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Ted 219219.
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Forward progress, a Chicago Bears Podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abeticola on 312 Sports.
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Welcome to Forward Progress on 312Sports. We are here to talk about your Chicago bears who sit at 02. In this young season, it has been an alarming. I feel like I have to grab the thesaurus to find the synonyms for alarming because it's been that, at least here from my perspective. But one thing we like to do on this podcast is bring in outside perspectives as well. So we are going to do that today. And we welcome from Hallis Hall, a veteran of the Bears beat and covering the NFL for ESPN Corps, Courtney Cronin. Hi Courtney. Thanks for taking the time to join us today.
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C
Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here.
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B
Yeah, it's very exciting. And if you need a thesaurus, we're all screwed.
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A
Let me ask you this, Courtney. How bad is this really now? How bad is it on the continuum of hey, new coach, new regime, hiccups, no big deal to oh my God, I can't believe this is happening again. Where on that scale are you?
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C
Somewhere in the middle because of the way that they lost these last two games, giving up the 11 points in the fourth quarter after having a double digit lead and then everything that happened in Detroit, like I expected it was going to take time. I didn't expect it to look this bad though, through the first two games. And I do think that Bears fans who think same old Bears right now, you can't be mad at them for that because it does carry some PTSD elements of they've gone through the same song and dance the last couple of years. They were promised something different. They were promised it would look different more than anything else, more than results. And what the scoreboard said at the end of the game, they were promised from Ben Johnson that this would be a team that doesn't have to question whether they are coached hard, doesn't have to question whether they're putting in max effort out there. And then you hear stuff like Wednesday that this team doesn't have championship caliber practice habits and you're like, okay, like they're 02 right now. Clearly something isn't working behind the scenes and they've got to change that because the season can get away from you really quick when you continue on bad habits which start at practice, get carried into games. And you know, with the Dallas team whose defense did not look good in week two, coming to town in week three, you don't have any opportunities to waste to try to get your first win of the season.
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B
So from your perspective, what. What do you think those things are that aren't working behind the scenes that have shown on the field in these first two games?
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C
Well, like, I mean, if you, if you, like, rewind that, it's like, all right, what didn't look good on Sunday? It's the pass rush. Okay? Is it an effort thing? Is it a scheme thing? Is it a player thing? And I think when you listen to Ben Johnson, it's not anything more than player execution right now. They brought in a new defensive coordinator. It's a new system. They went out, they spent big in free agency. What's not happening are the players are not getting home to the quarterback, which has been your weakest link for a couple of years now. But very clearly, with all the explosive plays and what the scoreboard reflected from that Detroit game, your defense is a problem. So how does that then relate itself to practice and what they're doing during the week that to then look that bad on Sunday? You know, I think Tyreek Stephenson said something that kind of like, raised my eyebrows a little bit when he said it's an effort and a want to thing. What does that mean? Like, you know, it's a want to thing. So, like, you have to dig that deep to find a want to. To do better out there, or is it just. Is that just a convenient excuse for I'm not that good of a player and not speaking to him, even though his past. The pass rating allowed right now is pretty terrible. It's 158.3. It's a perfect passer rating. Can't get worse. Like, I sometimes things players will say that when they feel they are out, they're overmatched on the field, and they're trying to make it seem like, look, I'm not. I don't want to make it come across like I'm struggling out there. So we'll just chalk it up to, we just got to want it more. I just don't buy the whole idea that, you know, when Detroit played harder than the Bears, does it mean that they're that much more talented than the Bears? Like, what is it like? It's. It's an issue. That's, you know, if we're talking about culture and we're talking about players who have, who have said for about a year now they want to be coached harder, then why isn't that translating to games? Because by that by proxy, you should have a team that's giving, even in losses, full max effort all the time. And if they're telling us by what Ben Johnson said yesterday, how the players responded to that in practice, that they are not there yet, that's a disconnect between how it's being coached into how the players are receiving it and how they're carrying those actions out on the field in practice and then in games.
