← Forward Progress - A Chicago Bears Podcast
Forward Progress - A Chicago Bears Podcast
Chicago Bears stadium UPDATE + Dan Durkin on the offseason and upcoming NFL Draft
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- [00:01]
Dan Bernstein
The Bleacher Report app is your destination for sports right now. The NBA is heating up, March Madness is here, and MLB is almost back. Every day there's a new headline, a new highlight, a new moment you've got to see for yourself. That's why I stay locked in with the Bleacher Report app. For me, it's about staying connected to my sports. I can follow the teams I care about, get real time scores, breaking news and highlights all in one place. Download the Bleacher Report app today so you never miss a moment.
- [00:30]
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Dan Durkin
mean, if you're a Bears fan, you're thinking forward Progress.
- [00:50]
Dan Bernstein
Come on 10219 219.
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Dan Durkin
Forward Progress A Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abeticola on 312 Sports.
- [01:09]
Dan Bernstein
As a Bears fan, I know you are absolutely going to want to hear this as we start this Friday, forward progress. And I certainly would categorize this as really good news and certainly not unexpected. It just amazes me that somehow the Chicago Bears keep thinking that they can throw out all of these big bluffs out there and that it's never going to get out what's actually going on. And the fact is, when there are negotiations happening in Springfield, you know, I don't know if the Bears are aware there are people that actually cover negotiations in Springfield. One of those places that you should always be checking if you're a Bears fan is capitalnewsillinois.com the Capital News Insider and this was posted to their website yesterday and Brendan Moore has been covering this for Capital News Illinois. The Chicago Bears will have to wait until at least April for action on a property tax measure that would boost their efforts to build a domed stadium in Arlington Heights. State Rep. Cam Buckner, the top House Democratic negotiator who you know is here in Chicago, he confirmed to Capital News Illinois the bill won't move before the House adjourns today Friday. The House won't be back until April 7th. The Bears have said the legislation is necessary for them to move forward with building a stadium on the 326 acre Arlington park site. Indiana Governor Mike Braun signed legislation meant to lure the team over the state line with a promise of a publicly funded stadium. Arlington Heights Mayor Jim Tenaglia recently told multiple media outlets the team wouldn't wait past March. Remember that, that the Bears have said we must do this now. We can't move forward. We will not wait past March. Okay? I also earlier this week read to you the quote from J.B. pritzker, who punted it to the Legislature to use that football term. The bill needs to happen sooner rather than later. It's in the hands of the Legislature, he said, and he supports it. And apparently they are moving it along. And the meetings that have been held have been trying to sort through some of the details. One of the details is that the bill to create the pilot program, that's payment in lieu of taxes. It's going to make it easier for the Bears to bolt Soldier Field taxpayers footing the bill for renovations. City lawmakers would need to secure something from the Bears in return for their votes. Here's the quote from Buckner, and this is what's key. We'll get it done, Buckner said. The caucus meeting last week he described as impactful and help us work through or kind of work through what needed to be addressed, he said. Despite a lot of talk around here about these artificial deadlines calling for action by the end of March, Buckner said the Bears have not conveyed a hard deadline. So there it is. Despite public posturing and whatever they told the mayor of Arlington Heights, the person who's sponsoring the bill is saying publicly the Bears have not at any point conveyed a hard deadline. Here's the rest of his quote, and this should put a smile on your face. I think this conversation started off as a mess. We've moved from a mess to movement. We moved from movement to momentum, and now we're right between momentum and maturity. Maturity means we're there, right? So we're almost there. We'll get it done. He said his top priority is getting it right. His second getting it done as quickly as possible. He thinks it can happen next month, he said. I don't see this as a May 31 thing. I think the governor was right when he said this needs to happen sooner than later. I would agree with that. We're trying to make that happen. We're not Indiana, he said to Capital News Illinois. There's been consistent, productive communication between us and the Bears, and those conversations are yielding real progress. The Bears will likely get help for public infrastructure. And what he does say is that while the Bears are expected to submit the results of a traffic study, it's going to help determine the final tab on state infrastructure spending, which could involve improvements to Route 53 and surrounding roadways needed to support the project. But it appears that even these questions about this aren't necessarily coming in a way that could stall any of the issues. Because he is. This is. When you hear legislators talking like this, this is is real optimism here. And for him to say we'll get it done and we're moving toward maturity, that's a really good sign. So all good when he says it's impactful, we're working through what needs to be addressed that he said the concerns expressed by his colleagues were not bears related. So Buckner says he takes that as a good sign. Okay, so are we good on that? Can we leave it at that? Can we understand that with all the posturing, with all the bluffs, with all the silliness, with all of Kevin Warren leading certain media outlets around by the nostrils and forcing them into covering things that aren't real, the stuff that is real is moving forward, is happening and everybody's saying nice things about it. So. Huh. Let's welcome a guest, shall we? To forward Progress here on 312 Sports. We will make it the 2 Dan formation, Dan Bernstein and our friend Dan Durkin of the Athletic, who I'm sure has plenty of thoughts to share on the way the Bears have handled free agency and the fact that this did appear by the Bears. This entire period seemed to be to, to for a term my kids would hate if I said this mindful. This, this has been a very mindful approach by them to free agency. What has it told you about the bigger picture?
