Can Rome Odunze and Luther Burden Crack the NFL’s Top WR Rankings?

Summary

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Forward Progress - A Chicago Bears Podcast

Hosted by Dan Bernstein and Matt Abbatacola

Episode: Can Rome Odunze and Luther Burden Crack the NFL’s Top WR Rankings?
Date: July 15, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Dan Bernstein and Matt Abbatacola break down ESPN’s just-released rankings of the NFL’s top wide receivers heading into the 2026 season, with a sharp focus on whether up-and-coming Chicago Bears receivers Rome Odunze and Luther Burden could—or should—be cracking the list or at least receiving votes. The hosts also dive into Bears news, training camp buzz, and the ever-evolving NFC North landscape while keeping their trademark blend of wit, fan candor, and analytical rigor.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Bears Training Camp News

• Stevenson High School Event (03:30 - 05:45)
  • The Bears are holding a public walkthrough practice at Stevenson High School on August 10th, as part of their "Varsity Bears" initiative.
  • Family-friendly football “activations” are planned, with free tickets (but limited supply) via Ticketmaster.
  • Dan and Matt riff on what "activation" actually means (“Nobody knows what an activation is”—Dan Bernstein, 04:44).

2. ESPN’s Top 10 NFL WR Rankings: No Bears in Sight

• Top 10 List Reveal & Reactions (06:02 - 09:16)

  • Top wide receivers, per ESPN/NFL execs:
    1. Ja’Marr Chase (CIN)
    2. Justin Jefferson (MIN)
    3. Jaxon Smith-Njigba (SEA)
    4. Puka Nacua (LAR)
    5. Amon-Ra St. Brown (DET)
    6. CeeDee Lamb & 7. George Pickens (DAL)
    7. Nico Collins (HOU)
    8. A.J. Brown (NE)
    9. Davante Adams (LAR)
  • No Bears WRs in Top 10, Honorable Mentions, or 'Also Receiving Votes.'
    • “The highest a Chicago Bear might be, you might find a Rome Odunze or a Luther Burden in others receiving votes." —Dan Bernstein, 08:24
    • But neither made the list, not even as ‘also receiving votes.’

• Discussion: The Bears’ Best ‘Receiver’ is Actually a Tight End (09:19 - 09:38)

  • “The Bears’ best wide receiver is actually Colston Loveland.” —Dan Bernstein
  • Both hosts concur Loveland, though a tight end, plays a receiver-like role in Ben Johnson's offense.

3. Bears WR Room & Work Ethic

• Khalif Raymond’s Comments on Bears’ Talent & Practice Intensity (12:10 - 13:58)
  • Raymond, Bears veteran WR, gave a glowing review of the talent level and intensity in Bears’ OTAs, describing them as “overwhelming” and comparing the workload to a full training camp.
  • “For him to say that there's a lot of talent, the talent here is so overwhelming, I thought that was encouraging.” —Matt Abbatacola, 12:35

4. NFC North Predictions and QB Controversy

• NFL Network Panel Debate (15:05 - 20:59)

  • Former Bear Manti Te’o picked the Vikings to win the North based on roster talent, but Dan and Matt are highly skeptical of an unresolved Vikings QB competition (Kyler Murray vs. J.J. McCarthy).
  • “There’s no way I can trust a coach that’s having that competition.” —Dan Bernstein, 16:21
  • “For our perspective as Bears fans, I hope that this competition runs through training camp. …I would love it to see play out like this. Plus, it’s more fun for us to talk about now.” —Matt Abbatacola, 19:40

• Bears Favored in the North?

  • Ex-NFL center Mitch Morse picked the Bears, citing the established continuity of head coach Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams going into Year 2.

• Iron Man QBs

  • Only Goff and Williams played all 17 games in 2025. Matt marvels that Ben Johnson's teams (in Detroit and Chicago) have never had to start a backup QB, underscoring continuity but warning it might not last.

5. NFL Division Power Rankings

• NFC North “Best in the NFL” (22:28 - 23:11)
  • According to Nick Shook (NFL.com), NFC North is now the league’s top division due to all four teams finishing above .500.

6. Quick NFL Newsbytes

• Terry Arnold Still a Free Agent (23:15 - 23:37)
• Charles Snowden (DAL) Suspended Three Games for a 2024 DUI (23:37 - 24:08)

7. Bears Off-Field: Kevin Warren Event

• Kevin Warren Speaking Engagement (24:13 - 29:12)
  • Dan delivers a comedic, snark-laced rundown of the Bears president’s upcoming public speaking event, including a farcical analysis of ticket sales and event venue seating quirks.

