Chicago Bears won't play in Spain, Germany, or Hammond in 2026

Summary

Forward Progress - A Chicago Bears Podcast

Episode: Chicago Bears won't play in Spain, Germany, or Hammond in 2026
Date: May 13, 2026
Hosts: Dan Bernstein & Matt Abbatacola

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Episode Overview

This episode explores two major themes:

• The Chicago Bears’ draft and defensive line strategy, specifically the controversial lack of investment in defensive line talent and the coaching staff’s assertion that “we just need to coach them better.”
• The release of the NFL’s 2026 international games schedule, highlighting that the Bears will not play in Spain, Germany, or elsewhere abroad next season.

Dan and Matt bring their trademark mix of deep-dive analysis and Bears fan passion, challenging the organization’s narrative and placing the moves within the larger context of NFL decision-making and fan perception.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Bears Defensive Line and Draft: Concerns and Critique

• Mailbag Mindset:
  The show opens with Dan discussing the importance of media mailbags, particularly how the questions chosen reveal the most pressing concerns among fans and reporters.
  “That's the biggest decision made in a mailbag... It's important that you hear what I have to say about this.” (01:49, Dan Bernstein)

• Coaching vs. Talent (02:49 – 06:49):
  Addressing a fan question relayed by Brad Biggs about the lack of defensive line upgrades, the hosts debate whether Bears leadership genuinely believe "just coaching them better" will solve the issue or if they're deflecting.

  • Dan points out the supposed shift from “we have a defensive line problem” to “the issue is coaching.”
  • Matt questions when (if ever) the Bears coaches actually criticized the D-line publicly, concluding that concerns were driven more by outside observers than the team itself.
  • The Bears' answer: They drafted Dylan Thienaman at #25 because they saw him as a more impactful player than any available edge rushers.

• Skepticism About “Coaching Them Better”:
  Matt and Dan express exasperation at vague coaching solutions:
  "You can't just let them blithely mention 'that'll be fine, we're going to coach them better.'..." (06:04, Dan Bernstein)
  Matt presses for concrete examples of what was poorly coached and how it will be fixed, likening public statements to empty platitudes.

• The Blame Game (06:49 – 10:29):
  The hosts analyze the logic behind shifting blame from players to coaches and discuss the implied safety net:

  • If defensive issues persist, are coaches at risk?
  • Or will the blame cycle back to the players?
  • Notable exchange:
    • "Last year we have the regular coaching, but this year we got out our... best coaching." (07:39, Dan Bernstein, sarcastic)
    • "If you said now that you're going to coach them more and you still don't get the outcomes you want, are you the right coaches to be coaching them better?" (18:52, Matt Abbatacola)

• Offense as a Distraction (10:00 – 11:40):
  Both agree the Bears seem to be betting on offensive firepower outpacing defensive weaknesses, drawing a parallel to analytics in baseball ('run prevention' vs. 'run scoring'):
  “No one will care if they win the Super Bowl, 51-49.” (11:40, Dan Bernstein)

• Best Player Available vs. Need (12:46 – 16:12):
  Dan reads Brad Biggs’ extended quote from Lions GM Brad Holmes about the dangers of "chasing needs" in the draft.
  The hosts note, however, that need must sometimes be addressed and other avenues exist beyond the draft (i.e., free agency, trades), which the Bears have also not pursued for the defensive line.
  "You didn't address it at all." (14:45, Dan Bernstein)

• Possible Future Moves? (16:34 – 19:18):
  The mailbag also touched on potential trades or veteran signings (like Cam Jordan or Kayvon Thibodeaux) – Brad Biggs downplays the likelihood of any forthcoming moves.
  Dan and Matt remain unconvinced:
  "What basic fundamental stuff do these guys...needed to know that they didn't know?" (17:49, Matt Abbatacola)

• If “Coaching Harder” Fails:
  The risk highlighted: persistent issues will “cost people jobs” if the defensive performance doesn’t improve given the Bears’ difficult schedule. (19:55+, Matt Abbatacola)

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2. NFL International Games & 2026 Schedule

• NFL International Slate Revealed (20:27 – 24:14):
  Matt runs through the 2026 international games – with stops in Australia (Niners vs. Rams), Brazil (Cowboys vs. Ravens), London (Colts/Commanders, Eagles/Jags, Texans/Jags), Paris (Steelers/Saints), Madrid (Bengals/Falcons), Munich (Patriots/Lions), and Mexico City (Vikings/49ers).

  • Bears fans hoping for a game in Spain, Germany, or elsewhere are out of luck.

