The biggest game of the season was just more of the regular season

Summary

Forward Progress - A Chicago Bears Podcast

Episode: "The biggest game of the season was just more of the regular season"

Hosts: Dan Bernstein & Matt Abbatacola
Date: February 9, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this incisive and lively episode, Dan and Matt break down why this year's Super Bowl—which should have been the NFL's marquee moment—ended up as another forgettable game in a season marred by middling quarterback play and the so-called "NFL Blob": a season where most teams proved frustratingly mediocre. Using the game as a springboard, the hosts ponder if the Bears could have been the difference, examine coaching miscues and key storylines, and chew over what this all means for Chicago’s future. The tone blends sharp analysis with classic fan banter, setting up a balanced and insightful conversation that ranges from X’s and O’s to TV halftime shows.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Bears in the Super Bowl: Could They Have Done It?

• Dan and Matt agree: The Bears actually had a credible path to this Super Bowl, given its quality and their own roster's progression.
• Dan: "The Bears could have won the super bowl this year." (01:00)
• Matt speculates they might have struggled against Seattle's defense but would have liked to see Ben Johnson’s offensive schemes in that matchup.
• Both hosts think the Bears’ offensive line and a healthy Caleb Williams would have fared better than the Patriots’ performance.

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2. Super Bowl Analysis: Missed Opportunities and Ugly Football

• Drake May’s injury and poor performance:
  • "Drake May who gets shot up before the game… his arm had no feeling to it, but he said he was all right." (02:26)
  • May missed multiple throws, especially deep shots, raising questions about whether he’d need offseason surgery.
• Josh McDaniels’ questionable game plan:
  • The hosts slam McDaniels for asking May to make throws he couldn’t physically execute:
    • "If you’re Josh McDaniels, you can't ask him to make the throws they were asking him." (03:30)
• Seattle's defense:
  • Praised as “assignment sound," especially in disguising coverages and executing blitzes:
    • "They had a stifling zone defense that was just incredibly well executed." (15:08-15:21)
    • Special shoutout to Devin Witherspoon as “their best blitzer” (15:24).
• The Patriots' offense was lackluster and failed to adjust, with wide open opportunities just plain missed.

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3. Broadcasting & Viewing Experience

• Mike Tirico shouted out “forward progress” during the broadcast.
• The hosts have fun with Collinsworth’s poor showing in the booth:
  • "If you wanted to know what was happening in the game, take whatever Chris Collinsworth was saying and presume the opposite was going to happen." (04:28, Dan)
• They joke about the obviousness of some plays, e.g., a defender blitzing from 30 yards—“even a casual football observer was like, there's something coming there.” (05:20-05:45)
• The game lacked excitement and remained mostly unwatchable until late:
  • "Even with the late game scoring, it just, it was just too late. It wasn't worth watching. It was bad." (06:31, Matt)

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4. The "NFL Blob" & Season Reflection

• Dan and Matt return repeatedly to the idea of the “NFL Blob”—a season of parity where no team really stood out, which made for uninspired football:
  • “The Blob won the Super Bowl.” (10:11, Dan)
  • "This season was the year of the NFL blob... no one really finished outside the Blob." (09:14, Matt)
• Injuries, inconsistent quarterback play, and unremarkable coaching led to a forgettable season.

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5. Mike Vrabel & Leadership Culture

• Detailed discussion about Mike Vrabel—praised for the culture he’s building:
  • "When he got back to New England as the head coach, his first message to his team was, 'you're going to respect everyone in this building, regardless if they wear a uniform or not.'" (12:05, Matt)
  • Story about always taking the first press conference question from the dean of local female reporters (12:18-12:44).
• Comparison to Vince Lombardi’s inclusive leadership style (13:02-13:30).

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6. Super Bowl Memories: What Stuck Out?

• The hosts agree the game will be remembered less for the on-field product, more for the Bad Bunny halftime show and Sam Darnold’s redemption.
  • "I don't know that I'm going to have a very specific memory, football wise, at all about this, this game." (17:02, Dan)
• Debate about Mike Vrabel’s stat line (10 receptions, 11 touchdowns) leads to fun, stat-nerd banter (16:48-18:03).

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7. Bears' Future: Offseason Moves, Draft, New OC

• Relentless jokes about new OC, Press Taylor:
  • "The Bears' new offensive coordinator is... Press Taylor for more options." (21:27, Matt)
  • Extended riffing on the name and puns, but ultimately, both concede Taylor’s a solid if not exciting hire.
• Offseason predictions:
  • ESPN's prediction: Bears may trade WR DJ Moore if they feel confident in young receivers (34:58).
  • Dan and Matt are skeptical, wondering if Moore's effort level and occasional lack of intensity would lower his trade value:
    • "He's really frustrating as a Bears fan, because he does have elite level talent… but there are occasionally effort issues." (37:01-37:13)
  • They discuss the Bears’ pass rush as “top offseason priority” (33:54, Matt), with names like TJ Parker (Clemson) and Zion Young (Missouri) mentioned.
• Both agree the Bears must pay attention to the "market inefficiency" of finding talent among NFL cast-offs—both Super Bowl teams exemplified this.

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8. NFL Concussions & Kickoff Rule Debate

• Sarcastic segment about the league’s handling of concussions; player leaves with a brain injury, comes back after passing a “pizza” color test:
  • "'What color do you see?' 'Pizza.' 'You're in.'" (29:47, Dan & Matt)
• Mild approval for the new kickoff rules after initial skepticism, with more exciting returns this season.

