Caleb Williams Leads the Bears to 9-3 and the #1 Spot in the NFC

Summary

Forward Progress: Caleb Williams Leads the Bears to 9-3 and the #1 Spot in the NFC

Podcast: Forward Progress – A Chicago Bears Podcast
Hosts: Dan Bernstein & Matt Abbatacola
Date: December 1, 2025
Episode Theme: How rookie QB Caleb Williams, head coach Ben Johnson, and a revitalized Chicago Bears franchise are defying expectations by racing to the top of the NFC, and why optimism (with a dose of realism) is finally justified in Chicago.

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Overview

Dan Bernstein and Matt Abbatacola break down the Bears’ stunning rise to a 9-3 start and the #1 seed in the NFC after their dominant Black Friday win over the Philadelphia Eagles. The episode explores the context behind this success, the transformation in coaching culture under Ben Johnson, and the ascendant mindset led by Caleb Williams. The conversation also compares the Bears to their NFC competition, examines the schematic and QB development nuances, and provides commentary on notable NFL events and personalities.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Savoring the Moment: From Chaos to Contenders

• The hosts open by reflecting on the surreal turnaround: from midseason dismissals and losing streaks to sitting atop the NFC (00:52–01:29).
• Dan highlights organizational changes and the surprising rise:

  "Whatever it took, however, the winds of fate, so often, cruel as they are to the Bears, were not at this point ... This is a time to savor it. Savor every bit of it." — Dan Bernstein (01:29)

• Both hosts stress balancing enjoyment with not losing focus on bigger goals.
• Matt:

  "Let's not be satisfied with surpassing expectations... there's still something more to win here." (05:40)

2. The Ben Johnson Effect: The Cool Coach Era

• Significant praise is given to new coach Ben Johnson for bringing both competence and charisma.
• A playful retrospective compares him to past coaches:

  "I love the fact the Bears... not only have a good coach right now, they've got the cool coach ... when's the last time the Bears had the cool coach?" — Dan (02:57)

• "Cool" is contrasted with Ditka's persona and Lovey Smith's understated approach.

3. Revisiting the 2024 Nadir and the 2025 Ascent

• The ignoble end of the Matt Eberflus era and a turnaround under Johnson is recapped (03:59–05:40).
• Bears’ playoff odds jump to 76% (05:40), remaining schedule analyzed:
  • Packers (twice), Browns, 49ers, Lions (tight NFC tests ahead)

4. NFC & AFC Landscape: Are the Bears Truly Elite?

• Dan and Matt debate the Bears’ standing in the "Blob"—their metaphor for the NFL’s competitive middle class.
• Who are the Bears’ biggest threats?
  • NFC: Packers, Lions, 49ers, Seahawks—no "unbeatable" teams (06:23–07:17)
  • AFC: Matt names Buffalo, Denver, Baltimore as tough foes, but "no one" who feels insurmountable right now (08:47–09:35)
• Blob analogy:

  "The Bears are one of those teams that are pushing the edges." — Matt (10:07)

5. Scheme & Execution: The Bears' Offensive Identity

• Extensive analysis of Bears’ ability to block elite defensive fronts (Eagles' Jalen Carter, Vic Fangio’s schemes) (10:32–11:52).

• Dan:

  "When you can't stop what you know is coming, it means the other team's really, really good at it." (11:52)

• Matt highlights a favorite play action concept, the potential to evolve with future pass options—a point of anticipation for fans (11:53–14:23).

6. Caleb Williams’ Progression—and Margin for Growth

• Praise for Williams’ poise, specifically his ability to make throws on the move in adverse conditions (14:24–15:18).
• Dan wants more:

  "I still want Caleb Williams’ accuracy to improve significantly and expect that to win a Super Bowl it will have to improve..." (15:02)

• They note that the Bears' offense isn’t "maxed out"—still looking for a complete performance in all three phases (15:43, 15:57).

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Highlighted Audio Clips & Notable Quotes

Ben Johnson Press Conference

• On team focus and leadership:

  "Just trying to keep the main thing the main thing ... got guys like Grady Jarrett and Byard on defense, and I know Joe Tooney ... these guys know what good football looks like ..." — Ben Johnson (16:47)

• On Caleb’s performance vs Eagles:

  "...the wind got the better of us on a couple throws. He made some huge ones ... That throw to Cole was enormous ... struggle there. You’re trying to not become just solely run-oriented..." (18:00)

• On the go-ahead TD:

  "Swifty’s actually the number one read on that ... Caleb’s pulling out, you can feel the safeties dipping down low ... he delivered a good ball and made them pay." (21:33; 25:10)

Caleb Williams Postgame

• On making the critical pass to Cole Kmet:

  "That’s the fun part about playing QB ... dealing with conditions ... Cole ran a great route and they ended up dropping him and just kind of saw him flash ... wanted to lay it out there, let the wind kind of push it back to him. Cole made a great catch." (23:09)

• On not having played the Bears' best yet:

  "That’s why I get frustrated ... I have such a talented group ... you want to maximize. You don’t want to waste time ... we haven’t hit our pinnacle yet ... and we’re still winning these games." (30:16)

• On enjoying his brothers’ success:

  "When I see a crease, I start getting really excited, I start jumping around like a little kid ... it’s supremely fun to see smiles in those guys faces after games ... O-line is doing a hell of a job ... wide receivers blocking ... running backs having big explosives." (32:22)

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Analytical Highlights

“Seeing vs. Feeling” as QB Growth

• Dan parses Ben Johnson’s language:

  "He felt that, he saw it. Those are different things ... if you can get Caleb from he ‘saw it’ to he ‘felt that’ ... That’s next level." (25:24–26:45)

  • Developing QB intuition within the pro offense is a recurring theme.

Play Design & Execution Nuances

• Matt and Dan obsess over the Bears’ evolving run/pass options and how “setting up” defensive keys will lead to big plays down the stretch—a glimpse at Chicago’s strategic depth (13:19–14:23).

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Around the NFL: Contrasts, Quips, and Hot Takes

The “Cool Coach” vs. the QB Diva

• Extended contrast between Caleb Williams’ team-oriented humility and Aaron Rodgers’ ongoing perceived narcissism in Pittsburgh.

  Dan: "The polar opposite of that was a guy who thankfully was bleeding out of his head. That being one Aaron Rodgers." (35:21)

  • The hosts mock Rodgers' “secret offense” and criticisms of teammates, presenting Williams as the leadership antithesis (36:05–41:38).

Miles Garrett Sack Record Prediction

• Matt predicts Miles Garrett will break the NFL single-season sack record (currently 19, held by Strahan and Watt) in the Titans game (42:07–44:15).

National Takes: Caleb as “John Elway”?

• Discussion of Fox’s Howie Long likening Williams to John Elway.
  • Dan is skeptical, highlighting Elway’s inefficient passing historically and hoping Williams far exceeds him as a modern QB (47:19–52:49).
  • Matt on Elway:

    “Great leader ... whatever it took to win a game ... but as a quarterback I hope Caleb Williams far exceeds what John Elway did.” (52:04)

The “In Memoriam” Segment

• NFL teams officially eliminated from contention: Titans, Raiders, Giants, Saints, Cardinals (53:36–55:32).
  • Bittersweet funeral march backdrop and video game nostalgia ensues.

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Timestamps For Important Segments

• Bears’ Top of NFC/Coach Ben Johnson: 00:52–05:40
• NFC Landscape & The Blob: 06:23–10:07
• Analyzing Play Design/Eagles Game Breakdown: 10:32–15:18
• Ben Johnson on Team Culture/Caleb Interview: 16:38–24:35
• Critical Play, QB Growth (“Seeing vs. Feeling” concept): 25:00–26:45
• Rodgers Critique/Leadership Comparison: 35:21–41:38
• Miles Garrett Sack Record Predictions: 42:07–44:15
• Howie Long’s “John Elway” Take: 45:37–52:49
• In Memoriam/Funeral March for Eliminated Teams: 53:36–55:32

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Memorable Quotes

• Dan Bernstein (on Bears’ transformation):

  “This is a time to savor it. Savor every bit of it.” (01:29)

• Matt Abbatacola (on not settling):

  “Let’s not lose focus that there’s still something more to win here.” (05:40)

• Ben Johnson (on leadership):

  “There are no shortcuts. We gotta go out next week and put in the same amount of work that we’ve been doing, and we gotta continue to get better.” (16:47)

• Caleb Williams (on playing for his team):

  “I get up every single day ... so these guys can succeed ... it’s supremely fun to ... see smiles on those guys’ faces after games...” (32:22)

• On Play Design:

  “When you can block people like they block people ... you can win any game you play, anyone.” — Dan (10:32)

• On QB development:

  “If you can get Caleb ... from ‘he saw it’ to ‘he felt it’ ... that’s next level.” — Dan (25:24)

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Final Thoughts

• The Bears’ rise is the result of not just star power but a reinvigorated coaching approach, capable play-calling, and a new leadership culture.
• While optimism is warranted, both the hosts and the team itself—especially in Johnson and Williams’ comments—stress that Chicago’s best football is yet to come.
• The Bears are shedding their “Blob” label and pushing the threshold of NFC supremacy—but with challenging opponents ahead, all eyes are on whether they will sustain (and maximize) this new, thrilling standard.

