← Forward Progress - A Chicago Bears Podcast
Forward Progress - A Chicago Bears Podcast
Courtney Cronin - Indiana Grad and ESPN Bears Beat Reporter
00:40:17
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- [00:00]
Courtney Cronin
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Matt Abeticola
Bears fan, you're thinking Forward progress. Come on.
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Dan Bernstein
10.
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Courtney Cronin
219.
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Matt Abeticola
219 has happened.
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Forward progress a Chicago Bears podc Dan Bernstein and Matt Abeticola on 312 sports.
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Dan Bernstein
We give you forward progress on 312 sports as we talk about the first place Chicago Bears for right now atop the NFC and heading in to a part of their schedule that will be the defining period pre playoffs if they're able to indeed stay on this trajectory to the post season. And joining us today to provide information and perspective and perhaps some polysyllabic cursing is Courtney Cronin of espn, the veteran scribe and broadcaster who has been covering the Bears and the NFL for years. Taking the time to join us. Courtney, thanks again. How are you?
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Courtney Cronin
I'm good. How are you guys doing?
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Dan Bernstein
Good. So as of now, you are the reigning swearing champion on forward progress, Courtney Dyson.
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Matt Abeticola
I'm sure she's very proud of that, Dan.
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Dan Bernstein
I'm sure it's very special. I keep feeling now this week that for all that we've done to prop up the vestiges of what they call the primordial rivalry, this is the first week in many, many, many years that Bears, packers kind of feels worth it. Like this is both teams are good enough for it to matter and that that does give it a little extra frisson.
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Courtney Cronin
Yeah, they don't usually have two teams going into this rivalry that are above.500 and that's a significant deal with this rivalry where it stands right now. And I feel like we go back to January, Ben Johnson's comments about, you know, wanting to beat Matt LaFleur twice a year being part of the reason why he took the Bears job to begin with to stay in the division that reignited it and then to get to see all these years, all these months later you've got the first place team in the division going against the second place team in the division with the division on the line this weekend and a lot that could change, like if the Bears lose this game, they drop to the seven seed. If they win, they stay at the one seed. Obviously some there are, you know, things that have to happen with the Rams and Cardinals game too that could determine even more jacking of positioning in the NFC playoff picture. But it's. So it's a significant deal how much higher the stakes are this time around with the rivalry versus years past where, you know, packers didn't have to play their starters the entirety of last year's game because they had already locked up their spot in the postseason. And yeah, it was significant that the Bears won that game, but it wasn't as evenly matched as this one's going to be, where there is a lot more on the line.
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Matt Abeticola
You know, it was a curious situation that took place this week with, with the media, with Ben Johnson. Monday, he has some critical thoughts of the pass game and he didn't solo out or single out Caleb Williams. He talked about the entire passing game that they weren't happy with it, not satisfied with where it's at. The next day. He makes a point, I think, on. Off of one of your questions too, Courtney, that he, he says, hey, I wasn't, you know, he really sings the praises of Caleb Williams. When I heard him Monday, I didn't take that as a shot at Caleb Williams. Why do you feel that he took the stance to really go out and sing the praises of Caleb when he wasn't singling out Caleb on Monday?
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Courtney Cronin
Because the narrative of the 2025 season has always been by year's end, will you know whether you have won games in spite of the quarterback or because the quarterback. So when he says, we are winning in spite of our passing game right now, I think that he thought that could be construed as, I'm not happy with the quarterback and I'm not happy with the way that he's playing. Now, obviously, people know, like in a passing game is much more than just one player. It's protection, it's receivers running the route, the right route at the right route, depth, blocking, all of those things. But the quarterback's always going to receive the brunt of everything when you talk about the person who throws the football. So I think Ben looked at that and said maybe that came across as a little harsh, even though I don't think he needed to walk it back at all.
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Dan Bernstein
Exactly. Exactly.
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Courtney Cronin
Fair. Because here's the thing in all of this, Caleb Williams is the most inaccurate quarterback right now among 32 qualified starters in the NFL. That is a fact. And he has a sub, you know, 58 completion percentage on the season. That's not good right now. So.
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Matt Abeticola
As the head coach, too, if he's not happy with his quarterback, why can't he say he's not happy like he's earned all the credibility in the world right now.
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Courtney Cronin
Yeah, but I don't think he's not happy with Caleb. I think that there's issues in the passing game that, you know, it was windy in Philly now. Is that the reason? Like there were some big wind gusts, but I don't feel like that should have been, you know, I mean, Ben can probably looks at himself and puts the blame on himself for calling 36 pass plays in those circumstances when they were running the ball so effectively. So that's why I think he felt he needed to, you know, inject some sort of, you know, clarification there. Even though I don't think anybody who read that comment heard Ben Johnson talk initially thought that he was singling out Caleb Williams in specific. The question came from when I asked him about Caleb's accuracy issues on Monday. And then it devolves into that last line of, you know, we're winning in spite of our passing game right now, not because of it. And it needs to be better. Everybody says it needs to be better. Colcomet called it a weak link the other day because it is. And for as good as this team is and what it's built on, a dominant rushing attack, an opportunistic defense in a one and done situation, you need the pass game to look a lot better than it does right now. To feel confident that you can make it further in the postseason if they get there.
