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- [00:01]
Dan Bernstein
Ted 219219.
- [00:08]
Matt Abaticola
Forward progress a Chicago Bears Podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abeticola on 312 sports.
- [00:20]
Dan Bernstein
Life is good right now for your Chicago Bears and we talk about the Bears on Forward Progress, a Chicago Bears podcast here on 312 Sports Chicago. I'm Dan Bernstein, that is Matt Abaticola. We're brought to you by Beer Church Brewing New Buffaloes Brewery Pizzeria in a historic church wood fired Neapolitan pizza small batch craft beer brunch every day. Visit beerchurchbrewing.com I will take dominating the line of scrimmage, I will take causing a bunch of turnovers and I will take the idea of running that football until they stop it to get a win over a team that you should beat. And they did. It didn't have to be pretty. It doesn't have to be pretty. And with all the concerns about the passing game, you can, you can at least rest comfortably knowing the Bears can win a game without having their quarterback have to be great or even good.
- [01:24]
Matt Abaticola
Well, I don't think we needed that game yesterday to tell us that we knew that already. The Bears don't need Caleb Williams to be good, well, efficient, consistent to win football games. Now that can't continue moving forward for a long period of time throughout this season.
- [01:45]
Dan Bernstein
Right.
- [01:46]
Matt Abaticola
You're going to come up against a defense that's going to stop your run. You're not going to get four takeaways every game. Those things aren't sustainable for the next 12 games of the season. Caleb Williams is going to have to perform to win games. But what this does tell us, Dan, is that Ben Johnson and his coaching staff are doing a spectacular job in game planning and preparation for their opponents each week. And it's something that we're not used to in Chicago over the last several years with our coaching stats. But Ben Johnson, the Ben Johnson factor is absolutely incredible and is having a significant impact on what this roster can do right now in the NFL.
- [02:28]
Dan Bernstein
I think there's no question that he and this is going to sound weird. What I learned yesterday was how a coach that prides himself on a whiz bang clever offense and prides himself on plays and play calling and sequencing and play design can call a humble smash mouth football game that you don't have to always prove yourself some weeks do what works, get out of there with the win and pick a better time for showing off. Matt Nagy never learned that until the power to call plays was was wrested away out of his Control and handed off to his offensive coordinator. I love the fact that Ben Johnson was proud of how many times they ran the ball and proud of the defense and made it Dennis Allen's day after the fact. You don't always have to do everything every single game. I think it shows a professional security. I think it shows for a young coach and an inexperienced head coach. It's only the sixth game he's ever coached and for him to be like, yeah, we're going to, we're going to have to do this kind of ugly today and be fine with it and be more than fine, be excited about it and be happy about it. Now, behind the scenes today, I'm sure he's going to love to get to correct all the stuff because he's always thinking of how it's going to look when everything's rolling. I also know he, he is aware he doesn't have the personnel here to do that yet. He's still figuring that out. This is in progress, that we're seeing this. And to accept and celebrate an ugly win, this isn't one you put in your portfolio necessarily.
- [04:23]
Matt Abaticola
No, but it's a W and that's all that matters.
- [04:25]
Dan Bernstein
Exactly. And I liked the fact that he didn't have to overcook it.
- [04:30]
Matt Abaticola
Well, I think that that's what's great about him is what we're learning. He doesn't have this huge, massive ego. It's not about the Ben Johnson offense. It's about the Chicago Bears getting a W and getting more W's than L's throughout this season. And it's not about being able to say, oh, my God, that's a Ben Johnson offense. It's just taking what they can do well now and repeating that and doing it well throughout the course of a game to get the W that's needed. And ugly wins are still wins. Doesn't matter. They don't have a separate category in the win loss column. When you look at the NFL standings, it's not about his ego. It's about getting the Chicago Bears a victory. And that's the most important thing. And I really like that about what Ben Johnson's doing.
- [05:14]
Dan Bernstein
What I don't like are the number of penalties that are being called.
- [05:16]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah, it's still sloppy, dude.
- [05:18]
Dan Bernstein
It's usually well coached. Teams aren't penalized often. And I know that that is a blunt instrument to use because a lot goes into it and a lot go into each week and each crew and the kinds of plays that you're running. But just you Got to take down that number if you want to really prove to be a good coach. Right now, I'm very excited about Ben Johnson, but it doesn't help his resume that his team keeps getting penalized and then he's got to use his coaching to overcome down in distance because the discipline isn't there. That's got to get better. And it's got to get better to the extent that a coach can control that. And if pressed, I don't know how, other than do you bench guys who are prone to penalties?
- [06:05]
Matt Abaticola
Well, I think that we've seen his decision making process already play out early in the season to make moves as far as playing time's concerned. He challenged his entire team to practice better or you won't be part of the game plan. You have to show that you want to be part of the game plan. We've seen him make a change at tackle on the offensive line already throughout this season, and he made a comment yesterday when meeting the media after the win.
- [06:31]
Ben Johnson
I was hopeful that Game six we would play cleaner football than that.
- [06:36]
Matt Abaticola
He recognizes it. He sees it and he has an expectation that he wants these guys to live up to when they play on game day. And they're not meeting those expectations right now with a clean football game. So first of all, how dare he have a high expectation for performance from this team? That's uncalled for.
- [06:54]
Dan Bernstein
He's being negative.
- [06:55]
Matt Abaticola
He is being negative.
- [06:56]
Dan Bernstein
I think he's being too negative about the Bears and he's being too much of a pessimist.
- [07:00]
Matt Abaticola
Yes.
- [07:00]
Dan Bernstein
You can't do that.
- [07:01]
Matt Abaticola
You can't have that for this team.
- [07:03]
Dan Bernstein
Stop being negative.
- [07:04]
Matt Abaticola
Yes. Ben Johnson. Stop it now. Damn it.
- [07:07]
Ben Johnson
I was hopeful that Game six we would play cleaner football than that.
- [07:12]
Matt Abaticola
But here's the thing, though, about Johnson, I am confident that he will make the right decisions to impact what's happening pre snap. He'll do what's necessary and if it means making moves on the roster itself within playing time on Sundays, he's going to do that. And I think he'll make the right decisions. I am just getting more and more confident in this guy with every passing week. And it's not about the wins and losses, it's about how he handles this team. Yeah, the wins are a great benefit to have. Those are. That's the cherry on the Sunday. Those are great as a Bears fan, but the way he's controlling this team, given what they can do and how he can really make a significant impact week after week in the game plan, I am Loving what I'm seeing with the Ben Johnson factor and it's going.
- [07:58]
Dan Bernstein
To be tested this week if this is what growth and evolution and development can look like. If you talk about, you know, we always hear about the concept of sort of a, whether economists can create a soft landing, if you can slow an economy without tipping it into recession, that there's an art to that. And I also think the coaching corollary is to develop while winning. And this is not some endorsement of learning how to win. I hate, I hate that. I hate that. Oh, I've the outcome, it's independent sometimes. It's all about habits and it's all about execution, discipline, practice, intent, mindfulness, whatever you want to say. The whole learning how to win thing I think is ridiculous. But the ability to build off of flawed victories is such a luxury. It is such a sweet spot for Ben Johnson right now to have a four game win streak and be reasonably unsatisfied and not be making it up because you know when a coach is bullshitting you. Correct. You know when you just stomped all over an opponent and everything was awesome and you, you called off the dog. It's more in college than the NFL because of parody. And you'll see a college, see the whole Lou Holtz thing playing up the opponent and then saying, well, you know, we, we, we didn't play up to our standard. You went 80 to nothing.
