Paul Charchian (2:30)

Yes. Yes. So for me it happened. My wife and I went camping for two weeks and I'm like, I'm just gonna let it go, see what happens. And then my wife was really digging it. And I'll tell you, when your wife likes stroking your beard, that's a pretty good incentive to keep the Beard.

Matt Abaticola (2:45)

You know, it's funny, my wife doesn't like facial hair. And so what I did, I said.

Dan Bernstein (2:49)

It'S funny my wife doesn't like me.

Matt Abaticola (2:51)

Yeah, well, yeah, so you have that going for you. Charge. I started growing it and then I wouldn't shave for like a week. And then I'd go like, then I'd go like 10 days without shaving. Then I'd shave. And so I slowly and gradually grew a beard right before her eyes. And one day she was like, oh my God, you have a full beard. I'm like, I do, I do. I was growing it without you knowing. So I was able to. But now then I, then I shaved. I shaved a couple weeks ago and she was like, ooh, I like it. But it's. I was used to the beard. So now it's back and it'll never leave. Especially after my 11 year old said I looked ugly without a beard. So now it's staying for good.

Paul Charchian (3:26)

Well, yeah, you know, the 11 year old's opinion should not count, but it probably.

Matt Abaticola (3:31)

And now that I know that you're my beard twin, I can ever shave?

Paul Charchian (3:33)

Well, no, absolutely.

Dan Bernstein (3:35)

Charge.

Paul Charchian (3:36)

I'm so glad to be here.

Dan Bernstein (3:38)

Oh, well, you should be. Damn it. The Chicago Bears playoff chances have a swing with a win or a loss this week. If the Bears beat the Vikings, 66% playoff possibility. If they lose, a 35% possibility. Yep. And with the Vikings where they are, it sounds like they're treating this as sort of a must win line in the sand as well. To what extent is this sort of a play in playoff kind of game?

Paul Charchian (4:16)

You know, for Minnesota, they, the fan base has already chalked it up as a lost season. We know what a 14 win season is. We just, you know, we just had one. We saw what playoff football looks like. This isn't that team. This is a Vikings team that has gotten older at key positions. Because our drafts have been so bad for the last three or four years that we're playing largely on Rick Spielman's picks from five and six and seven years ago. And this was, we knew this was going to be a J.J. mcCarthy development season. We've only had four games. Here we are heading into week 11. We've only got four games under our belt with J.J. mcCarthy. So we haven't learned as much as we had hoped to have learned at this point. And thinking was at this stage of the season with JJ McCarthy, he would already be past some of the growing pains. You know, you'd like to be sitting at closer to.500 with a quarterback who had had some tough losses under his belt, but was now getting incrementally better every week. But we aren't seeing that from J.J. mcCarthy so far. We've got some serious problems that we're trying to work through right now with that kid. Batted balls, big problem. He's 6 foot 3. Every game we're getting batted balls. This goes all the way back to that original Bears game in Week one. We're seeing inaccurate passing, we're seeing slow reads. It's holding the ball too long. The processing speed hasn't been there. It hasn't been all bad with McCarthy, but especially when he gets off of the first, the script of the first two drives of the game, things go really wayward. And so right now we're sort of languishing as Viking fans in this morass with, with JJ McCarthy where it just, the, the positivity hasn't been there yet. He hasn't yet played enough games to hopefully correct the mistakes he's made. You're Bear fans. You know what it's like when you have a young quarterback who has the keys to your franchise, like Justin Fields, right? Where you're hoping it's going to get better and you're hoping it's going to get better. You know, for Caleb, you're. We're still not totally there yet, but things are slowly getting better with Fields or. Sorry, with McCarthy, we're just, you know, we're four games in and to this point it's just, it's just not great football.

Matt Abaticola (6:25)

Now, we know that injuries have been an issue with JJ which have hampered this initial season of development and growth as a starting quarterback. And I saw that he has a new injury. His hand, his throwing hand is wrapped after hitting an offensive lineman's helmet in a follow through on a throw. Is that. No, it's not going to keep him out of the game. Is it going to impact anything he can do in this game against the Bears?

Paul Charchian (6:48)

It might. Honestly, you know, he says, you know, it hurts and I just have to play through it. Well, okay, but, you know, your accuracy was already not great. If you can't get the grip you want on that ball and you can't maybe get all the spin and all the acceleration you want, that could be a problem. We never think we need everything for JJ McCarthy to be perfect to, for, for, for him to find a way to win this game. I don't love that. That's just, it's another hindrance here for him. Offensive line probably Missing its starting center again, that's been a, that's been a whiff for this team. Ryan Kelly's had a concussion since I think week two and, and his whole career is in question right now. He's got four, four known concussions. So that's going to be another issue that we're, that we're going to be following. And then the other big storyline. Well, if you don't mind me continuing to complain about my favorite team, that's.

Dan Bernstein (7:37)

What you're here for.

Paul Charchian (7:38)

Justin Jefferson just logged his most disinterested game of his career. He, this is a player who has always been high effort, high energy, always done everything absolutely at the peak of professionalism. He did not care during this game last week.

Dan Bernstein (7:56)

Based on what observation?