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9. Looking Ahead: Combine, Pro Days, and Fanship

• The 2026 NFL combine is only 13 days away (30:42–30:44, Matt).
• The hosts debate the joys and sorrows of the offseason, and what it means to be Bear fans year-round—"forward progress every day" for both the Bears and their show (41:10).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Dan: "Congratulations, Blob... the Blob won the Super Bowl." (10:07–10:11)
• Matt (on Drake May): "He just did not look good... there were some really wide open shots he missed." (02:44–02:56)
• Dan (on Seattle’s D): "It's one of the most assignment sound defenses... so good at showing what they do after you've concluded they're doing something else." (15:08–15:21)
• Matt (on DJ Moore): "He's really frustrating as a Bears fan, because he does have, like, elite level talent and he... does seem like a good guy. I just can't explain why. There's occasionally effort issues." (37:01–37:13)
• Dan (on NFL mishandling concussions): "'So they said, are you fine? And he said, penguin. And they said, that's the answer we wanted. Get back in the game.'" (28:56–29:35)

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Important Timestamps

• 01:00 – Bears could have won the Super Bowl?
• 02:26–03:30 – Drake May’s injury, bad QB performance, McDaniels’ flawed game plan
• 04:28–05:45 – Collinsworth criticism, obvious defensive plays, broadcasting banter
• 09:14–10:11 – The “NFL Blob” analysis
• 12:05–13:30 – Mike Vrabel's respect-based culture and Lombardi comparison
• 15:08–16:48 – Seattle’s defense and NFL play analysis
• 17:34 – What they’ll actually remember from this Super Bowl
• 21:27 – Press Taylor as Bears’ new OC (ongoing segment)
• 33:54–34:58 – ESPN’s take on Bears’ offseason priorities, DJ Moore trade speculation
• 37:01–37:13 – DJ Moore’s effort issues discussed
• 28:56–29:35 – Concussions and NFL absurdity: "Penguin" test
• 30:42–30:44 – Countdown to NFL Combine

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Conclusion

This episode encapsulates the frustration of a Bears fan watching an underwhelming NFL season end with an underwhelming Super Bowl, sprinkled with humor, analysis, and hope for better days ahead. Dan and Matt cover the strategic, cultural, and emotional angles, all while keeping the discussion grounded in the things that drive Chicago’s football faithful—expert insight, relentless optimism, and a healthy dose of sarcasm.

Transcript

[A]

I mean, if you're a Bears fan.

[B]

You'Re thinking forward progress. Come on.

[A]

Forward Progress, a Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abaticola on 312 Sports.

[B]

Forward progress got a mention in the Super Bowl. Did you hear it?

[A]

Mike Tirico?

[B]

Did you hear it? Did you hear Mike Tirico? Obviously a hu fan of the pod, dropping a forward progress in there. We appreciate it. We didn't have to pay the ungodly amounts to waste our advertising budget because he mentioned our name right there.

[A]

He's a friend of the program.

[B]

And if you are too, if you are an FP head that you know that you said, yeah, represent, let's go. Yes, and he did. You know what my conclusion is? The Bears could have won the super bowl this year.

[A]

Yes, they could have.

[B]

They probably wouldn't have. They probably, it probably wouldn't have been like that. That's a kick ass defense, man. That's, that's a killer defense. And I think the Bears defense was probably going to struggle. But they could have won the super bowl this year.

[A]

Yes, they very much could have. They probably would have lost in Seattle, but I would have liked to have seen that game with Ben Johnson scheming his offense against that front four and when they would blitz their cornerbacks. I would have liked to have seen Ben Johnson against Seattle now because Josh.

[B]

McDaniels was horrible, horrible, horrible. That is as bad an offensive game plan. Everything from everything they discuss. Go back and look at the Ben Johnson checklist when he was, when he first got to training camp and he talked about breaking the huddle, getting lined up, getting the protection right, knowing what coverage they're in, reading the front, deciding whether or not you're going to can the play, having everybody accounted for and then executing the play. They couldn't do any of that.

[A]

They could not. And I would have liked to see a healthy Bears offensive line with Ozzy Chapillo at left at left tackle and Joe Tuney at left guard because that wouldn't have looked the same as the left side of the Patriots offensive line. And with a healthy Caleb Williams, you know, you have Drake May who gets shot up before the game. We found out after the game. So his arm was, had no feeling to it, but he said he was all right. He was good to go. Pretty emotional after the game, but he looked terrible. And he had, he had, he had a terrible playoff run. I just saw a Stat on the 10 worst playoff performances by quarterbacks this year and he had three of the 10. You know, he Just. He just did not look good. And there was some really wide open shots he missed, and anything deep, anything. Anything over 15 yards down was just a floater in the air.

[B]

Are we going to find out that he has to go in for some sort of surgical cleanup, get something cleaned up? Yeah.

[A]

I wouldn't be surprised because he. He looked. He looked that bad. He looked that bad.

[B]

I mean, nothing in the post game, he was there in a. In like a tank top and nothing looked anything abnormal or swollen or anything. But he was not healthy. No. And to find out after that, he needed a bunch of xylocaine in that shoulder.

[A]

He had to kill the army to go. And it showed in the way through.

[B]

Of course it did. Yeah, of course it did. But they didn't give him a chance.

[A]

No.

[B]

Like, if. You know that if you're Josh McDaniels, you can't ask him to make the throws they were asking him to make down the field.

[A]

Unless Josh McDaniels didn't know.

[B]

Right. But that's what it looked like. And Mike McDonald was like. He had the headset. Like he was in their huddle. Like he was absolutely in their offensive huddle.

[A]

Yeah. There was. There was only one play that really stood out offensively for the Patriots. They had a tight end breakout loose, and there was a misassignment and he just. And May totally missed him. Just totally missed it.

[B]

But it was a busted coverage.

[A]

Busted coverage.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. Left hole shot.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

And the safety was no over the top safety coverage.

[A]

Correct.

[B]

And wide.

[A]

And May. Yeah, I told. But outside of that, it's like, you're right. It seemed like Mike McDonald knew exactly what was happening and guys were in the right place. Guys made the plays for most parts. You know, clean tackles, even one on one in open field. It just. It looked like they knew what they were running.

[B]

And if you wanted to know what was happening in the game, take whatever Chris Collinsworth was saying and presume the opposite was going to happen.