- [09:33]
Matt Abaticola
Right. And we were lucky to get away with this win. Come on.
- [09:36]
Dan Bernstein
You went 80 to nothing. But for every one of these wins, there's been more than one coaching point. There's been some to say, not good enough, not good enough. This negativity must stop. But he has had this great chance. It is a sweet spot to be in and it's giving him a little bit of latitude to keep on the gas a little bit to keep coaching all of these guys hard and to say that we can enjoy it, but it can get better.
- [10:07]
Matt Abaticola
There's a lot to clean up.
- [10:08]
Dan Bernstein
There can. And he keeps saying he's picturing what it looks like when everything works. I always said this about Tom Thibodeau, that I sincerely think Tom Thibodeau expects his defenses to hold an NBA team to zero points. Like he's that angry about a made basket.
- [10:32]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah, like, you know, which is insane.
- [10:34]
Dan Bernstein
You know, the opponent's gonna score 100.
- [10:36]
Matt Abaticola
I mean, absolutely insane.
- [10:37]
Dan Bernstein
Exactly. He's, there's something, there's something not right about that man. Where I genuinely believe he will not be happy until he WINS A game. 114 to nothing. And I'm not saying Ben Johnson is that, but I know football coaches are also crazy and they always want the ideal and they will always coach against that ideal. The point being this is not a team. This is not a case where he's got to make anything up. He doesn't have to inflate something and minimize other things. Everybody can watch. Any reasonable person can watch the film and have all kinds of objections and, and, and difficulties understanding how they can still be bad at certain things.
- [11:21]
Matt Abaticola
But I think that's, that speaks to who Ben Johnson is, though, because he is that honest, transparent coach. He's not a guy that's going to go up there and use all the coach speak and blow a bunch of sunshine up their asses and lie to you as a fan and he's going to tell you exactly what you're seeing because that's what he sees and that's just who he is.
- [11:37]
Dan Bernstein
Let's hear more.
- [11:38]
Matt Abaticola
And that's, that's what I absolutely love about, about Ben Johnson and he, you know, you talk about this being a work in progress. It certainly is. And we've seen different stages of this team develop through this work of progress. The run game, for example. DeAndre Swift looks like a different running back the last two weeks than he did the first couple of weeks of the season. He's running differently as well, too. He's a work in progress now. He's a veteran guy and, you know, he's not going to, you know, elevate his ceiling that much higher, but he could be more productive in the game and he has been the last two weeks, which is great. And we've seen some development within the defense as well, too, under Dennis Allen. You're getting guys back and healthy, which is making a significant difference.
- [12:19]
Dan Bernstein
Another important guy might be out. We'll get to that.
- [12:21]
Matt Abaticola
TJ Edwards is the heart and soul of what this defense is doing. He is absolutely incredible. And with him coming back, they look like a different defense.
- [12:30]
Dan Bernstein
I wish he could have come down with that pick.
- [12:32]
Matt Abaticola
I know.
- [12:32]
Dan Bernstein
God, that could have been.
- [12:33]
Matt Abaticola
What a reaction, though. Just the quick reaction to get it up. And we talked about that play on our postgame show. DeMarco Jackson makes that play happen by knocking Alvin Camara on his ass. DeMarco Jackson wipes him out.
- [12:47]
Dan Bernstein
Didn't play all that much as I'm looking at the, the weekly. Kevin Fishbane always post these. Our buddy and DeMarco Jackson played 14 snaps. That's 25%. And it works out perfectly because there were a total of 56. And Kyler Gordon played the other 42. You know what separates the pros from everyone else? They don't ignore injuries. A torn ligament doesn't heal itself. Well, neither does Ed. And yeah, 30 million men deal with it. That is every major sports fan combined. Ed happens when there's not enough blood flow, and that's often combined with decreased arousal signals from your brain. It's not about age or losing a competitive edge. It's just biology. And it's treatable. Doctors review every case. When it comes to Rougiet, it's not one size fits all. Rougiet has an online process. There's no awkward pharmacy trips. These are medications with FDA approved ingredients. Unlimited doctor follow ups are included and Rougiet will adjust your dose until it's dialed in. Now, pro teams have specialized doctors for every issue, so why should your health be different? Rougiette specializes in ED treatment with doctors who know exactly what they're doing. So visit rougeet.com that's r u g I e t.com and use the promo code Forward. This is forward progress. The first word of forward progress is forward. And that's all you have to use for your special offer. And at Rug at r u g I e t.com so you can get back in the game with Rug yet.
- [14:34]
Matt Abaticola
So that they of those 14 snaps, he was impactful.
- [14:37]
Dan Bernstein
We heard his name called at least twice.
- [14:39]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah, but I'm telling you, he erased Alvin Camara on that play which, which then forced Rattler to look in a different direction because he was going right to Camara on that, on that throw and he erased him and then it forced him to a quick throw that he deflected and then was intercepted by Edmunds. Was great. Just a great play. Ben Johnson, when he met the media after the win. To recap, these are his opening thoughts and comments.
- [15:00]
Ben Johnson
This game really started and finished there with our defense. They just did a phenomenal job throughout. When you, when you look at those critical numbers, it was 44 yards rushing. I saw four sacks and four turnovers and I just thought, you know, credit to Dennis Allen and his crew one more time. They are, they're doing a great job getting us the ball on offense with great field position. Position and it certainly gives us a ton of momentum in games like that. And so they just did an awesome job offensively that the 200 yards rushing. I think both ball carriers ran physical, ran violent. But huge credit to our offensive line and the tight ends in that core blocking unit because you could feel. You could feel that line of scrimmage move at times, and our backs were fine in the holes. So that was really the name of the game there. A lot that we can clean up and we can improve. That's always a good thing.
- [15:53]
Dan Bernstein
It is. He knows.
- [15:55]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah. Because that's where you learn from. You learn from the mistakes. You learn from things that you don't execute properly. You can watch those on film. Here's what you do differently. Here's where you position yourselves. Here's where you go. There's a lot. And I love that he loves to teach. I love that he loves to teach it. It's great. I've been so impressed over his development over these six games as a head coach from where we started to where we're at today. He has been such an impactful head coach, this team. I'm really impressed. I know. It was like you just didn't know what to base it on. You had him as a coordinator with the Lions, not a guy in charge. And after the first two games, you dropped the fourth quarter against the Vikings and a rookie quarterback who looks very, very bad, and then you get spanked by the Lions. Just completely motorboated by the lions in Game 2.
- [16:42]
Dan Bernstein
You're not going to let that go, are you?
- [16:43]
Matt Abaticola
I'm not going to let that.
