← Forward Progress - A Chicago Bears Podcast
Forward Progress - A Chicago Bears Podcast
Chris Easterling, the Akron Beacon Journal - Chicago Bears | Cleveland Browns
00:48:16
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- [00:01]
A
I mean, if you're a Bears fan.
- [00:02]
B
You'Re thinking forward Progress. Come on.
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A
Forward Progress, a Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abanacola on 312 Sports.
- [00:24]
C
We give you Forward progress on 312 sports. It's a Chicago Bears podcast and you know that often on one thing we try to do is bring you an expert who covers the Bears upcoming opponent to give us information that you wouldn't otherwise get. So we are doing that today. Dan Bernstein, Matt Abaticola joined by Chris Easterling. You can follow Chris on Twitter and blueskyasterlingabj. The ABJ standing for the Akron Beacon Journal for which he covers the Cleveland Browns. And you can see all of that@beaconjournal. Dot Chris, how are you?
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B
Not too bad, fellas. How you guys doing?
- [01:08]
C
We're good. The question I always have about a team that is playing out the string that is eliminated from playoff contention, how hard are they playing?
- [01:22]
B
You know what, I think they're actually still playing hard because I think you have a lot of rookies on this team, a lot of guys who, who are trying to still make their name in the NFL. And so they know they have to play hard. They know they have to sort of play. They're playing for their livelihoods, really. And then you have veterans, guys like Joel Boutonio who only knows one way to play and that's play hard. You have Myles Garrett who, look, he's chasing, he's chasing history. So he's playing hard. And really I think that's something Kevin Stefanski for now, whether he stays or he goes after this year, I think that's up, that's still up in the air. But I think that's a hallmark of what his teams have been the last couple of years is they still play hard because they believe in Kevin and you still have that buy in from the players in the locker room toward him. So all in all, you know, they're still playing hard, but, you know, playing hard and playing in 13 degree temperatures, you know, that's two different things.
- [02:27]
A
You know, Chris, before we get into specifics on certain players for, for Cleveland this weekend, just taking a look at the, the injury report that came out yesterday, very lengthy for Cleveland. Notice a lot of offensive linemen, what's going on, offensive line speaking. And then overall for the injuries for the team.
- [02:43]
B
Well, the offensive line has been a, for lack of a better term, train wreck this season just because of injuries. This will be, they're guaranteed their ninth different starting line combination against Chicago because it's Just been. Because they lost Easton Postage, their veteran center, to the Achilles tear last week against Tennessee. It's just been a rotating mix. Jack Conklin, they can't stay healthy. They lost dejuan Jones, who they're trying to get him to play left tackle early in the season on a kind of a fluke play against Green Bay. You know, they may. Teller's dealing with a calf injury. Joel's battling back and knee injuries that he's trying to play through. He's. He's talking. I mean, we're going to find here out of here in about an hour about, you know, status, game status and all that stuff. But my guess is Betonio still plays because that's just Joel. But, you know, it's just been a mess and it's been a big reason why. This offense, for all the talk about the quarterback position, which I'm sure we'll get to the offensive line and the wide receiver is one of the two big areas where I don't know who you could have put back at quarterback to really help them succeed, because it's just been a revolving door at pretty much every spot up there because of injuries this season.
- [04:12]
C
Quinshon Judkins at running back was a guy I had on my list. I just loved the way that he's run and I thought where he was in this draft and I. I had no idea that Kyle Menungai was going to be of that value in the seventh round, of course, and had I known that, I might have reconsidered. But is he. What has been expected? Is he doing everything that. Because you start looking at some of the overall rushing number and they're not great. But you tell me everything that has been happening with the line and maybe there has to be some context in understanding his production.
- [04:49]
B
There's a whole lot of context when you look at Quinshon's numbers. Because, you know, I was talking to a colleague last week, it was the fourth quarter, and Quinshon had like 26 rushing yards. And we're like. That doesn't match with what we're seeing. We're watching him run and he runs hard. You know, you can see it's just the holes aren't there. The passing game is not. Teams are just loading the box because they don't trust the passing game. Now we'll see what Shadur's performance last week does in terms of changing that. And then, you know, he just hasn't been able to get those creases and he didn't have A training camp, you know, so there's just a whole bunch of things that are sort of surrounding Judkins that are kind of out of. Well, the training camp thing wasn't out of Judkin's control, but everything else is sort of out of Judkin's control that I think next year you can just see the talent, you can see the potential. It's just a matter of can they help him by putting people around him that allows that full potential to happen.
- [05:54]
A
You mentioned Shador Sanders, his performance last week and talking to a few people who have kept eyes on Sanders progression. They have said that he is progressing within the offense. What have you seen from his first start to where he is now going to this Bears game and will they get enough tape on him this year to determine if he is their guy being able to, to move forward?
- [06:17]
B
Well, they've named him the starter for the rest of the season. So that's going to end up being, let's see, seven starts, about 30 total quarters and he's going to have to turn that in. They're going to have to. It may be the most important seven starts this franchise has had in several years because if they feel comfortable with what they see out of him, that alters the off season program, the offseason plan because you don't necessarily have to go after Fernando Her, Mendoza or whatever, Dante Moore or a quarterback in the first round. You can use that to get the tackle to get the wide receiver to put people around him to help. Should do. You could go in with him kind of as QB1 for 26 and you can build around him and see hey can we what can we really get out of this young youngster? So and there's definitely there has been without question growth out of him throughout the course of those the four starts he's made already. You can see it. And the byproduct was, you know there's.
- [07:22]
C
Just so much has happened when it comes to the Browns and quarterbacks with the entire desean Watson saga and the money that was committed, the decisions ownership has made and yet here the team is with a really damn good defense and an all time great defensive player at the peak of his powers. It has to feel like such a missed opportunity like this. This defense isn't going to last to wait for the off to get good and just to lament it. Other teams have been through this before where one side of the ball is maybe playing like a championship level and the other side of the ball just can't get there Enough to make it matter. So how can the Browns maximize what they have? And does that mean shortcuts? Does it mean using the veteran free agent market or does it mean skipping steps when it comes to Sanders and his development saying, we're going to find whatever you can do that's comfortable to you, just to get the offense to a point where we're a much more competitive team.