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Dan Durkin
Good to see you, Dan.
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Dan Bernstein
Hello. Hey.
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Dan Durkin
Hello. I think they've learned from, from last year, which is a good thing because can, can somebody point me to the material contributions of Diode Dangbo or, you know, Grady Jared, outside of like a veteran presence within the loc. So I think that being measured is what they need to be because I think what they're going to find themselves in here in the next couple of years is in a rare position that they really haven't been into, where they need to reward their own draft picks, which is something that, you know, most teams aspire to do. And so you'd much rather build through a scenario where you have to face into paying a quarterback 50, $55 million a year or a tight end who looks like he could be Travis Kelce in the next two or three years. Those are the types of people. Hold on, on, hold on.
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Dan Bernstein
I, I can't let you just slide that in there.
- [08:56]
Dan Durkin
He's so good.
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Dan Bernstein
Yeah, I know he is.
- [08:59]
Dan Durkin
He's so good. Like, and like I was at the beginning of the season when you saw the ability of Shane Steichen to incorporate Tyler Warren as quickly as he did into the Colts offense. And I know that Colston was dealing with like, shoulders, you know, issue in the off season which prevented him from lifting and probably, you know, limited the reps that he was able to get in practice. You know, it. That impaired him at the beginning of the season. But I mean, at the end of the season, you. You saw exactly what Ben thought of him when he went the. The play. That. That really sticks out to me is just number. It's a combination of two things. Number one is trust in Colson Loveland, and number two, his creativity. So after they score against the packers and they go for two, this is such like, Ben Johnson genius. What do they do? They deploy 13 personnel so they get a bunch of tight ends out there on the field and there's one running back in the backfield. And so you see the packers just cram the line of scrimmage and like, oh, by the way, we're gonn Colston out over here on the side and you see a linebacker go with them and they're like, we know exactly where we're going right now. So the fact that they're using him in that, like Jimmy Graham, like, why I so tried, like, that's how they've used Kelsey. It's like we're going to put him against a linebacker or a safety that he's faster, stronger, more explosive than, and we're going to isolate him in. In high leverage situations. And so, like, I think the sky's the limit with that kid. And so like, I went from a skeptical point of view in terms of like, did they really get the right guy to like, holy crap, like, they really have a dude. And so like, I don't have that same level of comfort that I do like about Romo dunesday and like the other people that were drafted in that wide receiver class. I do like Luther Burden. But I mean, when I really look at like, what they did in year one for, for Ben, it's like you now have accumulated, I think, stars at certain positions that are younger that you're going to want to pay in a couple years. I think this year is going to have to be the same type of thing for Dennis Allen. I think they're really going to have to find some younger talent on the defensive side within this draft that he can kind of build around. Because if you would have told me before The Rams game that the defense would have given you the performance that they did in that game, I would say the Bears are going to win. So it's just like that was such a surprise performance from me in terms of how stellar the defense was. They just need more dudes. They need more dudes on the defensive line. They need, I think they need some additional help in the secondary. But I think I would look back at like Kobe Bryant. Very versatile piece, younger, faster, really good on, on breaking on the ball. Started as a corner, converted to safety. So now what I think of is like how do they use him? Are they going to use him interchangeably? Strong free nickel. Like I think he gives him a lot of versatility because he was a cornerback at Cincinnati and then they brought him is in the corner the first couple years in the league. Realized he's better as, as a kind of like off, you know, like free safety in the back end. But I still think they need some help with at the cornerback position. I think they're a little deficient there, but they need some dudes on the defensive line and so I think that Devin Bush gives them a little bit more speed. You saw them get, you know, worked a couple times on wheel routes and you know like crossers over the middle where their linebacker, their lac lack of linebacker speed really kind of showed up. So I, I like those two moves a lot, but I appreciate them not going for like the really big splash that puts you in a bad cap situation. That's what they did with Odangbo and look where they're at. I mean that, that money is a total hindrance on them right now. So very measured this offseason. But they've got to get it right in the draft. Four picks in the top 90, you have to get three starters. From that, from that, as far as I see, maybe you get like a long term center, you know, like with one of those picks that maybe is a year or so away. But I think they have some very acute needs on the defensive side of the ball and at left tackle.