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For Diehards and New Fans Alike:

This episode delivers both deep-dive analysis and the passionate, unvarnished voice that characterizes Chicago fandom—equal parts celebration, skepticism, and relentless pursuit of what could at last be a new era for the Bears.

Transcript

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[Unidentified Caller]

Mean if you're a Bears fan, you're thinking Forward progress. Come on.

[Dan Bernstein]

10. 219.

[Matt Abaticola]

219 forward progress a Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abeticola on 312 sports.

[Dan Bernstein]

So when we last left you, we were celebrating the fact that the Chicago Bears dismissed the Philadelphia Eagles with prejudice and ground them into the dirt and Lincoln Financial field. And now we woke up today to the Bears sitting atop the nfc.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. With the Panthers win over the Rams, the Bears have jumped to the number one seed.

[Dan Bernstein]

So let me say this too.

[Matt Abaticola]

I can't believe it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, we'll have plenty of time to micromanage this season for sure. Let's also think about where this is in the big picture. Just about how the hiring of Ben Johnson, however they got here, however that that unfortunate last season with Matt Eberfluss was, and why they decided to bring him back, nobody really knows. Whatever it took, however, the winds of fate, so often, cruel as they are to the Bears, were not at this point. And even as you see Kevin Warren finding his little place to stand in the doorway every time there's a celebration, I'd love to know what happens before so he can work his way to that point of the doorway. Cause you know he loves standing there. And I wonder if he has people like clear out an area so he can be seen as overseeing what is going on in the locker room. Whatever role he had in luring Ben Johnson here to making this an attractive opportunity for him. This is a time to savor it. Savor every bit of it. I don't know how it's going to turn or if it's going to turn. I don't know what's going to happen with injuries or what's going to happen with a salary cap or I love the fact that the Bears not only have a good coach right now, they've got the cool coach.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

When's the last time the Bears had The cool coach Ditka, was he really cool?

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, I mean probably for that, that time he was very footbally and you know, the, the NFL was a. Was a different time and the fan base was a different.

[Dan Bernstein]

When he called Creature Grabowski.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

When he was doing Ditkas, throwing his. And driving drunk. Yeah, he was definitely that. All fun. Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

And he gave the. He flipped off reporters taking pictures. I mean, he, that was, he was the cool guy. He was the cool coach. So the Bears haven't had that since. Since Coach Ditka.

[Dan Bernstein]

Because Lovey didn't want to be that.

[Matt Abaticola]

No. Just wasn't his personality.

[Dan Bernstein]

Nege kind of when he, when he took over and that day at Wrigley Field when he accidentally said penis instead of peanuts and he threw the perfect high strike and he threw out the first pitch. That was sort of the peak of Matt. But they seem to have the cool coach. We kind of knew it. We kind of knew it was possible.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. But you see where the, where the Bears were just one year ago. They were coming off their sixth straight loss in a row. They lost to the Detroit Lions. They were then 4 and 8 on the season after starting 4 and 2.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, that's what old old Floocy got the bye bye.

[Matt Abaticola]

And then he got. He gets fired on Black Friday. And now here we are, Black Friday.

[Dan Bernstein]

The Bears to the press conference.

[Matt Abaticola]

Right. They let him do the press conference, then they fire him like an hour later, two hours later.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yep.

[Matt Abaticola]

But here we are, this current Black Friday 2025. The Bears dismantle not just win, but they embarrassed and dismantled the Philadelphia Eagles at home.

[Dan Bernstein]

They've laid waste to the state of Pennsylvania. They have not quite done yet. They haven't, haven't quite hit that, that one area in the central part of that state. I would like to see them pave over completely.

[Matt Abaticola]

And so then the Bears will go on to lose to the 49ers, the Vikings, the Lions again, the Seahawks before they close out the season with a win at Green Bay to finish their season five and 12 under Thomas Brown as their head coach. Who filled in Matt Eberfluss. And now you have Ben Johnson. And The Bears are 9 and 3 after 12 games and they are currently sitting as the number one seed. Their playoff chances have jumped above 75% for the first time this year. They're sitting at 76%. They have games coming up with the packers twice, The Browns, the 49ers and the Lions all going to be good testing games, good difficult games for NFC opponents with the Exception of the, of the Browns, who are not going anywhere this year.

[Dan Bernstein]

But that's a test, too, because of their defense.

[Matt Abaticola]

It is a test because their defense, they can't score, but they can stop the run and they can get after the quarterback with Miles Garrett and we'll get, we'll get into him a little bit more on this, on this program a little bit later in the show. But The Bears are 9 and 3 and on top of the NFC. And I've been saying it for a couple of weeks, Dan. Let's, let's not like, let's enjoy it and let's be completely surprised with the, the quickness with which they've gotten to this point of this season, but let's not lose focus that there's still something more to win here. Like being satisfied with surpassing expectations is not where we should be as fans.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, that is what happened this weekend. That's, that's what happened so rapidly was to go from, hey, look, look at that win. Defining win, Defining moments. They get past their over under for projected wins and here they are. And then everything else kind of snapped into place to make the point. Who's standing in their way right now? Who would you say? Well, they're never going to topple this.

[Matt Abaticola]

No one.

[Dan Bernstein]

They're never going to be able to get past this team.

[Matt Abaticola]

I mean, we've seen enough of the packers and we have two games with the Packers. We've seen enough of the packers that they can not show up or show up for a game. The Lions can show up or not show up for a game. The 49ers can show up or not show up for a game.

[Dan Bernstein]

Seattle is good.

[Matt Abaticola]

Seattle is good.

[Dan Bernstein]

Seattle's real good. Yep.

[Matt Abaticola]

They can play defense, they can score some points.

[Dan Bernstein]

But I don't mind putting Jalen Johnson on Jackson Smith and Jigba.

[Matt Abaticola]

No, but you've seen enough from this. Bears defense without their starters have done more than enough to hold teams down to take the ball away. So, yeah, what, what game do you look ahead of these next opponents and say, I just don't feel good about that. Like I'm, I'm, I'm done with that. Because it was like this, this Philadelphia test. Even though I said they were going to win, they were going to outright.

[Dan Bernstein]

I did not think they were going to win and they aced this exam. Yeah, they absolutely moved up in class in my mind with that performance.

[Matt Abaticola]

I just love their mindset because you hear from Caleb Williams week after week that we need to go one and oh, it's one game at a time, and I think that that suits that quarterback as the leader of the team. That mindset that he carries, he goes one play at a time. Big picture for him, and I think this comes from Ben Johnson, the top on down. The big picture is one week at a time. That's it. I mean, the Bears can't beat the Cleveland Browns until they get past Green Bay this first week.

[Dan Bernstein]

Is there anybody in the AFC that scares you? Because I was watching Denver real close last night, and, yeah, I know that their edges are so fast.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

That it almost looks like they're off sides every time because of how fast they are. But okay. I mean, other than that.

[Matt Abaticola]

Okay, there's. There's.

[Dan Bernstein]

I throw at the same quarterback every time.

[Matt Abaticola]

No, there's.

[Dan Bernstein]

There's him every time.

[Matt Abaticola]

There's three teams I'd look at currently. The afc, I would say Buffalo, because of their experience, what they can do when they can run the ball and.

[Dan Bernstein]

They'Ve got the best player on the.

[Matt Abaticola]

Field as well as the Bears. Denver, because they. I mean, they're putting up a lot of points, but their. Their defense. Their defense is really good, and they get after the quarterback. Okay. And then the third team would be the Baltimore Ravens, just because of their experience and the fact that they're kind of getting healthy and getting back into a spot. They're now on top of the. Of the AFC North.

[Dan Bernstein]

But Lamar hasn't really looked like him.

[Matt Abaticola]

He hasn't. He hasn't. But if the Bears were to play them again, you're. I mean, you're what, five, six, seven, eight weeks away. Lock and happen in those next eight weeks? Nine, 10, 11.