• Quick Quips:
  "Falcons, Bengals. What did the Spaniards do to deserve that?" (22:49, Dan Bernstein)

• Interest in Schedule Release (24:14 – 26:11):
  The hosts preview a special live Forward Progress episode for the schedule release, promising game-by-game predictions and a fan-centric approach for travel planning.

  • Noting the impact of rising flight costs ("...flights got real expensive when the old Straits of Hormuz closed." (25:02, Dan Bernstein))
  • Matt jokes about "Spirit Airlines shutting down" and the prospect of packing fans in the cargo hold.

• Primetime and Late-Night Bears Games:
  Dan expects more night games and, by extension, late-night postgame pods to keep the fan conversation lively.

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3. Bonus: The Popeye Tangent

• Popeye, Navy or Not? (28:56 – 35:24):
  In a light-hearted detour, Dan and Matt debate whether the cartoon character Popeye is actually a one-eyed Navy veteran or just a squinty sailor.
  • Research confirms Popeye is “squinty,” not truly one-eyed, and wasn’t officially in the Navy.
  • The tangent leads to quick-fire jokes about Bushwick Bill, Abraham Lincoln’s naval secretary, and whether Popeye should have worn an eyepatch:
    • "If you lose your eye while you're out on the high seas, you wear an eye patch." (31:13, Dan Bernstein)
    • "Popeye was just squinty." (35:15, Matt Abbatacola)

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Notable Quotes

• On Bears’ Defensive Line “Coaching”:

  • Dan Bernstein (06:04): "You can't just let them blithely mention 'that'll be fine, we're going to coach them better'... Give me any concrete example."

• On Risk of Not Addressing Needs:

  • Matt Abbatacola (18:52): "If you said now that you're going to coach them more and you still don't get the outcomes you want, are you the right coaches to be coaching them better?"

• On Offense Covering for Defense:

  • Dan Bernstein (11:40): "No one will care if they win the Super Bowl, 51-49."

• On International Schedule:

  • Dan Bernstein (22:49): "Falcons, Bengals. What did the Spaniards do to deserve that?"

• On the Bears’ Reluctance to Add Defensive Talent:

  • Dan Bernstein (14:45): "You didn't address [the defensive line] at all."

• On the Circular “Coach Them Better” Logic:

  • Matt Abbatacola (33:33): "...if you get the outcome that you want by coaching better, why weren't you coaching in the first f---ing year then?"

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |-------------------------------------------------------------|------------| | Opening Mailbag & Draft Discussion | 01:49–12:46| | “Coach Them Better” Debate | 06:04–12:46| | Offense Outshining Defensive Concerns | 10:00–11:40| | Addressing vs. Not Addressing Defensive Needs | 12:46–16:12| | Free Agency/Trade Possibilities for Defensive Line | 16:34–19:18| | Consequences if “Coaching” Doesn’t Work | 19:18–20:13| | NFL International Games 2026 Overview | 20:27–24:14| | Schedule Release/Primetime Predictions | 24:14–27:12| | Popeye (Squint or One-Eyed Navy Hero) Segment | 28:56–35:24|

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Tone and Style

The episode struck a balance between technical analysis and playful banter—a style familiar to Bears diehards. Dan and Matt’s candid skepticism toward Bears’ official narratives carried through in both language and tone, laced with moments of humor and occasional salty language. Their conversational style kept things lively while still sharply interrogating the team’s decisions.

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Summary Takeaways

• The Bears' inattention to their defensive front—both in the draft and in external acquisitions—is fueling fan anxiety.
• The coaching staff’s tactic of declaring the solution is simply to “coach them better” is met with skepticism and demands for specifics from the hosts.
• With a seemingly more difficult schedule and little help added on defense, this year could test both the staff’s mettle and the front office’s philosophy.
• The 2026 international NFL schedule will not include the Bears, dampening overseas fan hopes but fueling speculation about future matchups.
• As always, the show is as much about unfiltered fan emotion as inside-football detail, with a side serving of pop-culture tangents (Popeye, Bushwick Bill, and beyond).

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For Next Time

Tune in for the live schedule release special, where Dan and Matt promise instant, if not ironclad, predictions for the Bears’ 2026 season outlook.

Transcript

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[Dan Bernstein]

I mean, if you're a Bears fan, you're thinking Forward Progress. Come on.

[Matt Abeticola]

Forward Progress A Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abeticola on 312 sports.