Paul Charchian (7:58)

Two main things. One, there was an interception on a throw to him and he, he did not track the player who intercepted the ball. He stopped running and he was the closest Viking and he just stopped running. Then he had a key dropped pass in the end zone that was not like him. And then there was a, there was another play that he gave up on the route. I mean, these are just all things that Justin Jefferson doesn't do. And then when asked about it this week, he basically said, I don't need to give, I'm paraphrasing. I don't need to give full effort on every play like after an interception.

Dan Bernstein (8:33)

Ouch.

Paul Charchian (8:34)

Who are you? This is not the Justin Jefferson we've come to know. So I don't know this is what's behind that.

Matt Abaticola (8:43)

Has it been lack of consistency at quarterback play? Is it, is it targets? What's going on?

Paul Charchian (8:49)

Carson Wentz and J.J. mcCarthy will drain the love of the game out of you. And I think that's a lot of what's happening here.

Dan Bernstein (8:58)

All right, well, let's, let's be serious about that for a moment because the large scale bet here was a double down on the quarterback development skill of Kevin O' Connell that the moment JJ McCarthy was drafted and the whole context of Sam Darnold and saying, oh yeah, well look, this guy makes magic. This guy can take Sam Darnold and look what he got out of him. Meanwhile, let's check in on MVP candidate Sam Darnold and maybe he deserves a little bit of credit. Maybe he had some agency in this. And I'm wondering if you don't have Vikings observers thinking maybe there was somewhat of a misread here. Not to. Not that it's definite, not that it's always going to cleave to these perfect storylines. But maybe there's more Darnold in the equation than was expected. Maybe a little less o'. Connell. And is there still belief that long term it was the right move to make?

Paul Charchian (10:04)

Let's back up to last February for your minutes. The Minnesota Vikings, My Minnesota Vikings, they have four options at quarterback. Sam Darnold. They've got Daniel Jones. Remember, Daniel Jones was on this team. Right. And Aaron. Aaron Rodgers wants to play for Minnesota. And then there's JJ McCarthy. This team threaded the needle to what looks like in this moment, the worst of the four possible paths to go with, probably because of the draft equity they put into J.J. mcCarthy, the age obviously youngest starting quarterback in the NFL. Meanwhile, not only is Sam Darnold a very legitimate MVP quarterback, I think the Seattle Seahawks are the. Are the best overall team in the nfc and maybe the league. Daniel Jones has obviously been fan, by and large, very good for the Colts. A little bit of a regression the last couple of games. Aaron Rodgers continuing to play at a very high level. I think he's fourth in touchdown passes in the NFL right now. And there's JJ McCarthy. Now, nobody is suggesting JJ's not going to turn it around. We do. We know that Kevin o' Connell is a really good coach. Don't forget what he did with Kirk Cousins, too. You know, he brought Cousins to a very high level when Cousins tours made.

Dan Bernstein (11:16)

Him a lot of money. Yeah.

Paul Charchian (11:18)

And made him a very wealthy man. That's right. A couple of times over. Falcon's still paying him ludicrous money right now to be the backup. Yeah. So, you know, I think the Vikings managed to thread the needle on that. Nobody's calling a. Nobody's calling J.J. mcCarthy a bust yet. The sample size is too small. But you guys have seen this before up close with these young quarterbacks. You're hoping get good. You just. There's just. You don't know right now. It's just hope. And a lot of what we've seen is not promising.

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Matt Abaticola (12:27)

Youm know, looking at the the Vikings on the defensive side of the ball too. Charchero teams can run a bit on the Vikings and it's what the Bears have been able to do well the last last few weeks. But they're, they're still defending the pass really well except in one one area. And maybe it's just because I'm a Bears fan and when I see the Vikings it's usually against the Bears and it seems like they get five or six interceptions a game against the Bears. They have it a lot though in this season. What what's going on with their, with their past defense as far as taking the ball away?

Paul Charchian (12:58)

They have three interceptions rolling into week 11. Yeah, three interceptions is ridiculous. Now Vikings continue to get a lot of pressure on opposing quarterbacks. They are the fastest time to pressure team in the NFL, which is saying a lot because the Broncos are on a historic pace as well. So they, they get immediate pressure on quarterbacks and it really challenges quarterbacks to decipher a play that frequently has players moving pre snap all the time. That's part of, part of what the Vikings have always done with Brian Flores is exotic pre snap reads. Now here's where you're going to get a great read on Caleb Williams. You can basically draw a line on the quarterbacks the Vikings have played this year. The veteran established quarterbacks are killing the Vikings. They read the pre snap process correctly, they get rid of the ball on time and the Vikings give up big plays. The young quarterbacks, the ones that haven't established those traits yet, get destroyed by Brian Flores and the Vikings. So where is Caleb Williams in his maturation process? This is going to be a fantastic litmus test for him. Is he going to be able to get to the line of scrimmage correctly, identify what read is actually coming, what's a smoke screen and then can he decipher the play quickly which has always been a problem for Caleb. Decisively make the right pass if he can do those things. I think it's a sign of real progress for Caleb Williams and different from the version that we saw in Week 1 against the Vikings.