[Dan Bernstein]

I know a lot. As of right now, there isn't a single team out there where I look at it and say, oh, boy, they don't. They don't have a shot. They can't. There isn't touch that team.

[Matt Abaticola]

There isn't.

[Dan Bernstein]

Wait till that day come call.

[Matt Abaticola]

I mean, we've talked about this Blob season throughout the entire season so far. Dan and the Bears were kind of in the middle of it. Now they're rising and rising and rising. And if you want to stay with the Blob analogy, they're one of the top Blob teams.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, have they escaped it? Are they out?

[Matt Abaticola]

I mean, has any team really escaped it?

[Dan Bernstein]

Has any. Is anybody orbiting the Blob? I don't. I don't.

[Matt Abaticola]

I don't think so. I don't think there's anyone orbiting the Blob. I think There are. I think there are teams that are at the top of the blob, maybe pushing against the edges of it, trying to find that weakness to get through. Okay, but no one's out there yet. But the Bears are one of those teams that are pushing the edges because that's.

[Dan Bernstein]

I mean, the goal of the NFL is to have a Super bowl champion that never broke.

[Matt Abaticola]

Correct. That's what they want.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes.

[Matt Abaticola]

I mean, it's not realistic, but that's. That's what they want.

[Dan Bernstein]

This is the league in which the Bears are playing and they have established themselves. When you can block people like they block people. Yeah. You can win any game you play, anyone. Because that. The designed runs, the stuff that he's doing, the stuff that Ben Johnson is doing to keep people just enough off balance to hit him in the mouth. When you're falling forward for five yards, when you can count it and they're trying to stop you. And you saw a little bit that Vic Fangio, where he always wants to keep that back shell, but he'll roll it, you know, he'll show it and he'll. He'll show you some single high stuff there. It was not a light box all game.

[Matt Abaticola]

No, it wasn't.

[Dan Bernstein]

And they still got people blocked because they were able to create pre snap movement that allowed them to wall off a side. It allowed them to identify guys. They wanted a double team. When you're able to block Jalen Carter, when you are able to take that defensive front and completely neutralize it, that's really the statement that was made above everything else. And the takeaways and the victory margin and all that. When you can't stop what you know is coming, it means the other team's really, really good at it.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

And then the.

[Matt Abaticola]

The defense for two more takeaways. Kevin by it. Another interception against Jalen Hurts. Who doesn't throw in or hasn't this year thrown many interceptions. I think that was the second one on the season. And then DeSean Wright with the tush push gets that fumble. And I want you to. I want to. I want to highlight one play. We talked about it on the post game show and it's a run play off right tackle with DJ Moore in motion. Not in motion, but after snap after post snap goes left to right. He picks up the left defensive end, whoever that might be, and it's a run. Playoff tackle. Keep. Because they ran that three times. Keep that play in mind because I'm looking forward to seeing the progression of the past plays that come off that okay. And if it's a fake, fake handoff that the running back then picks up that defensive end who's left free, which gives you DJ Moore out in the flats or a short pass to the right.

[Dan Bernstein]

Because he's come, he's moving already.

[Matt Abaticola]

He's moving already. And he usually picks up that defensive end. He did it a couple times. He can, he can ignore the end, the running back, and pick up the end. DJ Moore can just shoot out for a little, little pass. But more importantly, wide right is Roma.

[Dan Bernstein]

Dunes A. Oh, so he runs a straight go.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. So it's going to give you two passing options. I'm telling you, that's a play they've ran and it was a run play. There's going to be a compliment to that. That's going to be a pass.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right, I'm trying to picture my head. So Rome is lined up as the X. Yep.

[Matt Abaticola]

So he's out. He's out wide right.

[Dan Bernstein]

Sure. Clearing out. So he's going to clear the flat.

[Matt Abaticola]

DJs in the left slot post. Snap goes in, motion left or right, the tackle goes in, leaves the left defensive end alone.

[Dan Bernstein]

I see it. Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

DJ hits him and they hand it off. Now you're going to be able to use that running back to pick up that end. DJ spits right around behind him. He can dump it off or roams deep. I'm just, I'm watching for that to happen.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, you'd be reading it. You'd read Rome first. Yes.

[Matt Abaticola]

You would read roam first. No, I'm not necessarily. I mean, if the play is for DJ to get the ball, get the ball in his hands on a high.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, maybe you maybe run it twice. And the first time, yeah, you've cleared out. Especially if it's a, if you're seeing zone. I'm trying to imagine that it would probably be the equivalent of like a zone flood type of play on which they scored the touchdown to Comet.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Which is what they did there was that. That's an old fashioned overload play. And the fact that Caleb was able to put it where it needed to be in that wind on the move to his left was terrific.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. And we talked about this too in the post game show Caleb's ability to roll left, to keep good posture with a good arm angle and throw with accuracy going to his left as a right handed quarterback is really hard to do. Really impressive what he did. And then you take the game conditions, the weather conditions in that game as well, and he was able to do that really really good stuff. Despite, you know, being as low as completion percentage on the season. Again, it was a, it was a tough game to throw the football in.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, and I'm not just let the record show. I still want Caleb Williams is accuracy to improve significantly and expect that to win a Super bowl it will have to improve this year or any year. I want to be really clear about that.

[Matt Abaticola]

No, I agree.

[Dan Bernstein]

Now isn't necessarily the time for that larger discussion, but a team, if the Bears win the super bowl, it at least one of their wins on the way to that and maybe in the super bowl itself will be Caleb Williams taking advantage of resources dedicated to stopping the run.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. Because that will happen.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes.

[Matt Abaticola]

Defenses will focus on shutting down the Bears run game and he's going to have to continue what he's doing now, which is find the plays, enough plays to make those, those victories possible.

[Dan Bernstein]

They're gonna have to recognize one of those games. You're like, hey, it's on you now, fella.

[Matt Abaticola]

Right. And instead of those where you might have 3, 4, 5 opportunities of a clean pocket with good posture and good foundation to throw, where he's missing those, he's going to have to hit those. And that's fine. And that's fine because they, they've told us again that they're not playing their best football yet. And they're not. When it comes to all three phases, they have not put one complete game together yet. I would say the Eagles and the Cowboys wins were probably the most complete, but they're still, they still haven't done a fully complete game yet. And they're nine and three, which is crazy. All right, Ben Johnson had some audio that we're going to take a listen to. So this is a first cut for, for Ben Johnson.

[Interviewer]

What about their ability to kind of stay in the moment, just not day to day, game to game. I mean, I know it's a big thing for you, but like what. What kind of have you observed about their ability to do that?

[Ben Johnson]

Yeah, no, I think, I think that's a. Once again, that's a credit to the coaching staff just trying to keep the main thing. The main thing. I think it's a credit to our leadership too. You know, I got guys like Grady Jarrett and Byard on defense and I know Joe Tooney. Like these guys, they all know what good football looks like and they know the consistency that it takes to continue to win in this league. And so it's easy for those young guys to come to work at every day and just look at how these old heads are going about their business, and you just kind of fall in line. And so it's the same thing. It's. There's no secret, man. There are no shortcuts. We got to go out next week and put in the same amount of work that we've been doing, and we got to continue to get better. We're still not. We're not at what we're capable of being yet as an entire team. And so we're going to continue to strive to put that full 60 minutes of three phases of complete football together. But these guys continue to get better each and every week. And. And I'm really proud of him.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, well, he put it out there. Yeah, he did watch the old heads go about their business.

[Matt Abaticola]

Funny. Yep, that's. That's what a cool guy can say. Cool guy can say that. All right. He was asked about Caleb's game as well.

[Interviewer]

You mentioned the conditions weren't ideal for the past game. How do you think Caleb faired?

[Ben Johnson]

Yeah, off the cuff. It felt like, you know, the wind got the better of us on a couple throws. He made some huge ones that down the stretch there. That throw to Cole was enormous. You know, he's rolling out to his left. To be able to throw a dime like that at that point in the game, I thought that was really big for us. And so it's a struggle there. You know, you're trying to not become just solely run oriented because then the defense is going to adjust, too. So you want to keep that element of a pass threat over the course of the game. Game. And I was hoping we'd hit a couple more just to loosen them up a little bit more and keep that run game going.

[Matt Abaticola]

So.

[Ben Johnson]

Overall, though, I thought he did a good job just keeping the operation going. That was something that we were really harping on this week, was just making sure we get in and out of the huddle clean.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, well, that's a pretty low bar. Yeah. If they're harping on getting in and out of the huddle clean, it is important.

