What Does Ben Johnson's Coby Bryant Update Really Mean?

Summary

Forward Progress - A Chicago Bears Podcast

Episode: What Does Ben Johnson's Coby Bryant Update Really Mean?

Host: Dan Bernstein & Matt Abaticola
Date: August 6, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the ambiguity and implications of Chicago Bears Head Coach Ben Johnson’s recent comments about injured safety Coby Bryant. Dan and Matt break down the unclear messaging from the team, reflect on broader injury reporting practices, analyze further injuries from a physical camp day, and explore how Ben Johnson’s offensive philosophy is reshaping expectations for Bears fans. The conversation also touches on rookie safety Dylan Thienaman’s readiness, the continuing secrecy on other key injuries, and takes a moment to riff on NFL news, Hall of Fame chatter, “sunk cost” fallacies in football—and root beer nostalgia.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Coby Bryant Injury & Ben Johnson’s Vague Update

• [02:27] Injury Update: Ben Johnson provides a “no update” status on corner Kyler Gordon (now missing his eighth straight practice) and remains ambiguous on Coby Bryant’s left knee injury.

  • Johnson says, "They're still collecting information on safety Coby Bryant in terms of a timeline for his return from the left knee injury."
  • This contradicts previous media reports (esp. Adam Schefter’s "8-10 weeks" window).

• [03:00] Ben Johnson’s Statement (via Jos Anderson/ESPN):

  Dan, quoting Johnson (03:00):
  "I don't know where you guys got that. It hasn't been said here... Still in the information gathering stage regarding his injury."

• [03:27] Skepticism from the Hosts:

  • Matt and Dan note the team’s “vague” communication—no direct denial of Schefter’s report until now, raising questions about transparency.
  • Matt [04:09]: "It's been three days. What is there still to collect and understand?”
  • Dan [04:29]: "Sometimes after a serious injury, you need to see how the body responds..."

• [05:04] Potential Severity:

  • The ongoing lack of clarity leads them to speculate that Bryant could be out for the season.

• [05:54] The Team vs. The Media:

  • Dan [05:54]: "Teams do this to themselves because they're not as forthcoming as they used to be and the access isn't what it used to be... What do you want us to do, coach?"
  • The hosts challenge the Bears to provide something concrete rather than let rumors run wild.

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2. Bears Injury Report From Camp

• [06:52–07:44] Fresh Injuries:

  • Montez Sweat (walked off with a trainer)
  • Braxton Jones (threw helmet, punched the mascot Staley, then left with trainer)
  • Dallas Flowers (leg injury, required assistance off field)
  • Javarius Owens (carted off after a punt play injury)
  • Dan [07:28]: “Another defensive back.”

• [07:58] The Real News?

  • "Did we bury the lead?" Dan jokes, pivoting to football returning that evening, but the real concern is the mounting injuries for the Bears’ defense.

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3. Offensive Philosophy Shift Under Ben Johnson

• [09:59] Press Taylor’s Comments:

  • The OC explains Johnson’s approach: it's not about "run efficiency," but creating explosive plays however possible—run or pass.
  • Press Taylor (as quoted by Matt):

  "I don't think Ben has ever mentioned the word efficiency... We're looking to attack the defense... Everything’s explosive."

• [11:26] Defining 'Explosive Plays':

  • Dan [12:10]: "An explosive play is a pass play over 20 yards and a run play of 10 or more. Those are considered explosive plays."
  • The philosophy: every run is designed for a touchdown, not just “positive yards.”

• [14:03] Misconceptions About Modern Offense:

  • No more running into the line to “soften up” the defense; every play is designed for maximal yardage.
  • Dan [14:18]: "There’s no play that is designed to not gain as many yards as humanly possible…The next play should be capable of eating them all up."

• [16:03] The Perils of Overvaluing Efficiency:

  • Dan recounts how the NFL “efficiency-ing themselves to death” led to low-scoring, long drives, and that Johnson’s mindset is simply “score as quickly and often as possible.”
  • Dan [17:15]: “Time of possession is not an indicator. Really efficient scoring is.”

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4. Dylan Thienaman’s Opportunity & the Implicit Message on Bryant

• [17:36] Rookie Safety Thienaman:

  • Brad Biggs (Chicago Tribune) profiles Dylan Thienaman’s increased responsibilities with Bryant sidelined.
  • Team focus turns to communication and chemistry with Cam Lewis as “the next man up.”

  Matt (reading Thienaman, 18:16): "It's just getting more reps, getting know him… everything's starting to slow down, starting to pick up things tendencies from the offense..."

• [19:55] Are the Bears Bracing for Bryant to be Out All Year?

  • Matt and Dan suggest that Biggs' mailbag hints and Ben Johnson’s non-denial are signs Bryant could miss the season.
  • Dan [21:08]: “This kind of pessimism and skepticism is almost… always rewarded when you start wondering, is this because it’s worse than we think? And usually it is."

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5. Other Bears Notes & Injury Transparency

• [22:12] Additional “Open Items”:

  • Dan is skeptical on Rome Odunze's foot, believing the star rookie's candid statement about his injury was genuine and subsequent “walk-backs” from team voices are spin.
  • Dan [22:21]: “I think he told the truth, and I think they did try to walk it back, but I think he was being damn honest when he said, that foot’s never going to be the same.”

• [23:40] Light Moment: Ben Johnson on keeping Caleb Williams humble:

  • "We tell him the truth."

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6. Hall of Fame: Who’s “In,” Who’s “Out,” & Bears' Legacy Talent

• [24:41–28:34] Bill Barnwell’s List:
  • Joe Thuney is predicted as next Bear Hall of Famer, with "possibles" including Jalen Johnson, Colston Loveland, Caleb Williams, Darnell Wright. Veterans like Montez Sweat and Grady Jarrett are labelled as “never getting in.”
  • The hosts lament that Bears have few true Hall candidates and reflect on forgettable Bears linemen.
  • Dan [28:18]: “He’s just a guy… That’s how they built this defensive line, was with a bunch of guys.”

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7. Quick NFL Roundup

• [29:33] Notables:
  • Aaron Donald works out with Rams, surprising Dan & Matt
  • Carson Beck starting for Cardinals in HOF game
  • Stefon Diggs signs with Washington
  • Debate: “Quarterback competitions are silly, everyone in the locker room already knows who the ‘guy’ is” ([31:54], Matt and Dan summarizing Gerald McCoy).
  • Should Browns just name Shador Sanders the starter and embrace the youth movement?

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8. Sunk Cost Fallacy, Food, & Root Beer Tangent

• The hosts go on an extended, playful detour about the “sunk cost” fallacy, from football contracts to soda pop:
  • Matt’s inability to throw out bad A&W Diet Root Beer Float cans leads to a discussion of fridge-cleaning rituals, “scravanging,” and childhood root beer memories ([32:58–40:40]).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [03:00] Ben Johnson on Coby Bryant’s Injury:
  "I don’t know where you guys got that. It hasn’t been said here."