- [16:44]
Dan Bernstein
I can't go ahead.
- [16:46]
Matt Abaticola
But he. And where he's come from to where he's at right now, I'm so excited and just really impressed with what he's done.
- [16:52]
Dan Bernstein
I saw this post yesterday from Mark Potash. Guess who has the best record in the NFL since Week 3?
- [16:59]
Matt Abaticola
The Bears.
- [17:00]
Dan Bernstein
The Bears.
- [17:00]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah.
- [17:01]
Dan Bernstein
The best record in the league since week three. They're four. And, oh, I also saw Panthers, Patriots, Chiefs, Broncos, all four and one.
- [17:07]
Matt Abaticola
I also saw one of his tweets. Potash said that the last time the Bears were 4 and 2 was 20, 24.
- [17:13]
Dan Bernstein
Indeed.
- [17:14]
Matt Abaticola
I mean, he's really pointing out. I mean, going deep, deep on that one for us.
- [17:17]
Dan Bernstein
It didn't feel like this, though.
- [17:18]
Matt Abaticola
Oh, God, no. Not at all.
- [17:20]
Dan Bernstein
We all knew it.
- [17:22]
Matt Abaticola
Not at all.
- [17:22]
Dan Bernstein
We knew what we were watching.
- [17:24]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah, it was. It was. It was all smoke and mirrors and luck. All right. Ben Johnson was asked about the success of the run game yesterday as it continues for his Chicago Bears.
- [17:33]
Ben Johnson
We've been pretty consistent with that message that it was just going to take a little bit of time to get our O line on the same page and feel good about their fits and their combinations. And I think that's Starting to come together. You accumulate the reps over the course of camp and through these first five games going into the sixth one here and I think you really see it start to come to life a little bit. So credit to them. They're really well coached. Dan, Roshar, Kyle, the van, they do phenomenal jobs and they've been very consistent with that crew. It's a prideful group. Obviously they want to protect the quarterback in the passing game and they want to be able to run for 200 every week in the running game so.
- [18:11]
Matt Abaticola
Well there you go. Those are great goals to have you. Zero sacks and 200 yards rushing. Okay, I'll take that from the offensive line.
- [18:19]
Dan Bernstein
If you can run for 200 yards a game in the NFL you're in real good shape because that means you've got the lead.
- [18:26]
Matt Abaticola
But I love that those are the talking points like protecting the passing game. So zero sacks, 200 yards rushing is our goal. That's what we want from our running backs and that happens with our fat guys up front.
- [18:38]
Dan Bernstein
Well let's also talk about the play of Kyle Manangai and he's it's clear he is in Johnson's mind the David Montgomery of this running attack.
- [18:51]
Matt Abaticola
Remember Dan Durkin talked about that with us on Friday about being Kyle Menungai, be that guy.
- [18:57]
Dan Bernstein
Can he be the between the tackles banger even though he is undersized he like Montgomery, he's, he's not going to take it to the house. The reason why he was a seventh round draft pick was because he's small and he's relatively slow. But that's okay if you can pass protect, if you can go where you're supposed to go if you can fall forward for some yards. He runs pretty hard. He does and they trust him that it's in all sorts of responsibilities if they trust him to hold onto the football and he takes pride in that. And I, and you know part of me worries about saying that about his reputation of being a good steward of the pigskin that he's going to get these opportunities and can we please put to bed the Roshan Johnson thing? Whatever it was, whatever it is, whatever the expectations, this guy won the job. They think he's better. That's it. Where the number of people who keep saying where's Roshan Johnson? Who cares?
- [20:01]
Matt Abaticola
You know where he's at his special teams.
- [20:02]
Dan Bernstein
He said special teams, that's it. He's a guy, he's a special teams player and that's okay.
- [20:06]
Matt Abaticola
And he might get one or two Carries a game.
- [20:07]
Dan Bernstein
This guy. This guy won the job.
- [20:10]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah.
- [20:11]
Dan Bernstein
He's not perfect. They liked him. They drafted him. Maybe this is a case where Ryan Poles saw something he liked and said, hey, maybe this can, this can be your David Montgomery type. Let's. I'll give him every chance.
- [20:25]
Matt Abaticola
Ben Johnson was asked about the offense and talking about cleaning up the offense and where they're at right now.
- [20:30]
Ben Johnson
We haven't hit our stride yet. Offensively, we're capable of a lot more. We have very talented individuals. I feel strongly in our coaching staff, but we're just. We're not complimenting our defense on a regular basis. With the number of turnovers we've had over the last four games, we should be able to turn those into more points. Still have the false starts. The good thing was the running game was working. The passing game wasn't nearly efficient enough for us here today.
- [20:56]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah, and that's that. That learning curve, that, that, that growth in process we're talking about with Caleb Williams and when Ben Johnson got her. We've talked about this early on in the season about the. The heavier lift that he then maybe he knew fully what he was getting into, remodeling that house, you know, doing the demo and realizing there's a lot more work to be done than what you expected going into it. And that development is going to be a lot further. It's going to be a lot longer for Caleb Williams than I think any one of us want. But that's okay. It doesn't mean he can't get there. It's just there's a longer development process than I think I expected with Caleb Williams. Hopefully he can develop into the guy that can efficiently and effectively run Ben Johnson's passing game to complement what they're doing rushing. But it's just. He's not there yet. How long will that take? Is it beyond this season? I don't know, but we're seeing some regression in areas that I didn't expect to see, but I think sometimes that happens in tearing something down and rebuilding it. It needs to get worse before it gets better.
- [21:56]
Dan Bernstein
Okay, well, let me provide a pessimistic possibility that some guys have it and some guys don't. Some guys just can never be taught to see certain things or be. No matter how many times you rep something, no matter how many times you drill it in practice, picking it up in a game, seeing it and throwing it in a game to the right guy at the right time is sometimes a quality that cannot be taught.
- [22:26]
Matt Abaticola
And are you saying that that's something that he may not have.
- [22:29]
Dan Bernstein
I don't know. I don't know yet. I don't know if he's got the it. If he's got it.
- [22:36]
Matt Abaticola
Would we.
- [22:37]
Dan Bernstein
Have you seen enough? So under this guy, I'm trying not to count some of the Eber flu stuff.
- [22:43]
Matt Abaticola
I know. But you have to know he's got.
- [22:45]
Dan Bernstein
The arm, the throws, the throwing ability, the multi platform stuff, the arm angles, all that, the athleticism, some of the toughness, the intelligence, the awareness. But above and beyond and outside all of that is where it comes together and at some point, you know, and he's led game winning drives.
- [23:08]
Matt Abaticola
Yes, he has. So he's 23 games into his career.
- [23:12]
Dan Bernstein
I am hopeful, yes. But I want to see it get better and stay better.
- [23:17]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah. But here's where I'm going to go. I'm not going to lean on my own understanding or what my eyes tell me. I'm going to lean on the fact that Ben Johnson wanted to come here because of Caleb Williams and I'm going to trust the fact that he watches video of Caleb Williams and sees things much differently than I ever could. And what he saw in Caleb Williams says, I can make this guy into X, Y and Z and I'm going to hold out hope because of the Ben Johnson factor. If you were to take all that out of it and say, Matt, what's your opinion on Caleb Williams? I would say 23 games in, regardless of the head coach, he should be further along than where he is.