[Matt Abaticola]

Very important.

[Dan Bernstein]

But that's not going to be a reason why you win the championship.

[Matt Abaticola]

It's not. But it also allows an opportunity, creates a larger opportunity for. For his offense to achieve effectiveness and efficiency.

[Dan Bernstein]

It is important. I mean, it. I know. It's important. I know. With everything that they do before the snap, it starts when the huddle breaks, and I think.

[Matt Abaticola]

And when the breaks step back, too, and just kind of look at the week itself. I think he was meaning that this Isn't like a, like a greater picture goal for each week? I think it was for this particular week, it was a shorter week than normal. Going into a hostile situation against the defending champs and it's like, all right, it's really important that we have good operation this week, this week above all other weeks or most recent weeks or what normally we get to do. It's really got to be clean and.

[Dan Bernstein]

Then it becomes a habit.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. But I think it was more of a focus this week just given the specialness of playing on Black Friday is a 2 o' clock in the afternoon game. It's a shorter week. So I just, I think that's what he, what he meant there. But yeah, still a low bar overall. But going into this week it had to be a priority to be successful.

[Dan Bernstein]

And I think also too, Johnson was aware of his individual play calling matchup with his counterpart in Fangio, where if he's going to play that game and he's, he is involved in a higher.

[Matt Abaticola]

Level game of chess, like super chess.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, don't make me worry about all this shit, right. You know, I've, I'm, I'm on to, I, I'm presuming all this is going to be fine, right?

[Matt Abaticola]

No, you're probably, you know what I mean? Like, that's a good call. That's a good call.

[Dan Bernstein]

Like he's, he's like, don't, don't even trouble me with our, do we have the right grouping in and are we lined up properly? Because I, guys, do me a favor, just hook me up on that so I can get on with my stuff.

[Matt Abaticola]

Get in, get out clean. Like, let's not have all the pre snap bullshit that we were experiencing the first half of the year. I got too much to do, right? No, that's probably good because we don't know what kind of information he's being fed as games going on, as he's looking at his play sheet, as he's calling the playoff to Caleb. Like what's, what's he getting? Like, are there defensive coaches that are saying, hey, they've done this the last two times or when you ran this type of, you know, I don't know what he's getting. And so that's probably a really good call that it's like, hey, this is going to be stressful enough of a chess game. Don't give me the other bullshit that we don't need.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right? Don't even turn your mic on with that stuff. Let me know what I need to know once I'M figuring out how I'm going to keep him off balance with this run that I've, that I had dialed up.

[Matt Abaticola]

And then the touchdown to Cole was brought up. And here's a follow up on that.

[Interviewer]

You called that pass for, for Cole for touchdown. Were you thinking, were you sitting there going, all right, you know, we have a chance for a dagger here if we can, you know, if we do it right.

[Ben Johnson]

Well, that's, that's one that just presented itself. Swifty's actually the, the number one read on that. And, you know, as Caleb's pulling on out, you can feel the safeties dipping down low. And so I think he felt that he saw it and he delivered a good ball and made him pay. So that was good.

[Matt Abaticola]

So that's on Caleb for seeing, for seeing it. That the, the primary is, is DeAndre Swift. And that goes back to the play that I highlighted a couple minutes ago. If you have the running back picking up that end and DJ Moore swings out, maybe he's the priority. And if Caleb looks up and sees that Rome's got his man beat and it's, you know, they keeping that man coverage or the zones open to hit him, does he go to Rome?

[Dan Bernstein]

It was a great drive for Caleb the entire way because there were two different third and fours, and on the first one, he feathered that touch pass into DJ Moore. On the next third and four, it was his read play to find Zacchaeus for the first down. Oh, yeah, because there were, there were.

[Matt Abaticola]

Some big catches in the game. Oz, did you know for a guy who's, who's playing time and opportunities have.

[Dan Bernstein]

Dropped and should have.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

No, rightfully so. But, you know, when he's being asked to make a couple, whether it's two or three targets, he's being, he's. He's going to show up for those catches, which has been completely valuable. I want to jump ahead to Caleb real quick. He was asked about the touchdown, the Cole Comet. We just heard Ben Johnson talk about it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Here's Caleb.

[Matt Abaticola]

What do you see out of touchdown Pastor commit and how tough is it.

[Caleb Williams]

To put touch on the ball with the wind? Yeah, that's, it's the, that's the fun part about playing qb. It's, it's, it's dealing with conditions and then, you know, finding ways to kind of calculate where you need to put the ball and how much, you know, how much air. Especially when you have such weird gust that we had today, it would be kind of no win. And then, you know, random Points would be super heavy gust. And so, you know, Cole ran a great route and they ended up. They ended up dropping them and just kind of saw him flash. You know, it's not the play. We haven't really practiced too much. Especially this week was, you know, short week and all of that. So, you know, it was something that we trusted, something we believe in ourselves as a team, as an offense and as players. And Cole ran a great route. Like I said, they kind of dropped him. Saw a defender trying to, you know, catch up to him. Just wanted to lay it out there, let the wind kind of push it back to him. And, you know, Cole made. Cole made a great catch.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. If I was going to say to you before this game, if there's one receiver that gets deep is all by himself, there's not a player. He's behind everyone and he's being trailed by the guy who's supposed to cover him. Would you have guessed it was going to be Cole Comet?

[Dan Bernstein]

No. But again, that's the function of play design.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, he's not. He's not the primary. We heard the coach say DeAndre Swift is primary and great vision for Caleb, be able to see downfield and see that he's has his man beat and roll that way in the wind to make a beautiful touch pass in the end zone.

[Dan Bernstein]

But correct me, didn't Ben Johnson say he felt the safeties move up before he said he saw, like, I think that's an important word there.

[Matt Abaticola]

What Ben. Go back to the Colcomette, Ben.

[Dan Bernstein]

What Ben said about that play, about how Swifty was the first read. And then when he mentions Caleb, I believe he says Caleb felt that. That's a big deal. Here's what he said.

[Interviewer]

Who called that pass for Cole for touchdown? Were you thinking. Were you sitting there going, all right, you know, we have a chance for a dagger here if we can, you know, if we do it right.

[Caleb Williams]

Well, that's.

[Ben Johnson]

That's one that just presented itself. Swifty's actually the number one read on that. And, you know, as Caleb's pulling on out, you can feel the safety's dipping down low. And so I think you can feel this.

[Matt Abaticola]

He delivered a good ball and he felt that. He saw it.

[Dan Bernstein]

He felt that he saw it. Yeah, well, those are different things. And if you can get Caleb in this immersion into this offense, if you can get him from he saw it to he felt that with everything that, then you're getting there. You're getting it. Like, that's what we're Talking about is the difference between seeing it and feeling it. So he used both words there.

[Ben Johnson]

He felt that Caleb's pulling on out. You can feel the safety's dipping down low. And so I think he felt that. He saw it and he delivered a good poll and made him pay.

[Dan Bernstein]

He said first. He said, you, meaning he can feel it. He wants Caleb to feel it before he sees it, to know. And again, this is where we've talked about how you sell fakes and how you. You know, and that only comes with time and it only comes with reps. That is a. A very subtle thing there. But as we discuss the fact that they're not dumbing down the offense for him, they're not putting in a college option RPO thing. And it's easier for coaches to do that. It's easier for coach to be like, look, for now, let's just make it like your college. They're not. No, they're not.

[Matt Abaticola]

This is my offense.

[Dan Bernstein]

This is the off my offense. The offense. When he said, you can feel it and then Caleb felt it, he saw it. That put a. Put a flag on there and be like, okay, that's a step. It's got to be like that all the time. And I will say this. This is not a direct comparison, but watching Bo Nix last night, same thing is going on with Sean Payton, putting in the Sean Payton offense. And he trusts Bo Nix, who doesn't have the physical gifts that Caleb Williams has by any stretch, but he trusts him to feel some of these things and to work within the pocket sometimes. Sometimes it'd be outside of it, more so than we've seen the Sean Payton offense do in the past, but that's where the magic happens. That's when you're talking next level. If and when the Bears win a championship, it's going to be Caleb with his back to the defense, making a fake, and his expectation when his eyes return to the field is going to be closer to reality and he doesn't have to wait and see it right.

[Matt Abaticola]

Before he decides to pull the trigger.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

He's already.

[Matt Abaticola]

He's already there.

[Dan Bernstein]

He's already decided.

[Matt Abaticola]

He's already know. He knows when I come back around, I'm going here ripping this. Yeah. Yep. No, that's. Good catch.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right.