• [05:54] Dan, on media and transparency:
  "Teams do this to themselves because they’re not as forthcoming as they used to be....What do you want us to do, coach?"

• [09:59] Press Taylor via Matt:
  "I don’t think Ben has ever mentioned the word efficiency...We’re looking to attack the defense...Everything’s explosive."

• [14:18] Dan on Johnson's Offense:
  "There’s no play that is designed to not gain as many yards as humanly possible. The next play should be capable of eating them all up."

• [21:08] Dan, regarding skepticism about injuries:
  "This kind of pessimism and skepticism...my experience is it’s almost always rewarded when you start wondering, is this because it’s worse than we think? And usually it is."

• [22:21] Dan, on Rome Odunze’s foot:
  "I think he told the truth, and I think they did try to walk it back, but I think he was being damn honest when he said, that foot’s never going to be the same."

• [23:40] Ben Johnson, on keeping Caleb Williams humble:
  "We tell him the truth."

• [31:54] Matt and Dan (summarizing Gerald McCoy): "There is no such thing as a quarterback competition. You can call it what you want...Everybody knows who the better quarterback is, period."

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:27]: Bears camp injury updates
• [03:00]: Ben Johnson’s comments on Coby Bryant’s injury status
• [05:54]: Discussion about injury reporting, team-media transparency
• [06:52]: Recap of new injuries at practice (Sweat, Jones, Flowers, Owens)
• [09:59]: Press Taylor/Ben Johnson’s philosophy on explosive offense
• [16:03]: Efficiency vs. explosiveness and scoring mindsets in NFL offense
• [17:36]: Rookie Dylan Thienaman’s bigger role with Bryant out
• [21:08]: Reading between the lines: Is Bryant out for the year?
• [22:21]: Rome Odunze’s foot injury—the reality vs. team messaging
• [23:40]: “We tell him the truth”—Johnson’s approach with Caleb Williams
• [24:41]: Hall of Fame talk—who’s “in,” “possible,” “out” from the Bears
• [29:33]: NFL news roundup
• [32:58]: Sunk cost fallacy and root beer nostalgia

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Summary Takeaway

This episode is a must-listen for Bears fans craving real talk—no sugarcoating—on the team’s mounting injury woes, coaching philosophy, rookie readiness, and the reality behind cryptic coach-speak. Dan and Matt’s skepticism about team transparency is laced with humor and football wisdom, while their digressions (from peanut butter hacks to the sociology of backup root beer) keep Forward Progress grounded in Chicago sports—and life’s little details.

In short:
The Coby Bryant “update” likely signals a longer-term, maybe season-ending absence; Ben Johnson is reshaping offensive expectations; and only time—and more transparency—will clarify the Bears’ 2026 trajectory.

Transcript

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[Matt Abaticola]

mean, if you're a Bears fan, you're thinking Forward Progress. Come on. Forward Progress Chicago Bears Podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abaticola on 312 Sports

[Dan Bernstein]

Forward progress is brought to you by Giordano's Back to School means back to busy between pract practices, homework and everything in between. Give yourself a break with Giordano's Treat the kids and yourself to Chicago Style Pizza. Everyone can agree on make tonight a giordano's night@giordano's.com or visit your local Giordano's restaurant today. Giordano's the one for Chicago style Pizza. We're here to talk Bears and NFL and I urge you remember yesterday when we brought up a little note, a little observation that was made by an emailer regarding Dennis Allen and injuries and is correlation causation when we look back to the Saints? Well, there is a full treatment of that question with some initial and pretty deep research that was done and that's on DBU today. So if you want all of that and put that out there, because it is, there are questions that are simply raising more questions and I do think it's fair to find out what did the Bears know about this correlation at the very least before they hired him and especially now that we're a year in and the correlation is is following him from city to city. It's. It's worth more investigating. It's worth more questions. It's worth knowing what the Bears may know about this. And that is all on DBU today after what was apparently a very rough spirited and physical practice today up in Lake Forest.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, we did have some injuries today. Want to update on a couple already injured players? Cornerback Kyler Gordon, Ben Johnson said there's no update. He's continuing to rehab. He missed his eighth practice today. Johnson also said that they're collect they're still collecting information now this is odd. Still collecting information on safety Kobe Bryant in terms of a timeline for his return from the left knee injury now. And I know you have something. Who did you have that from?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, this was Jos Anderson.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

Of ESPN tweeted. Bears head coach Ben Johnson said, I don't know where you guys got that. It hasn't been said here. Talking about the eight to ten week window. I'll let you guys know whenever we know for sure what it looks like for him. Said they're still in the information gathering stage regarding his injury. So that doesn't tell me if it's less than eight to ten weeks or more.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, it's very vague. And that eight to ten week figure initially came from the tweet of Adam Schefter who first reported the injury and put it out there, which everyone else used after that fact. And now this is the first that we're hearing anything different from the Bears. Unless I've missed it. They have never said, hey, eight to ten weeks is not something we've said. This is the first time we're hearing the Bears say anything about that timeline that we've been using now for the last several days. And in hearing what he says, which is very vague. Oh, could it be less than 8? Could it be more than 10? We just don't know. And where.

[Dan Bernstein]

I roll on that. You know that.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, you roll on it. That he's probably done for the season. Yeah, but, but I don't understand. It's been, it's been three days. Right. I'm sorry, what, what is, what is there still to collect and understand?

[Dan Bernstein]

Sometimes unless it's such a significant swelling

[Matt Abaticola]

that you can't, you can't get a good read on it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. Sometimes after a serious injury, you need to see how the body responds before you know the timeline for any surgery that might be needed, if there might be surgery needed, if it's going to heal on its own. That it. These things are not always real easy to discern even with high quality imaging that. Because there can be fluid and things obscuring your imaging that these are. These could all be critical days in determining what the timetable is.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. So it may not be 10 weeks. It may be more than 10 weeks, which is certainly significant. Even though I thought we had. Yeah, I guess. No, I don't want to go back to the quotes because the quotes from guys, I thought there was one from maybe a player or even Dennis Allen that, you know, hopefully sooner rather than later speaking on terms of that eight to 10 weeks. But then they clearly didn't know and then Dennis Allen clearly didn't know. So I guess we'd have to wait until either the hammer drops and it's like, hey, he's going to be out for months or after initial evaluation, he's, he'll be back in four weeks. Like, you know, we need more information to come from it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Correct.