[Dan Bernstein]

You are officially awarded 4 progress here on 312 sports. And you know that I love a good Bears mailbag and I always tell you, don't miss them, because that's where we can figure out what's top of mind on the for the writers who cover the Bears, those who are there every single day, not necessarily by just the answers, but by the questions that they choose to answer. That's the biggest decision made in a mailbag. As someone who's done mailbag episodes of podcasts before, and that is by hand saying, I want to answer this, I want to answer that. It's important that you hear what I have to say about this. And sometimes it's done as a representation of the total volume of questions that are being received. Would you agree?

[Matt Abeticola]

Are you asking me or the audience?

[Dan Bernstein]

It was not rhetorical. I'm actually asking you,

[Matt Abeticola]

can you repeat the question?

[Dan Bernstein]

Wait for the answer. So here's the first question that Brad Biggs chose to answer, and the reason it's interesting is that he doesn't answer it. The question is this, and it's from RG Bears 69. Can you help explain how Bears leadership went from the defensive line being an issue pre draft to to now? We need to coach better. It's somewhat concerning for fans after not addressing this during the draft. First of all, I don't know who RG bears69 is, but I like the question and I like leading because for me it's the second question or the second part of the question. How the defensive line, whether it's an issue or not, how do they go to we need to just coach them better.

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, let me ask you this there, pal. When refresh my memory. When did the coaching staff or Ben Johnson specifically say or give any criticism of the defensive line after the season? Before the draft?

[Dan Bernstein]

They didn't. Really.

[Matt Abeticola]

They didn't. Yes, they did. That.

[Dan Bernstein]

That was an. You're right to point that out. That was an outside concern, not an inside concern because they have been telling us everything is fine and as you've noted multiple times, they've been saying all the individual players had good yes, and

[Matt Abeticola]

that even the players that got hurt were on the right path to be being better.

[Dan Bernstein]

Even though it's we don't know that that's true and you have to take them at their word. So the response from Brad Biggs is fair question. And based on the consistent questions coming in for every mailbag about the defensive line, I have a feeling it's a topic that won't go away anytime soon. Said what the Bears have told you without directly saying it is. They believe Dylan Thienaman will be a more impactful player and check more boxes than the edge rushers who were available at number 25. So that's basically his answer. And he quotes Lions GM Brad Holmes about the idea of drafting for need and not wanting to chase what happened last season. He said you can get in trouble chasing, then you're depending on a rookie and nobody has a crystal ball, etc. And then big says needs change faster than you think. In the NFL, what looks like a luxury pick today could be a player at a position of need before too long. I'm guessing this won't ease anyone's concerns about the defensive line or the pass rush, but the Bears said they were entering the draft looking for the best players they could find. It just so happened things didn't align for a defensive lineman until they traded up in round six. Okay, but you didn't answer the part about we have to coach them better, right? Because to me that is its own separate subject. Because you can't just let them Blithely mention. That'll be fine. We're going to coach them better because there are still other questions then to be asked. Who didn't you coach well enough at what

[Matt Abeticola]

and why? Why is a good question.

[Dan Bernstein]

And how do you know? Pick anything. Say we didn't coach Dio Odengbo enough on his pad level. We didn't coach Javon Dexter well enough on his get off. We didn't coach Montez sweat well enough on his counter moves in his hand placement or tackle and stunts like anything. Give me any concrete example. Dennis Allen said it the other day. We identified that the problem was me. What was the problem? When, with whom? Because unless some of that stuff, unless we can know some of that stuff and maybe, maybe it's real, maybe it's not, but until we can, I'm dubious about the whole thing.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, and you should be. And I think, I think they might be thinking that their offense is going to score a lot of lot of

[Dan Bernstein]

points and it will.

[Matt Abeticola]

And if their offense scores a lot of points, they're going to be in or compete or win a lot of games. Therefore, if the defense still struggles or puts up lackluster numbers that in that really receives a lot of criticism outside the organization, you can't blame it on the players. Then like I think they're, they're taking a lot of accountability off the players and putting it all in the coaches. So now what happens if you, if the coaches don't come through where the guys don't perform better? Well, the reason why they didn't perform better is because you didn't coach them good enough even though you said you were going to, but that was the problem. Or does it flip and say, yeah, the players just aren't good enough?

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, I, I gave them the best coaching I could.

[Matt Abeticola]

Right, but they're not going to do that though.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, this year I gave them the extra special coaching. Last year we have the regular coaching, but this year we got out our. We. We decided that they were worth our, our best coaching and they still were bad. That means they're bad.

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[Matt Abeticola]

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[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, I don't know if they just, if they just worded it incorrectly and I don't, I don't know, but I just, I don't like the way any of this smells.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's just not good. No. Because it kind of makes you think that they know it's not not great, but they don't really care.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. Because they're going to score 30 points a game.

[Dan Bernstein]

I guess that's the point you were making, right?