[Matt Abaticola]

One last from Ben Johnson.

[Interviewer]

When Shawnee went and ripped the ball out on the tush push, was that something you guys had seen during the course of the week, that that might be a vulnerable spot?

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Ben Johnson]

I mean, there's. There's. We certainly Wanted to be sound and how we were defending that play and the compliments off of that play. And we were hopeful to have opportunities to get the ball there.

[Matt Abaticola]

So they talked about it.

[Dan Bernstein]

I guess I have trouble with the Yaz sometimes because there's a lot of people that start sentences with yeah, he.

[Matt Abaticola]

Does a lot, too. Well, he does it a lot.

[Dan Bernstein]

And if you ask a question, Ryan Poles does this too, where the answer, even if the answer's a negative, they'll.

[Matt Abaticola]

Start their answer with yeah, no, yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

It makes me crazy. I hear you, but I do think he is. That's an affirmative answer.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, again, when we talked about it.

[Dan Bernstein]

On the yeah, again.

[Matt Abaticola]

See, we, I do it all the time. All the time. And I'll do the yeah, no, too. I think it's a Chicago thing as well. When we hear from Dennis Allen. I'm looking forward to hearing the question asked about that Tush push and what they, what they saw and how they saw it develop, where they thought, we're going to bring a guy in here because, you know, because it looked to me like I've been doing it so.

[Dan Bernstein]

Many times, I guess. But look, saw the ball and went and took it.

[Matt Abaticola]

But there's no other team that maybe said, hey, you, you get behind the line of scrimmage and go after the ball like this guy is upright long enough, like they're not going to blow.

[Dan Bernstein]

The whistle, dig the ball out.

[Matt Abaticola]

Right? They, they had to seem something like that. Is Allen saw something on tape that said, send a guy in to get it or else. Nishan Wright just said, shit, there's the ball. Might as well go grab it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right?

[Matt Abaticola]

Because I'm not getting a game ball.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right. Damn it. I can't get a game ball no matter what happens.

[Matt Abaticola]

All right, here is Caleb Williams. He, he's asked about the best that's yet to come for this team.

[Interviewer]

You know, you guys still have not played your best.

[Caleb Williams]

Yeah. No, no, no.

[Matt Abaticola]

How are you feeling right now?

[Interviewer]

It seems like nobody's as excited as you are. Maybe the stat line isn't what you would love, but I know you care about the, the win. Com. So how do you put in perspective just the idea of the best is still to come?

[Caleb Williams]

Yeah. You know, I, I, I come in every single week and we work our tail off as a group and, and, and myself included. And I, and I want to maximize every single thing. That's why I get frustrated. That's why, you know, my, my frustration, you know, comes about because, you know, I have a, I have such a Talented group, whether it's, you know, the whole team, really, you know, special teams, defense. But speaking on offense, we have such a talented group and special group, and, you know, we got guys that really care, and so we can do something special, something special for Chicago. And, you know, the frustration comes in just because, you know, you want to maximize. You don't want to waste time. You don't want to waste, you know, a year or anything like that. And, you know, that's, that's, that's why we get up every day. That's why I get up every day. And so we haven't hit our pinnacle yet in the sense of a team and execution on offense, and we're still winning these games. And so that's really important. And that's why I'm, you know, I'm extremely excited. But, you know, you go watch the film and you see all these explosive plays, you see all these small details that, that show up that are awesome to learn from after the game. But in the moment, you know, you want to hit those. You want to, you know, have these, these, these moments and just hit on all cylinders. And so that's, that's coming. And we're, we're going, you know, we're. We're. We're going to show our best ball here soon.

[Matt Abaticola]

Hope so.

[Dan Bernstein]

Anytime.

[Matt Abaticola]

That'd be great.

[Dan Bernstein]

Anytime.

[Matt Abaticola]

They could start this Sunday against Green Bay.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

Well, you're fine with that.

[Dan Bernstein]

You're five and a half point dogs. I can only imagine how their Vegas is just cackling as they're rubbing their hands together. Watch this. We're going to make them five and a half point. They started seven point dogs, didn't they? Was it seven or six and a half or so? I think it's already been bet down.

[Matt Abaticola]

What?

[Dan Bernstein]

The Bears are on top of the nfc. I'll show you. They're going to kill it. It's just, it's the psychology of this, of my team's good. Therefore, I think my team is going to win. Use your head, not your heart.

[Matt Abaticola]

All right, one last cut here from Caleb. And I pull this up because I think it just, it shares a little insight, what Caleb thinks, how he thinks about his team and his teammates.

[Interviewer]

You mentioned, from your perspective, what is it like when you hand the ball off and you look and you turn.

[Caleb Williams]

Around, you see a crease? Yeah, it's super fun. I don't know if y' all ever kind of see me back there, but when I see a crease, I start getting really excited. I start jumping around like a little kid. And so, you know, I'm excited, you know, for those guys. Those are my brothers and I, you know, I get up, like I've said before, I get up every single day to, you know, go out here and work my hardest so that these guys can succeed. And you know, I'm going to keep doing that because it's supremely fun to, you know, see smiles in those guys faces after games, but also during games when, you know, they're being explosive O line, you know, is doing a hell of a job. Wide receivers, blocking, well, you know, running backs are having these big explosive plays. So, you know, we're going to keep chugging along and you know, we're going to keep winning these games.

[Matt Abaticola]

I just like that from your quarterback that he goes out and works hard every day so these guys can be successful like that. That says a lot about not only his character as a young, young man in this league, but also as a quarterback, as the leader of this team. Like not, not many guys have that kind of mindset, boy, especially it's about, look at, you know, shine the lights on me. I'm the quarterback, I'm the star player, I'm the guy with the contract. I'm the guy that all the focus should be on.

[Dan Bernstein]

That reminds me all about me.

[Matt Abaticola]

It's not about a guy that goes out and says, hey, you know what? I'm going to work my hardest so these guys can be successful again. We've talked about the attributes, the characteristics he has that you can't coach, that are dynamic and, and are really valuable for being a leader on a football team. That's one of those qualities.

[Dan Bernstein]

So if I may contrast him with someone else, for example, that caught my eye over the weekend. A quarterback who no matter what is going on, is always the complete center of attention due to incurable narcissism, bordering on solipsism. But I'm not gonna go that far.

[Matt Abaticola]

Is it curable?

[Dan Bernstein]

Is there a pill for it? I don't know. I know in this case that you can hear it up and down. It's just the oily self congratulatory way in which even the negatives are discussed.

[Matt Abaticola]

Daniel, tell me, who is this you.

[Dan Bernstein]

Speak of, like sloughing off any fault that could possibly be your own, except for obvious lip service.

[Matt Abaticola]

Is this a quarterback in the NFL?

[Dan Bernstein]

It is. It is the exact person of whom I'm thinking happens to be a quarterback in the NFL who to contrast with what Caleb Williams is saying about his job being and how much he feels better when his teammates perform better and how lifting others brings him fulfillment and joy. The polar opposite of that was a guy who thankfully was bleeding out of his head. That being one. Aaron Rodgers.

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh boy.

[Dan Bernstein]

Did you hear some of this shit?

[Matt Abaticola]

I did.

[Dan Bernstein]

Not his fault by the way, that they lost 26 to 7 and that there were all these miscommunications with the wide receivers.

[Matt Abaticola]

Did you watch any of that game?

[Dan Bernstein]

I watched some of it.

[Matt Abaticola]

Did you see the start of the second half?

[Dan Bernstein]

What I did see. I didn't hear any of that.

[Matt Abaticola]

You see the start of the second half?

[Dan Bernstein]

No, I was still at Mariano's at that point.

[Matt Abaticola]

So within the first two minutes of the second half, two turnovers for the Steelers. There was a sack and a fumble that led to a touchdown.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's got to be wide receivers fault too.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. And then I think there was. I think he threw an interception. Right. So within the first two minutes of a game that they were leading at halftime.

[Dan Bernstein]

So what's the problem? Well, when there's film sessions, everybody shows up. He said Aaron Rodgers did. And when I check to a route, you do the right route. Okay. Then we have our meetings every week. We have other opportunities outside of the facility and I look forward to seeing all the boys there. So they're not coming to his meetings where he puts in his secret offense. Don't forget because that's part of this. When you work with Aaron Rodgers, remember that. Then he gives one of his secret signals to johnnu Smith and they don't hook up because Smith ran outside Rogers through inside. So what does Rogers say? Johnnu and I just weren't on the same page. I checked to his in breaker. He ran an outbreaker, John, who's a true professional. I'm sure he's sick about that. What a penis. I mean really unbelievable this guy. Unbelievable.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, let me pull up that one. But the other one too.