8. Chicago’s Kicking Wilderness Reminisced

• Randy Brown, the “Freedom Fuel” Kicker (31:41 - 36:20)
  • Former Bears kicking consultant Randy Brown is now in the news for his role in a Pennsylvania ‘Freedom Fuel’ pop-up gas station network.
  • The hosts nostalgically recall the Bears’ “kicking wilderness” era: “Jeff Jaeger, Chris Boniol, Brian Gowins, Jarrett Holmes…” —Dan Bernstein, 33:39

9. Parenting, Errands, and Fishing Tangents

• Regular show banter about trying (and failing) at assembling an e-bike (02:19 - 03:28), the woes of fishing versus household chores, and hunt for inexpensive shorts at Ross (38:08 - 39:06).
• Matt teases Dan’s clothing purchases: “That’s a lot for you on clothes.” (39:04)
• Hilarious sidetrack about the mythical "golden walleye" fish (40:04 - 41:58).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On OTAs that feel like camp:
  “The talent on the roster is overwhelming.” —Khalif Raymond (as quoted by Matt Abbatacola, 12:22)
  “For a veteran like that, to compare OTAs to what you see at camp, that just… stood out to me.” —Matt Abbatacola, 13:04

• On Vikings’ QB controversy:
  “There’s no way I can trust a coach that’s having that competition.” —Dan Bernstein, 16:21
  “For our perspective as Bears fans, I hope that this competition runs through training camp… it’s more fun for us to talk about now.” —Matt Abbatacola, 19:40

• On Bears WRs missing the Top 10:
  “No, no Bears would make the top 10 list.” —Dan Bernstein, 07:47
  “The Bears’ best wide receiver is actually Colston Loveland.” —Dan Bernstein, 09:38

• On Ben Johnson’s lucky streak:
  “As an offensive coordinator and a head coach, he’s never had a backup quarterback start a game for him.” —Matt Abbatacola, 21:27

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Segment Timestamps

• 03:30 – Bears to host public ‘Varsity Bears’ practice at Stevenson High School
• 06:02 – ESPN’s Top 10 WRs revealed; no Bears in Top 10, HM, or ‘receiving votes’
• 12:10 – Khalif Raymond’s praise for Bears’ WR room & practice culture
• 15:05 – NFLN panel: Who wins the NFC North? Te’o (Vikings), Morse (Bears)
• 22:28 – Nick Shook’s NFL Division Power Rankings; NFC North #1
• 24:13 – Kevin Warren’s speaking event dissected
• 31:41 – Ex-Bears coach Randy Brown and ‘Freedom Fuel’ gas stations
• 38:08 – Dan shops at Ross, fishing talk, golden walleye tangent

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Episode Tone

Conversational, irreverent, Chicago-centric, sharp NFL analysis interspersed with playful banter and running jokes. The hosts blend serious football talk with self-effacing humor, sidetracks about parenting, errands, and Bears nostalgia.

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Useful for

• Bears fans and general NFL followers curious if Chicago’s WR room is gaining national respect.
• Anyone tracking the NFC North's balance of power and roster debates.
• Fans who enjoy deep-in-the-woods insight, coaching commentary, and witty side stories from longtime Chicago sports personalities.

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Forward Progress will return with more insight, high standards, and a side of Chicago-style skepticism.

Transcript

[Jenny V]

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[Dan Bernstein]

I mean, if you're a Bears fan,

[Matt Abeticola]

you're thinking Forward progress. Come on. Forward Progress, a Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Ber and Matabeticola on 312 sports.

[Dan Bernstein]

You have forward progress here on 312 sports. We talk Bears, we talk NFL. And this time of year that means we.

[Matt Abeticola]

I mean, if you're a Bears fan, Forward progress, come on. It's this time of year we play the Open twice. So hey, that's just, that's what, that's what you get. You get a little extra Forward Progress Open. And you are welcome for that.

[Dan Bernstein]

Thank you.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yes, we can continue. It's fine. People don't care.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, people don't care.

[Matt Abeticola]

Hey, we're not, we're not perfect. We were just talking about this Dan before the show recorded. We are not perfect human beings.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's true. Sometimes we run the Open twice because I'm an idiot.

[Matt Abeticola]

And that's just sometimes is what happens. Like I need to hire a guy to put together an E bike because I can't do it on my own.

[Dan Bernstein]

I think you set a good example as a parent.

[Matt Abeticola]

It was either launch the folding chair down the driveway because it was 110 degrees and I'm dripping in sweat, or I stop. I say, let's go inside. I'm not mad at you. I'm not mad at your E bike. I'm frustrated that I'm not better at putting things together. So let's get some AC and let's head out for pizza soon.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's good parenting, I think. And then. And your child will be safer with a professional putting the bike together.

[Matt Abeticola]

That's what I. Because there was a. There was a. The portion that got stuck at. I'm like, maybe I'll just skip it. Then I thought, no, you know, my son's gonna be riding this thing. I probably shouldn't skip any of the important steps.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right. It's an electric e bike that somebody who knows what they're doing should put it together. Your kids can be out on the street riding it around.

[Matt Abeticola]

So I thought, you know what. What are the chances of finding someone online in my area that does this? Well, not only did I find someone, there's like nine different companies.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's what they do.

[Matt Abeticola]

Come to your house and put E bikes together. Well, perfect.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well done.

[Matt Abeticola]

That's what I need.

[Dan Bernstein]

There was a Bears announcement today. Did you see this from the Bears official website?

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, are they moving to Indiana?

[Dan Bernstein]

No.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, they made a commitment to Indiana?

[Dan Bernstein]

No.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, they picked the site in Indiana to build on.

[Dan Bernstein]

Again, no. And nor did they give a timetable as to when they would make a decision on quote unquote, moving to Indiana.

[Matt Abeticola]

All right.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, that didn't happen. The Bears have announced the club is teaming up with Stevenson High School to host varsity Bears. The Bears are going to take their August 10th walkthrough practice to Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, where fans will have the opportunity to watch the Bears train and participate in other activations around the Stevenson campus. And if you wonder what is an activation, you'll find out when you get there, I guess.