[Matt Abaticola]

I just thought it was, it was odd for Ben to say it that way, that I don't know where you guys are getting this from. Well, that's been the report for three days now.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. From the guy from one at one of the people who is. Their job is to get the stuff right and where else? That's part of the problem is that teams do this to themselves because they, they're not as forthcoming as they used to be and the access isn't what it used to be. And I'm sure there are HIPAA laws and those concerns that are, that are reasonable. But what do you want us to do, coach?

[Matt Abaticola]

Right. Then give us something.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, yeah, tell us something otherwise.

[Matt Abaticola]

But, and I mean, and it's, it's frustrating because again, that eight to ten week timeline was out there pretty much immediately and everyone's been using that off Adam Schefter's tweet his information and not one person from the Bears said, whoa, pump your brakes. We don't know anything yet. 8 could be premature. 10 could be too long. Let's, let's just wait and see. So it's odd to hear that it

[Dan Bernstein]

was, it was a noticeable note for me day to think, oh, well, wait a second. So everything we just kind of presumed now is not, is not set in stone.

[Matt Abaticola]

All right. As far as injuries today are concerned, Montez Sweat with an injury, walked off the field, though with a trainer. Braxton Jones also with an injury. We were told that he threw his helmet. He looked frustrated. He punched a. What did he punch? He punched. Not a ball boy. A ball boy? No. A fan? No. A coach? No. Staley. Staley. Yes, he punched. Staley was stopped by Dan Rochard before he walked off the field, had a conversation and then he walked off the field into the practice facility. Dallas Flowers apparently suffered a leg injury.

[Dan Bernstein]

Another defensive back.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, defensive back. Where the teammates were knelt down around him. He required assistance to get off the field. And then Javarius Owens was hurt on a punt play and they required the cart to get him off the field.

[Dan Bernstein]

They required the cart.

[Matt Abaticola]

So some injuries there. Sweat. And of course, Braxton Jones being the two more significant guys to walk off the field on their own with trainers though, because of injury.

[Dan Bernstein]

And by the way, I just want to make sure we, I think we kind of buried the lead here. Do you know what we have tonight?

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh, we have football tonight. We got football. Oh, it. I don't know how much of it is the lead. I mean, the fact that football's on TV is exciting, and I'm excited to see Carson Beck play because I know you and I look differently at Carson Beck as an NFL player.

[Dan Bernstein]

I told you you were wrong, Bernstein.

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh, God, I can't wait to do that tomorrow when he goes like 7 for 8 and has 30 yards. Him up just.

[Dan Bernstein]

Just burns his way through the Panthers defense.

[Matt Abaticola]

You know what else is disappointing, though? Jeremiah Love won't play tonight. Oh, so he's not playing. So we won't get to see Jeremiah Love carry the ball, but we will see Carson Beck get sacked. I mean, throw the football tonight. So not. Well, we'll see. We'll see. Okay. Hopefully he doesn't leave on the parts, but there's football.

[Dan Bernstein]

And I do the same thing every year, and I'm going to do it again. I'm going to get all excited and then I realize, oh, these players all suck. And this is like watching the ufl. I'd rather not, because I've been doing that. I've been watching like, I've been watching cfl.

[Matt Abaticola]

I have. And you. You watched a lot of the.

[Dan Bernstein]

The ufl.

[Matt Abaticola]

The ufl. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't know why I've turned it a dynamic.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, I mean, you're a huge St. Louis Warlocks fan. What are they, The Warhammers? The War Birds? What are they?

[Dan Bernstein]

The Hammer? The War War.

[Matt Abaticola]

War Eagles?

[Dan Bernstein]

No, the Battle Hawks.

[Matt Abaticola]

Battle Hawks. Yes, Battle Hawks. Oh, they should have been the Battle Hogs.

[Dan Bernstein]

Maybe their. Their rivals will be the Battle Hogs.

[Matt Abaticola]

That would have been better. If we end up starting that UFL team we've talked about, we should do the Battle Hogs.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, I'm down.

[Tammy Racing]

Long.

[Dan Bernstein]

As long as we can get, you know, somehow make money on it.

[Matt Abaticola]

No, money's not important.

[Dan Bernstein]

I mean, no. People will come watch our team.

[Matt Abaticola]

We know you build it. They will come.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, no, they won't. Not for what we're doing.

[Matt Abaticola]

Offense coordinator, Press Taylor, he talked about the run offense under Ben Johnson. He says. I don't think Ben has ever mentioned the word efficiency. We talk about explosive. We're trying to attack a defense. I think there's a perception of a lot of people. We're going to run the ball. We're going to stay efficient and control the clock. We are looking to attack the defense. We're looking to attack fronts, to expose space, to create run lanes to create explosives. And we don't look at the run game as a way to stay on track. We look at the run game as a way to attack defenses and really be explosive and continue to just put our foot on the gas the entire game. So it's interesting because I know I've talked about run efficiency, but it's accurate. They don't talk about run efficiency. And it's interesting to hear Ben Johnson and it's true. And I'm glad that Press Taylor talked about this in detail.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes. Score. How do we use every single thing at our disposal that we're allowed to do? How does that translate to points on the board?

[Matt Abaticola]

Right. Because even though you may get 3, 4, 5 yards a carry and that's good, but Ben Johnson looks at, hey, this next particular run play is designed to get to the guy to the end zone, whether we're at our 20 or, or they're 20 or they're 5 or even our 5. Like this run play is designed to score a touchdown.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, that's why. Did you hear his answer the other day when asked about 13 personnel?

[Matt Abaticola]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

I found that telling. And I do think that there still needs to be kind of a remedial education around, about modern football and about what, about how he, he sees the game and what you're saying there is the fact that these, these, these gash plays, these chunk plays, these explosives. And I think it's important to continually define an explosive play is a pass play over 20 yards or 20 or more. 20 or more, and a run play of 10 or more.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

Those are considered explosive plays. And when you have three tight ends, especially what the way tight ends are now and what defenses are being played, a base nickel defense as and what they call now, I know everybody's got a different term for it or big nickel, where that's much more like a standard defense. And the lines in between these defenses are being blurred. Where the difference between nickel and standard is that instead of a strong side linebacker, a defensive back comes in and then is it a bigger defensive back? Is it, is it a, is it a tiny linebacker? Is it a big safety? What do we call that? What is it? And, and sort of saying big nickel is almost the same as standard defense because that person is more like a strong side backer. It's all about the tight ends being the tough matchups, the matchups you can win on offense because Colston Loveland is either bigger, faster, or in some, some ways more elusive than the person covering him.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

And, and getting to that mismatch on any play is expected to be a potential touchdown from anywhere on the field.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. And I think that's what we're learning and understanding. And this is how Ben Johnson views his offense. And it's not. His playbook has. All right, let's pull out one of our explosive plays and let's insert it here. His playbook is explosive plays. Whether that's a run or a pass, that's it. It's not like, oh, hey, we're in a great field situation, we're in a great down situation to try one of those explosive plays.