Dan Bernstein (14:29)

That's what I've been thinking about when it comes to the passing game. I keep looking at this matchup charge as a fist fight. The Bears have been rushing the ball wonder I want to say in the last oh God, yeah. What is it like 917 yards in the last five games or something like some crazy amount of yards they haven't had since 1986 in a five game span. And the Vikings would be wise perhaps to do the same at least to get into third and manageable positions because the Bears have been such a good team on third down. This, this might be exactly the kind of old fashioned fist fight that had that we would expect from years ago.

Paul Charchian (15:16)

What Ben Johnson has done with your running backs is amazing. He has created. It's not Jameer Gibbs and David Montgomery because Jameer Gibbs is just a unicorn and there's nobody like.

Dan Bernstein (15:25)

I don't think Jameer Gibbs and David Montgomery is Jameer Gibbs and David Montgomery. I don't, I really don't. Jamir. I would not give the ball to David Montgomery ahead of Jameer Gibbs unless I had to.

Paul Charchian (15:37)

You know that I, you know they managed to find a way to do both and Montgomery is. He, you know, he. It is such a good one two punch there. But stylistically I think Manungai and Swift are closer, much more closer in stylistically together. But since your Week 5 buy, this running game's amazing. Swift is running at 6.2 yards per carry since the buy and Mananga is running at 5.8 yards per carry. That is going to be the theme of this game. The Vikings run defense has been a above average but there are games where they just roll over and die and this could be one of them here. I, I believe we're going to see a very run heavy approach again. Part of it is also to save Caleb Williams. Go for efficiency with Caleb Williams over volume and we will see. And you're off the offensive line. I mean we knew the offensive line would be better for the Bears. Your fourth best in run block win rate. You know this offensive line is going to open up more big holes. Swift and Guy who have turned into really good zone run gap run runners where they're patient, they wait for the holes to develop and then go. And that is, you're going to see a lot of that in this game. I've got my fantasy outlooks for both of these players are very high and especially Swift who I think you know has resurrected his career under the tutelage of Ben Johnson and good for him.

Matt Abaticola (16:56)

Now The Vikings at 4 and 5 sit at the bottom of the division and it's all, it's still up for grabs. It's all, it's all there for anyone. But at 4 and 5 you've seen enough Vikings games. You're. You're locked into what's happening behind the scenes. You look at the season kind of project ahead, would you, Would you what would you consider any fallout from this season? After looking at what happened last year, what the expectations were for JJ McCarthy with, with Kevin O' Connell this year, what would some fallout be for this season?

Paul Charchian (17:24)

Well, let me put it, frame it up in a, in a, in a way we haven't discussed yet. One of the key Kevin o' Connell has been bulletproof in his three years here until now. So we haven't seen them at the we haven't seen the development JJ McCarthy. But the other part has been this. They, they worked really hard to improve the offensive line just like the Bears did. And all the offseason talk was about establishing a running game that Kevin o' Connell has never had. And so they bring in Jordan Mason, a pure power back that can run between the tackles in a fashion the Vikings have never been able to have not been able to do under Kevin o'. Connell. And they promptly won't run the ball. This team, Kevin o' Connell simply refuses to run. They threw the ball last week, they were running at six yards a carry and they threw the ball 42 times. And in key situations, including third and one with the game on the line, they decided to throw a Hail Mary instead of just running Jordan Mason. This has been a the play calling has been very, very suspect. And while Kevin OConnell's still got a lot of goodwill built up in Minnesota, there are people looking especially at play calling decisions and his inability to continue to get to utilize Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason has been an ongoing discussion here. And something that has been a frustration point for for the Vikings as as we look through this entire season to this point, as we're halfway through it.

Dan Bernstein (18:51)

This season charge when we're talking about goodwill and what's been built up in Minnesota, I'm curious about what leftover feelings there are regarding the guy who's running the Bears right now. And Kevin Warren and I mentioned to Bears fans that when we see these establishment shots of U.S. bank Stadium and Warren took a lot of credit for that and I'm not sure what the after effects have been, how the finances have been reflected, how taxpayers, how voters feel about what the commitments to that building are doing. So the question is two part here, like what do Vikings people believe the Bears have and don't have in Kevin Warren and what has been the effect of the commitment made to that edifice?

Paul Charchian (19:47)

Well, Dan and Matt. Dan, you may recall that when the Kevin Warren news that he was a Serious candidate for this job. Broke. You brought me onto your show and we talked about Kevin Warren because Kevin and I have. Have had a relationship for many years and Kevin was a very well known figure inside the Vikings. And we talked about the kind of person he is. Kevin is. Was considered the moral compass of the organization with the Vikings. He's. He was a. He was extremely thoughtful, very well educated and. And deeply religious, by the way. And he had done some very, very nice personal things for me that he did not have to do. And he had done that for many people. Now, one of the things that I talked about when I was on that show with you, Dan, was you're not getting a monorail salesman from the Simpsons. Right? This is, you know, he's. This is not just a guy who's here to go build a stadium and make everybody rich. In the fallout of the stadium for U.S. bank Stadium is. We have a beautiful stadium that is enclosed. And this stadium is used about 300 days a year. It's not just a. It's not just 10 games out of this, out of the Viking season. It gets used for all kinds of things. High school graduations and big events and conventions and, you know, it's. It's turned into a legitimate magnet for. For the city. And it's something where if you need. You need a big open space, you want to have a cool event someplace, people come there. And I think Kevin's going to do something like that in Arlington Heights. I'm sad. I'm sad that we won't get outdoor football in Chicago. It kills me. I love. I don't have to sit in it. I. So, you know, I'm just at home watching these great weather games like the 49ers game in that season opener a few years ago and the fog game and all these great, memorable moments that are going to be lost in a sterilized indoor stadium. But at the end of the day, the new stadium here has been a huge, huge win for Minnesota.