[A]

He had a bad, bad game that was. I mean, Mike Tirico did good.

[B]

Calling the game always is great.

[A]

He's great. He's a. He's a. He's a real pro. But I thought Collinsworth had a. Had a tough game.

[B]

I'm generally not a Collinsworth detractor.

[A]

I like Collinsworth.

[B]

Yeah. I think he's. He's folksy and fine and honest.

[A]

He gets the narcy at times, which I enjoy.

[B]

And I like that he describes the game in front of him. And that's really all you ask but he did not have a good game.

[A]

It was not good.

[B]

Well, I think they should just think about running every time here. It was like three consecutive passes, right?

[A]

And then there was the one where there was a cornerback blitz or a safety blitz from the right side for Seattle from like, from like 30 yards out.

[B]

Oh, and they threw the smoke route.

[A]

Right to the running back like, immediately. So like he literally ran from 30 yards deep. Was sprinting in as Drake Mays. Watching him sprint in, like, oh, this guy's in a. And he gets the ball and immediately dumps it off to the running back.

[B]

Is that when he said he's starting to see this now?

[A]

I saw that, Chris. I would have made that play. This guy's going to come in and kill me. I'm going to throw it to the left. He's starting to see it now.

[B]

Right now, right?

[A]

He's starting to see it now. I wouldn't go that far. He saw the one play.

[B]

He saw that guy.

[A]

Yeah, again, dude, it was, it was so exaggerated that Natalie sitting next to me is like, can I do that? Is he, why is he running from so far away? Like, yeah. So even a casual football observer was like, there's something coming there. Oh, he's starting to see this game now. Starting to slow down for him. No, Chris, the guy ran from the, you know, 50 yard line and they were at the 10.

[B]

Yeah. I have a Chris Collinsworth hater in one of my group chats.

[A]

Oh, you do?

[B]

Yeah. I advise just to, like, you know, let it go. Don't, don't, don't get. There's, there's enough going on. Although you had to feel something, especially once the second half started and they had that fabulous halftime show is over. You had to find something just to feel anything at that point.

[A]

And even with, with the, the late game scoring, it just, it was just too late. I mean, not, not even to win the game, but just to, to be worth watching. It wasn't worth watching. It was bad.

[B]

Yeah, I had, I, I, I had a couple of bet sweats at the end. I had that, the rushing total.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

I had to make sure he didn't just. I, cause I was there. 37 yards rushing and 38,5 was, you know, was the over. Under. I had the under. I just had to make sure he didn't fall forward for two more yards. But to me, that just like, that's cold comfort at the end. I have to find things to make me interested. Several people in my group chat bailed before the game was Over.

[A]

Seriously? Really?

[B]

Yeah. Multiple people, like, I'm out, I'm done.

[A]

I would have liked to, but I didn't. And I thought going into the second half, I thought for sure I'd have a fourth down conversion attempt. That was the only one I missed on. On my props.

[B]

Well, next year when the Bears are in the confetti shower, next year when the Bears being bathed in their orange Gatorade, it'll be a better football game.

[A]

Yeah, somebody, I don't know if they emailed in, there was a comment on YouTube that Seattle and the Bears play. The Bears play the Seahawks next year. And somebody was like, I wouldn't be surprised if that's like the opening game. Bears go to Seattle for the first game.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You talk about. And then. Did you. Did you see the comments on social media from people that were. Yeah, they were at.

[B]

They are at the Seahawks next year.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. So they were like on Radio Row. The number of people even outside the Chicago market making comments from other people saying they wish the Bears were here because it would have been fun and exciting before the game.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, let's. Let's ask this. If the Bears are in the super bowl next year, do we go?

[A]

We should. We should start planning for it now.

[B]

Yeah, we should.

[A]

We absolutely should.

[B]

Where is it so far we're going.

[A]

I know that because they already started having commercials on about it. About Super Bowl 61.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Before the game is over.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Because, I mean, the extortion is in place already and LA is going to figure out how to pay for all this shit.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Trying to find a thousand limousine buses. Yeah.

[B]

It's la, though.

[A]

Yeah, no, that'd be fine. No, we should definitely go.

[B]

I mean, San Diego could do a Super bowl in their sleep, so you could. You could bring from San Diego anything you needed.

[A]

No, we 100% should go. We should go either way. Definitely. When the Bears are there.

[B]

Yeah. But when the Bears are there, obviously we should go.

[A]

Yeah. So Collinsworth had a bad game. But you know what? Overall, Dan, as I sat and thought about the game for about three seconds after it was over, and then I moved on to.

[B]

And I'm done.

[A]

And I'm done. Yeah. It's really fitting that that was the game for this particular season, because this season was the year of the NFL blob. You know, when we thought a team kind of pulled itself out of the Blob and was like floating above the blob, orbiting it, got pulled back in and no one really finished outside of the Blob There were teams that were higher up in the Blob than other teams, but no one really floated outside the Blob consistently. And you had a bad quarterback performance from a quarterback who was bad and because he was hurt. Because he was bad and bad because he was hurt. But it's kind of, like, fitting for this NFL season. It was a lot of bad quarterback play.

[B]

You had a.

[A]

You had quarterbacks.

[B]

A team win a game because it was playing a bad quarterback.

[A]

Right. Which a lot of people made a point of why New England was even there, because they played nothing but bad quarterbacks. And the same criticism that was levied against the Bears and their schedule, like, can't help.

[B]

Congratulations, Blob.

[A]

Yeah, the Blob won the Super Bowl.

[B]

The Blob won the Super Bowl.

[A]

That was it.

[B]

So we're here with the Blob immediately after its convincing super bowl win. Blob, how do you feel? What is the Blob? How do. What's the Blob? What does he sound like?

[A]

Sounds like Job of the Hutt in my brain. Yeah. Right. Really? Because when you look at it, I mean, what. What team got out of the Blob?