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Wasn't that what you were saying? That maybe like. Oh yeah, they're asking like, fine, we will tell everybody. Yeah, it'll be better. It'll be better. And then internally, like, it's not going to be any better. It's not really going to matter because we, they, you know, a 42 to 40 win counts just as much.

[Matt Abeticola]

No, I, I really think, I, I think they really believe when Ryan poll said if they can just get the opposing quarterback to hold the ball a Little bit longer. I really think that's what they're hoping happens, that improving their. Their. The back end of their defense, improving their secondary by getting Dylan Thienam in and having Malik Muhammad come in and compete and push and be a part of it, and with Kobe Bryant now at the other safety, that that's going to be so much better in the back end, that quarterbacks are going to hold the ball a little bit longer, therefore making the guys they didn't coach well enough look better, even though they aren't better.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's what he said.

[Matt Abeticola]

That's what he said. I think that's what they're hoping on. And they hope that by doing that enough, because you remember, Dan, we talked about this, that they basically could give up three touchdowns in a field goal and still win the games. Mm.

[Dan Bernstein]

I mean, you're not going to shut everybody out, right?

[Matt Abeticola]

You're not going to. But they also felt, yes, and this was proven out in the numbers last year, they could give up 24 points and still win games. So they're just hoping, hey, maybe we. Instead of 24, maybe we give up 20, maybe we give up 21. We know we're going to score more than that.

[Dan Bernstein]

And they can't say is possible that internally they're like, yeah, forget defense. We're not really all that concerned with it. And it's sort of like we talk about in baseball with run prevention versus run scoring and just putting the puzzle together. Maybe internally they've put the puzzle together and it just doesn't mean as much to them. And. And they know that no one will care if they win the Super Bowl, 51 to 49.

[Matt Abeticola]

Right. No one's going to care, Dan. And they showed it that they don't care because who. What do they take in their first two picks of the draft?

[Dan Bernstein]

Right. And I. That's.

[Matt Abeticola]

They didn't address. They didn't address their weakest need. Right. In football that every again, if it was just me or you screaming, defensive line, edge, rusher, pass rush, quarterback pressure, people could dismiss the two idiots. It was every single person outside of the Bears organization saying the same thing.

[Dan Bernstein]

And that's why it's interesting that Brad Biggs is sort of running interference for them here.

[Matt Abeticola]

And that's why they picked the safety. They picked the tight end. They picked a wide receiver.

[Dan Bernstein]

So here is what. Let me just read you, when you bring that up, this is the quote that Biggs decided to include. This is. He writes Detroit Lions GM Brad Holmes had some interesting comments on the topic when chatting with Detroit media a year ago. Okay, okay. I sometimes don't understand the need thing because when each season ends, it's going to be something else. Another player's contract is going to end. Another player, unfortunately, may be coming off an injury. It's going to be something different every single off season. So if you're trying to chase what happened last season of, oh, man, this guy. Contract is ending. If you're trying to chase, oh, this guy's injured, you're just getting into a cycle that I think is a little bit dangerous to get into. That's why I've been more of a Just get the best player. We make these picks for future investments. I know we live in a society where everything is right now, boom. Right now, right now, right now, right now. And I understand it, too, from when a player gets drafted and so much fascination is made about the draft. People are excited about it. People want to see it right now. They don't want to be patient. I think you can get in trouble chasing needs sometimes. Then you're depending on a rookie. You do the best you can, but nobody has a crystal ball. That was the GM of the Lions, Brad Holmes. And that's three paragraphs that Biggs used as his answer to that question. Without addressing the whole coach him harder thing.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, yeah. I don't. Oh, and let me correct myself. The safety. Safety, tight end, center.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right.

[Matt Abeticola]

Isn't that what they went? Yeah,

[Dan Bernstein]

no. Safety, center, tight end, safety, center, tight end. Yeah,

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. But. But still, I mean, you. You didn't address the weakest part of your roster, even in your first four picks.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, no, that isn't. That isn't it. You didn't address it at all. Like, I understand using that quote to talk about the draft.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, I mean, he said they addressed it by moving up in the sixth round to get a guy that's probably not going to be on your roster.

[Dan Bernstein]

Come on.

[Matt Abeticola]

I mean, come on.

[Dan Bernstein]

That.

[Matt Abeticola]

So it wasn't addressed at all. You're right.

[Dan Bernstein]

But that's just the draft.

[Matt Abeticola]

Right. And then. And then you bring in a bunch of rotational bodies, a tackle, and no one at edge.