- [08:30]
B
Well, the honest, in honesty, I think a lot of what Chadur does well fits within this offense, fits within kind of the Kevin Stefanski, Tommy Reese, Bill Musgrave type of offense. So. So to that end, I don't think they have to like skimp, you know, do a lot of, you know, finagling to the office. Now they're going to take advantage of some of Shador's strengths, more so than what they had with Dylan Gabriel or when they were running Joe Flacco out there. But no, I don't think, I think they understand that they need to get this right. Jimmy Haslam has said they need to get this right. And it's a multi year process and I think this is part of the process is, hey, is this the kid? You know, he said it in training camp. We need to see, we need to see these rookie quarterbacks. And now they're going to see these rookie quarterbacks. They've seen them. And it's going to be a question of is that enough to, you know, to, to be kind of the answer. Give you something solid to build on once you get in the off season.
- [09:38]
A
You know, talking about Myles Garrett, his performance so far this year, sitting on 20 sacks, two and a half from tying the record, three from breaking. He's had a five sack game, a four sack game, a three sack game. Within recent weeks, there were three games. I looked at his game log where he didn't register a sack. I think Minnesota, Detroit and Pittsburgh were the teams. What do you notice about what a team does to take him more out of the game plan and then when is he most effective as a pass rusher?
- [10:12]
B
Pittsburgh just knows him. I mean, and you know, Minnesota, I think there's some familiarity with Minnesota was a weird, I mean it was in London. It was. There were, there were two or three plays where he was, I mean a half second away from getting the wins and, and didn't get it on the ground. Detroit, I mean Detroit was one. I mean they did teams just well at Tennessee last week. They did a good job of running the football. When you run the football like the Bears do well, and when you don't take too much time to get rid of the football. You know, Jared Goff was quick releasing the ball. Cam Ward quick releasing, releasing the ball. Last week went the same way, you know, Aaron Rodgers in Pittsburgh. So I think a lot of it starts not with the, not with the offensive line, what they do blocking wise. I think it starts with the guy throwing the ball. And so if Caleb can get rid of the ball quick, that's a great way to neutralize. Neutralize Miles, because, you know, you see the same thing every week. I thought Lamar Jackson had a great line a couple weeks ago and they asked, what do you do to, how do you, how do you stop Miles here? And he goes, we need to throw all hands and objects that we have at him. I thought that throwing objects at him and I told Miles about that and he started chuckling pretty much.
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A
Well, I guess they didn't throw enough objects because he had a four sack game there against Baltimore. So.
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B
Yeah, well, Miles will even tell you that getting four sacks Lamar Jackson is, you know, he hasn't gotten too many clean hits on him over the, over their careers. So. So that, that, that's an outlier even, you know, maybe speaks more to the kind of season Lamar is having and to what the kind of season Miles is having this season.
- [12:01]
D
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- [12:31]
C
I made the mistake of watching a super cut of Myles Garrett highlights and some of the stuff he does. And just really, it starts with his body. That looking at the way he moves and you think of him, that there's no way somebody who weighs 275 pounds can have that kind of bend, that kind of quick twitch. The athleticism. The closest that I could compare him to this is, this is a very high compliment, but Julius Peppers is probably the closest thing I've seen to that kind of physical athletic marvel. And then you couple that with the savvy that he has in hand placement and understanding how to set up move combinations, it really is picking your poison. I mean, you can, I guess you could run at him, you know, and just keep running at Him. But that's not necessarily any fun either.
- [13:23]
B
No, because that's the thing. I think that's a vastly underrated part of Miles game is. And Kevin Stefanski, Jim Schwartz were all saying. I said he's outstanding against the run. I mean, he is great at shedding blockers. Get. I mean, he's. He's not just chasing the sack record, he's chasing the tackles for loss record.
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C
Oh, I didn't know that.
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A
Oh, wow.
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C
He's. Who holds that.
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B
Almost said T.J. watt. J.J. watt. Okay, 39. I think Miles is at 28 right now.
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A
Oh, wow.
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B
29. So, I mean, it would take. It would take, you know, a heck of a last four games, but. But he is certainly going to probably end the season with the second most tackles for loss in a single season. So, I mean, he's just been. I mean, that's the sort of season we're talking about. And like you said, it's sort of being. I mean, it's literally, legitimately an MVP kind of season. But he's on the 3 and 10 football team. And that's. I mean, like you say, it's like how many. He's going to be 30 here in a couple of weeks. How much. How many more of these kind of years do you get out of a guy like Miles? Because, like you say, the physical attributes, it's such a. He's such a freakazoid. I mean, it's a mutant. This is the word. I think I would. I would use that. I mean, it's amazing. I mean, it really is amazing. Because you'll say, I've never seen something like that. And then the next. And then the next week, he'll do something. You go, I've never seen something like that. I mean, he is, He's a. He's. He's an amazing player to watch and to see him in person. He's the second best Cleveland athlete I've ever watched with my own eyes. And the only other one, maybe the greatest bat. Well, I know I'm on a Chicago station, so.
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C
No, no, no, you can say it.
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A
Yeah, you can say it.
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B
One of the two greatest players in the history of. The history of basketball.
- [15:20]
C
No, LeBron James is the greatest player in the history of basketball. And it's. It's not even close, frankly. I've been saying that for longer than. Than you might even think. But no, no worries. At least in front of me. I think. I think it's. It is a settled question that LeBron James is. Is by a mile, the Best basketball player ever, so don't worry about that.
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B
I. I'm of the age where I remember Mike doing things to the, to some of those. Harper, Price, Nance, Harper.
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A
Don't forget Elo.