- [12:26]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, we're talking about left tackle in a second because when you talk about last year's free agent class, I would include in there, you know, Alama Day, Zacchaeus and Devin Duvernay. They're fine. They're both fine. And certainly the addition of Khalif Raymond, at his age and his size, you'd think. Well, I don't know. But Ben Johnson knows him really, really well and he does appear to be a guy who's to going Going to work his way to defeat the aging curve a little bit more than somebody else. Because this to me looks like example setter, classic room guy, role player guy. And also maybe they can get a little more explosive in the punt return game without having to play Burden out there because you don't want to expose Burden to any of that.
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Dan Durkin
Agreed. I fully agree. I think that you're right. I think he's probably. This. This to me was like an Antoine Randall L signing, you know, like, give me a dude in here that knows the scheme is going to give full effort, is going to raise the bar of what it means to like, prepare and practice, you know, like as they would expect them to. And I do think he's a better third option than what they had last year. And he is definitely somebody that's going to give him a little bit of juice in the. In the return game. I agree with you about Burden. You got to protect that guy. He's good. I mean, he looks really, really good. Very explosive, just real sudden and he just like in the open field runs hard, but he also is great vision. So I think that another really nice pick for them to be able to get what they in in the second round. I think they're looking to build the right type of people. They're looking for certain archetypes that they want to fit within this. And like, I. I have to say, it's like, I bet you guys don't like being yelled at the way that Ben, you know, likes to yell at people. So it's like he knows that he can take that tough coaching and that criticism. And so I think that they're going to find a need to find guys who are really willing to take that type of challenge and are going to step up to it. Clee Raymond, excellent returner, and I think that he always performed when he kind of fit in, but they had so much wide receiver talent that he just didn't get the snaps that you get. He's going to get a lot more snaps in this offense, but I do like that wide receiver room quite a bit now, provided Rome needs to take a massive step next year in terms of his maturation. I still hearken back to. I'm not sure if like, like they had him above Malik neighbors, which I'm like, like, do we. Can we. Can we trust when you. When you hear and you see stuff like that, like, can they. Can they truly evaluate? So I guess it was a little redeeming to see them get burdened the way that they. But I Think offensively, I think they're really set other than the left tackle position in terms of like what they need right now. I would draft another Kyle Manon guy, you know, like, I think you subscribe to the same point of view. Draft another running back, get younger, keep getting younger at that position. Fresh legs. But I think that the offensive side of the ball, outside of left tackle and center, I think is pretty set. It's the defense that I think that they need to really pour a lot of their draft assets into.
- [15:15]
Dan Bernstein
I'm also, what I've circled on the depth chart is also that third tight end. When you talk about 13 personnel, you know, Durham Smythe did a lot for them and he didn't. He wasn't necessarily around the ball, but they played him at that hybrid. I don't even know if they call it an H back anymore. But this, the idea of being able to have your hand on the ground. I formation, fullback. They would motion him into that position. They would motion him out of that position. They love the Wham block or the blast blocking they do with tight ends. I don't know that Nicola Kalanich or Stephen Carlson is good enough to be their third guy.