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A
I was a little surprised last week to hear that Dennis Allen bristled at the number of questions he was getting about the Minnesota game. And I was thinking, hey, Coach, this is the chance where people can get answers from you. This is your appearance. This is when members of the media, as representatives of the fans, are trying to get answers. What do you think they're going to talk about your preparation for the next game? And so I hope he's ready today for the same thing. You just had one of the worst defensive performances in the history of the franchise. Does he think everybody's going to talk about Dallas today? And when were you guys in the. On the beat kind of looking at each other like, does this guy know what we do here?
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C
And he's a former head coach, so he absolutely knows the drill here. Kevin Fishbane asked the first question that got like, I want to, you know, he. What Dennis Allen had said then was just like, I want to focus on next week or, you know, the following week. So it would have been Detroit. I asked to follow up on Noah Sewell because that did pertain to this coming game, the one against Detroit, because we didn't know at that point if TJ Edwards was going to play. And lo and behold, TJ Edwards gets hurt. And that's where he started to bristle of, like, you guys are really going to still ask me about Minnesota and today. I mean, unless you want to be asked a question about how are you going to let Dak Prescott do to you what Jared goff and what J.J. mcCarthy did to you, then you should be willing to go back and own the mistakes that you saw. Talk about the mistakes that you saw against the Detroit Lions. Like, to me, there is no way that you get past getting 52 points put up on your defense and being allowed to, you know, just move on to the next week without answering for that and justifying, if there's any way to justify that, why that happened and all the explosive plays in that, too.
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B
You know, one of the things that we've, we've discussed and I've. I've struggled with is the idea of allowing for patience. People have said oh, it's only two games. It was only one game with the Minnesota loss. You know, Ben Johnson is a new head coach and Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson are still getting to know each other and Ben's. And Ben says that Caleb is still getting to know the offense and the schemes. And I don't have, I don't have patience for it. I just don't. And I've heard people that have played the game that I respect their opinions very much say you need to give it four to six games before you can really evaluate what you're seeing on the field. How fair is that? And how fair is, is my criticism of what I've seen because my expectations weren't two and oh and world beaters, but I expected cleaner football. So how fair is it to be critical after just two games?
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C
The cleaner football part is a 100% fair criticism because they told us during the off season that mistakes were not going to be accepted. That's why, you know the first practice of training camp when Ben Johnson throws the first team out of a drill because they just couldn't line up properly. That's supposed to have a carryover fact that they quickly get that like, okay, like we screwed up here, let's not make the same mistake twice, three times. So to then see all of the like penalties, especially on the offensive line that first game, four false starts in the first half, not all on the offensive line, but four false starts in the first half, that's terrible. Then all of the offensive line penalties in the Detroit game, also terrible. Like you should, you should, as a fan, you should be not accepting of that part because that has been their Achilles heel since the off season and they're supposed to be past that now. So cleaner operation, absolutely be not okay with what you've seen on that. However, on the other side of it, when it comes to like full execution of this offense, I think along the way Ben Johnson has dropped some, some breadcrumbs to let you know how he feels like in terms of his patience of where it needs to be. I go back to the day before they are, the day of the Buffalo practice, the joint practice when they were here. He said he went back to watch the Week 15 game the year before in 2024. He's like, there are plays in that game that we would not be ready to run yet. I thought that was a very self aware and honest answer about the state of this offense. He had mentioned, you know, at other points too though, that where he started with Detroit in 2022 when he became the offensive coordinator and how training camp went and where the installs were then that this unit was further along from where he had started with Detroit two years ago. So you almost hear it kind of out of both sides of the equation here. So it's like, well, where. Where do you meet in the middle here? Like, what's the happy medium? What's. What is an acceptable place to be in as far as this team looking like a complete finished product right now? I still think that you look at what Detroit did in. In 2022, they start out 1 in 6, and then they're a game out of the playoffs at the end of the year. If the Bears are one in six, are people are going to be happy about that? Absolutely not. Nor should you be. But there's a track record and a history to go off of here about how long it took that offense and those players to become more familiar and to be able to execute this thing at a high level. I'm not telling people to, you know, be like, okay, waiting until the halfway point of the season, but realistically, there's a track record to show you that it takes longer than you might want. Be comfortable waiting based on this scheme, the proven results of it, and how long it took Detroit to be operating this at a high level.