Dan Bernstein (21:49)

There it is. I prefer indoor football.

Matt Abaticola (21:51)

I do, too.

Dan Bernstein (21:51)

I think all football should be played indoors.

Matt Abaticola (21:53)

Actually, I prefer it from my couch on my tv.

Dan Bernstein (21:56)

Well, I don't need people slipping and sliding around deciding all these outcomes. It's like playing basketball outside because that's how good the athleticism is right now. The same reason you don't have outdoor NBA games in snow is how I feel about watching modern NFL players.

Paul Charchian (22:12)

God, I would love that too. But I love, I love introducing all the variables that the weather has. And I don't know, man, it's, it's fun. We're gonna lose and we're gonna lose that stadium and I think the Brown stadium also going to be the new one's gonna be covered as well. It's sad.

Dan Bernstein (22:28)

Charge, I'm, I'm glad we were able to catch up here on the air or whatever constitutes the air for a podcast. It much appreciated and look forward to having you back.

Paul Charchian (22:39)

I am so happy to talk with both of you again and let's, let's do it again. There won't be another Bears Vikings game unfortunately this year unless something very weird happens. But let's make it a point to, to not be strangers.

Matt Abaticola (22:50)

We will for sure. Charge, appreciate your time. Good to see you.

Paul Charchian (22:52)

Thank you, my friends.

Matt Abaticola (22:53)

Okay, buddy.

Dan Bernstein (22:54)

That is Paul Charchian, our old friend from KFAN in Minneapolis.

Matt Abaticola (22:59)

You know, I didn't realize as he brought up the rushing attempts for the vikings, they're, they're third lowest in the league at 200. You know, and you in comparison, you look at the, at the top five teams that are running the football right now, the Patriots at 316, the Panthers at 292, the Giants 285, the Jets 282, the Bills 278. So they're 200. I knew it was a little bit lower. I didn't realize that they were in the, in the bottom three of the league. And just trying to refresh my memory on the, on their games. It's not like they've been trapped like trailing by two, three touchdowns game, you know, every game where they have to throw the ball, they can't run. They're still in games. So it's like an active choice to not run as much very often.

Dan Bernstein (23:42)

That's going to be a team that is up big will choose to run to milk the clock. And I would like to look to me it's like when does that have.

Matt Abaticola (23:50)

To look and see?

Dan Bernstein (23:51)

That's a good when are you running? Are you, are you running to win or running to build the lead that helps you win? Those are very different things. We got some breaking news in the middle of our podcast recording today on forward progress. The Bears have activated the 21 day practice window for Jalen Johnson. So according to our guy, Patrick Finley, who has been a guest in this very space on this, on the Friday, Jalen Johnson will return to practice today. Oh, wow. And that opens up a 21 day window to play games. Does that mean, depending on what his practice status is, that he could play Sunday?

Paul Charchian (24:40)

I.

Matt Abaticola (24:44)

Can'T imagine he would play.

Dan Bernstein (24:46)

No, I don't think so either. And that's. And now Brad Biggs is saying the possible target return date would be December 7th against the packers at Lambeau Field. Yeah, I don't think activating one for the practice wind. I see. The practice window does not mean that you return to the active roster. That's a separate move.

Matt Abaticola (25:03)

Okay.

Dan Bernstein (25:04)

So to be clear about that, it's a 21 day practice window for him to return from injured reserve. Got it. But he is back practicing and.

Matt Abaticola (25:15)

Okay, so. But just because the status change in that regard, it doesn't guarantee he plays though either.

Dan Bernstein (25:21)

Correct. Nothing is guaranteed.

Paul Charchian (25:22)

Right.

Dan Bernstein (25:23)

Okay. It does give you a reasonable target date that maybe that is packers game at Lambeau.

Matt Abaticola (25:28)

All right, so.

Dan Bernstein (25:29)

But possibly sooner. Like I think once you do this once, once you're in the window, you could be activated anytime.

Matt Abaticola (25:37)

Right. So that's Minnesota Steelers, Philadelphia, Green Bay. So that's three games away at Green Bay. So that would be a targeted date. But who knows? Who knows?

Dan Bernstein (25:48)

That's big. That's big. That is great news.

Matt Abaticola (25:50)

That is big. It also lets me know that what we heard from Ben Johnson, we were talking about it yesterday about Jalen Johnson.

Dan Bernstein (25:59)

We were hopeful.

Matt Abaticola (25:59)

Yeah. Hopefully get him back at some, at some point. And then all of a sudden this comes out the next day, 24 hours later.