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B
How could I ever.
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A
Craig Elo hasn't forgotten, that's for sure.
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B
No, he hasn't.
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A
Hey, talking about. About Sanders. Just, just a bit more we've talked about the last couple days. What, what's the. As far as what's the best approach for the Bears defense? Do they sit back in a zone, let him try to throw the ball? Do they try to get after him with the blitz? From what you've seen in his progression over the last couple of weeks, and he is playing more in a rhythm and more in the timing of Stefanski's offense, what would you do as a defensive coordinator, from what you've seen of, of Sanders? Do you sit back, make him throw the ball, or do you try to get after him and pressure him, dent the pocket, make him move and think?
- [16:38]
B
I think a little bit of both. I think you kind of mix it up. I think keep him on his toes is probably the best way to do it because, you know, he's incredibly intelligent. You know, he has a high football IQ and everything. He's just learning the NFL offense and learning NFL defenses. And I think if you give him a chance to see it and see it a couple times, he'll figure it out. But I think so you have to mix it up. You know, a lot of the conversation this week about facing the Bears with him was the interceptions, you know, the number of interceptions the Bears have been able to get and, you know, protecting the football. So, you know, I'm going to be curious, you know, can you sort of, you know, delay blitzes, you know, make him think. Make him think quicker, accelerate the clock in his head, probably is the best way to do it because that's where you get him to make the, you know, try to force something, and that's where you can get the turnovers that, you know, change the game.
- [17:40]
C
My experience around rookie quarterbacks or young quarterbacks is they tend, whether they know they're doing it or not, they start tending to look for a favored receiver and they have. I think Ben Johnson referred to Roma Dunes as Caleb Williams is blankie. And that was a term that I used before. There's a comfort guy that you try to find rather than making the right read. You're like, where is he? Maybe you give him an extra second to come open. Does that guy exist on the Browns.
- [18:08]
B
Yet Harold Fannin Jr. Probably. I mean if I had to pick one that, you know, I'm not just talking about Shador. It's been all three quarterbacks but that means he's open.
- [18:23]
C
That just means he's got a good matchup or he's getting open.
- [18:26]
B
He's also a guy, he's been reliable on catching the football for the most part. You know, he's had some moments as a rookie where he's dropped it. But you know, Harold Fannin, if there's a guy who's come out of this rookie class, at least on that side of the ball, you know, you want to talk about, I don't want to say a pleasant surprise, but a guy who's really exceeded expectations. Harold Fannin. And they know it, Shadur knows it. And you see they trust him not just to catch the ball but to get yards afterwards because he's really tough to get down. And I think that's sort of the guy that Shedeur will look to. But most of this receiving core outside of Jerry Jeudy is rookies. So pretty much all of them. I mean there's just. That's part of the problem is this receiving corps is so young and experienced that it's like every time they do something, it's like the new first time they've done something. And so you know, you got. It's just created a weird dynamic with this offense all season.
- [19:26]
A
You know, I was surprised to hear you say earlier, Chris, that Kevin Stefanski might not be back next year. I thought I've heard a lot of positive things about his offense and about him as a head coach. Everything I've read has been positive. You mentioned the players like playing for him and you have your offensive line going into game 14 with their ninth starting lineup. That, that's not really on the coach as far as all those injuries are concerned. So why wouldn't he be back next year?
- [19:51]
B
Sacrifice to the fans.
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C
Really?
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A
Oh really?
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B
If I look, I'm not necessarily. I'm not promoting this.
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A
Yeah, of course, yeah.
- [20:01]
B
You know Jimmy, Jimmy said in both March and, and in training camp when he, the two times we told, spoken, spoken to him, he said, you know, look, this is a multi year process and he's sort of given both the GM and the head coach of sort of a mulligan for the trade to end all trades. But you got to sell tickets. They're building, they're building a new indoor stadium here that's going to open in about four years. The fan base has never been. I Think more down than it is right now. And we're talking the last 27 years of everything that this franchise has been. So, you know, there's, I mean, you got this push, pull. Jimmy has said nothing. The ownership has said nothing. There's been nothing from the organization because I think they like him. I think they like Andrew Bear. It's just, you get them. I mean, a loss like last week is one of those where it's like, how do you sell tickets now? Maybe that's where it kind of, it kind of ties in with Shadow. When I said these last four games are the most important maybe in, in the franchise is because I think it's all tied together. If Shedeur shows progress, then does that help Kevin stick around? Does it help Andrew Barry stuck around? Or if they fire Kevin, do they keep Tommy Reese, who is absolutely adored in this, in this organization, that, that, that. There's just so much that's wrapped up in these four final four games that to say something definitively on today, I don't think is, I don't think would be the most accurate thing because I think Kevin absolutely could, you know, would be able to find a job, you know, the second he was let go, because like you say, he's so well respected.
- [22:06]
C
Well, and then there's also the job that Jim Schwartz is doing, has him among whatever shortlist of defensive specialist coaches who are still being considered for some of these NFL jobs. This is a guy who, who is on again. He's in that. He's done it before. He might have learned his lesson, whatever mistakes he made at Detroit. I know he's an interesting kind of character. He's a very, very academically smart guy who also has the hard edge, you know, Pantera and his leather jackets and the tough guy stuff. But have you been hearing that Jim Schwartz is going to be going to be out there as an active candidate in the market after this year?
- [22:48]
B
You certainly hear it a little bit, but I don't. You know, Jim is. So you asked Jim, he hasn't done this shtick this year, but we used to ask how a player was doing, even Miles Garrett, and he go, well, he said whatever, insert whatever the record was at that point. You know, he's. Everything is so, you know, narrow minded.
- [23:09]
C
So he's a 3 and 10 defensive end. Yeah, okay.
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B
Well, he got to a point where he goes, you know, I can't even do that. I can't even. Like last year, he's like, look, I could, I can't do it anymore. My Miles is Miles.