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A
Yeah. The logical problem I have there is that presumes that you've got the right players, and nothing you're saying is wrong, but the presumption is that the pieces are there. And what I'm gonna be listening for as all of this goes on, and I'm sure you are too, is anytime they start talking about execution or anytime they start talking about habits, that's saying the players, the players, the players. That's saying it's not our fault, it's the players. And eventually, in aggregate, that starts to put pressure upstairs and that starts to say, look what this guy gave me. I'm doing the best I can. Our roster sucks. Now, nobody's saying that out loud, and sometimes it isn't even intended, but you can only shift the onus so many times and in so many ways to execution before. The question is, are they not executing because they're just not good enough at football?
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C
I'm glad that you brought that up, because I want to bring up two things that Ben Johnson said in reference to this, because we're already at the reading between the lines part of the season, which, you know, it's week. It's week three, and we're already there, but so go back to Monday that.
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B
Actually started the post game of the Vikings game.
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C
Yeah, but like I want like go back to Monday. So here's a quote from Ben Johnson when he was, you know, he brought up the defense. It was the first question that was asked to him because he's like, this is not the unit that I faced in training camp every day that gave him fits. So he said, I think it starts with how we play less so about scheme or anything like that. So okay, that's player execution. And then he brought up the, the, the Dennis Allen quote. A quote about Dennis Allen a little bit later on that I thought was, you know, pretty telling when he said I brought Dennis Allen in here for a reason. And I can't find the exact like whatever what came after that afterwards. But you know, here, here's like what I took from that. Like I brought Dennis Allen in here for a reason. The scheme works. Historically, he has had one of the better pressure rates of any defensive coordinator head coach his defense since 2016, the stretch from then to 2024. His, his units pressured teams the six highest rate in the NFL over that nine, ten year stretch. However, whatever the math is there, him saying I brought Dennis Allen in here for a reason to me was not, hey, Dennis Allen, I brought you in here for a reason. You need to coach these players. I brought Dennis Allen in here for a reason. His scheme is proven. These players need to execute it. To me that was a read between the lines. Not necessarily shot, but certainly pointing at the front office for the players that they brought in, the players that are not producing right now. The highest paid player on this defense is Montez Sweat. He does not have a sack to his name through the first two games this season. Yes, the one got called back and it stinks for the Bears in the situation that they were in right then and there because that would have put them in third down, would have pushed Detroit back. They go score a touchdown on that drive. Regardless, like your players that you assembled on this roster, Ryan Poles, general manager, front office, all of that, to me that's saying your guys haven't done their job yet. And we are trying to coach what we can based on what you've given us.
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A
When we talk about Dennis Allen, I'm still trying to figure out something and maybe this. It's probably not a question for a press conference. It's more if you ever had the opportunity just to kind of sit with him and talk, which I know you don't get as much as, as we used to. And it has to do with the front four and how he asks them to approach their job, especially immediately off the snap. Where we all know from a Matt Eberfluss defense and any sort of of Tampa two tree, it's get up field. It's a one gap defense. It is use that one long arm, it's get up field and whatever is in your way on the way to the quarterback, hit it. We also understand in the 3, 4 in a 2 gap how to occupy the block, push somebody backwards, let other people flow to the play, be big, be stout, be strong. Where Allen wants something, as I understand it, a little in between. And he talks about winning the physical matchup and being physical defeating your block. I'd love to know more about what's not getting done. I can see the result. But what specifically are you supposed to shed in one direction? Are you supposed to shove the guy back to the quarterback? What actually constitutes winning that physical matchup?