- [23:52]
Dan Bernstein
Okay. I think both, period. Well, they can both be true.
- [23:54]
Matt Abaticola
Yes, 100%.
- [23:57]
Dan Bernstein
So I'm not ready to say it's just a matter of time.
- [24:01]
Matt Abaticola
And I love Caleb Williams. I love that he's resilient. I love that he's arrogant. I love that he has confidence. I love that he gets that he talks about his mistakes. I love so much about him. But I also feel like it should be further along 23 games in, regardless of who coaches him. All right. Ben Johnson was also asked about the lack of execution on what they talk about are those secondary plays. The secondary plays are here's the play that's called, here's the design, here's what's supposed to happen. It breaks down for whatever reason and. But he still likes to utilize the ability to get the ball on field in those secondary plays.
- [24:37]
Ben Johnson
We design a play to work through the progression and if he feels pressured and that's when he looks to move on from there. And so, you know, I'll go back, I'll look at that. I don't feel like we've had a ton of those up until today. I know we had maybe two or three more of those today than what I've normally felt. So we'll see what was the reason why and what can we do better. But you know, those, the broken down plays in general through six games, I don't think it's. It's given us the yardage that we would like.
- [25:08]
Dan Bernstein
When I say broken down plays too, I'm not counting the bad snaps. No, no, no actual broken plays. I think the ones that's not what he's talking about, the ones where he's forced out of the pocket or obviously something happens that changes what you're going to do. It is my goal to find out more about how they teach scramble rules. I'd like it asked. I'd like. I wish some of these press conferences weren't the same time we record. I'd love to go up there and ask it myself. Yeah, I'd love to find out. What are the baseline rules sometimes against. Is it in a zone? All verts in, man, come back to the ball? Is it tight ends go here, wide receivers go here. I want running backs here in the flat. I want another running back hand up, stretch it out. But if. Is there a recognition of seeing other rules based on your read of the initial defensive coverage? If they're in a 2D where they're playing two, man, if they're playing cover two, what are you coached to do and how can they make it more of an opportunity than it is? Chaos.
- [26:19]
Matt Abaticola
I love the fact, first of all, that this is part of the game plan, that there are going to be times where we design a play that breaks down and again, not, not because of a bad snap or whatever it might be, like you mentioned, but that it's going to break down because of the defense, that sometimes it's. It's going to happen where that play design won't work for us. And it's like a secondary playbook for Ben Johnson. And maybe every team does this in the NFL. I've never heard it talked about here in Chicago, which I love that they do. They have to plan for it. So what is that plan? And I think there's a communication that that that has to happen. What do we do in those, in those plays? When these plays break down, what does each guy do? Number two, There's a decision then that has to be made for Caleb Williams. Do I run or do I throw? And I think what we're hearing is that Ben Johnson, you gotta let me know. Ben Johnson wants him to throw the ball.
- [27:08]
Dan Bernstein
Should I run or should I throw?
- [27:10]
Matt Abaticola
Correct. And asking Ben Johnson, he would say, caleb, throw the ball. I don't think they want him running downfield as much.
- [27:17]
Dan Bernstein
Run to throw, run, run to throw, Scramble to throw.
- [27:21]
Matt Abaticola
Not run to run and get yards.
- [27:23]
Dan Bernstein
Scramble to change the distances between the layers. And I don't care if you're still pump faking after you've crossed the line.
- [27:30]
Matt Abaticola
Of scrimmage, still do it.
- [27:31]
Dan Bernstein
Then you slide.
- [27:32]
Matt Abaticola
Right? Exactly. And I think they want him to run to throw, and then you have to look at his ability to make the correct decision and then throw the ball.
- [27:41]
Dan Bernstein
Which hasn't been great.
- [27:42]
Matt Abaticola
Which has not been great. It's actually gotten worse for whatever reason. But I love that they have like a secondary playbook to it. That it's. It's part of what Ben Johnson wants to do. Because the explosive plays are a huge part of what Ben Johnson wants to do. We talk about this on DBU, that last year the Bears had 20 passing plays of 20 yards or more. The entire season they had 20. This year they have 21 through six games. I mean, that. That's progress. That's the Ben Johnson factor. It's progress, and that's what he wants.
- [28:11]
Ben Johnson
And.
- [28:11]
Matt Abaticola
And Caleb has to be able to get the ball downfield in the playmaker's hands and not just use his feet to impact games. There are times that has to happen because he is talented with his feet. He activates his legs, he can get yards. But Ben Johnson wants him throwing the ball downfield when the play is in that secondary playbook.
- [28:29]
Dan Bernstein
At the risk of making you hungry, I want to show you this. I hold in my hand the beer church hymnal, and I want you. It says that. It says beer church hymnal. Their slogan, drink, eat, repent, repeat. And.
- [28:49]
Matt Abaticola
I just can't help it. It's so good.
- [28:52]
Dan Bernstein
You know, I love this.
- [28:52]
Matt Abaticola
I know you do.
- [28:55]
Dan Bernstein
If every time I talk about the beer church, we could also have a gospel revival I'm in because it somehow all works together, even though we're. We are talking about authentic Neapolitan pizza. And, man, they know how to do it. You know, I've talked about their patio where they can have, you know, 300 people out there. I mean it. And you're talking about a heated patio that's got all the big screen TVs. Great place to go and watch football. Beer church brewing in New Buffalo. Just a quick trip from Chicagoland and northwest Indiana. I know a lot of people know it well. Every time I mention, oh yeah, we've been there or I drive by it all the time. I need to stop in, set up your party, make plans, talk to your boss, talk to your friends, talk to your fantasy football group. The kind of party that people are gonna remember that isn't just the usual thing at some bar in the city somewhere. Go out, take a nice trip and learn how to make pizza. Because at the pizza making school private party, you're all gonna get hands on. They're gonna tell you about all the chemistry of the dough and how it all works and how and why you stretch everything out and how you throw it up in the air and spin it around. And then you top it with legendary ingredients. Dig in. You'll be able to eat every pizza on the menu until you say stop. You can't eat anymore, but you're going to keep eating because it's so good. And their craft beers are wonderful. You can do the party with all their craft beers, with a wine package, with a cocktail package. I suggest you try what they've got. Their small batch brews are outstanding. So you can make this party. It's an experience. And we always say now that people like to get experiences rather than things. This is certainly one. I've done it. I've been to the pizza school and I love it. It's beer church in New Buffalo, Michigan. Beerchurchbrewing.com and it isn't just pizza. When you flip through the menu, I mean, you look at all of these sandwiches and you know the Reuben Son of Jacob they have, if you're, if you're a bear's meatball.
- [30:50]
Matt Abaticola
Is that what it's called?
- [30:51]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. Reuben Son of Jacob.
- [30:52]
Matt Abaticola
Oh, boy.
