years ago. It sort of reminded me of 2023. They had the best record in the NFL and you know, they had a lot of big personalities on that team. Guys like Jadavian Clowney and, and who had a great year. But also, you know, guys were just kind of happy that they were winning. Right. That cures a lot of those things. But when you're the inverse of that, you know, guys sort of start to wonder and they, you know, we had one player, sort of a well respected veteran say, you know, it sort of creates a little bit of confusion maybe with some of the personnel packages and in terms of maybe what we're trying to accomplish or what we're hoping. Hoping to accomplish. And you know, so I think there is this little bit of, you know, it's. Todd Monken says it's a good problem to have to have all of those players at his disposal. And sometimes, you know, maybe it's a. Just a problem. I, you know, I don't know that it's. I think it's probably somewhere in between, but clearly you've got it. You know, that's a lot to manage.
- [15:34]
Dan Bernstein
Can I ask you about Monkin? Because in Chicago we had some fun with him. He was, I don't know if he was ever like officially a finalist, but I know he was on a short list to be a potential next Bear's head coach. And I kind of found him adorable. I just, I like the whole thing. And there's. There is a very straightforward aspect. I know he's from here. I think he's originally from Wheaton. You know, there's the whole Monk and coaching family there. But between the play card sticking out of his pants and his propensity for some foul language, there's something definitely endearing about the character of Todd Monkin. Is that, is, is he, is he really that. I mean, is he as much fun as he seems or is it just kind of a, like once, once you get past that, that rough edge. I mean, I know there's, there's a lot of football knowledge in there somewhere, but he's, he's like the kind of old fashioned character you don't see a lot anymore.
- [16:32]
Brian Wacker
Absolutely. Look, I'm sure he's not having a lot of fun being one in five. That said, yes, he's got personality, he's got character, he can be endearing. I think he, as you mentioned, he comes from a coaching family that's in his blood since he's five years old, going to his dad's, you know, high school practices. So this is his, this is his wheelhouse and he does have this sort of endearing personality about him in endearing way, certainly that he deals with us. And I think even the players, and I think a lot of players, you know, they like him and a lot of what he's done, I think again, anytime you're losing, guys are going to start to maybe look at things and you know, hey, maybe I should get the ball more so forth. And so I don't know that it's a total indictment of him per se. Certainly some of the creativity stuff I found interesting. But again, some of that can be pegged to losing. Some of that can be, you know, the plays just aren't working as well as they did in the past. But he is, from a coach standpoint, a personality standpoint. I mean, yes, he is, he is that character and he is, he's entertaining, he's insightful, he's informative, he's fun to deal with. You know, will he ever get a head coaching job? I don't know. You know, we've seen the kind of skews younger these days. I think the average age is, you know, know, 46, 47 somewhere. That range, he's certainly well past that. So. But I think he does bring a lot to the table.
- [18:00]
Matt Abeticola
Now, Brian, do you have any firsthand knowledge of what happened to John Harbaugh's pinball machine? Because I know there's a lot of controversy about where that is. And I'm curious to know how much do you like pinball, Brian?
- [18:11]
Brian Wacker
You know, I love a good pinball machine. And to be clear, pinball machine was not one of the items in the locker room this year. That was from, I think maybe two years ago or the year, maybe even last year. And you know, and look, to me that whole thing has sort of mushroomed into this life of its own where you had players saying one thing and then John comes out, obviously says, look, it Was some of the, it wasn't the coaches who took that out of there. It was better than players. You know, I think Kyle Hamilton said it best. Doesn't really matter. These guys wanted to get that out of there to kind of eliminate distractions, eliminate. You know, it's sort of like you're a kid and you know, you get in trouble or you're not doing what you're supposed to. You know, your parents ground you. They take some of the, they take the video game system away. That's, you know, I kind of look at it that way. And it happened a month ago and I think, you know, it's just a matter of, hey guys, we need to focus. And to me that was, you know, like, I don't think it's a big deal because I think this has happened plenty of places.