[B]

What would the Blob sound like? What if the Blob also sounded like an obsequious British butler?

[A]

No, that doesn't work.

[B]

No, that doesn't work, does it? No, no, no, no.

[A]

Or would the Blob be like a. Like a. I don't know, like a really patriotic American.

[B]

Swaggering patriotic American. It's a great year for the Blob. The shitification of all things America.

[A]

So what team, like, got out of the Blob and stayed on the Blob? Nobody. Nobody, really.

[B]

I mean, I guess Seattle.

[A]

Seattle, maybe.

[B]

I guess they did.

[A]

They were the longest to orbit the Blob.

[B]

We thought the Rams were gonna get out of there. I guess they're the last one standing in anything close, maybe near Earth orbit was Seattle. Yeah, the Blob won.

[A]

Yeah, the Blob won this year. So it's really fitting that this was.

[B]

The Blob and the Blob one.

[A]

Yeah, but it was. I mean, for this particular NFL season, it was very fitting. That was what the super bowl was.

[B]

Good point. It's like, why'd you win? Well, the other team's quarterback was hurt, and they come back and tell us he was hurt.

[A]

He had a bad playoff.

[B]

Made him bad.

[A]

And, yeah, Mike Vrabel didn't look good.

[B]

You know, I thought he was great in the aftermath, though. Yeah, he's really a big sweetie, isn't he?

[A]

He very much is.

[B]

He's just, he, you know, I know that he's like the jut jawed, tough guy, footbally guy, but he and Dan Campbell share some traits in that he's really nice.

[A]

Yeah. It's really interesting. When he got to. When he got back to New England as the head coach, this first message to his team was, you're going to respect everyone in this building, regardless if they wear a uniform or not. You're going to respect everyone. And that seems like a really big thing, isn't he? Is it, Is it him that the post game press conferences always takes a question from a female reporter first.

[B]

Yeah, it's like Helen Thomas.

[A]

See, he always, he always. Yeah, always deliberately goes like guys will start asking questions he'll ignore.

[B]

Yeah. I think there's one woman who's been on the beat who is just the like the dean of the beat reporters that he defers.

[A]

He makes it. He makes a point to do that. Yeah. But I just thought it was interesting hearing some of the pregame. I did catch a little bit of it and one of the things I saw was about Mike Vrabel and that was his opening message to the team. You're going to be in here, you're going to be part of this organization. You're going to respect everyone that's in this building, regardless of what they do, who they are. You're going to respect everyone.

[B]

No, Vince Lombardi used to do that. That Lombardi also made sure to protect any gay players because. Yeah, Lombardi's brother was gay and Lombardi. Oh, he made a huge point really of being aware and making sure that any kind of hazing in that regard was absolutely verboten under Lombardi. Lombardi's daughter has written about it in her book.

[A]

I wasn't aware of that. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. So that's interesting. That's sort of well earned football stuff there. But he is. Vrabel may have this outward appearance as this hard charging tough guy, which in some ways he is, but it's all based on mutual respect.

[A]

I can't recall if it was during the game or pregame stuff. Maybe you heard it that Rabel in his career is like 13 for 13, 13 receptions, 13 touchdowns.

[B]

Interesting.

[A]

Yeah. And they showed one of the highlights and I would assume it would have been Seattle game because he catches the pass and he does the like the sea at the Seahawks thing like the players are doing. So, you know, a little bit of mocking there of his opponent, but I didn't know that about him. 13. I'm sure. I think I heard that right. 13 catches, 13 touchdowns. Perfect in his career.

[B]

Wait, 13 touchdowns?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay, look it up.

[A]

Yeah, that sounds like a lot. I heard that.

[B]

That sounds like a lot of touchdowns.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But it's possible. I mean, I know that was. It was more than a gimmick play after a while. It started out as a gimmick, and then it became a thing. But I just. I know that everybody's scrambling around to find week after stuff and day after stuff about the trends and what this bowl says about the NFL and what it means about how one wins a Super Bowl. But look, they had a stifling zone defense that was just incredibly well executed. And it's one of the most assignment sound defenses. They're so good at showing what they do after you've concluded they're doing something else. Yeah, it's brilliant.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

It's the late disguising and the way.

[A]

The way everything was covered up.

[B]

And I've tried to explain this before, the difference between the NFL and college, especially when you're evaluating quarterbacks, is part of speed and quickness at the NFL level is just in between your alignment and the snap, getting to where you're actually supposed to be. Like, teams are able to use your speed and quickness before the play even starts. Right. Discipline, speed and quickness and multiplicity of position when you have somebody defensively, like their best blitzer is Devin Weatherspoon. He's terrific. God, is he good. And they never had an answer. They weren't being too exotic. It was the same damn blitz and they never picked it up. And even when they did, the other side of their line was crumbling. So I was really surprised that they. They weren't able to either, you know, get enough vertical routes to just get hots all the way down the field and try to let somebody run under something or just find a way to attack vacated areas that these guys were leaving. It should be automatic.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It's a zone behind and you're sending one of the guys, get somebody in the spot that he left.

[A]

But that's. I mean, that's something you can do, though, when you rush four and you have. You have seven guys sitting back there.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

That, you know, made it hard for Drake. May as well. All right. Mike Rabel has says in his career scoring 10 receptions and he has 11 touchdowns.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

That's a lot.

[B]

That's a lot. I mean, you kind of knew when he was coming in what they were doing on offense. But I, I don't know that I'm going to have a very specific memory, football wise, at all about this, this game.

[A]

Specifically speaking about football. No, what I, What I will remember, and we talked about this on DBU, is the, the bad bunny performance at Super Bowl 60. I will remember that. Sam Darnold kind of like finishes off his, His. His really terrific story.

[B]

His redemption story.

[A]

Yeah, for sure. A guy that you thought would, you know, I mean, he. He won 14 consecutive. He won 14 games two years in a row.