Dan Bernstein (26:06)

You were right to flag that.

Matt Abaticola (26:07)

Yeah.

Dan Bernstein (26:08)

Something sounded weird about that. And maybe I'm learning.

Matt Abaticola (26:12)

I'm learning Ben Johnson speak. It's just I'm not there. I need time to gel with him more. So. But that's interesting and that's great news. That's great news. So Jalen Johnson has a 21 day practice window opened up changing his status.

Dan Bernstein (26:29)

Off IR and that gives him that much time for him to practice without being added to the roster. Yeah, but it doesn't mean he has to fill the whole practice window to do it.

Matt Abaticola (26:39)

Right. All right. Well, it's good news. That's a plus for us for the possibly last five games of the season.

Dan Bernstein (26:46)

Very much good news. We will. I'd like to find out more about both Jaquan Brisker and TJ Edwards, who were also on dnps after yesterday. A lot of guys came back because, you know, Kevin Byard, DJ Moore, Roma Dunes A listed as limited yesterday and there were others. I was a little surprised to see Dominique Robinson with a high ankle sprain was a full participant in practice yesterday. Yeah, that surprised me.

Matt Abaticola (27:12)

I mean, with those full, those, those high ankle sprains, you just, you just never know. I Mean, that's also on the in. On the individual basis of recovery. That could be something that leave a guy out for a season that could be, you know, a few weeks to return. So that's. That's good news, too, to see because he just in. The Bears need that extra body in that rotation for sure.

Dan Bernstein (27:32)

It seems like such a long time ago that these two teams played and because the Bears offensive line, just that change at left tackle because you've got this many games. And if we take what Ben Johnson has said and Dan Roshar has said about them coming together, how long it takes as an offensive line, they're significantly better than they were in the opener.

Matt Abaticola (28:00)

And your Viking guy, Van Ginkel, he's always on the left side, right?

Dan Bernstein (28:05)

He's hurt.

Matt Abaticola (28:06)

Is he hurt?

Dan Bernstein (28:08)

Yeah. According to their latest injury report. Let's see, he was limited in practice with a neck injury. He was upgraded to limited. They said he didn't practice, but was upgraded Thursday to limited.

Matt Abaticola (28:27)

All right, so I would guess he plays. He's out there. And so he's on the left side all the time, right?

Dan Bernstein (28:36)

I think so. So don't throw the screen to that side.

Matt Abaticola (28:38)

Don't throw the screen to that side. And then now the improvement that's Darnell Wright has seen throughout this season. Remember, he's gone up from. He was 44th last year in pass block win rate. He's up to 12th now with Joe. Joe Tuney being in the top five, which is why the team is fourth overall in pass block win rate. That's a matchup to watch, to keep an eye on. You know, we've seen Darnell Wright, we saw it in the Giants game, take guys down one handed. We're seeing him move his feet well and getting out in space to block. It's going to be a fun. A fun matchup to watch.

Dan Bernstein (29:12)

I wanted to follow up on Charge's comment regarding Justin Jefferson.

Matt Abaticola (29:16)

Yeah.

Dan Bernstein (29:16)

Who did not play in that opener. Right. He was suspended, was he not?

Matt Abaticola (29:22)

No, that was. No, no, no. That was Addison Russell. It was out the first game.

Dan Bernstein (29:25)

Russell. Jordan. Addison.

Matt Abaticola (29:29)

Jordan Addison.

Dan Bernstein (29:30)

Yes, you're right. Jordan Addison was out.

Matt Abaticola (29:33)

Jordan Addison was out for. Yeah.

Dan Bernstein (29:34)

And here are. That's a good one there.

Matt Abaticola (29:40)

Darnell Cartwright.

Dan Bernstein (29:41)

Here are some of the quotes that Charge was talking about because I wanted to dig these out. And according to NFL.com, when he's talking about what he wants to get back into is savage mode.

Matt Abaticola (29:55)

Yeah.

Dan Bernstein (29:56)

And he says mentally just wanting to get back into that mode. I like to say savage mode. Going out there, just killing it, not worrying about the plays, not worrying about anything else I can't control, doing everything I can control and making the most of my opportunities. He's on pace for career lows 76.2 yards per game and his 60.7 catch percentage is a personal worst. He has yet to post a 100 yard game on US soil. Oh wow, he hates America. I told you that can't perform in this country. And the stats are worse with J.J. mcCarthy under center, averaging 4.3 catches and 52.3 receiving yards in McCarthy's starts.

Matt Abaticola (30:44)

I'd like to see his targets based on the quarterback, too.

Dan Bernstein (30:47)

In the Week 10 loss to Baltimore, Jefferson's frustration was evident. This is what Church was talking about. He caught four of 12 targets for 37 yards. Ooh, 12 targets, though targeted on two of McCarthy's interceptions, including one in which he slipped couldn't hang on to a potential touchdown in one of his better passes. Jefferson insists his stats aren't the cause of his frustration, it's the losing that irks him. I want to win, he said. I'm not really mad at the situation that I'm in or I'm not mad at the players that we have or the plays being called. Well, of course I'm mad after an interception. You want me to be happy and go chase them down. That's not really something I want to happen. What?