[Dan Bernstein]

Not even a look at. Not even a free look at somebody. Nothing. Like, I. That's where I. I don't understand why you're going this far out of your way to cover for the team when. Okay, sure. Even if I grant you, all right, that's how you look at the draft. Fine. There are other ways to get players. There are other ways to shore up parts of your team that's almost like saying you don't worry about need. Well, if you're not, that's a thin portion of the argument to say the draft is not where you address needs. It's not a way of saying never address needs at all.

[Matt Abeticola]

Right. You have to address needs.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right. Because ideally that is a place where your team can be improved. With everything you say about competition, every position, improving every position, we'll just coach him better. I think was a mistake to say

[Matt Abeticola]

I do too, I think. And, and I, and I don't know how to take the next few steps with it and see how it plays out. We'll just have to wait and see where it goes. But I know. I just, I don't like it. I don't, I don't like it. I don't like the fact that they didn't address through a younger, better, more athletic player. They didn't address edge or defensive line.

[Dan Bernstein]

Now there's another question later in the mailbag. Whether it's signing a veteran or making a trade for someone like Kayvon Thibodeau. Do you think the Bears make any additional moves along the defensive line and Big says no? He said, I don't see any moves happening right now. It could change. There are multiple questions in the mailbag every week about Cam Jordan. I imagine the Bears will be in evaluation mode. With veteran minicamp a few weeks away. We're going to need a little patience to see how the 90 man roster looks. I don't think this is the prime time for something to happen, so they need to evaluate Dio Odengbo and Shamar Turner when they're healthy to get an idea of what they have. Alongside Montez Sweat and Austin Booker, I don't see the Bears pivoting from the idea that coaches need to do a better job with the players they have instead of trading for a veteran or signing one off the street. What didn't they do well enough? If this is real and reasonable, if the coaches need to do a better job, by gum at what?

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, I mean I know Dennis Allen talked about he was too focused on the big picture and the schemes and different schemes each week possibly. Like what basic fundamental stuff do these guys on that roster last year needed to know that they didn't know who maybe Austin Booker. Could you have made Austin Booker better?

[Dan Bernstein]

Why wasn't Dio Dangbo good when you paid him all that money?

[Matt Abeticola]

Right? Why wait? Why, why, why sign a guy and pay him a lot of money to come in and then have to teach him the Basic bullshit of what to do about his job.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right. And now say, well we, we got to coach him better. Boy, we had a whole year and now he's hurt. And boy, now we realized, ah, we weren't coaching him hard enough. Come on. Yeah, I don't credulity at this point.

[Matt Abeticola]

It's very strange. Yeah. And again, this is something we can't answer until we see it play out. And we can say, yeah, I guess that they needed the coaching better. But then this is always going to bring up questions like if you get the outcome that you want by coaching better, why weren't you coaching in the first fucking year then?

[Dan Bernstein]

It was a mistake for them to say.

[Matt Abeticola]

And if you said now that you're going to coach them more and you still don't get the outcomes you want, are you the right coaches to be coaching them better? I just, yeah, I don't like it because it is, it just leads to more questions. Or it could just be as simple as internally we're going to score 40 points a game and if we win 40 to 35 and win 12 games and then win the division and go to the super bowl, no one's gonna give a what the scores are.

[Dan Bernstein]

And don't worry about these people, they're not even going to remember that this is a need after five or six games.

[Matt Abeticola]

Right.

[Dan Bernstein]

It is a risk.

[Matt Abeticola]

And if they win the super bowl, it's, we're never going to talk about it again. So I don't know now if they're one of those teams that takes a step back because it happens every year and they have the hardest schedule going into this season based on what the results were last year. And if they take that four game swing, Dan, And if the defense doesn't live up to it and play better,

[Dan Bernstein]

that's on the coaches, then that's going

[Matt Abeticola]

to cost people jobs.

[Dan Bernstein]

It might. And look, a year is an eternity. A season is an absolute eternity. I know, but sure. And you're always trying to upgrade your coaching staff and always trying to upgrade everywhere. And if that's what happens after next year because they take a step back.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Because of their first place schedule. It's now a harder first place schedule, then so be it. Speaking of schedules, we've got a lot of activity coming up in the next 48 hours.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. Let me, let me, let me tell you first what happened this morning. The NFL announced their international games, the nine international games they have. And so we finally have opponents. We know when they are. We know that week one in Melbourne, Australia. The 49ers will be taking on the LA Rams.

[Dan Bernstein]

What time of day does that start?