[Matt Abeticola]

Wait, so the. The Bear. This is during training camp. They're going to do a training camp day at Stevenson High School?

[Dan Bernstein]

That's what it says. A walkthrough practice will begin at 11am Central with gates opening at 10am Central. And then Varsity Bears will feature family friendly interactive football activations. Nobody knows what an activation is.

[Matt Abeticola]

Okay, wait a second. I'm confused. Is this the actual current roster or this is like retired Bears and they say varsity Bears? I'm a little concerned.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't know. But it says food and drink offerings, retail opportunities, appearances by Staley Debear and entertainment by the Stevenson High School Patriots game day entertainment squad. Open to the public free of charge, but you need tickets starting Thursday, July 16 at 10am Central.

[Matt Abeticola]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

Via Ticketmaster.

[Matt Abeticola]

Ticketmaster.

[Dan Bernstein]

Ticket inventory is limited. First come, first serve Basis.

[Matt Abeticola]

And when. When is this thing? When is the varsity bears?

[Dan Bernstein]

August 10th.

[Matt Abeticola]

August 10th.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Matt Abeticola]

Take a look at that date. That's a nice campus. That's a nice high school. Stevenson.

[Dan Bernstein]

It is. And they just produced an NBA champion.

[Matt Abeticola]

They sure did. In Jalen Brunson.

[Dan Bernstein]

That is absolutely right.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yep.

[Matt Abeticola]

All right, Danielson, I have the next top 10 list for you. Are you ready for it?

[Dan Bernstein]

I think so. I've done well so far.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, you have done. You have done well. Today from ESPN, we have the top 10 wide receivers going into the 2026 NFL season, which with each passing day of no content, we are one day closer to training camp.

[Dan Bernstein]

Top 10 wide receivers and the question is, is there a bear among them?

[Matt Abeticola]

Is there? Okay, so here's three questions. Is there a bear in the top 10? Yes or no?

[Dan Bernstein]

No.

[Matt Abeticola]

Is there a bear that gets honorable mentions?

[Dan Bernstein]

No.

[Matt Abeticola]

Is there a bear that gets also had votes?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes.

[Matt Abeticola]

Okay, let me see if you are correct. Do you have any guesses as to who the number one wide receiver is? According to NFL executive scouts and personnel,

[Dan Bernstein]

Jackson Smith and Jigba.

[Matt Abeticola]

That is incorrect. The correct answer would be Jamar Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals.

[Dan Bernstein]

Wow. Okay.

[Matt Abeticola]

Also a good pick, though.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, sure.

[Matt Abeticola]

Number two from the Minnesota Vikings, Justin Jefferson.

[Dan Bernstein]

Betting on a rebound, who did you say was?

[Matt Abeticola]

What was your number one guess? JSN JSN Comes in at number three for the Seattle Seahawks. So good guess. Number four, Puka Nakua from the Los Angeles Rams. Number five, one of my favorite guys to watch, Aman Ross St. Brown. Also made last year's top ten Saints list. Number six from the Dallas Cowboys, CD Lamb. Number seven. Also from the Dallas Cowboys, George Pickens. Number eight from the Houston Texans, Nico Collins. Now, you said no Bears would make the top 10 list.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's what I said. That's what I said.

[Matt Abeticola]

Number nine from the New England Patriots, A.J. brown of the famous Rossini Rabel tampering scandal. And the number 10 wide receiver on the top 10 list of top 10 wide receivers for ESPN going into 2026, the Los Angeles Rams, Devante Adams.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's a representative list.

[Matt Abeticola]

It's a very good list. Those are very good wide receivers. Would love to see our quarterback throwing to one of them. Although I love our guys. Honorable mentions. You said no Chicago Bears would be listed.

[Dan Bernstein]

Correct? I said the the highest a Chicago Bear might be, you might find a Roma Dun or a Luther Burden in others receiving votes.

[Matt Abeticola]

Honorable mentions, Malik Neighbors of the Giants, Mike Evans, now of the Niners. Zay Flowers from Baltimore, Tyreek Hill, who's a free agent but still had honorable mentions. Drake London of Atlanta, Jameson Williams of the Lions. Those are your honorable mentions.

[Dan Bernstein]

Now I also might receiving I think there might be a bear in here.

[Matt Abeticola]

Alec Pierce, T. Higgins, D.K. metcalf, Terry McLaurin, Garrett Wilson, DeVonta Smith, Lad McConkey, Brian Thomas Jr. Jaden Waddle and Chris Olave.

[Dan Bernstein]

Wow.

[Matt Abeticola]

Okay no Chicago Bears I'm But I'm not mad. Surprised me at all.

[Dan Bernstein]

No mad it didn't surprise me I was giving him the benefit of the doubt because all it takes is one voter or one, you know, Bears crazy voter to say, oh, you gotta get my guy in there. So okay, that that shouldn't be a surprise because the the Bears why best wide receiver is actually Colson Loveland.

[Matt Abeticola]

Correct.

[Dan Bernstein]

And we keep saying that to try to explain that his role in this offense is from the tight end position to function like a wide receiver more often than not.

[Matt Abeticola]

Correct.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay. All right.

[Matt Abeticola]

So that it didn't didn't surprise me. Didn't bother me at all. I wasn't expecting certainly wasn't expecting to see a top 10 I I too going into it, thought maybe there might be also getting votes type type situation for Luther Burden just based on what he did to end the season as a rookie. But not there. So wasn't too surprised.