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C
That's really funny. It's like I can't even do my bit. That's great.
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B
But, you know, I think he'd like to, because, you know, I think there's probably a part of me, he looks at Detroit when he was there, and he goes, I mean, come on, if I had this Detroit, not that Detroit, I mean, in terms of front office and everything, I mean, I could, you know, but at the same time, I think, you know, he had the health issue a few years ago after he left Philly, before he came to Cleveland. So, you know, I don't know. I mean, he. Like I say, he's. We don't get a lot of, you know, a lot of interactions with Jim outside of the. The one interaction we get each week with him because he's sort of focused on business at hand, task at hand. And, you know, I think if it came up, he'd be happy, but I also think he's just happy coaching ball and, you know, creating the nastiest, you know, the nastiest pass rush in the NFL.
- [24:26]
A
Hey, where is the organization at with this new stadium process? Because the Bears are at the very, very early stages of maybe possibly one day building a new stadium somewhere in the suburbs of Chicago, but not quite there yet to talk about it or move forward. So where. Where. Where's the. Where's the new Cleveland stadium issue at right now?
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B
As far? I think it's pretty much cleared the final hurdles and that sometime first quarter of next year, they'll put a shovel in the ground.
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A
Okay.
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B
And start and start. But there was a judge ruled earlier this week that the funds they were drawing from, the unclaimed funds that they were using to help fund the stadium, they could go ahead and use those. They could go. You know, these are like, unclaimed funds from taxpayers.
- [25:24]
A
That's a good angle to go, if you can get it. Yeah, for sure.
- [25:26]
B
Well, yeah, I mean, so that they're able to go through with it. Cleveland City Council pass the ordinance that, hey, we're gonna. We're gonna put our weapons down. We're gonna stop the. We're gonna. We're gonna accept your hundred million dollar, what? Donation to help re, you know, renovate the lakefront.
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C
That's okay. Nothing, though. That's. That's pittance.
- [25:51]
A
Yeah. That's not a whole lot.
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B
I know. I mean, if they want to throw a few more of those around, I'm sitting over here.
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A
You're there for it. Hey, so how are the. How are the Cleveland Browns fans feeling? About an indoor stadium.
- [26:05]
B
There are some who it's, oh, we're Cleveland. We have to play outside. And as somebody who's been outside for a Blizzard game, you know, growing up, I actually, I wanted to go to a snow game. I wanted. Because, you know, you watch a game and there's Bernie slinging it through the. Through the snow. And I was like, oh, that'd be so cool. And I went to one against Buffalo in 07. It was great. I went to one. It was great. I don't want to go to another.
- [26:33]
A
And that's it. You're done. Yeah, I get you.
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B
But so, you know, but there's also those that are like, it's not just the indoor football, it's the concerts, a Final Four. There will absolutely be a Final Four here. You know, at some point, you know, if they get that and all this other things, it just makes, you know, I've tried to stay out of it because it's such a, you know, third rail discussion in this town.
- [27:01]
A
Yeah, it's very polarizing for Bears fans, too, because people think, oh, you got to have Bears weather and you got to play outside. That's how football is played. And we're of the mindset, give me the most optimal opportunity and setting for these professional athletes who are the best and in the world at this point, to play their best style of football. So that's kind of where we're at with it. We want the indoor stadium for the Bears.
- [27:25]
B
It'd be nice if you get one.
- [27:27]
C
In time for Sunday. It would be nice.
- [27:29]
A
Oh, yeah, we could do it for Sunday. Be great.
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C
And by the way, how's Bernie Kosar doing? I know that he had. He recently had a liver transplant, and then there's a blood infection. Is he is going to be okay?
- [27:44]
A
Hopefully.
- [27:47]
B
Let's just say a little prayer for Bernie.
- [27:49]
C
Oh.
- [27:49]
B
Because, you know, it's. He's back in the hospital with E. Coli and I know E. Coli infection in his bloodstream for the transfusion, I guess. So, yeah, it's something that, yeah, just, you know, say a little prayer, light a candle, whatever your, you know, your choice of faith is for. Definitely. Definitely something that.
- [28:16]
A
All right, Chris.
- [28:17]
C
I don't want to end it necessarily on a down note. I didn't know it was really that sort of emergent.
- [28:23]
B
Well, Bernie's being positive. Bernie's being positive. So that's. So that, you know, as long as Bernie's positive, then we're all going to be positive.
- [28:32]
A
All right, buddy. Chris, we do appreciate your time today. And sharing all the information about the Browns. And if you're. If you're traveling out here, stay warm and have fun and stay warm. Travels to you, my friend.
- [28:41]
B
Hey, thanks a lot. Appreciate it.
- [28:44]
C
That is Chris Easterling of the Akan Beacon Journal. You can find all his stuff@beaconjournal.com. very interesting.
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A
Yeah, interesting dude. He's. He's the kind of guy. So we chat a little bit yesterday, I would expect if he wasn't covering the Browns. He's like at the end of the bar somewhere or in the dogs. Yes. And just.
- [29:04]
C
I mean, he's actually wearing the dog.
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A
Yucking it up and having it. Having a great time. He certainly is a very interesting cat. So glad to have him on with us.
- [29:12]
C
No, there's. Look, when you talk about some of these original teams and some of these really proud football cities, you know it when you hear it.
- [29:20]
A
You know, when. When we chatted yesterday, I was like, yeah, that's. That's one of those guys that. That's a guy that, you know, that's. That's kind of guy, that kind of like beat reporter that Terry would have hung out with and talked about and would have known really, really well.
- [29:33]
C
And wasn't. Wasn't Terry's guy at the Akron Beacon Journal? Wasn't that Terry Pluto?
- [29:38]
A
Terry Pluto, yes, absolutely. We had Terry on so many times.
- [29:41]
C
One basketball writer, fantastic basketball.