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C
Yeah. And they're not winning those one on ones when they do get them. It's a great question because it does feel like they had. It did feel like they had an opportunity against a weaker offensive line, an offensive line that has a new center and a new right guard. Grady Jarrett was injured last week, so maybe the knee injury. And he's, you know, he didn't practice on Wednesday. So like clearly I don't think he was at 100% even though he was playing in that game. To be able to penetrate, to dent the pocket, as they say, to be able to keep the quarterback high. So then your edges can come off your, your pass rushers on the edge can come off the edge and do the dirty work. Collapsing the pocket. To me, you didn't see enough of that. And they try to rotate guys through. They try to keep guys fresh on the interior. I don't know if it just was a byproduct of the rotation, a byproduct of the fact that Detroit just was had a better scheme for the games up front for the stunts that they were expecting on the from the defensive line and how they were going to counter those. But you know, coming off of that, one thing I do think is not a valid excuse right now because we talk about Montez sweat. What was the priority this offseason that Ryan Poles keeps talking, kept talking about.
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A
I want to help double team on sweat, make a double team matter because it frees up somebody who can actually make use of it.
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C
Yes. But also like I want to bring in somebody else on the other side that takes pressure away from Montez So he'll get more of those one on one matchups. We act like this guy has been double teamed more than anybody else in the NFL. He hasn't. Of anybody who's had at least 30 pass rush snaps and he's faced double teams. He's 92nd out of 133 players. Wow. Come on. Like we. You're supposed to be in. You tell me what you think because maybe I have flawed logic here, but I tend to think that if you are the highest paid player, the best player, supposedly best player at your position on a specific team, you should a be playing more than anybody else within reason and you should be producing without the need for like the caveat here of like, oh, we need to take pressure away from him. He faced five double teams in that game against Detroit. That was more than he faced against Minnesota. One double team and he was more productive against Minnesota. I'm not saying he wasn't, but I just think that sometimes we're given maybe too much of a too much leeway to, to the best player on your defense for not producing. When we talk about the way that this pass rush is supposed to perform and that you went out, you did the thing you said you were going to do this off season was which was to bring in a caliber of an edge rusher to play opposite Montez sweat, that is going to command more attention over there. It's not like Montez's facing max protection and to having to rip through that or facing double teams every single snap. That is a, that is flawed. That is a flawed excuse. If anybody's buying that, like, oh, he's just, it's just too hard for him. It's not. And so I think that that's something that you've got to really have some soul searching on here if you're the Bears and trying to think, okay, well do you need to blitz more? How do you need like Ben Johnson said it yesterday, we might need to pressure more. And I do think that it is interesting when you hear an offensive head coach, really any coach talking about the other side of the ball the way that Ben Johnson did because we didn't hear Eber Fluss really get like, yeah, he said he was involved in, in offensive meetings and the quarterback in the Breakfast Club thing, whatever, but like you never heard it to the degree of what Ben Johnson said this week about getting his hands dirtier with the offense, with the defense trying to help those coaches and what he sees, and I will be very curious to see what the tangible results of that are when they face Dallas on Sunday.
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B
I'm really glad you brought that up about Montez Sweat because it gets into some questions that you asked on Monday of Ben Johnson and I'm glad that you shared those numbers that he's had now. Five total double teams in two games. Because Ben Johnson.
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C
Five from the Detroit game.
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B
Five and then one. Yeah, and then so. But Ben Johnson replied to you when you asked about Montez Sweat and the way he worded it, it sounded as if he was being double teamed on virtually every play because he said he needs to win those one on one battles and, and they're too far and few in between that. That doesn't seem to be the case. If you're saying that it's only been six double teams in two games. So there's a lot of opportunities for one on one matchups. He's just not winning. But your question started off on Monday of Ben Johnson about Luther Burden and Colson Loveland and what it is that they need to do to get more involved in a game plan. Like what? And you asked specifically about those two guys and Ben Johnson goes in to first talk about the tight end position and he brings Cole Comet in about how they weren't meant to be part of the offensive, you know, attack on on Monday night against the Vikings more for pass protection and run blocking. And then he goes in and it gets to the part of the answer where he says, well, guys just aren't practicing hard. We didn't like what we saw with their, you know, without the ball in their hands. And we're going to see who wants to practice hard this week. It was very confusing because there was a lot of. There was two names that you brought up. He brings in the third name and then starts talking very umbrella, very generic. Was he referring to just those three guys about not practicing hard or not liking what he saw without the ball in their hands? Was that towards the whole team? Was that just the offense? Can you decipher some of that for us?