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Dan Bernstein
It's so interesting to hear you finish your thought in that way because I find myself now starting some questions and starting some comments by saying if the Bears win the super bowl, this will have happened or if the Bears win the super bowl, it will be like how many games from here to there will they have won because their quarterback is becomes what we think he can be. And that's the context in which things where it's completely fair to examine some of these things. And I get back to what he said when he took the job about be comfortable being uncomfortable or get comfortable being uncomfortable. And I think that when Caleb Williams has said he wants to be coached hard, he craves that this is it and press conferences like that. That's the embodiment of, of the public facing aspect of being coached hard, that if we're going to win a championship, we're going to. You're going to be a win because of Guy, you're the quarterback of the.
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Courtney Cronin
Bears and you still need to be like, yes, you know, five game winning drives this season in the fourth quarter and overtime, second most in the NFL, all of those things are great, but the passing game has to be better. And it starts with the quarterback. Like, I know that there's so many other things that factor in there, but it's on him with some of his off target passes to fix those things. Like ultimately that's what it boils down to. And I do think that Ben has done a really good job of living up to the promise that he was going to coach this quarterback hard, that he was going to keep him accountable, that he was going to put him in these situations where it might be, you know, he might be learning something that's brand new for the first. Brand new. And it would, it would suck for the first couple of times as he's learning a concept and trying to master it, but eventually he'll get there knowing that, like if you can trust that process. And Ben has given him no reason not to and given him every reason to believe he can take him from point A to point F, that it's going to work out by the end of the season. I still think it will. I just think that right now in this, in this stretch where they have the second hardest strength of schedule remaining over these next five games, they've got to figure out the passing game and figure out some of the root issues within Caleb Williams and accuracy. And I don't think that's a knockout in a bad way on a quarterback. It's trying to fix a problem.
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Matt Abeticola
Yeah. And with his inaccuracy issues, what have you learned or inferred from being around the coaching staff how they feel about Caleb? Because the fact that he has these game winning drives and he is a playmaker at the highest level, the elite level in the NFL, yet there's opportunities with a clean pocket and good protection and a good foundation to throw and he's just off target more times than he should be given his ability. What, what do you, what do you infer or hear or feel from the coaching staff about Caleb as an NFL qb?
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Courtney Cronin
Well, we know he can make the special play and it feels like that kind of what rights every wrong in the moment. Like when he throws that pass, like he threaded this beautiful ball to Colson Loveland over the middle of the field, I believe it was in the second half of that Eagles game. And then of course the one he throws over the top to Cole Comet for the game winning, you know, effectively their game winning touchdown.
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Matt Abeticola
Very, very hard pass, Very, very hard.
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Courtney Cronin
Pass, very hard catch. Like all of it was perfect. Perfect. And it's like, how do you get those moments to happen more frequently within the context of his, you know, a 60 minute game. And I think that it's like you live with, you can live with some of the inaccuracy issues knowing that he can make up for it. But I think what they want to see is a more consistent kind of like what we talked about with this team getting down to the wire in the fourth quarter. Can they start doing that for 55 minutes before the final five minutes of the game? I think that that is kind of a parallel with how they view Caleb Williams in this passing game and how it needs to get on track where you don't want to constantly be playing in catch up mode and playing in, in the moment, in those moments where like you feel like that could come earlier in games and give yourself a little bit more comfort and just to be able to see it established on a more consistent basis. I mean there have been times where, you know, he's thrown the ball a lot. I forget it was, I think it was that Steelers game where he had like 18 pass attempts in a row. And like Ben's like, oh, I didn't even think of that in the moment. But like clearly you trust your quarterback to be able to continue to throw the ball even when it doesn't look great. And that was a game where he was only outside the pocket on five attempts. Like they forced him to stay in there and he won from in there. But there was also these off target throws from a clean pocket where you're like some of the things that you saw in week one, like the one to DJ more in the ends and the north going to north end zone against The Vikings Week 1. Why is that still happening all these weeks later? And I think that that might just be the maturation of a second year quarterback. And it's not something that gets fixed right now. It might have to be a mechanic issue, that mechanical issue that they fixed with him in the off season. But to say like, you know, bringing it kind of full circle to what Ben said, winning in spite of the passing game, not because of it. Caleb Williams is still the reason that they are winning games. I think that that part is probably what Ben wanted to establish. So it doesn't sound like he's not, you know, in this at all. Because you can look at last week's game and say it was Nishan Wright's turnover on the, on the tush push when he ripped the ball away, then put the offense in position to ground and pound their way to a win. So that's run game and that's defense. Where's the quarterback and all of that. That's what I think that Ben was trying to get to. That Caleb is a big part of the reason why they're winning games. Even if it looks like two different units that he's not directly responsible for or don't, won't get the direct credit for. Or is what carrying them to wins.