[Dan Bernstein]

Maybe, maybe as Arthur Smith is running all this, maybe you don't have your special Aaron Rodgers secret offense or maybe the rest of the team at this stage of your career doesn't need that. Doesn't need a whole off menu, in and out ordering system of the offense. Yeah, it's kind of like in and out at this point. It's a lot of work for something that's kind of mid.

[Matt Abaticola]

So remember he was asked about the coaching staff too. Here, I'll just play this one. Do you see the flatness within the.

[Dan Bernstein]

Game and in practice as something that's.

[Unidentified Caller]

Not being done right from a coaching.

[Dan Bernstein]

Aspect or Preparation aspect.

[Matt Abaticola]

That's kind of framing the guys in the wrong way.

[Dan Bernstein]

I know what you're trying to ask.

[Unidentified Caller]

And I'm not going to go down.

[Matt Abaticola]

That road at all.

[Dan Bernstein]

I believe in the coaching staff. I believe in Mike Thomas, why I came here. And players need to take accountability, myself included.

[Unidentified Caller]

And I will, and I will continue to.

[Matt Abaticola]

I got to play better.

[Dan Bernstein]

By saying, you're not going down that road and acknowledging what you interpret as the purpose of the question. Just because Aaron Rodgers says I know what you're getting at doesn't mean that's what the reporter was getting at.

[Matt Abaticola]

Right.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's just Aaron Rodgers. That's the difference between implication and the inference that may be inferred but not implied. And I see what you're trying to do here, and I'm not even going to discuss that. But now you're deciding to call attention to it. You're saying. You're telling me that I'm supposed to impugn the coaching. You want me to impugn the coaching. I'm not going to do that. I'm above that.

[Matt Abaticola]

I came here for Mike, Tom.

[Dan Bernstein]

I would never do anything like that. And yet now with that answer, you're doing work for yourself to draw that exact attention to it.

[Matt Abaticola]

Right. Like a guy who cares about his teammates and his coaches would have just answered the last part of what he said there, where he was like, you know what? Players need to take accountability for their performance, myself included.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's it.

[Matt Abaticola]

I need to play better. And saying that just erases the question about bringing the coaches into it.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's so weaselly. Yeah, that is such a weasel answer. I got you. I've solved you, Mr. Reporter. You want me to impugn the coaching, but I'm above that. I'm not going to do that. So check out this answer. Yeah, just answer it. Just do. You can answer it in a way that doesn't impugn the coaching. Unbelievable. It just the. This is why people get sick of all this crap. It's why people get. It's always. You can't just answer a question. You can't just say, yeah, we're. It was then. You're saying, well, there now, the second day stuff in Pittsburgh is going to be, who's not coming to these meetings?

[Matt Abaticola]

Right. Yeah. And if I'm.

[Dan Bernstein]

Who's not coming when they're talking about what route you're on, who's not there, who's not coming to film session? This is you pulling everybody's card because God forbid it's Your fault.

[Matt Abaticola]

If I'm an offensive minded head coach or an offensive coordinator of a team that has Aaron Rodgers that is pulling off his own playbook.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's what happened with LaFleur.

[Matt Abaticola]

Not interested. Not, not, not at all interested.

[Dan Bernstein]

That was the whole thing with Leflore, remember? The whole thing.

[Matt Abaticola]

Here's the playbook. This is what we write.

[Dan Bernstein]

You're letting me call audibles. What he meant was they're not letting me call my secret plays that I ran with all of my buddies. Yeah, so get my buddies. That's the same thing he did with the Jets. Remember? These guys don't know my secret plays.

[Matt Abaticola]

Adams and.

[Dan Bernstein]

Come on in. So these guys know when I scratch my nose, it's Kenny from lagrange park who's calling. What's your beef?

[Matt Abaticola]

Yep.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right?

[Matt Abaticola]

Yep.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yep. It's gotta be just exhausting. It has to be exhausting having him in the building where an offensive coordinator can put in all his stuff. Here's what we're going to do. Here are the routes. Here's our running. Here's what I'm calling. And Roger, like, well, just hold on a second there. Way before. Before we run that play. Look, me, I'm. Now we got it. And the receiver's just gonna be like, all right, whatever, man. Why can't we just run the play? Can't. With him you can't.

[Matt Abaticola]

All right, let's look at another game in the NFL. And this was courtesy cbs and it's Kevin Harlan, Trent Green on.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's Kittle. Here's Purdy to give it to the block. Here comes Garrett. It's a sack. His first today. Pressure up the middle.

[Matt Abaticola]

So that's the call of Miles Garrett getting a sack. His only sack against the 49ers, but it takes his total Dan to 19.

[Dan Bernstein]

19.

[Matt Abaticola]

He's three and a half away from the NFL record. Strahan and watt at 22 and a half. I'm going to tell you this right now. I'm going to call this. He's breaking that record this weekend.

[Dan Bernstein]

This weekend?

[Matt Abaticola]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

I thought you were going to set this up for the Bears game somehow. No. Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

He's breaking the record this weekend when they host the Tennessee Titans or they play the Titans. I don't think they're at. I think. I think they're actually at Tennessee.

[Dan Bernstein]

Tennessee bad. They're real terrible.

[Matt Abaticola]

I think he'll get at least four sacks.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, I'll take the under.

[Matt Abaticola]

On a team that has given up 48, which is the most in the NFL.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'll take the. He's an individual. Getting four sacks is a tough bet.

[Matt Abaticola]

I'm going to go for it. I'm going to put it out there. I'm going to find that. I'm going to find that bet on my bookie and I'm going to take it.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right. Well, let the record show that. And you've also taken. You. You have bet that Andrew Billings. This is on dbu.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yes. Can run it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Can run a sub five forty.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, I'm looking for him to get it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

Four, nine, nine. He can do it for me.

[Dan Bernstein]

Hell no.

[Matt Abaticola]

He can do it for me.

[Dan Bernstein]

I believe he can't.

[Matt Abaticola]

I believe he can. Oh, we said seconds.

[Dan Bernstein]

You believe wrong.

[Matt Abaticola]

No, I think he can do it. No, Miles Garrett is going to break the record. Period. Like it's, it's. It's going to happen. I'm going to say he does it this weekend in Tennessee in spectacular fashion.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, I'd love to see what that number is.

[Matt Abaticola]

Let me.

[Dan Bernstein]

Somebody more sacks.

[Matt Abaticola]

Let me just make sure that schedule here. Where are they? This is week 14.

[Dan Bernstein]

I think the.

[Matt Abaticola]

They're actually in Cleveland. They're in Cleveland. So I was right the first time around. So they are in Cleveland. The 1 in 11 titans go to the 3 and 9 browns. Miles Garrett needs 3 and a half to tie four to break the record. I say he gets it this weekend against Tennessee.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right.

[Matt Abaticola]

And I don't think it's going to be like he gets. He's on his third one and to get the fourth one. I don't think an offensive line is going to lay down for him or the quarterback lay down for him either. I think he's going to earn all of it. All 23 sacks will be earned this year by Miles Garrett.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right. I'm trying to see if there is a way to determine if that wager is available on my bookie so that. I don't know, man, I'm gonna. When's the last time we saw. Was it. Was it like Alex Brown against Bob Whitfield or something with somebody had four sacks in a game that we remember.

[Matt Abaticola]

Well what was the. Wasn't there like a seven sack game for a Bears quarterback got sacked seven times within the recent past?

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, Cutler got sacked. Was it cutler 10 times and a half against the Giants.

[Matt Abaticola]

Was it the Giants that got him?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, that's the one where he went to halftime and was telling every. He was. He was MF and everybody. Right.

[Matt Abaticola]

Somebody had to have three or four that game. Oh, but regardless, he's going to break the record this year. Good for him on that. And I'd love to see him do it this weekend in one game.

[Dan Bernstein]

That would be.

[Matt Abaticola]

That would be spectacular. All right, here's a clip I'm going to play for you. And it was from.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's the one that's going to make me mad that you weren't. That I was listening to it. I was half listening, not telling you what it was. That what is that? What is that? And you weren't telling me what it was.

[Matt Abaticola]

All right, so this is. This is the NFL and Fox, okay. And it is Howie Long and Julian Edelman.

[Unidentified Caller]

Usually you say with a quarterback, particularly a mobile quarterback, make him go to his left. He's as comfortable rolling to his left, flipping his hips.