- [30:52]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, they actually do call it, but like I say, they're their bread. They call communion bread. So you can do the communion bread sampler. They're very proud of that. And Saint Erasmus of Campania Colossal shrimp chalice is their shrimp salad everything. So believe me, they're in on the bit and it makes it fun. I've sampled so much of all this wonderful food, so don't take my word for it, go out yourself. It's incredibly kid friendly too. So when you, if you want to take your kids to pizza school and just have a, have like a dad trip or you want to just say, hey, you're coming out with us and we're going to walk around New Buffalo and then we're all going to learn how to make pizza, do that Too make it a family party. Beerchurchbrewing.com beerchurchbrewing.com and one last cut from.
- [31:44]
Matt Abaticola
Ben Johnson yesterday meeting the media after the win over the Saints, he was asked about the challenge play, which was unbelievable. First of all, on the Saints part.
- [31:55]
Dan Bernstein
Hell of a play.
- [31:55]
Matt Abaticola
Hell of a play.
- [31:56]
Dan Bernstein
That's a great play.
- [31:57]
Matt Abaticola
What a great creative play design. Just an awesome, awesome play. And if. What's his name? Hill.
- [32:03]
Dan Bernstein
Taysom Hill.
- [32:04]
Matt Abaticola
Taysom Hill. If he'd have thrown that ball half a second sooner. It was right there for him. Like, it was right there. I don't know what he was waiting for. There was no defender.
- [32:15]
Dan Bernstein
You don't even have to throw it overhand catch the ball. That's the thing.
- [32:17]
Matt Abaticola
He could just get rid of it.
- [32:18]
Dan Bernstein
He could have just done the actual quick flip.
- [32:21]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah, like he had no reason to run through four more steps.
- [32:23]
Dan Bernstein
Or the old fashioned rugby spin. Yeah, I could have done that too.
- [32:27]
Matt Abaticola
So then Ben Johnson makes a great challenge because I'm screaming the tv. I think it was forward. I think it was forward. And he makes the challenge. And here's what he said about it afterwards.
- [32:34]
Ben Johnson
We got a good replay booth upstairs and. And so they're getting footage and you know, it was. It looked really, really close. We felt like it was close enough to be forward from, from the couple of angles that we got really good communication on the headset with that. And, and the fact that their offense wasn't going super fast gave us plenty of time to make sure we were. We were exhausting all avenues.
- [32:59]
Matt Abaticola
I love that. I love that he added that last part in there about the offense not going very fast because if you don't have a rookie head coach on the other sideline, you're. You're getting that bulk in and snapped and right away, like, you're not leaving any opportunity for the Bears offense to exhaust all the opportunities that's in game.
- [33:16]
Dan Bernstein
Strategy that doesn't show up in the play by play.
- [33:18]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah, yeah, like, go snap the ball. Get the ball. Get the. And with the quarterback, too. The quarterback has to recognize that, hey, there's a possibility. Let's get the ball on the line of scrimmage. Let's get that ball snapped.
- [33:29]
Dan Bernstein
If I'm being honest, I thought there was no chance they were going to win that challenge because I never saw a replay that was. That made it undeniable.
- [33:40]
Matt Abaticola
No, I agree. As a Bears fan, I did, but as an objective NFL watcher, I did not.
- [33:46]
Dan Bernstein
I'm also. I know when you're. When they are adjudicating quarterback over the line of scrimmage, you get every benefit of the doubt, of a whisper of contact of any part of your body with that line. It's not the same standard when you're talking about a lateral in that regard. Yeah, they're gonna make sure that that thing is absolute. If it looks at all forward, they're usually gonna rule against you, but you gotta have the visual proof. And I'm not sure.
- [34:19]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah, as. Again, as a Bears fan, I definitely saw it. He was like. It was. He threw that ball like four yards.
- [34:24]
Ben Johnson
Four.
- [34:24]
Matt Abaticola
I mean, that was terrible.
- [34:26]
Dan Bernstein
Sure.
- [34:27]
Matt Abaticola
Now watching it, I was like, oh, I don't know if they're going to have enough to. I was a good challenge, I think.
- [34:33]
Dan Bernstein
But I'm saying regardless, even had they lost it, I understand the challenge. It was an enormous play and there is some doubt. It isn't just. What. What did Eber flu say? Well, if it's. If it's a chunk player, if it's an explosive, we're going to challenge it no matter what. That's just stupid.
- [34:49]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah, but I thought that that one.
- [34:51]
Dan Bernstein
Had enough of a gray area there considering the time of the game, the score of the game, good challenge. Even had they lost.
- [34:59]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah, no, it was great. All right. Moving on. Caleb Williams also met the media after the win over the Saints, and he talked about, and he was asked about his inconsistent play at quarterback.
- [35:08]
Caleb Williams
Days like today, I would say, are needed just in the sense of it, you know, it gives you a little bit more to be able to look back on something and figure out what. And so that's important. And so you have these moments and then you get, you know, you get later in the season and, you know, you may start to have one of these moments and you get to go back to the feeling, go back to, you know, what was wrong. And, you know, what you need to figure out early in the season. And so now, you know, we're late in the season. It's. It's like, okay, I remember what it was. I remember, you know, how can I fix it? It's more of a solution based, you know, thing instead of it being like, you know, what's the issue? And so right now we're going to go back, I'm going to go look at the film, I'm going to figure out, and I am going to figure this out. Especially with, you know, some of these explosive plays, some of these, you know, mainly talking about the on the run stuff, and I haven't been efficient with those. I haven't been hitting them, and it's frustrating. And so I'm going, you know, we're going to figure this out. I'm going to figure it out. And, you know, when we start hitting on those cylinders where we start having some of these explosive plays, especially, you know, when play breaks, when the play breaks and it turns into our second play, it's going to be, you know, real devastating to the other side. So we're going to figure it out. I'm going to figure it out. And then other than that, it just comes down to the basics. Feet, eyes, delivering a good ball to the guys. And then it comes down to, like I said before, communication and make sure everybody's on the same page and, you know, we're rolling off the ball.
- [36:34]
Dan Bernstein
I don't think it's necessarily needed. I know what he means, but I'd rather just every game be great.
- [36:42]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah.
- [36:43]
Dan Bernstein
He's saying he. If he still needs the work. When he says games like this are needed, that tells me a lot.
- [36:51]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah. To be able to learn from what you're doing wrong, I'd like you to do less wrong.
- [36:54]
Dan Bernstein
Right.
- [36:55]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah. Like, so there's less learning.
- [36:57]
Dan Bernstein
Ideally, they're not needed. Right. Because you come right out and you're just great at everything. That is an admission in some ways, for him to lead with the games like this are needed is a way of saying I need work.
- [37:09]
Matt Abaticola
Well, who's telling him that? That's Ben Johnson. Right.
- [37:13]
Dan Bernstein
And maybe it's taking some time for him to. For some of these things to soak in. Maybe he's got to knock him down a notch to get him to this point, but I find that significant. Maybe. Maybe it's just me overthinking because I certainly have been accused correctly of doing that before and reading too much into something somebody says in a post game. But games like this are needed. So the passive voice, he didn't say I need games like this, but when he says games like this are needed, it tells me that he might be in a little different place.