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C
I really like that you brought that up. And I mean, you guys just get it because you're reading, you're doing what you, you can tell that this is like journalism based because you see how this works. When there was a question asked specific to two players and then that gave the coach a window into being able to talk, to deliver a message. He's communicating to his team through the media with a comment like that. And I know he said yesterday in relation to the Tom Brady stuff that he's mastered coach speak. He has because in using us to deliver that message that let him get it out that everyone here is on notice because that question was in specific to Luther Burden, your number 39 overall draft pick and your 10th overall draft pick who has been a non factor. And it's really. It's not like they're dropping passes. It's not like they stink, like they're written out of the game plan right now. So how do they get more involved? Okay, well Ben says he's going to put the onus on himself. I got to get the tight ends more involved. That's on me. But then he opens it up to we got to see how everybody else on offense is performing without the ball in their hands. Meaning blocking, meaning finishing plays, meaning running through contact. I don't know if that's. I mean certainly can't possibly be directed at the two rookies who that's all they're doing is performing without the ball in their hands. To me I read that as a message for some of the other players out there, maybe a DJ Moore that he's seeing stuff in terms of the receiving, receiving depth chart, receiver depth chart. Maybe it's based on that. Like I think that that was a interpreted how you want to who I'm directing this at. And then of course yesterday he follows up and saying specifically I was talking to everybody. There is validity to that. But I also think that you can upon a rewatch of this game, you can see certain players that might this might, you know, apply to more than others.
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B
Well help me out understand then because when he says the tight ends weren't going to be involved Monday night against the Vikings and I was hoping they would bounce back a little bit more. That's exactly what he said. And you're in charge of the play calling and where. Where it goes. So then why weren't they more involved against the Lions if you were hoping they would bounce back a little bit more?
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C
That's on him. He said that he's like, you know, I need to get and that's been a big topic here because Colston Loveland has been a non factor. I think he had the what the one target against Detroit the other day and then the two catches. It really didn't amount to much against Minnesota. And same thing with Cole Comet. Like they've both been very quiet to start. That's on Ben Johnson. He's got to put whether that's making them primary reads in Caleb Williams progression, whether that's finding opportunities to scheme them open, that is on the head Coach, which I do think. I know that we're talking about the onus being put on the front office with some of the players that have not been performing. And of course, that being on the players. I do think you can appreciate what Ben Johnson is saying where he's volunteering. Like, no, I've got. That's on me. I've got to be able to put them in a position to succeed, because that's not just on Caleb not going there. He's got to be put in position from his head coach to where those guys have a more active role and are actively targeted to, you know, just help the offense earlier than they did last week, in the week before that.
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B
So when. When Ben Johnson does that kind of stuff, he. And he's sending a message through the media. I've kind of. I'm glad you said that, because I was taking it as. He's a guy that is really transparent and honest and then realizes he's being really transparent and honest and then kind of pulls back a little bit. But you.
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A
But, you know, he's trying to figure it out in real time, though I do think, genuinely, he. He wants to be normal like he does. He doesn't want to default to be one of these just jerky, idiot coaches because he's not an idiot. And I think Ben Johnson is a pretty nice guy, but I also think he gets burned in ways he hasn't quite expected yet. And this is the natural progression of.
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B
Understanding how that works, of why NFL.
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A
Coaches become who they become, where they don't say anything.