- [19:08]
Dan Bernstein
I'm sure it's not a big deal. But with every next recreational machine that got named, I kept laughing because it was like, well, they, they took out the, the papa shot and the ping pong table and now air hockey is gone. And the pinball machine. I'm just picturing. It's like, you know, the animatronic animals that do the hourly pizza party musical show, they removed all those too, that we've just got like a locker room Chuck E. Cheese. And look, they're professional athletes. It's not like they, they can't go home and play with their kids and do their. It just I, I find the whole thing performative.
- [19:45]
Brian Wacker
Well, and, and look, to be honest, like, it's not like guys are in there all day long every day playing video games or, or shooting hoops. I mean, basketball hoops, like never got any.
- [19:55]
Dan Bernstein
And so what if they are. So what if they're like every people like, so instead they'd rather be like Dan Hampton and Steve McMichael who would immediately go to a biker bar and start fights and break glasses over people's heads. That's better.
- [20:10]
Brian Wacker
Totally agree. I. To me, this is, this is not a big deal. Like, I mean, and frankly, the story we had it in, I mean, we just, it was near the bottom of a 2300 word story that, you know, just one of those little elements of a little detail that we, we noticed. And it is what it is. It's. You know, I don't think, I think a lot of people are making it a bigger deal than it really is, to your point. And even Kyle Hamilton, one of the most respected voices I think probably in the league, certainly in this locker room, said, look, it doesn't even matter like that. That's not, that's not impacting whether we're winning games or not.
- [20:46]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah, I think overall, Brian, it's just, it's a, it's a funny story and it's not really anything to be concerned about. But one thing I would put it in, and having, you know, covered sports media in Chicago for sports in Chicago for over 20 years, when you have those kind of situations making news and being talked about and Derrick Henry talking about, you gotta play this game like it's your very last game, those kind of things get put into a bucket of. That this might be a season that it's just kind of. It's just gonna. Let's just get to the end of it and put this one behind us. That's kind of like the feeling I'm getting. Is that what the Baltimore Raven fans are feeling about this season right now?
- [21:24]
Brian Wacker
Oh, certainly the Ravens fans fan base has a much different view than the people in the building. Right. As they should. I mean, the people in the building, if you're, if you're having this mindset of like, hey, this season is, you know, just not there. I mean, what are you doing here? Right? So certainly, I think until you're eliminated, then you're not. You're not even. That thought process doesn't enter your mind as a player or coach, I would imagine. Fans, yes, they're very. I mean, we've seen empty seats in the stadium that we haven't seen before. There's a big, you know, a big disgruntled fan base. Now, again, this was a team that was expected to, you know, go to, if not win a Super bowl this year. So that's what happens. It's week eight, six games into the season for them, so there is time for them to turn around. But, but really the margins of error, they're just gone. I mean, they can't, they can't lose more than one or two games.
- [22:16]
Dan Bernstein
We haven't talked about Derrick Henry yet, and even though his numbers are a bit down, which is probably understandable considering he's facing stacked boxes with the. The lack of a passing threat. And that's really the way I've been looking at this game is can you have another man of the box or not? And I know we don't want to boil down to football to something that simple, but against Derrick Henry, it can be because they're just counting up the number of bodies that they could have, keeping a close watch on him and at as well as he has Extended his career and held off the ultimate and inexorable erosion of age. Guy still hitting 21 miles an hour on next gen stats. You know, you can't argue with the data that at least the top speed is still there for him at this age. What are you just the eye test from you. You've watched him a long time. How do you see him performing with all of these other factors weighing on him?
- [23:21]
Brian Wacker
Well, and I think you made a good point about the threat of the passing game not not being there, so defenses could key on him, but also the running game because remember Lamar Jackson being back there.
- [23:32]
Dan Bernstein
Yep.