- [37:43]
Matt Abaticola
I mean, that's what's being said to him by. By Ben Johnson and the coaches.
- [37:47]
Dan Bernstein
He doesn't have to repeat it because.
- [37:48]
Matt Abaticola
Again, he's walked into the NFL thinking he was going to be the big man on campus. Number one overall pick, had all the confidence in the world. And we've talked about this being a work in progress, and he certainly is the biggest work in progress for Ben Johnson in this 2025 season. 1. Absolutely.
- [38:05]
Dan Bernstein
With everything else that's going on and the Domination on the lines of scrimmage in that game. He still matters more.
- [38:11]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah. Oh, no. 100%. And again, I'm going to rely on Ben Johnson wanting to come here because of Caleb Williams. So Caleb was asked about and millions.
- [38:20]
Dan Bernstein
And millions of dollars.
- [38:21]
Matt Abaticola
Well, Yeah, I think 13 million a year doesn't hurt. You know, it's probably the second most important thing of why he came here. Number two one was Caleb. 13 million was two. Deep dish pizza was three.
- [38:34]
Dan Bernstein
By the way, you can stop.
- [38:35]
Matt Abaticola
And when the broadcast was like, every time we come here, we have to show it. No, you don't even. You don't have to show it.
- [38:41]
Dan Bernstein
Well, here's our obligatory shot.
- [38:43]
Matt Abaticola
You don't have to show it.
- [38:44]
Dan Bernstein
Oh, my God.
- [38:46]
Matt Abaticola
You don't have to show it. There is so much better. Other better. And I love deep dish pizza. I love it. Give me a Lumal. Naughty. I love Lumonati's. I love it. I'll eat it every day. Pequods. I'd go there every day if I could.
- [39:00]
Dan Bernstein
We got a Giordano's right here.
- [39:02]
Matt Abaticola
I love Giordano's. I'll do it. But you don't have to always show chinos. Yeah, we. Oh, here. We have to show it. No, you don't. You don't have to show it. Find one of the amazing ethnic foods here in Chicago that you can find. Highlight that this time.
- [39:20]
Dan Bernstein
Why don't you just tell people every independently owned taqueria in Chicago is the best you're gonna have is the best you've ever had in your life. Every single one. I don't care what. I always tell people this. I don't care what they look like. There's a couple places but like even the mid. Even the places that are, eh, are still way better than stuff you're gonna find elsewhere. And the places that are good are spectacular.
- [39:48]
Matt Abaticola
The name of the show, I can't remember it right now in my brain, but there's a new show on Apple either out or coming out, and it's about chasing Michelin stars in Chicago restaurants. The Chicago restaurant scene might be something you'll want to watch. I'll get the name for it. All right. He also talks about why the secondary plays have struggled. We've talked about this now at length. The secondary plays why they're struggling.
- [40:09]
Dan Bernstein
Not. Not the secondary. No, not the secondary, which has been great despite injuries. It is why the post scramble plays what they call secondary playbook.
- [40:19]
Matt Abaticola
Their secondary playbook.
- [40:21]
Caleb Williams
I think guys got open and, you know, I think I missed And I think that's what it boils down to. And then, you know, other than that, it's just being able to have the, you know, have it on my conscience that, you know, I can help this team not only by scrambling and. And delivering a good ball to, you know, receivers, which I didn't do that well you know, today, and is also understanding that I can run and, you know, hurt a team of my legs.
- [40:47]
Dan Bernstein
I will give him a pass, no pun intended, on one of those. The one that hit Odunze in the hands on the comebacker, it looked like the defensive back did have a hand on his biceps, but it hit O'Dunes in both hands. You got to make that catch. It was middle of the field. He was coming back to the ball. It was a perfectly delivered ball, so.
- [41:13]
Matt Abaticola
That wouldn't impact his PFF score.
- [41:15]
Dan Bernstein
Oh, I have no idea as much. I have no idea. But that was one of the secondary play calls that didn't work, and I think that it was executed properly. He's coming back. He's got the defender blocked away, make that catch.
- [41:30]
Matt Abaticola
So he was also asked, and this is the final cut for Caleb about making the decision to run or to continue to move to throw the ball and how he makes that decision.
- [41:43]
Caleb Williams
I think it just comes down to understand the situation. I think it also comes down to being able to get our players an explosive ball, you know, if we complete the passes that, you know, I missed. I missed about five or six, I think, on the run, which is extremely frustrating for me, you know, especially just kind of how, you know, my nature has been for past couple years of my career. And, you know, I think. I think if I hit those. Nothing. No, nothing said, but, you know, it's just being able to understand in those situations that even if I'm not hitting or anything like that, you know, you know, how a QB run in those situations where maybe, you know, the defense calls a good call or perfect call or whatever the case may be, the QB takes off and gets positive yards. I think I've done a good job with that so far this year. I think today I did not. And so just being able to learn from it and move on.
- [42:34]
Dan Bernstein
Okay, Move. Learn from him and move on. It's. You don't. You don't move on.
- [42:44]
Matt Abaticola
You.
- [42:44]
Dan Bernstein
You. You learn and you. You build. Yeah, I think learning.
- [42:48]
Matt Abaticola
I think it's his. It's his instinct to run, and I think they don't want him to. They want him to throw the ball. He said it about getting the ball downfield for those explosive plays. He wants the. Ben Johnson wants the ball in the hands of his playmakers. You're the quarterback, get them the ball to do their thing.
- [43:03]
Dan Bernstein
But I don't want him to pass up easy yards to extend a scramble. This for me is where it gets dicey.
- [43:12]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah, I get it. And it's hard. It's hard to fight through it.
- [43:15]
Dan Bernstein
The semantics are difficult, too. This is what I want him to learn. And I don't know if you can teach it that. Some quarterbacks just know that, like now is the time for me to get seven and go down or I can read the nameplates there in man, this could be a big gainer. Maybe I'll try to break a tackle because I don't want to endanger the football. I don't want him to get hurt. That's the. That's the other aspect. We're not. He's not a robot. And like we saw with Justin Fields here, you get exposed to a lot of potential cheap shots and not so cheap shots. When you're a ball carrier, the rules are different.
- [43:56]
Matt Abaticola
Right.
- [43:56]
Dan Bernstein
It changes the way you're protected. So he's sometimes after that first scramble, then go or don't. And then it is, I'm going to keep going backward or I'm going to go around again. I'm going to go rack around again. Not everyone has to have the Benny Hill theme be in place.
- [44:15]
Matt Abaticola
No, we don't want.
- [44:16]
Dan Bernstein
Right.
- [44:17]
Matt Abaticola
Anytime.
- [44:18]
Dan Bernstein
Not everyone has got to be an entire production.
- [44:21]
Matt Abaticola
And we actually saw that last week against the Commanders when he took that shot on the sidelines by Louvoo when he shouldn't have.
- [44:26]
Dan Bernstein
Well, it was legal.
- [44:27]
Matt Abaticola
I know it was. But. But he shouldn't have taken that hit.
- [44:29]
Dan Bernstein
Right?