[Tammy Racing]

Or.

[Matt Abaticola]

Or play is.

[Dan Bernstein]

They don't also say, well, we're going to run it into the line a bunch of times here in the second quarter to soften you up for what is going to happen in the fourth. That's all expost. Facto stuff, right? That's all stuff broadcasters say.

[Matt Abaticola]

Right? That's not what he runs.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, he. There. There's no play that is designed to not gain as many yards as humanly possible. As many yards as they have left. The next play should be capable of eating them all up.

[Matt Abaticola]

Right. It's. It's. You're exactly right. It's never about, let's. Let's wear down the defensive line. Now, that happens through. Correct through your plays and the scheme that you have set up and the design you have against this defense. But that's never designed. Like, as you said, let's run the ball here in the center a few times. And now he may use run plays to set up a particular pass play. Right.

[Dan Bernstein]

Or to. Or to probe his counterpart to find out how they're responding to certain formations, show their cards.

[Matt Abaticola]

Sure. But even though, even. That said, Dan, that run play that may be used to set up a pass play, that run play is still designed to be explosive. It's not designed to say, all right, let's hope we get two yards here and see what the defense does. No, it's designed to get 10 yards, but so the next time the defense sees that formation, they go, oh, God, they got. They got 12 yards up the right sideline that last play on the run, but yet it's designed to go to a tight end off the left side. I mean, yeah, I mean, he's setting it up, but he's still not limiting himself on what he does. Even though it's used for a purpose. Everything's explosive.

[Dan Bernstein]

And I think the understanding of that when you. When you are aware that all he wants to do is score as many points as possible yes. That's all he wants to do, score as many points as humanly possible. And his view, and his view on defense is gimme the ball back so I can score as many points as possible.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, I just, it was really great just to hear Press Taylor say that and be able to go through because, because I've been guilty of using, you know, being, being efficient with the run.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

And yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

And it's, you can efficiency yourself to death. And, and the NFL got caught in a trap there. The NFL for a long time once there, there was an overreaction I think around the league and I don't know the numbers in front of me, but there was, there was an overreaction to the, the eventual understanding of how bad interceptions were. Like, well, we just can't do that anymore. We can't throw any. Interceptions are no longer. Okay. They're no longer a byproduct of an explosive passing offense. It's all about efficiency. And what happened was you ended up with offenses efficiency ing themselves into long time consuming drives of lots of short plays between the 20s that reflected in numbers that showed, okay, they're moving the ball, they're keeping the ball, they're efficient. But it didn't help scoring.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yep.

[Dan Bernstein]

And the other problem is how good kickers got. And now it's like, oh, well, we only got to the 45, but now

[Matt Abaticola]

we're in range and Ben wants to score. And if, you know, Ben doesn't care if it takes, you know, one play or 10 plays to go from the 20 to the 20, he just wants to score.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. Time of possession is not an indicator. Really efficient scoring is. You have, you have what, whatever time it took you as soon as you touch the ball to score.

[Matt Abaticola]

Right. If you, if you get the ball to 25 and that's where your offense is starting. Ben wants to go 75 yards on the first play.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes.

[Matt Abaticola]

That's what he wants to do.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes. That's his job. That's how he sees his job.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

Get them on the end zone as quickly as possible.

[Matt Abaticola]

As quickly as possible. Yep. This was also from Brad Biggs in the Chicago Tribune talking about Dylan Thieman. Now you've had some comments the last couple days about Dylan. Feed him in with Ryan.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, I'm putting it out there that, I'm putting it on him. I don't care if he's a rookie or not. I don't. He's, if he is ready to take on this responsibility, give it to him.

[Matt Abaticola]

So he says there's plenty of pressure on first round draft pick early in a rookie season and it's fair to wonder if there's a little more on Thienaman's plate now with veteran Kobe Bryant sidelined into the regular season with a knee injury.

[Dan Bernstein]

Wondering anything? Of course there's more in his plate. The other guy's hurt.

[Matt Abaticola]

Thienam in the Oregon product from Indiana emphasized communication with teammates as he works to develop rapport with Cam Lewis, the next man up. With Bryant out, at least until Elijah Hicks returns, it's just getting more reps, getting know him. Phenomen 21 said the locker buddies. He goes, I'm locker buddies with Cam. So I talked to him a good amount just getting out there talking about how he sees things, how we think about things, how we operate. We're both pretty similar in that aspect, so I think there's a good connection there. Everything's starting to slow down, starting to pick up things tendencies from the offense and just building more connection with guys on defense. So there was a play where he was covering Colson Loveland, which is a bad matchup for a lot of people in a seven to seven in the low red zone and Loveland scored a touchdown. He says I need to be better in better position there, just anticipate the route from his step, thieman said. Just the tendency you get from the offense, looking at different steps of the wide receivers and tight ends. I just need to anticipate more. So here's why I bring that up. Because of what you said the last couple days and because what we know with Brad Biggs and how locked in he is with the organization, which is why frequently through the season we'll go through his mailbag because he pulls out specifically questions to answer because of knowledge that he has. Am I taking this one step too far? Based on what Ben Johnson has said now that we don't know a timeline for Kobe Bryant and Brad Bigs putting it out there in writing about Dylan Thienaman and Cam Lewis and the relationship they're developing and starting.

[Dan Bernstein]

Do you think he's getting a sense that he's out for the year?

[Matt Abaticola]

That. That. That's my interpretation. Yes. Because I mean he, he knows what's being said without it being said. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

And he also knows how to couch it. So he just ends up looking smart and he doesn't. He's not violating a confidence by reporting it.

[Matt Abaticola]

Correct.

[Dan Bernstein]

He's on to okay, if this is

[Matt Abaticola]

true, these two guys need to have more of a connection, more of a rapport, more of a relationship and so he writes that story about their developing relationship.

[Dan Bernstein]

Possible. Okay. That. That. That is sometimes how these things work. And say, all right, well, I can. I can see what's coming here. Let me jump out ahead and already start asking around and start. And then what's going to happen is after that's reported, if. If we learn more, then the team is going to say, well, hey, at some point, we got to say something. So now you're setting off my damn anxiety alarm bells again. I know I'm an easy mark for that, but.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, and I could be completely wrong, but it just.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, but stuff like this is always rewarded when it comes to football. It's almost. This kind of pessimism and skepticism is almost. My experience is it's almost always rewarded when you start wondering, is this because it's worse than we think? And usually it is.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yes. And if it's not the football, usually it is.

[Dan Bernstein]

And if it's not, hooray, you're happy to be here. So you were wrong. Okay, good.