- [23:32]
Brian Wacker
With the RPO stuff they do with Derek Henry, that that changes the equation for defenses significantly. You just can't do that stuff with Cooper Rush. Nobody's afraid of Cooper Rush breaking out for, you know, 75 yard run. So that said, you know, look, it was a little surprising to see Derek Henry struggle the way he did, particularly with the fumbles. That stood out to me. Maybe the biggest thing was, you know, three straight games of the fumble earlier this year. So. But I think you have to look at that offensive line, you know, that's coming under a lot of scrutiny this year. I think Ronnie Stanley and Tyler Linderbaum, the center generally have played pretty well. I think Linderbaum's run blocking in particular, particular has been very good. Some of the other guys, particularly the two guard spots, it's been not very good this year, frankly. They've just been down. And then the right tackle, Roger Rosengarten, inconsistent, but you know, up and down. So to me, I think it's a combination of you lose a guy like Lamar for a few games and all of a sudden people don't have to worry about another threat in that backfield. You've got Derek Henry back there now, I will say they get Patrick Card back. I think that, you know, he doesn't play a lot, doesn't play a ton of stacks, but he plays enough snaps. And I, I don't think his importance can be under overstated. I think, you know, he's a guy that gives you a de facto extra offensive lineman, be it in the run game or the pass game, and a guy that can actually, you know, get out in the flat and catch the ball too. So Pancake Pat as his nickname is around here. So I think to me that's what stood out.
- [25:06]
Matt Abeticola
What is the perception in the building there about this upcoming game and about the Bears in general? What are the Ravens saying about the Bears? What have you seen in the Chicago Bears over their first six games.
- [25:18]
Brian Wacker
I mean, this Bears team, you guys know this better than me. This is a team that's on a roll right now, four in a row offensively, kind of has some things going, certainly can run the ball, you know, and that's, I think that's one of the key things to watch this Sunday is, you know, this is a run defense that's been gashed a little bit here in Baltimore and it's a Bears team that can run the ball right. So particularly on the, on the tackle. So to me that's, that stands out. I think, you know, again, this team looks at this as must win. I think they take the Bears, you know, as a very strong opponent. It's kind of how they look at it now. Look, they think they look at most guys like that, most teams like that, but certainly I think Lamar Jackson is, is that's kind of at the nexus of all of this.
- [26:05]
Dan Bernstein
Last thing I have for you, Brian, is the what's going on at tight end right now. I keep seeing, and this is something that has become relatively new to NFL talk and that is a pre trade deadline of assessment of each team almost in a, in a baseball or basketball way that we hadn't seen in football. That's now the, the endless speculation of who's on the outs and who could be flipped for what. I do think it's fairly reasonable for speculation from the Ravens perspective because of, of where the season is. And if you say, look, we may be better off marshaling our resources in a way that's going to get us some draft picks. And one of the names that keeps coming up is at tight end where Isaiah likely appears to be the future at that position. He and Mark Andrews are listed as co starters. Andrews similarly. You know, you talk about Rosengarten. Andrews also has been sort of boom or bust this year. What's happening at tight end, how much of it has to do with Todd Monken and play calling, how much is tied in to who's quarterbacking the team and what large decisions may loom at that spot?