[B]

Did the Vikings fire anybody again?

[A]

Yeah, well, they fired the GM again.

[B]

I was just going to think like.

[A]

You, they brought him back in just to fire him.

[B]

You're hired again. Oh, you're fired again. We just wanted to make sure it hurt.

[A]

So it's only happened twice now where a quarterback has won 14 games in consecutive season. It was. It was Tom Brady and now.

[B]

And Darnold.

[A]

And Sam Darnold.

[B]

That's cool.

[A]

Yeah. So that's what I'll remember specifically about the football. Nothing really. Yeah, it just. No, there really wasn't anything that's. I'm going to go back and say, yeah, I'll remember that from Super Bowl 60. Outside of the Sam Darnold redemption story. And Brad. And Brad, Bunny and Bad Bunny, we didn't see Brad.

[B]

Was he part of the other one?

[A]

He made the emotional support halftime show.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Yeah. You know, there was a commenter from our DBU show that said he mentioned that his. His wife is Hispanic and speaks Spanish and she hated the halftime show and saying that if you hate the halftime show, you're racist. Which is not what we said on the show. No, what we said on the show was being unwilling to even watch it because the guy speaks Spanish and sings in Spanish. That's what makes you racist. If you watched the Bad Bunny halftime show and thought, I didn't like that at all, that's not my thing. I didn't enjoy it. Great. You can have an opinion. It's the unwillingness to even participate because you don't like someone speaking Spanish. That's where the racism comes in.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Hope that clears it up for you. Does that make sense?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Explain that correctly and maybe you can.

[B]

Ask your Latino Spanish speaking wife if she's ever encountered any sort of racism in her life.

[A]

I would wonder. Yeah.

[B]

When I ask her.

[A]

So I want to find out what I heard that he was 13 for 13. So it's still a lot, though.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

He had 11 touchdowns in his career.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

He had four in one season.

[B]

Yeah, it was a thing, remember?

[A]

It's crazy.

[B]

It was, like a fashionable thing. Oh, here he comes again. I wonder if he's going to get the ball. Oh, he got the ball again.

[A]

Help me out. Help me understand this, because you're the smart one in the group. He has 10 receptions in his career, 11 touchdowns. So 10 receptions, 11 touchdowns, but no rushing attempts.

[B]

Okay. My guess is he picked up a fumble or he ran in a pick six. Right. You know, fell on a ball in the end zone.

[A]

Why wouldn't it show it here for me?

[B]

There's other ways. Because the defensive stats are probably another page.

[A]

I'm looking at everything right now.

[B]

That'd be my guess There.

[A]

I'm on Espens. They're usually better with showing stats. NFL.com is tough.

[B]

Yeah. NFL.com I like pro Football Reference.

[A]

Yeah, they're very good, too, generally. But ESPN always comes up.

[B]

Hey, the Bears have a new offensive coordinator.

[A]

Yeah, I've been hearing your joke all morning.

[B]

Oh, I'm not done with it.

[A]

I know you're not, and I'm really happy about that.

[B]

Get used to it. Yeah, and you've gone out of your way to not react to it, and all that's doing is making me want to do it more.

[A]

Okay, so you've picked up on it, too.

[B]

Oh, I. I know. You're freezing me out. No, I. Believe me, I'm. All right.

[A]

So had I reacted to it once, you wouldn't have said it the dozen times you've done it. Would you have stopped?

[B]

No.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

No, probably not. But it just. Now. I know.

[A]

Okay, so.

[B]

All right, I'm not an idiot here. I should. I mean, I can't.

[A]

I mean, let's pump the brakes, bro.

[B]

Yeah, I see. I know what you're doing.

[A]

All right, so you've caught on that I'm freezing you out.

[B]

Yeah. Okay. Keep trying, all right? Because the entire Bears world is going to do this.

[A]

All right. So who. Dan?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Who is the Bears new offensive coordinator?

[B]

I don't know, Matt. Why don't you tell me?

[A]

Really? Okay. Dan, the Bears new offensive coordinator is. Press Taylor for more options.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

There it is. A dozen times. He's done the joke himself a dozen times. Hey, you know the Bears do offense coordinators. Press Taylor for more. For more options. A dozen times, at least.

[B]

Come on. You're gonna have that name. The only other press I know is Press Maravich. Pete Maravich's dad.

[A]

His name was Press?

[B]

I think so.

[A]

I didn't know that. What is the.

[B]

I'M terribly misinformed. If he wasn't.

[A]

What's the origin of a first name press? It's short for Presley.

[B]

Freedom of the media is what it is. It goes back to Gutenberg and his Bibles and inventing. That's Steve Guttenberg.

[A]

Oh, the voice guy. No, he's not the voice guy. Who's the voice guy?

[B]

Michael Winslow.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Is the voice guy.

[A]

Very different guys.

[B]

Extremely different. Although Steve Gutenberg was good in Cocoon and remember during the wildfires in la, he was the guy out there helping people.

[A]

Oh, was he really?

[B]

Choking on smoke and out there helping everybody evacuate and trying to get more, you know, get information out there. He was a really good neighbor.

[A]

You know, the old people in Cocoon were like in their 40s. Yeah, I know. Yeah.

[B]

Wilfred. Well, that's the Brimley line. Right. Everybody talks about reaching because Wilford Brimley, I think was 50 or 51 when Cocoon was made. And they're all playing elderly.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. Bad looking 51.

[B]

Well, how about I didn't. I just look at the ages of Sean Connery and Harrison Ford in the Raiders of The Lost Ark 3.

[A]

Oh, what was kind of probably his 60s.

[B]

He was playing his dad and he's only like seven years older.

[A]

Yeah, well, Harrison looked pretty good. You probably have never watched shrinking on Apple tv.

[B]

I have not.

[A]

You should. You would. You would really enjoy it. It's the third season is dropped like two episodes in. It is. It's really good. You liked Ted Lasso or did you not watch Ted Lasso?