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Dan Bernstein
What highlights all of this that we're discussing is the fact that the running game has been so reliable, so powerful, so creative, and when those opportunities are there. We've heard Ben Johnson talk about hunting coverages. It means each of these opportunities is now more valuable. So it doesn't seem like a missed pass or a missed opportunity because they're going for big chunks every time. These are missed field flippers. These are missed touchdowns. These are. There are opportunities to change a game, which is why I think we're focusing on all of it. I'm wondering too now that we're seeing the distribution of playing time between Kyle Menungai and DeAndre Swift. What Johnson does not want to do is telegraph anything based on personnel packages. And you earn that by having multifaceted players and developing those multifaceted talents. Have you noticed any tendencies, anything to say, okay, this is a Manungai series? Can the defense say, well, they're more likely to do this now, they're less likely to do this now? Is Johnson going to be self scouting to try to say, I'm going to run. Mangai plays with Swift in the game and Swift plays with Manungai in the game.
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Courtney Cronin
Well, I think that you can look at post week five, the, you know, when they pick back up in Washington and seeing how they were divvying up series between running backs and it would be like, you know, this is a DeAndre Swift series. This is a Kyle Menon Guy series to get those guys in a rhythm. And I think that that has stayed pretty consistent, not rotating guys in and out in a specific series, giving each one their own to start establishing a rushing attack. Obviously they're on the field at the same times at times, but that was the first thing I noticed. I think it's just living up to what their roles are as, as runners. First and foremost, Kyle Menon Guy is a bruiser. He's 5 foot 8, he's stocky, he's between the tackles Guy. And I think that that's where he really made his hay against Cincinnati and that's where Ben Johnson figured, okay, if I need to set the tone physically this is the person that I'm going to, to establish that with. It's not to say that DeAndre Swift doesn't do it because we saw him do it. I mean they had like 183 yards, you know, combined between the two of them, rushing between the tackles. That's like, that's an insane amount that Philly has not given up since the Cowboys game last year in like week 13 or whatever it was in 2024. So I think you can do it with both, but it's playing to each other. Runners strength, which for DeAndre Swift, you get him outside, he's dangerous. That is where he's always going to be a home run threat. And for Ben Johnson to have like a pulse like the, the eq, so to speak, of what of the best way to utilize his players to attack an opposing defense. That is what we're starting, I think we've seen now from like week six onwards, specifically with the run game.
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Dan Bernstein
I guess my question then is, is the whole call sheet open with either one? Because I think ultimately that's what he's always talking about is, is you never know what formation, personnel, grouping that they've got to be on their toes for everything. And it takes time to build that. And I'm just wondering if, if the, the key is to get this. Like he said, part of what he meant by we're going to be playing our best football in December is he's gonna, he's figuring out all this stuff and the goal then is I'm wondering, can they do everything they want to do with either one of them?
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Courtney Cronin
Well, I think that 200 yard rushing performances last week would lead you to believe. Yes, they can. And I think that there are instances like we saw in Philadelphia when they were having their way up front. I mean, when the offensive line is run blocking that well, you can do a lot of things and like the direction of those runs going to the right of center, like for both guys, that's where they were getting the, the majority of their production. And I think that that would lead you to believe that no matter who's in the game, that philosophy can reign, can, can hold true. But I do still think that styles of runners very similar to Gibbs and Montgomery. You've got Swift does stuff, certain things really, really well. They're going to put him in position to shine. Man, guy, he's good for an anytime touchdown any game. I mean, I feel like I hear all these, all these prop bets of like, you know what, what should I go with? I'M gonna go with the Kyle Manon guy, like anytime touchdown. Because he's gonna be there at the goal line like he was last week. Four in a row. Like that is because he's a bruiser. He's your physical, imposing threat that you can use better in short yardage situations. And that's what they've been able to establish with this two headed, you know, rushing attack that they have.
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Matt Abeticola
So looking at the other side of the ball, it was interesting hearing Kevin Byard a week or two ago talk about this cross training that Dennis Allen did in, in the off season, going into the season where guys were in different positions. Is that. Is that had such an impact on how guys have stepped up to play. When you have reserves coming in and then reserves of reserves coming in, or is it more to it with Dennis Allen and his staff?