- [27:16]
Brian Wacker
Yeah, I'll start with the last point. I mean, yeah, certainly I think they've got a decision make Mark Andrews, Isaiah likely. I agree with you. I think all signs kind of indicate that Isaiah likely is going to be their guy. I don't think there have been really any talks at all of contract extension for Mark Andrews here. So I think they look at it as, you know, I know there is some interest potentially in the off season for transfer trading for him. I'M not sure they got the offers that they would have liked there. He's also, I think it's worth remembering too, like coming into the season, he's one of Lamar Jackson's favorite targets, always has been. They came in together in 2018. There's this chemistry between them and you certainly didn't want to upset the apple cart by trading him before the season. And so now I think, you know, depending how things go, you maybe look at that and say, okay, what can we get for him? Of course, if he goes and signs a free agent contract in the offseason, you're going to get a comp pick probably pretty similar to what you get in trade value there as well. So I think it's, you know, Eric Acosta likes to play things close to his vest, keep things quiet. But I think they will see how these next couple of games go. If they win these next two, I think they're, you know, they're going to be more buyers and sellers. If they lose the next two, they may look to make a move here or there on some guys. They already made one move. Adafe away going to the Chargers for Alohi Gilman. The safety made another move just this week signing free agent linebacker Carl Lawson, bringing him back to kind of a, that beleaguered pass rush. So to me I think they view it as trying to maybe acquire another defensive tackle or maybe another linebacker, you know, to plug in there on the outside if they can. They've got some guys they can move, certainly Andrews. Rashad Bateman's got a very receiver, you know, for a very talented receiver. He's got a friendly contract. But I don't think they're, they're probably going to move him this year unless things really go sideways. And really beyond that, there's, there's not a lot, you know, maybe you could move with Vanoy. I don't see the point in doing that though because then taking away from a pass rusher that you're, you need pass rusher so that, but I do think it'll depend how these games go in terms of whether they'll be buyers or sellers. I can say that they are not. Eric D. Costa likes draft picks, so he does not, I do not expect him to make some huge splashy deal with a first round draft pick. It just doesn't happen here.
- [29:44]
Matt Abeticola
All right, Brian, we do appreciate your time, all the information you shared. I know you got a busy day getting ready for this upcoming game, so thanks for, for joining us.
- [29:52]
Brian Wacker
Really appreciate, thanks for having Me, guys. Appreciate it.
- [29:55]
Dan Bernstein
That's Brian Wacker of the Baltimore sun, who has been covering the Baltimore Ravens. Interesting times there, man. God. When he said Harbaugh, what do you say? 18 years. Is that.
- [30:06]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah. I couldn't believe was 18 years already.
- [30:07]
Dan Bernstein
Wow.
- [30:08]
Brian Wacker
Yeah.
- [30:09]
Dan Bernstein
That is a long ass time. That is officially a long ass time.
- [30:13]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah. So he's currently second.
- [30:15]
Brian Wacker
Second.
- [30:15]
Matt Abeticola
Second in the league, right behind Mike Tomlin.
- [30:18]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah.
- [30:19]
Matt Abeticola
Tomlin's longer than 18. Right.
- [30:20]
Dan Bernstein
You know what? I have to apologize. You know what? I realized something's making me crazy. What's that? My shark jaws fell down behind me.
- [30:27]
Matt Abeticola
Oh, no. Oh, you better fix it.
- [30:28]
Dan Bernstein
I know. It's just. I don't know what's going on. Hold on a second here. And I keep looking at it and it's bothering me.
- [30:35]
Matt Abeticola
All right, we'll fix it. Yeah. If you want to get more inside information on the Ravens, follow along. You can get Brian Whacker on Twitter @BrianWacker1 w a c k e r @BrianWack1. He'll have updated information as you go through the. The weekend. And just taking a quick look at the injury report yesterday. Roshan Johnson, Braxton Jones, Cole Comet, Tyreek Stevenson, Joe Tuney all did not practice. Tuney was. He's just. It just rest. I don't.
- [31:07]
Brian Wacker
There's.
- [31:07]
Matt Abeticola
There's not. Not anything there for. For Tuni Edmonds and Kyle Kyler Gordon, DJ Moore and DeAndre Swift were all limited. And you had full practice from Austin Booker, Grady Jarrett, Dan's guy, the linebacker, Cairo Santos and Sean Wright all full practice.
- [31:27]
Dan Bernstein
Amen. Ogbong Bemiga.
- [31:29]
Brian Wacker
Yes.
- [31:30]
Matt Abeticola
That guy.
- [31:30]
Dan Bernstein
He doesn't have to be my guy. We're gonna. We're gonna make you a believer.
- [31:34]
Matt Abeticola
No, I do. I just. Again, it's out of respect for that. For that young man and all he's doing on the football field. I'm Butcher.