Matt Abaticola (31:34)

So Dan, there's. There's more to it as well. An article here on ESPN talking about Jefferson being the NFL Offensive Player of the year in 2022. Asked about why he's not at that level, like what's happened, that he's gotten away from that level of play and he just said life. He then added, just different things going on in my life and just wanting to get back to the kid phase of loving it. I still love football, but overly loving football and overly loving just being out there on Sundays and making the big plays and just being a part of this great organization. So just wanting to get back mentally into that mode.

Dan Bernstein (32:07)

I don't get it.

App Store Announcer (32:08)

I don't know.

Matt Abaticola (32:08)

Well, something's going on.

Dan Bernstein (32:09)

I don't get it.

Matt Abaticola (32:09)

Something's going on outside of football that's distracting him from his play.

Dan Bernstein (32:13)

But I don't understand this. You want me to be happy and go chase them down after an interception? Yes.

Matt Abaticola (32:18)

Not want to be happy, but I want you to chase him down.

Dan Bernstein (32:20)

I don't care if you're happy or not.

Matt Abaticola (32:22)

Right.

Dan Bernstein (32:22)

Do your damn job.

Matt Abaticola (32:23)

Your emotional feeling is meaningless there just Go tackle the guy with the ball.

Dan Bernstein (32:28)

He said, of course, the outcome of the game is us losing, and I was the one getting thrown that ball and was getting picked off. So a lot of emotion goes towards that. But at the end of the day, I want to win, and I'm an ultra competitor, and a lot of people that don't play this game and don't play sports understand the competitive side of it.

Matt Abaticola (32:50)

Yeah, something's.

Dan Bernstein (32:51)

Something's going on here. So, yeah, I want to win emotionally. Things get heated sometimes, and things weren't going our way at that moment, so just wanting a better outcome. And the offense we have, I feel like we should be playing better than we are. He made it clear his frustration isn't with McCarthy, who he called a great quarterback and a great kid. I don't know where he's coming from, but this is weird stuff.

Matt Abaticola (33:13)

Well, Dan, just different things going on in my life. Just wanting to get back to the kid phase of loving it. I still love football, but overly loving football and overly loving just being out there on Sundays and making the big plays and just being part of this great organization. So when you hear someone tell you how much they love something, what's your first thought?

Dan Bernstein (33:33)

That they're struggling to love it.

Matt Abaticola (33:35)

Yes, 100%. And he says, there's different things going on in my life. So there's obviously things happening outside of football that are distracting him, are keeping him from being focused or. I don't know. I don't know. But that's. That's too bad, because despite being in the Bears division, I love watching Justin Jefferson play football.

Dan Bernstein (33:55)

Yeah. I love watching Jalen Johnson play football.

Matt Abaticola (33:57)

Yeah.

Dan Bernstein (33:58)

And I love the fact that when he's in a game, I know that I don't have to worry about that entire side of the field, and he can take that side away. And the fact that he is now back practicing. Yeah.

Matt Abaticola (34:15)

That's exciting.

Dan Bernstein (34:15)

That is. That is. I didn't think that was coming today.

Matt Abaticola (34:18)

No, not at all.

Dan Bernstein (34:19)

Not.

Matt Abaticola (34:19)

Not after what. What Ben had to say about it, about him and Kyler Gordon. Hopefully we get them back. Probably. Hopefully. I'm excited, though, for this game. I'm excited for the opportunities for Dennis Allen to do some creative things against J.J. mcCarthy, especially if that hand's bothering him.

Dan Bernstein (34:36)

Yeah. Stop the run first, though. You got to earn the right to do any of that stuff by stopping the run.

Matt Abaticola (34:42)

Well, it sounds like the Vikings want to help the Bears stop the run, too, by not running the ball, so that's great, too.

Dan Bernstein (34:48)

Fine. Because that Gives you more opportunities to get one of those batted balls.

Matt Abaticola (34:52)

I wonder how much of. And I'm just, just this is all speculation here because I haven't heard anything, seen anything, read anything about Kevin oconnell's ego. Like, how much do you think his quarterback guru ego plays a part in what?

Dan Bernstein (35:06)

I'll show you that I can't coach this guy up.

Matt Abaticola (35:08)

Yeah, Yeah. I wonder if that's a factor for o'.

Paul Charchian (35:11)

Connell.

Dan Bernstein (35:12)

Look, offensive coaches, that's part of their DNA, often is showing, you know, I'll make it all back on this play. Or there's.

Matt Abaticola (35:25)

You don't like the way this kid looks, I'll show you.

Dan Bernstein (35:26)

Well, there's an impatience level generally, too, that talk to defensive players. They rely on that, especially guys who have played in some of the Tampa 2 style defenses who know that we're going to make you crazy. This is going to be like water torture here that we're just going to. It's going to be a slow drip and we're going to keep giving you 7 yards, 8 yards. But they're counting on that coordinator just be like, nope, fuck, it all verts, you know, because any of us that's played any football video game, I don't like, I know they're giving me this, but this isn't fun. This isn't fun. The players are kind of like looking back over there, how many times are you going to like, I know this is. This is what we got to call. We know where this is going to be. And it is having that kind of wisdom and that kind of patience, it can win you a lot of games, but it always gets tested.