- [29:44]
A
Oh, he was great. He was great having him on the show. He was also Terry's. We also had Mary Kay Cabot on a lot because she's still doing it and doing great.
- [29:54]
C
Cleveland.com. i want to say.
- [29:56]
A
Is that what it is?
- [29:57]
C
I think that's the Plain Dealers, the website and the plane dealers have sort of been folded into that. Yeah, she's been with the Plain Dealer forever. She was on the beat when I started on the beat in 95.
- [30:07]
A
Oh. Oh, really?
- [30:08]
C
Yeah. They played the Browns in an exhibition game and she, like, was in Platteville. No, that's what it was. They were. They trained in lacrosse or somewhere nearby. And there was one of these. These scrimmages. You know, one of the controlled two team practices.
- [30:26]
A
Yeah.
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C
And all the Cleveland media was there. Yeah.
- [30:28]
A
Yeah. No, Chris. Chris a good, good guy. Been doing that for a very long time. And I love how he was hesitant to say LeBron James was the.
- [30:35]
C
I know he could.
- [30:36]
A
Best player he's ever seen.
- [30:37]
C
It's not.
- [30:38]
A
Well, because it's Chicago numbers. Michael Jordan watch the games.
- [30:43]
C
Just look at what he does.
- [30:46]
A
Well, you're going to get some feedback for that.
- [30:48]
C
I'm sure anybody who disagrees with that is just wrong. You're just wrong. He's better at everything. He guy's 6, 8 and 260.
- [30:58]
A
Yeah, he's like a linebacker. I know.
- [31:00]
C
What are you talking about? He guards five positions. Come on. It's just. That is settled law of the land. He's not as crazy, he's not as big a maniac, he's not a pathological competitor. And maybe Jordan always had that, but come on, that's not even. You gotta twist yourself into a pretzel to make that argument just because it's so important to your own stupid sense of self worth.
- [31:28]
A
Well, we'll just agree to disagree on that.
- [31:30]
C
Fine. You're an idiot.
- [31:32]
A
Kevin Stefanski. I'm surprised, surprised to hear that. A lot of positive things out of Cleveland about him.
- [31:38]
C
I hate hearing that. It's red meat sacrifice to the fans. Yeah, that's just the wrong reason to fire a coach. And that's how you regret that. That's when you hope that your, your, your organization. And I'm talking about, don't compare it to the Bears because that's a bad organization that just doesn't like firing people because they don't know who to hire. But I understand if you've got somebody, if you're, if you're firing somebody to hire someone, saying, hey, we can't miss this guy. This is it here. This is a real dude here. We got to hire this person. That's very different. Just like, well, I guess we got to fire him. If you think he's a good coach, that's a guy you keep.
- [32:19]
A
I mean, if you finish, you know, 3 and 14, or you know, 4 and 4 and 13, you say, well, we got to give the fans something that's. That's just the wrong approach to it because I think he's a good head coach. And again, everything I've heard about him are coming out of Cleveland. And what Chris said too about the players really like playing for him.
- [32:36]
C
They're playing hard.
- [32:37]
A
They're playing very hard. Three win team right now.
- [32:39]
C
He said it's a three and ten team, but they're still playing hard. If that's the case, that goes a long way in explaining the quality of your coach. I think I agree with that because.
- [32:50]
A
We saw that last night. If you watched Thursday Night Football, the opening of week, what is this? Week 15. We're in week 14.
- [32:55]
C
I watched that whole game last night.
- [32:57]
A
The Atlanta Falcons, they were eliminated last week. And you would have thought that they Were competing for the division title last night.
- [33:04]
C
Kirk Cousins out there slinging around. He's still Kirk Cousins in there. He doesn't, he's, you know, his body doesn't work quite the way he wants it to, but he's. That the, the, the, the Kirk Cousins brain is still in there.
- [33:16]
A
Still there for sure. And I don't quite get being down 14 late and going for two the first time around. But what. You know, whatever. They played hard. It all came back and worked out for him where they get the field goal 40 some yards to win the game by one over Tampa, who is just falling apart.
- [33:29]
C
So, you know, we were. It was. They kept talking about Kobe Bryant.
- [33:34]
A
Yeah.
- [33:34]
C
And they kept talking about the Falcons.
- [33:36]
A
Was it distracting to you?
- [33:37]
C
Because it was distracting after a while. Just let.
- [33:39]
A
It was really distracting.
- [33:40]
C
Every time they say the name, you know, and I know that we.
- [33:43]
A
But you don't have to say the full name. You say Bryant.
- [33:46]
C
Yes, I know there's another Bo Jackson. The Dolphins had a Kareem Abdul Jabbar. It's happened before. There are people with the same names. There's been a million Steve Smiths or whatever it is. Just let him play the game. Not everything has to be a basketball pun. And he had so happened. They were picking on him too.
- [34:05]
A
Right.
- [34:05]
C
So they had to keep calling his name. We always say it's a bad sign of a cornerback's name keeps getting said. And then he's. He makes this unbelievable play on the jump ball to Mike Evans and he was getting turned around and he was bad. I think the best play he made, other than some tackles and run support, was when he got his whole hand on the ball on the jump ball to Mike Evans. And Evans just rips it away and then rips it away again. And what are you going to do?
- [34:32]
A
I mean, that's, That's a special dude, though, Mike Evans. But yeah, like the whole. It really got distracting for me. Like it was taking away from watching the game because they had to keep making puns and jokes and Kobe Bryant. Kobe Bryant. Kobe just say Bryant.
- [34:45]
C
And Al was being weird and then Al kind of was getting tired later in the game. He seemed like he didn't have the same kind of energy. But. But my favorite thing about Al that I'm really liking is he's at the too old to give a shit stage when it comes to the promos that they do for other programming on Amazon Prime.
- [35:08]
A
He's just not interested.