- [31:42]
Dan Bernstein
His name. You won't. Come on. Come in. Come on, guy.
- [31:50]
Brian Wacker
Come in, guy.
- [31:51]
Dan Bernstein
Come on, guy. Relax guy. Come on.
- [31:54]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah. Looking at. So D.J. moore, Limited, remember yesterday, did not practice at all with that hip injury, limited in practice or two days ago. He did not practice yesterday, limited in practice. So curious to see how that injury plays out with his hip grind thing happening.
- [32:11]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. You know that for Lamar Jackson, regardless that they're going to say questionable, but they're going to know and they're going to list him as questionable.
- [32:18]
Matt Abeticola
I think they already know what he's.
- [32:19]
Dan Bernstein
What? Of course they know. Yeah, of course they do.
- [32:23]
Matt Abeticola
What do you think? I mean, so Brian gives it a slight possibility, more leaning that he does start. Yes, you do.
- [32:33]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. Yeah, I think he starts. Why would they need. They're desperate, man. They need every possible win. They know that they're very unlikely to beat the Bears unless he plays.
- [32:44]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah, I guess. And I guess depending on how injured he still is and how healthy he really is, I should say to get back on the field having that four day turnaround and taking on a Dolphins team might look more appealing than first game back against a team in the Bears of one. Four in a row are starting to impact the backfield a little bit on the defensive side of the football and get some takeaways.
- [33:07]
Brian Wacker
So I don't know.
- [33:08]
Matt Abeticola
I don't know. It might be a very interesting conversation to have about what you do with him. Looking at their next two opponents, I.
- [33:14]
Dan Bernstein
Also have not looked at the weather for the game and usually I'm pretty good about doing that. I did see that, at least on my bookie, that betting pressure has reduced the line from six and a half down to six. And the other thing that I was looking at as we maybe can expand to a little NFL stuff here. I was my. For my DBU pick on dbu.
- [33:38]
Brian Wacker
Yeah.
- [33:38]
Dan Bernstein
I, I chickened out. Can I just admit that I chickened out of a pick?
- [33:44]
Matt Abeticola
Sure.
- [33:45]
Dan Bernstein
I was going to take the jets not only to cover, but to win outright.
- [33:53]
Matt Abeticola
Who the jets got Bengals. Oh yeah. No shot.
- [33:59]
Dan Bernstein
I know. But something I. They're going to. There's going to be a weird game in here and sometimes there's just an inexplicable weird game and I. It just. When I first saw it, I have to say that my first gut was the jets are going to win that game just because they're. They're not going to go over. It's too hard in this league to go over now. And sometimes when it's always darkest before the dawn and it was just. It's illogical and I know you, you enjoy the fact that usually all my stuff is when I do have a feeling or a thought, it's, it's. I try to base it in reason and this is not. But I just looked at that. I'm like, they're going to win that damn game. So don't hold me.
- [34:44]
Matt Abeticola
I'm going to give you where the jets are going to get their first win because it is not going to be this weekend against the Bengals.
- [34:50]
Dan Bernstein
Okay.
- [34:50]
Matt Abeticola
November 9th. They are. They host Cleveland. They're going to lose that game. They lose to New England. They're going to lose to the Ravens. They're going to lose to the Falcons December 7th. Dan, mark it down.
- [35:04]
Dan Bernstein
A day that will live in infamy.
- [35:06]
Matt Abeticola
Yes. As the New York jets get their first win on the 2025 season over the Miami Dolphins.
- [35:14]
Dan Bernstein
All right. Will Mike McDaniel be the coach at that point?
- [35:19]
Matt Abeticola
I'm going to say yes. I don't know if they're going to fire him in season, to be honest with you. I think he's gone after the season. But if there was going to be a point to fire him, I would say giving the windless jets their first victory might be the catalyst that is needed.
- [35:37]
Dan Bernstein
We also got some closure on something that we've been following here. This. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the NFL find the Giants $200,000 for violating concussion protocol with Jackson Dart. Separately, the NFL fined Brian Dayball $100,000 and running back Cam Scatterboo $15,000 for conduct detrimental to the league.