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Courtney Cronin
There's definitely like a benefit to it. Although the safety position has not been something that's been affected by injuries like cornerback has. But I do think that that theory, and obviously it's like playing sides, you know, for the safeties, like playing right and left versus like one's a free safety, one's a strong safety, like that stuff. And being able to interchange both him and Jaquan Brisker has. I mean, they were doing that last year. That isn't just like specific to Dennis Allen. That's something that they were doing under mat flu. So I think it helps. And I think the versatility that they have in the secondary has allowed them to mitigate some of the injury issues up, you know, in the back end of the defense. And but more than anything, like, I think a lot of this has to do with Dennis Allen and his ability to adapt. Because you're down again to like two linebackers last week because we knew that obviously Jalen Reeves Mabin was called up from the practice squad, but he wasn't going to play on defense. Like, that's just not what he does. So, like, you have two linebackers. What are you going to do if you're like, you know, to mitigate Saquon Barkley, to do all of these things that you, you should, you should in theory be limited with, with the personnel that you have. So he's like, well, we're not generating pressure consistently with our four pass rushers. We're going to play more nickel. We're going to. They've lived in nickel pretty much like, we're going to play more dime. We're going to, you know, use these dime packages on third down with the DBs that they had because they had an abundance of health at db. Jalen Johnson's back doesn't mean Deshaun Wright can't play Tyreek Steven, but Kyler Gordon's back doesn't mean that CJ Gardner Johnson isn't going to be on the field in some capacity. And I think just the way that he's been able to like Ben Johnson with the pulse on his offensive game plan and like knowing when to push certain buttons, I think Dennis Allen has that too, which is you look back at the hires and the decisions that Ben Johnson made when forming this staff, the Dennis Allen one, it was of high importance. And I think that you're starting to, you're not just starting to see. You've been seeing that thing play out. And the return on investment that they've gotten from a defensive coordinator who has been able to mitigate some of those injury issues that they have all over the defense, but particularly the back seven by cross training players by but by also like utilizing, you know, different sub packages to still remain aggressive even when you don't have your best 11 out there.
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Dan Bernstein
For what is Ozzy Tripillo playing right now? How much is this an extended audition, just a tremendous opportunity? And how much does this really reflect how far he's come since that incredibly underwhelming competition we saw in training camp?
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Courtney Cronin
I'll start with the last part of your question. I think that it reflects very, very highly on this coaching staff, on Dan Roshar for being able to get a player who honestly had to tap out like he was. He was nowhere near ready. He needed a reset. He hit the rookie wall, as Ryan Poll said, and they needed to figure out how can we get this guy ready to play left tackle at some point because Darnell Wright is your right tackle. And there would be no reason to draft a player who was a right tackle expecting him to stay playing right tackle when you spent a first round pick on a right tackle two years before. So the goal has always been can we get Ozzy ready to play left tackle? And early on it didn't look promising. But I think behind the scenes the coaching staff deserves a lot of credit for finding a way to reset him in the middle of, you know, at the end of the train, at the end of training camp and really behind the scenes for the first five weeks before four weeks. I mean, he played over at right tackle when Wright had that elbow injury against the Raiders, but then finding a spot where Theo Benedet unfortunately has a quad injury and it gave them an Opening to see a player earn a spot. And then when you heard Ben Johnson, I was a little skeptical of it. Like, you know, he's the thing about him that he doesn't lie when he, like, is talking. He doesn't. He doesn't heap effusive praise and then not back it up. That's something that I think we've learned. That's a tell about Ben Johnson that I think it's happened like one or two other times here. I mean, you can go back to a couple Minnesota game before that. He's talking. It was the. Coming into the Minnesota game, I think it was. They played the Giants the week before when they had all those drops.
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Matt Abeticola
Yep. Right.
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Courtney Cronin
So he was talking about, like, you know, the drops are an anomaly. How do you correct it? And all this stuff. But then Luther Burden's name was thrown in there about Ben. Said he deserves more playing time. What. What happens in Minnesota. He takes a lame day as a key as his snaps. So that was one tell. Then obviously, the way that Ben Johnson talked about Ozzy Trapillo going into the Black Friday game should have been a very. I, I don't. I think I. I'm like, I was mad at myself for not picking up on it more because it was so obvious and blatant how they felt about it, that it was like, oh, there is a window to continue playing at left tackle even with Theo Benedict healthy. So long term. Is it an audition? Absolutely. Like, I think he'd have to do something. You're not going to be switching left tackles left and right. I think he'd have to be. I think something would have to happen, injury or very poor play for him to lose that job the rest of the season. But the stakes are a lot higher now. They've got to win two more games minimum to get into the postseason. It will take 11. Ben Johnson is right about that, and you can't afford, I mean, for it. But as good as the offensive line has looked, you would think that this will continue on, especially when they have the clear advantage against a pretty banged up Packers D line to keep Ozzie Trapillo there and to expect that he's going to continue to grow in this process.
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Matt Abeticola
All right, last thing for you, Courtney. And of course, the most important question, what are your plans for Big Ten championship game?