[Matt Abeticola]

Let's see. This is September. September 11th in Australia. It's September 10th in the U.S. dan.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

So I just wonder this, this one isn't. This isn't like going to Germany or something where we just got the. Six, seven hours later is going to mess some things up, I think.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. So that's, that's the first week. Australia, Niners and Rams. Week number three, the Cowboys will host the Baltimore Ravens and Diego Pavia, the starting quarterback in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. That's September 27th.

[Dan Bernstein]

So as of right now, it's 3:05am in Melbourne. So they're nine hours ahead.

[Matt Abeticola]

Ahead. No, they're more than nine.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, no, that's more than that. If it's 3:05aM yeah, right. Oh, geez. Okay, I can't even do this.

[Matt Abeticola]

That's like 15 hours, buddy.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, this is. That's too many hours. We're gonna have to figure out when we're gonna watch this game. Niners, Rams. Okay, well. Well, we'll make it work.

[Matt Abeticola]

All right. And then like I said, week three, Rio de Janeiro, Ravens and Cowboys. Weeks four through six in London, we have the Colts taking on the Commanders, the Eagles and the Jaguars, and then the Texans and the Jaguars.

[Dan Bernstein]

So the Bears will. We thought Spain was going to be a possibility for them this year, but apparently not. Yeah, Bears are not going.

[Matt Abeticola]

They are not. So we have week seven, the Steelers at the New Orleans Saints. That'll be in Paris, France. Week nine, this is the Spain game. Madrid, the Bengals at the Falcons. So that's your Madrid game. That speculation was Bears and maybe Dolphins, but it's Falcons and the Bengals. Week nine in Madrid.

[Dan Bernstein]

Falcons, Bengals. What did, what did the Spaniards do to deserve that? What do you mean?

[Matt Abeticola]

Bengals are looking for a bounce back year, Dan.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, I know, but that's just something about those teams on the. It's not exactly powerful NFL brands.

[Matt Abeticola]

What? The Falcons, they can market Michael Pennix and Tua.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, great.

[Matt Abeticola]

It'll be fun.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't know because as far as Q rating for me, not high on

[Matt Abeticola]

my list, week number 10, Munich, Germany will be the Patriots and the Lions.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Matt Abeticola]

And then the final international game in Mexico City. The Vikings will take on the 49ers in week 11.

[Dan Bernstein]

A lot of, A lot of hot Niners international action. Is that right?

[Matt Abeticola]

Niners action. Two games.

[Dan Bernstein]

Two.

[Matt Abeticola]

Two games for the Niners, two games for the Jaguars. But they're in London. Back to back week. So they'll be able to stay there and chill and then that is it with multiple games, right?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. But the big thing, the big news has to do with the actual release of the full schedule and the. The social media hullabaloo that will occur thereafter with all of these teams designing their snarky animations and their various symbolisms to take potshots of their opponents.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, that'll be. Tomorrow night at 7 o', clock, the NFL will release the. The full schedule and we'll have a live forward progress for you. I can't guarantee it'll be professional or informative.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, it's going to be informative because we are going to. We're going to give you the winner of every game. We're going to determine the future of the Chicago Bears in one podcast, one live podcast on YouTube. We're going to take one look at that schedule and know exactly what's going to happen.

[Matt Abeticola]

All right, now you just. You just set the standard for the show tomorrow.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, you better believe it.

[Matt Abeticola]

All right, so it will be informative. It may not be entertaining, but it will be here. So we're going to have a live. A special live for forward progress in conjunction with the release of the Bears schedule for the 2026 season.

[Dan Bernstein]

We will have it. We're going to know when and where. And then if you. There are plenty of fans who will look at the road schedule and try to find that date and get online immediately and start looking for tickets and hotels and flights because the flights got real expensive when the old Straits of Hormuz closed. And now to burn the fuel that moves the airplanes from place to place just got crazy expensive.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, I mean. Yeah. I mean, Spirit Airlines shut down because it was too expensive to fly planes. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, you're also not. You're also not allowed to pack people in the cargo hold. I think. I think that was.

[Matt Abeticola]

I want to do it, man. I think.

[Dan Bernstein]

I think it was frowned out of just stacking people and jumping up on down on top of them to pack them further.

[Matt Abeticola]

If you want to do it, you want to fly that way, you should have that, right?

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay. Yeah. It's a little cold and it's not pressurized under there, so you get a little bloated when you get up to like 33,000ft. Gets a little tight in the light of fire.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Light a campfire, some matches.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah. So, looking forward to tomorrow night, the NFL schedule is released for the Bears. We'll have that for you on a live forward progress you've heard that correctly. A special edition live Forward progress tomorrow evening with the release of the Bear schedule.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'm looking forward to it because I, you know, look, if it is did, what's the latest you're hearing about the possibility of it being the Seahawks and the Bears to start the season in some kind of standalone affair?