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Dan Durkin
Yeah, no, I agree. I actually was pleasantly surprised by Smythe last year. And you're right. When they do bring in that 13 personnel, you're forcing the defense to match with bigger people. And so I think that that's where he really gets creative in terms of being able to like feign a block and leak him out into the flat. Because you saw Caleb go to him a couple times in some like third down situations. It's like weird. Like, why are they targeting Durham SM life in this scenario? But it's just the design of the play. It's like, hey, we have like four plays for you in our package this weekend. You got to nail them when your number's called. And so I think that that just comes down to the, the biggest thing. And I knew, I knew Ben had this. He has such a feel for calling a game. And I think that that was so evident last year where people need to get over like, hey, kick a field goal on fourth down. It's like, bro, that's not going to happen. That's not who he is. You have to trust him in those scenarios that he's going to take 6 over 3. 99 of the time. That's just how he thinks. That's the mentality. So, like, is it always going to work? No, but there's going to be scenarios you're like, man, that was the right call and right scenario, but he has such a, you know, unique talent to say we showed this look earlier in the game. Now we have a variant off of it that we know we're going to get something off of. So I, I think that just so rewarding, I guess, to see them be bold last year with Ben and have him just pay off in spades. And now I think you've got your guy for the next decade or two as the head coach, provided they, they can keep him move around. So I think that having that offensive minded guy. We talked about this forever. You hire a defensive guy. Why you're. Because then if you get it right with the offensive coordinator, some team's going to hire him as their coach. So it's just nice, so nice to see them operating in a modern paradigm
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Dan Bernstein
a decade or two. I'm. I'm gonna be in a box in the ground when the, when the next coach is here.
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Dan Durkin
How old is he? What isn't he, like 39 or 40?
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Dan Bernstein
40. Yeah.
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Dan Durkin
Right. So couldn't he be their Sean McBay? Couldn't he be their dude that they keep. Yeah, so, like. Yeah, I agree with you, bro.
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Dan Bernstein
I'm old too.
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Dan Durkin
So, I mean, like, is this, is
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Dan Bernstein
this the last Bear's head coach of my lifetime?
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Dan Durkin
If they got it right, yes. And I think that could be a good thing. Yeah, I mean, but I mean, you think about it. Who, who doesn't, who doesn't want a Kyle Shanahan who doesn't want a Sean McVeigh? And I think he's in that conversation. I truly do. I really think that when you think about the productivity of him being able to create an offense from scratch in Detroit and have it become as prolific as it was with the people that, you know. Like, did people really know who Aman Ross St. Brown was before Ben Johnson started calling plays?
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Dan Bernstein
No.
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Dan Durkin
You know, like that was in Jamal Williams or like 17 touchdowns and then David Montgomery has 15 touchdowns. Like this guy. No, he knows what he's doing. And so I think that unlike the Naggies who thought that they had like some sort of like, answer when it was really just a warmed over version of Andy Reid's offense is like Ben's. Ben's got a vision and he knows how to do this. And so I think that I would. I. It's hard for me to think about them looking for another coach in the next 10 years unless something catastrophic happens. I really, truly feel that way.
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Dan Bernstein
What's the drop off from Dalman to Bradbury, if any.
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Dan Durkin
So I think that my, my biggest issue with Dahlman last year was he didn't set as well in some past protection sets that that you would like. I think that they both excel in that like mid to wide zone, you know, like get out and pull. I don't think Bradbury is as strong as Dalman is and so I think that you might see a little bit of leak and at the pivot spot there. But I, that had to have caught them by massive surprise to say like have kudos to him for having the integrity say like I don't have it. Like, you know, like I've got to do this now rather than him doing this in July like after the draft and after free agency. So the fact that he was dealing with something like this and he was able to do it, good on him to do that. But it is, it is definitely going to be a step backwards. But in terms of getting somebody in there, this guy just was on the AFC champion, started in the super bowl, has been around for a while, played with the Vikings, was really good at NC State knows Joe Tooney. So I think there will be a performance drop off when it comes to just his stoutness. But, but outside of that, I think he's a perfect bridge solution and where their picks line up in rounds two and round three, I think you could end up with the best center or maybe like one of the better interior offensive linemen was one of those maybe you know, pick 60 or pick 89. You see them draft their center of the future. So I, that, that to me is how I think this is going to go perfect one year bridge and then you draft your guy to replace him.