- [35:09]
C
No, he makes fun of it. See, this is what more broadcasters should be allowed to do is when he's got to read a promo. He was reading a promo for a movie or show called Mervyn about a dog. And he's like, you're gonna like this one. It's a dog and its name is Merv.
- [35:25]
A
Oh boy.
- [35:26]
C
Tune in and watch this dog. And he said to Curbstreet, he's like, you should name your dog Merv. That stuff's awesome. And when they go to the silly pre produced graphic stuff like they did with Baker and a bakery, let the broadcasters make fun of it. Let Joe Buck on ESPN when they show the surfing guy. Let Buck have fun with it.
- [35:50]
A
It' what did they call Houdini again?
- [35:53]
C
Houdini.
- [35:54]
A
Houdini. I keep forgetting the Great Houdini.
- [35:57]
C
He's been like the Great Houdini.
- [36:00]
A
Really?
- [36:01]
C
No, no, sorry, no, strike that. It's Houdini, not the Great Houdini.
- [36:08]
A
So basically they need to let Al Michaels do what Terry did?
- [36:11]
C
Pretty much, yes. Yes. Cause Al doesn't care. And I thought they got a little close to being not okay when they had. There was a play made by their defensive tackle. I gotta look up the name. So I don't mispronounce it, but it was number 98. And initially you heard Herb street try to work his way into saying the name. It's number. Their nose tackle, Ruque Orhohoro.
- [36:45]
A
Orho Horo. Okay.
- [36:46]
C
O R, H O R, H O R O Ruque Orhohoro.
- [36:50]
B
Okay.
- [36:50]
C
And he says it because he batted a ball down.
- [36:53]
A
Yeah.
- [36:53]
C
And makes the play. Great play there by 98 or Horhoro. And there's a pause because, you know, they looked at each other and then Al says, nice work. You were practicing. You got through it. You did it. Like they're making fun of this guy's difficult to pronounce name. And I was kind of like, it was kind of close to me.
- [37:20]
A
Was he getting close to, you know, the get off my lawn guy or.
- [37:23]
C
Was it get off my lawn? It's kind of close to like, oh, it's not exactly Dan Smith out there. These crazy Nigerian names, they're hard to pronounce. It's like it's his name. Learn how you got one job. I know it might be like, you know, amen, Obama, amiga. It might be difficult for you to get used to, but you get used to it.
- [37:44]
A
Yeah.
- [37:45]
C
Abong amiga or Ottawa Lego Gunlia. You, youla. You learn how to say these things.
- [37:50]
A
Did you see the, the Prime Post game with Bijan Robinson?
- [37:55]
C
Oh, yeah.
- [37:55]
A
He so I didn't get into the whole story.
- [37:58]
C
I did on Twitter that he.
- [38:00]
A
He put on an apology because they were talking about, like, backyard football. And he. He mentioned, you know, smear the queer. A football game that he would play as a kid.
- [38:09]
C
Yeah, you can't.
- [38:10]
A
Yeah. And so he put out an apology for it. And to be.
- [38:13]
C
Just say, tackle the guy with the ball.
- [38:15]
A
Yeah, I know.
- [38:16]
C
Or. Excuse me. Tackle the person with the ball.
- [38:18]
A
Tackle the person with the ball. But I mean, that's what it was called when we were kids.
- [38:23]
C
I know, I know. We didn't even need a ball. We would use like, some. We'd rip a hat off of somebody's head or like a cardboard box. It was a MacGuffin. It was just.
- [38:34]
A
It just the thing didn't matter.
- [38:36]
C
Yeah. The person who was declared it was the thing.
- [38:39]
A
Guys couldn't afford a football in Deerfield or what was going on.
- [38:41]
C
Well, no, we just didn't. Somebody else would have the football be like, all right. I loved that game.
- [38:45]
A
Oh, yeah, I did, too. I did, too. We played it at Reese. I remember fourth grade. It was the last time I played. It was. Loved it.
- [38:51]
C
During recent snow when it didn't hurt to fall.
- [38:53]
A
It was the best.
- [38:54]
C
And you're wearing moon boots and you couldn't really move that fast anyway.
- [38:57]
A
Yeah.
- [38:57]
C
And that's when I was fast. That was like the peak of my. That's like when I was winning all the races and I was fast.
- [39:04]
A
It ended for us because the kid got hurt. Like, we. His knee got dislocated. And so we got pulled into the principal's office.
- [39:10]
C
Such a loser. Maybe your knee won't get dislocated.
- [39:12]
A
Parents had. Parents got called and had to come pick us up because.
- [39:15]
C
Seriously?
- [39:15]
B
Yeah. Berwyn.
- [39:17]
A
Yeah. It wasn't. This was in Lagrange.
- [39:19]
C
Okay.
- [39:19]
A
So I was like. Yeah.
- [39:21]
C
Carrying lead pipes.
- [39:22]
A
Oh, he killed kids in recess. They didn't even come back from recess. Teachers like, where's Johnny? Oh, Johnny's dead. Buried him under the slide.
- [39:30]
C
Only three kids can die. I just picture the kid with like the two by four with the nail.
- [39:35]
A
Sticking out for sure.
- [39:36]
C
Like, Escape from New York.
- [39:38]
A
Yeah. Yeah. That tackled the guy with the football. But it was. Got real violent. No, that was. This was Lagrange Park. Okay, so fourth grade and then it ended there. We couldn't do it anymore.
- [39:48]
C
Kenny lagrange Park. Pretty much the Kenny Owens. Oh, don't let him tackle.
- [39:52]
A
Yeah, I would.
- [39:53]
C
Oh, no, no, no. You don't want him to tackle you. You just want to leave him.
- [39:57]
A
No, you want to give him the. He's the guy. You give the ball.
- [39:59]
C
Yeah. You put him in the air.
- [40:00]
A
Everyone. Everyone looks at each other and you give the nod and make sure so and so gets the ball.
- [40:04]
B
Yeah.
- [40:05]
C
When he touches his face, that's he go retact.