[B]

I like Ted. I did. I did watch it. I don't want any more Ted Lasso, though.

[A]

And this season comes out this summer.

[B]

They're forcing more of this. This is a bad idea.

[A]

So season four comes out this summer and he's back in the States coaching, I think, a women's soccer team.

[B]

I want to say we don't need. It was. It was great. It was. It was perfect for its time and what it was and take all those creative people and do something new.

[A]

But shrinking has a similar vibe to Ted Lasso. I really, really enjoy it. You would like it. But anyway, the whole point being Harrison Ford is in it and he's great. He's great.

[B]

Good.

[A]

He's really, really good.

[B]

He's a cranky bastard, though.

[A]

He can be.

[B]

Oh, he's a surly dude.

[A]

Yeah, he can be. That's not why you called, Taylor.

[B]

I know, I'm sorry. I figure what the Blob sounds like. Oh, good job, Blob. You Won the Super Bowl. What are you doing now? I'm going to Disney World.

[A]

No, I don't. I don't see. No, I don't see that. I. Again, I Immediately. And maybe just because of Jabba the Hutt's body is like a big.

[B]

Right. Oh, there's blob from Giggle Snort Hotel.

[A]

Wow. I haven't thought of that in years. Wow. That's a Sunday morning classic. Gigglesnort Hotel.

[B]

I'm not a fan.

[A]

Forgotten all about that.

[B]

Yeah, there's always something a little off about it. I don't know. I never liked Giggle Snort Hotel.

[A]

Yeah, my Sunday mornings as a kid were wrapped up in Giggle Snort Hotel and breakfast with the Beatles.

[B]

What about Magic Door? Get a little Jew love in you there with Tiny Tove and the Magic Door? What about Hot Fudge? Remember watching Hot Fudge?

[A]

I don't. I don't remember Hot Fudge or Magic.

[B]

I think was Magic Door was. Was like a. I remember Magic Dora. That was. Magic Door was like a hippie, date night, HBO thing, Jew show.

[A]

And then Magic Door was a. Yeah, open.

[B]

Come open the Magic door with me. Yeah, the Tiny Tove was like the. And then there was Hot Fudge that I think was Detroit based. And that was like a. A black puppet show.

[A]

Okay, I don't remember either one of those.

[B]

It was like an urban kids show.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And they had kids.

[A]

Why were you watching?

[B]

It was good. Oh, and. I don't know. I was on.

[A]

They weren't trying to reach you. It was the other show that wanted you.

[B]

Like, I didn't want. No, I didn't want to watch that. We did that on Saturday morning.

[A]

I got his programming. Mother.

[B]

No, I would. I got enough of that crap. It's fine. No, I wanted the. I wanted the Hot Fudge. Funky Motown vibes.

[A]

Nice. Yeah.

[B]

And Dusty's Treehouse, when they would tell us not to smoke cigarettes.

[A]

Because you cause a forest fire?

[B]

No, because you die of lung cancer. Oh.

[A]

Oh, that too.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That's bad.

[B]

It's all bad. Really. Added the forest fires.

[A]

Yeah. Yes. And Steve Guttenberg's there to help.

[B]

That's right. So maybe forest fires aren't that bad if you got Steve Guttenberg there, not the original Gutenberg, who had the printing press. Right, which gets us back to press Taylor.

[A]

But didn't Michael Winslow follow Gutenberg around? Doing a helicopter? Sounds like. Oh, help's on the way. Don't worry. No, no, that's just your friend. He won't stop the noises.

[B]

Yeah, I don't know what to do. I'm just trying to order a bowl.

[A]

Of soup, all right?

[B]

Really, all I want is a bowl of soup and this guy over here with the noises.

[A]

Press Taylor is the new offense coordinator.

[B]

Yes, and he's fine.

[A]

He's. Press Taylor for more options.

[B]

He's fine.

[A]

Someone's not getting that joke right now.

[B]

Who? I don't know.

[A]

Someone. There's someone going. I don't know.

[B]

Someone in the comments.

[A]

Someone's not getting it right.

[B]

Stop doing that. Because I don't get it. Because I don't know what it means. It's in Spanish.

[A]

We're gonna have our own show.

[B]

Emotional.

[A]

Emotional support. Halftime show. What are the numbers? Like, 140 million to 6. What was it?

[B]

Yes. 135 million.

[A]

635 million people watched Bad Bunny and 6 million watched Kid Rob.

[B]

No, 6.

[A]

6 million.

[B]

No, 6. 6 people. I didn't say 6 million. I said 6.

[A]

I love that orange Guy didn't watch.

[B]

No, he didn't watch Kid Rob. They did it all for him.

[A]

Yeah, they did it all for him. He watched Bad Bunny so he could criticize it.

[B]

Think about that, too. You spend all that money with all of that and you pull it. All your favors, and all you can get is Brandon Flem, Brandon Bryce and Brandon Rock and all these people. And he doesn't even watch.

[A]

No, he watches and then goes out and starts calling Olympic athletes losers for stuff they didn't say.

[B]

And change the kickoff rule.

[A]

Yes, that's right.

[B]

And strike the letter M from the Alphabet.

[A]

And bring back the mcdlt.

[B]

Bring me a Diet Coke. I am not a crackbot.

[A]

I'm not a lunatic on social media.

[B]

Change the kickoff rules.

[A]

We need more concussions in this country.

[B]

Oh, there are plenty in that game, by the way. Jackson Smith and Jigba. Yeah, of course he was.

[A]

He.

[B]

Wait a second here.

[A]

He.

[B]

So he goes in the blue tent, and in the blue tent, they're like, yeah, you're. This is your. You have a brain injury. Yeah. And then. And then he leaves it, goes to the locker room and comes back and miraculously then doesn't have a brain injury. Right.

[A]

You're good to go. I'm good.