- [20:27]
Dan Bernstein
All right. Left tackle is kind of weird that you know, we, we keep looking at this like it's huge. It's huge. It's huge. Maybe this group is cares more about guard, center, guard and left tackle. Isn't the, this, this sort of massive skill position, blindside protector? He's just another guy with a job to do or they want to draft somebody. I still feel like there's a missing piece to the plan at tackle that hasn't been addressed with some of the options I've seen.
- [20:59]
Dan Durkin
No, I agree and so I, you know, they're going to be in a spot where they could draft left tackle at 25. There's going to be some really good players on the board, I think so I think they're really going to have to stare hard at that. Best player available versus hey, we have a very acute need on the defensive line. And so you think about like the, the Freeling kid. You think about Miller. Exactly. Like there's going to be some, some guys there that. There's a kid from Clemson, the kid from Georgia, Proctor from Alabama. So there's going to be some guys for them to, to consider there. But then it's like, well then what do we give up in the next 30 or so picks between there and like a defensive tackle or a defensive end that we could have taken in that pick. So I think that that's the risk reward that they're going to have to go through with that because clearly the left tackle is not on the roster currently right now. And so, like, what are you going to do with that? They didn't really address anything in the off season to, to materially move that. Who knows if Tropillo will ever come back to the same form. That's a really brutal injury. There's not a lot of data out there that indicates that like, that's a, you know, like you're as explosive the next time through. Jedrick Wills, you know, like, that's a, that's a worthy flyer to take, but I don't see him being like the solution there. So I. It's going to be very interesting to see what they do at that 25 pick if they trade back or something like that, because there's going to be some really good offensive tackles. But to your point, I think getting stout in the middle was crucial for this. And especially when you have such a good escape artist like Caleb, who has that just like sixth sense to, to feel that pressure on his, on his back and like, like his peripheral vision or something is outstanding because you think about the amount of times he spun out of the, like right when the guy was there.
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Dan Bernstein
I always joke it's almost like he's got side view mirrors.
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Dan Durkin
Yes. Yes.
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Dan Bernstein
That's where he doesn't have to turn his head to see what, what is in these spots behind it. I don't know how he does it.
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Dan Durkin
Me too. And I mean, contrast that with him as a rookie. Like, yeah, I mean, that guy was getting blasted on the blast. So like, I don't know what changed. I don't know what he heard differently from them, but his ability to evade in the pocket just seemed to take an entirely. Maybe they were just drilling the numbers. Like, look, you can't get hit this much. Like, use your legs, you're quick. Just get out of the way. So his ability to spin and then get his eyes right back up and find people down the field is it. That is elite. That is an elite trait and that he's an elite athlete. So I think that you would like to have a little bit better protection on this, I think. Let me just go back to Ben Johnson's, like, you know, time with the Dolphins when he first got there. They drafted Laramie Tunsil. So, I mean, I, I know that they, like, you know, better. And then he was lucky to have Taylor Decker, who isn't the player he. He was, you know, early on in his career. So I still think they place importance on that. But I think getting stout up the middle, I think is so crucial because there's nothing that will, you know, diffuse a pass play quicker than pressure up the middle. So you need to be stopped in those, those middle three positions.
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Dan Bernstein
I, I thought about Taylor. Taylor Decker. You know, when I, When I saw that name, I'm like, you know, me too. You know, you know, Jason Peters was, was bass fishing. Like, you can you play left? He's like, yeah, sure, I can probably do it. And he was the best player on that line when he was here, which
- [24:00]
Dan Durkin
is scary, but true. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, I mean, I'm not sure where you land. Like, are you in the same boat as me? Where it's like, I think defensive tackle is just as big, if not bigger a need than defensive end on this team. I really don't think that they have much of anything on the defensive line, if I'm being honest. Saw some flashes and Austin Booker that I liked last year, sweat had a couple plays here and there, but they just don't have that impact player that so many teams in the league have that makes such a difference. So, I mean, if they took a three technique at 25, I'd say, yeah, that makes total sense because that kind of grouped their primary need as defensive line. I'm not going to say it's edge or it's three technique, because I think they're almost 50. 50.