- [40:07]
A
You got to rub the side of your nose.
- [40:08]
C
You rub his face in the snow?
- [40:10]
A
Yeah. He would rub the side of his nose, and that'd be an indicator for Fred to ask him what's his beef.
- [40:15]
C
What's your beef?
- [40:17]
A
That's how that worked. And then I would hold up my hand with a broken pinky, and he never knew that it was four.
- [40:23]
C
If you were. And I was thinking about this, too, if you were listening to dbu and if you haven't, you should go listen to it today, because we did our top 10 browns of all time, and I don't want to give anything away.
- [40:32]
A
It was fun.
- [40:33]
C
Wasn't Murph. Wasn't one of the bits. Brown's chicken. And, like, was it. Was that. What's your beef? Did they. Because for a while they had it.
- [40:42]
A
If I. Let me try to remember. I'm trying to black those that year and a half out of my brain. I think when he would go into Abby's old drawers for a prize, I think it was. I think the Browns chicken, the gift certificate maybe came out of there.
- [40:55]
C
They had something. There was. There was.
- [40:57]
A
The browns was definitely involved.
- [40:58]
C
Okay.
- [40:59]
A
Yeah. Yeah. I'd have to go back and check, because the beef.
- [41:02]
C
It was Ronnie at Roma's, where they'd bring over beefs from Romas.
- [41:07]
A
Yeah. So for what's your beef? And then we had another one.
- [41:10]
C
Beef aromas. I don't know.
- [41:11]
A
It was another one. We used to give out a hammer for one of the bits.
- [41:14]
C
Oh, that was the tool of the week. I had two of the week. I had two of them.
- [41:17]
A
Yeah. I had one twice. Was it Leonard Nimoy? Is that his name? The guy he sang if I Had a Hammer? Yeah. Right. That's his name. Right? The guy from Star Trek.
- [41:28]
C
Yes.
- [41:28]
A
Okay. I'm just asking.
- [41:30]
C
Not the best version of if I. If I Had a Hammer.
- [41:32]
A
I think that's the one we used to play. We'd give a hammer out for tool of the week.
- [41:35]
C
Yeah.
- [41:36]
A
And then we'd go into Abby's old drawers for a browns. I think it was a Browns chicken gift certificate. Maybe.
- [41:41]
C
You know, the best version of if I Had a Hammer was. And, you know, the protest song with Joan Baez, Elvis Costello's, dad. What is his.
- [41:55]
A
So it wasn't about, like, building a home, that song?
- [41:57]
C
No, it's a protest song.
- [41:59]
A
I thought it was a construction song.
- [42:00]
C
What's his name? Something. McManus.
- [42:02]
A
I thought the Seven Dwarfs would sing that.
- [42:05]
C
You've got to see his. Elvis Costello's father, who was a musician, did a version of if I had.
- [42:15]
A
Ross McManus.
- [42:15]
C
Ross McManus. Look up Ross McManus. I had a hammer. See, if there's the. It's. I don't know what British TV show it was on, but it's like a. Like a Spanish. I don't know what the. Like a bossa nova.
- [42:30]
A
There's a video of Ross McManus with the Joe Loss Orchestra.
- [42:33]
C
There's a big. There's a band behind him. They got, like, bongo drums. And the song absolutely slaps.
- [42:39]
A
I like bongo drums.
- [42:40]
C
The song absolutely slaps, I'm telling you. And I saw this, and when the guy starts dancing, I got it right.
- [42:47]
A
Here, but I can't play it.
- [42:48]
C
Why?
- [42:49]
A
I can't.
- [42:50]
C
Because he starts reminding me of somebody, and I'm like, God, this is great. And they're like, this guy dances like Elvis Costello. Like. Well, that's because it's his dad. And it's a. Look it up.
- [43:02]
A
So Elvis Costello is not his real name.
- [43:05]
C
You knew that. You knew Declan McManus.
- [43:10]
A
Why would you. Why would you change from Declan McManus.
- [43:13]
C
Good Irish name, to Declan Patrick McManus? He changes. The reason. Anybody? Why. Why would Reginald Dwight change it to Elton John? I don't know.
- [43:24]
A
Because that's cooler than Reggie Dwight.
- [43:27]
C
Now, that would have been a Reggie Cleveland All Star name. He would have. Right next to Sherrod Brown.
- [43:31]
A
Yeah.
- [43:33]
C
Bobby Caldwell on that one. That's.
- [43:35]
A
Yeah.
- [43:36]
C
I don't know.
- [43:36]
A
Ross McManus. That's a good. That's a good.
- [43:38]
C
There's an NBA player who's definitely on the Reggie Cleveland All Stars, an NBA player named Ty Jerome.
- [43:46]
A
White guy.
- [43:47]
B
Yeah, yeah.
- [43:48]
C
Ty Jerome.
- [43:49]
A
Oh, don't.
- [43:51]
C
Hey, let's not go back, all right? We're gonna wrap it.
- [43:54]
A
He used to. He. He. Lawrence would sit next to me in the. In the. In the production booth, and he would talk to me. He would talk through me to Lawrence. He wouldn't talk directly to Lawrence.
- [44:05]
C
Yeah, right.
- [44:06]
A
He would hit the talk bag and say, hey, Madame Atticola, tell Lawrence I.
- [44:12]
C
Want to do this. He wouldn't talk to him, and he.
- [44:13]
A
Wouldn'T talk to him. And then I would have to turn, like, dramatically and say, hey, Lawrence. And then Lawrence would always. He would get really irritated. He'd always be like, yeah, Matty, I heard him. I'm sitting right here. I'm like, okay. Just wanted to make sure.
- [44:26]
C
Are we sure Murph isn't speaking at that. At the place where Matt Shaw is speaking at the Turning Point usa?
- [44:32]
A
I don't know of his political affiliation.
- [44:34]
C
Let me tell you something.