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, no, I mean the things I've been seeing lately around the NFL and different websites, various NFL insiders and reporters that it's not going to be a Bear Seahawks thing.

[Dan Bernstein]

So who knows?

[Matt Abeticola]

I mean, that could be completely. Maybe they're just trying to throw us off the trail.

[Dan Bernstein]

And my guess is that we're going to be working some late nights this year, that they're they're going to be a lot of our forward progress post game shows that are going to be at the conclusion of a featured night game.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, we did a lot last year.

[Dan Bernstein]

What do we do four last year? I don't know.

[Matt Abeticola]

There was a lot of late nights though. C.P.

[Dan Bernstein]

yeah, it's okay. But some of those got off the rails. I I didn't mind those shows and the people that stayed up and then watched it's hey man, that's all part of it.

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, nothing. Yeah, we never get off the rails here.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, not on Forward progress.

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[Dan Bernstein]

Speaking of which, so after our discussion yesterday about Popeye.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yes. The one eyed sailor.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay. And I, I never knew that he actually only had one eye.

[Matt Abeticola]

I didn't either.

[Dan Bernstein]

I thought he was just kind of squinty.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yep.

[Dan Bernstein]

So out of the blue, I asked Jason, do you know who Popeye is? Because he knows Popeyes the only way. I mean, he really grew up only knowing Popeyes Chicken.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

And he's like, oh, yeah, yeah. The, the, the one eyed Navy guy. And I said, why do you immediately say one eyed Navy guy, not the, like the sailor with his eyes closed? And he said, well, I just thought he had one eye. I thought that's why they called him Pop eye because he's got one eye that pops or an eye popped out or something like that.

[Matt Abeticola]

I had no idea he had one.

[Dan Bernstein]

I didn't either. So we didn't either when we heard that.

[Matt Abeticola]

But he did.

[Dan Bernstein]

And then I argued him. I said, why do you presume he was in the Navy? He said, because he's wearing a hat that says Navy on it. I said, I don't think he is.

[Matt Abeticola]

No, he didn't have a hat that said Navy. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

He had an anchor tattooed.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

But I don't think his hat said Navy on it. He's just a sailor man like you. You were making me yesterday. I was, I was disrespecting the, the veterans. There's nothing that says that he's a war hero or that he was a veteran.

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, I just, I just assumed he was a Navy guy. That's all. Because he's got a Navy outfit on.

[Dan Bernstein]

He is a sailing outfit on. That's not a uniform.

[Matt Abeticola]

But it looks more. Okay, all right, tell me that's not a sailor uniform.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes. Oh, okay. Well, that looks like a naval uniform.

[Matt Abeticola]

That's why I thought he was in the Navy.

[Dan Bernstein]

But that's not what. He didn't always wear that.

[Matt Abeticola]

No. And sometimes he wore this, which also looks like this dress blues of the Navy.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, it does not. That looks like he has jeans on. He just got out of his hammock from somewhere.

[Matt Abeticola]

You know.

[Dan Bernstein]

Come on. All right, this. But that other uniform maybe. But I did, I did have a sort of an anecdotal test just to see. And the first thing he said, one eye to sailor. All right. Well, that's, that was, that was news to me. I just thought he was kind of.

[Matt Abeticola]

I just thought he was squinty all the time.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's what I thought. And I do think if you lose your eye while you're out on the high seas, you wear an eye patch.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, he should have got an eye patch.

[Dan Bernstein]

You don't have. If you did indeed lose an eye to see things clearly. I didn't think I'd have to quote Bushwick Bill on this show that. That you. You get an eye patch, maybe you

[Matt Abeticola]

never saw the doctor. Maybe his eye fell out. He decided, I'm good.

[Dan Bernstein]

You don't need. Somebody on the. On the ship can hand you an eye patch. You don't need a prescription eye patch.

[Matt Abeticola]

How do you know? Maybe you do in the military.

[Dan Bernstein]

He wasn't in the military.

[Matt Abeticola]

But you don't know that for sure. And let's not do this again like we did yesterday. You can't just say things are truth without knowing for sure.

[Dan Bernstein]

Thank you. All right. Because I. I don't.

[Matt Abeticola]

That's definitely a Navy outfit, too, by the way.

[Dan Bernstein]

That one you showed me is definitely a Navy outfit. Yes, but it doesn't say, like, in what war he fought. Was he on, like, the Monitor or the Merrimac? Which one? Which was the Union one? Are we going to find out that he fought for the Confederacy and he was on the other ironclad?