[Matt Abaticola]

Great. I was wrong. He was only on eight weeks. That's awesome. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

And you're not going to stay mad at me for it.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yes. And if you are, that's not.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

If you are, fine. I can't do anything about it. But you're not. You're just. You're going to get over it because he's going to be on the field. And look, I. I know Russell Westbrook did that to everybody when it's like, well, when you have this surgery and you're out this long, and he was like, no, I'm just not. But not everybody is a superhero. Not everybody has. And. And football's a lot harder on your body. But this is.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, we.

[Dan Bernstein]

We've got a lot of open items with this Bears team right now.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yes, we do. And we're only. What? This is the fourth day of practice. Yeah. And I'm.

[Dan Bernstein]

And look, while we're doing this, if I can indulge, I'm still not buying all the blandishments about Roma Dunze's foot being fine. I think he told the truth, and I think they did try to walk it back, but I think he was being damn honest when he said, that foot's never going to be the same, and I'm going to have to learn to deal with it now. And maybe that's just another way of how injuries are described.

[Matt Abaticola]

But, you know, and that. That walking that back started pretty much right after that fact on the Bears Weekly show with Joniac and Thayer and Jim Miller. Because Jim Miller and. And Thayer were asked by Joniak about that, about what Roma dunes, they said. And they both were like, well, yeah, that's what happens. I mean, yeah, you get. You get hurt in the NFL and. And then your body. Your body changes. And they tried to walk it back and play it and. And like, downgraded a little bit from what Roma dunes, they said. So maybe you're right on that. I. I bought into the explanation and. And having Rome go out there, and maybe you're right to still hold on to it. So again, that's on the list of things to make a note of. One other small note that was included from reporters. This was just a small. I thought this was cute. Ben was asked about how he keeps Caleb Williams humble, and he just looked at the reporter and says, we tell him the truth. And then he smiled.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's good coaching. Yes, that's great.

[Matt Abaticola]

We tell him the truth. And then I immediately thought of Bennett Alamu. What is his name? Amalu. Tell the truth.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes, tell the truth.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. So next time they ask that, Will Smith can walk out and slap somebody and then say, tell the truth.

[Dan Bernstein]

A couple of photos here that are being shared from camp by Kevin Kdick,

[Matt Abaticola]

who says Patrick Finley.

[Dan Bernstein]

Now he's got a picture of some autographs being signed by Kyler Gordon. Actually, there is the actual sighting of Kyler Gordon and George McCaskey in his Bears cowboy hat. George McCasky out signing. Okay, George, call Springfield. Have your people call Springfield. Get to work.

[Matt Abaticola]

I saw this.

[Dan Bernstein]

Or go there actually be in Springfield.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, that. That's. There you go. Like, that's. That should have been the first thing.

[Dan Bernstein]

Be there.

[Matt Abaticola]

Bill Barnwell put this out on espn, and he's done a lot of fun stuff this off season. He has. He went team by team and said, who the. On the current roster, from the current roster of each team, who's the next guy to make the hall of Fame? And he went, you know, roster by roster, team by team. So when you look at the Bears, it's pretty easy to guess who he has as the next Bear getting inducted into the hall of Fame as the roster. Joe Tooney.

[Dan Bernstein]

Correct.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. I knew you'd get that.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, yeah, that's. That's.

[Matt Abaticola]

That's an easy one. But he has three categories per team. Those who are in, those who are possibilities with work to do, and those who are out. He's calling them out right now.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't get that. Okay, that's everybody.

[Matt Abaticola]

No, no, but think of. Think of veteran players that have had a substantial career who definitely aren't getting in the hall of Fame. Definitely not getting in the hall of Fame. So think of it that, yeah, that's most people. Right. But, but think of, think of maybe veteran leaders offensively or defensively that have had long enough careers to. Even Warren's looking at their career as a Hall of Famer but will not make it, will fall short. So in the in category, Joe Tunney with work to do, he has Jalen Johnson, Colson Loveland, Caleb Williams, Darnell Wright. Okay, now, now, now, again, again, this is all just his opinion and you know, getting content up off season stuff. But to even consider those four guys, given what Caleb Williams has done under really one year under an NFL coach.

[Dan Bernstein]

If Charles Tillman, if Charles Tillman isn't in the hall of Fame yet. Come on.

[Matt Abaticola]

I know, but. I know, I know but, but I mean, but, but if you, if you look at the parameters of what he's doing, those four guys, it's not, it's not far fetched to say, oh, this is ridiculous or stupid to even consider this. Darnell Wright, Caleb Williams, Colson Loveland, Jalen Johnson. But now here, here's where the trivia part comes in for you. There are two veteran players that again, worthy of looking at their careers based on length of time and accomplishment that he thinks are definitely will not make the hall of Fame. And he has two for the Bears. Can you attempt any guess?

[Dan Bernstein]

I guess it's just such a weird way of looking at it. I'd say Montez sweat. Okay. And DeAndre Swift, both good guesses.

[Matt Abaticola]

Sweat is correct. He had, he had Montez Sweat. And the other one that he had is Grady Jarrett.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay. Yeah. Great. Jared, Nice player.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

But I always forget he's there. But yeah. Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

That's interesting. I mean you're. Yeah. A guy who signed a big three year deal, hurt a lot, lot last year.

[Dan Bernstein]

You name a play he made

[Matt Abaticola]

towards the end of the season. Sure, he made some plays.

[Dan Bernstein]

Can you name a play he made?

[Matt Abaticola]

Not off top of my head.

[Dan Bernstein]

Everybody in my notes, like almost everybody else on the team, you've got a mental picture in your head of something he did.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, I guess. And this just goes to show the season he had last year because the most memorable thing from Grady Jarrett was the players only meeting that he.

[Dan Bernstein]

Correct.

[Matt Abaticola]

He ran at the hotel in Chicago.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't remember him making a play. I'm not saying he didn't. I just though that's what will stand out is oh Yeah, I remember that game. Was there, was there any game that they won because of him? No.

[Matt Abaticola]

No.

[Dan Bernstein]

I can tell you right now the answer to that is no. So that's why I kind of forget he's around. He's just a guy. He's a guy you've heard of. He's a guy who's had good years with other teams. But as far as Chicago Bears go, a guy. And they have a lot of that. That's how they built this defensive line, was with a bunch of guys.

[Matt Abaticola]

Do you have any other, any Bears notes or Bears thoughts before I move on to wider range NFL?

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, I have to mention that backpacks are packed and schedules are filling up and somehow know how it works. Everyone's hungry at the exact same time and you're like, well, I can't make this for you and this for you and this for. That's what happens during back to school season. You got a house full of people. There's, there's paper and folders sitting in the kitchen. So make it easy on yourself. Take the W and make it a Giordano's night. Treat the kids, treat yourself to the Chicago style pizza everyone loves. Hell, you can celebrate football being back. Football is perfect. You got the hall of Fame game on. You got football in the air and you got a big stu pizza there to make your life better. The Chicago style pizza everyone loves. Whether you're celebrating the first day back or just surviving the first week, dine in pickup or order delivery. Visit giordano.com or visit your local Giordano's restaurant today.