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[Matt Abeticola]

a Bears wide receiver though that was made an appearance on Good Morning Football in Khalif Raymond and a couple things that he said that stood out to me in his, in his interview he said, number one, the talent on the roster is overwhelming. And I thought it was a very positive thing given the experience of where he came from and being on this roster now with, especially in that wide receivers room, younger, unproven guys. For him to say that there's a lot of talent, the talent here is so overwhelming, I thought that was encouraging. But the thing that stood up to me most, he talked about the OTAs that he's participated in with the Bears so far and he said the OTAS with this team has felt like being at camp. The amount of work and reps that guys were putting in during.

[Dan Bernstein]

You're going to get your coach in trouble.

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, it's funny, you know, it's. God, it's so funny. So that because one of the, one of the first few thoughts I had was, man, Bernstein's going to say something about, about too much work or violating the rules or doing more than you're allowed in OTAs. So thank you for it's hap.

[Dan Bernstein]

Didn't the, didn't he already get. Get dinged for it?

[Matt Abeticola]

I think so. But what, what he said was that the amount of reps the guys are putting in the work that they, that he saw before OTAS and after ota. So on the particular work days, the guys were out there early getting extra reps in and guys were staying late getting extra reps in. It seemed like it wasn't something that he was accustomed to seeing with Detroit. And that's not a knock to Detroit. It's just what the Bears were doing, seeing guys. He talked about defensive backs and wide receivers getting extra work in before and after the days of work, taking extra jugs, taking extra reps, doing extra routes. He. And for. For a veteran like that, to compare OTAs to what you see at camp, that just. That stood out to me.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right. It's that time of year where nobody. Nobody's going to say, yeah, we're just kind of going through the motions as soon as we set down our margaritas, so.

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, no, I wouldn't expect that. And I don't. I don't think he's talking.

[Dan Bernstein]

Training camp's been awesome. They like. They make their own chips. It's fresh guacamole.

[Matt Abeticola]

And they have a mobile bar that.

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[Matt Abeticola]

They've got.

[Dan Bernstein]

They've got. They've got a make your own margarita bar. They're doing tasty tableside guacamole and a molcajete. It's awesome.

[Matt Abeticola]

No, it's. It's your guy as the mobile bartender with his prickly pear margaritas.

[Dan Bernstein]

Hey, I'm a Mac. And prickly pear margaritas. That's one of my favorite things, that he likes those.

[Matt Abeticola]

And he likes prickly. No one orders prickly pear margaritas.

[Dan Bernstein]

Give me another one of those prickly pear margaritas.

[Matt Abeticola]

But no, I just thought, damn it,

[Dan Bernstein]

they take their belt off here every time you lose a game.

[Matt Abeticola]

I. I thought it was good. I thought it was good, and it's kind of. It stood out. And so from that interview, it led into a conversation in the panel. Two of the guys on the panel were Mitchell. Mitchell Morse. He was a center. What did he. Buffalo and maybe Jacksonville and then former Notre Dame standout and former Chicago Bear. Right. Mantao. Didn't he, man.

[Dan Bernstein]

Titeo. He was a Bear.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes.

[Matt Abeticola]

So they were. They were talking about who's going to win the NFC north. And Teo had a he. Okay. This was. I. I listened all the way through because I wanted to make sure I understood why he was saying this. But he picked the Minnesota Vikings to win the north based on the talent of their roster offensively and defensively. Then my first thought, immediate thought was, well, I'm a little concerned about one position offensively, and that's the quarterback spot. Only because Kevin o' Connell hasn't made a firm decision as to this point that Kyler Murray is the starter. And if you're still and if it's legitimately a competition right now between Murray and McCarthy, there's no way I can trust that to win a division.

[Dan Bernstein]

There's no way I can trust a coach that's having that competition.

[Matt Abeticola]

Correct.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's the larger problem. You guys are gonna have to fight it out. No, that's an easy one.

[Jenny V]

Right.

[Matt Abeticola]

Tyler Murray's the quarterback, so he had a lot to say about if this, if that with the quarterback. Like, I don't know how you can have that strong of a feeling to say this team is in a win a division, particularly this division. If you have questions at the quarterback spot, because, I mean, you're looking at three other teams that are very good, that are really solid at the quarterback position.

[Dan Bernstein]

I would say anything involving them, there's a huge incomplete grade for me.

[Matt Abeticola]

Correct. I agree with that.

[Dan Bernstein]

Until you stop the charade and whenever you decide to end the charade, whenever you decide to say, well, clearly this guy's more established and the players won't let you do this for long. No, you can do this now, but once training camp starts, the rest of the team is not going to let you do this. The only thing in the back of my head where I'm thinking, why would you put Kyler Murray through this?

[Matt Abeticola]

Okay, why?

[Dan Bernstein]

If they have some kind of concern about the homework, about everything that we've been hearing about video games and the work ethic and it does he know everything like the back of his hand. And if this is their way, the, the, the pretense of a competition with a guy who is nowhere near as good. Because the one thing you know that McCarthy will do is he'll get in the books and he'll get on the board when it comes to actually throwing the football to the right person. That's not going to happen. Yeah, but, but he, he will know the play. He will be able to spit out the calls. And the question is, what will the roster think of their in practice performance? Because that ultimately decides everything. You can't, you can't fool the players.