- [24:38]
Dan Bernstein
Well, and then one of the things I said when we started to look at the totality of some of the signings there, I said, okay, Neville Gallimore, fine. Kentavia street, fine. James lynch, fine. But there wasn't a single name that precluded the drafting of somebody at that position like that. That's all middle to bottom, third of the roster. Yeah. Solid NFL guys.
- [25:02]
Dan Durkin
Yep, yep. Guys that have proven to be durable and, you know, we'll give you some snaps. But Dennis Allen really needs that interior pressure guy. He's. He's typically been One to have like bigger, stouter guys on the edge and then the interior pressure is kind of the engine that makes it go.
- [25:19]
Dan Bernstein
So where's Shamar Turner then? If, if she mar Turner comes back and if it's an isolated acl, we should expect him back to form and we know high motor. They had talked about playing him on the edge and maybe certain downs in certain fronts, he'd be better there. But are how, how hopeful do you remain that Shamar Turner could be an impactful player? Second round pick?
- [25:42]
Dan Durkin
Yeah, he was good in college, but I mean again, like I think that, that, that just kind of speaks to like the versatility of the players. I think dial was the same type of thing. He played outside and then he kicked him inside. So I think that he likes those movable pieces in there. But Shemar Turner is in the mix. It's hard to say definitely just because his body of work is so small. But I mean I think that when you invest that type of draft capital, you're going to expect him to have, you know, like a pretty big impact. So he will be part of that. But I still don't think that that would preclude them from, from drafting somebody. When you really kind of add it all up though, Edge probably does kind of, you know, ratchet up a little bit in terms of like where, where they really need to, to add like a, you know, like maybe their, their best talent from this class. But I think that when you look at this group as a whole in terms of the, where they're going to be picking, there's not going to be a drastic difference between the player that they get at 25 and the player they can get maybe at 40 if they were to trade back something along those lines. So I still think that there are, there are five very, you know, easy, easy needs that I see on this team. Three technique. Edge, left tackle. I still think corners a need and center like so I think those need to be addressed, you know, early, early in the draft.
- [26:47]
Dan Bernstein
Corner was next on my list. That's, you know, there's this sort of big flashing light and there are, there are people to whom I have to explain, you know, why they let Nishan Wright go and why they let Kevin Byard go and Brisker and, and why they're. We're doing this on the fly. This kind of remodeling on the fly. Speed, speed, speed, speed, speed. And knowing that a lot of the ball production that they got last year was anomalous, that I don't think Deshaun Wright's going to have five picks this year. I don't, I don't think that Bayard is going to replicate his season last year. And my. All that matters to me, how healthy is Jalen Johnson? Because when he came back, he looked terrible. He looked like a deal.
- [27:30]
Dan Durkin
Who's gutting it out. That was maybe 70%.
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Dan Bernstein
He looked awful. And if, and if he's slow, you've got a much bigger problem. Here's Tyreek Stevenson, contract year. Tyreek Stevenson knows what you can get in a contract year, and he's talked about his motivation. He's doing this for his kids, and he's all into it. You got Terrell Smith coming back. Zay Frazier is going to be in the mix right now, but everything hinges to me on them looking at the play and condition of Jalen Johnson as honestly not, hopefully not seeing what they want to see. Seeing what they. But. But what happens if he's not good anymore?
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Dan Durkin
Yeah, huge problem. And, and I agree with you about Nishan Wright letting him walk $5.5 million. They could have probably found that money. But if you look at the, the totality of his work, that guy got picked on a lot last year. That's why he had the opportunities to pick offs kud. He made the plays. But I think that he was more of a byproduct of what Al Harris preaches out there.
- [28:28]
Dan Bernstein
You.
- [28:28]
Dan Durkin
You remember him from when he was packers gambler, but, man, was he. I used to watch him pick six the Bears and just be like, God, he did it again. You know, like you, like just. He's that guy. I think that he. He basically teaches route pattern recognition, so if he finds the right archetype that he can work with, he's going to be able to find the next Nishan, right? Maybe Zap Frazier is that guy. You know, same. He. He definitely has a prototype. Longer arms, guys that compress, they can turn their hips, get down the field, make plays in the ball. You. You know that they clearly have like, like a prototype person that they're looking at in those. But I do agree with you that, like, when Jalen is on, he is as good as it gets. You need that guy that can be kind of like the Lattimore player that they need or like, you know, the Champ Baileys of the. The like or the Pat Certans. If you can take away one half of the field with one person. Dennis Allen loves to get creative with his secondary. When it comes to blitz packages, then
- [29:20]
Dan Bernstein
Kyler Gordon can be standing on top of the quarterback?