[Matt Abaticola]

All right, so here's a few other NFL notes going around. Aaron Donald, he did work out for the Rams. I don't know if you saw that. So an official workout for the team. I thought his return to football was, was not going to happen. So seeing that was interesting. We talked about Jeremiah Love not playing tonight in the hall of Fame game. Carson Beck starts for the Cardinals as they take on the Panthers. Stefan Diggs signs a one year deal with Washington. Wide receiver. Going to the commanders. Yeah. And I don't. Oh, last thing here. And we go to our guy Todd Monkin in Cleveland. Although this doesn't really involve him.

[Dan Bernstein]

They put out a sizzle reel. They, they. It was like the first Cleveland Browns hype video.

[Matt Abaticola]

Did you see what happened with Jerry Judy, wide receiver for the Browns?

[Dan Bernstein]

He was talking about quarterbacks and now everything is, now everything might be perceived as leaning toward one quarterback or the other.

[Matt Abaticola]

Okay. Yes. So there was a video from the fan Apparently. And was asked about which. Where his preference lies as far as the quarterback's concerned.

[Dan Bernstein]

And didn't he put up like a number or something which is the jersey

[Matt Abaticola]

number for desean Watson? Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

So now he's gone back and said, well, if you look, that video was edited. And he says he put up the number four because he was answering a question of how old is your daughter? And he said, 4.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't believe it.

[Matt Abaticola]

I don't believe it for a second either.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, that's a lie.

[Matt Abaticola]

That's a lie.

[Dan Bernstein]

He did it and he's covering.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yes, he's absolutely, retroactively making that up

[Dan Bernstein]

and trying to retrofit it. That. That is an immediate bullshit call.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yes, 100%. And then Gerald McCoy on ESPN, he was on TV, one of the. One of the panel shows, and he was talking about the quarterback competition in Cleveland. And it was interesting because. Based on. Because they started their conversation based on this Jerry Judy viral video. And Gerald McCoy says, Listen, and this is a. I mean, an established player, a great career. He says, your players know who your quarterback is. You can talk about quarterback competition all you want.

[Dan Bernstein]

This is back in Minnesota.

[Matt Abaticola]

Your defense knows who the quarterback is.

[Dan Bernstein]

Of course they do.

[Matt Abaticola]

The coaches can say what they want.

[Dan Bernstein]

The coaches say there's no such thing as a quarterback competition. There is no such thing as a quarterback competition. You can call it what you want. You can say, you can stand there with your notebooks and write everything down and watch every rep and divide the reps. Everybody knows who the better quarterback is, period.

[Matt Abaticola]

And he said, the players know it, the defense knows it. It's silly. Quarterback competitions are silly. But what he did say was very interesting. He said, you traded Miles Garrett. You. You had a lot of success from, you know, and not team wise, but you had a lot of success from young players last year. And so what he's advocating for is saying, just make Shador Sanders the starting quarterback and move forward. Stop living in what Deshaun Watson did, what the possibilities that Sean Watson could do. And just go young. If you're going young, like you traded Miles Garrett, just go all in and go young and name him the quarterback and move forward and see what happens there.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's just another way of illustrating sunk cost theory.

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh, yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Of if you went to a restaurant,

[Matt Abaticola]

we made a bad decision, we ordered a bad meal.

[Dan Bernstein]

You don't have to eat it.

[Matt Abaticola]

We can't get out of it now. We just got to live with it and let it sit there on the table. You're Right.

[Dan Bernstein]

You bought a ticket to a bad movie. And if you want to throw away the next two hours of your life because you paid the ticket, go ahead. Or you can get up and leave.

[Matt Abaticola]

So this is funny. I bought. I was at the store, I don't know, two weeks ago, and I was walking through, I needed to get diet coke. And right next to the diet coke, there was a new A and W. Root beer. It was root beer float.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh. So they put the vanilla flip. It sounds like a combination cream soda. Yes, root beer. Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

So I'm like, you know what? I'll give that a whirl.

[Dan Bernstein]

But it didn't have the frosty mug taste.

[Matt Abaticola]

It was sugar free. So I thought, all right, I'll give it a try. So I bring it home, I crack open a can, and it's not good. Okay, it's not good. So normally what I, What I would have done is then take the case out of the fridge, open them all up, dump them in the sink, and then throw them away. But I just, I haven't been able to deal with the sun cost yet. So they've sat.

[Dan Bernstein]

They have to sit for a while.

[Matt Abaticola]

They sat in the floor for a week. No, I get it.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's okay. Then you've done your job.

[Matt Abaticola]

Wait, hang on, hang on.

[Dan Bernstein]

I totally get it.

[Matt Abaticola]

So yesterday I look at them in the case, the 11 cans that are still there, and I thought I should just get rid of these. And so I bring them on the kitchen counter, and I'm about to crack the first one to dump it, and I thought, you know what? I'm just not ready yet.

[Dan Bernstein]

You could just. Can't just take them out in the back and put in the garbage can.

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh, you could, but I want to dump them. I don't want them with the heat. I want them to explode and expand,

[Dan Bernstein]

you know, don't explode. It's a can of root beer.

[Matt Abaticola]

So I put it back in the the case, and instead of putting it in the main in the upstairs fridge, I walked it downstairs to the basement fridge and demotion. Now they're sitting in the basement fridge because I'm not. I'm not ready to accept the sun cost.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, no, I get it. It's like, you know, it's. You can't quite dfa him.

[Matt Abaticola]

No, I couldn't do it.

[Dan Bernstein]

But you had to send him down or at least, you know, see if the. They give him an opportunity elsewhere now. But you ever. Then you wouldn't bring him into work. Would you, like, set him at the free Spot over there.

[Matt Abaticola]

No, because I. And even. I mean, I. I drive in, so it wouldn't be hard to put him in the car and then drive it in, walk it up the building.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, that's something you could do.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. But I just. I don't. I. I don't think I'll go that. My. My next step is to take them out of the bay. Oh. So here's my reasoning. So this weekend we have. There's a bunch of. Bunch of boys are sleeping over for. For birthday. My stepson turns 14. Oh, they'll like it end of the month. And we have a bunch of kids that'll be here in the basement hanging out.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's sugar.

[Matt Abaticola]

So that's why I put it down in perfect basement fridge. Once they open it up, because, you know, there's water and Gatorades in there. Once somebody sees it, they'll. They'll start. So I'm thinking that they'll all get drunk on Friday night, so.