- [36:08]
Matt Abeticola
Was that for going in the tent?
- [36:10]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. Okay. Yeah. For Day. Well, how's he go? Get him out of there. We need our quarterback or whatever it was. And he knew he screwed up. He knew he screwed up.
- [36:20]
Brian Wacker
All right.
- [36:20]
Matt Abeticola
So let's just take a real quick look at week eight here. Last night kicks off with the Chargers. Pretty easy win over the over the Vikings 37 to 10. I don't even know if the Vikings had 30 or 40 yards rushing in that game at one point. Where was it in the third quarter? Going right at the start of the third quarter. I think the Vikings only had three yards rushing. That was after the first half. We have the Falcons hosting the Dolphins. Of course, Ravens, Bears, Bills are at the Panthers. Could be a good game. The jets at the Bengals. We just talked about 49ers at the Texans, Browns at the Patriots, Giants at the Eagles. That'll be a game. I think the Eagles are going to do some damage. Buccaneers at the Saints. Another win for Baker. Cowboys at the Broncos. The Titans at the Colts and the packers at the Steelers. Is the Sunday night game.
- [37:14]
Dan Bernstein
Sunday night.
- [37:15]
Matt Abeticola
And then Monday Night Football is the.
- [37:17]
Dan Bernstein
Commanders at the Chiefs with Marcus Mariota starting.
- [37:21]
Matt Abeticola
Yes.
- [37:23]
Brian Wacker
Yeah.
- [37:23]
Matt Abeticola
And another Chiefs win to get them to five and three.
- [37:25]
Dan Bernstein
And I guarantee you the Chiefs aren't complaining about. Well, we would like to beat them at their best. No, not at all. Doing that.
- [37:32]
Matt Abeticola
They're not giving thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery. No.
- [37:36]
Dan Bernstein
Another note here from the press conference. The Bears press conference is our guy Ari at Wienerservice Circle who has been.
- [37:44]
Matt Abeticola
What'S he doing now?
- [37:45]
Dan Bernstein
Well, what he's doing is apparently Wiener Circle is now saying they're going to give out free hot dogs again if Ben Johnson removes his shirt to celebrate a win.
- [37:57]
Matt Abeticola
Oh, okay. At any point in the season, I.
- [38:00]
Dan Bernstein
I don't know if he's gonna. Has to do it on the field or it has to be in the locker room before he does the good, better, best. But his response was, it's a little disturbing. Why would we want to see that? And nobody answered. And he said, well, the, the question then came like, are you gonna. Don't you wanna give people the free hot dogs? And he said, I'm a man of the people, so time will tell. He's. Come on, he's only a 37 year old who's in terrific shape. It's not like Andy Reid taking off his shirt. What are we doing here?
- [38:33]
Matt Abeticola
No, well, the Kansas City area had a thing. If Andy Reid took his shirt off, he got free hot dogs. So he does it on a regular basis. They had to stop it because he kept showing up at their equivalent of Winner Circle with his shirt off.
- [38:49]
Dan Bernstein
They run out of the tunnel for the game and he's not wearing a shirt. They haven't even won yet. He stood there waiting for the hot dogs.
- [38:57]
Matt Abeticola
The owner shows up at his hot dog stand and he reads outside already with his shirt off.
- [39:02]
Dan Bernstein
Like, Rick Camp wasn't real urban barbecue.
- [39:04]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah, but he had his shirt on.
- [39:06]
Dan Bernstein
From what I remember, it's still the greatest. It is probably when Nick Shepkowski showed me that picture when we were at Original Scorehouse that I think to this day that that is the most scared I was that I was going to asphyxiate from laughing. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't breathe. Now granted, we had imbibed some things that Parkins may or may not have had with him. And at least one person passed out. Didn't pass out, but fell down face first on the pavement due to it. Oh, it was a great trip. But we were passing around that picture.