[Matt Abeticola]

You can't.

[Dan Bernstein]

But, but it might just be that they're extending this charade because they just want to make sure that Murray has, knows enough about what he's doing and doesn't just get by on his, his talent.

[Matt Abeticola]

That, that's really interesting and that's a very valid point to bring up given all the previous criticism of Kyler Murray. But wouldn't you, wouldn't you hope that an established head coach, offensive mind quarterback guy like Kevin o' Connell would have that figured out before you make that commitment and decision to bring him in camp? Because let's say that doesn't work out, Dan. Then what do you have?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, but it isn't even just that is that Kyler Murray's an adult. It's just in college, it's not high school, that ideally you'd sit down with him and say, hey, whatever bullshit's been in the past about you and Halo or your video, whatever it is, playing the video games and all that, like, we're beyond that. Right.

[Matt Abeticola]

That you.

[Dan Bernstein]

You lived through that and you dealt with it and they dealt with it. But we're not going to bring in if we think that's even a worry.

[Matt Abeticola]

Right. You got a clean slate here. None of that's going to be part of this moving forward. Are you committed? Yes or no? Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right, Right. And then you. And you take him at his word. And if you don't and if you don't believe him and this whole thing is. Well, we'll see if he really does the homework. But we put him in a competition with JJ McCarthy, then we're gonna know. Like that that's. That seems kind of lame.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, it does. And I mean, for our perspective as Bears fans, I hope that this competition runs through training camp. I really do. I hope that Kevin o' Connell is just spitting out word salads every day to the media with no decision in sight. And this is something that plays out the entire training camp. I don't want them to name a quarterback early on and have it established. I would love it to see play out like this. Plus, it's more fun for us to talk about now. Also on that panel, I mentioned Mitchell Morse, who the former center. He picked the Chicago Bears to win the division, given the fact that year two for this team, that it's not about Ben Johnson coming in and getting acclimated as a head coach, understanding how he wants to run the team and building a culture. Getting on the same page with Caleb Williams, he's like, that's already established now. Like what they did last year while going through all of that, and now you're established and you've had found success to gain that confidence as well. And now extra time to learn and be better. And this is just more of Caleb Williams getting better at what he learned last year. He was like, how could you not have them? They're. They're the division favorites now. It's also a division that's had what, three or four different winners over the last several years.

[Dan Bernstein]

And look, the Bears pulled out a

[Matt Abeticola]

lot of late games.

[Dan Bernstein]

Now. They lost some late. They lost some late ones, too. But they had some things break their way and Caleb Williams played the whole year there. On most teams your quarterback misses time.

[Matt Abeticola]

That's true. I think what it was, it was only, only Goff and Caleb that played all 17. Right. For their team.

[Dan Bernstein]

That is extremely unlikely to happen again.

[Matt Abeticola]

Again. But as we mentioned, this could be the, you know, the luck of Ben Johnson because as an offensive coordinator and a head coach, he's never had a backup quarterback start a game for him.

[Dan Bernstein]

And that changes those career numbers, does it not?

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. His two or three years in Detroit as the oc, whatever it was, he had Jared Goff every, every game. He had all Caleb Williams for all 17 last year. So he's never had a backup quarterback start a game. Now luckily here in Chicago, if the backup does play, he's one of the top, you know, 10 quarterbacks in the, in the world. So we're lucky to have that. Indeed.

[Dan Bernstein]

That'll be the test though that when Ben Johnson puts together one of his magic game plans with Tyson Bagent slicing through the opponent. Then, then, then we're talking here. But he's never really had to prove that before.

[Matt Abeticola]

No, he hasn't.

[Dan Bernstein]

Most champions are tested without their quarterback at some point.

[Matt Abeticola]

And then on NFL.com Nick shook me all night long he had his division power rankings. He actually took over for Eric at home who left NFL.com and he's doing all the power rankings now. And so to start off this NFL off season, he listed the divisions and gave division power rankings. The number one division according to Nick Shook NFL.com in the NFL is

[Dan Bernstein]

the number one division.

[Matt Abeticola]

In the strongest division. Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

NFL is the NFC West.

[Matt Abeticola]

He has the NFC north as the top division in his power rankings with the west coming in second. Yep.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, that would be my second guess. Those would be the two.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. I mean you got all four teams finish over 500 so in a couple division, a couple playoff teams as well. So for sure. One other thing I want to look at, just following up on some other stories. Terry and Arnold Dan. I just confirmed he is not yet with a team. I know we have. There's a 45 day window where his lawyer said someone will sign him.

[Dan Bernstein]

We'll see.

[Matt Abeticola]

We're not there yet. I think we've been a little over a weekend. So he still is unsigned. And then I'm not sure. You saw the story about Charles Snowden, outside linebacker for the Cowboys. He was signed in the off season from the Raiders. A three game suspension to start the upcoming season goes back to a DUI arrest in 2024. Reached a plea deal in January, and then the NFL has suspended him for the first three games of this upcoming season.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, I have an update that I think is really important.

[Matt Abeticola]

What do you got?

[Dan Bernstein]

Tomorrow night, Kevin Warren speaks.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, God. Don't.