- [44:29]
Matt Abaticola
I mean, you're the quarterback. You shouldn't take that kind of hit. But then it goes back into his decision making process, Dan, and when he has the opportunity to run, is he. I think he's being coached so hard to get the ball downfield that he's not taking advantage of maybe the green grass when it's there because it's like I got to get the ball downfield. You couple that with the fact that he has a hard time pulling the trigger, that really causes a lot of confusion in his decision making process.
- [45:00]
Dan Bernstein
And it's too bad because it doesn't allow them to take advantage of something that makes him special.
- [45:07]
Matt Abaticola
All right, couple other things to get into from that game. The Bears win over the the saints 26 to 14. Want to just highlight Montez Sweat we've been hard on him the first few weeks of the season. Do that every game. So yeah so. But he had the trifecta of the the sack, the forced fumble and the recovery on one play. Great. I'd love one of those a game.
- [45:28]
Dan Bernstein
And also stuff to it. It was a third one or a fourth and one that he individually came down the line, shed a block and made the play. So do that every game.
- [45:37]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah, we can do that.
- [45:39]
Dan Bernstein
Getting the stat sheet for really good impactful things every game and then coming.
- [45:43]
Matt Abaticola
Out of that game with a couple injuries. Tyreek Steven with an injury to his shoulder and then Cole Comet with an injury to his back which he's been. He's been great on run blocking.
- [45:57]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah really good.
- [45:58]
Matt Abaticola
But the passing part of the tight ends has just been non existent through.
- [46:02]
Dan Bernstein
Six games.
- [46:05]
Matt Abaticola
And it hurts because I don't know if you remember the play there was a fake jet sweep that was called that actually turned into a great run for DeAndre Swift and Colson Loveland was the lead block on it and completely whiffed on a block. It's like dude if you're going to be out there more and if commit's hurt and not able to play like we need to get that that run game and I know it's not his strength and they're not utilizing what his strength has been. I don't know how that impacts his work during the week and impacting the game plan but if he's going to be out there blocking more we got to get better at it. That's for sure.
- [46:39]
Dan Bernstein
And Cabets generally fairly tough that usually his injury prognoses have always ended on the short side regardless of the range. He has come back on the on the shorter end of that range. Stevenson being out is ungood. Already down Jalen Johnson and they if you notice we something we discussed with Dan Durkin they did move Kyler Gordon to the boundary.
- [47:03]
Matt Abaticola
Yes.
- [47:04]
Dan Bernstein
Blackwell into the slot. So I would prefer that not being the case. And Nick McLeod did some things out there and I guess we'll find out if they elevate somebody from the practice squad or go out and sign somebody where this Stevenson injury is going to be. But it's not good because say what you want about him but he's been their number one corner, number one boundary corner since Jalen Johnson has left. So here's hoping he's all right.
- [47:31]
Matt Abaticola
And then week seven we have the completion tonight with a couple Monday night football games. The Buccaneers at the Lions, the Texans at the Seahawks. We know earlier in the, in week seven, our Thursday night game, my guy Joe Flacco took down the Steelers 33, 31. Rams in the early game took care of the Jaguars pretty easy. 35 to 7. The Colts are still rolling. Colts are still rolling. They had a really, really big, big win over the Chargers 38 to 24. Broncos, did you see this game? 33, 32. And they scored all 33 in the fourth quarter.
- [48:05]
Dan Bernstein
And at one point, I think the. The Giants win probability was close to 99.
- [48:12]
Matt Abaticola
Oh, seriously?
- [48:13]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. And it. That. That's one of the great comebacks ever. One of the great late comebacks ever. Really incredible. I was also listening on Sirius XM to a lot of the packers and the Cardinals coverage. And boy, hearing some of these hometown broadcasters is just. It's just wild how big, how, how homer some of these casts are. The Cardinals analysts said, I hate to compliment the opponent, but, like, that's fine. You hate to compliment the opponent.
- [48:45]
Matt Abaticola
I mean, Dan, we know how NFL fans like to hear, I guess, but.
- [48:49]
Dan Bernstein
To say it out loud like that, like you. You hate to cut. Why do you hate to just say.
- [48:53]
Matt Abaticola
Because of the opponent. And you're in battle.
- [48:56]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. It makes your team look better.
- [48:57]
Matt Abaticola
Got to win the war if you.
- [48:58]
Dan Bernstein
Can compliment the opponent. But Jacoby Brissette was really something. But The packers now four one and one Niners Falcons. That last touchdown by Christian McCaffrey, where he is almost like his torso was parallel to the ground and he's pushing his legs backwards and he's being pulled into the end zone. I didn't think you were allowed to pull somebody into the end zone. I thought push.
- [49:21]
Matt Abaticola
You had to push.
- [49:22]
Dan Bernstein
Push was legal. Pull was not. But apparently, what do I know? And the Cowboys with CD Lamb, as opposed to the Cowboys without CD Lamb. It makes me think about the different in that Bears game.
- [49:33]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah, he went over 100, had a.
- [49:34]
Dan Bernstein
Touchdown and what it meant for him to leave when he left. So all of this and again the win over the Raiders, then you look how bad they were. Yikes.
- [49:45]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah. 31 to nothing to the Chiefs. The Patriots and Mike Vrabel get the revenge win over the Titans 31 to 13. Panthers 13 of 6 over the Jets. So who goes first? Aaron Glenn? Or is it too soon? Or your guy McDaniels?
- [50:01]
Dan Bernstein
I think Mike McDaniel will probably go first.
- [50:05]
Matt Abaticola
They lost 31 to 6 to the Browns.
- [50:07]
Dan Bernstein
Two good games tonight, too.
- [50:09]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah, no, I can't wait to watch a little bit of that. And then we get. We get a final game in The. In the Mariners. Mariners series, too, as well, so. But yeah, those NFL games are going to be fun, fun, fun, fun stuff tonight. All right, I have a question for you.
- [50:22]
Dan Bernstein
Oh, no, but I just looked at the board and it says NFL trivia question for Dan.
- [50:28]
Matt Abaticola
Well, I heard these over the weekend. There's been one player in the NFL history to score a touchdown against every team in the NFL. Do you know who that is?
- [50:38]
Dan Bernstein
To actually not throw for one to score a touchdown.
- [50:43]
Matt Abaticola
It is not a quarterback. Yes, correct.
- [50:45]
Dan Bernstein
Who scored a touchdown against every NFL.
- [50:49]
Matt Abaticola
Team in the NFL. There's been one player to do it.
- [50:51]
Dan Bernstein
Larry Fitzgerald.
- [50:53]
Matt Abaticola
It is not. That's a good guess, though. You're on. You're on the right. On the right path of a wide receiver.
- [50:59]
Dan Bernstein
Randy Moss.
- [51:00]
Matt Abaticola
No. Another good guess. Give you one more guess.
- [51:04]
Dan Bernstein
My guess is it is a great. Oh, how about Tony Gonzalez?
- [51:09]
Matt Abaticola
Oh, I thought you had it with the T coming out of your mouth. Nope. Terrell Owens.