Matt Abaticola (36:23)

Well, I don't know. I just, I'm, I'm excited to see what. What the Bears do. This. I mean, I just, I can't wait for Sunday.

Dan Bernstein (36:29)

Well, and you should know that on these Sundays that you come join us here on forward progress that immediately when the game is over, we are set to go. That we set up, by the way, we have to set up at halftime because it always seems that forward progress. We have the strangest ghosts in the podcasting machine or in whatever's going on. So I just. For my own personal anxiety, it's hard enough dealing with the second half of one of these Bears games where, you know, my heart rate's at 190 when I'm at all concerned about our hookup and I'm gonna have to. Why is this, I don't know, reset it, unplug it and plug it back in.

Matt Abaticola (37:12)

Well, that Worked. Let's go. I think this, this week, let's do it before the game starts just so that we have it done even further in advance.

Dan Bernstein (37:20)

Deal?

Matt Abaticola (37:21)

Yeah.

Dan Bernstein (37:21)

Because you don't have to twist my arm. I'll do it the night before if you want.

Matt Abaticola (37:25)

It seems like when there's issues, halftime goes really quick.

Paul Charchian (37:27)

Quick.

Matt Abaticola (37:28)

Uh oh. Uh oh. Where did you go?

Dan Bernstein (37:30)

Did I disappear? Can you still hear me? Did I click something?

Matt Abaticola (37:35)

You must have. There we go.

Dan Bernstein (37:39)

Oh, there I am.

Matt Abaticola (37:40)

We're good. I'm good. That's all good.

Dan Bernstein (37:41)

I'm sorry, did something click?

Matt Abaticola (37:43)

You must have, you must have hit something.

Dan Bernstein (37:44)

Oh, I'm sorry.

Matt Abaticola (37:45)

No, don't worry about it.

Dan Bernstein (37:46)

I didn't mean to disappear.

Matt Abaticola (37:47)

Just disappeared on me. We can disagree if you want. You don't have to leave.

Dan Bernstein (37:51)

It would have been better if when I came back I had like a.

Matt Abaticola (37:54)

Rainbow wig on or something.

Dan Bernstein (37:58)

Where'd you go? Nowhere.

Matt Abaticola (37:59)

We can do that for what happened?

Dan Bernstein (38:01)

Nothing.

Paul Charchian (38:01)

Yeah, no.

Matt Abaticola (38:02)

So seriously, if you're listening to Forward Progress, we do appreciate it. And you haven't checked out our post game show yet, please do so. Seriously, it's, it's a lot of fun and it's just our, you know, immediate reaction of feelings and emotions and we kind of break the down. We. We break the game down further as we get into the week. But that, that immediate response of either.

Dan Bernstein (38:24)

Joy or you get the realness you get. See, it used to be I was so used for years I had to channel everything into writing. And it's a very different mentality to watch a Bears game and know that I've got to write my 600 word column or whatever it is, and I'm constructing paragraphs in my head and I'm thinking of things, did I write this or not? And I'm.

Matt Abaticola (38:48)

And.

Dan Bernstein (38:48)

But to be able now to scamper down into the basement, close that door, flip a switch and just be like, yeah, what was that?

Paul Charchian (38:58)

Right?

Dan Bernstein (38:59)

I'm loving it.

Matt Abaticola (39:00)

No, it's great.

Dan Bernstein (39:01)

I'm loving it and I love how quickly the comments are just filling up.

Matt Abaticola (39:06)

It's crazy. Yeah, it's non stop. So it's a fun community to be a part of. So come and join us after the game. Forward Progress. Go to the YouTube channel. Forward Progress has its own YouTube channel. Go there, subscribe, click the bell icon so you get the alerts. So you know exactly. On your phone right there when we're going live, you'll get an alert. You'll know. You can come join us whether you're on Your phone or you get in front of a computer, whatever it is, sitting on the couch watching afternoon games. Just come join us for forward progress post game show. We'll be there for you live right after the Bears Vikings game on Sunday.

Dan Bernstein (39:39)

And I know you're not going to have your same weekend as you did last week because it was so special with your, you were just coming off your trip to New Buffalo and your multiple, multiple meals that you had at beer church. I can't explain to you how important it is that you get out there when you can. It's the most important thing you can do in your life right now because it's going to make you happier. It's going to make your life better. When you go to beer church and you'll learn how to make Neapolitan pizza. Do the party. Do the party. Call them up. And it doesn't have to be a massive group. It can be you and your buddies. Bring your fantasy football guys out there. You're not golfing right now. Take your golf buddies and say, look, instead of playing, we're gonna go and we're gonna learn how to make pizza. And you do that for a couple hours and you can add all of their craft beers, a wine package, a cocktail package. And then you learn everything at their pizza making school private party. And they're with the wood fire kitchens, plural. You learn to stretch the dough and top it with ingredients, whatever you like. And then you dig in and there's no delayed gratific because it only takes like two and a half minutes. That's how hot it is to get that perfect blistering, charred edge.

Matt Abaticola (40:56)

Oh, my God, I want pizza right now.