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C
And that's like. I think it's a great thing that right now you're getting it. Like, we'll see. We'll see if this same energy exists a couple weeks from now, a couple months from now, depending upon what the win loss record is. Because he's being very honest about how he sees it right now. And right now, that's not biting him. You know what I mean? Right. Like, this. This is something that works for him right now. If it doesn't, I think you will end up seeing, you know, kind of like a pivot here from. From Ben, because he, you know, he's been pretty consistent from like, the time he got here to what he has shown us through two weeks about how he talks about player evaluation in front of cameras, in front of a microphone, and he's very honest about that. At some point, though, if the players aren't getting it, does he dial it up even further or does he peel it back because he feels like he's gone too far. Like that's, that's the. I think it takes a coach a whole year. And honestly, like a real big moment of adversity, whatever it ends up being, to see if he stays sticks with that course or if he goes a different direction.
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A
Speaking of energy too, there's positive energy and there's negative energy. And Johnson himself, he had that great quote about we don't want to be a palms up team. We don't want to be like, oh, what's going on around us? And look at all these things out of our control that are happening to us. And he. And look, DJ Moore got that directly. And I don't remember who asked him. Well, what did coach say to you? He's like, well, he told me to stop doing it. My body language sucked and he needs it to be better. But you know what is interesting? That those of us who are watching at home and are watching the cutaways, Ben has his moments too. In this season. There have been a couple times where he's rolling his eyes, where he's kind of kicking the dirt, where he's dropping that play sheet to his hip, unhappily.
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B
It's hard not to though, man.
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A
Of course it is. What I've told him is, when it comes to bad body language, I'll do it for everybody. I am great at bad body language when I'm watching a Bears game. It's one of my specialties. I have a superpower at the worst possible body language. But I just find it interesting that it is something important to him. And I don't know if he knows he's doing it, but it's getting to him too.
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C
I think it's a normal human reaction. And when he talked about that in June, that was during. I think it was the last OTA before minicamp and then they had the one after. But it was in reference to Caleb Williams and the body language stuff they were working on with him in the off season. So they went back to the re watch and you know, basically what this stems from is in large part that Minnesota game where, you know, the one when he looks like Charlie Brown after Lucy pulls the football away and he's like laying flat on the ground. I think that was after he got the crap kicked out of him by Jihad Ward, which I always. And maybe I'm wrong about this. People be like, oh, you're, you're a female, you're soft, whatever. Like, I always try to put myself in their spot to be like, can I swear on this podcast.
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B
Yes, of course. Please do.
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C
That would fucking hurt like if you got hit like that. That's how I try to like put myself to like give them credence. Because, you know, a lot of times when we're in press conferences and we're talking to people and it's like, do you understand what it's like to have a 285 pound defense event coming barreling down on you, trying to rip your head off? I Never will. I'm 138 pounds. I'm five foot six and a half. I'll never have that. I'll ever have the opportunity to stand in there and do it. So I always try to give them the benefit of the doubt of. He looked like that because of what just happened. Something that like in any other arena of life would be considered assault. So like, it's not because it's a football game. So like I have to always give them the benefit of the doubt for that. But what Ben was saying in the context of sports is the way that that looked was a big problem for the rest of your football team because your team was, was looking at you. And not just that, and that's one instance, but there were other instances where it looked like a defeatist mentality. Like, here we go again, palms up. What do you want me to do? How like. And of course there was the instance with Thomas Brown and the, the Seattle game where he's yelling at Caleb to like, get back over here, I'm trying to talk to you. Like those sorts of things. So I get why Ben is, was really trying to stress that with the players because there were multiple instances, not just on Caleb, certainly on DJ Moore, certainly on other players too, where it didn't look good. But of course, as a head coach, you, you know that the cameras are on you at all times and they're always searching for the cutaway where you might be muttering something under your breath, which absolutely happened in the Minnesota game. I believe there was a God damn it sort of moment that we all saw on the rewatch and like everybody's guilty of it because you're human, like to be. It's, it's. You're in a sport that is predicated off sudden change and sudden change spikes your central nervous system. And so you're going to react that way. But I think it is, you know, if he's calling his players out for it, they're certainly in that same breath. Like you can, you can, you can extend some of that on yourself and say, I need to be better in those moments. And I think that there were, you know, there are times that it is frustrating and you don't want to look like you're just accepting what's happening as okay, I guess, you know, look, we're getting our butts kicked right now. Like, yeah, you know, it stinks. But I. I do. I do think that, I mean, he. He's also had moments where. And I know it was a preseason game, but everybody wants to look back to the time when they're up on Buffalo and, you know, by 30 something points and he's standing there with his arms crossed and looking really sullen and just like, looking really locked in more than anything else. Can you be that guy all the time? No, because you're a human being and there are moments that are going to really, like, frustrate you in games. But I do. I do think that it is, you know, something that, you know, people will point to because it's like, if you're expecting this from your players, you've got to also do the same thing yourself.