[Ben Johnson]

Comet.

[Unidentified Caller]

Yes, that. You know what he is? He's. For me, he's John Elway from my generation.

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh, wow.

[Unidentified Caller]

Now, now, John Elway would stop it for a second.

[Dan Bernstein]

Who's John Elway?

[Matt Abaticola]

Caleb Williams. So for some reason, Edelman says Elway says commit. He's talking about. About Caleb Williams. Howie Long is talking about Caleb Williams.

[Unidentified Caller]

Usually you say with a quarterback, particularly a mobile quarterback, make him go to his left. He's as comfortable rolling to his left, flipping his hips.

[Ben Johnson]

Comet.

[Unidentified Caller]

Yes. You know what he is?

[Dan Bernstein]

He's.

[Unidentified Caller]

For me, he's John Elway from my generation. Oh, wow.

[Matt Abaticola]

Now, so it's on the Comet touchdown pass, obviously, that how he's talking about now.

[Unidentified Caller]

Now, John Elway was, you know, he, he didn't light it on fire initially. And, and then he obviously he said he has a great career and he's, he's a Hall of Famer and he.

[Dan Bernstein]

Seems to be coachable. Caleb, you know, he's doing.

[Unidentified Caller]

I think he challenged him.

[Dan Bernstein]

He did.

[Unidentified Caller]

He challenged him usually. And I don't know if you feel this way, but I think, I think a lot of times the more talented guys are the guys that maybe work less on the details. Guys like you and me, you know, who carry a lunch pail to work. You work your rear end off, and if there's no stone left unturned, you know, you just. I want every edge I can get. I want to look at every film I can. I want to look at every formation I can. Caleb is starting to buy in. This is he challenged the team, but he also challenged the quarterback.

[Matt Abaticola]

All right, so what's he inferring there about Kaylee Williams, Dan?

[Unidentified Caller]

I'm not sure, you know who carry a lunch pail.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah.

[Unidentified Caller]

To work guys like you and me usually And I don't know if you feel this way, but I swear to.

[Dan Bernstein]

God, I don't know what point he's making.

[Unidentified Caller]

A lot of times the more talented guys are the guys that maybe work less on the details, but the more.

[Matt Abaticola]

Talented guys are the guys that work less in the details. I'm hearing Howie Long say Caleb Williams is a very talented, naturally gifted person, quarterback athlete. And before this, before Ben Johnson never worked really hard in the details. That's what I'm hearing him say.

[Dan Bernstein]

I just don't like the Elway comparison.

[Matt Abaticola]

And on top of that he's comparing him to John Elway.

[Dan Bernstein]

Elway threw a ton of interceptions. Elway was a great quarterback. But John Elway was incredibly inefficient quarterback. Do you know what Elway's career rating Was?

[Matt Abaticola]

He low 80s.

[Dan Bernstein]

Not even 80.

[Matt Abaticola]

Is he 79?

[Dan Bernstein]

79.9. Wow. Because he threw 226 interceptions at every season of his career. He had 10 plus picks. He had 23 interceptions in 1985. And this is just his INT totals. 14, 15, 23, 13, 12, 19, 18, 14, 12, 17, 10, 10, 14, 14, 11, 10.

[Matt Abaticola]

And Caleb's at 5. But we also have to look at attempts too.

[Dan Bernstein]

How many? 4. How many 4000 yard seasons do you think John Elway had?

[Matt Abaticola]

I'll say none.

[Dan Bernstein]

One. Okay, one 4,000 yard season. He had 300 touchdowns, 226 interceptions, completion percentage of 56.9.

[Matt Abaticola]

That's not high enough.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, I mean Kayla has to be significantly better than that. Using modern numbers and understanding what modern quarterbacks are asked to do usually.

[Unidentified Caller]

And I don't know if you feel this way, but I think a lot of times the more talented guys are the guys that maybe work less on the details. Guys like you and me, you know, who carry a lunch pail to work. You work your rear end off and if there's no stone left unturned, you know, you just. I want every edge I can get. I want to look at every film I can. I want to look at every formation I can.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't think talented players do that. You think talented players put in that work?

[Matt Abaticola]

Well, I think, I don't know, I heard it and took it as a little bit of a shot at a talented guy who thought he was going to walk right in and just do what he wanted to and didn't have to put the work into it. But he finally has that challenge now in his second season working with Ben Johnson. And he says that Ben Johnson challenged the team, but more importantly challenged the quarterback.

[Dan Bernstein]

And also Howie Long was the 48th overall pick. This guy, Howie Long wasn't some undrafted free agent or. And he played at Villanova. So for him to be a second round pick out of Villanova, that's all talent.

[Matt Abaticola]

That's all talent? Yeah, a hundred percent.

[Dan Bernstein]

Come on, man. And then you have two kids who play in the league well and you don't think there's, there's natural talent there, right? Come on, Howie, Howie, Howie, Howie, Howie. I'm a lunch pail. How come you're the 48th overall pick in the draft? Please, Honestly, I'd love to just pound on, but I have, I really have no idea what he was talking about. I'm really struggling with that. From the, the way he passively says talented guys don't work as hard, which I don't believe.

[Matt Abaticola]

I 100% agree with you.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't think that's fair. It sounds bitter too because like just.

[Matt Abaticola]

Your talents alone isn't enough in this.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, no. The list of, I mean, cuts everywhere and at every season and high draft picks and pedigree. There are plenty of people completely out of football because they're talented as hell and never understood how to do the work or never desire to do the work.

[Caleb Williams]

Right.

[Dan Bernstein]

The people that stay in the league and succeed in the league are a combination of both. So I will not grant him the givens that he's asking for there. And I'm just not sure I would need to ask more about what he means by the Elway comparison because there's good aspects to Elway that are, that are special. There's some bad aspects that I think embody the old expectations of quarterbacks. He's sort of like in a modern day, you know, Namath, where Namaste's numbers were awful. He wasn't even really all that good.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, I mean I never considered, I saw and I watched John Elway's career. I never, never thought of John Elway as a great thrower of the football. I mean he was. I've looked at John Elway, great arm. As a great, great strong arm, but a great leader. A guy that wasn't going to leave anything out and he wasn't, he was going to leave it all in the field. Whatever it took to win a game, he was. Now I love those aspects of his character and sure, you want to apply those to Caleb and the, you know, the game winning drives and the fact that he never is beaten down by a mistake or failure. Sure, you can look at those things but, but Overall, as a quarterback, I hope Caleb Williams far exceeds. Yeah. What John Elway did as a quarterback.

[Dan Bernstein]

Like 10 Pro Bowls or something like that. And I mean, but when they won the Super Bowl, I covered it. I was there. When. When they won the super bowl, it wasn't because of him. It was with him.

[Matt Abaticola]

Right.

[Dan Bernstein]

When they won the second one, it was more.

[Matt Abaticola]

Because. More of Elway.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes.

[Matt Abaticola]

I can't remember the first one was the Green Bay one, or was that. But was Green Bay the second one?

[Dan Bernstein]

I'd have to go look.

[Matt Abaticola]

Okay. You know, all I remember is that the Green. Wasn't the Green Bay at the goal line. He got spun around. They did like a helicopter spin going for either the end zone or first down. And like that. Like, that's. That's an image of him I'll never, never forget that would like whatever it took to get the first down or get in the end zone. But, yeah, I hope he far exceeds what he. What he did.

[Dan Bernstein]

What's this?

[Matt Abaticola]

There have been some teams that have died this year, Dan.

[Dan Bernstein]

Are we doing the In Memoriam end of year segment?

[Matt Abaticola]

There's five teams already eliminated.

[Dan Bernstein]

Five teams are dead.

[Matt Abaticola]

Five teams are dead.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, well, we have the aforementioned Titans.

[Matt Abaticola]

The Titans at 1 in 11, eliminated.

[Dan Bernstein]

Titan B. Dead. Are the. Are the Vikings dead yet?

[Matt Abaticola]

They are not.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, Vikings alive.

[Matt Abaticola]

The Raiders, Dan.

[Dan Bernstein]

The Raiders are dead.

[Matt Abaticola]

Another team. Actually, two more teams. The Bears have played. The Giants.

[Dan Bernstein]

Giants are dead.

[Matt Abaticola]

The Saints are eliminated.

[Dan Bernstein]

The jets dead.

[Matt Abaticola]

The Cardinals are eliminated. Now that the Jets. The jets aren't eliminated yet, where's our.

[Dan Bernstein]

I got five then?

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Cardinals, Saints, Giants, Raiders, Titans.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, the. The jets have not found elimination yet. And.