- [39:51]
Matt Abeticola
Was that in spring training or what was that?
- [39:54]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, it was the first scorehouse where we rented. Yeah, which. But oh my God, like I couldn't get my breath. I thought I was gonna die. And then I was fine. And then it happened again. Just looking. Cause Rick Camp, he had to be first in line at real urban barbecue for barbecue for a year. And there was no one even around him. He was there at like five in the afternoon the day before, smiling, happy as a clam. One of the happiest people you'd ever see in your life and just. Just smiling. Yep, I'm here. Just give me mine. There's no doubt. I win.
- [40:32]
Matt Abeticola
I think he wasn't. I think he got there like two weeks before. Definitely shirtless.
- [40:39]
Dan Bernstein
Real urban barbecue technically hadn't even been incorporated yet.
- [40:44]
Matt Abeticola
They just laid the foundation.
- [40:45]
Dan Bernstein
They were still finalizing one day there.
- [40:47]
Matt Abeticola
Could be a barbecue place here that gives away barbecue for a year.
- [40:50]
Dan Bernstein
I'm just going to. It's just a hole in the ground and he's already there. Yes, I don't think.
- [40:55]
Matt Abeticola
Can we help you?
- [40:57]
Dan Bernstein
I'm waiting to see if Wiener Circle is going to come up with all sorts of clever ways to viral market and have their name mentioned for free here and in other places.
- [41:10]
Matt Abeticola
I think Ari should give away free hot dogs. If Andy Reid has, during any post game, has a bit of food caught in his mustache.
- [41:19]
Brian Wacker
Hmm.
- [41:20]
Dan Bernstein
A visible piece.
- [41:22]
Matt Abeticola
A visible piece of food.
- [41:23]
Dan Bernstein
Because he may store things there on purpose.
- [41:25]
Brian Wacker
Correct.
- [41:26]
Dan Bernstein
Right. There may be like, you know, a little. A little chunk of like Carolina pulled pork or something these guys got. Well, it'd have to be Kansas City.
- [41:34]
Matt Abeticola
Or a whole smoked butt.
- [41:35]
Dan Bernstein
A smoked pork butt. Speaking of food, you see this?
- [41:41]
Matt Abeticola
Yes, I know exactly what that is. It's the. It's the beer church hymnal.
- [41:45]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, that's what they call it. And my goodness, there is so much to go through. But you see right here about the Pizza Napolitan. Oh, my goodness.
- [41:57]
Matt Abeticola
Hey, is there. Can you read something for me out of there? Just pick a food item. I'm really hungry and I want to make it worse. Can you just read something for me?
- [42:07]
Dan Bernstein
Okay. I'm going to read you the Saint Erasmus of Campania, who should probably have been. This dish should probably have been in our top 10 saints of all time. The Saint Erasmus of Campania colossal shrimp chalice. And this is because beer church is actually a church, a Civil War era church in New Buffalo, Michigan. What a great weekend to go to New Buffalo. And just to drive the Red Arrow highway there. And like, look at all the trees and the foliage. So this shrimp here, it says you'll recognize the familiar iced goblet if you're into that whole thing. And the sinus rattling, horseradish laden cocktail sauce one expects is uplifted to even greater absurdity by our inclusion of Calabrian chilies to the recipe. True to the actual region of the good saint, Saint Erasmus of Campania from Calabria. And that's why they include it.
- [43:12]
Matt Abeticola
So the cocktail sauce with a lot of horseradish and then Calabria and chili and Calabria. Oh, my God. Do you like the horseradish in the cocktail sauce?
- [43:21]
Dan Bernstein
I like a. I don't like an unreasonable amount. I have nothing to prove. I like the. The whole St. Elmo's thing.
- [43:27]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah.
- [43:28]
Dan Bernstein
Where it's like, crazy hot. I don't need it hot for the sake of hot. I don't mind hot, but I want it. The goal should be for it all to taste great.