Dan Bernstein (40:58)

Oh, I know. And if it is a large group, if it's your work group, or maybe you are an employer that wants to do something special for your employees, do it at beer church. Just Google Beer church, Pizza school. They can handle 300+ for that experience. Or you just want to go hang out and you want to go on the patio and you want to get into the giant menu. I shouldn't call it a menu. It's. It's the hymnal. Because when I say beer church, it is an actual church, a civil war era church. You can't miss it. In downtown New Buffalo. And it is. I can begin here to show you the drinks, the apps, the sandwiches, the desserts, what they call their communion bread, all baked in house. The pizza. Absolutely. The star of the show.

Matt Abaticola (41:48)

Did I tell you that we did a gelato flight after our dinner?

Dan Bernstein (41:51)

I Didn't they also. Yeah, not to be outdone, they have their own gelateria.

Matt Abaticola (41:58)

Yeah. Look at the flavors. Aren't the flavors in the hymnal?

Dan Bernstein (42:03)

Birthday cake, Bourbon vanilla apple crisp.

Matt Abaticola (42:06)

We had that.

Dan Bernstein (42:07)

Cookie butter.

Matt Abaticola (42:08)

We had that also. It was insane.

Dan Bernstein (42:10)

Spumoni, Italian espresso, Belgian dark chocolate maple roasted butter pecan tiramisu cookies and cream, Madagascar vanilla bean torta al limone mint chocolate chip, New York strawberry cheesecake and roasted banana dulce de leche. Yeah.

Matt Abaticola (42:31)

Yeah. We did a flight of three. So we had. We had the cookie butter, the apple bourbon, and then the vanilla, and it's just so good.

Dan Bernstein (42:38)

Oh, I'm in on the banana.

Matt Abaticola (42:39)

Yeah.

Dan Bernstein (42:41)

That sounds like.

Matt Abaticola (42:42)

What a great way to end a meal.

Dan Bernstein (42:43)

What that sounds like. It sounds like. Like bananas Foster Foster.

Matt Abaticola (42:47)

Yeah, for sure. Because that's what. That's what we did in. In Italy. I mean, it didn't matter what city we were in, but you finish every meal, which I had so much gelato.

Dan Bernstein (42:55)

Oh, that was when I was walked.

Matt Abaticola (42:57)

In the beer church, and I saw. Yep, I saw the gelato. I'm like, oh, gotta do it. We got it. We gotta get some gelato. And it's just. It's a great way to end the meal, and it's fantastic.

Dan Bernstein (43:05)

Do they. Do they do an affogato where they, you know, the. Pour the coffee over it?

Matt Abaticola (43:12)

Oh, I don't know if they.

Dan Bernstein (43:13)

Ah, there it is. Affogato al cafeba.

Matt Abaticola (43:16)

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Dan Bernstein (43:16)

Vanilla bean gelato topped with hot espresso and garnished with a biscoff cookie.

Matt Abaticola (43:22)

It's just so good.

Dan Bernstein (43:23)

Yeah. You put that in Jason Bernstein.

Matt Abaticola (43:28)

Oh, really?

Dan Bernstein (43:29)

That's his thing.

Matt Abaticola (43:30)

Yes. Does he wear a helmet when he has it?

Paul Charchian (43:32)

He should.

Dan Bernstein (43:33)

So he doesn't get a concussion eating it. This is really good.

Matt Abaticola (43:36)

So is everything. Now we're gonna have to worry about him getting a concussion. Anytime you bring him up, that's where it's gonna go.

Dan Bernstein (43:42)

Well, yes. He's a walking head injury. He got a concussion playing Nintendo Wii tennis. You don't think that's a reasonable fear at this point? Come on. You know, you send a kid to college, hit my head. What are you doing playing Wii?

Matt Abaticola (43:59)

How'd you get a concussion? I. I laid down in bed.

Dan Bernstein (44:01)

I don't know. I was walking around campus, I hits my head on something. It happens.

Matt Abaticola (44:06)

All right. Beer, church, gelato.

Dan Bernstein (44:08)

Yes, everything. Beer, church, wine. Beerchurchbrewing.com beerchurchbrewing.com Go there, enjoy, and tell them that. Forward progress on 312Sports sent you. Damn it.

Matt Abaticola (44:22)

Tell them your name.

Dan Bernstein (44:24)

Your name sent you.

Matt Abaticola (44:26)

And you know they do mocktails, too. If you ask, they'll do them for you. They got them there. It's great. Good stuff.

Dan Bernstein (44:33)

That's going to do it. For Forward progress, a reminder. Thanks to Paul Churchkin for joining us.

Matt Abaticola (44:38)

Oh yeah, he's the best.

Dan Bernstein (44:39)

And a reminder, please. Great beard, right? When the Bears game is over, as soon as it's over, go to YouTube. You can find us. We're going to put it out on socials just so you have it. You can see it. Go subscribe right now, set your alerts, and then you won't miss a minute of our immediate Bears Vikings Post 10219219.

Paul Charchian (45:03)

Forward progress, a Chicago Bears podcast with.

Matt Abaticola (45:07)

Dan Bernstein and Matt Abaticola on 312 Sports.

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