[Dan Bernstein]

And also while we're doing this, credit to Dan Quinn for going for it.

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh, for the. With.

[Dan Bernstein]

For going for two. You're three and eight instead of giving.

[Matt Abaticola]

You more football to watch.

[Dan Bernstein]

And I don't know what he said after the game because they'll be dead soon, but just. Just say, you know what? We're three and eight. What do you want to see? Every. Tired. We're staying up too late. You like this? Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. Raiders, Titans, Saints, Giants.

[Dan Bernstein]

What's the name of this piece of music?

[Matt Abaticola]

Cardinals. This is. It's the funeral march by. Well, it's by someone. But this is Chopin's funeral march.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, that'd be. That would be by Chopin.

[Matt Abaticola]

Well, yeah, this would be. But the performance is not.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, I'm not asking about the performance. I don't.

[Matt Abaticola]

I don't have an original. An original Chopin. Although he did have an Orchestra. Just like John Williams.

[Dan Bernstein]

The John Williams orchestra.

[Matt Abaticola]

Chopin had dancers though.

[Dan Bernstein]

The Chopin dancers. Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

So our condolences to those football fans.

[Dan Bernstein]

I just remember this from an early, early, early first generation video game. Like the very first coin operated video games when Space Invaders came out. Mm. There was one called Boot Hill where it was a. It was a one on one game where you were just. You were an old western gunfighter and.

[Matt Abaticola]

It would play this part of it.

[Dan Bernstein]

When you shot the other guy. Yeah. You just play that. Then you get onto the next round. That's how I learned it. Because video games were bad then. But we didn't know any better because we were very, very excited because Space Invaders was hot shit.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. We were talking about video game systems the other day. I've had Atari 2600, ColecoVision, Intellivision.

[Dan Bernstein]

Coleco. That was. Yeah, that was big time.

[Matt Abaticola]

A lot of them.

[Dan Bernstein]

You could play real Donkey Kong.

[Matt Abaticola]

I've had all the Nintendo's, Sega systems, PlayStation, Xbox. Now the stuff the kids play is just. It's stupid.

[Dan Bernstein]

Boot Hill arcade game. Yeah. Multi directional shooter arcade by mid. Released by Midway in 1977. A sequel to the 1975 video game Gun Fight, released by Taito in Japan as Western Gun. Yep. Use a small joystick to move your cowboy up and down. You get six bullets. All right. The 11th highest grossing arcade video game of 1977.

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh my God, these graphics are awesome.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, they were for them. Never. Are you kidding? We loved it.

[Matt Abaticola]

That's.

[Dan Bernstein]

We didn't know any better. That was one step above going outside and hitting your head against a tree. As far as entertainment possibilities back then.

[Matt Abaticola]

Leave your kid out of it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Seriously. Playing in the dirt, you know, writing in the dirt with a stick, that was. That was a good game.

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh, Pong, man. Remember, Pong came out. This is post Pong, but you could do Pong, though. I have like. Instead of like being outside playing with a stick and some dirt and hose.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

Not the hose.

[Dan Bernstein]

Played with my hoes.

[Matt Abaticola]

Played with the hose later in life.

[Dan Bernstein]

At what age did you have a hose with which to play? But yeah, no, that's the music. That's the Chopin funeral march for the Cardinals, the Saints, the Giants, the Raiders and the Titans, who will be in the top of your next draft. And they'll be going after probably somebody other than one of these quarterbacks.

[Matt Abaticola]

Would be fun.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

Don't you.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes. Have you seen anybody that you're like, ooh, get that guy. No, I want a combination of them. I want to take traits from each One and combine them into the quarterback that I would draft. But you know they will, you know, they'll fall in love and all of a sudden somebody will be a late riser up the board and they'll be wrong and the guy will be banned.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, and if you love watching Diego Pavia play football, I don't get ready for their bowl game because that'll be the last time you can watch them play.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, no, you can go to the cfl.

[Matt Abaticola]

Well, unless he leaves you can.

[Dan Bernstein]

You watch him running around the wastelands of Manitoba if you want.

[Matt Abaticola]

You know, he, he led their team in rushing seven times this year.

[Dan Bernstein]

I actually think the Tulane quarterback would be a great CFL quarterback.

[Matt Abaticola]

Really?

[Dan Bernstein]

Jake Retzlaff. He was the by Jew at byu.

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

And then he went to Julian and he's good, he's fun. The other North Texas kid is really good. He'd never played quarterback before. Mess to maker. He's like 6:5.

[Matt Abaticola]

Good guy to have.

[Dan Bernstein]

He can throw it. Just keep, keep an eye on that guy.

[Matt Abaticola]

Did they ask who wanted to play quarterback? And he raised his hand.

[Dan Bernstein]

I look at.

[Matt Abaticola]

I've never done it coach, but I'll give it a whirl.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, no, he's. He's good. Drew Mesta maker. He does 19 years old. He's 64 and apparently he hadn't really quarterbacked before. And there he goes. Yeah, he's. He was a walk on. On the Mean green. You just give him a look. 64 to 11 will do. He can sling it. 28 touchdowns, six picks, almost 4,000 yards, a 171.2 rating.

[Matt Abaticola]

But they're going to lose. So he's your number one pick in the draft.

[Dan Bernstein]

You think he's a freshman?

[Matt Abaticola]

Is that what you said?

[Dan Bernstein]

He's like a real freshman. No red shirt freshman. Okay, but no, he's not my number one pick in the draft. There I'll be an edge rusher that'll go crazy at the combine and people will love him. And then there's a. There was a defensive back. Who's the, who is the Ohio State hybrid defensive back. That guy's nasty.

[Matt Abaticola]

Who is it? What's his name?

[Dan Bernstein]

His name is. He's going to kill you. Because I just. Wherever the ball was, that guy ran.

[Matt Abaticola]

My buddy. Wherever the ball was, he goes.

[Dan Bernstein]

My buddy? Yeah, that guy at Ohio State that was blowing everything up. That might be the guy to pick. He was like, like Pete Derwin James. That dude. Be good. If I knew his name wouldn't.

[Matt Abaticola]

It would help. You want to look it up before we say goodbye.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, I'll find him. He's. But he's really, really good. Whoever that guy is, he's nasty. He good.

[Matt Abaticola]

All right, that'll do it. For forward progress today here on December 1st. It's December 1st, Dan.

[Dan Bernstein]

I know I did. Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit, rabbit, rabbit, rabbit. What's that? It's the first of the month. So when you wake up, if you're the first person in the family to text everybody, rabbit, rabbit, rabbit, you're the one that gets good luck. Because if you say rabbit, rabbit, rabbit on the first day of the month, before you say anything else, it's good luck for the entire month.

[Matt Abaticola]

Is that for any month or is that just for December? Is it a December thing?

[Dan Bernstein]

No, any month. Oh, any first of the month. So in my. I've never heard that before in my family. Text group chat. Yeah. You always try to beat everybody else. You try to wake them up with a text.

[Matt Abaticola]

And my family. You mean your wife and your kid?

[Dan Bernstein]

Two kids.

[Matt Abaticola]

Okay, so it's not like extended, like parents.

[Dan Bernstein]

We didn't do it.

[Matt Abaticola]

Just cousins.

[Dan Bernstein]

It was in our family thing, by the way, Arvell Reese, linebacker Arvell Reese.

[Matt Abaticola]

He's the guy.

[Dan Bernstein]

He's. I. All I know is I kept seeing him and I saw an NFL impact player in Arvell Reese. I don't know if anybody else thinks that, but he looked pretty awesome to me. And if he is really 64243, I can line him up anywhere as long.

[Matt Abaticola]

As he doesn't fall down on his own in space. Like you're. No, I'm offensive lineman. You like.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'm sticking with him. I'm sticking with the Oregon tackle who has a tendency to fall down.

[Matt Abaticola]

Just falls down on his own.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. Arville Reese, 20 years old. 642-43.

[Matt Abaticola]

We'll get more to that when it comes. What is it? April? May. When's the draft?

[Dan Bernstein]

Just. I. I know Billy, of course. Bernstein. Everybody loves that guy. All right, well, I happen to see him. I said him. I want that guy.

[Matt Abaticola]

All right. See if the Bears can get him.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes. Now.

[Matt Abaticola]

All right, now. That's it for forward progress.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's it for forward progress. When do I say goodbye?

[Matt Abaticola]

Whenever you want.

[Dan Bernstein]

Bye.

[Matt Abaticola]

Forward Progress, a Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abaticola on 312 Sports.