- [43:37]
Brian Wacker
See?
- [43:38]
Matt Abeticola
But it's a different kind of hot to me, and I can't get enough of it. I love it. I love that. The tears coming from my eyes and just that. The clearing of my entire skull. I just. I love that.
- [43:51]
Dan Bernstein
Well, we grew up. Remember that horseradish is a critical. And actually it's a symbolic condiment on Passover, where. Yes. The bitterness, the bitter herbs are on the seder plate. They symbolize the bitterness of servitude and slavery of the Jews at the hands of the pharaohs. And it's important that you must eat it as part of the Seder. There's a time where you eat it and a time when you pair it also with the apples and cinnamon mixture, with the matzah. And there are all sorts of symbolic moments during the Seder. So even as a tiny child. And we would always have hot horseradish, always. So my experience, I get these Proustian memories, of course, with real hot horseradish. Goes back to childhood, and all roads lead back to the Passover Seder. And when one does that, as a kid, I used to be scared. I don't want it. I don't want. But then you develop your taste for it over time when you start getting excited. And there was always a rule at my house, you don't open the containers until it's time to eat because you don't want it ever, you know, exposed to oxygen to lower the heat level.
- [45:04]
Brian Wacker
Yeah.
- [45:05]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah.
- [45:05]
Matt Abeticola
Interesting. Yeah, I love it. I love it, though. So beer church.
- [45:10]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. Oh, yeah, Sorry.
- [45:11]
Matt Abeticola
IBL Yeah, I got.
- [45:12]
Dan Bernstein
You lost me for a second.
- [45:13]
Matt Abeticola
You got.
- [45:14]
Dan Bernstein
You got me involved there. I don't know if they would do a Seder at the beer church, but, yeah, I was in the middle of the read. It's awesome. And the pizzas are great. They teach you how to make pizzas at their pizza school. So when you have a big group that does maybe an annual party or semi annual party, do it there. It's different and it's fun. Everybody gets excited for it. Oh, we're going to learn how to make pizza. Yeah. Not only do you learn how to make it hands on with the dough and learning how to stretch it and they have all the ingredients and then you can try every pizza that's actually on the menu until you say stop bringing it because they'll just keep bringing it for everybody there. And the drinks are fabulous. All their craft beers, wine, cocktails. You can pair everything with the small batch brews. They can tell you which of the beers works with which type of pizza. If you want to do that, it's two hours. It's lunch or dinner. It's private, it's exclusive. Skip the same old night out and make your next gathering unforgettable. Book now@beerchurchbrewing.com in New Buffalo, Michigan. And if you just want to go hang out, watch games on their gorgeous heated patio with, with all of the games going on, it's, it's, there's never a bad time to do it. Our good friends at beerchurch brewing beer church brewing.com awesome.
- [46:28]
Matt Abeticola
And that'll wrap up today's episode of Forward Progress. Again. Our our guest was Brian Wacker, the Baltimore sun lead reporter for the the sun for the Baltimore Ravens. Look forward to talking more about Bears and Ravens and hopefully Dan a big Bears victory.
- [46:46]
Dan Bernstein
Well, regardless of the outcome, I'm going to be right here in this seat. I'm going to leave this camera, this microphone, this computer, I'm going to leave everything. The next time I flip it on, we are going to have a Bears outcome to discuss and we're going to be live and it has been fantastic. I look forward to it every week, whether the Bears win, whether they lose. No matter what, you all of your thoughts immediately. It's a party at our house and you're invited after every Bears game. So make it an appointment for you by subscribing. And when you subscribe and you set your alerts on YouTube with the Forward Progress YouTube page and you will get an alert sent and say, hey, hey, they're coming on, they're going on. So dial it in. And we've got all things post game Bears literally right here.
- [47:38]
Brian Wacker
Yep.
- [47:38]
Matt Abeticola
So make sure you subscribe to forward progress. DBU and organizations win championships for 312 sports. Have a great rest of your Friday and we'll talk to you soon.