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Courtney Cronin
I will be watching. I'm thrilled that the packers game got moved to 325 on Sunday because it gives me a little bit more of a chance to not have to, you know, do that tight turnaround. Obviously, the next morning. But I'm pumped. I will be watching somewhere in Chicago on Saturday night. And I mean, God, there's so much on the line. Heisman Trophy, number one overall seed in the cfp, I think. I mean, obviously both teams will get a first round bye regardless. I'm pretty confident in that. But that goes what, like, think about what 2020 could have been had there not been the cancellation of the season, then putting it back on and, you know, Indiana meeting the requirement of getting to play in that Big Ten championship game. We would have gotten it back then. And I'm really happy that it's going to take place this year. Five years too late, in my opinion. But for this team to be 12 and oh, going into this and everything that has happened in the last two years, I'm just, I'm really excited for Saturday.
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Dan Bernstein
I have one last thing for you, Courtney. When you mentioned at the outset about LaFleur and Ben Johnson trading playful barbs publicly.
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Courtney Cronin
Mm.
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Dan Bernstein
Is it a bit or is there something that underlies this?
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Courtney Cronin
I think Zach Taylor would be the person like that. I'd love to ask that question to because obviously he knows both guys pretty darn well, especially Ben. But it, it's always felt like. Because obviously, like, I think his packers, excuse me, his Lions teams were 5 and 1 when he was an offensive coordinator there going against the packers. And he puffed his chest out about that and I loved it. I thought that it was good for it reignited the rivalry in a way that it needed to be. But I don't think it was anything more than a playful, like a playful job. But I don't think Matt LaFleur took it as that early on. Like, you remember his comments from owner's meetings. He was kind of like, what are you getting at here? Like, it just felt like he was not really in on the joke. But I like that Ben Johnson leaned in on it. He's not leaning in this week, though. Anybody who's asked him about it, he's respectfully declined to go any further into it.
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Matt Abeticola
Well, according to the. The most recent bracket has the number one seed facing Alabama or Oklahoma. The two seed gets Notre Dame, who shouldn't be 10 or Texas a and M.
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That's.
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Courtney Cronin
I mean, to be able to have the first round buy. To have the home game like, or rather, I mean, to be like the home team and it'll be played somewhere else. But it. There's like, honestly, I'm. Am I excited for the SEC championship? Sure. Because I would like chaos. I'd like to see what would happen if Alabama loses, if the committee's really got the gall to leave them out as an at large bid. But there's no bigger game than the Big Ten championship this week, unless you're looking at the ACC championship and rooting for chaos to see if they don't get a team in, if Duke somehow pulls that thing out.
- [25:13]
Dan Bernstein
I love it. I love, love the. The information that is provided. The. It's clear you're following it closely. I will say that. I mean, the Bears stuff and all the professional stuff that you've. You've got going, the fact that you're still. You're still repping them is. Is very cool.
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Courtney Cronin
Yeah. Appreciate it.
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Dan Bernstein
Thanks, Courtney.
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Courtney Cronin
All right. Thanks, guys. Take care.
- [25:33]
Dan Bernstein
That is Courtney Cronin of espn.
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Matt Abeticola
And the church bells were dinging.
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Dan Bernstein
Yeah. You heard that?
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Matt Abeticola
Yeah.
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Dan Bernstein
Go to. Go to church, you know, Dear old school. I love it, man.
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Matt Abeticola
I'm. How, like, how excited are you for this game?
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Dan Bernstein
Which one?
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Matt Abeticola
The Packers?
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Dan Bernstein
Bears. Packers. I'm. I'm really excited for it. I am. It's. It's every game now, though.
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Matt Abeticola
I know. I know.
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Dan Bernstein
Johnson's. Ben Johnson's done that. At the very least. At the very least, he has brought back that childlike feeling of anticipation for a Bears game. And I always said it when I was a kid that there was. There was nothing like getting excited about a Bears game. And this was after, you know, when, as a really young kid, when we went to every game and we had season tickets and your Sunday was pile into the car and bundle up and get the asbestos hand warmers where you light the fuel stick on fire and snap it closed and put those in your pockets. But.
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That feeling of everything builds to the Bears game is kind of back again.
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Matt Abeticola
Yeah. It's interesting because I had. I had that feeling all the way up into my 30s or no late 20s, until I started working at the score.
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Dan Bernstein
And then killed every moment of happiness in your life. No, not.
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Matt Abeticola
Not moment of happiness, but it. It changed the way I was a fan of my teams.
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Dan Bernstein
Of course. It has to, you know.
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Matt Abeticola
Yeah, it has to. Well, I wouldn't say that I said professional job, but it was, you know, I. I Even into my. Into my. My late twenties, my whole week was built around, like, what the Bears were like, what. What's the plan for the game? What, you know, what are we eating for the game? Were we watching the game? It was all about looking forward to that Bears game on Sunday. And. And now. Yeah, it is. It is there. And, like, Professionally, we're in different spots, but I'm. I'm still a crazy fan despite doing this every day for our job.
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Dan Bernstein
That's kind of the point, and.
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Matt Abeticola
Well, it's kind of the goal that you can get it.