[Dan Bernstein]

Don't laugh. Tomorrow night is talking football with Kevin Warren. You know, this is. This is a big deal. You can join the Gorton center in Lake Forest, 400 E. Illinois Road in Lake Forest, Illinois. Go to the Gorton center for an unforgettable night with Kevin Warren.

[Matt Abeticola]

Trust the Gort and center.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, that's right. Who did Terry call? The Gortons. Oh, no, it was. It was the Sodfather. Right? I think it was.

[Matt Abeticola]

Was it.

[Progressive Insurance Announcer]

Was it.

[Dan Bernstein]

I think it was. I think it was Roger Bossard. They were watering the field, and he was, like, on this cart. He was on the cart, and he was wearing this black raincoat. He looked like he was at the Maid of the Mist going underneath the. The froth of the waterfall at Niagara.

[Matt Abeticola]

And.

[Dan Bernstein]

And Terry said, oh, look, buddy, it's the Gorton's fisherman. Hey, trust the Gorton's fishermen. The water, the field.

[Matt Abeticola]

Hey, the. The. The cart that. That originated at. We were on a road trip at the airport, and they brought.

[Progressive Insurance Announcer]

No, no, no.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's not where it originated. It was. It originated with a read that we did for a golf course. Was it the links at Carillon or Cantini? I forgot exactly which golf course it was. And it was. You can play in Twilight for $25, including the cart.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, yeah, you're right. You're right. So that's where it originated.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's where. That's where it originated.

[Matt Abeticola]

The airport took a whole new turn.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, Terry in an airport is fucking chaos.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's just an absolute nightmare.

[Matt Abeticola]

Wasn't that also the same. The same incident with the professor? Didn't that happen at the same airport?

[Dan Bernstein]

It wasn't The. Not. Not the man who made the rash decision. That wasn't the professor. There was a woman who was too big to ambulate.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

Could not walk and couldn't fit in a wheelchair. And they were taking her to the plane on a flatbed.

[Matt Abeticola]

It and flatbed cart.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. Yes. And it was going by and beep, beep, beep, There it goes. And everyone kind of turns and Terry just looks up and says, they brought in the cart.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, I thought. I thought that was the same airport visit where he saw the professor. That's. No, I thought we were doing the. The gate game, and you saw The Professor?

[Dan Bernstein]

No, the. I loved the. I still do the gate game in my head.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, do you?

[Dan Bernstein]

That's funny. Oh, all the time. But anyway, anyways, there. There are 41 tickets that remain to. To have the pleasure and privilege of seeing Kevin Warren speak to you about a behind the scenes look at the traditions, passion and legacy that makes Bears fans some of the most loyal in the NFL. Rare access to one of the most influential leaders in professional sports. He can speak about how to take a proud legacy franchise into a swamp of human waste.

[Matt Abeticola]

You, too, can lead your organization into a swampland of waste and human waste.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes. Yes, yes. What are you talking about? You can say that he has led you. He has marched you toward the precipice of a super fun site where everything smells like farts, but that's where you want to be. And he's going to. That's part of the lecture. And apparently you can ask questions. It is $30 for an adult, $15 for a student. There are 41 seats left. And interestingly, why. I'm not exactly quite certain we're on the up and up as far as what seats are actually going to be taken. What ticket? What ticket? Given away. What was that? Nothing. Is this happening again?

[Matt Abeticola]

Trying to fix something. And I fucked it up again.

[Dan Bernstein]

So the 40. The 41 seats are the middle sections in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth row. So the best seats in the house are the ones that are available. I'm just a little curious as to whether. Yes. As to whether or not these other seats showing, blocked off or purchased or filled are actually purchased or not. Or if they just decided to scoop them up and they're trying to entice actual buyers by leaving the. The most preferred seats wide open here. So I don't know.

[Matt Abeticola]

Because usually when you go to an event, the best seats sell first.

[Dan Bernstein]

Correct. And here the only seats remaining are the best seats.

[Matt Abeticola]

Huh.

[Dan Bernstein]

You're going to have to go. You're gonna have to go to the John and Nancy Hughes theater benefit.

[Matt Abeticola]

I would go tomorrow night, but I've got. I've. I've. I've got to. I have a. I have a. I have a manicure and a pedicure.

[Dan Bernstein]

I know. Tomorrow.

[Matt Abeticola]

And then we're gonna do a little shopping.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, that's too important.

[Matt Abeticola]

I. I can't. I can't.

[Dan Bernstein]

And then, and then. And you might get an update on the E Bike construction.

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, I know that's gotta be done today.

[Dan Bernstein]

That could come in at exactly the same time.

[Matt Abeticola]

You never know. No, it's gotta be done.

[Dan Bernstein]

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[Dan Bernstein]

I did see that there. Real quick. There's a former Bears coach in the news. If you had seen these mystery gas stations that popped up that were called Freedom Fuel.

[Matt Abeticola]

Okay, I hadn't seen any of the. I. This is. I don't know anything about this.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, well how do you all of

[Matt Abeticola]

a sudden just a pop up gas station seems a lot more difficult than like a pop up bar. There was.

[Dan Bernstein]

There was a mysterious network of Philadelphia area gas stations offering discounted gas. So apparently this was a. The executive branch decided that they wanted to say, oh, you think the Iran war is making gas expensive? Well, we're going to sell you Freedom Fuel. And, and we'll sell it at 50% or 50 cents less. It's like 358 a gallon. So I don't know if that's good or bad in, in Philadelphia it'd be pretty good here at 358A gallon. Freedom Fuel. And apparently the people behind it, one of them was a. Was a current Ravens coach and former Bears coach Randy Brown. Remember Randy Brown? Not Bulls. Randy Brown.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, not Bulls.