- [29:22]
Dan Durkin
Yes. Like, like from, from my perspective, like Kyler's still their, their, their biggest asset on the defensive side. I, I think he's phenomenal when he's healthy just because he can do so much. He can defend the two way go from the slot. He's a willing tackle and run support. He's an excellent blitzer. He's got a nose for the ball, he hits hard. So I think that if he's to form and Jalen's deform, now you're cooking. But I think it's that other corner that they're, that they really needs to find an additional person. So I think that you, you would be smart to draft somebody and then you know, Zaha a year to, to get himself acclimated. Now he's going to be in the mix six and Tyreek Stevenson. So up and down, you know, like there's times when you look at the guy like man, that dude can play. But then other times you're just like, man, where's this kid's head at? So I think there's still maturity and like consistency issues that I have with him. But no, I do agree with you. Speed is the concern that I have with that secondary. Still think about like Christian Watson and like just torches Aman Rod just torching them on those crosses over the middle that all just spoke to number one. You know, like they'd run those option routes and get guys were in trailing position all the time. So I think speed in the back end is definitely concerned. You know, that's why you get people like Devin Bush. But, but adding another piece at the cornerback position and Jalen coming back to form I think will fortify that a little bit. But it comes back to the same type of thing. If you can't get pressure, those guys aren't going to be able to cover for five seconds. And so like the Russian coverage always works in tandem. So it's, it's amazing to see a team that made as many strides as they did last year have still so many holes on this roster. And so I think that they're, they're, they're in a great spot in terms of trajectory and now they're like a place where people probably want to come and play given like the, the climate and the culture that, that Ben's created. But big, big pressure on them to get this draft right. Just because I think Kobe Bryant's going to step in. Bush will step in as day one starters, but beyond that there were just a bunch of dudes that they added to the roster.
- [31:10]
Dan Bernstein
Last thing for you, always appreciate your time, and that is that I've. When it comes to schematics and your job as you're a film watcher, you do it for the athletic, and you are. You've always had this uncanny ability to be able to sniff out a play based on tendency information. When you watch an offense and you can, and you see it, you. You look at the personnel and you can say, and I've seen you do it where you say, this, this is going here, this is going there. This is an rpo. This is. It's a zone run. Right? And whether it was Trustman or Nege that made that job easy, you were doing sort of the Tony Romo kind of parlor trick before Tony Romo was doing it. There's stories about you in the press box calling out plays. How good is Ben Johnson if he's making you unable to do that? If you can, if you can kind of see. Oh. Or if. Even if you're a beat behind with that ability, Is that why you're like, okay, this. If this guy's fooling me sometimes he's really good.
- [32:17]
Dan Durkin
Oh, yeah. I mean, I've been advocating for him to be a head coach, I think, since 2023. You know, like, I just, I, I saw this guy call plays and I would, I would break down. When the Bears are playing the lines, I'm like, man of the Bears gonna have their hands full this week because the, the, the biggest, I think, differentiator between Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVeigh and Ben Johnson, I'm going to lump him into that category is you make plays look the same for like the first two seconds to where now you're messing with people's keys to where like a linebacker is now triggering is like, oh, I saw this earlier. I know that this is a run going off the C gap. I'm firing now. And then next thing you know, quarterbacks pulling the ball and then the tight end slipping right behind where. Where the, the linebacker just vacated. And so I think that he has such a. I don't know if it's memory or maybe he has somebody within their analytics team that basically says, hey, the last time you were at the 30 to 45, you ran this from this formation. So you might want to consider the variant that you have off of this. They call it bucketing concepts to where it's like you have a concept in there and then you have a play action variant that is off of that. So, hey, show that same look where you're going to run power off, but then have a tight end coming across or dragging across. Like he just has always had that ability to do that. But it does come back to the tight end position and the importance there where I think that when they run 12 to where you're giving the illusion of we're going to run the ball but we can throw from it. That's why I mentioned what I did with Colston Loveland. He's such an important piece, just like Sam Laporta was such an important piece of that offense to where we're going to fake the ball to Jameer Gibbs, who isn't going to bite if they think Jameer Gibbs is going to get the ball. Now all of a sudden you have a fast tight end streaking between the void of the linebackers and the safeties that once he gets the ball in his hands, he can go think about what, what loved. And against the Bengals where like bounces off that guy and next thing you know, like you've got cornerbacks that can't catch this guy in the open field. So I think it comes back to two things. Number one, understanding what he has called earlier in the game to, to self scout know their own tendencies. I think he's got some sort of like checklist where he's like, I ran this here and this scenario, you know
- [34:21]
Dan Bernstein
what that reminds me of it. You know what I'm hearing when you describe all that? That's the way a great pitcher and catcher call a game.