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B
All right, outside of scoring more points than Dallas, what do the Bears need to do to get their first win for Ben Johnson this Sunday?
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C
I think it's gonna sound so cliche. Can they run the ball better? Like, I know that they said that they felt they a little bit better.
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B
That's a question you. Can they.
- [30:13]
C
I don't know, because clearly what was working, you know, early on in Detroit, like a little bit. I mean, obviously DeAndre Swift had the fumble and the turnover. That wasn't great. But I just don't know if they have a real feel yet on the pulse of this run game and what it can be, I think, against this defense and knowing where Dallas was against the run a year ago, certainly it was apparently the reason why they traded Micah Parsons. But also knowing what flu's defense have looked like against the run, I mean, it wasn't, you know, that game that this is a defense you absolutely can capitalize on. Like, you absolutely. They. They allowed the Giants of all teams to be in a shootout with them. So I think if. If you can get the run game going early, just to establish some semblance of dominance up front, win those matchups, get your offensive line rolling, get DeAndre Swift rolling, try to work Kyle Menungai in like they said they want to, I think that's where it starts. But it's going to be hard to look at all the explosive plays they allowed. And you've got Tyreek Stevenson and Nishan Wright Right now. And it's going to be Nishan right going forward because Jalen Johnson's out indefinitely. They cannot have what happened against Detroit where you're just letting you know Jameson Williams had the two receptions of 40 yards. Those big plays, because they're not pressuring up front. Like, I know it's the cliche thing of Russian coverage. Like, and you know, but it matters. Like if they can't get pressure on the, on the front end, up front with how limited they are on the back end, with no Kyler Gordon right now, no TJ Edwards in the middle, no Jalen Johnson, then you're going to be seeing the same result on the back end. To where we'll find out. Can the Bears win in a shootout? Because that's what it would come down to. If it's the same level of defensive play from a week ago, it's going to take a shootout to win this game.
- [31:55]
A
And the problem I have is how I evaluate the Dennis Allen scheme based on my opinion of the Bears secondary. And it's just night and day because going into the season I thought the Bears secondary is one of the top five, if not top three in all of the NFL.
- [32:09]
C
Supposed to be their strength and then very quickly became their weakness because of injury.
- [32:13]
A
And you've got a guy that runs cover one with man principles back there. So you, you really can't do a lot of that if you're not getting home. You don't have elite coverage skill of the individuals in the back. This is the wrong time for the classic Dennis Allen stuff. How versatile and how willing is he going to be to embrace some of these headwinds and make some changes.
- [32:38]
C
He's going to have to. And I know that Ben talked about it yesterday about like some of the changes to the pass rush that they hope will affect the back end of the defense because the more you're able to pressure a quarterback, the more, the more time you're giving your guys to, to, you know, cover downfield. And I know it sounds. Yeah, it sounds simple, but like, can they make a play? Because there are instances where they're getting burned and they're. You're seeing defenders, whether it was Tyreek Stevenson, Kevin Byard on that touchdown, I believe after forget which one it was. But one of the many touchdowns where these guys are just trailing. They're, you know, these offensive players who, these are players who in Ben Johnson scheme last couple years in Detroit, the reason they were so good is he gets receivers in space. I feel like Johnny Morton's doing the exact same same thing. Get your guys in space and then they can make a play. Dallas has been shown us with Pickens, with CD Lam and certainly with Dak, like orchestrating all of it. They can be explosive, too. How do you limit those explosive plays after you got burned on them a week ago? Like, that is going to be the number one question for this defense in week three.