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Dan Bernstein
Yeah. Being able to straddle that line. And as long as you don't allow your fandom to compromise your objectivity when it comes to criticizing them, and I think that's. That is ultimately the goal, and that's sort of what I would hear. I always mentioned the name Doug Buffone, and I, at a very young age, when I realized if 55 could do it, if this guy whose actual heart and soul was so intertwined and nobody could give them more honest, forthright, immediate criticism when never pulled a punch, he'd call an idiot an idiot. He would call a bad play a bad play. And if somebody like that could do it and not feel he had to cape for the team and hide the bad, then it is that. That's the exemplar of what. For what you should strive in that regard.
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Matt Abeticola
Yeah. No, you're exactly right. And, man, working with Doug, doing Bear stuff was. Was one of the highlights of my radio career. Just being around Doug and I for, like, personally, I'm sure. I'm not sure. I know I do. I error on the other side of it, where I'm maybe extra critical. Yes, that's fine, because I am, you know, because I'm a huge meatball fan. I am. And I, you know, it's my favorite sport to watch. It's my favorite team. And, you know, I love the Bears more than the Cubs. You know how much I love the Cubs, but it's like, you know, this is a Bears talent. I'm a Bears fan. And so sometimes I probably do go over the line of being critical to try to maybe mask how much I am so passionate about the team, but, you know, whatever. And I thought. I thought what Courtney said about. About Ben was interesting. And so from her perspective, like, it was not like anything got to him.
- [29:22]
Dan Bernstein
It's just he.
- [29:22]
Matt Abeticola
He heard that back himself and thought, all right, I'm gonna rectify this. Knowing what the narrative has been all year long, he's learning.
- [29:32]
Dan Bernstein
This is. He's never been a head coach before.
- [29:35]
Courtney Cronin
Right.
- [29:35]
Dan Bernstein
He's never. Let alone. He's this market dealing with jerks like us and dealing with everybody who's been here for God knows how many years and how many coaches and how many general managers and how many executives and players that he's never done this before. And I think for him to continue to do it with such aplomb is pretty amazing.
- [29:58]
Matt Abeticola
No, he's been, he's been remarkable for a first year head coach. And, and I can tell you my, as my fandom speaking here that I, I, you know, I brought my PTSD into this season with my quarterbacks because. Yeah, I mean, you know, it's been, it's been such a roller coaster. As a Bears fan, I started regularly watching the Bears when I was 10 years old. It's 1983. 83.
- [30:20]
Dan Bernstein
And so McMahon was there.
- [30:22]
Matt Abeticola
McMahon was there.
- [30:23]
Dan Bernstein
Your first quarterback was McMahon was Jim McMahon.
- [30:25]
Matt Abeticola
Right.
- [30:25]
Dan Bernstein
Mine was Virgil Carter. So who? Virgil Carter.
- [30:30]
Matt Abeticola
That was a Bears quarterback.
- [30:32]
Dan Bernstein
Yes, that's right. Just as Bob Avellini was taking over from Virgil Carter.
- [30:39]
Matt Abeticola
Oh, you know, how good was Virgil Carter? No, I don't remember Virgil Verge. No, I don't.
- [30:45]
Dan Bernstein
Verge. That was, you know, it was. You don't remember Verge.
- [30:50]
Matt Abeticola
I don't mean again. I started regularly watching the Bears in 1983. That's when, that's when my sports viewing and fanship really took off. Was 83. And you know, dude, look at that though. I mean, the bulls draft, Jordan 84. The Bears go to the super bowl in January of 86.
- [31:08]
Dan Bernstein
No, it was so. It wasn't. Virgil was done in 69. So technically I was born when he started.
- [31:14]
Matt Abeticola
When he started. Okay.
- [31:15]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah.
- [31:16]
Matt Abeticola
But I mean, but my Chicago sports thing, you have Jordan drafted, the Bears win the super bowl, the Cubs go to the playoffs, the White Sox go to the playoffs. I was like, shit, this is, this is amazing. What a great town to be in. And then the rest happened. And then, you know, the 90s came about and Jordan's like, all right, I'm just going to win, you know, the next six out of the eight. And then I'm going to quit for gambling and play baseball and do all this good stuff. And. But, you know, it was just like the fan. The fanship of the Bears was just. It's the deepest and the most passionate for me in my entire life. And so having having all those experiences of quarterbacks coming in. Yeah, I am going to look at Caleb Williams in a very critical eye because I'm not going to trust it until I can trust it. And I'm working hard to get there, to trust the kid. And you know, there are, there are aspects of his game that are still very frustrating to watch.
- [32:02]
Dan Bernstein
I get it. So.
- [32:03]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah.
- [32:03]
Dan Bernstein
So then for me it was. Jack Concannon was in 1971. Okay.
- [32:10]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah.
- [32:10]
Dan Bernstein
And then I Mean, I know the name, but.
- [32:12]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah, I don't think.