[Dan Bernstein]

The Ravens senior special teams coach Randy Brown. He was the Bears kicking consultant in from like 97 to 2000. He was with the Chicago Bears and he was the kicking consultant during the great kicking wilderness.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, that was a bad time during

[Dan Bernstein]

the, during the, the. The kicking wilderness when everything seemed to go haywire for the Chicago Bears. And they. It was Jeff Jaeger, Chris Bonyol, Brian Goins, Jarrett Holmes. And when he left, they finally found Paul Edinger. I don't know who could find Paul Edinger now, but that.

[Matt Abeticola]

Give me those four names again because two obviously very recognizable. I don't even remember two of those guys.

[Dan Bernstein]

Jeff Jaeger, Chris Bonial, Brian Goins and Jarrett Holmes.

[Matt Abeticola]

Jared Holmes was a kicker for the Chicago Bears.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, because you remember the whole Carlos Huerta issue. The Kevin Butler, Carlos Huerta decision.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

Is Kevin Butler was around and they're like, no, we're going to go with Carlos Huerta. And he was terrible and they had to get rid of him.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

But I don't remember.

[Matt Abeticola]

I don't remember a guy named Jared Holmes.

[Dan Bernstein]

They had tryouts and they were lucky to find Jeff Jaeger. Oh my God. It was, it was, it was so bad. It was so bad that Carlos Huerta thing. Nice guy, but because he was at Miami and Wannie loved the Miami guy.

[Matt Abeticola]

Isn't it really weird that NFL teams like and more than just the Bears go through like a kicking carousel or open kicking tryouts? You can't find a kicker. It then.

[Dan Bernstein]

And then it happened again with the whole Eddie Pinero thing and, and I

[Matt Abeticola]

need to get Hank to start kicking. I think I just need to.

[Dan Bernstein]

Cody Parky.

[Matt Abeticola]

I get Hank and Jack. I need them both to start being special teams kickers.

[Dan Bernstein]

You don't want to live that life as a parent.

[Matt Abeticola]

Why?

[Dan Bernstein]

You don't want your kid with the super bowl on the line trying to kick it through the posts.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, sure I do. Because he'll do it. He'll make it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Jenny V]

You.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, no, you don't, you don't want that. That would just be miserable.

[Matt Abeticola]

I'd rather have that life than a travel baseball parent. That's miserable.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, it's not. You'll. You'll look, I'm sure you've been told that you'll look back on it fondly. I sometimes kind of miss it maybe a little.

[Matt Abeticola]

Okay. That's a big endorsement there. You're crazy. You shouldn't feel that way. You're gonna someday maybe possibly kind of sort of even a little bit missing.

[Dan Bernstein]

A little bit missing. But either way, I just want to. If we're remembering some guys, the guy we can remember is. I don't know how you. And then you look at the guy's Wikipedia page and it describes him as a politician who happens to. To be a coach.

[Matt Abeticola]

It says Ravens. Is he a current coach for the Ravens?

[Dan Bernstein]

Randy Brown is listed as the senior special teams assistant.

[Matt Abeticola]

Senior special teams assistant is an American

[Dan Bernstein]

politician who is the former mayor of Evesham Township in New Jersey. He is also a National Football League special teams coach for the Baltimore Ravens. Prior to consulting for the Ravens, Brown served as kicking coach for the Chicago Bears and the Philadelphia Eagles.

[Matt Abeticola]

Interesting.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, I just. But he was, he's the, the die hard Trump supporter that decided he was going to lend his talents to giving people inexpensive gas to ameliorate the costs of the war. We didn't need that. Makes no sense.

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, I'm going to, I'm going to give freedom gas too with my pop up taco stand.

[Dan Bernstein]

Nice. And what you're going to, you're going to undercut everybody with less expensive tacos. Has the. Are we going to war with Mexico and tacos are going to be more expensive?

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, I don't think we're going to go to war. I think we're just going to take over Mexico and Canada.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well then tacos will be less expensive.

[Matt Abeticola]

Very last map that I saw, maybe

[Dan Bernstein]

he's going to take him take over Mexico and do away with tacos and just instill burgers as the official food of Mexico.

[Matt Abeticola]

I'd go to war over that. You're not getting rid of tacos.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, you're not doing that. You're absolutely not doing that. An update, by the way, yesterday.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

When I said that I, I wore clothes that would dissuade me from fishing.

[Matt Abeticola]

You went fishing, didn't you?

[Progressive Insurance Announcer]

I forgot.

[Matt Abeticola]

I did. Yeah, of course you did.

[Dan Bernstein]

I went over. Do you know there's a Ross down right here in Randolph.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. You know, I've never been to one, Ross. Yeah, I know. It's like a clothing store, right? Or they sell everything.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's in everything. So I don't think I'm ever shopping anywhere again. Anywhere else, really. I found these awesome shorts. I found a Columbia T shirt. The shorts were $8. The T shirt was $6.

[Matt Abeticola]

Wait, I thought you had a T shirt. You got a T shirt from promotion?

[Dan Bernstein]

I did. I got a different one because this was. I was just going to get shorts. And then I saw that this was kind of like a nice Columbia, like, dry fit.