[Dan Bernstein]

Sure they will.

[Matt Abaticola]

I like them.

[Dan Bernstein]

I think that's different than just sunk cost. But see, I. I do this too. And I play games in my head and I tell myself all kinds of. Because, like, Zoe and Beth and they. Jason's it like I am, where you take something out of the fridge, you smell it. If it smells good to eat, if it smells bad. You know, like, if something looks a little. Couple days old, doesn't bother me. Zoe and Beth are like, man, these strawberries, we've had them for two days. This one's kind of wrinkled, therefore all the strawberries out. But come on, these are good strawberries. They're fine. I was like, no, look, I ate one. I ate two of them. You can eat these. And then I realized she's never gonna eat them, that they're just gonna sit there, and then it's gonna be on me to eat them and away.

[Matt Abaticola]

And then you don't want to. You don't want to eat them.

[Dan Bernstein]

Maybe I'll eat them. Maybe instead. Instead of having a pint of ice cream tonight, I'll have strawberries instead. And that is a big fucking lie is what.

[Matt Abaticola]

You're not gonna do it.

[Dan Bernstein]

But I'm not gonna do it. But I tell myself I might. What I have been better at is declaring one night a week is like, Jason, years ago, accidentally made up a word he was trying to say. He was trying to say scavenge.

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh, you told me this. Yeah. What is this word?

[Dan Bernstein]

And then he started calling it scravanging. So, like scraping or scavenging. And scouring. He created the word scravage.

[Matt Abaticola]

Okay, so.

[Dan Bernstein]

Which is go through the fridge and eat stuff.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

So I, I will declare a night a scravage night.

[Matt Abaticola]

You got to figure what's in there,

[Dan Bernstein]

Whatever it is, it could be two slices of leftover tombstone pizza, a week old fried chicken leg. And I'm just gonna bring everything out, all the containers and, and that's my dinner. Whatever it amounts to, whatever I can find.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, no, I, I, I hear that. And so I, I did it not too long ago because, you know, I drink a lot of the sparkling waters of flavored water. And so I tried one San Pellegrino. So Natalie bought one, and it was, they had like a cherry flavor. So we brought it.

[Dan Bernstein]

We go, we go through the regular San Pellegrino. We'll go through a 12 pack of the little bottles in a week.

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh, no. Yeah. And we, we love, we love the regular one. So we tried the flavor and the cherry was okay and white. There was one can sat for a little bit long. I think there's still maybe even one upstairs. But then I bought. They have a peach and mandarin. And so I'm like, oh, I'll get the cherry was okay, I'll give this a try. And it was awful. And like the next day, I had no issue taking the other three cans, open them out, dumping them, throwing them away. So I mean, I can do it. I just, for some reason, the root beer just, it stuck with me.

[Dan Bernstein]

I wonder why.

[Matt Abaticola]

I don't know. You know what? Because I wanted it to be really good.

[Dan Bernstein]

God, I loved root beer when I was a kid.

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh, me too. I still, I loved it.

[Dan Bernstein]

I loved it. And that's what it was like dads and hires root beer mug. And well, mug. Mug was, was newer. I forgot which company started mug, but when. But a W, man, A W Root beers got taste. And then you'd go get. There used to be one off in 294. And then it would, I think it. Where is it still there? It was toward the Wisconsin border. There was an A W on the, on the west side of the, of the interstate.

[Matt Abaticola]

You know, it might be.

[Dan Bernstein]

It was a drive in. It was old A W drive in. And I remember as a little kid, I just had these memories of, as a kid getting an actual root beer in a, in a frosty mug there. And I was, I was with my dad. I don't remember, but I'm just like, like that was, that was it, man. That was the truth.

[Matt Abaticola]

I think if it's still the same one because we, I. We drove past one when we went up to Baraboo last week.

[Dan Bernstein]

Is it the same?

[Matt Abaticola]

There was a drive. I wonder if it's the same one or not. But I definitely saw one. The, the pizza place that we. Our favorite place here in town, Pizza Talia. They have their. In their fountain drinks. They have mug root beer. And it's. So if I'm ever in there to pick up or if I, if I get a fountain drink, I'll always get the mug root beer there. I love it. Yeah, I think, I think I wanted it to be better than it was.

[Dan Bernstein]

And the candy, like the, you know, the root beer barrel candy.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yes, I remember what the.

[Dan Bernstein]

The essence of whatever that ester is or whatever. Whatever. There's like that sarsaparilla.

[Matt Abaticola]

Spicy. That spiciness to it though.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, but it's. It's sassafras root. It's sarsaparilla. It's. And if you've ever had actual sassafras tea.

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh, no, not the tea. But I will have sassafras this weekend at the Renaissance fair.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes, that's it. That's. That's root beer. That's the root. That's the root of root beer. You better believe it. Damn right. Damn.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Who owns Mug Rude? Does Pepsi own mug? I know it's all been kind of divided and then there was. Remember when Barks came out and Barks

[Matt Abaticola]

was like the gore with the bite?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. And that, that was really the more like, oh, this is the more expensive

[Matt Abaticola]

stuff because I never liked it. I know. I was not a fan of Barks. Mug root beer is owned by PepsiCo. I think. I think PepsiCo wins everything.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, because. Because one is Coke.

[Matt Abaticola]

Well, obviously. Obviously. Yeah, but I think. Yeah, they own. They own a ton of shit. Don't they own Gatorade now too? I think PepsiCo owns Gatorade.

[Tammy Racing]

I don't know.

[Dan Bernstein]

But. But I. I just remember was it was dad's and it was Hires. Root beer was the other one we used to get.

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh yeah, Hires. I forgot about that mug. Root beer. 1940, originally created in San Francisco as Belfast Root Beer by the Belfast Beverage Company. Later part of the New Century Beverage Company. 1950s renamed the Belfast Old Fashioned mug Root Beer. Eventually shortened to mug root beer. And then 1986 bought by PepsiCo.

[Dan Bernstein]

And hires still exists, most recently manufactured by Keurig Dr. Pepper that it was introduced in 1876. One of the longest continuously made soft drinks in the U.S. and there was A trying to think. I've had Spreckers.

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh, yeah?

[Dan Bernstein]

I've had. Yeah, they're. They're.

[Matt Abaticola]

That's more of a. It seems like more of like a craft thing. You still see it in the bottles at places. I think the ice cream shop in town has. Has that stuff.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, and there's a Spreckers in Lake Geneva where they have their own beers and root beers there.

[Matt Abaticola]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

Or I've had it there.

[Matt Abaticola]

Wait, so Barks is. They still make Barks? I think so, yeah. It's in. Coca Cola owns Barks.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, I never. I didn't like Barks. I didn't think it was good. You know what wasn't good? But I drank a lot as a kid because my older brothers drank. It was Tab. Oh, yeah. It's not good.