- [32:13]
Dan Bernstein
And I actually, I've caught. I caught a pass from Jack Concannon one summer.
- [32:16]
Matt Abeticola
Were you wide receiver or.
- [32:18]
Dan Bernstein
No, he, he lived in Deerfield and he was a member at a, a swimming and tennis club called Tanaqua in Deerfield right by 294. And there was a big, a big field and he would occasionally play pick up football with kids and he'd be the all time quarterback and then there'd be, you know, six kids playing three on three and he would throw passes and he would quarterback both teams.
- [32:44]
Matt Abeticola
That's cool. And I'm sure it was harmless. It sounds creepy, but that's cool.
- [32:47]
Dan Bernstein
No, it was great. And that way you could say, you know, you caught a pass from the Bears quarterback or former Bears quarterback and so then it was Bobby Douglas.
- [32:55]
Matt Abeticola
Wait, was it, was it, was he throwing like the SNL skit with Peyton Manning, like rifling balls at the back of kids heads and.
- [33:01]
Dan Bernstein
Probably not. If I was able to catch it when I was a toddler or you know, a youngster. He was retired at that point.
- [33:07]
Matt Abeticola
So I was saying you weren't playing pickaxe football as a toddler?
- [33:10]
Dan Bernstein
No, I was probably 7 or 8 because he was, he was done at that point. I don't even remember what he was doing then, but it was Bobby Douglas. And then he couldn't really throw it to anybody. He could only throw at 100 miles an hour. You would not want to play pickup football with him because Bobby would throw it, you know, 100 miles an hour at your feet. It would bounce into you and hurt you. And then. Yeah, let's see. And then because Virgil was done and then it was him and then it was Avellini and bad. Although I think Bob Avellini still holds the record for most consecutive seasons or most consecutive games from a Bears quarterback.
- [33:46]
Matt Abeticola
Oh really?
- [33:48]
Dan Bernstein
I think that's right. I mean, because Gary Huff was there too. And then what year did Bob Avellini take over? There was. Joe Barnes was another name they had. I'm trying to remember all of these bad quarterbacks, but yeah, I think Avellini started 75, 76 and then he was just kind of there.
- [34:07]
Matt Abeticola
He was just the dude. Yeah, yeah. My first guy was McMahon. That's what it all started. And I'm going to have something for you tomorrow for dbu, looking at quarterbacks, so. Bears quarterbacks. Yeah, I got something I'm putting together for you.
- [34:19]
Dan Bernstein
Really? Before we get done today, can I announce something that is really absolutely awesome.
- [34:27]
Matt Abeticola
Yes, you can.
- [34:28]
Dan Bernstein
If it can.
- [34:28]
Matt Abeticola
I. What I think it is.
- [34:30]
Dan Bernstein
It is.
- [34:30]
Matt Abeticola
Okay. Yeah, of course you can. We. Because it's active.
- [34:34]
Dan Bernstein
So we 312Sports. We forward progress. We Dan Bernstein. Unfiltered organizations win championships. We have an app.
- [34:45]
Matt Abeticola
Yes, we do.
- [34:46]
Dan Bernstein
A free 312-sports app right now in the App Store. It's in the Apple App Store or in Google Play.
- [34:58]
Go get it.
- [34:58]
Matt Abeticola
Don't allow.
- [34:59]
Dan Bernstein
Go get the app. Go get it. Go get it. Go get it. It is. And. And I can say this because I know that there may be people listening to this show who have experience with other. Other apps, other apps with. With which some of my programming has been associated. This is not that this one works.
- [35:26]
Matt Abeticola
Oh, yeah. I never. I never used that other. Other things, so I couldn't. You're not. You're not speaking to me right now, my man.
- [35:33]
Dan Bernstein
Okay. Okay.
- [35:34]
Matt Abeticola
I just.
- [35:34]
Dan Bernstein
I want to say this. Go get this app. And there's going to be. It's just the beginning. I.
- [35:40]
Matt Abeticola
We're.
- [35:41]
Dan Bernstein
We haven't even had our meeting yet. Full disclosure. We haven't had our official meeting to explain to us how it all works because there's. You're going to be able to leave audio messages, video messages, text messages. We're going to be able to do live polling. All this is going to be a fully interactive, connective part of what we do here. I know our social media dude, Cody Delmendo is just trying to get his arms around everything that this is capable of doing. So all I. I'll. I haven't figured it out yet, but you're probably way ahead of me. So get on it, download it, have it. Register. Make sure you register because.
- [36:28]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah, you have to register.
- [36:28]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. Because there's going to be listener rewards. It's going to be like frequent flyer miles.
- [36:32]
Matt Abeticola
Well, then for the. I mean, and then. And the feedback, there's like live polls, quick message, send audio, photo or video. But you have to. You have to be registered. So get yourself registered.