- [33:41]
B
All right, well, Courtney, we do appreciate your time. I know you have a busy day ahead of you at Tallis hall, so thanks for joining us here on Forward Progress. Keep doing great work like you do. We appreciate it.
- [33:51]
A
The Bears beat across the board and I've got so many friends and colleagues on that beat. The way you ask follow ups, the way even though your competitors, there is an awareness when something occurs in a press conference when there are openings to exploit. I think it's the best single beat going right now as far as working on our behalf to get information.
- [34:14]
C
Yeah, I appreciate that because I think there are a lot of fans are like, why aren't you asking this? Why aren't you asking that? Expect not realizing that, like tone and context and not setting somebody off right from the jump is important. But no, I love coming to work every day because I know that, you know, yes, we are competitors, but we do have each other's back because there is like, you know, we can play off of each other based on how questions are asked. And I think that you. That. I think that there has been some, some good stuff uncovered just from a simple follow up that might get you something more honestly specific topic.
- [34:46]
A
It's hard to listen and formulate a question at the same time. It's sometimes the hardest thing to do at a press conference, to really listen. And I think you and others on that beat do a really good job of that.
- [34:58]
C
Thank you. Thank you.
- [34:59]
B
All right, Courtney, thanks for your time. We will. We'll talk to you soon.
- [35:02]
C
Thanks, guys.
- [35:03]
A
That is Courtney Cronin of ESPN covering NFL and the Bears here on Forward Progress. I love that description of how it feels to get to take a hit.
- [35:13]
B
Yeah, that was great. That, that's really, really good.
- [35:16]
A
That's great. When you ask, hey, can I swear on this podcast and then. And follow it up with that?
- [35:22]
B
Yeah. Oh, yeah. I thought there might have been like one word.
- [35:25]
A
Yeah.
- [35:25]
B
But it was. It was good.
- [35:26]
A
That's right.
- [35:27]
B
Well, good stuff. Yes.
- [35:28]
A
Here comes this.
- [35:29]
B
I've got a whole thing for you, so get ready. Buckle up.
- [35:33]
A
That was awesome.
- [35:34]
B
Yeah, good stuff. No, she does, she does great work and I think I think we've pulled more from her questions these last, last two games post game stuff and then throughout the week for our our own content and show. So really, really do appreciate that. Really, really good stuff. So Bears Cowboys coming up on Sunday.
- [35:55]
A
And tomorrow on this very program, the top 10 Cowboys of all time. And we're going to go behind enemy lines.
- [36:02]
B
Yeah, well I want to get behind any enemy lines to get something scheduled for us for tomorrow for the Cowboys perspective of things. And then of course remember it's a 325 game. When that game ends, whether it's by the measure of the clock or by the score, we will be live for another Forward progress post game show. Yeah, it's been Cowboys.
- [36:25]
A
It's great. The comments, the energy, the just everybody hanging out. We're going to be there for you and I'm really enjoying it and it's therapeutic for me and God knows I'm in a lot of therapy so I can, I can use all the therapy I get.
- [36:40]
B
So make sure that if you haven't subscribed yet to Forward Progress and Dan Bernson and filter, do so on YouTube and then when you're on the YouTube, the channel, the, the page, the little bell icon, make sure you click that. That's how you turn on your notifications and you can get an alert that we're going live. You'll want to know that because like on last, last Sunday's game, Lions game, we jumped on a little before the game actually ended because it was over. It was out of reach and out of hand. So we jumped on early. So make sure that you're getting those notifications so you know when we do go live for those games.
- [37:15]
A
He's Matt Abouticola. I'm Dan Bernstein and this has been a 312 sports production of Forward Progress, a Chicago Bears podcast. Ted219, 219.
- [37:31]
B
Forward Progress, a Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abeticola on 312 Sports.