[Matt Abeticola]

I was like, hey, what color was it? It's blue.

[Dan Bernstein]

And it's got a logo on the back like a grizzly bear drinking a beer. And it says, like, official Campsite Beer Inspector on it.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, boy. Oh, you can. You could wear that right after you wear your FBI T shirt. The Female Body Inspector T shirt you wear all the time.

[Dan Bernstein]

The no Fat Chicks one. Yeah, I, I, I, I think I'm gonna. I could have spent all day in. In Ross.

[Matt Abeticola]

I've never been to one. I gotta. Okay, I'll go check it out then. I've never been inside one. What kind of shorts did you get? Cargo shorts. Did you get, like, your really short.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, they're like shorts.

[Matt Abeticola]

They're like.

[Dan Bernstein]

They are a drawstring athletic short. It looks like kind of bathing suit material, but it doesn't have the internal lining. What color is that? It was. It's like a, like an olive green color. Like a light olive green. And it has. It does have a flat pocket on the, on the left front and also pockets on either side. It's not fully cargo because there aren't two flat pockets. But it's great. I'll wear the hell out of those shorts.

[Matt Abeticola]

So it's like a bathing suit material with a cargo short pocket on it?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt Abeticola]

Interesting.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's perfect. I couldn't believe it. And it was $8. So, yeah, I'm spent a little money. Hell, yeah. But I think I spent a total of 17 with tax or 18 with tax.

[Matt Abeticola]

It's a lot for you on clothes.

[Dan Bernstein]

Damn right it is. And I didn't even ask for a bag.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, yeah. So you went fishing. Did you, did you do any of your errands that you had to do yesterday?

[Dan Bernstein]

Beth picked up my prescriptions.

[Matt Abeticola]

I didn't, I didn't ask if anyone else did it for you. I asked, did you do any of your errands you had to do?

[Progressive Insurance Announcer]

No.

[Matt Abeticola]

Okay, so you didn't adult at all yesterday.

[Dan Bernstein]

Today. Okay.

[Matt Abeticola]

All right. Well, if Beth already did it, you're adulting. What do you have left to do?

[Dan Bernstein]

I've got things. I've got to finish up my laundry today. I have to fold my laundry. I might get a haircut, depending on the timing, if that's all going to work. So. And you know, just like stuff in the house and. Because when the kids are home, things. There's. Garbage has got to go out. There's. There's. I'll handle everything.

[Matt Abeticola]

I think you should go fishing again today.

[Dan Bernstein]

I was thinking about it.

[Matt Abeticola]

That's what you should do.

[Dan Bernstein]

I was thinking about it.

[Matt Abeticola]

Because, buddy, before you know it, you're gonna have nothing to do but like indoor activities like laundry.

[Dan Bernstein]

I know, but it was. It's too hot. The fish. The fish are too hot. They don't.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, I saw. I saw a fishing video yesterday of a guy who caught. And maybe this wasn't even real, but. Have you ever heard of a golden walleye? Is that a. Is that a real thing?

[Dan Bernstein]

A golden walleye? I mean, it might be, yeah.

[Matt Abeticola]

Some kind of a rare type thing. It's a pretty cool looking fish. It might have been completely made up by AI, too.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't know.

[Matt Abeticola]

Because he. Yeah, he pulled the fish out of the water and holding on to the tail of the fish was. Was Mitch McConnell.

[Dan Bernstein]

So it might have been made up.

[Matt Abeticola]

Hello.

[Dan Bernstein]

We found him. We found it. Was he. Was he holding a newspaper?

[Matt Abeticola]

Yes. And it was weird. It came out of the water and the newspaper wasn't even wet. It was really weird.

[Dan Bernstein]

I think that way. A golden one. No, I've never heard of a golden walleye. I. I do think. Hey, hey.

[Matt Abeticola]

No, it wasn't like. Okay, fish came up, just leaking on everybody. Put it back in the water.

[Dan Bernstein]

Ring the bell. Hey, hey. Get it off the boat. There are. There are all kinds of.

[Matt Abeticola]

A lot of glass coffee tables.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's like a. Maybe it's like a blue.

[Matt Abeticola]

Get under the coffee table.

[Dan Bernstein]

Different. That's in Cincinnati. So maybe like a blue lobster every once in a while or you get these. There. There is a trout. There's a. There's a rare cross breed called a tiger trout that is like a roar. It's like a brook and a brown or something. It's this really cool coloration. So every once in a while you get something like that. But I don't know. I've never heard of nor seen a golden walleye before.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, yeah, here it is. Golden walleye, incredibly rare. Here's a picture just for you to

[Dan Bernstein]

take a look at. Hold on. Show me the golden. Ooh, neat. That's a big one, too.

[Matt Abeticola]

That's a big one. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, I wouldn't eat that one. I'd put that one back.

[Matt Abeticola]

Vibrant yellow gold variant of the standard walleye.

[Dan Bernstein]

Sure. It's a perch cousin, so it's probably the same pigments that create the yellow and a yellow perch.

[Matt Abeticola]

Interesting.

[Dan Bernstein]

That would be. That would be what I would think. All right, that's going to wrap it. For Forward Progress, a Chicago Bears podcast here on 31 2, sports for progress has stopped.

[Matt Abeticola]

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

[Jenny V]

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