- [36:39]
Dan Bernstein
Registered. It's a free app. All you have to do is register. And it's going to turbocharge everything that we're doing at 312 sports and it's going to make you a much more active part of everything that we're doing. I cannot wait to learn about all of its capabilities. But the 312Sports app.
- [37:02]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah. Dan, there's already one contest on here for a $100 gift card, so go check it out. It's to a restaurant in Chicago, the Chicago Firehouse restaurant. But that's already up there.
- [37:11]
Dan Bernstein
I know.
- [37:11]
Courtney Cronin
Well.
- [37:12]
Dan Bernstein
Oh, that's already up. Okay. So that's going to populate eventually and as soon as we can with all kinds of opportunities. The more you listen, the. You'll build up points and you'll be able to redeem that for free stuff. And we are, it's. It's an app of the people, for the people or something.
- [37:29]
Matt Abeticola
We won't be taking our shirts off though, anytime soon.
- [37:31]
Dan Bernstein
But why not?
- [37:33]
Matt Abeticola
Because I don't, I don't want to do that.
- [37:34]
Dan Bernstein
You don't want me to do it? You want to do it?
- [37:37]
Matt Abeticola
Well, I mean, if we're going to vote for who should do it, it would probably. I would hope people would vote for me. I don't know.
- [37:42]
Dan Bernstein
Be dad bod central here. Should we do a shirtless show if the Bears win the Super Bowl?
- [37:48]
Matt Abeticola
Done. Okay. Bears make the Super Bowl. Post game is shirtless.
- [37:52]
Dan Bernstein
Win.
- [37:55]
Matt Abeticola
Really?
- [37:55]
Dan Bernstein
No, we're not. If they win the super bowl, that's not going to be our legacy of doing a shirtless show pantsless.
- [38:01]
Matt Abeticola
No, not though, because that's every day when we're at home. All right, let's say Bears make the Super Bowl. We do it shirtless. They win, though. No shirt. I mean, no, we can't.
- [38:12]
Dan Bernstein
I'm not promising. No, this is not. I'm not declaring anything. I'm not, I'm not, I'm not making that declaration right now.
- [38:21]
Matt Abeticola
All right, Bears win the Super Bowl. There's a broadcast in the future season that we do shirtless.
- [38:26]
Dan Bernstein
Fine.
- [38:27]
Matt Abeticola
Okay, fine.
- [38:28]
Dan Bernstein
I'll make an open ended promise.
- [38:30]
Matt Abeticola
Maybe like a. Maybe like a training camp. We can do like a training camp remote, some point somewhere. Shirtless.
- [38:35]
Dan Bernstein
It's hot out. Yeah. Do you like the Harry carry and the bleachers thing?
- [38:39]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah. Remember that?
- [38:40]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. Hey, I'm not wearing a shirt. Boy, oh, boy.
- [38:43]
Matt Abeticola
Two cases of Budweiser each. Yeah.
- [38:46]
Dan Bernstein
Harry spent the entire time in the bleachers just leering at women. Just drinking and leering.
- [38:52]
Matt Abeticola
I still love. My favorite Steve Stone story about him is turning the heat up in the broadcast booth at Wrigley where the vents were down below their feet. And he could, he could adjust the temperature and he would make it super hot and just watch Harry just sweat and complain about how hot he was because the heat was on.
- [39:09]
Dan Bernstein
God, it's hot in here. They had that and then they had the. The upper heater at Shea Stadium where Ron Santo melted his hair.
- [39:18]
Matt Abeticola
Oh, that's right. Didn't it catch on fire?
- [39:20]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah.
- [39:21]
Matt Abeticola
Like the. Wasn't it Michael Jackson? Didn't he catch his hair on fire?
- [39:24]
Dan Bernstein
He didn't catch Ron Santo's hair on fire.
- [39:26]
Matt Abeticola
No. His own, I think. Wasn't it a Pepsi commercial, maybe?
- [39:29]
Courtney Cronin
Yes.
- [39:30]
Dan Bernstein
I think he exploded. I don't think he just got his hair in fire. I thought he blew up real good. No.
- [39:33]
Matt Abeticola
Have you seen the. The trailer for the new Michael Jackson movie coming out?
- [39:37]
Dan Bernstein
No, it's.
- [39:39]
Matt Abeticola
Oh, it looks really good. It's. One of his. One of his nephews is playing him. Oh.
- [39:44]
Dan Bernstein
Sort of like. Like O' Shea Jackson Jr. Played ice cube kind of thing.
- [39:48]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah, sort of like that. Yeah. And it looks. It looks really good. So.
- [39:51]
Dan Bernstein
All right. I'll take your word on that.
- [39:53]
Matt Abeticola
Forward to seeing that.
- [39:54]
Dan Bernstein
All right. But just download the 312app. That way I can leave you with anything. Do that. Thanks to Courtney and thank you for joining us today on Forward Progress, a Chicago Bears podcast.
- [40:13]
Matt Abeticola
Forward Progress, the Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abeticola on three 1, 2sp.