- [51:14]
Dan Bernstein
Really?
- [51:14]
Matt Abaticola
Yes. I didn't believe it either. I had to look it up to make sure he has a touchdown against every team in the NFL.
- [51:23]
Dan Bernstein
Okay.
- [51:25]
Matt Abaticola
That crazy.
- [51:26]
Dan Bernstein
I'm just trying to make sure the Houston Texans, like. I'm trying to make sure that he was there and there was overlap and time. Okay. Yeah, he was there. All right.
- [51:35]
Matt Abaticola
Four guys.
- [51:36]
Dan Bernstein
Terrell Owens. Okay.
- [51:37]
Matt Abaticola
Four guys have beaten every team in the NFL. These are quarterbacks, obviously. You can probably guess these four.
- [51:43]
Dan Bernstein
Beaten every team in the NFL.
- [51:45]
Matt Abaticola
Beaten every team in the NFL.
- [51:46]
Dan Bernstein
Aaron Rodgers.
- [51:47]
Matt Abaticola
Correct. Oh, no, no, no. Sorry. It's not Aaron Rodgers.
- [51:51]
Dan Bernstein
My bad.
- [51:53]
Matt Abaticola
I was so excited about Aaron Rodgers.
- [51:54]
Dan Bernstein
So somebody who's played for multiple teams. Peyton Manning.
- [51:57]
Matt Abaticola
Peyton Manning. Correct. And a guy Rogers replaced.
- [52:00]
Dan Bernstein
Brett Favre.
- [52:01]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah, that's why I jumped on it.
- [52:02]
Dan Bernstein
Okay.
- [52:03]
Matt Abaticola
Peyton Manning, Brett Favre. There's two others.
- [52:06]
Dan Bernstein
Okay, so played for multiple teams and had success. Was Ryan Fitzpatrick one? No. Because I would think that maybe.
- [52:16]
Matt Abaticola
Just keep it. Keep it simple. Think. Just think passing yards. Make it really easy on yourself.
- [52:20]
Dan Bernstein
Okay. But it has to be somebody who's. Who's played for more than one team because they had to have beaten their primary team. So it's not Roethlisberger. It's not. Oh, Philip Rivers.
- [52:30]
Matt Abaticola
Nope. One of them is the best broadcaster in the NFL right now.
- [52:41]
Dan Bernstein
Greg Olson.
- [52:42]
Matt Abaticola
No, I said the best broadcaster. Tom Brady.
- [52:45]
Dan Bernstein
Oh. Oh, okay. I should have guessed Tom Brady.
- [52:48]
Matt Abaticola
All right, and then last one. Come on. You can guess this last one. There's one guy. One guy left.
- [52:53]
Dan Bernstein
It's not Drew Brees.
- [52:55]
Matt Abaticola
Yes, it is.
- [52:56]
Dan Bernstein
Who did he Beat the Saints. With. Oh, with.
- [53:00]
Matt Abaticola
He was on the Chargers.
- [53:00]
Dan Bernstein
Chargers, yeah, that's right. He did play.
- [53:03]
Matt Abaticola
Okay, so four guys. Four guys. All right. One other thing, because I know you love numbers. After The Bears scored 25 points in consecutive weeks, I looked up to see how often that happens where A team scores 25 points in a game.
- [53:18]
Dan Bernstein
A team. Not the Bears.
- [53:20]
Matt Abaticola
A team. A team. And I came across this spectacular website that has game team scoring by frequency, and it gives you every score possible and the frequency in percentage by. On which it's happened.
- [53:34]
Dan Bernstein
Okay, you mean 25. Exactly.
- [53:36]
Matt Abaticola
25 exactly.
- [53:37]
Dan Bernstein
And the Bears doing it in consecutive weeks. How much of an anomaly, you're saying, was that to do it once, let alone in consecutive weeks, to get to the number 25. This takes all of scoring since recorded NFL history.
- [53:52]
Matt Abaticola
Yes, it happens in an NFL game where A team scores 25 points 1.13% of the time.
- [54:02]
Dan Bernstein
Wow.
- [54:03]
Matt Abaticola
And the Bears did it in consecutive weeks.
- [54:05]
Dan Bernstein
So the odds of consecutive weeks, would that be 1.3? Of 1.3?
- [54:10]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah. I don't know how you. All right, so then what did the Bear score yesterday?
- [54:14]
Dan Bernstein
The bears were 26.
- [54:17]
Matt Abaticola
How common is that?
- [54:18]
Dan Bernstein
I don't know. More than 1.13 is my guess.
- [54:21]
Matt Abaticola
It is, but only 1.51%.
- [54:24]
Dan Bernstein
Yes. Okay.
- [54:27]
Matt Abaticola
Is that crazy?
- [54:29]
Dan Bernstein
What's the most common score?
- [54:31]
Matt Abaticola
That's a great question to ask, Dan. The five most common scores by a team in NFL. Okay, 20 is number one. 17, 24, 27 and 10 are the top five most common scores.
- [54:48]
Dan Bernstein
Now, if you take those to a roulette table, then what happens?
- [54:52]
Matt Abaticola
You lose money.
- [54:53]
Dan Bernstein
The same thing that would happen in any random combination of that number of numbers over a long enough time.
- [54:58]
Matt Abaticola
All right, those are the top five scores. 20, 17, 24, 27, 10. What are the five least common?
- [55:05]
Dan Bernstein
One. Well, two can't do.
- [55:09]
Matt Abaticola
You can't get one.
- [55:10]
Ben Johnson
Two.
- [55:11]
Dan Bernstein
It's probably less than. I don't know.
- [55:14]
Matt Abaticola
They are 12, 15, 18, 11 and 8.
- [55:21]
Dan Bernstein
All right.
- [55:23]
Matt Abaticola
The more you know, the more you know. But how crazy is that for the Bears?
- [55:27]
Dan Bernstein
It's random, though.
- [55:28]
Matt Abaticola
25, 25, 26 in three consecutive weeks.
- [55:31]
Dan Bernstein
It doesn't say anything.
- [55:33]
Matt Abaticola
No, it doesn't. No, there's nothing to say about it.
- [55:34]
Dan Bernstein
It's easy. It doesn't mean anything.
- [55:36]
Matt Abaticola
There's zero meaning to it.
- [55:38]
Dan Bernstein
I can't use it for anything.
- [55:40]
Matt Abaticola
0 meaning.
- [55:41]
Dan Bernstein
But that's okay because that's why they call it trivia.
- [55:43]
Matt Abaticola
Yes.
- [55:43]
Dan Bernstein
Well done.
- [55:44]
Matt Abaticola
No, you. Well done to you. No, you. Well done. No, you're well done.
- [55:49]
Dan Bernstein
I'm done.
- [55:49]
Matt Abaticola
It's like your Omaha Steaks.
- [55:50]
Dan Bernstein
No, it's a greater honor for me. Oh, perhaps you're right. Perhaps it is a greater honor for you. That will do it for this edition of Forward Progress, a Chicago Bears podcast here on 312 Sports.
- [56:11]
Matt Abaticola
Forward progress, a Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abaticola on 312 Sports.