[B]

Oh, yeah. And then they make a thing out of it. Let's go down to Kaylee Hartson. So they said, are you fine? And he said, penguin. And they said, that's the answer we wanted. Get back in the game. I don't think he's okay. Oh, boy. I don't think. And then how about that hit in the end Zone at the end. And on the two point conversion, even Collins, where it's like, whoa. And both guys were concussed, like, oh, hey, it's football. And, you know, it happens in football.

[A]

I love it. You're good to go, Penguin.

[B]

Perfect.

[A]

That's really funny.

[B]

You get 100%. You have passed the cognitive NFL concussion exam.

[A]

Get back in the game.

[B]

Get out there.

[A]

What color do you see pizza?

[B]

Perfect.

[A]

You're in.

[B]

Well, it was a perfect encapsulation then, because that last hit in the end zone, after all was said and done, and they're still. They're flying around out there smacking into people and I guess the new kickoff rule, you just want to bring back.

[A]

More of those, I guess. Helps make America great again.

[B]

I don't mind this kickoff rule.

[A]

I don't mind it either.

[B]

Fine.

[A]

Yeah, I thought it was better than I was anticipating it to be.

[B]

So. A lot more kickoff returns.

[A]

Yeah. That's what you want?

[B]

I think so.

[A]

I think the league probably had, what, maybe three or four returns for touchdowns, something like that. So you got some. It was fine. It was fine. Hey, do you know it's 13 days away?

[B]

13 days from now. From today. Well, it's not Valentine's Day, and it's not the Spring Coho run. I don't know. What is it?

[A]

It's the NFL combine.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

We're only 13 days away.

[B]

Yeah, we are.

[A]

It's great. Ready to go.

[B]

That means pro days are going to be any time because it's all we get. These concurrent little showcases and pro days.

[A]

Yeah. I'm working on getting us down to Vanderbilt for.

[B]

For the Pavia Pro day of pro day.

[A]

Yeah. Do a little partying with his brothers. Watch him throw some football.

[B]

Is that part of it?

[A]

Yeah. We have to.

[B]

Okay. Everybody's drinking a little bit of patron before the. For the pro Day. Get Javier and Roel out there running patterns for you.

[A]

How do you remember their names?

[B]

You have to. They're the Pavia brothers.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

That's enough. They're Roel, Javier.

[A]

So I'm disappointed the season's over. Like, football's done now.

[B]

I'm more disappointed now that I realize the Bears could have won the Super Bowl.

[A]

Telling you that from week 12.

[B]

Yeah. It's just. You see it out there, you're like.

[A]

You know, I said it. They got eight and three. And I was like, you got to look what this team can do. They could win. They could win it all, and they're going to win it all next year. But so. So games are done. We're about 20, I think 29 weeks away from opening weekend.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Combines in 13 days. So we're already. I mean, we get a little bit of a breather and then it's right back at it. Getting into it all hot and heavy.

[B]

Yeah. Are you watching the Olympics at all?

[A]

I am, yeah.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

I am. I am. I'm watching more than I probably would because Natalie enjoys it more than I do. There are certain things I like watching, but I have watched quite a bit. I mean, I destroyed Lindsey Vaughn's career yesterday.

[B]

Yeah. If you haven't heard, dbu. Matt mangled her.

[A]

I literally felt bad.

[B]

I can't believe you said something.

[A]

I really felt bad.

[B]

Well, you should.

[A]

I'm a real jerk.

[B]

You're a real jerk.

[A]

I really am. That was really. Yeah. You know, even for us, that's bad.

[B]

You know that old Norm MacDonald joke, right? About the guy that murdered children and the whole thing. And he does this long, long. It's like a seven minute setup detailing all of the grotesque horrors that were perpetrated by this horrible English murderer. And he taunted his victims. And it just keeps going and going and going and there's this long pause and finally Norm just says, he was a real jerk. Yeah.

[A]

I love.

[B]

That's what you are.

[A]

I was looking on ESPN and they had a like an off season for every team. They break them all down like where they're at, what their record was, their final rankings, estimated cap space where their first round pick is top off season priority. So ESPN for the Bears. I just want to take a look and see like on a national perspective what people are looking, thinking, saying of the Bears. Okay, top off season priority. Rebuild the pass rush. That's pretty. That's pretty standard there thought regardless of.

[B]

In the.

[A]

In the community of Bears fans or not, secondary is a priority to watch as well. Latest on whether they'll sign Jaquan Brisker early draft outlook. The Bears are tied with the Bengals in last for last and pass rush win rate this season. So they mentioned TJ Parker out of Clemson is a guy to keep an eye on. He's a power rusher who also is NFL ready run defender.

[B]

And who is the guy from Missouri? Zion.

[A]

Oh yeah, what's his name?

[B]

Zion Young.

[A]

That might be correct. Yes.

[B]

Yes. Zion Young was the other name that we'd gotten tied to the Bears as a somebody who could play the edge but could also drop into coverage. 65260 fits the Dennis Allen mold.

[A]

A couple other names mentioned Danny. Dennis Sutton from Penn State. Gabe Jackis. Jac.

[B]

I don't know.

[A]

Pronounced that right.

[B]

From Illinois.

[A]

Realistic options on day one. Now, now here's the. This is the one I wanted to share with you. So you want to get your thought on this big prediction for the off season. So that's. These are the five categories. The last category is big prediction for the off season. Okay. And this is. See, let me just pull this up here so I get the name right. Who is part of this? Ben Solak. So this is Ben Solic. Aaron Schwarz. Jordan Reed. Our guy. Matt Miller. Dan Graziano. So the biggest off season prediction for the Bears. The Bears will trade wide receiver D.J. moore as the future of the position seems set with Roma Dunes A Luther Burden. Most of Moore's money is tied up in salary, not bonuses, which makes it palatable for Chicago to trade him. Even with four years left on his contract, at 29, he should still be enticing to teams in need of a veteran wide receiver. One thing that I didn't realize, he had four years left on his deal. I didn't know it was that long. I thought it was a couple. I thought he had two.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But those next season, the year after.