- [44:36]
A
Although I did learn last night that quarterback from the Atlanta Falcons is a big supporter of that orange guy.
- [44:43]
C
Oh, really?
- [44:44]
A
Disappointing to see.
- [44:45]
C
Yeah. Oh, okay. I like. I just like the uniforms. I loved the Creamsicle uniforms against the.
- [44:50]
A
Oh, I love those. Very good uniform. I thought it was a very good. With the Creamsicle and the red helmet.
- [44:56]
C
Oh, it reminded me of.
- [44:57]
A
That was like. That was a great uniform matchup.
- [44:59]
C
It reminded me if you had the mini helmets when you were a kid and you'd move the mini helmets around in the order of the standings or if you had the magnets, that would be in the order.
- [45:07]
A
Yeah. Hank had the mini helmets. He would do that with the standing. He's probably five or six.
- [45:11]
C
For me, it was the. Did you have the pencils, the NFL pencils we had at Shepherd Junior High School? For 10 cents, you'd put it in and you would get a number two pencil and there was a.
- [45:22]
A
You know, would you use them or collect them?
- [45:24]
C
Collect them.
- [45:25]
A
Okay.
- [45:25]
C
And I would keep them in my little backpack and you would try. I forgot which. There was one team you couldn't get. It was some obscure team. Maybe it's the Patriots. Like everything. There were plenty of Bears and plenty every. And I occasionally have an extra dime I put in there. Get a pencil.
- [45:40]
A
Yeah.
- [45:41]
C
And I had like four Lions pencils and I didn't want any of them.
- [45:46]
A
Did you ever have the electronic. The plug in football game?
- [45:50]
C
Electric football?
- [45:51]
A
Yeah. And this is the guy.
- [45:52]
C
Yeah.
- [45:52]
A
It was stupid.
- [45:54]
C
They're apparently still selling it. Whatever the Sharper Image became when it was bought by private equity. Somebody bought the brand.
- [46:00]
A
I think it's called the Sharper Sharper. The Sharper Image.
- [46:04]
C
This image is even sharper. And we're selling you things that you need even less.
- [46:09]
A
It's a Sharper.
- [46:11]
C
Yeah. And you'd put them. You'd put the phone football in the hand of one of the. I didn't own it. Friends had it.
- [46:16]
A
Yeah. And one of the worst.
- [46:18]
B
Oh, yeah.
- [46:19]
C
I mean, there's nothing. You don't really do anything. The whole fun was putting teams together. The secret of all those games, I always thought even like the card based baseball games like APBA and pursue the pennant and all that. The fun was team building. The fun was drafting and team building and having all that stuff. And once you had to play it sucked. Yeah.
- [46:40]
A
Kind of like our old days at the score. All the team building, the camaraderie, the team between shows, the team building.
- [46:47]
C
Yeah. Mr. I miss the Christmas party.
- [46:49]
A
Mr. I had a playoff game.
- [46:51]
C
You went. Did you win?
- [46:52]
A
No, we lost.
- [46:53]
C
Well, you could have been at the Christmas party watching everybody get drunk and sing.
- [46:56]
A
My, my, my. Kids, athletics are a priority in life.
- [46:59]
C
I understand.
- [47:00]
A
We know that. Yeah. I mean no, they this seventh grade middle school basketball team. Highland. Highland Middle School. They're in Libertyville. They where the eighth seed in the playoffs. They upset the number one seed.
- [47:10]
C
Nice. Did you do the Dikembe Mutombo?
- [47:13]
B
I'm so happy.
- [47:14]
A
Yeah. No. We stormed the court, we ripped the rims down. We brought a football goal post in from outside and brought it into the gym. We threw it at people. Cool. Yeah, it was great. And we got really drunk like we were two lane students.
- [47:26]
C
Then you fired the Michigan coach.
- [47:27]
A
Yeah, and then I was doing snow angels. No, they're confetti angels with a helmet on.
- [47:33]
C
I know. I gotta go pick it and a 30 pack ass up in a half an hour.
- [47:36]
A
Yeah, good luck with the beer.
- [47:39]
C
He's got plenty. Plenty of shitty beer he can drink.
- [47:42]
A
All right, so we will be live Sunday after Bears Brown. So it's a noon kick. So right around three, right here, Forward progress live.
- [47:51]
C
And don't forget, you gotta get the app. You must, must, must get the app. So this is in the Apple app store or Google Play the 312Sports app because we've told you about all of these rewards that we have. The reward contests. There's been restaurant gift certificates and discounts in there. We just added one today.
- [48:11]
A
This is a cool one.
- [48:12]
C
Yeah. We've added tickets for the Guns N roses World Tour 2026 with special guest Public Enemy.
- [48:21]
A
I mean you talk about bringing communities together.
- [48:24]
C
Guns n Roses and PE on July 29th at Credit Union One Amphitheater. That's in Tinley Park. The promo code is bears. Your promo code for all the rewards. The promo code is bears on the 312 Sports app. So give that a shot. And thank you for being a part today of forward Progress here on 312Sports.
- [48:47]
D
Save over $200 when you book weekly. Stays with VRBO this winter. If you haven't seen your college besties since, well, college, you need a week to catch up in a snowy cabin, take a week long vacation and save over $200. Book now@vervo.com hey, this is Sarah.
- [49:05]
C
Look, I'm standing out front of a.m. p.m. Right now and well, you're sweet and all, but I found something more fulfilling.
- [49:11]
B
Even kind of cheesy. But I like it.
- [49:14]
A
Sure, you met some of my dietary.
- [49:15]
C
Needs, but they've just got it all.
- [49:17]
B
So farewell. Oatmeal so long, you strange soggy. Break up with bland breakfasts and taste a AMPM's bacon, egg and Cheese Biscuit.
- [49:25]
A
Made with K tree eggs, smoked bacon.
- [49:27]
B
And melty cheese on a buttery biscuit.
- [49:29]
A
AMPM Too much good stuff.