- [34:29]
Dan Durkin
Sure.
- [34:30]
Dan Bernstein
When you talk about bucketing and I hear tunneling and start thinking about eye levels and saying last time you had a three, two count same situation and you threw a cutter under the hands and now you want to show him something that that might be a change up that starts out the same way, that falls underneath it goes the opposite direction. It's the same kind of mentality in memory knowing this guy at this time saw this, but not this for sure
- [34:56]
Dan Durkin
because I mean not, not to take up more but like basically when a defensive team comes in and prepares, they. They cut off like they do it in periods. Third and short, third and long goal line. So like they're basically saying these are the plays we have seen this team run in these particular scenarios. I think his ability to self scout and understand. I'm getting a little bit predictable with this call in this scenario. So I need to build some sort of variance off it. I think he's elite in that. And that's what separates the average play callers from the. The ones that truly can, you know, go out there and hang 35 on you any weekend.
- [35:27]
Dan Bernstein
Always love talking. Dan Durkin, thanks so much.
- [35:30]
Dan Durkin
Yep, take care.
- [35:32]
Dan Bernstein
That is Dan Durkin of the Athletic. He all, every time I talk to him again get, I get ready to go turn on a Bears game and we got to wait too long for the Bears game. There is a, a note that I on which I have to follow up because forward progress here was the only space where you got the deep dive that you got about the story of Caleb Williams trying to trademark Iceman. And, and I know that you have, have circled this. You sent me this and I got it where I told you, I told you. People hate that. They hate those words. But thanks to the, the, the lawyers with whom I discussed this, I said, you know, George Gervin, if he wanted to, because of his right of publicity, that George Gervin, the original Iceman, could oppose the trademark application filed by Caleb Williams for Iceman. Now it appears that Gervin has filed a competing application and there may be a ruling in, in the governmental office on either one of those applications for Iceman being approved. But then either one of them could file an opposition within 30 days. But George Gervin, he went and did what we said he could possibly do. He said, I'm really the Iceman in sports. And, and credit to Patrick Finley from the Sun Times for tracking him down, who has also been a guest in this space multiple times. But if Williams gets the trademark, Gervin is going to file that opposition 12 time all star, seven time all NBA guy. You know, the poster of it saying Iceman that actually did happen. I was also reading that there might be something on the, the books that had been filed as of 2023 by Chuck the Iceman Liddell, which may complicate this entire thing as well. Also, I would look for the Bears potentially to oppose that bear claw logo that Caleb Williams had in there. And boy, we got an argument in this house. My kid is like, yeah, let the, let the young guy have it, man. No one knows who George Gervin is. No one's heard of him. You old. Well, yeah, people have. And George has a right to some of this stuff if he wants it because of his right of publicity that was established earlier and we'll find out. So we'll keep watching it. But I just want to make sure that as much as I bored you to tears with my deep dive on trademark and copyright law regarding Caleb Williams, the Bears, George Gervin, Jerry Iceman Butler, Chuck Liddell, and Iceman. This is a story that we will absolutely, of course, continue following to make sure Forward Progress is the place where you can find that out amid everything else about your Chicago Bears. Thanks for being with me all week. I know we've done some other different things. There's been some solo stuff, Matty's back and the band is going to be back together on Monday. But this is Forward Progress, a Chicago Bears podcast on 312 Sports progress is stopped.
- [38:54]
Dan Durkin
Forward Progress a Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abeticola on 312
- [39:02]
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