[Matt Abeticola]

No, he wouldn't be dressed that. Plus, he would look a little dirtier, too. He would look as clean.

[Dan Bernstein]

Can you imagine the Confederate Navy? What? That was like a ragtag band of folks on that thing, right?

[Matt Abeticola]

Have the boats pulled by horses.

[Dan Bernstein]

This is the first ever ironclad. Who wants to give it a shot. Well, I guess I'll try it. I've been on a boat out there in the fishing hole. I think I could do something on this.

[Matt Abeticola]

I'm not sure if it floats, but. Go give it a. Go give it a try.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, and actually, I want to say Abraham Lincoln's naval secretary was the guy after whom Wells Park. Our. Our baseball program was named Gideon Wells. I. I'm pretty sure was in charge of Abraham Lincoln's naval forces.

[Matt Abeticola]

Interesting.

[Dan Bernstein]

There you go.

[Matt Abeticola]

I wonder if he was familiar with Popeye. Have they served at the same time?

[Dan Bernstein]

Maybe. Maybe they came up together. Maybe Popey was always.

[Matt Abeticola]

Poppy was much later.

[Dan Bernstein]

Maybe he was always bitter because he. He wasn't given, like, an under secretary role in the Gideon Wells Navy.

[Matt Abeticola]

Well, you know what? Let me. Let me see here.

[Dan Bernstein]

Maybe he thought he was entitled.

[Matt Abeticola]

Okay, so this is. This is Wikipedia about Popeye. Key characteristics. Appearance, squinty eye, pipe and mouth. And muscular forearms.

[Dan Bernstein]

Squinty eye.

[Matt Abeticola]

Not missing an eye. Missing eye. Right. Tenacious, wisecracking, loyal, though sometimes self centered. Eats a can of spinach to get a massive strength boost and a massive erection that lasts for more than four hours.

[Dan Bernstein]

And he had fatal taint. Swelling. That's actually how he died.

[Matt Abeticola]

People don't realize that I am.

[Dan Bernstein]

I am what I am. I'm taking Jardiance. And I've got Fournier's gangrene.

[Matt Abeticola]

Olive Oil. Was his flighty, lanky girlfriend Bluto or Brutus, his hulking rival for Olive's affection? Sweet Pea, his adopted baby son. He adopted a kid. And Wimpy is hamburger loving friend who famously says, I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today. So this is just saying that he was squinty.

[Dan Bernstein]

Correct.

[Matt Abeticola]

See, I don't think that's maybe Squinty

[Dan Bernstein]

the pirate or Squinty the Sailor was a different guy. I don't know. But again, this is another time where you. You're getting Popeye confused, perhaps with Bushwick Bill, which would have been way better if Bushwick Bill were inserted retroactively and retconned into the Popeye cartoons.

[Matt Abeticola]

Wait, the rapper Bushwick Bill?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes. He had to lose an eye to see things clearly.

[Matt Abeticola]

Oh, God.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yet ghetto boys. Yes. Right.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah, you're exactly right.

[Dan Bernstein]

I thought that was the case.

[Matt Abeticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

So you have him. You have Dick Vital and Sammy Davis Jr. See?

[Matt Abeticola]

No, that's him. He. He's definitely get lost an eye.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right.

[Matt Abeticola]

Popeye was just squinty.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's Bushwick Bill. I know who that is.

[Matt Abeticola]

That is not Popeye. Yes, that's Bushwick Bill.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right, Good. I'm glad we settled this.

[Matt Abeticola]

All right, whatever.

[Dan Bernstein]

I think we made some progress today. You know what? You know what I think? What kind? Forward. Progress. Nicely done.

[Matt Abeticola]

I'm going to close it off right now. I wasn't ready. Do it again. And what kind of progress did we make today?

[Dan Bernstein]

I forgot.

[Matt Abeticola]

I forgot. Progress.

[Dan Bernstein]

Forward. Progress. On three. One, two. Sports.

[Matt Abeticola]

Forward.

[Dan Bernstein]

Progress has stopped. 10, 2, 19. 219. Forward.

[Matt Abeticola]

Progress. A Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matabeticola. On three. One two. Sports.

[Pair of Thieves Announcer]

Everybody talked about it since I first moved to Oregon. The big one. The earthquake that trashed the whole West Coast. Total destruction.

[Dan Bernstein]

Officially calling it the largest natural disaster in America. American history.

[Pair of Thieves Announcer]

I just didn't know what would help me next. So I took it all. Even the gun. It was time.

[Dan Bernstein]

Cello American Afterlife, presented by Pair of Thieves. The number one fiction and drama podcast in America. Listen, wherever you get your favorite podcasts available now this summer.

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