[Dan Bernstein]

Diet, right? Remember Diet, right?

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh, yeah, yeah. You know.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, Tab was so good. I think my mom drinks.

[Matt Abaticola]

Diet, right? Diet, right. Was also one of the options from our. From Salernos. The pizza we got as a kid all the time because we always got. Oh, RC.

[Dan Bernstein]

A 2 liter? Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, then that way. So if it was rc, that means you also could have bubble up.

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh yeah, I forgot about bubble up too.

[Dan Bernstein]

And Tahitian treat. Did you ever Tahitian treat that? It was a. It was a carbonated fruit punch.

[Matt Abaticola]

I don't. I don't recall that at all.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, yeah, that's. I like those like off brand soda fountains when there's like weird ones.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. Have you ever bought the. The big K products from Kroger?

[Dan Bernstein]

No.

[Matt Abaticola]

They sell. Yeah. You even buy soda at home or.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, I don't drink soda.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, well, I don't know if you

[Dan Bernstein]

know why it's liked it at all. No, neither. Neither. Jason. I remember giving him his first try when he was like two. His first try of Coca Cola and thinking, well, here we go. And he's like, I don't like it. He never has. I. I didn't even think he would like beer, but, you know, he developed

[Matt Abaticola]

a taste for that. Yeah. Yeah. He fights through that somehow.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. Somehow he's able to overcome that.

[Matt Abaticola]

I'm gonna put with this. Oh, I gotta just get this.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't know how I'm gonna do it.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, 12 tonight.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, I was at the. Yeah, where? The Cubs game yesterday. I'm like, what did you get for your 75? You know, a couple of beers. Yeah, two. It's good.

[Matt Abaticola]

Wow. All right.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, That'll do it.

[Matt Abaticola]

Now. Hopefully you're thirsty now.

[Dan Bernstein]

It doesn't work quite the same way.

[Matt Abaticola]

No, not with food. And although I am hungry and I need some lunch.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, well, I didn't have any leftover. I finally, by the way, can I just say, you made my seafood pasta better. Oh. Because I think.

[Matt Abaticola]

Do tell.

[Dan Bernstein]

Because I think one thing that you have made me do better is understand the incorporation of pasta water into making the, into the texture of the sauce itself.

[Matt Abaticola]

Got to. Man.

[Dan Bernstein]

And I always used to feel like you gotta rinse every last bit out and like you're pulling the longer pasta out with the tongs rather than shaking and shaking and worrying right in and draining that the, it brought like the starchiness and the saltiness made almost a creamy type texture into my shrimp and clam spicy sauce. Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

You have to. Even, even if you're, I mean, if you're making your own homemade. Like if you're making a homemade sauce or even if you're using a jarred sauce, always, always save some of the pasta water. And what I like to do, if you're, if you're using the whole jar of sauce, take your reserved pasta water out and then put that into the jar.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, and shake it.

[Matt Abaticola]

Put the cap back on.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes.

[Matt Abaticola]

Now just be careful because really hot water, it'll, it'll, it'll, it'll come out at you when you unscrew the cap again. But put that in there, shake the jars, you clean it out. Then, then pour that in.

[Dan Bernstein]

So I do that, I do that all the time. Like if there's. Even with a marinade or something like that. If I always want the last bit. Yes. Like if I'm making my steak marinade and I'm at the end of the bottle of A1 and I know I'm going to put some soy in there, I'll put the soy in the A1 bottle and shake that up to get every last bit.

[Matt Abaticola]

And it's also what I've done with jars of peanut butter. If you're down towards the end of a peanut butter, you can't scrape everything off the sides. But what I'll do is I'll save that. And if I'm going to make a peanut sauce, I'll work inside the peanut jar to get the out.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, that's a great idea.

[Tammy Racing]

Thank you.

[Matt Abaticola]

Good hack, good hack to have. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Also with ranch dressing, because I do like it with my wings a little watered down when I know the bottles got like a quarter of the bottle left. And I'll put a little water in the bottle and, and shake that up and know that I have exactly the. The perfect texture of ranch that I want with my wings.

[Matt Abaticola]

My wife, the last time she bought ranch, I think for. I think she was making salads for the boys, she bought Wishbone. I know. That's your brand, right?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. And so I. I tried something. It's good.

[Dan Bernstein]

I will say, though, do not buy. Do not buy the wishbone extra buttermilk because I thought it would be really good.

[Matt Abaticola]

Now, you didn't like that?

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't buy it. Okay. Go with regular Wishbone it was. But. But I admire that they took that shot. And if there are people. If there are people who like it, good. I like the fact that somewhere in their research that there's something they're like, hey, why don't. Why don't we just double the buttermilk on here? I don't know if they're chasing Hidden Valley or if they're. If I need ranch dressing graphs here, I need to find out.

[Matt Abaticola]

I mean, I. I would say that they. I'm sure. I'm sure Hidden Valleys their sales blows everybody away.

[Dan Bernstein]

Has to.

[Matt Abaticola]

But.

[Dan Bernstein]

But I'm not a huge fan.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, I know you're not.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'm not. It's. But I know that they're. They're the og. They're considered the, you know, the. The father of the. You know, the actual. The creator. So I don't know. But I. I do think that Wishbone trying that good shit. Keep. Keep aiming high. Keep trying. Keep going after it.

[Matt Abaticola]

All right. I think we've sufficiently angered enough people by not talking football.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, we're not talking about hockey.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay. All right. Sorry about that.

[Matt Abaticola]

Well, be sorry.

[Dan Bernstein]

Forward progress on 3. 1 2. Sports has been brought to you by. Giordano's back to school means back to busy between practices, homework, and everything in between. Give yourself a break with Giordano's treat the kids and yourself to Chicago Style Pizza everyone can agree on and make tonight. Football's back tonight. Kind of maybe make tonight a giordano's night@giordano's.com or visit your local Giordano's restaurant. Today Giordano's the one for Chicago Style Pizza. Forward progress has stopped.

[Matt Abaticola]

Forward progress. A Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and mata Benicola on 312 Sports.

[Tammy Racing]

From Geico Subconscious News, I'm Tammy Racing thoughts broadcasting from your brain. Tonight's top worry. If something happens to your apartment and you need to, like, stay in a hotel and pay for it. That would be crazy, right? Art Palpitations has more.

[Dan Bernstein]

That would be crazy, Tammy. But you got surprisingly affordable renters insurance through Geico, so it could be covered, giving you peace of mind.

[Matt Abaticola]

Aww.

[Tammy Racing]

I love a story that ends well.

[Dan Bernstein]

Next up, love stories. Are they all they're cracked up to be?

[Tammy Racing]

It feels good to worry less. It feels good to Geico.