[B]

Most of that is accounting. Most of that is spreading out your cap.

[A]

No, it was four.

[B]

But cutting him would be onerous. Trading him would not be quite as bad.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Do you.

[A]

Would you see a market? Would you see a team that would want after. So you watched DJ Moore all year long. You've watched his career in Chicago. And let's just. Let's just focus on last season, the 2025 season. You're a general manager, and maybe you're a team looking for that veteran wide receiver. Is that the guy you'd want to bring in? Maybe you think you're close to winning or you have a young core that would benefit from having an experienced veteran there.

[B]

I wouldn't say no.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

But there are obviously some aspects to his approach that I find curious, and sometimes it's unsatisfying to know exactly where his. His motivations are because he's really.

[A]

He's really frustrating.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

As a Bears fan, because he does have, like elite level talent and he.

[B]

Does seem like a good guy. I just can't explain why. There's occasionally effort issues.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And I don't know.

[A]

And if they're. If they're health related. We never knew that. I mean, that's the only logical explanation because the lack of effort doesn't fit the other characteristics we know and have of him.

[B]

You know what Though as you bring that up and as you bring up the idea of off season, I do think there is one aspect of this super bowl that should be a lesson that I really like and that is the number of players on both teams that didn't fit elsewhere. The number that both of these teams, both of these coaches and both of these general managers did a tremendous job reclaiming talent that was let go elsewhere.

[A]

Yeah, you've mentioned that about Mike Vrabel quite a bit. And what do they say? 30. 30 players. Yeah.

[B]

And the new. The same goes for Seattle. The same goes for them. I saw a note by. It was Kaylin Kaler was talking about that said that she reposted this. That said the Seahawks only drafted four of their primary defensive starters. Witherspoon Murphy, Emin Worry and Bryant Job waved by Eagles. Drake Thomas, undrafted waived by the Raiders. Ernest Jones, traded by the Rams and the Titans. Leonard Williams, traded by the Giants. Julian Love, allowed to walk by the Giants. Demarcus Lawrence, allowed to walk by the Cowboys and NWOSU was allowed to walk by the Chargers. Like that ability, the pro scouting, there's so much talent in the league that is either underused or misused or underdeveloped or misdeveloped or misunderstood. Everybody looks at the draft, the draft, the draft. There is talent that can win you Super Bowls all over other teams rosters. And I think the, that the market inefficiency in understanding that could be greater than ever.

[A]

Well, and we saw the impact of that last season with Dennis Allen's defense and a guy like DeMarco Jackson, he stepped in and not only played at the level, but played above that level as well.

[B]

Yeah. And if you can do that consistently, that is the essence of coaching.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And. And development.

[A]

Yeah. I just, you know, I go back to, to DJ Moore and it just, I just. I don't know how to get a good read.

[B]

I don't either.

[A]

You know, and it's, it's frustrating because I do like him. Like you mentioned, he does seem like a, like a good dude, a good teammate and he does have elite level talent at times and makes unbelievable catches at times. Just that doesn't mix with the lack of effort that we've seen.

[B]

It's like as Terry used to say, he drifts on you.

[A]

He does.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

I just want to know why, why.

[B]

The drift's there sometimes he drifts on.

[A]

You see that would. So now as, as an opposing gm, that would make me pause quite a bit.

[B]

Of course it would. For that money.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

You should be an example setter.

[A]

Right. And not a. Not a guy that I'm going to be concerned. Is this the week where he drifts.

[B]

Away or does he makes himself available?

[A]

He's not always running the routes out, though, when you're not the primary target, which is an issue.

[B]

Yep, Yep. Yeah.

[A]

I don't know. He's a. He's a difficult one, so I don't know. I'd be surprised if he. If he was traded. I would be surprised.

[B]

I wouldn't be surprised if people come calling because it's talented and the guy made. He's made enormous plays.

[A]

Right.

[B]

He made one of the great plays in Bears history.

[A]

Right. One of the best plays of the season.

[B]

One of the best NFL plays. Yes.

[A]

One of the best NFL plays of the season.

[B]

Yeah. One of the great Bears plays ever.

[A]

Ever, Right?

[B]

Made a couple of them, yeah.

[A]

Well, we'll have a lot to talk about, though. We continue forward progress every day. People have asked what's happening with the show now that the super bowl is here. We're here every day, so DBU every day of the week. Forward progress every day of the week. That won't stop.

[B]

And we will also talk about the Bears new offensive coordinator who has just been promoted from within. Press Taylor for more options. There you go.

[A]

I. I'll. I'm in. I'm in on it now with you.

[B]

No, you're not.

[A]

I am.

[B]

No, I'm in.

[A]

I mean, I believe it.

[B]

Fine. You're only doing this because I'm in. On. On motorboating.

[A]

Yes. Oh, we got a. There was a motorboat messages that came through yesterday.

[B]

What?

[A]

These guys are motorboating?

[B]

They are. Somebody said that? Yeah. They're getting motor voted.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

All right, I'll.

[A]

Yes, I will.

[B]

I will join you on that and I will.

[A]

I will set you up on Press Taylor.

[B]

See, this is how coalitions come together. This is how political coalitions are formed.

[A]

Well, I'm only doing it because you called me out.

[B]

You know, little trade offs. I know this stuff is going on. I know gaslighting then, because it wasn't time yet. I know when I'm being gaslit.

[A]

Did it like a dozen times. I didn't respond. Why didn't you say something sooner?

[B]

I was. I was waiting. I was picking my spots.

[A]

Don't be afraid to have a hard conversation with me.

[B]

Just say, listen, we'll do it now. Are we doing this now? We're doing this now. That's Forward progress, a Chicago Bears and NFL Podcast on 312 Sports Forward progress has stopped.

[A]

Forward Progress, a Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abeticola on 312 Sports.